Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/702

 C72 TEXAS fruits, it is less enervating and more free from malarious diseases than that of any other of the gulf states. Northers, cool, dry winds, occur from October to May at intervals of about a week, rarely lasting more than three days. They produce a sudden depression in the temperature, but are said to make the cli- mate more healthful and the air purer. The heat of summer is tempered by winds from the gulf, which blow far inland. The mean annual temperature in the southwest, near the mouth of the Rio Grande, is 72 ; about the parallel of Austin, 68 ; thence N. it gradually dimin- ishes to 60 along the Red river. The high- lands in the west are cooler, and in the extreme northwest the mean annual temperature is not more than 66. The thermometer seldom falls below 25 in winter or rises above 95 in sum- mer. The E. and S. portions have the most rain; as we proceed N. "W. from the gulf, the moisture diminishes. The average annual rain- fall in the northeast is 48 in., decreasing to 24 in. in the southwest near the gulf. In the ex- treme northwest it is only 16 in., and at some points between the Pecos and Rio Grande not more than 8 in. The following are the results of observations for 17 years (1858 to 1874 in- clusive) at Austin (lat. 30 15', Ion. 97 47') : mean annual temperature, 67*61, varying from 65-82 in 1869 to 68'92 in 1862; mean tem- perature of the hottest month (July), 84 ; of the coldest month (January), 50; minimum observed, 6 ; maximum observed, 106 ; aver- age annual rainfall, 34*54 in., varying from 23-17 in 1862 to 48-79 in 1874. The most rain fell in September (average 4'96 in.) and the least in December (average T93 in.). Corn planting usually begins about the middle of February, and grain is harvested in the latter part of May, and Indian corn in July. Cotton picking begins about July 10, and continues to Dec. 1. The number of deaths, according to the census of 1870, was 11,197, of which there were from general diseases 3,848, including 680 from consumption, 464 from enteric fever, 596 from intermittent fever, and 327 from re- mittent fever; from diseases of the nervous system, 1,430; of the circulatory system, 204; of the respiratory system, 1,979, including 1,499 from pneumonia; of the digestive sys- tem, 1,498. The soil of Texas is in general very fertile. The river bottoms are unsur- passed in this respect by those of any state of the Union. There are three or four varieties of soil, each well adapted to certain crops. The stiff black soil of the river bottoms is fittest for sugar and cotton, though the latter grows well on the prairies and uplands; the finer black or chocolate-colored soil of the prairie lands yields abundant crops of corn and the cereals, and the lighter copper-colored soil of the uplands is admirable for the grasses and fruits ; while the fine silt of the islands produces the best sea island cotton known. The soil of the desert tracts of the northwest is sandy and charged with carbonate of soda and other alkalies ; but even this, wherever it can be ir- rigated, produces grass and herbage moderately. Irrigation has been successfully practised in some instances in the west, where rain is scanty. In 1875 an act was passed granting land in aid of companies organized for con- structing canals for irrigation and navigation. Texas is especially noted as a stock-raising country, for which the mildness of its climate and the great variety of its nutritious grasses peculiarly .fit it. The W. portion, even where too dry for agriculture, is particularly adapted to cattle and sheep, and here are vast herds and flocks. Large numbers of horses and hogs are also kept. The buffalo and deer are found in the northwest, and wild horses or " mustangs " roam over the W. prairies. The other wild animals and the birds are similar to those of other portions of the Union. Among the more important grasses are the mezquite grasses of the west, which afford excellent pasturage at all seasons. The principal for- est trees, of some of which several species occur, are the oak, elm, maple, hickory, pecan, sycamore or buttonwood, magnolia, willow, pine, cypress, mulberry, cedar, sweet gum, ash, walnut, palmetto, cottonwood, Osage orange, and mezquite. Eastern Texas is an extensive pine region. The principal species in the north is the short-leafed pine (pinus mitis), and in the south the long-leafed (P. palustris) ; the latter is valuable for timber and turpentine. The soil of the pine lands, though sandy, is productive. The cypress occurs in swamps and on the river banks in various parts of the state, and attains a great size. The live oak extends N. through central and western Texas to the Red river. The Osage orange is es- pecially valuable for hedges, and in northern Texas attains a large size. The mezquite is one of the indigenous trees of Texas, growing in the west, valuable for fuel and for various other uses. (See MEZQUITE.) Numerous species of cactus are abundant W. of the Nueces river. Peaches do well in a large portion of the state, and apples thrive in the north. Pears, blackberries, and strawberries are also raised. Seven species of grapes are indigenous. In the south figs and oranges may be produced. The chief crops are cotton, Indian corn, and wheat. Cotton and corn may be grown in nearly every part of the state. Wheat is raised chiefly in the north. The sugar cane is culti- vated principally on the Brazos near its mouth, and rice in the S. E. corner of the state. Oats, barley, beans, tobacco, and sweet and Irish potatoes are also raised to some extent. The number of acres of land in farms accord- ing to the census of 1870 was 18,396,523, of which 2,964,836 were improved; number of farms, 61,125, of which 717 contained under 3 acres each, 4,659 from 3 to 10, 13,594 from 10 to 20, 24,620 from 20 to 50, 10,890 from 50 to 100, 6,268 from 100 to 500, 305 from 500 to 1,000, and 72 more than 1,000 ; cash value of farms, $60,149,950; of farming implements