The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1882-12-23

= actions and to realize the oppertun
ie ties that sre presented all around III
Up The writer has travelled over consider
ID able territory IN his Time, been il
many towns and cities whose inhabi
\ tants preached the inevitable brillian
future Of the place, and fully under
i stands that the intelligent reader, Ia
be convinced, wants facts aud figures
not Tie broad and meaningless asser-
e tions of any man or set of meu. First.
} then, let Us look a the mighty forests
J, Of the finest timber in the world that
4 surround us fer miles ami miles.
Hardly yet can an estimate h. made
of its value. Scarcely has the demand
for this, chief among oar resources
fairly started. Before smother iire vrzr1
shall have rolled 'rolu6 Our lunbsr
willdonble ave, treble IN value. This
mar sound ike brad assertion, and
to some psraaFsz q iittle far-fstehad,
But look q tas vast s1pHRss az oonn-
try that b. nszas Of rziiraaa fauilitiss
is being made tribatsFy to this sec
ton We refer to orr sister republic
Mexico, that until now, or short tir.,e
hence, has never drawn on US for a
foot of lumber. BY reason Of our
water transportation facilities we san |
compete and beat most Of the timbered I
countries in The race for Me1ico's
trsde. Then Texas, with her two
million of busting, pnshing people,
is onr legitimate territory. Bnt, say
some, our timber will net last always.
To which we answer the present gen
GRAFTON will not live to sec it exhaust
ed, nor scarcely diminished. Our pine
forests are practically inxehaustible. :
Faster than the matnred and available
timber is being bewed down, that left {
as worthless is maturing and expanding. ]
And thus it must 60 on. Passing from {
our weaith of timber, let US look at {
our resources in an agricultural point s
of view. 1t has been pretty generally
believed until quite recently, aud even s
yet to come extent, that only here and
there could be found spots of cult
yable ground in this parish. But the /
truth is the productive spots far ont /
number the unproductiyeo ones. We will
cite an instance in point. Something
over year ago one of our German
citizens homesteaded hundred and I
sixty acres Of prairie land within a s
few miles of town Ii had always been ..
looked upon as ft for nothing but !
grazing purposes, and when our friend /
announced bis intention of making a {
field there, he was laughed at and de-
rided Bat nothing dsunted be went
ahead, ard this scar, on one acre Of
that prairie land, he dag sixty dollars
worth Of sweet potatoes. In the same 4
field be grew Irish and sweet potatoes,
cane and rice, 10 say nothing of smaller
vegetables all this without the use
of one pound Of manure Now, with
land that will produce in this way
with but scarcely half an effort, Whist
might not be expected Of it when
carefully and properly tilled9 And
with such facts as these staring people
in the face, is il not about time
TO cease hsrping upon the non-pro-
dBeiiyeness of the coil Of this section
We think so. And We think, loo,
that the day is not far distant when
agriculture win be one Of orr leading
pursuits and industries. The one thing
needfnl to bring about sach a result
is 10 acquaint the outside world of
the advantages We can here afford the
intelligent and industrious filters of
the soil scattered over the old xornout
and barren hills Of the north, who
monlu g'aaly come ara .pAlsa homes
and make fieids in orr midst did they
bnt know the half Of what wealth
could be dug from our soil. Time
will bring about these results some
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nersoafs linen let ~ ge1 tegetiiert