LOUISIANA
a$ IT IS:
iTS TOPOGRAPHY AND MATIRIAL RzsouRCEs-ITs COTTON, SUGAR CAN,
RICE AND TOBACCO FIELD-ITS CORN AND GRAIN LANDsITS Nu   MEBOUS VA        OIEs oF FILD CROP-ITS VALUABIE GRASSES
ITS FRUITS, INCLUDING THE ORANGE AND OTHER TROPICAL
FRur-i-ITS VEGETABLE AND FLowER GARDENS-ITS
VAST AND VALUABLE FORESTS OF TMBER-ITS
PRAIRIES, BoTTOMS, SWAMP AND HILLY
LANDs-HATH AND LONGEVrrITY-VA              RIOUS POPULAR ERRORS CORRECT               ED TOUCHING THE SOIL, CLI                  M.TE AND PEOPLE OF
THE STATE.
RELIABLE INFORMATION
FOR FARMERS, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY, LABORING  MEN, MANIUFAC
TURERS, CAPITALIST,. MEN OF ENTERPRISE, INVALIDS-.ANY
WHO MAY DESIRE TO SETTLE OR PURCHASE LANDS IN
iTH'I GULF  STAT     S
BY DAN'L DENNETT.
NEW ORLEANS
-"EUREKA" PRESS, 33 NATCHEZ  TREET.
1876.
0
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It is the object of this work to furnish facts in regard to the
State of Louisiana, its material resources, health, local advantages,
state of society, et<., that immigrants and strangers may rely up!o
with safety.
STATEMENTS STRICTLY RELIABLE.
The author of this book has been a resident of the Gulf Statea
more than thirty-fotr years, and was editor and proprietor of the
Planters' Banner most of the time from 1848 to 1872.  It has been
his object to publish nothing that cannot be vouched for by gentlemen of unquestionable intelligence and integrity.
in relation to the truthfillness of his general descriptions of
Louisiana, and the usual fairness and reliability of his facts, pub1ished in his own and other journals, in regard to the material resources of this State and the inducements it holds out to immigrants from higher latitudes, he has permission to refer to:
A. A~. Holbrook, Editor and Proprietor Picayune.
.)ufour & Limet, Editors and Proprietors N. O. Bee.
J. iV. Stoutemyer, Editor N. O. Times.
Editors N. O. Republican.
Louis J. RBright a Co., Editors and Proprietors N. 0. Price
Current.
Page -I. Baker, N. O. Bulletin.
TAos G. Rapier, Editor Morning Star and Catholic Messenger.
J. Hassinger, German Cazette.
Linus Parker, Editor N. O. Christian Advocate.
Hen?ry M. Smith, Editor S. W. Presbyterian.
Jas.. Humnmel, Editor and Proprietor Our  Home Journal
and Rural Southland.
E. -K..anard, Editor Son of the Soil.
Jnor. B. Robertson, Editor Co-Operative News, and Author of
Resources of Louisiana.
J. P. B. Wilmer, Bishop of Louisiana.
J.. Keener, Bishop M. E. Church, South.
Rev. B. M. Palmer, D. D., LL. D.
Gen. (G. T. Beaurega  d.
Charles Gayarre, Historian of Louisiana.
Charles J. Leeds, Mayooof New Orleans.
John Phelps, President N. O. Cotton Exchange.
Cyrus Bussey, President N. O. Chamber of Commerce.
WI. P. Lyman, President N. O. Stock Exchange.
Iht D0tft. -  tf h'i next.
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"LOUISIANA AS IT IS"
INDORSED BY THE LOUISIANA STATE GRANGE.
The State Grange of Louisiana (P. of H.) during its session in
New Orleans, in December, 1875, iiidorsed, by a unanimous vote,
the following resolutions offered in the Report of the Committee on
Immnigration:
1. Resolved, That we ask the favorable consideration of the State
Orange, and of the members of our Order, to the forthcoming work of
our Worthy Brother, Dan'l Dennett, so long characterized for his ability
as a writer on the topography of Louisiana, and for his integrity of
character as a Brother Patron. The title page and prospectus of his
lbook, "LouiSINA AS rr Is," is appended- to these resolutions.
2.  R.solved,'~That the State Grange of Louisiana cordially approves of the important publication of ou' Worthy Brother, Dan'l Dennett, on the rich and varied resources of this State, and will encourage
the general circulation of his book, as the most reliable means of imparting correct information to immigrants, andl to people of all sections
and coitrie$ who desiye to become acquainied with the hidden wealth
of out, State.
RICH'D M. McCORMICK,
Chairman.
RICH'D S. VENABLES,
Committee on Immigration.
WM. H. HARRIS,
Secretary Louisiana State Grange.
o E STATE GRANGE OF LOUis]iA,
8 Camp Street, New Orleans,
April 24th, 1875.
ng that our Worthy Brother, Dan'l
known to the people of Louisiana as
cation, and as the editor of an agri devoted his talents to progressive
uth.
good standing, and being well ac,  and climate of Louisiana, is emit to immigrants; and any statements
edence.
A ATER,'Chairman.
cHINEHEART,
BL SCHLTATRE,
.  LEWIS, Master La. State Grange.
I WM. H. HARRIS, Seeretary. 
MATERIALS OF THE WORK.
We have gathered the materials which go to make up our book
from various sources, always aiming to give full credit to the athor of any article we may have appropriated in our columns
When we consider others' lamps, and lights, and oil, better than oir
own, we use them, when we have the owner's consent. Our object
is to throw all the light we can possibly control on the natuiral
wealth of Louisiana as it exists in 1876. Its political condition we
have nothing to do with in this book; that is the work of statesmen and politicians.
We fill several pages from the pen of Col. S. H. Lockett, whos
observations upon the topography of the State we highly prize
We republish a revised copy of our "DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTARAPAS PARISHES AND ST. LANDRY." We published 20,000 copies of
this circular, and a map of these parishes, in 1870. Many artcles, and parts of articles, which have already appeared in different journals in Louisiana, will be reproduced in this book. It will
be our object to use the marrow of what has been published on the
material resources of the State, and add a large amount of new
matter to complete the work.
The map that accompanies the book is furnished at a trifling
cost to the purchaser,-a fine map of the same size would cost several times the amount paid for both book and nap. By furnishing
a cheap edition we are enabled to put 10,000 copies in circulation
otherwise we could have published but 5,000 copies.
From the N. 0. Commercial Bulle,tin.
Information About Louisiana -Daniel Dennett, Esq., a resident of this State
since 1841, and honorably connected with journalism in Louisiana for more than
twenty years; since the war devoted to the development of the resources of the S,ate
-a thorough, searching and painstaking agrit.ultural and statistical reviewer, is about
to publish a work calculat6d to do a great deal of good to Louisiana, in which he will
give very reliable informatloin interesting to farmers and manufacturers, to laboring
men, to capitalists, to men of enterprise, and to all who desire to settle in the Guy
States or to invest their capital here.
The work of Mr. Dennett will be comprehensive, able, and in all respects trust
worthy.  It is a document which otight to be circulated all over Europe, and wheresoever else we expect or invite immigration to come from. It will contain a large
amount of information interesting to every citizen, and especially to every officer and
legislator. It is a document which ought to be embodied into our legislative proceedings. and translated into a half dozen ~nguages; it should be scattered broadcast
among the over-crowded.people of Europe.
When the work appears, asit will shortly, we will speak  more at length of its
merits.  We will only say now that it will supply a great desideratum.  We do not hesitate to say in advance that the friends of Louisiana, atnd those who ardently desire the
development of the resources of the Gulf States, will find in LOUtSIASA AS T Is a reat
treasure.
a 
The Poetry of the History of Louisiana.
BY CHARLES GAYARRE.
The following brief extracts from  Gayarre's excellent History
of Louisiana, we trust will not be deemed inappropriate in this
place, as an introduction to "LOUISIANA AS IT IS."
Under the head of "The Poetry of the History of Louisiana,"
after graceful and thoughtful preliminaries, the learned author remarks:
" I am willing to apply that criterion to Louisiana, considered
both physically and  historically; I am  willing that my  native
State, which is but a fragment of what Louisiana formerly was,
should stand or fall by that test, and do not fear to approach with
her the seat of judgment. I am prepare(l to show that her history
is full of poetry of the highest order, and of the most varied nature. I have studied the subject con amore, and with such reverential enthusiasm, and I may say with suc(h filial piety, that it has
grown upon my heart as well as upon my mind.  To support the
assertion that the history of Louisiana is eminently poetical, it will
be sufficient to give you short graphical descriptions of those interesting events which constitute her annals.  B'ight gems they are,
enriching her brow, diadem-like, and worthy of that star which has
sprung from her forehead to enrich the American constellation in
the firmament of liberty."
HERNANDO DE SOTO.
I  On the 31st of May, 1539, the bay of Santa Spiritu, in Florida,
presented a curious spectacle. Eleven vessels of quaint shape,
b Searing the broad banner of Spain, were moored close to the shore
one thousand men of infantry, and three hundred and fifty men of
eavairy, fully equipped, were landing in proud array under the
command of Hernando De Soto, one of the most illustrious companions of Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, arid reported one of the
best lancers in Spain.
*       *       *       *       *       *       *      *
"Among his followers are gentlemen of the best blood of Spain,
and of Portugal.
*       *       *        *       * * **                 *
"Now  he is encamped in the territory of the Chicasaws,  the
most ferocious of the lndian tribes.  And  luicky was it that Soto
was as prudent as he was brave, and slept equally prepared for the
defence and for the attack. Hark! in the dead of a winter's night,
a
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THE POETRY OF THE HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.,
when the cold wind of the north, in the month of January, 1541,
was howling through the leafless tiees, a simultaneous howl was
heard, more hideous far than the voice of the tempest.  The Indians rush impetuous with firebrands, and the thatched roofs which
sheltered the Spaniards are soon on fire, threatening them with immediate destruction. The horses rearing and plunging in wild affright, and breaking loose from their ligaments; the undaunted
Spaniards. half naked' struggling against the devouring element
and the unsparing foe; the desperate deeds of valor executed by
Soto and his companions; the deep-toned shouts of "St. Jago and
Spain" to the rescue; the demon-like shrieks of the red warriors;
the final overthrow of the Indians, the hot pursuit by the light of
the flaming village, form a picture highly exciting to the imagination; and cold, indeed, must be he who does not take delight in
the strange contrast of the heroic warfare of chivalry on one side,
and of the untutored courage of man in his savage state on the
other.
It would be too long to follow De Soto in his peregrinations
during two years through part of Alabama,  Mississippi and Tennessee.  At last he stands on the banks of the Mississippi, near the
spot where now  flourishes the Egyptian  named city of Memphis,
He crosses the mighty river, and onward he goes, up to the White
river, while roaming over the territory of Arkansas. Meeting with
alternate hospitality and hostility on the part of the Indians, he arrives at the mouth of Red river, within the present limits of the
State of Louisiana.  Tleie he was fated to close his adventurous
career."
FATHER MARQUETTE AND JOLIET.
"One hundred and thirty years had passed away since the apparition of Soto on the soil of Louisiana, without any further attempt of the white race to penetrate into the fair region, when, on
the 7th of July, 1673, a small band of Europeans and Canadians
Teached the Mississippi, which they had come to seek from the distant city of Quebec. That band had two leaders, Father Marquette,
a monk, and Joliet, a merchant, the prototype of two great sources
o)f power-religion and commerce-which, in the course of time,
were destined to exercise such influence on the civilization of the
Western territory, traversed by the mighty river which they hal
discovered. That humble monkish gown of Father Marquette concealed a hero's heart, and in the merchant's breast there dwelt a
soul that would have disgracfd no belted knight.
ROBERT CAVALIER DE LA SALLE.
-'Seven years since the expedition of Marquette and Joliet had
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THE POETRY OF THE HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
rolled by, when Robert Cavalier de la Salle, in the month of Jannary. 1682, feasted his eyes with the far famed Mississippi. For
his companions he had forty soldiers, three monks, and thfie Chevalier de Tonti.
Brought into contact with Count Fontenac, who was the Governor of (Canada, he communicated to him his views and projects
for the aggrandizement of France, and suggested to him the gigan.
tic plan of connecting the St. Lawrence with the Mississippi by am
uninterrupted chain of forts.
*       *       *      *       *       *      *       *
"On the 15th of September, 1678, proud and erect with theconsciousness of success, La Salle stood again in the walls of Quebec, and stimulated by the cheers of the whole population, he immediately entered into the execution of his projects. Four years
after, 1682, he was at the mouth of the Mississippi, and in the
name, (as appears by a notarial act still extant) of the most puissant, moGt high, most irnvinable and victorious Prince, Louis the
Great, King of France, took possession of all the country which he
had discovered.
*       *       *      *       *      *      *       *
To relate all of the heart thrilling adventures which occurred
to La Salle during the four years which elapsed between the opening and conclusion of that expedition, would be to go beyond the
limits which are allotted to me. Suffice it to say, that at this day,
to overcome the one-hundredth part of the difficulties which he ha&
to encounter, would immortalize a man.
IBERVILLE AND BIENVILLE.
"A few years after the death of  a Salle, which occurred in,
1687, by the hands of brutal companions, within the limits of
Texas, a French ship of 42 guns, the Pelican, commanded by Iberville, after sinking an English vessel of 52 guns in a naval battle
on the coast of New England, and whipping two other vessels of 42
guns each in the same fight, in the beginning of March, 1699, entered the Mississippi, accompanied by his brother Bienville, an&
Father Anastase, the former companion of La Salle in his expedi —
tion down the river in 1682."
*      *       *       *       *       *      *      *
In 1703 war had broken out between Great Britain, France,.
and Spain, and [berville, a distinguished officer of the French navy,
was engaged in expditions that kept him away from the colony.
It did not ceasv, however, to occupy his thoughts, and had become
clothed, in his eye, with a sort of family interest. Louisiana was
then left, for some time, to her scanty resources; but, weak as she
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THE POETRY OF T!E HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
was, she gave early proofs of that generous spirit which has since
animated her.
*       *       *.  *       *      *      *       *
"Iberville sent his brother, Chateagu6 to the colony, accompanied bv seventeen persons, as immigrants to the new colony.
"The excitement of this new arrival had hardly subsided wher
it was revived by the appearance o  another ship, and it became
intense when the inhabitants saw a procession of twenty females,.
with veiled faces, proceeding arm in arm, and two by two, to the
house of the governor, who received them in state and provided
them with suitable lodgings. But the next morning, which was
Sunday, the mystery was cleared up by the officiatinig priest reading from the pulpit of the mass the following communication from
the m;nister to Bienville:  "His Majesty sends twenty girls, to be.
married to the Canadians, and to the other inhabitants of Mobile,
in order to consolidate the colony. All these girls are industrious, and have received a pious and virtuous education.  Beneficial
results to the colony are expected from thieir teaching their useful
attainments to the Indian females.  In order that none be sent except those of known virtue and unspotted reputation, His Majesty
did intrust the Bishop of Quebec with the mission of taking those
girls from such establishments, as, from their very nature and char
acter, would put them above all suspicions of corruption. You will.
take care to settle them in life as well as may be in your power,
and to marry them to such men as are capable of providing themwith a commodious home."
CONDENSED ITEMS FROM GAYARRE'S HISTORY OF
LOUISIANA.
Sauvolle was the first governor of Louisiana.   He died in 1701,.
and was succeeded by Bienville, the second governor.
Iberville went to France in 1701, and remained absent from
Louisiana four years.
In 1706, the French girls brought to the colony were indignant
at being fed on corn bread, and threatened to leave the colony on
the first opportunity. This is called the "petticoat insurrection."
Thirtv-five colonists died of starvation in 1705.
The three most important personages in the Commonwealth of
Louisiana at that time were Blenville, the governor, who wielded
the sword, and was the great executive mover of all; La Salle, the
intendant commissary of the crown, who had the command of the
purse, and who, therefore, might be called the coitrolling power
and the Curate de la Vente, who was not satisfied with mere spiritual influence.
The commissary, La Salle, in a letter of the 7th of December,,
a
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:x   TH POETRY OF THE HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
1706, accused Iberville, Bienville, and Chateagu6, the three brothers, of being guilty of every sort of malfeasanrces and  dilapidations. The curate backed La Salle.
After an existence of nine years, the population of the colony
did not exceed 279 persons. Its principal wealth consisted in 50
cows, 40 calves, 4 bulls, 8 own, 1,400 hogs, and 2,000 hens.
In 1709 famine re-appeared in the colony, and the inhabitants
-were reduced to live on acorns.
The scarcity of provisions had become such, that in 1710 Bienville inlormed his government that he had scattered the greatest
part of his men among the Indians, upon whom he had quartered
them for food.
In 1712, Anthony Crozat obtained from the King of France the
exclusive privilege, for fifteen years, of trailing in all that immense territory which, with its undefined limits, France claimed
as her own under the name Louisiana.  The charter of concessions
virtually made Crozat the supreme lord and master of Louisiana.
In 1713 Cadillac is made governor of Louisiana.
The famous banking company of the Indies, with John Law at
its head, was started in 1717. John Law was born in Edinburgh,
Scotland, in 1671.
Bienville was appointed Governor of Louisiana the second time
in 1718, and founded the city of New Orleans the same year.
In 1724 the white populati(n of New Orleans amounted to
-1,700 souls, and the black p(p llation to 3.300.  In New Orleans
there were about 1000 souls, including troops, aud the persons emTloyed by the government.
In the beginning of 1727, the spot where now stands New Orleans, not being protected by a levee, was subject to annual inun,dation, and presented no better aspect than that of a vast sink or
sewer.
Mosquitoes buzzed, and enormous frogs croaked incessantly in
concert with other indescribable sounds; tall reeds, and grass of
every variety grew in the streets, and in the yards, so as to interrupt communication, and offered a safe retreat, and places of con,cealment to venomous reptiles, wild beasts, and malefactors, who,
-protected by these impenetrable jungles, committed with impunity
all sorts of evil deeds.
In 1729 the French at Natchez were massacred by the Indians.
'he Indians captured and spared about 300 women and children
-whom they intended to make slaves of.
In 1733 the Fren?n colony in Louisiana was scourged by small
pox and famine. A companion of Bienville wrote:  "Our planters and mechanics are dying of hunger.  The colony is on the eve
Of being depopulated. Tlhe colony is in such a state of indigence
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THE POETRY OF THE HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.   xi
that, last year, the people were obliged, for more than three months,
to live on the seeds aringrains of reeds.
On the 15th of April, 1735, Bienville wrote, on tlie state of the
colony: "One hundred thousand pounds of tobacco are made at
Pointe Coupee; two women raise silk worms for amusement and
succeed very well; eggs should be sent by the government to the
Ursulines, who would teach this industry to the orphans, whose
education ts intrusted to them. The cultivation of cotton is advantageous, but the planters experience great difficulty in cleaning it
from the seeds. Pitch and tar are made in some abundance,"
In 1736 the colony turned its attention to the cultivation of indigo. But little was made from silk through ignorance of the business
The Balize Pass, which, in 1728, had sixteen feet of water; in
1738, fourteen feet and a half, and which Bienville represents as
filling up rapidly, is known in our days as the Southeast Pass.
The Marquis of Vaudreuil was appointed governor of Louisiana
in place of Bienville, in 1743.
De Vaudreuil, in 1744, commanded the planters to have their
1,sees made, under the penalty of forfeiting their lands to the
crown.
The Marquis of Vaudreuil marked the beginning of his administration by iollowing the old and nefarious custom of granting
monopolies.
In 1744 the white population of New Orleans was 800 souls, not
including 500 soldiers, and the women and children. A few of the
houses were brick, and the greater portion were wooden buildings,
or were bricked up between posts. There were 25 inhabitants
whose property was worth from one hundred thousand to three
hundred thousand livres. Almost all the colonists were married.
The most considerable of them was  Mr. Dubreui], who owned 500
negroes, several plantations, brick-kilns, and silk factories. At the
German coast there were 100 white inhabitants, and 200 negroes.
Occupations, gardening and grazing. Pointe Coupee, 200 whites
and 400 negroes. Occupation, the cultivation of tobacco and the
raising of provisions. Natchitoches, 60 whites, and 200 blacks.
Productions, cattle, rice, corn, and tobacco.
The available force for defending Louisiana in 1746 was 400
white men, 500 to 600 Indians, and from 200 to 300 negroes.
A terrible hurricane in 1746, like that of 1740, destroyed the
crops of the colony, and woeld have reduced the inhabitants nearly
to starvation had it net been for boats from Illinois that annually
supplied them with flour.
In 1751 the Jesuits sent some sugar canes from Hispaniola t(}
TV
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THE POETRY OF THE HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.
the Jesuits of Louisiana, and some negroes who were used to the
cultivation of this plant. The experiment was abortive, and though
cane continued to be cultivated successfully, it was only in 1795
that the manufacture of sugar was successful.
On board the same ships which brought the first sugar cane,
sixty girls were transported to Louisiana at the expense of the
King. These girls were married to such soldiers as had distin  guished themselves for good conduct, and who, in consideration of
their marriage, were discharged from service. Such is the humble
origin of many of our most respectable and wealthy famnilies.
On the 23d of September. 1752, the Intendant Commissary,
Michael de la Rouvillisre, made a favorable report on the state of
agriculture in Louisiana.  "The cultivation of the wax tree, says
he. "has succeeded admirably.  Mr. Dubreuil alone has made six
thousand pounds of wax.  Some went to the seashore where the
wax tree grows wild, in order to use it in its natural state. It is
the only luminary used here by the inhabitants, and it is exported
* to other parts of America and t, —France.  In the last three years
fo-ty-five brick houses- wre erected in New Orleans, and sever-,
fine new plantations were established." 
In 1753 Kerlerec took possession of the government of Lou  isiana.
The several governors of Louisiana paid flattering homage to
the courage of the French colonists, and of the few Creoles or na  tives of Louisiana.
On the 3d of November, 1762, Louisiana was ceded to Spain.
In 1765, there was a considerable immigration to Louisiana
from the Alibamons and Illinois districts, which had been ceded to
the English, and from the province of Acadia, or Nova Scotia.
In 1755 the Acadian settlement at Grand Pr6, Nova Scotia,
was broken lup by the English, under command of General Win  slow, and the inhabitants, 1923 persons, were taken prisoners, and
most of them transported to different States. Their houses and
barns were burned by the English, and their property confiscated
to the crown.
In 1765 about 650 Acadians had arrived at New Orleans, and
from that town had been sent to form settlements in Attakapas
and Opelousas under the command of Andry.
Ulloa, the new Spanish Governor, arrived in New Orleans on
the 5th of Mar'h, 1766, and in February of the same year 216 Aca  dians arrived.
Ulloa at once ordere[ the census of the whole population of
Louisiana to be taken, and the result was found to be: 1,893 men
able to carry arms; 1,044 women, married and unmarried; 1,375
male, and 1,240 female children,  Total, 5,562.  The blacks were
f 
THE POETRY OF THE HISTORY OF LOUISIANA.   xiii
.   u~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
about as numerous as the whites. But the population was s,)mewhat reduced by an epidemic closely resembling yellow fever.
A conspiracy was formed against the Spanish Government of
Louisiana in 1768, and a general insurrection followed.
O'Reilly's administration, under the Spanish domination,  continued one year. to 1770. 
Unzaga's administration continued from 1770 to 1776; Galvez's
1777 to 1783; Mino's, 1784 to 1791; Carondelet's, 1792 to 1797;
Glyoso's, 1797 to 1799; Casacalvo's, 1799 to 1801, Salcedo's, 1801
to 1803.
Louisiana was ceded to the United States in 1803-1804, for
50,000,000 francs, or $9,375,000.
Bonaparte, after the sale of Louisiana, said: "This accession
,)f territory strengthens forever the power of the United States;
and I have just given to England a maritime rival that will sooner
or later humble her pride."    *    *    *    "The  day may
come when the cession of Louisiana to the United States sha 1 render the Americans too powerful for the continent of Europe"
GOVERNORS FROM 1805 TO 1861.
Governor Claiborne —Governor James Villere6 —Governor T.
Bolling Robertson-Governor Henry Johnson-Governor Peter
Derbigny-Governor A. B. Roman-Governor E. I). White-Governor A. B. Roman-Governor Alexander Mouton-Governor Isaac
Johnson-Governor Joseph Walker-Governor P. O. HebertGovernor Robert C. Wickliffe-Goverylor T. O. Moore.
CLOSE OF' GAYARRE'S HISTORY.
0
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LOUISIANA.
NATURAL DIVISIONS.
AREA.-Land and Watr.-Arable Allurial and Stamp LZaws.(-Goo
Uplan(ds.-Prairie Regiotl. —Piece Hills.-Pine Fals.-Bluff La.
Coast Marsh.
"Louisiana, though one of the earliest colonies of the continent,
is as yet one of the few States concerni',g whose aspect and resources
no reliable information is accessible, and whose climate and physical
peculiarities are grossly misunderstood."-Prof. E. W. HILGAaRD.
AREA OF LOUISIANA.
The area of Louisiana has been variously estimated. Its numerous
bays, lakes, bayous and rivers make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to estimate its land and water surface with much accuracy.
CoL S. H. Lockett, lately and for many years Professor of Engineering in the Louisiana State University, who traveled over all the
parishes of this State in search of data for his excellent topographical
map of Louisiana, hls various jouirneyings amounting to more than four
thousand miles within the limits of the State, has taken much pains
in working up a correct statement of the land and water surface of the
State, and we prefer his figures and tables to any others we have seen.
We give them below:
SQ. MILES.
Lands within the limits of Louisiana, including coast marsh.....40,790
Inland water and coast bays.................................. 2,328
Land and water surface................................43,018
There are two general divisions of the lands of the State, the hilly
and the level lands.
ACRES.
Hilly lands........................................... 12,332,920
Level lands....:........................................13,773,000
Total...........................................26,105,600
0
4 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
T~hese lands mlay be chMlaedas follows:        ~Rs
'Good Uplands........................................... 5,248,O( 
Pine hills............................................... 5,497,600Bluff lands.............................................. 1,587,320
Prairie region........................................... 2,483,000 
Arable alluvial lands..................................... 3,615,000'
Wooded alluvial......................................... 2,752,000
Pine flats....................................... 1,585,000
Coas    t marsh............................................. 3,338,000Inland water surface...................................... 1,228,000,
Coast bays............................................... 1,100,0(00
The sea-marsh, swamps, arable alluvial, and other divisions of land
are so irregular in shape, and the boundaries of each division are so
indefinite; there is so much surface that one cannot decide whether it
is marsh or prairie, arable alluvial or swamp; it is so difficult to decide
where the pine hills and the pine flats commence; and the flat country
is so filled with lakes, bayous and marais of irregular shape, that no
skill or labor can settle the question as to the number of acres in each
division, or the number of acres of arable land in the State, or the water
surface; but the facts which we have obtained are sufficiently accurate
for all practical purposes, and Col. Lockett has taken more pains than
ony other person in collecting these facts.
COL. S. H. LOCKETT'S DESCRIPTION.
The following interesting description of Louisiana was embodied
in a lecture delivered by Col. Lockett before the Historical Society of
New Orleans, in Lyceum Hall, in the winter of 1873. He has kindly
permitted us to use the lecture in any manner that may promote the
interests of the State.
A GENERALT DESCRIPTION OF LOUISIANA.
Louisiana, one of the Gulf States, lying between parallels 28~ 50r
and 33~ north latitude, is, with the exception of Florida and Texas, the
most southern of the United States.  It is included between the meridian 88~ 4(Y and 940 10' W. frog Greenwich, measuring from north t(}
south 200 miles, and fropn east to west, at its widest part, 290 miles,
with a total area of 40,790 square miles, or 26,105,600 acres.  It is
bounded north by Arkansas, along parallel 33~, and by Mississippi along
6
15;
The~se lands may be clse as followis: 
4
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
%1~; east by Mississippi, the Mississipyi and Pearl Rivers, forming the
bonn lary lin; south by the Gulf of Mexico; west by Texas, with
;Sabine River for the boundary line for more than two-thirds of the
distance fr )m Sab-ne Lake northward.
It is divided into flfty-siX parishes, which correspond to the oounties of other State. Arrangel alphabetically, they are:
Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo,
~Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameran, Carroll, Catahoula, Claiborne, Con,cordia, DeSoto, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Franklin, Grant,
Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livings:ton, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaqueinmines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Richland, Red River, Sabine, St.
Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terretbonne, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, West Baton Rouge,
West Feliciana, Winn, Webster.
The total population of the State, according to the official census
returns for 1870, is 726,27-of whom 362,651 are white and 364,210
colored. New Orleans is the capital and chief city.
ERRONEOUS VIEWS.
Few persons, not citizens of Louisiana, have a correct idea of its
physical features.
As it is situated at the mouth of the greatest river on the continent,
and contains within its limits the delta of that river, which all maps of
-the State show to be intersected by numberless lesser rivers and bayous,
and filled with lakes, most people conclude that Louisiana is, throughout its entire extent, a low, wet, swampy region. They imagine its
surface to be a great plain of wonderful fertility, where at all arable,
with an indefinite succession of dense jungles, tangled swamps, marshes,
lakes, sloughs, cane and cypress brakes. Such incorrect notions are
apt to be formed by those who travel, within the limits of the State,
along the Mississippi and other navigable rivers and bayous. But these
misconceptions will be speedily dissipated by a journey into the interior. One will soon discover that few States of the Union possess a
greater diversity of surface, soil, climate, scenery and products than
Louisiana, and certain it is that no State has a more varied and inter4esting population, or a more wonderful history.
16 
17
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
I will now endeavor to give the reader a good, clear idea of Louisiana as it is, as I myself Hve seen it in my jowneys through and over all of
the pai-ishtes of the Sate, occupyiing mowe ihan two hundred days.
NATURAL DIVISIONS ANDtSUB-DMvSIONS.
The whole surface of Louisiana may be divided into two grand
areas, the Mily and the level country. The hilly parts may be subdivided into three regions which are characteristically different from one
another in the configuration of the surface, in soil, in forest growth,
and in fertility.
These subdivisions I have named respectively the good uplands,
the pine hills, and the bluff lands. The level country may be subdivided into five classes, the pine flats, the prairies, the arable alluvial
lands, the wooded swamps, and the coast marsh. Thus we have the
whole land surface of the State subdivided into eight regions, which
may be distinguished from one another by clearly marked differences.
There is still another large part of the surface of the State not
included in the foregoing classification, which, in Louisiana especially,
is of great extent and greater importance. I mean the water surface,
which includes a vast multitude of rivers, bayous, creeks, lakes and
bays.
By examining the map it will be seen that all of these subdivisions
are plainly indicated after the manner of showing the different forma.
tions on a geological map. But there is a marked difference between
'my topographical map of Louisiana and the geological maps of other
States. hIn the latter, the formations are distinguished.from one another
by the occurrence of certain lithological charateristics, or the presence
or absence of certain fosis rarely seen and seldom known by the great
mass of people.  On the contrary, in the arrangement of the topographical subdivisions, the basis of clasification has many circumstance
with which every man in the State is perfectly familiar. The names of
geological formations are either sientific, and therefore uinteu ligible
to mostpersons, or purely local, and therefore not at all sugestive;
while the names used to designate the topographical subdivisions are
terms used in the common every-ay lang           of the country, and possesed of a definite and welltablished meaning. Nevertheless, the
classification adopted in the topograhioa  map is a true one, and I
hope will have some interest for  eantific men. 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
A PANORAMIC VIEW.
To get a good general view of the alluvial region, no place is better
than the pilot house or hurricane deck of a Mississippi steamer when
the river is well up. As the boat speeds along like a huge thing of life,
a panorama of great beauty pases before the eye. The stately residences of the planters half hidden in groves of magnolia, pecan, and
live-oak; the massive sugar-houses with their towering monumental
chimnies, the neatvillages of negro cabins whitewashed and systematicallyarranged, the broad fields of cotton, corn and cane, sweeping back
in green waves to the blue line of distant woods, the fat sleek cattle and
horses grazing on the levee, and verdant commons, are but some of the
attractive features of the picture. This to the eye of a painter may not
be comparable to the majestic mountain scenery of the Hudson, but to
the agriculturist it would be difficult to present a more pleasing prospect.
A YIEW ON HORSBBACK, AND ON FOOT.
But along the banks of the great rivers we cannot see all that is
woith seeing in the bottom lands. One must visit the deep, silent
bayous, overhung with moss-covered cypress, willows and live-oaks; he
must ramble along the clear, quiet lakes, whose polished surfaces reflect
with perfect fidelity everything above and around them, save where
float the broad leaves and bright flowers of the graine-a-volet; he must
penetrate the tangled swamps, with their primeval forests standing as
the representatives of past ages with their dense jungles of luxuriant
cane, with their ponds, sloughs and marais, whfere the wild fowl rustles
among the water-lilies; and if he has anything of an artist's eye, he will
everywhere see new and peculiar beauties.
THI ALLUVIAL PARISHES.
My map shows that a great many parishes of the State contain
Jluial lands with  their borders.  Carroll, Madison, Tensas, Concora, Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee, West Jaton RoLige, Tberville, Anaion,
Assumption, St. James, St. John the Baptist and St. Charles, are mainly
or wholly alluvia.
WRALT, A&'D    3B]iT IN THE ALLUVIAL RIONS.
To the popuation of this region the same remark applies as has
been already made in regard to that of the bluff'land&  The-wealth,
18
0 
LOUISLINA AS IT IS.
refinement, culture and hospitality of the Louisiana: planter, regardless
of his origin, whether it be French, Spanish, American, or of any other
nationality, is too well known to need any mention from me
NEGRO POPULATFON.
There is one great and serious cause of trouble in the alluvial region
since the late war. The negro population greatly outnumbers the
whites, the disparity being very great, takling the average of the whole
region. As a natural consequence, the negroes have become intensely
interested in politics, to the great detriment of the crops and the agricultural interests of these parishes.
THE WOOD-ED SWAIPS.
Of the wooded swamps little of interest can be said. They are scattered with great irregularity throughout the alluvial region, occurring
in broader masses to the south than to the north of the mouth of Red
River. A great part of the basin of the Atchafalaya is classed as wooded
swamp, but in all probability much of it could be easily reclaimed.
These swamps are of but little value to the State at present. Considerable quantities of cypress timber are felled in them and floated out in
rafts for the use of saw mills along the Mississippi.  No doubt a great
deal of these swamp lands is reclaimable, but it is a matter of very little
interest to Louisiana now when so much of her best land is untilled.
TH  COAST MARSH.
The coast marsh borders the southern part of the State, from
Pearl River to the Sabine. It extends from the water line of the Gulf
of Mexico inland to a depth varying from ten to thirty miles, and averaging fifteen miles. It is low, wet, subject to tidal overflow, filled with
lakes, intersected by numerous bayous, and generally impfssable. It is,
however, by no means uniform in its structure. At some points it is
difficult to determine whether to designate the surface a a lake or as a
grassy plain; at others, the marsh is firm enough for eattle to graze
upon, and for the hunter to traverse; here, we -shall encounter a
"trembling prairie" whose upper surfe looks firm aEd solid, while
underneath a thin, treacherous cn, is an unknown depth of water and
oozy mud; there, an isad  f live oaks growing upon rich, black, firm
soil, capable of supporting the habitations of men.
0    f
19 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
ISLA'DS IN THE MARSH.
Several of these islands are of considerable extent, and cultivated,
such as Pecan Island, the Little and Grande Chenieres, Cheniere-auTigre, and the Buck Ridges of Cameron and Vermilion. They are all
very fertile, producing cawe, sea island cotton, oranges and bananas,
have a delightful climate, and would be most desirable places of residlence but for the swarms of mosquitoes which infest them, and the
troublesome fly called "frappe-d'abord."
PARISHES WITH SEA MARSH.
The parishes which have the greater part of their surface covered
pith sea marsh are Cameron, Vermilion, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, Plaquemines,. St. Bernard and Orleans. In all of
them there are other kinds of surface; belts of very fertile alluvial
land along the bayous, some prairie in Cameron, a good deal in Vermnilion and a less amount in St. Mary.
Excepting the planters living on the bayous, the population of the
coast-marsh region is sparse, and consists mostly of hunters and fishermen. The products are cane and i-ice, oranges, bananas, figs, Japan
plums, garden vegetables, fish and game for the New Orleans market.
WATER SURFACE OF LOUISIANA-LAKES.
The water surface of Louisiana, excluding the rivers and the bays,
which open out into the Gulf of Ilexico, is 1700 square miles.  This
includes Lake Pontchartrain and all the many fresh water lakes in the
interior of the State. They are too numerous to justify a oatalogue of
them at this time; they are all shown on the map. Many of them are
of considerable extent, and nearly all of them are beautiful sheets of
water. They are an important element in the physical structure of the
State, in the influence which they have on her climate, her commerce,
and her agriculture, and are yet destined to be of still greater importance when Louisiana shall have been developed to that high state of
prosperity for which she is so admirably adapted by nature.
HOM   ON THE LAKES BEAUTIFUL BUmDING SITES.
No more beautiful sites can be found for summer resorts, for rural
lhomes, or even foimanufaching purposes, than some of the lakes of
Louisiana.  they will all be noticed separately in my  special dcscriptions of the various parishes in which they are'foundi.
20
0
4 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS,
COAST BAYS Am LAiKES.
If we include in the water surface of Louisiana those open bays and
lakes on her coast, like Atchafalaya, Cote Blanche, Vermilion, Terrebonne, Timbalier and Barataria Bays, and Lake Borgne, the area will
be about double the figures given above.
THE COAST LIDE OF LOUISIANA.
Before leaving this part of our subject, it will be well to notice
some peculiarities of the coast line of Louisiana. It may be divided
into two distinct sections, differing from each other in many charac teristic respects.
The first or eastern division lies between Cat Island, near the
mouth of Pearl River and Atchafalaya Bayou, the southwest. These
two points are the most easterly and most westerly limits respectively
of the great delta of the Mississippi. The waters of the Mississippi
formerly found their way through Manchac Bayou, Lake  MIaurepas,
Lake Pontchartrain and the Rigolets into Lake Borgne, and thence
into Mississippi Sound, at the entrance of which is Cat Island. These
waters still flow into Atchafalaya Bay through the river of the same
name.  All this part of the coast is extremely irregular, indented with
numerous bays, cut up by thousands of lakes and bayous into a labyrynth of peninsulas and islands, which it is almost impossible to represent on a map of the scale I have adopted. The general shape of this
part of the coast is the arc of a circle, convex outwards. The radius of
this circle is about sixty-five geographical miles, and its centre is a few
miles to the westward of the southwest corner of Lake Pontchartraim
This circle crosses the narrow neck of land which makes the lower delta,
near Forts Jackson and St. Philip. The whole length of the arc, excluLding the lower delta, is one hundred and seventy miles. There is a
remarkable tendency of the islands along this circle to form themselves
into groups, convex towards the Gulf, and each island partakes of the
same shape.
MARSH BAYOUS.
The bayous which flow through the marsh of this section are deep,
except at their mouths, which ar*always obstructed by shallow bays
with still shallower bars. 
The second or western section of the coast from Vermilion Bay to
Sabine Lake, is a nearly straight, coninuous and regular beach, on the
21 0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
edge of the marsh. There are no outlying islands, and in fact the whole
structure of the line is exactly the opposite of that of the other section.
TH  GRREAT PRZAIRI1T  IION.
From this comparatively uninteresting region we will now turn to
what, to me at least, is the most pleasing part of the State-the great
prairies. They lie almost entirely west of Bayou Teche and south of
Bayou Cocodrie, making up the old Opelousas and Attakapas countries.
On the south they are limited by the impassable sea marsh, into which
they pass often by imperceptible gradation. On the west Calcasieu
River and the Sabine form the boundary lines.
BAYOUS, COULEES AND FORESTS.
All of this extensive area, thus broadly defined, is not one unbroken,
treeless expanse. Coulees and bayous course through it, generally in
a north and south direction, on the borders of which grow fine forests
of timber. From these principal belts of timber spurs run out into the
open prairies, like headlands into the sea, thus dividing the whole
region into separate tracts, each having its own name: Faquetyke,
Mamou, Calcasieu, Sabine, Vermilion, Mermentan, Plaquemines,
Opelousas and Grande Prairie are the largest. There are many others,
with local names which it is needless to mention. The surface of the
prairies, though generally level, is yet not perfectly so.
PRAIRIE BILLOWS, COVES AND HARBORS.
The prairie is gentry rolling, like the billows of a deep sea. In fact,
one cannot ride through the prairies without having their striking resem.
blance to large bodies of water constantly recurring to his mind. The
grass which grows upon their surface, waving in the wind, looks like
ripples on the bosom of the ocean, the dark blue borders of woods are
like distant shores, the projecting spurs like capes and promontories,
the "coves" like bays and gulfs, and the occasional clumps of detached
trees like islands in the sea.
SOIL OF THIE PRAIRIES.
The soill of^he praiies is either of a greish yellow or a cold grey
color, but is much better than is generally supposed, and improves
wonderfully under proper cultivation. The subsoil is a good tenacious
eay. The easternpart of the prairies has a better soil than that farther
22 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS..
west. Yet, even the latter amply repays the laborer for his toil. By
manuring, tramping, draining, and deep plowing, the prairie soil gets
better every year that it is cultivated. Cotton, cane and rice may be
raised with profit, and very probably, an excellent quality of tobacco.
Hay, in any desired quantity, could unioubtedly be made, by enclosing
pals of the prairie, and mowing the grass when fresh and juicy, or by
improved and cultivated grasses.
PRODUCTS OF THE PRAIES.
The chief products of the prairies now are beef cattle and horses
neither of velry good quality, from the negligent manner in which they
are raised. I saw a fine flock of sheep, and there is no reason why
there should not be hundreds more. Poultry of all kinds can be raised
with the greatest ease; vegetables and melons, figs, peaches and fine
strawberries can all be grown successfully.
POPULATION OF THE PRAIIIES.
Most of the population of the prairies is of Acadian origin, and
with  but few notoble  exceptions,  they are  not a thrifty people.
They are kind, hospitable and sociable among themselves, but shy and
suspicious of a stranger, especially if, like the writer, he speaks no
French. Mlany of them are mere squatters on the prairies between
the Vermilion river and the Sabine. Their houses, often half framed
and half built of mud, are located sometimes on the open prairie, sometimes in the skirts of a belt of timber, and often without even a yard
or garden inclosed. A neighboring marais will be surrounded by a rude
"pieux" fence, and a small crop of rice raised. Their hoid  and cattle
lrn at all times on the common prairie.  Cofe coir is their nectar, and
perique tobacco their ambrosia. With thousands of cows roaming on
the prairies, you seldom see butter or milk in their houses.  With the
means around them of living well, they fare no better than the people
who live on poor lands.  Their educational advantages are poor, but
they all learn to ride and to use a shot gun expertly about as soon as
they learn to walk.
CleATE OF THE PROSBI -EALTH AND LONGEYITY.
The climate of the prairie* is admrable; breezy and cool in the
summer, mild in the winter, dry and healthy at all times; the creole
inhabitants are proverbially long lived.  Altogether, this region may be
regarded as naturally the loveliest part of Louisiana.
. 23, 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
A,T LUVIAL OR BOTTOM LANDS.
As an agricultural country the prairies cannot of course be compared
with the alluvial or bottom lands, which we will now consider. These
were once, and are destined to be again, the greatest source of wealth
and prosperity to the State. They lie mainly along the course of the
Mississippi. But an examination of the map will show that there are
arms of considerable extent stretching out from the main body up the
valleys of the Ouachita, Black, Little and Red Rivers. And like the
tentacula of a huge polyp, there are narrow strips of arable alluvium
following the courses of all the bayous that wind through the salt marsh
seeking the Gulf of Mexico. All the smaller streams throughout the
State have their narrow bottoms, but they are generally so variable in
extent, now lying on one side of the parent stream, now on the other,
and never more than a mile across, that I have made no attempt at
tracing them.
GEOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE MISSISSIPPI BOTTOMS.
The manner in which,the great bodies of the alluvium were formed
is worthy of some attention, and will give us a better appreciation of its
topography and its inestimable value. After the bed or foundation of
the present "Mississippi Bottom" was washed out, and the bluffs already
spoken of were formed, nature changed the plan of her operations. The
bluffs resulted from a scouring-out, the alluvium from a filling-up process.  Every tributary of the great river assisted in this work, while the
old Mississippi itself was the chief architect.
The main stream rising in the beautiful Lake Itasca in the far
northern part of Minnesota, comes down to this latitude with its waters
laden with sediment drawn from the very oldest geological formations.
The Ohio and its tributaries transport from Indiana, Ohio, New York,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia
and Alabama, the commingled materials of the Devonian and Carboniferous ages; the Missouri and Arkansas, with their hundred forks
rushing from the slopes of the distant Rocky Mountains, and meandering through the vast plains of the West, bring in their turbid waters the
materials of the cretaceous age, in addition to those of more recent
formations. Red River, gushing two thousand miles away, from a deep
cannon in the  psum of the Ilano estacado, offers every year its fertilizing  contribution; while all the lesser streams rob every hillside and
24
p 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
mountain slope and smaller valley of their surface loam to pour it into.
the already overflowing lap of their common father.  After gathering
together all this rich material, the mighty Mississippi, inflated with pride,
bursts his bounds and spreads his treasures with lavish prodigality over
his "floodcl-plain," the child of his own creation. And thus he has been
renewing and enriching this favored child for ages. No wonder then if
the alluvial lands of Louisiana are the most fertile in the world; no
wonder, with so composite a nature, if they are of inexhaustible strength;
no wonder, thus piled up year after year, century after century, if they
are deep beyond any parallel!
This, the manner of their formation, determines the topography of
the alluvial lands.  They are always highest immediately on the banks
of the streams, and slope off into low and densely wooded swamps.
Every overflow makes the high ground higher, and fills up part of the
swamps, diminishing both their depth and extent,
WONDEFUL FERTILITY OF THE ALLUVLVL LANDS.
Throughlout the entire length of the alluvial region, wherever the
soil is arable at all, it produces in perfection all crops suitable to the
latitude.  Cotton, corn, cane, rice, tobacco, with the juicy orange and
delicious banana, all combine to make the Louisiana planter the puince
of aglicnlturists.  In nearly every part of the alluvial region there are;
foimd two distinct varieties of soil.
TWO VARIETIES OF BOTTOM LAND SOIL.
The lands nearest to the streams, called front lands by the planters,
are moderately sandy and easily worked, The back lands, on the eontrary, are stiff, sticky, and difficult to break  up.  Both classes are'
very fertile, but for most purposes, and especially for sugar-cane, the
front lands are preferable. The color of these lands very plainly indicates their origin.
RED RIVER AND MISSIIPPI SOIL DEPOSITS.
All direct formations of the Mississippi are dark colored and often
nearly black; those of Red River and its confluents, Bayou Boeuf, Bayou_
Teche, etc., are of a warm liglhred tinge, or of a deep Indian-red co'lopr.
Along the Atehafalaya aid the net-work of streanis::"connected with it,.
the dark soil predominates in some places, the reddish in others, show
25. 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
ing that the overflows of that river are caused sometimes by Red River,
sometimes by the Mississippi.
BLUFF LAIDI)S.
We now come to the bluff lands, one of the most peculiar and interesting features of Louisiana. It is difficult to give a clear description of
the bluff region, and an intelligible idea of its topography, without first
considering its geological origin. I am not a professor of geology, or a
skilled geologist; not at all conversant with all the multifarious details
of that important and complex science. But no one can thoroughly
study the topography of a country without understanding the general
principles of geology, and I hope I may claim to possess such a knowledge, and may make bold to give in simple language nmy notions concerning the origin of the bluff regions.
GEOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE BLUFF LANDS.
The good uplands and pine hills were foilmed during periods of
great continental commotion.  They belong to the glacial and dift
epochs of the geologists, during which all-pelwvading currTents of water
were poumed with mighty rush from north to south, bringing down with
them the immense volumes of sand and pebbles with which all our hill
country is covered.
After this came a period of comparative repose, the universal north
and south currents ceased to flow, and the waters of the old MIississippi
River found their way to the Gulf through a broad, placid and comparatively shallow estuary, which extended inland to the junction of the
Ohio and Miissssippi, with arms stretching out up the valleys of the
other tributary streams.
During this reign of quiet, fine mud and silt were washed into the
estuary from the higher lands, and floating gently towards the sea, were
deposited in a deep stratum, whose upper surface was a broad subaqueous plain. Thts stratum of silt completely filled up what we now call
the Mississippi bottom, and the broad plain extended out to the hillside
slopes on the east and west to a distance of sometimes eighteen or twenty
miles from the limits of the present alluvial lands.
The city of Baton ~0uge and all the bluff cities on the banks of the
'Msiss-ippi stand upon that once submerged plain. But it is now no
longer under the dominion of the waters, for a subsequent and the last
26
4 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
great continental movement took place, and this plain was raised several
hundred feet above its old-time level.  The old MLssissippi had then to
wash out for itself a new channel to the sea, and having the fine, easily
dissolved silt, which had not been indurated by exposure to the sun, to
work upon, the mighty river swept much of its former bed into the Gulf
of Mexico.  In so doing there were left on either side those high, steep
bluffs which form so striking a characteristic of its shores.  On the east,
Mlemphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, Po-t Hudson and Baton Rouge stand
ia these bluffs, all immediately on the banks of the river. Back of all
these cities, from ten to twenty miles, extends the once submerged plain,
now an elevated plateau, or a succession of high hills, which is indicated
ou the map as part of the bluff region. On the west, none of the bluffs,
at least within the limits of Louisiana, are now very near the river.
Nevertheless, they can be easily traced.
LOCALITY OF THE BLUFF LANDS.
The Bayou Maaon hills in Carroll parish are the beginning of these
bluffs in the north. We follow these hills through Carroll, Richland and
Franklin to the mouth of Deer Creek; thence we trace the bluffs in
Sicily Island; thence along the base of the pine hills of Catahoula and
Rapides to Grimes' Bluff on Red River in Avoyelles; thence through
Avoyelles prairie and the coteaux south of it to Bayou Rouge prairie;
thence we skip across a belt of alluvium to Iloundville on Bayou Beuf,
and continue southward through Washington, Opelousas and the Grand
Coteau of St. Landry; thence we follow the bluffs along the CalTrrancros
Hills and the hills of the Cote Gelee; thence finally through those fine
lovely islands which stud the dreary salt marsh like the fabled jewel in
the head of the loathsome toad. Back of this line, thus traced at rapid
strides, lies another bluff region.
GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE BLUFF LANDS.
The topography of this region results directly from its geological
origin. We find it everywhere either a level plain with sinuous gorgelike ravines intersecting it, or else it has been washed into the most
strangely irregular ridges knd hills that any one ever encountered.
Yicksburg, a well known locality in Mississippi. is a representative of
the hilly bluff.  Port Hudson and Natchez are types of the level bluft
with the deep ravines. The W'inica hills of this State are like those
27 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
aSound Vicksburg, Sicily Island, Avoyelles Prairie, Opelousas, and in
fact all of the western bluff regions, except the five islands, are more
like those in the vicinity of Port Hudson. The Bayou Magon hill
country belongs to the level type, but it is not so elevated as other similar regions. I account for this fact by supposing that the great volumes
of water brought down from the mountains of the West by the numerous streams which flow from that direction, have washed away the upper
strata, and left on the surface what corresponds to a very low stratum
in the Port Hudson bluff. This may also account for the fact that the
Bayou Magon hills are not quite so fertile as other bluff regions.
CHARACTER OF THE SOIL-FOREST GROWTH.
The soil of the'bluff lands, generally, is very fertile. It is a fine
calcareo-silicious silt, of a yellowish grey color, easily cultivated, washes
fearfully, gets muddy with the'least rain, and becomes intolerably dusty
in very dry weather.  The forest-always magnificent-,is made up of
oaks of all kinds, especially the white, and the water varieties, magnolias, beeches, poplars, hollies, dense cane-brakes,  tangled masses of
muscadine, fox-grape and other vines.  Depending upon latitude, the
bluff lands produce, with great success, all the staples of Louisiana.
Scattered through them are open spots with very infertile soil, and
shallow, marshy ponds, with a fringe of rank grass called marais. In
the wooded portions the marais are replaced by low wet places called
spicewood swamps, or slashes. The great prairies belong, geologically,
to the bluff formation, but topographically they are so different, I have
given them a separate color on the map and a distinctive descliption.
THE FIVE ISLANDS OF ATTAKAPAS-THE SALT MILNE.
The most interesting of all the bluff lands are the five islands,
Miller's, (or Orange), Petite Anse, Cote Blanche,  Grande Cote, and
Belle Isle. They are really wonderful to behold, looming up on the
great marsh like mountains in the sea. The highest of them is nearly
two hundred feet above the surrounding plain, and the largest is not
more than two miles across. Everything about them is striking and
peculiar. Petite Anse is the most notable, but they are all worthy of
a visit. That marvelous %t mine on Petite Anse can be likened to
nothing so fitly as to the palace built by the magic of Aladdin's lamp.
The wonder is, how did it get -there, and by what mysterious agency
28
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
was created so great a mass of pure rock salt, whose galleries, excavated
by the miller, glisten and glitter like halls of pure crystal studded with
diamonds!
But I must not delay the reader longer on the bluff region. I have
not exhausted the subject, but we aremnot half through with Louisiana
yet. The parishes in whieh the bluff lands occur have been pretty well
indicated in tracing the boundary lines of the formation. It is needless
to say anything of the inhabitants. As these lands are scattered from
the extreme northern boundary of the State to the Gulf coast, there is
no chlsifying their population.  Many of the wealthiest, most refined
and intelligent people in Louisiana live on the bluiiff lands.
THE PINE FLATS.
I will now notice the pine flats.  Of these little can be said.  By
refeTrring to the map, the reader will see that two widely separated areas
are thus designated. In the eastern part we find the pine flats occupying tlihe southern half of St. Tammany, not quite so much of Tangipahoa, and nearly half of Livingston. In the extreme southwestern
part of the State is an area of about the same extent, in Calcasieu
parish.
SOIL OF THE PINE FLATS.
The soil and forsest of the flats are very similar to those of the pine
lfills, the soil being sandy, thin and poor, the forest the long-leaf pine.
But the siuface is almost a perfect level. They coxtain many wet, oozy
spots,, called "bay galls," from the clumps of bay trees always found in
them, and here and there will be seen a shallow, marshy pond, or
marais, similar to those of the bluff lands and prairies.
OPEN WOODS AND PINE FOREST PASTURES.
The woods are so open that, traveling along the lonesome roads
through the flats, the rider may often see a herd of deer quietly browsing a half-mile away from him. The surface is covered with grass, and
makes a good range for cattle. A great deal of lumber, both pine and
cypress, is cut, the latter occurring in abundance on the banks of the
larger streams, which flow though the pine flats.  Turpentine might
be manufactured in unlimited quantity, but this industry has never been
developed in Louisiana.
6
29 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
LNHABITANTS OF NORTH LOUISI&NA.
The inhabitants of North Louisiana are different in many respects
from those of the low country. They are generally of English, Scotch
or Irish descent, immigrants from the older and more eastern States, or
the offspring of such immigrants, Georgia, Alabama, the two. Carolinas
and Virginia, have all furnished their quota towards making up the
population of this part of Louisiana. They are a thrifty, energetic,
enterprising people. Their soil is not so exuberantly fertile as that of
the low country; they know they must work it to make a living from it,
and they do so with a will, and with commendable perseverance.
VILLAGES IN NORTH LOUISIANA.
In South Louisiana we see immense plantations and few towns; in
North Louisiana much greater numbers of small faiins, and numerous
thriving villages, each with its two or th,ee churches, "male" and
"female" schools, masonic lodges, and perhaps a factory of some kind
on a small scale. North Louisiana is pretty generally, but not very
thickly settled. There is room still for thousands of families, who can
readily obtain very fair lands at very reasonable prices. The climate is
healthy, except in the immediate vicinity of creek and river bottoms,
which are subject to overflow. The water throughout the good uplands
is abundant, and of excellent quality. Good springs are common, and
sweet free-stone water may be ad almost anywhere by digging a well
from twenty to sixty feet deep.
PR.EGION OF TH1 PINE HILLS.
The next subdivision of our map is the region of the pine hills.
It takes but a few words to describe it. The surface is broken and hilly,
the elevation of the main ridges but little, if any, less than that of the
good uplands, The soil is generally poor and sandy; ledges of
course gray sand-rock are very common, and immense numbers of petrifactions.  The forest growth, almost to the exclusion of every other
tree, is the long-leaf pine, and the scrub black-jack oak.  Where the
Red River and other larger streams of the State flow through the pine
hills, of course we findhe usual bodies of fine alluvial lands along them,
and on all the leer streams are narrow bottoms which afford room fo;
small but tolerably good farms.
30
f
4b 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
HOG-WALLOW LANDS.
There are in the pine hills some peeliar tracts, called by the
inhabitants hog-wallow lands. They are characterized by a stiff, sticky,
calcareous soil, which becomes terrifically muddy in wet weather. Th
forest growth upon them is principal  the post oak and blackjack,
intermingled with the pines.  The  soil is not at all fertile, and has
nothing torecommend it.  These hog-wallow lands extend in an almost
continuous belt across the region of the pine hills from the mouth of
Anacoco Bayou; in Vernon, to Grand View, on the Ouachita.  In this
belt are several small open or "bald" prairies.
WOODS, PASTURES, STRAUSS OF PURE WATER.
The piny woods are quite open, with but little underbrush. The
surface is covered with a coarse grass which makes a pretty fair pasturage in the spring,  Throughout the whole region there are numerouq
. clear, bold streams of pure water, all of them abounding in fish, and
many of them affording fine mill sites and water power sufficient for
factory purposes.
VAST SUPPLIES OF PIN  LU[ ]R.
The pine hills make some good upland cotton; corn and potatoes
are raised for home consumption; some beef cattle are sent to the market;
and they could supply the world with pine lumber of the very best
quality, and might produce turpentine in any desired quantity.
PLIY WOODS INHABITANTS.
The inhabitants of the piny woods are proverbially poor, but
honest, moral, virtuous, simple-hearted and hospitable. In some neighborhoods that I passed through I found little communities banded
together by kindship or long friendship, with many of the eidences of
thrift, comfort and prosperity around them.
BUNDICK'S CU   SEm          T.
On Bundick's Creek, for instance, in Calcasieu, I stopped for several
days in such a settlement, where I found a church and schoolhouse,
each family with it herd of cattle, flock of seep and drove of hogs,
They all made their own cottoi corn, potatoes, rice, sugand taco
spun and wove their owrn clothes for summer and winter wear, made
their own leather, Ad in fct, supplied nearly all of their necasities by
31 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
home products, with the exception of coffee and a few articles of dry
goods. And although their cotton crops had to be hauled to find a
market, either to Alexandria or Lake Charles, a distance of over half a
hundred miles, yet every head of a household had a goodly roll of
"greenbacks" put away in the chinks of his log'cabin.  There are
hundreds of settlements in the pine hills, which, with the same management,, might be quite as well off as the one just noticed.
PINY WOODS PARISHES.
The piny woods parishes are Catahoula, Winn, Grant, Natchitoches,
Rapides, Vernon and Calcasieu, west of the Mississippi; St. Helena,
Tangipahoa, Washington, St. Tammany and Livingston, east of that
stream. They all have other kinds of land in them besides that covered
by the long-leaf pines.  Catahoula has a splendid body of bluff land in
Sicily Island, and a considerable tract of alluvium on the borders of the
Ouachita and Black Rivers. In Natchitoches there is the beautiful
-Cane River country; in Grant are the alluvial lands between Bayou
Rigolet and Red River; in Rapides, the unsurpassed lands of Bayous
Rapides, Robert, and Bceuf. In Calcasieu there is a large area of
plirie, and in Washington and St. Tammany a strip of alluvium along
Pearl River.
TOPOGRAPHIICAL SUBDIVISIONS.
I will now take up the topographical subdivisions separately, and
in the order in which they haye been named, and describe them somewhat fully, believing that we shall get a more perfect understanding of
Louisiana as a whole by first thoroughly understanding its component
parts.
GOOD UPLANDS.
The good uplands lie mostly in North Louisiana, and cover the
greater part of the parishes of Caddo, DeSoto, Sabine, Bossier, Webster,
Red River, Claiborne, Bienville, Union, Jackson, Ouachita, Morehouse
and a small part of Caldwell.  In the "Florida parishes," east of the
Mississippi, a tract of country similar to the good uplands of North
Louisiana, is found in the eastern part of the two Felicianas, and in the
-northeastern corner of fst Baton Rouge.
}MLEI AND VALLN  E"LATtoN,
A great part of the g~od'uplands region is: extremely hilly, some of
'32 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
the ridges bu-ng almost mountainous in elevation, reaching a height of
at leastthree hunredfeet abx-eth valleys of the min streams b3tween
them, and from four to five hundred feet above the Gulf of Mexico.
The elevation of this region I gather in the following manner: By a
section line made in the surveys of the railroad from Monroe to Shreveport, it appears that one point crossed in Jackson parish is 250 feet
above the reference point on the banks of the Ouachita opposite Monroe.
According to the report of Humphreys and Abbott, this reference point
is 12 feet below the banks of the Mississippi opposite Vicksburg, which
latter is 100 feet above the Gulf.  From these data we calculate the
height of our first point to be 338 feet above the Gulf: Still farther
westward, near Arcadia in Bienville, the proposed line of railroad reaches
a summit of 299 feet above the reference point, and therefore 387 above
the Gulf. Some of the trial lines, I was informed, passed over parts of
the ridges of even greater elevation, and as it is not all likely that a line
of survey would have passed over the highest points of any ridges to be
crossed, we may safely estimate the elevation of the loftiest summits in
this part of the State at over 400 feet above the Gulf of Mexico. Farther
north the ridges are still higher, so that we would surely be within the
limits of safety in assuming 500 feet as their probable maximum height
CHARACTER OF THE SOIL.
Although the surface of the good uplands region is so elevated, and
frequently quite broken and rough, yet the soil is generally pretty fair.
Commonly it is gray sandy, easily worked, and rich enough when freshly cleared, but soon washes away under the present system of carelesX
cultivation.  The subsoil of the sandy countr-y is a hard and sandy clay,
which is always exposed in the old fields and roads, and gives to the vicinage of all the villages and older settlements of North Louisiana a
very worn and ragged appearance.
There are notable exceptions to the gray sandy soil in the good uplands. In Morehouse, Ouachita and Caldwell on the east, and Caddo,
DeSoto and Bossier on the west, there are large areas covered with a
mellow, yellow, loamy soil of very considerable fertility. And in Sabine, Webster, Claiborne, Unioj and Jackson are many belts of land
of several miles in length,.and a mile or more in width, with a strange
blood-red soil, from a strong impregnation of iron, that are very rich.
These belts are aptly named the "red lands." They are generally found
33
6
0 
LOUISIANA AS'IT IS.
on the summits of the highest ridges, are covered with rough, angular
fragments of fenuginous sandstone, or iron rock, and look exceedingly
unpromising to a stranger. But their external features are no indication of their fertility and druability. At Greensboro, in Jackson, I saw
a farm on the red lands which had been ctltivated for forty years, and
yet made forty bushels of corn to the acre, and tliree-quarters of a bale
of cotton, in spite of the fact that no care had been taken to presierve it.
FOREST GROWTH OF THE GOOD UPLANDS.
The prevailing forest growth of the good uplands is a very good
one of mixed timber. Oaks of various kinds, but principally of the
red, white, black and post oak varieties; the dog wood, beech, sassafras,
hickory, black gum, sweet gum, ash, maple, and the shortleaf pine,
constitute the larger growth of bushes, such as the hackberry, chlinquapin, elder, sour wood, prickly ash, etc., with many fox grape and muscadine vines.
LEST COTTON LANDS IN THE WORLD.
All of the parishes above named have tracts of greater or less extent of first class alluvial lands lying along the various streams which
flow thnough them.  DeSoto, Bossier, Caddo and Red River parishes
have some of the best cotton lands in the world on the banks of Red
River, Sabine, Jackson, Claiborne and Bienville have no extensive
areas of alluvial lands; yet every creek, bayou and rivulet within their
limits-and there are many of them in each-has its first and second
bottoms of excellent land.  In MIorehouse, Ouachita, -Union and Caldwell there are some exceedingly fertile lands on either side of Ouachita
Rise. Bienville, Jackson, Ouachita, Caldwell and Sabine have con'derable areas of the long-leaf pine country, of greatly inferier fertility to the rest-of the good uplands. It is to be understood in every instance where a parish is mentioned as belonging to a certain subdivision, that the larger part of its surface is comprehended in that subdi, i~ion.
SCNElRY OF NORTH LOUISIANA.
North Louisiana iP not altogether devoid of attractive scenery.
From the tops of the lofty red land hills there are some wide and pleasing prospects.  Such scenes, however, are pleasing only from their vast
exten+   BUt there are sore beautiful and really picturesque landcapes
31 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
along the meanderings of the Ouaehita, on Lakes Bodeau and Bisteneau,
in the vicinity of the famous Red River Raft, and among the numerous
lakes scattered all along the Valley of Red River.
PRODUCTS OF THE GOOD UPLANDS.
The products of the good uplands are cotton, corn, sweet potatoes,
and small grain to some extent, also, sugar cane and rice do very well in
these parishes. The red lands especially are well adapted to the culture of wheat and rye. In North Louisiana, peaches, pears, apples and
figs all do well, and no country is better suited to the cultivation of
melons and all the most useful garden vegetables. Grape culture has
also been tried with considerable success.
This part of Louisiana is very similar to a large part of all the
States lying east of it to the Atlantic coast. It has its exact counterpart in the central parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. I su,ppose the same belt extends westward into Texas.
VAST NATURIAL WALTH  OF LOUISIANA.
Thus far, evelrything we have said about Louisiana is all couleun de
Close, and yet our brief description of the State has been by no means too
highly colored. In fact when we consider her natural resources, and
the advantages she possesses from her climate, soil and location, it is
simply impossible to speak of her in terms of praise too strong. But
there must be shade and shadow in every picture, and so there is in this,
and we must look on the dark as well as on the bright side.  AR that
nature has done for Louisiana will amount to nothing, unless man does
his part by her. The wealth stored up in her inexhaustible soil, though
it be as great as that of Ophir, or that oncehidden in the quartz rock
and sand of Caiifornia, will remain forever buried, unless brought to
light by intelligent and persistent labor. And so of her many other
resources, which are not directly dependent upon the fertility of her
soil, they will not spontaneously develop themselves.
DUTIES NE nGII           ROAD TO SUCCESS.
I need but mention a few industries not now in activity to show
how much requires to be done and might be done, to bring the State
up to her capacity for wealth and lrosperity.
Avery's salt mine, not more than a hundred miles from New Or
35 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
leans, with easy transportation to that city, sends not a pound of salt to
the market.
The most wonderful deposit of sulphur in the world exists in Calcasieu parish, has been known for several years, and yet brimstone is imported into Louisiana for the use of the sugar mills.
With an everlasting carpet of sweet grass an the prairies, which
would make excellent hay if mowed and cured early enough in the season, hundreds of thousands of bales of long forage are annually
brought to Louisiana from other States.
With the richest soil in the world, not a boat comes down the Mississippi from the Northwest but is laden to her guards with corn, flour,
potatoes, cabbages, and other provisions.
With good water-power everywhere in the hills, and water enough
in the low lands to run all the engines in the world, there are no factories worth mentioning.
With level fields and open prairies admirably adapted to machine
cultivators, I have never yet seen one in the State.
With so many thousands of square miles of pine timber, not a barrel of tar, pitch or turpentine is made for commercial purpose&
With forests of timber, trees adapted to every kind of wooden fabric, from the most delicate household furniture to the line-of-battle ship,
everything made of wood-even to ax-helves-is imported from St.
Louis, Cincinnati, and New England. Nay, more, hundreds of thousands of the best cotton and cane lands in the State, once cleared and
cultivated, are now lying idle, abandoned and growing up in cockle weeds,
coco grass and blackberry vines. I might go on thus and make a score
more of similar statements, but these are enough to show the drift of my
argument. Intelligent, earnest, persistent labor is needed everywhere
throughout the State. There is more scope for energy and enterprise in
Louisiana than in any other State in the Union; there are more opportunities for the judicious investment of capital; there is more room for
honest, industrious, laboring men.
The abandoned lands alone will accommodate at least twenty thousand families of farmers; the prairies could feed the flocks and herds of
nearly as many more ol those who would prefer stock raising; while
all through thebluff lands, the good uplands, and the pine hills, good
homes on good soil in a healthy climate may be found in almost every
section of land by such as are wiling to work.
-il     t!-   _<      s    aped
36
t 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.,.
)[MIGRATION NEEDD.
Let the people of Louisiana appreciate the true'condition of their
State, understand fully her true needs; let them see that she wants tens
of thousands of honest, energetic, industrious white mes to immigrate
to her waste places.                   t
Let them adopt a broad, liberal, and practicable scheme for encouraging such immigration; let them spread broadcast over the more
thickly settled States of this country and Europe invitations to immigrants to come to her.
Let them show to all who would come that Louisiana is abundantly able to maintain them, and a new and brighter era will have dawned
for her, and soon she will not only be restored to her former state of
wealth and prosperity, but will eclipse by her future splendor all that
she has been in the past.
6
37
0 
SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA.
BY  D. DENNETT.
A  Description of the Parishes of St. Landry,  Lafayette,  St.  Martin,
Tbelia, Vermilion, and St. Mary.
In which wvill be found, in brief paragraphs, statements descriptive of these Parishes   their Ceography, Topography, Climate, Soil, Prairies, Forests, Swamps, Marshes,
Lakes, Bays Bayous, Islands, Scenery, Productions, Crops, Fruits; Yield per acre
of the Staple Crops: Domestic Animals and Fowls; Prairie Herds  Wild Game;
Fishes; Navigation; Health, Mineral and other Resources; Markets; Railroads;
Schools; Churches; Prices of Freight and Passage; Aggregate Sugar Crops; and
other matters of Interest to Strangers and Immigrants.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Seventy-three miles west of the city of New Orleans, the Morgan
Louisiana and Texas Railroad crosses the Bayou Bceuf, the eastern
boundary of the Parish of St. Mary; and seven miles further west is
Brashear City, on Berwick's Bay, the western terminus of all of this
railroad which is now completed.
About 110 miles west of Berwick's Bay is the mouth of the river MIermentau, which receives the waters of the Nez Pique, through the upper Mfermentau, Lake Arthur and Lake MIermentau.
From the northern boundary of St. Landisy to the Gulf Coast the cItance is about 100 miles; and from Belle River, the eastern line of the
Parish of Iberia, to Lake Arthur, the western limits of the Parish of
Vermilion, the distance is about eighty-five miles. The sea marsh on
the coast of Attakapas has an average width of more than twenty miles.
Its greatest width is about twenty-seven miles.
The southern boundary of these parishes is in latitude twenty-nine
and a half degrees-almost half a degree south of the latitude of New
Orleans. The northern limits of St. Landry reach latitude thirty-one,
near the true cotton belt of the Southern States.
The five parishes, St. Mary, Iberia, Vermilion, St. Martin and Lafayette, were originally called &.rr&APAs, and they are now called "The
Attakapas Parishes."  The name, Ati2kapas, comes fromr the name of 
tribe of Indians that once inhabited this country.
,NAVIGAJON AND TRAVRLING FACMLIES.
The passenger train on the Morgan Louisiana and Texas Railroad ar
a 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
lives at Brashear City, from Algiers, opposite New Orleans, daily at 12
o'clock M., and departs for New Orleans at 1 o'clock P. M.
The Morgan Texas staships, the finest on Southern waters, run
daily between Brashear and Galveston.
The steamers of the Attakapas Mail Transportation Company leave
Brashear City daily,'for New Iberia, a distance of 72 miles, halting at
Pattersonville, Centreville, Franklin, Charenton and Jeannerette, and
at intermediate landings. They usually extend their trips to St. Mar tinsville three times a week, 102 miles from Brashear.
Steamers, in 1870, frequently made trips to Avery's Salt Mine, on
Petit Anse Bayou, for cargoes of salt and sugar. The trips kelween
Brashear City and the'mines have been made in ten hours, a distance of
about 75 miles.
A steamer sometimes makes trins between St. Martinsville and New
Orleans via the Atchafalaya, the'mouth of Red River and the M3issis sippi.  It takes about nine days to make the round trip.
Steamers leave Washington twice a week for New Orleans via the
Courtableau, Atchafalaya, the mouth of Red River and the Mississippi
Frequently half a dozen or more small jobbing boats are employed on
the Attakapas waters, some of them making trips to Vermilion river,
Grand Cote, Cote Blanche, Belle Isle and the mouth of Bayou Sale..
They do a large business towing rafts of cypress logs fo; the saw mills,
from the bayous across Grand Lake, and in'bringing pieux and other
split lumber from'the lakes to the planters of the Teche.
United States Mail coaches leave New Iberia three times a week for
Washington, Parish of St. Landry, passing through Vermlionville,
Grand Cotean and Opelousas, and tri-weekly U. S. Mail coaches leave
Washington for Alexandria.
A coach runs with considerable regularity between New Iberia and
St. Martinsville, a distance of nine miles by land.
A horseback mail extends to all the postoffices of these paiishes oft
the main traveled routes. A mail coach'ranls regularly between New
Iberia and Abkeville. i
TILLf, ABLE LAND.
These six parishes contain more than three million acres of tillable
land, most of it of inexha istibleertility. Even most of the sea marsh,
and all of the swamp lands, may be reclaimed by local levees and drain
ing machines, and may become the most productive rice and sugar
il 9
6 
LOUISIANA AS IT 8IS.
lands in the State. Windmill pumps may relieve the relaimed marshlands from surplus water, for the winds blow almost constantly near the
Gulf Coast.
D vIDING LINE.
On the border of the sea,farsh of St. Mary and Iberia, extending
from a point below Berwick's Bay to and into the Parish of Vermilion,
a line of forest trees, mostly heavy cypress, stand as the dividing line
and wall between the marsh and the tillable lands of the Atchafalaya
and the Teche.  In places this line of timber is from one to two miles
wide, and even wider. This line of forest extends down to the mouth
of Bayou Sale, on both sides, and down both sides of Bayou Cypremont.  At Petit Anse Island the sea marsh and prairie meet, and the
chain of timber is broken for a few miles. On the side of this crooked
chain of timber, next to the plantations, in places, there is a heavy
growth of gum, oak, ash, hackberry, and an undergrowth of dogwood,
vines, palmetto, haws, etc. etc. These lines of timber, reckoning that on
both sides of Bayou Sale and Bayou Cypremont, is over a hundred and
twenty-five miles in extent.
REMARKS.
Mr. J. C. Kathman, Chief of Bureau of Immigration, in his report,
remarks: "All the upland and alluvial region, comprising three-fourths
of the State of Louisiana, is covered with the finest forests in the United States  and as the State is cut up in every direction by navigable
waters, the forests of pine, cypress, live oak, white oak, post oak, gum,
ash, and other valuable trees, furnish employment to hundreds of mils
and thousands of workmen in getting out lumber for home and foreign
trade."
GENERAL 1VEEATION.
In the lower or eastern part of the Parish of St. Mary, around Berwick's Bay and the lower Teche, the highest land is about ten feet above
the level of the Gulf of Mexico. Near Franklin the highest bank is
from twelve to thirteen feet. Near Breaux Bridge, the first bank is
twenty-two feet high, the second bank twenty-seven feet.
In the Parish of ILfayette, the Cote Gelee Hills, Beau Basin and the
banks of the Vtrmilion are forty feet above the level of the Gulf. The
general average of St. Landry is about sixty feet above the same level.
The Parish of Vermilion isabout on a level with St. Mary.
a
40 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
The highest elevations on Belle Isle, Cote Blanche, Grand Cote and
Petit Anse Islands, are from one hundred and sixty-two to one hundred and eighty-five feet above tide water.
PROESSR HILGARD'S OPINION.
Professor Hilgard, in his Preliminary Report of a Geological Survey
of Western Louisiana, remarks:
"Few sections of the United States, indeed, can offer such inducements to settlers as the prairie region between the Mississippi Bottoms,
the Nez Pique and Mermentau. Healthier by far than the prairies of
the Northwest, fanned by the sea breeze, well watered-the scarcity of
wood rendered of less moment by the blandness of the climate; and
the extraordinary rapidity with which natural hedges can be grown for
fences, while the exuberantly fertile soil produces both sugar cane and
cotton in profusion, continuing to do so in many cases after seventy
years exhaustive culture-well may the Teche country be styled by its
enthusiastic inhabitants, the'Garden of Louisiana."'
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
Plums, figs, quince, pears, cherries, grapes, papaws, persimmons, pecans, hickory nuts, walnuts, blackberries, dewberries, May apples, mulberries, crab apples, black and red haws, chincapins, strawberries, and
some other fruits, nuts and other fruits of little importance, thrive and
mature well in these parishes.
In St. Mary, and along the coast to the Mermentau, oranges are
raised yearly in great abundance, and the mespilus, or Japan plum,
lemons, limes, bananas and pine apples may be produced in the open
air as high up as Franklin, by giving them a little extra protection in
the winter.
Turnips, cabbages, beets, and all the other garden vegetables and
melons grow as well in these parishes as they do north of the Ohio river.
The best winter gardens contain large white head cabbages, rutabaga
and fiat turnips, onions, esehallots, garlic, mustard, roquette, radishes,
cauliflower, beets, cress, lettuce, parsley, leeks, English pease, celery, endive, etc., etc. These thrive well in the gardens all winter, except in
very cold winters, back from the qpast, when a part of the list give way
IRISH POTATOES.
"In 1867, Irish potatoes to the value of more than $500,000 were
0
41
0 
LOUIlSIANA AS IT 1S.
shipped from Louisiana to Western and Northern markets; and one
farmer on the coast realized more than $25,000 from less than thirty
acres of cabbages shipped to the Western States. " The above we copy
from Kathman's report in 1868. There is no part of Louisiana where
Irish potatoes and cabbages thrive b&ter than in Attakapas and StLandry.?
OPINION OF AN ILLINOIS FARMER.
One of the largest and most intelligent farmers in Central Illinois,
after a careful examination of the Teche and Attakapas country, said:
"I have heretofore thought that Central Illinois was the finest farming country in the world.  I own a large farm there, with improvements
equal to any in the country. I cultivate about two thousand acres in
small grain, besides other crops; but since I have seen the Teche and
Attakapas country I do not see how any man who has seen this country
can be satisfied to live in Illinois.
"I find that I could raise everything in Louisiana that can be raised
in Illinois, and that I can raise a hundred things there which cannot be
raised in Illinois. I find the lands easier worked in Louisiana, infinitely richer and yielding far more; and with the fairest climate on earth,
and no trouble to get to market. I shall return to Illinois, sell out, and
persuade my neighbors to do the same, and return to Louisiana to spend
the remainder of my days."
OPINION OF AN ILLINOIS EDITOR.
The editor of the Chicago Tribune, the leading Radical paper of
the West, after visiting the Teche country, said to his 50,000 subscribers:
"If, by some supreme effort of nature, Western Louisiana, with its
soil, climate and production could be taken up and transported North;
to the latitude of Illinois and Indiana, and be there set down in the
pathway of Eastern and Western travel, it would create a commotion
that would throw the discovery of gold in California in the shade at the
time of the greatest excitement. The people would rush to it in countless thousands. Every man would be intent on secturing a few acres of
these wonderftUllyprouctive and profitable sugar planes. These Teche
lands, if in lljiois, would bring from three to five hundred dollars per
acre."
42
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
BEIPHEAR CITY AND MORGAN STA3AM:.
The depot and wharves at Brashear have been improved by Charles.
Morgan, at an expense of more than a hundred thousand dollars.' Mr.
Morgan has six or eight splendid steamships plying regularly between
this place and the ports of Texas. The largest of these ships cost three
hundred thousand dollars. 
RAILROADS.
The Morgan Louisiana and Texas Rahlroad, is in fine running order
and well equipped between New Orleans and Brashear City, a distance of
eighty miles.  The old Opelousas Raihroad, a continuation of the above
railroad, is graded between Berwick's Bay and Opelousas, a- dtsnce of
eighty-five miles, or one hundred and sixty-five miles from New Oileans.
Mr. Charles Morgan owns the old N. O., O. & G. W. Raiload -il this
State and its franchise from New Orleans to Pine Prairie, and al)ove.and from New Iberia to Orange on the Sabine.
PARISH OF ST. LANDRY.
ITS AmEA AND PHYSICAL CHARACTER.
The parish of St. Landry contains about 1,350,000 acres, about
equally di         vided between woodland and prairie.  About three-quarters
of the land is suitable for planting and grazing purposes. It is well watered by numerous bayous, irunning streams, and branches, nearly all
clothed              wit h a generous growth of timber, in many places a mile wide.The   land is generally undulating, and drains well.  Between the timbered       streams fine natural meadows spread out, clothed over nine months
in t       he year w ith grass that sustains immense herds of cattle and hores.e
THE SOIL-FACE OF THE COUNTRY.
In the upper part of the parish, nearly all the streams, fed by
springs, take their rise. Here the country is somewhat hilly and is
coveredwith a dense forest of pine, oak, ash, walnut, hickory, and other valuable forest tres.  Here also are found some fine mineral springs,
which are much resorted to by invalids, and which pokers great
curative qualities. Here are considerable deposits of limestone, from
which, for home consumption, A made very excellent lime; and
a fine quarry of marble, which is susceptible of a beautiful polish, andis valuable for making into mantle pieces, monuments, etc.
6
49.' 
LOUISIALNA.AS IT IS.
The soil in the middle and lower portion of this parish is excellent,
resting on a subsoil of fine brown or grayish clay, which, when plowed
up, exposed to the weather, and mixed with surface soil is as rich as the
upper stratum. That subject to overflow, being rich alluvial, is inexhaustible, and adapted to all tne products of this latitude. The soil of
the prairies is generally mellow, and easy of cultivation. Grass covers
all portions of the parish, except the cultivated fields, or surfaces covered by forests, or by water. More than half a million acres of grass in
St. Landry is not under fence. The greater portion of the wealth of
St. Landry has been obtained from cattle and horses on the prairies,
raised without hay or shelter. On these prairies a hundred thousand
tons of hay might be made yearly for the New Orleans and other markets.
DARBY'S DESCRIPTION-PRAIRIES AND HERDS.
In Darby's Geographical Description of the State of Louisiana,
published in the year 1817, when the Sabine was the western boundary
of the parish of St. Landry, the following description of the Opelou-sas Prairie is found:
"This vast expanse of natural meadow extends seventy-five miles
southwest and northeast, and is twenty-five miles wide, containing more
than 1,200,000 acres, exclusive of the numerous points of woods that
fringe its margin on all sides. This prairie begins thirteen miles northwest of Opelousas and gradually opening to the southward, sends out
various branches between the bayous.
*         *          *          *          *         *          *
Of the herds as then seen on the prairies, the same author remarks:
"Here you behold those vast herds of cattle which afford subsistence to the natives, and the inhabitants of New Orleans. It is certainly one of the most agreeable views in nature to behold from a point of
elevation, thousands of cattle and horses of all sizes, scattered over the
intermediate mead in wild confusion. The mind feels a glow of corresponding innocent enjoyment with those useful and inoffensive animals grazing in a sea of plenty. If the active horsemen that guard us
would    keep their dince, fancy would transport them backwards into
the pastoral agos. Allowing an animal to be produced for every five
acres, more than two hundred and twenty thousand can be yearly reared
and transported from this prairie alone, which, at an average of ten dol                       0
— 41
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS,             4
lars per head would amount to two million four hundred thousand
dollars."
At the time the above article was  ritten, the year 1817, Mr. Darby
estimated the herds of the three greatest stock owners of the country,
Mr. Wikoff, in the Calcasieu Prairie; Me. Fontenot, in Prairie Mamou 
and Mr. Andrus, in Opelousas, at twenty thousand head.
Long after Mr. Darby's day, the DI)upre and Wikoff families, and
the *dow Guidry owned over 30,000 head of horned cattle, and moro
than 6000 horses.  The stock raisers of the parish owned over 100,000
head of cattle and 30,000 horses.
THE TIMBERED BOTTOMS.
The timbered bottoms are rich, and are excellent for sugar, rice,,
cotton, corn, sweet or Irish potatoes, pease, tobacco, melons, pumpkins,
hay, gardens, fruits, etc. No richer lands can be found anywhere.
They are heavily timbered with the best of sugar wood, and the swamps
contain an inexhaustible supply of the best of timber for building purposes, and for hogsheads and barrels for the sugar planters.
BAYOUS, RIVERS AND STEAMS.
The Atchafalaya on the east connects this parish by steamboat navigation with the Mississippi river and New Orleans. The Bayou Courtableau, formed by the junction of the Crocodile and Bceuf, aftords
good navigation to Washington the entire year, with slight and occa —
sional interruption during the summer. The route is down the Courtableau to the Atchafalaya, thence up the latter to the Mississippi river,
and thence to the city of New Orleans.
The Bayou Bceuf is the channel of transportation for the planter,
by means of barges to Washington; and the Crocodile affords means of
transportation to the lumber men. The Plaquemine, Brule, the Mallet,
the Cane, and the Nez Pique are fine streams, but not navigable. The
Mermentau, formed by the Nez Pique, Cane, and Plaquemine Brule, is
a fine navigable stream; vessels ascend it some 70 miles for lumber,
which is taken to Texas, Havana, and the Mexican ports. Upon these
streams are found large bodies oltimber, suitable for all the purposes
of building and fencing, and they afford an unfailing supply of water
for stock.
The parish has two hundred and thirty miles of navigable waters.
4, 1 
.LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
OVERFLOWS.
Portions of St. Landry on the Atchafalaya and some of the bayous
ae subject to overflow when Grand Levee gives way; but most of the
lands have never been inundated since the parish has been inhabited by
white men, and never can be.
And even the overflowed lands may be converted into rice planta-ti,ons to some e,tent, Qr reclaimed when the levees of the Mississippi
and Atchafalaya are made secure.  Most of these lands subject to overflow are the richest in the world, and contain a heavy growth of cypress.
-PA'PULATION AND FARMS.
-In 1850 there were 775 farms in St. Landry; 2127 dwellings; whit3
?:.,fpulation, 10,189; free colored, 1143; slaves, 10,781; total, 22,253.
CROPS, FRUITS AND GARDENS.
The crops, fruits and gardens of St. Landry, and of the other five
parishes described in this circular, excepting cotton, are less troublel
by insects and vermin, and less liable to disease, than they are in
higher latitudesin other parts of the United States.
The surface uoaltivated.ira St. Landry yearly, amounts to about a
'hundred thousand aere. About one-third of this is planted in cotton.
Not a tenth part of the tillable land is under cultivation.  With a working population like that of the Western States, and the same kind of
cultivation, that parish might send to market yearly a hundred thousand bales of -cotton, fifty thousand hogsheads of sugar, seventy-five
thousand barrels of molasses and rice, tobacco, broom corn, hay, beeves,
horses, milch cows, sheep, hogs, hides, poultry, eggs, rosin, turpentine,
and other valuable products to the amount of from  ten to fifteen millions of doliars. So varied and valuable resources, in a climate so salubrious, can hardly' be found anywhere else on the face of the earth.
TE SUGAR CROP.
Small crops pof sugar oane on small farms are well adapted to white
labor. The cane may be planted in the fall, winter or spring, and laid
by before the 1st of July; sd noolabor is then needed in the crop till
the first of November, wien the.ripe cane is ready for the mill.  Sugar
Al
-.i46 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
cane is not subject to diseases, and the ravages of bugs and insects, like
most other crops. Small sugar farms, where from twenty to one hundred hog,sheads of sugar are matde by white labor, are very profitable.
They are a complete success.
PROFITS OF SUGAR CANE AND COTTON CULTURE IN ST. LAN'DRY.
The following statements we c-py from a pamphlet published in
Opelousas, in 1869:
MoU   HOPE, PAR.ISH OF ST. LAN'DRY, January 1, 1869.
Afes&'s. Lewris & Mutllett:
Gentlemen-I employed the past year twenty-two hands,  to-wit:
15 men, 2 boys, and 5 women. Had in cane 90 acres, in corn, 170 acres;
and in cotton, 100 acres, besides several acres in potatoes and gardens.
RESULT OF TEE YE.  S WORK.
Ground 58 acres of cane in 18 days, making 108 hogsheads
of 1250 pounds each, which sold at 10 cents.............
I made 200 barrels molasrs, equal to 8000 gallons, at 70 cents..
Ao 7700 barrels of corn..............................21
Also 86 bales of cotton, equal to 38,000 pounds, 22 cents......
Gross receipts.................................. $29,214
EXPENSES.
MAy total expenses for provisions, repairs, hire of hands, sugar
ker, hogsheads and barrels, were $10,000.
Which deducted from the gross income, leaves $18,719 as my year's
income.  I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ELBERT GAN,T.
P. S. -I employed 7 extra hands for 90 days.
BAYOU B(EUF, PARISH ST. LANDPRY, January 1, 1869.
Messrs. Leitris & Mulle#l:         e
Gentlemen-I herewith transmit, in accordance with your request,
a statement of the sugar crops produced during the year 186, on the
]Barbreck and St, Peters plantations;*
47
$13,000
5,600
2,100
8,514 
L LOUISIANA AS IT IF.
Sugar produced, 460 hogsheals, averaging 1250 pounds each, which, at
$100 per hogshead, yields.............................. $46,000
Twenty-seven thousand six hundred gallons molasses, at 50
per gallon............................................ 13,800
Gross proceeds.............................. $59,800
Expenses..................................... 19,000
Profits............................. $40,800
Besides the above, we produced fifteen thousand bushels of corn,
which is at least three or four thousand more than we require for the
use of the plantations. Very respectfiully, etc.,
H. M. PAYNE.
LABYCHE PLANTATION, January 5, 1869.
3fess-s. Lewis & M,llelltt:
Gentlemen-.Mr. Gantt handed me your letter last evening;the following is a correct statement of the crop asked for:
CROP OF LABYCHE PLANTATION.
Ninety-two acres of plant cane and 82 acres of corn, cultivated by
twelve men, produced 193 hogsheads of sugar, 341 barrels of molasses,
and 1600 bushels of corn.
We ground 72 acres of cane, and sold 3 acres for $1,000.
The 72 acres produced 193 hogsheads of sugar weighing $28,090
pounds; 341 barrels of molasses, 14,322 gallons; averaging per acre
3029 pounds of sugar, and 200 gallons of molasses.
The net proceeds from the above, including 3 acres of cane.. $32,221 18
EXPENSES.
For cultivating crop..........................$1,235 00
For taking off the same....................... 1,551 31
For pork, in lieu of wages..................... 662 00
Sugar hogsheads, molasses barrels, repairs to su    gar houtse, and other small expenses........ 3,500 00 - 6,948 31
0
.Net proceeds............................... $25,272 87
We consumed in making the sugar, 660 cords of gum wood; in
taking off the crop we hired 30 extra hands; their wages is included in
48
0 
LOUISI1A AS IT IS.
the $1,551 31.  The number of  Lays cutting cane, 42.  The number of
days grinding cane, 21. Total capital invested, $40,000 00.
Your obedient servant,
GEORGE W. MOrGN. -
YIELD OF COTTON, SUGAR AND OTHER CROPS.
In St. Landiy, 1300 pounds of seed cotton to thie acre, or about
400 pounds of lint, is a fair yiell.  In the true cotton zone, which is;
above the latitude of this parish, about 32 degrees north, 1800 pounds
of seed cotton may be produced, or 600 pounds of lint.
WhiLst it is admitted that the cotton plant is liable to injury from
insects, still, in the main, as many full crops are made as of any other
product of the soil, and the chances of success are by many thought to
be as favorable in this branch of industry as in any which engages the
farmer.
One hogshead of sugar and sixty gallons of molasses may be con —
sidered an ordinary yield per acre in this parish; but we are assured by a
gentleman for whose veracity we have high respect, that twenty-five hogheads of sugar have been produced in St. Landry from six acres of
ground.  That is the best yield that has ever been known in any sugar
parish in the State.  Sixty gallons of molasses usually drain from a
hogshead of sugar.  Commercial manures will doubtless largely increase the average yield of sugar in all of these parishes, and the same-.
facts hold good in regard to cotton, and other crops.
the yield of corn in St. Landry, is about 35 bushels to the acre..
Potatoes, sweet and Ilish, well cultivated, from 250 to 300 bushels tot
the acre. Pumpkins, peas, beans, pindars, broom corn, etc., etc.,
give heavy returns, but, owing to the fact that no one ever made a.
note of the yield of these crops per acre, correct statistics of them
have never been recorded.
PRICE OF LANDS.
Land near the navigable streams and towns can be purchased at from-:
$10 to $15 per acre; at a distance from the centre of business, at $:
and $6 per acre; in the wested  portion of the parish, at $1 25:
and $2 50. 
There is much publicland subject to entry under the HomesteadAct, in tracts of 80 or 160 acres, costing, (the surveying and incident
4
-49
1% 
LOUISIANA'AS IT IS.
tal expenses included), $23 50 per each 80, and $45 for 160 acres;
much of this latter quality is covered with fine timber, and near large
ater courses. Every class and condition will be enabled to find lands
adapted to their several tasters and pursuits. The capitalist can purehase large bodies of land from private persons for the purpose of col.on'zing, and the man of small means, a farm adapted to his means and
wants. Saw mills are scattered through the parish, enabling all to secure lumber for building purposes, at prices ranging from $20 to $35
er thousand feet. Corn will abound in the parish, and the immigrant
THE TRADE OF WASINGTO.
About 8000 bales of cotton have been shipped from Washington
:Emd Barry's Landing, (Port Barre) up to the 22d of January,'70. There
ore yet about 12,000 bales to be shipped.  The house of Pitne & Car.
mere shipped in twelve months, to September 1869, 6307 hides, 33 rolls,
3220 pounds of leather; 53 bales of wool, and 2597 bales of cotton.
But the cotton crop of that year was very short.
They ship from 1200 to 1800 boxes of eggs to New Orleans yearly,
anging from twenty to eighty dozen in a box. Offut & Stagg did about
-he same business last year.
They ship yearly to New Orleans from St. Landry about 3000 boxes
-)f eggs, 2000 coops of chickens, turkeys, ducks, etc. Say 150,000 doz,en eggs, generally sold in New Orleans market at 40 cents a dozen,
.:$60,000; 2000 coops of chickens, etc., 5 dozen in a coop, 10,000, at an
.average of $4 a dozen, $40,000; equal to $100,000 a year for the chick ens and eggs of St. Landry, sold. The real value of the yearly pro duct of those articles in St. Landry cannot be short of $200,000.
FREIGIIS,'TC.
The steamboat charges on cotton to New Orleans, $2; sugar, $4;
:molusses, $1 50;'coops of chickens, $2 50; eggs, 2 cents a dozen;
' hides, 10 cents each; up freights, 75 cents for dry barrels; $1 for wet
-barrels; passage to and from New Orleans, $10 each way.
0           DISTANCES.
From-Wshington to Barry's Landing, or Port Barre, 12 miles; to
-w harf Boat, at the mouth of Red River, 117 miles; Wharf Boat to New
.Orleans, 210.  Washington to New Orleans, 339 miles.
Ri0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. 
Time between New Orleans and Washington, 35 to 40 hours. They
live high on these boats; their tables are loaded with luxuries of the
New Orleans market, m ich like the tables on the Attakapas boats i'
lormer years.
TH CROPS 0 o 1869.
The cotton crop of St. Landry last year was about 20,000 bales.
]But little sugar was made. The crop was short, and the planters have
been more inclined to cultivate cotton than sugar since the war. Not
snore than 1000 hog,sheads of sugar, and 1500 barrels of molasses were
made in tha parish.  Moat of the cotton planters m)de nearly a bale of
cotton to the acre.
WHITE   BOR-PROFITs.
On CoL Roger's place, three miles from Opelouszs, a white mm
and boy made 18 bales of cotton; two white m3n and two boys made
3.5 bales; and one white m n anl a boy made 16 bales.  All the hands
on the place, 8 in number, are white, and all the domestic work, cookllg, washing, milking, etc., is done by white people.
Mr. Hypolite Daride, residing near Grand Cotean, with the assistance of one negro boy, eighteen years old, made last year, thirty bales
,of cotton anI fourteen wagon loaIs of corn.  We have the above statement from Mr. D  nba   postmaster of Grand Coteau. It is not understood that the  han   picked and saved the crop.  They only mcda
it, and must have had help to save it.
BELLEVUE AND WHIrrB LABOR.
Most all of the agricultural labor of Bellevue is done by white people.  This s3ction of th3 parish is soith of Opalousas.  There  are six
families from Mississippi, three from Kentucky and three from Arkansas, cultivating small places here. They are a hard working people,
and will succeed. Most of them eat breakfast by candle light, on the
north Alabama plan, and rush business during the day. In cotton picking they take their dinners in the field. They practice rigid economy.
Even some of the white women pick cotton.  A white boy, fourteen
years old, picked three hundred pounds of cotton in a day, when they
were paying hands one dollar a hundred and boarded.  In som3 places
in the parish, hands coul*not be obtained to pick all of the crop, ancl
there'was considerable loss.
A circular published in 1863, eqndorsed by the leading anl most iln
'BIt- 0 
LOUISIANA XS IT IS.
telligent citizens of St. Landry, members of the Aglicultural Society
of that parish, states:
1. White men have tilled the soil of this parish from the early set tlement of this State, and ale now tilling it without experiencing any
serious difficulties.
2. One white man easily cultivates 20 acres of land here under the
old system, and much more by the use of labor saving machinery late ly introduced, and from his individual exertion he can reap a larger re tur  than in the Western and Middle States.
3. Out door labor to the white man is not unpleasant, and can be
sustained without detriment to health. The average temperature of the
winter is about 40 degrees, and that of the summer 85 degrees during
the day.  During the heated period, we have none of the sultriness of
the more Northern States at night. This has struck every one as a re markable feature in our climate. After the heat of the day there comes
a delicious feeling of pleasure, produced iby the cool sea breeze and the
refreshing dew, which combine to cool the hot earth, tone and invigorate the system, and prepare it for the coming day.
4. More than one-half of the white population of this parish are
engaged strictly in agricultural pursuits, and are as robust and healthy
as any similar number of farmers in higher latitudes.
5. Thtprodct on of one white man's labor, who is industrious,
may be thus stated: 400 bushels of corn; 200 bushels of sweet, and as
many of Irish potatoes;' 10 barrels of rice; 5 bales of cotton; with-a
full supply of vegetables, hay, etc. This state(ment is the actual result
of one man's exertions, and may be safely taken as a fair average.!'A
We appeal to the experience of five hundred farmers in our midst
for the truthfulness of every fact given, and do not fear contradiction
in one single particular.
The same document, treating of the cultivation of sugar cane by
white labor, says:
White men can insure to themselves a fair revenue by the cultivation of sugar cane upon a small scale, the molasses paying  the current
expense&
It opens the way for co-operative associations.  The man of means,
by putting up the machines, can thus secure to the small farmers near
him the means of saving their crops, and thus stimulate the enterprise
62
I 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
+
of the people.  His investment will return to him a good interest, and
at the same time promote a healthful division of labor.
The method here indicated has been tested in our section with excellent results, and encourage further efforts in the same direction.
DR. TAYLOR'S STATEMENT.
The following statements were furnished us by Dr. Taylor:
Last year, 1869, Mr. Lemorardier, assisted by his brother-in-law,
made 21 bales of cotton, a large crop of corn, and jerformed all the labor of the farm, attending to stock, gardening, etc.
Mr. Dunbar rented the Eureka plantation of W. O. Denegre, Esq.,
of New Orleans.  His four sons, the youngest 16, his son-in-law, Mr.
Simpson, and two negro mn, seven in all, made 77 bales of cotton,
and 1200 bushels of corm  It is worthy of remark that none of these
white men were accustomed to farm labor.
Mr. Dunbar sub-rented portions of the plantation to Messrs. Humble and four Germans.
The two Messrs. Humble, with their two sons, one 12, the other
13 years of age, one negro boy and a negro m-n, m;de 70 bales of cotton, 600 bushels of corn, and cultivated and sold 200 bushels of Irish
potatoes, and cultivated three acres of cane, which was sold for $450,
They hired some labor in scraping the cotton, and had some assistance
in picking.
Mr. Duckworth, with one young mtn and two boys, made 32 bales
of cotton, and an abundant crop of corn.  Mr. Duckworth  did but little himself, so the crop was made chiefly by the young man and boys.
The Messrs. Gilette, father and son, in addition to a corn and cotton crop, cultiv.ated some sugar caue. They made 12 bales of cotton,
and 16 barrels of syrup on a smUll sorghum pan.  The younger Mr.
Gillette is a promising young minister in the Methodist Church,  and
attending during the year to his clerical duties,
These examples prove that white labor is eminently successful in
this parish. I don't believe there was a case of sickness among these
,people during the planting, cultivating, or harvesting season   All experience has demonstrated that while the white laboring man in this
climate enjoys equal exemption wh the negro from disease, his labor,
from his superior intelligence and energy, is much more remunerative.
I have always found white laborers who work in the field in St.
511 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
lamdry the year round, as healthy as field laborers in any other Stateo,
as healthy as white men who do not labor; and that this fact holds
goodin regard to white men who were raised in affluence and ease, and
who have done their first field work since the war.
J. A. TAYLOB, M. DI
MAST AND HOGS.
St. Landay abounds in oak forests, and in mast of various kindes.
Ile hog range is excellent, and white clover grows  luxuriantly, equal
to the native grasses, This is fine for grass eating hogs. And in no,
portion of the United States are hogs more healthy, or more prolific
hanin St. Landry.
OAK BARK AND TANNERIES.
In a country abounding, as St. Landry does, in oak bark, uimacr
and hides, and where tan pits may be kept open during the entire winter, what is there in the way of succees in tanneries as the country becomes older, and labor becomes more diversified?
FEEDING NTOCK —PRBO
A stock raiser of St. Landry writes to the Agricultural Society of
that parish as follows:
"I am a stock raiser. Itis necessary to feed gentle cattle from the
15th of January to the 15th of March.  In mnild winters very little fooed
is necessaly. Wild stock never are fed on bay, and have no shelter..
'Wild stock yield twenty-five per cent. income on the investm(nt. Gentle stock may be made to yield over forty per cent.
WET,TS.
Well water in St. Lendry is cool, and wholesome.  Averege depth
of wells, 25 feet; scmetimes fifty feet.'Ihere are a few cisterns in the
parish, but most people use well water. The wells are usually curbcd
with cypress.
Cotton, corn, sugar cane, broom corn, ramie, flax, hemp, sweet and
Irish potatoes, ccw pease, indigo, sorghbm, pindars, castor oil beans,
oats, barley, rye, pnmpkins,  cabbage, tuinips, and garden vegetables
of all kinds.            e
FRUITS.
Peaches, apples, pears, plms, fs, g,, giapes, quince, blackberries,
0
( CEO.PS AI)AFTY-D TIO ST. I-APV.U'r. 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
strawberries, dewberries, may apple, persimmon, may haw, and papaw..
Oranges may be successful to some extent in the southern part of theparish. But little attention is paid to fruit culture.
DOMESTIC ANUIALS.
Cattle, horses, mules, jacks and jennies, sheep, hogs, and goats..
DOMESTIC FOWLS.
Turkies, chickens, geese, ducks, guinea fowls and pea fowls.
FIS5
Perch, trout, buffalo, pike, white cat, sac-a-lait, or white perch,
mudfish, or choupique, soft shell turtle, and in some of the bayous, the -
finest trout in great abundance.
WID ANIMALS.
Deer, bear, panther, opossum, raccoon, rabbit, wild cat, fox, otter,
sad squirrel.
ID GAME.
Wild turkeys, duck,  geese, brent, papabots, snipe, partridges
prairie chickens, reed birds, grosbec, wood cock, rice birds, and robbing.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS-HOME PRICES.
Creole horses, $40 to $60; formerly $20 to $30; beeves $12 to $20;
milch cows $20 to $30; sheep $1 50 to $2; beef in the market, 5 to &
cents a pound.
DOMESTIC FOWLS-HOME PRICES.
Gobblers, $1 50; hen turkeys, 75 cents to $1; geese, $1 a pair, -
chickens, $2 50 to $3 a dozen; ducks, 25 cents; wild ducks,  20 to 25 
cents; eggs 8 to 10 cents in sLunmer.
FARM CROPS AND VARIOUS ARTICLES -HOME PRICES.
Corn, 75 cents down to 25 cents a bushel; butter, 40 cents in win- -
ter, 25 cents in summer; sweet potatoes, 30 to 50 cents a bushel; Irish.
potatoes, $1 a bushel; cypress lumber, $25 to $40 a thousand feet; cy- -
press shingles, $5 to $8 a thousand; bricks, $10 to 12-can be made at
$7; fencing, pieux and posts, $80 to $150 a thoutsand.  (It takes 5 pieux
and one post to a pannel of fencing 8 feet in length, an l nearly 4000 to
.- ile\
CATTLE, H')RS-S, ETC.-NUMBER.
The number of cattle in St. Landry in the year 1869, is estimated'
6
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
:at 60,000 head; horses, 15,000; mules, 3500; sheep, 3000; number of
Iogs large, but not known.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE.
The number of persons, white and black, in this parish, between
the ages of 6 and 21 years, amounts to 8380, classified as follows: White
males, 2,490; females, 2,.344;  total, 4832; colored males, 1823, females,
1725, total, 3548.
lONGEVITY IN ST. LANDERY.
By the assistance of intelligent citizens of St. Landry, we have a
list of names of white persons in Opelousas and the parish, above the
age of sixty-five years.  WVe find that there are twenty-two in Opelousas
and fifty-six in other parts of the parish, making seventy-eight persons
in the parish of St. Landry above the age of sixty-five, the oldest having arrived at the remarkable age of one hundred and eighteen years.
In Opelousas there are forty-one white persons between the ages of
fifty and sixty-five years.  And doubtless there are many others who belong in the list, but we have not been able to obtain their names. There
-are many old colored people in this parish, some of them very old.
THE WIDOW DUFRENE.
The widow V. DuLfrene lives about fifteen miles from Opelousas.
She has arrived at the age of one hundred and eighteen years.  She
w3ighs less than a hundred pounds, is tall, straight, has a very good
eye-sight, and walks briskly for one of her advanced age; and her
mind has a fair amount of vigor.
STILL OLDEE.
Josephi Chieasson, alias Joanlnes, died several years ago in this parisi at the advanced age of nearly a hundred and thirty years. When
hlie was one hundred and fifteen years old he moved to Texas, and after
living in that State several years he returned to St. Landry.
MIr. Thomas died in this parish several years since aged over a hundred years.
Joseph Young died in this parish thirty years ago, aged about one
hundred and fifteen years.  He married at the age of ninety years, and
his wife had a son whom he lived to see married. His widow still lives
in St. Landry.        e
MIrs. Blaiza died in this parish a few years since, aged more than
4one hundred years.
Z6
6 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Mrs. Daigle, aunt of Mr. Choteau, who has a lease of the Avery
:alt mines, (died in Opelousas. She was nearly one hundred years old.
Jesse Andris, aged ninety years, and Major John Clac, aged ninety, lately died in this parish.
A VMENOUS PROGENY.
A respectable physician, of Washington, informed us that Madame
PG'illory, an old lady of St. Landry, before her death, could count up
ever eight hundred lineal descendants, all blood relations of hers.
A HEALTHY FAMILY.
Mr. Joseph Langley, 95 years old, lived in St. Landry 42 years;
his twelve children, all of them are living. He had no physician in his
family for twenty-five years. When over 90 years old, in aiding a deputy sheriff who wished to cross a swimming creek, throwing his feet up
by the pummel of the saddle he crossed without wetting  them, while
She young man who followed him wet both feet and half of his legs.
PARISH OF IBERIA.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Iberia parish extends from Belle river, east of Grand Lake, to a line
running from the west end of Lake Peigneur to the mouth of Petite
Anse bayou. It is bounded on the north by St. Martin, and on the
South by St. Mary, east by Assumption, and West by Vermillion and
Lafayette.
Its length is about forty-five miles, its widest part is about twenty
riles. Much of the eastern portion is water and cypress swamp. The
tillable land along the west side of the Morgan Railroad and the Teche,
from the parish line below  Jeannerette to  New Iberia,  called the
"Prairie au Large," has a width of about six miles, and it is a little
wider above between the railroad and Lake Peigneur; the land from
the line where the railroad enters the parish below Jeannerette to the
line where it leaves it west of Lake Tasse, is about twenty miles in
extent.'All the Land is tillable between Lake Peigneur and Lake Tasse,
and in the great bend of the Teche northeast of New Iberia.  And there
is a sheet of tillable and fine groing land south of Lake Peigneur.
The Teche is lined With plantations nearly the entire distance from
its entrance into the parish of Iberia east of Lake Tasse, to the line
57 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
where it leaves the parish below Jeannerette. The portion of the parisla
that borders on Grand Lake is a dense cypress swamp, and bordering
on this swamp there is a growth of gum, ash, oak and other timber.
The tillable land opposite and above Jeannerette is two or three miles
iu width. Around the great bend of the bayou above, called Fausse
Pointe, the tillable land has a much greater width. The lands in all
parts of this parish are rich. On the west side of the bayou there i&
a scarcity of woodland; on the east side there is an abundance of fine
cypress and wood for sugar making.
THE TECHE AND ITS SCENERY.
From the point where the Tache enters the parish of Iberia, about;
five miles below St Martinville, by the windings of the bayou, to New
Iberia, the distance is about twenty-five miles. This portion of the
bayou is extremely beautiful. Its banks are generally about eighteen
feet above the water, and they descend gently to the edg- of the water
at an angle of less than thirty degrees.  The bayou, around this bends
- in the low water season, is about ninety feet wide, and has a depth ol.
its most shallow bars, of about three and a half feet. Forest trees and
water willows line both banks most of the distance, the branches ill
many places hanging over the water, and brushing both wheelhouses
of steamers as they pass up and down between New Iberia and St,
Martinville.
The houses of the planters and small farmers are generally situated
not a hundred yards from the edge of the bayou. Most of the houses
are plain, but comfortable, and the improvements generally are plain;
but the proprietors are quite independent.
There are many large, fine live oaks, pecans and other noble forest
trees growing on both banks of the bayou, that add greatly to the
beauty of this section of the parish.
Below New Iberia the Teche is broader and deeper than above, the
plantations are larger, the houses and improvements finer, and there
are fewer trees growing on its banks. Here we find palatial residences,
grand sugar houses with chimneys towering skyward, plantation villages
called "the quarters," Orange groves, groves of the mespilus, flower
gardens and beaufiful shrubbery, floating bridges, and the general para    hernalia of wealth aud lordly possessions. Yet, on this part of the
0
r)8
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
bayou there are many plain or unsightly buildings, and some plant
tions that have not yet got rid of the footprints of the late war.
THE PRAIRIS   AU TzARGE.
This is the sheet of land south and west of New Iberia; and a more
beautiful prairie country is seldom or neaer seen. It has natural drains,
which, by being opened a little, would relieve the whole country from
surface water after rains.  Leading natural ditches penetrate all pat
of the prairie, and into these the ravines may be opened at small expense..
This sheet of fertile prairie must, at no distant day, be put in a high
state of cultivation by small farmer& Though there are many thrifty
little fields now under fence, we doubt if a tenth part of this prairie is
cultivated.  Small tracts of from forty to two hundred acres can be
bought for ten dollars an acre and even less. Large planters cannot.
come into this prairie and put up new and expensive machinery with,
pny prospects of success. A small farmer can start with eiheap improve —
ments, make ten, twenty, or fifty hogsheads of sugar yearly, with a,
certainty of success. His coal may be hauled from the banks of the
Teche at his leisure at any season of the year in dry weather. A ton of
coal, at a cost of $6 50 on the bayou, will boil a hogshead of sugar.
In addition to the sugar crop the small farmer could raise milch
cows for sale and make butter and cheese for the New Orleans market..
And poultry, eggs, garden vegetables, fresh pork, broom corn, pindars
corn, potatoes, hay, melons, fruits, and other productions may all be
sold for ready money or goods at New Iberia, or in New Orleans, which.
is but about 120 milcs distant by railroad, 80 miles of which is in running order, the balance graded.
A TRP.
In November, 1869, we took a trip in the parish of Iberia, passing
round Fausse Pointe, and little Fausse Pointe.  We copy from our
account of the trip published in the Banner of December 1, 1869:
AROUND NEW IBERIA.
The more we circulate over ths country, of which New Iberia is the,
trading centre, the more it? real value and innate worth are elevated in
our estimation,  It is a lovely and wonderful country.  Its bayous
590
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
lakes, prairies and woodlands are all beautifuL  Its soil is rich, deep
and inexhaustible.  Sea breezes roll over it, and give health and long
life to its inhabitants. Its climate is a medium between the tropical and
the north temperate, combining most of the advantages of both, and
the evils of neither. Steamerp from New Orleans, and vessels from the
ocean penetrate to its very centre. And the cars of the Southern Pacific
Railroad, connecting New Orleans and the Pacific Ocean, will in a few
years pass over it.
SUGAR HOUSE OF DUCLEON BOeNIN.
In company with Dr. Shaw, we called at the sugar house of Ducleon
Bonin, across the bayou, twelve miles from New Iberia. The sugar
house was made of pieux and rough plank, dirt floor, everything rough
and cheap. The sugar house and mill house cost $650; the mill, second
hand, 32-inch cylynder, cost $500; the kettles, capacity for two hogsheads in twenty-four hours, cost $150, second hand; the whole cost of
.all, $1250. They will make 45 hogsheads of sugar and 60 barrels of
molasses, worth over $5000. They have made two hogsheads to the acre
from stubble cane. They make over 600 barrels of corn. They put
up twelye acres of seed cane.
A CHEAP SUGAR HOUSE.
The three Bonin brothers, Martial, Valcourt and Ovignac, were
raised in Fausse Pointe, served through the war in the Confederate
army, lost all their negroes and nearly all their other property, but one
hundred and seventy acres of land where they now live. Last year they
went into the swamp, cut the timber and floated it out with their owu
hands, made their pieux, and ten or a dozen neighboring Creoles joining them they put up their pieux sugar house in one day. The sugar
house entire cost no money except the expense of a keg of nails; the
house has a dirt floor to it; the molasses drains so as to catch it in an
old sugar kettle, and from this it is barreled for market.
CREOLE INDUSTRY AND PERSEVERANCE.
The three Bonin brothers will this year make thirty hogsheads of
sugar. They are now making two hogsheads to the acre, and will soon
make two and a half. eAnd they will have two hundred barrels of corn
to sell. They'cultivated their crop with Creole horses of their own.
This is what white Creole labor can do in the cultivation of sugar.
t 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. X
PIEkCEFE BROUSS8ARD.
Our interview with Mr. Broussard, in company with Dr. Shaw, was
interesting. Mr. Broussard was born at Grande Pointe, parish of St.
Martin, in the summer of 1777. He descended from the Acadians who:
were driven from Canada by the outrageous oppression of the British
government. - The Chittemaches Indians were a flourishing tribe when.
he was young. The chief was Soulier Rouge. Mr. Broussard knew him
well. The warriors then had bows and arrows with flint heads. Much
of the food of these Indians was muscles, which they found in the lakes,
bays and bayous.
Mr. Broussaxd was well acquainted with John Hays (Jack Hays, as
he called him), when he first came to Petite Anse Island, in 1790, seventy-nine years ago.
ROUND THE POINTE.
From Mr. Broussard's we proceeded down through the Little
Fausse Pointe Settlement to Wyche's Crossing. This is a fine settlement, principally of small farmers. They raise cotton and sugar. The
cotton looks fine, and they are all doing well From the crossing at
New Iberia to Wyche's crossing, around Fausse Pointe and Little Fausse
Pointe, by the route we came, the distance is twenty-four miles. From
Wyche's crossing, in an air line, to the New Iberia crossing, the distance is but two and a half miles. The land in the bend of the bayou is
principally owned by Dr. Duperier. And the beauty of this country,
to the right and to the left, in front and behind, as we traveled under a
clear sky and over a pretty -good road, we cannot correctly- describe..
The fine prairie, the rich and generous soil, the cotton and sugar fields,
the forests near at hand, and the numerous points of timber in the distance, are all enchanting to any one who can appreciate one of the finest
countries that the Creator in His goodness ever formed and fashioned
out of chaos.
GRAND COTE ISLAND.
In August, 1866. we visited Week's or Grand Cote Island, and gave
an account of our visit in thewlanters' Banner, from which we make
the following extract: ~
The next morning after breakfast Mir. Weeks rode over the Island
with us. It is somewhat larger,than Cote Blanche Island, being two
6r 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
miles in diameter; and nearly round.  As much as we have heard of the
beauty of this I land, it is far more beautifutl than we supposed it to be.
On one of the bluffs of the Island we had a fine view of outspread
fields of cotton and corn, just in their glory-ravines, vallies, hillsides.
and level plains, timber and open lands, canebrakes and pastures. In
one direct-on is a bold elevation covered with a heavy growth of timber,
and hillides steep as the mountains of Scotland; in another direction,
way down below us, between steep elevations, a pure, fresh-water lake
is spread out, with water-lilies upon its surface, the branches of beautiful forest trees extending far out over the surface. It needed but a
few white swans to complete the picture, anl make it perfectly enchanting.
Leaving this delightful place, we piunged into the thicket between
-the rugged hillside and the lake, traveling in a road over which the
-wild cane hungso low as to make us bow to the pummels of our saddles
-to save our'hats twenty or more times in half that number of minutes.
Emerging into a valley between hills which formed a great basin, we
came to a fine field of short staple cotton, like that we had seen before,
clean, rank and well bolled. Coming out of this valley we mounted to
higher regions, and proceeded towards the dwelline house and gardens.
On our way, to our right, we noticed another fresh-water lake, having
-an area of about an acre.
The dweliing house is on a handsome bluff of regular shape, about
one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the Gulf. Beautiful shade
trees and the sea breeze keep the yard and the house cool, even in the
hottest summer days. The yard all round is well set in Bermuda grass.
In front the sea marsh extends out a hundred yards, and beyond this
the waters of the Gulf spread out under a blazing sun. To the right is
a bayou twenty feet deep, with five feet of water on the bar at its mouth.
Any of our bayou steamers can run up to the landing, a few hundred
yards from the dwelling house. Redfish, and many other fine fishes are
found in abundancQ' this bayou.
The waters in front abound with fine fishes, which in the proper
seasou, are taken ingreat abundance in the seine.  There are oyster
reefs not far of.
In the garden we feund a splendid arber of Scuppernong grape
sines, about thirty feet squfiare, the roof about nine feet high, the vines
,62 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS,
-flowing down to the ground on all sides, making a complete room with
vegetable walls and ceiling. The vines on all sides and above, hung full
()f grapes not yet ripe. These vines produce a bountiful crop of grapes
.every year. There is no doubt that all this chain of islands on the coast,
Petite Anse, Grande Coto, Cote Blanche, and Belle Isle, are admirably
adapted to grape culture, and will at some future day become as cele'brated for their wines as the islands of any portion of Europe.
Fruits of all kinds appear to do well on all of these islands.
This Island contains a surface of about two thousand acres, six
hundred acres of which are in timber, the  balance is in pasture, or under cultivation.
Any one may visit either of the three Islands, Grande Cote, Cote
Blanche. or Petite Anse, in a buggy, and when not too wet, the road
will be found pretty good, and always entirely safe.
At various localities, all over the Island, fine, thrifty forest trees
may be seen, which add much to the beauty of the scenery. The Island,
viewed from its highest pinnacle, is picturesque and beautiful beyond
anything we have ever seen in the State.  Its gentle undulations, its
peaks, hills, valleys, ponds, its towering magnolias and noble oaks, its
ash and cypress, its fields of blooming cotton and waving cane, all
inspire the most pleasant emotions in the breast of any beholder who
loves to look on nature when she puts on her finest robes and appears
in her most bewitching mood.
The Weeks plantation, now under a high state of cultivation, on
this Island, has on it all the buildings and improvements common to
thelargest and most successful sugar estates in Attakapas-a large brick
sugar-house, slate roof, and a powerful eugine and sugar mill, capacity
for taking off and saving six or eight'hundred hogsheads of sugar yearly;
the plantation is in fine condition, the soil is of unsurpassed fertility
and,the estate has always been one of the most productive and suacessful in this section of Louisiana,
PETITE AlTSE TSLAID.
The same month we visited Petite Anse Island, and gave the following account of it in the B:
This is called "Salt Island," "Avery's Island," "Petite Anse
Island," according to the caprice of the speaker or writer. It contains
about 2200 arpents of upland and 1200 arpenis of timber-cypress, gum,
?A
63 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
magnolia, oak, etc.  Itis about two miles in diameter, nearly round,
and is made of hills, valleys, ravines, ponds, woodlands, open fields and
pastures, the whole surrounded on all sides by sea marsh, which, in the
distance, has the appearance of dry, level prairie.
A PISGAH VIEW.
From the sugar house we climbed a steep hill to the highest elevation on the Island. On horseback, our eyes were on alevel of about 100
feet above the tide water. Here we saw the Vermillion timber, and the
lilne of timber on the Teche, apparently extending from a point helow
the Jeannerette neighborhood, to the neighborhood above St, Martinville.  We could see Vermilion Bay, Grand Cote Island, Cypremort
woods, a sail and the smoke of a Morgan steamer on the Gulf. The
lighthouse could bh seen with a glass, 28 miles distant. The vast sheet
of sea mash which surrounds the Island, the fine expanse of prairie
back of New Iberia and the Teche, and on towards Vermillion were all
before us. Our eye swept a circumference of over a hundred and fifty
miles, and a diameter of about fifty.
Could all the vast sheet of prairie and woodland, marsh and water,
hill and valley, be placed on canvas, by a skillful artist, it would give to
the admirer of Nature's charms a world of beauty in a nutshell.
THE SALT MINE.
The Salt Company has lately been prospecting with reference to the
extent of the salt mine of this Island. By boriug they have proved that
the bed is half a mile square, and it may extend a mile or more. They 
have gone over 65 feet into the solid salt, and find no signs of the bottom of the stratum. It doubtless extends hundreds of feet below the
surface of the Gulf. The surface of the salt is about on a level with tide
water, and forms a level plane, with a few slight inequalities on the surface. The earth covers the salt from eleven to twenty-five or thirty
feet; and if the mine extends under the hills, they may find it covered
in places a hundred feet or more in depth.
BONES, BASKETS, ETC.
Near the surfacedf the salt, or not many feet above it, the miners
have found the &bones of mastodons, and Indian baskets, made of wild
cane, like those of the present day; the shape of the baskets was that of
bags, and nearly the size of a corn sack; they were in as perfect a state
64 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
of preservation as though they were made yesterday. Thesebaskets and
bones have been layingside by side, beyond doubt, more than ftve hunclred years; perhaps they are as old as the mummies of Eat.  Part of
a mortar was found near the baskets, and pottery alo. Am old Indian
pottery kiln was found not far off, with Come whole pots in it.  Numer
oIs flint arrow-heads are found in different parts of the Island.
AN OLD RESrDENT.
We visited Mr. John Hays while on this Island. He had lived there
for 77 years. He was born in Pennsylvania. He said the Island was a
dense forest when he first came here, in the year 170. There were no
Indians on the Island then, and no signs that they had been there for
ages. He could never get an Indian to go on the Island. Hie wished
them to go there to kill bears, panthers and wild cats, but they said a
great calamity once happened to the Indians there, and they had never
dared visit it since,
LOUISIANA ROCK SALT.
The N. O. Times gives the following notice of the sample of Louisiana rock salt from Petite- Anse Island, seen at the late State Fair in
New Orleans.
The committee showed deep interest in the Louisiana rock salt from
near Vermillion Bay, which  has been fully proved to be superior to
Liverpool, Turks Island or any other salt found in the Southern market. It is sold cheaply at New Orleans. The delegates refer specially
to it because of the importance of saving meat in Texas,' which is
erroneously believed to be more difficult than in other States, whereas
the difficulty in saving, and the frequent loss of meat, are clearly owing
to the inferior, deliquescent salt imported into our States.
The committee were doubtless aware of the fact, and will report, or
have reported accordingly, that by Professor Hilgard's analysis, and
that of Professor Jones, the purity of this salt stands at 99.617 per cent.,
having less than one per cent. of foreign matter in it.
VISIT TO THE SALT MINE.
On the 16th of May, 1870, we visited Petite Anse Island, and made
the following note of the fact in the BxNNmR of the 18th:
THE SALT SE  RAILROAD.
From the landing on Petite Anse Bayou to the salt pit the distance
'6'5
5
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
is a mile and a quarter. A nice, new raihoadl is nearly completed, connecting the landing with the mine.  Here steamers will take in cargoes
of salt for New Orleans, and perhaps for the Mississippi and Ohio. The
distance to the open Bay through this bayou is about nine miles. There
is from six to seven feet of water in this line of bays to the mouth of the
Atchafalaya, and from the'South West Pass of Vermillion Bay to the
Atchafalaya.
Mr. Choteau has barges on their way to the mines. intended to
take, each of them, about 250 tons of salt to Brashear, or up the rivers,
on three to four feet of water. Some of these barges will soon be at
the salt landing on Petite Anse Bayou.
THE SALT PITr.
Last Monday evening we, with five others, went down into the salt
pit, in the very bowels of Petite Anse Island. We stood on a platform
about six feet square, which was suspended by a two-inch manilla rope.
This rope and platform are worked by a steam engine. Standing on the
platform, the signal given, we dropped down the depth of eighty feet,
through fifty-eight feet of solid rock salt, in half a minute. Here we
were about sixty feet below the level of the Gulf of Mexico, in the heart
of the salt mine.
From the platform, the chamber extends two hundied feet west,
and a hundred and fifty feet east, making a continuous chamber three
hundred and fifty feet long, twenty-five to thirty feet wide, and seven
feet high. The miners were at work. They have worked twenty-two
hands and can soon make room for fifty hands.  Three men are getting
out about six tons of salt daily-two tons each.
LAKE PEIGNEUR.
Lake Peigneur is sometimes called Lake Simonette. It is situated
about nine miles west of New Iberia. The length of this lake is about
three miles, its width one mile, and its greatest depth thirty-two feet.
It is fed by numerous springs that break out around its margin, It is
the most beautiful lake in Attakapas, and in the South. It swarms with
fishes such as abound in the lakes and bayous of this country, and they
can be caught in unlimited abtndciance at: all seasons of the year.  The
supply can never be exhausted. 
This lake has an elevation nine feet above the surface of the Gulf
615 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
of Mexico, and is situated ten miles north of Vermillion Bay, and about
six miles northwest from the salt mines of Petite Anse Island. The
country around this lake is very picturesque.
ORANGE ISLAND.
Formerly Miller's Island, bounds Lake Peigneur on the south. The
Island lies in the curve of the lake which has the shape of a new moon.
The highest part of the Island is seventy-five feet above the level of the
Lake, Land eighty-four feet above the level of the Gulf. It has hills,
valleys, level and inclined planes, and from its bluff banks in places,
the branches of the trees hang out over the waters of the lake.
Orange Island is in a line with Petite Anse, Grande Cote, and Cote
Blanche Islands, and each is sepa.rated from the neighboring Islands by
a distance of about six miles. Orange Island rises above the lake and
the surrounding prairie, as the other islands rise above and overlook
the surrounding sea marsh.
But a short distance off flows the Petite Anse Bayou, draining the
neighboring country, and emptying into the Gulf ten miles below the
Island.  A constant sea breeze renders this spot healthy and pleasant as
a residence.
There were formerly six thousand orange trees on this Island, bearing an immense crop of oranges yearly. Most of these are still in fine
condition.  Many of these trees have large, fine bodies, a foot in diameter, and they are more than thirty years old.
There are over 2000 young and bearing pecan trees, a large number
of the better kinds of cherry, and some fig, peach, quince, mespilus,
lemon and plum trees-several avenues of live Oak, and other growth,
and a grove of stately magnolias. Seen from the summit of the bluff,
Lake Peigneur spreads out almnost beneath the feet of the observer,
while the gleam of its silvery suLrface closes te vista of the principal
avenues leading from the house.
The owner of this property is Mr. Joseph Jefferson, a most genial
gentleman and keen sportsman, whose renown as one of the brightest
luminaries of the stage is world-wide. Mr. Jefferson contemplates spending from his ample fortune a largeesum of money in the improvement
of his place. This he can well afford, as his talents bring him an income of over $100.000 a  year,  and his property, i is said, amounts
to a million             -
41
67 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
With proper taste and judgment few places are susceptible of
higher improvement in point of profit or beauty. The value of the orchard may be onlypartially understood by its yield of 500,000 oranges
the past season, after a neglect of ten years.  These readily sell at a
dollar a hundred on the groand-the fruit gathered by the buyer. The
beauty of the bold banks and knobs presented to the lake shore, on the
north, or the natural lawns gently sloping to the south for miles, form
scenic beauties attractive to poet or painter. A visit to this beautiful
spot is necessary to its appreciation.
LAKE TASSE.
Lake Tasse is sometimes called Spanish Lake. Its lower limits
come within two miles of New Iberia. Its length is nearly five miles,
its shape is nearly round.  One-third of the surface is water, and twothird grass, usually called floating prairie. It has generally been supposed that nearly the whole of this grass surface consists of matted roots
a foot or two in thickness with water underneath. This proves to be
an error.  Some of the grass next to the water surface is afloat, and
fishermen run on the surface with skiffs, work holes through with their
paddles, and catch immense quantities of fine fish.
The greatest depth of this lake is about twenty feet. Its margin is
most of it fringed with water grass and lilies. The bank on the west
side is high and dry, and on the east side there are fine building sites.
These waters swarm with fishes,  trout, perch, gar. sacalait, rock,
bar, choupique, casburgo, buffalo, cat, blowing fish, soft-shell tuitle,
and sardines Some of the trout are two and a half feet in length, and
sacalait eighteen inches.
This lake is fed by springs of excellent water, that break out around
its margin. There is a large boiling spring in the middle of the lake.
The nearest approach of the Teche to this lake is about 700 yards.
Its surface is about six or eight feet above the level of the bayou. There
is water power here sufficient to drive a sugar mill.
PARISH OF ST. MARTIN.
0
GENERAIL DESCRIPTION.
The extreme length of the Parish of St, Martin is about twenty
68
f 
LOUISIAINA AS IT IS. X
four miles, and its extreme width is about the same. It contains about
four hundred square miles of rich prairie, swamp lands, heavily timbered, and tillable lands, covered with the finest body of timber in the
State, suitable for sugar wood, building purposes, cabinet work, wagons,
plows and wooden ware. And this supply of timber is immense, as we
will show under its proper heading.
The parish is bounded on the north by St. Lnndry, by Lafayette
on the west, Iberia on the south, and Iberville on the east.
THE TECHE LANDS.
The Bayou Teche enters St. Martin at its junction with Bayou Fuselier, at Arnaudville, formerly called Leonville; and, meandering
through the parish, enters the Parish of Iberia six miles below the
town of St. Martinsville, near Lake Tasse, thirty-five miles from Arnaudville.
The tillable land from St. Martinsville east of the Teche, is eight
miles in width, including all the land between this bayou and Catahoula
Lake   At Arnaudville, the tillable land on the east side of the bayou is
three miles in width. The average width of the tillable land on the
east side of this bayou, in its entire course through the parish, is over
five miles. And the average width of the tillable lands on the west side
of the Teche, is over three miles. In places, in the great bends of the
bayou, the width is much greater. In our estimation it is difficult to
overrate either the beauty or the innate merit of this portion of Attakapas.
RICH SOIL.
As to richness of soil, and all the qualities that are essential in any
soil -drainage, ease of cultivation, its wearing and enduring properties,
in the production of sugar, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, indigo, or any
other crops now grown or ever grown in the same latitude-fruits, melons, potatoes, cabbages,  tuifips, and the whole list of field, garden,
and orchard products, no portion of Louisiana can excel those of the
valley of the Teche in the Parish of St. Martin.
FORESTS.
From the open prairie Which runs parallel with and near the Teche,
to the Atchafalaya, the eastern limits of St. Martin, it is almost an unbroken forest of the finest timber in Lonisiana. In the swamps of the
0
69 f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Atchafalaya there are millions of cypress trees, tall, straight, and many
of them from three to four feet in diameter. Between these swamps
and the Teche prairie, on the tillable land, there is an immense,  unbroken forest of ash, gum, hickory, black walnut, magnolia, live oak,
white, red, and other oaks, linn, pecan, sycamore, and other wild
growth of less importance. On thie west side of the Teche, in the rear
of the open prairie, extending from Bayou Fuselier and the Upper Vermilion, down Bayou Tortue to Lake Tasse, there is a forest of swamp
cypress, and also of oak, ash, gum and other trees which grow on dry
and tillable land. Both banks of the Teche are skiited with fine forests, which we will describe under another head.
THE VALE OF THE TECHE.
The lines of swelling forests in the rear take the place of hills in
helping form the Valley of the Teche. This bayou, in its course
through St. Martin, is extremely beautiful, in many respects more beautiful than the lower Teche as it meanders through St. Mary. Its first
banks on both sides at St. Martinsville are nearly twenty feet high, at
Breaux Bridge twenty-two feet, and at the junction nearly thirty feet
above tide water.
The banks of the bayou have a slope of less than thirty degrees to
the water's edge.   Everywhere there are beautiful building sites along
the bayou. The banks give the bayou, everywhere, the appearance of
a huge canal. The water is not more than two and a half or three feet
deep in summer and autumn, and the surface is bu.t fifty or sixty feet
wide; but for about six months in the year it is navigable for small
steamers. One lock at St. Martinsville would render the bayou navigable to the Junction the year round.
In Yankeeland, the neighbors would have joined and made a lock
in such a place twenty years ago, and as a consequence they would have
added a million of dollars or more to the value of the lands of the parish, which would have been much more generally settled up many years
ago. And they would have had at least a tri-weekly boat and mail between the Junction and New Iberia. It is astonishing that so important an enterprise has been so long neglected.
0
THE FORESTS OF THE TECHE.
The scenery all along, on both banks of the Teche, from St. Mar
70
I
I 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.,
tinsville to'the Junction, a distance of thirty miles, is the most charming and magnificent we have  ever seen  in any part of the United
States.
The forest trees on both banks, the magnolia, ash, live oak, red,
white, and other oaks, black walnut, linn, gum, pecan, hickory, sycamore, and other trees, are tall, graceful, and of generous growth. On
thousands of acres the grass grows on a smooth surface under the
waving branches of these noble trees These lands are far more beau
tifuill than the famous woodland pastures of Kentucky; the trees have a
more luxuriant growth,' the Lfoliage is richer, and hangs out on the
broad branches in'a more generous abundance, and the soil is rich beyond anything we ever saw in the Great West.
And it is the cleanest looking country we have ever traveled over.
The beautiful smooth praiIies look as though tllhey had just been washed; the grass looks like a lanwn neatly shaved by some "Fine Old English Gentleman," who prides himself on his aristocratic estate; the fat
herds grazing upon these green prairies help in giving the finishing
touch to this magnificent landscape scenery.
PRICE OF LANDS.
A beautiful place on this bayou, eligibly situated in all respects,
three-quarters wood, five hundred acres in the tract, ten or fifteen miles
above St. Martinsville, is offered for $3,000. A farm of 230 acres, plain
house and improvements, fencing, etc., was sold last season for 1,650o.
A place of 100 arpents, improved, was sold for $2,200. A farm of 220
acres was sold at eleven dollars per acre, $2,420. A farm of 120 acres
was sold for $3,000. One of 500 acres was sold for $3,500. One from
180 to 200 acres was sold for $4,125. We think all the heavy landholders in this parish will sell small tracts to suit purchasers at reasonable
prices.
HEALTH.
The health of this country is undoubtedly excellent. There are no
swamps. ponds, or wet prairie neap the Teche to generate disease; the
grown people and children look healthy, and there is a goodly number
of old people in the parish. It is thought that one active young phy
71 - t
6 
LOUISIANA A4 IT IS.
sician could do the entire practice between the Junction and St. lMartinsville, a distance of nearly thirty miles.
FRUIT.
This is an excellent country for fruit.  In passing up the TEche, to
the Junction, by land, in August, we saw peach trees hanging  full of
fine fruit, raised with but little attention and trouble,  the trees and
frit as healthy as any we have ever seen. All the fruits of this latitude thrive admirably in this parish.
POULTRY.
This country abounds in poultry. Some of the merchants buy eggs
at five cents a dozen, and pay in trade, but the usual price is ten cents.
A spring chicken is exchanged for a pound of sugar, and grown chickens never sold for more than twenty-five cents apiece.
THREE FINE ESTATES OF GENERAL DECLOUET, MR. LASTRAPES AND DR.
WILKINS.
ESTATE OF GENERAL DECLOUET.
This estate of ten thousand acres or more, is situated on the east
side of the Teche, in the southern portion of the parish. The mansion
of Gen. Declouet is on the east bank of the Teche, three miles above
St. Martinsville. It is a noble, two-story dwelling, with spacious halls,
galleries, and passage, a dining room and table large enough to seat the
patrons of a large hotel, high ceiling, large windows and doors, an airy,
ponvenient and pleasant mansion of a large-hearted and whole-souled
Creole gentleman "all of the olden time."  His parlor, sitting room
and halls are ornamented with portraits of his paternal and maternal
ancestors for several generations, and other valuable paintings.
Gen. Declouet keeps up, more than any gentleman we have visited,
the best original style of Creole living; a bountiful table, an abundance
of everything, excellent servants, a cordial and easy welcome to stran'
gers, and a delicate attention to all their wants and comforts. He has
the happy faculty, almost universal among the original Creole planters,
of making even thegreatest strangers feel at their ease, and perfectly
at home.  Tke manners and hospitality of the original Creole gentleman are inimitable, and universally admired.
The walks, grove3, gardens anrd outbuildings are all laid out and
0
72 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
put up on the liberal plan of the ancient rich and generous Creole gentleman of this country. The dwelling is situated between the main
road and the bayou.
The yards fronting on the Bayou Teche, and towards the main road
on the prairie side, are equally spac';as.  A broad avenue sixty or seventy feet in width, and three or four times that length, with tall and
beautiful China trees on either side, extends nearly to the bayou. A
large surface is shaded on the bayou front. And twenty or more pines,
foi-ty or fifty feet high, with noble trunks and extended branches, make
a fine avenue and shade on the other front. And fine live oaks, magnolias, figs, and other trees, covered with rich and abundant foliage,
are growing at intervals in the rear of the pines and Chinas on either
side.
The sugar house is spacious and convenient, and the engine and
sugar mill are ponderous and complete. The sugar house is large
enough for saving a crop of six or eight hunchded hogsheads of sugar.
The General has been a large stock raiser, besides a cotton and su
gar planter. He owns over ten thousand acres of the finest land in Attakapas, most of it heavily timbered, and rich, tillable land.
ESTATE OF MR. LASTRAPES.
The Lastrapes estate is situated on the east bank of the Techle, below the Junction. The dwelling and its surroundings, sugar house,
cotton gin, stables, corn houses and numerous outbuildings, are on the
east bank of the bayou, about seven miles below the Junction.
This is one of the oldest Creole families of the Attakapas, and, like
the D)cloutet family, they keep up the generous hlospitalities and customs of the wealthy and educated Creole of the ancient and happy
days of Attakapas.
Mr. Alfred Lastrapes' mother still lives on the old estate. She is a
venerable lady, 80 years old, of great dignity of appearance, stands as
straight as a young lady of 18, and is extremely active. She must have
been very handsome when young, for she is a handsome old lady. Her
mind is still fresh and vigorous. Like Gen. Declouet's, the parlors of
the Lastrspes family, are ornamented with ancestral portraits in a fine
state of preservation. These Portraits have been admired by three
generations, reaching through a period of nearly a hundred years.
TI.e Lastrapes family cultivate cotton and sugar cane, and have a
73 
4
LOUISIANA AS IT IS,
_    a
large stock of cattle. They own over ten thousand acres of choice farming land of great intrinsic value, though its present market value is like
most of the lands of this parish, extremely low.
ESTATE OF DR. WILKINS.
Dr.'Wilkins is a VirginiaA by birth, brother of John D.  Wilkins,
deceased, formerly a planter of St. Mary, and well known to many of
our citizens.
His estate is on Bayou Fuselier, half a mile from Arnaudville; near,
or on the line which divides St. Landry and St. Martin.
His dwelling is large, airy and comfortable, and he is surrounded
with all the real comforts and blessings of life.  He has substantial and
beautiful shade trees, and a fine garden. There is an air of comfort
and independence in all of his surroundings. This excellent family
give strangers a genuine old Virginia welcome.  If the old style Louisiana Creole gentleman ever finds a successful competitor in the grace,
kindness, ease and perfection of his native hospitality, it is in the family of an old style Virginian, and nowhere else.
We have given this brief reference to three leading estates and
families in St. Martin, not so much on a complimentary account, as to
show strangers that this country is not the rude and barbarous region
that many very well informed pecple at the North and West suppose
it to be.
IN THE WILDERNESS.
Though just beyond the limits of St. Martin, it may not be amiss
to notice Alnaudville and its surroundin3s.
Arnaudville is a small village made of two or three stores, a postoffice, dwellings, etc., on a bluff atthe junction of the Teche and Fuselier,
about thirty-five feet above low water mark.  The banks of both bayous are here very steep, and the scenery is wild and interesting.  Here
are plenty of fish and game. Forest trees hang over the lanks of the
bayous, and in places lock limbs and branches. The road leading north
towards Opelousas, passes miles through one of the most enchanting
forests we have ever sDn in the South, or anywhere else. We passed
over this roarl in Augast, 1869.
Queenly magnolias with their wealth of green glossy leaves, and
74 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
large white flowers, noble oaks, and pecans, ash, gum, hickory, blacks
walnut, and numerous other trees of rare beauty spread their friendly'
branches above us as we rode over a good road through this region of
indescribable beauty.
To give our readers a better idea of the stately character of these
forest trees, we will give a few figures.  A large oak had been  torn up
by the roots, and lay across the road, except a section sawed out and
removed to let carriages pass. It was solid, five feet and a half in diameter at the chopping place.  Twenty feet from the roots,  it was four
feet in diameter; forty-eight feet, at the first limb, it was three feet in.
diameter; to the second limb, fifty-eight feet. A log could have been
made  of it sixty feet long, nearly three feet in diameter, at the small
end, and five and a half feet at the large end.
BREAUX BRIDGE.
This is a pretty pla,ce made up of a few stores and houses. It is bywater about half way between St. Martinsville and the Junction. It
looks new, brisk and lively.  It has a fine elevated site, and at no ditant day will doubtless become a large and prosperous village. It has
a livery stable, hotel, Catholic Church, good schools, a lyceum, a brass
band, and other proofs of civilization and progress. The new bridge
across the Teche at this place is high and well built, and is creditable to
the place and parish.
The people are hopeful and resolute, and say they intend to make
that place the great business depot, even if the Chattanooga Railroad
crosses the Teche two miles below them.
LAKE MARTYN.
On the' back part of this place, about two miles from the bayou,
is Lake Martin, over a mile in length, and little less than a mile wide.
The soil around is firm, and one may ride to its bank on all sides. Tall
cypress and ash trees grow in the edge of the lake, but gum, oak, elm,
and the small growth of the Teche make a magnificent shade, in hot
weather, all around it.  The soil is fham and well set in grass under the
trees. Parties from Breaux Bridge, accompanied by the brass band,
come here to enjoy themselvesa the summer and autumn.  The lake
is full of fishes of various kinds, and here is the finest place in the
South for picnics, fishermen and duck hunters.
7
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
GRANDE POINTE.
Grand Pointe is situated above Beaux Bridge on the east bank of
the bayou, and has a front on the bayou  ten miles in extent, from
Breaux Bridge to the lower line of the Lastrapes plantation. The settlement extends back five or six nmiles from the bayou.
This settlement includes about one hundred and fifty Creole fami lies. They live in islands of timber, and coves of prairie, and cultivate
,cotton, tobacco, corn, and some cane.  The  country is beautiful and
the land is rich.  The people live in small, cheap  houses.  Many of
-them are very industrious, and they are generally out of debt.
They keep up the old Creole custom of having neighborhood balls
every Saturday night.  The balls are generally made  up of the sons
and daughters of small Creole farmers who work all day and dance at
night. There are not less than sixty fiddles and fiddlers in this settle ment. They are a merry people; and those who think the young ladies
don't know how to arrange their hair, and primp for the ball room, so
as to make themselves look attractive to the beaux, are simply mistaken.
These Creole families are very friendly with each other, and are
troubled but little with the jealousies, and quarrels which sometimes
afflict neighborhoods.   They are extremely sociable, and obtain a large
amount of social enjoyment at a small expense.
The timber in Grande Pointe, four miles back from the Teche, is
gum, pecan, oak, ash, elm, and hackberry.  The lands here look dry.
Coules and ravines run to the lower lands in the timber further back.
The whole sheet of country drains well, and some of these ridges several miles back from the bayou were out of water in the overflow of
3.867.
NATURAL DTrrCHES.
The sheet of prairie on either side of the Teche is evervywhere
:grooved with ravines which extend back many miles to the bayous,
swamps and lakes.  They are nature's ditches, and take off all the surplus water that falls in showers, or long continued rains.
GAME AND FISHES.
In the amount of game and and fishes, this excels most of the other parishes excepting Vermilion. Hunters and fishermen, and fishing
parties may have rare sport in this parish at any season of the year.
-76
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.,
CROPS.
More attention has been given to cotton thmin cane, in this parish;
but both crops flourish well, and the yield is remunerative and satisfactory. The soil is everywhere fresh, rich, and easy of cultivation.
ST. MARTIN, 1850 AND 1859.
In the year 1850, before the parish was divided, it contained 220farms, and 940 dwellings, population, 4,740 whites; free colored, 531;
slaves, 5,835; total, 11,107 square miles.
In 1859 the cultivated lands of St. Martin were as follows:
Cultivated in sugar cane, 8342 acres; in cotton, 7187 acres; in corn,
11,488 acres.
State tax in 1859, $14,984; parish tax, $9447; State and parish
taxes, $24,431.
LARGEST CROP OF SUGAR.
In 1858 the sugar crop of St. Mlfartin amounted to 13,58 hogsheads;
molasses, same year, about 20,000 barrels.
ITEMS-PARISH OF ST MARTIN.
Corn is often sold in St. Martin at thirty-five to fifty cents a bushel.
Sweet potatoes usually sell at seventy-five cents a barrel.   No  soil in
Louisiana yields more sweet or Irish potatoes to the acre than that of
St. Martin.
Mr, Ervin, who has a place on the bayou below Breaux Bridge, has
eleven pecan trees. One year he lost two-thirds of his crop, and sold
the balance for one hundred and seventy dollars. His best prices were
thirty-five dollars a barrel. The trees bear well every two years.
Between St. Martinsville and the Junction there is land enough for
2000 fine farms of one hundred acres each.
The prairies and woodlands of St. Martin, the distant swamps excepted, are high and airy, and no country can be more healthy than
this.
Gen. Declouet is selling twenty-acre lots of excellent land at twen-.
ty-five dollars an acre.
They make carrote tobacco &t Grande Pointe, in this parish.  They
sometimes make three crops in a year, two crops from suckers after the
first crop is saved.
Mr..Alfred Lastrapes, who owns -over 10,000 acres of fine land in..
77-. 
LOUISIANA AS-IT IS.
-this parish, offers to sell landsin quantities to suit purchasers, at reasonable rates.
Prairie Gros Chevreuil extends from the lower line of the Lastrapes
plantation to Arnaudville, nine miles.
The rise in the Teche above breaux Bridge in the overflow of 1867,
was thirteen feet and six inches.
Bayou Fuselier connects with Bayou Vermillion. By cleaning out
these bayous. small steamers could reach Verinillion Bay from Bayou
Teche, by this route.
By deepening a ravine a mile and a half in length, navigation could
be opened between the Courtableau and the Teche.  Steamers have
bossed through this ravine in high water, from the Courtableau to the
Teche.
PARISH OF LAFAYETTE.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Lafayette is the smallest of the Attakapas parishes.  Its extreme
length is about nineteen miles, its width about the same. Its northeastern boundary, made by the bayous Carancro and Tortute, is irregular;
-the other three lines are nearly straight.
This parish has an area of about 300 square miles, about oneeighth of which is swamp and timbered land; the rest prairie. According to the assessment roll of 1868, the cultivated land was classed
:as follows:
Land cultivated in corn, 10,944 acres; cultivated in cotton, 8217;
.cultivated in cane, 175; cultivated in rice, 106: other crops, potatoes,
:peae, etc., not mentioned.
SOILITS GINERAL CHARACTER.
The soil of Lafayette parish is light, loamy, mixed with sand. It is
generally about twelve inches deep. It rests on a clay subsoil which is
rich in plant food, like the subsoil of all the other parishes in this sec-tion of Louisian. The fe&ile properties of the subsoil are only devel.oped by exposure  tothe sun, and mixing with the surface soil.
Fields in Lafayette which have been in cultivation for seventy years
principally in corn and cotton, are still fertile.
'78 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Byplowing in a crop of cow pease ocasionally, the richness of this
soil would be perpetual.
Two ordinary creole horses, or mules, can break up the soil, and
one horse can cultivate it.
A good field hand can cultivate thiiny acres of corn, or ten acres of
cane, or fifteen acres of cotton.
PRICE OF LANDS.
The best unimproved lands can be boug,ht in Lafayette for $10 an
acre. Cheapest unimproved, $1 25. Improved lands sell at from $20
to $30 an acre.
Lands in this parish rent at from $2 50 to $5. 00 an acre.
POPULATION, FARMS, ETC.
There were 1587 registered voters in the parish at the last registration, more than half of them white. The vote in the year 1860 was
from 800 to 900. The population of the parish, white and black, is
about 8000, about equally divided.
In 1850, there were in this parish, 441 farms, 630 dwellings; population, white. 3390; free colored, 160; slaves, 2170; total, 6720.
BEAU BASSIN.
The road leading from Vermillionville to Grand Coteau,  runs
through a beautiful agricultural region called Beau Bassin. It is twelve
miles from Vermillionville to the Carancro Crossing, and about four
miles from the road to the eastern boundary of Beau Bassin, which is
the eastern boundary of the poish.  The lands near Vermillionville are
nearly level, but extremely productive. A few miles north, between
the road and the bayous, the surface becomes beautifully rolling.
The gentle slopes, and long, tortuous ravines may be ranked with
the most delightful landscape scenery in Attakapas. Here we fiud
some of the most pleasant building sites in this enchanting country.
The swells are like the heaving bosom of the ocean after a storm.
Descending into the ravines one feels as though he were in a trough of
the sea, soon to rise up again on the mountain wave, and look out on
the green ocean. The cottages d the farmers are many of them neat
and comfortable. The green pastures, fat cattle, and fine fields of cotton and corn, in their proper season, indicate a rich soil, and a prosperous population. Shade trees ad clumps of timber add greatly to the
79
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
beauty of the seeneiy. The fields are generally enclosed with nice
fencing of cypress pieux a-d posts, and the lands were formerly pretty
well ditched.  The country is airy and pleasant, and it is extremely
healthful, as will be shown in our health statistics of the parish.
CTE GELEE HILLS.
The road leading from Vermillionville to New Iberia, after crossing
the Vermillion river, two miles from town, enters a section of the parish
of Lafayette called Cote Gelee, or the Cote Gelee Hills. This includes
a division of couintry ten or twelve miles in diameter, southwest of
Bayou Tortue, east of Vermillion, and on both sides of the main road
to New Iberia.
The soil is here rich, the country beautifully undulating, with
deeper ravines and higher swells than we find in Beau Basin.  The
farmers are thrifty, but not as independent as they are on the north of
Vermilionville. Plain dwelling houses, and groves of China trees may
be seen in all directions. The scenery in places is quite picturesque.
This is an open and airy country, with pleasant locations for residences, admirably drained, the soil rich, mixed with enough sand and
vegetable loam to make it easy of cultivation. No portion of the South
can be more healthful than this. Still, we would not wonder to learn
that they have a fall share of sickness here.  They nearly all live in
small houses, and have close shutters, and they sleep in rooms that are
not well ventilated. They close their doors and shutters at night, and
shut out the pure air so agreeable in well ventilated houses. Besides,
they drink well water. They have but few cisterns.
They obtain pieux and posts for fencing in this country nearly as
cheap as they can obtain them on the Teche, but firewood is scarce, and
is obtained by trimming their China trees, and from the woodlands that
skirt the neighboring bayous. Upon the whole, nature has done wonders for this country. A man who has twenty acres of land here should
never be short of provisions for his family.
The range for cattle is admirable. A farmer should always have
plenty of beef, mutton, pork, butter. poultry, etc., in such a country.
And the peoplehere re really independent. They owe little or nothing,
and are thriving flney.
rOYVILLE.
This is a neat little vilage, but a few years old, in the open prairie,
80 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. 
about 10 miles from Vermilionville, and south of Cote Gelee.  Ii has a
new and pretty Catholic church, 3 stores, a blaclksmith and carriage
shop, a doctor's office, and several dwellings, all new. It has a fine site
for a village, and is surrounded by a thrifty population, with splendid
prospects ahead. These prairies will, before many years, be settled up
with small and industrious farmers. 
SOUTH OF ROYVILLE.
There is a fine sheet of level prairie around Royvile, and on towards Lake Peigneur. Many stock raisers and small farmers live in
this prairie. Some of them are quite independent.
The Parish of Lafayette has many fine features, which those who
merely pass through it on the main stage route cannot properly understand or appreciate.
VERMILION RIVER.
Darby, in his Geographical Description of Louisiana, thus speaks
of this liver:
The two vast prairies known by the names of the Opelousas and Attakapas, extend themselves on each side of the Vermilion, through its
whole traverse, from its entrance into Attakapas to its egress into the
Gulf of Mexico, the distance of one hundred miles.
Wood is much more abundant on the Vermilion than along the
west bank of the Teche, and though the soil may be inferior in fertility,
it is, nevertheless, excellent, and the quantity greater on an equal extent of river.
There are certainly eighty miles of the banks of the Vermilion,
which have an extension backwards two miles, which affords three hun
dred and twenty superficial miles, or two hundred and four thousand
eight hundred acres.
Some of the most beautiful settlements yet made in Attakapas are
upon this river.  From the diversity in soil and elevation, there is no
risk in giving the preference in beauty of appearance to thes banks 9o
the Vermilion over any other river in Louisiana south of Bayou Bo.uf.... 
If situations. favorable to heal,.-uniited to the most agreeable pros
pects, which are bounded bit by the horizon, should be sought,f?;:.:          -
were taste to select sites for buildings, its research would here be. ai
81
.. I 1.7    .    ::;.-I 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
quited, and be gratified by the breezes which come direct from the Gulf
of Mexico. Fancy itself could not form a more delightful range than
the Carancro and Cote Gelee settlements.
On leaving the dead level of the Teche, or the almost fiat extension of the Opelousas Prairie, the eye is perfectly enchanted.
If a sold extent of view can give vigor to the imagination; if the
increase of the power of intellect bear any proportion to the sweep of
the eye, upon one of those eminences ought a seat of learning to be
established.  There the youthful valetudinarian of the North, would,
in the warm, soft, and vivifying air of the Soiali, find his health restored and his soul enlarged. Astonishing as it may sound to many, I
do not hesitate to pronounce this, together with the range of hills from
Opelousas, as the most healthy and agreeable near the alluvial land of
Louisiana.
RESIDENCE OF MRS. CADE.
From the editorial correspondence published in the BAxNNER, May
18th, 1870, we copy the following description:
The residence of IMrs. Cade is situated one mile west of Royville
and ten miles from Vermilionville. The dwelling is large and commodious, and comes square up to the first class planters' houses on Bayou
Teche. It is situated in the midst of the most beautiful prairie in this
country.  The view from the upper gallery is perfectly enchanting.
The limits of the semi-circular view in front, to the right and to the
left, extend twelve or fourteen miles from  the point of observation.
Miller's Island, Isle Piquant, Cote Gelee Hills, the Teche woods above
St. Martinville, are in sight; and islands of timber dot the beautiful
prairie, in all directions, and the thrifty new village, Royville, is close
by, its church steeple rising above the other white buildings. About
three miles to the west the Vermilion woods may be seen, a fine sheet
of prairie intervening.
Mrs. Cade has a large stock of cattle in Texas, nearly twenty thousand head. She brands about four thousand five hundred calves yearly,
and has about three thousand beeves for sale.
At Mr  Cade's -e met Mr. Marsh, her father, who is now nearly
eighty years old, and very active and healthy. Mrs. Marsh is the same
age, and usually healthy. They have lived in this country nearly fifty
years.
82
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS.
There are three Catholic churches, two white Methodist churches,
and one colored Methodist church in this parish. There are six churclh
edifices. There are eight public schools in the parish.
POPUILA.TION-HEALTH.
The white andl colored population of Lafayett3 Parish is 8925;
white and colored vote, 1785; white population, about 4000.
The ages of 116 of the oldest, native born, white male citizens of
Lafayette, are as follows:  Ages-60 years, 4; 61 years, 7; 62 years, A;
63 years, 21; 64 years, 4; 65 years, 10; 66 years, 6; 67 years, 5; 68 years,
8; 69 years, 5; 70 years, 8; 71 years, 6; 72 years, 3; 73 years, 10; 74
years, 1; 75 years, 2; 76 years, 1; 77 years, 1; 78 years, 5; 79 years, I;
86 years, 1; 88 years, 1; 93 years, 1; 115 years, 1. Total, 116.
Besides the above list, we have the names of two born in England,
63 years, and 72 years; one in Massachusetts, 90 years, and five in
France, one, 67; one, 68; one, 69; one, 93, and one 98 years old.
As the women of Attakapas are more healthy than the men, the
true health statistics of the parish must show that there are more than
116 white women in Lafayette of the ages given in the foregoing list.
This would make over two hundred and thirty white men and women,
natives of the Parish of Lafayette, in a white population of about 4)00,
whose ages range from 60 to 115 years, or one sixteenth of the population. Were those who are not native born added to the list, and also
those who died from privations in the last war, the health statistics
would show to still greater advantage.
There are thirty-two veterans of the war of 1812 in the parish.
Four active physicians could do the entire practice of the Parish of
Lafayette.
After due inquiry, we have not been able to hear of the death of
any young lady in Lafayette since the war, from the springof 18W5 to
1869. Deaths among children and young people inthis cQuntry are extremely rare, but remarkably so among young ladie
WHAT ONE  LD HAND CAN DO.
Last year, on Mr. Patin's place, near Vermilionville, a young Cam
dian cultivated fourteen arpents, and- made eight and a half bales of
16~~~~~~~~
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6 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
cotton and four hundred and fifty bushels of corn.  He only paid $17
for help, and that was in cotton picking.
Two negroes, on the same place, made each about five bales of cotton, and about three hindred bushels of corn.
Frangois Como made nine bales of cotton, and plenty of corn. He
is a native of this parish. His father-in-law worked two negro men,
and some small negro boys, about twelve years old, and made thirteen
bales.
Two Spaniards, last year, made fourteen bales of cotton in this
parish.
Three men cultivated eighty arpents of land with four Creole mules
and two Creole ponies.
Two negroes made between nine and ten bales of cotton, and 400
barrels of corn.
Nearly half of the field labor of the parish of Lafayette is now performed by white men.  About one-eighth was performed by white men
before the war.
CROPS AND FRUITS.
Cotton, sugar, corn, rice, and all the field and garden  crops of the
other Attakapas parishes do well here. Corn, Irish and sweet potatoes,
melons, peaches, pimpkins and field peas find a remarkably congenial
soil here. All the fruits of the other Attakapas parishes, except oranges
and the more delicate kinds, thrive finely in Lafayette. Formerly indigo was profitably cultivated here.
POULTRY.
This is one of the best parishes in the State for all kinds of domestic fowls. Some families are nearly supported by raising poaltry.
Domestic fowls are extremely healthy here.
PRICES.
In this paiish fat beeves, four years old and upwards, sell at from
$18 to $20; milch cows, $25 to $30; beef, per pound, in the market, 6
to 8 cents; mutton,- 10 cents; corn, 50 cents a bushel.  Sweet potatoes,
35 cents a bushel, or $1 a barrel; lumber, cypress, a thousand feet, $30
to $35; pieux and posts, $100 a thousand; bricks, $10 to $12; wood, $5
a cord; chickens, $3 a dozen; eggs, 10 to 15 cents a dozen; male turkeys, $18 a. dozen; hen turkeys, $9 to $12.
84 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
FREIGHTSf AND TRAVIDISTANCSPRICF-.
Freights sometimes are received and sent off by way of the Vermilion river, through Vermilion, Cote Blanche, St. Bernard (Bayou
Sale), and Atchafalaya Bays, and the Atchafalaya river, Brashear City,
and the Morgan L. & T. Railroad. Gbnerally the freights are carted
across the country between Vermilionville and New Iberia, and take
the line of the Teche steamers and the Morgan railroad.
Carting between New Iberia and Vermilionville-twenty-five miles
-dry barrels, 75 cents to $1 25; and from 15 to 20 cents a cubic foot.
Wet barrels, $1 50 to $2; sacks of coffee and salt, 75 cents to $1.
Passage between Vermilionville and New Orleans, $10; time, 30
hours. Distance, via New Iberia, 167 miles; via Vermilion river and
the Bays, and the Atehafalaya, 188 miles; via surveyed route, Chattanooga Railroad, 125 miles; Morgan Louisiana and Texas Railroad,
141 miles.
W'ILD GAME.
Wild game in Lafayette is usually abundant. Ducks, and some
other game, are only founmd in the fall and winter. The following is the
list found in this parish: Wood cock, partridge, prairie chickens, papabot, snipe, wild geese, canvasback, mallard, black and teal ducks, brent,
robbins, rice birds, oppossums, racoons, rabbits, deer, and squirrels.
FISHES.
The fishes in the waters of this parish are the casburgc, perch, cat,
buffalo, choupique, trout, sacalait, bar and gar.
GENERAL FACTS AND ITEMS.
The Bayou or River Vermilion is navigable 15 miles above the
bridge on the New Iberia road, and 75 miles below the bridge to Vermilion Bay.
The largest crop of cotton ever made in this parish is 6000 bales.
The largest crop of sugar, 2500 hogsheads.
Aggregate taxes of Lafayette: In 1868, State tax, $6940; parish
tax, $4500.                    A
The cattle, horses, mfles and hogs are generally healthy. No charbon, blind staggers, murrain, or hog cholera.  A new disease killed a
85
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
few horses and cattle in 1869; the real character of the disease is not
generally known.
Bees tlhrive well in this parish.
The China and Catalpa grow rapidly, and make excellent fire wood.
Some families obtain nearly q1 their fire wood from the yearly trimmings of their China groves. Close pruming does not injure these trees.
Limbs grow out ten feet long, and as large as a man's arm in a single
year. They are easily propagated from seeds.
The best yield of corn per acre in Lafayette is about 60 bushels.
The best yield of sweet potatoes, about three hundred bushels.
Formerly not half a dozen farmers or planters in Lafayette bought
Western mules or horses. Creole mule3 and horses were almost exclusively used in cultivating the crops of the parish.
THE PARISH OF VERMILION.
GENERAL DEECRIPIION.
The parish of Vermilion contains about 1,600 square miles of land
and water within its limits. About six hundred square miles of this is
tillable woodland, prairie, and cypress swamp. About 500 square
miles would include the prairie, and 100 miles the timbered land, the
smaller portion of which is cypress seamp. Lakes, bays, and sea
marsh cover about 1000 square miles of the surface of the parish.
About a quarter of the tillable land is on the east side of Vermilion
river, or bayou, and three-quarters on the west side, extending to Lake
Arthur' and the Mermentau river.
The timbered land is principally on the Vermilion river, extending
on both banks from the Lafayette line nearly to Vermilion Bay. The
timber is narrow above Abbeville, but it becomes broad below this vi!lage, extending out a mile and a half on each side, in places. As it approaches the Bay it becomes narrower.
Below Abbeville there is a creek on the west of the river lined with
a heavy body of timber, and there is another on the east side, the line
of forest trees extending across the New Iberia and Abbeville road beyond the head of the creek.
There is a line of cypress timber on land a little higher than the
prairie at the edge of the sea marsh north of marsh Lake, twelve miles
4
86
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
long, and three-quarters of a mile wide. And there are islands of timber in the edge of the sea marsh east of Vermilion river.
There is also timber on the south side of Bayou Queue, Tortue,
and on                     Pecan Island, and Grand Chei-nier,
SOIL AND SCE.NERY.
The soil of this parish is a dark vegetable  mold, with a large proportion of sand, from eight to twelve inches deep; this rests on a subsoil of greyish clay, and beneath this is found the common yellow stiff
clay. The soil along the Vermilion liver has a larger proportion of
sand than that farther back; this gives the soil a lighter color. On ac
count of the larger proportion of sand here than in the Teche lands,
these fields are easy to cultivate; and the roads need but little working,
in-most instances none at all, to make them good the year round. The
bottoms of the ponds and ditches are not boggy. One may pass over
any of them on horseback without inconvenience to the horse.
There are natural ponds in all these prairies where the stock cattle
are supplied with water.  These ponds are from 20] to 50 yards in diameter.          -
Praiie Gregg, which lies next to the sea marsh, southeast of Abbeville, is a beautiful sheet of land, level and rich, the soil darker than
that east of Abbeville. The Gulf breezes sweep over it uninterrupted
by forest trees. There are but few settlers here, and they are usually
too poor to make any improvements of any importance, or to cultivate
the land to any extent.
The prairie west of Vermilion river is described by a gentleman
who lives in Abbeville, from an elevated position at the southern bend
of the Queue Tortue, half way between the Vermilion and Lake Arthur, in the following language:
"The scenery here is the mo3t perfect of its kind that the fancy
can descry. Facing the south, one may here turn to the right or to the
left, and as far as the eye cau reach there is one vast expanse of natural
meadow. Here and there may be seen a- herd of cattle or horses almost hidden in some plac'3 by the tall natural grass. The prairie east,
west, and south is dotted with lisle groves of trees, which shade the
cheap and humble homes f the resident Population, who live piIncipally,by farming, hunting and stcci rai,ing,"
C"   C,~~~~
87 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
FOREST TREES.
The dry land timber is oak, ash, magnolia, gum, hickory, elm,
beech, hackberry, and the usual dry land timber of Attakapas. The
swamp growth is principally cypress.
CROPS.
The soil is good for sugar, cotton, rice, corn, potatoes, and all
other products of the Attakapas parishes. The yield of cotton is not
as large per acre as in higher latitudes; the parish is peculiarly adapted
to the cultivation of rice. The largest yield of sugar per acre in this
parish ever known is 4000 pounds, and this only on a few acres under
highly favorable circumstances. A hogshead of 1200 pounds is a fair
yield. The largest sugar crop of the parish, 2000 hogsheads; the largest cotton crop, 3000 bales. The yield of corn per acre is from 25 to
50 bushels; rice, 1200 pounds of clean rice; sweet and Irish potatoes
do as well in this as in any other part of the State. The capacity of the
soil has never been well understood on account of the general attention
to stock raising at the expense of the interests of agriculture.
FRUITS.
No part of Attakapas can succeed better in raising peaches than in
this parish. The soil on the banks of most of the bayous, and in
much of the prairie, is admirably adapted to this fruit. And the general appearance of the peach trees justifies this conclusion. Oranges
and the mespilus do well in the lower part of the parish. All fruits
that do well in Iberia, St. Martin, Lafayette, and St. Landry do well
here, both cultivated and wild fruits.
PRICE OF LAND.
Lands fo' sugar planting, an abundance of wood, improved or unimproved, can be purchased at from $10 to $30 an acre. Lands for
cotton planting, without much wood, can be purchased at from $3 to
$10 an acre.  There is an immense amount of government land in the
parish suitable for rice or stozk farms, wh'ch may be entered at governme nt po ccs.
TEAMS FOR CULTIVATING.
Oxen aie generally uceg in betil ing up new  ground,  cnd creo'e
88
ri
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
horses in cultivating it. Oxen are not put to work till the grass rises in
March, since few of them are fed on hay, or corn. Agriculture here,
has received less attention than in the other parishes.
WELLS.
Good well water can be had at the depth of about 20 feet.  It is
cool, and usually pronounced good and healthful water.
POLLTRY.
Chickens and eggs to the value of $20,000 and more are sent from
this parish yearly to the New Orleans market.  The peddlers buy up
more than $5000 worth of poultry and eggs as they travel from house
to house on the praries and bayous.  Eggs often sell for ten cents a
dozen, and spring and grown chickens from ten to twenty-five cents.
Wild ducks often sell two for twenty-five cents; wild geese sell for
fifty cents.
WIL  GAME.
There is more wild game in this than in the other parishes. Ducks
abound here in their proper season, and geese and brent are also
abundant.  Prairie birds are abundant.  The market here is often
glutted with ducks and other wild game offered at low prices. There
are large numbers of deer and wild hogs in Vermilion.
FISH AND OYSTERS.
Vermilion Bay abounds in fish and oysters, and the fresh water
lakes, the ponds and bayous have an abundance of fish such, as are
common in other parishes.
PRICES.
Pieux sell for $100 a thousand; lumber, $30 to $35; corn $1 a
bushel; sweet potatoes, twenty-five cents a bushel. Fat beef in the
Abbeville market sells at six cents per pound. Wild hogs are brought
from Pecan Island and sold cheap.
IEALTH.
There is not a more healthbpot in the South than this parcih.
The same diseases prevailfhere that usually prevail in the other Attakapas parishes. The scarcity of timber between the prsiries of the
8%
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
parish and the Gulf allow the health giving sea breezes free circulation
and free passage to nearly every man's hoite.
POORt MAN'S PARISH.
There is no parish where a man who is poor and industrious can
more easily make a living than in the parish of Vermilion. The soil,
climate, game, fish, oysters and beef are all his friends.  With a few
cows, a flock of sheep, poultry, a pair of mules, a piece of land, a gun,
;and common industry and economy; he ought to prosper.
CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS.
The prevailing religion in the parish is the Roman Catholic. There
are some Methodists and other Protestants in the parish. Educational
advantages are not as good as in the other parishes.
ABBEYILLE.
There is good navigation in the Vermilion River the year round
the whole length of the parish. Abbeville is thirty-five miles from the
mouth of the river.  The population of this place numbers about 500.
The trade of Abbaeille amounts to about $150,000 a year.  Vessels ply
between this place and Brashear, and between this river and New Orleans the year round.
MARSH LAKE.
Miarsh Lake, in Vermilion parish, is usually called White Lake.
So seldom do the inhabitants penetrate this part of the marsh, that
many peoplc raised in the parish think there is no such lake to be
found.  It is a sort of unexplored region to the inhabitants.
ISLANDS.
Grand Chenier, in the southwestern portion of the parish, is about
twelve miles in length, and contains a thrifty population of intelligent
farmers. The soil is rich, and tropical fruits, sugar cane, sea island
cotton, tobacco, and all other products of Attakapas thrive well here.
Pecan Island, situated in the sea marsh, six miles from the sea
coast, in the southern part of the parish, is sixteen miles in length. It
is covered with live Ok and pecan trees, and it sustains numerous hogs
and cattle. There are several families living on it. They cultivate but
little land, but obtain a handsome income from their hogs and cattle.
0 
LO —ISIANA AS IT IS.
This island, supposed to have been the resort of the pirate Blue
Beard and his men, and other more modern pirates, has often been visited by parties in search of hidden treasure. Trees have been chopped
into in search of copper nails to get the bearings of pots of money,
and pits have been dug when the bearings were agreed upon.
There are many human bones buried here, supposed to be the bones
of prisoners brought here by the Attakapas Indians, who were cannibals, to be stewed into chowders with clams. They are said to have
been very fond of the dish.
Cheniere au Tigre is in the southeastern part of the parish in the
sea marsh, near the South West Pass of Vermillion Bay.  This is a
famous stock ranche. Here beeves, as in all other places near the coast,
keep fat the year round and are ready for market in January and February. Not less than six thousand head of cattle live in the Marsh along
this coast. Stock owners live in small groves of timber, and on slight
elevations of land near the coast,
BETTER PROSPECTS.
Though the parish of Vermillion has been passed by or overlooked
to a great extent, by the traveling public, it has great merits, and these
merits eill, before many years, be better understood.
Its situation away from all the great thoroughfares through Attakapas has been the principal cause of its not naving been more generally visited, and better known.  Strangers who come to Attakapas  -ill
do well to visit Vermillion parish and decide upon its merits for themselves.
PARISH OF ST. MABY.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
The parish of St. Mary has a front on four great bays connected
with the Gulf of Mexico, forty miles in extent It has an average width
of a little. more than twenty miles. It is about fifty miles by the
main road through the prish fom its western line, near Jeannerette,
to its eastern line at the Bceuf crossing of the Morgan Raih'oad.
St. Mary appears to splendid advant'age from the pilot house of
91 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
steamboat as she plows through these navigable bayous lakes and bays,
and to poor advantage on the best map that can be drawn.
GENERAL ELEVATION.
The highest land in St, Mary, excepting the islands Cote Blanche
and Belle Isle, is not over fifteen feet above the level of the Gulf of
Mexico. There is a daily tide of from one to two feet in all of her
bayous and lakes. The highest land around Berwick's Bay, has an
elevation of about ten feet; and from the Bay to Pattersonville, and
three or four miles up the mouth of the Teche, the elevation is but little
above that around the Bay and on the Bceuf.
At Franklin the west bank of the Bayou Teche is but about thirteen
feet above tide water, and the east bank is a little lower. Below Jeannerette the elevation is about fifteen feet. The two Islands, Belle Isle
and Cote Blanche, at their highest points, rise more than one hundred
and sixty feet above the level of the Gulf.
The sea marsh is most of it under water during storms from the
Gulf sweeping towards the land.
THE SOIL.
There is not an acre of poor land in the parish. Fields that have
been cultivated in corn and sugar cane for nearly a century, without
manure, still produce good crops. The lands are easily and cheaply
restored after long continued and severe cropping. The parish has
land restoratives within its limits better than Peruvian guano, as we will
show in an article under its proper heading.
AGRICULTURAL PIRODUCTS.
Cotton is cultivated in St. Mary, but it is not considered a profitable crop. Sugar cane is the true crop of the parish. Much of the land
of the parish is adapted to rice. The sea marsh, by local levees and
draining machines, makes rich lands. This soil consists principally of
a vegetable deposit of great depth. Swamp lands or any of the reclaim
able wet lands, are fine for rice, corn, sweet and irish potatoes, pumpkins, pease, beans, indigo, ramie, arrow root, ginger, castor oil beans,
tobacco, hay, cabbages, and turnips do well in this soil and climate,
though a part of thislist of articles has never been cultivated only to a
limited extent.  Sea Island cotton does well on the islands along the
coast.
a
.92 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
GARDENS.
Garden vegetables grow in this parish the year round. Nearly all
kinds of vegetables grow the same here as in the North and West. The
winter gardens cuntain onions, mustard, eschallots, leeks, garlic, beets,
cabbage, carrots, turnips, cress, roquette, lettuce, radish, cauliflowers,
celery, etc., etc. Good gardeners have an abundance of vegetables
fresh from the garden the year round. White head cabbages, and fine
ruta baga and red top turnips may be taken fresh from the garden in
January and February, and also in the summer and fall.
CROPS, TRADE, ETC.
Thirteen thousand slaves were formerly owner in this parish,
valued at about six millions of dollars. Before the war, about fifteen
steamers were engaged on these bayous, lakes and bays, in the busy
season of the year, and as many as one hundred and twenty-five vessels
have cleared at the port of Franklin, for Northern and Southern ports,
freighted with sugar, molasses and live oak, in one season.
The yield, per acre is, in an ordinary season, a hogshead of sugar
and fifty or sixty gallons of molasses; in a good crop year double that
amount. The sugar crop is cultivated nearly the same as corn. In boiling the crop it usually takes about three cords of wood to the hogshead.
The crop is laid by before July, and sugar making commences in the
latter part of October, or early in November.
RIC E CROP.
A Louisiana rice planter gives the following statement:
"Rice lands well cultivated, not flooded, produce 6 barrels of 250
pounds each to the acre, or 1500 pounds. Flooded lands produce ten
barrels. The flooded rice weighs heavier than rice not flooded. One
hand with proper implements and teams, can make ten acres of unflooded rice, and more of flooded. In less than four months from the
time the ground is plowed to receive the seed, the riee crop may be
harvested.
Rice is cleaned at the rice mills at a cent a pound. There are twelve
or fifteen rice mills now in operatlon in the State, and they are generally
doing a good bus.ine3s.  Most of - them  are situated in the parish of
Plaquemines. 
93
t
I 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
THE ORANGE CROP.
The yield of oranges, per acre, is enormous. It is impossible to
make any estimate.that is reliable, as we have not the acres or yield of
any one orchard; but below New Orleans single orchards sometimes
yield from $10,000 to $30,000 yearly at a dollar a hundred oranges. The
largest orchards produce over three millions of oranges yearly. Some
trees commence bearing when they are five or six years old, and earlier
bearing can be produced by grafting and budding.
A full grown, healthy orange tree, fifteen or twenty years old, in a
good season, will produce five thousand oranges. It takes from three
to fonr hundred oranges to fill a flour barrel.  So the largest orange
trees produce from forty to fifty bushels of fruit in a favorable season.
Oranges usually sell, on the trees, at ten dollars a thousand.
TOBACCO.
The profits of tobacco culture in this country are satisfactory, but
it takes too much skill and care to make and save a good article. Sugar
and rice are less troublesome, and more profitable. Perique tobacco is
generally produced in St. James parish, but it may be made in St.
Mary.  It is the best smoking tobacco in thle world.  Perique snuff is
not excelled by any other.
FRUITS.
Fruits of various kinds ripen in St. Mary from April to November.
The mespilus, or Japan plum tree, a beautiful evergreen, as large as
the orange, blossoms in the fall, the fruit grows during the winter and
ripens in March, except when the winters are uncommonly cold; then
the fruit fails. The fruit is yellow, pear shaped, and about an inch in
length, and very good.
Dewberries, large and abundant, grow wild all over the parish;
the ripen in April.
Blackberries are abundant; they ripen in May.
Strawberries are prolific when properly cultivated, and continue in
bearing six or eight weeks; they ripen in April and May.
Eight or ten kinds of plums ripen in June and July.
Eight or ten kinds of figs ripen in July and Augist.
Peaches ripen in July and Auguet.
Apples ripen in July, August and September
The muscadine grapes or black scuppernong, rgrows wild on the
0
c)4.
4 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
banks of all our bayous, and in the forests. It ripsns in August. The,
white scuppernong grape thrives finely, especially on the islands of the,
coast.
Pears of superior quality grow on the banks of the Tecehe, ands
thrive well; they ripen in August. 
Olives do well in this parish, bat no attention has been given to.
their cultivation.  They would do well on Belle Isle, Cote Blanche, and
the other islands.
Almonds do well in St. Mary; they ripen in the fall.
Pecans ripen in September.
Oranges ripen in October, and frequently hang on the trees till I,e-P
cember, improving in sweetness all the while. This is the queen offruit trees. Its robes of deep green in mid winter are beautiful, and it&
myriads of beautiful, white fragrant flowers in early spring are only
eclipsed by its golden fruit in Autumn.. Oranges are so plentiful in thelower part of the parish that they are frequently given away by the barrel, and seldom sell for more than a dollar a hundred. They are much,
finer than Cuba oranges.
Bananas, lemons, limes, and shaddocks ripen in October; these are
more delicate than the orange tree, and seldom do well without a liitleextra protection, except.in favorable locations in the lower part of theparish.
Pine apples may be raised in the parish with slight protection,
Doubtless other valuable tropical fruits will be introduced into this.
country, and be ranked, in time, with the staple fruits of this parish.
Apples, currants, damsons, gooseberries. English cherries, and per —
haps a few other northern fruits, do not thrive well in this climate.
It will be understood that we do not state that all the fruits in our
list are found in abundance in St. Mary. We merely wish to state that
experience has proved that they may be produced in abundance, except —
ing apples and a few other fruits, if the people will cultivate them. Or —
anges, plums and figs are the only cultivated fruits that are abundant,
and these require but little care or culture.
This section of Loisiana is better adapted to fit culture than
any other portion of the United YLates.  The fruit here is lea  troubled
by worms, bugs, insects, and            than in any Northern State.
Fruit culture in St. Mary is yet- in its infancy.  When as much
0
95,
-4 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
attention and skill are bestowed upon fruits there as have been brought
to bear upon the same business in the Middle States and New England,
,our parish will be a paradise, all except the forbidden fruit.
SWAM   AND TIMBER.
In the rear of nearly al the plantations in the parish there are cypress swamps, containing a heavy growth of trees, for building and
fencing purposes, for making sugar hogsheads and molasses barrels, and
all other purposes for which cypress lumber may be used.
CLIMATE.
Our parish is favored with a comfortable climate. Strangers from
mountainous and hilly regions cannot understand how this can be, but
we will submit a few facts on the subject.
This parish borders on the Gulf coast. We have healthful and cooling sea breezes during tke summer and fall. Persons sleeping in rooms
that are well ventilated never complain of hot or uncomfortable nights,
not even in July and August.  In traveling on our steamers on these
waters in July and August, by night, seated in front, the air is sometimes almost too cool to be comfortable. In the summer of 1867, when
the thermometer in New York and Philadelphia went up to 103 in the
shade, in Franklin it did not go above 92.
The large surface of water, lakes, bays and bayous, around and
within St. Mary, tempers the summer heat and winter cold, and the
bland south breezes from the Gulf bring comfort, health and healing in
their wings,
The first and lightest frosts seldom appear till in November. We
have not the statistics of the weather in this locality, but those of a
parLsh a little further south than this, show that in the last seventeen
years the first frosts appeared three years in the latter part of October,
eleven years in November, three years in December.   Our winters here
are merely the climate of Northern autums.
HEALATH.
Our climate is decidedIyl ealthfu.  Chi. - an-l'ever, and'"irrha
are the principal- disses, and these are generally brought on by imprudence or ca-lessness, and usually yield readily to remedies if applied
promptly.  Congestive chills are extremely rare.  Common  fevers and
'96 
LOUISIANA AS IT 1S.
chills yield to the simplest remdies, with which every body is familiar.
People seldom die either of fever or diarrhema. Consumption is a rare
complaint in this climate. Rheumatism and most other complaints of
higher climates are rare in St. M%ary.
No more healthy women can be found in any other part of the
United States than are found in this parish and the parishes extending
through to St. Landry. There were but two deaths among the young
ladies of this parish for four years terminating in 1869, and one of these
came to her death by a fall from her holse, and the other from yellow
fever contracted outside of the parish.
The married ladies of this country are much more healthy than
those of the North and West, and the men are generally healthy. Much
of the sickness among the men is from imprudence, irregularities, intemperance, or from fevers or diarrheas not seasonably prescribed for
by a competent physician.
The yellow fever has never been an epidemic in Franklin, Centreville, or any village above Franklin, but twice since the country was
settled. It is not a disease of thlis climate.
Nearly all that Dr. Tatman has said about the health of St. Landry,
in the article on that parish, will apply to most all sections of the Attakapas parishes.  But in St. Mary all portions of the parish are not
equally healthy, and the same may be said of the other parishes inclnding St. Landiry.
POPULATION.
Before the war the white population of the parish numbered about
four thousand, and the largest vote ever cast was short of one thousand.
Our people have always been noted for their hospitality and for their
love of law and order. The majority of our people were decidedly opposed to secession, and were in favor of Bell. or Douglas. For this
reason they were not included in the original emancipation proclamation of President Lincoln. But during the war nearly all of the citizens
of the parish sided strongly with the South, and as soon as the war was
over they ardently desired peace, and intended to act in good faith,
toward the old government and flag.
Northern gentlemen and faamilies who have settled among us since
the war, will testify that they have been treated kindly, and that they
7
9i
6 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
o
oa  liveas securely here as anywhere in the North or West.  The stranger and the freedman will be as fairly dealt with by a St. Mary jury as
:the original citizens of the parish.
PLANTATIONS AND FARMS.
There are about one hundrel and fifty plantations and farms in St.
-Mary within its new limits, its western line extending from the upper
-ine of the Grevemberg plantation, near Jeannerette, striking between
-Cypremort and Grand Cote, or Week's Island.
There are twenty plantations on Bayou Sale, nearly all of them in
cultivation.     ~nty-five years ago there were twenty-five sugar miulls
on that bayoui allru:n by horse power.  Bayou  Sale is about  twenty
miles in length; the tillable lan- on it is about a mile wide; plenty of
cypress in the rear of most of the plantations.  These are the best sugar
lands in the parish.
Bayou Cypremort has fifteen plantations; the tillable land is wider
-t]an that of Bayoun Sale.  It has an abundamce of timber, ash, gum,
.oak, magnolia, and a considerable amount of cypress.
From Franklin to the mouth of the Teche, the distance is fifteen
mies.  On this part of the bayou there are thirty-six plantations.  The
depth of the tillable land on both sides of the bayou, on which these
plantations front, is over two miles, in some places three.
The distance on the Atch-falaya from the mouth of the Teche to
Barwick's Biy is about twelve miles, aud on this part of the lAtchafatayathere'are about twenty-four plantations, some of them small.  The
atillable land is about the same width as that of the Teche.
Oa Berwick's Bay and the Bceuf there are not half a dozen planta4,ions in ruaning order.  There are about -twenty plantations and small
'farms on the bay and bayous, and lakes near it.
From Franklin to the upper line of the Parish of St. Mary there
Zra, on the Bayou Teche, about forty plantations and farms.
The width of land on the Teche, above Franklin, is greater than
that below, and the land is higher. In places on each side of the bayou
the tillable land is more than three miles deep. South of Jeannerette,
oa the head of Bays Cypr emort, the land is from four to five miles in
,depth.  There are more small farms  in this parish than formerly.
Nearly all of the plantations of the parish are now in cultivation.
-98
t-:
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
PROFITS OF SMALL SUGA  FARMS.
Mr. E. Meynard, a native of Louisiana,  and nearly raised in St.
Mary, in 1868 rented a small farm at Charenton, nine miles from this
place, planted and cultivated forty-five arpents of land, about 37~ acres.
He planted in cane 22 arpents; corn, 15arpents; rice, Irish and sweet
potatoes, etc., 8 arpents.
He hired a white man to assist him in his crop six months, and paid
him ninety dollars. He hired negroes occasionally for a few days.
This cost him in all fifty-five dollars. His whole labor account for the
season was but one hundred and forty-five dollars.
HIS CROP.
He made sugar cane enough to yield forty-five hogsheads of sugar,
and sixty barrels of molasses.
He made rice enough to last his family two years.
He made Irish potatoes enough for his own use, and sold the surplus for one hundred and thirty-five dollars.
He made corn and fodder enough to supply his place for one
year.
Not having a sugar mill of his own, he contracted to have his cane
hauled and worked up four miles distant, and gave one-third of the
crop as toll.
GROSS CASH PROCEEDS FOR MR. MEYNARD.
30 hogsheads of sugar at $120 a hogshead.................... $3,600
40 barrels of molasses at $20 a barrel......................... 800
Irish potatoes sold at......................................... 135
Rice, sweet potatoes, and other prod uct s..................... 50
$4,585
Whole cost of labor.................................. 145
Proceeds of Mr. Meynardcl's labor................ $,440
Mr. Brownson, who made up Mr. Meynar's crop, sold his toll, 15
hogsheads of sugar, and 20 barrels of molasses, for over $2500. Gross
sale of sugar, molasses, rice anupotatoes, from the entire crop, $7,085.
The above results are as true as they are extraordinary. The seed
cane was good, the season good, and the industry and management
99
f
:   -...,;:.  1.        - 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
could not have been excelled by any one. Mr. Meynard, at the close
of the war, came home from the Confederate army without a dollar —
he now owns the place on which he made the above crop.
.DGED.
The pyricanth makes the best hedges in this country. It is propagated from cuttings, is an evergreen, beautiful,'compact, full of short
thorns, grows thick close to the ground, can be trained to any desired
shape, and makes a good hedge in a few years. The Cherokee rose is
worthless. The Chickasaw rose makes a good hedge, but it makes a
mountain of vines and foliage. The bois d'arc makes a good hedge,
but it requires too much labor and is too much inclined to grow tall,
and to form trees.
THIE CHINA, CATALPA AND BLACK LOCUST.
The China is a fine shade tree. Bugs or worms will not live on or
around it. It is propagated readily from seeds, makes good fire wood,
even when green, makes good cabinet wood, grows rapidly, not easy to
decay, makes good fence posts. The limbs cut from trees planted near
houses in the prairies supply many families with wood. Its growth is
rapid, and it bears close trimming.
Nearly the same facts hold good in regard to the Catalpa and the.
black locust.
FERTILIZERS.
The deposits in the bottom of all the bayous of St. Mary are rich
beds of muck, into which a pole may be run to the depth of ten feet or
more. This is an excellent manure for gardens. Swamp muck is fine
for gardens.  The supply is inexhaustible.   The sea marsh deposit is a
fine fertilizer; but the best and cheapest of all is the cow pea. All
sugar planters will agree to this fact. Planted among the corn, and the
vines plowed in, the land becomes strong and productive at once. So
the planter may get a full crop of corn, and enrich his land with a crop
of cow pea vines the same year, at a trifling cost per acre.
OVOWS
The west bank o? the Teche, from a point five or six miles below —
Centreville, to ts source in St. Landry, has not been overflowed in the
memory of man, aud it has no levees to protect it.  And this bank pro
100
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.'
tects Bayous Sale, Cypremort, and all of the country west of this
bayou.
The lands in the lower part of the parish, and on the east side of
the Teehe, were overflowed in 1778, 1828, and 1867. When Grand Levee, on the Mississippi, stands firm, no part of St. Mary can suffer by
overflows.
GENERAL ITEMS.
The fishes of the waters in and around St. Mary, are red fish, black
drum, trout, sheep head, flounder, mullet, croakers, cat, buffalo, perch,
soft-shell turtle, gar, and choupique.
White men stand field labor in St. Mary as well as colored men, and
they have less sickness and mortality than colored men.
Milch cows, when properly attended to, do well in this parish. No
richer milk or finer butter is produced anywhere than that formerly produced from the best cows on Bayou Teche.
Hogs, chickens, and all kinds of poultry do well in this parish, excepting turkeys, which, of late years, have not done as well as formerly.
Steamers may land at nearly all of the plantations in this parish.
The parish is situated on tide water, and never suffers by freshets
from heavy or long continued rains.
The crops of St. Mary are laid by, and field work stops, or may
stop, by the first of July.
The Teche is considered the most beautiful bayou in the State.
BAYOU CYPREMORT.
We can give no adequate idea of the beauty of the forests of this
bayou. Both banks are lined'with tall, majestic magnolias, many of
them fifty or sixty feet high, and clothed with a foliage which in beauty
of hues and gracefulness of their garments, begars  description.  Its
millions of large, dark green leaves, the upper surface polished and
glistening in the sun, the under side of a delicate brown color, the
graceful form and noble bearing of the tree, and, in its season, its myriads of large, white fragrant flowers ornamenting all parts of its rich
foliage, from its summit to its bae, secures to it rightfully the title o
queen of the forest. 
Mingled with the magnolia on this bayou we everywhere find the
elm, sweet glum, ash, oak, black walnut, pecan, hickory, and a rank
101 11 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
growth of grapevines climbing the tall trees, and burying saplings and
the small undergrowth beneath them, forming vegetable mounds a&
large as a dwelling house of medium size.
The road leading through these enchanted forests, along the banks
of the bayou, is firm, smooth and sandy.  The bayou itself is by no
means beautiful, since it is usually filled with rank weeds, rushes, willows and numerous other trees and bushes peculiar to these shallow and
narrow bayous.  It can in no place be navigated with a skiff.
COTE BLANCHE.
This island is about ten miles from Franklin by water, and twenty
by the buggy road via Cypremort and across the marsh.
Cote Blanche rises up an island mountain out of the marsh by the
Gulf of Mexico.  Its highest elevation is one hundred and eighty feet
above the level of the Gulf. It has hills and dales, valleys and planes,
lakes and springs, a rich soil, and a climate in which it is hard to get
sick or die; the pure sea breezes from the Gulf fan and cool its surface
.turing the summer and autumn months, and temper the winds of winter. On the south side, next to the Gulf, is a bold precipice a hundred
feet high, whose base is washed by the salt waves. Here is fine bathing
when the tide flows in; the beach is firm and smooth, and the firm bottom gradually deepens so that bathers may wade out a hundred yards.
On the bluff behind the precipice, overlooking the Gulf, the surface is rolling. It is firm, smooth, and sandy, a fine site for a village
of pleasure seekers. And such sleeping and bathing as may here go almost hand in hand, few have ever enjoyed.
This island, at some future day, may be made one of the most
beautiful spots on the face of the earth. Here sugar cane, Sea Island
cotton, tobacco, rice, corn, sweet and Irish potatoes grow in the greatest luxuriance. And grass abounds where the plow or shade trees do
not oppose it. And when we come to the fruits what may we not say
of it? This island of two thousand acres may one day become almost
one unbroken vineyard, and the best wines and brandies in large quan tities may be exports from it.  Here olives, oranges, lemons, bananas,
citrons, limes,.and many other tropical fruits may be made to bring
large revenues to the island. The mespilus, peaches, figs, plums, dewberries, blackberries, strawberries, all do well in this favored spot And
102
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. 
here melons and garden vegetables grow and thrive as they seldom
thrive elsewhere.
In addition to all its other merits, it affords the finest pastures for
cattle and horses, a fine range for hogst' and domestic fowls.  In thewaters in front, and the bayous around the island, the supply of fine
fishes is inexhaustible, and oyster reefs in abundance, deer, geese, duek6
and brent are at the service of epicures and hunters.
The broad sheet of marsh around this island furnishes the best of
winter range for cattle. Thousands could find ample support as they
dlo in the marsh in other portions of the Gulf Coast. After the fint
frosts of winter appear, the immense sheet of stubble is burnt off, and
an abundant growth of young grass continues to spring up during thewinter and spring. The most of the surface of this marsh is firm
enough to bear up horned cattle as they rove over it for food, when th'
grass on'he prairies is dead.
So much for Cote Blanche Island, now the property of WilliEa
Fellowes, Esq., of New York.
SUGAR CROP OF ST. MARY, 1869.
Hhds.
Bayou Teche- New Iberia to Franklin....................... 14,155:
Franklin to mouth of Teche.................................... 9,461
New Iberia to mouth of Teche, 60 miles...................... 23,616'
Atchafalaya-Mouth of Teche to Berwick's Bay, 12 miles...... 5,394
Berwick's Bay....................................... 1,818,
Bayou Bceuf...............................................  3,317Bayou Sale, 20 miles....................................... 3,957
Bayou Cypremort, 20 miles..................................  2,443
Weeks' or Cote Blanche Island.............................. 711
Petit Anse, or Salt Island..................................   662:
Cypremort, Aut Large, and Petite Anse Prairies, Grand Lake,
etc., etc.....................................  2,716
0
Sugar.crop of St. MIary, 1859...................... 44,634
Mfolasses, same year, atolt 70,000 barrls, 40 gallons each      2,800,000 gallons. %
103 I" 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
SUGR CROP OF ATTAKAPAS AND ST. LANDRY —1
PAtBSHES.
Hhdls. sugar. Bbls. molasses  Steam.
St. Mary.............. 44,6:34       66,941       91
St. Martin............. 13,f48 20,328             36
St. Lanchdy............   7,388      10,082       32
Lafayette............. 1,286          1,92s        2
Vermilion............. 862            1,292        1
67,718     100,:)71     162
GEOSrAPHICAL NAMES-LOCAL PRONUNCI.T1ON.
zx~l ine{.                 Pro,, u)?(ci(1ivj().
Attakapas.......................... At-tak a-paw.
Atchafalaya......................... At-claf-a-lyre.
Au Large........................... 0 Larzhe.
Brashear........................... Bra-sheer.
Bonrbeux.......................... Bore-bu.
Bceuf............................. Burf.
Bayou............................. By-you.
Brule......................... Broo-la.
Buite a la Rose...................... Bite-ar-lar-B,ose.
]3outte........................Boo-ta.
Courtableau.................... Kore-tar-blo.
Cote Blanche......................... Kote-Blarnsh.
Coulee............................. Koo-la.
Cyprenmolrt.......................... Sip-re-more.
Cote Gelee.......................... Kote-zhler-la.
Caxarcro........................... Kar-arn-kro.
Calcasieu.......................Karl-kar-shu.
Chicot.........................She-ko.
Coquille.......................... Ko-kee.
Cheniere Au Tigre................... Shen-eer-o-Teeg.
Charentonl.....................I Shar-arnl-taun.
Fordolhe............................ For-dosh.
Faquetaike.......................... Fak-i-tike.
Fausse Pointe....................... Fawse Point.
Mermenltau......................... iair-men-tow.
f
101
TOTAL.
H',-e Power.
82         173
41          77
12           44
9          11
13          14
1.57       319 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.'
farmou....................... Mar-moo.
Nez Pique.......................... Na-pe-ka.
Petit Anse.......................... Pet-it-Awnse.
Portage............................ Por-tazhe.
Peigneur.............................. Pain-yur.
Palourde........................ Pa-loord.
Queue Tortle....................... Ker-tor-too.
Shaffer............................. Sha-fur.
Sale................................ Sal-a.
Teche......................... Tash.
Tasse.............................. Tas.
A  Poet's Views of Attakapas
Landry.
PASSAGES FROM LONGFELLOW'S EVAN(GELINE.
That magnificent portion of Louisiana, west of the Mississippi,
the Teche and Opelousas region, usually called "Attakapas and St.
Landry," the land of enchanting scenery, of beautiful bayous, and
glassy lakes, and bays; of splendid prairies, and noble forests; of pleasant skies, and gentle breezes; the land of flowers, of beauty, and of
health, is the land where Evangeline sought her lover, Gabriel, the sol
of Basil, the blacksmith, as described in Longfellow's exquisite poem,
"A TALE OF ACADIE."
In 1755, the village of Grand Pre, in the Province of Acadia, or
Nova Scotia, was broken up by Gen. Winslow, under orders from the
King of England, the property of the Acadians forfeited to the Crown,
and 253 of their houses were set on fire at one time.   Among others,
Basil the Blacksmith, the father of Gabriel, had proceeded to Opelou.sas, in St. Landry, and Evangeline followed Gabriel, her lover, with
her guide, the Father Felician.  Pssing down the Mississippi, as they
approached bayou Plaquemtne: —
"Level the landscape grew, and along the shores of the river
Shaded by China trees, in the midstspf luxuriant gardens,
105 "
and St. 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Stood houses of planters with negro cabins and dove cots.
They were approaching the region where reigns perpetual summer,
Where through the Golden Coast, and groves of orange and citron,
Sweeps with majestic curve t~e river away to the eastward.
They, too, swerved from their course, and entering the bayou of Pla       quemine,
Soon were lost in a maze of sluggish and devious waters,
Which, like a network of steel, extended in evelry direction.
Over their heads the towering and tenebrous boughs of the cypress
Met in a dusky arch, and trailing mosses in mid air,
Waved like banners that hung on the walls of ancient cathedrals.
Deathlike the silence seemed and unbroken, save by the herons
Home to their roosts in the cypress trees returning at sunset,
Or by the owl, as he greeted the moon with demoniac laughter.
Lovely the moonlight was, as it glanced and gleamed on the waterGleamed on the columns of cypress and cedar sustaining the arches,
Down through those broken vaults it fell as thr~ugh chinks in a ruin.
Then in his place at the prow of the boat, rose one of the oarsmen,
And, as a signal sound, if others like them peradventure
Sailed on these gloomy and midnight streams, blew a blast on the bugle.
Wild through the dark colonnades and corridors leafy the blast rang,
Breaking the seal of silence, and giving tongues to the forest.
Soundless above them the banners of moss just stirred to the music.
Multitudinous echoes awoke and died in the distance,
Over the watery floor, and beneath the reverberant branches;
But not a voice replied: no answer came from the darkness;
And when the echoes had ceased, like a sense of pain was the silence.
Then Evingeline slept; but the boatman rowed through the midnight,
Silent at times, then singing familiar Canadian boat songs,
Such as they sang of old on their own Acadian rivers.
And through the night were heard the mysterious sound,
Far off, indistinct, as of wave or wind in the forest,
Mixed with the whoop of the crane and the roar of the grim alligator.
THE ATCHAFALAYA L~ES, CHICOT AND GIAND OR LAKE TCHITIMAC HES.
Thus ere another m )on they emerged from those shades, and before
them
I.y, in the golden sim, *he lakes of tLe Atchafalaya.
106 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Water lillies in myriads rocked on the slight undulations,
Made by the passing oars, and resplendent in heart the lotus
Lifted her golden crown above the heads of the boatman.
Faint was the air with the odorous breath of magnolia blossoms,
And with the heat of noon: anI numberless sylvan islands,
Fragrant and thickly embowered with blossoming hedges of roses,
Near to whose shores they glided along, invited to slumber.
Soon by the fairest of these their weary oars were suspended,
Under the boughs of the Wachita willows, that grew by the margin,
Safely their boat was moored; and scattered about on the green sward,
Tired with their midnight toil, the weary travelers slumbered.
Swinging from its great arms, the trumpet-flower and the grape-vine
Hung their ladder of ropes aloft like the ladder of Jacob,
On whose pendulous stairs the angels ascending and descending,
Were the swift humming birds, that flitted from blossom to blossom.
Such was the vision Evangeline saw as she slumbered beneath it,
Filled was her heart with love, and the dawn of an opening heaven
Lighted her soul in sleep with the glory of regions celestial,
*      *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
Father Felician to Evangeline:
Gabriel truly is near thee; for not far away to the southward,
On the banks of the Teche, are the towns of St. Maur and St, Martins
Beautiful is the land with its prairies, and forests of fruit trees;
Under the feet a garden of flowers, and the bluest of heavens
Bending above, and resting its dome on the walls of the forest
They who dwell there have named it the Eden of Louisiana.
*       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
Softly the evening came. The sun from the western horizon
Like a magician extended his golden wand o'er the landscape;
Twinkling vapors arose; and sky, and water and forest
Seemed all on fire at the touch, and melted and mingled together.
Hanging between two skies, a cloud with edges of silver,
Floated the boat, with its drippio  oars, motionless on the water.
*      *      *       *      *       *      *      *       *
Then from the neighboring thicket, the mocking-bird, wildest of singers,
1.07 f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Swinging aloft on a willow spray that hung o'er the water,
Shook from his little throat such floods of delirious music
That the whole air and the woods, and the waves, seemed silent to listen.
Plaintive at first were the tones, and sad; then soaring to madness
Seemed they to follow, or guide the revel of frenzied Bacchantes;
Then single notes were heard in sorrowful, low lamentation;
Till, having gathered them all, he flung them abroad in derision,
As when, after a storm, a gust of wind through the tree tops
Shakes down the rattling rain in a crystal shower on the branches.
With such a prelude as this, and hearts that throbbed with emotion,
Slowly they entered the Teche where it flows from the green Opelousas,
And through the amber air, above the crest of the woodland,
Saw the column of smoke that arose from a neighboring dwelling:
Sounds of a horn they heard, and the distant lowing of cattle.
Near the bank of the river, o'ershadowed by oaks, from whose branches
Garlands of Spanish moss and of mystic mistletoe flaunted,
Such as the Druids cut down with golden hatchets at Gale-tide,
Stood secluded and still, the house of the herdsman. A garden
Girded it round about with a belt of luxuriant blossoms,
Filling the air with fragrance. The house itself was of timber
Hewn from the cypress tree, and carefully fitted together;
Large and low was the roof, and on slender colums supported,
Rose wreathed, vine encircled, a broad and spacious veranda,
Haunt of the humming bird and bee, extended around it.
At each end of the house, amid the flowers of the garden,
Stationed the dove-cots were, as love's perpetual symbol,
Scenes of endless wooing, and endless contensions of rivals,
*      *       *       *        *       *       *       *       *
In the rear of the house, from the garden gate ran a path-way,
Through the great groves of oaks to the skirts of the limitless prairie,
Into whose sea of flowers the sun was slowly descending.
Full in his track of Vght, like ships with shadowy canvas,
Hanging loos. from their spars in a motionless calm in the tropics,
Stood a cluster of cotton trees, with a cordage of grape vines.
Just where the woodlands meet the flowery surf of the prairies, 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Mounted upon his horse, with Spanish saddle and stirrup,
Sat a herdsman arrayed in gaiters and doublet of deerskin.
Broad and brown was the face that from under the Spanish sombrero,
Gazed on the peaceful scene, vwith the lordly look of its master.
Round about him were numberless herdsof klane, that were grazing
Quietly in the meadows, and breathing the vapory freshness
That uprose-from the river, and spread itself over the landscape.
Slowly lifting the horn that hung at his sidc, and expanding
Fully his broad deep chest, he blew a blast, that resounded
Wildly, and sweetly, and far, through the still damp air of the evening.
Suddenly out of the grass the long white horns of the cattle
Rose like flakes of foam on the adverse currents of ocean.
Silent a moment they gazed, then bellowing rushed o'er the prairie,
And the whole mass became a cloud, a shade in the distance.
Then, as the herdsman turned to the house, through the gate of the
garden
Saw he the forms of the priest and the maiden advancing to meet him.
Suddenly down from his horse he sprang in amazement, and forward
Rushed with extended arms and exclamations of wonder:
When they beheld his face they recognized Basil the blacksmith;
Hearty his welcome was, as he led his guests to the garden.
There in an arbor of roses, with endless question and answer,
Gave they vent to their hearts, and renewed their friendly embraces,
Laughing and weeping by turns, or sitting silent and thoughtful;
Thoughtful, for Gabriel came not; and now dark doubts and mis      givings
Stole o'er the maiden's heart; and Basil, somewhat embarrassed,
Broke the silence and said, "If you came by the Atchafalaya
How have you nowhere encountered my Gabriel's boat on the bayous?
Over Evangeline's face at the words of Basil a shade passed,
Tears came into her eyes, and she said with a tremulous accent,
Gone? Is Gabriel gone? and, concealing her face on his shoulder,
All her o'erburdened heart gave way, and she wept and lamented.
*        *         *      ** $ *
Then glad voices were heard, and up from the banks of the river,
Borne aloft on his comrades' arms, came Michael the fiddler.
t
ioa 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Long under Basil's roof had he lived like a god on Olympus,
Having no other care than dispensing music to mortals,
Far renowned was he for his silver locks and his fiddle,
"Long live Michael," they cried, "our brave Acadian minstrel!"
As they bore him aloft in triumphal procession, and straightway
Father Felician advanced with Evangeline, greeting the old man
Kindly and oft, and recalling the past, while Basil, enraptured,
Hailed with hilarious joy his old companions and gossips,
Laughing loud and long, and embracing mothers and daughters,
Much they marvelled to see the wealth of the ci-devant blacksmith,
All his domains and his herds, and his patriarchal demeanor;
Much they marvelled to hear his tales of the soil and the climate,
And of the prairies, whose numberless herds were his who would take
them;
Each one thought in his heart that he. too, would go and do likewise.
*        *          *        *         *        *        *
-1u was silent without, and, illuminiing the landscape with silver,
Fair rose the dewy moon and the myriad stars; but within doors,
Brighter than these, shone the faces of friends in the glimmering lamp      light
Then from his station aloft, at the head of the table, the herdsman
Poured forth his heart and his wine together in endless profusion.
Lighting his pipe that was filled with sweet Natchitoches tobacco,
Thus he spake to his guests, who listened, and smiled as they listened
Welcome, once more, my friends, who so long have been friendless and
homeless,
Welcome once more to a home that is better perchance than the old
one.
Here no hungry winter congeals our blood like the rivers;
Here no stony ground provokes the wrath of the farmer,
Smoothly the plougllshare runs through the soil like a keel through the
waterAU the year round the orange groves are in blossom, ani grass grows
More in a single nigIt than.a whole Canadian summer.
Here, too, numberless herds run wild and unclaimed in the prairies.
0
110 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
CALCASIEU PARISH.
LIARE CHARLES
Thne town of Lake Charles is situated on the northeast side of the
lake of the same name.  It has a handsome site, and commands a full
view of the lake, and of the inlet and  vutlet of Calcasieu river.  The
town contained 502 inhabitants in 1875. It contains twelve stores, two
bakeries, 2 barber shops, two blacksmith shops, 4 bar-rooms, two butcheries, a shipyard, a tanyard, a taylor, a shoemaker, a tinsmitk, three
lawyers, two physicians, a drug store, a photographic gallery, a dentist,
a teacher of instrumental music, a planing machine, a steam saw-mill,
two painters, a brick-mason, two carpenter shops, a post-office, a telegraphic office, a printing office (The Echo,) three schools, one Catholic
church,  one lIetholist church, one German church, a Masonic hall.
etc., etc.
THE LAKE.
The L:ke is about circular in shape, and nearly two miles in diameter.  The water is always fresh, and generally clear.  The banks are
alternately high and low. In some places the banks are twenty feet
above the level of the Lake.
HEALTH.
The town of Lake Charles is said to be exceedingly healthy, and a
pleasant summer residence; the sea breeze, and the breezes from the
open prairie fan the town at all seasons of the year.  The thermometer
seldom or never gets above 96 degrees, seldom above 90, and it is not
often down to the fr-eeziag point.
RAILOADS, SAW-MILLS, ETC.
The projected New Orleans and Texas Railroad passes through the
town.
Within th'ee miles of the town there are nine steam saw-mills and
five or six stores. Th3 country in the vicinity of Lake Charles is pretty
thickly settled, considering its remoteness from the great thoroughfares.
The numerous saw-mills of Calcasieu river give steady employment
to a fleet of fifty or sixty schooner, with a capacity each of from ten
to a hundred thousand feet'of lumber. This lumber is calied to the
ports of Texas and of Mexico.         -
ill
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Four or five steamers ply on the Calcasien river, and all are engaged
in the lumber business but one which carries the U.S. mail twice a
week from Lake Charles to Cameron, and to Calcasieu Pass, a distance
of fifty miles.
The principal business of the parish is the lumber interest, next
cattle raising, and last farming. The land is usually poor, and all of
the fertilizers applied is by cow-penning.
MINERALS.
Gypsum, sulphur and petroleum are found in Calcasieu, not far
from Lake Charles, and near the west fork of the Calcasieu river. It
has been well known for many years that petroleum existed in this
parish. An oil company was formed since the war to search for oil near
where it has appeared at the surface for many years. In boring they
struck sulphur, and further down, gypsum.
The borings show:                                            feet.
Soil............................................. 2
Solid clay, intercepted with 2 strata of quicksand,
22 and 15 feet thick........................... 163
Quicksand....................................... 179
Crumbling marl...................................      2i
Calcareous sand................................... 30~
Calcareous marl, with pebbles...................... 4
Hard, compact, calcareous stone.................... 5
Pure, white, saccharoid, caleareous substance....... 42
Sulphur (77 per cent. pure sulphur)................ 112
540
Gypsum........................................ 700
1240
RICE CULTURE.
There is much land in the parish that is too low and wet for corn,.
cotton, or sugar cane, that would make splendid crops of rice. Attention is being turned to this branch of farming.
~       ORANGE GROVES.
Two of these orange groves produce yearly about 100,000 orangeSeach.  The yearly crop is about 350,000 oranges, or about 1000 barrels
112 
LOUISIANA AS IT 1iS.
In the last five or six years,, a great impetus has been given to orange
culture in this parish. The trees are healthy and have not been troubled with the diseases, and enemies which have preyed upon the Florida
orange groves.  Some of the orange trees of this parish have trunks a
foot in diameter, and an altitude of 25 feet. Some trees are said to
bear from three to five thousand oranges to a tree yearly. The fruit
sells at from $12 to $15 a thousand, with the demand constantly increasing. It is safe to predict that in four years the orange groves or
Lake Charles will produce more than a million of oranges yearly. The
fruit is all shipped to Texas, which is flow the only market.
DISTANCES AND FARE.
Miles
New Orleans to Brashear, (R. R.)...........................80
Biashear to New Iberia (Steamboat)......................70
New Iberia to Lake Charles (Stages)......................115
265   $20
Time, 50 hours.
In lumber schooners, between Lake Charles and Galveston.
Miles
Galveston to mouth of Calcasieu,................................ 90
Mouth of C. River to Lake Charles,............................ 50
140
Fare from $5 to $10.  Time 24 hours, or more, according to wind;
sometimes several days.
Distance between New Orleans and Lake Charles by the projected
line of railroad 210 miles.
CAMERON PARISH.
GENERAIL FEATURES.
Cameron is the most southwesterly parish in the State-bou-nded
west by Sabine Lake and river, north by Calcasieu, east by Vermilion,
and southl by the Gulf of Mexico. It,is mainly composed of two belts
of land, extending with occasional interrluptions nearly the full length
of the parish from east to west.  The larger portion  of the parish is
8
0
113
I,
]-'are
$ 4
4
12 
LOUISIANA Ad IT IS.
sea marsh; much of it is almost impassable, and as yet unexplored.
This marsh has a width of about twelve miles.
DAIRYING.
Cameron parish is said to be admirably adapted to dairying. The
grass is abundant and nutritious the year round. The climate is exceedingly mild in winter. The sea breezes and the great evaporation
from the large bodies of water in and around the parish moderate the
heat of summer. Some of the Creole cows give twelve quarts of milk
a day without shelter in winter or summer,  and with no food except
the natural grasses of the marsh and the prairies. As good butter has
been and can be made along this coast, as is made in the North or West.
CATTLE.
It is impossible to approximate a correct estimate of the quantity
and value of live stock annually pastured and fattened for market within the limits of Cameron parish. For stock raisers these marshes are
an exhaustless mine of wealth. Their luxuriance as pasture surpasses
any powers of description at command of an ordinary writer. The
wild pea vine mats over thousands of acres of these marshes, and the
cattle revel in these vines, and enjoy the feast exceedingly. The variety
and richness of grasses and herbage for cattle found in these sea shore
pastures are surprising.
FLIES AND MOSQUITOES.
The flies and mosquitoes are troublesome, but the cattle instinctively herd together in seasons when flies are most harassing, and by
chafing against one another, and by their breath, which these pests dislike, they secure considerable protection against their attacks.
BAD STOCK WATEIR.
The want of good water in someranges is a severe drawback in
stock raising, but this will doubtless be in a great measure obviated by
the use of wells and windmill pumps, and tanks, as the country becomes
settled up with men if enterprise, and as a more advanced state of
farming and stork raising is reached. Wholesome fresh water can be
had in these coast ridges in from six to ten feet below the surface.
Even on some of the sandy islands along the coast wells of tolerably
' 0l
114
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
good fresh water are obtined by digging from five3 to ten feet, with salt
tide-water not a hundred feet distant.
We believe that domestic animals along this coast, when properly
cared for and attended to, are exceedingly healthy, and that the diseases
and mortality among them are usu.dly attributable to neglect and want
of proper attention,
SHEEP.
Sheep are said to be profitable in Cameron, though flat lands are
generally not favorable to sheep.  The sheep here are generally fre3
from disease, and are not troubled with ticks, or destroyed by wolves.
The sheep are small, no attention having been given to improving the
breed; but the wool usually brings about thirty cents a pound. Mutton,
in pretty large quantities, is yearly shipped from Cameron, and brings
in a handsome revenue. Sheep raising is here more remunerative than
eattle, or any other stock  Farmers are yearly increasing their stocks
of sheep by purchase, as well as natural increase.
HOGS.
The marshes of Cameron are the paradise of hogs.  Thousands of
po-unds of pork are secured yearly by simply marking the ears of the
pigs, and shooting the hogs when fat. The marsh, and its bayous and
waters, are full of various kinds of fish, and food for hogs; —rawfish,
fiddlers, crabs, clams, shrimps, and vermin of numerous species.  In
the spring the marshes abound with birds of various kinds, and eggs.
The ground is filled with roots, and covered with grass and vegetables
which hogs are fond of. The hog range is immense, and most excellent. Hogs do not mind mosquitoes, and they devour the marsh snakes
when they come in their way. And such splendid wallowing in the
marsh mud! Hogs would never willingly emigrate from such a land of
promise.  And they find abundance of food where horned cattle and
sheep woruldd sink in the mire.
POULTBEAND EGGS.
Poutry succeed well in Cameron, and all along the Gulf coast. A
single schooner sometimes takes off a dozen barrels of eggs at once to
115
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
the Galveston, or other markets, and coops of chickens besides; very
good shipments, considering the sparseness of the population.
WILD FOWLS.
Water fowls are abundint, in winter, in the lakes and bayous of
Cameron.  The range is as favorable to wild (duceks, geese, and brant,
as to hogs, deer, otters and muskrats.
HOME FrErTILIZEIRS.
Cameron parish is prolific in home fertilizers. Marsh muck is excellent when composted with lime and manure.  Tile supply is exhaustless. There are large shell banks from which fertilizers may be drawn,
and the wild and domestic pea vine, cow pen manu,re, bones, etc., may
l)e used.
" BACK  LANDS."
The great body of arable lands in Cameron are what are ealled
"back lands."  They are tenacious, full of tough grass roots, and it is
hard work for two yoke of oxen to break them up. But, when subdued and exposed to the sun and weather, and the roots decayed, they
are very productive.  They can only be ruined by bad cultivation and
abuse, while, by judicious farming, they would retain their richness for
several generations with but slight expense for fertilizers.
BAD TEAMS.
Ox teams are used in this parish for farm and other work.  The
oxen are not large, and are badly broken. It is not uncommon to see
three yokes of oxen in a team, with a rope to each of the nigh ox's
h0orns.
The lhoises are usually the small creole breed.
SUCGAR CANE.
Sugar cane grows finely in Cameron, but there is a scarcity of wood
In the pine'lands of Calcasieu, near by, they have plenty of wood, and
b,y cow penning their land, or putting on it suitable fertilizers, they
can make two lhogsheads of sugar, and three barrels of molasses, to the
acre.
116
6 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.,
POTATOES.
Sweet and Irish potatoes do finely in Cameron.  Irish potatoes are
planted largely for sale, and have at times been the most remunerative
of all crops in proportion to the area. The cost to the farmer is almost
nothing. Irish potatoes are frequently planted in December, and are
ripe in May, in season to plant, on the same ground, corn, cotton, or
sweet potatoes, or highland rice, and some  other things.  Thee yield,
from even careless planting and cultivation, is from twenty to sixty
barrels'to the acre.
The Honduras, six weeks, or hog yam, has been a great benefit to
the farmers of Cameron.  They are not very good for table use, but are
excellent for stork and hogs. They grow to a mammoth size in a short
time.  It is snppo,sedl that they will yield eight:hundrel bushels, or
more, to the acre.
ONIONS.
Onions yield bountifully in Cameron, and it is thought  they mavy
be made a valuable stable production of the parish for other markets.
M:ELONS.
The melon crop of this parish is usually fine. No better melons
can be raised in any part of the State, or any where along the coast,
east or west.
GARDEN VEGETABLES.
Gardeni vegetables grow to great perfection in this parislh.  Any
vegetables that sueceed( anywhere in the south do as well here as in any
other locality.
FRUITS IN CAMERON PARISH.
ORANGES.
Oranges are the fruit of fruits in Cameron.  Though  other  fruits
do well, in comparison with this queen of fruits all others sink into insignificance. It is claimed that an individual tree in Cameron, in a
single year, profluced eight thoutsandl mechantable oratges, which brought
0
117 
LOUISIANA' AS IT IS.
in Galveston one hundred and fifty dollars. We do not vouch for the
truthfulness of this statement,-we take it from an article published in
the WmEEKLY ECHO, at Lake Charles, on the 8th of July last, dated
at Leesburg, Cameron parish, we trust the authority is reliable and the
statement true. The orange crop of Cameron is estimated to be worth
$10,000 annually, and in a few years, trees planted on and east of the
Mermentau river, willreturn to that section $30,000 annually.  Orange
culture is here in its infancy.
VARIOUS FRUITS IN CAMERON.
Plums are to be had from the first of May until after peaches. are
ripe, in abundance,
Grapes grow wild in profusion everywhere that they can get a foothold. The cultivated varieties have receiveld butt little attention. They
do well when properly cared for.
Blackberries and dewberries grow wild in abundance, but the cultivated varieties have never been planted here.
Strawvber'ies grow in great perfection.
Peaches have received little or no attention here.  Those trees that
have been attended to as they should be thrive well. Alost of the peach
trees are seedlings, and from inferior fruit. Delicious fruit from grafted
trees are produced in the parish, and may be produced in abundance.
But little attention has been paid to the cultivation of any fruits in
the parish except oranges, and these only for a few years.
LOUISIANA PLANTATIONS AND FARMS.
Louisiana hlad, in 1870, plantations and farms as follows:
Over 1000 acres each,.......................................   142
Between 500 and 1000 acres,..................................   650
Between 100 and 500 acres,.................................. 3,753
Under 100 acres,............................................23,G36
28,481
Lands in cultivation in 1870,  2,045,670 acres.  Tillable  lands LOL
cultivated, 1,000,000, acres.
4
118
0
4' 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
SUGAR PLANTATIONS, CROPS, ETC.
E. J. Forstall, Esq., in DeBow's Review, September,'66, makes
the following estimates:
Number of sugar estates in operation in Louisiana in 1861 and'62,
1292; number in operation in 1863 and'64, 180; capital invested in
sugar interests in Louisiana in 1861 and'62, $200,000,000. Slaves fed
and clothed by sugar planters, 139,000.
From the Richmond Enquirer:
That the rich lowlands of Louisiana are capable of producing all
the sugar required for consumption in this country is beyond question.
As yet their capacity in that direction has been tested only in the
slightest degree. The high standard of Louisiana sugar and molasses
is universally admitted, and if the productive resources of the delta
were brought into complete requisition there would be little necessity
of obtaining sugars from abroad. If the war in Cuba be continued a
few years longer her sugar crop must be greatly reduced. In view of
the contingencies which may then arise it would be well for the farseeing capitalists of the West and North to invest in Louisiana sugar
lands, now that they are selling for a song because of the long continuance of Radical rule, a rule now nearly at its close.
CHEAP SUGAR ESTATE.
SIIRINKAGE.
NEW ORLEANS, September 6, 1872.
To the Editors of the Picayune:
In the Times of to-day there is an article comparing city taxes
with those levied in the country parishes, wherein ground is taken that
assessments in the country are not only comparatively but are absolutely too low. Facts are at varianoe with the figures given, as there is
no doubt that the depreciation of country property is greatly in excess of the difference in the assessments of the years 1860 and 1871,
upon which the dictum of the,Times is based. The assessments for
the above mentioned years were respectively in round numbers, $470,000,000 and $250,000,000.
As sugar plantations and negroTes constituted much the greater part
I L9 
LOUISIANA'AS IT IS.
of the taxable property in the rural districts prior to the wai, a few
facts in relation to the present and past value of sugar estates will exhibit that if the assessments of 1860 were even approximately correct,
those of 1871 are ruinously excessive.
On the death of Sir. Hetnry Doyal, a well known planter in Ascension, his property, consisting of four or five sugar estates, was valued
at $1,800,000, but was known to be worth in the market $2,500,000.
This property would not now sell for $100,000, basing my opinion upon
the value of two of these plantations, recently sold.
The model plantation of this State for many years was that of the
late Mr Valcour Aime, of St. James. With its substantial and elcgant improvements, this plantation could not have been bought before
the war for $1,000,000.  For the purpose of settling the succession of
the estate, it was offered for sale twice last winter, but no bidder  was
found to offer the value to which it was limited —$75,000, I believe.  It
was afterwards sold for $50,000.
Linwood plantation, in Ascension, not in cultivation since the war,
worth at least $200,000 in 1860, was sworn to, by one of the most sagacious planters and merchants in the State, as not being worth $10,000.
In the opinion of the witness, it coald not be sold at any figure for cash.
These few instances are a fair indication of the depreciation of the
value of property in the country.  Plantations will-except in  occasional instances-sell for a little more than the value of the movable
property on them.
WHY THESE LANDS ARE CHEAP.
Strangers may ask why these lands have depreciated so much in
their market value. It is because forced labor has been suddenly abolished; and we are going through a transition that' involves sacrifices
and ruin; because we halve had rlulnous taxation, and our people have
not been prompt to meet the new order of things and work unitedly,
and with power for the public good.  There are farmers in the sugar,
and rice and cotton regions of this State, who have made money in
spite of all these discouragements, and who would not now sell their
lands for a hundred tollars an acre; whose lands to them are worth a
hundred dollars an alze, and more. All of these sugar and rice lands
would be worth a hundred -dollars an acre if they were all cultivated by
farmers like scores that *e are acquainted with and could name.
120 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. -
VAST AGBICULTURAL RESOURCES —MR. DARBY'S VIEWS.
Darby, a native of Pennsylvania, survteyed all of Louisiana which
lies between the Mississippi River and the Sabine, over fifty years ago.
He knew more about the real merits of the State, so far as its soil was
concerned, than any living man. His labors in surveying the State
necessarily had to be done on foot, and hlie camped on nearly every
lake, bayou, river, prairie, and hill, and min all the swamps and flat
lands of the State.  In his geographical description of Louisiana, published soon af,er he made his sulvey, he remarks:
"When the State of Louisiana is brought into cultivation far from
the maximum, four hundred thousand laborers may be employed in
making cotton, three hundred thousand in the cultivation of sugar
cane, and one hundred thousand in the production of rice.  This working population of eight hundred thousand people, at the most reduced
prices of the clifferent products, would yie}d one hundred and thirty
million dollalrs. When the elements are examined separately, this rich
reward that is offered to the industry of man by the soil of Louisiana,
will not appear delusive."
THE FACTS BETTER THAN THL PREDICTION.
That Darby greatly underrated the capacity of Louisiana soil, the
following table, shoving the sugar crop of 1861, and other crops of
1860, sill clearly prove.
These crops are on record, as follows:
459,410 hogsheads of sugar.
700,000 barrels of molasses.
777,738 bales of cotton.
6,3:31,257 pounds of rice.
39,940 pounds of tobacco.
16,853,745 bushels corn.
2,060,981    "    sweet potatoes.
294,065   "    Irish pg~atoes.
431,148   "    pas and beans.
89,000   "    oats.
1,444,742 pounds of bntter. 
121 t 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
-Products of gardens and market gardens.................. $527,000
Value of home mnnufactures.............................. 502,000
Value of animals slaughtered..............................2,095,000
The land in cultivation in Louisiana when the above crops
were made did not exceed (acres).................... 2,700,000
The entire area of the State, not inc!uding lakes, rivers, bay       ous and bays, is (acres)............................ 26,105,600
VALUE OF YIELD PER ACRE AND PER HAND.
The above products, and all other agricultural productions of the
;State in 1860, at the usual market prices, would bring about $125,000,000.'The five staple articles, at eight cents a pound for sugar, fifty
,- cents a gallon for molasses, $50 a bale for cotton, and the usual  price
for rice and tobacco, would bring nearly $93,000,000.
WORKING FIELD FORCE.
It would be a large estimate to put the working field force of Louisiana before the war, including all colors, at $125,000 hands, out of a
-rtral population of about 500,000 souls.
$1,000 PER HAND, AND $846 PER ACRE.
Estimating the crop of all kinds, and all agricultural productions
in a single year to be worth  $125;000,000,  this would  give  $1,000 a
hand to every field hand in the State, and $46 an acre to every acre in
cultivation.  The staple crops alone, sugar, cotton, etc., worth  $93,100,000, would give, divided equally among all of the field laborers of
the State, $744 to thie hand; though many hands did not cultivate the
staple articles.
VALUE OF FARMS AND CROPS COMPARED.
In 1870, the farms, farming utensils and machinery of Louisiana
were valued at $75,374,000.  Crops, same year, $.52,000,000.
Value of Louisiana crops, as above, compared to value
of farms, etc.................................. 69  per cent.
In Iowa, same ye.................................  28
"llinois, "..................................      22
' Ohio,    "..................................     19      "
"Indiana,  ".................................   18~L
122 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. 
And Louisiana, at that time, five years after the war, had the disadvantage of a new and unsettled system of labor, had bad teams, and
bad utensils, but little money, no credit abroad, a bad state of government, high taxes, a multitude of the most crushing discouragements to
contend with, while the Western farmes had none of these evils before
them.
SOIL RESOURCES.
It may be interesting to strangers who do not appreciate the immense and varied resources of Louisiana to examine a brief, though
imperfect, catalogue of the articles which indltsty, skill, enterprise and
capital may secure in abundance in this State, for the benefit of our
own people, or as articles of commerce.
A model Louisiana farm may furnish beef, pork, mutton, veal,
butter, cheese, eggs, chickens, etc., in abundance.  Also corn, wheat,
buckwheat, oats, rye, barley, millet, hay, beans, peas, broom-corn, castor oil beans, cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, pumpkins, sweet and Irish
potatoes, pindars, chofas, melons, red and other clovers, grasses of
numerous kinds; ramie, jute, flax, cashaws, gourds, bene plant, indigo,
alTow root, ginger, cabbages, turnips, okra, Jerusalem and bur  artichokes, cucumbers, onions, and all other garden vegetables that can be
produced in the Northern States.
All the frnits of the Northern States, except perhapl)s gooseberries,
damsons, and one or two others, can be raised in the northern part of
this State, and many tropical fruits in the southern part, as we have
elsewhere noticed more particularly.
THE BILL 0-F FARSE OF A MODEL LOUISIANA FARMER.
A model farmer in Louisiana may have an abundance of the raw
materials named above, and should make his year's supply of grape and
blackberry wine, and other kinds of wine; also cider, many kinds of
preseiwes and jellies, and syrups of different flavors, all made of home
produced fruits and sugar; also honey of excellent quality, and plenty
of delicious butter the year roud; he should have home-made, homedried and home-canned Quits of various kinds in abundance the year
round, and home-made peach and apple brandy, and home-made brandy fruit, (if distilled splirits are used' on the place.)  HIe should have
0
123 e, 
L,OUISIANA AS IT IS.
wool and cotton to send to Southern factories in exchange for Southern
made cotton goods and cloth.  A model Louisiana farmer should produce more of the comforts and luxuries of life than the best farmer in
any other State in the Union.
SILK WORMS IN LOUISIANA-TRADE IN SILK WORMS'
EGGS —LOUISIANA COCOONS —SUMAC —SUNFLOWER    CASTOR OIL BEANS.
SILK WORBMS.
Silk worms feed on mulberry leaves twenty-five to thirty days and
then make cocoons in twenty-four hours. They eat out of the cocoon
in eight days. Each female lays about 400 eggs. To use the cocoon
for silk the worm must be destroyed by ],eat before hle eats out. They
hatch when the mulberry leaves appear in spring.
After they leave the cocoon, in the winged or transformed state,
they at once lay their eggs, and both males and females die.
One hundred females lay an omunce of eggs, worth in the market
more than their weight in gold. After they hatch in spring, in sixty
days they make cocoons.
LOUISIANA COCOONS AND SILK.
An Italian who has made considerable money in producing silk
worms' eggs in Louisiana for the Italian market, informed us that
41 pounds Louisiana cocoons make 1 pound of silk.
12 to 15 pounds of Japan cocoons make 1 pound of silk.
Women and children can do all the work in feeding silk worms  and
in reeling silk froi the cocoons.
They can make in Louisiana at this business $100 to the hand in
two months, in the silk-worm season.
Raw silk, reeled from cocoons, finds a ready market and blings
good prices in New Ark.
Silk culture was a business of some importance among the early
French settlers of Louisiana.
0
124 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
TRADE IN SILK WORMS' EGGtS.
Europe pays Japan four million dollars yearly for silk-worm's eggs.
Louisiana can produce these eggs in immense quantities.  The Italian
above referred to sends the eggs to New York. If he wishes to make
silk hlie has the amount of eggs he desires sent back by express, when
the mulbenry trees put on their spring robes.
Thiers estimated the lo,ss to France by the silk-worm disease at
twenty million dollars yearly. We have no such disease in Louisiana,
and the silk worm of this country is larger and more valuable thlan the
silk-worm of France and Italy.
SILK AND COTTON.
In eighty years silk culture in France advanced from five to one
hundred and fifty million dollars, and the advance in cotton culture
in the United States was about the same.
In 1792 the question was serionsly discussed in England, whether
the United States would ever make one hundred bales of cotton.
5,000,000 bales have since been made.
SUMAIAC.
As oak and hemlock bark in the Northern States and Canada, their
tannin material, is nearly exhausted, the sumac question and tannin
materials in the Southern States will soon become highly important.
Uplansnmac is that preferred for market pulposes. It is of three
species: the stag horn, or  pIi)a, which grows to a tree eighteen
or twenty feet high, and the smooth rJfs giabra, the r1us pa'lina.
This is sometimes calls dwarf sumac. The swamp sumac is not considered valuable.
The flrrt has branches of a hairy appearance, like a stag's horn;
the two lstter have little bristles on the berries. These sumacs generally grow on red lands derived from primitive rocks. The leaves only
are used. They are dried, ground, and put in bags, and sell in the
New York market at 4 to 5 cents a pound, if carefully saved and pre
Southlern sumac is richer intannin than the Sicilian, but there is
more money in hay, ground pes, or most any of the Southern farm
crops than in sumac at present prices.- It may pay well in a few years.
125
$ 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
THE SUNFLOwR.
The sunflower grows finely in Louisiana. It yields fifty bushels of
seed to the acre. The seeds yield a gallon of oil to the bushlel, said to
be equal to almond or olive oil.  Fowls are fond of the seeds, and they
are as valuable for many  purposes as corn.  From  15,000  to 20,000
plants can be grown on an acre.
CASTOR OIL BEANS.
In St. Louis, in 1867, about 50,000 bushels of castor oil beans were
sold at $1 25 to $3 90 a bushel. They yield sixty gallons of oil to the
acre, worth $1 50 a gallon.  Castor oil beans grow as well as any other crop in Louisiana, and may be made profitable in connection with
other crops.
TEA SHRUB IN LOUISIANA.
Mr. Manard has succeeded well in cultivating tea in Tangipahoa
parish, on the New Orleans, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad, in this
State.  He has made over twenty-five pounds in one season, and could
increase the crop to any desired extent. We have enjoyed as good a
cup of home-made tea at Mr. Manard's table as we would  wish to en joy at any man's table. We could not distinguish between the merits
of his tea and the best teas from the East.  He prepares the leaves with
great care, workls out all of the gummy ingredients,  and is well in formed in regard to the East India process of curing tea in the best
possible manner. The crude leaves, without the workings and manip ulations which he carries them through, make no better tea than sage
or mint.
ELDERBERRY WINE.
Elderberry wine is said to be highly prized by the English.  There
are elder orchards in New Jersey, where they make this wine, and
they find a ready sale at remunerative prices for all they make.  Where
does the elder and elderberry grow more luxu'iantly, in defiance of
weeds, bushes, deluge and drouth, than in Louisiana?
MOSS AND PArER STOCK.
Southern moss has become a valuable aticle of commerce. It
0
126
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS1.
hangs upon the trees in our swamps and low lands in millions of tons
Instead of producing malaria, as some suppose, it doubtless absorbs.,
and feeds upon malaria and renders the air more pure and healthful
The supply of paper stock in this State is almost limitless.  Pal —
metto leaves and stalks make good paper.'Bagasse or pressed  sugarcane, makes good paper.  Mixed with cotton rags, it makes an excel-,lent newspaper material.  Wild cane has been  manufactured  intoex —
cellent paper.  Cotton stalks and okra sta lks  bear gras   and many
other articles that may be fmnished at cheap rates in Louisiana make
excellent paper.
CONCLUSION.
What State or what country can furnish so lengthy, rich and varied lists
of agricultural articles of value as Louisiana? With a rich soil and unlimited supply of natural fertilizers, the best in the world, what pre,vents our State from being rich? It is because    1. Not a seventh of our land is cultivated.
2. Out of a population of over seven hundred thousand, not one —
seventh of our people follow the plow and work the hoe.
3. The most valuable resources of the State have hardly been
touiched; the small industries of the State, which must lie at the foundation of its future prosperity and wealth, have been treated as though
they were unworthy the notice of the capitalist or the legislator.
4. When the soil of Louisiana is cultivated by a million, in place
of a hiundred thousand ploughmen; when her fertilizers are judiciously applied; when her fruit, and grass, and stock, and farm crop capacities are properly tested by the best class of modern farmers; when our
mines and mill sites are all occupied and worked;  when  New Orleans
wakes from her slumbers and opens the passage to the sea, and estabishes the barge system on her twenty thousand miles of navigable waters, between the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains, then the world will
have more correct views than the present generation has of the priceless natural wealth of the forests, and soil, and mines of the State, and
the Crescent City will have toreclaim the swamp lands around her, to
make room  for her million  inhabitants-or,  so it appears to the:
writer,
127 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
THE RICH LANDS OF LOUISIANA.
WBALTH IN THE SOIL.
More than twenty million acres of lands of this State are naturally
rich, though many million acres of these rich lands are not arable.
ACRES.
Arable alluvial lands of the State,............................ 3,615,000
Wooded alliA-ial or swamp lands............................2,752,000
6,367,000
The prairies of Attakapas, and of St. Landry and Sabine par    ishes, most of them rich...............................2,483,000
Coast marsh, all rich...................................... 3,338,000
12,188,000
Prof. Hilgard, in his "Preliminary Report of a Geological Reconnoissance of Louisiana, in 1869," speaking of the coast marsh, says:
"The soil of these lands, being of great depth, and composed of
rich organic mold, whenever it has been drained and brought under the
plow, has surpassed all other land in the State in fertility and productiveness. It is in such lands that the culture of rice has attained so
much success. Lying, as this region does, in the extreme southern
limits of the State, on the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and
protected on the north by the numerous broad lakes which overhang
the coast, the climate is semi-tropical, and admits of the culture of
frui;s and productions that are strictly tropical."
"No field," says Prof. Hilgard, "can offer a more promising prospect to capitalists, agricultural companies and immigrant aid societies,
than the cheap and easy reclamation of these rich marshes. The market price of the lands is twenty-five cents an acre, and they may be
made equal to any in the State by the use of modernlm steam dredging
machines for canaling and leveeing them, and the improved wind mill
pumps for draining hem; for the breeze is constant near the seacoast.
"Mleteorological records kept below New Orleans for seventeen
years, show that we do no: average five days in the year without wind;
128 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
and that us,aally thar i  a atf breeze, lasting the greater prt of the
day, which greatly moderates the heat and tempers of the cold."
The good uplands of the State comprise,.................5,248,000
The bluff lands,................................   1,585,000
6,823,000
These are generally excellent farming lan s and prod Ice fine crops
in the hands of goal farmers.  And ther3 are lirge tracts of excellent
land, even in the pine regions.  Most of the pine lands have retentive
and superior subsoil, ani wh3re green crops are plowed in and manure3s and hom3-m.:le fertilizers used, as tley are applied on the old
lands in the older States, they are cap31ae of prouacing a bale of cotton, or thirty-five buails of corn to the acre, and other crops in proportion.
IMMENSE AND EXfHAUSTLESS NATURAL WEALTH.
LOUISIANA.
The immense natural wealth of this State consists in -
1. Its vast forests of excellent timber, and the great value of
many of these varieties of timber.
2. Its rich and diversified soil, well adapted to almost all of the
agricultural productions, the field and garden crops and grasses, of coller climates, and most of the fruits of higher aad lower latitudes.
3. Its salubrious climate, congenial- to both man and to domestic
animals and fowls.
4. Its 275 bayous, 115 lakes, 56 bays, and 40 rivers, and water
surface of 2,300,000 acres, furnishing extensive and convenient navigation, and numerous mill sites. The waters of Louisiana contain great
values in their fishes, turtles and oysters; besides a vast value in mod-erating and mellowing our climate in winter, and by evaporation,
moderating  the  force of the  summers-K and extracting maria
from our atmosphere.
Oysters, fish, and water game, may be  rished in abludae ie
their proper season for ourlocal mBats; file sea tdrtle'may be  taker
9
129
t
0 
LOUISIAN4 AS IT IS.
in large numbers on the islands that line the Louisiana coast, and these
and shrimps and oysters may be canned on an extensive scale for the
markets of the world.,
The principal fishy in Louisiana waters are the red fish, black
drum, flounder, sheephead, trout, croaker, mullet, buffalo, perch, gar,
ehoupique, casbugo, sacalait, bar, pike, white cat,; also soft-shell turtle, shrimps, crabs, etc.
5. Its vast mine of pure salt, its salt springs, its sulphur mine, its
undeveloped wealth in coal oil; its coal and lignite, iron, Time, soda,
ypmum, and potter's clay; and fine materials for building, paving, and
fire bricks.
6. Its local advantages at the mouth of the finest navigable river
on the globe, which has 20,000 miles of navigable water
WEALTH IN THE FORESTS.
FORESTS,  TIMBER, SHLRUBS, 1AC
Louisiana has, in her forests, values which her citizens but poorly
appreciate. While the Northern and Western States have nearly exausted their lumber resources, their oaks and hemlocks,  which were
their chief reliance for tanning materials, Louisiana has immense forests of the finest timber on this:continent, including numerous varieties of oak.  We give the lists below:
OKs, eighteen varieties, as follows: Live,  white,  red, black,
brown, scarlet, water, willow, overcup, Spanish, Dentata, chincapin,
swamp, bear, turkey, myrtle, black jack and post oak,
CYn], two kinds: red and white.
PINE, three kinds: long leaf, short leaf and loblolly.
AsH, four kinds: red, white, water and greem
Ei, three kinds: water red and slippery. 
Gum, three kinds: black, sweet and tupelo.
Hicxaor, four kinds: shell-bark, black, pig-nut, and water
MAI,  three kinds: sugar, silver, and swamp.
LocusT, three ki: honey, black and acacia.
MwmRmY, two kinds: white and red.
SsSAAs, two kinds: white and red.
M~AONOli, two kinds: grandiflora and glanca.
130
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
PECAN, six varieties.
CHINA, three varieties.
WrnVow, four kinds: red, white, black and weeping.
Also, black w,anit, cotton-wood, yellow popular, beech, osag
orange or bols  d'arc, sycamore, hackberry, catalpa and linn or Ag
wood.
The following is a list of the smaller trees al,  also shrubs.
WVild peach, or mvsk orange, balm of  Gileatl, prickly ash,  (two
varieties,) sumach ash, (two varieties),  wild cherry, wild plum, dog
wood, (two kird;), holly, box-elder, box-wood; red, may, apple,  ugar
and parsley-leafel, bird aud black haw; red bay, sweet bay, crab apple,,
(two varieties), persimmon, (two varieties), iron wood, yellow-wood,
wax-myrtle, horn-beam, buckeye, Yaupon, sorrel tree, wild sloe, -
berry, holly, red bud, water birch, buckthorn,  papaw, alder, (two
kinds).
The above Let is from "ID:rb)v's Ge 9gaphieal Description of h -
isiana," with some few additions made by the writer,  and there is an
uinwitten list of the maler growth, shrubs, sines, etc.,-yet to be  ad
ded by future waiters upon this subject.
THE MOST VALUABLE TIDBER.
Cypress trees in millions of acres, the finest building timber in 1
South, the best for frames, floors, weather-boarding, doors, sash, blinds
fences, and other useful purposes, stand upcn Louisiana soil, and usnally near good navigation.
Oaks, valuable in ship building and for staves as an article of
merce, for man'facturing into carts, plow beams and handles, wagons,
utensils and machines of various kinds, for cabinet purposes,  and  $or
thousands  of useful purposes in  all civilized and enlightened nations; its bark of great value for tanning purposes.  Oaks of numerous
varieties and in vast numbers are growing in the forests of this State
Hickory tress are found in this State in vast numbers, and of fine
size and quality. Beech, far taller and larger than those of the Northern States, are found in great numbers in the bottom  lands of ti[;
State.  It is a valuable timber.      *
Large quantities of ash, ofte  of surprising growth, grow in  tleswamps of the State.  The great value of this timber is familiar to aL
Several kinds of gum, in vast quantities, are found in Louisiana
by' 
LOUISrANA AS IT IS.
hn seasoned, it is light and tough, and makes superior wooden ware,
Wowle, trays, and other articles.  The root of the tupelo gum,  which
:grows in our wet swamps, is a fine substitute for cork.  It is as light as
*ark when first taken from the live tree, and mud, and water.  Magnolia hs a white, pliableg,in, and the shavings from  the edge of a
ilanks have been worked into neat baskets of various kinds.
The pina foutnd in Louisiana in millions of acres, sometimes four
feet in diameter and a tlii(dred( feet high, is valuable for building,
Fcncing and many other purposed.
'Our pine forests may furnisih lairg  qua aitities of pitch, tar, turpenaine, rosin and charcoal.
Pine lumber of excellent quality is sold at the mills of this State at
$10 a thousand feet, and cypress often sells for $15.
Millions of feet of pine and other kinds of valuable timber are
yearly destroyed by fire in clearing lands, whlile in the West wood is so
,scarce that they sometimes burn corn for fuel, and their far-seeing men
me alarmed at the lumber famine that now threatens them.
C(herry,  wlunLt. cedar, chint, popl      anr, pecan,, catalpa. all are
-valuable timber, and are found in abundance on this prolific and valsa:le soil.
There are many kinds of timber in the forests of Louisiana that
flay be valuable for cabinet work.
From the wax myrtle berry large supplies of tallow may be ob..ained of a quality, for some purposes, superior to sperm.
MIany valuable qualities could be mentioned in relation to other
trees and numerous shrubs that are  found in  the  forests, swamps,
:.-mz      and praries of this State.
OAK STAVFS.
.Fom the New Orleans Times.
The oak stave business is by no means an unimportant considera'io.  Messrs. Robet Brothers informsus of the following facts, show.g the receipts of staves during the year:
'otal pipe staves..........................................2,335,622
'Tsal short staes.............................  1,096,106
Total............................................3,431,728
From Mr. J. H.' Mehaffey we have the following statement of the
4
. 32 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
staves sold to the city trade, on hand and for sale:
Sold to the city trade-985,899 pipes, 68,309 hogsheads, 118,52clarets, 14,657 barrels.  On hand and for salc- 02,271 pipes,  107,58.
hogsheads, 28,993 clarets, 8281 barrels, 1023 kegs, 2520 heading.  TV.
tal pieces, 1,938,037.                        t
The average value of these staves is $100 rer thousand.
ARIEA OF LOUISIANA FORESTS.
The value of the forests of this State can hardly be over-estimat~.L
This State contains, indep)endlent of b.y aundl inland water surface, a
an area of                                                      Acres
26,105, 600-.
Our prairies cover............................. 2,483,000
The sea marsh.................................3,338,000
All cultivated lands in the State before the war,
including the prairie Linds..................,700,000- 8,521,0(].
17,479(00
WOODLA ND.
Towering an 1 noble pines cover six millions of acres, but tlAe Bine
are often mixed with oak and other valuable timber.  The State~
tains 2,752,000 acres of wooded alluvial, or swamp lan]s, covered wi;
cypress trees of fine size, mixed with cottonwood, ash, oak, sweet, bki
and tupelo gum, honey locust, slippery elm, swamp, white, Slpanst~and
water oak, and live oak, pecan, elm  and other kinds of fores txee
There are 5,248,000 acres of good uplands, for the most part covered
with oaks of various kinds, mostly red, white, black and post oak;, aIm...
hickory, black and sweet gum, maple; ash, sassafras, beech ancl dbg —
wood, and s)me smlallvr trees; also prickly ash and hackberry, and fo
grapes and muscadines.  As not an eighth of Louisiana has ever bee-,
in cultivat of, most of the  an ls, except the sa mairsh anl prairie, a-e -
covered with tim')er.
WO)DL-ENDS AND UEL.
While fuel is Lecomning sparce all over the Northern States, and -
has always beel scarce in the Western prairies, a farmjr on'the- A
pas prailies, and in other poztions of the State, may plant chiin.-be
with his corn, get two siuccessive crops of -corn, and the thiFrd ea.
13'Z
i 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
tm acres of china trees, 100 trees to the acre, he can get his supply of
fnood from the trimmings of his trees, and an ample yearly supply
during a lifetime; and by seeding his wood lot to orchard grass he can
e a pasture equal to the blue grass pastures of Kentucky.  In a rich
soil the china tree has been know n to grow from seven to ten inches in
diameter in three years from the seed.  The  limbs grow out ten or
tdelve feet in a single year, and as large as a man's arm; and they burn
well een when green.  The wood has a firm and fine grain; it makes
splendid cabinet work, and is durable as fence posts. No worm or
insect will live on or near it, and it makes a beautiful shade tree.
THE SALT MINE.
" Petit Anse Island lies one hundred miles west of New Orleans, and
tlhree or four miles north of Vermilion Bay, in the parish of Iberia. It
has a surface of about 2400 acres.  It rises up a mountain in the sea
mrsh, its summit being 185 feet above the level of the Gulf.  It contains a mine of pure salt, on the south side, in the lowest places but
fifteen or twenty feet below the surface of the land, the surface of the
mine being about level with the waters of the Gulf.
-- This mine is known to be half a mile square; its depth is unknown.
A shat has been sunk into the mine to the depth of seventy or eighty
feet below the surface of the ground, if we remember correctly. It is
about six feet square, and resembles a plank-curbed well.  An elevator
is lowered into the mine andl raised out of it up and down this shaft, by
a w    aaxy engine.
A chamber has been worked in the mine.7 feet high, 27 feet wide
and 390 or 400 feet east and west from the bottom of the shaft. The
i.ers drill holes in the solid salt, which appears like marble, and blast
it into innumerable shapes, and masses, as they blast rocks.  A car, on
rails laid for the purpose, takes the salt from the end of the chamber to
the shaft, where it is raised to the surface above, crushed in mills by
te     power and put in marketable shape.  This mine has not been
worked for some years.
Petit Anse Island, now owned  by Judge Avery, has a rich soil,
o
pted to all productions of Southern Louisiana. It has been ciliefly
dlevoted to sugar culture, but it is ad(lapted(l to sugar, cotton, rice, tobaca, nd all kinds of vegetables.
e
13t'
$ 
LOUISIANA AS IT 1.
THE SILPY  MINE.
About 80 miles west of Petit Anse, or 180 west of New Orleans, and
30-miles from the open Gulf, on the west fork of the Calcasieu river,
~ear Lake Charles, is an immense mine ot pure crystaline sulphur. The
surface of the mine is 428 feet below the surface of the soil above it.
The strata of pure sulphur is a hundred feet in thickness, and below
this, to the depth of 700 feet, there is a mixture of sulphur and gypsum,
mostly gypsum.
Heavy exp3nses have been incurred by the Sulphur Mining Company in making preparations to work this mine, but thus far they have
been unsuccessful Machinery for this purpose, even the iron curbing,
was brought from France.  They attempted to make a circular shaft 12
feet in diameter, and to curb it with iron like boiler iron, put down in
rings or sections, as they proceeded with the digging. The sections
were to be riveted together like the sections of a steam boiler, and made
water-tight.
PETROLEum. I
Many years ago petroleum oozed -out of the ground near Lake
Charles in considerable quantities, anl in boring for oil they struck
the sulphur mine. They have never yet struck the desired fountain of
oil, but will doubtless find it at some future day, in the southwestern
part of the State, in large supplies. Bat this mine is more particularly
described in our chapter on Caloasieu.
RICE FIELDS OF LOUISLAN.k-HAY AND GRASS.
The following letters wore written by the author of this book, in
September, 1872, and published in the N. O. Times:
THE RICE ELELDS OF THE LAFOURBHE.
Rice culture is becoming an important branch of agriculture on
the Bayou Lifourche and Morgan's Louisiana and Texas  Railroad.
The profits of rice culture have this season been quite satisfactory1873.      -
1873.      - 
THE RTGE PLNTING S EASON.
The rice planting season extends through March and April into
May.  One man can plow and sow ab3ut twenty-five acres of flooded
135 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
rice.  It is -sus-lly sowed in drills, and the grass and weeds which the
flooding fails to kill, are worked out by hand and hoe. The rice crop
of Lafourche parish is about three-quarters of it cultivated by Creoles, and the balance by negroes. The white men who work in this
crop are not more sickly than the negroes.  Some who work this crop
think it not quite as healthy for the hands as the sugar crop. Others
say they can see no difference between laborers in rice and sugar fields
in these respects.
The rice harvest is usually completed in August. This crop matures in four months or less Harvesting requires about twenty-six
days, to reap, bundle, and stack the crop. A man can reap from a
quarter to half an acre daily.'They expect soon to apply reaping machines to rice harvesting. The softness of the ground has been the
chief difficulty in using reaping machines with horses and wheels.
YIELD AND PROFITS.
It has usually been said that an acre will produce ten barrels o
flooded rice, or seven barrels not flooded. The Lafourche rice cultiTators say that seven barrels are a good average yield per acre for a
flooded crop.
A barrel of clean rice is 230 lbs.-it uslually sells for 7c. a lb.
-an acre would amount to......................... $ 112 70
To plow, sow, weed, hoe and harvest an acre of rice costs the
L_
farmer about......................................
28 00
$ 84 70
2,817 50,
25 acres of rice at $112 70 an acre, would amount to........
The hired help in making and saving 25 acres, the crop for
one hand, would not amount to more than $12 or $14
an acre, say......................................
an ere    sa.............................350 O0r
$2,467 50
- Threshing machines that turn out 60 barrels or more daily, at a
small expense., are used for separating the rough rice from the straw.
LOUISIANA RICE CULTURE-GENERAL FACTS.
In leasing rice lauds on the Lafourche, the landholder has one
II
136
THE RICE HAIRVEST. 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. X
fourth of the crop and the laborer three-fourths. The laborer furnishes his own team, plows, seed, etc., and pays all expenses.
The lessee of rice lands can plow and sow about twenty-five acres
of land without hiring any help. Hevhas to hire by the day, usually
$1 50 per day, to help weed and harvest the crop.
He may calculate, one year with another, the following results:
25 acres rice, 7 bbls. to the acre......................... 175  bbl&
One-quarter deducted for lessee's share...................  431  bbl&.
Lessee's share.................................... 131~ bbls&
131~ barrels, 230 lbs. to a barrel, at 7c. a pound...........  $2,142 35.
An enterprising farmer who owns the land he cultivates, with a
a few boys, may plant and cultivate a hundred acres of rice and not
pay out over $14 an acre for extra help.
100 acres of rice, 7 barrels, 230 lbs. each, 161,000 lbs., at 7c.   $11,270
Extra help in cultivating and harvesting, $14 an acre......... 1,400
$9,870
Cost of cleaning at rice mill, lc. a pound................... 1,610
$8,260
After paying freights, commissions, storage, etc., there is still a
handsome margin for the farmer.
Then all this is done in about five months, leaving seven months,
or six at least, to be devoted to other labor.
And in this we are reckoning but seven barrels of clear lrice to theacre, while many rice planters have claimed that the average yield is.
ten barrels to the acre, or 2300 pounds.
RICE CULTURE IN ST. MARY.
The Sypher Brothers, on the Chattworth Plantation, near Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, last season cultivated 80 acres of rice. They
used the Andrews' Centrifugal Pump in flooding the rice field. The
pump raises over their low embankment 5,000 gallons a minute, and
increased the depth of water Ae inch in 24 hours in the field of 80.acres. 
They sowed the seed rice on the 25th of May, and harvested thecrop about the 25th of August.  They used grain reapers, altered toh
- -I.
137' t 
LOUISIANA 4S IT rS.
suit rice, in harvesting the crop. They used slides with the wheels,
and reaped eight to ten acres daiy.  They made from twelve to fifteen
barrels of rough rice to the acre.  Rough  rice weighs 162 pounds to
the barrel-clean rice, 232 pounds. They are satisfied with the results,
and will plant 150 acres of rice next year.
HEAVY RICE YIELD IN ST. CHARLES.
One of our active Creole rice planters of the parish of St. Charles,
Theophane Thiel, Esq., is getting twenty barrels of rough rice to the
acre from his fields. This gentleman has a rice field of one hundred
and forty acres, which he works scientifically. This is a yield of about
66 bushels to the acre, which is a very heavy one as compared to the
general yields of our rice fields under the present mode of cultivation
practiced here.
Under a proper system of cultivation, every acre applied in the
State might be made to produce this amount annually.
This gentleman shipped to the city, on the 21st, the product of
three acres, 60 barrels, which, after cleaning by the "Brook Steam
Rice Mill," sold for $404 75.
These figures were shown us on the books of our active young rice
merchants, the Thompson Brothers. An acre of wheat returns about
$25 gross product. This is a return for one acre of rice, $135. Rice
culture is destined to be an important interest in Louisianu. —Vex 0,S
Zeans Times.
SUGGESTIONS TO RICE PLANTERS.
In a trip through the rice regions above the city and on the Lafourche, we observe a good second crop in many fields, sprung from
the old stubble cut two months ago. This crop is ripe, or ripening very
fast, and will make enough in many places to pay all the expenses of
the first crop, thus leaving the original crop clear profit. With a proper
system of irrigation, so that water can be raised from the streams and
lakes, by wheels or by pumping, the second crop of rice could be always
a certain crop in lower Louisiana.
At present the onl rice fields which are cultivated in the lowland
rice, which requires irrigation, are situated along the MIissippi river
and its outlets or bayous, or, as the Spaniards call them more correctly,
riachos.
138
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
The rice plantations depend upon the rise in the Mississippi for the
water for their rice lands. When the river is above the level of these
lands the water can be let into the fields through gates in the levee.
This is a precarious system and occasionally cuts short the rice crop
when the low water prevents the faw into the fields from the natural
level.
As rice culture is becoming one of our greatest agricultural interests, nothing should be left:to chance when it is possible by moderate
expenditure to make success certain.
The simplest contrivances for raising water are current wheels, or
floats or flats. Windmills are also a cheap and easily managed power
for pumping, and they are now self-adjusting and self-reefing, so as to
)rotect themselves against sudden flaws or storms.,
But steam power is now so very cheap that every body may have
permanent engines and boilers put up at a very low figure.
The question of fuel, which makes so alarming an item of cost in
the estimate of running an engine, need not trouble the rice planter.
It has been found in California and some parts of the West, as well as
on the continent of Europe, that steam threshing machines can be carried into the fields and run by threshed straw.  The rice straw is in the
planter's way now, but he could pump his water readily if boilers and
fuirnaces were set to use it, as it is a strong fuel, and could use his engine for threshing and various other purposes.
We believe, now that a more intelligent class of planters are embarking in rice culture, that many improvements will be made, not
only in the modes of culture and irrigation, but in the introduction of
many labor-saving machines.- Co-operative News.
RICE.
ITS PRODUCTION PAPIDLY INCREASING —A VERY RICE AND PROFITABLE IN
DUSTRY-THE PRESENT CROP AND PROSPECTS.
The growing importance of the rice production of the current year
will surprise even the most sanguine advocates of the cultivation of this
staple. In certain portions o4 St. James parish, as many as twentytwo barreis of rouitgh lie have been produced upon an acre, and the
crop of 1875 is estimated at four hundred thousand barrels. Heretofore the net profits per acre after'aying all expenses, including culti
139
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LOUISIANA AS ];T IS.
vation, etc,, has been $47 50, but this was upon an estimate of twelve
barrels per acre. Should the amounts already reported prove a criterion, the profits would be increased by at least eight barrels per acre,
less the cost of milling and freight. The great advantage is the small
cost which attends its cultivation Quite recently several hundred colored laborers were secured in the city for the purpose of harvesting the
crop, it being ascertained that one man could plant and cultivate more
than five could gather. The labor entailed in this is indeed trifling.
The ground is turned to the depth of but a few inches, and after the
rice has sprouted, irrigated by a sluice gate from the river, the water is
permitted to cover it several iweeks, and then drained off.  A second
irrigation and drainage completes the task. But a small investment is
necessary until the crop is ready for harvest, and then advances sufficient to secure all the necessary labor, can readily be procured. Not
only is it expected that the present crop will yield a year's profit of
nearly six nillins of dollars, but a sufficient supply mill remain in the
country to provide laborers with abundance of food. The production
of the State will approach ninety-two millions of pounds to furnish
over two pounds to every human being in the nation. Producers of
this staple have wisely concluded not to undertake too much, and in
consequence its milling and polishing has become a separate industry.
IHundreds of thousands of dollars are invested in the latter enterprise,
and while a fair profit is made by millers, they can afford to purchase
the product for market cheaper than could the planter, were he to erect
his own machinery. —Y. O. Times.
FRUIT CULTURE IN LOUISIANA.
TROPICAL AND SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS.
Oranges- Lemwii -  Banainas - Limes- Shad(locks -  Citrons,s-Figs
Olives  Dates-Sayo Palms- Guava-Jitjul)e.
Tue above list of fruits can all be raised in Louisiana, mnost of
them as high as 30~, some far above; others can hardly be raised above
latitude 29~ 30'.
ORAtES-THE ORANGE CIOP.
It is estimated that last year the orange crop of Louisiana amounted to 65,000 barrels. It is difficult to obtain a truie statement of the
140
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
crop raised in the State. The small groves of orange trees, scattered
all over Southern Louisiana, near and below latitude 30~, from the Sabine to Pearl river, on numerous bayous and lakes in and near the sea
marsh, five, ten, twenty, or fifty in a grove, and individual trees planted
near dwelling houses, cannot be sumsmed up and given to the reader in
acres with any accuracy.
In establishing orange orchards, from 100 to 125 trees are usually
planted on an acre. They are planted from fifteen to twenty feet apart.
Probably there are from 1000 to 1500 acres of orange trees in the
State.  The home consumption of oranges that never reach  the market is immense.
Oranges are raised in great perfection in the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Orleans, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John Baptist,
St. James, Assumption, Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Mary, Iberia, Vermilion, Cameron and Sabine. They are also raised in favorable localities in the lower parts of several parishes above the 30th parallel. There
is orange land enough in Louisiana to increase the orange crop of the
State a thousand fold and to supply the whole Mississippi Valley with
oranges. Most of the sea marsh of Louisiana, if leveed and drained,
as the lands of the Netherlands have been reclaimed, would be admirably adapted to orange culture.
Oranges this year (1875), have been raised on the N. O. St. L. & C.
Railroad, as high up as Independence, in the pine woods, 65 miles, or
nearly one degree above New Orleans. The trees are vigorous and
healthy, and the fruit fine.  Several bushels have been raised from a
single young tree. More attention will be given to oranges in the pine
lands in that section of the State, though the latitude is a little too
high.
LARGE ORANGES FROM TREES SIXTY YEARS OLD.
Editors of Our Home Journal:
I send you a few oranges to show you what we can do in this part
of the country.  They are from trees sixty years of age, planted by my
grandfather; standing to-day where the seeds were planted, without
having ever been removed. The trees are perfectly healthy and full of
fruit.
Yours, respectfully,
F. B. HUDSON.
Bayou Sale, parish of St. Mary, La. Nov. 20, 1875.
1 4,1 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
The editor of the Home Journal remarks:
We received the oranges all in excellent condition, and return
thanks to our friend. Every one who saw them pronounced them not
only the finest, but the largest they had ever seen. The box, the size
of a sixty pound soap box, was filledl with twenty-nine oranges, the
largest weighing 17 ounces, and measuring 13 inches in circumference,
and the smallest 10 onnces-lthe twenty-nine oranges weighing 23 lbs.
12~ ounces, or an average of 13 1-10 ounces each, and evelry one of
them was a perfect beauty. This excellent sample from the rich lands
of the Teche country, gives a faint idea of what is in store for Louisiana in the future, when her now thousands of acres of idle land will be
converted into rich orange groves, with crops worth $1000 an acre.
Trees sixty ye.u' old, an. slich fruit!  Never transplanted, andI
perfectly healthy! What a fotune there is in store for those who now
plant tres anl give the.m carefil and seientifii culture.  Is qc'ny
crop that will pay better, and that will give a lasting income like it?
DATES.
Dates have succeeded in Southern Louisiana in the open air, <}
few have ever given them any attention.
SAGO PALM.
The sago palm grows well in the coast parishes, and even on the
river above New Orleans.  They are chiefly cultivated in connection
with ornamental trees and shrubbery.  They sometimes grow as high
as thirty feet, and are admired for their rank tropical character and apearance.
JUJUBF.
The jujube is a thorny shrub, hardy, and easy of propagation. It
grows in Lower Louisiana, and appears to be hardy enough for a hedge
plant, or to grow in higher latitudes
GUAVA.
The guava succeeIs in the coast parishes of Louisiana, and perhaps in higher latitudes.  I is seldom cultivated in this State.
M]SPILUS OR JAPAN PLUM.
This is a fine plum, yellow, of a pleasant asid, grows on a beauti                       0
'I 4'-.), 
LOUMIANA AS IT IS.         1
fl evergreen tree; the fruit ripens in March or April, blossoms in the
fall, and is not injured in the winter by moderte frosts below  latitude
30~. The tree will grow one or two degrees farther north, but the
frit does not always mature in the vicinity of New Orleans. There,
was plenty of this fruit ripe min the New"Orleans market this year by
the 1st of February
LEMONS.
Lemons are raised in the open air and without protection as high
up as 30~, the latitude of New  Orleans; but they are not a sure crop
above latitule 29~21.  We have seen them ripen in St Mary's Parish ia
latitude 29 30W.
BANANAS.
Bananas ripen in the open air in the latitude of New Orleans, in
positions favorably s.tuated in regard to froja We have known them
to oen       n LByon  Teche as high up as Franklin. After a veu mid
winter they will ripen anywhere as high up as latitude 30~, and perhaps a little above.
LIMES.
Limes are not so hary as lemons  We have never seen them cultivated sucessfuly quite so high up as New Orleans.  They can be
raised nea the coast, and on the islands where water on the north side
protects them from injury by frosts&
CITRONS.
Citrons grow on a low shrub, and stand nearly as much cold
weather as the orange. They grow in great perfection in the southern
parts of the Parish of St. Mary, and in Terrebonne, and other coast
parishes
SHADDOCKS.
Shaddocks do well in the southern part of St. Mary, and in all of
the coast parishes.
OvEs.
Olives succeed well in the coasj parishes, and would do well doubtless as high up as the northesn part of the State. But few have ever
been cultivated even in the coast parishes, but those few have done.
well.
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14,1. 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
ALMONDS.
Col. S. J. Matthews, the great Arkansas nurseryman, sent us the
other day, a box of almonds grown upon his place near Monticello.
This was a pleasant surprise, although we had before seen an announcement that he was developing the almond culture. They were much
more palatable than those brought from a distance; were large in size
and perfectly framed.-Arkansas Papei-.
FIGS.
Figs grow in all parts of Louisiana, but there" arie son e varieties
that are too tender for a latitude much above 30~.  Every morning in
the fruit season, delicious fruit th:t ripencd during  the night  can be
taken from the trecs.
Most kinds of apples do not succeed well in any part of this State.
There are some kinds, however, that do very well in the middle and upper parishes, and some that, with skillful management, have done well
as low down as latitude 30 degrees.
Mr. H. W. L. Lewis, M%aster of the Louisiana State Grange, has
succeeded in several varieties, raising fine apples. He has experimented with over fifty varieties and about the same number of varieties of pears and grapes. He has a seedling Southern apples that he
thinks a complete success.  He finds but few trees out of those he has
experimented with that he thinks worthy of much attention. His
orchard and nurseries are in Tangipahoa parish, five or six miles from
.the State line, and near Osyka, Missisippi.
PEAS.
Pears do exceedingly well in various localities, from the shore
washed by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the upper line of the
State. Magnificent pears have been raised on the banks of the Teche,
and in various places in Attakapas and St. Landiyer there are a few fine
healthy bearing pear trees. No better pears are found in the State, if
in the South, than the best qualities of this fruit produced within
sound of the waves that roll upon the beach between New Orleans aud
e.
Mobile. Pears require a soil that has considerable iron in it. The
climate of Louisiana is fine forpean in all parts of the State, and science and experience will-doubtless be able to correct the defects of the
-'144 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
soil in various localities, and pears may become a profitable crop in
this State.
GRAPES.
The scuppernong is doubtless the most valuable grape  in the
South. It succeeds well from the gulf shore to the Ohio River, and
perhaps beyond. It does well in either alluvial or sandy, pine woods
soil.  Give it a good arbor, increase the arbor as the  vine  extends
from year to year, give direction to the new shoots and do not allow
the vine to grow in bmunches, and in almost any soil properly drained
and not too rich, a single vine will make fruit and even wine enough
for a family.
These vines that produce such extraordinary crops have been
planted near old wells, and. the roots run down and around the decayed
curbing to the surface of the water. The well furnishing underdraiiing and air more completely than can be done by any other arangement. The vine lives and thrives to the age of two hundred years or
more.
The Concord and Ives seedling succeed admirably in the pine
lands of this State. There are several other kinds of grapes that do
well. The Warren, Diana, Tennessee, Delaware, Hartford, Prolific,
Roger, Red River, and some of the native  grapes  of Louisiana  are
highly prized. The Red River grape, now cultivated in France, is a
native grape of this State. The muscadine grows in all parts of the
State, and, like the scuppernong, grows in any kind of soil, from
swamps to pine hills. The pine lands are the best soil for grapes.
THAT WONDERFUL SCUPPERNONG.
The following article from the Rurtal Carolinian, will illustrate the
prolific qualities of this valuable grape:
In your April number I see that you allude to a scuppernong. vine
grown by me. I do not know how you received your information relative to the marvelous growth of this vine. But justice demands for
this generous vine that I give the facts in the premises. In June of
1867, I layered a few vines of the Scuppernong in a lot I owned in
Jacksonville. In July of the same year, I sold this lot to M>. C. L.
Robinson, reserving these vines. Tin the fall of 1867 I planted these
vines, one of which was near the well; this vine covers a lattice-work
fifty-four by sixty-four, and will bear this season one hundred bushels
10
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f
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
I think.   This sine can be seen without a sm'ch watrrant, and I can
prove the above facw.-Florid:z Corr)espotdeit.
Plums succeed well in all parLs of this State. But little efforts
have been made to introduce hew and improved varieties, but some of
the varieties raised are quite large and very good fruit.  The  plum,
like the fig tree, is expected to take care of itself, and but little attention is given to it only to keep the cattle from destroying the trees
when young. In fact, the plum, the orange and the fig are the only
fruits that have been produced in the gardens and around the dwellings
in Southern Louisiana for home supplies, with the exception of a few
strawberry patches and a few grapes and pears, for the reason that
these fruits, in former years, required but little attention. These and
blackberries and dewberries, which grow bountifully all over Southern
Louisiana, constituted the chief fruits of this section of the State.
PEACHES.
But little attention has been given to peaches, for the reason that
they require more attention than plums, oranges, figs and grapes, and
they areusually allowed to be smothered with weeds, choked with
grass or destroyed by cattle. When our people attend to peaches as
they do in Delaware and New Jersey, they will have an abundance of
the fruit in all parts of the State. Peaches do better in the middle and
upper part of the State than in the lower part.  Formerly, peach orchards were much better attended to in all parts of Louisiana than of
late years, and good peaches were raised in abundance clear down to
the Gulf shore, and on the islands. Good cultivation and proper attention would doubtless again give us good peach crops in this State.
APRICOTS AND NECTARINES.
No attention has been given to apricots and nectarines, but a few
persons have succeed well with them. Like peaches, they will doubtless succeed when properly cultivated and cared for by skillful managers.
QL-Excl".
The common quint does not succeed well in Louisiana, but perhaps it is as much for want of proper culture and attention as anything
else. The Chinese quince produces well every year in the coast parishes,
146
SW
0
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
and the tree and fruit ar   healthy.  It is saperior  t: the  common
quince.
S rRAWBERRIES.
Strawberries do well in all parts of the Stat a, from the Gulf shorto the upper parishes, when properly cultivate l anI  when  the soil is
properly prepared.
BLACKBERRIES3, DEWBERRIES, ETC.
Blackberries grow bountifully in  all parts of this  St.te.  They
might be dried and preserved, or mvde into wine, and become a valuable article of commerce,  as in  North  Car.lint  an'l other  States
Dewberries grow wild everywhere in the State.  The vines are hardy
and prolific, and the fruit excellent.
CONCLUSION.
Louisiana should be a great fruit growing State, and should send
to market yearly millions of dollars worth of ripe, canned, preserved
and dried fruits and wines.  We  neel an immigration of a large number of enthusiastic and practical fruit men to this State. We hope to
see them here in a few years.
PEA-t3 ON B.TYOU TEC_E.
In July, 1873. we visited the orchard of Capt. Eugene B. Olivier,
on Bayou Teche, parish of Iberia, ten or twelve miles from the Gulf
co,ast and about 120 miles west of New Orleans. We there wrote the
following letter, which was published in the N. O. Times on the 4th
of July:
A short time since we went through the pear orchard of Capt.. Eugeue B. Olivier, situated on the west bank of the Bayou Teche, five
miles below New Iberia, in the parish of Iberia. Several of his trees
were hanging so frill of fruit that the limbs were breaking under the
weight. We counted about a hundred fine pears on two branches, and,
though the tree is but half grown, it has not less than a thousand pears
on it. Other trees were groaning under the weight of as perfect fruit
as grown in any latitude.  Capt. Olivier has about 100 bearing trees,
many of them twenty years old, besides many young trees. He has
seven varieties of pear treesthat deserve special notice, the Fondante
d'Ete, Louise Bonne, Soldat Leboureur, Beurre Admirable, Beurre
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
f
Goubault, Bartlett, and St. Michael Archangel. They ripen in July and
Auguist.
AN INTERETING LEER FROM CAPT. OLrVIER
The following letter was written by Capt. Eugene B. Olivier, two
years later, and published in, the SUGAR BOWL, at New Iberia.  Capt.
Olivier is excellent authority on the Louisiana fruit question. We know
of no better authority in the State. We have been intimately acquainted
with him for more than a quarter of a century, and freely vouch for the
truthfulness of his statements, and his ability and intelligence in connection with fruit culture. Any one who has partaken of his hospitalities, and scrutinizes his orchards, fruits and nurseries, as we have done,
will always remember him as a fine specimen of the intelligent creole
gentlemen of former days, and as an enthusiast in the fruit business;
and a sptcses.sful enthusiast.
PARISH OF IBERIA, July 25, 1875.
Ei!o, of Stig/r Botvl: —Accompanying this, please find samples of
five different varieties of apples, submitted to your appreciation de vis i
and de gustiboe, and after scrupulous analysis, please telLyour readers
what you think of Louisiana apples, or rather of the possibility of raising apples in Louisiana, which to most people remains  as yet an open
question. The sample, of which you'll find one wrapped in paper, is
a native variety, found in East Baton  Rouge, and much spoken of
some three years ago.
Besides these varieties, several others, of earlier and later maturity,
do equally as well here with half the care the trees should receive.
Nowhere does nature offer a more admirable locality for the culture
of fruits than those fine undulating plains, stretching from New Iberia
westward; and yet, what efforts are being made in that healthful and
remunerative industry?  People of Iberia, St. Martin, Vermilion, Lafayette, St. Landry and Calcasieu, awake to the voice of nature, which
caJls you in unwavering signs, to the undertaking; plant the peach, the
apricot, the nectarine, thu fig, the pear, the apple, the orange, the
grape vine-can your own fruits and make your own wines. If you
don't-if you disdain to reap the treasures strewn at your feet-others
in due time most ceainly will, because nowhere was there ever more
pointed indications of the destiny of your country. Therefore, ye of
Calcasieu, drive off your liliputian cows and knock-kneed ponies,  and
148 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.                 1
let the grape vine wave its treasures throughout your broad prairies;
dot your water cours   with the beautiful orange tree; aid ye of the
intervening region, let us have an abundance of the fruits named above;
acclimate others, cultivate none but the very best varieties, create new
ones, and "hide not your lights under a bushel," but, pro bono p?tblico,
tell your neighbors of your experience-how you stuled and got up
again; of the many blunders committed, and the success encountered,
as a means of mutual benefit.
GRAFRiD ORANGE TREES.
Of late years considerable attention is being given to grafting
orange trees. A seed planted in the winter, or spring, in good soil,
and properly attended to, may make a stock large enough to graft, or
bud the next spring, when one year old, but a two year old stock is
better. In two or three years the graft will produce fruit. A seedling
orange tree often requires from 8 to 12 years to come in bearing.
They usually graft on the sour orange stock which is considered
more hardy than the sweet orange tree, and les liable to a certain disease which attacks the bark of the tree at the surface of the ground;
the sap disease.
The Nelson Brothers, at the Magnolia Nurseries, in the suburbs of
New Orleans, are grafting the Brazilian orange scion on the sour
orange stock, also the Mandarin, and the Creole orange. They consider the Brazilian, in some respects, superior to the Creole orange,
fnd the Creole as much superior to the Cuban, or the  Mediterranean
oranges. The Nelson Brothers are reliable gentlemen, and will give
correct information to inquiries in regard to orange  culture in  this
State.
TiE DEMAND FOR LOUISIANA ORANGES.
The demand for Louisiana oranges always keeps ahead of the supply. As railroad and other transportation facilities increase, the great
West calls for a larger yearly supply of this delicious fruit. Louisiana
can never glut the orange market of the great valley of the Mississippi.
The better portions of the sea marsh, on the coast of Louisiana, will
doubtless in time be leveed and Ianted in orange groves.
VARIETIES.
There are abou-t ten varieties of oranges now raised in Louisiana,
0
.14.9 t
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LOUISIANA'AS  IT 1iS.
the principal varieties are the sweet, sour, myrtle,  Mandarin, and Brazilian. Thesour orange makes magnificent preserves, and the juice a
delicious sour orange wine.
The Brazilian orange isaelicious, not quite as acid as the Creole,
hangs on the tree later in the season than the creole, is hardy, prolific,
and does well grafted on the sour orange stock.
The Mandarin is a delicious little orange, can be pealed without a
knife, and divided into ten or a dozen sections, without starting the
juice. A lady may peal and divide it without soiling her gloves.
The myrtle orange grows in rich clusters, and the trees are sometimes buried in thousands of its golden fruit. The tree, and leaves,
and fruit, ore much smaller than the Creole orange. The fruit is only
sied for making preserves.
The bastard orange is a medium  between  the  sweet and sour
orange; rarely cultivated
FRUITS FROM OUR GUIF COAST.
From Our Home Journal, Sept. 18, 1875.
At the recent meeting of the American Pomological Society, in
Chicago, IMr. Redmondcl, of Ocean Springs, MIississippi, exhibited the
following fruits from our section
Kinds.                                   No. of Varieties.
Oranges.........................................................9
Lemons.........................................................2
Bananas.
Bananas............................................... -.
Pine Apple......................................................1
Date..........................................   1
"Custard Apple," (carica papaya)..................................1
"'Iay Apple," (passiflora edutlis)...................................1
Jujube.......................................................... 1
Figs............................................................4
Grapes, (Southern sorts).........................................2
Chinese Quince..................................................1
Pears...........................................................4
Apples..........................................................2
Persimmons...................................... 1
Pomogranatei...................................................4
Olive...........................................................1
Of all varieties.......................................37
150
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LOUISIANA AS IT IS.      "
Mr. Redmond desires to return special thanks to Messrs. Alfred E.
Lewis and F. Gautier, of Pascagoula; to Mr. U. Cousins and Mrs. Sarah A. Dorsey, of the Coast; to Brother John, of the College at Pass
Christian; and to Messrs. Sambola, Devron, Roantr3 and Joseph Muller of New Orleans, for very efficient aid in making up his collection.
FIGS.
There are twelve or fifteen varieties of figs cultivated in Louisiana,
but the best and most reliable of all is the cleste or sugar fig.
The blue or purple fig is large and fine, particularly fine in a dry
season.  None of the varieties of figs are as good  in showery as in
settled, fair weather.
The 5Iarseilles is a splendid fig, particularly fine for preserves, but
the tree is not as hardy as the other kinds.
The red MIexican fig is larger and later than any others, but it is
coarse, and is not as sweet as other kinds.
The old, common yellow fig, most'usually.gtowinlg in the cotutry
is hardy,  and a good  fig in  dry weather, but of little account in
showery weather.
Mlost all kinds of figs are prolific, and bear one good crop evelry
year.  The early crop is generally worthless.  The second crop is the
only one of value. The third crop, in the latter Fart of summer, is
better than the first, but it seldom amounts to anything, so far as our
observation extends.  The figs are neither as sweet or abundant as the
second crop, and do not mature as perfectly.
The fig tree and fruit have no enemies in the form of insects, bugs,
worms, or diseases. It is as hardy in its true latitude as a live oak,
only the young trees sometimes suffer a little in a hard winter.
THE VALUE OF THE FIG CRnoP.
The fig crop, like the orange crop, should become exceedingly valuable to this State. The yearly crops are bountiful. The yield of an
acre of fig trees, properly managed, in full bearing, would be enormous.
They live and bear fruit until they are fifty years old, or older.
Millions of jars of presel-*d figs should be sent yearly from this
State to the North and West.  They can be put up  in a marketable
shape in numerous ways. The finest pickles we ever saw were made of
figs.  Ripe figs make fine vinega.  From the beer prepared from ripe
151 , 
LOUISIANA Ad IT IS.
fruit, doubtless fig brandy could be made of an exceUllent quality, far
better than peach or apple brandy. More than threequarters of the
State of Louisiana is adapted to fig culture. They would grow and
produce bountifully on reclaimed swamps, and ea marshes.
WHEAT-CORN-OCOTTON-BREAD AND MEAT.
WHEAT.
The yield of wheat in Ohio, fifty yearn ago, was 30 bushels to the
acre; to-day it is not quite 15.
In 1775, the wheat fields near Albany, N.Y., yielded from 30 to 40
bushels to the acre, with inferior cultivation. In 1855, winter wheat
yielded 71 bushels per acre, and spring wheat 5 bushels.
In Maine, wheat has nearly ceased to be cultivated where formerly
good crops were made.
In Mississippi, and in some of the upper parishes of Louisiana,
farmers have this year, (1875) made in many instances from 20 to 30bushels of wheat to the acre, superior in quality to any made north of
the Ohio river or in the Great West. Southern wheat always brings a
higher prieo in any wheat market than Northern wheat.
CORN AND MEAT.
"After thirty-five years of planting in Louisiana," said Mr. C. yesterday, "the result of my experience is that the man who plants corn
and makes his.own meat and bread, will have money to loan at the end
of the year, while he that raises cotton alone, buying his meat and
bread, will be compelled to borrow money. "-N. O. Times, Meh 30,'75.
CHEAP CORN.
A farmer on the New Orleans, St. Louis & Chicago R. R. made two
hundred bushels of corn with twenty-five days work, on land not considered the best. The same may be done every year on lands properly
manured and well cultivated.  Why should Louisianians bring corn
from 600 to 1500 miles, or more, at heavy expense, when a day's work
may secure eight bushes of the article of better quality than Western
corn?
CORN AND WHEAT.
A Western farmer says: "The corn crop does not average 40 bush
0
152 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. X
el to the acre in the West; some make 50 to 60 bushels, others from 1(}
to 15."
Wheat sometimes yields 25 to 30 bushels, but oftener from 12 to 15.
bushaels.
An acre of corn in the crib is generally worth about $12.'
A goo31 farmer in Louisiana, who manures his lands as he should
do, cau get from 25 to 30 bushels to the acre, and more than that amount
of oats. Farmers in Mississippi have in many instances made 25 bush —
els of wheat to the acre this year; some have made more.
A BALE OF COTTON TO THE ACRE.
A successful farmer in the pixelands informed us that he has made
four bales of cotton, 500 pounds net each, on four acres of pine land,
by applying a moderate amouint of manure to the land. He thinks
that all pine lands that have a good subsoil can be easily made to yield
35 bushels of corn, or 500 pounds of lint cotton to the acre.
In Georgia five bales of cotton have been made on a single acre
ill one year.
CALCULATION OF THE PRICE OF A COTTON CROP.
If the figures 60 are divided by the cotton crop in millions of bales,>
the result will give the average price per pound at the nearest market,
Thus the crop raisesl is
2 million bales    60    30 cents per pound.
3..          60    20..
4..          60    15..
5..                60    12..
It will thus be seen that under ordinary circumstances, three million
bales of cotton are as valuable to the planter, and will bring as much
money as can be obtained for four or even five million bales.
A small crop is increased in value by the necessities of the consumers.  A large crop is reiuced in value by any disturbance of the
money market, or by war, pestilence or famine. The surplus land can
be profitably occupied in producing pork, corn and hay, without reducing the value of the cotton crop one dollar.
The more corn, pork, hay ant provisions made in the South, the
higher will be the price of cotton, one year with another. 4The South
has the physical force now in the field slfficient to make its bread and
l
t 
LOUiSIANA' AS IT IS.
meat, and at the same time make a cotton crop that will yield a larger
:aggregate profit than 4,000,000 bales.
,CAN WHITE MEN WOrK THE SOIL AND STAND THE CLI                     MATE OF LOUISIANA?
MP.. PBErIl  PIECOT'S STAT]ENT-PROOFTABL] FA_RIG.
Mr. E. Maynard, in the year 1869, a small farmer in the Parish of
-St. Mary, by his own labor, and hired labor that cost him $145, made
.enough sugar cane to yield forty-five hogsheads of sugar and sixty barrels of molasses,  The net proceeds of his own labor, after paying for
all hired labor, amounted to four thousand four hundred and forty
. dollars.
The next year, assisted by his son and nephew, fourteen and six teen years of age, and six hundred days' work hired in sugar making,
at times when extra work was needed in the crop, made 57 hogsheads
of sugar and 75 barrels of molasses. He also made his home supply of
- corn, sweet and Irish potatoes, rice, forage, etc. After paying all of
his farm and family expenses, lie had $4800 profits left as the result of
his year's work.  AMr. Maynard is a Creole, of French descent, a native
of Louisiana.  His crops were made below latitude 30~.
SUGAR CULTIURE BY WHnITE MIEN.
On BayouL Teche, Parish of St. Maiy, in 1871, there was a colony
of one hundred white persons on M'me Grevemberg's plantation, cultivatinig sugar cane on the slinre system,  twenty-five hands in the
felld.
They each cultivated about 7 acres of cane and 13 acres of cori,
and cultivated their crops better than any worked by colored laborers.
The books of the plantation show that the following amounts were
paid to different hands as their share of the crop after it was sold in the
New Orleans market:
Paid over to B. Delotte..................................  $ 659 83
Paid over to Tayl& Delotte............................... 536 61
Paid over  VA. Thibodaux and little boy.................. 575 00
Paid over to Guillot Gerazime............................    475 00
Paid over to J. B. Il-rt and 2 sons........................ 1,462 37
-154 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.'
!
4,
Paid over to Gnstave Rogers (an old man)................. 971 50
Paid over to 3 young men, Dupuy'Brothers................ 1,728 16
Paid over to a man about 50 yeals old..................... 450 00
Paid over to an old man and 2 sons, 20 and 17 years, the old
man working but little............................. 1,316 06
Paid over to a man and 2 sons, commenced late in the sea      son.............................................. 1,643 44
Three men in a family made 32 hogsheads of sugar, and about 50
barrels of molasses.
The men all used their own horses and teams; not a nlegfo in the
colony in house or field.
The doctor's bill of the entire colony did not exceed $150 a year.
Sometimes not over $100, as stated by their physician; $1 to $1 50 a
head, and the physician lives two miles off.
Each family made its own corn, potatoes, etc., and sold from $100
to $150 worth of eggsiyearly.
Net proceeds of sugar and. molasses made by the colonists in two
years, $40,000, half for the planter and half for the colonists.
MR. W'-I. HUDSON'S STATEMENT.
Mr. Hylaire Hebert  came to Mr.  Hudson's farm in 1871, with a
large family, in gTeat distress.  He had no property or money.   Mr.
Hudson is a merchant, living at Jealnnerette, on Bayou Teche, Parish
of Iberia, and has a small farm near by.  He  employed Mr. Hebert
and his family to work his farm- on shares.  He furnished five arpents
of seed cane, and Mr. Hebert planted 23 arpents of cane and plenty of
corn. In the fall hle and his boys made 37 hogsheads of sugar and about
50 barrels of molasses, put up seed cane for next year, and put up 175
barrels of corn for his share.
In 1872, he, withl the samne force, made 33 hogsheads of sugar,
about 50 barrels molasses, (molasses about 60 gallons to a hogshead of
sugar), and plenty of corn andl forage.  The first year he got.$1500
cash for his palrt of the crop, the secoind year $1700.  He  sold eggs,
chickens and proluee, had but lgtle sickness in his family, and laid up
a handsome sum of money   Mr. Hudson made,  lelcar of expenses, 22
per cent. on tlle value of his farn tlle first year and 16 per cent. the
second year.
,,% f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
MR. PATOUT'S SATrEMmT-1871.
Mr. Patout, who lives in the Au Large Prairie, Parish of St. Mary,
La., and works a plantation near Jeannerette, says that foreigners and
Northern men can stand flied labor in this country as well as natives of
the State, white or black. He is working white laborers on his plantation on the share system and by the month. During slavery his doctor's bill for one hundred slaves and ten whites did not exceed a hundred dollars a year.
Yellow fever has never been epidemie in the Au Large Prair e.
He thinks that one good hand and two mules could cultivate forty
acres of corn on his plantation, all but thinning out.
MR. THIBODAUX'S STATEMENT-1871.
Mr. Thibodaux worked on M'me Grevemberg's plantation three
years, cultivating cane on the share system. He had a wife and ten
children, seven of them boys. He made enough in three years on
shares to buy a farm of thirty-five acres, with a good house and barn.
Had a good crop of cane, corn and rice.  His family hal more sickness
than any in the colony.  He had the pleurisy, which cost him $35 for
doctor's bill. He had paid only $155 for doctor's bill for himself and
family in six years.
STATEMENT OF MR. PATOUT AND THE CATHIOLIC PR[ESr.
In the Au Large and Cypremort prairies, in the parishes of Iberia
and St. MIary, west of Bayou Teche, in latitude 30 degrees, near the
coast of the Gulf of Mfexico, in a distance of seventeen miles, and a
width of five miles, there are (1871) three hundred small farms, worked
and owned by white farmers and their sons and hired men. But few
negroes employed. The farmers' wives and daughters usually do their
own housework, cooking and washing. There are also about seventyfive white families working on shares in the same section of country
They are more healthy than the negroes, and live longer, they work in
the field in all seasons of the year, and do all kinds of work that negro
field hands do in the sugar regions. They are much better farmers
than negroes.
0
ilt,-6 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
WHITE MEN IN COTTON AND CANE FIELDS.
TESTIMOIY OF INTITELLIGNT SOUTHBERN FARMEIRS.
A circular published in 1869, indorsed by the leading add most
intelligent citizens of St. Landry, members of the agricultural society
of that parish, states:
1. White men have tilled the soil of this parish from the early settlement of this State, and are now tilling it without experiencing any
difficutllties.
2. One white man easily cultivates 20 acres of land here under the
old system, and much more by the use of labor saving machinery lately
introduced, and from his individual exertion lihe can reap a larger return
than in the Westelrn or Middle States.
o. Out-door labor to the white man is not unpleasant, and can be
sustained without detriment to health. The average temperature of the
winter is about 40 degrees, and that of the summer 85 degrees during
the day.  During the heated period we have none of the sultriness of
the more Northern States at night. This has struck every one as a
remarkable feature in our climate. After the heat of the day there
comes a delicious feeling of ple.sure produced by a cool sea breeze and
the refreshing dew, which qombine to cool the hot earth, tone and invigolrate the system and prepare it for the coming day.
4. More than one-half of the white population of this parish are
engaged strictly in agricultural pmusuits, and are as robust and healthy
a any similar number of farmers in higher latitudes. The population
of St. Landry is 25,000, half of this number white people (1870).
5.  The production of one white man's labor, who is industrious,
may be thus stated: 400 bushels of corn, 200 bushels of sweet and as
many of Irish potatoes, 10 barrels or 30 bushels of rice, 5 bales of cotton, with a full supply of vegetables, hay, etc.
This statement is the actual result of one man's exertions, and may
be safely taken as a fair average. We appeal to the experience of five
hundred white farmers in our midst for the truthfulness of every fact
given, and do not fear contradiction in one single particular.
The same document, treating of the cultivation of sugar cane by
white labor, says:
White men can insure to tlhemnselves a fair revenue by the cultiva
1 57
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
tion of sugar cane upon a small sczle. It opens the way for co-operative
associations. The men of means, by putting up the machinery, ca
thus secure to the small farmers near him  tle msnans of saving  their
crop3, and thus stimulate the enterprise of the people.  His investment
will return to him a good intrest.
PROFITS OF WHITE LABOR ON SOUTHERN FARMS.
DR. TAYLOR'S STATTElENT.
The following statements were furnishled us by Dr. Taylor:
Last year, (1869,) Mr. L     sm)radiir, assist3d by his brother in-law,
made 21 bales of cotton, a large crop of corn, and performed all the
labor of the farm, attending to stork, gardening, etc.  Mr. Dunbar
rented the Eureka plantation of W. O. Denegre, Esq., of New Orleans.
His four sons, the youngest sixteen, his son-in-law, lMr. Simpson, and
two negro men, seven in all, ma-de 77 bales of cotton and 1200 bushels
of corn. It is worthy of remnark, that none of these white men were
accustomed to farm labor. MIr. Dunbar sub-rented portions of the
plantation to MIessrs. Humble and four Germans.
The two Messrs Humble, with their two sons, one 12 and the other
13 years of age, one negro boy and a negro man, made seventy bales of
cotton, 609 bushels of corn, and cultivatad and sold 200 bushels of Irish
potatoes, and cultivated three acres of canle, which was sold for $450.
They hired some labor in scraping their cotton, and had some assistance
in picking.
Mr. Duckwortlt, with one young man and two boys, made 32 bales
of cotton and an abundant crop of corn. MIr. Duckworth did but little
himself, so the crop was made chiefly by the young man and boys.
The MIessrs. Gilette, father and son, in addition to a corn and cotton crop, cultivated some sugar cane. They made 12 bales of cotton, and 16 barrels of syrup on a small sorghum  pan.   The  younger
Mr. Gilette is a promising young minister in the lMethlodist Church,
and attended during the year to his clerical duties.
These examples prove that white labor is eminently successful in
this parish. I don'ttelieve there was a case of sickness among these
people during te planting, cultivating or harvesting season.  All experience has demonstrated that, while the whit3 laboring man in this
158 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
climate enjoys equal exemption with the negro from disease, his laborfrom his superior intelligence and energy, is much more remunerative.
I have always found whit3 laborers who work in the field in St.
Landry the year round as healthy as field laborers in any other States —
as healthy as white men who do not labor;rand that this fact holdsgool in regard to white men who were raised in affluence and ease, and
who have dlone their first field work since the war.
J. A. TAYLOR, M.D.
DR. TATMAN ON WHITE LABOR.
The following extract from a letter written by Dr. Tatman, of St.
Landry parish, in 1869, and published in several papers in this State,
will be read with interest by all who desire reliable information about
white field labor in Louisiana:
I have been asked the question frequently by strangers if I thoughtwhite men can perform continuous field labor here; and my answer has
invariably been that I know they can.  Ever since I have lived here I'
have been seeing white men and boys working in their own fields, frequently alongside of their own slaves, cultivating the usual crops of
the countly; and I have never known them to be compelled to desist
from such labor except from inclination.
I have known many white people who had no  slaves  to work for
them who have worked continuously in  the  field, without injury to
their health, raising good crops of corn, potatoes and cotton. I have
not seen that white people who perform field labor are any more liable
to'have fever and other diseases than those who have lived in idleness.
To the contrary, I have found the idle more liable to be sick than
those who work out of doors, as idleness has generally engendered
habits of indulgence in alcoholic stimulants that induce disease.  Persons coming from the North or from Europe need not fear that they
cannot work qn plantations or farms here, as the summer is no hotter
here than it is in the West, and the work no harder.
HEALTH OF WHITE LABORERS IN SOUTHERN LOUISIANA, IN SUGAR, COT(YON
AND  RICE FILDS-MECHANIMCS
There is no greater error than Chat which generally prevails in rega,rd to the health of out-door white laborers in Louisiana.   All along
the southern portion of this State, near latitude 30 degrees, between.
159- 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
30 and 31 degrees, and to the very edge of the s-a marsh that is daily
washed by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico,  there  are thousands of
white men who work in the open air every month in the year; and
they are as healthy as negro laborers, if not more so. In the saw mills
and forests around Lake Charles, in the prairies and woodlands, and
)n all the farms of Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, on sheets of soil
elevated but a few feet above tide water in and near the sea marsh, on
the Island of Grand Cheniere, Pecan Island and Cheniere Au Tigre,
west of Vermilion Bay, and in the midst of the mosquito kingdom,
there are many white families, hundreds of them who work in the open
air the year round, and have good health. In Vermilion parish the
most of the farm labor has always be3n performed by white men, before as well as since emancipation. In Lafayette parish there has for
thirty or forty years been a large number of white farmers who neither
owned nor hired negroes. They did their own work. The Creole
women have always been remarkable for their industry in  these parishes. They formerly made, by hand labor, immense quantities of
Attakapas cottonade that clothed multitudes of men.
Take the aggregate of these seven parishes, as defined by their
present boundaries, Iberia, St. Martin, Lafayette, Vermilion, St. Landihy, Cameron and Calcasieu, all lying on or near the Gulf coast, between 29 degrees, 40' and 31 degrees, and more than half of their field
and open air labor has been performed by white men ever since the
country was first settled.
IN THE SUG.R FILLDS.
A great deal of the open air labor of St. Mary  was performed by
avhite men in the early settlement of the parish. The foundation of
many of the fortunes made in that parish was laid by white labor.
At the present time there are white men working in the cane fields
in the lower part of the parish, near Berwick's Bay. Swedes and
Danes, fresh from Europe, have worked in the sugar crops there the
year  round, and  have had good health and have made money.  White
men work in the cane fields of Bayou Sale and Bayou Cypremont, near
t he   sea mar  sh, and   on the Teche, in the parish of St. Mary, and stand
t h e   climat e      well. More than three hundred white men, heads of fai;lies,  work at th e plow and-hoe in the Cypremont and Au Large prai                     0
160
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. 
Ties, in the pirish of St. Miry anI Ib3ria, and, h.ve na   mir3 traabla
~aout sickness than they have in the prairies of Illinois.
Twenty Danes, almost fresh from E-lrop3, w3rked oa  the Garrett
estate, now the property of the Berwick heirs, on Bayou Sale, parish
of'St. M,ry, not fifteen miles fromn th3 salt water of the GOlf of Mlxico last year. They mrde about tuen hogsheals of sugar ani  15 barrels
of molasses to the hand, besides corn, potatoes and forage. They hadcl
good health, and have contracted to mike another crop on  the same
place.
IN THE RICE FIELDS.
Thiere are larg3 nunmlbers of white m an, hea,ls of families, who
c:fltivat3 la ts and mik  sug.ar, cornl, rice, tobacco, anl other crops,
in the parishes of Terrebanue, Lafourche, Jefferson, St. Charles, St.
James, and Plaquemines and other parishes near the Gulf coast.  More
than three-quarters.of the Louisiana rice crops are made by white men.
WHrTE AND BLACK L-BOR-NETrROES AND MACHINERY.
Nearly all of the sugar houses, gin lhouses, dwellings anl  bridges
of this State ware m lle by whit3 m3n.  New Orleans was built principally by white man, wis pwved by white men. White labor is yearly
increasing and colored labor is decreasing in this State. Negroes have
an innate antipathy to new and improved implements and machinery
on farms and plantations. They are very destructive to such machinery, and always use it with a mental protest against it. In proportion
as intelligent white labor replaces negro labor will our lands be more
economically tilled, and new and improved implements of machinery
will be introduced. Wi_ wsite men take off their coats to take to
business in this State, something will be done; farming will pay, and
industrious and enterprising strangers, and Providence, will give us a
helping hand. The best way to secure the right kind of immigration
is for white men who live in the State to prove that a white laborer can
stand this climate, and lay up money at farming.
WHAT $150 M.kY DO.
An intelligent farmer in tho pine lands of Louisiana, formerly a
resident of New Orleans, hts a wife and several children, lives well, has
not been farming many y r, informed us in a late conversation with
11
161
0
0 
LOUISLKIANA AS IT IS.
him, that he can support his family comfortably, from cash sales of produce to the amount of $150 a year; provided he makes all of his homesupplies which he conveniently can make, and exchanges with merchants for goods such small articles as can be easily made, and spared
with no inconvenience to tte family or farm.
Why, then, cannot any industrious and economical family make a
living on a Louisiana farm? The necessaries of life are few and cheaps
the luxuries and superfluities of life are expensive and numberless.
WHAT A POOR MAN CAN DO IN THE SOUTH IN ONE YEAS..
Editors of our Home Journal:
Some time ago I told you I would send you a paper showing what
canl and has been done by a new settler in the pine woods. I find it a
more difficult task than I presumed-there is so much to say to give an
adequate idea of what has been accomplished, that I am afraid in this
short communication, I shall fall far short of my intentions. If, howeyer, it will be the means of stirring up an interest in this section of
country, I shall be more than satisfied.
About the early part of October, 1874, Mr., a ship carpenter
pretty well advanced in years settled on a tract of land that he had just
purchased in this parish with the intention, as he then said, of trying
to make a living in the pine woods.
His land was a thicket of pine sapplings and briars. No house to
live in-there was an old house on the place, and this he took down,
and with the material put up a smaller one-sufficient for himself, wife
and daughter-then commenced clearing his ground for a crop.
He was without team, so built himself a light cart that could be
drawn by hand, wherewith, aided by his wife and daughter, he hauled
logs and rails to fence in about 6 acres of land, of which however only
4 were actually cultivated, On these four acres he raised 35 bushels
rice, 75 bushels sweet potatoes, 2 barrels Irish potatoes, 2 barrels cow
peas, 2 bbls peanuts, 8 bbls corn in slip-shuck and 600 stalks of sugar
cane, besides vegetables comsumed during the summer.
The work was done with the hoe and axe-excepting only about
ten days work plowing and harrowing through the whole year, digging
sweet potatoes included. Being without capital, Mr,       had to give
162 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. -
his individual labor to pay for mule and horse hire-in other words exchange work.
This does not look like any great thing, but when you see as I hlaves
seen a wilderness transformed to a comfortable home in so short a space
of time, it makes one wonder what this country could be, if we would'
only take hold with a will and not only talk, but work.
We must bear in mind that IMr.         is a mechanic (not a farmer
by profession) and his family never labored in the field until this yearalso that this is a first experience, and what he has done gives promise
of better things in the future.
Hoping that I have not trespassed too much on your valuable space,
I remain, yours, etc.,                                C. H. T.
Tangipahoa Parish, La., Dec. 31st, 1875.
WHAT TWO 5IEN AND A PAIR OF MIULES CAN MIAKE IN LOWER LOUISLIAN
IN SIX MONTHS.
The following article was written by one of our most successful and
reliable sutgar plate;, for the Co?tiie?' Joietutal of Louisville, Ky.  We
copy it for the purpose of showing to our readers, both North and South,
what can be done in Louisiana by a proper system of economy and
labor:
Editor Our Hom, Journal, (New Orleans):
We have lately been so engrossed with our miserable political condlition that we have lost sight for a time of our many natural advantages in location, soil, and climate, not only to live well and pleasantly,
but to make money.  Mly attention has lately been called to this fact,
by observing the efforts of a quiet, industrious Creole neighbor, in that.
line. This man, with the aid of a pair of mules and a hired negro man,,
net over $3000 by six months work, upon about sixteen acres of land.
It is true, he is living within twenty miles of New Orleans, a good market, but the same results may be obtained anywhere in lower Louisiana.
As it may be of interest to many living in less -favored climes to knowhow this is done, we will give the details.  He has four acres in ca'bage, four in early corn, (tle ordinary white corn of Kentucky, that is
in ear here in Mfay,) four acres in onions, and four acres in Irish potatoes. The onions are planted in December, the Irish potatoes in Jan
163, 4, 
LOUISL-NA AS IT IS.
uary, and the corn and cabbage in February. All will be off the ground
and sold in May, in ample time to replant the same land with a crop
'of the ordinary yellow corn and cow-peas, yielding from the sixteen
acres not less than $200 in wrn and $200 in pea-hay.  The latter has
not only this money value, but is invaluable as a fertilizer of the soil
for the same crops the succeeding year.
Onions yield from 50 to 100 barrels per acre, and are now worth
$8 per barrel, although the usual price is about $1.  Irish potatoes are
worth about $1 per barrel, to be sold i  New Orleans or shipped to
the West. They are somewhat an uncertain crop, from too much rain,
"but usually yield 50 or 60 baTrrels per —.re of marketable potatoes.
Cabbage are worth from 85 to $15 per 100, according  to size, and the
usual stand is 4,000 per acre.  Green corn sells from $3 to $5 per hun-'dred, and with a proper stand in five-foot rows, will yield from 6,000 to
7,000 eara per acre.
Now, the gross product of these crops, with an ordlinary yiel'd, and
at ordinary prices, would be, say:
'Onions, 240 barrels at $4..................................
Potatoes, 240 barrels at $1................................
Cabbage, 16,000 head at 7c................................
Creen corn. 25.000 ears at 3c..............................
Total..........................................
If the producer hired the hauling to market, say two cai-ts for
50 days at $5. to be deducted..........................
Leayvig the net proceeds............................... $3,540
The four hundred dollars' worth of corn and pea hay, being needed
to feed the pair of mules, I have left out of the estimate, but should
,properly be included, thus swelling the amount to very near $4000.
Save the gathering of the corn and pea hay in August, the two men and
pair of mules would be idle, unless employed ai other business, from
June until November. It is usual to begin plowing, preparing. etc.,
for these crops, in Tovember.
In concltsion I would say, if the producer of this crop owned the
land, and wished to enhance the value of it enormously, he could plant
this sixteen acres in orange trees, one hundred trees to the acre, with
164
$960
960
1,120
750
$3,790 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.'
out any detriment to the trees or crop, until thl former are in bearing,
which would be in seven or eight years.  Well grown orange trees will
yield upon an average 1000 oranges to the tree, and 2000 are not uinusual, but 1000 per tree at $1 per 100 would4 yield the proprietor of this
sixteen acres an annual income of $16,000.  So it will be seen that
lower Louisiana can produce other things besides sugar and rice.
Lands can be bought within twenty miles of New Orleans, often
with dwellings, at from thirty to fifty dollars per acre, including woods
and arable land.  They are alluvial and in.haistible. We want immi
grants-intelligent white men and women.
The editor will furnish our address andcl post-office to any one
requesting it.                                         KENruCKIAN.
St. Bernard, La., April 19, 1875.
WHAT OUR MEN AND BOYS HAVE DONE, AND CAN DO.
From the Clinton (La.) Patriot Democrat.
We take pleasure in laying before our readers the follo-i lg statements of the farming operations of a few of ou,r citizens, which estab:
lish that the cultivation of cotton by white mnen and boys pays in this
locality:
Statement of IMr. Agripl* Gayden, agedt 18 years:
Paid rent for 14 acres of land at $6.........................
Paid hire for one horse.................................... 
Paid feeding one horse....................................
Paid for hired labor.......................................
Total expenses.....................................
Proceeds of seven bales cotton............................
Valuie of 200 bushels corn.................................
Total.............
Total1...............;..............................
Net profits........................................
or over $50 per monlth ear.il.las.
t
im
$ 84.. O.D,
30 00
50.00
50 00
$214 00
$621 39
200 00
82,1 39
.$607 39, 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Statement of Mr. Alexander Norwood, aged 17 years, for 1872:
Paid rent for 30 acres land, at $10.......................... $300 00
Hire for one mule........................................ 30 00
Feed for one mule........................................ 50 00
Use of implements........................................ 10 00
Hired two boys, aged 18 and 14 years....................... 200 00
Paid board for two boys.................................... 150 00
Total expenses...................................... $740 00
Bet proceeds of 18 bales of cotton..........................1,374 86
Value of 300 barrels of corn................................ 800 00
100 bushels potatoes................................... I.  75 00
:Proceads from garden...................................... 100 00
$1,846 86
Net profits for a boy aged 17 years................... $1,106 86
Statement of William Currie, aged 18 years, and Edward Currie
Aged 14 years, for 1872:
nt for thirty acres of land at $8.......................... $240 00
-Hire for one muie.....................................30 00
Feed for mule............................................ 50 00
Total expenses, exclusive of board..................... $320 00
Net proceeds of 14 bales of cotton.................. $1.068 65
Value of 250) barrels of Corn............................... 250 00
.10 bushels of sweet potatoes.............................75 00
400 pounds of fodder....................................40 00
100 bushels of peas.......................................  100 00
<50 bushels of Ilrish potatoes...............................50 00
$1,583 65
Net profits for the two.............................. $1,263 65
Statement of fr. S. D. Heap, of Darlington, La.
On his Brookside place, three Western men, in 1870, made 18 bales
-A coton, 1C00 bat rels good corn, and 3000 pounds of fodder.
In 1871 he hliredqa Swede laborer, who made 300 I)arrTels of corn on
166 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
seven acres, an- four bales of cotton on three acres and sixty
In 1872 he made 42 bales of cotton and 800 barrels of cow
men and four women, all colored.
His son, aged 14 years, in 1872 made four bales of cot
acres, and. 16) bushels of corn on four acres, being forty
corn to the acre.
The lanul cos03t Mr. Heap about five dollars par acre in
has since sold a part of it at ten dollars per acre.
The following statement is from one of our thrifty farmr
quests that his name b- It published:
Value of land and improvements.......................
Value of 14 mules and horses at $160....................
Value of wagons and implements........................
Total  investments...............................                                             76         0
REVAMS For 1872.
Net proceeds for 80 bales of cotton......................
Value of 1500 bushels of corn..........................
Value of 10,000 pounds of fodder.......................
Value of peas, sweet and Irish potatoes.................
Gross revenue...................................
EXPENSES FOR  1872.
ited wear and tear............................... $350 00
, State and parish................................ 180 00
is to 17 laborers, meal and pork...................  680 00
lird cotton to laborers as wages.................... 1,920 00
hird corn and fodder as wages.....................  533 33
ag 14 horses and mules...........................700 00
p r cent. on investment, $1640 00................. 611 20
Total expenses...............................   $4,974 53
Wet profits.......................................  2,585 06
167
$1,800 00
2,240 00
600 00
$7,640 00
$5,760 00
1,500 00
100 00
200 00
$7,560 00
Estim
Taxes,
Ratio
O.ae
OneF
Eight 
LO-UISIANA AS IT IS.
In this statement is not included any prcfits arising frcm  raising
hcgs, cattle, sale or constiirption of buttcr,   cultry, ecgs or wool, all
of which should have been estimated.
The net revenues amount to a little over thirty per cent. of the
,hole amount invested; to hich, if the cieht Fper ccnt. interest cn in vcstment is added, it amcounts to a fiaoticn over fciiy-t-o  pex cent. on
investment.
The following statement is also from one of our leading farmers:
Value of land, improvements, etc........................
Ihere are SC0 acres in cultivation, corked by 20 men, 15
-cmen, and 10 toys.  In 1872 they made 185 bales
of cotton........................................
4000 bushels of corn....................................
1500 bushels of sweet potatoes at 75c.....................
Gross rvernue made b,y laborers......................... 19,925 CO
He receiv-ed as rent 40 talks of cotton...................3,2C0 Co
And CS0 bushels of corr.......................            Co0 00
t  And raised besides:
15 head of cattle at $10................................... [150 00
20 head of,cs, 1L0 lits. each, ECC0 lbs., at iCc. Fper'-.O Co
13 head of sheep at $2 t0 per head....................... 32 50
5CO lbs. of butter at 4Cc. per lb..........................  200 0
Poultry and eggs sold................................... 75 00
Net profits........................................  $4,632 50
-hich gives a rent of ovcr nine dollars for every acre cultivated.,
These statenments,e could nILultiply, but ccnsider thlcese above
given to be enmply srffciint to secw -hat IEs been snd can be cone in
East Felicisna in raising cotton.  TIhe lands m hich yield these revenues
can be EcuEght at ten dollars per acre.  WTe ccmnend thilese facts and
fgurcs to the''estein m(n, snd ask them can they do as well?  Here
we do rot have to Llun coin for fuel, because the cost of trensrortation illn exced its value.  Here cur pcople can latlorthe whole y-carin
the open field. Here we e.o not gather foraege cne-lhalf the y-ear to feed
cattle with the cther half.  Here we La-ve no snow stcims, no northers.
Hiere  e lhae a nwild cr.d 4etutiful climate, splendid stie,ms of water,
4
168
14,800 00
4,000 00
1,125 CO
,-19,925 CO
3,2co CO
CFO 00 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.,
magnificent forests of timber, and a fertile soil, that will produce more
per acre than any agricultural country in the United States. Our produetions are unequaled in variety and value; and here is abundant room
for as many as choose to come and make for themselves happy homes
WHITE TENANTS-WHAT THEY DID IN PLAQUEMINES LAST YEAIR
From Our Home Journal and Rural Southland.)
MR. EDrroITOR-As the crops of 1874 are now harvested and marketed, it would be well that reports of the results be made public, that
planters and others interested might know what has been don3 anl
what success was realized by the different kinds of labor. I am able
give a reliable statement of the "white tenaltry system," as practiced
on Forlorn Hope," Guerrier & Auger's plantation,  of the parish of
Iberville, for the crop of 1874, which I here submit: 
Frank Huth, ground 20 acres, made 31 hogsheads.
Joseph Brown, ground 12 acres, made 24 hogsheads.
Sost. Comeaux, ground 10 acres, made 10 hogsheads.
Numa Ramoin, ground 10 acres, made 12 hogsbeads.
Rich. Thomas, ground 10 acres, made 13 hogsheads.
Of the above, Huth and Brown,  employed  occasionally help
Thomas was in a measure assisted by his sons, two little boys; and Comeaux and Ramoin went it "alone."  Huth is a German, Comeaux anct
Ramoin creoles, Brown a native of Louisiana, as also Thomas, I believe.
Besides the acreage gTound, a portion was put down for seed, andc
as much land was cultivated in corn and peas as they had in cane. In
addition to the field crops raised by these men, they realized a natura
increase of their stock, which was pastured free of cost on the wast&
land of the plantation, to say nothing of the contributions to the larder by the dairy, poultry yard and garden.
These tenants delivered their cane standing, and receive one-third
of the sugar and molaes, and all of the forage crops.  Let the doubiag Thomases ruminate. Give us a good government, rigid police
and bearable taxation.  It is all tiat we want.
I would beg of you, lr. Editor, to call upon  the sugar planter
generally to give their experience in the use of fertilizers.   It would
be very costly indeed if every planter had to wade through all of the
lo
f
v 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
manures in the market to find out which is the best. By comparing
notes on this subject the expense of experimenting would be immeastirably reduced to each individual, and would redound to the benefit of
all. Herein lies the difficulty with our Louisiana sugar planters.
There is not enough of intechange of ideas and intercommunication
generally.  Planters of life-long residence il the same parish are frequently found who are unacquainted with each other. This is simply
inexcusable for men who should be bound together by a community of
interest. It also works sadly against them whenever the "labor and
wages" question comes up. Respectfully,
E. GUERRIER.
P,'auemines P. O., Iberville Parish, La., Jan. 20, 1875.
HEALTH AND LONGEV1TY IN LOUISIANA.
STATEMENT OF DR. TATMAN.
Dr. C. D. Tatman, a native of Maryland, in a letter written to a
committee of inquirers in 1869, gives his views with great clearness
and force in regard to the diseases of southwest Louisiana, where he
practiced medicine more than thirty years. Dr. Tatman is one of the
most honorable physicians in the State, and his talents and learning
none who know him will question. Those who desire correct information in relation to the diseases of Louisiana, should carefully examine
his letter which we publish below:
BAYOU CHcoT, Parish of St. Landry, June 5, 1869.
Messrs. Thomas H. Moore and others;
GENTLEMEN-Your letter of the 29th ult. was received yesterday,
and in reply, I will say that I have been engaged in the active practice
of medicine in this parish over thirty years, and that I have had good
opportunities to observe all the forms and peculiarities of diseases common to this part of the country, in persons living on the open prairies,
the wooded uplands, and the alluvial or low lands; and that my observations have been made on whites, negroes, mulattoes, mixed bloods
and aborigines.     *
The most ~ommon diseases seen here are those caused by change
of temperature from warm to cool, or what are called colds, producing
occasionally serious diseases of respiratory organs, such as pneumonia
0
170 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.1
and pleurisy. But I do not suppose such diseases occur more frequently here than they do in other warm countries, and I know they
are not near so common here as they are in the colder regions of the
United States.
As a general rile diseases of the res'piratory organs are easily managed, and yield readily to medical treatment; but our largest bills of
mortality are caused by this class of diseases, as is the case everywhere
else. This class of diseases is not so dangerous here as in colder climates; and by the use of sufficient woolen clothing in cool and rainv
weather can be kept off altogether.
CONSUMPTION.
Consumption seldom originates here, and those who have it in its
incipient stage at the North and come here have usually got well.
INFANTILE CROUP.
Infantile croup, that terror of parents, (and physicians in other
places), is almost unknown here; I have not seen a case of it in the last
fifteen years.
RHEUMATISM.
Rheumatism, another disease supposed to be caused by cold, is of
a rare occurrence here; and in its acute or inflammatory form, is still
more rarely seen. People who spend their youth and manhood in laboriotis occupations need not dread to have their old age tortured by
pains, as is the case in nearly all cold regions.
MALARIOUS DISEASES.
What are called malarious diseases, such as intermittent fever, remittent, or billious fever, dysentery, and diseases of the liver come
next in order; but they are not so common, nor anything near so dangerous as those caused by cold. I am well aware that this assertion
contradicts the commonly received opinion outside of the State; but I
care nothing for that. I speak from what I have been seeing and noting for the third of a century in this ptrib.
INTEBRITTENT FEVER.
Intermittent fever occurs more or le s every summer and fall; but
it is seldom of a serious character, and is always easily relieved. With
the old and infirm, and with those'ersons whose  constitutions have
16
171
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
been broken down by organic diseases, or by dissipation, it is often attended with dnger (.md in their cases it usually becoms congestive),
and is then more likely to prove fatal unless promptly treated.
REMITTENT OR BILIOUS FEVER.
0p
Remittent or bilious fever occurs at the same seasons with intermittents, and is as easily relieved. A large majority of the cases of
thes, two forms of fever will get wall spontaneously with rest and care;
butI am free to confess that experim3nt might be attenied with some
risk.
These two forms of fever are our peculiar fevers, and I regard
them as being almost devoid of danger where common prudence is
observed. The mortality arising from them, according to my experience, has not been more than one-fourth of one per cent.   And yet it
is the great apprehension of falling victims to these fevers that deters
strangers from settling in this State.
To the European, landing at New York —the risk to health and
life would be many times less by coming here to live than by going to
the Western States, where he will be shaken by ague in summer and
fall, and frozen in winter.
That abominable form of intermittent ca'l d ague  on the Atlantic
coast ani in th3 Wetern States, is almost unknown here. I do not
think I have seen twenty cases oe it that originated here sinze I have
been practicing medicine.  S.ldiers of the  Confederate States army,
who served in States north of this, co itracted that form of fever, and
came home with it; bat most of them soon rezo -.-ered fr.om it under the
benign influence of ourmild climate.
DYSENTERY.
Dysentery occurs occasion fily during very hot and w.At suminmers,
but it is n.)t common, nor is it usually fatal. Negro 3s usually have it
much worse than white3, and somethmis they die from it. Whites
rarely have it severely, and v ary few of them ever die from it.
DISEASES OF THE LI~ ER-IEASLES-SCARLE C FEV.YR-MALL POX-TY                           PHOID FEVER.
Disease3 of the liver are of rar  cc currence here, although  our
country has the reputation abroad of Le'ng like In lia in that r spect
172
6 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. X
I have no hesitation in saying that no warm' country where there is
moisture enough to maintain a good vegetable growth is so free from
liver affections as Louisiana, and particularly the parish of St. Landiry.
No one need fear such diseases here. I have found what are called
infectious diseases, as measles, whooping cough,  scarlet fever, smallpox, and typhoid fever, are generally milder in their character and
more easily cured here than in colder regions. They are not more
common here than in other countrie3-no civilized country being entirely free from them.
WHIrE-S IS HEALTHY AS NEGROES —NORTHERN MEN AND EUROPEANS.
White3 are not more liable to disease here than negroes, b,lt their
probabilitie., of recovering fro-i them are greater.  This arises probably from t     s\il' alle:o itelligen  an I greater praL,,ence.
People coming from other States an: from Etirop3 are not more
!.'l:1o in h- + ~o. v or. ~ then thbse born hre,,an(l whou thev live them
their chances to get well are as gool as those of the natives of the
State. This assertion is another flit contradiction of the commonly
received opinion outside of our State. The doctrine is taught in
books and orally that all persons who settle here must undergo what is
called an acclamation fever, from which the chances to recover are not
-great.  This is a foolish error, gravely taught by sincere men, who believe it, as well as by designing men who do not care whether it is true
or false.
ACCLIMATION.
What is called acclimation in persons coming from cold to warmer
climates, is that the skin takes on a portion of the functions performed
by the lungs in the colder regions, and if it be assisted by wearing
a little extra clothing, and keeping it clean for the first year, there is
no risk of the acclimation fever at all, or any other fever, unless it be
an infectious one, which can be avoided here as elsewhere by keeping
.away from the infection.
The wearing of coarse cloth or flannel next the skin during the
Tfrst summer and fall here will Protect the person from all our common
diseases, and the discomfort from the prickly heat is entirely got rid of,
,as it will not appear under such clothing unless the cold bath be imprudently used.  Let the stranger use tepid baths  and wear coarse
173
0 
LOUISIAN& AS IT IS.
cotton shirts and d.Lwuers, or flt tnels, and h a ii ed not fear any acclimation disease.
LONGEVITY.
As to longevity, I think people live as long here as they do anywhere.  The oldest man I ever saw died in this parish, in 1849, at the
age of one hundred and twelve years. He was a native of Port Tobacco, in Maryland, and had lived here eighty years.   His descendants
are very numerous, and one of his sons, over eighty years old, met an
accidental death a few months ago.
A woman, one of my neighbors, died in 1865, aged one hundred
and six.  She was a native of the hill region  of South Carolina, and
had lived here over sixty years.
A great uncle of my wife, died in 1563,  aged  ninety-five yearn.
He was a native of the upper part of South Carolina,  and lived here
over fifty years.
In proportion to the population, I have known  more  very old
people here than. I ever saw in other places where I have  lived; and at
the present time I know several th-t are verging on ninety.
This State has been too recentlysettled to have a very large population of very old people, as the first settlers and their immediate descendants had too many hardships to encounter to live to very old
age, and they shared the fate of pioneers generally, and died young;
but since the country has been settled, the dangers to health and life
that the first settlers had to contend with have disappeared, land our
population of very old people will continue to increase.
The probabilities of living to an extreme old age are greater in
warm countries than in cold ones, as two-thirds of mankind die from
diseases of the respiratory organs, which are much less prevalent and
dangerous in warm climates than in cold ones.
I know that it is believed at the North, and in cold countries, that
life is necessarily short in warm countries. I believed so myself before
I had an opportunity of correcting the error by personal observation.
I know now that We average duration of human life is longer here
than it is anywhere else in the United States; and the chances for persons coming from other States or countries are as good as those of the
native born to live to old age.
174 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. 
DOTAGE-SECOND CHILDHOODCRONES.
In old age here there is less of what is called dotage, or second
childhood, than in other places where I have known old people; and
men and women retain their mental faculties generally until they die
from old age. Among all the old white women, rich or poor, that I
now know, or have known here, not one has ever shown a particle of
that peculiar intonation of voice and conduct that entitles them to the
appellation of crones, which is so common elsewhere, and particularly
in Northern countries. Among negro women it is common when they
grow old. This is the country to grow old gracefully in.
INDORSED BY MESSRS. HILL AND TAYLOR.
Drs. Gcorge Hill and John A. Taylor, both distinguished physicians, the former a practitioner for 34 years, and the latter residing
here for nearly the same period, concur in the above statement as to
the healthfulness of this country.
DR. TAYLOR'S STATEMENT.
Dr. J. A. Taylor, a native of Maryland, a planter and stock raiser,
has lived in St. Landry thirty-three years-the first seven years a practicing physician. His opinions are entitled to the highest respect.
He says that fevers are milder and more manageable in St. Landry
than in the Western States, or in the tide water regions of Maryland,
Virginia or the Carolinas; that congestive fever is of rare occurrence.
Typhus and typhoid fevers, which prevail so extensively and with so
much fatality in solder climates, he says are not a disease of this latitude, and that he has never seen but two cases of typhoid pneumonia.
Inflammatory diseases, such as acute bronchitis, pneumonia, pleurisy, inflammatory rheumatism, etc., are very rare. Taking the average of mortality the year through, it would be difficult to find a
healthier region than this; and those who desire length of days will be
as apt to find long life here as in any part of the United States.
There have been two ellow fever epidemics in Opelousas and
Washington in thirty-three years, and they might have been prevented
by a strict quarantine.
175 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
INTERESTING STATEMENT OF DR. V. BOAGNI.
OPELOUSAS, La., June 22, 1869.
To Messrs. T. Mullett, Thomas H. Lewis, and others:
GENrLEME —I have practiced medicine in this parish every day
for the last twenty years, daring which time I have  traveled the  distance of six times the circumference of the earth, exposed by day and
might to the inclemency of the seasons, and, although of delicate form
-being six feet in stature, and weighing only 125 pounds-I have never
-had one day of sickness. My wife has always enjoyed good health,
and we have eight children, all in good health, never having lost one;
and if you will permit me to add to this, that my general experience
of diseases here is, that they are mainly attributable to neglect of hygienic measures, and the improper administration of occult and patent
medicines, you will readily infer that my experience is favorable to the
alimaic properties of this locality, as compared with the statistics of
other parts of the Unitedl States.
Respectfully,    VIECENI BOAGNI, M. D.
STATEMENT OF OLD AND RESPECTABLE CITIZENS OF
ST. LANDRY.
THE WIDOW DEFRENE.
The Widow V. Defrene lives about 15 miles from Opelousas. She
ias arrived at the age of 118 years, 1869; she weighs less than a hundred
pounds, is tall, straight, has very good eyesight, and walks briskly for
We! advanced age, and her mind has a fair amount of vigor.
STILL OLDER.
Joseph Cheasson, alias Joannes,  died several years ago, in this
parish, at the advanced age of nearly a hundred and thirty years.
When he was one hundred and fifteen years old, he  moved to Texas,
.and, after being in that State several years, he returned to St. Landry.
Mr. Thomas died in this parish several years since, aged over 100
years.  Joseph YouW died in this parish thirty years ago, aged about
115 years.  H  married at the age of 90 years, and his wife, 25 years
-)f age, had a son whom he lived to see married. His widow still lives
in St. Landry.
176
0 - 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Mrs. Blaize died in this parish a few years since, aged more than
100 years.
Mrs. Daigle, aunt of Mr. Choteau, who has a lease of the Avery
:Salt Mines, 1869, died in Opelousas. She was nearly 100 years old.
Jesse Aniras, aged 90 years, and Major John Clac, ageal 90, lately
died in this parish.
A NUMEROUS PROGENY.
A respectable physician of Washington informed us that Madame
Guillory, an old lady of St. Ltndry, before her death, could cost up
over eight hundred lineal descendants, all blood relations of hers.
A HEALTHY FAMIILY.
MIr. Joseph Langley, 95 years old, lived in St. Landry forty-two
years; he has twelve children-all of them are living. He had no
physician in his family for twenty-five years. When over ninety years
old, in aiding a deputy sheriff who wished to cross a swimming creek,
throwing his feet uip by  e         l 0  t,h pom   (  d', he Cloerossel l'ithout
vetting them, while the young man who followed him wet both feet
and half of his legs.
YELLOW FEVER.
It is not astonishing that those who have represented Louisiana as a
land of jungles, swamps, stagnant water, malaria, terror and death,
should magnify the evils and ravages of yellow fever.
New Orleans was settled in the year 1718, and the yellow fever was
not known here, as an epidemic, for seventy-five years. If we are correctly informed, it first appeared in this city in 1793.  It may  die out
entirely, as it has done in some of the Atlantic cities where it formerly
raged at times, or be kept out by an efficient quarantine, which is perhaps the key to the exemption of New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk
and other cities from this dreaded plague.
The yellow fever has never done much harm in the State outside of
New Orleans, except in a few instances.  It has never been epidemic
at Franklin, cn the Teche, but twice,  in 1839, and in 1854.  It has
never been in Opelousas but twice. It has been in Washington, St.
Landry parish, three times. The New Orleans steamers land there;
they do not go nearer than six Tiles of Opelousas. We believe it has
never been epidemic at T'kibodaux but once; it may have visited that
place twice.
12
177
f
..   c..        -:
I I I -' I 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
We think the memory and knowledge of our oldest physicians will
justify us in making these statements.
Yellow fever is usually carried from place to place in boxes of'
goods, particularly woolen goods, in trunks of clothing, in packages,
in steamboat hulls, and in tie hulls of vessels; but in most places the
seeds of the disease are harmless. There are old and intelligent physi cians in Louisiana who challenge any one to produce an instance in.
which any one has ever taken the yellow fever from anothei person, orwhere a person taking the yellow. fever in the city and dying at a private house in the country, has ever communicated this disease to the
family, though he may have been nursed by the family, or may have
died of black vomit. They say he may take the seeds of the disease in
his trunk, or in his unventilated clothes; but that if he takes nothing
but the clothes he has on, the family where he dies need not fear that
he will communicate the disease to them.
For many years the yellow fever appears to have been localized in
different parts of this city, while other parts were free from it.  One
.......,~ q....... ~    ~1...... j,
above Magazine Market, the street cars running through the infected
districts a hundred times a day without danger or harm to those who
were in the cars. Intelligent physicians could tell a thousand curious
and interesting facts about this disease which would disarm it of much
of its terror.
People of temperate, regular habits, in good health, are not apt to
take it like those of irregular habits; and if they take the disease they
stand a better chanoe to recover than those of irregular habits. One
who is alarmed, or is attacked with some other disease; travelers who
are fatigued and have been obliged to live irregularly on the cars or
steamers, are more likely to take it than those whose minds and sys-.
tems are quiet.
If New Orleans were well drained, and special attention were paic
to sanitary measures in all parts of the city; if it had a superabundance
of pure water for the poor as well as the rich, and were to keep up as.
vigilant a quarantine as they do in New York or Philadelphia, it is not,
probable that the yelow fever would trouble them more in this than in
Northern cities; and New Orleans would then be unquestionably the..
most healthy city on this continent.
178
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
These statements may appear extravagant to those who consider
New Orleans a graveyard, but we think we speak truthfully and understandingly. Our information comes from some of the most honorable
and best informed physicians of this State, and it agrees with our personal observations during a period of more tlian thirty years.
STATEMENT OF NEW ORLEANS PHYSICIANS.
In the month of August, last, a meeting was held in New Orleans,
for the purpose of imparting to the committee representing the co-operative societies of England correct information in regard to the health
of New Orleans, and the State.
We copy the following from the Picayune:
Pursuant to previous call, a large number of regular practitioners
of medicine in this city assembled at quarter-past 7 o'clock, P. M., yesterday, for the purpose of considering the report of the special subcommittee appointed at the meeting of the 24th inst., to furnish medical data to the English delegation now visiting this ciiy.
Dr. D. Warren Brickell was elected chairman, and Dr. Y. Lemonnier secretary.
The following is the report of the sub-committee, which was unanimously approved:
The sub-committee to whom was referred the duty of preparing a
report, in behalf of the committee of physicians appointed at the meeting of July 24, for the purpose of drawing up a statement of the health
of New Orleans, beg to remark that they have not had time to do justice
to a subject of such importance, and are unable to offer anything satisfactory to themselves. Nevertheless, from the materials at hand, they
are able to compile some figures illustrative of the subject, and can add
some statements which will be borne out by the general testimony of
practitioners in our midst.
RESIDENT POPULATION OF NEW ORLEANS.
The aggregate resident population of New Orleans may be set
down approximately at 200,000, of whom tbout 150,000 belong to the
white race, and the remaining 50,00q to the black and mixed races.
During the winter months this iumber is increased by a floating population of perhaps 50,000 more, for which some allowance should be
made in calculating the mortality per thousand, while, in fact, the esti
179 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
n has been made on the basis of the permanent population.  Of the
floating winter population a considerable number may be classed as
-consumptive invalids, many of whom die here, thus swelling the mortality from pulmonary consumption during the winter months consideraely above what it is for the remainder of the year.
MORTALITY,
WHITE AND COLORED POPULATION COMPAIED.
Great allowance should be made also for disparity in mortality beAween the white and colored races. To illustrate this point, the following tabular statement is offered, showing the mortality per 1000, of a
population of 200,000, without consideration of the large floating population during the winter months:
Tale showing the 3iortcality per Thousand of the Poptlction of New Orleans.
COLORED    CAGGEGATE
RACE.     M QRTALITY.
41.84       6001
51.20       7391
42,20       6059
42.86       6122
53.68       7505
47.90       6798
2963
ALL
RACE$.
1869....................... 30
1870.................... 36.95
1871.......................30.29
1872.......................30.61
4873.......................37.52
1874.......................33.99
lst half of 1875........... 28.20
Another fact demonstrated by the researches of Dr. Chaille, is that
infant mortality among the colored races is nearly double what it is
ng the whites.
DISEASES OF COLD CLIMATES THAT ARE NOT COMMON IN NEW ORLEANS.
It should be borne in mind that a number of serious maladies are
far less prevalent in New Orleans than in more northern cities. Among
these may be named typhoid, or enterio fever, a disease almost unknown
to this city. The whole group of eruptive fevers, of which, particularly
scarlatina, is trifling, both in extent and severity; rheumatism, greatly
obviated and  aitigated by the mildness of our climate; true croup, a
rae disease here, and diphtheria, less common than in colder climates;
meningeal inflamations, only occasional and never epidemic here; cho.
lemic diseases, iss prevalent and malignant, (due in a great degree to
180.
WH'f IT E
RACS,
25.47
30.68
25.21
25.80
31.06
28.66 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
the use of rain water for drinking and cooking purposes, and patly
also to the character of our soil); dysentery, not occurring in an epidemic form, and generally quite amenable to treatment; puerperal
inflammatory affections, comparatively uncommon, never epidemic, and
amenable to treatment, (only 17 deaths in 1873, and 20 in 1874.)
CHARITY HOSPITAL.
Another point to be considered is the fact that the mortality at our
great Charity Hospital only partially belongs to our city, as its inmates
come mostly from the country parishes and from the other States of the
Mississippi Valley.
MALARIAL, FEVERS.
Malarial fevers have hitherto been justly accredited with a large
percentage of our mortality, amounting in 1874 to no less than seven
per cent. of the aggregate. It is, however, to be remarked, that these
maladies are decreasing, both in severity and general prevalence, owing
to improvements in drainage and the filling of building lots, and that
a large portion of the cases treated here are contracted outside our
city.
YELLOW  EVER.
For many years yellow fever has been the dread of strangers
coming to our city, but it must be noted that there has been but one
general epidemic since 1859, and that the ratio of mortality to the entire number of cases, in the epidemic of 1867, was only about 8 per
cent.
DRS. TAYLOR AND TATMAN INDORSED.
In conclusion, we would state that we have not had time or material at hand to extend our investigations to the health of the State at
large, outside the city. On this point reference may be made to the
communications of Drs. Taylor andlatman, in the New Orleans Picayune, of July 28 and 29, 1875. For further particulars touching the
health and mortality of New Orleans, we refer to the communication
181
0 - 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
furnished for our consideration by Drs. Jones and C. H. Tebault, of
this city.
D. WARREN BRICKELL, M. D.,
Chairman of Meeting.
SAI'L LOGAN, Mf. D.,
Chairman of Committee.
J. P. DAVIDSON, M. D.,
Chairman Sub-Committees.
C. H. TEBAULT, M1. D.,
H. H. HERRICK, M. D.,
Y. R. LEMONNIER, M.D.,
C. CASH. TURPIN, M. D.,
PIERRE TRICOU, M. D.,
SAM'L CHOPPIN, AI. D.,
J. D. BRUNS, Mf. D.,
Sub-Committee.
DEATHS IN NEW ORLEANS AND NINE OTHER CITIES COMPARED.
The following table, giving the number of deaths in each 1000 inhabitants of the cities mentioned below, -during the year 1873, was also
read. It was furnished to the Louisiana Equitable Life Insurance
Company of New Orleans by Dr. Dowler:
New Orleans.................................................. 30.6
SavanIah................................................. 39.9
Vicksburg.................................................... 36.5
Troy......................................................... 34.6
New York................................................... 32.7
Newark...................................................... 31.6
Boson...................................................... 30.5
London..................................................... 29.2
Brooklyn.........................................28.1
Chicago..................................................... 27.6
Dr. Dowler states in his report that if the negro mortality was
eliminated from he death rate of New Orleans, the comparison would
still be more favorable.
Drs. Jones and Tebault read very interesting reports in reference
to our sanitary condition, which were also unanimously approved.
182 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. X
The English delegates propounded several questions, which being
satisfactorily answered, brought the meeting to an end.
From causes obvious to all who are acquainted with the rural population of Louisiana, the death rates in the country are much smaller
than in New Orleans.
HEALTH OF LOUISIANA AND MASSACHUSETTS.
We have it from the agents of two Northern life insurance companies, that insurance offices find risks more profitable in Louisiana than
in Massachusetts. A prudent, temperate man, with a sound constitution, will live as long in Louisiana as in any other State of the
Union.
A MODEL MISSOURI FARMER BECOMES A LOUISIANA SU                         GAR PLANTER.
ms VIEWS OF LOUISIANA SOD   ND cLrAMe
Mr. W. L. Larimore, who now owns and lives on the Mount Magmnolia Plantation, near Baton Rouge, is a Kentuckian by birth. He.
,)wned and cultivated a plantation of 2,000 acres in Missouri, and took
the premium at the Missouri State Fair, in 1867, for having the most
highly cultivated and best improved farm in Missouri.  In 1868 and
1869 he sold a large portion of these Missouri lands for $100 to $190
per acre, and moved to Louisiana.  Mr. Larimore, in a letter addressed
to the Baton Rouge Gazette and Comet, dated August 26th, 1873,
says:
"I have been in this country over four years, and 96~ is the highest the thermometer has stood in the summer. As to health, Baton
Rouge is ahead of any other city in the Union, according to the census
last taken.
"Here grass and vegetables grow all winter, and one need not
have to work six m6nths to save a crop, and then feed it out the next
six months to the stock that raised i. Horses, cattle, mules and sheep
are easily raised here in large numbers without grain, although corn
can be raised in great abundance. e
"I have had less doctors bills to pay in the four years that I have
resided here than I have ever hal either in Kentucky or Missouri. No
fatal diseases seem to prevail here like pneumonia, typhoid fever, and
183
41 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
other such diseases. I do not say there is no sickness nor deaths here,
but really there is less than in any country I have ever lived in.
The people of the North and West who desire to take a pleasure
trip, should visit this part of the South in the heat of summer, where.
in ten or twelve hours, thy can visit the Lake shore,  eLjoy the sea
breeze, fish, and eat oysters out of the salt water, and enjoy the best
society the sun shines upon, either in Europe or America; where people
meet and build temporary houses for tents, in which they camp during
camp meeting, and at the same time luxuriate in the balmy atmosphere of the sea, and breathe on its healing waters.
PROFITS OF LABOR.
Mr. Larimore continues:    A live, industrious man, a true and
skillful farmer, can make from one to two hundred dollars an acre from
the rich sugar lands of this State. The question is asked, if lands may
produce $100 per annum per acre, why can these lands be bought for
from $5 to $25 an acre? This is the most alarming feature to the stranger, who thinks there must be something wrong when lands will not
SeUll for a tenth the value of a single crop. That something is the great
scarcity of enterprising, industrious, live men, who have a will to do
and accomplish what they undertake, either with or without capital.
I therefore urgently invite all such men to come by the fifties, or hundreds; yea, by the thousands; for there is room for each and all, ancl
five times as many more.
LATENT WATTIH IN LOUISIANA SOIL.
" I would say," continues Mr. Larinore, "that the lands of Louisiana are capable of yielding a richer reward than the mines of California, and infinitely more certain to reward the man of industry, and
that perpetually, for the more these lands are worked and cared for the
more valuable they will become.
"Therefore I say to the man who has nothinrg to take to market
but his industry, bring it here, invest it, and you will make large profits. And to those who have labor and capital, let them also come, for
nowhere on this cotinent can such make as profitable investments as.
here. 
LRIVING PROOFS.
"I havefan adjoining neighbor," says Mr. Larimore, "who, four
184
6 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. X
years since, bought a plantation of about 400 acres& This man had no
capital, yet he paid for his place from his first crop, and has now his
place in first class order, well improved, and in a high state of cultivation, well stocked, and has money at interest. This is the kind of live
men I wish to see immigrate to this country. This neighbor made
twenty-four hogsheads of sugar on ten acres of land that others thought
unworthy of cultivation.
THE EXALTED DESTINY OF LOUISIANA.
Mr. Larimore continues:
When a few of our Western and European intelligent, enterprising,
industrious men come in and help to cultivate this soil, and their
friends follow them, then all will go on harmoniously, and each will
see, eye to eye, the common interests of our common country. Comparatively few see the high position this Southern country is bound
soon to assume in rank with the States of the Union. Louisiana is
bound to be one of the first, if not the very first State, agriculturally
considered, in the Union. When we consider the vastness of her rich
soil, the value of her products, the inexhaustible demand for them,
and for those of her sister Southern States, what can withhold her from
rising to the most enviable position?
OUB CHIEF WANTS.
The writer of the above states, with emphasis: "All w6 want here is
a class of live, intetligent, industrious, and enterprising men, and Louisiana will rise and pro.sper, North or no North,  money or  no money, railroad or no railroad, politics or no politics; all we have to do is to attend to
our business and develop the resources of the country, and all other things
will come as a neeessity when the resources  of the country  are fully developed."
SUMMER HEAT.
In the heat of summer, continues Mr. L., the thermoneter stands
here about ten degrees lower than in any of the Northern and Western States. Here sunstroke is scarcely known. I have never felt the
need of an umbrella to shelter me from the sun half as much as in
Kentucky and Missouri.. These facts I have experienced, and know.
INDOBSEMENT BY THE BATON ROUGE BOARD OF TRADct
At a meeting of the Merchants' and Manufacturers Board of
185. 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Trade, and many citizens of the city of Baton Bouge, and the parish,
after listening to the letter from which we have made extracts above;
they indorse Mr. Larimore in the following language:
"As evidence of our approval oi the many truths so plainly stated
by our esteemed fellow-citizen, Mr. W. L. Larimore, in his letter written for general circulation, we recommend it to the careful perusal
of all persons interested, both in the United States and in Europe.
ST. TAMMANY PARISH.
FAOTS FOR IMMIGRANTS.
From the St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Farmer.)
Persons intending to locate in St.  Tammany  parish should take
the New Orleans & Mandeville Packet Company's boat, at the Lake end
of the Pontchartrain Railroad-(C. M. Soria, agent, 18 and 20 Union
street, New Orleans)-and make a bee line for the office of  the  St.
Tammany Farmer, where all information necessary for locating lands
-will be given.
ST. TAMMANY PARISH
Is located twenty-miles north of New Orleans. Covington, the county seat, is ten miles further north into the interior, and delightfully lo~cated on the Bogue Falya river,  containing about seven  hundred inhabitants, and is the best business point in the parish, commanding the
-trade for one hundred miles.  The line of the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad, already graded from Lewisburg on the Lake shore, to
-near Covington, will soon be built, which will add much to the trade
and travel of the place.
THE SOIL
Is very productive, and admirably adapted for raising sugar cane, corn,
cotton, oats, potatoes, peanuts, etc. All vegetables thrive well. Fruit
:in abundance is raised, and' of a superior quality. The vine is indigenous, and yearly bears large harvests of delicious fruit.  The orange,
the apple, the pear, the peach, the quince and pecan thrive well and
produce plenty of frui
THE CLIMATE
Is as fine as any in the world, the winters are like Indian summers,
and snow rarely falls.  Strinig opens early in February, with blossoms
186 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
on the peach and quince trees, and vegetation comes rapidly forward.
The heat of summer is moderate, and the unfailing breezes of the
evening refresh man and beast after thelabors of the day.  There is no
stagnant water in St. Tammany after leaving the Lake shore, which
makes it remarkably free from malaria.  The atmosphere is pure and
clear. The average elevation over the Lake is one hundred feet.
Consumption, in its incipient stages, bronchial affections, and all
throat diseases, yield readily to its healing influences; and it is a fact
that yellow fever was never known in the parish, even in times of epidemic in New Orleans.
MINERAL SPRINGS
Are abundant in the neighborhood of Covington, equal in healing properties to Bladon and Virginia Springs. The Roach and Hosmer wells,
in the town of Covington; Ingram's sulphur springs, on the Bogue Falaya, adjoining the town, where a large brick hotel is partially built;
and the Abita, two miles distant; all of which are well known to possess medical qualities of the highest order.
WATER POWER.
We have an abundance of water power already improved, inviting
the attention of manufacturers; amongst which are the old Penn
place, on the Tchefuncta; the old Mortee mill, on Bogue Falaya; the
Page and Prichard mill sites, on Little Bogue Falaya; and many others
farther in the interior, the waters of which are equal to any in America for paper manufacturing and the bleaching of linen and cotton.
CATTLE AND SHEEP
Graze in our pine lands throughout the year, and seldom are fed in
winter, thus making St. Tammany the stock-growers's home.
FIRE CLAY
Is found in abundance, as well as clays suitable for pottery ware of the
very finest texture, purely white,  and free from sand or grit.  Persons having a practical knowledge of such business, would soon realize
a fortune in manufacturing fd shipping such wares to the New Orleans market.
SAND
Suitable for the manufacturing of glass, is abundant  all along the
187 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
banks of the Bogue Falya River, above the town of Covington. It has
been practically tested by Pittsburg manufacturers, and found no
wanting in properties to produce first-class glassware.
PRICES OF LAND.
Farming and stock lands can be purchased at rates varying from $1
to $5 per acre, and Government homesteads to actual settlers.
We have at present for sale some of the finest farms in the parish,
at less than the cost of improvements, and on long credit to enterprising men, who will enter upon the work of farming at once, where levees are unknown and inundation impossible.
BUILDING SITES
For manufacturing purposes, can be had on the most favorable terms,
and the utmost facilities offered for immigrants to this point. All that
is lacking for the successful development of these rare resources, is a
thousand or more live and enterprising Yankees, with a peculiar offensiveness for political pursuits. To all such we extend a hearty welcome,
and guarantee protection in their respective industrial occupations.
The early attention of farmers, fruit raisers and manufacturers seeking desirable locations are invited, and correspondence solicited.
AN INDIANA FARMER SETTLES IN ST. TAMMANY-HIS VIEWS OF THE PINE
LANDS, AND THE PARISH.
A writer in the "Son of the Soil," describing St. Tammany parish,
says:
I was raised a farmer, in Indiana, the land of hog and hominy;
and after a residence in this State, winter and summer, since 1863, I
can state truthfully that we have a much better agricultural State, and
more healthy, than the old Hoosier land that I so fondly remember.
So far as health is concerned, no country can boast of better than Louisiana, especially in the pine woods districts.
I have lived in the parish of St. Tammany for nearly five years, on
a farm, and have been a close observer, and have come to the conclusion that this parish is defined to become the garden of Louisiana.
We have a doctor in this parish who has been trying for the past
two years to make money enough to move to some country where his
business will pay better than in this place.
188
41 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
The Abita, Magnetic Springs, of this parish, have effected wonderful cures in many instances.
Mr. Milton Burns, eight miles north of Covington, cleared two
liundred dollars an acre on his sugar crop last year. He has a scuppernong grape vine, six years old, which covers an arbor fifty feet
square.
Mr. Henry Deutsch, a German, settled in this parish a few years
since, on government land. He made $1200 on six acres of sugar cane
lt year.
Geo. Keep, senior, and Geo. Keep, junior, made $1000, clear cash
from seven acres sugar cane, last year, and will do better this year.
We have three German settlements in St. Tammany, all prosper,ous. For small farming, fruits, chickens an[ v3getables, I think St.
Tammany holds out the best of inducements, especially to Northern
people.
For the information of your Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,
Missouri and Ohio readers, who want to get away from the cold winters
of the North, I will state that I know of no country on the face of the
earth that will equal Louisina.
LETTER FROM PLAQUEMINE
_A NEW INDUSTRY-THE PROFITS OF BEE CULTURE —K GENTLEMAN WHO
GATHERS SIX BARRELS OF HONEY PER WEEK.
PLAQUEMNE, Ibeiwille Parish, July 11th, 1875.
New Orleans Bulletin:
Mr. Editor-Another source of industry started here, and of which
-nention is made in your paper of the 9th, is bee culture. This wil1
-unquestionably prove a very profitable industry in our State.
Two gentlemen, Messrs. Michael Schlatre, of this place, and P. L.
-Viallon, of Bayou Goula, commenced with a few hives three years ago.
Mr. Schlatre has managed his sugar plantation and had all the time
necessary to attend to his&piary. He has now some seventy hives, and
has realized very handsomely so far this season, and will continue to
do so.
Mr. Viallon is a druggist, yet he has plenty of time, in his leisure
1~9 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
moments, to attend to some thirty hives, which more than pay him for
his time, besides giving him an abundance of the most delicious honey
for all his own purposes. Some four or five other parties have started
apiaries in this parish, and will next year be realizing finely from their
work.                            t
The most successful apiary I know of is that of Mr. Charles Parlange, on False River, in Pointe Coupee. Mr. P. is working about 140
colonies, and is getting six barrels of honey a week. This he ships to,
New York and sells at about one dollar per gallon.
When Mr. Parlange set about starting his apiary some four yeas
ago, he was a promising young law student of eighteen. His friends
tried to dissuade him from his "bee business," saying he would surely
fail at it, and more than likely neglect his studies and fail in his effort
to become a worthy member of an honorable profession. Mr. Parlange
was not to be thus discouraged. His hours of recreation were given to
his bees, and his legal studies pursued carefully. Last year he was
admitted to the bar, and is now a "rising young lawyer," while his
apiary is a success far beyond his own enthusiastic expectations.  So
much for energy and perseverance.
PELICAN.
NOTES ON THE RESOURCES OF LOUISIANA.
By Joseph Jones, 21. D.
MIN RAL SOURCES OF LOUISIANA.
The cretacious, tertiary and post tertiary are the only formations
which appear in Louisiana.
The cretacious strata appears in a very few isolated outcrops in
St. Landry and Winn parishes, and has been pierced in several localities in boring artesian wells.
The tertiary forms the basis of the upland region of the State.
The post tertiary forms almost everywhere the surface, and is of
the greatest practical importance to the agriculturist.
The cretacious strata robably underlies the whole State, rising
nearer the surface~than elsewhere in Winn parish, Chicot and Petit
Anse.
Cretacious limestone of goad quality for burning into lime, and of
190 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
sufficient hardness to be used as a building stone, outcrops in St. Landry, about seven miles west of Chicot, and upon several points upon
lower Saline Bayou.
The cretacious strata have been penetrated in boring artesian wells
at Drake's salt works, on Bayou Saline, [ing's, in Castor, and the sulphur well in Calcasieu.
SULPHUR AND GYPSUM.
A remarkable deposit of sulphur occurs at Calcasieu. The following is a section of the well:
1. 160 feet blue clay and layers of sand.
2. 178 feet sands
3. 10 feet clay rock (soapstone.)
4. 40 feet blue anthiconitic limestone, fissured,
5. 60 feet gray limestone.
6. 100 feet pure crystalline sulphur.
7. 137 feet gypsum, with sulphur.
8. 10 feet sulphur.
1. 540 feet gypsum, grayish hue,
The first four btrata were all more or less oil bearinug.
The sulphur is of unequaled thickness and purity, and the gypsum
is also of superior quality.
This deposit alone is capable of supplying the entire country with
sulphur and gypsum.
From the sulphur may be manufactured sulphuric acid, so important in the arts and agriculture.
SALT.
Salines occur in various portions of the State, and the rich supplies must necessarily excite the attention of capitalists
North of Red River, in Bienville and Bossier parishes, there are
immense quantities of saline waters and saliferous deposits, the latter
being especially found in the beds of ancient lakes. In the low fiat
beds of these basins which lie below the ordinary level of the country,
the wells are sunk to a depth of from twelve to twenty feet, where the
salt water percolates through the soil and furnishes an abundant daily
supply. This is boiled in %ettles, and each well furnishes from twenty
to twenty-five bushels of salt per day.
In a hne beginning about twenty-miles -west of the mouth of th
191
t 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Atchafalaya, on the coast of Belle Isle, and running nearly due east,
are ranged five islands, Belle Isle, Cote Blanche, Week's Island, Petit
Anse and Miller's Island.
The islands rise from the low marsh and prairies by which they are
surrounded, and form mouds of various sizes.  The chief of them is
Petit Anse (Avery's Island), which is 185 feet above the'sea tide level,
and contains an immense deposit of common salt. Petit Anse is situated in Bayou Petit Anse, six miles from the north shore of Vermilion
Ray, which is an arm of the Gulf. It is fifteen miles to the mouth of
that bay, where there is a fine land-locked harbor of eight feet depth.
The followming are the general results of my chemical analysis of
Louisiana rock salt: Louisiana rock salt presents the form, appearance
and optical properties of pure chloride of sodium. The large crystalline masses are so perfectly transparent, free from all extraneous matter, and uniform in their structure and density, that they would be
suital)le in all respects for the most delicate philosophical experiments
upon the transmission of light through different media.
The sample of Louisiana salt submitted to analysis, as well as the
largest masses, weighing several tons, are the purest and finest samples
of rock salt that have ever come under my observation.
One hundred grains Louisiana rock salt yield upon analysis:
Chloride of sodium......................................... 99.617
Sulphate of lime............................................ 0,318
Sulphate of magnesia....................................... 0.062
Moisture (dried at 300 degrees).............................. 0.093
The Louisiana rock salt contains less than one-half of one per cent.
(0.473) of those substances which may ba considered as foreign, viz:
moisture and sulphates of lime and magnesia, which are found in
greater or less quantities, according to their purity, in almost all samples of alt.
The absence of both chloride of calcium and chloride of magnesium is important, as these salts abstract moisture readily from the
atmosphere; and when existing even to a limited extent in salt, impair
more or less its value, by rendering it more hydroscopic. Meats cured
with salt abounding with the chloride of calcium are more prone to
absorb moisture from the atmosphere.
192
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
PETROLEUM.
The oil springs of the Louisiana Petroleum Coal Oil Company are
situated in Calcasieu parish, about sixty miles from the coast. The oil
spring contains large masses of asphaltum, which were formed by the
oil becoming inspissated. Carburetted liydrogen gas passes out of the
springs in a forcible and continuous stream, and when conducted in
tubes can be employed for illuminating and heating purposes.
It is supposed that petroleum underlies this section of country, and
that in the hands of experienced engineers, quantities of this valuable
material will be obtained.
COAL.
Lignite deposits of various degrees of purity and value underlie
nearly the whole upland country, from the Sabine to the Ouachita
rivers. The coal makes an excellent fuel, and has been used in Shreve
port.
PEAT.
Valuable deposits of peat are found in many places near the coast,
and will, when reached by railroads, furnish large supplies of fuel.
IRON.
Iron ore of good quality is scattered in immense quantities over an
extensive surface of Louisiana. South of Red River iron ore is foundl
from Ouachita to Badian River, and from the Arkansas line it extends
nearly to Red River; south of this it appears in De Soto, Natelitoches,
Rapides and Sabine. Bienville parish is singularly rich in iron ore,
Lime, and inexhaustible forests of pine and oak, from which the
necessary flux and charcoal may be obtained, accompany the beds of
iron ore.
GYPSUM.
This valuable fertilizing material is found in large quantities in the
saline basins of Northern Louisiana; and the fertilizing properties of
the waters of Red River have been justly attributed to the vast stores
of this material washed down by its numerous tributaries.
We might also enumerate marls, and pigments, and clays, of fine
quality, and the nitrate and carlnate of soda, amongst the mineral
resources of Louisiana..
SUGAR AND OLASSES.
Immense capital has been invested in the culture and manufacture
13                     0,
193 
LOUISIANA AS ]IT IS.
of the sugar cane, and I have shown, by careful chemical analysis, that
the sugar cane and molasses of Louisiana are of great purity.
The best machinery and the highest degree of skill are employed
in this State in the manufacture of sugar and molasses.
The relative value of Iouisiana molasses is shown in the following
analysis, which I have consolidated into the following table:
Composition of 100,000 Grains, or very nearly Ooe Gallon of Louisiana,
Ciba, and Yortherlyi  Iolasses, by Joseph7  Jones, M. D., of New  Oa   leans, La.:
100,000 grains contain
v        r. j      0 1
13                 0 1
1,366    1,391    1,372    1,391
Specific gravity-grains..  1,377
Both varieties sugarCrystallizable and uncrys  tillizable............. 76,927
Clystallizable sugar...... 59,778
Non-crystallizable sugar.. 16,921
Acetates and carbonates of
soda and potassium.......... 5                    
Carb. glucate and acetate
of lime.............. 123
Sulphate of lime........     204
Chlorides of sodium and
potassium.............. 223
Acetate glucate and sul  phate of iron...............
1,054    1,277      788    1,012
Total saline ingredients..    550
Weight of one gallon.... 96,446
The percentage of the different ingredients may readily be determined in this table simply by cutting off the three last figures.
The following conclusions have been drawn from my chemical analysis of the different varieties of molasss:
0
194
66,665
43,134
23,531
5 5, 5 5 -i58,889
26,665
57,142
28,571
'38.871
57,142
26,373
30,769
501 697 241 62
905
363
1,113 358
370 612
468
801
175 288 500 490
3,000
95,648
3,750
97,419
. 2,500
96,075
2,500
97,419 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS
1. The Louisiana molasses is decidedly superior in appearance
and taste to the other varieties of molasses offered ia this market.
2.  The proportion of crystallizable suar is gratest in Louisiana
molasses, whilst the proportion of unerystallizable sugar is the least.
The Louisiana molasses is, therefore, tie most valuable, and the best
suited to the purposes of the candy  manufacturer, confectioner and
baker.
3.  The Louisiana molasses contains far less inorganic salts than
the other varieties of molasses. Thus a gallon of Louisiana molasses
does not contain over four hundred grains of salts, whilst the Northern
molasses contains from twenty-five hundred to three thousand seven
hundred grains. This is a point of great interest, not only because
these salts interfere with the crystallization of the cane sugar, but also
because they act as purgatives upon the bowels.  The Louisiana molasses may be considered as almost entirely free from these impeurities.
4.  The Louisiana molasses is entirely free from iron salts, whilst
in the samples of Northern syraps the salts of iron vary from 280 to 500
grains per gallon. These salts of iron are injurious to the health, and
especially to children, and at the same time they blacken and injure
the teeth.
5. In every respect the Louisiana molasses is superior to each of
the other samples of molasses, and combines richness and purity of
composition with an elegant appearance, pure taste and wholesome action.  Louis-'ana molasses is fourfold more valuable than the Northern
molasses.
COTTON.
The great value of the cotton crop of Louisiana is well known.
We desire simply to call the attention of the planters of the Southern and Western States to one product of th- cotton plant, which, us)
to a comparatively recent period, was thrown away, viz: cotton
seed.
Several manufactories of cotton seed oil and cotton cake have been
established in New Orleans.  qe of the largest of these is the Louisiana Oil Company.
The works of the Louisiana Oil Company will compare favorably
in their magnitude, and in their perfection, and in the power and pre
195. 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
cision of the machinery, with those of any similar manufactory in the
United States.
Fifteen thousand six hundred (15,600) tons of cotton seed are annually consumed by the Louisiana Oil Company, yielding three millions six hundred and five thousand six hundred (3,605,600) gallons of
oil, of superior quality; and six thousand eight hundred and ninetynine (6899) tons of decorticated cotton seed cake. The works furnish
employment to about one hundred men.
On submitting to strong pressure the oily seeds of the cotton
plants, (Gossypium barbadium), a valuable and agreeable smelling and
pleasant tasted oil is obtained, which in a purified state is now employed for the usual purpose in commerce and in the arts, and in pharmacy, in which other kinds of oils and fats are employed.
The production of cotton seed oil has been steadily increasing, and
large exportations of the oil and cake are annually made from New Orleans to England, France and other European countries.
In Europe the cotton seed cake is regarded with high favor, both
an account of high nutritive value and as a superior manure. The value
of cotton seed as an efficient fertilizer has long been recognized by experienced planters in the Southern Atlantic and Gulf States.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF COTTON  SEED
CAKE.
The cotton seed cake and meal, prepared by the Louisiana Oil
Company, is manufactured from the shelled or decoi-ticated seed, and
is far superior to that obtained from the whole seed, which oontains
less oil, and much greater proportion of ligneous fibre.
The decoi-ticated cotton seed cake has a rich yellow color, is free
from any strong or disagreeable smell, and has an agreeable tote; it is
almost entirely free from the dark brown, comparatively valueless seed
shells; and it does not contain any large amount of mucilage, nor anything that produces, on mixing with water, a volatile, pungent, or injurious essential oil. Cattle take to it at once, and rapidly improve in
flesh and fat, when fedupon it, and so valuable is this articele regarded
by the most experienced and intelligent European farmers for the feeding of stock, that it readily commands from ~6 to ~8 per ton.
Owiug to its superior qualities as food, it offers considerable econ
196 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
omic advantages to the feeders of stock, in comparison not only with
other varieties of cake, but also with corn and wheat.
Chemical Analysis by Joseph Jones, M.D., of Decorlica/d Cot/a,, Seed
Cake and Meal.
One hundred parts of decorticated cotton seed and cake con  tainWater....................................................... 8.65
Oil..........................................................18.75
Albuminous compounds, (flesh foaming principles), capable of
yielding 6.5 per cent. of nitrogen, valuable as a fertilizer, 1n the
soil undergoes rapid change, and yields ammonia, carbonic acid
and phosphates............................................38.50
Sugar, starch, gum, mucilage, digestible fibre, etc., (heat produc  ing matter) valuable as food...............................26.60
Mineral matters, ash composed, chiefly of phosphate of lime and
potash 7.5 per cent., capable of forming blood and bones in
stock, valuable as a fertilizer, composed of phosphate of lime  3.04
Phosphate of potassa............~...................... 3.51
Chlorides, containing chlorine 0.18..........................   0.30
Sulphates, containing sulphuric acid 0.19......................  0.43
Carbonates of lime and magnesia............................ 0.20
One hundred parts of ash of cotton seed containPhosphate of lime.......................................... 40.62
Phosphate of potassa........................................ 46.87
Chlorides of sodium and potassum, containing chlorine 2.42....  3.97
Slliphates of soda, potassa and magnesia, containing sulphuric
acid 2.59................................................. 5.65
Carbonates of lime and magnesia..............................   2.85
NUTRITIVE AND AGRICUATURAL VALUE OF COTTON  SEED CAKE AND MEAL
The nutritive agricultural value of decorticated cotton seed cake,
will be readily seen from the following table, giving the composition
per ton of 2000 pounds.
One ton of decorticated colon seed cake contains:
Oil, pounds.......................................  375.00
Albuminous compounds (flesh forming principles) capable of
yielding 130 pounds of nitrogen...................... 770.00
M,7 ~ 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Starch, sugar, gum, mucilage and digestible fibre) heat-produc  ing elements)............................................ 532-00
Mineral matters, composed chiefly of phosphate of lime and
potash, capable of forming Plood and bones, and valuable as a
fertilizer, especially, to grain, 150 pounds phosphate of lime  60 80
Phosphate of potash...................................... 70 20
Chlorides................................................ 6.00
Sulphates................................................ 8.40
Carbonates of lime and magnesia............................ 4.60
Each ton of decorticated cotton seed cake will yield 375 pounds of
oil, 770 pounds of albuminous compounds (flesh producing principles),
532 pounds of sugar, starch, gum, mucilage and wood fibre (heat producing agent), and 150 pounds of salts. Total nutritive elements in
one ton 1827 pounds.
RELATIVE VALUL OF COTTON SEED CAKE AND HIEAL, AND PRACTICAL CON                              CLUSIIONS.
1. The proportion of oil is higher than in the best linseed cake,
which rarely contains more than 10 to 13 par cent. of this ingredient
which is so valuable for supplying fat to animals.
2. Decorticated cotton seed cake contains a very high, and much
higher percentage of nitrogenized, flesh-producing matter than linseed
cake, corn, wheat, oats, barley, beans and peas, and this renders it
specially valuable as food for young stock and dairy cows. As a large
proportion of the nitrogen of the food is not assimilated in the system, but passes away with the fceces and urine  the excrements  produced by stock fed upon cotton seed cake, will be  found particularly
valuable as manure.
3. The proportion of indigestible wood fiblre in decorticated cotton seed cake is small, and not larger than in the best linseed cake.
4. The ash of cotton seed cake is rich in bone material; thus each
ton is capable of yielding 60 pounds of phosphate of lime and 70
pounds of phosphate of potassa.
5. The physical cadition of the cotton seed cake and meal is exellent and emi'n'ently suited to the digestion and nutrition of ani
Attilaemals.otenAltian
6. At this late day ni planter in the Southern Atlantic and Gulf
f
198 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.         1
States is ignorant of the fact that cotton seed will compare favorably
in its effects with the best commercial manures.
7. That cotton seed cake and meal is a potent fertilizer is evident,
not only from its acknowledged beneficial effects when applied to
growing crops, but also from the following well established considerations:
Plants require a large portion of vegetable and animal matter to
afford a supply of carbon in the shape of carbonic acid and of nitrogen
in the form of ammonia, both of which are evolved during the decomposition of organic substances. Cotton seed cake is most valuable to
grain crops, because the seed of plants is in all instances the most highly azotized portion, and all plants require a supply of nitrogen to perfect their seed, which nitrogen cotton seed cake possesses in large
proportion.
Cotton seed cake is quick in its effects, because fermentation and
putrifaction take place almost immediately after its application to the
growing plants, and carbonic acid and ammonia are supplied to the
roots of plants in large proportions.
The plant in its infancy feeds upon or is developed out of the
matter of the seed; and after it has developed certain fibres it begins
to take up nourishment from the soil, while the green leaf or shoot
which it has sent upward extracts carbonic acid from the air; if the
roots find no food near, they increase in number and length and spread
over a large surface; and in poor soil from this cause plants have an
immense number of fibrous roots and a poor stunted stem, the numerous roots having been formed at the expense of matters which should
have assisted the growth of the stem. Cotton seed cake, from its rapid decomposition and the comparatively large amount of carbonic acid
and ammonia evolved, supplies the young plants with the best liquid
and gaseous food at the most critical period, and consequently enables
the plants to develope stunted stems and more perfect and numerous
leaves; for it appears to be well established that the sooner the plant
escapes from the state of transition in which it derives its food from
the seed as well as from the soil and atmosphere, the sooner will its organs for abstracting.its food from~he air and the soil be developed,
the more vigorous will be their growth, and the more efficient their use
in the process of vegetation. Cotton seed cake insures also a better
supply of moisture to the plants, because it possesses  the power of
199, 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
absorbing from twiee to ten times as much  atmospheric  moisture as
the flnest soils.
Cotton seed cake and meal is greatly superior to farm yard manure
in soluble organic matters, and is equal to it in phosphates; and one
ton equals in agricultural vale at from 12 to 18 tons of farm yard
composts.
One ton of cotton seed cake contains 150 pounds of saline matters,
ehiefly phosphates. We have in this fact a strong argument for the
use of cotton seed as a manure, in order that these salts should be returned, which are essential to the preservation of the fertility of the
soil.
The great advantage resulting from the application of cotton seed
as a manure for corn is referable to the high percentage of phosphoric
acid and potash in corn. One thousand pounds of cotton seed are capable of yielding the necessary potash for about 7000 pounds of corn,
and phosphoric acid for about 2200 pounds of the same grain.
MEDICAL FLORA OF LOUISIANA.
The following letter, written by Dr. D. L. Phares, and published
in the New Orleans Picayime two years since, will be appreciated  by
every intelligent realer:
WVOODVILLE, ]Miss., January 2, 1873.
D. DENNETT, EsQ.:
In a recentnumber of the Picayune, I read, with much satisfaction, a paper on the resources and industries of Louisiana. I beg
leave to call your attention to one section of wealth and source of income not mentioned in that paper, nor yet developed as an additional
and lucrative industry.  Mlaking an excursion in MIay, some four years
ago, from Clinton, (E. F.,) to Covington and Mfadisonville, I was most
forcibly impressed with the wonderful wealth displayed by the medical
flora of that region. Looking over my collections, I find in the district between the Amite and Tangipahoa rivers, one hundred and fifty
seven genera of medicinal plants, comprising nearly two hundred species.  Some of these, it is true, are not worth much, but many of them
are very valuable.  Slme are in limited quantity, but others are very
abundant.
I have examined the botanical productions of that district but the
once; yet I am convinced, a much larger number of species of medic
200 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS..
inal plants can be found there than above indicate!. I doubt not thatmany thousands of dollars could be picked up in a few months of each
year by collecting and preparing for market these plants; and that it
can be either as a distinct industry, or by farmers at leisure times.
Other portions of Louisiana are rich in the same class of products.
But my intention was simply to direct your view to this element of
wealth.    With highest respect,
(Signed) D. L. PHARES, M. D. M. M.
MERITS OF LOUISIANA SOIL-COST OF FERTILIZERS ON
NORTHERN FARMS AND GARDENS-MARKET GARDEN          ING IN LOUISIANA-SOUTHERN ONIONS.
INNATE VALUE OF LOUISIANA SOIL.
While in some of the Northern States the farmers and market gardeners spend from fifty to four hundred dollars, and more, per acre,
yearly, in manures and fertilizers, in producing tobacco, and vegetables.
Louisiana has a vast surface of the richest soil on earth which needs no
such expenses; and, by judicious cultivation, and a proper rotation of
crops, returning to the soil fertilizers that are usually thrown away,
and plowing in pea vines, these lands would never wear out. And in
Louisiana we have a much greater variety of field products and fruits
than they have in the North.
Four thousand pounds of sugar and two hundred  gallons of molasses have been produced from a single acre of sugar land in one
year, without manure, and sixty-six bushels of rice have been made
from an acre without manure.
SOUTHElEN ONIONS.
A Swedish farmer on the N. 0., St. L. & C. Railroad made, in one
year, on pine lands, ten acres of onions, without hiring any labor,
and sold the crop in New Orleans for three thousand dollars.
Wm. H. Cook, Esq., near Centreville, on Bayou Teche, in the
palish of St. Mary, obtained, one year, a yield of onions in his garden,
that was at the rate of twelve hundredl bushels to the acre.
2,Olj, 
LOUISIANA AS Il' IS.
'GRASSES ADAPTBD TO LOUISIANA SOIL AND CLIMATE-WINTER GRASSES                   WOODLAND PASTURES, ETC., ETC.
,On account of the immense importance of the grass question in
_Jouisiana-more important, we think by far, than sugar, rice, cotton
sand tobacco, all combined-we give a liberal space  to  this  subject.
-Dr. Phares, of Woodville, Mississippi, and Mr. Howard,  of Georgia,
are authority upon Southern grasses, that command respect wherever
they are known.  We have  drawn  largely from  their writings, and
would have drawn more heavily still, had we space, and our readers patience, to justify it.
The truths they bring forth on the grazing capacities of the South
are like apples of gold, and pearls of great price.
GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS OF THE SOUTH.
BY C. W. HOWARD, KINGTON, GEORGIA.
This valuable little work of thirty pages is awakening much interest in Southern grasses, and shows clearly that there is more money in
grasses at the South than in all other crops.   He says:
"It is a significant fast that the rich lands in  upper  Georgia,  in
which a mixed husbandry prevails, have rather increased than decreased
since the war in value. Let the fact be pondered that the depression
in price hats occt'-cd only in lanls (levo'ed exclusively to co.tton andl rice cueltm're ii CGeor-gia, both of wthic7i re7?ttiie a Iarge anmoitnit of laboi.
VALUE OF GRASS AND HAY.
In the Hay, Straw and Grain Reporter, we find the following estimates:
The aggregate reported value of the farm products of the United
States, including additions to stock depending on hay and grass, and
betterments in 1870, was $2,447,538,658.
The Hay crop of that year was  over twenty-seven million tons.
This, at half the selling price in the cities, would amount to $405,()00,
000.  So much for cued hay.
The grass crop, live stock, including horned oattle, sheep and
swine to the value of $1,525,000,000 subsisted on  the grass crop  in
1870.
.2 2
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Animals slaughtered, 1870............................ $398,000,000
Hay crop, 1870......................................  405,000,000
Butter, 1870.......................................... 128,000,000
Milk, 1870...................................... 25,000,000
Wool, 1870,.......................................... 25,000,000
Cheese, 1870........................................... 5,000,000
$986,000,000
The amount of credit for grass which the horses and mules, and
some other animals, consumed in 1870, and for the manure of animals,
valued at $1,525,00,0000,) L is impossible to state.  The value of the
farms tlLemselves, etc., the security for all field and garden crops, and
filuits, are iu a great measure dependent upon the yearly supply of
manure.
The true credits to grass and hay would doubtless be more than
half of all the yearly farm products of the United States, and every
other civilized country, if col-ectly estimated.
WINTER GRAZING IN LOUISIANA.
Mr. Howard, in his Manuel, remarks, that winter grazing is the
great advantage of the South. It more than compensates for the
d(Iraught and continued heat of summer. It saves to a considerable
extent, the cost of cutting and cLling hay, and of the construction of
expensive barns. The writer has sold fat Ayrshire cattle, fat enough to
have been approved in Scotland, which never had tasted a mouthful of
food, winter or summer, save that which they gathered for themselves.
The reasonable conclusion is that the Southern climate, if we consider
the whole year, is well adapted to the successful cultivation of valuable
forage plants and grasses.
SUCCESS IN GRASS CULTURE.
Success in grass culture in the South is simply a question of food
for the plant. Different kinds of grasses require different kinds of
soil. Pipe clay lands will bring neither cotton nor corn to advantage,
but will produce excellent herds gras3. There are tens of thousands of
acres of this pipe clay land, nowttterly  worthless  to their  o,ners,
which would make fine herfs grass meadows. Land may bring a bale
of cotton to the acre, and yet be poor grass land, or it may be poor
cotton land and good grass land. *
203 t
Ainimalg slaughtered, 187o.............................
Hay crop, 1870......................................
Butter, 1870..........................................
,Mlk, 1870................................... "I',-,'
Wool, 1870...........................................
Cheese, 1870 - ......  ................................. 
LOUISIANA.AS IT IS.
We have in the South comparatively little need of artificial summerpastures.  Broom sedge makes excellent spring pastures, and crab
grass in the stubble gives a summer pasture which cannot be surpassed.
This i a point of superiority of the South over  the North.   The
Northern farmerhas nothing to correspond to our crab grass. We are
fortunately exempt in Southern pastures from perennial weeds. On
the whole, the drawbacks, to successful grass culture in the South are
as few, and as easily removable, as in any portion of Christendom.
LUCCERNiE.
Lucerne hay is extremely nutritious, and is relished by horses,
cattle and sheep, so far as the observation of the writer extends, it is
preferred by the domestic animals to any otherkind of hay.
The product of lucerne is enormous. Five tons of excellent hay
may be cut from one acre of ground planted in lucerne. It is estimated that fodder, green and dry, may be obtained from an acre of lucerne sufficient for the support of five horses during the entire year,this includes the great bulk of green food during the spring, summer,
and autumn.  In latitude 32 lucerne is not green during the months of
December, January, and a part of February. In the low country,
along the Gulf Coast, it would probably be green all the year. In this
section, (Mr. Howard writes at Kington, Georgia, latitude 32 degrees),
it commences its growth during the latter part of February, and gives
its first cutting early in April, even before  the wild grass begins to
spring.  It is ready to cut fully a month  in advance  of red clover.
The rapidity of its growth is only exceeded by asparagas. The root
is perennial, lasting ten, or fifteen, or perhaps, more years. The roots
become as large as small sized carrots. Five acres of lucerne on this
farm was destroyed by Sherman's horses and cattle. After that the
ground was left riddled with holes, giving it the appearance of a locust
year. The succeeding crop of corn was very heavy. This might have
been expected in view of the fact stated by by Ville, that lucerne absorbs more ammonia from the atmosphere than any other crop.
Lucerne seems to be indifferent to the texture of the soil, provided it be dry and mifficiently rich. The writer has seen it grow luxuriantly on thesands of the seaboard, and the clay of the blue limestone country. But two things are required, the soil must be rich and
dry.
-4
-204 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Great efforts have been made to introduce lucerne into the Northem States and England.   The soil and climate of England is not suited
to it, and the Northern States are too cold.
Lucerne is a child of the sun.  It is a,plant of a warm climate.  It
grows as well in the Southern States as in France or Italy. It is comparatively insensible to drought.  While we have a plant that yields
hay of a bette' quality, and double in quantity, as cot?npared wtith any grass
gr-own at the North, oer -rail-oads are grocaning?under- the wreig7it of Noirth
er) hday.
THE FIELD PEA.
The amount of valuable winter forage that can be saved from an
acre of the field pea is very great. It improves the land, and can be
raised among corn without injuring the growing crop. The value of
this crop, and its effects as a fertilizer, can hardly be overestimated.
BERMUDA GRASS.
I think it very doubtful whether there is an acre of land in the
South, thoroughly set in Bermuda grass, (if proper use be made of it)
that is not worth more than any other crop that can be grown on it. If
I am right in this broad opinion, our efforts should be to propagate it.
I am planting it every year on such land as does not pay for cultivation, and how much such land is there throughout the South?
I cannot better illustrate the grazing value of Bermuda grass, says
Mr. Howard, than by an instance in my own experience. Nearly thirty
years ago I bought an old plantation near my place in Hancock county,
Ga. It was bought at a low price on account of its being infested in
places with Bermuda grass. I permitted a man to use thirty acres of it
which were set in Bermuda grass. He had at the time a cow, a calf,
sow and pigs, and a breed mare. He cultivated a little crop of corn,
but never enough to feed his family. His stock lived upon that thirty
acres of Bermuda grass, except for a short time during the winter,
when they had access to other parts of the plantation. He remained
upon his place for five or six years. At the end of that time he had
twenty-five head of cattle, seventy-Sve hogs, and five horses. I offered
lhim for his increase $1,000, which he refused. So much for the grazing value of Bermuda grass.
I cannot give a better illustration of the manurial value of this
205, I 
LOUISIANA AS IT 19I
grass than by reference to the crops made on this thietv aeres of land
after the man referred to had left the place.
First crop, cotton; half a stand, on accouit of.the mas of unldecomposed sod, eighteen hundred pounds seed. cotton per acre, 600
pounds of lint, 
Second year, two thousand eight hundred pounds of seed cotton
per acre.
Third year, sixty-five bushels corn per acre, manured with cottn
seed.
Fourth crop, forty-two bushels wheat per acre.
The average product of this land without the grass would have been
not more than one hundred pounds of seed cotton, fifteen bushels of
corn, or ten bushels of wheat. I know of no crop that will improve
land more, and certainly none that will give so large an increase with
so little labor.
A gentleman in this county informed me a few days since  that he
had just cut from one acre of Bermuda grass eight two horse wagon
loads of excellent hay.
The Bermuda and crab grass are at home in the South, clear down
to the Gulf shore.  They not only live, but live in spite of neglect;
and, when petted and encouraged, they make such grateful returns as
astonish their benefactor. I have known $114 worth of Bermuda grass
sold from seven-eighths of an acre in one season.
DR. ST. JU[IEN IAN-vENEL'S OPINION.
Dr. St. Julien Ravenel, an accurate man of science, makes the following remarkable statement in regard to Bermuda grass. The experiment was conducted near Charleston, S. C., in latitude 31~.
One-eighth of an acre of ordinary land covered with Bermuda
grass was plowed in March (1874), harrowed, rolled smooth enough for
the mowing machine, and fifty pounds of ammoniated super-phosphate
of lime applied.
Four cuttings were obtained which yielded two thousand eight hundred and eighty pounds of hay. The hay was nicely cured, and was
preferred by horse# and cattle to hay brought from the North.
Bermudh grass and sheep may restore the poor, gullied old farms
of the South, worn out and abandoned by cotton plantations in large
port.ons of Georgia, eust become a sheep walk before it can be restored
'206 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. -
to fertility, and the land owners become independent of the negro..
Besides all the clover and meadow, of which there is a vast amount,
forty-eight per cent. of the whole of tile valuable soil of England is in,
permanent pasture.
NATURAL R AXCES FOR STOCK IN THE SOUTH.
Without reference to the artificial or cultivated grasses, we have.
the following natural reliances for live stock food during all seasons of
the year: Terrell grass and wild cane for winter pasture; gama, crab,,
and crow-foot grasses for hay; Bermuda, the sedge, and other common,
grasses in great numbers, including crab-grass and crow-foot for
spring, summer and fall grazing.
With these reliances the poor man can begin at once to raise sheep,
and cattle before he can make his land rich, or purchase grass seed and
cultivate improved grasses. As his means improve he may add such of,
the artificial grasses as may be adapted to his particular soil and lo-.
cality.
When we have thus availed ourselves of these natural resources,
and have added the appliances of modern agricultural science, the
South will have attained a prosperity which will make her a mmo-rel amnong
the people of the earth.
WLN'THE GRASS,ES.
One of the most marked and singular advantages of the South is,.
its ability to grow grasses that may be pastured in the winter. It is P
blessing of climate. which we have not yet appreciated. The raising afull supply of horses, mules, cattle, sheep and hogs for our own eonsumption is an absolute essential of skilled agriculture. 
THE ME-ADOW OAT GRASS.
This grass deserves to be placed at the head of the winter grasses:
for the South. It has the double advantage of being a good hay as,
well as winter pasture grass.  It does not answer well on moist land,
Rich upland is the proper soil for it. On such land it will grow from
five to seven feet tall, completely hiding a man walking in it. It will.
grow on more sandy land than mot of the artificial grasses.  The yield
of hay per acre is large, and the quality excellent.  It matures rapidly
Seed sown in the spring will produce seed in the fall; the seed is ripe
when the stalk is green.  This is a great advantage in being able to.
20'U 0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
save the seed and hay from the same crop. Th# amount of green food
yielded by this grass during the winter is greater than from any other
grass.
In any movement towards an improved agriculture in the South
-the first step should be the laying down of rich winter pastures.
WOODS PASTURES IN THE SOUTH.
Most of the woodland in the South is, to a certain extent, dead
capital.  Woods pastures,  which correspond to the English parks,
would, in many localities, be found profitable. The parks of England
:-are one of its chief ornaments; an ornament which is also an utility.
Fine oaks, green grass, running water, bleating sheep and lowing cat-tle, form a landscape which the painter attempts in vain adequately to
depict.. There is no reason why a large portion of the neglected woodland of the South may not be made to add to our wealth, while it at
the same time fills the eye with scenes of beauty.
DR D. L. PHARES ON SOUTHERN GRASSES.
Dr. D. L. Phares, of Wilkinson County, Miss., situated in the
S. W. corner of the State, and bordering on Louisiana, has published
a series of articles in that sterling agricultural journal, the Farmer's
Vindica-, on Grasses adapted to Southern Soil, that are invaluable.
Dr. Phares is a Patron of Husbandry, a member of Wilkinson
,Grange, Woodville, Miss., is eminently practical, is one of the most
scientific men in the South, a learned botanist; and a man of sterling
-integrity.  What he claims to know, in scientific matters, we never
have the temerity to question.
The following is the substance of one of his addresses to Wilkinson
Grange:
I propose, in my remarks, to give you something that is practical
.and affecting your own individual interests, and those of our State in
the immediate future.
The grass crop of the United States is the most important and
valuable of all her crops, exceeding, by far, the value of the cotton
crop.               e
I will exhibit to you samples of grasses, and while you examine, I
dwill talk to you about them, that you may the better understand their
character and qualitie(  -their culture and comparative values.
-208 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
The first groip I ojen co-nprises perennials, or p3rmincunt grasses 
AnI the first sp3eimmn I hand you is
-DAYIS GLONERkTA.
Orchard grass, co,k's-fot grass.  This foreign grass has long b3en
cultivated in E'lrop3 and America, both for pasture and hay.  I place
it first ammo the graases, b3cau3e it is hardy, furnishes  considerable
grazing daring the winter in oar clim ite, ant abaudcut in spring and
sumner; five crop3 of hay, aun  will grow almos3t anywhere, whether
the grouand is poor or rich.
It is true, that as the soil is p)rer, the shorter anl less valuable th3
crop.  When oac3 s3t, this grass remains as long as you choose to
keep it; aulnd it is im?roved by mowing and grazing, provided it is fed
a little oae in three years, —ftenar if yoa choose,-with suitable
manures.  IB grow3s acl thrives here a. wel as a,,yw/'ere it the wv)rl[.  I
have had it mowed, and the leaves, as cut off, measured two feet to
four feet nine inches in length and the seed, stalks, or culms, from two
to five feet high. I mow it two or three times during the spring and
summer.  The time of mowing depends upon the season and the grazing. Last year we madb the first mowing pretty early in April; this
year in May. I keep calves, horses, mules, and at times other stock
on it, from 1st of September till March or ApriL   I have not made any
accurate trials to ascertain the quantity of hay per acre it will produce,
but I get, I suppose, from two to three tons.
Rev. Dr. Watkins. May I interrupt you, to make an inquiry?
Dr. Phares. Certainly. I shall be glad to answer,any inquiry from
you, or any other member of the grange. I hope no one will hesitate
to ask any question that will enable m3 to give'any information in my
possession touching the matters under discussion.
Dr.  Watkins. Will the orchard grass grow well in the Souath under
the shade of trees?
Dr. Phares. Yes; I have had it for years growing on wooded lands
4leared of underbrush,-Ilands with a considerable variety of trees,
holly, buekwood, mulberry, walnut, magnolia, elms, tulip, beech, several species of oak, and other  *ecies of forest trees.  It grows in suc7
situations, too, as readily, dnd almost as luxurianily, as in the open fields
It grows finely even amx, beech roots, ujp to the very trunks of the tress.
14
209 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
I sowed one lot of two acres with red cover- five years ago, in
tending the clover to help out the first year's crop, and improve the.
land, and gradually give place to the grass for permanent pasture; but
the clover has continued so luxuriant, and yielded such large crops (a very
heavy crop just taken off) that I have pastured scarcely at all from
March to September. This is the lot so much admired by many
present.
It may be sown from September 1st till March 20th (perhaps later)
with success. The best time to sow will depend upon things which I
will explain fiurther on.
AGROSTIS YULJGAIBI.
This is the Red Top Grass, or Herds Grass of Pennsylvania andi
the Southern States, and the Bent Grass of England. It grows two or
three feot i. but I kave mowed some even four feet high. It makes
good hay in the South, and good pasture, on lands moderately moist.
It grows well in marshes, and is not injured by overflow, even though
somewhat prolonged. It may be sown the same time as orchard grass,
two or three bushels to the acre.
POA R]ATENSIS.
This is also called Smooth Meadow Grass, Spear Grass; in Kentucky,
Blue Grass. The first year after sowing, this grass is so small that some
persons have given it up as a failure, and have plowed it up. The second year there is some growth, but this grass does not attain perfection until the third year. It grows as well heze, and I think betters
and during the first and second year makes a much better show, than
in the far famed Blue Grass region of Kentucky, or anywhere else that;
I have seen; I would say that it should give from three to four tons of
hay to the acre.
CYNODON DACTYLON.
This is the Durra, or sacred grass of the Hindoos.  Sir Wliam
Jones, in the fourth volume of his Asiatic Researches, praises its beauty, and its sweet and nutritious qualities for cattle. For twenty orthirty years, on the common where this grass grows on the Bayou Sara road, three miles st of Woodville, hundreds of herbiverous aninals have feasted, summer and winter.  Mr Elliott, in his Botany of
South Carolina, says: "the cultivation of this grass on the poor and
extensive sandhills of our middle couuntry would probably convert them
0
210 
LOUISIANA AS IT I8.
into sheep pastures of great value: but it grows in every soil; no grass,
in close rich land, is more formidable to the cultivator; it must therefore be introduced with caution."  But I do not regard it as very difficult to subdue, or even to destroy.
For years this grass has furnished our live stock with choice grazing, as well as a fine quantity and quality of hay. In and around Jackson, Miss., hundreds of live stock of all kinds are kept fat by this grass;
and the mowing machines may be seen on the Fair Grounds, and other
places in the vicinity, making large profits for the owners by turning
this grass into hay. Mr. Ravenel, South Carolina's distinguished botanist, has taken in one season, at the rate of five tons per acre of fine
well cured Durra hay from the Sacred Grass.
IRIPSACUM DACTYLOIDES.
This is the Sesame grass, or the Gama grass. It is a native of our
Middle or Southern States. I have seen the leaves of this grass seven
feet long, andcl the culms ten and a half feet. All kinds of live stock
eat it greedily; and if allowed free access to it, will soon destroy it:
and this is about the only way to destroy it, except by the immense
labor of digging and hauling is away. It may be mowed five or six
times a year, and produce an immense amount of coarse, but sweet and
nutritious hay. It grows well in either marsh, or dry land.
PHELEUM PRATENSE.
This is C-,t's-tail grass, the Herd's grass of New York and New
England, but Timothy of Pennsylvania.  I have spots of this grass
growing among the clover for some years, and fully equal to that grown
in any other part of America. It will not bear pasturing well in the
summer in this vicinity.
HOLCUS LANATUS.
Velvet grass, Fectther grass, White Timothy of the old world.  Some
call it Muskeet Grass.  It is doubtless a valuable grass for our use.. I am
unable to say what amount of hay it would yield to the acre.
LOIAM PERENN.
Rag grass, corrupted usually into Rye grass.  This grass, from Europe, is naturalized in some of our Northern States, and makes a good
pasture.  A variety called Italian,Rye grass; has been highly extolled
211,
16 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
in Euope. I have had this grass three years. For the immense number of radical leaves, no other grass, except the Kentucky Blue grass,
San be compared with it. I never saw any other grass cover the ground
so deeply and so densely. Knowing nothing of its management, I
sowed it late; but it grew astnishingly.  The season was very wet: I
saved no seed I would lhke much to see this fine grass tried, and
prove a success.
The Lotium termuleitem has of late years made its appearance in
some of the grain fields of the South. It is probably the only o-e of
all the large order of Granineoe that possesses noxious properties, as
its name implies It is said to affect cattle injur'iously, and the grain
ground with wheat, as sometimes occurs, and made into bread, produces giddiness and other unpleasant effects on man. It is the Zizania
of Matthew xiii, 24-3, 368, transferred into the Latin Vulgate,  the
Italian, Spanish, and some other versions, " Ivrie" in French, and Davne  in most English versions; but, unfortunately,  " t(res" in King
James' version. The tare, vetch, or any other bean, could be recognized as soon as it sprouted as not akin to wheat, and hence the force
of the parable.
CIEDICAGO SATIVA.
Medick Lucerze,  refoil, Firnch Lucerne.  This is a valuable plant.
fs;fpanish name is A. alfca.  It is ready for use early.  Last year I
liaT ft two feet high by the middle of February; this year the same
height a month later. It grows best in ground that is rich, and dry,
and mellow.  It makes good hay which is relished by stock.  It is better, however, for soiling, or feeding green, or rather wilted. The
amount of rich forage it may produce is probably greater than from
any other plant. It is very rich in milk and butter principles, and
specially suited for feeding milch cows. Stock must not have access
to growing lucerne, for by eating out the crown the plants are
Bied.
Some plots of it are now in fine condition that are known to have
been growing for overhirty-five years, without any marks of decay.
Where the subqoil can be penetrated, and is not too moist, lucerne
sends its roots down ten, or even fifteen feet deep. Hence it is less affected by droughtthan any -ther plant.
212
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
M. LUPULINA.
Nonesukh, or Bklck Medick7c. This has been naturalized with u, but
is of too little value to require special notice.
M. MACULATA.
Spotted Medick. This is a valuable plant. It was brought from
Chili to California, and thence to the United States under the name o
California Clover, or Yellow Clover-. Many mistook it for Lucne, and
still so call it.  This has only two or three yellow blossoms in each clus ter, while lucerne has many blue blossoms in an elongated head.
I have grown this plant about twenty-five years. It furnishes good
grazing from February till April, or May, a small lot of ground feeding
a large number of cattle, sheep, etc. Cattle do not like to eat it at
first, but it is easy to teach them, and they acquire a great fondness for
it.  But all the grass eating animals, including geese, know and eat lucerne greedily at first sight.  Horses that refuse the Spotted  Medick
when green, eat it readily when wilted or drie(L The last lot I sowed
was in 1859, or 1860. Every year many persons passing the publib
roads near this lot stop and admire the luxuriant growth. For a number of years my live stock had access to it from December to Marab, or
later, with much profit. On removing them, it shot up and spread out
rapidly in April and May, in the latter month maturing an immense
quantity of seed, and then dying. In June the crab grass (Punicum
Sauguin(le) sprang up on the same ground, and in August this grass,
while in bloom, was mowed. In October I had a second lighter mowing.  In a few weeks the Medick would be up and in full possession of
the ground till the next June.
Thus for years I had the latter for grazing in winter and spring,
and in August and October took off two and a half or three tons of hay
per acre. The hay is better than you ever get from the West
After a luxuriant crop of Medick, the ground is very loose and in
a condition to produce a good crop of anything. One may cultivate
the land every year, and make better crops of corn and cotton than on
ground not occupied by the Meick, and still have the benefit of the
latter for winter and earlfspring grazing.
iELILOWS.
Sw et Clover.  We  have two  species  of this,  JL  Officinalis, and
213 
LOUISIANA As IT IS.
Err
r~ Albo; the latter being  white Melilot, Tree Clover, Bokar)a  Clove).
Neithler of these is of agricultural value; butt both interesting in the
flawar garden for comeliness and fragrance.
TREFOLIUM PRATENSE.
Red Clover. In this county, and in a large portion of this State,
this plant grows as promptly, and as luxuriantly, and yields as heavy crops
of for,aje, as in any other portion of America. In truth, from a comparit
son of the clover crops of Mississippi with those I have seen and heard
reports of in all the States further North, it is evident that in this
State there is much more certainty and less difficulty in obtaining a
good catch and in maintaining a good stand; and in consequence of
this, in connection with climatic influences, a large yield is annually
realized in this latitude than in colder and higher latitudes, and for a
greater number of years.
True, this is putting it pretty strong; but not a whit stronger than
I believe the facts warrant.. I have secured a good stand from seed
sown in all the months from September to February, and even to the
middle of March.
That which you have seen growing on the east side of the telegraph line, which so many of you have stopped to admire, and which
Northern and Western men have so often gone in to examine closely,
and handled, to be eertain that their eyes had not deceived them, was
planted five years ago; yet the hands declare the crop of this year as
heavy or heavier than that of any former year. I have made on that
ground at the rate of nine thousand pounds of good clover hay to the
acre. But others, in various and widely distant parts of the State have
done equally well; and some much better, I am happy to acknow
lea.
The field on which this clover grew is old. The subsoil is red clay,
any feet deep.  It was worn out and abandoned in 1833.  Red clover
DAproves the land rch more than the spotted Medick, both as a fertilizer and an ameliorator.
THE TRIFOLIUM RIEP1AS.
White clover grows spontaneously and luxuriantly on all deep, red
214 
-LOUISIANA AS IT I  S..
,lay lands, and furnishes excellent grazing from February on for some
months, and in many localities in our country, it is large enough to
mow. Later in the year, like the second growth of red clover, it will
salivate horses and mules, and produce cholic in cows.  It is  one of
the best honey plants, sad this year it  is furnishing  an astonisin
quantity of honey.
I had prepared four other kinds of clover to present to you but
time will not permit. They are however of but little value.
I intended to speak of the Lespidezas, of which we have growing
around us five species and several varieties, besides the notorious
Le Sriata or so-called Japan Clover.  None of these are in my estimation valuable. I intended also to speak of the Desmodimus, of which
we have some twenty species, some probably werthy of attention and
culture.
CONCLUSION.
It is a general rule in Europe, America, and other regions, that
the more extensively the grasses are cultivated the more the value of
the land is enhanced; grass being the best paying crop even on lands
worth from $100 to $500 an acre. The lands in this part of Mississippi, are worth about one-fifth what they were six years ago.  If threefourths of our lands were laid down in suitable grasses, I have no
doubt the value of our farms would be enhanced several thousand fold.
HOLCUS.
The late Master of the State Grange, of Louisiana, Mr. H. W.
L. Lewis, cultivated this winter grass for many years without knowing
its name or history. He esteems it highly. He sent specimens to Dr.
Phares, who pronounced it the Hiolcas, a native of Britain. He says
-the French call it /ouye,  Ho,ge L_ieuse, Foin de Mouton,  the Dutch
rghzaad; German,  Das  Da-rrgras,  Wollinges Hlonig-gras; Swede,
2yskgras.
Dr. Phares says it grows on almosit any land, however poor or
rich the soil It grows fiaely on heavy loams, but attains greatest luxuriance on light, moist, peaty soils. It i well adapted to much of the
lands of Mississippi, and a stillarger porti6n of those of Louis'a.
Its nutritive properties consists wholly in muciale and sugar, whie
imals, relish more  the grasses whose nutritive  m.tter is partly
sub-acid and saline.  That it is not from deficiency of nutritive matter,
I{
215, 
LOUISIANA -AS IT IS
l nt rather excess, will be evident cn ccmLarirg this with other grasses.
Let -s tuke tle orchard grass in bloom.
Cne acre of orchard grass yields green gross, 27,C5 younds, bhiceb,
dried, gives  11,259  pounds,  ccntaining  lCE9  plunds of rutritive
matter.
An acre of Folcus, samek ird of I nd, gives green  grass 19,057
yourds; dried, 6,1C3 protuinds; nutritive matter, 1,191 pounds.  As this
grass in its _reen ktate contains lefs natEr than oterus, it yields En im renrsel'y lagie pErc(ntfge of rutiiti-e iratter thin orclhard and others,
though not in so desirable a prcpoiticn and c(rditirn to suit the taste
of animals.  It ought to be specially  valuable for mil(.h  ecws sLd
Eheep, and for lean lhorses telat it is'Esilrfle to fatti( n.  Fed grceen it
khcul le better fcr volk stcck th.n any other green grass.
ffolcus Lanatuvs, known as the  velvet  gra,s, f'att,er  gross, w7,itt
timothy of the old world, and the velvet Mesquite of Texas.
PINE HILL LANDS.
]?YO]'S~OR BILGAID'S V]'WS AID ANALYSIS.
As the pine landsof Louisiana are its poorest  lands,  and as  the
State has about seven million acres of these lands, it is proper that w-e
give the reader as far as possible, of their character and qualities.
Professor Eug. W.  Hilgard, State Geologist oi Misssilpi, a gentiemen of rare scientific attainments and great integrity of character,
in his' Report cn the Geology and Agriculture of the State of Mississippi," gives the analysis of the pine land surface and subsoil in ccunti'es bordering on Louisiana, and these analyses will give a pretty ccrrect idea of the character of the pine lands of the two States.
PINE LANDS OF PIKE COUNTY.
Depth, nine inches.
Vegetation, long leaf pine; Post, Spanish (Red,) and (tiue) red
oaks.
Somewhat ashy, color, yellowish bluff.
The soil saturated with moisture at 69.1 deg.
cent. of waber at 400 degrees.
The subsoil nine to twenty inches.
An orange-yellow, rather sandy loam.
Ikhe  sbroil,  saturated  with  noisture at
.216
fabr., lost 4.106 per
CP. I d(g. - falr., kft' 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. -
10.0 per cent. of water at 400 deg., dried at temperature, soil and subsoil consisted of
Soil. Subsoil,
Insoluble matter (chiefly fine matter)................89.801    77.931
Potash.......................................... 0.218    0.266
S o d a............................................ 0.076  0.072
Lime............................................ 0.034     0.152
Magnesia........................................ 0.806  0.352
Brown oxide of Maugauere......................  0.072     0.091
Peroxide of iron................................. 2.402    5.456
Alumina..........................I.............. 3.783    11.870
Phosphoric acid.................................. 0.036    0.043
Sulphuric acid................................... 0.038    0.035
Organic  matter and water.......................... 3.446  3.261
Prof. Hilgard remarks.  These analyses show, 1. That both the
soil and subsoil are considerably below the avervge of native fertility,
(i. e.,) the absolute amount of nutritive ingredients contained in them.
2. That there is but a small difference in this respect between the soil
and subsoil; being nevertheless decidedly in favor of the subsoil, especially with regard to lime, in which the surface soil is usually peor
and also potash. There is, however, one important difference in the
retentiveness of the two materials, the surface soil being defective in
this particular, and the subsoil the property in a degree somewhat unusual in materials of equal lightness.
BETTER PINELAND  SOI-SMITH COUNTY.
The following analysis of pineland soil and subsoil in Smith County shows the ingredients of the better qualities of these lands: depth,
5 inches,-subsoil, 11 to 18 inches.
Subsoil.
83.030
0.485
0.061
0.073
0.519
1.153
4.145
8.871
0.022
0.021
3.117
Insoluble matter (chiefly sand)................
Potash.......................................
Soda.........................................
Lime........................................
Magnesia...................................
Brown Oxide of Manganese...................
Peroxide of Iron................ 
Alumina.9....................................
Phosphoric Acid..............................
Sulphuric Acid...............................
Organic Matter and Water....................
217,
soil.
93,257
0.259
0.065
0.129
0.180
0.146
1.251
2.356
0.030
0.024
2.380 
LOUISIANA, AS IT ItS.
"These analyses," says Professor H., "show very important differences to exist between the surface soil and the underlying loam,  the
latter not only being calculated to improve the former in its physical
properties. as shown by the large amount of moisture which it absorbs,
but much richer in several of the important nutritive elements; so that
if at the surface, it would constitute a soil of average fertility.  Here,
also, deep plowing is indicated as the first step towards the improve-ment of these lands; it will increase not only the retentiveness, but also
the native fertility of the soil by mixing with it a morefertile subsoil."
The loam stratum of these pinelands being rarely more than 3 to 4
feet thick, and then underlaid by loose sands, the land may in general
be considered as being naturally underdrained."
ANALYSIS OF PINE STRAW,
By Professor E. W. tHilgard.
Insoluble matter............................................ 65.312
Potash....................................................   5.530
Soda...................................................... 0.416
Lime,..................................................... 13.860
Magnesia.................................................. 5.208
Brown Oxide Manganese................................... 1.681
Peroxide of iron...........................................    0.041
Alumina................................................... 4.539
Phosphoric Acid........................................... 1.154
Sulphuric Acid..................................... 0.894
Garbonic Acid............................................. 1.479
Organic matter and water................................... --
"This analysis shows," says Prof. H., the pine straw to contain
notable qualities of all the mineral ingredients reluired by useful crops,
there being a remarkable deficiency only in sodas The conclusion is
therefore inevitable that by means of pine straw properly applied we
can replace the drain on the soil caused by crops. The potash and
phosphoric acid contained in 400 pounds of cotton lint will be returned
to the soil in about 1400 pounds of pine straw, provided the stock
and seed be returdd to the soil with the addition of a little common
sialt."-                    -
PBROFSO B s. W. JOHNSON'S VNEWS.
.......
Prof. S. W. Johnson, one of the ablest and most practical agricul
218
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. X
.
tural chemists on this continent, in his admirable lecture before the
Connecticut Board of Agriculture, says that light sandy lands need leaf
mould, humus, vegetable matter, to make them fertile. By the chemical action of the roots ef growing crops, sand itself is dissolved, and the
potash contained in each grain so dissolved is set free to nourish vegetation.  "In addition to that," says the Professor, "the vegetable matter, the humus, is itself retentive, not only of moisture, but of ammonia, and is of itself a powerful solvent of the rock, and an energetic oamaker, as the rich surface of forests and prairie testify, and as the direct
observations and experiments of the agricultural ohemists have proved
and made plain in detail."
Common glass is made of sand melted with potash, soda, and lime.
"The very germination of a seed," says Dr. Riggs, in addressing the
Connecticut Board of Agriculture, "creates a chemical action. The
growth of a plant will even decompose a glass vessel in which it is
growing. Even a flower pot is decomposed by the plants growing
in it."
This may appear to be a departure from my subject, but we offer
it as a key to success in pineland farming in Louisiana. These lands
have usually a superior subsoil,-they are underdrained by nature, and
they have all of the elements of fertility in the surface soil needed to
secure fine crops ercept leaf moduld, or humus, or geine, as it is variously
called.
One of the most intelligent and enthusiastic pineland farmers we
have met in our travels; a physician and farmer; a Georgian by birth,
stated emphatically that he is confident that a thorough farmer can
make a good living for himself and family on ten acres of pineland,
provided they have a good subsoil, and that when these lands are made
rich, as they can be by pine straw, muck, manure, green crops plowed
n, etc., they are the most pleasant lands to cultivate, and the best lands
in the State.
This gentleman had oats growing nearly six feet high, at the rate
of more than sixty bushels to the acre, pear, apple and peach trees
loaded with fruit, a garden filled with choice vegetables of rank growth,
all on pinelands originally veW poor.
G    Ass GR PAB    LAN        S.
The editor of the Florida Agricuiturist, writes of guinea grw
(panicunm jumentorum),  s follows:
a
219
t 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Guinea grass was accidentally introduced into Jamaica, from Af rica, about one hundred and fifty years ago. It has since spread over
the whole island, and the neighboring West India Islands. In Jamai ea large tracts of country are kept planted with it, and the finest hor ses and cattle are reared upon it. Some fields have been planted over
one hundred years to this grass without being renewed or manured.
The droppings of the cattle, and the quantity of grass trampled into
the ground are sufficient manure. When the fields are kept for cut ting purposes they are manured once a year. In some parts of the
island the wood has only to be cut down and burned off, when the
field springs up in fine guinea grass.
GUINEA GRASS IN FLORDA.
There are three kinds of guinea grass: the hardest kind, (the St.
Mary's grass), the edition above mentioned introduced into Florida in
1872. He distributed plants, and all who have engaged in their culture have succeeded. The editor says: "It is now certain that only
enterprise is needed to place Florida among the attractive grazing
States in the Union. The success of guinea grass in Florida, I consider established beyond a doubt. The land used in my experiment
was the poorest worn out pine land, too poor even to grow sweet potatoes on. I bad grass eight feet high in some places, and cut some of
it three times during the season. Every horse to which it was offered
ate it at once. I made hay with a small portion, and found it to succeed admirably, and a crop of twelve tons a year can be had from one
acre of good land adapted to this grass.
The hardy kinds (the St. Mary's) is suited to horned cattle; the
other other kinds to horses and mules. It is propagated from either
eeds or roots. "
Later, the editor writes: "The grass has been tried in almost all
parts of Florida with success.  T e birds will soon scatter  the wds
all over Florida, and we will then have a country for grazing purposes
superior to any in the world.
GUINEA GRASS IN LOUISIANA.
Guinea grass haabeen planted in Louisiana, but we doubt if the
kind suited to-horned cattle (the St. Mary's) has reached this State.
Louisiana ought to be even a better state for guinea grass and grazing
than Florida. She has the pine lands, and every other kind of lands
0
220 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.         2
which this grass requires, in millions of acres. And then we have
millions of acres adapted to Bermuda and other valuable grasses.
WHAT PINE LA-DI) FARMES MY  DO.
What pine land farmers have done, and what the best class of them
are doing, multitudes of others may do.
We know *f pine land farmers who make 500 pounds:of lint cotton to the acre, 30 to 40 bushels of corn, 40 bushels of red rust proof
oats, 2 hogsheads of cane sugar, and 3 barrels of molasses from an
acre, 15 bushels of highland rice, 150 bushels of sweet potatoes, 150
bushels of Irish potatoes; one who made three thousand dollars worth
of onions from ten acres; many who get an astonishing yield of grapes
of various kinds to the acre; many who get splendid yields of pears,
peaches, strawberries and even apples, and other fruits; many who
inake plenty of pork to sell, and have money at interest.
HEDGING IN YELLOW FEVER.
SUTCCESSFUL EXPEBRIMENTS BY THE BOARD OF HEALTH.
The Board of Health has been experimenting, since 1869, in the
city of New Orleans, with carbolic acid, and some other disinfectants,
_       n~~~~~   ~~    ~~~  f~~~-~~; ~pr+         of
.the city, as new cases occur in the early part of the season.
Mr. G. W. R. Bayley, a member of the Board of Health, has
lately published in the Picayune the following interesting facts gathered from the Annual Report of the Board of Health for 1873.
When a case of yellow fever occurs, and it commences spreading,
it travels about forty feet in twenty-four hours.
By using carbolic acid and other disinfectants, in the room where
the first case occurs, and in and around the house, the disease has usually been stopped.  By using it in streets that bound the square where
-.the yellow fever existed, it seldom went beyond that square.
Carbolic acid disinfectant was first systematically resorted to in
-New Orleans in 1870. In every instance the evidence indicated favora'
ble results. Where it was resorted to the disease was stayed, or stop-.
ped. Where not used, in cases wlere the owner or occupants refused to
-p)er lit it-it continued and-ncreased.
In 1871 the prompt use of disinfectants confined the disease to a
few localities, principally above Canal street; and the total number of
221 f 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
cases in the whole city was but 114, of which 55 were fatal. Else
where, in every Southern town where yellow fever appeared at all that
year, and disinfection was notresorted to as a preventive measure, it
became epidemic.
In 1872 there were eighty-three cases and thirty-nine deaths in
New Orleans; sixty-one cases originating in the Fourth District. Cases
occured in each of the six city districts, but disinfection prevented it
from becoming epidemic anywhere.
In 1873 the bark Valparaiso, brought the yellow fever from Cuba
to New Orleans. The disease was transmitted to each of the six city
districts; but again, in consequence of prompt and systematic disinfection, it became epidemic in none of them, notwithstanding its very
early commencement. In the First District there were 40 cases; in the
Second..7: in the third 36: in the Fourth 123: in the Fifth..  in thleo
Sixth, 28; and the balance in the hospitals.
There can be no well founded doubt that the yellow fever epidemic of Shreveport and Memphis in 1873 originated in New Orleans.
The evidence is abundant, indeed overwhelming, that New Orleans was
saved from a terrible yellow fever epidemic that year by the efforts of
the Board of Health, its sanitary corps, and the use of disinfectants.
Did space permit, a lengthy statistical account, in proof of this statement, might be given, as contained in the Annual Report of the Board
for that year.
In the Fourth District no subsequent cases occured in fifteen out
of twenty blocks disinfected that year, and very few in the remaining
five blocks.
In another infeeted locality, of twenty-five half squares disinfected,
no subsequent cases occured in twenty of them, and but ten in the
remaining five half squares.
In the whole Fourth District, on shore, ninety-six persons took
yellow fever before disinfection, and but twelve afterwards.
-   Galveston, which has repeatedly suffered from  yellow fever epidemics, escaped with less than fifty cases in 1873, by adopting the New
-Orleans process of disinfection.
In the infecteMSecond District, in 1875, seven  cases  occured in
August, twenty-five in September, sixteen in October and four in November. The conditions were favorable in this portion of the city for
the rapid spread of te disease; but disinfection, as usual, notwith
222 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.,
standing the local opposition which delayed the results, finally subdued
it there entirely.
Two ca   occured near the Jackson Railroad depot in September,
but after disinfection there were no more.
In the Fourth District, back of Dryades, seventeen cases appeared
ii September within two areas, comprising seventeen blocks in all,
near to each other. Then however, there was no opposition to disinfection, and in all cases the houses and yards were thrown open to
the disinfecting agent.
A total cessation of fever in that district resulted immediately
thereafter, notwithstanding that a census of the infected blocks established the fact that nearly six hundred unacclimated white persons
were residents therein. No stronger proof of the value of disinfection could be desired. The cause and effect are unmistakable.
nuo Lu'LbDi  ~n  L,ouugmy   eGO    Wibu  crude caroout
acid and other disinfectants, and the disease entirely disappeared on
the 27th of September.  As there had been no frost,  and  there  was
no lack of unacclimated material, why was the progress of the disease
arrested at this point, unless by the agencies above mentioned? Eightyfour barrels of crude carbolic acid, besides other disinfectants, were
spinkled in the streets, yards, and privies of that section of the city.
Of the thirteen officers detailed by the Metropolitan Board, to assist in sanitary work and disinfecting, no one took the fever, though all
save one was unacclimated. Did not the constant use of disinfectants
give them immunity from this disease?  They were all exposed  to it,
day after day, for nearly five months.
It is believed that but for disinfection yellow fever epidemic would
have scourged New Orleans in 1875.
Since Mobile and Galveston have adopted the system of disinfection, they too have escaped.
Yellow fever was not known in New Orleans prior to 1796.
Dr. C. B. White, President of the Board of Health,  thinks the
disease might become extinct in New Orleans if not reinforced from
localities where it is epidemic and perennial.
From 1812 to 1833 there weA twelve yellow fever epidemics in
New Orleans, an average of four epidemics in seven years.
From 1833 to 1855 there were twelve yellow fever epidemics, or at
the rate of six in eleven years.,
223 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Up to 1876 there have been but three epidemics in twenty-one
years.
During the years 1874 and 1875 the new method of disinfecting
the holds and cargoes of vessels from infected ports by forcing into
them carbolic, or cresylic acid, in the bilges, etc., of the vessels, has
been in use at the Mississippi quarantine station. On no vessel so disinfected at quarantine has a case of yellow fever appeared after her arrival in port.
The above facts given by Mr. Bayley are exceedingly interesting,
and appear to be highly important; but, as the yellow fever epidemics
had been abating, and becoming less frequent for twelve or fifteen
years before the carbolic acid experiments were applied, it is difficult
to say exactly to what extent epidemics have been prevented by this
new application. The success of the Board of Health in hedging in
and smothering the disease in numerous localities all over the city, in
different years, seems truly remarkable. The Board of Health believes that epidemic yellow fever can be completely prevented in all
coming time in this city, aund along this coast; and the results of late
experiments seem to justify the conclusion.
THE SUGAR AND RICE CROPS OF LOUISIANA.
The following statements in relation to the Sugar and Rice crops
of Louisiana taken off in the fall of 1874, we copy from the book published by MR. L. BOUcEEREAU.  This is the eighth annual report, and,
like his preceding reports, it is very complete and satisfactory.
1874.
1861.        1874.   230 lbsto bbl.
PAISHE.                               hhds sugar.  hhd8. sugar.   bbls rice.
Rapides...........................   19,537         2,050
Avoyelles..........................
Point Coupee.....................
West Feliciana.....................
East Felliana.....................
Livingston......w..
Ijigston~..............s
St. Tamman......................
East Baton Rouge.................
West Baton Rouge.................
224
6,121
22,W
5,712
716
1,147
1,883
315
17
470
7
60
2,358
2,379
60
10,949
24,697 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
Iberville..........................  41,921
Ascension....................  30,722
,SL James.................... 34,227
St. John the Baptist................ *8,843
St. Charles........................ 18,191 
Jefferson........................ 11,086
Orleans........................... 1,820
St. Bernard.....................6,610
Pliaquemine........................ 22,433
Assumption........................ 37,766
L.fourche......................... 29,781
Terrebonne........................ 28,839
ISt. Mary.......................... 48,779
Iberia (new par; ish)................
St. Martin......................... 16,088
Vadsr,55 lio   v.........................  by.]
Lafayette.......................... 1,348
St. Landry........................ 7,982
Cista' bott's on 339,261 hhds ('61-'62) 11,679
454,410
Estimated at...................... 528,321,500
134,504,691
7,303
11,875
13,519
7,878
5,289
3,205
883
2,200
7,778
11,885
10,251
9,005
7,845
1,979
1,388
'Ski
84
1,081
116,867
lbs sug:-r
gcc
11,516,828gals molasses " 1874
60 gallons molasses to a hhd sugar.. 27,564,600  "    "       "  1861
GF,NrRIAL RFARKS.
There ware 92,039 acres of sugar cane ground in LIouisiana in 1874
which yielded an average of 1,462 pounds of sugar, and 125 gallons of
m)lasses, to the acra.  Thi large proportion of molasses was caused
by the good prices paid for molasses, and by the early freezes of the
1st and 2d of November, which so injured a portion of the cane that the
juice ws converted into syrup without any attempt to cqnvrt it into
sugar.
In making up the total count of the crop im pounds we have
adopted 1137 pounds net per hogshead for the brown or kettle sugar
and 1221 pounds net for the refined, that being the exact average weights
of last season.
15 
225
172
479
4,077 9,105
14,400
2,340
130
4,085
38,199
1,629
1 26,460
1,988
129
.L, -i i3o
200
104,963
in 1861
19 c 1874 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
The average number of gallons of molasses was much larger than
sual, 101 gallons per hogshead of sugar. The old reckoning was usu —
ally about 60 gallons of molasses drained from a hogshead of sugar in
ordinary seasons.
IUGAI HOUSES.
The number of sugar houses in operation in 1874 was 1000, of
which 766 used steam, and 224 horse power. In 1873 there were 1080
sugar mills in operation in the State, of which 856 used steam, and 224
horse power.
Of the sugar-houses in operation in 1874, 948 produced 97,499 hhds
of brown sugar, including cistern bottoms, weighing 110,856,363 lbs.,
and 52 sugar houses made 19,368 hhds clarified sugar-23,648,328 lbs.1
CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR AND MOLASSES.
The United States consumed, in 1874
Foreign sugars..................................... 661,869 tons
Domestic sugars................................... 48,500 "
Total.................................... 710,369 "
Consumption of molasses, same year
Foreign.......................................... 39,506,267 gals
Domestic.......................................... 8,699,990 "
Total....................................48,206,257'I
LOUISIANA SUGAR COPS-FRaOM 1823 TO 1874-50  ES.
Orofp of
1874..............116,867           hhd.
1873.............. 89,498  "
1872..............108,520  "
1871..............128,461  "
1870.......          ".......144,881               "
1869.............. 87,090  "
1868...........'... 8
186. 4,0...........9,000
1866.....,.. 41,000......      "
1865................ 1,008
18s{............... "o~7,
226
Crop of
1849.............. 274,293
1848.............. 220,000
1847.............. 240,000
1846.............. 140,000
184-5.............. 186,000
1844.............. 200,000
1843.............. 100,000
1842.............. 140,000
90,000
87,000
... 115,000
hhcls,
ic
I't
919,
gs.
9 It
9 c.
! I
9 9 -
I 91
i  
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
1863.............. 76,801
1862.............. no data.
1861........5.1    "            13........459..40,0
1860............. 228,753
1859............. 221,840
1858............. 362,296
1857............. 279,697
1856.............. 73,296
1855............. 231,427
1854............. 346,635
1853............. 449,324
1852............. 321,934
1851............. 236,547
1850..............211,201
RAILROADS IN LOUISIANA.
Miles
Mileage of railroads in 1862................................... 335
" " " 1872................................... eA
N. O. Mobile and Texas Railroad- Mobile to New Orleans....... 140
The Morgan, Louisiana and Texas Railroad..................... 80
N. O. St. Louis and Chicago Railroad:
New Orleans to Osyka, the State line........................... 88
"' Canton................................... 206       " "Cairo.....................................54&
POPULATION.
The population of the State was, in1810............   76,555                RACE, DIVISIONS
1820............152,923                        1870.
1830............ 215,739           Whites........... 362,06&.
1840.......... 352,411              Colored............ 364,210
1850.......... 517,762             Chinese............... 71
1860............708,002        *    Indians............  5691
1870.......... 726,915
According to their nativity, the inhabitants in 1870 were thus,
divided:
,V.,
t
cc
1838.............. 70,000
1837.............. 65,000
1836.............. 70,000
1835.............. 30,000
1834...   100,000
1833.............. 75,000
1832.............. 70,000
1829.............. 48,0090
1828.............. 88,000
1827.............. 71,000
1826.............. 45,000
1825.............. 30,000
1824.. 32,000
1823..             30,000
Stc
4Cag~.
c;
cg;
CC.
gC;
9 ~:
CC
cSc
~C
CC
~C
C~
TIC
i C
C 4 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
B]rn in the United States..................................
Natives of the State.......................................
Born in foreign countries.............................
British Americans.........................................
Germans..........................................,.......
English...................................................
Irish......................................................
ch....................................................
ABOVI 10 YEARS OF AGE.
According to the census, in 1870~oplilation of the State, 10 years of age and ever............ 526,392
Engaged in useful occupation s.............................. 256,452
As follows:
Agriculture............................................... 141,467
Professional and personal services..........................  65,347
Trade and transportation..............................23,831
In: i As.....   A     n,.s, W.,,    t..........c -;,...'.
NEW ORLEANS.
New Orleans is situated in latitude 29~ 58' north latitude. The
-streets are several feet below the surface of the river in the highest
freets, and are protected by levees.
In 1722 it had 100 wooden houses, and about 200 inhabitants.
In 1800 the population was................................ 8,000
." 1820 "    "4     "............................. 27,176
" 1840 "            " ".......................... 102,193
"1860 "."       "............................168,823
1870"       ".    "............................... 191,418
The population comprises:Natives of the United States............................... 142,943
Born in Louisiana.........................................   78,209
Natives of Germany....................................... 15,224
" "Ireland......................................... 14,693
" England, Scotland and Wales.................... 2,643
' " " France......................................... 8,806
~' "Spain.......................................... 961
'   "Switzerland...................................    668
4'   " Cuba......................................... 775
228
655,088
501,864
61,827
714
18,933
792
17,068
814 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
DISTANCES.
Miles
New Orleans to South West Passriver........................ 100;
it"         "      ".. air-line....................... 80A
Upper line of Louisiana to S. W. Pass.......................... 690.
Air-line to S. W. Pass......................................... 30
New Orleans to Donaldsonville................................. 80
" "Plaquemine................................... 110
"  "Baton R oug e................................... 130.
"   "Port Hudson................................... 150
"   "Bayou Sara.................................... 165
" Mouth of Red River............................ 220.
"  "Nat       chez....................................... 280
""Vicksburg..................................... 400
" "Louisiana L i n e................................. 515
""Mississippi Line............................... 780
" "Memphis...................................... 800
""Arkansas Line................................. 915
" "Tennessee Line................................. 970
" "Cairo.........................................1050
" "St. Louis......................................1250
New Orleans to Fort Jackson.................................. 75
1"    " IBalize......................................... 10
Air-line upper line. State to Balize.............................. 300
By river...................................................... 615
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
The length of the Mississippi river from its source to the mout of
the Missouri, as                  is stated in Capt. A. A. Humphrey's report,   is
Miles 133(
From the mouth of the Missouri to the mouth of the Missis      sissippi................................................ 1286
2616
It rises in Lake Itasca, fn latitude 470, and empties  into the Gulf
of Mexic) in latitude 29~.
229
t 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
D.stances
from
Mouth.
Miles.
xtreme source........................ 2,616
Lake Itasca........................... 2,610
St. Paul......................... 1,944
Prairie du Chien...................... 1,739
Mouth Missouri river................... 1,286
Cairo................................. 1,097
Memphis.............................. 872
Baton Iouge........................... 445
Gulf of Mexico........................ 0
Height
above
the sea.
Feet.
1,680
1,575
670
600
416
322
221
34
O'
The Mississippi river, with its tributaries, drains an area of 1,244,000 square miles.  Its average depth below the mouth of the Ohio varies from 90 to 120 feet.
N.E. LOUISIANA-OVER THE LAKE.
The following article on North-eastern Louisiana, or that portion
of the State that lies north of Lake  Pontchartrain, we take from the
Agricultural Department of the N. 0. Times. It was written by Cole
Frank Bartlett, the agricultuaal editor of that journal.  Col. Bartlett
has been connccted with the New Orleans press for more than twenty
years, is au able antl vigorous writer, and take3 a deep interest in settling
up the State with a solid yeormanry.  He is intimately acquainted with
the topography and general interests of the State, and particularly with
the section of Louisiana which  he so well describes in the following
article:
BOUNDARIES-ELEVATION ABOYE TIDE WATER-LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN.
It will no doubt be interesting to our readers to learni some
thing about this section of the State-that part of the Common-.
wealth bounded by the Amite River on the west, the Pearl River on the
east, lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas on the South, and the State of
Mississippi on the North.  Our limits will not admit of a close topographical descrition, but it will serve every purpose to give, as we
design, a, general view of the country and its capabilities from an agricultural, mechanical anl commercial standpoint.
Lake Pontchartrain, which washes the greater parb of the south
230
Fall
per
mile.
17.50
2.92
0.34
0.40
0.49
0.45
0.29
0.23 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
ern borlder of this territory, has an average width of twenty miles.
There is a narrow rim of swamp on its north shore-a mile in width at
its extrem3 eastern end, and widening out to six or seven miles at the
point where the Amite River enters Lake  Maurepas.  North of this
swamp line the land gradually rises until it attains an altitude of nearly
two hundeled feet at the Mississippi State line, immediately north of
New Orleans. The elevation, however, is not so great further west, as
it is only 88 feet at Osyka on the Jackson Railroad.
For the first fifteen miles as you go north from the lake, the face
of the country is not marked by any sudden elevations,  but appears a
gently unlulating plain, covered, where the timber has not been cut
off for lumber or fuel, with a dense growth of long leaf pine, or on the
borders of water courses with oaks of various varieties, gum, magnolia,
hickory, persimmon and sweet gum.
SOIL AND SUBSOIL.
There is A thin strata of sandy loam upon the surface, underlying
which is a compact clay subsoil, that varies but little in quality th,roughoat thie whole region.  So plentiful is this clay,  and so valuable for
brick mb1inZ, th it ta 3   Ia-lf,tarI of this building material has been
the chief pursuit of the population since the first settlement of the
country.
Thi;s clay ba;eing tenacious, an I so generally underlying the surface,
the laacld are c:)pable of b3iug fartiliz3 to any extent, anl wva-n plowad
deep the clay also130 cont:ins cert-iiu elements of plant food which contribute liberallytowarJ[ assistinj tlh farer to reeover fron hisgroan 
a reward for his labor.
PURE SPRING WATER, ND NUTRITIOUS GRASS.
In this gently undulating region, springs of valuable mineral quaities, as will as tho33 of pirs water, abound; and every few miles it is
int3rs3cted by sm tll rivers,  creeks anul branches, all fad from these
soarces atl affording easy anl reliable navigation, as well as a constant
and plentiful supply of purs water for stock.  The face of the plains
is covered throughoilat the yearly a nutritious grass, sufficient, were it
not wantonly burned off, to supply abunlant forage for all tht cattle
in the State the year round.
231
t 
LOUISIANA AS IT 14.
HIILLT BlC       REK BOTTOMS
Further north stillay sixteen to twenty miles above the lake or
the eastern border, and twenty-four to thirty further west, begin the
bills. Commencing by gentle elevations, they rapidly grow higher and
higher, with a constantly inceasing elevation of the general face of the
country, until the Mississippi State line is reached. The soil is deeper,
the clay not quite so stiff, and the reward of the agriculturist greater.
The growth of timber is also larger, both in the uplands and bottoms'
and the pasturage to be surpassed only in the prairies of the Great,
West. The lands on the rivers and creeks are exceedingly fertile, producing remunerative crops of cotton, corn, rye, barley, oats, sugar cane.
and sweet potatoes. The hill lands, when properly cultivated and
moderately fertilized, pay well, and by many are preferred to the bottoms, b(ing lighter and consequently requiring less labor in their cultivation.  Tlhis description will generally answer for all the country
comprised in the parishes of St. Tammany, Washington, and the eastern portion of Tangipahoa. That in the parishes of St. Helena, Livingston, and the western portion of Tangipahoa contains richer lands
less pine, and a very heavy growth of oaks of various kinds, magnolia,
gum, sweet gym, etc., etc, such asare usually found on hammock lands.
elsevwhere; and -hile the country is better agriculturally, it is not so
salubrious nor agreeable as a place of residence.  Still, on account of
its close proximity to railroad'commiunication, it offers great inducements to the emigrant.
ELVES -AYOUS~RiBs.
The rivcrs, bayous and creeks Mhich intersect this region are numerous-too numerous for us to mention in detail.  Many of them ara
navigable at all seascns of the year,.affording a &bcp means of getting
products of all kinds to market. The Pearl River, which empties into
the Rigolets, between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mlississippi Sound,.
is navigable to points above the Mississippi State line; the Tchefuncta
and Bogue Falia, to Covington at all seaeons; the Tangipahoa, for a
eonsiderable distance in the interior; the Natalbany to Springfield, and
the Amite to the Statrline. All these rivers have pure clear water and
are filled with fith, and there are good mill sia, affording ample water
power, every few miles, upon most of them.
232 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
GRAPES-FRUITS-PECANS.
Besides the products usually grown in this State, this section appears to be peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of fruits and grapes.
The pecan nut is indigenous an(I attains greater perfection than even
in Texas, while we have no doubt but that if the walnut, chesnut and
shell-bark were attempted, the experiment would prove successful.
SUGAB-CAN-TOBACCO-UPLAND ITICE.
Sugar cane has been grown very successfully, and when the lands
were well fertilized, the product has fully equaled, if not surpassed,
the best alluvions  of the Mississippi Delta.  The cane appears to be
richer in saccharine juice, while the labor of cultivation is not nearly
so great. Tobacco and upland rice also ido well there, and the morus
muOticaucis, the mulberry upon which the silk-worm feeds, grows almost
withont cultivation. Indeed the experiment has been made in producing silk, and it has proved very successful.
BRICKS-TLE AND POTTEBY.
As we mentioned above, the supply of clay for brick, tile and pottery manufacture is inexhaustible and of the most superior quality.
The numerous rivers afford ample transportation of the cheapest kind
for these things, while the almost limitless forests supply fuel in any
quantity for their burning.
BEALTH AND LONGEVITY.
In point of salubrity this section is not to be excelled by any part
of the Continent. Coming through such a long stretch of pine forests
the breezes are eliminated of all miasma and laden with resinous balm.
Yellow Fever, cholera and the other plagues have never taken a foothold there; ordinary fevers and rheumatic complaints are rare, and we
will venture to assert that there are more very old people, according to
population, than in any locality in the South. Tha temperature, winter and summer, never verges on the disagreeable, nor reches a point
when labor, out of doors, is dangerous to the health.
GRASMBS AND SHEEP IAISING.
The vast ranges covered with nutritious grasses give this country
233
t
6 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
a great advantage for cattle and sheep raising. In the last, particularly,
are there to be realized great profits. Sheep keep fat the year round
without the husbandman having to supply them with an ounce of food.
Another advantage is, there are no burs, and consequently the wool is
cleaner and more saleable.'
GAME.
Game of all kinds is abundant, while animals of a destructive
nature are very scarce and only to be found in regions remote from
population-in swamps or the heavily timbered river bottoms. Beavers
and otters also are found in great numbers, and the sale of their furs
form no inconsiderable addition to the earnings of the people each
year.
POPULATION.
The present population of this section of the State consists chiefly
of natives of Georgia and South Carolina and their descendants; on
the Jackson Railroad and in the country adjacent to it are to be found
many families, who formerly resided in New Orleans, but who have
embraced agriculture corA amore.  In the towns and villages will be
found about the same class of society as in other parts of the State;
but judging from the fact tlhat the bar and billiar(d-rooms do not appear
to thrive, we take it that the love of gaining and driuking -the besetting vices of the Anglo-Saxon-do not rule to a great extent among
tho.3e people.
PRICE OF LANDS, ETC.
In conclusion we will state that, in nearly all of the paiislies of the
section we have been describing, there are vast bodies of unoccupied
lands awaiting settlement. A good part of these lands belong to the
IUnited States, and can be entered as homesteads or bought at the usual
government price.  The land owners are willing to sell at low.rates to
actual settlers, and will welcome any honest and industrious farmer
who comes among them, with open areas and true old fashioned Georgia hospitality. But whoever goes there must expect to work hard, as
it is no country for genteel farming or kid glove gentility.
A LIVELY DESCRIPTION.
The following article -from  the Co-operative News of the 18th of
234
f
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
November, 1875, written by its editor, Judge John B. Robinson, when
the remembrance of all the minute particuliars were fresh in his memory, includes so many points throwing light upon some of the peculiar
customs and scenery of Southern Louisiana, and all so well said, that
we cannot resist the inclination to publish the entire article. It is certainly an interesting narrative, in a racy style, that gives relief from the
monotony of facts and figures. It is one feature of life among the
lakes, and bayous, and marais of Louisiana, well delineated by the
artist's pen.
LES CHASSEUPS DE CANARDS-A DAY AMONG THE DUCK HUNTFERS.
A few days since business called us to Lafourche, and an opportunity offering, we were tempted to spend a day and night with the duck
hunters of Lake Le Bceiif.
Under the guidance of our friend Cyprien Mathemn we were
equipped with a gun and ammunition,  two blankets, and a sack with
amplAe supplies of coffee, sugar, salt, pepper, bi.scit and potatoes.  All
of which we shouldered, and marching off to the rear of the rice'lelds
for a mile and a half. there took a light pirogtle, and followed Cyprlen
in his.  We paddled through canals and bayous, thirough dark cypress
swamps and reedy prairies, and in about two hours reached, by 1 o'clock
in the day, the destined camp, a rough but roomy hut, built of broad
cypress pieux, or I)ickets, sides, roof and floor of the same material.
A large shed, close at hand:, served as the kitchen or cook house.  This
camp  -as loc.,ted ab'out fire hundred yards from the open water of the
lake, upon a canal.  It stoo4 in the midst of a floating prairie, or  arie t en1nl:~le.  S-nic tall willow trees had grown up here, and formed
an island of firm land; all around  was flooting prairie, a foot to two
feet thick, formed by tne matted roots of the rank grass, and the accumulations of ashes and decayed vegetable matter, so light as to float,
yet firm enough to support a man, while underneath the water was
clear andl pure, and three to four feet deep.
This floating prairie covers many thousands of ayres of lwhat was
twent       y  years a go clear water five or six feet deep; it is constantly encroaching on the lake, andlhickeni, a and will eventually settle down
to the bottom and form a prairie just as the other marsh-prairies of
Louisiana were formel.  The vegetation equals in rankness anything
0
2;5 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
we have ever seen, and each season a loose mat of tangled reeds and
grass two feet thick is formed. One of the principal grasses is the wild
oats, folle avoine, ten to fifteen feet high, whose rich, farinaceous seeds
furnish food for rails and wild fowl, and would easily furnish food for
man, as the Indians found it wholesome and abundant.
This prairie fairly swarms with rails of every variety, pozile d'eaux
or water hens, and swamp rabbits almost as large as a kid. When the
frosts have killed the grasses this prairie is burned off, and then the
hunters come with their dogs and for many weeks can kill from twenty five to a hundred in a day.
Lake Le Bceuf is about six miles long and three broad, and has
been a famous ducking ground ever since the country was settled.
There are ten or twelve camps, each containing five to six hunters;
these hunters form a partnership, running from October  to March,
and maintain a steady camp during the whole fall and winter, for the
purpose of hunting for the market. They are all Creoles or Acadians,
originally from the French settlement of Acadia, in Canada, about
whom Longfellow wrote his poem of "Evangeline."   They send out
their game every day to the Morgan Texas Railroad and ship it to their
salesman in New Orleans, who keeps an account current for the hnnting season with the recognized head of the partnership.
Our camp consisted of four hunters, with several independent
sportsmen. We found them preparing their dinner, which invariably
consists of water hens, or poue d'eaux, and boiled rice, highly seasoned
and called a jombalyeeah, and a pot of boiled coffee; they use no bread
'whatever, but occasionally roast a few sweet potatoes.
After dinner the guns, all double-barreled muzzle loaders, were
carefully cleaned and examined; the shot, No. 7 only, and powder replenished; and dry, black moss for powder wadding, and green moss
for the shot, were placed in convenient reach in the pirogues, and soon
each one, with gun in front of him and paddle in hand, was off for his
evening hunt.
This evening hunt consisted in cruising cautiously and silently
around the borders of theeopen water, peeping into the little nooks
and around the littleislands of floating prairie, chiefly forpoule d'eaux;
bat also for ducks, and the banging of the guns told that execution
was going on rapidly on all sided All these hunters are capital shots
0
236
f 
LOUISIANA AS IT' IS.
and take their game on the wing, dropping their paddles, snatching up
their guns and dropping the game when flushed, with astonishing expertness. Toward sunset all ensconced themselves in blinds made out
in the open water, by sticking into the shallow water long green reeds,
in such a manner as to leave the tols four feet above the water, in two
rows, the length of a canoe, with one end closed and a space left between just wide enough to admit a pirogue, or canoe.   into one of
these blinds the hunter, with a duck call, stations himself andl awaits
the flight of the ducks as they pour into the lake toward nightfall.
From an hour before sunset until after dark the  flashes and booms
from these treach —rous blinds tell the destruction that is going on.
When it was too dark to shoot with accuracy, the hunte-s turned
their piroglies toward camp, and upon their arrival we found that they
had from fifteen to thirty each of ducks and water hens,  but chiefly
ducks.
Upon their arrival at camp  one of the proessionua hnaters make
the fire and puts on three pots of water-one to scald what fowl they
design to eat, one for coffee, and one for the invariable rice and water
hens.
The others lay the ducks in a pile; one picks up a duck, turns its
belly up, strains back the wings, plucks at a single stroke a large handful of feathers from off the side below the wing, and pushes the feathers into a bag hung before him; snatches another bunch from off the
other side, then two from the lower part of the belly, leaving a bare
place about the size of one's palm. He then tosses the duck to another man, who is sitting on the floor; he carefully and cautiously opens
the belly with a small narrow bladed knife, very sharp, and then throws
the duck to a third man who draws out the entrails with a quick jerk
with one hand, and pulls off the liver, gizzard and heart at a grasp,
throwing them into a bucket, to be dressed and eaten in camp. Another
takes up the duck, presses into the cavity a ball of green moss, which
he rubs around, withdraws and throws away, putting in as many as
three or four of these moss balls until the bird is clean and dry inside.
The ducks are then sorted, tied in pairs and hung up by the necks until packed to be sent off.
No less than sixteen varieties of ducks are known to these hunters.
The canvas back and its congener, the red head, are the best, the black
duck is next, and the Frenclhduck or mallard is third, or even fourth
267 
LOUISIANA AS It IS.
with some, as the large cheval or horse duck is considered as good or
better than the mallard
The camp at night is an interesting picture.    When  the ducks
are disposed of each one takes a poul d'eau and plucks off the feathers
as clean as possible; the bird is then dipped into scalding water andcl
rolled in hot ashes, when it may be rubbed down white and clean.
The entrails are then taken out, it is washed and a small stick about
two feet long is stuck into its mouth, passing along the skin of its neck
and out through the rear of the body. Onions or garlic, and salt and
pepper are then pressed into it and the stick is stuck into the ground
in front of the fire at such an angle as to make the bird hang over the
fire. In the course of an hour, by occasional turning, it is roasted to a
turn, when the hunter sticks the stick in the ground between his legs,
and pulls off wings and legs, and, finally, the breast and body at his
leisure; and it is certainly as rich a feast as one would wish to eat. Then
comes the jombalyeeyah and the coffee, when pipes, songs and stories
in Acad'.an French make the fireside merry for a couple of hours.
By nine all is quiet, and nothing is heard but the incessant hooting of the owls in the distant cypress swamps, with the call of the rails
and water fowls when disturbed by the rabbits.
Four o'clock brings up the camp to a cup of strong coffee, andcl
then before day all are on their way to their blinds, and by early dawn
the cannonading frot sixty hunters sounds like a battle.
Just as the sun rises millions of swallows suddenly make their
appearance, and for an hour skim low down over the lake, gradually
rising higher until they suddenly take flight and all are gone.
MOSS.
TE MOSS OF COM3EICE-HOW IT GROWS —WHERE  IT GROWS-HOW
GATHERED  AND  CURE-EXTENT  OF THE INDUSTRY                       PRICES AND MARKETS.
The following article from the pen of Judge John B. Robinson,
editor of the Co-operativeNews, and author of the "Resources of Louisiana," will be read'with interest,  Spanish moss is an  article of no
small importance to Louisiana, and the facts given below contain many
features of rare interest:
238 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.              2
The long moss of our Tommerce is almost wholly a product of
Louisiana; although found in the low lands of South Carolina and
along the swampy borders of all the Gulf States, it is no where else
found in sufficient quantities to make it an object of commerce.
It is rarely found above 33 degreest north latitude,  and usually
keeps company with the palmetto.
Its technical name is Tillanitsia Usnevides. It is commonly called
Spanish moss, long moss, and gray moss. Its native habitat is on the
tops and branches of living trees which grow in the gloomy swamps or
along their borders. It revels in the darkest recesses of the deep and
dismal cypress groves, above the exhalations of everlasting swamps,
and covers as with a mantle the broad-armed live and native oaks
which fringe the ridgy margins of the lakes and bayous.
It even drifts away from the tops of the cypress and tupelo, and
encroaches on the highlands adjacent to'he swamps, and festoons with
itsq gray drapery, the sweet gum, elm and ash.
Associated as it is by false report and preconceived ideas, with
malarial fevers and swamp ague, the stranger, when he first views the
long pendulous pennants of the gray moss, solemnly swaying in the
breeze, cannot resist the impression that he is looking on the waving
plumes of a hundred hearses.
But prone as the imagination is to this delusion, it is now well settled that this long moss is the salvation of the swamp residents.
Many a home along the dark margins of extensive swamps enjoy
as perfect health and as great immunity from disease as those do which
are located in the mountains.
This moss needs the tree simply too keep it in  the air.  It is,
therefore, an epiphyte. It is not a parasite, because it does not derive
any sustenance from the tree; but it feeds on the malarious elements in
the atmosphere, and, consuming them, purifies the surrounding air,
which would, for human lungs and skin, be otherwise loaded with poison, from the rapid decay of exuberant vegetation.
It cannot liyve on a dead tree, because the bark, among the crevices of which its tendrils creep, as slipped off.  When the tree dies,
the moss soon turns black,' and drapes itself in mourning, as if for the
tree, its dead mother.
No scenery in nature can convey a more solemn and impressive
239
I, 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
feeling to the traveler than a moss covered swamp. As he pushes his
pirogue through the lofty wreathes and verdant arches  of the silent
swamp, the tall columns of cypress rise up on every side like huge
stalagmites, upholding the leafy, living cavern above, from the roof of
which depend long masses of mo3s, like innumerable gray stalactites,
so shutting out the sun as to make it twilight at noon.
The living moss is of a greenish gray color. It has long branching
fibres or filaments, and at each bifurcation produlces tiny, trumpetshaped flowers, smaller than tobacco flowers, and of a peach blossom
color It grows rapidly, and is easily propagated; a single thread
blown from one tree to another, soon grows into a mass of moss.
The great moss region is all Southwestern Louisiana,  wherever
swamps exist, from Alexandria, on RBd River, to the Sabine, and from
Alexandria, down Red River'to the City of New  Orleans.  This ineludes the AtctLafalaya basin and Teche; all the main laskes and bayous
+ rWainfl,.   o.:.,............8
taria regions.
THE REGION OVER THE LAKE
also furnishes a considerable yield of moss; this region includes all
East Louisiana, Lower M'ississippi, Alabama and Florida.
THE BEST MOSS COMES
from the Atachafalya basin.  It is long, soft, fine threaded and glossy;
this moss is the procladct of cypress swamps alone.
That from Lafourche, Terrebonne  and  Bayou Black is coarse,
gummy, hard to clean, but very strong.  It is gathered largely from
gum trees and seems to be glued with the gum.
It is gathered by wood choppers and laborers who follow the wood
ehoppers, but there are hundreds of whites and blacks who make it a
business.  They go into the swamps through canals and bayous; they
push their way along in skiffs, flats or canoes; they carefully pick up
allthat the wind has blown down in great flakes; they reach up long
poles, armed with hooks, and pull down the hanging bunches, and
they, if necessary, climb the trees and throw the moss  down.   It is
piled up in heaps, if. on highland, where it is gathered, or if in the
swamps, it is brought out in boats and piled in convenient heaps of
several hundred pounds like hay ricks or shocks.
240 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
When cured to the owners satisfaction, it is scattered and dried,
it is then hauled or sold to the country dealers who bale it.  Country
moss is baled like hay in bales of unequal size, weighing ifrom 200 to
500 pounds weight.
It is baled by horse or hand power, by screw presses and by lever
presses, the latter being usually a longjog put into a mortice in a tree.
These bales are all usually very rough and often contain old collars,
matting and such articles.  They are fastened by cypress Zsplit boards
on four sides, and bound with wire, or wooden hoops or bands, and
often with vines.
A good hand can gather enough in a day of green moss to put up
250 to 500 pound bale of black moss. When baled it is sent to the
city dealers, who either buys directly or sells on commission  to  pu' chasers or speculators.
There are some half dozen different firms in this city engaged in
receiving on consignment and selling moss.
These receive consignments from  country  dealers and original
shippers. They also purchase all unbaled lots which may coime in
fronm across the lake, or the plantations near the city.
Like cotton going to the cotton Ipress, no matter who  is  thile par chaser from the city dealers the moss all goes from  the hands of the
city dealer to the
CITY FACTORIES.
There are but two factories, and all moss to be saleable must have
the brand of one of these factories.
By cleaning and preparing the moss and making uniform  classification, the moss trade has largely increased under the factory system.
The business of the factory is to open up the rough bales, sort the
moss and gin it, so as to get rid of leaves, sticks, dust and trash; it is
then boiled by steam in a secret bath; but the secret may easily be
guessed.  It is supposed to be simply coppers or sulphate of iron, it
the water, which, when boiled with the moss fiep  the tamin in the
moss and turns it into a deep glossy black.
After boiling, the moss is dried,  sometinme  r ed,   and then
classified into four grades M'ollows: X  ty,  X      e X'   aad  brows,,
XXX brown and black, XXXX all black.
16
2if
0
6 
LOISIANA-AS IT IS.
These grades are all uniform to both factories. It is put up in
burlap bales of 100 to 120 pounds, called quarter bales, and 175 to 20(0
pounds, called half bales. This is known as machine picked moss.
Very little hand picked mosss sent out of New Orleannot over 150(}
bales annually.
These factories each employ from 10 to 15 men, and from 15 to 2(
women, and each turns out from 30 to 40 bales a day.  They are about
equal in their operations, and together have turned out during the
past year 19,000 bales
Some moss is shipped from Berwick's Bay to Texas, but not much not exceeding 800 bales per year.
The receipts at New Orleans average about 600 irregular bales
per week. The busiest season is from middle of January to June,
and slacks off from November to January, owing to the freezing up of
Northern factories.
,The prices are for green moss in the country, from 25 to 50 cents.
per hundred, for cured moss in the country 1 to 1l cents a pound.
City dealers pay for:
* Gray,................................ 2          3 cents - I
** Gray and brown.............................. 34 
-** Brown and black........................ 3 5
****All black...................................... 45 
Crescent or Delta brand of machine picked moss sells at
* Gray...................................7   cents    
** Gray and brown..................................8 
*** Brown and black........................... 9
****Allblack............................... 11
The total sales of the past year have been 20,800 bales. This can
only be, estimated as the bales are irregular. It must be  borne that
green moss when piled loses a large per cent. of its weight, and that
*na pound of ginned clean moss takes 7 of green moss.
Moss is sent to all parts of the United States and Canada,  and
large:quantities ar,sent to France and Germany.  It is used for making mattreasecs,.tuXhrsI cushions, car seats and all uses to which
w as applied. 
PEIQUE TOBACCO.
The best of Perique tobacco is made only in St. James parish. [It
2a2 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
has been made in Natchitoches, Chachahoula, and lately in St. Tammany parish. This tobacco, when well cured ard prepared for market,is very black, has a delightful odor, and is the delight of those who>
are fond of pipe pleasures.  It is also made into snuff       o ]'(h ol  s-rmftakers think delicious. It is put up in rolls weighing from three to four,
pounds each, wound with a cord  drawn tightly until, when dry, ox,
the outside, it is exceedingly hard and solid.
The land on which this tobacco grows is usually light, sandy, mag-.
nolia soil. In St. James the seeds are  us,ually eo'n in the eo(n air Ace
January, covered with palmetto leaves in cold weather, a&d the plantrset out in March, three by four feet apart.
There are about twenty families engaged in the cultivation of Pe-..
rique tobacco in St. James parish.  The yearly crop is usually about
20,000 carrotes of four pounds each.  An acre of this tobacco usuLally;makes about 80 to 100 carrotes, worth from $3 to $3 25.
PUBLIC LANDS.
Tli  l)ublic' la(ts ill Louisian a l)elouginlg to the United States
amount to about....................................7,000.000 acres,
Belonging' to me eL'e.................................9,000,00 
This includes the sea marsh and lands subject to overflow.
Public lands subject to overflow belong to the State.
Homesteads, from United States lands in Louisiana, can be obtained at an expense of about fifteen  dollars for a quarter section oi
160 acres.
The principal t)rt of tlhe United(l States lands in Louisiana lie in,
tie 1)zLrislts of Wtashlington, St. Tammany,  St. Helena,  St. Landry,
Caleasieu, C;am: ron and N. W. Louisiana.
TIE  JETTIES.
AT THE MOUTi OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIYEl
The Jetties at the mouth of the'Mi ssissippi, at the Soith Pass,e bicl
fair to be a success. Judging from the deepening of the channel  up ta.
41 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
the middle of February, they expect to get over twenty-five feet of wae in less than six months.                                  cq
DESCRIPTION.
Imagine two rows of piling, 12 feet apart, to be driven in the sand
and mud at the mouth of the Mississippi, extending 2i miles from deep
Dwater in the river to deep water in the Gulf.
Then plank these piling on the inside, like two lines of fences of
plank and posts, and fill to the tops of the posts with small willow
s and rocks.
One thousand feet east of this, the other side of the shallow channel, place two other rows of piling, fille( with willows and stone in the
ame manner as the first.  Line the inside tier on either side of the
channel, with willow mattresses, two feet thick and 40 feet wide, woven and fastened together, sink them to the bottom and cover  with
stones, and narrower matresses, on top, to the surface of high water,
by the side of the piling.
Thus, two artificial banks are formed, and between these banks,
(the inside edges of the matresses), is a surfaoe of mud and sand abl)out
900 feet in width, and over two miles in length, for the current to play
upon and wash out.
They expect, during the high water season of 1876, that this channel will wash out to a depth that a vessel drawing twenty-five feet of
-water will be able to come up to New Orleans.
e
!244
f
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS. 
INTERESTING AND INSTRUCTIVE TABLES COPIED FROM
THE ANNUAL REPORT OF TfHE BOARD OF HEALTH
TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF LOUISIANA,
FOR THE YEAR 1873.
TEMPEBATURE OF CLIATE.
Table showing Meant and Extreme Temperature in New Orleans eads i&oai
in 1873.
TBMPBTURBE.
Minimum.
o.4
January.... 71.0
February.. 81.0
March.....81.5
April..... 86.0
May..... 88.                                  5O
June...... 92.0
July....... 98.0 
August....92.5
September.91.0
October..-..88.0
November..77.0
December.. 78. 0
O
58.0
5,.0
54.5
62.0
72.0
82.5
80.0
83.0
80.0
54.0
50.0
45.0
. 8
O
25.0
43.0
38.0
45.5
57.0
72.0
70.5
71.0
65.0
38.0
37.5
32.0
43.50'
52.-t
53.29.
59.2.
68.05
74.9T
76.;6;
75.7~
73.65
60.71
54..37
50.84
76.028
0
245
t
Maximum.
I
-9
CL)
4
w
61.0
68.0
66.0
73.5
74.0
78.0
82.0
78.0
78.0
73.5
66.0
69.0
$i
C3
56.26
67.91
69.46
75.98
82.33
88.35
90.48
88.83
85.48
75.71
68.55
63.00
62.001
Year.......
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
CIA, FAR,  LR. OUDY AND' RAI'NY DAYS, ETC.
N2rumber of Cew Days, Fai? Days, Cloudy Days, Rainy
ber of Dlys whewi  Ligtinjy  w(s o5served, ant Ozcarfrost in New Orleans, in 1873.
0        o        0       o
zi  w        z; 
6        13       5        7        1         1
F b u5   16       1 -      6        1         1
11         6       4       10        5         2
10        11       6        3        2         0
7         8       0       16      13          0
0        12       2      16       14          0
5         8       1      17        14         0
4         6       7       14       12         0
7         4      9        10       3          0
19         6       2        4        0        1
12         8       2        8        1         1
6         7      12        6        0         4
92    o105      51     117.0
24
Jaau    lar.....
February.
Mach......
Apri..........
:My...........
June...........
-Jal...........
Aagust.........
September.....
October........
-.0vember......
Deember......
Year.......
10
0
0 
LOUISIANA AS'IT IS.
RAINFALL.
Tabl shoaing the Amount of Rainfal in New Orleans in 1873.
Months.                                              Inohe.
January.................................................... 5o04
February.................................................. 2.20
March..................................................... 5.54
April....................................................... 1.38
May...........................................  21.87
June..........................................7.36
J      u      ly........................................................ 7.43
A ugust...................................................... 10.46
September.........................................3.27
October..............                               1.43
November..........................               7.77
December........................................ 1.38
.......~~~~~~~-....
Total.................................51
The year 1873 was remiarkable for its excessive rains in Louisiana.
The ordinary rainfall in this State is but from 45 to 50 inches yearly.
MORTALITY.
Tabtes of the AMortality in New  Orleans, -,n 1873,,iviig  bolor,  Sex, Age,
and N.ativity....
Aggregate population of New Orleans in 1873.........   191,418
Bolrn in the United States.............................   142,493
Of these, white.............................. 93,069
" colored......,...........!....4886
colored.:..48,858
Born in Louisiana....................................... 114,686
Of these, whit e.................................... 78,209
" colored...................................36,477
3Born in Germany......................................... 15,224
" "Ireland.................................. 14,693
France....  8,806
"    England, Wales and Scotland....................... 2,65
247
f
14 
f
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
]ORTALITY —1873.
oWB.
Wte........ 888 812 828  M1 568 882 523 341 457  510342 32 4739
]Blwk........181 177  208 188 242 144 149  97 100 124 102 122 1829
Mulattoes.... 68  62  72  54 112  76  95  54  60  72  52  78  855.
Notstatea...  5r 5   5  17   8  10   6   6   7   7   4   2   82;
Total..842 556 608 600 930 562 773 498 624 713 500 504 7505
SEX.
0
ales....... 883 8335 378 867 523 310 450 266 388 421 295 280 4396
Females.... 258 217 223 231 404 248 319 230 232 285 205 223 3070
Not stated'..   6   4   2   2   3  4   4   2   4   7          1   39
Total.. 642 556 608 600 930 652 773 498 624 713 500 504 7505
io
.... o 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
AGES.
.5 1    22 X3 X X2 a, A'9 I
85 100  m73    42210                 0 1   A
Unde  1 ear.10585 100 117 232 134 212 120 108 145  92.89 1539
Under 1 year. 105
From 1 to 2
years...... 26
From 2 to 5
years......6  2 6
From 5 to 10
years..... 20
From 10 to 15 
years...... 15
From 15 to 20
years......2        21
From 20 to 25
years.....    7 4 7
From 25 to 30
years...... 50
From 30 to 40
years....  96
From 40 to 50
years...... 67
From 50 to 60
years...... 68
From 60 to 70
years......3                  35
From 70 to 80
years...... 29
From 80 to 90
years......9                                       9
Fr'm 90 to 100
years......     6 2. 4
100 years and
upwards.... 0
Unkown.... 24
36  28  39  92 62  68  30  23  41- 3  29  507
2   0   3   1   2   0
21  34  32  30  15  21
Total..642 556j603 600 930 562 773 498 624 713 500 500 7505
O
. 249
28
33
10
15
70
42
62
60
42
33
15
8
6
1
10
4i2 44 62
21 35 34
7' 12 16
14 10 26
47 39 68
52 39 54
83 70 98
81 65 75
48 40 71
26 33 40
22 13 16
7 5 7
2 5   1
43 49 45
15 16 14
12 17 7
13 - 19 12
28 33 29
30 47 23
53 81 53
48 80 56
38 63 37
35 37 31
12 26 1-3
4 7 3
4 1 4
42
26
.19
48
48
87
57
40
29
12
5
1
0
16
51
29
13
23
47
60
82
46
36
15
6
2
4
29
32
16
9
8
35
35
55
50
46
341
20
9
5
1
20
31
24
9
8
28
31
58
54
64
35
22
7
3
2
10
516
290
153
188
519
514
880
775
603
404
215
77
38
262
0 
LOUISIANA AS Il' IS.
NA'I'ITIB]
0
Africa..........'  1  2  1   2..   1  2..  2  1  1   13
Austria....... 2   2   1  1  2 I1  3  2  6   2  2  24
Brit. Americ  1..             1 1        1 3    2             9
Canada........2   1..  3        1  1   1  3  2   2  3   19
China".....1 1  1..   1 -,1 -4,3   2   2   1       14
Denmark......         1.        1  2  3   1.2 3.,...8
Englauid......8   6   6 10, 5   4   7   6 11  10" 4  5   82
East Indies.........................
France....   33 20 28  14.34 16 27  12  29 33  21  23 290
Germany.... 49 33  32 33  52 27 53 42  62  74 40  37 534
Greece..........1...................1....      2
Holland.............. 1'.......... 1. 2
Honduras....:.......... 1..................1
Ireland...... 62  43  52 39 51 34 57 46 57  50 50 56 597.
Italy........ 7   5:4  4   7  1  6   3   1  2  6   6  52
M'adeira                                                       1
Mexice...... 3   2   2  1....  1   1           2..,.  12
Norway         1..       1  1   1  2..        1....   7
Poland...... 1
Portugal.......  1.........        2  1        1  1..
Prussia...... 2   2  1   2  1   2  2  1    I         1..  15
Russia................                      1   1...    3
Scotland.....   6  1  2..  3   2  3..  3   4  1  3   28
Sea.................    2..    4
So. America..                  1                               1
Spain........6   5  1  7   7  1   2  2   5   5  5  3   49
Sweden...... 1  1  1   1                 1   1   2.8
Switzerland..  2  3  2  5   3  1   1  2   5"  4  1  2   21
United States. 416 442 459 470 733 457 593 355 429 480 333 350 5517
Wales....... 2                                                2
West'indies..  6  5  6  3   6  4   6  4   1   9  8  5   63
Not stated...  59  2  5  17  7   6  8   7  16 19  8  109
Total.... 612 556 603 600 930 562 773 498 621 713 500 504 7505
250
0 
LOUISIANA AS IT IS.
MORTALITY OF CHILD)REN
In New Orlecna, in the Year 1873, under 2 Years of Age, according to
Pepulation United States Census, 1870.
Percentage of Deaths No. of Deaths
to population.'to 1000 pop'ln.
W hite.   I   Colored. White  Col'.
51.01145.02185
21.01002.02185
63.00931.02700
52.01489.02223
1 13.03021.04849
89.01532.03813
104.02520.04456
50.01432.02144
46.01217.01971
64.01747.02742
48.01120.02056
52.009450.02228
Average..    105.25   -65.25.01507
Total....   1236       783.18156
White population, under 2 years.................. 6984.
Colored population, under 2 years................ 2334.
<.e
251
. I
, I
Number of Deaths.
Month.
White.
.80
70
65
104
211
107
l.'6
100
85
122
77
66
I Co
January....
Februa'r'y...
March.....
April......
Ma -Y.......
June......
July.......
August -...
September.
October....
November..
December.
11.450
10.024.:
9.307
14.890
30.210
15.320
25.200
12.170
'17.470
11.200
.9450
21.W
.21- 850
27.000
.22.230
38.130
44-550
21.440
19.710
'27.420
20.566
22.280
.02796 15.070 - 27.96
33547 18l.-56 335'. 47
0
0 
$0U'THBDN sB    BYORE.
E. F. VIRGIN,
NO. 98 GRAVIER ST., NEW ORLEANS.
- DEALIR IN -
0ARDEN, FARM, AND FLOWER SEED.
Flower Pots, Fertilizers, Garden Tools.
Prices of anything in my line will be furnished on applioation.
All Communications will Receive Prompt and Careful Attention.
COTTON,  SUGAR,  CATTLE,  HIDES, WOOL, POULTRY,
WHEAT, OATS,
-A&D.A.LIL 1 MM& PiROTCTSG
- CONSIGNED TO
N. D. WETMORE,
General Grange Agent
- AND
SPECIAL AGT. FOR LOUISIANA,
WILL RECEIVE THE MOST CAREFUL ATTENTION.
Offices and Warehouse being immediately upon the Levee, afford un     surpassed cility, for handling products of all kinds
with Dispatch and Economy.
Orders from Patrons of Husbandry for Sugar, Coffee, Molasses, Gro
ceries, Dry Goods, Clothing, Saddlery, Shoes, Agricultural
Implements, Etc., filled at the lowest wholesale price.
CASH OR PRODUCE TO COVER TO ACCOMPANY ALL ORDERS 
NORTHERN or WVESTERN
PRODUCE.
FLOUR, MEAL, CORN, BACON, OATS, HAY, LARD, BUTTER,
APPLES, POTATOES, ETC., ETC.,
- CONSIGNED TO -
N. D. WETMORE,
General Grange Agent
- AND -
SPECIAL AGT. FOR LOUISIANA,
NEW'_l"]     O:::I EA      ~S,
WILL RECEIVE THE MOST CAREFUL ATTENTION.
Office and Warehouse being immediately upon the Levee, afford ulln    surpassed facility, for handling products of all kinds with
Dispatch and Economy.
iNSURANCE OIL
'nS amir F$ slartzrr Ot.
The Insurance Oil is a strictly pure and perfectly safe illuminating,
oil, manufactured expressly for family use in ordinary lamps.
It may be used with absolute safety in any Kerosene or Coal Oil
Lamp without change of burner.
Dealers who wish to sell to the best class of customers an illuminating oil, safe beyond chance, should recommend the Insurance Oil.
Fathers and mothers who desire the safety of their children and
homes should use the Insurance Oil.
It will not explode or take fire in a lamp at the highest summer
temperature in any climate.
It has the endorsement of Insurance  Companies,  Boards  of
Health, the highest scientific authority, and all parties acquainted with
its excellent illuminating qualitis and perfect safety.
Distilled and refined Jor the
PUROLINE AND PORTABLE CAS LICHT COMPANY.
95 and 97 Gravier Street, New Orleans.
.WM. E. JERVEY, Superintend&ht. 
THE -STANDARD  PERTILIZERS
i,i:LT'i,_Gi
RAW BONE SUPER PHOSPHATE AND PURE GROUND
BONE.
In offering the well known Fertilizers, manufactured by
the Stern's Fertilizer and Chemical Manufacturing Company
to the planting community the coming season, we respectfully
solicit your patronage.
O'lr Row Bone Super Phosphate and Pure Ground Bone,
made upon scientific principles, applicable to agriculture, have
no superior as an effective and economical agent to enrich the
soil.  In regard to their purity and efficiency, we refer to our
numerous patrons and consumers throughout the South, who
have tested and unanimously endorsed our Fertilizers as the
most reliable Commercial Fertilizer of the age.  Our long and
tried experience, combined with extensive facilities, gives us
superior advantages over all competitors in the trade.
Dr. Joseph Albrecht, whose reputation as a Chemist is well
established, personally superintends the Manufacturing Departmnent, and spares neither expense nor labor in the prodtction of a Super Phosphate which restores to the soil the
mineral nourishment withdrawn from it by cultivation.
As a Cotton, Sugar and Cereal Producer it stands pre-eminent.  All we desire is a tril and a comparison with the many
,.:+rtlac-'mi~itmicti.~ (s d c lsc.'.1,'-!'a-:.'r.   ii.::, I,    (. h,:;,- t;-.!.
zers, Guano, etc. WVe annex our Price List for Cash or approved city acceptance:
Sterns' Ra~v Bone Super Phosphate, per ton of 20(0 lb, $65
Sterns' Pure Fine Ground Bone, per ton of 2000 lbs,  $45
Put up in bags of 200 lbs. each, net.  We allow a discount
of ten per cent. to purchasers  of large quantities on above
price.  Our facilities for the manufacture of /pgne Black of all
grades, sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acid, also, copperas and
neats foot oil. are unsurpassed, to which we invite the attention of close buyer,  and solicit your  orders.   Factory on
Frenchman street, near Marigny Canal.
Warehouse on Elysian Fields Street, opposite Pontchartrain
Railroad Depot.  For further information apply at our office,
14 Union Street,
P.  M. SORIA, President.
PAUL ROBELOT,
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Secretary and Treasurer.
J J. MEY]5R,
General Agent.
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EoJ HART E  J.
']]' -WHOLESALE DEALERS, IMPORTERS AND COM-. 
MISSION MERCHANTS.          v,
-INv
-. IN -
Groceries & Drugs,
73 75, 77 & 79 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, La.
Hartwell & Chambers,
WHIOLiESALE GReoBRS
AND IMPORTERS OF
36 Tchoupitoulas Street, and 34 New Levee, between Natchez and
Gravier Street,
_   E    ORIi-JE':S I           LI 
GE iR MA1N GAZT TTE.
-.STA:B:LISIEiD If 1847.
Is published in three distinct editions, viz:
THE DAILY, WEEKLY  AND  SUNDAY ISSUES.
Office: 108 Camp Street, NEW ORLEANS, LA.
J. HASSENGER,    -    -          Proprietor.
Til=e:  CAAETT11E
.   
Is the Oldest German News aper in the Southern States, and has a.
larger circulation than all the other German Jouruls combined.
: ~ ~ ~ ~ r ~  M   Z..   I...?-:....  "I.
Daily paper $16; Weekly paper $3 a'd Sunday paper $3 per annum.
Weekly and Sunday Paper, $5 per annum. 
-  OF THE'
CULTIVATION OF THE SOUTHERN GRASSES AND FORAGE
PLANTS OF THE SOUTH-ThirtyPages.
BY  C. /. IOqWARD,
KINGSTON, GEORGIA.
PRICE THIRTY CENTS A COPY.
PRICE THIRTY CENTS A COPY.
42 & 44 Camp St., 113, 115 & 117 Gravier St., New Orleans, La.
WHOLESALE DRUCCIST AND IMPORTER.
Dealer in Paints, Oils, Glassware,  Patent  Medicines, Liquors, Fancy
Goods, French Patent Medicines. Agent for W. R. Warner & Co.,
Sugar Coated Pills. Geo. Tieman & Co., Surgical Inustrumients.
HENRY THAYER  & CO., Fillid atld Solid Extracts.
SHARPE & DOHME, Fluid and Solid Extracts.  Blue Lick Water.
BetLesda Water.
GENUINE ROBE.KTSON CO. WHISKY.
Prices as Low as anv Market East or West.
G   WV  1!x:Etx                          b dl; GO,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
C.-) 1 it}N la At;  t   Jit        k SUd   8    ita,  -ap ()kiL, i~t~ik):,  Api)
GENERAL CO,.MMISSION MERCHANTS, 28 Caron       rondelet St., up stairs, bet. Common and Gravier S ts.
A NEW COmMrssIoN HOUSE.-We take great pleasure in directing the
attention of our numerous readers to the card of our friend Col. G. W.
Terrell, Cotton Factor and Commission Merchant, New Orleans, and in
recommending him to the confidence and patronage of Merchants and
Planters. He is a gentleman of unimpeachable honor and integrity,
and of splendid business qualifications,. and has secured the services of
reliable gentlemen of thirty years experience ia the cotton business, to
assist him. He will make liberal advances on consignments, and will
give prompt attention to filling orders for goods and supplies.
Col. Terrell is the general agent in Louisiana and Mississippi for the
justly popular Piedmont and Arlington Life Insurance Company, one
of the very best companies in the United States.-N. O. Picayune.
PIEDMONT AND ARLINCTON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY,
OF VIRGINIA.
Assets, $3,500,000. Annual Income, $1,600,000. Policies  Issued, over
$25,000.
This is the largest Southern Company in existence.  Its success is beyond all precedent. rt iss.ues policies on all plaus. Poliees non-forfeitable. N.t restriction on
re-ideuee or travel.  l1 claims settled premptly. Terms very liberal. This is the
only Southern.Company that does business in lfew York. thus proving it to be as solvent as any ofthe Northern or Western companies.  The rates charged by this excellent and popular Old Virginia company. are much lower than those now charged by
most-other companies. For further particulars applv to the undersigned.
A W. TIRRIELL, Goenral Sonthern Manager, Successor to Gemn D. H. Maury.
ffice 28Carondelet St., new Orleans, La.
A LMNUAL 
* c! POTxi
DEALER IN
Staple and Fancy Groceries,
Liquors,. Etc.
175 Poydras Street, cor. Carondelet,
NEW ORLEANS. 
TEAS AND CL0OFFEES A SP3ECZALXTY.
Rio, Java, Laguavra, Maracaibo, Mocha and Cordova Coffee.
China and Japan Teas-Superior quality and complete stock.
Flour-every grade-have always as good as can be found in the market.
Corn Meal, Pearl Grits, Hominy, Oatmea1, (Scotch and American) Cracked
and Crushed Wheat.
Goshen and Western Butter, Lard. Rioe, Sugar-cured Hams, Breakfast
Bacon, Sugars, Molasses, Syrups, Canned Fruits, Pickles, Preserves, Jellies,
Sauces, Fish and Meats.
A general, superior and complete supply of all sorts of Family Groceries,
etc., etc.
Goods delivered to all parts of the City and the Railroads and Steamboats free of drayage,
RICHARDl FROTSCHER,
Seed  Oerchant,
AND DEALER IN
Buist's Genuine Garden Seeds,
Which are the Most Reliable Seeds sold in the Southern Stats.
SEED BQOTATOEI~:S
A SPECIALITY.
RBED RISIT PROOF OATST
Wheat, Rye, Barley and other Field Seeds, at the,
Lowest market rates. GRASS SEEDS and
every variety of Garden and Flower
Seeds.
' Country Merchants andMarket Gardeners supplied at Low
'Rates.
WAREHOUSE, Nos. 15 and 17 MAIN STREET.
NEW ORIGANS, LA.
17
Avines~, 
EAGLE    Cotton   Gin,   Sugar  Mill,
COTTON PRESS and lACHINERY AGENCY
OF 61 St. Charles Stret, ew Orleans. 
61 St. Charles Street,          iNiew Orleans..
Victor Sugar Mills
NILES' BUAR MILLS
COTTON PRESSES
OF BEST KID.
Rice Thresliers nd Rice Maclimery,
STATIONARY AND PORTABLE
EN GIN ES
Will be sold at reduced prices.
These Sugar Kettles are made of the best Tennessee Iron and of all
sizes. The large number of these kettles which have been sold and the
universal satisfaction given, proves them to be the most reliable Sugar
s.ettles ever sold.
Niles' Sugar Mills, Steam Engines,
0 o I n E]i SI
And all kinds of PLANTATION MACHINERY.
W. L. -CUSHING, Agent,
Ro. 61 St. Charles St., New Orleans. 
.
PIBiREN & age-.
13'and 15 Camp street,
(OPPOSITE CITY HOTEL.)
fine Clothing
Furnishing Goods!
ST'RASGER
Will find Complete'Stock at Moderate Prices. Goods
marked in PLAIN FIGURES and ONE PRICE.
. AND 
E. J. HART  I
yco  WHOLESALE DEALERS WOEAE    1LR 
Importers and Commission Merchants
*ro Certe  and rDr  s,
73, 75, 77 and 79 TCHOUPITOULAS ST.
CHE:IC.ALS,   IDT_/G-S,
*           PAINTS, OILS, VARNISH
French,  English  and  Other  Foreign  Preparations,
Surgical Instruments, Saddle Bags,
MEDICINE CHESTS,
All Standard American Preparations and Medical
Products.
Agents for Davis' Compound Syrup of Wild Cherry and Tar; valuable as a remedy in Consumption, Coughs, Colds, Asthma, Bronchitis,
Influenza, Spitting of Blood, Croup, Whooping Cough, I)ifficulty of
Rreathing, Pains in the Breast or Side, Palpitation of the Heart, Nervous Debility, etc.
Window Glass, Druggists' Glassware,
Worm Poison, Paris Green, Arsenic, etc.,
Sponge, Dyes and Dyers' Materials,
Patent Medicines, Hart's Cod Liver Oil,
Hart's Essence Ginger,
Hart's Stomach- Bitters.
AGENTS FOR LEADING CHEMISTS AND PHARMACEUTISTS THROUGHOUT
THE WORLD.
Groceries,
Sugar, Coffee. Tea, etc.,
Spices,
Provisions, Breadstuffs,
FINE, cHOICE AND OLD Liquors and Wines,
Tobacco, Segars.
Soap, Starch, Wocd and Willow Ware,  Blacking, Brushes, Paper,.
Fruits, Nuts, lickles, Preserves, Sauces, Ketchups, Coleman's Logdon
Mustard, Boker's Bitters, Snuf, Canned M1eats, Fish, Fruit, Vegetables, etc.  Bottles, Flasks, Tum" blers, etc.  Kingsford's Oswego Starch.
We do not sell Coal Oil or other inflammable or dangerous Iiquids
or Solids.             e
TIN 
Fix Family Grooeriee.
We  undegr         has for sale, AT x Y VB~ ASONAB alPoms, a Urge
and splendid stock of FAILY AND PLANTATION SUPP JIES,$. 
which the attention of buyers is respectfully invited.
Rio, Java, Mocha, Laguayra, Mara~ibo and Cordonva Coffees.
China and Japan Teas —the most complete stock of Choice Teas in
the South.
Flour, all grades.  Corn Meal, PearleGrits and Hominy, Oat Meal,
Scotch and American; Cracked and Crushed Wheat.
Goshen and Western Butter, Lard, Rice, Sugar-cured Hams, and
Breakt Baoon, Sugars, Syrups and Molasses.
Pickles, Preserves, Jellies, Sauces, Canned Fruits, Vegetables, Meats
and Fish in great variety.
'All purchases delivered free of drayage.
J. W. PLATT, 102 Camp Street, cor. Poydras,
NEW ORLEANS.
E. B. WHIEELOCK.             G. R. FINLAY.               H. FRELLSEN
WHEELO CK, FIleTAY & CO.,
WHROLESALE DRUGGISTS AND IMPOLTERS, 
Nos. 35 Magazine Street and 12 Bank Place,
NEW ORLEANS, LA.
Sole Proprietors Dr. Wlhoft's Anti-Periodic or Fever and Ague Tonic. Is
universally admitted to be the most re'iable remedy in use for the speedy and permanent cure of Fever and Ague or Chills and Fever, and all diseases arising from
Malarial Poisoning of the Blood. It has now been before the public about twelve
years, during which time millions of bottles have been sold under a guarantee, and
the purchase mo'ey has yet to be claimed.  It is perfectly karmless, and rnay be
administered to the tender babe and the aged sire w ith equal impunity. One trial
will convince the most skeptical as to its efficacy. Try it I Try it l Try it I
HEIAT], IFXPPY &  ARA,
-Importers and Dealers inCARPETS, OIL CLOTHS, MATTINGS, RUGS AND MATS, SHADES,
CORNICES, UPHOLSTERY AND CURTAIN GOODS, WALL PAPER, CIRO       MOS, ENGRAVINGS, FRAMES, MOULDINGS, MIRRORs, ETa.
97 and 99 Camp Street,
NEW ORLEANS.
GEO. SWARBRICK.                                 J. D. KENTON.
SWARBRICK & CO.,
59 Caminp Street, NEW ORLEANS.
Agents for sale of Brandenburg Freres Wines, Moet and Chandon
Champagnes, C. Lautern Sohn Rhine Wines, Horsford's Bread Preparation, Rumford Blacking, etc. -
1  Particular attention given to PLANTATION and FA~IILY
SUPPLIES. 
f 
G;reat.'0.. cksrnr. j Tu-te
T.  ST L. & a.,
GreaZt                                     3[AXE        3EZ.
The Fast Time, Close Connections, and Elegant Cars with only
one change between
J ASTE:RN CITIES
AND
T HE: S O IJTIH!
For which the Line
Yia M"ilan and Louisville
H-as so long been noted, must attract attention, and secure in the future the
patronage heretofore sojiberally bestowed.
QUICKEST TIME BETWEEN NEW ORLEANS AND NEW
YORK EVER MADE!
SHORTEST, QUICKEST AND BEST ROUTE BETWEEN
Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans.
Offering advantages possessed by no other line.
Passengers to avail themselves of tho advantages of this route should see
that their Tickets read
VI.A  CAI  0.
PULLMAN SLEEPERS ON ALL NIGHT TRAINS.
Only One Change of Care to and from EASTERN CITIES via CAIRO.
This Line offers great facilities for intercourse betweeni
The Northwest & Florida
VIA NEW ORLEANS.
And thence either by Rail, or a delightful Coasting Trip along the TropicaI
Shore of the MIexican Gulf to Cedar Keys, embracing, if desired, a.
visit to the ISLAND OF CUBA.
Close connectipn made to and from GALVESTON, all points in
TEXAS, and with Steamer to and from MEXICO.
A. D. SHELDON, Ticket Agent, 22 Camp Street, New Orleans.
Tickets on salt at all Regular Ticket Offices in the United States anc
Canadas.
H. C. HEMENWAY, Western Passenger Agent, Chicago.
E. D. FROST,   a                    S.E. CAREY,
Gen'l Manager.                     Gen'l Passenger Agent. 
,TATIONIER~T and SCHOOL  OKS
The Largest Stock in the City.
GENERAL AGENCY for "DIXIE MILLS" WRITING PAPERS and
"DIXIE ENVELOPE CO." Samples mailed on application.
5IIERCHANTS, BUSINESS MIEN, and all consumers of
STATIONERY,
CAN SAVE FIFTY PER CENT. and buy First Class Goods, by pur         chasing their supplies at HEADQUARTERS.
A fullline of Blank Books, Pens, Pencils, Slates, Ink, and everything usually kept in a first class Stationery House at lowest prices&
DEALERS in School Books and Stationery will find it to their adva_
tag. to call, or correspond with
ROBT. J HARP, Agent,
WHOLESAL. BOOX AND STATIONERY DEPOT,
110 and 112 Camp Street, New Orleans.
1%,t 1%        I ~ "
eal E, sttate Br oker and Agens,
'NO 8 COMMERCIAL PLACE, NEW
ORLEAN S.
Special Attention paid to the Purchase and Sale of City and Country
Property, Collection of Rents, Payment of Taxes, &c., &c. 
264.
A  I
-OF THE
FARMS, PLANTATIONS, WILD LANDS,
TIMBER LANDS, ETC.,
-IN
'I'    US  T -S
For Sale on Commission, by the
Southern Land Copany,
RioAL   oAmiTE  ROrl ean
No. 8 Commercial Place, New Orleans.
Ax Arpent. -Ah Acre.-A surface of land 70 yards square is 60
yards more than an acre; 64 yards square is,8 square yards.4 morethan
an arpent.  An acre.is about one arpent and one-sixth of an arpent.
An arpent is 4,088 square yards.
An acre is 4,840 squat e yards.
Parishes in Louisiana are the same as counties in the other States.
Plantation cabins are often good frame buildings, whitewashed,
with front gallery and two or more rooms; betteor than most of the log
cabins of the early frontiermen.
No. 20.  8 small tracts-122, 123, 0lS, 115, 170, 188, 213, 105 acres,
Parish of E. Baton Rouge; fine, high, rich soil, and goo(d neighborhood;
fine place for a small colony.
No. 122.  213 acres, a tract of high andl low land on Bayou  Sara
Ro-ad, Paris' of E. B -ton Rouge, Scotland Pla l ati )&..
No. 15.  238 acres, on Redwood Creek, E. Feliciana, 5 miles from
Jackson, La., and 7 miles from Clinton: good upland, in fine locality;
good neighborhood, go6[I water,  conven-;eat to nmarket.
No. 2.  240 aSpents, a small dwelling and 3 or 4 outhouses; fine
land; may make a good rice farm; located in the Parish of Ascension
.5 miles above Donaldsonville, on W. bank of Mississippi.
C; TT i:
qI
0 
265
No. 33. 300 acres, Parish of Iberville, 5 miles above the town of
Plaquemine: W. bank of Mississippi river; a good brick sugar house in
good order, with new cane shed: landall under fence; an old dwelling, 
6 cabins and a stable.
No. 10.  308 acres fine cotton land, fronting on Little river 2 miles
from Trinity; cottage residence, 3 doublecabins: other improve wents;
neat and productive farms.
No. 58  320 arpents, Parish St. Bernard, 12 miles below New Orleans, E. bank of Mississippi river: very neat rice farm; file soil for
rice, oranges, and sugar culture.
No. 62  A-  320 arpents; a very neatly improved farm on the E.
bank of the Mississippi river, in St. Charles Parish; land good for
cane,rice, sugar, oranges, etc., etc.,
No. 63 328 acres, Parish St. Tammany, near W. Pearl river, located in a very healthy region of country; fine water; first-class fruit
landsplenty of timber for building and fencing. 
No. 31 350 arpents, 12 miles below Plaquemine, nearly opposite
Bayou Goula, fronting 15 arpents on the Mississippi; one small cottage
dwelling and outhouses; fine shady yard; rich, sandy sugar lands, easy of cultivation.
No. 36. 370 acres, Iberville Parish, on Bayou Gross Tete, west
bank; fresh rich sugar lands,  with a lot of cabins and fencing for 200
acres.
No. 93 400 acres: a sugar plantation on both sides of Bayou Terrebonne, Parish of Terrebonne.
No. 70C. 400 arpents, Parish W. Baton Rouge, on west bank of
Ifississippi river nearly opposite Port Hudson.
No. 34. 479 acres, Parish of Iberville, very rich sugar land and
fresh; one neat and comfortable dwelling, 6 rooms; outhouses, stable, 20
double cabins; beautiful shady and ornamented yard; one old sugar house
burned down, machinery and bricks good; 20 miles from Baton IRouge
by ra lLca 1.25 miles above Plaquemine.  Can be made a fine stock farm.
No. 13.  512 acres, good cotton and corn land;Parish of East Felician, good location for practical farmer; good for raising sheep and
farm stock; good neighborhood; fine water; healthy.
No. 53.  520 acres, on Bayou Bceuf, Parish of St. Landry; high,
rich land in good neighborhood; good for cotton, sugar, etc.,
No. 5  B. 522 arpents, a cotton plantation in Rapides Parish, on
BayouRapides; dwelling, outbuildings, cabins, etc.,
No. 49. 528 acres. Parish of Rapides, 20 miles back from Alexandria; goodl cotton plantation, ald in a good section of the Parish;
good dwelling, laborers houses eta,
No. 32.  540 arpents, -Parish of Iberville, fronting on the  Missis-ippi river, six miles below the town of Plaquemine; fine land: mnake~
first-class kettle sugar.
f
a 
266 
No. 29.  600 arpents: sugar estate in [berville Parish:land good
for both sugar and cotton: fronting on Bayou Plaquemine. 5 miles below Platuemine Village. a mile or two from the N. O. and Texas Railroad.
No. 8.  600 acres first-class  cotton lands 1 mile below Trinity,
fronting 20 arpents on west bank of Black river; neat residence; fine
orchard and shady yard: a stable and 10 new cabins; large steam gin.,
two double eagle stands; 400 acres fenced:
No. 9. 600 acres of land, 1+ miles below Trinity, fronting 20 arpents on west bank of Black river, 1 neat residence and outhouses, 10
new cabins: 400 acres under fence and cultivation.
No. 82. 612 arpents, Parish of Jefferson, a plantation on Faist
Island of Barataria, on Bayou Barataria.
No.70 A. 639 acres, unimproved, in Parish West Baton Rouge
* No. 67. 640 acres Tensas Parish, 15 miles west of St. Joseph;
lands unimproved; fine cotton lands; can be easily reclaimed and put
in cultivation; about 200 acres have once been cleared and put in cotton.
No. 46.  640 arpents; Parish of Point Coupee, 3i miles  above
Bayou Sara, fronting on9the Mississippi river; dwelling house and 5 rooms
cabins, etc., plantation well located; can be made profitable as a dairy
and stock farm: only 3 miles from the court-house.
No. 51 D.  640 acres, known as the "Yarbora Tract," section 27,
T. lOR. 13.
No. 18 640 acres, Parish E. Baton Rouge, fronting on Amite river
cotton plantation; good soil; 12 miles back of city of Baton Rouge; comfortable cottage house; some old cabins and outbuildings; fine timber
good water and good neighborhood.
No. 16. 640 acres, 6 miles south of Clinton, half of the tract improved and half timber: a desirable an productive place; good for cotton and other crops.
No. 11. 640 acres, East Feliciana, on bank of Sandy Creek; good
cotton land, can be divided into s:nall tracts to advantage; location
healthy; fine spring water. 
No. 12. 640 acres, East Feliciana; good cotton or corn soil; goodc
for fruits, and vines, and stock; healthy location; good neighborhood
fie water; high and dry soil; school and church.
No. 14. 676 acres, Parish of East Feliciania; good dwelling house,
and 5 good laborer's houses, stable corn crib, etc., good for cotton and
corn and fine stock range; good location for profitable farming: comfortablefor a family.
No. 40. 6a0 acres: a productive cotton plantation in the Parish of
Madison, 2 miles below Miliken's Bend, on the Mississippi river, about
30 miles above Vicksburg; 600 acres under fence: plenty of labor on the
land to work it. 
267
No. 68.  700 arpents ona Mississippi river, Parish of West Baton
Rouge; fine rich land well supplied with timber; good for cotton, sugar,
fruits, stock, etc.,
No. 72.  713 acres, West Feliciana.Parish, 8 miles back of Bayou
Sara, on Woodville road; elegant dwelling, 2 stories, 11 rooms; fine
schoolhouse; beautifully ornamented yard; 300 acres under fence; fine
cotton plantation: fine location for a i family; good neighborbood.
No. 61 A.' 718 acres, Parish of St, James, west bank of the Mississippi river; a fine sugar plantation; fine dwelling, and large and lately repaired sugar house; cabin room for 50 hands
No. 59 B. 720 arpents, Parish St. Bernard, a well improved sugar
plantation: new dwelling and sugar house, 10 double cabins, etc., etc.
No. 80.  756acres, unimproved land in Carroll Parish, north of
Red River. 
No. 41 A. 771 acres. Parish of Madison, first class and well improved cotton plantation; 500 acres open fenced and in cultivation;
one mile below Mliliken's Bend on the Mississippi river.
No. 74.  782 acres, W. Felician-a, 5 miles from Bayou Sara, on
the Woodville road,hilli and creek bottom land; well watered and timbered; would make a fine sheep farm in connection with cotton  and
fruit culture.
No. 73. 800 arpents of beach fiat lands, West Feliciana Parish,
near Tunica Sills, 3 miles from Mississippi river: neat dwelling, 10
rooms, outhouses andcl cabins, a good cotton plantation; a productive hill
place.
No. 53.  800 arpents, sugar and cotton plantation, Parish ot St.
Landry, on Bayou Bceuf: dwelling, etc., brick sugar house in fine state
of repair, with good machinery.
No. 59 A. 20 arpents front on each side Terre-aux-Bceuf's Ridge
Parish St. Bernard; dwellings, outhouses, cabins, etc.
No. 27. 800 arpents, a fine sugar plantation, situated in Iberia
Parish, in Fausse Point, on Bayou TIeche; a dwelling, 20 new cabins,
good sugar house, new fence; 400 acres under new fence, rest in wood
capacity of sugar kettles 15 hogsheads of suger in 24 hours.
No. 50. 809 arpents, 5 miles west of Alexandria, Parish of Rapides
comfortable dwelling; outhouses; good garden and orchard, enclosed by
by a hedge; Bayou Rapides encloses the entire tract which makes a perfect drainage; fnirst class and well improved cotton plantation.
No. 51. C.    819 arpents of fine land in Rapides Parish, on  Bayou Rapides, a well improved cotton plantation.
o
No. 88. 830 acres in several tracts on Bullard's Plain, Parish of
East Feliciana.
No. 77.  844 acres on Silver Creek, Washington Parish: good cotton land and fine stock range; tart of the place improved and in cultivation.
9 
268.
No. 67A.  851 arp ea, first class cotton and stock faim,  Parish
Vermillion river: dwelling, gin, and outhoxes; nearly all under new
fenee.
No. 94.  900 acres, a sugar plantation on both sides of Bayou Temebonne, Parish of Terrebonne.
No. 70 B.  920 and 500o arpents, 2 tracs in Parish W.  Baton
Rouge; dwelling house and large brick sugar house.
No. 76. 933 acres, West Feliciana Parish, 20 miles from Bayou
Sra village, near Laurel Hill.  Can be divided into small farms io advantage.
No. 66.  949 acres, Tensas PariSh, T. 11. Range 12. E; also, in
Section 18, T. 10 Range 12 E. fine fresh high land: will make a good
cotton plantation. lands are unimproved.
No. 64. 950 arpents, Pariah of St. Tammany, on left bank of Tchefunta river unimproved timber land; a saw mill in good running order:
on the premises.
No. 51 D. 1000 acres, Rapides Parish, a fine tract of unimproved
cotton land, partly in Grant Parish.
No. 45. 1000 arpents, Parish of Pointe Coupee, fronting 17 arpents on the Mississippi River, nearly oppo/ite the town of Bayou Sara;
000 arpents cleared,balanee fine timber; soil first quality, easy to cultivate, convenient to market, and easily drained.
No. 55. 1000 arpents, first class sugar plantation in the Parish of
St. Mary; land high; beautiful yard, ornamented trees, orange trees;
fine shrubbery; good machinery in old sugar house that was burned;
runs back to high shell bank on Grand Lake, 8 miles above Franklin,
fronts on Bayou Teche and Grandt Lake. or Lake Chitemachus.
No. 62. 1000 arpents; a tract of fine timbered land in the Parish
of St. Helena, on Amite river; fine location for saw mill, and forgetting
ship and railroad materials.
No. 21. 1015 acres good fresh land, in the Plaine's Settlement 10
miles from Baton Rouge; fine timber gcood stock range; can be divided
into small farms to advantage.
No. 42.  I120 acres, Parish of Natchitoches, 2 fronts on Red River;
land gooJ and productive, but needs improvement; near the town of
Natchitoches and Grand Ecore landing: high dry and rich soil.
No. 41.  1035 acres, Madison Parish, consisting of 2 tracts; 795 on
Joe's Bayou, 240 on Roundaway Bayou; fine cotton land; can be divided into small tracts; plenty of building and fencing materials.
No. 79.  1081 acres, Concordia Parish, north of Red River, on Tensas River; a valuable platation.
No. 6.  1093 Acres, No. 1 cotton land, east bank of Black river,
Parish of Concordia; 1 dwelling, a stable, corn, cribs one gin in work.
ing order, cabins fr 20 hands; other outhouses; land rich; good stock
range.
6
6 
269
No. 19.  1138 acres, good cotton land, E. Baton Rouge  Parish;
good soil, well located; can be divided into 3 or 4 good farms to advantage; 10 miles from Baton Rouge; plenty good timber, and good stock
range.
No. 44.  1200 arpents, 40 arpents front on the Mississippi river;
first class sugar plantation in the Parish of Plaquemines; large sugar
mill, vacuum pans, and centrifugals.
No. 69.' 1200 acres, unimproved tract in West Baton Rouge Parish; 500 acres cleared, balance in woodland; land is of superiar quality,
suitable for cotton or sugar; 15 miles above Baton Rouge, 4 miles below
Port Hudson; fine stock range; 50,000 bricks in a kiln.on the place.
No. 84. 1,200 acres; an undivided fifth interest in this plantation,
Bossier Parish.
No. 24. 1253 arpents: a well improved cotton plantation in Grant
Parish, fronting on the left bank of Red River; one new cottage dwell —
ing, outhouses, corn crib, stables, overseer's house, 12 cabins, store, etc.
fine timber; place is in good running order. 
No. 47.  1274 arpents, Palish Pointe Coupee, fronting 18 arpents
on Mississippi river; fine location for a colony; land very productive;
large amount of timber on it; good for cotton, sug ar, corn, etc.
No. 2.5. A.  1280 acres, finecotton plantation  in Grant Parish,
frolnting on Redl River, E. bank; 250 acres cleared and in a high state
of cutivation; 10 good cabins and a small dwelling: house.
No. 78. 1280 acres, St. Tammany Parish, on Thchefuncta river;
good comfortable improvemtaent, and other advantages.
No. 90. 1345 acres; one-fourth undivided interest in plantation
formely belonging to Moses and Rachel Graves, Madison Parish.
No. 71. 1360 arpents, Parish West Baton Rouge; a first class,
well improved and completely fitted out sugar plantation; 500 arpents
fenced; good dwelling and cabins, large stable, large sugar house, slate
roof; directly opposite Baton Rouge.
No. 56. 1380 arpents; a fine sugar plantation in the Parish of
St. Mary, fronting on Bayou Teehe, 8 miles above the town of Frank
lin; large dwelling, beautiful yard, orange and ornamental trees; remains of old sugar house; plantation runs back to shell road on Grand
Lake.
No. 52. 1600 acres; 400 acres woodland, balance cleared and fit
for cultivation, 2 miles from Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry; healthy
location; good society; splendid location for a colony; good for cotton,
corn, sugar cane, fruits, sheep or stock raising. Can be divided into
small lots to advantage.
'No. 60.  1440 arpents, Parish St. James, on west bank Mississippi
river; sugar and rice plantatio;  good  dwelling:  20 double cabins,
stable,large brick sugar ]ouse etc.
No. 5.  1440 acres: cotton plantation, Parish of Concordia; an improved place; has always made goodaverage crops of [cotton and corn
rich land.
f 
270
No. 35.  1480 acres, Parish of Iberville, on Bayou GrossTete; neat;
cottage dwellingand outhouses; good sugar and cotton lands; plenty
fine timber; and other conveniences.
No. 51. 150( arpents: 400 acres under fence, 600 more opened
and ready for cultivation; property substantially and well improved; an
excellent cotton plantaLLtiolL; fiine timber; cane brake and wild pea for
stock. 
No. 59. C.  1520 axpants, Parish St. Bernard: a sugar plantation
known as" M LT,nolia," fironting on both sides of Terre-aux-Bceuf; neat
dwelling; 16 ne v cabins, a large sugar house in good order.
No. 59..10) arp?nts, Pairishli St. Bernard; fronts 20  arpents on
each side of Bayou Terre-anx-Bceuf; land very rich, fine sugar  and
orange lind; fine stock range.
No. 25. 1,625 arpents; fine cotton plantation in Grant Parish, on
-Red River, 5 miles below Colfax; dwelling, overseer's house, 15 cabins,
stable, fine gia; fi le,  icl pfolictive soil; land high and never fails to
make good crolk  -
No. 2'i.  1,630) arpents; first-class, Parish of Iberia, fronting 20 ar
pents on Bayou Teche, 4 miles below Iberia; one large dwelling, 15 double cabins; 400 acres under fence; formely a fine sugar estate.
No. 75.  1689 acres of hill, creek bottoms and beach flatlands, Palish of West Feliciana, 4 miles from Bayou Sara, on the Port Hudson
road; good for cotton; good location for a colony; can be divided to
gr'eat advantage.
No. 3. 1695 acres, sugar and cotton plantation, Avoyelles Parish,
on left bank of Bayou Bceuf; superior land; 1 good dwelling and outhouses; good cabins for 30 to 40 hands; sugar house; 150 acres cane.
No. 57. 1800 acres, Parish St. Bernard, 22 miles below New
Orleans 700 acres ill cultivation; a first class sugar plantation; well fitted up; good sugar house large sugar mill and machinery; place well
ditched and in good order.
-No. 38. 1810 arpenats, a sugar and rice plantation, Parish of Jefferson, 1 mile above Kennerville, 12 miles by N. O. St. L. & C. Railroad from the city; 600 arpents under fence; one-half the place can be
cultivated in sugar, the other half in rice, at the same time; large twostory dwelling, 8 rooms; excellent outhouses, 15 double cabins; very
large brick sugarhouae, Nile's engine and centrifugals; 50 fine orange
trees; valuable advantages, and a valuable plantation.
No. 37.  1842 arpents; afine sCgar plantation in the Parish of,Jefferson; 12 miles from New Orleans, west bank of Mississippi river. on
Barataria Ridge; 800 acres under fence, balance fine cypress timber and
good sugar wood; dwelling and outhouses complete, with oranges  and
fig trees surrounding tie house, 15 cabins, corn house and stable, sugar
house, with wal]Eing beam engine, in order; one set of open kettles;
coolers, tankage, etc., in good order; a fixst-class stock, so near the
city for marketing.         -
0 
HALLADAY  STANDARD  WIND  MILLS
The First and only Self-Regulating Wind Mill
Ever offered the markets of the world, and when material used, power,
workmanship and durability are considered, it is
acknowledged to be
The Cheapest Wind Mill now in use.
The undersigned are the only manufacturers in the world who have been
successfiul in introducing self-regulating Wind Mills of large diameter
FOR RUNNING CUSTOM GRIST MILLS,
That make as high a grade of flour as can be produced by any steam
or water mill, and for
frI~~iiig Ltat,iou.    Or,a~nge (Ogrovos,,
As well as for punmping large quantities of Rater
For Supplying Small Towns and Railway Water Stations.
The smaller sizes of our mills are used on
Stock Farms and for Ornamental Use.
The g'eat prairies of the country, by the adoption of wind power, can
be made more valuable than farms supplied by running  streams, as
there will be
NO WIASTE LAND
Hon. Chas. Clinton, Auditor of the State of Louisiana, is using one
of our 30-feet diameter Wind Mills for draining his Orange Grove, and
his letter published herewith fully demonstrates that thousands of acres
of comparatively worthless land in the South can be greatly increased
in value, and used with perfect safety from danger of overflow, for the
culture of
Cotton, Sugar, Rice and the Orange.
Send for Illustrated Catalogue and Price List.
U.S. WIND E CINE & PUMP COs.
BATAVIA, ILLINOIS.
W. P. SMITH & SON,-Ajents,
118 & 120*Tclhoupitonlas St., New Orleans 
f-'2-]n2o.'Thas. Clinton, In regard  to the'30-foot Wind Mill used *for
draining his Orange Grove.
STATE OF LOUISIANA, AUDITOR'S OFFICE, NEW O-LEANS, JAN. 29, 1876.
U. S. Wind Engine & Pump Co., Batavia, mll.
Gentlemnn — Your favor of 24th inst. at hand.   I received  the box of
weights you sent, bult have not yet put them on the mill.
I am going down to the orange grove next week, and will  look into the
matter.  My impression is that the mill does all the work well that we require
of it, without the additional power Even by the use of weights, still it is a
good thing to know, and if I find it a all necessary, I will put them on and
Eat the matter.
I am more than ever satisfied that your 30-footmill is just what will even  tually be used in this Stato for drainage, both on sugar and rice plantations.
it only wants to be tried thorougly, and if it does not get out of order within
- Aree or four years, and is well advertised, to start on, in some of the city local
papers, it will give you a groat many orders.
My mill works the two 16-inch pumps admirably, with a very light wind,
andshould it continue as now, without needing to be constantly  repared,  I
thall feel that I have the power for drainage suited to this country.
Very respectfully,             CHAS. CLINTON.
lrom noted Railway Officials concerning the DURABILITY of our MILLS.
BURLINGTON, CEDAR  RAPIDS  & MINN.  R, R.  CO.,                   )
CEDAR  RAPIDS, IOWA, APRIL 2, 1874. 
Jhah  E. Tlhomas, Esq.,
Dear Sir: —Replying to yours of April 1st, I will say that we feel that
_fel and water are two of the most essential supplies for tlhe successful opera-eon of a railroad, arnd have, therefore, experimented considerably with steam
and horse power, as well as with different kind of wind mills, and our experience proves, to our complete eatisfaction,that the Halladay Wind Mill is
;the best in the market. In fact, I know of no other which for durability, per-ection of working, economy, and, I may truthfully  add, mechanical beauty,
that will begin to compare with this mifl.  We have sixteen of this manufac.are on the line of our road and branches.
The entire expense of keeping these mills in repair, including six hand
pumps, and, in fact, our whole water department, does not exceed one cent
per mile per day. This includes all pump and wind mill repairs, also repairs
on tanks and the putting in of new pum.ps.   Respectfully yours.
'W.  H. PETTIBONE,  Asst. Gen. Sut.
1i fully endorse the above.       WM.  GREEN,  Vice-Pres. and Gen. Supt.
BURLINGTON, CEDAR RAPIDS & MINN. R'Y CO.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Dec  16, 1876.
U E. S. Wind Engine & Puimp Co., Batavia. BL
Gentlemen:-Yours of3d. inst is receieti. In response, I would say: that upon the
line of this railroad there are at present sixteen Halladay Wind Mills in operation all iL good repair, some of them having been erected nearly six years.
In reference to their durabilitv, I willmention that something over three years
ago,I erected at Burlington,on this road. a 22-foot Halladay Wind  Mill, with  -inch
double acting force pump attawhed. The mill was set 90 feet above the ground. Some
tlime after its erection a hurricane passed over that place * tracing its coarse by uproot mg trees, and levelling. with other buildings, -'Pond s Egg and Butter Packing Estab lishment," a brick building' killing and burylng the proprietor, 5fr- Pond, In the ruins
The wind mill passed through that awful storm, as it were defiantly, and, if I may be
allowed the expression, proudly proceeded to Its work at the end of the blow; without
bhaving been damaged tothe extent ofone cent. This is an example of my uniform
experrence with the Hallady Kind Mill.
,  If the mill is properly erefed, oiled about twice a week, and then left to take care
of itself, nothing shore of a tornado will disturb it.
, Seam: so far as I have had experience; is 500 per cent, more expensive than wind
power for pumping.  You will understand this when I tell you that the expense for
- the labor of keeping in repairthe wind mills and pumps of tihe entire water department of this railway, amounting to 400 miles of road, has never yet exceeded $4,50 per
day, or ls cents per milu per day; and our water supply has always been abundant
..and satisfactory.                               JAMES CANTELO, Master Builder. 
MORGAN  LINE  U. S. Mail Steamers,
The following low pressure iron Steamships form these lines:
AGNES.             CLINTON,         CITY OF NORFOLK,              AUSTIN,
W. (G. HEWES,    HARLAN,            I. C. HARtIS,                 GUISIE,
WHITNEY,           HUTCHINSON,  JOSEPHINE,                        M ORGAN,
ST. MARY,                                                          MARY.
Plying from Morgan City, it connection with Morgan's Loa'ala ta and Texas R. R
FOR INDIANOLA VIA GALVESTO] N
The following iron Steamer& will leave Morgan City, as follows:
MORGAN.........................................................................On  WEDNFEDAYS.
CLINTON................................... O            On FRIDAYS.
HUTCHINSON..................................................................On SUNDAYS.
Freight for Indianola received.  Connectiag at Indianola withe gulf, Western Texas an&  Pacific Railway.   "  Through bills of lading signed Lo San Ansonio and in-ermediate points via Indianola and Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railway.
Through bills lading signed to  oston, and to all points beyond, on the Houston
and Texas Central Railroad, and to Cuero, and to all intermediate points via Gulf,
Western Texas and Pacific Railroad, subject to tariffs of respe ctive linep.
Freight charged as per new card rates.  Freight for Dallas and points beyond on
the Texas Central Railroad. and to Troupe and points beyond on the International and
Great Northern Railroad, taken &treatly reduced rates.
FOR CORPUS CHRISTI. FULTON and ST. MARY'S, via ROCKPORT-The iron
steamer MARY, will leave Morgan City on
Lighterage to Coppus Caaristi-if any-at risk and expense of consignees.
Freight for St. Mary's and Fulton landed at Rockport..
FOR  BRAZOS SAnTIAGO DIRNCT-The iron Steamer I. C. HARRIS, will leave
-Iorgan City MONDAY, Feb. 21.
Freight for all the above ports received at the Depot Morgan'q Louisiana and
Texas Railroad, foot of Lafayette street, daily, until 5 P. M.
Lighterage at Brazos Santiago at risk and expense of consignee. Freight pay
able in gold to Brazos Santiago.
Freight received for and bills lading signed only to Brownsville via Rio Grande
Railroad, as per new tariff, less 8 per cent., until further notice.
Passenger and Mail Route.
FOR GALVESTON.
Passengers take Railroad Ferryboat, foot of St Ann street, at 7 A. M., reaching
Morgan City at 11:15 A. Me there connecting with steamers
HTUTCHINSON.................................................................On SUNDAYS,
JOSEPHINE............................................................ tOn MONDAYS,
.OSWPHINE..................'On MONDAYS
WHITNEY...........................................................On TUESDAYS,
MORGAN......................................................................On WEDNESDAYS,
JOSEPRINE.............................On THURSDAYS,
CLINTON....................................................................On FRIDAYS,
WHITNEY.........................................................................On  SATURDAYS.
-Cabin Passage............................. $12 00  Deck.............................................$ 6 00
First class fare to Shreveport, $25-time 45 hours.  Excursion Tickets for the
round trip to Galveston and return, good for thirty days, issued at $21.
Tickets and staterooms secure quntil 5 P. M. daily-Sundays exeepted-at Agent's
Office, or at the Ferry Landing, on  orning of departure.    Through Tickets will be
issued from this Office to thi principal points on the Houston, Texas Central Railroad,
on the International and Great Northern Railroad, Texas and Pacific Railroad, and
uGul, Western Texas and Pacific Railway, and Stage connections.
C. & WHITNEY & CO., Agents,
1is  Corner Magazine and Natchez Streets.
.4 
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VI II 
MANUFACTURED BY THE
CHEMICAL
-ABiD               I  I
Blood Fert~~iii I ORS
0
at..
FFICE:    37 NORTH PETERS STREET,
Between Bienville and Customhouse Streets,
FERTILIZER No. 1.-FOR SUGAR CANE.
FERTILIZER No. 2.-FOR COTTON.
FERTILIZER FOR ORANGE AND FRUIT TREES.
I
F E: R T I L I Z E R S.
For Sugar Cane............................................. 6o 00
For Cotton......................................................45 00
For Orange and Fruit Trees................................ 60 00
Pure Super Phosphate....................................... 65 00
Pure Ground Bones..................................... 45 00
Per ton, in sacks of 200 lbs.
Chemicals Always on Hand:
NITRATE OF POTASH,
NITRATE OF SODA,
MURIATE OF POTASH,
LAND PLASTER,
SULPHURIC ACID,
SULPHATE OF AMMONIA.
Fertilizers compounded on Orders for all
Crops.
. This branch a specialty.
-OFFICE:
37.......NORTH PETERS STREET.........37
Between Bienville and Customhouse.
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Sup rior to all Others and Chca r,
HIGHLY ENDORSED BY SOME OF THE MOST PRACTICAL
Farmers and. Sug-avr Kakors,
IN THIS STATE AND MISSISSIPPI.
MANUFACTURED BY
4&    0I% E6 
A-ITE CITY, LT.
Send for new Circular to be issued in May next (1876'.)
'.  I am acquainted with the merits of the GRANGE  EVAPORATOR used along the N. 0. St. L. & C. Railroad last season. So
far as I am informed, it has given complete satisfaction, and is
entitled to the confidence of farmers and the public.
DAN'L DENNETT
Diploma of Merit Awarded at the Vienna Exposition, 1873, to the
NEW  ORLEANS  SANITARY AND FERTILIZING COMPANY
- FOR THE -
New Orleans Sanitary and Fertilizing Company, Manufacturers; office,
No. 135 Gravier Street, New Orleans.
To PLA.TERS AND FAIRMIEES:
We take pleasure to call your attention to the above card and testimonials, as a method of introducing our renowned Pelican Poudrette,
the cheapest and best Fertilizer ever introduced; the want of which
'has been felt in the South for some time.
We have no compound, but merely a simple substance, which every
Planter and Farmer is acquainted with and knows to be better than
any compounded or manufactured, and above all, the cheapest.   Our
Poudrette is the pure night soil of our city, completely deodorized.  It
is an established fact, that the Excriment of the animal is an excellent
Fertilizer; and how much better must the Excriment from the human
be to fertilize the soil, is universally known.  We have now several
thousand tons ready for ilipment, which we off6r at $10 per ton to the
trade, delivered free on Woard, and solicit your kind patronage. NEW
ORLEANS SANITARY and FERTILIZING Co., 135 Gravier Street,
Now Orleans, La.
]P'E~4C-LICANP(D[DUDRE"FTE
$
0 
THE GRANGERS' IMPROVED
'PANT GRI.ST. ILL
Durability-equal to any other Mill,   Horizontal  fill!
Is a very important adjiunct in farm economy.   This is supplied by
THE GRANGERS' MILL4
This Mill meets every requirement.    It is Portable or Stationary and can be run by steam, water, horse or man power.
A small mill, with one-horse power, will grind from two to four
bushels per hour, a large mill
From 10 to 100 Bushels per H-our.
The most rapid and continuous evolutions will not heat the grain in
grinding. The stones of the mill which took the premiums at the late
Louisiana State Fair at New Orleans are about ten inches in diameter
the Mill taking up about the same room as a large size Sewing Machino
p It is a complete Machine, simple in construction, and easily adjusted and kept in order.  It can be put up at half the cost of other mills
and run with one,third less power. Its economy commends itself at
once to any one who can run a mill. It grinds corn, wheat, or any
other grain.  State and      y  rights for sale
By WITT, SMITiH & CO., Gadsden, Ala.
S. S. CONNER, Amite Cah.., Gen'l Agt. La. and Ter.
S. S. CONNER, Amit. Cii, Jo., Ge'l Ag'L La. an(1 Tex.
Cspar LuIsse,
STEAM LAGER BEER
w 
476 & 478 Chartres Street,
BETWEEN SPAIN AND ENGrNE STREET,   -  NEW ORLEANS
This Brewery, the only one in New Orleans, was started by the pro:prietor three years ago. He has succeeded in furnishing Beer of as
good quality as that made in the West, and in some respects beter and
at lower prices. Beer fresh from the Brewery Ice House is better than
that which has been exposed b the sun, or to the heat in transporting
it on steamboat.  This*Brewry employs twentyhandsand the demands
for its Beer is on the increase.  The country trade is invited to give
'this pioneer establishment a trial as a matter of economy as well as an
enoouragement to home industry
_A~ GtIST  ]KIT,T.
_ _  
Gullett Gin  Manufacturing Company,
Masnfactory at Amite, La.
GULLETT'S
NEWR
LIGHT-DRAFT
HAND LEVER
'COTTON
PRESS.
Gullett's Cotton Gin and Cotton Gin Feeder,
Awarded First Promium, Louisiana 8tate Fair at New Orleans, 1876.
Gins of all kinds repaired at the Manufaetory. Any part of the
Gin Stand can be duplicated without sending it to the shop. All Gins
thoroughly to  with ootton before shipment.  The company  being
now established on a solid basis, with increased facilities, we can  venture to solioit order
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O. M. Stone, August& Ga. C, Graveleoy, Charleston, S. C. Dr. T. F. Gullett, Verona.
Miss.  E. N. Hammonde,  Winowa, Mtei.  Gun'ett, Aby & Co., Memphis,  TenaM. J. Smith, & o,, St Louis, Mo.
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The lIew, Orleans +
Has by far the most extended circulation of any exclusively Com      mercial Paper in the Southwest, and is recognized
AS AUTHORITY  THROUGHOUT  THE UNITED STATES.
It is sent to subscribers in nearly every county and town in the
great Mississippi Valley, and the Gulf States, besides having a general
circulation in every State in the Union. Advertisers will consult their
interests by a liberal use of the colums of THE PLICE CURRENT.
Independent of our subseription list, which embiraces the first
MERCtANTS AND FINANCIERS
Of the American and Eropean Cities, the large number forwarded by
New Orleans Factors to their correspondents throughout the eotten
and sugar regions, and the West, enables our patrons to make known
their business to purchase who can scarc.ly be approached in any
other way.
Offi  Nos. 129 and 131 Gravier Sreet,
0 t::.T, LAS,
JOHN WEON.
E3STA3LISHE-D 1850.
MAGNOLIA NURSERIES.
JOIHN NELSON & BROS.,
( Succesors to John M. Nelson )
FRUIT, SRA[)E, AND ORNAMENTAIL TREES, EVERGREENS,
ROSES, GREEN-HOUSE, HOT-HOUSE, AND MISSELANE   OUS PLATS, BULBS, GRAPE VINES, STRAWBERRY
PLANTS,  TC., ORANGE SEEDLINGS AND GRAFT           ED ORANGE TREES A SPECIALTY.
IN QUANTITY AT LOW PRICE.
Count Orders carefly packed.  Everything furnished from the
Magnolia urseries warranted free of Coco.
ICity Depo-160 Peydra  Street, noar St Charle    P.O bo0 1067.
Catalogues furnished on application.
-  - I,                               -                I             - 
SPRICE CL/RREN~
-EI\T
T,.
WM. LK.
B. F. SON.
Proprietors. 
IN D EX.
Guinea Grass in Pinelands.....................219
dGood Uplands................................... 15, 32:
Geological View........................24.............
Grande C6te Island....................... 61
Grande  Pointe....................................... 76
Gamrne, Fishes, Oysters....................76, 85, 89
Grand Chenier Island.............................. 90
Gardens............................................. 93
Geographical Names —Pronunciation.....104
General Elevation (St. Mary)........... 92
Grasses  and  Forage, Plants..................  20'2
Area of Louisiana............................. 14..1.5
Arable Alluvial Lands............... 15, 22, 24, 25
Alluvial Lands, Wooded Swamps...... 15,19
Alluvial Parishes......................................l3
Abandoned Lands.................................... 36
Attakapas and St. Landry........................ 38
Au Large Prairie...................................... 59
Agricultural Products.............................. 92
Bays...................................................21 1
Bundick's CIeek Settlement.................. s
Bayou Teche.................................... 58...7
Bones and Baskets (salt mine)...............6
Bill of Fare of a!.oulsiana Farmer...... 12
Bee Culture.......................................... 18!
Breaux Bridge..........................................7
}ean Bassin.............................................7
ayou Cypremort................................10
Bluff Lands.................................... 15, 26, 2
Hays, John............................................... 6
Hilly Lands.............................................14
Homes on the Lakes.............................. 2t
Hog Wallow Lands................................. 31
Health of Vermilion Parish....................8
Hedges.................................................. 100
HeBlth.........................................96,11I, 170
Health of White Laborers.....................159
China tr,ees-fuel...................... 183
Coast Marshes............1...................2 Igao19
Coast Bayous................................. 21
Coast Line................................................ 21
Cotton Lands-Best in the World...............1 34
Cheap Sugar House................................ 60
Creole Industry...................................... 60
Crops............... 77, 84
Cote Gel~e Hills................80
Climate...............................................96, 97
,Cote Blanche Island.............................. 102
Cattle in Cameron...............................  114
Crops in Cameron........................ 117
Cheap Sugar Est ates........................ 119
Crops, per Hand and per Acre............... 122
Chief'Wants of Louisiana..................... 185
Cattle and Sheep.................................... 187
Cotton Seed Analyzed............................. 198
Crops of Louisiana compared with
Western crops.................................... 122
Islands in the Marsh.......................... 20, 28Immigralion Needed...............................7
Illinois Farmer-His Views.....................42
Illinois Editor-His Views......................42
Iberia Parish........................................... 57
In the Wilderness.................................... 74.
Indiana Farmer...His Views..................188
Inlanate Value of Louisiana Soil..............201
Level Lands.............................................14
Longevity............................. 56, 71
Lake Peigneur............................. 6
Lake Tasse.............................................68
Lake Martin.............................................75
Lake Charles..........................................111
Mississippi River..Distances................229
Morgan Railroad..................... 43
Morgan Steamships................................ 43
Minerals......................................... 190, 112
Moss...Spasish.................................129, a288
Most Valuable Timber...........................131
Mortality... White and Colored...............180
Missouri Planter in Leuisiana............... 183
Mlneral Springs....................................187
Molasses Analyzed........................ 194
Medical Flora of Louisiana..................200~
Mo rtality.......................................247 to 251
N. E. Louisiana...Over the Lake............230
New Orleans.... Population.................... 228
Natural Divisions........................ 17
Waorth Louisiana Villages......................3J,
f
Jetties................................................... 243 -
Dairying in Cameron.............................. 11
Dome,-tic Fowls-prices...........................5
Duck Hunters....................................... 23
Exhaustless Natural Wealtli,
...    35, 121, 129, 18
...............1
Fruits and Vegetables..................9.... 41,9
Farm Crops, prices..................................5
F-'no Estates............................................7
Facts-Wonderful Crops........................ 12
Fruit Culture................................ 84, 88,1
Fruits from Gulf Coast..........................I 
The New  Orleans.
Has by far the most extended oirculation of any exclusively Com      mercial Paper in the Southwest, and is recognized
AS AUTHORITY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
It is sent to subscribers in nearly every county and town in the
great Mississippi Valley, and the Gulf States, besides having a general
circulation in every State in the Union. Advertisers will consult their
interests by a liberal use of the colums of THE PilCE CURRENT.
Independent of our subsoription list, which emabraces the first
MERCHANTS AND FINANCIERS
Of the American and European Cities, the large number forwarded by
New Orleans Factors to their correspondents throughout the eotton
and sugar regions, and the West, enables our patrons to make known
their business to purchase who can scarcely be approached in any
other way.
Offir Nos. 129 and 131 Gravier Street,
1\E    OL:A,T -lS,  LA.
B.  F. NELSON. 
:ESTAiBLIBBHED 1850.
MAGNOLIA NURSERIES.
JOHN NELSON & BROS.,
( Successors to John M. Nelson )
FRUIT, SHA[D)E, AND ORNAMENTAL TREES, EVERGREENS,
ROSES, GREEN-HOUSE, HOT-HOUSE, AND MISSELLANE   OUS PLAN'TS, BULBS, GRAPE VINES, STRAWBERRY
PLANTS, TC., ORANGE SEEDLINGS AND GRAFT           ED ORANGE TREES A SPECIALTY.
IN QUANTITY AT LOW PRICE.
Country.Orders carefully packed. Everything furnished from the
Magnolia Nurseries waanted free of Coco.
City Depot-160 Poydras Street, near St CharIs  P. ( boa  1067.
Catalogues furnished* on application.
lPRICE CURRENTS
JOHN OLON.
Wm. Re.
Proprietors. 
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a 
INDEX.
Area of Louisiana.............................14...I
A     rable Alluvial Lands................ 1 5, 22, 24, 2
Alluvial Lands, Wooded Swamps...... 15,1
Alluvial Parishes...................................... l
Abandoned Lands.................................... 3
Attakapas and St. Landry........................ 3
Au Large Prairie...................................... 5
Agricultural Products..............................
Guinea Grass in Pinelands..................... 219 
Good Uplands................................... 15, 32.
Geological View..................................... 24
Grande C6te Island..................... 61
Grande Pointe........................................7
Game, Fishes, Oysters....................76, 85, 89
Grand Chenier Island.............................. 90
Gardens............................................. 93
Geographical Names-Pronunciation.....104
General Elevation (St. Mary)................. 92
Grass's and Forage, Plants-................." 2
Bays................................................... 21 1
Bundick's.Ceek Settlement..........3........3
Bayou Teche.................................... 58 7
Bones and Baskets (salt mine)............... 6
Bill of Fare of a Ieoulsiana Farmer...... 12
Bee Culture.......................................... 18
Breaux Bridge..........................................7
Bean Bassin.............................................7!
Bayou Cypremort................................10
Blutff Lands.................................... 15, 26, 2'
Hays, John...............................................635
Hilly Lands.............................................14
Homes on the Lakes.............................. 2t
Hog Wallow Lands.................................  31
Health of Vermilion Parish....................8
Hedges................................................. 100
Health.........................................96, 111I, 170
Healtli of White Laborers.....................159
China trees-fuel................................... 153
Coast Marshes.......................................... 19
Coast Bayous............................................ 21
Coast Line................................................ 21
Cotton Lands-Best in the World.................34
Cheap Sugar House................................60
Creole Industry.........................9 60
Crops................................................... 77, 84
Cote Gel6e Hills....................................... 80
Climate................................................96, 97
Cote Blanche Island.............................. 102
Cattle in Cameron............................... 114
Crops in Cameron................................. 117
Cheap Sugar Estates.............................. 119
Crops, pet:Hand and per Acre............... 122
Chief Wants of Louisiana..................... 185
Cattle and Sheep.................................187
Cotton Seed Analyzed............................. 198
Crops of Louisiana compared with
Western crops................................... 122
Islands in tile Marsh...........................  20, 28,
Immigralion Needed.............................. 97
Illinois Farmer-His Views.................42
Illinois Editor-His Views....................42
Iberia Parish........................................... 57
In the Wilderness....................................74,
Indiana Farmer...His Views................. 188
Innate Value of Louisiana Soil....9.....201
Jetties................................................... 243
Level Lands.............................................14
Longevity.........................................6, 71
Lake Peigneur.....................6...................6
Lake Tasse.............................................68
Lake Martin.............................................75
Lake Charles..........................................ll1
Mississippi River..Distances.........229
Morgan Railroad......................................4:
Morgan Steamships.................................43
Minerals......................................... 190, 112
Moss...SpaRish............................... 129, 288
Most Valuabie Timber...........................131
Mortality... White and Colored...............180
Missouri Planter in Leuisiana............. 183
aMlneral Springs....................................187
Molasses Analyzed................. 194
Medical Flora of Louisiana............. 200
Mortality..................................... 247 to 251
N. E. Louisiana...Over the Lake............230
New Orleans...Population.................... 228
Natural Divisions...................................17
F   f lrth Louisiana Villages......................3J,
Dairylng in Cameron.............................. 114
Domestic Fowls-prices........................... 55
Duck Hunters....................................... 235
Exhaustless Natural Wealtli,
........................ 35,121,129,184
Eii'i;'e'iiny of Iouisiana...............I
Fruits and Vegetables.................... t...41,94
Farm Crops, prices................................. 55
IF.,
.ne Estates............................................ 72
Facts-Wonderful Crops........................ 121
Fruit Culture................................ 84, 88,140
Fruits from Gulf Coast.......................... I 
288
Oranges...Great Demand......................149
Orange Island........................................67
Orange Crop.............................. 94,112, 117
Overhowe...............................................101
Oak Bark and Tanneries........................54
Oak Staves............................................. 132
S-lgar Crop... Table................................
Soil of Lafayette Parish......................78
Soil  and Scenery.....87
Sugar Crop of Bt. Mary......................  103
Saw Mills..............................................l
Sheep, Hogs, Poult,ry.............................. 115
Silk Culture in Louisiana.......................124
Soil Resources.......................................123
SPumac....................... 126
Sulphur Mfne....................................... 135
icuppernong Grampes................................45
3Statement of New Orleans Physicians...179
Summer Heat.......................................185
Salt Kin*...............................28, 64, 65,134
Scenery in North Louisiana...................34
S Tammany Parish............................... 18 6
Southern Onons...................Onions................ 201
Pine Hills.......................... 15, 30, 3 2,216,217
Prairies s........................ 1, 22
Pine Flats..........................  29
.............. 15
P   anoramic View.....................................18
Pine Lumlier...Vast Suppl ie           s................... 31
Products of Gi od TJplands..................... 85
Prairie Herds......................................... 44
Prize (f Lands................... 49, 71, 79, 88,188
Pierre Broussard.................................... 61
Pisgah View........................................... 64
Poultry................................ 72
Parish of St. Martin,..................;.,68
Pm ish of'Lkt'~iye'tte',..........;78, 79, 83
Prices...Crops,'Cattli,Pultry.........84
Parish of Vermilion....................86
Poor Immigrant's rPari sh..........1........ 90
Parish of St. Mary.................................. 91
Population.............................................. 97
Profits of Small Sugar Farms.................99
Plantations and Farms, etc 98, 118,119
Poet's VieEvageline....................I05
Parish of Cal~:asi{u...........................112
Parish of Cameron.:................113
Prof. H-ilga-rd'" Opinton.........................  41
Pitch, Tar ttd Turpentine.....................132
Petroleuim........................... 135
Profits of White Labor...................158, 184
Piny Woods........................................... 32
Petite Anse Island.............; 6
Paris-h of St. Laiidry.................,.43
Pear Culture on Bayou Teche 147
Pine Straw...Ana l         ysi....... 218
Pineland F armfrs...What they may do...221
Population.Table............... 7.........297
Public Lands...................................243
Timbered Bottoms................................. 45
PTeche Foraests..........................................69
Tobacco.................................................    94
T'ea Cilture in Louisiana.......................126
Temperature of Climate........................245
Value of Cotton Seed Cake....................... 198
Vermilion River...................................... 81
View on IHorseback and on Foo(...........    18
Whiat a Poor Man Can Do.......................162
White Men in Cane, Cotton and
Rice Fields.......................155,156,157,160
Wealth of the Forests of Louisiana......130
Water Surface..........;....15, 20)
Wealth and Refinement..............e.  18
White Labor........................    51, 52, 53, 83,154
Wild Fowls in Cameron..................116
What Two Men Did.................... 163
What White BoysCan-Do..................... 165
White Tenants in Iberrille...................164
Water Power......................... 187
Rice Crop..................3.. 15; 224................
Rich Lands in Louisiana.......................128 Yield of. Sugar, Cottonl, Corn..............49
Railroads............           227 Yellow.Fever................................... 177,181
Rainfall...................................................247 Yellow Fever...Hedging In..........221
0
6