Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-10-08

the arms, as it were, of the great Fort
Worth Waco artesian area. An immense
river of water follows the Trinity sands be-
meath, and you have only to send bore
down to that river to secure copious out
flow to the surface In this fact lies the
future backbone of Fort Worth, so to speak,
and the sooner her people begin making the
thing conspicuous the better it will be for
all concerned.
Put down few good wells in favorable
localities near Fort Worth and devote their
outflow to irrigation. 1t will not be long
until you have discovered that on account
of those wells your realty is not only hold
ing its own in price, but advancing. And
there is no risk whatever in the perform
ance. as we can show you by few plain
figures.
There are in the city OF Fort Worth
three wells (the natatorium well, the brew
cry well and the fuckers hill welD, that
under proper management would thor
oughly irrigate two hundred acres of land
each. Doubtless we might have 10000 SIM
liar wells in Tarrant county. Such wells,
with all arrangements for irrigating two
hundred acres of land, could not cost more
than $4,000 to the well. The next thing to
consider would be the original cost of the
land. While supposing that it might be
had at much lower figures-a little back
we will put it at $40 an acre, or $4,000 for the
200 acres. That, as you see, involves an
outlay of $1,000.
Those lands under complete irrigation
would sell as rapidly as they could be put
upon the market at 500 an acre-now fig
ure a little. Two hundred acres of land at
500 per acre would be 500 COO Cost of origi-
nal purchase and putting under irrigation,
$1,000. Scattering, say $1,000. Eight thousand
lars from $50, COO leaves a clear profit of
$4,000. And it does not stop at this.
There would be an annual water rate to be
paid by the purchasers of the land under
irrigation that would more than cover the
interest on the original capital invested
perpetually. Capital so invested would be
as safe, and certainly far more profitable
than capital invested in United States
bonds.
Under irrigation the region would at once
become great fruit and general trucking
region. That kind of thing gives backbone
to many of the cities in California and else
where-it could do just as much for Fort
Worth; indeed it could do more for Fort
Worth, owing to far more favorable soil
conditions and greater ease of obtaining the
water to be employed in irrigation. So
upon this we conclude that the future pros
perity of Fort Worth is assured, provided
her people will dig from the earth and apply
to a good purpose what nature has placed
in it entirely within their easy reach. Of
course We expect other cities and other
regions in Texas to apply the same rules of
investigation that we have employed upon
Fort Worth. THE GAZETTE is for Texas as
i whole. Some localities may not, like
Fort Worth, be favored with great under
ground river, yet they may have other ad-
vantages that properly developed would
give them backbone as we have called
it. Look after those advantages and bring
them to light as speedily as possible, is orr
advice. In this peculiar age there must be
something, locally, above the ordinary, to
justify an attempt at building great city.