SOUTHWESTERN PINE HILLS. 



61 



mentation of sand and pebbles by iron oxide is a character- 

 istic feature of the more hilly portions, but is by no means 

 confined to this region, as it occurs in many other non-cal- 

 careous regions in the coastal plain from New Jersey to 

 Florida, Arkansas and Texas. Quartz pebbles from the 

 underlying strata or from more recent river terraces abound 

 on some hillsides, especially in the neighborhood of rivers, 

 and on the red loam uplands small ferruginous nodules 

 usually half an inch or less in diameter may be strewn 

 thickly over the surface, making what is commonly known 

 as "pimply land." 



FIG. 19. Scene on top of high ridge with steep slopes (covered 

 with ferruginous pebbles) about six miles northwest of Bay Minette, 

 looking northeast through cut-over long-leaf pine forests and across 

 valley of Rains Creek. October 31, 1919. 



The sandstone is used locally for pillars, chimneys, etc., 

 the purer clay for bricks, the sandy clay and pebbles for 

 road material, and the sand for various purposes. An 

 abundance of pure soft water can be had without much trou- 

 ble almost anywhere in the region, from either deep or shal- 

 T ow wells and small streams. 



SOILS. 



The soils are prevailingly sandy, so that there is very 

 little mud or dust at any season of the year. The principal 

 soil texture classes, in order of area, are fine sandy loam, 



