Le MeschaceÌbeÌ. [volume] ([Lucy] La.) 1853-1942, 1911-05-27
Crop and Plantation Notes.
Toward the upper part of st. John p

ish, in the ueighborhood of johnson sta
ton on the Texas and Pacific road, and
higher up the river close to the st. James
parish line, there was this season nota-
bile tendency to reduce rice paintings
and enlarge with cane. Those planters
who grew both crops have in numbers
of instances followed such a plan of
working their land right at this time,
while with many of the rice men who
unfortunately have been holding to the
cereal alone, there is now noted an ut
ter absence of rice activity, after hav-
ing experienced losses as they did last
year with the crops cultivation.
Immediately below the johnson sta
ton, located on the Carroll plantation
belonging to E. J. Caire & Co., are nu-
merous small property holders whose
fields extend the four or five miles down
to the Columbia plantations; and as told
by L. r. Webre, the agent on Carroll,
and who himself owns small place sew
eral miles above Columbia, this year
among all those parties are but 200 acres
in rice and being grown by Victor Hay
del & Bros, where in 1910 the five larg-
est growers had 900 acres of rice. Such
concerted action in Withdrawing from
rice planting clearly indicates that it is
a question of more than giving the land
rest, and doubtless there is rather uni
versal regret among these farmers (who
are now forced to try and make both
ends meet with the growing of small
vegetable crops), that they failed to take
advantage of E. j. Caire & Co.'S propo-
sition made in the past to allow a cane
tramway to pass through their fields and
go into cane growing themselves for
delivery to the Columbia factory. This
tramway proposition, though an expen-
sive one, would have been to the advan-
tage of all concerned, for aside from ena-
bling the intervening land owners be-
tween Columbia and Carroll plantations
to easily market cane crops, it would
also have permitted E. j. Caire & Co., to
get around paying freight tolls to the
7. & P. for the hauling of the Carroll
cane the short distance to the Columbia
central.
The only cane growing exception a
mong this nest of rice growers Is furnish
ed by L. r. Webre devoting 100 acres of
his somewhat larger Alliance planta-
ton to the production of cane as the
money crop, which he has done for years
past. Latterly, since his eldest son, Oil
yer r. Webre, attained manhood, this
young man has been managing the pro-
perty. and his father so permitted to
give undivided attention to superintend-
ing the tenants operations on Carroll.
The Alliance crops this year consist of
80 acres plant and % acres stubble
cane. promising excellent returns. and
besides there is so large an area as 65
acres in corn, the method being to retain
the land two years in corn III rotating
with cane. because of there being no de-
sire to go more heavily into cane on ac-
count of the long hauls to the Columbia
mill. The crop outturn from this field
usually ranges close to 900 tons, what
with more than 20 tons to the acre, plant
and stubble ordinarily obtained, but last
season this average was not reached, the
amount then sold reaching 778 tons.
The Carroll or johnson plantation.
known by either name since its owner
ship by the late Bradish johnson. is a
field of 1000 acres under cultivation,
and the same capable geneI al manager,
L. r. Webre, has held this position since
1904, when E. j. Caire & Co. bought
the property from the Estate of Bradish
johnson. CAROLS frontage on the river
is deceiving as to its size, for it opens fam
like to the rear, the back part of the
field nearly mile and half wide, or
more than twice as wide as on the river
front. The plantation is worked by
good class of Creole farmers, who aver
age $50 acres each, which sized tracts
enforces the employment of negro gang
labor by all. The delivery of the cane
crops to the Columbia mill is effected by
all hauling to one central loading sta
ton, an American steam derrick located
at the ruins of the old sugar house near
the Texas & Pacific road for loading the
cane onto the cars. With reference to
the factory, it is worth mentioning that
the old brick building (which formerly
constituted one of the best equipped
sugar houses in the State generation
ago, and at the time of its going out of
commission was 500. ton house has
been torn to pieces gradually since its
last grinding recorded in 1903, the ma
chinery taken out by piecemeal, and last
week Manager Webre received orders to
effect the final razing of the structure,
for the use OF the brick and timber still
remaining. At present the only piece Of
machinery left worth consideration is
the IL foot 6-ro1 Leeds mill, and it is
understood that this has now been sold.
The annual cane production on Car
roll holds very true to the 10,000-ton
mark each season (though falling be.
low that figure last year,. and the rea-
son for the maintenance OF the fields
fertility is because the owners insist
on each tenant growing no more than
two thirds his land in cane, the other
third in corn and pease. and because
they have in manager Webre an admins
traitor who unswervingly watches out
for his employers interest. and who also
acts as guide to the tenants in help
ing them attain success at their, crop