The type is well drained, the slopes allowing a rapid flow of water
from the surface, while the soil water passes readily through the soil
and subsoil. On the other hand, the texture is sufficiently heavy to
prevent undue leaching and drought.

Little of the land is in cultivation, on account of its stony
character, which makes cultivation difficult. Where unimproved it is
covered with a heavy growth of chestnut, oak, and pine. The land is
locally called "chestnut land." In a few small areas the larger stones
have been removed and the land is cultivated, corn and wheat being the
principal crops. The yield of corn ranges from 20 to 35 bushels and of
wheat from 8 to 15 bushels per acre. Apples and small fruits and
vegetables do well.


_Iredell Clay Loam._

The soil of the Iredell clay loam consists of from 6 to 18 inches of
light loam, usually brown or gray, although sometimes of a yellowish
color, with an average depth of about twelve inches. The subsoil
consists of a heavy yellow to yellowish-brown waxy clay. This clay is
cold and sour, almost impervious to moisture and air, and protects the
underlying rock from decay to a great extent. Often the clay grades
into the rotten rock at from 24 to 36 inches. In the poorly drained
areas a few iron concretions occur on the surface. Numerous rounded
diabase bowlders, varying in size from a few inches to several feet in
diameter, are also scattered over the surface of the soil. Occasional
slopes of the type have had the soil covering entirely removed by
erosion, and here, where the clay appears on the surface, the soil is
very poor. In other places, where the soil covering is quite deep, as