HARDWOOD RECORD 



43 



TRUCKIXC; LOOS TO RAILIiOAD, CARKIEK LUMBER & MI<"G. COMPANY, SARDIS. MISS. 



"The soil of this great region is quite uniform in character. It 

 ronsists of from one to six feet of muck or organic matter, mixed 

 \\ith sediment. Tliis material is derived from swamp-loving vegeta- 

 tion which traps and retains sediment brought down by the floods, 

 it is underlaid with a heavy, tenacious eJay that extends to great 

 depths. This clay is the finest river sediment, deposited in lakes or 

 .shallow water before vegetation secured a foothold. The mineral 

 part of the soil has come almost entirely from the washing of the 

 ri>h prairies of the country upstream. As a rule these sediments are 

 the most fertile parts of the soil in the drained districts and in con- 

 sequence the resulting earth is exceedingly rich. 



"It is hard to imagine a more favorable combination of soil in- 

 gredients, or a better physical condition of the soil. The surface 

 material is rich in niineial plant food and abundantly supplied with 

 organic plant food. Several analyses of the muck portion of the 

 soil sliowed the presence of nearly as much nitrogen as is to be 

 found in ordinary stable manure. Agricultural pursuits have been 

 carried on in the lower Mississippi valley for more than one hundred 

 years and where crop rotation and manuring have been scientifically 

 practiced the land still produces abundant crops. Such land should 

 never wear out if handled with intelligence. Soils similar in texture 

 and original fertility have been farmed in the valley of the Nile 

 tor ])robably 7,000 years, and today Egypt has little arable land 

 that is considered to be worth less than $300 per acre. 



' ' There is a general impression that the overflowed areas of the 

 lower Mississippi valley and even the drained and settled portions 

 iire unhealthful. This is far from the truth. The narrow ribbons 



of land along the bayous and streams, although only a foot or two 

 above the marsh level, have been occupied for nearly two centuries 

 Ijy the Arcadians. 



' ' The physical condition and general health of these people are 

 good. Malaria, contrary to the general opinion, is not prevalent. 

 Yellow fever, for so many years the scourge of the Gulf coast, has 

 disappeared and there is no more reason for a yellow fever epidemic 

 than there is to expect a similar outbreak in any other part of the 

 country. IVorthern people have an erroneous impression regarding 

 the healthfulness of these southern regions, and doubtless some en- 

 ergetic missionary work will be necessary to change this impression. 

 In fact, there is as much malaria in the swamps of Illinois and 

 Indiana as there is in Arkansas and Louisiana." 



The government's plan of draining many thousands of acres in 

 this region is elaborate, but is systematic. One of the plans pro- 

 posed, which is to be used in the St. Francis valley of Arkansas, 

 provides for carrying through this district the water from more than 

 4,000 square miles in Missouri and from Clay and Greene counties, 

 Arkansas, 1,500 square miles of which are hilly and mountainous 

 territory, having the characteristic flood discharges of such regions. 

 The water is to be carried off in main channels, and a complete sys- 

 tem of detailed drainage and adjustment of plans to the possible 

 requirements of navigation in the main channels is provided for. 



This is only one of a score or more of drainage projects, many of 

 which are under way, which will convert these wonderfully rich 

 alluvial lands into the richest agricultural section of the United 

 States. 



