The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-17
BY 2. Q. RENEkE.

ey from Missouri and Kentucky 10 the
Gulf OF Mexico lies the alluyhl en-
bire, the last and most productive great
body Of delta soil in the w0rld avail
able for agricultural development.
The 10000, 600 acres Of super-soi
stretch across the valley at varying
widths from the Mississippi river to thu
gently rolling hills Of Arkansas, Ten
nessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Although this broad expanse Of allu-
vial land is only one-third developed
thet trade and wealth of the alIuyial en-
nire already exceeds that of Holland
Belgium and Denmark combined. VIII
It's 100000 acres fully developed, the
alluyial empire viii be the richest anC
most productive agricultural region In
all the world.
Colossal strides toward the develop.
ment of the alluvial empire have beer
made within the last few years. Behind
a chain Of titanic levees hat have con-
quered the turbulent Mississippi river
amazingly productive farms have
sprung from what before was a cut
over waste; modern towns with com
Workable homes, prosperous stores
churches and schools have risen from
erstwhile deserted cross trails; drainage
has robbed the mosquito of its lair and
is driving malaria from the land; hun
dreds OF millions Of dollars are beins
spent for permannt, h~ard-surfaced high
ways with concrete bridges-and vel
only-a bare start has been made TOWARD
building the alluvial empire.
Early in the history of the American
republic the pioneers crossed the fertile
region in their rush for Western land
because then the alluvial empire was
covered largely by ~unpenetrable, prime
val forests, and the entire region was
q prey to floods that annually swept
down the broad valley. So they usheC
onward.
Way Is Open.
But now the way Is open for develop
ment. Lumbermen who blaze the paths
Of progress HAYS removed the timber
from millions of acres and a gigantic
system of levees has been built t
resist a greater flood than any eve
known. Farming is safe behind the
mountainous earthen mounds which
skirt the Mississippi river.
With the Father of Waters definitely
conquered, engineers turned their at.
tention to vast drainage projects Il
release waters held in 1owland tracts
and to provide new channels for watel
that unlocked the door of progress, fol
1t reclair ed the supersoil for agricul-
ture and drove away disease. The allu-
vial empire is as healthful now as any
region In the world.
The eyes of the nation are upon the
alluvial empire, Farmers everywhere
are looking this way with growing in
t%erest, yet many hesitate because the
evil tales of former days still ring In
their ears. They know the soil is in.
comparable, but fear the country Is toe
u%nhealthful for them and their families
Nevertheless, thousands Of more cour-
ageous farmers have ventured into the
alluvial region Of Arkansas, Mississippi.
and Louisiana within the last few years
in quest of farms. They are comine
from the heart of the great corn belt
from the Western. pains, and from the
r'orn-out farming regions of the East
Those who have come into this regior
of rich reward would not now go back
whence they came.
Although Northern farmers are pour
ing into the alluvial empire in increasing
numbers to till the versatile soil, the
greatest demand for a~lluvial land i
from Southern men mosta familiar witt
the productivity of delta soil.
In the face.of this double demand, al.
luvial land values have doubled and
trebled even since 1914. Land experts
believe prices will continue to soar tC
their true level, because alluvial soil to-
day is paying 10 per cent upon a valu-
alton Of $500 to $1,000 per acre,
Gov. Frank Q. Lowden, OF Illinois
who owns 80, 500 acres of alluvial lane
in Eastern Arkansas. has said man!
times that in his judgment delta sol
eventually would sell at $500 per acre
His prediction already has come true
in certain highly developed sections OF
Arkansas and Mississippi. Even in the
more undeveloped sections of those
states and Louisiana, where values still
are low, prices are rising. swiftly as
farmers clamor for supersoil.
Few men in the United States are
better qualified than Gov, Lowden t
Judge the value Of land. He owns ant
operates a 5,00O-acre farm in the hear
If Illinois, and operates a ranch of IT,,
600 acres in Texas. He has studied
and in every fertile American valley, in
Cuba, Panama, Asia and Africa in con-
nection with soil chemists he employs.
Lowden Enthusiastic.
In an address last December befor,
Gov. Lowden said:
wherever I have gone, in this coun-
try or in any other, l have seen nc
lands that in my opinion are equal o
the alluvial lands of these Southern
states.
Il have said to my friends in Illinois
and | have seen a number of gentle.
men here from Illinois today, and ]
know they will not consider 1t treason
to my state-that the best lands in
these valleys are superior to the best
;lands in Illinois and l don't know how
could give them higher praise than that,
There is no other place in the world
where land will respond so promptly
and so generously to a little human
kindness as these alluvial lands Of the
South"
Alluvlal soil is nothing more or less
than land built from water deposits. II
is similar In character to bottom lands
everywhere, except that the alluvia.
empire is so broad that its soil is richie
in productive ingredients than ordinary
bottom land.
Thirty-one states included in the vast
area drained by the Mississippi river
contributed their fertility to the alluvia
empire. The very cream Of agricultural
lands in the North, East and West was
SKINNED by nature and delivered to the
alluvial valley.
Back in the dim dawn Of time the al
luvial empire was an inland ocear
stretching its long arm from the gulf
to the point where the Mississippi and
Ohio rivers meet. Through century aft
err century this process continued until
gradually the inland sea receded, leaving
finally only a channel through which
the Mississippi river flows. The sol
building process continues today below
New Orleans, where the river each day
adds one foot to the mainland.
There is no doubt that biologists are
correct in their theory of the inland
SGD. Inc dlluNldl uGpOolt llOul
the valley is from 100 to 200 feet deep,
In seeking artesian flows, well drillers
frequently encounter splendidly pre-.
served logs at 80 to 100 feet, and deeper
still fragments of shells and other relics
of the sea are found.
Soil Is Rich.
Alluvial soil is so rich in lime, nitro
gen phospho, us and humus that con.
mercial fertilizer Is unnecessary. One
crop Of cowpeas in the alluvial empire
will restore all the fertility taken from
land in a generation.
The chemical analyses of a large
number Of samples taken from all over
the delta region shows the average loan
soil to contain 1870 pounds Of phos-
phorus per acre in the first seven
inches of soil, according to Prof. r. R.
Lloyd, agriculturist of the Memphis
Chamber of Commerce, who for years
was director Of extension at the Missis-
sippi A. and NJ. college.
1t would REQUIRE II crops of corn