The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1885-06-20
Communicated
The Typical Texas Farmer.


Farming in Texas, and more espe.
cialIy in Western Texas, is generally
conducted on the neutrality-suspicious.
plan, and consequently the typical
farmer is moro inclined to depend up
on the signs Of the zodiac aud the way
the new moon hangs than upon early
rising, well directed effort and waste
of muscular tissue. If in winter, or
early spring, he gets ready to reset
his fence, and finds the sign in aries,
he considers it an evidence that it is
best to wait while, till the conditions
are such that the fence stakes will not
work out of the ground whenset. BY
and by the sign is found to be in the
right place, but the moon hangs wrong
and the weather is unsettled, hence tho
re setting Of fences is put off till fall
Under authority of Spanish maxim,
never do anything to-day which you
can put off till next week, which rule
of action is one that the Texas farmer
seldom violates.
When the proper time arrives for
breaking up his land for corn and
cotton he usually makes the discovery
that his plow is badly out Of order,
his plow gear ditto, and his inclina-
tion in worse condition than his inn
plements he, also, suddenly remem-
bers that uncle somebody once told
him that the ground would run to-
gether II plowcd to early, and all
things considered, concludes to let the
matter rest for few days. Having
thus duly deIiberated and weighed
the pros and cons on early blowing,
he bitches up his span of plug ponies |
and HES him to the nearest railroad
supply point to haul n hat full OF
freight an hundred miles, by which he
makes $5.75, pays out 5000 for horse
feed, "fags OUT his team, sleeps in
the rain and comes back home with a
supply of rheumatism and backache
sufficient to last him the rest of the
year, After relating his personal woes
and the haps and mishaps of his trip
to all his neighbors, and resting up
week or two, he again begins TO seri-
ously ponder tho question of plowing
his land, but Uncle Josh or Lige or
some other worthy who farmed before
the war, in Louisiana, tells him it is
rather late to break up land, and the
best plan is to just work her off and
plant her. So, this advice 80 beauti-
fully and harmoniously corresponds
with the typical farmers feelings in
the case, that he accepts it without
question, and acts accordingly. He
gets up ono of his plugs off the range,
which animal is so thin from freight
ing and living on imaginary ailment,
that he has to tie knot in his tail to
keep him from Tipping through the
gears, and proceeds to business. !
Hitching to bull-tongue plow, he :
begins working of his land, prepara-
tory to sowing the precious seeds
from which he expects bountiful
harvest, if he has luck, For those who
do not know what bull-tongue plow !
is, it may be described as an imple.
ment most remarkable for the plowing ,
it doesn't do; making acomplete parody =
on this noble work, by leaving a mark /
like that left by a turkey |
gobbler in his exploration for re-
treating anglo-worm. I
His corn and cotton once planted !;
in this magnificent manner, tho far i
mer collects his family, puts out the i
fire, calls up the dogs, and goes off on
4 visil to kinfolks or to some of the
iishyater medicinal springs, 10 re'
3ruit his health and to give the weeds a
an equal chance with himself for tho il
possession of his crop, Returning after s
a sojourn of month on six weeks
abroad, he organizes his children, his o
plug horse and his bnll-tongue plow, a
INTO a search-party, and begins to look ii
for his agricultural interests, which he Ii
thinks are concealed somewhere in the q
Jungle of weeds and green hrlers that a
occupy what he facetiously calls his Ii
iarm, but about the time operations d
.re in full blast there comes up a rain, b
lostilities cease, and an armistice is v
iigned for an indefinite period a
1t injures the fibre Of the cotton to a
llow it when the ground is dry, there h
ore he chooses between two OWLS and t,
giyes his crop the benefit of the drowth @
md the weeds that with waiting for g
ain when it is dry and waiting for y
Try weather when it rains, with fishing v
md hunting bees, and finding fault y
With the climate, the season wears o
way, and the harvest, such as II Is, W
somes upon him q bale Of cotton TO O.
On acres, and Ave bushels Of nnbbins IN
0 the acre Of corn, OF the grand to- v,
al of his crop il takes the bulk to pay al
lis accrued store bill most of the re-
nainder he trades off for various odds
md ends that nothing can ever be re- o.
Iized from, and buys a gun, fiddle, ta
,cts some more dogs, and goes into q
winter bigonae. His COWS die in win n
er for want Of the fodder he might II
ave saved, and his horse feed runs q
'nt next spring just when il is most rG
and the world wags on IN an ol
manner, generally, and al
he farmer grows sour and Disguised, q
declares that pegas is no y
armipg country that lhe State was y
letier of before an acre Of land was Il
feared when The grass grew ~ high v
) horse's back, and unbranded cat u
u were as thick rs hnekleberries in v
lalcasieu. Y
There may be, and doubtless are n
ONE shortcomings in she climate and y
81 Of Western Texas, bat these can g
e largely overcome by industry, per- g
sgegsnce and proper modes Of farm 81
ng; and IS soon as the typical Texas q
afnler laws down the bnll-toHgus end y
.al.xs ~, iar., eivilize1 jnanipnenta -