EAST TEXAS. 39 



It seems to me that all that is needed in order to make East Texas 

 one of the greatest and most <iu-ressful farming sections of the United 

 States is, first, proper advertisement and, second, intelligence and energy 

 of the farming classes. 



Very truly yours, 



E. J. KYLE. 

 Professor Burns' letter : 



COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, April 15, 1914. 

 Col. E. T. .Milner. Henderson. Texas. 



DEAR COLONEL MILNER: I hope you will pardon the delay in an- 

 swering your letter of March 17th. I have been absent from the College 

 a great deal of late, which accounts for it. 



In my opinion, East Texas offers greater opportunities along agri- 

 cultural lines to both the capitalist and the man of small means than 

 any other section of this State. Being in its infancy in agricultural 

 development, it is possible to buy land there at remarkably low prices, 

 considering the future of that section in comparison with the future of 

 other sections of the State. 



With a soil, though not naturally high in fertility, vet most respon- 

 sive to good treatment; with an average annual rainfall of 40 to 45 

 inches, and with a mild climate admirably suited to both plants and 

 animals, I can see no reason why East Texas should not develop into 

 one of the foremost farming and stock raising sections of the State. 

 For a long time it has appealed to me as offering especially good oppor- 

 tunities in stock farming and dairying. It also seems to me that Tarm- 

 ing along these lines would lie more in keeping with the needs of the 

 country in the conservation and improvement of soil fertility. Live 

 stock raising and crop rotation will do more to eliminate the need of 

 commercial fertilizer and to establish a permanent agriculture than will 

 any other factors, and there is no section of the State better adapted 

 to this system of farming than is East Texas. 



Conditions there seem most favorable for the production of feed 

 crops without which live stock raising cannot be a success. With a 

 high average rainfall and a mild climate it is possible to have perma- 

 nent pasture of the best kind and green forage crops practically through- 

 out the year. Furthermore, the numerous springs of fresh water en- 

 tirely solve the problem of water supply for live stock. The country 

 is highly adapted to Bermuda grass, Eescue grass and Bur clover, and 

 we have no combination of plants in this State better suited to perma- 

 nent pasture than there. With such pasture in connection with forage 

 crops, so admirably adapted to that section, such as Spanish peanuts, 

 cowpeas, rape. oats, wheat, rye. barley, sorghum and sweet potatoes, there 

 is no reason that the raising of all kinds of live stock cannot be accom- 

 plished with a high degree of success. Corn can be grown successfully, 

 both for grain and for silage, though sorghum, on account of its heavy 

 yield of forage, may prove better for the silo. With these feeds sup- 

 plemented with cotton seed products from the oil mills there is no rea- 

 son why East Texas should not successfully produce dairy products of 

 the highest quality and raise and finish large numbers of meat animals 

 for the market. Such conditions warrant the use of improved live stock, 



