76 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



drainage is an essential to the profitable production of 

 cotton on this soil. 



The Sharkey clay found in certain river bottoms of Texas, 

 Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri, and locally known 

 as "buck shot land" is a valuable cotton soil when well 

 drained. It is very stiff and waxy. Drainage and organic 

 matter are its most urgent needs. Other important cotton 

 soils belonging to this province are the Ocklocknee fine 

 sandy loam, occupying level or gently sloping bottoms 

 in Alabama and Mississippi, the Congaree loam, occupying 

 the bottoms of streams flowing through or rising in the 

 Piedmont Plateau, and the Kalmia and Cahaba fine sandy 

 loams found on second bottoms along streams of the 

 Coastal Plain. 



85. Cotton soils of the Great Plains region. In so 

 far as the cotton-belt is concerned this region comprises 

 western Oklahoma and western Texas. The greater 

 portion of the soils occupying this area are residual. 

 Climatic conditions often prohibit the successful produc- 

 tion of cotton throughout a large part of this region. 



The principal cotton soils of the Great Plains Region 

 are the Vernon soils, comprising the fine sandy loam, loam, 

 and silt loam, occupying the Red Beds region lying to the 

 east of the Staked plains; also the Crawford stony clay, 

 lying to the east and south of the Vernon soils, and the 

 Amarillo loam and silty clay loam of the staked plains 

 region. These soils are quite productive when the moisture 

 supply is abundant. 



CLIMATIC ADAPTATIONS 



While cotton is a rather sensitive plant, it is affected 

 less by ordinary changes in the weather than other field 

 crops. Owing to its long growing season, it readily recovers 



