The Penn's Grove record., 1882-12-23
LsredO, Tenaa Nov. 9th.

my partial promise 1 wiz give you q
letter which may possibly interest your
readers. l came down the MisssssipW
river on the charming sttaner ed.
Richardson, the other Nday from
VicssbLrg to New Orleana Sho 10
indeed a fns steamer, ABBOTT 325 feet
long and has a capacity fd carrying
Q % bales Of cotton, whifh usually
averages about 475 pounds per bale.
Hsr crew comprises in all 1z9 men,
divided as follows: / captain, 4
d,rks, 2 pilots, 4 engineers, s fremen,
2 mates, 4 white deck Lands, 10
negroes, "roustabouts." ! steward, !
barber, 2 bartenders, 30 walters and
cooks, / chambermaid- The clerk I'M
formed me that they were paying their
isgroe ronstabouts $50 each per month
and sometisn s they reached a. high
as S110. per month, which would be
considered q pretty good salary On
the Delaware. Eh? I 0 them roll
bbout 5000 bales of cotton and nearly
10000 sacks Of cotton seed on hoard.
The mandatory Of cotton seed oil
is becoming q vast interest In the
South which has been developed since
the war. The manufacture OF the oil
| Of cotton seed and the art OF refining
the same, by which it Is made as
sweet as Olive oil and which l am In
formed is now largely exported to,
Italy to compete With the native Olive
oil, which isa staple article. 1t is
there used for s~dulteyating the native
article and is then exported again as
the genuine Olive oil. The ONE COZ
sumption OF this article, l I'm informed
is over two million gallons PSF year.
Cotton seed oil mills are springinR
into existence constantly. Nearly all,
if mot quite, of the southern States
are supplied wish them. AT present
about 500 900 tons Of cotton seed are
annually pressed, Yielding 30 gallous OF
oil and 1850 pounds of oil cake to the
ton. This oil cake has admirable fat
tening qualities and is largely used
for cattle, as compared with Linseed
cake it produces in cattle u half az
much fat and twice as much 6esh end |
is considered Of twice ~ much value
fer the manure produced.
The average yield of atom of cotton !
seed is SO gallons of crude oil, worth
80 cents per gallon, 23pounds Of co..
ton worth s cents per pound and $50
pounds of cake, worth about SIS. You
may readily see whats Produc i've in
dustrs it has become, wben 1 tell you
that less than 10 per cent OF the sod
is utilized yet it brings to the South an
iacome Of sbout eight million dollars
per year.
At present writing I am in Texss
and ! am sure that il / was in search
Of . home 1 should try southern or
southwestern Texas and if In search
OF health or ploasure there is no other
section Of the State which offers such
attractions az this region.
There is Q belt.of country which inela
des the orange and grazing iasds ON
the coast, the sugar, cotton, wheat,
sorn and fr,rit land. nj the next 200
miles and the great pastnre lands Of
the world about San Antonio, which
extend south and west t. the Rio
Grande and a mineral section Of great
r spe tive value near iss western lin
Ito constitutes a very a~ttractiws and
productive tegion. Wheat, corn, cot
ton, barley, oats, rye. millet. castor
beans, broom corn and sugar cane
grow side by side. Hemp, tax and
tobscco stain great perfection. Sea
Island cotton grows along the coast,
rice also fourishesr wheat grows
very dense and weighs from a to GO
pounds per bushel. The fruits COM
prises apples. peaches, peaIs, apricots.
nectarines, pomegranites, oranges,
lemons and various others whilst the
bananas arr cultivated to some extent
I have wandered in some orange groves
picking and enjoying the fruit inmense
ly, I have also plncked some bananas
and l have in the bottom Of my trunk
one banana leaf which I cut from a
tree that measured about 10 feet in
height. will show it to you when /
return. l have been somewhat sur
prised at social life In Texas. yet 1t is
a recognized fact that The men who go
to the frontier are the intelligent, the
moral and the laborious who are will
ing to put off for a few years the indul
gence in luxury and the enjoyment OF
elegance that they may better their
fortunes. acquire a competency for
themselves and a start in life for sneir
children. But recognize my mistake
In surprising that the men and women
of the frontier lack culture and refiLe
ment, as / find that in all the cities
and larger towns the society exhibits
unexpected evidences Of Development
But / must close. I shall soon have
trayersed this entire state from the
Gulf Of Mexico to the interior of the
Indian Territory, then visit the famous
Hot Springs of Arkansas, then slowly
yvend nv way homeward.
r. Pierce.
r Qr;cht x-.u