THE SOILS OF TENNESSEE. 157 



depressions as low as 1000 feet. This is the roughest and most mountain- 

 ous part of the State, and for the most part is not at all suitable to culti- 

 vation. 



The soils are apt to be shallow and rocky, even on the tops of the moun- 

 tains, which have been used for many years for summer grazing grounds 

 for cattle, and to a lesser extent for other stock. The mountain sides are 

 very steep with usually very narrow valleys, but occasionally a wide valley 

 or "cove" is found where the soils and the farming conditions are practi- 

 cally the same as in the Great Valley. Also along the foothills are some 

 farms and orchard sites. This section has furnished much timber and is 

 now being purchased to considerable extent by the Federal Government 

 for forest reserves. 



THE GREAT VALLEY OF EAST TENNESSEE. 



The Great Valley of East Tennessee comprises the section lying between 

 the Smoky Mountains on the east and the Cumberland Plateau on the 

 west, and covers about 9200 square miles. It is drained by the Tennessee 

 River and its tributaries, and is an especially well-watered section of the 

 State. The most prominent types of soil will be discussed under the head- 

 ings which follow and which are indicative of the soil origin. 



Marble and other high grade limestone soils. The decomposition of 

 marble and other high grade limestones has given rise to the most fertile 

 and durable lands found in East Tennessee. These soils are distinguished 

 by their color, which varies from a rather dark brown to red. They are 

 brown-colored when newly cleared and where fertility has been maintained 

 by good methods of farming. Where cropped for many years in corn, 

 wheat, etc., with little regard to the maintenance of fertility, the brown 

 color changes gradually to red, and the more the soil has been eroded and 

 worn the lighter is the color. 



These soils are for the most part loams, with rather heavy clay loam 

 subsoils, and are naturally well suited to all of the common farm crops, 

 such as corn, wheat, clover and grass, and forage crops in general. Also 

 they are well, but not richly, supplied with all of the elements of plant 

 food. Under live stock farming supplemented by good methods of soil 

 management and cropping, fertilizers are not necessary, and even liming 

 may not be profitable. They are not, however, rich in lime, a few tenths 

 of a per cent, being all that is found by the chemical analyses that have 

 been made. Where crops have been removed for years with little return 

 of fertility, which is unfortunately the custom, liming is apt to be profit- 

 able, and may even be a necessity in order to grow red clover ; for growing 

 alfalfa, liming is even more necessary. Also phosphatic fertilizers may be 

 found profitable under these conditions. 



