Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1866-06-09
THE LEVEE QUESTION.


mind upon the subject of levees and lev
ee building. 1t is certain that nothing OF
greater interest can epgross the attention
of our people. Theories plentiful as the
flowers of May, are put forth to relieve
the lowlauds Of Louisiana from annual
foundations. most Of which are so worth.
less as scarcely to merit a moments con.
sideration. The greatest favor'te with
the masses is the old, %hackneyed system
of opening all the closed outlets to re-
lieye the main channel of the superabund-
ance of water, caused by the annual fresh
cts. Upon. this point opinion has differed
so widely as to prevent an attempt to
practically test the matter and no par
ticular changes have been observed for
the past three or four years, despite the
huge crevasses, to induce the belief that
such an experiment would bring about
the great result.
Let us try, and put to the utmost test,
one experiment at a time and if it should
not prove satisfactory, then abandon 1t
at once and forever. We have tried the
dirt levees from the beginning OF
civilization in Louisiana aud they have
not proved successful in every particular
Yet it cannot be denied that they are
our main reliance. upon the score OF
economy and safety. wherever the nature
Of the soil will admit Of good material
for levee building. With firm, consistent
soil. such as stiff blue clay, tie best OF
levees can be built-such levees as will
defy the utmost power Of the river, but
the soil is not all the same upon it's banks.
These intervening places are generally OF
a light loamy character, or the treacher-
GUS sand of the river, whose powers OF
resistance to the force Of water are
worthless. It is upon those spots we
suggest a change in the levceing-it is
here we desire particularly to call atten-
ton. In q previous article we spoke OF
brick walls, or cast iron plates, to pro-
tect those dangerous places, and 1t is our
firm conviction that one or the other OF the
modes suggested, will prove a complete
success nor have we heard an objection
raised to either plan upon any any other
score than that Of cost. Situated as we
are now, it is frivolous to Tux OF ex.
pense upon untried substances If we
do not experiment, we can never advance
D step further than we are now, and may,
if the same old fogy system prevails,
paddle about Oh overt owed land, until a
generation Of more energetic aud enter
pprising men take the place Of the pres
ent one. Besides, let some of these ''fos-
sils " who are continually growing and
whining about Innovations upon old Gus
toms, cypher out the expense of a brick
wall, three feet thick, with abutments
every twenty feet, fifteen high, and one
acre long, and tell IS the difference be-
tween it and a dirt levee Of the usual de-
mansions for such dangerous. points y
bear in mind, too, that some Of the new
contracts, upon the dirt levees..brought
forty cents per cubic yard Everything
taken into consideration, we opine the diff
ference would be in favor of the brick
wall. The wall would not slough, could
not break, requires no watching, and
would last forever, unless the caving OF
the bank would compel a removal and
rebuilding, and, in that case, the loss
would be a few thousand bricks.
We also spoke of cast iron levees a
few days ago, and we have the e~atisfac'
ton Of knowing that an experienced lev
ee engineer Of our parish, has taken the
matterl in hand and is now engaged in
making calculations and estimates of the
cost per mile, upon q plan of his own. So
soon as these plans are perfected, we
shall lay them before our readers with
the hope they may receive all the atten-