1771, 772, 773J pearl river soils. 353 



beam, Ironwood. Black Sumach (Rhus typhina — " Staglwrn Sumach "; here 

 called " White Sumach ", a name more generally given to the poisonous Rhus 

 venenata, whose bark is really white), White, and Chestnut White Oaks and 

 Holly. 



771. Eastward of Holmesville, we still find in the Pine Hills, for several 

 miles a good loam subsoil, resembling that on the Bogue Chitto, and near enough 

 to the surface to be reached by the plow ; especially wherever the Black Jack 

 prevails — such land being selected for cultivation by preference (H347 2 ). Bui 

 the nearer we approach Pearl River, the deeper becomes the ashy surface soil, 

 and the narrower the bottoms of the creeks and branches — which, with the 

 hillsides, are chiefly cultivated. 



The same changes in general as just described in passing through Central 

 Pike and Franklin counties, are said to occur to the northward and southward 

 of that line in Amite, and in Lawrence and Jefferson ; save that while North 

 Pike, for instance, is quite hilly and broken, the southern portion of the county 

 becomes less and less undulating, gradually passing into the level country bor- 

 dering on the Louisiana lakes, and resembling that of middle Hancock (1873, ff.). 

 Amite county seems to be about equally divided, in its east and west halves, 

 between Long-leaf Pine Hills and loam lands like those of West Franklin. Of 

 E. Jefferson, W. Lawrence, and Copiah, I know but little from personal observa- 

 tion ; but from what I have heard, changes of soil corresponding to those just 

 described, occur there also, on the same meridian, or a little further east. 



772. East of Pearl River, in the Long-leaf Pine Region proper, 

 cultivation is thus far, with few exceptions, confined chiefly to the 

 bottoms and second bottoms or hommock, whose greater or less 

 width at present determines the availability of the region for 

 agricultural purposes. 



The Short-leaf Pine and Oak uplands intervening, in S. Hinds, between the 

 Long-leaf Pine Hills of Copiah and the Prairie Kegion, have already bees 

 described (1729, ff ). Similarly we find, in S. Rankin, the Long-leaf Pine 

 reaching only to within seven miles south of Brandon, the intermediate regiom 

 being hilly, timbered with Short-leaf Pine, Post, Black Jack, Spanish ("Red"} 

 and Scarlet (" Spanish") Oaks, and of inferior fertility. On the waters of 

 Steen's Creek, there is quite a variety of upland soils, resembling in part, those 

 of S. Hinds (1729), partly bearing a "Flatwoods" aspect (T561, ff.), being 

 immediately underlaid by, and formed of, the gray clays and sharp sand- 

 stones of the region (1241). These "Flatwoods" are quite productive at 

 some points, e. g , on the main Steen's Creek, near Dr. H. C. Evans', at other^ 

 where they bear Huckleberry bushes, extremely poor. The hilly, sandy, yel- 

 low loam region intervening here between them and Pearl River hommock has 

 already been referred to (1732), and generalities concerning the hommock bot- 

 tom lands of Pearl River have been given before (1662, ff). The " Pig Woods * 

 of S. Rankin are generally but slightly undulating, and interspersed (as at Cato, 

 and on Campbell's Creek generally), with patches of Short-leaf Pine (see above, 

 1761 2 - ). The creek bottoms are narrow, but productive, and their light soil 

 not liable to injury by wet. 



773. Almost throughout Simpson county, which is covered with 

 Long-leaf Pine from one end to the other, cultivation is at present 

 restricted to creek and branch bottoms, and the lower hillsides ; 

 affording fertile, but (outside of Pearl and Strong River hommock), 

 small bodies of land, somewhat inconveniently scattered for culti- 

 vation on the large scale. The hommock of Strong River (for it 

 generally runs in a deep channel, and has little or no first bottom), 

 not usually subject to overflow, is one to two miles wide, timbered 



R— 23 



