The surface geology of the Southern United States as a whole, is of a most diversified character, and the following States in which cotton is produced, in many cases show a similar variation.
| North Carolina. | South Carolina. | |
| Georgia. | Florida. | |
| Arkansas. | Tennessee. | |
| Alabama. | Mississippi. | |
| Louisiana. | Texas. |
Perhaps Texas shows the greatest number of distinct soil areas, viz., eight. Height above the sea level has also a considerable influence upon the plants cultivated, and only the hardier and more robust types are to be found on the more elevated lands. At the beginning of the nineteenth century South Carolina produced more cotton than any other State. Fifty years later, Alabama was to the front. Ten years later, Mississippi led the way, and in 1901 Texas occupied the premier position with 3,526,649 bales, followed in order by Georgia and Mississippi.
The following table from Bulletin 100 of the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce and Labor, gives the acreage devoted to cultivation of cotton in 1908 as follows:
| Alabama | 3,591,000 | acres. | |
| Arkansas | 2,296,000 | " | |
| Florida | 265,000 | " | |
| Georgia | 4,848,000 | " | |
| Louisiana | 1,550,000 | " | |
| Mississippi | 3,395,000 | " | |
| Missouri | 87,000 | " | |
| North Carolina | 1,458,000 | " | |
| Oklahoma | 2,311,000 | " | |
| South Carolina | 2,545,000 | " | |
| Tennessee | 754,000 | " | |
| Texas | 9,316,000 | " | |
| Virginia | 28,000 | " | |
| ————— | |||
| 32,444,000 | " |
The figure for Missouri includes other cotton-producing localities not named.
Before dealing with the actual cultivation of cotton, as carried on in the States, it will be well to briefly name the kind of soils which are met with in this cotton area. Generally speaking, soils are divided into the following classes:—
Clayey soils.
Clayey loam soils.
Loamy soils.
Sandy loam soils.
Sandy soils.
This classification is determined by the relative percentage of sand and clay.