IH/ rovi'A ACAr)KM\' of' scr::.vcKS". 



^vithi'n rather imri-ow limits. liiit it inav dccith^ (a) tfr.' afr- 

 sence of some iiii})()rtant clciiK'nt or (h) th;' proseiicc of some- 

 oioment deleteriou.s to i>laiit iirouth. Ana ly.sis of tho soils- 

 of the rcitioii, it luay hr said i>-eii(M-all\', show that its (ailtiva- 

 hlc area is comijosed of a soil e(MtlainiirL;- [/laiit fo(Kl in fair 

 ahnndaiKH^ and in a tolerably s()]ul)h' condition: t'.iat its 

 chief deficiency is lime and avai}al>le i)h()s|)horic acid : that 

 the ridire soils are easily tilled and t!n-ifty w hen ww hnt |)os- 

 sess little dural)ilit3' ; that, for the fntnre as ninv, t!ie best 

 farminii' lands will be those that lie ahm^- the ucMitle slopes 

 of the ridue. In this In'ief estini ite, of course, the rpcli alln- 

 vinni of the overflowed regions is not considered, for from the 

 l)re8ence of abundant deeoniMosino- nnd det'oniposed orij'anic 

 matter, as well as Ix'cause of constant additions of Hue soil 

 from other n^ij-ious, this ([uality of land is always fertili^ and 

 easily tillable. 



There are no (>cononiic products of a distin-'tively ii-eoIoi;ic 

 character to be foiuirl in northeast n-n Arkansas. There are 

 no ores nor are tlru'c anv' dopo-iits of cod. Its al>uKlant Wix- 

 nite is unavailable for fuel, tirst, b''au>' it is a rather [)()or 

 variety of brown lignite, wit!i mu "Ii !iy .>tos -opic moisture and 

 comparatively little volatile m dter and a minimum of Hx;'d 

 carbon, and second, because its sti'ati:rraphi;- r(d dions to ovcr- 

 lyino- and underlyino- soft (days are such as to render its min- 

 ing' difficadl and ex])ensi\-e. 



BEGGIATOA ALBA AND THE DYING OF FISH IN 

 IOWA. 



nv i'ROF. L. H. PAMMI'.r,. 



<A^.sf,un/ ) 



'I'he secretary of the State I5oard of Ilealtli found fish dying 

 in o-reat numbers at Tama City, Mtirshalltown and Des 

 Moines. The odor after tlu^ removal of ice was very distrust- 

 ing, ijartly due to the decomposition of dead tisji and othru- 



