St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-02-02
PINE LANDS. -
Information on Valuable Part Of Lou
isiana.
EXPERIENCE OF MIR. o. b. sANsUl

CORN, FRUIT AND VEGETABLES RAISED
THE NEEDS OF OUR sTATE-sCIEN-
TIFIC AGRICULTURE AND MORE SMALL
FARMs-A USEFUL AND INSTRUCTIVE
REVIEW OF THE NATURAL ADVAN-
TAGEs OF LOUISIANA, SHOWING HOW
THEY CAN BE UTILIZED.
Mr.. o. B. Sansum, leading attorney of
this city, has devoted his spare time from
his large practice to agricultural pursuits,
and his farm in Tangipahoa is striking
illustration of the intelligent application of
scientific improvements in the cultivation
of the soil. Mr.. Sansum has travelled over
Louisiana for years past, and has acquired
vast amount of valuable information con-
corning the resources of the state. The
following comprehensive interview with
this gentleman contains matter of great in
terest on the material resources of our
state:
Reporter-The Daily States wish to give
to their readers whatever reliable informa-
ton can be got about the pine lands of
Louisiana-their climate, soil and gener
ally every fact, either for or against them
Will you kindly answer some questions
which have been prepared for you?
Mr.. Sansum-Yes, will state all know
about them.
Rep.-You have a farm in the pine
woods-where is it?
Mr.. 81 have small place in the par
ish of Tangipahoa. 1t is two miles west
of Amite City, about two miles from the
railway, and sixty light miles from New
Orleans.
Rep.-What is the altitude of Amite
City above the sea?
Mr.. S.-Amite City is about 1870 feet
above the sea. My place is about twenty
feet higher.
Re- How long have you owned the
land?
Mr. 81 bought it about four years ago.
Land was then very cheap in that vicinity.
There was really no road to that place, but
| within the past two years very good one
has been made. The Illinois Central rail
way contributed very literally to the build
ing of it.
Rep.-What is the character of the soil
of the pine lands generally?
| Mr.. S.-The term soil includes, l sup
pose, sand as well as clay and loan: The
sub-soil is clay-yellow, red, and in low
places white clay. In my judgment the
and the white clay subsoil is the poorest.
| The white clay sub-soil is not common In
| the hills. The red clay sub-soil is the
common ub-soil of the high lands. The
surface soil of all the pine lands is vege-
| table matter-decomposed wild grasses and
leaves from the trees. The surface soil is
| from eight inches to nothing. In some
places heavy rains, continually washing,
| have carried to the lower lands nearly all
the decomposed vegetable matter of the
hills; such places are called 'poor barren
! hills" | built my house on one of these
''barren hills" The house is surrounded
by pretty grove of oaks, planted there by
former owner, about twenty years ago
| have added about eighty LeCompte pera
trees, two or three dozen peach trees and
few fig trees. and these are very luxurlant
now. The fig and peach trees have little
fruit this year-just enough to show what
they wish to do for US in their prime.
Some of the pear trees, believe, will bear
fruit next spring. The character of the
LeCompte pear is good, and the tree is an
abundant bearer in my vicinity.
Rep.-Will the pine lands produce good
grapesY
Mr.. S.-The best grapes can be grown
in these lands. The largest and best fla
vored Catawba grapes, as well as white
grapes have been produced in the pine
lands The white grapes grown there are
as good as the best Malaga grapes. Grapes
grown in the pine lands have been put in
the eastern and northern markets along
side California grapes, and the former
realized 90 cents pound, while the Cali
fornia grapes brought only 10 cents. be-
lieve all the lands on both sides the Jack
son road NOW the Illinois CentraI will
produce as good wine as the best vineyards
in the south of France.
Rep.-Can you name the grasses which
grow well in the pine lands?
Mr.. s.-The wild sedge is the most COM
mon. It is very nutritious before it gets
old and hard. As rule cattle take care
of themselves in winter in the pine lands,
and by the same rule are very poor when
spring approaches; yet within six or eight
weeks after spring opens these very poor
cattle grow very fat on the young and ten
der sedge grass. If the jewellers OF the
pine lands will
CULTIVATE RED CLOVER, LUCERNE AMI
OTHER FORAGE CROPS
they will have the best of horses, mules
and cattle, at nominal cost. Mr.. Herwlg
grows excellent red clover at his place
near Arcola; have tried lucerne and am
sure it will prove very profitable to the
grower. Lespediza strata Japan clover.
is growing wild in all the pine lands.
have found it under the great pines in the
wilds of north Louisiana, It is crowdine
out the wild grasses on my place, and there
was not blade of it there four years ago
Mr.. Phares declares it is the best of forage
plants. Comparing analyses of othe1
grasses with it we find it richer in album
noids than other grasses of very high feed
ing character. Other grass called craI
grass, follows cultivation very speedily
and it makes very good hay. The pine
lands are most desirable as sheep ranges
because they are high and sheep rot neee
never be known in them.
Rep.-What has been done in the pint
lands with corn9
Mr.. S,-Corn is grown in all the pint
lands. No large yield per acre has beer
had except on my place. have six acre
of very good corn. No fertilizer has beer
applied to it this year except little stable
manure Last year harvested forty bush
els to the acre, and this year I will harves
at least seventy-fve bushels to the acre
I believe the harvest would be a hundred
bushels to the acre if the first planted seet
had terminated regularly, -unfortun
it was necessarily replanted, not once bu
twice.
Rep.-At what expense can corn b.
grown in the pine lands?
Mr.. s.-The cost of producing depend
on the cultivation. The land must be cleal
of stumps and roots. If it is infested witt
stumps and roots neither deep nor thorough
cultivation can be accomplished, To pro
duce corn cheaply all hand labor must b
excluded, and
NOTHING BUT IMPLEMENTS EMPLOYED.
On my land use the sulky pillow and tn
, riding cultivator-no hand labor is employ
| - o:+Io- =, INV CIT cona 0r in NV corr