Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-09-14

entirely self-sustaining.
Then, as can be seen, we have in the
Fort Worth Waco artesian area first
class agricultural area already, but If it
rests within our power to make it far
better than mere first-class there is no
kind of good reason why we should fold
our arms aud decide in favor of letting
''well enough alone. - Such q course
would not at all be in harmony with that
progressive spirit quite generally per-
vading Texas. But for this peculiar
spirit the sites of many fiourishing young
cities now dottine our interior and COM
manding the attention OF civilization
throughout the world, would to-
day be simply wild and un-
inhabited prairie. 1t is Texan all over
TO get out of existing advantages all
there is in them, therefore when Texans
become fully convinced of the undoubt-
able fact that these already excellent
lands of the Fort Worth Waco artesian
area can be more than doubled in point
of annual yield by irrigation, and that,
furthermore, the said Irrigation is think
easy of accomplishment by artesian
wells, it Is but reasonable to suppose
that they will promptly take hold of the
matter and start the ball in motion.
Then will at once dawn upon Texas &
new era of prosperity not dreamed of in
the philosophy of the fathers of our pres
ent generation. So far as relates to our
Fort Worth Waco artesian area the great
Southwest will soon have decorated her
self with a new and most gorgeo us" neck
tie, - IS it were, extending all the way
from Red river TO the Rio Grande, and
the city of Fort Worth will be the dia-
mond PIN, sparkling in its proper posi-
ton near the upper end of it.
But the mere predictions of an indi-
vidual do not invariably go off at pre-
MUM nowadays, hence we might
better interest the reader by coming down
to few facts. That the Fort Worth
Waco artesian area can be irrigated by
artesian wells may be accepted as one
fact, for all wells bored down to the
lower strata, so far, afford ample water
for quite extensive irrigation purposes.
Professor Dumble says in his report,
page Xviii: "Throughout the whole
area of the upper cretaceous there exists
not only the possibility of securing arte-
sian water at reasonable depths, but in
the greater number of localities the GER
tainty of doing so. The places at which
it cannot be gotten, owing to adverse
topographic conditions or interference in
the water-beariug beds, are few in
number, -
So, then, we can get water, and we
may irrgate our lands with it if we desire
to do so. Now, let US by comparison
with another and less favored locality,
see what effect that irrigation would
have.
Not many years ago there was lying
along the eastern shore of the Sacra-
meuto river, in Tehama county, Cal.
body of arid land that nobody thought
worth the trouble of looking after in any
way for agricultural purposes. Finally
Governor Leland Stanford discovered
that there was living stream up In the
ueighboring mountains several miles
away called Deer creek that might be
and aqueducts, so he purchased the ap-
parently valueless tract and went to
work upon his canal. In due time, and
at heavy expense, the water was brought
down and properly distributed over his
grounds in q regular irrigation system.
He called his new property Vina Ranch,
and it is now one of the finest and most
productive farms and vineyards in the
state of California. A recent but en-
tirely disinterested writer describing the
"ranch'' says it contains 81 600 acres,
ton. The lands not under cultivation
are used as pastures for stock through
that portion of the season when rains give
them vegetation. Sheep ars conspicuous
among the stock, and these are turned
upon the wheat stubbls after the crop is
off, and also into the vineyards after the
vintage. There are 1000 acres to vine-
yards, $500 acres devoted to wheat,
5000 acres to alfalfa, 2OO0 acres to bar
ley, 1000 acres to green crops for stock
feed and 200 acres to fruit trees and so
on. The yield of every thing is immense,
and the whole cultivated area looks like
swamp in point of luxuriance. Almost
city has sprung into existence on the
"ranch,' having its churches, its
schools and its college-the Stanford Jr.
university, an institution capable Of
accommodating several hundred stu
dents. There is also postoffice and a
fiourishing railroad station, (vina, on
the Southern Pacific, which station is
rapidly taking upon itself the rank of an
important town.
Now, make your own comparisons.
We have, as yet, no such ranches on the
Fort Worth Waco artesian area, but
they could be made upon it as easily, and
at far less expense, and with as great
certainty of success as was made his