The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-01


 reader follow me over the 5000 miles of rich agricultural country through which have passed since and to try to relate all that have seen would be tedious job and might tire the readers patience, so l will have to skip over some of my experiences and observations. However, 1t was, and Is yet my intention to write these letters when my time will allow me to do so There is so much l want to give our readers that 1 hardly know where to commence.
 1 will start out from Paris, Texas. On July 3-4 l had two days meeting with the Lamar County Truck Growers asso- citation. These meetings were well attend ed and a number of agricultural topics were freely discussed l also spent some time in visiting out among the farmers and viewing their fine crops. We have succeeded in getting the farmers at this place greatly interested in truck farming canning and packing pickles. The country here is an ideal one for the business.
 On the first four days of July there was a fearful downpour of rain through l north Texas, when the Red river and l many of it's tributaries overfiowed their banks and did much damage to crops and | property in many sections. But as the 1 crops were we'll advanced the damage l may not be so great as 1t appeared at the l time Crops in this part of the state are fine, better than for some years.
 At Kansas City.
 1 left Paris for St. Louis. spent Monday | there, on Monday night went to Kansas | City and spent Tuesday viewing the dam ages wrought by the terrible floods in the | Kansas River valley There Is no pen or language that can depict the awful de- structlon of this flood. One must go over the territory in order to realize anything like It's magnitude, Not only were thou sands of acres of fine crops swept away, for the loss of the crops Is small matter as compared to the damage to the lands, but other fine property was also destroyed and many families lost everything. But as stated the damage to the lands was something appalling. The Raw or Kansas l valley has won a national reputation as one of the greatest potato growing sections | of the United States A very conservative estimate is that there was loss of 5000 cars of potatoes in this valley Then add to this the loss of all other crops and the I property loss and it runs up into the mill 1 lions
 Fine Lands Destroyed.
 | Many fine bottom farms are buried un- der white sand banks and so rendered worthless. Others are all cut out in great | holes in which the water is left Then | logs, trash, stumps, and stones are left | drifted oyer the fields. Fences and in | some cases houses and outbuildings are l all gone. There are many sad pictures. | l will mention one in particular, which is a fair sample of many: One poor farmer l who had worked himself and family hard for years and had promised his girls new plano as soon as the farm was paid for, | had paid out last winter and new, fine | plano and other comforts were added to the home. They had Just begun to live and enjoy life when the floods came and swept all away that they had and they barely escaped with their lives. l saw this fine plano after it had been taken out of ten feet of mud and water. It was plastered all through with mud. It Is being kept as a relic of the flood.
 Coming into Kansas City from the east over the only track which was open at that time I counted 112 wrecked box cars and 1t Is estimated that not less than 1000 cars of merchandise were lost. On Tues day night, July 7th, left this field of des- titution for Texas, reaching Fort Worth on the next day. Here I spent the night in rest and next morning started out bright and early over the International and Great Northern railroad for College, where the Texas farmers congress was In session This road from Fort Worth to Houston Is u new one and the late rains had so softened the roadbed that we could | make no time. We had gone only few miles when the engine jumped the track | and this delayed us SO long that we did not reach College until 10 o'clock at night Here I was very kindly received. nice | lunch was set me and nice room and bed offered me- all of which l gladly ac- cepted.
 Brazos Valley.
 But want to say something about this new road or rather something of the coun- try through which 1t passes 1t covers some of the richest farm lands in the state passing through the rich Brazos river bottoms and through the enterprise ing city of Waco on the bank of this river. The crops through this section are simply immense. The main crops are cotton and corn. There are some fine stock farms also to be seen. Then such burs and sun flowers I never saw anywhere The burs have completely taken some of these fine bottom fields and were standing as high as a man. They are the healthiest set of burs l ever saw anywhere and when ma ' tured are the longest to be found, being tbree times as large as a Tennessee or llabSamat, specimen. All along the high ways the Aunhowers and burs have pos session.
 Texas not only has fiiue crops of corn, ! cotton and vegetables. but %She Is also growing enough sunfower and bur seed | to plant the reSt of the United States. | But whether they can find a market foi l them is another matter. These acres of | fine rich lands would certainly pay better | if cultivated in cotton, for which crop they are specially adapted saw also on this | line the eonvicts being worked on the | farms; made to blow and hoe cotton and | corn and kept in the field under the per- | suasion of bloodhounds and Winchesters. | It Is stated that much good farm work is | gotten out of them. They ought to be made to clean mp the wild sunhowers and | burs-brush and other weeds. The farmers ! of Texas should newer tMnk of reducing tfsir cotton acpeage for dher crops. | Whiie thesy have so much surplus lale iAnd on which all the other crops needed may | be grown. there Is so much of the rich | acreage of Texas that is poorly cultivated | as yet
 At College Station.
 l was sorry that reached the congress late and missed some of the valuable pa pers that were read and discussed. How | ever. I met many of the representative farmers of the state and got much valua- ble information from them. Nearly every thing pertaining to agriculture was brought up in the meetings and much good win result. The attendance also was good. The farmers generally were elated over their prospects for a big crop this year and so were full of enthusiasm. The Mexican boil worm received much atten- tion and much time was given to discuss ing the pest. Farmers were inclined to think it best to drop growing cotton for I>.