The Texas Almanac for 1872, and Emigrant's Guide to Texas. Page: 77
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FARMING IN TEXAS. 77
splendid figure. She was educated partly in New Orleans and partly in
France, but mainly under the tuition of her father, and not less accom-
plished mother. She is noted for her horsemanship, understands the dairy,
and is, perhaps, better qualified to govern a sheep rancho than any man in
Texas. She is often seen mounted upon her spirited steed, " a Tartar of
the Ukarine breed," driving in the herd of horses or cattle. I doubt not
she would adorn the most elegant salons of the world, as she does her own
beautiful prairie home.
FARMING IN TEXAS.
As a general rule, far less labor and attention is given to farming in Texas
than in any other State of the Union, and hence the usual products of our
aids per acre are far less than they would be under ordinary good cultiva-
tion. The Germans and other European immigrants are exceptions to this
general rule. Under careful and judicious cultivation, the results of farming
show faru more favorably fobr our State than tih general average. The follow-
ing are a f'ew among many similar examples that might be given of succesN-
ful farming in every county of the State when the same industry, close atten-
tion and goo) judgment are given to the cultivation of the soil which have
to be employed on the less productive lands of other States in order to make
a comfortable support. It should not be forgotten that no fertilizers are ever
used or thought of in Texas.
Messrs. Carroll & Dougherty give us the following instance in Denton
county, to which, we presume, should be added the usual value of the increase
of stock of all kinds, such as good farmers generally have, namely, about
$500.
Mr. Brumly, in Ja nuary, 1850, purchased a tract of 210 acres, with 45 acres
in cultivat on, for $1500. The farm during the year was cultivated by hinm-
self and his two sons (boys) and hired labor to the value of $140. On the first
day of January following, after reserving one year's supplies, the value of
products were as :ollows :
Cotton ....... ................... ........................$1;00 00
Corn, 4010 boahels........................................... 2 0 00
Oats, 300 bushels............ ............ ............. ... 120 00
Potatoes, 100 bnshels ................................................... 50 00
Sorghum , 50 gallons..................................................... 3 50
Peas, 10 bushels........... ............. .. 10 00 017 50
Deduct price of farm and hired labor .......................1.. 00
Excess of crop above value of farm ................................. $ 377 50
This is only one instance among many we could give in this county.
A citizen of Tarrant county gives us an instance of 80 acres in corn and 40
in wheat, cultivated by a freedman, assisted by five common hands. They
made 5000 bushels of corn, but the gi asshoppers destroyed most of the wheat,
but for which they would have harvested about 500 bushels of wheat. The
corn was worth about $4000, and the wheat, if saved, $1000. This shows
what free !nen may do in Texas if they will work.
Mr. Sawyer, from Illinois, bought 100 acres in Bell county, on the Lampa-
sas, four miles south of Belton, and paid $700 for the land, on the 10th of
June, 1867, and with his own labor alone he fenced and cultivated 30 acres
that year, after building a cabin to live in. He raised and harvested 1500
bushels of corn, with 100 bushels of potatoes and vegetables, etc., for his fam-
ily. The labor of cultivation, including the breaking up of the ground and
harvesting, took but three months of the year. His crop, at the time of gatht-
ering, was worth, at the home market price, $850.
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The Texas Almanac for 1872, and Emigrant's Guide to Texas., book, 1872~; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123777/m1/93/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.