Texas Almanac, 1952-1953 Page: 182
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TEXAS ALMANAC.-1952-1953.
No songster but a very interesting bird is
the chaparral (Geococcyx californianus), also
called the roadrunner and the paisano. Hav-
ing great speed afoot, it is capable only of
short flights. Its habit of speeding along the
road ahead of a traveler earned its name,
roadrunner, also the Mexican. designation.
paisano, meaning a fellow countryman. In
Southwest Texas it is the subject of much
tradition. It was chosen as the official bird
of the Texas Centennial Exposition of 1936.
Predatory Birds.
The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is
numerous enough in the Trans-Pecos moun-
tain areas to be considerably destructive of
lambs and other small domestic animals and
wild game. There is a perpetual open season
on it. The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucoceph-
alus) is found in smaller number. It is pro-
tected by perpetual closed season because
it is the symbol of national sovereignty. It
is much less a predator than the goldeneagle. The eagle is found along the Canadian
and Palo Duro gorges in the Panhandle and
on the Texas Coastal Plain. The great horned
owl and other members of the owl family,
and a variety of hawks are found in Texas.
Unprotected birds include English sparrow,
raven, buzzard, goshawk, Cooper hawk, sharp-
shinned hawk or blue darter, duck hawk,
butcher bird, jay, sapsucker and woodpecker.
Starlings and grackles have invaded Texas in
great numbers in recent years.
Extinct and Near-Extinct.
In addition to the whooping crane, Att-
water prairie chicken and several other birds
mentioned in preceding paragraphs as extinct
or near extinct, the following have vanished
or are few in number: upland plover, or
snipe, black-bellied tree duck, ivory-billed
woodpecker, and Carolina parakeet, a bird
of great beauty which formerly ranged into
Texas and other Southern States from the
tropics.Texas Agricultural Industries
The general agricultural industries of
Texas, including approximately a hundred
crop-growing and livestock-raising subindus-
tries, cover approximately 140,000,000 acres,
or about 83 per cent, of the land area of the
state. Of the state's total farm population of
7,711,194, approximately 1,307,000 live on these
farms and ranches, according to preliminary
figure of the census of 1950, or a little more
than 18 per cent of the total population. This
includes only actual farm population and not
total "rural" population. [See footnote (t)
on p. 62.]
Total value of the land and buildings of
these farms and ranches was $3,774,997,897,
according to the census of 1945, but it had
increased to an estimated $4,800,000,000 by
1951. Total cash value of all products sold
from these farms and ranches in 1950 was
"$2,147,062,000. Texas was the third-ranking
state in yearly value of products, being ex-
ceeded by Iowa in first place and California
in second.
Because the annual value of Texas min-
erals has exceeded that of agricultural prod-
ucts in recent years, it is sometimes said that
Texas agriculture ranks second to its mineral
industries in the economy of the state. How-
ever, agriculture is the leading general indus-
try by a considerable margin on basis of
total population supported directly, and in
proportion of annual income that goes
from the primary markets directly to resi-
dents bf Texas, as against the proportion
that goes to residents of other states. In
addition to the population living on the
farms, the off-farm labor employed by farms
runs as high as 475,000 persons at the peak
of harvest seasons.
Decrease in Number of Farms.
There were 331,494 farms (and ranches) in
Texas, according to preliminary announce-
ment of the census of 1950. In the preceding
census of 1945 there had been 384,977 farms,
and in the next preceding census of 1940
there had been 418,002 farms. With the de-
cline in farms from 418,002 to 384,977 between
1940 and 1945, there had been an increase of
average farm acreage from 329.4 to 367.1. The
continued decline in the number of farms
between 1945 and 1950 carried the average
farm acreage upward again.
This steady decline in number of farms,
accompanied by an increase in average acre-
age, is only one aspect of the great shift that
has taken place in recent years in the char-
acter of Texas agriculture. It has been
accompanied by a steady decline in farm
population, while the total population of the
state has been increasing at a rapid rate.
*Includes forest products and some other semi-
agricultural products not included in figures given
on pp 184 and 187.This has meant a greatly accelerated decline
in percentage of Texans living on farms.
Farm Population,
As far back as 1920 the farm population of
Texas was 2,265,734, or considerably more
than half of the total population of 4.663,228.
On that date, the total rural population, in-
cluding both farm and nonfarm (small town)
rural population was 3,150,539, or 67.6 per
cent of the state's whole population.
Rural farm population rose slightly to
2,342,553, according to the census of 1930, but
declined in percentage of the total population
of 5,824,715. The decline in farm population
began after 1930, and in 1940 it had fallen to
2,149,187, or only about one third of the total
population of 6,414,824. This decline continued.
with farm population accounting for only
1,307,000, or 18 per cent of the state's popu-
lation according to the preliminary report
of the census of 1950, as stated above.
Sounder Agricultural Industry.
However, these figures on declining num-
ber of farms and farm population do not
indicate a declining farm industry. A much
greater diversity of crop and livestock prod-
ucts are produced today than ever before and
the annual income from these products is
higher than in preceding years. Average farm
income as measured in real values (discount-
ing for fluctuation in the purchasing capacity
of the dollar) is far above previous years.
Farm tenancy decreased steadily during
the period reviewed above, especially share-
cropper tenancy, while owner-operation of
farms increased rapidly. Farm mechanization
has also increased rapidly. In 1920, there
were only 9,048 tractors on Texas farms. This
increased to 37,348 in 1930, to 98,923 in 1940.
An estimate for 1951 places the number of
tractors on Texas farms at more than 250,000.
It is estimated that for the crops of 1951.
farms having more than 90 per cent of the
farm acreage of Texas were powered by
tractors.
Along with mechanization and increased
average acreage per farm have come other
developments. About 90 per cent of Texas
farms are now served by electric light and
power lines. Under the program of farm-to-
market roads by the Texas Highway Depart-
ment. farms that are not on main highways
are being connected with them by paved
roads. The extension of telephone lines and
gas-pipe lines has also improved the standard
of living on Texas farms. Where homes are
not served by pipe lines, the installation of
butane and propane gas tanks gives the
farmer the conveniences of a gas fuel. An-
other development adding to the farm stand-
ard of living has been the rapid increase in
(Continued on page 184,)
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Texas Almanac, 1952-1953, book, 1951; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117137/m1/184/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.