42 AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS. 



METHOD OF RECONNAISSANCE. 



Preliminary information as to the location of areas of suitable growth 

 was obtained through correspondence with land holders and other per- 

 sons interested in the study. In the field the line of the San Antonio, 

 TJvalde & Gulf Railroad furnished an excellent means of further deter- 

 mining the location of areas of possible commercial significance. A strip 

 of country, ranging from one to fifteen miles in width, could be seen 

 from the trains and its topography and the general character of the tree 

 growth noted. When stands of timber which gave promise of being 

 suitable for manufacturing purposes were found, headquarters were 

 established in the nearest town.. Local residents, thoroughly familiar 



A Mesquite Paved Street in San Antonio. 



with the surrounding country, were consulted and the location and size 

 of all such areas definitely determined. Horseback and automobile 

 transportation were then used to reach these areas and make a detailed 

 reconnaissance. Local information, either through misunderstanding or 

 over- estimation, was for the most part unreliable. Stands of timber 

 described as being composed of trees three feet through were non-existent. 

 In almost every case such areas as were said to be coverd with a growth 

 of large sized timber supported a growth of small timber with here and 

 there at wide intervals a large, over-mature individual. In this connec- 

 tion it may be said that trees of more than nine to ten inches average 

 diameter at breast height are apt to be stag-headed and show dead or 



