The sun., 1895-02-17
THREATENED BYA FLOWER
LOUISIANA BIYOUS cHoKED ny
SO-CALBED U.ITER ITIY


NEW ORLEANS. Feb y.--Ir the ftussi,n ,,,..,.
question comes up in tho next Congress, on an
application for an appropriation to destroy II 4,
IL likely TO have companion in the s,.cnIiod
water lily" which is uverrunning Louisinn.
and which. II 10 continues 60 grow MS 4; has bcsn
spreading OF late years. will soon prove n very
serious nuisance. The United States spend a
large sum annually TO keep the Mississippi and
It's tributaries clear OF snaZs and stumps having
n regular snagboat Lscrvlce for this purpo,.,
! When II undertakes tho removal of the water
lilies, which It probably will b. compelled to do
sooner or later, 1t will find the removal OF snags
and stumps trihe in comparison.
The water lily. or. rnure properly, thc wn,er
hyaclnth, Is of rcccns origin in Louisiana. 1t is
said that man from Now Orleans visiting
Colombia thr,e years ago was attracted by .
very pretty aquatic plant hc found growing III
tub at tbs residence OF n rich planter. He
brought som bulbs OF tho plant homo and grew
! them In his front yard Nothing was heard Of
the wntcr hyacinth for some months afterward.
| 1t Is not known how IL spread. but about two
years ago patches OF grecn sea woed, with
! very BEAUTIFUL palo blue or purple flower were
| found floating in Bayou St. John, which COM
| meets New Orleans with Lake Pontchartrain.
| Tho patches grew rapidly larger aud got 80 thick
and dense as to look like floating islands.
| The roots mattel together. and the dark olive
green leaves SO concealed tho water from view
that one might easily have been tenn pied to walk
on 1t rs solid ground. Within one summer the
lllieshad grown 80 dense to interfere with the
navigation Of the bayou, and largo quantities of
thcm were dragged out aud piled on the bank
The lily question soon became an Important
popular issue in New Orleans. Thepeoplc living
along Bayou st. John and in its neghborhood
protested thai the lilies caused an odor which
most offensive to them and that when tho
wind blew from the direction Of the bayou It
became almost insupportablc. The Board Of
Health appointed Commission to examine the
matter. The Commission found that the plants
wcrc not lilies. and that they did not cause the
odor. 1t declared the lilies nnocuous to the public
health, although serious hindrance to naviga-
tion, aud declared their removal, unnecessary.
This was year ago. Since then the lilies have
rttracted less attention. but they have become
steadily worse, and seriously impeding
navigation. Just at present they are probably
not 30 conHpicuous as they were last fall.
for the freeze has caused their leaves to fall off,
but the roots and bulbs there, and when the
spring comes around Louisiana will be able to
see how the lilies have gained on 1t. They have
overrun the entire country around New Orleans.
Its Nifty miles OF canals so overgrown with
them that not drop of water can ba seen, and
the canals look like prairics This swaipps are
lilies; The new canal and Bayou Sc. John are are
nearly damned up with them. In Lake Pont-
waited hither and thither by the wind and tide,
and forcteling the day when the lake will be-
flye miles across it last year. and now the
steamers going up the beautiful Tchefuncta
field of lilies
Last year the lilies made their appearance on
the other side of the Mississippi. and 100 miles
west OF New Orleans. Here they are doing even
more more harm than in New Orleans, for they are
and Interfere with other pursuits as well. and to
ruin the drainage of the country
In Tcrrebonne parish. for instance. the lily has
grown 30 serious u nuisance that the Police
Jury eGu, ,uent to County Commissioners in
he done to check the evil. Terrebonno is cntiup
by innrmeraole ., bayou,. upon the banks OF
furnish the chief means OF communication Of
the parish. The lily reached there over year
Of Bay9I7 reche, Chtnc, and LOurs. Lowsr
hayosq1 @ Black A is closing up and the sawmifls
e,,Ss tee was ,9c,rsanized on Bayou Ghene aud a
Men were employed to cut them out with hooks
and drag thom 70 the banks IN order to keep the
lilics grow rapidly that 1t is necessary To have
The The men steadily at work to keep. them down.
The general conclusion that those bayous
already invaded were lost beyond redemption,
n,,, and that M the best thing the people could do
Cocodrie, and such bodies Of water in the parish
as as St SUI remain nninvaded Il is even proposed
whose sole duty IL shall bo TO see that no lilv
%ats or is carried into the waters Of the Black
on that stream will be compelled 10 suspend
Terrcbonme is n fair sample of all thelower
parishes of Louisiana. All the Others are
ssrsstsng ID in The sane way and the ly
year. II Is simply question OF time when other
What the "a Of them the lily g's sre n ts coom
6ian home are not known but in this climate 1t
sses ahon TO "a nave @ gained nsw yigor and strength
water, and nearly all the streams sluggish,
ply question OF time When s tSeY wi s9 oe III si hs
closed up by the South American water hya-
ray %o weeks Old WIN L is t%o fsss ID
nau, IN n s month ne wry roots run from
mossy substance forms around their roots.
which " e. begins growing at tho lower portion OF
in its downward growth as the plant maturess
until = M II forms mass in the stream that even
lilies are broken of BY the wind or the ecu current.
these hoat few miles throw, ont their roots,
SssS 'Ha ThS rSh the Hsss for
.abe matter, that is drained from tho
seems to invigorate the lily, and that and the
luggshness OF the Louisiana streams seems to
,e ,oms aae n reason why the water hyaointh has be
,ounItry than It is In south America. where it is
TO- change sS"s ali s II nea a% i
hs .N,, stream 3, IT. becomes land plant In Bayou
and IN hI prons Of set t5e ssoEe sSe
EheIe II ia left unmoiested, II looks more likes
rec than water hyacinth. ..-
The lily has been systematically attacked two
y, u three times. but little has been done In the
'eople do not seem TO realize the danger ahead;
indeed. because the unprt cedentedly cold win
er has checked its raYages considerably for the
resent. there Is disposition to regard 1t not as
amGrI%uS as II 1Esatened 20 be at FIRST This.
lnny persons sec in II very serious danger. Ii
not alone that 1t VIII strangle the lumber
and communication. but that
onisne TO, 50 rum the drainage OF southern
u these hnyonS for its proper drainage, and IL
iWfy hro 70 70 be shut up 4 is difficult esay what
III be the elect on the country The South
mcrran water hyRcinth threatens to materi-
~ uhahEG thc condition of affairs in tho
NhhpS ana bayou country of Louisiana and
.nfr southern states, to which il must spread
ppi--uncss way of getting rid OF IL Is found.