1832, S3#] SHELL HOMMOCK PLANTS. 373 



the Mississippi Sound. It is generally distinguished from the 

 Long-leaf pine, in being called "Pitch Pine "', on account of the 

 extreme "fatness" of its wood. It is probably identical in species 

 with the common "Bottom Pine" ( P. taedd), of South Mississippi. 



Within n quarter to half mile from the beach we find other 

 timber mingling with the Pine, to-wit : Live Oak, and Spanish 

 ("Red") Oak. A part of the land thus timbered, which extends 

 inland from the beach in strips and bands, has for its undergrowth 

 the Gallberry (" Prinos glaber); such constitute the " Gallberry 

 flats " of the coast, which are said to be very poor, and not to 

 produce without manure. 



832. Nearer to the beach, we find the "sand hommocks" char- 

 acterized by a growth of the "Pitch Pine" (P. taeda?) together 

 with Live Oak (Quercus virens), Barrens Scrub Oak (Q. Catcsxiei; 

 generally called " Black Jack " in Mississippi, as well as the Q. ferru- 

 ginea), and the narrow-leaved Black Jack (Q. cinerea — " Upland 

 Willow Oak") and oftentimes some Magnolia. The soil of these 

 "sand hommocks" is generally very sandy, and will produce, but 

 for a few years, without manure ; but in most cases the subsoil is 

 sufficiently compact to allow of permanent improvement. 



833. Shell Hommocks. — The soil most esteemed all along the coast of Missis- 

 sippi, is that of the " Shell hommock," lying, in most cases, immediately contig- 

 uous to the beach, or at least, in such localities on the inlets and bayous as are 

 •asily aecessible by water. In these we find irregular heaps and sometimes 

 large masses of sea-shells — "shell banks" — often extending like ramparts, four 

 to seven feet high, along the shore. The shells are only of two species, viz : 

 the edible oyster now common on the coast, and the Gnathodon, popularly 

 known as the "clam-shell". The only other species occasionally, but rarely, 

 found accompanying the two above named, are the Balanus (Barnacle), and the 

 Mytilus hamatus, a small shell now usually found adhering to the shell of the 

 living oyster, like the barnacle. In clearing away these shell banks for the 

 purpose of burning lime, bits of pottery, Indian arrow-heads, and charcoal, are 

 frequently found among the shells ; and the surface of the ground, when cleared 

 of the shells, is found to be on a level with that of the "sand-hommocks." 

 There can be no doubt, therefore, that these shell banks are the incidental 

 work of human hands, and have been formed in consequence of the con- 

 sumption of the edible shells by the Indians. In fact, the only difference 

 between the soil of the sand hommock, and that of the "shell hommock", 

 is such as would be expected in consequence of the pressure, and decay of 

 calcareous shells (1[851, ff.). The soil is of a dark tint, to the depth of six to 

 ten inches, but not, as a general thing, less sandy than that of the "sand hom- 

 mocks"; its subsoil also is apparently the same ; and it bears the same growth 

 as the latter, with the addition of a number of lime-loving trees and shrubs. 

 The following plants are found on a spot from which a specimen of soil was 

 taken, on Mrs. McRae's land, at West Pascagoula : Live Oak, very prevalent ; 

 Red Cedar, Bay Galls (Laurus carolinensis, in trees of unusual size); Magnolia; 

 Spanish ("Bed") Oak {Q. falcata); Water Oak ; Holly ; some Dogwood; Sweet 

 Gum; "Pitch Pine"; Wild Plum; Iron-wood; French Mulberry; Prickly 

 Ash {Xanthoxylon Carolinianum); Hercules' Club (Aralia spinosa, commonly 

 termed " Prickly Ash " in the interior of Mississippi); a great many vines of the 

 Muscadine ( Vitis rotundifolia and cord/folia). Among the herbaceous plants 

 common on these " shell hommocks", one of the Sunflower tribe, with opposite 

 leaves (Actinomerisf — not seen in bloom), deserves attention; it is called by 



