New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1910-07-30

see how true, indeed, is the state
ment that Louisiana soil would
make excellent fertilizers for
many portions Of this country"
The l'cayune lately reported
n It's columns an Interview with
Mr.. Joseph f. Wing, which is de
lightful reading for all interested
in the prosperity Of our state.
We quote:
/ had hoped to see good things
down here. but wha / have seen
Tar surpasses my expectations.
You know we have rich soil in
Madison Parish; in fact. they
have IN them far more potash and
phosphorus than the best soils of
lllIaois, though short of nitrogen.
Bad farming, with cotton as the
one crop, took out nitrogen
Down here you have our soil as
subsoil, and on these reclaimed
prairies you aave that marvellous
deposit of decayed vegetation that
supplies the nitrogen. You have
here, consider, by all odds the
most marvellous soil possibility Of
any | have seen in the world too
rich if anything, i'll humus, but
sooner or later you can phow deep
and mix it with the subs9il then
YOU will have q soil ideally per-
feet IL texture and as rich as soil
can be. a.
A new industry on reclaimed
land is that at Lockport by Mr..
A. Y. Smith. He has fields Of
peppermint. which promise large
yield and large profit.
An expert from Michigan dis
tills the foliage into peppermint
oil Orange and other citrus trees
are set out and are doing well,
as are also pear and other fruit
trees, The last years crop of
peppermint was great success,
and there seems to be no doubt
that this crop VIII prove one Of
the most remunerative in that sec
ton. n
And now word in regard to
reclamation and improvements at
our very doors,
The Michaud heirs in France
owning a tract of land on Lake
Pontchartrain Of about five miles
front and extending to Lake
Borgne, sold recently to local and
Chicago capitalists y34, ,057 acres
for $4,000. This company, in
connection with an adjoining one,
the New Orleans Lake Shore Co.,
will, when the plans are all car
ried ont, show a cultivated lake
frontage Of thirteen and a half
miles. and Mr.. w. Reed, the well
known civil engineer, and presl
dent of the New Orleans Drain
age Company, declares tkat
within a year" rkopfe Will
hardly recognize the locality
This very land, q short tire
ago, was known as "trembling
prairie, it's reclamation will
show what can be done with Lou
isiana soil.
By tho time the Panama Exposi-
tion rs held in New Orleans we
will have greater New Orleans,
a more royal Louisiana than were
ever dreamed Of by our French
and Spanish founders,
They sought for gold and sill
yer mines, not dreaming that agrl-
culture is the most potent factor
for the building upof nations
and the prospects now unfolding
| before our state andcity are not
only beautiful in fancy, but truly
solid in facts and figures.
But a civic says; "Such vast
expense for retaining wet land
when there are at present on
the market ten million acres of
good dry land, ready foI the
pillow. Why throw away time,
labor. money, when our dry lands
are not yet occupied? Why not
buy what is now available, your
wet lands will always need to be
kept dry, while cur dry lands are
calling earnestly for immediate
cultivationq"
One answer TO this natural ques-
ton of preferring swamp soil TO
dry acres is that the reclamation
of millions of undrained lands in
Louisiana will vastly increase Its
size, as it were, thus affordlng
more homes to the homeseekers
Of the world. 1t will increase the
wealth of the state by adding to
its assessment more than forty
million dollars, and above all, the
fact remains that the reclaimed
lands are fertile beyond calcula
ton. and in course of time Loulsi
anan must become, through thest
centuries-old alluvial lands, the
grandest state in the new world
the Egypt of the Gulf Of Mexico
The boil weevil has proved {
lamp Of knowledge to the farm
ers Of Louisiana. On every hant
we hear the wondrous tdings
that Louisiana is an ideal cattl'