946 



LOUISIANA 



50 miles from its western bank, and disappear near the 

 Gul£ in what are known as "islands," such as "Avery's 

 Island" and "Jefferson's Island." There is also another 

 section of these lands on the east bank of the river im- 

 mediately south of the Mississippi state line. These 

 lands are characterized by a yellow clay loam, very fer- 

 tile, and by forests of magnolia, gums, oaks, etc. They 

 produce some of the stone-fruits well, and an abundance 

 of pears, berries and figs. 



Third : Tlie Prairie Lands. — These occupy a portion 

 in the central southwest. -ni part of flic state, are tree- 

 less, low and an- aN.. known as rici- laii<ls. The soil is 



bushels 

 vegetil 1 

 Louis ni 



poor but improves with cultivation, and gradually the 

 planting of figs, pears, peaches, plums and grapes has 

 been extended. 



Fourth : The AJtuvial Lands. -These make up all 

 the other portions of the state not mentioned, including 

 the river bottoms. The soil is generally dark, ranging 

 from black to light red, very fertile and abounding in an 

 abundant growth of timber. They produce the heavy 

 yields of cotton and corn in the northern portion, and 

 the sugar cane, oranges, lemons, persimmons, figs and 

 bananas, as well as other tropical fruits, in the southern 

 part. 



The leading varieties of vegetal 'I. - " n .very 



section of the state, and the hoiiH- - . i ii h. s an 



abundant supply during all seas.in. . ■ ; ., under 



proper management. Those vegi-tal!. - i, i-i ii.|.ularly 

 grown for home consumption are as f.>ll..ws : Aspara- 

 gus (on the sandy soils only), artichoke (both Globe 

 and Jerusalem), bean, beet, cabbage, carrot, collard, 

 corn, cress, cucumber, cashaw (pumpkin), endive, egg- 

 plant, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, melon, mustard, okra, 

 onion, parsley, pea, pepper, Irish potato (two crops), 

 sweet potato, radish, spinach, tomato, turnip and ruta- 

 baga. Occasionally there is found the vegetable pear 

 ( Sechium edule ) , martynia, brussels sprout, celery, cher- 

 vil, garlic, kale, salsify, parsnip, cauliflower and field 

 pumpkin. The majority of these vegetables may be 

 sown several times during the year. Celery and cauli- 

 flower, however, are sown early in August in order to 

 mature by the Christmastide. 



The commercial truck sections are found in various 

 sections of the state. Along the Illinois Central railroad 

 a direct line to Chicago from New Orleans, which runs 

 through the warm sandy pine lands, the most extensive 

 truck farms are to be seen. The vegetables grown are 

 radishes, beans, cantaloupes, cucumbers and tomatoes. 

 The town of Koseland alone, in 1898, shipped 50,000 



LOUISIANA 



e IT n Irtds of car loads of these 

 1 ( hicago C lei eland and St. 

 1 nths of March, April and 

 Mav 1 1 luces enormous quantities 



of earh I iidreds of acres are planted 



each je r I l sent bv car load lots from 



the stati n I tl hi in Tangipahoa parish. The 

 plants nre .-et m August and September of each year, 

 and as a rule are kept but one season Abundance of 

 pine straw is use 1 f i i uilnh and when an early spring 

 frost thrt t tl 1 h is also used to cover the 



plints II iiotecting them so that the 



farst in 1 1 I I I 1 its escape and mature, thus 



insulin^ tl t I t II p kii„ The varieties 



grown are (1 ul M 1 I T I "M II, r, Bubach, 

 Gand^ Seltzer tud Cieol I 'ajian plums 



are also grown m this s .. the most 



desirable varieties being tl ,)iil Murbank. 



A few peaches and Japan i lu yiuwn, but 



not so as to become a commeicial pi.jduct. 



Another great truck section is found in the immedi- 

 ate vicinity of New Orleans, and along the river towards 

 the Gulf on the New Orleans, Fort Jackson and Grand 

 Isle railroad. New Orleans is supplied mainly from 

 this source, and at the same time enormous amounts are 

 sent North. The truck grown for the latter purpose 

 consists of cabbages, onions, tomatoes, beans, peas, egg- 

 plants and cantaloupes. Cucumbers 

 are also grown, both in the hotbed and 

 in the open, oftentimes bringing high 

 returns when sent North, the winter 

 prices ranging from 'iO cents to $2.50 



The lower portion of this section 

 contains also the great orange groves 

 of the state. They are located all along 

 the river, and it is only when a belated 

 blizzard visits this section that a crop 

 failure is experienced. Some of these 

 orchards contain more than 100 acres. 

 The stocks now used are almost en- 

 tirely the common sour and Citrus Iri- 

 fotiata. Occasionally the sweet seed- 

 lings and lemons are used, but not to 

 any .-xt.^ut. 'I'l... first two mentioned 

 nr.' 1' ■ 1 I' !' ' stocks known, and 

 mature their wo. ..I. .u-.' desirable tree. 



The varieties gnA\i, i- - , -unia, Boone Early, 

 Sweet Seville, Pars. ill hi -mi. I Wi/ilian, Baldwin No. 1, 

 Creole, Homosassa, Wasliinvrf..ii N.avel, DuRoi Blood, 

 Hart Tardiff, Rivers Unknown and Schoenberger. 

 Besides these, large quantities of mandarins, tanger- 

 ines and Kumquat oranges of various varieties are 

 grown. The various scale insects, so serious when no 

 care is given, are, as a rule, kept in complete control 

 by the careful use of insecticides, and the laws govern- 

 ing the importation of infected trees are rigidly enforced. 

 As oranges in Louisiana are grown on such different 

 soil from the orange sections of other states, one or two 

 points must always be kept in view. Beds should be 

 raised before the trees are set, and the crown roots of 

 the v..uiiL'tr.i- should be just at the surface of the ground. 



Til. -■ I' III Tits are necessary on the alluvial lands 



ul I - : ' -issippi. The Satsuma. Kewochai and 



Ii^.i I' I III. se varieties, and when worked upon 



t'i/j'' ',<'■■' • ! st.)(.-k will stand much more cold than 

 the sweeter oranges. The Satsuma thus worked is the 

 most desirable and will stand a temperature of 13° F. 

 without injury. The orange industry is increasing an- 

 nually, the crop for 1898 being upwards of 300,000 

 boxes. 



Another truck section is found along the Iron Moun- 

 tain railroad north of Alexandria ; it is limited to 

 only a few crops, such as melons, tomatoes and Irish 

 potatoes. Alonir the Vi.-ksburL'. Shrevesport and Pacifie 

 railroad lari.'.- .|uiur, in - i : In h ).otatoes are grown, 

 while aloni; llie K ii i . i I ilmrg and Gulf rail- 

 road and til.' .^Il--n- : \ I iiilroad, only limited 

 quantities of tni.k li i . I", n i m .mt. From reliable 

 statistics it is foun.l that the annual output of Louisiana 

 approximates 40,000 tons of fruit and 60,000 tons of vege- 

 tables. The varieties of these vegetables grown for the 

 Northern markets are as follows : The Acme and Beauty 



