Upland cotton produces best on a deep loam that is capable of furnishing a uniform supply of about ten or twelve per cent. of water during the growing season.
Sea Island Cotton grows best on a light, sandy soil holding only five per cent. of water.
On light, sandy soils the Upland Cotton produces small plants with small yield of lint, while on clay and bottom land, which are apt to have large amounts of water, the plants grow very large and produce fewer bolls, which are very late in maturing.
Corn, while it will grow on a wide range of soils, produces best on loam or moist bottom lands holding about fifteen per cent. of water during the growing season.
The grasses and small grains do best on cool, firm soils holding eighteen to twenty-two per cent. of water.
Sorghum or "Molasses Cane" grows best on good corn soil, while the sugar cane of the Gulf States requires a soil with twenty-five per cent. of water for best growth.
While the amount of water which a soil will hold is determined largely by texture, it is also considerably influenced by the amount and frequency of rainfall and the location of the soil as to whether it be upland or bottom land.
The average percentage of water held by a soil during the growing season may be approximately determined in the following manner:
Sample the soil in one of the following methods:
Take to the field a spade, a box that will hold about half a bushel, and a pint or quart glass jar with a tight cover. If a cultivated field, select a place free from grass and weeds. Dig a hole one foot deep and about eighteen inches square. Trim one side of the hole square. Now from this side cut a slice about three inches thick and one foot deep, quickly place this in the box and thoroughly break lumps and mix together, then fill jar and cork tightly.