THE TRINITY CLAY. 







agriculture. It is probable that in the areas of which surveys hau- 

 been made not less than 350,000 acres of the Trinity clay remain-... .... 



unoccupied by any crop except grass, and that one-half of this 

 total area might easily be occupied for crop production with the 

 expenditure of comparatively small sums for diking and draining. 



CROP ADAPTATIONS. 



The Trinity clay is one of the best cotton soils in the United States. 

 While it has been occupied only to a limited extent for the production 

 of this crop, the yields secured have been so far above the general 

 averages obtained from the soils of the cotton belt that the Trinity 

 clay ranks among the three or four leading cotton soils of the region. 

 Within the last few years, particularly in the more western regions 

 of its occurrence, some difficulty has been experienced in cotton pro- 

 duction upon this soil because of the ravages of the boll weevil. The 

 moist condition, the rank growth of " weed," and the late maturity 

 of the crop have all rendered the cotton grown upon the Trinity clay 

 particularly susceptible to the ravages of the weevil. In this respect 

 it resembles the heavier clay or clay loam soils of practically all of 

 the bottom lands of the Southern States. Before the advent of the 

 boll weevil, when the Trinity clay was properly prepared and prop- 

 erly tilled during the growing season yields of 1 to 1| bales per 

 acre were frequently secured upon this type. In fact, over extensive 

 tracts planted to cotton the average yield was in excess of three- 

 fourths bale per acre. Even under the difficulties which have more 

 recently been experienced from the ravages of the weevil, average 

 yields of five-eighths to three-fourths of a bale are not infrequently 

 obtained and the type still ranks as an extremely valuable cotton soil. 

 Not only is the quantity produced per acre considerably above the 

 average for the regions where the type occurs, but the staple fre- 

 quently grades longer than the standard and the cotton thus brings 

 a premium upon the market. As additional experience is gained by 

 the farmers of each community in combating the boll weevil it is 

 probable that the former yields will again be attained and possibly 

 exceeded because of the care in cultivation and the careful selection 

 of varieties and seed which are being adopted under present circum- 

 stances. 



There are many areas of the Trinity clay upon which cotton has 

 been produced continuously for 20 to 30 years without any appreci- 

 able diminution in yield which could be attributed to soil condi- 

 tions. No fertilizer is used for the production of the crop upon 

 any large acreage of the type. In consequence it may be confi- 

 dently stated that the hundreds of thousands of acres of Trinity 

 clay which still remain uncleared, unoccupied, and untilled, constitute 



