The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-01-13
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
LETTER FROM TEXAS.
Christmas and New Year-Promising En-
Rice Growing by Irrigation
"A Variety of Soils-The Hardy
Little Mustang-A 1OO-Mile
stage Route, Etc.
HARVEY, BnAzos County, Texas.

HARVEY, BRAZOs COUNTY, TEXAS,
hess7s. Editors We Texans in this locality
spent very quiet Christmas. The day was as
beautiful as could be wished, and warm and
pleasant. There was not wind enough to cause
q rustic among the few leaves that still cling to
the branches of the huge oaks in front of our
the day Immensely. The display of fireworks
was much less INDUCED in than in other years,
much to the qualification Of us quiet country
folks, who do not like such annoyances- The
Bryan merchants had laid in very large supply
of trinkets of every known description. to be
disposed of or exchanged for the more desirable
commodity called money. but think a large
proportion of their holiday goods Will be packed
away for another year. as the entire week before
Christmas was very inclement. A wet ''norther'
was on, which lasted ten days. The wind was
cold and rain fell in such torrents as to render
going almost out of the question Tor those VINO
value good health above anything else. Happl-
ly, however, the wind changed from north to
south on Sunday, and as result the clouds were
soon dispersed and on Monday the sun rose
bright and beautiful, but the ground was terri
bly, wet; .oa o,,.oua :, 81, ,Do +owns
as holiday. Matchmaking services were held
the night before in all the churches and were
well attended. Many good resolutions have been
formed by some, only; perhaps, to be broken and
reformed next year. should they live till then.
There are some new enterprises in contempla-
ton in this State, to be undertaken this year, a
very important one of which is large cotton
factory, to be built at Rockdale. Several very
liberal subscriptions have been taken, and it is
expected that the mill will be in operation by
Large tracts of land have recently been bought
on the Bernard river for rice plantations. There
was large field of rice planted in Liberty cOun-
ty last year and the result was sufficiently graft
flying to induce more extended trial in the
growth of this highly necessary food plant Rice
culture is not an entirely new enterprise here.
l think trial was made as far back as 1884, but
Unable to flood the Iieids ENOUGH to produce it,
By the newly devised irrigating machinery any
amount of water can be thrown over the fields
in any desirable direction. The Bernard bottom
growers have an irrigatng pump which has an
easy capacity of 5000 gallons of water per min
ute and can be forced, it is said, to 1900 gallons
per minute.
Texas contains nearly every kind Of soil and
some portion of it is adapted to nearly every
in Northern Texas, cotton. corn, melons, sweet
and Irish potatoes in middle and eastern Dor
lions of the State besides fine orchards of peaches
and pears. The western part is best adapted to
the raising of all kinds of stock. and ranchmen
are rapidly improving their stock by the intro
ductl0n OF English breeds. The original long
horned cow is now rare thing to see, she having
been superseded by Holsteins, Jerseys and other
breeds The old native cattle are still preferred
by old settlers, who claim that they are much
harder and therefore more easily raised, and are
equally as valuable for beef cattle and as milk
ers as any of the improved breeds.
The large Kentucky horse now roams over the
far western prairie, on which used to Craze
thousands OF hardy little mustangs. but the lat
count of their activity and power of endurance.
One of these little fellows can run cows all day
and seem as fresh at night as when he started,
and if turned loose on good pasture he is ready
for more work next day. Whereas the fine stock
that are taking the place of the native horses
need good attention, and when they do not get
well fed and groomed they soon show their keep
ing and finally die for want of it.
There is a mail route running between San
Angelo and Sonora, a distance of one hundred
miles. The vehicles used are big, old-fashioned
omnibuses, each of which is drawn by four small
native Texas ponies. They make the entire
trip through to each end of the line daily One
leaves Sonora while the other leaves San Angelo
at the same hour, O'Clock a. M Each coach
arrives at its destination at p. m their schedule
time, and they make it with as much regularity
is made on the best railways in the country.
five miles. thus using sixteen horses for each
bus. 1t must be remembered that the road on
this route is not hard turnpike such as you
have in Maryland, but common dirt road, and
gets very muddy in rainy weather, yet there is
scarcely any variation in their time. Besides
carrying the o. s. mail these buses convey pas
seDgers between the two pionts named, and not
infrequently heavy loads of freight. One week
of this work would kill the best of our American
horses that grow. IOTA.