iBBUed Juljr 20, IdlO. 
 
 U. S. DEPAR-rMENT OR AGRICULTURE, 
 
 BUREAU OF SOILS— MILTON WHITNEY. Chiet 
 
 OIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU 
 AREA, MALNE. 
 
 ±o 
 
 BT 
 
 H. L. WESTOVER and R. W. ROWE. 
 
 [Advance Sheets— Field Operations of tlie Bureau of Soils, 1908.] 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1910.
 
 [Public Resolution — No. 9.] 
 
 JOINT RESOLUTION Amending public resolution numbered eight, Fifty-sixth Congress, second ses- 
 sion, approved February twenty-third, nineteen hundred and one, "providing for the printing annually 
 of the report on field operations of the Division of Soils, Department of Agriculture." 
 
 Resolved by the Senate and Hoime of Representatives of the United States of America 
 in Congress assembled, That public resolution numbered eight, Fifty-sixth Congress, 
 second session, approved February twenty-third, nineteen hundred and one, be 
 amended by striking out all after the resolving clause and inserting in lieu thereof the 
 following: 
 
 That there shall be printed ten thousand five hundred copies of the report on field 
 operations of the Division of Soils, Department of Agriculture, of which one thousand 
 five hundred copies shall be for the use of the Senate, three thousand copies for the 
 use of the House of Representatives, and six thousand copies for the use of the Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture: Provided, That in addition to the number of copies above pro- 
 vided for there shall be printed, as soon as the manuscript can be prepared, with the nec- 
 essary maps and illustrations to accompany it, a report on each area surveyed, in the 
 form of advance sheets, bound in paper covers, of which five hundred copies shall be for 
 the use of each Senator from the State, two thousand copies for the use of each Repre- 
 sentative for the Congressional district or districts in which the survey is made, and 
 one thousand copies for the use of the Department of Agriculture. 
 
 Approved, March 14, 1904. 
 
 [On July 1, 1901, the Division of Soils was reorganized as the Bureau of Soils.]
 
 Issued July 20. 1910. 
 
 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
 
 BUREAU OF SOILS— MILTON WHITNEY, Chief. 
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU 
 AREA, MAINE. 
 
 H. L. WESTOVER and R. W. ROWE. 
 
 [Advance Sheets— Field Opi rjitioii.s of the Bureau of Soils, 1908.] 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1910.
 
 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 
 
 U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
 
 Bureau of Soils, 
 Washington, D. C, January 25, 1910. 
 Sir: During the field season of 1908 the initial survey in the 
 State of Maine was undertaken. Inception of this work was urged 
 by Prof. W. D. Hurd, Dean of the College of Agriculture of the Uni- 
 versity of Maine. The greater part of the important potato-growing 
 district of Aroostook County was covered by the survey. 
 
 I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript report and 
 map covering this work and to request their publication as advance 
 sheets of Field Operations of the Bureau of Soils for 1908, as author- 
 ized by law. 
 
 Very respectfully, Milton Whitney, 
 
 Chief of Bureau. 
 Hon. James Wilson, 
 
 Secretary of Agriculture.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Page. 
 Soil Survey of the Caribou Area, Maine, By H. L. Westover and R. W. 
 
 RowE 5 
 
 Description of the area 5 
 
 Climate 8 
 
 Agriculture 9 
 
 The potato industry 15 
 
 Soils 19 
 
 Caribou loam 21 
 
 Caribou silt loam 23 
 
 Caribou stony loam 24 
 
 Caribou gravelly loam 25 
 
 Mapleton gravelly loam 26 
 
 Easton loam 28 
 
 Chapman loam 29 
 
 Aroostook silt loam 31 
 
 Aroostook loam 33 
 
 Aroostook sandy loam 33 
 
 Washburn loam 35 
 
 Muck 37 
 
 Summary 38 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FIGURE. 
 
 Page. 
 Fig. 1. Sketch map showing location of the Caribou area, Maine 5 
 
 map. 
 
 Soil map, Caribou sheet, Maine.
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 
 
 By H. L. WESTOVER and R. W. ROWE. 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 
 
 The survey' of the Caribou area, Maine, covers 339,200 acres, or 530 
 square miles, situated along the eastern border of Aroostook Comity, 
 the southernmost point extending 9 miles south of jnirallel 46° 30', 
 and the northern border to 
 within 3 miles of parallel 
 47° north latitude. Merid- 
 ian 68° west of Greenwich 
 divides the area into two 
 unequal parts, that on the 
 east being 9 miles in width 
 and that on the west ap- 
 proximately 6 miles in 
 width. The area extends 
 a distance of 40 miles north 
 and south and lias a maxi- 
 mum width of 15 miles. 
 The irregularity of the 
 southwest corner of the 
 area is due to the absence 
 of roads and the thickly 
 forested conditions of the 
 county in thissection, which 
 made it impossible to carry 
 the work as far west as was 
 originally intended. 
 
 The eastern boundary of 
 the area is formed by the 
 Province of New Brunswick 
 and the soutliern boundary 
 by the township of Monti- 
 cello, Aroostook County. The western boundary is an arbitrary line 
 that separates the northern half of New Sweden Township into two 
 nearly equal ])arts and then passes south through the middle of Wash- 
 burn, Woodland, Mapleton, and Chapman for a distance of 28 miles. 
 It then narrows by successive steps to the east, until at the southern 
 
 5 
 
 Fig. 1.— Sketch map showing location of the Caribou area, 
 Maine.
 
 6 FIELD OPEEATIOKS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 extremity the area has a width of only 4 miles. The northern bound- 
 ary, also an arbitrary line, passes east and west through the town- 
 ships of Caswell and Connor, about one-fourth mile north of the 
 line separating them from Caribou and Limestone townships and 
 continuing west through the eastern half of New Sweden. As com- 
 pleted the survey included the full townships of Limestone, Easton, 
 Mars Hill, and the greater part of Bridgewater; the double townships, 
 Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, and Caribou; the half township Blaine; 
 and parts of Township 10, Townships D and E, New Sweden, Cas- 
 well, Connor, Woodland, Washburn, Mapleton, Chapman, and 
 Westfield. 
 
 The larger part of the area is a rolling plain, having an average 
 elevation of about 500 feet and consisting of a series of broad ridges 
 and swells with level tops and with slopes that descend gradually to 
 the streams. With few exceptions the flat country is occupied by 
 swamps, which in many cases probably represent the remains of old 
 lakes that have gradually filled up with accumulations of vegetable 
 matter and with soil washed in from adjoining slopes. These swampy 
 areas are found in all townships, but are more common and of larger 
 extent in the southern part of the area, where, as a rule, the average 
 elevation is somewhat less than farther north. 
 
 The hilly portion of the area is found principally west and south- 
 west of Presque Isle. Three miles southwest of this village there is a 
 prominent group of hills known as Hobart Hill, which rises from 200 
 to 300 feet above the level of the surrounding country. To the south 
 there is a chain of mountains, with an elevation of 300 to 400 feet 
 above the general level of the country, extending several miles in a 
 southeasterly direction. Quaggy Joe (Qu aqua jo) and Green Moun- 
 tain are the most prominent points of this chain. The most noted, 
 as well as the highest point in the area, however, is Mars Hill, located 
 just east of the village of that name. This hill has an elevation 
 of 1,695 feet above tide level and is 2| miles long and 1 mile wide. 
 Knolls of morainal material are prominent surface features in sec- 
 tions of the area. 
 
 The area is drained by tributaries of the St. John River, of which 
 the most important is the Aroostook River. This river, with its three 
 main tributaries, the Presque Isle Stream on the south and the Cari- 
 bou and Limestone streams on the north, drains the greater portion 
 of the area. Tlie southeastern part is drained by Prestile (Presque 
 Isle of the St. John) Stream and the River du Chute and confluent 
 streams. 
 
 Many small lakes and ponds occur throughout the area, but they 
 are very shallow and are being gradually filled with s(nl and vegetable 
 matter. The largest of these are Caribou, in Washburn Township, 
 and Quaggy Joe, at the foot of the mountain of that name.
 
 SOIL SURVEY or THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 7 
 
 The settlement of the region now induded within the limits of 
 Aroostook County was begun at Fort Fairfield in 1816 by families 
 from New Brunswick. A few years later the settlement of Presque 
 Isle began, and finally about twenty years later the first real settlers 
 found their way to Caribou. It was not until the opening of the 
 military road to Presque Isle in 1837 that people began coming in 
 from the southern part of the State. The building of this road, coup- 
 led with the liberal policy of the State in allowing the settlers to take 
 up claims of 160 acres and pay for them at the rate of 50 cents an acre 
 within three years in work on their own roads at $1 .50 per day, encour- 
 aged immigration and people came in more rapidly. The county was 
 organized in 1839 and enlarged to its present dimensions in 1843. It 
 was made up of portions of Washington and Penobscot counties and 
 the later addition was made from Piscataquis and Somerset counties. 
 At the time of its incorporation the population numbered approxi- 
 mately 9,000 people, mostly French, with a few English traders. 
 After this the settlement was very rapid and the number of English 
 settlers increased rapidly. 
 
 In 1870, through the efforts of the commissioners in the settlement 
 of public lands, a colony of Swedes was induced to settle in the 
 county, the section where they took up land being made a township, 
 with the name of New Sweden. Later in the same year and in suc- 
 ceeding years other immigrants came to the colony, and to-day they 
 have one of the finest farming sections in the area. In 1890 the popu- 
 lation of the county had reached 49,589 and in 1900 it was 60,744 — 
 a most remarkable growth. 
 
 Thus, with the Swedes in New Sweden, a large number of French in 
 the northern part of Caribou Township, and with a mixture of French, 
 Irish, and English in other sections, the population is somewhat 
 varied. As indicated by the appearance of the buildings and farms 
 in general, the county is prosperous. Nowhere in New England does 
 one find better farm buildings. The houses are usually large and well 
 built, the barns and potato cellars are substantial, commodious, and 
 warm, and an unpainted building is the exception. The farms are 
 equipped with modern machinery, potato diggers, potato planters, 
 mowers, and reapers. Good driving horses and carriages are found 
 on almost every farm. The greater number of homes have telephones 
 and rural free delivery of mail. In most sections roads are numerous 
 and as a rule kept in excellent repair. Comparatively few of the 
 farms are mortgaged^ and on these the debt is being rapidly lifted, 
 while at the same time the land and buildings are being improved. 
 
 During the greater portion of the year nearly all the streams afford 
 abundant water power, which in many cases has been developed to 
 run Sawmills and grist mills. With possibly one or two exceptions 
 every village in the area has water power.
 
 8 FIELD OPEEATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS;, 1908. 
 
 Caribou, located in the northern part of the area, on the Aroostook 
 River, is probably the most populous town. It is followed closely 
 by Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield, the latter being located in the 
 eastern part of the area, on the Aroostook River, and the former 12 
 miles south of Caribou, on the Presque Isle Stream, just 1 mile south 
 of its junction with the Aroostook River. Other newer towns which 
 are developing very rapidly are Limestone, Easton, Westfield, Rob- 
 insons, Bridgewater Center, Mars Hill, and Blaine. 
 
 The transportation facilities are exceptionally good, and no point 
 in the area is more than 8 miles distant from the railroad. The main 
 line is the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. From Bangor the line 
 runs north to Van Buren, passing through the heart of the potato 
 section of Aroostook County. At Fort Fairfield Junction it divides, 
 the main line continuing north through Presque Isle and Caribou, 
 and finally reaching the St. John River at Van Buren, outside of the 
 area. At Caribou another branch runs to Limestone. In addition 
 to these a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway enters the area 
 near Fort Fairfield, and follows the Aroostook River to Caribou, 
 terminating at Presque Isle. 
 
 Boston is the principal market for all crops except potatoes. The 
 greater part of this crop is sold direct to buyers at the local markets, 
 very few potatoes being shipped out of the area by farmers. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 As there is no Weather Bureau station within Aroostook County 
 with complete records, no climatic data can be furnished for the area 
 surveyed. 
 
 The winters are long and severe, but the cold is less noticeable than 
 in the southern part of the State, where the humidity is considerably 
 greater. January and February are the coldest months, while July 
 and August are the hottest months. There is seldom a winter when 
 the thermometer does not at some time drop as low as —40° F., but 
 at such times the cold is not so noticeable, because the air is very 
 still and dry. 
 
 The summers are comparatively short and cool, though brief 
 periods of extreme heat and high humidity occur. 
 
 Frosts have been known to occur every month in the year, but 
 they are very rare in July. Light frosts in early June and the latter 
 part of August are not uncommon, and killing frosts have been known 
 to occur in these months. 
 
 Snow usually falls before the ground freezes in the fall and remains 
 as a heavy covering throughout the winter. When it melts the fol- 
 lowing spring the waters drain off rapidly and the land can be worked 
 almost immediately. 
 
 The annual precipitation is fairly well distributed throughout the 
 year, although droughts sometimes occur during the summer months.-
 
 SOIL SUKVEY OF THE CAKIBOU AKEA, MAINE. 9 
 
 The soils, however, withstand these drouglity periods to a reasonable 
 dofjiec and crops seldom suffer as they do in some otiier sections of 
 New England. 
 
 The prevailing winds arc from the northwest. Easterly winds 
 from the coast usually bring rain. The general climatic conditions 
 arc said to be very healthful, while the death rate is somewhat less 
 than in other sections of New England. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Aroostot)k County at the time of its first settlement was covered 
 with a ilense forest of evergreen and deciduous trees. The former 
 included spruce, fir, cedar, and white pine, and the latter a great 
 variety of species, prominent among which were beech, yellow birch, 
 elm, ash, maple, tamarack, white birch, and poplar. The evergreen 
 trees then, as now, were confined principally to the low, swampy 
 lands, while the hardwoods occupied the ridges. Immense white 
 pines, however, were found on all soils; and while the other trees are 
 still abundant, this most valuable tree, which gave to the State the 
 name "Pine Tree State," has become almost extinct within the area 
 surveyed. 
 
 The first settlers and lumbermen regarded the white pine as the 
 only tree worth marketing. Later the value of the spruce was recog- 
 nized, and spruce lumber is now being shipped out of the county in 
 immense quantities. There is no present danger of exhausting the 
 supply, however, as the owners are following a more intelligent 
 system of cutting than was employed in the earlier days of lumbering. 
 
 There are records showing that pioneers from New Brunswick 
 settled at Fort Fairfield as early as 1816, and at Presque Isle a few 
 years later. They cleared small tracts of land along the Aroostook 
 River and farmed on a small scale during the summer months, but 
 the greater portion of the year was devoted to lumbering. These 
 settlers were almost entirely dependent on the timber, which they 
 exchanged for the necessaries of life. 
 
 At the close of the war of 1812 the boundary line between Maine 
 and New Brunswick was left unsettled, and there were border troubles 
 between the United States and England for several years later, which 
 resulted ultimately in the building of the military road from Bangor 
 to Iloulton soon after 1830. Later this road was extended to Presque 
 Isle and Caribou. This was an important factor in the development 
 of the region, as it gave an outlet to the markets of the southern part 
 of the State. 
 
 Up to the time of the construction of this highwaj^ there were no 
 
 large areas under cultivation. Small tracts had been devoted to the 
 
 production of oats, rye, wheat, buckwheat, hay, and potatoes, for 
 
 hycal consumption. In fact, practically all the food, as well as cloth- 
 
 2G971— 10 2
 
 10 FIELD OPEBATIONS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 ing, was produced on the farm. There were, however, a few larger 
 tracts of land which were devoted during the summer to the grazing 
 of cattle and sheep. In the winter these, together with some hogs, 
 were fed from the grain and hay produced on the farm, as it was found 
 much easier to get the hay and grain to the distant markets in the 
 form of beef, pork, mutton, and butter. Mills had already been estab- 
 lished where the grain could be ground for the stock and for family use. 
 
 The various lumber camps, which were operated in the county 
 during the winter months, furnished a market for a large part of the 
 farm products. The great number of men employed in these camps 
 consumed much of the meat and many of the potatoes and other vege- 
 tables, while the horses required almost all the oats and hay produced 
 in the area. 
 
 Pioneers were drifting into the area from the provinces and from 
 the southern part of the State all the time, and the population in- 
 creased from 3,399 in 1830 to 15,527 in 1850. 
 
 Just prior to the civil war settlers came into the county in large 
 numbers, and naturally there arose a great demand for a railroad 
 connecting the county with the southern part of the State. To aid 
 in the establishment of such a line, the State gave township after 
 township to the European and North American Railroad, until in 
 1865, out of 175 townships, only 40 remained to the State. What was 
 still worse, after giving up all these lands the county never received 
 any direct benefit, although it was doubtless intended by the legis- 
 lature and expected by the people that the line should extend as far 
 north as Iloultcm. 
 
 But the civil war put a stop to these proceedings and at the same 
 time checked the development of the county. However, after recov- 
 ering from the effects of the war, the inhabitants renewed the clamor 
 for a railroad, but finally despairing of getting a direct line to Bangor, 
 asked the New Brunswick Company, which was constructing a line up 
 the St. John Valley, to extend branch lines to Houlton and Fort 
 Fairfield. This they did, completing the Houlton branch in 1862 and 
 the Presque Isle branch in 1875. In 1876 the line was extended to 
 Caribou, and finally, in 1881, to Presque Isle. This road served the 
 county for twenty years, and although the line of shipment was 
 indirect, it afforded an outlet for the products, and as a result the 
 acreage under cultivation increased. Up to this time the type of agri- 
 culture had remained practically the same, the leading crops being 
 oats, wheat, buckwheat, and hay, although dairying was gradually 
 coming into prominence. 
 
 The construction of the first starch factory in 1874 marks the 
 beginning of a revolution in agriculture. This industry, organized 
 by Albe Holmes, a New Hampshire man, is pi'obablj^, though indi- 
 rectly, the outcome of the building of a branch line of the New
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 11 
 
 Brunswick Railroad into Ploulton and the promise of such a Hne into 
 Fort Fiiirfield, thus bringino: the reo^ion into better communication 
 with the markets. This industry proved a success, and in a sliort 
 time other factories were estabhshed at various points in the area 
 where farmers woukl contract to f^jrow enouf]:li potatoes to justify the 
 building of such a factory, and. thus the acreage devoted to potatoes 
 ra})idly increased. It frequently happened that more potatoes were 
 grown than could be used at the starch factories, and as a result the 
 farmei-s began shipping them. In a short time a demand for Aroos- 
 took potatoes was created, and under this stimulus the acreage 
 showed a still greater increase, until, in 1891, 1,700,000 bushels of 
 potatoes and 4,500 tons of starch were shipped out of the county. 
 
 During this time the population was rapidly increasing and the 
 agricultural products were multiplying. As a result the clamor for 
 a direct route to Bangor broke out afresh. So far all goods that 
 passed over the New Brunswick Railroad, now the Canadian Pacific, 
 had to be shipped under manifest. They were also a long time en 
 route, and the rates- were high. 
 
 Finally the construction of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad 
 was begun at Bangor in 1893. That fall it was completed to Houlton, 
 and the following year, 1894, it reached Caribou and Fort Fairfield. 
 
 Although the acreage in potatoes showed a gradual increase, owing 
 to the establishment of the starch industry, it was not until the 
 opening of this road, which brought the area into direct communi- 
 cation with some of the southern markets, that the industry entered 
 upon its present era. Since that time the potato has been, still is, 
 and probably will continue to be the most profitable crop in Aroostook 
 County. Each year large areas of new lands are devoted to this crop. 
 It is to be regretted, however, that large areas of good potato soils 
 in the county are held by lumber companies or by individuals, who 
 refuse to sell them at any price, and who are content with the income 
 realized from the lumber that is being removed. Land held in this 
 way is bound to check the agricultural development of the county. 
 
 Next to potatoes in importance is the hay crop, the acreage of 
 which is considerably larger than that of potatoes. At one time 
 large quantities of grass and clover seed were produced for sale, but 
 the practice has gradually been replaced by other forms of industry. 
 Clover and timothy are now grown almost exclusively. The first 
 crop from a newly seeded piece of land is principally clover, while 
 the succeeding crops consist chiefly of timothy. Large quanti- 
 ties of the latter are shipped to Boston markets, and the income from 
 this source is a very important item to the farmer. The quality is 
 excellent, and the crop, as a rule, commands a good price. The 
 average yield is from 1 to 2 tons per acre, depending, of course, on 
 the condition of the land.
 
 12 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 Oats are grown on almost every farm, but not in sufficient quan- 
 tities to supply the local demand, and each jeSiT large quantities are 
 shipped into the area. There seems to be no necessity for this, as 
 the yield of oats is large, the average being 50 bushels per acre, and 
 they always bring a good price. 
 
 AYlieat and rye were formerly grown by almost every farmer. At 
 present, however, no crops of the latter are seen, while only small 
 areas are devoted to the former for home consumption. Spring 
 varieties are grown almost exclusively, the White Russian being the 
 standard. The usual 3'ield is from 25 to 30 bushels per acre. 
 
 Many of the farmers have small fields of buckwheat and barley. 
 Both crops do well on the soils of the area. Barley yields from 40 
 to 50 bushels per acre. 
 
 Corn is only grown in the garden, as the season is too short for 
 it to reach maturity. 
 
 In the early da3^s the climate was thought to be too severe for 
 the growing of apples and small fruits. About thirty-five years 
 ago, however, Avhen the farmers began in a small way to raise a few 
 of the hardier varieties of applies, this idea was found to be erroneous. 
 The Fameuse became a favorite, and as it was early and matured 
 rapidly its successful culture was assured. The varieties that have 
 proved the hardiest and best suited to Aroostook County are the 
 Duchess, tlie Wealthy, the Fameuse, and Dudley's Winter. The 
 townships which produce the larger proportion of the apples are 
 Presque Isle, Mapleton, and Washburn. Blackberries, strawberries, 
 raspberries, currants, and plums can also be successfully grown, but 
 the climate is too severe for pears. 
 
 Vegetable and truck crops, ^vith the exception of potatoes, do not 
 receive the attention they should, and practicall}^ all the vegetables 
 consumed in the towns are shipped in from Boston. That such crops 
 can be successfully grown is shown by the excellent family gardens, 
 where all kinds of truck products are found. The sandy areas along 
 the Aroostook River should be especially well suited to such crops, 
 and on the muck areas, if properly drained, onions and celery should 
 do well. 
 
 More attention is being paid to the production of eggs and poultry 
 than formerly, and there is ample opportunity for success along this 
 line. Except for a short time in summer, not enough eggs are pro- 
 duced to supply the town trade, and in the late winter and spring 
 many chickens and turkeys are purchased from outside markets for 
 home use. 
 
 Dairying, which was at one time an important industry in the area, 
 has gradually declined. Formerly several cheese factories, produ- 
 cing an excellent quality of cheese, were in operation, but at present 
 none of these are in existence. Among the causes that have oper-
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 13 
 
 ated to bring about these changes may be mentioned the increased 
 interest in potato growing, which has been found more profitable 
 and less confining than dairying. At present the only town in the 
 area supporting a milk route is Caribou, where there are two successful 
 dairy farms. Almost every farmer, however, keeps at least one or 
 two cows, which furnish the family with milk and butter for a part 
 of the year, and give a surplus for sale during a part of the summer. 
 During the winter months creamery butter is shipped in from south- 
 ern points. Many of the farmers, too, buy butter for family use. 
 With milk selling at 6 cents a quart and good butter bringing 25 to 
 35 cents a pound, it would seem that a few well-regulated dairy farms 
 in the area would pay handsomely. 
 
 The production of beef and mutton has fallen off considerably, 
 although many farmers still have some excellent sheep, and there 
 are one or two fine herds of beef cattle in the area. Enough mutton is 
 produced to supply the home trade and leave some for export. The 
 towns, however, depend principally on the West for their beef supply. 
 
 Special attention is paid to the raising of horses, and it is doubt- 
 ful if any section in New England produces finer work and driving 
 horses than are found in the area. 
 
 The value of forest products, while not large for the area surveyed, 
 is of importance to the county as a whole, the total value in 1900 
 being 8258,087. Considerable lumbering, however, is carried on in 
 the area during the winter months, the lumber being chiefly obtained 
 from the swamp land. At this time of the year many of the farmers 
 take their teams to the large lumber camps. 
 
 Potatoes and grass are grown on nearly all the soils, except the 
 swamp lands, but it is a generally recognized fact that while the 
 black soils are especially well suited to grass, they are not so well 
 adapted to potato production. It is also claimed that the river soils 
 are the best grass lands in the area, and that j^otatoes do better on 
 the hardwood ridges. 
 
 No single system of crop rotation is followed. The general prac- 
 tice is to have a three-course rotation involving three, four, five, or 
 six years. With this end in view three general systems have devel- 
 oped, as follows: (1) Potatoes two years, grain one year, grass two 
 years; (2) potatoes one year, grain one year, grass two or three years; 
 (.3) potatoes one year, grain one year, clover one year. Each of these 
 systems has its advantages. While a smaller yield of potatoes is 
 apt to result from the use of the first system, many farmers have 
 resorted to it in order to kill out the couch grass. The first and sec- 
 ond systems have a distinct advantage over the last where it is 
 intended to sell large quantities of hay. There is not much demand 
 for clover hay in the Boston market, and as very little timothy 
 can be secured the lii'st year from seeding, it is necessary to leave
 
 14 FIELD OPEKATIONS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 the land in grass two or three years. The third system and least 
 used should be the one most generally followed. In order to do 
 this successfully, since, as has been stated, there is not much de- 
 mand for clover hay outside of the local markets, the farmers should 
 keep more sheep and dairy cattle and feed the greater part of the 
 crop on the farm. 
 
 The farmers all claim, however, that there is more money in potato 
 production than in dairying, and practice the other rotations for 
 this reason. There is no apparent necessity for any decrease in 
 the acreage annually devoted to potatoes where dairying is followed, 
 as the two industries need not intei-fere with each other. Under 
 such a system of farming the fertilizer bill could be greatly decreased, 
 for with the large amounts of stable manure used as a top dressing 
 and by plowing under the aftermath that always springs up where 
 a crop of clover is removed, the productivity of the land would con- 
 tinually increase, and the same production of potatoes could be 
 secured from much smaller areas. 
 
 Another distinct advantage this system has over the others is 
 that the farmers would not be so entirely dependent on the potato 
 crop, and in years of poor crops, which are bound to come occasion- 
 ally, they at least would have the income from the dairy. 
 
 The absence of bowlders and the rolling though not hilly topog- 
 raphy makes possible the use of all kinds of farm machinery, such 
 as diggers, planters, mowers, hay loaders, and manure spreaders. 
 The preparation of the land is deep and thorough, the two-horse 
 sulky plow being used in most cases, although some farmers still 
 use the walking plow. After plowing in the fall the small stones are 
 picked up and thrown into heaps or used for filling swampy holes. 
 
 In clearing new land the trees are cut and the timber removed 
 during the winter, and the following spring the brush is burned 
 and the land plowed and seeded to clover and timothy. It is then 
 left from two to five years, being used largely as pasture, although 
 some farmers cut the grass with a scythe. At the end of this time 
 the stumps have rotted sufficiently so that the smaller ones can be 
 pulled by horse power, while the larger ones are blown out with dyna- 
 mite. The land is then planted to potatoes. The cost of clearing 
 land in this way varies from $10 to $15 an acre, and can usually 
 be paid for by the returns from the timber removed. It is generally 
 estimated that on the hardwood ridges there is from 1 ,000 to 2,000 
 feet per acre of spruce, which is the most valuable timber. In addi- 
 tion there is a ready market for a limited amount of the beech and 
 bircli for firewood, and some of the mills use large quantities for 
 various purposes. 
 
 Commercial fertilizers are applied only to the potato fields, and large 
 amounts are used on this crop. Very little attention is given to
 
 SOIL aUEVEY OF THE OAKIBOU AREA, MAINE. 15 
 
 stable manure, and by the time it reaches the lield it has lost much 
 of its strentj:th as a fertilizer. Thus the productivity of the soil 
 depends almost entirely u])on the use of commercial fertilizers. 
 It is claimed, however, that under this treatment the productivity 
 of the land has i^jradually increased, but whether this will continue 
 indefinitely or not is an unsolved problem. 
 
 As a rule little difficulty is experienced in securing efficient labor 
 when needed. By the use of all kinds of farm machinery the farm- 
 ers with large families have need of little hired hel]), except during 
 the potato-harvesting season, when large numbers of laborers come 
 in from the Provinces. The average wage paid at these times 
 ranges from $2 to $2.50 a day with board. By the month laborers 
 command from $20 to $30 with board. 
 
 According to the census of 1900 the average size of farms was 
 114.3 acres, and 91.7 per cent of these were operated by the owners, 
 the remainder being rented. On the rented farms the share and cash 
 tenants are about evenly divided. Where land is rented on shares 
 the owner and tenant each receive one-half the crop, (^asli rents 
 run from $10 to $25 an acre, depending on -the nearness to market 
 and the condition of the farm. 
 
 The value of farm lands has tripled in the last twelve or fifteen 
 years, and instances are not uncommon where farms have sold for 
 ten times what they brought twelve years ago. The greater j)art of 
 the cleared ridge land, with improvements, sells for about $100 an acre. 
 
 It is recommeniled that better care be taken of the stable manure. 
 If it were kept under cover until hauled to the field, and if the straw 
 and rubbish, instead of being burned, as is commonly done, were 
 incorporated with the manure, the fertilizing value of the manure 
 would be greatly increased. The adoption of a three-year rotation 
 and the keeping of more live stock would doubtless prove a very 
 satisfactory system of farming. Under such a i)lan the fertilizer 
 bill could be greatly reduced. Tliis could also be accomplished to a 
 certain extent if the home mixture of fertilizers were more generally 
 practiced. 
 
 THE POTATO INDUSTRY. 
 
 The crop of paramount importance in this area, ami the one to 
 which more and more attention is being given, is the potato. From 
 a very small beginning, when the first settlers planted a few for 
 home consumption, the production has increased until in 1908, after 
 a lapse of a period of eighty years, the estimated crop of the county 
 is 16,000,000 bushels, a large proportion of which was j)roduced in 
 the area surveyed. As has been stated, the introduction of the 
 starch factory gave the first great impetus to this industry. This 
 brought the farmers to a realization of the fact that large yields of 
 an excellent quality were obtainable. The small sliipments at first
 
 16 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 made gradually increased, and with the opening up of a direct rail- 
 road line in 1894 the acreage in potatoes was rapidly extended. 
 
 The prominence of this area as a potato section is due to the fact 
 that the farmers have taken advantage of natural conditions and 
 improved the opportunities for growing this particular crop. Here 
 the soil in every way is especially suited to potatoes. It consists 
 of a hazel-brown silty loam containing many small fragments of 
 shale and other rocks. At a depth of 3 to 6 feet this is underlain by 
 a calcareous shale wliich has been mingled more or less with the other 
 soil material. The soil has excellent underdrainage, so the crop sel- 
 dom suffers from an excess of moisture, while on the other hand it 
 will stand a long period of dry weather with little if any injury to the 
 crop. Furthermore, the climate is conducive to a quick and healthy 
 growth of the crop; but with everything that is desirable in the way 
 of soil, drainage, and climate it would be impossible to produce large 
 crops unless ])roperly managed, and the farmers as a rule practice 
 up-to-date methods in cultivation, harvesting, and handling of the 
 crop. No systematic rotation is closely adhered to, but the general 
 plan is as follows: Potatoes, one or two years; grain, usually oats, one 
 year; and grass, one, two, or three years. Owing to the short grow- 
 ing season it is essential that the land be plowed in the fall in order 
 that planting may be done at the first op]:)ortunity in the spring. On 
 account of the deep covering of snow there is little if any frost in the 
 ground, so it is possible to start farm work almost as soon as the snow 
 melts in the spring. The land is then harrowed two or three times 
 with a spring-tooth harrow. The potatoes are planted as soon as the 
 weather will permit, which is usually about the 10th of May, with 
 some improved type of planter. They are always planted in drills 
 2 feet 10 inches apart, the seed being 1 foot apart in the drill. Even 
 with the most thorough preparation of the land the yield from 
 machine-planted fields is from one-fourth to one-third less than the 
 same field planted by hand. This is due to the number of skips caused 
 by the failure of the seed to sprout for one reason or another. How- 
 ever, where large areas are planted hand work is not practicable. 
 For seed the potatoes are nearly always cut, the rate of seeding being 
 from 4 to 5 barrels per acre. The varieties planted vary with the 
 section, but the three most generally grown are the Green Mountain, 
 Red Bliss, and Irish Cobbler. 
 
 Large amounts of high-grade fertilizers are used, the applications 
 ranging from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds per acre. vSpecial mixtures of 
 fertilizers are used, 4-6-10,« 5-7-10, and 6-8-10 being the usual 
 formulas. The entire amount is applied at the time of planting, 
 although experiments have shown that the yield can be increased by 
 
 « In lliis and the following formulas the ingredients are given in the order N , PoOj, 
 and K.,0.
 
 SOIL SUKVEY VF THE CAKIBOU AKEA, MAINE. 17 
 
 applying a part of this fertilizer at the time of planting and the 
 remainder at the first two cultivations. Home-mixed fertilizers 
 are never used, as the farmers claim that they have not the time to 
 do the mixing and that there is frequently diflficulty in securing the 
 ingredients. 
 
 Very little account is taken of stable manure for the potato crop. 
 It is very important where manure is used that it be applied as a top 
 dressing to the grass land after the hay crop has been removed, as it 
 is almost certain to produce rot if used directly on the potato land. 
 If the land becomes too w^eedy before the potato sprouts appear 
 above ground a weeder is used. As soon as the plant breaks through 
 the surface the double-shovel plow is brought into use. This throws 
 the dirt over the young plants, covering them to a depth of 1 inch, 
 thus protecting them against late frosts and at the same time killing 
 the weeds. After this the crop receives three or four cultivations with 
 a walking or riding cultivator, and immediately following such 
 cultivations the land is gone over with a double-shovel plow, throw- 
 ing the soil in ridges around the plants. Level cultivation has been 
 tried with success, but most of the farmers claim that diggers will 
 not do satisfactory w^ork unless the potatoes are ridged. 
 
 The only w^eed that gives any trouble is couch grass. In diy 
 seasons this weed bothers very little, but in wet seasons persistent 
 and judicious cultivation is required to keep it down. 
 
 As is the case in most other sections, the greatest problem that 
 the farmers have to contend with in growing the potato is the blight, 
 which, unless kept in check, greatly reduces the yield. As a rule, 
 however, the farmers are able to control the disease, and almost all 
 the growers spray the vines. Bordeaux mixture is used, the usual 
 formula being 5 pounds of lime and 5 pounds of copper sulphate to 
 50 gallons of w'ater. The solution is put on with a power sprayer 
 which covers six row^s at a time and is applied every two or three 
 weeks until the tops stop growing. About 50 gallons is required for 
 an acre. Some of the smaller farmers still use the barrel spray hauled 
 by horse and worked by manual labor. As a rule the Colorado 
 beetle does not give much trouble, but when they do appear they are 
 killed by mixing 2^ pounds of Paris green to 2 barrels of Bordeaux. 
 Many farmers apply the Paris green in powder form with a blower, 
 but the method first mentioned is more satisfactoiy and at the same 
 time saves considerable labor. 
 
 The harvesting of the early varieties begins as soon as the potatoes 
 have attained a marketable size, w^hich is usuaJly about the 20th of 
 August, and continues with the later varieties through September and 
 well into October. All the digging is done with a mechanical digger 
 drawn by two or three horses. With this machine from 4 to 6 acres 
 can be dug in a day and from 8 to 16 hands are required to pick up. 
 26971—10 3
 
 18 FIELD OPEEATIOKS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 The cost of producing a barrel of potatoes varies from 55 to 75 cents. 
 The yield of course depends somewhat on the soil, but the average 
 is probably about 75 to 85 barrels per acre. In good years, however, 
 100 to 125 barrels is not an uncommon yield on the better farms, 
 while 150 and 160 barrels are frequently reported. 
 
 A part of the crop is sold directly from the field, but at the time of 
 harvesting many of the farmers are too busy to haul their potatoes 
 to market, so they have constructed potato cellars in which the 
 greater part of the late crop is stored. These cellars are made with 
 cement walls ; only the roof is above ground and special attention is 
 given to ventilation. The potatoes may be kept here w^ithout danger 
 of freezing except in the coldest weather, when small fires are built. 
 Later in the season, when the fall work is done, the potatoes are 
 carted to the towns, where they are sold to buyers who ship them 
 directly or else store them in the large warehouses with which each 
 town is supplied. Taken together, these storehouses hold thousands 
 of bushels, and here the crop is held and distributed whenever and 
 wherever the dealer sees fit. Through the introduction of the Eastman 
 heater car it has become possible to ship potatoes even in the coldest 
 weather without danger of freezing. These dealers buy only the 
 merchantable tubers which are sold for table use or for seed purposes. 
 The former comprise by far the larger proportion of the crop. The 
 price ranges from $1 to $2 a barrel, depending on the quahty of the 
 crop and the supply in other sections. 
 
 The production of potatoes for seed purposes is quite an important 
 industry in some sections of the area, and each year a number of 
 buyers from Virginia, the Carolinas, New Jersey, Long Island, and 
 other potato-growing sections to the south come here to obtain seed 
 stock. Many of the farmers grow potatoes with this end in view and 
 sell direct to these buyers. In many cases the dealers contract with 
 the farmers to raise a certain number of barrels at a stated price, the 
 dealers often furnishing the seed for the crop in order to keep it pure. 
 The price obtained for these potatoes is about the same as for table 
 potatoes. 
 
 All the unmerchantable and, in times when the market price is 
 exceptionally low, many of the merchantable tubers are disposed of 
 at the starch factories, of which there are a large number operating 
 in the area. The average capacity of a factory is 75,000 bushels 
 during the usual working season, which is from the middle of Sep- 
 tember to the middle of November. On the average, 200 bushels of 
 potatoes make a ton* of starch. The process is quite simple. The 
 factories are located on a clear stream of water and consist of store- 
 houses, a building with steam power machinery for washing and 
 grating the potatoes, and a building for drying. The potatoes are 
 washed thoroughly, then grated, the pulp falling on large wire sieves.
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 19 
 
 Clear water is turned on and washes the starch out of the pulp, carry- 
 ing it through the sieve into a large vat. When the vat is full of 
 water holding starch in solution, it is allowed to stand twenty-four 
 hours, when the starch has settled to the bottom. Only a portion of 
 the starch is clear. This clear starch is removed, while the residue 
 undergoes a second washing. After two or three washings the starch 
 is taken to the drying house, where it is dried by means of steam pipes. 
 It is then barreled and sold to cotton manufactories, where it is used 
 in the manufacture of cotton cloth. The average price paid for the 
 potatoes that are convertible into starch is 40 to 50 cents a barrel. 
 
 SOILS. 
 
 During the Glacial epoch all of Maine was covered with a slowly 
 moving sheet of ice of great thickness. This mass, by crushing and 
 grinding, rounded off the ridges and filled in the valleys with trans- 
 ported material. As the ice melted it left an unassorted mass of 
 coarse and fine material over the entire region. The lower till, or 
 that carried beneath the ice, remains as a very compact grayish silty 
 layer containing many rounded stones in great variety, with some 
 coarse gravel and shale fragments. Resting upon this is a stratum 
 which was carried upon and within the ice sheet, and this is known 
 as the upper till. This in places contains a large number of small, 
 rounded stones, wliile in others it is comparatively free from them. 
 It is much darker in color and more friable than the lower till, the 
 difference probably having been brought about by differences in 
 degree of oxidation and by the greater amounts of organic matter 
 in the upper till, as a result of the growth and decay of plants. The 
 depth of the upper till varies from 1 to 3 feet, although in a few cases 
 it is apparently absent. At the close of the Glacial epoch the land 
 is believed to have subsided, and the climate to have become 
 warmer. At this time the Aroostook Valley was partly filled and 
 swift flowing streams laid down the second terraces. Then followed 
 an elevation of the country and the stream continued cutting its 
 channel until the present level was reached, where the first bottoms 
 or last terraces are still in the process of formation. These two ter- 
 races are the only ones that show along the Aroostook River. 
 
 The soils in Aroostook County are thus of glacial origin, being de- 
 rived from glacial debris as originally deposited or from similar mate- 
 rial modified to some extent by water agencies. Since deposition 
 these soils have undergone some very important changes through the 
 influence of weathering and as a result of the growth and decay of 
 plants. These processes have in most cases changed the surface 1 or 
 2 feet from a compact gray soil to a friable yellow loam. 
 
 Unlike most glacial soils, these soils give evidence of having been 
 transported but a short distance and have in most cases been derived
 
 20 FIELD OPEEATIONS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 from the underlying rock or from a similar rock a short distance to the 
 north. The rock from wliich the most of these soils are derived is the 
 shaly Aroostook limestone. Tliis rock is found at depths ranging 
 from a few inches to 25 or 30 feet, the average being from 2 to 6 feet, 
 although small areas of outcrop are frequently encountered. There 
 are, however, small bodies in the Aroostook volcanic area, underlain 
 by other rocks of which small outcrops also occur. Such rocks are 
 the conglomerate and diabase of Mars Hill, the Mapleton conglom- 
 erates, sandstones, and granites; the Chapman sandstones; the tra- 
 chytes of Edmund and Hobart Hill; and the quartz-trachytes of the 
 Quaggy Joe region. Of these the only ones that have influenced the 
 character of the soil to any noticeable degree are the sandstones and 
 conglomerate, which, where they are near the surface, not only change 
 the texture but also the color of the overlying material. In addition, 
 there is a small area in Chapman and Mapleton townships underlain 
 by arenaceous limestones, a belt of which extends nearly north and 
 south just outside and to the west of the area. The area as a whole 
 is remarkably free from large glacial bowlders, although occasionally 
 one may be found in any part of the survey, while in the immediate 
 vicinity where outcroppings occur bowlders are very abundant. 
 
 Twelve distinct soil types have been recognized and mapped in 
 the area. According to topography, these may be divided into two 
 general groups — those derived from unmodified drift, or upland soils, 
 and those derived from modified drift, or lowland soils. Of the latter 
 four types were recognized. The other and the most important group 
 includes all the other soils. Wlien classified according to origin, the 
 soils fall into three groups — alluvial soils, including those which are 
 at present in the process of formation and those formed before the 
 river had cut its present level; glacial soils, representing the sheet of 
 unmodified drift which covers the greater part of the area; and, finally, 
 the organic soils, which have resulted from the accumulation and de- 
 cay of plants and trees. In most cases these groups have been sub- 
 divided into classes, such as silts, loams, silt loams, and sandy loams, 
 according to their texture as determined by mechanical analyses of 
 typical samples. These classes have further been divided into types 
 and grouped in series where the similarity in origin, color, topography, 
 and agricultural value was sufficient to warrant such a grouping. 
 
 Following such a plan, those soils derived from unmodified glacial 
 drift have been separated into eight distinct types. The similarity 
 in four of these types was- sufficient to warrant the grouping of them 
 in the Caribou series. These are the Caribou loam. Caribou stony 
 loam. Caribou gravelly loam, and Caribou silt loam. The other four 
 types — Easton loam, Mapleton gravelly loam, Washburn loam, and 
 Chapman loam — were ])laced in separate series. 
 
 Those soils derived from modifietl glacial drift have been separated 
 into three types representing the Aroostook series. These are Aroos-
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAI^:E. 
 
 21 
 
 took silt loam, Aroostook sandy loam, and Aroostook loam. Of these 
 the Aroostook silt loam is the most important type. None of them, 
 however, cover any great area. 
 
 Under the organic soils there is one t}-pe — Muck. This type has 
 resulted from the decay of vegetable matter which has become mixed 
 with, soil washed in from adjacent slopes. 
 
 The larger number of these types are very productive, and wnththe 
 exception of the Caribou stony loam and Muck areas admit of the use 
 of any kind of labor-saving macliinery. 
 
 The following table gives the actual and relative extent of each of 
 the soil types: 
 
 Areas of different soils. 
 
 Soil. Acres. 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 Soil. Acres. Per cent. 
 
 
 220, 672 
 
 65.1 
 16.3 
 8.1 
 3.0 
 2.6 
 1.6 
 1.1 
 
 
 Muck 
 
 55,2% 
 27,648 
 10, 176 
 9,024 
 5,504 
 
 Aroostook silt loam 2, 432 ■ 7 
 
 Chapman loam 
 
 Aroostook sand V loam 1 960 3 
 
 
 Mapletou gravelly loam 192 .1 
 
 Aroostook loam 64 i .1 
 
 Easton loam 
 
 AN'ashburn loam . . 
 
 
 
 Caribou gravelly loam . . . 
 
 3,904 
 
 Total 3.39,200 : 
 
 
 
 CARIBOU LOAM. 
 
 The Caribou loam, to an average depth of 10 inches, consists of a 
 hazel-brown silty loam. Beneath this is a yellow silty loam of about 
 the same texture, which ranges in thickness from a few inches to 2 
 feet, where it rests on the gray or grayish-3-ellow silty loam of the 
 lower till. In places this lower till comes within a few inches of the 
 surface, in which case the yellow stratum is lacking. Small rounded 
 stones, consisting of sandstone, gneiss, granite, and quartzite, are 
 found in both the soil and subsoil, but are more numerous in the 
 latter. In many cases, especially in the northern part of the area, 
 these stones are so numerous that it is impossible to bore to depths 
 greater than 15 to 20 inches. Along many of the stream slopes small 
 stones are so abundant as to give the soil the appearance of a gravelly 
 loam, although the texture of the interstitial material is little differ- 
 ent from the rest of the tj'pe. Almost the entire type is underlain 
 at a depth ranging from a few inches to several feet by a calcareous 
 shale, many small fragments of which are distributed throughout 
 the soil and subsoil. These fragments are especially numerous in 
 the southern part of the area, where the rock as a rule is somewhat 
 nearer the surface. Small outcropping areas of these rocks have 
 been designated on the map by symbol. In virgin forests there is 
 usually a thin layer of a white floury silt just beneath the covering 
 of the leaf mold.
 
 22 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 As mapped the type includes many small depressions of Easton 
 loam and Washburn loam. That part of the type along the slopes 
 of the northern half of Mars Hill is somewhat darker in color and con- 
 tains more moisture. A freshly plowed field of Caribou loam presents 
 a mottled appearance, showing white, browTi, and black areas. 
 
 As a rule the soil is friable, free from large bowlders, well drained, 
 and seldom bakes, thus rendering the use of all kinds of improved farm 
 machinery both easy and profitable. 
 
 The Caribou loam occurs in all parts of the area as practically one 
 continuous body, dissected by strips and small areas of other types. 
 In the low country around Mars Hill it gives w^ay to the Caribou silt 
 loam, a similar soil in every respect, though containing about 10 per 
 cent more silt. The townships containing the greatest proportion 
 and the most typical bodies of the type are Limestone, Presque Isle, 
 Easton, Fort Fairfield, and Caribou. 
 
 This is an upland type occupying the swells and ridges and extend- 
 ing down the stream slopes nearly or quite to the streams. Its posi- 
 tion insures good surface drainage, while the compactness of the 
 subsoil aids in making the soil retentive of moisture. The type 
 witlistands long dry periods to a remarkable degree. 
 
 The Caribou loam is glacial in origin, having been derived from 
 unmodified drift. The soil gives evidence of having been trans- 
 ported but a short distance and has originated from the underlying 
 Aroostook limestone. The upper bright-yellow layer is that part 
 borne in and on the ice, while the grayish compact material was 
 carried beneath the ice. 
 
 The native vegetation consists of hardwoods, as maple, ash, yellow 
 birch, and beech, with a scattering growth of spruce and fir. At one 
 time white pine abounded on this type, but this has long since 
 disappeared. 
 
 All farm crops do well on this soil, and it produces by far the greater 
 part of the potatoes grown in the area. It seems especially adapted 
 to potatoes, and to grass and all kinds of grain, vegetables, and 
 fruits. The yield of potatoes depends on the variety grown and the 
 attention given the crop. The average probably runs from 80 to 85 
 barrels. In good years, however, as many as 150 barrels per acre 
 have been reported, whUe 100 barrels is not at all uncommon. Hay 
 yields from 1 to 1^ tons, oats 50 bushels, wheat 25 to 30 bushels, and 
 barley 40 to 50 bushels per acre. 
 
 Cultural methods do not differ from those given other soils. The 
 rotation is potatoes one or two years; oats one year; grass one, two, 
 or three years. If this rotation were shortened and more stock kept, 
 the soil could be improved and the fertilizer bill reduced. The 
 fertilizer application is 1,200 to 1,500 pounds per acre.
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 
 
 23 
 
 The best farms in the area are located on the Caribou loam. The 
 greater part of the type is under cultivation and the remainder is 
 being rapidly cleared. Timbered areas sell for $12 to $15, while the 
 cultivated land brings from $75 to SlOO an acre with improvements, 
 the price depending somewhat on nearness to market. 
 
 Average results of mechanical analyses of fine-earth samples of 
 soil and subsoil are given in the following table : 
 Mechanical analyses of Caribou loam. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Descrip- 
 tion. 
 
 Fine 
 gravel. 
 
 Coarse 
 sand. 
 
 Medium Fine 
 sand. sand. 
 
 i 
 
 Very fine 
 sand. 
 
 Silt. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 18688,19609,19611... 
 18689,19610,19612... 
 
 Soil 
 
 Subsoil — 
 
 Per cent. ■ Per cent. 
 3.0 8.5 
 4.2 i 8.9 
 
 Per cent. 
 4.0 
 4.1 
 
 Per cent. 
 11.0 
 10.0 
 
 Per cent. 
 10.0 
 9.4 
 
 Per cent. 
 50.9 
 40.9 
 
 Percent. 
 10.5 
 15.8 
 
 C.\RIBOU SILT LOAM. 
 
 The Caribou silt loam consists of 10 inches of a 3'ellowish-brown to 
 hazel-brown silt loam, underlain by a brighter yellow silty loam which 
 may continue throughout the limits of the soil profile or else pass into 
 the grayish silty loam of the lower till in the lower depths. This in 
 turn is underlain at depths ranging from 1 to several feet by a 
 calcareous shale. Many small shale fragments and a few small stones 
 are found in both soil and subsoil, but the latter are much less abun- 
 dant than in the other soils of the area. Unlike the condition in 
 the other soil types, nearly all of the stones in the silt loam subsoil 
 are fragments of Aroostook limestone. Similar fragments occur in 
 the surface soil, but there are also a few fragments of foreign origin. 
 The type is so similar to and changes into the Caribou loam so gradu- 
 ally that at times the separation of these types becomes very difficult. 
 The Caribou silt loam, however, contains fewer stones and runs a 
 little higher in silt content. As the type is well drained and contains 
 comparatively few stones, it is very easily cultivated. 
 
 The type occurs in four bodies, ranging in size from one-fourth to 
 several square miles in extent, in the townships of Easton, Mars Hill, 
 Blaine, and Bridge water. The largest body is found in that part of 
 the valley of the Prestile Stream and its branches lying between 
 the villages of Mars Hill and Bridgewater Center. It occurs on 
 ridges, slopes, and as flat areas. The elevation as a whole is some- 
 what less than that of the Caribou loam. 
 
 At present practically all of the type is under cultivation. The 
 virgin forests consisted of such hardwoods as beech, yellow birch, and 
 maple, with a sprinkling of spruce and fir. 
 
 Like the Caribou loam, this soil is noted for the yield and quality 
 of its potatoes. The yields range from 75 to 85 barrels, although 
 in exceptional cases as high as 140 barrels per acre may be secured.
 
 24 
 
 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 Grass, grain,. fruit, and vegetables do well. Hay yields from 1 to 
 Ih tons and oats about 50 bushels. The cultural methods do not 
 differ from those employed on other types, and the fertilizer applica- 
 tion is about 1,200 to 1,500 pounds to the acre. 
 
 As most of the type is conveniently located as to markets, the land 
 with improvements sells on the average for about $100 an acre. 
 
 The following table gives the average results of mechanical analyses 
 of fine-earth samples of the soil and subsoil: 
 
 Mechanical analyses of Caribou silt loam. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Fine 
 gravel. 
 
 Coarse 
 sand. 
 
 Medium 
 sand. 
 
 Fine 
 sand. 
 
 Very fine 
 sand. 
 
 Silt. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 19320, 19G19 
 
 Soil 
 
 Per cent. 
 2.8 
 3.4 
 
 Per cent. 
 6.7 
 7.5 
 
 Per cent. 
 2.7 
 2.6 
 
 Per cent. 
 6.3 
 6.4 
 
 Per cent. 
 8.5 
 12.2 
 
 Per cent. 
 52.4 
 46.4 
 
 Per cent. 
 20.9 
 
 19321,19620 
 
 Subsoil 
 
 21.3 
 
 CARIBOU STONY LOAM. 
 
 In its typical development the Caribou stony loam consists of 8 
 inches of a yellowish-brown silty loam, underlain by a yellowish- 
 gray silty loam which persists throughout the limits of the soil pro- 
 file or until the underlying rock is encountered. That part of the 
 type found on Mars Hill is somewhat more gravelly than the typical 
 soil and has a reddish cast. Small areas of a similar soil were also 
 encountered on Hobart Hill. On Green Mountain the soil consists 
 of a shallow mantle of the yellow till, covered by a deep vegetable 
 mold and underlain by quartz-trachyte. As mapped, the type 
 includes small rock outcrop areas of conglomerates and diabase on 
 Mars Hill, andesite on Hobart and Edmund hills, and of quartz- 
 trachyte on Quaggy Joe and Green Mountain. In all cases the 
 slopes are strewn with large glacial bowlders of granite, gneiss, 
 trachyte, andesite, and conglomerates. Because of the large num- 
 ber of glacial bowlders, ths shallowness of the soil, and the steep 
 slopes, the type is rather difficult to cultivate. 
 
 The Caribou stony loam is found in bodies varying in size from a 
 few acres to 1 square mile or more, and is confined entirely to that 
 part of the survey south of Presque Isle in what is known as the 
 Aroostook volcanic area. The largest area, 2^ miles long by 1 mile 
 wide, is just east of Mars Hill village and comprises the greater por- 
 tion of the hill of that name. The next most important area occurs 
 as a narrow belt along the range of mountains, of which Quaggy Joe 
 and Green Mountain are the most important peaks. Tliis body 
 is about one-fourth mile wide and extends in a nearly north and 
 south direction for 3 miles. In addition there is a smaller area on 
 Hobart Hill in Chapman and Mapleton townships and one in the 
 western part of Bridge water. All other areas mapped are of minor 
 importance.
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 25 
 
 As the type, without exception, occupies high ridges, peaks, and 
 steep slopes, the drainage is very thorough and would probably be 
 excessive if the forest growth were nuuoved. 
 
 The Caribou stony loam is derived from glacial till, but in some 
 cases has since been changed by the decomposition of the under- 
 lying rock or by accumulations of organic matter. The character- 
 istic forest growth consists of yellow birch, beech, and maple, with a 
 sprinkling of spruce and fir. 
 
 None of the type is under cultivation. \Vliile the glacial bowlders 
 might easily be removed from most of the area, yet owing to the 
 shallo^^^less of the soil and steepness of the slopes, it is best that they 
 remain in forest as at present or else be used for ptisturage. 
 
 The value of the Caribou stony loam depends almost entirely on 
 the timber growth and ranges from $2 to SS an acre. 
 
 CARIBOU GRAVELLY LOAM. 
 
 The soil of the Caribou gravelly loam consists of a gravelly loam 
 containing a high percentage of silt and varying in color from a yel- 
 lowish brown to a dark-chocolate brown, being much darker when 
 wet than when dry. At 10 inches this grades into a bright yellow 
 gravelly loam containing somewhat more gravel and small stones 
 than the soil. Underlying this at a depth of about 20 inches there 
 is usually a dark-colored coarse gravel, although in a few cases there 
 is a compact yellowish-gray gravellj'' loam, which corresponds to the 
 lower till of the Caribou loam, overl3ang the gravel. Sectional expo- 
 sures show this dark gravel stratum to vary in depth from 1 to 3 feet, 
 beneath which are several distinct though somewhat irregular strata 
 of coarse sand, gravelly sand, and medium sand. Both soil and 
 subsoil contain from 40 to 50 per cent of rounded and angular glacial 
 gravel from one-fourth of an inch to 4 inches in diameter. 
 
 A freshly plowed field has a decidedly mottled appearance, having 
 small patches of blackish and whitish soil mingled with the various 
 shades of brown and yellow as the predt)niinating colors. The soil is 
 very mellow, and although there are many small stones only a few 
 are large enough to offer any resistance to the plow or cultivator. 
 
 The Caribou gravelly loam is found in all })arts of the area in bodies 
 varying in size from 1 acre up to 1 square mile, the largest occurring 
 on the east and southw(^st slopes of Mars Hill. Usually the ty])e 
 occurs as morainal knolls or as larger bodies in which the morainal 
 knolls are a prominent feature. It is, however, necessary to make 
 some exceptions to this general rule, as the largest body mapped, 
 namely, the area at the east foot of Mars Hill, is conspicuously devoid 
 of these hummocks. Frequently small areas are found along the 
 streams, but the tyj^e is of more general occurrence in the larger 
 bodies of the Caribou loam. Many small kiKtlls of the gravelly loam
 
 26 
 
 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 are included in the Caribou loam, as they are too small to be mapped 
 separately. 
 
 On account of the loose, porous nature of the soil and subsoil one 
 would expect the crops growm to suffer from drought, bul^ although 
 the type does not withstand long diy periods as well as the more 
 retentive soils the crops are seldom injured by lack of moisture. 
 
 The Caribou gravelly loam is of glacial origin, and though the 
 underlying gravel shows the effect of swift-flowing waters the surface 
 soil indicates little if any such effect, with the possible exception that 
 some of the finer material was carried by waters from the melting ice. 
 
 Practically all of the type is under cultivation. The character- 
 istic timber growth consists of beech, birch, and maple, with some 
 scattered spruce, fir, and cedar. All these have replaced the white 
 pine with which this country was once forested. 
 
 The Caribou gravelly loam is well suited to potatoes, the yield 
 varying from 70 to 90 barrels per acre. Grass, buckwheat, and oats 
 do fairl}^ well, but usually show the effects of too thorough drainage. 
 As a whole the type is better suited to potatoes than to any other crop. 
 The soil requires somewhat larger applications of fertilizers than the 
 Caribou loam in order to maintain its productivity. Like all other 
 soils of a porous nature, it is very probable that the Caribou gravelly 
 loam would be greatly benefited by heavy applications of barnyard 
 manure. 
 
 The value of this type is dependent on the nearness to market, but 
 as a rule it sells for $90 to $100 an acre with the improvements. 
 
 The results of mechanical analyses of typical fine-earth samples of 
 soil and subsoil are given in the following table: 
 
 Mechanical analyses of Caribou gravelly loam. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Fine 
 gravel. 
 
 Coarse 
 sand. 
 
 Medium 
 
 sand. 
 
 Fine 
 sand. 
 
 Very fine 
 sand. 
 
 Sill. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 19(il.'j 
 
 Soil 
 
 Per cent. 
 7.5 
 
 9.6 
 
 Per cent. 
 11.5 
 
 20.9 
 
 Per cent. 
 4.4 
 
 O.G 
 
 Per cent. 
 8.3 
 
 10.5 
 
 Percent. 
 
 8.4 
 
 7.8 
 
 Per cent. 
 43.1 
 
 29.4 
 
 Per cent. 
 16.5 
 
 1961G 
 
 Subsoil 
 
 14.4 
 
 
 
 Sample No. 19015 contained 52.1 per cent of coarse gravel, and No. 19010, 72.3 per cent. 
 MAPLETON GRAVELLY LOAM. 
 
 The soil of the Mapleton gravelly loam is a rather coarse gravelly 
 loam 12 inches or less in depth and containing a rather high percent- 
 age of silt. When wet the soil is a very dark brown with a reddish 
 cast, but when dry it becomes a purplish color. Below 1 2 inches it 
 is a reddish-yellow gravelly loam of uniform texture throughout the 
 soil profile. As a rule, the rock is encountered anywhere from 6 to 20 
 inclu's below the surface, while in some cases small outcrops occur.
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 
 
 27 
 
 The gravelly material in both soil and subsoil consists of angular and 
 wa Unworn fragments of sandstone and quartz. 
 
 The Mapleton gravelly loam is of very limited extent. Only four 
 bodies were mapped, their combined area being less than one-half 
 square mile. With the exception of one small body in Presque Isle 
 Township, near Spragueville, all the type is confined to the northeast 
 corner of Mapleton Township, occurring as long, narrow ridges on 
 what is known as Creasy Ridge. These ridges, which mark places 
 where the underlying conglomerates come near the surface, in many 
 instances are only a few feet wide. As it was impossible to show the 
 smaller areas on the map, they were included with the Caribou loam. 
 Since the type occupies ridges and slopes, and is of a loose texture, 
 it is usually well drained. Except in those cases where the rock is 
 exposed or else covered with a thin layer of soil, there is nothing to 
 interfere with cultivation. 
 
 The Mapleton gravelly loam, partly glacial and partly residual in 
 origin, owes its present characteristics to the underlying red con- 
 glomerates and sandstones, from which it has been derived through 
 glacial and weathering agencies. It is undoubtedly true that at one 
 time some of these areas consisted of the same soil as the Caribou 
 loam, but through the decomposition of the coarse conglomerates, 
 where near the surface, the original texture and color of the soil have 
 undergone a decided change, while, as a result of the breaking down 
 of the conglomerate rock, the type has become a gravelly loam. 
 
 The native vegetation consisted principally of such hard\voods as 
 beech, birch, and maple. At present, however, all the type is cleared 
 and under cultivation. Potatoes, grass, and grain are grown, and 
 where the soil covering is not too shallow very good yields are secured, 
 although perhaps not quite equal to those on the Caribou loam. 
 This soil seems to be well adapted to fruits, and especially apples. 
 The fertilizpr applications arc the same as for all the other soils in the 
 area. 
 
 No areas made up exclusively of this type are on the market. Its 
 value is largely determined by the value of surrounding ])odies of the 
 (\aribou loam. 
 
 llesults of mechanical analyses of fine-earth samples of the soil 
 and subsoil arc given in the following table: 
 
 Mechanical analyses of Mapleton gravelly loam. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Fine 
 gravel. 
 
 . Coarse 
 
 sand. 
 
 Medium 
 sand. 
 
 Fine 
 sand. 
 
 Very fine 
 sand. 
 
 Silt. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 19(12.1 
 
 Soil 
 
 Per cent. 
 9.0 
 11.2 
 
 Per cent. 
 25.0 
 10. 9 
 
 Per cent. 
 8.2 
 5.7 
 
 Per cent. 
 12.9 
 9.1 
 
 Per cent. 
 11.7 
 12.6 
 
 Per cent. 
 15.2 
 13.4 
 
 Per cent. 
 18.2 
 
 19G2G 
 
 Subsoil 
 
 13.2 
 
 
 
 Sample No. 19025 contained 4G.7 per cent of coarse gravel and No. 19626, 52.0 per cent.
 
 28 FIELD OPEEATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 EASTON LOAM. 
 
 The Easton loam consists of 10 inches of ashy-gray or nearly white 
 silty loam, underlain by a mottled gray and yellow silty loam or silt 
 loam in which there is a gradually increasing amount of yellow soil 
 until at 36 inches only slight mottlings of the gray material are dis- 
 cernible. Very frequently a layer of sticky yellow clay is encountered 
 at 20 to 30 inches. As a rule, both soil and subsoil contain a large 
 number of angular glacial bowlders and rock fragments up to 1 foot in 
 diameter, seldom larger, and a noticeable c{uantity of fine sandstone 
 and shale gravel. When very (hy the surface has a whitish appear- 
 ance and a floury texture, indicating the presence of a large proportion 
 of "rock flour," the result of the grinding up of the rocks by glacial 
 action. The rock and shale fragments have a white coating which, 
 in the newly plowed field, increases the whitish appearance of the soil. 
 
 In its natural state the type has a thin coating of leaf mold, but 
 under cultivation this becomes incorporated with the wdiite soil and 
 in a short while all traces of it disappear. On account of the poor 
 drainage and stiff nature of the type it is a rather difficult soil to 
 handle until artificially drained. 
 
 The Easton loam occurs in bodies of varying sizes, from a fraction 
 of an acre up to three-fourths of a square mile in extent, the largest 
 being foimd in the northern part of the area in the townships of 
 Caribou, Presque Isle, and liimestone. Only a few areas large 
 enough to map were found south of Easton and Presque Isle town- 
 ships. The type occurs as flat or depressetl areas in, larger bodies of 
 Caribou loam and i)resents a very marked contrast to the dark-brown 
 color of the latter type. Not infrequently it occurs as narrow strips 
 bordering larger areas of muck. Because of its position the soil is 
 inclined to be poorly drained and good crops can not, as a rule, be 
 grown imtil artificial drainage has been established. 
 
 The Easton loa,m is of glacial origin and owes its striT^ingly light 
 color either to a less advanced stage of weathering or to an alteration 
 of the upper till. It is possible that these areas may have been cov- 
 er(>(l ])y water or may have been subject to wet and dry stages, con- 
 ditions hindering oxidation by preventing aeration. 
 
 The characteristic native vegetation consists of a thick growth of 
 small tamarack, spruce, fir, cedar, })oplar, and white birch. Where 
 the growth is not too thick there is a heavy covering of moss over the 
 soil. Old ])ine stum])s are frequently encountered, showing that this 
 most valuable tree at one time grew on this soil. 
 
 When properly drained fair yields of potatoes are secured, 
 although nothing like the yields obtained on adjoining areas of the 
 Cari))ou loam. There is some di(ficu]ty in securing a good stand, as 
 th(^ soil is inclined to be cold and wet, conditions which i)revent or
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAliS'E. 
 
 29 
 
 hinder the sprouting of tlie tubers. Potatoes produced .on this soil 
 are somewhat inferior in (puility, ji.s there is a teniU^icy toward scab- 
 biness. Oats and grass do fairly well, although the latter is inclined 
 to winterkill. 
 
 What this soil needs is a thorough sA'steni of drainage. This, to- 
 gether with the incorporation of organic matter in the form of barn- 
 yard manure, would improve the texture of the soil and increase the 
 productivity. The fertilizer application is about the same as that 
 for other soils of the area. 
 
 The agricultural value of this individual soil type cannot be given, 
 as it is always included in larger areas of the Caribou loam and other 
 types. 
 
 Results of mechanical analyses of fine-earth samples of the soil 
 and subst)il are given in the following table: 
 
 Mechanical analyses of Easton loam. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Dcsc-riplion. 
 
 Fine 
 gravel. 
 
 Coarse 
 saud. 
 
 Medium 
 
 sand. 
 
 Fine 
 sand. 
 
 Very fine 
 sand. 
 
 Silt. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 19021 
 
 Soil 
 
 Per cent. 
 6.0 
 0.3 
 
 Per cent. 
 9.5 
 10. G 
 
 Per cent. 
 4.0 
 4.9 
 
 Per cent. 
 11.3 
 14.7 
 
 Per cent. 
 9.0 
 14.5 
 
 Per cent. 
 40.8 
 35.3 
 
 Per cent. 
 19.4 
 
 19022 
 
 Sub-soil 
 
 13.7 
 
 
 
 
 
 CHAPMAN LOAM. 
 
 The Chapman loam is an extremely variable soil, and no general 
 characteristics of texture and color hold for the entire type. For 
 this reason it is necessary to consider the different phases separately. 
 The type as a whole has a very hummocky surface, the hummocks 
 being 4 or 5 feet in diameter and a foot or two above the intervening 
 depressions. For the most part the soil of these hummocks consists 
 of a bright-yellow to brown, rather coarse loam, sometimes gravelly, 
 and frequently containing pockets of fine white silt or medium-tex- 
 tured dark-colored sand. At or about 12 inches this gives place 
 to a sticky loam, somewhat lighter in color and containing appreciable 
 amounts of clay. The subsoil becomes heavier w'ith depth, until at 
 24 to 30 inches it grades into the compact silt loam or silty loam of 
 the lower till. In some places this phase grades into a bright-yellow 
 silt loam, in which there is enough clay to make the soil decidedly 
 sticky. On other mounds the unweathered white or light-gray till 
 is found at the surface; while in still other cases the soil may consist 
 of a light-gray or yellowish-gray silty loam mottled with brown iron 
 stains. This phase usually contains considerable clay, and it is 
 because of this characteristic that the difl'erent phases of the type 
 have received the local name "clayey lands." 
 
 In the hollows the type may consist of a grayish silt loam, similar 
 to the lower till, covered with 6 to 8 inches of vegetable- niokl or muck,
 
 30 FIELD OPEEATIONS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 or it may be merely a mass of rock, while as a rule few stones are 
 encountered in the hummocks. All these phases were frequently 
 found in an area of 200 square feet, but in all cases they were under- 
 lain by the grayish-white silty loam or silt loam of the lower till. 
 
 The type as mapped includes many bodies and strips of Muck, 
 some of which were too small to outline and others it was impossible 
 to locate because of the dense forest. A field of tliis type plowed for 
 the first time shows the various shades of yellow, white, greenish- 
 gray, and black, and usually contains some small angular l)owlders. 
 When the stumps and stones have been removed the soil is easily 
 cultivated, although in wet seasons it is more difiicult to handle than 
 the Caribou loam because of its sticky nature. 
 
 The areas of the Chapman loam range from a few acres to several 
 square miles in extent. They are found in every township included 
 in the survey, but the largest occurs in the northwest corner of 
 Limestone, and also another large body in the northeast corner of tliis 
 same township. Both of these are termed "blueberry bogs," from 
 the fact that they support a growth of blueberry bushes. Other 
 large bodies are found in the eastern part of Chapman, the south- 
 eastern corner of Mapleton, and along the Easton-Fort Fairfield line. 
 In addition to these, there are many smaller bodies scattered through- 
 out the area. As a rule, the larger bodies of the type occupy a low 
 plain country at the source of several streams or along stream 
 courses. Some of the smaller areas, however, have a more sloping 
 topography. That part of the type occurring as plains is inclined to 
 be poorly drained. 
 
 The Chapman loam is of glacial origin, but its original character- 
 istics have been changed through the influence of several agencies. 
 The hummocky surface has probably been produced in three ways: 
 First, by the upturning of trees, leaving mounds of dirt; second, by 
 burning out of old stumps, leaving depressions; third, by heaving of 
 the soil through the action of frosts. 
 
 The native forest growth, which in many cases is still standing, con- 
 sists of spruce, fir, cedar, tamarack, white birch, poplar, and alder, 
 with a sprinkling of otlier hardwoods. The vegetation on those areas 
 known as "blueberry bogs" consists of blueberry bushes, alders, 
 dwarf cornel, and moss, while many of the hummocks are bare. Tliis 
 difference is undoubtedly due to the fact that every year or two the 
 bogs are burned over to increase the yield of tlie blueberries, of which 
 thousands of bushels are sold each season. 
 
 On account of the cold, wet nature of the soil and the hummocky 
 topography, the greater part of the type is still uncultivated. Wlien 
 once cleared, however, the better drained portions produce fair yields 
 of grass and grain but are not so well suited to potatoes. Other areas 
 will require artificial drainage bof ore crops can be successfully grown.
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 31 
 
 The value of the type depends on the timber growth and the near- 
 ness to market. Where tlie growtli is hght from SO to $10 an acre is 
 the usual price, but where there is a good stand of spruce antl fir on 
 areas near the railroad the value may run as high as $25 an acre. 
 
 Because of the variability of the type no samples were taken for 
 mechanical analyses. 
 
 AROOSTOOK SILT LOAM. 
 
 The Aroostook silt loam to a doplli of about 10 inches is a dark- 
 brown friable silt loam. Beneath this there is found a lighter brown 
 silt loam, slightl}' mottled with gray and chocolate brown, which 
 usually becomes sandier as the depth increases. The sandy material 
 is underlain at 3 to 5 feet by a stratum of dark-colored gravel. When 
 wet, the surface soil has a very dark appearance, but the tlry surface 
 becomes grayish. The soil in slight depressions is a heavy silt loam, 
 underlain by a mottled gray and yellow silt loam, the proportion of 
 gray color increasing with depth until at 36 inches the color becomes 
 nearly solid gray, slightly mottled with brown. In the higher lying 
 areas and near the river the soil contains a greater percentage of line 
 sand. Pockets and thin strata of fine sand are not infrequently 
 found in the subsoil, while small mica flakes occur in both soil and 
 subsoil. 
 
 A phase which occurs to a limited extent along Presque Isle Stream 
 is darker in color and has a slightly higher content of silt and clay. 
 
 The soil as a whole being very mellow, free from stones, and, 
 with the exception of the phase just described, well drained, presents 
 no obstacles to the plow or cultivator. 
 
 Excepting a small area of a few acres found along the Prestile 
 Stream just as it leaves the county and some narrow bodies along the 
 Presque Isle Stream just west of the village, all the Aroostook silt 
 loam mapped occurs along the Aroostook River. Narrow strips are 
 found on one or l)otli sides of the river along the greater part of its 
 course through the area, but there are frequent breaks where high 
 blufTs rise directly from the stream bed. The largest bodies, however, 
 occupy a chain of islands extending from a point in the river directly 
 north of Presque Isle to a point about 1^ miles east of Crouseville. 
 The smallest of these covers only a few acres, while the largest com- 
 prises nearly one-half square mile. These islands are reall}' a part of 
 the first bottoms of the river, l)ut have been separated from adjoining 
 bodies of land b}- the cutting of new channels in times of high water. 
 At all other times the water moves very slow!}- through these old 
 channels. 
 
 Without exception the type occupies the first bottoms, wliich are 
 from 8 to 10 feet liigher than the river. The surface is flat or gently
 
 32 FIELD OPEKATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 undulating and, being underlain by gravel, the drainage is as a rule 
 good, although not excessive. 
 
 The Aroostook silt loam is of alluvial origin and represents the most 
 recent flood plains of the streams along which it occurs. The type 
 is subject to overflow, but this seldom happens except during the 
 spring freshets, and by the time it is desirable to cultivate tlie land, 
 the waters have drained away sufficiently and do not retard planting 
 to any great extent, though farm work may be delayed a few days. 
 
 That phase which occurs along the Pres(|ue Isle .Stream is, however, 
 very poorly drained and, unlike the rest of the type, owes its occur- 
 rence to artificial rather than natural means. Across the Presque 
 Isle Stream at Presque Isle there is a tlam wliich has been in existence 
 many years. This dam backs up water for 4 miles and it is along the 
 pond thus formed that this j)liase occurs. During high water the 
 streams, bearing loads of fine soil in suspension, enter this pond and 
 encountering the quiet waters are compelled to dispose of this mate- 
 rial. The deposits thus formed gradually increase in thickness until 
 they reach a point just above the normal level of the water. In times 
 of high water, however, the soil is overflowed. 
 
 The characteristic vegetation of this phase is a coarse swamp grass. 
 It is very (lou])tful if a successful system of artificial drainage could be 
 installed under present conditions. If, however, the dam should 
 be removed, it is very likely tliat these areas would become naturally 
 well ch'ained. On all other parts of this type the original forest growth 
 was ash and elm, but at present nearly every acre is under cultivation. 
 
 Because of the annual addition of fresh soil and decayed humus 
 brought down by the spring floods, this is one of the most fertile types 
 of soil in the area. Large crops of potatoes of excellent quality are 
 secured, the yield not infrequently running more than 100 barrels 
 per acre, although the average is considerably less than this, and the 
 yield and quality are, as a rule, somewhat lower than on the Caribou 
 loam. It is especially well suited to grain or grass and any other 
 farm crop that will grow in this section. Oats yield from 40 to 60 
 bushels per acre, while I to 2 tons of hay is not an unusual crop. The 
 fertilizer application is about the same as for the other types, being 
 from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds, although larger increases in yield result 
 from the same application than on the other soils. 
 
 At present none of the type is on the market. It is doubtful if any 
 of this land with the improvements could be purchased for less than 
 $100 an acre, while the price for the greater part of it would run some- 
 what higher. As is the case with several other soils of limited extent, 
 no farms are made up entirely of this one type, so" it is a difficult matter 
 to get at the actual value. 
 
 Average results of mechanical analj^scs of fine-earth samples of the 
 soil and subsoil are given in the following table:
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AHEA, MAINE. 
 Mechanical analyses of Aroostook silt loam. 
 
 33 
 
 Number. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Fine 
 gravel. 
 
 Coarse 
 sand. 
 
 Medium 
 sand. 
 
 Fine 
 sand. 
 
 Very fine 
 sand. 
 
 Silt. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 19G03 19(107 
 
 Soil. 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 0.1 
 
 Per cent. 
 0.7 
 
 .7 
 
 Per cent. 
 0.4 
 
 .8 
 
 Per cent. 
 6.1 
 0.7 
 
 Per cent. 
 15.7 
 13.8 
 
 Per cent. 
 62.7 
 63.7 
 
 Per cent. 
 14.6 
 
 19(i04, 19008 
 
 Subsoil 
 
 .0 
 
 14.4 
 
 AROOSTOOK LOAM. 
 
 The soil of the Aroostook loam consists of a dark-brown or some- 
 times yellowish-brown heavy loam 8 to 10 inches cU'cp, containing 
 perce])tible amounts of medium to fine sand with a ])ercentage of 
 clay high enough to give the soil a sticky texture in wet weather. 
 For the first 10 inches the subsoil is a mottled gray and brown silty 
 loam to silt loam. At about 20 inches it changes to a mottled 
 gray and brown very compact silt loam in which the gray color 
 predominates. Owing to the fact that the type contains more clay 
 than the other soils in the area it has received the name "clayey 
 land" from man}' of the farmers. Very few stones occur and these 
 are sniall. The tyi)c as a whole is easily handled, although it is 
 somewhat more sticky than most of the soils. 
 
 Only three bodies of the type were mapped and the combined 
 area of these is not over one-fourth square mile. Many bodies, 
 however, too small to map were encountered. All of the type is 
 found along the Aroostook River, and those areas mapped occur 
 about 3 miles northeast of Presque Isle. The t\"})e occupies terraces 
 and indistinctly developed terraces at the foot of slopes bordering 
 the Aroostook River and is usually well drained, although, owing 
 to the compact nature of the underlying layer of silt, it is somewhat 
 more" retentive than the other river-bottom soils. 
 
 The Aroostook loam ])olongs to the grou}) derived from modified 
 glacial drift. The underlying silt was laid down in quiet waters, 
 but the surface soil has been influenced to some extent by washings 
 from the adjoining sl()])es of the Caribou loam. Though all the ty])e 
 is now cleared and under cultivation, it is very probable that at 
 one time it was covered with a thick forest of spruce, fir, poplar, 
 and white birch, mixed with a few other hardwoods. Grain, grass, 
 antl ])otatoes are the cro})s grown, and while all do well it is generally 
 acknowledged that this soil is not quite as well suited to potatoes 
 as the more loamy and gravelly soils. Grass yields from 1 to H 
 tons of hay and oats from 40 to 50 bushels ])er acre. The fertilizer 
 ])racticc is about the same as for the other river soils. 
 
 On account of the small extent and the variability of the tyi)e no 
 sami)les were taken for mechanical analyses. 
 
 AROOSTOOK SANDY LOAM. 
 
 The soil of the Aroostook sandy loam to a depth of 6 to 12 inches 
 consists of a brown or yellowish-brown medium to line sandj' loam
 
 34 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 containing a perceptible amount of silt. The suDsoil to a depth of 
 36 inches is a grayish-black or greenish-gray medium sand, containing 
 sjnall particles of quartz, calcite, and mica, but consisting principally 
 of dark-colored shale, slate, and sandstone fragments. Pockets of a 
 light-colored silty sand are of frequent occurrence in the subsoil. 
 At about 36 inches the soil as a rule is underlain by a more or less 
 impervious stratum which in the low-lying areas is a compact yellow- 
 ish-brown clay or sometimes a bluish-gray silt}- clay, while in the 
 more elevated portions the C()m])act silty lower till is often found at 
 a depth of less than 36 inches. On the upland side the type may 
 grade into the Caribou loam, the line of demarcation in some cases 
 being very indistinct. On the other hand a steep bluff marks the 
 boundary between the two tyj^es. Immediately after a rain the 
 soil has a very dark brown appearance, but as it dries the surface 
 becomes lighter in color and approaches more nearly a yellow. As 
 is usually the case with sandy soils, the type is loose and friable and 
 therefore easily cultivated. 
 
 The Aroostook sandy loam occurs only along the Aroostook River 
 and almost invariably occupies the second terraces, although in one 
 or two cases it is found on what is apparently a first, though reall}^ a 
 second terrace. The largest bodies of tliis type are found a few miles 
 northwest of Presque Isle and across the river from Fort Fairfield. 
 
 As a rule, the type occupies comparatively level areas. In a few 
 of the smaller bodies, where the soil occurs as long narrow ridges, as 
 is the case near Beans, the surface is slightly rolling. 
 
 Notwithstanding the structure is rather loose and incoherent and 
 the soil is underlain by a stratum of sand, it retains water to a marked 
 degree and cultivated crops seldom suffer from drought to any great 
 extent. This can probably be accounted for, in a measure at least, 
 by the presence within 3 feet of the surface of the compact stratum 
 which retards the water in its downward course, while the surface 
 mulch that results from thorough cultivation prevents rapid evapora- 
 tion. Such crops as oats and grass, however, which can not be culti- 
 vated, are apt to suffer to some extent from drought during dry 
 seasons. 
 
 The Aroostook sandy loam is derived fn/m modified glacial drift. 
 The terraces which this ty{)e forms were the old flood-plains of the 
 Aroostook Valley, along which the reworked glacial material was 
 deposited. 
 
 Elm and ash were the native tree growths. At present practically 
 all of the type is under cultivation, and like all other soils of the area 
 it is devoted to the production of potatoes, oats, and grass. The 
 yield of potatoes is from 70 to 80 barrels. Oats and grass produce 
 fair yields, but the soil is not so well adapted to these crops as the 
 heavier soils. The drainage is thorough and the soil warm and early
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CABIBOU AREA, MAINE. 
 
 35 
 
 for this locality, aiul for this reason it would probably make a good 
 truckin*!; soil. At present nearly all the vegetables consumed in the 
 area are shipped from Boston and other southern points. As most 
 of the Aroostook sandy loam lies near the larger towns, it would seem 
 to oll'er good opportunities for the production of market-garden crops 
 to take the place of the imported products. 
 
 From 1,200 to 1,500 pounds of commercial fertilizer is the usual 
 ajiphcation on this type. There is a slight tendency toward leacliiness 
 in this soil, and the effects of this fertilizer are not as histing as on 
 other soils. The a(hUtion of organic matter in some form would 
 doubtless prove very beneficial to the type. 
 
 Since the areas are small, it is difhcult to estimate the individual 
 value of the soil type. When included with other soils and with such 
 improvements as fences and buildings the land sells for $100 an acre. 
 
 Average results of mechanical analyses of fine-earth samples of the 
 soil and subsoil are given in the following table : 
 
 Mechanical analyses of Aroostook sandy loam. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Fine 
 gravel. 
 
 Coarse 
 sand. 
 
 Medium 
 sand. 
 
 Fine 
 sand. 
 
 Very fine 
 sand. 
 
 Silt. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 19599 19601 
 
 Soil 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 0.6 
 
 .6 
 
 Per cent. 
 6.1 
 10.8 
 
 Per cent. 
 11.6 
 20.7 
 
 Per cent. 
 35.8 
 48.0 
 
 Per cent. 
 13.1 
 9.8 
 
 Per cent. 
 11.4 
 6.1 
 
 Per cent. 
 12.0 
 
 19500,19602 
 
 Subsoil 
 
 3.7 
 
 WASHBURN LOAM. 
 
 The soil of the Washburn loam is a very dark brown or black silty 
 loam 12 inches deep. The subsoil is a grayish-yellow silty loam, 
 mottled with brown and yellow, becoming a yellowish sandy clay at 
 or near 36 inches. In a wet condition the soil is much blacker than 
 when dry. In general the dark color is due to a high content of 
 organic matter. The surface is strewn with granite, gneiss, and sand- 
 stone rocks, varying in size from 6 to 18 inches, and a few larger glacial 
 bowlders. In fact, this one characteristic disthiguishes it from the 
 other soils of the area. 
 
 Jjike all other glaciated soils in the area, the type contains many 
 small shale and slate fragments, thus giving a gravelly effect to the 
 soil, the gravel as a rule being more abundant in the subsoil than in 
 the soil. The covering of soil over the underlying calcareous shale is 
 deeper than in the case of the Caribou loam. After the larger bowl- 
 ders have been removed the type is not a difficult one to cultivate, 
 although the poorly drained areas are not so easily managed. 
 
 The Washburn loam, which is found in every township, is of more 
 common occurrence in the southern part of the area in the towns of 
 Easton, Prescpie Isle, Mars ITill, Blaine, and Bridgewater, where it is 
 closely associatetl with large swamp or muck areas. There are no
 
 36 
 
 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 large, continuous bodies, but it is found as narrow strips along some 
 of the smaller streams and branches and in the hollows through 
 which the drainage waters How as small, isolated depressions and 
 as narrow areas bordering bodies of Muck. In the last case the areas 
 mark what was at one time Muck, but after the removal of the forest 
 growth tlie soil dried out sufliciently to make cultivation possible. 
 As cultivation continued the amount of organic matter gradually 
 decreased, while there was a proportionate increase in the amount of 
 earthy material, resulting in a gradual change from Muck to Washburn 
 loam. In every case the type is found in those places where the con- 
 ditions were favorable to heavy accumulations of humus, which gives 
 the type its chief characteristic. In position and origin, as well as in 
 texture, the type is intermediate between the Caribou loam and 
 Muck, and to a certain extent has the characteristics of each. 
 
 As a rule, the type is fairly well drained, although the drainage is 
 not as thorough as in the case of the Caribou loam, and in a few places 
 artificial drainage would undoubtedly prove very beneficial. 
 
 The Washburn loam is of glacial origin, but the true character- 
 istics of tlie glacial material have been marked to a large extent by 
 the accumulation of organic mutter and by the washing in of the soils 
 from the surrounding areas. 
 
 The native vegetation of the type is what is locally known as 
 "black growth" and consists of a dense forest of spruce, fir, cedar, 
 and tamarack, with a few beech, birch, poplar, and white birch. 
 
 The Washburn loam is especially adapted to the production of 
 grass, of which large yields are obtained. Oats and buckwheat also 
 do well. Large yields of potatoes are secured, but in quality they are 
 inferior and usually scabby, so it is not advisable to grow them on this 
 soil. Hay yields from 1^ to 2 tons, oats 40 to 50 bushels, and pota- 
 toes 70 to 90 barrels per acre. 
 
 The fertilizer application is about the same as for other types of the 
 area. At present there is no need for the addition of organic matter. 
 
 The type as a rule is not much in demand for general farm pur- 
 poses, and where $10 to $12 an acre is paid for uncleared hardwood 
 soils this type brings only $2 to $5, the value depending largely on the 
 timber growth. 
 
 The results of mechanical analyses of fine-earth samples of soil and 
 subsoil are jriven in the following table: 
 
 Mechanical analyses of Washburn loam. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Fine 
 gravel. 
 
 Coarse 
 sand. 
 
 Medium 
 sand. 
 
 Fine 
 sand.' 
 
 V'ery fine 
 sand. 
 
 Silt. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 19627 
 
 Soil 
 
 Per cent. 
 1.4 
 3.2 
 
 Per cent. 
 5.5 
 7.2 
 
 Per cent. 
 3.4 
 
 4.4 
 
 Per cent. 
 11.7 
 21.1 
 
 Per cent. 
 10.4 
 19.7 
 
 Per cent. 
 50.3 
 40.1 
 
 Per cent. 
 16.8 
 
 19628 
 
 Subsoil 
 
 12.9 
 

 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 37 
 
 The Muck consists of black, thorouglily decomposed vegetable 
 matter, mixed with soil that has washed in from adjacent uplands 
 and ranging in depth from 8 inches to 3 feet or more. The subsoil 
 is quite variable, depending somewhat on the position in which 
 the type occurs. Along some of the smaller streams, and where 
 the covering of muck is shallow, it consists of a grayish silty material 
 resembling the lower till, while in other cases the top soil may be 
 underlain by a very stony loam, so stony in fact that it is seldom 
 ])ossible to bore into it with the soil auger. The larger flat areas 
 may have either one of these subsoils, or, as is more often the case, 
 they may be underlain by a bluish clay. When properly drained 
 the type is easily cultivated. 
 
 The Muck is found in bodies ranging in size from a few acres to 1 
 square mile or more. It occurs as strips of varying width alono- 
 nearly all the streams, except the Aroostook River, and from all of 
 the larger bodies narrow projections extend into the adjacent upland, 
 indicating the source of a small branch which may be dry the greater 
 portion of the year. In addition to this there are many large flat 
 areas in which several streams have their sources and others where 
 several small streams unite. 
 
 The type is of very common occurrence throughout all of the 
 townships in the area, but the largest and most numerous bodies are 
 found in Easton, Mars Hill, Blaine, Bridgewater, and the southern 
 part of Presque Isle, while C'aribou, Limestone, Fort Fau-ficld, 
 and the northern half of Presque Isle have the least. The type as 
 a whole is low and level, and during a part of the year, at least, is 
 covered with water. Streams flowing through it have no well- 
 defined channels, and during high water spread out over the adjoining 
 Muck areas. 
 
 The subsoil of the Muck is of glacial origin and consists of both 
 modified and unmodified drift. The soil, however, is of more recent 
 formation, and where it occurs along streams and in the smaller 
 depressions is the result of decaying vegetable matter which has 
 become mixed to a greater or less extent with soils washed in from 
 adjacent u])lands. Many of the large, flat areas probably repre- 
 sent old lake basins, filled with organic remains and soil wash. 
 This same process is gradually extinguishing many of the existing 
 lakes, and, as the water is usually very shallow, the encroachment is 
 relatively rapid. The vegetation on these newly formed muck areas 
 along the lakes consists of a coarse swamp grass, pitcher plants, 
 and a few tamarack trees. All other areas are covered with an almost 
 impenetrable growth of cedar, spruce, tamarack, and fir. 
 
 On account of its poorly drainetl condition and the difficulty 
 encountered in clearing the type comparatively Uttle of it is under
 
 38 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS^, 1908. 
 
 cultivation, although the farmers are making clearings of narrow 
 strips on the outer edges from time to time. In addition to the 
 thick growth of evergreen the ground is usually covered to a depth 
 of 2 or 3 feet with old cedar bogs buried under decaying organic 
 matter and overgrown with moss. When the trees are cut, the 
 rubbish removed, and the muck exposed to the sun many of the 
 areas dry sufficiently to permit cultivation without drainage and pro- 
 duce excellent hay. Many areas, however, lie so low that the land can 
 never be used for agricultural purposes until artificial drainage 
 has been established. Most of these areas are so situated as to 
 make the drainage problem a rather simple one, as there would be 
 little difficulty in finding an outlet for the water. 
 
 The yield of grass, to which crop the soil is especially adapted, 
 is from 1 to 2 tons of hay per acre, and the quality excellent. It is 
 very probable that celery would do well, and it is advised that experi- 
 ments be made along this line, as excellent results have been obtained 
 from growing celery on similar soils in other parts of the United 
 States. The type is not suited to potatoes, as they are almost 
 certain to be scabby and of inferior quality. 
 
 None of these lands are sold for agricultural purposes. The 
 price they bring depends entirely on the timber growth and ranges 
 from $2 to as high as $25 an acre, the latter price applying where 
 there is a good stand of pulp woods near the market. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 The Caribou area is situated in the eastern part of Aroostook 
 County and extends north and south along the New Brunswick line 
 for a distance of 40 miles. Its greatest width east and west is 15 
 miles. The total area is 530 square miles, or 339,200 acres. 
 
 The three largest towns in the county are Caribou, Presque Isle, 
 and Fort Fairfield. Other important and growing towns are Mars 
 Hill, Blaine, Robinson, Bridgewater Center, and Westfield. 
 
 The surface of the area is neither level nor hilly, though there are 
 some high hills. There are many ridges and swells, and along the 
 Aroostook River there are two distinct terraces. With the exception 
 of the southeastern corner, all of the area is drained by the Aroostook 
 River and its branches. The small streams furnish fine water power, 
 which in many cases has been developed. 
 
 The transportation facilities are very good. Besides the main line 
 of the Bangor and Aroostook, there are branch railroads extending 
 to Ijimestone and Fort Fairfield and a line of. the Canadian Pacific 
 following the river to Presque Isle. No point in the area is more 
 than 10 miles distant from the railroad. 
 
 The winters are long and cold, while the summers are comparatively 
 short and hot. Frosts have occurred every month in the year, but
 
 SOIL SURVEY OF THE CARIBOU AREA, MAINE. 39 
 
 are rare in July. Light frosts frequently occur in June and August. 
 The rainfall is distributed throughout the year. Snow falls before 
 the ground freezes and remains throughout the winter. As there is 
 no frost in the ground and as the waters drain off rapidly, the land 
 can be worked almost as soon as the snow melts. 
 
 The first settlement was made at Fort Fairfield in 1816 by pioneers 
 from New Brunswick. Later on Dutch, English, Irish, wSwedish, and 
 French immigrants came into the county through the Provinces and 
 settled at Caribou, Presque Isle, and New Sweden. After the con- 
 struction of the "military road" in 1830, settlers began ccmiing in 
 from the southern part of the State. The first settlers grew some 
 hay, oats, wheat, buckwheat, and a few potatoes for home consump- 
 tion, but depended principall}" on forest products. 
 
 Introduction of starch manufacture in 1874 resulted in increased 
 attention being given to the potato crop, and some potatoes were 
 shipped over the Canadian Pacific. Not until the opening of the 
 Bangor and Aroostook road in 1894 did potato growing begin in 
 earnest. From that time grain and beef production and dairying 
 declined and potato production became the loading inckistry. In 1908 
 the estimated crop of Aroostook County was 16,000,000 bushels. 
 The greater proportion of this immense output is used for the table 
 and for seed. The inferior tubers are sold to starch factories. The 
 leading varieties grown are Irish Cobbler, Green Mountain, and Bliss 
 Red. Large quantities of hay are shipped to Boston. These are 
 the only money crops. Not enough grain is produced in the area to 
 suppl}^ the home demand. 
 
 Potatoes, grass, and grain are grown on all the soil types. No 
 single system of rotation is adhered to closely, but the general plan 
 is a three-course rotation embracing four to six years, made up as 
 follows: Potatoes one or two years, grain one year, grass one, two, or 
 three years. 
 
 The price of ridge land with improvements and cleared of hardwood 
 is about $100 an acre. Land is rented to share tenants for one-half 
 the crop and to cash tenants for $10 to $25 an acre. About 91 per 
 cent of the farms are operated by owners. The rented lands are 
 about evenl}^ divided between share and cash tenants. 
 
 Exclusive of Muck, eleven soil types have been mapped in tlie area. 
 These vary in texture from sand to heavy silt loams, but the greater 
 proportion of the area is made up of a friable silty loam. The ab- 
 sence of large glacial bowlders makes the use of farm machinery prac- 
 ticable. 
 
 The topography of the Caribou loam is rolling and the type is well 
 drained. It withstands long dry periods to a remarkable degree. It 
 is suited to all farm crops^ especially to potatoes.
 
 40 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUEEAU OF SOILS, 1908. 
 
 The Caribou silt loam is similar in many respects to the Caribou 
 loam and is adapted to the same crops. It contains a somewhat 
 higher percentage of silt. 
 
 The Caribou gravelly loam occurs as piles of morainal material in 
 strips along streams and in one case as a large and comparatively 
 level area. The type is well (h'ained and produces excellent potatoes, 
 but is not quite so well suited to grass and grain. 
 
 The Caribou stony loam contains many large bowlders and is 
 marked by small areas of rock outcrop. None of the type is culti- 
 vated. It is better that it remain in forest, although some areas 
 would probably afford good pasturage. 
 
 The Chapman loam, as a ride, occupies low, plain country and is 
 inclined to be cold and poorly drained. This tj^^je is poorly adapted to 
 the production of potatoes, but on the better-drained areas grass and 
 grain do well. 
 
 The Easton loam occurs in depressions and as narrow strips along 
 swamp areas. It is not, as a rule, well drained, and while grass and 
 grain do well the tyj^e is not suited to potatoes. 
 
 The Washburn loam is found in depressions and along stream 
 slopes. This type produces large crops of grass and oats, but the 
 potatoes are inclined to be scabby. 
 
 The Mapleton gravelly loam is of very limited extent. It is well 
 drained, and where the rock is not too near the surface fair crops of 
 grass, grain, and potatoes are protkiced. The type is well suited to 
 apples. 
 
 The Aroostook silt loam is the most extensive of the river soils, and 
 though of level topography and subject to overflow during the spring 
 freshets is well drained. This is an excellent grass and grain soil, and 
 potatoes do fairly well. ^ 
 
 The Aroostook sandy loam is found on the second terraces and is 
 well drained. Potatoes do well, but the yields of grass and grain are 
 not quite equal to those of the heavier soils. Vegetables should do 
 well on this type. 
 
 The Aroostook loam is of very limited extent. It is well drained 
 and suited to general farm purj)oses. 
 
 Muck represents large accumulations of vegetable matter mixed 
 with soil. Where drained, good cro])s of grass are secured. Celery 
 should do well on this type. 
 
 The farmers are in general very prosperous. They have substan- 
 tial dwellings, warm barns, and good horses. As a rule they practice 
 up-to-date methods of farming. They could, however, improve their 
 land and decrease their fertilizer bills by keeping more live stock and 
 by following a three-year rotation of potatoes, grain, and clover. 
 
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