St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1920-08-28
Experience In Wet Land An
Object Lesson In His
Own Farm Work.
WITH 1T SUCCESS,
WITHOUT, FAILURE
Drainage Appeals to Him
AS a Wonderful Thing
For St. Tammany.
Corington, La, Aug. 25, 1920.
Editor St. Tammany Farmer:


Editor ST. Tammany Farmer:
am fully in favor of drainage.
Being born and raised in ST. Tam
many parish with all my interests
centGrcd hnre, it is only natural that
shoa d like to see her prosper,
Therefore, / e We to that wonderful
.ro eel - drainage" - my full en-
dorseJuenl.
As Il boy. on my fathers farm, /
can well remember what great
trouD, he lad to harvest rice crops,
due 10 low .dnds and the heavy rams
that are sc frequent in this part Oh
the country. TO save his crop from
utter ruin, / have seen him bul!
every bundle Of rice. What Wo"h
that was oniy one who has used the
same process could appreciate. |
can remember how we boys, after a
heavy rain, would take any kind OF
old raft, pull it over to the big road
near Ramsay and go sailing down
it as ar as the Mile Branch. Dram
age Vas the only question that would
have solved our trouble. But back
in those days drainage was little
spoken of and had not been put -
the lest as il has to-day. The con
sequences we're we had to abandon
our iarm.
want to call your attention, right
here, to NJ. Patricks place near the
Ramsay road, formerly known as
Mud Rive" 1t is a good exam pie
OF what partial Ora mage Will do
Several years ago when Mr.. Schultz
was member of the Police Jury he
proposed cutting a ditch feet wide
and i8 inches deep. He asked my
opinOL of Sach an undertaking and
as | thought it was the only practi-
cal ihing to do | advised him to
carry out his plans and gave him
every ass stsnce possibly could. In
short time he had a we'll drained
piece CT land on which Mr.. Patrick
to-day can plant and raise a good
crop. A greater benefit could have
been derived if the ditching had con-
tinuel, but Just about that time NJ:
SchultG's tenn as member of the
Police Jury expired and nothing
more was sa d about it.
After many years the old feeling
thought l would give it another
trial The same difficulties were
again encountered and my success
was little more than that of my
father before me. Conditions had
been somewhat improved, owing TO
sevei al large bitches be ng cut by
the Parish similar to the one made
by Mr. Schultz, but not enough to
do much good. The question is,
shall our sons be doomed to the
same fate, il the farm is to be his
ca Illus in life? Shall We trust upo1
his Yang shoulders the same draw
back that We have carried for lfe'
Ny answer is NO! What is yours?
| am not as we'll versed in dram
age as some are, but l know enough
from actual experience to convince
me that drainage is the only logical
thing for st. Tammany parish-until
tnat important step IS taken We caa-
not expect tC succeed any more than
In the past.
We have the opportunity to-day to
make or mar our future Shall We
remain in the rut We have been in
or Shall We awaken to the fact that
success, through drainage, is knock
ing at our door ready to enter aud
olstrlDute among us an equal shara
OF this worlds riches.
The key-Eote to success throug
out the West has been drainage and
irrigation. If thousands of acres IF
thelr barren waste lands can be con-
yerted into beautiful productive
helds by the same methods they a-e
urging us to adopt, why should we
hesitate in accepting the same priVi-
iege when our beautiful Southland
ooasts of more advantages than our
western neighbors?
Hol. James Cox, Democratic nomi,
nee for president of the United
states, in his acceptance speech,
stressed the great need Of drama se
ano irrigation. He said common
Z prudence would suggest that we ln-
crease to our utmost our acres OF
ulable land There are still vast
enplras in extent in our country per-
torm!ng no sery ce to humanity. It
~ only through such projects as
ulalnage and irrigation, he says, that
VIII convert them into prospero1s
larms. Every dollar spent will yield
compensating results.
VITA words of such encouragement
as tnese let us all get together and
put q st. Tammany on the map OF
Progress"
Yours truly,