330 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



the subsoil upward of 30 per eeut. However, these soils contain only 

 about 8 or 10 per cent of water as compared with IS to 22 per cent 

 maintained by similar soils in Pennsylvania and Ohio. 



A comparison of the mechanical analyses of different Florida soils 

 shows a great similarity in composition and texture. The percentage 

 of clay is, as a rule, very low. No difference was found in the texture 

 of these soils which would in any way explain the differences in their 

 natural vegetation and agricultural value. Chemical examination and 

 determination of the soluble salt content in the different types of soil 

 showed that not only is there a small amount of plant food present in 

 the soil, but that only about 1 per cent of it is present in soluble form. 



"These results all seem to show that these types of Florida soil con- 

 stitute a distinct class of soils, unlike the average soils of the humid 

 portions of the United States." 



Determinations of moisture in these different soils show that their 

 moisture supply is very uniform, and that a much lower percentage 

 of water suffices for natural vegetation and for different eultivated 

 crops on these soils than on similar soils in other regions. Thus, 

 it was found that the hammock soil maintains on an average only 8 to 

 9 per cent of moisture, and that this is amply sufficient for the growth 

 of oaks and other hard-wood trees, while at least 15 or 20 per cent of 

 water is necessary for oaks and similar hard-wood trees on soils in the 

 North. Moisture determinations in the scrub and adjacent high pine 

 land showed no apparent difference in the moisture content of these 2 

 soils during the dry season. 



Detailed analyses of the different samples of soils and subsoils are 

 given in tables. 



The bluff and Mississippi alluvial lands of Louisiana, W. W. 

 Clendenin (Louisiana Stas. /Special Rpt. Geology and Agriculture, pt. 

 4, pp. 259-290). — This is a continuation of the geological and agricul- 

 tural survey of Louisiana which has been prosecuted for a number of 

 years (E. S. R., 8, p. 382). In the preceding report (pt. 3), brief con- 

 sideration was given to the bluff lands of east and southwest Louisiana. 

 The present report is confined to "a preliminary study of the border 

 lands of the Mississippi River which are directly the product of the 

 river itself." These are comprised within "a somewhat irregular zone 

 stretching over about 4° of latitude and varying in width from about 

 15 miles at the Arkansas line to about 100 miles from the line of Five 

 Islands on the southwest to Tickfaw River on the northeast." The bluff 

 lauds east of the Mississippi cover an area of about 1,000 square miles. 

 Those bordering the alluvium of the west are of "such an irregular and 

 indeterminable extent that it is difficult to estimate the amount in square 

 miles." The topography, drainage, mineral products, and vegetation of 

 these soils are briefly noted. 



The alluvial soils are classified as (1) front lands, (2) back lands, (;i) 

 swamp, and (1) deep swanip. The front lauds are the border lauds of 



