^636, 637] yazoo and attala soils. 299 



lower down takes the name of Walnut Hills — a region of which, thus far, I have 

 no personal knowledge. It seems that all along the Mississippi Bluff, from 

 Horn Lake to Vicksburg, for a few miles inland at least, the calcareous silt of 

 the Bluff formation (1327, ff.), is occasionally seen, cither in patches or forming 

 ridges, and that the loam stratum overlying the same (unlike that forming the 

 surface in the Southern River Counties, which see 1[68i), is strongly impregnated 

 with hme, so as even to contain white calcareous concretions. It bears, in 

 consequence, a very vigorous growth of lime-loving trees, such as the " Poplar ", 

 Linn or Basswood, Sweet Gum, large Sassafras, (several feet in diameter) White 

 Oak, and Post Oak. The growth indicates a soil of great fertility, but the 

 country is so much broken — washed into high steep ridges and deep ravines, 

 as to be inconvenient for the cultivation of ordinary field crops. Like the Cane 

 Hills of the Southern River Counties, it could probably best be made available 

 for the culture of the grape, and of fruit trees. 



636. We now return to the Big Black River, and more especially, to the 

 neighborhood of Shongalo. Besides the pale yellow loam which forms the 

 usual soil of this region, we find in spots a more clayey soil of a deep orange- 

 red — the same, obviously, as that of the clays accompanying the Shongalo 

 greensand, in the R. R. cuts at and below Vaiden, and at Kirkwood's Ferry 

 (1183, ff.). 



The portion of N. Attala seen on the Shongalo and Kosciusko 

 road, up to Poukta Creek, is very hilly and broken, the soil thin 

 and sandy, the timber chiefly Shortleaf Pine, Post and Spanish 

 (•' Red ") Oak, with occasionally some Hickory. The bottoms, 

 however, as well as the lower hillsides where the greensand strata 

 come to the surface (1F276), possess a rich growth and light, pro- 

 ductive soil. 



There can be no doubt that with the aid of the greensand manure, so 

 generally accessible in this region, many of the poor hills on the Zilfa, Sugar 

 Creek, and upper Poukta, may be rendered very profitably productive ; and 

 the same probably is true of N. E. Attala, which I have not visited. 



637. The uplands bordering on the Poukta, and no doubt some 

 of those on the other creeks mentioned, are of a very different 

 character. The soil is shallow and scarcely differs from the sub- 

 soil, which is a deep orange-red. stiff clay containing some sharp 

 sand, and occasionally, vestiges of greensand grains ; being evi- 

 dently derived from the similar clays of the Tertiary strata seen 

 at Vaiden and Kirkwood's Ferry. 



The surface of the country where this soil prevails, is moderately hilly, and 

 timbered with White, Black, Post and Spanish (" Bed ") Oak, and Short-leaf 

 Pine. Cotton, Oats, and also Corn, are said to succeed well on this soil, which 

 •• wears well ", but is somewhat difficult of tillage ; there is perhaps no other 

 cause than its heaviness for the want of success in raising on it wheat and 

 (sweet) potatoes. 



The fertility of the soil of these " Red Hills ", which is found to within a 

 mile of Kosciusko, is owing mainly, no doubt, to the greensand grains of the 

 original material ; and nothing could be better suited to its improvement, both 

 as to heaviness and absolute fertility, than the sandy greensand manure found 

 in that region. We find here, on the creeks, bluffs of the clay material mixed 

 with greensand (^183), but doubtless the sandy stratum is to be found higher 

 up on the hillsides. It appears that the manuring qualities of the deposits of the 

 creeks, which are rich in greensand, have already become known, by experience, 

 to the inhabitants of this region ; of their value, which depends on the green- 

 sand grains contained in them, it will be easy to judge by the eye. The soil of 



