70 SOUTHERN BOTTOMLANDS 



tion of snow. Hence spring floods are of minor importance. 

 The period of heavy precipitation comes in the summer so that 

 crops planted in the bottomlands of North Carolina, South 

 Carolina, or Georgia are lost about once in every three years. 

 Consequently large drainage schemes are not so practicable in 

 the Atlantic Coast states as in the Mississippi valley where the 

 Federal government has already spent large sums on levees and 

 drainage canals. This difference in the season of flooding is 

 reflected in the prices commonly paid for bottomlands. Lands 

 on the eastern coast seldom bring more than $30 an acre when 

 cleared, whereas the Mississippi lands seldom sell for less than 

 $50 an acre. To determine the value of the bare land the cost 

 of clearing must be deducted. This will be not less than $25 an 

 acre. 



For timber productive purposes bottomland is worth $10 an 

 acre assuming a final yield of looM per acre worth $10 per M, a 

 rotation of 100 years, interest at 3 per cent, cost of regenera- 

 tion $10 per acre, and 50 cents an acre annually for protection 

 and administration. 



In timberland sales the value of the land plays an insignificant 

 role in this type as with most other kinds of timberland but it is 

 nevertheless true that bottomlands have as high a potential agri- 

 cultural value as any type of timberland — if they can be drained. 



Titles. — The title problems differ with the method of land sub- 

 division. In all the thirteen original states there is confusion of 

 ownership, a network of overlapping grants, and a multiplicity 

 of claims of titles. Where the state lies wholly or in part within 

 the bounds of the Louisiana or Gadsen Purchase the square 

 section system prevails and there is greater clarity. In both 

 cases, however, the irregularity of the swamp outlines is an 

 obstacle to easy description. Commonly it is necessary to 

 include small parcels of upland in rounding out bottomland hold- 

 ings. 



Still another difficulty in tracing past ownership is due to the 

 destruction of land records during the Civil War. The bottom- 

 lands lay in the war zone and many of the old landmarks and 

 records were razed at that time. 



