Texas Almanac, 1947-1948 Page: 215
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MISCELLANEOUS CROPS
grown are Burkett and San Saba Improved
for western types and Stuart, Success and
Delmas for eastern. The 1946 crop was un-
usually short, 31 per cent under 1945.
Figures below on the Texas pecan crop are
from the United States Department of Agri-
culture :
Production
Year- (Pounds). Value.
1924 ..................... 6,100,000 $1,040,000
1930 .....................12,500,000 1,438,000
1935 .....................44,000,000 2,201,000
1940 ......................41.000,000 2,911,000
1941 .....................22,100,000 2,114,000
1942 ......................10,300,000 1,754,000
1943 .....................26,000,000 5,206,000
1944 ......................45,000,000 8,232,000
1945 ......................32,250,000 6.772,000
1946 ......................22,500,000 6,947,000
Miscellaneous Crops
About sixty crops are grown commercially
in Texas, and an additional seventy or more
for home consumption, small local sale and
experiment. Eventually they may become
commercially valuable, as most crops begin
for home or local consumption and develop
as market, transportation and other condi-
tions warrant.
The Black walnut (known commercially as
American walnut) is grown to some extent
in the Blacklands, around Houston and in
Central West Texas and the Panhandle.
There is a demand for nuts and also for
wood, sales of which total 500,000.000 to 750,-
000,000 feet annually to the furniture indus-
try. Almonds and chinquapin and hickory
nuts are grown in negligible amounts.
Hemp can be grown in large areas of East
and South Texas, but legality of growing the
crop is doubtful because the drug, marijuana,
consists of the dried leaves and flowers of
hemp. Hemp has been proved valuable as a
basis of plastics. Other crops will be used
for plastics, however, unless a variety of
hemp can be developed without the narcotic.
Ramie has been discussed more recently as
a promising crop to go on land taken out of
cotton. Fifty acres were cultivated in 1946
in Leon County and sold for valuable root
stocks, shipped to Florida and other south-
eastern states where plantings of ramie for
fiber are under way. Ramie has been called
the world's strongest vegetable fiber and a
major competitor with cotton.
Minor Truck and Fruit Crops.
Among miscellaneous vegetables in Texas,
around 80 to 100 cars of broccoli move to
market annually, shipments beginning in
December and tapering off in March. Move-
ment is from the Lower Rio Grande Valley,
Webb and Willacy Counties. In the winter
about fifty cars of' cauliflower move from
Bexar. Cameron, Maverick and Willacy Coun-
ties and from the Lower Valley and Webb
County a few cars of eggplant are shipped
Other shipments include escarole, turnips
and rutabagas and to a lesser extent endive.
greens, parsley, parsnips, radishes, root
parsley and squash. Miscellaneous fruits
grown in scattered localities and hitherto
unmentioned include apricots, prunes, dates,
bananas, avocados and papayas.
Vegetable Oil Crops.
Under the impetus of the chemurgic move-
ment and in face of drastic shortages created
by the war, the need for more vegetable crops
has been apparent and some experiments and
commercial plantings have been made in
Texas. The census of 1945 shows forty-four
farms reporting production of tung nuts on
9.442 trees of all ages. A total of 8.293
pounds of nuts were harvested in 1944. Pro-
duction is centered in Southeast Texas in the
Jasper and Hardin County area. Tung oil is
widely used in the paint and varnish indus-
tries. Experiments have been made on the
castor bean in the Lower Valley and withsesame and perilla in the coastal areas. Far-
ther west there were experiments on saf-
flower on irrigated land, but tests around
Dallas and Chillicothe show the oilseed crop
will yield as high as forty bushels an acre in
the Blackland and Permian Basin.
In East Texas, around San Augustine and
Nacogdoches, small acreages have been
planted to tobacco. The 1945 census showed
only three farms reporting tobacco, acreage
being 5, and pounds harvested in 1944 only
1,514. Tests have shown East Texas soils
will produce a fine grade of cigar tobacco.
PEANUTS.
A consistent expansion has been shown
recently in peanut growing in Texas, which
in 1945 ranked second only to Georgia min
production. Average annual acreage (1934-43)
was 384,000, production 166,053,000 pounds.
Value of the crop in 1946 was $32,981,000.
highest in history, and production 383,500,000
pounds. Of Texas' total crop, 90 per cent is
sold commercially, the remainder kept for
seed and household use. The war stimulated
production because of need of vegetable oils.
Peanuts were picked or threshed on 26,800
farms in 1944.
West Cross Timbers is the major producing
area, with De Leon and Gorman large mar-
keting points. This area produces nearly
half the total Texas crop. The crop is also
produced commercially on the Rio Grande
Plains, Northeast Sandy Lands and isolated
sandy areas of Black and Coastal Prairies.
Wilson and Atascosa Counties are heavy pro-
ducers in South Texas. Yield is 400 to 500
pounds an acre.
Increasing uses have helped develop the
industry. Peanuts originally reached the
public in roasted form only. Invention of
peanut butter In 1880 increased demand, and
since 1920 confectionery products have wid-
ened use. Oil is also used in shortenings and
by processors of glycerin, soap, pharmaceu-
ticals and other products. Peanuts were first
mentioned statistically in Texas in the census
of 1889, acreage that year being 1,560 and
production only 43,560 bushels.
Increasing mechanization is due to help
stabilize production, which in the past has
fluctuated to some extent. On the Rio Grande
Plains and to a lesser extent in West Cross
Timbers mobile threshers have been devel-
oped. A peanut digger-shaker is now In
experimental stage. There has been increased
use of side-delisery rakes in all areas.
Leading counties in 1944 as to acreage
(production in parentheses) were. Comanche
68.623 (40,774,697 lbs.), Eastland 50,000 (26,-
403.614 lbs.), Atascosa 40.688 (17216,263 lbs )
and Wilson 36.115 (13,349,842 lbs.). There
vwas no production in sixty-four counties.
Data below on peanut acreage, production
and value (for nuts) are from the United
States Department of Agriculture-
Harlested Production Farm
Year- Aries (Lbs ). Value
1920 ............ 174,000 125.280.000 S7.517,000
1930 ............124,000 51,460 000 1 801,000
1935 ............190.000 109,.250,000 3 277,000
1940 ............330 000 184.800,000 5 914,000
1941 ............332,000 156 040,000 6.38 ,000
1942 ............896,000 430,080,000 20 214,000
1943 ............905.000 298.980,000 2(9 31 000
1944 ............724 000 325 800,000 24 .:5 000
1945 ............750,0010 322 500 000 24 832,000
1946 ............767,000 383,500.000 32.981,000
BROOMCORN
Texas ranks third among six broomcorn-
producing states. 1945 production being 5,500
tons, valued at $1,265,000. All was sold com-
mercially at an average price that year of
$230 a ton Average annual acreage (1934-43)
was 31,000, production 4,600 tons, yield 300
tons per acre. Oklahoma is the leading pro-
ducer, with 10.500 tons in 1945 Production
is mainly on the Rio Grande Plains and in
the Black Prairie areas where 75 per cent of
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Texas Almanac, 1947-1948, book, 1947; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117136/m1/217/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.