ADAMS COUNTY. 61 



and possesses a soil of remarkable fertility, with an undulating surface, which, 

 furnishes a free drainage, so that, with a rather porus sub-soil, it is less subject 

 to the deleterious influences of remarkably dry or wet seasons, than the other 

 upland soils of the county. The growth of timber on this variety of soil 

 consists principally of red, white and black oak, pig-nut and shell-bark hicko- 

 ry, elm, black and white walnut, sugar maple, linden, wild cherry and honey 

 locust. These lands are admirably adapted to the growth of fruit, and this 

 portion of Adams county has been long and favorably known, as one of the 

 finest fruit regions in this portion of the State. 



On the breaks of McGee's creek, and its tributaries, the surface is consider- 

 ably broken, and the soil, which is mainly derived from the Drift clays, is a 

 stiff clay loam, better adapted to the growth of wheat and grass, than almost 

 any other crop usually grown in this latitude. The growth of timber on this 

 kind of soil consists mainly of two or three varieties of oak and hickory, which 

 is the characteristic growth of the "oak ridges," that are so frequently met 

 with on the small streams, in this and other portions of the State. In the 

 northeastern portion of the county, there is a considerable area of compara- 

 tively level prairie, covered with a deep, black soil, highly charged with vege- 

 table matter, derived from the annual growth and decay of the shrubs and 

 grasses which clothe its surface. This black prairie soil is predicated upon a 

 fine silicious brown clay sub-soil, which does not permit the surface water to 

 pass freely through it, and hence these lands suffer greatly from a surplus of 

 water during a wet season. They are very productive, however, when the 

 season is favorable, and produce abundant crops of all the cereals usually 

 grown in this latitude. A judicious system of drainage would add greatly to 

 the productive capacities of this soil. The alluvial bottom lands bordering the 

 Mississippi, are generally similar in their character to those in Pike county, 

 and are heavily timbered with the same varieties mentioned in describing the 

 bottom lands of that county, in the preceding chapter. Where these bottom 

 lands are elevated above the annual overflow of the river, they are exceedingly 

 productive, and rank among the most valuable farming lands in the county. 



