rally fertile, at first gave abundant yields; but, as the forest mold 

 became exhausted and the yields steadily and rapidly decreased, new 

 fields were cleared as rapidly as possible and the least productive old 

 ones thrown out of cultivation. The chief crop interests, as at present, 

 were cotton and corn. With the abundance of land then available and 

 under the conditions of labor then existing this system of farming was 

 profitable and the planters enjoyed a high degree of prosperity. With 

 the change to a paid-labor system, the scarcity of new lands, and the 

 improved methods of cotton culture came the necessity of a radically 

 different system of farming. The methods in use in the past for the 

 culture of cotton and corn are too much a matter of history to require 

 description, but the methods in use at present will be fully described. 

 The beginning of marked improvement dates back about twenty-five 

 years, with the introduction of cowpeas as a soil enricher, and to this 

 medium, combined with crop rotation, deeper plowing, and more thor- 

 ough cultivation, most of the improvement is ascribed. 



At the close of the early system the fields were for the most part so 

 run down as to produce not more than one-half bale of cotton per acre, 

 and many had long since ceased to be profitable ; others had suffered 

 from washing because no labor to care for them was to be had. As a 

 consequence it has been no easy matter to bring them to their present 

 improved condition. 



The growing of bright tobacco is an industry of comparatively recent 

 introduction and the most approved methods are in use with this crop, 

 under the personal supervision of the planter. 



SURFACE FEATURES AND DERIVATION OF THE SOILS. 



The farm presents on the whole very level surface features. The cul- 

 tivated fields change but a few feet in elevation, and that but rarely. 

 However, a variation of 1 foot is often sufficient to produce a marked 

 change in soil. Open ditches are cut in the depressions wherever 

 necessary to secure adequate surface drainage, and tile underdrainage 

 will be necessary to secure the best results with many fields. The 

 slopes to the stream bottoms are quite abrupt, descending from 15 to 30 

 feet, with the crest of the descent often marked by a slight ridge or rise 

 occupied by one of the lighter colored, better drained soil types. The 

 stream bottoms are subject to overflow in seasons of high water and 

 are, therefore, largely uncleared. 



The principal drainage is in a general southerly direction into Black 

 Creek. The inclination of many of the fields is so slight that the sur- 

 face water may be carried in almost any direction at will. 



The soils, with the exception of those lying in the stream bottoms, 

 are derived from unconsolidated marine sediments of comparatively 

 recent age and present a variety of texture ranging from a heavy silt 



