The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-05-07


Is recognized today as one OF the Ieaainr
and beet paying industries In the Southern
states may be found in the extensive sys
tenn OF irrigation that has been established
IA the last few years The most saugulne
believers In rice culture never expected to
see the many inexhaushible streams and
payous with which this prairie region
spounds and which connect the large
pou'es OF fresh water lakes and bays lying
close 10 the gulf coast, utilized for irrira-
ton purposes, on account of the high ut
from these streams, which. In many in
stances, Is from twenty 10 sixty feet. In
consequence, thousands upon Thousands OF
acres Of high land that was supposed 10
pc inaccessible for this purpose have
proven TO be bonanza to their owners.
Iney nave on this account suddenly S.
Veloped an intrinsic value that readily
places them by the side OF the most valued
agrieuitural lands In the United States
These large canals are ALWAYS kent m
the highest ridges OF land and are hpiIt
by throwing up paralll levees from the
outside. making what might be termed nm
overland canal instead OF cutting below
the surface. thus keeping the water suppiv
above all lands to be supplied. This svs-
tenn OF irrigation on a large scale. has
completely reyolutionized rice raising IL
his eliminated many of the disagreeable
features from the industry, not the least
among which was an uncertainty attached
10 the planting of the crop, and depending
| for its success upon the rainfall II has
placed 1t upon solid and profitable basis
when men OF means engage in 1t upon a
large scale without prejudicing the adyan-
! tages of the man with less capital WIN
farms on small scale; and more than this
1t insures to him degree OF success both
as 10 quality and quantity of the product
That can not be obtained whore limited
supply of water Is at hand The raising Of
rice under the present system of irrlga-
ton Is reduced to a simple business propo-
| sition, on which any man of fair business
! ability ought TO be able to figure intelli-
gently and arrive at conclusion as to the
prohtableness or appropriateness of rice
| raising.
| The cost OF the water, which Is one OF
| the most expensive items connected with
the rice Industry, under this system has
been reduced to a minimum as a hundred
| planters can be supplied from one plant
at so per cent of what It would cost If
| supplied by separate plants for each farm.
One end OF these rice irrigation canals be-
/ gins on the bank OF some inexhaustible
stream of water or it's tributary, and inn
mense pumping plants at this point lift the
water into these parallel levees or canals.
| Very frequently, in getting the water to
the necessary elevation It requires two and
| three complete pumping outfits, the first
| of which carries the water to certain
height, where 1t is emptied into a portion
| of the lower canal or reservoir, thence 1t
is relifted by another pump, and so on
until the necessary elevation has been at
| tanned The water is then sent through
| the main canal and laterals built through
| prairie needing the rice farms with water,
| which is drawn from these canals by plank
| fumes going through the levees and let
/ a. f,,tA t1n Hald de of hn
| farmer by the use of floodgates. The
pumping capacity of these plants varies
! in accordance with the land to be irrigat-
! ed. Some of them reach the enormous
| amount of $1,000 gallons OF water per min
ute, and these pumps run day and nlgnt,
beginning in June and stopping the latter
| part of August. You will readily perceive
| that this is a very great volume of water.
| and where several OF these pumping plants
| are located on large tributary OF the
! greater streams, the current is changed
| and were IL not fed from an ineXhaustiple
| source, it would be dry in very short oraer'
AS to the profits OF this class OF farming
Mr.. Frank NJ Harmon writes from fort
! Arthur. Texas April 4. 1893: 'Our canai
will carry water for 5000 acres of land. We
had last year under our canal 700 acres in
| rice. We will have this year l40O acres.
There is no improved land under our canal
for sale to my knowledge. l made crop
| last wear of $4,000 on 500 acres OF land
! You can form your own idea regarding
the value of this land after one years crop,
as 1t would simply he matter OF opinion
with me to place a price upon II. our
company last year, from the profits of the
crop and canal, paid the interest on $50 600
| in bonds and declared a dividend of per
cent on 100000 in stock, and still had
profit left"
w. w Duson & Bro. of Crowley, La,
| April 3, 1899, write: There is no stock
| that can be bought in the Abbott, Duson,
! the Rooler, the Ferre or the Crowley Canal
| companies. These canals will flood $4,000
! acres. These plants are new institutions
and the only way we have OF knowing now
we'll irrigation enterprises pay is by what
the Crowley canal and the Abbott brothers
have done. So far as the Crowley Canal
! company is concerned, this is the indi-
vidual property of our Mr.. W. W. Duson,
and while we we're not careful TO keep a
close line of figures on the matter, we are
| fully persuaded that this plant would have
| paid last year and did pay all the while .
ner cent interest on the investment and a
| dividend of 33 1-9 per cent. In this vicin-
| ity where canals invaded new territory,
they have increased the value of the land
about 100 per cent In others words, II
| land were worth $40 per acre. as soon as
the enterprise was assured. they imme-
diately went to $50; II SIS, they at once be-
came $50 land"
George II. Taste of Beaumont. Texas,
says he was a tenant IN 1898, and from 29i
acres of rice that year he received sS,5T94 40
as his share, which was three-fourths OF
the entire crop, the other fourth having
gone to the land owner as rent.
The Raymond Rice Canal and Milling
company, an Iowa concern, write that their
| u