72 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



bale to the acre, ^hen jn a condition of moderate mois- 

 ture and well tilled, the soil is friable, but it becomes ex- 

 ceedingly waxy and sticky when wet. This is more or less 

 characteristic of all the Houston soils. The subsoil is a 

 tight clay of variegated color. The most urgent need of 

 the Houston soils is crop rotation. It is probably true 

 that on no other group of soils in the South have cropping 

 systems been so universally abused. 



Victoria soils. — The soils of this series are closely re- 

 lated to the Houston soils. They "consist of brown to 

 black soils with gray to whitish, calcareous subsoils derived 

 from Pleistocene deposits of the Gulf Coastal Plains." 

 The Victoria loam and clay produce excellent yields of 

 cotton when properly tilled. These soils are rather exten- 

 sive in south Texas. 



Durant fine sandy loam. — This is an important cotton 

 soil in north central Texas and southern Oklahoma. It 

 is 14 to 18 inches deep and of chocolate brown color. 

 Cotton gives only fair yields as ordinarily managed, but 

 the soil responds well to good treatment. 



80. Cotton soils of the Piedmont Plateau. — That 

 part of the Piedmont Plateau lying within the cotton- 

 belt comprises central North Carolina, western South 

 Carolina, northern Georgia, and a portion of east central 

 Alabama. The topography is rolling to hilly. The soils 

 of this region aire residual, being formed in place by the 

 decay of the underlying rocks. The more important 

 cotton soils of this region are briefly described below: 



The Cecil soils. — The most extensively used cotton 

 soil in this series is the Cecil sandy loam. It is a rather 

 light soil but is underlain by a red clay subsoil. 



The Cecil clay and clay loam, which are closely related, 

 are also rather extensively used for cotton. The clay is 



