Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-01-13

timber, and In most places there Is that
happy admiSture OF prairie and timber
land that 50 delights the heart of the
farmer. Besides this, Eastern and
Southeastern Texas IL covered with
dense forest of line timber, embracing
nearly every variety grown in the
South. The repoC.s to this department
show that there are 335,b3l, 961 acres of
timber land in the state.
The Gross Timbers" is the name
given to two irregular belts of timber,
varying in width, and entering the
state at Red river on the north and
running in n southerly direction across
the prairie region.
The Lower Cross Timbers" run from
point on Red river north of Gaines
Vile. In Cooke county, south to the
BraZos river. in McLennan county, a
distance of about 1856 miles, and has an
average width of from 10 to 10 miles,
interspersed at irregular intervals with
small pralries.
The Upper Cross Timbers" leaves
Red river at point further west pass
ing south through Montague county, at
the lower edge OF which it divides, the
eastern portion passing south TIM ugh
Wise and Parker counties to the
Brazos river. the western veering far
Their west and extending south into
Erath county.
The timber growth of the Cross Tim
bers is principally post and blackjack
oaks. On the streams and loS'inls
ash, blackberry. pecan and cottonwood
trees are found.
on the gray sand hills in Eastern
Texas the timber growth is mainly
scrubby post and blackjack oaks. ON
the black sandy land the timber Is
generally Of the same kind but of more
perfect growth. The red lands are
covered with hickory, red and post
oaks, with few sweet and black gum
and elm trees interspersed.
In Newton, Jasper, Tyler, Orange,
Hardin and parts OF Sabine. Angelina
Trinity, San Augustine, Nacogdoches
Polk, San Jacinto, Shelby and Pamela
counties, long-leaied pine grows in
great abundance.
Short-leafed pine, interspersed with
hickory and various oaks. Is found
from Bowie county on the Red river
south along the eastern edge of the
state, finally merging into the long
leafed pine region. The area OF the
plneries, both long and short-leafed, is
estimated at 25.000,000 acres, capable
of producing 6i.5ST,42O,0OO feet OF mer-
charitable lumber. Along the streams.
especially the larger ones. walnut and
ash timber Is abundant In the south
ern part of the state near the gulf, and
west bordering on the plains, the live
oak is prominent growth. 1t Is fund
singly or In clumps on the pralries and
in IN edges Of the bottoms.
The pecan tree, which produces the
delicious pecan nut. II found ON nearly
all the streams, but more .lbulliu.ly
in southern and Western Texas, where
there are numerous pecan groves in the
valleys and on the uplands Gath
ering and marketing the pecan crop
| forms no uncomfortable adjulft 20 the
industries OF that section. he pecan
crop of 1887 was estimated at 5000. 900
| pounds valued at $4,000.
The department of forestry could
make a display OF magnitude and OF
much commercial and domestic Import
ance TO Texas.
The rapid advancement made by
| Texas up TO the present time has been
based almost entirely upon her agri-
| cultural resources and Is due both to
the remarkable fertility Of many of
| her soils and to the great variety of
| products derived from their cultivation.
| Today another field opens, and shf
| spreads before the world Il wealth %
mineral resources which. If they do not
exceed those of her agriculture, prom
ist to equal them in all respects, and
by their rapid development 10 call into
| requisltion a greater acreage OF tillable
land, and larger and more diversified
| crops to supply the workers in II.
The careful Investigations of the Geo
| logical Survey which have been carried
on during the past two years enable
us TO affirm with the greatest positive
ness that no other state can show min
| eral resources which In variety, value.
! quantity and ease OF working will equal
/ those Of Texas.
The attention OF capitalists. both home
| and foreign, is being directed To these
! fields, and the sinking of mines and the
erection of furnaces and factories for
| the recovery and utilization OF the va
rious metals and other materials occur
ring here are already in progress.
Chief among the mineral products
must be reckonsd Its fuel supply. for
on this, in great measure. rests the
possibility OF utilizing its other min
eral deposits. Up to the present Texas
has been importing nearly all the coal
that has been used. but there are hope
| full signs that we are beginning TO take
| our proper place as producer, and that
| Texas coal will soon be first in all
| Texas markets.
we have two coal basins which con-
| tain workable seams of good bitumin-
Gus coal, andp third which contains
| immense deposits of Ignite. The first
of me btuminous coal fields, which we
| call the Central Coal Field, Is the
| southwestern continuation and extremi-
| ~ of the Fourth Coal Basin (the Mis-
| sourinn) of the United States. 1t eN-
tends from the Red river TO Burnet
county on the SOUTH and its western
boundary, as far as determined. lies in
JSImbal, Menard and counties lying
north. It covers parts of twenty-five
counties and contains 1900 square
miles of the coal formation. In this
basin we find nine seams OF coal. vary
ing from a few inches to three feet in
| thiclxnees We have found two work.
able seams OF coal In them. The out
CROP of these seams on the surface has
been mapped and the average dip or
angle at which they descend into the
earth measured. The veins are each
about the same thickness, and. while
thew are variable in quality as regards
Inc amounts of sulphur and ash they
contain. many localities furnish excel
lent bituminous coal, which. when prop
erly selected will yield perfectly salts
factory results. From the best data
at hand we calculate that there are
in this coal field 1000 square miles that
viii Weld good coal at the rate OF 2,0O0.-
900 or 100000 tons per square mile.
Among the principal mines we may
mention those at Gordon, at and in the
vicinity OF Strawn and Thurber. In
Paio Pinto and Erath counties, from
which coal is mined and shipped in
quantities to Fort Worth. Dallas and
adjacent cities. Besides these mines
there are many smaller ones open in