Fort Worth Daily Gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 5, Ed. 1, Sunday, October 19, 1890 Page: 4 of 20
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J F STELLE EDITOR
arimeni
Fceiishebs Notice All communication Intended for this department should be addressed to
PEor J P Bttxlb Fort Worth Tei
IVcnn Culture for Texas
At bos already been published ia The
Gazette Texas Is the natural home of
the pecan The origin of a specie Is
reasonably supposed to bare taken
place In c region of country most con-
genial to that species thereforo upon
this Idea one must conclude that the first
pecan tree crew and fruited at some
point in tho Lone Stnr state for In Its
natural condition it attains to so great a
decree of perfection in no olher region
In the minds of the peopla all over the
country Texas and the very beat pecans
appearing upon nny market are insepar
nbly associated Of course pecans crow
to some extent in a few other regions
but on account of their comparative In-
feriority one finds himself jumping to tho
hypothesis thut they aro simply out-
spreads ngalnst less favorable condi-
tions from tho original center In Texas
Toxas then being of ail sections of
the world the most favorable for the
pecan and the pecan nut being an ar-
ticle of commerce ever In demand at
good prices with the demand constantly
growing one cannot do othorwiso than
recognize the great importance of nn ex-
tended pecan culture here especially
since It is entirely evident all things
considered that nothing in the way of
tree production could pay us better or
even near so well Indeed there Is no
tree growth counting outlay and income
that could pay any region so well as the
pecan might bo made to pay ur in Texas
AH the pecans wo might be ablo te pro-
duce would never glut the market for
the wholo civilized world wants tbem
and Texas has a complete monopoly so
far ns relates to quality
The pecan most delights iu low allu-
vial lands along rivers and largo creeks
An occasional overflow trom the streams
does not at all hurt it but on the other
hand makes a more favorable condition
for its growth than would oxist where
there was no overflow Thus It will be
seen that wo have along our streams
thousands upon thousands of acres of
land entirely suitpd to peenn culture that
now are looked upon as not ontirely safe
for nny other crop They are really the
Tory best laods iu the state aud would
now be figuring as our very gardon spots
but for nn existing danger that some
unlookcdfor flood in tho streams might
bring about temporary inundation which
would seriously damage or entirely spoil
tho ordinary crops On this account
they are quite generally left out of use
and turned over to worthless weeds and
not over profitable indigenous tree
growths
Every ncre of these lands ought to bo
pet to pecans True nn old man stnrting
the trees might not livo long enough to
renp nny direct benefit from them but
they would cnbanco the valuo of the
lands from the day when they were es-
tablished and they would come in as a
regular gold mine so to speak for the
young peoplo soon to take our places
aud for the rising generation through
centuries to follow
Tho cost of converting our lands liable
to overflow into pecan groves would be so
small as to scarcely deserve the namo nf
cost There is no need whatever of
clearing thorn up Tho pecan likes nat-
ural conditions better than conditions of
nny other charaoter that we could turn-
over to it It is a natural growth of
Texas Go in among the wild growths of
the bottom and line out your rows and
nt each point where a pecan treo should
stand clear off u spac of eight or ten
feet around and In the center dig a bole
say eighteen Inches deep Scrape Into
this hole surface soil until filled and
then plant three or four nuts throe
Inches deep and tramp on the hill to
pack the covering a little This com-
pletes the job
It Is well to notice the Icon of adjacont
trees If when cut away they would
unavoidably fall upon the young pecan
tree It might bo best to out tbem away
at once No other trees need bo dis-
turbed their shade will be more of ad-
vantage than otherwise
Tuo after culturo of tho new grove
will bo extremely simply Vou will make
a run of the rows oucs or twice in tho
course of the season nnd destroy the
immediately inoroachlng weed When
the young trees springing from the nuts
seem to be established you will cut away
the weaker specimens leaving only one
the best specimeu In tho hill
Nothing additional will be needed A
few years later when tho young pecan
trees aro getting well up you can com-
mence cutting out the crowding growths
for firewood a thing you would be apt
to do anyway even though the pecan
trees were not there This operation can
be continued from year to year until
when the pecan trees nro large enough
to occupy the ground nlone there will
be nothing left in the way No other
clearing is at all necessary not even a
removal of the brush left by the cut
nwaj growths its remaining on the
nrounJ to rot and mingle with the soil
will proTO of decided ndvantago to pecan
grove
The present time when pecans are
just ripe Is an excellent one for securing
11 supply of desirable seed nuts A little
judgment ought to be exercised in the
selection ion should plant only the
best thinshell varieties ns these invari-
ably command the highest figures on the
market nnd you ought toknow some-
thing of the treo that yielded them If
the tree be near trees bearing the inferior
linrdshell varieties the seed nuts will not
lie ontirely safe as the pecan Is much
Inclined to cross on varieties but if tho
tree stands so much as one hundred
yards three hundred would be safer
nway from nny hardshell trees every
nut will be almost sure to come true to
tho thinshells
Werent wish to put up nnything
against our enterprising nurserymeu who
have In stock young pecan trees but for
the geuerul good we cannot well get
nrouurl saying that the pecan for best
results should be invariably grown from
sted planted where the trees are to stand
Nursery stock transplants nicely but the
trees have the top root cut off which is
undoubtedly against them Tho pecan
Is peculiarly a tap root tree and when
the young tap root has been removed It
will be slow to start down another if it
ever starts one Until it gets a tap root
deep Into the soil tt does not amount to
much
It certainly does not call for much
figuring to put the party owning tbeso
creek or river bottom lands into a clear
understanding ns to what he would gain
by planting them out as pecan groves
The person around purchuslng Texas
lauds would surely not be slow to stick
on the assurance that suoh and such
bottom lands had upon tbem well estab-
lished aud flourishing young pecan
u
groves that within a few years would be
in profitable bearing becoming more
profitable in each succeeding rear
through a dozsn generations Wo feel
fully satisfied that could our foregoing
suggestions with reference to the pecan
be generally carried out the next decade
would Ilud Texas lands as a whole
valued at millions of dollars above the
valuation that will be plaoed upon them
if our bottom lands are left to remain as
at present
It may be added that the best time in
the season for planting pecans is imme-
diately after tho nuts have fallen from
the trees Where this is not convenient
wo would recommend placing the nuts in
sacks at once and burying them in the
ground to remain till needed the object
being to prevent drying out Nuts en-
tirely dry will usually germinate and we
would plant in that condition if we oould
not get them fresh from the trees though
in our opinion the yonng trees from dried
uuts do not start off so vigorously as in-
case where the nuts have not been per-
mitted to get dry
A Goat Rooit
Tho goat Is great with the average
Florid Inn for no matter how poor the
soil and how nonnutritious the vegeta-
tion that region of country too poor to
Sustain goats has not yet been found
Tills is why the goat so abounds in
Florida And the Floridians seora to be
bringing science Into association with
their goat crop they make what they
call a goat roost for the accommo-
dation of the sagacious and shifty little
quadruped A correspondent of the
Florida Farmer nnd FruitGrower tells
how it is made A rough shed is erected
and under this is arranged a series of
perches a good deal on the plan of
perches in a poultry roost only all the
perohes instead of boing round poles are
boards eight or ten inches wide They
nre placed about three feet above the
ground and far enough from each other
to permit the easy passage of a goat be-
tween The goats mount these perches
and lio down resting on to them
flowery beds of eaBe as it were No
otherjarrangement could be made that
would seem to give them so muoh whole-
sale satisfaction it is said unreason-
able as it may appear 10 the wellin
lnformod that they will even turn nway
from a mans finelypainted and hlghly
pollsbed front gallery In disgust when
thoy find his yard gntencoidentally open
and at once repair to the goat roost for a
nights lodging
TTonsenslcnl Notion
The Massachusetts Ploughman says
every now and then some amateur
scientist or fruit grower discovers
that certain decoctions made from
tomato or tobacco leaves are very offen-
sive by their smell or otberwiso to such
Insects as the ouroullo the ant mite
eto nnd that an application of the said
decoctions will drive tuo inseots away
possibly kill them No doubt the smell
is disagreeable and so may be the taste
as few inseots show any suoh liking for
tomatoes or tobacco as human being do
but tho decoctions that can be made in
this way will not go far to clear an or-
chard or garden of plant or tree ver-
min Ilad our contemporary have
been a Southern publication leaves of
the China tree would have been added to
the list Of course this would have
necessitated the changing of one of bis
best points that relating to the taste
human beings havo for the plants that
insects cant stomach for man as yet
doei not seem to havo worked up in him-
self any particular hankering after the
China tree in either lenves or fruit
though we are expeotiag every day to
hear that he has done it When it is dis-
covered that thereis a thing nothing will
eat man usually tails to work cultivating
a taste and adopting his system to con-
ditions that will enable him to eat it
himself
But as tho Ploughman intimates
these wonderful discoveries so often pop-
ping to tho surface relative to insect
remedies or preventives existing in our
vegetable growths almost invariably
pan out as nonsensical Science has
carefully worked everything we have In
that line and had any such properties
hare existed In nny of them those proper-
ties would have been found out long ago
Pyrethrum otters the only perfect vege-
table insecticide known to science and
that calls for special preparation into
what we call bubnsoh or Persian insect
powder Other plants might give us
something that would prove annoying to
certain speoies of inseots but a more an-
noyance is not worth muoh to horticult-
ure Insects like people soon get used
to a thing they dont llko at first and so
manage to get along where it is well
enough to stay Tho only thing worth
the trouble of application against Inseots
must be something that will kill the in
seots outright
TTalng Mnnure
If you talk to a Texan about applying
manures to his land be almost invariably
laughs at you holding out the idea that
Texas lands are rioh enough to need
nothing of that klud We are not en-
tirely sure that he fully moans what he
says In evory case but somehow or
other Texas people seem unwilling to
publicly acknowledge that their lands
might be made any better than they now
are This is wrong No lands can be
naturally so good tbat a liberal applica-
tion of stable manure would not improve
them in some way and It affords us
pleasure to state tbat certain discoveries
we have lately made about Fort
Worth establishes it as a
fact that we are not harbor-
ing this opinion all alone There are
several large stockyards abont the su-
burbs of our city and if you make an
outside circuit around them you will
every now and then strike a wellbeaten
wagon road leading out into the country
that is thickly strewn with yard manure
evidently the fallings from overloaded
wagons engaged in a transportation of
the material Wo have never been able
to catoh nny of thom at it though the
evidence they have left Is entirely con-
clusive
This discovery of ours is one of the
most hopeful signs we have seen lately
It shows that our agriculture whatever
Us branch is in Intelligent bands Mov-
ing the manure from our stockyards to
the country is certainly a move In the
right direction It will pay every time
The lands of Texas need manures as
badly as do the poor piney woods lands
of the gulf coast east of tho Mississippi
river Of course they are highly pro-
ductive withott It moreso than are the
pinelonds wlthit but they need It all
the same to make them still more pro-
ductive and to prevent forever any kind
of exhaustion of the soil It Is highly
possible tbat the mineral elements of
plant food in our soil will never fall
short As crops use them the disinte-
grating rocks run In a new supply but
humus which comes from decomposed
vegetable matter soon rnns low and it
is an element of as much Importance to
crops as Is any other The manure of
our stockyards is the very thing needed
for supplying bumus
On Market Gardening
No land Is naturally rich enough to
fully meet tho requirements of the market
gariener if he desires to make a really
good thing out of his business Peter
Henderson in his Gardening for
Profit a book now quite generally
accepted as standard says page 29 re-
ferring to market gardening about the
city of New York Tho quantity
quality and proper application of manure
is of the utmost importance in all gar-
dening operations nnd few outsiders
have any conception of the immense
quantities neoessary to produce the heavy
orops seen in our market gardens Of
stable or barnyard manure from 50 to
100 tons per acre is used being prepared
for at least six months previously by
thorough turning and breaking up to pre-
vent its heating unduly The usual
method is to havo the manure yard
formed in a low part of the garden hut
if there is no natural depression one may-
be made by digging out from eighteen to
twentyfnur inches deep and in-
closing it with a fence about
six feet high The wagons are
driven alongside and the green manure
thrown into the inclosure hogs are
usually kept upon the manure in num-
bers sufficient to break it up they being
fed in part by refuse vegetables and
weeds of tho garden
The manure of horses is most valued
weight for weight it is worth about one
third more than manure from cattle es-
pecially for stiff soils which it greatly
benefits as a pulverizer Tho refuse
from many kinds of manufacturing es-
tablishments are also of great value as a
manure as highest among these per-
haps stands the refuse of breweries
etc
Almost any good soil may be made pro-
fitable to the market gardener under high
manureing and proper management yet
the soil best suited to the purpose ac-
cording to Mr Henderson page 23 is
a rather darkcolored loam soil
neither what could be called sandy nor
yet clayey as deep as can be found but
not less than twelve Inches
When selecting land do not be deceived
by anyouo who tells you that if not
naturally a good land the soil may be
made so by cultivation nnd manureing
These will help on poor land of course
but only as education improves the shal-
low mind nenvy crops can no more be
expected from a thin and poor soil no
matter how much it Is cultivated than
can be expeoted fertile ideas from a shal-
low brain educate it as you will
Mr Henderson says that manureing
even on the best lands is absolutely
neoessary aud it must bo regularly kept
up from year to year Says he page 32
I never yet saw soil of any kind that
had borno a crop of vegetable that would
produce as good a crop the next year
without the use of manure An illustra-
tion ot this came under my observation
last season One of my neighbors u
market gardner of nearly twenty years
experience ncd whose grounds have
always been a perfeot model ot produc-
tiveness bad it in prospect to run a sixty
foot street through bis grounds Think-
ing this street ground sufficiently rich to
carry n crop of cabbage without ma-
nure he concluded not to waste mouev
by any application On each side of the
promised street ho manured heavily as
usual The effect was strongly marked
The land manured brought cabbage
which sold for SHOO per acre while the
cabbage on the street strip not manured
and which measured one acre brought
onlv 5100 So my friend actually lost
S1000 In crop by withholding SCO for
manure
nnnclllng Seed Cotton
The Georgia Southern Cultivator says
cotton should be picked as rapidly as
pos ibln after opening and packed
tightly in a close room or house The
open rail pen admits of too much light and
evaporation whioh evaporation com-
mences on the day tho cotton boll opens
Cotton should rnmain packed securely
for a considerable time the longer tho
better tho oil in the seed distributes itself
through the lint thereby increasing the
samplo weights and turnout of the lint
The gain and profits upon this method is
sufficient it properly munnged to pay
fo the picking There is more profit on
the first cotton or first few bales of each
crop gathered because the picking oc-
curs before there is so much evapora-
tion Cotton picked after October sel-
dom pays any profit It seems that
after frost there is an Increased amount
of evaporation and tho oil which the lint
contains as well as the seed soon dis-
appears
When cotton is ginned immediately
after picking the glnner is placed in nn
embarrasslug condition bad turnout is
the certain result Cotton picked early
has plenty ot oil In both seed and lint to
pack down well in room tho closer nnd
darker the better
A scaffold should be provided at the
cotton bouse for spreading wet cotton
for it should not be packed down wet If
so packed coloring is sure to be the re-
sult Cotton remaining unpicked in the
fields until late should be sprinkled very
lightly with water before packing down
In cotton house before ginning and this
method places the seed cotton in case for
oil in the seed to distribute itself through
the lint making a better sample better
turnout and less breaking of the roll in
ginning than would happen without thu
sprinkling Tramp down heavily in the
cotton bouse and dont be In too big a
hurry to run your crop through the gin
It gains in weight while lying closely
paoked In the tight cotton house
Intensive Farming
Mr Henry C Wollaco writes for the
Prairie Farmer an artiole on Intensive
farming in the prairies much of which
though a Nortnern state Is held In view
tacks on rather well to prairie farming
in Texas Ho says the prairie farmer if
he desires rapid suocess must draw in
his boundaries and bring all bis farm-
lands Into use In other words he must
practice Intensive farming not of
course as It Is practiced in the trucking
regions but all the same intensive He
may not think It best to buy commercial
fertilizers and fiddle around with garden
truck nnd small fruits but he must
make the farm produce as muoh of
everything as he needs himself and as
much more to sell as possible On many
prairie farms there Is a strip ot low land
allowed to run to weeds and rank grass
for the reason tliat it Is not considered
well adapted to general crops This
land might as well ba paying 5 or S10
an a ore It Is the very best bayland we
havo There is always to be fonnd some
species of grass that would do well on It
It should be cleared oat and put to some
l
klud ot grass or some kind of clover Of
the latter either nlsltta or alfalfa would
bo sure to do well on it The low land
crop should be a perennial that will not
require resowine every year Prairie
farms would be largely improved in ap-
pearance at least If these wild low ltfnds
were oleared up and pnt to good use
Mr Wallace is not much mashed on
the regular hay business but thinks these
lowlands ought to produce hay enough
for home use Agricultural papers aro
often telling us to go to grass he says
but the foot remains that grass is the
poorest paying crop that we can raise on
good tillable land except ns it comes In
its place in the needed rotation It very
seldom pays to mow a meadow more
than one year The averago meadow
does not yield more than two tons of hay
at Its best and frequently not more than
one ton The bay is worth not enough
in the stack to pay as much as most other
crops would pay
The prairie farmer of the future must
raise more stuff on a smaller Inclosure
Unused land is so much dead stock on
bands It is a taxable property bring-
ing in no returns We must mnke every
foot of ground on the farm pay its share
every year There is too muoh waste-
land on overy farm It will all be
needed hereafter
More Yanks Xeeiled
Mr F E lloesler of the United States
nrtesion well commission who has been
looking over the water supply of North-
ern Texas reports that in some counties
like Eastland Palo Pinto nnd a numlier
of others salt or mineral water is ob-
tained at thirty or sixty feet aud water
for household use must be stored in cis-
terns In nenrly all of these counties
there nro thousands of locations for
small storage resorvolrs varying from
onehalt to sixty acres Many of tho
rayines nro worthless for agricultural
purposes and could bo put to excellent
use in tbis manner As a rule the soils
are composed of day that is excently
adapted to the construction of
dams and when built of this material
they will hold water like a jug Tanks
made iu these ravines might be used for
purposes of irrigation thus converting
the region iuto n mognlfloent
farming conntry The rainfall Is suffi-
cient to make good farming on
thesandy loams but the clayey soils
shed more water and absorb less in oon
sequence of which the crops suffer more
during a dry spell than they do on sandy
soils The wells where they are situated
on clay lands dry out during drouth
while the wells on sandy soil are lasting
There are very few farms on the clny
londs where a reservoir could not be built
with a few days labor If all the farmers
between the ninetyseventh and 100th
merldans would devote some of their
time to tho construction of permnnent
wntor dams they could soon bring about
for the region a marked change for the
better The water detained In the reser-
voirs during the rain storms would not
reach the hundreds ot creeks that aro
dry half the year and angry torrents the
other half Every rear several million
dollars ore lost through disastrous over-
flows all of which could be avoided
The seepage from these thousands of
tanks or reservoirs wuiild be npt to keep
water in the wells and create thousands
of springs where there are none now
The creeks would in consequence carry
water all theyear If necessiry to Irri-
gate the water would be at hand The
matter is one that ought to be looked
into and encouraged
A Little Problem
A farmer who says it is utterly Impos-
sible for him to lift the mortgnge off his
farm has 150 sheep and he has lifted
them every one one nt a time clear off
the ground and can do it any time
within the riling of the sun and the
going down thereof Theres nothing
strange about this you say Yes there
is The sheep can lift the mortgage if
properly cared for nnd the farmer can
lift the sheep btft cant lift the mort-
gage Well how is this anyhow
Farm and Ranch
It may bo possible that tho ease with
which the gentleman is able to lift his
sheep has something to do with his ina-
bility to lift the mortgage
A Very Small Garden
Those of our young folks in the oity
who have little room for a flower garden
outside or whose flower garden outside
if they havo one will not look well after
the frosts have visited us can If they
desire to do so make something very
pretty for indoors qualified to last all
winter by sowing seeds in a sponge
Get a large flat sponge at the drug storo
It will not cost much for it may be of
cheap quality and fill one side of it full
of line seeds of some kind The seeds
can be worked down a little Into the
openings ot tho sponge Next plaoe the
sponge in a shallow plate or fancy dish
as taste may dictate with the seeded
side up Pour rain water into the dish
so long as any is absorbed by the sponge
or until a little water remains in the bot-
tom of the dish Place near a sunny
window aud the seeds will promptly ger-
minate grow and give you something
entirely pretty The sponge must never
be permitted to dry out thnt is a little
water must always be standing in the
bottom ot the dish
Almost any kind ot fine seeds will an-
swer your purpose though for the cli-
mate of Fort Worth we would prefer
Texas blue grass seeds of which may be
had at almost any Texas seed store We
like blue grass for the teason that it is a
winter growth and hence will not be in-
jured by cold should the temperature ot
the roomhappen to get below the freez-
ing point then it is of a very rich bright
green color Tho little garden may be
placed in any quarter of the room most
desirable after the crop Is well up and
may be s irrounded by any kind of deco-
ration r tbnt taste or the character ot tho
room may dictate It will give nut
through the winter months a decidedly
Cheerful and pretty effect
An Art and a Science
Mr HTteynoIds says agriculture is
not only an art bnt a science as well
The praotico of the art requires experi-
ence and skill while an understanding
of the solence requires a knowledge of
several associate sciences Ot course
this does not mean a technical soientlfio
knowledge but a plain knowledge of the
whys and whtrefores associated with
agrloulture There Is no other art that
does not require experience and skill for
means and no other solence that does
not reqnlre a knowledge of its principles
In order to be understood The art and
science of agriculture are not different
from other arts and solences in requiring
experience skill and knowledge for their
successful practice The farmer who Is
most skilltnl In the praotice of his art
will carry on all the operations of
the farm In the most workman-
like manner and bring forth the
best results attainable by skillful culti-
vation and good management He who
most thoroughly understands the sciencej
THE GAZETTE POUT WORTH TEXAS SUNDAY OCTOBER 19
of agriculture and the allied sciences will
be best able to direot the farm enter-
prise to a successful result In
short tho educated farmer pro-
vided his education has been of
the praotical thorough kind adapted
to bis calling will be best prepared to
oonduct all the operations of the farm In
an understanding and praotical manner
to a successful issue Agriculture
says a recent writer presents many
problems often more difficult than those
of the other sciences by reason ot the
complicity of the conditions demanding
a wide knowledge and grent clearness
of judgment on the part of those
ho would investigate them For
this reason it presents a field of study
eminently worthy of tho attention of
scientiflo men With the science of
agriculture fully developed and with
farmers possessed of a degree of scien
tiflo knowledge sufficient to enable tbem
to apply the results of investigations to
the practical work of their profession the
art of the husbandman will be raised to a
muoh higher position than It ocouples at
present
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS
This department is devoted to answering such
questions as mar be asked by our subscribers
wrilch may be of general information Inquiries
of personal character that require answer by
mail should always hare stamps inclosed Please
give full name aud postoffice address in addi-
tion to any such signature as Subscriber or
A G D not for publication but to enable
ns to communicate promptly with the inquirer
Parties desiring answers by mail mutt inclose
tamp for return postage
Alfalfa in Texn
I notice in your agricultural department of
The Gazette some inquiries from correspond-
ents relative to the raising of alfalfa In Texas
etc and propose upon this to give yon some
directions founded on mr own experience
In thn first place vou must select a rich and
level piece of land clear of stumps or brush or
rocks Break the land deeply and get it cor-
rectly ready for a crop of small grain Next
mix about twenty pounds of alfalfa seed with
from three pecks to a bushel of rye barley or
wheat and sow the mirtcre on the usual plan
for smMl grain the same as if tho alfalfa seed
was not in it The alfalfa seed must bo evenly
mixed all through the train This quantity is
for one acre Sow on tho freshlyplowed land
and crossplow it in and afterwards us a har-
row or brnsi to level the surface Sow in Feb-
ruary or March
The alfalfa will not prevent yon from raisin
a full crop of the gram sown and the grain will
b of advantage to the afalfa protecting it from
effects of sunshine until well rooted Tho sec-
ond year after sowing if the season be season-
able you will be able to cut your alfalfa four
times gettine one ton of hay to the acre at each
cutting four tons per annum
I live in the Rio Grande valley ten miles be-
low El Paso where our crops are mainly alfafla
grapes and other species of fruits Wo find a
resdy market for our alfalfa hay nt from 10 to
12 per ton
Alfalfa certainly makes the finest hay known
for horses cattle and hogs and when once well
pet in the ground it is there to stay for genera-
tions No weed or grass can crowd it out All
you have to do after getting a set is to cut yonr
nay when theilants arc in bloom cure it bale
it and send it to mirket O C AIcQinkis
Y leta El Paso County Tex
There is nothing left us other than to
thnnk our correspondent for the Inter-
esting Information given In a portion
of his letter evidently not intended for
publication he states that there Is plenty
of alfalfa seed kept on sale by Texas
dealers and that could our readers
hear of it they would probably be able
to procure a supply at the rate of about
15 per 100 pounds
Alfalfa Seed
I saw In the weekly Gazette of a few days ago
an article on alfalfa culture also an inquiry as
to where seed could be had Do yon think much
seed could be sold to the Texas farmers If so
la abont what quantity I would IRe the name3
of men who have been growing alfalfa in thi8
state If I could believe that much seed could
be sold enough to pay for the transaction I
would try to Qnd the seed of good quality and
in quantities sufficient to meet the demands at
fair prices Any Information yon can give me
on the subject would be thankfully received
Kalleen Tex E W Hayebty
We have no encouragement to offer
you in the direction suggested That
our people would like to buy alfalfa seed
we take it for granted from the fict that
within the last two weeks we have re-
ceived about fifty letters inquiring where
alfalfa seed could be had In the sumo
time we have received about a dozen let-
ters from parties In Texas offering to sell
tis alfalfa seed Lut since we want no
alfalfa seed ourself and since the parties
do not state that they have any seed to
s ll to others we of course can make
nothing out of their letters The indica-
tions would seem to put it that Texas is
full of alfalfa seed and they also make
out a pretty strong case to tho offect that
there is no profit in selling it at the rul-
ing prices not enough to justify the
dealer In advertising bis stock if tbis
last was otherwise tt Is but reasonable to
suppose that the persons wishing alfalfa
seed would soon learn where to get it
through the advertising columns of this
newspaper
Sen Island Cotton
Do you think Sea island or long staple cotton
could be made to succeed in Northern Texas A
neighbor of xalne who formerly lived in Geor-
gia says he feels sure that it wonld do as well
here ns anywhere else It you think it would
succeed here where conld I send for a peck or
so ot seed I wonld like to give it atest it there
is anv probability of our being abie to make
anything out of it Farmer
Tarrant county Texas
We are satisfied that an nttompt to
make anything out of sea Islund cotton in
Northern Texas would amount to simply
labor ia vain as the crop calls for pe-
culiar conditions wblob have no existence
here Chief among these conditions is a
continuously moist atmosphere which is
uot at all a peculiarity of our region On
account of this requirement sea island
cotton can be grown only ver > near the
sea const aud never at any great alti-
tude ubove sea level The plant would
douDtless make a fine showing here
frultlug to perfection but the bolls
would never open
We think It highly probably Indeed
nlmost a certainty that sea Island cot-
ton might be made a splendid success in
Texas on the low lands adjacent to the
Gulf of Mexico Every condition needed
for the crop exists there
WeevlU in Corn
I have often heard lc said that leaves ot the
chinaberry treo packed through the corn crib
with the corn would keep It entirely clear of
weevils Do you regard It as a remedy to be re-
lied upon If not what can yon recommend
that wonld protect the com from weevils
C O N
Houston Tex
We think cabbage leaves paoked with
the corn would be fully as effectual
against the corn weevil as china tree
leaves and if these are not convenient
we are sure cockleburs or corn blades
would do fuIy as well as either Vou
will have your own opinion as to how
much good cockleburs or corn blades
would do and that opinion of yours mar
be accepted as exactly our opinion with
reference to the china tree leaves The
weevils would never know that the leaves
were there and hence would go on with
their work all the same as it they were
not there The whole thing is simply
unadulterated nonsense
We know of no remedy cgainat the
corn weevil There are Intelligent por
80U8 who maintain that salt scattered
freely through the corn where put up In
the busk acts us a fair preventive to
weevil dopredations We shall cot tnr
either yea or nay to this for we have
sever tried It nor hu70 wa had any good
opportunity of looking after the effects
where others have tried it
The Mexican Pepper
I was lately on a tour of Southwestern Texas
where I saw the hills completely reddened with
a small species of red pepper crowing wild
that tho people there called thellexLanpepper
It looked to eh like what we people of North
Oarolina my satire state called birdeye pep
per On test I found it extremely hot
ro
jou think the same pepper could be made to
grov at Fort Worth X Y Z
Fort Worth Texas
The pepper to which you refer is not
the blrdeyo pepper but a different spe
cios Its botanical name is Capsioum
frutescens The berry ot tho birdeye
pepper is perfectly round and about the
size of a buckshot while that of tho
Mexican pepper though the same size
is oval in shapu It is a firstClass pep-
per for culinary use and is extensively
employed by the Mexican in their various
cookeries
The Mexican pepper whioh
1 throughout Mexico ns well as I
western Texas is a perennial
it lives through the winter a
shrub It would no doubt st
3th
aat is
small
climate of Fort Worth a conclusion to
which ire arrive from having grown it
successfully on a line of latitude consid-
erably above ours Ten years ago while
iu Mexico we hired the boys to gather
for us five pounds of these peppers for
distribution in the gulf states east of the
Mississippi river They were scattered
broadcast among the people and now
almost everybody in that region has a
Mexican pepper in his gardon JNono
had ever been seen there prior to our In-
troduction of the seed from Mexico
The Mexican pepper may be in Fort
Worth already for ought we know
though we have not seen u plant of it as
yet If not hero it ought to be brought
and tested for the person having a
for red peppers will find it ns go
thing in that line ns he wants
soils upon whioh it grows wild in S
western Texas and Mexico nre of
eisely the same general charaoter as
soils here Nothing save climate could
possibly be against it in our region nnd
as already stutod wo have grown it in
regions colder than tbis
Seen llarley Wanted
I was much interested in your article ot last
week on barley culture for Texas In my
opinion it suggests a new industry that will
prove of much value to us The great brewery
now building at Fort Worth would doubtless
take all the barley we could raise for miles and
miles around If W9 can give them as good a
quality of barley a the imported article they
uond I suppose be glad to have it giving us
an advantage over distant growers by addngto
the price paid at least a portion of what they
would be forced to pay out as freights on the
article from lar away
I think every farmer in Northern Texas and
especially in those regions tributary to Fort
Worth ought to promptly risk a small acreage
to barley That it will succeed well doe3 not
seem to admit of a doubt but even supposing it
should not turn out well as a grain crop there
would still be no risk on the part ot the farmer
for barley makes in everyway as good a stock
food as either rye or oats
I for one will at once put in a small barley
crop if I can get the seed and it is highly prob-
able that many others will do likewise on the
same condition Can yon tell ns through the
Gazette where a supply of good seed barley
could be had Tabbaxt Texas
Tarrant County Texas
You get us on the seed barley question
in about the same way that they have
been getting us with reference to alfalfa
seed we dont know who has auy for
sale It is possible that some of our
gram dealers might set you on the right
track and doubtless nny brewer could
do it The people building the new
brewery at Fort Worth would possibly
take an Interest in the matter hence it
might be well to consult them Tou
ought to havo the best seed going of
course and therefore it would doubtless
be best to apply for your iuformatlou to
some one eutirely well posted ou the sub-
ject of varieties qualities and so on
We have strong faith in barley culture
for Northern Texas and therefore
earnestly hope that thorough tests will
be made all over tho region Small
tests have already been made at several
points as you saw in our article referred
to and tbey have shown up as a mag-
nificent success This fact with the ex-
isting certainty of finding a home market
for tho product oughtto be stlmulous
euough to lead many into barley cul-
ture even on a goodly sized scale As
stated in our former article there is
muoh more money to the farmer in grow-
ing barley than there is in growing
wheat
POPULAR SCIENCE
Shooting Stars Stranco Fpots on Jnpltfr Tho
Moons Rotation Air Washed by Bains
Fast Mall Line Etc
Our astromonlcal phenomena for this
week are a conjunction of the moon with
the planet Mars on Monday evening the
20th nnd with the planet Jupiter on
Tuesday evening tho 21st Mars is now
rapidly approaching Jupitoc end the
two planets will pass each other about
the middle of next mo ith
People see what they call shooting
stars Of course they are not stars at
all though not a few persons regard
them as such they aro meteors Pro-
fessor O C Hutchins the noted scient-
ist has lately been making a careful
study of them He says the partloles of
matter composing tbem may be aston-
ishingly minute but they are held to-
gether in a loose body by attraction The
body mav be as large as one of tho aster-
oids and it is calculated to travel
through space at a rate of about twenty
five miles a second When it strikes the
atmospbero It Is destroyed by friction
A meteorite is something different
being a solid body of ironlike matter
It too is bound by friction when it
strikes the atmosphere usually entirely
destroyed before it reaches the earth
though not always Meteorites In rare
cases fall upon the earth
For a dozen years astronomers have
been studying a peculiar largo red snot
appearing on the surface of Jupiter
They have lately been astonlbed by dis-
covering tbnt a large black spot has ap-
peared on thq planets surface and Is
slowly npproaobing the red spot No
satisfactory explanation of tho phenom-
ena has yet been reached
Some months ago Professor Scbiapa
relll announced the nstouisblng conclus-
ion tbat the planet Mercury rotates on
its axis in the same period of time in
which it revolves around the sun and
the eminent Italian astronomer has now
brought forward evidence tending to a
similar conclusion with regard to Venus
If these views prove correct both Mer-
cury and Venus must turn one side con-
stantly to the sun just as our moon al-
ways turns the same side toward the
earth
m m
Speaking of the moon leads us into the
reflection that some ot our youug read-
ers may not know that we never see
other than one side of that bodythough
like our earth It is constantly turning on
Hi axis This fact explains why we
always have presented to view what
wecall the man in the moon The
mada
Treatin
iespectfnlly <
Ija the ren
ParWes Live
Blac heads an
outfr skin that
sensitive lady
mplexion
ther preparations
ties Ta i Mota
fe pots Pimpl i
Call other like detects on ti
ake leas fair and annoy th
xo a specific for all externa
fac al blemts7rXhat injure the complexion
are healthlul to nk skin and their use k J
not harm the moJBdKcate cu icle
Ladies at aTBptiqbe successfully treatc
through corre ron rw References fnrnish <
if desired Inforjfelljp cheerfully given b
mail or in person jwffose four cents in stam 1
for circulars Call afTfcaddress
804 Elm Street Dallas Tex
S
ABOR
0 LIFE Of
SELD REGULATOR CD ATIAH M
tfgffi SOLD Bf ALL DRUSStSrS
moon has its day and night the same as
our earth has but its day is much lunge
than ours in other wordsthe moon turns
on its axis in exactly the samo time re-
quired for making its circuit around the
earth This as will bo readily under-
stood keops it constantly with the sums
sldo towards us
Itains purify the air by washing out or
it large quantities ot foreign matter that
It has taken up from the earth Tbis
explains why rnln water is more stimu
latiug to plants than well or spring
water it is simply a weak liquid fertil
izer Iu five years of observation nt
Lincoln New Zealand Professor George
Gray bas decided that the quantity of
impurities brought down depends more
on the frequency ot showers than the ex-
tent of annual rainfall The aunuui
rainfall in New Zealand is about tho
same as in Northern Tetns aud Profes-
sor Gray says it brings to an nore of ground
each year nbout 179 pounds of dissolved
matter including sixty nnd onehult
pounds of chlorine fifteen pounds ot
sulphuric nnhydrldo and a little more
than two pounds ot nitrogen Tho prob-
ability is that our per cent of chlorlue Is
smaller Bay at Fort Worth on account
of our greater distance from the sea
Dr Ludwig Struves determinatior < f
the motion of the eplar system In spaqe
as published iu the memoirs of tho St
Petersburg academy Is derived from
comparisons of the positions for 25U
stars recorded in catalogues of 1755 and
again in 1855 These show that the
solar system Is moving towards a point in
the constellation Hercules The motion
for 100 years it would have been seen
from an average sixth magnitude stnr
was 13G seconds ot aro a rate corres-
ponding to an actual voloolty of about
thirteen miles a second Combiulng his
results with those obtained by other as-
tronomers Or Struve finds the poiut
toward which the sun and its family ot
planets are speeding to bo still in the
constellation Heroules and the mean
velocity to bo fifteen miles a second
a
A firstclass Frenoh anthority has
made these comparisons of tho cost of
different methods of transmitting the
power of a steam engine 1 Compara-
tive cost on tenhorse power transmitted
1093 yards By cables 1 77 per effective
horsepower per hour by electricity
221 by hydraulics 200 by compressed
nlr 298 2 Comparativecost on fifty
horse power transmitted 1093 yards Ily
cables 135 per otleotivo horse power per
hour by hydraulics 187 by electricity
207 by compressod air 229 3 Com-
parative cost on ten effective horsepower
transmitted C1C5 yards By electricity
2C4 per effeotlve borse power per hour
by compressed air 4C6 by cables iCJ
by hydraulics 529 4 Comparative
cost on fifty effectivo horse power trans-
mitted 5165 yards By electrioity 237
per effective horse power per hour by
cables 265 by compressed air 299
by hydraulics 302 For long dlstanoes
electricity is the most economical
We look upon the South American
countries as behind us in science and
many other respeots but wo are not al-
ways correct In that notion One of the
grandest conceptions of soionce we know
of is now in shape in the way of a mail
line between Buenos Ayres and Monte-
video They call It a telepharge It is
18G miles In length and it carries letters
the entire distanoe in less than halt an
hour The boxes or packages carrying
the letters are driven by eleotrlolty
There are two parallel lines one for each
way They cross the La Plata estuary at
a point where It is nineteen miles wide
From tables made by the use of synop
tio charts eliminating local disturb-
ances Dr G Meyer believe he has ac-
complished what other Investigators have
sought to do without suocess shown an
influence of the moon on the weather
The height of the barometer in tho
months of September to January Is
lowered at the time of full moon and
raised during the first quarter No effect
can be traoed for other months
There ore many theories with roferenco
to the origin ot petroleum but Professor
Edward Orton in he last report of the
United States geological survey finds
the following to be the best supported
propositions
1 Petroleum is derived from organlo
matter
2 It 1b much more largely derived
from vegetable than from animal sub-
stances
3 Petroleum of the Pennsylvania type
is derived from the organio matter of
bituminous shales and is of vegetable
origin
i Petrolenm of the Canada and Lima
typo is derived from limestones and ii ot
animal origin
5 Petroleum has been produoed at
normal rock temperatures in Ohio
fields and Is not a produot ot destruct-
ive distillation of bituminous shales
6 The stock of petroleum la the rocks
Is already practically complete
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Fort Worth Daily Gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 5, Ed. 1, Sunday, October 19, 1890, newspaper, October 19, 1890; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth87824/m1/4/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .