The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1879-02-08
lCalcasieu Parrish Iand Lake
Charles.

tti0ns for information c0ncernln,
tGalcasieu parish and the town o
Lake Charles, we furnish to.dayith,
information in fun, on all points
Required OF us.
The Observation-Disclosures include al
area of about 5000 square miles
stretching from Sabineriver on tn,
west, to the Observation-Disclosures
andifrom Nernonparish onthenortf
to Cameron parish ON the south
(whichiswithin is miles of the Gull
Observation-Disclosures verfivehuntlre6
miles 0f water, safely Manageable, al
all seasons, for vessels of not ,ovel
FIVE feet firaught, with ani'creaseO Of
about one.third during high water
The southern and southwestern
portions of the parish are princi
pally prairie, containing, however,
suficiencytof timberfor all ordinary
farm purposes. This prairie por-
ton is very level, but is locally dis.
itinguished as high and low prairie.
The first includes that from which
rain water readily escapes, and the
latter that portion which temporal
rily receives and retains the water,
as well as marshes, which become
passable only during seasons OF sc.
we're drought. The high prairie lis
good soil, and capable of being
made very fertile. Second Or me
dunn lands are more productive
than the first, but are available, only
for such crops as will permit flood
ing, like rice, or will mature in a
very short time after planting.
Where tlrainable, these lands pro
duce good crops oficorn and cotton.
The lowest lands are fit only for
meadow or pasture, and serve as
"winter range" for the immense
herds of cattle which are reared,
intended, i'm the Iprairies.
The remaining portion of the par
ish lis heavily timbcred, principally
with the best of building pine, on
the u,lantls, and every conceivable
growth of tliis,latitude, in the -"bot-
toms" prominent among which are
cypress, in almost iineNhaustil,le
brakes, and several valuable quail
ties of the oak. The u,lands are
plentiiilllNiinterpersed with tinerice
lands, the margins Of which WELD
good crops oiicMu, cotton, potatoes,
in short suited fforgeneral cropping
and the same may be
said of the margins of the river and
creek bottoms, or hummocks.
The crops usually produced, are
corn. sngar-cane, cotton, rice and
potatoes. OF these, ouly cotton.
has been exported heretofore, but
the interest in rice, as also the ia
cilities for cleaning it, lis increasing
ut an enormous rate, and doubtless
there will he a large surplus in two.
wears more. The average yield of.
all these crops is, per acre, about
four barrels of sugar, tone-thirdlbale.
cotton, twenty bushels rice, twelve
bushels corn, fifty bushels sweet.
potatoes. Irish potatoes are raised
as garden crop only.
The population may he set down.
at about $4,000, or one to every
four square miles, congregated in.
Settlements Theirintegrityand
of spirit liz of o high.
order, and inmorals, they will com
pare favorably with any other por-
tion of America. Here is one in
stance where the hardihood, sim
plicity aud Independence of the
pioneer have not been supplanted
by increase of wealth or influx of
population, but rather has given
tone to, on controlled, the manners
Dfthe accessions. Moreover, Geli-
cS;.,,, Z; o. xxsa.x, n \, xl;Se.s.S