THE TEXAS RICE BOOK. 



INFORMATION FOR THE PROSPECTIVE SETTLER, 



"WHERE SHALL I LOCATE IN TEXAS?" 



Is a question often asked by those who contemplate moving 

 to the State. Texas, being equal in territory to six of the largest 

 states in the Union, we have within its borders a great variety 

 of soils, climates and seasons, and a greater variety of crops are 

 grown in Texas than* in any state of the United States, f 



When coming to locate in Texas a great deal depends on the 

 man ; what means he has and what he is best suited to , 

 the kind of crops he has been accustomed to raising and whether 

 or not he has been living in a prairie or timber country. It is 

 best for the man to bend to suit the soil, climate and seasons than 

 to try to bend the country to suit the man. In o.her words, it is 

 much easier to go with the tide than against it. 



For those of limited means, and who have been accustomed 

 to living in a timbered country, the counties of Eastern and 

 Northeast Texas offer the best inducements, as the lands are 

 cheap, ranging in price from $2 to $6 per acre, and a great va- 

 riety of crops can be grown in that . part of the State. Fruits, 

 vegetables, corn, cotton and ribbon cane can be grown side by 

 side. Hogs do well, also cattle, and one can have his own meat, 

 and a few acres of Bermuda grass will carry cows enough to sup- 

 ply the family with milk and butter. One acre of Bermuda grass 

 to the cow, with some forage, is all that is necessary. 



For those who have a taste for growing rice or sugar cane, 

 with some fruit and vegetables as a side line, and have the means, 

 I would unhesitatingly recommend the counties in the Texas 

 Coast Country lying between the counties of Orange and Vic- 

 toria, between the Sabine and Guadalupe Rivers. This strip of 

 country lies in the agricultural and rain belt of the Coast Country 

 of Texas, and a large per cent of it is well adapted to the grow- 

 ing of rice and sugar, and when better drained, will no doubt 

 produce other crops successfully, but we have every evidence now 

 that rice and sugar are the best paying crops for this strip of 



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