The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1869-02-27
Agriculture.
fFr"'" he v. o. Rep,sblican, l1th inst

H.
gent citizen and landholder of our State
VIII" takes Il sensible view of our present
condition and real wants. He Possesses
lands that are valuable if cultivated, as
thereby they can be made source of
profit to those who cultivate them as we'll
IL himself and the State, and for Theses
reasous he willingly offers every induces
mcnt to have families settle on them II
will be seen that he favors the tillinr of
farms Of moderate size, that he,sdS of
families may be encouraged TO settle
among ns and become prodncers. Let
this system of small faFn4s he fairly in
auguTate'l aud immigrants, as we'll az
our own people who are unemployed in
town and city, be invited and induced to
settle on them, asin the case of Mr.. De-
negre, and the Zine is not far distant
when every available acre of land in our
State will be cultivated, and farm houses
will dot the land all over, surrounded by
improvements that will beautifv and en-
rich our State. Fifty acres of land u2ll
cultivated will afford handsome living
to Il family and enable them to lay Ly
five hundred dollars a year, at least.
THIS can be done without .overworkinr.
or in any way rendering work tiresome,
attera farm Is fairly opened and prepare,!
for cultiHatiou. When this is dome, lands,
will c"mma!d \ high price, and the man
who possesses five hundred acres will be
considered rich. A man possessing fifty
acres of land well improved and a good
ieasc, and other necessary buildings
!hereon, can be considered indie pendent.
1t requires bat biS labor for few wears
to make him wealthy. In proof of this
we have only to look around in all direc-
tlons OF OIL, country, and SEE the large
numbers of our wealthy German citizens
soil. 1t is trlto the South has not hereto
Of our country by the labor of this hardy
and Industrious class of people, but the
time has HOW arrived when, under the
free labor system, she can offer greater
inducements to those who are disposed
to cultivate the soil than almost any
other section of our country. In proof
of this we have only to ask perusai Of
the following communication upon the
subject. Let other land.,olIers follow
the example set by Mr.. Denegre, of in
viting and inducing labor to come here,
and they will soon reap the good fruit Of
such course:
New ORLEANS, Feb. 10, 1860.
Editor Repubtiean:-You requested me
some days ago to submit to you the re-
suits of the labors of some German tami-
lies, to whonl l assigned q part of my
plantation iD the parish of St. Landry
last year. Ny place is on the bayou
Waxia, six miles from Washington. ]
engaged two families, composed of six
men, two women and four children.
supplied them with teams aud all neces-
sary agricultural implements anI engi-
ged to furnish them with their supplies
Of all kinds until they could gather their
crops. | was desiro,ls of forming per-
maneut settlement on MY place, and
therefore held out to them the most
tempting inducements. 1 made them no
charge for the use of my teams, and gave
them the land free of rent, provided they
remained ON it the SECOND year and en-
tered into stipulation with me.
/ am of those who believe i'm farms of
moderate size that the farmer can raise
most of his pork, his horses and his
mules, and many other things that be has
/ been in the habit of buying. believe
that farm Of is0 acres is the most pro-
itable that can be worked. and that by
thorough cultivation and under drstining
aud the use of fertilizers to give the cane
u good start, tlns there is bat little of our
unrivalled alluvial soil that would not
produce from two and q. half to three
hogsheads of sugar ts the acre.
My Germans, pleased with the prOs-
pect before sltem, labored with untiring
zeal. Their plOwing was thorough and
their preparation of the land carefaA be-
yond any thing haveever seen ft was
their first attempt ut cnlfiFat76n in this
country. Soma ef thAa zlHN been i'm the
State couple III Nanrab bthers only few
months. They 0isszs8s get TO work be-
fore the fifth oaG1fareh. They lost much
time IN gniagEo distant parts Of the plan
sItasias Witness the actual operation Of
ting performed by others, for, under.
ktandins but little English, their instrue-
tion was derived almost entirely from
observation. But they were ut work
early and late, and their fields we're ad
" all times models OF nestness. Up to the
fifteenth of August there had mot been
case of sickness among them. About
this time we had almost daily rains, and
eager to secure their splendid crops
they, in many instances, exposed them
selves unnecessarily. The result wa!
ehi1ls and fevers. And yet they WORKED
ON, and only laid up when physically in
capable of further exertion. The chihi
disappeared with tue advent of cool wea,
ther. They ate but little corn bread
They had full supplies Of fenr and coffee
/ was determined that the experiment.
should be cemplete,e and refused then
aathing. The results OF their lahoss ar
as foli0ws:
William Schenekesaaais wife and two chill
sren, and ems assistmME, aa indiherent
saborer seven bales aud so pounds cot
# ton which nettetl. 4 !. &&shS 4
Is Psnr handred barrels eorn, worth. -..<- ~ .
e d i ~ ats~s ae 81, los {
Supplies furnished .-...fI-.- sao
St Net profits -.....-. -sss~-- 7o3 4
fsais Law. his wife and son, Eve bales -, :.
eslttsns which neated- .--.s ..-%sSa "
B Kka huldrea barrels corn, Wsrth- -...--- lS' y
u ~ zs,Ef. srs.a H. hi 4s4s.s S674 6
\ Supplies furnisAed- d--..---.--...---------a als 2
Ens Me< pE0NGS.- esss1 y
EhMsiea Getting and one assistant, eight
III Aaies cotton, which nettfd- -,.--..-- 20 Z
Aeif hnadra1 baareis ousa, WORTH ~ y
ss0 ss.. 7s@ Il ..3 !: 4,.,. .5 n sl.D67 I
plies fuzvishesl. --.-....- too y