TEXAS, OUR LARGEST STATE 



1347 



an aggregate area of 10,088,000 acres. 

 It is claimed that not more than one- 

 tenth of the land suitable for cotton is 

 under cultivation, and on the basis of 

 one-third of a bale to the acre this would 

 indicate a possible production of 40 mil- 

 lion bales a year, or more than double 

 the present crop of the world. 



While the acreage return in the United 

 States is about three-eighths per bale to 

 the acre and the plants ordinarily are 

 about 3 feet high, there are many places 

 in Texas where cotton yields two bales 

 to the acre and the plants are 10 to 12 

 feet high. This is without the use of 

 fertilizer. Production of one bale to the 

 acre is frequent over wide areas, and 

 with cotton at $50 to $60 a bale this is a 

 profitable yield. 



Texas ships most of her cotton to for- 

 eign ports, using only one bale in 70 m 

 her own mills. The number of mills is 

 increasing, shipping facilities are being 

 bettered, and the cotton seed is being 

 utilized to better advantage, so that the 

 cotton industry is gaining in various 

 ways. 



No one who sees much of the cotton 

 industry can fail to be impressed by the 

 great waste in handling it. The bales 

 are poorly wrapped and bound, and the 

 sampling process of cutting a great gash 

 in the center of the bale is needlessly 

 crude and wasteful. Nearly every for- 

 eign market complains of the bad condi- 

 tion in which our cotton is received. 



the: passing of the: oivD cattivE: range:s 



From an early date Texas has been 

 famous for her cattle and many persons 

 still have the idea that the entire State 

 is a great cattle range. The latest sta- 

 tistics show nearly 8,000,000 head of cat- 

 tle, many more than in any other State. 



While some large ranges remain, not- 

 ably the King Ranch of 1,000,000 acres, 

 numerous ranching districts have been 

 cut up into farms and in general the 

 cattle business is diminishing. The noto- 

 rious "long-horn" steer is nearly extinct, 

 his place having been taken by the much 

 higher grade, white-faced Herefords and 

 other heavy cattle. These are much more 

 profitable to sell and cost but little more 

 to raise, after the herd is started. 



Texas is credited with over 1,000,000 

 milk cows, 2,071,000 horses and mules, 

 over 2,000,000 sheep, and 3,205,000 hogs, 

 all of which, with the range steers, have 

 a value estimated at $312,857,000. 



The scrubby Texas pony is also being 

 displaced or bred up to higher class. Now 

 the average Texas horse is valued at $71, 

 and while this is not up to the standard 

 of Illinois, for instance, where the aver- 

 age horse value is v$io9, it is far higher 

 than it was a few years ago. 



A gre:at IvUmber re:gion 



Texas is one of our largest producers 

 of pine lumber and the eastern and north- 

 eastern counties contain extensive forests 

 of fine timber. There is also a liberal 

 supply of hardwoods, which are being 

 freely cut. The forest conditions are 

 very diverse, comprising the swamp and 

 bayou growths and the wide territory of 

 long-leaf pine to the east, the broad re- 

 gion of post oak to the north, and the 

 bull pine and red fir scattered over the 

 summits and peaks of the far west. 



The stand of pine in Texas is estimated 

 from 2^ to 40 billions of feet, and of 

 hardwood about 10 billions more. The 

 manufacture of pine lumber was about 

 2 billion feet in the past year, with a sell- 

 ing value of about 45 million dollars. 



more: valuabIve: than GOI.D 



Texas has no great gold mines, but 

 there are many mineral resources of far 

 greater value. Petroleum has been pro- 

 duced in such large amounts that the 

 State now stands fourth among the pro- 

 ducers, with an output of nearly 13 mil- 

 lion barrels a year, valued at about $7,- 

 000,000. This oil is not only in great 

 demand for shipment, but it is a valuable 

 fuel for local use, 3^ barrels of it being 

 equal to a ton of coal, and only costing 

 from $3 to $3.25. 



There are in Texas more than 1,000 

 miles of 6 to 8 inch pipe-lines to carry 

 the oil of Texas and Oklahoma, with ca- 

 pacity of 50,000 barrels a day, and more 

 than $10,000,000 are invested in pipe- 

 lines, pumps, and tanks. Eight large re- 

 fineries, with capacity of 35,000 barrels 

 a day, utilize a part of the output. 



Natural gas is also produced by some 



