The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1916-03-21

this combination the timothy does not
become very prominent until after
it's second year. The average yield
is about liz tons an acre.
Alfalfa is being grown more extern
sively each year. The silt loan. loan,
and sandy loan soils are used for this
purpose Three or four cuttings are
generally obtained in a season and
the total yield ranges from 2R TO
tons of hay per acre.
Practically no commercial fertilizer
is used in the county. Stable ma
nure, on the other hand, is seldom
wasted 1t is usually applied to
grass and clover sod before blowing
for corn. 1t is also used for the sweet
potato and watermelon crops. In gen.
piled to the lighter than to the darker
soils.
The soils of Lee county may be
origin, as loessial, glacial, residual,
and alluvial. They include nineteen
soil types. divided into nine series.
The loessial soils comprise the Mem
phis, Marion, Grundy and Putnam
series, the two former being found
principally along the bluffs and near
the margin Of the plateau. and the
two latter lying further back on the
plateau. The Memphis and Marion
soils are light coiored, and the
Grundy and Putnam relatively dark.
The Memphis silt loan has light
brown or buff colored surface with
depth OF fifteen to- eighteen inches.
The subsoil is slightly lighter col
ored and somewhat more compact
silt loan or silly clay loan. 1t is
used for all the farm crops commonly
grown in the county, but appears to
be better suited to wheat and rye
than to corn On this type the ex-
tension of the alfalfa acreage is also
noticeable 1t is lacking in humus in
comparison with the darker soils and
manure is used extensively. 1t also
washes badly, and for this reason
farmers on this type usually fill slight
depressions with branches of trees or
straw or manure. Plowed fields
should be kept in a cover crop over
winter to prevent washing.
The Marion silt loan is a light
brownish gray to light gray silt loan,
underlain at depth OF from seven
to twelve inches by a very silly fJur-
like layer about nine inches thick.
which separates the surface soil from
the subsoil proper, the latter being
a heavy, plastic silly clay. Locally
the Marion silt loan is frequently
known az white ash or chalk land.
In general, it has a slightly lower
value than the Memphis silt loan,
but is $sed for all the common farm
crops. Wheat and rye appear to do
better than corn.
OF the darker 1oessial soils the
Grundy silt loan is regarded as the
best corn soil of the county and one
Of the most important corn soils in
the United States. 1t consists OF
dark brown to black silt loan under
lain at a depth of from twelve to
fourteen inches by a dark brown to
| black silly clay loan. 1t is the pre-
vailing type in the northwestern part
of the county and covers more than
one-fourth of the entire area. In ad-
dition to its value for corn 1t is prob
ably the best soil for oats in the
county and, furthermore, produces
good yields Of rye, clover, wheat,
timothy. and alfalfa. The corn yields
RANGE from thirty to seyenty-two
bushels per acre, the oats from thirty
FIVE to fifty-five bushels, winter wheat
sixteen to thirty-fve bushels, and rye
fourteen to thirty-two bushels. This
soil stands drought better than the
bluff soils.
The Grundy silly clay loan is very
much less extensive. 1t is locally
known as gumbo and when wet clods
badly. 1t is good corn soil, but
small grains tend to lodge. The
necessity for artificial drainage and
the difficulty of cultivation when it
is too wet or too dry make it some
| what less in demand than the Grundy
silt loan.
The Putnam silt loan occupies .ap-
proximately II percent of the area
of the county. 1t is a dark brown
or grayish brown to black silt loan.
| 1t is similar in crop adaptation to the
! Grundy silt loan, but not quite so
productive. Furthermore, it does not
Withstand drought so well and is not
SO good a corn soil.
| The glacial soils are represented in
Lee county by the Lindley loan. This
is a reddish to yellowish brown soil
for a depth of about ten inches, below
which it is underiain by a clay loara
to silly clay or sandy clay. The soil
is widely distributed throughout the