10 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES 
stores and wood pulp, was $154,766,819. The petroleum production 
in 1931 was 21,804,000 barrels, according to the United States Bureau 
of Mines. Refining of petroleum is one of the principal industries, 
with an output in 1929 valued at $151,966,142, or more than one-fifth 
of the total value of the manufactures of the State. The sugar re- 
fineries in 1929 had a production valued at $74,706,373. \ Natural gas 
is obtained in several fields. The Monroe field gave 103,000,000,000 
cubic feet in 1931, much of which was piped to many cities, although 
some was used at the source for the production of carbon black, of 
which Louisiana produced 28,740 tons in 1931. (U. S. Bureau of 
Mines.) 
There is a large yield of fruits and early vegetables in Louisiana, 
and pecan nuts are an important product. The annual output of 
oranges, both Louisiana Sweets and Satsumas, is about 82,500 boxes. 
On account of the mild climate there is a long growing season, and in 
places three successive field crops can be raised in a year. Pastures 
are perpetual. Corn, which is increasing in popularity, yields 30 to 
75 bushels to the acre. Rice, one of the principal crops, occupies a 
wide area in the southwestern part of the State, Louisiana ranking 
first in the United States in rice production. Hay is raised in large 
amounts, also lespedeza, or Japanese clover, which grows 12 to 15 
inches high. Although many forest areas have been cut off, reforest- 
ation is in progress, and 500,000 acres has been planted in pines, to 
be sold years hence for lumber and pulp or to furnish turpentine. 
These plantings are mostly in areas not favorable to agriculture. 
Meanwhile, in order to conserve trees now developing, logs are 
imported to help supply the great sawmills at Bogalusa. 
There are three game preserves in Louisiana, created to give sanc- 
tuary to the wild birds that live in or visit the State in vast numbers. 
These preserves are Avery Island, 34,000 acres; Rockefeller Preserve, 
104,000 acres; and Russell Sage Preserve, 94,000 acres. 
Louisiana is the largest producer of furs in the United States, for its 
great marsh areas sustain a vast number of fur-bearing animals. 
The muskrat is the one principally sought, and during the open season 
of 1928-29 about 5,000,000 pelts of this animal were obtained, at a 
value of about $1 each. These, with opossums, raccoons, minks, 
skunks, otters, wildcats, and foxes, yielded 6,000,000 pelts (equal to 
the Canadian production), valued at $8,500,000, according to data 
furnished by the New Orleans Association of Commerce. The pelts 
are all obtained by resident trappers, who in most places pay a rental 
for the land on which the trapping is done. 
Louisiana produces many terrapin and shrimp, and according to 
local reports it ships 6,000,000 pairs of frogs’ legs a year. Oysters are 
marketed in large numbers, and there is a vast area available for their 
culture, with the advantage that the oysters mature here in two years. 
