Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-03-26
FARMING in TEXAS. :.
An Old Settler and Farmer In the
Panhandle Relates His Expsri.i
ence on His Own Farm.
The Various GrainE, Vegetables and Fruits
That Can Be 0roWn-Ths Sea-
sons-HoW to Plant,
HoBEEr1E, TEX, March II, 1883.


To the Editor Of the Gazette. '-@
have been IT qaested by several Of my
friends to give you my experience and
kno sledge OF this country, as am the
oldest settler and farmer in the Pan
handle, and have concluded to do so for
the benefit OF those who may choose TO
make this, the Panhandle, their future
home. -4s.s
l came west in 1874 and stopped at
Dodge City, Kan. left my family and
started with an outflt to hunt bp tslc, snd
We got as far south as the Csnsdian river
that season. Aud when esw this coun-
try l became excited GYr II, go the
boys In camp accused me-, and /
| xpect that l was, for I thought
and said: "This Is the country l AZ
hunting for, and right here am going to
stay" In the winner Of 1875, brought
my family down on the Canadian river
and took q claim, built q house, and in
the spring broke abyus twenty acres Of
land and planted garden, and raised
pl mtg Of as i1e vegetables on that new
land as eV saw In any country; but
nv cord did not do much good that year.
I broke my land in March, and learn by
Experience that no prairie land broken In
March or April will bring good corn the
I first year. 1t grows up to weeds too
much, as the ploughing does not destroy
the wild vegetation.
This Cauaulau farming l have been
telling you about WAS on light colored
sandy soil, what we call bottom weed
land.
The next move made was to Gagebv
cret (, nine miles from Fort Elliott, and
TOOK claim on land covered with mes
quite grass, just the same or about tie
same as the plains land. pl1nted corn
After the first year II done very vel and
| msde about thirty bushels psr sore, and
the vegetables did exceedingly we'll.
The fault had with that kind of land
for corn YVES thst 1t suckered too much,
there would be from two to ten stalks or
suckers to every hill Of corn. was very
careful not to plant more than three
grains CT corn to the hill.
There was where became convinced
that this m ssquite grass land would be the
bcss small grain land in the world on the
account Of It's spreading so much.
l cannot tell what oats will yield per
acre, for there has not been but very
smsll patches sown until the last two
years and we have bad no way Of thresh-
Ing or handling them-oBly to pound out
enough wi h sick for little seed for
he next s. son. Bot judging fromcrops
have seen and helped TO take care of in
,tner co., %, believe that they Will
yield from so to 70 bushels per acre.
! EJt having machinery TO handle smsll
grain with, farmers have not sowed bug
TerY small patches Of WleA', only for eX-
pertinent. tried smsll patch of wheat
and 1t done tplendid. | cSn say they
were the longest and largest heads of
wh"st ever saw IN any Country.
1haVe helped to take care of wheat
! crops in otEer counties that averaged
forty spd one-half bushels per acre,
snd the hGrle patch | raised here looked
| full as well il not better than that. %
| Millet will make a crop every year. It
never fails, and will produce from one to
one aud one-halt tens per acre on sod
! l4ld, q d from one and nslf to two and
half tons on old land. Sorghum cane
is sure crop, and 1 think
the finest and most probable
! feed man csn raise for est
all kinds Of stock. Sweet potatoes and
all kinds OF vines do better here than l
tver saw in any other country. As for
telling you the Ium5sr of bushels per
| acre Of sweet potatoes, can't do that
for 60 not know the amount Of land OK.
sctly, but IS for sizs 1t Is not 8 very IN
common thing to see q sweet potato
wsigh up Ia the teens. Irish potatoes 1
do not think a sure crop. Some years
they do toleIably well, that is make
from seventy fYe TO 100 bus els per
acre and sometimes We dome make our
reed. They all 90 to vine but by mulch
ing as We call f., that Is to cover the
lgrouud from eight to ten inches with old
hay or straw, when planting, is the surest
chance for crop. do not know Of the
rst mans failing that has used that.
Cabbsge does well here. Last yedr I put
out Rbout one. eigth Of an acre and sold
about S1Go worth, after about ene-third
| Of them rCtted on account Of too much
rain. Some heads weighed twenty
pounds. And this country bea's the
world Tor tomatoes. -..
About the seasons-dHring the fall and
wiuter months We don't have mud d rain.
Daring the time have been in this conn-
Try there have on J been three winters
that could be called very hard onEs, IL d
they were 1880, 1881 and 1886. These
three wiaters snow fell in y ,vemHer and
remslned on the ground from one 70 three
weeks, and then we had nearly one
month Of dne weather, and shsut the
lit of January the weather set in
very cold with from SIX inches to one
foot of snow, which lasted about one
month. Tdose three winters were very
much the same, and some winters We
have had no snow st sll. Our latest frcss
in spring is shout the 1ss of April, and
The earliest killing teoss shout the Is n to
25ih Of 0csCbsr. May, June, July and
August sre tina months We get most Of
cur rain in, although we have light show
ers at sill seasons, bnt generally do
not amount to much. l think the ses.
IONS sre getting more regular here thin
they used to be six or eight years sgo.
Then We could only get from twenty to
thirty bushels of corn 10 the acre and
now we get from thirty to 6fty bushels Of
core to the scre. Part Of this increase In
cop lay 10 having little more regular
81 ascrs and part TO havirs better ma
chisery 10 cultivate our land with. You
cxns nIant here Rny time from the first