The Louisiana populist., 1896-12-11
WATER CRESS CULTURE.
HOW OWNERS OF SWAMPS ARE MAX.
ING PROFIT OUT Or THEM.
The Great Deman1 for cress and How II is
Supplied by Jtfsey and Long Island
Farmers.

| garden greens" Is limited by the rig
ors Of the frosty season. Time was, q
number of years ago, when water-cress
could not be obtained at any price out
Of season, but, like many other pro-
ducts of the garden and orchard, con-
slant demand has created 4 growth
of the supply, and now water-cress
is always with us. But the water
cress of commerce, says the New York
Post, is cultivated, and not gathered
wild from the brooks, and on Long ISL
and and in New Jersey we find water
cress farms and swamps where tons Of
the pungent appetizer are raised.
The cultivated creSs is much super
ior to the wild, both in size and flavor,
and when displayed for sale it finds GUS
toners much more readily. A .cress
swamp conducted under modern ideas
of farming yields fair return, and the
artificial beds are not without attrac-
ton summer or winter. The essential
| conditions for a good water-cress bed
are wet swamp with sandy bottom,
and a running spring Of water. Such
swamps abound on Long Island, and in
parts of New Jersey, and quite a num-
Der of them not utilized for cranberries.
are converted into cress beds. bitches
are cut through n swamp, about two
feet deep and four feet wide. These
bitches run parallel to each other, and
crosswise, cutting the swamp into
squares about twenty feet either way.
They are excavated so that n slight
grade running in one direction will
make the water bubbling up from the
spring flow through them. This fail is
very slight, however, depending partly
upon the supply Of water, and never
so steep as to empty the upper beds Of
the bitches even in the driest summer
weather. Along either side of the arti-
ficial canals space is left to accommo-
date an ordinary plank board on which
the grower can stand to harvest his
crop in the proper season.
At the lowest part Of the swamp
dam is erected to hold the water in the
bitches, and by means Of this the flow
Is regulated to suit the season. In rainy
seasons the water from the muddy
part Of the swamp is apt to back up
into the cress field and injure the
plants, or again in hot weather the
water will run away and leave the
plants high and dry. The dam is sup
posed to regulate the supply SO that the
crosses never suffer from too much or
too little. The crosses are taken from
old beds and pushed into the mud at
the bottom of the bitches about one
foot apart each way. If no old bed is
at hand to supply the cuttings, seeds
are scattered broadcast through the ar
tificial waterways. Then usually trout
are put into the stream to feed upon the
insects and mollusks which eat up the
leaves of the cress. There is q bug or
worm that lives upon the wild water
cress, and makes the leaves ragged and
uninviting, but no damage to the cuiti-
waited cress has been experienced where
trout are turned loose in the bitches.
The profits that may be gathered from
raising trout are merely incidental, but
occasionally they can be made to
amount to considerable.
The crosses need no further cultiva-
ton after once planted, except to keep
them properly covered with fresh
water, and this can be done very easily
In properly constructed ditch. The
harvest season is now all the year
round, the best hotels and restaurants
demanding a constant supply, but the
most profitable season is in the early
spring and winter. A winter crop of
cress is often extremely profitable, for
the average price paid then is so cents
to 81 per basket. Frequently a crop cut
for the midwinter holidays sells at 81
and even SO per basket. In order to
supply good crosses in the depth of win
ter, the spring water in the bitches
must not be allowed to freeze, for this
either kills or discolors the plants so
that they are worthless. Consequently
sashes are put over the bitches where
winter crosses are raised. The initial
expense of putting down these sashes
is considerable, but they last for many
years, and more than pay for them
selves in one or two seasons. The
sashes have to extend up to the source
Of the water supply, for If the ice
should form there the flow might cease.
The water must be kept running con-
tinually, for quiet, stagnant water kills
the plants.
When the plants are ready for cut
ting, either in the spring, summer or
winter, the grower places his plank
board on the space left for it along the
side of the bitches, and kneeling down
he grasps bunch of cress in one hand
and deftly cuts it off about four inches
dawn. An inexperienced harvester
would tear the plants from their muddy
bed, for their roots only insecurely hold
them in place. As the roots are left in
the field for several years, stch a mis-
take would prove very expensive to the
owner. The water-cress baskets are
made of splints and hold about half
peck each. As soon as cut the plants
are packed in them. They are laid care