San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1879-08-09

product bringing high prices IN the 81.
Louis market; but the population lacks
enterprise to develop any new branch
Of industry. fr.. ri.r
West Of the pine barreus is broad
belt Of rich, black rolling prairie coun.
try stretching from the Red River
southwark almost to the Cult, and
having an average width Of about 200
miles. This. region may be roughly
compared 10 area TO ,ths State Of Hi.
nois. Il contains some scrub. osk for.
ests, where the soil is poor but fully
nine ,tenths Of the surface is first. rate
land. as good as the best prairie land in
the Northwest. Rich and inexhausti-
BILE as is the soil however. this section
shows little tendency, toward dense
settlement. The northern portion ia
being subdivided into small farms, and
is filling up With q good, Industrious
white population, but the central and
Isouthern portions naturally run to
large cotton plantations. Cotton is the
best crop in this whole region. Cen
trail Texas is. the best cotton country
in the South. and is now producing
one-sixth Of the whole cotton crop of
1.-THE United States. It is not nearly as
good 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
lido tolerably we'll, particularly peaches
and pears, but little attention is paid
to raising them. Apples are brought
from the North
Further West is a bread belt Of Nil.
ly or rolling country, consisting of
prairies' and post.oak on black. jack
openings, that is too dry for asricul-
ture, but is well adapted for grazing
This is the great cattle region. 1t
stretches from the Red River to the
Rio Grande and the Gulf. Some por.
tions of 1t may eventually be cultiva-
ted, if the rainfall should increase by
climatic changes which are said to be
going on along the eastern border of
the whole arid region from Montana
down to Mexico, but nine. tenths of
its surface will always be devoted to
pasturage, and will consequently sup
port only scanty population of herds
men. Still further west is an immense
arid region, comprising about three
fifths Of the whole surface OF the
State. Some of it is valuable for graz
ing; little lying close to streams, can
be cultivated by irrigation. A great
deal is absolute desert, growing moth
ing 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, consid
cradle population will be brought in.
With all the resources of mining, agri-
culture by irrigation and grazing pos !
sessed by this immense region, lis pop.
ulstion. will. however, always be incon-
siderable. .f.
UNFAvoRABLE CONDITIONS FOR
DENSE POPULATION.
From this generalization it will be
seen that there is no reason to expect
that the population of Texas will ever
be at all commensurate with its terri.
itorial extent. In fact it may we'll
be doubted whether the State will ever
have as many inhabitants as Ohio, /
know this statement will be met by an
indignant outcry of dissent from the
Texan newspapers, but ! can come to
no uther conclusion. A moderately
dense farming population in the Gen.
tire Aanked by sparse population in
the east and a still sparser one in the
west, grading off to a region with no
inhabitants worth mentioning,
is all Texas can look forward to.
All talk about her outweighing
the whole South and counterbal-
ancing the North in the political sys-
TEN is wild nonsense. Her present
population is generally estimated by
her own people at 1900, 900, butr shall
be surprised If the census oflSS0 shows