The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-03-13
LETT 5 FROM TEXAS.
Value of Th tosressive F.-ra- ..
an Adve z ng Medium ALI
N%Ot : Bee County.
FROM TEXAS.

AS0S4" AAO III dAl several hundred IN
qulrles and still they come, eight
months after your publication OF nv
hrst letter, all of which goes to prove
that The PROGRESSIVE FARMER has a
very large, widespread and attentive
family OF readers, for they came from
almost every State in the Union and
some from even foreign lands. 1t also
proves the further fact that the ever
vigilant people of the United States are
also interested in the history and de
velopment of the whole Union, not ex-
cluding our remote portion down here
close to the very southwestern coast
corner of Uncle Sans domain.
First and best of all we want to tell
you of our delightful summer climate.
This middle of January our prairies
are as green as May in tha middle
States. Roses of every variety and
hue are blooming luxuriantly in the
open yards of our beautiful young
city peach trees are also in bloom.
Our open, unprotected gardens are
full of fresh tomatoes, some green and
some ripening; fine, large cabbage
heads, onions, lettuce, raddishes, beets,
etc. The few bearing orange trees of
the town are full of the golden fruit,
many of the old-cotton stalks are still
growing and blooming, our streets are
full of barefoOted children, men are
rustling around in their shirtsleeves
with perfect comfort and we are
actually reveling in a land of almost
perpetual summer, sunshine and roses.
Then our air is SO pure and climate so
healthful that we can all the more fully
enjoy such a delightful climate and
country. We realize that to our north
ern friends this story will read like
fairy tale, for the writer has lived in
Bates county, Mo, and Miami county,
Kansas, and 80 will try to help you
realize the force Of these facts by ex
planning that Bee county, Texas, is rs
miles south of New Orleans and 500
miles west, 80 miles from the Gulf of
Mexico at Arkansas Pass, in the coast
country of southwest Texas, and 80
miles southeast of San Antonio, go you
see that we muet have semitropital
climate that would be extremely warm
in summer but for the ever cool and re-
freshing sea breeze. So far we have
not had enough frost to kill an unprO-
tected tomato vine. However it Is not
always quite so mild, for some winters
there is frost enough to kill down for
short while the tender vegetation,
which soon springs up again after O
warm rain, and our climate is always
mild and semitropical.
We have had an unusual amount of
dry weather since our May letter. The
country did not make full crop, and
cur best winter gardens are where they
had windmills and irrigated some,
which is easy and cheap, and still we
have good gardens without any irriga-
tion. Oats, wheat, barley and rye are
fine pastures now, but l think we are
so far south that only oats will mature
successfully. While the fall was dry
as stated, still our country made fully
a one half cotton crop and Beeville will
ship about s, 500 bales this crop against
8 $50 last crop, which increase Is large
Iy due to new lands in the settlement
of the country. Cotton is our leading
farm crop, winter vegetables and fruit
growing are coming industries, range
stock stay in good order all winter
without one bit of feed, but it must be
understood that our country Is very
new and undevelOped, the big stock
pastures are only beginning to be
broken up and it does seem such pity
that such a healthy and delightful eli
mate and country as this should lie
idle and undeveloped, with all the
bleak and cold North and Northwest,
with the old and wornout portions of
the South, teeming with good, thrifty
people suffering from i'll health that
our mild climate would cure and
struggling for an existence against so
many odds, simply because they have
not heard of the facts about our
country. But the light of our land Is
gradually gaining the hilltops through
the columns of the penetrating press
and thousands even this winter are
visiting and locating in our summer
land and it is needless to say that our
Northern visitors are perfectly carried
awav. The railroads are helping by
selling from now until June cheap ex-
cursion tickets to this country on inc
second Tuesday in every month.