168 SOUTHERN BORDER OF CENTRAL COAL FIELD. 



these soils. In the greensand of the lower Silurian occurring in this part of 

 the country is found the source of their great fertility. The valleys are 

 overgrown with large pecan timber, as well as burr oak, walnut, and elm. 

 On this kind of soil I found the largest sumach trees I have ever seen any- 

 where. Some of them on the lands of Mr. J. T. White, near the town of 

 Cherokee, are ten inches in diameter. On the high hills of the Silurian 

 limestone there are extensive thickets of shin oak brush. 



The soils of the San Saba River are generally dark, and are the result of 

 the disintegration of the limestones, shales, and sandstones of the Carbon- 

 iferous. They are equally as fertile as the soils of the Colorado. The timber 

 is about the same as that of the Colorado River. The valleys are level and 

 suitable for irrigation. 



The soils along Richland Creek are much the same as those along the San 

 Saba River. This creek runs along the line of contact between the limestone 

 and the sandstone of the Carboniferous. The soils are sometimes reddish 

 and sometimes blacl^, owing to the side of the creek on which they are situ- 

 ated. The black soils are mostly on the south side of the creek, while the 

 reddish soils are on the north side. The reddish soils have much more sand 

 in them than the black, yet they seem to be of about equal fertility. 



The high level plateau between the San Saba River on the south and 

 Richland Creek on the north is generally black, with more or less sand. It 

 is principally derived from the black shales of the Carboniferous. The timber 

 on this plateau is live oak and mesquite. 



To the northward of Richland Springs are the sandy post oak lands of the 

 Carboniferous. At Putnam, in the northwestern corner of San Saba County, 

 the Colorado River is again reached, and the same classes of soils exist as 

 were found in Lampasas County. The valleys are broader and the timber 

 not so abundant. The soil is redder, and has received less material from the 

 surrounding hills. The valleys are here overgrown with large mesquite and 

 live oak timber. 



The soils about Trickham are in broad plateaus; some of them prairie, and 

 some overgrown with mesquite. They are made from the sandstone and 

 limestones of the Carboniferous. The creek valleys are broad and generally 

 black sandy soil. Some of the lands are overgrown with post oak and black- 

 jack timber, and in addition to these, in the bottoms, are large pecan, elm, 

 and burr oak trees 



The soils in the country about Santa Anna, in Coleman County, are gen- 

 erally a reddish sandy loam. They are sometimes a dark sandy soil. They 

 are made from the strata of both the Cretaceous and the Carboniferous form- 

 ations. They get their reddish color from the reddish clay of the Cretaceous 

 and the red clay of the Carboniferous. The sand also comes both from the 



