Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1925-10-06

sOf Mission, A. l.. Brooks OF
Harlingen and F. w. Shaw of
Mercedes.
Mr. Wood expressed the opinion, in
reply to a question by Mr.. Tallichet,
that conveniences and public necessity
justified the building of another rail,
road system into the Valley.
He offered statement of the growth
of bank resources and deposits in the
Lower Rio Grande Vallev, which have
mounted, according to the table filed
as an exhibit from $162,398 and $780,
227, respectively, in 1901, to approx
mately $16,OOO,000 and $13,00O,0OO in
1925. 4.
Million Trees in Valley
Mr.. Andrews asked the witness whe-
ther the people of Mission where Mr..
Wood lives, understood that the Sou
thern Pacific was not going there and
whether they understood the road was
going there. He answered mo" to both
questions.
Mr.. Halstead, the next witness, in
showing the growth of the citrus fruit
industry, gave the total of trees in the
Valley in 1918 as 100000. Paintings
since include 100000 in 1918-19, 100000
trees in 1919-2O, 100000 in 1920-2l,
200, 900 in 1922, 244,825 in 1929,
44O,55f~fn 1923-24, and ILL., $40 in 1924
25, to September 1, 1925.
He said the figures include yard trees
but not nursery stock and that he esti-
mated the acreage occupied as $4,000
acres.
The witness was examined by Judge
Will H. Dawson Of Mission.
He said that the paintings run about
70 trees to the acre, some more, some
less, and expressed the belief that the
oldest orchards. some Of which are Is
years old, have not yet reached their
maximum production.
He said he knew of trees SIS years
old, which he explained were orange
trees at Laguna Seca, 80 miles north Of
Mission. He said these trees were in
perfect health the last time he saw
them.
w. F. Shaw of Meycedes, engineer for
the American Rio Grande Land and r.
! rigation Company, supplied a map
showing the outlines Of the irrigated
districts Of the Valley. He said that
5O9,300 acres are included in the vari-
Gus districts, of which 462.5O0 can be
cultivated Acreage reached by canals
is 429,45O acres, and 321 200 acres were
under cultivation in 1925 as compared
to 169,600 acres in 1918.
! Mr.. Shaw gave the value of irriga-
tion works in Hidalgo county as SS,-
O65,000 and in Cameron county as $4,-
729,000, or a total of $12,7940OO.
A. L. Brooks of Harlingen said that
he came to the Valley IA years ago,
that he had seen shipments Increase
from 1000 cars year to. 900 cars a
| year" He said that he had handled a
total of $4,000 carloads through his
own firm.
He said that the present railroad SER
! vice was good.
Il have seen it go from as bad as it
could be to as good as one line could
be-" the witness said.
III. 5. Bedell, Falfurrias, county sur
veyor of Brooks county, asserted that
100000 acres in Brooks and an adjacent
area in Jim Wells county could and
likely would be changed from cattle
| country into an agricultural area with
| out injuring the cattle industry, If ade-
quate transportation is provided. Both
counties, it appeared from his testi
mony, now have comparatively small
| railroad mileage.
8. p. To Finish Today
John w. Kirkpatrick, county agricuI
tural agent Of Hidalgo county, esti
mated that of the 100000 acres in
Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr counties
fContinued on Page Two)