HARRIS.

Population: 27,985.-White, 17,160; colored, 10,825.

Area: 1,800 square miles.-Woodland, a fair proportion; southern prairie region, all.

Tilled lands: 25,123 acres.-Area planted in cotton, 4,440 acres; in corn, 9,895 acres; in oats, 172 acres. Cotton production: 1,892 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.43 bale, 645 pounds seed-cotton, or 215 pounds cotton lint.

The surface of Harris county is generally level, with broad open prairies, interspersed with small timbered areas in "motts" and along the streams. This is especially the case in the western part, while in the extreme east, along the San Jacinto river and Spring creek, there is a well-timbered long-leaf pine region, in which are located many saw-mills. A prominent feature of the growth is the great abundance of the Magnolia grandiflora. It is estimated that three-fourths of the county area is open prairie, with mixed black waxy and sandy lands, the latter, however, apparently predominating. (See analysis, page 31.)

The prairies on the west, with their excellent grasses, are mostly devoted to stock-grazing, while the farming lands are situated nearer the streams.

A stiff concretionary clay (Port Hudson) underlies the greater part of the county, making proper drainage a matter of difficulty. But 2.2 per cent. of the county area is under tillage, with an average of 13.9 acres per square mile. The acreage of cotton comprises 17.7 per cent. of the tilled lands of the county, and has an average of 2.5 acres per square mile. Its product per acre for 1879 was considerably over the average for the entire state.

The city of Houston is connected with the Gulf by rail and by the waters of Buffalo bayou, which has been made navigable for ocean steamers to within a few miles of the city. It is the great railway center of southeastern Texas, and shipments can be made direct to the principal markets. Several cotton compresses are bere.

ABSTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF S. P. CHRISTIAN, OF LYNCHBURG.

The rolling black upland prairies along Burnet's bay, with timbered land along the San Jacinto river, comprise the uplands of the county. All along the bay frout the land is good for cotton and corn.

The black rolling prairies are stiff, and comprise one-third of the land of the county, extending for 30 miles up and down the bay, and lying from 1 mile to 4 miles from the river. The soil is 2 feet deep, with a subsoil of tenacious grayish clay, containing hard "black gravel”. It is early, warm, and well drained, and is not easily cultivated until well broken up; but when that is properly done there is no trouble. Cotton and corn constitute the chief productions, one-half the crops being in cotton, which grows to a height of 4 feet, and tends to run to weed in wet weather. The yield per acre in seed-cotton from fresh land or from land that has been under cultivation ten years is about 1,400 pounds, which, early in the season, is the amount needed for 400 pounds of lint, rating low middling to middling. Late in the season but 1,300 pounds are required for 400 pounds of lint. Burs and crab-grass are the only weeds which have to be contended with.

The post-oak land, with its growth of post and pin oaks, occurs in spots along the edge of the prairies on each side of small streams throughout the county. It has a gray clay loam soil, from 8 inches to 1 foot in depth, over a subsoil of yellow, stiff clay, is early, warm, and well drained, and difficult of cultivation, and is best adapted to cotton. Corn does not yield so well. The cotton-plant usually attains a height of from 44 to 5 feet, yielding about 1,400 pounds of seed-cotton per acre, 1,665 pounds early in the season and 1,545 pounds later being requisite for a 475-pound bale. After nine years' cultivation the above figures are not changed. The troublesome weeds on this soil are the same as those of the black prairie.

The sandy flat-lands extend for miles along the edge of the prairie, reaching into the river. The growth is principally pine, with pin oak and some timber of nearly every species. The soil is very thin, with a heavier subsoil, which in the wood is inclined to beg when wet. This land is timbered, and none of it is cultivated, but serves as a winter range for cattle. We have a very mild climate, oranges growing finely; and cotton, when well cultivated and the season is suitable, produces finely. Sea-island cotton grows well, and is very productive.

ABSTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF ROBERT BLALOCK, OF LYNCHBURG.

The lands devoted to cotton comprise (1) the hummock lands, lying on creeks and bayous, with a timber growth of six varieties of oaks, pine, cedar, gum, and various small growth, and (2) the stiff prairie lands.

The soil of the hummock land, which covers about 1 per cent. of the county, is 2 feet 6 inches in depth, overlying clay, which varies · in depth according to location, the soil being deeper on the bottom lands than on the prairies. The chief crops are cotton and corn for the market and a small amount of sugar-cane for home use. Cotton grows to a height of 5 feet, yielding 1,200 pounds of seed-cotton per acre, which is the amount needed for 400 pounds of lint, rating good middling. Only about 75 per cent. of the above yield is obtained after the land has been six years under cultivation, in which case the rating is one grade lower than that of fresh land. About five-eighths of the land is devoted to cotton, very little lying "turned out", and that, when rested, may yield one-half as much as it did when fresh. Cocklebur, tie-vine, crab-grass, and careless-weed form the most troublesome weeds.

Shipments are made early in the season, by rail or wagon, to Houston at from 50 cents to $1 per bale.

LIBERTY.

(See "Long-leaf pine region".)

JEFFERSON.

Population: 3,489.-White, 2,290; colored, 1,199.

Area: 1,000 square miles.-Woodland, small part; long-leaf pine region, 270 square miles; marshes and southern prairie region, 730 square miles.

Tilled lands: 4,796 acres.-Area planted in cotton, 133 acres; in corn, 1,758 acres; in rice, 16 acres.

Cotton production: 77 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.58 bale, 870 pounds seed-cotton, or 290 pounds cotton lint.

Jefferson, the extreme southeastern county of the state, has a surface quite level, and is watered by the Neches river and a number of small streams emptying into Sabine lake.

The northwestern part of the county has a sandy soil, and is timbered with the long-leaf pine of the lumber region, with some oak, hickory, magnolia, cypress, etc., on the streams. The rest is mostly an open prairie, with a few small patches of timber. The lands comprise both the black waxy and dark sandy soils, with underlying heavy concretionary clays of the Port Hudson age. These prairies are poorly drained and difficult to till, and are not much under cultivation. They are best adapted to stock-raising, being covered with excellent grasses. Along the Gulf shore the lands are sandy, with some marshes on the east, bordering Sabine lake.

ABSTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF W. M. CAMPBELL, OF BEAUMONT.

The uplands comprise mostly level prairies, interspersed with small bodies of timber, consisting of hickory, elm, and hackberry. The lands devoted to the cultivation of cotton are the black waxy prairie, the black sandy, and the light or gray sandy soils. The most important is the black waxy prairie, which covers about one-half of the surface of the county; its soil is about 3 feet deep, over a yellow clay subsoil. It is difficult to till in wet seasons, is late and ill-drained, and produces corn, cotton, cane, and rice, the chief crop being corn. Cotton, forming about one-fourth of the entire crops planted, grows to a height of 34 feet, and yields from 1,800 to 2,400 pounds of seedcotton per acre, even after twenty years' cultivation. There is no tendency of the plant to run to weed. About one-half the land lies "turned out", and produces as well as it did originally when again taken into cultivation.

The black sandy lands constitute about one-third of the tillable area of the county, and the natural timber growth is post and black-jack oaks in spots, most of the land being prairie. The land is very easily cultivated in all seasons. The depth of the soil is 2 feet, with a compact yellow clay subsoil. Its productions are corn, cotton, cane, potatoes, rice, and fruits. It is early, warm, and partly well and partly ill drained. One-fourth of the crops is in cotton, which grows to a height of 34 feet, yielding from 1,800 to 2,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre. After ten years' cultivation the yield is reduced, being from 1,200 to 1,800 pounds, the rating being the same as before. One-half of the land lies "turned out", producing, when again cultivated, better than fresh lands.

The timber of the light gray sandy lands, which cover about one-twentieth of the county, is hackberry, gum, pin oak, ash, elm, bay, and magnolia. The soil is from 1 foot to 3 feet deep, and the subsoil is mostly a mixture of red sand and clay, though in some places it is similar to the surface soil. It is early, warm, and, like the previous soil, partly well and partly ill drained, producing corn, cotton, cane, rice, oranges, and grapes. About one-fifth of the cultivated land is devoted to cotton, which usually attains a height of from 3 to 8 feet, being most productive at 3 feet. In moderately wet seasons there is a tendency to run to weed, which is restrained by either topping the plant or by stopping the cultivation. The yield per acre of seed-cotton is from 1,200 to 2,400 pounds, which yield is reduced about onethird after the land has been cultivated for ten years. One-fourth of the land lies "turned out", the yield of which when again cultivated is equal to that from fresh land.

Shipments are made about the 1st of January by rail to Galveston, the rate being $1 50 per bale.

ORANGE.

(See "Long-leaf pine region".)

CHAMBERS.

Population: 2,187.-White, 1,494; colored, 693.

Area: 850 square miles.-Woodland, very little.

Tilled lands: 3,336 acres.-Area planted in cotton, 140 acres; in corn, 1,839 acres.

Cotton production: 91 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.65 bale, 975 pounds seed-cotton, or 325 pounds cotton lint.

Chambers, one of the Gulf counties, has a level and mostly open prairie surface, and is watered by Trinity river and several small streams, all emptying into Galveston bay. In the southern part of the county the soil is of a dark silty character, sandy along the coast, underlaid by heavy clays with calcareous concretions (Port Hudson). In the northern part these clays come near the surface, forming black waxy lands, intermixed with areas of sands; they are difficult to till, poorly drained, and are not much under cultivation. The alluvial lands of the river are rich and well timbered, but rather subject to overflow.

ABSTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF M. BYERLY, OF WALLISVILLE.

The uplands consist of prairie and timber lands. The black sandy land of Trinity bottom above overflow is the chief land of the county, the next in importance being the black prairie.

The black sandy land, covering about one-half of the county area, has a natural timber growth of pine, different kinds of oaks, hickory, and magnolia, and is underlaid by yellow, sticky clay at a depth of 3 feet. It produces corn, cotton, potatoes, and sugar-cane, though it is best adapted to cotton and cane. The black waxy soil is difficult and the black soil easy to till in wet weather, but all are easily tilled in dry seasons. The soils are early, warm, and badly drained. About one-quarter of the land is devoted to cotton, which grows to a height of about 4 feet, at which it is the most productive. Cotton inclines to run to weed in wet weather, topping being the remedy applied. The average product per acre in seed-cotton is 1,200 pounds, 1,780 pounds being required for a 475-pound bale of lint rating as middling. After one year's cultivation the yield is increased to 1,400 pounds per acre, but there is no difference in the quality of the staple. There is no danger from frosts in this county, as it is too far south. Bur and tie-vine are the weeds which occasion the greatest amount of trouble. No land lies "turned out".

GALVESTON.

Population: 24,121.-White, 18,454; colored, 5,667.

Area: 670 square miles.-Woodland, very little; all southern prairies.

Tilled lands: 2,790 acres.-Area planted in cotton, 289 acres; in corn, 655 acres; in oats, 44 acres.

Cotton production: 136 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.47 bale, 705 pounds seed-cotton, or 235 pounds cotton lint.

Galveston, one of the Gulf counties, comprises the island of that name and a large area of the mainland. The surface of the country is very level, with a gradually ascending elevation inland from the shore. The county is almost entirely an open prairie, with a dark silty soil, except along the coast and on the island, where the surface is little less than a white sand. The lands are underlaid by a heavy clay containing white calcareous concretions (Port Hudson), which comes to the surface near Clear creek, the northern boundary of the county.

There is very little drainage to the lands, the water standing in pools on the surface during the rainy seasons, unable either to flow off or to find an underground passage through the impervious clays. For this reason the county, outside of the city of Galveston, is mostly devoted to stock-raising, and the grasses of the prairies are converted into hay. Along the streams there are some tillable lands having a black sandy loam soil and a growth of mesquite, pine, magnolia, etc.

The island of Galveston is about 32 miles long, with an average width of from 2 to 5 miles. Its surface is very level and sandy, with an elevation of from 2 to 10 feet above tide-water. But very little of the county is under cultivation, that is chiefly around the city of Galveston.

ABSTRACT FROM THE REPORTS OF SIDNEY SCUDDER AND WILLIAM J. JONES, OF GALVESTON.

The various lands devoted to the cultivation of cotton comprise buff-colored sandy loam on Galveston island, black sandy loam on the mainland prairies, and heavy black soil on the river banks.

The black sandy loam of the prairies is the most important, occupying about 80 per cent. of the county area, the natural timber growth being mesquite, magnolia, oak, cedar, pine, ash, and hackberry, lying mostly along the rivers. The soil is 3 feet 8 inches thick, with a subsoil consisting almost entirely of light sand, which extends to a depth of several feet. It produces cotton, sugar-cane, and potatoes, both Irish and sweet, is early, warm, and ill-drained, and is easily cultivated in all seasons. Cotton grows to a height of from 3 to 5 feet, yielding from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds of seed-cotton per acre. After five years' cultivation, unmanured and without rotation, there is a diminution of one-third in the yield. The fiber of the cotton grown on the coast is classed as being of a firmer and softer texture than that of inland counties, and matures very early. This is probably owing to a saline atmosphere and earlier seasons, the weather being essentially modified by the sea breezes. Sea-island cotton shows this more decidedly. In rainy seasons, more particularly in what is termed showery weather, the plant tends to run to weed, which may be restrained by topping. There are very few weeds of any description, crab-grass being the most troublesome. Very little land lies "turned out".

Shipments of cotton are made as scon as ginned, by wagon, to the nearest railroad station, and thence to the best markets, the rates depending on the distance.

FORT BEND.

(See "Brazos alluvial region".)

BRAZORIA.

(See "Brazos alluvial region".)

WASHINGTON.

Population: 27,565.-White, 12,845; colored, 14,720.

Area: 600 square miles.--Woodland and prairies; oak, hickory, and pine region, 200 square miles; southern prairies, 400 square miles.

Tilled lands: 139,712 acres.--Area planted in cotton, 58,705 acres; in corn, 43,610 acres ; in oats, 776 acres; in wheat, 49 acres.

Cotton production: 20,692 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.35 bale, 525 pounds seed-cotton, or 175 pounds cotton lint.

Washington county is bounded on the east by the Brazos river, to which most of the other and smaller streams are tributary. The surface of the county is rolling, its eastern and southern portions being mostly open prairies, which extend west to 3 miles beyond Burton, a railroad station, interspersed with timbered lands, that are also found on the north and west, and border the river bottoms. These prairies have soils varying from black waxy and hog-wallow clays to dark and brown sandy loams, and are underlaid by heavy clays with calcareous concretions, these, in turn, overlying the soft sandstones, as seen outcropping in the ravines and railroad cuts, and that prevail southward. The lands are rich and productive, though tilled with difficulty, and yield from 700 to 900 pounds of seed-cotton per acre. (See analyses, page 32.)

The timbered lands of the west and north belong to the large region of oak and hickory uplands that forms a diagonal belt nearly across the state from northeast to southwest. These lands are sandy and pebbly, with usually clay subsoils, and have a timber growth of post and black jack oaks, and, with the timbered lands that skirt the streams, cover, it is estimated, about one-half the area of the county. The Brazos bottoms are wide and heavily timbered with walnut, ash, elm, pecan, etc., and have stiff red clay and loam soils. The undergrowth is usually very deuse. The banks are said to be from 15 to 30 feet high and above the ordinary rise of the waters of the river. The lands are considered the best in the county, producing immense corn crops, and from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre.

Washington is well populated, and is the chief agricultural county in the state, its tilled lands covering 36.3 per cent. of its area, with an average of 232.8 acres per square mile. Its acreage devoted to cotton is also greater than that of any other county (97.8 per square mile), but in the number of bales produced it ranks as sixth in the state.

ABSTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF 0. H. P. GARRETT, OF BRENHAM.

About two-thirds of the uplands of the county is perhaps prairie, reasonably good and productive, and with long and sufficiently rolling slopes. The lands devoted to cotton comprise Brazos bottoms, with red or chocolate-colored soils, and a timber growth of hackberry, ash, pecan, elm, walnut, cedar, and mulberry; black hog-wallow prairies, waxy and stiff, and dark, fine sandy loam.

The sandy loam is pleasant to till, and is the most desirable, covering more than one-fourth of the surface of the county. The soil is from 6 inches to 2 feet in depth, with a subsoil somewhat heavier, the chief crops being corn, cotton, oats, wheat, potatoes, and sorghum. About two-fifths of the tillable area is devoted to cotton, yielding from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre from fresh land. After several years' cultivation the yield is reduced to from 400 to 800 pounds. In the former case 1,545 pounds, and in the latter 1,600 pounds, are required for 475 pounds of lint, but the staple is not so good, being shorter from the long cultivated lands. In wet weather there is a tendency of the plant to run to weed, which is restrained by topping. Very little land lies "turned out", and when again cultivated, if well fertilized, it produces moderately well. There is considerable washing of the soil on slopes, which sometimes does serious injury to the uplands, but improves the valleys. Hillside ditching and horizontalizing are practiced, and are attended with beneficial results. Cocklebur is the most troublesome weed.

The soil of the black waxy prairie or hog-wallow and black sandy land is about 18 inches deep. Cotton constitutes about one-half of the crops planted, and usually attains a height of from 4 to 6 feet. After much rain there is a tendency of the plant to run to weed; topping is the remedy applied. The yield per acre of seed-cotton from fresh land is from 1,000 to 1,600 pounds, 1,545 pounds of which are required for a 475-pound bale, which rates as middling. Very little land lies "turned out". The cocklebur is the most troublesome weed. Shipments are made from the middle of September to the middle of February, by rail, to Galveston and Houston.

AUSTIN.

Population: 14,429.-White, 10,490; colored, 3,939.

Area: 700 square miles.-Woodland, greater part; oak, hickory, and pine region, 170 square miles; southern prairies, 530 square miles.

Tilled lands: 73,492 acres.-Area planted in cotton, 31,321 acres; in corn, 26,810 acres; in oats, 519 acres; in wheat, 23 acres.

Cotton production: 13,185 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.42 bale, 630 pounds seed-cotton, or 210 pounds cotton lint.

Austin county is bounded on the east by the Brazos river, and on the southwest by the San Bernard. Its surface is rolling, the northern part consisting mostly of open prairies, and the southern of timbered post and blackjack oak lands. The former comprises lands of a black and stiff clayey character, interspersed with brown sandy loams, and underlaid by heavy clay subsoils and sandstones (Grand Gulf). They are the chief cotton lands of the county, and cover, it is estimated, one-half of its area. The timbered region, or post-oak lands, lying south of Bellville, the county-seat, have gray sandy soils over heavy clay subsoils at 2 feet, similar in character to those of the prairies. They seem to be but little under cultivation.

The Brazos river bottom lands, several miles in width, are heavily timbered with ash, elm, pecan, walnut, etc., and have the usual red alluvial soils that are found throughout its length. The land under cultivation comprises 16.4 per cent. of the area of the county, and averages about 105 acres per square mile. Corn is the chief crop, with an average yield of from 15 to 20 bushels per acre.

Cotton, comprising 42.6 per cent. of the tilled lands, has an average of 44.7 acres per square mile, and its yield per acre is greater than that for the state at large.

ABSTRACTS FROM THE REPORTS OF MARTIN M. KENNEY, OF BELLVILLE, AND J. H. KRAUCHER, OF MILLHEIM.

The uplands of the county are rolling, and comprise black and sandy prairies on the north and timbered lands on the south. The sandy lands are usually on the tops of hills, and have a red subsoil, but the black lands of the valleys vary from black sandy to black waxy. The black waxy soil of Mill Creek bottom, because of overflow, is not much under cultivation.

The black waxy prairie is the chief cotton soil. It is a perfectly black, stiff clay, and when burnt forms a yellow brick. It changes to the less sandy and more sandy varieties in various localities, and occupies, with few exceptions, all of the northern and western parts of the county, or about one-half of its area. The natural growth of the prairie is grass, with a few scattering post and live oaks. The soil is from 1 foot to 6 feet, or on an average 2 feet deep. The subsoil is a gray or whitish clay, sometimes yellowish, with chalky gravel and thin strata of sandstone, or it is a red loam, which is the best. The gray or whitish clay contains great numbers of fossil bones, chiefly of a small animal of the horse kind. In some places the subsoil is leachy; in others it is an impervious hard-pan. The soil is difficult to cultivate when too wet or too dry, but easy in intermediate states. It is early, warm, and generally well drained, is best adapted to corn, cotton, and sugar-cane, and from one-half to three-fourths of its cultivated area is planted in cotton. The plant grows from 3 to 6 feet high, but is most productive at 4 or 5 feet. On rich or heavily-manured land (of this or other kinds) in wet seasons the plant inclines to run to weed, the remedy for which consists in close planting and topping about the first week in July. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 500 to 2,000 pounds, but the average is about 1,200 pounds, from 1,425 to 1,665 pounds making a 475-pound bale of low to good middling lint. After twenty years' cultivation (unmanured) the quantity and quality of the cotton product is the same. The troublesome weeds are cocklebur, careless-weed, crab-grass, wild hemp, and morning-glories. Slopes in old fields are seriously damaged by washing and gullying of the soils, and if these are sandy, and the material is washed down upon better valley lands, the latter are damaged by being overlaid with a poorer soil. To check these damages horizontalizing is practiced, which succeeds in some cases, but not always. The rains are so violent as often to break over the ridges and do more damage than if the rows were sloped.

The sandy upland prairies occur in irregular areas from latitude 30° to the Gulf, and from the Trinity to the Rio Grande rivers, occupying about one-fourth of the county area. The soil is a fine sandy loam of a reddish color, 24 inches thick, resting upon a hard, red clay subsoil, which becomes white at 30 feet deep, and is commonly called joint clay. It contains soft, white, angular, chalky gravel. In some places there is a stratum of water-worn quartz pebbles on this subsoil. Sand-rock underlies this clay. The soil is early, warm, well drained, easily tilled, and well adapted to almost all southern crops; it is enduring, and gives liberal returns for manuring. Some fields have been constantly cultivated for thirty years, and are still good. One-half the cultivated part of this land is planted in cotton, and the plant is most productive at its usual height of 3 feet. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is 1,000 pounds in good seasons, 1,665 pounds making a 475-pound bale of low middling lint. Ten years' cultivation (unmanured) causes no decline in the quantity or quality of the product. Very little of this land lies "turned out", and it does not improve by fallowing, but grows up in sunflowers, nettles, and crab-grass, the two latter being the most troublesome weeds here.

The sandy post-oak uplands comprise about one-eighth of the county area, the other growth being black-jack, hickory, and some live-oak. Spots of it occur north of Bellville scattered over the sandy prairie, and the greater portion of the south and southeast part of the county is covered by it. The soil is mostly sandy, with gravel, the color varying from whitish to gray, buff, yellow, and orange-red, but lighter

colors prevail. The depth is 2 feet. The subsoil is generally yellow or red loam or clay, always heavier than the surface soil, and mostly impervious when undisturbed. It contains a variety of gravel, and sometimes "iron pebble" and small shells, and is underlaid by sand, gravel, ironstone, and hard sandstone at 6 feet and less. Tillage is generally easy, but in wet seasons the soil is frequently boggy, and in dry seasons it becomes hard in many places. The soil is late, warm when well drained, and best adapted to sweet potatoes and cotton. Three-fourths of its cultivated area is planted in cotton. The plant grows from 2 to 4, or, if well manured, from 6 to 7 feet high, but inclines to run to weed in good seasons on heavily-manured land, which may be prevented by close planting and topping. The seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land varies from 400 to 1,000 pounds, from 1,545 to 1,665 pounds making a 475-pound bale of middling to good ordinary lint. Two years' cultivation (unmanured) cause a decline of 50 per cent. in the cotton yield; more is needed to make a bale, and the staple is inferior, generally very short, and without the fine gloss. Crab-grass, morning-glory, crowfoot, etc., are the troublesome weeds. But a small amount of such land lies "turned out", but by manuring it can be made to equal or even exceed its original yields. The Brazos bottom occupies about one-eighth of the county area, and from four- to five-tenths of its cultivated area is planted in cotton. The bottom averages 3 miles, sometimes 5 or 6 miles wide, and its red-clay alluvium, brought from the Staked Plain, is 50 feet deep and very rich, producing an average of 2,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre, and more in some places, or 40 bushels of corn. All southern crops grow luxuriantly upon it. The soil is light, warm, early, usually well drained, and easily cultivated, and cotton does not die out upon it. These 50 feet of alluvium rest upon a mixture of clay and coarse sand, gray in color, containing skeletons of the mammoth in great numbers. The bottom has a great variety of natural growth, among which are oaks, ash, walnut, mulberry, pecan, elm, hackberry, etc. The troublesome weeds are wild hemp and other tall growers.

The seasons are irregular as to the amount and time of rainfall, and this is perplexing to the planter. On the uplands the rows are made 4 feet apart and the plants 18 inches apart in the drill. If the season happens to be dry, the plants are too thin on the ground; if wet, they are too thick; but these conditions cannot be known until the after-cultivation is nearly completed. The climate is generally favorable to the production of all upland varieties of cotton. To produce the best crop of the best staple not much rain is needed, the average summer, with just enough rain to keep the plant in a growing condition, being sufficient. The chief crops of this region are cotton, corn, sweet potatoes, sorghum, and ribbon cane.

Cotton is shipped during picking time, by rail, chiefly to Galveston, at $1 40 per bale from Millheim, or $2 from Bellville.

FAYETTE.

Population: 27,996.-White, 19,167; colored, 8,829.

Area: 960 square miles.-Woodland, greater part; oak, hickory, and pine uplands, 750 square miles; southern prairie, 210 square miles. Tilled lands: 137,218 acres.-Area planted in cotton, 58,353 acres; in corn, 47,770 acres; in oats, 1,023 acres ; in wheat, 265 acres.

Cotton production: 24,766 bales; average cotton product per acre, 0.42 bale, 630 pounds seed-cotton, or 210 pounds cotton lint.

The surface of Fayette county is rolling, about equally divided between prairies and timbered lands, and is watered by many streams, most of which are tributary to the Colorado river, which flows through the central part of the county in a northwest and southeast course. The river is bordered by wide bottom lands, heavily timbered with cottonwood, ash, walnut, elm, etc., and have soils varying from reddish sandy to dark alluvial loams, underlaid by beds of concretionary clays, that outcrop occasionally on the banks. These lands are very productive, and are largely under cultivation.

The uplands are high and rolling, and comprise broad skirts of post-oak timber along the river and creek bottoms, large and open prairies on the north and south, and other post-oak lands on the north and northwest, interspersed in smaller areas throughout the county. (See analysis, page 32.)

The lands of the timbered region are sandy and often gravelly, and are filled with variously colored and rounded quartz and agate pebbles. They, as also the prairies, are underlaid by concretionary clays and sandstones, that are frequently found outcropping in the banks of ravines. A high sandstone bluff occurs on the river opposite the town of La Grange, the county-seat. These lands are easily tilled and quite productive, except where the concretionary clays come near the surface, rendering drainage poor, and causing cotton and deep-rooted crops to die, even when near maturity. They have a growth of post and black-jack oaks, pine, hickory, etc., and in places the former is open and almost the exclusive tree.

The prairies have soils varying from black waxy and hog-wallow clays to brown, sandy loams, with underlying heavy clays and sandstones. While very productive, they are generally preferred for grazing purposes. (See analysis, page 32).

The county has 22.3 per cent. of its area under cultivation, with an average of 142.9 acres per square mile. Of the latter, 60.8 acres are devoted to cotton, the chief crop of the county.

ABSTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF HENRY B. RICHARDS, OF LA GRANGE.

The uplands of the county are rolling, and comprise black prairies and sandy timbered lands; but the latter, with thin, poor soils, are not well adapted to cotton. The cotton lands comprise the shelly bottom lands of the Colorado river and creeks, the black hog-wallow prairie uplands, and the black sandy prairies. The chief crops of this region are cotton, corn, and sweet potatoes.

The bottom lands, embracing about 30 per cent. of the cultivated area, have a natural timber growth of live, pin, and white oaks, elm, ash, box-elder, red cedar, cottonwood, sycamore, pecan, etc. The soil is a brown and blackish, fine silty loam containing small shells, and is 30 inches thick. The underlying material is gravel, large and small, with cobblestones down to 30 or 35 feet, where it rests upon a stiff, impervious clay. The soil is early, warm, and well drained, always easily tilled, and is best adapted to cotton. One-half of its cultivated area is planted with the same. The cotton-plant usually grows from 4 to 5 feet high. In wet seasons (on other good soils as well) the plant inclines to run to weed, which is remedied by topping in mid-season or when 2 or 24 feet high. The average seed-cotton product per acre of fresh land is from 600 to 800 pounds, 1,600 pounds making a 475-pound bale of low middling lint. Fifteen years of good cultivation (unmanured) make no difference in the average quantity or quality of the cotton product. Cocklebur and morning-glory vines are the most troublesome weeds. No such land lies "turned out" at present.