MINERAL RESOURCES. 49 
The loess is found skirting the east bank of Mississippi River south of Vicksburg and to 
the north bordering the bluffs which form the eastern rim of the Yazoo delta. The deposit 
is thickest near the river and gradually thins out to the cast, finally disappearing entirely. 
In some of the hills east of Grenada the loess or yellow loam covers the sides and. base of the 
hills, but does not reach to the top. The hills thus stand out like islands, surrounded by 
loess sediment. 
Where characteristically developed, as at Vicksburg, Natchez, and Yazoo City (PI. Ill, B, 
p. 18), the calcareous portion of the loess has the tendency to stand up in perpendicular 
walls for long periods of time.' 
In northern Mississippi the upper, nonfossiliferous yellow clay loam extends 50 miles or 
more east of the Yazoo bluffs. It forms the highest stratum as far east as Marshall and 
Lafayette counties and overlies the Lafayette when present. Only the lower member is 
shown on the map. 
RECENT ALLUVIUM. 
The most recent deposits of the State, occurring along the present streams, are not shown 
on the map, but have been mapped with the underlying formations. 
MINERAL RESOURCES OF MISSISSIPPI. 
PRESENT DEVELOPMENT. 
The development of the mineral resources of Mississippi has been so slow that the total 
annual mineral product of the State is still of little importance compared to her vast agri- 
cultural output. The most accurate figures obtainable show that for the past four or five 
years the annual mineral production of Mississippi has varied from about $500,000 to about 
$700,000. About nine-tenths of this production comes from the clay-working industries — 
bricks, tiles, stoneware, and pottery. Next in importance at the present time are the min- 
eral waters of the State, which contribute materially to her production. A small amount of 
stone is quarried within her limits, and comparatively unimportant amounts of ocher, glass 
sand, iron ore, etc, have been shipped at various times. 
FUTURE PROSPECTS. 
The slow development of the mineral resources of the State is due, in'large part, to the fact 
that no State geological survey has been in existence. It is known that Mississippi pos- 
sesses, for example, large deposits of excellent raw material on which to base very extensive 
jcement and clay-working industries. These deposits have never been accurately mapped or 
tested, however, and so little is known concerning the actual distribution and composition of 
these raw materials that capital is naturally averse to taking chances in developing them. 
The energetic prosecution of a State survey would have the effect of advertising the presence 
of such resources and of determining accurately their distribution, their quality, and their 
uses. 
Aside from the clay and cement resources of Mississippi, several other mineral products 
would seem to promise future importance. Deposits of iron ore are known to occur, and 
tests of their quantity and quality would be of great value to the State. Ocher, glass sand, 
tripoli, and fuller's earth occur, apparently in deposits of workable size. The lignites of the 
State are worthy of attention, particularly for local use in clay works, etc. 
Aside from iron, no metallic ores are known to occur in Mississippi in deposits of workable 
size, and the prospect of finding such deposits seems very poor. 
The calcareous and greensand marls of the State deserve study, particularly in view of the 
great importance of Mississippi as a cotton producer. At present every pound of fertilizer 
used on Mississippi pjmtations is imported from other States. It seems probable that 
much of this importation could be avoided by the development of the local greensand 
marl deposits, some of which carry appreciable percentages of phosphoric acid. 
Bull. 283—06 4 
