Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-13

reference to Northern and Western
| Texas, must nave already made up his
mind that upon the highlands Of this re-
| gion lies the coming great fruit country
of these United States. Most of our peo-
| pie are beginning to get an inkling of
this fact, for themselves, but as yet it is
only the merest linking, so far as relates
to the fruit-produclng capabilities of the
section referred to.
True, there may be some kinds of
fruits that will never show their very best
here, just as is the case in every fruit re-
gion. We can never hope to raise the
citrus fruits, of course; and it may be
possible that, while w are able to do
ordinarily we'll with them we shall never
excel in some varieties of the core fruits,
as winter apples, for instance. This last
is by no means certain, however. So
far, our experience in this line has been
had with only the varieties grown in
other distant regions of country. Texas
is so unlike other regions that she needs
something Texan in character to secure
entire congenialty in every particular;
therefore it is not at all beyond the peles
of probability to suppose that we shall
eventually turn up varieties of the apple,
in all its desirable grades, that will prove
a magnificent success in Texas. But
until then we shall find no grounds
for complaint so far as relates to
some of the pears, and to pit fruits gen
orally as peaches, plums and the like.
The pit fruits grow to entire perfection,
under proper management. From all of
which the thinking man cannot do other
wise than conclude that the day will
undoubtedly come that shall find many
species of Texas fruits on every import
ant market east of the Rocky mountains.
At first thought this thing may not
strike every Texan as it now strikes US.
There will possibly be some to say that
the fruits could not be shipped such long
distances as suggested. Nothing, 1t
present, stands out against that. Science
has at last speared out a way for ship
ping most fruits as far as railroads reach.
For proof of this we ave simply to call
attention to what California is doing
She is shipping her fruits across the
mountains to all points i'll the Northern,
Eastern inc Southern states-more than
double the distance tina Texas would
need to ship in order to reach most of the
same markets.
Every year the Southern states east of
the Mississippi river are fairly de-
luged, so TO speak, with pears and
plums from CALIFORNIA;; especially
plums& The people take TO them read
lily, but why they do it is something well
entitled TO classification among the mvs-
teries. In order to get her fruit through
to its distant destination California is
forced to start it while still well back in
the green stage. 1t ripens on the way,
if ''ripen' Is the correct word to use in
describing its condition. It comes out of
its tissue paper looking very well, but
when one applies it to eating purposes he
finds it, in point of delicacy, more like a
young gourd on the half-shen thar any
thing else to which it could, with con-
sistency, be compared.
Texas will never have this kind of
trouble to contend against. Her nearer
markets will always enable her to put
her fruits before the consumer in good
condition. And as soon as she gets far
ly at 1t she will, unquestionably, have
the field all to observation-disclosures will be
forced TO fall back on her canning and
e~vaporating industries beyond the noun
tains.
There is but one thing against a most
rapid progress to 6 grand development of
the fruit industry in Northern and West
ern Texas That thing exists Ia the fact |
that the region is SO well ada ed to pro-
duction Of many other paying crops. The