280 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. [1583, 584, 585, 586- 



to some extent before applying it to the soil. Plowing under green crops, 

 together with a dressing of lime or marl spread broadcast, will also be an 

 effectual mode of improvement. Bonedust, Superphosphate of Lime, Columbian 

 and Peruvian Guano, and all ammoniacal manures, will be in their place here. 



583. Wherever the Flatwoods soil is so situated, that sand, or any light soil, 

 can be conveniently mixed with it — as for instance where it adjoins the ridge, or 

 an island of red, sandy soil, or even the light Flatwoods soil itself — this inter- 

 mixture ought to be favored in every practicable manner. In this respect alone, 

 a great deal may undoubtedly be done towards remedying what is now the 

 cardinal objection to the heavy Flatwoods soil, to- wit : that it is unsafe; 

 sometimes yielding good crops, and at others, entirely disappointing the expecta- 

 tions of the planter, 



In Kemper and S. Noxubee counties, where (as before observed) the eastern 

 portion of the Flatwoods passes very gradually into prairie and yellow loam 

 uplands (H553), large and productive plantations are situated on this transition 

 territory ; whose soil, as well as its vegetation, is intermediate between, and a 

 mixture of, the heavy Flatwoods soil with the yellow upland loam, and produces 

 fine crops of cotton. 



584. The White Oak Flatwoods.— As lias been stated above, 

 the tract which I thus designate intervenes in S. Chickasaw county, 

 between the Post Oak Flatwoods and the hills. In passing S. W. 

 from Houston, on the Bellefontaine road, we enter the common 

 Post Oak Flatwoods about % of a mile from the town, and they 

 continue unchanged for about 4^ miles, the soil being exceedingly- 

 heavy, the growth Post Oak with some Black Jack and Pine ; the 

 Huckleberry also is very abundant. Thereafter there is a gradual 

 change ; the soil becomes lighter, and assumes a yellowish tint 

 instead of the dead gray ; at the same time, the Spanish (" Red") 

 Oak gradually takes the place of the Black Jack, the Pine becomes 

 less frequent, and the whole growth sturdier. As we advance, the 

 Hickory and White Oak gradually mingle with the oaks before 

 mentioned and finally, near the foot of the hills, become quite 

 prevalent. The surface of the ground, also, instead of being 

 almost bare, as in the Post Oak Flatwoods, is covered with a fine 

 growth of grass. 



585. The soil of this region differs essentially from either of the two before 



described. On the land of Mr. Brooks, S. 33, T. 14, R. 1 E., where I 



took a specimen of soil and subsoil, the former is rather a sandy loam, of a 

 yellowish tint ; therefore, by no means a heavy soil, although it gradually 

 becomes heavier as we recede from the hills towards the Flatwoods. Yet it is 

 complained of as being very sobby, and liable to injury by wet ; and in wet 

 springs, it remains incapable of tillage until late in the season. It will sometimes 

 appear quite dry and workable on the surface, while at the depth of 12 to 18 

 inches, the yellow, sandy subsoil is drenched with water. The cause of this 

 state of things becomes apparent when we penetrate to the depth of 4 to 6 feet ; 

 it may also be observed in the bluffs of the branches of the region. At the 

 depth mentioned, solid, impermeable gray clays underlie the sandy stratum, and 

 as the tract is perfectly level, the drainage must be exceedingly slow ; hence the 

 soil will remain steeped in water for a great length of time, after every rain. 



586. This soil has not thus far been analyzed, nor have I as yet ascertained 

 the extent of the tract in which it prevails. According to the best information 

 I could obtain, however, it stretches along the W. edge of the Flatwoods, through 

 S. W. Chickasaw into Ocktibbeha county, for 20 to 30 miles at least ; its width 

 varying from \± to 1 mile, east and west. It is considered a pretty good soil 



