1252 
ca. The Mississippi river, with its im- 
mense volume of water, flows in a wind- 
ing way along the western border of 
the state for a considerable distance, 
then across the southeastern corner of 
the state, leaving 37,000 square miles on 
the west side of the river and 4,346 on 
the east. This river flows through allu- 
vial soils of low elevation, requiring the 
protection of levees, of which there are 
1,500 miles. The coast line of the delta 
and eastward consists of lands little above 
sea level, intersected by small tracts of 
elevated prairies and low ridges covered 
with live-oaks. North and westward the 
land rises until in the northern part of 
the state the hills attain a height of 500 
feet. 
The entire state was formerly an an- 
ecient gulf whose shores at one time 
touched Cairo, IJl., which has been grad- 
ually filled in by the deposit brought 
down by the Mississippi. 
The climate is semi-tropical. In sum- 
mer the mercury reaches 105 degrees. In 
winter it seldom drops far below the 
freezing point, but occasionally there are 
heavy snows, and in the winter of 1895 
the mercury fell to 9 degrees above zero. 
This being 23 degrees below freezing 
point, great damage was done to the crops 
and especially to the orange groves. This, 
of course, was extreme and does not 
occur once in a generation, but the mer- 
cury often falls to the point of danger. 
The prevailing winds are from the ocean 
and Gulf, which for the most part fur- 
nishes protection from the cold. The 
rainfall varies from 40 to 60 inches, ac- 
cording to the location. 
Less than two-fifths of the land area 
is under cultivation and the principal 
crops are sugar-cane, cotton, corn and 
rice. Judging by the ease with which 
the fields could be irrigated from the 
river beds that are higher than the sur- 
rounding lands, it is possible that Louis- 
jana may in the future produce enormous 
quantities of rice. The sandy hills of the 
uplands in the northern part of the state 
will successfully grow apples, peaches, 
pears, plums and cherries that are Se- 
lected with reference to a southern cli- 
*Bulletin No. 112, 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
mate, but it is too far south to grow the 
best-keeping varieties of apples and place 
them on the market in competition with 
those grown in the northern sections. 
Further south in the central portion of 
the state are the blufflands that produce 
peaches, plums, berries and immense 
quantities of vegetables. In the Gulf re- 
gion lemons, oranges, persimmons, figs 
and bananas are grown successfully. How- 
ever, it should be borne in mind that 
there is danger from what is called 
northers, or cold waves. Hundreds of 
acres are planted to strawberries in all 
parts of the state and this fruit is ship- 
ped in carload lots to the northern mar: 
kets, where it brings very profitable re- 
turns. 
Soil 
*The bluff soils of Louisiana are not 
friendly to all fruits. Being tenacious 
of moisture as well as highly fertile, some 
of the soil tends to produce excessive 
vegetation rather than heavy fruiting. 
The fruits belonging to the more tem- 
perate regions do not possess full hardi- 
ness so far as Louisiana conditions are 
concerned. They become weakened by 
climatic influences and soon become a 
prey to various insect and fungus at- 
tacks. 
Another serious drawback is the uncer- 
tain character of the seasons. An open 
winter may induce very early blooming 
and subsequent frost will then kill the 
fruit. Measures adopted in Northern 
states for retarding the blooming period 
are not applicable here. 
Another source of trouble is the ten- 
dency of some trees-to overbear. This 
no doubt is the most prominent cause 
of the early death of some trees. The 
only remedy for this is to thin the fruit 
thoroughly and systematically, a thing 
that very few people, outside the com- 
mercial orchardists, ever practice. 
To meet losses sustained, it is neces- 
sary to plant some fruit trees every year, 
so that as they bear and commence to 
fail, new trees will come into bearing 
and supply plenty of fruit. 
Agricultural Experiment 
Station, Baton Rouge, La. 
