The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1886-04-17

t the night, leaving New Orleans in til
: evening and arriving there in th
morning; it being a through Pacif
t route, and freight trains being prohit
) tied from carrying passengers. As th
prairies afforded stock ranges withou
taxes, it would not be natural for th
natives to proclaim to the world th
advantages they we're enjoying. AM
greatest of all, reasons, was the oil
system of slavery, which closed th,
gates against free settlers from tn,
North.
The soil is gray clay loan, with
clay sub-soil. The water is generally
soft and said to be good. The eoun
| try is full of bayous, rivers and lakes
One of the doctors at Jennings tell
us that this is considered healthfu
climate in the general meaning Of the
word +; that the prevailing diseases are
of typhus-malarial nature along the
streams, the same as 10 all new coun.
tries under the same conditions, and
occasional cases Of pneumonia and
pleurisy from exposure.
Timber is abundant, of the follow
ing varieties: Oak, Is kinds, cypress,
pine, ash, hickory, holly, cherry, gum,
magnolia, mulberry, pecan, haw, will
low, ,catalpa, sassafras, maple, ironwood,
dogwood, persimmons, and we presume
others in occasional spots.
OF the fruit trees, vines, ETC., that
do well here, we may name the peach,
fig, pear, apple, Japan persimmon,
plum, apricot, nectarine,qu ounce, guava,
pomegranite, olive, grape, blackberry,
strawberry, mulberry, lemon and prune.
Oranges have done we'll here, but re-
ports disagree as to the extent Of this
winters injury. Some insist that the
orange trees are "killed dead, while
Others as stoutly aver that only the
branches are killed, and that trimming
them or cutting the trunk off close to
the ground will save the trees. One
thing is certain, there will be no crop
of oranges raised here this year. We
have visited several orange groves, and
they all look dead. We have not
seen one orange blossom. One grove
visited by us numbered 400 trees,
from which one year 100000 oranges
were sold at $40 per thousand. The
owner says be fears the trees are dead.
Such freeze is said not to visit here
very often. But all agree that or
anges will not do well on the prairie,
that they must have sheltered places
with water on the north and west
sides to counteraet the influence of
the winds that come from Alaska.
The grain and vegetable crops that
are said to be stable are rice, corn,
oats, bnckwheat, millet, sugar cane,
sorghum, tobacco, sweet and Irish po-
Latoes, all kinds of garden truck.
The prairie produces an abundant
yield of grasses. The gazon is con
'idered the best variety. Our North
srn timothy and clover remain to be
.ested Last year from the prairie
around Jennings, ON which stock had
grazed, there was cut from one to two
on, of hay per acre, which sold, de-
ivered at the Jennings depot, at IS
'er ton impressed, and rs pressed, for
he New Orleans market.
The stock raised here consists of
lorses, mules, cattle, sheep and swine.
/ is mostly native stock, and TO
Sortherner it seems to be Of an infe
ior grade. The horses are of the
'ony order, good for the saddle and
o work the little patches of ground
hat the natives have been content
nth, The cattle are long-horned,
ledium size, good foundation on
'hich to grade up with Northern
thoroughbred males.
We have asked several Of the ma
ives whose focks we have seen, how
lueh the sheep shear per head, and
no invariable answer has been from
ne and half to two pounds. Hogs
Ike care of themselves better and look
ell, especially in the woods.
But the Northern immigrants are
ringing in improved stock of all !
inds, and grading up the natives, /
hich have the one great advantage Of /
eing acclimated,
This seems to be just the country .
II bees and honey, as the variety Of
leir food Is 50 great and the season
J long, n
The new settlers are preparing to :
ise rice on more extensive scale
is year. II is crop from which :,
ey can realize quick returns, II y
elds from - to 95 barrels per acre, : :
d last season sold at jennings at s3 y
Z barrel in the rough. Excepting y
Q ditching required to overflow the Z
Ids, the cost Of raising rice is said =,
be only little more than that Of
leat in the North, and the machinery y
I'd is the same as for wheat. Y
We find in our note book several =
ler topics that we had designed for =
IS letter, but the length TO which q =
have strung this advises US TO d. !
le our jennings correspondence into
q chapters, the second Of which will !
given next week, L. Il. s. y
Bees found in tree belong TO the
RneF Of the tree, and another person