The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
SOIL SURVEY OF TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS. 901
areas are generally small and have very poor drainage. They can
be improved by drainage and the incorporation of coarse litter.
If cultivated when it has the proper moisture content, the soil
turns and breaks up readily and forms a good seed bed. It dries out
fairly quickly after floods and heavy rains, but is boggy and sticky
when wet. The soil on drying crumbles into small aggregates, locally
called " buckshot."
Land of this type sells for $100 to $200 or more an acre, depending
on location with respect to markets, improvements, condition with
regard to overflow, and area under cultivation.
FRIO FINE SANDY LOAM.
The soil of the Frio fine sandy loam consists of a grayish-brown
to brown fine sandy loam, which may extend throughout the 3-foot
section or may be underlain at depths ranging from about 8 to 18
inches by a subsoil that varies in texture from fine sandy loam to
silty clay, normally of light-brown, yellowish-brown, brownish-gray,
or gray color, though in a few areas it may have a distinctly reddish
cast. In the virgin state the soil is generally dark grayish brown.
Both soil and subsoil are generally high in lime.
This type occurs in large bodies along the West Fork of the
Trinity River and most of the larger creeks of the area, and its total
extent in the county is considerable. The type is a first-bottom soil,
subject to overflow, and is derived from sediments carried from the
Grand Prairie and the West and East Cross Timbers Provinces.
In its virgin condition the type is covered by a forest consisting
largely of hackberry, elm, pecan, cottonwood, and locust, with an
undergrowth of shrubs and vines. Probably the greater part of the
type is still unimproved.
Cotton and corn are the chief crops. The time of their planting
depends on the subsidence of the spring floods, and this causes more
or less delay. Cotton is subject to greater damage by the boll weevil
than on upland soils, because of later planting. It produces from onefourth
to one-half bale per acre, or slightly more in seasons when the
Weevil is not especially active. Corn produces from 25 to 50 bushels
per acre. Pecans are a source of income on this type. In many localities
the trees other than pecan have been cleared out, and the
ground cultivated, resulting in an increased yield and quality of nuts.
Very large trees are found in the bottoms, and some of these yield
nearly every year. The nuts bring from 15 to 35 cents per pound
in the local markets according to size and quality.
Land of this type is held at $50 to $125 or more an acre, depending
on location, position with respect to overflow, and value of
timber.
FRIO LOAM.
The surface soil of the Frio loam consists of 8 to 12 inches of darkgray2
dark grayish brown, or grayish-brown loam. The subsoil is a
grayish-brown to brown or gray clay loam or clay. Locally this
grades at 30 inches into a gray stiff clay mottled with yellowish
brown. Both soil and subsoil are calcareous. Lenses or layers of
fine sand or fine sandy loam are encountered in places within the