8 CKOPPING SYSTEMS FOR THE BLACK LANDS OF TEXAS. 



SOILS. 



The types of soil of the main black belt are derived from the under- 

 lying soft, chalky, or marly limestones, wliile those of the Fort Worth 

 prairie and the more western isolated areas are derived from a harder 

 and more impervious limestone wliich obviously is nearer the surface 

 and more to be reckoned with in crop production than the soft lime- 

 stone, wliich is more or less penetrable by water and the roots of 

 plants. These soils are referred to as "black land," ''black wax," 

 ''black waxy," "tallow ridge," "black prairie," "limestone," or 

 "black sticky." 



In their virgin state the black-land soils usually contain ample 

 quantities of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, lime, and organic 

 matter, but after a few years of cultivation to grain and cotton the 

 humus content becomes deficient and the soil assumes a poor physical 

 condition, favoring the development of cotton root-cot and causing 

 crops to suffer quickly from drought. The phosphoric- acid content 

 becomes low in the loamy types of soil and the potash low in the 

 stiff, black clays. Yet attempts to replenish these elements by the 

 use of commercial fertilizers have resulted unsatisfactorily. The best 

 results have been obtained from the use of barnyard manure and 

 the plowing under of cowpeas and alfalfa. These experiences suggest 

 that the immecUate need of the black lands is organic matter. For- 

 merly an abundance of lime was present in these soils, but now, 

 owing to the cropping systems used, it has been found that applica- 

 tions of lime may profitably be made as a means of improving the 

 physical condition of the heavier soils. 



That the black-land soils are durable is very evident. The writer 

 has visited a number of fields wliich have been cultivated contin- 

 uously for 40 to 60 years and found them still producing fair crops of 

 small grain, corn, and cotton. Compared with newer fields, however, 

 a decHne in the yields of these crops is perceptible. Abandoned 

 farms in this region are rare. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE BLACK-LAND REGION. 



The occupation of Texas by white men began in 1820; but the 

 black lands were utilized chiefly for hunting until along in the thir- 

 ties. Farming began along the streams and in the sandy timbered 

 region of east Texas, and the black lands were devoted chiefly to 

 grazing until railroads were built and modern implements and 

 barbed wire came mto use. Their fertility, however, was recog- 

 nized by some as early as the forties, and here and there a farm was 

 opened upon which crops of corn, wheat, rye, and oats were grown. 

 On the loams near the timber and on the alluvial soils along the 

 streams crops of Irish and sweet potatoes were grown. 



[Cir. 84] 



