Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1883-08-25
sretn tyDrsrpy or tor,stty,

' I
Louisiana is too commonly imagined TO be
one vast marsh, interseeted by sluggish water.
courses, veritable breeding place of malaria
where the nights are made hideous by the
croaking NJ frogs, the kissing u reptiles and
| the roaring Of alligntors, while above these
wamps, inhabited by race pcrpciually ttcmb
ling with ngue, huveis the deadly spectre of
yellow fever, graspiug in one hand the scythe
OF destruction, and IN the other the yellow flag
oi quarantine. Consequently there arc really
many people who deem il an act Of courage to
descend the Mississippi and land upon the
shores " the Mexican Gulf Bnt those who
venture to do this arc well rewarded for their
pains They can boast, as well as the pioneer
explorers oi Southern Alfica the Living
stones, Grants and De Bmzzns hut without
| fatigue OF danger, Of having discovered un-
known lands-1nds near us, nevertheless, and
well worthy to attract the attention Of tourists
/ ltum al parts OF the world.
Never does the traveller without agreeable
surprise traverse Louisiana fpr the hr,i time
and find the land inhabited by healthy, viz.
orous, amable and industrious people. dwell
/ ing in neat and often elegant homes, sur
rounded by richly cultivated fields, and q
scui-lropical vegetation unlike any in the
| Northern United States OF Europe. IN in6n.
/ ity uf bayous tlittlc watcr-cuufscs created by
| the inhltmtions Of the Mississippi therefore
termed 10y the Indians Meschaccbc- father
Of waters y serve as highways Of cummunica-
lion for the population. Nothing could be at
once mnrc convenient and.more charming than
these sclfmoying highways they convey
! produce and merchandise cheaply, and thei
banks, bordcted with magnificcn, sugar or
cotton plantations, alternately and almost
without transition offer to the travellers gaze
] ft.. al. ~ tts Il
lianas and birds of a thousand hucs, or the
highest manifestations Of industrial enterprise
and successful modern agriculture.
| Therefore Louisiana does not feel the need
Of railroad, to the same degree rs the states Of
| the north and cast. Steamboats, find lacile
route for the transportation TO market Of her
rich and varied products. To-day, ncycrthe-
less, a number Of railroads traverse the state,
which will soon have little cause to envy even
those countries most favored In regard to
means OF communication.
In Louisiana, railroads will find profitable
traffic, especially in those natural products
which give nutrition TO a duplicate industry, nj
once agricultural and mechanical. These pro.
ducts consist OF tobacco, rice, cotton and
sugar, all OF which must pass through sundry
manipulations Of an industrial character before
being delivered for consumption. Sugar cs-
pecially is rather manufactured article than
an agricultural product, strictly speaking. 1t
constitutes, however, the principal object OF
agricultural and mechanical industry Ia Louisi.
ana.
The soil Of this state is especially adapted
to the cultivation Of the sugar cane. That soil
as everybody knows, has been formed by the
slow deposits Of the Mississippi and excepting
the Delta of the Nile, there is probably no soil
richer, more substantial, or deeper, than the
alluvial lands which border the Mexican Cult
at the mouths OF the great river.
These lands never suffer from drought so
nimical to the sugar.cane in most tropical
countries-inasmuch as they are intcrsectcd in
every direction by water-courses. As a con
sequence OF these favorable conditions, Louisi-
ana vegetation preserves its freshness and its
beauty through the hottest period Of the dog
days, and even into the coolest months OF
winter.
The cold spells, indeed, constitute one Of
the main disadvantages Of sugaG culture along
the borders of the Mississippi. But it would
| be erroneous, nevertheless, to suppose that
culture inferior in productiveneSs to any other
in the world. Premature cold may, indeed,
occasionally diminish the profits Of the planter,
but what form Of agricultural industry, in any
| part Of the world, can assure its undcrtakeTs
! against all chances Of loss?
The cultivation Of the sugar cane in Louisi.
ana gives results far superior to any which
the European planter can hope 10 obtain from
| the beet root. Twelve tons of sugar to the
acre. even il well -manuTcd soil, is considered
a good crop in Germany, while twenty and
twenty-five tons to the acre is a result com
monty obtained in Louisiana, with no other
manure than young bean stalks worked into
the soil. The German beet root, richest OF all,
contains about twelve per cent Of sugar, while
the sugar cane contains from fourteen to
eighteen per cent Of saccharine matter. More
over, canegrowing is infinitely less costly and
laborious than bcet-root culture, and even the
treatment Of cane juice far more iacilc than
that Of bect-root sap, for it needs only to be
boiled in the first vessel at hand, and Skinned
like the contents OF soup pot, TO yield a sac
charne product of highly agreeable taste, and
fit for immediate consumption.