The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-09-06

Der his ground with as miserable look
ing crop of sickly corn and abortive
cotton as was ever seen; then. on the
side not thirty feet away, this, another
farmer, realized that an uDpropitious
season demanded the most energetic
efforts and careful study to compen-
safe for the lack of natures bounte-
Gus and spontaneous gifts, had gone
to work with all his might; and the
result was he sold his neighbor, who
complained of providence, corn for
the coming year; and, not unfreQuent-
ly, he even held mortgage on the
farm of his thriftless neighbor for
money loaned him.
THESE ARE FACTS
too stubborn to be overcome. The
man who works his farm in Texas as
if he expected that he would fail I'M
less he did everything that man could
do. will inevitably become prosperous
and wealthy. There never was such
a thing in Texas as a complete de-
struction or failure of crops
on account of drouth. Wig
orous work and more man
ly dependence on human effort
and brains, and less grumbling
at ''the ways of Providence" would
insure at least yield of staples in
Texas to keep any one from being
compelled to mortgage the farm. The
thriftleSs always say it is "Iuck."
When they fail other neighhors come
out all right, and have to spare.
Luck! There's no such thing. Bad
luck is nothing but name the
thoughtless, the shiftless and the
sluggard use to give responsibility to
their idleness, either of mind or of
body. and try and divert the eyes of
their neighbors from the real cause
which makes them forever and eter-
nally needing "a little assistance"
The same observations with reference
to hard work circumveting the
drouth in 1879, were seen in Brazos,
Fort Bend, Robertson, Washington,
Fayette, Colorado, Wharton, Mata-
gorda, Brazoria and several other
counties.
NO VERY SHORT CROPS
were to be seen anywhere except
where failure had been made to
perform a ratio of extra labor proper
tionate to the injury to be expected
from an unfaYorahle season. 70 this
| absolutely saw no exception
whatever. noticed the
same thing again this year. From
Austrian to Galveston it is very easily
seen that in the same field, but where
one part has received extra attention
and labor and thought, and the other
has only received the native Texan
cotton culJure-planting and chopping
and wedding and shallow blowing
the first is growing q good crop of
corn and has flouriShlng cotton, while
the latter has sickiy looking nubbing
corn and a struggling patch of dwarf
ed cotton, which looks like members
of the eighteenth legislature do every
time it is said Gov. Ireland will not
call an extra session. This disparity
cannot be explained away on account
of drouths, soil, latitude or any natu-
raj cause whatever, because it is OBJ
served in it's most striking phase in
fields under one fence, separated only
few yards from each other, and sub
ject to identically the same natural in
tluenceS. In short, where farmers do
not depend On "the wonderful pro-
duction of Texas SOIL" after doing
certain amount of work, but
strive every year as if they really
felt that the highest success in any
thing demanded the utmost effort.
they never fail. In the experience of
every really industrious and scien-
tific Texas farmer, and all should be
such, there is written no such SEN
tence as "a failure of crops this year."
[ know that many will say that
THE COTTON WORM
is no reSpector of labor, and climes up
alike the cotton of the Industrious and
the indolent. | am prepared to admit
this in part. The cotton worm is a
hard case He is harder t.
deal with than Bradlaugh, and
as uncertain in his movements
as Samuel J. Tilden is in politics just
before presidential convention
meets. But, at the same time, brains
and labor, assisted by the proper poi
sons and indigestible stuff to cater
pillars, will SO enervate vigorous
army of worms as to allow cotton to
flourish and grow and make rich the
planter, while the worms are trying
to sweat and work out the poison.
In proof of this go along the Cole
| RADIO and RraZoria valleys and gather
up the statistics of 1878 as | did.
That year. produced cotton crop
unprecedented anywhere and yet
the worms appeared earlier
| and were more numerous
than ever known before, both in
Texas and in all the cotton states.
Vigorous and untiring work with
poisons saved the cotton from destrac-
ton in 1873, and the yield was so
large that it could not all be gathered.
| Selahi
Fearing that if l keep on thus
showing the farmers how to live and
become rich, l may trespass on the
prerogative of the beloved and useful
Agricultural and Mechanical college,
l will discontinue now and close with
a "to be continued next week.
IKE PHILKINs.