Grand Forks herald., 1917-02-02
D|(KFY HAS 3
! KINDS OF SOIL
Land in most Places Well
Suited to Farming and Be-
longs to Loan Class

There are 32 different types Of soil
in Dickey county. Twenty-eight Of
these are classified as distinct types
and the remaining four are phases Of
some of these types. These may be
grouped as upland. benchland, lake
bottom and streambottom Soils The
upland soils consist of the Barnes.
Williams. Edgeley and Valentine Sc
ries. Each of these series has dis
tinctive characteristics as regards
origin, color, character of subsoil and
lime content Each series is subdi-
vided into soil types, on the basis Of
the amount Of sand, silt and clay
which they contain. A large proper
ton of the undulating plains region
in the east two-thirds of the county is
covered by soils of the Barnes series.
The Barnes, loan and Barnes silt
loan are the most extensive. They
are well suited to general farming;
they are of glacial origin. or black
to a depth varying from IA to 20
inches, have subsoil of the same tex
ture as the surface and are we'll sup
piled with lime. Analysis shows that
they contain about the same amount
of nitrogen, phosphorus and pottas-
SUM as some of the common prairie
soils of the corn belt. They contain
larger amount of calcium and mag
nesium. especially in the subsurface
and subsoil.
A five year rotation Of corn one
year. wheat two years. timothy and
clover or pease and oats one year. and
winter rye one year. has been follow
ed, with some substitution, on the
Barnes loan for six years. The aver
age acre yield for the period was 26.9
bushels for corn: 1875 bushels for
wheat, and 9.5 bushels for rye. Oats
and peas produce an average yield Of
one ton to the acre. The low average
yield Of winter rye is due principally
to the fact that it was grown but three
years of the period and two Of these
were the very dry years of 1910 and
1911. The second crop Of wheat fol-
lowing corn has yielded four bushels
second years after corn. All things
considered, the corn crop has been
one of the most profitable in the ro-
tation. Timothy and clover have re-
turned good profit in the two years
that stand was obtained.
Other rotations suggest for the
Barnes loan are, corn one year, wheat
one year. oats one year, with alfalfa
on the fourth field which would be
left down for three years or six years
and then placed in the rotation. one
falfa. Another combination of crops
that would work out satisfactory on
farms of this type. would be corn one
year, wheat one year, barley one year
and sweet clover one year.
A five year rotation Of corn one
year. durut11 wheat one year, oats or
winter rye one year, bluestem wheat
one year, timothy and clover or oats
and peas one year, has been follow
ed on the Barnes silt loan since 1910.
Corn ripened four years of the five
"a 1-2 bushels to the acre. Durum
wheat averaged 20 1-2 bushels to the
acre and bluestem wheat 11.S bushels
to the acre. The difference between
the two classes Of wheat was due
principally to the fact that the durum
was grown on corn ground and the
bluestem was grown on land that
grew small grain the year before.
Rye was grown three years and yield
Durum wheat has been the most prof
table crop in this rotation, largely
due to the favorable condition of the
soil after growing crop of corn.
Other rotations suited to the
Barnes silt loan are corn on year,
wheat two years. oats one year, with
the fifth field seeded to alfalfa which
would remain in this crop for four or
eight years, when it would be broken
and placed in rotation and another
field seeded to alfalfa; and corn one
year. wheat one year, hog millet one
year. and barley one year and field
Of alfalfa left down for four or eight
years. In general, a larger portion
Of the farm can be seeded to small
grain on the Barnes silt loan than on
the Barnes loan. The Barnes very
fine sandy loan occupies four per
cent of the county. One of the prob
lens in the management Of this type
Is to keep 1t from drifting. The prac-
tice of a cropping system which leaves
the soil firm during the winter for
several years, application OF manure in
the fall, and spring plowing will do
much to check drifting. Detailed
methods Of management are outlined
in the report. The Barnes silly clay
loan covers a little over three per
cent Of the county and is one of the
best soils for general farming. More
work is required to prepare the seed
bed on this type than on some OF the
sander types. but this is offset by Its