FOREST CONDITIONS OF MISSISSIPPI. 23 



width is from three to six miles, though in places it is ten 

 or twelve miles wide. Its southern limit is the Sucarnoo- 

 chee River in Kemper County. The eastern border of the 

 region as far south as Houlka Creek is sharply defined by 

 the red hills of the Pontotoc Ridge. The northern portion 

 of the western border is less distinct, the Flatwoods in places 

 being associated with the badly washed uplands of Benton 

 and Union counties. In the southern portion, however, 

 the western limit is sharply defined by the high, sandy, 

 NoxuVjee hills. 



The two principal classes of soil within the Fla woods 

 are heavy clays and fine sands, both of which bear the same 

 forest types though they differ radically in their agricul- 

 tural value. The heavy soil is most prevalent, especially 

 in the southern portion of the Flatwoods. Very little of the 

 region, however, is in cultivation. Farms as a rule are 

 located close to the streams where the soil is more fertile. 



In the northern portion of the Flatwoods, the forests 

 consist of scrubby, stunted, upland oaks with some short- 

 leaf pine. South of Houlka Creek loblolly and shortleaf 

 pines predominate in the stand. In low, more fertile 

 situations such as the headwaters of creeks, the pine in the 

 remaining virgin stands is of large dimensions, but this 

 virgin pine, because of the excellent quality of its lumber, 

 has been cut from practically all parts of the region for 

 twenty years, and only occasional small tracts are left. 

 The same is true of the original forest of hardwoods of the 

 stream bottoms. Probably the largest and finest body of 

 hardwood timber within the Flatwoods region is a tract of 

 6,000 acres on the Schoona River in northern Calhoun and 

 northwest Chickasaw counties. This was bought nineteen 

 years ago for $i an acre and was recently sold for $20 an" 

 acre. 



In Oktibbeha County and southward the region is for- 

 ested largely with young lobloll}^ and shortleaf pine, the 

 loblolly forming from 50 to 80 per cent of the forest. 

 These pines frequently grow in such dense stands as to pre- 

 vent the growth of the oaks which are usually found mixed 

 with them. Usually, however, there is present beneath the 



