The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1888-05-26

Ihe Great Paris5asf st. Landry.
Its Soil, Climate and Varied Industries.

S06 SSGe5G &aT1SOdS4 SC. A340pys
Its Soil, Climate and Varied Industries.
N. o. City Item.
, There is no parish in the State more
highly favored by nature than St. Ian
dry The climate is delightful and sa-
lubrious, and the soil of wonderful fer
tility The beautiful prairies or the
lands along the streams are all highly
productive, yielding bale of cotton to
the acre with fair cultivation. The
yield of corn is from 25 to 40 bushels to
the acre, but this could be easily increas-
ed by fertilizing with pea vines, cotton
seed Or commercial fertilizers.
In the neighborhood of Opelousas the
country is gradually filling up, and the
prairie, that few years ago supported
only rowing herds Of cattle, is now most
ly fenced in and dotted with residences
of thrifty farmers. AS the parish be-
comes more thickly settled, there is a
growing tendency to the diversifcation
of farming interests. Fruit culture
especially is receiving attention and
promises to be ono Of the great indus
tries of that section.
Apple, plum, peach and pear trees
and grape vines were observed by THE
ITEM growing vigorously on many
farms in different portions of the par
ish. The Leconte and Keiffer pears
seemed to be the favorites among fruit
trees, aud to judge by the heavy fruit-
age on trees ouly four or five years old
in Mr.. T. Jay Lacy's Mount Hope nur-
sery, near Washington, these trees are
excellently adapted to the soil and eli
mate.
Chickens and eggs are very impor-
tant products of st. Landry. The ship
ment of eggs from Opelousas alone in
the month of March amounted to 1000
cases of thirty dozen each
Rice has within the past few years
become a considerable crop. Low land
that was thought t8 be worthless has
been leveed in, planted in rice, and ir-
rigated from adjacent ponds. This is
said to be one of the most profitable
crops in the parish. The shipment from
Opelousas last season was 10000 sacks.
Opelousas, however, ships only about
one fourth of the products of the parish,
other prominent shipping points being
WashingtoB, Garland, Bellevue and
Grand Coteau.
st. Landry has been always noted for
it's large herds of cattle, which make as
good beef az any in the world. There
is now good deal of attention paid to
improving the stock, and the parish
will no doubt soon become celebrated
for its dairy products. Sheep raising is
by no means an nnimportant industry,
the annual clipping of wool being very
considerable.
notwithstanding thejncrease in pop
ulation, AAousands of acres of the finest
la1d are yet untouched by the plow,
and may be purchased at reasonable
rates. This parish offers an interesting
field to the Immigrant, and will be rap
idly settled as soon as its advantages
are known.
While the most of this parish ia open
land, it has in the western portion pine
aud along the bayous snch fine
timber as cypress, magnolia, poplar,
oak, ash, hickory and gum. 1t possess
es fine advantages for starting barrel
aud furniture factories, and the ques-
ton of establishing these industries is
now under discussion.
The educational facilities are among
the Dest in the State. There are church
es of every denOnomination, and the
moral tone of the communities is higlr.
Opel0usas, the county scat, is t0:yn
xNR sv1Aa< t,SA
fully situated and it's streets are yistas
of spreading oaks. It's people are re-
fined and cultivated, and display the
hospitality of the olden time, while they
exibit the enterprise of the modern age.
The merchants Of 0pelousas arc solid
and public spirited, and pull together
in any movement to advance the inter
ests of the city.
Washington has superb location on
the sonth bank of bayou CouEtablean,
and has communication by rail and riv
or with the rest of the world. The town
is well laid ont, has number of capa-
cious business houses and handsome
residences and has boiler making
shop, an oil factory. several sawmills
and other manufacturing establish
ments Its people are hospitahle, and
like the citizens of Sc. Landry, give u
hearty welcome to the stranger within
their gates.
These two cities are admirably loeat-
ed, and with their fine natural adrant-
ages give promise of prosperous
growth. The Item considers that ono
Of the snrest signs of an early and GER
tain development is the intense pride
the people of 0pelousas and Washing
ton feel in their respective cities. They
are prond of their climate, their soil,
their enterprise, their lospitalities, their
men, their women and their children,
and they have right to be. With d
consciousness of their power TO make
fthe future glorious, they will bend their
energies to the task and press forward
to that place in the front rank to which
they kpow they are entitled.
In this progressive movement the
| people of Opelousas, Washington and
of all st. Landry, will have the sympa-
| thy and assistance of the Item.
II. o. DoWdy and M. w. Coles, rep
/ raaarksr. Sf,o Grand Genkraf Nurseries