Texas

Texas, by far the largest of the United States of America, is in the S.W., and has the Indian Territory on the N., Arkansas and Louisiana on the E., Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico on the S., and New Mexico on the W. Its length and breadth are 900 miles and 700 miles respectively, it has 400 miles of coast-line, and contains over 263,000 square miles. The coast is low and sandy, and the interior consists of prairie, plateau, and mountain. From the mouth of the Sabine river, which separates it from Louisiana, to that of the Rio Grande, which separates it from Mexico, the coast is fnnged by low Islands and peninsulas, enclosing wide lagoons, and occupied by sand-hills. The longest Island is Padre, N. of Rio Grande, and has a length of 1OO miles. For several miles inland there is fertile alluvial soil, consisting of fruitful plains alternated by barren tracts covered with cactus and mezquite. The district from Corpus Christi Bay to Rio Grande is called the Desert. Farther inland come well-timbered prairie-lands, and to these succeed bluffs and table lands rising to the Llano Estacado. There is abundance of fertile and good grazing land, and corn-growing and cattle-raising are on the increase. the soil, which is greatly various, is best in the S. and S.E., where rain is abundant. The climate of the lowlands on the coast is semi-tropical, tempered by the winds from the Gulf, that of the middle region iS dry and healthy, and in the W. it is so dry that meat will dry up without decaying. The whole state is subject to cold storms called "Northers." The chief rivers are the Arkansas and the Red River, flowing to the Mississippi, and the Red, Sabine, Grande, Trinity, Brazos, and Colorado rivers, flowing into the Gulf. Among the minerals are coal, iron, tin, lime, gypsum, salt, and stone. The chief productions are wool, dairy-produce, cotton, wheat, sugar, rice, and fruits, especially the orange. There are ten large towns, Austin, on the Colorado, being the capital. Texas was annexed by the United States of America in 1845.