San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-10-06

We give our readers the follovi,.
frank and valuable article on the ser~,
west" taken from the Callahan Clarss'
dom:
We have heard considerable complaI,s
because friend George, Of the Stool
journal, persists in denouncing On
country is not at all fitted for aericul
ture, and il has been said that the pres
throughout the northwest should a,
out against him, but We have thought x
silence, that the fact that the Jonr7,ol
insisted upon certain things did moi
change them particle. III
It insists that this is not farmips
country at all; bat is stock county,
exclusively. But We say that he is en-.
phatically mistaken. He bases his reas
ons upon the fact that in riding owe,
the country he sees crops suffering ior
rain and which will produce soarcely
nothing, all of which we readily admit
and we can take him to illinois, Ind.
ana, Iowa, Missouri, and numerous Other
states in the Union at this time and
show him field upon field of crops IN
similar condition; but does this prove
that these are not farming states2 By
no means. We do not believe in mis-.
representing country in order to in.
duce immigration to it, neither do we
believe in speaking disparagingly Of Il
in order to promote our self interest.
There is reason in all things. We are
ready to admit that this as o whole, is
not exclusively farming country, neither
is it exclusively stock country, from the
fact that sheep are fast taking the place
of cattle. There are thousands of acres in
northwest Texas which can never be
utilized for ought but stock-raising land
yet there are thousands of acres in
northwest Texas which can never be
utilized for ought but stock-raising, and
yet there are thousands of acres with
soil as rich and as we'll adapted to the
production of grain as can be found in
the Union, with the advantage in our
favor-the lands being cheap. There
are farmsin Callahan county which have
produced splendid crops of wheat this
year, upon which the second crop Of
millet has been cut, where melons grow
as if by magic, where good potatoes and
other vegetables are raised and this in
one of the severest droughty years.
The heavy cattle owners are moving
out, and men who combine farm with
flock of sheep, some milk cows, few
horses, hogs, etc., are taking their place,
and to such the country is particularly
adapted and offers an extra inducement;
nature will have her sway. in spite of all
we can do or say; we might write vol
umes and we would not change the
adaptability of the land. The lower
valleys are better adapted to farming
than to grazing ; in places where four
years ago the mesquite grass was lux
uriant and thrifty, it has now given
away to weeds from the fact that stock
during wet weather tramp it down
never to rise again, but to be replaced
by worthless weed; of this fact all our
stock m IN will testify. Then why can
not these valleys be made to produce
something to enrich the country in
stead of lying idle. 1t will not interfere
with stock men in the least. As the
Journal remarks, the farming out on
the frontier has been done in most
primative manner. not one acre in ten
which are being farmed upon are yet
under proper or even passable cul-
tivation, and yet we can cite you to men
who have been farming here for four
years who could sell their farms at hand
som profits, but they say this country is
good enough for them; they have done
vel! here and here they will remain.