History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 4

Author: Edwards, Lewis C
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1742

USA > Nebraska > Richardson County > History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions > Part 4

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The Knox soils are prevailingly light brown and the subsoil is light yellow or light grayish yellow. These soils occur mainly in the central prairie states. They are derived from loessial deposits. The loessial cover- ing where the Knox series is found is always thick enough to form a subsoil as well as a surface soil, the deeper lying glacial till being far enough from the surface to have no marked influence on the general character of the soil. The topography is gently undulating to rolling, and the surface drain- age is generally good. The silt loam is the only member of the Knox series encountered in Richardson county.

The Carrington soils are derived through weathering of glacial till, with little or no modification from loessial deposits. The series is developed in the central and western prairie region and consists mainly of prairie soils. The soil generally is black, ranging in some cases to dark brown. The subsoil is lighter colored, generally light brown or yellowish. The topog- raphy is gently undulating to rolling, though some areas are nearly flat. In Richardson county only the Carrington silt loam is recognized.

The soils of the Shelby series are dark brown to brown; the subsoil is a yellow, reddish-yellow or light-brown, tenacious, sandy clay. These soils are derived from the Kansan drift. Only the Shelby loam is mapped in . Richardson county.

The surface soils of the Waukesha series are dark brown to black, and the subsoil is yellow. These soils occur in areas of deep glacial drift.

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

They are derived from water-assorted glacial debris deposited on broad filled-in valleys or as outwash plains and terraces. The topography is mainly flat to undulating. Drainage is good.

The Wabash soils are prevailingly black, ranging to dark brown, and contain a high percentage of organic matter. The subsoil is brown or brown- ish gray. These soils occur in the first bottoms of streams in the central prairie states. They extend for long distances along the Mississippi river. The material is derived principally from the loessial and associated soils of the region. The Wabash areas are flat and poorly drained.

The surface soils of the Cass series are dark brown to black. The subsoil is lighter in color and in texture. These soils are alluvial, and are most extensively developed in the bottoms along the Mississippi and Mis- souri rivers and their tributaries. They occur in association with the Sarpy soils, occupying, however, areas which are somewhat less well drained, being subject to overflow. Between the high stages of the streams the drainage is good.

The soils of the Sarpy series range from light gray to dark brownish gray or nearly black. They differ from the Wabash soils in having loose, silty or fine sandy subsoils, distinctly lighter in texture than the surface soils. The material is alluvial in origin. Owing to their low position these soils are subject to overflow, although the nature of the soil and subsoil is such that drainage is thorough to excessive between flood stages of the streams. In general the topography is flat.

The following table gives the name and actual and relative extent of each soil type mapped in Richardson county :

Arcas of different soils.

Soil.

Arres.

Per Ct.

Soil.

Acres.

Per Ct.

Shelby loam

8,576

2.5

Carrington silt Joan

162,624

46,5

Wabash clay

3.136

Wabash silt Joam

62,288

19.6

Riverwash

1.664

0.5

Marshall silt loam

57.472

16,5

Waukesha silt loam

1,152

Rough stony land

17,408

5.0

Sarpy very fine sandy loam

960

Wabash silty clay Joam

13.568

3.9

Cass clay

320

Knox silt loam

12,864

3.7

Grundy silt loan

320

Total

348,800

Sarpy silt loam

256

MARSHALL SILT LOAM.

The Marshall silt loam is a dark-brown, moderately heavy silt loam, eight to fifteen inches deep, having a decidedly smooth feel. It grades through

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

a thin brown layer of silt loam, about four inches thick, into yellowish- brown material, the color changing with increasing depth to yellow. As a rule the color of the subsoil is uniform, though occasionally the lower part is slightly mottled with light gray and streaked with rusty iron stains. The subsoil is open and friable and becomes more so with depth; as a rule the fourth foot is highly calcareous, the lime occurring chiefly in the form of concretions. As the color indicates, the soil is high in organic matter.

The depth of the soil is variable, and depends upon the topographic position. In the flatter areas and on the gently arched divides it is fifteen to eighteen inches deep, while on the shoulders of hills and along gullies the depth is only six to eight inches, and often the yellowish-brown subsoil is exposed. On the lower parts of slopes the soil is darker in color and deeper, owing to the deposition of colluvial material, and at the foot it is commonly twenty-four inches or more in depth. Included with this type are small, narrow strips of colluvial material, occurring along intermittent streams. Where the Marshall silt loam gives way to the Knox silt loam, small spots of the latter type are included. In general, the color of the Marshall silt loam is lighter where the type adjoins areas of the Knox silt loam.

The Marshall silt loam differs from the Knox silt loam in having a higher content of organic matter. It is very difficult to draw a definite boundary line between the two soils, because of their patchy occurrence where they unite. In texture and structure the two soils are similar. Both have the vertical structure and extremely smooth feel characteristic of loess soils.

The Marshall silt loam occurs as a belt about six miles in width in the eastern part of the county, running parallel with the Missouri river bluff. On the east it gives way to the Knox silt loam, and on the west to the Car- rington silt loam.

In general the topography is rolling. Where the type adjoins the Knox silt loam, it is steeply rolling, and where it adjoins the Carrington silt loam it occupies rather gently sloping divides. In the vicinity of Zion church and in the area south of Preston the soil has a gently undulating surface. The drainage is good and the physical condition of the soil is such that it withstands protracted droughts. Where the slopes are steep there is con- siderable wash, though less than would be expected on such slopes on ac- count of the favorable texture and structure of the soil. The type lies at an elevation of eight hundred and eighty to one thousand one hundred and sixty feet above sea level.

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

The Marshall silt loam originally supported a thick growth of the prairie grasses common to this region, but very little of the native sod remains. Approximately ninety-five per cent. of the type is under cultivation. It is considered by farmers the best upland corn soil of eastern Nebraska. About one-half the farm land is devoted to the production of this crop, and the remainder is largely in wheat and oats, with some clover and timothy and alfalfa. In average seasons corn yields thirty to forty bushels per acre, and occasionally as much as sixty bushels. Oats ranks second in acre- age, and ordinarily yield thirty to thirty-five bushels an acre. The acreage in wheat is being gradually extended, as the crop has proved very profitable. Yields of twenty to thirty bushels an acre, and sometimes as much as forty bushels per acre, are obtained. Clover and timothy and alfalfa are the principal hay crops, though some millet and sorghum are grown.

In wet seasons clover does well, but in dry seasons it is difficult to get a stand. In view of this fact, alfalfa is coming more in favor, even though it does not fit nearly so well in the crop rotation. In favorable seasons clover yields one and one-half to two tons per acre, while alfalfa yields three to five tons. Small patches of barley and rye also are produced. About one-half the corn crop and all the wheat are sold. The remainder of the corn is largely fed to hogs. The oats and hay produced are chiefly fed to the work stock. The present tendency on the Marshall silt loam is to grow less corn, more wheat, and more leguminous crops, and to keep more live stock. In the vicinity of Shubert there are a number of commercial apple orchards. The apple does especially well on this type.

At present no definite rotations are followed on this type. The gen- eral practice is to keep the land in corn from two to three years, oats one year, and wheat one year, returning the field to corn. Occasionally the wheat field is sowed either to clover and timothy or to alfalfa. Tenant farmers pay less attention to the rotation of crops, and often use the same field for corn or wheat four or five years in succession.

This soil is friable, silty, free from stones, and very easy to handle. It can be cultivated under a wide range of moisture conditions, without clodding or baking badly on drying. Though the natural productiveness of the type is high, it responds readily to good methods of cultivation, ferti- lization, and the growing of leguminous crops. Only small quantities of barnyard manure are applied, and no commercial fertilizer is used.

The value of the Marshall silt loam ranges from one hundred to two hundred dollars an acre, depending on location, improvements, and the con- dition of the land.

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

The Marshall silt loam is a very productive soil and it is only in cases where the same fields have been devoted to the same crops for a series of years that the soil has materially deteriorated in productiveness. Deeper plowing is needed on most farms, and though the type is high in organic matter, it is advisable to rotate the cereal crops with leguminous crops every four or five years in order to keep up the organic-matter content. On steep slopes where erosion is a serious factor the type should be kept in cover crops as much as possible. The Marshall silt loam is well suited to the produc- tion of apples on a commercial scale, and within reasonable distances from railroad points this industry might be profitably extended.

GRUNDY SILT LOAM.

The surface soil of the Grundy silt loam is a dark-brown, heavy silt loam, about fifteen inches in depth. It passes rather abruptly into a very compact, plastic silty clay of darb color, mottled with yellowish brown. When dry the upper part of the subsoil is tough and decidedly granular. Below twenty-four to thirty inches the color as well as the texture becomes lighter and the structure is more friable. As a rule the mottlings are not so con- spicuous in the lower part of the subsoil. The soil is high in organic matter, and as a rule lime concretions are encountered in the lower part of the subsoil. The upper subsoil layer is locally called "hardpan."

This soil is very similar to the extensive areas of Grundy silt loam mapped in Gage county, Nebraska. It appears heavier than that mapped in Seward and Polk counties, but not quite so heavy as that in Gage county.

The type is very inextensive; it occurs as two small areas in the north- western part of the county, which extend into Nemaha county. It occupies a high, slightly undulating divide which undoubtedly represents the original constructional surface of the loess plains. The type is well drained in normal seasons. In wet seasons the drainage is somewhat deficient on ac- count of the hardpan layer and in very dry years the soil is rather droughty for the same reason.

The agriculture on the Grundy silt loam is the same as that on the sur- rounding Carrington silt loam. The land is valued at one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars an acre.

KNOX SILT LOAM.

The surface soil of the Knox silt loam is a yellowish-brown, light- brown or buff-colored, friable, smooth silt loam, from six to eight inches

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

deep. It is underlain by a brownish-yellow or yellow, open, loose, friable silt loam. Light-gray mottlings and yellowish-brown or reddish iron stains are frequent in the lower subsoil, and often occur throughout the substratum. Lime concretions are very common in the subsoil. The soil varies consider- ably with difference in topographic position. On the sharp divides and upper steep slopes a light yellowish gray variation with numerous lime con- cretions occurs. Where erosion has been very severe, the surface has a whitish appearance. On the tops of divides or on the lower slopes of hills and in forested areas the soil is brown, and in places approaches a dark- brown color. In the timbered areas the color is due largely to leaf mold, which would soon disappear with cultivation. The soil has a vertical and open structure, a characteristic of the Missouri river bluff loess. The typical soil contains very little black organic matter.

The Knox silt loam is rather inextensive in this county, having a total area of 20.1 square miles. It is confined to the Missouri river bluffs. It is best developed in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the county.

This soil has an extremely dissected topography and is thoroughly drained. The valleys are V-shaped, with very steep slopes, and are two to three hundred feet deep, but steplike slopes are very conspicuous features in some places. The hills are usually rounded, a characteristic of loess soils. Along the Missouri river slopes are extremely steep to precipitous. The type is sub- ject to severe erosion, though since the subsoil is of practically the same character as the surface soil, the washing away of the surface material does not greatly change the character of the type nor render it useless for agri- culture.

Practically all this type originally was forested. The chief growth on the upper slopes and crests of the hills was hazel brush, sumac, and scrubby bur oak, and in the draws elm, oak, hickory, bitter hickory, basswood, box elder, ash, and some black walnut, with an undergrowth of hazel brush, prickly ash, and dogwood. At least fifty per cent. and probably more of the type is still forested, though it is slowly being cleared.

Owing to the steep slopes the growing of small grains is impracticable. Some oats and wheat, however, are grown where the topography is niore favorable. Oats constitute the most important grain crop, and are used largely for feeding work stock. Oats yield an average of twenty-five bushels per acre, and wheat sixteen to eighteen bushels. At present corn is the prin- cipal cereal and is mainly a cash crop. On the lower slopes. and where there is sufficient organic matter, it does well and yields from twenty to

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

forty bushels per acre. On the high crests and steep slopes the growing corn has a yellowish appearance and makes a stunted growth unless heavily manured. Alfalfa is grown very extensively and promises to become the leading cash crop. It does well, owing to the thorough drainage and favor- able distribution of lime. On some farms it is produced extensively, and is baled and shipped to St. Joseph or Kansas City. Ordinarily alfalfa yields three to four tons per acre per season. Clover and timothy do well, but it is difficult to get a sand in dry years. Sweet clover grows luxuriantly on this type, and is found along roads and in uncultivated fields, but the crop is not utilized. Apples and small fruits are grown to a small extent. The type is too far from railroad points for the successful production of fruit on a commercial scale.

Owing to its dissected surface the type is hard to manage, notwith- standing its loose structure and favorable texture. As very little live stock is kept on this soil, very little barnyard manure is applied. Commercial fertil- izers are not used.

This type is valued at twenty to seventy-five dollars an acre, depending largely on the proportion of land suitable for cultivation.

For the improvement of the Knox silt loam it is necessary to handle in with considerable care in order to prevent erosion and gullying. The type should be kept in pasture as much as possible, the cultivated areas should be plowed deeper, and more organic matter should be incorporated with the soil. Where sufficient barnyard manure is applied, crops do as well as on the Marshall silt loam. As the timber is very stunted, the forested areas should be cleared and used for pasture or seeded to alfalfa. Grass crops do well, and dairying and stock raising should prove profitable on this type. With proper attention the commercial production of apples should meet with success, where transportation and market conditions are favorable.

CARRINGTON SILT LOAM.

The soil of the Carrington silt loam consists of a dark-brown, heavy silt loam, eight to fifteen inches deep. In the flatter areas the soil is darker and approaches a black color. The soil carries a higher percentage of clay than the Marshall silt loam, and as a result breaks down upon drying into angular granules instead of a fine powder like the Marshall silt loam. The subsoil is a yellowish-brown or light-brown, very compact silty clay, with a decided grayish cast. Below twenty-four to thirty inches the subsoil is lighter in color, and the gray appears as light-gray mottlings. In the

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASK.L.

lower part of the subsoil bright yellowish brown iron stains are cominon. In places there is a layer of material between the soil and subsoil, from two to four inches in thickness and consisting of a brown, heavy silt loam, heavier than the surface soil. There is a pronounced difference between the soil and subsoil in texture, but the change is not abrupt, except in the flatter areas. The subsoil is moderately plastic when wet, though when dry it is very hard and compact and difficult to break down between the fingers. At thirty to forty inches the subsoil is likely to be looser in structure and lighter in texture. The soil is high in organic matter.

There are a number of patches of heavy soil in the Carrington silt loam, known locally as "gumbo spots." In these places the soil is a dark- brown, heavy silty clay loam, eight to twelve inches deep, with a grayish cast at the surface. The soil has numerous cracks and is extremely difficult to handle. The subsoil is a drab, plastic silty clay, mottled with yellowish brown. The drab becomes lighter, changing to light gray, and the mottling decreases with depth. Lime and iron concretions are numerous in the lower subsoil. Crops do not mature in these spots.

In the gently undulating region in Franklin precinct there is a varia- tion of this type marked by a "hardpan" layer. This is similar to the flat phase of this type mapped in Gage county, Nebraska. It consists of a dark- brown, heavy silt loam, twelve to fifteen inches deep, underlain abruptly by a rather tough, black clay. The material is extremely difficult to penetrate with a soil auger and is decidedly plastic. At twenty to twenty-four inches the subsoil changes to a drab silty clay, mottled with yellowish brown. The lower part of the subsoil is not so compact and heavy as the upper layer.

On shoulders of hills and moderately steep slopes the soil is not so deep and is usually lighter in color than typical. In places the subsoil is exposed, but downward along the slopes the soil becomes deeper and darker in color, and at the foot of the slopes it is a dark-brown to black, heavy silt loam from twenty to forty inches deep. The type also includes narrow strips of colluvial material along the intermittent streams. The variations of this type are not sufficiently extensive to be shown on the soil map.

The Carrington silt loam differs from the Marshall silt loam in origin, texture, and structure. The Carrington is a glacial soil, while the Marshall is a loessial soil, free from stones. The Carrington soil, and particularly the subsoil, is heavier than the Marshall silt loam. These soils also differ in that the Carrington silt loam does not stand up so well in vertical banks as the Marshall silt loam. Even with these differences, the types grade

(4)

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

into each other so that the boundaries are difficult to establish and are more or less arbitrary.

The Carrington silt loam is the most extensive type in the county, and covers about two-thirds of the western upland region. It is more or less broken with areas of Rough stony land and Shelby loam.

This type is gently rolling to rolling and is thoroughly drained. West and northwest of Humboldt, where it is associated with the Shelby loam, it occupies the gentler slopes and the divides. It has a similar topography in the southwestern part of the county, where most of the steeper slopes are occupied by Rough stony land. The gently undulating areas are con- fined to the divide between the Nemaha river and Muddy creek, which extends from Falls City northwestward into Nemaha county. Other areas with a gently undulating surface occur south of Falls City. It is only on the steeper slopes that there has been any serious erosion. With proper tillage and crop rotation this soil, owing to its rather high organic-matter content, is very retentive of moisture.

The type originally was prairie. About ninety-five per cent. of it is now in cultivation, the remainder being in permanent pastures and farm lots. Corn is the most important cash crop, though a large part of the corn produced is fed to hogs. About one-third of this soil is in this crop, and the yields average about thirty bushels per acre, though much higher yields are obtained with careful cultivation. Oats rank second in acreage to corn and yield from thirty to forty bushels an acre. The oats are largely fed to work stock. Wheat is strictly a cash crop, and is receiving increased attention. Ordinarily, yields of twenty to twenty-five bushels per acre are obtained. Clover and timothy are grown more extensively than alfalfa, though alfalfa is becoming more popular. Clover and timothy do well in wet years, though in dry years considerable difficulty is experienced in getting a stand. In favorable years yields of one and one-half to two tons per acre are obtained. Some timothy and clover are grown alone for seed with very profitable returns. Alfalfa does well, and three to four cuttings per season are made, with a total yield of three to five tons per acre. The tendency on this type is to produce less corn and more wheat and alfalfa and to keep more dairy cows and other live stock.

A few potatoes are grown, but scarcely enough to supply the home demand. Some sorghum is produced for sirup. There are only a few com- mercial orchards on this type : they give profitable returns, though the trees do not do so well as on the Marshall silt loam.

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

The general practice on this type is to keep the land two or three years in corn, one year in oats, one or two years in wheat, and in every second or third rotation to grow clover and timothy. The land is usually kept two or three years in clover and timothy and seven to ten years or longer in alfalfa.

The four-hitch team is used almost entirely in the preparation of the seed bed on this type; gang plows generally are used for turning the soil. Owing to its stone-free nature, favorable topography, silty texture, and granular structure, this type is very easy to handle. When plowed too wet it bakes and clods. Only small quantities of barnyard manure are applied, and no commercial fertilizers are used.

The price of farm land on the Carrington silt loam varies from one hun- dred to one hundred and seventy-five dollars an acre. In the vicinity of the towns this land is held for two hundred dollars an acre.

On most farms deeper and more thorough tillage of this soil would prove beneficial. Leguminous crops should be grown in order to keep up the organic-matter content of the soil.

SHELBY LOAM.

The surface soil of the Shelby loam is a dark-brown to brown loam, with an average depth of about eight inches. The subsoil is a yellowish- brown sandy clay loam, which becomes lighter in texture with depth. Below about thirty inches the material is almost yellow. In the northwestern part of the county and other localities where the Aftonian material is near the surface, the subsoil is considerably lighter in texture and the surface soil is often a sandy loam. This variation, however, is too patchy to be shown on the soil map. In places the subsoil has a reddish tint, which is due to the color of the original material and not to oxidation. The content of organic matter is moderately high. The subsoil contains considerable gravel and rock debris. Gravel is usually scattered over the surface, and a few bowlders are present, though in the most fields these are not sufficiently numerous to prevent cultivation.

The Shelby loam occurs as small areas scattered throughout the Car- rington silt loam type. It is best developed west and northwest of Hum- boldt in the Long Branch drainage basin. The type usually occurs along the steep slopes between the Carrington silt loam on the higher land and the Wabash silt loam in the bottom land. The drainage is thorough, and is excessive in local spots where the Aftonian sands lie near the surface.

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History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 4

Author: Edwards, Lewis C Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1742

Author: Edwards, Lewis C
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1742