THE RED AND BUOWN LOAM REGION OE THE COTTON BELT. 75 
the blue marl lands, derived from a blue mail taicb lies uear the top 
of the Cretaceous series. 
The timber upon these blue marl lands is a curious mixture of gums, 
bottom oaks, and long-leaf pines, all draped with the long- moss. A large 
body of this kind of land is met with in eastern Alabama, where it is 
well known for the fine cotton crops which it produces. 
G. THE RED AND BROWN LOAM REGION, 
(Based on I he older limestone formations.) 
These lands are of two kinds, viz: 
a. The red and brown calcareous loams, occurring east of the Mis- 
sissippi River, in the basin of Tennessee, and in the valleys of East 
Tennessee, northwestern Georgia, and northeastern Alabama, and de- 
rived from the limestones of the Silurian and Subcarboniferous forma- 
tions; and 
b. The red loam Uplands and prairies of Arkansas and the Indian 
Nation, based upon the red shales of the Coal-measures, and the red loam 
lands of Texas, which are derived from red sandstones and clays, pa it ly 
of Triassic age and partly of undetermined age. 
a. lied and broicn loam lands east of the Mississippi. — (1) The Basin of 
Middle Tennessee is an elliptical basin of some 5,000 s < j u a r e miles area, 
underlaid by the limestones of the Lower Silurian age. The surface of 
the basin is moderately undulating, or rolling; it was once heavily tim- 
bered with oaks, walnuts, hickories, &c, which have been in great 
measure removed and the land brought under cultivation. 
The occurrence of cedar - lades is a characteristic surface feature of 
the basin. These are rocky ] daces, generally flat, and more or less 
covered with red cedar. (Sa fiord.) 
The soils of this basin are derived from the disintegration of lime- 
stones of different grades of purity, and hence vary considerably in qual- 
ity. The two principal varieties are those derived from the Trenton, 
and from the Nashville or Hudson River formations, respectively. The 
former are, as a rule, more clayey, the latter more siliceous. 
These lands are fertile and well adapted to the cultivation of corn, 
cotton, tobacco, &c. As will be seen from the percentage map, a large 
proportion of this area is devoted to cotton. 
(li) The Valley of East Tennessee, and its continuation through North- 
west Georgia into the Coosa Valley of Alabama, is a complex trough 
composed of a number of subordinated valleys separated by ridges, 
having, like the valleys, a general northeast and southwest direction. 
The soils of these valleys, as they are derived from the rocks of several 
different formations, viry considerably. The one extreme is astiff clayey 
loam of deep red color, found in greatest abundance along the south- 
eastern edge of the valley. This is the best of the soils. 
On the other extreme are light sandy loams of grayish to buff colors. 
