The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-01-29

pThufs i
think have all those machinery facts
down lust ar Mr.. Miller told thcm TO me.
lie seemed to consider that tho most I'M
,or,ant part or the business, but u WIS
the canal part OF his talk that impressed
mo These canals must necessarily DO
made in Texas. They can't be made IN
Indiana and shipped Gown here. honie
labor will be employed on them and home
industries will get all the benefit
The haywood company expects to ouiid
+vertv miles OF canals this year The
mains will be 100 feet wide; the lateralo
forty. sixty and eighty feet wide. The en-
nais will be from ten TO twelve feet deep.
The company will dredge. In from the
Trinity river for mile and halt 10 Two
miles The entire lift Of water from tho
hot,om Of the river to the highest point
If land irrigated Will he sixty-hve feet
All this work is to be completed and tho
machinery and everything put IN order
by the 1st of May. The company mas forty
teams at work now and will have sixty
moro inside of two weeks.
with the canals bringing water from
the Trinity river, and the immense pumps
IN lift II and help distribute 1t over a
large area. II can be seen that rice farming
| around haywood Will be an easy matter
| Not only the land belonging to this COM
pany will be watered. but they VIII iur-
/ r,sb water for other farms. The land In
which the company Is interested Will be
rented. and 1t Is thought there VIII De no
difficulty In securing tenants. 1t Is salo
that for every acre of land watered IN
.bis wav in Louisiana there are two appli-
cants.
Ten thousand acres will be planted IN
rice at Haywood this year by Mr.. Miiler's
company alone, and next year he expects
TO have 10000 acres In cultivation.
Rice will yield on an average OF forty
"a ffty bushels per acre. 1t sells for about
81 per bushel in the rough form. and 1t II
said careful tenants can clear $40 per acre
in rice farming after paying water ano
land rent. It is an easy crop to handle
the method being practically the same al
that used with wheat and oats.
~
Mr.. Miller is sure he will make sic
cess Of this enterprise, and believes tina
everybody Interested. from the tenant t.
the owners of the property, VIII MAKE
money on the investment. He isn't ven
turing into an untried field. aud is mo-
making anything In the nature of specu
lative experiment. He has built canal
and irrigated several big rice farms II
Louisiana This will be the biggest ven
ture yet. but then he is making 1t in
big State and trying 1t on land that 4
especially adapted to rice culture.
The Miller-Morris Canal company o.
Crowley, La. Of which he is president
had $500 acres In rice last year. and vii
put In fully 10000 this year.
Louisiana is . good rice country,
said Mr. Miller. "but It isn't ahead o
South Texas in that respect. IN fact, som
Of the lands in this State can raise ric
equal to that produced IN any part of tn
world. In the amount of the yield pc
acre and the quality produced We ca
easily equal Louisiana"
What IL Of especial interest in connec
ton with the Haywood enterprise is tn
fact that this company intends to erect
big rice mill at Haywood this summer
The Post would like to record the placin
OF such plant In Houston. but 1t CAM
therefore, the next best thing is to kno
that South Texas is to have such an ir
:, dustry.
There are only two rice mills in Texs
I, now-one at Beaumont and one at Calves
: ton. These two supply the State wit
: about per cent OF the rice sold In Texa
). SO you see there is plenty of room for
y dozen or SO more. Still there isn't epoug
. rice raised in Texas yet TO justify man
= mills. And II can be put down as fa
that there will not be any very large acre
!. age devoted TO rice until there are moi
:, mills. You must assure the farmers OF
. market for the rice crop before they wi
> go into It's cultivation on an exteusy
scale. The Texas farmer isn't a fool |
any means. He doesn't intend to raise ri'
TO throw at the birds. or to throw over I'M
Louisiana, either There isn't any mark
:. for rough rice at Houston. and there
next to none at Galveston The Beaumol
!, mill has about all 1t can do to handle Ii
Jefferson county crop.
Therefore, unless there are more indu
:, trial enterprises like that being establishe
at Haywood. how can you advise crop d
versification on that line? Surely no oil
can expect the Texas farmers to pay Il
freight on their rice to Louisiana to con
:, pete with the crop grown In that Stat
!. There are plenty OF rice mills over Their
but they are Of very little benefit to o
farmers. Crowley has four rice mill
:. Lake Charles two. Rayne and Jennin,
! one each. and there are six or eight at Ne
Orleans.
~
The Haywood company will. OF cours
70 do much to bring about crop diversificatit
70 in Liberty county and will cause tho
70 sands OF acres to be devoted to rice gro,
ing. The mill the company intends
y erect will have capacity of 1000 TO SO
- bushels OF rice per day. 1t will be able
- handle all the rice grown on It's own land
y and much more besides.
N of,la