Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-08-15
Farm and Household.


reached by railroads. communicates to that
paper the following independent conclusions
which he came to in regard to the possibilities
of the State in an agricultural point Of view,
its capacity to support dense population, and
the advantages which it offers for northern
immigration;
Texas contains PA 356 square miles II
would make five States as large as Illinois,
but no Just inference can be drawn from its
size alone as to its capacity for sustaining
population. Illinois contains fully as much
frst-rate agricultural land as Texas The
whole of Eastern Texas, embracing terrific
ry larger than Ohio, consists Of pine barrens,
with little arabic land along the valleys Of
the streams. Out of the valleys the soil is
sandy and would not pay to clear and cult
vate. This region will never be thickly set
tied. 1t now supports a scanty population of
lumbermen and very poor farmers, who cult
vate little patches along the creek bottoms.
The larger streams are bordered by narrow
tracts Of good soil where there are some large
cotton plantations This part of the State is
not new country and except on the opening
of the lumber industry by the building Of
railroads, it has had no growth in recent
years. Something might be done with fruit
culture-a few peach orchards at Palestine
have proved remarkably profitable. their pro-
duct bringing high prices in the st. Louis
market; but the population lacks enterprise
TO develop any new branch Of industry.
West of the pine barrens is broad belt of
rich, black rolling prairie country stretching
from the Red River southwark almost to the
Gulf, and having an average width of about
200 miles. This region may be roughly COM
pared in area TO the State of Illinois. 1t con-
tains some scrub-oak forests where the soil is
poor, but fully nine-tenths of the surface is
frst-rate land, as good as the best prairie land
in the Northwest. Rich and ineXhaustible as
is the soil, however this section shows little
tendency toward dense settlement The
northern portion is being subdivided into
small farms, and is filling up with good, in
dustrious white population but the central
and southern portions naturally run to large
cotton plantations. Cotton is the best crop in
this whole region. Central Texas is the best
cotton country in the South, and is now pro-
ducing one-siXth of the whole cotton crop of
the United States. 1t is not nearly as good a
corn country as Illinois and Kentucky and,
for the production Of wheat. no part of it can
compare with Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas.
Root crops do not succeed. the tubers being
large coarse and watery. Some fruits do toll
erahly well, particularly peaches and pears,
but little attention is given TO raising them.
Apples are brought from the North.
Further west is broad belt of hilly or roll
ing country, consisting of prairies and post
oak or blackjack openings, that is too
dry for agriculture, but is well adapted
for grazing. This is the great cattle region.
1t stretches from the Rcd River to the
Rio Gande and the Gulf. Some portions Of
it may eventually be cultivated if the rain.
fall should increase by climatic changes which
are said TO be going on along the eastern Dor
der Of the whole arid region from Montana
down TO Mexico but nine-tenths Of its sur
face will always be devoted TO pasturage. and
will consequently support only q scanty popu-
lation of herdsmen. Still further west is an
immense arid region, comprising about three
ffths of the whole surface Of the State
Some of it is valuable for grazing: a little
lying close to streams, can be cultivated by
irrigation. great deal is absolute desert
growing nothing but cactus and chaparral
Veins of copper and iron have been discover
ed in the mountainous districts, and when
they are opened, as they will be when the
Texas Pacific railroad is completed to the Rio
Grande, considerable population will be
brought In. With all the resources of mining
agriculture by irrigation and grazing possess
ed by this immense region, its population
will, however, always be inconsiderable.
From this generalization it will be seen that
there Is no reason to expect that the popula-
ton of Texas will ever be at all commensu-
rate with its territorial extent In fact, il
may well he doubted whether the State will
ever have as many inhabitants as Ohio.
know this statement will be met by an indig-
nant outcry of dissent from the Texan news
papers, but can come to no other conclu-
sion. moderately dense farming popula-
ton IN the centre, fanked by sparse popu-
huon IN the east and still sparser one in the
west, grading off 10 q region with no inhabi
tants worth mentioning is all Texas can look
forward to- All talk about her outweighing
the whole South and counterbalancing the
North in the political system is wild non
sense. Her present population is generally
estimated by her own people at 1000 900.
but l shall be surprised if the census of 1850
shows as many as 100000. There is a
marked falling of in immigration of late,
and, although steady influx of new settlers
may be expected, there will be no succession
of the great waves that have annually flowed
into the State for the past five years. A rea-
sonable prediction for the future would be
that the population will run up to ., 500, 600
by 1880, and will thenceforward show only a
very moderate increase. The introduction of
manufacturing interests would create a larger
growth by building up large cities but the
Southern people do not take to manufacturing
and the Texas population is essentially South
ern. The Texas towns are trading centres
only, and the largest, Galveston, has less than
10000 inhabitants, although it boasts a very
respectable age and handles the cotton Of
over half the State. After Galveston rank
Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Waco
Fort Worth and Sherman, in the order named
ranging from 10000 down to 10000 inhabi-
tants There are perhaps dozen places of
over 1000 and less than 10000. This is a
scanty showing Of large towns for a territory
seven times as large as Ohio. 1t will be said
that Texas is a new State, but the best part of
1t Is no newer than Iowa, which is thiekly dot
ted all over with thriving towns, and the west
orn part was settled by the SpAniards as long
ago as 1920 1t must be remembered, how
ever that Texas has had the advantage of
rail communication with the North for only
SIX years. Nevertheless, giving full weight to
This fact, there are few evidences of much
future growth in the older towns, of the
building up of new towns of Importance, or
OF the thick settlement Of the farming coun-
ties
fail TO SEE in Texas any special and obvi-
Gus advantages for Northern immigration
For certain class Of people who are inpelled
by health considerations 10 seek warm eli
mate, and who must, in removing from their
Old homes, have fair prospect of earning a
living in their new locations, the State holds
out the peculiar inducement of being a new
and growing country, where lands are good
and cheap and the climate mild and health
tul. II is a common mistake, however, for
people born in region of cold winters, and
unfamiliar with any other, 10 imagine that
southern countries are in some degree para
disaical, and that nature offers greater
amount of comfort and happiness there than
elsewhere. The fact is, our northern winters
are blessing 10 all save the feeble and con-
sumptive. They kill the seeds of disease in
swamps and marshes, tone up the system, and
prepare people not only TO endure but TO en-
JOY the summer. In the South the exemp-
ton from snow and extreme cold is paid for
by long, hot, eneryating summer. Besides,
there are more mAlRriAl influences than in the
North, and the pest of mosquitoes lasts for
SIX months of the year. Then there are 9TH
er insect torments, such as feas, sand-hies and
gnats, from which northern ATTITUDES are gen
orally exempt As TO natural beauty. one sees
more in a three hours railway ride out of New
York or Philadelphia than in a month travel