SEA COAST MARSH LANDS 



The Sea Coast Marsh Section as distinguished from the Alluvial Marsh 

 Section east of the Atchafalaya River, embraces an area of about 200,000 acres 

 lying just south of the prairie lands adjacent to the Gulf in the parishes of 

 Cameron and Vermillion. These marsh lands are for the most part flat, undrained 

 areas very slightly above sea level, whose top soil consists of washings from 

 the prairie lands above, mixed with decayed vegetable matter, entirely different 

 in character from the Yazoo loam, Yazoo clay and Sharkey clay, formed by 

 deposits from the waters of the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers. 



The land is susceptible to reclamation by the same methods that are now 

 being pursued in the Delta Marsh Section and will undoubtedly prove very 

 valuable when thus reclaimed. There is a considerable area of this section 

 that is capable of drainage by gravity and this scattered acreage is now available 

 for settlement, and is proving to be very desirable land. As may be supposed 

 the climate in this section is very mild in winter and the summer temperatures 

 never run high, because of the proximity to the Gulf. 



Rice and sugar-cane are the staple crops there now, but the fertility of 

 the soil and extremely mild winter climate make it an ideal region for the grow- 

 ing of citrus fruit. 



Reclamation of these lands has already begun and quite a large area is now 

 being developed by Northern capital in the vicinity of White Lake in Vermillion 

 Parish. If these areas are properly leveed and drained and if the drainage districts 

 formed under the direction and guidance of the State Board of Engineers are 

 equipped with adequate pumping plants, there is no reason why thousands 

 of acres of very desirable rich land cannot be made available for settlement at 

 an early date, but, as in the reclaimed Delta Marsh Land Section, great care 

 should be exercised by the newcomer to see that the land he is purchasing is 

 located in a district that is properly organized and adequately equipped for 

 complete and thorough reclamation. Lands thus reclaimed will produce 

 abundant crops of corn, sugar-cane, onions and Irish potatoes, besides affording 

 every opportunity for raising cattle and hogs at a lower cost than they can be 

 raised anywhere else in the country. 



Sea-island cotton is being grown in parts of this region near the Gulf as an 

 experiment and as all of the elements essential to the successful growing of this 

 variety of cotton are to be found here, it is not unlikely that when reclaimed, 

 the Sea Coast Marsh Lands of Louisiana will become one of the most productive 

 sources of this grade of long-staple cotton in America. 



Sea Coast Marsh Lands Ideal for Citrus Fruits 

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