The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-08-09
High and Rolling Country
Has Diversity of Rich
Land.
Holds Moisture Well and
With Proper Treatment
Responds Quickly.


4 soil survey OF Gadsden county.
Florida. made several years ago by
Elmer O. FTppin and Albert s. Root,
experts of the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture, deals in extenso
with the photography. geology and
various soils in the different sections
of the county, and from this report
| the following data was secured:
! y broad divide extends from Georgia
| down through Gadsden county and
! separates the drainage into two syS-
TENS. This divide. in addition to it's
east and west slope. decreases grad
ualiy to the southwest and finally ends
en- the Gulf coast. Its highest point
is near Mount Pleasant in the north
! western part OF the county. The two
rivers receiving the drainage are the
! Apala chiCola on the west and tho
! Ocklocknee on the east. The latter
! stream received i've sixthS of the to-
! tai drainage.
| The broad crest OF this divide con-
| SistS OF a comparatively fiat country.
! On the west slope are Mosquito and
! Flat creeks, each with many branches
and heads. Approaching the Apalach-
! !ccla river the country grows more
! hi!ly, and within six or eight miles OF
! that stream the surface il broken. tho
many small streams having eroded
| deep channels with steep slopes. This
section is the toughest part Of the
! county.
on the eastern side Of tho divide
the streams are much longer and
more numerous. Little river. in tho
eastern third of the county separates
the divide into two portions The
western part slopes gradually off from
a 4H.
IN number and size until they reach
the common channel Along the low
er courses of these streams the Couu-
try is rolling ana the slopes are fire.
ouently quite steep.
East of Little River.
On the eastern SIDE of Little river l5
| a minor divide of considerable height,
| separating that stream from the Dck-
| IccjInee into which il empties at n
point seven miles southwest OF Mid
way. This divide Is similar in sur
| face features to the remainder of the
! county. The crest IS fairly level and
| the region along the lower courses or
! the streams is hilly.
| The higher parts Of the divides are
! commonly occupied by open long leaf
! pine forests, and of these there are
| considerable areas. Nearer the streams
some hardwoods occur and in the
| swamps the timber is chiefly hard
| wood. The pine found in this last po-
sition is n short leaf variety. On the
|
chiefly OF sweet gum. oak. walnut and
| hickory, while the lowland species ara
| magnolia, sour gum and cypress.
The materials of which the super
| fetal part of the country consists arS
unconsolidated clays, loans and sands
derived from the degradation of tho
Appalachian axis and deposited in
shallow seas. They are part OF the
widely extended Coastal Plain and
belong largely to the Lafayette for
nation. The thickness of the Lafay-
| cite formation reaches several nun
bred feet in different parts Of the
county. 1t occupies all the upland
parts of The area, with the exception
of narrow fringes OF Columbian sands
that occur on the lower slopes OF
nearly all the large streams. The La
fayette materials were laid down i'm
comparatively shallow, offshore seas
and were Influenced by the shifting
| currents. The most superficial stra-
| tum consists Of yellow or red sandy
clay, over which is thin layer OF sand
or sandy loan, ranging from 10 or
| 6 feet IN thickness.
FuIIers Earth.
An evidence OF the local modihca-
tons of the deposits during this period.
| there are found beds of fullers earth
which outcrop along the courses Oe
nearly all the streams. especially in
the eastern half OF the county. At
various points are seen exposed bodies
Of quite pure and variously colored
! clays. In addition to these there are,
in the western quarter OF the county.
many outcrops OF soft limestone and
of other calcerous materials, some or
which are said to exhibit the qualities
Z OF hydraulic cement
The Columbian sands, to which ref
erence has been made, represent tho
most recent depression of the REGION
" hich was not sufficient for the sea to
overflow more than small portion or
the land surface. The waters formed
estuaries in the mouths OF all the
large streams and spread widely over
the southern part Of the county. The
result of this was deposit or quite
clean beach sand that remains to tho
present time, forming the broad eX-
panse Of light sand seen around Mid
way and south of the federal road.
These two formations are the only
ones that occupy enough Of the sur
face to be worth of mention.
Soils of the County.
The soils Of the county vary from
q very light to q medium heavy clay
and are classified into nine types. Some
of these were recognized for the first
time in the soil survey Of the county,
but the majority have been previously
mapped in other areas. In general It
may be said that the soils increase in
clay content from the south toward
the north and from the streams to
the crest of the divides. The clay
soils or soils with clay subsois, COM
prise about one third Of the area while
the sandy soils occupy the remaining
two thirds. The names and extent Of
Continued on Next Pagel
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