The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
22 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
slow, in places very slow, but generally it is adequate for good growth
of field crops.
This soil is very good cropland. About 85 percent of the total
area is in cultivation. Normally, cotton occupies about 75 percent
of the cropped' acreage, and corn, oats, and sorghums occupy about
equal proportions of the rest. Yields of cotton are slightly less,
yields of corn are considerably less, and yields of small grains are
about equal to those obtained, on Houston Black clay. Wilson clay
is somewhat more droughty and is distinctly more tight and crusty
than is Houston Black clay. The average acre yields over a period
of years are about as follows: Cotton, 175 to 200 pounds of lint;
corn, 15 to 25 bushels; oats, 35 bushels; grain sorghums, about 20
bushels; and sorgo, 2 to 3 tons of forage.
Irving clay loam.-This soil is of much the same character, appearance,
and agricultural value as Wilson clay loam. It is a gray,
slowly drained, tight soil occupying nearly level high flats or old
stream terraces. It is a productive soil for general field crops and
is regarded by farmers as desirable land, although it is somewhat
cold and difficult to work.
The surface soil is dark-gray moderately acid clay loam or silty
clay loam, about 6 inches thick in most places but ranging from 3
to 12 inches in others. This grades through a thin transitional zone
into the subsoil of dark-gray or very dark gray noncalcareous tough
dense very heavy clay. Below a depth of about 24 inches the subsoil
gradually becomes less dark and grades into gray very compact
slightly calcareous heavy clay at a depth of 50 or 60 inches below the
surface. This underlying material is slightly mottled with dull
yellow and contains a few crumbly concretions of white calcium
carbonate and rusty black iron oxide.
The soil is readily worked within a very limited range of moisture
content. When dry, it is very hard, and when fairly moist it puddles
if disturbed. The structure and consistence of the various layers appear
the same as in the corresponding layers of Wilson clay loam.
Irving clay loam occupies high practically level old stream terraces
in the southwestern part of the county. The principal areas are on
Bakers Prairie in the south-central part and on the point of highland
between the Trinity River and the East Fork Trinity River.
The land is slowly drained. According to old residents, before the
construction of graded roads and a few drainage ditches, shallow
pools of water stood on the surface for a month or longer during wet
seasons. Drainage now is adequate for good yields of nearly all field
crops, although water occasionally stands in places for a few days.
The areas originally were covered with grass, for the most part, but
the margins adjacent to sandy soils and some of the lower lying
areas supported an open growth of small elm trees.
Irving clay loam is a very good soil for many crops. Drainage is
slightly deficient, and the soil is cold and late. About 80 percent of
the total area is cultivated. Normally, cotton occupies about threefourths
of the area in cultivation, and corn, oats, and sorghums occupy
about equal portions of the rest. This is a comparatively productive
soil for both cotton and oats, and a relatively unproductive
soil for corn. Acre yields over a period of years are as follows:
About 160 pounds of cotton lint, 15 bushels of corn, 30 to 40 bushels