CHAPTER XXIII. UTILIZATION AND RECLAMATION OF ALKALI LAND, 455.—Alkali-resistant Crops, 455.—Counteracting Evaporation, 455.—Turning-under of Surface Alkali, 456.—Shading, 457.—Neutralizing Black Alkali, 457.—Removing the Salts from the Soils, 458.—Scraping off, 458.—Leaching-Down. Figure, 459.—Underdrainage, the Final and Universal Remedy for Alkali, 460.—Possible Injury to Land by Excessive Leaching, 462.—Difficulty in Draining “Black” Alkali Land, 462.—Swamping of Alkali Land, 463.—Removal of Alkali Salts by Certain Crops, 463.—Tolerance of Alkali by Culture Plants, 463.—Relative Injuriousness of the several Salts. Effects on Sugar Beets, 464.—Table of Tolerances; Comments on same, 467.—Saltbushes and Native Grasses. Australian Saltbushes, 469.—Modiola; Native and Cultivated Grasses, 469.—Other Herbaceous Crops, 472.—Legumes, 472.—Mustard Family, 473.—Sunflower Family, 473.—Root Crops, 474.—Stem Crops, 475.—Textile Plants, 475.—Shrubs and Trees, 475.—Vine, Olive, Date, Citrus Trees. Deciduous Orchard Trees. Timber and Shade Trees, 475.—Inducements toward the Reclamation of Alkali Lands, 481.—Wheat on Reclaimed Land at Tulare; Figure, 482.—Need of Constant Vigilance, 484. CHAPTER XXIV. THE RECOGNITION OF SOIL CHARACTER FROM THE NATIVE VEGETATION; MISSISSIPPI, 487.—Climatic and Soil Conditions, 487.—Natural Vegetation the Basis of Land Values in the United States, 488.—Investigation of Causes Governing Distribution of Native Vegetation, 488.—Investigations in Mississippi, 489.—Vegetative Belts in Northern Mississippi, 490.—Sketch Map of Same, with Tabulation of Lime Content and Native Vegetation, 490.—Lime Apparently a Governing Factor, 492.—Soil Belts in Southern Mississippi, 493.—Vegetative and Soil Features of Coast Belts. Diagram, 495.—Table of Plant-Food percentages and Native Growth, 496.—Definition of Calcareous Soils, 496.—_Differences in the Form and Development of Trees_, 498.—Forms of the Post Oak. Figures, 498.—Forms of the Black Jack Oak. Figures, 500.—Characteristic Forms of other Oaks, 502.—Sturdy Growth on Calcareous Lands, 502.—Growth of Cotton, 503.—Lime Favors Fruiting, and compact Growth, 504.—Physical vs. Chemical Causes of Vegetative Features, 505.—Lowland Tree Growth, 506.—Contrast between “First” and “Second” Bottoms, 506.—Tree Growth of the First Bottoms. The Cypress, 507.—Figures of Swamp and Upland Cypress, 508.—Other Lowland Trees, 509.—General Forecasts of Soil Quality in Forest Lands, 509.