The sun., 1893-04-02
NEW arcs AxD sUoAn r1E1Da


NEW RICE and SUGAR FIELDS
En fers,ss De.er,se. Texas and Gcu,s.
lana Rice.
LAKE CHARLES. La. March 28--M Lake
Charles. away In southwestern Louisiana.
near Texas. struck the new Southern rice
and sugar fields The country is low. and
slopes down into the Gulf OF Mexico. found
many new sugar Iefneries and rice mills. and
indications OF great prosperity. I came down
from Alexandria. on Red River. over the new
railroad built by J. d. Watkins to connect with
the Gould system. II was in Alexandria that
the citizens showed their appreciation OF Mr..
Gould by calling mass meeting and passing
resolutions OF grief at his death.
The sugar country commences at Alexandria
and runs 10 New Orleans and Galveston
Over there" said Mr.. Albert Of Alexandria.
pointing TO ripple on the Red River. is
where Gen. Banks built the dnm TO let out the
fankee gunboats. Here is where Gen. Banks
left cargoes OF provisions. paper collars. and
other luxurles for Kirby Smiths army"
Did they whip Banks 2" / asked.
Lick Banks2 Why. Kirby Smith took
Banks's guns. fattened his men up on canned
strawberries and cove oysters. and licked him
clear into New Orleans. Don't ask any one
around here II Kirby Smith licked Banksl"
1t was here" said Thomas Crawley, that
they got up that famous conundrum. Why
was Kirby Smith like Pharaoh's daughter p"
We'll. why was her" asked.
Because he found q little profit In the
rushes on tho banks" said tho ex-rebel.
Alexandria is perhaps tho best preserved old
city in the South. 1t has stood still. until its
present boom. for thirty years. They still
serve black coffee here to all guests at Z in the
morning. and boil their sugar out in big ket-
tics.
Going from Alexandria on the Red River to
Lake Charles on the Gulf we pass the new rice
and sugar plantations As we near Lake
Charles the whole country is irrigated for
rice. A few years ago Lake Charles was q
small hamlet inhabited BY the sweet Acadians
who were banished by the English from the
Basin Of Minas In Nova Scotia. The grave OF
Evangeline is near here. and It is here that
Basil the blacksmith. who shod the Acadian
oxen. followed his sweetheart Last year they
showed me Basils blacksmith shop at Wolis-
vile. south Of Halifax. and have followed
Longfelow's sweet Acadians from the Basin
Of Minas to Lake Charles.
st. Charles is q city OF 10000 people. with
sawmills saving yellow pine from the Calca-
sieu River. suga. reflneries. and rice mills.
EAIsIN6 RICE.
Rice Is lazy mans crop. The planter plays
around n little ia tho spring with few dykes.
then sows his rice and goes hunting or goes to
sleeE TN i is time to harvest It; 1t is sowed In
let on THIS Kills the weeds and makes the
rice thrive. Sometimes they let in six inches
Kills the weeds, saw them raising rice on
dry land in South Carolina. but the boys had
sionsI overflow However. is suficient. At the
end Of four months the land Is dried up and
the rs Sth Shsa ad I'd
cheapiy as wheat and with e-hnlf the labor.
Nla~ 10 Itr-tf axx,INt i'm
husk like al ear Of corn. TO get this husk OH
the rice must be Iounded in big mSTtsrs rnS,t or
Sa %Shsss to @o" cost
by hand They hnd no s maShinery ,;S efSept RIA
wages ut Lake Charles than they can with
seven; cents a-day labor in Jspan. l believe
China Ms we do -four an! cotton. ,
In japan the. rice fields are on side hills.
ey reach he
Of Fuginmi. and a field Is seldom oyer % fifty or
sixty feet sqnarGe here around n Lake Charles
often a thousand-acre field could be irrigated.
SO America is to control the worlds rice mar
III In j japan @ A on $500 land they raise whoat in
the winter int and rice In the ssRme5 s thas aere IN
How tne raising Of rice has Inc fSs
445 3l7; in 1892, 2,Olu.UOU barrels. l think
about 5.OOO.OOO barrels OF rice was raised In
the United States last year.
Rice is = short crop; r. r natures natures in four
and Colorado. where they have irrigation. as
well as in Louisia ma. Texas. or South Carolina.
The seed to be planted should not be hulled.
The hulled rice OF commerce will not grow.
Gustavr A.Juhn OF the Lake Charles Louisiana
Rice Milling Company will send any one sam.
Dles OF rice for seed free.
SUGAR IN TEXAS AND LOUISIANA.
lind that there is great boom In sugar
planting all over southern Louisiana and
Texas Hundreds OF reflneries are going up.
and millions OF acres OF cane are being plant
ed this spring. -.
When I asked Mr.. Arthur p. Roberts. the
secretary OF the great Calcasieu Sugar Com
pany. IL he was sure the bonus OF two cents
was to be kept on. he said: Well. 1t will stay
on this year. and il they will keep 1t on four
years more we can walk alone. 1t Is awfmlly
prosperity Of the South depends ON taking out
cotton and putting in sugar and rice. We viii
take out u million hales OF cotton this next
year II the bonus IL kept on. and IL the bonus
is taken of now the industry wi stop sugar
raising is the salvation of the Southern peo-
i look. ms though they ought to look after the
Mr.. Roberts." said. this raising $3.50
OOO.OOO worth Of cotton and ,spendinE
5000. 600. 900 Of IL for German end Belgian
sugar will always keep us poor Making beet
sugar in Nebraska will save the wheat farmer.
and making cane sugar in the South will he
ing Of S2nOoOO.UOO worth OF sugar in this
country vii put the wheat farmer and cotton
farmer on top" ELI PERKINS.