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2 BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY AND SOILS, 1928
mittent lakes which occur throughout the county. Monahans
Draw extends east across the central part. It is practically without
laterals and drains a strip from 2 to 3 miles wide. Johnson Draw
heads in the south-central part and flows northeast. With its
many short laterals it drains a strip from 10 to 15 miles wide. These
draws are headwater tributaries of creeks which flow into Colorado
River. Five salt lakes, ranging from one-half square mile to 2
square miles in extent, are commonly covered to a slight depth by
very salty water, but sometimes these salt lakes go entirely dry
during very dry periods.
The natural vegetation consists principally of short grasses,
together with a few stunted mesquite trees. The sandy soils support
a medium growth of grama grasses, mainly woolly foot grama,
and needle grasses, with some mesquite trees and catclaw. The
heavy soils have a thin cover of grama grasses and needle grasses,
with a considerable growth of "greasewood" or tarbush. The
very sandy soils have a covering of "sage grass," or little bluestem,
and shin oak brush. The gravelly soils are covered with grama
grasses and needle grasses, with considerable tobosa grass in the
slight depressions. In addition to these, many other plants and
grasses, some of which have some grazing value, grow to less extent.
Midland County was organized from a part of Tom Green County
in 1885. The region was first settled by ranchers coming from other
parts of Texas about 1870. The population in 1890 was 1,033; in
1900, 1,741; in 1910, 3,464; in 1920, 2,449; and in 1930,1 8,005, of
which 5,484 live in the city of Midland. The increase in population
is due to the extension of farming in the county and the growth
of the city of Midland as a center of oil activities. The present
population consists mostly of native whites from the older sections
of Texas, though some are from other States. There are very few
persons of foreign extraction, except a few Mexicans who are employed
chiefly in land clearing and cotton picking. The density
of the farm population is greatest in the vicinity of Midland. The
southern half of the county is very sparsely settled.
Midland, the only city in the county, is the most important shipping
point for farm produce. Railway facilities are afforded by the
Texas cattle are commonly
shipped to Fort Worth or Kansas City; and feedstuffs are generally
consumed on the farms where grown. Dairy products, poultry
products, and truck crops are produced in insufficient quantities to
supply local consumption and are sold chiefly on the local market.
1 Soil survey reports are dated as of the year in which the field work was completed. Later census
figures are given when available.