FORAGE PLANTS AND FORAGE RESOURCES OF THE 



GULF STATES. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Until within the last fifteen years it was commonly believed that good 

 pastures did not exist in the Gulf States of Louisiana, Mississippi, 

 Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and that good hay could not be made 

 in that region. With rare exceptions the pastures used were composed 

 of the wire grasses and broom sedges of the pine woods, and the larger 

 part of the hay which was found on the market, even in the smaller 

 towns, was brought from the Xorth. 



The work which has already been done by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, together with that of many intelligent planters, 

 has demonstrated that the soil and climate of the Gulf States are such 

 as will produce a heavy yield of forage, and that the quality of Southern- 

 grown hay is fully equal to that of any which can be imported from 

 other localities. 



SOILS OF THE GULF STATES. 



The soils of the Gulf States, excepting a small area in northern Ala- 

 bama and Georgia, are all alluvial. They may be subdivided into six 

 quite distinct sections with quite ditterent types of soil. These are : 



(1) The treeless prairie region of southwestern Louisiana. 



This region is mostly low, intersected by numerous rivers and bayous, 

 and the soil, a sandy loam, is of wonderful fertility. 



(2) The Gulf coast region, including a narrow strip along the coast 

 from Louisiana to Florida. 



This region has a rather sandy soil, often quite light on the immediate 

 coast, but becoming more loamy and usually underlaid with a heavy 

 clay formation a few miles back from the beach. 



(3) The pine woods region, extending from central Louisiana eastward 

 to Georgia and northern Florida. 



The soil in this region is usually a sandy, easily worked loam under- 

 laid with clay, becoming lighter toward the South, where it merges into 

 the alluvial soil of the coast district. 



(4) The clay loam region of the upper or northern section, extending 



from northern Louisiana to central Georgia. 



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