HAST TEXAS. 1? 



Xovember 14, i expect ivulv. I'ariu work may be carried on at all sea- 

 sons. Peaches and other fruits are almost sure crops. The rainfall 

 is abundant, averaging more than 32 inches, and damage from summer 

 droughts is rare. 



Only about one-third of the farms of the area are operated by the 

 owners. The large tenant class is mostly white. Cotton and corn 

 are the principal crops, but the success of some farmers with alfalfa 

 will no doubt make it a very important crop on the black prairie soil 

 within a few years. But little fruit is grown and very little milk and 

 butter are produced for sale. The grades of cattle are poor, but hogs 

 are of good breeds. Poultry and eg^s are shipped in some quantity. 

 The farm labor is mostly white and wages are good. Land ranges in 

 value from $10 to $75 an acre for the black prairie to $10 to $30 for 

 the sandy soils and river bottom. 



The upland soils of the area have weathered from Cretaceous rocks 

 which underlie the entire area. The more calcareous portions of the 

 two principal formations, the Austin chalk and the Taylor formation, 

 have produced dark-colored soils of the prairie, classed with the Hous- 

 ton series, while the shales and sandy clays of the same formation have 

 produced the more sandy soils. There are also two alluvial types. 



The Houston black clay is a deep black or drab black gummy, 

 sticy clay, underlain at lower depths by the partly altered rock. A 

 large part of the upland is prairie formed of this and related soils. 

 When dry the soil is loamy and easily worked, but when wet it be- 

 comes so tenacious that it is almost impossible to drive over the roads. 

 The type covers broad rolling prairies. The drainage is usually ade- 

 quate, but in recent wet years crops have suffered from too much water 

 in the soil. It is one of the most desirable soils of the area. Cotton 

 yields as high as one bale per acre and corn 30 to 40 bushels. Alfalfa 

 is grown with success and is the most profitable crop of the area. 



The Houston loam, locally known as "gray land," is a dark-gray 

 or brown heavy loam 9 inches deep, underlain by a drab or brown 

 clay subsoil. Its topography is similar to that of the Houston black 

 clay and its origin is the same. It occurs between areas of the latter 

 type and the more sandy soils. In wet years the soil is more produc- 

 tive than the Houston black clay. Cotton yields three-fourths bale per 

 acre and corn 30 to 40 bushels. 



The Lamar loam is a brown or yellow loam 12 inches deep, under- 

 lain by calcareous clay of lighter color which usually contains lime- 

 stone fragments and lime concretions. The type occurs on the slopes 

 of Xorth Sulphur creek and is hillv and broken. It is not very pro- 

 ductive and very little is cultivated. It owes its origin to the char- 

 acter of the original rook and the rapid erosion of the surface. 



The Franklin loam lies at the foot of the slopes covered by the 

 Lamar loam, and is formed from the washed material. It is a Drown 

 sandy loam 10 inches deep, underlain by lighter colored sandy loam 

 of varying texture. Although well situated it has a low agricultural 

 value. Corn and cotton are the chief crops. 



The soil of the Lufkin clay is a silty loam with fine sand to a depth 

 of less than (3 inches. The subsoil is a characteristic mottled, compact, 

 impervious silty clay. Both soil and subsoil run together when wet 



