The leader., 1900-04-25

ought TO be as famous on account az i,s
cotton factories. which should be built. AZ
southeastern Louisiana Is on Account az
us sugar mills, or as southwestern LouisI-
I Tha Is On account VI ats great rice relus.
lhe endless forests Of hardwood shoutd
DC as Wei known for Its supply of com.
meTelal timber as the great Avery Island
70 Tor us supply Of salt. What cnrsc nor.
t.ous OL our state needs Is an awakentng
on the part OF their people
IN the early history OF tne deyc.opuent
OF southwest louisiana, our northern aud
western men took readily TO the rice I'M.
uustry' IL Afforded them the means of
securing the quickest returns for Thelr
time aud labor; besides, the cultivation
Of rice on our broad and open prairips
was nearer In line with the growing OF
smaA grain upon the prairies OF the
northern states, he-ce ~ per cent Of our
people are directly interested in one
DrAnch or the other Of She rice industry.
III these people have worked hard anu
laDored earnestly TO promote the Interests
OF the Industry, 1t. IN turn, has yieIdcu
them large profits and enabled them IL
oulId up comfortable homes.
IN Acadld parish the RAPID growth and
development may he said to be entirely
attrlbutabIe 10 this Important Industry
III We speak at greater length of EXISTING
CONDITIONS IN Acadia PARISH, it is Simply
because che writer, beng II resident Uf
that parish, k more familiar with them.
IL was serious problem that confronted
n. AFTER
Two exceedingly wet seasons uSJl ana
1879, the seYCreSt drought taat Louisiana
mad experienced IN years nearly ruined
the rice planters Of southwest LOUISIANA.
IL seemed then as If the limit of our
production mad been reacncd. 1t would
nave taxed the Imagination of an artist
az lhat time to have drawn picture
OF what Acadia would be to-day, with
rs hCtWork Oh canals running III every
direction. Much has been said and writ
ten OF the system of irrIgat ION Ia vogue
IN southwest Louisiana, and yet but few
people are familiar with Its magnitude
OF What II has accomplished in these
prairie parishes.
The system itself is wholly different
from any other system In America In
the arid regions Of our western states
ana territories, irrigation is carried on by
means Of graSltatlOn. water beng car.
RED at al times from the higher to the
lower points 10y means OF uItches, wind
Ing down the hl!lsldts, while in the LouIsl-
ana rice district the water supply lies
from 10 to ~ feet below the level ~ the
lands to be irrigated: the innumerabIe
UayOus and rivers which traverse the
country furnishing the supply. Water Is
fHtSed from these streams by means Of
monster pumps, handling from 10000 to
5O,Ooo gallons of water per minute and
carried from the pumping plants out 20
me canal proper through cypress fumes
lheSe canals are built by throwing up
two ievees from 80 to 30 feet apart
art necessary being taken from the out
SIDE oil The ievec. and none from the IN
side, thus keeping the water supply above
the heldS and country through which 1t
passes. THESE canals are filled to the
Top or the leYees with water, from whence
II is drawn off into the various fields
The canals are Of various length, rang
ing from Two to twenty miles, and water
ing from 1000 to 10000 acres each When
We speak of canal ten miles long, we
refer only to the main canal, as this does
not include the miles of laterals or con
Neying bitches. a canal ten miles long
would have on an average problb V
twenty miles Of laterals connected With
II.
These irrigating plants are equipped
with the best of machinery. and arc all
erected with view of years of service
some Of the pumping stations costing from
S1u,0OO to $4,000. On many of these
irrigatlns systems water Is raised three
and four different times. as the land
grows higher away from the Streams
we know of no wav of impre<siug upon
your readers the magnitude Of this enter
prise better than to mention some of the
larger plants chat have been nut in
operation in Acadia parish during the
past ten years