St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1915-11-06
St. Tammany and West
(By Whitaker Riggs

(0Y W01G0k0E ko1xXOJ
Editor St. Tammany Farmer:
Always having had full-grow1
desire to see the Golden West which
I had heard and read 20 much OF;
the wonderful West that boasts o.
it, wonderful mountain scenery will
it, rapid mountain streams, water
falls and quiet, clear lakes. % deer
that oftimes one cannot sound the
bottom: the 0<lden West that takel
tts name from the rich gold and
silver mines and beautiful sunsets
the Golden West that boasts Of the
giant trees, and Of it, fruit. vege-
tables and grain that 10 claimed to
be the finest In the land; and thous-
ands upon thousands Of other won
derful things too numerous to men
ton. This was the land that l had
longed to SEQ, and was fortunate
enough to have had IN opportunity
to pay . flying visit to during this
past summer.
got . fairly good birds eye view
OF the most Of the country lying west
Of the Rocky Mountains to The Pa
cifc Coast. and from Old Mexico to
Canada, and into Canada some two
thousand miles. After returning
homo and rejecting over what I had
seen and heard, l could not help
but thank God that l had the privi-
lege Of living In st. Tammauy par
ish-St. Tammany parish with its
so-called poor lands and pine stumps,
and l will venture to say that II the
natives Of this parish had been with
me on this journey. for upwards OF
eleven thousand miles, and had seen
and heard what l had. that 30 per
cent Of them would oner up the same
prayer Of THANKS. The people would
then create among themselves q
new spirit regarding their home par
lsh, . spirit of love and pride for
every inch Of 1t.
Not for one moment do attempt
to compare our parish with tnat
WONDERFUL West. and some parts o.
me North, insofar ~ grandeur anu
scenery 10 concerned, nor DO l a.
Tempt to claim any advantages from.
:. mlnlng point OF view, out 90 sa,
honestly Delleving. that from al ae
4lcultural view our country WILL c0hA
,a1s ravoraply with the best an
4ichest lands that ! saw In my ira,
els. and It 10 90 far ahead OF thous
Anas upon thousands OF other farh-
.anas that are held at prices rang
ing from $50 $500 per acre tina.
IN my mind there 10 no comparl-
son.
IN some Of the valleys Of the
West where water right privileges
are to be had, the crops. to say tne
least, are beautiful. especially the
fruit. But when taking into c0nsid-
GRAFTON the Thousands OF dollars that
it must have cost to convey this wa
ter for irrigation purposes from the
mountains, and the cost to main
tain and keep UP this system. II the
same amount Of labor and cost were
expended upon our lands. l feel safe
IN saying that beyond all question
ours would prove . more pronta Die
investment.
The people In the West are . unit
In constantly boosting their country
ana they Will gladly tell you OF tke
advantages that the country holoe
OUT ~ IN inducement. They also
appreciate the benent to be mad Dy
advertising. One can hardly pick up
Q magastne that does not have . PIC
ture or two Of some Of the beautiful
scenery or IN article of the wonder
ful west. The railroads and govern
ment have spent millions upon mil
mons Of dollars In cultlvatlng these
regions, ana when taxing this too
into consideration ana comparing II
with the mlseriy, paltry sum that mas
oeen expended IN our parish IN al
vancing the agricultural industry,
one can readily see and UNDERSTAND
why we have not advanced any FUR
ther than We are, and what diner
ence 1t would make had our lanos
mad the same attention that those OF
the san Joachim volley and othea
noted agricultural valleys OF the
west.
+. In speaking Of cut-over lands
among ourselves. there 10 always
present to W the scarecroW, name.
~. the pine stump. This IL sucn an
lnslgntncent drawback to our lands
IN comparison with some Of the UNI
cleared lands OF Canada. that sell
anywhere from SIS to $z5 per acre.
that before 1t can be cultivated mus.
bs cleared by the farmer OF tons OF
rock ct . cost very much greater
than that required to re owe pine
stumps. And after 1t 10 in . conal-
ton 1or cultivation then the climatic
conditions have to be reck0ned with,
and these conditions consume prac-
tlcally one-haK Of the year with No
production. While our climatic con
ditIons permit us to uIlllze the
ground practically every minute o.
me year.
One has to travel and see what
others are confronted with to ap-
preclate this land Of milk and honey
mat we live in.
Mr.. Editor. am writing you these
few lines hoping that they will ellmi-
nate from the hearts Of our st. Tam
many parish people any discourage
ment that they might harbor WITHIN
them regarding the disadvantages Of
these lanas. The Disadvantages here
are 80 minute that they should never
be taken into consideration. Let the
farmer till the soil - nature intend
ed it should be titled, and believe
mo mamma will Al tho poat Tho a