The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1878-07-11
ALL ABOUT TEXAS.
JOHNSON COUNTY, TEXAS, !
June 10th, 1878. !

June 10th, 1878.
Nix. j. G. COOPER -1cVorus, "a,
We have had abundant rain, and it
has been SO wet people are getting
behind in cotton, but corn is doing
fine as it was all about finished be-
ing worked before so much rain, al
most all the fields are in roasting
ears and you may depend it looks
fine. 1t looks as regular all over
the country as the best river bottom
does in Georgia in July or August,
but cotton has had little more rain
than it needed ito its age) but some
have will be blooming, think, in
few days. | have thirteen acres
that think will average knee high,
some is above knee high. A great
many had to plant over and they
have not finished chopping it has
been so wet.
Some peoples wheat is damaged,
but | guess there will be abundance,
if prices mean anything for j hear it
is only bringing from'50 to 60 cents
in market. The oats that | wrote
you about, turned out G29 bushels
per acre, but they were volunteer
oats, the third year since the ground
was seeded, but a reliable man told
me that he threshed last year 90
bushels per acre, AMI his nearest
neighbor threshed lao bushels per
acre, but know the 81! bushels
were made, for I helped thresh some
of them.
You asked my opinion in refer
ence to your farming in that coun
try. in preference to this. | would
simply say that my opinion is if |
had to make choice of the two, |
would pay the customary rents re-
quired here, in preference to getting
all | could make off the poor ridges
and narrow strips of bottom land
near where you are. In reference
to the ploughs that arc made to suit
this land, can't say that have
ever seen a pillow that will 5cour here,
and if wrote you | had, was mis-
taken. The ploughs that are used
are large turn steele ploughs. Some
use sulIxy break ploughs, when able
to buy them, but maA has to carry
paddle to clean his pillow in the
wax, but that does not hinder man
long for you don't have to stop as
long to do that as some have to, to
get plow in that country from un>
der rock or root or get team
around tree or other obstruction.
and still there is superior adyan
tage in having large break plows,
man can average ] acres per day
breaking land and walking and
scraping bis pillow one day with
the season through, and .
sulky say lG inches with three good
horses will break three or four acres
per day. No don't think nor be
Iieve that pillow will scour here in
wax, but am told that there are
of black sand west of here
on reasonable terms that is equally
as good for grain and cotton as here
and more agreeable to cultivate but
more subject to drought, in fact
there is variety Of soils here in our
midst. can show you sand farms
on this waxy prairie surrounded by
wax, red and black sand ; the timber
is also on vast body of sand, black
and red, and nearly white, but all
that | have seen is very productive,
either sand or wax.
In answer to. the fencing will say
that some people near the timber,
fence against hogs, while further in
to the prairie they build a shanghigh
fence, straight lines of posts with
three rails tied on with wire to each
panel. This is only against large
stock. In those prairies where PEG
pie are not able to own sufficient
quantity of land to build pastures
they are in my opinion in close
places if they wish to raise any cat>
tie or hogs, for hogs have to be rails !.
ed in lots where the farmers of the
settlements fence only against cattle.
l prefer living on the edge Of timber
as I do this year, to being as | now
am, poor and renting, than having
three ,fourths of all could make out
there. lFogs do extremely well here
but / think they are subject to chol-
era here bat | don't think more so
than in that country. If hogs live,
and there is good prospect of them
having plenty to eat for the trees
are loaded with acorns in the timber
and the stalks are yielding abun-
dance of corn, it is the opinion of
many that pork will bring only two
or three cents per pound; bacon !
am told is selling at four cents now
at Fort Worth, twenty-five miles
from here, which is our nearest rail
nood rnorkef. there ia a town in four