The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1908-10-28


possession of the trackless plains. No
attention was paid to agriculture.
There we're millions of steers but not
pound of beef. Millions Of cows
but no milk. Hundreds of millions of
fertile acres but no vegetables. no
fruits. no grain. 1t was the great |
tin age of Texas.
But now, just as relentlessly as
the Mexican overwhelmed the In
dians. and the cowboy overwhelmed
the Mexican. the farmer is driving
the cowboy from his saddle and Texas
southeast Texas is becoming one
of the garden spots of all the world.
Four things are needed to raise
good crops-soil. warmth, water and
brains. The poor, aborted fields
worked by the Mexicans prove that
the first three are not enough. But
the coming of the northern farmer has
supplied the fourth dimension. The
soil is there. rich deposit swept
down by ancient floods from the back
bone of the continent way up in the
Rocky Mountains. leaving them great
peaks of barren granite. but making
lower Texas very store house OF fer
Utility. The climate, the warmth, the
twelve months summer with roses in
December and the delicate orange
thriving the whole year round, Texas
has without question.
The water has not always been so
easy to find. This is where the
brains come into play. While the
rainfall is heavy in parts of the state
in others it is scarce and here the
northern farmer has delved and dug
and when he has once established his
lrrigating plant. he has attained the
most perfect agricultural conditions
in all the world. At San Antonio
we saw an artesian we'll, from which
ten inch stream of water rushed and
roared with the force of a city fire
pressure All around it were the
broad acres of irrigated land every
inch ultivated-oranegs, lemons, figs.
pecans. sweet potatoes, melons. vege-
tables of every description. every inch
utilized and yielding from two to four
crops every year.
Some of our farmers are afraid of
irrigation but it is the only meth
cd that takes farming out of the realm
of chance and makes crop mathe-
NAUTICAL certainty. Last spring it
was too wet. and while in spite of
it Crawford county farmers secured
a crop, those to the north of us
were not so fortunate and many CraW-
ford county farmer passed anxious
days waiting for the rain to cease.
We have wet years and dry years,
and soine rains come just week too
late and some just a week too early
and there is always the fear of frost.
but the Texas farmer. especially it he
has aided nature by irrigation, can
absolutely depend upon his crops ma
turing and yielding large returns.
Around this artesian we'll were
many beautiful acres, buc beyond them
were many other beautiful acres which
were not irrigated. but which found
sufficient moisture for good crops with
out artificial aid
; The first impression of San Antonio
is a good one: as you disembark az
the handsome Southern Pacific station
! fine, Spanish looking structure
with we'll kept parks where roses
palms. banana and umbrella trees form
pretty picture. You are remind
! ed of the bigness of the U. S. b.
5 looking up and seeing San Francisco
/ 2900 miles.
. San Antonio is beautiful city o
100. 900 people. 1t is one Of the mos
cosmopolitan cities of the world an
g is the healthiest city of its size ii
t the United States. The streets ar
: laid out on the ''cowpath plan whic
n adds to the charm of the older cite