16 BULLETIN 71, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Along the larger rivers, especially near their mouths, the alluvial belts of 

 soil are quite wide. In these sections the rivers have laid down alluvium 

 many feet in thickness on the older deposits. The building up of these flood 

 plains has been very slow, and the marsh-grass growth has been continuous; 

 thus we have near the top a muck with a high percentage of silt grading down 

 into a silt with a large percentage of vegetable material at a depth of from 1 

 to 4 feet. Parts of this alluvial section are quite soft — almost semifluid — 

 although the land immediately along the river channels is sometimes quite 

 firm. The muck in these alluvial sections is quite similar to that of the 

 Mississippi Delta section, except that the silt is well mixed with the muck 

 instead of occurring in alternate layers. 



CROPS. 



The staple crops grown in this section of the State are sugar cane, rice, corn, 

 forage crops, and truck. In certain parts, especially along the lower portion of 

 the Mississippi and in other districts near the Gulf, large areas are planted in 

 oranges and other citrus fruits. In the eastern or delta portion of the section 

 sugar-cane is the most profitable general field crop, while in the western por- 

 tion rice is grown almost as exclusively as is sugar-cane in the eastern part. 

 In both sections some corn is grown, but not enough to supply the local demand; 

 as a result, good prices are maintained. Of the adaptability of the type of soil 

 called the Sharkey clay, the Bureau of Soils says : 1 



The Sharkey clay was not especially adapted to cane and cotton and was no 

 temptation to producers of these commodities, but the increased interest of late 

 years in the production of rice has given a new value to this soil, and if the 

 problem of drainage can be cheaply and successfully solved, the soil is admirably 

 adapted to the production of this crop. Near New Orleans the reclaimed areas 

 are devoted to the dairy business and to market gardening. The fertility of 

 Sharkey clay is almost inexhaustible, and when well drained it is adapted to 

 any crop which requires a fertile clay soil. The crops most profitably grown 

 near New Orleans are onions, cabbage, eggplant, and tomatoes. 



From observations on the various reclaimed districts it would appear that all 

 crops grown on the older lands bordering the river can be successfully grown 

 on the prairie lands, although there are some differences in the methods of 

 cultivation. The lands just recently brought under cultivation are much more 

 fertile than these older lands, and with intelligent farming should not require 

 an application of fertilizer for a long term of years. 



NATURAL DRAINAGE CONDITIONS. 



The natural surface drainage of this section is away from the Mississippi 

 River and larger bayous of sedimentation, directly into the Gulf by way of 

 bayous of the tidal erosion type. However, numerous canals are being cut 

 through the bayous of the first type from the low-lying swamp or prairie lands, 

 thus aiding in the drainage. Water covers the surface of the undrained lands 

 for the greater part of the year. This water comes from three different 

 sources — direct precipitation, river overflow, and tidal overflow. 



Overflow Due to Direct Precipitation. 



The water to be removed from these lands comes mostly from direct precipi- 

 tation, and it is with reference to the removal of this water that the nature 

 and capacity of natural drainage channels will be discussed. Owing to the 



1 U. S. Dept. Agr., Field Operations of the Bureau of Soils, 1903, p. 452. 



