70 REPORT 4, U:nITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



Of these, the first occupies the region nearer the coast, the second 

 forming a sort of transition to the oak uplands of the Paleozoic forma- 

 tions, while the third appears in detached bodies in the long-leaf pine 

 region. 



a. Long -leaf pine hills and flats. — As is indicated by the name, the long- 

 leaf pine forms the prevailing, and in places the exclusive, timber over 

 this whole region. It is associated with black-jacli and post oaks and 

 occasionally with the short-leaf pine, which makes its appearance wher- 

 ever there is a slight improvement in the quality of the soil. 



In the vicinity of the coasts the surface is nearly level, or at most 

 gently undulating, rising northward and inland into a somewhat bro- 

 ken and hilly country upon which the pine is always the characteristic 

 growth. Along the coasts the Cuban pine also is common. 



The soil is mostly a very light sandy loam of little fertility or dura- 

 bility. The cultivated lands are generally confined to the creek bottoms 

 and other low-lying lands, though some of the uplands, especially where 

 there is a mixture of the upland oaks and hickories among the trees, are 

 planted in cotton, and with success, particularly where commercial fer- 

 tilizers are used. 



The open pine woods sui^port a fine growth of nutritious grasses and 

 leguminous plants, and hence afford excellent pastures for cattle and 

 sheep. 



These open forests have very little undergrowth on the rolling lands, 

 but a dense growth of evergreens in the marshy depressions, and along 

 the streams. 



The most common of these shrubs and trees are mentioned above, in 

 the section treating of the forest growths. 



b. Oah and hicJcory uplands with long-leaf pine. — The region in which 

 the long-leaf pine with black-jack, post, and high-ground willow oaks 

 form the timber is interspersed with tracts more or less extensive, in 

 which the other species of upland oaks are associated with the pine, 

 and this association becomes almost universal in the upper districts, 

 and has given occasion to the recognition of this region of mixed growth 

 as a distinct agricultural subdivision. 



The surface is generally broken, and a red or yellow loam forms the 

 top stratum of the drifted materials which, throughout the pine region, 

 have been spread over the lower and older rocks. 



The soils vary from a tolerably fertile loam of brown to reddish colors 

 in the best uplands to a sandy light loam in the poorer spots, and 

 their distribution may be partly explained by the following consider- 

 ations : 



The Paleozoic formations of the Cotton States are bordered towards 

 the coasts with a belt of drifted materials consisting of sand, pebbles, 

 and a red or brown loam. Of these materials the pebbles are mostly 

 confined to the vicinity of this ancient shore line, except where they ap- 



