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T ' tiE FLOWERS COLLECTION
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^NUMBER THIRTY-FOUR.
Atlanta, Ga., Week Ending November 3, 1906,
50c FER YEAR
ilKGLE CCPY 5c.
TEXAS^The Worlds Greatest
Live
Stock Pasture
Written for The SUNNY SOUTH.
By HILTON CASTLE.
t ! I
rL {
A Long Horn—Picturesque but Nearly Extinct.
or tlie ' attle produced m the state finds
a market elsewhere. The representa
tives of the big packing houses fix the
price absolutely for the shipper. With
tire establishment of more independent
plants change in conditions may be
expected.”
to**
T-EILE In point of quality
Texas in the live stock
world easily holds her own
with other live stock states
of the union, in point of
quantity she undisputably
stands at. the head. Ac
cording to the federal cen
sus of 1900, almost twice
as many cattle alone are
rii-ed in the big state an
nually, as in any other
state in the union.
The area of Texas com
prises 170.099.200 a^res, the greater part
of which, 120,000,000 acres, : s given to
cattle raising and stock farming. The
last federal report shows the number of
cattle, horses, mules, sheep, goats, anti
nogs in the United Statea to aggregate
220.000. 000, having a. valuation of $3,-
200.000. 000. Cattie, hog,; and sheep are
respectively numbered at 67 800,000- 62.-
876.000, and 61,605,000. Of these num
bers, Texas claims In cattle, beef anti
dairy. 9,088.180, with a valuation of
5163.228.000. Ranking next to her is
Iowa, with -1,803.339 head, valued at
577.395.000: Kansas and Nebraska com
ing third and fourth with, respectively,
3,353.575 and 3.048,812 head, valued at
$ I 17.640.000 and £82.469,000. The esti
mated figures of ,..■• world's cattle, sheep
and hogs is 310,000,000 head of cattle,
600.000. 000 head of sheep and ! 00.000.-
000 head of hogs.
In the matter of mules and horses com
bined. Texas again heads the list, tbs
twelfth census accrediting her with I ,-
269,482 horses and 507.281 mules, hav
ing a combined value of $59,618,702. She
stands first on the list in number of
mules, and third in number of horses.
In yet another branch of the live stock
industry Texas tops ’lie list, having to
her credit in I9C0, 627.333 Angora goals
valued at $923,777, New Mexico coming
second,, followed by Oregon an-, Oaf
• ornia. In tne ns»tter of mohair pro
duction, she also exceeds other states,
showing in the same year 961.328 pounds
of fleece, rated at $267,864.
In sheep and hog production the state
is making enviable headway, especially
in the latter industry, which has received
great Impetus through tho growth of the
packing house business.
Texas’ reputation as a live stock coun
try is of long duration. The first cattle
that she possessed were of tho long-liorn
type, and came from Spain. They were
not ox superior order, and are now al
most extinct. These cattle interbred with
the buffalo, of which great numbers were
to be found In the Panhandle corner of
the state, ns well as In the western and
southwestern parte. Even today speci
mens of the cross between the old long
horn and the buffalo are recognized.
The only herd of buffalo outside of the
herd at Yellowstone Park, in America,
belongs to Mr. Charles Goodnight., whose
big ranch of many thousands of acres
is in the northwestern part of the state.
•Specimens of animals have been exhib
ited at many expositions. There are
about 200 in the herd now. Some of
them have been sold to menageries, zoo
logical gardens, and parks.
It is believed that tho colonists from
Louisiana, Arkansas, and other states
brought a- goodly number of cattle with
them into file eastern part of the state,
while the western part received acces
sions from Mexico.
New Orleans was the first beef mar
ket of the state, .As early as 1832 Texas
began to show signs of an active cattle
industry, numbering among her populn
tlon then as now many energetic cattle
men. There are yet living trail drivers
of the picturesque earlier days who un
der the most difficult circumstances drove
herds of cattle into western and other
southern states. The "Jay-hawkers” war
was a hindrance to them at the time it
was in progress.
Getting- the cattle across tiie waterway
was a stupendous task, and many thou
sands were sometimes lost in crossing
the great father of streams. Some of
the trails in those days were three miles
broad. In 1849 cattle were driven as
i':u" as the Pacific coast. Fences were un
known. About in the seventies, barbed
wire fencing came into vogue, causing
great ill-feeling between the setllevs and
ranchmen. Previous to the inauguration
of the wire fence, some few ranches
oil?d boast enclosure. On one of the
largo ranches *there was, as they say.
"a -siring of fence” over 150 miles in
length, which ran a dross three coun
ties.
The year 1883 was a banner year for
tiie cattlemen. Luring that year two
million head went to Chicago, besides
numbers to other markets. Tho exces
sive demand for cattle resulted in quan
tity instead of quality being uppermost
with the ranchmen, and this, together
with overproduction, caused a decline
in the business. About 250,000 head
of Texas cattle, valued at $7,000,000
were pastured in the Indian Territory in
!895, when President Clevelands order
was issued for cattle to be removed from
these ranges, which order resulted in a
tremendous loss to the cattlemen. Some
i ivi ni) odd year..- ago saw the beginning
■if greatly improved stock. The first
-train introduced wag the Durham. Iti
the early eighties a shipment of Hoi-
-vein cattle reached Galveston from Scot
land. and a little later Devons and Hero-
fords wore introduced.
Texas today stands well a? a breeder
of high-class cattle, her stockmen with
in the last two decades having expended
large sums for the upbuilding of theii
herds. Climatic conditions are favorable,
and the state grows a largo variety of
null'll'on* grasses. It is o'aimed that
Texa 1 can raise more hay per acre than
p •- «5jfber stat- •he ntiiqp is be
coming an alfalfa state, and alreaoy ?h-
excels in corn production. The manager
of tho International Live Stock expos;
lion, which is held every December at
Chicago, is of the opinion that the aver
age run of cattle in Texas is better than
In any other state. Texas' improved
bloods are frequent winners of prizes ul
these expositions.
The three portions of Texas most large
ly engaged in the cattle industry are
i he Panhandle, or northwestern part;
the western, and southwestern parts.
Of her !70 099.200 acres, it is estimated
that 30.000.000 belong- to cattlemen, and
that 90,000.000 acre are theirs by lease.
Kentucky was the first state to make
a move in : he direction of a better grade
of cattle. In 1816 importing shorthorns
from England. Of the states of the un
ion. Georgia is said to take les* interest
in the upbuilding of her stock ! ian any
other.
Fort Worth is the center of the pack
ing house industry of Texas, there has -
ing within the last few years been estab
lished there two immense plants with
large stock yards valued together at.
S5.000.000 Great numbers of cattle
and hogs are slaughtered at these yards.
It is said , that they are tiie most mod-
ernly equipped plants in the world.
Packing houses are said to have origi
nated in Texas, and it teas the demon
strated success of tiie pseking houses at
San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas, Hous
ton and Waco that caused the great Chi
cago concerns to establish branch houses
in Texas. There were packing houses
on the coast that slipped meat, hides
and tallow to many tarts of the world.
Several counties in south Texas were
called boneyards because of the num
ber of cuttle killed.
The packing houses have greatly con
duced to th<> upbuilding of tho live stock
business, and another factor which
should not go unnoticed is tho establish
meut of cotton seed oil mills, cotton
seed cake making a prime finishing food
for the cattle. Nearly u th'ld of a mil
lion of people follow the cattle finishirx.
business in Texas. buying the cattle
from the rangers and fatening them up
for the market. Thousands of Texas eat-
tle are sent every year to the “finishing
states” of the west. Illinois, Missouri.
Iowa. etc., to he fattened on corn. One
of the most Interesting experiments re
cently made at the agricultural" and me-
chanicai college of Texas was the use
of molasses as a cattle food. So/e of
the steers fed on molasses were prize
winners at the last Fort Worth stock
show.
San Antonio was formerly the live
stock center of Texas. in the past the
Alamo City was tiie rendezvous of the
catle barons, and headquarters of the
ranchers. She controlled the wool trade
of the world, handling annually some
thing like twenty million pounds of
wool, taking precedence oven over Aus
traiia in the industry. The low tariff
and growth of the railroads lost het
ibis prestige. She was also the distrib
uting point for Angora goats, doing a
large business in that line At the ex
positions of the San Antonio Fair Asso
ciation. held annually, many of the ex
hibits of live stock arc equal to thos*-
shown at the exhibition at Chicago and
St. Louis.
It is i matter for congratulation that
the bureau of animal industry at Wash
ington has discovered that a parasite is
:ic cause of tlu* so-called "Texas fever,”
which sometimes attacks the cattle of
the state, and lias given assurance that
a certain cl emioal dip will destroy th*
Yei\ interesting at the present time
■ * the subject of sheep husbandry in the
United states, the growing demand for
wool and mutton giving a decidedly hap
py turn to this erstwhile languishing in-
i if.trj rh • Cedei I ee n of fSOCu
placed the number of sheep in the states
and territories at 61.837. M2, with a val
uation of £170.337.002, and tin additional
valuation for the wool clip of $45,723.-
739. Montana heading the list with 4.-
192,608 animals, followed by Wyoming,
New Mexico and Utah. Texas’ rank was
lcu 1 h with 2 416,721 sheep, valued at $4.-
634.063. Her bunne: year was 1884,
when she numbered 3,000.000. a higher
number than any stale has ever reached
i i ■ sheen industry of the United
States began at Jamestown, Ya., in 1609.
1 '' A irgmians as well as the colonists
I hat came later encouraging the indue.
II y. A\ ashington himself took substan
tial nterest in the building of a good
breed. South Carolina, in 1785. offered
HF'dal to the first importer of merino
keep. While Texas has declined in the
sheep raising business, so also have all
1 lie states :n the union, and at the pres
ent time she is striding upward. One
man in the state owns a herd of over
i qu itter of a million of these animals.
The New England states played an ac-
ivc part in furthering the Industry. The
government for tho past ten years has
been doing what it could to encourage
sheep raising, and the outlook today is
fair and flattering. Food. like, other
things, sometimes has Its fashions, and
mutton is one of the favorite edibles of
the day.
The raising of Angora goats (there are
only fifty thousand of the common
goats in the country), like sheep-raising,
began in the southern states. The first
were brought to this country by Dr.
Janies It. Davis, of Columbia, S. the
sultan oi Turkey having presented him
with nine of nis choicest animals.
In 1853 Col. Richard Peters, of \t_
latitu. Ga.. became the purchaser of all
Dr. Davis' flock, save two or three, one
of wmen was bought by Col. Wade
Hampton. There were flocks in Atlan-
•a numbering as many as twelve hun
dred before the civil war, when the
«• ; industry in the southern states was
on a successful basis. Colonel Peters is
conceded to be the founder of tho in
dustry in the United States. Two of his
. k were sold In 1861 to Mr, Wm. M.
a0tS-.2« no i • San dnaquii: r»’in f y,\ Cali'
forn1:., who is tiie founder of tiie Angora
goat industry of the Pacific coast, and
the oldest living goat breeder in the
states-. Mr. l^andruin now lives in
valde county. Texas, and is still rais
ing goats. He believes them to he
among the most desirable farm animals
to have. One of the two sent out to
uini in California became famous as
Billy Atlanta." “Biliy Atlanta" won
all the sweepstake prizes In every Cali
fornia state fair urF.V his death at the
ago of ten years. As Mr. Landrum says
(referring to the Pacific coast), “his
blood courses in the veins of over one-
l.alf the Angora flocks in that part of
the union, estimated to approximate 70.-
000." “Billy Atlanta” met his death
through his too aggressive inquiring
mind.
In number of goats and mohair pro
duction Texas leads. The number of
goats in the world Is supposed to be 70,-
000.000. The Asiatics aud the Africans
use for food purposes about 40.000.000
of the animals annually.
it was the Boer war that brought Tex
as to the front in the mule, and horse
industries. Before that time she had
been sending these animals to Missouri
and Kansas City, etc., where they had
'been selling as natives. T pward oij
fifty-odd thousand of the some 85,000
mules purchased by England in the
United States at that time came from
Texas.
Texas does a retumerative business in
raising polo ponies for the northern and
eastern states. Tho best of the polo
ponies hail from Texas. Some of them
are of the stock of wild horses that
roamed the plains in early times.
No authentic account can be given of
the history of these animals. One story
runs that the first Spaniards lost some
of their fine horses, among them Ara
bian steeds, and that they are the de
generate descendants of these.
A valuable branch of the live stock
industry in Texas is the raising of hogs.
Apropos of these animals, the best hams
in the world are made at Smithfield, Va.,
being cured by a secret process, it is
said. Some of the great packers in the
west sought to learn this secret. After
it became known to then: they declared
they would not go to all that trouble
to produce hams, which is the reason
why Smithfield hams have never been
surpassed. The demand for them is far
and away greater than tho supply. The
..•■ading houses by New York are th<-
.argest purchaser?, while many 'go u
London.
It may not be avtdss hero to say some
thing regarding the status of another
farm product of Texas. Some one has
been saying that the turkey should be
the national bird instead of flic eagle.
Texas outranks all other states in the
production of the Thanksgiving bird,
tine mistress of a ranch, a short while
ago, possessed a brood numbering more
than a thousand.
A picturesque time on a Texas ranch
is when the cattle “round-up” for
branding. There are many notable
young women who are as skilful at
roping catle as are the men. A distinct
Texas production is the far-famed “cow
boy.” An English woman's opinion of
this human species is worth while giv
ing:
“Let me pay my tribute fro the inva
riable gentle behavior and courtesy one
meets with," she says, speaking of ranch
life. “Tho cowboys are chivalrous to
all women, and are assuredly nature’s
gentlemen, displaying an ease of man
ner, an independence of mind, and a
politeness which, il' not in complete ac
cordance with the usages of English so
ciety, is exhibited both at home and
abroad, and being due to Innate kindli
ness, Is not thrown aside and resumed
to suit a passing whim.”
Being the biggest state in the union, it
is only natural that we should expect
big things of Texas. As the state grows
in population it will lead in other tilings
besides cotton, live stock and railroad
mileage, etc. One writer gives a fair
idea of the size of the State when lie
says, “It is equal to thirty-four states
each the size of Massachusetts.
Speaking of the beef trust. Editor
Brown, of Stockman and Farmer, pub
lished in San Antonio, says: “Texas suf
fers more by the beef trust than any
■attle producing state In the union, due
largely because of her remoteness from
the leading markets. Fully 75 per cent
AUTUMN. ' ” " r *
(From Harpei s Weekly.)
Spring is the season of fresh endeavor
t :0 y- ling bn pi I^e s”—i-wr the time
■ or the ripening, enlarging, maturing of
all projects; and then, lest man should
I'oi an instant fancy himself stable upon
the earth, should picture this earthly iife
ns ultimate, autumn, the "metaphor of
everything that dies,” comes in, count
ing the falling petals on her rosary,
watching the clouds of birds in flight,
seeing her earth wither or ever sho
shrouds her, siting the sent of tha pass
ing of all mortal things upon the face of
lifi . Then we realize that we, too, ar;
ebbing out with the dying year. If man
forces action in youth it Is in the high
hearted hope of seeing tiie results, but
in our autumn years we force action
knowing that the little we do must be
swiftly done; our years are few, our hopes
brittle; we have learnea to expect little
o» no return; we have come to the age
when we are
Not panting after growing beauties; sj
We shall ebb out with those who home
ward go.
If we- have lived naturally, taking the
joys and lighting the sorrows of th?
years as they rolled, there is a genial
tamper in tne autumn weather. Silence
and peace and dreams draw over Us un
awares, and we start up to wonder
where all the tumults of yesterday are
llcwn. Grief and suffering leave little f n
tin memory, but joy stays there. '"Joy
is the name of a passion in which th?
mind passes to a greater perfection anti
■rower,” said one. anticipating Spinoza,
and grief we see to be but the material
of joy in process of slow transforma
tion.
There is another crown upon the au
tumnal years: the detachment of v.-hich
we have thought for which we have
striven all through the spring and sum
mer of our lives. We are ready, with
out urging, to fold opr hands a little ar.d
lcok on. We are glad to take up md
lay aside the vestment of the persona!
life, with all its desires and hopes and
ambitions, and; to drift, even as nature
herself is drifting into the ultimate cold
and quiet, which precede* new birth.