The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-02-20

vi, Will dulOuliO w oilO PAihSSAy $50
of $100,0O0,000, yielding an annua
available revenue of about $6,OOO,OOO
Not only this, but we have set apar
by constitutional provision and legls
lative enactment, o"e-fourth OF the
general revenue of the State, and s.
poll tax on each male voter, to supple
ment the endowment fund in the
work of maintaining and supporting
them. Two normal schools-one fol
the whites and one for the negroes
furnish for them teachers, specially
trained and thoroughly equipped fol
the work of the school room. Al
present this army of teachers mum
bers about twelve thousand.
We invite your especial attention
to our Agricultural and Mechanical
college, which is doing a grand work
in intoxicating the dignity of intelli
gent labor and banishing from the
youthful mind the idea that the
farmer, worthy OF the name, need be
any less learned than the professional
man. Here the young men of Texas
who desire to make agriculture in
general, or any special branch of farm
work the business of life, receive an
education suited to their needs. And
the time is coming in our history
when there will be as little chance
for the success of the farmer who is
not thoroughly trained for his work
as there is for the lawyer or doctor
who simply drifts into his profession
There is as much room at the top OF
the profession for farmers of the
requisite scientific knowledge and
skill as there is at the head of any
other calling, and the Agricultural and
Mechanical college prepares consid-
cradle number of young men every
year to occupy it.
The capstone of our public school
systematic State University-stands
within a short distance of this capitol
on the spot selected for it and dedi-
Gated to the cause of higher education
by the fathers of the Republic o.
Texas, and afterwards reconsecrated
to that high and holy purpose by
popular vote. Within its walls are
gathered some OF the brightest and
best minds among the sons and
daughters of Texas, and from its por-
tails are radjating those silent and I'M
seen yet powerful influences that shall
lead us on to higher social and po-
litical destiny.
These institutions-the common
schools, the normal schools, the Agri-
cultural and Mechanical college and
the State MISUNDERSTANDING our
educational institutions, and are the
browning glories Of the State. Though
yet in their infancy we spend for their
support annually $3,855,OOO. We
trust, therefore, you will not forget
them in your estimate OF the charac-
ter of Texas and the possibilities of her
future development.
In this connection deem it not
amiss to state that intelligent agricul-
turists played no inconsiderable part
in laying the foundations upon which
rests this mighty system of free pop
ular education, and posterity will owe
to them, more than any other class,
a debt of gratitude for the benefits
that shall result to the state from its
establishment.
But what we most of all desire to
show you is a combination of soil and
climate and season of which the horti-
culturist, in his widest flights of
imagination. has never yet dreamed
1t is not all to be found in any one
section or locality, nor is it confined
to lighthouses or constructed by the
arts of man. 1t is stretched out over
the vast amount of country, from the
northern boundary of the State to the
warm life-giving waters of the gulf on
the south. 1t is found on the open
prairies and in the woodlands where
the rich alluvial soil terminates, and
the warm sunshine coaxes from hiding
place teh plant-life which shall furnish
food for man, and beautify and adorn
his home as long as seed-time shall
come and go. 1t is adapted to
the cultivation of any fruit, from a
banana to an apple. Only few days
since dispatches from the southwestern
pat of the State gave an account OF
cotton in that section, on last years
stalks, in all stages of development
from the opening bloom to the fleecy
staple hanging in the open boil.
Green corn was knee high, bananas
on the stalk, and the harder
fruits, such as pears, peaches and
apples, were beginning to take shape
and form. Near the gulf coast, at
Alvin, ripe strawberries, grown in the
open air, are being shipped North in
large quantities. Anywhere in the
southern half of the State no one need
be without a supply of garden vege-
tables the year round. These con-
ditions are modified as you go north
ward, so that we can suit the taste OF
the most fastidious and exacting
horticulturist in the selection of a
field of labor.
No State in the union offers a broader
or more inviting field to the intelli-
gent and progressive horticulturist and
none promises greater or more endur-
ing rewards for the patient, earnest
and persistent toll necessary to con-
quer present Difficult ie' anG s)lve new