384 f:XPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Mississippi River, is spread a thin coating of brownish-yellow, clayej' loam that is 

 highly productive. Immediately underlying it at a depth varying from a few inches 

 to a few feet is the much more sandy Lafayette, which, when it liecomes the upper 

 soil from removal of the yellow loam by erosion, loses its solul)le plant foo<l rapidly 

 by leachiug. Great care should therefore be exercised to preserve this protective 

 coating from being removed by washing. This can be done by proiter cultivation, 

 and by resorting as much as possible to those crops that require the least stirring of 

 the soil. . . . Throughout these parishes are found 'old fields' aggregating thou- 

 sands of acres that were once i^rodnctive, but lost their productiveness by inattention 

 to this matter of preservation of the fertile but easily removable coating of loam. 



"Along the banks overlooking the ancient Mississippi is found a soil, the loess or 

 'bluff' of which combines perhaps more of the elements of productiveness than any 

 other soil in the State. 



"Being well above the flood plains of the streams it is easily drained; and con- 

 taining much more of clay than sand, it does not leach rapidly. 



"Rich in lime, hunufication, even in poorly drained areas, is rapid and of the 

 desirable kind. 



"Yet, being so fine grained and incoherent, this deposit erodes rapidly, and the 

 greatest care should be exercised to prevent this wastage by erosion. 



"Four classes of soils are then found in the Florida parishes, corresponding to 

 the three upper members of the Columbia formation, and the modern alluvial 

 deposits in our river bottoms. Each has its characteristic vegetation." 



The region is not generally rich in mineral products, bnt contains the 

 Petite Anse deposit of rock salt. It furnishes large quantities of j)ine 

 and some liard-\Yood lumber, llesin and turpentine are gathered to 

 some extent, and native fruits and flowers are abundant. Cultivated 

 crops are principally cotton on the uplands and hills and rice and cane 

 in the alluvial lands. 



"Tliroughout south Louisiana maximum temperatures of 100'^ F. are extremely 

 uncommon, and minimum teiiiperatures below 20-^ F. are even more rare. Upon the 

 coast freezing temperatures are infrequent. 



"The range of temperature is about 70^ F. in the northern jjortion of the section 

 and decreases as we approach the coast. 



"The annual precipitation varies from 50 to 70 in., being in the northern part 

 usually between 60 and G5 in., and decreasing toward the coast, where it is connnouly 

 under 50 in. This is well distributed throughout the year. Though there is a 

 minimum of rainfall in midsummer, no season can be considered as distinctively dry. 



"The winds are variable, though prevailingly southern. Thunderstorms are 

 common, and are usually accompanied by strong winds. 



"Though south of the most frequented tracks of tornadoes, many destructive 

 storms pass through the section, following, as elsewhere in the Mississippi Valley, 

 a course from southwest to northeast. . . . 



"Summing iip, we may say : The section is one of moderate range of temperature, 

 being less as we approach the coast; of sufficient though not excessive raiulall, 

 likewise diminishing toward the coast, and bi'ing well distributed through the year; 

 of variable though prevailingly southern winds; and occasional destructive storms. 



"Taken as a whole, the climate may be properly called temperate." 



A brief description is given of the detached and limited areas known 

 as the "islauds" of Orange, Petite Anse, Grand Cote, Cote Blanche, 

 and Belle Isle, which rise so conspicuously above the surrounding 

 prairie and marsh and which constitute a topographic feature of the 

 coastal j)lain that has no other American homologue. 



