SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 329 



Immediately west of the Appalachian Mountains and usually 

 separated from them by a valley is a wide stretch of country known as 

 the Allegheny Plateau. In a broad way this plateau is carved 

 out of a great block of sedimentary rocks tilted to the northwest from 

 the mountains. It is crossed by numerous streams. As they run 

 in deep channels (all the larger ones being from 200 to 1,000 feet in 

 depth) the dissection of the plateau block is often minute. 



The rocks of the eastern ranges of the Appalachian Mountains 

 are igneous or metamorphic in origin, while the western ranges, as 

 well as the Allegheny Plateau, are made up of sedimentary rocks. 

 Different series of soils have, therefore, been formed in different parts 

 of these mountains and plateau. The igneous and metamorphic rocks 

 give rise to the soils of the Porter series, while the Dekalb and Upshur 

 series are formed from the weathering of the sandstones and shales 

 of sedimentary origin. 



The character of the topography in the mountain and much of 

 the plateau region is such that general farming is not practicable. 

 These areas are, however, well suited to grazing and fruit growing, 

 and these are very important industries. 



Dekalb Series. Brown to yellow soils with yellow subsoils, de- 

 rived from sandstones and shales. Soils of this series are used, ac- 

 cording to texture, elevation, exposure, and character of surface,- 

 either for the production of hay, for pasture, or for orchard and 

 small fruits. 



Fayetteville Series. Grayish-brown to brown soils with yellow- 

 ish or reddish-brown subsoils. Adapted to apples, grapes, and small 

 fruits, and give moderate yields of general farm crops. 



Porters Series. Gray to red soils with red clay subsoils, derived 

 from igneous and metamorphic rocks. This is the greatest mountain 

 fruit series of the eastern United States. It is also used for general 

 farming. 



Upshur Series. Brown to red soils with red subsoils, derived 

 from sandstones and shales. Somewhat more productive than the 

 Dekalb soils. Used for cotton, corn, wheat, and forage crops. 



LIMESTONE VALLEYS AND UPLANDS. 



The limestone soils are among the most extensively developed of 

 any in the United States and occur in both broad upland and in- 

 closed narrow valley areas. The greatest upland development is seen 

 upon the Cumberland Plateau in eastern Tennessee and Kentucky 

 and upon the Carboniferous formation in central Tennessee and Ken- 

 tucky, northern Alabama and Georgia, and in Missouri. The valley 

 soils are found principally in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, 

 and in the mountain section of eastern Tennessee and Kentucky and 

 northern Alabama and Georgia. The topography of the plateau 

 soils varies considerably. In the Cumberland Plateau and Highland 

 Rim the surface is undulating; in the region of the Ozark uplift in 

 Missouri and Arkansas it is quite rough and hilly, and where there 

 is. an elevation of the surface, or where the plateau is deeply dis- 

 sected by erosion, it presents a quite mountainous topography. The 



