New-York tribune., 1910-01-11
SWAMPS FOR FARMS
RIG AREA RECLAIMED.
High Productivity of Land
Near Neu Orleans IShoun.

cypress swamps, seemingly impenetrable.
round about this city were at one time
looked upon as a part of the waste places
of the earth. When Andrew Jackson smots
the British his lines extended to these
haunts of the wild birds and breeding
places of aquatic fowl. Now the hand of
the agriculturist has reached out for land
within easy reach of this great port and
reclamation is in full swing.
1t seemed incredible at first that these
swamps could be made accessible and pro-
ductive. In this state there were e500.000
acres in cypress swamp and prairie marsh
lands. There were many persons. unfa-
miliar with the history of Holland. who did
not believe that these places could be
drained. United States government and
state officials investigated. Tests were
made.
1t was known Of course. that. unlike the
reclaimed lands Of Holland. many feet be-
low the sea level. the acreage in the south
ern part of this state was i'm the main
above the highest tides. II was not long
before practical results of a scientific drain
age scheme were obtained. and now there
are farmers from Illinois. Michigan. Indi-
ana and Ohio in the zone around New Or
leans who would be loath to part with
their property.
PRODUCTIVITY LONG KNOWN.
1t was long ago when the problem was
solved near this city. and truck farms and
sugar cane plantations on reclaimed lands
were fine producers. Recently new meth
DDS have been employed. and large tracts
of the best alluvial lands have been placed
on the market and are being quickly ac-
quired by Northern settlers. a letter TO
general immigration agent in Iowa
plains how the lands are reclaimed. II says:
Our levees are built from the excavation
from our canals. Usually these are forty
feet wide and from six to eight feet deep
The dirt from the canals forms the levee,
with a thirty-foot base and a ten-toot
crown. six feet high. This is sufficient pro-
lection from any high-water mark. Re
garding the height of 1evees on the Gulf
side, we have not reclaimed any land near
enough to the Gulf so that we had to take
the tide into consideration. excepting at La
Branch, and there our levees are about six
feet high. The highest we davo ever known
the water to be there above the actual level
of the ground is about eighteen inches or
two feet
La Branch is d small station on the main
line Of the Illinois Central Railroad, about
fifteen miles north Of this city. A tract OF
about fifteen thousand acres has been re-
claimed. and some of the finest vegetables
in the market are grown there. The first
step in the reclamation Of this land was the
removal of the commercial timber. When
this was accomplished the drainage was
begun
In the reclamation of the prairie marsh
lands canals were dug, storage basins,
bitches and embankments were completed.
pumps were installed and the water was
drawn into bayous. lakes or rivers. The
expense is, of course, considerable. and this
adds to the price an acre. but it is ex-
tremely productive and near a market. The
canals and bitches are dug by machinery
made for the purpose.
The prairie marsh lands when drained
have about eighteen inches of the most pro-
ductive soil. and it would be years before
they could be exhausted under the old
methods of cultivation. Under the new
these and the cypress swamp lands are in
eXhaustible. Great tracts are being cut up
into ten TO forty acre plots. These COM
paratively small farms are easiest Of hand
ling and the returns have been found 10
be well worth while. Taken altogether,
there are about five hundred thousand
acres within a short distance of this city
now ready for acquisition.
=.
To give a list of vegeta bles and cereals
that may be grown on the reclaimed lands
would be TO enumerate about everything
produced III the united States and many
that can be cultivated in a seni-tropical
climate only. A farmer from Michigan is
raising peppermint on drained land. and
his 1fteen-acre farm is given over entirely
to this crop. or course. the staple crop is
nd
of an ounce of fertilizer. has produced from
thirty 10 forty tons Of cane which sells for
about So a ton.
As to corn, under easy cultivation. the
production is all the way from thirty-fve
TO seventy-ive bushels an acre, and is
harvested two months earlier than in the
North, leaving the land ready for potatoes
or cabbage or any winter crop. It is ex-
pected down here that when farmers learn
from the experiment stations how to get
the most out of their rich soil the pro-
ductivity Will be largely increased.
There is never a doubt about enough rain,
according to the experience OF the farmers
up to this time. The canals in themselves
and the bitches keep the soil in a state OF
sufficient moisture for any crop purpose.
The temperature is high in the summer
months, but there is always a breeze from
the Gulf 10 make il bearaple. and the
average the year round brings the climate
within the limit of the serni-tropical. where
frosts are seldom to be feared, thus MAX
ing the production OF the citrus fruits ex-
tremely profitable.
In an analysis OF the soil il was shown
that the reclaimed lands had foundation
of what is known as ''sEarkey clay over
laid with from one to two feet of humus
formed from the decaying semi-tropieal
vegetation, mixed with the silt from the
frequent overfiowiug of the Mississippi
River. The clay is productive and adapted
to general farming wherever adequate
drainage can be obtained, and there is
plenty of drainage here.
ENTHUSIASM OVER RECLAMATION.
There is an extraordinary degree OF en-
thusiasm here over the value of the
claimed lands. The figures of production
shown are almost staggering in their ex
tent. Investigation has shown that cold
calculation, such a prospective settler
is likely TO bring to bear upon the subject.
may result in some cutting down of yield,
but not enough to make the prospect other
than exceedingly attractive when compared
with the outlook further North.
The agricultural experts of this state
have made investigations OF the most ex-