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SOILSURVEY CUMBERLANDCOUNTY NOVA SCOTIA G. B. WHITESIDE Dominion Department of Agriculture, Experimental Farms Service and R. E. WICKLUND and G. R. SMITH Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture REPORT No. 2 -NOVA SCOTIA SOIL SURVEY TRURO, N.S., OCTOBER, 1945 Experimental Farms Service Dominion Depkiment of Agriculture In Co-operation with the .Agricultural College, Truro, and Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture . * ACKNOWLEDGtiENTS HE soi1 survey of Cumberland county, Nova Sc&ia, was made possible through the co-operation oIf the Do,minion T Department of Agriculture and the Provincial Depart- ment of Agriculture in providing the fin’ances, technical personnel, and Iaboratory facilities. The authors of this report wish t,o gratefully acknowledge the support given to the work by Dr. E. S. Archibald, Director of Do,minion Experimental Faims, and by Hon. J. A. MacDonald, No-va Scot.ia Minister of Agriculture. The authors also wish to acknowledge assistance received from the followiag sources: Prof. L. C. Harlow, former Provin- cial chemist, under. whose direction the work was initiated; Mr. G. V. Haythorne, fosmerly of the Provincial Economie Cour& who made available a.erial photographs and who gave much encouragement and support; Dr. Cameron, Deputy Pro- vincial Minister of Mines, for man.y helpful suggestions and advice ; the Superintendent of the Dominion Experimenta.1 Farm, Nappan, Nova Scotia, and his st,a.ff, for their generous co-operation and helpful suggestion; Dr. W. V. Longley, Director of Extension, Mr. Kenneth Cox, Provincia.1 Agronomist, and other memjbers of the Provincial Department of Agriculture, and Dr. R. T. D. Wickenden, Departmeet of Mines, Ottawa, for their advice and suggestion,s; Mr. P. C. Stobbe, Supervisor of Soi1 Surveys, Central Experimen’tal Farm, Ottawa, for his advice and assistan.ce in the field and for his critical reading of the manuscript of this report. The following assisted at different times with the field and lruboratory work a.nd their services are hereby acknowledged: J. R. Wright, A. J. Sutherlandl, the 1at.e D. Trueman, S. Curtis, W. Jenkins, B. ,Coldwell, G. Mack and G. F. Cameron. The Dominion Department of Mines and Resources, Surveys and Engineering Branch, Hydrographie and Map Service, supplied the base maps and supervised the compilation and dlrawing of the soi1 map. The Dominion Department of Trans- port, Meteorological Division, supplied the meteorological data. 3 CONTENTS PAGE ACICNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA ............................................. Loca~onandExtent ........................................................ Physiography and Geology .... ............................................................................................................................................................................... ........... Vegetation ................................................................. History and Population ...................................................... Agriculture ................................................................. Soi1 Survey Methods ............................................................ f$oii Formation ......... ........................................................ Soif Classification ............................................................... Classification Scheme Used in Cumberland County .................................. SoilDescriptions ................................................................ Glacial Till Soils ............................................................ Queens Association...................................................... Diligence Association.................................................... NappanAssocia;tion ..................................................... Joggins Association...................................................... Pugwash Association. ................................................... Tormentine Association.................................................. Southampton Association. ............................................... Shulie Association....................................................... WestBrook Association.................................................. RodneyAssociation ..................................................... S encerAssociation If ansford Association......................................................................................................... Cobequid Association.. .................................................... Wyvern Association ..................................................... KirkhillAssociation ..................................................... Soifs on Water-Laid Parent Material. ............................................. HebertAssociation .......................................................... Parrsboro Association........................................................ Cumberland Association. .................................................... Acadia Association .......................................................... ~~e~~olls .......................................................................................................................................... Muck ...................................................................... MïscellaneousSoils............................: ................................. Land Use Classification and Soi1 R&ing ............................................ SoilManagement ............................................................... Summary ...................................................................... APPENDIX Glossarv................................ ..a.. Methods of Analysis ...................... < ;: Soi1 Classes .............................. , . .................... 80 Physical and Chemical ‘Analysis Data. ...... < .................... Available Nutrients in pounds per acre. , . .................... :: References. _ . .-. .-. .................... 88 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Fig. l-Sketch Map of Nova Scotia, Showing Location of Area Surveyed. ............. Fig. 2-Sketch Map of Cumberland County, Showing Geologioal Formations ........... 3: Fig. a-Sketch Map of Cumberland County, Showing Surface Geological Deposits ...... Fig. 4-Sketch Map of Cumberland County-Land Use Groups. ..................... ;; Table l-Precipitation Data ..:...........i ...................................... 13 Table 2-Temperature Data ...................................................... Table 3-Frost Data .......................................................... f5 Table 4-Population Data .......................................... 1!3 Table 5-Acreage of Principal Crops in Cumberland County ............ Table 6-Average Yields ........................................... 2; Table 7-Livcstock Population. .................................... ......... 23 Table 8-Acreagë and Condition of Land. ........................... ......... 23 Table Q-Approximate Acreages of Different Soi1 Types ................ ......... Table lO-Approximate Acreage in the Different Land Use Groups ....... ......... 71-72 Table lI-Soil Rating for Principal Crops ............................. ......... 73 5 50219-2 ,.I _..- - .--.- 6 INTRODUCTION The effect which the variation in productive capacity of different soils has on the success and prosperity vf an agricultural community has long been recognized. Problems of increasing concern are soi1 deterioration, uneconomic use of land and the need for soi1 conservation practices. In order to obtain, as rapidly as possible, information concerning tihe nature of the soils of Cumberland county, their inherent characteristics and the rela- tionship of these character,istics to trop production and land use, a soi1 survey was started in 1938 and cominued in 1940. The results of this suivey are pre- sented in this report and the accompanying ma,p. The report and map are designed to meet the needs of farmers, landomners, t.echnical agricultural work- ers and others who may be interested m some pa,rticular area of land or district. The report Con&s, primarily, of detailed descriptions of each soi1 mapped. Each description gives epecific information by which the soi1 cari be identified, such as colour, depth, texture, and nature of the rock material from which it has been derived. Topography, drainage, and amount of stone are also discussed as these factors are of practlcal significance in their effect. upon the agricultural tise of the soil. The relationship between the soi1 and trop production is also discuesed, to indicate the type of farming practised, and what fertilizers and other soi1 management met.hods are needed to obtain the best results. As forest products are an important source of income to the farmers of the county, emphasis has been placed upon the suitability of certain soils for forest rather th-an for agricultural crops. For readers unfamiliar with the area ;t general description of the county ia given in the first part of the report. The physio- graphy? geology, regional drainage, climate and vegetation are discussed. A discussion of its history and population is also presented. The soi1 map, which is an important feature of the report, shows the ’ approximate location and extent of the different soils. In addition to the soi1 boundaries; roads, railroads, rivers, towns and most of the farm houses, which may serve as points of location, are shown. Each