28 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF THE 



Before planting can be undertaken, however, owners 

 must have reasonable assurance of fire protection. They 

 will not expend from $8 to $io an acre in planting when 

 there is a strong possibility that the young trees will be 

 destroyed by fire. 



6. South Central Region. — The south central region 

 includes the portion of central Mississippi lying between 

 the north central plateau and the longleaf pine region. 

 The greater part of this region, as has been pointed out, 

 lies in the same geological division as the north central 

 plateau. It is desirable to distinguish between these 

 regions chiefly because of the difference in their economic 

 development. The north central plateau is an old agri- 

 cultural section, while a large part of the south central 

 region is covered with forest growth and has never been 

 in cultivation. The western boundary of the south cen- 

 tral region is the Yazoo Delta, and its eastern boundary 

 the Flatwoods and the Alabama border. The southern 

 portion includes the Jackson prairies, a rolling country 

 forested in places with hardwoods and pine, but for the 

 most part under cultivation. North of the Jackson prai- 

 ries the drainage is toward the Pearl River, while southward 

 the streams contribute to Strong, Leaf and Chickasahay 

 Rivers. 



In general, this region is rolling, though in many sec- 

 tions the surface is broken or even hilly. The light loam 

 soils prevail as in the north central plateau. 



There is a great deal of high ridge land where the soil, 

 a deep, light sand, is liable to erode badly if cleared of 

 forest cover. An example of this is found on the ridge 

 lands in western Kemper County, where the sandy soil 

 is not underlaid by a retentive stratum of hardpan. Ero- 

 sion in these localities is ruinous to the adjacent bottom- 

 lands upon which the sand is deposited, and many fertile 

 fields have been rendered worthless for all time. These 

 sandy hills ought always to be covered with forests, which 

 will help to prevent erosion, and the owners of such land 

 should be shown the necessity for such forests. When 

 protection from fires is assured and the forests are managed 



