St. Landry democrat., 1888-05-12
TIE GREAT PARISH OF ST
LANDRY.
HIS Soil, Climate and Varied ministries
IFS Beautiful and Progressive Towns.

HI. soil, Climate and Varied Industries.
Its Beautiful and Progressive Towns.
City Item May7.
There is no parish in the State more
highly favored by nature than st. Lam
dry. The climate is delightful and sa-
lubrious, and the soil of wonderful fer
tility. The beautiful prairies or the
land along the streams are highly
productive, yielding readily bale OF
cotton to the acre with fair cultlv alton.
The yield of corn is from % to 40 bush
els to the acre. but this could be easily
increased by fertiliziug with pea vines,
cotton seed or commercial fertilizers.
In the neghborhood of Opelousas the
country is gradually filling up. and the
prairie, that few years ago supported
only rowing herds of cattle, is now
mostly fenced in and dotted with resi-
dences of thifty farmers Asthe parish
becomes more thiclly settled, there is
growing tendency to the diversified
ton OF farming interests. Fruit cul-
ture especially is receiving attention
and promises to be one of the great in
dustrles of that section.
Apple, plum, peach and pair trees and
grape vines were observed ny The Item
growing vigorously on many farms in
different portions of the parish. The
Leconte and Keiffer pairs seemed to be
the favorites among fruit trees, and to
judge by the heavy fruitage on trees on
ly four or five years old IN Mr.. T. J. La
cy's Mount Hope nursery, near Wash
lngtOn, these trees are excellently
adapted to the soil and climate.
Chickens and eggs are very imnor-
tant products of St. Landry. The
shipment of eggs from Opelousas alone
in the month of March amounted to two
thousand cases of thirty dozen each.
Rice has within the past few years
become considerable crop. Low land
that was thought to he worthless has
been levied in, planted in rice, and iri-
gated 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.
Opelonsas. however, ships only about
one fourth of the products of the parish,
other prominent shipping points being
Washington, Barbtick, Garland, Belle
vue and Grand Coteau.
st. Landry has been always noted for
its large herds of cattle, which make as
good beef as any in the would. 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
nual clipping of wool being very con-
siderable
Notwithstanding the increase in pop
ulation, thousands of acres of the finest
land arc yet untouched by the pillow,
and NAV be purchased at reasonable
rates. This parish offers an interesting
field for immigrants. andIwill be rapidly
settled as soon as its advantages are
known.
While the most of this parish is open
land, it has in the western portions pine
forests, and along the bayous such fine
timber as cypress, magnolia, poplar,
oak. ash. hickory and gum. 1t pos
SEES fine advantages for starting barrel
and furniture factories. and the qnes-
tion of establishing these industries is
now under discussion.
The educational facilities are among
the best in the State. There are
churches Of every denomination, and
the moral tone of the community is
high.
Opelousas, the county seat. is town
Of over two thousand inhabitants. 1t
is beautifully situated and its streets
are vistas Of spreading oaks. It's peo-
pie are refined and cultivated, and dis
play the hospitality of the OlGen time,
while they exhibit the enterprise of the
modern age. The merchants of Ope-
lousas are solid and public spirited, and
pull together in any movement to adj
vance the interest of the city.
Washington has superb location on
the south bank of bayou Courtableau.
and has communication by rail and
river will, the rest of the world. The
town is we'll laid out, has number of
capacious business houses and hand
some residences and has boiler-mak-
ing shop. an oil factory, several saw
mills and other manufacturing estah-
lishments. It's people are hospitahle,
and like the citizens of St. Landry, give
a hearty welcome to the stranger with
in their gates.
These two cities are admirably loca-
ted, and with their fine natural advan-
tages give promise of prosperous
of the surest signs of an early and GER
tain development is the intense pride
the people of OpelOusas and Washing
ton feel in their respective cities They
are proud of their climate, their soil,
their enterprise, their hospitality. their
men, their women and their children,
and they bavea right to be. With a
consciousness of their power to make
the future glorious. they will bend their
energies to the task and press forward
to that place in the froat rank to which
they know they are entitled.
In this progressive movement the
people OF Opelousas, Washington and |
all Of st. Landry, viii have the sympa-
thy and assistance of the Item.
RRHekEensS ArsticR SaIVe.