St. Landry democrat., 1889-02-23
The Rice Industry Of louisiana.

Extracts from paper On the review OF
the rice industry of Louisiana, read by &.
V. Soniat, before the State Agricultural
Society, at Monroe, Jan. %, 1889;
From so humble a beginning this indus
try has arisen to be a power in our land,
until to day we produce three fourths of
the rice grown in the United States. In
1877, or scarcely more than decade ago,
we produced a fraction over 81, 600 900 lbs
clean, whilst in 1887 we surpassed the
crops of Georgia and the Carolinas COM
bined, by 100000 lbs, and though a
short crop, reached the dignifed figures Of
$4,000, 900 lbs.
We can now boast of Is or IA mills cen
a decade past. Are not these figures sug
gestive of progress? And what, | ask, can
stop US in our onward march? With such
trinity of forces which only legislation can
climate and a soil unexcelled in the world;
the seasons are for us, God is with US, but
man, narrow minded man, is against us.
Behind the throne of nature there turks
the monster tariff agitation This and
tuIo dloue Gall CuSCA III tuS iHaICu VI pIo-
gress the rice industry of our State.
The sons and grandsons of the former
lords of the land, beholding with grave
apprehensions the vandalism of the land
renters" shouldered the shovel, the spade,
and boldly took possession of the field.
By their untiring energy and perseverance
the steam pump has made highly produc-
tive the neglected and uncultivated high
lands of the front our swamps have been
invaded and their enemy, the stagnant
water, been driven back to the borders of
the lakes by the high wheels of progress,
the draining machine. Where before was
but quagmire may be seen the land that
can be drained or irrigated at the will of
the owner; where before the bulrushes
grew with all TIE vigor of their pristine
glory, may be seer lie slender stalks that
bear the golden Sci that has revolution
lied the industries 81 our State, diversified
our farming and las contributed more
than anything els5 10 consolidate and i'm
prove our levee system; the syphon has
now replaced the primitive dabl-the three
doored fume, the open cuts. in the levees.
in truth, can it be said that this industry
has been Savior to Louisiana it has
lifted her people from the slough of des-
pond to the heights of prosperity and hap
piness; for what is it, ask, could have
replaced the sugar industry of our State?
Science has deigned to visit our humble
threshold and to dwell in our midst al
ready have we begun to reap the fruits of
her presence by the observance of proper
sanitary laws and regulations, we can now
laugh to scorn the germs of insiduous ma
laria, whose foul and loathsome breath
exhales its pestilential vapors in the
shades of evening or in the murky morn,
for they cannot stand the decomposing &C
ton of the great luminary of day. For
five long years have | waded in mud and
water, and my immunity to sickness owe
to the observance of the rule required of
city youths, by fond parents, "never to
keep late hours" especially in the rice
fields f
A holy horror has been engendered in
our midst, for the poisonous and unpro-
ductive stagnant pools of our rice fields,
scientific researches have demonstrated,
without doubt, the necessity of renovating
our water supply, for the vegetable crea-
ton rejoices in abundance Of air, not only
at the leaf surface, but also at the roots,
in order that the plants may assimilate to
themselves that nitrogen and oxygen in
dispensable to the formation of the sap
and the grain.
Hence constant or running stream is
advocated by some, by others an inter
infant supply is preferred. The latter
plan is u far superior, for if we stop to
consider tn. i temperature of the water in
the spring, we shall find that it is TO- to
go colder than that of the land it stands
then to reason, that it behooves the plan
ter to quench as quickly as possible, the
burning thirst of the plants and to as
quickly permit, by drainage, the sun and
air to have access to the roots in order to
impart to them vitality and strength. .
Liquid manures have been used by me
with partial success, and have no doubt
if manure, soluble in water, were placed
in the flooding canals, the whole of our
fields could be economically and easily
fertilized. It is claimed by some, that
rice grows more luxuriently below than
above New Orleans-even on lands that
have been planted for the last twenty five
consecutive years with that cereal. Is
this not due, in great measure, to the re-
fuse matter dumped from the wharves,
coupled with the sewer water of countless
cities, towns, villages and counties that
drain into the Mississippi? How many
tons upon tons of fertilizers pass our
doors, in liquid form, every minute of
the year! especially in flood time, when
the discharge of our stream is over ], 900, 00O
cubic feet per second! What fortune
goes! goesl to enrich the fish of the sea,
goes to fatten our lucious oysters, who
feed upon the liquid food contained in the
waters of the Gulf. So bountiful is ma,
ture, that what we fail to use is utilized
sooner or later for the comfort and welfare
of the human race. But luckily now, the
turbid waters of the old Mechaselie are
not our only source of supply of fertilizers;
experiments conducted by our Chief, w.
C. Stubs, in the open fields, have demon
strated time and again the practicability
of using with profit, on lice, commercial
fertilizers on an extensive scale.
The laboratory of the chemist has kept
pace with the field experiments; it has de-
monstrated, without doubt, the value OF
rice bran as a feeding stuff. enhancing
thereby the value of our product; it has
shown, that from mixture of crabgrass
hay, or better still, of oats and rice bran,
splendid days work may be expected
from horse or mule, for its nutritive
ratio compare very well with that of wheat
bran; that of the former being is 6,
that of the latter IA 4. Its value as fer.
tilizer has been time and again extolled
but chemistry here has disappointed the
Of bo T>1o vat | mn @