St. Landry democrat., 1890-11-01
LOUISIANA IN SUMNER.
A New England Clergyman's Impress
sion of "The Italy Of America"
LAKE CHARLES, La, Aug. %, 1890.

I,ouisispa, in the estimation of the aver
AGE Northern man, is State in no part OF
which white man could safely pass the
summer because of the supposed intense
h. at and general unheathfulness.
Your corr. spondent held the same opln-
ion up to last February, when he met In
S Louis lady formerly from the North,
who for the past six years had been living
in Southwest Louisiana, whose descrlp-
ton of the very mild summers, charming
winters and healthful climate caused MN,
when the early summer found MIN III
broken health, 10 seek its borde1s ana trF
the merits of it's cooling breezes and balmy
invigorating air. 49,
While tne northern three fourths of the
State may be very hot, and the bottom
lands of the Mississippi valley may be
very unhealthy, there is in the southwes
ern part of Louisiana tract bordering on
the Gulf of Mexico about one hundred
miles long east and west, and reaching
| back from the gulf about forty or nifty
| miles in width, which Is unsurpassed IN
| America in climate and general healthful-
ness. 1t has been called, add very appro-
priately, 'the ILaly of America although
to whom it was FIRST indebted for this title
your correspondent does not yet know. IT
| is a secli N of the Safe away from and
above all overhows, being from forty to
sixty feet above the level OF the gulf.
The highest temperature thls summer
at Lake Charles. which is thirty miles
from the gulf, apd i'll the latitude OF ABOUT
| 80 IS north, was 90 and that Oh only |
one day. Two other days 1t went up to
95o. and on not more than ten days alto
gether has it gone above 90. For the last
four weeks the maximum temperature has
not been above NJ with general range
of from 70" to rs at q a. Ii and FROM ~
to Sc at p LII.
1t is hardly necessary to leak of the
| contrast bet Eeen the maximum tempera-
ture here and that which has been expert
encsd in parts if not all of tue North In
Kansas and Iowa it has been as high as
1lO0 in the shade, and in many other
places it has been TO or over, with insult
ferably hot nights, which we never ex-
perience here.
The cause of the cooler climate here is
the nearness to the gulf, whence comes
cool, refreshing aud very soft breeze tor
The most Of tue tune, both day and night,
excepting two or three hours after sunrise
and AZ ain at sunset During the middle
of the day, which would otherwise be very
hot, there is almost always cooling
breez. which makes it very comfortable
anywhere in the shade where the breeze
. can reach. Al night the breeze makes it
} so cool that ole can always sleep well II
. one has a house properly arranged, with
south exposure fer thu sleep ns rooms.
Generally be fore morning, light blanket
is needed in such cases. Owing to the
south or gulf breezes here, Northern men
now living here say that they are able to
work out in this sun with less discomfort
r titan they experienced when working IN
, the sun in the North. Even in st. Louis,
Mo, and Topeka, Kan, it is the south
q. breeze which is the coolest breeze. PEG
ple in those cities build as far as possible
n with southern exposures. Would it not
d seem that their south breezes are gulf
a b. eezes! And if 50, after passing over
r fD0 miles of heated surface, would they
= not b.. much less fresh than those We have
- Sunstrokes are unknown here One
: persplres freely aud c,piously in this eli
It nae, but it conduces rather to ones health
r and comfort Except for the slight discom
foIt from the quickly soiled clothing). as the
perspiration tends to cool one.
But while the summers are SO far from
being uncomfortaDly hot, being in fact
0 really enjoyable, the winters are said by
d all Northorn people who have passed one
IL or more of them here to be most deligct-
n full Snow is rarely seen on the ground,
falls, when il falls at all, which is only
" orce II four or i've years. the lowest
tenn oerature reached last winter was "a
It above zero, but it is seldom that there is q
winter when it goes as low us that, not
At often going below so in this locslity.
Right on the gulf coast it never freezes.
az But it is only for q small part OF the time
that the temperature is anywhere near the
is freezing point, ranging large part OF the
T. winter season from 55' to 75'. They have
frequent winters here when one can pick
ID from the garden green peas on Chris N as
r: and straw berries in February.
5 The main agricultural interest in this
section is rice culture, whice pays nel
Il profit two or three times as great As wheat
ar culture in the North. Rice is sold by the
barrel 16S pounds or three bushels), anc
"a Yields from ten to twenty barrels per acre
which sells before being polished (wher
VS. it looks little Ike barley for from 81 81
l. to "a q barrel, according to quality anc
no tn. earliness with which it Is ready fo
ns market.
?" at least thirty dollars land from that W
to ifty) an acre can be realized every yea
ut on ri q where man has farm on one o
On the numerous streams, or bayous as they
"a. are called here, and uses steam pump tt
at food the rice when there are too few rains
ut which occurs about one year out of three
u or four, as it requires a great deal o
nd water. One man east of here raised las
year, which was dry year, one Thousand
ut acres (using steam pump, which he solt
tn for nearly 500 900, and which probabl.
Letted him between 49, C0 and $45, 900
u, single hand with good heavy teao
could prepare the ground and put in from
of 100 to $50 acre of rice in season as ON
y can plough here all winter, and lice Cal
s be sown from the last of March to the frs
of June. To cultivate rice requ ires abcu
irl the same labor and l.achinery MS whea
k culture, except that rice fields have to Lav
levees about II feet high around them
as which when once built need not much far
i'd ther care. And the rice needs to be foode'
mt when about foot high, letting the wa.e
stand on the ground until it is nearly ripe
ar when the water is let off. When ripe il i
he cut with a st If binder and threshed with
cd threshipg machine.
IS, Besides rice, some cotton and sugar csn
d. are raised here, cotton paying net prot
as- of $l5 and cane from $50 to $75 an acre
a although to work cane requires quite a
expensive outfit, and one hand cannot at
lid tend 10 more than ten or fifteen acres of it
This is very fine country for fruits
he surpas sing both Florida and California i
RS the estimation of men who have come her
to live after residence in both of tn
States mentioned Five acres of orange
ifteen years old would net $4,000 a veal
The creole orange raised here is said b
NE experienced men to be a fuer orange /
a., nos nf &c