Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 371 



over thirty-five bushels, with a weight to the measured bushel of 

 forty-six pounds the Norway oats. Cotton, nearly a bale to the acre. 



Pecans and Mesquit Beans. 



The pecan crop — a spontaneous gift of nature — will yield not less 

 than $1,000,000 to the people of western Texas this year, and not 

 more than one-half gathered of those produced. The samples of 

 pecans I present herewith — unusually fine ones — were grown on the 

 San Antonio river, near the city of that name. Besides advantages 

 for irrigation afforded by nearly every stream, at comparatively small 

 expense, I would mention one natural product which, during drouths 

 when the grass to a small extent fails, affords a most nutritious and 

 abundant forage to cattle, sheep, horses, mules, hogs and goats — the 

 bean of the mesquit tree. This bean is only produced in large abun- 

 dant crops during a season of prolonged drouth. Horses and mules 

 will often leave corn to feed upon this bean when accessible ; as they, 

 as well as cattle, get very fat upon eating the mesquit bean. This 

 tree grows luxuriantly all over western Texas, except just along the 

 Gulf coast. As to fruits, on the 8th day of November I saw in the 

 San Antonio market fine large fresh peaches taken from the orchard 

 that day — and from an orchard, too, which had furnished ripe peaches 

 daily since the 15th day of May. For salubrity of climate western 

 Texas has already become proverbial. I have seen active, profitable 

 out-door farm labor — plowing and planting, harvesting or gathering, 

 going on every month of the year. Poor, unproductive land is the 

 rare exception. Unimproved lands of the best quality, and in any 

 quantity from 160 acres up to tracts of 50,000 acres, can now be pur- 

 chased, with perfect titles, at from fifty cents to $1.50 to $2, gold, 

 per acre. Projected and rapidly-constructing railroads are enhancing 

 the price of these lands. There not being from three to six months 

 of freezing weather in western Texas, makes it pre-eminently the 

 country for a poor emigrant. 



Mr. J. B. Lyman — -The gentleman from Texas will confer a favor 

 by speaking more fully of stock-raising. We have often heard it sta- 

 ted that a four-year-old, giving 600 weight of dressed meat, costs the 

 Texas grower no more than a spring chicken. It has been said, also, 

 that the life of a stock-farmer on those savannahs is lonesome and 

 semi-civilized. We would be glad to know the whole story. 



Mr. Williams — Both statements are substantially true. Cattle need 

 no fodder. They are as fat "in February as they are in June. Young 

 cattle keep on growing the year round. There are but three events 



