CROPS AND NATIVE VEGETATION. 21 



FIELD CROPS. 



Cotton and corn constitute the main field crops throughout all of 

 the agricultural portion of the region. The western half of the area 

 contains but a small acreage adapted to these crops, and only small 

 yields are obtained even in the more fertile valley lands. In the 

 black-land regions of "Williamson County, eastern Travis County, and 

 much of Hays and Comal Counties may be found continuous fields of 

 cotton and corn, with but little land devoted to forage or other crops. 

 Oats is the principal small grain, but wheat is grown to some extent 

 in the more elevated sections of the west and northwest. But little 

 rice is now planted in this area. In recent years the limits of the 

 rice-growing country have been gradually pushed more into the coast 

 region or into the more humid territory to the east. 



FORAGE CROPS. 



The semiarid conditions which prevail throughout the greater part 

 of the area make the different sorghum varieties the principal crops 

 cultivated for forage. Cane, Kafir corn, and milo maize are exten- 

 sively grown. In the region surrounding Austin, especially to the 

 north and east, may be found extensive meadows of Johnson grass. 

 Cane and Johnson grass are the most common kinds of hay on the 

 local markets. Alfalfa is grown only to a very limited extent in any 

 portion of the region. In a few localities it is grown without irriga- 

 tion, but under irrigation it is a very profitable crop, some fields 

 yielding as high as 7 to 8 tons per acre. In some localities in the 

 southern part of the region a number of weedy grasses are cut for 

 hay. Among these may be mentioned Panicum texamim, EcMno- 

 chloa colona, and Eleusine indica. In some places the weedy grasses 

 grow so abundantly in cornfields that a crop of hay is obtained 

 following the harvesting of the corn. The western half of the 

 area is devoted very largely to stock raising, and many of the 300 

 species of Texas native and introduced grasses may be found within 

 the territon^ studied. The most important of the native species are 

 Bulbilis dactyloides, Bouteloaa curtipendula, and various species of 

 Bouteloua and Andropogon. In certain portions of the more eastern 

 part pastures of Bermuda grass are common, and in some places 

 bur clover (Medicago arabica) furnishes valuable winter and early 

 spring forage in the same pastures. Bermuda grass is the only species 

 used extensively for lawns. 



NATIVE GROWTH. 



The greater portion of the territory lying west of the Colorado 

 and west of a line connecting Austin, San Antonio, and Uvalde is 



226 



