The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1905-04-29
THE VAST RICE CROP In
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA
Wonderful Development of the Indus
try-Credit Given to Iowa Farmers
Something About the Remarkable
Values of Lands - Louisiana Rice
Shipped to All Parts of the World.


has comparatively new industry which
adds about Sl5,0 900 year to the wealth
of the State, and she owes it to Northern
men-Iowa men. All this section is un-
der obligations to Iowa men. Nobody
has done or is doing more to fill up the
Mississippi Valley with wealth producers
than Capt. j. F. Merry, of Dubuque.
He is not only bringing in immigrants,
but is locating factories Of great value
in half dozen States, and is the father
of the Vicksburg Battle Park. l have
not heard of movement to erect a
monument in Capt. Merry's honor, but l
suppose grateful public will attend to
that when he is gone, an event which
should be postponed as long as possible,
Thomas Jefferson introduced rice cul-
ture into this country. He did many
other useful things, such as founding
the Democratic party and securing the
Endorsement of William j. Bryan, Gro
yer Cleveland, Tom Watson and "Eso-
pus" Parker. Mr.. Jefferson was deeply
lHlCICSttu III cS IICuIbulC, llIut NIiiAC
minister in Europe, he was sending by
every steamer to farmers, planters and
agricultural societies in the United
States seeds, roots, nuts and plants,
which he believed might be cultivated in
this country. He tried to introduce
olive culture into the Southern States,
and returns again and again to the sub
iect in his letters. He saw the great
usefulness of the olive in Europe, "be-
cause of it's fruitfulness, its hardness,
the low quality of the soil in which it
flourishes and the agreeable flavor it i'm
parts to many viands otherwise tasteless
and disagreeable". The culture was
commenced with enthusiasm, but, whe
ther from want of skill, perseverance,
the unsuitableness of the climate or the
excessive richness of the soil, the trees
did not flourish.
Rice was another of his agricultural
hobbies. He sent to Charleston speci-
mems of all the several kinds of rice
known in Europe. He concluded that
the Italian rice was of the best quality,
and desired to send seeds to his friends.
At that time no one was allowed to send
rice seed out of Italy. Falling back on
what he termed "the higher law, JET
ferson induced a muleteer to run a cou-
pie of sacks across the apennines. Hay-
;nrr foifr1 in "a rnIlatnnr'c hnnpGtV.
he filled the pockets of his coat and
overcoat with the best rice. The mule
teer failed to reappear, but the small
store from his pockets reached the presi-
dent of the Agricultural Society of
South Carolina, who distributed it
among the planters, a dozen or more
grains to each. These were carefully
sown and watched, and were the origin
of our present staple.
Secretary Wilson, an Iowa man, has
been dong quite as much to promote the
agricultural interests of the Southern
States, but it was S. L. Cary, an immi-
grant from Iowa, who first recognized
the possibilities of rice culture at Jen-
nings, then in the parish of Calcasieu.
After long period of experiment he
mastered the problem, embarked in the
business himself and interested his
neighbors. Professor Knapp, another
Iowa man, formerly president of the
State Agricultural College at Ames,
and scientific as we'll as a practical
farmer, became convinced that the quail
ity of rice produced in Louisiana was
not economical. 1t was the sort to be
handled by machinery, and was broken
up in the thrashing and cleaning. so he
applied to Secretary Wilson for advice.
He told the secretary there was strip
of land 700 miles long and fifty miles
wide on the gulf coast which was admir-
ably adapted to rice culture and capa-
BILE of producing all that could possibly
be consumed in this country.
Secretary Wilson appointed Professor
Knapp a special commissioner of the
department of agriculture and sent him
to all the rice-growing countries of the
world to study the methods of cultiva-
ton and treatment and the different
kinds of grain produced. Mr.. Knapp
found in Japan what he thought was the
>ebest quality for Louisiana soil and
brought home car load of seed, which
was distributed among the planters of
Louisiana, and that was the origin of
the present industry, which has grown
to product of SOC, 200, 900 pounds year.
From the seed Mr.. Jefferson brought
home in his pockete South Carolina used
to produce the best rice in the world
and the largest proportion Of the crop in
the United States. But of late years it
has been running down in quality and
quantity. In 1850 South Carolina pro-
duced 139, $780, ,6t3 pounds and in 1900
only 47,360,1 pounds. The South
Carolina rice growers, having noticed
what has happened in Louisiana, have
appealed to Secretary Wilson to come
down and help them out.
L. IL