^8' U) WA ACA [ > F M r () r SCTV.SCKS. 



entirely sumerucci while the silt laden Nvaters whieli caiiK" 

 slowly rtowinii- frcMU the north (le])()si,tecl tlieir Uurciens as the 

 great hlaiiket of hess the remains of which caps it tli()r<>ui!h- 

 out nearly its entire leniith. Then canu' tlxe time of coiiti- 

 nenttil resurrection s^ince which }>eriocls the ri\ crs and their 

 trihutaiT creeks and l>rooks aided by frost, w ind and rain, 

 have reconinienced the wtwk of destruction, the task, of the 

 removal of Crowley V Kidge. 



The !^m"faee soils- of the region are i-oughly di\ isil)le into 

 two groups, each one of which maintains well its chief fea- 

 tures in all sections. To the (^ist of t!ie ritlge and in, the val- 

 ley of the L'Anguille the sm-face soil is a rich l^lack loam. 

 such as is usually found on lands sultject to overHow and 

 which may stand as the type of t!ie first grouj). The culti- 

 vable soils in the St. Francis-Mississippi hottcMus are detjpei" 

 and i-ieher than any other locality, hut they are limited to, 

 comparatively speaking, small areas and these are ridge-like 

 in their distrilmtion. In the I>'Anguille bottom the area of 

 black loamy soil is not only a minimum but is also l(>ss in 

 depth, rarely exceeding two or three feet at most. This 

 "•roup of soils on both sides of the ridge is remarkal)ly pro- 

 ductive, but, since they are in both sections und(!rlaid — gener- 

 allv on the west but only locally soon the east of the ridge — 

 with a limonitic clay or "'buckshot" hardpan which in many 

 places comes ((uite to the surface they have a defective drain- 

 'Ao-e. While these lands produce ;d»undantly certain cereals, 

 such as oats and less abundantly corn, they give but light 

 yields of the staple of the region which in common with all 

 the south is cotton. The yield of this product is usually 

 about one-half bale to the acre. 



The ridge soils are the type of grou[) two and are the least 

 adapted for cultivation profitably. They are usually light 

 colored, reddish or yellow predominating, and always nioi-e 

 or less sandv, though in niany localities they are stifl" with 



