St. Landry democrat., 1891-01-17
Impressions of Louisiana.

would suspect from its appearance. In
Alpiers. a suburb of New Orleans. just
across The Mississippi river, market gar
deninp is carried on as extensively as on
long Island, and much finer vegetables
are crown. Celery in particular is very
fine every crop seemingly is raised on the
drill system. Vegetables altogether su-
perior to those of Florida or Georgia, and
raised at much less expense. For instance.
in their drilling, the lower part of the
cabbage leaves was eighteen inches to bot
tom of furrow. This must be done by
shovel pillow. Cabbage drills four feet
apart, all as perfectly clean as our best
kept market gardens. On my way to La
fayette we passed through miles of sugar
cane, all as yet standing, and as far as the
eye could reach this sea of green has
most pleasing effect. In Lafayette parish
counties are here so termed) find same
quality of land as in Algiers, and four feet
deep, of clay loan. l fail yet to find
subsoil. The leading industries are cotton
and sugar cane-a large proportion OF the
latter yet standing uncut and ungathered.
Roses. cameliss, etc, in full flower. A
bouquet of Maria Louisa violets has just
been brought me from the garden where
am at present visiting-as fragrant as
any at the East. Sweet potatoes from
four to seven pounds one Of i've pounds
weight had cooked to test its quality; l
never ate better; perfectly mealy and of
fine flavor. Passing colored mans house
| saw some long cayenne pepper shrubs
six feet high, five feet through, filled with
red and green fruit. The woman told me
she sowed the seed "two monts arter
Christmas" Their calculations are all
made from that time.
Please bear in mind that the above re-
suits are produced from the soil only, no
manure of any kind being used. The
negroes are too lazy to apply it. and the
farmer does not think it necessary. Irish
potatoes, so called, in yield, size and
quality equal ours; also with no manure.
10 prove further the quality of the soil l
measured this years growth on three
wear old pear trees; it is ten feet long, not
spindly or drawn, but fine, thick, healthy
| wood. l notice none properly pruned for
spur wood for bearing, presumlng that
| they depend on nature to give what she
will. Evergreen oaks are of the follow
ing dimensions So feet in diameter (of top;
trunk, 2 feet from ground. 49, feet in cir
cumference; rs feet high; extreme ends OF
branches to - feet from ground; above
ground roots, branches botanically) : feet
and 2 feet in diameter, covered with white
and green moss up to trnnk, white clover
sod and grass. Suspended in festoons,
this Southern moss, with the green back
ground of leaves, has most pleasing
effect. All their pastures are so; not
bare spot in any that have seen. Cattle
are q good grade, SURPRISING the general
run of Orange county. Prices run from
SIS to $25; land is worth $25 per acre.
| visited sugar mill owned by MIR. A.
Cavard, whom found to be most in
telligent gentleman, thoroughly up in his
profession. I select this one to show what
a small one is like, of the requisite size
for his farm of thirty acres. There are
sugar mills in this vicinity costing over
half a million of dollars, of interest to the
com nercal man and to takers about the
wealth of our country. The buildings, in
GLIDING a twenty horse power engine,
platform scales TO weigh FIVE tons, watts,
troughs, hogsheads and barrels, cost
| S44OO. Mr.. Cayard conducts his business
| on a cash basis, paying his men weekly,
and in sugar making time daily. if re-
quired; ticket is given to each man q,
the end of the day. He opens an account
with each crop, and knows to a cent what
| it costs him Every load of cane as it
comes from the field before delivery at
mill is weighed and record kept; they do not
| use the term acre, but arpent-which is
| 1872 feet square. He grinds 40 tons of
| cane in "a hours, this producing five
| hogsheads of sugar and five barrels of
| molasses, each hogshead and barrel of mo-
lasses (costing) to produce $40, selling the
same net at $5S, thus leaving profit of
S18. Eleven men are in sugar house:
twelve in field, cutting and stripping; four
leaders and four drivers. The mills can
not run full time owing to scarcity OF
labor.
In cutting they use knife somewhat
like an Eoglish bill hook, but wider in the
blade; cut close to the ground, topping
where green, as this contains no sugar,
taking all leaves off as clean as walking
cane After being carted to engine Lou Sc
two men put the canes on an endlsss cl ain,
ends first to roller; two men take the
crushed cane, juice falls into trough,
which conveys it to boiling watts, where it
| is skinned clean, then run into another.
When thick enough it is run into barrel
on wheels, then put into troughs like our
water troughs, OF 2-inch planks, ends
tongued and grooved aud iron rod passed
through them. Under these troughs is q
vat to receive the droppings, which are
the molasses. When the sugar is firm it
is shoveled into hogsheads, which have in
the bottom holes of an inch in diameter;
into them are placed pieces of sugar cane
pointed to fit the holes, and reaching up to
where lid will fit on in heading. The top
ends of canes are nailed against side of
hogshead, and this forms as it decays
drain for the remaining molasses in the
sugar to be conveyed to the watts. When
the seepage stops it is considered dry
enough for market. Average price of this
sugar is iour cents per pound. The mo-
lasses is beautiful clear amber in color,
with oh, such difference in taste from the
mo1asses of commerce! In the sugar
house it is pure and perfectly delicious.
When 1t is sold, each barrel, Mr.. Cayard
informs me, is mixed with barrel of
glucose. No wonder we poor mortals suf-
fer.
The cane proftably lasts two years; it
will three, but not pay so well. In plant
ing, the usual width is six feet; this Mr..
G. says is too wide, as it allows the storms
and winds to bend it Qike bow; this
makes it more expensive IL the hauling to
the rollers, requiring two men instead of
one to attend it on the carrier to rollers;
they are now adopting fve-foot rows. In
selecting eyes they do so from the green
cane, that is, the part above the ripened
wood; at the base of each leaf is the eye.
A furrow is made, and the pieces are
strewn or laid along. Each eye will throw
six to eight stems, which are allowed to
grow and ripen. Should there be any
misses, they sow corn or cotton. To the
arpent of land they use 300 pounds of cot
ton seed meal; this is drilled in about six