The following is a map unit description from the "Soil Survey of Barnstable County, Massachusetts (Fletcher, 1993)"
NsB-Nantucket sandy loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes, stony. This very deep, gently sloping, well drained soil is on the crests and sides of hills in areas of ground moraine and glacial lake deposits. Stones and boulders cover 0.1 to 1.0 percent of the surface. The soil makes up about 0.2 percent (590 acres) of the survey area. It is mapped mainly in the PlymouthCarver-Barnstable general soil ma-p unit. Areas are irregular in shape and range from 5 to 150 acres in size.
Typically, the surface is covered with an organic layer. This layer is about 1.5 inches of undecomposed leaves and twigs and 0.5 inch of partly decomposed and well decomposed organic material. The surface layer is sandy loam about 5 inches thick. The upper 1 inch is very dark grayish brown and very friable, and the lower 4 inches is dark yellowish brown and friable. The subsoil is friable sandy loam about 22 inches thick. The upper 12 inches is yellowish brown, and the lower 10 inches is light olive brown. The substratum to a depth of 65 inches is light olive brown, firm loam. Below a depth of 65 inches, it may have layers of loose gravel and sand.
Included with this soil in mapping are small areas of Barnstable, Boxford, and Plymouth soils and areas where slopes are less than 3 percent or more than 8 percent. Also included are areas where stones and boulders cover more than 1 percent of the surface. Included soils make up about 30 percent of this unit.
Permeability is moderate or moderately rapid in the subsoil of the Nantucket soil and moderately slow or slow in the substratum. Available water capacity is moderate. Depth to the seasonal high water table is generally more than 6 feet. In some areas, however, a perched water table is at a depth of 2.0 to 2.5 feet in early spring.
Most areas are used as woodland. Many areas have been developed for homesites.
This soil is unsuitable as cropland because the surface stones and boulders restrict the use of equipment. It is well suited to cultivated crops, however, if the stones and boulders are removed.
This soil is suited to native pasture. It is poorly suited to hay because the surface stones restrict the use of equipment. The main management objective is the prevention of overgrazing, which reduces the hardiness and density of desirable plants. Proper stocking rates, timely grazing, and restricted use during wet periods help to maintain plant density and minimize surface compaction.
This soil is fairly well suited to woodland. No major hazards or limitations restrict woodland management. Thinning dense stands to standard stocking levels results in more vigorous tree growth. Removal or control of competing vegetation may be necessary for the best growth of newly established seedlings. The most common trees are pitch pine, eastern white pine, black oak, scarlet oak, and white oak.
This soil is suitable as a site for buildings with or without basements. In areas where the soil has a perched water table, wetness is a limitation on sites for dwellings with basements and for septic tank absorption fields. The moderately slow or slow permeability in the substratum also is a limitation on sites for septic tank absorption fields. Additions of fill or a regional drainage system helps to overcome the wetness. Enlarging the absorption fields helps to overcome the restricted permeability. In areas where the soil is underlain by sandy and gravelly material, excavations that extend to this material generally can overcome the wetness and the restricted permeability.
