Land as it is Found in "Wiregrass Region 



^\ o paraphrase a verse of Scripture, the farm lands of the 

 %» Wiregrass differ from each other as one star differs from 

 another in glory. 



These lands, practically all of them, are firm and consistent 

 wealth producers, lands which are not given to failure in the 

 production of crops, and lands which assimilate and grow stron- 

 ger with intelligent fertilizing. Naturally there are acres in the 

 Wiregrass which are neither strong nor fertile, as there are 

 such acres in every State and in every section, but their pro- 

 portion is inconsequently small when compared to the wealth 

 of strong and fertile soil that abounds in this favored section. 



The main run of land throughout the Wiregrass is clayey 

 and sandy. It is oftentimes mixed, this clay and sand. And 

 in this the clay or the sand so predominates that there is often 

 a clay sti:eak and a sand streak running clear across the 

 Wiregrass if not entirely across the State. The streaks may be 

 likened to the streaks of fat and streaks of lean found in ?. 

 neatly browned piece of breakfast bacon. There are men so 

 familiar with the Southeast Alabama lands that they can tell 

 where the red clay streak begins and where it ends, and where 

 the sand lands begin and where they end. The lands with the 

 more clay in them are called "stiff" lands, and they are reported 

 to be of more value for farming purposes than the sandier 

 soil, although both, as' the expression goes "lie well" and both 

 hold fertilizers well. To "lie well" means that the land is not 

 so level that it is a sand blot nor so hilly that it washes and 

 rolls away with heavy rains. These lands whether they be red 

 or sandy have a clay subsoil which gives them durability and 

 which stores' and economizes the fertilizer the farmer entrusts 

 to them. 



My attention was called to the special richness of the soil 

 about Enterprise, Hartford, Dothan and Headland. The soils 

 about these towns I was told were the richest of the Wiregrass. 

 The distinction, which was given to these particular soils' and 

 which may or may not be true and just, is not my own. It was 

 pointed out and argued by merchants and by farmers of the 



