15 



Answering the question wliat soils are unfit for al- 

 falfa, these correspondents are almost unanimous in 

 namino- sandv soils. Three ( inchulinc; one farmer who 

 lias a very larije acreage in alfalfa) specify ix)st oak, 

 and one especially designates black post oak. 



With the confessedly incomplete data now available 

 the soils of the prairie region of Alabama may be tenta- 

 tively ranked in about the following order as regards 

 their suitability for alfalfa : 



First class : Black bottoms, well drained, and drain- 

 ed alluvial lime bottoms containing a little sand. 



Second class : Black uplands; shelly gray uplands, 

 and rich chocolate uplands. 



Third class: Poor gray to white prairie, and poor, 

 stiff red or post oak land. 



. OTHER LIME SOILS. 



As to the suitabilitv to alfalfa of the soils of the re- 

 mainder of the State, there is much less evidence avail- 

 able. From theoretical considerations there is every 

 reason for expecting alfalfa to succeed in all the lime 

 soils of the Tennessee Valley region, and in the narrow 

 lime vallej's in the northeastern part of the State. 



Messrs. E. H. Allison and R. P. ]McEntire, of Decatur, 

 write of their success Avith alfalfa in that part of the 

 Tennessiee Valley, and other instances of success in that 

 part of the State have been heard of, but not confirmed 

 by answers to our inquiries. 



There is reason to expect the best red calcareous soils 

 of Talladega, Calhoun, and counties north of these, 

 to give satisfactory results with alfalfa. In a word, 

 there is a prospect for the successful growth of alfalfa 

 on rich, well drained lime soils in any part of the State 

 where they occur. 



Rich' bottoms in every part of the State, if not subject 



