History of Tipton County Indiana, Part 3

Author: M. W. Pershing
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 701

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The deepening of the soil by deeper plowing and subsoiling will tend to correct the unfavorable "sour" condition of the land by the more thorough aeration thus brought about. The turning under of such crops as clover, cowpeas, Canada field peas, soy-beans, rye and oats stubble will improve the physical condition of the soil and furnish a store of food supply for the plants.

The one thing that has probably done most to reduce the crop yields from this type is the plowing of the soil when too wet and not in condition to produce the best possible tilth. This is generally due to a desire to force the crops in season. Under such conditions the soil clods badly and as a rule it is not reduced to the proper tilth by subsequent cultivation.

Tomatoes and potatoes grown on this type are generally superior to those grown upon the black lands. Owing to reduced yields, however, toma- toes are more often grown upon the Clyde silty clay loam. The Miami silt loam is better adapted to fruit growing than the darker soils.

The native vegetation consists of beech, black walnut, white oak, yellow poplar, sugar maple, red oak, shell-bark hickory, chinquepin oak, white ash, hazel, pawpaw, redbud, wild plum, flowering dogwood, etc.

Farms upon this type are valued at one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars an acre.

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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

MIAMI LOAM.

The surface of the Miami loam is a brown to yellowish-brown silty loam or loam to a depth of ten to twelve inches, grading into a yellowish-brown silty clay loam. At eighteen to twenty inches a dark-brown, brittle clay (bowlder clay) is encountered which contains an appreciable amount of sand and gravel. The content of sand and gravel increases with depth, and below · three to four feet the material becomes a lighter colored gravelly loam.

The type is not extensively developed in Tipton county. It occurs along the larger stream courses and over the larger morainic knolls and ridges. It is typically developed along Duck creek in the southeastern portion of the county and also in the northeastern section. It occupies a well-defined mo- rainic ridge in the southwestern part of the county and several smaller ridges and knolls throughout other sections.

This type is very similar to the Miami silt loam. Since it has a more rolling topography it is more subject to erosion, and this has had much to do with effecting a higher content of sand and other coarse materials.

The Miami loam is probably best adapted to fruit.

CLYDE SILTY CLAY LOAM.

The Clyde silty clay loam is the most extensive as well as the most productive soil type in the county. Owing to the dark color of the soil, due to its high content of organic matter, it is generally known locally as "black lands."

The surface soil of this type to an average depth of eight inches is a dark-brown to almost black silty clay loam. As the surface dries the material assumes a grayish or grayish-black appearance. The intensity of the dark color is proportionate to the amount of organic matter in the soil. This con- stituent also affects the chemical and physical properties and the agricultural value of the soil, making the land more retentive of moisture and mellow and easy to till.

The subsoil between eight and twelve to fifteen inches is a bluish-black silty clay loam, grading below into a drab silty clay. This in turn is underlain by a medium to light gray, stiff. plastic clay which is mottled with brown streaks or iron stains. Below twenty-four to thirty inches the subsoil is more deeply mottled, with a gradual tendency in texture from the stiffer clay to a lighter textured silty to fine sandy clay. Where this type follows the course of the natural drainage ways it is generally underlain with sand and gravel at

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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

various depths, usually at about six to eight inches. This sand and gravel is generally highly stained with iron compounds. Since Tipton county em- braces but few morainic hills from which to draw its gravel supply, a large per cent. of the road material has been obtained by dredging the gravel from these old stream valleys.

This type comprises the greater part of the low-lying, poorly drained areas of the county which in their natural state were in a semi-swampy condi- tion throughout the greater part of the year. After being drained the land was cleared of the underbrush and standing timber and put in corn, as this was about the only crop that could be cultivated and harvested among the roots and stumps. An occasional field is to be seen in which the stumps remain, but over far the greater part of the type they have been removed and the soil is in a high state of cultivation.

The Clyde silty clay loam is derived from the same material as the Miami silt loam, the glacial till of the late Wisconsin epoch, but owing to its low-lying position and water-soaked condition the character of soil and sub- soil is very different. This type occupies irregular shaped depressions which are widely distributed throughout the county, but more generally confined to a wide strip extending diagonally through the center of the county from north- east to southwest. It occurs as low-lying or depressed areas in the uplands, and forms the main background of the soil map throughout which the Miami silt loam is shown.

The type was slowly developed. It was not until the early eighties that its possibilities were understood or appreciated. This came about through the building of good roads and adequate drainage outlets, giving the individ- ual farmer an opportunity to drain his land. The development was attended by a rapid increase in land values, and the present high price of land in Tipton county is due in large measure to the productivity of this type and its wide distribution throughout the county. The value of individual farms is gen- erally determined by the included area of this "black land."

The soil is fairly uniform throughout the area, but owing to differences in the natural drainage it has certain local variations in color, texture and depth of soil. The texture is heaviest and the color darkest where the depth of the surface soil is only about six to eight inches. This condition is largely found in the areas of the type east and southeast of Windfall, in the vicinity of the Madison county line, extending as far south as Cedar Point and West Elwood. The larger bodies of this soil in the vicinity of Tipton and else- where throughout the county have the same characteristics. The type usually reaches its maximum organic content and darkest color in the center of the

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depression or at its lowest point, shading off gradually toward the surround- ing lighter colored soil of the Miami silt loam. The texture also follows this same general relationship. Both these conditions are due to the movement of the surface waters, and carrying in suspension and depositing the finely divided soil particles from the uplands as well as the decomposed native vegetation.

The Clyde silty clay loam is used extensively in the vicinity of Tipton. Sharpsville and other towns in the area for growing tomatoes, peas, beans, etc., for local markets and for the canning factories. The yields are larger from this type than from the Miami silt loam, but the weight and quality of the product are somewhat inferior. The tomatoes on the black lands decay more readily and in wet seasons crop yields are greatly reduced from this cause. By the judicious use of commercial fertilizers the yields from the clay lands could be materially increased.

The type is probably best adapted to corn and oats. Yields of sixty to eighty bushels of corn per acre are not infrequent, and fifty to sixty bushels of oats are obtained, but in wet seasons this crop lodges badly and consider- able loss is incurred, except where it is mowed and used for hay. Its value as a green manure when turned back into the soil is not to be underrated, how- ever. Alsike and red clover and timothy produce heavy yields, the average being from one and a half to two tons per acre.

Where commercial fertilizers are applied to this type it is recommended that a mixture be used containing about eight per cent. of phosphoric acid and eight to ten per cent. of potash. Nitrogen is not generally needed for this soil and can best be obtained from the supply stored in the roots of leguminous crops, which should be included in all crop rotations.

The surface of the type is flat to depressed, so that ample drainage is required to remove the surface waters. Open ditches were at first installed, but these have generally been replaced in recent years by underground or tile drains, which permit the cultivation of the land formerly dissected by the ditches, making it possible to cultivate the type in large bodies.

With proper drainage and liming of the soil alfalfa can be grown as successfully on this type as on the Miami silt loam.

The native forest growth of the Clyde silty clay loam consisted of swamp white oak, swamp pin oak, white elm, silver maple, burr oak, black ash, green ash, cottonwood, prickly ash, spice bush, buttonwood, wild rose, willows, etc.

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BUCK CREEK, NORTHWEST OF TIPTON.

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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

CLYDE LOAM.

The surface soil of the Clyde loam to an average depth of eight to ten inches is a black, heavy silty loam or loam containing a high percentage of organic matter. The presence of this organic matter not only gives the soil its dark color, but also imparts to it a slightly pasty feel when wet, making it resemble muck. However, the amount of organic matter in the soil is not sufficiently high to justify its classification as muck.

The subsoil of the Clyde loam is a heavy black clay loam which grades below into bluish-black to grayish silty clay, and this in turn into mottled · brown, drab, and gray, rather stiff. plastic clay. At a depth of about thirty to thirty-six inches silty to fine sandy clay of a lighter gray color mottled with brown is generally encountered. The content of sand generally increases with depth and in some instances a wet, loose, fine sand, similar to quicksand is encountered. This material is most common in the soils of "Round Prairies," southeast of Windfall, which was originally a lake or shallow basin.

The Clyde loam was originally treeless. The native growth consisted of sedges, grasses, cattails, flags, button bushes and willows. The better drained areas supported a heavy growth of native prairie grass which was used ex- tensively by the early settlers for hay and pasture for their stock. The annual decay of this vegetation was the source of the high content of organic matter in the soil, so that it is frequently referred to as "made land." Where this soil carries a very high content of organic matter it is generally loose. "chaffy" or fluffy, or mucky. The latter condition is more noticeable when the soil is first put under cultivation, following reclamation by artificial drainage. Corn planted on the mucky areas makes a vigorous growth in the early stages of its development, but usually turns yellow or "burns" before reaching matur- ity. The application of barnyard manure, deeper plowing, and thorough cul- tivation so as to aerate the soil as much as possible will tend to correct this chaffy condition and greatly increase the yields from this type. The use of fertilizer mixtures containing potash and phosphoric acid in the proportion of about two parts of the former to one of the latter is also recommended.

The largest single body of this type comprises the area known locally as "Round Prairie."

The Clyde loam is naturally fertile, but generally the best results are ob- tained through the use of barnyard manure and commercial fertilizers. The soil is generally lacking in phosphoric acid and potash, particularly the latter. Corn yields have been greatly increased by the application of potash fertil- izers. Lime is also beneficial.

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It is only within the past few years that satisfactory yields have been ob- tained from this type. Oats produce a rank growth and lodge badly. It is recommended that the oats be sown thicker on this than on the lighter colored soils.

CLYDE LOAM, PRAIRIE PHASE.

In the vicinity of Kempton and running as far east as Goldsmith a darker phase of this type occupies an area which is known locally as "Indian Prairie." This development is almost twenty miles long and two to three miles in width. The term "prairie" was applied to this area because of its original treeless condition. It supported a dense growth of aquatic vegeta- tion, consisting chiefly of sedges, grasses, cattails, flags, button bush and wil- lows. About forty to ninety per cent. of the soil was under water throughout the year. The better drained portions supported a growth of bluestem prairie grass and numerous species of typical prairie plants. The grass was cut for hay by the early settlers. Interspersed throughout the low-lying prairie lands were small, low morainic knolls and ridges which supported a growth of hazel and sumac. Many of these knolls are now covered with hickory, and shingle, white, and red oaks.

The surface soil of the prairie phase of the Clyde loam to a depth of eight to ten inches is a black or brownish-black silty clay loam or heavy silt loam which grades into a bluish-black clay or clay loam, sometimes mottled with yellow. This in turn is underlaid at twenty to twenty-four inches by a bluish or drab, tenacious silty clay which becomes light gray in color and more intensely mottled with depth. The mottling in the lower depths consists of deep brown iron stains or streaks. At thirty to thirty-six inches a lighter textured, deeply mottled silty to sandy clay is encountered, and this in some places is underlain by marly material. Probably at least a part of the prairie phase is underlain by gravel at various depths similar to that underlying por- tions of the Clyde silty clay loam.

The soil is deeper in the depressions, has a darker color, and is frequently loose and fluffy. The fluffy soil, which occupies buttonwood ponds, produces a good growth of corn and other crops, but the plants tend to "burn out" or turn yellow without reaching full maturity. This is possibly due to the excess of certain organic acids in these muck-like areas, which can be corrected by heavy applications of barnyard manure or by liming, or to a deficiency of potash. The use of commercial fertilizers containing a high percentage of potash has greatly increased the yields from this land. Where the barnyard manure is needed for the clay knolls it is advisable to use commercial ferti-

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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.

lizers, maintaining a proper balance in the available nitrogen by crop rotation. This land is especially well adapted to corn, producing an average for the past ten years of about fifty bushels per acre. Average yields of fifty bushels of oats, twelve to twenty bushels of wheat, and twenty-five to thirty bushels of rye per acre are obtained. Oats lodge badly, especially in wet seasons. Clover and timothy do well upon the prairie phase and an average of two tons or more to the acre is produced. Alsike clover does especially well. Potatoes yield from two hundred to three hundred bushels per acre.

GENESEE SILTY CLAY LOAM.

The surface soil of the Genesee silty clay loam is a medium-brown heavy silt loam grading at a depth of five or six inches into a silty clay loam which extends to twelve or fifteen inches, when the subsoil is usually encountered. The subsoil is a gray or steel-blue, stiff, plastic clay mottled with shades of brown or iron stains, the color becoming lighter with depth.

This is generally subject to overflow, but where it occurs above ordinary high water the soil is a light-brown, loose silty loam to eighteen to twenty inches, below which it is a dark-brown to drab, mottled silty to sandy clay.

The type resembles to some extent the Clyde silty clay loam, except that it is lighter in color and occurs in the better defined valleys of the streams along which it is found.

The largest single body of the type occurs in section 29. township 21, range 4, where Wallace and Prairie creeks unite to form Cicero creek, extend- ing along the latter for a distance of two miles or more. The soil is also found as first bottom land in a narrow strip along Mud creek, which traverses the northern part of the county.

The Genesee silty clay loam, like the Genesee loam, belongs to the young- est group of soils in the county, representing alluvial material recently de- posited by the streams along which it occurs. The soil is generally lighter in texture near the stream, where the currents during periods of overflow are swifter and can carry the heavier materials in suspension. The heavier mate- rials are deposited in the outlying bends of the creek where the movement of the water is more sluggish.

Originally this type comprised poorly drained bottom lands along streams of very shallow, crooked channels, through which the water flowed sluggishly. In recent years the channels have been straightened and deepened by dredging, and the land along their courses has thus been reclaimed: for cultivation through an improvement of the drainage.

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Some of the largest yields of corn in the county have been obtained from this type, the average being from fifty to sixty bushels per acre, while a yield of eighty bushels is not unusual. Heavy yields of oats and hay are also ob- tained, but corn is the leading crop. Being subject to overflow, this type does not require as much fertilizer to produce maximum yields as is needed on the upland soils, since fertile deposits of alluvium are being laid down over the bottoms from time to time.

If cultivated under normal moisture conditions, this soil turns up a loose, mellow loam, but if plowed when too wet it has a tendency to form heavy clods which cannot be readily reduced to subsequent cultivation. Too often this physical characteristic of the soil is overlooked by the farmers in their haste to plant crops, especially when the season is late, and by such practice the crops are affected for even more than one season.

The native vegetation consisted of swamp oak, white oak, burr oak, pin oak, silver maple, white elm, cottonwood, black ash, prickly ash, spice bush, etc.

GENESEE LOAM.

The surface soil of the Genesee loam to a depth of about six to eight inches is a medium dark brown silty loam to loam. This grades into a lighter colored brown loam as the depth increases. At ten to twelve inches the texture is slightly heavier, and the material becomes a silty to fine sandy clay or clay loam. Varying amounts of sand and gravel are encountered through- out the soil and subsoil. The surface material varies to a fine sandy loam in places, but these spots could not be mapped on account of their small size. Occasionally at depths of twenty-four to thirty inches a fairly loose, sandy and gravelly material is encountered.

The Genesee loam, being of alluvial origin, is subject to local variations over small areas, due to the uneven deposition of alluvial material at different intervals of overflow, the greatest uniformity being found in the broader bodies.

This type occurs as first bottom land along Cicero creek, from the Hamil- ton county line to the junction of Cicero and Nixon creeks. A narrow strip also extends along Nixon creek for about two miles. Where this type occurs near the Hamilton county line the soil is more nearly a fine sandy loam, but in the vicinity of Tipton it is much heavier in texture.

Only a limited acreage of the Genesee loam is under cultivation, since it is subject to intermittent overflow. It is used almost exclusively for pas- ture. There is generally some growth of silver maple, white elm, sycamore,

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buckeye and red oak. The type is cultivated only over the better drained areas which in places have the character of terraces. Corn and oats are the chief crops.

Where market facilities are adequate the lighter, sandy soil of the type might be used to advantage for trucking purposes since it is especially adapted to watermelons, muskmelons or cantaloupes, cucumbers, and potatoes, par- ticularly sweet potatoes.

WABASH SILTY CLAY LOAM.

The soil of the Wabash silty clay loam to an average depth of about eight inches is a black heavy loam to silty clay loam containing a high per- centage of organic matter, the amount of which is sufficient in places to im- part a mucky character to the soil. The subsoil consists of a bluish-black silty clay grading at about twelve to fifteen inches into a stiff, impervious drab- colored clay. The water table is frequently encountered at a depth of thirty to thirty-six inches. The lower subsoil has a light-gray color, deeply mottled with brown and yellow.

The area in which the Wabash silty clay loam occurs is a slightly de- pressed or outlying basin adjoining the bottom lands along Prairie creek. The supposition is that it is a part of that valley, representing an abandoned channel way of Prairie creek. It is said that in times of high water a part of the overflow from Prairie creek breaks across into this basin and finds its outlet through Devil's Den run. The latter stream has in recent years been straightened and deepened as a drainage outlet for the basin. The area was formerly a dense swamp which was inundated during a greater part of the year. Only in recent years has it been drained and made suitable for agri- culture.

When first cleared and put under cultivation the soil was highly charged with organic matter and in places was chaffy, so that the corn showed a tend- ency to "burn" without properly maturing the grain. This condition has been gradually remedied by the use of large quantities of stable manure and subse- quent cultivation. The use of potash as a fertilizer has also increased the efficiency of this soil.

The type occurs as a single body, and includes a greater part of the northeast quarter section 31, and the southwest quarter section 29, township 21, range 5. It extends to the southeastern and northwestern corners of sec- tions 30 and 32 respectively.

Corn is the leading crop and has been grown continuously. Owing to

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the natural fertility of the soil yields of about sixty to eighty bushels per acre have been obtained, but unless crop rotation is practiced these yields will de- cline and the growing of corn become unprofitable.

. MUCK.

The type of land classified as muck consists of black or dark-brown organic matter in a state of partial decomposition, mixed with varying quan- tities of soil material or mineral matter. These areas are generally referred to locally as "made land." The depth is quite variable, ranging from a few inches in the margin to three feet or more in the center of the body. The color changes little with depth but the organic matter is more noticeable in the lower portion. At an average depth of about twenty-four inches the mucky layer is underlain by bluish-black, plastic clay or silty clay which grades be- low into a light colored or grayish, mottled clay. In places the lower portion of the three-foot section consists of peat. Occasionally an impure shell marl is found imbedded with the underlying material. Considerable mineral matter in the form of fine sand and silt have become incorporated with the muck along the margin of the larger areas.

There is only a small total area of this type, the largest body being in the northeastern part of the county, north of Groomsville, in an old channel now drained by Swamp creek and Turkey creek. Two small bodies occur in the morainic areas of the extreme northwestern section of the county. A few isolated patches are found in depressions in various parts of the area.

Small areas of peat consisting of pure deposits of less thoroughly de- composed decaying vegetable matter, were included with the muck. These are so intimately associated with the muck as to preclude their being mapped separately. The peat deposits were formed along with the muck in shallow basins and ponds from the decayed remains of water-loving plants and ac- cumulations of other forms of vegetation, particularly mosses. The peat com- monly occurs near the center of the body of muck where the deposition of vegetable matter has been more recent and has not undergone as thorough decomposition, though it sometimes occurs in spots throughout the entire body.

Since the muck occupies low-lying, depressed areas which lack natural outlets, drainage must be supplied before the material can be successfully utilized for crop production. Muck land was first brought under cultivation about twenty years ago and most of the type in the county is now reclaimed. This has been accomplished by the construction of large open ditches into

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History of Tipton County Indiana, Part 3

Author: M. W. Pershing Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Number of Pages: 701

Author: M. W. Pershing
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 701