History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 7

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 7

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HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

two hundred and twenty-five dollars an acre and the selling price is fre- quently based on the number of acres of black land they contain.

The Clyde silty clay loam is darker in color and heavier in texture where the surface soil is only six to eight inches deep. The percentage of organic matter is greater near the center of the areas or at the lowest point.

. This type occurs widely distributed over the county, but the main bodies are confined chiefly to the northern and eastern portions. In the vicinity of Sheridan it is the predominating type. The type occurs as irregular shaped bodies throughout the uplands.

The Clyde silty clay loam is especially well adapted to corn, and yields of sixty to eighty bushels per acre are not infrequent. Oats produce a heavy stand and lodge badly in rainy seasons. If the season is favorable, fifty to sixty bushels per acre are generally obtained. Clover produces a rank growth and with timothy produces from one and one-half to two tons or more hay per acre. In the vicinity of the towns in which canning factories are located this type is used extensively for growing tomatoes, chiefly because of the heavier yields. For domestic use where a firmer tomato is desired they should be grown upon the lighter colored Miami soils. Tomatoes grown upon the Clyde soil, decay more readily, and during wet seasons much of the crop may be lost in this way.

Where commercial fertilizers and barnyard manure are to be applied it is better to use the commercial fertilizers upon the Clyde silty clay loam and the barnyard manure on the lighter colored soils, which have a lower content of organic matter. For use upon this type a mixture having eight to ten per cent of phosphoric acid and four to five per cent of potash is recom- mended. Nitrogen is not generally needed, and where its use is advisable can best be supplied by growing legumes in the rotations.

The surface of this type is flat to depressed and artificial drainage is required to remove the surface waters. Open ditches were first employed, but these have generally been replaced in recent years by tile drains.

With proper drainage and liming alfalfa could be grown upon this type, but since it is used so extensively for corn and oats, legumes that occupy the land for shorter periods, such as clover, vetch, cowpeas, or soy beans, are probably more profitable.

The native forest growth consisted of swampy white oak, white elm, swamp pin oak, silver maple, bur oak, black ash, cottonwood, green ash, prickly ash, and willow. Spice bush, button bush, and wild rose are char- acteristic plants of smaller growth.

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HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

FOX GRAVELLY SANDY LOAM.

The surface soil of the Fox gravelly sandy loam, to a depth of ten inches, is a brown gravelly sandy loam. The subsoil is a brown gravelly sandy clay.

This type is very open and porous and admits of a free circulation of air and moisture. The substratum below three to four feet is more often a coarse gravel, so that its natural drainage is adequate, if not excessive. In dry weather this soil suffers from drought, but by keeping it well stocked with organic matter this difficulty may be overcome to some extent.

The Fox gravelly sandy loam occurs upon the high terraces on the north side of West Fork White river in sections 16, 19, 20, township 19, range 5. It occurs as narrow strips associated with the Fox loam and has a limited acreage in the county.

This type would be well suited to trucking, being especially well adapted to sweet potatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, cantaloupes, and other crops re- quiring a light-textured, friable soil.

Fox gravelly sandy loam, poorly drained phase .- The Fox gravelly sandy loam, poorly drained phase, occupies only a few acres of the south- west one-fourth of section 23 and the northwest one-fourth of section 26, township 18, range 4. The surface soil to a depth of six or eight inches is a grayish-brown, coarse sandy loam or gravelly sandy loam, the percentage of sand and gravel being quite variable over small areas. The subsoil ranges in texture from a gravelly sandy loam to a light-gray, iron-stained sandy clay. The texture is heaviest at twenty to twenty-four inches. Below this the material becomes more sandy and in the lower depths very gravelly. In some places the subsoil is mottled with bluish and drab colors, but for the most part it is light gray. Where this soil is plowed a rather high percentage of fine to medium gravel accumulates on the surface.

The poorly drained phase of the Fox gravelly sandy loam requires drainage to improve its physical condition. Undrained areas are cold and soggy. The phase occurs on second terraces of West Fork White river and is made up of reworked sedimentary materials assorted and laid down by the river at the time when it flowed at a higher level than at present.

This type is at present valued chiefly for the production of hay, but is sometimes used for corn. It can not be rated as a strong soil and can prob- ably be best reserved for pasture and hay production.

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HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

FOX LOAM.

The soil of the Fox loam, to an average depth of twelve inches, is a mellow, brown to yellowish-brown, light silty loam or loam, grading into a yellowish-brown silty clay loam. At eighteen to twenty inches the subsoil is a brown, friable silty clay to gravelly sandy clay, similar to the bowlder clay which underlies the flat phase of the Miami silt loam. Below three to four feet a coarse gravelly sandy loam is encountered, which in turn is underlain by coarse gravel.

The Fox loam occupies high terraces along the larger streams in the southern part of the county. A greater proportion of the type is found along West Fork White river.

The Fox loam is known locally as second-bottom land, although it occurs on both the second and third terraces above the river. It is also called "sugar-tree flats." The boundary between it and the Genesee loam is very distinct. In some places it rises to thirty feet or more above the first-bottom lands. The boundary between it and the upland types is not so marked, although in some places a fairly well-defined bluff or sharp slope, ten or twenty feet high, was observed. The surface is generally level, except along Fall creek, in the southeastern part of the county, where it is more undulating.

The Fox loam differs from the Miami silt loam, flat phase, in that the surface is coarser in texture and darker in color. The soil contains less silt and the subsoil a much larger percentage of gravel than either the Miami silt loam or its flat phase. The open, porous nature of the subsoil allows a freer internal movement of moisture, the type warms earlier, and crops make a more rapid growth. They are also somewhat more subject to injury by drought. This type reaches its maximum producing capacity in wet seasons, when the Clyde silty clay loam, Genesee loam, and other types are too wet to produce average yields. The Fox loam is very easy to cultivate and a mellow seed bed is readily obtained.

The Fox loam occurs on one or the other side of West Fork White river throughout its course. It is sometimes found upon opposite sides of the river, but in general it shifts back and forth from one side to the other. The town of Noblesville is located upon this type. The type is probably of alluvial origin, having been deposited when West Fork White river flowed at a higher level than at the present time.

The largest continuous body of this type occurs south of Noblesville, extending thence to the county line. Narrow strips of the type are found

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HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

along Stony creek, a considerable acreage of it along Fall creek, and smaller acreas along Mud and Cool creeks, the former a tributary of Fall creek.

The Fox loam is a good general farming soil. It is used for the pro- duction of corn, hay, oats and wheat, being better adapted to the latter. Alfalfa does especially well upon this type, but for the best results it must be limed frequently. Alfalfa well tended should yield better returns from this soil than from any other type in the county. The soil is also well adapted to potatoes, tomatoes, peas and beans, and other truck crops, and their cul- ture should be extended. A large proportion of the type is conveniently lo- cated with respect to the Indianapolis markets.

The native timber growth was largely hard maple, from which fact it takes the local name "sugar-tree flats." The native forest included also white oak, beech, black walnut, and other hardwood species.

Land of the Fox loam type is valued at one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five dollars an acre, although some of it is held as high as two hundred dollars or more an acre.

WAUKESHA SILTY CLAY LOAM.

The surface soil of the Waukesha silty clay loam to an average depth of nine inches is a dark-brown to black, heavy silt loam or silty clay loam. The subsoil is a bluish-black silty clay, grading into a drab-colored material. Below thirty inches it is of a lighter gray color and slightly sandy. The Waukesha silty clay loam is similar in general appearance and texture to the Clyde loam, except that in most areas it is not quite so dark in color.

This type occurs at low-lying or depressed areas along the outer margin of the higher terraces of West Fork White river. It is confined to the southern part of the county, where the second terraces have their greatest development, being found in sections 27, 33 and 34, township 18, range 4, and in sections 7, 8 and 9, township 17, range 4. To its depressed surface and the annual accumulation of decayed vegetable matter is due its dark color and loamy structure. A small area is also found along Stony creek in sections 13, 23, 24 and 26, township 19, range 5. Its position upon the ter- races along West Fork White river, and particularly near the confluence of some of the smaller streams with the river, indicates that the material con- sists of old alluvium.

Most of this type has been reclaimed by artificial drainage and devoted to corn culture. Heavy yields are obtained. In small areas throughout the type the soil is inclined to be "chaffy." This unfavorable condition can be

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HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

gradually remedied by deeper plowing and by liberal application of barn- yard manure, as was suggested for the Clyde loam, where similar chaffy conditions are found. The use of ground limestone and potash fertilizer, properly applied, would also increase the yields from this type.

Thus far the cultivation of this land has been confined largely to the growing of corn, though some oats and hay are produced. The yield of corn is heavy, averaging fifty to sixty bushels per acre. Oats make a luxur- iant growth and lodge badly. Grasses also produce a rank growth, and the quality of hay is not generally as good as that grown upon the uplands or upon the Fox loam. Owing to the natural fertility of this land and the growing demand for corn, the tendency is to keep the fields in this crop almost continuously. In time the present high yields will be reduced unless crop rotation is practiced.

GENESEE GRAVELLY SANDY LOAM.

The surface soil of the Genesee gravelly sandy loam, to a depth of fifteen to eighteen inches, is a brown to dark-brown gravelly sandy loam, very similar in texture to the Fox gravelly sandy loam. The subsoil varies from a gravelly sandy clay to a gravelly loam. Below twenty-four to thirty inches it is more often a coarse gravel.

The Genesee gravelly sandy loam occurs in small bodies in the first bot- toms along West Fork White river. It is subject to overflow, and addi- tional deposits of the coarser materials borne by the river are constantly being laid down over the surface.

This type is open and porous, and air and moisture circulate freely through it, and drainage is adequate, if not excessive, owing to the under- lying gravel. The water table is generally near enough to the surface, how- ever, to be within capillary reach of the root zone, and the crops are able to withstand ordinary periods of droughts.

The Genesee gravelly sandy loam is used with. the Genesee loam for growing corn and oats or for pasture. The land being subject to overflow, fertilization is not so necessary as on the upland soils.

Only a small acreage of this type is found in the county. It occurs as narrow strips along West Fork White river in section 2, township 19, range 5, northeast of Strawtown, and in section 30, township 19, range 5, and section 36, township 19, range 4, north of Noblesville, and sections 1, 12, 23, 24 and 26, township 18, range 4, south of Noblesville.

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HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

GENESEE SILTY CLAY LOAM.

The Genesee silty clay loam occurs largely along the smaller streams and is the heaviest first-bottom land type in the county. The surface soil, to a depth of ten or twelve inches, is a brown, heavy silt loam to silty clay loam. The subsoil is a brownish silty clay, grading into a drab or steel-blue, stiff, plastic clay, mottled with dark-brown or reddish-brown iron stains. The color of the subsoil becomes lighter with depth. Along Stony creek the subsoil contains an appreciable amount of sand in the lower depths. The soil along this creek is also less uniform in texture than elsewhere. Where the areas lie above the level of usual overflow the soil is a light-brown, loose silty loam to eighteen or twenty inches, below which it is a drab, mot- tled silty to sandy clay.

The Genesee . silty clay loam forms the first-bottom land along Little Cicero, Taylor, Stony, Mud and Dismal creeks, Dry branch, and other small streams. It occurs as narrow strips, the valleys being seldom more than one-eighth to one-fourth mile in width. The largest and most typically developed area occurs along Mud creek above the mouth of Sand creek.

The Genesee silty clay loam, like the other first-bottom soils, is of allu- vial origin, the material being derived largely from reworked glacial till deposited by the streams along which it occurs. Only a small percentage is washed in from the adjacent uplands. Near the banks of the streams lighter textured materials generally occur, and where it was of sufficient extent to map separately it was included with the Genesee loam. The heavier mate- rials were deposited in the outlying bends and wider portions of the valleys. Most of the streams along which this type occurs have been straightened and deepened by dredging, so that practically all of the land which was formerly poorly drained is now under cultivation.

This type is especially well adapted to corn, and some of the largest yields in the county have been obtained from it. Yields of eighty bushels per acre are not infrequent, though the average is probably close to sixty bushels per acre. Heavy yields of oats are sometimes obtained from this type, but the late springs and the wet condition of these bottom lands fre- quently prevent the planting of this crop. It is an excellent grass soil, and an average of two tons of hay per acre is obtained. As much of it is subject. to overflow, it does not require as heavy fertilization as the upland soils.

If this type is cultivated under normal moisture conditions a good, loose tilth is obtained, but if plowed wet it forms large, compact clods, which

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can not be readily broken down by subsequent cultivation. Too often the farmers, in their haste to get in their crops, disregard this matter of mois- ture condition, and the physical condition of the soil is thus frequently im- paired for more than one season.

The native vegetation upon this type consisted of swamp white oak, silver maple, bur oak, white elm, swamp or pin oak, black ash, cottonwood, and other hardwoods.

GENESEE LOAM.

The surface soil of the Genesee loam, to an average depth of twelve to fifteen inches, is a medium-brown to dark-brown loam, underlain by a yel- lowish-brown silty clay to sandy clay or clay loam. Below twenty-four to thirty inches sand and gravel are frequently encountered. The type is subject to local variations over small areas, owing to the unevenness of distribution of the alluvial materials. Where the first-bottom lands are narrow and the currents at times of overflow are swift the alluvial materials thus deposited are coarser, the texture being more often a medium to fine sandy loam, but in the outlying bends where the waters are less turbulent the soil is heavier and is more nearly a light silt loam or heavy loam. The subsoil is also quite variable, the soil being underlain frequently by medium to fine sand at various depths. This phase of the type occurs mostly in proximity to the stream courses.

The Genesee loam includes the greater part of the first-bottom lands along the larger streams. It occurs chiefly along West Fork White river and Cicero and Fall creeks. It also occurs as narrow strips along Little Cicero, Duck, Pipe, Mud, Cool, Williams, Little Eagle and Hinkle creeks. The widest area is found in the Strawtown bend of West Fork White river, northwest of the town, where there is an area nearly a mile in width. The soil in this body is a rich-brown loam, with a yellowish-brown subsoil. At other points along the river the areas are rarely more than one-fourth to one-half mile wide. Along Cicero and Fall creeks they seldom exceed a quarter of a mile in width, and along the other creeks much narrower strips exist. The soil in the smaller bottoms is sometimes influenced by wash from the adjacent uplands.

The Genesee loam is an alluvial soil, being composed of materials washed from the upland glacial soils and reworked and redeposited by the streams along which it occurs. Except for a few small depressions or low sand ridges, the surface is generally level. This type was formerly poorly drained, but with the installation of the drains. open ditches, etc., a greater

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HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

part of the type is now under cultivation. The open structure of the soil and subsoil permits of the ready percolation of the surface waters, so that the soil dries out rapidly after floods.

The original timber growth was principally silver maple, white elm, sycamore, buckeye, red oak and hickory.

The Genesee loam is an easy soil to cultivate and breaks up readily into a rich, mellow tilth. The additions of fresh alluvium from year to year tend to keep the soil in a productive condition. Large yields of corn are annually obtained from the same fields. Oats and grass also produce well, the yield of oats ranging from fifty to sixty bushels, and of hay from one and a half to two or more tons per acre. Occasionally crop rotations are followed, but generally the fields are planted to corn year after year, or the land used for grass and pasture, being plowed only when the sod fails or the field is needed for corn. Wheat is sometimes grown upon this soil, but usually only on areas lying above overflow. The type is best adapted to the production of corn.

Near the larger towns or shipping points this type could be profitably used for trucking, being especially well adapted to watermelons, cantaloupes, potatoes, particularly sweet potatoes, peas, beans, tomatoes, etc. Alfalfa is being tried upon the higher portions of the type, which are above annual overflow, and it is reasonable to expect that the results will justify the ex- tension of the crop to a larger acreage. Cowpeas, soy beans, vetch, and clover are all well adapted to the better drained areas and their inclusion in regular crop rotations should not be overlooked, especially where stock is to be fed upon ensilage.

The following table gives the results of mechanical analyses of samples of the soil and subsoil of this type:

Mechanical analyses of Genesce loam.

Number.

Description.

Fine Coarse gravel. sand.

Medium Fine Very fine

sand.

Silt.

Clay.

Per et. Per ct.

Per et.

Per ct. Per et. Per et.

Per et.

281421

Soil

0.3

2.4

5.7

16,8

17.0

45.6

12.1

281422

Subsoil.

3.2

8.5

26.5

14.0

33.9

12.9

MUCK.

Muck consists mainly of vegetable remains in various stages of decom- position. It is black or dark brown in color and varies in depth from a few inches at the margins of the areas to three feet or more at their center.

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HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

There is but little change in color with depth, but the deeper material is usually in a less advanced stage of decomposition, resembling peat. The mass of organic remains is usually underlain by a bluish-black, stiff, plastic clay or silty clay, which grades into a heavy, drab-colored or gray mottled silty clay or clay. In some places an impure shell marl is found in the sub- soil or substratum. Along the margins of the larger areas considerable mineral matter in the form of fine sand and silt has become incorporated with the muck.

The areas mapped as muck are referred to locally as "made land." They are of very small extent in Hamilton county. One of the largest areas occurs about three miles north of Noblesville and is called Fox prairie. Another considerable body is found along the upper course of Stony creek in the eastern part of the county. Smaller areas occur in section 33, town- ship 20, range 4; sections 10 and 15, township 18, range 4; sections 14 and 23, township 18, range 4; section 5, township 20, range 3.

Peat is occasionally found with the muck, but in areas too small to be mapped separately. It represents a more fibrous and less decomposed mass of vegetable matter than muck. It usually occurs near the center of the bodies of muck, where the accumulation of organic matter has been more recent and has not undergone as thorough decay, though it sometimes occurs in spots throughout a given area.

The areas occupied by these organic soils were at one time shallow lakes or ponds, which have been gradually filled with the accumulated re- mains of different forms of aquatic vegetation.

The native sedges and grasses flourishing on the areas of muck were the chief sources of hay for the early settlers. The water table was near the surface and the drainage was originally poor, but this has been remedied to a great extent by the construction of large open ditches, which form outlets for many small tile drains. Further improvement may be brought about by the construction of open ditches along the margin of the swampy areas to intercept the drainage from the adjacent uplands and prevent the temporary flooding of the fields during heavy rains.

The greater part of the muck has been brought under cultivation, though a few areas are still suitable only for pasture. Corn, oats, and tim- othy are at present the chief crops. Corn will yield from fifty to sixty bushels and oats from forty to sixty bushels per acre. The latter crop is not very successful, however, as the straw makes a rank growth and lodges badly. Timothy is easily seeded and does well, making a very rank growth, but it usually "burns" the ground and does not yield as much hay as on other

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soils. Alsike clover is well adapted to this soil and should be grown in com- bination with timothy.

Early and late frosts are very injurious to crops grown on soils of this type. It is often necessary to replant corn two or three times, and early fall frosts sometimes prevent the corn from maturing.

This soil is especially adapted to onions, cabbage, celery, Irish potatoes, beets, turnips, cauliflower and other garden products and has been success- fully handled in the production of such crops in northern Indiana and ad- joining states, but transportation facilities in most cases hardly warrant the growing of such special crops for commercial purposes in the area.

Applications of potash salts and phosphatic fertilizers are very ad- vantageous to these soils. Coarse barnyard manure and lime are also bene- ficial.

MEADOW.

Where the bottom lands are subject to frequent overflow the alluvium deposited is usually of a miscellaneous character and can not be correlated with any established soil type. The term meadow has been used to cover these conditions and as here employed denotes a generalized type embracing the low-lying, flat, poorly drained areas along certain minor stream courses. If shown in detail the included types would be classed with the Genesee soils. The predominating material is a heavy silt loam, dark brown in color. Be- cause of its constant change from year to year, as the result of fresh deposits from overflows, there is a wide variation in the color, composition and tex- ture of the soil, as also in local drainage and surface conditions, and bound- aries between meadow and the other alluvial types of similar origin and topographic position must necessarily be arbitrary ones and subject to future modification.

The subsoil is prevailingly a mottled drab or grayish silty clay, some- - what heavier in texture than the soil. Near the stream channel it may be lighter in texture, but throughout most of the area subject to annual over- flow the sediments are fine, so that the soils are rather heavy.

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 7

Author: John F. Haines Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051