History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. Page: 195
[7], iv-vii, [2], 10-826, [2] p., [56] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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_~~~~~~ITR OF TEXAS _ C Ir__
it be on account of low prices and the growing
tendency to supplant sorghum cane syrup
with syrup made from sugar cane. It is
partly accounted for from the fact that heretofore
more of the acreage in sorghum cane
should have been credited to the hay crop,
having been planted for that purpose alone.
Sorghum cane syrup is not so generally used
as formerly, and in time it will doubtless be
practically eliminated as a syrup crop.
SUGAR CANE.
One of the most promising fields for development
is the vast area of alluvial soil in
the middle, eastern and southern part of the
State adapted to the growth of sugar cane.
This territory is variously estimated at from
500,000 to 1,000,000 acres. From information
collected in this office the conclusion has
been reached that there is not less than I,000,000
acres in south Texas alone where
sugar cane can be successfully grown every
year, and on the river bottoms and along
many of the smaller streams. as high as the
33d parallel, it is successfully grown for the
manufacture of syrup.
The total value of the sugar and syrup
crops amount to $1,260,650, and the value
per acre $88.62. As stated in previous reports,
only a small portion of the area in
sugar cane is devoted to sugar-making, owing
to a want of facilities for manufacturing
sugar. The larger part of the crop is converted
into syrup, which is less profitable
than sugar, and consequently the value of
the crop per acre is thereby considerably
reduced.
The following observations in the report
of 1887 are still true:
'Estimating the area in which sugar cane
con be profitably grown at a half millionacres, and valuing thle product at $100 per
acre, a fair idea of the possibilities of development
in this industry may be gained.
It would yield a crop annually worth $50,000,000-a
sum greater by $1,500,000( than
the present value of the cotton crop of tIle
State. It i,, as staple an article, and lt-ks
liable to fluctuation ill price'-. The supply
in the U[nited States is far below the demanlld.
and there is, therefore, an unlimited market
for the product.
"Thle only difficulty in the way of the
rapid development of the industry is the cost
of machinery necessary, which practically
limits the advantages presented to men of
large means, the cost of a plant ranging froln
$61(),000 to $100,000. Co-operation has beeii
suggested by so, .e as a remedy for this, while
others have thought that thle purchla.e by the
large mill owners of the cane grown by small
planters would solve tlhe prol)leml."
Messrs. Cunningham & Miller. of Sugarlandl,
Fort Bend county, have recently refined
a quantity of granulated sugar, as good as
any in the market, but their efforts have been
cramped by opposing trusts.
FLAX.
Flax has been raised in Texas as fine as
any in Ireland. It will produce here about
two tons to the acre, worth about $45, while
it costs less to market it than cotton.
BEE CULTURE.
The production of honey has received but
little attention in the State, although it pays
more to the capital invested than any other
business. Unlike the interest on money,
which silently piles up the indebtedness of
individuals, bees, with but little attention,
day after day, store away hundreds of poundsVr
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
195.
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History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. (Book)
Book containing a brief overview of the state of Texas and more specific focus on six specific counties, with extensive biographical sketches about persons related to the history of those places. An alphabetical index of persons who are included follows the table of contents at the front of the book.
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Lewis Publishing Company. History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties., book, 1893; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29785/m1/200/?rotate=180: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.