St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-06-29
Rice Culture.
FARMING VERSUS PLANTING

The Louisiana Planter.
In southwestern Louisiana the above
contest D.ias begun The farmer has
cometfrom the bleak northwest 70 the
sunny. south, and, as the farmer does
and should do. he brings with him ali
his thrifty habits and money-sayin o
eexpedients. The farmer raises his own
hogs, sheep, cattle, chickens, corn. oats
and, IN fact all he can to make his new
nome self-sustaining and then raises,
| besides, some crops for sale, and chief
among these is rice
The Iowa farmer in Calcasieu. Aca-
dia or st. Landry is taught by his early
training to first provide for his family
from his farm, so far as he can. all thai
IS needed to cat, to drink and to wear.
and, this done, to produce some adj
dltIona! crop or crops for sale.
HIS domestic establishment thus be-
comes independent, self-sustaining in
fact, IN thousands of cases the sales
from the dairy and poultry yard realize
more than enough to clothe and feed
the family, and the other crops may be
sold to pay debts Or to enlarge the farm.
Inls Is farming, and these people have
taken up the culture OF rice as crop
produced to sell, and they find that even
with the low prices prevailing for rice
10 Louisiana, they can do better with
rice culture than with other grain cnl.
ture here, and better than thew we're
able to 90 with grain culture in the
west. ''o
The production of rice in southwest
ern Louisiana is thus large and increas-
ing. and the increase is on this solid
oasis. lie IS surplus crop, and whether
the price be great or small, il ia inst
that much added to the farmers
revenues.
Those great prairies and the immense
rainfall suggest immense increase in
the production of rice in southwestern
Louisiana in the near future.
Now to rice planting. The riceplap-
Ter owns or rents land capable Of ready |
irrigation from the ordinarily HIGH |
river. He may have plows, mules Or
OK oxen and some other necessary tools.
lie has no money and no seed rice. and
as our rice country is extremely health
Iul ne mas large family, and they
gegin TO eat food and to wear clothes.
Jan. Isl OF every year; and the first
duty Of the average ricepIanter il tn
1nd some one to pay his bills from Jan.
|. and those bills cover every need ~
civilized life.
Here lies the difference between farm
ng and planting. All the ordinary
wants OF life are supplied with the home
productions of the farmer none or
carceiy any of them are so supplied bv
he planter.
The business of the planter is carried
u intensely, as is that of a great fac
ory. The whole thought of the man
ger ls concentrated on the economic ,
reduction OF one or but few articles. ,
nd they for sale. {
The business of the farmer is to sum-
~ his family with its needs for its
Import directly from the farm, and ,
Zen the excess may be sold and the re- /.
1rns applied to taxes, mortgages, edu-
alton, culture and amusement as NAV
,em proper. ,
With larg0maSses of low grade labor
dnfing is possible; without large
asses OF such labor planting is impos-
BILE, and farming is the result s
Farming ID the safe way, the intelli- c
mt way, and is sure to win in the long a
IN; and now that the farmers OF Iowa i
I've came to Louisiana, and are find I
z IL here lncomparabIy easier to sur- II
und themselves with all the comforts .:
nome life than in their old northwest =
homes; and, further, as they have L
Ken up for cash crop one of the u
eat planting crops Of lower Louisi- n;
-. the question now becomes n serious OF
Q as 20 What the planters Of this great Il
PIP, the rice crop, will do about it. "a
Inc large production Of rice In Louis- =
90 mas unquestionabiy greatly cheap =
co Its price for the whole country. a.,
q the larRe'less Qf the Louisiana pro- "a