Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-09-09
TEXAS RICE CROP.
Estimates Place the Average of One
County at 500. or 10000 Barrels.

A correspondent writing from Orange,
Orange county, Texas, to the Galveston
News, gives the following estimate OF
the rice crop Id the southeastern county
of Texas:
Every rice farmer In the county is
making ready for the harvest that will
begin in earnest next week. Teams are
being selected, men engaged and the big
reaplng and binding machinery hauled
to the field.
On some of the plantations pumps are
no longer throwing water into canals;
laterals are permitted to run low on all
Of the well-developed lands, and where
the heads are bending low and the stems
have taken on a mellow golden hue the
gates were raised during the past week
and water permitted to escape so that
the ground may dry of and become Arm
enough to insure firm footing for the
teams that will be needed to draw the
reaping machines thru the grain. The
first planting on every canal is now
ready for the scythe and on one farm
of between $50 and 700 acres Of fine rice
the owner was anxious to start ma
chimes last Thursday, but few Of the
men he had engaged failed to put in an
appearance that day, so he decided he
would wait until Monday. He could
have started on Friday, but he had
foreman once who always commenced
his important undertakings on that day
and he met with SO many failures that
this farmer preferred to not tamper
with luck.
1t ia conceded that the crop in this
county, taken as a whole, is the heaviest
ever attempted. The acreage is greater
and the yield will be larger to the acre
than has been grown in any former sea-
son. On the Orange County Irrigation
Company's canal pumps were closed
down this week and water turned off
the first planting last Tuesday. The
Wilson farm is still pumping and sup
flying water to the June planting, but
the April planting is ripe and IL Mon
day is a fair day binders will commence
work; the same may be said of the Cow
Bayou Canal company's crop, the Iowa
farm and the Giles Bros place. The
acreage on the several canals In this
county is approximately:
Orange County Irrigation Company $500
Cow Bayou Canal Company. ....... $500
Sam Wilson Observation-Disclosures. $50
. . . . . L.
Acres flooded by canals. $500
On every canal there will be found
patches that stood too high to get the
full benefit Of flooding and such spots
will yield below the average of we'll
watered lands. but there are other spots
Of ground that will go far above, SO that
Il is estimated by those who have gone
over the county recently that ten bar
rels to the acre is a conservative yield,
as the crop now stands, but this may be
cut down, as 1t was last year, by Sep
TENDER gales. There are other contin-
gencies to be reckoned with, however.
Rice, like every other staple crop, has
its enemies and the most persistent OF
these are redwinged rice birds. They are
already here in myriads. Great clouds
of them circle around morning and
evening. Shooting into the floating
banks of the little pests brings down
hundreds every day, but there are other
thousands left to rise up and sail away
to neighboring farms where, IL undis-
turbed, meal is made: but with a fu-
sillade Of fine shot at every turn there
are left birds enough to carry away
hundreds OF barrels of the choicest rice
and every rice farm is heavily taxed by
them each succeeding season.
There are several providence plant
| irgs in this county that will turn out six
to eight barrels of good rice to the acre,
while the poorest Of it will be cut and
cured for stock feed.
Those who are in position to know
give It as their opinion that not less
than 10000 barrels Of merchantable rice
will be threshed in this county from the
crop now rapidly maturing.
| Buyers are already in the field. and
competition will insure growers top
Prices according to grade.
| The big rice mill at this place is very
nearly completed. The engine has been
delayed at the shops. but Will be
shipped in very few days. Nearly all
Of the other machinery is in place and
the manager feels assured that the fin-
ishing touches will have been put on
and the plant started up long before a
sack of Orange county rice will be ready
to polish. The capacity OF the mill is
300 barrels per day Of ten hours, with
steam power to enable the company to
increase the output to 1000 barrels per
day.
Stood Dsath or.
| e. B. Munday, lawyer Of Henrietta.
Tex. once fooled q grave-digger. He
says: my brother was very low with
malarlal fever and jaundice. per-
suaded him to try Electric Bitters. and
he WAS soon much better, but continued
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