The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-07
North Carolina in Texas.

There are quite a number Of North
Carolinians in Texas. President ID.
F.. Houston, president of the TeXas
Agricultural and Mechanical College,
was born in North Carolina. Doctor
Battle. also at this college, lived at
Charlotte. Mrs. Nagle nee Miss Nor
gan, and Mrs. DR.. Shields, went to st.
Marys, and Mrs. LanoX, nee Miss
Bessie Brown, is a Peace girl.
The following graduates of the
North Carolina A. and M. College are
in Texas; S. c.. AsbuTy recently of
Raleigh, now assistant State Chem
ist College Station; A. II. Prince, to-
bacco farmer at Nacogdoches: Gar
land Jones' chemist to Armour d Co,
at Fort Worth; p. Y. Wright, engin-
eer at Beaumont, and the writer. Prof.
BENZ. Irby is in the real estate bust
ness at Beaumont, and DR.. WaVerly
Daniels is professor of Latin in Bay
Tor University Waco. / have met
several others from North Carolina,
but their names escape me at pres
ent
The cotton boll-weevil seems to have
reached his northern limit, and is
marching eastward at the rate Of
about fifty miles year. The pest is
expected to cross the Mississippi this
year. 1t has been demonstrated that,
by suitable methods Of culture a
crop of cotton can be raised in spite
of the boll-weeVil. Still, if the wealth
er is favorable to the weevil, it may
take the crop. The object now is, by
early planting, fertilizers and good
culture, to make crop before the
WeeVils are sufficiently numerous to
take all the squares. This, of course
shortens the season of growth.
This years frequent rains since jan
uary have delayed farm operations,
and the cotton i'm this section is sew
eral weeks behind last year, also corn
and other crops. Unless the weather
has had a bad effect upon the Weevil
also it will do considerable damage
i'm this section.
The consumption of fertilizers in
Texas is increasing rapidly. True
thousands of acres of virgin soil are
still available. The fertilizers are be-
ing used on cotton and truck. Last
year nearly 5000 car loads Of po-
tatoes, twelve hundred of peaches,
and five hundred car loads of onions
We're shipped, which does very we'll
considering that the industry is not
very old. We are eating strawberries
now, and new potatoes, and the
blackberres in my back yard are ripe
Texas potatoes do not keep very we'll
but they come in early, and do not
need to keep.
ers are organized into local associa-
tons; the members of the associations
join in seeing that the truck or fruit
is uniform in grade and packing, and
unite to ship in car load lots, often
selling on the track to buyers at their
home, when the shipments are large
enough. number of the local or
CARNATIONS are united in two or three
large bodies. some Of which have men
n n wit Cd
the markets, and SO avoid a glut and
consequent low prices at a given
point. Ii is due to this thorough or
ganiZatiOn that car load shipments are
made from many points, at which,
without cooperation the individual
growers would not be willing to un-
dertake to grow so much. Needless
to say, shipments by express in small
lots do not stay here. Distances
are too great.
Rice is a great crop in Texas. Fiji
teen years ago hardly any was grown
here. Now lands sell for SIS to SIS
an acre that were worth $1.00 then.
The rice is not grown in Swamps
and gathered by hand, as in South
Carolina. Here, the water is raised
by pumps from lakes or rivers, and
brought on upland prairie land by
canals The water covers the rice
to the depth of to 4 inches while it
is growing. Then the water is drawn
off, the fields drain, and the harvest
ing machinery goes in, to cut and
bind and threSh, exactly as for wheat
1t is q great industry, and it's devel-
opment on the scale it has reached
here-225, 900 acres last year-iS due
to the Improvement in pumping ma
chinery, and to the use Of machinery
for all the operations AS one rice