USA > Missouri > Greene County > Past and present of Greene County Missouri, early and recent history and genealogical records of many of the representative citizens, Volume I > Part 10
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In 1884 Mr. James H. Smith built a kiln at the junction of the St. Louis and San Francisco and the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis railroads, in Springfield and sold a one-half interest to J. G. Schermerhorn. Another kiln was soon added when Mr. J. S. Atkinson purchased an interest and the Springfield White Lime Association was organized. One kiln was' added in 1885 and another in 1886. In 1894, this company sold out to the Marble- head Company, of Chicago, which continues the operation of the plant with a number of new kilns.
The Burns kiln, discontinued many years ago, was situated east of the present site of the Marblehead kilns. It was started in 1875 and was oper- ated until 1890. Up to 1884, one kiln supplied all the demand for lime in Springfield and vicinity.
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SOILS.
Much less study is given to the soils of our country than the inipor- tance of the subject demands. Great emphasis is always laid upon the min- eral resources of a region, but it is not too much to say that the wealth, prosperity and civilization of a country very largely depend upon the nature and variety of the superficial portion of the earth's crust that is made to serve the uses of man. Such oversight is but another example of the neglect experienced by the common things of life.
Most of the questions that arise in regard to agriculture are geological in their nature. The origin and distribution of soils; their character and how originated: how they may be improved and renewed; the source and supply of mineral fertilizers to replace the loss by removal of crops-all these topics are true geological problems. Soils have been defined as "Those superficial portions of the unconsolidated materials of the earth's crust, usually of little depth, with the subsoils extending to variable depths beneath them and composed chiefly of exceedingly variable mixtures of sand and clay, with considerable proportions of vegetable mold and iron oxide, with usually smaller but very important amounts of lime, magnesia, the alkalies, potash, soda and phosphoric acid." The surface soil differs from the sub- soil mainly in containing products of the decomposition of vegetable and animal matter, and is made up of the more finely comminuted portions of the subsoil. The scene of most agricultural operations is the thin upper portion of the earth's crust in which seeds are planted and to which fertilizers are added when nature does not supply a sufficient amount of the desired elements.
All soils have been derived from the mechanical and chemical disinte- gration of rocks. A mass of rock exposed to the air in an even tempera- ture and free from moisture, will remain intact for ages. A similar mass, exposed to changes of temperature, will crumble and break down. Rocks are very sensitive to thermal changes, not only those of the seasons, but the slighter changes between day and night. It is estimated that the former affects the rock-mass to a depth of sixty feet or more and the latter from three to ten feet. This is because of the expansion and contraction of the particles of which the rock is composed, the coarser rocks breaking up more rapidly than those of finer texture. The loosening of the grains caused by this constant change in temperature, together with abundant rains, brings in moisture as another agent, which, penetrating the mass and freezing, is a powerful factor in the disassociating of the mass. Water is an exception to the general rule that bodies expand with heat and contract with cold. Freezing is an irresistible force that rends, shatters, breaks and crumbles,
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and rapidly forms an unconsolidated mass, which is one step toward the- preparation of the soil. Of the various agents in the formation of soils, water is the most aggressive. Not only is it powerful mechanically, but it is an important chemical factor. The granular disassociated rock alone is not capable of forming food for plants; it must be dissolved before it can be assimilated by them. Water is the most important element for the solu- tion of these granules. Many rock constituents are considered by the chem- ist as insoluble, but to the geologist all rock-forming minerals have been. proved to be soluble, since the constant action, through ages of time, and by infinitesimal degrees, gives, in the aggregate, a very considerable result. The dissolving power of water is largely due to such contained impurities as carbon dioxide and free oxygen. The effect of this solution is strikingly illustrated by the great caverns and underground waterways that are so abundant in this region. These show the remarkable solvent power of water acting through long periods of time. Water acts not only chemically, but mechanically as well, and that in two distinct ways; first, in penetrating the- loosened rock, softening it and destroying the cohesion between the grains, thus rendering it more susceptible to disintegration, and second, in the direct wear caused by the erosion and abrading of running streams. There is more or less constant circulation of water between the earth and the atmosphere, perpetual in its action. Sea beaches, mountain sides and river valleys fur- nish good examples of the power of running water to affect the surface of the earth. By it material is gathered, carried, mixed and deposited along river valleys, forming the rich bottom lands of our water courses.
Air is another agent in the formation of soils. Its action is largely due to the carbon dioxide and oxygen which produce chemical changes. Mechanically, also, air is occasionally a powerful agent in disintegrating the- rocks and in changing the soil in certain regions. In deserts, prevailing winds blow the sands against rock surfaces, thereby becoming powerful abrading agents.
Organic life is another prominent promoter of rock disintegration. Animals exert their influence solely through chemical means, while plants. act both chemically and physically.
SOIL CLASSIFICATION.
Various attempts have been made to classify soils, but only two of them are satisfactory, viz; that based upon their origin and that based upon their physical characters. The first are the indigenous soils, or those of disinte- gration, directly derived by processes already described from the rocks under- neath, or in close proximity, these being necessarily of shallow depth: the second are soils of transportation, that is soils that have been carried from
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their source by various agents and deposited in a location some distance from their origin. The soils of transportation are divided into two classes, the glacial or drift, and the alluvial. The former are not found in Greene county, as this region is situated too far south for then, but the alluvial soils, formed and transported by the erosive agency of water and more or less stratified, are our most fertile soils because of the varied nature of their ingredients and the fineness of their texture. They are mnost strikingly exemplified in river bottoms and deltas, and they are in a constant process of formation.
In attempting to classify soils according to their physical characteristics, we find a wide range of differences. Gravel soil is made up of small, more or less water-worn fragments of rock, mixed with varying quantities (gen- erally about thirty per cent.) of fine earth, and it may be utilized under favorable conditions, for vineyards, grazing and forest areas. A sandy soil usually contains eighty per cent. or more of quartz sand, and is usually de- rived from the wearing away of sandstones. A clay soil contains not less than sixty per cent. of clay, mixed with sand. It may be derived from the breaking down of a great many different rocks, and when containing from sixty per cent. to eiglity per cent. of clay they are, as a rule, valuable, pro- ductive soils. Clay is impermeable to ivater and unless lying on a porous subsoil is liable to be wet and cold. A soil containing from eighty per cent. to ninety per cent. of clay may, under favorable conditions, be utilized for the cultivation of wheat and clover. Loam soils are those which have a more or less uniform mixture of clay, sand and lime, and there are various kinds of this soil; a heavy loam, containing from ten per cent. to twenty- five per cent. of sand; a clay loam, with twenty-five per cent. to forty per cent. of sand; a loam with forty per cent. to sixty per cent. of sand; sandy loam with sixty per cent. to seventy per cent. of sand; and a light sandy loam with seventy-five per cent. to ninety per cent. of sand. Marl is a term ap- plied to all calcareous clays. The lime in marl must not fall below fifteen per cent, nor the clay rise above seventy-five per cent. Calcareous soils con- tain lime as a prominent ingredient, which varies from fifty per cent. to seventy-five per cent. Lastly, humus soils, sometimes called peat or muck soils are largely of vegetable origin.
One may get a general knowledge of the soils of the area under dis- cussion by consulting, a geological* map of Greene county, when it will be seen that the entire county is covered with indigeneous soils which vary in character with the different geological formations from which they are de- rived. The river valleys and stream bottoms contain alluvial soil. The southwestern two-thirds of the county is covered with the lower carboni- ferous rocks and is largely made up of limestones with smaller deposits of
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sandstones and shales. The soils derived from the Upper Burlington lime- stone beds which cover most of this area, are among the most arable in the state. The purity of the limestone and its great porosity and thickness, together with the abundance of soft chert and carbonate of iron, give by decomposition, all the constituents of a strong and sufficiently porous, rich soil. Detritus from former beds of sandstone above also aids in contributing valuable residual material. From the decomposition of the beds of this limestone and chert is formed a highly ferruginous deposit of clay, called "geest," mixed with broken and decomposed chert, the latter generally giving the porosity to this clayey soil, especially where the fissuring of this forma- tion has taken place through underground drainage. Where this is not the case, the barren post-oak flats occur. One not familiar with the soil of the Upper Burlington formation is surprised at its productiveness, as the un- favorable appearance of the red clay so freely mixed with the broken chert, does not seem to indicate the great fertility of a soil that is not only rich, but lasting. Where the sandstones and shales of the lower carboniferous are mixed with the eroded materials from the superimposed formations, the resulting soil is very fertile.
Cambro-ordivician rocks cover the northeastern portion of Greene county. They consist of thick alternating beds of cherty sandstones and magnesian limestones. The soils derived from the cherty sandstones differ from those derived from the other sandstones in being far less productive, owing, no doubt, to the excess of chert and the lack of that cementing ma- terial which exists more abundantly in the carboniferous sandstones. The sandstones of this region are softer and the soils more porous, which are also detrimental features. The Silurian limestones are all highly magnesian, merging both above and below, into highly silicious cherty beds. These cherty beds form rugged and desolate regions with scant soils and sparse vegetation. The magnesian limestones, when decomposed, generally form an excellent and productive soil.
GOOD FARMING LAND.
The physical character of the soils in Greene county or those conditions which render them desirable for cultivation, is an important subject for con- sideration. The first point to be noted is that of texture. A soil must be sufficiently porous to permit the access of air, moisture and fertilizers, and to be easily penetrated by growing roots. On the other hand, it must be compact enough to prevent too rapid escape of water and fertilizers. An-
*See "Geological Survey of Greene County, Missouri," Missouri Geological Survey, Vol. XII, Map.
(7)
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other consideration is that of color, an important item, as this has much to do with the absorption and utilization of heat from the sun. The light- colored, compact soils are liable to be cold, while the darker-colored and permeable soils represent the opposite extremes. Humboldt records the tem- perature of a white and a black sand, situated side by side, as respectively 40 degrees and 54.2 degrees centigrade. Difference in color had been found to produce an average difference of over seven degrees in soil temperature. As warmth exerts a great influence over the growth of the plant from the seed up, it is evident that the color of the soil is a very important element in the raising of crops. These physical properties depend largely upon the varying proportions of quartz sand, iron oxide and the products of decaying organic matter termed humus. An excess of quartz sand gives rise to a porous soil that is easy of cultivation, but which dries out too quickly and tends. to sterility because of the leaching out of soluble material and fertilizers. On the other hand. an excess of clay gives rise to the opposite extreme, a heavy soil, hard to work. retentive of moisture and fertilizers, but cold and wet. An excess of humus gives a light soil, unfavorable for the mechanical support of plants, liable to be sour from excess of vegetable acids, and usually deficient in some mineral constituent of plant life. When properly drained, its dark color causes it to absorb heat too readily. Williams says, "That soil is best whose conditions, equally removed from too great com- pactness and too great permeability, fit it to absorb and to retain the due amount of moisture, while giving easy exit to any overplus, to permit the ready access of the air, and to absorb and utilize the warmth proper to its location. From a comparison of many analyses, such a soil would contain from sixty per cent. to eighty-five per cent .. of sand, from ten per cent. to thirty per cent. of clay and iron oxide, and from five per cent. to ten per cent. of humus. Where a soil, from an excess of any component, does not naturally possess a proper texture, it stands in need of amelioration."
Soils containing an excess of clay may be improved by thorough under- draining, by deep plowing in ridges and burning brush in the furrows, or by letting the furrows stand through the winter to be acted upon by frost, or by mixing in sand, quicklime or coal ashes, where practicable.
Too sandy soils may be improved by deep plowing, where there is a subsoil of clay, or by the addition of quicklime or marl. Sandy soils should rarely be tilled deeper than a few inches, and every effort should be made to retain and increase the original compactness.
Humus and mucky soils should be thoroughly drained and treated with quicklime, sand and manure.
In the above methods of amelioration, man is aided largely by a number of animals. Earthworms, ants, moles, prairie dogs and marmots all assist
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in such manipulations of the soil as are extremely beneficial to the agricul- turalist, and entirely along the line of his own efforts. Their burrowing habits result in bringing subsoil to the surface, thus renewing many elements that have been taken away by cropping. Earthworms, in particular, have brought about remarkable changes. Not only do they bring large quantities of subsoil to the surface, but they convert it into true soil by the addition of organic matter. Darwin has estimated that earthworms bring to the surface, annually, two-tenths of an inch per acre, equivalent to an average of ten and one-half tons per acre. Besides this, they increase the ammonia contents of the soil three-fold. By their burrowing, they render readily accessible air, water and fertilizers to a depth of from three to six feet. They also drag organic matter, in the shape of leaves, deep into the earth. By their alkaline secretion, they correct the acidity of the soil.
SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE.
One of the first steps toward scientific agriculture in Greene county should be to find out what plants are best suited to different soils, and this may be ascertained by the analysis of the soil and the analysis of the ash of the plant. As the constituents of the plant must be derived from the soil, it is important to know how to replace what is lost by cropping. As a rule, silica and iron are always present in sufficient amounts, and this is generally true of lime and magnesia, though it is a curious fact that some soils. as in Springfield and other parts of the county, though derived from a very pure limestone, are frequently deficient in lime, since that material has been washed away, and only the residual cementing material left.
The mineral constituents of soils needing most looking after are phos- phoric acid and the alkalies, potash and soda. In addition to these, an organic nitrogenous substance is positively essential. A high authority says: "A fertilizer may be considered complete when it contains lime, potash, lime- phosphate and a nitrogenous substance," and another gives an example of how lasting in the soil even a small per cent. of one element may be. He says: "An average soil will give about 2,000,000 pounds per acre for a depth of eight inches. If, then. it contains I per cent. of lime, this will make available, with ordinary cultivation, at least 20,000 pounds per acre. The tobacco is the greatest consumer of lime among the common crops, as it contains about nine and one-half pounds per hundred of dried leaves, or 190 pounds per ton. It would require, therefore, one hundred crops of a ton per acre-much more than the usual crop-to exhaust this element from a soil containing I per cent. of it.
The wheat grain requires over 28 per cent. potash ; apples require 35 per cent. and pears 54 per cent. Apples require 26 per cent. of sodium, while
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the pear requires only 8 per cent. Wheat requires 1.5 per cent. of lime, corn about the same ; apples, 4 per cent. ; pears 8 per cent. and grapes 34 per cent. Of magnesia, wheat requires 12 per cent. ; corn, 16 per cent .; apples, 8 per cent., and pears, 5 per cent. Of phosphoric acid, wheat requires 57 per cent. ; corn. 44 per cent. ; apples, 13 per cent., and pears and grapes cach 15 per cent.
The loss of these materials from the soil may be intelligently replaced by fertilizers, or by the rotation of crops. Nitrogen may be added to the soil by fertilizers containing nitrogenous substances, or by the planting of clover or some other leguminous plants which possess the remarkable power of storing up nitrates through the agency of bacteria.
ROAD MATERIAL.
Material for macadamizing roads is readily obtainable throughout Greene county. The limestone and chert from the Upper Burlington lime- stone has, heretofore, been mainly used for this purpose. A great mistake has been made in using this material, as it is so soft that it rapidly pulverizes, and forms an impalpable dust that is very disagreeable in dry weather, and the roads are also quickly cut through by heavy teaming. The use of the hard Lower Burlington limestone and chert is strongly recommended where macadamizing is to be done. The splendid natural ridge roads on the Lower Burlington in Christian and Stone counties testify to the superior qualities of the limestone and chert of this formation for road-making pur- poses.
River Gravels .- Probably the best local material in Green county for ma- cadamizing roads is the gravel so abundantly found in the beds of the larger streams, such as the James and Sac, and especially that part of the gravel which is derived from the breaking down of the chert of the Lower Bur- lington. This latter is more abundant near the headwaters of these streams, in the northern and eastern parts of the county; consequently, the gravels found in these localities are much more valuable than those obtained farther to the west. For example, the best gravel for road purposes is that obtained as far west as the Galloway bridge; beyond that point, and lower down the river, it is softer and less desirable.
Cementing Gravels .- A fine deposit of water-worn gravel, mixed with a certain proportion of cementing clay, is found just west of the switch at Rule station, on the Chadwick branch of the St. Louis & San Francisco railroad, township 28, range 21, section 20, southwest quarter. This is probably a tertiary deposit, and is situated at an altitude of about forty feet above the James river, and about a quarter of a mile away from that stream. The bed has been exposed for about a quarter of a mile along the right of
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way of the railroad, and the road running south from Rule indicates its extension for nearly half a mile to the southeast. Another fine deposit of this cementing gravel is found on the Rogersville road near the Winoka Lodge property. There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of these gravels, which experiment has proved to be the best and cheapest macadamizing material accessible to the city of Springfield.
COAL.
Greene county lies just beyond the limits of the great Western Interior coal field. The nearest deposits of coal which are being worked at the present time are situated in Dade county, not far from the Greene county limits. With such close proximity to workable deposits, it would be expected that outliers of the coal measures, and even workable pockets of coal should occur. This is, in fact, the case. Although in several localities coal is known to exist, it is only in one of these that it is pure enough to be of value. This is on the Kincaid farm, about one and one-half miles southeast of the town of Brookline, township 28, range 23 west, section 10, southwest quar- ter. This deposit is situated in a much-tilted ridge of sandstone. The seams of coal are greatly inclined, having a pitch, in places, of forty-five degrees north by west. But little drifting has been done. Although the coal of the middle and lower veins is quite pure, making an excellent grate coal, little investigation has been made regarding the extent of the beds.
In the year 1860 a vein of less than two feet of impure coal was dis- covered in two shafts, one-half mile southeast of the Kincaid place, on the Moore farm, township 28, range 23 west, section 15, northeast quarter of the northwest quarter. It is near the southern limit of the sandstone belt, and the carbonaceous shale is still seen on the old dumps. The tops of these shafts are about fifty feet below that of the Kincaid shaft. A well sunk about one-half mile east passed through one hundred and thirty-seven feet of Upper Burlington limestone, demonstrating the abrupt limits of the coal area in that direction.
At Campbell station, on the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis rail- road, is a coal pocket which covers several acres. It was discovered in digging a well, which is forty-nine feet deep. In this well, under'ten feet of slate and shale, very thin seams of coal are found, alternating with shale and gray bituminous limerock until the bottom is reached. The deposit is too impure to be utilized.
CLAYS.
One of the promising future industries of this region is the development of the fine bodies of clay and clay-shales of various grades found within
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the limits of Greene county. These clays, unlike the purer kaolins which are associated with the granitic rocks, are all secondary residual deposits from the denudation, decomposition and segregation of different formations, but they are mainly derived from the coal measures, having been, originally, the cementing material of the sandstones, and probably, to a degree, of the limestones.
Chemical composition is of great importance in the utilization of clay, which may be separated into its proximate constituents, such as kaolin (the hydrous silicate of alumina) or clay proper, water, sand, mica, lignite, pyrites, and salts of lime and potash. All but the kaolin is impurity, and may be absent or present in varying proportions.
The important physical characteristics of clay are plasticity, density and fusibility. The first is a fundamental quality, the power to absorb water, which renders it easily molded into any desirable shape. When dry it hard- ens, and becomes like stone when baked, and the plasticity can never be restored. Density is important in its relation to the various uses to which clay may be put, the denser varieties being more valuable for fire-brick and household utensils. The fusibility of clays depends entirely upon the relation of the various impurities which they contain.
The clay deposits of Greene county are mainly confined to three forma- tions, the Coal Measures, the Upper Burlington and the Hannibal. The clays of the Coal Measures are, by far, the purest and best of all. They are mainly confined to the townships on the western border of the county. The Kelso clay beds are probably the most promising of any yet discovered in the county. They are situated about four miles west of Willard. in township 30, range 23 west, section 20, northeast quarter of southeast quarter. Sev- eral prospect shafts have been sunk, and evidence of a large and valuable deposit found. One shaft. at a depth of thirty feet, passed through the fol- lowing strata :
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