The sun., 1916-08-27
SOME NEW BOOKS.
fexas the Marvellous.

~ VVse~ '
- relatives in the National Guard
~ sll par,s Of the United States
IN Arav osher readers. apart from
~. vho wish to learn about the
S,sst commonwealth. to NsviN o.
Itrrus Terds the Marvellous (The
~. company. Boston) In spite of Its
~, faulta The author 10 impressed
forces on the readers attention
.s.,tant facts about Texas which are
~.ssrsIly overlooked or are unknown
nm people: he had the opportu-
~ N write book OF perina-
~, yslue such a. 10 needed at the
S~..sn, moment. but has preferred to
~ on hasty impressions Of books
IN and things seen In language which
S~,N be greatly improved BY revision.
v~ssnisins the orderly chronological
-Sresmsnt Of history he breaks up
! tory Of TEXAS into rhetorical rag
~. dwelling chiefly on well known
IN picturesque incidents. OF the
sstsA preceding independence. the
- a. spanish rule to which Texan
Sssrisns have devoted much study
SsSntiy. no has comparatively little to
~. though with . little pains the
~ will discover accounts Of the
C,e6uion Of Cabexa Dc vaca and Of
~ catastrophe Of La Sale. He 10
~ critical about the character Of the
k.sncsns who pushed their way into
Seanish Texas and In the dealings
+ describes invariably puts the
0nnArds, - no does the Mexicans IN
~ later period. in the wrong. He
Admits that all kinds Of criminals and
Inperate characters sought the Dor.
Isr and peoples the region Just across
a. Mexican boundary with that class
sow. but bravery and the spirit OF ad.
venture cover all other faults for him.
~ they do for Texans who tell of the
"a days. There u but one side. there
(ors. for him In the contest that left
ne Lone Star state independent. He
en- repeat Remember Golead" and
Remember the Alamo" with the old
eims ardor. and the men who took
yast In that struggle r spotless
heroes to him 10 they are to Texas.
His accounts Of the annexation to the
United States and Of the part Texas
played In the civil war are rather
tief. while the more recent history Of
ne State II barely touched on; the
0uthor prefers TO tell OF individuals
IKE Gen. Sam Houston and Of the
enterprise Of the cities. Not once,
However. does he mention Joseph W.
Bailey.
History. nevertheless. IA but q Sec
sndary matter to Mr.. Winter: his main
SUPPOSE is to make people understand
what Texas IL now. In the first place,
hs tries to convey an Idea of the big
ness OF the country. the idea that the
Inhabitants try above all to impress on
strangers. lie repeats the statements
that Texas would hold all New Eng
land, the middle States. Virginia and
North Carolina. and that II II were
tipped over on the map Brownsville
would cover Winnipeg. More signin-
can't Is the assertion that while It Is
enowing In the northern end of the
State bananas arc growing IN the open
CIR In the extreme south. In the Sec
end place. he assures US that the pop
ulation. aside from Mexicans and ne
Oroes. ID made up Of native Americans
with little admixture Of foreign immi-
grants. In the third place. he insists
0at the Texas Of la wlessness. Of ban.
lts and Indians. Of free shooting and
Drunkenness. Is a thing of the past
That the carrying Of firearms II illegal
and that prohibition Is the rule in most
Of the many counties and Is enforced
Finally he scouts the popular delusion
that Texas IL n nat plain OF u%nproduc.
I've soil, and describes many parts OF
he State to prove tho contrary. He
would strengthen his evidence II III
substituted proper geological maps FOL
he small scale Rand 4 McNally rail.
road map he employs. His demonstra'
ton. too. would be clearer II he hat
not kept to the main railroad lines anc
arranged his geographical description
according to them.
A. the State extends through tel
degrees Of latitude and attains a higl
elevation, especially in the northern
Isft. the climate Of Texas Is natural!
diversified. Mr.. Winter assures III
that It Is good and mild everywher,
and that the dryness In tho ives
makes the heat endurable. The low
lands of the coast rise but little abov,
the level OF the Gulf Of Mexico and ex
tend from fifty to q hundred miles In
land. They are well drained by tn,
rivers that flow through them. A lin,
Of sandy Islands cuts of the shore.
nom the waters OF the Gulf, and II Il
proposed 10 connect the intersectini
hsoons by canals. which will afSor'
smooth water navigation along tn
Whole coast of Texas.
The climate Is subtropical. MAXIM
possible to raise all the fruits an,
0ops that grow in the West Indies
Inc land has been used for the raisinl
o. cattle. as there was . dearth o
vater. Fifteen years ago. however
underground supplies were found b,
sinking artesian wells. so that the lam
on now be irrigated.
Eastern Texas offers much the sam
eenditions that obtain in adjoininI
louisiana. Along the shore rice Is cul
uvated under exceptionally favorabl
sonoitions; a timber belt that yield
pine and oak extends across the Stat
untI the land rises too high, close (
tne border Of oklahoma. Parallel witt
THIS runs the fertile black waxy" bel
"a which cotton 10 grown. Accordin
70 Mr. Winter. Texas raises one-tent
q Oil the cotton in the world. 1t II 4
sestern Texas. too. that the oil we'll
sIe found that brought Port Arthu
hte existence.
When central Texas 10 reached tn
Feund has attained . level Of fror
~ tortwo thousand feet above the &c
tnd W have . farming country OF val
y plateaus. devoted to the crop
ne temperate zone, corn, wheat an