The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-07-26
MY COUNTRY
IT'S OF THEE
Rvs. J. FULLWOOD

By ). J. FOLL"ooD
Texas, the "Lone Star, S'ate
is located in the west Sou'n 's
trail group of states in our coun,
trv, 1t is bounded on the north
bv New Mexico and Oklahoma'
ny o The east by Oklahoma, Arkan.
o oas ' ouisiana and the Gulf OF
NO. Mcyico. and on the west by New
M ex;co and the Republic of
Mexico. The topography of the
state is divided into four sections,
to-wit "(D west of the Pecos
River it is mountainous; GU east
If the Pecos River, from the Rio
Grande northward, is the south.
ern end of the Great Plains Of
the United States; 90 east of
this plateau is a triangular sec
ton, with it's base extending
along the Red River to the Wei
nifty of Gainesville and it's apex
rear Austin, known as the Cen
trail Province Of Texas; (4) the
coastal plain includes all the
country east and south of an IL
regular line drawn from the Red
River near Gainesville through
Austin and San Antonio to Del
Rio and the Rio Grande." In
point of area, Texas is the larg-
est state in our country, compris-
inc Of 265,S96 square miles. o.!
this total, 349S square miles are
water.
The seal for the State Of Texas
is three inches in diameter. 1t is
solid gild in color, having the
usual pronged edge of such seals.
Between the outer rim and inner
rim is inscribed: The State OF
Texas. Just inside the inner rim
is a wreath of olive and live oak
branches. and in the exact cen
ter of the seal is seen large
star. We are given the follow
ing facts about the seal, thus dc
scribed: "There shall be Seal
of the State which shall be kept
by the Secretary of State, and
used by him officially under the
direction Of the governor. The
Seal of the State shall be star
of five points cncircled by olive
and live oak branches, and the
words The State Of Texas"
The State flower Of Texas Is
the Blue Bonnet, which & rows in
great profusion over the state,
and is in bloom in April. Texas,
as has been said, is known as the
Lone Star State. The Pecan is
the State Tree. The Mocking-
bird is the State bird. The state
song is entitled, "Texas our
Texas" The State motto is
"Friendship." Perhaps the best
known song in connection with
this great state, nationally, is en-
titled "The Eyes of Texas Are
Upon YOU; and may be incor-
porated into the State song, al
though we have no way of telling
at this writing. The population
of Texas is: 6,077,O0O; and the
State Capitol is located at Austin.
Texas, also has State flag.
An act of legislature in 1888
provides for not only State flag
but for Salute to be given upon
each presentation of this flag.
The Salute reads "Honor the Tex
as flag Of 1886; | pledge allegi-
ance to thee-Texas, one and in.
divisible." The flag is described
for us: "The width of the flag is
two thirds it's length; the three
stripes are equal in size, each be,
ing twice as long as it is wide and
the length of each stripe being
the same as the width of the flag.
The blue stripe is a perpendicular
bar next to the staff, the white
and red stripes being horizontal
with the white above. The white
star on the blue stripe has five
points and it's center is the cen
trail point of the blue stripe. It's
diameter is three fourths t h C
width of the blue stripe"
We are indebted to the pamph-
let put out by the Texas Library
and Historical Association for the
most of the information found in
this article; and to the Chief of
the Seed Division Laboratory of
the State. The major crop of
Importance grown in Texas is cot
ton. Other ranking crops grown
there include: cottonseed, grain
sorghums, corn. wheat, oats, rice,
sweet potatoes, peanuts, pecans,
onions, peaches, spinach, cabbage,
tomatoes, and watermelons. Quite
a large production Of citrous
fruits are grown in Texas as well,
especially around Edinburg, Texas
is along the Rio Grande
river.
The major mineral Of Texas is
petroleum, or oil. Crude petro-
ieum ranks first, followed by ma
tural gas, natural gasolene, and
sulphur. Cement, quicksilver, coal
and salt are produced, but the