The Opelousas courier., 1894-06-09
Sugar Cane in Southwestern Louisi.

sAoAV " Western LOUiSl
ana, and more especially to Acadia par
ish and Crowley, with a close obserya
lion OF the agricultural possibilities ii
these prairie lands, leads to the conclu.
sion that the centre of sugar production
10 this State will 500 pass westward
beyond the Teche, and that within ter
years there will be as much sugar pro.
duced west of Lafayette and Bayou
Vermilion as there will be then produc.
ed east Of that line.
A conspicuous feature Of the case in
Southwestern Louisiana is the ease with
which the cane crop 10 particular. and
most crops in general, can there be cul-
tivated. One-half of our alluvial lands
are buckshot clay, difficult and expen-
s've to cultivate. and quite uncertain as
to their ultimate yield. The lands of
Southwestern Louisiana are lighter and
a be far more cheapIy cultivated than
the average river lands.
Recent experiments in cane culture in
Acadia have shown that twenty tons of
sugar cane per acre can be procured
with tolerable ease. II the cheapness
OF cane culture with modern implements
10 such lands be considered, it is a fair
inference that the prices now current
for sugar cane. and the prices that will
probably be current should the proposed
new sugar schedule be adopted, will in
duce the cultivation Of thousands OF acres
of sugar cane in Southwestern Louisiana
as an alternative crop, more reliable in
the end than the rice crop, and certain
OF finding a market so long as our do
nestle supply of sugar is behind our
annual consumption.
To a river planter a conspicuous fea.
ture of these lands, when considered
from the cane planting point of view, is
their wonderful facility for drainage.
Pools OF water may lie about on them,
but the occasional bayous. cut down
twenty-five feet below the surface of
the prairies. indicate the fact that thor
oughs drainage is practicable, and, in
fact. easy. 1t will require but a frac-
ton OF the labor that has been neces-
saTy to protect and drain our alluvial
lands to bring these prairie lands into
successful cane culture. The cheapness
with which all this can be done will
mole than compensate for any differ
ence 10 the yield of sugar cane per acre,
the assumed result of the less fertility
of these lands. =
The advantage of having an addition
al staple crop will he one that the enter
prising and thrifty farming community |
Of that section will quickly avail of, and
we maybe sure that the annual increase |
in cane culture in these prairies will be |
remarkable.
OF course, to avail of the advantages
OF this district it will 90 essential toll
have central factories competent to con-
sumo the sugar can produced. The |
establishment now in existence n: Lake
Charles is already doing good work and
take all immense quantity OF sugar
without any enlargement of it's
capacity. Proper enlargement
quickly result should the supply
of sugar cane indicate its necessity. The
Oxnard & SpragueFcentsa factory on
Teche and the Ferris factory it Bar
brock in ST. Landry stand ready to con-
sumo enormous amounts of sugar cane,
and their respective capacities will be
increased should the necessity
be indicated. !
Twas but a few years back when the
lands on the upper Teche, and espe-
the lands IN its west bank, were
somewhat inferior to our
and bayou allnvial lands. To-day
find their production Of sugar cane
enormous, and rapidly increasing, aud
the limits of successful cane culture
proceeding westward rapidly. We are
that the parishes of Acadia
and Calcasieu will astonnd us with inn
nense cane crops within a few years.
Just as ST. Martin, st. Landry. Vermili0n
aud Lafayette are astounding III. now.
Westward the star Of sugar empire takes
ts aUay. 8p s ssa
as~Fuu Of denominations -