Lower coast gazette., 1914-03-07
SATURDAY. MARCH Z, 1914.
The Unprecedented Weather.

The Unprecedented Weather.
THE sugar industry has been noted for many
years for the frequency with which its W
records have been broken. The winter of 1889
80 was unprecedented during the last several
decades from the fact that the sugar canes grew
all winter and were cut down by freeze on the
first and second of March 1890, without special
injury and very much as though they had been
cut off with : scythe. In a few days these
canes, with a largely developed root system,
started Il in with a fresh growth and the year
1890 was said to be unprecedented in the an
nails of the Louisiana sugar industry for the
early start thus got by the cane crop and for the
distribution of the rainfall throughout the cul-
tiyating season, it happily occurring on every
Saturday, in such a way that the fields were
ready for filth again on Monday of the following
week and thus throughout the year the growth
If the sugar cane was maintained and lands
that ordinarily would give but Is to IS tons of
plant cane per acre, gave from 25 to q tons and
lighter lands gave from 80 to IS tons per acre
in that happy year Of 1890.
Five years later, in 1895, on the 18th day OF
February. a foot of snow fell in southern Louis
lana and the country was covered with this
deep snow mantle all along the coast, North
Louisiana having cold weather but less snow.
This particular spell of cold weather and heavy
fall Of snow continued for about a week on the
Lower Coast and the stubble cane crop, or more
particularly the second stubble crop was prac-
tically destroyed by the cold weather, persist
ing as it did for eight or ten days.
Two years later in 1897, the care planting
record was again broken by the almost contin-
uous rains that fell throughout August, Septem-
Der, October and November, the result being
that a large cane crop was produced and one
that had cane juice Of low value and extremely
disappointing in sugar yields, one Of the larger
factories on the Upper Coast at that time get
ting an average of but 81 1-2 pounds Of sugar
per ton of cane, as against 40 to $50 ordinarily.
This year of 1897, while it apparently broke the
record, had something of a parallel in its pred
ecessor twenty years earlier. In the. year, 1877
q frost occurred in the latter days of November,
killing the sugar canes. The season had been a
rainy one; the cane juice was low in sugar con-
tent: chemical control had not yet been estab-
lished to any extent and the final result was
that of immense losses that year and tens of
thousands Of barrels of molasses from frosted
losses were made by the sugar planters in 1877
they would have been still greater but for the
fact that molasses still had a high value and
was sold at 40 cents per gallon and what sugar
was got in good condition brought 10 cents per
pound, sugar that today would sell at 96 test at
but little over 3 cents per pound.
The misfortunes of 1887 led to earnest eff
forts to perfect some system Of buying cane
based upon it's sugar content. As the subse-
quant seasons were better and as sugar cane is
not a very variable article, excepting as the
whole season varies. all efforts to buy canes
based upon the sureose content Of the cane
failed.
In 1899 another unprecede nted weather
phenomenon displayed itself and that was the
great freeze OF that year, lowering the tempera-
turc as it did to the record f6.S degrees +. in
New Orleans and to S +. on the Lower Coast,
nearer the sea. The orange trees were killed
throughout the entire state, as they were also
III Florida, in that anne season. The low tenn
perature was evidenced by the fact that the
river was nearly full Of ice, passing by the city
of New Orleans and down the Lower Coast for
Ave days, the river sometimes appearing en-
tirely blocked by the flow Of ice. There was no
record of anything Of this sort for two hundred
years, SO we believe that the weather of that
year remains unprecedented in the intensity of
its cold. This occurred on the night of Febru-
airy Is, 1899, the very cold weather persisting
for a full week after that.
And so the record goes from year to year,
with various unprecedented outbreaks of some
kind, whether in weather or in the river or in
the peculiar condolences that interfere with the
development of the crops. It has become a very,
common thing all over the country to blame the
farmers for complaining, yet it is recognized
everywhere that the weather is the one thing of
which we have least certain knowledge. Our
weather service for many years has been en-
deavoring to develop the accurate ascertain
ment of weather conditions two or three days
in advance. While the study has taken on COR