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Show 10 :t::MlGRANT'S CUIDE. . 1 cultivated as cotton , Tobacco ::md indigo could be as. ex!onslv·eo! v.cts to the planter as c « . as allurnvr pt .:'11"'· · .• but neither of the tormcr ~lue: s . Pact' been staples of'Lomsiana , the latter. Tobacco andd m~ltlg~ l~~~eir places supplied by sugar and but have long been auan one<.' an cotton. f moderate propet· t Y, cotton pre -. To new settlers, and to ~ersons o n in,places where the soil and t" a more facile source ot revenue, eve sen" . 1 . f crar. · climate ·will admit the cu ~m.e ? s~Eelow the effiux of l)laquemme, on On the banks of the MtssiSSIJIP\ 'I' l -b~low the entrance of the the Lafourche in all its extent, on t le . . ec 1eb I lat 30o 12' north, . . d tl VermiliOn cow · Bayou Fusdter, a.n on Ie he annual inundation, sugar. can wherever the soil IS elevateJ Iabove t cept the Vermilion, sugar farms b rmJtJced On all those p aces, ex t e P \3 • bl' l d t aJvan age. and houses are at this time esta JS le . o tl1e ;eneral staple. The quan· In all other parts of the state'. cott?r~ IS b 11 The best <..! istricts tity produced on the various .s~tls dr~l~:sth~r~):nTc~ of Red river, Ouafor cotton in the stat.e of L~uasta~:'che and the Mi. sissippi. Of t?ose chitta, Bayou Bmut, the nver i~en to the banks of Red ~~v e r' Places a tacit preference has been ~ have occurrt!d ot two B f Many mstances and those of Bayou ceu . 'th the seed, being raised in. one s.eason thousand pounds of cotton, Wid d not much infenor has been from a single acre of la~J ; a~ a pro uce l'eal ized from an extensave fa I~· ton the deep alluvion of the ri~ers, But though cotton suc.ceeds es . . I J distant from any consider~ it is extremely profitable on the p~a~~~: l:~J' which occurs on the small~ able streams of water. On. secon I, th are considerable bouies of rses in the ptne tracts, ere f '1 x er water cou 'I'l . latter species 0 so1 occurs e - land very favourable to cotton. liS . nJ between the Red and .tensively b~tween the Het·t~d thet ~~eb;~p~rty of the United States. Ouachitta nver:; most o .. .Is ye ed man very desirable spots may When a land office for entry !s opel n dd ·r y l benefit of being vvell be found in those places, havmg t 1e a 1 wna · ] 'tl · as of the purest water. l supplret WI 1 sprm9 . rt of the state of Louisiana, w rere Rice can be culttvated 111 any pa f ffic' 1 ent lenatb be- . . th. the summers are o su o the soil will permit tts growl 'l . . t ripen Rice is at this time low the 33o N. )at: to enab e t us gram l~e of tile staples of the state, the third. in quanta~y and ag.gr~ga~\~a confined to the banks of the thoucrh Its culture IS more particu a y ') ercormed than in any ~ . . 1 · · f can be more easJ Y P 11 Mi ... stssippl , w Jere Jrnga aon Th' sta le could be multiplied to any as-other part of the country. ISd J domestic consumption or comsi~ nable extent, that the deman }l is ~n immense range of coun-merce should make necessary. Iere . 1 to the culture of try between the Sabine and Pearl, more congema rice, than any ?ther Yegetable. h f the hicrhest value to the planter~ The productiOn, however, per aps o . b ) This in-on and near the Missi~sippi river, .isllnd~~~ cornrl:~ya ~:y~u.rse of the valuable plant m<~y be called wtt 1 stnc prop . A r•'ca· It human species m. the new 1Y es t a ul1' 5 t• e d s. ettle·m en~t s m c med a to· the is every where foun~, on all soils an~ ch~na\~s~ pr:~~ncipa~n:rticle of Ml~xican gulf, and Js, wherever pro uce .' . . food for man and his most v ~, luable dome.stlc ammals • • - EMIGRAN1.,'S OUIDE. lJ 'fbere is uo crop which differs so much in quantity in diflf~rent sea~ ons, and in different soils, as maize. I have myself known from five to one hundred and ten bushels produced from an acre in one year. The state of Lpuisiana is not the most favoqrable part of the United States for the culture of maize, but exceller,t crops are produced. The ground most congenial to its growth does not differ much ii·om that suit, able to cotton. The time of planting maize below 33° N. lat. tp the Gulf of Mexi ~ co, may be chosen from the beginning of April to the enJ of June. It is not unusual to see ripe maize in one field, and in the aujoining enclosure the young plant just r.qaking its appearan~e above the ground. \Vheat and rye might be cultivated in the sta.te of Louisiana. but from the facility of importing flour and whiskey down the Mis-. is ippi)l it is not ve.ry probable that either wheat or ry~ will ever be uJU.:h cu!tivated where more lucrative staples can be produced. The fruits most generally cultivated are, the peach, orange and fig ;, the apple is often seen, but does not thrive W(~JI ;-the climatf' is per· haps too warm in summer. Plums, grape/, and pomegranates grow luxuriantly, a,nd produce abundantly, but are llt>glebted. The gardens in Louisiana are not equal to what might be expt>cted from the fertility of the soil, or mildness of tl1e seasons. There is no country, however, that would admit finer gardens, nor a greilter vari .. .. ety of plants, either for U5e or ornament. Those few persons who have made Horticulture their pursuit, and have given their attention to gardening, have succeeded. Amongst the best gardens yet form ed in the state of Louisiana, or its neighbourhood, is that' of M. C val~ Jos in the city of New Orleans, M. Bringier, at the Acadien coast, and the late Mr. William Dunbar of Natchez. I1:1 general, the atten~ lion paid to the culture of the rich staples, enrrrosses too much time and industry, to leave leisure for the more elegant, but less lucrative branches of agriculture. Seasons-lnundation.-'I'he seasor1s in. Louisiana are extremely va~ riable; the d.iife rence between two succeeding · winters, at Ne\V Orleans, is frequently as much as couJd be experteu in a change of four or five degrees of latitude. J n the winter 1779-80, Bayou St. John was fi·ozen for a considerable time; a phenomenon that did, not again occur, until 1814, in the latter end of December. Ju ordinary seasons, the ponds and other stagnant waters, as low as 30 N. lat. is seldom frozen, though few of auy winters occur, without fros~ ~t New Orleans. There is much more difference in dimate, betwceli\. Natchez and New Orleans, than could be expected from the relat.ive positions of each. SnO\v is frequent at Nat chez, and often fa Us in (;On. iderable quantity. The orange tree and sugar cane are often .. .destroyed by frost, ~ven upon the shore of the gulf of M.exi.co. A,t Natchez, the peach is rendered precarious from late frosts iJl th~ spring ; at tl\e latter place, the cotton is often killed late in April. Those \.mseasonab1e storms, that occur in every part of the United States, are frequent and destructi\·e along the gulf of Mexico. The church of St. Lanure, at Opelousas, stands in 30° 32' N. lat. A_t fh;1t plac~, · n ·he month of .January, 180.7, tile ~now fell io conside.r.~ |
