Geology of the Paleozoic area of Arkansas south of the novaculite region / by George H. Ashley.
- George Hall Ashley
- Date:
- 1897
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Geology of the Paleozoic area of Arkansas south of the novaculite region / by George H. Ashley. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![has shown that in the Cretaceous region there are extensive deposits of gypsum, marls and chalks containing the elements needed by these sandy soils.^ The present methods of farming require that new clearings be frequently made and new fences built. The same amount of labor, expended in fertilizing, would increase crops, and increase the value of land. Tunber. Timber is at present the greatest latent source of wealth, and in consequence of the roughness of much of the region it will always play a considerable part in the sources of income. In the southern half of the region, where the Pleistocene gravel occurs, the timber is mostly pine; in some districts it is exclusively so, except in the creek bottoms. In the rest of the region both pine and hard wood are found, the latter being the more abundant and consisting largely of oaks. This mountain timber is said not to be as even-grained as that growing in the bottoms, but has le.ss sap and greater durability. Of the oaks, the white oak is most abundant ] red oak, post oak and others occur less frequently. The short-leafed pine is probably more abundant than any other single species of tree, especially over the gravel-covered area of the southeast, where mag- nificent forests of it are common. Sweet and black gum are plenti- ful in the southern and eastern part, and in the same part of the area is much holly. Cedar has been plentiful along the Cossatot and Rolling Fork ] ash, hickory and many other valuable woods are well scat- tered over the region. As before stated, the whole area is one vast forest except for the few clearings made for cultivation. At present, from lack of transportation facilities,^ these forests have only a nominal value. But the timber near the railroad is being cut so rapidly that already the lumbermen are beginning to reach into this area. For this reason timber here has a prospective value sufficient to make it worthy of careful saving. At present it is treated in a most wasteful manner. Relation of Geology to Culture.—The relation existing between the portions of a region under cultivation to the geology of the region is seldom more interestingly shown than in this area. The ^ Geol. Surv. of Ark., Rep. for 1888, Vol. ii, Chaps, xxii-xxvii. ^ This report was written before the construction of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railway through the western part of Arkansas.—J. C. Branner.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28136342_0101.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
