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The Country Gentleman' s Magazine 



who, in other districts and in other States, 

 had been suffering chronically from disease. 

 The middle and upper country also bears a 

 similar character for salubrity. The only 

 drawback is the prevalence of chills and fever 

 in low marshy lands, and in the vicinity of 

 river bottoms ; but these are confined to 

 comparatively narrow limits. Yellow fever 

 occasionally visits Galveston, but there has 

 been no epidemic since 1S67 ; and as extreme 

 care is now taken to prevent infection from 

 other Gulf ports, to which the origin of the 

 disease has always been traced, and as rani- 

 tary regulations receive very careful atten- 

 tion, there is a reasonable hope that the city 

 may not suffer so severely as in former times. 

 The fertility of the soil is proved by the 

 large returns and the great variety 

 of the products. Some of the products are 

 cotton, sugar-cane, rice, tobacco, wheat, rye, 

 barley, oats, &c. The fruits include orange, 

 lemon, peach, fig, grape, plum, almond, 

 quince, apple, pear, various kinds of nuts, &:c., 

 and almost every species of vegetable. The 

 country, compared with the other Western 

 States, is well supplied with timber, there 

 being large forests of oak, ash, elm, walnut, 

 cedar, hickory, pine, China tree, &c., and 

 is well watered by rivers in almost every 

 section. Countless herds of cattle graze on 

 the rich prairies, and sheep husbandry is 

 successfully carried on in Western Texas. The 

 farmer has a great advantage over his neigh- 

 bours in other States in the mild winter, 

 which enables him to carry on his operations 



all the year round. Thus, no sooner has the 

 crop been gathered than he can commence 

 to prepare the same ground for the next crop, 

 and the ploughing is often done in December 

 or January, or even earlier. 



The mineral wealth of the State is also 

 very great, and is beginning to attract atten- 

 tion. Horace Greeley visited Texas last year, 

 and christened it the " Land of Promise." 



The progress of the large cities has been 

 very marked, notwithstanding many disad- 

 vantages they have to contend against. They 

 have had deficient internal communication, 

 and the harbours are not deep enough to 

 admit vessels of heavy draught. The State 

 has had no railroad communication with the 

 rest of the Union, and has been obliged to 

 do all her domestic trade through New 

 Orleans by the line of steamships plying be- 

 tween that port and Galveston. These 

 drawbacks are being all removed, and a great 

 revolution is being consummated. The Texas 

 Central Railroad is gradually extending north- 

 wards, while the Missouri, Kansas, and 

 Texas Railroad has been building southwards; 

 and as the latter has now entered the northern 

 part of the State, it is expected that before 

 the end of the year a junction will be effected 

 between the two lines. The result will be to 

 give uninterrupted communication from the 

 Mexican Gulf to the great lakes of the north, 

 and make Galveston practically a seaport for 

 many millions of inhibitants, in a large num- 

 ber of the States and Territories west of the 

 Mississippi. 



