HOUSTON CO0NTY. 



325 



ANALYSES. 



No. 1058. 



Silica 



Ferric oxide and alumina 



Lime 



Magnesia . . . .• 



Carbonic acid 



Phosphoric acid 



Sulphuric acid 



Potash 



Soda 



Ignition 



13.77 



35.40 



19.93 



3.78 



13.30 



0.51 



0.49 



42.10 



37.02 



5.80 



0.86 



3.54 

 9.40 



0.32 

 '2.14 

 11.80 



100.12 



100.04 



The first of these, owing to the amount of lime it contains, is well adapted 

 for use on the sandy soils wherever it can be hauled at the rate of three or four 

 trips per day. At a greater distance it would hardly be profitable to haul it. 



The use of this greensand on the gray sandy and the red sandy or clayey 

 soils must be attended with the greatest benefit. The amount of lime con- 

 tained in it will not only act as a fertilizer itself, by making up for the defi- 

 ciency of potash, but will help to render available the abundance of phos- 

 phoric acid present in these soils. While the percentage of potash in the 

 marls analyzed is not large, other localities will probably furnish beds richer 

 in this important constituent. 



The manner of applying this marl and its action on the soil has been ex- 

 plained both by circular and in the first part of the present Report, and it is 

 therefore hardly necessary to repeat it here. 



Too much stress can hardly be laid upon the availability of this marl for 

 the purpose desired. It is true that it is not equal in some respects to the 

 famous greensand marls of New Jersey, but on the other hand the soils for 

 which it is wanted are different also, and it does contain just those elements 

 of fertility that a"re lacking in these soils. 



Taking into consideration the widespread deposits of the greensands, which 

 secures their existence within hauling distance of almost all the localities re- 

 quiring them, their perfect adaptability for increasing and renewing the fer- 

 tility of the soils most needing them, and finally the fact that the entire cost 

 necessary is that of digging and hauling and applying them, it would seem 

 that there must be an immediate effort on the part of the East Texas farmers 

 to reap the benefits that will so surely follow upon their use. 



BUILDING STONES. 



The indurated greensands and some of the later Quaternary sandstones 

 yield excellent building material in this county. Some of it is of good color, 

 and it has been successfully used in many buildings in and around Crockett. 



