SUGAR INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES. " 49 



period of the greatest production, it being then 30 per 

 cent., while at the present day it varies from 35 to 83 

 per cent., according to the quality (thus yielding a 

 revenue to the State in 1877 of nearly $40,000,000), and 

 that in years gone by, the slaves were utilized, thus 

 greatly diminishing the expense. The difficulty of 

 finding a sufficient number of hands to work these plan- 

 tations seems to be great, and it is probable that the 

 white man will be unable or unwilling to encounter 

 the intense heat of the sun. If this were not the case, 

 there can be no doubt that the land is well suited for 

 the purpose, and it is spread over ten States, Lou- 

 isiana being the most interesting. Here the planta- 

 tions are situated on both sides of the Mississippi 

 River from about 70 miles below JS^ew Orleans to 250 

 miles above, including the banks of the Red River. 

 We there have sufficient land to supply the entire 

 United States with sugar, but unfortunately it is sub- 

 jected to annual inundations and for that reason it can 

 be bought at a very low figure, ($15 to $20 per acre). 

 Before the late war, there existed levees, which were 

 kept in a good condition by the owners, but since from 

 financial embarrassment this has become quite impos- 

 sible. 



For some years after this the State levied a general 

 tax, with a view to rebuilding and repairing portions 

 of these levees, but this plan did not prove a success. 

 The only practicable plan left is for the government of 

 the United States to extend its speedy support in the 



