of the south-east trades) laden with moisture and of a delightful temperature, when it is met by the cool air from the mountains, and condensed, giving the rains of Eastern and Central Texas.  The more southing they have in them, the less moisture, until the extreme south-eastern portion of Texas, or the country near the mouth of the Rio Grande, is one of almost constant drought.  There are thus three belts of moisture:  first, from the Sabine to the mouth of the Brazos, may be called the belt of greatest rain,—­from the Brazos to Lavaca or Victoria, that of moderate rain,—­and from Lavaca to the Rio Grande, the dry belt.  But even in the dry belt there is moisture enough to give fine grasses, and make the country a fine one for grazing, and the streams taking their rise in great springs, which probably have their source in the melting snows of the Rocky Mountains, flowing under the Llano Estacado and breaking out in great numbers in a line almost north and south, never dry up, even in the dryest seasons.

In the winter months, Texas has winds from the north, which come on very suddenly, and produce great variation in the temperature.  They are disagreeable, but wholesome, and clear the atmosphere.  They do not extend north of the Red River, nor very far west, but increase in intensity as they go south.

    No country in the world can be healthier than Texas, and
    consumption and pectoral complaints never originate in the area of
    the northers.

    Eastern Texas is generally well wooded; Middle and Western Texas
    have wood on the banks of the streams, and frequent spots of
    timber on the prairies.

Most of the country is covered with nutritious grass, affording good pasture throughout the year, capable of supporting an endless number of cattle and sheep, and almost all the soil is suited to the growth of cotton.  There are more than five thousand square miles of bituminous coal in Texas, presenting seams five feet thick, and hills of pure gypsum seven hundred feet high.  These are all covered by a generous sky and climate beneath which the white man can live and work without fear of malaria or sickness, and where he can enjoy all the blessings of the tropics without their attendant disadvantages.

It is this superb country which we trust General Lane and his forces may soon redeem from the curse of slavery.

The woolen manufacturer has an equal interest with the cotton-spinner in demanding that this shall be done, for with this unequaled country for the production of wool remaining under the curse of slavery, we import annually nearly thirty million pounds of wool,—­about one-third of our whole consumption.  With Texas free, and emigration from abroad—­for a long time reduced almost to nothing—­freely encouraged, we should become exporters of wool, not importers.

But I am warned that I have exceeded the space allotted me.  The absurd assertion that the emancipated negro lapses into barbarism and will not work, can only be met by the question, ’If he will not work except by compulsion, why does he work extra after his compulsory labor is over?’ Evidence that he does so work can be presented ad infinitum, upon Southern testimony; witness that De Bow’s Review makes only a few selections.