Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1873-08-15
FIR I'M an Occasional Core <pondent of the
journal.
TeXas..ltS Climate, Soil and Adj
Vanfages Generally.
LEoNA, LEON COUNTY, Texas.

LEoNA, LEON COUNTY, Texas.
July Goth, 1873. I,
Editors Journal - Thinking that a
letter from the ''Lone Star State"
would be o. interest to the readers of
your widely-circulated journal, and
the writer being from your State,
would like to give them an item or two
from Texas, and, with your consent,
will proceed:
Texas is, indeed, great State
Many newspapers in the States of Ala
bama, Georgia, South Carolina and
North Carolina have been trying to
make out Texas hoax, but they have
failed. True it is, people work in
Texas, little, but not to hurt: Us a
general thing Texans won't work
much. All they have to do is to
plant their corn early, i'll the latter
part of February and the first week in
March give j. about three ploughings
and one hoeing, $50 called, the corn
being merely thinned out with the
hoe; then they ''let it rip, and such
corn! 1t is generally from a foot to
two feet and q half apart, and every
stalk has two ears, sometimes three
1t seems as if the corn is under some
magic influence during the months of
June and July. Farmers hardly ever
get through with the third ploughing;
the corn gets so large and tall that it is
almost impossible to work in it, it
being so hot-not one breath of air
hardly. Corn is ''laid by about the
1st of June
Cotton is planted in April and is
''laid by in July, in the bottoms or
lowlands it generally grows head high:
on uplands, about waist high. 1t is no
trouble to make crop in Texas the
trouble is, person generally makes
more than he can gather, more cotton
especially.
The racCoons are very troublesome
in the corn, but they hurt not the farm
er financially or otherwise. They de-
stroy good deal of corn, but it is
never missed in the barn at gathering
time. The farmers barn is always
plumb full of corn any way and what
little the cOons eat is not begrudged.
Rain in Texas, is nOtaS regular as III
the other States, but We always have Il
plenty to insure good crop. We gen
orally have too much at Il time, 1t is
not scattered enough we have about
three days hard rain, and then it will
be four, six and sometimes eight weeks
before we have any more.
The water in Texas is as good as any
in the United States. There is some
very bad water, but bad water can be
found i'll any State in the Union. On
the prairies, the people use cisterns.
[ have drank cistern water, and find it
very palatable. It is not as cold as
we'll water, but it has good sweet
taste.
Sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, peas,
cabbage, Okra, tomatoes, beans, Gu
clmbers and watermelons can be raised
in abundance. In brief, everything
that belongs to the vegetable kingdom
can be raised in Texas. 1t is no trOrl- |
BILE for them to grow.
Texas has some poor land, but the !
poorest sand-hill ir Texas will bring
as good corn and cotton as some of
the best highlands in North Carolina.
These are plain facts, and [ defy any
man to dispute them. And [ would |
say to all North Carolinians that are
hesitating about coming to Texas, |
''cOme on land is cheap and good. &,
If you will work as hard and as indus |
triOusly in Texas as you are obliged to |
do in the Old North State, you will, in
a few years, lay mp fortune.
People here in Texas work about |
one-half Of their time, and live well.
Does it not look reasonable that if
man would work hard all the time in
Texas that he wonld soon get rich ? l
think it looks very likely. Land is
cheap, houses are cheap, and labor is
high.
Health is as good as in ony other
State. [ have seen less sick people in
Texas since [ have been here than |
have in the ''Old North State"
So come to Texas, the land of peace
and plenty, and leave the moles and
to plow the sands of the
cold North State"