Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1914-10-09

No where in the entire South has TIN
Farmers Cooperative Demonstration
Work been productive OF greater good an'
made more real progress than in tn,
Louisiana Delta, particularly IN the par
ishes OF Madison and Tensas, which ar,
in the heart of the so-called Delta country
That section Of the State, which i
mainly Of sandy loan soils, made up by
overtiows of past years, comprises wha
is inherently magnificent cotton lands
but due to the local conditions being un.
usually favorable to the weevil almost a.
soon as the weevil came it was recognized
as out of the question to hope for the
weevil being bested through any Other
than the most persistent fight wage
against It to hold it in check This early
recognition of the difficulties of cotton
raising in a country that furnishes ideal
Information quarters for the weevil, as
does the Louisiana Delta, led to a most
ready adoption of the recommendations
of the United States Bureau of Plant In
dustry for the commitment of the weevil
along the lines originally determined in
the fight against the weevil in Texas dur
ing the first years of its advent into the
United States.
At the outset of boil weevil disaster i'm
the parishes of East Carroll, Madison,
Tensas and Concordia, many plantations
owners were forced to suspend planting
operations, in common with the expert
ence of most States when the first serious
weevil devastation was felt In conse-
quence, there is still considerable proper
ton of the Delta country not yet under,
though each year the unproductive area
is being lessened, thanks to the enterprise
of local planters and to the entry into that
section of quite number of Western
farmers who in the main made good in
the acquisition OF their properties
The spirit of crop diversifcation, az
preached in and out of season by demon
stration agents throughout the South,
gained instant Roadway among the pro-
gressive planters as soon as they saw that
no longer could bale-to-the-acre yields
be obtained as of yore. Reduction of
cotton planting was the first forward
step, with corresponding increase of corn
areas, then lespedeza hay and from that
to oats. To such good effect has corn grow
ing been turned to that in the past year
or two it has entered the class of money
crops, the yields this season turning out
better than expected, ranging from % to
IS bushels per acre. In Madison, Tensas,
and East Carroll parishes about %, 900
acres were in oats as the 1914 crop, and
about 10000 acres in lespedeza, the latter
planted both in oats and solid. And the
prospect, in view of the average cat yield
being on good paying basis, is for about
80 per cent increase in oats for 1915.
This shows how the tendency is towards
oats as money crop of size, and it is
profitable crop, too, for while the average
yield in the Delta was hardly much above
40 bushels, some fields attained so good
an average as 60 bushels; and then there
is the usual cowpea or lespedeza hay fol-
lowing on the same land, two good money
crops in one year. Up in East Carroll
parish one planter who had 200 acres
in oats this year is figuring on planting
1000 acres for 1915; and there are lots OF
others who will have around 500 acres or
more in oats next year. The lightest lands
however, are still being kept in cotton,
and always will he, for the Delta planters,
in view of their showing against the un-
precedently heavy infestation of weevil
this year feel assured they can always
raise cotton, come what may-provided
they ever stop fighting across the ocean.
Live stock, too, has cut prominent
figure with some in this emancipation from
the former one-crop idea, there being
some very large herds of cattle in Madi-
son and Tensas particularly, which are
being graded up. The extent OF the cattle
industry in Tensas, for an example, which
was released from Federal tick fever quar-
antine the first of this month following
Madison Parish that was so released year
ago. may be jud1ed from the statement
that in August Is, 200 cattle were dipped.
This large number of cattle was handled
in 80 public dipping watts, all built since
last fall
To show how extensively individual
effort has been directed toward the live
stock industry, several cases only needed
he sted here, one being that of the Som
erset Planting Co., which is under the
of one of the chief stock
holders, banker Of st. Joseph, who is a
leader in Tensas parish of everything that
spells advancement. The Somerset Co. are
shippers of both cattle and hogs to the
Natchez, Miss, packing plant. They have
on their property about 500 sheep, nearly
l 200 hogs, and $40 head of purebred and
graded Angus and Herefords. The firm
does quite business locally in the sale of
breeders, the start at cattle raising begun
only two years ago. Davidson & Rollins,
too are going strong into cattle now, hav-
ing some $50 head, and grading up with
purebred Red Poll and Angus bulls. Mr..
w. NJ. Davidson, of this firm, is another