378 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



SOME CONTRASTS IN THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE 



VIRGINIA PIEDMONT AND THE ILLINOIS 



PLAIN 



Bessie L. Ashton, University of Illinois 



The Virginia Piedmont and the plain of Illinois rep- 

 resent two decidedly agricultural sections of onr country. 

 While they are alike in some respects, the differences are 

 great enough to attract the attention of the most casual 

 observer, the conspicuous contrasts being those of to- 

 pography and soil and the consequent human response. 

 To one who is accustomed to the monotony of plains 

 such as those of Illinois, the undulating surface of the 

 Piedmont, with its numerous slopes, many of them still 

 wooded, others yellow with grain or green with meadow 

 grass, is truJy attractive. To give variety, here and 

 there are great gashes in the covering of vegetation 

 where erosion has gained the mastery, revealing the 

 bright brick-red soil — gaping wounds in the side of 

 Mother Earth. In order to be more exact I have chosen 

 two counties which I believe to be typical of the territory 

 they represent — Prince Edward county of Virginia and 

 Champaign county, Illinois. The comparisons made 

 hereafter refer especially to these two areas. 



Prince Edward county, Virginia, lies midway between 

 the Fall Line and the Blue Ridge in the region known as 

 the Piedmont, or, to Virginians, as Middle Virginia. 

 Farmville, the largest town and the county seat, is on the 

 Appomattox river nearly 60 miles from Richmond on the 

 east and about 40 miles from liynchburg on the west. 

 The southernmost part of the county is in latitude 37°5' 

 — about 180 miles farther south than the southern limits 

 of Champaign county. 



While the climate of this section is much like that of 

 Illinois, the geographic position, and to a slight degree, 

 perhaps, the lower altitude, give summers a little hotter, 

 winters not quite so cold^ longer spring and autumn sea- 

 sons, and slightly heavier rainfall distributed somewhat 

 more evenly throughout the year. The high summer 

 temperature, long growing season, and abundant rainfall 



