65 



plantation lies ; near the stream the soil is lighter or sandier; as it recedes it becomes 

 heavier, ur.til finally the red clay soil is reached. The land is a part of what is 

 known as the " bottom" or alluvial lands of the Red River Valley. These lands are 

 level, having but a slight elevation above tide water, and in their native state covered 

 by a growth of heavy timber or forest. They lie near the Red River, and are drained 

 by smaller streams or bayous running into the Red. The principal timber growth is 

 sweet gam, various kinds of oak, ash, hackberry, sycamore, elm, mulberry, pecan, 

 cotton- wood, &c. Trees are often from 3 to 6 feet in diameter, and a height of 75 feet 

 is not uncommon. Some of the land has been recently cleared, whilst other parts have 

 been for many, seventy or more, years in cultivation. 



The samples were, in every instance, taken to a depth of 6 inches and 6 inches 

 square, or as near that as practicable The character of the soil for some 10 feet or 

 more is principally a red clay, with an occasional mixture of clay and sand. The 

 surface for a few inches is a black mold, arising from the decay of vegetable matter, 

 the leaves of the forest, &c. Beneath the red clay is generally found a blue or 

 grayish clay. 



The crops grown consist of corn and cotton, the latter principally. The yield 

 would average in the past five years 250 pounds of lint cotton per acre ; under favor- 

 able conditions of weather and good culture, 500 pounds and over were obtained. Corn 

 would average about 25 to 30 bushels per acre. No manure was used. 



2574. This sample was taken from a " field of some 8 or 10 acres but 

 one year cleared, the remainder, 300 acres in extent, being heavily 

 timbered, but of a similar formation." 



2575. "This soil has been twenty years in cultivation and proved very 

 fertile, and is a sample of medium or i chocolate' land.' 7 



2576. This soil has been longer in cultivation than either of the two 

 preceding, viz, "thirty years," and is a specimen of the fertile "red clay." 



2577. This is a sample of the "front and sandy alluvial lands, and 

 has been fifty years in cultivation, producing a somewhat smaller crop" 

 than No. 2575. 



2579-2580. Soils from Mrs. William Waters, samples collected by Mr. 

 H. K. Cummings, Alexandria, La.: 



2579. This is a sample of what is known as "creek bottom land", hav- 

 ing been taken from "Flaggan Creek," near Alexandria, La. 



The term is applied to the narrow belts of laud bordering on each side of the small 

 creeks in the Pine Hills. In this particular locality the formation extends on both 

 sides of the creek over a thousand acres. Owing to its slight elevation the land 

 is subject to overflow ; the ground is slightly undulating, and situated within a 

 few hundred yards of the creek, into which it easily drains. The soil is generally 

 thin, not more than 12 inches deep. The subsoil is stiffer and soon becomes a thick 

 bluish clay, intermingled with sand and gravel. The principal forest growths are 

 white oak, hickory, beech, ash, and magnolia. 



This sample was taken from a "field of 20 acres, which has been six- 

 teen years in cultivation, in corn, cotton, and oats. Yield from 30 to 

 40 bushels of corn, and from 200 to 300 pounds of lint cotton. No ma- 

 nure has been used except by planting peas in the corn." 



2580. This was taken from a "field in the Pine Hills, back of the 



'creek lauds,' and is a fair specimen of these lauds, which embrace 



three-fourths of the area of this parish. The lands are high, rolling, 



and heavily timbered with pines, Pinus palustris, and are not much 



J 3735 No. 10 5 



