804 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (TEXAS.) 



ent school district, $93,500. To the credit of the 

 permanent university fund, State bonds, $579,700; 

 to the credit of the Blind Asylum land sales ac- 

 count, State bonds, $115,500; to the credit of the 

 Deaf and Dumb Institute land sales account, 

 State bonds, $61,000; to the credit of the Lunatic 

 Asylum sales account, State bonds, $111,700; to 

 the credit of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 

 lege fund, State bonds, $209,000; to the credit of 

 the Orphan Asylum land sales account, State 

 bonds, $11,200; special loan tax certificates of pub- 

 lic debt, $79,409.50 ; escheated estates notes, $1,079. 



Valuations. The totals of the taxable real 

 and personal property in Texas, reported by the 

 Comptroller, Nov. 12, showed a decrease in live- 

 stock values, but an increase in implements, ma- 

 chinery, tools, money, and credits. Of the land, 

 139,040,030 acres were valued at $437,215,410, an 

 increase of 3,238,761 acres, valued at $14,901,609; 

 town and city lots, $210,103,181, an increase of 

 $11,273,226; 1,555,872 horses and mules, $38,026,- 

 646, an increase of 21,362 head, decrease $1,555,- 

 994 in value; 7,575,390 cattle, $74,228,489, increase 

 680,493 head, decrease $339,947 in value; 14,749 

 jacks and jennies, $469,631, an increase of 231 

 head, decrease $7,099 in value; 1,521,834 sheep, 

 $2,071,297, increase 16,407 head, decrease $34,697 

 in value; 458,712 goats, $524,019, increase 4,855 

 head and $6,137 in value; 1,014,315 hogs, $1,608,- 

 593, decrease 394,161 head and $850,304 in value; 

 28,808 dogs, $183,348, decrease 1,644 head, increase 

 $19,232 in value; railroads, 10,681 miles, $77,227,- 

 725, increase 640 miles and $3,276,660; rolling- 

 stock of railroads, $10,386,232, increase $383,374; 

 city street-railroads, 285 miles, $1,346,401, increase 

 54 miles and $200,911: telegraph and telephone 

 lines, 23,890 miles, $2,508,365, decrease 3,933 miles, 

 decrease $71,289 in value; steam, sailing, and other 

 vessels, 200, $365,300, increase 5 and decrease 

 $85,525 in value. 



Banking. In December there were 345 nation- 

 al banks in operation in the State. Outside of 

 the reserve cities, Dallas and Houston, the total 

 capital was $23,100.260; surplus, $6,164,632.93; 

 individual deposits, $65,006,668.96. For Dallas 

 and Houston the principal items were: Dallas 

 capital, $1,050,000; surplus, $1,061,000; individual 

 deposits, $6,718,037; national-bank deposits, 

 $2,161,634; State and private banks, $340,018; 

 United States deposits, $584,579. Houston capi- 

 tal, $1,450,000; surplus, $850,000; individual de- 

 posits, $6,538,666; national-bank deposits, $1,965,- 

 386; State and private banks, $685,521; United 

 States deposits, $100,000. The banks of Texas are 

 in an exceptionally good condition. 



Education. The Treasurer's report showed 

 that the school fund aggregated $40,283,330.84. 

 This amount, represents notes, obligations, and 

 other securities purchased, resulting from the sale 

 of 21,905,906 acres of its select and choicest land, 

 including its timber, of which 14,694,426 acres 

 have been sold since the act of 1895 became law. 

 There are still unsold 22,080,225 acres, but most 

 of it is in the extreme western part of the State, 

 and on the Rio Grande, where, from excessive 

 droughts, the lack of water, or the general topog- 

 raphy of the country, the land may never become 

 valuable. As great as is the demand for land for 

 grazing, there are about 7,500,000 acres lying idle. 



The remedies proposed by the State Land Com- 

 missioner in his biennial report, filed in November, 

 were to raise the minimum price to $2 an acre, 

 except for watered land, and raise that to $3 an 

 acre; to sell no land except at public outcry, and 

 then only to actual settlers; and to sell no land 

 below the minimum price fixed by law, and none 

 unless a certain nuniber of bidders are present. 



The attendance of students at the opening of 

 the State Agricultural College, in Bryan, at the 

 opening, Sept. 10, was the largest known in the 

 history of the institution. The work on the new 

 chemical and veterinary laboratory was finished, 

 and the building was ready for occupancy Oct. 1. 



The summer session of the University of Texas, 

 in Austin, closed July 26, and was the most suc- 

 cessful ever conducted. The number of students 

 enrolled was 262. 



The Penitentiary. The records of the State 

 Penitentiary, Sept. 25, showed the nuniber of con- 

 victs that were killed in the past few years while 

 attempting to escape. In 1901 the number \va> 

 15. During the term- of Gov. Culbertson, who pre- 

 ceded Gov. Sayers, the number was 37, and during 

 the three terms before him the number was 88. 



Agriculture. The bulletin issued by the Uni- 

 ted States Census Bureau, July 7, showed that the 

 farms of Texas in 1900 numbered 352,190 and w un- 

 valued at $691,773,613. Of this amount 14.5 per 

 cent, represents the value of buildings, and 85.5 

 per cent, the value of the land and improvement - 

 other than buildings. The total value of farm- 

 products for 1899 was $239,823,244, of which 

 amount 30.4 per cent, represents the value of ani- 

 mal products, and 69.6 per cent, the value of crops, 

 including forest products, cut or produced on 

 farms. The total acreage of farm-land has in- 

 creased rapidly, being twice as great in 1900 as 

 in 1890. 



The value of live stock on farms and ranges, 

 June 1, 1900, was $240.567,955, or 25 per cent, of 

 the total value of farm property. Of this amount. 

 59.5 per cent, represents the value of meat cattle 

 other than dairy cows, 14.3 per cent, that of 

 horses, 10.4 per cent, that of mules, 8.3 per cent, 

 that of dairy cows, 3.2 per cent, that of swine, 1.7 

 per cent, that of sheep, 1.5 per cent, that of poul- 

 try, and 1.1 per cent, that of all other live stock. 



The Boll-Weevil. The ravages caused by the 

 boll- weevil, especially in the last two months of 

 the year, were so disastrous that the United States 

 Secretary of Agriculture was of opinion it might 

 be necessary, in the work of extirpating the inseei. 

 to plant other crops. By this the world's cot tun 

 market would be materially affected. A report 

 issued by the vice-president of the Santa Fe l!ail- 

 way estimated the cotton-crop along the Santa 

 Fe and the International and Great Northern at 

 40 per cent, less than last season. The boll-weevil 

 was responsible for at least 90 per cent, of the 

 damage. The weather after Nov. 21, the date 

 on which the report was issued, was still more un- 

 favorable to the staple. A congress of cotton 

 growers of the State was held at Dallas, Dec. 17. 

 Its principal object was to collect data that should 

 prove the necessity of obtaining the passage of re- 

 lief measures by Congress and the State Legi.-la- 

 ture, the present situation not only giving rise \ 

 a serious problem in the cotton industry, but be- 

 ing a menace to the entire South as well as to 

 Texas. 



Though still confined to Texas, says the report, 

 the territory occupied by the cotton boll-weevil 

 includes about 28 per cent, of the cotton aei 

 in the United States. This acreage in 1900 pi" 

 duced 34 per cent, of the total crop of this conn 

 try, or one-fourth of the crop of the world for that 

 year. This region is bounded on the north by the 

 Red river and on the east by the pine forests of 

 the divide between the Trinity and Sabine river-. 

 It includes the 22 counties which, in 1899, accord- 

 ing to the twelfth census, produced 40,000 bales or 

 more each. A conservative statement would 

 place the loss that the insect caused to Texas in 

 1902 at $10,000,000. 





