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DEPAKTMENT OF THE INTEEIOR,
CEISrSTJS OFFICE.

:ETRAN'CIS JL. "WAJjKSB. 8up«i-iiiUiiident,
Appointed April 1, W»; retigDad MoTember B, U8I.

C^LA^. "W. aELA.T02T, Siiperliiteitd«ii.t.

Appointed Noremtwr 1, IBSt.

REPORT

COTTON PRODUCTION OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI,

WITH A DIBOnSBION OF

THE GENERAL AGRICULTURAL FEATURES OF THE STATE.

ETJO-EnSTE "W. I3:IIjC3-^E/I3, r's. JD.,

SFKCI^L CSIfSTTS .A.O-KN'T.

WASHINGTON:

SOVESNHENT PBINTINO OFFICE.

1884.

,zz',UO-^^^

572790

• •

• • •

• •

•_ ••

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

• •••.. V

Page.

Lbttbb of Traitsmittal •.

Tabulated Results of the Enumeration

Table I.— Area, Population, Tilled Lands, and Cotton Prodnotion 3

Table II.— Acreage and Production of the Chief Crops of the State i 5

Part I.

Phtsico-Geographical and Agricultural Features of the State 7

Climate 9

Winds and Rainfall 10

Topography and Drainage Systems 11

Geological Features 12

Agricultural Subdivisions or Regions 13

I. — ^The Northeastern Prairie Region, description of 13

Rotten Limestone Prairie Region -, 13

Black Prairie 13

Black-jack Prairie 14

Bald Prairie - 14

Composition of Prairie Soils 14

Ridge Soils 16

Hickory Hummocks - 17

Sandy Upland Ridges 17

Bottom Soils 18

The Pontotoc Ridge 19

Natural Fertilizers of the Prairie Region 21

n.— The Flatwoods Region 22

White-oak Flatwoods 25

III. — Tellow-loam or Oak Uplands Region 26

Timber trees 27

Flatwoods Hills 27

Short-leaf Pine and Oak Uplands 29

Soils of the Short-leaf Pine and Oak Lands 30

The Red Lands 31

The Sandy Oak Uplands 32

The Brown-loam Table-lands 33

Bottom Soils of the Yellow-loam Region 36

Natural Fertilizers of the Region 38

IV.— The Alluvial Region of the Mississippi 39

Topography 39

SoU Varieties 39

The Tazoo Basin 40

The Dogwood Ridge 41

The Sunflower Basin 42

The Deer Creek Region 43

v.— The Cane-hills Region 45

Bottom or Valley Soils of the Region * 47

The Oak Uplands Belt 48

VL — Central Prairie Region 51

Soils of the Central Prairie Region 52

Black Prairie Soils 52

Gypseous and Hog-wallow Prairie Soils 53

The Sandy Ridge Lands 56

Marls of the Central Prairie Region 56

• • •

111
199

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

Vn.— Long-leaf Pine Region

The Long-leaf Pine HIUb

Soils of theBegion

Pine Straw

Bottom Soils of the Region,

Pearl River Soils

The Pine-flats Region

The Coast Marshes :. . .

Part n.

Agricultural Dbsgriptions of Countibs

Northeastern Prairie Region

Flatwoods Region

Short-leaf Pine and Oak Uplands

Brown-loam Table-lands

Mississippi Allnvial Region

Cane-hills Region

Central Prairie Region

Long-leaf Pine Region

58
58
60
83
63
66
67
68

Soilsof the Pine Flats and Coast Marshes 68

Natural Fertilizers of the Long-leaf Pine Region 70

General Features op Cotton Production in Mississippi '. 71

Table III. — Population and Cotton Production in each Agricultural Region 72

Table IV. — Cotton Production of "Banner Counties" in each Agricultural Region 72

Distribution of Cotton Production among the Agricultural Regions 72

Yellow-loam Region 73

Cane-hills Region 73

Northeastern Prairie Region 74

The Flatwoods Region % 75

Central Prairie Region 75

Long-leaf Pine Region i 75

Relationsof the two Races to Cotton Culture and Production 76

Agricultural Methods in the Production of Cotton 77

Results of Imperfect Tillage 77

Rotation and Fallow 77

Fall Plowing 78

Weeds 78

Fertilization; use of Cottonseed 78

Intense Culture 78

Labor System -, 78

General Conclusions 79

Table of Analyses of Soils and Subsoils 80

107

116

121

125

132

Part HI. ^

Cultural AND Economic Details of Cotton Production 145

ReferenceList of Names and Addresses of Correspondents 146

Summary of Answers to Schedule Questions 147

Tillage, Improvement, etc 147

Planting and Cultivation of Cotton 149

Ginning, Baling, and Shipping 151

Diseases, Insect Enemies, etc 152

Labor and System of Farming 153

MAPS.

Map showing Agricultural Regions 9

Map showing Relative Acreage op Cotton and Total Acreage 71

200

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

Hon. 0. W. Seaton,

Superintendent of 0en9U8.

DBAS Sm : I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on the cotton production of the state of Mississippi^
with a general description of its physico-geographical and agricultural features, special descriptions of the several
counties, and cultural and economic details of cotton production, with discussion thereof.

In the elaboration of this report I have conformed to the general plan originally suggested by Superintendent
Walker and subsequently arranged in detail by myself, which has been substantially adhered to in the series of
reports of which this forms a part, covering the whole of the cotton-producing area of the United States.

The sources of information upon which I have chiefly drawn for the substance of this report, aside from the
census returns, are the published reports and unpublished records of the geological and agricultural survey of the
state and the answers to schedule questions received from 42 out of the 74 counties in the state.

The published reports alluded to are the following :

I. First Report of the Geological and Agricultural Survey of Mississippi^ by B. L. 0, WaileSj Jackson^ 1854. — This
report contains a good deal of historic and general descriptive matter, including a chapter on culture, illustrated
by plates, some general facts as to the geological formations of the state, as well as plates of fossils fix)m the
Jackson shell -beds, but without descriptions of the same.

U. Preliminary Report on the Geology and Agriculture of Mississippi^ by L. Harper j Ja^cksonj 1857. — ^This is somewhat
of an oddity, both in a literary and scientific point of view, among the reports of American state surveys. It gives
an account of the author's own observations on several excursions, and what purports to be a report and elaborations
of the observations made by myself during a season's work in the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Drift area of northeastern
Mississippi in the capacity of assistant. The author's peculiar bias has, however, so far overshadowed both the
facts and the theories that I cannot recognize either as my own work. I have subsequently fully covered again all
the ground gone over by him.

III. Report on the Geology and Agriculture of Mississippi, by E. W, JSilga/rd, Jaclcson, 1860. — This report covers
the field-work of three seasons, as also the laboratory and palseontological work done by myself personally up to
the time of publication, including also, so far as relevant and reliable, the observations of my predecessors in the
office of state geologist. Though printed in 1860, the intervention of the civil war prevented its actual publication
and distribution until late in 1865.

By an act of the legislature, passed in 1861, the state survey was continued with a small appropriation
during the war, and upon the cessation of hostilities placed ipso facto upon its former footing. Little progress
could, of course, be made during that stormy period, but between 1866 and 1872 the field and laboratory work was
continued at intervals by myself and assistants. Dr. £. A. Smith, now state geologist of Alabama, and Dr. E. H.
Loughridge, since special agent of the census; also, for a short time, by Dr. George Little, late state geologist of
Georgia. The work was stopped in 1872, and no publication of the field and laboratory work (mostly done by Dr.
Smith) has until now been made.

lY. The MS. notes and reports of Dr. Smith, together with the laboratory record books and my own original field
notes, were courteously loaned to the Census Office by consent of the board of trustees of the University of Mississippi

SOI

LKTTER OF TSASSMTTTJlL

'^ (Oe teRilarj of flie
Oe iMlk of Oe aofl
of h»

■)r

mOeTs

&euakd stHdjof titeaoOiof Oe state fiir

ii ■ tJ Mii ffiihui bya ^a^of

dhemitsil eompflsifiua. flB& ^ aS

a ¥ieir G»

w wril as the lepott at ]ar]gey

AH of wkiA la fcapeedld^

IIT- - t

Eire. W. HILGAfiD. ^pmiml A§Brt.

«Ofth»]»

widi 14 of msEiB and
3fa nfifitJiiaf JML

TABULATED RESULTS OF THE ENUMERATION.

Table I— AEEA, POPULATION, TILLED LAITDS, AND COTTON PEODtJOTIOir.
Table U.— AOBEAGE AND PBODUCTION OF CHIEF CBOPS.

803

onderj
regioi<

TABULATED RESULTS OF THE ENUMERATION.
TULZ L— ABEA, POPULATION, TILLED LASD8, ASD COTTOS PEODDCTIOH.

W1il(&«olor'4.

ilii

.cm m.m .Mt-uo itsism

Cl»y

Oktibbeb* .

Ijl Fajelte . .

Talobniba. .

rftlhonn

Monlgnmerj ..

Jtlkls

XakB

B«holw

Totd..

ii,7n
13, ue

M,470

7. we 7.m
■.ou fl,m
10. m io,iM

:^,z&& , 13.112 ia.4
fi.iN , lo.sra ST.:
&,iB8 22.ae st.i

IfiT ua.oM I M.:

U.HI T.m
i&uo i 7.aiT

u&n it.«»,i),r

a«,4TT 12.M1 I an

Ti.KH i3,uo an

41. «« 1S.U7 0.32

at, on >,«3> a.a

u.eio 2i,«8a o.M

81.483 tSklM OlSI

8 UftlHT I '

6.777' 6.S4S ag.i

aci.zra . M.2

5S.MI

in, MI

U8.U2

IH.WO

48.800
M.73>
104, W3

IT. 9 3I.2S5 a.zse ' I

».3 C1.M1 Jt.TM 0.n

J2.401
•7,411

8,129
W44I

(LM

W.48S

3S,4«e

0.47

48^34!

Jaws

0.47

M,(BS

CL4i

U.WS

14314

0.4S

30. m

12, »i

CL43

»,3M

10. KB

«.<«

I7.M7

17. 4M

0.M

103. tSS 101. 7 IS

7D,m ilHiOV , M.4

«.«( I N,4a a.M

1,113 S.B7
I.BS3 8.33
MM I 0,04

147S7 I 10,207 I 22.1

58.408 '

4ft. 078 '
78, SK
Sa,01B 1

7,Ut

i,«72t

H.M1

s,m

18.028

8,S3«

24, «<

10. Ml ,

1S,0U

««=«,

13.4117

\7S7|

H081

4»4

Sft,8M

IS, 28*!

14.000

B.018

280,000 88.2S4 '

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.
1,-ABEA, POPULAHON, TILLBD LAHDS, ASD COTTON PEODDOTION— Continned.

Eud

rarmMTMit.

™.^«

.«™.,..™mo..

OOODtlM.

ToUl.

Hllci.

roduii

WWte.

Color'd,

.™.

■s

'■5

ATomite por acre.

0,87

o.r,8

Lb,.

(unntLu.

fiDO
4St
310

Ol.MB

15,343
8,473
8,648

31,301

16.886
8.6(0

a.s4i

9,107
34,420

8,717
3.D1U
4.200
4,796
3. 370

22,521
12.858
13.054

14.245
80,381

36. S
40.2

00,031
07.176

JS.0

la.0

W.1, 33,121 18,518
il.7, K,141 18,512
17.3 32.117 1 10.026

690 233

I^taam

m 36.1

VUUn

02,««S 111.0

a. 030

106,784

2S,»3

47.1

iaG,2»los,o»i;o.B8

828 276

-—"—"■»

400
MO

eio

TJO
BOO

1,000

8.401

1.1, MS
1,407
10,928

10, sie

18,033
as, 8(7

33, SIS
10.004

4,628
T,S«8

3,aofi

10,10*

8.833
0,100

B,jai

4,S!7
2,ltB
8,647

1,2H

7,205

37.1
17.1

■a.2
1L7

V0.O
63. T
60.9

59,881 18,008

0.60

o.(w

0.81
1».87

286

31.741 18.2
6,711 1 2.2
12,501 1 10.4

10,158; 10.3

13.B08! 3.0
73,107 1 12. S
BS,803 10.6
150,228 124.4
23,328 0.8

!, 230 8. 016
1,764 2,807
3,6M 15,058
3,478 1 21.880
8, 408 ' 25, 347
1,405' 4.O01

20.323 jut, 120

064 , 318

18.1

14.2 17.T30 11,026
50.8 1 7.107 1 6,707

L^l ms

1,239
828

iia

301

iio

181

WuhiBEtan

17, 2M, 10,301
3,4U0 , 2,000

73.0
56.0
58.8

63, 184 48, 321
17,041 I 11.182
18.203 1 10,150
338,822 '216,768

0,73 1.041

143.443

76,773

07,070

671.083

a.6

—""«- —

800
650

SB, BOD
48.838
10, 7W
10,845
11, IM
IB. 021
8,741

12,805

as, 170

8,102
5,3SB

4,320
06.141

13,201

8.600
6,476
0.078

6,040 18,020
ll.aTS 32.283
7,193 8,550

36.0
18,7

127.601
00,S16

Sftl

M.I

43.3

4t.O

S4.7
80,0

60.303
80,013
30,131

10, ;b!

20,305
15,B3a

21,638
3fl,6Bl

0,227

0,88
0,10

6ST
549

,..u.

-Hindi

100.0 ; 1S.B

«.5

^ ■;.:::::;:::::

45,888 1 11,0

7,181 1 7,840 ! 23.1
4,971 1 a,T70|ll.l

40.843 1 83,466 1 20.6

4,088 1 0.29
1,978 1 0.20

«2|i24

310,611

ToW

6,oao

110.300

4L5

230,038

80,124

0.80

636

J8S

17.8

'"'■iS-^''*^-

5B0

!7,M2
13,347
10.l«8
0,799

«,4Z0
8,008

e^os8

SI,W1

13,003
0,846

1 1

;,7o) ' 8.M8 a4

8.573' 8.110 Ijn 2
4. B5i: 4, BTTT ' 17 1
S,4B4 1 8.310 US
4. 837 1 4.483 15. £

0,462 , 1,(1311 13.5

n,BBO| 11.64=1 ai-e

i
iU,R6fl|25.0
53,410 ' I'.O

Kxm 11.7

37.080 10.3

31.4Tol 8.5
70.24BI 10.1

30,300 8,2
12.82= 2..
18,060 i 1,1.

10.081 1 t«
3,007 1.2
1,1S3 0.4)
2,010 ' 0.1

i,3Bol 0.-;

4S.fl
38.6

17.272

0,288

201

167

171
102

106
138

176

72.8
20.8

311
038
083
803

0.33' 4T1

4.701 1 4

e,»e« 7

4,800* 4
4.0IS ' 3
4. 083 ' 4
10.008 10

3T.6 niooe' 5,007' 0.34 . 486
48.1 8.835 1 .1.501 |0.40 670
32.8 10,643 1 3,721 0,35 ■ 408
40,1 . 32.372 1 0,350 jo.au 414

000

S.S10

1^337

St*

a(Li

fi.3

207.260 1 77.062 1 0.37 628

^—

£<>fV-l«l/ plM AiHt anil jUtt.
Ctou

380

TOO

1,000
TOO

1.000

3,W3

0.»1

a,4iT

8,IH

7,8M
a,43S

8. 008

3.4W

1.805
3,003
^048
8,540

iow

8,008

2,794
1,717

2,071
024

0.23
0.27

„.' 1.

1,40. 3SB 6.5
4,430 K431 1 4.0
S, 337 1. 070 3. 4

381 128
488 182

4.0
0.5

48!
380

Purrr

3.124 3,483
3.749 2,140
4,636' 1,804

B.7
J.O
6.0

w -T"

0.42

000-' 200

3,188

i.wt

.;».

a7BB

.7.0

15,077

M«

1.0

TABULATED RESULTS OF THE ENUMERATION.

n.— AOBEAOE AND PRODUCTION OF THE CHIEF CROPS OF THE STATE.

Ooonties.

Total for the State

HOBTHKABTBRH PBAIBIB BBOIOM.

1. Prairiti.

Aloom —
Prentim ..

Lee

Chickasaw
Monroe...

Clay

Oktibbeha
Lowndes . .
Noxubee . .

Total

2. Pontotoc Hdge,

Tippah ..
Union . . .
Pontotoc

Total

TXLLOW XX>AM BBOIOV.

1. Brown loam tabMtmda.

Benton T. ,

Marshall

Do Soto

Tate

Panola ,

La Fayette •.

Yalobusha

Grenada ,

Holmes

Carroll ,

Total.

2. ShortUaf pino and oak vpUmd region.

riahomingo ,

Itawamba ,

Calhoun

Montgomery

Sumner ,

Choctaw ,

"Winston

AttaU

Leake ,

Neahoba ,

Kemper

Newton

Total.

CAKB EOLLB.

Warren...
Claiborne.
Jefferson. .
Adams . . ■
WUkinson.

Total.

MI86I88IFPI ALLUVIAL BBOIOIT.

Tunica

Coahoma

Quitman

Tallahatchie

Le Flore

8anfk>wer

GOTTOM.

Acres.

l; 100,214

18.863
18,610
8a578
88,477
71.402
41,656
29.670
64,670
82,483

404,418

18,768
21,255
21,448

61,461

22,401
67,411
60,488
48,245
67,060
85,800
80,398
25,890
62,566
87,957

457,216

7,655
14,851
19,028
24,636
18,618
13,497
15,081
85,950
24,000
14.021
28,269
19,589

230.090

34,127
83.121
32,141
82,117
83,720

166.226

20,881
82,964

8,420
22,463
17,780

7,107

Bales.

963,111

7,477
7,207
14,406
12,861
23.830
13.137
9,929
21,886
25,294

186,027

7,424
8,250
8,085

23,768

8,123
26,441
28,469
22.658
30,055
15,214
12,989
10,228
80,463
17,423

202,058

2,672
6,118
0,536

10.541
6,226
5,757
5,864

15,285
9,016
4,477
8,426
6,841

89,254

DTDLlNCOBn.

Acres.

1.570.550

22.950
18, 518
18, 512.
19.026 '
16,620

95,626

18,008
26^287

2,837
11,670
11,925

6,707

22,589
23.018
36.073
34,258
53.431
26,295
25,251
42,855
50.904

314,674

23,388
25,834
26,588

75,810

22,877
50.140
37,452
33.321
43,001
35,809
23,609
15,906
87,355
80.019

829.579

15,965
22,055
22,414
17,768
18,900
18,139
17,131
33.784
21,390
16,752
28,246
20.638

258.182

10,871
15,744
16,365
9,037
15,068

66.585

9.447
14.297

1,477
16,169
10,965

8,780

Bushels.

2 1, 340. 800

381,885
368,777
590,899
512,005
700.957
400.897
395,553
582,786
741,542

4, 674, 251

385,623
429.040
414. 835

1,228,908

330,688
686,062
581,272
467,144
521, 193
498,614
275,300
163.580
463,614
315, 722

4,297,198

280,054
304,652
853,919
200.650
287.362
243,287
217,786
413,532
256,831
207,784
347.258
261,207

3, 373, 822

188.567
197,568
251,586
128,647
206,985

973,353

198,252
838,054

34,510
206.719
144,273

61.893

OATS.

198,497

3,358
3,806
4,676
3,735
7,278
8.117
3,288
3,784
5,429

88,471

3,814
2,695
2,169

8,678

1,735
3,130
1,688
1,763
2,U0
4,091
1,728
568
1,237
1,877

19.036

3.237
8,134
4.464
8,178
8.268
8,931
4,170
6,888
4,740
8,512
3,706
6,716

50,954

69
82

312
57

204

724

Bushels.

1,959,620

31.939
35,534
48*047
49,627
76,270
35,502
39,068
41,280
74,165

481,467

36,435
26,413
18,826

81,674

16,846
26,646
18,008
17,628
22,016
36,375
17,479
6,228
17,441
22,154

200.816

25,282
21,772
44,009
31,275
29,544
38,709
37,075
66.106
44,070
26,810
37,599
58,336

460,587

1,045
1,290
3,105
009
3,035

0,474

187

2,820

188

2.340

680

772

0,288

1,231

1.515

WHBAT.

Acres.

43.624

1,078

998

1,400

1,415

4,114

431

1.088

1,618

12,176

3,587
2,426
2,751

8,764

1.285
3,094
1,286
1,100
1,603
2,052

594

337

11,866

702
1,018

908

148
1,874
2,215

902
1.400

294

223
56

127

10,767

Bushels.

:ti*-

108

218,890

5,070
4,798
7,887
9.038
18,296
2.137
6,078
8,099
168

61,056

17.041
13.255
14.602

45,888

6,073

14,605

7,283

6,405

0,351

0,222

2,081

488

1,878

58,534

8,004

8,580

4.753

630

8,370

0,413

4,660

6,031

1,527

1,215

255

653

40.000

832

670

BWBXT POTATOn.

Acres.

41,874

Bushels.

8,610.660

224
364
643
692
1,217
514
611
515
825

5,605

375
456
600

1,831

245
660
483
280
526
401
617
364
823
470

4,707

332
352

420
457
430
451 ,
810 I
498 I
409
839
678

6,617

286
457
750
1,043
743

3,270

88
105

172

58
103

207

16,714
31.466
49,703
55,265
100,560
46,533
54.681
38.875
70,446

464,198

24,853
33,218
42,028

100,000

16,313
45,373
40,899
22,785
45,399
31,200
42,843
27,142
60,966
45,297

377,676

25,047
32,023
43,170
33.076
37,644
34,157
43.737
68,722
41.594
36,861
78.566
64,601

539,107

10,394
40. 281
66,179
57.489
58,347

250,600

4,797
7,085

18,605
5,460
0.740

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

n.— AOBBAGB AND PEODUOTION OF THE CHIEF GBOPS OF THE STATE— Continued.

Coimtiet.

mauasippi aixuvxal bwuoii— oontiiuied.

BdiTM

Waahington

Tasoo

Sharkey

Tmayufpa •-•- •.

Total

CBITBAL PBAIBIS BIOIOH.

Hinds..

Rankiii.

Soott ..

Jasper..

Clarke..

Wayne.

Total.

XX>KO-LBAF FDm, OAK, iUn> BICKOBT
UPLAXDS.

Copiah

Lincoln

Pike

Franklin

Amite

Lawrence.

Simpson

Smith

Landerdale

Total

L<mg4£af pine htUs and JUOa.

Covingt(m

Jones

Marion

Perry

Greene

Jackson

HarriaoB

Hanoook

Tdiil.

OOTTOK.

48,880
88,400
88,184
17,041
18,298

888,822

66^888
80,013
80,161
18,282
20.805
16^888
7,650

220,689

54,616
17,272
10,842
18,211
27,749
17,806
8,865
10,543
32,872

207,266

8,968

2,794

4,717

587

lib 077

Bales.

86,419
54,878
46,821
14,182
16,150

245^769

21,638
86,684
11,775
6,227
6,228
4,693
1,970

89,124

28,726
6,286
6,507
8,042
9,952
5,967
3,501
8,721
9,350

77,052

2,071
624

1,579

146

4.448

DIDUJf COBH.

Acres.

16,624

16,515

38,207

7,640

8,849

188,820

87,989
47,510
28,460
15,664
19,984
17,838
10,411

172,296

38,292
19.843
19,248
12,046
22,589
20.758
14,165
14.614
23,345

10,682
5,664
0.087
4,466
8,568
188
1,064
41

84,706

Bushels.

888,466
400,418
524,615
1601,180
89,680

2,649,460

381,297
532,686
271,996
193,018
202,643
174,712
93,890

1,850,187

184.890 2,048.150

115,088
47.269
99,941
88,446
27,271
1,826
1M80
410

846^881

OAIB.

Acres.

187

454

85
17

1,985

Boshels.

8,254
880

6,824
850
260

28,898

1,490
1,962
6,781
5.129
5,467
3,198
1,408

21,107
26,380
60^450
50,870
56^880
30,101
12,044

24,480 256,832

447,197

5,820

209,747

6,704

206,810

6,008

146,581

1,012

262,352

3,184

217,041

i 4,846

147,672

4,211

156.052

' 5,009

254.798

> 6,967

59,021
49,924
55,909
9,021
27,169
41,809
34,817
46,059
57.843

41,255 I 882,472

3,553

32,215

3,481

30,992

1.348

12.202

2,615

20,208

891

5,799

142

2,110

6,800

11^084

10e;906

Acres.

Bushels.

184

1,502

221
180
45
729
100

165

102

1,287

478

653

8WBBT P0TAT0B8.

Acres.

Bushels.

406

. 23,415

266

27,450

1,248

94,858

5,095

2,449

196.496

1,128

106.408

1,888

132,020

1,009

96,482

493

47,604

790

70, 313

882

64.078

538

45.306

6,228

362,091

1,889
908
979
655
967
965
435
564

1,212

156,590
67. 244
74.838
62, 4P6
80.806
89.679
50.8,'i2
65,681

103,035

8,024 751,101

568 ,
369
729 I
465
477
43
241
652

8,644

50.575
41.580
59.639
43,165
33,095
4,090
23,163
113,830

869.117

908

V —

FJ^:Ei,T X

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES

OF THE

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

14 P

.-.,

0- »

OUTLINE OF THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

OV THE

8TA.TE OF MI88I88II>I>I.

Miasisaippi lies between the meridians of 88© & and 91^ 37' of vest longitude, and between the parallels of
3(K> 1 1' and 35^ north latitude. The greatest dimensions of the state are 331 miles north and south and 188 miles
east and west. The total area (including half of the boundary portions of Mississippi and Pearl rivers and Bay Saint
Louis) is 46,810 square miles, of which 470 square miles is water surface. About 7,400 square miles are lowlands
of the Mississippi bottom. Of this area, 7,100 belong to the " Yazoo bottom ^ plain. The rest, or five sixths of the
state's area, is rolling, hilly, or sometimes almost level timbered uplands.

Climate. — The climate of Mississippi is a ^^ warm temperate " one in the literal sense of the term, the extremes
of temperature prevailing farther north being tempered materially by the influence of the winds blowing from the
Gulf of Mexico. The extreme cold of winter sometimes occurring in the northern part of the state (at Oxford and
Holly Springs, where ordinarily the winter minimum is from 16© to 20© F.) is lOo F., sufftpient to kill fig trees 9ix
years old ; but at Grenada, on the Yalobusha river, the fig rarely suffers. At Vicksburg and Natchez the extreme
cold thus far observed is 17^ F.; inland, at Jackson, several degrees lower. It is only near the sea-coast that the
orange and lemon can ordinarily be grown without winter protection in the open air. A warm belt extends along
th e M ississippi river, but, unlike that of the coast, it is liable to " cold snaps ^ from the influence of northwest winds,
which render the outdoor culture of the subtropical fruits precarious even as far south as Baton Bouge. Cool
belts or regions are formed by the elevated ridge lands at the heads of the larger rivers of the state. The summers
are long, practically including May and September. During this time the weather is warm (the usual range of the
thermometer being from 70^ to 90^ F.), but excessive heat and sultriness, such as prevails so commonly during the
shorter summers in the middle and northern states, is rare, and sunstroke is almost unknown.

The foUowing table (extracted from thoee pnbliahed by the Smithaonian Institntion in 1876) giyes the mean temperatorea for each
of the fonr eeasons for some of the prominent points in the state where observations have been made. Where these were deficient, those
for points lying near the line in Tennessee and Louisiana have been introdaced :

niTBlUOB STAJIOm.

L»6niDge, TennesMe ,

GrensdA, MissiMippi

Colombiui. MiaaiMlppi

JaokaoD, Mississippi

BrookhAven, M ississippi

Paalding, Mississippi

BXVSB AHD OOASr.

Memphis. Tennessee

Yicksbnrg, Mississippi ....

Natohes. Mississippi

Baton Boatj^, Louisiana. . . .
Pass Christian, Mississippi

Spring.

Avtomn.

Winter.

Year.

82.8

79.4

82.8

42.2

8L7

SI. 4

7&8

88.9

48.8

82.8

eis

7ao

82.8

45.5

82.2

6&0

n.1

84.8

48.8

84.4

6i.4

79.1

88.5

4&7

88.9

ee.0

8L8

87.8

60.8

88.8

60.9

79l6

80.8

42.1

80.7

6618

80.5

88i5

fiO.5

8S.8

86.5

79.8

85i6

50.4

85.8

88.0

8L4
88.7

88.1

54.2

88.2

It win be noted that, with one exception, the ayerage temperatures given for interior stations are decidedly lower than for stations
on the Mississippi river in corresponding latitudes. Compare in this respect Vicksbnrg with Jackson and Nat<^eK with Brookhaven.
Jn the ease of Memphis and La Grange, however, the relation is reversed, from causes not thns far nnderstood, bnt evidently operating so

211

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

M to canse exceptional cold waves reaching Memphis to be felt more severely in a southeasterly direction to a distance of from 50 to 70
miles inland, in the northwestern comer of Mississippi, than at similar distances due east in Tennessee. Still farther inland, at Colnmbos,
the antmnn and winter temperatures are fonnd to be lower than at Grenada, nearly one* third of a degree farther to' the north.

The observations thus far available are not sufficiently numerous to trace very accurately the limits of the several climatic divisions
of the state; but the discussion of those made, as laid down in the maps of the Smithsonian Institution, may be summarized as fellows:

The isothermal line indicating a mean annual temperature of 64^ F. crosses the state almost centrally from east to west. • Southward,
the line of 68^ traverses it a short distance inland from the gulf shore, while to the northward the line of the annual mean of GOP meanders
near the state line. Roughly speaking, then, these lines, indicating differences of 4^ in the annual mean, lit* about 150 miles apart north and
south, so that, on the average, there is a change of 1^ in the annual mean for every 31 miles. But these general features are materially
modified in many regions. The influence of elevation in reducing the temperatures both of winter and summer makes itself felt in the
^northeastern portion of the state, on the headwaters of the larger rivers, the Hatchie, Tallahatchie, and Tonibigbee, and more or less on
those of the Yalobusha, Big Black, and Pearl rivers; likewise in the ridge lands traversed by the Great Northern railroad between
Jackson and New Orleans, in the counties of Copiah, Lincoln, Amite, and Pike.^ There is a warm belt along the Mississippi river, and
a region of warm summers, especially on the waters of Pearl and Leaf rivers, in the southeastern portion of the state; on the other hand,
a region of occasional low winter minima extends from Vicksbnrg southward along the river to Baton Rouge, apparently the eastern
edge of the '* Texas northers".

Late frosts sometimes injure the early vegetables, and more frequently the early blooming fruits, among which the peach and apricot
are so liable to damage in the northern part of the state as to induce a horticultural convention, held at Memphis, to decide that these
fhiits could not be recommended as a money-crop for market purposes. Among the many varieties of peaches in cultivation, however,
some always escape iigury, and apples, pears, and cherries rarely suffer at all. In one case, even the half-grown foliage of the forest
trees has been killed northward of Grenada late in April by a northwest storm following a rain from the west.

Winds and rainfall. — ^During the summer the winds are altogether predominantly from the south, and blow
qaite steadily and gently, greatly relieving the san's heat and allowing sultriness only for short periods. Between
southeast and due south these winds bring clear, warm weather ; but as they veer toward southwest the sky clouds
over, and between southwest and due west lie the winds that bring warm, steady rains, usually without any severe
electrical excitement. The winds between due west and northwest in summer bring the violent thunder storms,
coming suddenly, and sometimes rising to the violence and cyclonic character of tornadoes. In winter the northwest
winds bring the severe "cold snaps ^, usually of only a few days' duration, and accompanied by but a slight
precipitation, so that snow rarely falls to the depth of fnore than a few inches even in the northern part of the state,
and is quickly melted by the south and southwest winds with warm rains. As the wind rarely lies for any
length of time between northwest, east, and southwest, either in summer or winter, the change from a cold and dry
northwest wind, with snow flurries, to warm south and southwest winds, laden with moisture, is frequent and rapid
in winter, giving that season a character of rather unenjoyable dampness overhead and slushiness under foot,
which are, however, offset by its brevity, for the temperate and beautiful autumn often extends into the latter half
of December, and the middle of February usually finds the early vegetables fairly up in the gardens, even in the
northern part of the state.

The subjoined table exhibits the amount of rainfall (including snow) for some principal points at which observations have been
made for a snffleient length of time to give reliable averages:

nmUUOB STATIOHB

L» Orange, Tennessee

OrensdA, MiasiMlppi

ColnmboA, If iMlMlppi

Jsokson, MlMiMippi

Brookhftven, MlMiMippi

Paulding, MlMiMippi

RIVBB AVD com.

Memphis, Tenneteee

Vioksbnrg, MlMiMippi ,

Kstdhes, MlMiMippi

Baton Bonge, Louisiana

PaM Christian, MissiMippi. . . .

fljpring.

1B.2
10.4
16.7
1L5
20.0
14.0

18.7
14.0
14.5
14.1
4.0

Summer.

lao

10.8
12.0
14.2
15.5
12.0

0.1
U.8
18.4
l&O
14.0

Autumn.

Winter.

Tear.

8.0

11.7

4&8

8.3

17.8

66.8

10 8

17.6

66.6

10.3

1&8

64.0

10.7

17.7

08.0

8.4

16.4

5L8

0.0

12.7

44.6

10.Z

16.1

5L8

1L4

10.1

64.4

12.6

16.8

00.5

17.8

It will be noted that within the state there is quite a wide range even of these averages, from a minimum less than 50 inches in the extreme
northern part of the state to nearly 65 inches near the coast and in the southwestern part as far north as Jackson. Even the minimum
may be considered an abundance for agricultural purposes, and the maximum is not excessive, in view of the (on the whole) remarkably
uniform distribution through the seasons ; the minimum occurring throughout the autumn (the season for cotton picking), while winter
and spring together sometimes include nearly two-thirds of the entire amount, but always leave a fair proportion of precipitation to
occur in summer. While the spring rains are at times, and in certain localities especially, so abundant and continuous as to interfere
somewhat with the proper after-cultivation of cotton (which occasionally ''gets into the grass'' in wet seasons), the summer showers,
usually of short duration, are considered as especially conducive to the welfare and abundant fruiting of the cotton-plant. Once in a
series of yean excessive and long-continued rains in August may cause the ''shedding of the bolls'' by starting a new growth, which
then comes too late to ripen its own crop.

S12

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

EspeciftUy in the southern part of the state the yariations in the amoont of rainfall in different years is also very great,
■abjoined table strikingly illustrates such variations for a number of prominent localities:

Table of maxima and minima of rainfall.

The

Ifooality.

DILAMD BTATIOHB.

L» Orange, Texmesaee . . .

Grenada, Mlasiaeippi

ColumboA, Misaiasippi . . .
Brookhayen, Miaaiaaippi.

BIVBB BTATIOHB.

Mempbia, Tenneaaee

Yickaborg, Miaaiaaippi .
Natchez. Miaaiaaippi —
Baton Bonge, Loniaiana

Komber of

yeara covered

by obaerva*

tiona.

MaTJirnim.

53.8

08.8

08.4

•

80.3

67.0

70.1

7a 7

U6.4

"Mlnltnntn -

41.0

40.0
45.8
67.0

44.1
37.2
8L0
41.8

WhUe it is true that the greater number of years covered by the observations at the river stations tend to show a greater contrast
between extreme maxima and minima, yet the general outcome of the comparison is sufficiently obvious to show the much greater difference
between the maxima and minima at the southern river stations than at those situated inland. The average difference in the case of the
latter, as well as at Memphis, is about 50 per cent., or 1 : li ; at Vicksburg the ratio is slightly below, and at Natchez somewhat above,
that of 1: 2; while at Baton Rouge it rises to nearly 1:4. It should not, however, be inferred that the greater rainfall, whether by
averages or by maxima and minima, necessarily implies a correspondingly greater number of rainy days. In the southern region the rain
is more apt to fall in torrents several inches during comparatively brief ^* spells", while the time actually occupied in falling may be
the same as for a more northerly station with a much smaller total rainfall.

TOPOGBAPHY AND DBAINAGE SYSTEMS. — Outside of the plain of the Mississippi or Yazoo bottom, and of the
prairies and ^^flatwoods'' of northeastern Mississippi, the surface of the state is rolling or sometimes hilly and
even broken upland, with a general surface-slope from the northeast to the southwest, or in the eastern portion of
the sta»te nearly due south, as is indicated by the course of the rivers in both cases. There is no axis of elevation
within the state, all the ridges of the present time owing their^xistence to the erosion by water of a substantially
plane surface inclining away, westward to southward, from the last spurs of the Cumberland range, which just
touch the northeast corner of the state. The highest elevations lie in the region dividing the waters of the Hatchie,
Tallahatchie, and Tombigbee, in Tippah and Union counties, where some ridges rise to a height of between 800 and
1,000 feet above the sea, the iekdjacent ^^table-lands" of western Tennessee being themselves on the state line as much
as 500 feet above sea-level. Another region of high, broken ridge lands lies on the heads of the Pearl river, in Neshoba
and Winston counties, but although sometimes as high above the drainage as the ^^ Hatchie hills" their absolute
elevation is much less. The same may be said of the high ridges skirting the Pearl river in Lawrence and Marion
counties, of the "Devil's backbone" skirting the Homochitto on the south, and of the broken "cane hills" bordering
the Mississippi river from Vicksburg to the Louisiana line. Elsewhere in the state also high and narrow ridges
occasionally form the main divides, but as a rule the ridges are broad and rounded, ranging from 50 to 120 feet
only above the smaller creeks. In the southern part of the state the streams are separated largely by undulating
plateau lands, covered by long-leaf pine forest.

Not all the ridges in the state, however, form water divides, nor are all the water divides ridges in the ordinary
sense of the term. Thus the " Pontotoc ridge" in its northern portion is a true divide between the waters of the
Tallahatchie on the west and those of the Tombigbee on the east; but farther south many of the western tributaries
of the Tombigbee break through the ridge, heading in the level "flatwoods" region, where their headwaters interlace
with those of the Yalobusha, Big Black, and Pearl rivers. This anomaly is especially striking in southern
Pontotoc and northern Chickasaw, where the sluggish creeks of the level flatwoods are seen to flow on either side
into a hilly country, to which the traveler makes a rather abrupt ascent. Farther south, the Noxubee river crosses
the flatwoods belt from the hilly country on the west, but the divide still runs close to the western* edge. The
cause of this state of things is obviously the slight westerly dip of the hard and tough "flatwoods clay", which
here overlaps the older (Cretaceous) formation (see "Geological features", page 12).

In the central portion of the state the divide between the Pearl and Big Black rivers, Madison and Hinds
counties, is a region of gently roiling uplands, 15 to 25 miles wide, dotted with small prairies, whose general slope
is toward the Big Black, the tributaries of which head close to the main Pearl river, while farther south high and
mostly sandy pine ridges divide the waters of the Mississippi firom those of Pearl river and lake Pontchariraiii.
The same is true of the divides between the waters of the Pascagoula on the one hand and those of the Tombigbee
and Pearl on the other.

The general hilly character of the uplands continues to within a short distance of the Gulf coast, where tiie
sandy pine hills flatten out into the " pine meadows". These in their turn abut on the coast of the ISound in a terrace
20 to 30 feet above sea-level. Toward the Mississippi river the uplands fall off i)retty abruptly from 250 to 400
feet into the Yazoo bottom plain, or, southward of Vicksburg, into the Mississippi river itself, which washes the
foot of the blufGs at Vicksburg, Grand Gulf, Bodney, Natchez, Fort Adams, and several intermediate points.

213

12 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPL

Obologigal FSATUSXfiL — ^Ajb Temsoked on page 11, the last nndnlatioiis of the Gomberland range eztoid into
the Dortheaat comer of the state, and here we find (in Tishomingo connty) a small area underlaid by the limestones,
sandstones, and cherts of the Carboniferous formation. No true coal, however, exists within the state.

Around the mountain spur referred to, and inclining away from it in a direction varying from due west near
the Tennessee line to nearly due south in the southeast part of the state, lie successively the several stages (JSuiawj
Rotten limettone^ and Ripley groups) of the Cretaceous formation ; above, and therefore west and southward of these,
and with dips similar in direction but smaller in amount, are the several stages of the Tertiary, which are exposed
on the break of the Mississippi bluff from Memphis to Fort Adams. Above all these older formations, and mostly
covering them to depths varying from a few to as much as 200 feet, lies the southern stratified drift, or ^orange
sand ", a formation of Quaternary age, consisting chiefly of weU-rounded, mostly ferruginous sand, and in certain
belts of extensive beds of rolled gravel, with occasional, but mostly quite limited, beds of variously colored pipe-
clays, that usually lie in proximity to clay strata of the older formations. Outside of the Yazoo bottom, the cane-hills
belt, the prairies and flatwoods of northeast Mississippi, and the coast flat&,the orange sand in its various
modifications shai)es the surface of the state. It forms the upper portion of nearly all ridges, and largely their
body as well; and throughout the northern part of the state, at least, every higher ridge or point is capped by more
or less extensive deposits of a peculiar ferruginous sandstone, form^ by the cementation of the sand by means of
limonite or brown iron ore, more rarely by silex. These caps of brown sandstone are sometimes several feet (as
much as eight) in thickness, and have of course served to prevent the washing away of the underlying sand, into
which elsewhere the present valleys have been excavated. Frequently this rock has taken fantastic shapes, such
as tubes, plates, etc. ] and sometimes, though rarely within the state, it is sufiSciently rich to serve as an iron ore.
Into this sand formation most of the wells are dug down to the underlying older and denser materials, which also
usually shed the water, forming springs, by which the line between the two formations may often be traced for miles
along the ridges. Wells and springs, with abundant water, can rarely be obtained within the orange sand, and
in southern Mississippi extensive tracts, underlaid by these sands to a great depth, are destitute of springs, which
only appear, sometimes with enormous volume, in the deeper valleys below the limit of this thirsty formation that
has no regular stratification but the <^ flow-and-plunge " structure indicative of its deposition in violently flowing
water coming from the northward.

These arid sands are almost everywhere overlaid by from 3 to 20 feet of a yellow or brownish loam, such as
forms the subsoil of by far the greater portion of the state, varying greatly in productiveness according to the nature
of the underlying formation, whose character it shares more or le.ss. This loam is devoid of any stratification,
usually increases in thickness as the larger water-courses are approached, and is absent only from the highest ridges,
while covering pretty uniformly, like a blanket, the undulating uplands. It forms the basis and the subsoil of all
the better class of uplands in the state.

The Tertiary strata underlie all but that portion of the state lying east of the flatwoods belt (see map), and
have dips varying from less than 5 feet per mile west in the northern part of the state to 10 feet per mile south-
southwest at Yicksburg and Jackson. From the Tennessee line south to Attala and Holmes counties the
materials of the formation are dark-colored clays and sands, with occasional beds of lignite, that locally assume
economic importance (Northern lignitic), while the clay beds furnish excellent potters' clays; but wells dug into thete
strata mostly have ill-tasting and sometimes mineral water. From Holmes and Carroll southeastward to Lauderdale
sandstones alternate with the clays, and occasionally there occur agriculturally valuable beds of greensand
(" Buhrstone^ and " Claiborne'' groups). Southward of this belt, which is largely quite hilly, the Tertiary beds are
chiefly calcareous marls and partly limestones (" Jackson ^ and " Vicksburg " groups), with abundance of oyster and
other sea-shells, and sometimes huge bones of extinct sea-monsters (Zeuglodon). These beds underlie the ^^ Central
prairie region " (see map), a country partly undulating, partly hilly, dotted witb small prairies of varying character,
but mostly with a stiff, black, and very fertile soil. Southward of this there is a rather sudden ascent into sandy ridge
lands, covered with long-leaf pine forest and underlaid by the sandstones, claystones, and clays of the uppermost
Tertiary (" Grand Gulf group), which thence extends to within a short distance of the coast. The dip of this
formation is very slightly to the southward. The coast flats themselves are underlaid by gray clays of Quaternary
age (the <<Port Hudson" group), more extensively developed in Louisiana and Texas. The same formation also
underlies the Mississippi bottom, sometimes near the surface and forming soils (^^ Buckshot clay "), or else buried
at a greater or less depth beneath the more recent alluvium. Along the edge of the Mississippi bottom, and
especially from Yazoo City southward, there lies above the Port Hudson clays the curious deposit of calcareous
silt now generally known as the loess, forming the ^^ cane-hills" belt, and characterized by fossil land snails and
bones of the mastodon, tapir, etc.

The portion of the state lying east of the flatwoods belt (see map) is mainly underlaid by the strata of the
Cretaceous formation, of which the calcareous stages form the *' Pontotoc ridge" and the "prairie belt". The
former, rising suddenly from the flatwoods, is underlaid by the limestones and the shell marls of the '^ Eipley group".
From this ridge there is an abrupt descent into the level or gently rolling and often treeless country, underlaid
by the soft, whitieth, or bluish "rotten limestone" and characterized by the black "prairie" soil. From this rich
agricultural region we ascend again, on the east, into a hilly country, timbered with pine and oaks, and having a sandy

214

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 13

and inferior soil outside of the valleys. This region, reaching to the Alabama line, is underlaid by the sandy and
clayey strata of the ^^Eutaw" group, devoid of lime and shells, but containing occasional beds of lignite of no
economic valae.

The PoDtotoc ridge terminates near Houston, Chickasaw county; so that in the southern part of the Cretaceous
region the flatwoods adjoin directly the black prairie region.

The Cretaceous strata dip nearly due west near the Tennessee line about 20 feet to the mile. Southward the
direction of dip gradually changes to southwest, and the amount to 26 feet per mile. This structure renders
artesian wells, or at least bored wells, successful in this territory, a point of especial importance in the prairie
country, which has no springs or flowing streams in summer. The water is found beneath the impervious " rotten
limestone^, the thickness of which varies from 300 to 1,100 feet within the state. The water is hard, but otherwise
pure and palatable, and usually rises within easy reach of, or frequently above, the surface, forming flowing wells.
In a portion of the Tertiary region also such bored wells are practicable.

Agbicultueai. subdivisions OB REGIONS. — lu accordancc with the general features outlined above, the
state may, for the purposes of description, conveniently be considered under the following heads and subheads :
I. — Northeastern prairie region,

1. Botten limestone or black prairies.

2. Pontotoc ridge.
II. — Flatwoods region.

1. Post'Oak flatwoods.

2. White-oak flatwoods.

III. — Yellow loam or oak uplands region.

1. Flatwoods hills.

2. Short-leaf pine and oak uplands.

3. The red lands.

4. The sandy oak uplands.

5. The brown loam table-lands.
rV. — Mississippi bottom region.

V. — Cane hills region.
VI. — Central prairie region.
VII. — Long-leaf pine region.

^ r 1 ^ • u-ii ( Long- and short-leaf pine and oak lands.

1. liong-leai pine hills ? « j ». .«

" '^ ( Sandy pine hills.

2. Pine flats and coast region.

Each of these regions and subdivisions is described, with analyses of its soils, in the following pages.

I.— THE NORTHEASTEEN PRAIRIE REGION.

This division, characterized by the more or less' general occurrence of heavy, calcareous clay soils (popularly
called prairie soils even when fully timbered), formed wholly or partially from the materials of the Cretaceous
formation, presents two very strongly defined features, the one being largely level calcareous prairie, the other a
rolling and mostly well-timbered upland region. Together they constitute one of the most important cotton-
growing districts of the state, producing, in average seasons, about 17 per cent, of the crop, .with a staple of very
high quality.

BOTTEN LIMESTONE PBAIBIE BEGION.

The rotten limestone prairie region, or (in its northern part) ^^ white lim^ country", forms a belt varying in width
fix>m 6 to 25 miles, which enters the state near its northeastern comer, in Alcorn county, and, widening to the
southward, after traversing Prentiss county occupies large portions of the counties of Lee, Chickasaw, Monroe,
Olay, Oktibbeha, Lowndes, and Koxubee, and finally passes southeastward into Alabama through the extrfeme
northeast portion of Kemper. Its maximum length within the state is thus 156 miles, with a total area of about
1,325 square miles.

Black prairie. — Of this area probably two-thirds is occupied by the black prairie soQ in its several varieties,
although not nearly as much was originally treeless. In fact, by far the greater part of the black prairie soil was
simply sparsely timbered, clumps of crab and plum thickets dotting the prairie proper, while the general surface
was more or less sparsely occupied by oaks, mingled with honey-locust and other lime-loving trees. Among these,
both on the open and timbered prairie, the cedar {Juniperus Virginiana) was not uncommon. These features are
spoken of in the past; tense, because the prairie lands of northeastern Mississippi were among the earliest occupied
by settlers, both on account of their great fertility and the comparative facility with which they could be taken into
cultivation; and at the present time open fields, cultivated or ^Hurned out", form the landscape, varied only by the
scattered homesteads or poorer, sandy ridges, timbered with oaks, that occur more or less throughout the region.

The oaks most prevalent on the black soils are the black-jack and post oak, trees elsewhere known as
characterizing inferior soils. They have here, however, so far changed their form that many imagine them to be
different spedes from those occupying the poor sandy ridges or intractable gray clay soils elsewhere. The trunks

215

14 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPL

of both are stordy and undivided, that of the post oak rapidly tapering, and when tall almost always carving to
one side, while the short and crooked branches, mnning oat squarely from the trunk, form a dense, leafy tcqi,
reaching low down. The black-jack forms an equally compact but low and rounded top, giving it the appearance
of an apple tree, a habit assumed by it on all heavy soils, whether fertile or not.

The streams of the prairie region proper have no bottoms. The channels of the minor ones are mere depressions
in the general surface (like the ^^coid^es" of Louisiana) and have running water only during the rainy season,
since, owing to the geological structure of the country, there are no springs. In the case of the larger streams
there is sometimes a longer slope ; at others the prairie abuts directly on the banks of the channel Near the water-
courses, as well as sometimes in the level prairie, the black soil sometimes reaches to a depth of 3 feet, whfle
ordinarily it is from 15 to 18 inches deep, and is then underlaid by a yellow (or rather greenish-yellow) sabsoiL
Below the latter, usually at a depth of from 7 to 10 feet, lies the white or bluish, soft '^rotten" limestone, which is
the country rock, and varies in thickness firom 250 in the northern to 1,100 feet in the southern portion of the belt
No veins of water can be found within it, but artesian water rises from beneath it when penetrated, either above
or within available distance of the surfSM^e. North of Lee county ^< rotten limestone" is frequently so clayey and
soft as to be simply a very calcareous clay or day marl, while farther south it is generally more solid and chalk-
like, though nowhere capable of making a chalk mark. The soils formed from it of course vary accordingly.

Blach-jcuik prairie. — From the points of greatest thickness the black soil often thins out more or less rapidly
until the yellow subsoil lies at or near the surface over considerable tracts. These constitute the ^^ black-jack
prairie", possessing a soil whose tenacity as well as color, when wet, justifies the title of <^ waxy " commonly allotted
to it. When well cultivated it yields good returns in fair seasons, though much inferior to the black prairie in
thriftiness.

^^ Bald prairie.^ — ^A subordinate but very characteristic feature, occurring more or less throughout the prairie
region, js the '^bald prairie", so called from its being mostly destitute of any tree growth save small clumps of
crab, plum, or persimmon. These are formed wherever the "rotten limestone" lies within about 3 feet or less of
the surface and has contributed essentially to the formation of the soil, as is sometimes apparent from its whitish
tint. This naturally happens most frequently in the more undulating northern portions of the prairie belt, in
Alcorn, Prentiss, and Lee counties. Here we often find on the slopes of the loapi uplands limited patches of
"black" or "bald" prairie soil, passing on the one hand, by intermixture with the reddish loam, into the highly
esteemed "mahogany " soils, and on the other into the very stiff, greenish-yellow clay of the blackjack prairie, here
designated as "beeswax hummocks", and often too intractable for cultivation. They are more or less directly
derived from the underlying stiff clay marls, which there, to a large extent, replace the harder and more chalky
" rotten " limestone of the southern part of the prairie belt. In the latter region the admixture of this rock does
not necessarily render the soils very heavy. This may be noted in the " Chickasaw Old Fields", a name applied to
a group of small prairies in the southern part of Lee county, where the soil is often so shallow that the plow scraj^es
the rock.

From either the black-jack or the black prairie there may be a transition to the soils of higher ridges, which
often form the divides between water-courses or the head regions of prairie streams. We then see the upland oaks
gradually intermingling with those inhabiting the prairie, and in the northern portion of the belt such soils,
timbered with tall, sturdy black, Spanish, and post oaks, are very prevalent and sometimes very fertile; but in the
southern portion, as in Chickasaw and Clay counties, these ridges have a pale-yellow, sandy loam soil of little
fertility, as is at once evidenced by their undersized growth of oaks, among which the scarlet oak (Q. coocinea) is
very prominent.

Composition of pbaibie soils. — ^The followinganalyses afford an insight into the characteristics of the prairie
soils of this region :

Nos. 176 and 176. Soil and 9ub9oil fit)m Sec 16, T. 6, B. 7 E., near Booneville, Prentiss county. Black soil 8 to
10 inches deep, very heavy, but crumbling in drying. Subsoil a pale greenish-yellow clay ("joint clay" from the
manner in which it cracks on drying), with an obvious increase of lime as we descend, passing into a whitish
marl. This is a fair representative of the "bald" prairie spots of the region, with scattered groups of crab, wild
plum, and black-jack oak on the edges, where the black soil becomes thin or is wanting; a very productive soil in
favorable seasons, but difficult to till, and subject to injury from drought.

Nos. 172 and 173. Surf 04^ Bail (0 to 15 inches) and underclay (24 to 36 inches), taken in the main prairie belt on
the Buena Vista and Aberdeen road. Sec. 20, T. 14, B. 6 £., Monroe county. Timber: black-jack oak, widely scattered.
The black surface soil varies in depth from 8 to 15 inches, when there is a change of color to a brownish subsoil,
reaching down to about 2 feet, and, in drying, cleaving into vertically prismatic fragments. Both contain numerous
(2 to 6 per cent.) particles of globular concretions of brown iron ore, varying from the size of poppy seed to that of
pease and of a reddish tint in the upper portion, olive tint in the underclay. These lands hardly deteriorate
perceptibly during twenty years^ exhaustive culture in com and cotton, having yielded from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds
of seed -cotton per acre, the staple rating very high in the market. The black soil has here in the highest degree
the peculiarity of crumbling in drying from its water-soaked condition, so that in case of need it is even plowed
while wet without materially injuring its tilth during the season, but in so doing heavy draft is required. The
mud formed on the roads is tenacious and adhesive in the highest degree.

Ot/^

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

No. 125. Black prairie 8oil from J. D. Hollimon's land, near Baena Vista, Chickasaw county. A dark-gray
heavy soil, nearly black when moist. Depth and subsoil not known accurately. The soil is stated to be very
productive in favorable seasons, but to rust (or ^^ blight ") the cotton very badly when the seasons are at all
unfavorable, especially when wet. This defect is clearly not the fault of the chemical composition, which is excellent,
being superior to that of the Monroe prairie (No. 172), but is doubtless due to imperfect drainage, whereby the
tap-root of the cotton plant is killed by drowning so soon as it reaches a certain depth.

No. 170. Noxubee prairie sail from near Macon, T. 16, K. 12 E., Noxubee county. Brownish black to mahogany,
and heavy ; depth, 12 to 15 inches. Subsoil, tawny to reddish. Timber, scattered post oak and hickory. Average
product, 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton when fresh. Staple rates goo^ middling.

No. 139. Hillside prairie soil from Sec. 12, T. 12, R. 18 E., J. J. Pettus' land, Kemper county. Occupies limited
areas on hillsides below points where the rotten limestone appears. Black, rather sandy, 10 to 12 inches deep. An
excellent soil for wheat and com, but liable to rust cotton.

Analyses of soils and subsoils in the northeastern prairie regio^i. «

Inaolnble matter

Solnble sUlca

PotMh

Soda

Lime

liagneeia

Brown oxide of manpmeBe

Peroxide of iron

Alnmina

Phoepborio acid

Snlphiirio acid

Carbonic aoid

Water and organic matter. .

Total.

Hnmns

ATailable inorganic . . .
Hygroscopic moictnre
absorbed at

PBENTISS COUIITT.
BOONBVILLB.

SoU.

No. 175.

6i.8ie
8.606

6a4ii

0.862
0.120
0.087
0.777
0.045
7.651
14.365
0.167
0.010

7.065

100.450

18.07
18C.O

Snbaoil.

Ko. 176.

48.065

0.853

0.124

18.101

0.101

0.076

6.017

5.078

0.220

0.085

11.832

12.150

100.000

12.08
18C.O

MONBOK commr
{ate. 20, T. 14, R. 6 ■).

Soil.

No. 172.

}

78.208

0.888
0.080
L807
0.363
0.143

14.224!

0.104
0.034

5.747

100.688

L025
4.884
12.82
lOC.o

Sabaoil.

¥o. 173.

7L580

0.542
0.280
1.075
0.771
0.046
5.410
13.158
0.051
0.036

6L002

00.854

L86

0C.O

CHICKASAW

COUKTT,

KEAB

BUKXAYISTA.

SoiL

No. 125.

73. 602 1

0.484
0.008
0.086
0.627
0.128
5.510
11.155
0.267
0.027

7.151

100.085

L418
1.788
10.80
16C.O

irOZUBKB
COUNTY,
MACON.

Soil.

No. 170.

75.704

64.644

11.060

0.866
0.074
L254
a 716
0.118
4.557
8.018
0.068
trace.

a466

100.241

14.20
20 0.0

KXKFBB

COUNTY,

BIDOB PBAIBIB.

Soil.

No. 130.

67.078

0.600
0.186
1.371
1.003
0.245
6.748
ia068
0.038
0.077

0.458

00.011

1.277
1.08C
11.45

8C.»

The only mechanical analysis thus far made of soils of this region is that of No. 173, the yellow subsoil of the
Monroe prairie, perhaps a somewhat extreme representative in the direction of heaviness. To the southward the
soils appear on tiie whole to become lighter in texture.

Monroe county prairie subsoU.

MBCBAXICAL AKALTBIB.

Weigbtof gravel OTsr L2"n> diameter

Weigbt of grayel between 1.2 and 1""

Weight of grayel between 1 and 0.<^" (limonite)
Fine earth

Total

MBCHANICAL ANALYSIS OV FDIB lABXH.

Clay

Sediment of <fi.2S^^ hydraolic yalne

Sediment of 0.]

Sediment of 0.(

Sediment of l.<

Sediment of 2.0>».

Sediment of 4.0>».

Sediment of 8.0>».

Sediment of 16.0>».

Sediment of 82.(

Sediment of 64.(

Total.

SvbsoiL

No.:i78.

11
07.9

loao

84.1
8&S

&1
OlO
7.6
19

1.8
0.2

0.6
100.0

217

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

This is quite a heavy clay soil, with but a very small proportion of the coarser sediments to relieve its closeness;
but to some extent it shares the peculiarity of its surface soil to pulverize of its own accord in drying, somewhat
like the buckshot soil of the Yazoo bottom, and so is not as intractable under tillage as might be imagined.
Moreover, the numerous fine fissures so formed give passage to the roots of cotton to the depth of several feet.

The most obvious chemical feature of all the soils analyzed is the large percentage of lime, ranging within a
few tenths of 1 per cent., or nearly four times as much as is usually present in good upland soils. With this ta/cty
leading us to class them all as calcareous, their dark tint is intimately correlated. It may be broadly stated that,
as a rule, an exceptionally dark tint in any well-drained soil is a mark of the presence of a large supply of lime.
This tint (so generally associated with the instinctive estimate of a soil's fertility) is always indicative of a large
supply of humus, as is apparent from the figures given, the amount ordinarily contained in upland soils being about
three-quarters of 1 per cent. only. Many soils possessing a much larger supply do not show the shade and
depth of tint observed in highly calcareous soils. Manifestly this tint is dae in a measure to the kind or qoali^
of the humus formed under the infiuence of a large supply of lime, and it is at least probable that such homoB
possesses in the^iighest degree the important properties which render its presence in the soil so essential to
profitable culture, viz : that of serving as a vehicle for the soil's mineral ingredients to the plant. This, added to
the well-known action of lime in rendering available the inert plant-food in the soil, explains sufficiently the
uniformly high productiveness of the prairie soils, notwithstanding serious differences in their ultimate percentages
of plant-food. It will be noted that the potash percentage ranges from one-third to nearly nine-tenths of 1 per
cent., while the phosphoric acid is even more variable, and would in the case of the Kemper (if correctly
determined) and !N'oxubee soils be accounted deficient, while in the soils from Prentiss and Chickasaw it is quite
high. It is, however, to be expected that in the former soils the supply would soon become deficient by exhaustive
culture and will have to be replaced by the use of commercial phosphates. It will be seen by reference to the
statements made in regard to it that, unlike the prairie lands farther north, its cotton product is reduced from 1,000
to 000 pounds in the course of tive years' cultivation. The good eflect of pbospbate manures in these lands is
ali-eady beinj; experienced.

An important feature of all these soils is their high capacity for absorbing moisture, varying from 10.3 to 14.3
per cent., and averaging in the soils analyzed 12 per cent. This property belongs to clay soils generally, but is
always heightened by the presence of a large supply of lime, and especially by that of much humus. It is important
in preventing the acquisition of too high a temperature by the soil during hot and dry weather, and is therefore a
factor in preventing injury from drought. So, also, is the great depth of the prairie soils; and it is curious to
note that, notwithstanding their heaviness, the cotton roots penetrate them to great depths.

Ridge soils. — On the higher ridges in the more hilly prairie region of Kemper there occurs another soil equally
stiff, but differing materially in composition from the prairie soil below it, its color being orange-red instead of black,
although its iron jiercentage is but little greater. It is, of course, comparatively poor in humus, and its red tint
scarcely varies down to 12 inches depth. The rotten limestone usually underlies at 2 to 6 feet. It produces fine
wheat, and also cotton, whose growth is short, but well boiled. Where this soil mixes with.the black prairie (on
hillsides) the latter does not rust cotton. This red soil is manifestly related to the " red lands'* farther west and
north, and resembles in aspect, as well as in composition and tilling qualities, the "red hills" soil of western
Attala. Its analysis gave the following results (the prairie soil is placed along side for comparison).

No. 141. Bed ridge sail from Sec. 12, T. 12, R. 18 E., J. J. Pettus' land, Kemper county :

Ridge lands.

Bed ridge sou. I HUleidejprmirie

Ko. 141.

Ineoloble matter

Soluble silica

PoUeh

SodA

Lime

ICftgnesiA

Brown oxide of manganese

Poroxideof iron

Alomina

Phosphoric acid

Snlpharic acid

Volatile matter

Total

Human

Available inorganic

Hygroscopic moisture

absorbed at

54.565

18.210

j«7.

784

a 431
a277
a540
a836
0.070
7.080
1&071
a 187

aooo

6.022
100.225

a 781
8.256
18.07
UC.o

No. 130.

67.078

0.
0.186
1.371
1.003
0.245
&748
13.068
0.033
0.077
0.453

00.878

1.277
1.086
1L45
8C.O

218

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

The main differences between this soil and the pniirie soil lying at lower levels (So. 139) are its smaller
percentages of potash, lime, magnesia, and organic matter and higher amounts of phosphoric acid and alomina.
These facts agree with the tendency to small development of stalk and heavy fruiting which characterize the red soil.
The admixture of more vegetable matter by green manuring would seem to be the improvement most immediately
suggested by the analysis.

Hickory hummocks, — In southwestern Tippah the Pontotoc ridge flattens into gently-rolling woodland, from
which there is a gradual transition into the flatwoods proper by a change of soil and timber. Along the edge
of the flatwoods there is thus a belt of land known as ^^ hickory hummocks", from their being largely timbered
with hickory, intermingled with post and Spanish oak, black gum, and some pine. The analysis of a specimen of
this soil, which is fairly productive when well tilled, is given below.

!No. 273. Soil of hickory hummock from Sec. 31, T. 4, E. 3E., Tippah county. Timber as above stated ; hickory
{Carya tomentoaa) mostly quite young. Soil grayish, not very heavy ; depth, 6 inches.

No. 275. Subsoil of above. Color dun, heavier than soil ; taken 5 to 12 inches deep.

Hickory hummock Umd of Tippah county.

Ihsolnbla matter

Soluble aUioa

PotMh

SodA

Lime

MagneslA

Brown oxide of mangameBe
Peroxide of iron

AlfiminA

Phoephoric aoid

Snlphnrio acid

Water and organic matter .

Total

Hygroscopic moisture

absorbed at

SoiL

SabsoiL

No. 273.

No. 275.

8L17«> ,^^

^^i:;?--

0.217

0.058

0.057

0.850

0.580

0.559

0.567

0.292

0.127

8.421

4.359

8.428

4.678

0.108

0.096

0.016

0.006

4.295

8.815

99.871

100.050

6.86

9.08

11 C.o

The high lime percentage of this soil, indicating the nearness of the marl strata (although it lies within the
flatwoods), ought to insure its thriftiness with deep tillage and good drainage. The latter appears to be the point
of dif&culty, since the stiff clay, underlying at no great depth, prevents the rapid drainage of water. The phosphoric
acid percentage is fair; that of potash rather low, but doubtless adequate for the present. The greensand marls of
the adjoining Pontotoc ridge afford ready means for the improvement of the soil in this respect.

Sdndy upland ridges. — Of the pale-yellow, sandy loam lands forming ridges between the prairie belts but one
specimen has been analyzed. It has been stated that these lands are generally of quite an inferior quality, at least
for cotton culture. Their best adaptation appears to be for wheat and sweet potatoes, the better class of lands
yielding, when ^sh, from 20 to 25 bushels of the former to the acre ; but they become exhausted in the course of a few
years, after which it requires manure to make them produce. The more clayey varieties are also benefited by
fallowing. On these the post, Spanish, and scarlet oaks (Q. stellatay Q. falcata^ Q. coccinea) prevail, the development
of the timber growth indicating very accurately their agricultural value, being generally the more vigorous on
the darker tinted (yellow or orange) subsoil. The surface soil is generally so shallow that the subsoil forms the
main- mass of the cultivated surface. At times, especially in the lower ridges, the soil is whitish, and a poor
stunted growth of scarlet and willow oaks (Q. coccinea^ Q. Phellos) prevails. Such tracts are practically too poor for
cultivation.

The specimen analyzed (No. 164) was taken in the belt of such uplands forming the divide between Houlka
and Suckatonche creeks near Pikeville, northeast quarter of T. 14, B. 5 E., Chickasaw county. It is here about
4 miles wide, and on each side slopes off gradually into prairie belts, which border both streams. Timber: post,
Spanish, and some scarlet oak, rather undersized ; surface soil whitish, scarcely exceeding 2 inches in depth; subsoil
a pale-yellow, fine sandy loam. Specimen taken to 10 Inches depth.

219

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI

PQcevtOe upland $oil of Chieka^aw county.

Brown oxide of
l*Htizidie of iron

Fbospborie acid

Solphorie acid

Water and orgaoie matter

' H jgroaoopio moistiire
abeorbed at

1.80

nc.o

The cause of the poverly and want of darability of this soil is sufficiently obvioas from the analysis. It is
notably deficient in all the elements of mineral plant-food, even in potash, and nothing short of manore, in the
widest sense of the word, can keep it productive when once its first supply is exhausted.

Bottom soils. — Ordinarily the bottom soils of the prairie region differ in no material point from those of the
higher prairies. The formation of the black soil is, as a rule, determined by the nearness of the ^^ rotten limestone^
to the surface, and hence it is almost always found near the streams, which mostly have little or no definite flood
plain.

Where, however, these streams traverse or head in uplands of the character just described we generally find
a definite bottom, and even the timber of the uplands is present on a somewhat improved scale. Yet, even though
it may have a dark tint, it is not necessarily fertile, that fact being commonly indicated by a timber growth of
indifferent willow and water oaks {Q. Phellos aguatica). So soon, however, as the admixture of lime becomes
considerable the black and white oak, tulip tree, sweet gum, etc., mingle with the two oaks mentioned, and the
fresh soil, at least, is very productive. The following analyses illustrates one of these cases, which occor rather
frequently near the western edge of the prairie region :

No. 177. Black hummock soil from the flats or second bottom (above any ordinary overflows) on Goonewah croek,
Sec 15, T. 9, B. 5 B. Timber as last mentioned above. Soil black, but only to the depth of 3 to 5 inches ; heavy
and putty-like when wet, although not very clayey.

No. 178. Subsoil of above, taken 6 to 15 inches deep. Color, pale yellow; a rather sandy loam, quite similar io
appearance to No. 164. This land is said to produce, when fresh, 70 to 80 bushels of com and 1,000 to 1,200 poands
of seed-cotton per acre, and in favorable seasons even more. The analysis resulted as follows :

Coonewah hummock land of Lee county.

Inaolnble matter

Solnbleailka

Potaah

Soda

lime

Brown oxide of manganeee

p4!)voxwie of iron

▲lamina

Pboepb««r1«: arid

SolpLuric %t\A

Water aod orieanie matter.

Total

88.160
8.804

80.064

00.688
2.742

]

03.480

0.207

0.173

0.171

0.151

0.247

0.108

0.283

0.218

0.045

0.058

l.fi87

1.542

8.0-23

2.838

0.066

0.115

0.040

0.048

4.761

1.628

100.394

I abflfirb*^ at . . .

3. :{K

i;.o

100.304

2.51

OC.o

\:::o

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 19

In this case the texture of the Boil, as well as the alumina percentage and the hygroscopic coefficient, shows the
sarface soil to be more clayey than the subsoil, as is not unfrequently the case in alluvial soils. The potash
percentage, though nearly twice that of the Pikeville soil, is still low ; the same is true of the phosphoric acid. The
latter, however, is nearly doubled in the subsoil, while the lime percentage in the soil is quite high, and thus
explains its thriftiness. It is not likely, however, to be very durable in its productiveness.

THE PONTOTOO BIDaE.

The Pontotoc ridge is a belt of ridgy, sometimes rolling, sometimes hilly, oak uplands, whose main body lies
between Kipley, Tippah county, and Houston, Chickasaw county, a distance of about 60 miles north and south, with
a width varying from 5 to 15 miles, and averaging from 9 to 10 miles east and west. ^Northward of Eipley it forms
a narrow strip only 1 to 2 miles wide, and is but faintly represented beyond the state line.

As the white ^^ rotten limestone " formation underlying the prairie country determines its main features, so those
of the Pontotoc ridge are largely determined by the alternating strata of hard, granular limestone and soft, bluish
marls of the Upper Cretaceous formation that constitute the body of the hills, though often covered to a considerable
depth by the orange or ^^ red" sands that form so conspicuous a feature of the surface of the whole state (see
<^ Geological features", page 10). Where this is the case, the soils and timber growth are very similar to those of
the oak uplands region farther west ; and, as in the case of the latter, long spurs of piny ridges extend in places
into the body of the ridge land. As a rule, however, the influence of the underlying calcareous strata manifests
itself very distinctly in the appearance of the soils, especially in their deep red tint and in the frequent presence, to
a very large extent, of smooth and mostly globular concretions of brown bon ore (limouite), varying from the size
of fine bird-shot to that of a fist. In the timber growth the presence of lime is also observable in the frequent
appearance of the black walnut, tulip tree (<' poplar"), black locust (22o&inia), and cucumber trees (if a^no^iaaurietiZ^ifa)
among the prevailing growth of oaks and hickories, as well as in the absence of the scarlet oak {Q. co€cinea)j whose
f>revalence is almost everywhere the proof of a comparatively unthrifty soil, poor in lime.

In consequeuce of the dip of the limestone strata toward the west the ascent to the ridge lands from the west
is very gentle, although its limits are in general very distinctly marked by the contrast with the level, gray clay
lands of the fiatwoods region. Toward the east, on the contrary, there is usually a steep and well-marked descent
of from 150 to 200 feet from the jutting edges of the hard limestone forming the crest of the ridge, into the level
prairie or '^ white lime country". In the northern portion of the belt this crest forms the divide between the
waters of the Tombigbee and Tallahatchie, but in the southern portion it is traversed by the tributaries of the
Tombigbee, the divide lying in the flatwoods. In Tippah county, however, the Pontotoc ridge lands do not reach
the edge of the prairie country, but pass insensibly to the eastward into the hilly pine country known as the
« Hatchie hills ".

Unlike the prairies, the Pontotoc ridge is well watered by streams fed by living springs, which flow partly from
the red sandy surface strata and partly frt)m between the limestone ledges, alternating with sandy marls. Well
water also is usually obtainable at moderate depths, and is good, though mostly hard.

The soils of the Pontotoc ridge vary considerably, as may be expected from the variety of materials which, as
above mentioned, form the body of its ridges. They may be classified as follows :

1. Pale-yellau) loom uplandsj timbered with a moderately strong oak growth, among which the post oak and
black-jack form a considerable ingredient, and which, through a gradual increase of sand, accompanied by an
admixture of scarlet oak, chestnut, and finally short-leaf pine, forms the transition toward tlie pine hills and the
sandy ridges of the prairie country. It forms gently rolling plateau tracts, intersi)ersed more or less throughout
the eastern portion of the ridge belt, and is only moderately productive, yielding, when fresh, from 600 to 700 pounds
of seed-cotton per acre, and wearing out in the course of from eight to twelve years.

2. The opposite extreme of the above is the soil of the ^^ Beeswax hummoi^^^ — a very heavy, greenish-yellow,
intractable soil, appearing on hilltops and slopes where clayey marls (greatly resembling those of some parts of the
prairie country) come to or near the surface and have mainly formed the soil. Thus are formed either true ^^ bald
prairies" or <^ black-jack prairie", on which the prevailing tree is itself reduced to a height of from 15 to 18 feet, with
the compact habit peculiar to it on such soils, while the ground is in some cases almost bare of grass or any other
undergrowth. This soil is rarely cultivated, and the roads on which it prevails are the dread of teamsters. Not
unfrequently, however, it passes, as in the prairie region, into a true black and very fertile ^^ prairie soil", which
forms limited belts and patches on the hillsides.

From tne intermixture of the black prairie, black-ja(^ prairie, or ^^ beeswax" soil with the sandy soils mentioned
under No. 1 there results the most highly esteemed soil of the Pontotoc ridge, viz :

3. The mahogany (or mulatto) soil, in which the native fertility of its clayey ingredient is made available by
the admixture of sufficient sandy loam to produce an easily tilled, durable, and highly productive soil. It usually
occupies the lower slox>es of ridges and the smaller valleys in irregular tracts.

4. The ^^red lands^ and ^^ buncombe^ soils. These occur especially where the sandy marls and limestones come
to or near the surface and have become mixed with the yellow loam or formed the soil altogether. They are
distinguished by the deep red or orange color of the subsoil at least, and sometimes of the surface soil itself. The
^^ red lands" proper are of a clay-loam character, and occur most characteristically to the southward of the town of

221

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Pontotoc. They are fall of small ronnded concretions of brown iron ore, and the loam subsoil upon which they rest
is sometimes from 7 to 10 feet in thickness. The ^^ bancombe" soil is of a lighter character, and is evidently formed
almost directly from the marls of the Cretaceous formation. The regions where it prevails (chiefly in eastern Union,
on the heads of the Oconatyhatchie, and near the southern end of the ridge, in Chickasaw, on the extreme heads
of the Houlka and Suckatonche) are everywhere characterized by an extraordinary predominance of smooth brown
iron-ore pebbles (or, more properly, concretions) up to the size of a fist, which often impart to the laud a most
unpromising aspect; but it wears well, and, with little trouble, produces from 60 to 80 bushels of com per su^re and
up to 1,600 pounds of seed-cotton. Here, as in the red lands of Louisiana, the broken surface, and not un frequently
the rocky nature of the soil, interfere somewhat with tillage.

By the occasional intermixture of the red lands soil with that of the "beeswax hummock" a heavier and
somewhat less thrifty but very durable red soil is produced, while from the intermixture of the red soil with the
yellow loam (Ko. 1) there results another kind of "mahogany" or "mulatto" soil, which occupies considerable
tracts on the western side of the Pontotoc ridge especially, and is highly esteemed for its productiveness and easy
tillage, its quality varying sensibly in accordance with the depth of its color.

The following analysis of one of this kind of " mulatto" soils is probably fairly representative of their
character :

No. 226. Mulatto sail from Mr. Stephen Dagett's land, K. 3 E., T. 10, Sec. 33, Pontotoc county. Timber g^rowth:
Black, Spanish ("red"), and post oak, and hickory, all large, stout trees; some sweet and black gum and walnut
toward lower ground. Depth of soil taken, 10 inches; a light chocolate tint when moist, mellow, and easily tilled.
Average product, 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre.

No. 122. Subsoil of the preceding, tAken from 10 to 18 inches depth; of a pale-yellowish tint above, but deepens
in color to that of the " red lands" below.

Mulatto land of Pontotoc ridgCj Pontotoc county.

Inaolnble niAttar

Soluble silica

PotMh

SodA

Lima

liagDMia

Brown oxide of mAaganeae.

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

Phonpboric acid

Salpharic acid

Water and organic matter .

Total

Hygroacopic moiatnre.
abaorbed at

Soil.

No. 238.

88.270)

0.374
0.210
0.281
0.234
0.276
2.350
4.611
0.082
0.017
8.106

10a295

4.076
UC.o

SabaoiL

No. 122.

78.280
8.463

{87.

743

0.414
0.229
0.221
0.469
0.142
4.525
4.345
0.235
0.066
2.109

10a498

6.60
16C.O

The prominent features of this soil are the high x)ercentages of lime in both the soil and subsoil and the large
amount of phosphoric acid in the subsoil, while that in the surface soil is quite moderate. The potash percentages
in both are fair, though not large, and there seems to be but little difference in the mechanical constitution of the
soil and subsoil, the former being deficient in vegetable matter. The latter circnmsiauce partially explains why a soil
of such excellent chemical and physical qualities produces only 1,(M)0 pounds of seed-cotton, when soils otherwise
similarly constituted, but richer in organic matter, as a rule pro<luce a 400-pound bale per acre. The most important
direct mode of improvement (by green manuring) is thus at once indicated, while for the maintenance of fertility
in the future the marl beds of the region furnish excellent material.

The following analysis of a hillside or ^^ hummock" soil from Sec. 34, T. 12, B. 3 E., Chickasaw county, shows
the character of the soil near the southern end of the ridge, where it flattens and forms a gradual transition to the
pale ridge lands of the prairie country.

The timber here is mainly black oak and hickory, with some chestnut-white, water, and scarlet oaks, and
dogwood; in the lower land, also, some ash, wild plum, and cotton wood, indicating the presence of lime.

No. 346. The soil is a light loam, mouse color, to the depth of 6 to inches, according to its position on the
hillside. The subsoil (No. 347) is somewhat heavier, of a yellow or light orange tint, taken to the depth of 18 inches.

SS3

PHYSICO-aEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

Pontotoc ridge hummock landj Chickasaw county.

Insoluble matter

Soluble silica

Potash

Soda

lime

Kagnesia

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

Phosphoric acid

Sulphuric acid

Water and organic matter.

Total

Hygroscopic moisture

absorbed at

Sou.

SubsoiL

No. 846.

.847.

87. 044 >^ ,•«

7a 607

a66e

|77.266

0.163

a262

0.085

a 105

0.168

a 263

0.215

a 420

0.106

ai34

2.758

5.621

8.581

1L228

0.118

aoM

0.018

a 022

8.066

47M

100.482

100. Ill

4.0«

0.01

lOC.o

10C.O

It thus appears that this soil is materially less rich in mineral plant-food (potash and phosphoric acid) than
the << mulatto soil" of Dagett's neighborhood, and it will donbtless be found to be less durable. But in present
productiveness it is (according to the testimony of the inhabitants) quite equal to the former, owing doubtless to
the greater amount of organic matter present, while its large lime percentage for a soil of its kind explains its
present thriftiness in accordance with the indications of its timber growth.

Natural fertilizers of the northeastern prairie region. — Among the materials of the (Cretaceous) formation
underlying the region there is quite a variety of marls of excellent quality for soil improvement, beside
enormous dex)osits of limestones, which, by burning, will furnish lime for agricultural as well as other purposes. A
number of analyses of such materials are given in the table on page 22.

The best natural marls, as well as the purest limestones, occur on the Pontotoc ridge. The best mads are of
bluish tint. They mostly contain greensand or glauconite grains, and usually also a certain (not inconsiderable)
percentage of phosphoric acid, rising as high as a quarter of 1 per cent, and even more. The potash percentage
of some rises as high as 1% per cent., but is more frequently near three-fourths in the soft marls. The harder ones are
not so rich in greensand. The lime percentage of the blue marls is, on the whole, rather low, and from half to three-
fourths of their mass is commonly inert matter. They do not, therefore, as a rule, bear transportation far from the
points where they occur. The inert portion is mostly sandy, and hence it will sometimes pay to use them on heavy
soils needing to be rendered lighter. This is especially true of the heavy clay soil of the adjoining <' flatwoods", the
effect of marling upon which is abundantly apparent at the foot of the marl hills, where the two materials have
naturally mingled.

In the black prairie belt the underlying whitish marly materials are mostly of a clayey character, and their chief
nseful ingredient is, in most cases, the limo, with small percentages of potash and phosphoric acid. The prevalent
<^ rotten limestone" hafi taken part in the formation of the black prairie soils naturally; yet it has been found that
when these have become *^ tired " a dressing even of the raw but pulverized rock is helpful, and still more helpful
is a dressing of the lime made from it. This will donbtless be extensively used in the future, especially on the less
thrifty soils of the ^^ post-oak prairie" and on the sandy upland ridges dividing the prairie belts proper. At many
points the limestone is very clayey and easily disintegrated, as in the case of the marl from near Ghewalla, and
can then, of course, be more easily applied to the fields.

In the southern portion of the region along the Tombigbee river there are extensive outcrops of greenish sands,
usually glistening with mica, and often more or less indurate, frequently full of shells. The analyses made of these
(see table on page 20) do not place them very high as fertilizing materials, as they contain from 80 to 90 per
cent of inert matter and only irom 1 to 6 per cent, of lime, with usually little else of agricultural importance. In
some cases, as in that of No. 2226, there is enough of glauconite in the mass to render it available, at least where
it is convenient for application to needy soils.

No. 338. Oreensand shell marl from Sec. 22, T. 4., R. 3 B., 2 miles west of Ripley, Tippah county (Vemor's place).
Crops out in the bed of a small creek about 2 feet thick, and is full of soft, rounded grains of greensand and
broken shells.

No. 708. Blue marl firom the well of Judge O. Davis, in the town of Ripley, Tippah county. Sandier than No.
338, and greensand grains smaller and less abundant. Similar marl crops out in the bed of Town creek, just south
of the town, and at numerous other localities in the region.

823

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

No. 318. Indurate blue marl^ or marlstone, from Braddock's place. Sec. 21, T. 3, B. 4 E., Tippah county.
Somewhat difficult to crumble, and for use would require to be exposed to the weather for some length of time. No
greensand grains visible.

No. 271. Blvs marl from Nabor's place, southeast of Ripley, exact locality not given. Bluish, soft, full of mica
scales, somewhat clayey, with a few shells. This marl represents most of those occurring in the eastern part of the
marl region of Tippah and Union, and contains, as will be noted, a good deal of inert matter, and only about 6^ per
cent, of lime. The marl occurring on Owl creek is quite similar to this.

No. 123. Bluish greensand marl from an outcrop 1 mile south of the town of Pontotoc, Pontotoc county. Several
feet in thickness, with visible greensand grains. Easily accessible, and rich in lime and potash.

No. (!) '* Rotten limestone^ from near Okolona, Chickasaw county. This is a fair sample of the " white prairie
rock", and it makes fair lime for building purposes. At some points it pulverizes by exposure, and can be thus
obtained for agricultural use.

* No. 2221. YelUmish clay marl from a railroad cut southeast of Ghewalla station, in Alcorn county. Quite he^i vy
and tough when wet, but cracking and pulverizing readily in drying; similar to the subsoil of some prairie spots
and materials found near Corinth and BooneviUe, Prentiss county.

No. 2226. Oreenish mioaceovs sand from a bluff on the Tombigbee river near Dr. TyndalPs place, near
Aberdeen, Monroe county. A sandy mass of light olive tint, easily pulverized ; crops out abundantly on the
several bluff banks on the river near and south of Aberdeen. This sand should not be confounded with the
non-calcareous and agriculturally worthless loose yellowish sands that underlie if.

No. 327. (Greenish micaceous sand from the bluff on the Tombigbee river near Waverly, Lowndes county.
Abundant, and some portions consolidated into ledges showing impressions of large shells. Quite rich in phosphoric
aci^l, but poor both in lime and potash, and therefore hardly available for hauling to any distance. The material
in the bluff at Columbus is poorer than this.

Marls of the northeastern prairie region.

Inaolabto nutter

Potash

Sod*

Lhne

Haeneel*

Brown oxide of nuuigaDMe

Peroxide of iron

Alnmina

Pboepborio Aoid

Snlpborio add

Carbonic aoid

Water and organic nuiUer. .

Total.

Blus OB Obuvbakd Mablb.

TIPPAH ooinmr.

liarltwo

mUeswest of

Bipley.

Ko.t88.

}

4&810
L842
0.132

12.228
2.888
0.148

18.510

Va.8. 0.840

1L008

4.448

100.206

Bipley marL

Ko.708.

{

02.441
0.708
0.272
7.062
1.600
0.100

IL840
ft. 866
0.

}

aooo

100.877

Braddook's

indurate

marL

Ko. 818.

4a 864
0.164
0.080

2L880
0.010
0.008

1L108
L250
0.292
0.185

2L486
2.075

100.841

Kabor's
■bell marL

Ko. 271.

7&842
0.707
0.011
&574
L445
0.204
8.027
2.601
0.180
0.184
8.044
L420

00.810

POHTOTOC
COUKTT.

One mile

aontb of Pon*

totoo,blne

marL

Ko.128.

48.054
L701
0.160

1&247
LOOl
0.070
&9OO
7.858

aioo

0.007

1L704

8.701

100.075

Whitish Clat Mablb.

CmCKASAW

comnr.

Okolona

rotten lime*

atone.

Ko.t

10.008
a248
0.820

4&791
0.877

L421
L067

86.725
2.840

100.082

ALOOBN
COUNTT.

CbewaUa
marL

Ko. 2221.

56.654

0.667
0.275

18.297
LOU
0.050
4.706
&444
0.144
0.212

10.222
4.841

00.070

OttBBifisH Sands.

MONBOB
COUHTT.

Tyndall's

Tombiffbee

aano.

Ko. 2220.

8L224
0.705
0.117
4.026
0.824
a040
8.005
8.877
a 181
0.008
L545
2.882

80.800

L0W!rDB8
COUKTT.

Waverly
greenish mi-
oaoeoiusand.

Ko.327.

88.702
0.204
0.190
L351
0.728

6.600

0.:
0.0U
0.472
2.808

00.884

EL— THE FLATWOOD8 REGION.

The flatwoods region oonstitates a belt of level land, varying from 6 to 12 miles in width and averaging about
8 miles, which borders on the west the northeastern prairie region, and traverses the western portions of the counties
of Tippah, Union, Pontotoc, Chickasaw, Olay, Oktibbeha, Noxubee, and tracts in northeastern Winston and Kemper
counties, continuing into Alabama. In its northern portion its eastern outline is sharply defined by an ascent into
the red lands of the Pontotoc ridge, while southward of Houston it merges rather imperceptibly into the equally
level prairie lands. From these, however, it is distinguished by its timber growth, which differs not so much in the
species of the prevailing trees as in their form and development. On the west their outline is also often marked
by an abrupt ascent into the hills of the a<yacent Yellow loam region, notwithstanding the fact that (as appears
from an inspection of the map) the divide between the waters of the Tombigbee and Mississippi lies largely within
or on the western border of the flatwoods belt.

884

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

The region is throoghoat underlaid by strata of heavy, gray clay belonging to the older Tertiary formation,
from which its prevalent soil is almost directly derived, and into which the transition is often almost insensible
within a few feet of the surface. The gray, heavy, intractable soil bears almost throughout a moderately dense
growth of post oak, interspersed with short-leaf pine and black gum, and varied with occasional belts or tracts of
small-sized, round-headed black-jack, where the soil is excessively heavy. The post oak, unlike that of the prairies,
is of a lank, thin growth, with long, rod-like branches pointing upward, and frequently clothed with short, tuft-like,
leafy boughs. Near the streams the growth becomes more sturdy, and hickory as well as oaks appear to some
extent. The streams, however, have scarcely any true bottoms, their shallow, crooked channels being simply
cut into the general level descending slightly toward them. The drainage is therefore exceedingly ^low, and
during the winter rains the country over large areas is covered with a shallow, slow-moving sheet of muddy water.
This, together with the tenacity and depth of the mud, renders the flatwoods belt an almost impassable barrier to
teams in winter and far into the spring. For a like reason, the soil frequently remains untillable until the planting
season is nearly over, and thus subjects the crop to the uncertain chances of a short growing-season ; yet in fsivorable
years, when the water subsides early and the plowing can be done when the soil is just in the right condition, very
good crops of com and cotton are made.

The analyses below show the composition of a specimen of this soil, and of the material from which it was
originally derived:

No. 230. Heavy flatwoods soil from Sec. 4, T. 10, R 2 E., Pontotoc county. Timber, post oak and short-leaf
pine. No perceptible difference between surface soil and subsoil; specimen taken to 12 inches depth. A
yellowish-gray, massy clay, with reddish cleavage planes.

No. 288. Flatwoods clay from an outcrop on same section as above. A roundish nodular, slightly indurated

clay, a little lighter in color than the soil, and not plastic until worked for some time, underlies the soil at a depth

varying from to 4 feet.

Lands of the flatwoods region.

InaolaUe matter.
SolaUe silioa....

PotMh

SodA

Lime

liegneeie

Brown oxide of manganeee.
Peroxide of iron... .........

Alnipfa f^

Phoepboric aoid

Solpbnxlo aoid

Water and organic matter..

Total

Hmnns

Arailable inorganic . . .

Hygroeoopic moiatnre.

abeorbedat

Heavy flat*
▼oodasoiL

Flatwooda
day.

No. 280.

No. 288.

I 77.864

•tr.}--

0.758

a787

0.10«

0.880

0.178

0.400

0.881

1.787

0.167

0.078

ft. 809

7.128

10.808

1L822

a063

0.004

0.088

0.002

8.880

4.429

00.808

100.471

0.800

L800

0.88

19.4

88C.O

lOC.o

A comparison of the chemical composition of the soil and clay material shows a very close agreement, outside
of such differences as are referable to the processes of soil formation, viz, a partial leaching out of lime, magnesia,
and soda and an increase of the elements of plant-food that are specially deficient in the clay (vw, phosphoric and
sulphuric acids), probably as the result of the additions annually made by the decaying vegetation. But as it is,
the soil, though rich in potash, is extremely deficient in phosphates, and, as its color proves, is almost totally devoid
of vegetable matter. In consequence, the soil is unthrifty in a marked degree, and the addition of vegetable
matter, as wdl as the use of phosphate manures, is indicated as of first necessity in taking it into cultivation.

Another kind of soil, the extreme opposite of the one described, occupies considerable tracts in northern Pontotoc
and northern Chickasaw counties. This soil is in the main a fine, almost pulverulent sand or silt, of a gray tint, with
ferruginous dots, the latter in the subsoils sometimes developing into grains of bog ore or " black gravel ^. It shows
but little chauge from the surface downward, even sometimes to the depth of 20 feet, except when (as is frequently
the case) it is underlaid by the heavy soil or clay, in which it seems to form irregular, lake-like basins or channels.
Except in the bottoms of the streams in and below the flatwoods we rarely find the two soils naturally intermingled;
and while the one is remarkable for its heaviness and imperviousness, the other is equally noted for being so light
and leachy that it will hold neither moisture nor manure enough for ordinary crops. Its composition is shown in
the analysis on page 24.

15 o P 225

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Ko. 165. Light flahooods soil from Sec. 36, T. IO3 E. 2 E., Chickasaw connty. Timber almost exclusively post

oak« very little Spanish (^^red") oak {Q.falcata)} huckleberry bushes in depressions. A pale-gray, powdery soUi

ftill of ferruginous dots, increasing downward. No perceptible difference between soil and subsoil ; specimen taken

to the depth of 12 inches.

Light flatwoods soil.

Inaolnble mfttter

Soluble sOioft

PotMh.....

SodA

Lime

Kagnetia

Brown oxide of manganeee

Peroxide of iron

Phosphoric aoid

Sulphuric aoid

Water end organic matter

Total

TTnm^g .........................

Ayailable inorganic

Hygroecopic moisture (air-dried)

SoiL

Ko.ie6.

}

83.676

0.264
0.066
0.082
a 176
0.1U
1.446
2.006
trace.
0.008
1.:

O0l664

a 801
4.064
L70
2.06

The mechanical analysis of the two soils (Nos. 230 and 165) resulted as follows :

Mechanical analysis of flatwoods lands.

POHTOTOC COUHTT.

CHICKABAW COUHtf!

Heayy flatwoods soil.

Light flatwoods soiL

No. 230.

No. 166.

Weiffht of erayel over 1.2*" diameter

Weiffht of irrayel between 1.2 and l^'r r . - r

0.8

0.4

00.8

2.9

7.0

00.1

Weiffht of irravel between 1 and 0.9" . .-■..,-,--

"Fine earth r.r

Total

100.0

MXCHANICAL AK ALTSIB OF fIXI BABTH.

Clay

26.7
82.7
26.8
0.1
2.7
1.6
0.2
0.2

0.0
17.8
24.6
15.0

ia8

&0
2.2
2.0
8.1
6.2
2.8

^'•"j ...- •

Sedhnent of < 0r26"* hydraulic y^ue r.-

Sediment of 0,26"" ,--,-,,,^^^,,

Sediment of 0.6"" .......r

Sediment of 1.0""t, .,.. -.,..-,..-^^

Sediment of 2.0"" ,,,.--,,,. ,,,,,,,.,.

Sediment of 4r0"" -„--..,,,.- ,..,..-,,

Sediment of 8.0""

Sediment of 16.0""

Sediment of 82.0""

Sediment vf 64.0""

Total

08.0

96.8

These analyses show the two soUs to be even more unlike in their mechanical than in their chemical composition.
The extremely small proportion of the coarser sediments in No. 230, with the high clay percentage, shows good
cause for the excessive heaviness. That this can be measurably relieved by the use of the marls which abound on
the Pontotoc ridge is shown by the exx>erience had in their actual use, as well as by the great improvement of this
soil when lying near the foot of the ridge and receiving its washings. The phosphates and lime carried by these
marls of course take a share in this improvement.

The clay percentage of No. 165 is largei: than would have been supposed from its appearance, but its sediments
are so proportioned as to render it powerless toward retentiveness.

While extremely unlike iu mechanical composition, the two chief varieties of flatwoods soil agree very nearly
in their main deficiencies, viz, in phosphates, and apparently also in sulphuric acid ; the percentage of potash in
the light soil is not too small for so deep a soil, but lime is quite low, and humus fair, while very deficient in No. 230.

The mode of improvement indicated is thus nearly the same for both soils, viz: green manuring and liming to

increase the vegetable matter and to render the light soil more retentive, the heavy one lighter; for the same end
226

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

intermixture of the two soils wherever this can be done by deep plowing or diversion of drainage; nse of the
marls of the adjacent Pontotoc ridge for a supply of lime and phosphates; on the small scale, nse of bone meal
on the light soil, and the same, or superphosphate, on the heavy one.

It has been found that here, as in the gray silt prairies of Lonisiana, the treading of cattle improves the light
soil for cultivation. In any case, however, it is far inferior to the heavy soil in durability; the latter, in fact, could
readily be rendered similar to the prairie soil by the liberal use of marls and green mauuring. This may sometimes
be noted where it lies at the foot of the ridge and receives the washings of the marl beds ; and a similar improvement
is noted wherever either the plow or nature has intermingled it with the red ridge soil.

In fair seasons the cotton product averages about 500 or 600 pounds of seed-cotton on the light and 800 or
900 pounds on the heavy soil, when fresh.

[mk

WHITE-OAK PLATWOODS.

This kind of lana forms belts of one-quarter to several miles in width iutervening between the post-oak flatwoods
and the hills on the west in southern Chickasaw and southward in Sumner and northern Oktibbeha. Here, as we
traverse the flatwoods from east to west, we find the dead gray of the post-oak soil gradually changing toward the
yellow, with an increasing amount of sand. The pine and post-oak becomes of sturdier growth, and the Spanish
instead of the black-jack oak mingles with them. As we advance the hickory and white oak appear, and near the
hills become quite prevalent. The surface of the ground also, instead of beiug almost bare, as in the post-oak
flatwoods, is here covered with a fine growth of grass.

The soil is a rather sandy loam, with a tendency to "working like putty" and adhering strongly to the plow
wHen wet. This is apt to occur in consequence of its being underlaid at the depth of 3 or 4 feet by a stratum of
solid, impervious clay, which compels all water to drain slowly sideways. Drainage is therefore the first condition
for its profitable cultivation ; but the fact that its iron has not been accumulated into bog-ore grains proves that
this can be easily done. In favorable seasons it yields even now very fair crops. The soU is best adapted to com
and sweet potatoes, but will make from 500 to 600 pounds of seed-cotton per acre. Its analysis resulted as follows:

No. 147. White-oak flatwooda soil from Sec. 33, T. 14, E. 2 E., Chickasaw couuty. Vegetation as described
above ; depth taken, 6 inches. A fine sandy loam, pale-yellew tint, drying into hard clods when taken wet.

No. 144. Subsoil of above, 6 to 18 inches. Somewhat heavier than the surface soil, but of the same tint, a little
more reddish ; was fairly afloat with soil water at 18 inches at the time when taken (April 11).

White-oak flatwoods.

Insolable matter

Soluble silioa

PotMh •

Soda

Lime

Kagnesi*

Brown oxide of manganese
Peroxide of iron

Alnmtnfli

Phosphoric acid

Snlphnric aoid

Water and organic matter .

Total

Hygroscopic molstiire

absorbed at

CHICKASAW COUNTY.

Soil.

No. 147.

89.802
2.656

}

92.458

0.127
0.100
0.080
0.147
a087
8.057
1.778
0.105
0.018
L998

99l945

8.2a
21 C.o

Subsoil.

Ko. 144.

r 83. 040)
I 6.6905

88.780

0.171
0.152
0.148
0.119
0.051
3.936
4.627
0.208
0.007
2.280

100.879

7.45
18C.O

A comparison of this soil with the light soil (No. 165), which it resembles in many respects, shows it to contain
less potash bnt considerably more phosphoric acid,-and doubtless more vegetable mold. It also contains more
iron, and that in a finely divided condition (in which it renders the soil more absorbent of moisture and heat),
instead of being in the shape of bog-ore 'spots. In the subsoil the only notable difference is that the amounts of
lime and phosphoric acid are notably greater than in the surface soil, and the percentage of the latter ingredient is
especially quite high. This, added to the greater retentiveness of the subsoil, as indicated by the high percentage
of alumina, renders its superior productiveness quite intelligible. After the primary requirement of drainage, that
of potash manures (for which the greensand marls of the Pontotoc ridge are available) will probably soonest be felt.

Bottoms of the flatwoods begion. — Where the heavy soil prevails exclusively the streams, as stated, have
no bottom properly so called, and the soil near them is practically the same as elsewhere ; but where the water-
courses traverse belts of the several different kinds the alluvial soils resulting from theii* intermixture are often
of an excellent mechanical constitution and possess considerable fertility, as indicated by their timber growth.
Among the latter the chestnut-white oak is almost always prominent, and large black and sweet gums, shellbark

227

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI

hickory, and willow oak are rarely wanting. Ash, elm, and tulip tree (<< poplar'') also occur with fireqaency.
Notwithstanding their fertility, these bottoms are as yet but little settled, on account of their undrained condition,
which makes crops late, and also renders them unhealthy.

The numerous streams heading in the flatwoods region generally preserve their characteristics for a
considerable distance beyond its limits, and this is especially the case with those flowing westward toward the
Yalobusha and Yockeney, whose heavily timbered bottoms become and remain submerged and impassable
simultaneously with the flatwoods proper, and for that reason, and also in a measure on account of the heavy
expense of clearing them, are as yet but little settled. Wherever reclaimed, these soils have proved very fertile;
no analyses have yet been made of them.

The following analyses of bottom soils, taken within the hilly region adjoining the flatwoods on the west and
deriving their soils from them, serve to exemplify some of their characters :

No. 180. Bottom soil from Potlockney creek. Sec. 16, T. 10, R. 2 W., La Fayette county. y^Hs^ heavily timbered
as above stated, with the addition of beech and white oak on the higher portions. Soil closely resembling that of
the white-oak flatwoods (see page 23), rather sandy, and when wet "working like putty'*, but very productive when
well cultivated and drained. Soil taken to 8 inches depth, of a tawny tint.

No. 209. Subsoil of above, 8 to 18 inches. Pale yellow, and when taken wet "working like putty ^ and then
hardening into a rock like mass.

No. 369. Soil of bottom of Loosha-Scoona river from Sec. 12, T. 13, R. 2 W., Calhoun county. Timber, the
bottom oaks-, tulip trees, beech, elm, and hornbeam, with some maple and ash. Soil, mouse-color when wet, whitish
when dry ; some ferruginous spots.

No. 370. Subsoil of above, 10 to 18 inches, and whitish, putty-like, with spots and concretions of bog ore.

Bottom Umds of the Flatwoods region.

InaolaUe matter

Solable sOioa

PotMh

SodA

Lime

ICagnada

Brown ozid« of minsaDMe.
Peroxide of lion

Alt! twill •.

Phoephorioeoid

Snlpboric acid

Water and organic matter. .

Total.

Hygroscopic moiatore.
abaorbed at

La Fatktte oommr
(B. 2 W., T. 10, S. 16).

Calhouh county
(B. 2 W., T. 18, 8. 12).

POTLOCKKXT BOTTOM.

loobha-bcooka bottom.

SoiL

SnbaoiL

SoiL

SnbfloU.

No. 180.

No. 299.

No. 369.

No. 370.

W. 880 > ^ „^
L480}*^"*

88.472)

90.640
2.1685*^

77.639 .^ o«.
7.327]^**^

^^:^K-

0.180

0.292

0.494

0.292

aoM

0.083

0.410

0.166

0.1M

0.089

0.286

0.122

0.277

0.894

0.442

0.306

0.284

0.108

0.088

0.108

2.725

2.986

2.067

2.679

&702

8.116

8.888

6.086

0.116

0.076

0.178

0.066

0.014

aoo6

0.004

0.006

4.446

2.686

7.889

X840

100.868

10a424

10a489

100.214

&81

&69

&61

6.68

11C.O

llC.o

I6C.0

I8C.0

According to these analyses these bottom soils differ from the two principal flatwoods soils essentially inibeir
considerably greater percentage of potash and phosphoric acid, which in both, moreover, is larger in the sorfEMse
soil than in the snbsoil. This £act is doubtless connected with the more or less continaous formation of bog ore,
by which the subsoil is being depleted of phosphates through a kind of leaching process. In the white-oak
flatwoods, where this process does not occur, the phosphates in the subsoil are nearly double those in the
surface soil.

The high percentages of potash, lime, and phosphoric add in the LooshaScoona soil, coupled with the large
amount of soluble silica (indicating a corresponding availability of the plant-food) and a desirable moisture
coefficient, indicate that this soil, when reclaimed by drainage, will be highly productive and very durable. In the
latter respect the Potlockney surface soil is likely to be greatly inferior, but this may be balanced by the large
phosphate percentage in the subsoil.

III.— YELLOW LOAM OR OAK UPLANDS BEGION.

The main body of the lands classed under this head lie in northern Mississippi between the flatwoods on the
east and the Mississippi bottom on the west and north of the <' Central prairie region ". Minor bodies of similar
lands, however, occur in the southern part of the state, as shown by the coloring on the map ; and as there are all
degrees of transition from its soils to those of the adjoining regions its limits cannot be verv accurately defined.

The general characteristics of its soils may. be thus stated : Those of the better class of uplands arc formed by
yellow or brownish loam, varying greatly in thickness from a few inches to as much as 20 feet, but averaging

228

*_Ji

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 27

from 3 to 4 feet, and forming mostly light or only moderately heavy soils, underlaid at the depth stated by either
hard-pan or loose sand of the Drift formation. On the i)oorer uplands this loam sabsoil is thin or sometimes
entirely wanting, so that the Drift materials th^mselves, or their intermixtures with the loam, form sandy soils, which,
though sometimes quite productive at first, wear out very rapidly.

Timber trees. — ^The former class of soils is timbered essentially with Spanish, black, and large, sturdy post oak
(Q.falcataj tinctoriaj stellata)^ and more or less hickory, to which, in case either of unusual heaviness or sandiness,
the black-jack oak {Q. nigra) is commonly added. The scarlet oak (locally also called ^'Spanish", Q. coccinea)
also occurs more or less scattered among the predominant growth mentioned, its appearance being considered a
sure indication of a comparatively inferior soil, merging into the '^black-jack ridge" and <' pine-hill" soils of
northern Mississippi. A frequent admixture of hickory, on the contrary, is as surely deemed an indication of
improvement and of a strong soil, the ^* hickory hummocks " forming the slopes toward the streams in the hill
lands being, as a rule, the best.

The appearancfii of the short-leaf pine [Pinus miHs) among the timber growth is always an indication of
inferior durability of the soil, which is mostly a pale-yellow, sandy loam, bearing, in addition to the pine, post and
black-jack oaks, or, in case of extreme sandiness, the latter alone, forming the hopelessly barren <' black-jack
ridges". An admixture of hickory indicates the existence of a more or less retentive and fertile subsoil, and
commonly varies inversely as the pine, so that we usually find the latter disappearing on the lower slopes, while
scarlet, Spanish, and finally the black oak set in as the bottoms are approached. The latter are, as a rule, the
lands chiefly cultivated in the short-leaf pine region.

It is very essential, however, in judging by its timber-growth the position of any of these soils in the scale of
comparison, to take into account not only the kind (species) of the trees, but also their mode of growth. The
black-jack and post oak especially, as species, characterize the poorest as well as the richest upland soils, both of
this region and of the southwestern state>s generally, but their mode of development is very different in each case.
So of the Spanish oak (Q.falcata)^ whose range of soils is almost equally wide, and whose different forms it is not
at all easy to distinguish.

A good-sized post oak of sturdy, thick-set growth, with stout, short, crooked, and rapidly tapering branches
and a dense, well-shaped top, will never be found on a poor or easily exhausted soil^ but let it be small and scrubby,
with numerous small branches and a sparse, tattered top, or its trunk tall, thin, and tapering, with long, rod-like
branches, themselves often clothed with short, leafy twigs, forming an open, irregular, tattered top, and little is to
be expected of the soil's productiveness.

With the black-jack oak the characteristics are somewhat different. The short and knotty black-jack, whose
trunk will sometimes scarcely yield a straight piece long enough for a fence-post and generally places the purchaser of
cord- wood under a grievous disadvantage, which possesses short and very crooked branches and a tattesed, open top,
is characteristic of the poor " black-jack ridges ", and, when very small beside, denotes the very poorest soil. Dense,
rounded tops, with rather low, but straight trunks, belong to the heavy prairie soils of northeastern and central
Mississippi, and, on the other hand, to the fertile but extremely sandy ridge soils of southern Noxubee, Kemper,
Lauderdale, and Jasper; while on the fertile yellow loam soils of northern Marshall, Yalobusha, Holmes, and Yazoo
the black-jack forms large, well-shaped, spreading trees, sometimes 50 feet and more in height, with trunks
comparatively straight, or at least not whimsically knotted like those of the pine hills, but generally leaning over to
one side with a regular curve and without straggling branches on the trunk below the top.

The Spanish (''red") oak (Q.falcata) does not frequent soils of any extreme physical or chemical character.
Soils where this tree prevails are generally easily tilled, but are yet not liable to suffer from drought. As to their
quality, a great deal depends upon the size of the tree. If it be rather stout; if the main branches grow out at a
large angle (more or less squarely), so as to form a rounded top, closed on all sides, the soil is sure to be a strong
one; but if the trunk be lank, slender, and of a whitish hue, forking into straight, slender branches, tending
upward (somewhat in the shape of a broom) and presenting a tattered top, open below, but little can be expected
of the soil.

The same, though on a higher grade of soil, applies to the black oak. The white oak {Q. alba)j when of a sturdy
growth and with rounded top, belongs to the best of '' hummock" soils, but is not a safe mark of strong land when it
is lank and tall with a very long top. It is, of course, not only the mode of growth, but also, and very essentially,
the size of the trees, that requires to be considered in judging of land by its timber growth. Very large trees of
any kind will rarely be found on a poor soil. Nor will the individual trees of any region necessarily exhibit the
same type throughout. It is the average or predominant form and size that must be taken as a guide ; and it
must not be forgotten that where the growth is crowded all peculiarities of form must be greatly modified, or even
entirely lost.

Small trees of the black gum (Nyssa multiflora) are usually an unwelcome {indication in the uplands, and the
chestnut, though not always considered as characterizing a poor soil,' is found almost universally in large, scattered
individuals in the pine lands of northern Mississippi.

FLAT WOODS HILLS.

It has been stated (page 20) that the western limit of the post-oak flatwoods is often sharply defined by
a sudden descent from the hilly country of the region now under consideration. Sometimes the transition is
then very sudden from a very sandy ridge to the stiff gray flatwoods clay soil. But this is by no means always

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

the case ; and even when the transition from hill to level is abrupt we not nncommonly find the lower portion ot
the hills continue the flatwoods character far inland, while sandy knolls cap the crests of the ridges. The transition
region thus formed I shall designate as the Flatwoods hills. This feature is especially developed in ranges 1 E. and
1 W., in La Fayette and Galhonn counties, where numerous strips and escalops of the heavy clay soils, with the
timber growth of the flatwoods, extend westward into the hill country. North of the Tallahatchie river, in Tippah
county, we also meet this feature more or less, the flatwoods belt itself, as previously stated, being there rather
undulatiDg. But inasmuch as the materials of the underlying strata are there largely sandy, the resulting soils are, as
a rule, much less heavy than is the case farther south. Here, as we approach this region from the west, the change Innn
the sandy soils of the pine hills is indicated in the 8hai)e and development of the post, Spanish, and scarlet oaks,
previously referred to. These trees become lank and thin, with long branches forming open tops, and have whitiah
barks. The soil, instead of washing badly, as is the case elsewhere in the yellow-loam region, remains firm, and
simply cracks open in summer, while in winter it forms redoubtable muddy hillsides, of bad repute with teamsters.
Where the sandy strata overlyiog the clay are of some thickness springs usually flow from the upi>er surfiM^ of
the latter, which can often be readily traced by the terraces running along the hillsides.

The soils formed from the heavy clays in these hills are, on the whole, safer in cultivation than those of the
level flatwoods, being better drained ; but they are not thrifty, and, unless well and deeply tilled, as a rule yield
but poor returns. Hence here also it is the lower hillsides and bottoms of streams that are chiefly cultivated, and
their soils being an intermixture of the two extremes they are mostly very productive.

In the portion of this region a^acent to the white-oak flatwoods the white oak is usually found on the hills
also, and where this is the case the soil is less extreme in character, more tractable, and generally more productive.
Such is the case in southeastern Oalhoun and the adjacent portion of Sumner county.

Farther south the clay soils of the flatwoods hills are generally of a more reddish cast, less refractory in tillage,
and more productive, as in Sumner and Choctaw coanties, where they yield as much as 800 pounds of seed-cotton
per acre and hold out remarkably well. In Winston county we find the ^'Noxubee hills", with their productive
red clay soils, bordering the flatwoods on the west as far south as Winstouville. Beyond this point, in Noxubee
and northern Kemper, very sandy ridges form the western limit of the flatwoods; but in eastern Kemper, on the
Bodka, where the flatwoods terminate, we once more find ^^ flatwoods hills'' like those of La Fayette and Oalhoan.

The following analyses of soils from this region indicate their general character:

No. 119. Soil from Sec. 25, T. 0, R. 1. W., just west of McLaurin's creek. La Fayette county. Timber, mainly iKMt
oak, with blackjack and pine, a few scattered Spanish, and sometimes a scarlet oak. Specimen taken to the depth
of 6 inches 5 color, yellowish-buflF, moderately heavy. Beneath, a very stiff, yellow or light orange tinted subsoil.

No. 374. Soil from upland near Bei^ela, just south of the main Yalobusha, Sec. 27, T. 14, R. 1. W., Oalhoun
county. Timber, short-leaf pioe, Spanish, black, and post oak, more or less hickory, and black gum. Trees mostly
of good size, often bearing grape- vines. A fair upland soil, yielding from 700 to 800 pounds of seed-cotton per
acre. Color, gray ; depth, 6 to 8 inches ; not heavy.

No. 367. Subsoil of the above, 8 to 18 inches. Color, dark orange ; quite heavy in tillage.

No. 160. Noxuhee hills subsoil from Sec. 7, T. 15, R. 13 B., Winston county. Timber, white and black oak and
hickory 5 on lower hillsides, some tulip tree (" poplar ^, LiHodmdron). The soil here is quite dark tinted, but is only
a few inches deep. The subsoil analyzed was taken from 3 to 10 inches depth, and thus represents more nearly
the arable soil, which is quite durable, and yields from 800 to 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre when weU
cultivated. This is one of the **red lands" soils to be hereafter considered more in detail.

Lands of the flatwoods hills.

830

IhiolaUe mAttsr

Soluble fflloa

PotMh

Sod*

Lime ,

Kagneeia

Brown oxide of maaganeee .
Peroxide of iron

Alntniff M, ..,. .,

Pboepboric acid

Snlphnric aoid

Water and organic matter ...

Total

Hygrotcopic moiatore

abaorbedat

LA FATBTTB

COUHTT,

M'LAUBIK'S CBSBK.

SoiL

Ko. 119.

92.872
1.682

}

91504

0.152
0.058
0.144
0.180
0.066
L631
L274
0.040
0.036
2.850

100.884

2.71

16 C*

CALHOUN COUKTT,
BKMKLA UPLANDS.

SoiL

No. 374.

91. 498 > ^ ,^
S93.220
1.7225

0.137

0.054

0.173

0.203

0.066

1.872

L522

0.088

8.894

100.229

8.36

110.0

SabaoiL

No. 367.

83.0S0

0.855
0.087
0.167
0.502
0.288
4.616
6.948
0.080

100.255

7.72

110.0

WIN8T0N COUNTY,
NOXUBKK HILLA.

8.280

SabaoiL

Ko. 160.

83.899
2.609

}

86.008

0.198
0.068
a082
0.218
0.062
8.570
4.770
0.271
0.014
4.873

100.154

10.88
17C.O

PHYSICO-GEOaRAPHICAL AND AaRICULTURAL FEATURES. 29

It will be noted that, while the two soils agree very nearly in their composition^ they differ widely £rom the two
subsoils analyzed. As is in fact apparent from inspection, as well as from the statement made by those cultivating
them, <^ the quality of their land depends more upon the subsoil than the surface soil." Deep tillage is therefore
the first point indicated for profitable cultivation and improvement.

The soil from McLanrin's creek is manifestly the poorer, both in phosphoric acid and lime as well as in
vegetable matter, and quite unretentive of moisture; hence subject to drought unless tillage reaches into the subsoil.
The Benela soil and subsoil are twice as rich in phosphates, though even there the amount is not large, and will soon
require to be supplied, while in the subsoil potash is quite abundant, though low in both surfoce soils. The
superior fertility of the Noxubee hills subsoil is obviously due to the unusually large amount of phosphoric acid,
which makes up for its deficiency in lime. The latter is comparatively abundant in the soils from La Fayette and
Calhoun, but more would be beneficial, and can be added with advantage. Both subsoils have a high moisture
coefficient, and thus resist drought : a property probably largely aided by the iron (ferric hydrate) with which
they are tinted.

SHOBT-LEAF PIKE AND OAK UPLANDS.

As in Louisiana, the short-leaf pine (Pinus miHs) rarely occupies the ground exclusively within the state.
It generally occurs intermixed to a greater or less degree with oaks, and its admixture to the oak growth is, as a
rule, considered an indication of a poorer or at least a less durable soil than that which is timbered with the same
oaks alone, unless, indeed, it be in the case of the sandy <^ black-jack ridges". The oaks usually accompanying
it are the post and blackjack. Some small hickory and black gum is rarely wanting, and large chestnut trees
occur scattered throughout even the poorest pine hills.

The pine is generally most abundant on the crests of the ridges, and is more and more displaced by the oaks as
we descend from them. Concurrently, the scarlet and Spanish oak, and often the black oak, make their appearance,
and finally prevail, with hickory, in the smaller bottoms and lower slopes of the region. The latter form the bulk of
the cultivated lands within the short-leaf pine districts. Where the latter border upon the oak uplands or table-
lands the outposts of the pine may be seen afar in small groups, occupying high crests or knolls, usually rooted
among piles of ferruginous sandstone, which caps the higher i)oints almost throughout the hUl region of northern
and middle Mississippi.

Apart frx>m such spots the soil occupied by the pine is mostly very light, often sandy, of a tawny tint, and
underlaid at a few inches depth by a pale-yellow sandy subsoil. This may pass farther down into a pure sand, and
then little can be done with the soil ; or it may be underlaid by a sandy or more or less clayey loam or hard-pan,
forming a good foundation capable of bearing any improvement. These variations, while of course more or less
noticeable in the growth of the pine itself, are most strikingly indicated by the changes in the concomitant trees.
Pine hill plateaus, with a vigorous growth of the tree, are often quite profitably cultivated for from four to eight
years in corn and cotton, yielding from 500 to 800 pounds of the latter per acre, after which the land is usually
" turned out " and a fresh tract cleared. The first, after three or four years' rest, may yield a few more crops,
provided all its soil has not in the meantime been washed away or cut up by gullying; but after that manure alone
will enable it to produce profitable crops. What eftect the simple return of the cottonseed made from the outset
would produce can only be conjectured as yet; and commercial fertilizers have probably never yet touched such
lands within the state.

While, however, the lands of a large portion of the area shown on the map by the pale-red tint are of this
character, and are in part so broken as to be unavailable for cultivation on that account, there are frequently
interspersed upland tracts, more or less extensive, where the pine forms only a subordinate ingredient among the
timber, and where the Spanish, post, scarlet, with some white or black oak, really form the characteristic growth,
and for short distances the j)ine may be entirely absent. Such tracts occur especially on the headwaters of the Big
Black and Yalobusha rivers, in southern Calhoun, in Sumner, and in Choctaw counties, and such lands, with
thorough culture, will produce for eight to ten years from 800 to as much as 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre.
The creek bottoms in this region are wide and especially fine for cotton, and are generally very heavily timbered.
Similar lands occur in the western portion of the area laid down, as well as in western La Fayette, southern Benton,
eastern Tippah, and generally in the region lying east of the prairies in northeastern Mississippi. On the whole,
however, it is a country of small farms, where corn, sweet potatoes, and cereals dispute the ground with cotton,
and should probably over a large portion of the area replace it altogether. Where communications permit, sawing
the pine into lumber forms a lucrative business.

The short-leaf pine country of southern Mississippi differs in some respects from that lying north of the ^' Central
prairie region ". Bidges timbered with short-leaf pine and oak occur interspersed more or less throughout the
northern long-leaf pine region and form its best upland soils, and are usually the sites for villages. But it would
be difficult to map them out in detail. A large continuous tract in eastern Bankin is, however, laid down on the
map, and will be more specially mentioned hereafter.

In southwestern Mississippi there lies between the long- leaf pine region on the east and the ''Cane hills'' on the
west, a belt of hilly medium quality uplands bearing a mixed growth of oaks and short-leaf (with occasional strips
of long-leaf ) pine, and also interspersed with more or less extensive tracts, whose gently undulating surface and
better soil have caused them to be taken into cultivation by preference, as in portions of Franklin and Claiborne
counties. These lands will be again noticed in tihe description of the bordering regions.

231

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Soils of the shobt-leap pine and oak LAima— The following analyses of soils from the short-leaf pine
and oak districts, though few in regard to the large surface to be covered, probably convey a pretty correct idea of
this class of soils :

No. 142. Oak upUmd aaiU from Sec. 22, T. 20, B. 9 E. (about half-way between Bellefontame and Greensboro^,
Sumner county. Oently rolling; timber, almost exclusively Spanish oak {Q. falcata\ with some post oak and
hickory. Soil yellowish-buff; rather light ; taken to 6 inches depth. Produces 700 to 900 pounds of seed-cotton
per acre when fresh.

No. 145. Subsoil of the above, 6 to 15 inches depth ; yellow, clayey.

TSo. 37. PiiM upland soil firom Marion, Lauderdale county. Surface somewhat hilly; timber, post oak, short-
leaf pine, sturdy trees prevalent, intermixed with more or less hickory, Spanish, and some black oak and black
gum. Soil down to 12 inches of a buff color, sandy, and easily tilled.

No. 118. Subsoil of the above. A yellow, sandy loam to 2 feet depth. This soil produces fiedrly from 600 to
700 pounds of seed-cotton per acre, and is interesting because the culture of the Catawba grape has succeeded weD
in the neighborhood, the soil having been worked to the depth of 2 feet.

No. 71. Sail from ^^Hamburg hills ", Sec. 11, T. 7, E. 1 E., 1 mile north of the town, Franklin county. From the
level top of the ridge the country is somewhat broken. I?imber, Spanish, black-jack, black and white oaks, hickory,
magnolia, black gum, sweet gum, some short-leaf pine, and muscadine vines. Color, dun down to7 inches ; amedium
light loam.

No. 73. Subsoil of the above, 7 to 20 inches depth, and apparently unchanged for 3 feet. This soil is said to be
very durable, and when fresh produces from 700 to 900 pounds of seed-cotton per acre.

No. 108. Upland soil from Sec. 47, T. 13, R. 4 E. (Mr. J. F. Brock's land), near Rocky springs, Claiborne county.
Ridgy upland near the western edge of the long-leaf pine region; timber, largely beech and large Spanish oak, also
white and chestnut- white (or basket) oaks, much holly, small magnolias in heads of hollows, and some short-leaf
pine. Soil, pale dun color, somewhat ashy down to 10 inches depth.

No. 112. Subsoil of the above, taken 10 to 18 inches deep. A moderately clayey loam, yellow to brownish,
much heavier than the surface soil. The latter produces well only peanuts and sweet potatoes, and manure remains
unaltered in it for a long time. It is evidently very unretentive.

Short-leaf pine and oak uplands.

Insoluble matter

Soluble silica

Potash

Soda

Lime.

Hafpiesia

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alumina.

Fbosphorio acid

Solpbnrio aoid

Water and orgaalo matter .

Total

Hygroscopio moisture
absorbed at

SUXraB COUHTT, NOBTH OF
0HKRX8B0B0*.

LAUDBBDALB COUMTT, MABION.

Sou.

No. 142.

00.226
2.824

}

itt.550

0.286
0.085
0.092
0.196
0.072
1.889
1.866
0.091
a007
2.834

99.868

8.57

llC.o

Subsoil.

Ko. 145.

76.825
7.838

}

83.658

0.859
0.103
0.087
0.381
0.071
5.151
7.078
0.070
0.008
3.821

SoU.

Subsoil.

Ko. 87.

100.282

&59

UC.o

98.702
1.874

}

95.576

0.095
0.021
0.047
0.115
0.021
0.966
L031
0.019
0.005
L651

99.547

1.56

16C.O

Ko. 118.

83.212
5.386

; 88. 508

0.237
0.082
0.089
0.237
0.037
3.830
4.337
0.061
0.007
2.728

99.743

5.81

16C.0

FBAKKLDT COUITIT, BAMBUBO

CLAIBOBinE OOUBTT, BBOCX*B

mLLB.

fulktahoh.

SoiL

Subsoil.

Soil.

SnbsoiL

Ko. 71.

No. 73.

Ko. 108.

Ko.112.

1.810 i«^«^

''>Z\^^

7. 430 >

7. 910 >

0.140

0.288

0.818

0.288

0.090

0.104

0.087

a064

0.070

0.127

0.137

a090

0.185

0.599

0.600

a498

0.075

0.144

0.072

0.021

2.405

5.672

4.970

4.618

2.098

&106

5.061

5.8n

0.077

0.050

0.025

0.042

0.005

0.006

0.007

0.066

4.310

2.699

2.477

2.767

100. 015

100.163

100. 176

100.543

4.40

8.81

3.64

7.61

22C.«

22C.O

18C.O

The soil from Sumner county is probably a fair representative of the best class of upland soils occurring within
the short-leaf pine region of northern Mississippi, forming tracts a few miles in extent where the pine is scarce or
entirely absent. It is to be regretted that we have no analyses of some pine soil of the same region, but on comparison
with the poorer (though by no means the poorest) soil from Marion we find a wide difference between them as
regards potash, lime, and phosphoric acid, in all of which the Marion soil is several times poorer. But the subsoils
are mot unlike in the two localities, though a slight advantage still remains with the Sumner subsoil. The Hamburg
hills soil stands intermediate between the two former in regard to the main points, potash and phosphates, but is
somewhat richer in lime, and hence is more thrifty. Brock's soil shows a considerable amount of potash, but is,
on the other hand, so poor in phosphates and so unretentive of moisture that the faults complained of in regard to
it are at once explained. A dressing of bone-meal and green manuring are the improvements indicated in this case.

Throughout the whole set we find that the i)erceutage of phosphoric acid is low, the highest being 0.001, the

lowest 0.019 in the soils. The average in the soils is 0.053 ; in the subsoils, 0.050. There can thus be little doubt

that phosphatic fertilizers will be found most ellicacious in sustaining their productiveness, and that deep tillage,

increasing the reteutiveness of the soil and iU sui>ply of potash, will be serviceable in all cases where the subsoil

is not sandy. The use of lime or marl also would seem to be specially called for in order to render active, and thus

available for crops, such supply of plant-food as the soil contains.
2:12

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

THB BED LANDS.

Interspersed among the pine lands of central Mississippi, in Attala, Winston, Leake, Neshoba, and part of
Kemper and Newton connties« there occnr limited areas of generally clayey land, whose deep orange tint stands
in strong contrast to the pecnliarly pale yellow of the prevailing pine-woods soils. The origin of these red lands is
best observed in northwestern Attala, where regular strata of similar material crop ont on the banks of the Big Black
river and its tributaries. There, as well as in the a^acent portion of Holmes county, the orange-colored clay and
sand not nnfrequently contain abundant grains of greensand, so that in places a greensand fertilizer of great value
can be obtained. It is doubtless this circumstance that in a large degree gives rise to the lasting fertility of these
soils, which is keenly appreciated by the inhabitants throughout their region of occurrence. From the fact that the
red-clay stratum is neither very thick nor always continuous, it will be readily inferred that in a hilly country it
must appear sporadically in limited patches along hillsides or forming the tops of ridges or a terrace along streams,
according to the level at which it may accidentally appear on the surface.

The two largest bodies of these red lands occur, respectively, in northwestern Attala, on Zilfa and Poukta
creeks, and in northeastern Winston, where they form the " Noxubee hills'', already referred to in connection with
the ^' Flatwoods hills". The two bodies are connected by numerous patches lying between and not easy to map
out; the characteristic features of the soil are best developed in Attala. The country occupied by it is always
broken (as is the case with the red lands of Louisiana), and the creek bottoms are very narrow, but extremely
fertile, and bear a very heavy growth of timber. On the hills also the timber is unusually large, and consists of
white, post, and black oak, hickory, tulip tree ('^poplar"), and sometimes sweet gum, always with an admixture
of short-leaf pine. Sometimes the light pine- woods soil overlies the red soil for a few inches, but where the latter
alone prevails there seems to be little difference between soil and subsoil, all being of a deep orange tint and quite
heavy. It is not, however, very difficult to till when taken at the right time. Where instead of the clay the similarly-
colored sandy strata come to the surface the soil is often scarcely distinguishable from that of the ordinary pine
woods save by its timber growth. Such is largely the case in the country lying between Zilfa creek and the Big
Black river.

The Noxubee hills, on the southern heads of the Noxubee river, in Winston county, greatly resemble in general
character and timber growth the country on the Poukta — ^the surface broken, bottoms of the streams narrow but
fertile, the country well settled with small farms ; and the soil with very imperfect tillage produces from 800 to
1,000 pounds of seed -cotton per acre and is very durable, in strong contrast to the pale and sandy pine- woods soil,
which produces from 400 to 600 pounds for a few years and is then exhausted.

The following analyses exhibit the composition of some of these soils. One of them (No. 141) has already been
mentioned in connection with the prairie soils, to which it evidently bears a close relation on one hand, while on
the other it manifestly, from its nature, position, and behavior in cultivation, belongs to the class of ^^ red lands ^.

No. 246. Red hills soil from Sec.4,T.14,B.7 E., about 3 miles north of Kosciusko, Attala county, from the brow
of a hill, and not the best of its kind. Timber, white, post, black, and Spanish oaks, hickory, and some short-leaf
pine. A deep orange, rather heavy clay, gritty with sharp sand grains, taken to 12 inches depth ^ no perceptible
difference between surface soil and subsoil.

No. 141. Red ridge soil from Sec. 12, T. 12, R. 18 E., Kemper county. (See " Northeastern prairie region ".)

No. 160. Noxubee hills suhsoilj Sec. 7, T. 15, R. 13 E., Winston county. (See " Northeastern prairie region".)
This soil likewise does not represent the best of its kind.

Red lands.

Insoluble matter

Sdlable sUloa

Potash

Soda

Lime

Magnesia

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Ahimina

Pboepborio aoid

Snlpbnrlo aoid

Water and organlo matter .

Total.

Hnmns

Ayaflable inorganio ..
Hygrosoopio moisture
absorbed at

ATTALA OOUXTT,
HOBTH OF KOS-
CIUSKO.

SoiL

Ko. 946.

}

61.971

0.725
01207
0.820
1.468
0.129
10.500
17.500
0.018

KSMPIBCOUHTT,

riTTUS' PLAN-

TATIOM.

SoiL

Ko. 141.

64.665

13.219

1 67.

784

6.580

ioaoo8

1&60
8C.O

0.431
0.277
a 540
0.836
0.079
7.089
16.071
0.187
0.009
6.922

WIKBTOK OOUXTT,
KOXUBKB BILLS.

SnbsoiL

Ko. 160.

83.890
2.609

}

100.225

0.781
8.256
18.07
llC.o

86.008

0.198
0.068
0.082
0.218
0.082
3.570
4.770
0.271
0.014
4.873

100.154

10.88
17C.O

CABBOLL OOUBTT,
YAIDKM OBBBMBAITDS.

Sandy.

Ko. 266.

56u705

1.604
0.045
0.166
L630

}

84.347

trace.

0.129
7.012

100.638

Clayey.

Ko.268.

{

trace.

78.979

0.945
0.401
0.144
L129
0.177
9.435
4.44»

0.001
4.790

100.443

233

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

A meohanical analysis of the Attala red hills soil, Ko. 246, resulted as follows :

Attala county red hiUs sail.

MBCHAXICAL ikXALTBIB.

Weight of grayel over 1.2"" diftmeter. .
Weight of grsTel between 1.2 and !■*.
Weight of grayel between 1 and 0.0"*.
Sine earth

}

Total

« UECBAXICAL AKALTBI8 OF flH* kABTH.

Clay ,

Sediment of < 0.26"» hydranlio Talne.

Sediment of 0.26»...

Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of

LO— .

2.0—.

4.0~.

&0~.
I«i0— .
82.0—.
64.

Total

SohaoKL

KaM«.

2.0
M.0

100.0

4L2
2S.8

ia.e

2.8
8.7
L8
L8
0.7
2.1
2.4
0.7

96.1

The apparent excessive amount of clay in this soil, as shown abovci is, in part, to be charged to the large
percentage of iron (ferric oxide) contained in it, and nearly all of which in this case accamolates in the finest portion
of the soil. The ferric oxide in the entire soil amounts to 10^ per cent., and probably at least 9 per cent, of that
amount is included in the 41.2 per cent, of '^ clay", of which, therefore, only about 32 per cent, should be counted,
adding the 9 per cent, to the finest sediment. This brings the red soil nearly to the same composition as the Monroe
prairie subsoil, with which it has many points in common.

The Attala soil, by its unusually large percentage of alkalies, shows the presence of small grains of greensand.
Its lime percentage is nearly as high as that of some prairie soils ; its iron and alumina extraordinarily high ; and
the former is so finely diffused and so highly colored as to impart to the soil a very unusual character, especially as
to its hygroscopic power, which is greater than that of any soil that has come under my observation, save only
peat soils. The extremely low percentage of phosphoric acid is very unexpected, and I am inclined to believe it
incorrect, both on account of its actual fertility and of the high percentage of the other soils of the same class. In
more than one respect this peculiar soil deserves farther investigation.

Except as to phosphates, the characters of No. 141 are similar, but less pronounced.

Apart from its large amount of phosphates there is little to distinguish the Noxubee hills soil from other clay
loam soils, and its heaviness is rather surprising, as is its deep tint, with an iron percentage no greater than is found
in common yellow loams.

As an example of the materials ^om which these soils are mainly formed, I give the analysis of a coarse, sandy
mass, bearing abundant greensand grains, which occurs in the railroad cut near Yaiden station, Carroll county, and
has been used with advantage on other soils ; also that of a stiff, gritty clay occurring near the same place and on
the banks of the Big Black river opposite, forming strata of considerable thickness. Extensive deposits of these
materials exist, especially in northeastern Attala, and will doubtless in the future be utilized as fertilizers.

The striking scarcity of phosphates in these materials may explain sufficiently the corresponding feature in the
soil more or less directly derived from them. In all other respects the Attala red lands soil are so promising that
beyond a doubt the use of phosphatic fertilizers on them would be followed by a greatly increased productiveness.

THE SANDY OAK UPLANDS

These are ridgy lands, often intervening between the short-leaf pine country and the " table-lands" proper, or
extending in ridges into them or into the prairie region of central Mississippi. They differ from the pine country
in the absence of the pine and in the alternation of often sharp and sandy ridges, with broader and lower ones
covered with a loam stratum resembling that of the table-lands, but more sandy, ai^, in most cases, inferior to
them in fertility. These bear a fair growth of upland oaks, among which the Spanish oak {Q.falcataj <<red'' oak
of the natives) is perhaps the most prominent, mingled more or less with black, scarlet, and post oak, and, as the
soil grows sandier, with the blackjack. On the sandy ridges the latter reigns supreme, low trees, with a few long,
crooked, and spreading branches, forming an open, " sprangling," tattered top, and is accompanied by huckleberry
bushes. I'all, compact-topped black-jack trees, on the contrary, denote the best class of upland soils in this region^

234

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

the soil being in that case somewhat heavier than that occupied by the other oaks mentioned. EQokory is also a
common ingredient of the timber of the better class of soils, sometimes forming extensive ^' hickory hummock"
tracts of excellent soil.

This description applies more especially to the eastern border of the table-lands of northern Mississippi, and is
most extensively developed in Marshall and La Fayette counties, as shown on the map by a light-yellow color. It
would scarcely be possible, or even useful, to map out in detail elsewhere this transition phase between the short-
leaf pine hills and table-lands bordering the Mississippi bottom.

The subjoined analyses afford an insight into the nature of the soils of this region:

No. 228. Oak uplands soil firom southeast J T. 7, R. 3 W. (Alex. Pegues' place), La Payette county. Pace of country,
rolling 'y timber, Spanish, black, some black-jack and post oak, and hickory ; large and compact trees. Soil, dun color,
light, 5 inches deep, and liable to damage by washing. Cotton product, 800 to 1,000 pounds per acre when land is fresh.

No. 221. Subsoil of above. Brownish-yellow, heavier than surface soil, taken to 18 inches depth. Total
thickness, 4 to 7 feet to hard-pan or sand.

No. 345. BUwTc-jack ridge soil from ridge one-half mile west of the campus of the University of Mississippi,
Oxford, La Payette county. Country somewhat broken; timber on ridge, small black-jack oaks, huckleberry
bushes. Taken to the depth of 6 inches a pale-dun tint, and quite light and sandy.

8am4y oak uplands of La Fayette county.

0AKUPLAXD8.

BLACK-JACK RIDOB.

Soil

SnbeoU.

SoiL

No. 228.

No. 221.

No. 845.

TnMoliihlA mAtter

00.150)

0.119
0.119

• ai47

0.683
0.12«
2.682
2.662
0.154
0.007
2.217

8a 677

0.864
0.135
0.858
0.272
0.450
2.428
4.626
0.045
0.069
8.407

97.002

0.078
0.020
0.142
a 100

Soluble allioa

PotMh

Soda

JAmf^ r . T. , r ■

If SffDMiA

Brown oxide of niAninaiMo

Peroxide uf iron

0.907
0.640

Alamina ^.,,^-,,

PhosDhoric acid

SnlDhuric acid

0.002
0.9U

Water and o»*firj*n1o matter .......r.'..Tr.r.-...T

Total

100.892

100.726

99.887

HyerosooDio moisture

4.09

llC.o

4.68
lOC.o

L89

14C.O

absorbed at

A comparison of the soil and subsoil Nos. 220 and 221 with those from Sumner county (Nos. 142 and 145)
shows that they differ in the main as to their lime percentage, which is considerably greater in both of the La Fayette
soils; hence the absence of pine. The subsoils are alike as to potash. The distribution of the phosphates is also
aUke, and averages about the same amount in both, while in neither is it very large, and will therefore soon
require replacement.

The Black-jack ridge soil is wretchedly poor in every ingredient except lime, of which it has still a better
supply than the average pine- woods soils; but its potash and phosphates are very deficient, and it is droughty
beside, even more so than the pine soil.

As compared with the adjacent brown-loam table-lands, the sandy oak uplands differ in that their subsoils
are generally inclined to be sandy instead of heavier than the surface soils, and also poorer in phosphates. Hence,
although deep tillage is desirable, it will not be as much of an improvement as in the case of the table-lands, nor
are the soils as durable under exhaustive cultivation.

THE BBQVTN-LOAM TABLE-LANDS.

This rolling or gently undulating upland region, producing a large proi)ortion (about 30 per cent.) of the best
upland cotton grown in the state of Mississippi, forms a belt running more or less parallel to the '^ bluff" of the
Mississippi bottom, which bounds it on the west, while on the east it Is bordered by the pine and oak uplands
previously described. In Western Tennessee, and down to the latitude of Ashland, about 12 miles south of the
state line of Mississippi, its width east and west is from 60 to 65 miles ; but it thence rapidly contracts to about 20
miles near Panola, and maintains about that width for a hundred miles to the southward (to the line of Yazoo
county), where it again widens to about 40 miles, so as to reach Pearl river in the counties of Madison and
Hinds, about 50 miles southward. Here it abuts against the pine hills of Gopiah, while its most westerly portion,

3* COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

hf^ tte ^Uaff or loen'' formation which here underlies it, continues skirting the Mississippi bluff, witb
rarjimg fion 15 to 6 mUe^ to the Louisiana line. Its total area thus outlined is about 5,800 square miles :

dbe faniken eo mili j lying along the river bluff from Yazoo city southward will be separately described under the
of ^tbe Cane hUls", embracing about 1,800 square miles of the above area.

Ezdading these firom consideration, the character of the main body may be thus summed up :

The soQ-fiirming material is a stratum of brown or yellowish-brown loam, usually from 6 to 8 feet thick, bat
I moch as 20 feet or as little as 3 feet. It is commonly underlaid by sand of various colors, firom white
to red, more or less cemented, and sometimes entirely loose, belonging to the stratified '< Drift" formq^on. The
timber ooosistB essentially of oaks and hickories. Of the former, the post oak is perhaps the tree most universally
pfesent. On the heavier soils it is largely accompanied by the black-jack oak {Q, ferruginea)] on the lighter
more prevalently by Spanish and black oak (Q. falcata and Q. tinctoria). The sturdy and vigorous growth
of the post oak and the corresponding forms of the other trees, denoting a soil of great fertility, are very
strikingly developed here. Near the eastern border of the region, often not very well defined, we often find
sandy ridges extending in fh>m the adjacent hilly lands or forming isolated outliers, whether of oak alone or
mingled with short-leaved *pine. From the country of the latter character the transition to the table-lands
proper is generally quite sudden, while that to the sandy oak hills is often quite insensible, as in northwestern
La Fayette. On the western border the gradual admixture of tulip tree ('' poplar'', Liriodendron)y sweet gum, and
sometimes ash and sassafras with the other timber forms a transition to the lands of the immediate Mississippi
bluff. Originally all this region had the appearance of a natural park, being an open forest with little undergrowth,
but waving with long grass and brilliant flowers. The ranging of cattle and the indiscriminate and injudicious
firing of the dry leaves and grass have sadly changed the aspect even of such tracts as have remained uncultivated,
the washing away of the surface soil and the formation of deep gullies having frequently not only rendered the
fair face of the country unsightly, but also seriously impaired its agricultural value. Elsewhere the open woods
have to a great extent been marred by the springing up of a thick undergrowth of young saplings, which of yore
were kept down in favor of the grass pasture by the regular and judiciously-timed burning practiced by the Indians.

GThe surface soil as at present existing is not generally rich in vegetable matter, and often differs but little in
aspect from the subsoil found at a depth of 2 or 3 feet ; yet usually the surface layer to the depth of 10 or 12
inches is darker and more mellow in cultivation thait the deeper layers, having at least a shade of '^mulatto" tint
added to the reddish brown of the subsoil. The latter is mostly a '^clay loam", with a tendency to increasing
heaviness as we approach the edge of the ^^ bottom" and the reverse as we near its eastern border.

The following analyses of soils and subsoils from different portions of the table-land region illustrate their
composition, although they leave unrepresented the large counties from Marshall and De Soto to GarrolL The
specimens analyzed, however, agree so nearly in regard to the main points that it is fair to presume that the part
of the region lying intermediate between them would not difter materially from them as to their general nature :

No. 216. Soil /rani the table-lands on the divide between Coldwater and Wolf rivers, near Lamar, Benton
county. Sec. 30, T. 2, R. 1 W. (Clayton's plantation), from a level tract below the summit ridge. Timber, black-jack,
post oak, and hickory, with some sweet gum and a few Spanish oaks {Q. falcata) ; all large and well-formed
compact-topped trees. Depth taken, 10 inches^ quite mellow, and of a '^ mulatto" tint.

No. 235. Subsoil of the above ; depth, 10 to 20 inches — a pretty solid, brownish loam, heavier than the soil.

No. 219. Subsoil from same section of land, but taken on the summit ridge itself. Same depth as last, and
altogether resembling it.

No. 53. Soil of loam uplands from near Eichland, Holmes county, Sec. 23, T. 13, B. 5 £. (Mr. Elias Taylor's
land). Gently rolling surface; timber, post and Spanish oak, large, and ground covered with fine grass. Taken 8
inches deep. When fresh yields 1,200 pounds of seed-cotton per acre; after 10 years, still 750 pounds.

No. 56. Subsoil of above, but taken in a gully some distance off, at the depth of 3 feet, the loam appearing
perfectly uniform for from 6 to 15 feet, and sometimes more.

No. 55. Cultivated soil from same locality, taken to 6 inches depth. Has'beeu cultivated exhaustively, all but
one year of fallow, for twenty-one years in corn and cotton. Yields about 500 pounds of seed-cotton per acre.

No. 298. Loam upland subsoil from Dr. T. J. Catchings' place. Sec. 2, T. 4, B. 3 W., Hinds county. Gently
undulating ; timber, black-jack, post, and Spanish oaks, all large and sturdy, with well-formed tops ; some tall
hickory ; undergrowth of dogwood and persimmon. Depth taken, 9 to 20 inches. A light porous loam, easily
tilled ; color, brownish yellow. Seed-cotton product, about 1,200 pounds per acre when fresh.

No. 348. Loam upland soil from H. O. Dixon's place. Sec. 26, T. 6, B. 1 W. (about half way between Clinton and
Jackson), Hinds county. Gently undulating; timber, Spanish, post, and black-jack .oaks, hickory, some walnut
and mulberry. Depth taken, 8 inches; easily tilled, pervious enough for drainage. Yields from 1,000 to 1,500
pounds of seed-cotton per acre; after eight years' culture, 600 to 1,000. »

No. 349. Subsoil of the above taken 8 to liO inches deep. Color, yellow to red; heavier than the surface soil,

No. 232. Broun loam upland soil from James Watson's place, 5^ miles nortbeast of Port Gibson, Claiborne
county. This is in the ** Cane hills" region, as previously stated, and is a continuation of the loam stratum of the table-
lands, but is modified by the underlying formation. Face of tbe country, hilly; specimen taken from level summit of
236

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPmCAL AND A-GMCULTURAL FEATURES.

ridge; timber, white, chesinnt white, black and some Spanish oaks, beech, hickory, sweet and black gam, linden,

sassafras, elm, some magnolia. Soil taken to 8 inches depth; rather light, of a buff tint; fine.

Ko. 233. Subsoil of the above. Depth taken, 8 to 20 inches. A yellowish-brown loam, much heavier than the

BorfiEMesoiL

Brawn-loam tabUAwnds.

BiRTOH OOUSTT.

Holmes oouvtt.

Hnnw oouBTT.

Claibobxi oouvtt.

TABLB-LAXDS.

RICHLAVD.

UPLAHD.

tTPLAHD
LOAM.

UPLAHD.

UPLAHD LOAM.

•

virgin.

ColtiTated.

Son.

SabaoiL

Bidge snbsoiL

RoO.

SnbMiL

Son.

SnbMiL

ttoiL

SnbaoiL

soa

SabaoiL

No. 210.

Ko.236.

Ko. 219.

K0.68.

K0.6O.

No. 66.

No. 298.

Na848.

Na849.

No. 232.

No. 288.

Intdlable matter

1 88.347

0.649
0.082
0.245
0.479
0.700
4.708
0.282
0.008
0.002
4.196

88.998

0.700
0.041
0.189
0.607
a882
8.802
7.729
0.230
0.054
2.710

57a 680^M MA

^12.3005®*-®^
0.080
0.090
0.270
0.460
0.000
6.U0
&090
0.210
a020
8.140

89.009

0.304
0.064
0.260
0.807
0.874
2.180
8.664
0.074
a 018
8.667

86.482

0.702
a 176
0.892
0.760
0.260
4.287
6.787
0.087
0.049
2.246

92.264>g. ,^
j^gg^J94.146

0.129
a048
0.169
a251
0.141
1.027
LJ08
a 071

a 012

2.019

80.788

a034
0.186
0.200
L029
0.159
4.927
&940
0.161
0.070
8.289

0.417
0.042
0.150
0.140
0.087
1.893
8.157
0.038
0.019
2.804

74.179>«. -gg
10.017r^^*"

0.619
0.131
0.204
0.020
0.039
4.100
&747
0.060
0.029
8.039

87.673

0.468
0.124
0.244
0.545
0.205
3.281
4.842
0.105
0.028
8.073

Soluble lilioA

79.477

PotMh

a 741

Soda

0.248

Lime , , ........

0.238

Mftgniwlft

0.830

Br. oxide of manganese . .
Pefoxide of iron

0.340
6.085

Alnmina.

8.849

Fboephoric add

0.093

SnlDbnrio add

trace.

Water and organic matter.

8.490

Total

100.897

100.899

100.900

100.287

ioao96

100.800

100.894

100.669

100.280

100.428

99.962

0.787
0.088
&84
17 0.0

0.718
0.718
6.18
21C.O

Ayailable inorganic

Hygroeoopic moistora . . .
absorbed at . .

7.42
17C.O

4.70
17 0.0

6.84
9 0.0

2.48
110.0

&64

17 0.0

4.20
9 0.*'

7.28
100.0

9.09

8 0.0

The following are the mechanical analyses of soils from the oak uplands region thas far made. No. 397 is fh>m
the portion of the ^< sandy oak uplands" lying nearest the table-land area, while No. 219 is representative of the
table-lands of Marshall and Benton counties. See the descriptive notes preceding the table.

Weigbt of giftyel OTor L^* diameter. .
Waiglil of giarel between L2 and I"*..
•Weigbt of grayel between 1 and 0.^".
Fine earth

Total.

MICHAXIOAL AH ALTBIB OF FIHl BABTH.

Clay

Sediment of <0.26"" bydranUo ralne.

Sediment of 0.2

Sediment of 0.1

Sediment of l.(

Sediment of 2.0^..

Sediment of 4.0»..

Sediment of 8.0^..

Sediment of 10.0"*.

Sediment of 82.(

Sediment of 04.

Total.

OOUHTT.

Upland anbeoIL

No. 887.

100.0

}

17.2

1&9

27.8

l&O

18.1

8.0

0.8

0.2

0.8

96.5

BIHTOM OOUHTT.

Table-land
•nbooil.

NO.S19.

}

0.2
99.8

100.0

{

19.2

20.7

16.1

18.1

7.8

9.8

0.8

2.8

97.8

These analyses place both subsoils into the heavier class of loams, while the surface soilsof both are considerably
lighter. Both soils and subsoils have, when exposed to rain and followed by sunshine, the disagreeable peculiarity
of forming a hard surface crust, which should be broken whenever formed, as it is a serious hinderance to the success
of crops in critical seasons.

837

36 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The common chemical characteristics of these soils, and especially of their subsoils, are high percentages of
XK)tash and lime, with nsaally a large sapply of phosphoric acid in ttte subsoil, at least of the heavier lands;
while in the case of the lighter soils, such as that of the Bichland neighborhood, as well as in that from soathem
Hinds, the phosphates are rather low, even deficient in the latter case. The great depth and x>6rviousne8s of the
arable layer in these cases makes up for the smaller proportion of phosphates, but there can be no doubt that the
want of these will be the first felt when the soil becomes ^Hired'', and that supplying them will greatly increase
the crops, as has in fact already been demonstrated in many cases. Potash is not likely to become defieient in the
subsoils at least; but the supply of humus is not large (as is evident from inspection), and green manuring is
one of the most important improvements indicated. Originally this was not the case, for the sarface soils were, and in
protected spots still are, dark-colored to almost black when wet ; but the washing away of the surface and the
burning of the woods have served to deplete the surface of this and other important ingredients, so that over a large
portion of the region it is the subsoil, and not the surface soil, as given in the analysis, that the farmer has to deal
with. In this case the addition of vegetable matter is, of course, doubly important, and green manuring of
denuded tracts with cow-pease is one of the most convenient, as it has proved to be one of the best, means of
improvement. The analyses show that so long as the subsoil remains the question of restoration of a 'Hired'^
soil is simply one of time and judicious management. But unfortunately there has been a great deal of almost
irretrievable damage done to these lands by allowing them to be washed and finally gullied by the rains, the water
ultimately cutting into the underlying sand, and thereafter undermining the soil stratum and converting the hHI:
lands into unavailable sand-hills, while the valleys also have been filled up with a mixture of sand and soil, the
former usually predominating, rendering them almost as unavailable for cultivation as the hills. Conindering
that these lands are doubly valuable from being naturally underdrained by the underlying sand and gravely this
dilapidation is doubly to be deplored. In the eastern portion of the table-land belt, especially in the counties
of Benton, Marshall, western La Fayette, and southward, where the surface is somewhat rolling, the amount of
injury thus done is of wide extent, and, when once begun, difficalt to check. It usuaUy originates in the practice
of plowing up and down hill instead of horizontally, the plowing being very shallow at that.' Deep tillage and
^^horizontalizing'' of the hillsides are therefore the first and most indispensable measures to be taken against this
evil. It is of little avail to manure the soil so long as its best portion is allowed to wash away. The unsightly
red-scarred slopes, so lamentably abundant along the line of the Central railroad, can with proper management
be mostly restored to productiveness; but every year the evil increases in a geometrical ratio, and if unchecked
must result in the serious and permanent injury to the agricultural interests of one of the fairest and naturally
most highly favored portions of the state.

Bottom soils of the yellow-loam begion. — The bottom soils of the yellow-loam region are quite variable,
according to the location and size of the water-courses and the direction in which they flow. The bottom soils of
the smaller streams heading and emptying within the region are usually quite light, and sometimes even very sandy
where ravines have been cut into the drift sands, in consequence of neglect of old fields. The same is generally
true of streams flowing nearly north and south, while those having (as is mostly the case) a southwesterly course, and
heading in the clay hUls bordering the flatwoods on the west or in the flatwoods themselves, have heavy bottom
soils, at least in the upper part of their course. Such is the case especially with the Loosha-Scoona and Yockeney-
Patafa, and to a greater or less degree also with the Tallahatchie and Yalobusha rivers, while the Big Black and Pearl,
whose heads remain almost entirely west of the flatwoods territory, have almost throughout light bottom soils.

The second bottoms, or ^'hummocks", usually elevated from 2 to as much as 5 feet above the first bottom and
seldom reached by high water now, are almost throughout lighter than the corresponding first-bottom soils, and
are, on the whole, considered to be less durable. They are frequently " white" or light-gray silts, with a subsoil
of similar character, and usually contain more or less bog-ore spots or grains, proving that at some time they were
subject to long-continaed submergence or at least to drenching with water.

The following analyses, though not as numerous as could be desired for the representation of all the different
classes of bottom and ^'hummock" soils in the region, will convey some general idea of their character:

No. 366. Sail of the first bottom of the Tallahatchie river^ taken near the town of Panola, R. 7 W., T. 9, Sec.
6, Panola county. Thid is just at the point where the river bottom begins to widen out preparatory to entering
the great Yazoo bottom plain. It is very heavily timbered, and is traversed by numerous cypress sloughs. The-
prominent trees are sweet gum, tulip tree (very large), hickories, ash, chestnut-white and water oaks, walnut, much
holly, hornbeam, etc. The soil is dark-colored, rather light, and the same to the depth of 18 inches or more. Depth
of the sample taken, 12 inches. A highly productive soil, but subject to annual overflows.

No. 369. Soil of the bottom of the Loosha-Scoona river j 11. 1 W., T. 14, Sec. 4, on the Pittsborough and
Sarcpta road, Calhoun county. The timber is beech, sweet and black gum, ash, chestnut-white and water oaks,.
shellbark and other bottom hickories, hornbeam, elm, maple, holly, and box elder. Trees mostly tall and vigorous.
The soil is remarkably shallow for a bottom soil, being only about 6 inches deep, and when dry does not appear to
be very heavy, though when wet it forms extremely tough mud, and is heavy in tillage. The subsoil is gray, with,
brown dots when wet, very pale gray when dry, and pulverizes readily on exposure to the weather. Being annual^
ovorflowed nntil late in the season, it has hardly as yet been tried in cultivation.

No. 370. Subsoil of the above, taken C to 18 inches deep. Somewhat heavier than the surtace soil.

238

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

No. 180. Soil from the bottom of Potlochney creek, E, 2 W., T. 10, Sec. 10, La Fayette county. Very heavily
timbered, so as to render clearing very costly. Beech very prevalent on the higher " ridges'', less so in the lower
ground ; white oak very prevalent; also chestuut-white oak, sweet gum, tulip tree or poplar, shellbark hickory, black
gum, holly, ironwood, cucumber tree (Magnolia a^niminata), snowdrop tree (Halesia tetraptera), dogwood, red-bud,
ash, and maple. The soil is a fine-grained loam of a mouse color to the depth of about 15 inches ; tills like putty
when too wet, which is apt to be the case pretty late in spring, but is very productive in good seasons.

No. 299. Subsoil of the above, 12 to 20 inches in depth. Pale yellow, fine, sandy, disposed to be wet, putty-
like. In low places becomes pale-bluish, and full of bog-ore spots.

No. 136. SMfrom the bottom of Besachitto creek, R. 10 E., T. 19, Sec. 11, Choctaw county. Timber, beech, ash,
shellbark hickory, and others, chestnut- white, water and willow, and bottom scarlet oaks (Q. coccinea), sweet gum,
tulip tree, ironwood, holly ; timber mostly large. Soil, a light loam, blackish, color nearly the same for 2 feet,
when it becomes heavier and of a paler tint. Very productive. This may be considered as a type of good bottom
soils of the smaller streams in the yellow-loam region.

On the Big Black river and its tributaries the hummock or second bottom lands are usually quite extensive,
and lie conveniently for cultivation. The following analyses convey a general view of their composition :

No. 156. Hummock soil from the second bottom of the Big Black river at the crossing of the Greensborough and
Bankston road, B. 9 E., T. 19, Sec. 33, Sumner county. A mellow, chocolate-colored soil, occupying a bench only
3 to 4 feet above the fir^ bottom, about 1 mile wide, and well settled here. Sample taken to the depth of 12
inches. Timber, beech, hickory, elm, ash, ironwood, red-bud, etc. The first bottom here is so much subject to
overflow as to have hardly been tried, but the soil resembles that of the hummock.

No. 58. Hummock soil from the flat bordering the Big Black river on the Benton-Canton road on the south side
for several miles width. A light gray, sometimes white, powdery soil, taken to the depth of 6 inches ; timber, a
rather undersized growth of post, willow, and some black-jack oaks of the low, spreading type. The land is not
very productive, and is liable to injury from drought, but is nevertheless largely in cultivation.

No. 57. Subsoil of the above taken from 6 to 12 inches depth. Nearly of the same tint as the subsoil, but
somewhat stiffer, putty-like when wet, and with occasional spots of bog ore, indicating lack of drainage. Lower
down the subsoil becomes somewhat darker and stiffer, and is full of bog-ore gravel.

No. 48. Hummock soil from the flat intervening between the uplands and the bottom of the Big Black river
near Vaiden station, R. 6 E., T. 17, Sec. 17, Carroll county. A light, silty soil, of a dark-gray tint for about 12
inches depth. It is mainly treeless, but has occasional clumps of moderate-sized post oaks, and occasionally some
small sweet gum. This soil when fresh produces good Irish potatoes and cereals (small grain), but is not suited to
com or cotton ; is somewhat liable to injury from drought.

No. 62. Subsoil of the above, a fine, slightly clayey sand of a pale-yellow tint, very pervious. Seems to
continue with little change to a depth of about 15 feet, where water is found in wells.

No. 50. Yockanookana hummock soil, from the lower slope of the uplands toward the Yockanookaua river, R. 6

E., T. 12, Sec. 13 (John T. Donald's land), Leake county. Soil apparently the same to the depth of 18 inches;

sample taken to tiie depth of 12 inches. It is gray, ashy, full of bogore spots ] well timbered witli mockemut

hickory, white, black, scarlet, and Spanish oaks, elm, beech, and bottom pine, all moderately-sized trees. The soil

produces fairly well.

Bottom lands of the Yellow-loam region.

Iniohible matter

Soluble Billoa

PotMh -

SodA ...

Lime

HagnesiA

Brown oxide of maaganeM
Peroxide of iron

AlnmliMi

Phosphoric add

Solphuric aoid

Water and organic matter

Total

Hygroscopic moistore —
abflorbedat

Pahola couhtt

(H. 7 W., T. 9.

S.6).

Oatjiouh oouhtt
(B. 1 W.. T. 14» & 4).

LaFatbttb coimrr
(R. 2 W., T. 10, S. 10).

Choctaw ^

COUSTY

(B.10E.,T.19,

S.11).

TALLAHATCHIB.

LOOSHA4COOVA BOTTOM.

POTLOCKSKT BOTTOM.

BBSACHITTO BOT-
TOM.

Bottom toil.

Soil

SnhMiL

SoiL

SnbfloiL

SoiL

iro.865i

Ko.369.

Ko.870.

No. 180.

Ko.299.

Ko.186.

8L6061 „^ -^

77.530)
_ ___ I 84. 806
7.827)

7.228 3

87. 880 > «^ ^„

8&472)

> 9a640
2.168*

2.630)

0.788

0.404

0.292

0.180

0.202

0.228

0.234

0.410

0.165

0.099

0.088

0.265

0.285

0.122

0.156

a089

0.076

0.828

0.442

0.806

0.277

0.894

0.237

a US

0.088

0.108

0.284

0.108

0.142

2.576

2.057

2.570

2.725

2.036

1.871

&087

8.886

5.085

2.702

8.115

2.968

0.125

0.178

0.056

0.115

0.075

0.083

0.035

0.004

a 005

0.014

0.006

0.009

8.001

7.889

2.849

4.446

2.686

3.639

100.751

100.499

100.214

100.368

100.424

10a076

6.12

6.61

5.68

6.81

6.69

5.62

llC.o

15C.»

18C.O

UC.o

13C.O

239

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Bottom lands of the TelUno-loam region — Oontinned.

litaulubit matttr

rUihiblo ■nic*

TutiMUi

HoiU

Mino

Mutfiit^nlik

KiHiwn oxUle of mangMieM

iVitulilduf iron

AluiulnA

tMiuN|ihoHo wU\

Hulphurlo RctU ..'.

NVn(iti< nud ortfanlo matter .

'IV

rotiu

lt,\tfrt)«(H)plo moUtare
HltNorbml Mi

SUMHSBOOUHTT

(B.9B.,T.19.

&32).

BIO BLACK HUM-
MOCK.

8oiL

No. 156.

95.9012
8.642

}

89.884

0.172
0.084
0.093
0.250
0.450
2.873
3.470
0.175
0.007
2.969

99.877

4.65

UC.o

MAOnOH CODBTT
(B. U B., T. 10, S. 84).

BIO BLACK HUMMOCK.

SoiL

No. 58.

SnbeoiL

No. 57.

90.847

0.341

0.044

0.163 i

0.153

0.231

1.014

2.102

0.079

0.028

1.892

88.842)
4.984)

96.894

1.20

8C.O

93.826

0.142
0.063
0.063
0.151
0.034
1.668
2.980
0.064

aoo5

L760

100.256

i.34

22C.O

Cabboll COUNTT
(B.6E.,T.17,&17).

POBT-OAK HUMMOCK.

3oiL

No. 48.

80.301

0.192
0.080
0.075
0.067
0.117
L214
4.378
0.054
0.046
4.093

Sabsofl.

No. 52.

86.080)
4.150)

99.702

4.66

llC.o

90.280

0.212
0.076
0.059
0.238
0.127
3.921
3.260
0.076
0.008
2.573

100.780

5.11

21C.O

Lbakbooubtt.

(fi. 6 B., T. IX
&13).

TOCKAMOOKAXA

Soa

Kg. 50.

93.228

a207
0.042

Ol10«
0.122
0.9S2
8.038
0.041

aoM

2.230

100.093

3. 25

6C.O

A prominent and coincident featare of all these bottom soils is their lightness, as indicated by the high insoluble
roHidiioM, ranging from 86.6 to 90.8, and their nearly uniform moisture coefficient, ranging between 5.5 and 6.8,
(Miluinoed, no doubt, by a considerable percentage of humus. The supply of lime in the surface soils is larger
tJiiiu in the corresponding soils of the adjacent uplands (see previous table), and is also uniformly larger in the
HurtUco than in the subsoils. The phosphoric acid appears to follow a similar law as between soil and subsoil, but
In ovidently not always increased as compared with the corresponding upland soils. The potash x>ercentage8 are
at U^ttst not materially higher than in the uplands. It is evidently the greater depth of the soil layer proper, itB
oa«y tillage and more uniform moisture throughout the growing season, that causes the preference shown to bottom
HollH by cultivators.

The second bottom soils are more siliceous in character on the average, and their potash percentages are, on
the whole, remarkably low, not only in this region, but elsewhere, as compared with the corresponding upland soils.
This ingredient will therefore probably have to be supplied soon. The lime percentages are at least not increased,
uud the same is true of the phosphates, even as determined in the analyses, which includes that contained in the
almost universally present bog-ore grains. The gray hummock soils are probably in the great minority of cases
deficient in both lime and phosphates, as they nearly always are in humus, and their easy and convenient tillability
renders their improvement by green manuring and the use of bone-meal or superphosphates specially advisable.
Ko. 156 is exceptional in its supply of phosphates, which renders it very productive when fresh. It does not,
however, lie entirely above the reach of present overflows, and differs little from the first-bottom soil. The soil
fh)m Vaiden seems to be in great need of more lime, which would probably correct its behavior toward com and
<*otton crops. The low moisture absorption of No. 58 explains its droughtiness, and its color, as well as the small
percentage of volatile matter, shows it to be in need of a supply of vegetable matter by green manuring.

Natubai. febtilizebs in the yellow loam begion. — The formation underlying the greater part of the
region (^< northern lignitic'' Tertiary) furnishes no materials of any fertilizing qualities. In its southern portion,
however, adjoining the << Central prairie" region, not only are the marls of that country accessible for use, but there
also occur within the limits of the Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, at a number of points somewhat irregularly
distributed, deposits of sandy or clayey materials rich in greensand or glauconite grains, which are rich in potash
in a very available form. Similar materials occur in New Jersey and elsewhere, and are used with great advantage
on lands exhausted by cultivation, in vegetable gardens, etc. When concentrated by washing, the greensand will
bear shipment by rail. The occurrence of greensands near Vaiden, Carroll county, has been mentioned in the
description of the red lands, where also analyses are given. Materials not quite so rich occur in the banks of the
Chickasawhay river, at and near Enterprise, Clarke county, and thence northwestward are often found in outcropping
in Clarke and Newton counties. Their agricultural value may be pretty correctly estimated from the amount of soft
greenish grains contained in the mass, which, when cut wet, make green streaks on the smooth surface. They
sometimes contain a little lime, but rarely any considerable amount of phosphoric acid.

240

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 39

IV.— THE ALLUVIAL EEGION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

The portion of the alluvial plain of the Mississippi river lying within the state, and popularly known as the
"Yazoo bottom", forms a lozenge-shaped body of 7,200 square miles between the eastward sweep of the bluflf
and a corresponding westward curve of the river, at whose head lies the city of Memphis, and which terminates
southward at the high ridge (the "Walnut hills'') which abuts upon the river at Vicksburg. The area thus
outlined has a maximum length a little west of south of about 190 miles, while its greatest width, almost at
its geometrical center, is 70 miles. Southward of Vicksburg the river keeps close to the eastern highland, whose
base it frequently washes (see "Cane hills region"), and between which only small and isolated alluvial areas
(aggregating^ to a total of about 250 square miles) are found within the state. The main areii includes the following
counties and parts of counties: all of Tunica, Quitman, Coahoma, Bolivar,. Sunflower, Le Flore, Washington,
Sharkey, and Issaquena, the western portions of De Soto, Panola, Tallahatchie, Grenada, Holmes, Yazoo, and
Warren.

Topography. — The Mississippi river receives scarcely any of the drainage of the bottom plain until it has
all accumulated in the Yazoo. This, as has been previously explained (see " general features of the alluvial plain", etc.,
above), arises Irom the fact that the main river occupies a ridge forming the highest portion of a cross section of
the alluvial plain, so that its overflow at any given point will And the lowest portion at the foot of the eastern and
wesiteru blutt' (the Yazoo or Washita) and will tend to flood the entire intervening regions. Originally several
natural channels formed outlets toward either side, in Mississippi especially, the Yazoo pass diverging from the main
river at Moon lake above Friar's point and connecting with the Coldwater river about 18 miles to the eastward.
But the attempt to prevent the flooding of the back country by means of levees on the main river involved the
closing of these lateral outlets — a policy that has given rise to much bitter local controverey.

The surface of the entire region is apparently level, but each stream or " bayou '^ repeats on a small scale the
feature of the main river just referred to, viz, it is bordered by a ridge formed of its own deposits, higher than
the " back country" intervening between it and its next neighbor, which is usually, in part at least, occupied by low
swamps. The variations qf surface level do not usually exceed 15 feet, and the entire region presents a network
of meandering bayous, creeks, and rivers, and is dotted with innumerable small lakes, mostly representing deserted
" bends " of water-courses.

There are three chief drainage systems, parallel with each other, through which the waters find their way
slowly and sluggishly southward, where they finally unite with the main Yazoo and empty into the Mississippi river.
These are the Coldwater and Yazoo basin on the extreme east, from the Tennessee line southward ; the Sunflower
basin and its tributaries, occupying a large region centrally from Friar's point southward to the Yazoo; and the
Deer creek basin on the southwest, a narrow but important region, nearly adjoining the Mississippi river, from
Washington county southward to the Yazoo. Within these several regions the lands are so low that the bayous
often form connecting liilks between the waters of the streams without afiecting their general southward course.

The timber growth of the swamps is mostly cypress, sometimes hung with long moss {Tillandsia usneoides), and
sometimes having an undergrowth of greenbrier, etc., though mostly open. On either side, and reaching to the
ridges, the forest growth is more dense, often accompanied by a heavy undergrowth of ijane (eanebrakes), and
comprises a great variety of trees, according as the land is of the rich buckshot character of the Deer creek region,
the ''white land" variety of the Sunflower basin, or of the dark loam of the Yazoo. The ridges themselves also
are heavily timbered with sweet gum, oak, maple, etc.

The larger proportion of the population and of the lands under cultivation within the region is found along the
high lands that border the Mississippi river and along Deer creek. Here, too, are the great cotton plantations,
where the largest part of the cotton is produced, its acreage comprising from 15 to 20 per cent, or even more, of its
total area. Cotton is the chief crop of the region, its product being about 30 per cent, of that of the entire state.
Its average yield per acre is 984 pounds of seed-cotton, the maximum of 1,272 pounds being reached in Issaquena
county.

Water for domestic purposes is throughout the bottom obtained either from shallow wells or by means of
iron tubes driven into the ground, the water always rising to within 30 feet of the surface, so that even where the
tubes are driven GO or 80 feet the water can easily be drawn up with pumps. It sometimes even happens that the
water approaches to within 2 feet of the surface. In some parts of the region the people prefer to use the water
from the bayous. This, however, during the summer months, and when the bayous are shallow, is of a greenish
tint and "very hard", t. c, calcareous, and charged with vegetable matter, causing malarious diseases.

Soil varieties. — The lands of the alluvial region embrace several distinct varieties, which are thus given by
Professor Smith :

I. A tUu'kijray sandy loaniy forming the front-land of many of the creeks and bayous of the bottom. Tlie timber
growth is chiefly honey -locust, hackberry, and sweet gum. The soil of the Doawood ridge and the front hinds of
the Mississippi in most places are of this class.

40 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

2. A Hf/ht ffnty Hamhj loam^ with yellowish and oraDge streaks. This loam is sometimes of a light-yellow color,
foriiiH \\\K^ lVoii(-hui(i of Hunflower and Tchula lake (Holmes county), and occurs frequently elsewhere. The growth
Im Hwcot K>>'"» ina|»h», water and willow oaks, elm, and hackberry. .

X A UffUoolorcd Handy ^^clay^\ or fine sediment, of close texture, with a few yellow spots. The growth is chiefly
Mwaiiip <*lH'HUnit, oak, aiu] sweet gum, with some ash, maple, and willow oak. TJbis is the soil of the ''white lands^,
which orciirs c.Iiirfly on Silver creek and on the bayous on both sides of the Sunflower river westward to about
half way lM^i\v(»cn the Hunflower river and Deer creek, while northward it is found to some extent on the east side
of tho I)()^\vo<hI ridge, in Tallahatchie county.

1. A l4ffhf pray tenacious ^^huckshoV^ clay^ traversed by cracks, streaked witli ferruginous coloring matter, and
i^niinhlhifc upon (»xp08ure to the weather into angular fragments — " buckshot." This occurs chiefly in the northern
piirt of the n^gion.

/). .4 /»/<//', dark' gray ^^buckshoV^ clay, sometimes nearly black, traversed in all directions by cracks, aud full of
HtroakH \\\\{\ dots of ferruginous matter. This is the " buckshot " clay ^ar excellence^ and forms the most fertile soil
In t he ImM toni. The territory of which it forms the surface soil is generally subject to overflow, but there is usually
H h(.i'l|> from one-half to three-fourths of a mile wide back from the banks of the streams under cultivation. The
growth is Hweet gum, overcup, willow and water oaks, hackberry, and pecan; near the banks of the streams an
nndergrowt h of cane, and in the low swamps no cane, but an open cypress glade.

\^{)V convenience^ In a more detailed description of the alluvial region the three separate drainage systems or
buHhiN and the Dogwood ridge given above will be treated of as distinct divisions, each of which is pretty well
<^haracteil/e.<l by its peculiar soil varieties.

Thv Yazoo banin. — ^The belt of country thus designated lies in the eastern portion of the alluvial region,
riMinhhi;^ from the Tennessee line southward to Vicksburg, and is included between the '* Dogwood ridge" on the
weNt. an<l the bluff or upland region on the east. It covers an area of about 2,600 square miles, and is drained on
the north by the Ooldwater river, and south by the Yazoo, the name given to the former after its junction with the
Tallahat<j|iie. These rivers have numerous tributaries, the largest and most importa;nt of which enter the alluvial
region from the highlands of the east. Its surface is also interspersed with many lakes, creeks, and bayous, which
oil (»n erosH-connect the larger streams. The greater part of the belt is a dense swamp of low overflowed lands, the
higher lands occurring only along the streams themselves in strips from one-half to a mile wide, aud comprising the
only aiMMiH at present under cultivation or inhabited. The soil of the lowlands in the upper half of the belt is mostly
a bhw.k loam, very rich and productive when it can be cultivated. Near the junction of the Coldwater and the
'i'nllahat<'Jiie rivers there is some "white land" having a yellowish sandy soil a few inches deep and a white clay
HubHoil, inobjibly the most northerly occurrence of that variety which so largely characterizes the Sunflower river
He(^t4on. Its timber growth here embraces sweet gum, swamp chestnut oak, with some white oak and hickory.
'I'lio bottoms of tlie east side of the Tallahatchie are from 10 to 15 miles wide, have a light yellowish-sandy loam
soil, and a growth of sweet gum, swamp chestnut oak, with a few white oaks, holly, and an undergrowth of cane.
Tlui banks of the Coldwater river are high and more or less sandy, and are largely' under cultivation to within 4
miles of the junction, yielding very flue crops of cotton.

The southern half of this Yazoo belt is more swampy in character than the northern, the low, overflowed
Hwamps being wider and more extensive. In other respects the two are very similar, and we here find only close to
the streams lands high enough above overflow to warrant cultivation, while the low^ swamps occupy the interior with
their dark loam or ''greenish-yellow, hard-baked'' soils (as near the mouth of the Sunflower river), largely covered
with an abundant growth of pecan, also red and willow oaks, large and symmetrical, a few water oaks, honey-
locust, sycamore, sweet gum, and hackberry. At the foot of the bluflf on the east the lands embrace » dark sandy
loam, very rich and productive, formed to a large extent by the washings from the loess hills.

A feature of the southern half of the Yazoo river region is the o^jcurrence of a number of so-called "prairies"
upon the higher portions of the bottom lands. They have none of the characteristics of the prairies of other parts
of the state, except that they were destitute of large trees when first fouud. They are j)robjibly si mply the " clearings''
made by the Indians, as shell heaps and ludiau mounds usually are founil near tliem. Their soil is ai)parently the
same 4is that of the surrounding bottoms, and they are now occupied by plantations.

Honey island, in the western part of Holmes county, is formed by the Yjizoo river on the west and Tchula lake
and creek on the east, the latter being simply an old bed or "cut-oft*" of the river. The island is narrow,
interspersed with lakes, the higher and tillable lands lying cliiefly along the river and around the lake, and
comprising the somewhat sandy, light-grayish " front-land" soils. The immediate western border of the lake is 5
or G feet lower than the ridge, and has a soil less sandy, breaking up into clods similar to the buckshot clay. Both
ridge and lower lauds have ferruginous streaks, and are timbered with overcup aud very large willow oaks, sweet
gum, and hackberry. On the immediate border of the lake there are large cypress trees.

PHYSICO-GEOGHAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

At the northern end of Honey island, on the banks of the bayou connecting Tshula lake with the Yazoo river,
there is a blaff bank, showing at a low stage of water a section of over 22 feet, which exhibits strikingly the structure
of the beds underlying the bottom lands. These are here chiefly dark-colored clays with ferruginous concretions.

The following is an analysis of a bottom soil of the Tallahatchie river in the northern part of the basin :

No. 354. Light sandy loanij Tallahatchie river bottom, Tallahatchie county.

Bottom land of Tallahatchie river j Tallahatchie county.

Inaolable matter

Soluble silica

PotMh

Soda

Lime...

Magtiesia

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alomina

Phoephorio add

Solphnric acid

Water and organic matter .

Total

Hygroscopic moisture

absorbed at

Soti.

No.

854.

87.146
4.798

|0L944

0.301

0.084

0.301

0.385

0.158

2.120

2.151

0.112

0.005

2.644

100. 205"

4.79

22C.O

Dogwood ridge. — ^The divide between the drainage system of the Yazoo and Sunflower rivers is a low sandy ridge,
or rather a series of ridges, above overflow, reaching from near the Mississippi river a few miles north of Friar's
point, in Coahoma county, southward and slightly eastward to the Yazoo river, hi Holmes county. The irregular
outline, as determined by the United States delta survey and marked out on the map accompanying this report,
places this ridge in the eastern part of Coahoma, the southwestern comer of TaHahatchie, and the central (north and
south) part of Le Flore, the widths varying from about 3 miles in the north and central portions to from 6 to 9 miles
in Le Flore county, the entire area being a little more than 300 square miles. It is well settled, especially in its
northern part.

This ridge is a marked feature of the Alluvial region, and is doubtless the continuation of the ver^^ similar
Crowley's ridge of the Arkansas region, which passes southward from the northeastern part of the state, with finally
an eastern bend to Helena, on the river, and nearly opposite Friar's point. Here the river has apparently cut
through it, but in Mississippi, after continuing this course for a few miles, the ridge turns southward. The soils
of the two nearly adjoining portions of the ridges are very similar to each other in character; the growth* also is
similar, except that poplar characterizes the one and dogwood the other. It is interesting to note that the white
clays of the blufis of Crowley's ridge are in Mississippi apparently spread out over the bottoms and form tbe " white
lands " of the bayous and creeks of the Sunflower region west of the Dogwood ridge.

The chief characteristics of the ridge are light, slightly yellowish, sandy loam soils, showing no change at a
depth of 2 feet, and timbered with a growth of dogwood, sweet gum, holly, ash, sassafras, and a kind of prickly
pear. The soil is as productive as that of the river- front lands, which it resembles, except in being lighter in color,
is easily tilled, and when turned up and exposed to the sun and weather it turns dark, like tbe other soils. The
lower lauds or depressions in this belt have light yellowish buckshot clays similar to the clays on the bank of the
Sunflower river.

The following analyses show the composition of these two soils:

No. 395. Light sandy loam soil of the Dogwood ridgCj taken between Swan lake and Cypress bayou, from the
plantation of Governor J. L. Alcorn, Coahoma county ; vegetation, dogwood, sweet gum, holly, ash, and sassafras ;
depth taken, 2 feet.

No. 396. Light yellow buckshot clay from the edge of a depression or pond on the ridge near the above soil ;
growth, as above ; depth taken, 8 inches.

243

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Dogwood ridge sails.

]biaolable matter

Soluble silica

Potash

Soda

Lime

Magnesia

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

• Phosphoric acid

Sulphuric acid

Water and orguiic matter.

Total

Hygroscopic moisture

absorbed at

DOGWOOD UIDOB 8OII0,
COAHOMA COUNTY.

Sandy loam ridge Buckshot clay ;
soil. bottom soil. I

No. 395.

83.886
7.022

90.908

0.392
0.086
0.259
0. 596
0.086
2.601
3.593
0.142
0.010
2.007

No. 396.

CBOWLBT'8 BIDOB,

LBB COUXTT,

ABKAX8AS.

Sandy loam solL

No. 480.

75. 513
10.895

86.408

0.600
0.146
0.380
0.972
0.133
2.804
4.457
0.278
0.007
4.401

89.415

0.386
0.034
0.125
0.831
0.245
1.965
3.037
0.221

100.770

3.95
lOC.o

100.598

6.04
12C.O

a 463

99.722

2.55
Air-dried.

The ridge soil, sandy as it is, shows good fertility in its percentages of potash «and phosphoric acid and its
abundance of lime and magnesia, while the buckshot clay in a like manner upholds the high reputation of that class
of lands in other parts of this state and Arkansas. A comparison of the sandy loam ridge soil with that of Crowley's
ridge of Arkansas (taken in Lee county, on the southern part of the ridge, and where the growth is nearly the
same) shows marked similarity in composition, and points to a probable common origin and time of deposition.

The Sunflower basin. — ^Ihe Sunflower river and its chief tributary, the bayou Phalia, drain that part of the
alluyial region lying westward from the Dogwood ridge to Deer creek, and covers about 3,000 square miles.
The river rises near Friar's point, in Coahoma county, and flows southward with a sluggish motion to the Yazoo.
The bayou Phalia, rising in the western part of Bolivar county, unites with it in Washington county, while on the
south Silver creek, Little Sunflower, and other streams aid in draining that section. The surface of the entire
country is very level, well timbered, and very largely swampy, with innumerable lakes and bayous, and is subject
to overflows from the Mississippi river. The only high lands occur along the larger streams or at a very short
distance from them, the surface thus being shaped into parallel troughs, whose edges border the streams, and
whose lowest portions, midway between, are marked by dense cypress swamps, matted with bamboo brier. Th&
lands of the region may be classed as front-land^ ba^k-land, and swamps. The former, or front-lands^ comprise the
higher lands or low ridges along the streams, mostly above ordinary overflow, and, with their light-gray, sandy
loam soils, are the chief farming lands of the region. The banks of the Lower Sunflower are not high, the sandy
front-land soils that overlie the clays of the bottoms being only from 4 to G feet thick in many localities, and, being
subject to overflow, are therefore not very largely under cultivation. The timber growth is mostly sweet gum,
maple, water and willow oaks, elm, and hackberry. These soils, with their yellowish and orange streaks, resemble
those of Tchula lake and of Honey island. Holmes county.

The lands of Indian bayou, in Sharkey county, seem to be the highest of the region, and for many miles are
nnder cultivation. The soil of both this and Straight's bayou, as well as of Silver creek on the south, belong to
that class known as white lands ^ being underlaid by a white ^^clay" and timbered with swamp chestnut-oak and
sweet gum, some hickory, holly, water and willow oaks, dogwood, etc., and often with an undergrowth of cane.

Bayou Phalia is in a swamp, and seems not to have any ridge lands along its border.

The hack-lands of the Sunflower region, viz, those of the lowlands back from the streams, are mostly stiff clays^
embracing the two varieties known as white lands and buckshot cluys. The former occupy nearly if not all of the
region east of the Sunflower river, and 6 miles west of it, in Sharkey county, being overlaid as they approach Deer
oreek by the black buckshot clays. They are most extensive in the southern half of the Sunflower region, and have
as a characteristic growth sweet gum and swamp chestnut oak. The white lands are not prized very highly in
comparison with others of the alluvial region, though they are said to yield very largely in seed-cotton per acre.

The buckshot clays of the back-lands in the northern part of the region are light gray in color and tenacious,
traversed with ferruginous coloring matter, and crumble, upon exposure to the weather, into angular fragments.
(See analysis in the description of Dogwood ridge.)

In the southern part we find the dark gray or sometimes nearly black and richer variety belonging to the Deer
creek region (under which it is more fully described) overlying the "white lands" of the Sunflower region just
mentioned.

244

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

The following analyses are given to show the composition of the lands of the Sunflower region :

No. 394. Sunflower riverfront-land soil from a ridge on the bank of the river at Buck's ferry, Issaquena county.
Depth taken, about 12 inches ; a light-gray sandy loam, with a growth of sweet gum, maple, willow oak, elm, and
hackberry.

No. 376. ^^ White land^^ soil of Indian bayou front-land, taken near C. Gillespie's, Sunflower county. Depth, 6
inches ; growth, sweet gum, swamp chestnut oak, hickory, holly, water, willow, and red oaks, dogwood, some maple
and ash, with an undergrowth of cane. Soil is grayish, and somewhat sandy.

No. 377. Subsoil of the above. A whitish, close clay, with reddish flecks, and somewhat "jointy ". Depth taken,

5 to 18 inches.

Front-lands of the Sunflower river region.

Insoluble matter .. 7L164

Soluble silica

Potash

Soda

Lime

Magnesia

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alnmina

Phosphoric aoid

Sulpharic acid

Water and organic matter .

Total.

Hygroscopic moisture
absorbed at

IBSAQUKNA
COUNTY.

SuNFLOWBB couimr.

BUITFLOWKB BIVEB
BAKDT BIDGB.

Uf DIAV BATOC

r WHTTB LAND.

Soil.

Subsoil.

No. 394.

No. 876.

No. 377.

IZl--^

87.898 >, «..
4.036 l*^^

".:j:i-"

0.401

0.226

0.305

0.191

0.116

0.079

0.406

0.153

0.147

0.696 ;

0.256

0.892

0.011

0.048

0.050

3.845

L848

2.812

6.889

2.565

2.996

0.165

0.162

0.288

0.016
2.748

0.042
a 013

1.499

! 100. 038

100.863

99.779

7.39

4.07

5.68

15C.O

14C.O

16C.O

The sandy ridge soil of the Sanflower river, No. 394, is far more clayey than its name wonld indicate, and
resembles rather the light buckshot soils of the northern part of the region both in this and the amounts of potash,
phosphoric acid, lime, and magnesia. Were it higher above overflow it would be classed as the most valuable
of the ridge or uplands. Its high lime percentage accounts for its superiority over the white lands. The soil and
subsoil of Indian bayou show a strong resemblance to each other, the latter naturally being a little richer in its
important elements, but showing little of the clayey characteristic to be expected from its popular name, "white
clay lauds." It is rather a fine white sediment, very close-textured, so as to appear as clay. Both soil and subsoil
are fairly supplied with all of the elements of fertility, and strongly resemble in their composition the soil of the
Dogwood ridge. The high phosphoric acid percentage in the subsoil suggests that its want of thriftiness may be
attributable to physical defects, among which probably is want of adequate drainage for so close a soil. It could
also probably be hereafter improved by liming.

The Beer Greek regioti, — This region embraces a narrow belt on the west between the Sunflower and the
Mississippi rivers, from the southwestern part of Bolivar county south to the Yazoo river — in all not more than
1,300 square miles in area. Deer creek is the most important stream, and with its tributaries. Black and Steel's
bayous, drains the country southward into the Yazoo. As in the other regions, its level surface is dotted with
lakes, and has a network of bayous, which often interconnect the sluggish waters of the larger streams. The
higher lands, as usual, lie along the stream, felling inland toward the low swamps, that for the most part are under
water or are too boggy for cultivation, being also subject to overflows from the Mississippi river. The river landsare
high and not subject to inundation, and, extending back some distance inland, embrace the chiefly settled portion
as well as the largest plantations of the region. The soil of this high laud is a dark alluvial loam, very rich and
productive. The timber growth along the immediate river bank (often very sandy) is mostly cottonwood, while
inland it embraces honey-locust, hackberry, and sweet gum.

On the immediate banks of Deer creek and Steel's bayou, as well as on Black bayou, there are low ridges of
dark-gray sandy loam, some 200 yards in width, above ordinary' overflows, timbered with honey-locust in great
abundance; also pecan, water and willow oaks, and sweet gum. In the upper Deer Creek region these ridges are
higher and largely under cultivation.

The Deer creek region is, however, esj)ecially noted for its extremely rich "buckshot" soils, that occur very

extensively, and, taken as a whole, are in their percentages of plant-food the richest yet found. The ** Buckshot"

occupies the lowlands of the country, and is subject to overflow, levees hfiving been constructed for protection, and

is usually densely timbered with a growth of sweet gum, i)ecaii, willow and water oaks, hackberry, and honey-locust

near the streams and an undergrowth of cane. The soil is a stiff*, dark clay, traversed by cracks, nnd mottled with

245

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

spots of ferruginous matter. Upon drying it breaks up into little angular fragments, giving rise to the popular name.
Another of its characteristics is the formation of hillocks or small ridges wheiever it forms the surface soil, the
result of its bulging upward when drying and crumbling. There is no change in its character for several feet in
depth. In the lower swamps thie growth is mostly cypress, more op^n, the trees often being covered with long
moss (Tillandsia umeaides). The following analysis shows the chemical composition of a fair sample of this soil:
So. 390. DarJe stiff buckshot sail of Deer creek back-land from the plantation of J. D. Hill, Issaquena county.
Depth taken, 12 inches ; growth, sweet gum, hackberry, honey-locust, pecan, willow and water oaks, with an

^^ ^^ ' Beer creek buckshot soil, Issaquena county.

SoU.

Intolnble BQAtter

Solablo silioft

PotMh

Sod*

Lime

HagnesiA

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

Phosphoric acid

Solphnrio acid

Water and organic matter .

Total

Uygrosoopio moisture

absorbed at

No. 890.

51.0«l
20.704

}

7L767

L104
0.825
1.849
L66S
a 119
6.818
ia689
0.804
0.024
7.369

100.883

1'tikoti ivM a whole, the plant-food percentages in this soil are probably unexcelled by any soil in the world thus

ftir ivniMiiitird.

i Nil Ion on MiIh buckshot land grows to the height of 10 or 15 feet, and is said to yield as much as 1,000 pounds
f iMilfnii lint' JN'T acjre. Much of the land is under cultivation, and to its high product per acre is doubtless due
Mm lilal* r«nU of Issaquena in this regard among the counties of the cotton states.

I ^nf Ion RorinH to produce best on that portion partly covered with the loam of the higher lands, thus indicating,
iiM ItnpPf "" tliHt is required to make it a soil of maximum fertility,

l^hvhtt niral composition of the bottom soils. — ^The following analyses are of interest as showing the wide differences
Iff llio fiini'liimical composition of some of these soils, more especially of those which may be considered as modem
ilMiORiln jw ftompared with those of more ancient origin, represented by the buckshot soil:

FASOLA COUHTT.

Tallahatchie
bottom soil.

No. 865.

MECHAHICAL JJIALTBIB.

Weight of gravel over 1.2*" diameter .
Weight of gravel between 1.2 and !■■.
Weight of gravel between 1 and 0.6"* .
Fine earth

846

Total

MKCHAIIICAL AKALTBIB OF FOU KASTB.

Clay

Sediment of <0. 25*" hydranlio valne.
Sediment of 0.25""

0.(

l.(

2.0~

4.0~.

8.0—

Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of l&O—
Sediment of 82.0—
Sediment of 64.0—.

Total

0.1
99.9

100.0

9.6
25.4

ia8

20.4

9.4
2.7
L8

0.1

0.1 >
0.1)

9&9

flUHFLOWBB
COURTT.

White land sab-
sou.

Ko. 877.

COAHOMiS
COUKTY.

IS8AQUE3fA
COUHTT.

Dogwood-ridge
soiL

Backshot soil.

No. 895.

No. 390.

190.0

loao

100.0

5.5

80.2

2.0

4.8

13.9

19.8

16.9

2.4

8.0

0.8
96.8

10.4
8.7

ao
a9

14.0

2L8

21.5

3.7

0.1
99.6

loao

0.2

9a8

}

44.4

88.2

3.7

*1.6
0.8
0.8

0.4

loai

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPIIICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 45

The buckshot soil, with its 44.4 per cent, of clay and 47.2 of the two finest sediments, contrasts strongly with
the modern alluvial soils with from 6 to 10 per cent, of clay and 18 to 45 of the sediments. The Dogwood ridge
soil, taken alone, contrasts even more strongly, there being a great predominance of the coarser silts.

The above results, however, do not adequately explain, the singular property of the buckshot, which causes it
to disintegrate with great energy on drying even when it has been worked wet. The same property is manifested,
though to less degree, by the black prairie soils of the northeastern region, and is doubtless connected with the
calcareous nature of both ibaterials.

v.- THE CANEHILLS REGION.

Along the edge of the Mississippi bottom above Vicksburg, and below that point along the river itself, we find
a narrow belt of ridgy, often broken land, from 3 to 10 and in places up to 15 miles wide, rising abruptly from the
bottom or river level not unfrequently to a height of from 400 to 600 feet, and probably more at the most elevated
points, which seem to lie on either side of the line between the states of Mississippi and Louisiana, forming from
some points of view a wilderness of veritable peaks. Thence southward the level gradually sinks, and the sharp
ridges flatten out into the gently undulating plateau country on which Port Hudson and Baton Bouge are situated.
The latter city stands on the last spur of the uplands, which thence fall off rapidly into the great delta plain. (See
map and text. La. Bep., p. 21.)

The peculiar surface features of this bordering belt are in the main due to the presence, either at or near the
surface, of a deposit of fine calcareous silt, which at one time obviously covered the entire bottom plain, but is now
represented only by the belt in question, and on the Louisiana side by a few isolated patches lying on top of the
hill-tops in the Washita country (see La. Kep., p. 23). It is substantially the same deposit that forms the " bluffs"
of the upper Mississippi and lower Missouri, and is hence known as the ^< bluff" or (from its German congener)
the "loess" formation, evidently deposited in fresh- water lakes or gently-flowing broad rivers. It is characterized
by containing numerous oddly-shaped concretions of carbonate of lime (^Hufa"), and near the landward edge
by abundance of shells of land snails as well as bones of large land animals.

The loess material, though but slightly cemented and easily crushed by the hand or plow, is remarkable for its
resistance to denudation or washing away by water. Hence the valleys are mostly narrow, V-shaped troughs,
separated by sharp-backed ridges wherever the same material forms the surface. But very frequently there lies
above the silt, and sharply defined from it, a stratum 4 to 8 feet thick of a yellow, clayey loam, similar to that of
the "table-lands" above described, and forming tracts of level, high plateau land quite closely resembling that of
northern Mississippi and westerp Tennessee, of which it is in fact the continuation. It is mainly timbered with oaks,
white, chestnut- white, black, and some Spanish, with more or less hickory, sweet and black gum, and where the silt
does not lie very deep (as on the brows of the hills) or mingles with the loam (as on the slox>es) there is an increasing
admixture of holly, linn or basswood, elm, large sassafras, tulip tree, hornbeam, and some magnolia. The " bottom "
character of this timber growth is supplemented, in places protected from cattle, by a dense growth of cane, covering
the hills from base to top. This was originally the case all over this region, which is hence to this day designated
as "the cane hills". The approach of the calcareous silt to the surface is indicated by the accession or predominance
of lime- loving trees, such as "poplar" or tulip tree, mulberry, honey-locust, and, lower down, crab-apple, red haw,
and sycamore. The beech is found more or less throughout. The greater part of the ridges formed of the loess
fJone are at this time, however, altogether treeless.

Springs are rare in the cane hills, since the water percolates into the silt very rapidly. Streams heading within
the region mostly go dry in summer, and their water, as well as that of wells, is hard and limy. The larger
streams traversing the region — ^the Big Black river. Bayou Pierre, and the Homochitto and Buffalo rivers — have
rather narrow valleys within it, and the flood-plains are mostly above ordinary overflow, while the beds are very
wide, often very sandy, and in them the stream meanders to and fro and sometimes loses itself in the dry season.

This having been one of the earliest settled portions of the state, but little land susceptible of cultivation has
remained untouched; and the cultivated lands, originally highly productive, have by the usual process of exhaustive
cultivation, turning out, and washing away of the surface soil been greatly reduced in fertility. The Bermuda grass
has almost throughout taken possession of the slopes, preventing their washing and affording pasturage for cattle.

The soils of the Cane-hills region are not very much varied. Outside of the bottoms only two materials, each
of nearly uniform composition, contribute to their formation, viz, the calcareous silt and the yellow or brown loam
of the hill- tops, which intermingle in varying proportions on the slopes. The following analyses convey a fair idea
of the characteristics of these materials :

No. 232. Loam upland soil from James Watson's place, 5^ miles northeast of Port Gibson, Olaibome county.
Timber growth, mainly oaks, as enumerated above ; sample, taken to the depth of 8 inches, of a buff color, and
considerably lighter in working than the loam subsoil.

No. 233. Brown loam subsoil of the above, taken from 8 to 20 inches depth. A moderately clayey- loam, about
7 feet in thickness, overlying the calcareous silt in the level hilLtops.

No. 113. Magnolia upland soil from a hilly tract on Widow's branch of the Bayou Pierre, about Sec. 8, T. 11,
B. 11 E., 4 miles southwest of Port Gibson, Olaibome county. Vegetation, magnolia and cucumber tree

247

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

(itf. grandiflora and macrophylla) and cane. This tract is only a few miles in extent, on which the large-leaved

magnolia thrives ; a tree it has been found difficult to grow in other localities of apparently similar soil and climate,

e. g.j Natchez. The soil is a light chocolate-colored loam; taken to the depth of 10 inches.

No. 114. Subsoil of the above. Yellowish-brown loam, heavier than the surface soil, taken from 10 to 24 inches

depth.

Cane-hills lands, Claiborne county.

WATSOM'B LOAM.

MAOKOLIA UPLAIO).

SoU.

No. 282.

Inaolable maitor.
Soluble silica —

Potaah

Soda

}

Lime

liagnesiu

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

Phosphoric acid

Sulphuric acid —

Water and organic mailer .

Total

Hnmns

Available inorganic ..

Hygroscopic moistare

absorbed at

87.573

0.458
0.124
0.244
0.545
0.205
8.231
4.842
0.105
0.028
8.073

100.428

Subsoil.

SoU.

Ko. 233.

79. 477

0.741
0.248
0.238
0.830
0.346
5.635
8.840
0.092
trace.
3.496

No. 113.

86.304

4.604>

^90. 098

0.230
0.042
0.279
0.293
0.137
2.236
3.245
0.128
0.013
2.941

SnbsoiL

No. 114.

72.348
9.490

1 81.

838

99.952

100.542

0.445
0.078
0.381
0.705
0.051
4.030
7.894
0.062
a088
8.319

99.761

-I

0.718

0.718 i

0.518 I

21 C.o I

9.09
8 C.o

3. 30

7.53
21 C.o

It will be seen that these soils differ from the better class of soils in the northerly portion of the yellow loam
region only by a somewhat greater proportion of lime (which is especially noticeable in the magnolia soil) and a
smaller supply of phosphoric acid. When fresh, they yielded a 400-pound bale, or 1,200 to 1,300 pounds of seed-
cotton per acre, and some of these soils yield even now, after long exhaustive cultivation, from 900 to 1,000 pounds
of the same. The perviousuess of the underlying loess material, and the resistance of the latter to washing away,
has greatly restricted the damage to the land, so grievously apparent in northeastern Mississippi.

The composition of the calcareous silt is shown in the following analyses :

No. 237. Calcareous silt or loess from a hillside cut near James Watson's place, Claiborne county (see table),
about 10 feet below its highest level at this point. Vegetation, the lime-loving trees mentioned, with some oaks.
A yellowish-buff, line silt, mostly impalpable, somewhat coherent, floury to the touch; contains more or less
calcareous concretions of various sizes, and snail shells.

No. 116. Loess material from the "magnolia upland'' near Widow's branch, Claiborne county (see table);
resembles the preceding ; a little more grayish.

Loess lands, Claiborne county.

^^Li's^*^ Magnolia upland.

No. 116.

Insoluble matter.

Soluble Hilica

Potanii

Soda

Lime

Magnesia

Brown oxido of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

Phosphoric acid

Sulphuric acid

Carbonic a4.*id

Water

Total

Hygroscopic moisture
absorbed at

248

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

The mechanical analysis of No. 237 resulted as follows :

LoesSj Claiborne county.

lOCHANICAL AKILTBIB.

Weight of gravel over 1.2"" diameter .
Weight of gravel between 1.2 and I"" .
Weight of gravel between 1 and 0.
Fine earth

Near J. Wataon'a.

No. 237.

Total

MECHANICAL ANALTSIS OP FIXB BABTH.

Clay

Sediment of < 0.25
Sediment of 0.25'
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of 16j
Sediment of 82.
Sediment of 64.0*"

hydraolio value

0.6—
1.0—
2.0""
4.0—
8.(

0.2

M.8

100.0

Total

2.6

88.6

6.6

2ai

1&3
14.8
2.0
L7
0.9
0.6
0.4

97.0

The large amounts of carbonates of lime and magnesia and small percentage of alumina and combined water
are the prominent features of this material here as elsewhere in the world. The amounts of potash and phosphates
are quite large in presence of so high a lime percentage, in view of which they must be accounted as being largely
in an available condition.

The examination of the sediments o'btained in the mechanical analysis shows that nearly the whole of the
particles above 0.25°*™ diameter hydraulic value are concretioDS cemented by carbonates of lime and magnesia.
On treatment with acids the latter dissolve and leave the residue in an impali)able condition, showing a remarkably
uniform fineness of the deposit as originally formed. The subsequent formation of the concretions, acting in lieu
of sand, imparts to this material the quality of remarkably easy tillage, while at the same time, in the absence of
any large amount of clay, it is thus reudered somewhat leacby. Being identical in composition from top to bottom
for from 5 to 50 feet, it will not hold manure well; and the rapid percolation of the rain-water, followed by air, keeps
it depleted of vegetable matter also. While, therefore, the pure loess soils were at the outset very productive after
the removal of their covering of cane, from which vegetable mold had accumulated for centuries, cultuie, with
tillage, and exposure to the air in the warm summers, soon allowed the vegetable mold to be burnt out, to the great
damage of the soil's retentiveuess and resistance to drought. This is now the capital fault of the pure loess soils,
which is severely felt even by gardeners. Deep-rooted plants, whose terminal rootlets may be found at great depths
in this pervious material, are best adapted to it.

While this is true of those ridges in which the calcareous silt alone prevails, those that are, or originally were,
capped with the stratum of brown loam have on their slopes soils formed by the intermixture of the two materials;
lighter and more calcareous than the brown loam and not so leachy as the silt, and highly productive, the latter
acting as a true marl. While, therefore, for obvious reasons, it may not be desirable to allow the level loam plateaus
to be washed down, this washing is really not so serious a damage as elsewhere; in fact, where all the loam
has been removed from the summits and the loess itself ap])ears on the backs of the ridges its washing down upon
the loam hillsides is a positive advantage. In many cases this intermixture can be ett'ected or favored by plowing
or scraping, especially in small scale cultivation, and it invariably results in an improvement of productiveness.

Bottom or valley soils of the Cane-hills region. — Since the streams of the cane hills run so as to cross
it in the course of a few miles, the bottoms are but little influenced by their materials, wjiich moreover do not wash
down very freely. The valley soils therefore bear, as a rule, the character of the regions Ijing to the eastward, viz,
the long-leaf pine region and the border belt of oak uplands described on page 48. Where the latter belt is very
narrow, as in Claiborne and part of Warren counties, the bottoms have light sandy or silt soils of little durability,
such as characterize the adjacent long leaf pine region. Farther south, where the oak upland belt is broader and
the streams largely head witbiu it, the bottom soils are of better and partly of excellent quality. Tbe following
analyses exemplify this state of things:

No. 117. Bottom soil from higher grouud in bottom of bayou Pierre, on Mr. J. C. Humphreys' land, near Port
Oibson, Claib6rne county. A light, fine sandy soil, grayish buff", to the depth of 9 inches; bears naturally but a
«mall growth of oaks (water and post), black gum, etc.

No. 115. JSvbitoil of the above, 9 to 18 inches in depth; veiT sandv, and lighter colored tlmn the soil.

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Ko. 110. Cole^ creek bottom (or hummock) soilj from Sec. 13, T. 9, K 2 £., Jefferson county. Timber growth^
sweet gum, sycamore, hornbeam, walnnt, honey-locust, white, chestnut- white, and Spanish oaks; much cane. A
gray, rather light loam, varying little to the depth of 2 feet; specimen taken to 12 inches depth.

Bottom soils of the Cane-hill region.

loaolnble matter

Soluble silioft

PotMh

SodA

Lime

Magnesia

Brown oxide of manganese.
Peroxide of iron

AlntnJTia

Phonphorio acid

Solphoric acid

Water and organic matter .

Total

Claiborne couktt.

BAVOU PDERBB.

Sou.

No. 117.

92.687
2. 562

OS. 109

0.133
0.020
0.101
a 107
0.125
1.004
L393
0.007
0.045
2.092

Subsoil.

No. 115.

10a346

Hygroscopic moistare .
absorbed at

2.25
14C.O

96. 108 >
1.17li»7.279

0.119
0.081
0.338
0.095
0.074
0.785
0.150
0.126
0.054
1.116

JKF FEB80 N
COUKTT.

COLES* CBBBK.

Bottom SOiL

No. iia

73. 856 >
10. 1275®^ •^
0.240

o,m

0.140
0.865
0.802
8.135
6.288
0.056
0.036
5.532

100. 217

1.60
12C.O

100.401

&66

12C.O

The Bayou Pierre soil has a remarkably low potash percentage, which is not offset by any lai'ge supply either
of lime or phosphoric acid. Both the latter are more abundant in the subsoil, but potash is on the decrease, and
the absurdly low percentage of alumina speaks of the increasing want of retentiveness, also indicated by the low
moisture absorption, the soil having, in popular parlance, ^* no foundation." It will, when fresh, yield a crop of
700 to 800 pounds of seed-cotton per acre for a few years; after that it will make paying crops of com only. In
most of these points, therefore, it is a " pine-woods soil".

The Coles^ creek soil, derived in the main from the loess region itself, is a light loam, retentive of moisture,
with a fair supply of potash and lime, and is of great depth. It produces from 1,100 to 1,200 pounds of seed-cotton
when fresh; but it is evident that its supply of phosphates will soon require to be replaced, and marling with the
loess materials of the hills above it would not come amiss.

The oak uplands beltj intervening between the cane hills and the long-leaf pine region in southwestern
Mississippi, has already been referred to in general in connection with the corresponding region of the northern
part of the state. (See page 47). Since, however, it offers many peculiarities, and is in some respects intimately
connected with the cane hills, some details regarding it will be given here.

The face of the country is prevalently hilly, though usually not as abruptly so as either in the cane or long-leaf
pine hills. The timber is a mixture of oaks (prevalently black-jack aad post, with some Spanish and white oak)
and hickory, with the short-leaf pine. The latter is sometimes rather predominant near the eastern edge of the
region, while toward its western limit its gradual disappearance and the predominance of the oaks and the
appearance of the chestnut-white oak and sweet gum among them announce the approach of the loess region.
On the lower hillsides and in the valleys the beech is of very frequent occurrence.

The subsoil of the region varies from a yellow sandy loam on its eastern portion to a brownish or orange-
colored clay loam in the western, the latter passing insensibly into the rich brown loam of the cane hills. Bidges
of the two extreme kinds of soU, with their corresponding vegetation, extend from both sides into this border
region.

In northeastern Claiborne the transition from the one to the other is quite sudden, so that we find, e. g.j on Little
Sand creek, near Rocky Spring, the pine-hills soil overlying a good, brown-loam subsoil, as is shown by the
timber growth.

Farther south, in Jefferson county, we find around and northward of Fayette a gently rolling tract of brown
loam uplands from which the pine is absent. It is 8 to 10 miles long (northeast and southwest) by a few miles
wide, being bordered by the cane hills on the west and rising into MUy short-leaf pine and oak uplands on the
east and south. An analysis of the brown loam subsoil of this tract is given on page 49 (No. 109).

Still farther south, in the northern part of Franklin county, we find the ''Hamburg hills", a somewhat broken
tract of oak uplands with a yellow loam subsoil of fair fertility, producing from 700 to 900 pounds of seed-cotton per
acre and quite durable. A good deal of hickory and magnolia mingles here with the oaks.

The country between the forks and south of the Homochitto, in Franklin county, is quite hilly (^'Homochitto
hills''), so that its brokenness is an obstacle to cultivation. The soil, though quite sandy, is deep, and bears a timber

250

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

49^

growth of oaks and hickory, laden with long moss, giving evidence of considerable fertility. Hence the bottoms,,
though rather narrow and their soils quite sandy in most cases, are very productive. Analyses of some of the
bottom soils of this region are given below.

Of the upland soils of the region the following analyses, already given in a previous table (see Oak Uplands-
region), furnish examples. They do not differ materially from those of the more northerly portion of the short-leal
pine and oak uplands, and their cotton product ranges from 700 to 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre when fresh.
It is noteworthy that the region around Fayette, of which No. 109 represents the subsoil, has been remarkably
durable in its cotton production, more so than wt)uld be expected from its composition, which may not be altogether
a fair sample. The circumstance may, however, be due to the considerable depth and easy penetrability of this^
underlying loam and to the levelness of the region, whereby little damage has resulted from washing away of the soil.

No. 108. Cfpland soil Arom hillside land on Mr. J. F. Brock's place, B. 4 £., T. 13, Sec. 47, near Bocky Springy
Claiborne county. A light gray, somewhat ashy soil, with occasional bog-ore spots to the depth of 10 inches.
Timber, prevalently beech, with some large oaks (Spanish white and chestnut white), much holly, and some small
magnolias in the heads of hollows. With all these there mingles more or less of short-leaf pine. Mr. Brock
complains that this land is unthrifty and will not be benefited by manure, which remains undeoomposed in the soil..
Peanuts and field pease are about the only successful crops.

No. 112. Subsoil of the above. A brown loam similar to that of the cane-hills country ; begins to mingle with>
the soil at 10 inches, and fairly sets in at 12. Depth taken, 12 to 20 inches.

No. 109. Brown loam subsoil from the level region near Fayette, Jefferson county. The loam stratum here is
firom 10 to 15 feet in thickness, with apparently little change from top to bottom. Sample taken from 12 to 18 inches-
depth. A brownish-orange, moderately light loam forms the subsoil of the region, which is well settled and ha»
been long under cultivation, and when fresh yielded from 1,000 to 1,100 pounds of s^ed-cotton per acre, now diminished
to from 700 to 800 pounds, even in favorable seasons.

No. 71. Soil of Hamburg hillSj taken on the ridge about 1 mile northeast of Hamburg, Franklin county. This is-
rather a broken country, with steep ridges. The crests of the ridges, however, are broad enough to give room for fine
farms. The surface soil is of a tawny tint and rather light to the average depth of 7 inches, to which the sample was
taken. The timber is Spanish, black, red, and white oaks, pignut hickory, magnolia, large-leaved magnolia, black
and sweet gum. Small pines form the undergrowth. Down the hillsides white oak and sweet and black gum become
more abundant, sometimes prevalent.

No. 73. Subsoil of the above taken from 7 to 20 inches depth. A brownish-orange colored loam, medium heavy,,
from 18 to 36 inches in thickness, then becoming whitish, and gradually passing into the sandy materials of the drift.

Lands of the belt of oaJc uplands.

iDaoluble matter

Solnble silica

Potash

Soda

Lime

Magnesia

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

Phosphoric acid

Snlphnrio acid

Water and organic matter.

Total

Hygroscopic moisture

absorbed at

1
CT.AIBOBini COUlfTT.

Jbffbkson

COUNTY.

Fbakklxm coutrrr.

B.4E.,T.18,S.47.

Near Fayette,
brown loam.

Hamburg hills.

SoiL

Subsoil.

SoiL

SubsolL

ISO. 108.

No. 112.

No. 109.

No. 71.

No. 78.

78.W2J

^'^«>* 186.714
7. 910 >

3.500>

8a 750 1^ ruA
> 90. 560
1. 810 >

9. 474 3

0.818

0.286

0.164

0.140

0.288

a 087

6.084

0.100

0.090

0.104

0.137

0.090

0.084

0.070

0.1U7

0.600

0.492

0.704

0.185

0.60»

0.072

0.022

0.136

0.075

a 144

4.970

4.613

5.393

2.405

5.672

5.061

5.377

5.16S ;

2.098

6.106

0.029

0.042

0.040

0.077

a059

0.007

0.066

0.011

0.005

a006

2.477

2.767

3.838

4.310

2.69»

100.176

100.548

99.925

100. 015

100.168

8.64

7.61

9.70 i

4.40

&81

18 0.0

18C.O

12 C.o j

22C.O

The insignificant proportion of phosphoric acid in No. 108, together with its ashy character, explains sufficiently

the faults complained of in its cultivation. It is too light to assimilate any but well-rotted manure or commercial

fertilizers, and of the latter superphosphate would be best adapted to the case. The supply of potash is fair in both

soil and subsoil, while that of lime is only moderate, and humus is sadly wanting. Phosphoric acid is also very low

in the subsoil. The tree growth, however, seems to show that deep-rooted crops would, with deep tillage, succeed

on this soil.

251

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The nabnoil from near Fayette likewise does not promise much durability, except it be on aecoant of its great
4li;fitb aod easy penetrability, it being low both in potash and phosphates.

Use Ilambarg hills soil is the most promising of the three, as its sabsoil contains fair supplies both of potash
and lirn^f, aiHl the sorlace soil a larger proportion of phosphoric acid than either of the others. But for its
hrokeriness this region would be a very desirable farming country.

Tlie Uittom soils of this border region are generally quite sandy and of considerable depth, are of a dark tint,
arul are esfiecially a^lapted to the cultivation of cotton, producing a 400pound bale, or from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds
of mtml-dfiUm fier acre, with only little diminution of the product in the course of time. Among their timber the
Upwlatul oaks, l>eecb, and magnolia are most prominent, the latter three attaining enormous dimensions, especially
in thn flomocbitto region, noted for the fine cotton grown on its bottom lands. Analyses Nos. 68 and 64 furnish
examples of the soils of the latter. No. 66, from the bottom of the West Amite, near Liberty, Amite county, as
w^'ll HH Stm. fyi and 70, from the same locality, are examples of the soils occurring nearer to or within the limit of
tb«; Ihuuilas^f pine region, and differ materially from those of the Homocbitto.

fievel ^bammoeks^, or second bottoms, elevated from 4 to 6 feet above the first bottoms, often intervene between
the latter and the hills, and sometimes extend to the banks of the streams. The soils of these hummocks are
ifuMt't'iit'U' lijriit. of a bufftint, 9 to 12 inches in depth, and are then underlaid by a pale-yellow light loam, the timber
)n*tufi lN'#f<;li, white <^ak, hiekorj', sweet gum, holly, cherry, etc., but little or no magnolia. These soils also mostly
inifiUu'*', ui'9ff*^ ^^itton (1,200 to 1,300 pounds per acre), but not so uniformly as the bottoms, while all produce good
i'j/nt. None of the hummock soils have as yet been analyzed.

No, W. liott/nn $ml from the middle fork of the Homocbitto, Sec. 16, T. 6, R. 3 E., Franklin county. Timber,
4'UM\\ lar^e inagiioltas and beech; also chestnut- white oak, sweet gum, poplar, and maple, all very large. Specim^
iakt'ii Uf the depth of 12 inches, but no material change of tint was perceptible to the depth of 32 inches. This 8<m1
\h of a lip^ht'Clu>i;o!ute tint when damp and very sandy, and is said to be the best cotton soil of the region and to

prrxlijr^; iufU'tUiitely.

No, fii. Hn\m(9\} of the above, taken from 12 to 32 inches depth, nearly the same in tint as the soil, but perhaps

a jittl*' Windier.

No, (ffl hark botVnn soil from the West Amite, near Liberty, Amite county. Timber, large magnolias and
holly l>er'X?h, chestnut-white oak, white oak, some large ash and sweet gum, and some poplar. The soil is a brownish
loairi iin^'Jianged in color to a depth of 2 feet. Specimen taken to the depth of 12 inches; very productive, bat
do«^K not iH'A'Air in very large bodies.

No. 67. White bottom soil from the west fork of the Amite near Liberty, Sec. 36, T. 6, R. 4 B., not far from
No. ^Wk Timber, bottom pine, chestnut-white, white and water oak, hornbeam, sweet gum,, some small hickory,
and black and red oak. The timber is rather under size and lank. Soil, grajish white, ashy ; produces fair cotton, '
not larK**, but well boiled, and yields from 700 to 900 pounds per acre. On account of bad drainage it is difScult
to olitain a full Htand. Depth taken, 10 inches.

No. 70. Sub»<iil of the above, taken from 10 to 20 inches depth; ashy above, more clayey and adhesive below;
** ciawfinhy ,^ and with more or less '^ black i)ebble" or bog ore.

Tlic al>ove two kinds of bottom soil occur alternately iu patches, the proportion of the dark soil increasing

the stream is descended.

Bottom lands of the oak uplands belt.

FUAXKLnC COUKTT.

MIDDLE HOMOCIIITTO BOTTOM.

AMXTB COUKTT.

WE8T AMTTB,
DARK BOTTOM.

W1C8T AMITK, WHTR BOITOM.

Soil.
Ko. 68.

Subsoil.
No. 64.

SoU.
No 66.

Soil.

No. 67.

Iom>luble matter.
K<ilulil<- Bilicii . . . .
rutanli

02.164

KiKla

Limn

MagiK'nia

Drown oxide of masgnnene

rcroxide of iron

Alumioa

PhoHphoric a<-id

Sulphuric acid

Watvr and or;;aiiic matter .

TuUl

Huuum

Available inorganic...

nygroacopic mointure

absorbed at

88.780
3.190

9L970

0.140
0.0»J7
0.034
0.280
0.084
2.058
2.780
0.035
0.006
1.847

87.543

91.334

0.486

0.270

0.054

0.103

0.215

0.134

0.354 '

0.137

0.690

0.141

6. :.28

1.241

2.407

3.878

0.100

0.149

0.048 '

0.022

3.507 '

2.961

SnbMfl.

No. 70.

3.S83

O.ISt

aocs

•itSS

99.301

100.932 ,

4.55

S.52

21C.O

6C.«

100.370

0.717
1.603
2.h3

20C.O

2.7n

IMS
•lMI

lM.ttl

».77

SSC.O

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 5r

The soil and sabsoil Nos. 68 and 64 are striking examples of the inadequacy of mere chemical analyses and
percentage statements for a correct apprehension of the productive capacity of soils. On such a basis they would
be pronounced to be absolutely poor and unfit for profitable cultivation ; but when it is known that, instead of the
nsual 6 or 8 inches, nearly 3 feet of well-drained and aerated soil is at the command of the plant, the matter assumes
a very different aspect, for the percentages of the plant-food ingredients will then appear multiplied by three or
four each and show very advantageous proportions.

In the dark soil of the West Amite bottom a considerable depth of soil is combined with high percentages of
potash and lime, a fair supply of phosphates, and both humus and clay enough to render it retentive. The white
soil is much shallower, and has less of potash, lime, and humus and a poor, ill-drained subsoil. A comparatively
high percentage of phosphates explains the free boiling of the cotton grown on this soil, whose want of retentivenesa
and whose depth need to be corrected by green manuring, deep tillage, and drainage.

VI.— CENTRAL PRAIRIE REGION.

The region I thus designate traverses the state near its center in a northwestern and southeastern direction
as a wedge-shaped belt, varying in width from about 45 miles from Yicksburg northward to 18 miles on the Alabama
line northward of Winchester, Wayne county.

Within the area thus roughly outlined prairies do not generally form the prevalent surface feature, not even
to the extent to which this is the case in the '^ northeastern prairie region ^. The black prairie soil occupies bodies
of laud from a fraction of an acre to several thousands in extent, intervening between more or less elevated ridges,
the latter formed either of the sandy materials of the stratified drift, covered by the soils similar to those of the
adjacent yellow loam and long-leaf pine regions, or consisting of the clayey and non-calcareous materials of the
Tertiary, and forming the heavy and intractable pale-yellow soils popularly designated as " hog-bed " or " hog-
wallow '^ prairie. The latter occur more especially in the eastern portion of the belt, where the fertile black prairie
soil is mostly confined to the lower slopes and to the bottoms of the streams, and is contradistinguished from the
unproductive clay soils of the ridges by the designation of " shell prairie'', fossil shells and bones being abundantly
scattered over their natural surface. These prairie soils are, of course, derived from the lower calcareous strata
of the Tertiary, which are found directly underlying them. It is only in the extreme east, in Clarke and
Wayne counties, that the black prairie soil occupies the ridges to any extent. It is everywhere highly productive,
though from causes not well understood it is not always adapted to the culture of cotton, the latter being liable to
" rust " in the low ground. The " hog-wallow ^ soil is thus far held in very low esteem ; for although moderately
productive in favorable seasons, it is too liable to injury from both wet and dry seasons, and is unthrifty and hard
totiU.

West of Pearl river the true " prairie ^ feature is but very little developed. The surface features of the upland
I>ortions of the counties of Warren and Yazoo are, in the main, those of the cane hills and adjacent tableland
regions, although small patches of black prairie occur even at the Yicksburg bluff and more or less all along the
Yazoo bliiff, and landward up to the line of Holmes county. East of the Big Black river, in Madison and Hinds,
we have a gentl}' undulating farming region, mostly with a yellow loam soil resembling that of the table-lands
farther north, but showing evidences of more lime in the soil by its tree and herbaceous growth, while occasional
patches of black prairie soil, with its peculiar greenish-yellow clay subsoil and groves of crab-apple and honey-locust,
show the nearer approach of the calcareous strata to the surface. At Jackson the clay marls that appear everywhere
in the banks of Pearl river so far predominate as a soil ingredient that its tendency to crack and cleave during
changes &om wet to dry interferes somewhat with the maintenance of the foundations of houses and of cisterns^
the latter being chiefly used on account of the mineral character of the well waters, when these can be obtained
at all.

The soils of the bottom of Pearl River near Jackson are only locally of a ** prairie" character, and no prairie
soil appears to the eastward until after crossing a belt of sandy oak uplands, which here skirts the hummock of Pearl
river at a distance of 3 miles from the river, and is itself about 5 miles wide. Beyond we again find gently rolling
uplands with a clay loam soil and occasional black x>rairie spots, as well as tracts of the "hog- wallow'' character,
caused b^^ the approach to the surface of the heavy gypseous clays, which are frequentl}' seen in the banks of the
streams. These " gypseous prairies "are not very productive. Their surface soil is rather light and silty, from a dun
to a chocolate tint, and is underlaid by a heavy, tawny yellow subsoil, often filled with crystals of gj^psum.
Sometimes the heavy subsoil itself forms the surface, and it is then covered with a sparse growth of scrubby bJack-
jack and water oak and stunted red elm. Such soils will, when well tilled, produce good corn, but invariably rust
or blight cotton. But the mixed or " mahogany" soils, formed by the intermixture of this material, as well as of
the black i)rairie soil, with the yellow upland loam (which impart to freshly-plowed slopes a very variegated
appearance), are excellent cotton soils, producing a plant of rather short growth, but very heavily boiled, as is
usually the case in calcareous soils.

253

52 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

These features — oak upland ridges with a yellow loam soil, sometimes with more or less pine, and alternating
with more or less of the black and " hog- wallow^' soils on the plateaus, slopes, or in the valleys— characterize the
northern portions of Eankiu and Smith, the southern part of Scott, and the southwest corner of Kewton county.
West of the head of Leaf river, in eastern Smith, pine mingles largely with the oak growth on the ridges, and tiie
prairie soils are ^uite subordinate.

Beyond Leaf river, in Smith, as well as in northwest Jasper, the arrangement of soils is a very uniform one. The
bottoms of the larger streams, the Hatchushe, the Tallahalas, Tallahoma, and their larger confluents, as well as
sometimes the lower portions of the slopes toward them, are of the black prairie character. Above these,
forming level or gently undulating upland tracts, appears the hog-wallow or hog-bed prairie soil, timbered chiefly
with post oak of a lank, tattered growth, or sometimes with blackjack and short-leaf pine similarly circiunstiuiced.
When the ridges are much higher than 25 or 30 feet above the streams named their crests are formed by sandy
knolls or ridges perched on the "hog-wallow'^ plateau and bearing a growth of pine or oaks. Sometimes the soft
white-shell limestone is quite near the surface, forming "bald prairies", on which cotton is apt to blight, and here
the huge bones of the zeuglodon (see "Geology") are firequently found lying about or are upturned by the plow.
These, as well as the oyster shells, have been burned for lime.

In southwestern Clarke and northeastern Wayne the black prairie soil generally lies higher on the hills, forming
considerable tracts, of which the smaller part only is really bare of timber, with clumps of honey-locust and crab-
apple. Such tracts generally have irather a light soil, while that timbered with sturdy post oak and short-leaf pine,
thickly hung with long moss and with an undergrowth of plum, crab-apple, etc., forms the larger portion, and has
a heavy black or mahogany-colored soil, with a subsoil of a deep-orange tint at the depth of from 6 to 12 inches,
this in its turn being underlaid at from 3 to 10 feet by more or less calcareous clays. These soils are intermediate
between the black and "hog-wallow" soil, and are not as safe as those of the open prairie, but are very productive
•in favorable seasons.

In Wayne county the prairies are in smaller tracts, and are generally of a lighter character. On plowed hillsidee
the great variety of tints indicates great and frequent variations. The country is here more broken and the bottoms
•of streams quite narrow, but the bottom soils are very productive, formed as they are by the intermixture of so
great a variety of soils and continually fertilized by the marls washed down from the hillsides.

The greatest drawback to the settlement of a large portion of the fertile tracts of the central prairie region of
Mississippi is the diflQculty of obtaining good water. This difliculty does not exist where sandy ridges give rise to
springs; but in the more level portions weli-water can sometimes be obtained only by means of the artesian auger,
and is even then mostly very hard, and sometimes fetid. The use of cisterns for household purposes is therefore
very common.

SOILS OF THE CENTRAL PRAIRIE REGION.

The soils of the level or gently undulating yellow loam or table-land region west of the Pearl river have
been described above in connection with the closely related ones of the " table-lands" proper, from which they difier
only locally by the admixture of the underlying calcareous clays.

The following analyses represent pretty fairly the chief characteristic soils of the variegated region lying east
of the Pearl river to the Alabama line.

1. — Black prairie soils.

No. 188. Black prairie soil from R. 4 E., T. 6, Sec. 20, Mr. John Parker's land, Rankin county. This soil forms
a spot not exceeding an acre on a hillside; is coal-black when wet to the depth of about 12 inches, when it passes
into a yellow clay subsoil, and is timbered with young sweet gum, lately grown up, mingled with cherry, mulbenyy
wild plum, crab-apple, muscadine, etc. ; scarcely any grass on the surface. Higher up on the slope, and occupying
the plateau on top, lies a ^' hog- wallow" subsoil, gaping into wide crncks in summer, the surface soil varying from
jellow loam to a gray-ashy character, the latter of little value for caltivation. As usual, black-jack and post oaks
occupy these soils almost exclusively. Black prairie spots of the character above given are interspersed with the
other soils on hillsides, and produce fine corn, but rust cotton very badly, unless intermixed with the other soils to
form the "mahogany".

No. 210,^ Black prairie soil from R. 7 E., T. 3, Sec. 22, Smith county, Mr. L. E. Crook's place, from a trad
skirting the bottom of Okahay creek. A black, stiff soil, overgrown with a thick growth of small sweet gum, 8<Hiie
ash. and mulberry, with here and there a red elm. It was originally almost treeless. The land produces splendid
com, but rusts cotton incorrigibly. Toward the uplands this land gradually passes into a true ^' hog- wallow ** soil,
or ioto one similar to that of HudnalPs prairie (Nos. 187 and 301).

No. 203. Ridge prairie soil from north slope of the dividing ridge between Shongalo and Rowland's creek, B. 8
E., T. 3, Sec. 32 (f). Smith county. The crest of the ridge is sandy, and the prairie soil forms a shelf or terrace
About half way up. The surface soil, only a few inches in depth, is black or grayish, with little grass, but has the
•usual growth of hawthorn, crab-apple, etc. None of this soil is under cultivation so far as noted.

354

THYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 53

No. 207. Subsoil of No. 203. Very stiff, of a deep-orange tint, opening into wide cracks in summer.

No. 199. Bottom prairie soil from near the crossing of Leaf river, on the Raleigh and Garlandsville road, Jasper
<50unty, R. 9 E., T. 3, about Sec. 6. A deep black soil, cracking and crumbling in drying, underlaid at about 20
inches by a yellow clay subsoil. Soil taken to the depth of 12 inches. Timber, honey -locust, crabapplie, wild
plum, and red haw. Not cultivated here, but farther above; said to grow splendid com, but to rust cotton.

No. 195. Bottom prairie soil from Suanlovey creek, near Garlandsville, Jasper county, from the land of Mr.
Elias Brown, Sec. 8, T. 4, R. 12 E. Deep black, 2 to 3 feet in depth ; timbered prevalently with large sweet gum, and
ash, elm, cottonwood, water oak, mulberry, sycamore, and maple. But little of this soil is in cultivation as yet, it
beipg very stiff, dry, and hard and full of gaping cracks. Whether or not it rusts cotton could not be definitely
ascertained. It produces splendid corn.

No. 44. Upland prairie soil from General W. B. Trotter's plantation, Clarke county, R. 7 W., T. 10, Sec. 3,
taken from a hillside belt of black soil to the depth of 16 inches, there being no change of color for at least two
feet ; stiff, deej), black, and shining; growth of grasses and clumps of crab-apple and red haw. Produces excellent
•cotton.

No. 40. Bald prairie soil from same section as 44. Soil whitish, passing insensibly into a marly mass at 8 to 10
inches depth, and is sandy rather than clayey. No timber growth; scant grass and some verbenas. None
cultivated.

No. 363. Under-svhsoil of hlaclc prairie from R. 9 E., T. 4, Sec. 16, Nichols' place. Smith county. This is a small
prairie tract bordered by low hills, with a stiff (hog-wallow) soil, timbered with short-leaf pine, post and blackjack
oak . Near the edge of the prairie the pine disappears and red and Spanish oak come in. The black soil is shallow, and
only occurs in spots; frequently the pale, greenish-yellow subsoil forms the surface, and continues with little change
to from 3 to 5 feet. It is a heavy, greenish-yellow clay without definite structure, and smooth, shining cleavage,
showing some ferruginous concretions and crystals of gj'psum, and effervesces strongly with acids. It is full of the
bones of the zeuglodon, but little petrified, and in consequence of the tendency of the mass to crack into wide fissures
when drying gullies are washed into it in many places, and in these the bones are abundant. The soil in favorable
seasons will grow good corn, but invariably rusts cotton so much that the plant will not even reach the time of
blooming. The sample analyzed was taken at the depth of 3 feet from the side of a gully. It may be considered as
forming a transition between the black and the hog-wallow prairie mlaterials.

2. — Qypseous and hog-walloio prairie soils.

No. 187. Soil of ifcRa(?s or HudnalVs prairie^ R. 4 E., T. 6, Sec. 17, Rankin county. This is a gently rolling,
treeless tract, with a growth of stunted persimmon, sumach, and short grass. The soil to the depth of 8 inches is
rather light and silty, of a brownish-buff' tint, and tills easily. It becomes heavier lower down, and is underlaid at
the depth of from 1 to about 3 feet by the heavy clay subsoil No. 301. It is said to be very droughty, and apparently
the spatters of rain on the leaves of cotton seem to corrode them.

No. 301. Under snhsoil of the preceding, taken at 3 feet depth. A greenish-gray, heavy clay, with numerous
small white specks (of gypsum) and some round, smooth concretions of limonite; cleaves into prismatic fragments
in drying. The gj^pseous prairies are generally bordered by a low, dense-topped growth of black-jack oak, ftom
which there is a transition into oak upland, with short-leaf x)ine, having a light, ashy surface soil and a heavy,
•droughty subsoil, cracking open in summer.

No. 242. Hogwallow prairie soil from the level region east of West Tallahala creek, R. 10 E., T. 3, about Sec.
2, Jasi)er county. A brownish-gray, very stiff soil, dotted with minute, dark-brown spots of bog-iron ore, which,
when washed out, forms irregularly shaped grains with a rough surface, mostly soft enough to be crushed with the
finger-nail. Depth, 6 inches, underlaid by a yellow clay subsoil ; cracks open into wide gaping fissures in summer, the
lumps being of stony hardness and having, when cut, a shining surface. The soil will hardly produce corn, but in
good reasons, and when plowed just in the right condition, will make a fair crop of cotton. The timber where this
soil was taken is slender post oak, with tattered, open tox)S, short-leaf pine, and here and there a Spanish oak.
When lying higher on the hills it is usually timbered with black-jack.

No. 38. Hog-wallow upland soil from Clarke county, R. 7 W., T. 10, Sec. 3. Level plateau land, timbered with
slender pine, sturdy but very leafy post oak, some black-jack and hickory. Boil, pale-yellow, and stiff to the depth
of about 8 inches; then stiff clay, speckled yellow and orange; at the lower levels on the hillsides, black prairie.
This soil is droughty and unfit for corn, but brings a short, fairly boiled cotton stalk when the season is favorable.

No. 33. Subsoil of the above, 8 to 18 inches depth. A heavy, tawny-yellow clay, mottled with orange.

255

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPL

LA1ID6 OF THE CENTRAL PRAIBIE REGION.

1. — Bkuik prairie sails.

SlflTB C0U5TT.

B.4,T.i^8.20.

1L7K..T.
a,&22.

Bteek pfBMc.

8oiL

Valtt.

Poct-ook
prairie.

R 8 E.. T. 3, 8. 82,
Rowland's oreek.

Bidge prairie.

Son.

Soli

No. 210.

Utmi^H^msM0f „,, MiMf>

IM«M#r<rt<|A# 4.455r*'^

¥ftt*t4iU ,, ,,,,,,

I ItHh ,

••«»|^*«»-#l#» ,

Ihn¥/hn*uh fff muttuftttttm ,

IhHi'Ulk Kt htm ,,,,, *

khtHtlhi* . ,,,,,,,,, :

l*ht»itUitHi^ tt4>.UI ,

Hul^iUHtU' M#.|/f !

I'lttlothU it4\4 ,,, ,,,, ;

^^\^ k N««<l *tfg»ttUi iiMiM<iy ,,,

0.904
0.244
L040
0.910
0.120
4.768
7.246
0.466
0.150

80.264

0.573
0.114
0.066
0.520
0.292

No. 203.

I 10.861 \i

0.128
0.035

10.739

luittt

101.000

hHMHM . ..

1.371
0.983
16L22
14C.O

6.738

51. 749

0.534
0.220
0.484
1.005
0.098
23.786
10. «r4
0.151
0.022

SabaoU.

Na207.

42. 523
6.607

'J49

120

Jasprr oourtt.

R.9E.,T.

8, S. 6,

Leaf River,

near Pine*

ville.

Bottom
prairie.

Soil

No. 199.

0.288
0.385
0.786
1.621
0.035
20.790
17.680
0.050
0.021

63.435

0.796
0.127
1.615
1.112
0.479
6.996
15. 895
0.232
0.085

R.12E.,T.4.

S. 8, Suan-

lorey creek,

near (iarlanda*

▼iUe.

Bottom prairie.

SoiL

Nal95.

11.385

100.000

11.14
20C.O

100.288

9.966

100. 742

9.028

67.662>^ ^^
_ >77.488
9.926>

0.384

0.059

1.728

0.881

0.128

3.899

7.680

0.104 !

0.005

Clabkx coranr.

R.7 W., T. 10, &S,
Trotter's plsnfatfawi

Upland pmirie. Bald prairie.

Sofl.

SoiL

Na44.

43.615
16.005

7.772

19.78 i
17 C.o I

22.18
19C.O

100. 000

1.669
0.743
20.92
22C.O

100.128

13.78
I6C.0

|59.

U.
0.
2.
1.
0.
7.
17.
0.
0.

710

C86

217

017

327

l.VJ

841

829

116 :

112 !

Na40.

81.604
7.826

10.726

100.252

18.06
9C.^

0.1

6l»

22.871

LOM

o.m

4.0M
7.446

Olios

0.146

17.411

6L779

90.905

12.19

lie*

2. — Oypseous and hog-wallato prairie soils.

BjJfKa COUIITT.

HcRae's prairie, R. 4 E., T. 6, S. 17.

Gypseon. prairie. Gyi.»eon8nncler.

Smith coumty.

Soil.

No. 187.

InMilttbU natter.
||iital»l« sUle* ....

ISilAah

M»

MiiM»

Ilagiidai*

Ilfiiwn oxide of manganese
pefoildi' of Iron

Ainmlo*

|»b«ipborio acid

Holpbario acid

(«grboole acid

I^Hier AD^l organic matter .

82.558

0.839
0.023
0.432
0.513 ^
0.092 I
3.084 ;
7.424 i
0. 076 ■
0.058 I

ToUl

B^'^"'

AftSlSitie inorganic . . .

j^^lptwoopic moisture

absorbed at

6.322 '

09.921

5.43
air-dried.

Sabsoil.

No. 801.

Tallahala creek • -p o v t
waters, R. 10 1^ q ;'e^*
E.,T. 3,8.2. I *'S-i»'

67.027

0.518
0.414
5.695
1.233
0.509
4.344
10. 751

5.751 I

1.018 {*.
2. 740 ||

100.000

Hog-wUow. IG^S^C

Prairie soil.

SoiL

No. 242.

Na368.

76.758

0.525
0.190
0.424
0.674
0.559
4.121
10. 059
0.063
0.059

6.733

99.165

43.539

0.638
0.136
14.867
L004
0.238

17.035 I

0.139
7.764
7.466
7.174

100.000

0.729 i.
2.168 |.
6.83
air-dried. |

Clabkk couktt.

General W. B. Tr««tter*8 plaata-
Uon. R. 7 W., T. 10.8. t.

Hog-wallow.

SoiL

No. 88.

._ I.

76. 518 )
9.710>

0.199

0.188

0.274

0.040

8.951

6.867

0.039

0.018

2.806 '

100. 418

16.71
20C.O

6.40
UC.o

Upland.

SnbaolL

No. 88.

70.
OiiOt

0.165
0.14»
0.674

28.010

0.100
0.060

5uia

100.147

ISlOO
18C.«

•A-.«;

PHYSICO-aEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

Of the preceding soils only the "Hog- wallow'^, "So. 196, has thus far been mechanically analyzed, with the

following result :

Jasper county Hog-wallow subsoil.

mCHAKICAL AXALTSm.

Weight of gravel over 1.2"" diameter
Weight of gravel hetween 1 2 and 1"»
Weight of gravel between 1 and 0.^"
Fine earth

Total

MXCHAinCAL AXALTam OF FINB BABTB.

Clay

Sediment of < 0.25»> hydraalio valoe.
Sedimentof 0.25""

0.5—

1.0—

2.0—

4.0—

8.0—

16.0—

Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sediment of
Sedimentof 32.0—.
Sedimentof 64.0—.

Total

Snbeofl.

No. 196.

0.8

O&O

100.0

4&0
24.7
10.6
5.6
8.7
2.5
0.2
0.8
0.0
1.6
2.0

100.1

The 48 per cent, of clay in this soil is the highest figure for that substance that has thus far come under my
observation, and it is no wonder that the soil is found excessively refractory in tillage, as it lacks entirely the
quality of many of the black prairie soils of "slaking" or pulverizing in passing from the wet to the dry condition.
In that process it simply cracks open into widely gaping fissures, and is wetted with difficulty. When wet, it
becomes excessively tenacious; still, when taken under the plow in just the right condition, it assumes very fair
tilth, and in good seasons yields fair crops. Deep and very thorough tillage is evidently of first necessity.

The obvious characteristic of the black prairie soils here is, as in the case of the Northeastern prairie region, a
large lime percentage, ranging from somewhat less than 1 to 2 per cent, and over. The potash percentage is also
high, ranging between one-half and nearly 1 per cent. The phosphoric acid varies greatly, from one-tenth to
over four and a half tenths per cent, (in No. 188). The humus is probably in all cases above 1 per cent. A notable
feature, doubtless connected with the latter substance, is the extraordinarily high absorption of moisture, exceeding
10 per cent, in all cases, and rising as high as 21 per cent, in No. 190. The alumina is in some cases very high (as
in Nos. 203 and 199), but in others no greater than in many loam sotls (as in Nos. 188 and 195), and on coiQparison of
the two last-named with No. 44 it seems as though there was little direct relation between the alumina percentage
obtained in analysis and the moisture coefficient. On the other hand, the efifect of the presence of ferric oxide
upon the absorption of moisture is very strikingly illustrated in the case of Nos. 203 and 207, the latter,
containing scarcely any humus, having nevertheless the highest moisture coefficient, obviously on account of the
great iron percentage of nearly 21.

In view of the great depth and somewhat extreme character of the black prairie soils, rendering them liable to
injury from drought, deep and thorough preparation of the soil, as well as good drainage, cannot be too strongly
recommended. When "tired", phosphate manures will probs^bly be the first called for to restore productiveness.

In the hog- wallow soils the lime percentage is uniformly lower, falling below five- tenths — from 0.13 to 0.43.
The latter, however, is itself by no means a low amount. The phosphoric acid is low ; the humus a little over half
of that in the black prairie soils, and about the same as in other good upland soils.

The obvious inference is that in order to render the hog-wallow soils more similar, chemically, to the black
prairie soils they should be supplied with more lime, which, with green manuring, would soon supply the deficient
humus, and that phosphates should be used as manures.

It is quite obvious, however, that the mechanical condition of the hog-wallow soils stands chiefly in the way of
their productiveness. This also would in a measure be remedied by the application of lime and vegetable matter, •
but, in addition, thorough tillage and good drainage are indicated as first essentials. It is probable that simple
underdrainage and use of lime would render these soils fairly and uniformly productive.

17 c P 257

56 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

A difficult question arises in regard to the tendency of the black prairie soils to ''rust" cotton. It is probable
that in many cases what is commonly called rust in this region is in reality simply blight, caused primarily by a
faulty condition of the soil in respect to moisture and aeration ; in other words, by an imi>ervious and ill-drained
subsoil such as commonly underlies the black prairie soils. This indication is confirmed by the fact that the small
prairie tracts lying on hillsides (such as No. 44 and others occurring near the southern limit of the prairie region)
do not produce the blighting, but bear excellent crops, and also by the fact that com, a shallow-rooted crop, does
excellently well on the **rust soils ^

It would, however, remain to be explained why it is that the heavy and ill-drained "hog- wallow" soils are not
charged with rusting cotton, but on the contrary are reputed as bearing moderately good crops in favorable
seasons. The facts well observed are perhaps hardly sufficient to determine the point, for, as has been stated, the
hog- wallow lands lie mostly on higher levels, and may be better drained than the black-bottom prairie, reputed as
rusting cotton. It may also be that the greater thriftiness imparted to the plant by the jich soil of the latter turns
the scale to its disadvantage whenever the check of the tap root in the subsoil occurs. The entire subject is
irreatly in need of much closer study than has heretofore been bestowed upon it, for the area of land for cotton
culture in this region would be more than trebled if the rich bottom prairie and the hog-wallow uplands could be

rendered available.

Sandt bidge lands. — The non-calcareous sandy soils which form the higher portions of the dividing ridges
in the central prairie region differ but little &om the lands similarly situated northward and southward of the
prairie belt. In the eastern portion of the region these ridge lands usually bear the long-leaf pine, with a transition
belt of oak between them and the hog- wallow lands, while in the western portion the short-leaf pine plays a
similar part. In northern Rankin there are some quite extensive tracts of gently undulating oak lands, with a
yellow non-calcareous yellow loam soil, and low ridges of a similar character are found in Scott county. Some of
these ridges are directly connected with the regions on either side, but many are insular outliers.

The bottom soils of the central prairie region, as has been stated, are largely themselves of a "prairie*^ character,
especially in the eastern portion of the belt. Elsewhere they relate more or less directiy to the soils of the conutry
lying to the northward. West of Pearl river especially the soils are often light and very productive, while the
hummocks have prevalently the gray silty type.

Mabls of the central, pbaibie begion. — Marls of various kinds and agricultural value underlie the
irreater portion of the region as outlined on the map, and they frequently crop out on the banks of streams and on
hillsides. Not unfrequently they can be reached by digging pits in the fields themselves, so that on the whole
they are very generally available for soil improvement. The important results achieved by the use of the same
class of fertilizers in Virginia and the Carolinas render a brief description of the chief varieties a matter of direct
interest to the agricultural system of Mississippi. Some of these marls are purely calcareous so far as their usefld
ingredients are concerned ; in other words, they are a mass of soft carbonate of lime, mixed with more or less sand
and clay, as the case may be. These are very widely diffused, and often pass insensibly into hard limestone on the
one hand and into subsoils and soils on the other. The clayey varieties of these marls occur chiefly in the northern
portion of the Central prairie region ("Jackson" Tertiary), and are often characterized by the huge bones of the
zeu"^lodon, while the sandy or purely calcareous varieties lie more generally near the southern edge of the region
adjacent to the northern limits of the long-leaf pine ("Vicksburg" Tertiary). Their tints are usually white or
yellowish-white. The following analyses show the composition of some representative samples:

No. 1794. Yellowish clay marl from the banks of the Ohickasawhay river, near Dr. Ogbum's, R. 16 B., T. 1,
Sec. 21, about 30 feet in thickness, underlaid by brown and reddish clay.

No. 33G. Yellowish clay marl from Moody's branch, near Jackson, Hinds county; sometimes forming a soft
marlstone. Varies in the neighborhood of Jackson from 20 to 46 feet in thickness, and is usually underlaid by a
blue shell marl, often too sandy for profitable use.

No. 335. White marl from the farm of Dr. Quin, 4 miles southeast of Brandon, Rankin county; a rather
friable mass, easily pulverized ; forms a stratum 15 to 20 feet in thickness in bluff banks above the drainage.

No. 39. Yellowishj friable marl from General W. B. Trotter's jilantation, on Ohickasawhay river, E. 7. W., T.
10, Sec. 3. Occurs in strata of variable thickness up to 10 feet between limestone ledges on the hillsides and in
the river banks. Some is much less pure than the sample analyzed, containing as much as 60 per cent, and over of
sand.

258

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

White and yelUncish marls of central prairie region.

Iniolnble Bifttter

PotMh

Sod»

Lime

Magnesia

Brown oxide of manganeae

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

Phosphoric acid

Salphario acid

Carbonic acid

Water and organic matter. .

OLARKB COUMTT.

Dr. Ogbnrn'o.
clay marl.

I1I5DB COUMTT. ,; HAKKIN COUKTT.

Ko. 1794.

Total.

39.110
0.436
0.103

25.325
L601
0.043
3.598
ft. 289

(»)

0.085

10.203

4.661

Moody's branch, 'j Dr. Qain's place,
clay marl. || white marL

No. 836.

Ko. 385.

CLABKS COUNTY.

Trotter's

plantation,

yellowish marl.

37.400
0.445
0.208

2&821
L4U7

100.454

}

5.133
0.256

23.084
3.246

100.000

13.074
0.265
0.031

46.222
0.614
0.067

2.722

trace.

a 058
84.754

2.050

No. 89.

{

99.857

17.972
0.321
0.292

89.008
0.94U
0.111
2.475
6.298
0.223
0.085

30.768
2.017

100.455

It will be noted that these marls, aside from the carbonate of lime, contain from oue-foartb to one-half per
cent, of potash, and some as high as onefporth percent, of phosphoric acid also. The decided efiiect produced by a
dressing of these marlSydimiuishing after eight or ten years, long before the lime introduced can have been sensibly
diminished, proves that the above ingredients are present in an available form, although the mass contains no
visible greensand grains. Dressings may profitably range from 200 to 500 bushels per acre.

The white marls are usually richest in phosphoric acid where the large zeuglodon bones occur within them, but
in some ca«es they are too clayey to be profitably used (as is the case especially in the extreme northern belt of the
region) with the stiff subsoil of the black prairies in Madison, Smith, and Scott counties.

The blue marls are more commonly sandy than clayey, and mostly contain well-preserved shells (^< shell
marls ^) and some grains of greensand or glauconite, which are rich in available potash. When not too sandy
for profitable use (that is, on account of handling too much inert material) they usually contain from one half to
as much as one per cent, and over of available potash, with usually a notable amount of phosphoric acid. On the
whole, then, the blue marls are richer in potash and phosphoric acid than the white marls, but also very commonly
poorer in lime, because of containing more inert matter.

The following analyses exemplify the composition of some representative samples of blue marls :

Bltie greensand marls Nos. 314 and 2224 occur together in the bank of Garland's creek, on Sec. 21, fi. 16 E., T. 1,
Clarke count3\ No. 4314 overlies, with a thickness of about 2 feet, the bed represented by No. 2224, with a visible
thickness of 5 feet. The first is a greensand shell marl of extraordinary richness both in x)otash and i)hosphorio
acid ; the second, while still having a fair amount of potash, is almostxlestituteof phosi>hates, showing how widely
and essentially such materials may differ in value even at the same locality. Almost a precisely parallel case
occurs in the banks of Pearl river near Byram station. Hinds county.

No. 2232. Blue marl from Smith's bridge, Warren county. Details not known.

No. 337. Blue shell marl from the bluff at Vicksburg, about midway down the face, about 5 feet thick between
ledges of limestone. Somewhat compact, clayey, with visible grains of greensand, and numerous shells not well
preserved.

No. 2231. Blue marl from the bed of Chickasawhay river, at the mouth of Limestone creek, Wayne county. A
rather sandy marl, of which about 2 feet is visible at low water, underlying a heavy bed of white marl similar to
that from Quin's (see above. No. 336).

No. 304. Blue shell marl from the bed of Shongalo creek, near Austin's mill, about 2 miles north of Baleigh,
Smith county. Bather clayey, and somewhat compact.

359

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Analyses of blue greensand marls.

CLARKX COURTT.

WARBBN COURTT.

! WATKB COUMTT.

SMITH oounr.

OarlBTid> creek ffreensand shell
marl.

Smith's bridge,
greensand marl.

Yicksbnrg bine
shell marL

Limestone creek,
greensand marL

Anatin's nill
blue shell mazL

No. 814.

Na2224.

No. 2232.

0.838
0.193

30.194
1.704
0.084
4.6til
2.850
0.038
0.220

23.318
4.415

No. 387.

j No. 228L

Na304.

Iiuolable matter •»

45.881

1.717
0.465

14.785
2.476
0.403

13.020
7.751
0.327
0.566

12.492

29. 733 > ^„

^ ^^ 38.220
&4875

0.978

0.166

28.167
1.482
0.059
5.626
2.602
0.009
0.005

20. 019
2.559

20.967

0.753

0.283

37.543

2.082

0.369
0.178

20.793
0.830
0.032
1.928
0.855
a 121
0.085

16.273
LlOO

Soluble BiUoA 5

PotMh

62.222
0.170

Soda

0.056

Limo

12.206

MfiKtioniA

2.^

llrowTi oxlfln of manffun^MM^, . , , , , . - - -

0.040

Peroxide of Iron

1 4.722
0.135

2.410

Aliiiiiiiia

2.965

t'hoMpIioHn Arid

0.156

HnlplifiHi'iicid

L328

<'»iboril(rfirU1

30.838
2.657

12L358

W aier Nnd orKanio matter

1176

Total

99.883

99.952

99.750

99.980

99.851

90.938

It will be noted that tlie Warren county marls, while not as rich in potash as those from Clarke, are richer in
llniM ; inoroover, other samples analyzed from the neighborhood of Vicksburg show over a fourth of one per cent
of pliOAplioric acid. As they contain but a moderate amount of inert matter, they may be considered of very
tfood f|fnility. Almost precisely the same kind of marl occurs in the banks of Pearl river at Byram station, and
dotibtloMA at many intermediate points in Hinds and Warren, as well as in Rankin.

11io marls from Wayne and Smith counties represent the poorer qualities of blue marls, containing too much
Uu^rl tnatti^r Tor transportation to any distance, but still useful when they can be applied near at hand, especiallj
ifU tliM jMJjjM'niit pine lands. But where the white marls are equally accessible they should be given the preference,
on Hf won lit of tlii'Jr higher percentage of lime.

'V\wM\ marls are especially useful on the '^sour^ lands of the pine region south of their localities of occorrence,
whi»rn Uni Kallborry takes possession of the valleys and level lands generally, and they would be eminently useful
IM thn lunri^hi'H of the coast if they could be cheaply conveyed, as e, ^., by floating down the Ghickasawhay,
M»i«i*.»t^oiilu, and Pearl rivers.

VII.— LONG-LEAF PIKE REGION.

'VUi^ long-leaf pine region embraces about one-third of the area of the state, viz, 14,800 square miles. It
t^oun^r^^\u^tu\H nearly the entire portion lying south of the "central prairie'^ belt, and a triangular area north of
l.tm ftiwih adjoining the Alabama line, which may be roughly circumscribed by lines drawn through Gainesville
iuiu'lUitt Ut Lake station, in Scott county, thence to the southeast corner of Clarke county, and thence back to the
Mfltbil point. On the west, it reaches to within 20 or 30 miles of the Mississippi river, where a belt of loam uplands,
UUi\wt'tul with oaks and short-leaf pine, forms a transition to the cane hills that skirt the Mississippi on the east
(W^tn ♦♦Oak Uplands Region.")

Within this wide area there is, on the whole, a remarkable uniformity of general character, broken most
nlivioijuly near the Gulf coast by a narrow belt of land similar to the " pine flats" of Louisiana. The rest of the
fM^iori iH ))opularly known as the " pine-hills country", with little discrimination as to the quality of the land. A
t'Umi*r discussion, however, both of the timber growth, the soil, and the average product of cotton per acre, as
Mhown by the census returns, justifies a subdivision, as given on the map, of the northern and western part of tlie
ivnUtu, with its stronger soils and partial oak and hickory tree-growth, from the southeastern portion, where the
lon^ h*af pine prevails almost exclusively, even in the bottoms, where the soil is very sandy, and produces even in
tlii^ creek bottoms not more than an average of one-fourth of a bale of cotton per acre, as against about one-third in
the counties embraced within the division marked by the yellowish-green color on the map. The two divisions,
however, grade off into each other so insensibly, and have so much in common, that they are best described
together, with special references to the differences in particular localities.

THE LONG-LEAF PINE HILLS.

The surface of the long-leaf pine hills country is generally undulating or rolling, but sometimes it is hUly,
especially where the uplands fall off toward the larger water-courses. Between these we frequently find dividing
plateaus, which are gently undulating or almost level, this being especially the case where the strata of the drift
formation (which underlies the whole region) consist of i>ervious sands without water-shedding layers. Here the
rain-water sinks into the ground, instead of washing out deep valleys and ravines (as is mostly the case in northern
Mississii)pi), and then reappears at or near the drainage level in the form of copious springs.

The surface soil of the uplands is almost throughout quite sandy; partly pebbly or intermixed with coarse sand,
as is commonly the case west of Pearl river, or more generally a fine, grayish-white, ashy material, very siliceooB,

260

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 59

light, and nnreteDtive. On the larger dividing plateaus the depth of this soil varies from 10 to 18 inches, at which
depth it is mostly underlaid by a yellow sandy loam ; but sometimes the soil passes directly into the sand strata of
the drift, and is then very poor, and scarcely capable of successful cultivation.

The prominent forest tree of the region is the long-leaf pine (Pintis australis^ Michx.), which near the northern
and western border occupies only the higher ridges, but gradually, as we progress southward and eastward,
descends, until we find it on the very verge of the bottoms, although it rarely occupies the latter themselves. (a)
In the uplands it is accompanied by more or less of the black jack and post oaks, and almost invariably, especially
on the hill sides, by some black gum (Nyssa multiflora), generally also dogwood {Cornus florida), and, where the soil
is stronger, small or medium-sized hickory.

The frequency, size, and shape of these accompanying trees (as well as, less markedly, that of the long-leaf
pine itself) mark the variations in the fertility of the soil where, as in the most southerly portion, the short-leaf pine
(P. mitu) is rare or absent. In the northern and western portions, however, the partial or complete replacement
on the ridges of the long-leaf pine by the short-leaf species is the most common intimation of an improvement
of the soil. This generally consists of the nearer approach to the surface of the sandy loam subsoil already
referred to, and its increased clayeyness. In this case also the black-jack and post oak increase in frequency and
improve in aspect^ and the Spanish and scarlet oaks make their appearance. It is chiefly in patches of this
character, varying in extent from a few acres to several sections, that the uplands are cultivated to any considerable
extent in this region.

Where the long-leaf pine alone prevails the soil is generally so poor that cultivation is altogether confined to
the lower hillsides and bottoms. The latter are mostly quite narrow, those of Leaf river and Okatoma and Okahay
creeks, in southern Smith county, for instance, rarely exceeding a quarter of a mile. On the larger streams (as on
Pearl, Lower Leaf, and Pascagoula rivers) they are often skirted by a second bottom or hummock of equal or
greater width, ordinarily inferior in fertility to the first bottoms, but still in general superior to the uplands. The
soil of both bottoms and hummocks are of course mostly quite light, but the former especially are quite productive,
probably on account of the great depth to which the roots of crops can go. Those of the streams heading in the
prairie region, such as Leaf river, the Tallahalas, etc., are of very high quality for some distance below the line of
thatre^^iou, from the intermixture of the heavy "bottom prairie'' soils with the lighter materials of the pin^ country.
Among the timber of the bottoms the beech generally forms a very prominent ingredient; besides the magnolia, the
bottom pine (P. Tceda) and black gum are rarely wanting, while the undergrowth is formed by the witch-hazel, calico
bush, star anise (Illicium Floridanum^ here popularly known as "stiiikingbush"), various species of black haw
{Viburnum nudum^ V, dentatuin, etc.), bay (Magnolia glauca)^ bay galls (Lauras Carolinensis)^ various species of
Andromeday Leucothoe'jVaccinium or low huckleberry, and especially to the southward the ink-berry (Prinos glaber)^
buckwheat tree or ti-ti (Mylocarium)^ CyriUa^ and others.

The herbaceous vegetation and undergrowth of the long-leaf pine uplands is scarcely less characteristic than
the timber growth. Wherever the regular burning of the woods, as practiced by the Indians, has not been
8nx>erseded by the irregular and wasteful practice of the white settlers, the pine forest is almost destitute of
undergrowth and appears like a park, whose long grass is beautifully interspersed with bright-tinted flowers- The
prevailing grasses are of the broom-sedge tribe (Andropogon, Urianthus)^ and next to these those of the millet
relationship (Pa^alunij Panicum) in numerous species. The ** wire-grass" of Alabama and Georgia is represented
only by Agrostis juncea, to which the name is here applied ; in the southern portions, the curious toothache grass
(Monocera aromatica) is abundant. Among the flowers there are conspicuous in spring the New Jersey tea
(Ceanothus Americanv^)j devil's shoestring (T^hrosia Virginica)^ which in southern Mississippi rarely bears perfect
flowers. Phlox pilosa^ Hedyotis purpurea^ Budbeokia hirta^ Coreopsis Umceolata^ Silene Virginica (crimson catcb-fly),
Viola palmata (wild pansy). Delphinium exaltatum (the bright blue larkspur), Pentstemon pubescens^ and the beautiful
Malva papaverj whose flowers resemble closely those of the red poppy. Somewhat later, two small species of Cassia
(C, nictitans and 0. Chamcecrista^ sometimes called sensitive plants). Lobelia glandulosa, L. puberula^ two species of
Saint Andrew's cross (Ascyrum Crux-Andrew and A. stans)j the white morning-glory (Ipomcea pandurata), and a kind
of wild lettuce (Hieracium Oronovii), also Pycnanthemum linifoUum (fine-leaved horsemint), become very prominent.
Thereafter the autumnal flora consists of many plants of the sunflower family : of true sunjQowers, Helianihus
angustifoUuSj H. occidentalism and Ohrysopsis serioeay Mariana; of golden rods, Solidago odora^ 8. altissima^ 8.
leplocephala, many species of aster, among which A, coneola is characteristic; also 8ericoearpus torUfoliuSy IHplopappus
ericoidesj Eupatorium rotundifolium (wild hoarhound), parviflorumy and in the bottoms several species of Stevia.
Several species of Liatris, as L. odoratissima (vanilla plant), L. pycnostachya^ L, gracilis^ L. squarrosa^ L, scariosa
(rattlesnake's master), Chuiphalium margaritaceum (wild everlasting), and many other compositce. Of the mint tribe,
Monarda punctata (horsemint), Hypiis copi^^to, and Pycnanthemum incanum are prominent, while Oerardia pedicularis^
Herpestis nigrescens^ and sometimes Oerardia purpurea represent the 8crophuiarinece,

The farther we advance southward the more numerously various species of huckleberry and whortleberry
(Vaccinium)^ most of which flower in spring, are represented among the undergrowth; and similarly the gallberry
(Prinos glaber) and candleberry (Myrica cerifera and M. Carolinensis) increase in a southward direction, until, near
the sea-coast, they become very abundant.

a This fact should exclude from use, as misleadiDg and contra^ to factSy the earlier name of ^^ Palu8tria^\ applied to the speciu^ h^
lannnos. ,^^

«L- COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

not pervious to water noderlie the soil at do great depth, wet places, terminating in littie
afterward often sink into the sand, are formed. In these ^^pine hollows'' we find a flora
bling that of the ^^pine meadows" of the coast, such as the candieberry, cord-rush {Uriocauhn
rtj E. T%Uo9Mm)j the yellow star grass {Aletris aurea)^ the XyriSy Pinguicula^ sandew (Drosera brevifolia)^ the
ili/loraj Rkexia ciliosoj Eryngium virgatum^ and in the more southern portion the pitcher-plants
rarMariM^ 8. PHttacina) and gallberry. The dark-colored soil, or muck, of these pine hollows is not
mtAtqnenxij used for the improvement of garden plots, and where they are not too wet the hollows themselves
cultivated by preference.

Soc'h being with considerable uniformity the character of the bulk of the long-leaf pine region, its description
the mention of the exceptions rather than of the ru]e.

Along the northern limit of the region as far east as Kaleigh, Smith county, we generally find some rather
atonpt rocky ridges overlooking the prairie country to northward. The body of these ridges is formed by the white
Off gray -Grand Gulf sandstone" (see Geological features), often capped on top with some of the brown sand-rock of
tbe drift. Southward the sandstone is gradually replaced by blue and green clays, which, east of Pearl river,
lie mostly low down on the hillsides or in the valleys, covered by sometimes as much as 200 feet of sands of the
stratified drift. Hence the region east of Pearl river is more of a plateau character, while on the west, where the
white sand-rock extends as far south as the Louisiana line, it is frequently broken into abrupt ridges or " backbones".
Bach is the case especially in Copiah and in portions of Lincoln and Franklin, extending into Wilkinson, and to a
leM degree in the region intervening between the pine hills and the Mississippi river. A corresponding state of
things exists in the upland portion of Louisiana lying opposite (see description of Louisiana, p. 20).

As in Louisiana, we occasionally meet in the pine hills of Mississippi isolated bodies of more fertile soil, where
the long-leaf pine is partially or wholly replaced by the short-leaf species, or even altogether by oaks. One
of the largest of such "coves" lies in Covington county, south of Mount Carmel, on the waters of White Sand
creek (see analysis below), occupying several sections, and similar ones are met with more or less in the northern
and western long-leaf pine region, where they are usually marked by flourishing settlements. Elsewhere, the faict
tliat cultivation is restricted to the narrow bottoms of necessity causes the inhabitants to be much scattered along
the streams.

Broadly speaking, the soils in the county lying east of Pearl river are more sandy than those to the westward,
where, as we advance toward the Mississippi, the retentive subsoil comes nearer the surface, and thus gives rise to
soils which, if not naturally thrifty, are at least susceptible of ready and permanent improvement, having a good
foundation of loam subsoil of considerable depth. At the same time the bottom soils are correspondingly stronger.
Such is the case in Copiah, Lincoln, Pike, and adjacent counties, while from Jones and Marion counties, east^and
southward, the soils of both uplands and lowlands become in general lighter and less retentive. As a matter of
course, the bottoms of the larger streams, such as the Chickasawhay, Pascagoula, and in part Leaf river and its
larger tributaries, are frequently of great fertility.

Soils of the long-leaf pine region. — No. 206. Soil from the dividing ridge between the waters of Strong
river and Silver cre^k, E. 19 W., T. 10, about Sec. 9, 2 miles east of Westville, Simpson county. This is one of the
ridges timbered with short-leaf pine and oaks, post, Spanish, scarlet, and some black oak, and more or less hickory.
The undergrowth is mainly copal sumach (Rhus copallina). This is substantially the same kind of land as that on
which the town of Westville stands. The soil is gray and very ashy or sandy for an inch from the surface, then
becomes of a dun color and more compact for about 6 inches, when it merges into the subsoil.

No. 192. Subsoil of the above, taken from 6 to 15 inches depth. A coarse, sandy loam, of a deep yellow or orange
tint.

No. 206. Soil from the long leaf pine plateau forming the divide between Okatoma and Okahay creeks, in the
north half of T. 10, E. 16 W., Smith county. This is an open, long-leaf, pine country, with here and there a post oak,
and more rarely a medium-sized black-jack, black gum, or hickory, the ground being covered with broom-sedge
(Andropogon), deviPs shoestring {Tephrosia), etc. Soil, about 6 inches; an ashy, yellowish- white material, with
very little coarse sand.

Subsoil of the above, from 5 to 12 inches depth. A pale yellow, sandy loam. Not analyzed.

No. 209. Under subsoil of the above, dark yellow or orange loam, much stiffer than the subsoil. Specimen
taken from the depth of 12 to 18 inches, but continues to 25 inches and more, when it is underlaid in its turn by
stratified sand.

No. 292. Subsoil of level oak uplands on the waters of White Sand creek, E. 19 W., T. 7, Lawrence county. The
soil here is a red or orange loam, mixed with much coarse sand, and produces good cotton and excellent corn. The
subsoil, taken at 8 to 18 inches depth, is a kind of coarse, sandy hard-pan of a deep orange tint.

No. 249. Subsoil loam from the landward edge of the hummock of the Bogue Chitto river, E. 9 E., T. 3, S. 26,
H. M. Quin's land. A yellow, rather light loam, resembling the subsoil of the pine woods, but here forming a
deposit about 23 feet thick, skirting the bottom to the hills. Timber, oak and hickory; soil little different from the
subsoil, which was taken at the depth of 10 to 18 inches.
262

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

No. 218. Pine land soil from near Summit station, on the Chicago, Saint Louis, and I^ew Orleans railroad,
Pike county, on the dividing ridge between the Bogue Cliitto and the Tangipahoa rivers, 480 feet above tide- water.
A rolling or sometimes hilly country,* timbered in the main with long-leaf pine, with which the short-leaf species
occasionally mingles; also more or less of oaks, as blackjack, post, black, and Spanish. The ashy surface soil is
generally much more shallow here than farther eastward, and is frequently replaced by the sandy loam that
elsewhere forms the subsoil. The sample analyzed was taken to the depth of 9 inches, and is a sandy loam of a
bufif tint.

No. 222. Subsoil of the above, taken from 9 to 20 inches depth. An orange yellow, rather sandy loam.

Lang-leaf pine lands.

SiifFflOK ooumnr.

Dlyiding ridge between Strong

river and Silver creek (R.

19 W., T. 10, S. 9).

Pine ridge.

SoiL

No. 205.

Inaolnble matter

Soluble silica

Potash

Soda

Lime

Iftamieaia

Brown oxide of manganese

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

PhoHpborlc acid

Solphuric acid .'.

Water and organic matter.

Total

Hygroscopic moisture

absorbed at

92.626
2.024

94.650

0.074
0.048
0.061
0.112
a 117
1.263
1.475
0.069
0.004
2.076

09.948

2.19
22C.O

SubaoiL

No. 192.

86.756
4.778

91.534

0.169
0.034
0.038
0.229
0.U4
2.219
3.600
0.041
0.004
1.645

99.627

4.04
22C.O

Smith couktt.

Dividing ridge between Oka-

toma and Okahay creeks

(B. 16 W.. T. 10, N. kh

Pine hills.

Sou.

Under subsoiL

Lawbskge

COUKTT.

White Sand

creek, level oak

uplands (R. 19

W., T.7 8.).

Red subsoil
loam.

PntK OOUKTT.

B. 9 E , T. 8, S.
26.

No. 206.

93.257

0.259
a065
0.129
0.180
0.146
L251
2.356
0.030
0.024
2.880

100.027

2.48
19C.0

No. 209.

83.030

0.485
0.061
0.078
0.519
0.153
4.145
&893
0.022
0.021
3.117

100. 519

7.1
19C.O

No. 292.

81.229)

587.918
6.689>

0.260

0.105

0.059

0.243

0.046

3.647

5.114

0.101

0.138

2.681

Bogue Chitto
underolay.

No. 249.

87.144
3.824

100. 321

6.68
18C.0

90.968

0.140
0.075
0.059
0.145
0.080
2.744
3.705
0.065
0.806
2.191

100. 478

2.20
18C.O

Summit station (B. 6 B., T.
4, S. 25).

Soil.

No. 218.

89.801

0.218
0.076
0.034
0.306
0.072
2.402
3.783
0.038
0.036
3.446

Pine land
subsoiL

No. 222.

100.212

4.11
21C.O

The mechanical analysis of a representative soil and its subsoil gave the following results :

Smith Caimtypine hills.

SoiL

SubsoiL

No. 206.

Na209.

mCHANICAL AHALTBIB.
Weiffbt of irr&VAl over 1.2"« dlAmeter

Weiffht of flrmvel between 1.2 and I'^r ^, ,^^r --r

0.4

8.0

96.6

0.4

0.8

98.8

Weiffht of ffravel between 1 and O.?""". ... r .... ^

Fine earth r - ■.-.

Total

100.0

MECHANICAL AKALT8IB OF FDTB KABTH.

Clay

4.6

80.7

14.8

14.6

6.8

3.6

3.0

6.9

10.9
8&3
17.0
7.9
5i4
2.6
0.6
L6
3.9
3.4
6.8

RAflimAnt of <0-25*'* hvdraulic vfjoe. t

Sediment of 0,25«» r r

Sfldiment of 5"" t -,-,-.,.„,,

Sediment of 1.0»"»

Sediment of 2.0""

Sediment of 4.0""

Sediment of 8.0«»> -

Sediment of 16.0'«

Sediment of 32.0""

Sediment of 64.0""

Total

95.9

97.8

77.931

0.266
0.072
0.152
0.352
0.095
5.456
1L670
0.043
0.036
8.261

99.538

laoo
aic.o

su^

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

A eompariflon of the composition of these soils with that of the soils analyzed from the short-leaf pine and oak
uplands of northern Mississippi does not show any wide divergexice. As regards the physical properties, it appears
fiom the hygroscopic coefficients that the long-leaf pine sarfate soils are, oif the whole, less retentive, being man
sandy than the latter, and continuing so to a greater depth, viz, from 8 to 12 inches, while in the northern Mississippi
soils the more retentive and fertile subsoil lies generally within from 5 to 7 inches of the surface, and can readily
be made to form a part of the tilled soil. Hence tbe long-leaf pine soils are generally more droughty, as even their
sobeoil is usually underlaid at no great depth by loose sand; otherwise the mechanical analyses given show for
the latter subsoil a composition of a light but adequately retentive loam, whose intermixture with the soO by
means of deep tillage should be accomplished whenever practicable.

In regard to chemical composition, a low percentage of phosphoric acid seems to prevail throughout, ranging
between 0.020 and 0.040 of 1 per cent., while in the short-leaf pine soils the average is above 0.050. The average
IM>tash i>ercentage ranges between 0.250 and 0.300 in both regions, and maybe considered adequate, but is doubtiess
to a great extent unavailable in the absence of a sufficient supply of lime. An application of lime, here as
elsewhere, at once causes a disappearance of the pine growth and its replacement by oaks, as is abundantly shown
near the edge of the pine region lying toward lime formations.

Summarily, deep tillage and the use of lime and phosphates are indicated as the prox>er or at least the most
direct, and therefore cheapest, means of improving the upland soils of the long-leaf pine region wherever a reasonably
thick layer of loam subsoil underlies. Where this is wanting the soil is hardly susceptible of profitable improvement
for general culture for many years to come. It is scarcely fair, however, to gauge the possible utility of these soils
by the results obtained in the culture of cotton and corn, almost the only crops ordinarily attempted. There are
many crops specially adapted to soils of this character which will in time find their way into practice. Prominent
among these is the peanut or goober pea. Among forage plants the lupins and others of the pea family grown in
the dry regions of southern Europe, should command attention.

The marls of the adjacent "prairie region" will doubtless in time be extensively used for the improvement of
the pine lands, and will relieve one of the great obstacles to thriftiness: deficiency in lime. There is another
resource available to a considerable extent, and even now utilized by thrifty farmers in this region, viz, the fallen
leaves or straw of the pines themselves. This can be obtained in enormous quantities at the proper season at veiy
little expense, and this practice should altogether replace the wasteful and irrational one of burning the woods
every autumn, whereby not only the pine straw, but also the roots of the pasture grasses, have been almost destroyed,
converting the park-like slopes of the long-leaf pine forest into a dreary waste of useless weeds and blackened
trunks and seriously injuring the pine timber, especially where it has been used for the gathering of turpentine.
In this case the annual fires soon destroy the trees, smeared as they are with the combustible pitch ; and it is thus
that many entire townships of once splendid forest now stand almost valueless for any present purpose, and with
little prospect of practical utility for many years to come unless restocked with pasture grasses by artificial means.

Pine stkaw. — As regards the possible utility of '*pine straw "for soil improvement, the following analysis will
give some light.

The leaves were collected, freshly fallen, about October 1, 1858, in southern Smith county, on the plateau land
where the soil samples Nos. 206 and 209 were taken. The air-dried "straw", carefully freed from adiieiiu?
impurities, yielded 2.5 per cent, of ash. The composition of the latter (calculated exclusive of about 6.6 per cent
of carbonic acid) was found to be as follows :

Ask of long-leaf pine straw.

SiUoa

PotMh

Soda

Lime

liagnetia

Brown oxide of manganeae

Peroxide of iron

Alumina

Phosphoric acid

Sulphoric acid

Potaasiuro chloride

Total

Percent.

65.

0.
18.

242
580
416
860
208
681
141
539
154
830
479

100. 089

Notwithstanding the unusually low percentage of phosphoric acid shown by this analysis, the composition of
this straw is such that about 1,400 pounds of it would amply replace the drain upon the soil caused by the growing
of one bale of cotton lint, provided the seed and stalk be also returned.

In the sandy, unretentive soils of the region, however, the pine straw turned under by the plow directly will
sometimes not decay for one or two seasons, and thus renders the soil too open for cultivation in the interval. It

264

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 63

should therefore he first used as a material for compostiug, whether with earth, muck, stable manure, or marls,
bone-meal, etc., as the case may be, and only applied to the land after it is decayed. This practice is already
pursued in the older states with excellent results.

It is thus possible to concentrate the fertility of a large area of pine land upon a small portion kept in a high
state of culture, instead of, as heretofore, laboriously clearing large areas, whose profitable fertility lasts only a few
years and then suddenly "gives out", in consequence, probably, of the exhaustion of the plant-food accumulated
near the surface during many years by the decay of the pine leaves. Whether it will be best to apply this system
to the production of cotton on these pine lands, or whether other branches of husbandry could, on the whole, be
more profitably pursued, is a question that must be largely determined by local and commercial conditions. Since
cotton, so long as the seed is regularly returned to the soil, is probably the least exhaustive crop known, its culture
would seem to be specially adapted to lands of limited natural resources under an intelligent system of farming.

Bottom soils of the long-leaf pine begion. — The bottom soils of the long-leaf pine region are usually,
of course, very light, often positively sandy, and in that case often not very durable. This condition of things is,
however, measurably varied and relieved by the circumstance that over a large portion of the area the streams cut
into the clayey strata underlying the drift sand prevailing on the hills, and thus, by an intermixture of the two
materials, the alluvial soils of the larger streams especially are rendered much stronger and more thrifty than is the
case with those derived alone from the washings of the uplands. Moreover (as has already been mentioned), the
streams heading northward of the pine region, in the heavy clay areas of the "central prairie region", carry the
character of the latter down with them for some distance into the pine hills.

It thus happens that the character and productiveness of the bottoms of this region vary very greatly from
one stream to another, and cannot be defined in a general manner. In some cases, the older and the newer deposits
of the same stream (the " first '^ and "second'^ bottoms) differ to an extreme degree, proving a progressive, but
occasionally a very abrupt change of conditions in respect to the sources from which the alluvial soils were derived.

These variations are exemplified in the subjoined analyses of soils from the various portions of this extensive
region, although not nearly all the ))ractically important differences are here represented.

No. 361. Soil from the hummock of bayou Pierre^ R. 2 W., T. 14 N., Copiah county. The exact locality from which
this soil was taken is not known. The timber was mainly beech, and the soil was originally very fairly productive,
but is becoming exhausted. It is a gray, rather silty or powdery soil, moderately retentive, and is very easily
worked.

Ko. 360. Subsoil of the above. Whitish-gray, lighter colored than the surface soil, and containing more or less
of small, roughish bog-ore concretions; a shade more sandy or silty than the soil.

No. 343. Soil from the hummock or second bottom of Bahala creekj R. 9 E., T. 9, Copiah county. Very similar in
appearance to No. 361; whitish, silty, with but little coarse sand. Taken to 10 inches depth.

No. 344. Subsoil of the abovCj taken from 10 to 20 inches depth. Quite similar to No. 360.

No. 67. Bottom soil from the west fork of Amite river^ R. 4 E., T. 6, Sec. 36, Franklin county, land of Mr. Joseph
E. Coten. White, '* crawfishy ;'' timber, bottom pine (P. Tcdda)j chestnut- white, white, and water oaks, some black
and red (f ) oaks, ironwood, sweet gum, some small hickory, holly, and red haw. The soil at the surface is ashy, but
becomes more clayey downward. Samples taken to the depth of 10 inches. It produces good cotton, a small
stalk, but well boiled ; com does not succeed. Being low and ill-drained, it is difficult to obtain a stand. This soil
does not occur in large bodies here, most of the bottom being of the character of No. 66, but is more prevalent
lower down on the stream. A soil similar in appearance to this, but much poorer, and characterized by post oak
and huckleberry, occurs in the " upland ponds'' of this region.

No. 70. Subsoil of the above, taken to the depth of 10 to 20 inches. Apparently less retentive than the surface
soil and lighter tinted, but containing small grains of bog ore intermixed.

No. 66. Dark bottom soil from the west fork of the Amite, same locality as the preceding, and but a short distance
from the spot. Dark brownish black, without change for 2 feet; a moderately clayey loam. Timber, large
magnolias and hollies, beech, chestnut- white and white oaks, some ash, sweet gum, and poplar (tulip tree), all very
large; a highly productive soil, making a 400-pound bale of cotton per acre, but not occurring in large tracts, and
scarcer farther down the stream. Its timber is tall and stout, in contrast with the comparatively thin and lank
growth on the white soil.

No. 80. Second bottom or hummock soil from Bogue Chitto creek, R. 9 E., T. 3, Sec. 17, H. M. Quin's land, Pike
county. Timber growth, magnolia, sweet gum, *' poplar," sassafras, hickory', all very large; some beech (chiefly
on the bank itself and in sandy spots), white oak, chestnut-white oak, hornbeam, ironwood, holly, black or stag-
horn sumach {Rhus typhina^here called "white sumach ", a name elsewhere given to Rhus venenata, or varnish tree).
The soil is a dark-colored, light loam, scarcely varying to the depth of 30 inches ; sample taken to that of 12
inches. It is a highly esteemed soil, very productive when fresh, and has scarcely diminished its product in six
years.

No. 194. Bottom soil from the first bottom of Okahay creek, R. 15 W-, T. 10, about S. 21, Smith county. A
brownish-gray, light loam, bearing a heavy growth of white and chestnut- white oak, as well as hickory and beech ;

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

iilm> wutf r iind willow oaks, black and sweet gum, etc., and, close to the stream, large magnolias. Very prodnctiTe,
l>ut> vorv liiniUHl in area, the bottom being scarcely over one-fourth of a mile wide, but well settled.

No! 11 Ihttom Moil from the bottom of Buckatunna creeJc^ Wayne county, near the crossing of the Mobile and
Ohio nillnmd, houHi side. This soil is rather heavy, of a brownish tint for 10 inches, then getting heavier and of
u lluhtor tint to 2t) inches depth. The timber is sweet gum and bottom pine (P. Tceda). Near the creek, where the
Hiill U Hoinowliat liirhter, large magnolias occur. The soil of the second bottom (about 3 feet higher and more
oxt(«nNlvo tinui tho llrst, which is subject to overflow) is nearly the same, and ought to be profitable in cultivation.

N«». It). Ihttom mHl/rom the first bottom of Chickasawhay river ^ near Mr. W. P. Avera's, M. 6 W., T. 6, Sec 36,
Ohmmio rnunty. A high l)ottom, rarely overflowed ; soil light "mulatto" color, of variable depth, underlaid partly
hv Hiuid and partly by orange-colored clay. Timber mostly very large, consisting of ash, red elm, willow and
Hpaiilnh iiak, MWrrt gum, magnolia, tulip tree, and some very large black gum; undergrowth, buckeye {Msculm
iHHvolor)^ IIIMum Floridanum (star anise), and redbud. Yields about 30 bushels of com ; cotton not tried. There is
not iniirh of' MiIn high bottom land ; most of it is low and sloughy, but the character of the soil is about the same.

No. H. «SV)i7 from the first bottom of Pascagoula river j R. 7 W., T. 2, Sec. 6, Jackson county. A dark-colored,
liravv Noil (h<*iic<< Ik ili»Kignat4*d as "bottom prairie **) down to 9 inches depth, where it is underlaid by a heavy gray
ohi.v HiibHoll to ;M) inr.lH»H depth. Timber, prevalently chestnut white oak, sweet gum, holly, Spanish oak {Q.faloata)^
liiiiKiiollu {ffrtnuiifiora), all very large trees; also some water and willow oak, a good deal of hornbeam, some
iiiiillMTr> , and Htagliorn sumac, and a little bottom white pine. This soil produces fine com when not overflowed
(oil lull* ; cotton not yet tried.

Nt>. IS. Soil from Hfcond botUym or hummock of Pascagoula river ^ same locality as the preceding, but lying from
■i (o (I \W\ hitrh<*r tlnin the first bottom, and not subject to overflow. Timber, white oak, l)ottom whit« pine,
niiij.'.nohii, wwWr oak, chincapin, some holly and' ironwood, and a good deal of very large staghom or black
Hunnirli. The noil Ih of a dark chocolate tint and quite light, underlaid at 10 inches depth by a very sandy, yellow
hni) Miill. This Hoil is also very [>roductive, and, being much safer than that of the first bottom, is chiefly cultivated
In I ho n'j;lon. ('otton is hardly grown here; has a disposition to run to weed.

No. LTi. Suhsoil of the above, 10 to 20 inches depth.

Bottom and hummock lands of the long-leaf pine region.

COPIAH COUNTY.

ItiMiliiblit matter

H«iluliln«mr«

I'otlMll

H«mU

lAuw

MiiKiH*iila

Ilniwn oxido of maiiganeM

Poroxhio of iron

Aliiiiiliia

IMioKphoric acid

Htil|»hiirio acid

Wat4'r and organic matter .

Total

nummi

Available inorganic ..

HygruAcopio molatare

absorbed at

R. 2 W., T. 14,
Bayoa Pierre hammock.

SoiL

No. Ml.

}

88.160

0.258
0.050
0.121
0.180
0.245
2.700
8.301
0.100
trace
4.177

100.298

SubaoO.

yo.380.

R E., T. 9,
Bahala second bottom.

SoiL

No. 843.

8&511

0.833

0.087

0.125

0.277

0.342 I

2.880

8.108

0.087

0.040

2.518

8L570)
4.0a8>

100.782

85.573

0.499

0.257

0.090

0.548

0.041

3.238

8.182

0.047 >

0.035 I

8.788

100.291

6i80

lOC.o

6.23

lOC.o

Snbsoa

No. 344.

81. 420 )
3.025>

85.845

0.
0.
0.
0.
0.
8.
8.
0.
0.
3.

357
208
129
377
089
409
885
091
000
354

100.258

8.74

8C.O

8.18

40.O

FRAHKLUr COUHTT.

R. 4 E., T. 5. S. 36.
West Amite white bottom.

IB.4B.,T.^S.8i
WeatAmite^

SoiL

No. 67.

100.221

SnbsoiL

No. 70.

Bottomaoilidaiia.

N0.6&

01.334

0.270
• 0. 103
0.134
0.187
0.141
L241
8.720
0.140
0.023
2.081

00.400)
8.382 5

08.872

0.
0.
0.
0.
0.
L
2.
0.
0.
1.

150
045
065
120
065 !
771 I
642 I
048 ^
006
828

100. 8S1

20C.O

87.50

8.481
0.064
0.216
OLtfl
0.MI

X487
0L180

OLoa

S.607

loa

\i\ .1 »

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

Bottom and hummock lands of the long-leaf pine region — Continned.

PIKE COUXTY.

R9E..T.3.S.17,
Bogue CUitto.

SMITH COUNTY.

WATK* COUKTY.

■1
GREENE COUNTY.

...... '

JACKBOH C0U5TT.

B. 15 W.. T. 10,
S. 21, Okahay.

R.5,W.,T.6.S6,
Buckatunna.

Avora'n place, !
R6W.,T.5.S.36,
Chickasaw ha J.

B. 7 W., T. 2, S. 6,
Pasoagoula.

B. 7 W., T. 2, S. 6,
Pascagoola hammock.

Second bottom
soil

Bottom soiL

1
Bottom soiL 1

"Prairie "bottom
soa

Sou.

SabsoiL

No. 80.

No. 194.

No. 11.

Na 19.

Ko.&

N0.1&

Na26.

Inv^lnMe matter . ^ ......

85. 876 1

0.136
0.060
0.090
0.188
0.150
1. 821
3.497
0.063

f
4.671

8.0373

0.149
0.078
0.418
0.099
0.262
2.107
2.107
0.149
0.007
6.619

71. 382 J „^ ^,,
9.82l} «^-^
0.211
0.139
0.157
0.489
0.216
4.580
&526
0.132
trace
7.872

102.475

1.724 3

0.122
0.076
0.091
0.142
0.035
1.210
; L373
0.060
0.005
3.307

71. 069 1 _ „„^
8.72*1 "-^"^
0.312
0.057
i 0. 082
0.321
0.140
4.638
&858
0.042
0. 008
7.904

100.160

"•=»• 194.941
0. 741 3

0.115

0.025

0.076

0.081

0.029

0.604

1.158

0.086

trace

2.777

1.850 3

Soluble silica

Potash

0.178

Soda

0.035

Lime

0.132

Masnesia

0.153

Brown oxldA of inMiininf>ffe -

0.083

Peroxide of iron

L378

Alnmina

1.941

Phosphoric acid

0.057

Sulphatio acid

trace.

Water and orsranic matter

4.496

Total

99.754

99.731

' 99.961 '

99.892

100.629

_ .

HyeroBcopic moistore

4.72
18C.O

6.61
22C.O

9.01
lOC.o

4.29

22C.O

11.96
22C.O

2.14
82C.O

4.15

absorbed at

22C.O

As might be expected, these soils are extremely variable in composition, according to location. The greatest
differences are manifestly due to the derivation of the soils from sources lying outside of the pine region, especially
in the case of such as head among the rich, heavy clays of the central prairie region, like the Okahay and
Buckatunna. The character of a great majority of these soils is that of a light sandy loam of no great depth, and,
in view of that fact, very deficient in lime and phosphoric acid and not rich in potash, as might be expected from
the character of the uplands from whose washings they have been derived. In the more southern portion of the
region, where heavy, impervious clays underlie everywhere at no great depth, the subsoil, though itself still light,
is frequently ill-drained, and remains water-soaked until late in the season : a condition of things usually made
manifest by the prevalence of the ink-berry or gallberry, wax myrtle, and other plants of like habit. These disappear
very strikingly as we approach the calcareous regions on either side, and equally striking is the increased thriftiness
of the soils, concurrently with the increase of their lime percentage, even while that of the phosphates and potash
percentage remains small. The natural inference is that among the most important improvements to be made
within the long-leaf pine region, both on uplands and lowlands, is the use of lime or of the calcareous marls so
abundantly present in the ^'central prairie region". Phosphate manures are indicated as next in importance by
the uniformly small amounts of these substances shown by the analysis. In this, as in other respects, it is interesting
to compare the analyses of the two kinds of bottom soils occurring on the west fork of the Amite in Franklin
county. The two lie yearly at the same level in immediate proximity, and must have been originally of the same
composition; but the white soil and subsoil (Nos. 67 and 70) have been subjected to the leaching action of stagnant
water in consequence of imperviousness of the underlying hard-pan. Perhaps these very leachings have contributed
to the high percentages of potash and lime found in the dark soil (No. 66), which is little inferior in quality as well as
in depth to the bottom soils of the Tallahatchie river (see Mississippi bottom region). Nos. 194 and 11, though
somewhat deficient in potash, show good cause for their exceptional thriftiness in the proportions of lime and
phosphoric acid, which are considerably above the average.

The white hummock soils from Copiah rank as of medium quality only, that of bayou Pierre being superior
to the Bahala soil both as regards lime and phosphates, the more so as a portion of the phosphoric acid shown
for the subsoil is doubtless contained in the unavailable form of bog ore. Both would be materially improved
by the use of the marls occurring on Pearl river, not far away; but bone-meal or superphosphate will be wanted
on them before long.

The second bottom soil of Bogue Chitto, No. 80, is rather a remarkable case as showing high fertility, both
from its timber and from the results of cultivation, and yet containing low percentages of all the chief ingredients
of plant- food. But the fact that it is almost the same to the depth of 3 feet, and pervious and well-drained, explains
the apparent anomaly. It is a parallel to the esteemed cotton soil of the middle Homochitto, No, 68, which would
be thought a poor soil from its low percentage of plant food, but makes up for this deficiency by its extraordinary
depth of from 3 to 4 feet. (See cane hills region under head "Oak Uplands Belt".)

A similar sa\ang clause applies to the Chickasawhay bottom soil, No. 19, almost identical in composition with
the Bogue Chitto soil just referred to, but not quite so deep nor so well drained, and hence less productive.

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI

The analyses of the Pascagonla soils are also very instructive. The prairie bottom soil, No. 8, looks by &t
most promising, bat until late in the season it is very heavy and ill-drained. Hence in cultivation the hammock
soil, No. 18, is preferred, which has not only the advantage of a larger supply of phosphates, though less of potash,
but is well drained, and is of considerable depth. It would require heavy dressings of lime or marls and the ose of
phosphate manures to render No. 8 at all available for profitable culture, because in it the roots can only penetrate
to one-third or one-half the depth that is easily reached in the lighter hummock soil.

Peabl biveb soils. — Almost throughout its course Pearl river is bordered by comparatively narrow bottoniB
and rather wide second bottoms or hummocks. At Jackson, for instance, the first bottom is about half a mik
in width, and beyond it lies an almost level second terrace, 5 to 6 feet above the flood-plain, 2^ to 3 miles wide,
and difTering widely both in soil and timber from the first bottom. Southward this feature becomes perhaps even
more pronounced, the first bottom being often of insignificant width only in the long-leaf pine region, while the
second bottom, or '^flaf, as it is there commonly called, is from one mile to several miles wide. It thas forms an
important i)ortioii of the readily available arable area of the region, and numerous soil specimens representing these
lands have been collected at different points. The following are the only analyses thus far made, but they afford
an insight into the general character of these lands:

No. 181. Hummock soil from the flat of Pearl river, E. 21 W., T. 7, Sec. 23, opposite Monticello, Lawrence
county. The level country here is from 1 to 1^ miles wide and is well cultivated. The land is timbered with bottom
pine (P. Tcedu)^ sweet and black gum, water and willow oaks, etc. The soil is of a pale mouse-color, quite light,
and rather silty to about 6 inches depth.

No. 182. Subsoil of the above, taken from 6 to 18 inches depth. This soil is a littie heavier than the surface
soil, so as to retain manure, and is of a pale-yellow tint. Below the depth mentioned the material becomes
gnradually lighter, and finally white and more sandy, with numerous brown spots of bog ore, occasionally washed
out as "black pebble^. The surface of the flat is about 20 feet above low- water level.

No. 61. Hummock soil from the flat of Pearl river, R. 18 W., T. 2 N., Sec. 26 (f ), 3 miles below the mouth of
South Little river, Marion county. Soil light, rather silty, and of a mouse color; taken to the depth of 6 inches.
Timber: bottom pine prevalent; water, willow, white, and Spanish oaks, not large; small sweet gum, some small
sassafras, staghorn sumac, dogwood, Spanish mulberry (Callicarpa)^ grape-vines, and huckleberry. No settlements
near, but a similar soil at Spring Cottage post-ofiice yields fair crops.

No. 62. Subsoil of the above, taken from 6 to 20 inches depth. Pale yellow, more retentive than the surface
soil, and apparently more so than No. 182.

No. 60. Bottom soil of Pearl river, from R. 17 W., T. 1 N., Sec. 6, Mr. Ford's land. Soil blackish, apparently rather
heavj', cracking open in the dry season. Taken to the depth of 10 inches. Timber mostly very large, especially
the sweet gum, which is very prevalent; pignut hickory, water, Spanish, basket, and black oaks, hornbeam,
ironwood, snowdrop tree, styrax, some mulberry, beech in low places, grape-vines ( V. cBstivalis), cissus, hop tree
(Ptelea), staghorn sumac, and but little magnolia. The timber denotes a strong soil, which produces very well and
tills easily, but the late overflows often belate the crops.

No. 63. Subsoil of the above, taken from 10 to 20 inches depth. Differs little from the surface soil in aspect^
and seems to continue unchanged to a greater depth.

Pearl River hummock and bottom lands.

Insolable matter ,

Soluble silioft

PotAah

8od» ,

Lime

MagnesU

Brown oxide of maoganeM

Peroxiilc of iron ,

Alumina ,

Pbowpborio acid

Sulpbtitic acid

Water and organic matter .

ToUl

HyKroM'opio moisture
absorbed at

Lawskmck ooinrnr.

R21W.,T.7,S.23.

Hammock.

Sou.

SnbaoiL

Nal81.

94.384
1.788

}

90.122

0.107
0.053
0.000
0.000
0.000

a 012

0.818
0.014 I
0.0(10 I
2.182 I

100. 100 I

No. 182.

89.008
4.494

93.502

0.155
0.077
0.058
0.107
0.077
1.000
2.187

o.iao

0.000
L723

99.742

2.35

19C.O

4. i:*

19C.O

Hariox couhtt.

R18W.,T.2N.,a20(t).

Hammock.

SoU.

No. 01.

87.520
2.090

1 90.

210

• —

0.124

aoo8

0.113
0.141
0.124
L830
8.320
0.009
0.010
4. 251

100.278
4.41

21C.O

SabaoiL

Na02.

85.854
4.824

1 90.

178

0.109
0.070
0.054
0.212
0.005
2.774
4.134
0.059
0.005
2. 320

100. 040

6.07

R17W.,T.1K.,&0L

Bottom.

Soil

NaOO.

87.024
0.802

J 87.

820

0.174

0.009

0.078

0.278

0.078 !

2.611

2.074

0.140

0.008

5.941

99.783

SnbtofL

No. I

•.SlI

OLon
OLon
oim

•.009

iLoa

4.0M
0.109
OLOOI
iLStt

WLsm

9L«9

3SG.«

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 67

On the whole, the composition of these soils agrees with that of corresponding soils in the rest of the long-leaf
pine region. The low potash percentage of the hummock soils is quite striking, and the same feature is apparent
in the bottom soil. No. 181 is in fact throughout a very inferior soil in every respect, but is somewhat redeemed
by the high phosphate percentage of its subsoil. Both are poor in lime, and little durability can be expected of
them. When ^< tired ", the land will require complete manures to restore profitable productiveness. Nos. 61 and 62
reflect the better quality of the timber in their composition, especially in the higher percentages of potash and
lime, to which is added a greater depth of the more substantial subsoil. Still these soils cannot be durable in their
natural productiveness, and manuring must soon be resorted to by those cultivating them.

The bottom soil, Nos. 60 and 63, differs materially by the higher percentages of phosphoric acid in both soil
and subsoil, with likewise a somewhat larger amount of potash. In lime it is still low, and the use of marl would
doubtless be one of the most important improvements in its cultivation. The large timber seems to indicate that
some important supplies of plant-food come from a greater depth than the 20 inches represented above, whose
composition does not, apparently, justify either the character of the natural growth or the good reports from its
cultivation. As compared with the hummock soils, it has, of course, the advantage of abundant moisture, for the
crop failures in the ^^flat" are largely due to droughts, which quickly injure such leachy lands.

THE PINE FLATS BEGION.

The ^^pine flats" are not as extensively represented in Mississippi as in Louisiana. At several points (as near
bay Saint Louis) the long-leaf pine ridges with their characteristic soil and vegetation reach almost to the Gulf
coast. Unlike the marshy belt that fringes the Louisiana coast, the shore-line of Mississippi sound is almost
throughout characterized by a bluff bank 10 to 25 feet high, consisting of sandy materials in its upper portion at
least, while near the water's edge there appear not unfrequently gray or black clays, with cypress stumps, precisely
as is the case at C6te Blanche, Petit Anse, and Grande Cdte, in Louisiana. The marshes are small and local, so
as to scarcely deserve representation on the map until the mouth of Pearl river is approached. Here also, however,
all but a small area of marsh falls within the limits of the state of Louisiana.

Almost throughout this region thus far agriculture is practiced only on a very limited scale, chiefly along the coast
and on the higher lauds lying along some of the bayous. The raising of stock on the natural pastures, lumbering, and
charcoal burning constitute the chief pursuits in the back country, while immediately along the coast there lie
numerous towns, settlements, and residences, occupied mainly as places of summer resort, and to a limited extent by
manufacturing establishments, connected closely by rail as well as by steamers with the cities of New Orleans and
Mobile.

In approaching the coast from the Interior the transition from the pine hills proper is at first announced by the
apx)earance, on the very summits of the pine ridges, of marshy flats or shallow ponds, occupied by a peculiar
vegetation, partly of rushes and sedges and partly of pitcher-plants (Sarracenia)^ long-leaved sundew {Drossera
fili/ormi8)j cord rush (JBriocaulon), bright colored orchids, etc. As we advance southward this feature becomes more
prevalent. The tall and stout pines become small and lanky and widely scattered, and among them appears on the
very uplands an equally diminutive and sparse growth of cypress. These incongruous trees, sadly worsted
apparently by their mutual concessions of natural habit, here rarely exceed 25 feet in height. The undergrowth is
formed by -low but closely packed and profusely flowering and frtiiting bushes of the gallberry {Prinos gl(iber)j and
the shallow depressions through which the surplus water of these bogs finds outlets are skirted, or at times
completely overgrown, with low thickets of bay {Magnolia glauca)^ the Carolina laurel or bay galls {Laurus
Carolinen8%8)j the candleberry or bayberry {Myrica)j and a few others, frequently interspersed with tracts of dwarf
palmetto {Sabal minimus). The latter, with some oaks, likewise form the chief growth of the very sandy bottoms
of the larger streams (such as Bed and Black creeks), and along these streams the bluff banks exhibit the
explanation of the state of things on the surface. The uppermost 2 or 3 feet of the profile show almost pure sand ;
but at the depth of 4 or 5 feet there underlie heavy, impervious gray or yellowish clays, which shed all the water
falling on the surface. The latter is therefore compelled to drain slowly sideways through the sand to the larger
channels that at long intervals intersect this plateau land. In so doing it converts the entire surface into a bog,
and becomes so impregnated with vegetable matter that the water of the streams appears of a coffee color, although
perfectly clear and transparent, showing distinctly every object on the bottom, including the magnificent trout
that abounds in these deep channels.

Occasionally, especially near the streams, we find low ridges, on whose flanks there appears a yellow loam subsoil,
stretching in from the pine hills and creating a distinction between upland and lowland, both in soil and vegetation ;
but in the more southerly portion (such as that lying on Bluff creek ) the landscape appears like a level park or meadow
land, whose sparse growth of diminutive pine and cypress scarcely interferes with the view — the ground covered with
bright flowers in spring, but with no other inhabitants than the prairie lark. The soil is a grayish-white sand, water-
sodden, and hopeless for cultivation, though doubtless to a great extent available as a pasture ground for cattle.

The ^'pine meadow" character continues usually to within one or two miles of the beach, with little change, save
near the larger streams, where the ^4oam ridges" come in. In the belt immediately along the coast the drainage
is better, probably in consequence of a more rapid slope of the clay stratum toward the sea. The cypress
diisappearSi the long-leaf pine improves in stature and appearance, and there mingles with it another ^>xssb^^^Rscs£sc^ss^^

68 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

called pitch-pine, and freqaent all along the sound and on the islands. It has of late been recognized as distanct, and ii
described by Dr. George Engelmann, under the name of Elliott's pine (P. UUiottii). (a) It is very rediuous, and is iiaei
to some extent as firewood. Together with the live-oak, it is characteristic of the ^'sand hammocks" of the cotat

The soil of tlie ^' sand hummocks" is little else than sand, though near the surface it has sufBcient sabstanoe ts
bear crops for a few years, and frequently has a more compact subsoil, allowing of the profitable use of mannm
As the roots can penetrate to great depths, tap-rooted crops do not suffer from drought as mach as mig^t be
anticipated.

At many points the sand hummocks abut directly ui)on the beach. Frequently, however, their character ii
materially changed by the presence on the surface of the *^ shell-heaps", which have given rise to so mnA
speculation all along the Oulf coast. Where these masses of shells (mainly, in most cases almost exclusively, the
giiathodon or common '^clam" of the Oulf) have occupied the ground for any considerable length of timoythe loose
yellow sand has beeu converted into a dark, sometimes black, sandy soil, containing a large amount of vegetaUe
mold and bearing a vigorous growth of bottom timber, mingled with the live-oak, while the pitch-pine u
altogether absent. The soil of these ^^ shell humniocks" is highly productive, and is everywhere occupied either
by residences, market gardens, or plantations. Like the shell heaps themselves, it forms only limited patches, but
it is by far the best soil of the coast.

THE COAST MARSHES.

The ^^sand hummocks" of the coast form strips or bands from one-eighth to one-half mile in width, separated
fix)m one another by small raarHhes, formed by short water-courses which empty directly into the Oulf. Beside these,
all the larger streams, such as the Pascagoula, Tshula Gahawfa, Biloxi, Wolf, Jourdan, and Pearl, form more or teas
extensive marshes at their mouths and for some distance inland, the largest bodies being those belonging to the
first and last named. The main body of the Pearl river marsh, however, lies on the Louisiana side, leaving on tte
east side only a narrow strip between Mulatto bayou and the main river south of Pearlington.

The soil of the marshes derived from the short streams heading in the sand hummocks or meadow lands is
usually very sandy, so far as it has any solid basis at all. Sometimes the soil is represented only by a semi-fluid,
almost gelatinous mass of black, fetid muck, into which a pole may easily be pushed down to a depth of 8 or 10
feet. Such marshes are occupied mainly by the '^ cutting rush ^, a sedge grass {Gyperua) with triangular stems and
formidably sharp, saw-toothed leaves, which the visitor soon learns to held in awe. Where the soil is more solitli
the ])revailing growth is the ** round rush'' (Sdrptia laeustHs), with its round, soft, pithy stem. With it there
usually grows the marsh milkweed {Asclepias paupercula)^ the large arrowhead {tiagittaria lancifolia)^ and the
pickerel weed {Pontederia cot data). In both kinds of marsh we trequeutly see stunted bushes of bay (MagnolU
glauca)^ bay galls {Laurus Carolinensis)^ and candleberry (Myrica Carolinensis). Stunted pine, cypress, maple, black
gum, etc., are occasionally seen.

In tbe marshes belonging to the larger streams, such as the Wolf, Pascagoula, and Pearl, there is generally near
the main stream a belt of heavy clay soil, covered by from 10 to 18 inches of matted " grass roots". Farther away
the soil is usually more sandy, and the '^ cutting rush " more abundant.

Attempts to reclaim the marshes for cultivation have as yet been made on a small scale only by throwing up
the soil from a portion, so as to form ridges above the level of the overflow or to serve as levees around the areas
intended to be reclaimed. When freshly dug up all these soils are very fetid. On the whole, »they are not very
strongly impregnated with salt, and samphire and other salt growth is seen mainly near the beach. It is noteworthy
that, notwithstanding this, tbe region is remarkably healthy, and the presence of the mosquito in large numbers is
the only drawback to its jileatiantness as a health resort from the cities.

Soils of the pine flats and coast beoion. — The soils of tbe immediate coast and those of the pine flats
inland are so intimately correlated that the two are best considered together, the more as the areas covered by the
coast soils are very limited.

No. 214. Soil of pine meadow lands from R. 7 W., T. 6, south of Little Bluff creek, Jackson county. Perfectly
level, timbered with the scattered growth of stunted pine and cypress, and the ground covered with a dense turf of
small sedges, cord-rush {EriocauUm), XyriSj short-leaved sundew (Z>ro«era brevifolia), etc. The soil here appears
to be uniform to tbe depth of 12 inches, being gray, very sandy, and unretentive; lower down pale-yellow sand at
the time (May) drenched with water.

No. 17. Soil of ^^ shell hummock^ from the land of Mrs. McKae, at West Pascagoula, Jackson county. Timber,
large live-oak, red cedar, magnolia, bay galls (unusually large here), Spanish oak (Q. falcata)^ water oak, holly,
dogwood, sweet gum, ])itch pine, wild plum (Prunus Americana)^ ironwood, prickly ash (XanthoxyUm Carolinianum)^
Hercules dub (Aralia spinosa^ commonly called '^ prickly ash" in tbe interior of Mississippi), muscadine (F.
rotundifolia)j frost gra])e (F. cordi/olia); of smaller shrubs, cassine (Ilex Cassine), French mulberry (Callicarpa
Americana); also very abundantly bu Actinomeris, (t) called by the Creoles "I'herbe a trois quarts '', and considered
an indication of an excellent soil. It will be noted that with a few exceptions this growth is characteristic of
calcareous soils elsewhere. Soil almost black, very sandy, with shells intermixed.

No. 15. Subsoil of the above^ taken from 6 to 12 inches depth, somewhat lighter in color, and very sandy.

a It is probably tbe same as P, CuhentU, Griseb.
270

PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES.

Ko. 88. Soil of shell hummock on Mulatto bayou, B. 16 W., T. 10, HaDcock county, from the sea island cotton
plantations. The timber is almost precisely the same as that recorded above as occupying the shell hummock at
West Pascagoula, with the addition of a good deal of hickory and of the laurel-leaved oak (Q. laurifolia) and sassafras.
The soil is very light, and is of a dark '' mulatto" or chocolate tint, unvarying for about 20 inches, at which depth there
underlies a pale-yellow sand, highly productive, yielding 40 bushels of com or a bale of cotton per acre, very light
and easily worked. Prior to the war this tract was almost exclusively occupied by the culture of long-staple
cotton. Its greatest width is about one- third of a mile, and it extends along the bayou with a varying width
for 4 or 5 miles. Shell heaps, consisting of oysters and clams, form long levee-like ridges along both the present and
older channels. Soil sample taken to 12 inches depth.

No. 90. Subsoil of tJie above^ 12 to 20 inches depth.

No. 241. Soil from the marsh of Pearl river j Hancock county, taken about 30 yards from the river bank, near
Mr. Brown's mill; thrown up from a ditch 3 feetdeep, the first 12 inches being a matted mass of grass roots. The
chief growth of this marsh along the banks of the river and its bayous is a tall ^^ round rush " (Scirpus laetutris) 6
to 10 feet high, with an undergrowth of arrow-head, pickerel weed, and lizard's tail {Saururus cemuus). The cutting
rush also occurs apparently in the more elevated places, and with it the marsh milkweed. The only shrub to be
Been on the green ])lain, extending westward as far as the eye can reach, is the wax myrtle (Myrica Carolinensis)^
growing to a height of 8 to 14 feet, and at intervals a solitary bush of the bay (Magnolia glauca). The soil near the river
bank is simply a stiff, bluish-gray clay, apparently with but little vegetable matter. Farther inland it becomes
darker, and where the sample was taken it was black when moist and of a slate color when dry. It contains very
little sand, cuts with a shining surface, and is variegated with irregular dark-colortfd veins and specks, which, on
exjiosure to air, become yellow or rust color.

It is stated that this soil when laid dry (which can readily be done, since it forms firm levees) is easily worked
and produces fine vegetables, such as ])ea«e, beans, cabbage, etc., but is specially adapted to water- and musk-melons.
None of these plants showed any disi)osition to wither, as was the case with the Pascagoula marsh soil. Near
Pearlington, where the soil is the same, an experiment was made with rice. The crop was very abundant and of
flue quality.

No. 215. Marsh soilj thrown up to the depth of about 3 feet, in a small ^^cutting-rush" marsh adjoining the
premises of Alfred Lewis, West Pascagoula, Jackson county. This is one of the small marshes formed by branchlets
heading in the meadows or <' gallberry flats", or in the sand hummocks. The portion in which the soil was thrown
up adjoins the beach. When in its natural condition a pole could be pushed down some 8 feet into it. The soil is
almost black when wet, dark gray when dry, and to the eye appears like a mere mixture of sand and marsh muck.
In attempting to cultivate this soil Mr. Lewis found that both com and rice thrive finely up to a certain age,
prcMlucing a large crop of leaves. When both were about 15 inches high the leaves began to turn yellow, and the
com soon died out alcogether ; the rice ^' spindled up" into a weakly stem, some of which even bloomed, but failed
to fmctify. The application of shell quicklime produced no sensible difference in the result in the season following
its application in spring.

No. 220. Marsh muck, taken from the same marsh farther inland, dark brown and spongy, with more or less of
undecom posed vegetable matter; thin and mushy when fresh, and fetid.

SoUs of the coast region.

Ism1oM«^ niAtter

Soluble tUioa

Potanh

8o<l»

Limo

MainK'NlA

Brown oxide of nanganeee

Pemxifleol* iron

Alaniins

Phoephmieftcid

Sulphuric aeid

WmUsr and organin maUer .

}

Upland os hummock boilb.

JACKBON couimr.

R. 7 W.. T. 7,
pine meadow.

SoU.

No. 214.

• « • •

Total

VLygToacovlio moietnre
•baorbedafc

OS. 502

O.fMl
a050
0.023

aooo

a045
0.450
0.848
0.021
trace.
2.277

00.445

R. 6 W., T. 8, 8. 7, shell hnm-
mock, West Pascagoula.

Son.

No. 17.

04.208)
0.080)

04.888

0.0&5
0.046
a228
0.101
0.016
0.438
a585
a 104
0.004
8.561

100. 016

2.06
10C.»

SabM>il.

No. 15.

07.245>
* ..«< 87.757
0.513>

0.012

Not detr.

a072

0.060

a 042

0.404

0.388

0.148

0.018

1.010

00.020

ao8

10C.«

HAHCOCK OOUICTT.

R. 16 W., T. 10, Sea island
cotton liuid.

Soil.

No. 88.

03.684
2.448

I 06. 082

045
a 057
0.008
0.114
0.058
a 510
0.464
0.007
trace.
3.018

100.544

2.52
22C.O

Sahaoil.

' No. 00.

06.370

0.080
a045
0.115
0.065
0.035
a 524
0.822
0.107

1.821

00.484

2.04
22C.O

R. 16 W.. T. 0,

S. 20, (f ) Pearl

river.

Harsh soil.

No. 241.

74.160

1.003
0.370
a 182
1.004
0.065 I
8.850 j
la 643 .
0.188 '
0.858 !
8.800

100. 212

7.04
▲ir-dried.

MaKSH BOIL0.

JACKBON COUNTT.

R. 6 W.. T. 8, S 7,
West Pascagoula.

Marsh sou.

No. 215.

70.183

0.550
0.067
0.1G9
0.743
0.067
1.171
5.804
0.111
0.176
10.826

00.706

1&44
22C.O

Marsh mnck.

No. 220.

25.225

8.858

0.847
66.070

100.000

SL40
21C.O

70 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Ko. 214, the pine meadow soil, shows throughout such low percentages of the important ingredients of plant-
food that its sterility does not appear surprising. Yet, when we compare it with the highly productive shell
hummock soils from two widely separated localities, we find that these differ from the other, so far aB the mineral
ingredients are concerned, in only two material points, viz, amounts of lime and of phosphoric acid, from four to
six times greater, (a) The shell hummock soils are even poorer in potash than the meadow soil, but doubtless
contain a good deal more of true humus, the vegetable matter of the meadow and marsh soils being in a sour and
soluble condition, in which it does not serve the nutritioii of the ordinary culture plants.

But apart from these important chemical differences there is a most important physical one. The shell
hummock soils are several feet deep and are well drained, permitting the roots to penetrate to great depths, and
thus to utilize the plant-food of a very large soil mass. In the case of the meadow soil, as has been stated, the
subsoil is water-soaked at the depth of 10 to 12 inches, and thus effectually precludes the penetration of roots
to any greater depth. Hence we find on it only fibrous-rooted plants or very small tap-rooted ones, and of all
these the seeds are exceedingly small, conforming to the very small amount of phosphates available.

Undoubtedly the original material of the shell hummocks was the same as that of the sand hummocks, gallberry
flats, and meadows. The cbange has been brought about by the long-continued action of the disintegrating shells.
It is not difficult to see how these acted. While furnishing slight amounts of phosphates and nitrogen compounds
directly, the chief effect has been to retain and accumulate near the surface ail the plant-food absorbed by successive
crops of vegetation by virtue of the effect of lime in rendering humus insoluble and preventing its waste, and with
it that of the accompanying available plant-food. In the meadow soils the dark-colored draiuage-wat^er speaks
plainly enough of the acid condition of the humus, as manifested by the growth of " sour '^ grasses. A dressing of
lime would promptly relieve this condition, as is actually sometimes done for a few years after the burning of the
dry grasses (by their ashes) ; but so long as the land is left undrained the continued formation of more acid in the soil
soon destroys this effect.

Drainage first, and then the use of lime, are therefore the first steps to be taken in the reclamation of the ill-
drained "meadow" soils wherever the value of land may be such as to justify such treatment of a soil of such
slender natural resources. Doubtless the broadcast sowing of lime on meadow pastures would soon create a great
improvement, even without drainage, rendering it possible to replace the sedges by sweeter grasses. As to the sand
hummocks, which are well drained, but are too poor and unretentive for profitable culture, it would seem probable
that they could be made available for market-garden purposes at least by the combined use of dressings of lime
and marsh muck; a treatment which would result in the production of a soil similar to the "shell hummocks",
produced by the action of the shell lime, which has continued for many centuries. The muck will carry with it both
plant-food and the property of retentiveness to the soil, which will thus ultimately be made capable of retaining
manure.

As to the marsh soils, it is clear that those occurring along the channels of the larger streams, such as No. 241,
requiie only drainage and aeration to render them profusely productive. They are, in fact, little more than rich,
heavy bottom soils, with high percentages of every mineral ingredient of plant-food; but they are in a condition
in which they contain compounds positively poisonous to plant growth, such as the soluble salts of iron, and
in the case before us of sulphate of magnesia or epsom salt, which has doubtless been derived from the sea-water.
From the experience had, it would seem that simple aeration, after leveeing, enables these soils to bear ordinary
crops ; but it cannot be doubted that even with them the use of some lime to favor the aeration process and to
decompose the poisonous epsom salt would be found highly advantageous.

As regards the soil and muck of the "cutting-rush" marsh, as exemplified in Nos. 215 and 220, the best use of
the latter would doubtless for the present be the improvement of the sand hummocks near the coast, in conjunction
with lime, as above stated. Where such marshes can be drained, such soils as No. 215 would offer considerable
inducements for cultivation, since it is not only reasonably rich in plant-food, but is also rather unexpectedly retentive
and otherwise qualified for culture by its not inconsiderable percentage of clay. The withering of the crops tried
by Mr. Lewis, as above stated, was undoubtedly due to the contact of the roots with the acid, and to them in many
respects poisonous, water of the adjoining marsh, charged with soluble iron salts and (as shown by the odor alone)
sulphureted hydrogen. It will not do simply to throw up the soil in ridges, but the marsh must cease to exist as
such immediately around it.

NATUBAii FEBTiLiZEBS OF THE LONG-LEAP PINE BEGION. — ^Apart from the pine straw, which at present is
the most generally available material for the production of manure (see page 58, under the head of ^' Soils of the
long-leaf pine region''), and from the marls available to the portion of the region adjacent to the central prairie
region, there are within it but few naturally occurring materials of much value as fertilizers. The green and gray
clays cropping out in the beds of streams are often taken for marls, and are usually without agricultural value.
In a few localities these clays contain enough of lime and other ingredients of plant-food to be useful as fertilizers.
Analyses of three such are given on page 71.

a The high lime percentage of No. 17 ifi probably partly doe to shell particles meohanicaUy scattered in the mass, and not wholly to the
ohemically difiiised substance.

272

DtPkKTUr.rt' l.I' fHK 1WTE8IJP

MIS S I S S IIMM

SIKns'JtiO

IN THK miTraij:NT sF-moNS OFTni. siaT.

jmnEUirmti bbtwkfw thk

AREA CVVllVXmi IN COTTOS

AW) THK TOTALABEA

moo.

GENERAL DISCUSSION.

It should be recollected tliat, as stated, lime is notably deficient in all lands bearing the long-leaf pine as
their exclusive growth ; hence its addition is the most needful improvement, as what other plant-food is contained
in the soils will thus be made more available. Of commercial fertilizers bone-meal, which supplies both lime and
phosphoric acid, will probably be found the most immediately profitable. Were Pearl and Chickasawhay rivers to
be made navigable for flats at least, the lime and marls of the prairie region would become sufficiently accessible
for use along these streams. But, above all, those growing cotton should keep in mind that they cannot afford to
lose any portion of the i)lautfood contained in their cotton-seed. All this should be either directly or indirectly,
but fully and faithfully, returned to the cotton-fields, for in losing its substance the very life essence of cotton
culture is lost.

No. 261. Red clay marl from a hilltop on Sec. 1, T. 6, E. 3 B., on the siouth fork of the Homochitto (Judge
Cassady's land), Franklin connty. A stiff, dark orange-colored clay, with calcareous concretions (not included in
the analysis); once a "prairie spot'' covered with strawberry bushes; black soil, now washed away.

No. 293. Qray clay marl from a high bluff on Pearl river, on Sees. 2 and 35, T. 4 and 5, K. 12 B., Marion county.
Forms a stratum about 6 feet thick in the face of the bluff some 30 feet above the river level.

No. 267, Oreen loam from Burnett's bluff on Lower Pearl river, near Spring Cottage post-office, Marion county.
Forms a stratum 5 feet thick above low water of the river. A greenish, loose,. loamy mass.

The two first are fairly good marls, especially for the sandy lands of the region in which they occur. No. 267
would hardly pay for hauling to any distance, being too poor in lime, but might be available for the somewhat stiff
bottom lands of the neighborhood..

FUANKLIIC
COUNTY.

MAOION COUXTY.

BMITH COUMTT.

Casaady red clay
marL 1

Barnes' bluff
gmy clay marl.

Bnmett's bluff
green loam.

' Long-leaf pine
' straw.

No. 261.

No. 203.

Xo. 267.

Inpolnblo mAttor

40.475

1.242 ,

0.152 >
13. 100 j

LR>5

0.266 1

5.538 1
12.587

0.132 ;

0.033

0.555

5.875 !

77.438
0.700
0.101
4.800
L248
0.316
2.080
a 440
0.111

Trace,
3. 372 >
2.554 '

83,601
0.827
0.268
0.703
1.053
0.223
4.304
a 847
0.148
0.022

Not determined.

G5.242

1 5.S30

0.416

13.860

&208

1. 681

\ 0.141

4.530

1.154

0.830

Potash

Sodft

Xiimd

M«.0n AitiAi

Thrown 0x1*10 of mfumnow t^t r . -

Perozlde of iron

•

AlnmlnA . ^

Phoanhorio acid

Snlnhnrio acid

Carbonic aoid

Water

1.470

'PntABainm f^Vilnrifln . . -

•

Total

00.870

100.087

00.766 !

100.080

' GENERAL FEATURES OF COTTON PRODUCTION IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

The map exhibiting graphically the relation between cotton acreage and the total areas in the several portions
of the state shows very striking ineqaalities of distribution ; and this inequality would be even more pronounced
if, instead of the a<5reage, the product in bales of cotton had been made the basis of the delineation.

The broadly obvious fact shown by the map, as well as by the tables, is that by far the greater portion of the
area planted in cotton lies in the northern and western part of the state, while in the extreme south there is an area
where cotton culture is either very subordinate or i)ractically non-existent. This area continues into the adjacent
portion of eastern Louisiana, and it is the region where lumbering, turpentine making, and cattle raising form thus
far the predominant industries of the sparse population.

The most abnipt inequalities are met with when traversing the state from cast to west about latitude 34^ 45'
north. Here we meet no fewer than eight alternate belts of low and high intensity. A glance at the soil map of the
state shows that these belts correspond closely with the soil regions there laid down. Southward, the variations
become less extreme and the areas of similar intensity broader.

Unlike the case of Louisiana, the decrease of cotton culture in the southeastern part of Mississippi is not
accompanied by a corresponding increase of some other sta[)le production. It is primarily due to the inferior
quality of the soils in that section, improving steadily, however, as we advance westward to the Mississippi
river.

18 c r 273

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Table in.— POPULATION AND COTTON PRODUCTION IN EACH AGRICULTURAL REGION OF THE STAFE.

Agriovltoxal legion.

The State

Table-lands

Oak and 8hoit*leaf pine uplands

Northeast prairie region

Pontotoc ridge

Central prairie

Cane hills

Hissiasippi aUarial

Long-leaf pine, oak, and hickoxy up-
lands.

Long-leaf pine hills and flats

Square
milet.
40,840

6.620
6,580
4,650
1,840
6,020
2,630
7,040
6^810

?,650

POPULATIOy.

TotaL

1, 181, 607

204,700
145,964
184,821
80,755
188.800
105,784
143,448
128,687

46,284

White.

479,808

79,861
95,757
71,767
29,348
49.848
26,268
29,828
66,062

82,199

Colored.

652,199

124.839
50,207

118,064
10,412
88,466
80,531

U4,120
62,476

18,085

Acres.

2, 106, 214

467,215
230,090
404. 418
61,461
226,689
165,226
838,822
207,266

COTTON PBOPUCnOV.

Bales.

Bales. ^^

\^^t^^ COt-

^^^^^- ton.

963, Ul

202,068
89,264

136,027
23,768
89,124
95,626

245,769
77,052

16,077 I 4.443

Average per acre.

I Lbt.
0.46 657

0.44
a89
0.34
0.39
0.89
0.68 ^
0.78 'l,041
0.87 628

627
655
486
656
655
828

0.29 , 414

Lint

Lbt,
219

209
186
162
186
183
276
847
176

188

Seed.

Lbi.

488

418
370
824
870
870
652
694
862

276

Total in tons.

Lint.

228,739

47,989
21,198
82,806
6,645
21,167
22,711

Oif| 9vo

18,800
1,055

Seed.

457,478

05,978
42,806
64,012
11,290
42.834
45,422
116,786
86,600

2,U0

Per- Cot-
centage ton
of the acre-
state's age

total per

produc-
tion.

miM.

100.0

21.0
9.8

14.1
2.5
9.3
9.0

26.5
&0

45.5

8L4
8SlO
87.0
4&.«
46.1
62.8

4ai

8&7

0.6 ! 10

Table IV.-COUNTIES IN EACH REGION HAVING THE HIGHEST PRODUCTION.

BBOIOm, ▲COOBDXHG TO ▲VBBAGB PBODUCT PBB

▲CBB.

Name.

lUssUsSppi aUuTial

CaaehiUs

Table-lands

Oak and short-leaf pine uplands

Pontotoc ridge

Central prairie

Lmg-leaf pine, oak, and hickory uplands.

Northeast prairie region —
Long-leaf pine hills and flats

0.78
0.58
a44
a39
0.89
0.39
0.87

0.84

0.29

conirrus HAVDro hiohxst total fboductiok.

Countiea.

Washington

Warren

Holmes

Attala

Union

Hinds

Copiah

Noxubee.

Covington

18
5

42
8

16
66

68,409

84,127

62,556

86,050

21,266.

80,018

64,616

82,483

6,968

Bales.

54,878
22,950
80.468
15,285
8,260
86,684
28,726

2^294

2.071

0.87
0.67
0.40
0.43
0.39
0.46
0.48

0.81

0.80

18
80
87
22
25U

commxB BAVDia hiohbst pboduct pbb acbb.

Counties.

Issaquena
Warren...
Holmes...
Calhoun ..
Tippah ...
Hinds...
Franklin.
t Alcorn ...
( Prentiss .
Marion ...

Acres.

18.293

84,127

, 5

62,656

19.028

18,758

80.013

18.211

18.863

18,610

4,717

16,160

22,950

80,463

0,536

7.424

36^684

8,042

7,477

7,207

1,579

0.88
0.67
0.49
0.50
0.40
0.46
0.44
a40
0.89
0.38

•MS

IB
16

County in the state having the highest total production : Washington, 64,873 bales.

County in the state having the highest average product per acre : Issaquena, 1,254 pounds seed-cotton.

County in the state having the greatest cotton acreage per square mile (see Table I) : De Soto. 181.6 acres.

DISTRIBUTION OF COTTON PRODUCTION AMONG THE SEVERAL AGRICULTURAL REGIONS.

Table III shows the total products, in bales of 475 pounds, of each region, as resolting from the sammation hj
counties. The county lines having no relation to the natural divisions, these summations can only be rough
approximations ; but the form of the census returns does not admit of a complete segregation of the product of
each natural division, and the outlines of the several shades on the acreage map are, to a considerable extent,
shaped in accordance with information derived partly from the answers to schedules and partly from outside
information and personal knowledge of the actual distribution of production. Similar corrections must, of course,
be applied in the discussion of the subject.

Perhaps the most unexpected fact te the generality of readers would be the relatively small proportion of the
cotton product of the state coming from the lowlands of the Mississippi, for it has been customary to consider the
pre-eminence of Mississippi as a cotton-producing state to be due mainly to the *' rich lowlands ". On the contrary,
it appears that only a little over one-quarter (25. 5 percent.) of that product is derived from the Mississippi and Yazoo^^
bottoms, while over 30 per cent, is produced in the yellow loam or oak and short-leaf pine uplands region and table —
lands north of the central prairie belt. At the same time, the long-leaf pine region of the south, exceeding th9
oak uplands region in area by over a thousand square miles, produces only 8.5 per cent, of the total product.

The Yazoo bottom* — ^The relatively low total product of the lowlands is at once explained by reference to
the column giving the percentage of tilled lands, which is only 12.8 per cent, for the region as a whole, and even

274

74 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Wilkinson about half as much as the cotton area is devoted to com^ while in Warren and Adams not as much as
one-third of the amount of land given to cotton culture is devoted to the production of com. The area given to
other cultures is insignificant.

It thus appears that, unlike other regions, where in the course of time there comes an adjustment favoring a
self-sustaining policy in farming, these counties have either remained fixed in the policy of cotton-growing,
regardless of provisions, or have lapsed from a better condition toward this undesirable state of things which
Involves the importation of the bulk of the necessaries of life.

The country, when "fresh'', was occupied by large plantations, and the black deep loam soil, enriched by the cane
growth, yielded crops scarcely inferior to those now obtained in the bottom lands. These original plantations
have nearly all disappeared, their owners generally removing their working force and appliances to the Tensas
bottom, opposite, while mostly retaining their residence in the hills; but their hill lands were to a large extent
" turned out", and, as is natural in a hilly country, had their soil washed away to a great extent, deep gullies and
ravines forming across the once cultivated fields, making their cultivation progressively more difficult and less
profitable. In other words, the plantation system has passed away, leaving large areas apparently barren and
wasted; and the small farmers that are to reclaim them by careful culture and thrift have not yet come in to any
great extent. Hence one may travel in the uplands of Warren, for example, for miles together without seeing
what appears to be a prosperous farm outside of the valleys ; the country surrounding Vicksburg thus forming
a striking contrast to that near Memphis, where the density of rural population and that of cotton culture jointly
reach their maxima within the state.

By referem^ to the descriptions of the cane-hills region at large and of its individual counties, it will, however,
be seen that this state of things is not a necessary consequence of natural conditions, and that its still rich and
easily reclaimed soils offer great inducements to industrious small farmers. The satisfactory results of such a
system may be best seen in Claiborne county, where the large tilled area is more generally subdivided into small
holdings.

NoBTHEASTEBN PBAIBIE BEGION. — The cottou product of this region, forming in the aggregate 16.6 per cent,
of the state's total, is quite unevenly distributed among its several portions. The culture is most intense in the
southern portion of the prairie region proper, where we have in Lowndes and Noxubee counties the highest percentage
of tilled lands (39.5 and 34.9), the largest proportion of the same in cotton (51.2 and 54.4), the highest acreage per
square mile (129.3 and 121.3), and the largest number of bales per square mile (43.8 and 37.2). To this is to be
added the densest population, viz, 56.5 and 43.9 per square mile, respectively, the figures in the case of Lowndes
being disproportionately high on account of including the city of Columbus. It is significant that this predominance
of cotton culture is here again associated with the greatest predominance of the black over the white population,
being between four and five negroes to one white.

Leaving out of consideration Oktibbeha, a large portion of which lies outside of the prairie belt, we find to the
northward a pretty regular decrease of " bales per square mOe'', and, concurrently, of the percentage of tilled lands
and of the proportion of these given to cotton. Parallel with these the proportion between the white and colored
population changes, until it is completely inverted in Prentiss, where the whites outnumber the negroes in the ratio
of between four and five to one. At the same time the product -per acre has risen from 0.3 L bale in Noxubee to an
average of 0.39 bale in Prentiss.

The three counties embracing the greater portion of the Pontotoc ridge (Tippah, Union, and Pontotoc),,
furnishing 2.5 per cent, of the state's cotton crop, are a good deal varied in their surface. The flatwoods belt
forms a very considerable but very sparingly cultivated portion of their area, to which in Tippah is added the
broken and sandy and also very sparsely settled valley of the Hatchie ; hence in the latter case the surprisingly
low percentage of the tilled lands as compared with the total area, while as a matter of fact the Pontotoc ridge
portion of the county is probably among the most densely settled portions of the state. Union, also, has a
large slice of thinly-settled and scantily-producing flatwoods, but on the other hand embraces a tract of fertile black
prairie country, as well as some of the choicest portions of the " ridge ^ ; hence, of the three counties, i t has the largest
percentage of lands under cultivation, the largest proportion of these in cotton, the maxiiimrn cotton acreage, and the
highest number of bales per squai*e mile. It has also the densest population, but the whites oiituumber the negroes
more than three to one, as in Tippah. Pontotoc stands lowest of the three in most of the poiuts mentioned under
the combined influence of the flatwoods belt and of the lower productiveness of a portion of its ridge lauds. Unlike
the prairie counties, those of the ridge give a large portion of their land to com and small grain, these being given
an area over one-half greater than that assigned to cotton (93,242 acres, against 61,401 in cotton), while in the
prairie belt the total of cereal area is about one- tenth less than that given to cotton (365,321, against 404,418).

In other words, the returns show the Pontotoc ridge country to be one of a more or less varied and self-sustaining
culture, with a white population of small farmers outnumbering the colored nearly three to one: while in the prairie
belt there prevails the old system of cotton plantations purchasing supplies from the outside ami employing chielly
negro laborers, who accordingly outnumber the whites nearly two to one (113,064 negroes, against 71,757 whites)*
Concurrently, the average product per acre is considerably less in the rich prairie belt than in the hill country.
The contrasts become much more striking when, as may properly be done, the counties of Prentiss and Alcorn are

GENERAL DISCUSSION. 75

either eliminated from tbo comparison or joined with the ridge counties, to which, in some respects, they more property
belong, being largely upland, and greatly varied in their agricultural features. The average product i>er acre of
the prairie counties is then reduced to 0.33 bale, against nearly 0.40 in the northern counties, where the stai)le is
chiefly produced by white labor.

The flatvDOods region cannot be separately considered upon the basis of the census returns, but only upon that
of a general knowledge of its agricultural condition and capacities. It is almost throughout very thinly settled,
and that by small farmers, whose means do not allow them to purchase lands held in higher estimation. As has
been stated in the original description (see Part I), the soil, while not intrinsically poor in the ingredients of plant-
food, is difficult of cultivation, being mostly very heavy, and the entire region is ill-drained and liable to remain
wet until late in the season. It will require intelligence and thrift to render their cultivation profitable, but this
is feasible, as it has been done locally. With systematic drainage of the region will come not only easier tillage and
more certain crops, but also improved health. In its southern portion, in Oktibbeha, Noxubee, and Kemper, the
character of the soil is less extreme, and settlements are more abundant.

The counties belonging to the central prairie region^ growing altogether nearly one-tenth of the state's cotton
crop, are so much varied in their surface features and soils that few general statements can be made that will hold
for all of them. Thus Madison and Hinds, furnishing two-thirds of the product of the entire central belt, agree in
most points with the table-lands section in percentage of area under tillage, the predominanoe of cotton culture as
shown in percentage of tilled lands in cotton, cotton acreage per square mile, etc., as well as in the large predominance
of negro population over the white (nearly 3:1) ; and thus what has been said in the discussion of the tablelands
will substantially apply here. In the counties east of Pearl river we at once have a reduction of the percentage
of tilled area of one-third of the average on the west side (31.9: 10.6), due to the fact that large portions of these
counties belong to the adjacent long- and short-leaf pine regions, while the form of the census returns does not
permit the segregation of the product of each division. At the same time, the average proportion between the
white and colored population approaches equality, but this average is in part fhe result of considerable variations
in opposite directions. Wherever the rich black prairie lands are available for cotton growing (which is not always
the case, on account of ^' rust"; see regional description) the negro population is in the majority, a« in northern Eankin,
southwestern Scott, and northeastern Jasper. But Smith county, notwithstanding the large part of its area on which
prairie soils do occasionally occur, is statistically clearly within the long-leaf pine region, most of the ** prairie ^
soil being unavailable for cotton culture on account of a tendency to '^ rust ". Wayne might be similarly classed
but for the fact that practically nearly all its cotton product comes from the northeastern portion within the prairie
belt, and in view of this fact the low product per acre (0.26 bale) is somewhat surprising. Here, as well as in Clarke
and Smithy a more painstaking system of culture would result in a material improvement of the quantity and
quality of the cotton product, for not only are there large tracts of intrinsically very productive soils now almost
untouched on account of difficult tillage, but the marls occurring so abundantly in the region allow of indefinite
and exceptionally cheap improvement of the soils. (See regional description.)

The long-leaf pine region, embracing over one-fourth of the area of the state, furnishes only a little over one-
twelfth of the total product (8.5 per cent.). Of this contingent, moreover, over 94 per cent, is produced in the northern
and western counties of the region, where oaks and short-leaf pine, at least in the bottoms, mingle with the long-
leaf species, while the balance is produced scatteringly within the long-leaf pine division proper, where this tree
descends even to the sandy bottoms or bordering flats, in which the ti-ti, gallberry, star anise, and similar shrubs are
its associates. Outside of these bottoms there is practically, as yet, no cultivation, except along the immediate
sea-coast and in the western portion of Covington county, that county having the large.st proportion of tilled lands
and producing nearly half of the cotton of the group ; so that its figures might, with almost equal propriety, place it
with the western group of counties, where oaks and hickory accompany the pine. As a whole, the long-leaf pine
region is characterized by the sparseness of its population, among which the whites exceed the negroes in the
proportion of 13 to 10^ by the small average percentage of tilled lands (7.4 per cent, of the area), and the
correspondingly small cotton acreage per square mile (16.5), and nearly an*equal amount of land given to com. It
is curious that, considering the remoteness of a large portion of the region from markets, so large a share of the
cultivated area should be given to cotton. The good roads, so easily maintained on the sandy soils, have their share
in encouraging this state of things, hauling being habitually done to great distances. Thus this region would, as
a whole, seem to be less nearly self-sustaining than is the short-leaf pine area.

Copiah stands at the head of the western group, having the largest proportion of tilled area (25 per cent.) and
the highest aggregate production, exceeding that of Madison (the two counties having nearly the same total area)
on a somewhat smaller area given to cotton, and therefore with a higher average product per acre (0.43 bale against
0.38 in Madison); certainly an excellent showing for a "pine- woods" county which bas been long settled. Its
numerous and well- watered valleys, occupied by small farms largelj* worked by whites (the latter nearly equaling
the negroes in number), appear to prove more than a match for tbe large upland plantations of the former county,
where the negroes outnumber the whites more than three to one. The acreage given to corn also differs by only
a few hundred acres, while the corn product of Copiah exceeds that of Madison by over 66,000 bushels. The^
result of the comparison is certainly a remarkable one, and probably unexpected to both counties concerned.

377

76 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Prooeeiling southward from Copiah, we find in Lincoln, Pike, and Franklin counties a rapid falling off of the
peroentago of lands under tillage (10.5 in the latter county), indicating an increasing restriction of the cultivation
to the bottoms of the streams, the surface of the country being rather broken. The percentage rises again in Amite
and Lawrence, under the influence of considerable bottom areas, but falls again as we cross Pearl river eastward^
In HImpson and Smith, where only 8.4 per cent, of the total area Is under tillage. The proportion of the tiUed
Ittudw givo!! to cotton seems in all these cases to be largely controlled by the facilities for communication with a
umrkot, tlu^ remoter portions growing more corn in proportion. The' high average product per acre, exceeding that
«)f tlio black ])rairie region of Lowndes and Monroe in most cases, testifies to the use of bottom lands for cotton*
Laudonlale ntands somewhat apart from the rest of the group in its statistics as well as in geographical position.
ItM hitflior percentage of tilled area (16.2), and the fact that as much as 46 per cent, of that area is given te cottoD
oulliiro, are doubtless due to its railroad facilities; for the figure given for product per acre (0.29 bale) proves that
th<^ Noil Im not more productive, and that uplands are contributing to the general average. Concurrent with the
high proportion of lands devoted to cotton the negro population is seen to exceed the white (11.5: 10), and the
nanio n^lat Ion 1h noticeable in Amite (8.5 : 6.5). In the rest this proportion ranges from near equality to (in the case

of Mm I Ml) 4 whites to 1 negro.

In tlie Moutlieastem group of counties, the especial home of the long-leaf pine pure and simple, the sparseness^
of tlio population (5.0 to the square mile), the low percentage of tilled lands (average, 1.8 per cent.), and the low
notion iiroduct i)er acre (0.29 bale), all speak of the comparative poverty of the soil, which in its natural condition ia
not luliipt^Ml to the profitable production of the staple. Pasturage and lumbering will be profitable for some time
Ut (i«Mno. HotU^r tillage of smaller areas and the use of fertilizers have improved similar soil regions farther east, in

(loortfla lUKl the Carolinas.

No NralHJand or long-staple cotton was reported from Mississippi for the census year. Prior to the war it was*
pfoninitly grown on a limited area near the coast, on the deep, sandy "shell hummock" soils of Mulatto bayou, in
I laiKMHik (UMifity. In due time this (;^lture will doubtless be renewed, and by an artificial application of the procesa
liy wliirli nature and mto have combined to form, in course of time, the "shell hummocks", the long-staple cotton
iiiMV v<*t. <Mj(;upy an important place in the products of the Gulf-shore region.

RELATIONS OF THE TWO RACES TO COTTON CULTURE AND PRODUCTION.

TlioNo have been cursorily alluded to in the discussion of the several regions, but it may be well to summarize
tlio luttM'l iiHlons more definitely here. Broadly speaking, it is obvious that the bulk of the cotton is produced where
tlio bulk of the negro population is found in the state as a whole. A glance at the column giving the proportion
of tlio tlll<^<l lands occupied by cotton shows that, on the whole, this percentage is greatest where the negro race
prfMloffilnatcm most, viz, in the great Yazoo bottom, where, with an average predominance of the negro race over
i\u% whlt45 in the ratio of nearly four to one (3.9: 1), we find also the maximum percentage of the tilled lands in
iM»t ton (58.0). Still, in detail this general rule does not hold good, for we see in Issaquena the greatest disproportion
|miw(M*n the two races (11.1 negroes to 1 white, almost the same as the parish of East Carroll, opposite), yet
t ho proportion of tilled lands in cotton is only 56 per tcent, being less than the average, while the maximum
pitnM«titage of total area in cotton is found in Tunica, where the whites are nearly twice as numerotis (5.8 negroes to 1
wliit4^). Among the upland regions the greatest overbalancing of the negro race is found in the cane hills (3.2: 1),
with Mie next greatest percentage of lands in cotton (47.3), and here the greatest percentage of tilled lands in cotton
agriMtH with the greatest overbalancing of the colored race in Wilkinson county (Warren being largely lowland, and
(^)ntHining a large city, cani^ot enter into the comparison). The northeastern prairie region and the table-landa
di vInIou of the yellow-loam region show almost the same proportion between the two races (1.58 and 1.56 negroes to-
1 white, respectively), while the respective percentages of tilled lands in cotton are 45.3 and 41.3, again showing a
Mhght prepondei-ance of cotton area where the negro population is most predominant. In the case of the prairie
nigion this becomes much more obvious when we segregate the ^^ black prairie counties" of the south firom the
group formed by Lee, Prentiss, and Albom (see discussion of the prairie region). In the southern group,
N4>xubee, with nearly 4 negroes to 1 white, has also the maximum percentage of tilled lands in cotton (54.4). In
the rest of the state, apart from the local influence of great centers, there is a more or less obvious inverse ratio
between the predominance of the negro population and the percentage of lands occupied by cotton. But the
relation between the product per acre and that predominance is equally marked, and here the ratio is as obviously an
inverse one when the natural productive capacities of the several soils occupied is taken into consideration. The
best possible comparison is that made above between the northern and the southern groups of the northeastern
prairie region, where the best soil under negro predomiaance. and in the very center of the cotton belt, yields only
an average of 0.33 bale per acre, while northward, under the influence of a predominance of the whites and a
consequent subdivision into small farms, the product per acre rises to an average of nearly 0.40 bale. Under
the same influences the average product of the Pontotoc ridge, with inferior soils on the whole, exceeds by 4 per
cent, that of the black prairie region. Similar relations are abundantly exemplified among the counties of the yellow-
loam region.

GENERAL DISCUSSION. 77

The bottom region forms only an apparent exception ; for while its lands under the j^reatest negro predouiinnuce
among the regions shows also the highest production per acre, this is manifestly due to the great native fertility
of the soil, which, under favorable circumstances, will produce as much as 2 bales per acre. Instead of this, these
lands actually yield only an average of 0.73 bale, and the highest product reached, even in the profusely fertile
buckshot lands of Issaquena, is 0.88 bale per acre. Here also, with an overwhelming negro predominance, out
of over 22,000 acres of land under tillage, only 3,849 are given to com, although that crop, as will be noted,
actually yielded during the census year the surprising average of over 100 bushels per acre. In the face of such
advantages, nearly all the subsistence and supplies are purchased from the outside. Whether or not this is due
to free choice on the part of the colored race or to the prevailing plantation system is not apparent from the
returns ; but be that as it may, the concurrence of the two factors is none the less significant. The negro
population seeks the rich lands, especially the lowlands, and at present tends to continue there a system of
agriculture which involves as direct results indifferent culture, exhaustion of the soil, and a continued indebtedness
incurred for the purchase of the prime necessaries of life, which these very soils are so eminently adapted to
produce advantageously at home.

AGRICULTURAL METHODS IN THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON.

The view afforded by the schedule replies of the methods and condition of agriculture in the state shows that
it is largely in the iirst and partly in the transition stage, resulting from a partial exhaustion of the soil beginning
to direct attention to the best and cheapest methods of resuscitation. The almost universally shallow tillage, the
rare use of the subsoil plow, together with the variety of opinions expresse<l as to the merits whether of deep
plo^ang or subsoiling proper, the turning out of ^^ tired " land, while fresh portions are cleared and brought
under the same primitive system of cultivation, and the fact that the use of fertilizers is exceptional, are all
characteristic of the advance of the settler into the wilderness, from Alabama and Wisconsin to the Pacific coast.
Generally, however, the reduction of the soil's production under this treatment is only temporary, and yields to
intelligent culture by the more permanent successor of the pioneer farmer.

Kesults OF IMPERFECT TILLAGE. — ^Mississippi has the unenviable privilege of an exception in the latter
respect, her copious rainfall and peculiarity of soils having combined to render her uplands, and among them the
very best, liable to great and permanent damage from the effects of shallow plowing and <^ turning-out '^ of ^^ tired''
land. The causes and details of this state of things have been discussed, in treating of the yellow-loam uplands
region, from the point of view afforded from personal observations, and are further illustrated by the abstracts
of reports received from the counties concerned. But the actual extent of the damage done by this washing
and final gullying of the hillside slopes, with the final undercutting into the underlying sands and the bodily
descent of the upland soil into the valleys, mingling with a flood of sand, which renders useless alike the hills and
the valleys, must be seen to be appreciated. While ^^ horizontalizing " and hillside ditching is now being made
in a measure to prevent these inroads, yet the shallow plowing does not give a sufficient depth of tilled soil to hold
the heavy downpours of water that occur more or less every year, so that the hillside furrows are broken sideways.
The difficulty of making the unintelligent laborers, prevalently employed, follow the prescribed hillside levels,
instead of plowing up and down hill, as customary, makes it more difficult to preserve any improvements made in
this respect. But however difficult, no more pressing problem than this comes before the cultivators of the uplands
of northern and western Mississippi; for, quite apart frotn such serious and almost irremediable injury as is caused
by gullying, there is primarily involved the washing away of the best portion of their surface soil. Even the use
of a subsoil plow every alternate year would go far to prevent this grave evil.

BoTATiON AND FALLOW. — Next in importance among the means of maintaining productiveness is a proper
system of rotation and fallowing, or, what amounts t<o the same thing, a proper diversity of crops. That this cannot be
maintained where half or more of the tilled area is given to cotton is obvious ; yet this state of things exists in a large
namber of counties, as will be noted by reference to Table I, where it will be seen that in very few counties only
does cotton occupy less than one-third of the tilled area, the average for the state being 42.7 per cent. While the
answers show that a conviction of the benefits of rotation is gaining ground, this is obviously the case mainly in
the more remote regions, where circumstances compel a greater diversity of crops. But it is plain that in the great
cotton-growing counties the tilled area is practically divided between corn and cotton only; and even this
idtemation is very commonly only begun and maintained after the cotton product of the land bearing it year after
year has seriously diminished. This has been especially the history of the northeastern prairie country, where one
bale to the acre was at first the regular crop, which has now diminished to an average of about one-third <0.33). But
it is expressly stated by several respondents that this succession is far from satisfactory, and that the intervention
of at least one additional crop (field pease) secures far better results. A four-year rotation, including sweet potatoes,
18 strongly recommended by some; but when we compare the areas given to that crop (one of the common
necessaries of life) with that given to other crops it is quite evident that there would not be mouths enough t»
consume the product of one-fourth of the tilled area. There is a fifth alternative, i)racticable to any extent, viz, the
fiillow : but it must be such fallow as tills the land not planted, instead of letting it go to waste by washing, as novr

78 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

happens when land is "turned out". The great difficulty lies in convincing the negro, and even a portion of the
white population, that tillage bestowed on land not planted is not thrown away. When land turned out lies level
arud '^ grows up in. briers'^, as is quaintly stated in the answers, it means, of course, that it does not wash away, and
from this a benefit is uniformly reported; but when it means only the absence of tillage and the washing away of
the soil, joined perhaps to the treading of ranging cattle in wet weather, it is no wonder that " lying out ^ is not
found to benefit the land, as is so frequently stated. Few cotton-growers in the state appreciate adequately the
injury done to their fields by the practice of letting the cattle pick up what they can through the winter, the
forage thus utilized being dearly paid for by the cloddiness and lack of tilth found in the spring plowing, the
difficulties of after-cultivation, and the quick " burning up " of the crop under the influence of dry weather.

Fall plowing. — The difference of opinion regarding the utility of fall plowing, with x>erhaps a leaning against
it, is perhaps, in a measure, justified by the necessity existing in any case,of repeated surface tillage. The soil thus
receives on the whole a very fair amount of stirring, and to this extent the never-ending fight against "the grass"
is a benefit.

Weeds. — By the wholesale ripening of the weed seeds in the cornfields the fight is made to be a life and
death question for the crop whenever a wet season occurs. The most universally troublesome weed — ^the crab-
grass — makes excellent hay. The reason given for letting this matter go by default each season is that the handi
are too busy picking cotton j which must ever be true so long as two-fifths or more of all tilled land is occupied by
that crop. It is clear, then, that so long as this is the case no sound or permanently practicable system of farming
can exist. Hay, com, and bacon will have to be purchased from the outside, and the energies of the cotton-
planter must continue to be given to " fighting crab-grass".

Planting in bidges. — The universal practice of planting cotton in ridges is intimately connected with
shallow tillage. The reason aligned is that when cultivated level cotton is liable to be " drowned ouf by heavy
rains, and that the greater depth of surface soil so secured is an advantage. The experience of the older states
has shown that deep preparation and level cultivation is by far the safer method, for by it security against drought,
as well as wet, is gained, and of late the droughts have proved, on the whole, tbe more fatal to success. In view
of the adaptation of the implements now in use to ridge culture, it will probably continue to hold its own for some
time, especially where negro labor is in the ascendant. The skill attained in the use of these implements is really
remarkable.

Fertilization — use of cotton -seed. — The answers concerning fertilization are also pregnant with
information as to the prevailing ideas and practice. It is only from regions where the soil is naturally of inferior
productiveness that we hear of the use of commercial fertilizers; elsewhere they have scarcely been thought of, and
even stable manure and cotton-seed, and composts made of them, are used only by " small farmers". Oreen manuring
is chiefly practiced by turning in cow-pease, but large planters only turn in crops of weeds. The discussion as to
whether cotton can be profitably grown on a large scale by the aid of fertilizers is still actively going on, the
tendency still being to increase production by cultivating more land in the old way, rather than to int*msi^
production on small areas. Cottonseed is generally recognized as a good fertilizer, and in some regions it is used
systematically; but a great deal of it is still lost by being allowed to rot in neglected piles. Some is fed to cattle,
whose manure is then scattered in the woods. From Sharkey its use for fuel in making steam for gins is reported*
The grievous loss incurred from the wasteful practice of the past is beginning to be appreciated; but now comes
the temptation to sell the seed to the oil-mills for cash, with little thought of getting back the seed-cake. As a
hopeful symptom, Lowndes and Prentiss report an occasional exchange of the raw cotton-seed for its equivalent,
approximately, in seed-cake meal. The seed-cake, or its substance in the guise of the manure of cattle fed with it,
should be returned to the soil. (See on this subject the article on " Cotton-seed and its uses" in the genersd
report.) Thus far this essence of fertility is chiefly shipped from the mills to Old and New England.

"Intense ctjltxjbe.'^ — The experiments repeatedly made in the eastern cotton states, more especially in
Georgia, by Mr. Dickson, and later by Judge Furman, showing plainly and irrefragably the profitableness of intense
production on small areas by the use of fertilizers, cannot be too strongly commended to the attention of the cotton-
growers of Mississippi. The habit of scattering the energies of the working force over large surfaces, producing
only a fraction of a bale per acre, with great risks in case of an unfavorable season, is a proceeding that evidently
cannot be long continued, if only on account of its depleting effects on the soil ; and it perpetuates the pernicious
system of credits and advances upon crops for provisions which could be more cheaply produced at home.

Labob system. — A system of intense culture is incompatible with the now most generally prevailing practice
of planting on shares with the laborers or renting land to tenants for a certain portion of the crop. Under either
arrangement there is no prospect of the maintenance or improvement of the soil, since the laborer or tenant-at-will
is nowise interested in anything except ^^ skinning the soil ^ to the utmost, and is generally too ill-informed to
appreciate the advantages of intense culture, even if he was sure that he would enjoy the results of what improvements
he makes. The wage system, placing the plantation under a central, intelligent management, is obviously tbe
only one under which improved methods of agriculture are possible ; and even under this system it is not easy
to overcome the old slovenly habits and the easy-going ways of the colored race.

280

GENERAL DISCUSSION. 79

General conclusions. — Id comparison with the need of greater attention and a steady change io respect to
the matters above noted, all questions of detail sink into insignificance. Taking the state as a whole, few of the
cotton states can compare with Mississippi as to the extent of area occux)ied by first-class soils, such as those of
the Yazoo bottom, table-lauds, and prairies, the like of which cannot be found, save in very small bodies, in the
Atlantic states. Even of the lands now considered too poor for profitable cotton culture a large proportion only
await rational treatment to rise to a level with the good average uplands of Georgia and the Carolinas. The
climate is pre-eminently adapted to the culture not only of cotton, but of most of the other products of the warm
temperate zone, and in the uplands at least is certainly more conducive to the health of the white race than the
prairies of Illinois and Missouri. The rare invasions of the yellow fever, as experience has shown, can be
controlled by rational and strict sanitary regulations. The great bottoms are, as yet, during the summer, a safe
abiding-place only for the colored race and a small proportion of acclimated whites; but with the exclusion or
regulation of overflows, and greater care especially in the matter of the drinking-water used, there will be a
great improvement in the sanitary condition of the lowlands, together with possibilities of production, of which
the rough, wholesale treatment these lands have thus far experienced can only give a remote idea. It is true that
for the census year all replies state that all the cotton has been picked; but it is notorious that many times
heretofore, when exceptionally favorable seasons realized the conditions of high and intense culture, the ordinary
force of the plantations has been inadequate to pick nearly all the crop, of which, in some cases, as much as one-third
has been estimated to have remained in the field on the buckshot lands, the portion actually picked amounting to two
(400 pound) bales; so that the product x>er acre must in these cases have been between 1,100 and 1,200 pounds of lint
per adre, or the same result that, in the Georgia exx>eriments, was produced by the highest culture and abundant
manuring on worn-out land. The virgin soils of the black prairies of northeastern Mississippi, when first occupied,
produced frequently a 400 pound bale and a half; the table-lands of the western part did nearly as well, and, as
the replies show, are still credited with the ability to do so, although the statistical evidence shows the rarity of
that result at the present time. Since, as a matter of fact, all these lands have merely been ^^ skinned" with tillage
a few inches in depth, there can be no question that their resuscitation and restoration to their original production
is merely a question of time and good husbandry, and not nearly as much dependent upon actual manuring as is
tiie case in the worn soils of the Atlantic states, whose original store of plant-food was much smaller. There is,
then,, no natural cause why Mississippi should ever cease to be what she has been for some time past, the banner
state for cotton production. Texas, with its immense area, may soon surpass Mississippi in total product by force
of numbers, as it were; but it would be difficult to cut out of that state an area equal to that of Mississippi which
would equal the latter state as a whole in capacity of production. But it is certain that in order to maintain this
pre-eminent position the state must speedily adopt material changes firom the old methods of wastefulness, especially
Baregoirds the ^Huming-out" of her <^ tired" uplands and failure to return the cotton-seed to the cotton-fields,
directly or indirectly.

The statistical facts brought out in the preceding tables and their discussion show very clearly some of the
leading points to be noted in bringing about this improved state of things. It appears, as a rule, that as yet
the regions producing the largest proportion of the cotton product of the state have also the largest negro
population. Inspection of the census table giving the size of farms also shows that in such regions the system
of large plantations is still in the ascendant, with the system of planting on shares definite or contingent. The
effect upon the crop is most noticeable in the columns giving '^product per acre", which, other things being
equal, seems to be in nearly an inverse ratio to the excess of negroes over whites and to the size of the farms or
plantations. Any one familiar with the subject will not need the figures to prove this, but to the world at large
ihey will make the most convincing showing. In the course of the preceding discussion this point of view has
been brought forward repeatedly. It is perhaps best exemplified in the comparison between the northern and
eoutiiem counti^ of the northeastern prairie region, but with a different form of statistical returns it would be
equally apparent in many other cases. When we find that the average product of the Tazoo bottom counties
is not quite three-quarters of a bale per acre, instead of an easily possible two bales, as shown in numerous cases
of carefhl culture, the showing becomes quite as cogent in their case as in that of the prairie counties. It
is quite dear, then, that a subdivision of the land into smaller holdings, in whose maintenance the owner is
personally interested, and, concurrently, the substitution of the wage system for that of shares, at least so far as
the negro laborer is concerned, are conditions-precedent of the introduction of a rational and permanently possible
agricultural system, not only in Mississippi, but wherever in the cotton states a similar condition of things still
prevails ; for while the white farmer is far from appreciating, as he should, the advantages of rational agriculture,
yet as a matter of fact he is incomparably more accessible to the influence of progress than the negro race, whose
excessive conservatism in respect to habits once formed will need the time of several generations to be overcome
and replaced by more thrifty methods and ideas.

281

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

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PART II.

AGEIOULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS

OF THE

CODNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI.

S87

AGRIOTTLTITRAL DESCRIPTIONS

OF THE

COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI.

The counties are here grouped uuder the heads of the several agricaltaral regions, previously described, to which
each predominantly belongs, or, in some cases, under that to which it is popularly assigned. Each county i8
described as a whole. When its territory is covered in part by several adjacent soil regions, its name will be found
Yinder each of the several regional heads in which it is concerned, with a reference to the one under which it is
actually described. In the lists of counties placed at the head of each group the names of those described elsewhere
are marked with an asterisk, (*) and the reference to the head under which these are described will be found in its
place^in the order of the list^in the text itself.

The regional groups of counties are placed in the same order as that in whi<^ the regional descriptions themselves
are given.

The statements of areas of woodland, prairie, etc., refer to the original state of things, irrespective of tilled or
otherwise improved lands.

Appended to the description of each county from which a report or reports have been received is an abstract
of the main points of such reports, so far as they refer to natural feature^, production, and communication. Those
portions of the reports referring to agricultural and commercial practice have been summarized and placed in a
separate division (Part ,111), following that of county descriptions. In making the abstracts of reports it has been
necessary in most cases to change somewhat the language of the reporter, while preserving the sense. In some
cases statements palpably incorrect or overdrawn have been altogether omitted, while explanatory words have been
added, placed in parentheses.

NOKTHEASTERN PRAIRIE REGION.

This embraces the following counties and parts of counties : Alcorn, Tippah, Prentiss, Union, Lee, Pontotoc,
Chickasaw, Monroe, Clay, Oktibbeha, Lowndes, Foxubee, and Kemper.* The counties of Tippah, XJnion, and
Pontotoc are largely embraced within what is known as the Pontotoc ridge, which is described as a separate region
in the general part of the report.

ALCORK

Papulation : 14,272.— White, 9,863 ; colored, 4,409.

Area : 400 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 245 square miles; prairie belt, 155 square miles.

Tilled lands : 52,566 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 18,863 acres ; in com, 22,589 acres ; in oats, 3,358 acres ;
in wheat, 1,078 acres.

Cotton production : 7,477 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.40 bale, 670 pounds seed-cotton, or 190
ponnds cotton lint.

Alcorn county, formed since the war from portions of Tippah and Tishomingo counties, is traversed almost
centrally by the " prairie belf, here averaging about 10 miles in width, while in the rest of its area, east and west
of that belt, sandy, short-leaf pine hills form the prevailing feature. The western pine-hill region belongs to che
Hatchie valley ; the rest of the county is drained by the Tuscumbia and its branches, excepting the heads of creeks
tributary to the Tennessee, on the extreme east.

19 o P 289

88 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The ^^pndrie belt" here has scarcely any open prairie land, except small '^ bald" prairies here and there. The
vhite Umestone, however, underlies it everywhere at no great depth, and materially inflaences the quality of the
mil, even where it does not produce the black prairie soil. The surface is mostly gently undulating, and is timbered
with oaks (post, black, Spanish, and black-jack), with more or less hickory, according to the proximity of the
ealeaneons strata to the surface, and, in the higher ridges, is occasionally mingled with pine, the subsoil being a
y^ow loam. Where the rock lies nearer the surface we have either black or bald prairie or ^< mahogany " soil, and
sometimes even the ^^ beeswax ". The yellow loam soils predominate more and more as we approach the Tennessee
Ime, fonning near Farmington, and Corinth especially, an excellent farming country.

The tilled lands of Alcorn county constitute 20.5 per cent, of the total area. Of these lands 35.9 per cent ig
given to cotton culture, while about 43 per cent, of the same is devoted to corn, the latter having an unusually large
I^oportion for a region possessing such facilities for communication. The cotton acreage per square mile is 47.2,
and the average product per acre 0.40 bale, showing that the best lands are selected for cotton.

At Corinth, the county-seat, the Memphis and Charleston and the Mobile and Ohio railroads cross, affordiDg
excellent opportunities for communication. Cotton is shipped by either route as fast as baled to Mobile or New
Orleans at the rate of $3 x>er bale. ^

ABSTRACT OF THE BEPOBT OF W. L. WILLIAMS, RIENZI.

The upland is hiUy and roUlng ; the lowland consiste of first and second bottoms of Tnsonmbia creek.

The soU is a light, fine sandy loam of a brown color, 4 inches deep ; the subsoil is a red clay. This soil is early, weU-drained, sod
eMfly tilled. Its natural growth is red, Spanish, black, and post oaks, chestnut, pine, etc. It covers all of this, and extends into other
eoonties.

« The chief crops are cotton, com, and oats ; but the soil is apparently best adapted to cotton, and three-fifths of the cultivated aret
is planted with the same. The plant grows from 2 to 3 feet high ; is most productive at 2 feet. In wet seasons, or on soils rich in vegetable
matter, it inclines to run to weed ; but potash added to the soil restrains it and favors boiling. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh
land is 600 pounds ; 1,780 pounds make a 475-pound bale of first-class lint. After two years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is 1,000
IKmnds, and the ratio of seed to lint remains the same. One-fourth of such land originally cultivated now lies ''turned out", and when
again cultivated it produces well after the first year. Weeds are humorous. Slopes are seriously injured by washing and gullying, and
the valleys are injured by being covered with sand. No efforts have been made to check these damages.
Cotton is shipped, as fast as gathered, by rail to Mobile, Memphis and New Orleans, at |3 per bale.

ABSTRACT OP T^ REPORT OF J. M. TATLOU, M. D., CORINTH.

(The region described embraces aboat 108 square miles, or T. 1, 2, 3, R. 7 E.)

The surface of this part of the county is rolling; the ridges between the creeks and branches are light and thin, but in the lowlaods
the soil is rich, black, and loamy. Cotton is cultivated on three classes of land, viz, 1. Chray upland^ with sandy branch bottoms. 2. Block
kMmmack and alluvial bottoms. 3. ** Beenoax " ridges.

The gray uplands are most extensive, and have a timber growth of red, post, and white oaks, and hickory ; on the bottoms are poplar,
sweet and black gums, walnut, elm, dogwood, oheiry, beech, birch, maple, red-bud, sycamore, willow, hazel, sumach, and ma undergrowt3i
of grape-vines. The soil is a fine sandy loam, 3 or 4 inches deep, merging insensibly into the subsoil, which is a pale-red or yeUowiflh
clay. 10 to 20 feet thick, the lower part being known as ''Joint clay''. Blue marl underlies this clay. The land is early, warm, an^
ill-drained, and produces all the crops. Cotton comprises from one-third to one-half of the tilled land, grows 2 to 5 feet high, asi^
yields an average of 800 pounds of seed-cotton per acre both on fresh and old land. Crab-grass is the most troublesome weed. Yesy
little of the land lies turned out ; washes readily on slopQS, but does no damage.

The black or hummock land occurs only in small areas in this region, but southward becomes the prevailing soil of the prairies,
growth is white oak, walnut, red-bud, wild plum, buckeye, and grape-vines. The soil is a heavy loam, black and very tenacious,
3 feet thick, and is difficult to till in all seasons when not broken early and in proper cultivation. It is best adapted to com, and a X*
proportion is planted in cotton than on the gray lands. Cotton grows frx)m 6 to 7 feet high, and runs to weed when gentle rains fall
July and August, though restrained by thorough drainage and barnyard manure. The yield per acre iA from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds
seed-cotton, making one-fourth its weight of middling lint. Deeper plowing renews the soil when ''tired ", Cocklebur and moming-gl^c
vines are most troublesome.

The beeswax soil also occurs only in small amount, and has a growth of post oak, hickory, wild plum, and black-jack. It is a hea"^
putty-like clay, orange-red in color, difficult to till, and best adapted to cotton. The amount given to cotton, and the growth and yi.^
per acre of cotton, is the same as on the gray land. A larger proportion of this land lies turned out, and does not recuperate as qui<
as either of the other two classes of land.

While this region is a little north of the true cotton belt, and its capacity is not quite equal to lands farther south and wmt,
the crop is more uniform and reliable, and is less liable to injury from diseases and insect enemies than in the true cotton belt. The avi
yield, therefore, for a aeries of years will quite equal that of the cotton belt, though the staple may not be quite as high.

TIPPAH.

Population : 12,867.— White, 9,802 5 colored, 3,065.

Area : 450 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 140 square miles; brown-loam table-land, 116
miles; flatwoods, 165 square miles; red land, 130 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands : 55,092 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 18,758 acres ; in com, 23,388 acres ; in oats, 3,814
in wheat, 3,687 acres.

Cotton production: 7,424 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.40 bale, 570 pounds seed-cotton, or I-
pounds cotton lint.

In Tippah county three principal features are represented. In the central portion we find the continuation oft:
Pontotoc ridge, which to the northward narrows down to a mile or two in width, and presents only to a limited
the '* red-land " character. On the west the ridge country passes rather gradually into the post-oak flatwoods, wh
also in a measure lose their normal character and become undulating, and even hilly, in their northern portion,
the east the headwaters of the Hatchie occupy a sandy pine-hill country, rather broken, and with narrow valle

290

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 89

The Tippah flatwoods are, on the whole, less extreme in the character of their soils than those of Pontotoc and
Chickasaw, and settlements are more numerous, the soil being fairly prodactive in most seasons. In the overflowed
bottoms, however (as in that of Muddy creek), the soil is excessively heavy, ill-drained, and late for crops.

The Pontotoc ridge lands slope gently down into the flatwoods, and on the slope lie some of the largest bodies of
cotton lands. The ridge lands themselves are less hilly than farther south. "Mulatto" soils are prevalent, and the
extreme '| red-land" character, as well as that of the intractable "beeswax hummock", is less common. Long
spurs of pine ridges occasionally reach into the region from the Hatchie country, where, in the extreme southeastern
corner of the county, some of the highest land in the state forms the divide between the Hatchie, Tallahatchie, and
Tombigbee rivers.

Northward of Bipley the fertile ridge land falls off steeply into the bottom of Muddy creek on the one hand,
while on the other it slopes off gently into the Hatchie valley. Jonesborough and Ruckersville lie within this
narrow fertile belt.

Since the war Tippah has become more and more a region of small farms ; the negro population has greatly
diminished as compared with the white, and com has taken precedence of cotton in acreage. The tilled lands of
Tippah amount to 19.1 per cent, of the total area, and 34 per cent, or over one-third of these lands, is given to
cotton culture, while 42.4 per cent, is occupied by corn. The cotton acreage per square mile is 41.7, and the
average product x>er acre 0.40 bale.

Shipments are chiefly made from Bipley, the county-seat, by a branch of the Memphis and Charleston railroad
to New Orleans via Memphis, or via Corinth and the Mobile and Ohio railroad to Mobile, at $3 per bale.

ABSTBACT OF THE BEPOBT OF J. A. KIMBBOUaH, BIPLET.

Of the cultivated lands of this county the low bottoms along the water-courses comprise about one-tenth, the blackish and bla<^k
day loam upland one-third, and the yeUowish-red and mahogany, fine sandy and graveUy clay upland forms one-fourth. Cotton and
com are the chief crops.

The bottoms bear a natural growth of beech, ash, hickory, and oak. The soil is a black and blackish, putty-like clay loam, 1 to 3
feet thick. The subsoil is clay, underlaid by rotten limestone at 10 feet. Tillage is difficult in wet seasons. The soil is late, cold, and
iU-drained, is best adapted to cotton, and one-half its area is planted with the same. The plant grows from 5 to 6 feet high, but is most
productive at 5 feet. In moderately wet seasons it inclines to run to weed, but this may be remedied by planting closely in rows farther
apart. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is 1,800 pounds ; 1,485 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. The staple from all
fresh lands here rates high. After five years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is 1,500 pounds, and 1,425 pounds make a bale of better
lint. Cockleburs are the most troublesome weeds. Not more than one-twentieth of such land lies ** turned out ", A rest of one or two
years improves its yield.

The clay-loam upland extends beyond the county limits. Its natural growth is nearly all oak. Its soil is 6 it 12 inches deep, and rests
upon yellowish clay, which is underlaid by rock at 10 to 20 feet. The soil is early, warm, easily tilled, but ill-drained. Two-thirds of it
is planted with cotton. The plant grows from 3 to 3i feet high, the latter being most productive. It rarely runs to weed; if so, in very
.wet seasons it may be checked by topping. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is from 800 to 1,000 pounds; 1,425 pounds
make a 475-pound bale of lint. After five years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is from 600 to 800 pounds, and 1,485 pounds then
make a bale of lint dififering but' little from that of fresh land. The Spanish needle is the most troublesome weed. One-tenth of such
land lies "turned out", and produces only t4>lerably when again cultivated.

The red-clay soil also extends beyond the county limits, and bears a natural growth of short oaks. Its soil is 6 inches deep, and

Tests upon a heavier, tenacious, and impervious clay, containing flinty, white, angular pebbles, underlaid by gravel and rock at 4 to

10 feet. The soil is late, cold, ill-drained, easily tilled in dry seasons, and one-tenth of its area is planted with cotton. The plant

usually grows 18 to 24 inches high, but is most productive at 24, and never runs to weed. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land

ia 600 pounds ; 1,425 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. Six years' cultivation (unmanured) reduces the yield to one-half, and 1,545

j»ounds then make a bale of inferior lint.

Bag-weed is the most troublesome. One-half of such cultivated land lies " turned out ", and not much has ever been tried again.
Scopes anywhere on the uplands wash and gully readily, and are thus seriously damaged. Some ii^ury is also done the valleys by the
^"W^aahings, and to check the damage hillside ditching has been practiced with moderate success.

Gotten is shipped from the 1st of November to the last of December, by rail to Memphis and New Orleans, at (3 per bale.

PRENTISS.

Population: 12,158.— White, 9,737; colored, 2,421.

Area : 410 sqaare miles. — Woodland, all short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 290 square miles ; prairie belt, 120
SQUare miles.

TiUed lands : 59,738 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 18,610 acres ; in com, 23,018 acres ; in oats, 3,806 acres ;
iii ^^heat, 993 acres.

Cotton production: 7,207 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.39 bale, 555 pounds seed-cotton, or 185
pounds cotton lint.

Prentiss county is divided by the Mobile and Ohio railroad into two unequal parts, the western and smaller one
tornMng part of the "prairie beW, here generally known as the " white lime country'' (excepting a small area in
*''^^ northwest comer of the county belonging to the " Hatchie hills "). The portion lying east of the railroad,
^^^racing the extreme heads of the Tuscumbiaat the north and of the Tombigbee at the south, is, on the whole, a
^Sion of sandy pine hills, but with many wide and fertile bottoms and undulating tracts of loam uplands,
P^^**tdcularly in its southern part, on Big and Little Brown's creeks, where excellent crops are made.
, In the "white lime country" we find large tracts of black prairie soil, especially along the streams, mostly,
^'Wever, timbered with oak and hickory, with which the honey-locust, muloerry, wild plum, sycamore, ash, black
y ^lnut, and tulip tree, or poplar, mingle the more the nearer the limestone is to the surface. Carrollviile and
^^ckland are centers of "black prairie" tracts; Booneville, the county-seat, lies on the edge of the hills on the

291

90 ' COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The streams of the << white lime region'' (tributaries of the Tnscnmbia river in the northern part, and of Twenty-
mile creek and the Tombigbee river in the sonthem) mostly head within it, and, not being fed by springs, mostly
go dry in summer. The water supply is derived from deep wells or cisterns.

The tilled lands of Prentiss county amount to 22.8 of the total area, and 31.2 per cent, of such lands is occapied
by cotton culture, while 38*5 per cent, is given to com. The average cotton acreage per square mile is 45.4, and
the average product per acre 0.39 bale.

Shipments are made by the Mobile and Ohio railroad mostly to Mobile direct, or via Memphis to New Orleans,
at the rate of $3 75 per bale.

ABSTRACT OF THK BEPOBT OF B. B. BOONE, BOONEVILLE.

East of the Mobile and Ohio railroad the lands are rolling and covered by sandy loam chiefly, with some patches of black prairie on
the western edge. West of the railroad are the gray and black hnmmock lands, and along the streams are rich bottoms.

The prairie soil is a blackish and black, clayey loam, 18 inches deep, and covers one-eighth of this county, extending south to near
the middle of the state and north to the state line. The subsoil is a heavy, stiff clay, retentive of moisture, which bakes hard on
exposure if wet, but on continued exposure to freezes and air crumbles and is easily worked. It contaius shells entire or decomposed,
and is underlaid at from 3 to 10 feet by hard blue clay. The soil is early when well-drained, and is easily tilled, except when too wet; it
is then too sticky, and weeds grow too rapidly. Of field crops, this soil is best adapted to cotton, the same being depended upon as the
only source of cash returns. One-half the cultivated portion of this soil (also of the other uplands) is planted with cotton. The plant
grows from 3 to 5 feet high, the medium being most productive. An abundance of animal and vegetable matte? in the soil inclines the
plant to run to weed ; the remedy consists in the free use of mineral fertilizers. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is from
800 to 1,200 pounds in good seasons; 1,425 pounds (from any soil in this region) make a 475-pound bale of good middling lint. After
two or three years' cultivation (unman ured) production gradually decreases until it ceases to be profitable. The ratio of seed to lint and
quality of staple are about the same as on fresh land. The same is true of the other soils here. All upland slopes wash and golly
readily, and are thus seriously damaged. The washings seriously injure narrow valleys, but improve broad valleys. Only a few
attempts have been made to check these damages, only with partial success, owing chiefly to imperfect execution of the work.

The timbered land surrounding these prairies bears a natural growth of most of the oaks, hickory, sycamore, ash, poplar, walnut,
chestnut, pine, elm, gum, mulberry, persimmon, maple, catalpa, etc., and a great variety of undergrowth.

The creek bottoms occupy about one-fiftieth of the county area, and bear a natural growth of various oaks, walnut, hickory,
chestnut, poplar, cottonwood, etc. The character of this land applies to all creek bottoms coextensive with the prairies Just described.
The soil is a black, alluvial clay loam, 2 to 6 feet deep, contains hard *' black gravel '^ in many places, and is underlaid by blue rock at
15 feet. Tillage is difficult in wet, but rather easy in dry seasons. The soil is late, is cold and ill-drained, and is best adapted to com,
but in dry seasons produces the best cotton crops. One-third of its cultivated area is planted in cotton. The plant grows from 4 to 5
feet high, but is most productive at 4 feet. It inclines to run to weed on this and the soil next described in wet seasons and when deeply
cultivated. Shallow cultivation is the best remedy.

The seed-cotton product i>er acre of fresh land is 1,000 pounds. This land deteriorates but little even after many years' coltivatiou
(unmanured). Crab-grass and morning-glories are the most troublesome weeds.

The gray and black sandy lands occupy about two-thirds of this region, and are common over the state. Their natural growth is
oaks, hickory, pine, and chestnut in the uplands, and maple, poplar, walnut, etc., in the bottoms. The soil varies from a fine sandy loam
to a clay loam, and averages 10 inches deep. The heavier subsoil is.a mulatto-colored clay, considerably mixed with sand, and sometimes
containing '^ black gravel ''. It is underlaid by sand or blue clay at 15 to 20 feet. The soil is easily tilled, is early, warm, and ill-drained,
and is best adapted to cotton. The plant grows from 3 to 4 feet high, and the seed-cotton product per acre of firesh land is 800 pounds.
After four years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is 500 pounds. Crab-grass is the most troublesome weed. One-twentieth of such
cultivated land lies ^* turned out"; when again cultivated it produces poorly, unless fertilized.

This location is near the northern limit of the cotton belt. The cotton crop suffers much from backward springs, does not start up
vigorously, and is liable to be seriously affected by early frosts. Our northern location exempts us from the ravages of insects, and
generally gives us a healthy plant, which in a great measure counteracts the disadvantages of the cold weather.

UNIOK

Population : 13,030.— White, 9,932 ; colored, 3.098.

Area : 360 square miles. — Short-leaf pine ana oak uplands, 55 square miles ; prairie belt, 40 square milea j
flatwoods, 95 square miles; red land, 170 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands : 56,999 aeres. — Area planted in cotton, 21,255 acres ; in com, 25,834 acres ; in oats, 2,695 acrei^ \
in wheat, 2,426 acres.

Cotton production : 8,259 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.39 bale, 555 pounds seed-cotton, or
pounds cotton lint.

The agricultural features of Union connty are very similar to those of Pontotoc, of which the southern hx
was originally a part. The Pontotoc ridge and the post-oak flatwoods form the two main features, occupying
middle of the county. A tract of sandy short-leaf pine hills covers the extreme western portion, while on
east of the Pontotoc ridge there is a steep descent into the level black prairie country around Ellistown.
Tallahatchie and its tributaries drain almost the whole of the county, and have running water throughout the

A peculiar .feature of the Pontotoc ridge lands occurs northeast of New Albany, the county-seat, viz, a
of ridge lands of most unpromising aspect at first sight, yet accounted among the most fertile uplands of
state; popularly designated the '^ Buncombes". The soil is deeply tinted with iron, light and loamy, and is fill
with smooth concretionary pebbles of brown iron ore from the size of a pea to that of a fist, rendering tills
somewhat troublesome, but nevertheless very remunerative. It may be considered as land thoroughly marl
by the underlying strata of sandy marls and limestones rich in greensand grains, and kept so by the contini
disintegration of these materials and their admixture with the tilled soils. It is a good example of what can
done for most of the lands throughout the ridge by a free use of the marls by which it is underlaid.

The bottoms of the Tallahatchie and of tributary streams are very fertile. The former, however, are larg
liable to overflows, and hence are npt very extensively cultivated as yet. The second bottoms, or hummoc
are preferred for safety, and are almost equally productive. They are timbered chiefly with oaks, hickory, wUm
and poplar.

292

92 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

PONTOTOC.

PopulatiMi. : 13,859.— White, 9,609 ; colored, 4,249.

Area: 530 square miles. — Woodland, all; siiort-leaf pine aud oak uplands, 80 sqaare miles; prairie belt, 15
square miles; fiatwoods, 230 square miles; red laud, 205 square miles.

Till^ lands : 72,848 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 21,448 acres; in corn, 26,588 acres; in oats, 2,169 acres;
in wheat, 2,751 acres.

Cotton prodttction: 8,085 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.38 bale, 543 pounds seed-cotton, or 181
pounds cotton lint.

The two prominent agricultural features of Pontotoc county are the Pontotoc ridge (see p. 17), which, with
a little black prairie, occupies the eastern half of the county; and the post-oak flatwoods (see p. 20), which, with a
narrow strip of the adjacent uplands, occupy the western half.

The flatwoods are here at their maximum width of 10 miles, and are very characteristically developed, both as
to the feature of the light, silty, whitish soil and that derived from the heavy flatwoods clay. Although settled to
some extent by small farmers, and in favorable seasons yielding fair crops, especially near the foot of the ridge,
the flatwoods contribute but little to the cotton production of the county. The cotton acreage shown by the returns
may therefore be considered as belonging almost entirely to the eastern half of the county, the generous soils of
the ridge showing their quality by the relatively high product per acre of nearly four-tenths of a bale. Considering
that the Pontotoc ridge is one of the oldest settled regions of northern Mississippi, the fact that in this county, as
well as in those of Union and Tippah, the average product per acre is higher than in the black prairie counties is
quite remarkable. This is partly, no doubt, attributable to the prevalence of mixed farming, as shown in the large
acreage of com and other cereals, while in the prairie counties the cotton acreage mostly exceeds that of all the
cereals combined.

The Pontotoc ridge is, properly speaking, a broad belt of rolling or hilly timbered uplands, to which there is
a gradual ascent from the flatwoods on the west, while on the east there is quite an abrupt descent into the level
prairie country. The subsoil is prevalently an orange-colored or "red" loam, mostly light enough to be easily
tilled, rarely sandy, but in all cases thrifty ('^ red lands"), passing, on the one hand, into a pale-yellow, silty subsoil
(somewhat resembling that of the ridges separating that of the black prairies), which occasionally occupies level
upland tracts, and on the other through the ^* mahogany'' or "mulatto'' soils (generally lying on the slopes of ridges,
and esteemed the best of all) into a true black prairie soil, or the heavy, intractable, greenish-yellow clay of the
"beeswax hummocks". The whole country is underlaid by strata of sandy shell marls and limestones, to whose
presence the thriftiness of the land is doubtless due, and the use of which on " tired" land is always followed by
the best results.

The timber is a fine growth of oaks, black, Spanish, post, and, on the heavier soils, black-jack, with much
hickory, aud on the best lands black walnut, a tree not common elsewhere in the state; also, a good deal of tulip
tree, or " poplar ", especially in the valleys. On the inferior soils the scarlet oak is common.

The tilled lands of the county amount to 21.5 per cent, of the area. Of these lands, 29.4 per cent, is given to
cotton and 36.5 to corn. The cotton acreage per square mile is 40.5, and the average product per acre is 38, being
somewhat below Tippah and Union counties.

Communication is chiefly with stations on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, the flatwoods being impassable for
teams during the winter months, when cotton is commonly shipped, chiefly to Mobile, at the rate of $4 per bale.

ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF R. C. CALLAWAY, ALGOMA.

Tbe east side of the connty is hummock land ; the veest side is clayey land, ao^ is the best for cotton. Its natural growth is oak,
pine, gmn, hickory, etc. Tbe soil is quite various in color and constitution, and is from 2 to 4 inches deep to change of color. It is
underlaid by sand, gravel, and rock at 1 to 10 feet, and is ill-drained, difficult to till when wet, but easy when dry. The chief crops of this
region are com, cotton, and x^otatoes. The soil is equally well adapted to all, but one-half its cultivated area is planted in cotton. The
plant attains a height of from 2 to 3 feet, and inclines to run to weed in wet weather, which is remedied by topping. Tho seed-cotton
product per acre of fresh land varies from GOO to 1,000 pounds ; 1,600 pounds make a 475-pound bale of good lint. Old land produoee from
400 to BOO pounds ; the staple is then a little shorter. Hog- weed and crab-grass are most troublesome.

Slopes are seriously damaged by washing and gullying, and the valleys are injured to the extent of 10 i>er cent, by tho wi
To check these horizontalizing and hillside ditching have been successfully practiced.

CHICKASAW.

Population: 17,905.— White, 7,696; colored, 10,209.

Area: 500 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 30 square miles; prairie belt, 216 square mil'
flatwoods, 180 square miles ; red land, 76 square miles ; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 97,233 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 38,477 acres; in corn, 34,258 acres; in oats, 3,736
in wheat, 1,415 acres.

Cotton production : 12,861 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.33 bale, 471 pounds seed-cotton, or
pounds cotton lint.

Chickasaw county is quite varied in the character of its surface and soils. Its eastern portion, embraci
about two-fifths of its area and traversed by Suckatonche and Houlka creeks, lies within the prairie belt, and
originally spotted with numerous bodies of open prairie, separated by low woodland ridges. The lower slopei
these, asVell as the bottoms of the streams, have almost the same soil as the prairies. Somewhat higher up lies
" mulatto'' or yellow " black-jack prairie", of varying width, timbered with short, sturdy black-jack and post oaK
then on the plateaus or ridge tops a pale grayish soil, underlaid by a silty loam subsoil and of inferior quab^
timbered with a somewhat scrubby growth of scarlet, post, and Spanish oaks, with some black-jack. The pra^^

294

94 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

northeast of West Point. A large proportion of the woodland, howerer, has almost the same black soil as the
prairie, especially near the streams, and has long been cleared and pnt into cultivation. On the higher portions of
the rolling uplands, however, we find, first, the '< mulatto" black-jack prairie skirting the black soil, and on the
summits of the ridges the pale, silty loam, of inferior fertility, and bearing a rather indifferent growth of post,
Spanish, scarlet, and some blaok-jack oaks.

A belt of rolling oak uplands, rising in the flatwoods northwest of Houston, (jhickasaw county, and ranning
thence southeastward, rises into a high sandy ridge in the northwestern border of the county. This ridge falls off
steeply on the east, showing outcropping white limestone, but gradually flattens out to the southward, terminating
in the fork of the buckatonche and the Tibbee.

As in the other prairie counties, the rich soils have been depleted by improvident cropping, without returns or
rotation ; but their restoration, by a suitable rational system of culture, will be an ea«y task.

In its extreme western portion the county embraces a strip of the flatwoods belt from 4 to 6 miles wide, and
of the usual character as given in the regional description, passing rather gradually from the whitish clay soU of
the flatwoods to the black or yellow " prairie" soil, which is timbered with nearly the same kind of trees (with
the exception of the pine), but of larger size and different type, sturdy and dense-topped instead of lank and
sparsely branched, and associated more or less with the plum and crab-apple. '

The tilled lands of Clay county amount to 31.8 per cent, of the total area, and 51.1 per cent, of these lands is
devoted to cotton culture, against 32.3 given to com, a proportion of three to two. The average cotton acreage
I)er square mile is 104.1, placing the county fifth (De Soto, Lowndes, Noxubee, and Tate taj^ing precedence) in
tiie state in this respect. The average cotton product per^cre, however, is only 0.32 bale, the same as Newton and
Neshoba counties.

Cotton is shipped, as fast as baled, from Muldoon, West Point, Tibbee, and other stations to Mobile.

OKTIBBEHA.

Papulation : 16,978.— White, 6,109 5 colored, 10,869.

Area : 430 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 40 square miles } prairie belt, 190 square miles ;
flatwoods, 200 square miles.

Tilled lands: 66,366 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 29,679 acres; in com, 26,261 acres; in oats, 3,288 acres;
in wheat, 1,088 acres.

Cotton production : 9,929 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.33 bale, 471 pounds seed-cotton, or 157
pounds cotton lint.

Oktibbeha county embraces three well-defined agricultural features. Its eastern portion (somewhat less than .
half of the total area) belongs to the prairie region, and is quite similar to the adjacent portions of Lowndes and *
Clay. Prairie tracts, interspersed with oak woodlands, of which some have the black prairie soil also, while others
have either the less thrifty "post-oak prairie'' soil, or, less frequently, the pale-yellow upland loam, are timbered with
post, Spanish, scarlet, and other oaks, rather undersized. To the westward the level or gently undulating woodlands
pass rather insensibly, in most cases, into the level post-oak flatwoods belt, which traverses the county in a
southeastern direction from its northwestern corner, with a width varying from 8 to 10 miles. The flatwoods here do
not differ materially from the more northern portion of the belt and are little settled. Trim Cane creek drains the
northern part, while the Noxubee and its various branches traverse the southern portion of the county, crossing
both the flatwoods and the prairie region. In the southwestern corner the county embraces a small area of sandy hill
lands, timbered with short-leaf pine and oaks. The streams heading in this region (like the I^oxubee river itself)
maintain a fiow of water during the summer } those heading within the flatwoods or the prairie region are usually
dry during the summer months.

The tilled lands of Oktibbeha county amount to 23.8 per cent, of |he total area. Of these lands 46.4 per cent, is
given to cotton and 38.6 to corn culture, showing an advantage in this regard over the neighboring county of
Noxubee. The average cotton acreage per square mile is 69, and the average cotton product per acre 0.33 bale,
about one-tenth higher than Noxubee.

Starkville, the county-seat (where the state agricultural college is located), is connected by a branch road
with the Mobile and Ohio railroad at Artesia station, and cotton is shipped by rail to Mobile. The cotton product
of the county is derived almost entirely from the prairie belt.

LOWNDES.

Population : 28,244.— White, 6,688 5 colored, 22,666.

Area: 600 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 220 square miles; prairie belt, 280 square miles.

Tilled lands : 126,312 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 64,670 acres ; in com, 42,866 acres ; in oats, 3,784 acres ;
in wheat, 1,618 acres.

Cotton production : 21,886 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.34 bale, 486 pounds seed-cotton, or 162
X>ounds cotton lint.

Lowndes county is naturally subdivided into two strongly contrasted portions : the southern, characterized
by tracts of black prairie, interspersed with more or less rolling oak uplands, and the northern (east of the Tombigbee
river), which is hiUy and sandy, and is timbered with oaks, intermingled with short-leaf pine. The river is skirted on
the west by a narrow belt of hilly country^ sometimes abutting on the stream in abrupt bluffs, back of which lies the
prairie country proper, while on the east side there is a flat six or seven miles wide, of which only the portion
nearest the river is subject to overflow and traversed by sloughs, the greater part being above high water, with a
gradual ascent toward the base of the pine hills. This eastern portion is rather thinly settled, the bulk of the
I)opulation, as well as of cotton cultivation, being found in the prairie country.

Of the latter probably about one-third or less was originally treeless or very sparsely timbered b^k prairie,
with a heavy, " waxy " soil several feet in depth. Between the prairie tracts or belts there lie (generally at a
2^

^ i

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 95

somewhat higher level, plateau-like) slightly rolling lands, timbered more or less with post, Spanish, black-jack, and
sometimes black oaks and hickory, the soil being a clay or clay loam, varying from black to '^ mulatto " or mahogany
tint, with yellow subsoil. This <^ post-oak land" is less productive and durable than the black prairie proper, but is
much superior to the light loamy or silty ridges sepiM^ating the prairies of Chickasaw, and is extensively cultivated
in cotton. Considering the excellent quality of the lands chiefly cultivated, the low average per acre given by the
enumeration is to be explained by the long practice of exhaustive culture without rotation or return to the soil;
Lowndes being among the regions longest settled in the state. With rational culture, however, these prairie soils
can probably be readily restored to their original productiveness.

The bottoms of the streams are narrow, and the soil, usually somewhat lighter than that of the prairie proper, is
very productive in good seasons. AH the streams heading within the prairie region go dry during the summer,- and
the water supply is dependent upon bored wells, firom which it frequently rises abDve the surface, the depths varying
from 250 to 400 feet.

East of the river, and northward of Columbus, cotton culture is not very extensive. The soil of the river flat
is better adapted to sweet potatoes and grain than ta cotton, being rather light, and is underlaid by gravel at 4
to 8 feet and timbered iargely with water and willow oak, with occasionally some short-leaf pine. Water is found
at 18 to 20 feet, and sweeps are largely used. In the hilly country the soil of the uplands is rather thin and sandy ,^
and the valleys ai*e chiefly cultivated by small farmers.

The tilled lands of LoVndes amount to 39.5 per cent, of the county area. Of these lands 51.2 per cent, is devoted
to cotton culture, against 34 per cent, given to corn. The average cotton acreage per square mile is 129.3, placing
it second in* the state to De Soto. The average product per acre is, however, only 0.34 bale, against 0.47 in De Soto.
Originally the product of the prairie country was the higher of the two.

Cotton is usually shipped as soon as baled from Columbus and the several stations of the Mobile and Ohio
railroad to Mobile, New Orleans, and direct to eastern manufacturers at Fall Biver and Providence, and sometimes in
winter by steamers to Mobile.

ABSTRAOTS OF THE BEPOBTS OF JAMES O. BANKS, OOLUMBUS, AND B. W. BANKS, OOBB'S SWITOH.

The uplands consist of black and mulatto post-oak table-lands and gently roUing prairies. The lowlands are the first and second
bottoms of creeks. The kinds of soil are rolling prairie, allnvial and hnmmock, and post-oak soils.

The prairie is the chief one, and includes about 70 per cent, of the cultivated land of this region. It extends about 50 miles north, 25
floath, thence southeasterly to Montgomery, Alabama. The name is sometimes indiscriminately applied to aU lime lands in what is
known as the ''prairie belf . The soil is a clay loam, waxy and putty-like, blackish and yellowish-black, and is from 2 to 6 feet thick.
The underlying material is heavier, gradually becoming like the surface by exposure, is quite impervious, can easily be made to hold water
for stock the year round, contains in places smooth brownish and whitish x>ebble8 (the latter having a worm-eaten appearance), and is
underlaid by blue joint-clay, and this by limestone, which crops out in some places and is 20 feet below the surface in others. The soil is
«arly when well-drained, is easily tilled, except when too wet, and is best adapted to com. But one-half of its cultivated area is planted in
cotton. Com and cotton are the chief crops of this region.

The usual and most productive height of the cotton-plant on the prairies is from 3^ to 4 feet. Excess of rain, especially in July and August,
«nd the boll-worm's depredations incline the plant to run to weed on all soils here, and to restrain it topping is sometimes |>racticed, but ia
sot always satisfactory. Ea^ly planting favors early boiling. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 1,200 to 1,400
pounds; in the average season 1,600 pounds make a 475-pound bale of middling to good middling lint, ^fter ten years' cultivation
(unmanured) the product varies from 400 to 1,000 pounds, according to season and kind of cultivation ; from 1,665 to 1,720 pounds then
make a bale of lint not so strong or so long as^hat from iresh land.

About 5 or 6 per cent, of such originally cultivated land lies "turned out ", and when again cultivated it produces a small crop the first
year, but improves after that. It is usual to plant corn on such land the first year. The troublesome weeds are crab-grass and morning-
glory.

In addition to the above, Mr. J. O. Banks describes the following soils :

The aUuvial creek bottom and hummock land has a natural growth of oak, hickory, gum, ash, mulberry, wild plum, etc. The soil is
a blackish clayey loam from 2 to 4 feet thick. The underlying material is heavier, but rather similar to a considerable depth, rather leachy,
and is underlaid by limestone at 10 to 12 feet. Tillage is generally easy, but is not so easy in wet as in dry seasons. The soil is later than the
prairie, but is generally well-drained on the surface. It is best adapted to cotton after the first year's cultivation, and about 80 per cent, of
the cultivated area is planted with it. The plant attains a height of from 4 to 6 feet, but is most productive at 5 feet. The seed-cotton
product per acre of fresh land varies from 1,200 to 1,600 pounds, and about 1,620 pounds make a 475-pound bale of middling to good
middling lint. After ten years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is from 500 to 1,000 pounds ; the ratio of seed to lint is about the
same, but the staple is a little shorter and weaker. Crab-grass, morning-glory, and purslane are the troublesome weeds. None of such
land has been '* turned out ". •

The black and mulatto post-oak land borders the prairies, is coextensive with them, and has a natural growth almost entirely of
oak. The soil is a putty-like and waxy clay loam, varying in color from yellow to mulatto, blackish and black, and is 12 to 36 inches deep.
The subsoil is heavier, but gradually becomes like the surface when turned up. It is impervious, packs like the prairie subsoil, and is
underlaid by limestone at 18 to 24 feet. Tillage is difficult when the soil is wet, but easier when it is dry, and on the whole is more
difficult than the other soils. The soil is early, well-drained, and is best adapted to cotton, nine-tenths or more of the cultivated part
being planted with the same.

The plant grows from 4 to 4^ feet high on fresh laud and 2 to 4 on old land, and is less inclined to weed than on other soils. The
seed-cotton product per acre of fresh lands varies from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds; 1,600 to 1,665 ounds make a 475-pound bale of middling to
good middling lint. After five years' cultivation (unmanured) the product varies from 400 to 800 pounds, and from 1,660 to 1,720 pounds then
make a balaof lint, neither so long nor so strong as that from fresh land. This land deteriorates more rapidly than the other kinds.
Hve to 8 per cent, of it lies ''turned out", and yields rather poorly when again cultivated. Crab-grass is the most troublesome weed.
Slopes readily wash and gully, and are occasionally seriously damaged; but this may be easily checked if done in time, for which purpose
horizontalizing and hillside ditching are successfully practiced.

On the lowlands cotton does best in dry, hot seasons, for in wet seasons it runs too much to weed and bears little fruit.

S»7

96 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The yi^ld of lint cotton depends more npon the seAsons and the variety of seed than upon the soil. The stronger and fresher soil
yields more seed than the poorer soils, bat in 1878 all soils gave a poor yield, requiring about 3f pounds of seed-cotton to give one of lint.
The crop of 1879 gave one of lint for 3^ to 3^ pounds of seed-cotton.

Cotton is shipped as soon as baled by rail or river from Columbus to Mobile and New Orleans, and to eastern manuflsctarers at Fall
River and Providence. Bates of freight are 90 cents to $1 per 100 pounds to the east, $1 50 to |2 per bale to Mobile, and |2 50 to $3 per
bale by river and rail to New Orleans.

NOXUBEE.

Population : 29,874.— White, 6,302 ; colored, 24,572.

Area : 680 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 55 square miles ; prairie belt, 495 square nyles ;
fiatwoods, 130 square miles.

Tilled lands : 151,704 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 82,483 acres ; in com, 50,004 acres ; in oats, 5,429 acres ;
in wheat, 39 acres.

Cotton production : 25,294 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.31 bale, 441 pounds seed-cotton, or 147
pounds cotton lint.

Of Noxubee county by far the greater portion (about five-sevenths) lies within the prairie belt. A large body
of originally open prairie lies northward of Macon, the county-seat, and smaller bodies of sach prairie are found all
over the county. All have long since passed into cultivation, and partly out of it again, and, as much of the
woodland possesses the same soil, it is not now easy to circumscribe these open prairie tracts. Most of the area
within the prairie belt is more or less timbered (postoak prairie), and ridges of a sandy loam soil, timbered with a
variety of oaks, form the divides between many of the streams.

The post-oak prairie land in this county, as well as in Kemper, has not unfrequently a dark-orange or red
subsoil, differing from that of the more northern portion of the prairie belt, and giving rise to a very varied coloring
of the plowed fields, ranging from gray, through mahogany, to orange and black. It will be noted that the average
product x)er acre in this county is somewhat less than in the other prairie counties, owing partly to the more limited
proportion of true black prairie and partly, no doubt, to the fact noted in the general description and discussion
of soils (see page 14) that the proportion of phosphates in the praliie soil itself is less than in those of Monroe and
Lowndes. The use of phosphate manures will probably be followed by a very great increase in productiveness.

Westward of the prairie country we find, as elsewhere, the flatwoods belt, narrowing here to only 4 or 5 miles
in the southern part of the county. Its agricultural and surface features are the same as in Oktibbeha, the soil
perhaps a shade less heavy, but yet very refractory and unthrifty in cultivation, and hence the region is but little
settled. It is drained by numerous creeks tributary to the Noxubee river, but, in the absence of springs, is mostly
dry during the summer.

In the southwest corner of the county there is a small area of very sandy uplands, timbered partly with short-
leaf pine forest and partly with oaks only, fairly productive, as in the Gholson neighborhood. From these sandy
hill lands there is an abrupt descent into the flatwoods, and from these again there is an almost equally abrupt
ascent into the high prairie plateau of Kemper.

The tilled lands of Noxubee form 34.9 per cent, of tlie area, and 54.4 per cent., or over one-half of these lands, is
given to cotton culture, while only 33.5 per cent., or one-third, is given to com. The cotton acreage per square mile
is 121.3, the county standing fourth (to Tate, Lowndes, and De Soto) in this respect in the state. The average
product per acre is, however, only 0.31 bale — a remarkable comment upon the exhaustive methods of culture that
have depressed this ratio to a level with that of the adjoining county of Kemper, and nearly to that of the ^^ pine
hills ^ counties generall}'.

Almost all the cotton of the county is grown within the prairie belt, and is shipped via Macon and other
stations on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, which traverses the county nearly centrally from north to south, keeping
within the prairie belt. Cotton is shipped as soon as baled by rail to Mobile at $4 per bale.

ABSTRACT OP THE BEPOBT OF P. R.*W. BOCK, MACON.

The uplands are geDeraMy rolling, not billy, and some are level table-lands. Tbey consist of post-oak prairies and timbered lands in
tbe ratio of two to one.

The prairies bear a scattered growtb of post-oak and hickory. Tbe soil is a clay loam, varying in color from gray to mahogwiyy
orange, red, and blackisb, and is underlaid at 18 inches by a subsoil of heavier buff and briok-red, bard and leaoby material, which is
again underlaid by limestone at 12 feet.

Such land extends east and west about Smiles and through the entire townships north and south, with small portions of sandy lands.
The soil is early, ill-drained, easily tiUed, except when it is too wet, and is best adapted to cotton, three-fourths of its cultivated areA
being planted with the same. The plant grows from 3 to 4 feet high, and inclines to run to weed when the seasons are too wet and the
stand is too much crowded and shaded. The remedy is topping in early August.

The average seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is 1,000 pounds ; 1,665 pounds make a 475-pound bale of good middling lint.
After five years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is 600 pounds, and 2,135 pounds make a 475-pound bale of inferior and shorter lint.
The most troublesome weeds are wild indigo, prairie weed, and vines. One-t«uth of such cultivated land (also of that next described) Ilea
^* turned out'\ It produces well for three years when again cultivated, and then deteriorates. Slopes do not readily wash and golly.

Tbe timbered land bears a natural growth chiefly of pine, white oak, red oak, hickory, etc., and occurs in bodies of 100 to 5,000
acres. The soil is a gray and blackish-gray, fine and coarse sandy loam, 12 inches thick. The subsoil is heavier, is of a dirty-yellow color,
readily becomes very hard on exposure, and is underlaid by sand and limestone at from 4 to 15 feet. Tillage is easy, the soil being early
and wunn in some places, late and cold in others, and is generally ill-drained. Two-thirds of its cultivated area is planted in cotton,
to which the soil is apparently best adapted. The plant grows from 2 to 4 feet high, but is most productive at 4 feet, and runs to weed,
etc., as on the prairie. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is 900 pounds; 1,780 pounds make a 475-pound bale of good middling
lint. Five years' cultivation (unmanured) reduces the product to 500 pounds, and irom 1,900 to 2,130 pounds make a 475-poand l»ale of
lint, which rates two points below the staple from fresh land. Wild indigo is the most troublesome weed.
299

m COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

but a very narrow one in the lower part of its course. On the bordering hills shaly hydraulic limestone
to the sor&ce, while elsewhere gravel beds form the higher portion of the ridges.
limds of Tishomingo form 13.3 per cent, of the area.
&nning is the rule in G^shomingo. Cotton occupies but one-fifth of the cultivated area, while somewhat
tiian half of the same is given to com, it being the predominant crop. The cotton product per acre is relatively
Ui^ (0«35 bale), most of it l^ing grown in bottom lands.

Cotton shipments are made either by the Memphis and Charleston railroad to New Orleans or Mobile, or by
from Eastport-, on the Tennessee river.

ABSTBAOT OF THE BEPOBT OF J. M. D. MILLEB, ITJKA.

uplands ftre hiUy and roUing, and have a variety of boIIb and some patches of muck, bat chiefly a thin, light sandy soil, on
wkicfc eotton is liable to suffer from dronght.

rbe lowlands consist of first and second bottoms of creeks; they are narrow, sometimes overflow, and are subject to early frosts.

Sandy and day uplands and bottom soils are cultivated in cotton. The upland soils are chiefly caltivated, and constitute seven-
of the county's area. The same kinds extend 21 miles north, 40 south, 4 east, and 20 west. They bear a natural growth of red,

blaek-jaek, and Spanish oaks, and gum. The soils vary in color from whitish-gray to buff, yellow, brown, orange, red, and blackish,
2 to 6 inches thick, the chief variety being coarse, sandy, and gravelly. The subsoil is generally heavie]: and leachy, and consists
of Irvgher reddish clay, with coarser gravel, or, in places, with whitish sand, underlaid by sand and gravel. The chief crops of the region
are cotton and com. The soil is early, warm, well-drained, always easily tilled, and is best adapted to cotton, three-fourths of the
eolt'Tated area being planted with the same. The plant grows from 12 to 24 inches high, but is most productive at 18, and is a little inclined
to run to weed in wet weather. The product per acre of fresh land is about 800 pounds of seed-cotton ; 1,425 pounds make a 475-pound
Ifesle of middling to good middling lint. After three years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is about 300 x>ounds; 1,545 pounds then
make a bale of shorter lint. One-half or more of such originally cultivated land lies 'Humed out," which produces very well when again
coltivated if the soil has not been washed away by rains. There is some crab-grass, but the soil is generally too poor fr other weeds.
Slopes wash and guUy readily, but are not yet seriously damaged ; perhaps 1 per cent, of the valleys have been irjored b^ <he washings.
Horisontalizing has been practiced with fair success in checking the damage.

Cotton is shipped in November and December by rail to Memphis at |2 15 per bale.

ALCORN.

(See "Northeastern prairie region ''.)

PRENTISS.
(See "Northeastern prairie region ''.)

TIPPAH.
(See " Northeastern prairie region '^.j

ITAWAMBA.

Papulation: 10,663.— White, 9,556; colored, 1,108.

Area : 550 square miles^— All short-leaf pine and oak uplands.

Tilled lands : 51,415 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 14,851 acres ; in com, 22,055 acres ; in oats, 3,134 acres;
wheat, 1,918 acres.

Cotton production : 5,113 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.34 bale, 486 pounds seed-cotton, or
pounds cotton lint. _

Itawamba county is a region of rolling or sometimes hilly uplands, usually with sandy loam soils, timbered w^^^
oaks and i)ine, more or less mingled with hickory, according to the higher or lower grade of the soil. On tJ*®
southwest a portion of these uplands bears more or less the character of the prairie belt. The main Tombigt>^^
traverses the western part from north to south, receiving numerous tributaries from either side. Among these /
Bull Mountain drains the eastern half of the county, joining the Tombigbee river just at the southern county IS'
In the fork there is an upland tract of fei*tile red loam soil, timbered with Spanish, scarlet, black, and white o^l
hickory^ and some sturdy pine. Similar tracts occur at other points, as near Yocony. The bottoms of B"
Mountain, Hurricane, and other larger creeks are wide, heavily timbered, and very fertile; those of the smaller si
rather narrow, but with much gocni land on the lower slopes. The bottom of the Tombigbee within the countj^
from 1 to 1^ miles wide, and is very productive, but unfortunately it is subject to annual overflows. The wide ^
skirting the Tombigbee on the east in Monroe and Lowndes counties begins just south of Bull Mountain creek.

Itawamba county is a region of small farms, the culture of corn occupying an area one-half larger than thi
of cotton, although the latter is universally grown as a " money crop ". The tilled lands of Itawamba constitata^^^
14«6 per cent, of the county area, and 28.9 per cent, of these is given to cotton. The cotton product per acr^^

iO.34 bale) gives Itawamba a fair position among the counties of the short-leaf pine and oak upland region^ ^
Shipments are made from stations on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, to which cotton is hauled, chiefly in December. ^

LEE.
(See " Northeastern prairie region ".)

aoo

MONROp.
(See " Northeastern prairie region ^.)

100 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Montgomery oonnty embraces rolling, and in its northern portion, in part, qaite hilly and broken uplanda^
timbered mostly with os^ks, mingled more or less with short-leaf pine on the higher and more sandy ridges, oik
which also the blade-jack and iK>st oaks prevail ; while on the lower and bros^er ones the post oak is largely
accompanied by the black, Si>anish, and especially the scarlet oak, indicating a soil of fair fertility, which is said -to
last remarkably well. The scarlet oak is especially abundant on a very pale yellow loan^ soil, which appestir^
southward of the Dnck Hill ridge and prevails in the southern part of the county, extending thence southeastwa^x^^
into Attala, Winston, Leake, and Keshoba, where it contrasts strongly, both in its color and its lightness, wit:li
the heavy ^^ red hiUs" soils interspersed within it. These uplands, which produce from 800 to 1,000 pounds of se^^.
cotton per acre when fresh, slope off rather gently toward the Big Black river, the main body of which lies on t be
eastern side of the stream, while on the western side there is usuaUy a strip of hummock or second bottozn^
timbered with post, water, and some willow oaks, and only moderately productive. The two last-named oaks aire
also very prevalent in the river bottom itself, which has rather a light soil, exceedingly productive, but unfortunate Ij
much subject to overflows.

The tiUed lands of Montgomery county constitute nearly 22 x>er cent, of its area, and of this amount nearly ^1
I>er cent is given to cotton culture, against about three-fourths as much devoted to com. The average cotton
product per acre is 0.43 bale, and the cotton acreage per square mile 57.3, slightly less than in Orenada.

Cotton shipments are made by the ]^ew Orleans and Chicago railroad, either direct to ]^ew Orleans or yi^
Yicksbnrg and the Mississippi river steamers.

SUMNBE.

Populatwn: 9,534,— White, 7,239; colored 2,296.

Area: 400 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 360 square miles; flatwoods, 40 square miles.

Tilled lands: 40,701 acres. — ^Area pUmted in cotton, 13,613 acres; in com, 18,900 acres; in oats, 3,269 acres ; m
wheat, 1,874 acres.

Cotton production : 6,226 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.46 per bale, 657 pounds seed-cotton, or
219 pounds cotton lint.

Sumner county is a region of undulating or sometimes hilly uplands, higher sandy or clayey ridges, timbered
with shortrleaf pine, blackjack and post oak, alternating with rolling land bearing a growth of black, Spani^, post,
and other oaks, mixed with hickory, and possessing a good, moderately heavy loam soil. The central portion of
the coanty east and west is mainly of the latter character, while in the northern and southern portions pine
ridges are more frequently seen. A broad belt of oak and hickory land borders the Big Black river on the north,
while pine ridges prevail immediately south of the same.

The first ^ttom of the Big Black, about 1 mile wide, is so much subject to overflow that it has ise-arcely been
settled as yet, though evidently very fertile and heavily timbered. It is bordered by a second bottom, 3 or 4 feet
above the first, which is well settled and possesses a deep chocolate-colored mellow soil, timbered with beech,.
hickor>% elm, ash, and lowland oaks, and is very productive. (For analysis, see general part.)

Cotton is grown on the uplands to some extent; and this, with a smaller area of bottom lands, depresses the
average cotton product per acre (0.46) somewhat below that of Calhoun (0.50 bale), while the cotton acreage per
square mile is slightly higher. The best uplands, when fresh, are stated to produce from 800 to 1,000 i)ound8 ot
seed-cotton. The total area of tilled lands is a trifle less than 16 per cent, of the whole, divided chiefly among small
farms. The area of com culture is nearly one-half greater than that given to cotton.

Sumner, like Calhoun, communicates chiefly with stations on the New Orleans and Chicago railroad and.
partially, roads permitting, with the Starkville branch of the Mobile and Ohio railroad.

CHOCTAW.

Population : 9,036.— White, 6,637 ; colored, 2,499.

Area : 270 square miles. — ^AU short-leaf pine and oak uplands.

Tilled lands : 42,779 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 13,497 acres ; in corn, 18,139 acres ; in oats, 3,931 acres f
in wheat, 2,215 acres.

Cotton production: 5,757 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.43 bale, 612 pounds seed-cotton, or 204
pounds cotton lint.

Choctaw county greatly resembles Sumner in its general features, being, rolling or moderately hilly, without
very high ridges, and also, except along the streams, without large continuous tracts of very productive soil. The
higher ridges are characterized by the presence of the short-leaf pine, and are sandy in the western and rather
clayey in the eastern portion of the county; while the lower ridges, or rolling lands, have an oak and hickory
growth, with a soil varying from a light, pale-yellow loam in the western to a somewhat clayey loam in the eastern^
I)ortion. Fine bodies of farming upland exist, especially in the southwestern portion, on the waters of McOnrten's
creek.

Choctaw is drained by numerous creeks, with fertile valley lands, flowing in three directions, viz, to Big Black,.
Pearl, and Noxubee rivers.

Nearly one-fourth (24.8 per cent.) of the county area is under tillage, the average product per acre being
a little below that of Sumner county, probably because of a somewhat more extensive cultivation of the uplands.

The cotton atres^ge per square mile (50) is greater than that of Snmner in the ratio of 3 to 2. The corn'
acreage exceeds that of cotton by nearly one-half.

Choctaw is about equidistant from both the great trunk railroad lines of the state, and communicates partly
with either, according to the season and the state of the roads.

ABSTRACT OF THE BEPOBT OP B. H. BIGOES, CHESTEB.

(Refers to T. 16, 17, 18, and 10, R. 0, 10, 11, and 12.)

The lowlands are first and second bottoms of creeks ; the nplands are hilly and sandy, bat vary bat little, and are in 8<Hiie looalitiM-

extensively caltivated.
302

102 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

•r

of lint. Old land yields from 400 to 550'^t|nd8 of seed-cotton per acre. The weeds of tliis region are crab-grass, hog-weed, ragwee^
cocklebar, Spanish needle, and broom7S«dg^. About one-tenth of this and the next soil described lies '* tnmed ont " ; it produces very weii^
for a few years when again cnltiyajbe^

Abont 50 per cent, of the'opiAky's area is chiefly a light sandy, molatto-colored soil, bat it is varied with more or less gravelly iLX&d
clayey soils of brown, oraii|(e*,*red'/and blackish colors from 8 to 10 and in places 24 inches deep. The subsoil is in all respects similar to t>^ifc-t
of the first-described 9oQ,^<^lMl*is underlaid by sand and soft rock at 5 feet and less. Its growth is oaks, pine, hickory, dogwood, mapl^^
walnut, beech, chestaut| gum, cypress, poplar, hornbeam, etc. One-tenth of this land is prairie. The soil is early, warm, well drain^»<d,
and is easily tillbd, exc6pt in wet weather. The usual height of the plant is from 3 to 4 feet, but it is most productive at 4 feet. The seed—
cotton prodjiv^pef -acre of fresh land is from 1,200 to 1,300 pounds ; 1,425 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. Old land (unmanur&d>
producerfnoB^.^ to 400 pounds of seed-cotton per acre. The remaining 20 per cent, of the county's area is distributed in the form of ridg«8^
which lia^ a growth of post, red, and black-jack oaks, pine, persimmon, sourwood, etc. The soil varies from fine sandy to gravelly taid
cliiy,«jand*is whitish, brown, and orange-red Id color, and from 3 to 6" inches deep. The subsoil is heavier, leachy, whitish or ash-colored,
'» contains hard, rounded white and black gravel, and is underlaid by sand and gravel and some rock at 1 to 6 feet. Soil is early, wann,
*'^nci well drained. Tillage is easy, except in wet weather. Cotton grows on this soil 2 to 3 feet high, but it is most productive at 3 feet.
The seed-cotton product per acre is frt)m 700 to 800 pounds on fresh land or 200 to 300 pounds on old (unmanured) land ; 1,425 pounds
frt)m fresh or 1,545 from old land make a 475-pound bale of lint, that from old land being the shorter. About one-fifth of such originally
cultivated land lies ** turned out", but when again cultivated the yields are small and the soil does not long endure.

Sandy slopes are damaged to a serious extent by washing and gullying. Low and marshy valleys are improved by the washings;
others are damaged to the extent of 25 per cent, of their value. To check the damage, felling timber into the gullies and hillside ditching
are practiced. They succeed very well if done in time, before the gullies get too deep. Their depths sometimes equal 20 feet, the sides
exhibiting white sand.

The generally prevalent subsoil is clay, and in wells it extends 15 to 20 feet below the surface, and at 30 feet water is found in white
sand. In some parts of the county water is 80 to 90 feet below the surface.

Cotton is hauled from October to December by wagon to railroad towns at 50 cents per 100 pounds in summer and 75 cents in winter.

ATTALA,

Population: 19,988.— White, 11,663: colored, 8,336.

Area : 720 sqnare miles. — Woodland, all. Short-leaf pine uplands, 646 square miles ; red land, 76 square miles.

Tilled lands : 93,034 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 36,960 acres; in corn, 33,784 acres; in oats, 6,888 acres;
in wheat, 1,400 acres.

Cotton production : 16,286 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.43 bale, 612 pounds seed-cotton, or 204
pounds cotton lint.

Attala county forms part of the billy, sometimes broken, oak and short-leaf pine uplands region, whose
character is very little varied within the limits of the counties of Attala, Winston, Leake, and Neshoba. With the
exception of the '^ red land " areas, these uplands are in general not naturally very productive, though mostly
capable of good improvement by the use of fertilizers. The bottoms of the numerous streams, however, form the
larger part of the area planted in cotton, which is about one-third of the entire area of tilled lands in thegBOunty.
Hence the cotton product per acre is comparatively high. These bottom soils are mostly light and easily tiUed,
and are very productive when fresh, as is indicated by the large size of their timber trees. The latter are largely
bottom oaks, such as white, chestnut- white or basket, overcup, and bottom scarlet oak (a), hickories, and sweet
gum, with more or less of the ^^ poplar" or tulip tree, which appears especially where the greensand and red-clay
strata of the Tertiary are not far off. The same oak growth ascends more or less the hillsides, and even forms a
large proportion of the hill growth where these strata are near the surface. The higher and sandier ridges have a
pale-yellow, sandy loam soil, bearing a growth of post and scarlet oaks, with more or less of the short-leaf pine,
according to quality.

The country lying between the Yockanookany and the Big Black, in the southwestern portion of the county,
is less hilly than is the case farther east and north. A broad belt of good farming land, gently rolling, and timbered
with oaks and hickory, with but little pine, slopes gently down to the Yockanookany. The latter is bordered by a
hummock or second bottom averaging half a mile in width, having a gray, ashy, but quite productive soil. The
bottom itself has a light sandy soil, largely timbered with beech. Its timber growth shows it to be productive,
but overflows have thus far prevented its cultivation.

In the northern and eastern portions of the county especially there are isolated or more or less continuous and
extensive tracts of ^^ red lands" (see p. 29), formed by the approach to the surface of the orange-colored, greensand-
bearing clays above referred to. It is prominent in the country lying between the two prongs of Ponkta cieek
and south of the same to within a short distance of Kosciusko, and thence in a more or less continuous body
northeastward, on the divide between the Poukta and the Yockanookany. The soil is popularly known as that of
the ''red hills", and occasionally api>ears suddenly, occupying a short ridge among the sandy hills, contrasting by
the glaringly ''red" color of its soil and the prevalence of the white and black oak, with hickory, over the pine and
post oak. Such localities are usually marked by upland farms, producing as much as half a bale of cotton per acre
when the land is fresh and well tilled, which, on account of its stif&iess, is very essential to success. It produces
good oats and fair com, but is too heavy for potatoes.

The greensand manures occurring at many points in the northern part of the county will serve to maintain and
improve the fertility of the uplands especially.

One-fifth of the area of Attala is reported as under tillage. Of this amount over one-third (38.6 x>er cent.) is
given to cotton culture, and somewhat less to corn. The average product per acre is high, 0.43 bale, the best lands
being given to this culture. The cotton acreage per square mile is 49.9.

Cotton shipments are made by rail via the branch road connecting Kosciusko with the New Orleans and Chicago
railroad. Freight to New Orleans, $3 HO per bale.

a An apparently ondescribcd Tariety(f), with the leaves and habit of Q. ooecinea, bat ont of the nsnal habitat; not anoommon in
Bonthem Miseiseippi.

304

104 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The tilled lands of Leake county constitute 15.8 per cent, of its area, and the cotton acreage slightly exceeds that
devoted to corn, amounting to 41.4 acres per square mile. Owing to the predominant cultivation of bottom lands,
the average cotton product per acre (0.38 bale) is equal to that of Madison and Pontotoc counties.

The communication of Leake county is partly with stations on the New Orleans and Chicago railroad and.
Kosciusko and partly to Meridian, on the Mobile and Ohio railroad. From these places it is shipped chiefly
New Orleans by rail or river at from $2 to $4 50 per bale.

ABSTBAOTS OF THE BEPOBTS OF JOSEPH D. EADS, CABTHAGE, AND THOMAS 0. SPENCEB, LAX7BEL HELL.

Abont two-thirds of the county is upland, hilly, rolling, or level, bearing a growth of black-jack and other oaks, hickory, pines, e
This upland soil is a fine sandy loam, reaching 6 inclies below the surface. The subsoil is heavier, orange in color, contains soft red an
rounded gravel, and is underlaid by gravel and sometimes by rock at 16 feet.

Tbe chief crops of this region are cotton, com, wheat, oats, and potatoes. The soil is early, warm, and well drained, is always eaail;
tilled, and is best adapted to cotton, half of the cultivated area being planted with it.

The plant usuaUy grows from 3 to 4 feet high, is most productive at 3^ feet, and inclines to mn to weed on all the lands of this region
in wet and sultry seasons, which may be restrained by topping late in July and plowing rapidly. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh
land is 1,000 pounds; 1,425 pounds make a 475-pound bale of good middling lint. After two years' cultivation (unmanured) the yield
declines yearly, the ratio of seed to lint remaining the same, and the staple becomes shorter, but is otherwise considered superior to that
from fresh land. At least one-third of such originally cultivated land lies '' turned out", but if it rest long enough to have a considerable
growth of scrub pine and briers it will produce as well as ever. The troublesome weeds are hog- weed, butter-weed, smart- weed, and
Spanish needle. Slopes are seriously damaged by washing and gullying, and at least one-fifth of the valley lands are rendered worthless
by the washings. SuccessfU efforts have been made to check the damage by horizontalizing and hillside ditching.

The red or mulatto soil covers about one-sixth of the county. There is a strip of this about 2 miles wide running from east to
west a1)out 20 miles. The natural growth is post and black oaks, hickory, pine, walnut, and poplar. The soil is a gravelly, heavy day,
orange-red in color, and about 8 inches deep. The subsoil is heavier than the soil, is waxy, and is inclined to adhere tenaciously. It contains
hard ''black gravel", underlaid by sand and rock at 6 to 8 feet. The soil is difficult to work in wet seasons, but easy in dry; is
early, warm, and well drained, and is apparently best adapted to wheat and cotton, about 50 per cent, of the land being devoted to the
latter crop. The usual and most productive height of cotton is 4 feet. It inclines to run to weed in wet weather, and may be restrained
by topping the plant and working the soil rapidly. The seed-cotton product on fresh land is 1,200 pounds, and 1,425 pounds make a 475-
poand bale of good middling lint. The seed-cotton product after three years' cultivation is reduced to 1,000 pounds, and then 1.425 pounds
of seed-cotton make a 475-pound bale of lint, which rates favorably with that from fresh land. The troublesome weeds are the same as on
the black, sandy land ; crab-grass is, however, worse on this land. About one-third such land originally cultivated now lies ** turned
out ", is growing up in pines, and produces well when again brought under cultivation if it is not too badly washed or gullied. This soil
does not wash or gully as badly on the slopes as the black sandy soil ; but little damage has been done, and the valleys are injured some
(about one-eighth their value) by the washings. Horizontal ditching has been tried with success to remedy damages.

Abont one-sixth of the county area consists of creek bottoms, and bears a growth of many kinds of oak, pine, hickory, maple, sweet
gum, cypress, etc. The soil is a black or blackish loam, has much vegetable matter, and averages 8 inches in thickness. ' The subsoil is
heavier and more or less impervious. The soil is early, very easily cultivated except when too wet, is best adapted to cotton, com, oats,
and wheat, and about two-thirds of its cultivated area is planted with cotton. The plant attains a height of from 3 to 5 feet, and yields
from 500 to 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre. Crab-grass is a most troublesome weed. Very little of such land lies '' turned out," and
when again cultivated produces very well for a few years, especially if overgrown by briers during the rest.

There are in the county two other kinds of land : low, flat land of Pearl river bottom and reed-brake land. These are not adapted
to raising cotton. The first occurs along the Pearl river and its larger tributaries, and bears large oaks, pine, sweet gum, and occasionally
poplar, beech, etc. The soil is a fine black or blackish sandy loam, 12 to 24 inches deep. The leachy subsoil is similar, except in color,
and the soil, in consequence, is ** hot" in character. The soil is early, warm, well drained, easily tilled at any time, and is best adapted
to those crops that mature early in the season, as pease, early com, and the small cereals.

The reed-brake land includes abou/t one-tenth of the cultivated soil of the county. It occurs about the heads of small streams, and
bears a growth of green-bay, holly, tupole gum, briers, and reeds. The soil is a putty-like black loam, 4 to 6 feet thick, has a small
proportion of coarse sand, and is underlaid by sand and gravel.

Tillage is easy in dry but difficult in wot seasons. The soil is late and in need of artificial drainage. It is best adapted to com and
oats, producing of either from 50 to 100 bushels per acre. It costs from |25 to $30 x>6r acre to drain such land, after which, when in
cultivation, it is worth from $50 to $100 per acre.

NESHOBA.

Population : 8,741.— White, 6,655 ; colored, 2,186.

Area: 580 square miles. — Woodland, all. Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, all. *

Tilled lands : 45,979 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 14,021 acres ; in corn, 16,752 acres } in oats, 3,512 acres ;
in wheat, 223 acres.

Cotton production : 4,477 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.32 bale, 456 pounds seed-cotton, or 162 pounds
cotton lint.

Neshoba conuty is drained almost wholly by Pearl river (which traverses itsnorthern portion) and its tributaries,
the extreme heads of the Chickasawhay reaching into its southeastern corner. In the western portion of the county
the surface is quite broken, the ridges being sometimes steep and rocky and of considerable elevation, so that
cultivation is mainl}^ restricted to the bottoms, except where tracts of the red-clay soil occur. Apart from these,
the soil is chiefly of the pale-yellow, sandy loam character so prevalent in Winston and Leake. The timber is short*
leaf ]>ine, mixed with oaks, prevalently the black-jack and post, with more or less of scarlet and Spanish oaks where
the soil improves. The surface ot the eastern portion of the county is less hilly, sometimes only undulating, and
the black-jack and barrensscrub oak prevail largely on the uplands, which are but little cultivated. The bottom of
Pearl river is about IJ miles wide near the western line, is liable to overflow, and is very boggy during the rainy
seiisons, rendering the roads impassable. While the main bottom is therefore but little cultivated, there are often

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 305

fotind in the bottoms of small tributary creeks on both sides dense swamps, timbered prevalently with sour gum
ancl bay, some maple and sweet gum, with a dense undergrowth of cane. These swamps, which are quite
numerous, have a very black soil wben wet, but light gray when dry, which is a sort of swamp muck, sometimes
4 to 5 feet thick. When drained they are the most fertile, durable, and the best farming spots in the whole
coontry. These glades are said to produce as much as 80 bushels of corn i)er acre. Cotton does not do so well,
being apt to run to weed.

One-eighth of the area of Neshoba county is reported to be under tillage, and corn culture predominates
somewhat over cotton, which occupies 30 per cent, of the tilled lands. The average cotton product per acre
(0.32 bale) is considerably below that of Winston and Leake counties.

Communication is divided between the three railroads east, south, and west, whose nearest points are about
equidistant — '' a three days' haul."

KEMPEB.

Population: 15,719.— White, 7,100; colored, 8,619.

Area: 750 square miles. — ^Woodland, 720 square miles; short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 520 square mUes;
long-leaf pine hills, 90 square miles ; prairie belt, 80 square miles ; liatwoods, 60 square miles.

Tilled lands: 78,316 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 28,269 acres; in com, 28,246 acres; in oats, 3,706 acres; in
wheat, 56 acres.

Cotton production: 8,426 bales; average cotton product x>er acre, 0.30 bale, 429 pounds seed-cotton, or 143
poxmds cotton lint.

Fully five-sevenths of the area of Kemper county is occupied by sandy uplands, timbered with short-leaf pine and

oaks. The southeast corner embraces a few townships of long- leaf pine woods, which here attain their most northern

point in the state. In the northeast corner lies the most fertile portion of the county, the extreme southern point

of the prairie belt in the state, bordered on the west, as usual, by the flatwoods belt, here only about 3 miles wide.

The ridge skirting the flatwoods on the west forms the divide between the waters of the Noxubee river (Scooba

oreek) and Turkey creek, one of the chief tributaries of the Sucamochee, which drains the rest of the county. The

flatwoods being narrow, and therefore considerably modified by the adjacent regions, are not quite so extreme iui

oliaracter as farther north. On the east they pass insensibly into the level " prairie '' country on Wahalack creek f

but east of that stream the country rises into a ridge of white prairie limestone, about 200 feet above the drainage,

forming a kind of prairie plateau, which slopes oft gently towani the Alabama line. The true black prairie is found

only in small bodies on this plateau and in the valleys of the streams, where the limestone approaches the surface.

^I^e general level land of the region is timbered with large post and Spanish oaks and hickory, and has a loam soil,

'^^fh a yellow loam subsoil — a fair soil for cereals. On the higher ridges there lies a heavy red clay soil, usually

lUiderlaid by limestone at no great depth, which produces small but heavily boiled cotton and good wheat; timber,

Bt;iirdy black-jack and post oaks. The black prairie soil is found in patches and bands at lower levels ; it is not very

beavy, and produces good com, but is apt to rust cotton where not intermingled with the red soil. That lying near

^tke streams and in the level region west of Wahalack creek is less liable to rust cotton, and is very productive

The flatwoods soil is said to produce well here in favorable seasons. Of the hilly pine and oak uplands a

Portion (as on the ridge on which De Kalb, the county-seat, is located) is very sandy, but the soil is not unproductive^

*^^ing very deep, and sometimes oak and hickory prevail to the exclusion of the pines. Cultivation is, however^

iKiostly confined to the numerous creek bottoms. These have very sandy soils in the southern part of the county,.

^bile the ridges, on the contrary, become more clayey, and show, by their large oak and pine timber, a better

l^^>*X)mise for the farmer than the sandy ones timbered with black-jack and post oak, with which they are

'^^terspersed.

The tilled lands of Kemper county constitute 16.3 per cent, of the total area. Of these lands 36.1 per cent, is
^ "^en to cotton culture and an equal area to corn. The average cotton acreage is 37.7, and the average product
^^^^:ir acre 0.30 bale, rather remarkably low.

_ Cotton is hauled from the interior, as well as from the prairie country, to stations on the Mobile and Ohio
^^ilroad, which traverses the eastern half of the county from north to south. Freight to Mobile is $3 25 per bale
»m Scooba, one of the chief shipping points.

ABSTRACT OP THE BEPOBT OP JOHN A. MINNIEOE, SCOOBA.

Heavy yeUow clay soil predominates, covering most of this township, and post-oak ridges and black prairie slopes (nearly level) are
jaent. The lowlands consist of creek bottoms, having a productive Hoil, which averages 250 poimds of cotton lint per acre, but is not
^^"^irely above overflow. The bald prairie lying on the east is nsed mostly for com; it is also weU adapted to oak. The flatwoods lie on
^^^^ west. Cotton, com, and oats are the chief crops raised here. About half of aU the cnltivated lands are planted with cotton. The
ff^^^rage product per acre of fresh land is 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton, and from 1,545 to 1,665 pounds make a 475-pound bale of middling
^^t. After five years' cultivation (unmanured) the average product is 600 pounds. Crab-grass is the most troublesome weed. The
^^^^^oral growth is post and red oaks on the uplands, and gum, white oak, hickory, and ash on the bottoms.

The soils vary in depth from 3 to 36 inches, and are mostly underlaid by yellow clay, under which, at 5 to 10 feet, is the impervious
'^titen limestone. The soil is late, cold, and iU-drained, but is easily tilled, except when too wet. I'he cotton-plant grows about 3 feet
^^h on the uplands and 4 feet on the lowlands. In wet, warm weather it inclines to run to weed, for which the correspondent knows no
'^^^^ledy that would not injure the crop. More than one- half the upland originally cnltivated now lies " turned out ", and, where it has
^^'^ been too badly washed, if plowed in the fall produces very well when again cultivated. Slopes are seriously damaged by washing
goUying, and when the uplands are sandy the lowlands are much damaged. Horizontalizing and hillside ditching are practiced to
extent, and when properly done they successfully check the damage. The climate is favorable to cotton production.
The rich bottom lands are most productive, and average half a bale of 500 pounds of lint per acre. The uplands are thin and wom»
i *^^ with no fertilizers produce about 600 pounds of seed- cotton.

106 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI

LAUDERDALE.

(See "Long-leaf pine region'^.)

NEWTON.

Population : 13,436.— White, 8,428 ; colored, 6,008.

Area: 580 square miles.— Short-leaf pine and oak aplands, 225 sqnare miles; long-leaf pine hills, 300 square
miles: central prairie, 55 square miles.

Tilled lands : 58,019 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 19,589 acres ; in com, 20,638 acres ; in oats, 6,716 acres ;
in wheat, 127 acres.

Cotton production : 6,341 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.32 bale, 456 pounds seed-cotton, or 152
pounds cotton lint.

Newton county m drained chiefly by Chunkey creek (the west fork of the Ohickasawhay river) and its numerous
tributaries, the bottoms of which constitute the bulk of the farming lands.

The uplands are mainly hilly, sometimes broken. In the southern part of the county the long-leaf pine forms
the predominant timber, more or less mixed with oaks, according to the quality of the soil. In the northern portion
the short-leaf pine, with oaks, prevails. In both sections there occur occasionally hills and ridges of the red-land
character (see page 29), where the pine is subordinate or absent, and which give rise to upland farms of fair
productiveness. Aside from these, but little cotton is grown in the sandy pine uplands. In the southwestern comer
of the county, on the headwaters of Tallahala creek (a tributary of the Leaf river), the uplands have more or less
the character of the "Central prairie region" (see regional description, page 50), the ridges being less abrupt, and in
their lower portion sometimes showing the heavy clay soils, popularly known as "hog- wallow" or post-oak prairie.
Occasionally, in the deeper bottoms, the soils approximate to the black-prairie character, which is more abundantly
developed in the adjacent part of Jasper county.

The tilled lauds amount to 15.6 per cent, of the area, the cotton acreage being somewhat below that given to
corn, and amounting to 33.8 acres per square mile. The average cotton product per acre (0.32 bale) is equal to that
of Clay and Neshoba counties.

The Yicksburg and Meridian railroad traverses the southern portion of the county, and communication is
mainly with stations on that road, from wJiich cotton is shipped either to New Orleans or Mobile.

SCOTT.

(See "Central prairie region ''.)

EANKIK
(See " Central prairie region \)

SIMPSON.
(See "LoQg-leaf pine region".)

HINDS.
(See "Central prairie region".)

CLAIBORNE.
(See "Cane-hills region".)

JEFFERSON.
(See '^ Cane-hills region".)

FEANKLIN.
(See ^^ Long-leaf pine region''.)

ADAMS.

(See ^'Cane-hills region".)

WILKINSON.
(See "Cane hills region".)

308

108 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

tenth of sach originally onltivated land lies " turned out '' ; but a sufficiently long rest restores fertility. Smart-weed is most tronbleeoncii^
and the washings of the slopes have done immense damage to many valleys. Many partially successful efforts have been made to ohoolK
the damage by horizontalizing and hillside ditching.

Cotton is sold to merchants who ship during picking season to Memphis ; freight per bale from Lamar, $1 75.

MARSHALL.

Papulation : 29,330.— White, 10,992 ; colored, 18,338.

Area: 720 square miles. — Woodland, all. Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 20 square miles; brown-Io
table-lands, 590 square miles ; sandy oak uplands, 110 square miles.

Tilled lands: 161,001 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 67,411 acres; in com, 50,140 acres; in oats, 3,130
in wheat, 3,094 acres.

Cotton production: 26,441 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0,39 bale, 655 pounds seed-cotton, or 1
pounds cotton lint.

By far the greater portion of Marshall county lies within the belt of "table-lands" with a brown-loam subso
that extends through western Tennessee, gradually narrx;wing, as far south as Baton Eouge, Louisiana (see j). 31).
Tbc^e lauds are most characteristically developed in the northern part of the county, on the headwaters c
Coldwater river, and on the northern confluents of Pigeon Eoost creek. Here the country is gently undulating, and i
scarcely more uneven than in the prairie country of eastern M ississippi, except where it breaks ott' into creek bottoms.
It is, however (or rather was), uniformly, but somewhat sparsely, timbered with oaks and hickory. Among the former
the black, Spanish, and black jack oaks, with some post oak, predominate, the hickory being most abundant on the
lower slopes, and hence these slopes are often designated as "hickory hummocks". On the southern branches of
Pigc^on Boost creek, and especially on the creeks directly tributary to the Tallahatchie river, the country is more
undulating, somewhat abruptly so on the edge of the Tallahatchie bottom, and sandier ridges are more or less
interspersed with the table-lands, forming a gradual transition to the "Sandy oak uplands" of La Fayette county.

The bottoms of the larger streams, and especially of the Tallahatchie, are not extensively cultivated, though
very fertile, on account of their liability to overflows. In the smaller bottoms much cotton is grown, but they,
as well as the adjacent uplands, are liable to grievous damage from the cutting of gullies into the hillsides,
undercutting the subsoil, and causing it, with the underlying sand, to be washed into the valleys, in some of which
the original flood-plain is now covered with from 16 to 20 ieet of sand, in which only willows, briers, and Bermuda
grass And a congenial existence.

Prior to its subdivision in the formation of Benton and Tate counties, Marshall was considered (next to Hinds)
the banner upland countj' for cotton production, the crop being less liable to failure from extreme seasons than in
the conipeting counties of the prairie legion. As now circumscribed, it stands fourth in cotton acreage, UindSi
Noxubee, and Monroe ranking above it in this respect, while in total production it stands third to Hinds and De Soto
among the upland counties; and in product per acre it ranks nearly even with the highest of the prairie counties.
Its cotton area is still over one fourth greater than that planted in com. *

Cotton is shipped during the picking season by rail from Holly Springs and other stations of the l^ew Orleans
and Chicago railroad at from $2 to $3 per bale to Memphis, $3 75 to New Orleans, or at from $5 to $7 per bale
to eastern cities.

ABSTBAOT OF THE BEPOBTS OF A. J. WITHEBS AND F. B. SHTJFOltD, HOLLY SPBINGS.

The chief crops are cotton, com, oats, wheat, sweet and Irish potatoes, and pease. The certainty of a cotton yield, and of realijdng
reasonable retams for the same, and the cheaper transportation of it than other crops that might be raised, cause cotton to keep its place
as the exclusive export product. Fully one-half of all the arable land of the county is planted with cotton, although it is equally well
adapted to all of the chief crops mentioned.

The river bottoms are usually too wet, and are therefore but little cultivated. The level and rolling uplands, valleys, and creek bottoma
are cultivated chiefly. They occupy about three* fourths of the county area, and bear a natural growth of post, red, white, and black-Jaok
oaks and hickory, generally on ridges, and poplar, ash, hickory, and gum in tbe valleys. The soil presents much variation of oonstitntioii
and color, but differs little in productiveness, and is 3 to 12 inches deep. The subsoil is most generally a sticky, rod clay, often a mahogany-
colored, impervious hard-pan, containing iron. It is underlaid by sand, gravel, and flat rock at 2 to 6 feet. Tillage is easy, and the soil
early, warm, and generaUy well drained. The usual and most productive height attained by the cotton plant is 3 feet. On fresh land,
and in wet seasons, it inclines to run to weed. Gk>od and shallow cultivation is the remedy. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh
land varies from 800 to 1,800 pounds, according to soil and season. The higher lands are more certain, while the valleys give the greater
yields. About 1,660 pounds make a 475-pound bale of good lint. After five years' cultivation (unmanured) the yields perceptibly deoline,
and the staple is coarser and shorter. About 1,720 pounds then make a bale. Crab-grass and smart- weed, iron and hog- weed, cocklebar and
foxtail, and crow-foot and tickle-grass are troublesome. One-fourth of the originally-cultivated land is now 'Humed out". It is
improved 10 per cent, by rest when not washed, gullied, or covered with sand deposits. Nearly everywhere slopes are seriously damaged
by washings and guUying, and the lowlands (on larger streams especially) are also badly injured by the washings. Many valleys are
now submerged by sand and clay and abandoned to willows and briers. To save the soils, horizontalizing and hillside ditching have been
practiced. The former has been in some cases satLsfactorily successful, but both methods have, in the majority of cases, failed, and so
have other means.

Cotton is shipped during the picking season, hy rail, at from |2 to |3 per bale to Memphis, or |3 75 to New Orleans, and to eastern
cities at from |5 to $7 per bale.

DE SOTO.

Population : 22,924.— White, 7,681 ; colored, 16,343.

Area : 4G0 square miles. — Mississippi bottom, 66 square miles; cane hills, 46 square miles; brown-loam table-
lands, 350 square miles ; all woodland.

Tilled lands : 118,342 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 60,488 acres; in com, 37,462 acres; in oats, 1,688 acres ;
in wheat, 1,236 acres.

310

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 109

Cotton production : 28,469 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.47 bale, 669 pounds seed-cotton, or 223
pounds cotton lint.

De Soto conntj, occupying the northwestern corner of the state, and fronting on the Mississippi river for about
9 miles, has about one-seventh of its area in the bottom of the latter river, the rest being brown-loam " table-lands"
o:^ the best quaUt3% with a belt of " bluff" lands, several miles in width, skirting the bottom.

The Mississippi state line strikes Horn lake nearly at its vertex, leaving about half of it in Tennessee. Horn
ke pass issues Irom the lake not far below the state line and flows near the foot of the bluff, joining Coldwater
er, which forms the southern line of the county, near the southwestern corner. The uplaud drainage is divided
ly^'tiween the tributaries of Coldwater river and Horn lake.

The upland soils of De Soto are, on the whole, somewhat heavier than those of Marshall, which they otherwise
semble in 'May "and in timber, esjjecially in the eastern portion. In the western a good deal of sweet gum,
~ip tree or " poplar", and walnut commingles with the oak and hickory, increasing as the bluff is approached,
e uplands generally sloi)e off gently into the creek bottoms, forming extensive second bottoms or " hummocks",
^^bich are highly esteemed both for productiveness and the quality of the staple grown on them.

De Soto county is quite thickly settled, standing third (to Tate and Holmes) in the state as to the percentage
o^* its total area under tillage (40 per cent.), and, notwithstanding its smaller area, third (to Hinds and Madison)
aixiong the u{)lan(l counties lo*i total production. In jiroduct per acre it stands even with its neighboring county,
Tate (0.47 bale), a fact showing that the average product is not materially influenced by that of the lowland
plantations on Horn lake and pass, however excellent. The above figure is next to the highest among the upland
counties (Calhoun showing 0.60, or half a bale i)er acre, the cotton being there, however, chiefly grown on bottom
lands). De Soto stands second on ly to ^ oxubee in the percentage of 1 he tilled area occupied by cotton (51 per cent.),
&ii<i the area in corn is only three-lifths of the latter. It is thus evident that the growing of home supplies is little
practiced, the nearness to the Memi)his market presenting a great temptation to buy supplies. The Mississippi
and Tennessee railroad traverses the county centrally from north to south, and cotton is shipped, as ginned, to
lil^emphis at the rate of $1 40 per bale, and thence from 75 cents to $1 to New Orleans.

ABSTRACT OP THB REPORT OF T. C. DOCKERY, LOVE STATION.

The county has every variety of Boil, chief among which are aUuvium of Mississippi bottom, the loams along creeks and smaller
stjneams (which produces our best staple, and often a 500- pound bale per acre), and the red and yellow stiff clay soils of the uplands. The
la1»ter class occupies three-fifths of the county area, extending 16 miles east and 18 miles west ; its chief growth is oak, hickory, and
poplar. The surface color, which is gray, reaches 3 inches below to yellow clay, which extends 5 feet downward, theu becoming a
sliiMle lighter. About 20 feet below the surface sand, hard pan, and pipe-clay in strata are encountered. About one- tenth of this kind of
soil originally cultivated now lies "turned out". When again cultivated it produces finely for two or three years. S^lopes wash and
gully readily, and are seriously damaged in this way. The washings also injure the valley lands. To check the damage, horizontalizing
and hillside ditching are practiced, and when such work is well done the results are entirely satisfactory.

TATE.

Population: 18,721.— White, 9,094; colored, 9,627.

Area: 390 sqnare miles. — Woodland, all. Mississippi bottom, 16 square miles; cane hills, 36 square miles;
brown-loam table-land, 340 square miles.

Tilled lands: 124,980 acres. — Area plnnted in cotton, 48,245 acres; in corn, 33,321 acres; in oats, 1,763 acres;
u^ wheat, 1,100 acres.

Cotton production : 22,663 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.47 bale, 669 pounds seed-cotton, or 223
pounds cotton lint.

The surface and agricultural features of Tate county are substantially the same as those above given for
I^^ Soto: undulating table-lands sparsely timbered with oaks and hickory, and with a deep subsoil of brown loam
^^ high fertility, and hence more largely under cultivation than the uplands of any other county in the slate, viz,
JiJ^c-half of the total area. Holmes standing next and De Soto third. The county is drained by the tributaries of
C5oldwater river (which forms part of its northern boundary), chief of which are Bear Tail, Hickahala, and
A-x-kabutla, their fertile first and s^econd bottoms contributing largely to the cultivated area and total production.

As in De Soto and Panola, the soil and ^Mibsoil within a few miles of the edge of the bluft* are similar to those
Prevailing near Memphis, being iornied of the calcareous silt of the bluff or loess formation, and bearing a
^corresponding timber growth, among which sweet gum, tulip tree, and others indicative of a calcareous soil, are
prominent.

One-half of the county area is actually under tillage, the county standing first in the state in tliis respect, and
^'^ these lands 38.6 per cent, is given to cotton. Tate county stands third (to Lowndes and De Soto) in the
proportion ©f its area cultivated in cotton, viz, 123.7 acres per square mile, com occupying only about two-thirds
*B much.

In view of the nearly equal division of the population between the white and colored races the high and
Vredominant production of cotton is remarkable.

Cotton shipments are made chietly to Memphis by rail, or direct to New Orleans via Granada.

PANOLA.

Population: 28,362.— White, 9,521; colored, 18,831.

Area: 680 square miles. — Woodland, all; Mississippi bottom, 140 square miles; cane hills, 86 square miles;
brown-loam table land, 456 square miles.

Tilled lands: 148,446 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 67,060 acres; in corn, 43,091 acres; in oats, 2,119 acres;
fa wheat, 1,603 acres.

Cotton production : 30,066 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.45 bale, 642 pounds seed-cotton, or 214
Poonds cotton lint.

• 311

1 1 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSI PPL

The greater x>ortion of Panola county is of tlie ^^ table-land " character (see p. 32), modified in the sontheaatem
portion especially by more or less sandy ridges extending in from the neighboring portion of La Fayette coanty.
The county is timbered, as in Marshall, with oaks and hickory, to which, as the edge of the bottom or '^ bluff" is
approached, the sweet gum, ash, and the tulip tree (^^ poplar") are more and more frequently added, the former
especially sometimes becoming predominant. Within from 1 to 3 miles of the bluff the subsoil and underlying
material are largely of the character of the calcareous silt or '^ loess" which prevails more extensively in the river
counties south of Vicksburg as well as in Tennessee, the surface being somewhat broken, but the soil very productive.
Fartlier inland gravel beds underlie to a considerable extent and at varying depths, sometimes contributing largely
to the soil and subsoil.

The extreme western portion of the county lies within the Yazoo bottom plains (here designated as the Cold-
water and Tallahatchie bottoms), which form a deep embay ment into the uplands at the entrance of the Tallahatchie
river. The latter traverses the northern part of the county from northeast to southwest. Though liable to overflow,
and apparently not quite as productive as the more southerly portions of the great plains, these bottoms are quite as
extensively under cultivation; but as their product has not been segregated in the returns from those of the uplands
its influence upon the total production and products per acre in the county cannot be determined. The product
per acre of the uplands is evidently somewhat below that of Tate, though probably higher than that of MarshalL
As in the last-named county, the cotton acreage exceeds considerably that planted in corn, and is 44 per cent, of
the total of tilled lands.

Panola stands second among the upland counties in total production, and sixth in cotton acreage per sqnare
mile. Outside of the bottoms the county is well settled, especially along the Mississippi and Tennessee raUroad
(from Memphis to Grenada), which traverses the county from north to south.

Cotton shipments are made on this road, from October to July, to Memphis at $3.75, or to l^ew Orleans at $4,
per, bale.

ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OP D. B. STEWART, OOURTLAND.

There are three kinds of soil cultivated in cotton: the shelly and gravelly loam of the bottoms, the '^ buckshot" and crawfishy
land, and the nplaud. The first includes about one-fourth of the river and creek bottoms of the county, and bears a natural growth of
oak, poplar, ash, gum, hickory, cypress, aud maple. The soil is about 2 feet thick, isgeuerally dark colored, and is underlaid by rock and
gravel at 3 to 4 feet. The chief crops of this region are cotton and corn ; some wheat, oats, potatoes, onions, fruits, etc., are also raised.
The soil is easily tilled, except when too wet. It is best adapted to cotton and corn, and about three-fourths of the cultivated part is
planted with cotton. Tbe plant grows &om 3 to 6 feet high, but is most productive at 4 feet. It inclines to run to weed on very rich,
fresh land in wet seasons, which is restrained by topping and shallow cultivation. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies
from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds; 1,780 pounds make a 475-pound bale of middling lint. After four years' cultivation the product is no less in
good seasons. The most troublesome weeds are smart-weed and crab-grass. Very little of the land lies turned out. The '* buekthot"
and crawfishy land occupies in some localities about half the acreage, and occurs in bodies of one to several miles in extent along the
rivers. The soil is a marshy, crawlishy, and sandy loam, containing line sand, varying in color from gray to yellow, brown, blackish,
and black, and is 2 feet deep. The subsoil, often lighter, contains bard, rounded *' black gravel", sometimes pebbles as large as eggs
and is underlaid by sand, gravel, and rock at 3 to 4 feet. Tbe soil is early, warm, and well drained, and when not too wet is easily
tilled. About three-fourths of its cultivated area is planted with cotton. The plant often grows from 7 to 8 feet high, but is most
productive at 3 to 4 feet. Topping and late cultivation restrain it from growing as high as it otherwise would in wet seasons. The seed-
cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 800 to 1,200 pounds, and after several years from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds, 1,780 poonds
making a 475-pound bale of middling lint. Smart-weed is most troublesome.

The upland soil occupies about half the county area, and bears a natural growth of oak, poplar, sweet gum, ash, and hickoij.
The soil is a coarse, sandy, and gra.elly loam, of buff, yellow, brown, and mahogany colors, is 12 inches deep, and is underlaid by
sand and gravel at 3 feet. The soil is early, easily tilled, and three-fourtbs of its cultivated area is planted with cotton. The OBual
and most productive height of the plant is 3 to 4 feet. The seed-cott<»n product per acre of fresh land varies from 800 to 1,000 ponnds,
and the ratio of seed to lint and quality of staple (land fresh or old) are the fame as on other lands described. The most troubleeome
weeds of this region are smart- weed and crab-grass. About 2,500 acres lie "turned out'^ in this county, which, when again cultivated,
produces as well as when freshly cleared. Slopes wash and gully readily, but the extent of damage is not serious; the valleys are
also to a slight extent injured by the washings. Horizontalizing and hillside ditching have been successfully practiced in checking
the damage. When the seasons are too wet cotton runs to weed, producing large stalks and small bolls, which open late.

Cotton shipments are made, from October to July, to Memphis at $3 75, or to New Orleans at $4 per bale.

LA FAYETTE.

Population: 21,671.— White, 11,385; colored, 10,286.

Area: 720 square miles. — Short-leaf piue and oak uplands, 280 square miles; brown-loam table-lands, 116 squaW
miles; sundy oak uplands, 325 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 86,493 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 35,309 acres; in corn, 35,809 acres; in oats, 4,091 acres;
in wheat, 2,052 acres.

Cotton production: 15,214 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.43 bale, 612 pounds seed-cotton, or 2X^
pounds cotton lint.

La Fayette county exbibi ts quite characteristically the se veral features of the yellow-loam uplands. It is traversed
diagonally from northeast to southwest by tlie broad divi<ling ridge between the streams flowing directly iii to tbe
Tallahatchie river and those tributary to the Yock(»iiey-Patafa. In its higher portions this ridge is prevalently
sandy, and is timbered with black-jack oak of the "s])raTigling" type, especially where tlie brown sandstone of the
stratified drift caps the summits, and the soil is un])roductive (see analysis, j). 31, No. 345), while in the lower ivnd
broader portions the sand is covered by the more or less fertile varieties of the yellow or brown loam to the deptli
of 3 to 4 feet. Southeast ol the main divide and of the line running from the mouth of Pouskous creek up to tbe
head of Yellow Leaf creek, and down that creek to its mouth, the short leaf pine and post oak prevail mainly eu

212

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. Ill

the ridges, with black and Spanish oaks aod hickory iu the valleys ; and as we progress eastward the soil gradually
becomes heavier and assumes the character of the '^flatwoods hills". A large amount of excellent creek bottom
land, originally heavily timbered, is cultivated in cotton. The fertile bottom of the Tockeney is unfortunately
subject to almost annual overflows.

Northwest of the main divide the ridges gradually flatten down, the sandy knolls become more rare, and tlie loam
subsoil layer deeper and darker colored, bearing a timber growth prevalently of black and Spanish oaks and hickories,
with large and compact black-jack and post oaks, thus forming a gradual transition from the ridgy country of tlie
^' Sandy oak uplands" to the gently undulating character of the '^ table-lands". The latter are quito characteristically
developed in the northwestern corner of the county, on Toby-Tubby and Clear creeks, and at several points reacH,
and even cross the railroad near Abbeville. These fertile and well-settled uplands fall off with a gentle slope
toward the Tallahatchie Biver bottom. The latter is itself profusely fertile and about a mile in width, but is so
much subject to ovei^ows that but little of it is in regular cidtivation.

Much and often irreparable damage has been done to the uplands as well as to the valleys of this x)art of the
county by hillside washes, which soon cut through the loam subsoil into the underlying sand, baring the latter on
the hills and deluging the valleys with it.

The tilled lands of La Fayette constitute 18.8 per cent, of the total area, standing in this respect between Tippaii
and Orenada counties. Of the tilled lands, 40.8 per cent, is given to cotton production, while an equal amount is
devoted to com. The average cotton product per acre is 0.43 bale, being the same as in Montgomery, Choctaw,
and Yalobusha counties. The cotton acreage per square mile is 49.

Shipments are made by the New Orleans and Chicago railroad, either direct, to New Orleans or northern
markets, or largely to Memphis, which is the chief market of northern Mississippi. Freight to New Orleans, $3 75
per bale.

ABSTRACTS OF THE BEPOBTS OF P. FEBNANDEZ, P. H. SKIPWITH, AND S. W. £. PEGUES, OXFORD.

Tallahatohie and Yockeney riyers are in this county about 14 miles apart, and pass through it southwesterly. They have wide, flat,
aUuvial bottoms, needing drainage in some places. The higher portions alone are cultivated, and are very productive. From these
bottoms the bills rise with gentle slopes and form the uplands, which are hilly, rolling, and level, and comprise four-fifths of the
enltiTated land of tbis county.

The light sandy Ufam of the table-lands, etc., is the chief cotton-producing soil, and covers about two-thirds of the county. It
extends eastward 10, soutb 25, west 25, and north 20 miles, interrupted occasionally by lowlands and swamps, having a growth of red,
post, and black-jack oaks, dogwood, gum, etc. The soil is generally 5 to 6 inches tbick and blackish in color. The subsoil is a red clay,
anderlaid by sand at 5 to 10 feet, sometimes less. The soil is a little tenacious when too wet, but tills quito easily otherwise ; it is early,
wwrm, and well-drained naturally. The chief crops of this region are cotton, com, oats, wheat, sorghum, and sweet potatoes ; but the soil
iabest adapted to cotton, and five-eighths of it is planted with the same. The usual and most productive height of the plant is from 3i to 4
feet; the extremes are 2 and 6 feet. Deep cultivation and wet seasons incline the plant to run to weed, and to restrain it shallow tillage,
early planting, and topping are practiced. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 600 to 1,000 pounds, 1,545 pounds of
September picking or 1,425 pounds of December picking u aking a 475-pound bale of lint. After ten years' cultivation, when the land is
k^t firom washing, the product is 800 pounds, the ratio of seed to lint is the same, and the quality of the staple is not known to differ
ftmn that of fresh land. About one-tenth of such land lies " turned out", and when again cultivated it produces well if it is not washed
and gullied and has borne sedge-grass seven or eight years. Crab-grass, smart-weed, and hog- weed are most troublesome on this soil.

The sandy JUlMde soil comprises about one-eighth of the lands of this region, occurs in small areas, and has a growth of black-jack
tnd some Spanish and post oaks. The soil is a fine sandy loam of a gray to brown color, in some places black before cultivation, and 1
to 2 inches deep to change of color. The lighter subsoil consists of sand, with strata of white clay, contains sand-rock occasionally, and
is underlaid by sand and white clay. The soil is early, warm, well drained, easily tilled, and is best adapted to sweet potatoes and
watermelons, but five-eighths of its cultivated area is planted with cotton. The plant attains a height of 3 feet for five or six years only.
The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is 800 pounds; after five years' cultivation (unmannred) the product is 400 pounds. More
than one-half such land lies " turned out " and cannot be reclaimed. Hog-weed and mullein are most troublesome as weeds. The
uplands wash -readily, doing serious damage. The valleys joining such land are narrow and sandy, and the sand constantly encroaches.
Hillside ditching is only temporarily successful ; the best plan is either not to clear these slopes adjoining the valleys or to stop cultivating
where there is soil enough to grow broom-sedge.

ABSTBAOT OF EEPOBT OF IBA B. OBB, WATEB VALLEY (SOUTHWESTEBN PABT OF THE COUNTY).

The block or dark sandy loams occur on dry branches in bodies of from 10 to 50 acres each, and comprise one-half of the cultivated
land of the county. Tbey have a natural timber growth of all the oaks, hickory, walnut, dogwood, ash, gum, beech, elm, sumach, and
hazel-nut. The soil is a light, fine, sandy clay loam from brown to black in color and from 1 to 12 inches deep. The subsoil is heavier
than the soil, is a yellow and red clay, sometimes whitish, and is beneficial when mix«Ml with the surface soil. The soil is earlj', warm, and
ill-drained, and is apparently best adapted to cotton and corn. Cotton foruis two-thirds of the crops cultivated. It usually is from 2 to 7 feet
high, is most productive at 3 feet, and inclines to run to weed if planted close and well cultivated or in wet seasons, and may l>e restrained
by giving distance to plants and topping during the last of July. The seed-cotton product per acre on fresh land is from 1,200 to 2,000
pounds in good seasons ; 1,545 pounds are necessary for a 475-x)ound bale, which rates as good as any. After twenty years' cultivation the
yield is from 500 to 1,000 pounds per acre ; about the same amount is necessary for a bale as from fresh land, and the staple is the same.
The troublesome weeds are crab-grass and careless and hog- weeds. About one-sixth of such lands now lie '^ turned out ". They do well
when again cultivated, but not so well as fresh lands. These soils wash very much on the slopes, and are damaged beyond estimate.
The valleys are greatly injured by the washings of the slopes, but horizontalizing and hillside ditching have been a successful check to
■neb ininries.

112 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

ABSTBAOT OP BEPOBT OP S. E. BAGLAND, DELAY (SOUTHEASTBEN PAET OP THE COUNTY).

The npland soils vary greatly from one ridge to another, being in tillable areas of from one-half to 20 acres each.

The black, looae, aandy land comprises about seven-eighths of the lands of the region, extending the entire length of the township on
the south side of the Yockeney and Patapha creeks and to the southern limit.

The natural timber growth is white, red, and post oaks, hickory, pine, and chestnut. The soil is a fine sandy clay loam, gray to
black in color, and 8 inches deep. The subsoil is a heavy, tough, bluish-yellow clay, baking hard when exposed, but gradually becoming
like the surface soil by continued exposure to the air. It is iinpervious when undisturbed, and is underlaid by a grayish, gravelly
pipe-clay at from 2 to 3 feet. The soil is rather difficult to till in wet seasons, though not usually troublesome, and is early when weU
drained. It is best adapted to cotton, although all the crops of this region do well; also the grasses and red clover. Over one-half of the
cultivated land is devoted to cotton, which is usually 3^ feet high, and produces best at that height. Fresh land, wet seasons, and late
planting incline the plant to run to weed, but this is remedied by early planting on older land and shallow cultivation. The seed-cotton
product per acre on fresh land is 1,000 pounds, and 1,425 pounds are required to make a 475-pound bale of lint ; but on land after fifteen
years' cultivation 800 pounds is the yield under ordinary rotation of crops. The staple from old land is not as good as that from fresh laad.
The troublesome weeds are smart, cocklebur, and morning-glory ; crab-grass is the greatest trouble. Probably about 10 per cent, of such
lands lie '' turned out ", and they produce well when again cultivated. The slopes wash and gully readily, are seriously damaged, but
the valleys are not ii^jured. Horizontalizing has been practiced to prevent this, and has been successful until neglected.

At various places in the valleys of ranning streams occur bodies of land designated Bwamp or crawfish land. Its growth is white oak,
gum, and cypress, and its soil is a heavy clay loam of a whitish-gray color. The impervious subsoil is heavier, whiter, and sometimes gravelly;
otherwise it is similar to surface. After cultivation white gravel appears in it, which is underlaid by sand at from 5 to 20 feet. The soil is
tilled with difficulty either in wet or dry seasons, and is late, cold, ill-drained, and best adapted to com planted in June. Cotton is rarely
planted on it. Its troublesome weeds are ox, bear, and crab grasses. Very fine soil is being made by running the washings from uplands
into this land. Cotton matures well in this region after the suU has been cultivated one or two years. Uplands are earlier and more easily
cultivated, and the bolls open earlier than on the lowlands. Cotton is liable to be late and prematurely frost-killed on the lowlands;
hence some prefer uplands. When lowlaudH are well cultivated they endure drought well, and the plant has a steady growth and sheds
less than on the uplands. Soil and work being equal, the yields of uplands and lowlands will be about the same.

Cotton is sold during the picking season at railroad stations, whence it is shipped mostly to New Orleans at ^ 75 from Oxford.

YALOBUSHA.

Population: 15,649.— White, 7,633; colored, 8,116.

Area: 460 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 160 square miles; brown-loam table-lands, 290
square miles; sandy oak uplands, 10 square miles ; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 71,850 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 30,398 acres ; in com, 23,609 acres ; in oats, 1,728 aeres ; in
wheat, 594 acres.

Cotton production: 12,989 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.43 bale^ 612 pounds seed-cotton, or 204
pounds cotton )int.

Yalobusha county is divided into two somewhat unequal portions by the Great ITorthern railroad, which
traverses it from north-northeast to south-southwest. Most of the country lying east of the railroad is ridgy and sandy,
and is timbered mainly with short-leaf pine and black-jack and post oaks, many high rocky knolls crowning the abrupt
ridges and the narrow creek bottoms being almost alone in cultivation. West of the railroad the country bears
mostly the character of the brown-loam table-lands, and is very productive, cotton being altogether the prevalent
crop. The divide between the waters of Yockeney and Loosha-Scoona, running almost east and west across the
county, is a gently undulating country, with only a few knolls of sandy laud. The uplands fall off gently into the
bottoms of tbe two main streams, these bottoms being densely timbered and profusely fertile, but subject to annual
overflows, rendering their cultivation precarious. They are bordered by a second-bottom terrace of varying width,
having a pale yellow loam subsoil and a timber growth of willow and water oaks. Where these are large the soil is
very productive, but where the growth is small it is ill-drained and of a whitish tint, and is of inferior productiveness.

The cotton of Yalobusha county (which then included the adjacent portion of Grenada county) was of old
reputed to be the best upland dotton grown in the market. The deterioration of the soils by improvident culture
and washing away of the surface has somewhat diuiiuished both quantity and quality, but improved methods of
culture can probably restore these lauds to their old standing in both respects.

TALLAHATCHIE.
(See " Mississippi alluvial region^.)

GEENADA.

Population: 12,071.— White, 3,236; colored, 8,835.

Area : 440 square miles. — Short-leaf pine uplands, 105 square miles ; Mississippi bottom, 75 square miles ; cane
hills, 10 square miles; brown -loam table-lands, 190 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 49,600 acres. — Area i)lanted in cotton, 25,390 acres; in corn, 15,906 acres; in oats, 668 acres; ii
wheat, 6 acres.

Cotton production: 10,228 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.40 bale, 570 pounds seed-cotton, or 190^
pounds cotton lint.

Grenada county, like Yalobusha, is a])proxiinately divided by the Great Northern railroad into a hilly ant
sandy eastern portion, where sandy ridges, timbered with short-loaf pine, black-jack and post oaks, form th<
prevailing feature, and a western one, which in the upland and larger portion is of the *' table-lands" character^
while the most westerly part lies within the Mississippi bottom plain. The county is traversed near its middle^
:ii4

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 113

from east to west, by the Yalobnslia river, wliose extensive " secoDd-bottom " plain, gradually rising to the level
of the table-lands proper, ibrnis a large proportion of the best and most thickly-settled fanning lands. Of these
those lying south and west of the town of Grenada are held in especial esteem.

Down to its junction with the LooshatSeoona the Yalobusha river has a bottom from 1^ to 2 miles in width,
bordered by abrupt pine ridges and subject to annual overflow. The same is trueof the Loosha-Scoona, but the bottom
soils of the two streams differ materially, those of the latter being very heavy and "sobby ^, while those of the
Yalobusha are rather light and more easily tilled (see analyses, p. 35), and its channel near Grenada is
obstructed by sand-bars. The joint bottom of the two streams is in places over 3 miles in width, and is traversed
by numerous and very large sloughs, rendering it difficult of access in all but the lowest stages of water. Being
subject to annual overflows, but little of this profusely fertile and densely -timbered plain is in cultivation. The
second-bottom terrace, varying from 1 to 3 miles in width, and lying from 5 to 10 feet above the level of the bottom,
hence above overflow, is also bighly productive. Its timber is mainly willow, water, and chestnut- white oaks, with
which, near the margin, much post and white oaks mingle. The soil is a pale-yellow loam, easily tilled, and mostly
well drained. It is occasionally traversed by low, sandy ridges, with a poor soil bearing an inferior growth of
black jack, post, and Spanish oaks. This second-bottom land constitutes a large body of the densely-settl^ farming
land south and southwest of the town of Grenada, on the waters of Beadupanl3ogue and Perry's creeks, passing
into gently undulating loam uplands on the water-shed l)etween these streams and those flowing directly toward the
great bottom ])lain. The lands on the immediate '^ bluffs of the latter are somewhat broken, and their soil ditters
from those farther inland by an admixture of the calcareous loam of the '• loess " formation (see analyses, p. 31), which
manifests itself by the ai>pearance of such lime-loving trees as the tulip tree, or "poplar", the linden, sweet gum,
sassafras, etc., among the oaks.

The tilled lands of Grenada county constitute 17.6 per cent, of its area, and a little over half of this amount
(51.2 per cent.) is given to cotton culture, while only two-thirds as much is devoted to corn. The cotton acreage

CT 8quai*e mile is 57.7. The cotton product per acre (0.40 bale) is slightly less than that of Yalobusha and
ontgomery, the adjoining counties.

ABSTRACT OF THE BEPOBT OF J. D. LEFLOBE, GBENADA.

The chief soil is that of the black sandy bottoms of all the creeks for 10 miles aroand, which bears a oatnral growth of many kinds
of oak, hickory, walnut, poplar, sweet gom, and ash. The soil is a blackish and black sandy loam 2 feet deep ; the snbsoil a yellow
elay, not very hard, and becomes like the surface when turned up. It is underlaid by sand at 5 to 10 feet. The soil is early when well
drained, always easily tilled, and is best adapted to cotton and com, the chief crops of this region, and one-half its cultiTated area is planted
with cotton. The plant grows from 5 to 8 feet high, but is most productiye at 5 feet. It inclines to run to weed in wet weather. The remedy
oonsists in barring off to check growth. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 1,800 to 2,200 ]>ounds ; 1,425 pounds
make a 475-ponnd bale of lint. After ten years' cultivation the product is from 800 to 1,000 pounds, 1,545 pounds being then net ded for a bale,
and the staple is much shorter than that from fresh land. Cocklebur and crab-grass are the troublesome weeds. Not much of such land
lies "turned ouf , and it produces very well when again cultivated.

At the foot of the hiUs, in the western part of the county, lies the Yalobusha vaUey, which extends many miles up and down along the
hills. The soil is a blackish and black loam 1 to 2 feet deep, generally alike for hundreds of miles, being varied only by bodies more sandy
snd gravelly and by bodies of clayey prairie. Its natural growth is oak, gum, hickory, walnut, poplar, cypress, and in some places pine,
etc The subsoil is yellow clay, not very hard when turned up. It contains white gravel in places, and is underlaid by sand or gravel
at 5 to 10 feet. Tillage is not very difficult in wet seasons, and very easy in dry seasons. The soil is early when well drained, well adapted
to cotton and com, and one-half its cultivated area is planted with cotton. The plant attains the height of from 4 to 6 feet, but is most
productive at 4i to 5 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 1,800 to 2,200 pounds ; 1,425 pounds make a 475-pound
hmle of good middling lint. After ten years' cultivation the product varies from 800 to 1,500 pounds, and 1,545 pounds then make a 475-pound
bale of lint inferior to that of fresh land. Other details are as on land previously described.

The uplands are no less productive than the lowlands, and occur in bodies of several hundred acres, bearing chiefly pine ; also
hickory and oak. The soil is a blackish and black clay loam, 1 to 2 feet thick, with a yellow clay subsoil, underlaid by sand at 5 to 10
ftet. Some of this land has been cultivated over forty years. Morning-glory, cocklebur, and crab-grass are the troublesome weeds. The
lemaining details are as given for the lowlands. Slopes are seriously damaged by washings and gullying, and the vaUeys are, to some
extent, injured by the washings. To check the damage hillside ditching is practiced in some places, and with success when attended to.

Shipments are made, as soon as cotton is ginned, by rail from Grenada to New Orleans at |3 50, or by river at |2 50 per bale.

ABSTBAGT OF THE BEPOBT OF M. K. MISTEB, GBENADA.

About one-fourth of the cultivated soil of this region is the hiacle, lighff Bandy soil of the second bottoms of the Yalobusha river and
tdbutaries. It often occurs in bodies of thousands of acres, and bears a natural growth of hickory, poplar, and white and black oaks. The
depth of soil to change of color is, in many localities, 30 inches. The subsoil is much heavier, more clayey, and of lighter color, but it is very
productive if not too dry. The soil is moderately well drained, always easily tilled, and is well adapted to cotton, com, oats, sweet and Irish
potatoes, and a great variety of vegetables. These are the chief crops of the region. Wheat is also raised, but is not so certain to succeed.
About two-thirds of the cultivated area is planted with cotton. The plant grows from 3 to 4 feet high, and when early summer is too dry
and late summer is too wet the plant inclines to run to weed, for which there is no remedy whatever. Fresh land produces 1,200 pounds of
teed-cotton per acre ; 1,425 pounds make a 475-pound bale of No. 1 lint. After six to eight years' cultivation (unmanured) the cotton yield
declines with constant 1 illage at the rate of 2 per cent, per annum, and 1,545 pounds then make a 475-pound bale. The lint is generally
inferior, but that depends on the season. Crab-grass is the most troublesome weed. About one-sixth of such cultivated land lies ** turned
out ", but produces pretty well when again properly cultivated. Slopes wash very badly, and are thus seriously damaged ; but the washings
do little or no damage to the' valley lands. Efforts to check this damage have been entirely neglected lately, but were formerly made to i^rcat
advantage.

The uplands are rather level, and embrace the second quality of soil. There are also white, clayey, rolling lands, whose soil is inferior.
The bottoms are very rich, but are liable to be overflowed once or twice annually. They produce abundantly when cultivated, but the
cotton crop is liable to be late, and is sometimes iz^ured by early frosts.

Many sell their crop as soon as it is baled, a large proportion of which is sold at Grenada, from which place it is shipped to New

Orleans at |3 50 per bale.

315

114 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

MONTGOMBEY.
(See *^ Short-leaf pine and oak uplands region".)

CARROLL.

Population : 17,795.— White, 7,831 ; colored, 9.964.

Area: 640 square miles. — Short-leaf pine ana oak nplands, 190 square miles; Mississippi bottom, 50 sqaare
miles: cane-hills, 80 square miles; brown-loam table-lands, 320 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 86,739 acres.— Area planted in cotton, 37,957 acres; in com, 30,019 acres; in oats, 1,877 acres;
in wheat, 337 acres.

Cotton production: 17,423 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.46 bale, 657 pounds seed-cotton, or 219
X>ounds cotton lint.

Carroll county, since the formation of Le Flore in 1871, comprehends but a small area of the Mississippi bottom
plain, and its uplands are mostly undulating 'Hable-lands", somewhat broken near the edge of the ^' bluff" and
in the eastern and central portions, where the continuation of the '^ Duck hill" ridge from the adjacent county of
Montgomery forms the divide between the waters of the Big Black and Yazoo rivers. The latter is sandy and
timbered with black-jack and post oaks, mingled with short-leaf pine, while the ^^ bluff*" lands show the usual marks
of increased fertility through the admixtui-e of the calcareous '^ loess" in the mingling of the poplar, linden, sweet
gum, large sassafras, and sometimes walnut, with the upland oaks. The valleys of the numerous streams are wide,
and are very productive where the washing of the uplands has not been allowed to damage them.

In the southeastern portion of the county, near Vaiden especially, the pale-yellow loam of the more northerly
region becomes of a deeper tint, evidently from the admixture of the orange-red, clayey soil of the " red hills "
character, which is prominent at the town of Vaiden. Here in the railroad cuts there appears one of the beds of
'* greensand ", to the admixture of which with the soils the high productiveness of the ^' red lands" is mainly due.
(See p. 29.)

The uplands in this region often come down to the bottom of the Big Black with a decided slope, but in places
there intervene tracts of level hummock or second bottom, lying 3 to 4 feet above the first bottom, and of very
variable fertility. These are nearly or quite destitute of timber, excepting small groups of post oak, and, in low
spots, scrubby sweet gum. The soil is a light, gray silt, unretentive, suitable for good wheat and sweet potatoes,
but unsuited to cotton and com (see analysis of this soil, p. 36). The main body of the first bottom in this region
lies on the east side of the river.

HOLMES.

Population : 27,164.— White, 6,911 ; colored, 20,253.

Area: 750 square miles. — Woodland, all; Mississippi bottom, 205 square miles; cane hills, 60 square miles;
brown-loam table-lands, 485 square miles.

Tilled lands: 204,993 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 62,556 acres; in com. 37,355 acres; in oats, 1,237 acres;
in wheat, 59 acres.

Cotton production : 30,463 bales ; average cotton product i>er acre, 0.49 bale ; 699 pounds seed-cotton, or 233
pounds cotton lint.

The features of the upland portion of Holmes county are very similar to those of Carroll (see above), save that
in general the surface is more gently undulating and the loam s^il is, on the whole, somewhat heavier and deeper,
acquiring in the southern part of the county a thickness of as much as 18 and even 20 feet. The Big Black river is
mostly bordered on the west by a " hummock" belt from one-half to one mile wide, timbered with post oak, willow,
and water oak and some short-leaf pine. From this there is a gradual ascent into a gently -undulating oak upland
region a few miles in width^ beyond which, on the divide, the country becomes more hilly, and, in consequence,
less couvcDient for cultivation, though apparently not less fertile, the timber being the same, viz, large post,
Spanish, and scarlet oaks, with an occasional large black-jack and hickory. The short-leaf pine appears on the
higher portions of the dividing ridge in the northern part of the county; and the southern, the fine agricultural
regioi) about Bichland, though lying on the Big Black side, is separated from the Big Black hummock by a strip of
hilly country in which the pine is occasionally seen. The upland soils, when fresh, produce from 1,200 to 1,300
pounds of seed-cotton* per acre, and are very durable when washing away is prevented.

The lowland portion of Holmes county embraces the wonderfully productive portion of the Yazoo bottom known
as Honey island, famed equally for the quality and quantity of its cotton product, and hence quite extensively in
cultivation; the proprietors, however, residing mostly in the uplands, on account of the peculiarly insidious
malaria attributed to the island formed by the forking of the Yazoo river near the northern line of the county and
the reunion of the two streams on the southern. It seems that the best quality of the "buckshot soil" (see pp. 38
and 42) prevails over the larger portion of this area.

The tilled lands of Holmes county constitute 42.8 per cent, of the total area, the county standing second in
this respect in the state ; 30.5 per cent, of these lands is devoted to cotton. The cotton acreage per square mile is
83.4, and the average cotton product per acre, 0.49, Holmes standing eighth in this respect among the upland
counties in the state; but, considering the influence of the Honey Island (Yazoo bottom) region upon this average,
that of the uplands alone must be very much less.

The cotton product of this lowland region is shipped by water to Yazoo City or Vicksburg, while that of the
upland portion of the county is mainly transported on the Great Northern railroad, which here closely skirts the
Big Black river.

31(5

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 115

ABSTBAOT OF THE BEPOBT OF OHABLBS O. THORNTON, M. D., OHEW'S LANDING.

The lands are a little andulating, thoagh firequently in large areas, with little or no fall ; bat as a general role there is sofficient fall for
dzsinage. Two-thirds of the cnltivated land is blackish and black loam, ocmposed of fine silt, sand, and clay. It is commonly designated
blaok loam. The same extends 5 to 8 miles east, 10 to 20 south, 15 to 20 north, and to the Mississippi river 75 to 100 miles west. Its
natural growth is oaks, gnm, elms, sassafras, walnut, holly, red-bud, cypress, pecan, ash, ironwood, and palmetto. The soil is from 3 to 5
ftet deep. The darker soils have a lighter subsoil, while the clayey soils have a waxier and heavier subsoil, which is very hard when dry.
The underlying material at 20 to 30 feet is quicksand. In good seasons the dark and sandy lands work like an ash-bed, but the clayey
laods are easy to till in wet seasons, especially when in crops like tobacco. These soils are early and warm when well drained.

The chief crops of the region are cotton, com, potatoes, pease, pumpkins, tobacco, and vegetables ; anything that will grow elsewhere
irill grow in the Yazoo bottom. The soil is equally well adapted to all. Com will grow almost without culture, but about two-thinls of
the cultivated part of this land is planted with cotton. With rows 4^ to 5 feet apart, the plant is most productive at 5 feet high, though
it frequently grows to 10 feet. The height makes little difference if it has sufficient space. The plant inclines to run to weed when it
has not space enough, or when the weather is excessively wet and when planted late or cultivated too much on fresh land. The remedy
oonaists in allowing ample space between the rows and drills, laying by early, cultivating little while the plant grows rapidly, and keeping
weeds down with hoes and shallow-plowing sweeps.

The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 1,200 to 5,000 pounds with proper cultivation, and from 1,425 to 1,665 pounds
make a 475-pound bale of lint. After three years' cultivation the product varies from one to three bales (400 pounds each) or 600 to 800
poonds of lint if properly cultivated. The staple is a little inferior, if at all different, and perhaps is not quite so silky and a little
ooaner, though much of this is due to neglect in the selection of seed. Cocklebur is the greatest pest ; other weeds are crab-grass, morning-
glories, hog-weeds, careless-weeds, purslane, and wild tea that pulls like twine. Nearly one-fourth of the best lauds are now idle ; and,
eoDBidering the small yields that are gathered from some of the best lauds in the county, ranch more might as well lie idle. When again
ealtivated such lands produce from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of seed-cotton, and with early breaking and good cultivation they sometimes come
fhlly up to their original standard. Lands suffer from washings only near the foot of the hills, where several large plantations have
been nearly or quite mined. Horlzontalizing has not been successful as a check.

One-sixth of the cultivated land has a surface soil of fine silt and sandy loam of a gray and yellow color. It is coextensive with the
black loam, has the same depth (3 to 5 feet) and about the same kind of growth, with perhaps more pecan, hickory, and oaks, and less
gum. The underlying material is sand. When too wet, the soil is mucky; when dry, it tills like an ash-bed. It is early and warm when
well drained, and is best adapted to com and potatoes, but is also good for cotton, and the latter occupies from five- to seven-eighths of its
cultivated area. The seed-cotton product of fresh lastnd per acre varies fh>m 800 to 1,200 pounds, and usually 1,665, or in dry seasons 1,425
pounds, make a 475-pound bale of lint. After three years' cultivation the product varies from 1,200 to 2,000 pounds, and frequently 3,000
pounds are raised. The ratio of seed to lint remains the same, but the staple is not so soft nor so silky as that fh>m fresh land. The weeds
are the same in kind, but fewer and less luxuriant than on the black land. About one-fourth of such originally cultivated land lies
** turoed out ". When again taken into cultivation the land does not produce as well unless broken eurly.

The remaining sixth of the cultivated land, or much more than one-third of the unimproved, consists of low wet landSy palmetto flaU^
and wkUe-oak ridges. It is commonly designated white ''buckshot" soil, and occurs more or lees on each plantation, and bears a natural
growth of white oak, hickory, ironwood, elm, bitter pecan, palmetto, grape, bamboo, briers, and vines generally. The soil is a whitish-
gray, stiff clay, 12 inches thick ; the subsoil is a stiff waxy, mottled clay, hard and impervious, which breaks into gravel-like fragments. At
2 feet it is underlaid by a stiff mucky clay. Tillage is easy if the soil is not too wet ; if dry, it is almost impossible to break it, except in
clods as large as one's head. The soil is late and cold when well drained, and is best adapted to cotton and i>ease. Cotton does not shed
its fruit as on other land, and is not, like them, subject to drought. Nearly all the cultivated portion is planted with cotton, as it is fit for
little else. The plant grows from 3 to 4 feet high, and is most productive at that. It does not run to weed nor shed its fruit, nor does it
■offer from drought as on other lands. The seed-cotton product per acre varies from 400 to 1,000 pounds ; 1,665 pounds make a 475-ponnd
bale. After three years' cultivation the product varies from 200 to 800 pounds. The ratio of seed to lint remains the same, but the staple
is coarser than that of fr^sh lands, and generally coarser than that of other lands. The cocklebur is the most troublesome weed ; it grows
where nothing else will.

Nearly one-half of such land originally cultivated has been *' turned out ". It produces but little better after rest, and the first five
years of cultivation generally exhausts it. This land resists washing as would a rock, and would be benefited by the intermixture of an
ocean of sand.

Cotton on the lowlands or flats where there is great moisture suffers from rust and sheds greatly, and is perhaps more affected by
early frosts than on uplands; but the correspondent concludes, from his twenty years' experience as an experimental farmer and cotton
planter, that the most serious hinderauces to profitable cotton culture are due more to the methods of cultivation than to soil or climate.
Alternations of wet and dry extremes cause shedding of forms, squares, and blooms ; but this, he believes, would not be so did not that
partial hard-pan formed by the plow-soles repeatedly running at the same depth prevent the roots from descending far enough to be
beyond the reach of, and unaffected by, those sudden surface changes. With suitable treatment these lauds are not excelled in yields by
any in the world. Cotton shipments continue from October to March, by steamboat generally, to New Orleans, at $1 50 per bale ; also,
to Yazoo City at 75 cents, and to Yicksburg at $1 per bale.

ABSTRACT OP THE REPORT OP J. W. C. SMITH, BENTON.

The lowlands of the county comprise the first and second bottoms of the creeks. The soil of the first bottom is a black alluvial,
with much decayed vegetable matter. The growth is walnut, hickory, pecan, magnolia, beech, hollj^ water, live, and white oaks,
buckeye, cucumber tree, etc. The subsoil is a yellowish or bluish clay, nearly impervious to water unless disturbed.

The chief soil of the county is the hilly uplands, which comprises about 80 per cent, of the area, and has a timber growth of white,
red, black, and overcup oaks, hickory, poplar, and dogwood. The subsoil is a yellowish clay at but from 3 to 6 inches from the surface.

Tillage is difficult in wet seasons, but easy in dry. The soil is early when well drained, is best adapted to cotton, and seven-tenths
of its cultivated area is planted with the same. The usual and most productive height of the plant is 4^ or 5 feet. Frequent light surface
cultivation in moist, warm weather inclines the plant to run to weed. The remedy is deep cultivation to cut the lateral roots and check
the plant's growth while the moisture continues, and this is not likely to cause shedding of young boUs. The seed-cotton product per acre
of fresh land varies with the land from 1,200 to 3,000 pounds ; 1,665 to 1,780 pounds make a 475-pound bale of fair lint if free of trash.
After two years' cultivation the product is from 5 to 10 per cent, more, and a little less is needed to make a bale. Crab- grass, purslane, and

«517

116 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

kellis are the most tronbleeome, and where there is a sod of Bermnda grass cotton cannot bo cnltivated. Abont one-foorth of the
originally coltivated limds here now lie ** tamed out'', and prodnce very well when again cultivated. Slopes are seriously damaged by
washings and gullying, especially when not cultivated, and valley lands are injured to the extent of 30 to 50 per cent, by the washings.
Very little effort to check the damage is made, and some efforts at hillside ditching have met with poor success. Most of the lands here
are rented, and tenants do not keep such ditches open.

Wet weather accompanies overflows of the Mississippi river; for during such overflows the prevailing winds are from the west-
southwest and are heavily laden with moisture, which is precipitated every time there comes a cold breeze from the north. The chief
crops are cotton, com, sorghum, and pease. Cotton is shipped in November and December, by steamboat, to New Orleans at $1 25 per
bale.

YAZOO.

(See ^< Mississippi allavial region".)

MADISON.
(See «* Central prairie region".)

MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL REGION.

(Embraces the following counties and parts of counties: North of Vicksburg — ^Tunica, De Soto,* Goahoma,
Quitman, Panola,* Tallahatchie, Grenada,* Le Flore, Sunflower, Bolivar, Washington, Holmes,* Yazoo,
Sharkey, Issaquena, and Warren ;* south of Vicksburg — Oliiiborne,* Jefferson,* Adams,* and Wilkinson.*)

The counties of this region are very similar in their topographical and agricultural features, and, in order to
avoid a very large amount of unnecessary repetition, their descriptions are made as short as possible, and the
readier is referred to the more general description in the flrst part of this report.

TUNICA.

Population: 8,461.— White, 1,266 j colored. 7,205.

Area: 440 square miles. — All Mississippi DOttom; wooded.

Tilkd lands: 39,318 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 29,881 acres; in com, 9,447 acres; in oats, 137 acres.

Cotton production: 18,008 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.60 bale, 855 pounds seed-cotton, or 285
pounds cotton lint.

Tunica is the most northerly of the alluvial counties, and is bordered on the west by the Mississippi river, while
on the east the cane hills lie along a portion of the border. The surface is very level. Its eastern portion is drained
southward by the Coldwater river, a tributary of the Yazoo, and interspersed with numerous lakes and bayous.
The entire country is heavily timbered with the usual bottom growth, and is sparsely settled, except along the
immediate Mississippi river front, where also lie the large cotton plantations. The average of tilled lands for the
county at large is 89.3 acres per square mile, and of these 67.9 acres are given to the cultivation of cotton.

DE SOTO.
(See " Brown-loam table-lands".)

COAHOMA.

Population: 13,568.— White, 2,412 ; colored, 11,156.

Area: 500 square miles. — ^Mississippi bottom, 410 square miles; Dogwood ridge, 84 square miles; woodland.

Tilled lands: 51,741 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 32,964 acres; in com, 14,297 acres; in oats, 138 acres; in
wheat, 76 acres.

Cotton production: 26,287 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.80 bale, 1,140 pounds seed-cotton, or 380
pounds cotton lint.

Coahoma is one of the river counties of this region, and is interspersed with lakes, bayous, and creeks, which
mostly flow southward and are tributary to the Yazoo river. Of these streams the Sunflower river is the largest.

The surface of the county is level, with the exception of Dogwood ridge, on the east, is subject to overflow when
not protected by levees, and is heavily timbered with the usual swamp growth. The lands comprise the alluvial
loams and buckshot soils described in the general part of the report, and along the river front are largely under
cultivation, cotton comprising the chief crop. The Dogwood ridge alluded to is a low ridge above overflow, trending
in an irregular course north and south, with a width varying from 2 to 5 miles, and having a light sandy and deep
soil, timbered with a growth of dogwood, sweet gum, holly, ash, sassafras, and prickly pear. The lands under
cultivation average 103.4 acres i)er square mile for the county at large, and of this number 65.9 acres are given to
cotton. The large plantations, however, lie along the river front, convenient to shipping facilities.

QUITMAN.

Population: 1,407.— White, 592; colored, 815.

Area: 400 square miles. — Missitssippi bottom, 395 square miles; Dogwood ridge, 5 square miles; woodland.

Tilled lands: 5,714 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 3,420 acres; in com, 1,477 acres; in oats, 24 acres.

Cotton production: 2,337 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.G8 bale, 969 {>ounds seed-cotton, or 323
pounds cotton lint.

Quitman county borders Coahoma on the east, its eastern boundary-line reaching to within a few miles of the
bluft* region. The surface is very level, is drained by the Coldwater river, which flows southward, and by its numerous

318

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 117

creeks and bayous, aud is beavily timbered with a swamp growth of sweet gum, swamp-chestnut oak, some white

oak, bolly, and an undergrowth of cane. While most of the county is subject to overflow, there is a great deal of

high and sandy land along the streams, nearly all of which is under cultivation, yielding large crops of cotton.

The lowlands are chiefly dark loams or buckshot clays, and are very highly productive when properly drained.

'< White land'' also occurs in some localities, having a sweet gum and swamp-chestnut oak growth. Along the

Tallahatchie river the bottom lands are from 10 to 15 miles wide, and have a light yellowish sandy loam soil. The

average of lands under tillage for the county at large is 14.2 acres per square mile, and of these 8.5 acres are

given to the culture of cotton.

PANOLA,

(See "Brown-loam table- lands".)

TALLAHATCHIE.

Population: 10,926.— White, 4,168 ; colored, 6,758-^

Area: 640 square miles. — Mississippi bottom, 549 square miles ; cane hills, 53 square miles ; Dogwood ridge,
3S square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 42,501 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton,22,463 acres; in com, 16,169 acres; in oats, 772 acres; in
wlieat, 108 acres.

Cotton production: 11,570 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.52 bale, 741 pounds seed-cotton, or 247
ponnds cotton lint.

Tallahatchie county, lying in the eastern part of the region, includes within its limits a large area of the high
bluff lands described in the general part of this report. By far the greater part of the county, however, is covered
by the level and heavily-timbered swamp lands of the alluvial region with the exception of the narrow and sandy
Dogwood ridge which crosses the southwest corner. The county is drained southward by the Coldwater river and
its several tributaries.

The lands under cultivation are found chiefly on the bluff uplands, and here, too, the greater part of the
population reside. It is thought that about 15 per cent, of the total area of this bluff section and from 1 to 5 per
cent, of the alluvial region is planted in cotton.

The average of tilled lands for the county at large is 66.4 acres per square mile, of which 35.1 acres are in
cotton.

GRENADA.

(See "Brown-loam table-lands'*.)

LB FLORE.

Population : 10,246.— White, 2,230 ; colored, 8,016.

Area : 610 squai-e miles. — ^Mississippi bottom, 434 square miles ; Dogwood ridge, 176 square miles : woodland.

Tilled lands ; -40,158 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 17,730 acres ; in com, 10,965 acres ; in oats, y6 acres.

Cotton production : 11,925 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.67 bale, 954 pounds seed-cotton, or 318
pounds cotton lint.

Le Flore county, lying in the eastern part of the alluvial region, is entirely included in it, though bordered on
the east by the bluff region. The Dogwood ridge, here reaching its maximum width of from 5 to 8 miles, passes
Borth and south through the county, is low, and has a sandy loam soil timbered with dogwood, sweet gum, holly,
ash, sassafras, etc.

The rest of the county is low and swampy, is heavil^^ timbered except in small spots or '* prairies ^ (which seem to
be old Indian moands and " clearings ")» ^^^ is subject to overflow.

The county is sparsely settled with an average of 16.8 persons per square mile, the average of tilled lands
being 65.8 acres per square mile. Cotton is the chief crop, its average being 29.1 acres per square mile.

ABSTRACT OP THE REPORT OP JOHN A. AVENT, GREENWOOD.

The lands of the coanty conipriso two varieties of soil, a black sandy loam and heavy clay putty-like soil (second class). The black sandy
Wilis chiefly caltivated. The same extends 50 miles west, 20 east, and abont 100 north and south, and covers three-fourths of this region.
Ita natural growth is gnm, oak, hickory, cottonwood, ash, box-elder, irouwood, and cane. The soil is a black, fine sandy and gravelly
l<>uu 30 inches deep. The subsoil is an imiiervious, putty-like clay, contains white gravel, and is underlaid by sand at 10 feet The chief
crops of this region are cotton and com. The soil is easily tilled, except when too wet. It is ill-draiued, but early and warm, and is best
*^pted to cotton, three- fourths of its cultivated area being planttd with the same. The usual and most productive height of the plant
^froni 4 to 5 feet, and it Inclines to run to weed when rains are excessive in August. The product per acre of fresh land is 2,000 pounds of
i^-cotton ; 1,90U pounds make a 475-pound bale of good middling lint. After ten years' cultivation (unuianured) the product is 1,500
pOQnda, and 1,780 pounds then make a bale of lint slightly superior to that of fresh land. One-tenth of such originally cultivated land has
***n •* turned out", but produces well when again cultivated. The most troublesome weed is crab-grass. The soil washes and guUies
'^ily on slopes, but they are not seriously damaged yet ; neither are the valleys by washings.

Cotton is shipped during the picking season by steamboat, generally to New Orleans, at $1 50 per bale.

SUNFLOWER.
Population: 4,661.— White, 1,764 ; colored, 2,897.

Tilled , ^ 7 ,- - 7 7-7

Cotton production : 6,707 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.80 bale, 1,140 pounds seed-cotton, or 380
pounds cotton lint.

319

118 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

•

Sunflower is a narrow but long countj' lying in the central part of the alluvial region. Its surface is very level,
with some higher lands along the larger streams ; the lowlands are subject to overflow. The county is drained
southward by the Sunflower river and its tributaries, though the greater part is low and swampy and is interspersed
with many lakes. The lands of the swamps are what are termed *^ white lands", the soil being somewhat sandy, of
a grayish color, and underlaid by a whitish close-textured clay, with reddish ferruginous spots, and its vegetation
comprises sweet gum and swamp-chestnut oak. The front-lands along the streams also comprise '* white lauds",
perhaps a little more sandy, having an additional timber growth of hickory, holly, willow oaks, dogwood, some
ash, and an undergrowth of cane. These front-lands only are under cultivation, the swamps being too low and
subject to overflow.

The county is sparsely settled, the average of population being G.5 persons and that of tilled land 19.4 acres
per square mile. The lands in cotton average but 9.9 acres per square mile. The northern half of the county
is hardly inhabited.

BOLIYAR.

Population : 18,652.— White, 2,694 ; colored, 15,958.

Area: 900 square miles. — All Mississippi bottom; wooded.

Titled lands: 73,467 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 43,330 acres; in corn, 16,624 acres; in oats, 187 acres.

Cotton production : 36,419 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.84 bale, 1,197 pounds seed-cotton, or 399
pounds cotton lint.

Bolivar county lies along the eastern side of the Mississippi river, and is entirely included within the alluvial
region. Its surface is very level, with higher lands along the river, and is heavily timbered with the usual swamp
growth. Sunflower river enters the county a short distance on the east in its southward course, while in the
central portion are the headwaters of Deer creek, which flows parallel with the Mississippi river through several
counties on the south. A few small bayous enter the latter river, but the drainage is mostly to the south. The
entire county is dotted over with small lakes, especially in the eastern half, which is little else than a great swamp,
scarcely inhabited, and subject to overflows. The lands of the county largely embrace buckshot clays in the
lowlands, covered on the higher portions along the river by light alluvial loams from 6 to 8 feet thick.

The lauds under cultivation for the county at large average 81.6 acres per square mile, and of these 48.1 acres
are given to the culture of cotton. The cotton plantations, however, lie chiefly adjoining the Mississippi river,
convenient to transportation.

ABSTBACT OF THE BEPOBT OF G. W. WISE, OONOOBDIA.

As far as productiveness is concerned, it is hard to toll which is better, the black sandy loam or the black ** baokshot " soU, as neither can
be exceUed. These together constitate about foor-fifths of this region and extend from 50 to 75 miles np and down the Mississippi river
and about 10 miles east of it. Its natural growth is chiefly sweet gum and hackberry, and some elm, oak, ash, cottonwood, etc. Both
soils are black or blackish ; one is fine sandy loam, the other is a stiff, clayey loam. Their depths vary from li to 9 feet. The subeoU is
apparently heavier, but when exposed to the sun and air it becomes like the surface soU. They are underlaid by sand or clay. The
heavier soil contains black pebble.

Tillage is always easy except in wet seasons. The soil is early and warm when well drained, but most of it is ill-drained. Cotton
and com are the chief crops. Both do well, but the soil seems best adapted to cotton, and t: ve-sixths of its cultivated area (the same is
true of other soils here) is planted with cotton. The plant usually attains the height of 4 to 5 feet on the '' buckshot", 6 to 7 feet on the
black sandy soil, and 3| to 4i feet on the white sandy soil. It inclines to run to weed on fresh land or when July and August are very
rainy. No remedy has here been tried except shallow cultivation, and this is believed to be the best remedy. The seed-cotton product per
acre of fresh land is 1,500 pounds (gathered), but sometimes a part is destroyed by rains or by early frosts; from 1,545 to 2,135 pounds
make a 475-pound bale of lint. After twenty years' cultivation (unmanured) the product varies from 1,300 to 1,800 pounds, and aboat
1,780 pounds then make a bale of lint slightly better than that from fresh land. TeUow-top and the morning-glory are the most troublesome
weeds, the latter being worst on the sandy land. Perhaps one-twentieth of such land originally cultivated now lies '* turned out", but It
produces just as well as ever, excepting the first crop, which is uncertain.

About one-fifth of this region along the river consists of a whitish-gray or muddy-yellow fine sandy loam. This reaches up and down
as far as the land last described, but does not extend so far east or back from the river. Its growth is cottonwood, hackberry, ash, elm,
and cane. This soil varies from 2 to 10 feet in depth. When lO^feet deep, it is generally followed by quicksand ; when 2 feet, it is underlaid
by a clayey subsoil ; and in either case quicksand prevails at 10 to 20 feet. The soil is easily tilled, is early, warm, generally well drained,
and is best adapted to cotton. The plant usually grows about 5 feet high, but is most productive at 4^ feet. The seed-cotton product
per acre of fresh land, or after twenty years' cultivation, varies from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds, according to seasons. The morning-glory is
the troublesome weed. Not much of this land is ** turned out". Other details are as on the soils before described.

There is considerable swamp, white oak, and hickory laud occurring in bodies from 10 miles east of the river to the uplands. Its
chief growth is swamp, white oak, hickory, elm, and some red oak, gum, pecan, and cane. The soil is a sandy loam of a whitish-gray
color, 8 inches thick. The subsoil is lighter in color and material, and is underlaid by white or yellowish sandy clay.

Tillage is easy, more so when dry than wet. The soil is early and warm, but ill-drained, and is best adapted to cotton and vegetables.
The usual and most productive height attained by the cotton-plant is from 3| to 4 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land
is about 1,500 pounds ; 1,780 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. After ten years' cultivation the product varies from 1,000 to 1,500
pounds. A little less is needed to make a bale, and the staple is a little better. Crab-grass is the troublesome weed. Not more than
one-fortieth of such land originally cultivated now lies 'Humed out"; it improves by rest, prodncing better for the first two or three
years. In the ordinary good season the sandy soils produce best, but they cannot endure drought as the '^ buckshot" soil, and in very -
wet seasons the plant sometimes takes the second growth. Therefore the " buckshot " soil is best in either extremes of wet or dry seasons.

Cotton is shipped at all times, by river chiefly, to New Orleans, at 75 cents to $1 25 per bale.
3.;)

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 119

WASHINGTON.

FcpuhtUan: 25,367.— White, 3,478; colored, 21,889.
Area: 900 square miles. — ^AIl Mississippi bottom; wooded.

Tilled lands: 95,893 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 60,400 acres; in com, 16,515 acres; in oats, 65 acres.
Cotton production: 54,873 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.87 bale, 1,239 pounds seed-cotcon, or 413^
pounds cotton lint.

Washington county extends eastward from the Mississippi river to the Yazoo, the greater part, however,

bordering the former river. It is entirely included within the alluvial region, and is watered by the Big Sunflower

nVer, Deer creek, and Black bayou, all flowing southward into the Yazoo river. The Mississippi river receives

scarcely any drainage water from the county direct, the lands along its border being higher than elsewhere. The

general surf^bce of the county is very level and heavily timbered with bottom growth. In the eastern part of the

eoanty, from about halfway between Deer creek and Sunflower river, the variety of land known as white land

prevails. The soil is mostly rather sandy, but is underlaid by a stiff, white clay, and has a growth of sweet gum

and swamp-chestnut oak. The banks of the Sunflower are low, and have a sandy loam soil. To the westward the

backshot clays are found overlying this clay, and, with the still higher alluvial loams of the streams, are the chief

Jands under cultivation. The lowest lands are cypress swamps. Cotton is the principal crop of the county, it«

acreage on the west embracing from 15 to 20 per cent, of the total area of that section. For the county at large

th.e average is 70.5 acres per square mile out of an average of 106.5 acres of tilled lands. Washington is the second

'^ banner county" of the state in its average product per acre, and ranks as fourth among the counties of all the

eot>ton states.

HOLMES.
(See " Brown-loam table-lands".)

YAZOO.

Popylaiion: 33,845.— White, 8^498 ; colored, 25,347.

Area: 1,000 square miles. — ^Mississippi bottom, 430 square miles ; cane hills, 260 square miles ; brown-loam
t^l)le-lands, 310 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 156,228 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 83,184 acres ; in com, 38,207 acres ; in oats, 454 acres.

Cotton production: 48,321 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.58 bale, 828 pounds seed-cotton, or 276
IM>Tinds cotton lint.

Yazoo county is almost evenly divided between the uplands and the lowlands traversed by the Yazoo and
lo'wer portion of the Big Sunflower river, the fertility of which is scarcely less noted tlian that of Honey island.
XMne uplands are of two chief types. In the eastern and northeastern part there are brown-loam *^ table-lands'',
traversed more or less by higher ridges, on which the loam stratum is thin, and therefore liable to damage by
lilllside washes cutting into the underlying sand. On the westward slope of the divide between the Yazoo and the
Bi^ Black these are timbered with black-jack and post oaks, with occasional pines, while on the lower slopes and
l>iX)ader ridges the black, Spanish, and scarlet oaks, with hickory, predominate. Toward the westward slope of the
<tivide between the Yazoo and Big Black rivers, in the western and southern parts of the county, the influence
ojT the calcareous silt of the ** cane hills " becomes perceptible in the admixture of lime-loving trees with the oak
timber (see Holmes county^, and the country assumes the character of the " walnut-hills" region near Vicksburg.
(See description of cane-hills region and of Warren county.)

The tilled lands of Yazoo amount to 24.4 per cent, of the total area. The form of the returns does not admit
oi* the segregation of the lowlands from the uplands, and hence it is not possible to draw definite conclusions
^'^^^garding the relative statistics of production. The high cotton product per acre (0.58 bale) as compared with the
^^joining county of Madison rO.38 bale) shows the influence of the lowland plantations upon this factor ; and as the
^I^lands are apparently as well settled as are those of Holmes, adjoining on the north, the remarkable difference in
^^^ proportion of tilled lands, as compared with Holmes, seems to be attributable to the thinly-settled lowlands.
^'ver one-half of the tilled area (53.2 per cent.) is occupied by cotton, against only 30.5 in Holmes, and less than
^xie-half as much is given to the production of com. The cotton acreage per square mile is, however, essentially
t-be same in both counties (83.2 and 83.4).

Cotton shipments are made chiefly by steamers down the Yazoo river to Vicksburg or l^ew Orleans, and some
^^tton is sold to commission merchants at Yazoo Oity. Freight per bale to N^ew Orleans, $1 25.

ABSTBAOT OF BSPOBT OF J. W. 0. SMITH, BENTON.

The nplanda of the county are hiUy and roUing and weR timbered, havmg a growth of white, black, red, and overcnp oaks, hickory,

poplar, and dogwood.

The lowlands of the county comprise the first and second bottoms of Spring creek, the former having a black sandy aUuvial soil,
^« second bottom, or table-lands, haying a yellow loam subsoil, with 3 to 6 inches of black humus on the surface. These bottoms have
AS'owth of walnut, hickory, magnolia, beech, pecan, hoUy, buckeye, cucumber tree, and water, live, and white oaks.

The idble-landa and kills having the black vegetable mold soil and yeUow-loam subsoil are the chief lands devoted to cotton culture,
uid oompriae 80 per cent, of the county area, embracing aU of the lands except the swamps of the creeks and Big Black river. The soil
« ft bnff-colored, coarse sandy or clayey loam, 8 inches in depth, with a heavier yellowish clay subsoil nearly impervious to water unless
^^storbed by the plow, contains hard, white and reddish pebbles, frequently mixed with shells on creek blufi&i, and is underlaid by sand and
^TeL The soil is easily tilled if dry, difficult if wet ; is early when well drained, and is best adapted to cotton. About 70 per cent, of

21 C r 321

120 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

the caltivated land is devoted to cotton, which is usually from 4^ to 5 feet high, and is most productive at that height. The plant, inclined
to run to weed in moist, warm weather, and with frequent light surface plowing, may be sustained by deep plowing, to cut the roots and
check growth while moisture continues, and is not likely to shed young bolls, even though the roots be injured.

The seed-cotton product per acre from fresh land is from 1,200 to 3,000 pounds ; from 1,720 to 1,780 pounds are required to make a
•175-pound bale of middling lint. After two years* cultivation the product of seed-cotton is from 5 to 10 per cent, better than the first year,
and from 1,600 to 1,665 pounds (in wet season, when the seeds are large) are then required to make a 475-pound bale of lint, which does not
rate any better than first year's crop. Careless, purslane, silk, and crab-grass are the most troublesome weeds, and where there is a mat
or turf of Bermuda grass cotton cannot be cultivated. Probably about 25 per cent, of such land originally cultivated now lies ** turned
out", and produces excellently when again brought under tillage. The slopes wash very much where not cultivated, and are damaged
seriously. The valleys are injured to from '^0 to 50 per cent, of their value, but very little has been done to check the damage, as the
renters do not keep the sidehill ditches open.

The chief crops of the county are cotton, com, sorghum, and pease. No circumstances of ** local climate" influence the cotton crop,
except in years when the Mississippi river overflows the swamp ; then, as our spring and summer winds are west-southwest, the atmosphere
being heavily laden with moisture, every chilly wave from the cold regions causes a shower and makes the overflow springs in the
Mississippi bottoms and causes wet springs in the adjacent uplands.

Shipments are made in November and December by steamboat to New Orleans at $1 25 per bale.

SHAEKEY.

Population: 6,306.— White, 1,405 ; colored, 4,901.

Area: 540 square miles. — All Mississippi bottom j wooded.

Tilled lands: 23,328 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 17,041 acres ; in corn, 7,540 acres ; in oats, 35 acres.

Cotton production: 14,162 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.83 bale, 1,182 pounds seed-cotton, or 394
pounds cotton lint.

Sharkey, an inland alluvial county, is separated from the Mississippi river by the county of Issaquena. Its
surface is very level, is well timbered with bottom growth, and is drained southward by the Little Sunflower river .lud
Beer creek. The lands of the eastern half of the county seem to be of the low and swampy " white land" variety,
comprising rather sandy soils and white clay subsoils, with a growth of sweet gum, swamp -chestnut, oak, etc. Tlio.
banks of the Sunflower are rather low, and have a light-gray sandy loam soil and a growth of sweet gum, maple, eink -
and hackberry. In the western half, along Deer creek, the lands are chiefly buckshot clays, covered with sandy soil^
near some of the streams. The prevailing growth on this land is sweet gum, hackberry, and cotton wood, with a
undergrowth of cane and bamboo. On the sandy portions there is honey-locust, sycamore, and cottonwood, with i
less amount of cane.

The buckshot lands along Deer creek comprise the principal cotton lands of the county, and above Eollin,
Fork are wide and generally in cultivation, ^he lands under cultivation for the county at large average 43.2 acre
per square mile, and of these 31.6 acres are given to cotton.

ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF THOMAS F. SCOTT, ROLLING FORK.

Two-thirds of the land is sandy alluvial, one-fourth is alluvial " buckshot", and one-twelfth is waxy or putty-like prairie. Ihi
sandy allm^l occupying the margins of streams is called front-land, and has a natural growth (as have the other soils) of four species
oak, ash, pecan, cypress, and hackberry. The soil is a fine silt and sandy loam of a brown and black color from 2 to 20 feet deep, and th.
underlying material is scarcely different, except that it has more or less stratified pipe-clay. The chief crops of this region are cotton, coi
rice, and sorghum. This soil is early, warm, weU drained, easily tilled, and is best adapted to cotton and com, but the other crops can
satisfactorily and profitably produced.

Two- thirds of its cultivated area is planted with cotton. On all lands here the plant usuaUy attains the height of C to 8 feet (tl -^i
maximum is 10), but is most productive at from 5 to 6 feet. In very moist or moderately wet seasons, ^nd with clean cultivation, the plai^^H]!
inclines to run to weed. On this and the next soil described it can be remedied by running one furrow with a subsoil colter Tnifiw j- i j
between rows and cutting lateral roots. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 2,500 to 4,000 pounds; 1,545 ponn ^Is
(on all soils here) make a 475-pound bale of lint. After twenty years' cultivation (nnmanured) the yields vary from 2,000 to 2,600 ponnC^ti^
and 1 ,485 pounds (on all old soils here) make a 475-pound bale of lint which rates a grade below that of fresh land, except in case of the thii" « I-
named soil, where it equals that of fresh land. The difference is in the length of the staple. The troublesome weeds are crab-gra ^»8,
rag-weed, and hog-weed. One-twentieth of such cultivated land is at present used for summer pasturage. It yields 2,500 pounds of sec^<l-
cotton when again cultivated.

The alluvial buckshot soil comprises one-third of the county area, extending to its limits. Its growth is similar to that of the &oiI
already described. The soil is a mahogany, blackish, and black-clay loam, 5 feet thick, underlaid by pipe-clay. The soil is late, waimi,
well drained, is easily tilled except in wet seasons, and is best adapted to cotton and com. Four-fifths of its cultivated area is planted ^'^
cotton. The seed-cotton product per acre of fi«sh land is 2,500 pounds ; after twenty years' cultivation it is 2,000 pounds. As weeds ai^d
cockleburs are most troublesome, none of this land lies *' turned out", but it improves, when rested, about 25 per cent.

The black waxy or putty-like prairie has 12 to 24 inches of soil resting upon a leachy, sandy mold. The soil is late, cold, iU-drain^^^»
and difficult to plow when too wet. It is best adapted to cotton and com, and all that is cultivated is planted with cotton. The pli» **^*
grows to a height of 6 or 8 feet, and is most productive at 5 to 6 feet. The product per acre is equal to that of the soil last described, V>*^*
this soil does not deteriorate during twenty years' cultivation, and the staples from fresh and old land are equal in quality. Beggar 1 i«'*^
and cockleburs are most troublesome as weeds. One-half of this land originally cultivated now lies ''turned out".

The climate is favorable to cotton growing. During the fruiting season a damp atmosphere prevails during evening, night, and e2»^* ^
morning, the rest of the 24 hours being arid sunshine or dry and parching heat, that is absolutely necessary to the successful produetiox3. ^^^
cotton. The county has two streams navigable during the year. Cotton is shipped by water, from December to June, to New Orleans* '
$2 75 per bale ; also to Vicksburg.

322

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 121

ISSAQUENA.

Papulation: 10,004.— Whit^ 820; colored, 9,178.

Area: 390 square miles. — All Mississippi bottom.

Tilled landa: 32,0:30 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 18,293 acres; in com, 3,849 acres; in oats, J 7 acres.

Cotton production: 16,150 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.88 bale, 1,254 pounds seed-cotton, or 418
pounds cotton lint.

Issaquena is a narrow river county, having the shape of the letter L, the foot reaching eastward to the Yazoo
river. The surface of the county is level and subject to overflow, against which a system of levees have been built.
The drainage is southward through Steel's bayou, Deer creek, and their tributaries. Numerous lakes occur in the
lowlands. The lands embrace a front-land along the streams of light sandy or loam soils, and a back-land of stiff
buckshot clays occupies the lowland away from the streams. The grovvth here is sweet gum and Spanish oak,
with a dense undergrowth of cane. The soil along the Mississippi is a darii, sandy loam, 1 or 2 miles wide, mostly
cultivated. The immediate banks are sandy, and have an ahuost exclusive growth of cotton wood trees.

TLe lands under cultivation average 83.7 acres i)er square mile, and of these 40.9 acres are given to the culture
of cotton. The cotton plantations lie chiefly along the river, covering from 15 to 20 per cent, of the total area of
that section. In average product per acre Issaquena ranks as first in the -state and third among the cotton
counties of all the cotton states.

ABSTRACT FROM THE BEPOKT OF W. E. COLLINS, MAYERSVILLE.

The lauds embraced in this descriptiou are of tlie alhivial plain of the Mississippi river, and extend back from the river for 4 miles
to Steele bayou. Tlicy embrace black buckshot and sandy lo.tms of the river bank. The cbief one is the black huckshoif which occupies
faUy two-thirds of the region, extending ironi the upper lino of Bolivar to the lower line of Issaquena county. The soil is black when first
turued op, changing to light gray, and is Jibout 20 inches de<^; the subsoil, to a depth of 4 feet resembling red clay, is the buckshot proper,
ciombliug iuto small pieces about the size of buckshot after being exposed to the sun and air. This is underlaid by fine sand to a depth
of 6 feet, and then by blue mu<l. The timber growth is Cottonwood, swet^t giuu, ash, oak, hickorj*, elm, box-elder, holly, sycamore,
cypress, and many other trees, with an undergrowth of wild grapes and cano.

TThc soil is early and warm when well drained, always easily tilled, and is best adapted to cotton. It produces from 2,000 to 3,000
pounds of seed-cotton per acre of fresh land, and just as much after fifteen years' cultivation (unmanured). The plant grows from 5 to 7
feet high. In townships 11 and 12 about 000 acres lie '* turned out". When again cultivated it produces nearly the original yields.
The most troublesome weeds are hog-wee<l, morning-glory, and cocklebur.

The sandy landf with its growth of cottonwood, sweet gum, hackberry, etc., has a light, sandy, gray soil 10 feet deep, ill-drained, but
early, easily tilled at any time, and is best adapted to cotton and corn. The cotton-plant grows from 3 to 5 feet high, but is most productive
ftt 4feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 1,200 to 1,400 pounds (400 of lint) ; old land produces about as much.
Very little of such land Ues '' turned out ^\ and it produces finely when again cultivated. Crab and Bermuda grasses are most troublesome
as weeds.

Cotton is shipped chiefly in November by river to New Orleaus at from 75 cents to |1 per bale.

WAR REX.
(See " Cane-hills region ^.)

CLxVIBORNE.

(See " Cane-hills region".)

JEFFERSON.

(See *' Cane-hills region ^.)

ADAMS.
(See ** Cane-hills region".)

WILKINSOISr.

(See " Cane-hills region".)

OANE-HILLS REGION.

(It embraces the following coonties and parts of counties : Warreiii Yazoo,* Hinds,* Olaibome, JefTerson, Adam%

and Wilkinson.)

W^ARREK

Population: 31,238.— White, 8,717 ; colored, 22,521.

Area: 600 square miles. — Mississippi bottom, 240 square miles; cane hills, 360 square miles ; woodland.
Tilled lands: 00,031 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 34,127 acres; in corn, 10,371 a<5res; in oats, 69 acres.
Cotton production : 22.050 hales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.67 bale, 954 pounds seed-cotton, or 318
pounds cotton lint.

•>

122 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Warren is emphatically a "river county", fronting on the Mississippi for about 60 miles of its course. The
Yazoo enters the county from the north and empties into the great river a few miles above Vicksburg. The eastern
and southern boundary is formed by the Big Black river, which joins the Mississippi a little beyond the southern
end of the county.

All the uplands west of the Big Black are characteristically of the cane-hills character, if we except a few
spots of heavy black prairie soil which appear on the hills near the city of Vicksburg, where the cane hills fall off
abruptly toward tiie river, which encroaches upon their base. From about a mile above to some 9 miles below
the city, at Haynes' bluff, 12 miles above Vicksburg, the Yazoo river strikes the bluff and continues from its
base to' its mouth. This bordering ridge, originally heavily timbered, has long been known as the " Walnut hills ".
Like the rest of the cane-hills country, it is now mostly treeless, the slopes being covered with Bermuda grass, and
the original large upland plantations are giving way to smaller holdings, although here, as in Claiborne county, the
damage from washing away of the soil is much less than farther south, the country being less deeply broken. A
great deal of the upland lies " tamed ouf. In the valley lands cultivation has steadily continued, but the land is
in small bodies, though very productive. The bottom or hummock lands of the Big Black river are largely on the
Hinds county side.

In the portion of the county lying within the Mississippi bottom the excellent cotton -producing lands on SteePs
"bayou and Deer creek are especially noted. There are many lakes in the region, and its location at the confluence
of the Mississippi and the Yazoo renders it especially liable to overflow in its present unprotected condition. In
favorable seasons it is profusely productive.

The tilled lands of Warren in 1879 amounted to only 15.6 per cent, of the total area; a remarkable contrast with
the neighboring counties of Claiborne, Copiah, Hinds, and Yazoo, in which that percentage ranges from 24.4 per
cent, in Yazoo to 36 per cent, in Hinds. We have a parallel case of depression in consequence of abandonment of
cultivated lands in the old county of Wilkinson (14.9 per cent.). Of the tilled area of Warren, 56 per cent, is given
to cotton culture, and less than one-third as much to corn. The average cotton product per acre is 0.67 bale, a
figure indicating plainly the influence of the high production on the plantations of the Mississippi lowland.

The communication in Warren county is mainly by rail and steamer with the city of Vicksburg, and thence to
Few Orleans, chiefly by river, at $1 per bale.

YAZOO.

(See " Mississippi alluvial region ^.)

HII^DS.
(See " Central prairie region ".)

CLAIBORNE.

Population: 16,768.— White, 3,910; colored, 12,858.

Area : 460 square miles. — Short-leaf x>ine and oak uplands, 195 square miles ; Mississippi bottom, 25 square
miles ; cane hills, 240 square miles ; all woodland.

Tilled lands : 97,175 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 33,121 acres ; iu corn, 15,744 acres ; in oats, 82 acres.

Cotton production : 18,518 bales 5 average cotton product per acre, 0.56 bale, 798 pounds seed-cotton, or 266
pounds cotton lint.

Claiborne county is drained centrally to westward by the north and south forks of bayou Pierre. A few short
creeks are tributary to the Big Black river, which forms most of its northern boundary and joins the Mississippi a
few miles above Grand Gulf. At the latter point, as well as at Bruinsburg, 10 miles below, the Mississippi river
washes the foot of high blufi's ; elsewhere bodies of bottom land intervene between the river and the cane hills.
The latter are, on the whole, less broken in Claiborne than farther south, and the damage done by the washing
away of the soil and gullying of the hillsides is less extensive, though still quite serious. In some tracts in the
southwestern part of the county the hills are timbered almost exclusively with magnolia of large size, the soil being
a dark-colored, deep, and easily-tilled loam. Elsewhere oaks (among which the chestnut-white oak is prominent),
sweet gum, tulip tree, linden, walnut, etc., form the upland timber, while beech is abundant on the lower hillsides
and in the valleys. With ordinary" care to prevent damage by washing, and small farms instead of the plantation
system, a large proportion of the cane-hills lands of Claiborne can be cultivated to great advantage. (For analyses
of Claiborne upland soils, see regional description, p. 44.)

To the eastward the cane-hill ridges interlace with those of the sandy uplands, with which they contrast quite
strongly both as to soil and as to the sudden appearance of short-leaf pine, copiously intermingled, eVen on the hills,
with beech and magnolia. The surface here appears to be that of the pine hills, while the subsoil in which the trees
have their roots is a fertile brown loam (for analyses and discussion, see regional description, page 47). In this
eastern portion of the county the hummocks of the valleys and the lower hillsides are chiefly cultivated. The
streams frequently meander in wide sandy beds with little or no first bottom.

Within the cane-hill region the bayou Pierre flows in a deep channel bordered by a hummock above ordinary
overflows. Near the river the soil is sometimes light and silty, and bears a growth of water and post oak ; farther
back, beech, black walnut, sycamore, etc., prevail, and the soil is very productive.

The tilled lands of Claiborne county constitute one-third (33 per cent.) of its area. One-third (34.1 per cent.) of
the tilled lands is devoted to cotton, and about one-half as much to corn.

The average cotton product per acre is 0.56 bale, and the average cotton acreage per square mile is 72.

The communication of Claiborne county is chiefly with Port Gibson, and thence by narrow-gauge railroad to
Grand Gulf ; thence by river steamers to New Orleans, at the rate of $1 25 -per bale. From the northern part of
the county some hauling is done to Vicksburg, or to stations on the Vicksburg and Meridian railroad.

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 123

ABSTBACT OF THE BEPOET OF OEOBOE P. M'LEAN^ BOOKY SPBING.

The soils of this rogion are the light, buff-colorecly calcareous loam of the cane-hills region and brown and blackish, clayey loam, lying
)iut east of and a^oining that region. The two belts extend along the Mississippi river from Looisiana to Vicksburg (and farther), and
aret<^ether aboat25 miles wide. Their natural growth is oak, beech, poplar, magnolia, sweet g^um, and some hickory. The soils are
2 to 3 feet ; the subsoils are of like material to 8 feet at least.

The chief crops are cotton, com, cow- pease, and sweet potatoes. The soil is naturally well drained, always easily tilled, is best

adapted to cotton, and about three-fourths of its area is planted with the same. The plant usually grows 3 feet high, but inclines to run to

weed in wet weather, which cannot be remedied if such weather long continues. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land Taries

£txm 1,000 to 2,000 pounds, but thirty years' cultivation (unmanured) reduces the yield to about 1,000 pounds ; 1,300 to 1,660 pounds make

s 475-pound bale of middling lint (whether from fresh or old land). Hog-weed, cocklebur, Spanish needle, and crab-grass are the

troablesome weeds. At least one-third of such cultivated land lies '' turned out'', and when again cultivated produces almost as well as

when fresh.

Slopes are seriously damaged by washings and gullying of their surfaces, but valleys are improved by the washings, because the
snbfloil is very rich. Horizontalizing and hillside ditching have been practiced, and successfully check the damage.

JEFFERSON.

Population : 17,314.— White, 4,200 ; colored, 13,064.

Area : 510 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 250 sqaare miles ; long-leaf pine hills, 50 square
milesj Mississippi bottom, 50 square miles; cane hills, 160 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 62,218 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 32,141 acres; in com, 16,365 acres ; in oats, 312 acres.

Cotton production : 18,512 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.58 bale, 828 pounds seed-cotton, or 276
pounds cotton lint.

J^erson county is drained centrally to westward by the two forks of Colerf creek, its eastern portion being partly
drained to the northward by creeks tributary to the south fork of bayou Pierre and partly to the southward by the
headwaters of the Homochitto. The county presents four different surface features. The southeastern comer, with
drainage toward the main Homochitto, forms part of the broken '^ Homochitto hills " country, with long-leaf pine and
the sandy soU on the higher ridges. To the westward the long-leaf pine is replaced by the short leaf sx)ecies, more
and more mingled with oak and hickory as wo progress westward. Beyond the divide between the Homochitto
and Coles' creek the ridges flatten and the country becomes rolling or gently undulating, the yellow-loam subsoil,
similar to that of the Hamburg hills (see description of Franklin county), being gradually replaced by the umber-
colored loam of the fine agricultural upland region*, in which Fayette, the county -seat, is located. Thence westward
there is a gradual transition to the character of the cane hills. The latter are of the usual character (see regional
description, page 43) and fall off steeply into the Mississippi bottom, or, at Eoduey and at the mouth of Coles'
creek, into the river itself, which washes the base of the bluff. The area of Mississippi bottom land within the
county is small, but very productive.

The valley of Coles' creek within the cane hills is rather narrow and of a hummock character. Among its
timber black walnut, sycamore, and honey-locust are very prominent, and the soil is especially well adapted to
corn. Higher up, the valleys of the streams are usually divided between first and second bottom, prevalently
timbered with beech and oaks, with more or less magnolia. They are productive, easily tilled, and form a large
proportion of the cultivated area of the region.

The tilled lands of Jefferson constitute 19.1 per cent, of its area. Somewhat more than one-half of such lands

(51.7 per cent.) is occupied by cotton, against about one-half as much given to corn culture, showing here also a

! gfeat deficiency in* the home production of supplies. The average cotton product per acre is 0.58 bale, while the

average cotton acreage per square mile is Q3.
t The communication of Jefferson county is chiefly via Fayette and other stations of the Jackson and I^atchez

I railroad with Natchez, and thence by river steamers with Kew Orleans. The freight from !N'atchez to l^ew Orleans
w 75 cents per bale; from Fayette to Natchez, by rail, $1 10.

ABSTRACT OF THE BEPOET OF J. W. BUECH, FAYETTE.

The west half of the coanty compriBes bluif lands, hilly and very fertile ; the east half is rolling, with light sandy soils.

The soils caltiyated in cotton are on the rolling uplands of the east half of the county, the second bottoms of creeks above overfloWy
vid the Hissiasippi bottom.

The upland toil extends into other counties, covers five-eighths of this region, and bears a natural growth of hickory, gum, magnolia,
^b| pine, various oaks, poplar, etc. The soil is a fine sandy loam of brown, mahogany, and blackish colors, and is 10 inches deep,
^sabsoil IB a heavier, brown clay loam, very productive when manured or mixed with surface soil. It contains hard, rounded, and
ttgnlar pebbles, and is underlaid by orange sand and sand-rock at 5 to 10 feet. The soil is early, warm, well drained, easily tilled, and is
^ adapted to cotton, which occupies three-fourths of its cultivated area. The other chief crop is com. The usual and most productive
height of the cotton-plant on this soil is 4^ feet. In warm, wet weather it inclines to run to weed, but this may be remedied by shallow
coltivation. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is 1,000 pounds ; 1,600 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. Aften ten
yean' cultivation (nnmannred) the product is 500 pounds, and the ratio of seed to lint and quality of staple are the same as on fresh land.
Ofie-half of sach original! y cultivated land lies * * turned out ", but when well turfed it again produces a few good crops. Cocklebur, purslane,
ciab, and Bermuda grasses are the troublesome weeds. The slopes wash very fast, and do serious damage, except to the valleys, which
are lather benefited. Horizontalizing makes the lands last twice as long.

The second hoiiomM of creeks occupy about one-fourth of the county area, and have a natural growth much like that of the uplands.
'^ soil is a brown, blackish, and black loam, 12 inches deep. The subsoil is a dark-brown and yellow clay, containing hard, rounded,
«nd angular pebbles, underlaid by blue potters' clay at 10 feet. The soil is early, warm, well drained, easily tilled, except when too
Vet, and is best adapted to cotton, with which three-fourths of its cultivated area is planted. The plant's usual and most productive height

325

124 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

is 5 to 6 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh laud is 1,000 pounds, or a 475-ponnd hale of lint, in quality equal to that of
uplands. After 10 years' cultivation the product is 1,000 pounds of soed-cottou. Very little of such land lies ** turned out " ; it recuperates
rapidly, and produces as well as ever. The trouhlesome weeds are rag, carrot, and smart weeds, cocklebur, crab and Bermuda grasses.

The remaining soil, designated Mississippi swamp land, consists of a narrow belt along the river, extends through the county, and
contains only a few plantations. Its natural growth is cypress, gum, Cottonwood, hackberry, and willow. The soil is a black alluviam,
10 feet thick, underlaid by sand. Tillage is generally easy, but is difficult when the soil is either too wet or too dry. The soil is early
and warm when well-drained ; it however needs ditching. It is best adapted to cotton and corn, and nine-t-enths of its cultivated part is
planted with cotton. The usual and best height of the plant is 6 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh or old land is 1,500
pounds; 1,780 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. Ten years' cultivation have made no difference in the quantity or the quality
of yields. The cocklebur is the most troublesome weed.

ADAMS.

Population: 22,649.— Whit^, 4,796; colored, 17,853.

Area: 410 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 110 square miles; Mississippi bottom, 125 square
miles; cnne hills, 175 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 67,853 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 32,117 acres; in corn, 9,037 acres; in oats, 57 acres.

Cotton production : 19,026 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.59 bale, 840 pounds seed-cotton, or 280
pounds cotton lint.

Adams was the first county organized within the present limits of the state, and Natchez, the county-seat, is,
next to New Orleans, the oldest town on the lower Mississippi. The county fronts on the Mississippi river for over 70
miles, and about one-third of its area is bottom land, lying in the bends of the river, which, though long cultivated, is
still very productive. From the bottom level there is rather an abrupt ascent into the oane-hills country. The
base of the bUifif, however, is wa^shed by the river at Natchez and at Saint Catherine's bend (Ellis' cliffs), about 10
miles below ; also at Kifle [)uint, G miles above. Nat<;hez is located on a plat<*au level about 200 (?) feet above the
river.

The southern part of the county is drained by short creeks tributary to the lloinochitto river, of which Second
and Sandy creeks are the chief. The middle portion, back of Natchez, is traversed by Saint Catherine/s creek,
along the course of which deep and stee]) ravines have been cut into the soft material of the cane hills. The latter
are of the usual character (see regional description, page 43), and long cultivation, with shallow tillage, has greatly
reduced the area of uplands not too broken for convenient culture. With proper treatment, nevertheless, good
crops are still grown on these lands.

The country east of the cane hills is undulating or rolling land, originally timbered with oak and hickory, and
on the ridges with short-leaf i)ine, or in j)art with oaks only, the subsoil being an umber-colored loam, similar to that
overlying the calcareous silt of the cane hills, and forming a durable and originally very productive soil, of which,
however, a not inconsiderable proportion has been thrown out of cultivation.

The tilled lands of Adams county amount to somewhat over one-quarter (25.9 per cent.) of the total area, and
nearly one-half (47.3 per cent.) of such lands is given to cotton, while only 13.3 per cent, are planted in corn, showing
a remarkable deficiency in the home production of supplies. The average cotton i)roduct per acre is 0.59 bale ; the
average cotton acreage per square mile is 78.3.

The communication of Adams county is altogether with Natchez, and thence by river steamers with New
Orleans.

WILKINSON.

Population: 17,815.— White, 3,570; colored, 14,245.

Area: 650 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 395 square miles; Mississippi bottom, 70 square
miles; itane hills, 185 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 62,065 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 33,720 acres; in corn, 15,068 acres; in oats, 204 acres.

Cotton production: 16,620 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.49 bale, 699 pounds seed-cotton, or 233
pounds cotton lint.

Wilkinson county is one of the oldest in the state, having been organized in 1802, and is second only to Adams
county. This county fronts on the Mississippi river for about 20 miles, its northern line being formed by the
Homochitto river. The central portion is drained by the Buffalo river and the southern by Bayou Sara and
Thomi)Son's creek. The county embraces three chief surface features, viz, on the east, rolling and more or less sandy
and gravelly upland, timbered with oak, hickory, and short-leaf pine, which ext4?nds westward a few miles beyonll
Woodville, the county-seat. Here the country assumes rather suddenly the character of the cane hills" (see
regional description, page 43) : steep and mostly sharp-backed ridges, separated by deep and narrow valleys, now
mostly bare of timber, but originally bearing a heavy growth of cane and timbered with oaks (among which the
chestnut-white oak is prominent), poplar, sweet gum, magnolia, linden, sassal'ras, etc. This belt has a Width
varying from 6 to 12 miles, skirting the Mississippi bottom, into which the hiils fall off steeply, the river Wiishing
at Fort Adams the base of* ridges which rise abruptly to over 300 feet above low- water mark. The bottom here is
low and subject to overflow, and is studded witli lakes, but contains some excellent plantations.

The cane-hills /r(wdf.v, originally covered with a deep black mold soil and highly productive, Inive been grievously
damaged by long, shallow, and exhaustive cultivation. The surface soil has, to a great extent, been washed off.
and large bodies of the uplands, originally constituting level or gently undulating plateaus, have been deeply scored
with gullies and ravines, impeding and restricting cultivation, the slopes being mostly too steep for tillage and
sometimes forming almost vertical caving walls, su])ported by loose sand and gravel. The Bermuda grass, which
has taken j)ossession of almost the entire region, now acts in a measure as a preventative of farther inroads and
affords pasturage to cattle.* But the large upland plantations are, of necessity, giving way to small farms, which by
more careful husbandry can restore to cultivation the " worn-out" lands.

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 12::-

In the eastern portion of the county the bottoms and hummocks of the streams form the bulk of the cultivated
iands, especially in the somewhat broken' country on the Homochitto, which is a continuation of the "DeviPe
Backbone'', a sandstone ridge which, beginning in the southwest corner of Gopiah, is more or less distinctly traceable
through Fi^nklin and Wilkinson counties to Fort Adams.

The tilled lands of Wilkinson county constitute at present only 14.9 per cent, of its area, but they have doubtless
greatly diminished since 1860. More than one-half of these lands is given to cotton ; less than one-quarter to corn.
Tbe cotton area per square mile is 61.9, with the high average product of 0.49 per acre, due doubtless in part to the
bottom plantations.

The communication of Wilkinson county is partly with landings on the Mississippi river, partly by railroad
from Woodville to Bayou Sara, and thence by steamer to New Orleans ; freight on cotton is $1 i>er bale.

ABSTBAOT OF THE BEPOET OF D. L^ PHASES, A. M., M. D., WOODVILLE.

Nearly aU the soil here, both on the rolling aplancls and the bottoms, was originally a black or dark loam ; now only one-third of the
enltlTated land is of this kind, the balance, having changed its character by being allowed to have its soil washed off, being now yellow and
brown clay. The same kind of black land occurs 20 miles east, 8 north, and 20 west and sonth. Its natural growth is tulip tree, linden,
magnolia grandijQora, holly, sweet and black gums, beech, six species of oak, and many other trees.

The soil varies in depth from 4 inches to 10 feet. The subsoil is a tenacious yellow and brown clay with considerable sand, and in
lome places gravel. It is slowly pervious to water, contains hard rounded gravel, and is underlaid by yellow or red sandstone at 1 to
20 feet. Tillage is easy in dry and difficult in Avet seasons. The soil is early on well-drained slopes facing the east and south, and is
adapted, in the order named (best first), to clover, grasses, pease, potatoes, cotton, sorghum, sugar-cane, oats, and com. These are the
chief crops of this region. Two-thirds of its area is planted with cotton. The plant usually grows from 5 to 8 feet high on fresh soil, and
from 3 to 5 feet on worn soil ; but the most productive height is from 4 to 6 feet. It inclines to run to weed on rich, fresh land when there
is much rain and little root pruning. When the soil is not too wet aud heavy, this is prevented by deep plowing, so as to restrain root and
rtem growth until fruiting time. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 2,000 to 2,500 pounds, about 1,400 poimds
making a 475-ponnd bale of good middling lint. After forty years' cultivation (unmanured) the yield varies from GOO to l,iiOO pounds,
according to the extent the soil has been washed off. About l,r)20 pounds then make a 475-pound bale of lint, the staple of which is
mnch shorter, and rates two or three grades lower than that of fresh land.

The troublesome weeds are several species of crab-grass, two of water-grass, crowfoot-grass, in many places Bermuda grass, and the
cocklebur. One-third of such land originally cultivated now lies ''turned out"; when again cultivated it often produces from 30 to 100
percent better than when first " turned out ^\ The soil on slopes washes and gullies readily only where marked by a plow, wagon rut,
or path, and many slopes are thus seriously damaged, and the washings cover many parts of the valleys to the extent of G to 48 inches deep.
Honzontalizing and hillside ditching are practiced and completely check the damage.

Very little clay land occurs in this county, none originally, and now produced by bad management of other lands, in allowing the
original soils to be washed off. Its depth varies from 2 to 10 inches, and it bears a growth of pine trees more commonly than the original
land.

Most of the above statements apply to the whole of township — , range 1 west, and sections 19, 20, 21, and 31, all parts of which are
▼ell (mpphed with streams, making up east and middle Thompson creeks. Proper cultivation here has always brought good yields of
cotton, except perhaps in 1846, when it rained almost dally throughout the planting and growing season and the caterpillar came early
and in large numbers.

Cotton is shipped as fast as it is baled, by river and rail, to New Orleans, at $1 per bale.

CENTRAL PRAIRIE REGION.

(Embraces the following counties and parts of counties: Madison, Hinds, Eankin, Scott, Newton,* Smith,*

Jasper, Clarke, and Wayne.)

MADISON.

Population: 25,86G.— White, 5,946; colored, 10,920.

Area: 720 square miles. — Short leaf pine and oak uplands, 5 square miles; cane hills, 5 square miles; central
prairie, 530 square miles; brown-loam table-lands, 180 square miles; all woodland. •

Tilled lands: 127,594 acres. — Area i)lanted in cotton, 50,393 acres; in corn, 37,989 acres; in oats, 1,490 acres;
^ wheat, 22 acres.

Cotton production: 21,538 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.38 bale, 543 pounds seed -cotton, or 181
pounds cotton lint.

Madison county presents almost throughout a gently undulating surface, similar to that of the table-lands
farther north.

Lying between the Pearl aud Big Black rivers, which, tiowiug nearly parallel, approach to within 15 miles of

€ach other, its drainage and slope are almost entirely toward the Big Black, the dividing ridge running within a

few miles west of the Pearl river. The northeastern part of the county, as far south as Doak's creek, is of the

table-land character, and is similar to the adjoining portion of the Yazoo. A few sandy ridges, with pine, appear

at the extreme northeast. Southward the table-laiid character continues as to the general aspect of the country,

but the soil is to a great extent materially' modified by the influence of the stiff calcareous clays of the Tertiary

formation, which manifests itself partly in the presence of a stills greenish-yellow subsoil and frequently in the

occarrence of spots and smaller or larger bodies of black-prairie soil, accompanied by the appearance of lime-loving

trees, such as honey -locust, wild plum, haw, crab- apple, walnut, etc. The prairie lands, as well as the general face

126 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

of the country, are generally sparsely timbered with oaks (among which stout black-jack and post oaks, with more or
less of the black and Spanish oaks, are conspicuous) and hickory. The uplands slope gently toward the creek bottoms,
or flats, and the soils of these vary materially with the location and length of the streams. In the northern part of the
county they are mostly of a whitish, silty character, and are underlaid by impervious bog ore, thus forming many
"crawfishy^' tracts, ill-drained and little cultivated, timbered chiefly with water oak and sweet gum. Such is also,
in part, the character of the Big Black bottom, which is moreover subject to overflow, and is but little cultivated.
The bottom of the Pearl river, on the contrary, has prevalently a sandy soil, alternating in the southern portion
with tracts and " ridges" of tough clay soil of greater fertility, but difficult to till. The soils of the creek bottoms
of the southern part of the county are more similar to those of the adjoining uplands, are very productive, and
are largely under cultivation.

M^ison is an old and well-settled county, and its present area of tilled lands, as given in the returns (27.7
per cent.), does not adequately represent its position in respect to improvements among the counties of the
state. It has been pre-eminently a region of large upland plantations of great productiveness ; but its soil has
been so severely drawn upon by heavy cropping without returns or rotation, that large tracts once cultivated in
cotton have passed out of cultivation, only awaiting, however, a rational system of small farming to restore the
productiveness. The cotton acreage, nevertheless, still exceeds that of corn in the ratio of 4 to 3, and the average
product per acre (0.38 bale) is but slightly below that of the northern tableland counties. In cotton acreage per
square mile (72.5 acres) Madison stands fourteenth in the state.

The ^evt Orleans and Chicago railroad, which traverses the county centrally, carries cotton to Few Orleans
either directly or via Jackson and Yicksburg and river steamers.

HINDS.

Population: 43,958.— White, 11,676; colored, 32,283.

Area: 800 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 175 square miles; long-leaf pine hills, 245 square
miles; cane hills, 125 square miles; central prairie, 255 square miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 184,607 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 80,013 acres; in com, 47,510 acres; in oats^ 1,962 acres; in
wheat, 16 acres.

Cotton production : 36,684 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.46 bale, 657 pounds seed-cotton, or 219
pounds cotton lint.

Hinds county is one of the largest and the most populous counties in the state, and contains the state capital,
Jackson, with 5,204 inhabitants. Its drainage is in three directions, the largest area being occupied by streams
tributary to the Big Black, a region of gently undulating table-lands similar to those of southern Madison, the same
being true of the narrow belt of country drained by the numerous short streams tributary to the Pearl river. The
southern part of the county around the heads of the bayou Pierre is a region of high sandy ridges, timbered with long-
leaf pine and more or less oaks, interspersed with lower and broader ridge lands of fair productiveneBS. The count^
immediately contiguous to the Big Black river is somewhat ridgy and at times broken, and in timber and soil is
similar to the adjoining upland portion of Warren county, viz, more or less of the bluff or cane-hills character.

The prairie character of the soil is, on the whole, much less frequent in Hinds than in Madison county, and is
most pronounced on the Pearl river slope, the soil of northern Hinds being more strictly of the table-land character^
easily tilled, and originally very productive — in aspect a very attractive farming country. Near Jackson the heavy
" black-jack prairie'' soil is quite prominent in the uplands, though frequently overlaid by the lighter and more easily
tilled table-land soil. The characteristic cracking and Assuring of the tenacious subsoil during the dry season
not unfrequently interferes with the stability of foundations and cistern walls, and on steep slopes (as where tho
uplands break off into Pearl river bottom) sometimes gives rise to land-slides. Here also heavy clay soils predominate
in the river bottom, which is subject to overflow, the main portion of it, however, lying on the opposite side. (See
description of Kankiu county.)

Agriculturally, Hinds is situated very nearly like Madison. It has been, and is still to some extent, a region of
large upland-cotton plantations, upon many of which the soil has materially deteriorated by long and exhaustive
culture; yet the average cotton product per acre (0.46) is materially higher than that of Madison (0.38), as is also its
cotton acreage per square mile (100), both together placing it first on the list of total production among the upland
counties of the state. This, unfortunately, is offset by an inadequate production of corn, the acreage of the latter
being to that of cotton as 3 to 5.

The abundance of excellent marls, easily accessible in a large part of the county (as mentioned in the regional
description, page 54), will greatly facilitate the maintenance of fertility of lands in Hinds county whenever a rational
system of small farming shall replace the improvident practice of the past.

The New Orleans and Chicago and the Yicksburg and Meridian railroads both traverse the county, intersecting'
at Jackson, and cotton is shipped either direct or via Yicksburg and the river to New Orleans at f 2 75 per bale^
most of it Deing marketed by the producers at Jackson.

ABSTRACT OF THE BEPOBT OF H. O. DIXON, JAOKSON.

Much the greater part of the soil of the county is od upland clay loam, yellow, brown, and blackish, 8 inches thick, with a heavier
subsoil of yeUow and red clay, 3 to G feet thick, underlaid by gypsum and white clay at 15 to 20 feet. The red subsoil is pervioaa to
water and indicates the best land. Such land extends 40 miles north, 8 to 10 south, 5 east, and 30 miles west, and has a natural growth of
post, red, and black-jack oaks, hickory, walnut, and mulberry.

The chief crops are cotton, com, pease, oats, and sweet potatoes. The soil is early, warm, well drained, is weU adapted to the chief
erops named and to clover and many varieties of cultivated grapes, but three-fourths of its cultivated area is planted with cotton. Tho
plant grows from 2 to 4 feet high, but is most productive at 3 feet, and inclines to run to weed in wet seasons on fresh land or when
planted late; the remedy consists in early planting and frequent deep plowing. The seed-eotton product per acre is fiom 1,000 to 1,500
pounds on fresh land, or 600 to 1,000 pounds after eight years' cultivation on level or unwashed land. In either case about 1,486 Doaada

328

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 127

make % 475-poimd bale of lint. The seeds are lighter on old land. The fresh-land staple rates as middling ; that of old land diiferB but
little. Old land is more easily affected by nnfayorable seasons. One-half of snch originally cultivated land liee "tomed ont"; when
gronn up with broom- sedge it produces nearly as well as originally. The old fields are generally burnt off each year, but the great need
of iQcb land is vegetable matter.

Slopes aie damaged to a serious extent by washings and gullying of the soil, and the valleys are iigured to a slight extent by the
widiings. To check the damage hillside ditching is practiceil, and is successful when properly done.

The farmer or planter in this section, however great his desire may be for improvement in modes of cultivation or treatment of his
mQ, finds himself checked by the uncertain and uncontrollable labor he has to depend on.

Cotton culture, to be remunerative, requires unceasing attention for twelve months, and the work must be properly done and at the
right time. Intelligent experience alone can meet these imperative demands under the many contingencies which are certain to occur
ibroagh the season. Hence it is that cotton cannot be produced as cheaply with the present free labor as with that of the slaves, it being
both ignorant and uncertain as well as unmanageable as to both the quantity and the quality of the work, resulting in producing less
and oosting more.

RANKIN.

Papulation: 16,762.— White, 7,193; colored, 9,659.

Area : 890 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 360 square miles ; long-leaf pine hiUs, 156 square
miles ; central prairie, 285 square miles.

TilM lands: 69,516 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 30,161 acres; in com, 23,450 acres; in oats, 6,781 acres; in
wheat, 4 acres.

Cotton production : 11,775 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.39 bale, 656 pounds seed-cotton, or 185
pounds cotton lint.

The surface of Rankin county is a good deal diversified, but may be classed under three chief heads, to wit:
Skirting Pearl river on the east, a broad but more or less interrupted belt timbered with oak and in part with short-leaf
pine, and possessing a light loam soil, sometimes deeply colored with iron. It is about 4 miles wide, well settled, and
is drained mainly by short creeks directly tiibutary to the Pearl river. East of this belt, and interlacing with it, we
have in the northern portion of the county an undulating or rolling oak upland region, interspersed with spots and
bodies of black calcareous as well as post oak and gypseous prairies, the former being found chiefly in the valleys
and the latter on the hillsides and lower ridges, while the higher portions of ridges are frequently sandy, sometimes
with an admixture of pine to the oak growth. This region is drained by the heads of Funnegusha and Pelahatchie
creeks and a few tributaries of Strong river. The southeastern portion of the county, drained by Sander's, Dobb's,
Campbell's, and other creeks tributary to Strong river, is a sandy long-leaf pine region, which rises abruptly from the
praine belt into high ridges of sand- and clay-stones, but becomes gently undulating to the southward. In this
region, as usual, the valleys and their slopes are alone cultivated, and it is but thinly settled. The level country
extends westward to within a few miles of Pearl river, the long-leaf pine stopping at the divide between Strong
river and Steel's creek. On the waters of the latter there is quite a variety of uplands, partly sandy loam ridges,
partly bearing a ^^flatwoods" aspect, with heavy, gray clay soils, which in places are productive and well settled, in
others quite poor. Their timber varies accordingly, from black and Spanish oaks with hickory, to short-leaf pine
with scrubby black-jack. Between this country and Pearl river there intervene the red ridge lands previously
mentioned.

The part of the county lying within the prairie belt is agriculturally the richest portion, but its soils are so

variable within small areas as to render it diflBcult to give an average estimate of its productiveness. The black

prairie soil is profusely fertile, but is not always, adapted to the cultivation of cotton, which is liable to rust, probably

on account of the stiff clay subsoil, which the tap-root cannot penetrate. Such soils (naturally timbered with sweet

gum, mulberry, crab-apple, and honey-locust) produce heavy crops of corn. The same is triie more or less of the

P08tK»k prairie, especially in the low land. The best cotton is grown where the lighter upland soils are naturally

or artifldally marled by the prevailing materials of the Tertiary formation, which offer an inexhaustible store of

natural fertilizers for the improvement and rest^)ration of the fertility of the lands of this region. (See regional

description, page 54.) The gypseous prairies arc, perhaps, the least promising, on account of their intractable clay

sobfioii.

The first bottom of Pearl river, which lies chiefly on the Rankin side, is little cultivated, on account of overflow,
although the soil is very fertile. It is from one-half to three-quarters of a mile wide. From it there is an ascent of
5 or 6 feet into a flat or second bottom, timbered with post, willow, and water oaks, bottom pine, some hickory, and
magnolia. The soil is gray and silty, with a pale yellow loam subsoil, not very productive, and but little settled.

The tilled lands of Rankin county are reported to l)c but 13.(5 |H^r cent, of its large area, the cotton acreage per
square mile being 37.7. The average product per acre is 0.3l> of a bale, ranking in this respect with Marshall and
Union counties, and slightly above Madison. The corn acreage is slightly Inflow that devoteil to cotton.

The communication of Rankin is partly with stations on the Viokslmrg and Meridian railroad, especially with*
Brandon, where much of the crop is marketed, and partly across Pearl river, with stations on the New Orleans and
Chicago railroad. The freight to New Orleans is about $3 per bale.

ABSTRACT OF REPORT OP K. JACK, BRANDON.

Th6 nplaods of the county comprise three-fourths of its ann, ami on tho north ar« hilly, with lUMitly aoils and clay •ubaoil^ iutereperaed
with prairies of different sizes having stiff clnycy soils. In tho southern part of tho county tho lands aw liKH* and sandy.

The usnal depth of the upland soils is from 3 to inches, and the timh<T growth ctunprlsos pine, tvak, hickory, gums, dogwood, black-
Jack, ehn, etc. The subsoils are usually clay, having a small prt^portion of sand. Very little hanlpan occwns and a few small patches
aie imperdous to water. Some parts are underlaid by sand at (i to 10 foot. Tho uplaml soils art* tilled with moderate ease, excepting
the prairies, which are difficult in wet weather, but easy to till in dry si«am>nsanor l^oiug omn* bix^kon up.

Cotton, com, and oats are the chief crops of this region, and during later voars making molaases ft^mi m^rghum and lAMiisiana cane haa
neeiTed some attention. The soil seems best adapted to cotton, about one-halt tho cultivatwl awa Mng planted with the same. Tha

128 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

plant inclines to ran to weed in wet seasons, and as a restraining remedy some suggest running a center farrow in bedding up. The seed-
cotton product per acre of fresh land is 1,000 pounds, or 800 pounds after ten years' cultivation ; 1,425 pounds make a 475-ponnd hale of
lint. The staple from fresh land is the hetter, hut hy a little manuring old land can he kept equal to fresh, both in quantity and quality
of the cotton product. Hog-weed and crah-grass are the most troublesome. About one-fifth of such originally cultivated upland lies
"turned ouf . The soil on slopes washes and gullies, but not so much but that it can be remedied, for which purpose horizontalizing
and hillside ditching are successfully practiced. The washings improve the valley soils.

The lowlands embrace the first and second bottom lands of the Pearl river and its tributaries. They have a loose, sandy soil and
sufficient fall for good drainage.

The cultivated portion of the lowlands consists of dry ridges about 2 feet above high water. Between these are cold, wet sloughs,
which can be drained and cultivated, but they remain stiff and cold in spring. It is generally believed that the river bottoms are better
suited to cotton production than the uplands.

Cotton is shipped as fast as baled, by rail and river, to New Orleans, at about (3 per bale.

SOOTT.

Fopulation: 10,845.— White, 6,633; colored, 4,212.

Area : 580 sqaare miles. — Short leaf pine and oak uplands, 150 square miles; central prairie, 430 square miles.

Tilled lands: 39,711 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 16,282 acres; in corn, 15,664 acres; in oats, 5,129 acres; in
wheat. 111 acres.

Cotton production: 6,227 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.38 bale, 543 pounds seed-cotton, or 181
pounds cotton lint.

Tlie ^reat^r part of Scott county is similar to eastern Eankia in its surface features. The undulating %nd
soraetiines hilly uplands are timbered partly with oaks and hickory only and partly witli the same tree« minglt^l more
or less with pine (short-leaf in the northern and long-leaf in the southern portion), such admixture indicating
always an increasing saudiness of the soil, and occurring mostly on the higher dividing ridges. Other and usually
lower ridges, as well as the lower portions of the more elevated ones, exhibit the post oak or "hog- wallow'' prairie
clhiracter ; while in the deeper valleys, according to elevation and position, either the same or the black-prairie soil
prevails (sec regiofial descrij^tion, page 50), forming rich bodies of several square miles' area. The feature of the
gypseous prairie is less frequent than in Rankin, and much of the black prairie yields excellent crops of cotton:
but here also the heavy black or chocolate-colored bottom i)rairie is liable to blight or rust cotton, though producing
abundant crops of corn.

The northeastern portion of Scott county, traversed by the Tuskalamite and its tributaries, is a sandy hill
country, timbered with short-leaf pine and oaks, and resembles the adjacent part of Leake county.

The tilled lands of Scott amount to 10.7 per cent, of its area, and 41 per cent, of these lands are cultivated io
eotton, and nearly an equal amount in com. The cotton acreage per square mile is 28.1, being below that of Eankin
(37.7). The average product per acre is 543 pounds of seed-cotton.

The communication of Scott is with Forest and other stations on the Vickaburg and Meridian railroad, which
traverses the county almost centrally from west to east. Cotton is shipped to New Orleans at from $3 50 to $4
per bale.

ABSTRACT OF THE BEPORT OF W. T. ROBERTSON, FOREST.

The chief soil is the llack upland prairie. It covers one-eighth of the couDty, occurs in spots of 5 to 150 acres, is 2 to 3 feet thick,
and hears a scattered, natural growth of post oak, hickory, ash, phim, and haw. The suhsoil is a tough, yellow, waxy clay, which hakes
very hard on exposure to sun, hut after a rain hecomes mellow. It contains soft, white, limy, angular gravel, and some large pehhles. The
soil is early, hut ill-drained, and is rather difficult to till in wet seasons. It is hcst adapted to cotton, and half its cultivated area is planted
with the same. The height attained hy the plant varies with seasons from 3 to 6 feet, and it inclines to run to weed on any soil here when
the same is fresh and rich, for which the correspondent knows no remedy. The seed-cotton product per acre varies from 800 to 1,800
pounds; 1,425 pounds from fresh or 1,485 pounds from old laud make a 475-pound halo of lint. The same is true of the two remaining
kinds of land. After eight years' cultivation (unmauured) the yield varies from 400 Io 800 jiounda. Staple from fresh land rates as good
middling ; that from old land differs very little. The trouhlcsome weeds on this and the next soil to he descrihed are crah-grasis, morning-
glory, cocklehur, and tea-weed. Very little of this land lies " turned out", hut it improves hy rest.

The hiack'prairie creek bottoms form one-sixth of the county area. They are from one-half to l' mile witJe, and occur in hodies of 1 to 5
miles long. They are suhject to overflows. WJiere timher occurs, it consists of rod and white oaks, hickory, ash, poplar, elme, and many
others. The soil is 2 to G feet deep, rests upon a stiff, yellowish clay, which hakes very hard when first exposed, hut pulverizes after a
rain. It contains limy pehhles. Tillage is difficult only in wet seasons. The soil is late, cold, and ill-draiued, hut produces com and cotton
well. One-half its area is planted with cotton. The plant usually attains a height of from 4 to 8 fuet, hut is most productive at from
4 to 5 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre is from 1,000 to 1,800 pounds, and the staple rates as good middling. After fifteen years'
cultivation (unmauured) the product is 800 pounds with good tillage. The staple is not very different from that of fresh land. A great
deal of this kind of land has not yet heen hrought into cultivation.

A small proportion of the cotton land consists of dark sandy hummock soilj in spots of from one-half to three-foucthsof a mile in extent.
Its growth is hickory, ash, dogwood, mulberry, walnut, poplar, and various oaks. The soil is a hrown and mahogany-colored coarse
sandy loam 2 feet thick; the suhsoil is a light, reddish clay, easily worked, and hecomes lik« the surface on exposure. It contaiDS
soft, angular " hlack gravel ". The soil is early, warm, well-drained, easily tilled in all seasons, and is very well adapted to cotton, com,
pease, and almost any southern crop. Ahout one-half its area is planted in cotton. The plant grows from 4 to G feet high, and is mo^
productive at 4 feet.

The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land averages 1,200 pounds; the staple is the best iiroduced here. Ten years' cultivation
(without manure) reduces the yield to GOO pounds, and the staple hecomes inferior. Crab-grass is the troublesome weed. None of this land
has heen "turned out", and some has never heen improved. The soil washes and gullies readily and seriously damages the slopes.
Horizontalizing and hillside ditching are successfully practiced, and are the only means of saving the soil of the slopes. Bottom lands
are also sometimes damaged by deposits of clay from overflowing waters. Ditches are cut to facilitate the passage of snch watera and
prevent snch deposits. The chief crops of this region are cotton, com, oats, sweet potatoes, and sugar-cane.

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 129

NEWTON.
(See " Short-leaf pine and oak uplands region ".)

SMITH.
(See " Long-leaf pioe region ^.)

JASPER.

Papulation: 12,126.— White, 6,244 ; colored, 5,8S2.

Area: 680 square miles. — Long-leaf pine bills, 220 square miles; central prairie, 460 square miles.

Tilled lands: 58,318 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 20,305 acres; in corn, 19,934 acres; in oats, 5,467 acres;
in wheat, 5 acres.

Cotton production: 6,228 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.31 bale, 441 pounds seed-cotten, or 147
pounds cotton lint.

Jasper county, drained chiefly by confluents of the Leaf river (the East and West Tallahala, Tallahoina, and
others, flowing southward), is traversed almost centrally from northwest to southeast by the prairie belt, leavin<r
the northeast and southwest corners occupied by sandy, hilly uplands, timbered with long-leaf pine and more or less
of oaks and hickory. From these sandy j)iiie ridges extend more or less into the central belt, which is itself a
countrj' of ridges interspersed with valleys, on the slopes or in the bottoms of whit^h the "hog- wallow" and black
prairie soils appear to a greater or less extent. Thus on the West Tallahiila and its tributaries, in the northwestern
part of the county, we tin<l the extreme of heavy *' hog-wallow " soil, timbered with scrubby blackjack and i»ost
oaks, forming the lower ridges and the lower portion of the higher ones, often leaving narrow crests or isolated
knolls of sandy land, with oak and i)ine growth, perched on a broader plateau of the tough, brown-clay soil; while in
the bottoms of the streams we find either the same, somewhat modified and oft(;n covered with a gray asliy sui-face soil,
or else the calcareous black prairie soil ap])ears. These extreme clay soils e(mtrast oddly with those of the opposite
character, which form the body, e. </., the ridge intervening between the West Tallahala and the Tallalioma, west
of Garlandsville. This ridge is timbered only with oaks and hickory, and the soil is very productive, but is so
extrenu*ly sandy that its best portions are liable to be blown away by the wind when plowed dry (see page 54).
Similar ridges form the higher divides elsewhere in the county, Paulding, the county-seat, being located on one of
them, the soil, however, being inferior to that of the Tallahoma ridge.

The black prairie feature is somewhat extensively developed near Garlandsville, on Suanlovey creek, some of
it being of the "bald" character, the white marl coming to the surface. The bottom soil, also of the black jirairio
character, is ]>rofusely fertile, but is liable to rust or blight cotton (see analysis and discussion, page 52). A similar
state of tilings exists more or less southeastward across the county.

Jn the southern part of the prairie belt the features are somewhat similar, but the "hog-wallow" feature is
less i)ronounced, and the black prairie soil less liea^-y, as, e, g.j in the neighborhood of Claiborne. Limestone hills
replace in a measure those formed of the heavy clays, and small bodies of black prairie soil, often only a few acres
or even less in extent, are found on the hillsides or on the lower ridges.

Besides the more extreme types of soil, there are, especially in the northern portion of the county, tracts of
gently rolling oak uplands with a loam soil, quite productive and easily tilled, and on that account often prefeiTed
to the heavier though more fertile soils.

The tilled lands of Jasper county amount to 13.4 per cent, of its total area, being about the same as that of
Eankin. About one-third of these, or 29.9 acres per square mile, are in cotton, the corn acreage being alH)ut the same.
The average product per acre is 0.31 of a bale ; somewhat low, owing, doubtless, to the growing of corn in the
richest bottom lands.

The communication of Jasper county is i)artly with stations on the Vicksburg and Meridian railroad, in Newton,
or with those on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, in Clarke county, both of which approach within 6 miles of the
county line.

ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF S. G. LOUGHRIDGE, M. D., GARLANDSVILLE.

In the order of their productiveness the three kinds of soils cultivated in cotton are, acconling to their common designations, first,
hlack slough prairie ; second, black, "hog-wallow, " and sbell prairie, with sandy hummock land along creeks ; third, sand hills and waxy
prairie. The /r«< awrf seomd are coextensive, and occur in bodies of 20 to 1,000 acres throughout the couuty. Their soils are 18 to 24
inches deep. The subsoil is in either case a tough, yellow, hard, impervious clay, which bakes hard on first exposure, but becomes by
cultivation like surface soil. It contains soft, limy, white, rounded, and angular pebbles, and the second morebhells than the first, and is
underlaid by rotten lime-rock at 10 feet. The lirst is late and ill-drained, but is easily cultivated when broken deep. The second is early
when well drained, and is difficult to till when too wet, but easy when dry, if well drained. lUnh soils are best adapted to c<»tton, com, oat«,
rye, and sugar-cane. About one-half their cultivated area is planted in cotton. On the first tht* plant grows usually 4 f^et high, and is
most productive at from 4 to 5 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies froui 1,000 to 2,C100 pounds : from l,4*i5 to l,54r>
pounds from any fresh soil here make a 475-pound bale of lint, which commands tbe highest price. This soil deteriorates but little in ten
years of good deep cultivation (unmauure<l); 1,425 pouuds from old land make a bale of lint inferior to that of fresh land. Cralvgrass,
xnoming-glory, and a kind of water-grass are the most troifblesome weeds.

On the second quality of soil the usual and most productive height of the plant is 3 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh

land varies from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds; but after ten j-ears* cultivation (unmanured) it is from POOto 1,000 pounds, and the staple is coarser.

Crab-graas, morning-glory, purslane, and careless- weed arc most troublesome. About one-thinl of such land lies 'Mumed out"; in the

second year after it is again taken in it produces as fresh laud. The upland growth outside of the prairies ishackberry, ash, hickory, oak,

red-bud, red haw and plums. The hummocks have hickory, oak, pine, tk)gwood, and grape-vines. The lauds wash readily, doing much

damage, and the vaUeys are injured by the washings when the hills are poor. But little is done to check the damage.

3.31

130 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The tand-hUU omI waxy prairie occupy about oue-half of the area of this region. They occur in patches, and vary greatly from ridge ^
to ridge, their timber being pine and post oak. The soil is 8 to 10 inches thick ; the subsoil is heavier, and is underlaid by rather soft
limestone at 5 to 20 feet. The soil is early, well drained, difficult to till in wet, but generally easy in dry seasons. It is best adapted to-
cotton, and about two-thirds of its cultivated area is planted with the same. The plant usually grows.about 2 feet high. The seed-cotton
product per acre of fresh land is from 600 to 800 pounds, but after ten years' cultivation (unmanured) it is from 400 to 600 pounds. The
staple is then inferior, and it takes a little more seed-cotton to make a bale. Crab-grass is the most troublesome weed. About one-half
such land originally cultivated lies ** turned out ", The plant inclines to run to weed on fresh land (of any kind described) in wet seasons,
and drainage and deep plowing constitute the remedy. The uplands wash readily, and the valleys are somewhat injured. Clean staple
sells for much more than the same quality not clean. The prairies that are black produce best in dry seasons ; the sandy soils require
most rain.

All creeks running east or west have poor sandy soil on the north side and rich black prairie on the south. The chief crops of thia
region are cotton, com, rice, sugar, sorgham, oats, pease, and sweet potatoes.

Cotton is shipped as soon as baled, by rail, to Mobile, at $3 per bale.

OLAEKB.

Population: 15,021.— White, 7,181 ; colored, 7,840.

Area: 650 square miles. — Loog-leaf pine hills, 425 square miles ; central prairie, 225 square miles.

Tilled lands: 45,888 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 15,986 acres ] in com, 17,338 acres ; in oats, 3,193 acres.

Cotton production: 4,693 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.29 bale, 414 pounds seed-cotton, or 138
pounds cotton lint. v

Clarke county is drained to the southward by the Ghickasawhay river and its tributaries, of which Ghunkey,
Okatibbee, and Buckatunna are the chief. The northern portion is a region of rolling or hilly long-leaf pine lands^.
whose quality varies in accordance with a greater or less admixture of oaks and hickory, cultivation being,
however, thus far mainly restricted to the lowlands. Of these the wide ** hummock" of the Ghickasawhay, with a
good sandy loam soil, forms an important part, the more so as beds of greensand and marls occurring at and below
the town of Enterprise afford an important means of improving and maintaining the fertility of the soil. A lin^
drawn from northwest to southeast through De Soto marks the northern limit of the prairie belt proper, although
the influence of the marly beds which crop out in the ereeks appears in the valleys as far north as Quitman in the
occurrence of the tulip tree, walnut, ash, etc.

The prairies of southern Clarke form plateaus between the streams and differ in some respects from those farther
west, the extreme hog- wallow character being less pronounced. There are few treeless tracts. The prevalent timber
is sturdy post oak and short-leaf pine, thickly hung with long moss, and accompanied by an undergrowth of crab-
apple, wild plum, honey-locust, etc. It is a very heavy soil, producing in rainy times a fearfully tenacious mud. The
black surface soil is from 6 to 12 inches deep, below which lies an equally heavy, deep orange-tinted subsoil, and beneath
this, at from 3 to 10 feet, there are yellowish clay mails. The open prairie tracts, with occasional clumps of crab-apple
and honey-locust, have a much lighter soil, sometimes whitish from the admixture of the underlying marl. Both soils
produce cotton finely, but the open prairie is the safer and more easily tilled, the heavy black soil standing
intermediate in character between the intractable hog-wallow of Smith and Jasper and the true black prairie soil.
Besides this, we find to the southward a belt about 3 miles wide of a tawny-colored soil, more of the true "hog-wallow ^
type, timbered with lank post oak and short-leaf pine and black gum, which has not thus far been brought into
cultivation. Southward of this belt there are, in the southwest corner of Clarke and in the adjacent parts of Wayne
county, ridgy lands, with small upland prairies, similar to those of southern Jasper. The Cliickasawhay river here
runs between rocky banks in a deep channel.

Most of the cotton grown in the county is from this southern prairie region and the Ghickasawhay flat.

The percentage of tilled lands is 11, and the cotton acreage is one-seventh less than that devoted to corn,
making it 24.5 per square mile. The cotton product per acre is 0.29, being somewhat below that of Jasper county,
and the same as in Lauderdale.

The Mobile and Ohio railroad traverses the western part of the county from north to south and affords ample
opportunity for shipment and communication. Freight to Mobile, $3 per bale.

ABSTBAOT OF THE BEPOET OF W. SPILLMAN, M. D., ENTEBPBISE.

(Befen to T. 4, B. 14 east, the northwestern comer of the county.)

The best land is that of the hottams of the Chunkey and the Ghickasawhay riverSf which occupies about one-slzth of the township and
extends through the county. Its growth is magnolia, maple, beech, bay, swamp oak, sycamore, and a few cotton woods. The soil is a fine,,
sandy loam of a gray, buff, and blackish color, and varying depths. The subsoil is leachy, and is underlaid by sand-rock at 15 to 20 feet.
The soU is early, warm, well drained, always easily tilled, is best adapted to cotton, and three-fourths of the cultivated area is planted with
the same. The usual and most productive height attained by the plant is from 3^ to 4 feet. In wet seasons it inclines to run to weed on.
aU soils here, and the remedy consists in topping at about 3 feet.

The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 800 to 1,000 pounds, and from 1,425 to 1,545 pounds make a 475-pound bale
of lint. After five years' cultivation the product varies from 400 to 600 pounds seed-cotton. Crab-grass is the most troublesome of aU weeds»

About one-fifth of the township consists of oane-brake or hummock landf and its chief natural growth is walnut, poplar, sweet gum,
water oak, and maple. The soil is a deep blackish and black loam. Tillage is difficult in wet seasons, but easy in dry. The soil is weU
drained, but late and cold. It is best adapted to com and cotton, and three-fourths of its cultivated area is planted with cotton. The
plant grows from 4 to 6 feet high, but is most productive at 4 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 1,000 to 1,500'
pounds; 1,425 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. After five years' cultivation the product varies from 800 to 1,000 pounds. The
oooklebnr is the most troublesome weed.

The remainder, or nearly two-thirds of the township, is hilly uplandy which extends 11 miles west, 30 east, and from 20 to 30 north,
and bears a natural growth of pine chiefly; also hickory, dogwood, black-jack, smd other oaks. The soU is formed of clay and fine sand,
is whitish, gray, and brown in color, and from 4 to 6 inches deep ; the subsoil is impervious red and yeUow clay, with a large proportion of
sand. The soil is early, warm, always easily tilled, does not endure drocusht weU, is best adapted to oats and cotton, and three-fourthf-

-.J

132 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

From the county-line to near Waynesboro' the Chickasawhay river flows in a deep channel cut into limestone
strata, which it rarely fills, the bordering hummock or flat being practically above overflow and cultivated to
advantage. The same is true more or less of the tributary creeks within the limestone region. Southward, in the
pine region, the river channel is more shallow, and its bottom liable to overflow.

Wiuche^ter, in this county, was one ot the early settlements in this part of the state, and at one time was
quite a thiiving town, with brick houses and other improvements and some social reputation. It was until lately
the county-seat, now removed to Waynesboro'. '

At present the cultivated lands of Wayne amount to only 4.1 per cent, of its area, the cotton acreage being
9.G per square mile, against one-third more given to corn. The average cotton jjroduct per acre is 0.2G bale.

The Mobile and Ohio railroad follows the Chickasawhay river nearly through the county, leaving it and the
state at its southeast corner. Shii)ments go by this road to Mobile.

JL.ONa-LEAF PINE REGION.

(It embraces the following counties and parts of counties: Copiah, Claiborne,* Jefferson,* Hinds,* Lincoln, Pike^
Franklin, Amite, Lawrence, Simpson, Rankin,* Smith, Jasper,* Kewton,* Lauderdale, Clarke,* Wayne,*
Covington, Jones, Marion, Perry, Greene, Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock.)

COPIAH.

Population: 27,652.— White, 13,101 ; colored, 14,451.

Area: 750 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 60 square miles; long-leaf pine hills, 690 square miles.

Tilled lands: 119,866 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 54,616 acres; in corn, 38,292 acres; in oats, 5,320 acres.

Cotton production: 23,726 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.43 bale, 612 pounds seed-cotton, or 204
pounds cotton lint.

The greater part of Copiah county is tlrained by bayou Pierre and its tributaries, and on the east by creeks
flowing towaid Pearl liver, of which Copiah and Big Bahala creeks are the chief. The heads of the Homochitto
reach into the southwest corner.

The surface of Copiah is ) oiling or hilly, sometimes broken, with sharp sandstone ridges especially in the
southwestern part; long-leaf pine prevailing on all the higher lidges, interspersed more or less on their flanks and
on the lower ridges with the oaks and short-leaf pine, which arc there predominant. The upland soil is sometimes
\ery sandy, but chiefly a light biownish yellow loam, underlaid by yellow or orange loam subsoil, forming a good
foundation ibr improvement. These oak jind pine uplands are moderately productive, and are cultivated to a
considerable extent; but the numerous valleys are the preferred cultui'e lands. These valleys are usually wide
and hugely of a hummock or second-bottom character, the first bottoms being mostly narrow and sometimes
altogether wanting, when the streams often meander in wide- sandy beds. The hummock soils are usually gray or
whitish and rather fine, silty, and sometimes sandj^ and gravelly, according to the nature of the adjacent uplands,
which are often traversed by gravelly ridges. The timber of these hummocks usually consists of oaks and bottom
pine, mingled with moie or less of hickory, magnolia, holly, and, when sandy, a good deal of beech. (For analyses
of these hummock soils, see legional description, page 62.)

In the northwest corner of Copiah the long-leaf pine is absent, while oaks, hickory, and short-leaf i>iue,
with more or less beech and magnolia on the s'opes, constitute the timber of the rolling country. On the Pearl
river side also there is a belt of country from which the long-leaf pine is absent, skirting the river valley, which is
here formed of a wide hummock timbered with large bottom pine, post, scarlet, .and Spanish oaks, hickory, and,
near the river, with water and willow oaks and a good deal of hickory and sweef gum. This is excellent cotton
land, but the creek bottoms adjacent are even more highly esteemed.

Copiah county is a region of small farms, was early settled, and stands ninth in population among the counties
of the state, and in density of ]K)pulation is next above Monroe county. The tilled lands amount to one-fourth of
the total area. Not quite one-half of them are devoted to cotton culture, and a little over two- thirds as much to
corn. The average cotton acreage per square mile is 72.8, and the average product per acre is 0.43 bale. This is a
remarkable showing for what is i>opularly classed as a pine-hills county.

The communication of Copiah is chiefly with iiazlehurst and other stations on the New Orleans and Chicago
railroad, which traverses the eastern part of the county from north to south on the dividing ridge between bayou
Pierre and Pearl river. To avoid the hilly roads the western portion communicates partly with Port Oibsou and
Grand Gulf landing, whence cotton is shipped by steamer to New Orleans.

CLAIBOENE.
(See •' Cane hills region ".)

JEFFERSON.
(See " Cane hills region ^.)

HINDS.

(See "Central prairie region''.)

'6?A

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 163

LINCOLN.

. Populatian: 13,547.— White, 7,701 ; colored, 5,»46.

Area: 580 Bqnare miles. — Woodland, all; loDg-leaf pine bills, all.

TiUed lands: 55,409 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 17,272 acres ; in com, 19,843 acres ; in oats, 5,704 acres.

Cotton production: 6,286 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.36 bale, 513 pounds seed-cotton, or 171 pounds
cotton lint.

Lincoln county is drained by streams flowing in five diflerent directions, viz: Centrally atd chiefly by the Bogue
Chitto and its tributaries; in the northeastern iK)rtion by Fair river and Bahala creek, tributary to Pearl river : in
the northern part by the extreme heads of bayou Pierre; in the northwestern by those of the Homochitto liver; and
in the southwestern by the east foik of the Amite, tribntary to lake Pontchai train. It is naturally, therefbre, a region
of rolling, hilly, and sometimes broken uplands (rising to the elevation of 480 feet at Brookiiaven), which are timbered
chiefly with long-leaf pine, largely interspersed, especially in the western part, with oaks and hickory, indicating
a corresponding improvement in the soil as we approach the oak and shoit-leaf pine belt bordering thecane hills (see
regional description, page 56). The numerous bottoms aflbid equally numerous though usually small bodies of
good fanning land, on which the cotton produced is chiefly grown. The uplands are iis yet cultivated on a small
scale only, having thus far been given to the lumbering industry, which has been extensively developed since
the establishment of railioad communication.

The tilled lands of Lincoln constitute nearly 15 per cent, of its area, over one quarter of them (31.2 per cent.)
being given to cotton, and nearly one-third more (35 percent.) to corn. The average cotton product per acre is 0.'36
tale, with an average of 29.8 acres per square mile.

The communication of Lincoln county is by way of the New Orleans and Chicago railroad, which traverses it
centrally, chiefly with Now Orleans.

VIKE.

Population: 16,688.— White, 8,572; colored, 8,116.
Area: 720 square miles. — '\V<;()dIaiid,all; long leaf pine hills, all.

TiUed lands: 53,803 acn^s. — Area planted in cotton, 19,842 acres ; in corn, 19,248 acres ; in oats, 6,003 acres ; in
wheat, 8 acres.

Cotton production : 6,507 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.33 bale, 471 pounds seed-cotton, or 157
pounds cotton lint.

Pike county is covered throughout with a heavy forest of long-leaf pine. The Bogue Chitto river traversfsis it in a
northwestern and southeastern direction, and the country eastwaitl of that stream is drained by its tributaries, of
which Magee's and Tapashaw creeks are the chief. West, of the Bogue Chitto the dividing ridge between it and
Tangipahoa comes in so closely as to leave room only for short creeks, so that the country to the westward is drained
almost wholly by the tributaries of the last-named stream, iiearly all of wliich carry running water throughout the
seaBon.

The northern portion of Pike county is hilly or rolling pine land. In its eastern portion it is quite sandy, but as
the Bogue Chitto is approached the increasing admixture and the appearance of back-jack oaks indicates the
approach to the surface of a brown-loam subsoil, which becomes more and more prevalent to the westward, and
forms a good foundation for the cultivation and improvement of the uplands; which thus far has not been inaugurated
to any great extent, but on a small scale has been quite successful. (For analysis and discussion of this soil, see
rcgioDal description, page 59.)

In the southern portion of the county, within 10 miles of the Louisiana line, the level of the country (which
*t Summit station reaches the height of 425 feet) sinks visibly, the surface becoming gently undulating, still,
however, underlaid by sand and gravel at the depth of a few feet. In the northern part of the county, where the
Maud has been denuded of its timber or thrown out of cultivation, the existence of these substrat;^ gives rise to
^^p hillside washes or ravines. At some jxjints the soil itself is very gravelly.

The immediate valley of the Bogue Chitto varies from 1 to 2 miles in width. The bottom proper, usually not

^^ry wide, has rather a light soil, which is timbered with beech, magnolia, bottom white pine, elm, and some black

^^d sweet gums, and is productive, but subject to overflow. The soil of the second bottom is generally preferred for

^^^Itivation. It is a dark-colored loam, sometimes as much as 2.J feet in depth, more or less traversed by sandier

beech ridges," and the usual timber, which is very large, is magnolia, sweet gum, poplar, hickory, sassafras, and

^^e beech; also chestnut- white oak and holly. It is a very fine and durable soil. The soils and timber on the

^^aller streams are quite similar in character.

^ The tilled lands of Pike countj' constitute 11.7 per cent, of its area. Of these over one-third (36.9 per cent.) is
^•^Voted to cotton culture, with an average product of 0.33 bale per acre, the cotton acreage being 27.6 per square
^^^e. The com acreage is a trilie less than that of cotton.

The lumber industry has been extensively developed in this county since the completion of the New Orleans

*^^l Chicago railroad, utilizing not only the long-leaf pine, but also the large ^* poplar " (white-wood) and magnolia

, ^^O other timber of the bottoms. Other manufacturing industries have been started at stations on the line of the

^^Iroad, such as a cotton-mill, factories of agricultural implements, etc. Magnolia and stations south of the same

^o serve as summer resorts for health and pleasure for the population of New Orleans.

Cotton is shipped, as fast as baled, to New Orleans, at $2 30 per bale.

ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF W. W. VAUGHT, MAGNOLIA.

The snrface of the country is rolling, the uplands comprising pine hills, covered with a dense pine growth. The first and second
J^^^toms of creeks and rivers is the chief cotton-prodncing soil. It occupies about one-fifth of the area of this region, and extends about
"^^ ^iles west, to the state line east and south, and to Crystal Springs, 50 miles north. The land is somewhat subject to overflow, and has
^ Natural growth of oak, gum, poplar, beech, hickory, etc.

134 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The soil is a fine sandy loam of blackish and black colors, extending 4 to 8 inches below the soiface. The subsoil is rather sandy and
leechy, and is nnderlaid by sand. The soil is early and warm when well drained, and is generally easily tilled, except in wet weather.
The chief crops of this region are cotton, com, oats, sweet potatoes, and sugar-cane, and the soil seems best adapted to these crops. It yields
from 30 to 50 bushels of com. About half its cultivated area is planted with cotton. The usually attained height of the cotton-plant is
from 3 to 5 feet ; at greater heights it is less productive. It inclines to run to weed in wet seasons and on fresh land, and the remedy
consists in applying phosphates or bone-meal to the soil, and thus favors boiling. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies
from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds, or, after ten years' cultivation (nnmanured), from 300 to 500 pounds; in either case 1,425 to 1,545 pounds' make
a 475-pound bale of lint. The quality of staple from old land is but little difierent from that of fresh land. All the cotton from this
region rates generally as middling. About one-fourth of such land lies ** turned out'', but by deep plowing and systematic manuring it
can be made to produce as well as ever. Crab-grass is the only troublesome weed, hog and rag weeds giving but little trouble.

The pine hills are but little in cultivation, but about two-fifths of the area being suitable for tillage when cleared. Besides its
natural growth of pine, it has more or less oak, hickory, and gum, and it is coextensive with the lowland described. The soil is a yeUow,
sandy loam, 4 to 8 inches thick ; the subsoil a heavy red clay, 1 to 3 feet thick, containing some fine sand and a variety of gravel,
underlaid by sand and gravel. The soil is early, warm, well drained, and easily tiUed, producing about 500 pounds of seed-cotton per
acre from fresh )ands and 300 pounds after ten years' cultivation.

Slopes are seriously injured by washings and gullying of the soil, the washings to some extent damaging the valleys. To check the
damage considerable horizon talizing and hillside ditching have been done, and where the work has been well done this has been succeesfaL
When droughts occur here it is rarely before July 15, when the plant is so nearly matured as not to suffer.

FEANKLEST.

Papulation: 9,729.— White, 4,852 ; colored, 4,877.

Area: 560 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 250 square miles; long-leaf pine hills, 310 square
miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 37,680 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 18,211 acres ; in com, 12,045 acres; in oats, 1,012 acres.

Cotton production: 8,042 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.44 bale, 627 pounds seed-cotton, or 209
pounds cotton lint.

The greater part of Franklin county is drained by the Homochitto river, which traverses diagonally the eastern
half of the county and is joined by numerous creeks from both sides. The surface is throughout hilly, especially
.along the main Homochitto, where the " Homochitto hills " constitute a country of narrow and steep, sometimc^s
rocky, ridges, the uplauds being largely too broken for cultivation. The county is nearly equally diviaed into an
eastern portion, timbered with long-leaf pine, more or less mingled with oaks, hickory, and short-leaf pine on the
slopes and lower ridges; and a western one, in which oaks, hickory, and short-leaf pine alone prevail, save (occasionally
on higher ridges extending in from the east. In both sections the bulk of the cultivated lands lies in the valleys of
the streams, in which (as is generally the case in southwestern Mississippi) the second bottom or hummock lands
predominate over the first bottoms, and are most generally under cultivation.

The soils of the Homochitto hills and of the eastern portion of the county generally are mostly quite sandy,
yet not infertile, as is shown by the vigorous growth of oaks and hickory laden with long moss. The poorer and
excessively sandy tracts are characterized by the presence of the upland willow oak, or narrow-leaf ulack-jack,
among the post, Spanish, and white oaks ; resembling exceedingly tbe sandy ridge lands of Smith and Jasper
counties. The soils of the first bottoms in this region are correspondingly sandy, and so continue almost to the
mouth of the Homochitto river. Their depth, however, compensates so far for the excess of sand that some of
these bottom lands {e, ^., on the middle fork of the Homochitto) are reputed to be among the most durable and
productive cotton lands of the state. (For details regarding these soils, see regional description, p. 63.) The beech
and magnolia are the most prominent timber trees of these bottoms, together with the chestnut-white oak, sweet
gum, poplar, maple, etc. The hummock soils of this region, elevated from 2 to as much as 6 feet above the first
bottom, are only moderately light, of a buff color, underlaid by a pale-yellow loam, the timber being the beech,
white oak, hickory, holly, sweet gum, cherry, sourwood, etc. Some of these hummock soils produce from 1,200 to 1,300
pounds of seed-cotton per acre. While th^ average width of the valleys in this region is the same as elsewhere,
the wide, shallow, sandy beds which the streams excavate for themselves in flood-time often diminish seriously Hie
amount of valley land suitable for cultivation, the smaller streams especially sometimes occupying in this way the
entire width of their valleys. The uplands of the western section of the county are much less sandy^ and the
bottom lands correspond in this respect, especially in the northwestern portion, on the heads of Wells' creek and
Morgan^s fork. Here the "Hamburg hills" form a body of rolling or ridgy uplands, partly of a plateau character,
having an excellent subsoil of light-brown loam, which makes itself felt by the scarcity of the pine*, hickory, white,
Spanish, and black oaks, together with the large-leaved magnolia, occupying the ridges^ while on the slopes the
sweet gum, ash, and poplar, or tulip tree, are also found. The uplands are quite productive, and the valley lands
are excellent.

In the southwestern part of the county the Homochitto hills continue to form a ridgy, bioken country, of
which the portion lying between Wells' creek and the Homochitto is known as "The Devil's Backbone", so called
among teamsters from the unenviable reputation of its clayey slopes. The summits of the ridges, however, are
•sandy and partly rocky. #

The table-lands of Franklin county constitute 10.5 per cent, of its area. Of these nearly one-half is occupied
by cotton, only two-thirds as much being given to com. The average cotton product per acre is 0.44 bale, a £ifle
less than that of Panola county. The communication of Franklin county is chiefly with Katchez, whence cotton is
shipped to New Orleans. The eastern portion also communicates with stations on the New (Cleans and Chicago
railroad.

336

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 135

AMITE.

Pcpulatum: 14,004.— White, 5,404 ; colored^ 8,510.

Area: 720 square miles. — Short-leaf piue and oak uplands, 85 square miles ; long-leaf pine hills, 635 square
miles; woodland.

Tilled lands: 62,095 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 27,740 acres ; in corn, 22,580 acres ; in oats, 3,184 acres.

Cotton producHon: 9,952 bales ^ average cotton product per acre, 0.36 bale, 513 pounds seed-cotton, or 171
poaods cotton lint.

The greater part of Amite county resembles closely in its surface features the i)ortion of Pike county lying
test of the Bogue Chitto, and is drained centrally and chiefly by the several forks and tributary creeks of the
Amite river. In the northwest comer some of the tributaries of the Homochitto interlock with the Amite, and the
fioatheast comer is drained by the heads of the Tickfaw river.

The bulk of the cultivated lands of Amite county still lies in the bottoms and hummocks of the streams. Outside
of these, in the rolling and hilly uplands, the long-leiif pine forest prevails over all but the extreme western i^ortion
of the county, where short-leaf pine and oaks tuke possession first of the flanks, and then of the summits of the
ridges, being more or less commin;?led with the lonpf-leaf i)ine throughout. The upland soil, when dry, is of a pale
brownish -yellow tint, with an orange loam subsoil, which, besides common gravel, usually contains more or less of
black pebble. In level places, where hurkleberry bushes prevail, it is sometimes white, and is also underlaid by the
yellow subsoil. It is fairly productive. In the northwestern portion the Ilomochitto hills form a belt of broken
ridge lands, mostly sandy, occupied by oaks and hickory, heavily curtained with long moss, the pine being quite
solwrdinate ; but these hill lands, tbough having a productive soil, are almost too broken for cultivation. The
sonthera part of Amite county, like the corresponding part of Pike, is a more gently rolling, sometimes almost
level, pine- woods region.

The vaUeys of the various forks and tributaries of the Amite river, though not usually very wide (I to 2 miles
on the main Amite), contain bodies of excellent farming land, chiefly on the second bottom level. These bodies
alternate more or less with ai)parently ill-drained tracts of a white, '*crawfishy'' soil underlaid by black pebble,
that increase proportionally as we descend the streams. Such tracts are characterized by a growth of bottom pine
and a great deal of water oak among the timber, which is otherwise the same in species as that of the better class
of hottom lands, but is rather under size. In the well-drained ]>ortions of the bottoms the soil is a dark or mulatto-
colored loam from IJ to 2 feet in depth, with a large timber growth of magnolia, holly, white and chestnut-white
caks, ash, sweet gum, beech, and' some "poplar." The soil is very productive, though crops are liable to damage
^m overflows.

The tilled lands of Amite county amount to 13.5 per cent, of the total area, placing the county in this respect
above Pike and Franklin, but below Lincoln (14.0 per cent.), and nearly on a level with Eankin. The cotton acreage
exceeds that of com by one-fourth, and the average product per acre is the same as that of Benton county (0.36 bale).

The communication of Amite county is chiefly with stations on the New Orleans and Chicago railroad, or via
Hie Clinton narrow-gauge railroad to Bayou Sara, and by steamer to New Orleans. Freight on cotton, $2 to $2 25
per hale.

ABSTBAOT OF THE BEPOBTS OF J. B. GALTNET AND GEOBGE F. WEBB, LIBEBTT.

By long experience planters have foond it safest to x)lant the rolling uplands in cotton and the lowlands in com. The bottoms of
^neks and smaller streams are, in comparison with river bottoms, easily tilled, and, being the safest for all crops, they are regarded by
most farmers as the best lands in the region. The river bottoms are subject to overflows, and cotton is liable to be prematurely
^^ost-kiUed, besides soffering more from insect pests than on other lands. The chief crops of this region are cotton, com, sugar-cane,
«st8, field pease, sweet potatoes, and sorghum.

All the soils are apparently best adapted to cotton, although the other crops succeed well, and more than half the cultivated land
^planted with that staple. The chief soil is a brown or mahogany upland loam, 5 inches thick, with a subsoil of red, clayey loam, rather
hnperrioos, containing a variety of gravel, large and small, and underlaid by sand and gravel. Three-fourths of the cultivated land of
the connty is of this kind. Its natural growth is red, white, and black oaks, chincapin, long-leaf pine, sweet gum, cherry, sassafras, etc.
^^ soU is early, warm, and weU-drained, and the cotton-plant usuaUy grows from 2^ to 3^ feet high. On this, as well as on all other lands
^eecribed, it inclines to rnn to weed in wet seasons, but may be restrained by using the hoe instead of the plow in after-cultivation. The
^(^^-ootton piodnot per acre of £resh land is from 700 to 800 pounds, 1,445 pounds (or 1,425 late in the season) making a 475-pound bale
of lint. After five years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is from 500 to 600 pounds, and then from 1,455 to 1,485 pounds make a bale
^lint shorter and weaker than that from fresh land. The troublesome weeds on all of the lands are crab-grass, cocklebur, and moming-
Slory. About one-half of such originally cultivated land lies ** turned out''; when it is overgrown with briers, it again produces as well
^ originally, but not so well if overgrown with sedge and pine.

A comparatively smaU part of this region consists of second bottom or hummock land, which occurs in strips less than half a mile in
^▼ersge width, next to paraUel and continuous with the swamp or river bottom lands. Its growth is oak (red, white, and black), pine,
l>seeh, hickory, ash, gum, holly, poplar, magnolia, etc. The soil is a loam varying from clayey to fine sandy, and in color from mahogany
to black, and is 6 to 12 inches deep ; the subsoil is clayey, tough, hard, and impervious, but by cultivation and exposure it gradually
l^Qccmes like the surface soil. It contains a variety of gravel, and is underlaid by sand and gravel and sometin es large pebbles. The
toil is early and warm when weU-draincd, and the cotton-plant grows from 3 to 5 feet high, but is most productive at 5 feet. The seed-
QOtten product per acre of fresh land is about 1,000 pounds; 1,600 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. After five years' cultivation
(vBinanured) the product is 800 pounds, and 1,630 pounds then make a bale. About one-third of such originally cultivated laud lies
"turned out"; when again cultivated, it produces about the same.

The remaining kind is usually designated swamp land^ and includes river and creek bottoms, the greater part of it lying along the
Amite river, where its width is about 2 miles. Its growth is red, white, water, and piu oaks, beech, poplar, ash, hickory, magnolia, sweet
»nd black gnms, cypress, holly, etc. The soil is a loam of a mahogauy, blackish and black color, 1 to 3 feet deep ; the subsoil is a compact,
impervious hard-pan while undisturbed, which bakes very hard when first exposed, but gradually lecomes like the surface by tillage. It is
anderlaid by sand in some places ; in others by clay. The plant grows from 3 to 6 feet high, but is most productive at 4 feet. The product per
22 P 337

136 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

acre of fresh land is from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of seed-cotton, 1,580 ponnds making a 475-poand bale. After five years' cnltiyatloa a
(nnmannred) the prodnct is from 600 to 1,000 ponnds, about 1,545 ponnds then making a bale. Nearly half of snch land originally cultiyated <
now lies *' turned out'^ and the longer it rests the more it yields when again cultiyated. 1

When slopes are sandy they are seriously damaged by washings and gullying, and the washings injure the valleys to the extent of J
reducing their yields from one-fourth to one-third. To check the damage many efforts have been made by filling the gullies with cotten
stalks, etc., and by horizontalizing and hillside ditching. The success has been sufficient to justify the labor and exx>ense inyolved.

Cotton is shipped, as soon as ready, by rail from Osyka, 88 miles, to New Orleans, at $2 20 per bale, or at t2 per bale from Clinton,
Louisiana, by rail and riyer.

LAWRENCE.

Population : 9,422.— White, 4,937 ; colored, 4.485.

Area : 620 square miles. — All long-leaf pine mils.

Tilled lands : 47,320 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 17,896 acres; in com, 20,758 acres ; in oats, 4,845 acres ; in
wheat, 6 acres.

Cotton production : 5,967 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.34 bale, 486 pounds seed-cotton, or 162 pounds
cotton lint.

Lawrence county is a region of rolling, hilly or sometimes broken, and mostly sandy uplands, heavily timbered
with long-leaf pine, the flanks of some, and sometimes entire ridges, l>eing occupied by the short-leaf pine, mingled
more or less with x>ost and black-jack oaks and hickory. The western portion of the county is traversed in a southern
direction by Pearl river. Its valley being rather deeply and abruptly impressed into the surface, the bordering
hills, composed of soft sandstones and sandy clay materials, have a tendency to form steep slopes or high bluA,
which sometimes offer the unusual spectacle of waterfalls. Through these hills the tributary streams, which
carry running water throughout the season, have worn narrow valleys with steep sides, so that outside of ^e
main valley the larger bodies of cultivated creek-bottom land are chiefly found in the upper course of the
streams. Of these. Silver, White Sand, and Green's creeks are the chief on the east and Fair river and Hidl's
creek on the west side of the valley.

Pearl river has but little bottom proper, and its hummock or second bottom is timbered with bottom pine,* sweet
and black gum, water and willow oaks, elm, etc. Its soil is productive, and is of a pale gray tint, but possesses a
heavier whitish or yellowish subsoil, which will retain manure, underlaid at 15 to 24 inches from the surface by a
loose whitish sandy material with spots of bog ore, and beneath this by tenacious gray clay, which sometimes cansee
a lack of proper drainage, and thus gives rise to '^crawflshy " spots and tract^s. Between Silver and Green's creeks
the drainage of the hummock is less defective.

On the heads of W^hite Sand creek, in the eastern portion of the county, there is a gently undulating upland
tract, timbered to a considerable extent with oaks and hickory, and possessing a subsoil of a deep orange-r^, sandy
hard-pan several feet in thickness. This soil produces good cotton and very fine com, and lasts well. In the long-
leaf pine hills themselves we not unfrequently find a good loam subsoil at a depth of 8 to 12 inches.

The tilled lands of Lawrence amount to nearly 12 per cent, of its area. Of these over one-third (37.2 per cent.)
is given to cotton, making an average cotton acreage of 29.7 per square mile, with an average product of 0.34 b^e
per acre. The com acreage exceeds that of cotton about one-sixth.

The communication of Lawrence county is westward to stations of the New Orleans and Chicago railroad in
Lincoln and Copiah counties.

SIMPSON.

Population : 8,005.— White, 4,993 ; colored, 3.012.

Area : 580 square miles. — Woodland, all. Snort-leaf pine and oak uplands, 80 square miles; long-leaf pine
hills, 500 square miles.

Tilled lands: 31,479 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 8,855 acres; in com, 14,165 acres; in oats, 4,211 acres; in
wheat, 5 acres.

Cotton production: 3,501 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.40 bale, 570 pounds seed-cotton, or 190
pounds cotton lint.

The greater part of Simpson county is a region of long-leaf pine hills, interspersed more or less with ridges of
short-leaf pine and oak. This pine region is drained chiefly by Strong river and its tributaries, and in their eastern
part by the headwaters of Okahay, Okatoma, and Bouie creeks. The western and smaller portions, drained by the
smaller ^eeks directly tributary to Pearl river, is timbered with oaks and short-leaf pine, and its soils and surface
conformation resemble that of Bankin county, immediately north. This belt of oak lands continues with a width
of several miles as far south as the mouth of Strong river. Beyond, it gradually loses its character, becoming
merged with the hummock of Pearl river. It is chiefly in this belt that the uplands are cultivated to any considerable
extent in Simpson county, while the bottom lands are excellent. East of the dividing ridge between Pearl and
Strong rivers the soil becomes more and more sandy, and the bodies of good valley land are small, though sometimes
very productive. Strong river usually runs in a deep channel, and has little or no first bottom subject to overflow.
Its valley or hummock is from 1 to 2 miles wide, and near Westville is timbered prevalently with bottom pine and
post oak, with some Spanish, scarlet, and black oaks and hickory. Its soil is generally light gray, with a pale-
yellow loam subsoil, and is particularly well adapted to sweet potatoes, but produces good crops of com and cotton
also, especially in the portion nearest Pearl river. In the eastern part of the county, on the headwaters of Bouie and
Okatoma creeks, oaks and hickory sometimes become quite prevalent among the pine, indicating a good brown-loam
subsoil and generally wider valleys of good productiveness. The dividing ridge between these streams and Strong
river is a very sandy plateau, on which the water quickly sinks, so as to ibrm few definite channels, but only
shallow, rounded troughs, while springs of great volume gush out at the levels where impervious strata shed the
water, thus suddenly forming creeks of considerable size and of the clearest and purest water.

In the southwestern portion of Simpson, on Silver and Crooked creeks, the country is somewhat ridgy and broken,
and the sandy pine hills are interrupted by ridges, along the slopes of which, and sometimes on the summits,

338

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 137

beavy gray clays, alternating with sandstone ledges, form level terraces covered with long grass and stunted pine,
and a dLBerent class of soils occur more frequently on the west side of Pearl river. When not too heavy they are
more productive than the pine-hill soils. The hilly country breaks off rather abruptly into Pearl river hummock, the
acnl of the latter partaking more or less of the character of the uplands so modified.

The tilled lands of Simpson constitute 8.4 per cent, of its area^ being the same as in Smith and a trifle more
than in the case of Covington. Of these lands nearly 28 per cent is planted in cotton. The area given to com is
aomewbatless than double. The average cotton product per acre is quite high (0.40 bale), showing the productiveness
of the bottoms in which the staple is mainly grown.

The communication of Simpson is partly with Brandon, on the Vicksburg and Meridian railroad, and partly
with Hazlehurst and other stations on the New Orleans and Chicago railroad.

ABSTBAGT OF THE BEPOBT OF J. G. M'LAUBIN, MOUNT ZION.

Tbe chief soil devoted to cotton is that of creek bottanu above overflow, which inclodes one-tenth of the caltiyated land of this region.
Hie mU is a black, eoane tandy and gravelly loam 4 to <> inches thick. The impervions subsoil is a very hard red clay in some places,
ind a mixture of yellow sand and clay in others. It contains a variety of pebbles, and in some places large quantities of black iron-rock,
ind is underlaid by sand. The chief crops of this region are com, oats, and cotton. The soil is tilled with difficulty if too wet, is not
(nmlilesome when dry, and is generally easy when once well broken. It is early when well drained, and is best adapted to com. About
4S per cent, of it is planted wit^, cotton. The plant grows from 4 to 6 feet high, but is generally most productive at 4 feet. It inclines to
nn to weed in wet seasons and on low, w^et lands ; but early planting, early cultivation, and the application to the soil of well-rotted
leaves and straw, with bam-yard manure, will restrain it and favor boiling. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from
SOOto 1,500 pounds, 1,545 to 1,665 pounds making a 475-pound bale of middling lint. After ten years' cultivation (unmanureld) the product
Tsries from 400 to 700 pounds, and 1,665 to 1,780 pounds then make a bale of lint inferior to that from fresh land. Three-tenths of such
bad originally cultivated lies '* turned out *\ but if nearly level it produces very well when again cultivated. The troublesome weeds
«f this region are red-joint, careless, and pepper weed, crab-grass, etc.

The second quality of soil is that of the dark uplands or second bottoms, comparatively level. About 45 per cent, of it is planted
with cotton, and its yields equal those of first soil described.

The third quality is the light eandy eoil of Pearl and Strong river bottoms, 30 per cent, of which is planted with cotton ; its yields are
60 per cent, of those of the chief soil. The detailtf of those second and third qualities are in all respects but slightly different from those
of the first quality. Slopes wash and gully readily, and, unless very carefully prevented, those which have not a clay subsoil are seriously
damaged. The valleys are injured to the extent of from 5 to 20 \ttr cent, by the washings. Efforts have been made to check the damage
by circling and hillside ditching, and with success when made in time.

Cotton is hauled by ox-wagons to Beauregard, Hazlehurst, Jackson, and Brandon at 75 cents per hundred pounds.

RANKIN.

(See "Central prairie region".)

SMITH.

PopulaiUm: 8,084.— White, 6,452 ; colored, 1,032.

Area: 600 square miles. — Long-leaf pine bills, 325 square miles; central prairie, 275 square miles; wooded.
TilUd lands: 32,156 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 10,543 acres; in corn, 14,614 acres; in oats, 5,009 acres;
in wheat, 78 acres.

Cotton production: 3,721 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.35 bale, 498 pounds seed-cotton, or 166 pouuds
cotton lint.

Smith couuty is nearly evenly divided between two surface features by a line traversing the county centrally
in a northwestern and southeastern direction. South of this line we find hilly or undulating, sometimes almost
level, sandy upland, covered by heavy forests of long-leaf pine, with occasional ridges where a more generous
and retentive soil bears the short-leaf pine, mingled with oaks. The region is thinly settled, the narrow bottoms
being alone under cultivation.

In the northern part of the county the suri'ace features resemble those of Scott in the alternation of ridges
timbered with oaks, or oaks and short-leaf or long-leaf pine, with tracts having more or less of the ^^ hog- wallow '',
and in the valleys and bottoms the black -prairie character. The latter feature is less prominent than in Scott county,
the bodies of the prairie being smaller and less frequent in the uplands at least, while in the bottoms, especially in
the eastern part of the county, the heavy black prairie and " hog-wallow'^ soils predominate, not only within the
region of occurrence in the uplands, but for a considerable distance below the line above mentioned. These profuseb^
rich bottoms, now subject to overflow, have hardly been touched by cultivation as yet, for the reason, it is stated,
that cotton rusts or blights when grown on them. In an}' case, however, they would produce abundance of corn
and other crops adapted to such soils. (For analysis and discussion of the latter, see regional description, p. 63.)
Among the oak ridges and prairie bottoms skirting the creeks tributary to the heads of Leaf river and West
Tallahala many extensive and attractive sites for settlements lie untouched.

The tilled lands of Smith county amount to only 8.4 per cent, of its area, the cotton acreage per square mile
being 12.6, about half as much as is given to corn. The average cotton product per acre, however, is 0.34 of a
bale, being equal to that of Lowndes, in consequence of the predominant cultivation of creek bottoms and prairie
apots.

The communication of Smith county is chiefly with stations on the Vicksburg and Meridian railroad ; in its
8«mthem part with the Mobile and Ohio railroad in Clarke county.

330

138 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

ABSTBAOT FROM THE BEPOBT OF A. S. BAUGH, POLKYILLE.

About one-eighth of the coanty area is black sandy hommook, two-eighths swamp, and flve-eighths hill or npland. The natural
gro^rth consists of black-jack and other oaks and pine on the uplands, and poplar, gnm, hickory, cypress, beech, sycamore, and walnut on
the bottoms. The soils vary greatly in depth, the best class being underlaid by red clay subsoils, loose and porous for 8 to 12 inches, then
very hard and firm for 6 to 10 feet, and underlaid in turn by red sand 20 to 30 feet thick. The inferior soils have a yellowish white sand
subsoil. Tillage is generally easy ; the clayey land is sticky when too wet, and when too dry is cloddy unless well broken in early spring.
The chief crops of the county are corn, cotton, oats, rice, potatoes, eugar, and sorghum-cane, and all do well. From one-fourth to
one-third of the cultivated lands are planted in cotton. The plant attains a height of 4 to 8 feet, but is most productive at 5 feet. It
inclines to run to weed in wet weather, but is remedied by topping early in August. The seed-cotton product per acre of firesh land is 700
pounds ; 1,425 pounds make a 475-pound bale of strict middling lint. After six years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is 500
pounds of seed-cotton, when 1,485 pounds make a bale of lint rating one grade lower. Hog- weed, butter-weed, crab-grass, and cockleburs
are most troublesome.

One-fifth or more of the land originally cultivated now lies " turned out ", When again cultivated, it produces 12 to 25 per cent, less
than firesh land. Slopes are seriously damaged by washings and gullying, and when the d^ria is carried upon the valleys it damages them
to the extent of one-tenth their value. Horizontallzing and hillside ditching are practiced, and successfully check the damage.

Cotton is shipped to New Orleans in November at $3 50 per bale.

JASPEE.

(See " Central prairie region ".)

NEWTON.

(See '^ Short-leaf pine and oak uplands region ".)

LAUDEEDALE.

Population : 21,501.— White, 9,960 ; colored, 11,541.

Area: 680 square miles. — Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, 105 square miles; long-leaf pine hills, 575 square
miles; all woodland.

Tilled lands: 70,249 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 32,372 acres; in corn, 23,345 acres; in oats, 5,967 acres;
in wheat, 5 acres.

Cotton production : 9,350 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.29 bale, 414 pounds seed-cotton, or 138
pounds cotton lint.

Lauderdale county is drained mainly by small creeks forming the heads of the Ohickasawhay river, of which
Okatibee, in the western part, is the largest; in the eastern a few streams flow toward the Tombigbee. The surface
is mostly hilly, and, except in the northwestern part, the long-leaf pine is altogether the predominant tree, mingled
more or less, however, with oaks, and interspersed with ridges of oak and short-leaf pine, which in the northwestern
portion predominate and constitute a region of good upland farips having a moderately light-brown loam subsoil,
such as in the south Atlantic states would be considered very desirable, and is well adapted to improvement. The
country rock (sandstone) comes near the surface in some of the ridges, which are strewn with bloeks and fragments
of the same, rendering tillage somewhat troublesome. In the southern part of the county the vaUeys form the
body of the cultivated lands and yield well, the ridge soils being more sandy and less durable than in the northern
part.

Settlement and good cultivation have been greatly stimulated in Lauderdale county by the facilities of
communication and transportation afforded by the two railroads, the Yicksburg and Meridian (continued eastward
in the Alabama and Great Korthem) and the Mobile and Ohio railroad, which intersect at Meridian, and have
made that town an important railroad and manufacturing center, with a rapidly increasing population. The
southeastern part of the county, on the heads of the Buckatunna, is the most thinly settled, and appears to be the
least fertile. The Lauderdale springs, in the northeastern part, have long been a popular place of resort; tiie water
is a chalybeate sulphur, and is highly esteemed for its curative effects.

The lands under tillage constitute 16.2 per cent, of the total area, of which somewhat less than half is given
to cotton, while the acreage given to corn is but a little over one- third of that devoted to cotton, doubUess in
consequence of the ready communication with the markets. The cotton acreage per square mile is 46.5, and the
average product per acre is 0.29 per bale, the same as Clarke and a little less than Kemper county (0.30).

The cotton produced is mostly sold at Meridian, and thence shipped to Mobile.

ABSTRACT OP EEPOET OF J. J. SHANNON, MEBIDIAN.

The Dplands of the county are rolling and sometimes level. They vary greatly in quality, and are best near small branches or in
yalleys between hills.

The lotclande comprise the first bottoms of Sowashee creek and Chickasawhay river and of small branches leading into the former,
In which there is a low alluvial soil.

The uplands are generally regarded as the best and most certain for cotton cultivation. It is difficult to get a good ''stand" in the

bottoms, and in wet summer seasons the stalks go to weed too much and tbe bolls rot. Tbe uplands comprise from 70 to 80 per cent, of the

county area, and prevail throughout eastern Mississippi. They have a timber growth of post and red oaks, pine, hickory, gam, dogwood,

and chestnut, though the first five predominate. The soil varies from a fine sandy to a clayey loam, has gray, brown, and blackish colors,

and is 5 to 12 inches thick. The subsoil is various, mostly a hard, orange-red clay, which is considered the best ; and in some places

it is whitish and sandy. In places it contains various kinds of gravel, underlaid by clay marl at 3 to 5 feet. The chief orope of this
340

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 139

mn cotton, com, oatt, sweet mad Irish potatoes, sorgham, and sugar-cane. The soil is early, naturally and generally well-drained,

•Hily tilled, except when too wet, and apparently is equally well adapted to cotton, oats, sweet potatoes, and sorghnm. From 50 to 60 per

of ita coltivated area is planted with cotton. The plant grows from i^ to 5 feet high, but is most productive at 4 feet, and inclines

to weed daring excesaiyely rainy weather, for which there is no remedy. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land yaries from

SN to 1,000 ponnds; 1,485 pounds make a 475-pound bale of llut, as good as any in market if well handled. Five years' cultiyation

(■■■siniTfid) redncea the yield one-fifth, or much more if the soil washes or gullies in the meantime. Cotton is rarely the first crop

oivd on new land. After the first year there is very little observed dificrence between fresh and old land in respect to the ratio of seed

liBiit and quality of the staple. From 15 to 20 per cent, of this land lies ** turned out'\ and if the soil is not washed away it produces

vsQ when again cnltiyated. Crab-grass is the greatest enemy to cotton, but sometimes cocklebur and morning-glory are troublesome.

The lands wash and golly readily on slopes, doing sometimes serious damage, though not generally to the lowlands. Hillside ditching is

indifed with sncceas.

One-fborth of the cotton crop is raised on creek bottama. TheiM' have a natural growth of gum, oak, beech, pine, hickory, ash, and poplar.
Us soil is a black and blackish day loam, more or less sandy, and 7 to 15 inches thick; the subsoU is heavier, often whitish clay,
■iiMrliiMw like that of the hill land. It is a hard-pan, generally impervious, contains flinty, augnlar, and sometimes rounded whito
gnvel, in some placee none, and is underlaid by clay marl at tS to r> feet. Tillage is generally easy, except in wet seasons, and the soil is
tatar than upland unices well drained. It is apparently liest adapted to com and sugar-cane. In dr>' seasons it produces very good
sottoo, but it is planted mostly with com. The most productive height of the cotton-i>]ant is about 5 feet ; it inclines to run to weed in
niBj seasons, for which there is no remedy.

The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 600 to 1,000 pounds. More is needed to make a bale of lint than on the
iplsnds, and the staple is of average quality. The yield is but little Icsm after ten years' cultivation ; 1,485 jiounds then make a 475-pound
bale of lint equal to that of fresh land. Scarcely any of such land lies *' tumed out '', and it produces as well as ever when again cultivated.
The trooblesome weeds of this region are crab-grass, cocklebur, and morning-glory.
Farmers sell their cotton in Meridian as soon as it is baled.

CLARKE.

(See "Centml prairie region".)

WAYNE.

(See '* Central prairie region ".)

COVINGTON.

Population: 5,993.— White, 3,901 ; colored, 2,002.

Area: 580 square miles. — All long-leaf pine hilLs.

Tilled lands: 30,390 acres. — Area planteil in cotton, 0,9G8 acres; in corn, 10,682 acres ; in oats, 3,553 acres.

Cotton production: 2,071 bales ; average cotton prodnct per acre, 0.30 bale, 429 pounds seed-cotton, or 143
poonds cotton lint.

The surface of Covington is rolling, occasionally liilly, traversed in a northwestern and southeastern direction
ij the Okahay. Okatonia, and Bouie, with numerous tributary creeks, while Leaf river passes through the northeast
nmer, and Holliday's creek, tributary to the Pearl river, heads in the southwestern corner. In the larger ])art of the
eoanty the long-leaf pine, with its sandy and conii»arjitivcly infericr K(»ils, prevails; but there are numerous ridges
timbered exclusively or on their tianks with oaks and sliort-lcaf pin(% i)0sscssing a good brown-loam soil, and usually
iUling off into valleys with gentler slopes and wider bottoms than is the case with the long-leaf pine ridges. This
tt more especially true of the eastern part of the county, on the waters of Bouie and White Sand creeks. On the
latter, partly in Covingtcm and partly in Lawrence county, there is a tnict of oak uplands with a deep red loam
Bobsoil, where the pine is scarcely seen. (See analysis, ]». .V,>.) On the whole, however, the bottoms are chiefly
eoltivated, the dwellings being located on the adjacent hills. The bottom soils are almost all light and easily
ednvated, but the frequency with which bog ore occurs in their subsoil shows the need of drainage. Some of
these bottom.s are very productive.

There is a great deal of excellent pine timber in Covington, but its remoteness from market and transportation
roates has caused lumbering to be neglecte<l. The streams liavt* running wattT throughout the season, but on
recount of the slow drainage from the sandy u})lan(ls are not well adapted to logging.

The tilled lands of Covington constitute S.4 i)er cent, of the total area, being slightly less than that of Smith
aod Simpson counties. Somewhat less than one-fourth of these lands is devoted to cotton and about three-eighths
to com, the average cotton product per acre being OM) bale, the same as in Kemper and Jasper counties.

The communication of Covington is chiefly westward to the New Orleans and Chicago railroad (Brookhaven
and Hazlehurst); in time of high water in Pearl river, to stations on the Mobile and Ohio railroad.

ABSTRACT OF THE RErORT OF C. WELCH, STATION CREEK.

The aplanda are lovcl and rolling; the lowlaiuln consist of socoixl liottoniB ofcrt'oks; the iir»t bottoms nre not cultivated. The kinds
of land are hnDimock and pine land in the Boiithcni and "hollow *' landn in the northern half of the couuty.

The eandy pine lands include mo8t of the cnltivatt^d soil, and oxt*>nd 100 niilos w'ost, 50 ca8t, 30 south, and 20 miles north, with a
natural growth of pine (long- and short-lcaO, red, white, and }>ost oaks, hickory, gums, and dopwootl. The soil is a coarse sandy loam,
whitiah-gray, hrown, and blackish in color, and 3 to 4 inclK's dee]!. The subsoil is a yellowish sandy loam, contains white gravel, and la
underlaid by sandy clay. The soil is early, warm, well-drained, alwavs easily tilled, and is probably best adapted to com and oats; but
cotton ocenpies about one-third of its cultivated area. The other inijiortant crops are com, oats, and sweet potatoes. The cotton-plant
grows from 2^ to 4 feet high, but is most productive at about 3 feet. It inclines to run to weed in excessively wet weather and on some
freab Isnds, for which a dressing of lime might be beneficial.

140 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

The seed-ootton product per acre of fresh land is from 500 to 600 pounds, and 1,545 pounds make a 475-pound bale of low middling iint.
After five years' cultiyation (unmanured) the product is from 400 to 500 pounds, and a Kttle more is needed for a bale and the staple
is perceptibly inferior. From one-half to three-fourths of such originally cultiyated land lies ''turned out", and it is said to produoe
about half the original yields when again cultiTated. The hog- weed, red careless-weed, and butter- weed are troublesome on some varieties
of soil, but crab-grass is the most so. The slopes wash readily, doing some damage, but the yalleys are not ii^ured very greatly.
Horizontalizing and hillside ditching retards, but does not entirely preyent, the damage.

The ' ' hoUow8 " or tmall valley i include about one-fourth of the cultivated soil of the northern half of the county. Their natural growth
is oak of several species, some pine, hickory, poplar, and sweet gum. The soil is a fine sandy loam of gray, brown, and black colors, 3 to
10 inches deep ; the subsoil is a dense red or yellowish-red day loam, contains ''black gravel" in ^ome places, and is underlaid by sand
and some gravel. The soil is easily tilled, except where too wet; is early and best adapted to com, cotton, and oats, and about 35 per
cent, of its cultivated area is planted with cotton. The usual and most productive height of the plant is from 3 to 4 feet'.

The seed-cotton product per acre of firesh land is about 800 pounds ; 1,485 pounds make a 475-pound bale of lint. After five years'
cultivation the product is from 600 to 700 pounds, but the staple is said to be shorter than that from fresh land. About one-half such
originally cultivated land lies " turned out " ; when again cultivated, it produces about half its original yields. Crab-grass and cocklebur
are the most troublesome weeds.

The cotton crop suffers from cool rains and chilly, dry north winds in spring and heavy rains and protracted moist weather in
summer ; firequently also fh>m severe drought in August and September, while cotton is maturing.

Cotton is hauled by wagon, in December and January, to railroad stations, at {2 to $2 50 per bale.

JONES.

Population: 3,828.— White, 3,469 ; colored, 369.

Area: 700 sqaare miles. — All long-leaf pine hills.

Tilled lands: 12,822 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, 2,794 acres; in corn, 5,664 acres; in oats, 3,481 acres.

Cotton production: 624 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.22 bale, 315 pounds seed-cotton, or 105 x>ounds
cotton lint.

The whole of Jones county is covered with long-leaf pine forest, and is traversed in its northern and southern
directions b^ the Bogue Homo, Tallahala, Tallahoma, and Leaf rivers, with their tributaries. The northern part of
the county is the more populous and productive^ the bottoms of the larger streams preserving in a measure the
fertility brought down from the prairie region; while in the southern portion these bottoms possess sandy and more
or less acid and ill-drained soils, as is evidenced by their growth of gallberry, wax myrtle, and similar shrubs. The
uplands are little cultivated, except where the sandy soil of the long-leaf pine is underlaid by the brown loam, of
which the presence is ordinarily indicated by the prevalence of the short-leaf pine, mixed with oaks. It is on ridges
of such character, commonly skirted by broader valleys or bottoms, that settlements are generally located.
Lumbering and turpentine-making might, with better means of communication, occupy a considerable population,
as they now do a portion of the inhabitants.

Not quite 3 per cent, of the area of Jones county is under tillage, and somewhat over one-fourth of this is in
cotton, with an average yield of 0.22 of a bale per acre. The com acreage is double that of cotton.

Communication is with stations on the Mobile and Ohio railroad in Wayne and Olarke counties, and thence with
Mobile.

MAEION.

Population: 6,901.— White, 4,451 ; colored, 2,450.

Area: 1,500 square miles. — All long-leaf pine hills.

Tilled lands: 18,080 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 4,717 acres; in corn, 9,087 acres; in oats, 1,348 acres.

Cotton production: 1,579 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.33 bale, 471 pounds seed- cotton, or 157
pounds cotton lint.

Marion, the largest county in the state, is traversed by Pearl river in its western portion, and is drained by its
tributaries and by the heads of Black and Eed creeks on the east and by those of the Wolf and Habolochitto
rivers on the south. It is throughout a region of long-leaf pine hills and plateaus with narrow sandy valleys and
sandy soils, which, though mostly possessing a loam subsoil that renders them capable of improvement, are
naturally of inferior productiveness and durability ; and partly on this account and partly because of its remoteness
from lines of communication Marion county is very thinly settled, the population being but 4.6 persons per square
mile; second in this respect in the state, Perry being the most thinly settled. The chief settlements are in the
belt of country adjoining Pearl river, and on its smaller tributaries. Within the county the bottom proper, subject
to the overflow of Pearl river, is rather narrow, save in the extreme southern part, where it widens to as much as
2 miles, and is timbered with a very large growth of sweet gum, shellbark hickory, water, Spanish, chestnut- white,
and black oaks, holly, ironwood, some mulberry, and magnolia. The soil is quite heavy, but is not as diflScult to
till as might be supposed. It is very productive, but crops are often belated by overflows. In this region the
long-leaf pine descends into the river hummock. Farther north (as at Spring Cottage post-office) there intervenes
between the pine uplands and the river a narrow belt of sandy land, timbered with tall, graceful willow oaks, wiUi
some Spanish, red, and black oaks, and hickory. The soil is very fertile, but does not last long. Similar belts
and patches also occur higher up, but usually there is a hummock, varying from IJ to 3 miles, with a light, whitish,
often sandy and sometimes ill-drained soil, timbered generally with bottom pine, water, willow, Spanish and post
oaks, and more or less sweet gum and hickory, according to the quality of the lands. Near the river bank the
beecn is sometimes abundant. The greater part of the hummock or flat is here usually on the east side of the
river, and breaks off into its channel in very sandy bluff bank, underlaid by solid green and blue clays. On the
west bank of Pearl river, in the northwestern part of the county, the hills frequently approach close to the channel,
forming high and precipitous bluffs, or, when receding, slopes timbered with oak or oak mixed with short-leaf pine«
in striking contrast with the heavy long-leaf pine forest which crowns the summit, from which extensive ana
beautiful views of the Pearl river country can be obtained.

342

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 141

The lumber reaoarces of Marion county are very great, and have hardly been developed to any notable extent.

Aft some points turpentine-making is extensively carried on. The tilled lands of Marion are rejiorted at 8.9 per cent.

if ibe aiea^ of which one-fourth is devoted to cotton, producing on an average 0.33, or one-third of a bale per
The cotton acreage per square mile is 2.9.
The communication of Marion county* is mostly with stations on the New Orleans and Chicago railroad in Pike
1^, and to some extent, in times of high water, down Pearl river in flats or small steamers to Shieldsborough.

PEKRY.

F^lation: 3,427.— White, 2,357 ; colored, 1,070.

Arm: 1,000 square miles. — All long-leaf pine hills.

lUUd hmdi: 10,081 acres. — ^Area planteil in cotton, 537 acres; in com, 4,466 acres; in oats, 2,615 acres.

Cotton produetUm: 146 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.27 bale, 384 i)ounds seed-cotton, or 128 pounds
QOtlDsilint.

Peny county is, throughout a region of sandy, long-leaf pine uplands, traversed by numerous streams, mostly with
■mow, sandy valleys. The northern portion is drained by Leaf river, which is here joined by its largest tributaries —
AeOkatoma, Tallahala, Boguehomo, Thompson's, and Gaines creeks, while Black creek, with its numerous branches,
dims the southwestern portion. Perry is as a whole the most thinly inhabited county of the state, there being only
14 inhabitants per square mile, while the tilled lands amount to 1.6 per cent, of its area, being in this respect ahead
of Greene, Hancock, Jackson, and Harrison counties.

The bottoms as well as the uplands of Perry are timbered with a heavy growth of long-leaf pine, proving that
the soil, though sandy, is not devoid of productivenosH even in the uplands. Some saw-logs are rafted down Leaf
xirer, and turpentine orchards have from time to time lM>en run on a large scale in this county; but its remoteness
from lines of communication has prevented any extensive development of either industry.

GREENE.

Population: 3,194.— White, 2,382; colored, 812.

Area: 790 square miles. — All long-leaf pine hills.

ItUed lands: 5.907 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 35 acres; in corn, 3,563 acres; in oats, 891 acres.

Cotton production: 12 bales; average eottun proiluct per acre, 0.29 bale, 414 pounds seed-cotton, or 138 pounds
cotton lint.

Greene county is almost thronglioiit i\ re^^ion of undulating and souH'tiuies hilly, sandy uplands, covered with a
heavy forest of long-leaf pine. It is very thinly s(*t t led, and only alon^r the water-courses, of which the Ghickasawhay
and Leaf rivers, uniting on -the southorn linr of the county to form the Pasoagonla, arc the chief. Kogers' and Big
creeks, the latter traversing the county almost centrally from north to south, are the chief tributaries.

The immediate valley of the (.Miickasawhay, from 1 to 3 miles in width, is formed chictly by a high hummock
or second bottom above overflow, the tirst hott(»ni Inking usually (iiiite narrow, but possessing rather heavy and
lertile soils heavily timbered. Occasionally there an* tra<*ts of lii;;h bottom land of a sandy character, but very
productive. The second bottom proper has mostly silty or sandy, whitish soils, ill -drained, as shown by the growth
of gallberry appearing in all low spots, that, with the long leaf pine, constitutes almost its exclusive growth in the
middle and southern parts of the county. Tin* same is trnt* of the humuKK'k of l^eaf river within the county.

In the uplands east of the Chickasawhay, in the s(mthern part of the county, the feature prevailing in the
adjacent jiortion of Alabama, viz, a loam subsoil, hearing a growth chietly of oaks and hickory sparingly mingled
irith pine, and with tulip tree and nmgnolia on the hillsides, is more or less prevalent, giving rise to some upland
settlements.

The tilled lands of Greene county form but 1.2 per cent, of its area, and but 11 acres were reported as having
been planted in cotton in 1879, producing 4 bales; 3,5()3 acres of corn were planted. The chief products of the
county, however, are lumber and turpentine.

ABSTRACT OF THE KKPORT OF J. H. M'CLEAN, ABAMSVILLE.

The lowlands conBist of first and secoud bot toiiis of 1 ]i(> Cliickasawliay ri ver. Tho country is moderately nndalating, and has no very
lii^ hills nor inii>enetrable swamps. The soIIh .ir' mostly sandy, an* bas<*d on tlio orange-Band formation^ and are naturally well drained.

Labor is engaged chiefly inprcKliicing turpcntint' and pine lumber. Cotton in raised only to a small extent, and is planted chiefly on the
iplands. The lowlands aro very liable to ovrrflow, and an- tlu'n^fori' rarely planted. The natural growth of the upland is chiefly long-leaf
pine.

The soil is a coarse sandy loam of an orange-red color about an inch dee]). Tho lighter subsoil consists mostly of sand to considerable
depth. The soil is early, warm, easily tilled, and eijually well adapted to corn, potatoes, winter oats, and sugar-cane, which, with rice on
the lowlands, constitute the chief crops of tho region.

A very small proportion of cotton is planted, which grows to a height of 3 feet and produces 800 pounds of seed-cotton per acre of fresh
hod, 1,4:25 pounds making a 475-pound bale of lint. A fter the iirnt year ( w it hout manure ) the yield increases and the staple improYCS. Three-
fourths of such land, originally cultivated, now lies ' ' t urned out "^ and in four or five years it again produces very woll. White clovor is the
most tronbleaomo weed.

Slopes and vaUeys are damaged to a serious extent by the washing of the soil from the former down upon the latter, and where the
lovland is covered by the washings it is entirely mined. No efl'orts have been made to check tho damage.

Cotton is shipped in December by rail to State Line station at $2 2.j i)er bale.

343

142 COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

JAOKSOK

Population : 7,607.— White, 5,122 ; colored, 2,485,

Area : 1,140 square miles. — ^Long-leaf pine hills, 550 square miles } pine flats, 590 square miles.

Tilled lands: 4,195 acres. — ^Area planted in cotton, none; in corn, 138 acres; in oats, 5 acres.

Jackson county forms the southeastern comer of the state and fronts on the Gulf of Mexico ; it includes also a
number of sandy islands, of which Horn island is the largest and forms part of the outer reef of Mississippi sound.
The northern part of the county is rolling pine uplands with a pale-tinted sandy soil, mostly of very inferior
quality, especially where underlaid by impervious clay, which is frequently the case on the very summits of ridges
and plateaus, where bogs covered with sour grasses and rushes appear. The ridges flatten out to the southward, and
pass insensibly into a gently undulating or level country, sparsely timbered with stunted long;leaf pine and cypress,
forming an open, park-like landscape. This ^' pine-meadow" country extends to within a few miles of the sea-shore,
where it passes into the sand hummocks of the coast.

The soil of the pine-meadow country is scarcely flt for cultivation, and in its natural condition affords but
scanty pasturage, the only use to which thus tax it has been put. It is little else but a white sand or silt, which
at the depth of from 2 to 3 feet is underlaid by impervious gray clay; hence it remains walier-soaked until late in
the season, the drainage progressing slowly toward the flat, shallow channels of the streams, which carry clear,
coffee-colored water. The bottom lands of the larger streams, such as Black and Bed creeks, are almost too sandy
for cultivation, but they are sometimes bordered by ridge lands possessing a yellow sandy loam subsoil above the
impervious clay, and are thus rendered cultivable. Such lands extend, for example, along the south fork of
Bluff creek, and bear a fair though not heavy growth of long-leaf pine timber.

Few settlements exist in the country west of the Pascagoula river, save on the bluff immediately overlooking
its valley, the inhabitants, however, cultivating the valley lands almost exclusively. These are quite productive
(see analysis and discussion in the regional description, p. 63). The heavy, fertile bottom soil is, however, mostly
liable to overflow, and hence the lighter soil of the second bottom, 2 or 3 feet above the first, is chiefly cultivated.
No cotton, and but little corn, was grown in the county in 1879, and the tilled lands are reported as constituting
but 0.6 per cent, of the total area.

The chief industries of the county are the raising of cattle and sheep on the natural pastures, charcoal-burning,
and the cutting and sawing of lumber, with headquarters at Scranton (the county-seat) and East Pascagoula,
whence shipments are made by rail or schooner to New Orleans and Mobile. The logs are floated down the
Pascagoula and its tributaries m>m the pine lands of the interior.

The towns mentioned, as well as Ocean Springs and more or less the entire coast, are places of summer resort
for Mobile and New Orleans. The sandy coast belt, elevated usually from 18 to 25 feet above the beach and
timbered with live-oak and pitch pine, affords flue sites for residences, and sometimes, where shell-heaps exist or
have existed, there is a light but very fertile soil for gardens and small flelds (see in regional description ^^ shell
hummock soiF, p. 67). The small streams emptying into the sound are usually bordered by small marshes. The
coast is, however, exceedingly healthy.

HAEEISON.

Population: 7,895— White, 5,746 ; colored, 2,149.

Area : 1,000 square miles. — Long-leaf pine hills, 735 square miles ; pine flats, 265 square miles.

Tilled lands : 2,G49 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 26 acres ; in corn, 1,064 acres ; in oats, 142 acres.

Cotton production: 11 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.42 bale, 600 pounds seed-cotton, or 200 pounds
cotton lint.

Harrison, the middle one of the three counties bordering on the Gulf, is very similar to Jackson in its general
features; the northern part, a rolling pine hills country, being drained chiefly by Bed creek. It is very thinly
settled, and is occupied chiefly by stock-raisers and lumbermen. The southern part, drained by Wolf river and the
streams emptying into Biloxi bay, is largely of the pine-meadow character within from 7 to 12 miles of the coafit,
but lower ridges, possessing a moderately fertile yellow-loam subsoil, accompany most of the streams, and give rise
to some cultivation inland. The upper portion of the streams mentioned lies within the sandy rolling pine country,
the resort of the stock and lumbermen and charcoal-burners.

Mississippi City, Pass Christian, and otiier points on the coast, through which passes the New Orleans and
Mobile railroad, are well-known places of summer resort and points of shipment for lumber, charcoal, wool, stock,
and turpentine. Handsborough is a manufacturing town.

Only 0.4 per cent, of the area of Harrison county is reported as being under tillage ; the smallest proportion of
any county in the state. Only 18 acres were planted in cotton in 1879, producing 9 bales (probably of sea-island
cotton, 250 to 300 pounds to the bale), the soil cultivated being probably of the shell-hummock character. Low
ridges, possessing a yellow-loam subsoil, approach the sea-shore at several points, as, e. ^., near Pass Christian,
affording opportunity for cultivation.

HANCOCK.

Population: 6,460.— White. 4,643; colored, 1,817.

Area: 940 square miles.— Long-leaf pine hills, 610 square miles; pine flats, 330 square miles.

Tilled lands : 4,390 acres. — Area planted in com, 41 acres ; in oats, 29 acres.

TLe northern and greater part of Hancock county is a rolling, more rarely hilly, upland region, heavily timbered
with long-leaf pine, and traversed by numerous streams with narrow sandy valleys. On the east this rolling country
reaches the head of bay Saint Louis, while in the Pearl river country it terminates southward at the junction of
the eastern and western prongs of the Habolochitto. In this region there is little cultivation away from Pearl river
valley (Ihe river bottom, however, lies almost wholly on the Louisiana side), and lumbering, tar- and charcoaJ-
making, and stock-raising are the chief occupations of the inhabitants, settlements being very sparse. The soil

344

AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 143

of the pine country is light and of little pioductiTeneBS. but the yellow or reddish subsoil of light sandy loam
renders it quite capable of improvement by fertilizers. Within a few miles east of Pearl river, especially near the
smaller tributuy creeks, there is a gently undulating countary — a kind of high hummock or second bottom of Pearl
liver— where there is a large admixture of oaks among the pine, and the soil, though still very light, has a substantial
subsoil, fairlv productive, and settlements are more numerous.

South of the Habolochitto a level country extends to the coast. It corresponds in many respects to the pine-
meadow country farther east, and open meadow lands, with stunted pine growth as well as boggy spots, occur to
a greater or less extent throughout. The greater part of the area, however, is occupied by pine timbt^, though
less heavily than on the rolling lands, and the trees are rather lank in growth. The entire region appears to be
underlaid, usually at a depth of from 2 to 3 feet, but sometimes much nearer to and even at the surface, by the
same heavy gray clay which forms the pine glades of Jackson county. This clay and the overlying whitish, putty-
like subsoil is frequently brought up by the crawfish, which inhabit the lower lauds in great numbers. But the
soil is less sandy, more substantial, and better drained. Its best quality is found on the western heads of Mulatto
bayou, being there occupied chiefly by a growth of post, Spanish, water, and live oaks. The subsoil, a i>ale yellow
loam, is evidently well drained. The high hummock of Pearl river, northward from Pearlington to the Habolochitto,
averages about half a mile in width, and is timbered with large bottom pine, sweet gum, and fine water, willow,
and white oaks. It has a pale yellow loam subsoil (a good brick-clay), and is fairly productive.

Along the coast we find the bluff- bank, on the whole, less elevated than in Jackson and Harrison counties —
say from 10 to 15 feet — and not so much of the sand-hummock character, sometimes consisting of yellow loam or
bnck-ciay. A great abundance of shell heaps has largely transformed the sterile sandy soil into ^^ shell hummocks ^
(see regional description, p. 66), which occur scatteringly along the coast line, and along lower Mulatto bayou
extend some distance inland, forming a body of several hundred acres between the marsh and the pine woods.
Here before the war the sea-island or long-staple cotton was cultivated with considerable success ; but this industry
has not been resumed since, and no cotton is reported as having been grown in this county in 1879. The
cultivated lands of Hancock amount to 0.75 per cent, of its area, of which 41 acres were in com, producing 10
bucdiels per acre. Apart from the town of Shieldsborough, which is a favorite place of summer resort, the whole coast
of Hancock county is largely occupied by residences and smallei* places of resort, which are easily reached by rail
or steamer from New Orleans. The marsh at the mouth of Pearl river lies chiefly on the Louisiana side, forming
part of the great Pontchartrain marsh plain in the a^oining parishes of Saint Bernard and Saint Tammany ; but
it, as well as the smaller marshes bordering bay Saint Louis, does not appear to affect injuriously the health of
tiie region.

Communication with the interior is greatly facilitated throughout the level region by the deep canal-like
channels of the tide- water bayous, some of which are navigable for sloops and schooners nearly to their heads,
greatly to the surprise of the cross-country traveler, who finds no bridges and cannot ford the streams.

ABSTBAGT OF THE BEPOBT OF BEN. LANE POSEY, BAY SAINT LOUIS.

The aplandB confiist of gently undulating table-lands (the hills are few and small), occupying the northern half of the county and
extending to within 20 miles of the coast. The lowlands consist of bottoms and hummocks of Pearl and Jourdan rivers and of tide- water
marshes along the coast and streams. The mild sea-coast climate is favorable to the production of the sea-island or long-staple cotton.
In 1860, 80 bales of it were produced in this county, but since the war no cotton of any kind has been raised. Sea-island cotton might be
raised with profit ; so might rice and sugar, the production of which is smaU, but annually increasing. The soil is poor, but the elements
of fertility are abundant, and it costs only care and labor to utilize them.

The industry and small capital are devoted to the preferred pursuits of rearing cattle and sheep and in producing lumber, wood,
charcoal, and turpentine, and some are engaged in the coast fisheries and small coastwise commerce.

The lowland and richest soil of this region is a fine Hack alluvial mud or muck of the tide-water marshes, frequently overflowed, and
well adapted to rice culture. Its natural growth is live and water oaks, cypress, hickory, cedar, magnolia, and bay ; a few small prairies
occur on it.

The iecand quality of soil occurs on the low fiat lands in the southern half of the county, and occupies one-third its area. It is a whitish-
gray, fine sandy soU, 2^ feet thick, and rests on pipe-clay which makes good brick. Its tillage is always easy. The natural growth is
'pine, cedar, oaks, hickory, cypress, magnolia, and bay. The remaining kind of soil covers the uplands of the north half of the county,
and extends 50 miles north, 100 east, and 30 west. Its growth is pine exclusively. The soil is light, varies from fine to coarse sandy, is
gray, and 3 feet thick; the subsoil is a leachy red clay. The soil is early, warm, well drained, and easily tilled. One-tenth of such
originally cultivated soil lies " turned out''; it produces but poorly until fertilized.

The soil on cultivated or ** turned out" slopes washes and gullies readily, but the damage to slopes or adjoining lower lands is not
serious, and no efibrts have been made to check it. This soil is well adapted to sea-island cotton, sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, small fruits,
and vegetables generally. Some cotton is raised for domestic use, but not a bale in the county is raised for export. The soil is poor, and
especially deficient in lime, but sea-shells and other natural fertilizers in abundance are near at hand.

845

P^RT III.

CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DETAILS

COTTON PRODUCTION.

145
347

BEFEBBNOE LIST

NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF CORRESPONDENTS.

c
c

I
I

NORTHEASTERN PRAIRIE REGION. ^ !

AUwm.—W. L. Williams, Rienzi, December 19, 1879; J. M. Taylor, M. D., Corinth, October 27, 1680. ^' !:

PrenU88,—B. B. Boons, BooneyiUe, January 25, 1880. >

Tippah,-^. A. KiMBROUOH, Ripley, January 8, 1880.

Xee.— H. L. Holland, Gontown, March 16, 1880.

Pontotoc— "R. C. Callaway, Algoma, March 1880. ^

Loumdea.'-jAMK6 O. Banks, Colombos, March 18, 1880; R. W. Banks, Cobb's Switch, March 16, 1880. (

Noxubee,— F, R. W. Bock, Macon, January 25, 1880.

SHORT-LEAF PINE AND OAK UPLANDS REGION.

Ti8homingo,—J, M. D. Miller, luka, December 22, 1879.

Choctaw,— R, H. Bigges, Chester, Febmary 28, 1880.

Wintton.—W. T. Lewis, Louisville.

Attala.— A, TuR, French Camp, January 24, 1880.

Leake.— J. D. Eads, Carthage, March 26, 1880; T. C. Spenosr, Laurel HilL

Kemper,— J, A. Minniece, Scooba, February 3, 1880.

BROWN-LOAM TABLE-LANDS.

Benton.— U. T. Lipford, Ashland, February 27, 1880.

Mar$haU.—T. B. Shxtford, Holly Springs, February 24, 1880 ; A. J. Withers, Holly Springs, January 4, 1880.

De 8oto.—T. C. Dockery, Loto Station, March 24, 1880.

Panola.— D. B. Stewart, Courtland, April 28, 1880.

La Fayette.— S. W. E. Pegues, Oxford, March 10, 1880; Ira B. Orr, Water Valley, April 1, 1880; S. E. Ragland, De Lay, May 1

P. H. Skipwith, Oxford, March 6, 1880; P. Fernandez, Oxford, March 8, 1880.
Grenada.— M. E. Mister, Grenada, February 5, 1880; J. D. Lb Flore, Grenada, April 1, 1880.
^oIm««.— Charles C. Thornton, M. D., Chew's Landing, February 1, 1880; J. W. 0. Smith, Benton.

CANE-HILLS REGION.
Warren. — L. Wailes, Vicksburg, March 10, 1880.
Claihome.—Q. P. McLean, Rocky Springs, March 10, 1880,
Jefferson.— J. W. Burch, Fayette, January 12, 1880.
Wilkinson.— D. L. Phares, M. D., Woodville.

MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL REGION.

Le Flore. — John A. Avent, Greenwood, March 1, 1880.
Bolivar.— Q. W. Wise, Concordia, March 8, 1880.
Yazoo. — J. W. C. Smith, Benton, January 2, 1880.
8harkey.—T. F. Scott, Rolling Fork, December 30, 1879.
Issaquena. — ^W. E. Collins, Mayersvillc, July 3, 1880.

CENTRAL PRAIRIE REGION.
Hinds.— B. 0. Dixon, Jackson, March 31, 1880.
Rankin. — E. Jack, Brandon, March, 1880.
8oott.—W. T. Robertson, Forest, January 10, 1880.
Ja»per.—Q. G. Loughridge, M. D., GarlandsYille.
Clarilw.— John A. Bass, C. W. Moody, J. E. Welborn, Shubuta, April 20, 1880; W. Spillman, M. D., Enterprise, February 4, 186

LONG-LEAF PINE REGION.

Lauderdale.— J. J. Shannon, Meridian, February 21, 1880.

Qreene. — J. H. McClean, Adamsville, January 27, 1880.

Hancock.— Bmi. Lane Posey, Bay Saint Louis, June 16, I860.

Covington.— C. Welch, Station Creek, March 11, 1880.

Simpson, — J. C. McLaurin, Mouut Ziou, March 5, 1880.

Smith.— A. S. Baugh, Polkville, January 1, 1880.

P%ke.—W. W. Vaught, Magnolia, March 15, 1880.

Amite.— J. R. Galtney, Liberty, April 8, 1880 ; George F. Webb, Liberty, January 2, 1880.

146

348

148

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

5. Is rotation of crops practiced t If so, of how many years' course, in what order of crops, and with what
results t

Northeastern prairie region: To a limited extent only in
the counties, and nsnally of three yean' oonrse with cotton,
com, and oats or pease. Alcorn : Botation is indispensable
with either com or cotton to insure good crops.

Yellow-loam region : It is practiced in seven counties, and very
little or not at all in the rest. No regular order is observed,
except that cotton never follows immediately after com ; the
course is usually three or four years with cotton, com, and
small grain. Tagoo: Each change results well ; pease especially
leave the soil much better. Leake: Cotton is often planted
for five consecutive, years on the same land; so is com on the
bottoms and reed-brakes. Results of rotation are good.
Benton: Yields invariably decline without manuring.

Mississippi bottom and cane-hills regions: In Bolivar cotton
only has been planted for the last forty years. In other

counties rotation is practiced to some extent with cotton and
com, and sometimes sweet potatoes and oats, and with good
results; and in Issaquena, material improvement both to soil
and crop. Fresh land will produce fine crops of cotton for
several years without change.

Central prairie region : To some extent in this region com and
small grain or sweet potatoes usually following cotton.
Hinds : Besult is an exhaustion of the vegetable matter and
consequent washing and gullying of the soiL Sooii : Without
rotation the soil would soon fail to produce any other crop.

Long-leaf pine region: Yes, in Covington, Pike, and Amite, and
to some extent in other counties. In Pike and Amite the
order is cotton, com, oats, etc. In some counties cotton and
com alternate, while in others sweet potatoes are also brought
in. Results are said to be good.

6. What fertilizers or other direct means of improving the soil are nsed in yonr region t Is green manuring
practiced t With what resolts in either case t

Northeastern prairie region: No commercial fertilizers are
used in the region. Composts of stable manure and cotton-
seed are often applied to lands with good results, increasing
the yields one-fourth. Green manuring is practiced by but
very few farmers ; cow-pease, weeds, and stubble turned under
produce good results. In Alcorn, pease are generally planted
with com at second plowing for pasturage when the crop is
gathered.

Yellow-loam region : Commercial fertilizers are scarcely used in
the region; composts of stable manure, cotton-seed, etc.,
used only by small planters in some of the counties. Wineion:
Cotton-seed renders the least and bone-dust the most perma-
nent improvement to the soil. De Soto: Cotton-seed almost
doubles the grain crops. La Fayette : With barnyard manure
and cotton-seed crops may be doubled, except in very dry
seasons. Tazoo : Barnyard manure increases the yields one-
fourth. Green manuring is practiced in some of the counties
with good results and improvement of the soil. Marahall : It
is regarded as the best and cheapest means of restoring fer-
tility to the soil on the large scale. Yagoo : Cow-pease are
best, as they grow luxuriantly on the poorest soil and increase
crops from 3 to 6 per cent. The large planters only turn un-
der dry weeds, grass, etc.

Mississippi bottom : Neither fertilizing or green manuriisg are
generally practiced In the region. Sharkey : Some apply cot-
ton-seed to com land, and thus increase the yields 30 to 50 per
cent. Grenada : Cotton-seed is put into the center furrow if

sound, or spread broadcast if rotted ; its good results may be
observed for several years. In Holmes county green manur-
ing has been tried on very stiff lands and found to be satis-
factory.

Cane-hills region: Both fertilizing and green manuring are
practiced to some extent ; cotton-seed and stable manure are
used either alone or with leaves, straw, etc., in compost, and
in Je^erson county double the crop. In Wilkinson the com
crop is sometimes increased 50 per cent, by green manuring.

Central prairie region: Some commercial fertilizers are used
in some of the count^s, but composts of cotton-seed, barn-
yard manure, etc., are most common. Scott: Sandy soila
cannot be made to produce without these. Clarke: They pay
well on these lands. Jasper: They add 300 pounds of seed-
cotton to the yield per acre.* BankUm : A crop of cow-pease
will improve the soil, even if the pease are gathered and the
vines eaten by stock.

Long-leaf pine region : Very little commercial fertilizers is used
in the region. Composts of cotton-seed, stable manure,,
with sometimes swamp muck, ashes, etc., are applied to lands
with excellent results. Hancock and Simpson alone report
the use of pine straw with manure and leaves. SUmpeon : The
general practice is to keep the floors of stock-yards and sta-
bles covered with pine straw and remove it every two months;
this makes a good fertilizer. Green manuring is but little
practiced in any of the counties.

7. How is cotton-seed disposed oft If sold, on what terms or at what price t

Northeastern prairie region: It is largely fed to cows and sheep
in most of the counties, and in all of the counties is used
more or less as a fertilizer. Its price is usually from 8 to 10
cents per bushel ; in Lowndes, Alcorn, and Prentiss some is
sold to oil-mills at from 10 to 15 cents (or|6 per ton), delivered
at railroad stations, or exchanged at the rate of one ton of seed
for 700 pounds of seed-cake meal.

Yellow-loam region : It is fed to stock or used as manure in most
of the counties. The usual price is from 8 to 10 cents, and in
but few of the counties it is sold to oil-mills.

Mississippi bottom : It is seldom returned to the soil, but mostly
sold to oil-mills, delivered at the river landings at from $4 50
to |7 per ton. In Sharkey it is chiefly burned in plantation

furnaces. Iseaquena: Before a combination was effected
between oil-mill companies the price was |15 per ton.

Cane-hills region : It is partly fed to cattle, partly retumed to
the soil in Jefierson and Wilkinson, partly wasted in Clai-
borne, or sold at the river stations or factory at from |2 to |5
per ton.

Central prairie region : It is used as feed for cattle and as
manure in all of the region ; where convenient for shipment
in Hinds and Clarke, it is mostly sold to oil-mills at from 8
or 10 cents per bushel.

Long-leaf pine region : It is fed to stock or used as manure in aU
of the region, but little going out of its county. Its price, when
sold, is from 10 to 15 cents per bushel.

8. Is cotton-seed cake nsed for feed T Is it used for manure t

Northeastern prairie region : Very little is used in the region
either for feed or manure ; in the former case it is always
mixed with other food, as cattle do not like it alone.

Yellow- LOAM region : In seven counties it is not used at all for
either food or manure. In other counties it is used to a slight
extent for both purposes. Grenada : Some is used as stock
feed, is valuable as such, and is much wanted ; some is used
350

as manure, generally alone, and when properly applied is very
effective.

Mississippi bottom : But two counties in this region report its use
either as food or as manure.

Cane-hills region : Not used in Warren and Claibome. In Jef-
ferson a little is fed to milch cows, and it is comiug into use
as a manure for cotton and com. In Wilkinson a little is fed

CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DETAILS.

149

to stock, and it is used rarely as manure alone or mixed with
stable manure and phosphates for cotton and com.

CxiiTRAL PRAIRIE REGION: Not at all in three oountiesi and but
little in the others either as food or as manure.

LiONO-LBAF PINE REOiON: Not in Simpsou, CoTington, and Han-

cock; in the others both as manure and as food for stock
to some extent. In Amite, when cheap or when damaged, it
is used as food for cows and sheep, for which it is highly
approYcd.

counties, Noxubee reports from 1^ to 2 feet, while in all the
rest the distances are from 3 to 4 feet on the sandy lands and
from, 4 to 5 feet on the richer ; in Wilkinson and Warren, from
5 to 7 feet on the rich and fresh lands.

Fayette on the north, and from the 10th to the 15th of April
in other of the northern counties. Planting time closes in the
state about the middle of May. In the Mississippi bottom the
time is from the Ist the 10th of April, the season closing as late
as May 31 in Boliyar.

twice each ; these comprise the Baggarly, Brock, Callahan,
Edwards, Browns, Gk>lden Prolific, Magnolia, Java, Chambers
South American, Chaplin, etc. In Hancock county the sea-
island or long-staple cotton is planted. Grenada^ La Fayette,
Sharkey : Dixon for quantity, and Peeler for fine staple.
Wilkinson : Dixon prolific for poor soil, and Chambers South
American for rich soils.

is the minifaium given in nearly all of the counties.

PLAHTINQ AHD CULTIVATIOH OF COTTON.

9. What preparation is osaally given to cotton land before bedding up t

Throughout the state no other preparation is given to the land other plowing is not done in very many of the counties. Stubble

than knocking down (sometimes bumiug) and plowkig under land, when intended for planting, is usuaUy plowed in the

the cotton stalks of the previous year, though this spring fall season.

10. Do yon plant in ridges, and how far apart t

It is almost the universal practice throughout the state to plant
in ridges. In the bottom lands of the Mississippi river the
distance between rows is from 4 to 5 feet, though Issaquena
and Sharkey report as much as 6 and 7 feet. In the upland

11. What is the usual planting time 1

The earliest date given is March 20, in Claiborne and Jefferson
counties, of the cane-hills region (southwestern part of the
state) ; March 25 in Warren and Lowndes, lying respectively
in the western and eastern center of the state. In all other
upland counties the earliest dates given are the 1st of April
in the southern and middle counties, with Tippah and La

12. What variety of cotton is preferred t

Of the many short staple varieties named often two and more from
a single county. The Dixon is more generally reported
throughout the state, or from three counties in each region,
except the yeUow loam, in which it is mentioned once. The
Peeler variety comes next from nine counties, the Petit Qulf
from eight counties, the Herlong from five, Boyd's Prolific
from four, Cheatham two, and the other varieties once or

13. How much seed is used per acre t

Twenty-eight counties report from 1 to 3 bushels per acre, while in
the rest from 1 to 5, 6, and 10 bushels are given. One bushel

14. What implements are used in planting t

In all of the regions a narrow instrument or plow, either a driU or
bull-tongue, is used to open the furrow. The seed is then

15. Are cotton-seed planters used t What opinion

NOBTHSASTERN PRAIRIE REGION: They are used in the northern
counties, and approved; in Noxubee and Kemper the old
method of planting is preferred.

Yellow-loam reoion : Not used in Tishomingo, but in other coun-
ties are considered efficient and satisfiEtctory so far as tried;
in La Fayetto said to be ''not worth their cost'^

Mississippi bottom : They are used to a greater or less extent in
the region, but are considered unnecessary in Bolivar, and are
not popular in Le Flore. In Issaquena " they are held in high
esteem as a labor-saving implement, and one by which crops
can be more cheaply and evenly tilled ; but here our lands are
tenanted by a class who adhere strictly to the old idea gen-
erated during slavery, and which will never be eradicated ;
hence cotton and com planters are never used on our planta-
tions ".

16. How long usually before the seed comes up T

The least time given is three days in the yellow-loam region, four
in the Mississippi bottom, cane-hills, and long-leaf pine
regions, and five in the central and northeastern prairies. In
some of the counties ten days is given as the least time.
Unfavorable circumstances, such as depth to which the seed
has been planted, the temperature and moisture of the soil,
etc., may lengthen the time to an unusual extreme, reported
as ten days in the cane-hills, fifteen in the central and north-
eastern prairie regions, twenty days in the yellow-loam and

usually dropped by hand and oovered with a harrow or by
means of a block or board attached to a shovel-plow stock.

is held of their efficacy or conveniency T

Cane-hilus region : Not in Warren and Claiborne, " because they
require better preparation of the soil and more labor, for
which there is no compensation ; and the negroes wiU not use
improvements." In other counties they are used, but not ex-
tensively. Wilkinson : '' They do better work and save half
the labor of the old way.''

Central pbaibie region : They are not used in Clarke ; in Jasper
some are found to be advantageous ; in Scott are the only
means of planting regularly ; in Hinds they are a convenience,
though fajnners sometimes fail to get a ''stand'' with them,
while in Rankin most farmers reject them.

Long-leaf pine region : They are used in Lauderdale and a little
in Pike, where they do well on land freshly plowed and clear
of rubbish. In other counties they are not much used or liked.

long-leaf pine regions, and twenty-eight in the Mississippi bot-
tom. An average of all the reports in each region would give
the probable usual time as seven days for the cane-hills region,
eight days for the central and northeastern prairie regions,
nine for the long-leaf pine, ten for the yellow-loam region, and
eleven days for the Mississippi bottom. Holmes : If seed ia
planted by machine, and, therefore, at uniform depths, the
''stand" is all up in from seven to ten days; otherwise, it

takes from fourteen to twenty-eight days to get a "stand".

351

150

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

17. At what stage of growth do you thin out the stand,

Throagboat the state the practice is general to thin out the plants
when they are from 6 to 10 inches high, at which time they
are two or more weeks old and haTe put out three or four
leaves. They are then chopped out with a hoe, leaving one
or two plants at distances of from 8 to 12 inches, except on

18. Is the cotton liable to suffer from << sore shin " t

and how ftur apart t

the very rich lands, where as much as 18 or 20 inches space
is given. In Issaquena county the thinning is postponed till
all danger of firost is past. Leake: Thinning should not be
completed before May 15. BenUm : In cold, backward sea-
sons it is well to leave several plants in a hill for a whfle.

Not at all in thre^ counties ; to a greater or less extent in the rest
of the state, and mostly during cool, wet spring weather, or
when bruised in hoeing. Holmes : It is caused by bruising
the plant with the hoe, and by allowing it to stand too long

19. What after-cultivation do you give, and with what implements t

after scraping and hoeing before throwing the soil back to it,
thus permitting the soil to dry and contract around the plant,
so as to interfere with circulation of moisture and air.

Northeastern prairie and flatwoods region: Tippah and
Alwm: Usually two shallow plowings are given with broad
shovel plows and rows kept clean with hoes. Kemper: Sweeps
and hoes are used constantly until August 1 ; crab-grass is not
troublesome later. Prenim : After scraping and thinning to a
stand, solid sweeps and cultivators are run through as often
as once in fifteen days. Lee : Scrape or harrow, hoe and thin
out, and run through with a 20-inch cultivator about every
ten days till July 15 to 30. Lowndes : Deep plowing whUe
the plants are small ; after thinning out, the sweep is run 1
to li inches deep ; when there is rather much rain and crab-
grass the turn plow is used.

TsLLOW-LOAM REGION: De Soto and Panola: First use the turn
plow or scraper, afterward the shovel plow or cultivator.
Tishomingo : Bar off, throw dirt back to the row with the bull-
tongue plow, and afterward use light sweeps. Benton : Bar
off or scrape, then use an 8-inch, next a 12-inch, and finally
a 16-inch shovel plow ; some use large shovels or sweeps
exclusively. Marshall : Usually scrape, sometimes bar off with
turn plow or harrow with side harrows; after this the crop
is plowed successively with larger shovels or sweeps, throw-
ing the soil about the plants ; the middles are sometimes
turned out with the turn plow. La Fayette : Bar off or scrape,
thin to a stand and hoe, throw dirt to the plants with a shovel
plow, then use a larger shovel plow, and at.the same time an
18-inch sweep for the middles ; finally throw dirt to the row
successively with 16- and 18- or 20-inch sweeps or cultivators,
or in wet seasons with turn plows. Weeds are chopped out
with hoes three times. Winston : Bar off,g enerally with the
scraper, sometimes with turn plow ; next thin to a stand, hill
up with shovel or turn plow, then cultivate as com ; harrows
and sweeps are used by some. Tagoo : Scrape, hoe to a stand,
hill up, and plow the middles ; if the soil was at first well
broken, cultivation is shaUow ; otherwise, it is deep, and the
turning plow is used for the purpose. Leake : After barring
off, the crop is generally hoed, then, until late in summer ; two
er three hoeings and as many plowings are given with large
sweeps.

BiiBSissiPPi BOTTOM : 2. Crrenoda : Scrape out and then use shovel
plows and sweeps. Le Flore: (Generally bar off, run scrapers
and 18- or 20-inoh sweeps, respectively. Sharks : The ma-
jority give shaUow cultivation with sweeps; some plow deep.

and such are always in debt. Issaquena: Bar off, hoe to a
stand, throw dirt to the row, then cultivate with plow, and
sweep till the crop is laid by. Holmes : After scraping and
hoeing the crop the soil should, if possible, be thrown back
and well up around the plant the same day by a sweep,
shovel, or turn plow, so as to lap in the drill from both sides.
Correspondent always observes this, and his cotton never dies
out, nor has the '^sore-shin'', except when the plants are
barked or bruised by hoes, or Suddenly bent at right angles
against the baked crust of the bed.

Canb-uills region: Jefferson: The plow, harrow, and all sorts of
cultivators are used. Wilkinson : The crop is sometimes har-
rowed ; various hoeings and plowings are given and repeated,
as required; cultivation must vary with soil and season.
Warren : Two thorough plowings and hoeings ; three are bet-
ter for the^crop. Claihome : After thinning out, the soil is
twice molded up to the row with sweeps and the middles
are broken out with plows, and the crop is hoed as often.

Central prairie region: Smith and Soott: Cultivating is done
chiefly with steel sweeps, but may be done almost whoUy
with plows. Bankin : Bar off with turn plow or scraper ; next
use sweeps and hoe about twice. Hinds: Scrape, hoe, plow
the soil to the row, plow the middles again thoroughly, after
which plow and hoe when necessary. 1. Clarke: Bar off, hoe
to a stand, throw soil gently back to the row with a small sweep ,
and continue by cultivating the crop every ten to fifteen days
until it is laid by.

Long-leaf pine region : Greene : Bar off, thin to a stand, then plow
with solid sweeps. Pike : Bar off and scrape, throw soil to the
row, plow and hoe, then run through once or twice with
sweep, side harrow, or cultivator. Simpson : After thinning
out and throwing soil to the row with a half shovel the crop
is cultivated with sweeps about three times. Cknfington : Bun
a furrow on each side of the row with the scooter, next use
a half shovel, and when the crop is too large for close plow-
tug use sweeps. Lauderdale and 2. Clarke: Three or four
plowings and two or three hoeings are generally necessary to
produce a crop ; the sweep or wide shovel is used almost ex-
clusively ; the crop is often iigured by plowing. Amite: Bar
off with a turn plow or scrape, thin to a double stand, throw
soil to the row. thin to stand, break out middles with a turn
plow, then use sweeps until the crop is laid by.

20. What is the height usually attained by cotton before blooming t

Northeastern prairie region : 24 to 36 inches in Alcorn, Tippah,
and Kemper ; 12 to 18 inches in the other counties.

Yellow- LOAM region : 24 to 30 inches in six counties ; 12 to 20 inches
in the others.

Mississippi bottom : 12 in Issaquena, 15 to 20 in Sharkey, and 30 to
36 in other counties.

21. When do you usually see the first blooms T

May 20 in Pontotoc county; from the 1st to the 10th of June in the
sane-hills region, and in Holmes, Bolivar,^and Issaquena
counties, and se\«ral counties of the long-leaf pine region.

22. When do the bolls first opent

From six to eight weeks after blooming. About the last of July in
nve counties of the yellow-loam region, and in Noxubee and
Jasper couuties. From the 1st to the middle of August in
four counties of the northeastern prairie region, five of the
352

Cane-hills region : Jefferson, 18 inches ; 24 to 36 inches in the rest.
Central prairie region: Scott, 24 to 36 inches; in the other

counties, 12 to 18 inches.
Long-leaf pine region: 24 inches in Lauderdale and Pike ; 12 to

18 inches in other counties.

In the rest of the state the time yaries from the middle of
June to the 10th of July.

yellow-loam region, four in Mississippi bottom, three of the
cane-hills region, and three of the long-leaf pine region. In
ether counties the latest time given is October 1, in Alcorn
county.

CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DETAILS.

151

23. When do you begin your first picking t

About Angust 15 iu Noxubee, Greuada, Le Flore, Jaaper, aud Clarke ;
August 25 in Lowndem Kciu)>cr,De Soto, Panola, Yasoo, Shar-
k«'j, Issaquena, and Jeffen«on. Of the other counties, nineteen

24. How many pickings do you usually make, and wbent

report September 1, eight September 15, and the rest fh>m
that time to Oetober 16, Alcorn and Lee glying the latest datea.

KORTHEASTKKK PRAIBIR REGION : Three pickings usually iu October,
Novt'iiiber, u iid December. Lawndea : Farmers strive to gather
us t'.st us the cottou is ready, beginning when 25 or 30 pounds
pir liaiiil cuu be picked, and ending when the winter rains
begiu.

Yellow- LOAM region: Three pickings usually; a light one in
September, s«*(o:id and chief one in October, and often only
gloauings iu November and December.

Mississippi bottom ani> cans-bills regions : Usually three or
four. Holmes: The iiist, in August and September, rarely
amuuut to 200 pounds per acre; the chief pickings are in
October, November, and December.

Central prairie region : Three pickings as rapidly as possible,

25. Do you ordinarily pick all your cotton t

It is very generally all gathered throughout the state, excepting of
course that lost by bad weather and live-stock. Bolme$:
Sometimes when the price is low it does not pay to glean the
fields. Lee : Owing to indolence, some cotton is not gathered.

26. At what date does picking usually close t

The lost of November in Noxubee, Winston, and Pike ; in December
in twenty-nine counties, comprising the cane-hiUs, central
prairie, long-leaf pine, and most of the yellow-loam regions;

27. At what time do you expect the first black frost t

The earliest date is from the 20th to the 30th of September in
Prentiss and Tippah counties. October 1 to 15 in eight
counties, viz, Alcorn, Pontotoc, De Soto, Choctaw, Winston,

nsoaUy in September, October, and Noyember. Hinds: Aa
many as possible with the force at command; the sooner
cotton is picked the cleaner and better the staple and the less
the waste in the field or at the gin. Clarke : The top crop ia
never aU open until a killing ftost, after which picking soon
ends.
Long-leaf pine region : Three pickmgs usually as fast as cotton •
opens sufficiently to admit of a fair day's gathering. AmiU :
First when one or two bolls per plant are open, second when
most of them are open, and third when all are open ; but Iha
number and times depend upon the jrield, weather, and th»
picking force employed. Picking is continuous and as rapid
as possible.

Winston : Some farmers, however, have been obserred to plow
their stalks under with cotton on them, haying fiftiled to pick
it in time for plowing the next crop.

in January and later in the other counties ; the latest date la
that of March 31, in Sharkey county.

Claiborne, Clarke, and Amite. From the 15th to the 30th of
October in twenty-two counties, while in other counties it ia
expected from the first to the last of November.

28. Do you pen your seed-cotton in the field, or gin as picking progresses T

Both are practiced in all of the counties. On the small upland
farms it is usually customary to pen in the field near the
tenants' houses until enough is gathered to Justify ginning.
If there is a gin on the plautation, it is usually run as picking
progresses. Clarke and Amite : The larger farmers gin as they
pick; others generally house their cotton for safe-keeping
and finish picking before they gin. Private gins have been
superseded by neighborhood gins in Amite county. On the

bottom lands " it is impossible to gin as fast as it is picked;
it is therefore penned and afterward hauled to the gin ". In
Holmes it is generaUy kept near the tenants' dwellings in
houses or pens, or sometimes left iu heaps in the field exposed
to rains and storms. Issaquena: House it at each tenant's
cotton-house ; never pen it in the field, as the handling would
be double.

ammra, bauhq, ahd smppiHa.

29. What gin do you use t How many saws, and what motive-power T How much clean lint do you make in
a day's run of ten hours T

There are fourteen difierent gins mentioned in the state, one county

often reporting the use of two or more patents, whUe others

simply state that several are used.
Pratt's gin is mentioned by sixteen counties; QuUett's by

thirteen counties; Brown's by five counties; Carver's by

four counties; the Eagle gin by three counties. The

following are each mentioned once : Atwood, Hurt, Manuel,

Cunuingham, Eclipse, Emery, Dubois, and Avery. Their

ginning capacity in ten hours' run may be summed up from

the different reports as follows:
Pratt's gin : 60 saws, run by steam-power, 3,500 to 5,000 pounds of

lint ; by mules, 2,000 pounds; 50 saws, by mules, 1,500 to 1,600

pounds, and by water 2,000 pounds; 45 saws, by steam, 2,000

pounds of lint.
Gullett's giu: 60 saws, by steam, from 2,500 to 3,500 pounds; by

mules, 2,000 pounds ; r.O saws, by steam, 1,750 pounds ; 45 saws,

by mules, 1,000 to 1,200 pounds.
Brown's giu : 80 saws, by steam, 5,000 pounds; 50 saws, by steam,

2,500 to 3,000 pounds; 45 saws, by mules, 1,000 to 1,500 pounds.

30. Wh«it mechanical '* power'' arrangement is piseferred when horses or mules are used f

l^ppah county : Schofield's. Xoxubee : Peacock's iron *^ horse-power" with horizontal lever, to each end of which a team is hitched,

from Selma, Alabama. Lauderdale and Sharkqf: The Faust In many other counties the old-style power is preferred, th»

Deering power of Louisville, Kentucky. Benton : Tbu 12-foot old wooden screw, with two molesand oneor two men, turning

cogwheel and tread wheel. Marshall: Segment and pinion out 8 bales {)erday; the old style compress with eight men

power; an &-foot band wheel and 10- or 12* foot master wheel, and two mules, making from 20 to 25 boles.
23 P

Carver's gin : 75 saws, by steam, 4,000 to 4,500 pounds.

Eagle gin: 60 saws, by mules, 1,400 pounds; 40 saws, by mules^
1,000 pounds.

Atwood gin : 50 saws, by mules, 900 pounds of lint {Amiie).

Hurt gin : 50 saws, by mnles, 1,275 pounds of lint {La Fagette),

Eclipse gin : 70 saws, by steam, 3,500 i>ounds of lint (BoUpar).

Dubois gin : 50 saws, by mules, 1,:)00 pounds of lint (ERnds).

The capacity of other gins are not given.

** With a giu of 160 saws 8,000 pounds of lint are made in a run of
ten hours with a steam-engine of 20 to 40 horse-power ''
(Sharkey). ''The steam-engine is far more economical than
mule |>ower even for a small planter; it is less ex}>enBive in
every particular; the risk of fire is less than that of the
mortality of stock" (Holmes). ''Steam-eugincs would ho
preferred if they were not so <*xi)cusive ; the county is weU
supplied with water-power, but has not the capital to utilisa
it" {Leake).

^53

152

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

31. How mauy pounds of seed-cotton, on an average, is required for a 475-pound bale of lintt

Claiborne: 1,300 to 1,665, according to kind of seed. Prentiss, Lee, to 1,545. Tippah, Bentany Tishomingo, Sharkejf, and Canngtom:

De Soto, Winston, Attala, Jefferson, BanUn, Scott, and Pike: 1,545. Lowndes: 1,545 to 1,600. Kemper: 1,545 to 1,665.

1,42.5. Leake&mlGrcnada: 1,425 to l,b4&. Pontotoc, La Fayette, Choctaw, Warren, and Simpson: 1,660. Marshdllj Tazoo,

and Amite: 1,425 to 1,600. Clarice: 1,425 to 1,665. Smith: Holmes, and Issaquena: 1,665. Alccm, Panola, 2> Flore,

1,455. Will-inson, Hinds, and Jasper: 1, 48S, Landerdale: 1,485 Bolivar, snifi Greene : 1,780, Noxubee: 1,900,

32. What press is generally used in your region, and what is its capacity per day ?

Tliere are eighteen different presaes mentioned among the connties Panl Pitman's press from 3 counties ; with fonr men and one mnle,

as being in use, and very often several patents are fonnd in
one coanty.

Brooks' press is mentioned in eight connties. Its capacity, with
six men and one mnle, is 25 bales per day ; with foor men and
one mnle, 12 bales, or as fast as ginned. '' It will press in one
day all that two80-saw stands can gin in a week" {Issaquena).

Bcofield's iron-screw press from 3 counties; with two men and one
male a day's ginning can be baled.

Paul Williams' press from 3 connties ; with one mnle, 10 bales.

20 bales.

Southern standard ; with fonr men and one mole, 10 to 80 bales.

Way's hand-lever press ; with six men, 15 bales.

Lewis' press, by hand, 12 bales.

The following is a list of the other prepses named, and their capacity
is about that of those already given : ProYOst, Wright's,
Chnrchill's, Reynold's, Simmonds, Wilson's, Shaw's, Kn-Klnz,
Newel's, Grasshopper, and Nesbit's. They are mentioned but
once or twice each among all the connties.

33. Do yon use rope or iron ties for baling f If the latter, what fastening do you prefer t

Iron ties are nsed exclusively throughout the state. The arrow Among the other counties, the Wallia, button, Harper, and

fastening is preferred in 21 counties ; the buckle in 10 counties. Boot fastenings are mentioned.

34. What kind of bagging is used in your region f

Chiefly jute in 16 connties ; chiefly hemp in 9 counties; while in the rest both are given without choice.

35. What weight do you aim to give your bales? Have transportation companies imposed any conditioiism
this respect f

Farmers in Claiborne and Wilkinson aim to make the weight of bales
400 pounds ; in Holmes, 400 to 500 pounds ; 450 pounds in 8
counties ; 500 pounds in 24 counties, and 600 pounds in Sharkey.

The freight charges are usuaUy by the bale, regardless of weight,
except, perhaps, to the eastern and northern cities. The bales
are required to be well covered. Amite: A bale under 300
pounds' weight is not considered merchantable, the freight
being by bale. In a number of connties buyers deduct $1

ftom the price of bales under 400 pounds' weight. Holmet:
Tran8i>ortation companies usually agree to dehver a 450-
pound bale at contract prices, and frequently specify that
they will charge for each additional 100 pounds, but rarely
do so on boats. Taking advantage of this, merchants urge
producers to make bales of 500 and 600 pounds. Insurance
companies specify and hold themselves accountable only for
450-pound bales.

DISEASES, INSECT ENEMIES, ETC.

36. By what accidents of weather, diseases, or insect pests is your cotton crop most liable to be injured 1
At what dates do these several pests or diseases usually make their appearance! To what cause is the trouble
attributed by your farmers f

Northeastern prairie region : The caterpillar appears in Lowndes
county in July, in Lee in September, and in Kemper and
Noxubee. The boll- worm appears in August and September
in most of the counties. Shedding and rust also do much
damage when dry weather follows an excessively wet season.
Boll-rot and blight are reported only in Noxubee, Lee,
Lowndes, and Pontotoc counties, and are supposed to be due
to wet weather. Aphides are reported in Lowndes and Tippah
in June on isolated spots, and are attributed to cold nights.

Ybllow-loam region: The caterpillar appears in Marshall,
Choctaw, Yazoo, and Leake, and sometimes in De Soto, Panola,
Attala, and La Fayette, ** though rarely, and has not hurt this
region in twelve years." The boll-worm occurs in most of the
counties in July or Angust, while boll-rot, rust, and shedding
also do much damage, and is attributed to weather extremes,
eit her wet or dry. Blight is reported in seven of the counties,
though rarely in most of these.

M1B8I86IPPI BOTTOM : The caterpillar appears in Grena<la in Angust,
in Holmes in September and October, and in Sharkey and
Issaquena. The boll-worm appears throughout the region,
and usually a mouth earlier. Boll-rot occurs to some extent,
and in Bolivar is attributed to the overgrowth of tho plant.
Blight iu June, rust in July ami August, aud shedding in July
to September also occur to some extent, and are usually
attributed to weather extremes. Holmes: They are due to
plowing too near and disturbing the roots of the plants.

Issaquena : Diseases and insects generally attack cotton on
sandy soils first.

Cane-hills region: The caterpillar usually appears in Warren
connty ^4n numbers about July, the earlier the moat
destructive, but most so in September", at which time it is
reported in other counties. The boll-worm appears in July
and August, or sometimes much lat-er. Shedding, boll-rot,
blight, aud rust also occur.

Central prairie region: The caterpillar appears iu HindH, Scott,
and Clarke late in August. The boll- worm does some damage

f in all of the counties, while excessive rains and extreme dry

weather cause boll-rot and shedding and rust. In Jasper the
latter is attributed to shallow plowing and lack of vegetable
matter in the soil. Aphides appear in Clarke as soon as cotton
is up.

Long-leaf pine region: The boll- worm in July and August, the
calcrptllar in August and Septt'uiber, are n^ported in this
region. Aphides appear on the plants in the Kpring in
Covington county. Boll-rot and shedding are thonght to be
respectively produced by wet and dry weather, and occur
throughout the regi(»n. Boll-rot in Covington is attributed
to insects, rust to stagnant water near the roots of the plants,
and shedding to ii regularity of scascms or injudicious
tillage. In Amite all diseases are thought to be due to
improper cultivation, while in Simpson rust is attributed to
insect life.

37. What efforts have been made to obviate these diseases and pests? With what success f

Throughout the state but few efforts have been made, and these dry season at the time of these pests and good cultivation

with indififerent succem. Holmes: It i** considered ilangerous always insure greater yields tbini can bo gntliered by the

to use destroyera for insects; those who cultivate cotton with
care have lesji of these evils. Bolivar and Sharkey : A favorable
354

cultivating force. WHkinHon

early fruiting, bus met with but little siuccoss.

Early planting, t<o att to ta\ur
Lowndes: Early

CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DETAILS.

153

planting and thorough coltivation h:i\'«* been succeaBfol.
Panola: Change of crop and culture have l»een mcoeaaftil
against rust and blight. Grenada : A plenty of manure la
considennl to be the best remedy for mat, blight, shedding,
and boll-mt. Lankin and Hinds: Attraction of the moths by
lights at night and catching them in some liquid has been
only partially successful. LauderdaU: Shedding may be paitly

in very wet or dry weather. Jmiie: Deep preparatory
plowing of the aoil and after-onltivation adapted to the
varying conditions of the weather and soil. The first
generation of worma . la destroyed by hand ; at the second
coming of the moth it is decoyed by lights at night ; when
the third generation of worms appears all is lost. These
methods have not proved successful.

prevented in some seasons by shallow plowing, but not wholly

38. Is rust or blight prevalent chiefly on heavy or ill-drained soils ? Do they prevail chiefly in wet or dr>',
eool or hot seasons 1 On what soil described by yon are they most common f

NOSTBEASTERM PRAIRIB RBGiON. They prevail mostly ou the black
and stiff and ill-drained lands of this region, and on the
hummock lands and light, shelly prairie-ridge soils of Pontotoc
connty. They occur chiefly in wet and cold seasons in three
counties, in dry seasons after much rain in two counties, and in
cold seasons, whether wet or dry, in Pontotoc county. In Lee
rust prevails chiefly on dry lands in dry seasons, and commonly
on the uplands ; blight chiefly on wet lands in wet seasons,
and commonly on the bottoms. In Alcorn rust is limited to
small spots, and is supposed to be due to microscopic parasites.

YxLLOW-LOAM REGION: They prevail in wet and cool seasons on
heavy and ill-drained soils in De Soto, Panola, V^inston, and
Attala ; on loose, sandy, or fresh soils in Benton ; on black,
sandy loam in Leake ; on white, cold clay soil in any season
in Grenada ; on heavy, ill-drained soils having the largest
gravel and Ughtest colored subsoil, and are worse on the gray
gravelly or buckshot soil in Tazoo county; on heavy and
Ill-drained soils in Marshall county. '' The red rust chiefly in
dry seasons on dry, rich, alluvial and mellow soils, sometimes
extending, as the season advances, to clayey soils, in which
it is not liable to start, and if it does will not spread rapidly.
Blight prevails chiefly in wet seasons.'' Rust on light, sandy

soils, and blight on heavy and ill-drained soils and in wet
seasons in La Fayette. " Close observers have noticed them
most frequently in fresh soils of any kind that have borne
cotton for three or four consecutive years'' (La Fayette),

Mississippi bottom : They prevail on light and sandy soils in most
of the counties ; in cool and wet seasons in three counties ;
in hot i>eriods, preceded by excessive rains, in Holmes, and in
any season in other counties. In Bolivar, on rich loams where
the severest cases of blight are generally connected with late
plowing, which is very likely to disturb the roots of the
plants.

Cans-hiixb region: Chiefly on wet and ill-drained soils; in aU
seasons in Claiborne, and in wet and hot seasons in other
counties.

Central prairie region: On heavy and ill-drained soils in
Rankin and Scott ; on all soils in Hinds and Jasper, and on
light, shelly soil in Clarke; in cool weather in Jasper; in
extreme states of weather in the other counties.

Long- LEAF pine region: On ill-drained, sometimes sandy and
sometimes heavy, soils. Chiefly ou the bottom lands in four
counties ; in wet and cool seasons in Greene, snd hot and wet
seasons in Simpson and Amite.

39. Is Paris green used as a remedy against the caterpillar f If so, how, and with what effect f

It is not used in 31 of the counties from which reports have come.
Haxubee: When proi>erly used it has generally saved seven-
eighths of the crop. Marshall : The worm generally begins
in the center of the field, but in a few days is all over it,
stripping the plants. Paris green would undoubtedly destroy
it, but the damage is great before it is discovered. Grenada :
Its efficacy is not doubted, but its use is entirely neglected.
JSolmea : Its use would prevent keeping of calves in the cot-
ton-fields, and it is, besides, regarded as far too troublesome
to apply this poison. 1. Clarke: It destroys both worm and

plant, and has been abandoned in the ]af»t two years.
2. Clarke: Mixed with fiourand land plaster it generally kills
the caterpillar, but his place is soon taken by another genera-
tion. Amite: Its solution has been sprinkled and its powder
dusted on the plants while wet with dew, and has done but
little good. Scott: It has been sprinkled on the plant with
water, and is pronounced a failure. Tasoo: By sifting it
upon the leaves while wet with dew, if commenced in time,
it win materially check the ravages of the caterpillar.

LABOB AHD STSTEM OF FA&MIHO.

40. What is the average size of farms or plantations in your region ?

Upland counties : Less than 100 acres in 11 counties ; from 100 to
200 acres in 6 counties ; 200 to 300 acres in 5 counties ; 300 to
500 acres in 6 counties. In the cane-hills region, and in a few
counties of the yellow-loam and northeastern prairie regions,
some of the farms have as much as 1,000 to 3,000 acres, and
in Rankin connty, of the central prairie region, a maximum

of 6,000 acres. In Amite plantations vary from 500 to 3,000
acres, and are divided into farms of 40 and 120 acres, which
are rented to families.
Mississippi bottom region : There are a few small farms of less
than :)00 acres, but mostly laige plantations of from 500 to
3,000 acres.

41. Is the prevalent practice "mixed farming" or "planting"?

Upland counties : Mixed farming in 22 counties, and planting in BiississiPPi bottom and cank-hiixs bboions : Planting exclu-
11 counties. sively.

42. Are supplies raised at home or imported f If the latter, where from f Is the tendency toward raising
them at home increasing or decreasing f

Northeastern prairie region : In 4 counties supplies are mostly
imported ; in the others a portion only is imported, from Saint
Louis, Louisville, and Cincinnati, and in 1 connty in part
from Mobile.

Tellow-loam region : In all of the counties a portion of the sup-
plies, comprising the meat, flour, and part of the com, is
obtained from Memphis and the cities of the western states.

Mississippi bottom and cane-hills regions : Supplies are chiefly
imported from the north and west in all of the counties ex-
cept Grenada, in which the com is mostly raised at home. In
Holmes some of the supplies are brought from New Orleans.

Central prairie region: Largely imported in 4 counties from

the northern cities ; com from Tennessee and Kentucky. In
Hinds many raise all of their supplies, some a part, and others
none at all. In Rankin supplies are chiefly raised at home ;
sugar and cofiee from New Orleans.

Long-leaf pine region: Mostly imported in ail of the counties
from New Orleans and the northern cities ; a part from Ten-
nessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio.

The tendency toward raising home supplies is said to be increasing
in all of the counties of the state except five, in which there is
no i>erceptible change in either direction, and in Le Flore, in
which it is decreasing.

355

154

COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

43. Who ai*e the laborers chiefly?

Vegroes, chiefly, in 25 counties, embracing the cane-hills and the
Mississippi bottom regions, and some of the upland counties.
Whites chiefly in 7 counties* whUe in the other counties of
the state the two races are about equally divided. The nation-

44. How and at what rates are their wages paid, and

Daily wages are very generally 50 cents with board and 75 cents
without boai-d, usually at the end of the week. In Clarke, 30
cents to womeu and 40 cents to men, with board in each case,
are paid. Monthly wages are usually from |8 to $12 through-
out the state yrith a few exceptions, while to yearly laborers
from $100 to $150. at the end of the year, or when needed, are
paid to men, aud a less amount to women and boys. A house and

alities represented are some Germans and Irish in WiiiBtoii^-
and various in Holmes, Tippah, and Rankin coiintiea; other-
wise, all Americans.

when payable f

sometimes rations are also given to the yearly laborer. In
many of the counties, however, the laborers work on shares
in preference to regular wages. Monthly wages are paid
when the time of service ends, or at the end of the season,
when crops are sold, in most of the ooanties. Monthly pay-
ments are made in a few counties, while in many eases a por-
tion is paid as it is needed by the laborer.

45. Are cotton farms worked on shares f If so, on

The share system prevails very generally throughout the state,
though in a few counties the farms are rented, the renter
paying 400 pounds of liut per 10 or 15 acres for the use of
land, houses, and utensils. The tenus vary but little In all
of the counties. If the land-owner famishes the land, imple-
ments, and teams, he receives one-half of the crop ; otherwise

46. Does the share system give satisfaction f How
deteriorate or improve under it f

In ten of the counties the system does not give satisfaction, but in
the rest of the state there is but little complaint. In Marshall
one or the other party complains every year. When the crop
is not promising, or too Uberal advances have been made to
the laborer, he is likely to become dissatisfied, quit working
his own crop, and hire out by the day to other farms. The
staple is thought to be injured by the share system in 11 of
the counties; in a few of the others it is said to improve,
while in the rest of the state no chauge is apparent. In
Holmes the negroes are very careless and indifferent as to

47. Which system (wages or share) is the better for

The share system is thought to be the best in 19 counties of the state.
Lowndes : "The negro, being thriftless and improvident, will
by no other system have so much for his family at the end of
the year." The following summary of reasons are given : He
can make more money ; have garden land free of rent ; can
double his wages aud have all the extra time to himself; he
becomes interested in the results of his labor; he is more in-
dustrious and improves his habits; the entire family can be
employed. In the other counties of the state the wages sys-
tem is thought better. Hinds : '* He is sure of a living, while
under the share system the shiftless laborer often obtains
credits to the extent of his interest in the crop and has nothing
in the end. When under control, he makes more, spends less,
and ha^ a surplus of cash at the end of the year. There are
exceptions, of course." The following summary of reasons

48. What is the condition of the laborer?

[n the river counties their condition is generally good, except in Le
Flore and Bolivar, where " it might be good if they were more
industrious". Holmes: They are usually able to pay their
merchants aud have some money besides. Issaquena : ** They
generally own their teams, have cows, hogs, etc., and are
usually supplied with money to meet all necessary wants. A
beggar was never known here, except in that characteristic

49. What proportion of the negro laborers own land or the houses in which they live?

In seventeen counties, not 1 in 100; in twelve counties, not one in seem to have no desire to own lands. In Wilkinson and Win-

*iO, and often not one in 50. In twelve other counties, a larger ston they are securiug homesteads on government land.

proi>ortion own their lands and houses. lu Claiborne they

what terms t

for the land alone be receives one-fourth to one-third of the
cotton, aud one-third of the com, if any is produced. In some
counties the owner furnishes the ginning and ginning ma-
terial instead of the farming implements. When the laborer
is boarded, and has everything else furnished to him, the
owner receives three- fourths of the crop.

does it affect the quality of the staple f Does the soil

gathering and housing their cotton ; they allow a great deal
of it to rot. In Sharkey the staple is two grades below that
of 1860 from the same soil. In Tishomingo and Covington
the staple is sliort^r. In Amite the laborer is nsnally more
careful in pickiDg when he owns a share. In almost all of
the counties the soils are thought to deteriorate, in some
very rapidly, unless manures are used or rotation practiced.
Issaquena: The best cotton is grown by the '* one-half-crop "
system, for then the owner or his agent sees that the crop ia
properly tilled.

the laborer ? Why f

are also given : He is certain of his earnings, and takes no riaka
of failures of crops ; supplies consume his profits under the
share system ; he works better, and always has money. He re-
ceives his money more certainly and at shorter intervals. They
cannot receive credit beyond their wages ; he must work for
wages, while under the share system he is indolent and care-
less. iHsaquena : He is assured a livelihood as long as willing
to work, his labor being in demand at good prices from Janu-
ary to January, at 75 cents to $1 per day. Under any other
system shiftlessness prevails to a more or lees extent with
serious neglect of crops. Renters average three bales of cot-
ton per hand, while with wages eight or ten will be prodaoed,
the latter thus bringing into circulation more money and
creating a greater demand for the laborer's services.

habit of our colored friends to beg tobacco." In 18 upland
counties the coudition of the negro laborer is said to be good
where industrious; but in many other counties they are in
rather a destitute condition, due to improvidence and indo-
lence. White lal>orers are usually in good cironmstances. In
Claiborne and Raukiu *' the laborers are fat and lasy".

50. Wliat is the market value of land in your region f

Cu the Mississippi bottom connties the prices vary from $2 50 to $10 for
unimproved and %'i5 to $50 for improved. The rent is from
$5 to $10 per acre or one-third of the crop raised, or 85 to 100
pounds of liut per acre.

Upland counties: Iu sixteen conuties the prices are from $5 to $10
356

What rent is paid lor such laud?

or $15 and even $25 for impr«>ved lands; in the remaining
countif*H the prices are from $1 to $;{, and even as low as 35 or
50 cents for inmror lands in some regiouK. Rents are from $2
to $5 for the bi'8t classes of land, or are one-fourth of the cot-
ton produced ou it, oi* :^) or 40 pounds of lint per acre.

CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DETAILS.

155

61. How many acres or bales of cotton, per hand,

VORTHEASTERN PRAIRIE REGION : Aboat 10 acres, or 3 bales with
supplies and 5 bales without supplies. Lee : A good hand can
cultivate 12 or 15 acres. Kemper: 9 acres of cotton and 6 of
corn per band. Alcorn : 7 or H acres of cotton and com each.

Yellow -LOAM region: 12 to 15 acres of land per hand, yielding
from 4 to 6 bales. La Fayette : Two hands with one mule raise
a! tout 4 bales of cotton and 100 bushels of com.

Mississippi bottom : Usually 10 or 12 acres of from 3 to 5 bales.
Issaquena : A steady worker who gives bis fields proper atten-
tion frequently produces fro"i 10 to 18 bales. Holmes: Man

52. To what extent does the system of credits or
region t

Mississippi bottom: It prevails very generally throughout the
region and to the extent of the whole or three-fourths of the
growing crop. In Holmes, it is exceptional that any one,
white or black, pays cash for an article. Deeds of trust are
the rule. In Issaquena, frequently the tenants (all negroes),
when they have sufficient money and are able to pay cash as
they go, prefer to keep their money and exhaust their credit.

Upland countifs : The system prevails generally throughout the
region and in most of the counties to the extent of one-half or
more of the prospective value of the crop. It is not prevalent
in Greene and Hancock counties, while in Benton, Grenada,
Clarke, Covington, and Amite the practice of getting advances
is declining. A Icom : Hands occasionally desert the crop after
getting all the advances they can. Marshal! : At least one-
half of the crop is virtually raised on credit at ruinous rates.

is your customary estimate f

and wife 20 acres, from which they frequently gather 12 to 20
bales and raise one-fourth to one-third more than they gather.

Cake-hills region : Usually 15 acres of cotton and corn or 3 bales
of cotton. Warren: The negro produces from 1 to 4 bales,
formerly 6 to 8 bales. JVilkinson: 6 acres or 2 bales; good
hands can cultivate and raise four times as much.

Central prairie region: 2 to 3 bales in four counties; 6 to 8 bales
from 15 acres in Scott.

Long-leaf pine region : Uusually 3 bales, with some corn. ' * White
laborers have made 6 bales, besides com *% etc.

— , J —

advances ux)on the growing cotton crop prevail

in vour

Noxuhefy Pike^ and Stmpson : But few laborers can get along
without credit. Hinds: It is due to this that land has no
market value and that labor is taken from the land-owner's
control and forced into cotton production exclusively. Scoti :
It is one of the farmer's misfortunes that he is in debt and at
the mercy of the merchant. Simpson : It is one great cause
of the laborer's extravagance and wastefulness. Leake:
Necessitates the exclusive production of cotton ; the land-
owner advances provisions, clothing, etc., to the laborer at
such ruinous proifits as to absorb his share. Amite: Espe-
cially among the negroes, most of whom are very extravagant
and greatly abuse the credit which this system gives them ;
the system is now less prevalent and more restricted than for-
merly. Both farmers and merchants were once bankrupted
by it and have learned, to be cautious.

53. At what stage of production is the cotton crop usually covered by insurance t

BoTiY>M counties: Not at all in Grenada and Sharkey, and rarely Upland counties : Not practiced in 14 counties. Sometimes, when

m Bolivar. When on the steamboat, Le Flore. When gath- picking begins, in Wilkinson. When put in the gin-house in

ered in the gin-bouses in Issaquena and Holmes. The prac- Clarke and Pike. When in market, in five counties. It ia

tice is general only in two counties. practiced also in eight other counties.

54. What are the merchants' commissions and charges for storing, handling, shipping, insurance, etc., to
which your crop is subjectf What is the total amount of these charges against the farmer per pound or per bale T

Commissions throughout the state are usually 2^ per cent, on gross
sales ; storage, drayage, and weighing, 75 cents per bale, or 50
cents for storage for the first month and 25 cents for each
additional month. For shipping, 25 cents per bale. Broker-
age, one-fourth per cent. Insurance, fire, three eighths per
cent. ; river, one-fourth to one-half per cent, and railroad,
one-fonrth per cent. lu many of the counties the crop is sold
to li>cal buyers at a little below New Orleans quotations, the
farmer paying 20 cents a bale for weighing. Winston : 75 cents
per 100 pounds for hauling to a shipping point, $5 per bale for
shipping ; adding to this storage, commission, etc., the total
is about |20 per bale.

The total per bale exclusive of freight is $1 80 to |2 40 in Lowndes,
about $2 25 in Amite, and $3 25, with some loss of weight
while stored, in Hinds.

Including freight charges the total amounts £rom |2 to $5 in Pontotoc ;
^ to |6 in Waf r* n, Issaquena, and Claiborne (with some loss
of weight while stored) ; about |4 15 in Wilkinson ; about |4 50
in Attala; $4 75 in Alcorn, Benton, Tazoo, Lauderdale, Simp-
son, and Pike; $5 in Panola, Tishomingo, Rankin, Jasper, and
Clarke; |5 to $6 in Grenada; $5 40 in Prentiss; (5 50 in Lee;
$5 50 to |6 in Holmes (if shipped to New Orleans) ; (5 60 in
Kemper; $6 in Noxubee, Bolivar, and Jefferson; $7 in Scott
and Sharkey.

55. What is yoar estimate of the cost of production per pound in your region, exclusive of such charges and
with fair soil and management?

borne: 10 cents where supplies are bought. Wilkinson: 8
cents ordinarily, but 5 cents with hired labor and good man-
agement. Hinds: 10 to 12 cents, according to season, wear
and tear of implements, taxes, and interest on investment.
Issaquena : About |25 per bale.

In fourteen counties, about 8 cents; in seven counties, about 7 cents;
in seven counties, about 10 cents; in four counties, from 5 to
6 cento; in Sharkey, 9 cents; in Attala, 4^ cents; in other
counties the number given is indefinite, but between these
extremes. Panola: About one-fonrth of its market value.
Pontotoc: About one-half its market value. Warren &nd CI ai-

56. What is usually paid for extra work in picking cotton! How much seed-cotton is ordinarily picked in a

dayt

Holmes : '^ Fifty to 65 cents per 100 pounds of seed-cotton, without
board, and 40 to 50 cents with board.'' In all other counties
75 cent-s without or 50 ceuts with board in usually paid. In
some counties the pickers are sometimes paid daily wages, at
$1 per day without or 50 cents with board.

Jtuper: Ordinary hands usually pick from 40 to 100 pounds of seed-
cotton, and wUl not pick ''by tho 100 pounds *', but are paid
wagOA. The best hands pick an average of 300 pounds, and

will only pick by the 100 pounds. Tippah : ** Ordinary hands
pick 200 to 250 pounds per day.'' In other countit^ the
amount is usually 175 pounds in full crops, and 150 when (be
crop is light.
On the bottom lands, the best bauds pick from COO to OUO |)ouud^ | ei
day in full crops. Some havi* even reached 7I;0 ])oundN, with ».
boy to wait on them, empty tho sacksi, and bring them watei
and food.

357

INDEX TO COTTON PRODUCTIOlSr IN MISSISSIPPI.

Page.

Abstraots of the reports of correapondents 88-143

Accidents of weather as affecting cotton crop 152

Acreage and production of cotton in Mississippi (tables) — 3-<*),72

leading crops (table) 5,6

Acres of cotton per hand 155

Adams connty, statistics and description of L24

Addresses and names of correspondents, list of 1 46

Advances made on growing crop L55

After-cultivation of cotton 150

Agricoltnral descriptions of the counties of Mississippi 85-143

methods in cotton production 77-79

regions or subdivisions, list of 13

statistics of, by regions and conntieH

(tables)-...,. 3-6

Alcorn county, analysis of yellow clay marl of 22

statistics and description of 87, 88

Alluvial land of the Mississippi, tilling qualities, etc., of — 118-124

region, description of the counties of 116-121

of the Mississippi and bayous bordered by

ridgos 39

area, extent, and general

description of 39-45

Amite county, analyses of bottom lands of 50

statistics and description of 135

River valley, lands of 135

Amount of charges against the farmer in sales of cotton 155

seed-cotton picked in a day 155

Analyses and descriptions of soils and subsoils of Mississippi,

(tables) 15-71,80-83

(chemical and mechanical) of loess lands 46, 47

discussion of (follows each analysis).

of black prairie soils and subsoils 54

bottom lands of flat woods region 26

the yellow-loam region 37, 38

brown-loam table-land soils and subsoils 35

cane-hills soils and subsoils 46

coast region lands 69

Coonewah hummock laud 18

Dogwood Ridge soils 42

flatwoods soils 23

front-land soils and subsoil of Sunflower basin .. 43

gypseous and hog-wallow prairie soils 54

Hamburg Hills soil and subsoil 49

hickory hummock soil and subsoil 17

hummock land of Pontotoc ridge 21

lands of flatwoods hills 28

Pontotoc ridge 20

long-leaf pine bottom landH 64

hills soils and subsoils 61

straw 62,71

marls of central prairie region 57,58

long-leaf pine region 71

northeastern prairie region 22

northeastern prairie soils and subsoils 15

Pftge.

Analyses of oak uplands belt soils and subsoils 49

Pearl River bottom and hummock lands 66

red lands of the pine and oak uplands 31,32

ridge lands of northeastern of region 16

sandy oi(k uplands soils 33

short-leaf pine and oak uplands soils 30

soil and subsoil of white oak flatwoods 25

soils, etc., reference to iv

Tallahatchie bottom land 41

tables of soils and subsoils 15-71,80-83

Aphides on cotton plants 152

Areauf alluvial region of the Mississippi 39

brown-loam table-lands 33, 34

Deer Creek region 43

Dogwood ridge 41

long-leaf pine region 68

rotten-limestone prairie region 13

Sunflower basin 42

the state 9

Yazoo basin and the Tazoo bottom plain 9, 40

population, tilled lands, and cotton production of the

counties (table) 3,4

Artesian wells 13

Attala county, analyses of red lands of 31,32

statistics and description of 102, 103

Avent, J. A., abstract of the report of 117

Average population per square mile (table) 3, 4

size of farms or plantations 153

Back-lands of Sunflower basin .42

Bagging used in baling 152

Bald prairies, description of 14

of central prairie region 52

Bale of lint, amount of seed-cotton required for a {see abstracts

in county descriptions) 88-143

Bales of cotton in counties (tables) 3-6

per square mile in counties (table) 3, 4

per hand, usual working estimate of 155

weight of 152

Baling cotton, kinds of presses used in 152

Banks, J. O., abstract of the report of. 95, 96

Banks, R. W., abstract of the report of 95

Banner counties of the sti^te in cotton production (table) 72

Bass, J. A., abstract of the report of 131

Baugh, A. S., abstract of the report of 138

Beech ridges of Pike county 133

Beeswax hummocks of the bald prairies 14

hummock soils of the northeastern prairie region

(see county descriptions) 87-97

Benton county, analyses of soil and subsoils of 35

statistics and description of 107, 108

Big Black hummock lands of Holmes county 114

Bigges, R. H., abstract of the report of 100, lOL

157
3E\9

158

INDEX TO COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Page, j

Blmck firoet, first appearance of 151 1

gam trees an nnwelcome indication in character of soil. 27

jack oak, character of lands indicated by 27

oaks denote best class of land in sandy oak up-
lands region 32

prairie lands, description of 14, 91 , 92, 94

soil subject to mst, or blight 15

prairies, tilling qualities of 14

soils of the central prairie region (Me also county

descriptions) 51-58

prairie, character of the oaks of the 13,14

region, description of 13,14

first setUed 13

soils of central prairie region, analyses of 54

prairies, streams of the, have no bottom lands 14

sandy bottoms soil of the short-leaf pine and oak

uplands region (see county descriptions) 97-106

soils of the northeastern prairie region (see county de-
scriptions) 87-97

Blight, or rust, as afiecting cotton 153

Blooms first appear, when 150

Blue greensand marls, analyses of 58

marlB of northeastern region, analyses of 22

Bock, F. R. W., abstract of the report of 96,97

Bog ore iu flatwoods soil 23

of Amite bottomlands 50

Bolivar county, statistics and description of 118

Boiling of cotton-plants favored and running to weed pre-

vente<l by :

application of fortUizers or lime 88, 90, 91, 134, 137, 139

deep plowing, throwing soil from the plants, and

cutting lateral roots 113, 115, 120, 125, 126, 130

drainage 88, 130

early planting 95,111,112,126,131,137

jodicious culture 101,104,107,115,131

making rows farther apart 89, 111

shallow culture 90, 108, 110-112, 118, 123, 135

topping 92,96,104,110,111,130,138

Bolls first open, when 150

Boone, B. B., abstract of the report of 90

Bottom lands of fiat woods region, but little settled or culti-
vated 26

uortheastern region 18

Pearl river, prairie character of 51

the flatwoods region, character and analyses

of 25,26

Yockanookany 103

yellow-loam table-land region 36

or valley lands of cane-hills region, cha acter and

analyses of 47, 48

prairie soils, analyses of 54

soils of long-leaf pine region, character and analyses

of 63,64

Brown iron ore of Pontotoc ridge 19

loam soil of the table lands (see county descriptions) . . 107-116
table-lands, area, character, timber, and analyses

of 33-35

cotton production in 73

descriptions of counties of 107-116

general character of, damaged by
sand floods and washings, and

how checked 36

injured by the ranging of cattle and

firing of leaves 34

Backshot clay from the Port Hudson formation 12

of Sunflower basin 42

lands of Panola county 110

Sharkey county 120

the Missifirtippi alluvial region 40

•oil of Deer Cr« ek region, analyses (chemical and
mechanical), character, and noted fertility
of 43,44

Paget

Buckshot soil of the Mississippi alluvial region 116-121

Buhrstone group, character of 12

Buncombes, character of 19,90

Burch, J. W., abstract of the report of 123,124

Calhoun county, analyses of soils and subsoils of 26, 29, 37

statistics and description of 99

Callaway, R. C, abstract of the report of 92

Cane-hills region, analyses of bottom lands of ■ 48

cotton plantations nearly disappeared finom 74

production in 73

county descriptions of 1*21-125

elevation and general description of 45

its lands first settled, cultivated, and now

reduced in fertility 45

peciUiar features of, duo to calcareous silt. 45

wasted lands of . .' 74

Capacity of presses used in baling 152

Carboniferous formation 12

Carroll county, analyses of greensands of 31

hummock soil and subsoil of 38

statistics and description of 114

Cattle, ranging of, injurious to brown-loam table-lands 34

treading of, improves the fiatwoods soils 25

Central prairie region, analyses and extent of marls of 56, 57

cotton production in 75

county descriptions of 125-132

extent and general description of 51-58

ridges of 52

Charges for storing, handling, and shipping cotton 155

Chickasaw county, analysis of rotten limestone of 22

analyses of soils and subsoils of. 15, 18,21,24,25

statistics and description of 92,93

"Old Fields" or prairies 14,91

Choctaw county, analysis of bottom soil of 37

statistics and description of 100, 101

Claiborne county, analyses of soils and subsoils of . . 30, 35, 46, 48, 49

statistics and description of 122, 123

group, character of 12

Clarke county, analyses of marls of 57,58

prairie soils and subsoil of 54

statistics and description of 130,131

Clay county, statistics and description of 93,94

Clayey loam soil of the cane-hills region ($ee county de-
scriptions) 121-125

Clays, potter's, occurrence of .% 12

Climate, discussion of 9,10

Close of cotton-picking season 151

Coahoma county, analyses of soils of 42

statistics and description of 1 16

Coal formation 97

Coast lands as health resorts 68

line, elevation of 67

marshes, character and vegetation of 68

region not now under cultivation 67

pursuit of inhabitants of 67

vegetation of 67

Collins, W. E., abstract of the report of 121

Commissions of merchants in sales of cotton 155

Composition of northeastern prairie soils 14, 15

Composts, use of 148

Conditions imposed by transportation companies 152

Coonewah hummock land, analyses of 18

Copiah county, analyses of bottom soils and subsoils of 64

statistics and description of 132

Com, acreage and production of (table) 5, 6

yield per acre in Mississippi alluvial region 77

Correspondents, list of names and addresses of 14A

Cotton, acreage and production of, in Mississippi (tables) . . 3-6, 72

per square mile (tables) 3, 4, 72

culture, intense systeui of, recommended 78

INDEX TO COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

159

Page.

Cotton growing region, most important 13

lint made in a day's runs of ten bonrs 151

picking, cost of 155

pickings, when begun, and how many made 151

plantations, nearly disappeared from cane-hills region . 74

planting in ridges, remarks on 78

production, agricultural methods in 77, 78

area mostly planted 71

by regions (table) 72

center of maximnm, in the nplands 73

change of methods of culture, etc., in,

necessary 79

cost of, per pound 155

cultural and economic det-ails of 145-155

decrease of, in southeast Mississippi not
accompanied by corresponding increase

in other crops 71

distri bution of, among the several regions . 72-76

geaeral features of 71-79

in each county (aee county descriptions). .87-143

region ( table ) 72

Yazoo bottom, cause of low 73

level cultivation the better for 78

of the short-leaf pine and oak uplands. . . 29
per acre {see county descriptions for each

region) 87-143

percentage of state's total, in each region

(table) 72

predominance of, parallel with predomi-
nance of negroes over whites 74

relations of the two races to 76, 77

smuU farms necessary for maTimnm re-

snltH in 79

product per acre in counties (table) 3,4

regions, and maximum of, in coun-
ties (table) 72

low, marks a predominance of ne-
groes 76

of Bayou Pierre land 48

oane-hills land 46

central prairie region (see county

descriptions) 125-132

Cole's Creek land 48

Coonewah hummock sell 18

flatwoods hills 28

Hamburg hills 48

Mississippi alluvial region 39

northeastern black-jack prairies . 14

Noxubee prairie soil 15

redhills 31

oak uplands region 49

sandy oak uplands 33

white-oak flatwoods 25

yellow-loam uplands of Pontotoc .

ridge 19

on any soil and on fresh and old
lands (see abstracts in county

descriptions) 88-143

bottom and hummock lands of oak

uplands belt 50

Deer Creek buckshot soil 44

ver9t/« negro laborers 76

shipments (see county descriptions) 87-143

soils of the central prairie region 51

total of lint and seed , in tons, in each region (table) . . 72

Cottonseed-cake used for feed and manure 148

Cottonseed, disposal and price of 148

use of, remarks on 78

Coulees, the, of Louisiana 14

Counties, area, population, tilled lands, and cotton produc-
tion of .(table) 3,4

Counties in each region having highest cotton production

(table) 72

northeastern prairie region 87-97

Mississippi, agricultural descriptions of 85-143

the brown-loam table-lands 107-116

cane-hills region 121-125

central prairie region 125-132

flatwoods region 22,97

long-leaf pine region 132-143

Mississippi alluvial region :^J, 116-121

short-leaf pine and oak uplauils region 97-106

Covington county, statistics and description of 139, 140

Crawfishy lands of Amite river 50

central prairie region 126

Panola county 110

Cretaceous formation 18

material of Pontotoc ridge 19

Crop, advances xnade on growing 155

Crops, acres of, in each county (see county descriptions) 87-143

best suited to the soil (see abstracts in county descrip-
tions) 88-143

leading, acreage and production of (table) 5, 6

withering of, on marsh soils, cause of 70

Cultural and economic details of cotton ])roduction 145-165

details, general conclusions on 79

Cumberland Mountain range 18

Dagett, Stephen, analysis of soil of land of 20

Date of the reports of correspondents 146

Deer Creek region, area and description of 43, 44

noted for its rich buckshot soils 43

Depth of tillage usual in cotton production 147

Descriptions, agricultural, of the counties of Mississippi 85-143

De Soto county, statistics and description of 106, 109

Details, cultural and economic, of cotton production 145-155

Devil's Backbone ridge, character of 125,134

Dickson, Mr., experiments by, in intense cotton culture 78

Dimensions of the state 9

Dip of limestone strata of Pontotoc ridge 19

the Cretaceous strata 13

flatwoodsclay 11

Discussion of analyses (follows each analysis).

Diseases, insect enemies, etc., of cotton 152,153

Disposal of cottonseed 148

Distribution of cotton production among the several agri-
cultural regions 72-76

Dixon, H. O., abstract of the report of 126, 127

Dockery, T. C, abstract of the report of 109

Dogwood ridge, continuation of Crowley's ridge of Arkansas. 41

general description and analysis of soil of. . .41, 116

Drainage necessary on black prairie soils 65

of the flatwoods necessarily slow 23

Mississippi alluvial region 38

system of the st«te 11

Eades, J. D., abstract of the report of 104

Economic and cultural details of cotton production 145-155

Eflfect of the share system on the soil and staple 154

Efibrts made to obviate diseases and pests 152, 153

Elevation of cane-hills region above the river 45

Summit station, Pike county 61

Enumeration, tabulated results of the 1-6

Eutaw and Ripley groups (Cretaceous) 18

Extent of alluvial region of the Mississippi 39

brown-loam table-lands 33

flatwoods region 28

Pontotoc ridge 19

Fallow and rotation in cotton cultivation, discussion of 77,78

Fallowing, results of 147

361

160

INDEX TO COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Page.

FaU plowing, difference of opinion regarding 78

results of 147

Farms, size of 153

Fernandez, P., abstract of the report of Ill

Fertilizers, natural, of central prairie region 56-58

long-leaf pine region 70,71

northeastern prairie region 21

yellow-loam region 38

on black prairie lands 55

remarks on 78

nseof, throughout the state 148

Flatwoods belt, description of 105

geological formation of 12

clay, dip of 11

counties of 97

drainage and growth of 23

bills, general description and analyses of. ....27-29, 111
light soils, chemical and mechanical analyses of. . 24

of Rankin county , 127

post-oak, description of 88,92,94

region, extent and general description of 22-25

population and cotton production in 75

soil, character and analyses of 23, 24

soils, improved by treading of cattle 25

white-oak, general character of 25,93

Fort Adams, elevation of, above the river 124

Franklin county, analyses of bottom soils and subsoil of 64

soils and subsoils of 30, 49, 50

analysis of marl of 71

statistics and description of 134

Freight rates of shipment («ee county descriptions) 87-143

Front-lands of theTazoo bottom 118

Frost, black, first appearance of 151

Frosts, effects of 10

Furman, Judge, of Georgia, experiments in intense cotton
cultureby 78

6altney,J. R., abstract of the report of 135,136

Ctoneral features of cotton production in Mississippi (tables). 71, 72

Geological features of the state 12

survey of Mississippi, reference to iii

Ginning, baling, and shipping of cotton 151

Grand Gulf group, character of 12

sandstone, occurrence of 60

Graasesof long-leaf pine region 59

pine flats and coast lands 67,68

Gray upland soils of the northeastern prairie region (m0

county descriptions) 87-97

Greene county, analysis of bottom soil of 65

statistics and description of 141

Green-nianuring 148

and liming necessary to flatwoods soils 24

Greensaml, analyses of 31

beds, occurrence of 12

of Attala county 102

Carroll county 114

Clarke county 130

clays of yellow-loam region, value of 38

in the red lands region 31

marls, analyses of 58

a ready means of improvement of hickory

hummock soils of Tippah county 17

of northeastern prairie region, locality and

analyses of 21, 22

Grenada county, statistics and description of 112, 113

Growth of black prairie region 13, 14

Gypseous prairies, character and productiveness of 51

of Rankin county 127

produce rust in cotton 51

Hamburg hills, analyses of soil and subsoil of 30

.^j description of 48

Hamburg hills, lands of, in Franklin county 134

region 123

Hancock county, analyses of soils and subsoil of G9

statistics and description of 142, 143

Harper, L., reference to geological report of iii

Harrison county, statistics and description of 142

Hatchie hills of the northeast 19

Heavy clay soils of the central prairie region (Me county

descriptions) 125-132

Height attained by cotton-plant before blooming \z^

of cotton-plant (%tt abstracts in county descrip-
tions) 88-143

Hickory hummocks, northeastern region, character and analy-
sis of 17

indicates durable and fertile soils 27

Hilgard, £. W. , reference to geological report of iii

Hillside prairie soil, analysis of 15

Hinds county, analyses of brown-loam soil and subsoils of. .. 35

marls of 57

statistics and description of 125,127

Hog- wallow lands of Smith county 137

prairie lands, drainage, lime, green-manuring,*

etc., necessary for 55

mechanical condition of, opposed

to their productiveness 55

prairies, character of 51

of central prairie region 128, 129

Scott county 128

rust prevalent on 51

Holland, H.L., abstract of the report of 91

Holmes county, analyses of brown-loam soils of 35

statistics and description of 114, 115

Homochitto bottom lands, analyses of 50

hills, description of 48,49

lands of 134

Honey island, description of 40, 114, 119

Hudnall's prairie soil and subsoil, analyses of 54

Hummock belt of the Big Black river 114

land of Chickasaw county, analyses of 21

lands of yellow-loam region 36

Hummocks, beeswax, of the black-jack prairies 14

hickory, of northeastern region, character and

analyses of 17

Humus, value of, in soils 16

Implements used in after-cultivation and planting 149, 150

Improvement, tillage, etc 147-149

Indian bayou, description aud analyses of lands of 42, 43

Information, sources of, in compiling this report iii

Insect enemies, diseases, etc., of cotton 152, 153

Insurance charges on cotton 156

Intense cotton culture recommended 78

Iron ties for baling cotton ••-• 156

Issaquena county, analyses of soils of 43, 44

mechanical analysis of buckshot soil of. ... 44

statistics and description of. 121

Itawamba county, statistics and description of 96

Jack, E., abstract of the report of 127, 128

Jackson county, analyses of bottom lands of 65

marsh soils of 69

statistics and description of 142

. formation, marls of 56

group, character of 1*

Jasper county, analyses of prairie soils of 54, 55

statistics and dencription of 129, 130

Jefferson county, analysis of bottom boil of 48

oak uplands subsoil of 49

statistics and description of 123, 124

Jones county, statistics and descript ion of 140

INDEX TO COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

161

Page.
Kemper comity, analyses of red lands of 31

soils of 15, 16

statistics and description of 105

Kimbrough, J. A., abstract of the report of 89

li.

Labor and system of farming 153-155

Laborers, condition of the 154

nationality of : 154

Labor system, remarks on 78

La Fayette connty, analyses of bottom lands of 2G, 37

upland soils and subsoil of 33

analysis of flatwoods soil and subsoil of. . . 28
mechanical analysis of brown-loam soi Is of 35

statistics and description of 110

Lands, character of, indicated by t imber growth 27

damage to, from imperfect tillage 77

earliest, occupied by settlers 13

lying "turned out", proportion of («e0 abstractH in

county descriptions) 88-143

of cane-hills, mostly under cultivation 45

flatwoods hills, character and analyses of 27, 28

Pontotoc ridge, character and analyses of 19-21

white-oak flatwoods, character and analyses oi' 25

yellow-loam region, character and analyses of 26-38

proportion of, in cotton for each soil (see county de-
scriptions) 87-143

rich, marked by a predominance of negroes 76

tilled, in counties (table) 3, 4

Lauderdale county, analyses of soil and subsoil of 30

statistics and description of 138, 139

Lawrence county, analyses of Pearl River hummock lands of. 66

analysis of subsoil of 61

statistics and description of 136

Leading crops, acreage and production of ( table) 5, 6

Leake county, analysis of hummock soil of 38

statistics and description of 103, 104

Lee county, analyses of soil and subsoil of 18

statistics and description of 91

LeFlore, J. D., abstract of the report of 113

Le Flore county, statistics and description of 117

Length of the rotten-limestone prairie belt 13

time before cotton seed comes up , 1 49

Letter of transmittal iii, iv

Levees of the Mississippi river 39

Lewis, Alfred, experience of, with marsh soil 69

W.T., abstract of the report of 101,102

Light flatwoods soils, chemical and mechanical analyses of . . 24

Lignito, beds of 12

Lime the cause of the deep black color in prairie soils 16

Liming and green-manuring necessary to flatwoods soils 24, 25

Lincoln county, statistics and description of 133

Lint, average product of, per acre in the counties (table) 3, 4

Lipford, H. T., abstract of the report of 107, 108

List of names and addresses of correspondents 146

Li ttle. Dr. George, work of, in survey of Mississippi iii

Loam lands of the alluvial region 116-121

Loess formation 34,113,114

lands, analyses of 46

pervious and unretentive nature of 47

of the cane-hills region, character of 45

Long-leaf pine hills, fertile " coves "of 60

broken character of, west of Pearl river. 60
plateau character of, east of Pearl river. 60
region, area, extent, and general description of. 58-71
characteristics of, in i)opnlation, tilled

lands, and cotton production 75, 76

county desc-riptious of 132-143

natural fertilizers of 70, 71

soils generally droughty; how improved 62

straw, analyses of 62, 71

P»««.
Loosha-Scoona bottom lands, analyses of 26,37

Loughridge, Dr. R. H., chemical work of iii

Loughridge, Dr. S. G., abstract ul' the report of 129, 130

Lowndes county, analysis of greenish micaceous sand of 23

statistics and description of 94-96

HI.

McClean, J. H., abstract of the report of 141

MoLaurin, J. C, abstract of the report of 137

McLean, G. P., abstract of the n'port of 123

McRae's prairie soil and subsoi 1 , analyses of 54

Madison county, analyses of hummock Hoil uud HubHoil of ... 38

marls of 57

statistics and description of 125, 126

Marion county, analyses of Pearl River hummock lands of . . . 66

analysis of marl of 71

statistics and description of 140, 141

Market value of land 154

Marls, amount of, applied to land 57

of central prairie region, extent and analyses of 56, 57

Clarke county 130

long-leaf pine region, analyses of 71

northeastern prairie region, character and analyses

of 21,22

Tombigbee river of little value 21

yellow-loam region. 36

Marshall county, statistics and description of 106

Marsh lands, absence of, along the shore-line 67

muck, analysis of 69

Meadow lands, reclamation of 70

Mechanical analyses of buckshot, Tallahatchie bottom, and

Dogwood Ridge soils and "white

land" subsoil 44

flatwoods lands 34

pine-hills soil and subsoil 61

sandy oak uplands 35

analysis of hog-wallow subsoil 55

loose 47

Monioe County prairie subsoil 15

red soil of Attala 32

Methods employed in cotton production 77,78

Miller, J. M. D.,abstract of the report of 96

Minniece, J. A., abstract of the report of 106

Mississippi alia vial region, com product of, per acre 77

bottom plain, area of 9

Mister, M. K., abstract of the report of 113

Mixed fSsmning or planting 153

Monroe county, analyses of soil and subsoil of 15

analysis of greenish micaceous sand of 22

statistics and description of 93

Montgomery county, statistics and description of 99, 100

Moody, C. W., abstract of the report of 131

Muck, analysis of 6(|

lands of Hancock county 143

Mulatto lauds of Pontotoc ridge, character and analyses of. .. *19, 20

If.

Natural fertilizers of the several regions 21, 38, 56, 75

Negroes, predominance of, marks rich lands and low cotton

product per acre 75,76

ratio of, to whites in the several regions 72-76

relations of, to cotton culture and production 76

Neshoba county, statistics and description of 104, 105

Newton county, statistics and description of 106

Northeastern prairie region, cotton production in 74, 75

description of 13-22

counties of 87-97

natural fertilizers of, character

andanalysesof 21,22

Northern lignitic formation 12

Northers of Texas, eastern edge of 10

363

162

INDEX TO COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Page.

Noznbee county , analysis of soil and snbsoil of 15

statist ic8 ami description ot 96,97

hills, character and analysis of red lands of 31

Number of cotton pickings luado 151

Oaks, character of lands indicated by 27

of the black prairies differ from those of poor sandy lauds 13, 14

post and black-jack, form of, on black prairies 14

Oak uplands belt bordering the cane hills, description of 48

Oats, acreage and production of (table) 5,6

Oktibbeha county, statistics and description of 94

Opinion held of cottonseed planters by farmers 149

Orange-sand formation, materialB of 12

Orr, I. B., abstract of the report of Ill

Pale-yellow loam uplands of Pontotoc ridge, character of . .. 19

Panola county, analysis of bottom soil of 37

statistics and description of 109,110

Paris green used as a remedy against the caterpillar 153

Pearl River bottom lands, character and analyses of 66, 104

Pegues, S. W. £., abstract of the report of Ill

Perry county, statistics and description of 141

Phares, Dr. D. L., abstract of the report of 125

Physico-geographical and agricultural features of the state . . 7-83

Picking cotton, amount paid for extra work in 155

when begun 151

Pike county, analyses of soils and subsoils of 61, 65

statistics and description of 133, 134

Pine flats region, vegetation and character of 67, 68

meadow lands of the coast 67, 142

short-leaf, character of 21)

indicates inferior soils 27

straw, analyses of 62, 71

use of 148

Pitch pine, occurrence and character of 68

Planting and mixed farming 153

cotton in ridges, level cultivation shown to be bet-
ter than 78

in ridges, time of, etc 149

Pontotoc county, analyses of soils and marl of 20, 22, 23

statistics and description of. 92

ridge, a water divide 11

cotton production in counties embracing 74

geological formation of 12

region, character, and extent of the 19, 88, 92

Population of state and counties (table) 3,4

Port Hudson group, character of 12

Posey, B. L., abstract of the report of 143

Post oak of theflatwoods region, form of 23

northeastern prairies, form of 14

prairies of northeastern region 96

Potatoes, sweet, acreage and production of (table) 5, 6

Potlockney Creek bottom lands, analyses of 26

Power used in ginning cotton 151

Prairie belt of Alcorn county 87

lands, dark tint of, due to a large sapply of humus and

fime 16

of Kemper county 105

the central prairie region 125-132

soils, composition of, in northeastern region 14, 15

I, bald, description of 14

black-jack, description of 14

in the Tazoo bottom 117

of central region, gypseous character and extent of. . 51

Mississippi alluvial region 40

northeastern region, description of 13-16

Sharkey county 120

county, analyses of soil and snbsoil of 15

statistics and description of 89, 90

Preparation of cotton land 149

used in baling cotton, kinds of 153

364

Price of cottonseed 148

Production and acreage of leading crops (table) 5, 6

Proportion of negro laborers owning land or houses 154

Q-

Quaternary formation, materials of 12

Quitman county, statistics and deseription of 1 1&

Races, delation of the two, to cotton culture and production. 76, 77

Bagland, 8. £., abstract of the report of 113-

Bainfall, amount of (tables) 10,11

effects of, on cotton growing 10

Bankin county, analyses of prairie soils of 54

analysis of marl of 57

statistics and description of 127, 138

Bed clay land of northeastern prairie region 89^

lands, chemical and mechanical analyses of 31, 32

cotton product per acre of 31

of Attala county 102

Pontotoc ridge 19,2a

region, character, origin, and extent of 31

ridge lands of the northeastern region 16,17

soil, analysis of 16>

soils, intermixture of, with black prairie soils pre*

vents rust on cotton 16>

Reference table of reports received 146

Region, areas of each, in the several counties (mv county de-
scriptions) 87-143

Regions, list of agricultural 13

Relations of the two races to cottun culture and production. 76,77

Rent of land 154

Reports received, reference table of 14&

Results of imperfect tillage 77

Ridge soils of the northeastern region, description and anal-
yses of 16,17

Ridges, sandy upland, character of

space left between 149

Ripley group (Cretaceous) 12-

Robertson, W. T., abstract of the report of 12S

Rotation and fallow in cotton cultivation 77

of crops, practice of 148-

Rotten limestone, analysis of. 2St

furnishes no water veins 14

group (Cretaceous) 13*

prairie region, area, length, width, and de-
scription of 13,14

thickness of 13

useftilness as a fertilizer.. 21

Bust, cotton liable to, on hog-wallow*and gypseous prairiee. . 51
does not prevail on lands formed by intermixture of

black prairie and red ridge soils 16

on cotton of black prairie lands, remarks on 56

prevalence of 153

Band floods^ injury done to brown-loam table-lands by 36'

Sandstone, ferruginous, localities, shapes, and formation of . . . 18

of the short-leaf pine uplands 29*

Sandy loam soil of the cane-hillB region Cm0 county deaorip-

tlons) 181-135

oak uplands region, character, timber, and analyses of

soils of 33,33-

ridge lands of central prairie region 56

upland ridges, northeastern region, oause of poverty of. 18

character of. 17

Scott county, marl of 57

statistics and description of 188

Scott, T. F., abstract of the report of 120

Sea-island cotton 143,143

formerly grown on shell hummocks of coast . 76

Seed-cotton, how protected 1^1

product per acre in oountiee (table) 3,4.

INDEX TO COTTON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

163:

Page.
Seed-oottOD required for a bale of lint (see Soils, and also ab-
stracts in county descriptions) 88-143

required for a bale of lint when ginned 152

per acre used 149

Shannon, J. J., abstract of the report of 138, 139

Shares, workin g cotton farms on ; efifeot of, on Ian d and staple . 154

Share system best for the laborers 154

Sharkey county, statistics and description of 120

Shell heaps of the coast, improvement to the land caused by. 68

prairies, character of 51

Shipping of cotton, charges for (see aUo county descriptions) . 151, 155

Short-leaf pine and oak uplands, cotton production in 73

region, description of coun-
ties of 97-106

general character of. 29

Shuford, F.B., abstract of the report of lOH

Silt, calcareous, of cane-hills region 46,47

Simpson county, analyses of soil and subsoil of 61

statistics and description of 136, 137

Skipwith, P. H., abstract of the report of Ill

Smith county, analyses (chemical and mechanical) of soils

and subsoils of 54, 61. 65

of pine straw 62, 71

analysis of greensand marl of .58

statistics and description of 137, 138

Smith, Dr. £. A., work of, in survey of Mississippi iii, iv

Smith, J. W. C, abstracts of the reports of 115, 116, 119, 120

Snow, occurrence of 10

Soils of brown-loam table-lands 34

central prairie region, analyses of 54, 55

coast region, improvement of 70

long-leaf pine region, analyses of 61, 64, 66

Mississippi alluvial region 39-45

pine flats and coast lands, analyses of 69

character of 68

short-leaf pine and oak uplands, analyses of 30

Soilfli, tilling qualities, character, and prodnotiveness of:

alluvial muck land 143

black prairie lands 88-96,128,130

sandy, of Mississippi bottom.. .117, 120, 121, 124

slough and hog-wallow 129

bottom lands of creeks of prairie region. 89-95, 123, 130

sandy uplands. . 101-107, 110,

113, 116, 133, 137, 139, 141

Yalobusha and Pearl rivers . . 113, 137,

143

prairie lands 120,128

brown mahogany 135

buckshot huids 110,115,118,120,121

calcareous loam 123

clay loam uplands 89, 126,127

crawfishy or swamp land 112

dark table-land loam 107-113, 115, 119

fine sandy loam 88-91,96,107,123,125

flatwoodsland 92,93,105

hummock lands 88,128,130,135

Hght sandy 98,103,104,111

pine-meadow lands 142, 143

red, mahogany, or beeswax land 88,89,91,95,96

or mulatto land 104

reed-brake land, of Pearl river 104

sandy hillside Ill

loam land 138,140

mulatto land 102

pine-hills land 130-134,139

shell prairie land 129,131

white-oak ridges land 115

swamp land 118,135

ScHte-fhin, ooourrence of , on cotton-plants •» 150

Pago.
Sources of information in compiling thJH report iii, iv.

Spencer, T. C, abstract of the report of 104

Spillman, Dr. W., abstract of the report of 130, 131

Stewart, D. B., abstract of the report of 110*

Stratified drift formation 12

Straw of long-leaf pine, analyses and use of 6^, 71

Streams of the black prairies have no bottom lands 14

coast, black from decayed vegetation • 67

Subsoiling, implements employed in 147

effects of 147

Summary of answers to schedule questions 147-155

Sumner county, analyses of soils and subsoil of 30, 38-

statistics and description of 100

Sunflower basin, analyses of front-lauds of 43

area and general description of 42

county, analyses of soils and subsoils of 43, 44

statistics and description of 117, 118

Supplies produced at home 153'

Sweet potatoes, acreage and production of (table) 5, 6

System, share, best for the laborers 154

of farming and labor 15^155>.

Table-lands of West Tennessee, elevation of 11^

Tazoo county - -•- 119 ■

Table showing population and cotton production in rach

agricultural region 72

Tables of analyses of soils and subsoils 15-71, 80-83 .

Tabulated results of the enumerati(^ 1-6

Tallahatchie county, analysis of bottom land of 41

statistics and description of 1 17

River bottom soil, analysis of 37

Tate county, statistics and description of 109 -

Taylor, Dr. J. M., abstract of the report of 88

Temperature of different parts of the state 9

Tertiary formation, materials of 12

Thinning out cotton-plants; how far apart 150

Thornton, Dr. C. C, abstract of the report of 115

Thunderstorms 10^

Tillage improvements, etc 147-149^

results of imperfect 77

Tilled lands, acres of, in counties (table) 3,4.

Timber an indication of character of lands 27

of the regions. ( See regional and county descriptions. )

Time, length of, before seed comes up 149

of first black frost 151

thinning out cotton-plants 150:

when cotton-bolls first open 150<

picking begins and closes 151

first cotton-blooms appear 150'

Tippah county, analyses of marls of 22

soil and subsoil of 17

statistics and description of 88, 89

Tishomingo county, statistics and description of 97, 98

Topography of the alluvial region of the Mississippi 39

state of Mississippi 11

Tornadoes 10

Transmittal, letter of iii.iv

Trustees of the University of Mississippi, courtesy of iii, iv

Tufa of the loess formation 45

Tunica county, statistics and description of 116

Tur,A.,abstract of the report of 103^

Underclay of black prairie soils, analysis of 15>

Union county, statistics and description of 90,91

Valley or bottom lands of cane-hillB regions 47,48*-

Valleys of Amite river 13&«

366

INDEX TO COTlJ'ON PRODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI.

Page.

Varieties of cottou preferred 149

Vaught, W. W.y'ftbstractof the report of 133,134

Vegetation of coast marsheB 68

long-leaf pine regton 59,60

pine flats region 67

Vicksborg formation, marls of 56

group, character of 12

Wages paid, and when 164

Wales, B. L. C. , reference to geological report of iii

Walnut hills region 119,122

Warren ooonty, analyses of greensand niarls of 58

statistics and description of 121, 122

Washing away of the brown-loam table-lands, injury done by 36

Washington county, statistics and description of 119

Water, sources of springs, etc 12

Water supply. (8ee the several regional descriptions.)

Wayne county, analysis of bottom soil of 65

greensand marl of 58

statistics and description of 131, 132

Webb, G. F., abstract of the report of 135,136

Weed, running to, of the cotton plant. (See Boiling. )

Weeds, troublesome, as affecting cotton culture 78

on any soil (see abstracts in county de-
scriptions) 88-143

Welbom, J. £., abstract of the report of 131

Welch, C, abstract of the report of 139,140

WeUs, artesian 13

West Amite bottom soils, analyses of 50

Wheat, acreage and production of (table) 5, 6

Mississippi alluvial region 39,40,42,43

<)uitman county 117

366

White lime country 89

of Pontotoc ridge 19

prairie region 13

marl, analysis of 57

oak flutwoods, general description of 25, 26

population, relations of, to cotton culture and produc-
tion 76

Wilkinson county, statistics and description of 124, 125

Williams, W. L., abstract of the report of 88

Winds, direction of. 10

Winston county, analysis of fiatwoods subsoil of 28

redlandsof 31

statistics and description of 101, 102

Wise, G. W., abstract of the report of 118

Withers, A. J., abstract of the report of 106

Woodland, proportion of (see county desoriptions) 87-143

Yalobusha county, statistics and description of 112

Yazoo basin, general description of 40,41

bottom, cotton production of 72,73

plain, area of 9

county, statistics and description of 119, 120

Yellow-loam region, cotton production of 73

general description and soils of 26-38

bummoeksof 36

natural fertilizers of 38

or browuish loam the basis and subsoils of lands of

the state 12

Yockanookany bottom lands 103

Zenglodon, remains of the

. . r «v^ *

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