OF ARKANSAS. 343 



the appearance of the Beech, below Bockport, on the banks of the Washita 

 Eiver. It continues southward, becoming more and more common, till it 

 is the prevailing species, or even covers by itself alone low hills of the 

 tertiary or of the cretaceous formations. As not a single Beech tree has 

 been seen either upon the Silurian and subcarboniferous formations of the 

 north, or upon the Millstone Grit and carboniferous strata of the west of 

 Arkansas, this species, at this low latitude, can be admitted as a true 

 characteristic of the tertiary. It could even be considered as a remnant of 

 the vegetation flourishing at the epoch when the tertiary strata were 

 deposited, as its petrified remains, fruit and leaves, are found mixed with 

 the shales of this formation. It is especially upon the red tertiary upland 

 that the Beech flourishes and attains its greatest size. The yellow sandy 

 uplands, mostly derived from tertiary or cretaceous sandstone, are charac- 

 terized by the Loblolly Pine, which, with the Yellow Pine, grows also 

 upon the alluvial sandy deposits of the rivers, and even descends to their 

 swampy banks. With these trees are seen, upon all the dry uplands and 

 recent formations, the White, the Black, the Spanish Oaks in abundance 

 and of beautiful growth, more rarely, the Shellbark Hickory, the Black 

 Jack and the Post Oak, with the Holly. These three last species, and 

 occasionally the Beech, inhabit also the marshy bottoms of the rivers. 



The fertility of the upland soil, both of the alluvial and of the tertiary 

 formation, is the same. This soil is sandy, too light, easily cut in ravines, 

 and carried down the declivities. Its average produce is about eight hun- 

 dred pounds of cotton, or fifteen bushels of corn, or eight to ten bushels of 

 wheat, to the acre. That cannot be considered encouraging for agriculture. 

 This soil wants the clay substratum of the subconglomerate prairies, or the 

 detritus of the cherty limestone, or what would be equally favorable, a 

 good dressing of animal manure. 



The bottom land of Washita Eiver and of the rivers of this section, is 

 covered by a very rich and luxuriant vegetation. The trees, especially the 

 Eed and Pin Oaks, the Swamp Chestnut Oak, the Swamp White Oak, the 

 Willow and Water Oak, even the Beech, become there of enormous size. 

 Other species are less abundant: the Overcup Oak (Quercus tyrata), which 

 I have not seen elsewhere, the Pecan-nut, the Shellbark Hickory, the 

 Butternut, the Sweet Gum, the Small Laurel Magnolia, with a thick 

 underwood of the Holly, the Sweetleaf (both very abundant), the Wax 

 Myrtle, the Benzoin, two species of Arrow-wood, plenty of Vines, Gelse- 

 mium, Greenbriers, Supple-Jack, Grapes and the Cane. The deepest part 

 of the marshy bottoms have the great Tupelo and the Bald Cypress. 



Like the bottoms of the Arkansas Eiver, the banks of all these water- 

 courses have two terraces or two levels : the sandy upper bottoms, which 

 have the vegetation and the productive power of the tertiary and alluvial 

 uplands, averaging for their produce eight hundred pounds of cotton, or 



