St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-08-21
st Tatutaatty 9art1ter.
Saturday, August FL, 1909.
WOULD BE A BENEFICIAL CHANGE.

e
A very hurtful condition of Louisiana is
the large holdings of farm lands, and we are
glad to note that the time is approaching
when these holdings will be distributed or
cut up into small farms owned separately.
Not only would this prove of advantage to
the State politically, and result in increased
property value but it would also result in
greater diverisfcation. increased productive
ness of soil, and render less problematical
the labor question. In the proportion that
each Individual in the State is prosperous
so is the whole State prosperous. If there
were no farms of over one hundred acres,
those acres would be better titled, the labor
would be more proficient, better paid and
better conditioned, and the inducement for
them to remain in the State would be suhi-
Gent to prevent the difficulty that yearly
confronts us of securing labor to remove
the crops.
Under date of August IA, The Louisiana
Planter and Sugar Manufacturer has the fol-
lowing:
THE PASSING OF THE PLANTATION.
I'm our last issue we referred editorially
to the tendency towards disintegration
among the large plantations in this State,
this being brought about by the difficulty of
properly working miners sc areas of land
with the insufficient and inefficient labor
available in recent years. incidentally we
referred to the intention of the Adeline
Sugar Factory Company, Limited, to dispose
of its large landed interests surrounding its
factory in St. Mary parish to properly equip
ped persons who would raise cane on their
own account and on their own land for the
Adeline factory. Mr.. B. A. Oxnard has
given us some particulars concerning the
plans of his company in this regard and he
tells us that it is their expectation to sell all
of their plantation lands of which they have
some 5000 acres cleared in tracts of fifty to
a hundred acres. They are offering this
land at an average price OF about 800 w per
acre. though the amount varies slightly with
the quality of the land, which is not quite
the same on the different portions OF their
estates. They are willing to give purchas-
ers number of years in which to make
the payments and they will require cash
payment of from 10 to 20 per cent. It there
are any improvements on the land IN the
shape of cabins, etc., they will charge for
these one-half what it would cost to erect
them new, the appraisement to be made by
any competent party satisfactory to buyer
and seller. During the time the payments
are being made on the land the purchaser
would be under contract to supply cane to-
the Adeline Factory, but after he has COM
pleted his payments and become the owner
of his place he will of course be at liberty to
make any use of his land that he chooses,
that is, he may raise any crop that he
chooses, but as the Adeline Factory has its
own railroad, switches, hosting stations and
oil 18th
of this land, they will be in a position to-
control all of the cane raised thereon, and
as they pay a very remuneratlve price for
cane they are confident that there will be no
temptation to drift into the raising OF other
crops. All of this seems to be a very nota-
BILE departure indeed, and should these gentle
men be successful and dispose of their large
landed interests to the right sort of people
their example will almost surely be followed
by other firms and individuals now owning
both factory and extensive lands adjacent
thereto, as it seems inevitable that the sepa-
ration of the manufacture OF sugar from the
raising of cane must come sooner or later.
The Adeline Sugar Factory will be glad to
answer any inquiries from interested par
ties concerning their lands. ;"
In speaking of this matter the same jour
nal under date of August says: It'll
is thought that IN TINS way the farmers VIII
buy these lands at fair prices, practice di-
versifed agriculture, produce sugar cane as
one of the leading crops and sell the sugar
cane to the central factories"
Should such a scheme prove successful,
there is no reason why central mills should
not be established in the pine lands of Louisi-
ana, which are easily cultivated and produce
a good quality of cane. Here in St. Tam
many Parish cane grows to perfection and is
proftably raised by many of our farmers for
the manufacture of syrup, but the tracts
cultivated are too small to justify putting in
expensive machinery for the manufacture of
sugar, except on the plan of a central fac
tory.
WILL SAVE MONEY FOR THE PARISH.
The arrangement that has been entered
IL Me- u