SOIL SURVEY OF TAYLOR COUNTY, TEXAS. 25
but in the main the same classes of crops are grown with about the
same results.
The Brackett loam occurs almost exclusively at or near the base of
the Rough stony land escarpments. The surface varies from gently
sloping to nearly level. The total area of the type is not large. The
natural drainage is ordinarily good, and in dry seasons may be
excessive.
Possibly one-half or more of this type is in cultivation, the remainder
being largely included in pastures, used mainly for cattle.
The principal crops are cotton, the grain sorghums, and hay or forage
crops, such as Johnson grass and sorghum. Relatively small quantities
of wheat, oats, corn, and garden crops are grown, mainly for
home and local use. The pasture plants are those mentioned for other
types of the series.
Owing to its rather light, friable structure, the greater part of the
type is easy to work. The soil warms up earlier than the heavier
textured soils, and crops mature earlier. Crop yields are about the
same as those obtained on the Brackett fine sandy loam, and the land
is handled in about the same way. The Brackett loam is valued at
about $15 to $35 an acre.
Under present conditions the best use of this type apparently is
for the protection of grain sorghums, for use largely in support of
the live-stock industry, and for growing garden crops and small
grains for home use.
VERNON GRAVELLY CLAY LOAM.
The Vernon gravelly clay loam consists of chocolate-red clay loam,
underlain at 5 or 6 inches by deeper chocolate red clay of a stiffer
nature, with so: ie whitish, powdery, limy layers and lime nodules in
the su' ,oil. Po'nded chert and quartz gravel, and angular fragments
of red shale and sandstone are thickly scattered over the surface,
and to a less extent through the soil. The more stony areas
are indicated on the map by stone symbols. Bedrock of the parent
shale, sandstone, and conglomerate is present within the 3-foot section
in places. There are some included patches of the Vernon gravelly
clay. Some areas are quite stony, large fragments of sandstone
and sandstone conglomerate being present.
This type adjoins the base of the plateaus and occurs also as detached
areas throughout the terrace-plain section. It occupies steep
slopes, low ridges, and some rather large level areas. The aggregate
area is fairly large, constituting 4.1 per cent of the area of the
county, and the type is important in the agriculture of the county.
The natural drainage is good, the run-off being so rapid as to cause
erosion in places, and a part of the type is marked by deep gullies
on some of the slopes.