Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1910-08-10
OUR TEXAS LETTER.
Uncle IvWrites Another In
ter esting Letter From the
Lone Star State. Crop
Conditions.

well, anOJler week has passeei
by and / am still well, and / do be.
lieve that I am fattening. Ny son is
daily gaining strength and l be.
lieve now that heswill get up from
this spell.
Since writing a week ago, have
taken trip about. twenty-five miles
west of here butiT the same coun-
ty. In my other letter to you | told
of the land here. When | started
from here. I had my eyes open and
kept them open. ] had not gone far
before I noticed decided change
in the land, The first looked very
much like the lands in Rehoboth
section, Post oak growth and the
water tasted like the. water from
the spring at Rehoboth, but this
land did not extend more than three
or four miles, and is cultivated al
most entirely by negroes, After
passing over that section the coun-
try gradually begins to get higher
and as l looked ahead | could see
what appeared to be, a hill country
and after travelling about ten or
eleven miles reached place called
Horn Hill. Here ] cohld sit in the
buggy and see for miles north,
south and west, vast tableland.
This section is called the black
land and black tits, but not as level
as it looks from that hill, But there.
were really no hills but some land
a little rolling and sir they just run
their rows up those inclines to
keep it they say from washing
away: but the soilisseyeral feet deep,
for in some places where the road
bed had worn orStwashed out for
five and six feet the soil showed
from top to bottom. YOU just can't
buy afarm m that section for less
tfhan sixty ols se2ssst FIVE dollarsl
al acre. Those who live there say
{ that in a. short willie it cannot be
bought for one hunded dollars an
acre. The farmers use no CONNER
cial fertilizers at all there and make
from thirty to fifty and even sixty
bushels of corn to the acre. And,
strange to say, a bale to two acres
is considered fair crop. In travel
ing oyer the roads l notice some
good work on the roads.
/ haven't seen in Edgefield coun-
ty in ten years as many colts as I
saw on my trip of twenty three
miles. They were good colts, both
mule and horse colts. lis rare
thing for one who owns a mare not
to raise colts and as / write | can
think of quite q number in Edge
field county who own a good marc
but raise no colts. The mules and
horses are large and in good
condition. TIE mich COWS as rule
are good ones, very few scrubs of
any kind.
Have seen but one hog and that
looked like razor back. She had on
a block like q dog; chain around
her neck and a big BLOCK attached
to the other end.
Any hay? yes, sir, and most Of
it sorghum, sown as thick as oats or
wheat. Some millet; why, sir, the
farmers here say tbs cheaper to raise
ahy than to pull fodder.
Let me tell you Of one farm 1
saw which contained l suppose one
hundred acres. First, about ten
acres were in corn; next, about the,
same in peas (now ripe); about forty
or fifty in cotton; the balance, |
suppose twenty five or thirty acres,
in peas after oats. I never saw such
q pea field as those planted and
cultivated after oats. About hip
high and almost black, being so
green. Hay presses every where,
and my, my, such piles of hay! 1t
made me think of DR.. Prescott's
oats, the piles were so thick in the
fields.
\ But at this time lis very dry and
the boil worm is beginning to put
in its appearance, but the farmers
say if it stays dry they cannot do
much harm. There are some boil
weevils but tbs too hot and dry for
them to do much damage.Any water
yes, Sir, have seen them hauling
water for the stock to drink but
that is not common yet. However,
if this drought holds it will have to
he done by stockowners in . good
many sections. In the black lands
they catch the rain water in winter
for drinking water and whenever in
rains in SIMMER It's run into cisterns
by tin trolghs. 1t drinks very well
but not like our Edgefeld spring
and we'll water
Take i all the way through,
I believe anyone who has home in
the old stltes if they will take care
of it and fertilize as they ought and
rotate the + crops, can do about as