GUELPH, ONTARIO - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

TABLE 12
T%*PES OF F.iR&I OCCURRING IN BRUCE COUNTY (1940)
Total number of farms . .. .. . .. .. . 5,657
Livc~stock.. _.....,..,._. ._.. ,.. ., _. 2,584
_1Iiscd farming _.. .._ . . .... .. . .. .._.. 1,146
ISubsistencc and combinations of subsistence ... . . . _._ 991
Dairy products .._ ..,......... . . 118
Part-time . 113
Grains and hay.
.. ,.. ....._ .,..... 102
Poultry ,...,._... __‘1
... . ... .............. 49
Forest and apiary products... .... ..,. . .. ........ .. ... . 48
Vegetables, fruits and nursery products.. .I.......... . ...... 13
Pot at oes, roots and other field crops ...... ... ........ 5
Mixed farms are farms where the revenue from two or more of the other
main types of products are required to produce 50 per cent or more of the gross
revenue. Farms on which t,he value of the products used by the farm household
amounted to 50 per cent or more of the gross farm revenue are classed as
subsistence farms. Combinations of subsistence farms are farms where the
value of the products used and the revenue from another main type, such as
poultry, livestock, etc., were required to form 50 per cent or more of the gross
farm revenue. *r
Utilization and 3Ianagement of Bruce County Soils
The use of different soils in an area is determined by physical, economic and
social factors. One of the aims in the operation of a farm is to adjust the use
of the soils as nearly as practicable to their physical limitations, although social
and economic conditions of the surrounding locality may necessitate, at times,
a use of the soil that is out of accord with the physical limitations of those
soils. When suitable uses have been assigned to the land, the matter of management
of each soil logically follows.
The soils of Bruce County have been grouped on a textural basis for the
purpose of discussing their use and management. Some soils have been placed
in a miscellaneous grouping because the texture varies. Muck and marsh are
grouped under organic soils. The distribution of the textural classes is shown
in Fig. 13.
I. Sand and Sandy Loam Soils
(a) Excessive
Drainage
SOIL TYPE ACREAGE yO OF TOTAL
Plainfield sand .._.._.._. ._ . ......_ ._....... .‘.... . .... . 15,200 1.4
Rridgman sand . .._._. _. .. ... . ... _. . 1,500
--
0.1
--
16,700 1.5
As pointed out in Part III, the components of this group vary only in the
amount of erosion that has occurred, the Bridgman sand being highly winderoded.
The soils of this group are very low in fertility and productivity, cont)ain
little organic matter, and have a very low water holding capacity. These
soils are highly susceptible to wind erosion, as evidenced by the Bridgman
sand which consists of “blow-outs” devoid of vegetation. A permanent cover
of trees is considered to be the best use for the Plainfield sand and Bridgman
sand. 121
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