The Texas Star made of grain was featured in the Texas booth.  A sign on the column  appears to say "Wise Men of the East follow the Star to Texas."

The Texas Star made of Grain

Photos: Stereoviews from the collection of Lyndon Irwin.

Texas Watermelon/Corn

 In the Agriculture Palace, the state of Texas had maintained its reputation for growing fruits and crops of giant size.  The exhibit displayed a watermelon of enormous size weighing in at 97.5 pounds.  On display were forty seven ears of popcorn that came from nine stalks.  Also, there was one stalk of ordinary corn that had reached the height of twenty feet with seven foot long roots and was not finished growing.      

Sumatra Wrapper Tobacco

Sumatra wrapper tobacco that was successfully grown in Texas was on display in the Texas booth. This tobacco was characterized by its very thin and silky texture. The leaves of the plant were so thin that it took 500 leaves to weigh a pound. Grown under a huge tent in the southern part of the state, and supervised by a government expert, it was demonstrated that Texas’ climate conditions were similar to that of Sumatra. A few of the other states have tried to produce the tobacco with artificial shade under the government’s supervision but it was thought that these plants were not as good.

Reference:  Journal of Agriculture, 1904

This page was designed by Tobey Ellebracht and Andrea Starkey and is maintained by Lyndon Irwin. 

Go back