The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-06-02
EsN 0RMO US GRO WITH q Il:
AGRICIJIsT.EitJRBsiAi q i ii! RESI-
BY EfER,R,ER;Ti !; NA,n,iD i: /

sE'iNyNNC.EfhiSOFt 81
i, s q vas down in central Texas land
radiils Of Austin, although this is a most
circumscri area to which to-. confine
large as the state Of Illinois) I was most
impressively struck not only by the great
tertllty Of the country through which I
crops which t grew. 1 Commented % t on
this fact to a former Northerner who
happened to be with me at the time. but
whose home had happened to be in Texas
"Oh, my SON. was his comment ''if
this Is your first visit to Texas you are
going to have your eyes opened to a few
things, same as good many Northern
son, this Is the garden spot of the world,
and if the men of the North only knew
what it had to offer them I think the
state of Texas would be Republican
state, in a few years time" S.. 'Tf
Now, this may be the boast Of an en-.
thusiast and optimist, but verify believe
that it is the truth. You can take the
country in the territory that have men
toned around Austin, and 1t is impossible
for a man to conceive of a more mag
nihcent agricultural country in the world.
The farmers in this section not only grow
everything which we grow in the North,
but they also grow many products tina.
are only indigenous to the South, and
they grow everything with luxuriance Of
yield that is calculated to give the aver
age Northern farmer fit of paralysis
when he compares them. III
There was a time when the territory
adjacent to Austin, which Is today one Of
and that necessarily implies the South,
was almost entirely devoted to cotton
culture. Such other crops as the planters
raised were simply for the care Of their
marvellous change has taken place there
within the past few years. The planter
no longer bases his hopes on cotton. He
has hGund tS out that ne can groW almost
his rich land, and that his hope of profit
is intensified tenfold by his willingness to
do so. Hence you see. the Southern
upon the great staple Of cotton, but get
ting every year into the more diversified
| fields of farming. They are finding out
that there is money In stock raising, and
they are also finding out that there is a
heap of money in the raising Of hogs. ?:
-.> The Growth Of Hog Raising. ~.
And, speaking about hog raising, there
is an interesting story to be told. In the
country about Austin. which consists Of
| the deep black and intensely productive
prairie lands, the finest crops Of alfalfa
| in the world can be grown. AS a rule,
the farmers of Texas were ignoring the
| wonderful value of this product when the
big Chicago firms Of Armour & Co. and
place for them to establish branches of
their business. because Of the great pro-
auctions Of hogs as we'll as cattle that
the state was turning out.
It was the expectation of these firms,
| when they put a few millions into pack
ing plants at Fort Worth, that they would
have all the hogs that they could take
the case. They could get eli the cattle
they wanted, and by packing them near
the seat Of their raising could save the
transportation charges on them to Chi
9TH 70 PyrS
they couldn't get hogs enough to run
their plants to a profitable capacity. a'
+ A Chicago house Of the enterprise Of
| local contingency. When it meets con-
tingency 1t at once sets about to- over
. come the obstacle that may be IN Its
path. That is just what the Chicago
packers did in Texas. &C." ."
| They began circulating literature show
ing what the profit to the farmer was in
raising hogs, when he had a market SO
near to him as Fort Worth. Now, the
point in this, as far as relates to the
territory about Austin, that 1t is one Of
the greatest alfalfa raising districts in
the world, and that alfalfa is crop on
which hogs thrive amazingly and which
is raised with less expense to- the farmer
than almost any crop known.
| And the farmers Of Texas are no whit
slower than their Northern compeers to
recognize where their profit lies; They
of the Chicago packers, but even yet,
when the state has a production of hogs
that runs into the millions, the packers
have never been able to secure the
amount that they require to run their big
plants at profit But these conditions
are modifying for the better each year,
and there Is no reason to doubt that with
in few years Texas will be one Of the
greatest hog packing states Of the union,
as it is now one Of the great hog pro-
| ducing states.
| &C., No Limit of Possibilities.
I have spoken Of the fertility Of this
soil tributary to Austin. A soil that can