The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-05-02
en- her motions in the brain. Prob
ably feels the wheels going around
now suggests the Des Moines Trib
une.
GUMBo SOIL ONCE MORE.
A Former Resident Of Stockport, Iowa,
Takes Issue With Some Of Edi-
tor Rowiey's Statements.

To the Editor of The Gate City:
CANTRIL, Iowa, May l, 1911.-Hav-
ing farmed on the gumbo soil around
where Stockport now is when young
man, l was somewhat interested in
reading Mr.. Rowley's explanation and
definition of gumbo soil in his paper
of the twenty-seventh inst. l think he
was about as far of as he claimed
you were. Let us try to find out how
this gnmbo soil was formed Bulletin
50 OF the Iowa experiment station
says:
In past age great continental
ice cap invaded Iowa from the east,
pushing the Mississippi far out Of its
course and forcing it to excavate a
new valley through Clinton. Scott,
Muscatine, Louisa, Washington Hen
ry and Lee counties. In Muscatine
and Louisa counties a great lake was
formed. Many of the streams of
southeastern Iowa were pended back
by this invasion of the ice, giving rise
to conditions which caused the de-
position of large area, of fine silt and
clay. When the ice melted away the
rivers resumed their usual courses.
the lakes were gradually filed up, and
the areas of fine silt and clay became
the rich black gumbo soil typically
developed in Henry and Lee countless
So gumbo soil Is formed by silt and
clay being soaked with water and is
found under old lake beds, and we
will conclude that the country around
Stockport was once an old lake bed,
and it is gumbo as far down as that
black colored clay extends. In these
gumbo soils it extends to the depth
of from three to five or more feet.
| Therefore tile at Stockport is surely
made out of gumbo; the reason tile
made out of the top soil of gumbo
cracks is because the surface soil
contains too much humus or decaying
vegetable matter which lessons its
adhesive properties. Now the same
bulletin says:
When wet it cannot be stirred
turns it over in clods, but if this soil
can be put in proper condition it will
undoubtedly prove to be one of the
most productive soils OF the state
But stiil it is very easy to raise
large crops of corn on it while new
for few years, especially the second
and third years This gumbo soil tiled
cannot be beaten for crops of any kind
we raise in this country
The glacier spoken of at the begin
ming of this article changed the
topography of southeastern Iowa to a
greater extent than most of us sup
pose. 1t formed the rapids at keo-
kuk where the big dam is being built.
1t also sent a spur across the Des
Moines river at Mt. Zion, and formed
what is known as the great bend on
which our county seat is situated.
From Mt. Zion east for three or four
miles the Rock Island railroad follows
the old ancient bed of the river. In
going from keosauqua to Mt Zion one
will notice the topography of the
country across the river either to his
right or left is vastly different from
that of the big bend In fact, the line
of the western limit of this glazier
can be very easily traced in north
east course through about where
Stockport is and on in northeasterly
direction as far as it has been per
mitted me to follow 1t. by the topo-
graphy OF the surrounding land
CANTRIL.