The early settlers in the present territory of Saunders County produced only such crops as were required to supply the home needs. Wheat was the first money crop. It was not until 1869 that much corn was produced beyond what was needed for home use. The extension of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1870 through Saunders County gave a great impetus to agricultural development. From that time more attention was devoted to corn, and it soon became the leading money crop. From 1870 to 1880 some broom corn and flax were grown. The latter was soon discontinued, as it was less profitable than other crops. Broom

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corn never became a very important crop on account of the large amount of labor required in its production.

   By 1880 corn had become the most important crop in the county, wheat being a very close second. Immediately after that date spring wheat began to decline in importance and hay became the second crop in point of acreage. Some of the hay was fed at home, but most of it was sold. Oats were not grown very extensively, being chiefly fed on the farms. According to the census of 1880, there were 87,501 acres in corn, 75,676 in wheat, 12,727 in oats, 18,137 in hay, and 2,524 in barley.

   The early methods of farming practiced in the county were very crude and wasteful, no attention being given to the proper cultivation of crops, seed selection, crop rotation, or fertilization. As a result the soil became impoverished and crop yields declined. When the reduction in yields and the cause thereof became apparent the system was gradually improved, until at the present time the farmers give more attention to crop rotation, exercise considerable care in the selection of seed, and increase the nitrogen content of the soil by sowing alfalfa and other legumes.

   As in Eastern Nebraska generally, grain growing is tlie chief type of farming followed in Saunders County, although dairying and the raising of hogs and other live stock are not by any means neglected. Corn, oats, wheat, wild hay, alfalfa and clover are the principal crops grown and rank in acreage in the order given.

   Although the production of corn has decreased since 1900, owing to the increased production of small grains, hay and alfalfa, it is still by far the most important crop of the county. According to the census, 177,4154 acres were devoted to this crop in 1909, as against 213,281 acres in 1899. It is grown on all the soil types of the county, doing best on the silt loam soils, although fail-returns are obtained from lighter textured soils. The ordinary yields for 1909 were slightly more than thirty-two bushels to the acre. Both the yellow and the white dent varieties are grown.

   Most of the corn is listed, some is check rowed, and in a few cases it is "double listed" with good results. The loose lister machine has only been used to a small extent.

   At present the greater part of the crop is sold, although a large and increasing percentage is fed to hogs and beef cattle. On farms with silos a large part of the corn is cut for silage, other-

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wise only the grain and the finer parts of the stalk are utilized. Ordinary field corn is used for ensilage, but it is planted thicker than usual and is harvested about the middle of September. It is the general practice to pasture corn land after the ears have been removed. On many fields corn is grown four or five years in succession and in some cases twenty years or more.

   The growing of oats is steadily increasing. In 1909 there were 64,468 acres devoted to the production of this crop. It does well on all the tillable soil types except on the bottom lands, where it is apt to lodge. Kherson oats, a very short, stiff-strawed variety, have given excellent results on the bottom lands. The ordinary yield is only twenty-four bushels per acre-much below what it should be with proper farm management.

   As a rule oats follow corn in the rotation and are very seldom sown more than one year in succession. Most of the crop is fed to horses and other live stock, though part of it is sold.

   About 1895 the state experiment station demonstrated the superior qualities of a variety of Russian winter wheat known as Turkey Red, and this has almost entirely replaced the spring varieties, owing to the fact that it is a better yielder, can be sown in the fall, a time of the year when it does not interfere with other farm labor, and matures before the dry weather and hot winds come on. It is grown with profit on all the soil types except the more broken areas of the Knox silt loam, the Shelby loam, light-colored phase, and the Lancaster fine sandy loam, which are too steeply rolling for grain production. As a rule wheat is grown two to four years in succession following oats. Where corn is cut for silage wheat follows corn and does excellently. It is strictly a cash crop, and is usually sold directly from the threshing machine. According to the census, there were 45,799 acres devoted to wheat in Saunders County in 1909.

   The acreage of wild hay in the county is quite large, owing to the extensive areas of unreclaimed bottom land. Most of the wild hay is grown on the Platte River, Wahoo, and Salt Creek bottoms, and in depressed areas of Todd Valley; only a few acres of upland remain in virgin prairie. Within the last few years a good deal of land has been reclaimed by ditching and tiling, and consequently the acreage of wild hay has been considerably reduced. There is no doubt that in a few years most of the wild

Threshing Scene in Saunders County

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hay land, except on the lower lands along the Platte River, will be broken up and devoted to the production of farm crops. The ordinary yield of hay for the county is l 3/? tons per acre. Most of the crop is stacked in the fields, and if intended for market is pressed into bales and hauled to town as soon as time permits. If kept for feed it is usually hauled from the stacks as needed. A number of farmers living on the upland own small hay lots on the bottom land, and where such is the case most of the hay is fed to live stock. In 1909 there were 27,987 acres in wild, salt or prairie grasses.

   The growing of alfalfa has passed beyond the experimental stage and this promises to be the principal hay crop of the future. In 1909 there were 3,312 acres in alfalfa, while in 1899 there were only sixty-seven acres devoted to the crop. It does excellently on the upland and well drained bottom lands, three and sometimes four cuttings being obtained each year, with a yield ranging from three to five tons per acre. Alfalfa is chiefly grown on the Marshall, Shelby and Waukesha silt loams and the higher lying areas of bottom lands. Most of the crop is fed to cattle and horses, and some is used as hog pasture. It is usually sown as a wheat crop and is left in the same field from five to seven years.

   Very little clover is grown in the county, owing to the fact that it has been almost impossible to obtain good seedings. On the average very little rain falls from the middle of July to the middle of September, and on this account the delicate clover plants are subjected to extremely hot winds and sometimes to long droughts after the nurse crop has been removed. If rain falls at the critical time immediately after the cutting of the grain, clover does well and produces from one and a half to two and a half tons per acre. As a rule clover and timothy are sown together in the proportion of one to two. For the last four years the crop has been practically a failure. According to the census, there were 957 acres in clover, 655 in millet and Hungarian grasses, and 203 in other tame grasses in 1909.

   The less important crops of Saunders County are potatoes, barley, rye, sorghum, and buckwheat. Most farmers plant a few potatoes, but as a rule not enough for home consumption. In 1909 the average yield of potatoes was ninety-five bushels per acre. Barley and rye were rather important crops in 1879, but

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in 1909 the acreage had dwindled to 110 and 441 acres, respectively. Only a few acres are devoted to the production of buckwheat and sorghum, and they scarcely deserve mention.

   A small acreage in the Platte River bottoms is devoted to the production of seed crops. Pumpkins and sweet-corn seed are grown with profitable results on the Cass very fine sandy loam. Pumpkins yield ordinarily 800 pounds of seed per acre and sweet corn 20 to 25 bushels. These are produced on contract. In Douglas County, where the soils are quite similar to those of Saunders County, the seed industry has been extensively developed on the Platte and Elkhorn River first bottoms.

   The trucking industry in Saunders County has not been given much attention, owing to the distance from markets. Some vegetables are grown on a commercial scale around the cities and villages of the county.

   Most of the farms have small orchards containing apple, plum, and pear trees, which, when properly cared for, produce a fairly good quality of fruit. Usually, however, the orchards are neglected and many of them die. A few vineyards were seen during the progress of the soil-survey work, and where the air circulation and the slope of the land were favorable profitable crops were grown.

   Dairying, in conjunction with general farming, is gradually being extended. There is very little pure-bred dairy stock in the county, though the graded Holstein is coming more into favor. Most of the farmers keep scrub dairy cows of Shorthorn breeding. The average number of cows per farm is about six, while on a few farms as high as fifteen are kept. Most of the cream is separated on the farm. The surplus cream is shipped to Omaha, Fremont, or Lincoln, or is marketed in the home towns. The average price obtained for butter fat in the summer is 25 to 28 cents per pound and in the winter 80 to 82 cents per pound. A few farmers ship their milk to Omaha.

   There are only a few large herds of beef cattle in Saunders County, and most of these are on the poorly drained areas of the bottom lands. Some farmers have obtained profitable returns from the feeding of beef cattle purchased at stockyards. A few head are sold every year from most farms. More of the beef

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cattle are of Shorthorn breed than any other, although a number of herds of polled cattle were seen during the survey.

   A great deal of attention is paid to the breeding of farm and draft horses. Nearly every farmer raises one or two colts a year and in this way supplies his own work stock and frequently has a team to sell. The Percheron is the favorite breed, although quite a few Clydesdales are to be seen. Some mules are raised also.

   There are only a few flocks of sheep in the county. The raising of hogs is the most important live stock industry. Nearly every farmer fattens from thirty to fifty hogs a year. On a few farms all the corn produced is fed to the hogs. Usually the profit in pork production is good. Duroc Jersey, Poland China and Chester Whites are the leading breeds, though there are very few pure-bred herds.

   Practically every farmer in the county keeps a small flock of chickens ranging from 40 to 150 in number, and on many farms, especially in the western part of the county, there is also a small flock of ducks and geese. Leghorn, Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, Orpington and Wyandotte are the important breeds. The high prices of eggs and dressed poultry have made poultry raising very profitable.

   Very little attention has been paid to the adaptation of crops to soils, though there is a tendency to correct this defect in farm management. Practically all of the general farm crops common to this region are grown upon most of the soil types.

   Definite systems of rotation are followed by only a few progressive farmers. The general tendency is to keep the land in corn for two, three or four years, following it with one year of oats and from one to three years of wheat. Occasionally the wheat land is seeded to clover for two years, when it is planted to corn. It is not unusual to plant corn or wheat on the same field for fifteen years or more. Of late alfalfa has been quite extensively introduced into the rotation. It usually occupies the land from five to seven years. A good rotation followed to some extent is: corn, two years; oats, one year; wheat, one to two years; and clover and timothy, two to three years. Owing to the great difficulty experienced recently in getting a stand of clover, it has been dropped from the rotation and alfalfa is taking its place.

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On farms where there is no permanent pasture clover and timothy are usually pastured the second year.

   Not enough attention is given to the proper cultivation and fertilization of most of the crops in the county. Stubble is almost universally plowed in the fall either for winter wheat or corn. Corn land is usually listed and sometimes double listed, where corn succeeds corn. If it is put into oats the land is either disked twice or the oats are sown between the rows and covered with a cultivator. Variations and modifications of the above practices are very common.

   The barnyards are usually cleaned twice a year -- in the fall and in the spring. As a rule the manure is put on the wheat land, though some is used on corn land. The plowing under of green crops is not practiced, nor are commercial fertilizers used to any extent. According to the census report, the expenditure for fertilizers in 1909 was but $296.

   As a rule, the farm improvements in Saunders County are good. The farm buildings, especially the houses, are painted and kept in good repair, and in general the farmstead gives the impression of thrift and prosperity. Most of the fences are of barbed wire. Woven-wire fences are also encountered. Hedges are common on the farm boundaries. Most of these consist of Osage orange, but black locust is also used.

   Farm labor is rather scarce, especially during the harvest season, although enough help is usually obtainable to do the farm work. The usual wage paid is $25 to $35 a month, with board and washing. Most of the laborers are hired from April 1 to December 1, though a large number of farmers are beginning to employ labor by the year, because by so doing it is easier to get efficient men. The daily wage for transient labor during the harvest time ranges from $2 to $3 per day, with board. Most of the work, however, is done by the farmer and his family, and it is not uncommon to see women and children doing the lighter work in the fields.

   There are approximately 464,526 acres in farms in Saunders County, of which 433,119 acres are improved. The average size of farms is 166.1 acres.* Since 1880 the average size of farms has increased 32.1 acres. Only 61.1 per cent of the land is operated

* Each tenancy is tabulated as a farm by the census.

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by the owners, the remainder being largely worked by tenants. Both the cash and share systems, as well as a combination of the two, are practiced, the share system being the more prevalent. Cash rents vary from $3 to $6 per acre for general farming, depending on the kind of soil. On the reclaimed muck soils $10 an acre is obtained. In case of share renting, the owner gets two-fifths of the crops produced, the tenant furnishing all implements and stock. Where land is rented on half shares the owner furnishes all tools and the work stock. In the combination system of cash and share renting the permanent pasture and land not used for crops are rented for cash and the grain and hay land on shares. In each system of renting the tenant is required to deliver the grain at the elevator.

   In 1900 the average value of all farms and improvements except buildings was $33 per acre, and in 1910 it had risen to $89 per acre. Farm land ranges in value from $30 to $200 an acre, depending on the kind of soil, improvements, and location.

   Upon the basis of physiographic position the soils of Saunders County may be divided into three groups -- upland, terrace and first bottom soils. The upland group embraces the Knox, Marshall, Shelby and Lancaster series; the terrace group the Waukesha, Sioux, and Scott series; and the first bottoms the Cass, Wabash, and Sarpy series and Riverwash.

   In texture most of the upland and terrace soils are silty, while those of the bottom lands vary from a loose, incoherent sand to heavy clay. With the exception of the Knox and Lancaster series, the Shelby loam, light-colored phase, and recently deposited soils along the Platte River, the soils are dark in color and contain a relatively large quantity of organic matter.

   In connection with the origin of these various types of soil the structure and geology of the county are of interest. The upland was originally covered with a fairly thick mantle of plains loess, which through a long period of erosion has been almost worn away. Few remnants of this covering are left in the county. The largest of these is found northeast of Cedar Bluff's on an outlier of the upland region. A few caps are also encountered

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southwest and northwest of Prague. Where typically developed the loess was mapped as the flat phase of the Marshall silt loam. The areas where erosion has removed conisderable of the original loess but which still retain loess characteristics have given rise to the Marshall and Knox series. Along the bluff line of the Platte River the loess has been modified by material blown upon it from the sand and silt bars of the river. The loess beds vary in color from yellow or pale yellow to light gray and are always more or less impregnated with lime and blotched with iron stains.

   Below the plains loess lies the weathered phase of the Kansan drift, which has given rise to the Shelby silt loam type. It is rather difficult to differentiate between the loess and the weathered phase of the Kansan drift. The latter is a yellowish or pale yellow to light gray, smooth, silty material, containing numerous lime concretions and iron blotches. It has a vertical structure and is practically stone free, though searching will disclose a few large sand grains and small cobblestones. The soil derived from the weathered phase is heavier in texture, breaks down into granules, and does not stand up in vertical banks nearly as well as the soils derived from the true loess. In the fourth foot of the subsoil there is no apparent difference, except for occasional stones between the two formations. There is no line of demarcation between the loess and the weathered drift, and they grade imperceptibly into each other. As a result large areas of loesslike material which possess both the characteristics of loess and drift are encountered, and such areas were mapped as the soil which predominated. The drift which gives rise to the Shelby silt loam occurs in the southwestern and western part of the county. The areas in which the loess characteristics predominate occur northeast of Malmo and on the upland belt along the Wahoo Creek below Wahoo. On the other upland areas there are only small spots which show drift characteristics.

   Below the Loveland (weathered) phase of the Kansan drift is the Kansan drift proper. There is a sharp line of demarcation in color and texture between these two divisions. The upper part of the Kansan drift is thoroughly oxidized, showing that it has been subjected to weathering. Undoubtedly the weathered phase has been so much altered by wind action that it has lost much of its drift characteristics and has assumed more of the properties

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of the loess. The Kansan sheet is distinctly till and consists of a heterogeneous mass of clay, silt, sand, gravel, and bowlders. The upper oxidized zone varies in color from yellowish brown or brown to reddish brown. Below the oxidized zone the drift sheet changes to a light-gray or pale-yellow color and has numerous iron stains. This drift sheet has given rise to the Shelby loam.

   The Aftonian material lies below the Kansan drift and consists largely of stratified sand and gravel with a few bowlders. It crops out in a number of places in the county. In the south-eastern corner of the county it produces a small area of fine sandy soil which is included with the Lancaster fine sandy loam.

   The lowermost drift sheet, underlying the Aftonian, consists of a blue clay containing numerous small pebbles and a considerable number of bowlders. It is exposed only in deep-cut banks.

   Below the thick covering of mantle rock is the Dakota formation of the Cretaceous age, the bedrock of the area. It consists of rusty colored sandstone and locally of shale. The Dakota sandstone is exposed in the southeastern corner of the county and along North Fork Rock Creek and gives rise very locally to the Lancaster fine sandy loam. This formation rests upon the Pennsylvanian beds of the carboniferous age, which are exposed in the bluff zone in the extreme southeastern corner of the county. It consists of beds of limestones and shales.

   The bench soils of Saunders County consist of first and second terraces. The second terrace includes Todd Valley and is of later age than that of the Plains loess, while the first terrace is of still more recent origin. Along the major streams and Todd Valley the valley loess, varying in thickness from less than a foot to about thirty feet, is underlain by a basal material consisting of light-gray alluvial sand and gravel. From the loess covering is derived the Waukesha silt loam and the Scott silt loam, while from the basal material is derived the Sioux fine sandy loam.

   In the upland region the cross-section of the alluvium shows largely stratified clays and silts, owing to the uniformity of wash, though in places it has received wash of coarser material from the Kansan drift. On the Platte River bottoms and at the mouth of Salt and Wahoo creeks the upper part of the alluvial deposits consists largely of alternate layers of stratified clays, silt, and different grades of sand and the lower portion of alternate layers

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of sand and gravel, with an occasional layer of clay. The alluvial deposits in the upland region and in Todd Valley have given rise to the Wabash series, and the alluvium along the Platte largely to the Cass series and to a smaller extent to the Sarpy and Wabash series and Riverwash.

   The following table gives the name and the actual and relative extent of each of the soil types mapped in Saunders County:

Areas of different soils

   The Marshall soils are dark brown to black, overlying yellowish-brown subsoils, usually calcareous. This series includes the dark-colored loessial soils occurring along the Missouri River in a belt about fifty miles wide extending from Western Missouri northwestward. The soils are characterized and distinguished from those of the Knox series by the large quantity of organic matter in the surface soil. The topography is level to rolling.

   The soil of the Marshall silt loam is a dark-brown to black, moderately heavy, 12 to 15 inches deep, underlain by a brown or yellowish-brown very heavy silt loam, which, at a depth of 20 to 24 inches, rests on a yellow, very compact silty clay loam. At 30 to 36 inches a yellow mottled with light-gray silty clay is encountered, though it is not uncommon for the

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yellow color to extend to a depth of 26 to 40 inches. At depths ranging from 32 to 40 inches the subsoil becomes looser and appears more like a silt loam again. The subsoil is highly calcareous, the lime existing chiefly in the form of concretions varying in size from that of a small pebble to that of a hen's egg. Faint markings of yellowish or brownish iron oxide occur in the 3-foot section, becoming very pronounced at greater depths. A high percentage of organic matter gives this soil its characteristic dark color. The depth of the soil is variable and depends upon its topographic position. On rather flat divides it is usually 15 to 18 inches deep, while on the sharp divides, shoulders of hills, and along gullies it is only 6 to 8 inches deep and often the yellowish-brown subsoil is exposed. On slopes the soil becomes darker in color and deeper, and at the foot it is not uncommon to find it extending to a depth of 24 to 40 inches. Included with this type are small, narrow strips of alluvial material occurring along intermittent streams, which were not extensive enough to map. It also includes along shoulders of hills and along small gullies spots of Knox silt loam, which were likewise too small and patchy to justify mapping. As erosion goes on the tendency will be to remove more of the dark soil and increase the extent of the Knox silt loam.

   The Marshall silt loam differs from the Knox silt loam in that it has a darker color, a higher organic-matter content, and a smoother topography. Both soils have the vertical structure and extremely smooth feel which are so characteristic of loess soils.

   The Marshall silt loam is derived from the roded plains loess which at one time capped the entire county. The area southeast of Wahoo is really a transitional area between the Shelby silt loam and the Marshall silt loam, being mapped as the latter because it possesses the stronger loessial characteristics. Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing between the loess and the loesslike drift, it was exceedingly difficult to draw a satisfactory boundary line between the Shelby silt loam and the Marshall silt loam, and small areas of Marshall silt loam occurring in the Shelby type or vice versa could not be shown.

   This type is next to the Shelby silt loam in extent in Saunders County. The largest area occurs in the northeastern part of the county, where it forms practically the only soil on the upland

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outlier. The next largest area is found in the northwestern part of the county, and another large one occurs along the south side of Wahoo Creek, below Wahoo. The small area occurring in the extreme southeast corner of the county joins the Marshall silt loam in Cass County, where it forms the most extensive soil type.

   The topography of this type varies from gently rolling to steeply rolling. West and northwest of Prague it is steeply rolling, while the remainder of the northwestern area and the area in the northeastern part of the county are rolling to very rolling. The rest of the type is gently rolling to rolling. In general the slopes along streams are rather steep, while the divides are gently sloping. Erosion has become a serious factor on many of the farms of this type.

   The Marshall silt loam originally supported a thick matting of prairie grasses common to this section, but now only a few small, scattered patches remain.

   About 96 per cent of the type is under cultivation, the remainder being in farmsteads and roads. This type is the most important corn-producing soil of Eastern Nebraska. About one-half of it is in corn, the rest being largely in oats and wheat, with some alfalfa. Ordinarily it produces 35 to 45 bushels of corn per acre, and in favorable seasons, with proper cultivation, much higher yields. Oats do well, the ordinary yield being about thirty-five bushels per acre. Only about one-eighth of this type is at present devoted to wheat, but the acreage is being rapidly extended. Wheat produces ordinary yields of 20 to 30 bushels, and as high as 50 bushels are sometimes obtained. The acreage of clover, timothy, and alfalfa is very small. Owing to the unfavorable moisture conditions, it has been difficult to get a good stand of clover during the last few years. In favorable years clover produces from 1 1/2 to 2 tons per acre. Alfalfa does splendidly on this type, yields of 3 to 4 tons per acre from three cuttings being usually obtained. The tendency on the Marshall silt loam is to grow less corn and more wheat and leguminous crops, and to raise more live stock.

   The usual rotation followed on farms of this type is two to three years corn, one year oats, and one to two years wheat, returning to corn. Occasionally the wheat field is sowed to alfalfa, in which case it is usually left in that crop from five to

PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY          211

seven years, when it is generally put back to corn. Most of the farmers do not follow any definite rotation, but leave the same field in corn or wheat for four or five years.

   Owing to its friable structure, freedom from stones, and silty texture, this soil is very easy to handle and can be cultivated under a wide range of moisture conditions. It is somewhat easier to handle than the Shelby silt loam, owing to the fact that it is lighter in texture. The 4-horse hitch is usually used for tillage operations. Only a small amount of barnyard manure is applied to this soil, and no commercial fertilizers are used. Owing to its high organic-matter content, vertical structure, and silty texture, it has the power to resist prolonged droughts, provided the proper attention is given to the conservation of soil moisture.

   Under the present system of farming the efficiency of the soil is gradually decreasing and only by a proper system of crop rotation and farm management can this be stopped.

   Land of the Marshall silt loam type ranges in value from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and seventy-five dollars an acre, depending upon location and improvements.