ITS ADVANTAGES! ITS CONDITIONS I ITS PROSPECTS f 



books of tlie parish, showing the inde- 

 pendeut and self-reliaut character of 

 its people. 



THE LONG-LEAF TIXE REGION 



covers a part of Calcasieu, all of Ver- 

 !ion, except Auacoco prairies, all of 

 Kapides outside of alluvinl bottoms, parts 

 uf Natchitoches and Sablue, nearly all of 

 Orant and Winn, parts of Bienville and 

 Jackson, a small part of Ouachita and 

 hirse portions of Caldwell and Catahoula. 

 lOast of the JVIississippi river it embraces 

 nearly all of the parishes of St. Tam- 

 nuuiy, AVashington, Tangipahoa and St. 

 Helena and a part of East Feliciana. 



All of this section abounds, except in 

 the bottoms, with the long-leaf pine 

 (T'lnus Australis). Occasionally, on the 

 improvement of the soil, a few straggling 

 oaks (chiefly black jack and post) and 

 short-leaf pines will be found interming- 

 ling with them. The prevalence of these 

 trees will generally measure the capacity 

 of the soil. The long-leaf pine follows a 

 certain class of soils and mainly confines 

 itself to such, but it is frequently found 

 on sandy ridges, running into other for- 

 mations. Isolated tracts are also found 

 considerably beyond the formations hei'e 

 described. ' There are two divisions of 

 this region. One, the "long-leaf pine 

 hills," and known geographically in Lou- 

 isiana as the "grand gulf group"; the 



other as the pine flats, which is either 

 coast pliocene or post i)liocene, and 

 occur either adjoining the gulf or the 

 coast marshes of the gulf. 



THE PINE HILLS 



present a great uniformity of soil, surface 

 features, growth and undergrowth, from 

 Georgia to Texas. A poor, sandy soil, 

 resting upon a pale yellow sub-soil of 

 great porosity and depth, prevents these 

 lands from washing into gullies. The 

 waters that fall on them permeate them 

 with facility, and the ridges which di- 

 vide the water courses are usually broad, 

 gently rolling plateaus, without any defi- 

 nite water channels between. 



Wells are sometimes dug nearly 100 

 feet before water is obtained. These 

 forests are so open that vehicles can be 

 freely driven through them, and grass 

 and other plants grow luxuriantly 

 throughout them. Hence these lands are 

 valuable for timber and grazing, and 

 thousands of sheep and cattle are support- 

 ed in the piny woods of Georgia, Ala- 

 bama, Florida, and Mississippi, as well 

 as in this state and Texas. 



The soils on the ridges are poor and 

 unretentive. In fact, the old settler will 

 not make a clearing unless a notable 

 amount of oak and hickory mingle with 

 the pine. The bottoms are always better 

 and these constitute the chief arable 

 lauds of the country. 



it|tM^p4pit|tiMit^.Ait|tMit^^M|^^ 



Those not already described are Grant, 

 ■^Vinn, Rapides and Vernon, In western 

 Louisiana, and St. Helena and Washing- 

 ton in east Louisiana. 



GRANT PARISH 



embraces, besides the long-leaf pine hills, 

 a small portion of the Red river bottoms, 

 some tracts of the "central prairie" region 

 Witii some level lowlands, timbered with 

 oak and short-leaf pines. The last oc- 

 cupy the northeastern portion of the 

 pai-ish, with a heavy gray clay (Arcadia 

 clays) mixed with small detached tracts 

 or belts of black prairie, treeless or with 

 scattered clumps of hawthorn, crab- 

 apple and honey locust. These soils 

 are badly drained and potable water 

 is hard to obtain in the vicinity and, 

 therefore, they are not occupied and 

 cultivated as largely as their intrinsic 

 merits would warrant. Some day artesian 



wells and thorough drainage may cause 

 them to be thickly settled and highly ap- 

 preciated. 



The second bottoms on Little river are 

 above overflow and are highly esteemed, 

 while the first bottoms, covered with 

 heavy timber, are often overflowed to a 

 goodly depth. This river is navigable the 

 year round, as far as the junction of 

 bayou Castor. 



WINN PARISH 



is rolling, but rarely hilly, and con- 

 sisting mainly of long-leaf pine hills, 

 furnishes an immense area of excellent 

 timber. In the southern portion of 

 the parish, the slopes of the ridges are 

 frequently covered with oaks and short- 

 leaf pines, with the underlying subsoil 

 of a deeper tint than usually prevail be- 

 low the soil of the long-leaf pine region. 

 On the Dugdemona and its tributaries are 

 found tracts of good upland farming lands. 



