The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-04-28

area and tho four that arc rented forty
each. Thoy cultivate loss than ten
acres each. and practice tho most in-
tsnsiVe methods OF culture; no space
Is wasted. and every inch OF ground
that they have In cultivation Is made
TO produce something. This Is char
acteristic for which the Americans
praise tho japanese. The vegetables
they sell arc always cleaner, fresher
and moro attractive In appearance
tho ordinary farmer. They raise all
Kinds OF vegetables. furnishing lettuce.
Cabbage. radishes. potatoes. corn and
other staples to the inhabitants of
Houston. The Japanese. however,
usually want to be rice farmers. and
the trucking industry Ia but one OF tho
stepplng-stones to rice farm.
The two orange farms owned by tho
Japanese In Texas are located in
League City, and comprise thirty-six
and forty acres respectively. About
half the land In each case has been
planted to oranges. but Rs these or
chards have been planted only four
years tho results cannot be predicted.
Judging from the success that the
Americans have had with their Or
chards II seems reasonable to believe
that the Japanese attempts will be
profitable also.
Nursery Products.
Like the orange orchards, the COM
mercial nurseries are recent innova-
tons in the localities In which they
arc established. One of the nurseries
is located at Mission Hidaglo county.
Mission is In the central part of the
county, in the miust of newly opened
land, made serviceablc by building
irrigation canals and pumping water
into them from the Rio Grandc. thus
supplying water to large tracts of
land that have hitherto been usclcss
for agriculture. The proprietor came 10
the locality April 20. 1909, and took
options on LOO acres at Sl2 per acre:
he also secured rights on twenty acres
or land nearer town for 500 per acre.
None OF this land was available for
agriculture until water had been Sc
cured, SO he rented 400 acres OF land
at IS per acre per year, including the
price OF water The proprietor OF this
tract proposes to organize a stock
company with capital OF 100000. to
be laid out in buying and improving
more land and building Irrigation
bitches. If the plans work out sue
cessfully one OF tho most extensive
nursery projects in the South will be
established.
In Alvin is located the main nursery
area OF the Alvin japanese Nursery, n
company composed OF two japanese.
teen acres ear the city limits OF
Houston. At Alvin they grow all their
stock, making q specially of orange
and fig trees. In Houston they have
an office and display ground The
orange and fig trees are sold both to
the wholesale and the retail trade
The nursery was started only four
years ago. yet they now have seventy
FIVE acres in fruit trees. BY having
an office in Houston 1t saves their
customers from an extra trip to Alvin
to Inspect the stock and their orange
groves.
The orange grown most extensively
is the Satsuma, introduced into this
country from Japan several years ago.
The fruit is we'll received in the mar
kct. That raised in Texas is said to
be superior in size. OF much better
quality, and of earlier maturity than
that raised In California.
1t is hard to say what Will be the
outcome of the nursery industry that
has been started by the Japanese s
the orchards are just in their infancy,
hut those who have knowledge OF such
crops and have taken care to inspect
the work done by the Japanese say
that they have made successful
start. The nurserymen sell their
products throughout the State ship
ping the young fruit stock wherever
II is ordered. and in the course of
time well-established business seems
assured.
Houston is the centre Of the Jap
anese in Texas and there is located a
representative of the Japanese Indus
trial Company, who has his headquar-
tiers in san Francisco. This man helps
the Japanese when they come TO Hous-
ION either to sell or buy goods. No
cooperative marketing has developed
among these people, yet having a sort
of n sales agent, as II were. permits
the Japanese TO secure better prices
than they would If left to their own
resources.