The soil of the Cass silt loam consists of a dark gray to black heavy silt loam containing a very high percentage of very fine sand. It has an average depth of fifteen to eighteen inches and grades through a thin layer of light gray silt loam into a light yellowish-gray very fine sandy loam mottled with brown. Seams of silt and old soil are not uncommon in the subsoil. Owing to its original marshy condition, a large amount of organic matter has been incorporated with the soil.

   In sections 26 and 35, township 13 north, range 9 east, north of Wahoo Creek and along streams and sloughs in this type, the Cass silt loam is a dark grayish-brown coarse silt loam, approaching a very fine sandy loam. Another variation worthy of mention is found in the extreme northeastern corner of the county. This phase consists of a heavy black silt loam to silty loam, fifteen to eighteen inches deep, underlain by a light brown, light textured silt loam, which at about twenty to twenty-four inches passes into a pale yellow very fine sandy loam. This stratum, in turn, is underlain at thirty inches or deeper by a medium almost white sand with yellow and brownish iron stains. A slight admixture of gravel with the lower portion of the subsoil is not uncommon. Local spots of the latter phase are common throughout the type.

   This type is different from the Wabash silt loam in that it has a light textured subsoil, whereas the subsoil of the Wabash silt loam either has practically the same texture as the surface soil

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or heavier. They are similar in the texture and color of their surface soils.

   In the aggregate this type covers 9.8 square miles. It occurs as rather small areas, and is almost entirely confined to the Platte River first bottoms.

   The topography is flat and only slightly modified by a few meandering sloughs. Originally the soil was poorly drained but with the clearing out of the stream channels and the digging of drainage ditches it has been given fairly good drainage. Northwest of Cedar Bluffs it is poorly drained, owing to the seepage from the basal material of Todd Valley. Where the soil is still rather wet a standard system of tiling should be installed. When properly managed this is one of the most drought-resistant soils in the county and an excellent general farming soil.

   The native vegetation consisted of marsh grasses, sedges, and rushes. Approximately 15 per cent of the type is still in native grasses.

   Corn is the predominant crop and oats and wheat rank next. Corn does excellently, yielding from forty to fifty bushels per acre. Oats grow too rank to be a very profitable crop, though the short-strawed varieties give good results. Winter wheat does better than oats, and from twenty to thirty bushels per acre are obtained. A small portion of this type is cut for wild hay and some is used for pasturage.

   No system of rotation is practiced, although the crops are occasionally changed. When the soil is first reclaimed the land is usually left in corn until an appreciable reduction in yield is experienced.

   When properly drained it is comparatively easy to obtain a good mellow seed bed on this type, though not nearly so easy as on the Cass very fine sandy loam. Only a small quantity of barnyard manure is applied and no commercial fertilizer is used. Where a coarse subsoil comes close to the surface the crops usually suffer during long droughts.

   From one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty dollars an acre is the price asked for farms on this soil type.

   In the following table the results of mechanical analyses of samples of the soil and subsoil of the Cass silt loam are given;

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   The soil of the Cass loam consists of a heavy black loam containing a rather high percentage of very fine sand. It has an average depth of fifteen to eighteen inches, and, as the color indicates, is high in organic matter. The texture of the soil is variable and ranges from a very fine sandy loam through a loam and silty loam into a heavy silty clay loam or clay loam, though the average is a fairly good loam. These variations in the soil were too small and patchy to justify mapping. As a rule the surface soil is underlain by a gray loam which immediately passes into a light gray very fine sandy loam. The subsoil is highly calcareous and not uncommonly contains yellowish and brownish iron stains which give it a mottled appearance.

   The area about a mile northeast of Wann is a black loam, about eighteen to twenty-four inches deep, underlain by a light gray, loose, incoherent fine sand which becomes much coarser with depth. The area about five miles east of Morse Bluff is characterized by a very high content of very fine sand and is a border type between the Cass silt loam and the Cass very fine sandy loam.

   This type is of very small extent, covering 2.3 square miles in the Platte River first bottoms.

   The Cass loam occupies a flat topography and is not very much dissected by old channels. The main body of this type west of Wann occupies a very slightly lower topographic position than the Cass very fine sandy loam, but it has fairly good drainage. This tract is in many spots quite highly impregnated with soluble salts. It is protected by a levee, as is also the area northeast of Wann, while that east of Morse Bluff is subject to occasional inundation. These latter two bodies, lying in the lower situations along the Platte River, are poorly drained.

   The native vegetation on this type is wild marsh grass and salt-tolerant plants where the soil has a high salt content. A few spots are barren owing to the excessive salt content.

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   Approximately 30 per cent of the type is under cultivation and the remainder is largely in hay lots, with a small portion in pasture. The area east of Morse Bluff is largely in hay land the one northeast of Wann in pasturage, and the main body west of Wann largely in hay land, but partly in corn and pasture. Where the soil is well drained and not saline corn does well giving ordinary yields of forty bushels to the acre. Only a few small fields of oats and wheat were noticed on this type during the progress of the soil survey. Very little barnyard manure and no commercial fertilizers are used on the reclaimed land of this type.

   In general, drainage is the greatest problem that confronts farmers on this type. A standard system of drainage, including ditches and tiles, should be installed.

   The price of farms on this type ranges from seventy to one hundred dollars an acre, depending upon drainage improvements.

   The results of mechanical analyses of samples of the soil and subsoil of the Cass loam are given in the following table:

   The soil of the Cass fine sandy loam consists of a gray to dark gray fine sandy loam, 10 to 15 inches deep, which grades through a stratum of yellowish-gray fine sandy loam about 3 inches thick into a loose, incoherent, almost white fine sand, becoming coarser with depth. Occasionally fine gravel is encountered in the third foot, but usually it occurs at a lower depth. Seams of black silt loam may be encountered in any part of the 3-foot section. Where the soil has been under cultivation for a long time the organic matter has been consumed, and the surface soil assumes a light gray color. Ordinarily the organic-matter content of this soil is fairly high.

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In the depressions and sloughs the soil is a black, light-textured loam or silty loam ranging from 4 to 18 inches in depth. It is underlain by a 4-inch layer of almost white very fine sand which rests on a stratum of fine sand of the same color. At the average depth of 20 inches or less a medium or coarse sand with a slight admixture of fine gravel in the lower portion of the subsoil is encountered. As a rule, however, the very fine sand stratum is absent and the soil lies directly on the fine sand.

   Another phase of this soil is encountered in the northwestern part of the county in sections 16, 17 and 18, township 17 north, range 5 east. This is a black, light-textured loam, with an average depth of 8 to 10 inches. The soil is high in organic matter and is underlain by light yellowish-gray to almost white fine sand, stained by yellowish and brownish iron oxides. The sand becomes coarser with depth and it is not uncommon to strike a medium or coarse sand anywhere from 24 to 36 inches. Where cultivated the soil has a lighter textural appearance, owing to the fact that the underlying sand has been more or less mixed with the surface soil. In addition this type includes numerous areas of Sarpy fine sand which were too small to indicate on the map.

   The Cass fine sandy loam is the most extensive Platte River first bottom soil and occurs as a narrow, discontinuous strip along the stream course varying from a few rods to one and one-half miles in width and as islands in the stream channel. A few areas are found outside this zone away from the stream. This type covers 21.9 square miles.

   The topography in general is level, though extremely ridgy on a detailed scale. There are numerous sloughs on this type, and, like the low ridges, they run in the same direction as the Platte River. The surface soil is well drained, but, on account of the high level of the water table, the subsoil is poorly drained, except on high elevations. The water table is between 4 and 5 feet from the surface. This type lies about 3 to 4 feet lower than the Cass very fine sandy loam and Cass silt loam areas of the bottom land, and, with the exception of the higher outlying areas and the portion in the southeastern corner of the county, where it is protected by a levee, is occasionally overflowed.

   The islands and a narrow strip along the river are or were originally covered with a growth of timber consisting mostly of

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cottonwood, cedar, and a few walnut trees, hackberry coffee bean, wild mulberry, and honey locust. A small percentage of the timbered areas has been cleared. Farther from the stream most of this type was originally in native marsh grasses, quite a portion of which never has been broken up. About 75 per cent of it has been used for pasturage and hay land and the remainder, which is higher lying, for general farm crops. Owing to the high water table, this soil, though very sandy, is admirably adapted to pasturage and hay land. Wild hay yields from 1 to 2 tons per acre, depending upon the rainfall. Where the land is higher lying it is extremely droughty unless it has a heavy subsoil. Corn does not do very well, especially on the lower lying areas, and only yields from 10 to 30 bushels per acre. Some wheat and oats are grown with fair success. The raising and feeding of beef cattle is the most important industry.

   Where the soil is high enough to permit cultivation it has decreased considerably in productiveness.

   The price of farm lands on the Cass fine sandy loam ranges from fifty to seventy-five dollars per acre.

   The soils of the Sarpy series range from light gray to brown in color. They differ from the Wabash and Yazoo soils in having loose silty or fine sandy subsoils, distinctly lighter in texture than the surface soils. This series is developed in the bottoms of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their larger tributaries. The material is alluvial in origin. Owing to their low position these soils are subject to overflow, although between the flood stages of the streams the nature of the soil and subsoil is such that drainage is thorough to excessive. In general the topography is flat.

   The soil of the Sarpy fine sand consists of a gray fine sand, with an average depth of 15 inches, underlain by a light-gray, loose, incoherent fine sand, which immediately passes into an almost white fine sand of the same structure. The subsoil becomes coarser with depth and it is not uncommon to encounter

PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY          243

some medium sand and small gravel stones in the lower subsoil. In the subsoil there are always more or less iron stains, varying in color from rusty-brown or brown to reddish-yellow. A portion of this type is of such recent formation as to be devoid of the dark surface soil, and in other places the surface soil has been removed by wind action, the loose, almost white fine sand subsoil being exposed. In sections 2, 3, 10 and 11, township 15 north, range 9 east, this type includes a phase consisting of a veneering of light gray to almost white fine sand with an admixture of fine gravel varying from a few inches to 4 feet in depth. This material was deposited during a recent ice gorge on a typical area of Cass fine sandy loam. A number of small areas of this character occur in the survey.

   This type is of very small extent and is found entirely on the Platte River first bottoms. It occurs as a low, natural levee along the Platte River, as elongated islands in the channel, and as a single ridge or a series of ridges which sometimes coalesce and form an extremely complicated topography.

   Scarcely any of the Sarpy fine sand is used for agriculture. Most of it is in native grass and sand bars, and a portion is entirely devoid of vegetation. It forms fairly good pasturage in the early spring, but as soon as hot weather ensues the grasses turn brown and lie dormant until the following spring. The areas adjoining the river and the islands in the channel are timbered with cottonwood, willows, elm, and cedar.

   As the Sarpy fine sand is subject to wind erosion, it should be left in its native growth of either grass or timber. This type ranges in value from fifteen to thirty dollars an acre.

   The material included in the Muck type consists of well-decomposed organic matter varying in depth from 3 feet along the edge to 10 feet or more in the middle of the area. The Muck is underlain by a grayish clay. A shallow phase of this type is found on the Platte River first-bottom lands in the northwestern part of the county. It is a black loamy muck, varying from 12

244          PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY

to 24 inches in depth, and is underlain by a yellowish-gray to almost white fine sand.

   There are only three areas of this type in the county, covering: 0.8 of a square mile. The largest body is about two miles west of Wann, and the other two areas are west of Morse Bluff.

   The areas of Muck are all flat and the natural drainage is poor. Most of the body west of Wann has been reclaimed by a system of ditching and tiling. During periods of long drought the outlets of the tile are plugged and the tract is subirrigated. Owing to the fact that the springs issuing from the basal material of Todd Valley are very constant, the supply of water is unlimited.

   The native growth on the Muck consists of wild grasses and sedges.

   The areas in the northwestern part of the survey are used for pastures and hay land. On the typical area west of Wann most of this type is devoted to the production of corn, and only a small portion is left in pasturage. Corn yields on the average about 50 bushels per acre, though much higher yields have been obtained. Some potatoes have been grown, with yields of from 200 to 250 bushels per acre. Certain areas of this type seem well adapted to the production of truck and special crops.

   As yet Muck has not shown any decrease in its efficiency. It is high in nitrogen, though its rather low content of phosphorus and potash will undoubtedly demand some mineral fertilizer in a few years to keep up its productivity. As a general rule the Muck soils are very productive at first, though they deteriorate very fast unless some mineral or manurial fertilizer is applied.

   Land values on this type range from sixty to two hundred dollars an acre, depending on drainage conditions. When reclaimed the land rents for $10 an acre.

   There are 5.6 square miles of River-wash in the Platte River Channel of Saunders County. It occurs as sandbars and flats and consists of an almost white, fine, medium, and coarse sand with an admixture of fine gravel. This type lies only a few feet above the normal flow of the river and is inundated with a cor-

PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY          245

responding rise of the stream. The Riverwash is not very permanent and changes with every overflow of the stream, and even during the normal flow small areas are shifted about, destroyed or added to with the varying current. This type is considerably modified also by drifting. It has no agricultural value and is practically devoid of vegetation.

   There are in Saunders County numerous saline spots too small to be indicated on the soil map. They are characterized by a grayish surface layer of loose gray soil, resting on an indurated layer whose compactness is due to the high content of soluble salts. Where the soil is most highly impregnated there is a white incrustation over the surface which has a distinctly salty taste. Self-resistant plants form the principal growth, and in places the content of salts is so high that no plants can live.

   These saline spots occur mostly in the southern and southeastern part of the survey. The best developed areas are found as patches in the vicinity of Wann on the Cass loam, Cass very fine sandy loam, and Wabash clay, and southeast of Memphis on the Wabash clay and Wabash silt loam. Smaller, scattered areas are found throughout the county, but mostly on the Waukesha and Marshall silt loam areas southwest of Wahoo Creek. The largest area lies a few miles east of Ceresco.

   Dakota sandstone, the bedrock of the county, which is locally highly impregnated with sodium chloride, is undoubtedly the main source of the salt found in spots in the upland region. On bottom lands bordered by higher lying Dakota sandstone the salt is largely derived from the saline springs. Where the sandstone is rather remote from the first, second or third bottoms it is probably due to a local concentration of salts through evaporation. According to an analysis made of saline areas in Cass County similar to those in Saunders County, the sample contained 0.25 per cent water-soluble salts, 0.06 per cent being bicarbonate, while the remainder was mostly sodium chloride. According to Hilgard, greasewood, a saline-tolerant plant, refuses to grow on soils containing more than 3,680 pounds per acre foot. As the sodium-chloride content of the saline salts of the county are even higher,

246          PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY

the barren growth or stunted growth of prairie grasses or of crops on such spots is assuredly caused by an excess of sodium chloride.

   Saunders County is located in Eastern Nebraska. It comprises an area of 761 square miles or 487,040 acres.

   The surface ranges from flat in the stream bottoms and terraces to extremely dissected in parts of the upland.

   Saunders County is drained by Platte River and Wahoo and Salt Creeks.

   The first permanent settlement was made in 1856 in the vicinity of Ashland, and the county was organized in 1867. Wahoo is the county seat.

   A number of railroads connect the county with large markets. Practically all parts of it are provided with telephone service and rural free delivery of mail.

   The mean annual precipitation of the county is 30.21 inches, and the mean annual temperature is 50.9°. The average growing season is about one hundred and sixty-one days.

   The type of agriculture followed at present consists of grain farming, with the raising of beef cattle and hogs and dairying as adjuncts. Dairying is gradually becoming more important. Corn, oats, wheat, wild hay, and alfalfa are the leading crops. Drainage is one of the most important problems on the heavier soil types of the bottom land.

   Fifteen soil types, two miscellaneous types, and four phases, representing ten series, were recognized in the survey. The soils in the uplands are derived mainly from loess and glacial drift. On the terraces and in the stream bottoms the soils are formed of the alluvial deposits washed from the uplands.

   The Marshall silt loam is a very extensive upland soil in the northern and eastern parts of the county. Corn, oats, and wheat are the chief crops grown on this type. The flat phase of this type is more desirable for farming than the typical soil.

   The Knox silt loam is a light-colored loess soil and, as the color indicates, is low in organic matter. Owing to the dissected topography, only a small portion of it is utilized for grain farming, most of it being in pasture.

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   The Shelby silt loam is the most extensive soil type in the county, occurring in the southwestern and western parts. It is devoted largely to the production of corn, oats, and wheat.

   The Shelby loam, owing to its higher content of clay, gravel, pebbles, and bowlders, is not as well suited to grain farming as the Shelby silt loam. A light-colored phase occurs in small scattered areas. It is stony and almost entirely utilized for pasturage.

   The Lancaster fine sandy loam, owing to its hilly topography and light texture, is not a good farming soil.

   The Waukesha silt loam is the third most extensive soil type in the county. It is a terrace soil and considered the best agricultural soil in the county. Corn, oats, and wheat are the chief crops.

   The Sioux fine sandy loam is of small extent and, owing to its porous structure, not well adapted to general farm crops.

   The Scott silt loam occurs as depressions in the Waukesha silt loam. It is utilized largely for pasture and hay land.

   The Wabash silt loam is the most important first-bottom soil in the county. It is considered the best corn soil in the county, but is not so well adapted to wheat and oats. The colluvial phase of this type is of very small extent and is largely utilized for the production of corn.

   The Wabash loam, colluvial phase, is of small extent. It is almost entirely devoted to the production of corn, of which it gives large yields.

   The Wabash clay is confined entirely to the Platte River and Wahoo Creek first bottoms. It is heavy and difficult to handle. Only a small part of it is reclaimed. The remaining area is used for the production of wild hay or for pasturage.

   The Cass very fine sandy loam is one of the most extensive soil types on the Platte River first bottoms. It is largely used in the production of corn, oats and wheat.

   The Cass silt loam is another of the Platte River first bottom soils. It is nearly as easily handled as the very fine sandy loam.

   The Cass loam has a small extent. It is not as well drained as other members of the Cass series in the county. About 30 per cent of it is under cultivation. The remainder is largely wild hay and pasture land.

   The Cass fine sandy loam occupies islands and a narrow discontinuous strip along the Platte River. Owing to its low position it is utilized largely for pasturage.

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   The Sarpy fine sand occurs, as a rule, as small, elongated areas on the Platte River bottoms. It is very droughty, supporting a scant growth of grass which furnishes fair pasturage in the spring.

   Muck covers four-fifths square mile in the Platte River bottoms. It is used to some extent for the production of corn and potatoes.

   Riverwash includes the sand bars and flats of the Platte River. It is nonagricultural land.