Mississippi (and Red river) we come to the oak lands of Missouri,
Arkansas and Texas which stretch to the black prairies of Texas, which,
bordering the red lands of Arkansas, run southwest finally, merging in
the coast prairies near Austin. In the northern part of Arkansas we come
to the foothills of the Ozarks. These different regions are shown by the
dotted lines on the population maps.

The soils of these various regions having never been subjected to a
glacial epoch, are very diverse, and it would be a thankless task to
attempt any detailed classification on the basis of fertility. The soils
of the Atlantic side being largely from the crystalline rocks and
containing therefore much silica, are reputed less fertile than the
gulf soils. The alluvial lands of the Mississippi and other rivers are
beyond question the richest of all. Shaler says: "The delta districts of
the Mississippi and its tributaries and similar alluvial lands which
occupy broad fields near the lower portion of other streams flowing into
the gulf have proved the most enduringly fertile areas of the country."
Next to these probably stand the black prairies. In all states there is
more or less alluvial land along the streams, and this soil is always
the best. It is the first land brought into cultivation when the country
is settled, and remains most constantly in use. Each district has its
own advantages and its own difficulties. In the metamorphic regions, the
trouble comes in the attempt to keep the soil on the hills, while in the
flat lands the problem is to get proper drainage. In the present
situation of the Negro farmer the adaptability of the soil to cotton is
the chief consideration.

The first slaves were landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. The
importation was continued in spite of many protests, and the practice
soon came into favor. Almost without interruption, in spite of various
prohibitions, the slave traffic lasted right up to the very outbreak of
the war, most of the later cargoes being landed along the gulf coast.
Slavery proved profitable at the South; not so at the North, where it
was soon abandoned. It was by no means, however, equally profitable in
all parts of the South, and as time went on this fact became more
noticeable. Thus at the outbreak of the war, Kentucky and Virginia were
largely employed in selling slaves to the large plantations further
south. Few new slaves had been imported into Virginia in the last one
hundr