“ Texas has no large lakes; but freshwater lakes, which are fed either by streams or springs, are common on the Coastal Plain; the best known of them are Grand Lake in Colorado county, Clear Lake in Harris county, and Caddo Lake on the Louisiana border. On the Llano Estacado there are both freshwater and salt lakes, and there are a few salt lakes in the Trans-Pecos Province and near the mouth of the Rio Grande on the Coastal Plain. ”

“ The Senate consists of thirty-one members, chosen by popular vote for four years, one-half retiring every two years. Representatives are elected biennially. Their number, originally ninety-three, is determined by apportionment bills passed after the publication of each Federal census, but under the constitution it can never exceed one hundred and fifty. Senators and representatives must be at least twenty-six years old, citizens of the United States, qualified electors of the state, and residents of the state for two years, and of the district for one year, preceding the election. ”

“ Originally great herds of bison roamed over the Texas plains, and deer, bears and wolves were numerous, especially in the forests. Only a few of the larger wild animals remain, but the Texas fauna is still varied, for it includes not only many species common to northern and eastern United States but also several Mexican species. The few remaining bison are on a ranch near Goodnight, in Armstrong county, where they have been crossed with polled Angus cattle. ”

“ The pine and hardwood forests are of great economic value because of the density of their growth, and there are at hand the means of profitable development of this industry in the numerous watercourses which make logging cheap and expeditious. The maple, walnut, oak, ash, beech, elm, gum, sycamore, hickory and poplar, found on the southern slope of the Osage highlands, on the uplands about the source of the highlands and in the central portions of the Red river valley, are valuable for cabinet woods. ”

“ All male citizens over twenty-one years of age and resident in the state for one year and in the county or election precinct for six months immediately preceding election (except paupers, idiots, lunatics, felons, United States soldiers, marines and seamen, and persons who have taken part, either as principal or second, in fighting a duel or in sending a challenge) have the right of suffrage. ”

“ In a narrow strip along the Gulf there are some Mexican or tropical birds, notably the caracara and two varieties of grackle (Megaquiscalus) . The Texas Bob White or Texas quail is found principally in Texas and a few neighbouring states. The Texas game birds consist chiefly of plover, snipe, teal, mallard and wild geese. Texas has also the American coot or mud-hen and the pelican. Of reptiles there are the alligator, and several species each of turtles, lizards and snakes. Alligators are found in the low coast region and are especially numerous in the Nueces river. ”

“ The western boundary claimed by the republic was the Rio Grande to its source and the meridian of longitude from that point to the forty-second parallel, although as a political division of Mexico its limits never extended farther west than the Nueces and the Medina. The United States government asserted the Rio Grande claim and prepared to enforce it at the cost of war; at the same time the Mexican government considered annexation, regardless of the boundary question, a declaration of war by the United States. An army of 2000 men under Zachary Taylor (q.v.) ”

“ Other important waterways which have been authorized by the United States government and on which work was proceeding in 1910 are canals from the Rio Grande river to the Mississippi river at Donaldsonville, Louisiana; and “a navigable channel depth of 5 ft. in a canal along the coast of Texas, underlying the lagoons lying between the islands and the mainland” to develop light navigation to points not reached by the railways. ”

“ Education.—Educational matters are supervised by a state board, composed of the governor, comptroller and secretary of state, by a superintendent of public instruction, who is ex officio secretary of the board, by county superintendents (in counties having a school population of 3000 or more) , by superintendents and boards of trustees in corporate towns and cities, and by school commissioners in the rural districts. The permanent public school fund is the largest of any state in the Union ”

“ The upper slopes of some of the mountains in the Trans-Pecos region are clothed with forests of large pines, cedars and other trees. Smaller trees and shrubs grow farther down the same mountain slopes, but other mountains and the valleys are wholly destitute of trees. ”

“ During a period of twenty-six years (from January 1882 to December 1908) the greatest extremes that were recorded in the state by the United States Weather Bureau were 113° at El Paso in June 1883 and -16° at Amarillo, Potter county, in the Panhandle, in February 1899; within the same period the extremes at Galveston ranged only from 98° to 8°. Along the coast the average number of days during a year in which the temperature falls below freezing-point is only 3 or 4, but in the Panhandle this average is 111. January is the coldest month in nearly all parts of the state and July is the warmest. ”

“ The highest average quantity of rough milled rice per establishment in the United States in 1905 was for Texas, where seventeen establishments produced an average of 18,598,259 ℔, valued, together with that of other rice products, at $4,638,867. ”

“ The blow snake, or spreading adder (Heterodon platyrrhinus) , black snake (Bascanion constrictor) , coach whip (Bascanion flagellum) , and prairie bull snake (Pituophis) are common; the diamond water snake (Natrix fasciata) is found along creeks; the king snake (Lampropeltis getula) , in central and southern Texas; and the pilot snake (Callopeltis obsoletus) , mostly in the woods of McLennan county. Among venomous snakes the harlequin, or coral snake (Elaps fulvius) is common along the coast ”

“ Cottontail rabbits, raccoons (including the Mexican variety) , and squirrels are common in the forests. A few otters, beavers and minks are still found in eastern Texas. Opossums and skunks (several varieties of the Mephitis and several of the Spilogale, including S. interrupta, the prairie spotted skunk or “hydrophobia cat”) are found in nearly all parts of the state. The peccary (Tayassu angulatum) , the armadillo (Tatu novemcinctum) , the civet-cat (Bassariscus astutus flavus) , the Mexican bighorn (Ovis mexicanus) and the jaguar are Mexican species found in southern or south-western Texas. ”

“ Texas is much the largest state in the Union. Its length and breadth are nearly equal—about 750 m.—and its area is 262,398 sq. m., of which 3498 sq. m. are water surface.
Physical Features.—Texas is crossed by four physiographic provinces. In the S.E. are the West Gulf Plains, a part of the Coastal Plain province. ”

“ A good quality of oil—better in fact than the Ohio product, but not as good as that of Pennsylvania—was accidentally found at Corsicana, Navarro county, about 1894, and in 1898 it was discovered at a depth of 1040 ft. In 1901 an extraordinary “gusher” well was drilled near Beaumont, Jefferson county; in the nine days before this well was capped, it threw a stream of oil 160 ft. high, and poured out about 500,000 barrels. The development of the Hardin county field also began in 1902. As the result of these developments, the value of the oil product increased from $277,135 (546,070 bbls.) ”

“ So far as Spain was concerned this was only a form, inasmuch as Mexico, of which Texas formed a part, was just completing its long struggle for independence (1810-'21) . In that year also (December 1821) Stephen F. Austin established the first permanent Anglo-American settlement at San Felipe de Austin on the Brazos river. This was followed by an extensive immigration from the United States during the period of Mexican rule (1821-36) . It is estimated that the population, exclusive of Indians, increased from four thousand in 1821 to ten thousand in 1827, and nearly twenty thousand in 1830. ”

“ P. modestum) ,
is the most common of Texas lizards, except in the western counties where the Texas rock lizards (Sceloporus torquatus; S. clarkii; S. spinosus; S. consobrinus; S. dispar) are numerous. The tree swift, or scaly lizard, is also an inhabitant of western and south-western Texas. The green lizard, the fence lizard and whip-tailed lizard (Cnemidophorus gularis; C. sexlineatus; C. tesselatus, &c.) are quite widely distributed. The Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) , a poisonous lizard, whose bite is injurious but rarely, if ever, fatal to man, also occurs in the desert regions. ”

“ The estimates for 1909 were 9,334,000 acres and 2,570,000 bales.
In the value of live stock on farms and ranges, Texas ranked seventh among the states in 1880 and second in 1900, with a value of $240,576,955 The value of all domestic animals on farms and ranges in 1900 was $236,227,934, Texas ranking second in this respect among the states. The censuses from 1860 to 1900 showed a far greater number of neat cattle on farms and ranges in Texas than in an other state or Territory ”

“ A very thin soil covers the Edwards Plateau, but on the Llano Estacado are brownish and reddish loams derived from the sediments of a Neocene lake.
Agriculture.—The total farm acreage was 125,807,017 acres in 1900, the total number of farms [1] being 351,085, their average acreage 358.3 acres, 84.9 per cent. being operated by white farmers. There were 11,220 farms of 1000 acres and more; 10,183 between 500 and 1000 acres; 115,393 between 100 and 500 acres; and 88,537 between 50 and 100 acres. ”