0~ TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW Bureau of Business Research The University of Texas Vol. XV, No. 2 March, 1941 A Monthly Summary of Business and Economic Conditions in Texas and the Southwest Bureau of Business Research, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas Entered •• 1econd cla11 matter on May 7, 1928, at the post office at Austin. Texu, u-nder Act ef Aocuat 24. 1912 TEXAS l~COM£ y 5 OUP.CE. : bUl'.EAU·OF·IJUSINE.S\··Jl..-E.HAP..Cf.l · E. STIM ATES. TEN CENTS PER COPY ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW I-ND EXES or B US INE SS ACTIVITY IN TEXAS AVERAGE MONTH O F 1930 • 100/. W(IGHT IN COMPOS IT( IN O(X 1 (MPLO V M(NT ---2,sj'o ~RR(~g~ro7tRRL~~o;NGS ---2~~ PAY ROLLS 2~% OE:PARTM(NT STOR( SAU:S-IOY. (L(CTRIC POW(A C0"1SUMPTION-l.S/. Business Review and Prospect GENERAL BUSINESS Production in the heavy industries of the country ~as about reached theoretical capacity and further substantial increase in output awaits plant expansion which is now under way in many lines, especially in those directly re­lated to the defense program. Barron's index of industry and trade, which now stands at 98.5, reflects the saturated condition of in­dustrial capacity, since the index is at virtually the same level as it was two weeks ago. It is probable that no appreciable change will occur in the index during the next few weeks. The margin of gain over a year ago, which is now about twenty-four per cent, promises to widen still more, however, since last year at this period the trend of industrial activity has been definitely down­ward; whereas, now it is virtually horizontal. The secondary influence of defense expenditures is mak­ing itself felt to an increasing extent with the growth of pay rolls and the resulting rise in retail sales. Prices of a number of staple farm products are being affected by .the increased urban demand, although up to the present time farm commodity prices in the main have recovered only partially from the abnormally low level to which they descended after the depression of 1937. It is expected that the various forces making for more intense business activity will continue gradually to re­inforce each other, causing the business indexes ulti­mately to rise well above their present high level. The upward trend will not become pronounced, however, until new plant capacity is brought into operation in the defense industries and in those closely related to them. TEXAS BUSINESS Industry and trade in Texas maintained, during Febru­ary, a substantial margin of gain over last year, but ther~ was no measurable change from January to February of the current year. All of the factors entering into the composite index number showed gains over February, 1940, hut only three of them (employment, pay rolls, and electric power consumption) registered gains over both January of the current year and February a year ago. INDEXES OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY IN TEXAS Feb. Feb. Jun. 1941 1940 1941 Employment ------------­-------------­93.9 Pay Rolls ----------­_________ 100.9 90.1 93.2 93.3 99.6 Miscellaneous Freight Carloadings (Southwest District) --------------· 79.7 67.0 80.7 Crude Runs to Stills ----------------210.8 207.4 216.0* Department Storei Sales ----------------109.8 109.3 116.6 Electric Power Consumption ---·-------152.9 133.Q 147.0* COMPOSITE INDEX --------------------109.1 100.5 108.9* •Rerued. The outlook for further improvement in Texas busi­ness remains favorable. All three of the major sources of income in the State are rising (see cover page), and retail trade is expected to show its usual close relation to changes in spendable income. FARM CASH INCOME The distinguishing characteristic of this Bureau's monthly computation of farm cash income is that the estimates are made not only for the entire State hut also for each of the crop reporting districts of the State. The studies on the Natural Regions of Texas by Elmer H. Johnson of this Bureau, and the utilization of his studies by the United States Department of Agriculture in redistricting the State for crop reporting purposes, has made possible a precision in the use of current agri­cultural statistical data for income computing purposes not otherwise attainable. In this issue of the REVIEW, Mr. Johnson presents in brief outline some of the significant factors which are basic to agricultural production in the various crop reporting districts of the State. The relative homo­geneity of natural conditions within the respective dis­tricts is reflected in every district in a high degree of agricultural specialization so that the major part of the income for a given district is derived from only four or five major types of crop and livestock enterprises. This high degree of concentration of special crop and live­stock production within clearly defined geographic areas of the State, with the resulting huge surplus production and commercial marketings arising from this situation, contributes to the accuracy of the reported farm prices. Thus, with a large proportion of farm products entering commercial channels as a result of regional specialization and the consequent reliability of the reported farm prices, the computed farm cash income for each district and hence for the State has attained a high degree of accu­racy. The remaining margin of understatement is grad­ually being reduced as the research studies on income advance. The principal remaining problem relates to computing the value of local marketings of such pro­ducts as poultry, eggs, meat animals, fruits, and vege­tables. Studies under way for determining per capita consumption will aid in securing more complete in­formation on the income from these products. CURRENT FARM CASH INCOME Cash income from agriculture in Texas continues to run well ahead of last year, and the decline from Jan­ uary to February was less than usual. Computed farm cash income for February of $16,326,­ 000 represents a gain of more than fifteen per cent over February last year, and the January-February income of $37,740,000 indicates an increase of more than twenty-one per cent over the corresponding period a year ago. For 01her Texcu Data, See Statistical Tables at the End of This Publication INDEX OF AGRICULTURAL Feb. Jan. Districts 1941 1941 1-N ------­----------­ 74.5 59.2 1--S -----­---------­ 147.8 125.2 2 ---------­----­---­ 104.7 100.2 3 -----------­-------­ 133.2 113.5 4 ------------­-----­ 94.9 87.3 5 --------­---­-----­ 78.9 72.4 6 -------------­-­ 221.0 121.7 7 --------------­ 137.0 155.7 8 -------­-----------­ 115.0 120.2 9 -----­·-­---------­ 137.4 180.8 10 -----­-----­ 72.2 125.4 10--A ----­-------­ 133.8 154.4 STATE --------­ 116.4 109.3 CASH INCOME IN TEXAS Cumulative Income Feb. Jan.-Feb. Jan.-Feb. 1940 1941 1940 (000 Omitted) 74.0 3,197 3,086 119.2 4,133 3,004 75.7 4,088 2,788 115.2 2,041 1,728 76.7 4,975 3,865 47.3 1,438 822 107.0 3,366 2,426 144.7 2,282 2,212 105.2 2,530 2,114 114.6 3,707 2,575 84.4 819 886 178.2 5,164 5,628 101.7 37,740 31,134 Most of the gain in income is the result of the rise in prices of livestock and livestock products and does not, in the main, reflect an increase in marketings. The rise in prices of staple Texas farm products promises to go still further as the year advances and should this increase in prices later be accompanied by a rising vol­ume of marketings, as seems probable, the margin of gain in farm cash income in comparison with 1940 will tend to widen. Assuming that government subsidies in agriculture will not vary greatly from a year ago, rural buying power in Texas may be expected to improve substantially. F. A. BUECHEL. Crop Reporting Districts in Texas INTRODUCTION GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE First fact of importance about Texas is its size-its total area comprises 265,896 square miles, which is a little more than one-twelfth of the total area of con­tinental United States. A second fact concerns the geo­graphic location of this vast territory, reaching in the Panhandle from north of the latitude of Oklahoma City southward into the subtropical citrus growing lands of the Lower Rio Grande, and in an east-west direction extending from the humid forest lands of longleaf and shortleaf pines in East Texas, across the broad expanses of the rolling Texas Prairies and westward to the varie­gated short-grass plains of Western Texas, to the iso­lated mountains and associated phenomena of the Trans­Pecos region and the sandy bolsons and gravelly mesas of the El Paso country. A third fact is locational also­the geographic position of Texas with reference to the Gulf of Mexico, its location eastward of the Rocky Mountain elements, its position embracing the southern­most portions of the Western Plains and Prairies of the North American continent. A fourth fact is associated with all three of the foregoing: the great diversity of surface and sub-surface environments of the State, and related to this diversity, the widely varied natural re­sources occurring in large proportions owing to the basic conditions of the State's climate, geographic geology, and physiography. Still another aspect of Texas-a corollary of location-is the geographic orientation of the State: this includes, (a) its location on the Gulf of Mexico and therefore its access to deepwater trans­portation, and thus to the Eastern Seaboard and to world markets as well; (b) its situation with reference to Latin American lands bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea; and ( c) its location with reference to the structural geologic elements comprising the archi­tecture of the North American continent. Because of the extent and the diversity of the area embraced in Texas it is necessary to consider for the purpose of certain analyses, a practical sub-dividing of the State. Such subdivisions if used for agricultural purposes must be so laid out as to include within each district a general homogeneity of agricultural and range conditions. Factors basic to regional subdivision: One of the fundamental factors basic to such a sub-dividing of the State is climate. A most striking fact concerning this environmental factor in Texas is the great range of con­trasted climatic conditions within the State; these extend westward from humid East Texas and its luxuriant pine forests through the moderately humid Prairies into and beyond the sub-humid Plains; and from south to north, climatic conditions range from the sub-tropical Lower Rio Grande Valley with its citrus production to the Mid­latitude wheat growing lands of the Texas Panhandle. This wide range in climatic conditions is a function of the geographic location of the State in conjunction with the vast extent of Texas-the latter feature illustrated, for instance, by the fact that the Panhandle country is nearer Kansas City than it is to the Gulf Coast. Climatically, a very large share of the territory of Texas has a climate suitable for growing cotton, and this in spite of the fact that from the standpoint of tempera· ture, such features as seasonal temperatures and the length of the growing season vary considerably across the State from south to north, i.e., from citrus to wheat production. But great differences in annual rainfall, the wide variations in the type of occurrence, and the seasonal distribution of the rainfall result in funda­mental differences and greatly contrasted conditions in the physical environment of the different sections of the State. Obviously, climatic conditions are responsible for cer· tain of the larger differences in the environment of the State. It is obvious that the sweep of climatic variations gives the broader divisions of the State. Differences wrought by the factors of geographic geology and physiography, however, are also of outstanding im· portance agriculturally and otherwise, not only in the laying out of the larger homogeneous sections of the CROP AND LIVESTOCK REPORTING DISTRICTS OF TEXAS BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH THE UNIVERSITY Of TEXAS DISTRICT I-HIGH PLAINS NORTHERN HALf SOUTHERN HALf DISTRICT 2-RED BEDS PLAINS DI STRICT 3-WESTERN CROSSTI MBERS DISTRICT 4-BLACK & GRAND PRAIRIES DISTRICT 5-EAST TEXAS TIMBERED PLAINS DISTRICT 6-TRANS-PECOS DISTRICT 7-EDWARDS PLATEAU DI STRICT 8-SOUTHERN TEXAS PRAIRIES DI STRICT 9-COASTAL PRAIRIES DI STRICT JO-SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS & LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY State, but also in bringing about very significant diff eren­tiations within these large climatic regions. That is, the larger divisions based on obvious climatic differences are sub-divided on the bases and reactions of physio­graphic conditions and outcrops of geologic materials. The outstanding features of the geographic geology and physiography of Texas are distinctively expressed in the larger physiographic provinces which also are so obvious. These include the Trans-Pecos-veritably a country unto itself, the southernmost units of the Great Plains (which include the High Plains and the Ed­wards Plateau), the Central Denuded Region, and the Texas sections of the Gulf Coastal Plain. The very close inter-relationships of these two major and basic environmental features-the climatic factors and the geographic geology and physiography-are reflected primarily in the conditions and characteristic features of water supplies-of surface waters, soil mois­ture, and underground. supplies. In the light of the close inter-relations of water con­ ditions, climatic features, and the geographic geology and physiography within any given extent of territory, it is possible to interpret scientifically the distribution and characteristics of the derived environmental features -of both soils and natural vegetation, and therefore the bases of agricultural production in the area or region concerned. The geographic geology and the interrelated physio­graphy of the several regions of Texas give a topo· graphic distinction to the characteristics of the various natural divisions or regions of the State. For instance, faulting and the relative position of fault blocks together with widespread vulcanism in places, are predominant in forming the landscape of much of the Trans-Pecos coun­try. The rest of the State is dominantly made up of a series of plains, arranged in a sort of stair-step pattern steadily rising from the coast westward. In these various plains the surface occurrence of hard or soft rocks, of resistant or friable geologic materials, the occurrence of sculpturing effects of erosion on the one hand or of the constructional effects of deposition on the other, are the factors generally determining the characteristics of the landscape. Flattish plains, wherever they occur in Texas, almost always indicate constructional lands; dissected and rugged areas, scarps, and the like, ob­viously reflect conditions in which erosional forces now at least are dominant. Rolling plains, as a rule, indicate some degree of balance between constructional aspects of surface deposition or aggradation on the one hand and the degradational effects of erosion on the other; within the larger region, the type of topography indicates the degree of dominance of constructional or of destruc­tional forces in the particular area. To sum up: It may be stated briefly that excepting the Trans-Pecos country-much of which is a region entirely different from the rest of the State-Texas is made up of a series of plains, often of belted pattern, which rise gradually interiorward from the Gulf Coast, and which are separated by a series of topographic breaks or escarpments. A large share of the area of Texas is characterized by the distinctly belted pattern of topography, which is so distinctively expressed throughout the Coastal Plain and the Red Beds Plains. In these cases, the surface is dominated by topographic lowlands, characteristically developed on "weaker" geologic outcrops. The surface of these lowlands may be characterized by somewhat dissected conditions on the one hand or by a flattish surface on the other, or it may have an intermediate type of somewhat subdued rolling topography, the units of which are more or less sharply set off from each other by scarps, many of which are a result of differential erosion and denudation. In addition to the belted plains there occur tableland regions of large extent in varying degrees of dissection, such as is the case of the Edwards Plateau and the High Plains. These tablelands are bordered in part by escarp­ments, some of which are steep and sharp featured, or they may he rather subdued due to a combination of various physiographic circumstances. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Historically, the development of Texas may he said to represent a series of economic and social adjustments to the physical geographic conditions of the various regions concerned, each series of these adjustments being conditioned by the availability of technologic equipment and cultural attainments which at that period could be applied to the utilization of the natural resources con­cerned. Each of these series of adjustments may he regarded as an historical sector in the conquest of environmental conditions of this portion of the North American con­ tinent. Disregarding here the pre-Anglo American oc­ cupation of Texas, the economic conquest of the State and the utilization of its natural resources took the form of great wave-like movements which advanced zone-wise across Texas. The early Anglo-American settlements were in the humid sections of the eastern part of the State and along major streams such as the Colorado and the Brazos; by the middle of last century, settlements had progressed into Central Texas. The ingress of German colonists and the formation of agricultural settle­ ments, such as New Braunfels and Fredericksburg, were well begun by the middle of last century. Still another feature of the early Anglo-American occupation was that concerned with ranching in the coastal lands of Texas, particularly in the section south of Houston. In this earlier period of western expansion settlers generally avoided the open landscapes of the Black Prairies with their rich soils north of the Colorado River; there were a number of definite reasons for this evasion. But about the middle of the century there began a wave of settlements which crossed the rolling lands of the then waterless interstream areas of the Black Prairies and located beyond them in the wooded country of the Eastern and Western Cross Timbers. These strips of timbered country lying between the Prairies and the short-grass plains to the west, remained for a quarter of a century a prominent frontier zone in Texas. From the Cross Timbers belt westward nearly to the Rio Grande in New Mexico, the flattish to rolling plains country extended as a vast barrier-a barrier due primarily to the scarcity of surface waters; but it was a barrier which was all the more serious owing to the presence of roving Indian tribesmen -whose know ledge of strategy and whose fighting ability on their own ground have never been questioned. It was not until 1874 that Mackenzie broke the back­bone of the Indian resistance in West Texas; then fol­lowed in rapid order the slaughter of the buffalo-of the Great Southern herd. For a short period great quantities of buffalo hides were hauled to such depots as Fort Griffin, Texas, and Dodge City, Kansas. With the buffalo gone the Indian menace of the Plains was laid for all time, and in short order the pioneer cattlemen moved in. A new era in the settle­ment of the West had begun. As Frederick Jackson Turner has observed: "The day of river settlements (in the Westward Movement) was succeeded by the era of inter-river settlement and railway transportation." Fol­lowing the great tide of cattle that literally swept the Western Plains, came the railways and the railway engineers who solved the problem of water supply by drilling deep wells. Then in rapid succession came the wind-mill, barbed-wire fencing, and, after the turn of the century, farming operations in these Western Plains began a steady expansion which as a dominant movement was to continue through a period of three decades. While ranching in the western part of the State was being revolutionized in the decades of the 70's and 80's, another phase of development was taking place in the central and eastern sections of Texas. Railway extension was opening up the Black Prairies for cotton growing, making them the premier cotton region of the world, and at the same time it was initiating a move­ment for large scale lumbering activities in the forests of East Texas. The growth of railroad operations in Texas during these decades at the close of last century was reflected not only in the extension of farming, ranching, and lumbering operations but also in the rise of important commercial centers. The importance of oil and other mineral resources together with their revolutionary effects upon the economy of Texas came after the turn of the century. THE CROP REPORTING DISTRICTS AND REGIONAL ANALYSIS The crop reporting districts of Texas are so laid out as to include within each the greatest degree of agri­cultural and range homogeneity possible in the limited number of districts practicable for the purposes con­ cerned. It is to be kept in mind, however, that within each district occur areas of considerable size, either individ­ually or in the aggregate, whose special characteristics depart markedly from the general environment of the district. ~nowledge of basic features concerning the physical environment of these various districts makes possible and is an essential requisite to a common sense interpre­tation of the agricultural or range utilization of the lands involved. A natural region is an extent of territory characterized throughout by a distinctive homogeneity of the basic fac­tors comprising its physical environment; it is a geo­graphic unit embracing an area characterized by the likeness of its physical features and natural resources. This homogeneity unmistakably differentiates the region from adjacent territory which in turn is comprised within other natural regions. Broadly speaking, the degree of homogeneity is a function primarily of the elements of the geographic geology, including physiography, and the climate of the territory concerned. The character­istics of this homogeneity are determined basically by the interactions of climate and geographic geology (of the past, as well as the present) and are expressed physically in the physiography and water supply, the natural vegetaiion and soils, and in the variety, char­acteristics, and extent of mineral resources of the region. The various elements comprising a region, whether environmental factors or those pertaining to resources, are inter-related and as a rule are interdependent; the homogeneity of the region is itself an expression of this inherent inter-relationship. The concepts of an economic region, of regional eco· nomics, or of the highly important feature of the integration of the regional economies of a state or nation are all closely related to the concept of the natural regions concerned, as above defined. Economic and social adjustments to areal units of the physical environment, i.e. the natural regions, are func­tions of the impact of economic movements, of forces and trends which in turn express themselves in the pattern of occupation and the type and form of utiliza­tion of the natural resources of the region concerned. The natural region is an areal expression of natural factors; it remains pretty well fixed so far as human time is concerned. The economic region represents the super­imposition of a set of institutional factors upon the natural region or portions thereof; the economic region is therefore subject to changes, often of marked extent, even within the time limits of one generation. (Note: In this brief survey of the crop reporting districts, all items pertaining to oil, natural gas, non-metallic re­sources, and industrial development are intentionally omitted.) The Trans-Pecos (District 6) Of Texas regions the Trans-Pecos landscape even to the untrained eye is different. It is different indeed from other portions of Texas and from other portions of Southwestern United States. Geologically speaking its structure is highly complex; this structure is dominated by the greatly disturbed conditions of its underlying rocks. It is dominated by the displacement of great fault blocks and the attendant sharp-faced, steep, and often high topographic escarpments, between which are the intervening, often down-faulted lowlands of con­siderable size now wholly or in part deeply covered with alluvial fill which has been carried in from the adjacent highland areas. These fills form plains of local extent, most of which in the Trans-Pecos are bolsons, though some of them have been subject to considerable erosion and comprise the so-called mesas. In addition to the fault-block highlands, now greatly modified by erosion, and the intervening lowlands deeply covered over by constructional materials, large areas within the Trans· Pecos are the products of widespread vulcanism. Great lava flows occurred in Tertiary time; the Davis Moun­tains, now somewhat modified by erosion, were formed in one of these periods of vulcanism. In addition to these physiographic features of mountain ranges and intervening basins which give distinction to the land­scape of the Trans-Pecos, there is included along the eastern margin another type of physiographic expression -the Stockton Plateau which is the western continua­tion (west of the Pecos) of the Edwards Plateau, and the Pecos Lowland area, both of which belong to the physiographic province of the Great Plains. Neither the apparent order of occurrence of thg dom­ inant structural elements nor the details of the physio­ graphic features of the Trans-Pecos will be given consideration here; instead, only the general classifica­ tion which includes the highlands and mountain elements, the intervening filled-in lowlands, and the marginal plains must suffice. (Parenthetically, the crossinf!; of several major physiographic features in the Trans-Pecos may be noted: 1. that represented by the Franklin Mountains, a continuation of the north-south trend of the San Andreas and Organ Mountains of New Mexico; 2. that of the Hueco, Quitman, Eagle, Sierra Vieja, Chinati, and Bofecillos ranges; 3. the Guadalupe, Ord and Santiallo ranges, together with the Davis Moun­tains; and 4. the Trans-continental Lineament, the master lineament of southwestern United States, with a north-west south-east trend.) Locally, as on the Diablo Plateau and in the Davis Mountains, occur constructional areas-alluvial or overwash deposition on slight slopes; these constructional areas tog;ether with the lower por­tions of the filled-in valley lowlands have deeper soih and therefore naturally comprise the better grazinf!; lands. The sharp-featured escarpments and much of the mar­ginal portions of the highland . areas are strongly erosional and thus have little or no soil. Such areas often form the picturesque landscapes so aptly designated by Dr. Robert T. Hill as rock-scapes. Scenically, the Trans-Pecos is a country unto itself. The expression of its many landscapes is indeed different; its scenic views are at once simple and majestic; its contrasts magnificent. It is a wonderland, scientifically and otherwise-a wonderland which, in the century that has elapsed since the first scientific expeditions entered it, has but slowly yielded up its secrets; indeed, manv of these secrets it still effectively conceals. The Big Bend district is a vast faultbroken, dissected plateau which continues into Mexico and from which it is separated only by the Rio Grande with its magnificent canyoned courses and narrow gorges, of which the Santa Hel~na Canyon is an outstanding example. Mountain eminences in the Trans-Pecos include El Capitan, Guadu­lupe Peak, Mount Livermore, Eagle Mountain, the Chisos Mountains and others, all outstanding as scenic features, and with most of which are associated scientific prob­lems of wide interest. The territory of the Trans-Pecos country itself is with­out outside drainage; the Rio Grande and the Pecos are through-flowing streams which in that region resemble great trenches or canals; within the Texas portion of the Trans-Pecos these two master streams receive no permanent tributaries of any consequence. Water supplies of this district are obtained from the Rio Grande, from wells in the deep filled-in materials of the bolson areas and from springs which occur in and about the margins of the volcanic materials of the Davis Mountains and in various other scattered places as the Hueco Tanks, including such appropriately named watering places as Apache Spring, Rustler Spring, Bone Springs and the like. Owing to its geographic location, the Trans-Pecos is a land of little rain, comparatively speaking; on the elevated areas, however, evaporation is greatly reduc~d, thus extending considerably the effectiveness of the ram· fall and lowlands at the foot of strong slopes receive lar~e amounts of flood waters following heavy rains. Much of the rainfall is of a sporadic nature, the rainy season occurring in July, August, and September. The disposal of the rainfall varies considerably with the type of occurrence and with the surface conditions of the area where it falls. The characteristically dry arroyas, for instance, may suddenly become raging torre~ts, capable of destroying whatever is in the way; particularly do the sporadic downpours reflect conditions characteristic of other dry regions of the world. In the Trans-Pecos the outstanding factors in various features of the physical environment-climate and weather, physiography and geographic ge?logy, wat?r supplies and soils-are pretty thoroughly mtegrat~ m the expression of its various forms of natural vegetation. These vegetation types vary with the soil and the rainfall, from the typical short grass and the shrubby woody growth (creosote bush, e.g.) on the one hand where the soils are deeper, or of the cacti-lechuguilla rocky slope types on the other, to the scattered timbered cov?r on the isolated mountain slopes and the heavier timber on the summits of some of the higher elevations. The most important natural resource of the Trans­ Pecos other than water is the natural vegetation--short grasses and browse plants-which support~ the very important and highly distinctive livestock mdustry of that section of the State. Livestock production will long remain a dominant economic interest of the region. Irrigation is, of course, very important, but th~ area irrigated is and can be at most but a small fraction of the total. Most important irrigated area is that of the alluvial lands along the Rio Grande lowland below El Paso; a complementary irrigated section is that along the Rio Grande above El Paso-the Mesilla Valley coun· try of New Mexico-which comprises also an imp?rtant item in the trade territory of El Paso. Elsewhere m the Trans-Pecos, about the margins of the Davis Mountains and between the Davis Mountains and the Pecos River, occur local irrigated areas which in spite of their limited area are of considerable importance to the economy of the region. An item of economic consideration in the Trans-Pecos which deserves much more serious attention than has been given it is that of its many and varied scenic attrac­tions. For simplicity of grandeur, for sharpness of contrasts, for being different and presenting the unex­pected either in landscapes, vegetation, or local color, various portions of the Trans-Pecos are without a rival. THE GREAT PLAINS The Great Plains physiographic province includes in Texas the High Plains region and the Edwards Plateau. The Great Plains includes the plains zone lying east of the Rocky Mountains, and extends from Canada to the Rio Grande. The High Plains (Districts 1-N and 1-S) Physiographically the High Plains country is a gi­ gantic tableland; it is a vast quadrangular shaped, mesa­ like region, which stands out rather sharply high above the erosional plains of lower elevation at both its eastern and western margins: the Red Beds Plains at the east and the Pecos Lowland of New Mexico at the west. The steep, sharp featured escarpments of the High Plains­ the caprock-are supported by the thick layers of caliche which resist erosion and into which the precipitous cuts of marginal canyons along the eastern and northern margins have been extended. Geologically, the underly­ ing foundation of this region-an old, erosionally planed­ off surfac«r-has been appropriately designated by Dr. Hill as the Platform of the Plains. This old surfac«r­ the land surface at a former geologic time-has since been covered over by stream deposited sediments, spread out in large apron-like forms, and comprising great lenses of sands and gravels which now serve as aquifiers. These coarser deposits in turn were subsequently blanketed by rather thick deposits of fine-textured materials which can hardly be anything other than the result of wind erosion and deposition. Wind erosion, it may be noted, has for ages been of extreme importance in the physiography of the entire Southwest, not only in its sculpturing effects but also as a depositional agent. !he High Plains country is a plain though it is neither flat nor level. South of the Canadian trench it has a gentle slope to the southeast, and the surface most everywhere is marked by the occurrence of sinks or shallow lakes; the generally billowy-like topography which prevails over the lands between these sinks is a characteristic feature of the High Plains as a whole. It may be noted here that the trench and adjacent breaks of the Canadian River constitute a physiographic feature which in size and variety is one of no small proportions. The High Plains region is a representative short-grass country-perhaps the most representative of such reo-ions in the world; yet by no means was all the territo;y of the High Plains originally typical short-grass country. Wherever occur variations from the smooth surface con­ditions underlain by silty clays or clay loams, whether these variations are reflected only in topography or by geologic materials, or both, the change is reflected at once in the vegetation, the vegetative cover thereon departing more or less sharply from the typical stand of the pure short-grass cover. With the occupation of these lands by white men, with the general occurrence of overgrazing and the reduction by widespread grass fires, the woody and other non-grass vegetation has ex­panded at the expense of the short grasses. Chief among the physiographic features which bring about important variations from the representative High Plains environment are the breaks of the Canadian, the canyoned eastern margin of the. Plains, the sandy strips (in places well developed sand dunes, many of them mobile and covering considerable areas, have been formed) which occur at the western and particularly at the southwestern sections of the High Plains region, and the floors of the deeper sinks. These areas whose charac­teristics depart from the representative conditions of the short-grass environment now remain as range lands whereas a large percentage of the representative short­grass country-characterized by its smooth areas and heavier textured soils-is now occupied by farms. Naturally, the rainfall of the High Plains decreases westward; and, of course, the evaporation increases southward. But, in addition, the High Plains country, due to textural differences of surface materials, is dif­ferentiated from east to west into a zonal pattern; these north-south extending zones are associated with im­portant differences in the dominant textures of the surface geologic materials, the finest textures occurring along the eastern margin. Considered in somewhat more detail these textural zones have a north-west south-east trend: the finest textured surface materials occur at the north­eastern portion of the Plains, whereas the deepest sands -the coarse textured materials-occur along the south­western margin; between these zones of extreme textures for the High Plains occur belts whose materials are transitional in texture between the coarser sands on the one hand and the fine textured clays on the other. Only one permanent stream, the Canadian, entirely crosses the Texas portion of the High Plains. Much of the excess moisture in the rainy season flows into the numerous sinks which are so distinctive as a character­istic of the plains landscape; on the representative upland surfaces, sheet erosion rather than the gully type is the more important. On the steeper slopes, however, gully erosion may become severe and extremely harmful. The underground water supply is tapped by numerous wells and the familiar wind-mill is everywhere one of the distinctive features of the landscape of the High Plains. In recent years the widespread use of irrigation water from wells has been attracting increasing attention ; this is particularly the case over fairly large areas north and northwest of Lubbock. The climate of the High Plains is sub-humid, with the average rainfall decreasing westward. Over a period of several years the low rainfall in some of the years is readily apparent as the critical factor limiting the annual agricultural production of the region. lrreguI\rities in its seasonal occurrence and areal distribution as well as in the type of its occurrence still further reduce the usefulness of the total annual rainfall. On the other hand, the soils of the High Plains are very fertile and deep, and with sufficient moisture they are extremely productive; nor is there any indication but that this high productivity can be maintained for a long time to come. The soils of the High Plains belong to the Black Earth or Chernozem group of soils, a group noted the world over for its high inherent fertility. The possibility for the settling of the High Plains was realized in the 1870's, with the removal of the Indians and the slaughter of the great buffalo herds. Cattle ranches were established as soon as the buffalo were gone and in the '80's a veritable tide of cattle swept into and across the High Plains country. With the extension of railways across the plains in the '80's came deep drilling for water. The well-drill, the wind-mill, and barbed-wire fencing, together with the railroad, all were important and critical items in the cattleman's conquest of these short-grass lands, just as a little later the advent of large power-machinery made possible the agricultural conquest of the arable areas of these lands so admirably adapted to large-scale utilization by machinery. The production of livestock is important throughout the entire extent of the High Plains; differences in the distribution of cash crops, however, makes necessary a subdivision of the region into northern and southern sec­tions. In the northern portion, 1-N, wheat is the dom­inant farm enterprise, whereas in the southern portion, 1-S, it is cotton and cotton seed, together with large production of grain sorghums. The Edwards Plateau (District 7) The Edwards Plateau is the southernmost segment of the Great Plains, the latter comprising a vast physio­graphic province of North America lying east of the Cordilleras, and which stretches from the great wheat lands of western Canada southward across the United States to the Rio Grande. Physiographically, the Edwards Plateau is a great tableland underlain by nearly horizontal limestone strata. These limestone strata are well consolidated, and unlike the High Plains, the Edwards Plateau region as a whole is not covered over by a thick blanket of unconsolidated sediments. The undissected, smooth-featured summit remnants of a former plain in the central and north­western portions of the region are covered with such deposits on which has developed a black soil which is fairly deep. The margins of the Plateau are frayed and dissected by erosion into a pleasing variety of physiographic features; much of this marginal country is designated locally as the "hill country," and in places as "the mountains." On such erosional lands soils at best are thin; over considerable areas they are very thin, the bare rock materials or caliche being exposed at the surface. The eastern and southern margin of the Edwards Plateau ends abruptly with the Balcones Escarpment­which is a great faulted zone, now dissected and eroded, and which marks the meeting place of the Great Plains province with that of the Coastal Plains. The Balcones is truly one of the great lineaments and dividing zones of the continent of North America. This section of the Plateau along the Balcones zone has been thoroughly dissected; interiorward, the landscape is characteristically that of a mature stage in the develop­ment of the existing topographic cycle. The surface interior from the Balcones Escarpment is dominantly erosional, and over large areas occur the typical rock terraced slopes on the Glen Rose formation. One sector of this formation comprises alternating layers of marly clays (generally weathering to a yellowish hue) inter­stratified with thinner layers of limestone. The weather­ing of these alternating beds produces the terrace effect, the resistant limestone layers jutting out, thus forming the ledges, with the slopes on the intervening thicker clay layers. The Edwards Plateau is primarily a grazing country. Owing to its size and the variety of physical conditions it embraces, this region is of primary importance in making up the agricultural picture of Texas. The smoother summit areas with their heavy textured black soils present typically a savanna landscape. The rich soils support an excellent growth of short grasses, the representative one being the sub-tropical mesquite grass. The rather narrow valley lowlands are underlain with alluvial soils which in many cases are now used for the growing of crops. To a large extent the crops thus grown are supplemental to the livestock industry. The width of these valleys is of course relative. Compared with valleys of streams of similar size in the unconsoli­dated beds of the Coastal Plain, they are narrow; rela­tive to the size of the streams now occupying them, they are wide and deep. Not only do the erosional and dissected margins of the Edwards Plateau serve to diversify the environment of the region, but because of geologic and climatic condi­tions, each of these frayed and variegated marginal sec­tions has distinctive qualities peculiarly its own, thus serving to differentiate the Edwards Plateau into a num­ber of distinctive sub-regions. Each of these sub-regions is marked distinctively by its characteristic vegetative cover. In brief, the southwestern portion of the Plateau, often strongly erosional, dominantly with very thin soils, and subject to long, dry periods of high temperatures is characterized by a sub-tropical vegetation dominated by shrubs (such as the creosote bush or the guajillo) on the one hand or the lechuguilla-agave type on the other. The creosote bush occupies areas underlain by softer materials; the agave-lechuguilla type by hard frag­mented rocks, usually characterized by a rough; surface. This section of the Edwards Plateau is distinctively sub­tropical in character. The southern and eastern margin-the maturely dis­sected country along and interior from the Balcones Escarpment, much of which has been developed on the Glen Rose formation and is also marked by the preva­lence of shallow caliche--comprises the picturesque cedar brakes country. Cedar growth generally charac­terizes very rocky slopes with practically no soil at all; cedar brakes also are found on such areas throughout the Plateau except in the southwest corner, where a dif­ferent vegetation-one containing scattering cedars of the western type-prevails. The cedar brakes country com­prises a zone of irregular boundaries, many miles in width, which extends as a great vegetation formation from the Colorado River to the vicinity of Uvalde. Cedar brakes areas also extend north of the Colorado River but owing to the type of dissection, not as a continuous vegetation formation which is so characteristic south of the Colorado. The Balcones zone is noted particularly for the oc­currence of immense springs which literally burst forth along this margin of the Edwards Plateau and whose clear waters in several cases form rivers. These springs, from Austin to Del Rio, and their attendant rivers are outstanding as scenic features. They are important also as sources of water supply. And, it would be a curious fact indeed should these sources of permanent water supply not have been of outstanding importance from the distant periods of pre-historic occupation even down to the present. The western margin of the Edwards Plateau country bordering the Pecos River and extending eastward there­from is mostly a dissected and strongly erosional belt underlain by consolidated limestone. A high percentage of run-off would naturally be expected under the pre· vailing topographic conditions; this condition is accen­tuated by the characteristic rainfall which is marked by occasional heavy rains and downpours. The representa­tive vegetation is a shrub type, such as the scattered western cedar on the higher rocky slopes and by the creosote bush on thin-soiled pediment slopes underlain by shallow caliche nearer the trench of the Pecos. The northern margin of the Plateau, southward from the Colorado River is dissected and furthermore it is rather deeply trenched by such streams as the north­eastward flowing Llano and San Saba. The productive alluvial lowlands are farmed, but even here such arable lands comprise but a small proportion of the total land area of the section in which they occur. Much of the upland areas of the central and northeastern portion of the Edwards Plateau is characterized by a live-oak savanna vegetation with the typical occurrence of short grasses, although thinner soil areas are marked by the thick shrubby growth of what locally is termed shin-oak country. Summing up briefly, the Edwards Plateau is a great limestone tableland or mesa now more or less thoroughly dissected and whose dominantly erosional surfaces are characterized generally by very thin soils. The re~ion stands out in the agricultural picture of Texas because of the volume and diversity of its livestock activities. The livestock production of the region is predominantly dependent upon the natural vegetation of the various portions of the Plateau; ecologically considered, the various types of physical environments represented in the various sub-divisions of the Plateau are reflected in the type and character of the vegetative cover. And as illus­trative of the principles of regional economics, the various types and kinds of livestock production in the Plateau represent areal economic adjustments in ranch­ing organization to the different environmental condi­tions concerned, particularly that of the natural vege­tation. The Llano Country.-lncluded within the crop report­ing district mostly dominated by the Edwards Plateau is a section that is quite different environmentally from the Edwards Plateau country; it includes a severely denuded area from which the sedimentary rocks have been entirely removed; even the exposed underpinning of the ancient, highly resistant rocks, which are gneissic and granitic in nature, has been eroded and sculptured into topographic forms, the ones of higher elevation being known as mountains. This area has been termed the Llano country, being threaded by the Llano River just above where that stream enters the Colorado. The landscape of the central portion of the Llano country is different from that of the Edwards Plateau­indeed, it is fundamentally different from that of any other section of the State. As a whole, the relief of the Llano country is rugged and hilly. Much of the rolling surfaces of this old-rock country are covered with coarse soils which are little more than disintegrated granitic materials. Such areas of coarse textured soils are not characterized by grass vegetation; instead, the character­istic growth is a live oak woodland with an undergrowth of leguminous herbs. The lower slopes comprising finer textured depositional materials and whose surfaces are in part constructional, support a mixed growth of live oak and mesquite trees, with some grasses, forming a typical savanna landscape. Adjacent to the old-rock central area of the Llano country and more or less completely surrounding it is an irregular shaped zone, rolling to rough in appearance, erosional in nature and characterized by thin soils. This irregularly shaped territory is underlain by ancient rocks of Paleozoic age, generally very resistant, many of which are dolomitic limestones, though sandstones occur in some places. lnfacing escarpments of Cretaceous limestones which form the Edwards Plateau more or less completely sur­round and enclose the Llano country which physio­graphically is a lowland of denudation formed on the Llano Uplift. CENTRAL DENUDED REGION The Red Beds Plains (District 2) Eastward from the sharp featured cap-rock escarpment of the High Plains and northward from the frayed margins of the Edwards Plateau lies the western portion of a vast eroded and planed-off country long since designated by Dr. Hill as the Central Denuded Region; originally, Dr. Hill apparently limited the Central De­nuded Region to those areas lying between the infacing or westward facing escarpments of the Cretaceous (per­haps what is now called the Goodland Escarpment) at the east and the cap-rock escarpment of the High Plains at the west. This region which comprises a varied assemblage of physiographic and other physical features includes at the west the country of the Red Beds Plains. The Red Beds Plains portion of the Central Denuded Region embraces the southwesternmost extension of the Central plains of the United States--a major physio­graphic province of North America lying east of the central portion of the Great Plains. The Red Beds Plains is a dissected country; in general, it is characterized by its broad rolling landscapes. It has a belted-cuesta type of topography whose conditions vary considerably from east to west across the belts it comprises. Rugged landscapes are characteristic of the stream cuts which extend across these cuesta ridges. Layer by layer the strata formerly underlying this region have been stripped away by the forces of erosion and denudation. Erosional remnants such as Double Mountain or the flattish summits of the Callahan Divide not only indicate the former extent to great thicknesses of these sedimentary rocks which long since have been stripped away, exposing the generally friable Permian "red beds" materials beneath; but their summits mark the extent of the great sheet of the Comanchean Creta­ceous rocks which formerly spread over the entire area. The Permian and Triassic strata in this portion of the State dip westward and extend beneath the summit areas of the High Plains; they reappear on the western limb of this great syncline, in the Pecos Lowland of New Mexico. The exposed outcrops of these strata trend in a general north-south direction, and the Red Beds Plains region with its stair-step topographic pattern is thus a belted country, but with the sharper escarpments facing east­ward, and the longer back slopes of the cuesta-patterned topography extending more or less gently westward to and underneath the next east-facing scarp, finally ending with the caprock escarpment of the High Plains. Each of these belts of country is characterized by its own distinctive type of physiographic and other physical features which, in turn, as would be expected, are closely associated with the natural vegetation cover and the soils and therefore with the uses that now are made of the lands occupying each of these belts. The westernmost belt of country lying below and adjacent to the cap-rock of the High Plains, comprising an irregular strip, widest at the south and almost neg­ligible at the north, is not Permian but is Triassic in age. The more horizontal attitude of the alternating layers (sandstones with relatively thick layers of heavy clay between) has produced, as erosion and dissection pro­gressed, a distinctive topographic type characteristic of this belt. This comprises in general the relief-upholding layers of the consolidated sandstones, now strongly erosional, and the flattish-floored lowlands on heavy clays which in places at least are blanketed by deposi­tional materials and are characterized generally by con­structional slopes. Of the three topographic belts of the Permian, the westernmost may appropriately by designated as the Gypsum Belt or the Gypsum Plains--its rolling and dissected nature being closely related to the "strong" and thick layers of gypsum whose outcrops form char­acteristic escarpment features of the landscape; the easternmost belt of the Permian, also of variegated topography, is underlain by the Wichita-Albany beds (dominantly limestones at the south, but which grade into sandy clays northward toward Red River). Between these dissected and erosional belts are the fairly ex­tensirn constructional surfaces and smooth plains of the lowland belt which is characteristic of the "weaker" Clear Fork beds of the Permian. This latter region, the middle section, of the Red Beds Plains may appropriately be designated as the Abilene-Haskell Plains; northward across Red River they extend into the vicinity of Altus, Oklahoma. Geologically the greater part by far of the Permian materials are friable; they crumble readily, and thus are very susceptible to the work of erosional agencies. Un­questionably wind erosion has long been an important factor in these regions; and deep cut, sharp faced gorges are especially characteristic of water erosion in the western portions of the Permian Plains. The thick beds of clayey materials constitute belts of physiographic weakness; the alternating, thin, more resistant beds of dolomite or sandstone or thick beds of gypsum are relief· upholding formations, which as denudation progressed, formed the north-south extending scarps whose dissected fronts and crenulated patterns give a particular dis· tinctiveness to the belted landscape throughout the extent of the Permian Plains. The Red Beds Plains country occupies topographically a considerably lower elevation than the High Plains; also, in contrast to the constructional landscape of the High Plains, the surface features of the Permian Plains have been produced mainly by erosional and degrada­tional forces. A large proportion of the surface of the Permian Plains is now erosional, much of it strongly so, and such areas obviously are suitable only for range utilization. Constructional surfaces, however, do occur in the Red Beds country; such surfaces are of two types. One type characterizes predominantly flattish areas, usually devel­oped in elongated belts of country underlain by "weaker" geologic materials; the other occurs on the rolling areas, particularly those in the Gypsum Belt. The fine tex· tured materials of these constructional surfaces are apparently wind deposited and on the flatter areas many of the characteristics of the High Plains are duplicated in miniature. On such flattish areas occur deep and very productiYe soils of the Black Earth group. The more rolling areas of the Permian Plains country, even when covered with a blanket of finer textured materials, are in general much better adapted to range utilization than to farming; in some cases, however, with proper care, such areas with more gentle slopes can be successfully cultivated, and if moisture is adequate the yields are extraordinarily high. Farm crops in the Red Beds Plains are dominantly cotton and grain sorghums though considerable quanti­ties of wheat are also grown. The Western Cross Timbers (District·3) Like the Permian Plains to the west the Western Cross Timbers comprise a portion of the larger physiograpbic sections designated as the Central Denuded Region. Lying between the Red Beds on the one side and the Grand Prairies of the Comanchean Cretaceous limestones on the other, the north-south trending physiographic elements of the Wes tern Cross Timbers are in the main underlain by resistant rocks, of Carboniferous age; these rocks vary from conglomerates and hard sandstone to old and strongly resistant limestones. Considered as a whole, this region is variegated upland or low plateau which presents a somewhat modified cuesta topo­graphy; the upland as a whole is rather sharply dis­sected by numerous streams, the larger ones being characterized by an intricate meander pattern which is deeply intrenched into the hardrock upland. This is the case of the Brazos River which flows through the rugged Palo Pinto area in a rather deep and narrow gorge. The areas underlain by resistant rocks are dom­inated by erosional surfaces, oftentimes with fairly steep slopes and therefore the soils in such locations are thin. Locally, strips of depositional materials occur along the streams. Though these are wooded areas, a considerable display of grasses occurs, and like the rest of the district, these lands are used mostly for grazing. More or less local sandy areas occur, characteristic of the rolling plains underlain by the friable pack-sands of the basal Cretaceous sediments. Such "weak" rock areas support a hardwood growth of post oak and black jack woodland and are suitable for special crops, par­ticularly peanuts and fruits. These sandy areas form one phase of the Wes tern Cross Timbers. These sands when cleared and plowed become sources of blow sands which in many cases accumulate along the edge of cleared fields in th~ form of dunes. The portion of this region underlain by resistant rocks is mainly range country. Where deeper soils have formed on local slopes of the smoother portions of the limestone uplands a certain amount of grass vegetation is characteristic; but in the main the vegetative cover is now a woodland, ranging from mesquite shrubs on the limestone uplands and on the lower slopes of construc­tional plains to the scrubby hardwoods characteristic of the thin soiled sandstone uplands and the higher slopes or the scraggly cedar shrubs on the steep-sloped lime­stone scarps. THE COASTAL PLAIN That part of Texas east of the Edwards Plateau and the Comanchean Cretaceous outcrops of North-central Texas is occupied by the Coastal Plain. In the main, this is a province of comparatively slight relief; never­theless, it is one which comprises and is distinguished by a vast diversity of topographic conditions. Physiographically, the Coastal Plain, like the Great Plains and the Central Plains, constitutes a major phy­siographic sub-division of the North American continent. Extending from Cape Cod and Long Island southward along the Atlantic coast, it includes all of Florida, and thence westward along the Gulf of Mexico it extends well into Texas. Geologically, the Coastal Plain is a sort of annex to the North American Continent, forming a tape of young geologic materials attached to the older hard rocks of the interior. The Coastal Plain forms a third of the area of Texas, but in this State, it bends southward and extends into Mexico, roughly paralleling the Gulf Coast. Its most southern unit, after having bent around the Gulf of Mexico, comprises the Peninsula of Yucatan. Throughout its entire extent in North America the Coastal Plain is crossed by through-flowing streams which as a rule have cut extraordinarily broad valley lowlands at almost right angles across the strata out­crops of the generally soft and non-resistant geologic materials characteristic of the entire Coastal Plain province. Geologically most of the formations comprising the Coastal Plain are young. In Texas particularly, and in the Black Belt of Alabama, the limy formations of the Upper Cretaceous form an inner lowland of exceptional importance, agriculturally and otherwise. The bulk of the Coastal Plains country, however, is underlain by Tertiary strata, characteristically arranged in a series of successive couplets which embrace sandy members alter­nating with clayey formations. In addition to the Cre­taceous and Tertiary formations, the Coastal Plain also contains important Pleistocene and Recent deposits. Geologically, the Gulf Coastal Plain, excepting the Upper or Gulf Cretaceous, comprises a series of alternat­ing strata of sands and clays, in a couplet arrangement, which are generally unconsolidated; some limestone de­posits occur in the Tertiary. These strata dip gently Gulfward. The beveled outcropping members are crossed at approximately right angles by through-flowing streams, the river valley lowlands being of considerable width. Topographic Adjustment to the Underlying Rocks.­Though geologically young, most of the Coastal Plain country, and particularly the interior portions, has suf­fered considerable physiographic reduction. Stream erosion and dissection, particularly in the interior sec­tions of the Gulf Coastal Plain, have reduced and carried away considerable portions of the exposed weak forma­tions, thus forming a series of lowlands, which roughly parallel the present coastline; by way of contrast the somewhat more resistant formations remain exposed as ridges, the sharp scarps of which face interiorward. Usually the lowlands are formed on the unconsolidated clayey or marly layers, i.e., on the geologically weaker or less resistant layers, and the intervening ridges on the somewhat more consolidated sandy materials. The Coastal Plain, a Belted Country.-Physiographic­ ally, the Coastal Plain country is dominantly a series of belts of alternating lowlands plains separated by rather low, subdued ridges; in general, the belts lie parallel to the Gulf Coast, though very important exceptions occur. Throughout its extent along both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts this belted pattern with its attendant patterns of economic and cultural adjustments is one of the distinguishing features in the landscape of this vast physiographic province. The Texas Coast Line.-The gradual slope of the Coastal Prairies continues out under the Gulf of Mexico for a considerable distance. A slight elevation of the Coastline zone would give to Galveston an interior loca­ tion. The barrier beaches, elongated ridges of bare sands, paralleling the mainland have been heaped up by waves in the shallow waters. One of these, Padre Island, is a remarkable example, stretching continuously for more than a hundred miles in front of Laguna Madre, a broad shallow lagoon. Other fringing islands occur. The shallowness of the Gulf waters has resulted in making necessary large expenditures for harbor improve­ments. South Texas Plains and the Lower Rio Grande Valley (District 10) The belted physiographic pattern, although modified considerably in the vicinity of the through-flowing streams and along the coast, is characteristic of the entire extent of the South Texas Plains. In addition, owing to the climatic environment, this entire region is charac­terized generally by the occurrence of indurated caliche, often of great thicknesses. Caliche accumulations in South Texas form important topographic features of the region; modifying the soils and soil moisture relations, they are an important and often a critical factor in determining the vegetative habitat wherever they occur. Outside the river lowlands the characteristic natural vege­tation is now chaparral. Prior to the coming of white man, however, these plains were characterized by a typical savanna landscape, comprising short grasses and mesquite trees, with prickly pear cactus on the heavy black soils and a restricted chaparral growth on the gravelly, thin-soiled lands and the shallow caliche areas. These rolling uplands represented one of the typical savanna districts of Texas. Paralleling the extension of grazing or over-grazing since white man's occupation and the reduction of grass fires, there has occurred a marked spread of the chaparral growth at the expense of the native grasses in this section of the State. The belted pattern characteristics of the South Texas Plains region have been greatly modified by the in­fluence of such streams as the Rio Grande, the Nueces and its tributaries. In addition, just to the north of the Lower Rio Grande Valley occurs a large area of deep sands characterized in places by moving dunes; this sands district constitutes a sub-region ?S distinctive as, although much less important economically than, the Lower Rio Grande Valley itself. There is also the characteristic district interior from the Lissie formation forming a distinctive belt which has been appropriately designated the Caliche Plateau. Farming in the South Texas Plains is mostly carried on with the aid of irrigation. The outstanding features of the Lower Rio Grande Valley-an area whose agri­cultural utilization is dominated physiographically by its varied constructional topographic features-with its outstanding advantages for the production of high class citrus fruits and vegetables, are well known; the well­marked conditions of river irrigation of alluvial lands in the vicinity of Laredo and Eagle Pass, for example, and of well-water irrigation in the interior Winter Garden district are important enough to merit thorough consid­eration in any comprehensive economic study of Texas. Outside the irrigated lands the territory of this crop reporting district is mostly range country devoted to livestock production. THE TEXAS PRAIRIES 1:he Texas Prairies formed on limy, fine textured geo· logic materials of the Coastal Plain constitutes one of the outstanding agricultural producing sections of North America. These moderately humid plains were formerly covered by a thick, rank growth of tall grasses, whose long roots penetrated deeply into the sub-soil. They are characterized by the rather smooth contours of a widely rolling to undulating topography and are under­lain by fine textured dark to black colored soils; the rich black soil is a function of the tall grass vegetation formerly covering the Prairies lands in conjunction with the presence of fine textured geologic materials, the plentiful supply of lime, and other basic substances in these geologic materials. Geographically, the Prairies of the United States occupy a vast zone climatically transitional between the humid eastern country covered with heavy, luxuriant forest and the sub-humid, short· grass country of the Western Plains. A fact of great economic importance is that the Prairies of North America are unique in geographic occurrence; they do not occur in large areas outside of this continent. A small area of Prairies does occur in Argentina-com­prising the Corn Belt of that country-but the total extent of the Argentinian Prairies is only about a third of the area of the State of Iowa. Since large prairie regions of the type of the American Prairies occur nowhere else in the world, and since they do occur in large extents in the United States, this is obviously a fact of tremendous importance in evaluating the agri­culture and agricultural policies of the United States. Typical Prairies in the South occur mostly in Texas. The Black and Grand Prairies (District 4) The Black and Grand Prairies of Texas, particularly the Black Prairies, may be considered as typical of the Southern Prairies of the United States. The Black Prairies country is characteristic of the rolling lands underlain by various formations of the Upper or Gulf Cretaceous-formations of soft rock or of unconsolidated materials, whose general uniformity of geologic materials is remarkable throughout their entire extent across the State. These formations outcrop in a greatly elongated pattern and on them occur quite definite strips or belts of country which have a general north-south trend. The formations whose outcrops form these distinctive strips of country of the Black Prairies comprise the Eagle Ford shales, the Austin Chalk, the Taylor Marl and the Na­varro formation, the latter mainly being clays, but which have a higher sand content than and are otherwise some­what different from the previously named formations. The Grand Prairies are formed in part from limestone materials that are far more thoroughly consolidated than are those of the Black Prairies. They belong to the Lower Cretaceous or Comanchean strata. Physiographic­ally, these "hard" limestone strata are the relief­upholding materials of the Grand Prairies. As a :es~lt of this feature in combination with the stage m its topographic cycle and of the type of dissection to which thEl region has been subjected, much of the area of the Grand Prairies is erosional and has on that account only thin soils. Such lands are suitable only for graz­ing; however, on the lower slopes or elsewhere where deeper soils have accumulated owing to the presence of inter-bedded clays or of the occurrence of depositional materials on gradual slopes, the lands are excellent for farming purposes. Southward of the Brazos River the outcrops of the Comanchean limestones widen considerably, forming the Lampasas Cut Plains. The Lampasas Cut Plains is a transitional area; it is a tongue of the Edwards Plateau much more thoroughly dissected, and climatically it lies within the sub-humid zone. Owing to the type and degree of dissection, much of the area is range country but where deep enough the soils are exceptionally fertile. Lying between the "soft" rock country of the Black Prairies and the "hard" limestone of the Grand Prairies is a relatively narrow strip of dissected hilly country underlain by sandy materials, geologically known as the Woodbine Sands. This strip is covered with hardwood trees of post oak and black jack and is known as the Eastern Cross Timbers. Much of the territory of the Eastern Cross Timbers has long been farmed, supporting general farming operations. It is an important fruit, vegetable, and poultry producing area. The Coastal Prairie (District 9) The geographic position and extent of the Coastal Plain in Texas, with its characteristically belted topo­ graphic pattern and its through-flowing streams attended by wide valley lowlands, is such that its contrasted climatic range extends from the humid forested lands of eastern Texas through the moderately humid and sub­ humid plains southward to the dry chaparral and shallow caliche lands along the Rio Grande. District 9 is that section of the Coastal Prairies in which humid or mod­ erately humid conditions are predominant. The Coastal Prairies country is commonly described as flat and some large areas are approximately flat. Generally, however, the surface is very slightly undulat­ ing and interiorward some 50 miles from the coast it becomes slightly rolling. Geologically, the Coastal Prairies are underlain by two formations of Pleistocene age; the Lissie formation and the Beaumont Clays. The Lissie formation lies inland from the Beaumont Clays, the latter extending down to and paralleling the coast. The strip of Beaumont Clays is nearly flat in the inter­ stream areas; originally these clays were high in lime and over much of their extent they are distinctively marked by a very heavy black soil. Where well enough drained, these deep black soils areas are exceptionally productive, cotton being the characteristic crop. The Lissie formation, interior from the flattish country of the Beaumont Clays, is characterized by an undulating to slightly rolling surface; the soils of this formation are distinctively light in color and if they once contained lime, that material has long since been leached away. The soils on the Lissie formation are thoroughly elu­viated. Generally the light colored soils of the Lissie plains are underlain by a heavy, practically impervious clayey subsoil, or clay pan. This heavy clay subsoil has been developed subsequent to the deposition of the geologic material; it has been formed by the carrying downward and the leaving at that level by the percolating waters, of highly deflocculated clay particles, the defloc­culation in the surface soil having been brought about by the reaction of the clay particles to the presence in small amounts of chemical substances, presumably sodium compounds. The presence of this heavy impervious subsoil under flattish areas of these Coastal Prairies has been of great importance in rice growing in these sections of Texas, as it serves to retain and thus conserve irrigation water in the rice fields. The Southern Texas Prairies (District 8) This district illustrates well the agricultural conse­ quences of the belted succession of different strips or zones of country lying between the Balcones Escarpment and the coast. It illustrates also the reactions of soils and natural vegetation to a sub-humid climate, so that technically most of these lands, like those of the Edwards Plateau occur in the Black Earth group of soils. The Southern Black Prairies.-Farthest interior in this district and adjacent to the Balcones Escarpment lie the so-called Southern Black Prairies, extending in a rather narrow strip from the Colorado River to the vicinity of Uvalde. This strip is underlain by rocks of the Upper Cretaceous on which a lowland plain has been formed, in part at least by erosion. Streams from the Edwards Plateau, which lies to the west and north, subsequently spread rather wide and thick deposits of alluvium, in­cluding limestone fragments or gravel, over considerable portions of this lowland strip. The presence of caliche is general but then~ are rather wide local differences in its occurrence. The lands underlain by fine alluvium and by the fine textured weathered materials formed in place from the "soft" Cretaceous rock have excellent soils which are well known for their high productivity. The Coastal Prairies.-Just interior from the coast in the Corpus Christi section, in Nueces and San Patricio counties, lie the extremely flat lands of the Coastal Prairies of that portion of the State. These lands, characterized by extremely rich soils, have been con­verted to farms largely within the past three decades. As would naturally be expected, power-machine farming on a large scale pattern is a characteristic feature of the utilization of these lands. The Brenham-Schulenburg-Yorktown Prairies.-About half.way between the Coastal Prairies and the Southern Black Prairies occurs a fairly wide strip of Black-land soils developed on "soft" limy materials; this strip, lying in the Tertiary belt, may be appropriately designated as the Brenham-Schulenburg-Yorktown Prairies. This in­terior belt with its rich black soils is an excellent farming region. The relief is somewhat more broken than is characteristic of the Black Prairies, the stream dissection is of a finer texture, and consequently more timber growth occurs; the smooth slopes, where underlain pre­dominantly by limy materials, are characterized by deep black soils of high productivity. The Timbered Belts.-Alternating between these dis­tinctive and important belts of Black-land soils, which formerly were dominantly covered with tall Prairie grasses, are fairly wide, irregularly shaped, timbered strips of hardwoods, dominated by post oaks; these wooded lands represent the southwesternmost extension of the oak-hickory forests of central United States. These belts are underlain. generally by sandy materials, sandy clays, or thick deposits of coarse gravels. These timbered strips with light colored soils ordinarily have somewhat stronger relief and a considerable portion of them have a broken topography as contrasted with the more subdued relief and smooth contours of the Prairie belts. Within thesei timbered areas also occur "islands" of fine textured materials and black soils which can appropriately be designated as mesquite land, owing to the characteristic occurrence of that tree or shrub. Such "islands" constitute representative savanna areas. These areas now are generally farmed, making "islands" of agricultural country surrounded by timbered lands; the timbered strips or belts are used mostly for grazing pur­poses. THE GULF COAST FOREST ZONE The Gulf Forest zone together with the Atlantic por­tion of the southern Coastal Plain and Piedmont, com­prises another major section of the United States which, like the Prairies, is unique in that the occurrence of this type of environment is practically limited to the North American continent. East Texas Timbered Plains (District 5) The East Texas Timbered Plains comprise a typical section of the humid Gulf Coastal Plain. It contains the westernmost portion of the great Southern pine forest which is so distinctive of Southeastern United States, and which extends westward from the Atlantic Coast well into East Texas. To the west of the pine lands occur belts of heavier textured but non-limy soils; these areas comprise a section of hardwoods timber, the post oak belt, which is the southwestern extension of the oak-hickory forests of central United States. Both at the south and north the East Texas Timbered Plains country is margined by prairie conditions which widen out con­siderably to the west and southwest. Physiographically, the southern portion of the East Texas Timbered Plains, as a general proposition, is relatively simple; the northern portion, which may be designated as northeastern Texas, is rather complicated, a fact directly reflected by the variegated topography. East Texas represents one of the most complex and most important of all Texas regions; many of its physical characteristics remain to be worked out and interpreted. The following description is but a brief outline of some of its features. The interior portion is an apparently reduced and dissected peneplane. In a previous topographic cycle the land had been reduced to a nearly flattish plains con­dition; subsequent uplifts have rejuvenated the streams and resulted in the initiation of the existing topographic cycle. The "weaker" beds are characterized by low­lands; the "stronger" beds stand out boldly as hills or uplands. Most of the piney woods country is characteristically sandy; the somewhat slightly rolling country of the long­leaf section (a continuation of the longleaf forests from Louisiana) on the southern margin of this district is underlain by very deep sands. And along the southern edge of the longleaf district and north of the Coastal Prairie areas occurs an irregularly shaped strip of mixed hardwoods and loblolly pines, often forming a luxuriant forest growth. Immediately back from the coast occurs a strip of Coastal Prairie country. The broad alluvial lowlands through East Texas are subject to overflow; quite generally they are character­ized by heavy growths of luxuriant hardwood forests. Most of the interior pine lands, those of the physio­graphically more complicated portions of northeast Texas, are more broken in relief than is characteristic of the longleaf pine country; parts of the area, such as the Red Hills country, have considerable relief. Al­though the soils of these shortleaf pine areas are sandy, the subsoils are not so deep as in the longleaf country and they contain a fair amount of clay. A considerable portion of the shortleaf pine country is underlain by deep red soils which are derived in part from the weather­ing of geologic materials containing greensand. The greensand is high in potash and the geologic materials often contain considerable quantities of shells which are, of course, high in lime. Although dissection has pro­duced a somewhat broken, and in places a rough land­scape, wherever the bright red soils are deep enough they are quite productive. Most of the shortleaf _pine country is dominated by cotton production, but a rather wide list of other crops are grown including important specialized crops such as tomatoes and other vegetables, peaches, etc. The western margi11t of this district lying between the pine country and the Black Prairies, is dominantly a slightly rolling plain underlain by heavy textured, non­limy materials whose soils are thoroughly eluviated; this is the post oak country, and although the soils are dominantly light in color a considerable proportion of the land in this belt is in farms. At the northern margin of the East Texas Plains are the rich alluvial lands along Sulphur and Red rivers and in between these alluvial strips occur rolling plains containing the more or less frayed-out northeastern extensions of the· Black Prairies. Areas of deep black or dark colored soils in this section are highly productive. ELMER H. JOHNSON. Directory of Texas Manufacturers, 1940 The Directory of Texas Manufacturers dated January 1, 1941, and covering the manufacturing developments in Texas up to that date has been released. The new Directory contains the names of approxi­mately 9,000 firms including all types and sizes of plants classified as manufacturers by the Technical Subcom­mittee on Industrial Classification of the Central Statis­tical Board, Washington, D.C. Section I contains the "Index of Cities" consisting of a list arranged alphabetically of the Texas towns and cities in which manufacturing plants are located. The county in which each city is located is also shown. The "Names of Firms Under Cities" includes the list of firms located in each city together with the date of establish­ment, a code number indicating the approximate area of distribution of the products manufactured, the name of the principal officer, and location of the home office. Numbers indicating the headings under which the pro­ducts manufactured are classified follow the general information for each plant. Section II consists of an "Index of Product Classifica­tions" which lists the subject headings alphabetically together with the corresponding code and page number for each subject. The "Names of Firms Under Product Classifications" lists all manufacturers of each product under the product heading. Trade names are added directly under the name of the manufacturer. Because it is possible to use more than one subject heading for certain products, many cross-reference entries have been used, and it is believed that the present arrangement offers the greatest possible convenience to users of the Directory. Although the present edition of the Directory of Texas Manufacturers is enlarged and includes all new firms · established during the last two years, the same price of $2.00 per copy has been maintained. Inquiries or orders should be addressed to the Bureau of Business Research, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas. ANNOUNCEMENTS The following organizations have announced conven­tion dates for April, 1941: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 26th Annual Meeting, (Convention Official, L. C. Snyder, Geology Dept., The University of Texas, Austin), Rice Hotel, Houston, April 2-4; Texas Cotton Ginners Association, (Convention Official, John C. Thompson, 109 North Second Avenue, Dallas), San Antonio, April 3-5; Lumbermen's Association of Texas, (Convention Of­ ficial, Jack Dionne, 615 Second National Bank Bldg., Dallas), Galveston, April 7-9; Texas Dairy Products Association, Inc. (Convention Official, A. J. Riddle, Denison), Fort Worth, April 9-10; American Society of Agricultural Engineers, S. W. Section, (Convention Official, Dr. H. P. Smith, College Station), Dallas, April 11-12; Southwestern Social Science Association, (Convention Official, Dr. Daniel W. Borth, L. S. U., Baton Rouge, La.), Dallas, April 11-12; Retail Furniture Association of Texas, (Convention Official, H. E. Dill, 1521 Commerce St., Dallas), Galves­ton, April 20-23; Natural Gasoline Association of America, Annual Convention, (Convention Official, Wm. F. Lowe, 923 Kennedy Bldg., Tulsa, Okla.), Baker Hotel, Dallas, April 23-25; Texas Statistical Council (Convention Official, Dr. F. A. Buechel, Bureau of Business Research, The University of Texas, Austin), Austin, April 25. COTTON BALANCE SHEET FOR THE UNITED STATES AS OF MARCH 1 (In Thousands of Running Bales Except as Noted) Carryover Aug. I Imports to March l* Govern­ment Estimate as of March I* Total Con!UMJ>­tion to March I Exporte to March I Total Balance March I 1931-1932 -----------------­----­----­------------­1932-1933 --­----------------------------------­1933-1934 --­---------------------------------------­1934-1935 -----------------------------­---­1935-1936 ----­------------------------------­-­1936-1937 -----­--­---------------------­1937-1938 -----­---------------------------­1938--1939 --------------------------·­1939-1940 ------------------------------------------­1940-1941 ----·----------------------------------'---------------­ 6,369 9,682 8,176 7,746 7,138 5,397 4,498 11,533 13,033 10,596 56 75 81 65 74 94 65 86 103 72 16,629 12,710 12,664 9,472 10,420 12,130 18,242 11,621 11,792 12,287 23,054 22,467 20,921 17,280 17,632 17,621 22,805 23,240 24,928 22,955 3,077 3,253 3,400 3,255 3,530 4,521 3,505 3,959 4,704 5,221 5,925 5,597 5,548 3,165 4,410 3,921 4,231 2,456 4,917 714 9,002 8,850 8,948 6,420 7,940 8,442 7,736 6,415 9,622 5,935 14,052 13,617 11,973 10,860 9,692 9,179 15,069 16,825 15,305 17,020 *In SOO·pound bale•. The cotton year begins Augu1t 1. TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS IN TEXAS P ercentage Change from from January February 1941 1940 + 2.7 + 8.4 + 8.7 + 6.3 + 1.7 +18.0 + 0.5 + 0.7 + 0.7 +12.2 + ·6.6 + 4.1 -16.9 + 9.5 + 6.5 + 11.1 + 11.1 + 9.0 +19.2 +20.7 + 2.8 +56.4 + 2.0 + 15.4 7.0 +13.6 0.5 + 2.3 + 4.1 + 6.5 -13.4 + 7.4 + 0.4 -LO + 0.9 +3!\6 +11.0 +17.6 + 9.5 + 8.6 +13.2 +53.2 . L6 2.8 + 1.3 + 9.6 1.5 + 8.4 + 2.0 + 8.7 + 0.8 + 6.1 + 2.7 -3.7 + 8.0 +14.2 -2.5 + 15.5 CHANGES IN EMPLOYMENT AND PAYROLLS IN SELECTED CITIES«> Employment Pay Rollo Employment Pay Rollo Percentage Change Percentage Change Percentage Change Pereentaa:e Change Jan., 1941 Feb., 1940 Jan., 1941 Feb., 1940 Jan., 1941 Feb., 1940 Jan., 1941 Feb., 1940 to to to !O to to to to Feb., 1941 Feb., 1941 Feb., 1941 Feb., 1941 Feb., 1941 Feb., 1941 Feb., 1941 Feb., 1941 Abilene + 7.2 2.4 + 8.2 + 9.9 Galveston ------------------0.9 -19.6 + LO -13.5 Amarillo -------------------1.7 + 6.7 0.4 + 11.8 Houston ---------------------+ 1.6 L5 + 2.3 + 5.9 Austin -------------------+ --------------3.9 1.1 0.8 + 8.6 + 3.7 + 4.5 Port Arthur + 1.1 + -0.4 Beaumont 1.1 + 7.4 1.0 + 9.4 San Antonio -----------+ 2.3 + 8.5 + 1.4 +10.1 Dallas -----------------------+ 1.5 +15.0 + 4.7 +21.3 Sherman ------------------+ 5.5 + 6.0 + 8.5 +18.7 EI Paso ------------------+ 5.5 +17.0 + 3.8 +2L2 Waco --------------------+ 4.1 + 0.7 + 3.0 +14.3 Fort Worth ---------------1.6 + 7.4 -2.4 + 9.0 Wichita Falls ------------0.4 0.1 3.6 + 4.4 STATE ------------------+ 0.6 + 4.1 + 1.3 + 8.3 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN NONAGRICULTURAL BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENTs<•> 1940(1) 1941 1940 January ----------------------------·---------944,000 1,052,000 July --------------------------------------983,000 1,072,000<2> February ---·------------------------------943,000 August ---------------------------------------988,000 September ____________________________l,009,000 March ---------··-----------------·---------965,000 October ________________________________l,022,000 April ------------------------------------963,000 May --------------------------------------------983,000 November -------------------------1,048,000 December ___________________________l,084,000 June ------------------------------------------982,000 •Does not include proprietors, firm members, officers of corporation•, or other principal executives. Factory employment excludes also office, ulet, technical, and professional personnel. Revised. (2>Subj ec t to revision. (8>Not available. <'>Based on unweighted figures. (5)Not including self-employed persons, casual workers, or domestic servants, and exclusive of military and maritime penonneI. The1e 6gure1 are fumlahed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Prepared from reports from representative Texat establi1hment1 to the Bureau of Buaineu Research coOperatfn1 with the United State. Bureau of Labor Stati1tic1. BANKING STATISTICS (In Millions of Dollars) February, 19'1 February, 1940 January, 1941 Dallao Di1trict United State1 Dallu Di1trict United State• Dallao District United State• DEBITS to individual accounts._ $ 945 $35,612 $ 809 $30,698 $ 984 $37,846 Condition of reporting member banks on- Februa ry 26, 1941 February 28, 1840 J anuary 29, 1941 Assi:rs: Loans and investment~totaL_______________ Loan11-total________ -----­ 589 320 26,450 9,495 535 271 23,268 8,528 580 319 25,676 9,308 Commercial, industrial, and agricultural loans Open market paperLoans to brokers and dealers in securities_____________ 221 1 4 5,227 319 478 180 2 3 4,324 332 609 219 2 4 5,076 314 458 Other loans for purchasing or carrying securitiee _ ____ 12 455 14 478 13 459 Real estate loans___ Loans to banks_____ 23 1 1,232 36 22 1,185 52 23 1,229 35 Other loans____ Treasury Bills_________________________ 58 30 1,748 727 50 19 1,548 647 58 28 1,737 685 Treasury Notes______ 40 2,555 44 1,735 37 2,214 U.S. Bonda Obligations fully guaranteed by U.S. Gov't___ _______ _ 100 38 7,052 2,766 92 51 6,469 2,421 97 39 7,051 2,744 Other securities_ -Reserve with Federal Reserve Bank_________ __________ Cash in vault______________ 61 153 14 3,855 12,003 530 58 131 12 3,468 10,390 480 60 155 13 3,674 12,111 527 Balances with domestic banks ---­ ---­ 300 3,473 292 3,104 281 3,352 Other assets--net ----­ 31 1,255 29 1,261 31 1,232 LI.u!ll.I'm3: Demand deposits-adjusteTime deposits_________ U.S. Government deposits___________ 544 138 22 23,431 5,454 356 472 135 31 19,414 5,290 571 536 136 14 22,932 5,425 237 Inter-bank deposits: Domestic banks 289 9,253 269 8,085 280 9,076 Foreign banks___ 1 626 1 732 1 650 Borrowings_ Other liabilities_ _ _ ----­ 4 755 4 692 4 1 754 Capital accoun 89 3,836 87 3,719 89 3,823 Non : From Federal Re1ene Board. PETROLEUM Daily Average Production (In. Barrels) Feb., 1941 Feb., 1940 Jan., 1941 Coastal Texas• ---------------254,350 234,700 234,030 East Central Texas ------------72,550 79,000 80,240 East Texas -----------------------· 374,950 419,650 346,070 North Texas ---------------------100,950 101,100 98,050 Panhandle ----------------·-----71,300 76,350 72,380 Southwest Texas ---------------203,450 222,900 184,100 West Central Texas _________ 30,200 33,300 30,020 West Texas ---------------------· 236,050 235,700 206,230 STATE -·-·--------------------------1,343,800 1,403,700 1,251,120 UNITED STATES ________ _ 3,629,400 3,734,100 3,506,560 Imports -------------------------------258,107 224,586 223,114 • Includes Conroe. Non:: From American Petroleum Institute. See accompanying map show· ing the oil producing districts of Texas. Gasoline sales as indicated by taxes collected by the State Comptroller ·were: January, 1941, 120,010,000 gallons; January, 1940, 102,495,000 gallons; December, 1940, 116,430,000 gallons. FEBRUARY RETAIL SALES OF INDEPENDENT STORES IN TEXAS Percentace Number Change of Percentage Change Year to date, Firm1 Feb., 1941 Feb., 1941 1941 from Re-from from Year to date, portln1 Feb., 1940 Jan., 1941 1940 1025 + 12.1 4.5 +15.9 STORES GROUPED BY LINE OF GOODS CARRIED: APPAREL* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------111 + 6.5 + 8.3 TEXAS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------­ -8.2 Family Clothing Stores -----------------------27 + 18.9 -8.6 +11.3 Men's and Boys' Clothing Stores----------------------------------------------36 + 14.3 -20.7 +11.0 Shoe Stores -------------------------------------------________ _ 18 + 15.0 + 9.7 +18.0 Women's Specialty Shops --------------------------------------------------------------------__________ _ 29 · + 0.6 2.0 + 5.3 AUTOMOTIVE* ---------------------------"--60 +31.7 + 2.8 +32.0 Motor Vehicle Dealers-------------------------------------------------------------­58 +31.3 + 2.7 +31.8 COUNTRY GENERAL -------------------------------------------------------------­100 + 7.2 4.0 + 11.7 DEPARTMENT STORES --------------------------------------------------54 + 7.2 3.9 +10.1 DRUG STORES --------------------------------------------------------------------_________ _ 128 -0.6 8.3 + 6.0 DRY GOODS AND GENERAL MERCHANDISE________________________________ _ 21 +19.8 + 9.2 + 2.6 FILLING STATIONS -----------------------------------------------------­37 + 1.4 8.5 + 3.5 FLORISTS-----------------------------------------------------24 + 0.2 + 7.6 + 1.8 FOOD* ---------------------------------------------------------------------------170 + 0.4 5.3 0.1 Grocery Stores -----------------------------------------47 2.6 4.2 -3.0 Grocery and Meat Stores·-----------------------------------------------------------------­118 + 1.1 5.7 + 0.6 FURNITURE AND HOUSEHOLD*------------------------------------------------------54 + 10.3 2.3 +12.6 Furniture Stores -----------------------------------------------------------------45 + 11.6 3.3 + 13.4 Household Appliance Dealers ---·-----------------------------------------------------------------------5 -6.9 +10.7 -0.6 JEWELRY -------------------------------------------------------------34 +40.0 -5.1 +35.5 LUMBER, BUILDING, AND HARDWARE*-------------------------193 + 10.8 -15.2 +31.4 Farm Implement Dealers____________________________________________ __________ _ 10 +10.3 + 3.9 +21.7 Hardware Stores ------------------------------------------------------61 -1.0 -8.0 + 11.6 Lumber and Building Material Dealers_______________________________________________________ _ 120 + 14.7 -18.3 +40.5 RESTAURANTS -----------------------------------------------------------------24 + 0.8 7.0 + 0.6 ALL OTHER STORES__________________________________________________________________ _ 15 + 9.4 -5.8 +12.2 TEXAS STORES GROUPED ACCORDING TO POPU­LATION OF CITY: All Stores in Cities of___ Over 100,000 Population -------------------------187 + 10.1 4.4 +14.1 50,000-100,000 Population --------------------------------------------------128 . +23.l 4.8 +25.6 2,500-50,000 Population -------------------------------------------441 + 10.6 5.6 +14.9 Less than 2,500 Population_____________________________________ ____ ________ 269 + 3.7 + 1.0 + 8.1 •Group total includes kinds of business other than the classification1 li1ted. NoTE: Pre1tared from reports of independent retail &tores to the Bureau of Business Research co01erating with the United States Bureau of the Cen1u1. FEBRUARY, 1941, CARLOAD MOVEMENT TEXAS CHARTERS OF POULTRY AND EGGS February February January Shipments from Texas Stations 1941 1940 1941 Domestic Corporations Cars of Poultry Capitalization• ___________________ __ _____$1,316 Live Dressed Cars of Eggsl $3,010 $ 958 Destination* Chickens Turkeys Chickens Turkeys Number 72 126 80 Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Classification of new corpora­ 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940! tions :TOTAL 2 5 1 1 55 34 6 6105 41 ---------------6 Banking-Finance ------------------­5 3 Intrastate ------------0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 3 8 26 13 Manufacturing -----------------------­ Interstate 2 5 1 1 55 33 4 6103 38 20 -----------Merchandising ------------------------12 50 Origin Receipts at Texas Stations Oil ----------------------------------------­ 9 14 11 0 Public Service ---------------------­1 0 TOTAL --------------____ 1 2 2 7 10 9 7 Real Estate-Building --------------­Intrastate ----------------1 2 1 3 Transportation --------------------­3 3 4 Interstate ---------------0 0 1 4 All Others ---------------------------­24 21 19 Numbers capitalized at less *The destination above is the first destination as shown by the original way­ 23 47 42 bill. Changes in destination brought about by diversion orders are not shown. than $5,000 -----------------------­tPowdered eggs and canned frozen eggs are converted to a shell egg equiva­Number capitalized at $100,­lent on the following basis: l rail carload of powdered eggs equals 3 carloads 1 1 2 000 or more -----------------·-----­ of shell eggs, and 1 carload of frozen eggs equals 2 carloads of shell eggs. !Revised. Foreign Corporations (Number) _ 9 15 21 NOTE : These data are furnish ed to the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. by railroad officials through agents at all stations which originate and receive carload shipments of poultry and eggs. The data are compiled by the •In thoueands. Bureau of Business Research. NoTE : Compiled from records of the Secretary ef State, POSTAL RECEIPTS FEBRUARY RETAIL SALES OF INDEPENDENT STORES Abilene __ _____________:_____ February 1941 19,138 February 1940 17,158 January 1941 21,612 IN TEXAS Number Percentage Change in Dollar Salee Austin ----------------­----­-----------­68,476 Beaumont ----------­-----------­26,441 Big Spring ---------­----------­-5,885 Brownsville ---------------­---­6,431 Bryan -----------­-------------­4,777• Childress ------------------­2,223 Cleburne ---­---------­------­2,685 Corpus Christi ---­--------­28,675 Corsicana ---­----------------­5,840 Dallas ---­-------------------­384,636 Del Rio ------------------­----­6,838 Denison ------------­-------­---­5,897 Denton ------------­------­-----­------­7,969 El Paso ------­----------------­54,461 Fort Worth -------------­--------­152,728 Galveston ----------------------­--­31,395 · Gladewater --­------------­----­2,532• Harlingen --­-----------------­6,456 Houston --­-------------­-----­256,874 Jacksonville -------­------------­3,061 Longview -------­--------­----­8,644 Lubbock ------------------­----­19,463 Lufkin --------------­------------­4,474 McAllen ---------­---­-------­4,963 Marshall ------------------------­5,641 Palestine -------------­--------­4,996 Pampa ---­----------------------------­6,089 Paris -------------------------------­6,552• Plainview ----------------------­--4,032 Port Arthur -----------------------­12,829 San Angelo ------------------­12,150 San Antonio --------------------­135,080 Sherman ------------------------­7,311 Snyder --------------------­----­1,460 Sweetwater ----------------­---­4,387 Tyler ----------------­------------­14,414 Waco ---------------------------­31,609 Wichita Falls ----------­----­---­22,229 TOTAL ----­---------­-----­---­1,475,880 •Not included in total. t Not available. 64,725 25,261 5,200 5,805 t 2,272 1,957 26,096 5,220 363,063 4,147 5,381 7,817 40,956 143,497 31,318 t 6,364 254,170 3,104 8,547 18,012 4,665 4,834 5,952 5,254 6,909 t 3,769 12,782 11,156 122,887 7,249 1,456 4,505 15,421 30,787 21,481 1,299,177 Non : Compiled from report& from Texae chamben of Bureau of Bu1ineas Research. 72,898 29,429 6,739 6,947 5,215• 3,070 2,138 36,643 5,982 408,351 5,762 6,551 8,971 61,212 154,818 32,354 2,535• 7,055 271,666 3,687 10,364 21,677 5,244 6,438 6,589 6,651 6,786 6,706. 4,241 14,603 13,312 145,688 8,086 1,624 5,558 17,284 37,981 26,371 1,484,382 commerce to the of Firms Reportinc TOTAL TEXAS________________________l ,025 TEXAS STORES GROUPED BY PRODUCING AREAS: District 1-N 62 Amarillo --==-====-=~~= 11 Canyon ---­-------­----­7 Pampa --­----------------­8 Plainview ---­----­----------------­11 All Others -----­-----------­25 District 1-S ----­-------------------­18 Lubbock ---­------­-------­----­-6 All Others --------­--------­-12 District 2 ---­--------­-------------­88 Abilene ------­-------------­--­13 Wichita Falls ---------­18 All Others --­---------­57 District 3 --------------­38 Breckenridge ----------­6 All Others ---------­32 District 4 -------------------­229 Cleburne --------------­-­8 Corsicana ---­-----------------­7 Dallas ----­-----------------------­41 Denison ------------­---------­8 Fort Worth --------------------­37 Taylor --­------------------------­6 Temple ------------­--­------­----­7 Waco ---------------------­27 All Others -------------------­88 District 5 -------------­--­--­105 Bryan ------------­5 Henderson ------------­5 Longview ---------------­5 Marshall ---­----------------­7 Texarkana --­-----------­5 Tyler --­--­------------­12 All Others ---------------­66 District 6 ----­-----­----------­-34 El Paso ---------------------­21 All Others -----------------­----­13 District 7_ _____________________ 58 Brady ___________:____ 6 Feb., 1941 from Feb. , 1940 + 12.l + 5.2 + 9.6 -10.9 + 4.5 + 8.3 + 1.0 -23.6 -23.2 -24.7 + 1.8 +49.1 -1.9 -13.3 + 37.6 -2.3 + 40.8 + 9.7 -4.4 + 13.2 + 7.7 -2.9 + 10.8 + 23.1 + 9.7 -0.4 + 31.8 +15.6 -2.4 + 40.0 +45.0 + 8.3 + 13.4 + 8.0 + 14.2 +44.2 +49.0 -5.8 + 7.7 -3.3 Feb., 1941 from Jan. , 1941 -4.5 -1.8 -3.8 -14.6 + 1.0 -11.7 + 4.4 -24.6 -26.8 -19.0 + 3.9 4.0 + 3.2 9.8 8.0 9.4 7.9 3.0 9.2 + 9.5 + 0.7 -32.1 9.4 5.7 3.6 9.7 + 6.4 3.8 5.7 -12.6 + 16.0 -4.3 + 11.4 -19.3 0.9 + 0.3 + 0.5 -2.5 -11.9 + 11.3 COMMODITY PRICES Fredericksburg ---------------­San Angelo ----­-----­---­All Others -----------­--­ 9 13 30 + 17.9 + 11.2 + 2.8 -10.9 -20.7 -1.7 Wholesale Prices : U.S. Bureau of (1926=100% ) Farm Prices: Labor Statistics ·­------------------------­ Feb. 1941 80.6 Feb . 1940 78.7 Jan . 1941 80.8 District 8-----­---------­---­Austin ----­-------­Corpus Christi ------------­Lockhart --­-----------------­San Antonio -------­---------­-­San Marcos --­---------­--­All Others -----------­--­ 187 23 10 8 56 8 82 + 13.4 +10.7 + 7.5 +38.5 + 15.5 + 0.2 + 7.2 -4.8 -17.3 + 1.0 + 2.2 -3.4 -15.1 + 5.5 U.S. Department of Agriculture (1910-14=100%) --------------------­U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 103.o• 101.0 104.0 District 9 __________ -­---------­Bay City -----­--------------------­Beaumont ----------------------­ 147 6 21 + 10.9 + 67.2 + 4.6 - 6.3 7.1 2.2 (1926=100%) Retail Prices ----­------------------­ 70.3 68.7 71.6 Galveston ----------------­------­Houston ---­-------------------­Port Arthur ---------------­ 15 53 14 + 37.6 + 9.1 + 6.9 -0.5 -8.5 -10.0 Food (U.S. Bureau of Labor Victoria __ 6 -13.9 - 4.5 Statistics 1935-39=100%) 97.9 96.6 97.8 All Others ---------------­ 32 + 9.8 + 10.2 Department Stores (Fairchilds Publications, Jan. 1931=100%) 94.5 92.6 94.2 District 10 --------------­Brownsville ------------­ 69 9 -9.3 + 0.9 4.7 + 0.7 *Preliminary. Harlingen All Others ----------------­-----------­ 5 45 + 17.l -14.5 - 3.6 6.5 NOTZ: Prepared from report• of independent retail ston~a to the Bureau of Bu1inee1 Research coOperatin& with the U.S. Bureau of the Cen1u1. FEBRUARY CREDIT RATIOS IN TEXAS RETAIL STORES (Expressed in Per Cent) Number Ratio of Ratio of Ratio of of Credit Salot Collectioo1 to Credit Salarioo Store. to Net Salea Out1tandin11 to Credit Saloo Reportinr 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 All Stores --------------------·-------------------------------------------66 65.8 67.3 39.7 39.5 1.2 1.2 Stores Grouped sy Cities: Abilene ------------------------------------3 49.7 62.7 36.7 32.3 1.8 2.6 Austin 6 59.2 60.1 45.7 44.8 1.4 1:5 Dallas -------------10 72.8 73.6 41.8 42.8 0.8 0.8 El Paso ----------------------1.1 1.2 3 57.1 58.2 37.0 36.0 Fort Worth ------------------------------------6 64.3 66.6 35.7 35.8 .l,5 1.3 Houston ------------8 64.8 65.8 40.7 39.5 1.6 1.7 ----------1.8 San Antonio 5 48.4 52.3 43.6 43.4 2.4 Waco 5 64.4 65.1 30.2 28.4 1.6 1.7 All Others ----------------------------------20 62.7 63.3 38.4 36.8 1.8 l.9 Stores Grouped According to Type of Store: Department Stores (Annual Volume Over $500,000) _________ 20 66.0 67.1 40.5 41.3 1.1 1.2 Department Stores (Annual Volume under $000,000) ------11 59.0 62.2 36.4 31.9 2.1 2.3 Dry-Goods-Apparel Stores -------------------------5 51.5 64.4 36.8 39.4 2.9 2.2 Women's Specialty Shops------------------------------14 67.2 68.8 38.8 ~5.6 0.8 0.7 Men's Clothing Stores 16 66.8 67.6 37.8 39.3 1.7 2.0 Stores Grouped According to Volume of Net Sales During 1940: Over $2,500,000 ----------·--------------------9 69.2 69.4 40.7 39.6 1.0 0.9 $2,500,000 down to $1,000,000 ---------11 60.0 62.3 42.0 40.4 1.2 1.4 $1,000,000 down to $500,000 10 59.6 59.9 40.5 38.9 1.7 1.9 $500,000 down to $100,000. ___________________ 28 51.5 59.8 37.6 37.3 1.7 2.3 Less than $100,000 ______ ·8 55.3 52.4 36.5 30.6 5.1 4.5 Non: The ratios shown for each year, in the order in which they appear from left to right are obtained by the following computation•: (1) Credit Salet divided by Net Sales. (2) Collections during the month divided by the total accounts unpaid on the first of the month. (3) Salariea of tho credit department divided by credit aalet. The data are reported to the Bureau of Business Research by Texas retail atorea. CEMENT LUMBER (In Thousands of Barrels) (In Board Feet) Feb. 1941 Feb. 1940 Jan. 19.U Feb., 1941 Feb., 1940 Jan., 1941 Texas Plants Southern Pine Mills: Production ---------------637 477 654 Average Weekly Production Shipments -----------628 533 793 per unit ------------319,633 271,025 325,918 Stocks 773 850 764 -------------------- Average Weekly Shipments United States per unit ---------------336,450 240,668 340,522 Production ---------------------8,365 5,041 9,025 Average Unfilled Orders per Shipments ------------------7,458 4,905 7,986 unit, end of month ________l,031,150 673,697 1,041,316 Stocks ________________________25,327 25,895 24,420 'Capacity Operated ---------43.5% Non: From Southern Pine As1ociatioo. 24.7% 42.4% Non: From U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines. PERCENTAGE CHANGES IN CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRIC POWER TEXAS COMMERCIAL FAILURES BUILDING PERMITS Commercial _ _____________:._ Industrial -----------------------­Residential ______ ----­All Other ----------­-------­­TOT AL --------­---------­ Feb., 1941 from Feb., 1940 + 9.9 + 10.4 + 9.6 + 3.0 + 9.2 Feb., 1941 from Jan., 1941 4.4 1.9 7.8 4.0 3.8 Feb. 1941 Number -----­------------------------------­27 Liabilitiest ------------­-----------------­$351 Assetst ------­---­------------------------­205 Average Liabilities per Failuret ---------­13 •Revi1ed. tin thousands. NOTE: From Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. Feb. 1940 18 $182 116 10 Jan.• 1941 37 $372 186 10 Prepared from report.a J.rom Bu1ineu Re1earcb. 12 electric power companies to the Bureau of PURCHASES OF SAVINGS BONDS February February January Yea r·to· Y ear -to-­1941 1940 1941 Feb., 1941 Feb., 1940 date, 1941 date, 1940 Abilene ----------------55,753 26,160 74,860 Amarillo --------·-83,512 34,369 139,837 115,069 Amarillo ----------------197,525 137,791 173,960 Austin -----------108,113 53,119 242,513 166,238 Austin ----------769,188 750,229 392,158 Beaumont ---------97,594 59,860 157,662 193,623 Beaumont --------------88,453 128,488 307,310 Big Spring -------7,369 24,225 26,063 52,650 Big Spring -----------------7,245 6,600* 12,630 Brownsville _____ 2,325 9,975 t 23,963*Bryan ------------------30,535t t 18,910t Bryan -------------18,788* t t Coleman -------------7,200t t 20,740*t Corpus Christi 26,663 t _ 55,631 60,976* tCorpus Christi ------------1,455,958 1,405,942 1,202,464 Dallas ----------549,825 258,769 1,091,344 821,363 Corsicana ------------8,475 13,632 31,550 Del Rio ----------881 2,306 5,569 9,900Dallas --------------------971,557 1,129,982 1,048,691 Denison --------6,581 14,663 15,975 50,232Denton -----------------11,750 5,800 18,375 Denton ---------2,758 983 15,639 12,777El Paso ---------------285,782 173,722 223,032 El Paso ---------192,863 92,100 287,119 306,469Fort Worth----------350,659 494,902 500,882 Fort Wort~ ____ _ 233,138 128,306 432,076 185,171Galveston -------------96,795 153,080 111,030 Galveston --------126,956 52,481 229,069 137,156Gladewater -------------3,800 524 0 Gladewater -------12,131 6,469 45,562 57,882 Harlingen ---------27,100 29,335 13,800 Harlingen ----------5,456 4,181 10.275 17,081Houston ------------1,116,640 1,322,470* 2,004,075 Kilgore ----------27,825 18,356 49,500 25,612Jacksonville --------10,400 1,700 11,400 Longview ---------36,019 36,356 104,325 89,381Kenedy ------------------4,200 2,500 300 McAllen 13,331 10,781 20,550 22,312 Longview --------------------11,800 12,700 3,950 Marshall ---------16,556 5$,106 53,474 102,937Lubbock -----------------380,263 312,469 211,971 Palestine _______ 47,231 6,900 52,069 34,219 Lufkin ------------23,513 36,072 24,266 Pampa -----------12,038 1,425 15,507 9,338McAllen -------25,016 51,962 8,004 Paris --------------4,125* t 21 ,450* tMarshall ----------------28,548 11,725* 63,660 Plainview -------2,700 900 8,568 19,931Midland ------------------50,715 95,565 17,825 Port Arthur ____ 55,350 21,244 76,388 80,775 Palestine --------------17,736 11,956 9,026 San Angelo _____ 32,663 70,144 8,569 54,619 Pampa ----------16,500 20,300 31,750 San Antonio _____ 347,625 174,919 642,975 644,194 Paris ------------16,050 12,075 7,475 Sherman ---------2,873 9,544 14,648 33,544 Plainview ________!_______ 3,475 2,215 3,800 Temple ------------13,762 20,963 20,474 23,063Port Arthur ---------------106,428 87,535 84,416 Tyler -----------47,513 23,006 158,551 152,231San Angelo ------------56,057 38,246 66,000 Waco ---------·-----62,081 168,544 155,231 290,044 San Antonio ---------379,362 432,371 1,083,086 Wichita Falls _ 19,893 94,463 125,494 216,301Sherman ---------------28,751 23,795 8,273 TOTAL _______ 2,193,626 1,451,513 4,266,601 3,924,112Sweetwater ----------------18,140 8,385 10,985 Tyler --------------------------43,528 45,346 46,065 81,413 165,085 •Not included in total. Waco ------------------151,566 tNot available. 42,987 58,125 Wichita Falls -------81,120 Non:: Prepared from report• from Tex11 cbamben of commerce to the 7,109,974 8,030,280 Bureau of Businest Reeearch. TOTAL -----------------6,899,848 •Doet not include public worb. tNot Included In total. !Not nailablo. Non : Compiled from reporte from Texas chamber. of commerce to the Bureau of Buaine11 Research. FEBRUARY SHIPMENTS OF LIVE STOCK CONVERTED TO A RAIL-CAR BASIS* Cattle Calvea Hogo Sheep Total 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 Total Interstate Plus Fort Worthf_____ 2,110 2,041 691 629 782 592 218 400 3,801 3,661 Total Intrastate Omitting Fort Worth._ ___ 203 301 130 124 18 26 t 20 351 471 TOTAL SHIP MENTS 2,313 2,342 821 753 800 618 218 420 4,152 4,132 TEXAS CAR-LOT* SHIPMENTS OF LIVE STOCK, JAN I-MARCH I Cattle Calves Hogs Sheep Total 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 1941 1940 Total Interstate Plus Fort Worth~-------4,722 4,803 1,621 1,476 1,783 1,262 581 810 8,707 8,351 Total Intrastate Omitting Fort Worth _____ 413 642 282 195 35 47 14 41 744 925 TOTAL SHIPMENTS_ 5,135 5,445 1,903 1,671 1,818 1,309 595 851 9,451 9,276 •Rail-car Buis: Cattle. 30 head per car; calves, 60; hogs, 80; and sheep, 250. tLesa than one-half of a carlond. Fort Worth 1hipmenta are combined with interstate forwardings in order that the bulk of mar~et disappearance for the month ~ay be shown. . NOTS: These data are furnished the Al!,'ricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. by railway officials through more than 1,500 station agents, represent me. every live 1tock ahipping point in the State. The data are compiled by the Bureau of Business Research. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS PRINTED BULLETINS The Basis of the Commercial and Industrial Development of Texas, by Elmer H. Johnson. Price $2.00 Natural Regions of Texas, Elmer H. Johnson. Price $1.00 Directory of Texas Manufacturers, 1940 Edition, by F. A. Buechel and Clara H. Lewis, assisted by Carrol Brown and Edward Dedeke. Price $2.00 Eight Years of Livestock Shipments in Texas, 1925-1932, Part I, Cattle and Calves, by F. A. Buechel. Price $1.00; Supplement to Part I, 1933-1939, by F. A. Buechel. Price $1.00; Part II Hogs and Sheep, 1925­ 1939, by F. A. Buechel. Price $1.00 A System of Accounting Procedure for Livestock Ranches, by F. W. Woodbridge. Price $1.50 Methods for the Study of Retail Relationships, by William J. Reilly. Price $1.00 What Place Has the Advertising Agency in Market Research, by William J. Reilly. Price $1.00 MIMEOGRAPHED BULLETINS Studies of Employment Problems in Texas, by A. B. Cox. Price $1.00 Manufacture of Dairy Products in Texas, by F. A. Buechel and Elmer H. Johnson. Price $1.00 Farm Cash Income in Texas, 1927-1938, by F. A. Buechel and Elmer H. Johnson. Price $1.00 MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS Texas Business Review. Price $1.00 per year New Passenger Car Registration in Texas. Price $2.00 per year New Commercial Car Registration in Texas. Price $1.50 per year CONTENTS Business Review and Prospect, F. A. Buechel____________ __________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ 3 Crop Reporting Districts in Texas, Elmer H. Johnson------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 Directory of Texas Manufacturers, 1940 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17 Announcements -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17 CHARTS f:d~x::~fL~v::it~~~ ~~ii~~~~nYnD+s:~~c5t~--'.~---~-~-x_a_~::::::::::::::::::::::=:=:::::::::::=:-::::=:::=::=::::==:::=::==:::::::::::=::::=::::=::::==::=::::=::::=:::::= 5 2 1 Texas Income ------------------------------------------··------········-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------­ TABLES Banking Statistics ---------------------· -----·-·--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------··--·---------------------------------------19 Building Permits.-------------------··--------· .............-----------------------------------------------·--·-··------------------------------------------------·-----------------------------------··--·--23 Carload Movement of Poultry and Eggs·-·····------·-----···-·--·--------·-··------·-···----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 Cement -----------------------------------------·-·· -----· --·-·-···--------------------·----------·-··------------···----------------------------------------------------------------·-----------------------------22 Charters ---------------------------------·-----------------------------------------------------------------··--------------------------------------·---------------------------------------------------------20 Commercial Failures·----------··-·--·--··--·--------------·-··--------------·-·---------·---·-····-······-·---------------------------------------------------------------·-------------------------------22 Commodity Prices..---------------------·--··--··---------····-----------------·--------------------------· ·-----·---------------------------------··--····-···------------------·-----------------------·--·-· 21 Cotton Balanc:e Sheet.....·------··············--····--···-----·---·-------·---···-----·-···------------·-----------------------------·--------------·----------------------------------------------------17 Credit Ratios in Texas RetaiI Stores ------------------·---------·---------···---·--------···---···------------------------------------------------------------------------------------·------22 Employment and Pay Rolls in Texas -----------------------------·-----------------------···-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18 Lumber ----------------·····-··-·--------·---···----·········---·· ···--------------------·-·--·------------------··--···-----------------------------------------------------------·--·-------------------------22 Percentage Changes in Consumption of Electric Power..---------------·-···-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 Petroleum -----------------------------···-·-··--------···--·----------------------------------------------------·-------·--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19 Postal Receipts.__________ ._ ___ ··--·-·-·---------··-·-·--------.-------------------------------__ ·-·----------------------------·--·-·----------------------------------------· ---------------_ 21 Purchases of Savings Bonds.----------------------------------·····-----------------------------·--··----·-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23 Retail Sales of Independent Stores in Texas....------------·----------------------···--·---------------------------------------·---------------------------------------------·20, 21 Shipments of Livestock·-------------------------------------------------------------------------·-···-----------------------------------------·----------------------------------------------23