plantations on this bayou have from 5 to 800 acres under cultivation, workedby a large number of hands.
On the banks of the Mississippi , La Fourchc, the Teche, and the Vermilion,below lat. 30° 12' N. wherever the soil is elevated above the annual inunda-tions, sugar can be produced; and the lands are generally devoted to this crop.In all other parts of the state, cotton is the staple. The best districts for cottonare the banks of Red River, Washita, Teche, and the Mississippi . Rice ismore particularly confined to the banks of the Mississippi , where irrigation canbe easily performed.—The quantity of land within the state adapted to thecultivation of the three staples, has been estimated as follows : sugar, 250,000acres; rice, 250,000; cotton, 2,400,000. Some of the sugar-planters havederived a revenue in some years of $600 'from the labor of each of theirslaves; from $350 to $450 is the ordinary calculation. The cultivation ofcotton is believed to be equally profitable. The amount of sugar made inLouisiana in 1810, was about 10,000,000 lbs.; in 1814, not less than15,000,000; in 1817, 20,000,000; in 1828, 88,000,000; and in 1830,100,000,000. The extensive prairie land, in the south-west part of the state,embracing the district of Opelousas, and the greater part of Attacapas, is mostadmirably adapted to the rearing of cattle, and has hitherto been used almostexclusively for that purpose. Many of the richer planters on the Teche andVermilion, have stock farms established on Mermantau and Calcasiu rivers,and count their cattle by the thousand.
The population is principally confined to the settlements on the Mississippi .In the upper settlements the inhabitants arc principally Canadians ; in themiddle, Germans; and in the lower, French and Spaniards. A few years sincea majority of the inhabitants were Roman Catholics . The clergy of thisorder, however, are not numerous; and the constant introduction of emigrantsfrom the north is effecting a rapid revolution in all the institutions of thecountry.
In journeying from New Orleans to the mouth of Sabine river, we meetwith men in every stage of civilization. In New Orleans , and other places onthe banks of the Mississippi , the sugar and cotton planters live in splendidedifices, and enjoy all the luxury that wealth can impart. In Attacapas andOpelousas, the glare of expensive luxury vanishes, and is followed by substan-tial independence. In the western parts of Opelousas are found herdsmen andhunters; the cabins are rudely and hastily constructed, and the whole scenerecalls to the imagination the primeval state of society.
The exports from Louisiana are not confined to its own produce. The bulkyarticles of all the western states go down the Mississippi , and are cleared outat New Orleans . The value of the exports in 1804, was $1,600,362; in1806, $3,887,323; in 1815, $5,102,610; in 1817, "$13,501,036; and in1829, $12,386,000.
A canal was completed in 1831, connecting New Orleans with Cjma|lake Ponchartrain. It is 4i miles long, perfectly straight, and itsascent and descent are only 16 inches.
There are 10 banks and branches in this state; 5 at New Orleans , 1 atBaton Rouge , 1 at Donaldson, 1 at Opelousas, 1 at Alexandria, and one at St.Francisvitle.
There are colleges at Jackson and New Orleans. In 1827, the Education legislature made a grant to each parish in the state, of $2 62 j toevery voter, to be applied to the education of the indigent; the amount forone parish not to exceed $1,350, nor to fall short of $800. In consequence ofthis act, nearly $40,000 are annually appropriated to the education of thepoor.
The number of periodical papers in 1831 was 12.
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