Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1927-10-16
nal Lands In
{astenas Tract To
BE Planted to 9th
er Crops
By HARRY l.. SEXTON
Herald Staff Writer


EAYMINDvILLE. Oct. l5.-Fifteen
thousand acres will be planted to one
variety Of cotton by the Lasara Plan
tation Co, a subsidiary Of the Delta
Cities Company, which has the land
cleared and most of il plowed and
prepared for planting.
This will be the largest cotton
Standardization project ever put on
in South Texas. Seed of the Aeala
variety has been ordered by the
carload and no other variety will be
planted on the project.
The $4,000 acres is on the Mesten-
as tract west of Raymondville, and
lies e q the townsites Of Rollo and
Lasara. The entire acreage has been
cleared in the past few months, and
virtually all of il has been leased,
the leases stipulating the variety OF
cotton that shall be planted.
Over 10000 acres have been
cleared on the Mestenas tract on
which tie new towns OF Rolla, La
sara and Hargill are located. Sew
efal thousand acres have been set
to citrus fruit, and several hundred
acres is now being planted Ia
onions. The remained Of the acreage
will be planted to cotton, and the
production from this section is ex-
pected TO exceed the entire produce
tlon of the unirrigated section last
year. In addition 4 the acreage
owned by the Delta Cities Co. the
paintings of this variety Of cotton
will be heavy throughout the entire
tract. and growers express the opin-
ion that this huge volume of ose
variety will bring a profitable prem
ium. Plans are now being made by
the Delta Cities Company to market
the entire crop with one concern
which spins a large amount of this
staple.
Future In Standardization
There will be at least one gin on
the tract handling nothing but this
variety Of cotton, W. A. Harding,
owner Of the Delta Cities Company,
stated. after having devoted four
teen years 10 the production of cot
ton and other crops in the unirrigat-
ed section of the Valley, ] am ron
WINGED that Standardization will
mean big profits for the growers.
With $4,000 acres producing oniy
one variety the volume Of cotton
should command a substantial prem
ium from those spinners who de-
mand that staple and grade. We are
securing pure bred seed, and every
lease made by the company has n
clause requiring the planting Of this
variety. The new towns on the Mes
tenas tract will probably be the
heavies shippers Of that variety Of
cotton in the world"
In addition to the 10000 acres in
the Mestenas tract. most of which
will come under cultivation this
year, thousands of acres have been
cleared or are being cleared east OF
Raymondville along the new extern
sion through Santa Margarita to
Santa Monica four miles north of
Rio Hondo. Part OF the newly cleared
land is being planted to citrus and
onions, but the main acreage will
be devoted TO cotton.
Cotton Acreage Doubled
The cotton acreage in the unirri-
gated section will be more than
doubled next season, according to
estimates of ginners and growers,
and the latter state that the soil
has never been in better condition
at this time Of the year. Many of
them had their lands prepared prior
20 the September rains. and follow
ing the rains they dragged their
fields, maintaining . fine mulch on