The Caucasian. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1874-1875, 1874-11-28
RAPIDES.

RAPlDES.
ITS CLIMATE, FRUIT, VEGETABLES.
We are favorably situated as re.
CARDS climate. Our Summers are
not generally too hot nor are our
Winters too cold. For q short time
during the Summer it is oppressive
~ hot, but it does not last longer
than two or three weeks. In Win
ter it sometimes SHOWS and freezes.
but as general thing our Winters
are mild. Such tropical fruits as
the banana, orange and japan plum
do not come to perfection here, al.
though the trees grow finely. The
early frosts generally kill the fruit.
Apples, peaches, plums, pears and
ETC., grow here to the greatest per-
lection. We have all varieties of
Vegetables and grow them here as
fine as they can he grown any
where. sOur cabbages, tomatoes,
egg plants, turniRs, artichokes, on
ions, beets, radishes, beans, peas
ETC., can not be beat anywhere
In the berries We have wild the
blackberry and dewberry, and cul-
tivate the strawberry and raspber.
~ which can not be excelled any.
where in the world. The hardy
varieties of the grape flourish luxu-
riantly and come to full perfection
on our pine hills and the culture of
the grape may yet be as important
a crop as that of sugar and cotton.
An industrious, enterprising man
can buy pinewoods lands at from
$500 to $500 an acre and by cul-
tivating grapes can make a fortune
in a few years.
PAsTURAGE, GRASSES ETC.
We have some of the finest pas
ture lands in the world. There is
in spots all over the parish vacant
places without a shadow of a fence
which furnish abundant pasturage
to the stock of every ne,ghborhood.
Our swamps are grown mp with
switch cane and as q Winter range
afford great facilities for the rails
ing of cattle. We have all the va.
neties of mast for the hogs, includ-
ing beech nut and all the acorns.-|
Numbers of hogs are raised in the
Creek and Bayou swamps who are
not tel at all and do not know the
taste Of corn.
For grazing hogs, sheep, horses
and goats we have the bermuda
and wire grass or crop grass and
as grass for pasturage the bermu-
la is fully equal to the celebrated
blue grass of Kentucky. The pas
tnrage of Texas cattle and ponies
has now grown to I've q very impor-
tant and respectable branch of in
dustry in the neighborhood of Al
and is the source ofmucl
profit to those who devote lands to
that purpose. One gentleman here
is extensively engaged in cutting,
curing and baling hay and his hay
most favorably with that
brought from the West. There is an
field in that direction and
we hope to sec it more generally
pursued.
LIS SVlLs
AS we intimated in our last arti
Gle the soil of Rapides is diversified
in the extreme. On the river you
have clay, clay and sand mixed or
all sand. The general characteris-
tic of the soil on the river is clay
and sand mixed. This is a rich
soil and yields abundantly. Upon
the bayous, the principal ones of
which are Rapides, Boeuf, Robert
and Cotile the soil is rich alluvial,
easily cultivated, yielding abun-
dainty of the strongest and most
exhausting of crops and seeming to
he almost inexhaustible in its fer
tility. The average yield from an
acre of this land we'll cultivated or
even with only moderately fair cul-