Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-12-29
soIL. rLowEns ANp FRUIT.

Rcriber was: Now what chemicals Is
this prairie soil short In for flowers and
what for fruit troesg'
We answer none. absolutely mono.
Instead OF being short of flower pro-
ductlon. the blnok prairie soils OF Texas
produce the greatest variety OF flowers
with the most gaudy colors to be found
on any other soil on earth.
In the early iiftles. n colony of French
Socialists settled In DallaR county.
They were men OF large means, much
learning and open and warm hearts.
They had but one fault politically. and
that was belief that all property
should be held In common. For this
they were driven from France. Among
them was celebrated savant who
devoted his time to plants and their
analysis II was his opinion that SUN.
Client aromatic plants ana flowers could
be gathered from any six hundred and
forty acres OF black prairie land In
Texas TO perfume the world do no,
think he made a mistake. and " SUB
scrlbor will go into the praitics now,
and press the tender lcnvos of the green
plants to he found there during the
whole winter. he viii be surprised NJ
the vast number that are fragrant.
The verb1nA " now In bloom, and II
win hr followed by the tulip. hyacinth,
oxalls, primrose and 30 on until there
win not be n species OF flower but what
win have representative. ana IN
many varieties. There, during the sea.
son. over two hundred varieties of
/ CrnssdE Will bloom, and many with
rare beauty. | have seen the black
| prairie soil carefully removed and
| led. of flowers made of sandy OF
aluvlal soils. I knew II to be wnAto
I OF time and needless expense. little
well rottcd manure worked Into the
/ black prairie soil and proper attention
4 viii produce the very rateFt OF flowers,
Texas has twenty-threc whole counties
/ " black prairie land and part OF
twenty-six, This belt Is over three
hundred mlles long, and for eight
| months In the year II IL Il perfect flower
| garden, During the whole year 1t pro
| duces fragrant plants. with all this
| evidence. the opinion prevails that
| flowers will not grow upon black pral-
| ric soil Thus we see TINT unhcllct IN
! the face OF three hundred miles OF con
| Rtnnt evidence has made the farmers
home and the village residence desnlnte,
and cursed the most fertile aud fruit
ful OF soils by Withholding from II effort
ana opportunity.
Neither liz there deficiency in such
soils for fruits, Fruit trees have In
| sect enemies, and these abound In pro-
portion to food supply The borer Is
one Of them. There scales abound
! Then such diseases MS root rot. ROOF
sail and root knot AFFECT them, The
finc fruit shipped from California v
grown In one constant bnttlr hgninh,
/ over one hundred insect enemies, That
state expends over $4,000 per year In
an effort to hold In check these Insects
There IN not ship that lands nj unl'
weston but has ON II plants or frults
These are all infested with lnkecis
destructive to plants and frulta There
IA not a car Of fruit shipped into Texas
but has the same danger to uE, some
of these insects aud diseases nave
spread over the black pralrics of Texas
The state exponds nothing on sucn
matters and the farmers attribute IL
Two-thlrds OF the fruit shown NJ the
Texas state fair ~ Grown on black
prairie soil For years the fruit dlt-
play by an Individual, has been maze
by H. W. Kirkpatrick OF Mckinney
who has atty acres planted to orchard
The display OF fruits from su7h SOUS
M The annual fairs or the state Hor-
tioultural Society are uneNcelled. ~
growing flowers or fruits on prairie sou
the first question IL the right variety OF
plant; then preparation ana culture OF
the soil; then the enemy ana uiHe"So
10 avoid or destroy,
These are MI fully treated In the
report OF the Texas State Iiorticulturai
society. Two dollars VIII get the book'
and two dollars worth OF nursery stock
wATERAfELoNs ON BLACK
PRAIRIE SOIL"
Mr. v. Green OF Wolf city, Tex, Inns
iust taken first premium on waterinel-
on growing in the Atlanta Constiin.
TONS worlds contest. For the beneht
OF "subscrlber' and all who may
doubt the statement made by US eia.
where that there Is no dehclsncy W
such soils for fruits, etc, the run proc.
ess of Mr. Green IN here given. IL must
he remembered that the fertilizers Used
would be equally required on SANDY
ar aluyIal soils. II IL the method ana
variety that have done most OF inc
work: ., ,,o,,aa
aaen in January or February. DO TINS
no running n i0-inch steel beam plow
IN front and q s-inch behind IN the
same furrow and hitching on stiheieht
"mule fieeh" TO pull them. About o
month before planting Time ! prom"
cast my manure and bed up IN rows
sixteen feet apart. using the harrow NJ
anv fine when needed. use acid phph-
nhste. cotton seed meal. equal portions
, and one.fourth muriate potash; kaiiiit'
/ equal part, instead OF potash. ~ better,
! freight in too high here. Quantity used
on contest acre 5000 pounds. Got pei
ter results with 1000 pounds last year.
but the seasons were made 10 orneI.
: The seasons this year were inc woin.
ever experienced Always pan. as
| soon ms DOttluifs hbpHt sNP'''
sixteen feet apart each way. Wheh
J plants have four leaves thin 20 -FOUR
Ia n hill. After running about twelve
: inches thin 10 one TO each hiii piow
ana hoe often enough to keep down
= weeds and grass. First blowing very
: decp with turn pillow. u ground mas
been packed by heavy rains. succeel-
l inne piowIngs shallow, with sweeps
never turning vines II 1t can be helped.
I hut blowing IN front Of them, The
roots keep pace with vines and any
! blowing where vines have run VII
cut the roots. never prune the vines
, TO raise elghty-pound and ninety
. hound melons keep all but one melon
!, cut or Otherwise let nature take
nor course and have grown eighteen
! cIrhteen-pound good melons from ono
vine. The variety grow ORIGINATED
myseif. I named II Jumbo" but u -
!, very uniibe the Jumbo advertised ~
iced catalogues Unless you give "
I, rich soil Il won't make NJ all. II meas
urns In length about twice It's Thick
: ness, dark striped and find too thin 70
4 bear shipping. My experiments have
: proven 10 me that no melon, however
y rirh the soii or favorable the environ.
inent. viii grow much larger man It's
!, parent. and anv variety of melon can
= | a.. ..~..u Ia rsrer and Ia rHar veal