American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-01-04

land fertile beyond measure ana
pracl ically ihexhaustible, so that no
manure is used in the cultivation
of the crops and never Will be ne
cessary. Madison county cannot
have AN exhausted soil, for the sub
stances necessary to the food OF
plants is so prOfuse and SO univer-
sally ditlused and to such depth
that for generations all the cultiva-
ton of the soil that can be brought
to bear will not take from it its
great fcrtilizing qualities. In addi-
tion to this the counties of Rankin,
Kinds, Madison and Yazoo contain
IA bed of shell mari, running from
southeast to northwest, from Bran
don, to Yazoo city, from fifteen to
twenty rules wide and from eight
to ten feet thick, one of the best
manures in the world, and an agri-
cultural treasure in the future, the
value of which no man can estimate.
An application of this mari upon
the land, Notwithstanding Its re
markable fertility, will largely add
to its productiveness. DIR. Tucker,
residing at Livingston, nine miles
from Canton, and practicing medl-
cine there, related to me that last
summer he put three inches III
depth of this shell mari upon gar
den bed upon which was planted
cabbage and melOnS-that some OF
the cabbage when full grown inca
sured four feet and ten inches across
the leaves, and the melons were the
largest and most delicious he ever
met with. In view of much of the
land in some of the Southern States
being exhausted, and with the rail-
road facilities those States have,
and others that will hereafter fol
low, what blessing this immense
bed of mari, composed entirely oil
decompOsed marine shells, Will be
come through the enterprise of in
dividuals and railroad companies
in transporting it and enriching
those old fields which, in several OF
the States, it does the eye good to
look upon at this day, for their at
Effectiveness, though barren now,
can be made to bud and blossom as
the rose. Though overlooked by
the people of those counties and
considered of no practical value,
what a mine of wealth it might be
turned into, and the time is coming
that the people will draw largely
upon this cheap and extraordinary
| fertilizer, more valuable than gold,
to renOvatc and resurrect those old
fields, which at one time produced
so well, and increasing the produc-
tiveness and wealth of those sec
tions immensely and adding greatly
to the number of the population
The character of this mari is shown
by the beautiful impression of shells
upon it. Upon the surface of the
ground everywhere lie large Jumps
of undecompOsed shells.
There are two classes of land
the ono gently rolling, the other
quite level-the last universally
called in the South swamp lands,
which is misnOmer, for there are
no swamp lands in this county but
are identical with our river bottom
lands, being always dry, so that
what are called swamp lands there
60 by the name of river bottom land
here.
The most striking object that
meets the eye is tie great rents and
assures in the elevated lands, though
there are no considerable hills,
as the appearance CT much of the
country is of IA slightly rolling char
acter. These gaps in the earth look
hideous and mar much Of its beauty
at the present time. The soil being
light sandy loan, having some
uuicksand mixed with it. and the
air and light decOmposing much OF
its mineral substances, that some
of the component parts of the soil
become dlsintegrated. and if the
least wash is permitted to take
place, when rains occur, it melts
away and is cnt in. producing gul-
lies ten and twenty feet deep and
hundreds of yards in length. Such
extensive washes, however, can oc-
cur only through the negligence OF
the people who live upon the land,
and are so numerous at the present
day in consequence of neglect dur
ing and after the war. They can
easily be prevented in the begin
ming, and though a wash may have
occurred of such magnitude as to
cover acres of bottom land to the
depth of several feet, yet by plant
ing locusts at the lower end of the
wash, or by placing plenty of brush
there, in a few years the place will
fill up and become level again and
present a uniform appearance with
the other part of the field. 1t is
thus in consequence Of the very ex-
tensive washes that the depth and
nature of the soil is laid bare and
the underlying stratas of clay and
mari are brought to view. Accord
ing to the topography OF the ground
the mari is found from five to fifteen
feet below the surface-in some
places thickly studded with impress
siOns of shells, while in the vicinity
of Canton these are not to be seen,
but the mari presents a blue even
appearance, showing the complete
decomposition Of the shells, and is
called blue m,r!, but just as valua-
ble a fertilizer as the other.
To speak of the appearance OF the
country is the most pleasing and at
the same time the saddest task
The surface OF the ground from Can
: tom to Livingston is somewhat roll