r.\n,-r,i-,()i,(n-,v (H- r.\si r.kN aukansas. ,s5I 



n)>iiii(l:inl cliiv. W'hci'cvcr llic ii;iti\ (• dense iiT:i--es or ol !ier 

 \'ei;'et;it i(»ii is reiiKiNcd ill" soils w.isli badly and sin -e the 

 slopes of th- i-idij-e are pre-i pitoils s()<»!l ViTV I ll'i:'!' liMlllie^ are 

 loiMued, \v!iic!i in time i^rou into e.\len-ive ra\ ine- or e\eii 

 (le(>i) <-anon-like einl)a_vments. Nevert liel(>s> tli-.M' soil< yield 

 a lair retmai to earel'nl Imsl.andry, i>iit are liable to sjx'edy 

 I'xlia list ion, a condition due to tli'.' li-enerally prevalent method 

 oi farininu". •> lu'tliod wliieh does not eoiitemplate rotation (tf 

 (•rojis as one of its iearlinu" j)riiieipl"s. These soils will pro\<' 

 permanently \alual)le only tlirouiih the Li-reatest care and a 

 eomplete ehan'i'e in tlie met liods of <'ulture no\v in Noiine. 



To the second uroup of soils beloni;-, also, all those lands 

 which lie alonu" the slopes of therid<i-e, on both sides, t he 

 western of which are, howexcr, by far the most extensive. 

 These soils ar(> the products of erosion and are lar<:-ely com- 

 posed of the he^sian clays wdiieh cap the ridii'e. 'I'hcy are 

 iicnerally miniiled with much sand and oecasional pebbles 

 from the <i-enerally distributed orani>e sands. They are ii"oii- 

 erally deficient in lime, thouuh this defieieney could be easily 

 remedied by the us(> of the extensi\e beds of calcareous 

 marls w hieh are found in some portions of the eastern p:irt 

 of the State, notably in St. Francis County. 



With a view to the detoi'mination of the value of certain 

 of theses soils for a^-ricultural purposes the chemist of the sur- 

 vey, Dr. K. \. Brackett, has made such analyses as are usual 

 in determiniiiii" the actual value as far as this can be decided 

 by the chemical study of the soil. A chemical analysis in 

 itself, however, does not represent a verdict defimtive of the 

 \ alue of a soil for farminii' purposes. Soils are very complex, 

 the nuijor i)ortions of the elements cnterin2: into their con- 

 stitution arc very small in quantities, and their fertility is 

 dependent somewhat on the rate and completeness of the de- 

 composition to which the niineral elements arc subject. The 

 analysis then decides nothing as to its agricultural value save 



