Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1847-06-12
NO.

any loSs Oh power from tIB spgTntHp disad.
vantage ofthe direction at which the buck.
etss enter, and the process 81 removal pees
on at a prodtgious rate. Mr.. Hodge est.
mates, that with his engine Of forty horse
power, he can throw out, with fall bitches.
100000 gallons Of water per hour and
that afer the heaviest rains, he can deIiysr
all the water which his drums ran bring
to the wheel, from his enclosure, within il
few hours.
The two plantations of Mr.. Thomas
Morgan, on the LEFT bank Of the Mississip.
pl' fourteen miles below the city, embfae
cling Pm 1900 acfess or cultivated land.
are also very thoroughly drained by the
use ola wheel, similarly constructed THIS
is t%wenty-four feet in diameter, with Gyrtv
buckets, arranged In the same manner ~
the one just described. / saw This in ope.
ration, three hours after 1t had been start.
cd, TO throw out the accumulation from n
short but heavy rain, and II had bss,
drawing the water from a canal, five feet
deep, and while doing only half work, sc.
teclualiy prevented any accumulation, Mr..
NJ. states, that some rains have produced 8
TAIL Of four inches, yet that all this body nj
water which can be led into the main
canal, Is capable of being expelled by lhs
- =
wheel within ten or twelve hours. A sIoyy
drainage continues from the saturated soa
which, Of course, requires a longer period
for its removal.
The relative position of the two druiniug
machines is different, owing to the differ.
ence of location. The first occnpiss The
front upon the bayou, which il on n lsvsp
with the water in the Gulf; while ths lat.
ter is placed in the rear, where fbers IL
less excavation 10 produce q descending
current, and the swamp, ut this point, Is o1
the level with the bayou in the former. and
SIX or eight feet lower than the river in
front. These wheels arc of the simplsst
and most efficient construction; and I dg
believe that they admit orany improve.
mont IN economy and rapidity, in discbaro.
ing the water for any similar situation. If
the water were required to be lifted much
over two or three feet, the reversed action
an oFershot wheel Of the proper dame
would undoubtedly be best.
The plantation of Colonel Mruh.st
Whit, which ! also visited, on the rich.
oftha riaa@ E~ s-s.sya w
means Of o screw; but he informs ms that
not finding this satisfactory, he has deter
mined On adopting the method before des-
Msssrs. Benjamin mi Packwood
Ind three or four others, have also com
nenced the system Of matchmaking
This Improvement Is in It's infancy; but II
not seem presunptuous to predict for
t a rapid extension, ill ii embraces near
y the whole area of the delta. Il will r..
lain hundreds Of thousands of acres no,
low in use, and render ell that Il under t.
age vastly more productive than It can
be. Its adoption win Justify and
ender available the system ofun~der-dra;n.
ng, which Is capable Of imneqsurablv
.Jngmentjng the crop, and besides being in
highest degree beneficial In preventing
ne form ttion Of mi4sfna IN the atmosphere.
'ut this Is u gu ject reserved for ~conaidera
ion. Each Of the plantations mentioned
) under a high state Of cultivation, the r..
ult Of close supervision on the part o.
heir intelligent proprietor, though neither
esides permanently on them; and each has@n
9 peculiarities, indicative Of q we'll direc.
taste, acting on the features under their
After passing through a private canal,
five miles directly back from The
lver, and then through the bayou fr
more, amid alternate low woodland
nd swamp prairie, the Uoy4gcap fra meets
cultivated land Of Mr. Ho1gs. Con-
nning for a mile on the reclaimed front
bayou, then turns at right angles, and
" another mile, borders the plantation.
The buildings occupy the lower front,
1hich opens upon bayou VIlars, a praris
onnd inlet, that leads to Lakes Oncha
Washaw) and Petit a distance Of but.
from it's junction with B~arataria.
Numerous shelLbanks abound OF these
and bayous, and Immediately in front
{ the buildings on either side, are long
lies Of them partially imbedded in The
afth, and covered with magnificent live
axis. There are also several high conf
al mounds, Of alternate layers Of shells an.
arth, evidently the work Of q long EXITING.
ace, as no record or tradition remains NJ
leir origin. One alone yielded over
10000 barrels of shells without being ex.
austed. They are the remains ola soe-
les of fresh water muscle, still existing
Iroughout these waters; and their aeon
in these immense banks Is vet a
to be solved, opinions still being
whether they are the result ofarti-
or natural, human or elemental ae-
on. descended one twenty-five feet high:
here the roots of an old oak, five or six feet
diameter, still V almost the entire