530 ACiRICULTURAL APPROPRIATION BIL^, 1924. 



Senator Broussard. I will answer that })y first eliminating the 

 liill lands, which will not compaie at all in fertility or production, and 

 are altogether of a different character; bnt all of our alluvial lands — 

 I mean by that south of tlie Jied Kiver, and on the east side of the 

 Mississippi, soutli of Yazoo ('ity, tliere are some places where there are 

 alluvial lands, but all of the lands on our side of the river, south of the 

 lied River, are lands of this type; they are lowlands; there is not much 

 elevation there, but they are very fertile. The lands fronting (»n the 

 streams are sandy because of later deposits from the Red River, but 

 the black lands aje always lands of the character described. Most 

 people prefer the black lands under certain weather conditions. 

 Wlien you have extreme drought vour crop is fine on these lands, but 

 if you have too much rain it is hard to work them; that is the difTiculty, 

 but they are more productive and year after year will average more 

 than your sandy lands. 



Mr. Wason. ^or my benefit, and perhaps for the benefit of the other 

 members of the committee, will you state the percentage of alluvial 

 lands — and I group the alluvial lands and sandy lands together— and 

 hill lands as compared to your entire acreage? 



Senator Broussaud. When I said one-tliird or one-fourth awhile 

 ago I did not mean that is the total area of black lands as compared 

 to sandy lands; but the people usually work the front lands as they 

 are more easily drained. If you want the proportion of black lands in 

 the alluvial section as compared to the sandy lands I should say that 

 over half is black, but as to cultivation I should say there is one- 

 third of it in cultivation. All of the fields in the rear are black lands. 



Mr. BucHAN.\N. But taking your State as a whole and count mg 

 the alluvial lands and the black lands that constitute the section 

 whei-e this farm is located as (me unit, how would that compare with 

 your State as a whole — one-fourth, one-fifth or one-eighth ( 



Senator Broussard. I suppose one-fourth or one-fifth. 



Senator {{ansdell. I am pretty familiar with that l)ecause 1 have 

 specialized on Hood ccmtrol. We have in Louisiana around 14,000 

 s(|uare miles of lands which are subject to overflow from the floods 

 of the Mississippi River and all of tliat haul is the kind of land which 

 Senator Bi-oussard h.as described. Now, we have a considerable area 

 in and along streams — we have a great many streams in the State — 

 and much of that is of the same general character. The whole State 

 is between 4(),000 and 47,000 s(|uare miles, but there are some 14.000 

 square miles of the same genei-al character which the Senator has 

 described. 1 am fainiliar with the whole State. 



Senator Broussard. This black land extends as far as the Arkan.sas 

 line along the river, while the hill lands are in the northwestern part 

 "of the State and are pine Jands. That character of farm lands ex- 

 tends along the (uilf coast, and this farm is not to be considered 

 merely for our immediate locality. We have always viewed it as 

 one for expeiimental and demonstration work for all of the people 

 along the (Julf coast. This is tlie only one in that area. About one- 

 third of the State is of that character of land. 



Senator Uansdell. Do they not have in all that regiou this stiff 

 land that may be benefited by the <>\|)erinuM\ts on the farm ^ 



.Senator Brokssaiu). "i'es; it is of the same formation. The land 

 along the Black and Ouachita Kivers, in upper Loui-; ana, are of the 

 same formation as this. There is a number of bayous and rivers up 



