OF SOUTHWESTERN MISSISSIPPI. 89 



carried longer in suspension and are dropped farther from 

 the main channel. It is for this reason that the land nearest 

 the river is often higher and better drained than that far- 

 ther back. The former is probably the richest land in the 

 country and, where it can be drained and protected from 

 overflow, it is being rapidly cleared for cultivation. 



As the currents of the Mississippi tear away the banks 

 and make new deposits, the course of the river is constantly 

 changed. Much of the newly-formed soil seeds up with 

 Cottonwood and willow, the seeds being carried with the 

 overflow on the surface of the water and deposited as the 

 water receded. This resiilts in even-aged and pure stands 

 of these species over large areas of the Mississippi River 

 country. Later many of these areas seed up underneath 

 with sycamore, elm, red oak, and other hardwoods, which 

 in time replace the Cottonwood and willow. Overcup 

 oaks, gums and cypress finally take possession of the poor- 

 est drained soils. Cypress and tupelo gum are found 

 mosth^ on land that is flooded throughout the year. 



Originally, the timber on these flood plains was of 

 magnificent size. Even yet Cottonwood is being cut which 

 yields 2,000 board feet per tree, and stands of mature 

 Cottonwood often yield from 20,000 to 30,000 feet per acre. 

 Undoubtedly some of the original cypress and gimi stands 

 averaged 50,000 feet per acre. At present, however, there 

 is little virgin timber in this type, much of it having been 

 culled over several times. Often all timber that will float, 

 such as cypress, cottonwood, willow, ash and oak has been 

 taken, and only the gum and some inferior species left. 

 On many of the plantations some cypress has been reserved 

 for home use, as this furnishes the material most used for 

 fencing, barn building and general repairs. 



On most of these bottom-land swamps there is little 

 reproduction because of the excess of water through the 

 greater part of the year. On the better-drained soils, such 

 undergrowths as cane, green brier, and dwarf palmetto, 

 and the density of the forests, greatly interfere with the 

 reproduction of the species that cannot endure shade. 

 The rate of growth is generally rapid, especially on the 



