PART II. • AGRICULTURAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI. 85 281 AGRICULTURAL DESOR.IPTIONS OF THE COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI. 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 i1opularly 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 describell. In the lists of counties placed at the heatl of each group the uames of those described. elsewhere are marked with tu1 asterisk,(*) and the reference to the heacl nnder which these are described will be found in its }llace in the order of the list in the text itself. The regional groups of counties are placed in the same order as that in which the regional descriptions themselYes are g'iveu. The statements of areas of woodland, prairie, etc., refer to the orighial state of things, irrespective of tilled or otherwise improved lauds . .Appended to the description of each county from which lt report or re11orts lmYe been received is rm abstract ,of tlle main points of such reports, so far as they refer to uatnral features, production, and communication. Those i1ortions of the repol'ts referring to agricultnral and commercial practice have been summarizecl and placed in a separate division (Part III), following that of county descriptions. In making the abstracts of reports it has been uecessm'y in most cases to change somewhat the language of the reporter, while preserving the sense. In some cases statements palpably incorrect or overdrawn have been altogether omitted, while explanatory words haYe been .added, placecl in parentheses. NORTHEASTERN PRAIRIE REGION. This embraces the following counties and parts of counties: .Alcorn, Tippah, Prentiss, Union, Lee, Pontotoc, ·Ohickasaw, Monroe, Olay, Oktibbeha, Lowndes, Noxubee, and Kemper.* The counties of Tippah, Union, and Pontotoc are largely embraced wit.bin whnt is known as the Pontotoc ridge, which is described as a separate region in the general part of the report. .ALCORN. .PopulaUon : 14,272.-White, 9,863; colored, 4,409. · , .Area.: 400 square miles.-Short-leaf11ine and oak uplands, 245 square miles; }}rairie belt, 155 square miles. Tilled la.nds: 52,566 acres.-.Area planted in cotton, 18,863 acres; in corn, 22,589 acres; in oats, 3,358 acres; in wheat, 1,078 acres. 7 477 bales; average cotton in·oduct acre, 0.40 bale, 570 pounds seed-cotton, Cotton proclitction : 1 per or mo pounds cotton lint. · · .Alcorn eounty, formed siuee the war f'r_om po1~tions o~ Ti~pah. and Ti~ho~ingo countie~, is traversed almost centrally by the "prairie belt", lrnre. averagmg about 1~ _mile~ rn wulth, while m the ~·est ?fits ayea, east ancl west of that belt, sandy, short-leaf1>ine lull~ for~ the preva1lmg feah~re. T~e western pme-h1l~ reg10n lJelongs to tl1e . Hatchie valley· tlrn rest of the county is drarned by the Tnscumbrn. and 1ts branches, excepting t,he heads of creeks tr1lmtary• to the' ' Tennessee, on the extreme easl;..l 87 19 c p 28U 88 COTTON ~RODUCTION IN MISSISSIPPI. The "prairie belt" here has scarcely any open prairie land, except small "balc1" prairies here and there. The white limestone, however, underlies it everywher.e .at 11.0 gr~at de]J~h, a_nd materially influence~ the qu~lit;y of the soil even where :it does not produce the black prame SOIL ~he surface IS mostly gently undulatmg, and Is trn1bere1l with oaks (Post, black, Spanish, and .black-ja.ek), wi~h mo1:e or le~s bickor~, accord!ng t? the proxim~ty o~ the calcareous strata to the surface, and, m the higher m1ges, is occasionally mrnglecl \\1th pme, the subs01l bemg a yellow loam. ·where the rock lies nearer the surface we ham either black or wald prairie or "mahogany" soil, and sometimes even the "beeswax"· The yellow loam soils predominate more and more as we approach the Tennessee· line forming near Farmington, and Corinth especially, an excellent farming country. 'The tilled. ]ands of .Aleorn count;r constitute 20.5 per cent. of the total area. Of these lands 35.9 per cent. is gh·en to cotton culture, :while about 43 per cent. of the.same· is devoted to corn, tbe latter having an unusually large proportion for a region pos~essing such facilities for communication. The cotton acreage per square mile is 47.21." and the average pr0duct per acre 0.40 bale, showing that the best lands are selected for cotton. At Corinth, the coimty-seat, tb.e Memphis and Charleston and the lVIobile and Ohio railroads cross,. affording excellent opportunities for communication. Cotton is shipped by either route as fast as baled to Mobile or New Orleans at the rate of $3 per bale. A.DSTR.ACT OF THE REPORT OF W. L. WILLI.AMS, RIENZI. The upland is J1illy and rolling; the lowland consists of first and second lJottoms of TnscumlJia creek. The soil is a light, fino sandy loam of a lJrown color, 4 inches deep; the sullsoil is a red clay. This soil is early, well-drained, and easily tiller!. Its natural growth is red, Spanish, black, aud post oaks, chestnut, pine, etc. It eoYtrs all of this, and extends into other· counties. Tlic chief crops are cotton, corn, aml oats; but the soil is apparently best adapted to cotton, and three-ilfthR of the cultivated area is planted with the same. The plant grows from 2 to 3 feet high; is most productive at 2 feet. In wet seasons, or on soils rich in vegetable­ mattor, it inclines to run to weed; but potash addecl to the soil restmills it and favors bolling. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh' land is 800 pounds; 1,780 pounds make a 475-pound bale of first-class lint.. After two years' cultivation (unmanured) the product is 1,000 pounds, and tbCl ratio of seed to lint remains the same. One-fourth of sneh land originally cultivated now lies "turned out", and when again cultivated it produces well after the first year. ·weeds are numerous. Slopes are seriously injured by washing and gullying, an& the yalJeys am injured by being covei"ed with sand. No efforts have been made to check these damages. Cotton is shipped,.as fast as gathered, by rail to Moliile, Mem11his ancl New Orleans, at $3 per bale. ABSTRACT OF THE REPORT OF J. l\f, TAYLOR, M. D., CORINTH. (The region described embraces about 108 square miles, or T.11 2, 3, R. 7 E.) The surface of this part of the county is rolling; the ridges between the creeks and branches are light and thin; but in the lowlands. the soil is rich, black, ancl loamy. Cotton is cultivated on three classes oflancl, viz, 1. G1·ay upland, with sandy branch bottoms. 2. Black. himunock and alluvial bottoms. 3. "Beeswax" ridges. The gray uplands are most extensive, and have a timber growth of red, post, and white oaks, and hickory; on the lJottoms are poplar, sweet and black gums, walnut, elm, dogwood, cherry, beech, hirch, maple, red-bud, sycamore, willow, hazel, sumach1 and an undergrowth. of grape-vines. The soil is a ilne sandy loam, 3 or 4 inches deep, merging insensibly into the subsoil, which is a pale-red or yellowish clay, 10 to 20 feet thick, the lower part being known as "joint clay"· Blue marl underlies this cla~r. The land is early, warm, and< ill-drained, and produces all the crops. Cotton comprises from one-thircl to one-half of the tilled land, grows 2 to 5 feet high, and. yields an average of 800 llounds of seecl-cotton per acre both on fresh and old laud. Crab-grass is tho most troublesome weed. Very little of the Janel lies turned out; washes readily on slopes, lmt docs no <lamage. · · The black or ltummoak land occurs only in small areas in this region, but south ward lJecomes the prevailing soil of the prairies. Its' growth is white oak, walnut, red-bud, wild plum; lmckoye, and grape-vines, The soil is a heavy loam, black and vr~ry tenacious, about 3 feet thick, and is difficult to till in all seasons wlien not broken early and in proper cultivation. It is best adapted to corn, and a less. proportion is planted in cotton than on the gray lands. Cotton grows from 6 to 7 feet highi and runs to weed when gentle rains fall in July and August, though restrained by thorough drainage and barnyard manure. The yield per acre is froni 1,000 to 2,000 pounds or seecl-cotton, making one-fourth its weight of middling lint. Deeper plowing renews the soil when "ti.reel". Cocklebur and morning-glory vines arc most troublesome. The beeiJwax soil also oe~urs only in small amonntl ,:.ud has a growt.h of post oak, hickory, wild plum, and black-jack. It is a heavy,. putty-like clay, orange-red in color, difficult to till, i•ml best adapted to cotton. The amount given to cotton, and the growth and yield! per acre of cotton, is the same as on the gra.y land. A forger pro1iortion of this lan<l lies turned out, ancl cloes not recuperate as quickly as either of the other two classes of land. While this region is a litt.le north of the true cotton 1ielt, and its ca11acity is not' quite equal to lands farther south and west, j'et the crop is more uniform and reliable, and is less liable to injury from cliseases and insect enemies than in the true cotton belt.