Lower coast gazette., 1909-02-06
SATURDAY. FEBRUARY 9Th 1909.
Stock Raising on the Lower Coast,

Stock Raising on the Lower Coast,
There are leading agricultural industries that the farmers and
planters of theLowerCoast oQuld engage in which might perhaps
prove as profitable as the gfeat staples, sugar cane, rice and oranges
with which some Of them seem to be SO nuohln love. There IS no
doubt but hath intense cultivation incident to truck gardening
on the LoWerC0ast will produce a greatsr revenue from a given
area Of land than any other agricultural crop. It requires some
time for those inexperienced in such intense culture TO acquire a
sufficient knowledge Of it to develop profitable results: There are
now in our parish several truck gardening centers that are setting
the pacefor many others in the parish: On the east bank, in the
upper END Of the Second ward, near HertrandyHle, the Meyer
family have for years been making specially of truck gardening
and have been very successful therein. This has set the pace tor
nearly all of their n~eighbors and the truck gardening interest Of
that:section Of the parish is annually expanding. At Ponte a Ia
Hache Mr., I, G. Movers is aqw dang considerable truck gardening
and SUCCESS seems to crown his very earnest and intelligent efforts
in that direction. Further up the coast, at Observation-Disclosures
SONG new eomers, notably the Weiss and Hill families. are making
quite an effort in the same direction, which we trust will be profit
able. In the Seventh ward on the west bank, travellers by the
Grand Island railroad will notice quite q development Of truck gar
dening there and down below, in the Ninth ward, in the Home
Place SECTION, a great deaf is doing in the same way,
Mr. Tiebout, one of the members Of the State Board Of Agr-
culture and immigration uader, the last administration, residing
near Hammond on the Illinois Central RAILROAD, reported that he
had sold over $500 worth Of produce from a single acre of land,
taking the Chicago values, and that the net value of the sales to
him amounted to some $500 to $500. When asked what he would
take an acre for his land, he having a small farm of some 40 or
30 acres. he responded that he weuld not take $500 and acre, un-
Jess he knew where he could get some equally good land. These
iands are what were known a generation ago as pine flats, y up
in T~angipahQa parish, then worth but two to three dollars per
acre;
Trueh gardening requires such CONSTANT care and attention and
intelligent administration, chat many persons are deferred from
going inte it and would prefer the slower growing orangec crop, OR
some ANNUAL crop like sugar cane or rice: We have often wonder
ed why more ateation was not given to the rearing of cattle and
hogs on the Lower Coast. Fifty miles rom:New Orleans any OBJ
server Gan see scores of cattle reared locally, all of which are fine,
large animals, weighing probably a thousand pounds or1aore, and
kept in good order viii out any bought food, the grasses. of the
the country being practically their WHOLE support. The Lower
Coast has a greater rainfall than has the chyo New Orleans, or
than have any of the other Of the interior parishes. This leads to
a prolific growth of grass. As we all know, in the rice crop the
grasses have to be weeded out by hand aRd in the cane crop the
hand hoe work necessary to keep the fields free Of grass constitute
one Of the leading items of expense in that crop. The gardeners
must keep their lands very clean; or they wont have any crops at
all. So here, in a section OF the state where we have more sun
shine and more moisture and fewer freezes than elsewhere we are
led in our staple crops to struggle directly against nature in her
most PERSISTENT efforts.
These facts would lead us necessarily to reflect On the situation
andt to wonder whether or not other agricultural crops might aotb e
introduced, Or if already produced here, whether or natthe ppoduc-
ton might not be very materially enlarged to the advantage of all
saneerned. The cattle of the Lower Coast would apparently con-
vince any one If the fact that cattle culture could be made quite
profitable aad perhaps more profitable here than anywhere else
We believe, howeyer, that fewer cattle are produced on the Lower
Coast now than forty. years ago. The rice culture was formerly
carried on in this parish'in a larger way than ROW and it was at
one time the chief rice producing parish of the state. In many Of
The lands of this parish growing rice cattle twspe needed for the
yasas;; Of rice culture called wet y the cattle being better adap,
ted to II than horses or mules. That fast doubtless led to the pro-
llsaon Of many good oxen at home, but the business never be-
came developed to any very great extent, although occasionally,
but rarely, a drove of cattle wastsent to the city for sale,
We should like very much tohave the readers Of this journal
take up this matter and discuss it. It is said by some persons that
there are too many mosquitoes to make cattle, Or any kind of stock
raising, a success, # this be so, why is it that in 50 many insan-
ces that are noticeable now every day, we find such fine cattle that
have been raised on the Lower Caast?, The cattle speak for them
selves, if we may use that term. Certainly they look extremely
well and do not indicate any suffering from or lack of food or from
the attack Of the mosquitoes. We frequently read Of the attacks
Of the flies and buffalo gnats in the upper parishes Of this state,
where more attention is given to cattle raising than here, and the
result there seems to be more disastrous than any attack of the
mosquitoes with US,
If t were found that it was more difficult to produce good cat
tie on the Lower Coast than elsewhere because of the adjacency of
the salt marshes and because fthe attacks of the mosquitoes. then
wecould readily introduce varieties with longer hair than usual,
which would mitigate the force of these attacks. The long haired
cattle as a rule, come from colder countries, and particularly
from Scotland. The change Of the climate might gradually lead
tothe shortening Of the hair, but this would require some time