CULTURE AND CURING IN KENTUCKY. 45 



sandy. The soil of flic timbered belt is a dark gray, and contains nearly 50 per cent, of siliceous matter in its 

 composition. The alluvial soils grow a big, coarse, leafy tobacco, which cares up a uniform red color, and is cbiefly 

 used for making strips. On the timbered uplands a richer and liner leaf is grown that commands a better price, 

 but it is principally suited to the Kegie trade. Between this belt of timbered land and Maytield creek, going 

 south, is a broad stretch of barren land. These " barrens " in Ballard county form an elevated plateau, which as 

 an open pasture is unexcelled. The timber growth is very inferior, and consists of a few harsh black-jack oaks, 

 hickory, post oak, and red oak, with an undergrowth of sumac, dogwood, aud hazel. The soil of the " barrens" is 

 very free and generous, and is well adapted to the growth of fine tobacco. The " yellow leaf" of Ballard county is 

 second in reputation only to the "gold leaf" of North Carolina, and it differs from the latter only in being of larger 

 sine and richer in the essential oils of tobacco. The existence of so much oily substance in its composition is a 

 disadvantage, inasmuch as it causes the leaf to blacken under pressure, becoming a mottled yellow-brown and 

 black. South of Mayfield creek the land is more undulating, the soil deeper, and the timber is large and abundant. 

 In color, the soil, with the exception of that in the southeasterly portion of the county/, is dark gray and black, with a 

 dirty bufl'-colored subsoil, and will grow a good heavy shipping leaf. Around Milburn the soil is of a light gray, and is 

 not so productive, aud the tobacco grown on this laud is of a more flimsy character. Underneath all the soils of the 

 county, excepting only the alluviums on the larger streams, there is a bed of drifted material, composed of rounded, 

 pebbles of quartz, gneiss, and sandstone, which are sometimes cemented together by the oxide of iron, but are more 

 generally lying loose, as though left by a receding stream. These beds of gravel are from ten to fifteen feet in 

 thickness, and lie at variable depths beneath the surface. Sometimes the pebble beds give place to local accumulations 

 of fine sand, and where this is the case, aud the beds come near the surface of the ground, the land becomes 

 exhausted very rapidly under cultivation. Should the surface be rolling, deep gullies form with surprising 

 rapidity, and the most careful attention is demanded to preserve the soil from becoming utterly worthless. The 

 census returns of 1S80 show the average yield in the county to be 723.92 pounds per acre, which is a little less than 

 the average for the western district, which is placed at 739 pounds. 



Ilickman county is generally level, though sometimes rolling. The soils and the timber growth are much like 

 those in the southern part of Ballard county, on the north. With the exception of the alluvial bottoms, the soil is 

 dark gray or ash colored, and sometimes whitish, very light, and generous. It has a large proportion of silica and 

 insoluble silicates in its composition, with a variable quantity of lime, phosphoric acid, potash, and oxide of iron. 

 Where there is a considerable amount of alumina in its composition the soil has greatly increased power to catch 

 and hold organic matter, thus forming a loam of great fertility. The quality of tobacco produced is coarse, and is 

 only suitable for stemming purposes and for the liegie trade. Only/ 058 acres are reported, which is the smallest 

 quantity grown in any county in the district, except Fulton, which is heavily timbered, aud has a soil similar to 

 that of Ilickman. Cotton and the grasses have taken the place of tobacco to a large extent. The tobacco grown 

 is very inferior in quality, being coarse, with large stems and fibers, though the yield per acre is satisfactory, being 

 a fraction over 702 pounds. 



McCracken county has soils of very unequal fertility. In the eastern part of the county the surface is undulating 

 and the soil is light-brown in color, with a mulatto subsoil, aud of medium fertility. The timber growth is black 

 oak, hickory, and black-jack oak. By far the largest amount of tobacco is grown in this part of the county, and 

 when the lands are lirst opened the quality is very fine, the color bright, and suitable for making fine wrappers for 

 plug. On old manured lots a rich and heavy German type is produced. In the eastern portion of the county the 

 surface is flat, and post oak forms the predominating tree growth, intermixed with occasional white oak. Flat post- 

 oak lands are not at all suitable for the growth of tobjicco, and indeed are scarcely suitable for any other crop. 

 These flat lauds are confined to the region drained by the Clark river. In the middle part of the county the surface 

 is broken, the soil is thin, and tobacco is not grown to any considerable extent. The chief difference between the 

 soils of this county and those of Ballard is that they are more gravelly and sandy, lighter in color, have less clay 

 in their composition, and are not so fertile. The flat lands are often "water-logged", and will scarcely produce 

 anything. The average yield of tobacco per acre for the county is about 717 pounds. 



Graves county, lying south of McCrackcu, raises more than twice the amount of tobacco grown by any other 

 county in the district. Thirty years ago there was no timber in the county, except along the margins of streams 

 or on wet lands, but since the annual fires have been interdicted a scrubby growt.l o f hickory, red oak, and post 

 oak has sprung up, and has covered all fhe uncultivated portions, and on the wet lauds or low swales water oak, 

 cypress, gum, walnut, cherry, maple, tulip tree, ash, beech, cucumber tree, and many other varieties are found. 

 The best tobacco soils are indicated by the growth of red oak and mocker-nut hickory (Canjd tomcntoaa). The soil 

 of at least two-thirds of the county is a grayish-yellow, underlaid with pebbles aud sand. On the streams a whif ish 

 soil predominates. On the ridges, mainly in the eastern part, where the prevailing timber growth is hickory, a fine 

 yellow tobacco is grown, which commands a very high price. The product of this county is taken for the French, 

 German, and Italian markets. The black German type is produced on rich soils, where the original timber growth 

 was the tulip tree, hickory, oak, gum, walnut, with an undergrowth of hazel and sumac. If well cultivated, the 

 soils of this county will resist successfully the effects of drought and of wet weather. A hard clay lies beneath the 

 surface, which, unless well broken, compacts closely, and the water is held by the hard pan beneath. Deep plowing 



