St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-10-22
CATTLE RANGES CUT UP.
Grazing Lands Of the Southwest Are
Offered for Homesteads
at Low Prices.

Conditions in the great ranch country
of the southwest were never in better
shape for the homeseeker and investor,
says S. A. Hughes, general immigration
agent Of the Frisco system, who, says a
st. Louis report, has just returned from
an extensive trip through Texas. The
cattle ranches are being generally cut
up and sold out in small tracts to farm
ers from the east and the north.
One railroad system has been carry
ing about $500 homeseekers into the
cheap land districts along its line each
month for the last two years, and the
other southwestern roads have been do
ing nearly as large a business. Con-
sequently it is safe to say that Oklaho-
ma, Texas, Indian territory and Arkan-
sas have increased at the rate of TO-
600 settlers a month. The invasion Of
the ranch lands has come from Iowa,
Wisconsin. Ohio, Nebraska, Illinois. In
diana and Kentucky.
In recent years the cattlemen have
been feeding their cattle in pens and
fattening them on crops grown by farm
ers. Hence it is no longer necessary
to devote the grass products OF 20 acres
of land to fattening one steer. Cattle
men have no further use for the land,
and are selling it at prices of from three
to fifteen dollars an acre. &
The northern and eastern farmers
who have bought this ranch land and
begun to cultivate the soil have all made
money. One man near Corpus Christi
bought tract of ranch land at SIS an
acre and put it out IN Bermuda onions.
Two years later he sold $11 900 worth of
onions from Is acres.
In Greer county. Oklahoma, land sold
at five dollars an acre two years ago.
but prices have jumped to SIS and SIS
an acre Farmers are raising bale oi
cotton or 35 bushels of wheat to the
acre in that region. One of the richest
parts of Oklahoma. just now being made
central point for homeseekers, is
Woods county. in the Eagle Chief val
ley. Only few years ago this val
ley was vast cattle range. but it Is
now a thickly settled and prosperous
farm community.
s In western Kansas few years ago
there were only grasshoppers. sod
houses and waving fields of buffalo
grass. Most Of these huts were deserted.
To-day prosperous farmers live in mod
ern homes in this same country. They
raise bumper wheat crops, and the cat
tie country has been turned into farms.
One of the finest sections in the whole
ranch land district of the southwest lies
along the coast of southern Texas.
Here few years ago millions of acres
lay in single tracts and hundreds Of
thousands of Texas steers roamed at
large, feeding on the luxuriant grasses,
But the attention of the northern farm
er las been called to the coast coun-
try of Texas as a fruit and vegetable
growing country and to the wonderful
opportunities in growing rice. 4 Land
suitable for rice culture in the Ell Cam
20 district has jumped from five to fifty
dollars an acre in three years.
Up to six years ago the culture of rice
was comparatively unknown in Texas.
There is rice area at the present time
of 5000, 900 acres tributary to the Brazcs.
Colorado. Trinity and Rio Grande riv-
ers. 1t is estimated that about Soc
600 acres of these lands has been pur-
chased in five years by rice farmers
and investors.
Anew stretch of ranch land now be-
ing opened to the public lies along the
u
This soil is especially adapted to truck
farming. This is known as the
Brownsville district" and the country
is watered by artesian wells ,On the
famous Santa Gertrudas ranch. compris-
ing 1900 900 acres. there are about &c
artesian wells. This property belongs
to Mrs. King, who has consented to have
it sold out in small tracts.
Ranches in the central part of Texas,
owned by cattlemen wishing to retire
from the cattle trail, are being sold.
Millions of acres lying in single ranch
have been common in Texas during the
past, but it is predicted by Mr.. Hughes
that within five or six years there will
be no large ranches in any part of the
southwest, while the population of
sparsely settled districts will increase
rapidly and the value of property viii,
also advance enormously.
THAR Wai0h% in Ho1d ~