SOILS. The soils of the region belong, for the most part, to that portion of the glacial deposit commonly denominated "gumbo," which is generally of peculiar tenacity and intractability. Above the bottoms a shallow humus overlies a tenacious and nearly impervious yellow or buff clay, with but little sand. Boulders and pebbles are distributed sparingly through it. Along East fork the soil is poorly adapted for agriculture, though usually supporting a dense but stunted undergrowth. The bottoms of all the streams support a liberal growth of elms, oaks, etc. The uplands in the vicinity of Darkville and College Mound furnish some excellent farming lands, as does also most of the area between Middle fork and Chariton river. A strip of land several miles wide, extending from Ardmore northwestward across the sheet has suffered much from depletion by erosion, due, doubtless, in some degree, to details of the stratigraphy which will be noticed later. The worst feature of the soils is the tendency to "drown" in wet, and to "bake" in dry weather. This may be obviated to considerable extent by thorough and persistent under drainage. The introduction of better methods of agriculture will tend greatly to increase the fertility of the soils. In some cases the deterioration of soils may be traced to the injudicious cultivation of cotton and tobacco in early days. Until recently but little wheat has been raised in the county. It has been found to thrive well, however, and is now grown quite extensively and vies with corn as the principal crop. Fruits likewise have been generally neglected, until recently, though apples and other fruits grow well and are now being cultivated assiduously. The wide alluvial bottoms of the Chariton river furnished many acres of rich soil as yet unavailable on account of periodic overflow. They are being gradually occupied, however, though their cultivation is rendered hazardous from high water. FORESTRY. The timber is mostly confined to the slopes and valleys along the streams. Along East fork the slopes are generally covered with a profuse though stunted growth of oak of several species, the shingle oak predominating. The bottoms of Middle fork and Chariton river are occupied by a characteristic growth of elms, oaks and other trees. In the case of the latter stream in the northern portion of the sheet the timber is mostly confined to the western bank, but toward the south it occupies nearly the entire bottom. The steeper slopes of the secondary streams are likewise covered with a varying growth of timber, while that on the gentler slopes has been largely removed for cultivation. The following is a list of trees found growing in the district. Those marked with an (*) are of comparatively rare occurrence: LIST OF TREES WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE BEVIER SHEET. Post Oak or Iron Oak. Quercus stellata* GEOLOGY. STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY-STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY-ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY. Formations. Both clastic or stratified rocks and superficial deposits are represented within the area of the sheet. The former belong to the Coal Measure division of the Carboniferous period, and the latter consist of the drift of the first QUATERNARY CARBONITENDUS (ALLUVIUM DRIFT COAL MEASURES MIDDLE COAL MEASURES LOWER COAL MEASURES 15-20' 30°-100° 10-20° 1042 3-4° ་ ས་ 3-5 2'-8' 12-24 5'40' 4-5' 25"-30 EXPOSED NOT EXPOSEO Glacial epoch, and alluvium. The following diagram represents the order and classification of the rocks found within the limits of the sheet. THE COAL MEASURES. No clearly recognizable horizon has yet been generally defined for the line between the Lower and Middle Coal Measures of the State, and the separation is here made provisionally at the top of the arenaceous deposit overlying the Bevier coal.1 1 In Swallow's and Broadhead's reports, and in the report of the present Survey on the Higginsville sheet, this line is drawn at the top of a sandstone about 20' below the Mulky coal bed. From investigations made along the line of the Wabash railway westward from Huntsville, the writer concludes that what has been considered the Muky bed in the vicinity of Wakenda station is stratigraphically equivalent to the Macon City coal bed of this report. The variable character of the deposit between the Bevier and Macon City coals, however, precludes our drawing any definable line at the same distance beneath this coal as is done further west, since sandstones may and do occur at different horizons within this deposit. We have therefore made the division at the top of this stratum, or near the base of the Macon City coal bed, this being an easily recognized horizon and capable of greater extension than that previously adopted. Moreover, lithologically this definition commends itself for two additional reasons: (a) The character of thi- deposit shows that it is essentially a unit, the variation from sandstone to shale being without recognized order. The deposit as a whole, however, is decidedly arenaceous. (b) The completion of this formation seems to mark a decided change in the conditions attending sedimentation. Below this line shales and sandstones predominate Calcareous deposits are rare and extremely irregular in structure and occurrence. Following this, however, we find limestones increasingly prevalent, occurring in more or Fig. 8. General section of the rocks less massive beds, and quite generally persistent. FLOVE CAR of the Bevier sheet. (See report on Higginsville sheet, page 3.) Exposures within this area are confined principally to the banks of East fork and to the lower portion of Middle fork. Isolated exposures also occur along Claybank creek and west of Chariton river. A large proportion of these outcrops consist of projecting ledges of the limestones overlying either the Macon City or Summit coals, which, owing to their hardness, are well fitted to withstand erosion. Numerous outcrops of both the Bevier and Macon City coals occur in the eastern half of the sheet. The general character and arrangement of the strata comprising the indurated rocks of this district are illustrated in the following series of sections: Typical Sections (Eastern).-One of the most important sections obtained is that of the Eureka shaft, which penetrates very nearly the entire thickness of the Coal Measure strata found here. It is located on the Hannibal & St. Joe railway, near the bridge over East fork and about 1 mile west of Macon City. It is 15 feet above the track, about 35 or 40 feet above the water in East fork, and is 171 feet deep. The following record was obtained from Superintendent E. D. Hillyer: Section I (No. 3 of Section sheet). EUREKA SHAFT-MACON COAL COMPANY. Three miles east of Bevier-Top of shaft about 800 feet, A. T. 1. Soil, sandy 2. Clay, blue, marly FT. IN. 9 8 3 1 Ê༠༠༠ – ༢ 11. Limestone, hard, blue; known as "Bluestone" by drillers. LOWER COAL MEASURES. 15. Shale, micaceous, sandy, with some sandstone 16. "Cement rock" (limestone-A. W.) 17. Shale, arenaceous .... 18. Coal, with 1' to 2' shale seam ( BEVIER BED, operated).. 35. Shale, with thin layers of limestone and sandstone. .... 41. Coal with clay seam from 6" to 5' (EUREKA BED, operated). 6 Total thickness.... Interval to base of Lower Coal Measures about 30 feet. 172 2 The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Coal Co.'s shaft, No. 46, is situated 1 miles southeast of Bevier, on elevated ground. The following interesting section was kindly supplied by the superintendent, Mr. J. R. Braidwood: |