16 Bulletin 827, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 
heavier so^ls are in the rolling hill lands, much of which is too steep 
for cultivation. The topography of this land fits it particularly for 
grazing. In practically all sections there is bottom land and level 
land enough to produce a sufficient quantity of feed for wintering 
cattle and in many sections to grow feed for finishing cattle for 
market. 
On the basis of topographic, soil, or drainage differences the 
Coastal Plain includes a number of well-defined subdivisions or 
subordinate regions. Detailed descriptions of the soils of the Piney 
Woods area, also soil-survey maps, may be obtained from the Bu- 
reau of Soils, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
SELECTION AXD MANAGEMENT OF SOILS. 
In the selection of a location for a cattle ranch the adaptability 
of the soils for growing feed and improving pastures should be an 
important consideration. Some locations are so rough that they 
must be kept in grass to prevent washing and are not suitable for 
cultivation. While these lands may provide excellent grazing, to 
be desirable they should have level or bottom lands in connection 
to permit the growing of winter feeds. Many locations which are 
adapted to cultivation so far as topography is concerned have a 
sandy subsoil and require heavy fertilization to produce feed crops. 
The fertility of these lands rapidly leaches away under cultivation, 
though much of the sandy land furnishes good natural grazing. 
The lands which can not be converted into farming lands should 
be developed less intensively and in larger tracts than the more 
valuable tracts. Pasture improvement should be by natural rather 
than by intensive methods and only such feed crops grown as are 
necessary to carry cattle through winter and permit marketing 
them off grass. 
The level and rolling lands with clay subsoils are well adapted for 
intensive pasture improvement and the production of feed crops. 
The fertility of these lands may be built up rapidly by the use of 
legumes and animal manures, and feed may be grown to fatten all 
the cattle produced. These lands should be converted gradually 
into smaller farms and their future value as such will justify the 
gradual improvement while being used as cattle range. 
OWNERSHIP OF LANDS AND SIZE OF HOLDINGS. 
This great body of undeveloped lands is now largely owned or 
controlled by lumber syndicates and large sawmill companies whose 
holdings vary from a few thousand acres to half a million. The 
holdings of the lumbermen who answered questionnaires on the sub- 
ject averaged 29,000 acres. The owners were interested primarily 
