The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-02-20
LOckIIART, Ten. Feb 6. 1901

have spent about week travelling
through the cotton belt Of Texas from
Sherman to San Marcos, from San
Marcos to Shreveport, La. Texas is
still picking cotton every day now.
Texas has, perhaps, one million bales
Of cotton piled in the cotton yards
over the State un>olI. Some Of the
towns nave ,nuj bales in the cotton
yards, some 10000, some 1000, some
1000, but everywhere you see the un-
sold co,ton have looked over the
farms along the way. The farmers
arc very late in the preparation Of the
ground for new crop. No rain in
the Black Belt Of Texas since the 1st
Of November, and the ground is too
hard to plough.
The wheat crop Of Northern Texas
is not looking we'll The drought and
Hcssian fly is the cause but never
saw such glow Of prosperity on Tex
as as she manifcsts to-day. The farm
crs are on top, cotton on iand and
money to lend, banks ovcrhowing and
merchants busy. A member of firm
in Denton, Tex, said to me, II can t
supply my customers with implements.
I've sold 100 buggics since January l..
Drummers from St. Louis tell me that
their houses have instructed them to
sell no more carload lots, but in small
amounts to the trade"
Texas supply this year in the pock-
cts Of the farmers is just what the
Georgia farmers would have but for
the enormous outlay for guano. Geor-
gia must have commercial fertilizers.
Texas don't need them. The tenants
on these rich farm lands in Texas pay
the landlords 50 money req: per acre,
and that s what it costs for guano per
acre in Gcorgia. If were farmer
would rather rent land in Texas than
own it in Georgia
The black cotton lands Of Texas arc
selling for $50 to $40 per acre; 500 per
acre will buy the best lands ten miles
from towns.
The question is not how much cot
ton can Texas make, but how much
cotton can they pick out. have
travelled through Texas from Tcxar-
kama to FL Paso, from Tcxlinc to Gal
weston. and stay within the facts
when | say that not onc-tcnth Of Tex
as cotton lands ever had a plow on
them. If you will furnish Texas with
half million more plow mules and
negro plowmen they will and can maxi
in Texas this year eight million bales
of cotton, weighing 500 pounds each.
The delta Of the Mississippi in Louis
lana and the good cotton lands Of Tex
as can make fifteen million bales and
not use a pound Of guano, and with
average seasons make bale to the
acre one year with another. Georgia,
Alabama, South Carolina and North
Carolina must look to their mannfac
turing interests and their farmers to
diversified crops and home made fer
tilizcrs or 60 broke in few years.
Texas can produce her own wheat
corn, oats and ship millions of dollars
worth Of cattle, hogs, sheep, mules
horses, ETC., annually. Georgia is nc
longer the Empire State Of the South
Texas has the blue ribbon tied on hel
now.
The thing | marvel at in Texas i:
that her cities do not grow apacc with
her towns and rural districts. Dalla.
seems to be full grown, Fort Worth i.
dwarf, San Antonio onglomcration
with her population half invalids, ant
the other half, am told, made up Of
27 different nationaitics. Austin
minus her dam, is dead Waco ough
to be named Wake No More. lIous
ton, the only city Of growth and com
mcrcial enterprise since the Galveston
horror, put that city in the back
ground: but there are hundred pros
porous, growing towns in Texas, wit
growing populations ranging from thrc
to fifteen thousand.
have talked with farmer, me,
chant, cotton buyer, and the genera
impression prevails that Texas vii
not increase her acreage in cotton yer
largely-may be 10 per cent. Texa
never raised a larger crop of cotton i
much Of the cotton belt than the Gro
Of 1900.
Farm wages in Texas are doubl
what they are Georgia and Alabama
but a farm hand can produce NOR
than double out here.
The Dallas News has done much t