The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1880-09-03
LOUISIANA pRoeREs S.

The planters of Southern Louisiana,
If we are TO Judge from the local pa
pers, are advancing rapidly on the
road of progressive farming, and in
the development of their immense
natural resources. Such items as the
following, gathered in single week,
make interesting reading and cheer
the hearts of every lover of this greatly
outraged State. .-
We copy as follows from the st.
Mary Review:
We saw a pea vine hay cutter at
Centreville, last week, which will do
the work, by two mules and one hand,
of Is ordinary hoe hands, among the
pea vines. VIM. HI. Cook, ST., is the in
ventor. This is most important in
strument to our planters, who grow
drawn by two mules over the pea vine
ridge cutting them through, and bya v
shaped shear parts them and throws
them down into the water furrow.
Two heavy rollers come behind and
crush them fiat. The pillow hands have
then, no trouble, no fouling, but to
turn the burrows over on the vines.
This would seem to be a very valua-
BILE invention, suited to any kind OF
lands. The machine noticed below by
the Donaldsonville Chief appears to be
of no less value, particularly in alluvial
lands, and the two seem to be adapted
to each other, the cutter following and
preceding the ditcher:
George Boote, the indefatigable over
seer of the Home plantation, says that
the great invention of the day, their
ditching machine, has recently been so
improved that with but little further
alteration it promises to be of double
service. This Fall, shovels and shears
will be added to it, and the land in
tended for blowing will be turned in in
one. third of the time required by the
old style of four and six-horse plows.
After this work is through. the shovels
will be removed and buckets attached,
when it will be put to ditching until
required again for blowing. Such a
machine is of value to planter. "Get
away with all your patent trash,'' are
the words of George.
We find in the Point Coupee Banner
the subjoined mention of new in.
dustry in that parish, which is no less
than the gathering, cleaning and ship
ping of gray moss, something so album
dant in this State as to foster by its
| very abundance the belief that it is
worthless as an article of commerce
and not worth the gathering, though
tons may be gathered in one working
day in any of our swamps:
The moss trade of New Texas Land
ing is growing to be immense. We
were much interested with the machine
moss-picker which Mr.. Oubre has at
tached to his cotton gin. Mr.. Oubre
first explained to us fully the working
of the machine, and then put it into
operation for us to see for ourselves.
The black moss, as it comes from the
heap, is thrown into the feeder and
goes through the machine, coming out
perfectly free from sticks and dust,
without the breaking of a single stran.
The loss in weight is not very great,
and the moss, after going through this
"picker," is pressed and baled, and
shipped to st. Louis, where it sells for
6 or 81 cents. A general introduction
of these machine pickers will do much
toward building up the South, as moss,
which is a natural product of our
climate, would then become one of our
staple products. We understand that
the Messrs. Phillips, at Lakeland, on
the Chenal with their characteristic
enterprise, have put up one of the ma
chimes. Mr.. Oubre's charges for pick
ing and pressing moss are ! cents per
pound, which is moderate enough.