SOIL SURVEY of KINGS COUNTY Nova Scotia D. B. Cann and 1. 1. MacDougall CANADA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE and J. D. Hilchey NOVA SCOTIA DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE AND MARKETING Report No. 15 NOVA SCOTIA SOIL SURVEY Truro, Nova Scotia CANADA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE and NOVA SCOTIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETING 1965 97110-1 A typical profile of an Orthic Podzol. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The soil survey of Kings County was a joint project of the Canada Department of Agriculture and the Nova Scotia Department of Agricul- ture and Marketing. The authors were assisted in the field by J. Reid and J. E. Hawley. The authors are indebted to many people for assistance in the survey and in preparing the report, particularly the following. Various members of the staffs of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Truro, and the Research Station, Kentville, provided information on the vege- tation, soils and crops of the area. Prof. H. L. Cameron, Department of Geology, Acadia University, Wolfvilie, supplied information on the geology of the County and provided facilities for preparing maps. The Nova Scotia Research Foundation provided aerial photographs of parts of the area. The soil map was prepared by the Cartographic Section, Soi1 Research Institute, Ottawa. The Nova Scotia AgriculturaI ColIege, Truro, provided headquarters and laboratory facilities for the work. 3 97110-16 CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 7 GENERALDESCRLPTIOX OF THE AREA..................................................................... 7 Location and extent ...................................................................... 7 History and development ........................................................... 7 Population, towns and industries .......................................... 9 Transportation and markets .................................................. 10 FACTORSIN SOILFORMATIOV .............. ..................... 11 Climate ................................... ............... 11 Parent materials ................................................................. 14 Vegetation.,................................................................................................. 17 Topography and drainage.,.................................................................... 18 Time ...................................................................................................... 20 SOIL DEVELOPMENTANI> CLASSIFICATION ....................................................................... 20 How the soils were mapped .................................................................... 22 Classification of the soils................................................................................................. 22 DESCRIPTIONOF THE SOILS.................................................................................................. 23 Soils developed from fine-texturcd parent materials ......................................................... 24 Wolfville series ........................................................................................................... 24 Middleton series .................................................................................................... 25 Fash series ............................................................................................................ 26 Hantsport series ................................................................................................. 27 Mahone series.,................................................................................................ 29 Lawrencetown series ......................................................................................... 29 Acadia series ........................................................................................................... 30 Soils developed from medium-textured parent materials ............................................... 32 Rawdon series ......................................................................................................... 32 Morristown series ...................................................................................................... 33 Pelton series .................................................................................................................. 34 Stewiacke series .......................................................................................................... 35 Cumberland series ................................................................................................... 35 Riverport series ................................................................................................... 37 Bridgeville series ................................................................................................... 38 Middlewood series ....................................................................................................... 39 Chaswood series ........................................................................................................ 39 Soils developed from moderately coarse textured parent materials ............................. 40 Woodville series ............................................................................................................ 40 Berwick series ..................................................................................................... 41 Somerset series .................................................................................................... 42 Avonport series ............................................................................................ 43 Glenmont series ...................................................................................................... 45 Bridgetown series ................................................................................................ 45 Rossway series ................................................................................................... 46 Halifax series ..................................................................................................... 47 Gibraltar series.,......................................................................................................... 48 Debert series ..................................................................................................... 49 Kentville series .................................................................................................... 50 Annapolis series ............................................................................................. 50 4 5 PAGE Roxville scrics....................................... ................. 51 Danesville series.,...................................................................... 52 Bayswater series ............................................................ 53 Masstown series ......................................... ...... ........... 54 Tiddville series....................................................... 54 Aspotogan series..................................................................... 55 Soils developed from coarse-textured parent materials ............................ 56 Cornwallis series........................................................... ..... 56 Canning scrics ......................................................... .. 51 Nictaux series ........................................................ .... 58 Torbrook series.. .................................................... 60 Gulliver series........................................ ....... 61 Kingsport series............................................ ... 62 Millar series ........................................................... 63 Soils developcd from organic materials .......................................... 64 Peat .................................................................................... 64 Misceilancous land types. .......................................................... 65 Salt marsh ............................................................................... 65 Rocky land ............................................................................. 65 Coastal beach .......................................................................... 65 Erodcd land ................................................................. 65 LANDUSE .............................................................................................................. 66 Soi1 capability classes.. ...................................................................................... 69 Ratings of the soils for crops................................................................... 16 PHYSICALAND CHEMICALCOMPOSITIONS OF THE SOILS 18 SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................... 91 GLOSSARY 92 REFERENCES.......................................................................... 91 TABLES 1 Average monthly and seasonal temperaturcs and prccipitation ........ .. 12 2 Frost-free periods.. ........................................................................ ..... 13 3 Geological formations.. ....................................................................... 14 4 Classification of the soils ........................................................................... 22 5 Acrcages and uses of farm land ................................... ...... 66 6 Acrcagcs