Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-12-04
A TEXAS LETTER.
. Bill sides" Tells Of Some Of the Ad-
vaRtages and Disadvantages Of the
Lone Star State

Lone Star State.
CoRsIcANA, TEXAS, Nov. "a, 1894.
Editor Mississippi Leader:
ITO move or not to move" to Texas,
is now the question agitating thous-
ands of farmers in the old States. Well,
some IS months ago / answered that
query in the affirmative, and feel that
/ am able TO help some others solve
that question. The writer is located
in the garden spot of Tesas, in one of
the central black-land counties, where
the soil is chiefly upland prairies, in
terspersed with some sandy loan, and
with the muck or made land" along
creek bottoms. The rainfall is ample,
the climate genial, the soil fruitful
Water exists in abundance, both in
tanks and wells. Cotton will yield
on an average of q of a bale to the
acre; rarely less and frequency more.
saw one creek bottom farm, fresh
land, this fall which yielded over 2
bales per acre. Corn is considered
short, if less than 30 bushels per acre
is gathered, and 125 bushels per acre
is no unusual yield for oats. Volun-
teer oats frequently produce as high
as 100 bushels per acre. The sandy
loan produces all kinds of vegetables
in abundance and of the best quality,
as well as potatoes and sorghum, Veg
etables do not do so we'll on the black
prairie land. One man can cultivate
twice the amount of land and with far
more ease than he can in Mississippi.
/ know a farmer, a former Mississippi
an, who single handed, this year Guilt
waited 80 acres of land. He gathered
16 bales of cotton and 500 bushels of
corn besides other struck" OF course
the most improved farming imple-
ments are used and this farmer rode
around on his sulky pillow and when
nigh came he didn't feel like his back
would come unjointed. Another far
mer with the help of his children, all
under IA, made 40 bales of cotton and
over 1000 bushels of corn.
This, however, is the bright side.
Both of these men are renters. The
chances are that they will remain SO
in spite of hard work and big crops.
The land they were cultivating could
not be bought for less than $500 per
acre. Even unimproved land can not
be bought for less, and cent cotton
does not buy land at that price if you
have to dig the purchase price out of
the ground. More than that they
had to haul wood from 10 to 10
miles, and in many instances their
drinking water came out of what in
Mississippi is called ponds, but which
out here are called tanks" In sum-
mer this water is scarcely warm enough
to boil an egg. Rents are high, usually
the third and fourth" that is 3 corn
etc, and a cotton, seed, etc. Of course
in other sections there is cheap land,
and good land at that, but there is no
cheap land in Navarro county.
Now, if you have money to buy a
home, come to Texas. If you already
have land secured to work when you
get to Texas, then come. But do not
come to this portion at least, to hunt
up place after you get here, for if
you do the chance is that you will be
left. You may have to live in a tent
and fail to secure land to work Nine
tenths of the land in this county was
rented for 1895 before the 1st. day of
June 1894.
If you own a home in the old states,
then stay there. The chances are that
you will never be as we'll fixed again.
Don't come to Texas thinking it is a
paradise, nor that money grows on
trees. If you are prepared to live hard
for few years, to do without many Of
the comforts and conveniences to
which you have been accustomed, and
will work with an eye single to secur-
ing home, then come on. When you
get black land farm you have one
that will stay with you. There is no
washing away of the soil; no wearing
out, no red hills, no big gullies. A
black land farm never washes away.
| nor needs fertilizers. Your grand
children can gather a bale per acre
from the same land which yon cult
vate More Anon. BILL SIDES.