The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1888-09-01
Louisiana Outings,

We extract the following from Catha-
rine Coles letter in last Sundays Picay-
une:
st. Martin parish belongs to q section
Of country that contains some of the
richest agricultural lands in the world.
1t is a parish beautiful to the eye, with a
soft pastoral beauty inexpressibly allur-
ings. The Teche is threaded through it
and through the wary and wood Of its
wooded hills, its broad fair fields, its
jungle Of cypress swamps, are many love-
ly bayOVs. In the old days 1t was one Of
the richest parishes, and the plantation
houses still standing are so many fine
old palaces. Here in the huge fields cot
ton grows with an average of a bale to
an sore and tn cane stands like 80 many
kings scepters, 50 many fairy wands
that will give the owner much honest
gold. The lands have never been fertili-
zed, and to-day in the fields are crops Of
grain, cane and cotton growing luxuri-
antly on lands that have been thus used
for the last forty years and that have
never received one pound Of fertilizers.
The soil is therefore practically inex-
haustible; what giant yields it would
give Of fruits, vegetables, grains, staples,
under scientific farming no one has ever
fully estimated. In 1882, after the over
flow, on lands that did not escape that
remarkable flood, a mere lad, a boy
named Horace Alemand, raised eight
bales of cotton from four acres of land.
The soil is black and is best worked by
American stock, although many farmers
use only the sturdy Creole horses and
mules. A farmer tilling ten acres Of
this land ought to be independently
comfortable after half dozen years Of
ambitions toll aud intelligent manage
ment, The yield of corn is claimed to be
thirty bushels to the acre without any
special culture of the soil. Cattle are
fine and fat; this is good land for blood
ed stock, and the Teche cows are famous
for the quality and quantity Of their
milk.
There are in the parish of st. Martin
44S,OOO acres Of land. OF this amount q
vast portion is cypress swamp. There
are in cultivation this year, according to
figures courteOnsly furnished me by Mr..
s. V. Martin, parish assessor, Sc, 900 acres,
leaving a total of $4,000 uncultivated
acres. The state owns and will sell at Is
cents an acre 100000 acres of swamp
half Of this redeemable to
the plow, provided the Atchalaya river is
partly closed. There are to-day on the
market $1,000 acres Of fine tillable lands,
improved and unimproved, not subject
to overflow, and which can be bought at
from "a to SIS and acre. The parish is
fairly we'll under fence, with barbed
wire fences and Usage orange and
Cherokee hedges.
The population is generally French.
the religion is generally Catholic and
there are several fine converts and pri.
vate schools. The public schools are
open for about seven months in the year,
and are satisfactorily kept II not so nu.
merous as they ought to be. The parish
tax is 10 mills. More land is down in
corn than in cane, and crops do not fail
from drought or blight. Every known
vegetable will grow in this soil, and al
most all fruits. Steamboats, run from
New Orleans to st. Martinsville all the
year round. Smaller boats ply in the
upper Teche, and branch road Of the
Southern Pacific to the parish town
gives very good facilities for the trans
portation Of crops.
In st, Martin parish can be seen, and
for the matter Of that all over the state,
the unique spectacle Of farm laborers,
both black and white. driving about in
their own private carriages. l think this
comfortable picture would make Mr..
Henry George rub his eyes. Farm labo-
rers have their gardens, their fuel, their
cows. and horses and pigs. They raise
chickens, sell eggs. and sell fruits. Ev.
erything about them, even to the lovely
moss that tents their swamps, can be
converted into money. There is no rea
son why any man in this state should bt
unprosperous. The spade is divinine
red and he has only to touch 1t to th,
soil to find treasures Of health, money
progress and happiness.
In some parishes Of rich possibilities