SCKYEY OF TEXAS WOODLANDS. 



the soils are primarily responsible for the falling off of pine and the 

 uvneral character of the existing forests. Toward the Rio Grande River 

 tree growth constantly beeofnes more open and dwarfed and the Atlantic 

 species, one by one, give way to dry-land species extending northward 

 I'rnm Mexico. Outside of the main body of post oaks conditions adapt- 

 able to this forest type are found in the Eastern and Western Cross 

 Timbers, and extending in irregular bodies from the Red River to and 

 including the granitic area of the Central Mineral region, wherever 

 sandy or gravelly soils occur. The terraces along the Colorado River 

 near Austin are also occupied by the post oak type. 



The soils are in general sands and gravelly clays with pockets of 



Interior of a Typical Forest of the Post Oak Belt Brazos County. 



impervious clay forming small, open grass prairies. The best of these 

 soils are in cultivation and the heavier clays form pasture areas. Ab- 

 ie of pine and the low, scrubby character of the oak forests, sep- 

 arated by patches of open, grassy prairie, are the striking features of 

 the landscape. It is the type which the Atlantic forest assumes in 

 passing to more arid sections of the Southwest. The eastern portion 

 of the region contains many important hardwood species of finer quality 

 which, unfortunately, lack a suitable market. The result is a great 

 waste of valuable timber in clearing lands. The western limit, on the 

 other hand, marks almost an entire absence of Atlantic species, except 

 on areas where soil water is made available as in the Cross Timbers, the 



