LOUISIANA. 



is a lar;;e [jlantcr and a man of high iu- 

 tolligeiice and probity. He is well linown 

 to tlie wi-iter, who will vouch for the 

 truth of every assertion in the letter: 



FEKDIXO UATTLIC IN LOUISIANA. 



MOUND, La., Oct. 20, 1803. 



Dr. W. H. Dalryniple, I!atoa Rouge, 

 La: My Dear Sir— Complying with your 

 request of tlie Otli inst.. 1 will gi\'e you 

 the benefit of my Irmited experience in 

 feeding cattle in Louisiana. • 1 have fed 

 a few head of cattle nearly every year 

 for the past ten years. I have used 

 corn meal, cotton seed, pea hay, turnips, 

 pun pkins, cabbage leaves and sweel; 

 potatoes, nil with success. All of the 

 abcjve can be raised very cheap on our 

 southern farms and all can be used in 

 feeding cattle, hogs and sheep with suc- 

 i-ess. In connection with the abo\'^ I 

 Would recommend to farmers that have 

 facilities for sliipping at cheap rates, 

 to sell tlieir cotton seed and buy hulls 

 and cotton seed meal instead. 



I made the following test this year on 

 cotton seed hulls and meal alone: I 

 imrchased twenty-six tons of cotton seed 

 hulls auil five tons of cotton seed meal. 

 the former at a cost of $3 00 and the 

 latter at S22 per ton delivered. The 

 above was all led to twenty-three head 

 of steers in forty-three days; the gain 

 per he-ad, per day, was three and one- 

 half pounds. I was offered 2 cents per 

 pound gross for the cattle the day they 

 were put in the lot; at the end of the 

 43d day I shipped them to market and 

 sold them at 4 cents per pound gross. 

 1 knew of other gentlemen that have had 

 more experience in feeding than myself, 

 and they have made plenty of money, 

 but on land that they could not raise 

 more than fifteen to twenty bushels of 

 corn they are now raising eighty bushels 

 of first-class corn and good cl'ops of peas 

 on the same land. 



Tlie farmers of Louisiana oiTght to raise 

 their own horses, mules, cattle,' sheep and 

 hogs, ami can do so with greater profit 

 than farmers in the northwest. They 

 have advantages in climate and soil, and 

 can raise so many things in abundance 

 and so cheaply that our northern brothers 

 cannot raise. I would recommend our 

 Louisiana farmers to try a few head of 

 good steers or cows and prepare plenty 

 of food crops, and then feed hulls and 

 cotton seed meal with it; they .will be 

 surprised to see how quick they can 

 fatten the cattle and what i)rofit there 

 is in it besides the rich fertilizer they 

 make clear if they will only save it. 

 After experimenting with these things I 

 am thoroughly convinced there is nioney 

 in it. I am preparing largo pastures, and 

 am now Iniying all the cattle I can with 

 a view of feeding on a large scale. I 

 know of a gentlem«n in Illinois who has 

 just invested in a large tract of land in 

 the Tensas river swamp and fencing it, 

 and will put GOO head of cattle in ft at 

 once. 



In regard to feeding horses and mules 

 while at hard work. I have had splendid 

 success with cut oats, ground corn and 

 peas mixed, two parts of corn to one of 

 peas. I would advise all farmers to raise 

 plenty of oats and feed less corn. I cut 

 my oats with a large ensilage ciUter and 



use a tnree-horse tread power. In regiird 

 to raising mules, 1 think I can safely 

 say it Is a success. 1 have them from 

 sucking colts to 5 years old, and am 

 pleased with the experiment. I have 10 

 colts this year. 1 will add that I always 

 feed my mules and horses when at work, 

 three times a day. Hoping that you may 

 find something that will [irovo interesting 

 to you in the above, 1 am yours truly, 

 F. L. MAXWELL. 



RAISING HORSES AND MULES 



have already been referred to. In thi» 

 climate, with proper pastures and forage 

 crops, mules and horses can be raised 

 very cheaply. Before attempting it on 

 a large scale a portion of the land must 

 be piTt into permanent grass or clovw 

 pastures; another portion must 'be util- 

 ized for the growth of forage for their 

 maintenance during our short winters. 

 Mules are especially adapted to our cli- 

 mate, and thousands are bought annually 

 by our sugar and cotton planters from 

 the western farmers. They can more 

 easily and cheaply be raised at home. 

 From the number of jacks now being im- 

 ported into this state, it is fair to infer 

 that hereafter a much larger number 

 will be raised. 



The Percheron and Clydesdale horses 

 have not yet found favor in this state 

 outside of New Orleans. The mule being 

 the draft animal, the horse is desired 

 more as a roadster, or for the sa<ldle. 

 Therefore, the smaller trotting or riding 

 stock are in larger request and are chief- 

 ly grown. 



SHEEP RAISING 



has been done heretofore mainly upon 

 the ranch system. A few farmers have 

 kept a smaM flock for their home supply 

 of mutton. As a rule, it would pay 

 every farmer to keep a small flock of au 

 improved breed or grades. Spring lambs 

 and good mutton will always sell. The 

 Southdown and Shropshires have proven 

 BO far best adapted to this state. 



HOG RAISING, 



by the adoption of a proper rotation 

 of crops, making the hog gather each 

 crop, can be made exceptionally profit- 

 able, provided one can find a ready home 

 market when they are fit for the sham- 

 bles. At present the coldest spell ol 

 winter uas to ho patiently waited for be- 

 fore the fat porkers can be slaughtered 

 with safety, and during that time they 

 may eat their "heads oil'," or become vic- 

 tims to disease or disaster. Hence, few 

 persons ra-ise more hugs than ai'e abso- 

 lutely nccssary for lioMie purposes. With 

 packing-houses (-onvenient hog raisins 

 would soon become a leading industry ol 

 this state and a most profitable one. By 

 planting an acre or two in Febiuary or 

 early Ma-rch of a variety of early ripen- 

 ing "sugar cane in rows 3-4 of a fool 

 apart and to 12 inches in drill, it will 

 be ready for the hogs in Jlay. Succeed 

 this with a similar patch of early nn bei 

 sorghum, which will be ripe in JuiiC. 

 Follow with Spanish peanuts, ripe ir 

 .Tuly, or early cowpeas, ripe at same timt' 

 Add to these chufas, a late corn field 



