Library OF THE University of North Carolina 1 Iris book was presented by ill Mi.' This book must not be taken from the Library building. Form No. 471 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/reportoncottonpr1880hilg / DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, CENSUS OFFICE. IF^-AJSTCIS A- A^ALKER, Superintendent, Appointed April 1, IJS79 ; resigned November 3, 1881. CHAS. 'SV. SEATON, Superintendent, Appointed November 4, 1881. REPORT COTTON PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES; ALSO EMBRACING AGRICULTURAL AND PHYSICOGEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTIONS SEVERAL COTTON STATES AND OF CALIFORNIA. EUGENE W. HILGARD, Ph. D., Professor of Agriculture, University of California, former Professor at the University q/ Mississippi, and State Geologist, special a & e jst t in c ha. rgb. PART II. EASTERN GULF, ATLANTIC, AND PACIFIC STATES. WASHING-TON: GOVERNMENT P KIN TINS OFFICE, 18 6*. SUBJECTS OF THIS REPORT. Part I. GENERAL DISCUSSION OF COTTON PRODUCTION By Eugene W. IIilgahe, COTTON PRODUCTION IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND SOUTHWESTERN STATES. LOUISIANA | , , MISSISStPPT ( ' EUGENE " '■ HlLGAHIX TENNESSEE AND KENTUCKY By James M. Saffoed. MISSOURI -j ARKANSAS f TEXAS ■ f^Y R- K. Loughiiidge. END I AN TERRITORY \ Part II. COTTON PRODUCTION IN THE EASTERN GULF, ATLANTIC, AND PACIFIC STATES. ALABAMA , FLORIDA f^ Y EueENB A. Smith. GEORGIA By R, H. LoUgheidge. SOUTn CAROLINA By Harry Hajdioxd. NORTH CAROLINA , VIRGINIA }ByW.C. Kere. APPENDIX. CALIFORNIA ) NOTES ON UTAH, ARIZONA, AND NEW MEXICO \ Bt Eugene W. HlLGAKfc. •J REP OR T ON THE COTTON PRODUCTION ■ OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA. Po WITH A DISCI SSION OP THE GENERAL AGRICULTURAL FEATURES OF THE STATE. BY ZETTO-IEItTIE] .A-LLIEIN" SIMZITH, F^l. ID., STATE GEOLOGIST AND PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY AXE GEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, AND SPECIAL CENSUS AG-EHNTT. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page. Letter of Transmittal of Professor Hilgard vii Prefatory Letter vii Tabulated Results of the Enumeration 1 Table I. — Area, Population, Tilled Land, and Cotton Production 3 Table II. — Acreage and Production of Leading Crops 5 PART I. General Description of the State of Alabama : Geographical Position 9 Surface Contour 9 River Systems 9 Mountains and Table-Lands 10 Valleys 10 Climate 10 General Topographical and Geological Features and Divisions 12 Agricultural Subdivisions or Regions 13 Description of the Agricultural Regions: MIDDLE DIVISION. Subdivisions 14 Metamorphic Region: Geological Characters 14 Soils 15 Coosa Valley Region : General Characters 17 Coosa Valley : Outliers of Coosa Valley 18 Soil Subdivisions of the Coosa and Outlying Valleys 19 NORTHERN DIVISION. Subdivisions 25 Coal Measures Region : Coosa arid Cahaba Fields 26 The Warrior Field : (1.) The Table Land 26 (2.) The Warrior Basiu 26 Agricultural Features of the Coal Measures 27 Tennessee Valley Region: General Topographical Features and Subdivisions 28 Geological Structure 28 Lithological Characters, Distribution, etc., of the several Formations 29 Agricultural Characters 30 The Barrens 30 The Red or Valley Lands 32 The Little Mountain Range 33 SOUTHERN DIVISION. General Geological and Topographical Features and Subdi visions 34 Oak and Pine Uplands Region: Oak and Hickory Uplands, with Short-leaf Pine 37 Gravelly Hills, with Long-leaf Pine 38 General Characters 38 Agricultural Features 38 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. Pago. Description of the Agricultural Regions— Continued. Oak and Pine Uplands Region — Continued. Oak and Hickory Uplands, with Long-leaf Pine 41 (1.) Brown Loam Uplands 41 (2.) Pine Uplands 45 Central or Upper Prairie Region 45 General Description and Subdivisions 45 The Black Belt or Canebrake Region 4(3 The Hill Prairies and Chunnenngga Ridge 48 The Blue Marl Lauds 60 Post Oak Flatwoods Region 51 Lime-Hills on Lower Prairie Region 52 General Characters 53 Soils 514 Long-leaf Pine Region 54 Long-leaf Pine Hills 54 Open Rolling Pine Woods and Lime-sink Region 55 Pino Flats 5ti Alluvial Region 56 Alluvial Region of Mobile River 56 Saline Marshes of the Coast 56 List of Trees and Lesser Plants Characteristic of the Regions of the State— Prepared by Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile. I. — Lower Pine Region, or Coast Pine Belt, including 57 Maritime Plain, with Saline Marshes, etc 57 Open, Grassy River Swamps and Wooded Alluvial Bottoms » 57 Low, Flat Pine Barrens, or Pine Meadows 57 The Evergreen Glades of the Pine Hummock Lands and Wooded Bottoms, wiih open swamps bordering on them.. 57 The Rolling Pino Lands 57 II.— The Region of Mixed Tree Growth, or Upper Pine Region, including 58 The Lowlands; heavily wooded River Valleys and Creek Bottoms . 58 Uplands and Wooded Prairies, or Post Oak Flatwoods 58 HI. — The Cretaceous Plain, with the bald and wooded prairies of the Black Belt 58 IV.— The Mountain Region of North Alabama, to the Valley of the Tennessee River, including the Oak Forests of the Mr t amorphic Region 58 REMARKS ON COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA: Table III. — Population and Cotton Production in the Agricultural Regions GO Table IV, — Banner Counties in the Several Agricultural Regions GO Comparison of the Agricultural Regions 60 Areas of Greatest Production Gl Population and Cotton Production Gl Product per Acre, and its Relation to Population 62 Inferences to be drawn from these Comparisons 04 Fertilizers: The Use of Fertilizers in Cotton Planting 64 Fertilizers naturally occurring in Alabama 65 Stimulant Manures 05 Nutritive Manures 05 Cretaceous marls 05 Tertiary marls 65 Table of Analyses of Alabama Soils and Subsoils 71 PART II. Agricultural Descriptions of the Counties of Alabama: Metamorphic Region 77 Coosa Valley Region 85 Coal Measures Region 93 Tennessee Valley Region 99 Oak and Hickory Uplands, with Short-leaf Pine 109 Gravelly Hills, with Long-leaf Pine 113 Central Prairie Region 118 Post Oak Flatwoods Belt 132 Oak and Hickory Uplands, with Long-leaf Pine 132 Lower Prairie or Lime-Hills Region 143 Long-leaf Pine Region 144 Alluvial Region 148 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS. v PART III. Pago. Cultural anb Economic Details of Cotton Production: Reference Table of Reports 150 Summary of Answers to Schedule Questions 15:i Tillage, Improvements, etc l.">:s Planting and Cultivation of Tobacco 134 Ginning, Baling, and Shipping 154 Diseases, Insect Enemies, etc 155 Labor and System of Farming 15 r MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Agricultural Map of Alabama to face page.. 9 Map of Alabama Showing in Each Region of the State the Relation of trb Area Planted in Cotton and the Total Area to face page.. GO Diagrammatic Representations of Geological Sections : 1. Showing the General Relations of the Format ious of the State 13 2. Showing Structure of the Coosa Valloy, and an outlying Anticlinal Valley 18 3. Across the Tennessee Valley in North Alabama 20 LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL. Berkeley, California, September 12, 1882. To the Superintendent of Census. Dear Sir: I transmit herewith a report on the cotton production and agricultural features of the state of Alabama, by Dr. Eugene Allen Smith, professor of chemistry and geology at the University of Alabama, aud state geologist. In so doing, permit me to say that I consider Dr. Smith's report to be one of the best digested ami most complete of the series of which it forms a part. The geology of Alabama is by far the most complex among the cotton-growing states, its formations ranging from the very base of the stratified rocks to the most modem, with a very varied representation of each of the several ages. This variety has in a great measure impressed itself upon the surface features and soils of the state, the consequence being that it is hardly possible to discuss the latter intelligently without frequent reference to the geological features. LTence the prominence necessarily given to the latter in the descriptions of the several regions. The painstaking thoroughness of Dr. Smith's work will need no comment with the readers of this as well as- other reports issued from his pen ; but the amount of labor involved therein can hardly be appreciated save by those familiar with such work aud with the extreme complexity of the natural features of the state. Very respectfully, E. W. HILGAKD, Special Agent in charge of Cotton Production. University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, August 1, 1882. Dr. EUGENE W. HlLGARD, Special Census Agent in charge of Cotton Production. Dear Sir : With this I trausmit my report on the cotton production of the state of Alabama. In the arrangement of the subject-matter I have followed the plan adopted by yourself in the report already published on the cotton production of the state of Louisiana. The principal sources of information used in the preparation of the present report have been: The geological reports of Professor M. Tuomey, published in the years 1850 and 1858, respectively. The reports of progress of the geological survey, made by myself, for the, years 1874, 1875, 187G, 1877-'78, and 1S79-\S0. Manuscript notes of several excursions made by me, under the auspices of the Census Office, for the purpose of collecting soil specimens and certain data for this report. The answers returned by correspondents from the various counties to whom were sent the schedules of questions relating to cotton culture. From Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, a special agent of the Census Office, I have received many valuable notes on the botanical character of the different parts of the state. vil a viii PREFATORY LETTER. TUe couuty officers in many parts of the state have given, upon solicitation, much information regarding their own sections. * More than half of the analyses of soils ami subsoils given have been made at the expense of the state geological survey, and acknowledgments are due also to Messrs. McCalley. Cory, Durrett, and Langdon, students in the chemical laboratory of the University of Alabama (employed also by the Census Office and by the state survey), for analyses made by them without charge. Finally, free use has been made of the published bulletins of the Census Office. The details of the arrangement of the matter of this report are as follows: The tabulated results of the enumeration relating to area, population, and cotton production, and to the production of the leading crops. Part I. A general account of the physical and geological features of the state. A special description of the agricultural subdivisions or regions, accompanied by analyses of the most characteristic soils and discussions of the analyses. The soils analyzed were collected by myself, except those otherwise specially credited. Next follows a list of the botanical and common names of the characteristic timber trees and other plants of the several regions, including those giving most trouble to farmers, as weeds. Part I concludes with some remarks on cotton culture in the state, in which the statistics are presented in tabular form, to show the relations of the several regions in respect of area, population, and cotton production, and to compare these regions, as regards their product per acre and their respective contributions, to the total production of the state. Under each region are also given the "banner" counties in regard to the product per acre and total production, and a general discussion of the areas of greatest production, of the relations between the population and cotton production, the part borne by the two races (black and white) in cotton production, with some inferences drawn concerning the effect on the soil and on the yield of the prevalent systems of farming. This is followed by a chapter on the use of fertilizers in cotton planting, and an account of the materials naturally occurring in Alabama, which have been, or which may hereafter be, used in the improvement of the soils. Part II is devoted to the agricultural descriptions of the counties of the state, grouped under the several agricultural regions described in Part I. When a county belongs to more than one of these divisions, it is described in connection ■with that region with which it is thought to have most in common. Each county description is preceded by a heading giving data relating to population, area, lands in cultivation, ■with the proportion devoted to each of the leading crops, but particularly to cotton, under which head are given the number of bales, the average product per acre, and the percentage of tilled land in cotton. The statements of areas are based upon measurements which have been made as accurately as possible, but they are to be considered only as approximations, since the lines separating the several agricultural regions are themselves to a certain extent conventional. In the county descriptions abstracts are given of the answers to the schedule questions relating to the soil varieties, their yield of seed cotton when fresh, the most troublesome weeds, prevalent practice with regard to protection against injury from washes, etc. The great discrepancy between the estimates of correspondents and the enumeration returns regarding the average yield of the soils is more particularly noticed in the section devoted to remarks on cotton culture. Part III is devoted to the details relating to culture, system of farming, etc., being an abstract (condensed, but containing all the essential material) of the answers to the schedule questions relating to tillage and improvement of laud, planting and cultivation of cotton, ginning, baling, and shipping of the same, diseases and insect enemies, ■etc., and to labor and system of farming. Very respectfully, 10 EUGENE A. SMITE. TABULATED RESULTS OF THE ENUMERATION. Table I.— AREA, POPULATION, TILLED LAND, AND COTTON PRODUCTION. Table II.— ACREAGE AND PRODUCTION OF LEADING CROPS. 1 ll TABULATED RESULTS OF THE ENUMERATION. Table I.— AREA, POPULATION, TILLED LAND, AND COTTON PRODUCTION. ThoStato METAMORPHIC REGION. Clebmno Randolph Chambers Leo Tallapoosa Clay Coosa Total COOSA VALLEY REGION. Cherokee Calhoun Etowah Saint Clair Talladega Shelby Total COAL-MEASURES REGION. DeKalb Marshall Cullman JJlouut Jefferson Walker "Winston Total TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION. Jackson Morgan M dison Limestone Lauderdale Lawrence Colbert Franklin Total... OAK AND HICKORY UPLANDS., WITH SHORT-LEAF PINE. Marion Lamar Payette Pickens Total GRAVELLY HILLS, WITH LONG LEAF PINE. Tuscaloosa Bibb Chilton Aulauga £hoore Total 540 610 610 CIS eio 610 670 660 640 520 630 700 780 740 500 590 700 960 880 640 700 810 590 700 700 570 610 810 590 CG0 1,000 3, 060 1,300 01 II 700 000 630 3,990 POPULATION. 1, 26J, 505 10, 970 16, 575 23, 440 27, 262 23, 401 12, 938 "l5, 113 129, 705 19,108 19, 591 15, 398 14, 462 23, 300 17, 230 109, 155 12, 675 14, 585 6,355 15, 309 23, 272 9,479 4,253 sr,, os.s 25, 114 16,428 37, 025 21, COO 21, 035 21,302 16, 153 9,155 5,356 8,198 11, 517 13, 079 11, 578 6,330 7,500 13, 558 9,679 9,836 7,703 7,231 11,380 8,664 "i4. 493 6,300 7,208 3,234 7,644 11, 890 4,033 2,131 43, mi; 12, 620 8,185 18,538 10, 762 10,485 10, 020 7,980 4,523 168, 502 S3, 719 9, 304 4, 599 12,142 I 5,992 10,135 \ 5,061 21, 479 10, 605 53, 120 24, 957 9,467 10, 793 13, 108 17, 502 20, 257 12, 104 4,064 5,418 6,451 8,780 75.847 37,417 5,020 8,377 11, 923 14, 183 11, 823 10, 308 13, 155 11, 304 12, 217 10, 108 6, 608 11, 870 7, 613 10, 050 9,429 9,755 7,095 7,231 11, 980 8,572 54, 002 0,375 7,377 3, 121 7, 725 11, 376 4,846 12,488 8,243 19, 087 10, 838 10, 550 10, 772 8,173 4,632 10,418 14, 134 12, 896 11, 021 10, 856 12, 253 78.17S 11, 993 13, 084 6,312 14, 210 18, 219 8,978 4,230 77,1132 84,783 4,765 6,150 5,074 10, 874 21, 074 11,758 18, 591 11, 637 14, 173 12.642 9,203 8,079 3,420 12, 070 15, 045 7,293 1,068 5,063 44, 033 5,457 2,502 2,841 2,504 4,983 1, 1)77 1,501 '43 1,159 5,053 501 17 8, «l:",l'. 26,1 8,841 9,967 8,873 9,132 I, 813 12,853 15,216 4, 823 5, 887 5, 375 i 8, 651 6, 657 I 4, 397 8,722 8,747 38,430 42,898 4,040 4,070 19, 034 9,903 6,862 8,750 6,950 1,076 523 2,175 1,262 12, 347 16,307 9,741 3,600 2,142 8,711 TILLED LAND. 6, 134, 198 51, 428 81, 426 149, 283 122, 875 143, 175 57, 972 80, 791 O.-II. 930 88, 819 93, 857 60, 780 65, 105 113, 389 58, 550 4SO, 5(1(1 52, 090 68,175 20, 527 68, 800 71, 959 46, 725 17, 767 340, 1(1 32,949 | 19 123, 924 95, 584 213, 221 129, 477 192,839 138, 034 74, 876 46, 895 924, 850 42, 925 62, 141 56,118 115, 560 276, 744 111,171 43, 790 40, 676 81, 388 73, 897 35(1. 928 COTTON PRODUCTION. Average per acre 38 2,330,080 699,654 9,156 23,177 70, 934 51,689 41,299 13, 921 26, 468 3,609 7,475 19, 476 13, 189 14, 161 4,973 8,411 0.39 0.32 0.27 0.25 0.34 0.36 0.32 236,745 71,285 ; 0.30 24, 388 26, 435 15, 187 14, 735 32, 841 17,919 10, 777 10,848 6,571 6,028 11,832 6, 643 0.44 0.41 0.43 0.41 0.36 0.37 131,505 52,699 0.40 7,469 16, 412 1,469 12, 502 14, 220 8,743 2,048 62, 803 2, 859 5,358 378 4,442 5,333 2,754 568 0.38 0.33 0.26 0.36 0.38 0.31 0.28 21,692 0.35 20 34 34 26 19,685 18, 828 72, 838 44, 334 26, 594 42, 803 25,411 10, 368 260. Mil 7,269 15,245 12, 331 52, 651 87, 496 0,133 20, 679 15, 724 9,270 13,791 9,012 3,603 0.33 0.28 0.35 0.35 0.32 0.35 0.35 2,240 5, 013 4,268 17, 283 0.31 0.33 0.35 0.33 28,806 0.33 , 471 33,773 ' 11,137 15, 737 I 4, 843 11, 558 30, 474 31, 045 3,534 7,944 9,771 0.33 | 471 0.31 I 441 0.31 0.26 0.31 35 I 122, 587 ; 37, 229 0. 30 116 85 51 23 12 32 13 16 37 41 29 23 16 17 13 10 20 2 18 15 10 3 20 27 90 75 38 54 45 17 4 10 13 17 16 26 17 5 12 13 4 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Table I.— AREA, POPULATION, TILLED LAND, AND COTTON PRODUCTION— Continued. OAK AND IIICKORT UPLANDS, WITH LONG-LEAF TINE. Choctaw .. Clarke .... Monroe. . . Wilcox Bailor Conecuh. . . Crenshaw . Piko... .. Coffee Dale Henry Total. CENTRAL PRAIRIE REGION. Sumter Greene Hale Marengo Perry Dallas Luwniles Montgomery . Bullock Macon Knssell ...... Baroour Total. LONG-LEAF PINE REGION. Washington Mohile Baldwin Escamhia CoviDgton . . Geneva 930 1,100 1,030 SCO S00 840 060 740 700 050 1,000 1,000 020 C70 900 790 980 740 740 600 630 670 860 0, 220 1,050 1,290 1,620 1,000 1,030 590 Total , 0,580 POPULATION. 091 828 649 605 720 640 119 J 677 , 761 j ',750 1,797 1,344 1,024 1,483 1,257 i,741 1,157 1,025 7,981 9,009 8,747 16,204 10, 160 6,348 5,935 10, 483 4,094 6,503 9,510 180.033 91,603 I 95,030 28, 728 21, 931 26, 553 30, 890 30, 741 48, 433 31, 176 52, 356 29, 060 17, 371 24, 837 33, 979 370,001 184,791 4,538 48,653 8,603 5,719 5,039 4,342 77, 494 14,740 11, 108 13, 357 15,751 15. 091 24, 609 15, 624 20, 793 14, 721 8,937 12, 728 17, 205 White. Color'd, 7,390 7,718 7,780 0,711 10,684 0,224 9,118 14,308 6,831 10,553 11,994 99, 371 191,270 2,341 23, 086 4,430 2,933 2, 757 2, 198 37, 745 2,197 25, 567 4,173 2,786 2,882 2,144 39, 749 0,451 3,765 4.903 7,277 7,150 8,425 5,645 13,457 6,944 4,587 6,182 13, 091 22. 277 18,106 21,050 23,613 23, 591 40, 008 i5, 531 38, 899 22, 122 12, 784 18, 655 20, 888 67,877 '238,184 2,807 27, 187 4,890 4,100 4,968 1,731 21, 466 3, 713 1,613 071 513 29, 707 TILLED LAND. 77, 182 77, 180 77, 317 161,228 87, 010 40, 905 67, 770 114,850 42, 126 08,413 137, 348 957, :i'J.', 172, 100 119, 426 140, 072 109, 097 107,000 207,404 181, 272 241, 570 170, 800 133, 924 134, 320 197, 455 8,930 8,998 7,098 0,934 19, 520 17, 604 69, 550 COTTON PBniHJCTION. o o 31,086 33, 477 33, 463 77, 070 35, 851 10, 523 20, 962 47, 107 16,431 27,070 54, 305 Average per acre. 1,054 : ,097 1,421 j 1,745 i , 895 1,633 1,173 >, 130 1,788 1,224 1,573 80, 662 03,643 09, 995 80, 790 74, 303 115,031 98, 200 112,125 80, 50, 703 81, 582 100,442 0.20 0.33 0.31 0.35 0.33 0.28 0.30 0.32 0.29 0.23 0.23 (I. ::u 22,211 0.28 15,611 0.25 18,093 0.20 0.29 ™ I 23,481 | 21, 027 33, 534 29, 350 31,732 22, 578 14, 580 19, 442 20, 003 7S, 508 3,280 1, 240 1 1 1,384 038 278 04 4,170 1,158 4,947 1,112 0.29 0.29 0.30 0.28 0.28 0.20 0.24 0.20 0.27 0.40 0.34 0.28 0.23 fc. a & ?, f-3 a S»H 15. 0, 12 20 7 22- 30 27 24 27 31 40, 43 TABULATED RESULTS OF THE ENUMERATION. Table II.— ACREAGE AMD PRODUCTION OF LEADING CROPS. COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Table II.— ACKEAGE AND PRODUCTION OP LEADING CROPS— Continued. OAK AND HICKORY UPLANDS, WITH LONG-LEAF PINE. Choctaw .. Clarke .... Monroe ... Wilcox .... Butler Conecuh ... Crenshaw. Pike Coffee Dale Henry CENTItAL TRAIRIE REGION. Sumter. Greene Hale Marengo Perry Dallas Lowndes Montgomery. Bullock Macon Kussell Barbour Total LONG-LEAF TINE REGION. Washington Mobile Bald win Escambia Covington Geneva Total . COTTON. ixdian CORN. OATS. WHEAT. TOIIACCO. 6WEET I'OTATOEB. Acres. Bales. Acres. Bushels. Acres. Bushels. Acres. Bushels. Acres. 1'ounda. Acres. Buahelfl. 31, ose 9, 064 25, 013 272,213 3,338 28, 432 23 4,322 748 S3, 477 11,097 28, 220 312.718 5, 005 47, 737 7 30 19 2,349 1.250 05, 217 33, 403 10,421 24, 135 251. 008 4,597 44, 024 11 77, 076 26, 745 40, 053 573, 385 7,011 92, 933 22 179 15 2, 095 1. 597 130, 591 35, 851 11,895 24,048 274, 008 7,494 71,100 10 150 7 2, 559 079 07, 000 10, 523 4,033 652 26, 962 8,173 28, 099 254, 950 5, 208 30, 480 20 139 33 0, 250 558 52. 218 47, 107 15, 136 42, 207 374. 170 5. 424 38, 098 72 408 5 70) 683 91. 1180 111, 431 4, 7SS 18, 068 155.014 2,370 15,025 22 65 5 1, 103 474 ■18. 272 27, 076 0, 224 31.S07 221,497 5,114 28, 894 69 330 2 250 672 82, 280 54,305 12, 573 48,001 325, 840 7, 902 03,402 193 906 24 4,499 1, 200 112,084 399, 357 120, 739 332, 289 ::, 100, 800 50, 096 401, 861 411 2. 233 151 28, 803 9, 903 882, 558 80, 662 22.211 51,402 699, 883 2,700 31, 380 24 225 13 2,027 1, 050 90. 102 63,643 15,811 31,820 402, 992 2, 163 22,404 314 1, 803 41 0, 629 705 O.074 69, 995 18, 093 43, 254 595, 185 3,071 45, 075 1, 437 15, 273 10 5, 540 1,214 77. 830 80, 790 23, 481 43, 870 098, 009 0, 574 83, 234 43 7,479 1,138 '.15. 025 74,303 21,027 48, 132 028, 248 0,033 03,710 440 2, 974 24 4, 522 1,107 77, TOO 115, 031 33, 534 40, 542 707, 139 8, 200 111,213 71 487 13 1, 078 2, 250 137.367 08, 260 112,125 29, 356 31,732 41,109 62, 303 611.184 707, 427 3,630 4, 895 43, 922 62, 292 1.004 1.720 08 393 2 318 117.265 80, 470 22, 578 47.4)1 379, 870 0.177 43, 028 111 455 3 833 773 07, 0118 56, 763 14, 580 23, 833 173, 909 0, 105 53, 330 1,910 9,094 669 928 00, 371 81, 582 19,442 34, 335 9,789 91, 141 1,099 0,771 2 303 1,093 80.101 100,442 20, 063 01, 822 437,415 10,204 99, 295 131 530 22 3,512 1,274 14,268 112,371 1, 014, 606 278, 508 535,935 6, 310. 882 70,417 759, 090 5,601 38, 005 185 34, 321 1.051,6711 3,280 4,259 464 1 1 1,039 25, 272 139 1,440 770 >■, (595 1,384 278 038 01 2,041 3,639 28, 428 34, 336 350 809 5, 10S 8,979 1 350 4') 494 4,170 1,158 10,558 81, 997 2,114 10, 206 8 1.704 400 4,947 1,112 9,476 58, 887 ' 1, 705 10, 604 | 4 948 350 3.1, -192 14,666 4,249 31, 672 287, 025 5,641 45,944 13 3,062 3,018 2CJ*,810 16 :p^:r,t i. PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES STATE OF ALABAMA. 7 17 2 o p — vol. rr - GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA. Alabama is situated between the eighty-fifth and eighty-ninth degrees of west longitude and the thirty-first and thirty-fifth parallels »f north latitude. The thirty-fifth parallel makes the northern boundary of the state, and the thirty -first the southern, with the exception of that portion west of the Perdido river, which extends south to the Gulf of'Mexico. The form is thus seen to be oblong, with the greater dimension from north to south. The total area thus included is, according to the latest estimates, 52,250 square miles, and the total land surface, 51,540 square miles. Surface CONTOUR. — Leaving out of account the minor irregularities, the surface of the state may be considered as an undulating plain, whose mean elevation- above sea-level cannot be much less than GOO feet. Toward the north and east the surface rises above this level, and toward the south and west it sinks below it. The arc of a circle, with Chattanooga as a center, described from the northwestern corner of the state around to the Chattahoochee river at Columbus, would include the area whose general elevation is above 600 feet. The axis of this elevation, which is the southern terminus of the great Appalachian mountain chain, runs northeast and southwest, and the altitude increases toward the northeast. There is thus a general slope away from this elevated region toward all points of the compass from southeast around to northwest. The mountains of the state rest upon this high land, and often reach an elevation above it of 1,200 or 1,500 feet, or above sea-level of 2,000 or 2,500 feet. The rest of the state outside of the area above mentioned, and whose general altitude is less than 600 feet 7 has a slope south and southwest toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi valley. Along this slope the streams have excavated their channels and produced the various topographical features, none of which are due to elevation above the general surface. River systems. — There are, in the most general terms, two things which have determined the drainage system of Alabama. These are, first, the slopes toward the northwest and the southeast, away from the axis of elevation above spoken of; and, second, the more general slope of the surface of the state, taken as a whole, southwest toward the axis of the Mississippi valley. An inspection of the map will show that the latter cause has greatly outweighed the former in fixing the direction of the water-courses, with the result of giving a general southwest direction to the whole drainage system of the state, with the single exception of that of the Tennessee river. In the northeastern part of the state the northeast and southwest direction of the valleys and ridges has also been largely instrumental in turning southwestward (down the valleys) the waters whose natural fall is southeastward at right angles to the axis of elevation of this mountainous region. Tennessee river. — Looking beyond the limits of the state northeastwardly, we find the Blue Eidge, of which the elevated country in Alabama is but a part, acting as a water-shed between the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of Meatco. The drainage slopes are therefore toward the northwest and the southeast. At the northwestern foot of this water-shed, in North Carolina, are the headwaters of the Tennessee river. Its natural northwesterly flow is interfered with by the topographical features of the country, the most formidable of which, according to Professor Safford, is the great Cumberland table-land. Parallel with this the river flows through a large part of Tennessee, and, cutting through a detached part of the Cumberland range at Chattanooga, enters the Sequatchie valley, which it follows to Guutersviile, in Alabama, where it cuts through the rest of the Cumberland range, and flows thence down the northwesterly slope to its confluence with the Mississippi river. The Tennessee is thus exceptional among the rivers of Alabama. The Chattahoochee. — This is a boundary stream, and is but slightly related to Alabama, as its headwaters are principally in Georgia. Its tributary streams on the Alabama side are mostly short and insignificant. The Tallapoosa, Coosa, Alabama, Warrior, and Lower Tombigbee rivers have many things in common. They all have their headwaters in the elevated region above alluded to, and all flow south and southwest into the Gulf of Mexico. In their upper parts, with the exception of tire Tombigbee, their flow is alternately southwest down. 9 10 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. one of the valleys spoken of, and then south across a ridge to resume their southwestern courses. Where ihey leave that, elevated region (which is in general formed of the tough and hard rocks of the older formations) and pass into the territory formed by the newer and softer rocks there appear the cascades which form the first obstructions to navigation. These falls, or rapids, are seen at Columbus (Georgia), Tallahassee, Wetumpka, Centerville, Tuscaloosa, and Muscle Shoals, on the principal rivers, and at corresponding localities on the smaller streams. The Coosa river, from Rome, Georgia, down to Greensport, Alabama, flows in general along the strike of the rocks and has no serious obstructions. Below Greensport it turns across these rocks, and rapids are formed, which alternate with stretches of open, smooth waters down to Wetumpka, where the last falls are situated. This river lias thus two navigable sections separated by nearly 200 miles of alternating cascades and pools. None of the other rivers in this part of the state are navigable above, the lower falls. The Choctawhatchie and Conee.uli rivers, with their tributaries, Pea river, Patsaliga, Sepulga, etc., are all turned southward by a prominent topographical feature known as Chiiunenugga ridge, which divides the waters flowing northwestward into the Tallapoosa and Alabama rivers from those flowing southward by various channels into the Gulf. It will be seen that their general direction is west of south, as determined by the general slope of the lower portion of the state. Mountains and tablelands. — The mountainous region of the state is confined to the northeastern quarter, as before defined, and the higher portions lie in the eastern half of this area. The valley of the Coosa, from the state line down to the southern line of Shelby and Talladega counties, divides this region into parts which have very different characters. Southeast of this valley are some of the highest lands of the state, and the height of the mountains decreases, as a rule, going southeast. In all this region the summits of the mountains are irregular, and sometimes sharp crested, from the outcropping edges of the generally highly-inclined strata. Northwest of the Coosa valley the mountains are. generally level on top, forming table-lands 10 to 1.3 miles broad, separated by long and narrow valleys. Beyond the Tennessee river these table-lands are cut by erosion into a number of detached peaks, each with a level or nearly level top. These peaks overlook the valleys in steep escarpments, which, especially in the northeast, often attain truly mountainous proportions. In the lower part of the state there are no elevations which at all deserve the name of mountains, and the highest hills of this region are due. solely to erosion — the wasting of the softer rocks by the action of water. Valleys. — Many of the valleys of the elevated region show a close dependence upon the geological structure; and while they are all due to erosion, their position has been in most cases, if not in all, determined by the relative positions of the outcropping edges of the strata of different degrees of hardness. All the valleys in the mountainous region of the state, like the mountain ranges themselves, have, a northeast and southwest direction. The most important of these valleys in many respects is that of the Coosa, which is the southern end of a series of valleys extending from New York to Alabama, and known in New York as the valley of the Hudson, in Pennsylvania as the Kittatinuy or Cumberland valley, in Virginia as the Great valley, in Tennessee as the valley of East Tennessee, and iu Alabama, as we have just seen, as the Coosa valley. The several outliers of this valley, which separate the parts of the table-lauds and coal-fields, belong to the same general system. The sandstones which form the capping of the mountain plateaus rest upon softer strata of shales and limestones, and the dip of all the strata is at a gentle, angle toward the south or southwest, while the river cuts across at nearly right angles. These are the conditions under which escarpments are formed, such as make the southern border of the Tennessee valley across the state. In the lower part of the state the valleys, like the hills, have very little relation to the geological structure, except iu the case of the prairie region, which may be considered as a wide valley, since it is many feet below the hills that border it on the north and south. Climate. — The most potent influences which determine climate are latitude or distance from the equator, elevation above tide, and configuration of mountain chains, proximity to the sea, and the direction of the prevailing winds. In all these particulars the position of Alabama is favorable for a temperate and uniform climate. The geographical position and the mean elevation of the state have already been subjects of discussion. Winds. — The prevailing winds during the autumn and winter mouths are from the northeast and northwest; during the spring and summer, from the southeast; and for the whole year, from the, southeast and south, but the yearly mean directions are nearly evenly balanced. Temperature. — Extremes of temperature are comparatively rare, and the extremes of heat during the summer months are especially moderated by the tempering winds from the Gulf of Mexico. In those parts of the state most remote from the Gulf their elevation above sea-level secures immunity from excessive heat. The mean annual temperature of the state is about 64.58° F. The means for the seasons are as follows : Spring, 63.9°; summer, 79.5°; autumn, 04.5°; winter, 00.4°. The maxima and minima of temperature fall almost without exception in the months of July and January, respectively. In the. lower part of the state, below the latitude of Montgomery, the mean temperature for the winter andfoi the year are nearly normal ; that is, the lines of equal temperature run across the state from east to west, approximately parallel to the lines of latitude, the temperature depending thus almost exclusively upon the latitude. PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 11 Above Montgomery, however, two things inter/ere with this regularity, viz: 1. The cooling influence of the mountains, which has the effect of deflecting the isothermals southward. 2. The heating influence of wide river valleys like those of the Coosa, Warrior, and Tennessee, that are sunk in these highlands. By this cause these lines are carried northward of their normal position. With these general principles in view, the distribution of the temperature will be readily understood. The line of mean annual temperature of 68° F. crosses the state just south of Mobile; that of 64° just above Montgomery, curving, however, southward from Montgomery to Eufaula. The line of 00° follows approximately the curve spoken of as running from Columbus, Georgia, around to the northwestern corner of the state; that is, it follows the borders of the elevated or mountainous region, being, however, carried northward by the Coosa and the Warrior rivers and eastward by the Tennessee. The line of 50° is confined to the northeastern corner of the state, but is brought far to the south by the mountain plateau lying between the Coosa and the Tennessee rivers. The case is similar with the lines of equal temperature for the winter. That of 52° runs nearly parallel with the thirty-first degree of latitude; that of 48° has its normal course through Selma and Montgomery, but is carried by the Coosa river as high up as the crossing of the Selma, Borne, and Dalton railroad at Coosa bridge; and that of 44 c follows the margin of the mountainous region, except where it is carried by the Coosa river above Talladega and by the Tennessee river eastward nearly to Decatur. The line of 40° includes only the northeastern corner of the state, to which it is crowded by the Coosa and the Tennessee rivers. The lines of equal temperature for the summer show much greater irregularity, caused apparently by the preponderating influence of the river valleys. Thus the line of S0° runs diagonally from Tallahassee, in Florida up to Tuscaloosa, by reason of the Alabama, Tombigbee, and Warrior rivers. The line of 78° curves, like some of those above mentioned, around the border of the mountainous region, being considerably indented by the Coosa and Warrior rivers, while it follows the valley of the Tennessee river through the whole of northern Alabama into the state of Tennessee beyond Chattanooga. In the latitude of Montgomery the last frost occurs, as a rule, between the 5th and the 25th of April, and where the last frost is recorded in March the records show that its actual formation in April was prevented by unfavorable conditions, such as cloudy weather or brisk winds. The first frosts occur usually between the 10th and the 25th of October. When the first frost falls in November, the records always show that some time in October the temperature was sufficiently low for frost, the actual formation of which was prevented by the unfavorable conditions above mentioned. The influence of topography upon the formation of frost is clearly seen in those parts of the state where the variations in level are considerable ; for though both the mountains and the valleys are exposed to the same conditions, and radiation from each goes on at the same rate, the effects of the radiation will be felt in different degrees. As the air is cooled it becomes more dense, and in consequence flows down the slopes to the lower levels, where it accumulates. The elevated lands are thus never exposed to the full intensity of frosts, for their position affords a ready way for the escape of the cooled air, which flows down the slopes as fast as formed, and the reduction of temperature is in this way greatly retarded. On the other hand, the valleys and lowlands not- only retain all the cold air caused by their own radiation, but serve also as reservoirs for the cold air descending from the adjoining heights. The conditions for frost formation are thus greatly increased, and iu a degree are proportional to the narrowness of the valley and the height of the adjacent hills. Since the cotton-plant continues to grow and mature its fruit until cut off by frosts, it is obvious that the length of time between frosts becomes an important factor in determining the fitness of a locality for the production of cotton. Hence mountain lands, even with inferior soils, are steadily coming into favor for cotton planting. Rainfall. — The supply of moisture for the rainfall of the southern states comes mainly from the Gulf of Mexico, the densest annual precipitation of CO inches and upward being over the region of the delta of the Mississippi river and along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and western Florida. An area of heavy annual rainfall, 50 inches and upward, spreads thence, with gradually diminishing amount, northeastward, including Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, western Tennessee, the whole of Mississippi and Alabama, northwestern Georgia, and parts of middle, western, and southern Florida. Along the eastern coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South and North Carolina the influence of the Atlantic ocean is seen in the heavy precipitate of from 55 to 00 inches which falls there. The distribution of the rainfall in Alabama for the year, and for the winter and summer seasons, is about as follows : An annual precipitate of 50 inches and upward falls within a belt narrowest in the middle and widening out at both ends, and crossing the state diagonally from the southwestern to the northeastern corner. In the lower part of this belt an area including Mobile and Baldwin and parts of Washington, .Clarke, Monroe, Wilcox, Dallas, Lowndes, Butler, Conecuh, and Escambia counties receives an annual rainfall of 02 inches and upward, reaching a maximum of Clinches at Mount Vernon. In the extreme northwestern corner of the state is another small area whose annual raiufall is above 50'inches. Between these two areas the rainfall is less, falling below 50 inches iu 12 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA the central part. Eastward of the main belt the amount of annual rainfall decreases, being- between 44 and 56 inches over the southeastern part of the state, except in two small areas in Lee and Chambers and in Henry counties, where it ranges between 40 and 44 inches. During the winter months (December, January, and February) we find the area of maximum rainfall running along the western border of the state within 30 miles of the 'Mississippi line, except where a branch is thrown off, including parts of Dallas, Wilcox, Lowndes, Montgomery, Butler, Crenshaw. Pike, and Bullock counties, and another deflection toward the. east in the Tennessee valley, including parts of Lawrence, Limestone, and Madison counties. Over the rest of the state the winter rainfall is between 12 and 16 inches, except in a small area in the western part of Sumter county and a strip along the eastern border of the state below Ckambers county, including parts of Chambers, Lee, Macon, Bullock, Barbour, Dale, Geneva, and all of Henry and Russell counties, where it falls below 12 inches. During the summer months (June, July, and August) the greatest amount of rainfalls south of a line running from the southwestern part of Choctaw county to the upper line of Dallas, and thence southeastward to the southeastern corner of the state, in Henry county. Within the area thus outlined the rainfall is 14 inches and upward, increasing to IS inches and more in Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Butler. Conecuh, Escambia, and Covington counties. North of the Tennessee river, in Lauderdale, Limestone, Madison, and Jackson counties, we find another area of large summer rainfall, 14 inches and upward, and between the two, over perhaps two-thirds of the state, the summer rainfall falls below 14 inches. In the meteorological region of which Alabama forms a part there are commonly observed two maxima of precipitation, the principal one about the end of July, the secondary one early in December; also a principal minimum early in October, and a secondary one toward the end of April. The range in Alabama, however, is moderate, and the distribution tolerably uniform throughout the year, as may be seen from the following statement: The average rainfall of the state is 55.04 inches, and of this 13.80 inches fall during the spring months, 14.07 during the summer, 10.74 during the autumn, and 16.37 during the winter, (a) The records kept at Montgomery show that no periods of wet weather extend over five days, ami that when the periods are long heavy rainfalls are exceptional. During the months of March, April, and May thunder-storms are not unusual, and the quantity of rain which then falls is sometimes great. These storms come mostly from westerly directions, from' southwest around to northwest, but most often from the southwest. The strong winds with which they are usually accompanied sometimes reach the force of hurricanes or tornadoes, which sweep over the country in a narrow track, usually of less than a mile in width. The tornadoes come almost without exception from the southwest, the wind having a gyratory motion, as is shown by the positions of the prostrated trees. Snow falls occasionally in the months of January and February. In the lower counties of the state it is extremely rare, but northward there is usually at least one considerable snowfall during the winter. General topographical and geological features and divisions.— Every geological formation occurring in the Appalachian region of North America has its representatives in the stratified rocks of Alabama, and this state therefore possesses a variety in its geology and topography not excelled by any member of the Union. The main topographical features of any region are either inequalities of surface, caused by actual folds or wrinkles of the earth's crust, or are due to the degradation of the land by atmospheric or aqueous agencies. The two great factors which determine surface configuration are thus seen to be geological structure and erosion. In all cases difference in the quality of the material acted upon as regards resistance to erosion is an important subfaetor, to which are due ail those minor inequalities which constitute scenery. By atmospheric and other agencies the rocks decay and are disintegrated, crumbling down into soils, which rest upon and vary with the underlying parent rock, or which are removed by running water or other transporting agent and spread over regions more or less remote from their point of origin. A distinction is thus made between transported or drifted soils and those in place. All bottom or alluvial lands are of the nature of drifted soils, but these are always more or less related in composition to the uplands of the particular drainage basin in which they occur. On the other hand, certain parts of the state have been covered in comparatively recent times with transported soils, resulting from the commingling of the detritus of widely different geological formations, and often bearing very little relation to the underlying or adjacent rock masses. These, the true drifted soils, exhibit local variations which result from the influence of the underlying rocks upon which they have been deposited. In the present position of the rock strata, whether approximately horizontal or much inclined in the nature of the connection between the topography and the geological structure and in the relations of the soils to the country rocks upon which they rest, are found the characters according to which, for convenience of study and description of its natural features, the state may be marked off into three tolerably distinct divisions: a middle, a northern, and a southern division. The middle division is the southwestern terminus of a series of folded and faulted strata, which, under the name of the Appalachian chain, extends from the eastern states through Pennsylvania, etc., into Alabama. a The data for the above account of the climate are derived from the Smithsonian. ^ PHYSIOO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 13 Throughout this part of the state the strata arc usually inclined at considerable angles either toward the southeast or the northwest, and their outcropping edges have the general direction of northeast and southwest. The topographical features, ridges and valleys, are disposed in parallel strips or belts, having the same direction as rock strata, to which they owe their origin. With the exception of the bottom and alluvial lands, the soils of this division are in place, resting directly upon the rocks from which they have been derived. Northwest of this middle division the southern terminations of the great Cumberland table-land and of the highlands of Tennessee extend down into Alabama. These two, together with the Warrior coal basin, constitute the northern division. Here the strata are approximately horizontal, except along the borders of certain outlying folds belonging to the middle division, and the influence of geological structure upon the topography is much less distinctly, seen than in the preceding division. The soils, like those of the preceding division, and with the exceptions there noted, have been derived from the disintegration of the underlying rocks of the country. In the southern division, with approximately horizontal position of the strata, we find the topography very slightly influenced by geological structure, but, on the other haud, almost exclusively the result of erosion, as determined by the differences in the materials of a single formation, the stratified drift or orange sand, which, except in parts of the prairie belt, covers the underlying beds over this whole division. In this division, therefore, the agricultural features depend, with the principal exception of the prairies, primarily upon the quality of these superficial transported beds, and not upon the rocks of the country. Local modifications of these widely-spread drifted soils, as before stated, are not uncommonly brought about by the influence of the underlying rock masses which they cover. In the detailed descriptions which follow the divisions are taken up in the order previously given, which is also the order of their relative geological ages. The relations above mentioned are shown by the following general section across the state along the broken line: i Croaiooau.!. j niucui* Terliarjj, OaKixnajffitHvr,, VpWitne ' I /a/itfaWTWa/t? -^v;/f ^ (7/j j j^,TTi r ,t f ,OpeiiTin4~Xiooi7s. WLirriorlUiiers ior Coal Sam'n. ■p j TTc^burip | , Foot -Tertiary* Crotnaeaus. t ^Hocent Tertiary. I ^Metamcrp~hie, Silurian, DcvoTuart anil Carhani/broua Formations. [ i a Melamorphie rocks; b Silurian (Potsdam) sandstone; cSilurian shale; dSilurian limestones; c Sub-Carboniferous cherty limestones; /Coal Measures; pBeds of sand, "ravel, ami loam averlying toe Cretaceous. Tertiary, and part of metamorpkic rock. Mf SaniZstOTie. JWShaTes. /^'Mbttrmorphzr .SZa&s. /UyyUimeseone. Jffl Cherty limestone General section across the stato of Alabama from Florence, southeastward through Tilscumbia, Houston, and Birmingham to Rockford, Coosa county, and thence south westward through Monroeville, Monroe county, aud Mobile to the Gulf coast, showing the disposition of the geological formations and the geographical positions of the agricultural regions, together with tbeir relations to the geological formations. Agricultural subdivisions or regions. — Under these general divisions the agricultural features of Alabama will be described in the following order : MIDDLE DIVISION. 1. The Metamorpkic region, including — Eed lands. Gray lauds. 2. The Coosa Valley region, with its — Flatwoods. Brown-loam and red-clay lauds. Gray cherty lands. There are also included iu this division the Coosa and Cahaba coal-fields, but they are described in detail under the succeediug head. NORTHERN DIVISION. 3. Coal Measures region, including the sandy lauds of — The Coosa and Cahaba coal-fields. The Warrior basin and plateau. 4. The Tennessee Valley region, the three subdivisions of which are — Barrens. Bed valley lands. Sandy lands of Little Mountain range. 23 14 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. SOUTHERN DIVISION. 5. Oak and pine uplands region, which includes — Oak and hickory uplands, with short-leaf pine. Gravelly hills, with long-leaf pine. Oak and hickory uplands, with long-leaf pine. Still further subdivided into — Brown-loam uplands, and Pine hills. 6. Upper or central prairie region, including — Black prairie or " canebrake". Hill prairies and Chunnenugga ridge. Blue marl lands. 7. Post-oak tint woods belt or region. 8. Lower prairie region, or lime-hills. 9. The Long-leaf pine region, subdivided into — Rolling, open pine woods, with liine-sinks. Pine flats. 10. Alluvial region of Mobile river and the coasts. MIDDLE DIVISION. A line drawn on the map from the northeastern corner of the state southwestward to Tuscaloosa, and thence through Centerville, Clanton, Wetumpka, and Tallassee to Columbus, Georgia, would mark approximately the boundaries of this division. A part of the Coal Measures of the Warrior field, though falling within the limits above given, is to be classed with the next division, and, on the other hand, Murphree's and Brown's valleys, in Blount and Marshall counties, and the continuation of the last-named valley northeastward along the Tennessee river through Jackson county, though outside these limits, is still to be included in this division, which, as thus defined, has an area of nearly 10,000 square miles, and embraces the following counties and parts of counties: All of Cleburne, Calhoun, Saint Clair, Shelby, Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Chambers, and Coosa, narrow belts through Jackson, Marshall, I)e Kalb, and Blount, southern Cherokee, most of Etowah, southeastern Jefferson, a small strip along the southeastern edge of Tuscaloosa, northern Bibb, eastern half of Chilton, southern Elmore, Tallapoosa, and Lee. Subdivisions. — By reference to a geological map of the state it will be seen that this division includes : 1. The metamorphic region. 2. The valley of the Coosa, together with its outliers, the Cahaba, Roup's, Jone.s', Wills', Murphree's, and Brown's valleys, and the continuation of the latter along the Tennessee river to the northeastern corner of the state. 3. The Coosa and the Cahaba coal-fields. These three subdivisions are best described separately. THE METAMORPHIC REGION. This being a part of the great Appalachian chain, includes some of the most elevated land in the state in the counties of Cleburne, Randolph, Chambers, Lee, Macon, Tallapoosa, Clay, Coosa, Elmore, and Chilton, comprising an area of 4.425 square miles. Geological characters. — The rocks of this region are the altered and crystallized sediments either of Silurian or preceding ages, and exhibit the greatest diversity, both in their chemical composition, in their physical characters, and in the nature of the topography and the soils to which they give rise. There are all gradations between the hard, almost indestructible quartzites to the easily-eroded marble; from the warm, fertile, and undulating granitic and gneissic land to the much broken, often sterile tracts formed by mica slates and other highly siliceous rocks. With the varying composition of the rocks come varying degrees of resistance to decay and erosion, and hence the great variety in the scenery of this region, where high and almost mountainous ridges alternate with rolling and sometimes rugged lowlands and valleys. In some parts the strata have undergone complete disintegration in place and have been converted into great masses of stratified clays, interlaminated with seams of quartz, which, gradually broken down, cover the ground with their angular fragments. PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 15 Soils. — The depth to which this decay reaches depends on the nature of the rock and its position, and in many instances, even 20 or 30 feet below the surface, the rock is still much decomposed. At the surface a loam with not much appearance of stratification overlies the decayed slates to the depth of several feet in valleys, but much less alone the slopes and on the summits. This loam forms the soils and subsoils, which are tlius seen to be in most cases directly related to the underlying beds. These soils and subsoils have all probably been slightly shifted from their original place, especially in the valleys, but seldom to that distance where their relationships cannot be readily traced to the underlying or immediately adjacent rock masses. The two principal soil varieties commonly recognized by the farmers are those which make the gray and the red lands respectively. Of each of these, however, there are numerous subvarieties, exhibiting all grades of color and of fertility. The gray lands maybe derived from feldspathic rocks, such as granite and gneiss, in which case they are often quite fertile, or from siliceous mica slates or other quartzose rocks, when they may be almost barren. Similarly, the red lands, when derived from feldspathic rocks, such as horubleudic gneiss, etc., rank high in productiveness, while those resulting from the decay of certain mica or clay slates, beariug garnets or other ferruginous minerals, frequently lie at the other extreme. In the present state of our knowledge it is impossible to mark with accuracy the localities where these several soil varieties occur throughout the metamorphic region ; but what can at present be said concerning their occurrence will be found under the head of each county. Of the true gray granitic (feldspathic) soils there is only a limited area in this state, but a belt of this kind of land passes through JRoekford and Bradford, in Coosa county. It is -seen again near Blake's ferry, in Randolph, and near Louina, in the same county ; then near Milltown, in Chambers county. Indeed, the granite itself, so far as it has yet been observed, passes everywhere, by insensible gradations, into a schistose or stratified rock, or into gneiss, and thus our granitic soils might more properly be classed as gneissic throughout. No analyses of soils from those localities where the so-called granite makes the country are at hand. The gneisses vary in composition from granitic gneiss to mica-schist, which contains only quartz and mica, and vary in fertility in a corresponding degree. On the other hand, variations brought about by an intermixture of iron- beari«g minerals, such as hornblende, garnets, etc., are seen in the horubleudic gneisses and other similar rocks. Throughout the region of occurrence of the gneissic rocks the variations of soils, produced in the manner alluded to, are so numerous, and follow each other in so irregular a manner, as to defy classification and localization, except in the most general way. Thus, it may be said that the gneisses (with all their variations) are of more frequent occurrence in the southeastern half of the metamorphic region, while the more siliceous and argillaceous or clayey rocks prevail, as a rule, in the northwest. Still, such a statement expresses only the most general relations, for rocks of all kinds occur in both divisions. Of the two principal soil varieties above named, that of the red lands is derived from tohe decomposed horubleudic gneisses and slates, which in many places, where exposed in washes or gullies, are seen to be merely stratified clays, containing fragments more or less angular of the quartz veins or seams, which are nearly always interbedded with the other rocks of this region. This red soil (the color of which comes from the iron of the hornblende) is considered best adapted to the production of corn and other grains. Its natural growth consists of the various species of oaks (white, post, Spanish, red, and a few black-jacks), hickory, poplar, and some short-leaf pine, especially where the red and gray soils overlap, making mulatto-colored soils. The top stratum of this soil, from 2 to 3 inches in depth, is often a dark chocolate-brown color, but below it becomes a brighter red, and at: varying depths, from 10 to 15 feet, becomes a yellowish hard clay. "Where the freshly decomposed rocks are seen the color is yellowish rather than red, the latter color beiug darker and more intense apparently the further removed the soil is from its original position and tne more it is affected by the decay of the vegetable matter. When first cleared, these lands were thought to be the best in the country, and many fine farms are still found upon them. The majority of the farmers now, however, seem to prefer the gray soil, as being more certain, more easily tilled, aud*even more fertile. The red lands were the first to be cleared up by the original settlers, and most of the older farms and fine old country residences are upon this kind of land. The gray soils result from the disintegration of gneisses and mica slates which contain comparatively little or no hornblende or other iron-bearing minerals. They are commonly somewhat sandy, usually light-colored, gray to dark gray, sometimes nearly black, with very often, however, a decidedly reddish color similar to that of the hornblendic soils above described. Fragments of the partially- decayed gneiss of a light-gray color often lie embedded in reddish and even red clays or clayey sands. These gray soils are easily tilled, are certain of crop even with moderately favorable seasons, and are better suited than the red to the culture of cotton. Below some three or four inches of dark gray sandy top soil there is usually,, a lighter colored but somewhat yellowish subsoil. The timber is much the same as that upon the red lands, viz, oaks and hickory, with a few short-leaf pines. The sii'bjoined analyses will show the chemical characters of these two soil varieties: No. 78. Eed lands soils from 6 miles north of Opelika, Lee county (S. 16, T. 20, B. 27 E.). Depth, 10 inches; vegetation, red, Spanish, and post oaks, hickory, and a few short-leaf pines; color, dark-red. No. 79. Gray gneissic (isinglass) soil from 6 miles north of Opelika, Lee county (S. 17, T. 20, B. 27 E.). Depth, 8 inches ; vegetation, red, Spanish, and post oaks, hickory, and a few short-leaf pines ; color, grayish-brown. 16 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Gneissic soils, Lee county. Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Litno Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric aeid "Water and organic matter . Total . Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at ItELi LANDS 60H.. 63.710 3.830 [72.540 0.350 0.119 0. 013 0.050 0.100 10. 740 9. 237 0.170 O.0S0 7.011 100.410 7.40 27. 8 C.° GUAY I.A-NP6 60IL. 79. 170 1 3. 250 ) 82. 420 0.268 0.067 0.107 0.130 0.093 3.144 5. 120 0. 229 0.043 7.712 99. 429 4. 04 26. 7 C.° Of these two soils, in proportion to the amount of iusoluble matter, the gray is decidedly better in respect of potash, phosphoric acid, and lime, and is probably more thrifty. The red soil is rather deficient in lime, but in retentiveness of moisture it is superior to the other. Both are fairly good soils. Running northeast and southwest through the metamorphic area near the southern border there is a belt of varying width, in which hydromica slates, often highly graphitic, are of frequent occurrence. Tlw?se mica slates are usually filled with garnets, are much decomposed, and alternate with thin beds of clay slate, which is occasionally so highly graphitic as to be used as lubricating material. In Randolph and Tallapoosa counties these rocks are abundantly found, and details of their occurrence will be found uuder those 'headings. The soil derived from these rocks is of yellowish-gray color, finely pulverized, and supports a growth of the usual upland character. Mica slates containing the common micas, such as muscovite and biotite, are also of frequent occurrence, and the soils yielded by them are also of varying degrees of fertility, being between a first-rate gneissic soil, on the one hand, and a poor sandy material on the other. These variations have already been the subject of remark under the heading of the gneissic soils. As to the distribution of these mica slates no general rule can be given, since they alternate in so many ways with the other metamorphic rocks. The following analyses are probably fairly characteristic of these two varieties : ±N T o. 107. Mica slate soil (graphitic, hydrous mica) from 4 miles north of Boanoke, Randolph county. Depth. 8 inches; vegetation, black, red, post, and black-jack oaks, with a few short-leaf pines and hickories; color, light- yellow. No. 103. Mica slate soil • (garnetiferous, common mica) from S. 27, T. 19, E. 7 E., Clay county. Depth, 8 inches; vegetation, black, red, and Spanish oaks, with a few hickories and chestnuts; color, buff- yellow, passing downward into orange. The smbsoil is a tolerably stiff red clay. Mica slate soils. 26 * RANDOLPH COUNTY. CLAY CO UNIT. Mica slate soil (graphitic, hy- drous mica). Mica skite aoil (garnetiferous, common mica). No. 107. No. 103. J 81. 340 S75.437 0.351 0.24G 0.038 Soda 0.086 0.010 6. 8G1 9. 303 Phospboric acid Sulphurio acid 0. 067 0. 137 0. 057 0. 090 "1 99.713 | 99.097 4. 612 ! 5. 91 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 17 Beth these soils are deficient iu lime, and No. 107 is also deficient in phosphoric acid. The rock from which No. 107 is derived has usually been called " talcose slate", but a full analysis shows that it contains only a small percentage of magnesia. Soils like No. 107 are quite common throughout the " gold regions", which, as is well known, does not rank as the best farming couutry. The rock from which No. 103 is derived contains the ordinary mica, and is filled with garnets of large size, often as much as 2 inches in diameter. This soil is fairly productive in good seasons, but cannot stand much dry weather, and, being rather light, soon wears out. It is a good representative of the better class of mica slate soils, and does not exhibit the sterility characteristic of some of them, especially those derived from a mica slate of a purple color runnin g through Cleburne, Clay, and Coosa , into Cliiltou county, and which are almost barren, supporting a growth consisting almost entirely of stuuted long-leaf pines and black-jacks. A comparison of the four analyses given on page 16 shows that the soils may be divided into two general classes, viz, sandy and clayey or loamy. To the first belong the two gray soils, i. e., the gneissic and the hydromica; to the second, the red soils, i. e., the horublendic and the mica slate; and, in the most general" terms, the soils of this region are usually grouped under one or the other of tw T o heads, as sandy or gray, and as loamy or red soils. In some rare instances we have loamy or clayey soils which are deficient in red coloring matter, but as a general thing the clayey and the ferruginous matters are closely associated. This close agreement of the soils in composition, though derived from rocks of different kinds, bears out what was said concerning the relations between the different rocks themselves; for since the great majority of the rocks of this region may be classed with the gneisses, and as these vary iu the one direction, by the accession of hornblende or other iron-bearing minerals, through horublendic gneisses to almost purely horublendic slates, so the corresponding soils pass from light-grayish colors through the various grades of yellow to deep red ; and since the increase in the amount of hornblende is usually attended with a decrease in the amount of free quartz >or silica, it is easily seen that these soils are less and less distinctively sandy as they pass from light to red colors. Variations in the gneisses take place in another directiou by the gradual disappearance of the feldspar and the corresponding increase in the proportion of quartz and mica, as when the gneiss passes into mica slate. la this series the light-colored feldspathic soil gradually loses its fertility, becoming more sandy and sterile till the sandy micaceous soils of the typical mica slates are reached. No analyses are yet on hand of the clay slate soils. THE COOSA VALLEY REGION AND ITS OUTLIERS. The wide valley, with prevailing calcareous rocks, which lies between the metamorphic area on the one hand and the southeastern edges of the Coosa and Cahaba coal-fields and Lookout mountain on the other has received the name above given from the Coosa river, which traverses its whole length. Geologically it is the continuation ■of the valley of eastern Tennessee ; and, indeed, the valley of which this is a part, and which has been described by Professor Safford as a complex trough fluted with scores of smaller valleys and ridges, extends at least from the Susquehanna river to middle Alabama. The maiu valley of the Coosa, with the limits above given, is from 15 to 20 or 30 miles wide, and is closely furrowed with parallel valleys and ridges, all trending northeast and southwest. This valley is embraced in the counties of Cherokee, Cleburne, Calhoun, Etowah, Saint Clair, Talladega, Shelby, Coosa, and Chilton, and has an area,' including its ridge lands, of 2,5S0 square miles. Several outlying valleys, with very similar geological structure and soil varieties, may be most conveniently described in connection with it. These outliers are: 1. The Cahaba valley, lying between the Coosa and Cahaba coal-fields, in the counties of Saint Clair, Jefferson, Shelby, and Bibb, its area being 3S5 square miles. 2. Roup's and Jones' valley, between the Cahaba and Warrior coal-fields, iu Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, and Bibb counties ; area, 285 square miles. 3. Wills' ■valley, between Lookout and Sand mountains, iu De Kalb, Etowah, and Saint Clair counties .; area, 460 square miles. 4. Murphree's valley, in Etowah and Blount counties; area, 110 square miles. 5. The Blount springs, or Brown's valley, which is a prolongation into Alabama of the Sequatchie valley of Tennessee, and runs through Jackson, Marshall, and Blount counties, having an area of about 400 square miles. Geological formations. — The strata which appear at the surface and contribute to the formation of the soils in all these valleys are the representatives of all the geological formations occurring in Alabama, from the primordial or lowest division of the Lower Silurian up to the base of the Coal Measures. In the following statement is given, iu descending order, the names and geological positions of these strata, so far as their equivalence has been made out : Carboniferous 7. Coal Measures ©f the Warrior, Cahaba, and Coosa fields. Sub-Carboniferous, j '■ Upper Calcareous mountain limestone. ( o. Lower Siliceous, siliceous group. Devonian 4. Black shale. Upper Silurian. ... 3. Clinton or Red Mountain group. f 2. Trenton and Chazy, shales and limestones. f e. Dolomite or magnesian limestone. i , ■ ., i v , ... \ d - T & : l,ale (calcareous shales). c. Upper sandstone (calcareous sandstone). b. Potsdam sandstone proper. a. Semi-metamorphic shales and conglomerates. The lithological and other characters of these different formations, so far as they are of importance from an agricultural point of view, will be given in the special description of the soils. Lower Silurian. S 18 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. COOSA VALLEY. Under this name is included that belt of 30 or 40 miles width east and west lying between the metamorpliic area on the one hand and the Coal Measures on the other, and extending from the eastern border of the state, in the counties of Cherokee and Calhoun, southwestward for 120 miles. With reference to these mountainous borders it may be considered as one valley, but in reality it consists of several parallel valleys separated by ridges of greater or less height. The highest of these ridges are found in the southeastern part of the valley, where they attain true mountainous proportions. Section from Sand mountain, on the northwest, to the metaniornhic region on the southeast: showing the coolr mountain, and an outlying anticlinal valley (Wills'). :il structure of the Coosa Valley region, Lookout - -Willi/ Valley. . - - .Lookout ^fountain.] ._ , CoeeuiValiey Jtayto. ^fetamorphic Explanation,— a. Mountains of the Metamorphic reyitm. h. Sandy mountain lands — Potsdam milestone, c. Ridgy lands of the Ujipcr Sandstone, d. Red valley lands of the shale and the lower part of the Magnesian limestone. In the Coosa River region and central parts of Wills valley the shale tonus " Hat woods ". c. Loams and cherty gravelly ridge lands, based on the Magnesian limestone. f. Brown hiatus of the valleys, based on ZVcniotiKmeBione. Magnesia BroTvn oxide of manganese Peroxide or iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Watei and organic matter Total Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at' 0.277 0.078 0. 150 0. 47S 0.070 0.528 7.407 0. 075 0.013 4.777 09. 544 11. 15 27. 2C.° The analysis shows that tins is not such an inferior soil as its total neglect by the farmers would indicate, although the phosphates and vegetable matter are low. The natural growth, also, which is of fine, sturdy trees, tells in its favor. Many soils are successfully tilled which have no better chemical composition than Ihis. Physically, however, it is too heavy and cold for cultivation, except where mixed with sand, as is the ease near the banks of some of the streams which traverse it. Almost the only inhabitants of the flatwoods are to be found along these water-courses. During the winter and spring, by reason of mud and holes, the roads are almost impassable. In its uppermost portions this formation exhibits very similar strata to the lowest beds of the next succeeding, there being no well-defined line of demarkation between them. The great body of deep, red-colored, clayey loams occurring in the Coosa Valley region, and especially in its eastern part, may be assigned, as to their origin, either to the lowermost of the beds of the shale or to the uppermost of the dolomite. They will be more particularly described under the next head, though in part, without doubt, belonging here. 30 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 21 Tlie magnesian limestone, or dolomite. — This iri Alabama has the widest distribution of any of the calcareous formations, and for this reason, and because it underlies a large proportion of the cultivated valleys in this part of the state, its importance from an agricultural standpoint is very great. It has been stated that the lower beds of the dolomite are more calcareous, the upper, as a rule, siliceous or cherty, and the resulting soils in their extremes are of two kinds : 1. A clayey loam of light-yellowish to orange-red colors and of varying thickness, the average being perhaps one and a half feet. The subsoil is usually heavier, being a rather stiff clay or clay loam of a red or yellow color. Both soil and subsoil are often filled with lumps of limonite or brown iron ore. Beneath the subsoil, at varying depths, lies the dolomite or limestone. There is a great variety in the color of the top soil between a \ ery light-yellow, almost gray, and a deep red and brown, but the subsoil is commonly a yellow or red clay, and it is not unusual to find these soils and subsoils, especially those of lighter colors, filled with angular fragments of chert. The characteristic timber upon the red lands is red, Spanish, post, and black-jack oaks, hickory, short-leaf pine, and dogwood ; in low grounds, sweet gum and sour gum in addition to the above. Some of the best farming lands in the state are based upon these lower beds of the dolomite and upon the immediately underlying calcareous parts of the shale, and their widest distribution is to be seen in the eastern part of the Coosa valley, in Cherokee, Calhoun, and Talladega counties, and southward, in the same direction, in Shelby and Bibb counties. The greater part of the red and brown loams witli deep red-colored subsoils occurring along the eastern border of this long series of valleys is derived from the dolomite, but red and brown loams of a somewhat similar nature are also derived both from the shale below and from the Trenton rocks above the dolomite. In the anticlinal valleys these lower beds of the dolomite do not form the surface to so great an extent, and the deep red soils are of less frequent occurrence than in the Coosa valley. 2. The upper siliceous beds of the dolomite, in disintegrating, yield as a rule gray soils, which are filled with angular chert fragments. The subsoils are mostly of a yellowish to red color and of clayey substance, though the clayey substratum may sometimes lie at considerable depths below the surface. The agricultural characters of the lands made by these upper beds vary between wide limits, from good brown loams on the one hand to gray siliceous and nearly barren soils on the other. The cherty portions of the dolomite, from the weathering away of the calcareous part, gradually accumulate and protect the strata from further erosion, and in this way the chert ridges so characteristic of the formation originate. The chert, which is of concretionary nature (and not bedded), 'occurs sometimes in masses of great size, and the surface of the hills is so covered as to leave very little soil exposed, and that of a highly siliceous character. In such cases the growth is chiefly of long-leaf pine and black-jack oak. The broad chert ridges of the Coosa valley in Cherokee, Calhoun, Talladega, and Shelby counties are very commonly timbered with the long-leaf pine. Occasionally the country formed by this part of the dolomite is rolling or slightly broken, rather than hilly, varied with lime-sinks and outcrops of the cherty dolomite. The southwestern part of Talladega county, near the Coosa river, furnishes a good example of these rolling piny woods, which in many respects remind one of the rolling piny woods of the southern counties. Such soils have little to recommend them, and we find the country almost uninhabited, except along the banks of the streams which drain it, and these are few in number. Where the chert is less prominent as a surface material the gray lauds are frequently of very fair quality, and, while not so fertile as some of the red lands, are thought to be better adapted to the cotton crop, especially w-here commercial fertilizers are used. The better grades of the gray, gravelly lands are timbered with oaks and short-leaf pine, hickory, dogwood, etc., w ; hile those of a sandier nature have the long-leaf pine, associated with post, Spanish, and black-jack oaks and small hickories. The gray pine lands near the Alabama furnace, in Talladega county, may be taken as types of this last-named variety. In the outlying valleys there is always at least one of these chert ridges occupying the center of the valley, but it is more commonly separated into two by a narrow valley resting on the more calcareous lower parts of the dolomite, or by a belt of flatwoods derived from the underlying shales. These ridges are timbered usually with post, black-jack, and Spanish oaks, with some chestnut and short-leaf pine. The long-leaf pine is also found where the siliceous matter preponderates. Occasionally the cherty matter assumes the form of a sandstone or conglomerate, which forms considerable hills. This is best seen in the Salem hills, near Jonesboro', in Jones' valley, and again a few miles southwest of Springville, in Saint Clair county. The Salem hills have a characteristic growth of long-leaf pine, as yet untouched by the woodman's ax. The chemical composition of typical soils derived irom the rock varieties occurring in the dolomite are fairly exhibited in the analyses of four red-loam soils and one gray, cherty soil taken from several localities. Only the better soils, such as are under cultivation, have been examined. The barren soils of the chert hills and pine woods are not often in cultivation, and have not, therefore, been selected for analysis. In Calhoun, Talladega, Shelby, and Bibb counties the red soils appear most prominently. 31 22 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. No. 71. Bed valley soil from 1A miles south of Jacksonville, Calhoun county. Depth, 12 inches; vegetation, red, Spanish, and post oaks, hickory, dogwood, and short-leaf pine; color, dark-red. This kind of soil occurs over a good proportion of the valley below Jacksonville and around Alexandria. No. 70. Red valley soil from near Mrs. Walker Beynolds' place, Talladega county. Depth, 12 inches; vegetation, red, Spanish, white, and post oaks, sweet and sour gums, and hickory; color, dark-red. This is a fair sample of the red soils which make the valley of Talladega one of the most beautiful parts of the state. The same soils are seen farther south, in Shelby and llibb counties, those around Montevallo being of this nature. No. 45J. Bed upland sail (dolomite) from near Pratt's ferry, Bibb county. Depth, 12 inches; vegetation, white, black, post, and other oaks, chestnut, hickory, walnut, mulberry, dogwood, with occasional black gum and cedar; color of soil, brown; of subsoil, reddish-brown. No. 07. Little Caliaba valley soil (dolomite) from miles southwest of Springville, Saint Clair county. Depth, 12 inches ; vegetation, red, black, and Spanish oaks, hickory, chestnut, sweet gam, and persimmon; color, reddish- brown. No. 60. Gray upland soil (dolomite), 1 mile north of Ashville, Saint Clair county. Depth, 10 inches; vegetation, red and Spanish oaks, poplar (Liriodendron), dogwood, and short-leaf pine, with some sweet gain and persimmon; color, brownish-gray. Both soil and subsoil are commonly tilled with angular fragments of chert. Alagnesian limestone soils (Lotcer Silurian). CALHOUN COUNTY Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese. Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Water and organic matter. . Total. Humus Available phosphoric acid. Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at Red valley soil. SO. 520 J 3. 941 ( 84.401 0. 200 0.002 0.112 0. 200 0.057 5.011 5.722 0. 120 0. 056 4.501 8.003 20.7 C.° TALLADEGA COUNTY. Red valley soil. 04. 070 1 7.647) 0.084 0.020 19. 400 24. 4 C.° unm county. Red nplandsoil. No. 45J. 81. 480 ^ 0. 530 i 88. 010 0.328 0.027 0.255 0.210 0.189 2.010 5.014 0.110 0.167 3.587 bAINT CLAIH COUNTY. Little Caliaba valley soil. 73.433 7. 459 : mi. 802 0.210 0. 01 1 0. 225 0.470 0.241 5.518 7.498 0.165 0. 007 4.719 Gray upland soil. 83. 410 4.230! 87. 070 0. 109 0.018 0.202 0.181 0.042 2. 178 4.521 0.093 0. 018 5.301 8.528 26. 7 C.° In comparing these soils with each other it is seen that they are all tolerably good soils, having an adequate supply of available potash (except in the case of No. 09), phosphoric acid, and also of lime and magnesia. In these respects the red soils, as a class, are superior, but the gray soil has ou its side the advantage of being more easily tilled, as it is thrifty because of a large percentage of lime, and is generally considered a safer soil. No. 7G is rather deficient in lime, and also in available phosphoric acid. In retentiveness of moisture the upland soil (No. 45J) is a little deficient, and in its composition also it approaches closely to the gray soil. Tlie soils which most resemble the above are those of the Tennessee valley, in which there are the. two varieties of red and gray, bearing to each other about the same relations as are seen in the above analyses. The Tennessee valley soils are, if anything, slightly better than those of the region we are discussing. In the county descriptions will be found fuller discussions of the qualities of these soil varieties from the farmers' standpoint. Chazy and Trenton. — The lowermost of the Trenton rocks are impure argillaceous limestones and purer blue limestones, the upper calcareous shales. As a rule, the limestone predominates, and the prevailing soils are, therefore, good strong loams, somewhat calcareous and resembling the soils of the lower part of the dolomite, or those of the Saint Louis group of the sub-Carboniferous. The formatiou as a whole is valley-making, but the lower beds, which are often aluminous, frequently form low, rounded hills, along the sides of which the strata outcrop in long step-like ledges. In such cases they are usually covered with a growth of cedars. 3> PHYSICO-GEOGRAP-HICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 23 In the subordinated valleys in the eastern part of the Coosa valley the Trenton rocks are usually associated ■with those of the dolomite, the latter commonly forming the northwestern and the former the southeastern side of the valley range ; but the dolomite, as a rule, far exceeds the Trenton in superficial extent. In the anticlinal valleys the Trenton rocks are found as a narrow belt on each side of the central area of dolomite and shale. In many instances they may be found high along the sides of the ridges of the Clinton or Red Mountain group, even occurring nearly up to the summits of some of them. The outcropping ledges of limestone are then usually covered with a dense growth of cedars, and the name of Cedar mountains commonly given to them is not inappropriate. In the valleys also there are frequent patches of the rocks nearly bare of soil and forming cedar glades. The shaly upper division of this group is of secondary importance. • In Jones' and the other anticlinal valleys the purer limestones of this age are commonly seen outcropping here and there in the lower places in smooth, rounded masses of a bluish color, rising very slightly above the general surface. Very little of the original growth is now standing in those parts of the valleys which have usually been long under cultivation. The soils are brownish sandy loams with yellowish subsoils. The slightly elevated knolls that vary the uniformity in these valleys have sandy soils, and are usually covered with short-leaf pine thickets of secondary growth. There are also spots of low, wet, boggy soil, not at all, however, like the flatwoods before described. The following analysis will show the composition of some soils of this kind : No. 123. Sandy hroivn-loam soil (Trenton) from 3 miles west of Birmingham, Jefferson county. Depth, 10 inches ; vegetation, red and willow oaks, sassafras, and grape-vines — little of the original growth to be seen ; color, brown at top, passing into yellow at 3 inches depth. Sandy brown-loam soil (Trenton limestone), Jefferson county. . No. 123. 86. 090 ) ! 90. 331 4. 341 5 0.178 0.028 0.152 0.116 «. 041 2.840 3.188 0.086 0.051 2.522 Soda Total 99. 511 7.835 24.4 C.° This is a soil of only average fertility, and probably of little durability, but thrifty and easily tilled. Clinton. — The rocks of this formation, calcareous sandstones and shales, with beds of red iron ore, yield sandy soils of considerable fertility, but their location on the steep hillsides makes them of little importance in agriculture. The red-ore ridges are in reality made up of three formations: the Clinton, the black shale, and the siliceous division of the sub-Carboniferous. The usual position of these ridges is on each side of the anticlinal valleys of the state, skirting the escarpments of Coal Measures, which form the borders of these valleys. In some places the ridges are duplicated on one side of the valley ; but they are never wanting in the positions above indicated (except where ingulfed by a fault), though sometimes quite insignificant in height on one side. In the western or anticlinal portion of the Coosa valley a red-ore ridge runs parallel with the eastern edge of Lookout mountain, and a similar ridge skirts the western edge of the Coosa coal-fields in the normal positions above mentioned ; but in the eastern or faulted portion of the valley the red ridges are not associated with the Coal Measures, but form parts of synclinal basins holding the rocks of the sub-Carboniferous formation. The four localities thus far known of red ore ridges in the eastern part of the valley are in the Dirtseller and the Gaylor mountains, in Cherokee county, in the mountain near Columbiana, in Shelby, and in the vicinity of Pratt's ferry, in Bibb county. The mountain near Columbiana has along its base a conglomerate which probably underlies the Bed Mountain rocks proper and belongs to the Medina group. Where the red ridges are not too steep for cultivation their soils are well adapted to most of the southern crops, especially grain. The analysis which follows shows the average red mountain soil. No. 68. Bed Mountain soil (Clinton) from 3 miles north of Springville, Saint Clair county. Depth, 10 inches; vegetation, large poplars, white oaks, and chestnuts, with hickory, black gum, and red oak ; color, chocolate-brown when cultivated. 3 c P— VOL, II 33 24 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Red Mountain (Clinton) soil, Saint Clair county. InBoloble matter 81. 5G0 > 1 85 "40 Soluble silica 3. 680 J Potash 0. 20G Soda 0. 037 Lime 0.303 Magnesia o. 270 Brown oxide of manganese 0.214 Peroxide of iron 4. 918 Alumina 3.539 Phosphoric acid o. 108 Sulphuric acid o. 083 Water and organic matter 4, P30 Total.. 99. 877 Hygroscopic moisture, absorbed at 9.799 27.2 C.° For the amount of insoluble matter this soil has a fair percentage of potash, a large percentage of phosphoric acid and lime, and is rather above the average in fertility, as might be inferred from the luxuriance of the forest growth which it supports. The Red Mountain soils are admirably suited to the production of small grain, but not for cotton, which is inclined to run to weed, at the expense of the fruit, unless restrained by superphosphates or other similar manures. The above remarks apply to the red or brown soils only of these ridges, for it must be remembered that fchey have gray, flinty, gravelly soils usually on one side and the red soils on the other. Hie blade shale, which follows next after the Clinton, rarely, if ever, takes part in the formation of cultivated soils. It is, at best, only a few feet thick, and as it nearly always occurs in steep ridges it is of comparatively little importance agriculturally. Sub-Carboniferoits. — In the Coosa and outlying valleys of middle Alabama this formation, though occurring only in narrow belts, is of great importance, since it forms the basis of some of the most desirable farming lands in the region of its occurrence. The surface distribution of the sub-Carboniferous strata is practically the same as that of the red-ore ridges, for, besides forming a part of the ridges themselves, they occupy the depressions between these ridges and the escarpment of the Coal Measures, and in the Coosa valley they form the surface in the four small synclinal basins mentioned in a preceding section. This formation, as a whole, has two well-marked divisions — the mountain limestone and the siliceous. The former, as its name implies, occurs along the sides of the mountains of the Coal Measures, and presents no tracts of arable land in this part of the state. The lower group, which is generally known as the siliceous, is itself subdivided, and its two parts are very unequally concerned in the formation of tillable lands, for the lowermost or more siliceous division is, as we have seen, usually associated with the Clinton rocks in the formation of the red-ore ridges, which, because of their steep slopes, are not much in cultivation. The upper and more calcareous division of the siliceous group is the true soil-former of these belts. These soils are yellowish, reddish, and brown loams, similar to the soils of the red lands of northern Alabama, which are based upon the same rocks. The principal discussion of this class of soils will be under the next division in northern Alabama, but the following analysis of a soil from Dry valley, in Cherokee county (basin of the Dirtseller), may serve to represent the composition of the soils of the narrow valleys of 'middle Alabama: No. 111. Bed lands soil (sub-Carboniferous), Dry valley, Cherokee county, 1 mile northeast of Gaylesville. Depth, 8 inches; vegetation, red, post, white, and Spanish oaks, hickory, persimmon, chestnut, black gum, sour- wood, dogwood, and a second growth of short-leaf pine; color, reddish-brown. 34 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. Bed lands soil, Cherokee county. 25 Insoluble residue Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Water and organic matter . Total Hnmus Available inorganic Available phosphoric acid . Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at 78. 725 6. 042 • 84.767 0.261 0.124 0.330 0.395 0.215 3.707 5.077 0.089 0.097 5.160 1.865 1.061 0.029 4.500 26. 7 C.° This soil is somewhat deficient in its retentiveness of moisture, as also in phosphoric acid ; otherwise it is a very good soil. The high percentage of lime makes available its whole content of plant-food. The percentage of hnmus in this soil is also quite high, as well as the proportion of phosphoric acid immediately available. A fuller exhibition of the characters and variations of these sub-Carboniferous brown loams will be seen under the heading of " The Tennessee Valley Region " (page 28), where they are widely distributed, and are of great importance agriculturally. The Coosa and Cahaba coal-fields, although occurring in this division, are best described, together with the Coal Measures of the Warrior field, under the next division. NORTHERN DIVISION This division, as already stated, adjoins the first or middle division on the northwest, and embraces most of the state lying north and west of a line drawn from Chattanooga, Tennessee, through Birmingham, nearly to Tuscaloosa. The area thus included is estimated at 9,700 square miles, and embraces the following counties and parts of counties: All of Lawrence, Winston, Walker, Cullman, Morgan, Limestone, and Madison, and parts of De Kalb, Cherokee, Etowah, Jackson, Marshall, Blount, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Fayette, Marion, Franklin, Colbert, and Lauderdale. The two parts into which this division is, by its topographical and agricultural characters, naturally subdivided, are : 1. The continuation and terminus of the great Cumberland table-land, which in Alabama includes the Sand mountain and its outliers, Lookout and Blount mountains, on the south, and the detached spurs lying beyond the Tennessee on the north and the Warrior basin, into which the table-lands of Sand mountain gradually sink beyond the southwestern line of Blount county. 2. The great valley of the Tennessee. The rock masses which in this division are concerned in the structure of the country and in the production of the soils are referred to two formations, the sub-Carboniferous and the Coal Measures. In some parts of this area the stratified drift overspreads the country rocks aud forms the soils, but the drift belt, together with its outreaching marginal parts, which overlap other formations, will be treated as a whole under another head. The approximate horizontality of the strata, aud the circumstance that the soils, almost without exception, have been derived from the immediately underlying rocks, have already been commented upon, and the close connection of the agricultural with the geological features has been pointed out. The two component parts of this division are most conveniently described separately. 35 26 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. COAL-MEASURES REGION. COOSA AND OAHABA COALFIELDS. The Coosa field embraces about 30 square miles in the northwestern part of Calhouu, about 150 square miles in Saiut Clair, aud about 235 square miles iu Shelby county, making au aggregate of 415 square miles. The Cahaba field includes about 50 square miles in Saint Clair, 100 in Jefferson, 100 in Shelby, and 125 in Bibb county, aggregating 435 square miles. Only 75 square miles in Bibb county are free from drift, so that the area depending upon the Coal Measures for its soil is reduced to 3S5 square miles. In both these fields the strata, consisting of sandstones, conglomerates, shales, aud coal beds, are tilted at considerable angles, and, possessing varying degrees of resistance of disintegration and erosion, have been very unequally degraded. The main ridges and valleys have the general direction of northeast aud southwest, corresponding to the outcrops of the tilted strata; but this uniformity is often greatly obscured, and iu places is obliterated by the irregularities produced by the streams which traverse the fields across the outcrops. In the presence of these inequalities, produced by the folding or the tiltiug of the strata, these fields differ from the great Warrior field, where the topographical features have no such direct connection with the geological structure. All the coal-fields have most of their characters in common ; hence a further description of the topography, as well as of the agricultural features, can be well deferred till we come to speak of the Warrior field. It seems to be well established that the three coal-fields of Alabama were once continuous, and that they have been separated by folds (siuce denuded) and by faults. THE WAEHIOR FIELD. That part of the Coal Measures of Alabama which is drained by both forks of the Warrior river and their tributaries has received the uame of the Warrior coal-field. This field may be divided into two parts: the plateau or table-land, and the Warrior basin proper. The tableland. — It is characteristic of the table-lands or plateaus that the liujestoue beds, which underlie the capping of Coal Measures rocks, are above the general drainage level of the country. This arrangement of the two classes of strata determines in great measure the character of the scenery, for the removal by erosion of the more perishable limestones causes the undermining of the harder sandstones above, which from time to time break off with vertical faces, forming cliffs. Iu height the plateaus diminish continuously toward the southwest, passing gradually into the Warrior basin. In the state of Tennessee their elevation above the surrounding country varies from S50 to 1,000 feet. Iu Jackson and Madison counties some of the spurs attain an equal height, but further southwest, in Morgan and Marshall, the elevation will not average more than 550, and in Cullman and Blount counties not more than 300 feet, aud near the Mississippi hue they come down to the drainage level. The main body of the table-land is known as Sand mountain, lying between the Sequatchie fold, or Brown's and Tennessee valleys, on the northwest, and Wills' and Murphree's valleys on the southeast, and include parts of De Kalb, Jackson, Marshall, and Blount counties. The highest parts of this table-land are to be found along its edges overlooking the valleys above mentioned, aud there is a general slope both ways toward the center of the plateau, which thus becomes a shallow, elevated trough. Beyond Wills' valley is Lookout mountain, au outlier of Sand mountain, and beyond Murphree's valley (southeast) Blount mountain, a spur of the main table-laud. All these parts have similar structure, and their elevated rims, adjoining the valleys, are usually only slightly iudeuted by the water-courses, except where some large stream leaves the plateau, as in the cases of Little river, on Lookout, and Short creek, on Sand mountain. Northwest of the Tennessee river, however, the tributaries of that stream have cut the elevated lands belonging to this division into a number of more or less isolated peaks, some of which, especially in the northeastern part of the state, have still the capping of Coal Measures, which have been entirely removed from many of those lying farthest toward the west. Overlooking the Tennessee valley, in Lawrence aud Franklin counties, the elevated rim, which is locally called Sand mountain, is the border of the Warrior basin, and will be considered along with it. Approximately, the area of the elevated lauds or plateaus as above limited would lie about 1,000 square miles on Sand mountain and its spur iu Jackson, De Kalb, Marshall, Etowah, Morgan. Saint Clair, and Blount counties, about 290 square miles on Lookout mountain, in Be Kalb, Cherokee, and Etowah, about 580 square miles in the detached spurs of the Cumberland northwest of the Tennessee, in Jackson, Madison, and Marshall, aud to these might be added about half the area of Cullmau county, whose measures partake of the characters of both the table- lands and of the basin, about 295 square miles; aggregating, in all, 2,855 square miles. A not inconsiderable part of this area north of the Tennessee is mountain slope, and is not strictly table-land. ■ The Warrior basin. — This, like the table-land, is in general a trough, shallow aud sloping from northeast to southwest, with slightly elevated rims next to the Tennessee valley on the north and Jones' valley on the south. As Brown's valley divides the plateau, so its continuation southwestward as a ridge divides the basin iuto two unequal parts. Southwest of the confluence of the two Warriors these two parts seem to come together in one common basin by the sinking away of the ridge which separates them higher up. The Warrior basin includes all of Walker and Winston and parts of Cullman, Morgan. Lawrence. Franklin, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Tuscaloosa, aud Jefferson counties, and will aggregate about 4,955 square miles. The whole PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 27 area of the Warrior field is thus estimated at about 7,810 square miles, (a) The surface of the elevated border lands here included is comparatively level, though sufficiently undulating, and in places the streams have cut deep gorges into the hard sandstones and conglomerates. In the basin there is much more inequality of surface, and in the vicinity of streams the country is often extremely rough, although the water-sheds are seldom more than 250 or 300 feet above the general level of the streams. Along the edges of both table-land aud basin the higher rims are parts of folds of the strata, and are of sufficient height to determine the direction of the water-courses, and hence the nature of the topography. In the basin there are numerous undulations of the strata, but they are rarely of sufficient importance to affect the topography. Agricultural features. — The Coal Measures present substantially the same characters everywhere as regards soils, but important variations result from differences in latitude aud in elevation above the sea. The plateaus seem to be specially suited to the growth of fruits and vegetables and nutritious grasses; but since cotton is the southern crop par excellence, neither the plateaus nor the other parts of the coal-fields have hitherto been in good repute as farming lands. As yet, this part of the state is comparatively thinly settled, but its many advantages are gradually being appreciated. • In the discussion of the soil-varieties of the Warrior field reference is also made to those of the other coal- fields, as they are entirely similar. Since the soils of this region are derived from the disintegration of the country rocks, and as these are sandstones, shales, and conglomerates, the agricultural character of the coal-fields is easily understood. All the soils are sandy and more or less deficient in vegetable matter aud lime. The subsoils vary from yellowish or reddish clay to sand. The better classes of these soils are light-colored loams, with yellowish or reddish subsoils, and are capable of improvement, since they well retain all fertilizers. The gray soils with light- colored to whitish subsoils, deficient in clayey matter, are too porous and droughty to be profitably cultivated, as they do not retain the fertilizers that may be applied to them. In the order of their relative importance, both as to surface distribution aud agricultural value, the cultivated soils of this region may be classed as follows : 1. Sandy loams of gray, yellowish to brown colors, forming perhaps three-fourths of the area. These soils vary between tolerably wide limits, and the natural growth is usually a mixture of various upland oaks, with some hickory aud short-leaf pine. The analysis given (No. 110) may be taken as representing the average composition of soils of this class. 2. Creek-bottom soils. — These are, according to locality, sandy or loamy, and are generally in cultivation when the proportion of sand is not too great. The bottoms are usually narrow, especially when the surrounding country rocks are hard sandstones or conglomerates. The growth is of oaks, poplar (I/iriodendron), beech, holly, and occasionally what is known as spruce pine. The more loamy bottom soils are underlaid with a reddish clay (hard), not mixing readily with the surface soil. The sandier varieties have a substratum of sand, and are not altogether so fertile as the preceding ; both, however, produce well, are easy of tillage, and are generally under cultivation. 3. Sandy soils. — The most highly siliceous saudstones and conglomerates yield, on disintegration, a very sandy soil, which supports a growth of stunted black-jack oaks and short-leaf piues. Such soils are scarcely at all cultivated, and are of little importance agriculturally. No. 110. Upland soil, Sand mountain, near Valley Head, De Kalb county. Depth, 20 inches ; vegetation, chiefly red (Spanish) oak, some black oak, short-leaf piue, hickory, dogwood, and chestnut; color, light-gray as far as taken. Sand Mountain soil (Coal Measures), De Kalb county. Insolnble matter 86.350 > > on 702 Soluble silica 4.352) Potash i 0. 230 Soda 0. 141 Lime 0. 068 Magnesia 0. 154 Brown oxide of manganese 0. 070 Peroxide of iron ] . 443 Alumina 6. 324 Phosphoric acid 0. 073 Snlphnric acid 0. 062 Water and organic matter 0. 844 Total. Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at 3.< 16C.° a Of the 4,9. c >5 square miles underlaid by the Coal Measures of the Warrior field, 1,990 are covered with drift deposits, so that only 2,90;, of the -whole area have soils which are derived from the sandstones, etc., of the Coal Measures. The proportion may be even smaller than this estimate makes it. 37 28 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. The yield of the fresh land at its best, without manures, is estimated at half a bale of cotton to the acre. From the above analysis it will be seen that the soil contains a large proportion of sand and other siliceous matter (00.7 per cent.), and that there is a notable deficiency of lime and phosphoric acid, with a fair quantity of potash. The soils, therefore, of which this is a representative may be looked upon as rather below the average in fertility ; but having usually a good basis of clayey matter they are susceptible of improvement. The agricultural history of this class of soils accords well with the teachings of the analysis, for until quite recently these lauds have been almost totally neglected, being deemed comparatively worthless. Recently, however, the use of artificial fertilizers has become general, and it has been found that with a small outlay for phosphates or guano the best results are obtained. These soils are now generally considered the most reliable for cotton, though they are never cultivated without mannres. THE TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION. Under this head are included not only the immediate valley of the Tennessee river, but also the whole region in Alabama drained by its tributaries, except the anticlinal valley, down which the river flows in .Jackson county, and the tablelands of De Kalb, the Cumberland spurs in Jackson, Madison, and Marshall, already described, and the drift-belt in Franklin, Colbert, and Lauderdale counties. With these limits, therefore, this regiou will embrace an area on both sides of the Tennessee extending from the state line on the north to the Coal Measures of the Warrior field on the south. The average width of this drainage area from north to south is about 45 miles, and includes parts of Jackson, Marshall, Morgan, Lawrence, Franklin, Colbert, and Lauderdale, and all of Limestone and part of Madison counties, aggregating 4,530 square miles, (a) The extreme western parts of Lauderdale, Colbert, and Franklin counties, while falling within the" above limits, are best described in another connection, since the soils are derived from the surface beds of drift which there overlie the country rocks. The general features of this region are those of a plain 12 to 15 miles wide, the Tennessee valley proper, through which the river flows in its tortuous path, the valley being bounded both on the north and on the south by hilly, and in some places almost mountainous, country, and the hills and the valley belonging to the same geological age, the configuration of the whole area being the result of erosion during long geological periods by waters whose present representatives are the Tennessee and its tributaries. The average elevation of the summits, which represent approximately the general level of the original land surface, is in the eastern part of this region about 2,000 feet above the sea, and there is a gradual slope westward, so that the summits near the Mississippi line are not more than 000 or 1,000 feet above sea-level. The general surface of the lowlands exhibits a similar slope, the elevation at Huntsville being 012 feet, at Court! aud 560 feet, and at Dickson 488 feet. The hilly country in the northern part of this area is known as the Barrens, and is a part of the great highland rim of Tennessee. These have generally light-colored siliceous soils, and are not much under cultivation, but they include mauy tracts with fertile calcareous soils. South of the Barrens lies the valley proper of the Tennessee, which has usually a fertile calcareous soil of a deep red color. The surface is almost level, the uniformity broken here and there by slight elevations, generally covered with trees and made up of fragments of chert. Upon these wooded kuolls are frequently situated the dwelling- houses of the planters. Throughout the whole area sink-holes and caves are common aud almost characteristic. The southern border of the valley is made by the escarpment of the Warrior coal-field, Sand mountain, as it is usually called, rising above the valley to a height which will average, perhaps, 000 or 700 feet. Along the northern face of this escarpment, about half way, is a terrace, or bench, which in the eastern part of Morgau county is very narrow, but widens going westward, and a considerable depression is formed between it and Sand mountain. In Lawrence, aud Franklin counties this depression is deepened into a valley with calcareous soils (Moulton and Russell's valleys), and the bench, now completely separated from Saud mountain, forms a very conspicuous feature of the landscape, known as the Little mountain range. These valleys have the same general characters as the Tennessee valley, and are partly based on the same rocks. The Little mountain range terminates toward the north with rather bold escarpments, but slopes more gently southward. The three divisions of the Tennessee drainage area in northern Alabama are the. Barrens, the valley lands, and the Little mountain range, and they divide the surface about as follows: Barrens, 010 square miles; valley lands, 2.430 square miles; and Little mountain range, 540 square miles. Geological structure. — Leaving out of consideration the mountain spurs of the Cumberland range in Jackson and Madison, the anticlinal fold of the Sequatchie in Jackson, aud the drift in Lauderdale, Colbert, and Franklin, the surface rocks to which the soils of the Tennessee valley owe their origin belong to a single formation, the sub-Carboniferous, the subdivisions of which, as adopted by the state geological survey, are as follows : Upper : Calcareous — Mountain limestone, or Chester; lower: Siliceons — Saint Louis limestone and Keokuk. a This represents approximately the whole area in northern Alabama underlaid by sub-Carboniferous strata. Of this, however, some <>oU square miles in the western part of the valley are covered with drift, and hence are classed with the short-leaf pine uplands. Thi* leaves 3,880 square miles, in which the soils are based on the sub-Carboniferous rocks. 3d PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 29 In addition to the above, the strata of the Devonian and the Upper Silurian formations are exposed along certain ■creeks in the northern part of this region, but their superficial extent is small, and their part in the formation of the soils insignificant. The following illustration, taken from the geological report for lS77-'78, and representing a section through the strata from the state line on the north, through Oourtland and Moulton, to the Sand mountain on the south, will best illustrate the description below, and will make clear many of the circumstances affecting the distribution of the various agricultural features of the Tennessee valley: SECTION ACROSS THE VALLEY OF THE TENNESSEE IN NORTHERN ALABAMA. Explanations. — 1, Silurian; 2, Devonian ; 3, Lower Siliceous ; 4, Upper Siliceous ; 5, Mountain limestone ; 6, Coal Measures ; A, Sand mountain ; B, Moulton; C, Little mountains; D, Courtlaud; E. Tennessee river; F, Barrens. Scale. — Horizontal, 1 inch to 6 miles; vertical, 1 incli to 1,000 feet. Lithological CHARACTERS, distribution, etc. — 1 and 2. Silurian and Devonian. — These two formations, which are composed of limestones and shales, are exposed only in the bluffs of streams which drain the northern part of this area, and which have their sources within the Tennessee line. The slight dip of the strata brings these beds within the reach of the denuding waters in the north, while farther south they pass below the overlying beds, as may be seen in the illustration. As stated, they are of no consequence from an agricultural standpoint, because of their very limited occurrence in Alabama, except along the borders of Elk river, in Limestone county, where they form some bodies of very good land. 3. Lower Siliceous. — These beds are supposed to be equivalent to the Keokuk and Burlington beds of other states and to the Barrens group of Tennessee. The most important rocks of the formation are highly siliceous limestone, alternating with a pure crystalline limestone, admirably suited to architectural purposes, and impure shaly limestones. The resistance to erosion offered by the flinty material with which a large proportion of the limestones are impregnated gives rise to the broken, rugged surface which characterizes so much of the Barrens. The whole thickness of the formation is about 300 feet, in which, 100 feet below, are the purer limestones, and 200 feet above are the more siliceous beds. The distribution of these beds as surface rocks is coextensive with that of the Barrens, as shown on the map. 4. Upper Siliceous. — This is the equivalent of the Saint Louis or coral limestone group, and is in many respects the most important of the formations occurring in northern Alabama, for from it are derived most of those soils which have made the valley of the Tennessee one of the best fanning areas of the state. The rocks are, as a whole, cherty limestones, usually highly fossiliferous, and sometimes argillaceous. The chert of this division is generally easily recognized, being found In nodular masses filled with impressions of fossils. The country where this formation appears as surface rock is generally level, with low knobs, formed of fragments of chert, remnants of the cherty portions of the limestone. These chert masses are sometimes much decomposed, weathering occasionally to a white chalky-looking siliceous powder. The soil over the Saint Louis limestone is usually colored deep red and orange by the hydrated oxide of iron with which it is impregnated, and this material is occasionally found in such quantity as to form regular ore banks (limonite). The limestones of this formation appear to have suffered subterranean erosion to a greater extent than those of any other, except, perhaps, the dolomite of the middle Alabama anticlinals. As a consequence, sink-holes, caves, underground streams, and big springs become almost characteristic of the Saint Louis group. The average thickness of the group in northern Alabama may be put at 150 feet, and its distribution as the surface rocks may be seen on the map, marked by the color of the red and valley lauds, the greater part of which have been derived from it. 5. Mountain limestone. — This uppermost or calcareous member of the sub-Carboniferous formation, which is considered as an equivalent of the Chester group of other states, is compesed of limestones and shales, with one bed of sandstone included. Its thickness in the eastern part of the valley, as for instance near Huntsville, is between 650 and 700 feet; but westward it thins down, being in Lawrence and Franklin counties seldom more than 150 or 200 feet. The characters of the rocks change also with the locality, for near Huntsville they are mostly limestones, the sandstone stratum being quite thin. In Lawrence, Colbert, and Franklin counties the limestones thin out, while the sandstone becomes prominent, having often a thickness of 75 feet. In these western counties also the sandstone bed is often duplicated, its two parts being separated by limestones. The calcareous beds of the mountain limestone, as the name implies, are mostly found among the slopes of the Cumberland spurs in Jackson and Madison and along the slopes of the escarpment of Sand mountain in Morgan, Lawrence, and Franklin counties, and also along both the northern and southern slopes of the Little mountains in Morgan, Lawrence, Colbert, and Franklin. Iii addition to these localities, many of the valleys between the Cumberland spurs in Jackson and Madison and of the rich coves which indent the northern edge of the Sand mountain in Morgan, Lawrence, and Franklin counties are based upon these limestones. The sandstone bed, on 39 30 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. the other hand, is foimd as the surface rock of the terrace or bench which so generally occurs along the sides ol the Sand mountain and of the Cumberland spurs, capping many of the smaller spurs in Jackson and Madison ; and also at the summit of the Little mountains, which is only a remnant of this once wide terrace, now isolated from the main body by the cutting out of a valley between. Where the streams have cut through these mountains they flow generally through deep gorges or canons with perpendicular sides, the sandstones forming the top rock, with the limestones below. The sandstone, being undermined by the wearing away of the underlying calcareous beds breaks off, leaving perpendicular cliffs. The character of the topography and the distribution of the mountain limestone beds will be easily inferred from the. above remarks, and it is perhaps only necessary to state that some of the valleys and gaps separating the mountain spurs in the extreme east of this region are based, in part, upon the calcareous portions of this formation, wJiich in such cases extend out to some distance from the base of the mountain. Agricultural characters. — The Barrens. — Based upon the rocks of the Lower Siliceous group, the Barrens occur in greatest force in the northern part of the state near the Tennessee line, in the counties of Madison, Limestone, and Lauderdale. In the valley, or red lands, occasional spots of barrens are exposed by the removal by denudation of the overlying rocks, and this is particularly the case in the vicinity of the Tennessee river itself, where the drainage has cut deepest. On the other hand, occasional spots of red lands may be found occupying the summits of the elevations in the Barrens, and thus, while the general line of separation of the two land varieties may be laid down with some accuracy, nothing short of extended exploration would enable one to mark out their precise limits. The whole area of the Barrens has been estimated at 910 square miles, of which 150 are in Madison, 400 in.Limestone, and 360 in Lauderdale. As a part of the highland rim of Tennessee, the Barrens may be described as a high plain, having an average elevation of perhaps 700 or S00 feet above the sea, with a general slope from the east toward the west and a special slope southward, caused by the drainage of the Tennessee river. The highest lands are in general near the state line on the north. Into this high land the streams have cut their channels, which, as a rule, are quite deep and narrow. Going southward, these indentations of the elevated plain become more numerous and widen out, the flat dividing lands narrow down, and near the larger streams become more or less rounded ridges, which are cut up by the smaller tributaries into a number of detached hills. These river hills, though often very steep, have good soils. and are generally in cultivation. Strips of the barren lands extend out into the valley lands along most of tins larger streams, in some places coming down to the Tennessee itself. The western part of Lauderdale is perhaps the most broken of any of the barren lands in Alabama. . The two principal soil varieties of the Barrens are derived from the upper and lower rocks of the formation, respectively. The uppermost rocks are highly siliceous limestones, which form the surface over the greater part of this division and have given it its characteristic topographical and agricultural features, the lower beds, which are often pure limestones, being exposed chiefly in the larger creek valleys, and southward in the lowlands of the river. The disintegration of the siliceous roeks above named gives rise to the most widely distributed and characteristic class of Barrens soils, which are light-colored, whitish to gray sandy loams, having a reddish or yellowish siliceous subsoil, which, in turn, rests upon a hard-pan impervious to water at a depth of three to five feet. The Barrens land, like some of the Sand Mountain land already spoken of, was formerly considered almost worthless for farming purposes, but has been coming rapidly into favor of late years. It has been found that by the use of, say, 200 pounds of guano to the acre this land gives a fine yield of cotton. The main difficulty with cotton is in keeping a stand of the young plants in the early spring, as on account of the impervious hard-pan underlying the subsoil the land is often badly drained and the young plants are " scalded", and thus killed. A drain of less than four feet depth is generally useless. The subjoined analyses will show the general character of the Barrens soil : No. 40. Barrens soil from near Cluttsville, Madison county, collected by Thomas B. Kelly. Depth, 8 inches; vegetation, post, black, red, Spanish, and black-jack oaks, scrub hickory, wild gooseberry, blackberry, winter huckleberry, and a coarse grass, good for sheep and cattle ; color, yellowish-gray. This soil is easily cultivated, and, when properly drained, produces well. It was formerly timbered with chestnuts, since disappeared. After rains the soil hardens, thus preventing the growth of cotton till broken up with a plow. No. 48. Barrens soil from near Huntsville, Madison county, collected by Colonel W. C. Irwin. Depth, C inches; Vegetation, scrubby post and black oaks, a few hickories and dogwoods < no grass, but a thick undergrowth of dogwood bushes ; color, light yellowish-gray ; change of tint at3J inches, clay at 7 inches. 40 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 31 Barrens soils (sub- Carboniferous), Madison county. Insolable matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese . . Peroxide of iren Alamina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Water and orgaulo matter. . . Clnttsville soil. 89. 960 2. 392 92.242 0.255 0.064 0.064 0.035 0.150 1.695 3.292 0.100 0.178 2.024 Total. Hygroscopic moisture, absorbed at 4.450 21C.° Hrmtsville soil. 1-88.720 0.116 0.025 0.041 0.159 0.041 2.705 4.597 0.054 0.045 3.388 69. 891 4.785 28 0." These analyses show a large percentage of insoluble matter and a deficiency of lime and vegetable matter. The hardening of No. 40 is probably due to this lack of organic matter. In potash and phosphoric acid, considering the amount of insoluble matter, there is a sufficiency in the case of No. 40. Neither soil has much capacity for retaining moisture. These soils, like those of the Goal Measures, chemically somewhat similar, have generally a good foundation of clay, and are therefore capable of improvement. Within the limits of the Barrens there is a class of soils making what are called the gravelly bottom lands. These are gravelly loams of gray to yellow or brown colors, resting on somewhat heavier, yellowish-red subsoil. The river hills along the Tennessee in some localities are apparently of a somewhat similar nature. No. 52. Gravelly soil, Limestone creek bottom, near Cluttsvilie, Madison county, collected by Thomas B. Kelly. Depth, not given ; vegetation, poplar, beech, sugar-maple, sycamore, gum, walnut, red, white, and black oaks ; color, light-brown ; a somewhat difficult soil to till because of the gravel. No. 56. Gravelly or river-hills soil, one-fourth of a mile south of the Tennessee river, near Tuscumbia, Colbert county, collected by B. Pybas. Depth, 4J inches ; vegetation, red, white, and black-jack oaks, dogwood, white poplar, and small scrub-walnut ; color, gray with shade of yellow ; subsoil, dark ocher, reaching to 2 feet depth. Gravelly-bottom and river -hills soils, Barrens (sub-Carboniferous). \ MADISON COUNTY. COLBERT COUNTY. Limestone creek bottom. Tennessee river hills. Ho. 52. No. 56. 79. 005 » „ „„ „ 5 85. 028 6.023) 0.270 0.161 79. 320 i 6. 760 ) 0.309 0.067 Soda 0. 224 , 0. 226 0. 230 1 0. 324 2. 871 2. 969 4. 834 4. 771 0. 209 , 0. 153 0.010 ; 0.172 5. 758 4°458 Brown oxide of manganese 99. 786 99. 927 1.974 0.S60 0.073 5.371 41 32 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. These analyses indicate soils of a fair degree of fertility and durability, which, while they contain a large proportion of insoluble matter, are yet thrifty, by reason of a comparatively large percentage of lime and magnesia. In productiveness they stand much nearer the red lands than the Barrens, the average seed-cotton product per acre being given at from S00 to 1,200 pounds, while that of the Barrens will probably not average more than from 500 to 700 pounds. Perhaps less than 10 per cent, of the cultivated land of the immediate valley of the Tennessee is of this kind. To recapitulate, until quite recently the great proportion of cultivated lands of the valley of the Tennessee were red limestone lands. Of late, however, the lighter and more siliceous soils of the Barrens have been found to be profitable soils to cultivate, especially with artificial fertilizers, and these are now preferred by many, as they are safer and easier of cultivation. The cotton staple from these lands is less likely to be stained or otherwise injured than fcnat from the red lands. The limestones which make the lower part of the formation yield a red or brown-loam soil, and is in most respects similar to that of the red lands of the valley. Of this no analyses have been made. This soil is confined to the borders of the streams which traverse the highlands, and, while of much better quality thau the average soil of the Barrens, is of limited occurrence. The red or valley lands. — Under this head are included the valley proper of the Tenuessee, extending from the Barrens on the north to the Little mountains on the south, the valley lying between the Little mountain range and Sand mountain, and the valleys and gaps separating the spurs of the Cumberland in the eastern part of this t'ivisiou, which are all closely related in their agricultural and topographical features. The area is estimated at about 2,430 square miles, of which 320 are in Jackson, 400 in Madison, 190 in Limestone, 240 in Lauderdale, 210 in Franklin, 150 in Colbert, 480 in Lawrence, 285 in Morgan, and 95 in Marshall counties. In this estimate are included also those calcareous lands derived from the limestones of the mountain limestone formation where they occur in the valleys and not upon the mountain slopes. The general character of the valley lands has already been alluded to. They are nearly level or gently undulating, especially near the Tennessee river, on both sides ; but in the gaps between the mountain spurs the surface is more broken. On account of the fertile nature of the soil most of these lands are cleared and under cultivation, but the monotony is agreeably relieved by the low knolls, which are covered with a luxuriant growth of oaks. These knolls are formed by the accumulation of the siliceous parts of the limestone, and, being too rocky for easy cultivation, are often chosen as sites for the dwelling-houses of the planters. Where the flaggy limestones, either of the Saint Louis or of the mountain limestone group, lie very near the surface, with but a thin coating of soil, they are usually covered with a dense thicket or glade of red cedar. Sink-holes and big springs are numerous throughout the valley. The Saint Louis or coral limestone has been described as a siliceous limestone, and in its disintegration it yields a soil which, while varying between wide limits, is in general terms a sandy loam, resting upon what is usually called red clay, but which is a heavy loam, containing from 2 to S per cent, of ferric oxide and about an equal proportion of alumina. The soil varies in color from mulatto to deep-red and nearly black, according to the proportions of the several ingredients. The following analyses of soils of this character from different localities will show well the variations in the quality, as well as the average composition of these lands: No. 38. Red lands soil from near Cluttsville, Madison county, collected by Thomas B. Kelly. Depth, 11 inches; vegetation, hickory, poplar, ash, red, black, and white oaks, chestnut, walnut, elm, cedar, black haw, dogwood, etc.; •color of the soil, dark-brown; of the subsoil, yellowish-brown. In its physical properties this soil is very friable. Water sinks rapidly into it, and is retained by the subsoil. No. 34. Red lands soil from 1 mile east of Tuscumbia, Colbert county, collected by B. Pybas. Depth, 10 inches ; vegetation, black-jack, red, and post oaks, hickory, and scrub cedar; no undergrowth ; color, dark-brown to nearly black. This soil after rains tends to form a crust, which, if not broken up, becomes nearly as hard as a rock. No. 64. Red lands soil from Russell's valley, near Russellville. Franklin county, collected by Dr. Daniel Sevier. Depth, 15 inches; vegetation, red, black, white, post, and black-jack oaks, cedar, dogwood, chestnut, walnut, wild -cherry, and black locust ; color, dark-brown, passing to a lighter reddish-brown in the subsoil. 42 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 33 Bed soils, Tennessee valley (sub- Carboniferous). Madison county. COLBECT COUNTY. FKANKLIN COUNTY. CLUTTSVILLE. TU6CUMBI.Y. KU6SELUVILLE. Red lands soil. Red lands soil. Red lands soil. No. 38. No. 34. No. 64. 75. 360 ) [ 80. 597 5. 237 S 0.154 0.110 0.250 0.250 s .mh s - m 0.243 0.058 0.043 0.058 0.103 2.873 6.198 0.188 0.625 6.620 „ „„, i 85 - 018 8. 995 > 0.276 0.133 0.267 0.381 5.691 0.151 0.020 1.794 8. 163 0.229 0.039 4.100 100. 307 99. 179 99.653 2.242 1.551 0.109 .9. 760 0.700 0.956 0.020 8.840 6.14 Since the immediate fertility of a soil depends upon the available phosphoric acid and other inorganic plant- food, the humus determinations should give us an insight into the capabilities of a soil with reference to the next succeeding crop. The analyses show that all these soils are of rather more than average fertility; and while they do not contain unusually large amounts of phosphoric acid and potash, yet the large percentage of lime in each case renders the soil thrifty. In comparing No. 38 with No. 34 the latter fe seen to be notably deficient in vegetable matter, to which may probably be ascribed its tendency to bake hard after rains. In the percentage of humus, also, they differ widely, as also in the amount of available phosphoric acid, which in No. 3S is 0.109, and in No. 34 only 0.020 per cent. All three soils have fair capacity for retaining moisture. The creek-bottom lands in the Tennessee valley are of varying degrees of fertility, but are generally productive, since they contain the best parts of the uplands which surround them. Upon the sides of the mountain spurs in Jackson, Madison, Marshall, and Morgan counties, and also along the base of the Little mountain range, the calcareous parts of the mountain limestone yield a stiff clayey and limy soil, which supports a fine growth of forest trees, but which, on account of their position on the mountain slopes, are not well suited to cultivation. But there are many places in the counties named where this soil is found in sufficiently level position to be profitably cultivated, and in many of the rich coves which penetrate the edges of the mountains these are the prevailing soils. No analyses have been made, but the crops produced show that they are in character somewhat like the red valley soils, though not so generally of red colors. The prevailing color is gray to black, and there* are spots of black soil that recall in appearance the black prairie soils of the south, to be found in places on Little mountains and other localities made by this formation. The Little mountains. — This well-marked feature of the Tennessee valley has already been alluded to and its principal characters given. The Little mountains proper extend from Morgan, through Lawrence and Colbert counties, out to the Mississippi line. In Madison and Jackson counties there are many small and detached spurs which have exactly similar structure to that of the main body, and they are to be considered in the same connection. All these spurs, and the Little mountains themselves, owe their existence to a stratum of sandstone in the mountain limestone or Chester group, which has protected them against the erosion that has wasted away the adjacent lauds on all sides. From the approximately horizontal position of the strata the summits of these mountains are mostly rather level, though worn into slight depressions here and there. As a general thing these lands are not much under cultivation, since the soil derived from the sandstones is not rich, and scarcely pays to cultivate. The northern face of these mountains is usually steep and abrupt and somewhat indented with fertile coves having red and brown-loam soils. The southern slope is much more gradual. Where the sandstone has been removed the underlying calcareous rocks of the formation come to the surface and give rise to the so-called prairies, which are destitute of trees, because of the thinness of the soil and the proximity of the rock to the surface. Such 43 34 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. places furnish, however, excellent pasturage. The prairie spots are generally found on the summit or southern slope of these mountains, but along their northern or steep face there is very often seen a level bench, or terrace, with the stiff, limy soils of this character. On account of their elevation and pleasant climate the Little mountains are favorite places of residence, and several towns are situated upon them, among which may be mentioned Somerville, Mountain Home, La Grange, etc. Where streams have cut across the Little mountains they flow through deep gorges with almost perpendicular sides, and underneath some of the sandstone ledges often spring chalybeate and other mineral waters. The area occupied by the Little mountains and similar elevations is estimated to be about 540 square miles, of which 50 are found in the detached spurs of Madison county, 140 in Morgan, 150 in Lawrence, 170 in Colbert, and 30 in Franklin. Soils. — The agricultural features of the mountain spurs here included are, as might be supposed, rather uniform. The sandstone, which forms the greater part of the surface, yields a sandy soil, which is closely like the prevailing soil in the Coal Measures. Its chief timber also resembles that of the coal regions, consisting of Spanish, post, and white oaks, with some short-leaf pine. Other trees are common in some places, as chestnuts and hickories. The following analysis of a soil collected on Little mountains near the old town of La Grange, in Colbert county, will serve to show the general nature of these lands : No. 30. Little Mountain noil from La Grange, near Tuscumbia, in Colbert county, collected by B. Pybas. Depth, 8 inches; vegetation, chestnut, short-leaf pine, hickory, post oak, and small sourwood; color, top soil dark brown 2 inches; below that yellowish sand at 2 feet, and at 5 feet solid sandstone rock. . Sand)/ soil of Little mountains, Colbert count//. No. 30. 03. 030 i , „„ 505. 312 1. 062 ) 0.100 0.000 0. 120 0.040 0.102 0.761 1.532 0.051 0.028 2.055 100.101 Hygroscopic moisture 1.56 A rather poor soil, like that of the Coal Measures generally, but with a larger proportion of lime and of organic matter and less of potash. SOUTHERN DIVISION. All that part of the state south and west of the limits of the middle and northern divisions is embraced in the southern division, which includes the whole or parts of Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Tuscaloosa, Bibb, Chilton, Elmore, Tallapoosa, and Lee counties, and all of Pickens, Greene, Hale, Sumter, Choctaw, Marengo, Dallas, Perry, Autauga, Lowndes, Montgomery, Macon, Bullock, Russell, Barbour, Pike, Crenshaw, Butler, Wilcox, Monroe, Clarke, Washington, Mobile, Baldwin,. Escambia, Conecnh, Covington, Geneva, Coffee, Dale, and Henry. The area of this division is approximately 32,335 square miles. General geological and topographical features and subdivisions. — The Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks which underlie this whole division axe approximately 1 horizontal in stratification, but have a slight dip toward the south and southwest. With the exception of part of the prairies, presently to be described, the who)e area is covered with beds of drifted material which have been deposited upon an eroded surface of the older rocks. The drift-beds are, as a rule, very irregularly stratified. It may thus be inferred that the minor details of surface configuration and the soils are, to a certain extent, independent of the underlying older rocks, and are in great measure determined by these drifted materials. In these respects this division differs from the two preceding ones. But while it depends to so great an extent for its soils and topography upon a single formation, there is- not in these the great monotony that might be -14 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 35 looked for on this account. The drift itself is composed of materials which offer varying degrees of resistance to ■denudation, and considerable inequalities of surface result from this circumstance. In addition to this, the older rocks had been greatly eroded before they were covered by the drift, so that the general contour of the country, as well as many of the most prominent topographical features in this division, are quite independent of the superficial drift-coating which determines so many of the minor details. The low trough of the prairie region, the rugged hills of the buhrstone, and the gently undulating surface of the southern pine belt were features of the landscape before the deposition of the drift; and similarly with the soils the drift itself yields a number of varieties, which are still further increased by the modifications brought about by their intermixture with the disintegrated portions of the underlying country rocks. These rocks are referred to two principal formations, the Cretaceous and the Tertiary. For convenience of reference I give in condensed form the most important subdivisions of these formations, together with their lithological and other characters in so far as they are of importance in determining the agricultural features. Tertiary. — Viclcsburg (uppermost). — The chief material is a soft white limestone (containing Orbitoides Mantelli), easily cut with an as or a saw into blocks, which are used throughout the region of its occurrence in the construction of chimneys. This alternates witli whitish shell marls, and occurs over a belt of country from 30 to 50 miles wide north and south, the lower half of which is gently undulating, the upper somewhat broken and hilly. The whole region is covered with beds of later age, which, in most cases, form the soils. Jaclcson. — An impure Umestone or calcareous clay of a light, nearly white color, containing grains of greensaud, is the chief material of this formation in Alabama. Its thickness is from 40 to 50 feet, and in some places it is underlaid with fossiliferous sands and with ten feet or more of grayish laminated clays. The disintegration of the principal stratum gives rise to the calcareous prairie soils of the lime-hills, whose surface distribution is the same as that of the northern half of the Vicksburg. Like the preceding, the strata of this group are generally covered with beds of a more recent formation, which form the greater part of the soils, and in great measure determine the topograph y; jet where these overlying beds have been partially removed the characteristic soils and no less characteristic topography of the lime-hills are produced. Claiborne. — The materials of this division consist of sandy shell deposits, alternating with impure whitish limestones or calcareous clays containing greensand. These deposits are exposed along ravines and bluffs, but seldom form the surface over any considerable area, and have comparatively little effect upon the soils beyond making them locally more fertile. These beds may be observed at the lower levels throughout the territory above assigned to the Jackson group. Buhr stone. — Siliceous sandstones and claystones make up the greater part of this division. These deposits form a line of rocky hills extending nearly across the state. In general, the soils are extremely poor ; but there are limited areas of.more fertile character, due to the influence of the calcareous beds, with which the prevailing materials are sparingly interstratifled. Lagrange or Lignitic. — Grayish or dark-colored laminated clays and yellowish or gray sands, containing several beds of lignite and alternating with beds of greensand marl. These materials form the substratum of a belt 15 or 20 miles in width, the soils of which are mostly derived from the superficial beds of drift, except where the marl beds, especially along the southern border of this division, give rise to highly fertile lime-hills, closely resembling those of the Jackson group. Flatwoods. — The chief strata are " massy" or thick-bedded joint-clays of gray or darker colors, and of tolerably uniform character. The soils are heavy and clayey, seldom tempered to any considerable degree by the. sandy beds of the drift. The timber is mostly post oak. Cretaceous. — Ripley. — Hard crystalline and often sandy limestone and bluish, micaceous, frequently highly fossiliferous marls make up the greater part of this division. The blue marl has its best development in the eastern part of the state. The interstratincation of the hard limestone with the softer marls gives rise to the rugged topography of the hill prairie region. The larger proportion of the soils over this division are derived from the drift, with local modifications due to the influence of the marls and limestone, while occasionally the soils are derived almost wholly from the Cretaceous material. Rotten limestone. — An impure argillaceous limestone of great uniformity of composition over wide areas is the characteristic material of this division. The surface is gently undulating, aiid the soils are derived partly from the simple disintegration of the limestone and partly from admixtures of this with the loam of the drift. This rock underlies a belt of country averaging 15 or 20 miles in width, and is noted for its fertility. Eutaw. — The chief materials of the Eutaw group are gray laminated clays, irregularly bedded sands, containing some mica, and having often a greenish cast, partly from grains of greensand and partly from some substance coating the siliceous sand grains. Subordinated to the above are beds of lignite and liguitized trunks of trees. The soils over the whole area are derived from the overlying drift, except along the sides of ravines, etc., where the above-named materials are uncovered, giving rise to small tracts of more than average fertility, which lie, however, usually on such steep slopes as to be of little agricultural value. The stratigraphical relations of these formations are shown in sufficient detail in the general section given on page 13. 36 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Taken as a whole, the surface of the southern division has a general slope from the margin of the two divisions just described outward, i. e., west and south toward the Mississippi basin and the Gulf of Mexico. This general slope is interrupted by the trough of the central prairie region, which is depressed many feet below the general level both north and south of it, and also on a limited scale by the trough of the flatwoods. South of the prairie, belt there is a line of rocky hills made by the hard sandstones and claystones of the lower part of the Tertiary formation, beyond which, toward the south, the country falls away very gradually and uniformly to the coast. Mention has been made of the differences existing in the materials of the drift formation overlying the most, of this region. These materials are pebbles, sands, and a red, brown, or yellow loam, and the geographical distribution of these several materials, taken in connection with other physical conditions, lies at the basis of tho classification of this division into its agricultural regions. Around the outer margin of the two preceding divisions there is seen a great accumulation of these drift beds, so great as to hide completely from view over areas of considerable size all the underlying rocks of the country. Along this belt pebbles of quartz and chert and beds of red and brown loam are seen in their greatest thickness. As we go outward from this belt the pebbles become less and less abundant, and seem to be confined to well-defined channels, along which, however, they may bo traced for great distances, even into Florida, but they cease to be characteristic beyond a comparatively narrow belt. The loam also appears to decrease in thickness and prominence in the same directions, though it is fouud generally distributed much farther south that* the pebbles. The whole region over which the red and brown loams prevail has many topographical and botanical features in common, prominent among which are the broken and hilly surface and the mixture with pines of oak and hickory in the forest growth. Southward from this region of mixed growth the long-leaf pine is the most characteristic and constantly occurring tree, and gives the name to a second region, which reaches to the Gulf of Mexico. The subdivisions of the region of mixed growth are based primarily upon the species of pine which is associated with the other trees, it being the short-leaf pine in the one case and the long-leaf in the other. Other subdivisions of this region depend on the relative proportions of long-leaf pine and other timber trees. The region of the long-leaf pine is subdivided, in accordance with the prevailing topographical character, into hilly, rolling, and flat lands. The black-prairie region, the flatwoods, and the lime-hills are agricultural regions, in which the soils are to a great extent dependent on the rocks of the country for their formation, and do not properly find a place in the two regions as just defined. In accordance with the characters given, the southern division may be divided into the following agricultural regions or subdivisions : 1. The Oak and Pine Uplands Region, including — The oak and hickory and short-leaf pine uplands. The gravelly hills, with long-leaf pine. The oak and hickory uplands, with long-leaf pine, including brown-loam uplands and long-leaf pine uplands. 2. The Central or Upper Prairie Region, with its three features of — Black prairie or "canebrake". Hill prairie or Ohunnenugga ridge. The blue marl lands. • 3. The Post-oak Flatwoods. i. The Lower Prairie or Lime-Bills Region, including the shell prairies and red-lime lands. 5. The Long-leaf Pine Region, with its subdivisions — Long-leaf pine hills. Rolling, open pine woods and lime-sink region. Pine flats. 6. The Alluvial Region of Mobile River and the coast marshes. From the nature of the forest growth, as outlined in the above agricultural subdivisions, it may be inferred that the prevailing soil varies with the geographical position, and in fact we find that the surface soil increases in sandiness as we go southward toward the Gulf. In addition to this, local variations in the predominant soil of all the regions just enumerated arise from the, varying quality at different depths of these superficial beds of loam and drift. To illustrate this a series of specimens was taken near the city of Tuscaloosa down to the depth of 14 feet, passing through the red loam and into the underlying sand and pebble beds. No. 115. Soil, brownish-red color, taken to the depth of 5 inches. No. 116. Subsoil, clayey loam, of a deep-red color, taken from 5 to IS inches. No. 117. Under subsoil, more sandy, and of same deep-red color, taken from IS inches to 3A feet, No. IIS. Red. sandy loam, taken from 34 to 7J feet. No. 119. Reddish sandy loam, increasing in sandiness with the depth, and becoming yellowish in color; taken from 7i to 9 J feet. 4G PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 37 No. 120. Yellowish, coarse sand, taken from 9J to 14 feet. The preceding bed gradually passes into this. No. 121 is a bed of pebbles with sand, irregularly stratified, and of variable thickness and quality, extending to the bottom of the gully, say from 14 to 45 feet. This has not yet been analyzed. No. 122. Gray clay, with a few species of red. This was an irregularly-shaped bed near the bottom of the section. These specimens were analyzed by Mr. D. W. Langdon, jr., of Mobile, a student in my laboratory, with results as given below : Analyses of brown-loam soil, with subsoil, and the underlying beds, down to the depth of 14 feet ; also, analysis of gray clay, Tuscaloosa. Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown osiile of manganese Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphurifl acid Water and organic matter Total Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at Soil brownish- red to depth of 5 inches. 81. 683 ) 0. 465 > 255 175 140 007 102 184 081 000 1.025 i. 425 c . .. i , Under subsoil Subsoil deep-red | deep . red from 5 to 18 inches. 84. 777 ) 0. 656 i 85. 433 0.205 0.175 0.065 0.100 0.009 4.903 6.278 0.066 0.083 2.288 99.715 18 inches to 3* feet. 91.493 ( 0. 066 > 91. 559 0.150 0.140 0.071 0.005 0.066 2.495 3.466 0.007 0.071 Red, sandy loam, Eed, sandy loam, L. no ^ ah r „. rR „i Gray clay, with more yellowish becoming yellow- „. °J coarse a few specks of than preceding, 3J to 7J feet. ish below, 7 j to H feet. sand, to 14 feet. 88. 989 , > 90. 1. 827 ) 816 0.139 0.135 0.045 0.004 0.061 2.592 3.998 0.007 0.066 1.791 99. 954 96. 405 } 0. 687 > 97. 092 0.005 0.004 0.006 0.002 0.003 1.910 0.786 0.003 0.004 0.841 98. 370 ( 0. 086 5 98.456 0.005 0.003 0.004 0.001 0.002 0.717 0.454 0.001 0.004 0.752 red, bottom of gully. 81.837 0. 256 . 82. 093 0.258 0.197 0.341 0.194 0.010 0.576 11. 314 o.ooi .0.150 5.140 100. 272 These analyses show very clearly the gradual decrease in the percentages of potash, lime, magnesia, and phosphoric acid, and consequent deterioration of the soil-forming qualities of the beds as the depth from the surface increases, and a similar decrease in the capacity for moisture in the same direction. The. prominent points of difference between the loam and the drift sands are best seen on comparing Nos. 118 and 120, since No. 119 forms a transition between the two. This transition bed (No. 119) shows how the lower parts of the loam and the upper parts of the underlying drift shade off into each other without there being any sharp line between, and yet within 2 feet the change from loam to sand is complete. From the analyses we can also easily account for the fact, so often to be observed in the parts of the state where these beds make the surface, that along many of the slopes of the loam-covered table-lands we find a forest growth entirely different from that of the plains above and denoting a great deterioration in the quality of the soil. A removal by denudation of the loam will expose the greatly inferior sands and cause a corresponding change in the character of the soil. Many of the poor pine ridges which traverse the areas of better land have had this surface loam in great measure removed. On the other hand, the sandiuess of the soils of some of the table-lauds finds its explanation in the fact that on such level lands the surface materials are not washed off bodily, but the finer clayey particles are carried by the percolating water deeper from the surface, leaving the coarser sand above. In most cases of this kind the surface soil is usually much more sandy than its subsoil. The specimens of which the analyses are given were taken from a slope where both the finer clayey and the coarser sandy particles of the loam would be washed away together by the rains, thus preserving at the surface nearly the original proportions between the two. In the following detailed descriptions of the agricultural regions of this southern part of the state these general principles will find many applications. THE OAK AND PINE UPLANDS EEGION. This region, with its subdivisions, embraces an area of 10,915 square miles, and includes some of the best uplands of the state. Its two principal subdivisions, as already stated, are named from the species of pine which characterize them. As far north as about latitude 33° 30' the long-leaf pine is prevalent; farther north it is the short-leaf species. The northern and eastern margins of this region (lying next to the preceding general divisions) are well characterized by the accumulation of flinty pebbles. The soils along this gravelly belt are not materially different from those of the other parts of the oak and pine 4T 38 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. uplands, except that they are, in general, rather poorer and more sandy ; but since a line of gravelly hills, timbered with oaks and long-leaf pine, runs along the border of the metamorphic or crystalline rocks through South Carolina and Georgia into Alabama with substantially the same characters, this division is here retained. OAK AND HICKOEY UPLANDS, WITH SHORT-LEAF PINE. This region includes the whole or parts of Lauderdale, Colbert, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Tuscaloosa, and Pickens counties, with an area of about 4,135 square miles. In its soils and topography it is so closely connected with the uext two regions that a special account of the same would involve much repetition. Along the eastern margin of this region there are some modifications of the soils, brought about by the influence of the underlying rocks, which in the three first-named counties belong to the sub Carboniferous formation, and in the others to the Coal Measures. These, however, have not been specially studied, and the larger proportion of the soils may be referred to the red loam, which also in great measure makes the surface of the following regions. Most of the soil varieties occurring in the region next to be described have their representatives here, and the analyses there given will show their general characters in this section also. GRAVELLY PINE HILLS, WITH LONG-LEAP PINE. This subdivision occupies a belt of varying width, but averaging perhaps 30 miles, bordering on the south and west the older formations of the state (Metamorphic, Silurian, and Carboniferous), and hiding the line of contact between these and the Cretaceous formation. This belt stretches from Lauderdale county, on the northwest, to Russell county, on the east, and includes the following counties and parts of counties: The western parts of Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Marion, Lamar, and Fayette; nearly all of Pickens, Tuscaloosa, and Bibb; northern Greene, Hale, Perry, and Dallas, southern Chilton, nearly all of Autauga, southern Elmore, and Tallapoosa; northern Montgomery, most of Macon and Kussell, and southern Lee. Within these limits there are about 0,170 square miles in which the drift beds conceal completely the underlying rocks and 2,050 square miles in which these surface beds make the greater part of the soils and the older rocks show only along the water-courses. The whole area in which the gravelly hills with short-leaf and long-leaf pines characterize the country may thus be placed at about 8,820 square miles. But since these gravelly hills with short- leaf pine timber in the northwestern part of the state present no very clearly marked points of difference from the short-leaf pine uplands of Mississippi, into which they gradually pass, it is only that portion of the gravelly hills with long-leaf pine that is to be considered under this head. With these limitations, therefore, this region embraces parts of the counties of Tuscaloosa, Pickens, Greene, Hale, Bibb, Perry, Dallas, Chilton, Autauga, Elmore, Montgomery, Tallapoosa, Macon, Lee, and Russell, with an area which has been estimated at 4,085 square miles. General characters.' — As the name indicates, this subdivision has a rather uneven, hilly surface, especially where the table-lands break off toward the water-courses. Between these there are often tolerably wide tracts of nearly level laud. The hills are, in general, clothed with a growth of upland oaks, among which the pines are usually conspicuous. The surface over most of this territory is formed of beds of red or yellowish loam varying in thickness from a few inches to 25 feet. This loam is, in general, devoid of lines of stratification, and overlies beds of sand and pebbles, which are very distinctly stratified, although the stratification is extremely irregular. All these beds rest upon a worn or eroded surface of the older rocks, and on this account the thickness varies considerably. In many parts' of the region the sands and pebbles have been cemented together into pretty solid rocks by the iron which is so generally present as coloring matter. These are the only hard rocks belonging to the surface beds. In some parts of the more northern counties, and in Tuscaloosa, these pebbly conglomerates act an important part in the production of topographical features, and in most of the region the hills, and even slight elevations, will be found to be capped with a sheet of ferruginous sandstone formed in this way, and giving rise to the elevation by protecting the strata from washing away. Wherever the red-colored sands and beds of pebbles rest upon a sheet of impervious clay the conditions for the formation of these rocks exist. Agricultural features. — The red or yellow loam, above mentioned as overlying the stratified sands and pebbles of the drift, forms all the best upland soils of this region; but in places the underlying sands occupy the surface, forming very light soils, which may produce well for a while, but are soon exhausted. Between these two extremes there are many grades of soils resulting from their intermixtures. The loam, as above stated, with a variable thickness, overlies the stratified drift, and where the thickness is considerable, from 2 or 3 feet upward, the soils have the usual character of those of the brown-loam uplands. When fresh they will yield under good cultivation from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds of seed-cotton to the acre, but soon fall off in productiveness. Between the streams the country has the character of plateau or table-land, and is not much broken or hilly. The following analyses will show the general nature of the uplands and table-lands soils:. No. 0. Upland sandy loam (second class table-lands) from 4 miles east of Prattville, Autauga county, collected by Dr. S. P. Smith. The somewhat sandy top soil is underlaid to the depth of 20 feet by red clayey loam, below 43 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 39 which is a coarse yellow sand alternating' with clay. Depth, 8 inches ; vegetation, short-leaf pine, red and post oaks, hickory, dogwood, black gum, chestnut, persimmon, etc. ; color, yellowish-brown ou surface, passing into light- red below. No. 57. Brown-loam soil from near Mulberry post-office, Autauga county, collected by T. D. Cory. Depth, inches ; vegetation, one-third pine, with white, post, and red oaks, hickory, dogwood, and black gum ; color, light brown, changing below 6 inches to dark red. Tbe fresh land will yield from S00 to 1,200 pounds of seed-cotton to the acre, but after several years' cultivation the yield is reduced to 200 or 400 pounds. No. GO. Subsoil of No. 57 . Depth, G to 12 inches ; color, dark red. Where the table-lands break off in the direction of the water-courses the top stratum of red loam becomes thinner, and in places is entirely removed, leaving the underlying sands at the surface. In the latter case the lands are scarcely worth cultivating, except, in the creek bottoms, and even here, the thin sandy soils with sandy subsoils are very soon exhausted. About a third of the tillable lands in the pine woods have a subsoil of greater or less thickness of. this red loam, and though the soil is thin, it is moderately profitable to cultivate, because of the clay subsoil. The character of this variety of pine lauds will be seen from the following analyses : No. 3. Upland pine-woods soils near Prattville, Autauga county. Depth, 8 inches; vegetation, long-leaf pine, hickory, red, post, and black-jack oaks, dogwood, persimmon, etc.; color, ashy-gray at top, changing to yellowish in subsoil. The fresh land will yield 400 pounds of seed-cotton to the acre. No. 4. Subsoil of No. 3, Autauga county. Depth, 12 to 18 inches ; color, yellowish. Soil and subsod collected by Dr. S. P. Smith. Lands of the gravelly hills, Autauga county. 6IIOBT-LEAF PINE LANDS — BROWN LOAM. LONG-LEAP PINE LANDS— SANDY. Upland sandy loam nrar Prattville. Brown eaDdy loam near Mniberry. Uplands pine woods. Soil. Soil. Subsoil. Soil. Subsoil. No. 6. 1 No. 57. No. 60. No. 3. No. 4. 89. 100 ) , 5 91.940 2. 840 5 0.073 0.018 0.060 0. 0G1 (.122 1.577 4.350 0.077 0.034 2.209 91. 510 l 5 93. 470 1. 960 * 0.115 0.004 0.057 0.140 0.027 1.527 0.943 0.M2 0.013 2.888 84. 520 > 589.140 4. 620 5 0.136 0.010 0.109 0.172 0.171 2. 422 6.078 0.078 0.074 2.477 94. 170 i „ „ ! 95. 560 1.390 5 0.040 0.006 0.069 0.052 0.117 88 - 860 I „„ „ 5 92. 240 3. 380 5 0.111 0. 029 0.047 0.139 0.125 0.062 0.009 2.807 0.077 0.002 1.660 100. 518 99. 226 100. 867 100. 069 100. 322 3.882 2.905 5.39 29C.° 1.916 24 C.° 6.079 19C.° The analyses of brown-loam soils show deficiencies in the principal elements of plant-food, potash and phosphoric acid, and also in lime, showing these to be essentially inferior soils. There is an important difference, however, between the soil and subsoil (Nos. 57 and GO) in their reteutiveness of hygroscopic moisture, as shown by the determinations, and the subsoil is also somewhat richer in lime and in plant-food than the top soil. Deep plowing is, therefore, at once suggested as a means of improvement. Manures will be well retained both by subsoil No. GO and by loam soil No. G, which is intermediate in composition and physical properties between soil No. 57 and its subsoil. In the pine-woods lands the soil is seen to be lacking in all tke elements of fertility, being composed mostly of sand, with very slight retentive power. Stimulant manures will do little good except for a very short time. For permanent improvement nutritive manures are necessary. The subsoil is superior in all respects to the top soil, and deep plowing will be attended with good results. The absorptive power of this subsoil is quite marked for so sandy a material, and this property, probably more than anything- else, makes it possible to cultivate snch soils with profit. In some parts of this region there is a kind of pond lands, which, when drained, will produce very well for a year or two, but are then apparently completely exhausted. The accompanying analysis shows its chemical nature: No. Gl. Pond-land soil (exhausted) near Mulberry, Autauga county, collected by T. D.Cory. Depth, 12 inches; vegetation, mostly sweet gum; color, a dark gray. 49 4 c P — VOL. II 40 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Pond-land soil (exhausted) near Mulberry, Autauga county. Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese . Peroxide of iron Al u id in a Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid "Water and organic matter. .. Total . Hygroscopic moisture . absorbed at 0.193 0.094 0.019 0.190 0.079 0.810 7. 951 0.070 0. 182 0. 101 100. 328 7. 097 27. 8 C.° In this soil it would appear that a deficiency in the lime is the chief cause of its rapid exhaustion, and liming is the first improvement indicated. It is lacking also in potash and phosphoric acid. The bottom soils of this region vary with the surrounding uplands, and arc, as a rule, easily cultivated and quite fertile, as they contain the best portions of the soils of the uplands. The. second bottom or hummock soils are, in great measure, similar to the upland soils, but are usually somewhat stronger. The best farming lands in the region are to be found in the river hummocks or second terraces, and the general character of both will be seen from the following analyses: No. 9. Alabama river first-bottom soil, 4 miles west of Montgomery, in Autauga county, collected by Dr. 8. P. Smith. Depth, S inches; vegetation, red and white oaks, poplar, beech, hickory, sweet gum, elm, slippery elm, walnut, wild cherry, ash, sourwood, dogwood, grapes, and muscadines; color, light-brown top soil, with yellowish subsoil. No. 20. Warrior river hummock soil (virgin), plantation of James K. Maxwell, near Tuscaloosa, collected by James P.. Maxwell. Depth, inches; vegetation, originally a dense cane thicket, with some sweet gum and red oak; color of the top soil, a light to dark brown, changing at the depth of 10 inches to a reddish-brown. The fresh land will produce 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton or from 50 to 60 bushels of corn to the acre. No. 00. Warrior river hummock soil from the same locality as the preceding, but taken to the depth of 14 inches. No. 21. Warrior river hummock soil (cultivated twenty years) from the same locality. Depth, 14 inches; vegetation, same as No. 20. No. 22. Warrior river hummock subsoil, subsoil of Nos. 20, 21, and 66. Depth, 14 to 24 inches; color, reddish- brown. Nos. 20, 66, 21, and 22 were collected by James E. Maxwell. Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganeBe Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Water and organic matter . Total Humus Available inorganic Available phosphoric acid Hygroscopic moisture — absorbed at 50 AUTAUGA COUNTY. Bottom lauds, Alabama river. First-bottom soil. S3. 117 0.335 0. ISO 0. 131V 0. 303 0. 384 5. 357 4.811 0. 137 0. 04(1 5.230 TUSCALOOSA COUNTY. Humtuock lands, Warrior river. Virgin soil to depth of inches. 1.047 0.802 0.058 8.193 73. 995 ) 0. 518 > 80. 513 0.252 0. 052 0.4G8 0. 429 0. 000 4.395 5.182 0.274 0.071 8.893 Virgin soil to depth of 14 inches. 09. 900 ) 10. 987 i 100. 535 80.887 0.448 0.033 0.343 0.547 0. ISO 5.303 6.004 0.325 0. 072 6.311 2.310 1.255 112 18. 811 Soil after 20 years' cultivation to depth of 14 inches. 73. 339 i 8. 777 i 82.110 0.383 0.052 0.314 0. 5112 0.1141 4.590 5.288 0.214 0. 1172 6.017 Subsoil of the three preceding; depth, 14 to 24 inches. Mo. 22. 71.227 i 10. 005 > 81. 802 0.504 0.196 0.241 0. 516 0.081 10.254 2.105 0.284 0. 034 4.490 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 41 By its composition the bottom soil is seen to be an excellent soil, and tlie large crops, especially of corn, which it produces are what might be expected from an inspection of the analysis. It is liable to overflow in many parts, and is therefore less planted in cotton than in grain. The hummocks are also good soils, having, above the average content of phosphoric acid, a good supply of potash, and a sufficient quantity of lime to make these ingredients available. In comparing the analyses we find that the percentage of phosphoric acid and potash increases with the depth, while the lime decreases in quantity, it being greatest at the surface. They are all sufficiently retentive of moisture, and will hold manures well. The cultivated soil, No. 21, is very little inferior to the virgin soil in the elements of fertility, and the observed difference in the productiveness of the two is doubtless due to the circumstance that the fresh soil contains plant-food in a more easily available form. It is a matter of experience that when the top soil has been washed off, as, for instance, on the low knolls, the reddish-brown subsoil appears to be, for a time at least, almost barren. This, as we see from the analysis, cannot be due to any deficiency in the elements of plant-food, and must, therefore, be owing to the physical and chemical conditions of the material, to its compactness, want of vegetable matter, and perhaps also of lime, to render available the plant-food which it actually contains. Thorough breaking up, plowing in of green crops, and ajiplications of lime would undoubtedly in a very short time make this subsoil quite as productive as the soil. The humus determination of the virgin soil, No. 20, shows 0.112 per cent, of available phosphoric acid, a very large proportion of the total amount present. OAK AND HICKORY UPLANDS, WITH LONG-LEAF PINE. The belt of country lying between the central prairie region on the north and that of the long-leaf pine region on the south is characterized by the almost universal presence of the long-leaf pine among the timber trees, but with it, in the upper part of the belt, are associated the upland oaks and hickories in perhaps equal proportions, but diminishing in frequency southward, and thus forming a transition into the long-leaf pine region proper. Under this head are embraced parts of the following counties: Sumter, Choctaw, Clarke, Marengo, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Crenshaw, Covington, Coffee, Pike, Montgomery, Bullock, Barbour, Dale, and Henry, and the area included is about 8,095 square miles. While the upper and lower parts of this division in their extreme characters differ widely, they nevertheless shade off imperceptibly into each other, and it is not possible, except in a general way, to draw the line between them. In the upper half the prevailing soils are brown sandy loams, with a growth of upland oaks and hickories and some short-leaf and long-leaf pines; in the lower half the soils are more sandy, and the timber consists largely of long-leaf pine, along with black-jack oak and others which usually affect sandy soils. It will be most convenient to speak of this region under the two heads of brown-loam uplands and pine uplands, bearing constantly in mind the fact that these names merely serve to call to mind the predominant characters of the two sections, and that in each there are tracts of greater or less extent which have all the distinctive marks of the other. 1. Brown-loam uplands. — This section forms the upper or northern half of the region which we are describing, and embraces parts of the counties of Sumter, Choctaw, Clarke, Marengo, Wilcox, Monroe, Butler, Crenshaw, Montgomery, Pike, Bullock, Barbour, and Henry, with an area which is approximately 4,105 square miles. In the lower part of Sumter and Marengo and the upper part of Choctaw, Clarke, and Wilcox counties the lignitic or Lower Tertiary strata, which underlie this division, consist of laminated clays and sands, to which are subordinated beds of lignite and of shell marls, often very rich in greensand or glaitconite. Eastward, however, the lignitic character of the deposits to a certain extent disappears, the beds becoming more exclusively marine, and consisting of sandy materials, often highly fossiliferous. In Barbour, Bullock, and Pike counties the northern limits of these uplands adjoin the blue marls and other beds of the Upper Cretaceous formation, from which they are separated west of Lowndes county by a belt of flatwoods. The underlying beds, however, both east and west, are in most cases at sufficient depths below the surface to exercise comparatively little influence upon either soils or topography. Exceptions to this are seen in Wilcox, Marengo, and Choctaw counties, where the beds of greensand marl above mentioned are brought to the surface by denudation and give rise to lime-bills, which, in the character both of their soils and their rugged topography, resemble the lime-hills of the Jackson group farther south. A well characterized belt of such lime-hills may be traced from Lower Peach Tree, in Wilcox county, westward through northern Clarke and Choctaw to the Mississippi line. This belt runs parallel with, and a short distance north of, the rocky hills formed by the sandstones and other strata of the Buhr-stone group. A soil of this lime-hills region was collected about 10 miles west of Lower Peach Tree, iu Wilcox county, of which the analysis is given on page 12. No. 140. Lime-hills soil, 10 miles west of Lower Peach Tree, Wilcox county. Depth 8 inches; color, yellowish- gray, with a slightly greenish tinge; vegetation, chiefly beech, but mixed with hickory, white oak, sweet gum, a few short-leaf pines and Finns glabra, ash, some Spanish oak, poplar, pig-nut, sourwood, cucumber trees, holly, and sour gum. 51 42 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Lime-hills soil, Wilcox county. No. 140. '5. 550 , J 76. 684 1. 134 J 0.174 0.184 0.014 0.032 5. 515 7.772 0.220 0.000 8.022 00. 010 17. 067 10. 5C.° In this soil the percentage of phosphoric acid, as also the hygroscopic moisture, is high; the lime and potash sufficient. Another belt, characterized by the occasional appearance of calcareous soils, runs parallel to and some 15 or 20 miles north of the one just described, and is well displayed, for instance, near Luther's store, in Marengo county. Similarly in eastern Alabama the prevailing loam soils are, in places, greatly improved by admixture with the greensand marls occurring there. Otherwise, the superficial beds of loam, sand, and pebbles determine almost exclusively the agricultural and other characters of the region. On account of the almost universal presence of a bed of red or yellowish -red loam overlying the sandier materials of the drift the topography of this region is quite varied because of the unequal degrees of resistance thus offered to denudation. The water-sheds are usually of the nature of table-lauds, which break off toward the streams in somewhat rugged hills. The loam rests upon beds of sand and pebbles, as above stated, and hence an abundance of good freestone water in every part of this region, even in the driest seasons. The agricultural characters of the upland region are determined almost exclusively by the natnre of these superficial beds, and the distribution of the soil-varieties will be understood from the following considerations: The rocks of the country were covered with beds of sand, and in some places with beds of pebbles, which in turn were overlaid with a red or brownish-yellow loam of 20 or 30 feet thickness. The latter forms, in most cases, the soils and subsoils of this region, with the exceptions to be noted hereafter. Wherever the thickness of the loam is considerable, say 5 feet and upward, the water-sheds and territory generally formed by it are mostly of the nature of nearly level table-lands, whose general elevation above the main water-conrses is 350 or 400 feet. On these table- lands the soil is usually a brown sandy loam, increasing in stiffness with the depth from the surface, and resting upon a subsoil of clay loam of a red or reddish color. The natural growth consists of numerous species of upland oaks, conspicuous among which are the Spanish, post, red, black, and black-jack, and hickories and short- aud long-leaf pines. Upon the table-lands there are varieties of soil depending upon the degree of sandiness, and the deterioration in quality is generally marked by the accession of the pines to the oak growth — short-leaf pine first, then the long-leaf pine. Below a certain depth, or within a certain distance of the top of the underlying drift-sands, the loam becomes more and more sandy, making a very gradual transition to the underlying beds. Along the edges of the table- lands, therefore, and in corresponding positions where the greater part of the loam has been removed, its sandy lower portions, and the sands of the drift itself, form, the soils, which are then of inferior quality, as is shown by the growth, which consists of long-leaf pine and blackjack, or of the former alone. Of this character are the sandy pine ridges which are interspersed with the better table-lands. They have a poor sandy soil, which often produces pretty well for a short while, but is soon exhausted. Between the two extremes thus accounted for are numerous gradations resulting from their intermixtures. It should not be inferred from what has been said that everywhere at elevations 20 or 30 feet below the general level of the table-lands the sands of the drift would be denuded of the loam and alone form the soils, for both the drift and the overlying loam seem to conform more or less to the more prominent topographical features of tne country, as if they had been deposited over a surface which had already been eroded in conformity 'n ith present systems of drainage. It is otherwise difficult to account for the fact that we constantly find, sometimes 75 or 100 feet below the level of the table-lands, terraces of greater or lesser width having a capping of considerable thickness of the same red loam, underlaid by sand aud pebbles, just as is the case on the table-lands themselves; and, even more, the second bottoms of the larger streams often present the same condition of things. At elevatiens intermediate between these successive plains are the pine ridges. It may be that a part of this is due to the subsequent degradation of the loam and its re-deposition along the slopes and over the lowlands; butthis explanation 52 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 43 will not apply to all cases, for we should then always find the greatest thickness of loam at the lowesfe levels, and eften find the relative positions of the loam and the sands and pebbles reversed, which is not the case. The heaviest or stiffest loams are not, as a rule, found on the highest and broadest of the table-lands, but rather along their borders, where exposed to partial denudation, whence it would seem that upon the level table-lands, where the waters flow off slowly, there is a constant tendency toward increasing sandiness in the top soil, caused by the carrying down from the surface by percolating water of the finer clayey particles. Along slopes, however, the more rapidly flowing waters remove both the finer clay and coarser sand, and the proportion of these two ingredients originally existing in the loam is preserved. It often happens that the freshly-exposed loam appears to be rather sterile, but this is due to the physical condition, and not to the inferior chemical composition, as may be seen from analyses made of soils from Tuscaloosa county, given under "the gravelly pine hills" division. As illustrating the composition of the sandy varieties of these upland loam soils, the following analyses are presented: No. 94. Sandy upland loam soil from near Clayton, Barbour county, collected by Judge n. D. Clayton. Depth, 12 inches ; vegetation, Spanish and other oaks and hickory ; color, light yellowish -gray, with a subsoil a shade more yellow. This soil is extensively cultivated and much prized, but it almost invariably rusts cotton. No. 84. Upland loam soil from near Lawrenceville, Henry county. Depth, 10 inches; vegetation, Spanish and post oaks, with a few black-jacks, hickory, chestnut, sour gum, short-leaf pine, and a few long-leaf pines; long moss on some of the trees ; color, light yellowish-gray top soil, deeper yellow below, all resting upon a red clay loam at 2 to 3 feet depth. The composition of the better class of brown-loam soils is illustrated by the following analyses: No. 18. Upland brown-loam soil from 5 miles southeast of Troy, Pike county. Depth, 8 inches; vegetation, red oaks and a few short-leaf pines; color, dark-brown. No. 19. Subsoil of No. 18. Color, reddish-brown. Upland brown-loam soils [oak and hickory uplands, with long-leaf pine). Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Water and organio matter . Total Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at BANDY LOAM. BarTjour coutaty. 95. 091 > 1. 913 ) 0.007 0.010 0.058 0.131 0.603 1.366 0.025 0.001 0.443 0.878 5. 6 C.° Henry county. 95. 115 1. 155 : 96. 270 0.212 0.090 0.058 0.039 0.128 0.803 0.703 0.100 0.016 2.009 ItROWN LOAM. Pike county. Soil. 91. 905 ; i.mb; 1.225 23. 3 C." 93. 880 0.077 0.013 9.112 0.094 0.044 1.431 1.841 0.109 015 2.137 1.960 1.435. 99. 753 93. 385 0. 150 0.056 0.048 0.080 0.092 1.574 3.197 0.072 0.072 1.532 2.826 18. 3 C.° * Undetermined. The analyses given on page 49 of upland sandy-loam soil and subsoil from 2i miles south of Union Springs, Bullock county, may also be consulted, since they are of essentially the same character, being derived from the loam, but which, on account of their relation to the Chunnenugga ridge, have been presented in connection with it. A comparison of the four analyses above given with those of the gravelly piae hills north of the prairie region will show that they are essentially similar sails, as was to have been inferred from the identity of the material from which both classes have been derived. They are all below the average quality, and are more or less deficient in potash, phosphoric acid, and lime. Enough plant-food in them appears, however, to be in an available form to render them all quite productive for a time. No. IS is remarkably deficient in potash and No. 94 in lime. No. 94 is also greatly deficient in organic matter and in retentiveness for moistuie, but the latter defect is partly remedied' by the subsoil, which is a rather stiff loam. Passing mention has been made of the modifications brought about by the greensand and other marls which form a part of the underlying strata of this division. The more important soil-varieties thus produced are described 44 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. hereafter. The reaction of the greensand deposit upon the loam often produces a soil remarkable for its deep-red color and for its fertility. These soils occur in detached bodies in the brown-loam uplands, and have been observed more frequently in the eastern part of the region, though occurring probably in all parts of it. Near Clayton, in Barbour county, and Greenville, in Butler, are characteristic occurrences. The top soil is usually reddish-brown, and the deep-red color is better seen in the subsoil. The vegetation consists of Spanish, white, red, black, and post oaks, hickory, short-leaf pine, sweet gum, sour gum, dogwood, persimmon, chestnut, and chincapin. When fresh, such soils will produce 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton or 20 bushels of corn to the acre. A partial analysis of a red soil from near Greenville shows some 07 per cent, of insoluble matter in the top soil, which is quite high for so good a soil, but the loamy character of the subsoil remedies this defect. In the western counties of this region the lignitic clays and sands are interstratiffed with several beds of greensand marl, and where these come to the surface prairie spots and a kind of lime-hills are produced, which are perhaps best seen in Wilcox, Marengo, northern Clarke, and Choctaw counties. One of these marl-beds exposed in the river bank at Nanafalia landing is composed chiefly of the shells of a small species of Grypnea (O. Thirsie). This bed comes to the surface in many places near Luther's store, in Marengo county, and probably also in parts of Choctaw county, producing very characteristic prairie spots. Another marl-bed which is seen on the Touibigbee river at Wood's bluff and on the Alabama river above Lower Peach Tree gives rise to a beltof lime-hills extending from the Alabama river, through Wilcox, Clarke, and Choctaw counties, to the Mississippi. The best display of these hills is probably seen between Choctaw Corner and Lower Peach Tree. The marl-bed containing greensand is there at least 100 feet above the general drainage, and has, both above and below it, laminated gray clays, in the lower part of which occur oue or two thin seams of lignite. The country is very much broken, and in this respect bears a striking resemblance to the lime-hills region of southern Clarke, etc. The drift-beds have been generally removed, and the soils mostly come directly from the disintegrated clays and the associated marls. The most characteristic soil is a heavy clayey loam of a yellowish-gray color with a slightly greenish tinge. Where the drift loam is present the color is more decidedly red and the soil more sandy; and where this loam is absent, and the marl is least felt, the crumbling clays yield a heavy, dark-colored argillaceous soil. The vegetation is chiefly beech, which grows both on hills and in the bottoms. With it are associated hickory, pig-nut, white and Spanish oaks, sweet gum, ash, poplar, sourwood, holly, sour gum, cucumber trees, numerous spruce, or swamp pines (P. glabra), and a few short-leaf pines. These hills are very generally cleared and in cultivation, which is proof of their fertility. Their usually steep slopes are, however, soon denuded of soil, and where turned out they are rapidly cut up by deep and unsightly washes. Westward from Wilcox county, so far as my observation goes, these lime-hill areas are more sparingly interspersed among the other classes of soils which are derived from the drift. The lime-hills of northern Monroe are no doubt also partly of this character. No analyses have yet been made of the calcareous soils of this particular section. The second bottoms of this section, especially those of the larger streams, are among the best farming lands of the state. The analyses of the second-bottom soils from Autauga and Tuscaloosa counties are illustrations in point, although they have been presented under the division of the gravelly pine hills. The following analysis of a hummock soil from the Alabama river is presented as an additional illustration of the character of the second- bottom soils of the brown-loam region : No. 92. Second-bottom soil of the Alabama river, in Black's bend, 5 miles east of Lower Peach Tree, Wilcox county. Depth, 9 inches; vegetation, sweet gum, short-leaf pine, Spanish, red, and white oaks, poplar, haw, and hackberry ; color, brown, speckled with red. Second-bottom soil of Alabama river, Wilcox county. M Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potasb Soda Limo Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese . Peroxide of iron Alumina . . . Phospboric acid Sulpburie acid Water and organic matter... Total . Hygroscopic moisture . absorbed at 80.510 3.209 ! 89. 779 0.168 0.074 0.221 0.055 0.184 1.783 2.290 0.200 0.073 4.510 99. 337 5.910 22.2C. PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 45 A comparison of this analysis with those of the second-bottom soils of the Alabama and Warrior rivers, previously alluded to, will show that this, while somewhat more sandy, is still a good soil. The proportion of phosphoric acid is large; that of potash adequate; and the large percentage of lime renders the soil thrifty by patting in an available form all the nutritive ingredients. 2. Pine uplands. — We have seen that the lower or southern half of the oak and long-leaf pine uplands is characterized by the predominance of the long-leaf pine among its timber and by the usually broken and hilly nature of its surface. This section embraces parts of Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Covington, Crenshaw", Pike, Coffee, Barbour, Dale, and Henry counties, and has an area of about 3,990 square miles. The surface characters of the eastern and western parts of this section are quite different. In the counties of Choctaw, Clarke, Monroe, northern Conecuh, and southern Butler the siliceous rocks of the Lower Tertiary or Buhr-stoue formation lie near the surface and give rise to high and rugged rocky hills. In the other counties above named these rocks are more or less deeply covered with the more recent beds of sand and pebbles, and the surface is correspondingly much less broken. In this part of the section the surface is generally undulating, but sometimes it is hilly, particularly in the vicinity of the water-courses. In such positions, and sometimes along the ridges, the siliceous rocks above spoken of appear at the surface, but they fail generally to have much influence upon the topography. The drainage area of the Chattahoochee river in Alabama seems to be characterized by a prevalence of sand among the surface materials, and quite extensive areas covered with deep sand-beds are not uncommon, as, for instance, in Dale county, around Ozark, and between that town and Newton. Throughout the entire pine-uplands section, within 25 or 30 miles of the principal streams, pebbles commonly underlie the surface loams, and the size of the pebbles and the thickness of the beds seem to increase with the approach to the stream. Along some of the rivers, as the Chattahoochee, the pebble beds may be followed nearly to the Gulf. As the name indicates, the long-leaf pine is the prevailing tree over this whole section. Upon some of the poorer ridges this forms almost the only timber, but with it are usually associated black-jacks and high-ground willow oaks, the latter especially where the soil is most sandy. From this, the prevailing timber growth, it may be inferred that the soil is generally a rather poor sandy loam, with subsoil of a similar nature. Along the northern edge of this belt many of the dividing ridges are of the nature of table-lands, supporting a mixed growth of the long-leaf pine, with post, red, black, and Spanish oaks, in addition to the black-jack. The same mixed growth is frequently seen also where the divides break off toward the water-courses, and in both cases the sandy soil is underlaid at moderate depths by a red clayey loam. Thus the line between the oak uplands and the pine hills is a shadowy one, and each of these divisions sends into the territory of the other spurs often of considerable length. Along the southern edge there is a similar blending of the characters of the pine hills with those of the lime-hills and the undulating pine lauds. Between these two divisions of the pine lands there is much less difference in the soils and natural productions than in the surface topography. The typical sandy loam, both of this and the undulating pine lands, is shown in the analysis of the soil from near Andalusia, in Covington county. On the other hand, the better class of upland soils in this division approach in composition the oak upland soils of the preceding division, and are sufficiently well represented in the analysis of the soil from near Lawrenceville, in Henry county (brown-loam uplands). In the division of the lime-hills there are tracts which have all the characters of the pine hills, lying usually upon the higher ridges, as has been fully set forth under that head. North of the prairie belt the gravelly pine hills have great resemblance to this division both in soils and topography, and the composition of the numerous soil-varieties occurring here can be seen by referring to the analyses given under that division. No analyses have as yet been made of any of the soils of this particular division, but the references given will illustrate the composition of all its principal soil-varieties. The soils of the first and second bottoms are light and sandy, but quite productive, and form the greater part of the cultivated lands in this division, since the uplands are in general too poor for profitable cultivation. Where the red-loam subsoil is near the surface, and the various species of upland oaks are associated with the long-leaf pine, there is, as before stated, a great improvement in the soil, and the land is generally under cultivation; but these areas approach in character the oak uplands, and are, as a body, found in the upper part of this section and on the divides. UPPEK OR CENTRAL PRAIRIE REGION. This forms a belt running somewhat diagonally across the state, having a width of some thirty miles near the Mississippi line, but narrowing down toward the east, and almost disappearing in Russell county, on the eastern border of the state. The prairie region includes parts of the following counties: Pickens, Sumter, Greene, Hals, Marengo, Perry, Dallas, Autauga, Lowndes, Butler, Montgomery, Crenshaw, Bullock, Macon, Russell, and Barbour, and embraces an area which is approximately 5,915 square miles. General description and subdivisions. — While under this name are included all those parts of central Alabama where the prairies occur, only a part, and not the largest part, of the area is of the genuine prairie character. As here used, the term "prairie" does not always mean a timberless region, but refers rather- to the character of the soil, the most important varieties of which are described further on. 46 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. The Cretaceous formation upon which this region is based is in Alabama made up of three parts. The Eutaw group consists of clays and sauds, which are for the most part so deeply covered with beds of stratified drift as to have little or no influence upon the soils or topography. Overlying this group is a great thickness of an impure argillaceous limestone interstratitied with clays, called the rotten limestone. The disintegration of these beds gives rise to the true prairie soils. The uniformity in the composition of the rotten limestone has its inlluence on the topography of t.he region, which is a low trough, with gently undulating surface, bounded north and south by hills which rise two or three hundred feet above the general prairie level. The mouotony of the plain is relieved by the occurrence, here and there, of ridges and conical hills capped with the pebbles and sand beds of the drift, which at one time overspread the entire region. The irregularities of surface produced by the wearing away of the rotten limestone itself are comparatively insignificant. In much of this region the rocks lie very near the surface, and large trees are wanting entirely ; but, on the other hand, there are many fine groves of oaks, walnut, poplar, etc. In all the prairie country the surface water is strongly impregnated with lime, and is often insufficient in quantity. For a supply of this necessity recourse is usually had to artesian wells and cisterns, and, for farm purposes, to shallow ponds. Cisterns are dug into the limestone rock, and usually no brickwork is necessary. Wherever the drift and loam overlie the rotten limestone upon the ridges an adequate supply of pure freestone water is always to be had, and these sandy ridges are usually ohosen as the sites for dwelling-houses, and often for towns and villages. From the uniformity of level the waters falling upon this region are very slowly drained away, and much of it soaks into the ground, converting it iuto a mud, which, when worked up by vehicles, soon renders the roads nearly impassable. Next above the rotten limestone lie the beds of the Ripley group, consisting of hard, sandy limestone, sometimes crystalline, underlaid by strata of bluish micaceous marls. In contrast to the preceding division, the topography of the Ripley group is varied, the surface being more or less hilly, and while the beds of the stratified drift nearly always overlie the strata of this group, the country rocks come to the surface in many localities, giving rise to very marked agricultural features. The depressions are mostly filled with the materials of the drift, mingled more or less with the calcareous matter of the formation, but the limestone makes its appearance at the surface iw numerous bald prairie spots, which are usually upon the tops or sides of the hills. The alternations of hard and softer strata make the hills usually rough and precipitous, and in some localities, as in Little Texas, in Lewndes county, the broken character of the country is extreme. A belt of this hill prairie country usually borders the black prairie region on the south for most of the way across the state, at least from Marengo county eastward. In some places the bald prairie hill-tops are a conspicuous feature, as in Lowndes and Montgomery counties, but more commonly the limestone upon the ridges is covered with the drift, and then the country has the usual characters of the oak and pine uplands. Of such nature is the Chunuenugga ridge, which has its counterpart in the Pontotoc ridge of northeastern Mississippi. These occurrences will be more particularly described under the several counties. In the eastern part of the state the bluish micaceous marls are exposed (by removal of the superficial drift) along the drainage slopes of certain streams which flow into the Chattahoechee river, and there is then produced a third class of lands, which characterize the low grounds of the Cowikce and Bear creeks, in Barbour and Russell counties. In this section of the state these blue-marl lauds become as characteristic as the black prairie lands of the west, as was long since remarked by Professor Tuomey. In topography, the blue-marl lands are much like the oak and pine uplands, and the surface soil also is in a great degree composed of the same materials. To bring into prominence these three well-marked agricultural regions I have proposed the following division of the central prairie region : The black prairie or cauebrake region. The hill prairies (Chunuenugga ridge, etc.). The blue-marl lauds. The special agricultural characters of each of these divisions will be given under their several heads. THE BLACK BELT OR CANEBEAKE REGION. This division of the prairie region is underlaid by the rotten limestone before described, and in its topography and soils shows considerable uniformity. From the great thickness of the rotten limestone this division is much more widely spread than either of the others, occupying about 4,365 square miles. It is found in all the counties above included in the prairie region, except those on the extreme eastern border of the state — Barbour and Russell — where it is replaced by the blue-marl lands. The general character of the topography has already been given. Throughout the cauebrake or black belt the coating of drift which so generally overlies all the country rucks of the southern division has been more or less completely removed by denudation, but patches of it are left in places, chiefly upon the ridges and along the slopes, and these play an important part in the production of soil varieties. (1.) Where the rotten limestone lies at the surface unmixed with the drift, it yields, on disintegration, a gray or greenish-gray clayey, calcareous soil, which becomes black or very dark colored when mixed with vegetable 58 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 47 matter. The subsoil of the cultivated lands is usually of a lighter color thau the top soil, aud passes gradually into the Kme reck at varying depths. A distinction is often made between the uppermost parts of this rock where it has been exposed to weathering, as it then resembles a whitish or chalky clay, quite, different from the unchanged rock, which is frequently spoken of as the blue-marl rock. Where the depth of soil is sufficiently great it supports a varied growth of trees, among whic'h the several species of oaks, ash, gums, walnut, and poplar are prominent. From the slight elevations the soil has sometimes been washed away, and bald spots are left, where the bare rock often partly forms the surface (bald prairies). Such places are not suitable for cotton, but produce corn and oats very well. The yield of seed-cotton of the fresh black land is variously estimated between 800 and 1,800 pounds, the average of the estimates being about 1,200 pounds. Perhaps not more than one-fourth of the cultivated lands of this particular division have this kind of soil, which has, however, on account of its great, and lasting fertility, given character to the entire region. The following analyses of black prairie soils, selected from the different parts of the state, will best show their character : No. 30. Blade prairie soil from 8 miles northeast of Livingston, Sumter county (on Jones' Bluff road), collected by Dr. B. D. Webb. Depth, 10 inches ; vegetation, a few post, red and black-jack oaks, cedar and prairie white oaks ; color, black or very dark gray. No. 32. Black prairie noil from the edge of an open prairie 2 miles north of Livingston, Sumter county, collected by Dr. B. D. Webb. Depth, 10 inches; vegetation, post, red, black-jack, and prairie white oaks, cedar, walnut, and cane ; color, black. No. 16. Black prairie soil from W. M. Stakeley's, 4 miles east of Union Springs, Bullock county. Depth, 12 inches; vegetation, post -and red oaks aud short-leaf pine, haw, and crab-apple; color, black, with yellowish stiff clay subsoil resting on the rotten limestone ; color of subsoil, black, passing below 6 inches into yellowish, waxy clay. In the sloughs and drains of the prairies the cream of the soil collects from time to time, aud there is formed a soil of great thickness and strength. The subjoined analysis will show the character of such deposits. No. 77. Black prairie slough soil, 8 miles south of Montgomery, Montgomery county. Depth, 8 inches ; vegetation, chiefly white oak and hickory ; color, black. Black prairie soils. BUMTEB COUNTY. BULLOCK COUNTY. MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 8 miles northeast of Livingston. 2 miles north of Livingston. 4 miles east of Union Springs. Prairie slough. SoU. Soil. Soil. Soil. No. 30. No. 32. No. 16. No. 77. 46.990 i „,„ 64. 010 17. 920 > 0.444 0.077 1.901 0.603 0.108 6.944 12. 418 0.102 81 - 745 J84.0D1 2.346) 0.205 0.0715 0. 900 0.061 0. 182 3.843 0.108 0.318 57 ' 831 \ 08. 262 10.431 5 0.288 0.027 0.981 0.802 0.452 7.855 11. 488 0.507 0.030 25 ' 188 ! 48. 980 23. 792 > 0.441 0.119 8.078 1.170 0.173 7.074 15. 565 0.201 0.125 5.728 11. 589 Lime 11. 720 4.075 8.036 99. 359 100.141 . 98. 728 99.843 2.830 2.000 2.460 1.874 0.837 19. 992 7C.° 0. 0C0 ; 0. 108 1. 283 0. 042 14. 489 17C.° All the above are good soils in every particular. The potash and phosphoric acid is adequate in all, and very high in Nos. 10 and 32, as is also the lime. No. 32 is deficient in organic matter, being taken from the edge of an open prairie, and it has also less capacity for moisture. (2.) While the drift and loam have, as a rule, been removed from the rotten limestone, there are many places where they still remain, and where they have protected the underlying rocks from degradation, thus producing the sandy ridges and brown loam table-lauds which often so agreeably relieve the monotouy of the prairie region. These superficial beds give rise to a variety of soils, which upon many of the ridges do not differ from the loam soils of other localities, since they are formed of the same materials. 57 48. COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Where the loam is mingled with the prairie soils, as is the case along the slopes of the sandy ridgea before mentioned, and where they occupy the slight depressions in the limestone, yellow or mulatto soils are formed, upon which the post oak is the most characteristic tree, for which reason they are often called post-oak prairies. With this tree are also associated the short-leaf pine and some black-jack and other oaks and hickories. All these trees are usually draped with long moss. The post-oak prairie soils are mostly rather stiff calcareous loams of yellowish to reddish colors, having a subsoil of red or yellow-clay loam, which sometimes becomes more sandy with increasing depth, but which often retains much the same character down to the unchanged limestone rock (10 to 20 feet). On account of their position these lands are usually well-drained, and with good seasons are of easy tillage. As cotton lands they are perhaps quite as desirable as the black lands above described. The subjoined analysis will show the composition of an average soil of this kind. No. 17. Post oak prairie soil from Major Wright's, 3 miles from Union Springs, Bullock county. Depth, 12 inches; vegetation, post oak, draped with long moss, short-leaf pine, hickory, black-jack and some red oaks; color, 4 to 5 inches dark gray, then a sticky red clay, and below that a yellowish clay with " lime balls ". Post-oak prairie soil, Bullock county. Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Browu oxide of maneaneBe Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulpli u lie acid Water and organic matter Total" Hnmus Available inorganic Available phoapboric acid. Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at 71 11 366 881 ! 83. 347 0.209 0.016 0.371 0.290 0.055 6.983 6.022 0.251 0.073 2.888 100. 505 0.718 2.426 0.015 8. 574 16.6C.° From what has been said, it may easily be inferred that there are all grades of soils, from the brown loams of the hills to the pure black prairie soils, and that the post-oak soils represent a medium between the two. A comparison of the post-oak prairie soil with those of the black prairies shows that the former, as a rule, has a larger percentage of siliceous matter and less of lime and magnesia ; differences which might have been anticipated in considering the modes of formation of the two classes. The analysis above shows a want of vegetable matter and a lower capacity for moisture as compared with the black soils ; in other respects it is a fine soil. No. 32 (page 47), however, approaches in composition the post-oak soil except as regards lime. (3.) The bottom soils of this region vary between very wide limits from the stiff black prairie slough lands, like No. 77 (page 47), which result from the concentration of the black prairie soil to light and rather sandy loams, and have usually enough lime to make them very strong and lasting. HILL PRAIRIES AND CHUNNENUGGA RIDGE. A belt of varying width of lauds of this character is usually found bordering the prairie region on the south, and, as the hill prairies grade on the one hand toward the black prairies and on the other into the brown-loam uplands, it is somewhat difficult to estimate their extent, or, indeed, often to decide what shall be included iu this division ; but, restricting ourselves to the hilly region within which occur lands with very calcareous soils, its area may be given at about 1,000 square miles. The hard sandy and crystalline limestones to which the hills owe their existence have already been mentioned. These alternate with beds of shaly clays of a yellowish and gray color, and this disposition of the strata gives rise to the characteristic topography of the limy prairie hills. The softer clays are easily washed away, and the limestone breaks off with perpendicular faces. The surface beds ou the higher levels are the sands and loam of the drift, and, where the ridges are broad, they exhibit the usual characters of the brown-loam uplands, being timbered with the trees which grow iu such localities, such as Spanish, white, post, and red oaks, hickory, short-leaf piue, sweet and sour gums, chestnut, dogwood, persimmon, etc. The broad ridges of this kind are usually water- 53 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 49 sheds or divides for long distances. The creeks flowing northward into the Tallapoosa and Alabama rivers, and southward into the Pea, Conecuh, Patsaliga, and Sepulga, are divided by the Churmenugga ridge and its prolongation westward to Lowndes and Butler counties. The thickness of the drift and loam stratum varies with the locality, and in many places it is not more than 25 feet. These ridges and plateaus break off toward the black prairies in a series of rugged hills, along the slopes of which the limy clays are encountered soon after the summits are left. These hills are abrupt knolls, with a surface of a yellowish tenacious clay filled with white concretions of lime. The timber consists of red, post, and Spanish oaks, short-leaf pine, sweet and sour gum, poplar, white oak, hickory, and ash, and all the trees are usually draped with long moss. In many places the hillsides are bare of vegetation and deeply gashed with gullies, and the surface in such bare spots is often strewn with fossil shells. At a certain stage of drying these clays acquire an extraordinary degree of tenacity, and so clog the wheels of vehicles as to render travel almost impossible. Wherever the sands and loams form the surface the roads are usually very good. The soils of this region, considered from the point of view of their origin, are of three types : 1. Those derived from the surface beds of drift and loam. 2. Those based upon the calcareous rocks of the country. 3. Those resulting from the intermixtures of the two preceding. The soils of the first kind exhibit the usual variations, depending upon the quality of the beds. The surface is commonly formed of a loam of several feet in thickness, resting upon sandier beds, occasionally mixed with pebbles. The broader parts of the ridges have often considerable tracts of level table-lands with the usual characteristic oak upland growth, and this passes into the other extreme of the pine hills, with long leaf pine and black-jack, with increasing sandiuess of the soil. Between these two are many intermediate grades. Taking all things into consideration, the brown and yellowish soils are perhaps the most desirable of this class, and in their chemical composition they do not differ materially from the similar soils of the loam in other localities. A well-defined ridge, which acts as a divide between waters flowing north and south, may be followed without interruption from Wilcox county along the line between Butler and Lowndes, through northern Crenshaw, southern Montgomery, and northern Pike, into Bullock. This ridge has its' northern face overlooking the black prairies, usually rather steep and abrupt, while southward it slopes away very gradually, merging imperceptibly into the long-leaf pine and oak uplands. In Bullock county this is known as the Chunnenugga ridge. Its general surface is quite sandy, and a fair estimate of the sandy varieties of the ridge soils may be obtained from the following analyses : No. 11. Chunnenugga ridge soil, 1 mile south of Union Springs, Bullock county. Depth, inches ; vegetation, chestnut, short-leaf pine, red oak, and sour gum ; color of the top soil, dark gray, changing at 6 inches to a lighter gray, and at 3 feet to a yellowish color. No. 12. Chunnenugga ridge subsoil, same locality as preceding. Depth, 6 to 20 inches ; color, light gray. No. 13. Upland sandy-loam soil, 2i miles south of Union Springs, Bullock county. Depth, 6 inches; vegetation, Spanish and a few post oaks, short-leaf pine, and huckleberry bushes ; color of top soil, gray, with a subsoil of light yellowish-gray color, resting on a reddish-yellow loam. Sandy soils of Chunnenugga ridge, Bullock county. SOUTH OF NEAR UNION BFBD.GS. | „„„, bpEKOS . Soil. Subsoil. Soil. No. 11. No. 12. No. 13. 5 95. 256 0. 486 I 0.156 0.069 0.081 0.069 0.156 96. 810 ) „ „ > 97. 870 1.060* 0.165 0.107 0.110 0.035 0.065 93. 890 ) „. „„„ ! 95. 708 1. 878 > 0.209 0.134 0.076 0.021 0.065 0.883 1.260 0.058 0.083 2.062 0. 101 0.057 2.642 0.113 0.035 0.550 Total 100. 026 100. 407 100. 619 1.943 18C.° 0.822 1.842 19C.° 59 50 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. From the preceding analyses it will be seen that soil No. 11 does not change very materially from the surface to a depth of 2G inches. For so large a proportion of siliceous and insoluble matter they all show a fair percentage of potash and phosphates, and of lime also, especially the subsoil No. 12. In vegetable matter and capacity for moisture the two soils stand very well. A comparison of these with some sandy upland soils of a preceding region will show great similarity, as might have been inferred from the identity in their origin. All these soils give probably fair returns for a short time, but they cannot hold out well. Of the. second class above mentioned, in which the soils are derived immediately from the country recks, there are two principal varieties : (1.) The bald prairie hills, in which the calcareous strata approach very near the surface and the soil proper is of slight depth. This soil resembles the bald prairies of the preceding division to some extent, but the couutry is more broken, and the hillsides are often badly washed. (2.) The beeswax hummocks or beeswax flatwoods, the soil of which is a greenish -yellow, clayey material, timbered with black-jack oaks or with pines, forming the post-oak beeswax prairies and the beeswax pine lands of some sections (hog-wallow uplands of Mississippi). The stiff and unmanageable character of this kind of soil stands in the way of its successful cultivation. The third class of soils, resulting from the intermixtures of the two classes just mentioned, exhibit ail the grades between the brown loams of the uplands and the stiff beeswax soils above described. Upon these mixed soils the post oak is a characteristic growth, and the post-oak lands of this division are, in general, like those of the rotten limestone, which are formed in a similar way. The surface loam is here, as elsewhere, more or less deeply tinged with iron, and in some places the color becomes a dark-red, and both soil and subsoil are filled with concretionary pebbles of brown iron ore. These are known in Alabama as the red gravelly lands, and are similar to the "Buncombes" of Pontotoc ridge, iu Mississippi. In both states they are distinctly connected with calcareous strata. While these soils are fertile, they are not so desirable as other varieties, since the pebbles dull the plow and the lands are very liable to injury from washing. As yet no analyses have been made of any of these mixed soils, or of the bald hill-top prairies or beeswax lauds, so that we can speak only in generalities concerning them. BLUE-MAEL LANDS. These lands, which are underlaid by a bluish micaceous marl, are for the most part covered with beds of sand, loam, and pebbles of a later age, and it is only along the drainage slopes of certain streams flowing into the Chattahoochee river that the marls are concerned in the formation of the soils. The area over which their influence is felt in the soil is a limited one, and even within this area there are many varieties. It is thus somewhat difficult to fix upon an estimate of the area here included, but it is put provisionally at 550 square miles. As already stated, the greater part of the territory of the blue marl is covered with later deposits, and bears, therefore, the characters of the brown-loam uplands and of the pine, hills, according to the nature of the surface beds. Along the Cowikee and Bear creeks and their tributaries, however, these surface beds have in great measure been removed, and the blue marl and the stratum of joint clay, with which it is interbedded, are exposed. These materials, mixed with the loam from the higher levels, together form the well-known Cowikee lands. Throughout the region the comparatively level clayey or marly lauds alternate with ridges capped with a highly micaceous sandy loam. The ridges, as before stated, are sandy, and are timbered with post and black-jack oaks and long-leaf pine; but where the soil becomes more loamy the pines diminish iu numbers, and the other species of oaks replace partly or entirely the blackjack. On each side of the Cowikee and Bear creeks the lands are staffer, from an admixture of the clay above mentioned, and more productive, because of the presence of lime. Ou these creeks there are level or gently undulating tracts with a clayey soil, forming a kind of prairie, in which, strange to see, the long-leaf pine is a prominent tree, associated with hickory, white and Spanish eaks, and, in the lower places, with sweet and sour gums and maple, all covered with long moss. In many places the stiff clay subsoil is filled with white concretions of lime, derived probably from the marl. In some of these localities the short-leaf pine replaces the long-leaf species. It is thought by some that the lands ou the north side of the creeks are lighter and less charged with lime than those ou the south side, and there is a corresponding difference in the growth of the cotton, which on the north side is smaller and more liable, to rust after a few years' cultivation of the soil. In the so-called Cowikee lands of this region there are patches of hog-wallow clay, a stiff intractable substance. The lowlands in this region are inhabited mostly by the blacks, by whom they are cultivated, since the white people sutler from malarial fevers. One analysis has been made of the soils of this region. No. 90. Bottom or low-grounds soil, Cowikee lands, north of Clayton, Barbour county. Depth, 8 inches; vegetation, red, white, and post oaks, hickory, and short-leaf pine ; color, brown, changing into light yelloivish-gray subsoil. PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 51 Low-grounds soil, Cowikee lands, Barbour county. Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese Perox ido of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid "Water and organic matter Total Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at 73. 303 11. 692 ! 84. 895 0.245 0.060 0.280 0. 351 0. 113 2. 660 5.489 0.113 0.013 4.708 98. 933 6.544 5.6C.° As has been said, the Cowikee lands are considered the best cotton lands in the section in which they occur. The analysis shows a fair proportion of potash and phosphoric acid, with a large percentage of lime, by which these are put in an available condition. From the large amount of siliceous matter this soil is easily tilled. The statistical map shows that about 20 per cent, of the whole area formed by these soils is cultivated in cotton. POST-OAK FLATWOODS REGION. This region occupies a narrow belt extending from the Mississippi line through the lower part of Sumter and the middle of Marengo to the Alabama river, in the vicinity of Clifton, in "Wilcox county, and embraces an area which is approximately 335 square miles. The flatwoods or post oaks have an average width of perhaps 3 to 5 miles, and a nearly level or gently undulating surface. They are bordered on the northern edge by the hilly prairie region just described, aud on the southern by the hills of brown loam, or oak and pine region. The hills of the latter rise to a height of 200 feet above the general level of the flatwoods. These hills encroach upon the flatwoods in some places and recede from them in others, so that the width of the belt is quite variable. The hills are capped with the sand and other beds of the drift, but the laminated clays, which form the substratum of the flatwoods, are to be seen at the bases of most of them, and for several miles the hills have much the same characters as the flatwoods themselves, and might perhaps •with propriety be included iu this division. The formation upon which the flatwoods and the adjoining hills are based is a heavy gray laminated clay belonging to the lower or liguitic division of the Tertiary. The flatwoods soil proper is the result of the disintegration of this clay. When wet by the rains, this clay becomes a tenacious,, grayish, sticky mass, specked with red, which is in texture much like some of the clay of the prairie hills, but, unlike that, is rather deficient in lime. The prevailing tree throughout the flatwoods is the post oak, of long, lank habit, but the short-leaf pine, and in places also the black-jack, are associated with it. The post-oak soils are tolerably well suited to the cotton- plant, which grows upon them to the height of 3 or 4 feet and yields from 000 to S00 pounds of seed-cotton to the acre when the land is fresh. From their texture, these soils are generally difficult to cultivate. There seems to be no subsoil, properly speaking, at least none differing essentially from the soil, which continues, without material change, to a depth of 10 or 15 feet, and passes gradually into the dark-gray laminated clay above spoken of. Two analyses of the flatwoods soils or clays and one of a subsoil have beeu made. No. 25. Post-oalc flat woods soil, i miles west of Livingston, Sumter county, collected by Dr. JK. D. Webb. Depth, 10 inches; vegetation, chiefly postoak, with some red oak, hickory, aud short-leaf pine; color, gray,flecked with red. No. 26. Subsoil of the above. Depth, 10 inches to 4 feet; color, also like the preceding. No. 98. Post-oak and flatwoods clay, 6 miles south of Linden, Marengo county. Depth, 10 inches; vegetation, chiefly post oaks ; color, reddish-yellow, spotted. (il 52 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Flatwoods soil* and subsoils. Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Litne Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese Peroxide of iron Alomina Pbospboric acid Sulphuric acid Water and organic matter Total Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at SUMTKlt COUNTY. 07. 020 10. 050 77. 070 0. 295 0. 125 0.198 0.610 0. 115 6.543 10. 108 0. 212 0. 027 5.031 79. 6(12 ( 6. 031 J 100. 424 I 13. 040 ■ 28C.° 12. 841 9C.° MARENGO CO UKTT. Clay. No. 98. 72. 740 1 [81.072 8. 020 > 0.410 0.112 0.080 0.091 0.100 12. 400 2.473 0.103 0.061 1.900 100. 026 13.941 8C.o Of the three analyses above given, No. 98 is perhaps the most characteristic; the others come from near the vicinity of the prairie region, and hence, especially the subsoil No. 26, have rather larger percentages of lime. The potash and phosphoric acid in the others are sufficient in quantity; lime is inadequate, but the large percentage of magnesia shown by all is noteworthy. The same may be noticed in the Mississippi flatwoods soils, and it seems to be characteristic. They are all deficient in vegetable matter, which appears to be a capital defect in all the flatwoods soils analyzed. The addition of lime and the plowing under of green crops and deep cultivation are at once suggested as a means of improvement of these soils, thorough drainage being first of all necessary. THE LIME-HILLS OR LOWER PRAIRIE REGION. This agricultural division embraces portions of Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Conecuh. Covington, Crenshaw, and Geneva counties, and occupies a belt which varies greatly in width, as may be seen by referring to the map. In the first-named four counties these prairie spots are more nearly continuous; in the others they appear only in detached bodies, often far apart. The area is put at 1,250 square miles. From a geological point of view this subdivision includes that part of the state in which the calcareous portions of the Tertiary formation (especially the upper part of the Claiborne and the whole of the Jackson groups) lie at or near the surface. Over much of this territory the white limestone of the Yieksburg group is a conspicuous rock, but it extends also southward far beyond the' limits above given, without producing limy or prairie soils, (a) The greater part of this area has the characters of the brown-loam uplands or of the pine hills, and it is only in the first and second bottoms and on the summits of the lower hills that the limy soils are to any extent encountered. The prairie or limy spots are interspersed in such a manner among the brown loam and sandy pine lands that nothing short of a detailed map could show their actual occurrence. The tint on the map is therefore intended to show only the limits between which this kind of soil occurs at all. Unlike the prairie region of the Cretaceous, there is in this region comparatively little level land, except upon some of the broader table-lands with brown-loam soils. These table-lands break oft' toward the water-courses in a series of hills, which are capped with pebbles and sand, and which are clothed with a growth of long-leaf pine and black-jack oak. Upon the table-lands the growth is long- and short-leaf pine and the usual variety of upland oaks. The lower hills, as before stated, have here and there the peculiar black calcareous soil which gives the name to this region, and this soil extends usually to the bottom lauds below, where it is, however, mostly tempered with the sandy washings from the uplands. The black prairie soils are generally quite fertile, and most of the hillsides, usually very steep where it occurs, are cleared and under cultivation. In its general features the country made by these rocks is very similar to the hill-prairie region of the Cretaceous. In Choctaw and Washington counties, near the line of Mississippi, the lime-hills, or rather the prairie lands, are, characteristic and numerous, occupying occasionally moderately level tracts of 100 acres or more. Toward the east, however, they diminish in frequency and continuous extent, and are seen no farther east than the lower part a In the sequel the term " white limestone '' is usually made to include both the white or grayish impure limestone of the Jackson group and the commonly purer orbitoidal limestone of the Vicksburg group. This use of the term is fully justified by the practice of the country where these rocks occur. 62 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 53 of Crenshaw county, except a small tract in the adjoining lower corners of Geneva and Henry; but long before this limit is reached the country bears almost exclusively the characters of the long-leaf pine hills, the limy soils being in small, detached bodies. Soils. — The rock which gives rise to the peculiar soils of this division is an impure argillaceous limestone or calcareous clay stone, bearing often a considerable resemblance to the rotten limestone of the Cretaceous formation, as may be seen by reference to the subjoined analysis. No. 137. Impure argillaceous limestone (Jackson), overlying the shell stratum at Claiborne, Monroe county. In disintegrating the rock it yields a waxy, gray calcareous clay soil, which becomes black when mixed with vegetable matter. This soil is stiff and difficult to cultivate, but is very productive, and is quite similar to some of the prairie soils of the upper prairie region. A second soil variety is of loose texture and black color, often full of small rounded fragments of the limestone, some of which are very soft and crumble easily between the fingers. The solid limestone is usually at a considerable depth from the surface. This soil, which characterizes the shell prairies, is one of the best of this division, and rarely fails to yield excellent crops, either of corn or cotton, and when fresh will produce nearly a bale of the latter to the acre. Occasionally loose shells, set free by the decay of the rock, abound in the soil, and it is not uncommon to find masses of these shells agglomerated into a compact and hard rock. A specimen of this variety of soil from Mr. Eobert A. Long's, Sec. 9, T. S, B. 3 W., in Washington county, was analyzed with the following result : No. 139. Loose Mack-shell prairie soil, Washington county. Depth, 8 inches; vegetation, dogwood, white and black oaks, sweet gum, ash, short-leaf pine, yellow wood, and buckeye bushes. The soil is loose, black, and full of soft crumbling fragments of limestone. Impure argillaceous limestone and loose black soil of the lime-hills. MONROE COUNTY. WASHINGTON COUNTY. Impure argilla- ceous limestone. Loose black soil. No. 137. Ko. 139. 28. 394 ) 5 31.314 2. 020 ) 0.502 0.077 34. 952 0.743 0.156 1.708 1.159 0.096 0.290 27. 471 2.207 21. 655 > ! 23. 409 1.704) 0. 553 0.192 29. 195 0.489 0.113 5.421 5.155 0.371 0.402 22. 177 12. 845 100. 765 100. 382 13.56 20. 5 C.° A comparison of the above with the specimen of limestone will show that this soil is hardly anything more than the disintegrated limestone enriched with vegetable matter. The potash and phosphoric acid are much above the average, and the great fertility of this class of soil is easily understood. The large proportion of sulphuric acid suggests the presence of gypsum, which is uot uncommon in very many of the soils and clays of this region. A third variety of soil common in this regiou is a mixed one, resulting from the reaction of the limestone upon the red loam, which in places overspreads it. This is a stiff, waxy, reddish or chocolate-colored clayey material, difficult of cultivation, but fertile, and in most respects similar to the post-oak prairie soil of the upper prairie regiou, which it resembles not only in its mode of formation, but also in its timber, which is mostly post oak, associated with some short-leaf pine, hickory, sweet gum, and dogwood, all draped with long moss. The analyses given (No. 91) will show approximately the composition of the red-mixed soil. A large proportion of the soils throughout this region, as has already been stated, are derived from the superficial beds of drift origin. The two analyses given on page 51 will show their general character. No. 90. Upland brown-loam soil, 6 miles north of Gosport, Clarke couuty. Depth, 10 inches; vegetation, post, red, and Spanish oaks, short- and long-leaf pine, and some hickory; color, brown. No. 91. Underclay subsoil of No. 90. Depth, 21 to 36 inches; vegetation, as above; color, yellowish-red. 03 54 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. The washings from the uplands often produce a lastingly productive soil, and this variety is common along the creeks of Conecuh county, especially Murder, Bottle, and the tributaries of the former. No. 89. Murder creek second-bottom soil, 2 miles west of Evergreen, Conecuh county. Depth, 12 inches; vegetation, sweet gum, magnolia, white and water oaks, short-leaf and spruce pines; color, brownish-red. Brown-loam soils and undercluy of lime-hills region. CLARKE COUNTY. CONECUH COUNTY. Upland brown- loam Boil. Underclay sub- soil. MunliT creek scconl-btittom soil. No. 00. No. 91. No. 89. 87- '53 1 „„ „ J 00. 840 3. 087 S 0. 1-10 0.010 0.090 0.000 0.050 1.090 3.307 0.120 0.010 3.080 7L65 ; } 77. 014 60. 870 I „ 5 01.402 0.048 0.320 0.091 0. 133 7. 408 8.000 0.295 0.080 5.187 0.010 0.094 0.018 0.078 2.385 3.355 0.122 0.005 2.480 Total 99. 808 100. 138 100. 155 2.895 23C.° 14. 380 22C.° 2.653 24C.° Nos. 90 and 89 are light loam soils of very fair quality, quite similar to each other, and are not materially different from the soils of the pine lands and oak and pine uplands, which may be consulted in this connection. No. 91, however, come-s from a hillside below the level at which 90 was taken, where the sandy surface loam had been removed by washing rains, and in it we see the material which forms the soil of the lime-hills. Under cultivation this would become a black-prairie soil of great fertility. "While it is not strictly a soil (having been taken from a wash several feet below the surface), the analysis gives us a fair idea of the character of the soils which give name to this region and of the material to which the deeper roots of cotton must often penetrate from the sandy surface. THE LONG-LEAF PINE REGION. In the region of the oak and pine uplands the sandy ridges are usually timbered with long-leaf pine, while the fiat table-lands and some of the slopos and the second bottoms have the characteristic oak and hickory growth, with which some short-leaf pine and occasionally long-leaf pine are associated. As we go southward in this region »f mixed growth the long-leaf pine becomes more prevalent, and is found both on the tablelands and in the low grounds, at first associated with the upland oaks, but farther south occupying the ground almost entirely in company with the black-jack, high-ground willow, and turkey oaks, and other trees, which are at home only upon the sandiest soils. At the same time the shrubby undergrowth gradually disappears almost entirely, and we are thus ushered into the open pine woods. Similarly with the topography, the hills of the preceding section gradually diminish in height and abruptness, and the country becomes undulating or rolling rather than hilly, and southward sinks away into the flat lands of the coast. The whole area of the long leaf pine region, as thus limited, is about 7,790 square miles. The counties included are named below under the three subdivisions, which are in great measure based upon topographical characters. These subdivisions are: The long-leaf pine hills. The open, rolling pine woods, with lime-sinks. The pine flats. LONG-LEAF PINE HILLS. In southeastern Mississippi the pine hills, which characterize the lower part of that state, flatten out eastward toward the. Alabama line, thus forming a transition into our open, rolling pine woods. That part of Washington county to which the deep-green color of the pine hills has been given on the map does not differ essentially from that part which is designated as open pine woods, except in being more broken, and it is not necessary to give a separate account of its agricultural features, which are the same as those of the next succeeding division. The area of this pine hills or transition region, which is altogether in Washington county, is about 100 square miles. 64 PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 55 ROLLING AND OPEN PINE-WOODS AKD LIME-SINK REGION. This region includes parts of the following counties: Washington, Mobile, Baldwin, Clarke, Momoe, Conecuh, Escambia, Covington, Coffee, Geneva, Dale, and Henry, and embraces an area of ti/uO square miles. The territory here included is underlaid throughout by the white or orbitoides limestone of the Upper Eocene or Vicksburg age. The limestone, however, is in great measure covered with the sands and loams of a later period. Where this rock lies above the drainage level (which is more particularly the case in the southeastern part of the state, where the influence of the elevation of the Florida peninsula is felt) it is pitted with caverns and traversed by underground passages. The falling-iu of the roofs of such caverns causes sinks or depressions, which are sometimes filled with water, forming lakes and ponds, and the subterranean waters, flowing through the -channels above mentioned, emerge as big springs. In the southwestern part of the state the. limestone sinks gradually away below the drainage level, and its influence on the topography is comparatively slight. The prevailing surface material throughout the whole region, being sandy and more or less loose and porous, quickly absorbs the waters falling upon it, and the formation of deep gullies has thus been prevented, the face of the country being in general slightly rolling, with no great differences in elevation. In some places, especially within the drainage areas of the Chattahoochee and Alabama rivers and in the northern parts of this region, the admixture of red-clay loam with the sands brings about modifications both of the topography and of the soils, because of the varying degrees of resistance to denudation and the varying qualities of the admixtures of the two materials. .Upon the uplands throughout this region the prevailing growth is the long-leaf pine, associated with little or no undergrowth, but with black-jack, turkey, and high-ground willow oaks, and some hickories. Upon the sterile sandy ridges the growth is stunted, and scrubby oaks of several species are associated with the scrubby pines. The headwaters of the streams are found usually in slight depressions and swampy tracts, with a growth of magnolia, bay, gum, juniper, short-leaf pine, water oak, etc. The opeu swamps in the region have the richest and most varied herbaceous flora, some characteristic species of which have been given on page 57 in the floral list prepared by Dr. Charles Mohr. The absence of all underbrush in many of the pine forests enables one to see for great distances between the straight trunks of the pines, and over the rolling land thus unobstructed by undergrowth a wagon may be driven in any direction without following any beaten track. The piues shade the ground comparatively little, and a great variety of grasses and leguminous plants flourish and give sustenance to herds of cattle and sheep. This region cannot be called a good farming country, though tolerably fair crops are raised in the more favored localities, such as low grounds. The raising of cattle gives support to many of the inhabitants, and the pines to many more, both in the lumber and the turpentine which they yield. The prevailing soil of this region, as has already been said, is sandy, and of a gray or ash color. In the better spots the color is a dark gray. This is the soil of the better class of pine lauds, and its composition may be seen from the subjoined analysis. With some assistance from fertilizers very fair crops of cotton and corn are produced. No. 88. Upland pine-woods soil, 13 miles east of Andalusia, Covington county. Depth, 10 inches ; vegetation, long-leaf pine, post, Spanish, black-jack, and high-ground willow oaks, with occasional small hickories; color, brownish-gray. Upland pine-woods soil, Covington county. Insolublo matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Water and organic matter. . Total Hygroscopic moisture absorbed at 90. 815 1.575 \ 92. 390 0.170 0.03S 0.085 0.032 0.112 1.143 3.018 0.111 0.067 2.772 99. 936 This, considering the large proportion of insoluble matter, is a fairly good soil, though it is deficient in lime and magnesia. It resembles in composition many of the soils of Florida. In places, especially along the drainage slopes of the Alabama and Chattahoochee rivers, the red loam occurs as substratum to the soils and subsoils, and frequently, by denudation, comes to form the surface. In this way 5 o p — VOL. II 13 56 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. quite a variety of soils is produced, but they do not differ from similar soils of tUe brown-loam uplands, which result from the same admixtures. Occasionally the underlying limestone in its disintegration is mingled with the surface loam, and there results then a red limy soil of great fertility, similar to that of the red-lime lands of Jackson county, Florida. The best known tract of this kind of soil occurs along the Chipola river in Florida, and its northern extremity reaches up into the eastern part of Geneva and adjoining part of Henry county, Alabama. Of a similar nature are the red limy soils of the lowlands of Murder and Bottle creeks, in Conecuh county, which have been spoken of before in connection with the lime-hills region, to which they are contiguous. The bottom lands of this region have, as a rule, light sandy but productive soils, which vary in finality with those of the uplands adjoining. The usual growth in the bottom lands consists of magnolia, bay, ti-ti, sweet-leaf, juniper, star anise, laurel, sweet shrub, etc. THE PINE FLATS. Toward the Gulf coast the rolling pine lands sink away into low pine barrens, in which the tree-growth consists of the long-leaf pine and the so-called Cuban pine, and with these a smaller growth of several species of ilex, etc. The low, wet margins of ponds support a varied and beautiful herbaceous growth, consisting of Sarraccnias, droseras, Catesby's lily, and a number of others mentioned in the list of plants. The soil here is sandy and sour, little suited to cultivation, and cotton is not planted. The settlements are mostly confined to the vicinity of the streams. The coast plain and the islands off the coast have generally a soil of drifting sands, destitute of timber, but supporting a few characteristic shrubs and lesser plants. The pine flats are limited to the lower parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties as a body, but low pine barrens of very similar nature are seen further inland. The area is put at 1,120 square miles. ALLUVIAL REGION. This includes the alluvial region of Mobile river and the_ saline marshes of the coast, and embraces parts of Washington, Mobile, and Baldwin counties, comprising an area of some 130 square miles. ALLUVIUM OP MOBILE EITEK. Below the junction of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers the waters of these streams reach the bay of Mobile by several channels, the principal of which is the Mobile river, but the Tensas and Middle rivers and others diverge from the main stream, and form a kind of delta region, low, flat, and subject to overflow, generally covered with a growth of cypress. Near the bay this swamp assumes the character rather of a marsh, in which the courses of the streams are often nearly indistinguishable. These swamps are uncultivated, and have in the drier spots, besides the cypress, tupelo gum and several species of poplar, elms, palmetto, etc. SALTNE MARSHES OF THE COAST. These are only found in the counties of Mobile and Baldwin. They are without timber, but have a herbaceous growth chiefly of rushes and sedges, which is characteristic. These plants are enumerated in the list referred to. The muck of decayed vegetable matter from the marshes may often be applied with profit to the sandy soils which adjoin them, and the marshes themselves in other states have sometimes been reclaimed for cultivation. The area of sea-marsh in Alabama, on account of comparatively limited extent of coast, is necessarily small, and few, if any, attempts have been made toward reclamation. PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 57 LIST OF TREES AND PLANTS CHARACTERISTIC OF EACH REGION OF THE STATE. The following is a list, with botanical and common names, of some of the most important and characteristic trees and lesser plants of the various agricultural regions of the state, prepared by Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile : I. Lower pine region, or coast pine belt, including — a. The maritime plain, with saline marshes and flats, and dunes of drifting sands on the islands near the coast and on the sea-shore : Shrubs and trees — Quercus virens (live oak), var. maritima, and Q. Phellos (willow oak), var. arenaria, Quercus virens being the typical form on the inlets and bayous with higher banks and a more retentive soil; Vitis incisa, Baccharis haUmifoMa, Lycium Oarolinianum, Yucca aloifoUa. Herbs — Chenopodium Boscianum, Ghenopodina maritima, Salsola Kali, Sesuvium portulacastrum, Batatas maritima, Ipomosa Pes-Gaprcc, Cyperus Le Contei, Uniola paniculata, Panicum repens. In the saline or brackish marshes: Baccharis halimifolia, Myrica cerifera (candleberry), Fimbristylis spadicea, var. eastanea; Juncus Eosmerianus, Trigloehin triandrum, Scirpus maritimus (rush), 8. pungens, Brizopyrum spicatum, Statice Garoliniana, Gerardia maritima, Borrichia fruteseens, Ipomcea sagittifolia, Batis maritima, Salicornia ambigua (samphire^, Galcile wqualis. b. Open, grassy river swamps and wooded alluvial bottoms, more or less inundated: Open river swamps — Zizania aquatica (wild rice), Scirpus lacustris (round rush), Phragmites communis (reed), Panicum virgatum. Sedges — Ehynchospora, several species ; Ckidium, Garex riparia, Cyperus stenolepis, 0. Michauxianus, C. articulaius, G. haspan, G. virens, several species of Sagittaria (arrowhead), Cicuta maeulata (water hemlock), Cacalia lanceokita, Gerardia purpurea, var. fasciculata; Aster flexuosus, A. divaricatus, Solidago sempervirens (golden rod), 8. lanceokita. Hibiscus Moscheutos, Kosteletzltya Yirginica, Lythrum lineare. Shrubs — Persea Garoliniana, var. palustris (red bay); Myrica cerifera, Salix nigra, Baccharis halimifolia. Trees (forest swamps) — Taxodium distichum, the variety yielding the red cypress lumber; JYyssa uniflora, or tupelo gum; Populus heterophylla, P. monilifera (cottonwood), Fruxinus viridis (ash), F. platycarpa, Persea palustris, Carya aquatica (hickory), Quercus aqualica (water oak), Ulmus alata (wahoo), V. Americana (elm), Catalpa bignoniokles, Sabal Adansonii (dwarf palmetto), Ilex opaca (holly), I. decidna. c. Low flat pine Iwrrens, or pine meadows: Einus Gubensis (P. Flliottii, pine pitch), P. australis (long-leaf pine), Ilex glabra (gallberry), I. Cassine (yaupon), Sarracenia (pitcher-plants) of several species, Brosera jiliformis, I>. brevifolia (sundews), Bichromena leucocephala (white star-grass), Friocaulon, several species (pipeworts), Lachnanlhes tinctoria, Aletris aurea and A. farinosa, Sabbatia gracilis and jS'. gentianoides (American centaury), Tofieldia pubens,. Lilium Catesbwi, Zygadenus glaberrimus, Ehynchospora in numerous species, largely prevailing with Scleria oligantha,. 8. Elliottii, and 8. Michauxii ; Aristida spicata, Ctenium Americanum, Paspalum rocemulosum and P. purpurascens, Panicum verrucosum, P. microcarpon, and P. ignoratum ; Andropogon tener, A. Virginiciis, A. macrourus, and A. scoparkis (broom-sedge); Erianthus alopecuroides, Gratiola pilosa, Pinguicula lutea, Chaptalia tomentosa, Bartonia verna r Leptopoda Jimbriata and L. brevifolia, Heliantlms hetcrophyllus, Bigelovia nudata, Erigeron vermtm, several species of Eupatorium, Aster dumosus, Liatris odoratissima (vanilla plant), L. graminifolia, and L. spicata; CarphepJwrus Pseudo-Liatris, several species of Ludivigia, Polygala ramosa, P. cymosa, P. cruciata, P. Chapmanii, and P. Sodkerii; Linum rigidum, Hibiscus aculeatus, Hypericum cistifolium, H. myrtifolium, and M. fasciculatum. d. The evergreen glades of the hummock lands and wooded bottoms, more or less sphagnous, with the open swamp bordering upon them : Trees and shrubs — Magnolia grandiflora (bull bay), M. glauca (bay), Persea Garoliniana and Its variety palustris, Nyssa Caroliniana, Cliftonia ligustrina (the ti-ti), Olea Americana, Symplocos tinctoria (sweet-leaf), Calycanthus kcvigatus (sweet shrub), Myrica inodora, Cupressus thyoides, or juniper, Pinus Elliottii, P. Tcsda (loblolly pine), Quercus aquatica (water oak), Oxydendrum arboreum, or sourwood, Zanthoxylum Glava- Herculis (prickly ash), lllicium Fhridanum (star anise), Ilex coriacea, I. Gassine (yaupon), I. ambigua, I. Bahoon, Rhus venenata (poison elder), Yaccinium virgatum and Y. myrsinites (huckleberries), Halesia diptera (snow-drop tree),, Gyrilla racemiflora, Bumelia lanuginosa. In the open swamps : Sarracenia rubra, S.flava, S. Brummondii, S. Psittacina (pitcher-plants), Sabbatia miicrophylla, Asclepias paupercula (marsh milkweed), Tiedemannia teretifoliu, Lophiola aurea, Calopogon pulchellns, Pogonid (several species), Xyris, and most of the plants mentioned above as inhabiting the bogs of the pine meadows ; Ehynchospora (several species), Paspalum prcecox, Panicum gibbum, Gurtisii, virgatum, and P. proliferum, Bottboellia rugosa. As taking possession of the waste lands, or the cultivated soils, the following are to be mentioned : Cyperus rotundus (nut-grass), C. repens, C. Baldwinii, Panicum sanguimale, or crab-grass, Cynodon Bactylon (Bermuda grass), several troublesome bind-weeds, such as Ipomosa commutata and J. lacunosa (morning-glory), Sesbania macrocarpa and vesicaria. e. The rolling pine lands, covered with forests of Pinus australis, and almost devoid of undergrowth : Quercus cinerea (narrow-leaf black-jack or high-ground willow oak), Q. nigra (broad-leaf black-jack, or simply black-jack), Q. Catesbwi (forked-leaf black-jack, turkey o.-ik), Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory), Ceratiola ericoides, Sabal serrulata (saw palmetto), Asimina pareiflc-a (dwarf papaw), Yucca Jilamentosa (bear-grass), several species of Ehynchospora preferring a sandy, dry soil, such as E. Qrayii, B. compressa, etc. Of grasses : Banthoniasericea, Aristida lanata, SporoboUtsjuhceua,Eatoniafiliformis, Paspalum racemulosum , P.Floridanum,Panicumrufum,P.depauperutum, and P. dichotomum, in varieties; Andropogon Elliottii and A. scoparkis (broom-sedge), Sorghum nutans, Brcwcria C7 58 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. humistrata, Rhynchosia tomentosa in all its varieties, R. galactioides, Lupinus diffusus and L. rillosus, Oalactia sessiflora, Rhexia glabella (deer-tongue), Chrysobalanus obUmgifolius, Apivm divaricatum, Tetragonotheca helianthoidcs, Vernoniaangustifolia(iTon-'wee&), tier icocarpus tort ifolius,Liatr is elegans, L. squar rosa (rattlesnakes' master), Helianthus radula, Coreopsis senifolia, Aster adnatus and A. patens, Gaillardia lanceolata, Eupatorium aromaticum, Asclepias Miehauxii and A. amplexicaulis (milkweeds), Sabbatia brachiata (centaury), Gerardia Plulcenetii, 67. Shinneriana, Rnellia ciliosa, Kalmia hirsute!, Buchnera elongata. Among the weeds of the fields and gardens are prominent Richardsonia scabra, or Mexican or Florida clover, crab-grass, Cassia nictitans, Polypremum procumbens, Ambrosia artemisiafolia (hog weed), and Erigeron Philadelphicum (rag-weed). II. Region of mixed tree growth, or upper pine region, including — it. The lowland, with its heavily-wooded river valleys and creek bottoms. Predominating trees : Pinus australis, P. glabra (spruce pine), P. Tccda, Cupressus thyoid.es (white cedar), Quercus Miehauxii, Nutt. (swamp chestnut-oak, Q. Primus bicolor of Michx.), Q. lyrata (overcup oak), Q. alba (white oak), Q. falcata (Spanish oak), Q. rubra (red oak), Q. aquatica (water oak), Carya alba (shell-bark hickory), C. tomentosa (mockernut), C. aquatica (water bitter- nut), C. porcina (pig-nut), Celtis Mississippiensis (hackberry), Planera aquatica, Platanus occidentals (sycamore), Ulmus Americana and U. alata, Persea Caroliniana, Fraxinus Americana (white ash), Acer rubrum (red or swamp maple), Negundo aceroides (ash-leaf inaple), Primus Americana (red plum), Tilia Americana (basswood, linden), Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum), Gleditschia triacanthus (honey-locust), Ilex opaea (holly), Magnolia grandiflora, M. acuminata, M. macrophyUa (large-leaf bay), M. Fraseri (umbrella trees, cucumber trees), Bumelia lyeioides, Rhamnus Caroliniana (buckthorn), Crataegus spathulata, C. apiifolia, and C. aestivalis (haws), Illicium Floridanum (star anise), and Catalpa biguonioides. b. Uplands and so-called wooded prairies or post-oak flatwoods: Quercus tinctoria (black oak), (/. obtusiloba (post oak), Q. nigra (black-jack), Q. falcata (Spanish oak), Q. rubra (red oak), Carya tomentosa, C. amara (bitteruut), C. porcina, Ostrya Virginiea (hop hornbeam), Castanea pumila (chincapin), Mscutus parviflora (buckeye), Thalictrum anemenoides, var. debile, HepaMca triloba (liver-leaf), Ranunculus abortivus, Zanthorhiza apiifolia (yellow root), Calycocarpum Lyonii, Viola pedata, var. bicolor, Hypericum galioides (in swamps), Stelluria pubera, Silene Virginiea, iSida Elliottii, Eabenaria tridentata. Geranium macutatum, Hydrangea arboreseens, H. quercifolia (seven bark), Philadelphia! grandiflorus, StoTcesia cyanea, Caliirrhoe Papaver, Calamintha Caroliniana, Onosmodium Virijinianum and 0. Carolinianuni, Phaeeliapusilla, Phlox pa niculata.Sabbattia chloroidcs, Acerates paniculata, Aristolochia tomentosa (tobacco-pipe), and Gonolobus hirsutus. Many of the grasses which are common in the region below occur also here: Uniola latifolia, Bromits ciliatus, Arrhenatherum arenaecum, Poaflexuosa. As weeds, besides those above mentioned, the following are common: Xanthium strumariunt (cocklebur), Bidens bipinnata (Spanish needles), Polygonum, several species (smarfcweed), all growing iu low rich spots; Amarantus chlorostachys, .1. hybridus, ami .1. spinosw (careless weeds), Portulaca oleracea (purslane), Lepidium Virginicum (pepper cress), Spccularia pcrfoliata, several species of Cerastium and Stetlaria (chickweeds), Marnta Cotula (dog fennel), Helenium augustifolium (bitter-weed), and several species of Rubus (blackberry or bramble). III. The Cretaceous plain, with the so-called bald and wooded prairies of the black belt. The growth is mostly the same as that of the division adjoining it below. Quercus Pheilos is here found more frequently and in its best development. This region is bounded on the north by the interior long-leaf pine regiou of the central drift, belt. Many of the trees and shrubs, such as Illicium Floridanum and Magnolia grandiflora, occur here, finding their northern limit. The flora of the prairies is similar to that of the grassy plains of the northwestern states east of the Mississippi, with coarse Silphiuni, or rosin- weed (8. laciniatum and S. la'cigatum), Rudbechia triloba, late Helianthi (sunflowers), such as H. atrorubens, H. mollis, H. tomentosus, with others; Lepaehis pinnaia, Petalostemon candidum, and P. carneum; Schrarikia uncinnata, Desmanthus brachylobus, in swamps; Brunnichia cirrhosa, Hibiscus incanus, Cacalia ovata, in copses and wooded banks; Pycnanthemum linifolium, Penslemon digitalis. Of shrubs, Primus umbellata. Among the grasses Paspalum distichum and the crab-grass (Panicum sanguinale) are troublesome weeds in the cotton-fields of the black lands; also the various species of Cassia — occidentalis, obtusifolia, and Marilandica. TV. — The Mountain region of northern Alabama to the valley of the Tennessee river, including the oak forests of the metamorphic region. In these Quercus rubra, Q. tinctoria, and Q. falcata greatly predominate. On the high lauds or extensive table-lands of the Carboniferous sandstone the following trees are found: Pinus australis (in patches), P. mitis (short-leaf pine), P. Tccda (loblolly pine), P. inops (here called mountain pine), Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak), Q. Prinus (the mountain or tan-bark oak), Q. Muhlenbergii, Q. nigra, Q. rubra, Q. obtusiloba, with Castanea vesca, var. Americana (the chestnut), more or less stunted hickories and poplars, and the very common Oxydendrum arboreurn. Azalea nudiflora in several forms, Magnolia acuminata and M. cordata, the butternut (Juglans cinerea), Magnolia umbrella, and M. macrophyUa take to the richer slopes and valleys, along with Tilia heterophylia and T. Americana (the basswoods or lindens), Ulmus fulra (slippery elm), poplar (Liriodendroii), black walnut (Juglans nigra), and Ilex mollis. •Herbs and shrubs: Delphinium azureum and D. uncinnatum, Sanguinaria Canadensis (blood-root), Dentaria (several species), Thalictrum dioicum, T. clavatum, Viola blanda, V. canina, var. sylrestris, V. pubescens, Hypericum PHYSICO-GEOGRAPHICAL AND AGRICULTURAL FEATURES. 59 aureum, Armaria patula, Silene regia, Polygala Boylcinii, Rosa lucida (wild rose), Pyrus eoronaria (crab-apple), Calyeantlnis floridus (sweet shrub), Neviusia Alabamensis, Croton Alabamensis, Sedum Nevii, S. pulchellum, Heuchcra Americana (alum-root), Saxifraga Virginiensis, Tiarella cordifolia, Hydrangea radiata, Sericocarpus conizoides, Aster Shortii, Solidago Curtisii and 8. amplexieaulis, Silphium compositum, Parthenium integrifolium, EudbecMa mollis, Phacelia bipinnaUJida, Phlox divaricata, Silene rotundifolia, and Campanula divaricata. Upon the limestone belts of the valleys and the slopes bordering on them are found groves of red cedar (Juniperus Yirginiana), and on deep rich soils large poplars (Liriodendron), black walnut, ash, and white oaks. In the basin of the Tennessee river are found, of forest trees, all those of a more northern range mentioned before, together with shrubs or small trees like the ^SSsculus glabra and flava, Fraxinus quadrangulata, Rims cotinoides, and Forestiera acuminata. Black walnut, poplars, white hickory, and white ash are most frequent. 60 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. REMARKS ON COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. [The weight of the hale, as used in this report ami in the tables, is 470 pounds, aud in nil the diseussions and comparisons the proportion of lint or fiber to Beed- cotton is assumed to ho as 1 to 3.] In total production in the United States Alabama stands No. 4, being below Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas; and in product per square mile Alabama also occupies the fourth place, producing 13.6 bales to the square mile, below Mississippi with 20.5 bales, South Carolina with 17, and Georgia with 13.S. Some of the most prominent facts connected with the production of cotton in Alabama are set forth in the results of the enumeration presented in tabular form below. From these tables certain inferences may be drawn which are of interest, as showing where the cotton is produced, by whom, and what effect the continuous cultivation of cotton has upon the fertility of the soil. Table III.— SHOWING POPULATION AND COTTON PEODUCTION IN EACH AGRICULTURAL REGION OF THE STATE. Agricultural regions. Total. Metamorphic 1 egion 4 Coosa valley region Coal Measures region Tennessee valley region Oak and hickory uplands, with short-leaf pino Gravelly hills, with long-leaf pino Central prairie region Oak and hickory uplands, with long-leaf pine. Long-leaf pine region 51,540 4.460 3,930 5.070 5,760 3,060 3,990 9,220 9,470 6, 5S0 POPULATION. 1,262,505 002, 165 129, 705 109, 155 85, 938 168, 502 53. 120 75,847 376, 061 186, 633 77,494 85, 072 78, 178 i 1 77,032 1,107,157 ]| 36,813 1 1 42, 898 i 87,877 99, 371 47,787 (100,3211 44, 633 30, 977 8, 950 01,345 16, 307 32, 949 288, 184 87, 262 29, 707 COTTON PRODUCTION. Average per acre. 2,330,080 099,654 0.30 236, 745 131, 505 62, 863 JliO, 801 87, 490 122, 587 1,014,600 399. 357 a o .9 c~ *- io IS 71, 285 52, 099 21, 692 84, 447 28,806 37, 229 278, 508 120. 739 14, 006 4, 249 0.30 0.40 O. 35 0. 32 0.33 0.30 | 0.27 | 0.30 ' 0.30 I 16, 930 12, 510 5,152 20, 050 0,841 8,842 00, 140 28, 070 1,009 °3 So 33,860 25, 032 10, 304 40,112 1.1, 082 17, 084 132.392 57, 352 2, 018 I 10 13 4 15 9 30 13 1 Table IV.— SHOWING "BANNER" COUNTIES AS REGARDS TOTAL PRODUCTION AND PRODUCT PER ACRE IN VARIOUS AGRICULTURAL REGIONS OF THE STATE. THE Regions accordingto productperncre. Coosa valley region Coal Measures region Oak and hickory uplands, with short- loaf pine. Teuuessee valley region Gravelly hills, with long-leaf pine S ££ COUNTY IN BACH REGION HAVING HIGHEBT TOTAL PRODUCTION. COUNTY IN EACH REGION tlAVINO lUCHRST PRODUCT PER ACRE. Oak and hickory uplands, with long- leaf pino. Long-leaf pine region Metamorphic region Central prairie region 0.401 Talladega... 0.345 Marshall.... 0.329 Pickens BO. a gp o * " a 32,841 11,832 16,412 5,358 52, 651 ' 17, 283 0.324 Madison.*... 0.304 ! Tuscaloosa. 0.302 I Wilcox 0.302 ! Washington 0.301 0.274 Chambers. Dallas 72, 838 33,773 77, 070 20, 079 11,137 26, 745 1,240 19, 470 0.300 0.326 0.328 0.284 0.330 0.347 0.380 0.275 4 59 ! 11 gw3 Cherokee .. . 28 De Kalb... 56 Fayette 52 Limestone .. 16 Tnscaloosa.. 25 Wilcox 4 62 115,631 33,534 0.290 24, 388 7,469 12, 831 44,334 33, 773 77, 076 1,384 9,156 08, 200 II lit H-S U, * <= 10.777 0.442 2, 859 ; 0. 38J o ©■■- 2 » - 3-~ 4,268 0.316 15, 724 •0. 355 11,137 0.330 26, 745 0.347 638 0.461 3,600 0.393 29, 356 0.299 7 19 14 24 18 * Colbert has the same product per acre as LimeBtone. Banner counties of the state.— As regards total production— Dallas, 3.3,534 bales; as regards product per acre (omitting those whose product is less than 100 bales)— Baldwin, 0.461 bale; as regards percentage of tilled land in cotton — Russell, 61 per cent.; as regards cotton acreage per square mile — Montgomery, 152 acres; as regards bales per square mile — Montgomery, 43 bales. Jj E PAR TMEMT OF THE INTERIOR TENTH CENSUS OF THE UNITE! STATES GENERAL DISCUSSION. 61 Areas of greatest production. — A statistical map accompanies this report which shows in each region the percentage of the total area planted in cotton ; and since the differences in product per acre in the several agricultural regions are comparatively slight, this map shows also approximately the percentage of the whole crop produced in each region. Upon examination of this map, or of the statistical tables given on page 60, we see that the, central prairie region produces 40 per cent, of the entire cotton crop of the state, the oak, hickory, and long-leaf pine region 17 per cent., the Tennessee valley 12 per cent., the metamorphic 10 per cent., the Coosa valley 8 per cent., the gravelly hills 5 per cent., the short-leaf pine uplands 4 per cent., the Coal-measures region 3 per cent., and the long-leaf pine region less than 1 per cent. But these relations will be much more clearly shown if we take into consideration also the relative areas of these regions and rate them according to the number of bales to the square mile. The several regions will then rank as follows: Bales to the square mile. 1. Central prairie region 30 2. Metamorphic region - -- 16 3. Tennessee valley region 15 4. Coosa valley region 13 5. Oak, hickory, and long-leaf pine region i 13 6. Oak, hickory, and short-leaf pine region 9 7. Gravelly hills ..: - 9 8. Coal Measures 4 9. Long-leaf pine region 1 By this arrangement we are able to recognize three well-defined areas of large production in the state. These are : 1, the central cotton belt ; 2, the Tennessee valley ; 3, the Coosa valley. The first of these areas produces at least 60 per cent, of the cotton crop; the second, 12 per cent.; the third, 8 per cent.; while the remaining 20 per cent, is produced by the rest of the state. The nucleus of the central cotton belt is composed of the 12 counties of the prairie region, together with Chambers and Lee counties and the southern portion of Tallapoosa county, of the metamorphic region. On each sido»of this nucleus there is a margin consisting of the adjacent portions of the counties of the short-leaf pine uplands and gravelly hills on the north, and of the oak, hickory, and long-leaf pine uplands on the south, in which the cotton production assumes nearly 7 as great proportions as in the prairie belt itself. In this way are included the southern parts of Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Autauga, and Elmore counties, and the northern parts of Wilcox, Butler, Crenshaw, Pike, and Henry counties. The width of this central cotton belt across the state is not much less than 75 miles, and the cotton production throughout the area thus defined is 20 bales and upward to the square mile. Of the counties which form the nucleus of the central cotton belt Dallas has the largest total production, because of its greater area ; but if we take into account the differences of area, Montgomery occupies the first place, producing 43 bales to the square mile. After Montgomery come Lowndes with 40 bales, Dallas and Bullock with 34 each, Chambers with 32, and so on down the list, ending with Tallapoosa, which has 17 bales to the square mile. It will be seen by reference to the tables that some of the marginal counties of this central belt show a yield for the whole eounty of 20 bales and upward to the square mile, which would, of course, bring up the yield of the portion of the county actually embraced in the central region. The second well-marked area of large production is found in the Tennessee valley, with its greatest intensity along the immediate valley of the river, and the relative importance of the several counties here included in the production of cotton may be approximately measured by the relative proportion of the red or valley lands in the area of each. Applying the test of area devoted to cotton, we find that the counties rank as follows : Madison, Limestone, Lawrence, Lauderdale, Colbert, Jackson, Morgan, and Franklin; but in eliminating the disturbing influence of difference in area, and taking account also of the product per acre, their rank as regards the number of bales to the square mile becomes: Limestone, Madison, Lawrence, Colbert, Lauderdale, Morgan, Jackson, and Franklin. Of these counties only the first two produce over 20 bales to the square mile. The third large cotton-producing area is the Coosa valley. In actual production to the square mile this falls behind the other two regions, being 13 bales, while that of the Tennessee valley is 15, and that of the central cotten belt 20 bales and upward, pioth in total production and in cotton acreage, and especially in the number of bales to the acre, the counties of this region fall behind those of the two preceding. Talladega county stands first, with 17 bales to the square mile; then come Calhoun, Cherokee, Etowah, Saint Clair, and lastly Shelby, with 9 bales. We have thus seen where the great proportion of the cotton crop of Alabama, 80 per cent., is produced. As regards Jhe rest of the state not much more need be said, except concerning the Coal Measures and the long-leaf pine regions, which show a production of 4 bales and 1 bale respectively to the square mile. With regard to the former region, it is to be remarked that the greater part of the cotton is produced in the valleys which traverse it, and not upon the soils of the true Coal Measures. Winston and Cullman may be taken as fair representatives of this region. Population and cotton production. — Taking the state as a whole, the cotton production of Alabama is 0.55 bale to the inhabitant, or little more than a bale for every two inhabitants. This proportion varies in the 71 62 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. different agricultural regions. In the Tennessee valley and the gravelly pine bills tbe proportion is exactly a bale to two inhabitants; in tbe short-leaf pine uplands the proportion is a little more than a bale to two inhabitants, and in the Coosa valley it is slightly less. In the central prairie region tbe proportion is a bale and a half, and in tbe oak, hickory, and long-leaf pine uplands a bale and a quarter to every two inhabitants. In tbe last-named region, however, there are parts of some of the counties immediately adjoining tbe prairie region in which the same proportion probably obtains as in the prairie region itself. The same is true of the counties of Chambers and Lee ; so that for the great central cotton belt the proportion is about three-fourths of a bale to the inhabitant. Following out these relations a step further, we find that over 55 per cent, of the colored population of the entire state is to be found in the central cotton belt, where about 60 per cent, of the cotton is produced. Something over 10 per cent, of the blacks are found in the second cotton area, the Tennessee valley, and about 5 per cent, in the Coosa valley. This accounts for more than 70 per cent, of the colored population, which is thus concentrated in the three large cotton-producing areas of the state, where about SO per cent, of the cotton crop is produced. The. distribution of the whites in the same regions is as follows: In the central cotton belt, about 18 per ecu! ; in the Tennessee valley, about 10 per cent. ; and in the Coosa valley, about 12 per cent. ; thus accounting for about 40 per cent, of the white, population, as inhabiting the three large cotton -producing areas, against 70 per cent, of the blacks in the same areas. The other regions'of the state which produce the remaining 20 per cent, of the cotton support 54 per ceut. of the white, population, but less than 30 per cent, of the blacks. Since the proportion of the white to the black population in the whole state is about 1.1 to 1, or not far from equal, it seems to follow that the greater part of the cotton crop of Alabama is produced by the negroes. Product per acre and its relation to population. — In product per acre Alabama stands No. 13 of the fourteen principal cotton-producing states of the Union. Other things being equal, the product or yield per acre may be taken as an index to the fertility of a soil, and if we apply this test to the several agricultural regions of Alabama they take the following rank: 1, Coosa valley ; 2, Coal Measures ; 3, oak, hickory, and short-leaf pine uplands ; 4. Tennessee valley ; 5, gravelly hills ; 0, oak, hickory, and long-leaf pine uplands ; 7, long-leaf pine region ; S, metamorphic : and 9, central prairie region. Putting Chambers and Lee together with the counties which constitute, the prairie region, we have the nucTeus of the, central cotton belt as above defined. In all these counties the average, product per acre is 0.27 of a bale. This somewhat unexpected result cannot be considered as due to the relative infertility of the soils of this licit, for correspondents unite in giving as the average yield on the fresh lands of this region from 700 to 1,600 pounds of seed-cotton, or from one-half a bale to more than a bale to the acre, and the chemical analyses show that these soils in their virgin state are among the very best in the state. We are led, therefore, to the conclusion that the soils of the great cotton belt have been exhausted by improvident culture, and, as a matter of fact, we know that in many parts of this belt cotton is planted year after year upon the same soils without rotation with other crops, and without an attempt at maintaining the fertility by the use of manures. In the other parts of tbe state where cotton is produced a selection is generally made of the better soils, rotation of crops is more generally practiced, and in some sections fertilizers are in more general use. That the character of the laborers and the system of farming practiced are largely concerned in determining the yield cannot, on general principles, be denied, and we find ample proof that these two things are responsible in no small degree for the results above shown. The central cotton belt is generally a region of large farms or plantations, in which the laborers are chiefly negroes, as seen in the tables. As a rule, these laborers do not own the land, have no interest in it beyond getting a crop from a portion of it, which they rent either for a sum of money or for a share of the crop, and are not interested in keeping up the fertility, at least not to the extent of being led to make any attempts at the permanent improvement of the same. In the case of the owner of the land, while the conditions are different, the result is the same. He is, of course, interested in the improvement of his laud ; but to supply the fertilizers for a large plantation, when he cultivates it by hired labor, would cost more than he usually has to expend, and where the share system, or that of renting, prevails he is still further removed from personal care of the land ; and thus from all causes there is an exhaustive cultivation of the land, without any attempt at maintenauce or restoration of its lost fertility. In addition to these, the system of advances or credit, so prevalent throughout the cotton-producing parts of the state, is not without its evil influence, for the laborer, and too often the owner of the land, is obliged to get advances of provisions from their merchants, for the payment, of which the crop is mortgaged ; and as cotton is the only crop which will always bring ready money, its planting is usually insisted on by the merchants making the advances and selected by the farmer as a means of providing for payment. In this way cotton comes.to be the paramount crop, and there is little chance for rotation with other things. In this connection it will be instructive to read the reports given under Part III, treating of cultural details. It will there, be seen that the system of credits in the large cotton-producing regions prevails to such au extent that the whole cotton crop is usually mortgaged before it is gathered ; and when we consider that the prices charged for provisions, etc., thus advanced are at least 50 per cent, higher than regular market rates, and that the cost of GENERAL DISCUSSION. 63 producing cotton is given by our correspondents, almost without exception, at 8 cents a pound, it will need very little calculation to show that the laborer who makes a profit of only 2 or 3 cents a pound or $12 to $15 a bale on his cotton will have the chances too greatly against him ever to be out of debt to his merchants when he relies solely upon this crop to provide the money; and the exorbitant interest on the money advanced is not likely to be lessened so long as the merchants' risks continue to be as great as they are. In the Tennessee and Coosa valleys, which are also large cotton-producing sections, a similar state of things may be observed. In Madison and Talladega counties the blacks outnumber the whites, and in both we find the product per acre falling far below the average of the region in which they are situated. Thus Madison shows a product of 0.28 bale, against the average of 0.32 for the whole Tennessee valley, and Talladega a product of only 0.3C bale, when the average for the Coosa valley region, of which it is a part, is 0.40. Wherever the black population is in excess of the white we may take it for granted that the system of large farms rented out to the negroes prevails, and the inevitable result of this system of farming thus becomes apparent in these sections also. In the other agricultural regions of the state, and in most of the counties also of the Tennessee and Coosa valleys, the farms are, as a rule, small, and are cultivated by their owners, with the assistance of such labor as may be hired from time to time. In all these cases provisions are produced on the farm, and cotton is planted as a secondary crop. There is thus some chance for selection of the soils and for rotation of crops ; and when a man cultivates his own farm fertilizers are in more general use, so that even with soils naturally much inferior to those of the main cotton-producing regions the average product per acre is much higher in these regions of small production. In the Coal-Measures region, which takes rank as third in product per acre, there are no large farms, and the whites outnumber the blacks nearly 9 to 1 (a sure sign of poor soil), the farmers generally owning the land which they cultivate. Until very recently only the lauds of the valleys traversing the Coal Measures have been planted in cotton, so thaf the product per acre as given in the tables is an index rather of the fertility and capabilities, under proper culture, of the calcareous valley soils than of those directly derived from the rocks of the Coal Measures. Iu Winston and Cullman there are no valley soils, hence the product per acre of these counties may be taken as representing that of the soils of the Coal Measures generally, viz, 0.2G to 0.28. In these i egions it is usual to plant only the better kinds of soils in cotton, and of late only with the application of some kinds of commercial fertilizers. These sandy lands, which have a clayey substratum, are more and more every year, with moderate quantities of fertilizers, coming into use in the production of cotton, and the same may also be said of the siliceous portions of the valley lands of the regions just spoken of. It is now thought to be pretty well established that these poorer sandy lands, with the aid of moderate quantities of fertilizers, make in the long run better-paying and more certain crops of cotton than the intrinsically better classes of soils without the fertilizers. In the short-leaf pine upland counties the whites are more than twice as numerous as the blacks. The same conditions, therefore, hold here as in the case just mentioned. The product per acre is 0.33 per bale. The soils of the gravelly hills are practically the same as those of the short-leaf pine lands, but the product is 0.30 bale to the acre, and that of the oak, hickory, and long-leaf pine uplands about 0.30, with likewise very similar soils. In these the two races are present iu nearly equal proportions. These figures furnish an additional illustration of what has been shown above, viz ; that the greater the proportion of blacks among the population the more prevalent will be the system of large farms worked on shares or by renting and the smaller will be the yield of the land so cultivated, because of the inherent vices of the system. The concentration of the black population in the great farming regions of the state, which are also the regions of the originally most fertile soils, is amply shown by Table III ; and so closely does this class of the population follow the best lauds that the density of the colored population of any region might almost be taken as an index of the fertility of its soils. The white population is much more evenly distributed over good and poor lands alike, so that the proportion between the two races varies with the fertility of the soils, (a) If we examine any county whose product per acre falls below the average of the region of which it forms a part, we shall find almost without exception that this is due either to the. improvident culture which invariably attends thesystem of large farms (and the prevalence of this system is almost invariably shown by the preponderance of negroes among the population) or to the comparative infertility of the soil, as may be inferred from the preponderance of the whites. Thus in the county of Marion, in the short-leaf pine uplands, we find the product only 0.31, and we see that the county is inhabited almost entirely by white men. Again, in Pickens, there is a slight falling below the average, and here we find one-third more negroes than whites (large farms and bad culture). In the gravelly hills region Autauga falls below the average, notwithstanding it possesses some of the best second-bottom lands of the Alabama river. In this county the negroes outnumber the whites two to one. a The negroes were originally brought together upon these great cotton-producing areas as the slaves of the wealthy planters who bought up the greater part of the best lands in the state. Since the war they have remained, practically speaking, in the same places where as laborers in the cotton-field (with which they w r ere most familiar) they could always be sure of employment and of a good living without too severe labor. The social attractions also of these great centers of negro population have not been without their influence in keeping the race together. 7:> 64 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA In the oal\ hickory, raid long-leaf pine region we meet with some exceptions to the general rule. Most of these. however, admit of explanation. Thus, Choctaw follows the rule : excess of blacks, below the average of product per acre. Clarke, Monroe, and Wilcox form exceptions: large negro population and high product per acre. This finds its explanation in the fact that the cotton lands of those three counties are either the very best of river lands, such as form Black's bend, in Wilcox, or the equally fertile lime-hills or black-shell prairie lauds, like those in the vicinity of Limestone and Flat creeks, in Monroe. Butler and Pike follow the rule: excess of white population, small farms, better cultivation, general use of fertilizers, all of which combine to bring up the product per acre above the average for the region. The lower counties, such as Conecuh, Coffee, Dale, and Henry, lie within the limits of the long-leaf pine region, where the poverty of the soil is more than an offset to the better cultivation practiced on small farms. Conecuh has also a large negro population on some of its best lime-lands to keep down the average product. In the counties of the open piny wood* there is comparatively little cotton produced, not much more than 1,000 bales in any of the counties. There is thus a selection of the best lands for the planting of cotton, and a correspondingly high yield in Baldwin, Washington, and Escambia, with the additional circumstance that in Washington there are fine lime-hills and shell prairies, with the highly productive river bottoms, which lie adjacent to the same, to bring up its average. Covington and Geneva, in their very small percentage of blacks (only one in seven or eight), show that their low product per acre must be due to the original poverty of the soil, and the open piny woods which make so large a proportion of these counties would lead us to expect none but soils of much less than average fertility. The position of Alabama as a state, next to the lowest in product per acre of the fourteen cotton-producing states, has already been justly explained by Dr. Hilgard as due to the exhaustion of the soils by bad or improvident culture, and to the fact that the system of returns to the soil is not yet in general practice, as is shown by the very bunted use made of fertilizers. The conditions of the different regions as above set forth furnish ample illustration of the truth of this conclusion. Inferences to be drawn from these comparisons. — To recapitulate, the following conclusions seem, therefore, to be plainly taught by the discussion of the data contained in the tables presented on page 00 : 1. That where the blacks are in excess of the whites there are the originally most fertile lands of the state. The natural advantages of the soils are, however, more than counterbalanced by the bad system prevailing in such seel ions, viz, large farms rented out in patches to laborers who are too poor and too much in debt to merchants to have any interest in keeping up the fertility of the soil, or rather the ability to keep it up, with the natural consequence of its rapid exhaustiou aud a product per acre on these, the best lands of the state, lower than that which is realized from the very poorest. 2. Where the two races are in nearly equal proportions, or where the whites are iu only slight excess over the blacks, as is the case in all the sections where the soils are of average fertility, there is found the system of small farms, worked generally by the owners, a consequently better cultivation, a more general use of commercial fertilizers, a correspondingly high product per acre, and a partial maintenance of the fertility of the soils. 3. Where the whites are greatly in excess of the blacks (three to one and above), the soils are almost certain to be far below the average in fertility, and the product per acre is low from this cause, notwithstanding the redeeming influences of a comparatively rational system of cultivation. 4. The exceptions to these general rules are nearly always due to local causes, which are not far to seek, and which afford generally a satisfactory explanation of the discrepancies. FERTILIZERS. The use of fertilizers in cotton planting in Alabama. — In the foregoing remarks on cotton culture incidental mention has been made of the use (or, to speak more correctly, of the non-use) of commercial fertilizers, from which it may be inferred that systematic efforts at the maintenance of the fertility of the soils in Alabama are not generally made by the farmers. There is, however, probably not a farm in the state where the baruyard manure and composts produced on the farm are not spread upon the land. This kind of manuring is almost universally practiced, but in this way only a very small proportion of the land receives any assistance. In many sections cotton-seed, either alone or composted with other things, and in certain cases also the cottonseed-meal, are beginning to be somewhat generally used, but always as yet sparingly, and upon a small portion only of the whole area in cultivation. In the regions of small farms, aud especially where the soils are originally not very strong, the use of commercial fertilizers, gnauos, superphosphates, etc., is gradually extending, and more rapidly in the eastern than in the western half of the state. There are many soils until recently thought to lie too unproductive for cotton planting" which are now quite extensively used for this purpose, since it has been found that, with the use of small quantities of commercial fertilizei-s, better returns of cotton are realized from such soils than from better soils without the fertilizers. Instances of this are seen in the gray flinty lands of the Coosa valley, the sandy lauds of the Coal Measures, and the Barrens of the Tennessee valley. In the southern counties of the oak, hickory, and long-leaf pine uplands, and in the long-leaf pine region itself, the poor quality of the soils has compelled the farmers to use some means of bringing up the yield, so that the NATURAL FERTILIZERS. 65 cultivation of cotton may. be at all profitable, and in. the eastern half of this region, south of the main central cotton belt, there is probably more sale of the various brands of commercial fertilizers than in any other part of the state of equal area. A central distributing station for much of this southern country is Troy, in Pike county, and it is a matter of common observation that very few of the wagons which haul the cotton to that market return without a load of guano or some other fertilizer. In the Coosa valley region also these brands of commercial fertilizers are now beiug generally sold in small quantities to farmers. In the Tennessee valley, except on the poorer soils, such as the Barrens, very little besides stable manure or cottonseed is as yet used as manure. In the great central cotton belt the same remark will apply, only here the manuring is even less generally practiced than in the Tennessee valley. In no instance, except perhaps in some parts of the southern counties above mentioned, is anything more than a very small proportion of the laud thus enriched. It may be said, in general terms, that in the great cotton-producing areas of Alabama the use of commercial fertilizers in cotton planting is comparatively unkuown. In the regions of moderate production the system of returns to the soil is more generally practiced, and the use of commercial fertilizers is gradually extending from east to west, beiug at its best, however, even in these regions, far short of the universal practice. In the regions of very small production these fertilizers are also very seldom in use, the high yield frequently observed in some sections being generally due to the fact that the best soils only are selected for cotton, or that the patches are small enough to be fertilized by the compost produced upon the farm. Fertilizers naturally occurring in Alabama. — As to the necessity of using some means for maintaining the fertility of soils there can now be no two opinions, and exhaustion is, of course, only a matter of time in the •case of any soil which is continuously cultivated without restoring to it in some way a portion at least of the plant- food abstracted by the crops produced upon it. It becomes, therefore, a matter of the greatest importance to know what are the resources of the state for keeping up this fertility. The two classes of manures generally distinguished are .stimulant and nutritive. To the first class belong those substances which, like lime, serve chiefly to render available the plant-food already present in the soil, but in such a condition as to be not readily assimilated by the growing crop. To the second class belong those mixtures which contain some or all of the elements of plant-food, chief among which are nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. Stimulant manures. — In nearly all parts of Alabama limestone is easily accessible, from which lime for agricultural purposes may be prepared in sufficient quantity. The use of a merely stimulant manure does not keep up the soil fertility, but on the contrary enables crops to draw heavily upon its reserve of plant food, and thus causes its available portion to be exhausted all the more speedily. Lime is also extensively used to promote the rapid decay of vegetable matter, to convert it into humus, and in this way also it is beneficial to soils. The presence of lime in soils has further the effect of increasing their capacity for resisting drought and improving their tilling qualities generally. In addition to all these, it is directly necessary to the growth of all plants. It is chiefly, however, as a stimulant and as a promoter of the formation of humus from vegetable matter that it finds an extended use in agriculture. Nutritive manures. — Of the partial manures belonging to this class the most extensively used are the guanos, superphosphates, and ground bones, the principal ingredients furnished by these beiug potash, phosphoric acid, audi ammonia. Cotton-seed or cottonseed- meal is also rapidly coming into me as a fertilizer, and it is one of the best, since it contains all of the essential ingredients of plant-food, and may therefore be considered as more nearly a complete manure than any of the others mentioned. In the marls of the state, however, we have a class of fertilizers which combine the qualities of a stimulant with those of a nutritive manure, and they are therefore worthy of careful attention. These marls are found in the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata of the southern division of the state, and are of several varieties. In all the marls there is a certain proportion of nutritive matter in addition to the lime. Cretaceous marls. — Materials which might profitably be used as fertilizers occur in all three of the subdivisions of the Cretaceous formation in Alabama. In the lowermost, or Eutaw group of this formation, the deposits are mostly sandy and clayey and non- calcareous, except in the upper strata, which correspond to the Tombigbee sand of Mississippi. These beds consist of laminated clays and micaceous sands, the latter often of a greenish color, and contain only a small percentage of lime. A specimen of this material from the Turkey Creek hills, near Pleasant Ridge, in Greene county, has the composition given on page 66. The rotten limestone is itself in composition a marl containing from 120 to So per cent, of carbonate of lime, which is the constituent upon which its chief value as a stimulant manure rests; but iu addition to the carbonate of lime this rock contains also a variable percentage of phosphate of lime, ranging, according to Dr. Mallett's analyses, between 0.37 and 0.54 percent.; of potash, from 0.01 to 0.11 per cent.; and of silica in a condition readily soluble in dilute acids, from 0.06 to 0.19 per cent. Several analyses of the rotten limestone from different parts of the state are to be found iu Professor Tuomey's second report. 66 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Some of the strata of the rotten limestone contain notable quantities of greensand, and well deserve the attention of farmers. According to Dr. Loughridge, there is a bed of Cretaceous greensand marl extending along the Chattahoochee river bluff for 15 miles with an average thickness of 10 or 15 feet. It contains about 2 per cent. of potash, and would undoubtedly be. valuable to the farmers in reach of it. Near Epes station, in Sumter county, there is another greensand marl bed, and a sample was analyzed with the result given below. No. lol!. Greenish saurf, Pleasant Ridge, Greene county. This consists of grains of quartz sand, often coated with a green material, scales of mica, rounded and ilattened lumps of greensand, and fragments of lignite. The greensand makes only a small proportion of the whole mass, and the marl would hardly pay for the hauling; but its effects upon the soils, over which it is distributed by natural causes, are seen in the luxurious vegetation of the lauds which receive the washings of these hills. In other localities it is quite probable that a richer material may be found. No. 145. Greensand marl (Cretaceous), Epes, Sumter county. Greenish Hand and greensand marl (Cretaceous). Insoluble matter Soluble silica Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Brown oxide of manganese - Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric arid Sulphuric acid Carbonic acid Water and organic matter . . Total GREENE COUNTY. SUMTEn rouxTY. Greenish sand. Greensand marl. No. 132. No 145. 70.734) , .17 1 017 778 J .vi. 39B 0/398 1.430 0.113 a. US 0. S90 «. 022 0. 502. 0. 193 11. 17" 0. 101 S. 457 13.088 0. (131 2.101 0. 051 0. 143 ". v.-:i 0. 1G0 10. 028 10.210 2. 200 The marl, while it contains less lime than the ordinary rotten limestone, is likely to prove valuable as a fertilizer because of its high percentage of potash. Dr. Mallet tested a sample of greensand from near Gainesville, and found in it: 'Potash, 2.437 per cent.; phosphoric acid, 0.183 per cent.; and carbonate of lime, O.ST per cent. The upper or Ripley group of the Cretaceous is in part composed of bluish micaceous mails containing greensand. In the region of their occurrence these marls give rise to lasting and productive soils, well know in the low grounds of Cowikee and Bear creeks in Barbour and Bussed counties. Dr. Mallet has made several partial analyses of this class of marls, of which the following, a bluish or greenish-gray marl, containing grains of sand, particles of mica, and fragments of shell, from below Eufaula, may be taken as a representative : Carbonate of lime Carbonate of magnesia Peroxide of iron Alumina Phosphoric ncid .- Silicic arid (soluble in acid) Insoluble n latter (finely divided clay, sand, and specks of mica) 13.47 1.01 3.21 1.08 0.18 (I. 54 79.14 1.03 88.82 2.18 0.94 0.23 In the same formation there are beds of hard and tolerably pure limestone, which might be used in the preparation of lime for agricultural purposes. One of the samples analyzed by Dr. Mallet (see above) from Chunncnugga ridge, Macon county, was a highly fossiliferous limestone, the shells lor the most part white crystalline carbonate of lime, and the limestone cementing them together of a light brownish-gray color, containing numerous small cavities, often lined with carbonate of lime. This is the character of much of the limestone of the Chunneuugga ridge. NATURAL FERTILIZERS. 67 Tertiary marls. — A special examination was made by me, for the purposes of this report, of the marls and other mineral fertilizers of the Tertiary formations of Alabama. These materials may be conveniently arranged in two classes, viz: I, the greensands, and, II, the calcareous marls; and the latter into those which contain greeusand and those whose value depends chiefly upon their content of lime. I. The greensands. — The lower 300 or 400 feet of the Tertiary formation in Alabama are made up, in the main, of sands and clays of lignitic character, but interstratifled with these, at several horizons, are beds of marine origin. One of the lowermost of these marine deposits may be seen outcropping at Nanafalia landing, on the Tombigbee river, and may be traced across the country to the Alabama river at Coal bluff, and thence eastward through part of Wilcox county, and perhaps further. 'One of the strata of this group consists of a mixture of quartz grains, small rounded or flattened lumps of greensand, and a few small particles of mica. The thickness of the deposit is only a foot or two; the color, deep yellowish-green. This greensand bed is best exposed where the Linden and Nanafalia road crosses Double creek in Marengo county. The analysis on page 69 shows the composition of a sample (No. 128) selected from this locality. Apparently the same bed is exposed on Gravel creek near Camden, Wilcox county, two specimens of which were partially analyzed by Df. Mallett, yielding in 100 parts : Per cent Potash ! 2.21 Lime ; 0. 69 Phosphoric acid :J Trace* Iron pyrites Trace. 1.89 0.67 Trace. Kone. II. Calcareous marls : Greensand marls. — Associated with the bed of greensand above described are several calcareous beds which also hold notable quantities of the same mineral. At Nanafalia landing the upper part of the bluff is formed of 6 feet or more of a shell bed very rich in greensand, which is overlaid by a stratum from 8 to 10 feet thick, composed almost entirely of the shells of a small oyster (Grj/pluea Tht/r-sn ). The greensand bed is a mixture of grains of quartz sand, small rounded lumps of greensand, and fragments of shells, together with a large number of perfect and unbroken shells. A sample selected for analysis (No. 127) Las the composition given on page 69. These calcareous beds may be traced across Marengo county by the prairie soils to which they give rise, and are exposed again at Coal bluff, on the Alabama river. A sample from this locality, partially analyzed by r Dr. Mallett, consisted of greensand grains, siliceous clay, fine quartz sand, fragments of shells, etc., and had the following composition: Per cent. Potash 1.67 Phosphoric acid - 1.00 Carbonate of lime 29.33 Iron pyrites 10. 57 ^Dr. Mallett analyzed also some of the separate grains of greensand of this dex)osit, the mean of two analyses of which was — Per cent. Silica 57.56 Alumina 6.56 Ferrous oxide 20. 13 Lime 1.04 Magnesia 1.70 Potash 4.88 Water 8.17 Total 100.04 The value of marls of this kind depends not only on the carbonate of lime which they contain, but also upon the potash of the greensand, and are therefore the more valuable in proportion to the/r percentages of greensand, and this proportion may be approximately estimated by the color, the deeper the green the better. There can hardly be a doubt that these beds will some day be utilized, as they contain a higher average of potash than any of the Tertiary greensand marls thus far examined. The most convenient localities for getting at the marl for shipment are the Nanafalia landing, on the Tombigbee, and Coal bluff, on the Alabama river. At Turner's ferry, on the Tombigbee, above Tuscahoina, there is exposed a second-marine deposit, containing shells and greeusand, but no special examination has been made of it. Farther down the river, in the vicinity of Wood's bluff, a third exposure of these marine deposits is seen. The marl beds at this place are about 25 feet in thickness, and their geological position is some 175 or 200 feet below the series of aluminous sandstones and claystones to which the name bnhrstone has been- applied. The strata intervening between the buhrstone rocks and the top of the marl bed are laminated lignitic clays and sands, with a few thin seams of lignite; below the marl, again lignitic beds. 77 G8 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. The marl at Wood's bluff is not of uniform composition, the lower strata being much richer both in calcareous matter and in greeusand. The upper part of the marl is commonly indurated, forming a kiud of limestone, below which the soft pulverulent marl is sometimes sheltered and sometimes washed out, leaving overhanging ledges and caves. This bed, with practically identical features, has been traced from the vicinity of Butler, in Choctaw county, through Choctaw Corner, in Clarke county, to the Alabama river below Lower Peach Tree. The beds occurring at Elba, in Coffee county, are probably the same also, though their identity has not been perfectly established. Two samples of this marl were analyzed, the one from Mr. Hendrick's, near Butler, the same bed appearing in very many localities about that town, the other from the " Natural Bridge"', a few miles west of Choctaw Corner. The specimens analyzed consist of a mixture of broken-up shells, quartz sand, and grains of greensand. In this matrix are imbedded many beautifully preserved entire shells. No. 126. Greensand shell marl from Hendrick's, near Butler, Choctaw county. No. 130. Greensand shell marl from the "Natural Bridge", 2 miles west of Choctaw Corner, Clarke county. These, like all the greensand marls, owe their peculiar value to the greensand which they contain; hence the more pronounced the green color the better the marl. The 25 to 30 per cent, of carbonate of lime- which they all hold is also, of course, of value. Where these marl beds outcrop across the country they react upon the laminated lignitic clays with which they are interbedded, giving rise to a series of lime-hills of considerable fertility. For an analysis of this class of soil consult lime-hills soil, No. 140, Wilcox county (page 42). The fourth outcropping of a marl bed down the river from Wood's bluff is seen at Cofi'eeville landing and vicinity. From its geographical position this seems to be geologically above the buhr-stone rocks, and consists of several beds, chiefly fossiliferous clayey sands and pulverulent and indurated marls. A sample (No. 138) taken from a loose pulverulent bed just below a hard ledge of similar composition is composed of quartz sand, comminuted shells, a small proportion of greensand grains, and an occasional particle of mica. Its composition is given in the table on page 69. Like the others, this marl, aside from its carbonate of lime, owes its value to its content of greensand. The lower portion of the bluff at Claiborne, on the Alabama river, consists of sandy, argillaceous, and calcareous beds, the latter containing many oyster shells. A sample from one of these beds, about 15 feet above the water level (No. 136), was composed of quartz grains, pulverulent carbonate of lime, clayey matter, and a few grains of greensand. Its chemical composition is given on page 09. From the similarity in the fossils (which have not, however, been very closely studied) it appears probable that the Coffeeville marl bed is identical with some of the lower strata of the Claiborne bluff. Ordinary calcareous marls, white marls. — At the Claiborne bluff the stratum, 15 to 20 feet in thickness, which has furnished all the beautifully preserved fossils which have made this locality so celebrated is a mass of comminuted shells and quartz sands stained with iron. In this material the Claiborne fossils are. imbedded. A sample of this marl from Mrs. Gibson's, a short distance below Claiborne, was analyzed. Its composition is given on page 69 under No. 135, Claiborne shell marl from Mrs. Gibson's, near Claiborne. The value of this marl rests mainly upon its carbonate of lime. With from 47 to 50 per cent, of inert siliceous matter, it would hnrdto be profitable to carry it far, but it might be used with advantage in the vicinity. This shell stratum is one of the topmost of the. Claiborne group proper. Immediately above it are laminated gray clays and fossiliferous yellowish sands containing greeusand, and above these a thick bed of whitish, soft limestone, containing occasionally a few grains of greensand. This limestone is considered as belonging to the Jackson group of the Tertiary, and in its disintegration gives rise to the prairie soils of the lower lime-hills region, and is in many respects similar to the Cretaceous rotten limestone. Its composition may be seeu from the subjoined analysis of soft, white limestone (No. 137) overlying the shell stratum at Claiborne (Jackson age). This, like the rotten limestone, is itself of the nature of a marl, and" its action upon the soil is well shown in the prairie soils of the lime-hills. In very many of the localities where this limestone occurs crystals and large masses of gypsum are imbedded in the clays which result from its disintegration, and sometimes in such quantity that it might be profitably taken up for agricultural purposes. Nothing has, however, yet been done in this direction. The unusually high percentage of sulphuric acid in the limestone, as well as in many of its derived soils, is probably due to the gypsum. The uppermost division of the Tertiary in Alabama, the so-called Vicksburg group, is made up chiefly of white or light-colored limestones and marls, the most common rock being a soft, white limestone, containing orbitoides and other characteristic fossils. A sample of this rock from Clarke, county, above Jackson (No. 146), has been analyzed, and its composition is given in the table relative to Tertiary marls. This, as will be seen, is a tolerably pure limestone, and when burned would give a large yield of lime. Its potash and phosphoric acid also are rather above the average. NATURAL FERTILIZERS 69 To recapitulate: The mineral fertilizers of tbe Alabama Tertiary formations are greensands, greensand marls, anil white marls and limestones, which occur at the following horizons, viz: 3. Greensand and greensand marls at Nanafalia landing and across the country to Coal bluff, on the Alabama river, and on Gravel creek, in Wilcox county. These beds appear to be the richest in greensand. 2. A marl bed at Turner's ferry, above Tuscahoma, on the Tombigbee. 3. The greensand marls at Wood's bluff; found also near Butler, in Choctaw county, and across Clarke county, to the Alabama river, below Lower Peach Tree. 4. Greensand marls at Coffeeville and at Claiborne, and, at the latter place, also near the top of the bluff, the shell marl. 5. Overlying the Claiborne shell beds, the marly or argillaceous limestone of Jackson age, which is known by its outcrops and by the peculiar soils resulting from it, from the western limit of the state, through Washington and Clarke, into Monroe and Conecuh, and thence in detached tracts to southeastern Alabama. (i. The white marls and limestones of the Vicksburg group, occurring in all the localities mentioned in the preceding paragraph, but much more widely distributed. Most of the localities above given are in western Alabama. The Tertiary formations in the eastern part of the state are more generally calcareous and less intermingled with lignitic strata than is the case westward, and they appear also to be more generally, hidden by the superficial drift deposits. Marls and limestones are exposed on the Chattahoochee river at intervals from below Eufaula down to the Florida line, but 1 am at present unable to give any details concerning them. Analyses of Tertiary marls. Greensand. Greensand shell mauls. OUDLNARY MARLS. MARENGO COUNT!'. MARENGO COUNTY. CHOCTAW COUNTY. clarke county. «™« MONROE COUNTY. CLEUURNE COUNTY. CLARKE COUN1Y. Greensand. Greensand shell marl. Hendrick'a, near JSuller. NearChoctaw Greensand Marl, with Corner. . shell marl. greensand. Claiborne shell marl. Soft, white limestone. White lime stone. No. 128. No. 127. No. 126. No. 130. No. 138. No. 136. No. 135. No. 137. No. 146. 78. 712 , ! 79. 907 35. 918 ] . [37.281 45. 877 ) { 67. 838 "" '" [ 64. 444 [ 04. 306 " \ 62. 310 2. 833 5 2. 115 > 1. 153 > 1. 876 i , „„, [47.858 „ J 31. 314 1. 981 > 2. 920 ) 2.542 0. 087 0.859 0.340 24. 164 1.617 0.079 12. 324 0.930 (I. 041 0.310 18. 980 0.736 0.085 0. 252 0. 259 ! 0. 222 0.498 26. 514 0.065 Trace. 2.332 0.709 0.029 0.070 0.077 13. 757 0.616 0.029 4.286 0.083 0. 101 0.106 10.983 1.393 16. 866 14. 491 | 15. 390 Brown oxide of manganese o.Oll 9.192 1. 103 0.086 0.051 Trace. 0. 089 2. 083 2. 149 0. 139 : 1. 883 0.223 ' 0.040 0.054 0.164 14.154 | 12.359 1. 366 3. 102 9. 321 3.867 1.355 0.125 0.117 11.805 2. 832 0. 156 0. 653 1. 798 ' ) . .„ 1 3123 Sulphuric acid 0. 096 0. 305 1 0.290 1 0.623 Water and organic matter 5.713 1.554 2.207 4.102 Total 97. 928 99. 060 100. 363 100. 743 99. 808 99 833 100. 572 100. 765 99. 268 Of other naturally occurring materials which have been profitably used, either in compost heaps or directly upon the lauds, there may be mentioned pond or marsh muck, which is specially rich in humus and also in certain mineral elements of plant-food. This substance is generally accessible in the state, and should, whenever practicable, be used in connection with the marls mentioned. Professor Uilgard long since called attention to the value of the straw of the long-leaf pine as a manure, and his analyses show that it contains in considerable quantities the mineral ingredients necessary to plants. According to the same authority, the best manner of applying it, next to incorporating it with the manure pile, is to compost the manure with lime or some of the calcareous marls of which mention has been made, and, after it has become thoroughly decayed, then to spread it upon the land. The following analysis of a specimen of muck from a swamp near the banks of Autauga creek, at Prattville, Autauga county, will show the general nature of this material. The swamp has a dense growth of magnolia, bay, laurel, short-leaf pine, sweet gum, sassafras, maple, elder, button-ball, white oak, swamp oak, dogwood, buckeye, Rhus vemix, etc. When cleared and drained such swamps are at first liable to surfer the drawbacks incident to an excess of humus, but after bei^g a while in cultivation, and sand and loam become mixed with the humus, very productive soils result. No. 2. Blade swamp muck from the bottom of Autauga creek, at Prattville, Antauga county. A light-black pulverulent mass when dry. 79 70 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Swamp muck, Autauga county. Insoluble matter i Soluble bUk-a 5 51,li78 Potash 0.487 SodA 0.865 Lime 0.472 Magnesia 0.007 Brown oxide of manganeBe Trace. Peroxide of iron Traco. Alumina 1. 362 Phosphoric acid 0. OGO Sulphuric acid n. 20G "Water anil organic matter '14. 574 Total 09.201 Eygroaeopic moisture 18.47 absorbed at ! 20. 5 C.° -*- The hygroscopic character of the humus is here well exhibited. 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II 72 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. l-i © ^ ED 3 & o O o ft o 9 O 3 £1 t n 1 g 3 pa d o d o rJ ri 6 >i c B hJ p rd P CO .a O R p p H P w B P p a o w » 5 a p jdlOB cjodtaox •(o'O) no -qu jo oiu CI w S-l ^n s '; CJ " E=. c5 a 8 a ■eitusioui oitloosojSXu 1-1 in CO "- 1 ° O " M l ~ rH s £ s a S 7! a T»WL R § § s s< <# ci ci ci N « ^ d in CO d d ■* CC © ci t> » •ptaB omoqjuQ ■ptoc ounqdjng o © © o o o o 2' © © o © © © © e © © o © © © © a © o s S ;- " 00 En E^ CO M t^ r ! i 3 © in © S CI CM O o s * o 1-1 CN m -M © d o « © e © © © © c eJ © SI In c£ 3 iinuuiqy 1-1 « ra « ^ *"■ "" eo c- ,H ** "* ^ m c» s CO 3 •OplSO 0UJ9J m L ~ m eo LJ in rt rt ° "" TK "* w ■^ 3 ft d - d o o d © ■~ © © © o © © e d a ' aisoaiinj^ cm o o rt c-; ^1 m s m © © o a o © o o O o ^ © © © o _c © © 3 ■omi'j ° © ° ° o ° r - o o o © © © ° © © c © •upos © © © © © © d d o = i; — d ~. 5 © © © o d d 3 s •qsuiOJi 1-1 *- '-' => "-" CO ■W ^ CJ © l-H © © o o o o © — © © © © « © s o w m ^ s CO '," p: ■* co o If © 8 'Baqis «iqn[og CI LU c " rt © -H *"< ■^ TJ- "• tu Jl! - 1-1 ™ ci CO ■gopisoj ojqiqoeaj co *"■ m * H K •- 1 04 d o •c a 9 > ii-dV o o H a o £ 3 if .a O b rt s-Sis 3 _| .a ~^- 3 *? •9 3 A o o 3| S'g ft M J| 3"B . o ©,M ■s-is ■ id w ~ a a O a P. Iff — ft 3 « a s. is la ft 3) Obi "? b ■? o c-H j2 to 3 5 n c d" o a o ft a J: O 1 « fto a ■ a : 3 < ° a ^ ^ • -=^ s^ : c o " « ■ tCa o" § ; t- „ o m ■ o*5 2 = i? .X % 0- o § = ft s? a &J'_ r r | a si" o o & 3 si si "d « a . *,d s ^ M O c- a . a c = 5 *-= -— ' a ; a o - a S 3 3 is ; ts : a -; a © •- -M ^ ei a ^^ £ Z Z r T t a ■- o O P o -d t- o a a, 3-S <= o to" 11 j a o*P o c — a" a 1 a p 3 c il c e '•oSb 01 of -44* S "^ = S ^= = d ' J£8S o p '5 ; a ! 2 ^ ; t2 ■ o ° - i * i K : & § o © a.t: d*d U, ||1 £ S^ !*§« = k a t£fta * ' - fc" CO 00 ■f ■V _y © © •saqom m qjddQ J cl w i H H 2 a o 1 is o 3 c- C — M O d a a H "ft < c c o :3 o & i o it. 1 * 1 -a o o d p ci* 'ft r2 1 s i o "~* — t- . — d25 .E 'p.'g'S - B rd 3 s^i^ d-d g P Ph ■< - ! a 9 : a S w ©" o r°© r: — © P o«d ?! = CO Q S c_ M -1 o H 2 f- m tog Sg o = 5 s § 1 * P CO Slid «3 P c c e a -a ca a a o 1 1 9 S . . P S a£ "= ft - ^ 3 5 IOJT 's^^ uoqranjj «i « © IC s n •* S „ o CO _, ri 2 - -r © 82 ANALYSES OF SOILS AND SUBSOILS. 73 £ >! ^| £» 1 IS g b p fl ft ft a Pi B d m 6 >, 6 W § H w ft a O J 1-3 ft R O ft 1 p ft ft O 1-5 ft ft ft t- C- N t- CM Oi «i f$ S3 CM IM 1-1 1-1 * H ~ H " c^ CM D» s CO CO CO K s 3 a rt y m CJ s H ea 3 3 IK CO t- u5 o CJ o © d © © © ■=s e o c> s s 3 5 $ (O « t- t- © o o o •* cc CN in rH '- e-t - 1 s © © o o © o © e o rf CJ © o o ft o © d o o » c d* J o © GO ° o ° o « a e s o © © o © CJ o e cS a c ei ■=■ 3 a d o d © d © o o o c t> Poet, red, and black-jack oaks, cedar, aud prairie white oak. Post, red, and black-jack oaks, cedar, prairie white oak. wal- nut, and cane. Post and black oaks, short -leaf pino, haw, crab-apple, and some red oak. Hickory and white oak chiefly. . . ii ■? i SB -r ; S - § : o h « ; B« .5 t . o p. ; a. 5 et OP. 1 ; s © o : £3 -£ : tfl = © o « tc a T3 ■s b« sd : ° 3 m C 01* ■ ■s 2 a o— °-« ft Ja ^■ a ' M ; . : ts ■ >*-, '. -a a ; ?1 ! 1" : "h : b c ( p- m 0" m"3 Sft g^ * F? i & • :=, 'K pah -j2 ^« a "S "=" la |5 S l 31 1 g . *it £^ 0-5 ^ft m &: O ■ fi : , a : • -a . B a 3 .g'ft ".a a *~ .S "0-3 « a a R . ^£ IE *; ^ b3 £? v^ . -Jo g ft-M &. = .= _ ja ra P • a 3 3 gal cja 5 o o ei CO CM co o (., CO CO DO » ea "i T 2 -J 1- ' 4 H >> B g d o H o •s e n S O e & c < to a 3 5 A3 B O to a a to n T3 a 1 6 1 t3 B O > O o el S a" '3 ft g o a .2 < c 1 'Z ft < O a o o |s! PI s p — .2 1*5 © .a o (0 i a 6 d "d 1 ft £ a * S : p ■ c < 1 - to « • "SI'S a O O O - CENTRAL FRAIRIE REGION. Black prairie soil 6 "3 o -d -= B © -S "3 ft M *o .£ "3 ft a . o D O ft M. bl tc S B © B M B o s to a 5 o a a to a M °> P Oft i i s ^ ■3 a p . to 73 fc g O O Ed 10 a EH < '< c c j < c pv 1 i c d qa m -* » Uj y ■S s CM en t- cfc va -v «f, C r- 1-1 d id ?§ 8 C C c ~ CO c ci c -r ^ •«a -1 s IT [- CO P. CM ■- O O "« * - c - O O e c c c c -=> c O O CC' A c c c 00 00 "0 c c c= e> d >. t£ '- t- t~ to to cc c O C r1 O OO CD ^ cc fg & & " e 6 ■"§ O s I § ~ 3 ^ ' 3 11 s O 3 w-s 'Z -d -c -a -a fc- cc cc ?&s CE - ^ b "C -O r; •d "d V - < If S E .2 . C3 - 3 o H 132 Greenish micaceous sands (Cretaceous). Pleasant Kidgo Greene . . . 70. 734 1.102 0.398 0.115 0.899 0.502 0.178 8.457 0.091 0.051 0.789 10.210 90.074 Greensand marl (Cre- taceous). Sumter . . . 57. 017 1.778 1.430 0.118 8.922 0.193 0.101 13. 988 2.101 0.143 0.100 10.028 2.200 1?8 Marengo. - 78. 712 1.195 0.035 0.087 0.859 0.284 0.011 9.192 1.103 0.080 0.051 traces. 0.713 97.928 127 Grrcusrind shell mail (Tertiary). Nanafulia landing ... ....do 35. 018 1.303 2.254 0.340 24. 101 1.017 0.079 12. 324 0.930 0.041 0.310 18.980 0.728 99.000 126 ....do Hendricks, near But- Choctaw . . 05. 005 2.833 1.020 0.085 13.757 0.610 0.029 4.280 0.0S3 0.101 0.100 10. 983 1.393 100. 303 130 ....do Near Choctaw Corner. Clarke.... 62. 329 2.115 0.457 0.252 10. 860 0.705 trace. 2.083 0.139 0.223 0.051 11.154 1.300 100.743 138 ....do Coffee ville landing ....do .... 03.153 1.153 0.372 0.259 14. 491 0.594 0.089 2.149 1.883 0.040 0.104 12. 359 3. 102 99.808 136 Marl, willi greensand (Tertiary). lf> feet above water- level at Claiborne. Monroe . . . 00. 434 1.870 0.033 ' 0.222 15. 390 0.850 0.321 3.807 1.355 0.125 0.117 11.805 2. 832 90.803 135 Claiborne shell stra- tum (Tertiary), Mrs. Gibson's, Clai- borne. ...„„... 45. 877 1.981 0.331 0.498 20. 514 0.065 trace. 2.332 0.709 0.029 0.070 20. 552 1.554 100. 572 337 Soft, white limestone (Tertiary, Jackson). White limestone (Ter- tiary, Vicltsburg). Overlying shell stra- tum at Claiborne. Ninth of Jackson do Clarke.... 28. 394 2.920 0.502 0.077 0.347 , 0.132 34. 952 47. 779 0.743 0.602 0.150 0.053 1.798 1.159 0.090 0.305 0.290 0.623 27. 471 39.000 2.207 4.102 100. 705 146 2.5 (2 3.1 23 99.208 2 Black swamp muck.. . Prattville Autauga.. 51.0 78 0.487 ; 0.205 0.472 0.007 trace. trace. 1.302 0.060 0.290 •44. 674 •90.001 No. 140 was analyzed 84 * Hygroscopic moisture, 18.47; absorbed at 20.5 C.°. by T. W. Palmer; all the others by Henry McCalloy. PART II, AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS COUNTIES OF ALABAMA. 75 85 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS COUNTIES OF ^L^B-A^M^. The counties are here grouped under the heads of the several agricultural regions, previously described, to which each predominantly belongs, or, in some cases, under that to which it is popularly assigned. Each county is described as a whole. When its territory is covered in part by several adjacent soil-regions, its name will be found under 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 test itself. The regional groups of counties are placed in the same order as that in which 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 abstractof the main points of such reports, so far as they refer to natural features, production, and communication. Those portions of the reports referring to agricultural and commercial practice are (in condensed form) placed in a separate division (Part III), following that of the county descriptions. In making the abstracts of these 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 sometimes explanatory words have been added, placed in parentheses. METAMOBPHIC REGION. The following counties lie partly or wholly within the metamorphic region: Cleburne, Bandolph, Chambers, Lee, Tallapoosa, Clay, Coosa, Talladega,* Chilton,* Elmore,* and Macon.* CLEBUENE. Population: 10,976.— Wliite, 10,30S ; colored, COS. Area : 540 square miles. — Woodland, all. Metamorphic, 400 square miles ; Coosa valley, 140 square miles. Tilled land: 51,428 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 9,156 agreatest nuisances. From one-fourth to one-sixth of the land originally in cultivation is now turned out, but by the use of fertilizers such lands can be made to yield nearly or quite as much as when fresh. The slopes or hillsides are readily washed into gullies, and the valleys are injured by the washings of the uplands ; but damage from these causes is being checked or prevented by horizontalizing and hillside ditching. Shipments of cotton are made usually between August 15 and December 26. The crop is commonly sold to merchants in West Point, Georgia, and Opelika, Alabama, and by them shipped to market. TALLAPOOSA. Population: 23,401.— White, 16,10S; colored, 7,293. Area : S10 square miles.— Woodland, all. Metamorphic, all ; but about 100 square miles in the lower part of the county are covered wfth stratified drift. Tilled land: 143,170 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 41,200 acres; in corn, 41,415 acres; in oats, 9,10G acres; in wheat, 14,572 acres ; in tobacco, 21 acres ; in sugar-cane, 41 acres ; iu sweet potatoes, 40S acres. Cotton production : 14,101 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.34 bale, 4SG pounds seed-cotton, or 162 pounds cotton lint. There are no striking topographical features to be noticed in Tallapoosa ceunty. The drainage is all into the Tallapoosa and the three principal tributaries ou the east, Sandy, Blue, and Sougahatchee crce'ks, which have their sources near the water-shed between the Chattahoochee and the Tallapoosa, a ridge traversing Chambers and Lee ■counties. All the bedded rocks of the county are crystalline or metamorphic, and, like all strata of the region of crystalline rocks, lie iu sheets whose outcropping edges have the prevailing- direction of northeast and southwest. The soils derived from these rocks are disposed in parallel belts having the same general direction. Bearing these things in mind, a description of the agricultural features of the county may best be given by naming the soil belts which are crossed in succession in passing through the county from northwest to southeast. As to color, there are two varieties of soils : the red and the gray ; but the latter vary very greatly iu respect to their fertility, as well as in respect to the rocks from which they have been derived, aud in some cases, when derived from granitic rocks, rank among the best in the county. These have commonly a subsoil which is more or less reddish or yellowish in color. The characteristic timber consists of the species of upland oaks, with some short-leaf pine. When based upon siliceous rocks and mica slates, especially when these are very silieeeus, the gray soils are saudy aud have a light-colored sandy subsoil, aud then the prevailing timber is the long-leaf pine, ■with its associates, black-jack and post oaks. Such soils stand low in the scale of fertility. Similarly, there are grades in the fertility of the red and yellow soils. Those derived from hornblendic rocks are of a deep-red color, are rich and strong, and are timbered with the upland oaks — white, red, Spanish, and post. Upon these the long-leaf pine is seldom seen. As has bee» before stated, the red soils are best suited to the grain crops. Another kind of reddish soil, derived from certain varieties of mica and clay slates, has a prevailing timber of small oaks, with very few pines. In addition to the above-named soil varieties there are the usual bottom soils, which are in their nature dependent upon the surrounding uplands, from which they have been washed; but as a rule the bottom soils are rather sandy, and in most cases are more fertile than the uplands. As to distribution, in the northwestern corner of the county there is a small area in which the rocks are thick- bedded and approach granite in structure, aud throughout this regiou the soils are red and gray, with red subsoils, and of rather exceptional fertility. Thence southeastward to Dadeville the country is made up of belts of light-gray sandy soils, timbered with long-leaf pines, alternating with light-yellowish sandy and loamy soils based on mica and clay slates, and supporting mostly oak growth. Subordinated to these are areas of red soils with red or yellow subsoils, but these do not become prominent till Dadeville is passed. Between Dudleyville and Dadeville there is much of this undulating country with oak and hickory growth, but a little northwest of the direct line between the two places ruus a belt of long-leaf pine land with sandy soil, and in places, especially near the Tallapoosa river, in the vicinity of the line of Chambers county, there are deep beds of white sand, much resembling- some parts of the state where the stratified drift forms the surface. Below Dadeville, to the southeastern limit of the county, the red and gray soils, with red or yellow subsoils, prevail, with here and there a belt of sandy pine land. The red and the gray colors are about equally prevalent, and the soils about equal iu fertility where both have the red subsoil. The agricultural characters of these two varieties are well shown in the abstract given on page 82. South of the Sougahatchee creek to the lower end of the county the sands, pebbles, aud loams of the stratified drift overlie all the country rocks, hiding them completely from view;, except in the vicinity of streams. In this part of the county, therefore, these superficial beds are alone involved in the formation of the soils. In some parts ut 82 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. of the region thus covered with the drift there are beds of steatite, which will probably some day be of value. At Tallahassee the rocks cause cascades in the Tallapoosa river, aud these have beeu utilized to furnish the power for oue of the largest cottou factories in the state. The chief cottou soils of Tallapoosa county are the red and gray gneissic soils and some of the lowlands of the river and creeks, aud, in addition to these, the loams of the drift by which the southern portion of the county is covered. A large proportion of the cotton crop is produced iu the southern sections, where there is a prevalence of the above-named soils. Toward the north aud northwest the slaty soils are much less suited to the crop. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORTS OF D. A. G. ROSS, OF CAMP HILL, DANIEL TAYLOR, OF NE"\V SITE, AND JAMES ST. PEARSON, OF DADEVILLE. (The second refers to the region drained by Euiuckfau crock; the othor two to the region of Sandy creek.) About New Site the soils are mostly gray, with subsoils varying from a sandy clay to a rather stiff red clay. Iu the other localities the red and the gray soils are about equal in extent, the gray being, it* anything, rather more abundant. The uplands are preferred for cotton, for the reason that in the lowlands the plant is likely to be late, and therefore to bo killed by frost before maturity. Under aH circumstances the use of ammoniated manures is recommended, as these cause the plant to mature early and escape the danger from frosts. The soils described are — First. Gray soil. This soil makes from one-half to two-thirds of the cultivated lands of the county, and varies in fertility and in other respects with the varying quality of the subsoil, which is sometimes a red clay and sometimes sand or gravel. The timber in the first case is a mixture of oaks aud hickories, poplar, ash, etc. When the subsoil is light, the long-leaf pine becomes a characteristic growth. The average thickness of the top soil is C inches. The underlying granitic rock, from which both soil aud'subsoil are derived, is found at varying depths from the surface. Second. The red soils. These make from one-third to one-half of the cultivated lands of the county, being more widely spread over the southern half. The natural timber consists of oaks and hickories, with very few pines. The top soil is a line sandy to clayey loam, 5 or 6 iuches in thickness, with a subsoil of red clay, and is usually of a darker shade (brown) than the subsoil. The subsoil, as a rule, contains fragments of quartz or Hint, tho underlying original rock being found at varying depths. Of these two soil varieties the gray is best suited to cotton, the red to grain. On the light sandy gray soils the principal oak, which is associated with the pines, is tho black-jack. Third. Not more than one-sixth of the county is bottom lnnd. The bottom soils are generally somewhat heavy, and are of colors and composition varying with the uplands from which they are derived. Their thickness is often great, from 1 to 5 feet. The subsoil is commonly of heavier texture, but lighter in color than the top soil, and i3 underlaid at varying depths by sand, gravel, and granitic and flinty rocks, according to locality. Tillage is easy in light sandy and difficult in heavy red lands, and is easier for all lands in wet than in dry seasons. The chief crops are cotton, corn, oats, wheat, sorghum, sweet potatoes, etc., all being equally well adapted to the soil. The cultivated land is very nearly equally divided between cotton, corn, wheat, and oats. Cottou usually attains a height of from 3 to :U feet, and is must productive when nearly or quite at its full height. It is inclined to run to weed on fresh lands, especially with deep culture near the roots iu wet seasons. Excess of weed can be prevented by shallow cultHre, by toppiug in July, and by the use of commercial fertilizers. Fresh land yields from 500 to 2,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre, the average being, say, 800 pounds; a 475-pound bale requires 1,425 pounds of good and 1,583 pounds of average seed-cotton. The best fresh-land staple rates in the market as middling. The last picking after the bolls are frostbitten is light and inferior. After fifteen years in cultivation, lauds originally thin will yield from 200 to 300 pounds of seed-cotton, but when originally rich tho yield will be from 500 to 800 pounds. It requires from 1,425 to 1,545 |iounds of seed- cotton from old laud to make a 475-pound bale, and more seed-cotton from rich than from thin laud to make a given quantity of lint. Crab-grass, rag-weed, hog-weed, and purslane are most troublesome. One-third of tho old lands are not cultivated; but after several years of rest they produce nearly as well as when fresh. There is not much injury from washings except on coarse gravelly hillsides, which can bo prevented by hillside ditching. Valleys are not hurt by the washings of the uplands unless clay is washed in to cover the soil. The damage from this eouree is usually prevented. The cotton is sent off as fast as it is prepared for the market. Between September and March it is hauled on wagons to tho nearest railroad station, usually to Opelika and Dadeville, and whence sent to different points north and east. The freight varies with the distance, the rate from Camp Hill to Opelika being $1 per bale. CLAY. Population: 12,938.— White, 11,870; colored, 1,008. Area : 610 square miles. — Woodland, all. All metamorphic. Tilled land : 57,972 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 13,921 acres; in corn, 24,503 acres; in oats, 4,834 acres; in wheat, 9,785 acres; in tobacco, So acres; in sugar-cane, 10 acres; in sweet potatoes, 237 acres. Cotton production ; 4,973 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.30 bale, 513 pounds seed-cotton, or 171 pounds cotton lint. One of the most prominent topographical features of Clay county is a high ridge (Blue mountain), composed of siliceous rocks, "which runs northeast and southwest near its western boundary. With the single exception of Talladega creek, all the streams which have their sources in the hills of Clay county flow either southward or westward into the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. Talladega creek rises in the highlands east of this Blue Mountain ridge, and, flowing down the valley soutbwestward for 10 or 12 miles, turns northwest, and, cutting through the siliceous rocks of the mountains which form the western boundary of the county, flows out into the Coosa river across Talladega county. Approximately parallel with this ridge, and G or S miles distant from it toward the east, there is another ridge, which is formed chiefly of mica slates, with which, however, are associated ledges of quartz rock, which give rise to much rough and broken country. Between these two ridges tbere is a valley, which, with some interruptions, extends through the whole length of the county. In its upper portion, near the headwaters of Ketchapedrakee and Talladega creeks, this valley has the name of Fish-Head valley; in the lower part of the county it is called Horn's valley. West of the BIpic mountain (as the western ridge is sometimes called), out to the borders of Talladega county, the rocks of clay are all aluminous slates alternating with strata of quartzite, and the resulting soils are gray, S3 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 83 which are not very fertile. Where the siliceous rocks are most prominent, as upon the higher ridges, the soils are sandy, and support a growth of long-leaf pine; in other places the upland oaks are associated with the pines. The soils of the valley lands above mentioned are of two kinds, red and gray, the former derived from the rocks which contain the mineral hornblende, and the latter from the mica and clay slates. These two varieties are in belts and patches, and it is impossible to give any detailed account of their relative distribution. The country from the eastern foot of the Blue mountain out to the vicinity of Ashland is in general rolling, though rising toward the east, and is made up of many alternations of mica and clay slates with the hornblendic rocks. Perhaps the most widely distributed soil is a brown loam resting on a yellow clay foundation and supporting a growth of red, black, and Spanish oaks, with a few chestnuts and hickories. A soil of this sort was collected near Mr. H. Watts', and the analysis of the same has been given on page 10. The soils of this class are good with favorable seasons, but suffer much from drought. Going eastward, the red color and stiffness of the soils increase, and at Candutchkee they have nearly the color and texture of some of the red valley soils of the adjoining county ot Talladega. This red belt is next followed by a region made up of mica slates, which for great distances presents almost uniform characters. These latter rocks yield a brown soil with red-clay subsoil, and usually contains fragments of the much-decayed slate. The prevailing timber is post, red, and black-jack oaks, with some pines and hickories, the two latter, however, not very numerous. Soils of this kind may be seen from Delta to Hillabee, and probably in the continuation of the same direction to the lower limit of the county. East of the ridge lands between Delta and Ashland, and a few miles below the latter place, there is a belt 4 or 5 miles wide of rather low, gently undulating country, called Flatwoods, covered with a mixed growth of oaks and pine, and having generally a gray and somewhat sandy soil. These flatwoods show a considerable variety as regards the fertility of the soils. Some arc considered almost worthless, being too wet and too rocky for cultivation ; but when good enough for cultivation the soil gives a fair yield, as all the cotton matures and there is no danger of its suffering from drought. Beyond the flatwoods, toward the southeastern corner of the county, there is first a belt 4 or 5 miles in width of grauitic rocks, yielding a gray soil, which is usually quite fertile, and this belt is succeeded in the same direction by clay slates and micaceous and siliceous rocks, which give yellowish and gray clayey and sandy soils of no great value. In wet lowlands there is much of what is called "crawfishy" land, which is worthless unless improved; but by thorough ditching, turning under of green crops, and liberal applications of lime these make very good crops, and the crawfishy character disappears. They are also often much improved by simply allowing the washings from the red lauds to settle over them. Clay county has the disadvantage of being remote from market. The northwestern border of the county, being broken and mountainous, possesses comparatively few sections whose soils are well adapted to cotton production. The bulk of this crop in Clay is hence produced in the southern and eastern parts of the county. In the character of the soils cultivated in cotton Clay resembles Cleburne and Randolph on the one side and Tallapoosa and Coosa on the other, and the remarks there made apply also to the adjacent portions of this county. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF W. W. JENKINS, OF HILLABEE. (This report refers to the drainage area, of Enitochopka, Hillabee, and Hatchet creeks.) The lowlands consist of tirst bottoms, which aro generally sandy, and of gray, black, and yellowish, colors; of second bottoms, which are more or less rolling, containing but little sand, and have gray, yellow, and red colors; and of fkitwoods, a body of laud 12 miles by 8 in extent, mostly with gray, sandy soil, interspersed with patches of black piue-swamp land, with yellowish soil. The flatwoods have a growth chiefly of long-leaf pine, with black-jack and other oaks, some hickory, sweet gum, walnut, poplar, aud patches of crab-appl"e, persimmon, ash, maple, dogwood, alder, etc., on the branches, aud occasionally a bush of cedar. The tlatwoods are of average fertility, and are not droughty. The first bottoms are exceedingly productive; the second bottoms less productive, but surer of a crop than the first bottoms. The uplands consist of several varieties. The table-lands are very productive where hickory is found in abundance. Where the sides of the hills are heavily timbered with oaks, hickory, and poplar, with no uudergrowth, there are many farms, even on steep hillsides, for the soil is always good. Many of the hills aro covered with chestnut, chincapin, aud sassafras, and are not much valued. A large proportion of the pine land is not considered worth cultivating, and many spots of good soil cannot be cultivated because of the great number and size of the rocks which cover the ground. In general, the summits aud southern aud eastern slopes of tke*hills are most heavily timbered and productive. The geuerally mountainous character of this county, with the early fall, late spriug, and usually cool summers, makes the cotton season very short. The caterpillar comes late, and geuerally does more good than harm by exposiug the bolls to the sun. Guano is much tfsed to hasten the growth and maturity of the cotton-plant. The gray lauds, which predominate, are the freest and warmest, and give best returns. The first bottoms are generally too cold, and the weed grows so rank that the plant rots and molds ; they are also too much shaded by the hills. The second bottoms are generally rolling, with no hills so high as to shade them too much. The flatwoods, though the soil is only of moderate fertility, yield good crops, because they are warmer, more exposed to the eun, and are visited by frosts often some weeks later than the other lands. Wet winter and spriug are considered most injurious to the cotton crop, as it takes the land in the flats aud bottoms a long time to dry and become warm. The most prominent characters of the principal soil varieties have thus been giveu. Iu the order of productiveness they would rank about as follows: the best uplands, whether red or gray, are indicated by a growth of numerous long hickory saplings; the black pine- swamp land, when properly drained, is very productive ; while the yellow lands are the poorest of all. The uplands and flats are very easy of tillage, but the bottoms, being wet aud rich, are likely to be overrun with grass, which is hard to manage. The principal crop is cotton, which is cultivated on about one-half of the tilled land. The plant grows to the height of 4 or 5 feet, being most productive at 4 feet. The causes which incliue the plant to run to weed are wet weather, too rich land, too much manure, and too much distance between the plants. Topping is suggested as the best remedy. From 400 to 700 pounds to the acre may be taken as the average yield of the fresh land, and about 1,485 pounds are needed to make a standard bale. The staple from fresh lands is usually better than that from land long in cultivation, since it is not so likely to be stained by the subsoil. After a number of years' cultivation (without manure) the yield is brought down to 300 pounds to the acre, with about the same proportion of lint to seed, but with somewhat inferior fiber, as it is shorter, less oily, and more brittle. The most troublesome weeds are the hog-weed, crab, and "hurrah" grasses. One-fourth of the land formerly under cultivation is turned out. When again taken in, the yellow soils appear to be exhausted ; but the black soils seem to be brought to life by a few years' growth of young pines, and if they have not been burned over and the Btraw been allowed to rot on the ground produce as well a.s ever. The uplands are all more or less easily washed, aud the injury from this source is considerable, When ditching is resorted to, it is to save the uplands, since the lowlands are rather improved than injnred by the washings from the uplands. Where the hillside ditches are properly cut they protect the uplands very effectually. The shipping of cotton begins in September, and is made by railroad, principaliv to Savannah, Georgia, at the rate of §1 per bale. 93 84 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. COOSA. Population: 15,113.— White, 10,050; colored, 5,063. Area: 670 square miles. — Woodland, all. All metamorphic. Tilled land: 80,701 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 26,468 acres; in corn, 29,990 acres; in oats, 5,325 acres; in wheat, 9,735 acres ; in tobacco, 28 acres ; in sweet potatoes, 412 acres. Cotton production: 8,411 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.32 bale, 450 pounds seed-cotton, or 152 pounds cotton lint. The drainage of Coosa county is westward into the Coosa river, with the exception of a small strip along the eastern edge of the county, which is within the drainage area of the Tallapoosa. The water-shed between Paint creek and Weoguflka is a prominent ridge of siliceous rocks, which runs northeast parallel with the course of Paint creek, and very near it. This ridge divides into two nearly equal parts the northwestern quarter of the county, over which prevail soils of a light or gray color and sandy texture, with a timber growth in which the long-leaf pine is always conspicuous and, at times, the principal tree. The underlying rocks, however, from which these soils are derived differ on the two sides of this ridge. Northwestward to the limits of the county these rocks are siliceous and clay slates, with sandstones and a narrow belt of limestone in the extreme northwestern corner; southeastward, over a belt miles in width, the prevailing strata are micaceous slates, usually much disintegrated, and often filled with garnets. In the direction of the river the country is much broken, and the hills bordering the streams are in some instances 400 or 500 feet above the water-level. Where the siliceous dividing ridge above noticed is cut by the Coosa river high cliffs overlook that stream, and near the southeastern limit of this belt, and between Weoguffka and Hatchet creeks, up to the Talladega county-line, steep, high ridges are numerous. Most of these hills are covered with long-leaf pine forests and are uncultivated, but hold apparently inexhaustible deposits of iron ore, which may some day be utilized. Southeast of a line drawn from the month of Hatchet creek to the northeastern corner of the county alternating red and gray soils are distributed over a surface which is, in general, more undulating anil less broken than that just described. The underlying rocks are also different, consisting chiefly of gneisses and granites, and the presence of the mineral hornblende in many of these imparts to the soils derived from them a red or brown color. The subsoils, even of the gray varieties of soil, are mostly of reddish colors, and are usually called red days. Between Bradford and Kockford stretches a belt of granite, which in places may be seen as huge bowlders, resulting from the disintegration of the mass. The resulting soils vary from mulatto-colored to gray, and are of varying degrees of fertility. The timber upon the red soils is chiefly oaks and hickory, and that upon the gray soils the same, with the addition of pine. The short-leaf pine is in places associated with the other trees mentioned both on red and on gray soils, but the lang-leaf pine seems to grow in force only upon the lighter-colored, sandier soils. In the vicinity of the Coosa river, and near the lower line of the county, there is a tolerably wide terrace or river plain, some 150 or 200 feet above the water-level on an average, on which the underlying tocks are mostly hidden from view by the beds of sand and pebbles of stratified drift. In this region the drift alone is concerned in the formation of the soils and subsoils, since the country rocks are exposed only along the banks of the streams, anil the aspect of the country is in nowise different from that which prevails over some of the southern counties of the state. In addition to the soil-varieties above mentioned, there are the usual bottom soils which take their character from the uplands from which they are washed. Over all that region where the soils are closely connected with the stratified rocks angular fragments of the quartz veins, with which these rocks are traversed, are commonly seen on the surface and in the subsoil; but as a general rule these quartz fragments are more numerous upon the gray than on bhe red lands. The red and gray gneissic soils, and those of the lowlands of the various streams, especially of the Coosa river, form the best cotton lands of Coosa county. In the northwestern section the lands are much more broken and the soils less suited to cotton than is the case elsewhere. The superiority of Coosa to some of its neighboring counties in the matter of cotton production is doubtless due to its greater proportion of good river lands. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORTS OF J. C. M'DIARMID, OF GOOD WATER, AND JUDGE J. S. BEN'TLEY, OF ROCKFORD. (Both those reports refer to the lands drained by Hatchet creek, the former to the northeastern part of the county, the latter to the central portion.) The lowlands and bottoms are iu some parts not planted to any great extent in cotton, but in some cases, where they are not too wet, or are rtroperly uuderdrained and fertilized, they are the best cotton lands, since the plant grows to perfection and matures and opens fully before frosts. Iu the bottom lauds there is more depth of soil and more vegetable matter, and consequently the plant never fires or sheds, even in long droughts and when heavily fertilized. The two varieties of upland soils described are the red and the gray (the latter being the gray granitic soil, and not the sandy and siliceous soil prevailing iu the northwestern part of the county). First. The gray land makes about 60 per cent, of the area described. It is timbered chiefly with oaks, hickory, and pines, the latter mostly on the uplands. The top sail is a sandy to a clayey loam of gray and other light colors from 3 to 8 inches in thickness, with a subsoil of heavier texture and usually of a reddish or yellow color, containing angular fragments of quartz or Hint. The snbsoil is mostly quite pervious or leachy. Second. The red soils make up the other 40 per cent, of the uplands, and have the usual oak and hickory growth. The top soil is a clayey loam of yellow, red, and brown colors, 6 or 8 inches in thickness on an average, resting on a subsoil of stiff, tenacious clay, which is of a yellow or mahogany color and rather impervious and difficult to break up at first, but which, on exposure, becomes brittle, and is then easily worked. Tillage is easy on gray but rather difficult on red lauds in dry seasons. The chief crops are. cotton, coru, oats, wheat, sweet potatoes, and sorghum, the soil being best adapted to the production of the three crops first named. From one-third to two-fifths of the land is planted in cotton. Cotton is usually about 'A feet in height w-hen grown, and is then most productive. It inclines to run to weed on fresh lauds and alluvial soils, but this may be prevented by the use of commercial fertilizers. The yield of cotton per acre on fresh land is about 800 pounds, or two-thirds of a 400-pound bale. After fifteen years' cultivation (unmanured) the same land will yield from '200 to 500 pounds only per acre ; but the saoie amount of seed-cotton (1,425 pounds) will be required for a 475-pouud bale. Crab- 04 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 85 ^rasa ia the moat troublesome of all graases and weeds. Perhaps one-half of all the land at any time in cultivation now lies turned out; but the turned-out portion is being rapidly reclaimed, and when reclaimed ia almost aa productive as freah land. In some casee the washings of the slopes or hillaides is very damaging ; but the injury from this source is of no great extent, and consequently no measures have been taken to prevent it. Cotton is shipped generally when a mortgage is foreclosed. The usual point is Opelika, and the rate of freight $1 per bale. Most farmers sell to merchants at the nearest railroad station. TALLADEGA. (See " Coosa valley region ".) CHILTON. (See " Gravelly pine-hills region".) ELMOBE. (See "Gravelly pine-hills region".) MACON. (See " Central prairie region ".) REGION OF COOSA VALLEY AND ITS OUTLIERS. Comprising the whole or a part of the following counties: Cherokee, Cleburne,* Calhoun, Etowah, Saint Clair, Talladega, Shelby, Chilton,* Bibb,* Tuscaloosa,* Jefferson,* Blount,* Marshall,* Jackson,* and De Kalb.* CHEROKEE. Population: 19,108.— White, 1G,41S; colored, 2,090. Area: 000 square miles. — Woodland, all. Coal Measures of Lookout mountain, 150 square miles; Coosa valley, etc., 510 square miles. Tilled land : 88,819 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 21,388 acres ; in corn, 33,373 acres ; in oats, 7,177 acres ; in wheat, 10,085 acres; in rye, 103 acres; in tobacco, 82 acres; in sweet potatoes, 335 acres. Cotton production ; 10,777 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.14 bale, G27 pounds seed-cotton, or 209 pounds cotton lint. The western boundary of Cherokee county runs along the top of Lookout mountain, in many places near its western crest. A belt of varying width along the northwestern edge of the county, but averaging perhaps 5 or 6 miles, is thus made of the sandstones and other strata of the Coal Measures. The soils derived from these are sandy loams of grayish to yellow colors, and the prevailing timber is a mixture of the upland oaks and short-leaf pine. For fruit cultivation these mountain summits have been found to be especially well-suited, as the crop is rarely injured by frosts. Parallel with the southeastern edge of Lookout mountain, and at the average distance of about a mile from it toward the southeast, runs a red-ore ridge through the whole length of the county, and between this ridge and Lookout mountain lies a valley with a yellowish soil of very fair character, similar to that found in Dry valley. The red-ore ridge is of the usual character, sandy on one side and flinty on the other, and has steep slopes. Another similar ridge, called the Dirt-Seller mountain, runs parallel with this from the Georgia line to Bound mountain, on the Coosa river, with one interruption, caused by the Chattooga river. The Dirt-Seller is in reality a V-shaped mountain, with the apes of the "V" just beyond the line in Georgia, one prong (the longer one) terminating at the Bound mountain, and the other (the shorter one) terminating at Gaylesville. The country between these two prongs is known as Dry valley, and is a good farming area, the soils being brownish and yellowish loams. An analysis of a typical soil of this valley has been given in the general part. The country between the Dirt-Seller and the red-ore ridge at the foot of Lookout mountain is in general ridgy land with gray, flinty, gravelly soils. Across the Chattooga river, south from Gaylesville, and reaching into this state a few miles from the Georgia line, there is still another red-ore ridge, called Gaylor's mountain. All this part of the count y, included in a triangle lying north of an east and west line through Bound mountain and Cedar bluff, is mountainous and ridgy, with the ridges and valleys running northeast and southwest; but below that line nearly to the southern boundary of the county the country is comparatively level, a large proportion of it being what is known as Flatwoods, which form a belt 4 or 5 miles in width, occupied by the windings of the Coosa river, and is generally timbered with post oaks and short-leaf pines, with occasionally other oaks. The flatwoods soil is a cold, yellowish-gray .material, sandy in places, and in places very tough and clayey. (See analysis of soil from Saint Clair county, page 20). Probably on account of the level character of the land and its bad drainage the flatwoods are not, as a rule, much in cultivation, though the analysis shows that they are by no means sterile soils. Southeast of the flatwoods belt, to the mountainous region in the lower part of the county, the laud is gently undulating, and the surface soil is sandy and mixed with rounded pebbles of quartz, precisely similar to the pebbles of the drift farther south. This sandy land has a characteristic growth of long-leaf pine with black-jack oaks, the genuine piny-woods timber, and the pine belt extends through the county into Etowah without material change. Both the piny-woods and the flatwoods belts are based upon siliceous and calcareous shales, and where the soil is 95 86 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. not too sandy on the one band (from the overlying drift sands) or too clayey on the other (from the shaly portions of the country rock) it is sometimes very good cotton land. The cutting of pine timber gives occupation to a large number of the inhabitants of this belt, and "log-yards" are established at every convenient bluff along the river. Toward the southeastern edge of the piny woods, where the surface drift has uot so completely covered the country rocks, there are many strips of long-leaf pine land, with soil derived from a siliceous sandstone, alternating "with strips of loamy land derived from calcareous shales, having a growth of post oaks and short-leaf pines. This ■whole area — flatwoods, piny woods, and the mixed land just mentioned — is less generally under cultivation than the other parts of the county. As we approach the southern and southeastern limits of the county the topography becomes much varied, and mountainous elevations, composed of sandstone and chert, rise up abruptly from the general level, making short ridges of 5 to 10 miles in length, and often over 1,000 feet in height above the surrounding country. These mountains are of two kinds, saudstoue and Hint or chert, those formed of the sandstone being the higher and the more important. They inclose coves of red fertile valley land, such as is described under Calhoun and Talladega counties, and alternate in the most irregular way with the flint ridges. The sandstone mountains are timbered usually with oaks and short-leaf pines, while the characteristic growth of the Hint ridges is the loug- leaf pine. Upon these flint ridges lie strewn immense masses of light-gray or whitish chert, and if the soils were much more fertile than they are in reality these Hint fragments would offer serious obstacles to cultivation. In a similar way the sides of the sandstone mountains are covered with huge fragments of that rock. In the coves, and often upon the sides of these mountains and hills, lie the most valuable deposits of brown iron ore, which is worked up at numerous furnaces along the Selma, Rome, and Daltou railroad. This railroad in Cherokee county runs chiefly in coves between the sandstone mountains which occupy the southeast corner of the county. Between this group of mountains and the Coosa valley proper, before described, there is a region of ridgy and valley lands, with good red- and brown-loam soils, based on limestones; and beyond these rises the Wiseuar mountain, a ridge of sandstone, flanked on the eastern side with lower ridges of chert. The Wiseuar is about 6 miles long, and its lower or southern end is nearly in the southwestern corner of the county. The cultivated soils of Cherokee are in general terms to be classed as red and brown loams derived from limestones— gray, flinty gravel soils, which, as a rule, cover the ridges which traverse the valleys, and sandy soils near the river based upon the drift. To these might be added the sandy and flinty soils of the mountains, which are, however, not much in cultivation. The relations of Cherokee county agriculturally are very well shown in the following abstract. The high product per acre shows that the better lands are selected for cotton. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF DR. JOHN LAWRENCE, OF CEDAR BLUFF. The lowlands of the Coosa, Chattooga, and Little rivers, and Terrapin and other creeks, embrace a small proportion of black alluvial soil and close mulatto and coarse white sand in some localities. The uplands comprise the mountainous, hilly, rolling valley and table- lands near these rivers, with pest-oak flats and pine woods, the soils being quite varied, embracing many qualities, and the llatwooda and long-leaf pine sections are almost valueless for cultivation. The river and creek bottom lauds, together with the valley and table- lands, are the most productive. Cotton culture iu the region described has greatly improved within the last few years. "VVet weather in the spring frequently retards planting, and drought in July and August causes shedding. We also have cut-worms and lice in the early stages of the plant, and caterpillars and rust later. The most important soils in the cultivation of cotton are: First. The light mulatto-colored and gravelly lands of the valleys and of the table-lands near the river. These are sandy loams, timbered with oak. hickory, chestnut, short- and long-leaf pine. The lands near the river are rather lighter and more sandy, but more even and of smoother texture than the long-leaf pine soils. These are usually lightly timbered, and are easily cleared and cultivated, but very quickly exhausted ; yet the subsoil in most cases is heavier, and when mixed with the surface soil is greatly improved, especially for cotton production. In both soil and subsoil the brighter the color the better the quality. Second. The ridge lands having usually gray or light-colored soils, with yellowish subsoils, containing angular flinty gravel, and supporting the usual upland growth of oaks aud hickories. Third. The light-colored and mulatto sandy soils of Lookout mountain, with yellowish subsoil, and an upland growth of oaks, hickory, and short-leaf pine. All the soils that are profitably cultivated have subsoils of dull yellow and red colors, usually of finer texture than the surface. In addition to the above there are some valley soils that are considered scarcely worth cultivation. Those are (1) the long-leaf pine lands, which have a thin sandy soil and yellowish to nearly white clayey subsoil in the low grounds, but of darker colors on the elevated lands, frequently covered with rounded pebbles ; (2) the flatwoods, which have a very thin soil, and a subsoil of white or light-gray crawfishy clay, containing in many places flat fragments of the shale from which it is derived. The toil and subsoil are often much alike, containing always more or less lime, aud rotten lime-rocks may be found underneath in most localities. Both the pine lands and flatwoods are burned over every year, and hence there is no accumulation of vegetable matter. All the cultivated lauds are of easy tillage if properly prepared and with favorable seasons. They are rather cold and imperfectly drained as a class, and are well adapted to cotton,' corn, wheat, oats, aud pease. From one-third to two-lifths of the cultivated lands are in cotton, which attains a height of from 2£ to 6 feet, being most productive at ?A feet. The plant inclines to rwn to weed with deep culture aud good seasons, and, to prevent this, in its early growth it should have deep tillage, but afterward tillage should b*» quite shallow. On fresh soils the seed-cotton product per acre, with proper cultivation, varies from 500 to 1,200 pounds, of which 1,425 pounds aro required to make a 475-pound bale, the staple rating as low middling to middling when properly handled. After twenty years' cultivation without:, manure and without rest or rotation the yield would be light, say from 100 to 1,000 pounds, according to the original strength of the laud. Iu these cases the proportion of lint would probably be less and the staple shorter. The most troublesome weed is crab-grass, but briers aud other weeds are often bad. Not more than 10 or 15 per cent, of the originally-cultivated land is turned out, and when this is again taken into cultivation it produces very well, especially if fertilizers are judiciously applied. The rolling lands are quite easily injured by washings, and the damage from this cause is often serious. But little, if any, iujury is done to the valley lands from such washings. The only remedy as yet applied bas been horizontaliziug, and in the few instances where this has been properly done the results have been satisfactory. Cotton is shipped, as fast as prepared for the market, by boat to Rome, Georgia, at about 75 cents per bale. V6 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 87 CLEBURNE. (See " Metamorphic region".) CALHOUN. Population: 19,591. — White, 14,134; coloied, 5,457. Area: G40 square miles. — Woodland, all. Ooasa valley, 010 square miles; Coosa coal-fields, 30 square miles. Tilled land: 93,857 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 2G,435 acres; in corn, 33,714 acres; in oats, S,S52 acres; in wheat, 10,745 acres; in rye, 287 acres ; in tobacco, 29 acres; in sweet potatoes, 283 acres. Cotton 'production: 10,84S bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.41 bale, 585 pounds seed-cotton, or 195 pounds cotton lint. • The western boundary of Calhoun county below Greensport is formed by the Coosa river; above that town by a red-ore, ridge, which enters this county from Saint Clair. The eastern boundary is formed by a continuation of the same mountains which form the eastern limit of Talladega county. These mountains are the highest within the county limits, and the next most important heights are found in the sandstone mountains which traverse the county northeast and southwest, in general east of the Selma, Rome, and Baltou railroad, and at no great distance (G to 8 miles) from the eastern boundary. One range of these mountains extends without serious break from near Cross Plains down to the vicinity of Oxford. At this place there is a gap, and the continuation of the range, under the name of Ooldwn.ter mountain, is fouud on the western side of the railroad. Besides this principal range there are several smaller peaks or spurs ou each side df the maiu body of the mountain. The long range may be called the Jacksonville or Ladiga mountain, and plays an important part iu determining the direction of some of the water-courses of the countj r , the tributaries of Terrapin and Choccolocco creeks having their sources east of this range in the valley between u and the mountain which forms the eastern boundary of the county. The latter stream flows southward down this valley to near the southern line of the county, and then turns westward through a gap and falls into the Coosa; the former, on the contrary, flows northward around the end of the mountain through a similar gap, and thence northwestward through Cherokee county into the river. The other streams of the county rise on the western side of the sandstone range. The valley drained by Choccolocco and Nance's creeks is based on the flinty magnesias limestone, and presents the usual fluted structure — flint ridges, alternating with flue valley lands with red soil. The red soils prevail in the, lower levels, while gray gravelly soils characterize the uneven ridgy lands. West of the mountain range spoken of the country presents the same alternation of flint ridges and red valley lands out to a series of hills of sandstones and other rocks of the Coosa coal-field, which occupies a na.rrow belt of 4 or 5 miles' width near the northwestern boundary of the county. In this intermediate region between the, two mountainous and hilly tracts just specified there is a large area of fine valley land with the usual red and brown soil, resting on red clay loam. The region about Alexandria is of this character, and some, of the most desirable farms iu the county are, iu this belt, which extends through its whole length. The red level lands are, as usual, separated by flint ridges, and all the varieties between the deep-red and the light-gray gravelly soils are to be found. An analysis has been made of a red valley soil from near Jacksonville (see page 22). In the upper part of the county the flint ridges often broaden out, embracing large, areas, which have the usual gray sandy, gravelly soil, changing to yellowish at 2 or 3 inches, and resting on a yellow clay at 3 feet depth. This soil supports a growth of long-leaf pine, with post and Spanish oaks and small hickories. In general, the, flint ridges ot this kind nearly always have a growth of long-leaf pine, and in the northeastern part of the county, where the sandstone mountains and the. Hint ridges are in close proximity to each other, the, former have mostly oak timber, while the latter have the pine. In some instances, however, pine grows also upon the sandstone soils. At the northwestern border of the. county the flint ridge which forms a part of the red-ore range is of different quality, being clothed with oak growth, without pine. The low hills of the Coosa coalfield, while crossing the northwestern corner of the county, have little influence on the topography, as they have been much worn down, and the soils derived from them are, as usual, sandy and rather poor, in striking contrast to the rich red soils of the adjacent valley. The valley lands of Calhoun are usually selected for cotton planting, as is the case in this section generally, and the high product per acre may be taken as indicating the superiority of the soil. The soils of the other counties included iu the Coosa Valley region, viz, Etowah, Saint Clair, and Talladega, are of the same nature as those of Calhoun and Cherokee, and the relations of all these counties to the production of cot-ton are practically the same. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORTS OP DR. S. C. WILLIAMS, OF OXFORD. AND T. \V. FRANCIS, OF CANE CREEK. (The first of these reports refers to the region about the Choccolocco (eastern valley), the second to that about Cane creek (western valley), and both relate to uplands as well as lowlands.) In the. lowlands the, cotton is liable to rust, especially ou old land, say from live to thirty years iu cultivation. The lowlands are therefore better suited to wheat and oats, but good crops of cotton are made ou them when fresh. Formally reasons the uplands are preferred for cotton, especially if the soil is of fair quality, which is generally the case for 10 or 12 years, after which time it usually requires fertilizers. Late springs and early frosts tend to reduce the crop. The most important soil is a reddish or mulatto soil, which makes about two-thirds of the cultivated laud iu the valley. The natural timber on such land is red, black, white, post, turkey, and Spanish oaks, hickory, walnut, etc. The top soil is a gravelly, clayey loam of gray to brown and black colors, about 12 inches thick, with a yellow or red-clay subsoil, which becomes like the soil after cultivation. This mulatto soil grades into a gray soil in the hilly slopes, aud the subsoil of both is a yellow clay, redder in the case of the mulatto soils. This subsoil always contains flinty or cherty gravel, and, iu the red varieties, also pebbles of iron ore. The underlying rock is a limestone, which is reached at from 10 to 50 feet depth. From one-third to one-fifth of the laud, according to locality, is bottom or made land, with a growth of beech, poplar, sweet gum. walnut, hickory, elm, ash, etc. The soil is a saudy or clayey loam from I to 5 feet iu thickness, with a yellowish or bluish-white clayey subsoil, containing flinty pebbles, and resting ou tbe limestone at varying depths. In the vicinity of Cane creek there is a soil variety 7 C P— VOL. II 07 88 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. known as .slate or post-oak land, which is timbered with post oak and black-jack, the top soil of which is a gravelly, in some eases putty- like, material, from 2 to G inches in thickness, and of a whitish color, and the subsoil a soft, black slate, which becomes hard on exposure to tkc air, and is then somewhat impervious. This land is not of much value, being almost worthless after a few years' cultivation. Upon the mountains there is a coarse, sandy soil of a whitish to gray color, 4 to li inches in thickness, with a subsoil which is like the surface soil, but. has more flint intermixed with the white, sandy clay. All rest upon a flinty substratum. This soil supports a growth of long-leaf pine, mixed with black-jack and small trees, is the extreme of the flinty soils, and is found only on the ritjges and mountain slopes. On account of its uneven and knobby character, ( it is liable to wash, and, being rather barren, is not much under cultivation. Land is generally easily tilled in both wet and dry seasons. The chiof productions are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, and rye, and the soil is well adapted to cotton and grain. At least one-half of the land is planted in cotton, which usually grows to a height of 3 foot. Deep culture and wet weather, one or both, cause cotton to run to weed, which can be obviated by shallow tillage and by " topping." Fresh land yields from 500 to 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre, and it requires from 1,425 to 1,545 pounds of seed-cotton to make a 475-pound hale. Cotton from fresh land rates in market a shade higher than that from old land. The latter will not generally produce paying crops unless fertilized. All the best cotton land has been in cultivation from twenty to thirty years. Crab-grass and rag-weed make necessary early and late plowing. The soil does not wash much on slopes or hillsides, but the valleys are rather benefited than injured by the washings from the uplands. Whatever damage may result from rain on the slopes can be readily prevented by hillside ditching. Shipments of cotton are made as fast as the cotton is baled. From Cane creek neighborhood the shipments are by boat to Rome, Georgia, at the rate of 75 cents a bale; from the other side of the county the cotton goes by railroad to Selma, Alabama, or to Rome, Georgia, the freight being the same to cither place, viz, $2 50 per bale. ETOWAH. * Population: 15,398;— White, 12,S96; colored, 2,502. Area: 520 square miles. — Woodland, all. Iu Coosa valley, 250 square miles ; in Wills' valley, 90 square miles: in Murphree's valley, 40 square miles; Coal Measures, 140 square miles (40 on Lookout mountain ami 100 on Sand mountain). Tilled hinrl: 60,780 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 15.187 acres; in corn, 24,S91 acres; in oats, 5,025 acres; in wheat, 7,003 acres; in tobacco, 47 acres; in sugar-cane, acres; m sweet potatoes, 230 acres. Cotton production: 0,571 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.43 bale, 012 pounds seed-cotton, or 204 pounds cotton lint. Etowah county includes portions of two mountain plateaus and three valleys. All these, natural divisions have, a northeastern and southwestern direction through the county. The valley of the Coosa forms the eastern and southeastern parts of the county, and, like most of the valleys of the state which depend upon the geological structure for their existence, is a complex trough, made up of several smaller valleys, divided by ridges. The river with its windings occupies the central part of this valley, which is a gently undulating plain of 5 or miles iu width. This plain is based upon a shaly limestone which yields a clayey soil, usually badly drained, and not generally under cultivation where the limestone is near the surface. In the vicinity of the river, however, these limestones, together with their resulting soils, have, been pretty generally covered with a deposit of loam, sand, and rounded pebbles, and those materials are more concerned in the. formation of the soils than the underlying country rucks. Upon such soils the prevailing timber is long-leaf pine, which follows the river plain throughout the county and into Cherokee. The marginal belts on each side of the main valley are fluted with smaller valleys, separated by flint ridges, and present the usual variety of yellowish clayey and gray gravelly soils, the latter predominating upon the hilly portions and the former upon the more level areas. Another belt of valley land stretches southwest below Gadsden to the county-line and beyond. In this area the sand and pebbles are mostly wanting, and the soils are dependent, altogether upon the shaly rock. This whole region is quite level, and has a cold, yellowish, clayey, badly-drained soil, covered as a rule with its original .timber growth, chiefly of post oaks and short leaf pines, with red, Spanish, and black-jack oaks, and occasionally sweet and sour gums. This belt has the name of " the rlatwoods ", and is comparatively little cultivated, although the natural growth and the chemical analysis, as given on page 20, would indicate a. soil of very fair quality, 'flic trouble seems to be more due to defective drainage, and other physical causes. On each side of this llatwoods belt are found the cultivated lauds of the valley, which are, as usual,"disposod in belts of mahogany land, alternating with the gray gravelly land of the ridges. From the northeastern corner of the county to Gadsden stretches the lower extremity of the Lookout. Mountain plateau, which is capped with the rocks of the Coal Measures, yielding sandy or slightly loamy soils ami supporting a growth of upland oaks and short-leaf pine. From this plateau flows Black creek, making, where it leaves the mountain near Gadsden, a fine waterfall, which is one of the attractions of that vicinity. Parallel with Lookout mountain toward the. northwest, and separated from it by Wills' valley, is the entirely similar plateau of Sand mountain. Beyond Sand mountain a part of the northwestern boundary of Etowah county is formed by Murphree's valley. These two valleys are in all essential respects similar to each other, and their structure is already described at length in the general part. The valley soils are principally of two varieties, the red or yellowish and the gray soils, aud as a rule the former occupy the subordinated valleys between the. chert ridges, upon which the latter are most commonly found. Several analyses of each of these soil varieties have been given in the general description. The sandy soils are chiefly confined to the plateaus of Lookout and Sand mountains. The extreme southeastern boundary of the county is formed by a high cherty ridge, and a similar ridge runs nearly parallel with this and 5 or miles west on the opposite side of the river, terminating at a bend in the river a few miles below Gadsden. Between these is the wide valley of the Coosa. In its relations to cotton culture Etowah corresponds closely to Calhoun, which it adjoins, and the remarks then? made will apply here also. AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 89 ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF W. B. EEESON, OF GREENWOOD. (This report refers to tbe drainage area of Little "Wills' creek.) All classes of uplands produce reasonably well wbeu properly cultivated. As this is near the northern limit of the cotton belt, it is best, in order to escape damage from frosts, to stimulate the plant to early maturity by the use of fertilizers. On bottom lauds liable to overflow there is no cotton planted because of overflow and of early frosts. The soil varieties described are : First. The dark mulatto or mahogany, which makes about one-half of the cultivated lauds of the two Wills' valleys, and supports a- growth of oaks, hickory, chestnut, and walnut. The toj> soil is a sandy loam of a brown to mahogany color, 6 to 1*2 inches in thickness, with a subsoil of heavier clayey texture, resting upon the limestone rocks at varying depths. Second. The gray and dark gravelly lands, which divide the areas of the two valleys about equally with the preceding, and which support nearly the same natural growth. The top soil is lighter both in color and in texture than the preceding, and the same is true of the subsoil ; but the subsoil is heavier and contains more clay, and also, as a rule, contains angular pebbles of flint. Third. The sandy soils upon Sand and Lookout mountains, having the usual characters of the mountain soils. These sandy lands are easily cultivated. Clay is more crusty after rains, and waxy when not so wet. The uplands are rolling, and hence naturally well drained. The chief products are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, millet, sorghum, sweet potatoes, and clover. All kinds of land are titted for corn and sorghum, and all kinds of uplands are suited to cotton. About one-third of the cultivated laud is in cotton, which grows generally to a height of from 3 to 4£ feet, the highest being most productive unless the rains have been excessive. On lowlands, and especially in wet weather, cotton runs to weed; but it is generally thought that the yield is increased by topping the plant in July and August. The seed-cotton product per acre is from GOO to 1,000 pounds. Laud does not seem to be injured by the first four or live years of cotton culture ; indeed, cotton does not exhaust the soil as rapidly as many other crops. Crab-grass is the worst enemy, but is not feared when the crop is worked often and well. Very little laud that was ever in cultivation is turned out. The soil washes on sandy or gravelly slopes, aad on some hilly farms the damage is very considerable, but the valleys are improved by the washiugs from the uplands. There is some hillside ditching to protect the slopes, which is beneiicial when well done. The greater portion of the cotton crop is hauled to Gadsden, some to other towns on the railroad, between October 20 and January 1. Very little is shipped by the producer. SAINT CLAIR. Population: 14,461.'.— White, 11,621 ; colored, 2,S41. Area: 030 square miles. — Woodland, all. Coosa and Caliaba valley lauds, 430 Square miles; Coal Measures, 200 square miles (Coosa field, 150; Cababa field, 50). Tilled land: 65,105 acres. — Area planted iu cotton, 14,735 acres ; in corn, 25,405 acres ; in oats, 4,603 acres : in wheat, 9,841 acres ; in tobacco, 53 acres ; in sweet potatoes, 220 acres. Cotton production: 0,028 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.41 bale, 5S5 pounds seed-cotton, or 1!)5 pounds cotton lint. The northwestern boundary of Saint Clair county is formed by Blount mountain, which is the southern end of one of the prongs of Sand mountain, already known as a part of the coal-fields of the state. In the northwestern corner of the county Chandler's mountain, about miles long and 2 miles wide, is of the same formation. The Coosa coal-field, occupying a belt some 5 or 6 miles in width, ruus nearly parallel with the Coosa river, which forms the southeastern boundary of the county, and at an average distance from it of 3 or 4 miles. In addition to these the northeastern extremity of the Caliaba coal-field runs up into Saint Clair county as far as the latitude of Spring'ville. Between these mountainous or hilly lands, which the Coal Measures always form, lie the main valleys — Coosa valley, between the river and the Coosa coal-field, and Caliaba valley, between the Coosa and Cababa coal- fields. These valleys are themselves complicated by ridges running their whole length, dividing them up into narrow ribbons or subordinated valleys differing widely from each other. It will thus be seen that Saint Clair county presents a great variety in its topographical and other natural features. The topography, soils, timber, and other characters of the Coal Measures are about the. same everywhere, the lands upon the smaller ridges being of two distinct sorts. The red-ore ridges run always parallel to the edge of the Coal Measures, usually less than a mile distant, and are formed of sandstones and eherty limestones, the sandstones being commonly found on one side of the ridge and the chert on the other. These ridges are often high and steep, and form a prominent feature of the landscape. Their characteristic soil is a red calcareous loam. which is specially suited to the production of small grain, but not of cotton, the slopes being usually too steep to permit cultivation to any great extent. Where the red-ore feature is not prominent the chert or flint, which also enters into the composition of the ridges, becomes the characteristic, and the slopes are covered with its sharp angular fragments, the soil thus formed, while very rocky, being quite fertile, as is shown by the luxuriant growth which covers it. In this respect the Bed Mountain chert ridges are, as a rule, to be distinguished from the chert ridges, which are based upon a lower format ion, the former being often called oak ridges, while pine is a characteristic growth of the latter. Between the. red-ore ridges and the Coal Measures there is always a small valley of yellowish or mahogany- colored soil of more than average fertility. This soil is similar to that of the red lands of the valley of the Tennessee, and its composition is shown in the analysis of Dry valley soil from Cherokee county (see page 24). .Next to the. red-ore ridges (toward the center of the valley) the land is at first rather level and of good quality ; then succeeds the eherty, gravelly lands, interspersed with dint ridges of Lower Silurian origin. These have a gray gravelly soil of medium fertility (see analysis of the soil collected near Ashville, page. 22). The red or yellowish valley soil from the same locality is the type of the other class of valley soils. These yellowish soils, like the gray, are more or less mixed with angular flinty pebbles, but occasionally a cove of fertile red laud maybe found inclosed by ridges of the white angular eherty gravel, Clayton cove, just, over the line in Jefferson county, below Spring'ville, being an instance. From Springville northeastward along the line of the Alabama Great Southern railroad there is a level country called the " flatwoods" with cold, yellowish soil, very little cultivated, and mostly covered with its original growth of post oak and pine, and in places with other oaks and gums. This soil is derived from a shaly limestone. . Saint Clair closely resembles the other counties of this section, and, as regards cotton culture here, the. remarks under Calhoun county will apply equally well. y9 90 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. ABSTEACT OF THE EEPOET OF JUDGE JOHN \T. INZEK, OF ASHVILLE. (Tbi.i report refers to tho region of Eig Canoe creek, a tributary of the Coosa river.) Wet, cold springs and summer droughts, more than anything else, injuro the cotton in this region. The soils described are three, viz: First. Gray upland soil, often full of cherty gravel. This makes about three-fourths of the cotton land of the region, but not quite one-half of the valley lauds. The usual timber consists of oaks, poplar, and short-leaf pine. Along the Coosa river the soil is sandier, and long-leaf pine prevails. These are the best cotton lands. The topi soil is a fine sandy loam in the bottoms and a gravelly loam on tho uplands; color, gray; thickness, about :i inches. The snbsoii is a reddish or buff clay, except in the bottoms where it is sandy. It contains angular pebbles of chert or flint, and is underlaid at ".'0 to 2"> feet by a siliceous magnesiau limestone. Second. Red or mulatto upland soil. This makes a little over a half of tho valley lands of the county, but mil more than a fourth of it is planted in colton. since it suits the. grain crops much better. The timber is oak, hickory, poplar, etc. Tin- top soil is a clayey loam of the colors above given, and has an average thickness of 1 inches; the subsoil is also a clayey loam, heavier than i he lop soil, containing angular cherty pebbles, and frequently, also, concretions of brown iron ore. This is underlaid with tho same magnesiau limestone i lial forms the basis of the preceding. Third. The sandy bottom lands. These make only one-tenth of tin- cultivated area, and are found along the Coosa river and Canoe creek. In the former locality there is much long-leaf pine associated with the other growth. The chief growth of the bottom lands is white and red oaks, poplar, and hickory. The top soil is a line sandy loam of a dark-gray color 5 inches in thickness; subsoil heavier, being mixed with some clay. It also contains angular cherty pebbles like tin- others, and rests on the magnesiau limestone at from 6 to 8 feet. Laud is easily tilled in both wet and dry seasons, as it is early, warm, and well-drained. The crops are corn, cotton, oats, and some wheat, but corn and cotton are best suited to the soil. One-half of the cultivated land is planted in cotton, which, Unfertilized, grows 3 and :U feet high, and is generally most productive just before attaining full height. Cotton is inclined to run to weed in wel weather in July and August, which can sometimes be prevented by topping. Fresh lands generally yield sot) pounds of seed-cotton per acre, (. e., two-thirds of a 400-pound bale. The fresh-land cotton is quoted as middling. After 5 years' culture (uumanured) I he yield is from 650 to 700 pounds per acre, and it then requires 1,485 pounds of seed-cotton to the 475-pound bale. Crab-grass is the arch enemy. Not muck laud is turned out ; and when such land is taken into cultivation again it produces for two or three years very nearly or quit e as much as when fresh. The slopes or hillsides are often much injured by rains. Valleys are also injured by the washings of the uplands, which injury is checked on some farms by hillside ditching. Shipments of cotton are made mostly in November, by rail or by steamer on the Coosa river, to Nashville, Selma, Mobile, and New York. The rate of freight to Nashville is 83 per bale. TALLADEGA. Population: 23,360.— White, 10,856 ; colored, 13,504. Area: 700 square miles. — Woodland, all. All Coosa valley and ridge land. Tilled land: 113,389 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 32,841 acres ; in corn, 40,376 acres; in oats, 9,278 acres; in wheat, 13,235 acres; in rye, 143 acres ; in tobacco, 30 acres; in sweet potatoes, 335 acres. Cotton, production: 11,832 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.30 bale, 513 pounds seed-cotton, or 171 pounds cotton lint. Talladega county lies between a range of high hills on the east and the Coosa river on the west. The water- courses, with the exception of Talladega creek, have their sources on the western side of this range, which in part of its course is called Line mountain, and Hows westward into the Coosa. Talladega creek has its headwaters in the mountains beyond the borders of the county, cuts its way through the highest of these, and flows thence south westward into the river. The three principal streams of the county are, beginning at the north, < luoceolocco, Talladega, and Tallasseehatch.ee creeks, which with the smaller streams (Line Eye, Clear, and Cedar creeks) receive all the drainage of the county. The. highest elevations in the county are found in the range which makes the eastern boundary, Line and Eebecca mountains. Next in point of height are the mountains of sandstone of the Lower Silurian age, which occupy the central parts of the county. These mountains, like all made by this formation, consist of detached ranges, which, rising up abruptly from the plains, extend 15 or 20 miles, and then sink down quite as abruptly at the other end, beyond which, after an interval of 5 or 10 miles, another similar range makes its appearance. West of the Selma, Lome, and Dalton railroad, from Choccolocco creek to Alpine station, a distance of 1.5 miles or more, one of the most prorrjineut.of these ranges may be seen. At Alpine the height of one of the peaks is 2,000 feet above the railroad, or 2,495 feet above the sea-level. Northeast of the city of Talladega the peak called Mount Parnassus is a prominent landmark in that vicinity. Eelow Alpine, the. continuation of this range is found on the oilier side of the railroad, and its direction is changed , to south and east, and near its eastern extremity is known under the name of Pope mountain. The lower part of the county is mostly occupied by a number of short ranges and peaks which have the collective name of the Kahatchee hills. Near Childersburg and Coosa bridge these mountains approach quite near to the river. A prominent peak in this vicinity is sou feet in elevation above the river. All the mountains of this character are formed chiefly of sandstone, with some calcareous shales, which, however, never become prominent. The resulting soils are necessarily sandy and of no practical value. Au oak growth covers the sides and summits of all these ranges, but cultivation is out of the (juest on, even if the soils were fertile, on account of the huge masses of rock which form the surface. Upon the summits there is a scanty growth of gnarled and stunted trees, chiefly oaks. Between these mountains and the eastern border of the county, and also between them anil the. river, tire the valley lands, which are far, however, from being uuifotmly level. Eased as they are chiefly upon flinty and magnesiau limestones, these valley hinds are traversed by flinj ridges, which have a direction from northeast to southwest, and which, in the eastern part of the county, lie between narrow belts of valley laud with fertilu ml and brown soi s. These soils and their subsoils are usually filled with angular fragments of Hint, and where this becomes a prominent ingredient the red color disappears, and the soil as well as subsoil becomes gray. The gray lands are commonly lather more broken thau the others, lying frequently upon the sides of the Hint ridges above sp.keu of. The valley lands east of the mountain ranges before described constitute the most attractive part of 100 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 91 Talladega county, and it would be difficult to find anywhere a section which has greater natural advantages than the belt of country lying east cf the railroad as far south as the Kahatchee hills. The timber of this region consists of red, black, white, Spanish, and post oaks, hickory, and gums. Where the soils are of deep-red colorthe subsoil is mostly full of pebbles of brown iron ore, which are sometimes present in quantities sufficient to constitute true ore banks. Where these masses of iron ore cover the surface (even sometimes to the extent of seriously interfering with cultivation) the soil is nevertheless highly fertile. The gray or ridgy lands have a characteristic growth of long-leaf pine, but other trees, especially oaks, are associated with it. West of the sandstone mountains spoken of, and especially iu the vicinity of the river, the chert or flint very much predominates. In this region, which embraces a belt 4 or 5 miles in width along the river from Choccoloceo to Talladega creeks, is a succession of chert ridges, with gray, flinty, siliceous soil, timbered almost exclusively with long-leaf pine, interspersed with lime-sinks. The chert is sometimes accumulated in hills of considerable size, as in Calhoun mountain, near the mouth of Talladega creek, which is at least 350 feet above the river level. In some localities, as northwest of Plantersville, these pine woods are gently undulating, and the cherty fragments only occasionally show above the surface. This whole region, because of tire sterility of the soils, is comparatively uninhabited except along the banks of the very few creeks which traverse it, but it has its value as a range for cattle. Inclosed by these barren flinty hills are occasional coves of excellent land with red calcareous soils. Howell's cove, west of Talladega, may be cited as an example. Iu the region of the Kahatchee hills there are many fine coves of red, fertile soil, hemmed iu on three sides by the mountains. Near the eastern border of the county, below the Kahatchee hills, the beautiful Talladega valley extends quite to the southern limit of the county. In this section is situated the well-known sulphur spring. Of all the watering- places in the state this has the most attractive surroundings. The valley lands of Talladega are well suited to the culture, of cotton, as is shown by the comparatively high product per acre. The low percentage of tilled land iu cotton gives evidence that other crops are more profitable. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORTS OF H. M. BURT, S. M. JE3IISON, AND A. W. DUNCAN, ALL OF TALLADEGA. (These reports are descriptive of the soil varieties oceuiTia^ tbronybout the valley east of the railroad.) The principal -soil is the red valley soil, which makes nearly three-fourths of the cultivated laud of the area described. This is timbered with red, post, and black-jack oaks, hickory, persimmon, and sassafras. The top soil varies from a light, line sandy to a rather heavy clay loam of mahogany to brown and nearly black colors, and is from 1 to 12 inches thick. The subsoil is usually heavier, being mostly a tough red clay, containing angular fragments of liint and rounded pehbles of iron ore. It rests upon lime-rock, which is found at the average depth of 20 feet. A gray gravelly soil makes about one-eighth of the area embraced by the reports, which is timbered with pine, mixed with other trees, such as oaks aud hickory. The top soil is a sandy, gravelly loam, occasionally a clay loam, of a whitish to gray color, with an average thickness of 2 inches. The subsoil is usually heavier and yellowish iu color, containing flinty gravel in quantity, and is underlaid first with sand, and below that with the lime-rock. Still another eighth of the region is made up of the first- and second-bottom lands, which have a growth of beech, poplar, sycamore, iron-wood, sweet gum, etc. The soil is a sandy loam of gray to blackish colors, and some 12 inches iu thickness ; the subsoil a tough clay, hard at first, but becoming soft by cultivation. It also coutaius flinty, angular pebbles, and is underlaid with sand aud the lime-rock at varying depths. Laud is usually easily tilled both in wet and dry seasons. The principal crops are cotton, corn, wheat, aud oats, but the soil is best suited to corn and cotton. From one-third to one-half of the land is planted with the latter, which is generally from 2 to 4 feet hig4i wheu grown, and yields best at or about the full height. Running to weed in wet seasons can he prevented by topping and by the use of acid phosphates. The yield per acre on fresh land is about 1,000 pounds, and from 1,485 to 1,545 pounds are required for a 475-pound bale. Fresh-land cotton rates iu the market as first-class uplands. After ten years' culture there is a falling off of 25 per cent, in the yield, and it then requires from 1,545 to 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton for a 475-pound bale. Crab-grass and hog-weeds arc the most troublesome of all the weeds. About one-fifth of the land is turned out, but such land brought into cultivation again will, with suitable fertilizers, produce good crops. In some places there is serious damage done to the hillsides by heavy rains, but the valleys are rather improved by the washings of the uplands. This damage has been checked to some extent by horizontalizing. The farmers rarely ship their own cotton, but sell it, as fast as it is ready for the market, to the merchants in the little inland towns. These ship it chiefly to Selma, Koine, and Montgomery. The average freight rates are $2 35 per bale. SHELBY. Population: 17,236.— White, 12,253; colored, 4,983. Area: 780 square miles. — Woodland, all. Valley lands, 385 square miles (Coosa and Cahaba) ; Coal Measures, 395 square miles (Coosa field, 235 square miles; Cahaba field, 160 square miles). Tilled land: 5S,550 acres. — Area plauted in cotton, 17,919 acres; iu corn, 26,159 acres; in oats, 4,764 acres; in wheat, 6,294 acres; in tobacco, 10 acres; in sweet potatoes, 340 acres. Cotton production: 6,643 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.37 bale, 528 pounds seed-cotton, or 176 pounds cotton liut. The northwestern part of Shelby county is formed by the Coal Measures of the Cahaba field ; the ceutral belt by those of the Coosa field. Between the two'is the Cahaba valley, and east of the Coosa field is the valley of the Coosa. The eastern edge of the Cahaba field as far south as Helena lias a northeastern and southwestern direction, but below that it turns southward to Montevallo, and thence westward to the line of Bibb county. These Coal Measures have the usual rugged surface and sandy aud not very fertile soils which are. always found in such regions. The whole area is drained by the Cahaba river, which flows southwest the entire length of the county. Tributaries of the Little Cahaba drain the southern edge of this field iu the vicinity of Montevallo. The direction of the main streams in this region has determined the topography. The principal ridges, with their dividing valleys, have a general northeastern aud southwestern trend. T*he Cahaba valley, which is on an average 4 or 5 miles wide, has the usual features of the narrow valleys of central Alabama. It is fluted by a number of ridges with intervening 92 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA depressions running parallel with its length. A flint ridge, with gray, gravelly soil, and with oak and pine, timber, commonly occupies the central portion of the valley, and red-ore ridges, with oak timber ;md red sandy loam and gravelly soils, lie near the two margins. On the eastern side the reel-ore ridge is more or less prominent throughout the length of the county; but on the west it is often wanting altogether, in which respect this valley differs from those lying to the north and west. The subordinated valleys lying between these ridges are based on limestones, which are of varying degree's of purity, and hence the great variety in their soils as to composition and fertility. The two principal varieties are the yellowish loamy soil with red clayey subsoil and the gray soil with subsoil tilled with angular fragments of flint. The analyses given on page 22 of soils from the valley near Ashville. in Saint Clair county, show the character of similar soils in this county. In the lower part of the valley, near Montevallo, there is a great development of deep-red soils, derived from the lower limestones of the valley formation. These are in composition and derivation similar to the red valley soils, of which an analysis has been given under Calhoun county (page 22). The flinty or eherty portions of the limestone near Montevallo lie often upon the surface in huge, masses of most irregular shape, and where this chert prevails the soil is poor and long leal pine abundant. In the. same region is another class of soils derived from gray, greenish, and chocolate-colored shales, of which, however, no chemical examination has yet been made. The soils and other characters of the Coosa coal-field are, in the main, similar to those of the Uahaba held, but the center of the former held is occupied by a, narrow belt of limestones yielding very good yellowish or mahogany soils, like those of Dry valley, in Cherokee county. This limestone belt is a peculiar feature of the Coosa field. The lands of the Coosa valley are, in general terms, like those above named. There is, however, a prevalence of gray eherty or flinty soils near the river which support a magnificent growth of long-leaf pine. South and southwest of Columbiana this pine growth reaches great proportions, and has furnished for many years the fuel of the Shelby furnaces. In the southern part of the county, below the, latitude of Helena, the underlying formations are in many places more or less hidden by the beds of sand, loam, and pebbles of a later period, and the surface soils are in such cases derived from these overlying beds. The, best of these soils is a brown loam, which characterizes the oak upland region of all the lower part of the state, and has been mentioned in some detail in many places. About Columbiana the prevailing soil is a yellowish or buff colored loam, which lies in good position, and is generally under cultivation. Northeast of that town is a small mountain, which incloses some coves of good farming laud. The mountain itself is high, steep, and rocky. While Shelby belongs to the agricultural division of the Coosa valley, it partakes also of the character of the gravelly hills ; hence, while we find a larger percentage of the tilled lands in cotton, the product per acre is less. The soils <»f the latter division, though probably intrinsically poorer as a rule than those of the valley region, are yet perhaps better suited to cotton than to other crops; hence a larger proportion of the former. ABSTRACT OF THE KEPOKT OF T. A. HUSTON, OF WILSONVILLE. (Tins report refers to the drainage area of Yellow Leaf creek anil tlio immediate valley of the Coosa river.) The best cotton land is found on the easy rolling slopes in patches varying in size from 1 to ."> acres. In the flats the plant Her,-, not mature its entire crop in time to escape killing frosts unless highly stimulated with fertilizers ; otherwise, the heavy gray lands -with a yellow-clay subsoil would he our best cotton lauds. (This kind of subsoil does not retain manures well.) The most important cotton soil is atandy loam resting on a red-clay subsoil, which makes perhaps one tillable acre in every six. Its timber consists of oaks, hickory, pine, chestnut, and mulberry. The top soil is a coarse, sandy, and gravelly loam of a light color, about 4 inches in thickness, with a subsoil of red compact clay, stoutly resisting the plow, hardening when exposed to the sun, and an excellent retainer of all manure-,. II contains angular fragments of flint, and this material often lies at the surface as large rocks. At 8 to 40 feet depth is found the flinty limestone of the country. Tin 1 other principal soil variety has been mentioned above. It is a heavy gray soil with yellowish-clay subsoil, but for reasons given it is not cultivated in cotton. Lands are difficult to till in wet seasons. The chief crops are cotton, coru, wheat, oats, sorghum, and potatoes, but the soil is best adapted to corn and oats. About one-third of the land is planted in cotton, which usually grows to a height of :J feet. Late planting or wet weather will cause excessive growth of weed, which can be prevented by shallow plowing. Fresh land produces 450 pounds per acre, and 1,485 pounds will make a 475-pound bale. After live years' cultivation, without manure, the yield per acre is 500 poundswith liberal culture aud favorable seasons, and of this it requires only 1,425 pounds to the 475-pound hale. Generally the older the land (if well cultivated) the better the staple. Perhaps one-third of the land originally cultivated is now turned out; but such lauds taken again into cultivation generally surpass the fresh lands. The soil on the hillsides is washed to a serious extent, and the valleys are sometimes rendered worthless by the washings of the uplands. The damage is checked to some extent by hillside ditching. Cotton is shipped, as soon as ready for the market, by the railroad. Selina is the usual port, the freight to that point being SI per bale. CHILTOX. (See "Gravelly pine-hills region".) cir.B. (See "Gravelly pine-hills region".) TUSCALOOSA. (See "Gravelly pine-hills regions".) 102 JEFFEKSOX. (See "Coal-Measures region".) AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 93 BLOUNT. (See "Coal-Measures region".) MAKSHALL. (See "Coal-Measures regien".) JACKSON. (See " Teunessee valley region".) DE KALB. (See "Coal-Measures region".) COAL-MEASURES REGION. Comprising the whole or a part of Jacksou,* De Kalb, Cherokee,* Calhoun,* Etowah,* Marshall, Madison,* Morgan,* Cullman, Blount, Saint Clair,* Shelby,* Jefferson, Walker, Winston, Lawrence,* Franklin,'* Marion,* Lamar,* Fayette,* Tuscaloosa,* and Bibb* counties. JACKSON. (See "Tennessee valley region".) DE KALB. Population: 12,675.— White, 11,903; colored, 082. Area: 740 square miles. — Woodland, all. Wills' valley, 250 square miles; Coal Measures, 490 .square miles (on Lookout mountain, 100 square miles; on Sand mountain, 390 square miles). Tilled land: 52,090 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 7,409 acres; in corn, 23,929 acres; in oats, 5,113 acres; in wheat, 6,846 acres; in rye, 383 acres; in tobacco, 19 acres; in sweet potatoes, 218 acres. Cotton production: 2,859 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.38 bale, 543 pounds seed-cotton, or 1S1 pounds cotton lint. The greater part of De Kalb county is occupied by the plateau of Sand mountain, a high plain, whose surface rocks are the sandstones and conglomerates of the Coal Measures. The eastern boundary of the county rims northeast and southwest near the crest of the plateau of Lookout mountain, which is in all respects the counterpart of Sand mountain. The two are separated by Wills' valley, which extends through the county from northeast to southwest, near its southeastern border. The highest points of the two mountains are along the edges of the valley which they inclose, and the slopes overlooking the. valley are usually very steep, sometimes high cliffs, continuous for many miles, and almost insurmountable. Upon the mountain-tops the laud slopes gently away from the rims next the valley. Little river and its tributaries drain the Lookout mountain plateau and Town creek that of Sand mountain. Upon the former, near Valley Head, are the beautiful falls of Little river, over 90 feet in height, with a deep rocky gorge below the falls. The mountain soils are somewhat sandy, of a gray to yellowish color, and the timber consists of the usual upland oaks, with hickory, and, in places, short-leaf pine. Their cultivation is of comparatively recent date, the first settlers preferring the valley lands, which were originally more fertile. As the valley lauds have become worn the mountains have been brought under cultivation, and there are now many considerable farms both upon Sand and Lookout mountains. Upon these plateaus fruit trees seem to thrive, and the crop is rarely killed or injured by frosts. Cotton also is here successfully cultivated with the aid of moderate quantities of fertilizers. The analysis of a soil collected on Sand mountain near Valley Head will show the chemical constitution of the average soil of these plateaus (see page 27). The valley above spoken of is about 6 miles in width, and is in reality a complex trough, made up of four more or less well-defined smaller valleys, separated by three flinty or cherty ridges. At. the foot of the mountains on both sides of the valley are narrow valleys, whose soils are yellowish loams of very good quality, resembling in character the .soils of Dry valley, in Cherokee county, of which an analysis is presented on page 25. The other sides of these narrow valleys are bounded by red-ore chert ridges, in which have been found in several places beds of fireclay of exceptionally good quality, and the working of these deposits gives employment to many. The center of the great valley is occupied by a more or less continuous ridge of chert, on each side of which are small valleys based upon the magnesian limestones. Taken as a whole, the valley soils may be classed under three heads: the yellowish or mulatto loams of the valleys proper and sandy and cherty soils of the ridges. The character of the first has already been indicated. The cherty soils vary considerably. The colors are gray to yellow, and the average composition would be near that of the barrens soils of northern Alabama. Where the slopes are not too steep and the surface not too much broken these soils are successfully cultivated. The small chert ridges which lie nearest to the foot of the mountains have, as a rule, on one side sandv and on the other flinty or cherty soils. These ridges are, however, usually so steep 103 94 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. that they are seldom much in cultivation, except near the foot. An analysis of soil from Red mountain, iu Saint Clair county, lias been given on page 24, which will show the general character of these soils. They are nowhere considered good cotton soils, being mostly devoted to wheat and other grain. At Valley Head is the water-parting between the Tennessee and the Coosa drainages, the former by Lookout 1 creek and its tributaries, the latter by Big and Little Wills' creeks. The latter flows near the foot of Lookout mountain, the former near the center of the main valley. De Kalb county is occupied in great part by the two plateaus of Sand and Lookout mountains, upon neither of which is cotton cultivated to any great extent. Cotton culture is mostly confined to Wills' valley; hence the comparativly small percentage of tilled land iu cotton, though the high product per acre attests the superiority of the soils selected for this crop. Cullman and Blount counties present similar conditions. CHEROKEE. (Sec "Coosa valley region".) CALHOUN. (See "Coosa valley region".) » ETOWAH. • (See " Coosa valley region".) MARSHALL. Population: 14,585.— White, 13,084; colored, 1,501. Area : 500 square miles. — Woodland, all. Coal Measures, 375 square miles (253 square miles on Sand mountain ; 140 square miles on the mountain spurs northwest of the valleys); valley of Tennessee, 185 square miles (10 square miles in Brown's and Gunter's valleys, south of the river; 50 square miles in Tennessee valley north of Guntcrsville; 95 square miles coves and slopes of the mountain spurs). Tilled land : 08,175 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 10,412 acres; in corn, 27,113 acres; in oats, 3, 171 acres; in wheat, 5,797 acres ; iu rye, 150 acres ; in tobacco, 48 acres ; in sugar-cane, 51 acres ; iu sweet potatoes, 243 acres. Cotton production: 5,358 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.33 bale, 471 pounds seed-cotton, or 157 pounds cotton lint. Marshall county is divided about equally by a valley which traverses it from northeast to southwest. Tliis valley is a trough cut down through the Coal Measures into the limestones and other rocks of underlying formations. The Tennessee river flows down it as far as Guntcrsville, at which point it turns northwest, cutting through l he rim of the Coal Measures which bounds the valley on that side. Below Guntcrsville the valley extends through Marshall and Blount counties, under the name of Brown's valley. The valley is a complex one, being made up of at least three smaller valleys, separated by ridges of flint or chert, which are parallel to each other. These subordinated valleys have red or brown-loam soils based upon limestone, and are iu general characters similar to the red soils of the great valley of the Tennessee. The valley lands are level or slightly rolling, and have been generally cultivated. Big springs and lime-sinks are numerous and characteristic throughout the whole region. The dividing ridges above mentioned have mostly light-gray soils with reddish or yellowish subsoils, containing angular fragments of chert. The ridge lands are of varying degrees of fertility, supporting a timber growth which often indicates no mean soil, but the steepness of the slopes generally prevents their being brought into cultivation. The valley rim on the eastern side is nearly continuous, but is indented here and there with gaps cut by the creeks which flow down from the elevated land on that side. This tableland or plateau of Raccoon mountain is an elevated, shallow trough, highest at its edges adjacent to this valley on the one side, and to Wills' valley, in De Kalb county, on the other side. The rim on the other side of the valley, below Guntcrsville, is similarly high and abrupt, but in the northwestern quarter of the county the rim has lost by erosion much of its origiiufl height, and its table-land character has in great measure disappeared. Upon all these highlands there is a capping of sandstones and conglomerates of the Coal Measures, and the resulting soils are of the kind described under De Kalb and Jackson counties, where the same formations are found. Marshall county has a comparatively large proportion of valley lands suited to cotton culture. The sandy lands of the Coal Measures have not yet been extensively planted in this crop, although with fertilizers they yield well. MADISON. (See "Tennessee valley region".) MORGAN. (See "Tennessee valley region".) CULLMAN. Population: 0,355. — White, 0,312; colored, 43. Area: 590 square miles. — Woodland, all. All Coal Measures. Tilled land: 20,527 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 1,409 acres; in corn, 10,343 acres; in oats, 1,179 acres; in wheat, 2,509 acres ; in rye, 180 acres; in sugar-cane, 0G acres; in tobacco, 41 acres; in sweet potatoes, 215 acres. Cotton production : 37S bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.26 bale, 372 jiounds seed-cotton, or 124 pounds cotton lint. 104 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 95 Cullman county is situated upon what has been termed the plateau, which is the southern prolongation of the Cumberland tableland. The southeastern boundary of the county is partly formed by Brown's valley, or rather by the high rim of the valley. This high level land extends thence north and northwest to the southern limit of the great valley of the Tennessee, in Morgan county. The table-land is drained partly into the Tennessee and partly into the Warrior river, the line separating the two systems of drainage being near the northern boundary of this county. The South and North Alabama railroad traverses the county, and the following altitudes will show the average elevation: Phelan, 692 feet; Cullman, 802; Milner, 840; Willhite's, 60S feet above tide. Blount Springs, which»is in the valley on the one side, and Decatur on the other side of the county, have the altitudes of 434 and 577 feet, respectively. Geologically, this county is formed of the Coal Measures, and mostly of the lower strata of the same, for the limestones of the sub-Carboniferous formation are exposed above the drainage level in the valleys on each side of the table-land on which Cullman county is situated. The stratified drift, which plays so important a part both in the geological structure and in the soil formation of the counties west of Cullman, is here almost wanting. The soils of Cullman are derived almost exclusively from the disintegration of the strata of the Coal Measures, and vary according as these are sandstones and conglomerates or shales. Cotton is a subordinate crop in all this region, yet experience has recently shown that these light sandy soils with good stiff subsoils respond well to fertilizers and yield very fair crops with a moderate outlay for manures. It is probable that a larger proportion of these lauds is now planted in cotton than ever before. ABSTRACT OF THE EEPOET OF WILLIAM J. DUNN, OF CULLMAN. (This report refers to the billy, rolling, ami table-lamls lying siloug the headwaters of the Warrior river.) This whole region is interspersed with many small streams, all tributary to the Warrior. These streams have very little first-bottom lands, and the whole area is rnueh varied with spots of good and poor land. Warm weather, with occasional moderate rains, ©much the best for growing crops, and for cotton culture the fair uplands are preferred to the low or wet lauds. The most important soil is a light sandy loam, which makes about, 00 per cent, of the county. Of much less importance are the dark sandy loams and the sandy bottoms. The growth upon the uplands consists of post and red oaks, short-leaf pine, chestnut oak, hickory, maple, dogwood, etc. The soil is usually a sandy or gravelly loam, sometimes a heavier clayey loam, of gray to brown colors, and averages 4 inches in thickness ; the subsoil is rather heavier, being a reddish clay mixed with gravel, hard when dry, and underlaid with slate in some places and sandstone in others. Land is easily cultivated in wet aud dry seasons alike, and rarely needs draining. The crops produced are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye, tobacco, sorghum, aud millet. The soil is very well adapted to all these crops, and is specially good for growing grapes, peaches, aud apples. Only about one-fifth of the laud is planted in cotton, which usually grows not more than 3 feet high. Cotton generally runs to weed on lowlands in wet seasons. The seed-cotton product per acre is about- 800 pounds, and 1,545 pounds ore required for a 475-pound bale. ' After five years' cultivation, without fertilizers, the production does not amount to more than 500 pounds per acre. Crab-grass is more troublesome in w-et seasons than it J 1 other weeds and grasses combined. A rest of two years to " turned out" lands is beneficial, but longer rest permits the land to grow up in bushes and sedge-grass. Shipments of cotton are made from November to March, by railroad, to Montgomery, Nashville, and Louisville. BLOUNT. Population: 15,309.— White, 14,210; colored, 1,159. Area: 700 square miles. — Woodland, all. Coal Measures, 460 square miles; valley lands, 240 square miles (Brown's valley, 170 square miles; Murphree's valley, 70 square miles). Tilled land: 0S,S60 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 12,502 acres; in corn, 29,161 acres; in oats, 4,551 acres; in wheat, 10,087 acres; in tobacco, 4S acres; in sweet potatoes, 371 acres. Cotton production : 4,442 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.36 bale, 513 pounds seed-cotton, or 171 pounds cotton lint. The central part of Blount county is formed by the high plateau of Raccoon mountain, which occupies a belt from 8 to 10 miles in width, running from northeast to southwest through the county. On the northwestern side of this plateau is Brown's valley; on the southeast, Murphree's valley. Raccoon mountain faces these valleys with a more or less continuous line of cliffs elevated several hundred feet above the general level, the height, as a rule, diminishing coming southward. The highest parts of the mountain lie along the edges of these valleys, the central part of its plateau being a pretty well defined basin, down which flows one of the main branches of the Black Warrior river. Near this stream the level is somewhat lower than that of the two valleys. The whole of this mountain basin has the sandstones and other beds of the Coal Measures for surface rocks, and the soils derived from them are the usual light yellowish sandy loams, whose average composition is fairly shown by the analysis of a soil from De Kalb county (see page 27). The timber is composed of the species of upland oaks, with hickory and some short-leaf pine. These lands have lately been much esteemed as cotton lands, the use of moderate quantities of fertilizers insuring a good return, and in many places better and more profitable crops have been raised upon this land than upon the intrinsically more fertile valley lands. As pastures aud for the cultivation of fruit, particularly of peaches and apples, this region is equal to any in the state. The fruit crop is rarely, if ever, cut off by frosts. The valleys above mentioned are two deep troughs cut down by denudation into the lower rocks of the geological series. From the circumstance that these valleys have been worn down from the crest of a fold in the strata, the. central parts of the same, while much lower than the mountain rims, are often higher than the country a short distance back from the rim. It thus often happens that the water rising in the valleys makes its way through these rims into the basin of Coal Measures, of which they are a part. Brown's valley, on the northwest, is in reality for most of its length a double valley, Brown's being the western and Gunter's, or Big Spring Creek valley, the eastern. The two are separated by a flint or chert riilge, made up in great part by the siliceous fragments of the sub-Carboniferous limestones. The eastern, or Gunter's valley, has for its basis the limestones of this age, and the soils are the red aud brown loams so prevalent in the great valley of the Tennessee. In the upper part of this valley, near the water-parting between the 96 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. Tennessee and the Warrior rivers, there is a great development of the sandy strata of the same formation (the rock ■which caps the Little mountains in Franklin and Lawrence counties), and the soils are gray or light-yellow sandy loams, timbered with oak, hickory, and short-leaf pine. In Brown's valley the calcareous rocks of a much lower geological formation appear at the surface, but the derived soils are yellowish clayey loam, nut materially different from those of the other valley. Between this valley and the rim of Coal Measures which forms a part of Sand mountain intervenes a ridge of the sandstone just spoken of, and at the western slope of this ridge, and at the foot of Sand mountain, there is a narrow valley of the same limestone, which underlies the eastern or Hunter's valley. The soil varieties, therefore, occurring in this complex valley are numerous, but are essentially of three kinds, viz: the red or brown calcareous loams of the valleys proper, resting on limestones; the flinty or cherty soils of the Hint ridges before named, which are closely related to the soils of the barrens of the region north of the Tennessee river; and. lastly, the sandy soils prevailing on the water-parting previously mentioned. These do not differ materially from the soils of Sand and Raccoon mountains. In the lower part of the valley the Hint ridges above mentioned reach a great height, as may be seen from the following list of elevations above tide: Blountsville, 807 feet : Wooteu's peak, 1,200 feet; another peak (not named), 1,400 feet. Near the lower end of the valley are situated the well-known Blount springs, and to the northwest there is a narrow strip of Sand mountain belonging to this county, as the line follows the Warrior river. Murphree's valley, on the eastern border of the county, is in many respects similar to that just described. In both the rocks of a geological formation much older than that of the Coal Measures appear at the surface and form the soils. Both arc higher than the basins on each side, though the rims of these basins, which form the borders of the valleys, are several hundred feet higher than the valley lands. Murphree's is also a complex valley, being divided by ridges running parallel with its longest dimensions. These, dividing ridges are mostly cherty or flinty, and the little valleys between have the reddish calcareous loamy soils which characterize -the other valleys. Much of the gray flinty-ridge soils, especially where the lands lie well and are not too hilly, produce very lair crops, though they are not generally so much esteemed as the so-called red-clay soils. The southeastern corner of Blount is occupied by a mountain plateau, similar to that making up the central belt of the county, and upon the eastern edge of this mountain runs the boundary-line toward Saint Clair. Cotton culture in Blount county is chiefly confined to the valley lands : heuce the small percentage of the tilled lands in this crop and the comparatively high product per acre. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF GEOR&E D. SIIELTON, OF BKOOKSVILLE. (This report refers to tin- lamls drained by Bi£ Springs Creole, in the eastern or Gamer's valley.) The soils described are, first, the loamy valley soil, which extends up aud down the valley ils whole length. Its timber is beech, walnut, poplar, sycamore, etc. The top soil is a sandy, gravelly, or clayey loam of gray, yellow, brown, and red colors, according (o locality, thickness from 6 to 12 inches, and subsoil a thick loam, becoming under cultivation like the top soil. The subsoil usually contains angular flinty pebbles, and is underlaid at from 3 to 8 feet by limestone. This is the most important soil of Ibis region. Subordinated to it arc, second, the dark gray or mulatto lands, and third, the gravelly, sandy, and era.wiishy lands, both based on sandstone rock. The dark-gray lands have a timber of post and Spanish oaks, hickory, pine, and black gum. Its subsoil is much of tin' same descripf ion. The gravelly sandy lands are timbered with short-leaf pine, maple, chestnut, and sweet gum. The color is whitish to gray ; the' thickness. 1 or 2 inches only ; the subsoil is also light colored. This soil is better adapted to oats and rye, and is very little used in sot ton planting. Tillage is a little difficult in wet weather. The crops are cotton, corn, wheat, etc., but the soil is best adapted to corn and wheat. Only about one-fourth of the laud is planted in cotton, which grows from 2 to b" feet high, and runs to weed on fresh land in wet weather; but this can be prevented by toppiug at the proper time. The usual yield per acre is from 600 to BOO pounds, and it requires 1,1G0 pounds for a 475-pound bale. After five years' culture, without manure, the yield per acre will be from 500 to 6110 pounds, and it reqaires 1,545 pounds of seed-cotton for a 475-pound bale. The staple from such laud is better thau that from fresh la»d. The principal nuisances are Spanish needles and crab-grass. No land is turned out. The soil does not generally wash or gully on the slopea or hillsides. Shipments of cotton are made, mostly in December, by rail to Sclnia aud Nashville, at the rate of S5 per bale. SAINT CLAIR. (See : ' Coosa valley region ".) SHELBY. (See "Coosa valley region".) JEFFERSON. Population: 123,272.— White, 18,219 ; colored, 5,053. Area: 960 square miles. — Woodland, all. Coal Measures, 700 square miles (Warrior field, 630 square miles; Cahaba field, 130 square miles) ; valley lands (Roup's aud Jones' valleys), 200 square miles. Tilled land: 71,959 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 14,220 acres ; in corn, 30,928 acres ; in oats, 4,708 acres ; in wheafc, 10,589 acres ; in rye, 83 acres ; in tobacco, 55 acres ; in sweet potatoes, 504 acres. Cotton production: 5,333 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.38 bale, 543 pounds seed-cotton, or 181 pounds cotton lint. Jefferson county is divided into two unequal parts by a long narrow valley which traverses it from northeast to southwest. Northwest of this valley, and forming nearly two-thirds of the area of the county, are the Coal Measures of the great Warrior field, and southeast the Coal Measures of the Cahaba field. In their natural features the Coal Measures are everywhere more or less alike, usually hilly and broken, and with soils, in the main, sandy 10b' AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 97 and of medium fertility, varying in quality with the underlying rook from which they are derived, which may be shale, sandstone, or conglomerate. The timber varies from that of fair oak uplands to piny woods. The scenery is usually much more varied than either the soils or the natural growth. In striking contrast to these rugged hills is the valley, which is a deep trough and not a simple depression, but fluted with ridges and hollows, which run parallel with its length. The lower part of this trough goes by the name of Eoup's, and the upper part is called* Jones' valley. It varies in width from 4 to 10 or 12 miles, but where widest, in the northern part of the county, it is in reality doubled by the continence of two valleys. The floor of this valley is higher than the general level of the country on each side, and all the creeks rising in it sooner or later break through its mountain rims and flow off into the rugged region beyond. Close to the rim of Coal Measures, on each side of the valley, there is a ridge containing red iron ore, which rises to tire proportions almost of a mountain, first on one side and then on the other of the valley, being rarely of equal height on opposite sides. Between these ridges and the rim intervenes a narrow valley with very fair soils. Between the two red-ore ridges lies the main body of the valley, which is, in its entire length, divided by one (sometimes two) flint ridges, as they .are called, made up mostly of angular fragments of chert, the remnauts of the impure siliceous limestone which forms the basis of the valley. Iu places the flint ridge attains very considerable height, and is usually covered with a growth of post, black-jack, and other upland oaks. The hollows between the ridges are of various qualities — sometimes flat and glady, overgrown with cedars, and not in cultivation because of the proximity of the limestone to the surface ; sometimes gently undulating, and covered with a yellow or mulatto soil, which produces well all the common crops. These latter are the typical valley lauds. Along the slopes of the ridges, and occasionally making up nearly the entire valley, are somewhat broken lands with gray soil and buff subsoil, filled with angular fragments of flint or chert. These varieties all depend upon the varying quality of the siliceous magnesias limestone which usually underlies the central parts of the valley. In addition to the above, there is in places a cold yellowish flatwoods soil, which, because of defective drainage and other physical properties, is seldom in cultivation. Between old Jonesboro' and the railroad station and southward the flint ridge becomes a very prominent feature, as it passes into a sandstone or conglomerate and widens out into a series of rugged hills several miles in width, timbered with long-leaf pine, and wholly uninhabited. These Salem hills extend from the Jonesboro' station southward about miles. The two valleys, separated by the flint ridge, have often distinct names. 'Possum valley lies west of the ridge and Jones' valley east of the same. In several places the red -ore ridge is duplicated on one side of the valley, thus producing additional complications and a greater variety in the valley lands. McAshan mountain is the name given to one of these duplicated red ridges, which is 10 or 15 miles long on the western side of the valley between Jonesboro' and Tannehill. Northeast of Birmingham the valley widens out and eventually divides, one fork taking the name of Murplrree's valley, the other continuing as Jones' valley, the former mostly iir Blount county. The two are separated by a point of the Coal Measures called Blount mountain. The red-ore ridge which follows the edge of Blount mountain southwest of the point of that mountain breaks np in a series of high knobs, which have the general name of Cedar mountains, from the circumstance that the limestone forming the great mass of the hills makes the surface and is covered with a dense growth of cedars. Occasionally, where the red ore and its accompanying sandstones form the summit of the hills, they have received the name of Button mountains, from the great abundance of the "buttons" or segments of the stems of crinoids with which they are filled. At this point of bifurcation of the valley the distance between the Cahaba coal-field on the east and the edge of Sand mountain on the west is some 10 or 15 miles. On the east, near the Cahaba field, is Jones' valley, and on the west, next to Sand mountain, the Back valley, as it is called. Between the two is the broken country before spoken of, formed by the Cedar and Button mountains, and also by the ridges of chert, which are invariably found in all these valleys. The rugged character of this part of the county is still further increased by the fact that the red-ore ridge itself is duplicated from Bed Gap to the county-line, just below Springville. Between this duplicated red mountain and the similar ridges on the west, near the foot of Blount mountain, is Clayton's cove, embracing about 3 or 4 square miles, and hemmed iu on all sides by red ore and flint ridges. The soil in this cove is the mulatto or red valley soil, with its accompanying gray flinty gravelly soil. It is all cleared and in cultivation, and quite thickly settled. Between the base of Blount mountain and its red-ore ridge there is always a valley of greater or less width, according to locality, with yellowish or buff soil based on the sub-Carboniferous limestone. Its character is well shown in the analysis of the soil from Dry valley, in Cherokee county (see page 25). The slopes of the red ridges and the Cedar mountains, where not too steep and where the rocks are not too near the surface, are generally in cultivation. They are well suited to corn and wheat, but not to cotton. A soil of this kind from near Springville, in Saint Clair county, has been analyzed (see page 22). Jefferson county has a large proportion of valley lauds giving high product per acre, upon which alone in this section cotton is usually planted iu any large quantity. WALKEB. Population: 9,479.— White, 8,978 ; colored, SOI. Area: S80 square miles. — Woodland, all. All Coal Measures, but small areas, especially in the western part of the county, are covered with drift. Tilled land: 40,725 acres.— Area planted iu cotton, 8,743 acres ; in corn, 21,S38 acres ; in oats, 2,579 acies ; in wheat, 5,420 acres ; in rye, 81 acres ; iu tobacco, 09 acres ; in sugar-cane, 11 acres ; in sweet potatoes, 325 acres. Cotton production: 2,754 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.31 bale, 441 pouuds seed-cotton, or 147 pounds cotton lint. In the northwestern corner of Walker county there is a high ridge capped with pebbles and sand. This ridge is a water-shed in its entire length iu Winston, Walker, Fayette, and Tuscaloosa counties. From its position in Walker county, and from its general direction iu other counties, it will be seen that the drainage of Walker county is toward the southeast. Near the dividing ridge spoken of the land is high and gently undulating, with a soil and 107 98 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. subsoil derived from the materials of the stratified drift formation, which forms the surface in that park of the county. Near the mouths of the streams which flow into the Warrior river, however, denudation has produced an extremely rugged country, with high, steep hills, and deep ravines between. Near the southern extremity of the county the two forks of the Warrior river, known as the Locust and the Mulberry forks, come together, forming the main river. A part of Walker county lies between these two branches, as the line between Walker and Jefferson counties follows the water-parting. The elevation of this ridge above the river is not far from 275 feet. Close to the river in several places there are high ridges, capped with pebbles, with an elevation of 400 feet above the river level. This is, however, rather an exceptional height, as tin' general elevation of the country between the streams is not much over 200 or 250 feet. In the northeastern part of thecounty, adjoining Blount anil Winston counties, the scenery is rugged, on account of the proximity to the surface of thick beds of hard sandstone and conglomerate, into which the streams have cut their channels. The soils vary with the formations from which they are derived, those in the western corner, being mainly derived from the drift and loam, presenting the usual characters. Over the greater part of thecounty, however, they are derived directly from the sandstones and other rocks of the Coal Measures, and vary with the locality. As a rule, the soils of the Coal Measures are rather sandy and not very fertile; yet there are many areas of very good farming laud, especially in the bottoms and lowlands of the various streams. In the vicinity of South Lowell, 6 miles north of Jasper, occupying perhaps a township, there is an isolated patch of long-leaf pine forest. The abstracts of the reports under Winston and Cullman counties describe soils which are similar to those of Walker. No railroad traverses Walker county, and the long distances to which it is generally necessary to haul the cotton crop in wagons is a bar to its successful production. The yield per acre is very fair, but cotton is planted only on about 20 per cent, of the land. WINSTON. Population: 4,253. — White, 4,236; colored, 17. Area: 640 square miles. — All woodlaud. All Coal Measures, but in the western part of the county these rocks are covered with drift. Tilled land: 17,767 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 2,048 acres; in corn, 8,098 acres; in oats, 579 acres; in wheat, 1,067 acres; in sweet potatoes, 172 acres. Cotton production: 568 bales; average cotton product, per acre, 0.2S bale, 399 pounds seed-cotton, or 133 pounds cotton lint. The main dividing ridge between the waters of the Warrior and Tombigbee rivers runs almost north and south through the entire length of Winston county near its western line. This (the Byler) ridge, in the northwestern part of the county, also divides the waters of the Warrior from ttiose of the Tennessee river, flowing through Big Bear creek. The greater part of the drainage of the county, therefore, is southeast into the Warrior river, the principal streams being Blackwater creek and the Sipsey fork of the Warrior river, with its tributaries, Clear creek, Brushy fork, and Bock creek. On the western side of the Byler ridge are the sources of the Buttahatchie and New rivers, which flow into the Tombigbee, and of Big Bear creek, a tributary of the Tennessee. Although there are in this county no ridges except those formed by denudation, there is a gradual increase in the height of the land going northward from the Warrior river, through Walker and Winston, into the southern part of Lawrence county, where the southern boundary of the Tennessee valley and the northern boundary of the Warrior coal-Held is formed by Sand mountain. The summit of this mountain, where it overlooks the valley of the Tennessee, lias an average elevation above the general level of the latter of 475 or 500 feet. The face of the country throughout Winston county is generally much broken. The map will show a great number of small streams which rise in the northern and western part of the county, and which, by their confluence, form the three or four principal streams mentioned above. The sandstones and conglomerates of the Coal Measures underlie, usually at no great depth below the surface, the whole county. These harder rocks are often underlaid with softer strata of shales, and the action of running water during the rainy seasons is to wear away the softer slates, thus undermining the sandstones, which break oil' in large masses, forming perpendicular cliffs. The, undermining, thus described, causes the formation of overhanging ledges or "rock houses", which are to be found at the head and frequently along the sides of nearly all the ravines leading down toward the water-courses. These rock houses are the localities where the rarest and most beautiful ferns flourish. The creeks and other streams of Winston county have cut their channels down through these sandstones, ami often flow through deep gorges with nearly perpendicular sides. In some instances rapids and waterfalls are produced, the Clear Creek falls being the best known of these. The waters of the creek here pour over two bluffs of conglomerate, each about 30 feet in height, the two being about 300 yards apart. Below the, falls the creek flows down a deep, narrow gorge. These falls rival in beauty many which in other parts of the world are annually visited by thousands of tourists. Over the Coal Measures, iu the western part of the county, are tolerable thick beds of sand, pebbles, and loam of stratified drift age, which form the soils and subsoils. In the eastern parts, however, these beds decrease in thickness, and are almost entirely wanting east of the center, where the soils are in great degree derived from the disintegration of the rocks of the Coal Measures. The soils so derived are seldom very fertile, being usually rather sandy; the shales, however, yield loamy soils, which form sometimes very fair farming lauds. The ridges between the water-courses in this region are not much in cultivation, both on account of tfhe distance to springs of water and on account of the commonly rather thin soils, and the usual growth consists of post, red, and Spanish oaks, chestnut, sour gum, aud in some places short-leaf pine. The farming lands are mostly in the lowlands and in the creek bottoms, where the soil is of greater depth and more fertile. Where the stratified drift forms the surface, there is the usual variety of soils, frequently described in other parts of this report. 108 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 99 ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF F. C. BURDICK, OF HOUSTON. (This report refers to tile region drained by Yellow creek, a tributary of Sipsey fork.) The uplands are preferred for cotton, as it is liable to be late in the lowlands. The three principal soils described are the brown-loam upland soil, the Yellow creek second-bottom brown-loam soil, and the light, sandy bottom soils of Brush and Clear creeks. The 'first makes about seven-eighths of the laud of the region described, and has a natural growth of red, white, and black oaks, hickory, short-leaf pine, chestnut, and poplar. It is a fine, sandy loam of a brown color of an average thickness of 20 inches, with a subsoil of yellowish clay, hard when first exposed, but mixing readily with the surface soil. In cultivation it is almost impervious when undisturbed. This subsoil rests upon hard sand-rock at depths varying from 3 to 7 feet. The brown-loam lands of Yellow creek bottom make a tenth of the region reported upon. The natural timber growth is composed of oaks, poplar, beech, holly, and occasionally spruce pine. The soil is a fine, .sandy loam of mixed brownish to black colors, with a thickness of 2 feet; the subsoil is heavier, a reddish clay, hard, not mixiug readily with the surface soil, and is usually free from pebbles. It is also underlaid at 8 to 12 feet depth by hard sandstone. The light, sandy loams of Brush and Clear creeks have usually a browu color and a thickness of 15 inches. The subsoil is lighter, beiug usually a coarse sand, containing very few white pebbles. The chief crops are corn aud cotton, the latter being best adapted to the soil. About one-fourth of the land is planted in cotton, which usually reaches the height of 3 or 4 feet. Wet, warm weather causes excessive growth of the cotton plant, but this eau generally he remedied by topping the plants. The average seed-cotton product per acre is about 500 pounds, and it takes 1,425 pounds to make a 475-pound bale. The cotton produced ou this land rates iu the market as middling upland. After five years' culture without fertilizers the yield per acre is not more than 300 pounds, aud it requires 1,545 pounds of the cotton thus produced to make a 475-pound bale. The most troublesome weeds are crab-grass and rag-weed. Land is generally benefited by being turned out. The cotton is sold mostly at the nearest railroad station, and is never shipped by the producers. LAWRENCE. (See "Tennessee valley region".) FRANKLIN. (See "Tennessee valley region".) / MARION. (See "Oak and hickory uplands, with short-leaf pine".) LAMAR. (See "Oak and hickory uplands, with short-leaf pine".) FAYETTE. (See "Oak and hickory uplands, with short-leaf pine".) TUSCALOOSA. (See "Gravelly hills, with long-leaf pine".) BIBB. (See "Gravelly hills, with long-leaf pine".) TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION. Comprising the whole or a part of the following counties : Jackson, Marshall,* Morgan, Madison, Limestone, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Colbert, and Franklin. JACK SOX. Population: 25,114.— White, 21,(174; colored, 4,040. Area: 990 square miles — Woodland, all. Valley lands, 500 square miles (190 square miles in immediate valley of the Tennessee; 310 square miles, coves and slopes of the mountain soars north of the river, half of which may be led valley lauds); Coal Measures table lauds, 490 square miles (200 on Raccoon mountain, south of the river, and 290 square miles on the mountain spurs north of the river). Tilled Iniiil : 123,924 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 19,685 acres; in corn, 00,285 acres; iu oats, S,241 acres; in wheat, 10.051 acres; in rye, 347 acres; in tobacco, 99 acres; in sweet potatoes, 592 acres. Cotton production: 0,235 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.32 bale, 450 pounds seed-cotton, or 152 pounds cotton lint. Tin- surface of Jackson county is probably more broken than that of any other county in the Tennessee valley in northern Alabama. The valley down which the Tennessee river flows divides the county into two parts: Raccoon Hill 100 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. mountain on the southeast, and the spurs of the Cumberland mountains on the northwest. It has an average width of about 4 miles, the greater part of this area being north of the river, leaving only a narrow strip on the other side. This valley is based on the rocks of the Lower Silurian formation, which consist of limestones, shaly, aluminous and fiinty,or siliceous. The narrow bottom of the river is usually underlaid with the Trenton limestones, which also sometimes make low bluffs along the banks. The soils derived from these beds are calcareous loams of considerable fertility. Northwest of these lowlands a series of low ridges, 1 or 13 miles in width, run parallel with the course of the river through the whole county. These ridges are made by the flinty or siliceous limestones of the Lower Silurian formation, and are covered with a light-gray soil, usually filled with angular fragments of chert, and support a growth of short-leaf pines and occasional hickories. These soils resemble very much the soils of the barrens, though lerived from entirely different rocks. South of the Tennessee, Raccoon mountain faces the river with a line, of cliffs almost continuous throughout the entire length of the valley, the narrow space between the river bottom and the foot of the mountain being occupied by a ridge of the cherty fragments of the lower sub-Carboniferous formation. Between this Hint ridge and the foot of the mountain there is a narrow valley of very g od reddish and yellowish soils, and where this valley is wide enough and the lauds somewhat level these make excellent farming lands, as might be expected from the fact that they are derived from rocks the same as those which form the basis of the red lands of the. great valley of the Tennessee. Along this line of cliffs the points are few at which the mountain can be ascended, and the roads lead up by gradual slopes or tortuous zigzags cut out along the mountain side. When the top is reached there is the usual piateau, very broad in this case, extending beyond the limits of the county. The monotony of this table- land is relieved by shallow ravines and depressions, along which run the creeks and spring branches. All the streams of this plateau are shed from the higher eastern edge, in De Kali) county, and flow diagonally across the plateau and off from the mountain on the Jackson county side. Where they leave the mountain they have usually cut dee.]), narrow gorges, which present, especially near their heads, wild and picturesque scenes. The height of the table-land is from 1,800 to 2,000 feet above the sea and from 801) to 1,000 feet above the adjacent valleys, ami (lie timber consists principally of the various species of upland oaks, hickories, and short-leaf pines. The soils are light-gray and yellowish sandy loams, the general composition of which may be seen from the analysis of the Sand mountain soil from near Valley Head, in De Kalb county (see page 137). While intrinsically less fertile than many of the valley soils, these are far from sterile, and are now being very generally taken into cultivation by a class of small farmers. The table-lands have long been noted for the excellent pasturage which they afford. The edge of the Tennessee valley on the north side is very irregular, and is deeply indented by coves of nearly level fertile land, which are. underlaid by the rocks which form the basis of both the red and the barren lands (the latter, however, to a very limited exteut) of the counties westward. Some parts are usually also indebted to the mountain limestone formation for their soils, and in this way there are many grades of fertility in lands of these coves. The ridges separating these coves, while decreasing in height toward the river, nevertheless terminate against the river valley in a series of heights with rather abrupt slopes, called the river hills, which are intermediate in level between the valley plain and the main body of the. ridges. Near the river, where denudation has produced its greatest effects, those parts of the ridges which separate the coves have in many places been cut across by side ravines, and are thus more or less completely separated from the main body of the Cumberland table-lands. The river hills are mostly of this character. Farther back, and generally north and northwest of the line of the Memphis and Charleston railroad, it is usual to tind the summit of the highlands between the wafer-courses continuous with that of the great Cumberland plateau of Tennessee. The lower parts of these mountain spurs are usually made up of the calcareous strata of the mountain limestone, while sandstones and conglomerates form the upper parts and the summits. A line of sandstone cliffs near the summits makes the ascent, of these spurs exceedingly difficult, and in I he northern part of the county it is possible to cross the ridges only by making wide detours, following the. courses of the streams, ascending the plateau near their headwaters, crossing the level areas on the top, and making the descent along a parallel water-course. Upon these spurs the soil and timber are the same as those of the summit of IiaccoOD mountain, described above. To recapitulate, the soil- varieties of Jackson county are embraced under the following general heads : 1. The red, brown, and black soils of the hillsides, of the level and rolling lands, and of the river and creek bottoms. The soils of this class are derived from the mountain limestone, the lower sub-Carboniferous, and Uio Silurian formations. They form the great, body of the fertile valley lands, are mostly in a stale of cultivation, and hence from an agricultural standpoint are the most important. They also rank second as to superficial extent. 13. Light-gray siliceous or flinty gravelly soils, covering some of the creek bottoms and some of the slopes near the foot of the mountains, and also forming the flinty or cherty ridges which run parallel to the river on the northwest side. These are derived from the lower beds of the sub -Carboniferous and from part of the Lower Silurian formation. They are less important than any other described. 3. The light-yellowish or gray sandy soils which cover the mountain plateaus on both sides of the river, derived from the rocks of the Coal Measures, are in superficial extent the most widely distributed, and are gradually coming under cultivation. Jackson county, like other counties of northern Alabama which have a substratum of limestones, is noted for the great number and boldness of the springs which break up from the fissures in the limestone. Agriculturally, Jackson resembles Madison, which adjoins it on the. west, though a much smaller proportion of its cultivated land is in cotton; but, on the other hand, a much larger proportion is in grain. ABSTRACT OF T1IE KEPOET OF W. F. HTJBT, OF BELLEFONT. (This report refers to the lands drained by ilutl creek, a tributary of the Tennessee river.) On now lands the cotton grows too long anil is liable to be cut off by frost, but it can safely be planted on beech aud poplar lands v.-ben not too much exhausted by cultivation. The black lands are grass and grain lands, but are not suited to cotton. The most important soils are the red lands with red-clay foundations, the gray creek soils, atrd the barren, gray, gravelly or flinty lauds which lie above overflow. Of these only the first is described iu detail. 110 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 101 The red lauds form about two-thirds of the cultivated area, and, alternating with the gray aud black soils, are found throughout the county. The native growth is black aud red oaks aud hickory on the uplands ; poplar, beech, walnut, sweet gum, aud white oak ou the lower lands. The top soil is a tine sandy or gravelly loam, alternating with a heavier clay loam of brown, mahogany, and red colors, the thickness being quite variable. The subsoil is heavier, and somewhat hard until acted on by rain and air. It generally contains angular, flinty pebbles, and is underlaid at 10 to 20 feet by hard limestone rock. Lands are generally somewhat difficult to cultivate in wet weather. The chief crops are cotton, corn, wheat, etc., and the land seems equally well adapted to all. Perhaps as much as three-eighths of all the cultivated laud is plauted in cotton. The average height of fully-grown cotton is about 3 feet. Excessive rains will make cotton run to weed on rich lowlands, the usual remedy for which is topping. The seed-cotton product varies from 500 to 1,500 pounds per acre, and it requires from 1,425 to 1,060 pounds for a 475- pound bale. This cotton classes as middling. Ten years' culture without manuring reduces the yield from 500 to BOO pounds per acre. The most troublesome weeds are crab-grass, rag-weed, hog-weed, and lamb's- quarter. At this date no land lies turned out, as it is al) needed for cultivation. The slopes are not much injured by washings, and the washings from the uplands are beneficial to the valleys. Shipments of cotton are made, as fast as ready, to Memphis and Nashville, at the rate of about $2 25 r)er bale. MARSHALL. (See " Coal-Measures region ".) MORGAN. Population: 16,428.— White, 11,758; colored, 4,G70. Area: 700 square miles. — Woodland, all. Coal Measures of Sand mountain, 275 square miles; sandy lands of the Little mountains, 140 square miles ; valley lauds, 285 square miles (red lands, 100 square miles ; coves and slopes, 185 square miles). Tilled land: 95,584 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 18,828 acres; in corn, 35,010 square miles; in oats, 4,704 acres; in wheat, 7,005 acres; in rye, 135 acres; in tobacco, 52 acres; in sweet potatoes, 305 acres. Cotton production : 0,133 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.33 bale, 471 pounds seed-cotton, or 157 pounds cotton lint. In going from the Tennessee river southward through Morgan county one would come upon four terrace-like plains, each with a rather abrupt slope toward the north and a gentle incline southward. These plains would be : 1. The river bottom, with its loose, rich, alluvial soil liable to overflow, and for this reason mostly planted in corn, though some parts arc put in cotton. 2. The valley of the Tennessee, which is from 75 to 100 feet above the river level, and which is a nearly level plain with rich red or brown soils, interspersed here and there with small rocky knolls, crowned with dense groves of post oak, black-jack, and hickory. The greater part of this valley, which has the same general characters here as in Lawrence county on the west, is cleared and under cultivation, and the original timber is represented only by these remnants left on the rocky ground. The width of the valley varies greatly in different parts of the county. Thus, for instance, opposite Whitesburg, in the eastern part, it is only a mile or two from the river to the foot of the Little mountains on the south side of the valley, and dowu to the mouth of Flint creek the mountain in many places forms bluffs along the river bank, while, near Decatur it is 6 or S miles wide, and in places still wider. It will not be necessary to repeat the descriptions already given of other parts of this valley in Lawrence aud Colbert counties. 3. From the valley there is an abrupt ascent of 75 to 200 feet, according to location, to the summit of Little mountain, which is capped with a stratum of sandstone belonging to the upper part of the sub-Carboniferous formation. This sandstone has been mentioned somewhat at length under Lawreuce aud Colbert counties, where it occupies a similar position upon Little mountains. This mountain, in its entire length, owes its existence to the protection against denudation afforded by the bed of sandstone. The soils derived from this rock are saudy and not particularly fertile, as may be seen from the analysis of the soil from near La Grange, given ou page 34. Occasionally, where the sandstone has been cut through by erosion, the limestone which lies below it comes to the surface, forming very limy, prairie-like soils, which are very little under cultivation on account of their droughty nature, due to the proximity of the limestone to the surface and the consequent thinness of the soil. These areas, however, make excellent pastures. A large body of this kind of land has been mentioned under Lawrence county. 4. From the, summit of the Little mountains, and overlooking the Tennessee valley, there is a gradual descent, going southward, to the foot of Sand mountain, which makes the fourth terrace above spoken of. The distance across from the summit of the Little mountains to the foot of Sand mountain varies very greatly. Opposite Whitesburg these Little mountains are a mere bench on the side of Sand mountain from one-half to one mile in width, but it widens toward the west, and in the vicinity of Decatur the distance is 10 or 12 miles from the summit back to Sand mountain. The gentle slope going southward is due partly to the dip of the rocks themselves in that direction, but much more is due to erosion, since the slope is greater than the dip of the strata. In the southern part of the valley thus formed between the two mountains, and beyond the sandy slope of the Little mountains, the drainage has cut down into the calcareous rocks which underlie the sandstone of the Little mountains, and the soils produced from the, disintegration of these, rocks vary considerably in character, some being black, prairie-like soils, similar to that of the, prairie of Lawrence county, already mentioned, aud some gray and erawnshy, aud not much prized. From a few miles south of Decatur, up the valley of Flint creek, there is a good deal of this level, sticky, gray land, which appears to be derived from some of the deeper-lying, study, calcareous strata. Along the bases of the northern slopes of the, spurs of Sand mountain there is a mulatto soil of very considerable fertility. From this description it will be seen that the valley between the two mountains, which in Lawreuce county has fertile red aud brown soils similar to those of the Tennessee valley, in Morgan county, is more or less sandy, except where the streams have cut their channels down into calcareous rocks. It is doubtful whether in Morgan county the streams have anywhere (except in the vicinity of jthe river) cut down into the strata which form the basis of the red soils of the Tennessee aud Moulton valleys, and this for two reasons: Erosion has been probably less ill 102 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. effective eastward than westward, and the thickness of the upper sub-Carboniferous beds which overlie the strata in question is very much greater in the eastern than in the western part of the Teunessee valley. Even in the eastern part of Lawrence county the red soils begin to be replaced by the gray and limy soils previously mentioned. The fourth terrace, as has already been stated, is formed by Sand mountain, which is a part of the great coal- field, and capped by the sandstones and other rocks of the Coal Measures, and has always an abrupt slope, and in places a cliff-like slope northward toward the valley, but is nearly level on the top. The height of this summit above the adjacent valley is from 200 to 450 or 500 feet, according to locality, the greatest height being toward the east. In Lawrence and Franklin counties the northern edge of Sand mountain is comparatively little indented, and forms the water-shed between the Warrior and the Tennessee drainages, except in the ease of Big Bear creek. This is the case also in Morgan county as far as the valley of Flint creek. East ward of that point . however, this rim is deeply indented, and its outline against the valley is formed of mountain spurs, separated by deep coves, cut far back into the mountain by the streams. These spurs, like Sand mountain, of which they are a part, are in great measure composed of the, calcareous strata of the mountain limestone, which is the upper group of the sub-Carboniferous formation. Overlying these, and forming the summits both of the spurs and of the main mountain, an 1 the sandstones of the Coal Measures. The northward slopes of these spurs, like thoseof the main mountain, are very steep, and are composed chiefly of limestones, timbered with tine poplar and walnut trees. At the foot of these slopes is usually a strip of half a mile or more in width with mulatto soils locally noted for their fertility. The summits and very gentle southward slopes have commonly sandy soils and a growl li of scrubby oaks and short-leaf pine. The spurs whicli project farthest north have, as a rule, suffered most degradation, and the sandstone lias in many eases altogether disappeared, leaving the limestones as surface rocks. In such cases the usual growth of pine is replaced by cedars. Two of these cedar mountains are situated a few miles southward from Somcrville, one of them forming one of the boundaries of Cedar cove. In the eastern part. of Morgan county one of the spurs (if it may not even be called the main body of Sand mountain) extends quite up to the Tennessee river near the moul li of Flint river, and on the opposite side a ridge, which is the continuation of it, reaches far up northward into Madison county. It will easily be inferred from the descriptions above given that the whole of Morgan county was once formed of the Coal Measures, whose general elevation was that of Sand mountain; that these measures also formed the surface of the adjoining counties in the Tennessee valley; and that all the variety now seen in the topography, geological formations, and soils in tins region has been brought about by the action of running waters, of which the Tennessee and its tributaries are the present representatives, and whicli have worn down the surface very unequally, leaving here a portion with nearly its original height, forming the mountains, and cutting down there another portion into channels, forming the present valleys and lowlands. The soils and productions are similar to those of the counties adjoining. MADISON. Population: 37,025.— White, 18,591 ; colored, 10,03-1. Area: 810 square miles. — Woodland, all. Red valley lands, 300 square miles; barrens, 150 square miles; calcareous mountain slopes, 100 square miles; Coal Measures tablelands, 100 square miles; sandy lands on smaller mountains, 50 square miles. Tilled land: 213,221 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 72,83S acres; in corn, 69,246 acres; in oats, 0,877 acres; in wheat, 12,578 acres; in rye, 174 acres; in sugar-cane, 5S acres; in tobacco, 224 acres; in sweet potatoes, S39 acres. Cotton production: 20,079 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.2S bale, 399 pounds seed cotton, or 133 pounds cotton lint. There are only two geological formations which take any prominent part in the structure of Madison county, the sub-Carboniferous and the Coal Measures : but the former presents three distinct phases, so that the groups of rocks which give rise to well-defined topographical features as well as soil varieties are practically four in number. The lowermost of these groups is composed of highly siliceous or flinty limestones, which, in disintegrating, produce gray, sandy, or gravelly soils ot only medium fertility, called, in comparison with the soils derived from the next highest seiies, "barrens''. The topography of this region is much varied and generally rugged. The limestones which make the next group, though still siliceous, are much less so than those below, and yield soils which are far above the average in fertility. These soils are mostly sandy loams, colored deep-red or reddish- brown with iron, and in some localities, where more calcareous, the color is dark to nearly black, like the prairie soils of middle Alabama. By reason of the comparatively uniform composition of these rocks the surface formed by them is a level or gently undulating plain, dotted here and there with small knolls, composed of the flinty portions of the limestone, and usually covered with a dense growth of oaks and hickories. The great majority of the best farming lauds of the Tennessee valley on both sides of the river are of this character. The next two groups, consisting of the uppermost beds of the sub-Carboniferous formation (called the mountain limestone) and the Coal Measures, are usually associated together, the latter occupying the summits anil the former the sides of the mountain spurs and, in some localities, the valleys between them. It has already been stated that the strata of the Coal Measures yield light sandy loams of gray to yellowish colors and of only medium fertility. The mountain limestone yields a variety of soils — black and limy, mulatto, gray, and light sandy, according to locality and circumstances. All these strata are approximately horizontal, but have a slight dip south and west. That part of Madison county east of Iluntsville is formed of the spurs of the Cumberland mountains (detached peaks, groups, and ridges), the remnants of that great table-land continuous in Tenuessee, but separated here by valleys. The summits of these mountains are nearly level on top, and are formed of the sandstones of the Coal Measures, and the resulting soils are the light sandy loams before mentioned. On account of their great elevation, 000 or 700 feet above the valleys, and their pleasant climate the mountain summits are, when accessible, desirable places of summer resort, Monte Sauo, near Iluntsville, being the summer resilience of many of the citizens of that town. The valleys separating the mountain spurs have mostly calcareous soils, and are derived partly from the mountain limestone, as mentioned, and in the deeper valleys, and those which reach down nearest to the river, AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS. OF THE COUNTIES. 103 from the same beds which make the soils of the red lauds of the Tennessee valley. In the former case the soils are black and sticky, like many prairie soils, but these are not very common. Sometimes they are light gray, crawfishy, and not desirable as farming lands. The mulatto soils of this formation are much the best. As a rule, the soils over the mountain limestone are rather thin, as the rock is commonly found along mountain slopes, and, therefore, is much exposed to washing. The southwestern part of Madison is covered principally by the red or brown soils characteristic of the great Tennessee valley, and it is, taken all in all, the most desirable portion of the county for farming. In general it is level or gently undulating, with a few isolated mountain peaks, which vary the sceneiy. The northwestern part of the county is occupied by the barrens. The line between these and the red lands is very sinuous, and Strips of red land extend far up into the barrens along the water-sheds, in some cases reaching to the state line. On the ether hand, the peculiar soils of the barrens are seen along many of the creeks much farther south than their general limit. This distribution will be sufficiently clearly shown upon the map, and the peculiarities of the three most important soils are well presented in the following abstract. Analyses of red lauds, barrens, and gravelly creek bottom soils from Madison will be found on pages 31 and 33. Madison may be taken as the banner county of the Tennessee valley in the production of cotton, both in the percentage of tilled laud in cotton and in the number of bales produced. The red valley hinds have mostly been long cultivated in cotton and corn, without any adequate return, which accounts for the comparatively low product per acre. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORTS OF THOMAS B. KELLY, OF CLUTTSVILLE, COLONEL W. C. IRWIN, OF HUNTSVILLE, AND GEORGE D. NORRIS, OF NEW MARKET. (The first of the reports subjoined refers to the lands drained by Limestone creek and its tributaries, and describes the red limestone land, the barrens, and the flint gravel lands ; the second refers to the region drained by radian and Spring creeks, near Huntsville, and describes only the red valley soil ; the third relates to the drainage area of Mountain fork and Hester's creek, both tributary to Flint river. The only soil described is the red clay or limestone soil above named.) Th'c uplands aro in most cases better suited than the bottoms to cotton culture, as the plant matures better and is less liable to injury from frosts and wet weather. In good seasons, however, the lowlands will yield a larger crop and a better quality of cotton than the highlands. The most important soil is that of the red lands, which make about nine-tenths of the cultivated land in tbe area embraced by the second report, and about two-thirds of the cultivated area of the other two. The prevailing timber is poplar, walnut, hickory, chestnut, black, post, red, and white oaks, ash, elm, etc. The top soil is a sandy clay loam of brown, red, and mulatto colors, sometimes nearly black. The thickness varies greatly with locality, being 1 or 2 feet deep in the lowlands. The subsoil is a red-clay loam, not impervious, becoming darker, like the top soil, under cultivation, and contains commonly angular fragments of flint or chert, underlaid at a depth of 5 to 10 feer^by soft, reddish-stained limestone rock. The barrens make a third of the area under cultivation near Cluttsville, but they extend thence all through the northern part of the county. The timber is chiefly post, black, white, Spanish, and black-jack oaks. The top soil is a fine sandy loam, becoming sticky and putty-like when wet, has usually a whitish to gray color, and is on an average 8 inches thick. The subsoil is rather heavier, a yellowish-red sandy material, underlaid with a hard-pan impervious to water at 3 to 5 feet. The flinty gravel soil is of limited extent, being found only along the streams. Its natural timber is beech, poplar, sugar maple, and oaks. The character of the soil is indicated in its name ; the color, whitish to gray ; thickness, about 12 inches. The subsoil is heavier, and is of a yellowish to red color, and contains many fragments of flint. At 5 to 15 feet depth it is underlaid with a slaty rock. Land is easily tilled, in dry seasons especially, the principal crops being cotton, corn, oats, etc. The soils are adapted to several crops, but cotton is the chief production, at least half of the cultivated land being planted with it. The average height to which cotton grows is 3 or 4 feet. Deep culture in wet seasons will cause it to run to weed, but this can generally be prevented by shallow culture. The eeed-cotton product per acre varies from 800 to 2,000 pounds, and it requires from 1,425 to 1,600 pounds for a 475-pound bale. After ten years' culture without manure the yield varies from 600 to 1,000 pounds per acre. Rag-weed, hog-weed, yellow-dock, and blackberry bushes are most troublesome. Very little laud now lies turned out. The slopes or hillsides are much injured by washings from rains. This can be prevented or checked by ditching, which is sometimes practiced with success ; but the valleys are generally improved by the washings from the uplands. The cotton is mostly sold to buyers in Huntsville and other places in the county, and very little of it is shipped by the producer. Occasionally shipments are made to Memphis, Ciucinnati, and Nashville, at the rate of li to 1£ cents per pound. Shipments and sales are made from the time tbe crop is ready till January, or later. LIMESTONE. Population: 21,600.— White. 11,637; colored, 9,963. Area: 590 square miles. — Woodland, all. Ked valley lands, 175 square miles ; " barrens," 41S square miles. Tilled land: 129,477 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 44,334 acres; in corn, 44,612 acres; in oats, 4,134 acres; in wheat, 7,561 acres ; in rye, 234 acres; in tobacco, 107 acres; in sweet potatoes, 417 acres. Cotton production: 15,724 bales ; average cotton product per acre, 0.35 bale, 498 pounds seed-cotton, or 166 pounds cotton lint. Limestone county resembles Lauderdale in its geological structure, surface configuration, and soils, and much that has been said uuder that county will apply here. A line drawn from the middle of the eastern boundary of Limestone county to its southwestern corner will divide it into two portions, differing widely from each other. North of this line are the barrens, the extension into Alabama of the highlands of Tennessee; south of the line the lowlands of the Tennessee valley. The. average height of the former above the valley lands is not less than 200 feet, but this increases going northward. The valley lands themselves are some 100 feet or more above the level of the Tennessee river. Immediately adjoining the river are the first-bottom lands, which are not above overflow. These three terraces (if they may be so called) have their distinctive features. The bottom lands proper are nearly level, and have the usual fertile sandy loam soils, which are much better suited to the production of corn than to that of cotton. The valley lands are also nearly level, or only gently undulating, with here and there a rocky knoll covered with timber. The rest of the valley, as already stated, is almost entirely cleared and under cultivation. 8 c P— VOL. II . 113 104 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. The rock underlying this portion of the county is a limestone of sub-Carboniferous age, more or less impregnated in places with chert or siliceous matter. As the rock disintegrates under the influence of the atmospheric agencies the indestructible flinty portions are left, forming the rocky knolls, which are not generally cultivated, but which often form the sites of the farmers' houses. The soils derived from this limestone are clay loams of red, brown, and almost black colors; anil the subsoil is nearly always a heavy, red clayey loam, which assumes the characters of the top soil after cultivation. This rests upon the limestone at depths which vary with the locality, the black soils being those in which the influence of the limestone is most strongly felt. These are the true cotton lands, and yield, when fresh, from 1,0110 to 1,000 pounds of seed cotton to the acre. The timber which still remains upon the rocky knolls is composed of the various species of upland oaks, hickory, ash, gums, etc. These rocky knolls are usually of comparatively small extent. "Nubbin" ridge, however, which seems to have a similar origin, is an exception, for it is quite high and broad, and extends from the near vicinity of the Tennessee river northward to the region of the barrens. The boundary-line between this county and Madison runs along the top of this ridge for many miles. The summit ot the ridge is much less encumbered with the fragments of chert than are most of the rocky knolls of similar origin, and there are upon it, mauv spots of lair cotton land. As a general thing, however, the soil seems to be badly worn, and old fields, gashed with gullies and grown up in briers, are more olten seen than cultivated lauds. On account of the tine water everywhere to be had on the ridge, its pleasant climate, and its elevation, this ridge was once to a greater degree than at. present the place of residence of planters whose farms were situated in the more productive but less salubrious lowlands. The valley lands are bounded on the north by the foot-hills of the highlands, and the line of separation is an exceedingly irregular one. The surface of this transition region is much more broken than that of the valley lands on the one side or of the barrens on the other. In general, the barrens have the characters of a tolerably level plateau, the surface of which has been cut into deep, narrow ravines by the streams. But in this respect the western part of the county is quite different from the eastern. The tributaries of Elk river, on the west, are confined to deep and narrow gorges, and have very little first- and second-bottom lands. In the vicinity of any of these streams, but especially of Elk river, are the river hills, which make a distinct agricultural division. The manner in which they have been formed may be explained by the following considerations: Elk liver Hows down a basin •'! or 1 miles in width, bordered on each side by cliffs, more or less abrupt, of the rocks which form the barrens. The river follows a winding course down this basin, impinging first against the one side and then against the other, leaving ou one side only a narrow strip of bottom lands between it and the cliff. On the opposite side, however, the cliffs are some 3 miles away, and the space between them and the river has been much eroded and is now dotted with hills having sleep sides, sometimes isolated, and covering an area of 25 or 30 acres, sometimes connected together by low ridges. There is very little level land on top of these hills, which are the only relics left of the land degraded by the short tributaiies of the river. The soil of the hillsides is red and quite fertile, and generally in cultivation ; but. the hills have the disadvantage, that the soil is very difficult to retain, as it is liable to be washed away by every hard rain because, of the steep slopes. Such are the river hills, which are much desired as farming lands, notwithstanding the natural disadvantages to which they are. subject. In the eastern part of the county the basins of the creeks are shallower, with gently-sloping sides, and include often considerable bodies of very good land. The upper part of Elk river also has some very good tracts of second-bottom land, the river hills being, as a rule, absent in that section. The fertile areas found in these positions among the barrens are, in all probability, derived from some of the lower and more purely calcareous beds of the generally highly siliceous strata of the lowest division of the sub-CarBoniferous formation. On account of a gentle dip toward the. south, these lower beds, composed in the main of very impure siliceous limestones, while, they form the surface rocks in all the northern half of the county, in the barrens, in the lower half, pass beneath the purer and less siliceous limestones of the upper division of the sub-Carboniferous formation which make the valley lands. This valley limestone, however, is never very thick on the northern side of the Tennessee river, at least as far eastward as Decatur; and along the river banks, and in places also along the smaller streams, the underlying rocks of the barrens are exposed in every cliff. The line of separation of the barrens from the va ley lands is, as before stated, quite irregular, for the rocks of the former along the creek basins reach far down into the va ley, sometimes even to the, river, while, on the other hand, the red soils of the valley may frequent y be found upon the summits of the dividing ridges, reaching up into the barrens for long distances. The town of Atheus stands upon one of these prolongations of the red lands, and in the. northern part of the county there are a few isolated spots of this red land still left upon the higher summits. Agriculturally, Limestone is like Madison county, except that in Limestone there is a smaller proportion of red val'ey land and a larger proportion of barrens. The area planted in cotton yields an average return, although the majority of the lauds are much worn and have had comparatively little help from fertilizers. ABSTKACT OF THE REPORT OF F. II. PEEBLES, OF MOORESVILLE. (Tho region referred to is drained by Piny, Limestone, and Beaver Dam creeks, all tributaries of the Tennessee river.) The two principal soil varietiesdescribed are the red-clay lands and the light, sandy bottom lands ot ihe Tennessee, and only the red lands are mentioned in detail. These form about 00 per cent, of the area reported upon, aud the natural growth is composed of ash, hickory, gum, and species of oaks. The greater part of the timber has been removed aud tho laud brought under cultivation. The top soil is a red-clay loam, as a rule, though other colors arc noticed. The average thickness is 4 inches, and the subsoil is heavier, but of Ihe same general character with the soil. It contains, especially uear the water-courses, rounded aud angular pebbles of quartz and chert. Tillage is easy, except directly after hard rains or in excessively dry seasons. The chief crops are cotton aud corn, aud the soil is about equally well suited to each. A little more thau half of the area is put in cottou, which grows to a height, of from 1 to feet, being most productive at IJ feet. The plant inclines to go to weed during wet fall weather, aud the ouly remedy suggested is topping. The seed-cotton product per acre on fresh land is from 1,0U0 to 1,500 pounds, and 1,780 pounds are required to make a 475-pound bale, the staple from fresh laud rating as middling. After fifty years' cultivation, without manure, the yield is brought down to II0U pounds, with 114 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 105 about the same quality of staple, and about the same proportion between the lint and seed. The moat troublesome weed ia crab-graBB. About one-tenth of the laud originally cultivated is turned out, but when again taken into cultivation it produces very well. There is comparatively little injury from washings, either to the uplands or the valleys. Shipments of cotton are made from October to January, both by steamer and by rail, usually to Memphis or Cincinnati, and the rate of freight is from $i! to &i 25 per bale. LAUDERDALE. Population: 21,035.— White, 14,173 ; colored, 0,802. Area: 700 square miles. — Woodland, all. Barrens, 400 square miles; red valley lands, 200 square miles; gravelly hills, with short-leaf pine, 100 square miles. Tilled land: 102,839 acres — Area planted in cotton, 20,504 acres; in corn, 42,S90 acres; in oats, 4,009 acres; in wheat, 8,475 acres; in rye, 262 acres; in tobacco, 105 acres; in sweet potatoes, 407 acres. Cotton production: 9,270 bales; averagOjCottou product per acre, 0.35 bale, 498 pounds seed-cotton, or 106 pounds cotton lint. To present in a satisfactory manner the topography and soil distribution of Lauderdale county it will be necessary to refer to its geological structure. The entire couuty is immediately underlaid with the rocks of the sub-Carboniferous formation and with the lower strata of the same. These are of two sorts, the upper beds being more calcareous and the lower more flinty or siliceous, and the soils derived from them vary accordingly. All these beds have a gentle slope or dip southward, by which circumstance the lower or more siliceous beds, while forming the immediate surface in the northern part of the county, are in the vicinity of the Tennessee river at considerable depths below the surface, which is formed of the. overlying more calcareous rocks. The areas where these two classes of rocks form the surface differ widely in their topography, soils, and other features. The northern part of the couuty (live-sevenths), formed by the siliceous beds, is an elevated plateau, a part of the highlands of Tennessee; the southern part (two-sevenths), where the calcareous beds make the surface, is a portion of the great valley of the Tennessee. The tirst of these two areas is called the highlands, or barrens, and it may be described as a high plain, much cut up by deep, long, narrow ravines, which extend north and south, and from which branch off other smaller ravines, all occupied by streams dining the winter months. This area becomes more broken and rugged southward, where on the borders of the valley land it is cut up into a maze of hills and ridges, with hollows or coves between, across which — i. e., east and west — it is almost impossible to construct a passable, road. The broken character of the country and the formal ion of the deep, narrow ravines, with nearly perpendicular sides, arc due to the comparatively indestructible rock which lies near the. surface. The disintegration of this rock, which is a highly siliceous limestone, m places almost a Hint rock, gives rise to the formation of the barrens soil, a light gray siliceous soil, which, as compared with the valley soils, is rather poor, but. as analysis and practice both show, by no means merits the name of barrens. The characteristic timber consists of post and black-jack oaks and short-leaf pine. To these are added other trees, according to variations of the soil. Along the creeks and ravines are found the finest white and red oaks, poplars, chestnuts, etc. These lands have always considerable elevation above the sea (250 feet above the level of Tennessee river, increasing toward the north). There is comparative immunity from malarial disease, the soils are more easily worked, and the cotton matures earlier, and gives often a better staple. For these reasons the lauds of the barrens are gradually being brought into cultivation. Analyses of soils of this kind from Madison county have been given (see page 31). Thesecond of the areas above mentioned is known as the valley of the. Tennessee, ar.d constitutes in Lauderdale county a strip of geutly undulating, nearly level land about 100 feet above the river and some 4 or 5 miles wide. The line separating this from the highlands is very irregular, especially in the western part of the county. The valley soils vary from red or brown loams to a dark or nearly black calcareous loam. They are all fertile and stand cultivation well, some of them having been tilled for the past 75 years (practically without manure), and yield at the present day tolerably fair crops. The natural growth consists of the, various species of oaks and hickories, but most of the best lands have long since been denuded of their native forests. The limestone, which forms the substratum of the valley lauds, is, in general, somewhat siliceous, though sometimes quite pure, the less pure or more siliceous portions of the limestone, in disintegrating, giving rise to the formation of rocky knolls, which are usually covered with the original timber, and form agreeable interruptions to the otherwise, somewhat monotonous scenery. On these knolls frequently stand the houses of the planters. A marked feature of the valley region which is underlaid with this limestone is the great abundance of big springs and sinkholes. The drainage of Lauderdale county is all southward into the Tennessee river by streams which have their headwaters in the highlands of Tennessee. Some of them have cut down through the limestones of the country into the rocks of still older formations, though these take no part in the formation of the soils. In the western part of the couuty the calcareous rocks above mentioned are covered with beds of varying thickness of pebbles and sand of l he, stratified drift, formation. Where these beds form the surface, they give rise to the formal ion of soils of the kinds often previously described. A conglomerate or sandstone made of these materials, cemented by iron, is of frequent occurrence in this part of the county. The ridges, which have generally a more or less sandy soil, are timbered with post oaks and short-leaf pines. Some of the springs of the county have a reputation for medicinal properties, the best known of these being Bailey's springs, not far from Florence. West of the town of Florence, in the great bend of the river, is the largest body of valley laud in the county. It is known as the Colbert reservation, and embraces some fine farms. The valley land is said to produce, when fresh, as much as 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton to the acre, and is excelled by few tracts in the couuty. The yield of the better class of barrens in seed-cotton is given at 600 pounds. From the character of the topography, the bottom lands within the region are quite narrow. By tar the greater proportion of the cotton of Lauderdale county is produced upon the red valley lands, which form a good deal less than one-half the area of the county. The product per acre is above the average, and the percentage of tilled laud in cotton is also quite high. 115 106 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. ABSTRACT OF THE EEPOET OF JAMES WILLIAM MORGAN, OF FLORENCE. (This report refers to the valley ]andn and river bottom iu tlio Colbert reservation.) The lowland QOtton is liable to rust and shed in wet seasons, and is more likely to be killed by early frosts than that planted in the higher valley lands. For these reasons very little of the bottom lands is cultivated in cotton in the region under discussion, corn being the universal crop. The valley lauds proper, about 100 feet above the river level, are the cotton lands. The soil varies with the location. The timber consists of hickory, post, black, red, and black-jack oaks, poplar, dogwood, etc. The top soil is a fine sandy or gravelly loam of a yellowish-brown to orange-red color, 12 to 18 inches iu thickness, resting upon a lough reddish-clay subsoil, which, when undisturbed, is quite impervious. It contains numerous angular fragments of Hint or chert, remnants of the siliceous portions of the limestone rock which underlies the subsoil at a depth of 8 to 10 feet on an average. Land is generally easily tilled in dry seasons. The chief crops are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, sorghum, and sweet potatoes, and all these crops are good under favorable surroundings. At least two-thirds of the laud, however, is planted in cotton, wbTrh in very wot seasons is inclined to run to weed ; but this can often be prevented by not plowing too near the plants, and by topping, though the latter is sometimes dangerous. The seed-cotton product per acre when land is fresh is from 750 to 1,000 pounds per acre. This cotton rates as good ordinary to low middling. After five years' culture without fertilizers the yieW per acre is from 500 to OOt pounds, but somewhat less of this is required for a bale. Crab-grass, smart-grass, and careless weeds tiro most hurtful. About one-third of the land is turned out, which, when reclaimed, produces very well if not too much washed. The slopes or hillsides are sometimes seriously damaged by washings; but the valleys are sometimes injured, sometimes improved, by the washings of the uplands — depending on the character of the deposit. Circling and ditching to some extent prevent injury to hillsides from raius. Shipments of cotton are made from November to July, usually by steamboat to Ciueiuuati, the freight to that point boing from $1 to $1 50 per bale. LAWRENCE. Population: 21,392.— White, 12,642 ; colored, 8,750. Area: 790 square miles. — Woodland, all. Bed valley lands, 200 square miles ; calcareous land along mountain slopes and in coves, 220 square miles; saudy lands of Little mountain, 150 square miles; Coal Measures, 100 square miles. Tilled land: 138,034 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 42,803 acres; in corn, 54,043 acres; in oats, 5,091 acres; in wheat, 5,919 acres; iu rye, 117 acres; in tobacco, 105 acres; iu sweet potatoes, 379 acres. Cotton produtiion: 13,791 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.32 bale, 450 pounds seed-cotton, or 152 pounds cotton lint. The plateau of the Warrior coal-field terminates in the lower part of Lawrence county, in a mountain escarpment 250 or 300 feet in height overlooking the Moulton valley. This mountain forms the divide between the waters flowing into the Tennessee and those flowing into the Warrior river. Between Moulton and Courtland there is another range (called the Little mountains) running east and west. This ridge is cut by all the streams flowing north into the Tennessee, and separates the Moulton valley on the south from the Tennessee valley on the north. The county is thus divided into four belts : two with prevailing sandy soils, formed by the two mountain ridges, and two with calcareous soils, occupied by the two great valleys mentioned. The geological formations which enter into the structure ef the county are the sub-Carboniferous and the Coal Measures. The rocks of the latter are found only upon the summit of Sand mountain, and therefore only in the southern part of the county, while the sub-Carboniferous rocks underlie the rest of it. The soils of Sand mountain, like those of the Coal Measures generally, are sandy loams of no great fertility, but, holding well all fertilizers, are coming much into notice lately. The sub-Carboniferous rocks, while mainly limestones, have near the top of the series a bed of sandstone of considerable thickness and of great importance in the topography and soil formation in this and adjoining counties; for the Little mountain range owes its existence to the protection afforded by a capping of this rock against the denuding forces which carved out the two valleys which it separates. The main body of the Little mountains is made up of limestones, which are passed over in ascending the mountain from either side, and it is only the summit that is occupied by the sandstone. The soil derived from this rock is a sandy loam, an analysis of which from La Grange, Colbert county, is given on page 34, and supports the usual growth characteristic of sandy soils, viz, short-leaf pine and post and black-jack oaks. In some places the sandstone is absent over considerable areas on the summit of the mountain, and the underlying limestones make the surface, forming limy or prairie soils. A tract of this prairie land about a mile and a quarter wide and 15 miles long extends along these mountains from the western part of the county a mile or less into Franklin county. This is a level piece of land, mostly uncultivated, but thickly carpeted with grass, through the soil of which in many places the bare limestone rock protrudes. Where the soil is deep enough it is said to be well suited to the cultivation of wheat, which comes to maturity before the dry weather of the summer sets iu ; to other crops this land is not suited, since, on account of the proximity of the underlying rock to the surface, the soil suffers much from drought. Throughout this prairie are scattered groups of trees, which afford good shade to cattle, and thus enhance the value of the land as pasture grounds. The characteristic growth is persimmon, haw, cedar, gum, and honey -locust. Along the sides of the mountain it is not uncommon to find narrow ledges with level surface of this kind of soil. Loth the great valleys in this couuty have flinty limestones for a substratum, and the soils and topography are determined by these rocks. The valley in which. Moulton is situated is about 5 miles wide, and extends nearly through the county, merging into the mountain lands toward the east, but being more open toward the west. The valley of the Tennessee has the same general characters, but is wider and muck more uniform in its features, and is, iu general, a level plain with a red sandy loam soil of great natural fertility. The greater part of this plain is under cultivation, but the cleared hinds are dotted here and there with beautiful groves of hickory and oaks, which cover the rocky knolls made by the disintegration of the more siliceous portions of the valley limestone. As already stated, these knolls are often selected as building spots, and many of them are adonned with handsome houses. Toward the river the valley limestone thins out, and along the banks of that stream the siliceous rocks which underlie it are exposed in bluffs of considerable height. The general level of the great vallej may be put at about 100 feet above the river. The Tennessee bottom lands are loose saudy loams, very productive, but in general better suited to the production of corn than to that of cotton, no AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 107 The outline of the Little mountains against the Tennessee valley is very irregular, and is a succession of projecting mountain spurs, often with a face of nearly perpendicular cliffs, alternating with limestone coves. Near the heads of these coves are sometimes found scenes of great wildness and beauty. In all the valley the lands are much worn from continuous cultivation, without return. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORTS OF COLONEL JAMES E. SAUNDERS AND DR. F. W. SYKES, ©F TOWN CREEK. (The region described ia that drained by Town and Big Nance creeks.) This region is less liable to bo visited by the caterpillar, and is also less liable to failures of the cotton crop by reason of wet weather than are the cotton lands farther south. On account of the sandy nature of the soil the crops mature better in the Tennessee walley than in regions with a different soil. Better average crops are made here than in the rich black canebrake belt farther south. The chief soils of the valley are the level, uplands, the sandy creek bottoms, and dark sandy bottom lands of the Tennessee river. Of these only the first will be described ifi detail. This forms nine-tenths of the cultivated lands of the valley, and was originally timbered with post oak and hickory, and some black-jack oak ; later a growth of red oaks has Bprung up. Tie top soil is a fine sandy ferruginous loam of a mahogany to reddish color, with an average thickness of (i inches. The subsoil is heavier, being a clayey loam of a dark-red color. It bakes hard when plowed too wet ; yet it crumbles readily when exposed to the rain, and holds fragments Of chert, rounded and angular, and full of the impressions of fossils. The subsoil is underlaid with a limestone rock at 10 to 20 feet depth. Lauds are easily cultivated in both wet and dry seasons. The chief crops are cotton aud coru, two-thirds of the land being devoted to the former. In rich soil cotton grows 5 or G feet high, but is generally most productive wheu 3 feet in height. On rich land, in wet weather, the cotton is much iucliued to run to weed. The seed-cotton product per acre is about 1,200 pounds, i. €., a 400-pound bale, and it rates in the market as good middling. After eight years' culture without fertilizers tile yield per acre is 800 pounds; after fifteen years' culture it is 050 pounds, aud GOO pounds after thirty years. It requires somewhat less seed-cotton than from fresh land to make a bale. About one-tenth of the land originally cultivated is turned out ; but when reclaimed, it produces well if manured and properly cultivated. Uplands are much damaged by wasbiugs. Shipmentsof cotton are made from November 1 to January 1, usually by railroad to Memphis, Nashville, and Cincinnati, at the rates of $2 15 to $2 75 per bale. COLBERT. Population: 1G,153.— White, 0,203 ; colored, 6,050. Area: 570 square miles. — -Woodland, all. Gravelly hills, 250 square miles; sandy soils of the Little mountains, 170 square miles; red valley and other calcareous soils, 150 square miles. Tilled land: 74,S70 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 25,-ill acres; in corn, 31,575 acres; in oats, 3,846 acres; in wheat, 1,701 acres ; in rye, 60 acres ; in tobacco, 31 acres ; in sugar-cane, 15 acres ; in sweet potatoes, 2S6 acres. Cotton production: 0,012 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.35 bale, 408 pounds seed-cotton, or 166 pounds cotton lint. East and west through Colbert countyruns a range of hills called the Little mountains, north of which lies the valley of the Tennessee and south Russell's valley. Toward Russell's valley the slopes of these hills are covered with thick beds of pebbles, but toward the Tennessee valley the mountain sinks down rather abruptly, leaving an escarpment not covered by pebbles. The Little mountains are composed entirely of the strata of the sub-Carboniferous formation, which also form the substratum of the valleys on each side. These strata are, in the main, limestones, with a bed of sandstone of considerable thickness near the top of the series. This bed of sandstone forms the summit of the Little mountains, which owes its present elevation above the valleys to the protection against the denuding forces afforded by this rock.- The average height of the mountains above the valleys is siane 300 or 350 feet. All the streams of the county flow into the Tennessee, and all have their sources in the mountains south of Russell's valley, in Franklin county. In their courses toward the Tennessee they have, especially westward, cut gorges or small cations into the sandstones which form the upper stratum of the Little mountains. After lea* ing the mountain, they flow through the comparatively level valley toward the river. In these mountain gorges are n. any scenes of wild and rugged beauty; and it is not strauge that the chalybeate springs, which are so common here, have been favorite places of resort. The soils, which have been derived from the sub-Carboniferous rocks, are of two kinds: sandy and calcareous. The former are, as a rule, found upon the summit of the Little mountains; the latter in the valleys. The general characters of the sandy soils may be learned from the aualysis given of a soil from La Grange (page 31). The calcareous valley soils are of two principal sorts, according to the locality: (1.) Over most of the valley the soil is a reddish loam, with yellowish or reddish clay subsoil, and where the soil is directly upou the limestone, aud much affected by it, the color is inclined to bo dark to black, like highly calcareous soils of other regions. (2.) In the bottoms and lowlands generally the soils are looser and more sandy or gravelly. The valley lands are timbered with a fine growth of oaks and hickories, and make an attractive country. The sandy mountain lands are timbered chiefly with post oaks and short-leaf pines. Pebbles and beds of stratified drift cover all the western part of the county within 8 or 10 miles of the Mississippi line, and the soils, derived altogether from these beds, are very little, if at all, affected by the underlying calcareous strata of the sub-Carboniferous formation. In all this part of the state sandstones and conglomerates are of frequent occurrence, formed by the cementing together, by hydrated oxide of iron, of the sands and pebbles of the drift. Nearly every hill or ridge has upon it a capping of this sort of rock. Pine (short-leaf) and post eak form the prevailing timber on all these gravelly and sandy lands. As previously stated, the beds of drift cover also the southern slopes of the Little mountains toward Russell's valley as far east as Frankfort. In this respect Russell's valley differs from that of the Tennessee. Analyses of the Tennessee valley soil and of the gravelly or river hills soil have been given on pages 33 and 34, and they, together with the analysis of the mountain soil from La Grange, exhibit the characters of the principal soils of Colbert county. Colbert differs from the other counties of the Tennessee valley, except Franklin and Lauderdale, iu the circumstance that a considerable proportion of its soils is made by the drift, and they are, to a certain extent, independent of the underlying rocks of the country. 108 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORTS OP L. B. THORNTON, OP TUSCUMBIA, AND OF T. B. BICKLEY, OP SPRING VALLEY. (Thene reports refer to the valley IiuhIh within 10 or 15 miles of Taacnmljhi.) The higher-lying lands of the valley are best suited to cotton, which in the flats or basins is liable to injury from wet seasons and early frosts. These higher hinds are excellent farming lands, and there is scarcely ever a failure in the crop. As usual, wet seasons, late, cold springs, and early frosts are circumstances of climate which interfere with the growth of the plant. The principal soil varieties are brown loam, with red-clay subsoil, and the sandy mountain soil. The former, with its many variations, forms the greater part of the Tennessee valley within thecounty limits; thelatter is found in all the mountainous region in the southern portion of the county. The prevailing timber upon the brown-loam lands is made up of red, white, black-jack, post, and chestnut oaks, hickory, chestnut, black walnut, and gums. The soil is a clayey loam of a brown to nearly black color, 1 to 2 feet in thickness, with a subsoil of red clay, which becomes like the surface soil upon cultivation, and both soil and subsoil frequently contain angular fragments of the flinty or cherty portions of the rocks from which they are derived. The subsoil rests on limestone rock at depths varying with the locality and is porous, and all these lands are naturally well drained. The mountain lands have a growth of chestnut, post, white, and chestnut oaks, with short-leaf pine. The soil is a coarse, sandy loam of a whitish to gray color, and quite thin. The subsoil is rather heavier, and contains occasionally rounded pebbles of quartz and fragments of the underlying rock, which is a sandstone, and usually at no great depth from the surface. Land is somewhat difficult to cultivate iu wet seasons, but can be tilled early when well-drained. The principal crops ore cotton, corn, wheat, oats, clover, and potatoes, and all succeed well. About one-half of the valley and one-fourth of the mountain lund is planted in cotton. The usual height of the plants is from :t to 5 feet in the valley ami ti feet on the mountain, production being most rapid just before growth is completed. In wet seasons cotton planted close in the drill is inclined to run to weed, but this can he preve-iied by thinning out to proper distance and by topping, On fresh land the product per acre of valley land is about 1,200 pounds of seed -cot ton — 800 pounds on mountain — and it requires from 1,660 to 1,780 pounds for a 475-pound bale. The cotton thus produced generally rates as good middling to good ordinary. After ten years' continuous culture in cotton the yield is only 000 to sOO pounds per acre, 400 on mountain laud ; hut there is no change in the amount, required for a hale. Crab-grass, hog-weeds, and careless weeds are most troublesome. At least one-third of the valley and one-half of the mountain land originally in cultivation is now turned out, hut when restored to cultivation it generally produces about as well as fresh land. The slopes or hillsides are washed into gullies unless measures are adopted to prevent washing, hut the valleys are often benefited by washing from the uplands. Shipments of cotton are made mostly iu November and December, by rail and river, chiefly to Memphis, at the rate of 8- per bale by rail and $1 50 by river. Occasionally shipments are made to other ports. FRAjSKLIN. Population: 9,155.— White, 8,079; colored, 1,076. Area: 010 square miles. — Woodland, all. Red valley and other calcareous lands, 220 square miles; sandy- soils of the Little mountains, 40 square miles ; gravelly hills, 200 square miles ; Coal Measures, 150 square miles, in great measure, however, covered with drift. lilled land: 40,895 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 10,368 acres; in corn, 21,038 acres; in oats, 3,020 acres; in wheat, 1,660 acres; in tobacco, 17 acres; in sugar-cane, 96 acres; iu sweet potatoes, 137 acres. Cotton. production: 3,603 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.35 bale, 498 pounds seed-cotton, or 100 pounds cotton lint. The northern half of Franklin county is a valley known as Russell's valley; the southern half is high table- land, the northern edge of the Warrior coal-field. Most of the streams of this county rise at this foot of the escarpment which separates the valley from the table-land and How northward into the Tennessee. Big Rear creek takes its rise south of this escarpment and flows at first sotithwestward, as though a tributary of the Tombigbce, but its course is soon changed to westward and then northwestward by an accumulation of pebbles and sand, and it breaks through this mountain escarpment into the valley and flows thence northward into the Tennessee. This pebble ridge is a noticeable feature in the topography of Franklin county. Overlying the strata of the Coal Measures, it forms an irregular crescent, beginning in the southeast of Franklin, bending down into Marion, and returning again into Franklin county near its southwestern corner. The waters north of this ridge flow into the Tennessee; south of it into the Tombigbee. The extraordinary deflection of Big Bear creek, caused by this ridge, has been mentioned under Marion county. The waters of Big Bear creek, on the north, are some 50 feet or more higher than those 1 of the tributaries of the Tombigbee river on the south, though the two are only a few miles apart. The geological formations concerned in the structure of Franklin county are three in number, viz: the sub-Carboniferous, the Coal Measures, and the sti at ified drift, and their surface distribution is in general as follows : The table-lands are formed by the second, the valley by the first, while the drift overlies both iu the western part of the county, and to some extent also in other portions. To go more into detail, the northern limit of the Warrior field is an exceedingly irregular Hue, formed by projecting ridges, with limestone coves between. East of Russell ville these mountain prongs extend northward as tar as the. middle of township 7, and a few project still further northward. West and southwest, of Russellville the. line is still less regular, anil cannot well be described without the aid of a detailed map. The irregular line of mountain spurs, with interlocking coves, runs from Russellville south and southwest to near the middle of township 8, range 14 west, and thence southward into Marion county. Except uear the southern line of the county the strata, of the Coal Measures are found only near the summit of the mountain, and are therefore of no great thickness, the sides of the mountain, as well as the valley below, being formed of the calcareous rocks of the sub-Carboniferous formation. The soils derived from the disintegration of the strata of the Coal Measures are, as usual, sandy and not very fertile, but the calcareous rocks above mentioned give rise to soils which are above the average in fertility. The soils ot the drift have already been frequently described. The best cotton lands are found in Russell's valley, and the soil best suited to this crop is a red or mulatto-colored loam with red or yellow clay subsoil. Where the limestone reacts upon the soil, this is otten of a black color, much like the black prairie soils of the lower part of the state. The deep color is due to the presence of vegetable matter and its rapid decay under the influence of the lime. The bottom lauds partake, as usual, of the characters of the uplands from which they are derived, but are, as a rule, rather more sandy. In the western part of Franklin county the beds of stratified drift overlie the other 118 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 109 formations, and the soils are derived from tbe loam and other strata of this superficial covering. In the eastern part of the county the table-lands before spoken of are about 250 or 300 feet above the general level of the valley; but westward the height decreases somewhat, and the escarpment which forms the southern limit of the valley loses its importance west of Russellville, both because of the diminished height of the escarpment itself and because the beds of drift have filled up the valley. In cotton product per acre Franklin ranks well with the Tennessee Valley counties, and its soils, both those of the red valley lauds and those derived from the drift, are well suited to the production of this staple. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF DR. DANIEL N. SEVIER, OF RUSSELLVILLE. (This report treats of tbe region drained by Cedar creek, a tributary of Big Bear creek.) The uplands hero referred to are in the valley, and not upon the table laud, and are hilly, with thin soil, mixed with Bharp, angular fragments of flint and cber-ty gravel. This soil has a red or a buff clay subsoil. Either cold or wet injures the growth of cotton, causing it to die out or become lousy. Protracted wet spells cause it to shed its squares, and early frosts kill the top bolls. Hot, dry weather i6 best for cotton. No damage is done by the caterpillar or boll-worm in this part of the state. The four principal soil varieties are, in the order of their importance in cotton cultivation, the red or mulatto lands, the hilly lands, with thin soils and red or buff-colored clay subsoils, the black sandy alluvial lands, and the black lime-lands. The red or mulatto lauds are much the best for cotton. They form most' of Russell's valley, which is from 6 to 8 miles wide, and extends from the adjoiuiug county on the east to 7 miles west of Russellville. The prevailing timber is red, white, and black oaks, poplar, hackberry, black walnut, cherry, and hickory. The soil is a coarse sandy or gravelly loam, sometimes a heavier clay loam, of buff to bro-wn or nearly black color. The thickness is 10 to 15 inches, and the subsoil a red or buff clay. When well plowed this soil produces good crops and stands drought, well. The hilly laud produces good crops both of cotton and of corn, and other crops as long as it lasts, and rests upon a red 04' buff clay foundation, but washes badly into deep gullies, and the lowlands are filled up with great heaps of gravel. The black sandy alluvial lands are subject to overflow, and are well suited to corn, but not to cotton. The black lime-laud is also well suited to corn, but the cotton grows too rank upon it, and is likely to take what is called the black rust. In some localities this land rests upon a bed of limestone at varyiug depths. These lands are alluvial in character. The chief productions are cotton, corn, oats, and potatoes, but the soils are generally best adapted to the two crops first named. About two-thirds of the red land is planted in cotton, the plants attaining a height of from 1 to 3 feet, and usually producing more or less according to the height. Cotton often runs to w T eed on rich laud in wet weather, but this can be cheeked by topping. The seed-cotton product per acre is from 800 to 1,200 pounds, and 1,545 pounds are reckoned to a 475-pound bale. Crab-grass and hog-weeds are most troublesome on this soil. The slopes are much damaged by washings, and not much effort is made to prevent or check the injury. The cotton crop is usually hauled on wagons to Tuscumbia or some other station on the railroad, and thence shipped to Memphis or other ports by the purchasers. The freight to Tuscumbia will average perhaps $1 50 per bale. Most of the shipments are made during the autuniu and winter. OAK AND HICKORY UPLANDS, WITH SHORT-LEAF PINE. This region includes the following counties, wholly or in part: Lauderdale,* Colbert,* Franklin,* Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Walker,* Pickens, and Tuscaloosa.* LAUDERDALE. (See "Valley of the Tennessee".) COLBERT. (See "Valley of the Tennessee".) FRANKLIN. (See "Valley of the Tenuessee".) MARION. Population: 9,36-1. — White, S,S41 ; colored, 523. Area: 810 square, miles. — Woodland, all. Coal Measures, GOO square miles ; gravelly pine hills, 150 square miles. (The drift makes a certain proportion of the soils and subsoils over the entire county, but on the west the underlying formations are completely hidden.) Tilled land: 42,925 acres. — Area planted in cottou, 7,2G9 acres; in corn, 21,S35 acres; in oats, 2,321 acres; in wheat, 3,925 acres; in tobacco, 44 acres; in sugar-cane, 15 acres; in sweet potatoes, 477 acres. Cotton production: 2,240 bales; average, cottou product per acre 0.31 bale, 441 pounds seed-cotton, or 147 pounds cotton lint. The area drained by the Buttahatchie river and its tributaries includes the greater part of Marion county. The headwaters of this stream rise at the western foot of a ridge of sand and pebbles known as Byler ridge, which extends from Tuscaloosa county northward through Fayette, Walker, and Winston counties to the. southern limit of the great valley of the Tennessee. Another ridge of similar structure, but much smaller, in the northeastern corner of the county turns the waters of Big Bear creek to the north. Most of the tributaries of the Buttahatchie river in Marion county flow southward from this ridge, as do also the tributaries of Bull Mountain creek, in the no 110 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. north western corner of the county. The bed of Big Bear creek is considerably higher than that of the headwaters of Buttahatchie river and of Bull Mountain creek, which are distant from it only a few miles, and a comparatively short canal would suffice to turn the waters of Big Bear creek in a torrent into cither of the others. The geological structure of Marion county is in its general outline quite simple, its substratum being formed of the sandstones, shales, and conglomerates of the Coal Measures, which are covered with a capping of pebbles, sand, and other beds of the stratified drift. The general slope of the underlying beds is toward the southwest, and the thickness of the superficial deposits increases in the same direction. In the eastern part of the county even the smaller streams have cut their channels through the thin drift-covering into the underlying Coal Measures, but in the extreme west none but drift beds are exposed, even in the deepest drainage cuts. The soils in the west are, in consequence, derived almost exclusively from the overlying drift beds, and are of the usual characters so often described. The, uppermost 20 or 135 feet are usually formed of a still' red loam, which rests upon the beds of pebbles and sand which make up the greater part of the formation. The red loam, therefore, com moidy occupies the higher table-lands and the level second bottoms, where erosion has been least effective. Upon the hillsides and slopes the other beds of the drift come to the surface, and the soils derived from them are much less fertile. The surface soil of the red loam is usually a sandy loam of a brown color, from the addition of vegetable matter, and the growth upon it is that of the brown-loam uplands everywhere. The high tablelands of Marion county furnish superior farming lands, desirable on account both of the natural fertility of the soil and of their favorable position with respect to drainage, etc. In those parts of the county ■where the strata of the Coal Measures are near the surface the sandstones and conglomerates form bluffs in all the ravines. Underneath the overhanging cliff's, or " rock houses ", as they are locally termed, grow abundantly some of our rarest a»d most beautiful ferns, such as Trichomanes radicans, Asplenium pinnatifidum, Asplenium montanum, Trichomanes Petersii, etc. Many of the upland soils, especially in the western part of the county, are quite productive, and with better facilities for shipping the crop Marion would take a fair rauk among the northern coiiHties in the production of cotton. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF MARTIN NESMITH, OF P1KEVILLE. (This report refers to tho lauds drained by Beaver creek, a tributary of the Buttahatchie river.) Two-thirds of this area is hilly, and is not in cultivation; the remaining portion tattle-lands and bottoms. The soils, moro than tho climate, influence the growing of the cotton, for in the low, wet lands the plant weeds well, but does not mature. The uplands and second bottoms, especially when well fertilized, make the best crops, and the plant matures well, the staple being both longer and better. The soil varieties described are the brown-loam lands, the black sandy lands, and tho swampy or low marshy lands. The first forms one-half or more of the cultivated lands in the region described, and is timbered with white, black, and red oaks, hickory, short-leaf pine, beech, and black and sweet gum. The soil is a dark or brown sandy loam of 5 or 6 inches in thickness, resting on a reddish clayey subsoil, which is underlaid with sand and gravel. The black sandy lands form one-third of the cultivated lands in the region, and this soil occurs in patches of from 25 to 30 acres, alternating with flinty or gravelly lands. The natural growth is short-leaf pine, hickory, post and red oaks, and chestnut. The soil is a sandy or gravelly loam, heavier clayey loam in places, of :m average thickness of 6 inches; the subsoil a tough, whitish clay, which bakes very hard, and does not pulverize under cultivation. It, contains often white, rounded, and angular pebbles, and rests upon beds of sand and gravel at a depth of 3 or 4 feet. The swamps or marshes form the third variety of land, and occupy about one-sixth of Ihe area. The timber is composed of white oak, sweet and black gum, beech, poplar, bay, etc.. and the soil is a whitish or gray clayey loam, quite thin (2 inches), with a subsoil of heavy clay. This soil, being very thin and whitish, is poor, anil does not pay to cultivate. Tillage is usually difficult only in wet seasons. The principal crops are cotton and corn, the soil being generally be*fc adapted to the former crop. About one-half of the land is planted in cotton, which attains a height of from 2 to 5 feet. In late planting, on low w < t land, the cotton plant generally runs to weed, but this can be prevented by early planting and the use of fertilizers, 'the yield per acre is about 400 pounds, and it generally requires 1,425 pounds of seed-cotton to a 475-pound bale. AfU-r ten years' continuous culture without manure the land will not yield more than 300 pounds per acre, and of such cotton it will take 1,545 pounds of seed-eotton to the bale. Hog-weeds, rag-weeds, and burrs are the usual farm nuisances. About one-fourth of the land o/iginally cultivated now lies turned out ; but, when such land has lain idle several years it will produce good crops. There is some hillside ditching to prevent gullies, but the valleys are generally benefited by washings from the uplands. The shipments of cotton are made in November and December, by railroad, to Mobile, at the usual rate of $1 per hale; but tho fact that there is no railroad in this county tells against the production of cotton, which has often to be hauled mauy miles in wagons. LAMAR. Population: 12,142.— White, 9,967; colored, 2,175. Area: 590 square miles. — Woodland, all. Pebbl.\ hills, 550 square miles ; Coal Measures, 40 square miles. Tilled land: 02,141 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 15,245 acres; in corn, 28,30;-! acres; in oats, 4,139 acres; in wheat, 5,027 acres; in rye, 75 acres; in tobacco, 40 acres; in sweet potatoes. 020 acres. Cotton production: 5,015 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.3;; bale. 471 pounds seed-cotton, or 157 pounds cotton lint. Lamar county is wholly upon the belt of stratified drift which covers the line of junction of the older and newer formations in Alabama. Its surface, therefore, is formed by the bands, clays, and pebble beds of this formation and of the rocks which are produced by the cementing together, by hydrated iron oxide, of these materials. A bed of varying thickness of red loam or red clay nearly always forms the surface unless removed by denudation. The soils, consequently, vary fiorn stiff reddish loams, becoming brown upon the addition of vegetable matter, to light sands. The natural growth varies similarly from the luxuriant timber of the oak uplands to that of the black-jack ridges, which, in addition to the oak, often support a growth of short-leaf pine. From observations made in the adjoining counties, it seems probable that the strata of the Coal Measures underlie the beds of drift ; but as yet these rocks have not been noticed. The hills separating the streams in the eastern part of the county are from 250 to 300 feet in height above the water-courses, and are composed 120 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. Ill throughout of the materials of the drift. Pebbles are found as usual below the capping of red loam, which here, as elsewhere, forms the surface. Where thin beds of clay underlie the loam or other strata it is not unusual to find a thin layer of ferruginous sandstone or conglomerate, formed by the cementing together of the sand or pebbles by the oxide of iron which is so universally diffused through this formation as coloring matter. The somewhat hard rocks formed in this way often protect from denudation the underlying strata, and are commonly found upon the summits of the hills, which owe their existence to the protection thus afforded. The drainage of Lamar county is southwest into the Tombigbee by the Buttahatcbie river and Luxapolila creek and their tributaries. The main water-sheds are usually table-lands with brown-loam soils and reddish subsoils, such as have been described at length under Pickens and other counties. The average height above drainage of the table-lands, like that of the highest hills of the minor water-sheds, is some 250 or 300 feet. ABSTRACT OF THE EEPOKT OF GEORGE E. BROWN, OF CANSXER. (This report refers to the region drained by Eeaver creek and Buttahaichie river and tUeir tributaries.) In the second bottoms cotton yields more to the acre tbnu upon the uplands, but is liable to lie cut off prematurely by frosts. Throughout the ceunty the soils are more or less sandy in texture, and are timbered with short-leaf pine, the various species of oak, hickory, ash, chestnut, and sassafras. The top soil varies from light sandy to a rather stiff clay loam of whitish, yello-v, red, .and blackish colors, and the subsoil is usually somewhat heavier, and of a reddish to yellow color, containing pebbles in size from a buckshot up. The subsoil rests on a clay, and this on bods of pebbles and sand. The lands are easily tilled under all circumstances, and the chief crops are corn and cotton. It is thought that corn succeeds best, though the soil is well suited to each. Nearly half of the tilled land is in cotton, which attains heights varying from 3 to 6 feet, being most productive at medium heights. The plant tends to run to weed when there is an excess of rain during its earlier stages, and no remedy is suggested. The seed-cotton product per acre of the fresh laud is from 600 to 1,200 pounds, and l,4b5 pounds are needed to make a 475-pound bale. The staple rates about low middling. After three or four years' cultivation without manure the yield falls oft' considerably. Ths staple from the worn land is shorter than that from the fresh, but it is good, and requires a little more of the seed-cotton to make a bale. The most troublesome weed is crab-grass and, in rich spots, cocklebur. About one-eighth of the laud originally in cultivation now lies turned out. If not hilly, such land, when reclaimed, produces about as well as when fresh. The soil is of such a nature that it washes badly on slopes, though the injury from this cause is not very great. If the valleys are very narrow, they are injured by being covered with sand, butno serious efforts have been made to check this evil. €otton is usually hauled to Columbus and Aberdeen, Mississippi, the nearest market on a railroad. PAYETTE. Population: 10,135.— White, S,S73 ; colored, 1,262. Area: COO square miles. — Woodland, all. Coal Measures, GOO square miles ; gravelly piue hills, 60 square miles (but the gravel and other drift beds overlying the Coal Measures to some extent over the entire county, it is only in the 60 square miles above noted that they hide completely the lower rocks). Tilled land: 56,118 acres. — Area planted iu cotton, 12,331 acres; in corn, 24,950 acres; in oats, 3,627 acres; in wheat, 4,826 acres; in rye, 46 acres; iu tobacco, 37 acres; iu sweet potatoes, 42i acres. Cotton production: 4,268 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.35 bale, 498 pounds seed-cotton, or 166 pounds cotton lint. There are two principal systems of drainage in Payette county : one into the Warrior river, and the other into the Tombigbee. These are divided by a sinuous ridge having a general northern and southern direction, and known as Byler ridge. Upon this ridge, for most of its length, is an old thoroughfare, the Byler road, much used in former times. The Warrior system may be still farther divided ; for a part of the water reaches the Warrior river southeastward through Lost, Cane, and Wolf creeks, while a greater part flows southward through the North river and its tributaries. The Tombigbee drainage is in general southward in three narrow belts not more than 5 or 6 miles wide east and west. The widest of these areas is that of the Sipsey, or New river; the next is drained by the Luxapolila, and the third by Hell's creek and Yellow creek, both tributaries of the Luxapolila. The ridges separating these areas are simple ridges of denudation, and the average height above the streams is about 250 or 300 feet. The character and distribution of the soil varieties of Fayette county' depend upon the relations of the two geological formations which enter into its structure. These are the Coal Measures and the stratified drift. The surface formation over the whole county, except iu valleys excavated by the various streams, is the latter; but beneath it, at depths varying with the locality, may always be found the sandstones, shales, and other strata of the Coal Measures. W T est of the Luxapolila river no Coal Measures have been noticed, for the reason, probably, that the drainage has not cut deeply enough to expose these underlying beds. In the extreme eastern part of the county the soils depend in great measure upon the strata of the older formation, but in the rest of the county they depend upon the drift alone. The most important and widely spread soil is a brown loam with red clayey-loam subsoil, with timber of post, red, and black-jack oaks, chestnut, short-leaf pine, etc., such as characterizes the oak uplands in various parts of the state. This soil is derived from red loam, which, as a rule, forms the capping over the sands and pebbles of the stratified drift. It grades off ou the one hand into sandier, and on the other into mere clayey varieties, with corresponding changes in the timber. There are two principal soil-varieties derived from the strata of the Coal Measures. These are the sandy soils of the sandstones and conglomerates and the clayey soils of the shales of these measures. These soils, however, do not differ essentially from the sandy and loamy soils of other origin. Soils similar to those of Payette are described in the abstracts under Winston and Marion counties. There being as yet no railroad through Fayette county, the cotton produced titer* must be hauled in wagons many miles, either to the Mobile and Ohio road, in Mississippi, or to Tuscaloosa. This lack of transportation is a serious hinrleranee to the production of cotton, and the small number of bales given above is due to the small acreage. The soils are above the average iu fertility. Fayette county might have been classed with the oak uplands region, since the prevailing cultivated soils are those which characterize this region. 121 112 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. WALKER. (See "Coal-Measures region".) PICKENS. Population: 21,479.— White. 9,132 ; colored, 12,347. Area: 1,000 square miles. — Woodland, all. Gravelly pine hills, 950 square miles; prairie, 50 square miles. Tilled land: 110,500 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 52,051 acres; in corn, 43,104 acres ; in oats, 8,053 acres - T in wheat, 2,220 acres; in rye, 3 > acres; in tobacco, 51 acres; in sugar cane, 19 acres; in sweet potatoes, 757 acres. Cotton production: 17,283 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.33 bale, 471 pounds seed-cotton, or 157 pounds cotton lint. The soils, topography, and other natural features of Pickens county are dependent almost entirely upon a single formation, the stratified drift, which makes the surface over all, except the extreme southwestern corner of the county, where the calcareous beds of the Cretaceous formation are exposed. All the drainage is into the Tombigbee river by Sipsey river and Bear, Lubbub, and Coal-tire creeks. The face of the country throughout the county is quite broken, as is always the case where the drift is the prevailing formation. This is well illustrated between Tuscaloosa and Carrollton, where the road passes over a succession of little hills, separating the drainage areas of the creeks. The prevailing timber here is a mixture of the upland oaks with short-leaf pine. With the loam soils, which prevail, there is in places a large proportion of clay coining from the drift beds, and where this material is abundant the soil is quite stiff and the post oak forms the principal tree. South of Carrollton the lowlands of Lubbub creek, 1 or 2 miles in width, form excellent farming land. The divide between this and Blubber creek is a fine tableland with brown loam soil, timbered with the upland oaks, and very fertile. Southwest of a line joining Pleasant ridge, in Greene county, with Pickens ville the Cretaceous strata form the country, but do not in any great degree intlueuce the soils on the northeastern side of the river; but beyond it the prairie soils of the usual character make their appearance, forming the great proportion of the lauds in the southwestern corner of the county. Drinking water in this region is obtained from bored or artesian wells, as the surface water at certain seasons is both scanty in quantity and of poor quality. The upland soils of Pickens vary from the best brown to sandy loams, and all rest upon red-clay loam, which itself is generally underlaid with sand and pebbles. The bottom and hummock lauds in the greater part of the county have in general the characters of the loam uplands which adjoin them, and are in many cases of superior quality. Southwest of the river the topography is less varied than elsewhere, the country being gently undulating, with low ridges of drift to relieve the monotony. The soils in this part of the county are the usual rotten-limestone prairie soils and the varieties resulting from the intermixture of this with the surface loams of the drift. In its agricultural features Pickens county resembles its neighbors, and presents no special peculiarities. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORTS OF M. F. COOK, OF PICKENSVILLE, AND R. F. HENRY, OF COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI. (Thcso reports relate to the bottom ami uplands of Coal-fire ereek and to those of MeBeo creek, both streams tributary to the Tombigbee river.) Late springs, with cold rains, sometimes cause poor stands of cotton, and late frosts kill the young plants. In the northern pare of the county the uplands are generally poor from long and careless cultivation ; yet the few level spots are still quite productive. The bottom lands generally produce good crops of cotton, except in a few eases wbcre the soil is gravelly. When planted in time and properly cultivated the whole crop will generally open before killing frosts. On the uplands id' the central and southern parts of the county cottou rarely fails, especially if fertilizers are applied before planting. The western part of the county is a good cotton country, and entire failures of the crop are unknown. The most widely-spread soil in the county is the brown loam of the uplands, which varies from a rather heavy and fertile to a light sandy loam. The subsoil in most cases is a stiff, reddish clayey loam, sometimes yellow, with sand and gravel underlying at varying depths. Now and then there are patches of crawtishy soil, with whitish clay beneath. The timber of the uplands consists of pine, red, black, Spanish, and black-jack oaks, hickory, chestnut, etc., with white, water, and willow oaks, ash, cypress, beech, sweet and sour gums, and other growth in the lowlands. The lowlands and bottom lands have generally a " made soil", which is a light loam, more or less sandy, of dark, sometimes black, colors. These also have usually a red-clay subsoil, much like the subsoil of the adjacent uplands. The soils of the bottoms are often of considerable thickness; that of the uplands varies greatly, being in places almost entirely washed off. From one-half to three-fourths of the county has a sandy soil, especially on the water-sheds, and this soil has a natural growth of pine, mixed with the several species of oaks, and with hickory where of better quality. These soils are of gray to dark colors, and sometimes a foot or more in thickness. The subsoils are also sandy, holding pebbles. These lands are generally easy to cultivate. The chief crops are cotton, corn, oats, and potatoes, but the soil is best, adapted to cotton, potatoes, and oats. More than one-half of the cultivated land is in cottou. The height to which cottou grows varies from 2 to 6 feet. Rich bottom lands, when cultivated too deep in wet seasons, make the cotton run to weed, but this can be prevented by underdrainage, shallow culture, and topping. The seed-cotton product per acre on fresh land is about 1,000 pounds, and it requires 1,545 pounds to mako a 475-pound bale; but the staple is not as good as that from old, fertilized land. After two or three years' culture the yield is increased, hut alter live years the uplands begin to wash, and there is a falling oft' in the yield; hut the bottom lands are as productive uow as 20 years ago. Morning-glory, crab-grass, and purslane are specially troublesome. Ouly a small part of the uplands is turned out. Such turned-out lands will produce well if Japan clover cover them one or two years. The hillsides and slopes are somewhat injured by washings, but this may be and is prevented by ditching, uuderdraining, etc. The cotton crop is largely sold to cotton buyers iu the local markets. When shipped to Mobile the freight is $1 25 per bale. The shipping is by the Tombigbee river, and is usually done between November and February. TUSCALOOSA. (See "Gravelly pine-hills region".) 122 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 113 GRAVELLY HILLS, WITH LONG-LEAF PINE. This region includes parts of Pickens,* Tuscaloosa, Greene,* Hale,* Bibb, Perry,* Chilton, Autauga, Elmore, Montgomery,* Tallapoosa,* Macon,* Lee,* and Russell.* PICKENS. (See "Oak and hickory uplands, with short-leaf pine".) TUSCALOOSA. Population: 24,957.— White, 15,216; colored, 9,741. Area : 1,390 square miles. — Woodland, all. Pour hundred square miles are pebbly pine hills (250 square miles with short-leaf pine and 150 with long-leaf pine), and, in addition to this, of the 965 square miles of the Coal Measures 675 square miles have the characters of the pebbly pine-hills, and 225 square miles have the short-leaf aud 450 square miles the long-leaf pine; .25 square, miles in lioup's valley. Tilled land: 111,171 acres. — Area planted in cotton. 33,773 acres; in corn, 38,638 acres; in oats, 6,974 acres ; in wheat, 2.689 acres; in rye, 130 acres; in sugar-cane, 35 acres; in tobacco, 20 acres; in sweet potatoes, 919 acres. Cotton production: 11,137 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.33 bale, 471 pounds seed-cotton, or 157 pounds cotton lint. A line drawn from the northwestern to the southeastern corner of Tuscaloosa county through or near the city of Tuscaloosa will divide the county into two parts of unequal size, differing widely in soils, topography, and other natural features. North and east of this line the county is formed of the sandstones and shales of the Coal Measures; south and west, of the sands and loams of the stratified drift formation. These last-named materials, however, overlie the rocks of the Coal Measures in a belt 12 or 15 miles wide, lying northeast of the line alluded to. Southwest of this line the drift hides completely from view any underlying rocks, but northeast the Coal Measures are everywhere brought to light where the former has been removed by erosion. In the southeastern edge of the county, adjoining Bibb, there is a narrow belt, in Roup's valley, where the rocks of a still lower geological formation take part in the formation of the soils and in the production of scenery. The Black Warrior river, which flows in general southwest through the center of the county, receives nearly all the drainage, and the Sipsey river, a tributary of the Tombigbee, drains the northwestern corner. This river is separated from North river, the principal tributary of the Warrior, by a ridge of sand and pebbles of the stratified drift, known as Byler ridge, upon which was one of the principal thoroughfares of the county before the days of railroads. In all that part of the county where the rocks of the Coal Measures are at the surface the soils are mostly sandy, occasionally shaly or aluminous, and seldom very fertile. The uplands are timbered with the usual variety of oaks, hickory, and pine, and bring tolerably fair crops. In this part of the county the bottom lands of the river and creeks are most esteemed by farmers. Prom the northeastern corner down nearly to the city of Tuscaloosa the river bottoms are rather narrow, except in the great bends, aud in some parts of its course, as at the Squaw shoals, the river flows between high, rocky banks, with almost no bottom lauds on either side. The adjacent uplands, also formed by the same rocks, are very rugged, difficult to cultivate, and rather poor. A large area in the northeastern part of the county is thinly settled, but the woods are well stocked with deer and other game, which find excellent pasture in the grasses and leguminous plants which there abound. Below Tuscaloosa the river bottom (partly above overflow) to the lower limit of the county will average 1 mile in width, and has a reddish loamy soil and red subsoil, derived from the uplands, and forms the best farming area of the couuty. In all the southwestern part of the county, where the stratified drift is at the surface, the topography shows the usual variety characteristic of this formation. Prom the lowlands along the river there is usually a rather abrupt rise of from 60 to 75 feet to a terrace or plain, which is often 5 or 6 miles wide. Upon this stauds the beautiful city of Tuscaloosa. From this plain the ground rises from the river, sometimes gradually, sometimes abruptly, to the general level of the uplands, which upon the main water-sheds is uot less than 250 or 300 feet above the water-courses. This elevation is not reached in the lower part of the county usually within 10 miles of the river. Throughout this part of the county the prevailing soils are brown loams of considerable fertility, overlying subsoils of red clayey loam, which in turn rest upon beds of gravel ami sand. The bottom lauds are more or less closely related to the uplands from which they are derived, but are usually rather more fertile, containing, as they do, the cream of the upland soils. At some distance from the river, upon the water sheds spoken of above, the soils are somewhat more sandy. The long-leaf pine grows upon the sandy soils in all the southwestern part of Tuscaloosa county, and also east aud northeast of the city of Tuscaloosa for a distance of 25 or 30 miles, or nearly to the couuty limits. In these localities the rocks of the Coal Measures are covered with beds of pebbles and sand of the drift. The genuine piny woods are here, as elsewhere, rather poor aud thinly settled, but, with a moderate outlay for manures, they yield very fair crops of cotton. The greater part of the cotton crop of Tuscaloosa couuty is raised upon the soils derived from the drift and loam, and comparatively little upon those of the Coal Measures. 123 114 COTTON PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA. ABSTRACT OF THE "RETORTS OF HON. A. C. HARGROVE AND JAMES R. MAXWELL, OF TUSCALOOSA. (Both reports refer to the bottom luiuls of the Warrior river and tho adjacent uplands.) The growth of the cotton-plant depends to a great extent upon the temperature and humidity. In the bottom lands it is likely to he late, and therefore more exposed to frosts and the ravages of the caterpillar; and for these reasons tho uplands are preferred for cotton where the soils are at all fair. On the uplands the cotton grows off well about the last of April, and matures about the third week in September. The picking sometimes begins the last week in August. On manured or fresh land it continues to make till frost ; the most of it, however, is made by the middle of September. The bottom lands of the Warrior river and tributary creeks are of two principal kinds, the stiff, yellowish soil and the loose gray. The two together make up the soils of the bottoms from Tuscaloosa to the southern limit of the county with a width of 1 mile and a length of 25 or HO miles. Tho natural growth consists of beech, white and red oaks, sweet gum, poplar, elm, and cottonwood, witli occasional dense thickets of cane. The stiff soil is a heavy clayey loam of a gray to yellow color, sometimes inclined to be black, especially when wet. The thickness varies from 8 to 12 inches. The Biibsoil is sometimes heavier, sometimes lighter, than the surface soil, and is of a yellowish or buff' color when dry. When the surface soil is washed away, this subsoil appears to be almost barren, though shown by chemical analysis to be rich in potash and phosphoric acid. The barrenness is due to the physical condition. When dry, the subsoil becomes very hard, but absorbs water rapidly, and then becomes a sticky clay. It contains now and then soft, black gravel, and the whole is underlaid at varying depths by beds of sand and gravel. The stiff, yellow soils are difficult to cultivate, except in tho proper seasans, for they are too sticky in wet and too hard in very dry weather. The loose, gray bottom soils are always easily tilled. Tho stiff soils are inclined to be late, cold, and ill-drained, while the loose gray soils, on the contrary, are early and warm. The soil next in importance is the brown loam of the uplands. This makes from one- half to two-thirds of the uplands, the rest being sandy, piny woods. The timber consists of post, red, Spanish, aud black-jack oaks, hickory, poplar, and short-leaf pine. The soil is in general a brown loam from 3 to 10 inches in thickness, with a heavier subsoil of reddish clay, which is often almost impervious. Tho subsoil rests upon beds of sand and gravel, occasionally mixed with clay, and often contains pebbles. These upland soils are early and warm when well drained, which is tho case with most of them. The long-leaf pine woods make up a considerable proportion of the highest uplands. The natural growth is the long-leaf pine, with black-jack and other species of oaks where the soil is more fertile. Tho soil is a light-colored, sandy loam, 2 or 3 inches in thickness, restiug upon a sandy subsoil which often contains rounded pebbles of quartz. These sand and gravel beds underlie also the subsoil to considerable depths. The soils are always easily tilled. The thief crops are cotton, corn, and oats, but many other crops grow well. The soil generally is perhaps best adapted to cotton, but bottom lauds produce fine crops of corn. Fully one-half of the tillable lands are devoted to cotton culture. On bottom lands cott«n grows from 5 to S feet high, on uplands from 3 to 4 feet, the latter being generally most productive. Cotton is inclined to run to weed on rich sandy bottoms in rainy weather. On the best lauds the bale of 5JJ0 pounds is produaed, but the avorage yield is a bale to three acres. A 475-pouud bale requires from 1,545 to 1,660 pounds of seed-cotton. The fresh-land cotton is usually graded as middling uplands. Morning-glory, hog-weed, and crab-grass are specially troublesome. About one-fourth of the land origiually tilled is now turned out, which produces well for two or three years, and then rapidly deteriorates. Tho slopes are much injured by washings; on tho other hand, the valleys are often improved by the washings of the top soil from the uplands. The damage to slepes is prevented or checked by hillside ditching. The cotton is shipped, as fast as prepared for the market, usually to Mobile, either by rail or by boat. Tho freight by rail is from $1 75 to $2, and by boat from $1 25 to Si 50 per bale. GREENE. (See "Central prairie region".) HALE, (See " Central prairie region".) BIBB. Populatio7i: 9,487.— White, 5,887 ; colored, 3,000. Area: 010 square miles. — Woodland, all. Hilly lands with long-leaf pine, 310 square miles; 125 square miles in Caliaba coal-field; 100 square miles in Roup's valley; 75 square miles valley lands south of the Cahaba coal-field. About 1120 square miles of the southern parts of the coal-field a»d the valleys are covered -with the drift, and exhibit the characters of the gravelly hills with long-leaf pine. Tilled land: 43,796 acres. — Area planted in cotton, 15,737 acres; in corn, 1S,816 acres; in oats, 2,035 acres; in wheat, 3,125 acres; in rye, 151 acres; in tobacco, 36 acres; in sugar cane, 36 acres; in sweet potatoes, 368 acres. Cotton production: 4,843 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.31 bale, 141 pounds seed-cotton, or 147 pounds cotton lint. The northwestern corner of Bibb county is occupied by the narrow trough of Roup's valley, which is well-defined as far south as the base line between the two surveys (which runs east and west about 12 milts north of Centerville). Below this the sands, loams, mid pebbles of the drift hide all the underlying formations. The characters of Roup's valley, with its parallel ridges and subordinated valleys, have been given under Jefferson county. In Bibb county the ridge which occupies the central part of the valley is quite conspicuous, and is in many places filled with iron ore of good quality. It embraces many acres of fine farming land where not too much broken. The color of the subsoil is usually a deep-red; the soil is more sandy and of a browu color. Between this and the red-ore ridges, which are found near the margins of the valley, but not always prominent landmarks, are belts of valley land with gra;\ and yellowish to red soils and red subsoils, mostly under cultivation. The quality of these soils varies with the locality. As a rule, they contain angular fragments of chert derived from the flinty limestones upon which they are mostly based. Of considerable extent also is a gray, gravelly soil, with light-colored subsoil, filled with fragments of flint. Between the red-ore ridges and the extreme margin of the valley on each side there are narrow depressions with a first-rate yellowish calcareous soil. 1:24 AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. 115 Bast of Roup's valley, and occupying the northeastern part of the county, are the Coal Measures of the Cahaba field. The southwestern limit of this field is near Scottsville. It is drained by the Cahaha river, and forms a very rugged and broken area, with prevailing sandy soils of no great fertility. Near the confluence of Shade's creek with this river is a region known by the expressive name of " the Uglies", almost uninhabited, and embracing some of the most broken land in the county. As a rule, the area formed by these Coal Measures is not densely populated, as the soil is not productive, enough to offer any inducements to the settler. Between the southern edge of the coal-lield and a line running from Centervflle northeast to the county line there is an area of valley land with flinty ridges and the other characteristics of the valley lands of central Alabama. In this area there are many tracts of fine farming land, with red, buff, and gray soils, derived from the cherty or flinty magnesian limestones of the country, and giving evidence of their origin in the great number of angular fragments of chert with which they are filled. The red lauds are more fertile and better suited to the grain crops, while the gray lands, sandy, and timbered with pines, are preferred for cotton. South of Pratt's ferry a mountain rim, composed of the ehert of the sub-Carboniferous formation, incloses a basin of 2 or 3 square miles area with yellowish soil, differing from the usual red valley soils and derived from an entirely different series of rocks. This has its representative in the Dry valley soil of Cherokee county, an analysis of which has been presented on page 25. The southern part of the county, embracing the lower 12 miles, depends for its topography and surface features essentially upon a single formation, the stratified drift. This formation consists of beds of sand, pebbles, and loam of great thickness, which overlie and hide from view the older rocks. The cultivated soils are mostly derived from a bed of red loam, which is usually the uppermost of the whole series, and which is nearly always prominent in the subsoils. In this part of the county the ridges and depressions are determined solely by the water-courses, and do not lie in parallel, sharply-defined belts, which are so characteristic of the upper part. The high lauds separating the main streams have a brown-loam soil resting upon this red loam as subsoil. Its timber is a mixture of the various species of upland oaks, and as the top soil becomes more sandy the long-leaf pine associates itself with these, and the transition into the long-leaf pine woods takes place by gradual stages. Wherever the soil is very sandy or pebbly and the subsoil light the long-leaf pine is the prevailing growth. Agriculturally, Bibb county shares the characteristics of the valley region and those of the pine hills and brown- loam uplands, the greater part of the cotton crop being raised upon the brown-loam soils. The subjoined report does not refer to any of the brown-loam or sandy soils, and for descriptions reference must be made to the descriptions under Perry, Hale, and Tuscaloosa counties, where entirely similar soils prevail. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF J. S. HANSBERGER, OF TIONUS. (This report refers to the region of Six-Mile creek, a tributary of the Cahaba river.) The two principal soil varieties described are the red clay loam lauds and' the gray sandy lands, which make about equal proportions of the region under consideration. The timber of tho red lands is composed of oak, hickory, walnut, and poplar on the red lands, and chiefly of long-leaf t>ino on the other. The top soil of the red lands is a clay loam of a red to brown color from 2 to 10 inches in thickness, resting upon a subsoil which is of heavier quality and of deeper red color, This subsoil often becomes hard and almost impervious. The top soil of the gray lands is of lighter color and more or less sandy, and its subsoil is of a yellowish color, somewhat Bandy also, and seldom becoming hard and "panny". The cultivation of the land is easy in dry weather, but somewhat difficult in wet seasons. The chief crops are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, and sweet potatoes. The red lands are adapted to corn, cotton, and wheat; the gray lands to cotton and potatoes. About oue-third of the land is planted in cotton, "which grows to tho average height of 3 feet. Deep culture and wet weather will make cotton run to weed. The yield per acre on fresh land is from 500 to 1,000 pounds, and it requires from 1,545 to 1,660 pounds to a 475-pound bale. The cotton from fresh lauds rates as low middling. After ten years' culture (unmanured) the yield is from 400 to 800 pounds per acre. Rag-weed is most numerous after wheat and other small grain, while crab-grass is most troublesome in the cultivation of cotton. About one-third of the laud originally cultivated is now turned out, and some portions of this land, when taken into cultivation again, produce well, but other portions are worthless. The washings of the slopes is being checked to a considerable extent by hillside ditching. The cotton is shipped, as soon as prepared for the market, by railroad, mostly to Sehna. The farmers sell most of their cotton to merchants, and these ship it. The usual freight charge to Selma is from $1 50 to §2 per bale. PEBBY. (