1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



407 



through this country, is the imperturbable good 

 humor and hopefuhiess of peojile. He meets fre- 

 quently people who are ruined l:)y the calamities 

 of the war. They never weep, or wring their 

 hands, or tear their hair. One man, from whom 

 the secessionists of Missouri had taken cattle and 

 crops, and all the fruit of the labor of years, mere- 

 ly remarked in a quiet Avay, while he picked his 

 teeth Avith a bowie knife, "Yes, they have been 

 kinder rough with me !" That was all ; he had noth- 

 ing else to say. ]Mr. Trollopo tliinks a genuine 

 American never complains and never despairs. 

 Whatever happens in the external world, says Mr. 

 T., "tne vian is always there." 



For the New England Farmer. 



SEVENTY MILES BELOW NEW OR- 

 LEANS. 



Friend Brown : — It is very seldom that you 

 have an agricultural corres])ondent at a point so 

 far South as this. Perhaps the novelty of the 

 thing will atone for any crudities found in my 

 communication. With tiie warlike aspect of mat- 

 ters about here, the New England Farmer has, 

 of course, nothing to do. If cannon-shot could 

 only germinate, and "grape" produce grapes, what 

 a paradise this land of swamps would become ! 

 If every sunken steamer along these shores could 

 be transformed into a hot-house, we might defy 

 even a Northern winter. As one of the results 

 of my "inspection of farms" about here, I may 

 say that green peas in March, new potatoes in 

 May, tomatoes and carrots at all seasons, string- 

 beans at any lime, and shcUed-beans never; (can't 

 tell why ;) upset my almanac completely. So far 

 as garden supplies are concerned, tliis is a glori- 

 ous country. I can discover nothing in the cli- 

 mate that should render an uninterrupted succes- 

 sion of garden crops at all diflicult ; still, they arc 

 not forthcoming ; and I can only account for the 

 fact by supposing that tlie natives about here, 

 having obtained one crop, are content to wait till 

 the year comes round again before they plant for 

 another. 



The prices of "garden-sauce" might well make 

 a Concord farmer stare. What think you of Irish 

 potatoes, (very small ones, too,) at 81,00 "a buck- 

 et?" — the ratio of a bucket to a peck is a problem 

 fur you to solve. By the way, I priced some ar- 

 ticles at a store, the other day ; a bucket (water 

 pail) lb cents ; a Shaker broom $2,00 ; alum 50 

 cents a pound, (indispensable for settling Missis- 

 sippi water.) 



Just about these forts, the only specimens of 

 stock that present themselves for examination are 

 alligators — in any quantities and of all sizes. The 

 only field products are water plants. Twenty 

 miles further up the river are the sugar and rice 

 plantations ; and to a farmer who sees them for 

 the first time, they are a curiosity. As you sail, 

 not by, but above them, (the river being full to 

 the top of the levee,) the straight, and almost in- 

 terminable rows of sugar cane, and the bright 

 green spread of the immense rice-fields, present a 

 beautiful appearance. If it were not that the idea 

 of involuntary labor forces itself continually upon 

 the mind, this would be a paradise indeed. It is 

 common to hear it said, that without slavery this 

 system of agriculture could not be sustained ; but 

 I do not believe it. True, it makes one's back 



ache to see rows of cane nearly a mile in length, 

 and miles in breadth ; but it must be remembered 

 that as little or no manure is carried out upon 

 these lands, the pest of weeds, with which in j\Ias- 

 sachusetts we have to fight such continuous bat- 

 tles, is almost unknown. Most of the labor is 

 finished before the heat of the season becomes se- 

 vere ; furthermore the labor of "haying" is not 

 called for ; so that the aggregate of toil is less in 

 Louisiana than in Massachusetts. The main re- 

 liance of the people along the western bank of the 

 river between here and New Orleans, seems to be 

 the orange and lemon crop. The amount received 

 annually by the growers of these fruits seems in- 

 credible. Why may not the day come, when this 

 amount shall be distributed among a free and 

 happy yeomanry, instead of going, as it now does, 

 into the pockets of a few slaveholders, to be spent 

 in luxury, while the honest producers get only 

 their food and clothing — a scanty allowance of 

 each. 



Between Forts St. Philip and Jackson and the 

 "Passes," is a vast extent of country scarcely ele- 

 vated above the surface of the river, of the great- 

 est possible fertility, perfectly level, and at pres- 

 ent perfectly valueless, because liable to inunda- 

 tion. Perhaps the time will come v.'hen this re- 

 gion Avill become one of the most productive and 

 prosperous on the fiice of the earth. The climate 

 is delicious, though at times hot. Almost every 

 day a sea breeze tempers the heat, so that to even 

 the partially acclimated it is not very trying. 

 During the winter months the temperature must 

 be delightful. The only obstacle to settlement is 

 the danger of inundation. But this difficulty may 

 easily be obviated. A levee, a few feet in height, 

 would aficird perfect security ; and were the thing 

 to be undertaken on a large scale, these levees 

 might, with the aid of modern contrivances for 

 the purpose, be erected with great facility, and at 

 less expense than many stone walls in Massachu- 

 setts. The soil is perfectly free from roots, stones, 

 and all other impediments ; and a steam excava- 

 tor would work wonders. Why may not this re- 

 gion become one day an American Holland ? Al- 

 most all the tropical plants could be raised here ; 

 and the malaria of the swamps give place to the 

 fragrance of orange groves. When the company 

 is incorporated for carrying this scheme into ef- 

 fect, I shall feel that I am entitled to one share, 

 for making this suggestion. B. 



Fort Jackson, La., June 30, 1862. 



What is Heat Lightning? — The flashes of 

 lightning often observed on a summer evening, 

 Viuaccompanied by thunder, and popularly known 

 as "heat lightning," are merely the light from 

 discharges of electricity from an ordinary thun- 

 der-cloud, beneath the horizon of the observer re- 

 flected from clouds, or perhaps from the air itself, 

 as in the case of twilight. Mr. Brooks, one of the 

 directors of the telegraph line between Pittsburg 

 and Philadelphia, informs us that, on one occa- 

 sion, to satisfy himself on this point, he asked for 

 information from a distant operator during the 

 appearance of flashes of this kind in the distant 

 horizon, and learned that they jiroceeded from a 

 thunder storm then raging two hundred and fifty 

 miles eastward of his place of observation. — Prof. 

 Henry. 



