36 



AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS. 



aided by the root systems of the trees, absorbs rainfall and prevents 

 rapid run-off of water, thus checking erosion and causing a more con- 

 stant flow of water from springs and streams. 



LIVE OAK AREA. 



Live oak has already been mentioned as occurring throughout the 

 Edwards Plateau and the regions to the north. Since this species is 

 essentially an occupant of the coastal prairie in other Southern States, 

 its adaptation and wide distribution in Texas are quite remarkable. 

 (See Map 8.) Live oak grows to great size and in compact bodies or 

 clumps on the flat prairies of the Gulf Coast from Brazoria and Fort 



Mao 8 Live Oak Area in Texas. 



Bend Counties westward to the Nueces River, and in smaller clumps 

 or as scattered trees bordering the waterways of the entire Rio Grande 

 country. Northward from the coastal prairie the live oak is one of 

 the most abundant species of the Edwards Plateau, forming dense 

 thickets or growing with mountain cedar, mesquite, and other oaks of 

 low growth. In Edwards and eastern Val Verde Counties live oak 

 forms low shrub-like thickets, in places covering 90 per cent of the area. 

 About springs and along streams it is a common tree northward nearly 

 to the Breaks of the Plains and the Red River. On the compact soils of 

 the Black and Grand Prairies it is one of the few species to gain a 

 substantial foothold. Aside from its large size in the south coastal 



