122 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. 



oak and hickory interspersed with black walnut, elm, linden, wild cherry, 

 sassafras and honey locnst. The soil on these lands is a dark chocolate 

 colored clay loam with a yellowish clay subsoil, and they produce good 

 crops of corn, wheat, tobacco, castor beans and cotton and excellent 

 crops of timothy and clover. 



Tobacco is one of the staple products of the county, and during the 

 rebellion cotton was planted extensively in this portion of the State, 

 and was found to succeed so well that it has continued to be one of the 

 staples of this county, most of the farmers raising all that is required 

 for home consumption, besides exporting annually from eight hundred 

 to fifteen hundred bales. The rolling lands are well adapted to the 

 growth of fruit, especially peaches, which seldom fail on the high sand- 

 stone ridges in the southern part of this county. Apples, pears and 

 small fruits flourish well and produce abundant crops, and some varie- 

 ties of grapes would doubtless succeed well, though the Catawba has 

 not succeeded well here, the fruit being subject to rot badly after a few 

 years cultivation. 



There are but few counties in Southern Illinois that possess a finer 

 soil, or that present greater inducements for the investment of capital 

 in agricultural pursuits than Williamson. The extension of the rail- 

 road, now terminating at Marion, through the county, giving increased 

 facilities for the transportation of its agricultural products to market, 

 would undoubtedly bring large accessions to the population and wealth 

 of the county, and add largely to the present value ot all the improved 

 lands within its limits. 



I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to Dr. Lodge of 

 Marion, and Dr. Mitchell of Corinth, for important information and 

 for personal attention and assistance while engaged in the survey of 

 this county. 



Franklin County conrains nearly twelve townships or about 420 

 square miles, and is hounded on the north by Jefferson, on the east by 

 Hamilton and Saline, on the south by Williamson, and on the west 

 by Jackson county and the Little Muddy river. This county lies on the 

 southern border of the prairie region, and about one quarter of its area 

 was originally prairie and the remainder heavily timbered, but much of 

 this timber has been cleared off in the agricultural improvement of the 

 county. The prairies are small, seldom exceeding a breadth of two or 

 three miles, and are mostly rather flat, and there are also wide belts of 

 low flat bottoms on all the main water courses in the county. The 

 rolling and hilly uplands are heavily timbered with tbe common vaiie- 

 ties of oak and hickory, and the best soils also sustain a heavy growth 

 of elm, linden, wild cherry, black walnut, honey locust, etc. 



