A1CO-319-15M TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS W. B. BIZZELL, President BULLETIN NO. 243 MARCH, 1919 DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY THE NEED OF TEXAS SOILS FOR LIME B. YOUNGBLOOD, DIRECTOR COLLEGE STATION, BRAZOS COUNTY, TEXAS STATION STAFFT ADMINISTRATION _ _ B. YOUNGBLOOD, M. S., Director. A. B. CONNER, B. S., Vice Director J. M. JONES, A. M., Assistant Director CHAS. A. FELKEaJChief Clerk A. S. WARE, Secretary _ _ W. T. BRINK, B. S., Executive Assistant in Charge of Library and Publication _ .................................. Technical Assistant VETERINARY SCIENCE _ *M. FRANCIS, D. V. M., Chief . H. SCHMIDT, D. V. S., Veterinarian _ D. H. BENNETT, V. M. D., Veterinarian CHEMISTRY!‘ _ _ G. S. FRAPS, Ph. D., Chief: State Chemist S E. ASBURY, M. S., Assistant Chemist S LOMANITZ, B. S., Assistant Chemist FRANCES SUMMERELL,_B. S., Assistant Chemist WALDO WALKER, Assistant Chemist , HORTICULTURE H. NEss. M. S., Chief _ W. S. HOTCHKISS, Horticulturist, ANIMAL INDUSTRY J. M. JoNEs, A. M., Chief; Sheep and Goat Investigations. I]. C. BURNS, B. S., Animal Husbandman in Charge of Beef Cattle Investigations (on leave) P. V. EwiNo, M. S., Animal Husbandman in Charge of Swine I nvestigations_ C. M. HUBBARD, B. S., Assistant Animal Husbandman W. L. MAYER, Poiiltrgman W. A. Doom‘, Dairgman ENTOMOLOGY F. B. PADDOCK, M. S., Chief; State Entomologist H. J. REINHARD, B. S., Entomologist .............................. Assistant Entomologist AGRONOMY A. B. CONNER, B. S., Chief A. H. LEinion, B. S., Agronomist E. W. GEYEI-‘l. B. S., Agronomist H. H. LAUnE,_M. S., Agronomist PLANT PATHOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY J. J. TAUBENHAUS, Ph. D., Chief FORESTRY E. O. SEicKE, M. F., Chief; State Forester PLANT BREEDING E. P. HUMBERT, Ph. D., Chief FEED CONTROL SERVICE F. D. FULLER, M. S., Chief JAMES SuLLivAn, Executive Secretary FARM AND RANCH ECONOMICS THE DIRECTOR, Chief SOIL SURVEY "W. T. CARTER, JR, B. S., Chief J. F. STROUD, Soil Surveyor T. M. BUSHNELL, B. S., Soil Surveyor .................................. .., Soil Surveyor SUBSTATIONS No. 1. Beeville, Bee County I. E. COWART, M. S., Superintendent No. 2. Troup, Smith County W. S. Ho-rciiiuss, Superintendent No. 3. Angleton, Brazoria County E. B. REvNoLns, M. S., Superintendent No. 4. Beaumont, Jefferson County A. H. PRINCE, B. S., Superintendent No. 5. I Temple, Bell County l). T. KiLLouGu, B. S., Superintendent No. 6. Denton, Denton County _ C. H. McDovs ELL, B. S., Superintendent No. 7. Spur, Dickens County _ R. E. DICKSON, B. S., Superintendent 1A5 ofMarchl, 1919. No. 8. Lubbock, Lubbock County R. E. KARPER, B. Superintendent D. L. JONES, Scientific Assistant No. 9. Pecos, Reeves County _ J. W. Jackson, B. S., Superintendent No. 10. (Feeding and Breeding Substation) College Station, Brazos County J. W. JENNINGS, B. S., Superintendent No. ll. Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County G. T. McNEss, Superintendent No. 12. Chillicothe, Hal-demon County A. B. CRON, B. S., Acting Superintendent V. E. HAFNER, B. S., Scientific Assistant No. l4. Sonora, Sutton-Edwards Counties E. M. PETERS, B. S., Superintendent Iln cooperation with School of Agriculture, A. & M._ College of Texas. *ln cooperation with the School of Veterinary Medicine, A cl: M. College of Texas. "In cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. CONTENTS PAGE What lime does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 Acidity of soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. '7 Sources of lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8 /I Chemical composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10 / How to apply l.ime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11 / Location of acid soils in Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11 Use of lime on Texas soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 16 / Summary and conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1'7 [Blank Page in Original Bulletin] Bulletin N0. 243 March, 1919 THE NEEDS OF TEXAS SOILS FOR LIME BY G. S. FRAPs, PH. D., CHIEF, DIVISION or CHEMISTRY ; STATE CHEMIsT. The requirements for the maintenance of the fertility of Texas soils have been discussed in previous bullet-ins of this Station. The more important requirements consist in maintenance of the vegetable matter and nitrogen content of the soil by means of proper legume rotation, the use of nitrogenous fertilizers, and the use of phosphates. The potash requirements of the soil, and needs of the soil for lime are to be considered among the less important requirements of the state as a whole, though for some crops and for some localities they may be very important. The object of this bulletin is to discuss the needs of Texas soils for lime, as far as our present information permits. “THAT LILIE DOES Lime performs several functions in the soil, some of which are favor- able to increased crops and the maintenance of fertility, some favorable to certain crops, and some unfavorable to the maintenance of fertility on certain soils. Livne as a. plant food. Lime is not classed as a fertilizer, though plants need lime in order to grow. It is generally believed that soils contain enough lime to supply all the needs of the plants, which are not large, as a rule. However, there are some classes of plants which need fair amounts of lime. These especially include alfalfa and clover. Some soils may possibly not supply enough lime for the best development of these plants. In the light of our present knowledge, lime cannot be regarded as a fertilizer or plant food. i Lime afiects the pllj/STCGZ clza/racter of flee soil. Clay soils, which are sticky and difficult to work and which do not contain much lime, are often improved in physical character by additions of lime. They be- come more friable. more easily cultivated, and more easily penetrated by water. They do not harden so readily after a rain, and in general become easily cultivated. Soils which are hard for three horses to plow sometimes are easily plowed by two horses, after proper liming. A soil which, when plowed, breaks up into a mass of compound par- ticles of various sizes. loosely piled upon one another and separated by comparatively large interspaces, is said to possess the crumb structure and to be in good tilth. The crumbs may be held together by moisture, clay, humates, and carbonates of lime, and ‘sometimes silica and oxide of iron. A sticky clay poor in lime produces little crumb structure, but 6 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. the proper addition of lime will cause the formation of crumbs and aid decidedly in promoting good tilth. ‘ Lime, added t0 a sticky clay soil and even t0 some loams, aids in the retention of water, and this is a decided advantage under Texas conditions. The lime makes the soil more porous and permits the rain to penetrate it more easily. On some soils the rain causes the forma- tion of a crust and flows oif Without penetrating as much as it should. Lime added to such soils produces a more porous and open structure. The soil also produces a better mulch under cultivation. Thus, the cul- tivation is more eifective in preventing loss by evaporation. Bulletins No. 171 and 183 of this Station contain experimental evidence along this line. Lime may make phosphoric acid more available. Addition of lime to soils which need it may make some of the plant food more available to plants. Bulletin No. 1'78 of this Station shows that the addition of lime increased the phosphoric acid Withdrawn from the soil in pot experiments. With six soils that naturally give up phosphoric acid in the pot experiments sufficient for the production of from five to eight bushels of corn per acre, the addition of carbonate of lime caused an increase in the phosphoric acid taken up equal to from three to seven bushels per acre. . It is probable that lime acts by changing less avail- able phosphates 0t iron .and aluminum to the somewhat more available phosphate of lime. It would also decrease the production of iron and aluminum phosphate from phosphate added to the soil. The use of lime to render soil phosphate more available would be of only temporary advantage in the case of soils now in total phosphoric acid, since the lime would aid in the more rapid exhaustion of the soil phosphates, and, consequently, the more rapid impoverishment of the soil. Lime and potash. Lime is claimed by some to make potash more available, but pot experiments at this Station (Bulletin No. 190) show that the active potash is so highly available that the lime has no effect upon i.t. Lime and nitrogen. Lime aids in changing the nitrogen of the soil into forms easily taken up by the plant. This action of lime is some- times desirable, but in other cases it is highly undesirable, as it merely results in the more rapid impoverishment of the soil in nitrogen. The addition of lime to the soil increases the production of nitrates. The nitrates are highly soluble and easily washed out of the soil. Un- less they are taken up by the plant, they are likely to be Washed out and lost. Further, this action continues after the crop is removed from the soil. In northern climates the ground is cold and often frozen during the winter seasons, and this checks the action of the bacteria which produce nitrates, and decreases the percolation of water ’ through the soil. In more southern climates.the soil is warmer and more open, nitrification goes on and nitrates are formed, and the winter rains wash them out of the soil. The addition of lime to a soil results THE NEED OF TEXAS SorLs FOR LIME. . '7 in much greater loss of nitrogen in the south than in the north, due to climatic conditions. It also appears from some of our work that more nitrates may be produced through the use of lime without causing a greater production of crop or a greater quantity of nitrogen to be taken up by the crop. That is to say, the lime may increase the soluble nitrates, which are easily lost, without increasing the available nitrogen suitable for the growth of the plant. The improper use of lime in southern soils is likely to lead to impoverishment of the soil in nitro- gen, and this fact in itself is enough to make one hesitate to recom- mend the use of lime on any soil in the south until one can be sat- isfied that the advantages of the application will outweigh the dis- advantages. Lira-e and aNraZi. Lime added to soils containing nitrate of soda or other alkalies is liable to change part of the alkali into carbonates, which are much more injurious to plants than the original alkali. Na,so,+oaoo.,:oaso,+1va,oo,. NaZSOFl-Ca(OH),:NaOH-}-CaSO4. 2 NaoH+oo,—_-Na,oo,+i1,o. Alkali carbonates are also injurious to the soil, as they cause it to puddle and run together. Hydrated lime or stone lime would be more injurious than the carbonate of lime, since it would probably form caustic soda at first. Lime should not be used upon alkali soils, as a rule. ACIDITY OF SOILS Lime is used to correct the acidity of soils. Some soils are acid, and the acidity is injurious to some crops. Other crops do better in an acid soil than in an alkaline soil, but for most crops an alkaline condition is more favorable. Soils of the north appear to be acid more frequently and to a greater extent than the soils of the south. Cause 0f acidity. The acidity of the soil is due to several different causes, and there is no doubt that the effect on some plants must be different for these different things. Some of the causes of acidity are as follows: (A) The presence of free sulphuric acid, due to the use of sulphate of ammonia on soils containing insufficient lime to neutralize the acid, or, more rarely, oxidation of free sulphur in the soil. (B) The presence of acid organic compounds, formed from decay- ing vegetable matter, especially in swamps or places which remain wet. (C) The presence of sulphates or chlorides of iron or aluminum in the soil. These may be originally present, or sulphates may be formed by the action of ammonium sulphate on the soil, or by the oxidation of iron pyrites. (D) The presence of compounds in the _ soil which react with chlorides, nitrates, sulphates, or similar salts, to form soluble iron and aluminum salts, and perhaps free acid also. (E) The presence of organic or inorganic compounds which neu- 8 TEXAS AGRICJULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. tralize or absorb lime. These may or may not be acid, or may have a very low degree of acidity. An example is the high absorptive power of certain varieties of kaolin for lime. These substances which cause acidity may vary quite differently in their effect upon plants. It is probable that the soluble salts of iron and aluminum are quite toxic. Free sulphuric acid also probably has a high degree of toxicity. Acid organic compounds would perhaps vary from a low to a high degree of toxicity, depending upon the nature of the compounds present and their relative proportions.‘ Compounds’ which merely absorb lime are probably of a low degree of harmfulness to plants. Thus the effects of acidity upon the same plant in different soils will depend upon the cause of the acidity’. Different plants also vary in their behavior to acidity, as is seen below. Relation of plant-s to acidity. The relation of various plants to acid- ity has been studied most largely at the Rhode Island Station, on a soil originally acid but with the acidity increased by the use of ammonium sulphate as a fertilizer, or diminished or counteracted by liming or by the use of nitrate of soda. The acidity in this Rhode Island soil is probably of a high degree of toxicity. The following gives the ascertained effect of lime on various crops as found by the Bhode Island Experiment Station: Benefited by 1ime—Alfalfa, asparagus, barley, beets, clover, celery, cauliflower, currants, cabbage, cucumbers, corn, lettuce, mangelwurzel, onions, okra, oats, peas, peanuts, pepper, parsnip, pumpkin, sorghum, salsify, seed fruits, stone fruits, squash, sugar beets, salt bush, timothy and tobacco. Indifferent to lime——Blackberry, millet, potatoes, raspberries, rye, and red top grass. p Injured by lime——Cranberries, cowpeas, sheep sorrel, lupine, ser- radella, and watermelon. Liming Irish potatoes renders them liable to scab. Pizosplzoric acid and acicZ/itgp. It has been claimed that soils low in phosphoric acid are generally acid. This is not the case in Texas but will be discussed in another bulletin. SOURCES OF LIME Lime may be applied to the soil in several different forms. There is often a decided difference in the cost of the applications in the different forms. The most important forms found in Texas are stone lime, hydrated. lime, limestone screenino-s ground limestone rocks, ground- b“? O oyster shells and marl deposits. Fifty-six pounds of fresh pulverized quicklime are equal to seventy-four pounds dry water-slacked lime or hydrated lime, and one hundred pounds pure limestone or shells or dry air-slaeked lime. Some anal rses of these forms of lime materials are given in table 1. - THE NEED or TEXAS SoiLs FOR LIME. 9 Table 1.-—Analyses of materials carrying lime. 1 a . 1,; .. ‘ _ _ Phos- g E L‘ Lab. Lime Mag- Potash phoric‘ “*3 ,2 No. nesia ac i g4 g L. C} ' i-i r-i i l 1000) Green sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4937i Green sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1958| Green sand marl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2088‘- Grecn sand marl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9767 Marl . 114861 Shell marl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11507, Green sand marl. . . .~ . . . . . . . . . ..' . . . . . . . _ . 124111 Shell marl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6057i Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8262 Limestone rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8004 Crushed limestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10676 Crushed limestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14206 Limestone rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12628 Limestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14578 Limestone rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14583 Limestone rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11411 Fossiliferous limestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11412 Fossiliferous limestone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 .. 78. 5714 Shell shale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 12. 5715 Small shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 4. 5716 Large shells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 2. . 2. 5718 Oyster shells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . .. 49.74 .39 .00 .05 3.43 3.38 8299 Oyster shell meal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.20 .89 . . . . . . .11 - - . . . . 3.54 8810 Clam shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.82 .26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 5492 Shell rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,76 .47 .88 0.20 . . . . . . 37. 54 5493 Shell rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . 16 .34 .47 0.20 . . . . . . 42.68 9528 Oyster shell dust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00‘ .44 . . . . . . . 11 . . . . . . 5.19 9770 Shell rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.50 .45 . . . . . . .05 . . . . . . .90 10886 Shell rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.60 .55 . . . . . . 0.13 2.28. 13.73 2185 Ashes (weeds) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.02 . . . . . . 3 02 .04 . - . . . . - . - - . - 5914 Hardwood ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.10 0.95 2 70 .90 - - . . . . - - - - - - 7337 Ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 24 4.80 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9195 Rice straw ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.73 1.61 6 38 .78 . . . . . . 68 50 9410 Lignite ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 .05 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9563 Mesquite ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.41 16.44 4.65 1.28. . . . . . . 7.69 9758 Pine ashes (leached) 47 per cent water. . . . 11.97 3.39 .21 0.93 . . . . . . 16.92 9775 Peanut hull ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.98 3.30 3 18 4.67 . . . . . . 65.57 9776 Mesquite wood ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.26 .71 6.35 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.90 11227 Ashes of cactus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11272 Pine wood ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.10 2.12 . . . . . . . . . . . . 11273 Rice straw ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 0.81 . . . . . . . . . . . . 11413 Pine ashes (not exposed) 16.7 per cent water 25.32 -8.75 5.73 1.12 . . . . . . 11 24 11414 Pine ashes exposed to weather, 29.3 per cent water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21.77 7.05 .06 0.90 . . . . .. 9.40 11429 Peanut hull ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.09 3 60 10.20 2.50 . . . . . . 29.83 13809 Ashes from mesquitew00d............... . . . . . . . . . . .. 3.37 .52 . . . . . . . . . . .. 13810 Ashes from Tepary bean hay..... . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2.38 1.05 . . . . . . . . . . .. ‘ l Stone lime. Stone lime is prepared by burning limestone, and is used for building purposes. It is highly eiiective for neutralizing acid- ity, but as a general rule it is too expensive in Texas to use for agri- cultural purposes, excepting when only a few hundred pounds are needed for some special purpose. Stone lime should be slacked before it is applied. This is often done by piling it on the land, covering with earth, and then spreading it when slacked. Ifyclrated linze. Hydrated lime is prepared by slacking lime with steam orwater so that ‘it falls to a powder. It contains less lime than stone lime, on account of the Water added. It is easily applied, but it is too expensive to apply to soils in Texas, unless needed for some spe- cial purpose. Limestone screenings. In the manufacture of stone lime for build- ing purposes, there is always a‘ quantity of rock too small to be burned and which is screened out. This is termed limestone screenings. It 10 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. consists of both coarse and fine limestone rock. It is used to some extent as road material, but several Texas quarries have a'quantity on hand which they sell for from fifty to seventy-five, cents per ton in carload lots. This is probably the cheapest form in which to purchase” lime for agricultural purposes. The agricultural value of the limestone screenings depends to some extent upon the quantity of fine material present. This will be discussed presently. Ground li/nzestone rock. Ground limestone rock is prepared from limestone screenings by grinding them finely, or it may be made di- rectly from limestone rock. It costs more than limestone screenings, but, being more finely ground, is better suited to some purposes. 1t may be purchased in carload lots at the mills for about a dollar a ton.“ Ground oyster shells. Oyster shells are rich in lime and can be used for agricultural purposes. They may be secured in quantity in some coast towns. They are a waste product from oyster shucking. They/ are not worth any more than ground limestone rock. Marl deposits. In some parts of Texas there are deposits of carbonate of lime which are finely divided, like clay, or fall into a fine powder when exposed to the air. These deposits would be an excellent source of lime for agricultural purposes, as they require no grinding or other treatment. They could be loaded into the cars and hauled directly to the fields. Some of these deposits are not located favorably with respect to transportation facilities, but there are others which could no doubt be profitably developed in case the demand of lime for agri- cultural purposes in Texas assumes large proportions. Some of the deposits of green sand marl in East Texas contain enough lime to justify their use, but most of these deposits contain so much iron and so little lime that their use at present cannot be advised. Other sources of lime. Ashes, especially those from hard wood, con- tain lime, in addition to phosphoric acid and potash. Ashes should be saved and used for agricultural purposes as far as possible. Carbide ~ waste, from acetylene gas generators, consists largely of lime. It should not be applied when fresh to land that is to be planted soon, as it may contain injurious substances. It is best exposed to the air three to six months before it is applied. Decomposed shell may be found in some portions of the state near the gulf, and, if located within easy hauling distance, is a good source of lime. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION Table 1 shows chemical analyses of some samples of lime materials, made at this Station. The relative values of the materials depend upon the quantities of lime present, and upon the character of materials. In a ground lime- stone, the portion which passes through a sixty-mesh screen should be considered as the most effective. The remainder will act more slowly and will be of some value, but the fine material is of more immediate value. THE NEED or TEXAS SoILs FOR LIME. 11 Roughly speaking, one ton of burned lime (stone lime) is equal to one and one-third tons of hydrated lime, ortwo tons of ground limestone. HOW TO APPLY LIME Finely divided lime materials may be app-lied by a grain drill or a lime spreader. Lime spreaders are sold by manufacturers of agricul- tural implements. Stone lime may be placed in piles on the ground, covered with earth, allowed to slake, and then spread, but this is not a very good method. The best time to apply lime is probably after plowing. The lime should then be harrowerl in, so that it is Well mixed with the soil. The quantity to apply depends upon the object of the application and the nature of the soil. The amount varies from 500 pounds stone lime or more, or 1000 pounds of limestone rock, up to several tons of limestone rock per acre. Larger applications of limestone rock or marl may be made than of stone lime. Farmers’ Bulletin 921, entitled “Principles of the Liming of Soils,” may be obtained free, from the Secretary of Agriculture, Washing- ton, D. C. _. LOCATION OF ACID sorLs IN TEXAS Table 2 shows the distribution of acid soils i11 Texas. The acid soils found are located chiefly east of Matagorda, Colorado, Waller, Brazos, Robertson, Leon, Houston, Cherokee, Smith, Franklin, Dallas, and Red River Counties. West of this area a great many of the soils are rich in lime. This is particularly the case with the soils known as the black waxy soils, which are limestone soils. Table 2.——Distribuizion of acid soils in Texas. Surface _ Surface soils Subsoils Subsoils County a soils number total number total acid acid / I-l cwqm mw ~ wwwwswwowwwwwmwwwwwwwwmowww b1 V ‘Anderson county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . t V‘Angelina county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Aransas county, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~‘ Archer county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i Armstrong county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; Atascosa county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘ Austin county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bandera county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 “Bastrop county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘ Bell county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘y Bexar county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Bosque county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l Bowie county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; "Brazoria county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 ~Brazos county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l Brown county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘ I-l l-l s-dr-H-l >-*l-‘©QJ>-*>-*rl¥@lQ v-A Calhoun county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Callahan county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Camp county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k Cameron county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l QCass county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F‘ C? v-flmr-ALQ b-l _Chambers county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -Cherokee county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a Childress county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clay county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Collin county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p -Colorado county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . w N -wwmwwwu O §ooomwwooo~oQwoo~owoo~ooo@w ,hOO©MMMOM~HOWMHOOOHOOHOOONW 12 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. Table 2.—Distribution of acid soils in Texas—continued. Surface County $011 Surface soils number acid Subsoil total Subsoils number acid Comanche county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ - - - - - » - Comal county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . Coryell county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i . . . , . . . . . . - - Crockett county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . - - - - Dallas county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . - - - - - - Dallam county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - ~ - - Delta county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . - - - - - - Denton county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - ~ ~ ~ - De Witt county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - ~ - t - Dimmit county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - ~ - - - » - - Donley county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - ‘ ~ - - Duval county . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . - . ~ - - - - - Eastland county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - » ‘ Ellis county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erath county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . t . . . . El Paso county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - Fannin county . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . _ . . . . . v . . i Fayette county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . - - - - - - j loyd county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - ~ - - ~ - - ‘ ort Bend county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - ~ - < - - - l Franklin county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . Freestone county . . . . . i . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - - i’ Frio county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . - - - - - - l Gaines county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . - - ~ - ~ - l Galveston county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . - - - - - - I Guadalupe county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ - . - - - ‘ - - ' Gillespie county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - 2 - ‘ - - - - l Glasscock county . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ .' . . . . . . 1 Gonzales county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . - - - - - - Goliadcounty...........t......... . . . . . 4 .. Grayson county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . - . - . Gregg county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . ‘ Grimes county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - Hale county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - t Hansford county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v . . -'Hardeman county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - \ Harris county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . arrison county . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . - . - - - - Hays county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Henderson county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . < . » Hemphill county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . _ - Hildago county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ , . . . . . . . . Hill county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . HOIJkIHS county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hood county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Houston county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hunt county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( Jack county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P‘ h-lv-d N1 hi5HFQHIQUHL¢G>PUWZWFOQQOOKO>¢OJUH> 00M P‘ HNFNH|¥>COCE>PFPM§IOO5BDNCJW Jackson county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . Jasper county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' Jefferson county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Johnson county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karnes county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \/Kaufman county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kerr county . . . . . . . . i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kimball county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i . . . . . . . . . . Knox county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lamar county . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . Lavaca county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . La Salle county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lee county . . . . . . .‘ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . y Leon county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Id Liberty county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Limestone county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lipscomb county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . Live Oak county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Llano county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lubbock county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘Madison county . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ason county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q Matagorda county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medina county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . Menard county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - V - - - i - Mills county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milam county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mitchell county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lMontgornery county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . wbrwp109154;‘HsgpawgwwwooQiwqwwoiwmwzcviwwvdmhflibwwi-iww N . i-OHOOOQJOP-‘QOOOP-‘CUH-‘CI-‘OOCOTOOEMOOHNHv-‘OOOHCQUCCOWCOCCOOCOOOi-‘QCHHOOOCCOOCOHONOOOCCO [x3 v-n-A usoiwwcv~icoicmciwo=coioiwcwis>m [Ov-A l-l omiw~corioww-wcwwi~ui Id so»H~@@wr5@¢w»ww@w@wo~»ww~mw~w~@~»wc~Q< b: . [QQQQQQQQQMQQQcQH01QCIOQCOOr-‘OII-iOOQOCOC[OW[UHOOl-‘OWi-‘OOCOVOI-‘CCOOQCDCOIQCCQW-‘Q-‘NOFJCOOHOOCOOOQOOW {Randall county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . flan Saba county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . unTyler county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; . . THE NEED 0F TEXAS _SoILs FOR LIME. 13 Table 2.——-Distribution of acid soils in Texas-continued. Surface Surface soils Subsoil Subsoils County SOIl nurnber total number p-A McLcnnan county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nacogdoches county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Navarro county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Newton county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nueces county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ochiltree county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orange county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parker county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parmer county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palo Pinto county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ecos county ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Polk county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Potter county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prcsidio county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . y-A l i total acid ‘ acid l l l l Red River county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reeves county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Refugio county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robertson county . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rusk county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . unnels county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vgabine county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l0 r-A an Jacinto county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a . . . . . . . O0 C» an Patricio county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘Smith county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sutton county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Swisher county . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tarrant county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . {Faylor county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Titus county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Green county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Travis county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trinity county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v-ub l0 w» l0 moviowoweomxounupwcooimwwmiowpwwcvwi-wiww>-w>::=>-oam»->-»--pwww~wwuwww~ OaPOvdOOOOOMNHHOOHwbJOOwOOOOaOl-‘HNHHOOOOOJOOOMOOOOMOOP-‘r-‘OO Upshur county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Uvalde county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Val Verde county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Van Zandt county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘(Victoria county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walker county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘Waller county. . . . Washington county Webb county. . . . . Wharton county. . . Wilbarger county. . .. Williamson county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -Wilson county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . /Wise county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wood county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zavalla county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l0 O5U1NO5r-*i-*l\3@l\3@rl>U\l\3C§U1l\7U\l\3U1>-*vPCfilO[OGUU-‘CDLQMIQ-OTOQrPrPC5NHHiPP-*OJFJ>-A\I>P~JI—‘N$N l-l b‘ P‘ OI-‘OJQOOOOQQJMOOOOoflwOOwvdOOOmrylHr-dOOOUlwONOCOHIOHQOMOOOOOO As an example of the distribution of the acid soils, we find that four out of seven of the surface soils of Angelina County are acid, and seven out of sixty-two surface soils of Brazos County. In Franklin County, nine out of twenty-four samples were acid, while in Harris County five out of twenty-two. In Harrison County, twenty out of thirty-one were acid, and in Houston County, two out of eight. In Robertson County, five out of twenty-three were acid; in Smith County, eight out of twenty-five; in. Titus County, two out of fourteen; in Tyler County, five out of five, and in Waller County, three out of six. The number of samples examined in some counties is not suflicient to show the dis- tribution of acid soils in the counties. _ On the other hand, no acid soils are found in Archer County, Bell County, Cameron County, Camp County, Comal County, Denton County, 14 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. Grayson County, Lubbock County, HcLennan County, Webb County, and many other counties which are named in the table. In other counties a very small proportion of acid soils were found. ' Table 3 contains a list of acid soils found in a number of Texas counties. The list does not include all of the acid soils found in Texas. .The table’ shows the soil types which are acid, and the degree of acidity found to exist in them. The acidity is expressed in parts per million of lime required to neu- tralize it. The soils are assumed to weigh two million pounds to the depth of seven inches, and this amount is required for the surface seven inches. Thus the soil with an acidity of 400 parts per million would require 800 pounds of lime per acre to neutralize it. This means lime in a chemical sense. Since limestone rock contains about fifty per cent ‘lime, it would require about 1600 pounds of limestone rock per acre, finely ground, to neutralize 400 parts per million of acidity to a depth of seven inches. Table 3.——Acid surface soils. Lab. _ Description Acidity Angelina County :— 1283 Norfolk fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 895 _ Lufkin fine sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 11287 _ Homer, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700 12974 Homer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 Brazos County :— 4229 Experiment Station soil . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 6953 Bryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 6955 Bryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 8341 Norfolk sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 8343 Lufkin clay 10am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 8375 Crockett silt loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 12667 i Crockett loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' 1100 . Cass County :— 7112 Atlanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 7239 Hughes Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Chambers County :—— 6680 ' Glens, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800 14204 Smith Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109 Cherokee County :-—— 4342 Rusk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 4601 Jacksonville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Colorado County:— 3248 Prairie Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 6268 Rock Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 7244 Rock Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Delta County:—- ’8838 Upland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 D817 Lufkin fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 D893 Lufkin clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 000 Franklin'County :— 1133 Norfolk fine sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 1139 Norfolk fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 1314 ‘Lufkin silt loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000 1318 Caddo fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0. . . . 200 1324 Lufkin fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 1326 Franklin clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 1121 Hogenspprt loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800 1129 *Lufk1n silt loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2700 8836 Lufkin fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 THE NEED OF TEXAS SoILs FOR LIME. 15 Table 3.—Acid surface soils—continued. Lab. Description Acidity N0. Harris Oounty:— 8119 aty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 9440 Cypress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 9441 ypress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 9273 Addicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 9305 Humble, Harrison county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 4721 Norfolk fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 4725 Susquehanna fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 4701 VLufkin silt loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000 4703 ‘(Sanders silty clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2800 4707 Kalmia fine sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 4709 Kalmia fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 4713 Susquehanna very fine sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700 4715 Orangeburg fine sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 4719 Orangeburg fine sandy loam . . . . . . 300 6202 [Caddo fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 6205 Sandersbsilt 10am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 6206 Orange urg sandy 10am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 6208 Kalmia sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 6216 Susquehanna gravelly sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 6218 Susquehanna fine san . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 7994 Susquehanna fine sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 6194 Susquehanna clay . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 6217 Susquehanna gravelly sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 6220 Susquehanna sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1400 Houston C0unty:—- 314 Norfolk fine sand, 0-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 320 Lufkin clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 Jasper County:— 9163 Kirbyville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 9165 Kirbyville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i . . . . . 700 Jefferson County:— 4215 Beaumont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 4644 Sandy upland, 0-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 137 Rice soil, Beaumont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 1183 vArcadia clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1400 7185 Lake Charles silty clay loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 890 Sandy loam soil . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 7194 Lake Charles clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 7198 Arcadia very fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 7202 Crawley clay 0-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . 600 7219 Lake Charles very fine sandy loam . . . . . . . W, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 Leon C0unty:—- 4646 Sandy upland surface soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 4650 Red sandy soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 4308 Poor upland . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 4585 Soil spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 7108 Flynn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Matagorda C0unty:— 7116 Dark gray soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462 9352 Surface soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . 460 11304 Bay City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Orange County:— 7695 Soil near Mound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2000 7696 Soil from Mound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 Red River C0unty:— 3403 Moderate upland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . 200 4583 Upland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Robertson County:-— 818 Sanders loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 843 Wabash clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 3008 \Vabash clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 819 Norfolk fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Sabine County:— 10958 Riverland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100 10960 Surface soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700 Smith County :— 4642 Upland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 9275 Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L . 4 . 230 16 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. Table 3.—Acid surface s0ils—-c0ntinued. Lab. Description. - Acidity N0. Smith County—Continued. 9867 rangeburg fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 9871 cklocknee clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2100 9977 urface Ocklocknee silty clay loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100 9700 Ballard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100 9708 Ballard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 9975 Kal mia fine sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Titus C0unty:—— 2346' Susquehanna gravelly loam . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 2350 Susquehanna fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Trinity County :— 4370 Pennington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 4597 Light sandy loam 6" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Tyler C0unty:— . 3976 4 Lufkin clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000 3977 Norfolk sandy 10am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 4648 \Voodville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 9139 Surface soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 10614 Spurger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 Walker C0unty:— 6881 Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘100 6886 Camp Goree State Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Waller County:—- ‘ 9357 Surface soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 7237 Brookshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 11228 Surface soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 Wilson County :— ’ 850 Webb fine sandy loam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 859 Norfolk fine sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 An examination of the table shows that the acidity of Texas soils is in general quite low. Most of the soils shown in the table have an acidity of from 200 to 400 parts per million. The acidity in the surface seven inches would be easily neutralized by an application of 1000 pounds of limestone rock. There are nine soils in theitable that have an acidity of from 1100 to 14:00 parts per million. This would require about two tons per acre of limestone rock to neutralize the surface sevenJ-nohes. There are three soils shown in the table having an acidity of from 2000 to 2800 parts per million. This acidity would require from. four to six tons per acre of limestone rock to neutralize. Acid soils are not so widely distributed in Texas as they are in many l of the northern states, and the degree of acidity is in most cases less. The use of lime or limestone is not generally needed in Texas for the purpose of correcting acidity, although it is needed for some soils. USE OF LIME ON TEXAS SOILS Taking into consideration the foregoing facts, the following recom- mendations are made with respect to the use of lime on Texas soils. Lime or limestone should not be used generally on Texas soils, but only on such soils as are known to need lime, or for certain specia" purposes. Lime may be applied with advantage to sticky clay soils in the sec THE NEED OF TExAs SorLs FOR LIME. 17 tion east of the black lands of Central Texas for the purpose of ren-‘ dering the soil more easily-cultivated, and in some cases for the pur- pose of correcting acidity. The lime should be applied at the rate of from one to four tons per acre of ground limestone screenings or ground limestone. The black waxy soils, and many of the other soils of West and Central Texas are rich in lime and there is no advantage whatever in making further additions. Lime should be applied to the soils of East Texas at the rate of from one to two tons per acre of limestone screenings, when alfalfa is to be i grown. The addition of li.1ne to light sandy soils is not advised. Lime is usually not needed for alfalfa on the soils of West or Central Texas. Lime may be applied to loams and clays of East Texas, excepting black lands. for the purpose of growing peanuts, at the rate of from 100 to 2000 pounds per acre, or more, if the acidity of the soil needs more for its correction. The application of lime on light sandy soils is not sug- gested. The Spanish. peanut does not seem to require lime as much “as does the large Virginia peanut. Lime should be applied to the loams, clays and clay loams of East Texas and the gulf coast section which experiments have shown to be acid. The chemist of the Texas Experiment Station will test samples for acidity free of charge. ‘As a rule, 1000 pounds per acre of lime- V stone‘ screenings is sufficient. The use of lime on light sandy soils easily penetrated by water is likely to cause a loss of fertility due to plant food‘ being washed out. Lime should be used on such soils only when a cover crop is grown during the winter, and some crops are kept growing practically all the year“ round. The growing crops will take up the plant food and pre- vent it from escaping in the winter. The best results with lime will be secured in a proper rotation of crops, including a legume to be turned under or grazed off for the purpose of obtaining nitrogen from the air, or the application of large quantities of barnyard manure to take the place of the green manure crops. The use of a winter cover crop is also advisable, for the pur- pose of preventing the loss of plant food during the winter months. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Lime is not regarded as a fertilizer, but it is possible that some soils do not supply enough lime for some crops, such as alfalfa. ' Sticky clay soils which are worked with difficulty are often improved by additions of lime. The black waxy soils of Central Texas are rich in lime. The addition of lime may render phosphoric acid more available on some soils. On soils low in total phosphoric acid this would be only of temporary advantage. v Lime causes the soil nitrogen to change into nitrates more rapidly, and these are easily taken up by plants and also easily washed out from the soil. The use of lime on sandy soils may cause a quantity of nitro- gen to be washed out and lost. ' \__,a\__ 18 TEXAS AGRIOULTURAI. EXPERIMENT STATION. The acidity of soils is due to a variety of causes. In some soils acidity may be more injurious to plants than in other cases when the same degree of acidity is due t0 less injurious causes. Alfalfa, barley, oats, peanuts, and many other crops are benefited by additions of lime t0 acid soils. Irish potatoes, cowpeas, watermelons, and a few other crops are injured by an application of lime to an acid soil. Lime may be secured in the form of stone lime, hydrated lime, lime- * stone screenings, ground limestone rock, ground oyster shell, and lime- stone deposits. At the present time, the cheapest form and the one most easily secured is lirrregstonerscreenings. The acid soils found in Texas are located chiefly in East Texas, and in the gulf coast section east of Matagorda County. A table is given showing the relative abundance of acid soils in the various counties. In the central and Western parts of the state there are few acid soils, and many other soils are rich in lime. The acidity of Texas soils which are acid is generally low. , Lime or limestone should not generally be used on Texas soils, but only on such soils as are known to need lime for special purposes. Lime may be applied with advantage to many sticky clay soils in the gulf coast section and in East Texas, for- the purpose of making the soil more easily cultivated. Lime should be applied to the soils of East Texas or the gulf coast section if an attempt is made to raise alfalfa. Lime should be appliedlto the loams, clays, and clay loams of East Texas and the gulf coast section which experiments have shown to be acid. The use of lime on light sandy soils easily penetrated by Water is not generally advised, on account of the loss of fertility which may take place from nitrogen being Washed out. The best results with lime should be secured in a rotation of crops, including a legume to be turned under or grazed off for the purpose of securing nitrogen from the air.