the county are corn, cotton, oats, rye, rice, potatoes (sweet and Irish), sugar-cane. Like those of the surrounding counties, the people of Coffee are coming more and more to recognize the merits of the Cuban sugarIts production is easy and renumerative. cane. Fruits are readily produced here. Apples, pears, peaches, plums, quinces, and pomegranates are the principal fruits. The woods abound in wild fruits for man and beast. Grapes rapidly attain perfection, and with proper cultivation will become remunerative. A green sand marl has been observed at Kimneey's mill, south of Elba, but its extent has not yet been ascertained. The timbers of the county are oak, hickory, ash, beech, poplar, and pine. The northeastern part of the county is heavily timbered with oak, hickory and ash. The interior of the county is usually covered with the forests of yellow pine. The chief industries of Coffee are farming, timbering, and stock raising. Wool growing has long been an important branch of business. The principal streams are Pea River, and White Water, Big Bluff, and Double Bridge creeks. Fish of superior quality abound in these streams. Branches of perpetual flow, traverse the whole face of the country. Mineral springs also exist. Elba, the county seat, with a population of 600, Victoria, Clintonville, and Brannon are the points of interest. School facilities are moderately good, and religious advantages are excellent. The county is without river or railroad transportation, and relies mainly upon Troy, in the adjoining county of Pike, as a market, and as the nearest accessible point of transportation by rail. Railroads have been projected through the county, and it is believed that at no remote period, the county will have its slumbering resources recognized by reason of the existence of these great agencies of development. Lands may be purchased for $1 and $3 per acre. Many of the most valuable lands of Coffee belong to the government, and may be entered; of these there are 3,560 acres. The people of the county are eager to have immigrants settle in their midst and assist in its development. GENEVA COUNTY. HE county of Geneva was formed in 1868. It is one of the most progressive counties in this portion of the State. Capital and enterprise have been won to it, and its lands are being rapidly occupied. Long remote from important lines of transportation, it now enjoys facilities which enable its numberless resources to find their way easily to market. The wide-awake spirit which prevails among the people of Geneva, may be inferred from the rapid increase of population within the last four years. The figures given below are those taken from the census report of 1870 and 1880; but since the last National census, the population has more than doubled, being in 1884, 9,557. Attention is now called more minutely to its resources and advantages. It has an area of 648 square miles. Population in 1880, 4,342; population 1890, 10,690. White, 9,664; colored 1,026. Area planted in cotton, 21,133 acres; in corn, 21,154 acres; in oats, 2,084 acres; in sugar-cane, 118 acres; in rice, 54 acres; in sweet potatoes, 350 acres; in rye, 2 acres; tobacco, 1 acre. Cotton Production-7,158 bales. The surface of the county is usually level. The lands are generally of a light, sandy loam. In some sections of the county they are stiff, and produce with ease under favorable auspices. The yield never fails to be generous where the lands are aided by fertilizers and judiciously cultivated. In the eastern part of the county, the lands are of a superior quality, being fine lime soil. In the southeastern portion, where Geneva county comes in contact with the Florida line, there are red lime lands, the reputation of which is great, not only in this, but in a number of other counties of the Timber Belt. Here, as elsewhere, throughout this timber region, there is the possible variety in the soils. As is to be expected, there is a prevalence of yellow pine forests in Geneva county, and here, as in other counties, the surface contains a thin, sandy soil, which is based upon a deep foundation of clay. But cultivation has proved that these lands may be made quite valuable for farming purposes. Where the deficiencies of plant-foot occur in the soil, all that is needed is to supply them with proper fertilizers, and then with diligent culture the yield is inevitable, and always in proportion to the enrichment and cultivation. In the more fertile sections, of course, this is not demanded. Until a few years past, the production of cotton in this country had received but slight attention, the chief pursuits of the people being the lumber business and stock-raising. But within the last few years, cotton has been successfully raised, and the value of the lands has been greatly enchanced by the use of domestic and commercial fertilizers. It is not an uncommon occurrence to raise a bale of cotton to two acres. The soils at an early season are warm and well drained, resulting in speedy germination, and consequent fruitage. The advantages offered by Geneva, have served to attract many immigrants from other counties. In the eastern part of the county along the Chipola River, there prevail lime lands that are noted for their fertility. The productions are, cotton, corn, peas, oats, sweet potatoes, and peanuts. All these thrive quite readily. Vegetables of all kinds are easily produced. The chief fruits grown are, melons, peaches, figs, and grapes. The efforts made to produce these, have been the most encouraging possible. The trees are largely those of yellow pine, while there are also oaks, hickory, poplar, and beech. The manufacture of the pines into lumber for shipment, is a growing branch of business. Large quantities of logs are floated down the waters of the principal streams to markets further south. The manufacture of turpentine is also a pursuit, the proportions of which are constantly increasing. The streams of the county are the Choctawhatchee, Chipola, and Pea Rivers, and Bear, Big, Spring, Wright's, Plates's, Pitt man's, Martin's, Hurricane, Double Bridges, Rocky, Providence, Wilkerson's, Beaver-Dam, Sandy, Flat, and Comer Creeks. These are valuable streams, and afford an immense water power. From these streams, are caught many excellent fish. Transportation is afforded the county by steamers upon the Choctawhatchee River, which ascend as high as Geneva and operates in connection with the trains upon the Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad. This affords a valuable outlet of commerce to the people of Geneva, and has been the occasion of much of the progress which has marked the history of the county in the immediate past. Cheap and expeditious transportation is thus afforded the people of the entire county. Fortunately, the Choctawhatchee River penetrates the very center of the county. With slight improvement, Pea river, which traverses the county in the west, might be made valuable as a medium of transportation. Many valuable products, such as honey and wool, would become sources of great revenue, with increased transportation. The census of 1880, places the county of Geneva in advance of every other in the State, in sheep-raising. There is reason to believe that phosphate deposits exist in the county. Coffee Springs, ten miles north of Geneva, is quite a watering resort, and is destined to become more so because of the curative powers of the waters. Geneva, Millville and Coffee Springs are the points of interest; the first-named is the seat of justice of the county. Schools are moderately good and are annually improving. Churches of the Baptist and Methodist denominations principally, exist. Lands may be had as low as $1 and $3 per acre. Vast quantities of public or government land are found in Geneva, there being 17,040 acres. Rare inducements for investments or for settlements are found in this young and growing county. The people are of a progressive spirit and will cordially welcome to the county men of limited means who are seeking cheap and pleasant homes, as they will the capitalist with ampler resources who desires to make a profitable investment. DALE COUNTY. HIS county was organized in 1854, and named in honor of General Samuel Dale. It is one of the counties of the State in which there were manufactories prior to the war. Its people have long been noted for their sobriety and progressiveness, and, in the centers of interest, for their intelligence. Possessing a varied soil, genial climate, healthful atmosphere, abounding resources of water, rich pasture lands and broad forests of pine, Dale county is the peer of any other section in this portion of Alabama. It has an area of 650 square miles. Population in 1880, 12,667; population in 1890, 17,225. White, 13,867; colored, 3,358. Area planted in cotton, 46,885 acres; in corn, 41,577 acres; in oats, 7,953 acres; in wheat, 59 acres; in rye, 364 acres; in rice, 49 acres; in sugar-cane, 373 acres; in sweet potatoes, 872 acres; in tobacco, 9 acres. Cotton Production-16,259 bales. The face of the country is, for the most part, level; but some difference exists between the sections north and south, as these are divided, the one from the other, by the Choctawhatchee River. The portion of Dale lying north of this stream is rolling, while that lying south is more level, and, in some portions, quite so. In the northern portion the soils are mostly of a light, loamy nature; in the southern, where the pine forests predominate, the soils are thin and sandy, with a substratum of clay. The soils of the entire county embrace those of red, clayey loam, gray bottom soil, and sandy soils. The most desirable lands for tillage purposes are the red loams, which embrace about one-tenth of those now in cultivation. Valuable tracts of this land prevail in different sections of the county. The creek and river bottoms are also |