The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-03-04
what Louisiana Nccds--Ne. 4.

In our first article under this head W
stated that one indispensable necessit.
to the restoration Of prosperity is bet
ter system OF Southern agriculture. Ii
proof of this assertion, we gave an II
iustration OF what progressive farme
has been doing within the last thre,
years with chufa and other crops. W.
continue the testimony by submitting
the following letters from an intelligent
planter, who resides some eight miles
west OF Clinton, East Feliciana parish
He says:
In reply to your inquiries In the In
terest of agricultural progress and i'm
migration, have to state that cotton Ii
our only market crop at about 12bc pei
pound. Consequently the farmers Of
this neighborhood cannot be considered
About one-half OF them are self. sustain
ing, and perhaps one-fourth make the
business remunerative.
Our system OF raising cotton to buy
meat, flour, sugar and other supplies,
which we might produce Mt home, will
not pay. This fact we are beginning to
realize, and there seems to be q ten
dency to raise more cereals and other
edibles, and less cotton.
There are great inducements here for
immigration. Good lands can be bought
mt low figures and on easy terms. l
have surplus lands which l would either
sell OF. lease to good tenants. In small or
large bodies.
The price Of these lands range from
two TO ten dollars per acre, according to
location and other advantages; and the
products per acre OF the various crops
range about as follows: Cotton, from
one.third of q bale to bale; corn, from 10
to 80 bushels; red rust proof oats, from
Is to 40 bushels; sweet potatoes, 80 to
900 bushels.
The natural growth OF our wild lands
consists Of all kinds OF oak, hickory,
ash, poplar, elm, magnolias, beech, etc.
Terms OF cropping on shares are gen
land. team, tools and implements, seed,
etc., and feeds the team; the cropper
feeds himself and furnishes the labor to
make and gather the crop, for which he
receives one. half the products.
The terms OF rent are generally a bale
400 pounds1 Of cotton for about fifteen
acres OF land, or say ~ to $3 per acre.
Wages for field labor ranges from $5 to
$I5 per moth; mechanics get much
more. There is u good opening here
for honest, industrious white men as
laborers.
Our climate Is mild and the country
generally healthy. Society is good, but
we need more schools In the rural dis
tricts, for both whites and blacks, and
good teachers are In demand.
Our churches are generally prosper
GUS and we'll attended--mostly Metho-
dist and Baptist, but few Episcopal,
Presbyterian and Catholic.
In conclusion ] will say that there Is
o very strong desire here for q good
class OF immigration, and diligent. in
dustrious, honest people will be COR
daily welcomed from all parts E OF the
No wonder the farmers are not gen.
orally prosperous when we consider
that It costs as much to produce cotton
as It brings, TO say nothing OF buying
supplies and other causes. We were re-
Gently q passenger on the Tensas and
Bayou Macon packet Poitevent. and
noticed that q considerable portion OF
the cargo was corn, imported ct a cost
OF not less than eighty or ninety cents
per bushel, while 1t might have been
produced on the ground by hired labor
Tor thirty or forty cents a bushel. We
observed the same thing few years
last of January. At plantation after
plantation the boat stopped and piled
up stacks OF corn, where, at that very
moment, large fields were white with
cotton rotting on the ground where the
corn should have been produced.
Now, let us take another view of the
subject, leaving out OF sight the money
value OF the respective products. Take
q working farmer, who owns and Guilt
Yates his own soil, without hired labor;
to make and market a crop OF cotton he
must put in rom twelve to thirteen
HARD sork. At the end Of the
l.. nl, eaIP haitian off h,
when he commenced. All has to go for
supplies. He Is wearing out his land,
has not means to renew its fertility, has
no time to repair, improve or beautify
his place. Necessity finally compels
him to try to live within himself-make
his farm self-sustaining. Every South
ern farmer knows that a crop Of corn
can be produced with less than half the
labor required for cotton. At the end Of
this year he finds that he has not only
raised his own supplies, but a surplus
which can be turned into money. Not
only this but he has time to improve
More than one man has acknowledged
10 us that he was compelled to adopt a
more progressive system Of farming.
THE IMMIGRANTS GUIDE TO EAST FELL
CIANA.
Under tnlS neau we propose, from
time to time, to give such Information |
rs may be calculated to furnish reliable |
references to persons DESTROYS Of seek |
ing homes in our State. Those who
have read our article of last week, in |
with the above letter from
Mr.. East, will have acquired pretty much
all the general information required in
reference to this parish; we will there
fore be brief.
The planters and farmers of this Sec
lion are very anxious for the accession
Of good class of white immigrants,
either as purchasers of lands, rentors.
troopers on shares or laborers for
wages; and to such they will cordially
extend every facility within their power,
but at present there are very few of
them who have the means to extend
aid.
Tharn ara lnrrn 20 we'll 90 anan |