The Loess Soil, or Brown Loam area, extends through the entire state along the eastern border of the Mississippi River flood plain, or the Yazoo Delta. It has an average width of about thirty miles. The land is high and well drained. The principal soil is a brown loam derived from the weathering of the loess, which varies in color from a light yellowish brown to a dark brown. It is moderately rich in mineral plant foods, ranking third in the state as a soil type, being surpassed only by the soils of the Delta and the Northeast Prairie. The crops most extensively grown are corn, cotton, and trucking crops. It is not a section well adapted to bee culture. In the southern part of this area, at Port Gibson, in Claiborne County, on the Mississippi River, there is an apiary of 200 colonies. A crop has been obtained, on an average, three years out of four, during twenty years. But in 1917 and 1918 there was no rain for seventy days, while in 1919 and 1920 there was rain every two or three days with the result that during all four years there were very short crops.

In the north-central portion of the state, between the Black or Northeast Prairie and the Loess Soil area, lie two belts of land known as the Flatwoods and the Shortleaf Pine area. The principal soil of the Flatwoods is a clay or silt loam derived from the weathering of a heavy clay. It is deficient in lime. The soils of the Shortleaf Pine belt are largely sandy loams, and as a rule are not rich in the mineral plant foods. The counties in this section report few colonies of bees, as the only good locations are found along the river and creek bottoms. The honey plants are bitterweed, holly, black gum, blackberry, persimmon, black locust, white clover, and tulip tree. At Grayport, Grenada County, the surplus comes wholly from holly (Ilex opaca), which is reliable unless it rains constantly while it is in bloom. Strong colonies have stored 17 pounds in a single day; but there is difficulty in getting the colonies strong in time for the flow, which comes late in April or at the beginning of May, and lasts for about three weeks. The flavor of holly honey is excellent; and it is still liquid after two or three years. In this locality, hut for holly it would not pay to keep bees.

The south-central part of the state is crossed by a narrow raised tract of land, covered principally with clay soils derived from the weathering of marl and limestone. There are also small areas of sandy soils. The black lime soil is well adapted to the growing of cotton, corn, alfalfa, lespedeza and other clovers. Melilotus grows wild here and attains a vigorous growth. Alfalfa yields an average of four cuttings. A beekeeper at Hillsboro reports that, while his surplus varies from 5 to 75 pounds, it averages about 35 pounds. The prolonged light flows in the fall encourage breeding, and this locality is better adapted to the production of bees than honey. Many more bees could be kept, but no large commercial apiaries Would succeed. The honey plants are tulip tree, wild crab apple, buttonbush, persimmon, and boneset. There is a large acreage of cotton, but its value as a honey plant is doubtful. Bitterweed often yields well in the fall.

South of latitude 32 degrees, or a line extending from near the northern boundary of Wayne County to the city of Vicksburg, on the Mississippi River, the land is generally level, sandy, not very productive, and covered almost entirely with long-leaved pine except in the river valleys. Wherever the pine has been cut, gallberry (Ilex glabra) grows in great profusion. Along the streams and in the marshes black and white tupelo and titi are found in great abundance. Scrub palmetto grows throughout this region also, and in places is so dense as to make the land practically worthless for agricultural purposes. Holly occurs locally, and the tulip tree is confined largely to the sides of the creeks.

Along the coast there is a strip of sandy land about ten miles wide where the