The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-03-23
WAR ON WATER HYAC|HTH,

: States Engineers in EIiminatin
Pest-system of Booms Propose
to Check Spread Of PIant-Po
lice Juries Asked to Help.
thirty delegates from all parts q
southern Louisiana met in the offie.
VI the united States engineers a;
new orleans last Saturday mornins
W consider ways and means of Grad
lcatlng the troublesome water hya
clnth The meeting was in response
~ d eau issued by Lieut.. Col. Lans
ing II. Beach, head of the govern
ment engineering department in Lou
isiana. = ~
Keeping the streams of the state
clear OF the hyacinth, which often
grows SO luxuriantly as to completely
plock navigation, is a task in
trusted to the government engineers
out Col. Beach explained that he
found it impossible to keen down
the growth unaided, and wished to
put INTO effect plan of co-opera-
1 4iaepn which might have better results.
The response to his call caused
Col. Beach much qualification Men
representing almost every part of
the state which suffers under the
affllction of the hyacinth, several rep.
presenting the political organization
OF the community, others representing
prominent business interests. some
representing waterway commissions
tne rest attending simply in their
personal capacity, were at the meet
ing. AT its close they voted unan-
lmously in favor of resolutions tn be
drawn up by Col. Beach and com
munlcated to every police iury in
those sections of the state trayersed
py the streams where the water hya-
clnth flourishes, asking vigilant and
hearty cooperation with the engi-
neerlng department on the part of
the people residing or in business
along these water courses.
AT present there are only two prin-
clpal waterways of the southern mart
OF the state entirely free of the wa
Ter hyacinth-Bayou Teche and the
veTmlllon river. With his active but
limited corps, Col. Beach has found
it impossible to keep the lilies down
everywhere. Let a dozen escape in
to a stream that had lust been
cleared and before the engineers can
set back aggaln on satfh eli rounds It'll
y -nopeiessly oVergroWn and choKed. |
The system of fighting the evil is
the placing of booms across all the
little tributaries of the main |
streams, and even across these
latter at judicious intervals, and by
such a plan of quarantine, as it were,
OF one fenced-off section against all
others, to prevent the spread Of the
nyaclnths when it takes seed any
where
The trouble with this, however, is
that the engineers cannot keep
watch on all their booms, and the
story runs that no sooner did they
clean out a bayou and put up these
oooms than some careless or mis-
,hlevous persons opened them and
eft them open, and, presto-the sur
ace OF the stream was covered again
With the bright green pads and pref
y blue flowers, while a few inches
'elow thick, fibrous roots wove to-
;ether in such a mass that woe be
o the boat it tangled about. II
Col. Beach explained these condi- j
ions at the meeting, and stated that l
he only relief from them he could ]
oresee was the assistance of the
esidents of the water localities t
themselves in keeping the booms he t
rected closed, and helping his corps |
lff lghf the hyacinth as they would h
Vt any other plague wherever it F
lade its appearance.
We are almost helpless by our a
elves said Col Beach; ssthe task b
J too extensive; but with just
tile assistance and the exercise of S
lst a little care on the part OF the t
Ltlzens OF the parishes, we will have o
0 trouble, in my opinion, in com, IL
letely Wiping out the water hyactnth Il
| this state" II
Several of those present replied il
riefly, assuring him of the hearty b
'-operation of their respective neigh Y
and the vote was then p
ken and carried to forward to each it
}l1ce jury resolution to such eff Il
ct. h
Those who attended the meeting tt
ere: Honore Dugas, of the Atchafa- II
va Levee Board; Mayor B. j. OF
oray, William Gooch, C. S. Williams II
Id Capt. r. D. McNeeley, of Patter- hi
n; Frederick WilDert, Samuel P. tt
,hWing and A. E. Fug1er, of Plaque W
inc; President J. G. Dupont of the
errebonne parish police jury, A. T. W
srrans, Of Houma. ]. E. Kimble, of OF
,ckport, W, W. Weldon and Messrs. at
orton and Moseley, dredge CON 81
actors, of DesAllemands A. j. OF
'acken, representing the st. Charles W
md Company of Chicago, H.; H. A.
Gotten and Gus DreWs, of Nor d.
n City; Horace II Harvey and P ar
of Harvey: Isidore Fisher, cI
g.. Reinhardt and S. ]. Laporte,
I'M the Barataria section; A. {. tr;
lsenbury, vice president of the Lou st
ana Meadows Company; G. p Ga
], of Bonner; Frank B Thomas,
esident of the Golden Ranch Land tn
d Drainage Company; State Sena- de
a,,oxy,J q ~ nd To1iaa T1Jrfr 81,