ITS ADVANTAGES I ITS CONDITIONS I ITS PROSPECTS I 



•will soon be built. The fierce conflict 

 between low prices aud piolitable returns 

 has forced out of existence many a 

 small and incomplete sugar-house, aud 

 ■will ullimately drive out the roniaining 

 ones. I'onderous machines, with exten- 

 sive capacities, must hereafter manufac- 

 ture the crystalline product of sugar 

 cane. It rp(iuires a large amount of 

 cane to suiiplj the daily demands of a 

 large central factory; lUOO to 1500 tons 

 per day is now a moderate a^-lowanco 

 for the largest. Under these new condi- 

 tions, the growing of sugar caue for 

 sale to these factories is quite extensive- 

 . ly practiced. Small farmers, witli ten 

 acres of sugar caue, cau lind a ready 

 raarket for it, just as readily as the large 

 planter, with one liundred times tills 

 crop. The crops of both are in demand. 

 Until the recent removal of the bounty 

 ■on sugar, growing caue bj' the ton for 

 sale to central factories was quite a 

 prolitable busii'iess, and many end)arked 

 therein. The removal of the bounty oc- 

 curred simultaueoiisly with an overpro- 

 duction of beet sugar in Europe, by 

 which the prices of sugar everywhere 

 had been greatly depressed. This com- 

 bination of bad conditions has tempo- 

 rarily depressed the grower of caue, but 

 it is hoiied and expected that another 

 jear will bring with it higher prices 

 for sugar, and. therefore, higher values 

 for sugar caue. Sugar caue is bought 

 iipou a basis of values for a certain grade 

 of sugar, aud hence, wheu the latFer is 

 ruling low the former conforms to it 

 in price. If, however, values are re- 

 stored, no enterprise is more inviting than 

 that of raising sugar cane by tlie ton 

 for ■ the factories. Lands in any quan- 

 tity may be purchased or rented well 

 adapted to the growth of cane. The cap- 

 ital reqiwred will depend largely upon 

 the magnitude of tlie enterpri.se. One's 

 own lalior, if intelligently decided, will 

 accomplish a great deal towards the 

 cultivation of twenty to thirty acres of 

 caue. Additional help will be required 

 in planting and harvesting the crop. 

 (.Jiioil laud will malie from twenty to 

 foi-iy tons of caue per acre, and at 

 pre.-sent the factories are paying 85 cents 

 per ton for each cent per pnund that 

 prime yellow sugar brings in the m:irket 

 of New Orleans. There is a large field 

 in Louisiana for the investment of cap- 

 ital in central factories and for intelli- 

 gent labor to grow the caue. Both will 

 come rapidly with the return of better 

 prices fur sugar. 



UICE CULTURE. 



Fdrmerly vice was cultivated only en 

 the banks of the Mississipj)) river aud it^t 

 l>ayiius. and watei-ed by these streams. 

 I'umps, or siphons, were u^ed to lift the 

 water over the walls. Upon thcise alluvial 

 lancie growing vice was an exj)ensive 

 business. A few yenrs since southwest 

 ^Ijouisiana began the cultivation of rice 

 upon its open prairies. liain water was 

 co.lected by levees and used when ueerled 

 upon the lieids of growing rice The 

 bayous aud coulees of this country were 

 ■dratted upon for w.nler and pumps con- 

 veyed it to the ditches, which carried it 

 to the rice liekls. The following are their 

 nietliods: Lands are broken with riding 

 plows and pulvei-ized with hirge narrows 

 Tlte rice is seeded with broadcast seeders. 

 After germination the lields ai-e Hooded. 

 The rains arc ample during the growing 

 eeasou, if properly husbanded, to make a 



crop, and many a field is grown with rain 

 water alone. Some large lields are flooded 

 with water from the bayous and coulees. 

 When the rice is mature the watei- is 

 withdrawn and the harvesting is quickly 

 performed by self-binding reapers. Steam 

 threshing machines convert the rice into 

 a marketable form (rough rice), which is 

 sold in sacks to the numerous rice mills 

 of the state, where the finished rice of 

 commerce is prefiared, witli the accom- 

 panying by-jn-odncts: "Ilice polish," "rice 

 bran" and "hulls." The straw is loft on 

 the fields of the farm. So cheaply and 

 successfully has rice been grown on the 

 praries that they are now but little more 

 man rice fleltls, and liave driveu the al- 

 luvial planters out of the business. Louis- 

 iana grows to-day four-fiftlis of the croi) 

 of the United States, aud by its present 

 uietnods of culture is reaping a goodly 

 profit. 



TOBACCO GROWING. 



The oak and short-leaf pine hills and 

 the long-leaf pine country are eiuiueutly 

 adapted to the growth of the forest type 

 of yellow leaf tobacco, which is now in 

 such large demand for plug wrappers and 

 smoking tobacco Experiments at the 

 north Louisiana experiment station h.ive 

 so conclusively demonstrated this lact 

 that uuiny of the farmei-s of tlie country 

 have embarked in its cultivation, and a 

 plug and smoking toliacco factory has 

 been estal)lished at Calhoun, witli a capi- 

 tal of ."j;i.'5,(J(M). which is now busily on- 

 gaged daily in its luanufacture. Tliis fac- 

 tory will purchase the tobacco directly 

 from the grower, and thus save freight to 

 market aud commissious lor selling. Sim- 

 ilar factories svill soon start all over north 

 aud east Louisiana. At llamuiond. iu 

 eastern Louisiana, similar field experi- 

 ments to those conducted at Calhoun nave 

 been successfully made, aud coufirms the 

 opinion previously entertained of the 

 adaptability of the pine iaucVs of the 

 Florida parishes of jjouisiana to the 

 growth of the yellow leaf tobacco, tu 

 growing tobacco care nu.st be taken to 

 grow the best, since the inferior articles 

 Iiave small values. The process of curing 

 is by the "new bam" of Captain VV. H. 

 Snow, and is ai'couiplished iu about three 

 days. This yellow leaf tobacco was sold 

 by the station to Lorillard & Co., New 

 Jersey, for -45 cents per pound, and at 

 such prices gave a very profitable ret'.u-u. 



Ou the alluvial bluff and prairie lamis 

 of the state it is best to atiempr tlie 

 growth of the cigar leaf tobacco. Ex- 

 perimeuts at Baton Rouge aud Aud'ibo:i 

 Itark give promise of success in this di- 

 rection. Some fine cigars nuule from to- 

 bacco grown at Baton Uouge have been 

 tested by the writer, and it is thooght 

 that experience would improve the qiiaiiry 

 aud (juautity of the or(.)ducl 



At Calhoun as much as lOOi") pounds 

 per ac're of bright yellow leaf have i)eei) 

 produced. In sou':h Louisiana, with the 

 cigar types of toliacco, the yield has 

 reached over 2000 pounds. It is usual to 

 obtain two crops a year from the suioe 

 planting. This is accomplisli"d by Icy\iiiL' 

 a sucker in the axil of the lower le;il 

 when topping the pbmt. \'/hcii the leaves 

 of the first crop arc gatluM'cd, the old 

 stalk is removed and the young sucker 

 soon takes its place aiid with favoraOl" 

 seasons makes i;(>.irly as large ;Mjd fine 

 a crop as the fir.'^t one. 



■"■iii-tcco growing is one of the coming 

 industries of the f*:nte aud soon our fac- 

 t iries will be supulyiug the states west 



