LOUISIANA. 



have boon found highly beneficial. Alone, 

 they have proM-n of litUe value. 



The bottom soils of this district liave 

 been derived wholly or in part from the 

 underlying "Arcadia clays" (gray clays), 

 described in the geological report us 

 everywhere underlying the "red sandy 

 clays." These soils are found in all the 

 creek bottoms and wide flat valleys of 

 north Louisiana and may be classified 

 under two heads: (a) Gray loams, (b) 

 Gray clays. 



When the soils of the hills have been 

 washed down and mixed with the gray 

 clays of the valleys, gray loams are to 

 be found. Where no such wasliing has 

 occurred the pure "gray clays" (xi.st. 



In small creek bottoms the former 

 usually exist and are very productive. 

 They are, however, subject to overflow, 

 and, therefore, arc usually not highly es- 

 teemed except for grasses and perma- 

 nent pastures. Could they lie properly 

 drained and protected from floods, they 

 would be very valuable. This couM be 

 iicconiplished by levees, and by deepen- 

 ing and widening the channels of the 

 creeks which flow through them. In 

 this way large areas of extremely fertile 

 .soils could be recovered and the general 

 health of the country greatly improved 

 by the removal of the stagnant water in 

 the swamps, the present breeding places 

 of malaria and fevers. These soils hug 

 the hillsides, giviu'r way in the middle 

 of extended tracts of bottom lands to the 

 true "gray clays" derived "in situ" fro.u 

 the underlying Arcadia clays. These 

 clays form the chief soils of extensive 

 tracts of bottom lands in many parish'>s 

 of nortlj Louisiana. They possess the 

 characteristics of all clay soils, tenacious, 

 heavy and old, drying and cracking in 

 dry weather, and running together in 

 seasons of heavy rainfall. They are very 

 fertile if properly handled, which nieana 

 that they must be well drained, thorouff'i- 

 ly broken and have incorporated with 

 them a goodly amount of vegetable mat- 

 ter. 



These two classes of soils shade im- 

 perceptibly into each other, and in one 

 bottom may lie found every shade of soil, 

 from pure sand (washed down from the 

 hills) to pure clay. 



DESCKIPTION OF THE PARISHES. 



CADDO PARISH 



occupies the extreme northwest portion 

 of the state, and is greatly cut up by 

 numerous lakes and bayous, with a larue 

 portion of the northern part of the parish 

 covered with overflows from the great 

 raft of Red river. 



The uplands are everywhere esteemed 

 as good farming lands, whi'e the bottoms 

 of the Red river are simply superb. 

 Shreveport, the parish seat, and second 

 city in size in the state, is situated on 

 the eastern terminus of a ridge dividing 

 Cross lake from Boggy b:iyon. It is 

 Immediately on the Red river and has an 

 extensive trade. The establishment of a 

 levee district in this parish has givrti 

 promise of the permanency of the levees 

 which protect the alluvia! "lands from the 

 overflows of the Red river. During the 

 greater part of the year this city can be 

 reached by steamers from New Orleans. 



BOSSIER PARISH 



Is composed of good uplands and splendid 

 alluvial bottoms. The former lie mainly 

 In the northern and eastern, and latter 



in the southwestern part of the parish, 

 and is protected from overflow by levees 

 built and guarded by the Bossier levee 

 district. The peninsula running down 

 between Red river and lake Bistiueau, 

 Including portions of Bossier and Web- 

 Ktor parishes, and locally known as the 

 "i'oint," has soils somewhat peculiar, 

 consisting of three kinds: First, consti- 

 tuting about three-fourths of the area, 

 a flue sandy, blackish loam, with a yel- 

 low sandy loam subsoil, with oak and 

 hickory lumber and a few scattered 

 snort-leaf pines; second, a heavy brown 

 clay loam with similar subsoil, with tv.w 

 short-leaf pines; third, blackjack ridges 

 but little cultivated and very unfertile. 



Between Red river and Cypress bayou 

 a fair rolling upland couut'^y prevails. 

 East of Cypress bayou there is a belt of 

 red ridge land, with occasional high hills 

 coveied with r<=d ferrugenous earth 

 East of this ridge occurs a belt of level 

 post oak land, in the southern part of 

 which are treeless prairies, with wliUe 

 unproductive soil 



WEBSTER PARISH. 



In the center lies the broad, aUiivial 

 bottoms of bayou Dorchite, which, alter- 

 nately, in the southern portion, is cov- 

 ered "by lake Bistiueau. In the northwest 

 Is the flood plain of bayou BoJcau A 

 level country extends from the Arkansas 

 line to lake Bistiueau, between bayous 

 Dorchite and Bodcan. This country is of 

 variable fertility. Some of it is covered 

 with short-leaf pines and is of only fair 

 quality. Some covered with dogwood and 

 post oak, with white, crawtisliy soil, is 

 but slightly better, while another por- 

 tion, well drained, gives excellent crops 

 of corn and cotton. East of the Dorchite. 

 the lands are rolling, with alternations 

 of red and gr.ay soils. On lake Bistiueau 

 and Black lake bnyon is whitish, clavey 

 sot's, with water onk and black sum pre- 

 vni"ne. This narisVi is connectcri by rail 

 to Minden with the outside world. 



CLAIBORNE PARISH 



This parish is truly one of uplands, 

 wiiLioat any alluvial lauUs save small 

 creek bottoms. Jt is also one oi the best 

 upiuud pansues, having a considerable 

 area of red lands. It contains tue higiiest 

 elevations in the state. Tne dividing ridge 

 between the waters of d'Arbunue and 

 Black lake is said to be the higiiest ele- 

 vation in the state. North of the d'Ar- 

 bonne the country is slightly broken, the 

 soils mainly gray sandy with "-ed sub.soil. 

 This parish consists almost entirely of 

 small but well-tilled farms, with uiiiner- 

 ous villages, scattered throughout the par- 

 ish. A railroad running from Ilou'cr to 

 Bienville, in Bienville parish, and sross- 

 iug the Vicksburg Shreveport and Pa- 

 cific at (iibbsland, gives easy access to 

 the outside world. 



UNION PARISH. 



This parish is .similar in every respect 

 to Claiborne, with probably a ittle more 

 Inferior soil. Tlw ridges between the 

 forks of the d'Arboune are high and 

 level, and upon them occur some of the 

 best lands of the parish. Tlie ridges be- 

 tween the bayous t:oriiey and I'Duire are 

 high and broken, but are of the red land 

 character. Farmerville, located on a ridge 

 of The former, is the county seat, and is 

 surrounded by numerous email, but well 

 tilled, farms. 



