10 SOILS OF THE EASTEBN UNITED STATES. 



The one serious drawback to the successful production of this crop 

 lies in the stiff, waxy nature of the type, which sometimes interferes 

 with bringing the surface soil to that degree of looseness and friability 

 necessary for the best results with alfalfa or other grass crops. 



This may be done through the use of disk machinery, and the 

 thorough preparation of the soil and its subsequent tillage under the 

 proper moisture conditions. Well-established fields of alfalfa upon 

 this type produce three to four crops a year, averaging about 1 ton 

 of hay for each cutting. This brings alfalfa, produced with a mini- 

 mum of hand labor, into direct competition with cotton as a money 

 crop. There is always a demand for good alfalfa hay in the cotton- 

 producing section dominated by the Houston black clay and this 

 crop is coming to be a specialty with some of the most progressive 

 farmers and planters. 



Upon some limited areas of the Houston black clay Johnson grass 

 has obtained a strong hold, such land being considered less desirable 

 by the average cotton planter than the other portions of the type. 

 For a long time this grass was considered merely as a pest. It has 

 been found, however, to have a high feeding'value and the Houston 

 black clay produces from 2 to 3 and even 4 tons of Johnson-grass hay 

 in a single year. Areas covered with this grass now show only a 

 comparative loss, since the profit from it is usually somewhat less than 

 from a well-tended cotton field. 



Alfalfa has frequently been seeded into areas covered by Johnson 

 grass, the mixed hay thus produced having a considerable value and 

 constituting nearly a balanced ration. The earliest cut of the mixed 

 hay will consist chiefly of alfalfa, the second cut of an almost equal 

 mixture of the two, while a later cut will be almost clear Johnson- 

 grass hay. Thus the forage resources of the plantation may be 

 considerably increased through the utilization of areas infested by 

 Johnson grass for the production either of that hay or of the mixed 

 hay just described. Directions for the eradication of Johnson grass 

 may be obtained by writing to the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 1 



In areas where the rainfall is less ample, particularly in the extreme 

 southwestern part of Texas, the production of sorghum has been 

 undertaken and yields of 2 to 3 tons per acre secured. The crop 

 makes excellent forage. Melilotus usually grows wild and is used for 

 grazing purposes. In these regions the wild grasses are used for 

 grazing, and some small areas are cut for wild-grass hay, giving yields 

 of one-half to three-fourths ton per acre. Kafir, milo maize, and 

 the millets are also well suited to these regions of smaller rainfall. 



With the forage crops enumerated above it would be perfectly 

 feasible, as well as desirable, to establish a more intensive form of 



' Farmers' Bulletin No. 279, Methods of Eradicating Johnson Grass. 



