362 RESOURCES OF TENNESSEE. 



tions, which include clovers and other legumes, should be practiced on 

 them. At the University farm these soils have not been found responsive 

 to phosphating, except for alfalfa, but to be somewhat in need of lime for 

 both clover and alfalfa. 



Lying above the second bench may be found a third bench which is 

 never overflowed now, but which in times past received river deposits, and 

 was in fact formed in large part in this way. With this ancient river de- 

 posit, material from the neighboring uplands has been washed in and the 

 soils are therefore of mixed origin. The^f are often more productive than 

 the adjacent uplands, but vary with them in general character. 



THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU. 



The Cumberland Plateau is an elevated tableland from 30 to 50 miles 

 wide, extending across the State from Kentucky to Alabama. The area is 

 about 5000 square miles. The average elevation is not far from 1800 feet, 

 or nearly 1000 feet above the Great Valley of East Tennessee, or the High- 

 land Rim of Middle Tennessee. The plateau is practically undeveloped 

 from an agricultural point of view but offers many inducements to settlers. 



The major part of this section is gently undulating, but there are areas 

 so hilly and rough as to be unsuited to cultivated crops. The area of un- 

 cultivable land is further increased by the outcropping of the sandstone 

 rock, which is near the surface over much of the area. The soils at best 

 are shallow, two to five feet being common distances to the underlying 

 rock of the cultivated fields. However, the rainfall is generally ample, 

 being well distributed, and amounting to about 55 inches per annum, so 

 that crops appear to suffer less here from dry weather than on the deep 

 limestone soils of other sections. The prevailing soils are fine sandy loams 

 which have good retentive subsoils. They are easily tilled, and on account 

 of their excellent texture are suited to trucking crops, orchards and small 

 fruits. 



The prime cause of the lack of agricultural development is that the soils 

 are naturally very deficient in both phosphoric acid and lime. This con- 

 clusion was reached from the results of chemical analyses of the soils and 

 from field experiments which have been conducted by the Agricultural 

 Experiment Station for the past eight years. Fortunately both of these 

 elements can be supplied from deposits within the State at an expense 

 which is not at all prohibitive of profitable results. At Crab Orchard on 

 the line of the Tennessee Central Railroad, a thick bed of high grade lime- 

 stone outcrops on the plateau and insures an inexhaustible supply of cheap 

 limestone to that vicinity. Cumberland County has recently installed a 

 crushing plant there and sells the rock at cost. 



