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THIS region, so called because typically shown in Fayette County is not unlike the Coastal Prairie to the southwest except that it is somewhat farther from the coast and its topography is more rolling. Drainage is correspondingly more effective and agriculture more secure. The soil is the black clay or marl usual as a substratum in southeastern Texas grassland.

Vegetation is not essentially different from that of the adjacent Coastal Prairie. Buffalo-grass and curly mesquite are common sod-forming grasses which grow in open spaces among the taller bunch grasses-bluestems, drop-seed, Stipas, and others-subject to the control of the latter. When any tract in the region is ungrazed, the short grasses are so inconspicuous as to be easily overlooked; but grazing in even moderate intensity operates to favor them at the expense of the tall bunch grasses, with the result that the normal home grazing-lot or pasture with which most farms are provided has much the appearance of a Bermuda grass lawn. This is particularly true where mowing operations or a few sheep keep down broom weeds and spurges.

Czech and German colonists early settled much of the Fayette Prairie and their descendants constitute an important part of the thrifty and substantial citizenry of the state.