GUELPH, ONTARIO - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

plant any cereal grains except buckwheat. Areas in pasture support only fair
stands of grasses, usually consisting of Redtop and Canada Blue. Scrub tree
growth is establishing itself on areas that have reverted to pasture, thus lessening
their usefulness for the production of forage.
When drainage improvement is effected, fair crops of cereal grains, hay and
pasture are produced. When the soil is cultivated the organic matter should
be maintained to assure adequate moisture conservation. Once the required
drainage is effected, fertility must be maintained because the reserve supply
of nutrients is not high.
II. Gravelly Materials
(a) Pale Brown in Colour
(i) Good
Drainage
Teeswater Silt Loam (17,100 acres)
Developed from silty alluvial deposits over pale brown, gravelly outwash
materials, Teeswater silt loam occurs for the most part along stream courses,
particularly along the Teeswater and Saugeen Rivers. Smooth gentle slopes
and good drainage are characteristic of the type. It is a Grey-Brown Podzolic
soil as indicated by the following *profile description:
Ao -
Thin
etc.
layer of partially
decomposed leaves, twigs,
Al - O-4 inches silt loam; dark greyish brown (10 YR
4/2) ; fine granular structure; friable consistency;
occasional stones; pH - 6.5.
AZ,- 4-16 inches silt loam; light yellow-brown (10 YR
6/4) ; fine platy structure; friable consistency;
stonefree; pH - 6.0.
Azz- 16-19 inches silt loam; pale brown (10 YR 6/3) ;
weak platy structure; friable consistency; stonefree;
pH - 5.7.
Hz - 19-3 1 inches clay loam ; dark brown (10 Y R 4/3) ;
medium nuciform structure; hard consistency
when dry, plastic when wet; moderately stony;
pH - 7.0.
C - Sand and gravel; very pale brown (10 YR 7/3) ;
single grain structure; loose consistency; calcareous;
pH - 7.8.
Most of the Teeswater silt loam has been cleared and is now under cultivation.
The tree cover appears to have been dominated by hard maple and
beech with ironwood, basswood and soft maple present in smaller numbers.
The external drainage is low but the underlying porous materials permit rapid
internal drainage. The soil has not suffered noticeably from sheet erosion but
gully erosion may require control measures, parCcularly along the stream
courses. The type is fairly uniform, varying chiefly in the depth of the silty
overburden.
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