The following is a map unit description from the "Soil Survey of Norfolk and Suffolk Counties, Massachusetts (Peragallo, 1989)"
WnC-Windsor loamy sand, 8 to 15 percent slopes. This is a very deep, strongly sloping, excessively drained soil on side slopes of glacial outwash plains, terraces, and deltas. Areas of the soil are rounded and irregular in shape and range from 6 to 35 acres.
Typically, the surface layer is dark brown loamy sand about 6 inches thick. The subsoil is about 16 inches thick. It is yellowish brown loamy sand in the upper part and yellowish brown sand in the lower part. The substratum is very pale brown sand to a depth of 60 inches or more (fig. 12).
Included with this soil in mapping are small areas of Merrimac and Hinckley soils in positions on the landscape similar to those of the Windsor soil. Included areas make up about 20 percent of the map unit.
Permeability: Rapid.
Available water capacity: Low.
Soil reaction: Very strongly acid to moderately acid in the surface layer and the subsoil and strongly acid to slightly acid in the substratum.
Depth to bedrock: More than 60 inches.
Depth to the seasonal high water table: More than 60 inches.
Hydrologic group: A.
Most areas of this soil are woodland. Some areas are idle cropland, and some are used as individual homesites. This soil is a probable source of sand. In a few areas it is used as a source of sand.
This soil is suited to cultivated crops. It is droughty, and irrigation is needed for best plant growth. Cover crops, conservation tillage, stripcropping, and contour farming help to control erosion. The soil is suited to pastureland. In pasture management, preventing overgrazing protects the hardiness and density of desirable plants.
Potential productivity for eastern white pine on this soil is high. A management concern is moisture stress caused by the limited available water capacity. Thinning crowded stands to accepted, standard stocking levels allows more vigorous growth. In thinning operations, it is important to remove diseased, poorly formed, and otherwise undesirable trees. Shelterwood cutting, seedtree cutting, and clearcutting help to establish natural regeneration or to provide suitable planting sites. Removing or controlling competing vegetation allows best growth of newly established seedlings. Minimizing soil disturbance and retaining the sponge-like mulch of leaves allow the soil to absorb precipitation. Designing regeneration cuts to optimize shade and to reduce evapotranspiration helps to retain the limited soil moisture.
Designing buildings to conform to the natural slope of the land helps to overcome the slope limitation and to control erosion in disturbed areas. Land shaping is needed in some areas. Constructing roads on the contour, where possible, and planting roadbanks to well adapted grasses help to control erosion. If the soil is used as sites for septic tank absorption fields, ground water pollution is a hazard. Because of rapid permeability, the soil readily absorbs but does not adequately filter the effluent.
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