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                                                                  H.R. No. 377



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Cotton has ranked as one of the most important crops 
in Texas for a century and a half, and its significance was formally 
recognized in 1997 by the 75th Legislature, which named it the 
official fiber and fabric of the Lone Star State; and
	WHEREAS, Introduced to Texas by Spanish missionaries, 
production of cotton soared between 1850 and 1900, when it reached 
more than 3,400,000 bales; contributing to the expansion were the 
opening of new lands for cultivation, the invention of barbed wire, 
and the extension of the railroad; cultivation on the Blackland 
Prairie of Central Texas was also spurred by the development of a 
plow that could break the heavy soil there and by the influx of 
thousands of immigrants, both from the Deep South and from Europe; 
and
	WHEREAS, The State of Texas has been the scene of several 
major innovations in the cotton industry; Robert S. Munger, who 
became a leading designer of ginning equipment, developed an 
automated system ginning process in Mexia in 1884, and in 1980 the 
country's first high-volume instrument cotton-classing office 
opened in Lamesa; and
	WHEREAS, Evolution of the industry within the state has seen 
the center of cotton cultivation shift from East and Central Texas 
to the High Plains and the Rio Grande Valley, where the use of 
fertilizer and irrigation has promoted large yields; and
	WHEREAS, Approximately one-quarter of all the cotton 
harvested in the United States is grown in Texas, which has ranked 
first among all the states in most years over the past century; 
since 1993 the annual cotton crop in Texas has averaged 4.53 million 
bales; in 2001, Texas upland and pima lint cotton was valued at 
$859,954,000, and Texas cottonseed, at $140,547,000; and
	WHEREAS, Much of the Texas cotton crop is shipped abroad, 
with Mexico, Japan, and South Korea figuring among the largest 
buyers; and
	WHEREAS, The history of Texas cannot be told without taking 
into account the enormous role that cotton has played in the 
development of the state and in the life of so many of its people, 
and the crop continues to provide the livelihood of thousands of 
Texans; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature hereby recognize March 4, 2003, as Cotton Day at the 
State Capitol and extend to all those associated with the industry 
and who are present here today a warm welcome and sincere best 
wishes for an enjoyable and memorable visit.

                                                                      Hardcastle

                                                  ______________________________
                                                       Speaker of the House     

	I certify that H.R. No. 377 was adopted by the House on March 
4, 2003, by a non-record vote.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Chief Clerk of the House