The Lower Coast Gazette r
PUBLISIIED WEEKLY BY
W
THE LOWER COAST GAZETTE CO.
F. G. MEVERS, President; S. B. MEVERS, Secretary. b
POINTE-A-LA-HACHIE, LOUISIANA.
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF
'LAQUEMINES PARISH POLICE JURY, O
PLAQIuEMINES PARISH SCIooI. HOARI),
PLAQUIEMINES 'ARISII EAST BANK EIv.E DISTRICT,
GRAND PRAIRIE LEVEE D)ISTRICT,
LAKE BORGNE BASIN LEVEE DISTRICT.
IBURAS LEVEE D)sI'sr('TT
TRMMS: $1.00 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE:
Entered at the Pointe-a-la-Hlache, Post Office as second class L
mail matter of
SATURDAY MAY 15, 1909. lii
The Rice Experiment Station at Crowley. r(
The cooperation of our state and federal authorities in the in
auguration of a Rice Experiment Station at Crowley has resulted tr
in the opening of the station and, we believe, is the beginning of ei
the most important advance in the rice industry thus far recorded n
in the industrial world. The rice industry is probably one of the W
oldest on earth and yet in the East Indies, where it is the chief in
cereal crop, it is carried on in the old fashioned ways that have! n
prevailed for thousands ot years. In South Carolina the rice in- e
dustry obtained a very high development, the industry was carried h,
on in very carefully dyked fields, which were very difficult of main- ai
tenance with the light sandy soils of the coast lands of South Caro-tl
l!ina and the crop was frequently injured by great storms. In tl
Louisiana, where the rice crop has been raised generally on the tIt
Mississippi River and Bayou Lafourche and supplied with water P,
Sfrom those streams, the water supply has been under good control t\
and only occasionally have crevasses in the banks injuring the ad
jacent crops. a
In southwestern Louisiana and Texas with hundreds of thous- tc
ands of acres of land 10 to 15 feet above tidewater, the soil has ir
been found extremely well adapted to rice culture and the lop liftj
has permitted the irrigation of the land from the adjacent streams, N
while artesian water from cheaply constructed wells has also fur
nished a very considerable supply, and now Southwestern Louisiana
Sand Southern Texas have become the chief sources of supply of rice
of the federal union.
All this production of rice has been carried on in a general p
way, following the old routine. The advent of harvesting ma- 1b,
chines has aided the industry very much in Southwest Louisiana
and also in Texas, but along the Mississippi River and Bayou La- la
fourche their use thus far has not been general. The arrange- c
ment of the lands for sugar cane culture differs from that neces- M
nary for rice culture and this has led to the cutting up of the land B
into small squares in which, thus far, harvesting machines have t
not been satisfactorily worked. al
In the new Experiment Station at Crowley, thirty-six acres of tl
rice have already been planted, including 32 plots of an acre each si
and a four-acre strip. About 350 varieties of rice have been col- s
lcted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and all of these it
'*.ill be tested and of course there is no telling but among them
may be fSund wmevyari ties better. adapted to. Lquisiana4
ons than we shave ete?:had before.
. matter of the rotation of crops will be carefully experi- h
vith and the determination made of what crops are best cl
S(. ucee4 the rice crop. Nearly every one familiar with si
,ulture knows by-xperience that ordinary horse manare is very tt
Iective in rice fields and wherever there have been any drop- g
pirgs a spot of deep green rice, much taller and deeper in color s:
than any of the rest will be found. Ammonia may be a very fugi
tive fertilizer, butits value in rice culture ought to be very care- it
fully determined, as enough data hqs already been accumulated to
show thata crop of rice on any given area of land can probably be
increased 50 per cent. and probably 100 per cent. by the use of the to
proper ammoniacal fertilizer. It is understood, further, that the
crops that produce seeds are very exhaustive to the soil in the mat
ter of phosphorie acid and it will be probably found that after a C
few years use with ammoniacal fertilizers, phosphate fertilizers d
will be imperatively needed, either is vonjunctiqn with ammoniacal
fertilizers, or alone, as the results at the Experiment Station may ti
indicate. It is proposed this year to use nitrate of soda, phos- g
phorie acid 'and potash. These prairie lands of western Louisiana o
are presumed to have been built up geologically by the degrada- i,
tion of the old bluff lands of the West bank of the Mississippi
River, which, at an earlier geological epoch resembled the bluff
lands at Baton Rouge, where the river was some fifty miles wide
and extended from the bluff lands at Baton Rouge to those over at
Opelousas and, as the river within recent years has extended from p
the bluff lands in Memphis over to the bluffs in Arkansas, fifty
.miles away. The alluvial lands in Louisiana are generally con- รท
, uidered not to need potash. These prairie lands of Southwest iF
o oisiana may, or may not, need potash, which fact may be de- S
termined later on. f
Efforts will be made at planting by the calender with the view t
of determining whether or not the rice in the end cannot be har- F
rested also by the calender, the maturities being so arranged as to g
spread the harvesting season over a longer period. At the present o
timo our chief two rices are the Honduras and the Japan varieties. t
Of these 1 Honduras matures earlier than the Japan and thus v
- divides the harvesting season into two parts wherever these two a
rioes may be cultivated under one management. The situation 1i
,ould he improved still further if it were found possible to secure n
p-certain periodicity in harvesting by a similar periodicity in 1
planting. 8
Prof. Chambliss of the U. S. Department of Agriculture will t
- ave a force of observers on hand who will pay especial attention t
to th0 rice breeding and selection of types. Artesian water will he I
usd in the experimentation and the building will be promptly 6
vqoted. Prof. F. C. Quercan will have .charge of the station t
gip-der Prof. W. R. Dodson, Director in Chief of all the Louisiana f
i' tlons. Prof. Chamblissi also conducting some experiments on t
Sbehaf of the U. S. Department of Agrieqlture at Lonoke, Arkan- t
pas and alslo in South Carolina, and at Beaumont and Pierce, Texas C
and Sacremento, California. I
Heny ' Thr(Oueydan News.
Ion..emry L. Gueydan, the editor nad general manager oft
t aeydan News, was doWn for a paper on "Burning Questions"
Sthe xmeal sesson of the Lousana Press Association, held at
last week. He was not present, but in his absence the
S as rai by Mr. Robinson of the St Francisville True. Dem
) May 7, of Mr. Gueydan's journal, the. Gueyr
tells the story of hil inabilit.y to be at Coving- 4
It u "his valedtory as its editor, although still tre-1,
e In the n .wspaper. Southwest LouInians owes t
Gaqto, ,eyda~. and his father, who in the great/prairie,
ayr areao alable land, which .T now producing
b da~ f dollars worth of rice annually, andi
~ ~tetioof the state a very extensive systcnm
mean. It used to be said that a cross roads blacksmith shop was
the beginning of a new town; that the wagon shop soon followed
and then came the store, church, and school house and the village
was inaugurated, and the rest depended upon the availability of
the adjacent lands in agriculture or horticulture, as the case might
be. All this has occurred at Gueydan, Vermilion Parish, one of
the most enterprising towns of the state and an excellent news
paper, which, after this week, passes under the editorial control I
of Mr. A. K. Ramsey, who for some time past has been the asso
ciate editor.
The Gazette at Covington.
Last week we had the pleasure of announcing to the Louisiana
Press Association, then in session at Covington, the advent of the
Lower Coast Gazette into the ranks of the prominent newspapers
of the state. The Gazette met with a cordial reception and the
Louisiana Press Association at Covington was one of the most de
lightful ever experienced. Many instructive addresses were made
and in addition to this, the good people of Covington, who began
receiving the visitors Monday night, kept them busy Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday, so filling the hours with the many at
tractions that the little' '"over the lake city" presents, that scarcely
enough time was had for sleep. One day was devoted to the
new town of Bogalusa, the great sawmill town of the country
where the largest sawmill in the world has been erected and is now
in operation. Where three years agostood virgin pine forest, we
now found the town of Bogalusa, having a population of 5,000
equipped with a $35,000 hospital, magnificent commissary, $75,000
hotel, handsome quarters for the officers of the lumber company
and comfortable homes for the employes. Mr. W. H. Sullivan,
the general manager of the Great Southern Lumber Co., escorted
the visitors through the immense works that have a capacity for
turning out 600,000 feet of lumber per day and have storage ca
pacity for an enormous quantity of lumber and are now carrying
two million dollars insurance thereon.
An afternoon was devoted to crossing Lake Pontchartrain and
1a trip up the beautiful Tchefuncta to Houltonville, where the Houl
ton Bros. entertained the press party at dinner and, after combin
ing three solid days of business and pleasure the . convention ad
journed, those members passing through New Orleans being en
tertained at a delicious breakfast at the St. Charles Hotel by the
New Orleans Times Democrat.
The Associated Branch Pilots.
This well known organization, better known to us as the Bar
Pilot's Association, and known generally as the most skillful, the
best equipped and the most effective Bar Pilot's Association any
wwhere on the coast from Maine to Texas, held its annual election
last week at Port Eads, electing as its Board of Directors for the
coming year, Captains Joseph Redman, John I. Williams, T. A.
Wilson, George P. Hinds, F. McLaughlin and E. Anderson. Capt.
Ben Michell was reelected president and the Association promises
to go on winning laurels for its successful work, conservative man
agment and general efficiency. The successful passage of the Bat
tleship Mississippi over the bar and thence to the city, while as
sured from the beginning, must be regarded by us all with extreme
satisfaction, because of the recalcitrancy of the Navy Department
in relation thereto.
The reelection of Captain Ben Michell to the Presidency is, as
isual, the recognition by the Association of good work well done,
jand eertainit "Captain Ben"as his f rinds love to call him, has had i
his hands full of work during the past year, work that required a
clear head, tact, good judgement and a complete knowiedge of the
situation. Some discontented parties are endeavoring all the time
to break up the State Pilotage system and to turn it over to the
general government as has been done with our river quarantine
service, much to our regret.
We who live here in the Parish of Plaquemines are very much
Sinterested in the Bar Pilot's Association. While they form a col
ojny to themselves at the mouth of the river, they have always co
operated cordially in every good movement in the parish and can
always be depended upon to put up their money and their work
when such are needed. They have been an important factor in
our parish life ever since the days of good old Captain Bradish and
Captain Johnson who were the whole thing a century ago. We
don't know that these good old captains that erected the famous
Magnolia and Woodlawn sugar plantations early in the 19th cen
tury, ever helped Lafitte in any way, as doubtless Lafitte was a
good pilot himself, but some strange stories are told of the pilots
of the good old days, as of the pilots or the pirates of Penzance, for
instance, in Sullivan's famous comic opera of that name,
A New Drainage District.
A number of enterprising planters of the upper part of the
pariqh on the East bank are having under consideration the organ
ization of a new drainage district. As is generally known, the
Poydras plantation lies largely on the Terre aux Boeufs Ridge and
its drainage into Lake Lery. Similarly Carnaervon, Orange Grove
St. Clair, Scarsdale, Stel!a, Mary and Promised Land plantations
form the rim on the river of the Lake Lery basin. The problem
that presents itself is that of securing for all of these plantations
better drainage than now and at a less cost and it has been sug
gested that a good canal along the rear of the less cultivated part
of the plantations might le utilized with suitable outlets into the
tide waters of Lake Lery andl 'nthis way secure all of the ad
vantages of a tide water level and to whatever extent it was found
necessary, to drain below tide water level, that drainage would
have to be accomplished mechanically. So far as we have learned
no particular announcement of the scheme has yet been made, but
under the existing laws of the state it is possible to organize drain
age districts and by the levying of special taxes on the land within
the limits of the district to cover the cost of the work and its main
tenance, The general difficulty thus far has been that the lands on
Lower Coast are so nearly at tide water level that gravity
drainage is, excepting in the front lands, impracticable. Most of
the back lands and the low lands generally, are from less than a
foot above tide water level to not more than a foot and a half above
that level and to secure drainage to the extent of three feet below
tide water level would require constant mechanical drainage, which,
of course, is expensive and apparently unwise, unless the drained
lands can be made to tarn at once some revenue and at least suffi
cient to cover the cost of drainage.
Anyway, the matter is now under consideration and we trust
that those concerned in it will be successful in any venture that
,they may make in that direction.
PARISH NEWS.
Nairn.
Miss Oneita O'Brien is spending a
few weeks with relatives in New Or,
leans. Mr. Elmer. -Brown of. uaran,
tine'spent -several days last week' with.
his parents Mr. and Mrs. Theo. Brown.
He returned to Quarantinle Thurs.
day. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Chltnvin had
as their week end guets the following:
Mrs. H. Dustm m ia j her 4aughtern,
EIlo api Feda, Miss Chalona and
Messrs. W. H. Dustman and Bour
geois. :Messrs. S. Johnson and B.
Bennen visited friends here Wednes
day.
Messrs. Meyer, Commander and
Duffy were the guests of Mr. Kirby
and Mr. Brown on Sunday. Miss Cora
Stockfleth of Buras was the guest of
the Misses Gauffray last, Friday. Mr.
Jim Lincoln of quarantine spent sev
eral days with his parents Mr. and
SMrs. Geo. Lincln:,' Miss Louise Gauff
rrny spent the w-eek in Buras, the guest
,91 Mrs, J, De A4rul and Miss Stock
fleth. Mrs. S. M. O'Brien spent Sqn
day in New Orleans. Miss Mary and
Marguerite Lincoln attended the dance
at Point Pleasant Sunday night.
Little Misses Agnes Lincoln and An
gele O'Brien spent Saturday and Sun
day in New Orleans the guests of
friends and relatives.
Quite a crowd was at Dustman's
Park Sunday to witness the game be
tween the base ball teams from Home
Place and Empire. The game resulted
in a score of 11 to 2 in fAvor of the
Home Place team. Mr. Hermann
Johnson of Point Pleasant was the
guest of the Mrs. Lincoln Saturday.
Home Place.
Quite a large and enthusiastic crowd
journeyed down to Narin last Sunday
to witness a game of base ball between
Nairn and Home Place. It was a very
happy crowd that returned for
Home Place won the game. The score
Sbeing 11 to 2.
Home Place has played three games
this season and won two. Keep on
' boys. They will cross bats with Buras'
second nine next Saturday on their dias
mond at Home Place.
Last Thursday,the anniversary birth
day of Edwin Giordano, he entertained
some of his friends and the basket ball
team. Ice cream and cakes were
7 served.
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Henry and lit
tie son, of Panama are here on a visit
to Mrs. Henry's father, Mr. Charles
Ballay.
Among the many visitors here last
week were Dr. H. L. Ballowe, Wal
ter Richards, Albert Matilage, J.
C. Ballay. Misses Annette Buras and
Susan Hingle visited their mother and
grandmother here last Sunday.
Mrs. Frank Giordano, who has been
- ill for some time is now speedily re
covering. Miss Antonia Legier, after
spending a month with her aunt, Mrs.
Augustine Chatillion, has returned to
her home in New Orleans.
It is expected that a large crowd
from this place will go down to Buras
next Sunday to witness the great game
r of base ball between the Jesuits' Bend
and Buras teams.
A new fence has been built around the
schoolhouse and It adds to its pretty
appearance.
Bertrandville.
On Saturday, the 8th, the first car
S load shipment of cucumbers left here
- for Chicago. The weather has been
so cold that the movement of cucum
bers has been very light the past week.
The mercury was up in the eighties on
Sunday and on Monday it had fallen
t below sixty, a drop that would jar any
plant.
On Wednesday last our popular and r
distinguished conductor, R. W. Smith,
of the Louisiana Southern R. R., left
{ for N. Y. accompanied by his wife and,
as the beautiful stesmcr passed Btr
e trandville, they received a warn, fare
well from the people here. Many guns
were fired to show our conductor how
Shighly we appreciate him and to Wish
3 him a pleasant trip. The gentlemen in
charge of the canon were John Meyer
Jr., Lucien Caro and Jack Brown.
Hon. Simon Leopoid, visited this
place on Monday and his friends were
all glad to see him, as he has been
r under the weather recently.
k -
SSte. Sophie.
l Miss Emma LaFranice, of New Or
Sleans, who has been visiting here some
time, went to Myrtle Grove to visit
relatives Monday, returning Wednes.
Sday. Mrs. Leopold returned to the
a city Tuesday morning after several
a days visit at her country home here,
r Dr. Richard Seagle, of Poydras,
was in Ste. Sophie Tuesday. Judge A.
Leopold, went to the city Tuesday, re
turning the same evening. Mr. and
Mrs. Oscar Weis, of Monticello, went
to New Orleans by way of Belair,
e Tuesday and returned by way of Ste.
-Sophie Wednesday. Mr, Theophile
e Ragas of Pointe-a-la-Hache, visited
dPhenix lately,
Mr. and Mrs. Dobson and family en.
tertained a houseful of visitors last
Sunday, from various places. Mr. Fair
f banks and a friend were here Thurs
s day and in the forenoon, Mr. Hill, of
. Monsecour, made a business visit. Mr.
M. C. Baker, of New Orlerns, was in
Ste. Sophie on business, Thursday eve
Sning. Hon. Simon Leopold went to the
I city Thursday morning, returning Fri
d day evening and went to Pointe-a-la
d Hache Sunday, accompanied by Miss
d Alice Dobson, who visited her aunt,
Mrs. Hingle.
It Mrs. Hatton and Miss Marguerite
1 Hill, spent several days in the city, re
n turning Monday, on the El Rito. Mr.
1. Wadsworth, from the North, who con
templates making this locality his home
came to Monsecour by way of Ste. So
Y phie lately" ap is visiting with friends.
If Mr. Alvey Hingle and little brother,
a Heard, visited relatives in Phenix
!Sunday,
Venice.
Mr. and Mirs. Eugene de Armap en
tertained their friends Saturday, with
a basket picnic to Burrwood and Port
Eads on the Launch Standard. The
Sfollowing people were entertained: Mr.
and Mrs. Jos. Clark. Mr. and Mrs. Os
car Buras, Mr. and Mrs. Jos. lernard,
Misses Amelia, Kate and Nellie Ber
-nard, Irene and Doris Clark, Jeniie
r- Buras; Messrs. Jos. and Leo Buras,
B. Joe and Douglas Clark, E. Fallon,
a- Thomas Chanova and Paul Guenna. The
picnic was enjoyed by all who attended
Id and Mr. and Mrs. de Armas' kindness
>y appreciated.
ra Misses Leona Buras and Stella Mar
of shall returned to their home after
r. spending several weeks in Pointe-a-la
v- Hache. Mr.. Nichole Garquet visited
id our place last week. Mr. D. Erncst
i- of BRrrwood visited the Clark home on
at Sundpy. Miss Julia Biaggini visitedi
k- Mrs. J, Angelo Tuesday.
Free! Free! Freil Free! Free! Freel
Louis Leonhard & Son
LOUISA AND DAUPHINE STREETS.
Free Boat and Railroad Transportation.
Freight Prepaid. New Methods, New Ideas.
Come to New Orleans and return without
One Cent Of Expense To You.
On all purchases of $25.00 and over we will
pay both your freight charges and passage
way by either Railroad or Boat, between
BURAS AND NEW ORLEANS
Enabling you to get your goods to your
house absolutely free of any charges and
Visit New Orleans Without One Cent
of cost to you. We have one of the largest
and most complete lines of merchandise in
the city. We have separate and distinct
departments of :-: :-: :.: :=: :-:
Clothing, Hats, Shoes, Mat=
tings, Carpets and Shades,
Millinery, Dry Goods,
Fancy Goods and
Jewelry.
Each department by itself a store. We pay
freight charges on every purchase from $5.00
upward ..............,........
Louis Leonhard & Son
LOUISA AND DAUPHINE STREETS.
On Sunday, May 9, the Misses Ber
nard gave a party at their home. The
spacious parlor was beautifully decor
ated.with ferns, roses and lilies. 'The
young ladies and gentlemen spent their
evening very pleasantly playing games
and singing. Misses Kate and Nellie
accomppnied the singing with piano
and mandolin. Misses Lizzie Kinkei!a,
Julia Buras, Doris Clark and Julia
Biaggini, and Messrs. Louis Bulot,
Sigmund Schoenberger and Jos. Clark,
SJr., were prestnt. After the party
the young folks walked as far as Louis
Buras' whi(re a dance was going on,
each wearing a beautiful cluster of
flowers, which helped to set out the
dudes and dudeines; Mrs. Jos, Ber
nard acted chaperone.
Miss J. Biaggini left tere Friday
for her home in Buras to meet her
sister Corinne, who has been attending
the L. S. N.
Jesuits' Bend.
The benefit given for the J. B. B.
C.'s was a delightful success. Danc
ing was indulged in until the we hours
of the morning. The prize for the
most popular player was won by Mr.
Moses Grabert.
Miss Leonide Pernot was the guest
of Miss Ethel Perez on Sunday MrF.Ed.
Galle and Miss Pernot are spending a
few days with Mrs. R. V. Perez.
Among the visitors to Jesuits' Bend on
Sunday were Messrs. Edwin Galle,
Frank Pernot, Chas. Thompson, R.
Harding, Johp Switzer and Rene Perez.
The Jesuits' Bend team anticipates a
good game with the Burps team at
their park on Sunday next.
Bird Day was fittingly celebrated at
the Ollie, Becnel ard Crouire schools.
Owing to the children's close touch
with nature, this celebration was among
the most successful yet held. One
more celebration lies before these dili
gent little workers, then their well
earned rest will begin.
Pointe-a-la-lache.
A call has been issued by Judge R.
- Emmet hingle for a special jury
term to be held the week begin
ning June 14, 1909, or the subsequent
week. The Grand Jury has been called
to assemble June 7.
River News
The U. S. Dredge St. John's was ly
ing at the Burrwood docks Tues
day evening, having come over from
South Pass to have some repairingdone
to her machinery, by the machine shops
e at that place. On the St, Jo!..n's hold
ing a very important position, is a
young and handscme fellow, who
Sweers his hair trimmed one way and
i his whiskers another, not bLcause he
likes it, but because one young lady in
Sparticular sang to him one evening last
, week a few words of a very popular
song which was "but because your
I face is fair LOVE to see," and so it
is. New this yourg lady has a small
brother and we understand that all the
cookies in the Port Eads store were
purchased for him last week in order.
-to keep him.in line, Now Port Eads,
Ithe home of this lassie, has Icts of
Sother pretty ones, and we wonder why
some of the other boys on the dr dge
!are not as fortunate. Maybe they are
:not as handsonme w nmaybe they can
not be the "cookie kid."
Cadptain Ben Michel, Jr., with his in
teresting little family is summering in
Port Eads.
l .iss William::, of New Orleans, is
on a visit.tuo h r father Captain Wil
lianms at Pi;,,t :taticn.
Last EatuLrday was pienie day at the
lows r nC of the rivt r. lThe Fort
launch with a gay party aboard from
Sthe for:s and vicinity passed down
bound for the mouth of the river at
Pilot Station anti were guests of the Bar
Pilots ftr a few moments. The Stand
ard cane al&ng a while alter, bearing
a party from Venice. All appeared to
be having a good time.
Captain Ben Michel, is down at Pilot
Station this week and as we parsed by
we had the plkasure of shaking hands
with him. The Capt. was a busy man
so we did not get time to say much to
him. Quarantine Station is showlngup
to a point of 'vantage, everything is
being painted and whitewashed and
is looking neat for the coming seaso .
Dr. R. H. VonEsdorf and his able
assistants, Drs. Fauntelroy and Holt,
are all able and trained men in the ser
vice and the conditions of affairs exist
ing there show their merit.
Dr. P. D. Brown, with his family left
Fort St. Philip on Wednesday, bound
for Fort Sam.Houston, Texas, . where
the doctor in future gill be statioped.
The poctor is much pleased over his
change, tho' he says he regrets to leave
his many friends behind. We extend
him God Speed on his journey and suc
cess in his new post, Dr. Chase form
erly of Fort Sam Houston, is succeed
ing Dr. Irown at this tnd. From all
appearanees the new doctor is all right.
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