SELECTION OF LAND IN THE GULF COAST EEGION. 7 



small red or dark-brown iron concretions in upland types usually 

 suggests a heavy but well-drained subsoil. 



Heavy clayey soils are more difficult to keep in good tilth than the 

 corresponding types in regions of less rainfall. Where the surface 

 is hilly terracing is necessary. 



While deep sands are open to objection, except for special crops, 

 some of the gray upland sands having a sandy clay substratum at less 

 than 4 feet are very productive under careful management. The 

 cost of maintaining fertility is greater than on the sandy loams and 

 the liability of injury to crops in very wet or exceptionally dry 

 seasons is greater than on the heavier types. 



Red sands x are more desirable, other conditions being equal, than 

 gray sands. Black sand, if the color is due to the large admixture 

 of muck, will assume a light grayish tint after a few years of cul- 

 tivation. 2 



Calcareous soils are limited to a comparatively few localities. 

 Some of them are very productive, but rather difficult to handle. 3 



As one becomes acquainted with the natural features of a locality 

 many variations in the character of the native vegetation may be 

 seen to be due to soil differences. Specific rules in this report can not 

 be given wide application, for there are too many factors besides soil 

 conditions affecting the distribution of the native plants. The most 

 important single element, from the standpoint of soils, is that of 

 drainage. The surface conditions are usually apparent at a glance, 

 but the average moisture content of the reasonably well drained lands 

 and their general agricultural value may be judged by the natural 

 vegetation. 



On the sandy arid fine sandy loams of the uplands the longleaf 

 pines are generally larger and uniformly of better quality than on 

 either deep sands or shallow soils underlain by heavy clay. While 

 fine specimens of these trees may be seen on the latter soils, the forest 

 is scattering and irregular with respect to the size of the pine and 

 the character of the secondary growth. On the Susquehanna soils 

 the longleaf pine is generally smaller than on the Norfolk and 

 Orangeburg types or well-drained valley lands. A mixed growth 

 of good pine and large well-developed oak indicates a soil of high 

 agricultural value. 



Where the soil to a depth of several feet is chiefly sand, scrubby 

 oaks are generally numerous. Such light soils are also favorite loca- 



1 In the classification adopted by the Bureau of Soils material consisting of 80 per cent 

 or more of sand to a depth of 3 feet is classed as sand ; if from 20 to 50 per cent is silt 

 and clay, as sandy loam ; silt and clay loams consist of 50 per cent or more of the latter, or 

 finest, soil particles. 



2 See descriptions of Portsmouth soils of Georgia and Florida. 



8 See descriptions of the Houston soils in soil survey reports of Montgomery County, 

 Ala., and Jasper County, Miss. Some phases of the Susquehanna soils of Pike and Coffee 

 Counties in Alabama are derived from limestone. 



