Texas: the rise, progress, and prospects of the Republic of Texas, Vol.1 Page: 146 of 432
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92
TEXAS.
[BOOK I.
the United States. The light frosts of Texas do not
injure the cane,/'but rather assist the fermentation of
sugar from the sap, whereas the hopes of the planter
are frequently blasted by the late and early frosts of
Louisiana. The cane of Texan growth has, also,
an ampler and taller stalk than that of Louisiana,
sweetens higher up, and supplies the saccharine
matter in larger proportions and in greater purity.
It has been found to sweeten seven feet above the
ground. I have seen an estimate of the produce of
sugar in a small plantation, which, notwithstanding
the waste arising from very imperfect machinery,
gave about 3,500 lbs. to the acre. The cultivation of
the sugar-cane demands a larger capital than cotton-planting,
and the work is more severe on the
labourers, requiring, when commenced, to be continued
night and day. The coolness of the nights
in Texas would materially lessen its prejudicial
effects, and consequently diminish the expense of
production. The cultivation of the cane is yet in its
infancy, the attention of the agriculturists being
chiefly devoted to the raising of cotton and Indian
corn. It is stated, in Flint's History and Geography
of the Valley of the Mississippi, that the superiority
in profit of sugar over cotton, as an article of production
in Louisiana, has been proved by accurate
tables, giving the number of hands, the amount of
expenditure, and the average return from eacli for
a consecutive number of years. The Riband and
the Creole cane are considered of nearly equal productiveness;
but the former requires to be planted
every three years, ferments less readily, and has a
harder rind than the latter, which continues to
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Kennedy, William. Texas: the rise, progress, and prospects of the Republic of Texas, Vol.1, book, January 1, 1841; London. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2389/m1/146/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.