P 280 .C6 B3 Copy 1 IP ^¥ ..of... Bmti^ fflarnltna PREPARED BY J. W. BAUER fl Section Director of the South Carolina Section of the United Stales Weather and Gop Service, for the United States Government publication, " The Climatology of the United States," and reprinted by permission of Willis L. Moore, Chief of the United States Weather Bureau. ^ Many indisputable facts showing South Carolina's match- less resources of climate and soil, making the State one of the most successful agricultural districts of the American Continent. :: ISSUED BY THE 00Utf? CdaroUtta Btatt l^tpuvtmmi nf Agrirultur?, (^ammtrtf mh Smmigratinn. E. J. WATSON, Commissioner 19 4 ."^ .' ..^.J^^^-.#^^^^- ilntroburtor^. To Those Seeking- Homes in the South: It is with peculiar pleasure that the article prepared by Mr. J. W. Bauer, Director of the South Carolina section of the United Weather and Crop Service, on the subject of the climatology of South Carolina, is reprinted for the benefit of homeseekers. This article was prepared for use in the Government's publication, "Climatology of the United States," and is reprinted in this form with the permission of Willis L. Moore, Chief United States Weather Bureau. This information is valuable, inasmuch as Mr. Bauer is not only an expert in his line, but has been in charge of the United States Government's weather and crop service in South Carolina long- enough to be thoroughly familiar with climatic, soil,* and crop conditions, and what he says is in the light of intelligence and a competent knowl- edge of the subject he presents so entertain- ingly. All homeseekers are particularly in- vited to read this article with care, and to digest its contents thoroughly before deter- mining upon a location for a home. E. J. WATSON, Commissioner. QIltmal0l0J5i| nf S>0«tt| fflarnltna. Few, if any, States afford so interesting a field of study in physiography as South Caro- lina. Her topography varies from marshy coastal lowlands, interior alluvial plains and swamps, sandy highlands, rolling uplands to low mountains, in a series of gradations from the Atlantic Ocean to the southern spurs of the Appalachians. Her shape is that of an an isosceles triangle having its base resting on the ocean and its apex touching the moun- tains. This triangle is inclosed by the lines formed by the parallels of latitude, 32 degrees and 35 degrees 12 minutes north, and longi- tude 78 degrees 30 minutes, and 83 degrees 20 minutes west of Greenwich. The State is bounded on the north by North Carolina, on the east by North Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and Georgia, and on the west by Georgia. Her greatest dimension is a line from George- town running northwestward through Colum- bia to the northwestern part of Greenville County, and measures 241 miles. The longest straight line due north and south is 216 miles, and can be drawn from the southernmost point of Beaufort County to the North Car- olina border in York County. The total area is 30,170 square miles, bearing a population in 1900 of 1,340,000, making the density of population approximately forty-four per square mile. The area expressed in acres is 19,308,800, of which 13,958,014 acres were in- cluded in farms, and of these farm lands 5,775,741 acres were under tillage in 1899, yielding crops valued at $58,890,413, or abou/ $11 per acre.* The entire State is well watered by numer- ous rivers and their branching tributaries. The principal rivers are navigable from the ocean for varying distances, usually to the points where the lowlands end and the hill country begins. Although the commerce carried by water is as yet comparatively un- important, it is capable of being greatly increased. The "up-country" rivers and their largest tributaries are important and valuable *Special Bulletin, Twelfth Census of the iJnited States. for the numerous water-power sites they offer. The relation between these streams in their availability for furnishing cheap power for manufacturing purposes, and the seasonal and annual precipitation, is intimate, but has been modified, and the availability of the water- power sites decreased by the deforestation of the steep hillsides that are so important physical features of the western half of the State. When cleared, these hillsides yield profitable crops for a few years only, then become gullied, almost barren wastes, de- nuded of their soil by the washing rains. These gullies act as troughs and drainage channels and facilitate the rapid off-flow of the rainfall, so that the streams are subject to quick freshets and overflows that destroy bottom-land crops, or damage them, then as quickly fall again to minimum flows. This rapid off-flow of the otherwise sufficient rain- fall renders power sites on the smaller streams unavailable. The remedy is re- forestation of the hillsides, for which the small loss in tillable lands incurred would be amply compensated by the greater and more certain yields of the bottom lands that are the depositaries of the soil from the denuded hillsides. At present the frequent occurrence, and some seasons recurrence, of freshets, renders crops precarious on many of the widest and most fertile valleys. Reforestation would tend to conserve the rainfall and make the flow of the rivers more even and at a greater average depth. The physical features of South Carolina have been so accurately defined and described in a publication issued by the State in 1883* that all subsequent geographers have copied from it, almost in the exact language of the original description, and the regions as named in that publication will be briefly described for a correct understanding of the difference in climate of the eastern and western parts of the State. There are seven well defined regions, named in the order that they occur from the coast to the mountains. I. "The Coast Region," a narrow border fringing the coast and extending inland about ten miles. It includes the numerous sea islands and the extensive salt marshes. The climate of this region is illustrated by the data for Charleston and Beaufort, the latter representing the sea islands. *South Carolina — Resources and Popu- lation — Institutions and Industries. II. "The Lower Pine Belt or Savannah Re- gion," lying inland and parallel with the coast region. This region has an average width of about fifty miles, and an average elevation of about 150 feet. It includes the tidal estu- aries of the rivers, and considerable country lying above tidal influence. In this region there are extensive swamps and undrained lowlands. The land is generally flat, with a few elevations rising to a maximuux height of 250 feet. The average slope is two and one- half feet to the mile. This makes drainage difficult and detracts from the otherwise ex- ceedingly fertile soil, although along its western border lie the regions of greatest productiveness of the entire State. The climate of this region is shown by the data for Charleston, Blackville and Trial. III. "The Upper Pine Belt" lies still further inland, between the lower pine belt and the sand and red hills, and has an elevation rang- ing from 130 to 250 feet. Its surface is com- paratively level but rolling, and it has good drainage, with an average slope of about five feet to the mile. This region has the distinc- tion of including the best and most productive farm lands in the State, but its soil decreases in richness as the region merges into that of the red hill and sand hill regions. The climate of this region differs but little from that of the lower pine belt, except that the proximity of the ocean is less apparent, and is shown by the data for Blackville and Society Hill. IV. "The Red Hill Region" is irregular in outline and consists of a series of detached groups of hills on the northwestern border of the upper pine belt, and among the sand hills. Its most northerly group is the "High Hills of Santee," in Sumter County. The red hills attain their highest elevation in Orange- burg County, with crests of from 500 to 600 feet above the sea. The soil is a reddish loam that responds to fertilization, but in its natural state is not productive and it requires skilful tillage. The climate is represented by the data for Stateburg. V. "The Sand Hill Region" stretches across the State from the Savannah River, opposite Augusta, Georgia, to the North Carolina line, where it intersects the Great Pedee River, and includes the whole or parts of Aiken, Edgefield, Lexington, Richland, Kershaw, Lancaster, and Chesterfield Counties. Its greatest width is about fifty miles, in Lex- ington County. The sand hills attain an ele- vation of about 600 feet in Aiken County, and a maximum elevation of from 700 to 800 feet in Lexington County. The streams that originate in the western parts of the State have in this region an abrupt descent into the "low-country," and afford numerous water-power sites, as in many places the descent is steep enough to form low falls and rapids. The soil of the sand hills is loose, rounded sand, and is of low fertility, except that the river bottoms are usually fertile, their soil being of a different texture and formation, being formed by the depositions of freshets and overflows of the muddy streams that carry the soil from the denuded hillsides of the "up-country" and leave it in successive layers in the middle and "low- country" valleys. The sand hills are noted for their large commercial peach orchards, especially in the more southerly portions, but the soil and cimate are so alike over the whole region that fruits of all kinds would attain the same early perfection, even to the North Carolina border. This region is justly famed for its salubrious winter clim.ate, and contains widely known health and pleasure resorts, those best known being Aiken and Camden, although the entire region shares in the climatic advantages of any part. The forests originally consisted of long-leaf pine, but being nearly all cut for timber, it has been succeeded by the short-leaf pine, and scrub oak. The climate of this region can be studied from the data for Aiken, Columbia, and Society Hill. VI. "The Piedmont Region" includes the whole of ten and parts of eight western counties, and is the largest region in the State. The elevation ranges from about 350 to 1,000 feet. This region has a diversified soil, practically all capable of tillage, with an evenly distributed population. The cereals, grasses, and fruits of the Northern States, as well as cotton, rice, sugarcane, and figs, all indigenous to the South, here flourish side by side, and although neither the former nor the latter attain their maximum productive- ness, they yield profitable returns under proper cultivation. Perhaps no other region in the whole United States can compare in variety of crops commonly raised with this region, unless it be in the northern portion of Georgia and Alabama, where the climatic con- ditions are similar. The climate of the Pied- mont region is shown by the data for Trenton, Columbia, Santuck, and Greenville. VII. "The Alpine Region" comprises the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and occupies the northwestern border of the State. The country is hilly and broken, with occa- sionally small level tablelands capable of cultivation. The entire region would afford good pasturage for sheep and goats. Its ele- vation ranges from 1,000 to 3,436 feet, the latter being the summit of Mount Pinnacle, in Pickens County, and is the highest point in South Carolina. Agriculturally, this region is of slight importance, but it contains unex- ploited mineral wealth of probably great value, and it is heavily forested with hard- wood trees. It has a distinctively mountain climate, modified by its southerly latitude and comparatively low elevation. There is no data available to define its climate except that for Greenville on its southern border. The above named physical regions have well defined and definitely ascertained bound- aries, and each has its peculiar climatic features, but it must not be inferred that the climatic and physical boundaries coincide, or that the former bears an unvarying rela- tion to the latter throughout the year, or in any one season. There are times when the climatic boundaries disappear, especially during severe winter storms, and at times they present a reversal, more particularly in the summer time. In general, the coast and adjacent regions have the more equable tem- peratures, the western portions the widest range. The difference betwen the annual mean temperature of Beaufort (the warmest place) and Greenville (the coldest) is 8 degrees. The spring and autumn seasons maintain this difference, while in summer it is only 6 degrees, and in winter it rises to 11 degrees. If an intermediate station is included in the comparison, Columbia for instance, midway between Beaufort and Greenville, it is found that Columbia's mean annual temperature (64 degrees) is 2 degrees lower than that of Beaufort, and 6 degrees higher than for Greenville; in spring the dif- ferences are 3 degrees and 5 degrees; in summer, 1 degree and 5 degrees; in autumn, 4 degrees and 4 degrees; and in winter, 4 degrees and 7 degrees. In other words, the whole of the eastern part of the State, or the so-called "low-country," has the more equable tempera- ture. The same relative differences appear when more stations are included in the com- parison. If, instead of the mean annual and mean seasonal temperatures, the mean maximum temperatures are used In comparison, a much smaller difference is found to exist, Beaufort's annual mean maximum being 75 degrees, Co- lumbia 74 degrees, and Greenville 70 degrees. The seasonal mean maximum temperatures are, in the same order, for the spring, 75 de- grees, 74 degrees, 70 degrees; for the summer, 89 degrees, 90 degrees, 85 degrees; for the autumn, 77 degrees, 74 degrees, 73 degrees; and for the winter 59 degrees, 57 degrees, 52 degrees. While this comparison corresponds closely with the annual and seasonal means, it also shows that the central parts have higher day temperatures in the summer than either the coast or the highlands. The differ- ence is slight betwen the center and the coast (one degree) and very material between the center and west portion (5 degrees). The mean minimum temperatures, both annual and seasonal, show less variability, as well as wider ranges. The annual mean minimum for Beaufort is 59 degrees, for Columbia 53 degrees, and for Greenville 47 degrees. The seasonal values, in the same sequence, are, for the spring, 58 degrees, 52 degrees, 46 degrees; for the summer, 74 de- grees, 70 degrees, 65 degrees; for the autumn, 61 degrees, 54 degrees, 48 degrees; and for the winter, 42 degrees, 37 degrees, 28 degrees. This comparison is interesting, as it shows that on the coast the minimum averages at about the lowest temperature (during the winter) at which vegetation will grow; in the central parts it is too low for growth, al- though well above freezing, while in the west the average minimum is 4 degrees below freezing. At Santuck, in the eastern part of the Piedmont region, the winter mean mini- mum is 31 degrees; at Clemson College it is 30 degrees; at Aiken, 39 degrees; at Society Hill, 36 degrees; Trenton, 38 degrees; Trial, 37 degrees. The low minimum at Trial can- not be explained by reference to its location, about fifty miles from the coast, but the reason undoubtedly is on account of the level, low, swampy surrounding country. The an- nual mean maximum is 74 degrees at Trial, the same as at Columbia, but the annual mean minimum is 1 degree lower. The great- est differences in temperature between the extremities of the State are along a north- westerly and southeasterly line, rather than along a north and south line, although the distances are practically the same, showing the influence of the high elevations in the northwestern portion. Killing frosts are infrequent on the coast, although few, if any, years have been ex- empt. The average date of last killing frost of spring at Charleston is March 3d; at Beau- fort, farther south, but in a more exposed and open locality, it is March 8th. The latest dates of killing frost in spring at those points are April 2d and 1st respectively. Inland and westward, the average dates of last killing frost advance regularly, with one exception, to April 7th at Santuck, and 5th at Greenville. At Trial the date is as late as April 4th, and again illustrates the susceptibility of this locality to low temperatures. In passing, it should be noted that every section that has sandy soil exhibits the same susceptibility, especially where the sand is light yellow or nearly white. In the autumn the dates of flrst killing frost show the same march, ex- cept in an opposite direction, and with the same inconsistency at Trial as in the spring, being earliest at Santuck (September 30th), then at Trial (October 10th), followed by Greenville (October 15th), and from then on regularly to the coast, on November 9th at Charleston and 7th at Beaufort. The average dates of first killing frost follow the same chronology as the earliest dates, ranging from October 29th, at Santuck, to November 30th, at Charleston, with Greenville and Trial having practically the same dates, Novem- ber 5th and 6th respectively. These dates show an average season without killing frost of 272 days at Charleston, 215 at Trial, 230 at Columbia, 205 at Santuck, and 215 at Green- ville. In the sand hill region clear nights, in spring and autumn, are favorable for low minimum temperatures, but generally with- out frost formation. The extreme maximum temperatures vary but little in different parts of the State, al- though the central portions usually have the highest maxima. Temperatures of 100 de- grees or higher are of frequent occurence in the central counties, rare along the coast, and are unknown in the western parts. The highest recorded in the last ten years was 107 degrees at Darlington and Florence in 1902. Extreme minimum temperatures show a wider range. The lowest minimum recorded in the last ten years was 11 degrees below zero at Santuck and Shaws Fork (Aiken County) in February, 1899. The average number of days with temperatures above 90 degrees ranges from 79 days at Blackville to 21 days at Charleston; below 32 degrees the averages are 80 days at Greenville, 9 at Charleston, 16 at Beaufort, 20 at Aiken, 34 at Trial, 28 at Stateburg, and 38 at Columbia. This shows an irregularity in distribution that may be attributed to local topography, soil, and elevation. The average relative humidity at different places is largely a matter of approximation, as observations have been taken for any considerable period at two places only, namely, Charleston and Aiken, and as the hours of observation were not the same, the results are not strictly comparable. These observations are not taken at voluntary ob- server's stations, and at Columbia cover not quite three years, a period too short for re- liable means. These three years compare favorably with the longer period at Charles- ton. To institute a reliable comparison be- tween Charleston and Columbia, the data for 1901-02-03 were reduced to means, and are given in the following table for January and July. The relative humidity data for Aiken at 7 a. m. and 9 p. m. is added to the table, and includes a period of twelve years. JANUARY. 8 a.m. 8 a.m. 8 p.m. 8 p.m. Tempt. R. H. Tempt. R. H. Places. de- per de- per grees. cent. grees. cent. Charleston., , .. 40 79 49 75 Columbia. .. ... 38 79 46 66 Aiken ... — 68 — 67 JULY. 8 a.m. 8 a.m. 8 p.m. 8 p.m. Tempt. R. H. Tempt. R. H. Places. de- per de- per grees. cent. grees. cent. Charleston., , .. 79 79 81 78 Columbia.. . ... 76 76 82 66 Aiken ... — 70 — 67 Prom the table it would appear that the interior is much drier during the evening than the coast, but that the difference in the relative humidity is slight during the morn- ing hours. Assuming that the relative hu- midity is from 18 per cent, to 20 per cent, lower during the hottest part of the day, and this assumption is warranted* it would also appear that the interior has a much wider ^Handbook of Climatology— Hann (1903). diurnal range than the coast reg-ion. Ex- ceedingly low percentages of relative hu- midity, ranging from 15 per cent, to 25 per cent., occur at all seasons, but when asso- ciated with temperatures above 90 degrees they are harmful to vegetation and prob- ably also to animal organism. In other than the hottest seasons, low relative hu- midity has no noticeable effects on either. Muggy days are not uncommon along the coast, and more than any other climatic feature render the summer season almost unendurable to the unacclimated. In the in- terior, muggy days are so rare, and their period of duration so short, that they do not detract from the healthfulness of the climate. Muggy weather is conducive to rapid growth of vegetation, and in that manner compen- sates for the discomforts it causes. The precipitation of South Carolina is well distributed, both geographically and by seasons. The season of heaviest rainfall is the summer time, when vegetation is most in need of it. The mean annual amount is 49.0 inches, and the variations from this amount are comparatively small — Charleston, with the largest amount, having 53.4, and State- burg 44.4, the smallest. The next smallest amount is 46.7, at Columbia. Omitting Charleston, Stateburg, and Columbia, whose lengths of record are 33, 20, and 16 years, and using only such stations whose years of record coincide and include the period from 1893 to 1903, it is found that the greatest average annual rainfall is 53.0 at Greenville, closely followed by Trenton, with 52.1 inches; the least is 48.0, at Santuck, with Beaufort only slightly greater, with 48.3 Inches. This comparison would indicate that the different parts of the State have practically like amounts of precipitation. The average spring rainfall is 10.8 inches; summer, 17.0; autumn, 10.1; and winter, 11.6. The range in the spring is between 9.1 at Beaufort and 12.6 at Greenville; the summer range is between 13.6 at Santuck and 20.1 at Charleston; the autumn range is between 8.4 at Stateburg and 12.5 at Charleston; and the winter range is between 8.2 at Beaufort and 14.2 at Greenville. This would indicate that the heaviest rainfall during the spring and winter is over the western parts of the State, and the heaviest summer and autumn rain- fall is in the eastern parts, particularly the coast regions. The long record of Charleston and the shorter record at Beaufort both agree in the above conclusion, although the longer record shows the larger amount. The small annual rainfall at Stateburg is probably due to the peculiar location of that station on a spur of the "High Hills of Santee." A thirty-six years average at Camden, about twenty miles north of Stateburg, is even less, being only 43.3 inches. The average number of days with 0.01 or more precipitation (excluding precipitation from dew) ranges from 87 at Aiken to 119 at Charleston. The probability of rainy days therefore ranges from .24 to .33. Stateburg and Blackville show the lowest rain intensity, with 0.40 at both places, while Aiken has an apparent rain intensity of 0.56; this is con- sidered too high in comparison with surround- ing stations. Records such as these cannot be made absolutely accurate, and have only an approximate value. Their accuracy de- pends too much on the personality of the ob- server, especially at voluntary observers' stations. The monthly, seasonal and annual values are more nearly correct than is that of any single rain, as the gage may or may not be visited and measured after each rain, but the contents will be added to the next rain and be included in the amount of it, with only the loss by evaporation to vitiate the record, while the rain intensity will be practically twice the amount it should be. Heavy rainfalls, in excess of 12 inches for the month, are not infrequent in South Caro- lina during June, July, and August, and are rare during the rest of the year. They usually occur in the southern parts. The heaviest monthly rainfall at any stations occurred in August, 1898, when the totals at Port Royal (near Beaufort) and at Gillisonville (about thirty miles inland) were 24.7 and 24.4 inches, respectively. These torrential rains occur only during the passage of West India hur- ricanes. In the western parts there are com- paratively few days having rains in excess of 3.0 inches, for any 24 consecutive hours. Hail storms are seldom of wide extent or destructive, although occasionally they do occur in May and June, seldom in July, and rarely in August, and are practically unknown during the rest of the year. Hail storms are most frequent in the north central and north- eastern parts, and rarely occur in the south- ernmost parts. The differences in latitude and in elevation from the coast to the mountains have an appreciable influence on the occurrence of II snowstorms. The line marking the absolute southern limit of snow does not cross or touch this State, although the southernmost part is practically exempt. During the occur- rence of severe cold waves, snow falls in the vicinity of Charleston and the adjoining low country, but it is exceedingly rare that it accumulates on the ground, and almost in- variably melts as it falls. On the contrary, in the northwestern and even the central parts, it accumulates to depths of from five to ten inches, and sometimes remains on the ground for from two days to a week. The average annual number of days with snow ranges from none at Charleston to five at Santuck. The late autumn, winter, and early spring precipitation is almost entirely due to the passage of cyclonic storms. The late spring, summer, and early autumn rains are, with few exceptions, of convectional type. The exceptions are of two kinds, the first being due to the occasional passage over this part of the country of cyclonic storms that origi- nate in the southwest; the second being the passage of West India hurricanes that origi- nate in the tropics. The latter are of more frequent occurrence, especially in August and September, but seldom reach the westernmost parts. The extreme limits of probable annual pre- cipitation, or the absolute driest and wettest years, are not well defined in the accom- panying tables, owing to the shortness of the periods of observation, except at Charleston, where the range is between 29.7 and 78.4 inches. At Stateburg (twenty years) the range is between 32.6 and 60.0; at Columbia (sixteen years) the range is between 39.7 and 53.3; at Greenville (ten years) the range is between 42.5 and 77.8 inches. If a deduction is permissible from so short a record, it appears that the extreme parts of the State have a greater variability, while the central parts have a fairly constant pre- cipitation from year to year. The percentages of variability are much greater when the comparison is between seasons, and still greater between months of like name. The accompanying tables do not include this data, nor have the periods of greatest number of consecutive days without rain been calcu- lated. Fogs are frequent along the coast and in the low country, and in the winter season in other parts. The sand hills are almost free 12 from them, the average annual number being but one day each year. At Charleston the average annual number is twenty-six days. The record for prevailing winds is unsatis- factory, but there is so close an agreement between stations in the same parts of the State as to warrant the tentative statement that over the eastern parts the prevailing winds are from the southwest; in the north central parts from the northeast, and in the western parts from the west. Destructive high winds are of rare occurrence, and are of two kinds. The first, usually confined to the western parts, are tornadic; along the coast and adjoining regions they accompany West India hurricanes. The relation between the climate of South Carolina and its agricultural resources is complex, and the limits of this article will not permit an exhaustive discussion. Even a list of the flora indigenous to the State would require about all the space assigned. From the data in the accompanying tables it can be seen that the coast region has a semi- tropical climate; the upper portion has a tem- perate, or sub-temperate, climate; in the central portions there is a gradual blending of the one into the other. This makes it pos- sible to raise practically every variety of crop known to the United States in some portion of South Carolina. The staple crops in the coast region are sea island cotton, corn and tobacco, as well as early truck crops, for which it is admirably adapted. Peaches, pears, and figs attain perfection. Straw- berries are an important commercial crop. Oranges and lemons have been grown, but are precarious crops. The lower pine belt is adapted to tobacco, cotton, rice, and corn, with the fruits and berries that yield so well in the coast region. The upper pine belt is the region of greatest yields of cotton, corn, tobacco and melons, and is well adapted for raising fruits and berries of all kinds. Occasionally wheat is cultivated. Oats are one of the staple crops. The sand hills are peculiarly adapted for the cultivation of peaches and other fruits, but are otherwise of low agricultural value, although they are far from being barren. The red hills yield well of the staple crops, such as cotton, corn, and oats, under fertili- zation and intense cultivation. 13 In the Piedmont region, cotton, corn, wheat, oats and rye, peas and other legumes are staple field crops. Peaches, apples, pears, cherries, and berries of all kinds do well. This region shares with the warmer portions of the State a wide adaptability for the culti- vation of all varieties of garden vegetables known to the market gardener in any part of the United States, although as the season is later than on the coast, truck farming is not so profitable in the Piedmont region. Truck raised in the western parts of the State would come into competition with that raised on the coasts of Virginia and Maryland. The enumeration of the different crops raised in this State is not complete with the mention of those herein made for the different regions, but minor crops for local consump- tion include a large number of varieties. Chief among them may be named sweet potatoes, sugarcane, sorghum, peanuts, white potatoes, and the different kinds of root crops, culti- vated mainly for forage. Tea is being suc- cessfully cultivated at Summerville, and promising experiments are being made to grow coffee trees. The abundance of wild flowers from early in spring to late in autumn makes the State an almost ideal one for the estab- lishment of apiaries, a hitherto almost neg- lected industry. The long season during which pasturage is available makes stock-raising and dairying economical, but the present production of neither beef nor dairy products is equal to the consumption. Wheat, and its milled prod- ucts, oats, corn, and hay are imported in large quantities, not because the climate and soil are not capable of producing these crops abundantly, but becauses the energies of the farmers are largely devoted to raising cotton, while other crops are correspondingly neg- lected. All parts of the State are habitable, but some portions are more desirable than others. Perhaps the coast and the lower pine belt regions are least desirable, and have the smallest population per square mile, owing largely to the physical features of these sec- tions, they being lov/, level, and have large swamps and marshes. Most of the land is reclaimable, but at a great expense and necessarily under a comprehensive and ex- tensive system of drainage canals. 14 The slight difference in climate of the other regions does not materially affect their habit- ableness, taut if any preference exists in re- gard to healthfulness it is in favor of the sand hill region. J. W. BAUER, Section Director. 15 PRESSES OF THE STATE COMPANY COLUMBIA, S. C. i.. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 496 486 n |