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to direct his surplus capital and labor to the production of the staple 

 articles such as cotton or sugar, from the sale of which he can realize 

 some disposable cash to buy clothing and other luxuries and educate 

 his children ; and if his crop is sufficently remunerative, he may 

 have money enough left to add, from year to year, new improve- 

 ments to his plantation or farm, and make it an attractive home to 

 himself, to his wife, and to his children. 



The present system of planting, if system it may be called, is ex- 

 actly the reverse of all this. The first thought of the planter is to 

 plant as much cotton or sugar as possible, and as little corn as 

 during the most favorable crop season would barely supply a suffi- 

 ciency for home purposes, while everything else is neglected. Even 

 if the crop is not injured by the worm, the caterpillar, the drouth, 

 or excessive rains, the planter hardly ever realizes his expectations, 

 for if good cotton crops are universal throughout the Southern 

 States, the price will fall in proportion to the supply; and if the 

 corn crop is a failure the planter is compelled to buy corn at ruinous 

 prices, while his extraordinary yield of cotton hardly realizes a 

 sufficiency of available funds to supply him with the necessaries of 

 life. It is time that this hazardous system, which was, perhaps, the 

 best when the supply of labor was regular and compulsory, were 

 abandoned, and the planter " accept the situation " and act accord- 

 ingly. If the soil of North Louisiana, notwithstanding its inferior 

 quality when compared with the alluvial lands, were cultivated upon 

 a more rational plan than it is at present, that region of country 

 could be made one of the most flourishing agricultural districts of 

 the State. 



The supply of water is abundant everywhere, and it is the best 

 potable water that can be found; it is quite cool during the hottest 

 summer months, and requires no addition of ice to make it more 

 palatable. Fruits of every kind flourish here. Apples and peaches 

 were so abundant this year that most planters were compelled to feed 

 them to their hogs to prevent their rotting. But the orchards, not- 

 withstanding their vast yield, are almost everywhere in a dilapi- 

 dated condition, for the directing hand and superintending care are 

 wanting. 



The forest growth is not as gigantic as in the swamp country, but 

 pine and oak timber of good quality, suitable for lumber, exists in 

 the greatest abundance. 



