The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1914-02-06
PROBLEMS OF RICE GROWING
AND SALE ARE MADE CLEAR
S. Lock BFeauX Delivers Keen An
alysis of Conditions in Big
Industry.

RlCe growers, brokers' and mlllefS
handling the cereal are much interested
in an address which was delivered by S.
Locke BreauX of NeWOrleans before the
fifth Farmers Demonstration Confer.
ence in Baton Rouge last week. The
address was exhaustive and touched up.
on every branch of the rice industry.
1t was divided into six topics as follows:
Historical, agricultural, marketing,
manufacturing, distribution and the eff.
feet of the tariff upon the industry. In
referring to the history of the industry
in this country, Mr.. Breaux said that
rice was first introduced into this coun,
try in the CarolinaS, having accidentlV
been planted there when a ship was
blown out of its course and landed. Its
cargo of rice was distributed at Charles
ton and was planted, and until several
years ago was great commercial fac
tor, but that Louisiana, Texas and Ar.
kansas had Supplanted the Carolina
fields.
$50 far as Louisiana is concerned"
said the speaker. tradition brings it to
us from the earliest days that on the
Mississippi river and in the attapakas,
on its prairie lands, sufficient rice was
raised to supply home need. Recogniz.
ing its merits as human food, the
planters of those early days, with their
slave labor, cultivated sufficient rice,
each on his own principally, to supply
the needs of his people, and what little
surplus was left was traded in with his
neighbors. In the AttakapaS country
small patches were planted by the ma.
tive Acadians to supply home needs.
The rice was cut by hand, threshed
with a fail and pounded with pestle
and mortar, the entire procedure being
most primitive, but sufhcing for the
needs of the people at that time and
furnishing them with staple cereal
food for consumption that varied the
fare furnishing a self.made, economic
| foodstuff.
DEVELOPED AFTER WAR.
The disaster incident to the civil war
destroying as it did, the property of the
territory afflicted with a scattering of
the slave labor and the general demon.
alization of all planting as 1t had existed
turned the attention of the river plant.
ers-that section of territory AUDITING
the Mississippi river between Baton
Rouge and the mouth OF the river ITO
the planting of rice as moneyed crop.
The increased paintings In this regard
proved so successful that it was found
necessary to erect mills for the pur.
pose OF making the commodity com.
modify commercially edible. This
meant, in the later part of the SOS and
early ,.70s, the establishment Of mills at
three or four points central to the grow
ing fields of rice, and the business pro.
crossed along these lines until in the
| '70s mill was erected in New Orleans.
It only took two or three years to
demonstrate that New Orleans was the
place to do the manufacturing, and 1t
was not many years before all the mills
were concentrated to this point, the
business having developed to a point
where some 100000 bags of rice were
made annually, and New Orleans was
recognized, as was this territory, in the
merchandising of rice in the United
States.
NOW GREAT INDUSTRY.
To-day, when one speaks Of the rice
industry. you mean in round figures a
| 5000, 600 bag crop. of which Louisiana
makes 5000, 900, Texas 100000 and Ar.
kansas 100000 and the product of
these three States has got to be
reckoned with. 1t has been demon
strated beyond peradventure that any
where south of the Mason and Dixon
line, where we have fat table lands and
water supply, the climatic conditions
are such that rice can be profitably
raised as commercial proposition, and
that being so, think it is fair to pre-
dict that the day viii come when rice
will De as great a producer OF wealth
and as staple crop in the cotton.grow.
| ing States as is wheat in the Middle ana
Great West
The speaker dwelt in detail upon ag
ricultural values. He teld of lands
and which are best for the raising OF
rice. He touched on all the problems
of water supply. and the best and most
modern methods Of harvesting.
In speaking on the subject of market
| ing, Mr.. Breaux said:
NEW ORLEANS PRICE MAKER
1T is fair to say that New Orleans is
recognized and believe is the primary
pricemaking market OF this country
Almost anywhere in the rice belt, be