ACADIAN-CAJUN Genealogy & History: Encyclopedia of Cajun Life: Farming

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History of the Cajuns: Encyclopedia of Cajun Life
Farming

The Cajuns had to do something that many of their ancestors had avoided. They couldn't reclaim marshland, so they had to chop down trees to create land for farming. By the early 1770s, the average Cajun along the Mississippi River had cleared 2 arpents. That was the minimum required to get a land patent under the Spanish government. Along the river, the Cajuns had to build levees to keep out the rising waters. They often built cypress fences along their property.
The crops of Acadia ... such as wheat, barley, and oats ... didn't grow well in Louisiana. So they learned to grow corn, cotton, and sugar cane.

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