IRRIGATION. 



IRRIGATION IN TEXAS. 

 The following letter, recently received 

 from Mr. F. F. Collins, San Antonio, Tex- 

 as, is a fair illustration of what can be ac. 

 complished by irrigation. We present 

 herewith a portrait of Mr. Collins, believ- 

 ing that many of our readers will be inter, 

 ested in looking at the likeness of a man 



F. F. Collins, San Antonio, Texas, 

 who has made such a pronounced success. 

 Following Mr. Collins' letter, is reproduced 

 an article from the pen of a special corre- 

 spondent of The Texas Stockman and 

 Farmer, which gives a more extended de- 

 scription of this tract. 



SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, Jan. 29, 1902. 

 EDITOR IRRIGATION AGE: 



Having read THE IRRIGATION AGE for 

 many years, I am pleased with it and 

 would not be without it for four times its 

 cost. I am what they called an irrigation 

 crank until success crowned my efforts; 

 then they say it is Collins' luck. Let it be 



luck or what-not, I will tell you how I did 

 it and if you think this any benefit to the 

 public do with it as you like. 



One year ago I took hold of 140 acres of 

 land inside the corporation limits of this 

 city, a mesquite and cactus waste that 

 would not eupport one Texas longhorn, 

 drilled a well, got 1,000 gallons of good 

 flowing water per minute, cleared and put 

 the tract in good condition, made the prop- 

 er ditches, built eleven good houses and a 

 good barn with each house, run a 4 inch 

 pipe attached direct to the well so that 

 each family has a hydrant of as pure water 

 as ever ran out of mother earth. I divided 

 the tract into eleven plots and rented to 

 eleven families at twenty dollars an acre. 

 [Have it rented this, the second year, at 

 $22.75 an acre.] 



The investment stands today at twenty- 

 one thousand dollars. Now for the result. 

 There are about sixty contented and hap- 

 py people living on this 140 acres and I 

 have been offered forty thousand dollars 

 for the property. Some of my tenants 

 made two crops of corn (80 to 90 bushels 

 the first crop and 50 bushels the second 

 crop), others made one crop of potatoes, 

 then, on the same land, made a crop of 

 sweet potatoes, and after this was sold 

 made a fine crop of turnips, netting for the 

 year from three to five hundred dollars an 

 acre. There was but one good rain during 

 the winter and summer, and that was in 

 July. Now if irrigation does not pay in 

 this country please tell me what will pay. 

 T*uly yours, 



F. F. COLLINS. 



THE ECLIPSE GARDENS. 



Truck farming as a distinct industry in 

 the vicinity of San Antonio is not anything 

 new. In fact long before San Antonio 

 reached to its present importance the truck 



