THE CLARKSVILLE SILT LOAM. 9 



stream erosion has cut deep gorges and valleys, and in general the 

 Clarksville silt loam lies upon the higher plateaus at altitudes con- 

 siderably above the lines of through transportation which follow the 

 larger valleys. Thus, many thousands of acres of the type east of 

 the Mississippi River and additional thousands of acres similarly 

 situated in the Ozark border are rather remote from the principal 

 lines of transportation. There are also heavy grades from its upland 

 situation down to the shipping points. The altitude of the type and 

 its remoteness from transportation serve as an additional limitation 

 upon the classes of crops which may be grown most profitably. 

 These limitations do not prevail at the lower lying elevation in the 

 western portion of Kentucky and Tennessee. 



EXTENT OF OCCUPATION. 



Throughout its extent, both in the Ozark region and east of the 

 Mississippi River, the early settlers found portions of the Clarksville 

 silt loam to be largely in a treeless or prairie condition. Such areas 

 were not infrequently known as the "Barrens." These areas were 

 occupied by fairly good growths of the native grasses, and originally 

 constituted grazing areas used in connection with the tilled soils, 

 either in the valley bottom lands or upon the valley limestone areas. 

 As density of occupation increased, farms were first located upon the 

 treeless tracts of the uplands and in the forest borders adjoining these 

 small prairies. Fair yields of the crops then produced were normally 

 secured, but the lands were not held in as great esteem as the valley 

 lands just mentioned. In the more remote regions this characteristic 

 occupation is still maintained. Thus in northern Alabama, at the 

 higher altitudes in central Tennessee and Kentucky, and throughout 

 the Ozark border considerably less than 50 per cent of the total area 

 of the Clarksville silt loam is now occupied for tillage purposes. Fol- 

 lowing the agricultural occupation of the region, many areas which 

 were previously covered with grasses or with scattered clumps of trees 

 have become seeded to the hardwood trees and are now occupied by a 

 sparse to medium growth of post, scarlet, and black-jack oaks. Such 

 areas while not used for active farming operations are utilized for the 

 grazing of cattle and hogs, while a considerable revenue is derived 

 from the cutting of railroad crossties. They also furnish some build- 

 ing material and a considerable amount of firewood. In the western 

 Tennessee and Kentucky region, along the boundary between the two 

 States, practically every acre of the lower lying and better drained 

 Clarksville silt loam is occupied for a high class of general farming, 

 with tobacco as the principal money crop. Thus there is a wide varia- 

 tion in the degree of occupation of the different portions of the type, 

 depending largely upon transportation facilities and the accessibility 

 of the areas covered by the Clarksville silt loam. 



