HENDERSON COUNTY. 277 



hackberry, mulberry, iron wood, wild plum, thorn, crab-apple, dogwood, and 

 redbud. 



Between the bluffs and the Mississippi there is a belt of bottom land extend- 

 ing from the north end of the county to Camp creek, with an average width of 

 from two to three miles. A portion of the soil of this land is a deep black 

 loam, very fertile, and originally covered in part by a heavy growth of timber. 

 Here we find black, white, red and pin-oak, pecan, the common varieties of 

 hickory and elm, buckeye, black walnut, butternut, sycamore, box-elder, etc. 



. Along this bottom land, and for nearly the entire length of the county, there 

 runs a variable belt of sand ridge. It generally lies in low, rolling ridges, 

 which, in some cases, become hills of thirty or forty feet in hight. This belt 

 passes irregularly through the bottom lands, here forming the river's bank, and 

 there running nearly back to the bluff. In the northern part of the county it, 

 in some places, attains a width of about two miles. The soil is mostly poor ; 

 still considerable portions of it are cultivated, and by proper manuring, yield 

 moderately, though but few seasons are wet enough for it to produce largely. 

 The timber is principally scrubby, black-jack oak. 



Springs are numerous in this county, and some of them are large and valua- 

 ble, furnishing a constant supply of water, in quantities sufficient for the 

 necessities of large herds of cattle. -Good wells may generally be obtained at 

 depths of from fifteen to sixty feet. Mineral springs are not uncommon, cop- 

 peras being the mineral most commonly held in solution. One of the largest 

 and best known of these is in section 32, townsphip 11, range 4 west. 



Surface Geology. 



The surface deposits of this county comprise the three sub-divisions of the 

 Quaternary System, Alluvium, Loess and Drift, and attain a thickness of from 

 thirty to eighty feet. The largest alluvial deposit in this county is that along 

 the Mississippi, but smaller belts are found along the smaller streams, especially 

 Henderson river, South Henderson, Ellison and Honey creeks. These, how- 

 ever, are seldom over a half mile in width, and frequently but a few rods. The 

 soil of these deposits is generally largely composed of vegetable mould, mixed 

 with sand and gravel, and is very fertile. That along the Mississippi has been 

 already described. 



The Loess is a marly sand deposit, generally more or less calcareous, and 

 usually containing large numbers of fresh water and land shells, mostly of 

 species still existing in this region. It frequently contains small concretions 

 of carbonate of lime, which have resulted from the leaching of the mass 

 These were noticed in township 9, range 5 west. This deposit caps a portion 

 of the Mississippi bluffs in this county, and is also found along South Hender- 



