9 6 



SCIENCE AND SOIL 



With the exception of the bottom land, these soils are extremely 

 poor in phosphorus; and, aside from the black prairie, they are 

 also very poor in nitrogen. 



Hilgard reports 940 pounds of acid-soluble phosphorus in 2 

 million pounds of Louisiana soil, as an average of 35 analyses. 

 The Geological Survey of Louisiana has furnished the data for 

 the following statement, showing the total nitrogen, acid-soluble 

 phosphorus, and acid-soluble potassium in 8 surface soils and 2 

 subsoils in Madison Parish, opposite Vicksburg. These are all 

 alluvial soils deposited from the overflow of the Mississippi River. 



TABLE 19.3. COMPOSITION OF LOUISIANA SOILS IN MADISON PARISH 

 Pounds in 2 Million of Soil 



In phosphorus content these soils resemble the late bottom lands 

 of Illinois, but the nitrogen content is, as a rule, much lower in the 

 Louisiana soils, and extremely low in the old, worn soils. 



It may be mentioned here that the Mississippi Experiment 

 Station has conducted some field experiments on delta lands, 

 concerning which the following is reported in Mississippi Bulletin 

 119: 



