Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-12-18

WV ii"rC II power W tue
crop aud make il everything that crop
/ IN its liue could possibly be.
! Why We Advocate Irrigation.
Persons ut a diBtauce who see THE
GAZETTE, aud who know little of Texas ,
might jump to the conclusion from read
ing the much we are saying from time 10
Time, in favor OF irrigation, that, in our
! opinion, Irrigation is an absolute neces-
sity for the Lone Star state. Any such
/ jump would be simply jump entirely
| wide of the mark. We'd like to sec lots
! of irrigation in Texas, not from any
! thought that Texus couldn't always
stand n, the very top of the ordinary ag-
rirulturai pot without it, but because we
wish to see her rs far in the lead OF all
! other states, agriruiturally, Us she now
| stands i'll point of natural advantages,
md this is certainly saving n very great
/ deal. In WORT, II is our ambition that
| Texas should make the fullest possible
Use OF all her natural gifts. We say
''Texas is great, - aud the claim is we'll
! founded i'll every respect, but too many
persons, because of our comparative
non -development as yet in the inter or,
decide that we refer to her size. In that
| respect the position taken is correct
one, of course, but il does not ut ull rep
resent what we are after. Cut Texas up
into Rhode Islands, if you please, for
The sake of getting at n clear un Ter
standing of the case, nrd still, II We
take the fullest advantage OF everythin
that brneticent Creator has placed
within our easy reach each Rhode Island
of the association will yet stand out con-
spicuou>ly before the world Us u "Greut
Texas
No, irrigation is not at all n CRYING
necessity i'll Texas agr!culture-it simply
offers Il grent advantage. We have
within our borders scarcely an acre OF
Iund that might not, under proper man.
a.enrnt, be made to produce II big crop
of come KIND OF other in each season,
without regard to the natural rainfall.
or course some in lgtment must be ex-
erci,ed as TO the kind of crop 10 put in
wi h view 10 meeting possible emrr-
geuries. The past season, rs the Reader
well knows, has been IL season OF ex-
trrme drouth, aud Northern Texas is
understood 10 have suffered her full
share from lis effects. yet W. ii venture
10 say that We can show within less than
Two miles of the Fort Worth courthouse
Il ln0-ncre cotton field that has made
this year, all without irrigation, bet
Ter yield of the heec5 staple than has
been made by any other field of like
acreage outside the state of Texas. We
cat furthermore point out large corn
fields within the same circle, AMI say us
much for them, after which, We can
throw in rs still within the same circle,
500 or coo acres of inca low lauis which
have this year, ana without irrigation,
yielded i'll Hrst-clusS hay double the
quantity Welded 10y II like acreage in any
OF the so-call.d nav states above the old
line of Mason and Dixon.
So, vnu see. our advocacy Of irrigation
for Texas is born of no strnit so far rs
relates To agriculture on the old plans,
but rather of the full conviction that
while we are able do what the people
OF most other states would consider
more than really well without it, we
could do far better with It. An ugri-
cultural people. 10 matter how well they
may De doing. owe il 10 themselves TO
get from their lands all shat those lands
can be made TO Yield. That's business.
Irrigation would enable us 10 go largely
and proti;abIy into such diversity OF
crops rs we can not now safely venture
upon Irrigation would SECURE to US all
advantages for entering extensively into !
the production of fruits and vegetables, ,
Il character OF production not now cut
ting any particular figure upon our list |
rs articles of commerce. u. her less fa- /
vorea regions are beating us in that par |
ticuar line, and irrigation nioue is the !
instrument enabling them TO do it. r. /
rigution would make uii our crops sure |
und heavy, and wouli ussist US TO keep |
some prOtiia lie product growing up 10 !
the very best there is in it the W hol. year
round. Under good system OF irriga-
ton there would be no call for lands w. ,
inG idle half the season at least. They ,
could be RUSHED all the time, ana the (
reasonable man planning for big money
10 himself in agriculture must be able TO ,
see the need of such pushing. A lurge
and valuable farm running on half time
is precisely on par with II large factory
running Oh half time. The owner is not
out much while the factory is not run
ming, for there are no hands to he puid
aud no materials for working to be pur-
chased, but " here is any income during
that time. The taxes must he paid all
the same, and since mrn don't live for
ever in this void the time lost to profit
in his short allotment ough: to be cou-
siierro us amounting TO something in .
dollars an cents. We we'll know that
the farmer has Il better way OF getting
around that kind OF thing 10 the soothing
0f his soul ;hau has the manufacturer,
bat is IT not just possible that those
'nothings are based upon imperfect in
formation? He says his fallow lands are
Improving In Quulitv-hOw? There
never WAS n greater hun5ng Haunted in
The tnce OF intelligence than that fall
nw-im proving theory. Where does the
Improvement come from? Scientists are
low pretty well united in ths opinion
hat plants do not feed from the air.
Their leaves are simply their digestive
,rgHnS, aud the food those leaves digest
must be taken up from the soil. Ii the
and gets better by lying idle that bet
cred condition can come only Of the
act that Il crop of worthless weeds left
II on il has given IL more humus than il
would have secured had Il crop been
,rown an l removed. All that the weeIs
'ontaiu had to come directly from the
nh atom could have come from
my other source. They call il resting |
b,s - Ian. dap On of |