Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1902-09-17

months to reach this point with bull
teams; the same time was required to
deliver cattle, which upon reaching
Kansas City. for instance, would be so
emaclated that they would only bring
a portion of their value. Now Carls-
bad is reached from Kansas City In a
Pullman car in thirty-slx hours and
livestock is delivered there in the
same time. Cattle trains run as spe-
Gals, and make express or even faster
time, which insures prime delivery
and at cost of only Ale per 100
pounds.
A. Cattle are not the only crop Of
the southwest; quite the contrary.
While alfalfa, which grows to perfec-
ton under irrigation, is the staple
forage crop milo maize, sorghum,
Egyptian and Indian corn and cotton.
together with every fruit and vegeta-
bic that can be raised in the temper
ate zone, yield not only in abundance,
but attain in this climate the highest
degree of perfection and mature sew
eral weeks in advance of our com
petitors.
For example. our peaches are now
bringing from 81 to $3.50 for eighteen
to twenty-pound boxes, at which price
they net $500 per acre. Peaches meas
uring thirteen to fourteen inches In
circumference are not uncommon. Our
clingstone peaches are often so large
they will not go in Mason jars, so that
my wife had to put them up in kegs.
Pecos valley apples are unrivaled,
coupled with their absolute freedom
from worms. Like our peaches, they
top the markets OF the world. An or
chard that was planted about twenty
years ago. when the nearest railroad
was 200 miles distant, has borne six
teen consecutive years. So that we
have gold mines on top as well as I'M
der the ground. learn that the owner
of 600-acre apple orchard, that Is just
commencing to bear, has refused $780,
600 for this years crop in the orchard.
AS he Is shipping in lumber by the
carload and nails, hundred kegs at a
time, for packing same, the price Of
fered does not seem extravagant. The
crop begins to mature in June and con-
tinues till November. Similar examples
of other fruits and vegetables can be
given-enough to fill book Another
great advantage the Pecos valley has,
as fruit-growing district. is that
many markets can he reached by ex-
press as cneaply as from California by
freight, thus saving refrigerating ex-
penses and several days time-both
vital onsiderations-since we are en-
abled to place our product on the mar
kets in prime condition,
5. These results are made possible
by irrigation, to accomplish which one
company alone has within a dozen
years expended upon its works nearly
100000. A part of this great system
consists of a single dam 1856 feet in
length, 9O6 feet at base and fifty-two
feet in height. submerging over 5000
acres. with capacity Of 6,000000OOO
cubic feet of water, forming a lake
thirteen miles in length by three miles
in width-large enough to float the
navies of the world. This and other
reservoirs feed over 1900 miles of main
and distributing canals Of this greSs
system. These are supplied by the
Pecos river, which heads in the noun
tains Of Colorado, 700 miles above US,
which, in addition to its regular flow.
10 reinforced by springs Of immense
flow and artesian wells by the hundred,
each with flow of from 600 to 1900
cubic feet per minute, together consti-
tuting water supply which for abun-
dance and absolute permanency Is
probably unparalleled in the arid re-
gions of the world.
6. Those who settle in the south
west, and especially those who settle
under an irrigation system. not only
avoid the rigors and isolation Of less
favored sections. the monotony Of
which is repellant to the young and
energetic, since by intensive farming
upon a small area the best results are
obtained, while the feeling of lone
someness is completely eliminated-a