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, THE COTTON SITUATION We had a convention of cotton growers in Raleigh this week for the discussion of matters interesting the cotton grower and for the devising of some plan by which the cotton farmer may realize more for bis product. With our Southern love for political economy, the discussion tended mainly towards this aspect of the question, and the idea of some seemed to be that the cot- i ton growers should form a gigantic sort of a trust, to hold and control the sale o?the crop so as to furnish it to the market as the demand requires. Then, too, there were those who still are infected with the paternalism that would make the Government orgamze bonded warehouses for the storage of cotton and the issuing of sub-treasury certificates. What the convention seemed, to the - writer, to have entirely overlooked is lV- ??/-xf the individual UIO n^puuaiuiiitjr vi wv ? planter for the existing state of affairs. 5The inveterate cotton grower looks upon cotton as his only resource for money* and regards everything else that he may be induced to grow simply as ''supplies." Sometime ago one of the city papers cited as a bright example for imitation the fact that "Mr. ?had raised - corn enough to do him 3 years." The inference seemed to be that it was a wonderful stroke of business on the ? part of this farmer to grow corn enough in one year to "do him" three years, and that for three years he could therefore devote his entire attention to cotton. What would be thought of a groceryman who boasted that he had bought flour enough to last his sales three-years and hence would buy no more flour, no matter what the fluctua tion of the market or the depieciation of the flour, or the keeping of his money locked up unproductive ? The farm, er who raised enough corn to "do him" three years seemed to think that was - a due thing. He did not think thai corn had a money value in the market, that it Qould be at once turned into s more valuable product in the shape oJ heef or pork, or that he ought to grow more corn every year and not depend on tlie weevil-eaten corn of the yeai before until it was worthless. In fact though the city editor thought this ? fine example of business foresight, ii was at the botton one of the reasoni for the present state of the cotton grow - - er. , * .; Systemless farming lies at the rool of the whole evil. Too much land it cotton, too few bales for ihe acres, toe many mules and too few breeding marei thus forcing the cotton crop to bm eveu the animals that cultivate it am which bring nothing to the farmer bu their labor during the crop season The statement was made at thi* meeting that the average cost of producing cot ton was over 6c. per lb. And right her* is where that dreadful fellow, the "aver age" farmer comes in. There are mei in this State who are growing cotton foi 1?? nno man ?mn flftim IIU icoo jnu jn/uuuj wuw v ?? ? ing that he <rows it for less than 3c per lb. But the average man is th< "cropper." The man who has nothing oq earth invested but a mule and a plov Mid his own labor and that of his fam ilj, and is furnished with food and fer tiliiers by^the merchant or landlorc who hold a mortgage on his crop, anc secure themselves liberally for the in vestment. A large part of'the cottoi crop in the Sontb is raised fey thes< men, who prodAqp from one Iwle U more each seaso n atyl 11( make up a total that * arts *<towwiin ' valne of that grown, by men'who hav< capital invested in farming. **. The tenant system ^df the South is responsible with the fCredit system foi the condition in .which the,cotton growere find themsely^s. uMen have mors land than they fefc cultivate in cotton and they rent thcrfextra acres to crop pers to grow cotton.on, to come in com - petition with their ,QWn crop and swel the general dimensions of the whole They neither farm in a systematic manner themselves nor require the tenant5 to farm, but all crop thelaudiucotton. The land owners are creating of theii own accord the competition that breaks down the market. It would be far bet ter for the owner of broad acres to let the surplus land lie idle than to keep up the tenant 8>stem cow so common, and it would be still better f& them tc go to farming instead of planting nothing but cotton. With a variety of crops and stock, cash would be coming in at Afferent seasons and business methods could be adopted thai sire now impossi iH CUWUU guuus ili U1C UJJUICU OMlrCO expressed the opinion that the developments of the cotton mill industry in the South are bound to continue; that the advantages in the South are so manifest that tbey will steadily gain the supremacy over the New England mills. Becect statistics prepared regarding the production and character of gray goods show that South Carolina produces more than New Hampshire or Maine, and is only surpassed by Massachusetts, and that the quality of the goods was as good as any produced. An analyst has made the discovery that California roses contain 20 per cent, more perfume than those grown elsewhere. # f The doll is probably the most an* tique toy. It h as beenfound inside the graves of children in ancient Borne. Die. The salvation of the cotton farmer jgv" does not rest in legislation. ^Lt does not rest in combines to bull the market. It does not rest in visionary sub-treasury schemes. Bat it does rest in the improvement of Southern lands, in the growing of better crops on less number of acres. It does rest in the carrying on of improved farming all the year IP through, and the dropping at once and forever of the one crop idea that keeps *' teams and labor idle part of the year when they might be making money in other ways. It does rest In the feeding of more cattle and hogs, in the making of home cnred bacon both for the home and m the market. In brief, it rests m the adoption of good farming with tlie cotton as the money 01 op clear of ail expenses now charged against it. It rests in making the cropper a permanent farmer, and compelling him to form instead of merely to grow a crop of cotton that leaves him poorer at the end of the year than he was at the beginning. It rests in getting out of the old ruts, and the abandoning forever the notion that somebody should carry the cotton farmer, but will show him that like all other farmers, he must work oat his own salvation. It is with the hope of helping him to a knowledge of how he may do this that we are working. It is for the elevation of the cotton farmer and for his greater prosperity that we have been working these many years. Here and there one sees the light, and starts on a better plan, and with the hope thai many o;ore may do so we will keep on in the fight for better methods in Southern agriculture. W. F. Masset, Wake Co., If. C. Daring a recent interview one of the leading authorities on the manufacture ^ J * ? ?- TT??%4 A/1 i SOUTHERN FLOUR MILLS. One of the most suggestive papers ; prepared for the Huntsville convention was that of Mr. W. E. Damon, of Nashville, Tenn., on flour-milling in the South. He traced the decline of flour-milling 111 the fifteen Southern States from the time, two decades ago, when the revolution wrought bj the building of roller mills began. At that time there were 5,885 flour mills in the South, representing 3t>u,uw,uuu of capital. The high price of cotton and the over-shadowing of burr mills by i he roller system hastened the decliue of the Southern milling busiuess until, it is estimated, it is now represented by 3,000 plants, notwithstanding the fact that the population of the South has, in the meantime, increased more than one-third. Of those mills, not more tl.an 350 are to be found in the nine cotton States. Mr. Damon contends that the South, which is now short on flour and long on cotton, it able, not only to raise ail the wheat necessary for its own consumption, but also for export. He says : "For the encouragement of the Southern farmer I wish to say that the average yield of wheat per acre in the cotton States named is greater than in the great wheat growing States of Illinois and the Dakotas. Willi approved methods and appliances I feel safe m asserting tliat no section of this country could surpass the South in this respect. With the magnificent possibilities afforded by the throwing open of the p >rts of Cuba and Porto Rico to American flour, to say nothing of the prospective opening of the HicaOOVIO molrinn o rnnto ! icvgunu UIUU) uibi^vj uiaiuug < ivuvv . by which 400,000,000 hungiy mouths can be reached in the Orient, the , South should be encouraged to a revi, val of her flour-milling industry. The 1 necessity of feeding her own people is \ n'gent. The opportunity of feeding ; others is alluring. Nowhere in the ( United States are there such openings i for flour mills as in the South, especially ! in the cotton-crowing States. Already r the farmers, tiring of five-cent cotton, [ are turning their attention to wheatr growing. Georgia farmers are producf iDg forty bushels per acre. South t Carolina is holding wheat conventions t ano will probably quadruple h'af crop. $ There is a general awakening all along . the line, and some of the Southern States are building flour mills fastei t than the old wheat-growing States, i Not being overcrowded, the opportuni, ties for profitable operation are good." ^ The facts presented in Mr. Damon's f paper are strong arguments in favor ol i an enlaigement of an industry which t has for years been more profitable k the South than elsewhere. It will be r enlarged as the area devoted to wheal . increases in size This area need 110! 5 encroach upon that devoted to cotton l except, perhaps, in some of the oldei j States, yet it will tend to make cotton r more profitable in reducing the cost ol its production, and certainly will add to the general wealth of the South j Mr. Damon, for instance, estimates r that the cotton States, exclusive ol j Texas, raises but a trifle more than . 8,000,000 bushels of wheat with which . to feed a population of 1^,000,000 perj sons, who require the flonr from 48, i 000,000 bushels of wheat. The deficit . mltM J"1supplied from other States at i a cost of abont $40,000,000. If this i coma besavea to ine oouin it wowo > be sufficient relarn for building floui } mills. But other advantages are to be ? cfz^iilerod. *lf ?small mils of from }"J sbfty^jto gfevdnty-flvo barrels dailj capacity should be built until the num} ber in the South is in the same proportion to population, as the number was in 1879, there would be nearly 5,000 " additional industrial establishments, employing 20,000 persons and contrib' nting to the support of at least # three times as nuu.y. The propositkm has . evidently been studied by a few farsighted men, and they, as well as [ others who may embark in the enterJ piise, should be encouraged by an increasing number of wheat-growers.? 1 Manufacturers' Becord. : SELECT THE SEED NOW. I > There is no one thing which, of itself , alone, will insure the production of a > good crop. But there are some things - which are vof much more efficiency in > securing this result than are others i which contribute to the general success. > Among the more important items is the selection of good seed. To the host of farmers who grow corn this subject is > just now of special interest. For the i yield and quality of the com crop of next year, will depend largely npon the kind of seed that is used, and it is now I the lime to select the seed. The too , common custom of selecting from the crib in Spring involves altogether too much risk, 'ilie ears may have been damp when cribbed, have been frozen in the Winter, and their vitality impaired or destroyed. Besides, when chosen in this way the farmer cannot tell anything about the kind of stalk upon which the com was grown. This is a matter that has never received the attention which it deserves, even when the seed corn was selected at husking time. Good, well filled ears, of fairbnt not excessive size, which are produced by stalks which are tall, well leaved, but only medium size at tbe ground, should be chosen. Ears that are ripe comparatively early in season are also preferable to those which mature late, and those from stalks which produce two good ears are better we beiieve than thosefrom stalks which yield only one ear each. From the double-eared stalks, however, the lower ear is to bo preferred for s?ed. Part of the shucks shouid be left on the ears saved for seed, though ihey should be stnpped down to the buU of the ear. These ears should be thoroughly dried and then stored where they will be safe from mice and squirrels and from rain. Cold, unless extreme, will not injure the germinating qualities of the seed if it is kept dry. The corn should be left on the cob until it is wanted for use. Even with the best of care it will not be reliable for seed if kept several years. It is best to save seed every year. All this is on the supposition that there is a large field of some given variety to select from, or else that no other kind is grown upon the farm. If several kinds, which npen at about the same time, are grown near each orher the seed will mix badly and will not be suitable to plant.?Practical Farmer, While it has been known in a general way that the water-powers in the Southern States weie being gradually taken hold of and used for manufacturing purposes, yet it will be a surprise to many persons to know that at Columbia, S. C., the largest cotton mill in the South is to be established. The water power will be used to drive dynamos, current from which will be conveyed to the mill to operate the spindles. Have you tried wide tires? The wider the tires the lighter the draft. Don't save the horses by walking, but ride and let the wagon become sired. RAILROADS AND RESOURCES. In an address before the real estate convention of Arkansas, Mr. Alexander C. Hull, secretary of State, set forth an elaborate statement of the possibilities in the zinc region of the State. The address was practical throughout, notably in these concluding sentences: "Everyone knows that the future success of the Arkansas zinc region depends almost altogether on railroad transportation. That the railroads are going to traverse that country, and that in the very near future, everyone rni. r^ 1_ xL^.1 no agrees, xnen wim umu euKipuoc assured, just picture in your minds a country "flowing with milk and honey," figuratively speaking; a country composed of five counties running over with miners and investors, the entire area a veritable miniDg camp thousands of men busily, engaged ic throwing out as many tons daily of $4? zinc ore, to furnish tonnage for the railroads, and large profits to the mine owners and good wages to the laborers and added to this, consider the greai amount of tonnage furnished by the importation of mining machinery o: every kind and nature, and suppliei for the miners, and the exportation o: the varied products of the country which, in addition to the zinc output probably consists in a greater variet; than that of any other country on th< continent. Again, with these condi tions, consider that the large area o government lands there insures a dou ble farming population, thousands o new homes' inhabited by happy au< prosperous farmers, with a correspond iog increase of cereal and live-stocl productiors, the establishment of man ufacturing plants and industries, fui nisbing employment for thousands o mechanics and laborers; new town and even cities springing up {as if b magic; every avenue of trade and but ' ?J -it ine88, professional ana uuiamot greatly stimulated, property values eE hanced, traffic of every kind doublec yes, quadrupled; in short, a countr teeming With wealth and prosperity the effects of which will permeate ery nook and comer of our great Stab and you have m a measure an idea c what the future of "Arkansas zinc means, because it has been left to th zinc product and its present partial) developed condition to start the ball i . motion that to biing about this trans tion of activities by reason of the fa< that until the vast riches of zinc wei discovered the people had despaired < , getting railioads, and it is the rai t roads alone that will make ah thef j other conditions possible." t Supplemental to this speech is one < , I he typical editorials of the Arkansi Gazette ot Little Bock urging tl . prompt raising of a subscription < $100,000 to the railroad which is \ ! connect Little Bock with the miner , resources in the Northern part of tl t State, m which the sequence is give I as follows: "The millions of tons of fine ore i I North Arkansas is waiting for tl I miner, the miner is waiting for tl t railroad, the railroad is waiting on tl t Eastern capitalists, the Eastern cap . talists are waiting on the Board < . Trade committees, the committees &] *"* 11 ..AmnttHl ftf T .1 . I WBlllDg UU uic ?UU?/clvj-vttuv*o v? ! tie Rock." i The two utterances are strong plei [ for the construction of a single mi road line. Their chief significant* i however, appears in their demons tr i taou of the connection of railroad coi r struction geneially with the develoj . ment of the natural resources of it > South, and of a feeling friendly to sue i undertakings. Without railrobds i i this day of close competition and < , sharp economics in industrial open tions, the railroad is an absolute essei J tial to development of natural ri i sources* The iron, the coal, the hm< > stone of Alabama and Virginia, th i phosphate rock of Florida, South Caj olina and Tennessee, the oil of W& ' Virginia and Texas, the marble c . Georgia have been in the ground fc ages. The timber has stood in Texai Louisiana, Mississippi and the Atlanti coast States tor many years, increasin annually in potential value. They a , would be today as nothing comparj tively were it not for the railroads. A ' these have advanced they have create ' industrial values, and as industria values have been developed agricui ture has been given the opportunity for improvement. Manufactures an agriculture have helped the railroads but to a greater degree have the raij roads helped agriculture and m&nufac tures. And all three influences ar working* together for the good of th South as it prepares to find new an wider markets for its products. The drum fish is a huge game fisl nfantifnl ftlonff tlie Cuban coasl Its limit is about 250 pounds, au< should an experienced angler get on of these jumbos at the other end of hi line he had better let go or cut loose for it requires a skillful hand to pla the drum, who generally pulls like i cart horse and is as stubborn as a mule A 10-year-old Cuban lad was snatche* overboard by a hundred-pound drum i short while ago and the father onh saved the child's life by instantly plung ing overboard, and with a quick strok< of a knife, severing the line which ha( become entangled around the lit'l< one's waist. Drum fish in that latitudt average from sixty to two hundred an< forty or fifty pounds in weight, ant run in such enormous sch(H)ls tha their noise at night, when coasting a long the shore, is distinctly heard 01 land. Their scales are used for th< manufacture of buttons. A Canadian inventor from Toronto, who evidently believes that miture'f methods are the most perfect to securt any given end, has patented a covering for vessels which it is expected will re volutionize the maritime industry, and particularly the construction of yachts and other speedy craft. This consists of a disposition of the material so as to conform, as nearly as possible, to the osm>1ao o fi&h M?nv of tl?? mechanic al and engineering problems of the daj are found io have been solved long ago by nature, but even so this proposition to follow nature and cover a ship with scales is rather startling, to say the least. The inventor claims that great speed may be obtained by following this construction, which consist essentially in covering the hull with small plates of any suitable material, arranged like shingles so as to overlap each other. The assessor's returns for this year to the Board of Agriculture reveal much expansion sentiment as to the sowing of alfalfa in Kansas. The number of acres reported for the year ending March 1st is 278,477, a net increase of 46,929 acres or 20 per cent over last year. Every county 111 the state except Haskell and Stevens report an acreage. The widespread interest taken m this wonderful crop by growers of all kinds of livestock is indicated by the fact that the area has increased from 34,384 acres in 1891 to 278,477 in 1899, making a total gain of 244,093 acres, or 709 per cent. * C , / GEORGIA'S FIRST COTTON FACTORY. It is not generally known that Wilkes 1 County was the scene of the first cot1 ton factory in Georgia. Rev. Frank T. Simpson, furnishes the following article on this subject: * "An article has been going the rounds of the newspapers, in which ii 1 was stated tliat the first cotton factory 1 in Georgia was built near Athens, on 1 the Oconee river, in the year 1827. It 1 is a well established fact, however, ^ that Georgia 8 first cotton factory was * built in 1811, on Upton creek, nine miles southeast of Washington, in k Wilkes County. It was here the Bar" netts, attracted by the fine water powr er, soon after the Revolution, built a ' grist mill. In the year 1791, the mill 5 was burned, and the family moved to > Columbia County. Two years after | Mr. Miller, who married Mrs. Green, } of Savannah, and was a copartner of * Whitney, the inventor of the cotton 5 gin, purchased the mill site and lands > adjoining, and put in operation a gin. This wonderful machine attracted vis5 iters from far and near but only ladies ^ were allowed to see it in operation,as a | patent had not been granted. It is ^ said that a Mr. Lyon dressed himself ? in his wife's clothes, and got the seci et, > and being a skilled workman, made the f saw giu, a great, improvement on the 3 Whitney gin, which used wire teeth in : separating the lint from the seed. I "The house in which the gin was op* erated was bought by Thomas Talbot f and used as his kitchen while he lived. * A few rods from where stood the gin " was built the factoiy. The stockhold^ er8 were Boiling, Anthony, Capt. Si" mons, the Talbots and Bolton, the lat * ter also being the architect. The foundations oi the house are still to be ' -seen. It was built of stone quarried y from the adjacent hills. Over each u door and window was a slab of grey rock, which contrasted with the brown l" stone of the walls, made ii quite an attractive building. It was sixty feet in y length, by fifty feet in width, having r> two stories with a basement and attic. r" It was entered by a door leading into an anteroom, about ten feet wide, from f which the main room on the first floor was entered, and in which wer* stairs ie which led up to the upper floor and aty tic. The walls were neatly plasteied p and the glass windows were protected 1_ by strong" shutters filled with uails. Over the front door was inserted in ^ the wall a laige stone with the letters Bolton,' the name of the architect, ** but in eircnlar form, with the figures, ,e 1811 beneath. . / "The hinges, hooks, nails, etc., were all wronght in the smithies in the 18 the neighborhood, Billy McFerrin, an 18 Irishman, being the head smith. He " lived to a good old age, and for some ^ years before his death he was paralyzed. but managed to walk with crutches. 16 Homeless and poor, he was cared foi >n by Thomas Talbot, at whose house he died. II "The factory did not prove to be a ie paying investment, and after being op ie erateda few years was closed. The lP machinery was sold to Thomas Talbot. )l" who started a small factory on his own plantation to furnish clothing for the re numerous slaves. "The factory building wos unused for years, except occasionally foi ? m>1?a kaii n/i 18 prc&CUIUg UJT UiC uapuoio, nuw uau uu 1- church in the neighborhood, And by e, Esquire Richardson Booker, who here a- taught for many years a Sabbath i- school. "In 1834 i William Simpson bought le the property from the estate of Geneh ral Green, and put in the house a corn n and wheat mill. In September, 1841, yf an unprecedented rise in the creek caused the wall next the stream to fall. i- The next year the timbers and stone J- were used in erecting a fine flouring i mill. The stone with Bolton's name ie cut in it is in the possession of the r- writer." it m , m )f BEST WHEAT FOR TkE SOUTH. ?r }> For a number of yeais the Agricul^ tural Department has been investigating the grain rusts, which cause so much loss and are so very widely distributed. Experiments have "been J made with a view to prevention and to i determining what varieties most resist i the disease and also whether varieties not resistant in some localities may not * be. resistant in others. These invesd tigations have been conducted in nearly [? every State in the Union with the re[" suit that much valuable information has been obtained. e The department finds that the stem ? rusts are more prevalent in the West, d and the leaf and crown rusts in the East and South. It recommend? the following varieties to Western growers: k Turkev. Mennondite, /Odessa, Rieti, I Fringe's Ho 5, and Fringle's Defiance, f and for early spring sowing Hayne's e Blue Stem and Saskatchewan Fife. 8 The following resist leaf rust: Theiss, r Fulcaster, Oregon Club, Deitz Longw berry, Sonora, Diehl Mediterranean, a Arnolus Hybrid and Calif Spriiig. u Durum and poulard wheats, used most1 ly for maccaroni, are also very resistr j ant. Eikorn, used for feed, seems Y absolutely resistant. Hearly any var. iety may rust if sown too late. 3 There are six different species of j rusts and the damage they do every 3 year exceeds, in the department's opin3 ion, that of any other pest, and in some i localities those of all other pests coml bined. I In the Carolinas wheat is quite com. monly injured by rust, but it is not l grown extensively in those States. The 3 orange leaf rust seems to be the prevailing species, though as yet it is uncertain whether it is the only one present > in cases of severe injury. One peculiar 1 fact of interest is that early wheat, 1 such as early May, is also more injured ' than late varieties, which is just the reverse of the rule. A probable reason ' for this is that early wheat is sometimes 1 weakened by frosts or freezes, and is 1 thus rendered more liable to rust. In ' the Atlantic coast States the wild blackberry rust is extremely abundant, especially in the edges of clearings near fieids of wheat?a fact which has given rise to the erroneous opinion that this rust has some ontogenetic connection with the cereal rusts. Very little wheat is raised in Georgia, 1 a D? ?' ? ^ ?a Ka/)1tt in_ DUl UBUttiiy WXIBl 19 glUTU 10 uauij iuj tired by rust. Leaf rust is the species most prevalent, but frequently the grain is not severely injured until the stem rust appears. In Georgia and in all the Gulf States oats is seldom injured by rust. The variety of oats most commonly grown is the Texas rust proof. The division of forestry at the Department of Agriculture at the present time has sixteen men in the State of Washington gathering data regarding < the growth of red fir and how best to 3 keep the land in a productive condi- < tion. Fir is a rapidly growing timber, i and Gifford Pinchot, chief of the di\ i- < sion, believes that with proper care < there should be a perpetual supply, 1 which should maintain Washington as ( a great lumber-producing State in per- ? petuity. ' |i - " ' . . A GREAT IIARDWOOD COUNTRY. Western North Carolina is probably one of the richest hardwood timber sections in the United States. The average altitude of the plateau section is about 2,200 feet, and from its top and ; slopes rise the mountains attaining as great a height as 6,700 feet. On the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge and ' in the adjacent territory the famous "short leal" or "North Carolina Pine" grows in abundance. Interspei sed are i to be found the various varieties of oak, ? together with the poplar, hickoiy and i other woods common to this section. ( TTnon the nlateau and the adjacent mountains grow the virgin forests of poplar, oak, ash, chestnut, hickory, birch, beech, linden, buckeye, maple, 1 walnut, cherry, white pine, hemlock and balsam, and among the smaller i timbers dogwood, holly and persimmon. The best and largest growth of timber is to l?e found in the north coves of the mountains and in the river bot toms. The tops are not so heavily timbered, as the slopes and neither does the timber grow so prime and large. It is estimated by lumbermen familiar with the section that the average amount of merchantable timber per aci-e of ordinary timber land is about 5,000 feet. This includes such stock as can be cut aud handled by portable mills. On lands that can be operated by means of water-courses the amount of timber which can be taken off an acre and handled at a profit is much larger. Good timber lands can be bought all the way from $2 to 85 an acre. Stumpage at a distance from the railroad can be bought at 81*50 a thousand. The poplar of this section finds ready sale in Northern markets. The varieties of oak include white, chestnut and red oat ?nH nartirnlarlv adanted to the export trade. The other woods mentioned, while not so plentiful, constitute a considerable portion of the hardwood industry. A verjf feasible way of handling the timber is by portable mills of from fifteen to thirty horse-power, and with capacities of from six to twelve and fifteen thousand feet a day. Large boundaries are operated in this way ai a profit. The opportunities offered investors to put money into tracts of standing timber are many, and there are for sale tracts all the way from one hundred aces to forty and fifty thousand acres on which a tree has never been cut. These tracts can be bought at prices 1 before mentioned and on terms very 1 reasonable. There is hardly a better 1 investment for idle capital than timber land it! a section where there is no ' danger of forest fires destroying the 1 growing trees. 1 Mr. George Vanderbilt a few years ! ago purchased a tract of eighty thous' and acres of the finest timber land to > be found anywhere in this section, and t while he no doubt contemplates man' ufacturiug a large portion of the tim' ber, he has expert foresters now on the property and is giving every attention 1 to the care of the trees and the growing ' of new ones, besides having converted ' the property into a vast game preserve ? The freight rates compare favorably k with those from other points where 1 similar timber is to be had. The Southern Railway makes through rates to 1 Doints North or South. New York and Boston can be reached by rail and | water as well as by all rail. Foreign shipments are consigned via Norfolk or 1 -Baltimore. Many large tracts have been purchased within the last few years and a considerable development in the ' timber industry is going on/including ' furniture factories, stave factories, planing mills, and nearly all kinds of wood-working concerns. The tanbaik obtained in this region has been a very attractive feature in bringing several large tanneries into western North Carolina.?Southern Fxeld. SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS FROM AN ACRE OF LAND. \ ! At a recent meeting of the Georgia State Agricultural Society, Mr. F. J. Merriam, who runs a hillside farm near Atlanta, Ga., in the course of an interesting talk made the following statement: "If a man will but study his ground, he will find it to be fully as entrancing as the study of books. Through marriage I became connected with a small farm. With my brother-indaw I broke ground in 1893 to meet the market demands m Atlanta. That year I made only $500, but the $115 which I received from 250 billSof cucumbers convinced me that I was on the right track. The next year my sales went up to 1,934.29. I got $500 from one acre . which I had planted in potatoes. The next year, 1895, I marketed $3,329 worth of vegetables. This year I found lettuce to be the best seller, getting $791,40 on that article. It was in 1896, *-??? r ~l v. i..?u IlOWeYer, mm. X iuua. auu gaiucu i the final conviction that there is money in tiie land when the farmer studies his surroundings. -In that year I sold $5,068 worth of stuff, of which $764.60 came from lettnce, $583 from turnip salad and $404.00 irom beets. I keep books strictly, and find that it costs Tne exactly one-thiid of what I raise to pay the necessary expense, in* eluding repairs. In 1897 prices were low and the more ordinary vegetables were m demand, but even under this stringency I made $4,738.60. Of this, $529.55 came from three acres planted in tomatoes, $398.90 from beans and 1 $329.55 fiom turnips. In 1898 found the market still depressed, but I made that year $4,794.20, of which $732.90 came from turnip salad and $561 from 1 collards. This year, notwithstanding ! the very bad season we had in the spring moDths, up to the 1st of August I have sold $4,138.55 worth, $600 of which i came from one acre planted in cabbage, < and I intend to pocket a round $10,000 * this year out of my little farm. 1 "Georgia soil under u system of deep f plowing and thorough tillage will pro* < duce fine crops. Our red clay subsoils < are rich in plant food. The Georgia c "Cropper' has been plowing for years 1 down to what he called 'the har**', and 1 this same hard subsoil has been absorb- i ing all these years the plant food from * ihe thin layers of cultivated ground as it was packed down by the hea/y rains, a./^ow it ia ro'i/iv hv thp macrif* nf UUfcU WVUUJ IV 4 VtVVkJ MJ V modern improved farming to yield up ^ its riches in crops that will astonish the b civilized world. We have striking ex- a amples of this in the farms scattered b here and there over the State, which ap- B< pear like oases in the desert of surround- aj ing barrenness. Farms where thrift is bi the order of the day, and the owner 0j looks personally after every detail, are bi object lessons of what we may expect a1 when the community at large becomes ft better educated in modern farm meth- w ods. And the fact that these success- tt ful men are still progressing, that their w crops are growing larger, their land bf richer and their net profit at the close th >f the year shows a corresponding in- ui crease, goes to prove that no limit can eh ce placed upon the productiveness of er >ur soil and the wealth and prosperity, th is an agricultural community, that we be nay finally aspire to." to; - ? -v- .. . ( FARM FORESTRY. i j Tree Planting; In the Northeajrt, the j West and the Pine Belt*. * < Wherever the planter has chosen his < trees with intelligence and so succeed- j ed in producing a useful plantation, < there has been the real spirit of for ( estry. ( In the spruce lands of the northeast, 1 for example, many lumbermen have come to see that by leaving the small , trees standing they can return for a ! second crop earlier than would other- ( wise be possible and that this plan , pays. In many cases they are leaving 1 the spruce which measures less than < 10 inches in diameter and in others that which measures less than 12 Inches, because the trees under these 1 sizes can be harvested with greater profit if they are left a few years to gain a larger growth. Similar work has been done in other sections of the United States, as, for instance, in ,the southern pine belt, where repeated crops of long leaf pine have been cut from the same tract By far the greater amount of such work has, however, been done by farmers and other owners of small tracts of woodland. Very many fanners have made a practice of thinning their wood lots with care, first removing the dead, dying or unpromising trees and then letting the remainder stand in order to utilize the growth of the trees and to obtain continually from the wood lot firewood and other material for the farm and occasionally a crop of larger trees for the market Other farmers, again, devote a number of acres to the production of hard wood sprouts for fuel. They cut over the land every 25 or 80 years and calculate that from one-half to one cord of wood is produced annually by this system of forestry. Tree planting on waste places on the farm is yet another kind of forestry which has been practiced. Work of this character is now widespread, and much of it has been accomplished. In New England there are numerous instances of planting white pine on waste places with excellent results, nnd fn Massachusetts the planting of larch has proved highly satisfactory. Many farmers have found it profitable to plant locust and red'cedar for fence posts, and in more than one case the cultivation of black walnut has brought large returns. In the central west the fast growing catalpa and the allanthus have produced remarkable results in short periods in the hands of private growers. A distinct branch of tree planting is practiced in the treeless states of the west. There, in addition to the uses to which their wood is put, trees have proved of great value in the form of windbreaks. In these cases the best results have generally been obtained from the osage orange, catalpa, maple, elm, box elder, Norway spruce, Scotch pine and others, according to differing local conditions. There is yet another use to which tree planting has been put Along the banks of streams trees have been set to fix the fast eroding soil and to prevent the increasing floods, and on cultivated hillsides which have begun to gully from the washing of rain trees have been made to do good service in checking the excessive surface drainage and saving the fertile solL The protection of woodlands from fire forms one of the most important branches of forestry which have been nracticed in the United States. Indeed, without such protection any efforts to cut the timber with a view to Reproduction or to plant new forests are useless-. Various measures to guard against forest fires have been adapted in different localities. For example, in the Atlantic pine belt many forest owners burn off the upper layer of leaves and needles in the -early spring In order to prevent the spread of fire later in the season. In Michigan, lumbermen have endeavored to lessen the danger from fire by lopping and burning the brush left after lumbering. The ctrtting of flro strips along railroads, and even within the forest itself, has been used as a precaution against fires. But a common and a very effective way to guard against fire is careful watching. Many large owners of forest land employ a number of men as a fire patrol, and often an extra crew of watchers is hired during the dangerously dry seasons. In the same way many lumber companies which own logging railroads employ a man* to follow the trains and put out any fires that may be started. The foregoing is extracted from a circular by Gifford Pinchot, forester of the United States department of agriCulture. The yearbook of 1899 will consist of a resume of the achievements of this country In every branch of science relating to agriculture and will be prepared with a view to its, special distribution at the Paris exposition. The division of forestry will contribute a short history of forestry in the United States and also an acA Handy Device. In making a husking horse an Ohio Farmer correspondent employs a pair of old wheels of convenient size, an FOB HUSKING A2TD FODDEH CABTDTC. ] ixle of gas pipe the desired length and < two pieces 1 by 3 and 10 feet long for : ddes. These are made np like a wheel- j jarrow. Then he puts uprights in a 1 slant over the wheels. Ton can husk 1 )n one end and pile the fodder on the j )ther end. He uses it for carting fodler from one shock to the other and las hauled five shocks at once on It Its very handy In winter, when feeding : vben the ground Is frozen, to wheel J 'odder or straw on. J - 1 c Shape of Pork Barrels. 1 It is about this time of the year that i tie Dork barrel berins to rive trouble, t ecause the pork rises to the surface a nd can no longer be covered by the t rine. Why does pork rise late In the a sason? An old farmer many years o ?o explained the reason. The pork ti irrel is made the same shape as any c ther barrel?that is, with its sides ai alging In the middle and smaller x>ve and below. The proper shape >r any barrel to hold pork or beef is 1th straight staves and smaller at ^ le top than at the bottom. It is some- * hat harder to reach down into such a irrel to get out a piece of meat, but ! e pork will keep as good as at first itil the last layer is reached. That ould be kept down by putting a covon it as large as can be squeezed . rough the top and weighting it to theN ittom.layer with heavy stones.?Bota Cultivator. m - ' i it i 11 i anS? m HAIRY VETCH. Nlitt the Alabama Station Thlnlet I of It For Winter Paatorage, Etc. j Hairy vetch (Vicia villoaa), sown in September or October, alone or with >ats, affords nutritious pasturage dui> ng the following February, March, Iprll and May. If not grazed too late, t affords a cutting of hay from April iO to May 10. Hairy vetch is disposed >f as pasturage, hay or green manure nnioir crmwlnc summer JU UiUC JLVi V|u>vu ? ?. 0 :rops, each as cowpeas, sorghum, late lorn, etc. It grows only from seed, but ian be so managed as to reseed the pound continuously. At the station hairy vetch was cut for hay at four different stages. The yield of hay increased up to the time of full bloom, when the maximum yield of 5,789 pounds of hay per acre was obtained. Chemical analysis showed that, at whatever stage this plant was cut, the hay was nutritious. Considering both quality and quantity of hay, It was concluded that the best time to cut vetch, growing alone, was three or four days before the. period of full bloom. Hairy vetch rapidly enriches the soil In nitrogen if the plant is plowed in for green.manure. It Is able to draw this nitrogen from the air and add it to the soil only when the roots of the vetch plant are supplied with enlargements of definite character, known as root ~ *nVvAT*/?l Ofl UUUU1C9 VI lUU?v.ivu. When sown in the usnal way on- most poor soils in Alabama, the vetch plant does not have these "humps" or nodules on the roots. If devoid of tubercles, hairy vetch does not enrich the soil and falls completely If the land is poor. Such soils can be made to produce vetch plants containing tubercles by sowing, along with the vetch seed, some of the earth from a place where the English pea or the wild vetch has been grown for several years. The process of employing suitable soil or other material containing definite kinds of tubercle producing germs is called inoculation. In order to have available" for use in futflre years a sufficient supply of valuable inoculation material, it is important that prospective vetch growers should sow at least a small area of vetch this fall. The soil from this plot may be used for inoculating larger areas in subsequent years. Hairy vetch can be advantageously introduced as a "catch crop" into the ordinary rotation of the cotton farm without reducing the area of cotton, corn or small grain, Foreins Rhubarb la the Cellar. Horticulturist Fred W. Card of the Rhode Island station, in summing up his experience in forcing rhubarb, expresses a desire to impress upon every one who has a garden with rhubarb in it the fact that he and his family ma& be enjoying in February and March of next year a more beautiful product than ever grows in the open ground. To do It he will need to transfer a few roots to a dark corner of the A OOERXB IS BHUBASR "/ cellar after they have frosen la the fall, packing a little fine mellow earth about then, and fhegi simply see that the plants are kept moist Whoever owns a garden with no rhubarb In it should see that some Is planted then forthwith. A warm cellar will hasten the crop, but a moderately coed one will give a finer product and probably a better yield. The length of time between planting and harvesting varies from less than three weeks to more than two months, depending chiefly upon the temperature.. Allowing the roots to freese In the field will, greatly facilitate forcing. Large roots should * - * * "*?? ?m mm anil pen until the weather is very cold, j ben close it, but open again during j llld weather. Keep the hill In the J bade all the time. t ?? ] >unt of the efforts of private landpraers to apply the principles of forjtry. An Impression widely prevails )road that little or nothing has'been >ne in the United States in the way ! forestry. This Impression, Mr. Inchot thinks, the yearbook ought to move, and, In seeking information garding such forest work as has been scribed, he earnestly invites conreondence from those who have done iy work along the lines ef forestry. ] ! i m ^ ,? . J yield live TO too yuuuui every, ten ounces of that yield will make a delicious pie. The color of the cooked product win he much brighter if It is placed upon the store in eoid water* and it will be sweeter if the sugar is added Just before it Is eaten. Failures With CHmaon Clover. Many of the failures with crimson elovtr are due to use of old seed, which is sold at a. low price. This is discolored and will show poorer germination than fresh seed and produce-weaker plants. Even fresh seed may, howeTMv.be of poor quality. The seed of crimson clover Is not easy to harvest The plants require to be cut when the seed Is hard and ripe but not yet loosened from the plant If wet weathM follows cutting or if the seed is not properly dried, it becomes discolored and may begin to sprout If it is then dried and germination is checked, the vitality of the seed may be seriously injured. It is, therefore, never enough to say that a given sample Is fresh. Valuable For Burly Qvulag. Bur clover has been extensively Introduced and is a -valuable pasture plant for early grazing in the south. It is eaten well by cattle and sheep and occasionally by horses and mules; is of little value for hay. , Seed should be sewn In October on rich loamy soil, and the plant will make good grazing by February or March. The seed matures In April or May, after which the ground may bo plowed and cultivated in other erops during summer, me ciover seeo wui remain in the ground and, If the field la cleared of Its summer crop bj October, no reseeding will be required. It Is an excellent plant to mix with Bermuda grass. To Keep Swoot Potato**. Dig, If possible, when the ground is Iry, put in hills or banks not exceeding K) bushels; put a ventHatinf tube in he center of the hill and coyer rery Ightly until the weather becomes quite ild. Protect the hill from sunshine. Yhen really cold weather sets In eorer ' rith cornstalks and pine straw.to a hlckness of eight or ten inches, with J , layer of dirt on them, Increasing tbe , hlckness of said layer as the winter j dvances. a the vpnHletin* tube ? i WINTERING BEES. Food and. Free Putage Over iht Combs?Where to Keep the HlTe?. "In preparing colonies for wintering the beekeeper fchould bear in mind that a swarm ought to be confined to a limited number of combs. The necessary amount of food should be contained in six or eight combs, and .in Borne localities even five" or-six would be sufficient Several cases were reported to me of bees that had at least on nmmria of hnnev in the hive having perished during the blizzard of the past i winter, but the bees were clustered at one side of the hive (a ten frame Langstroth) and the honey was on?the other, and the cold was so intense^ that they were unable to reach it and so starred to death. Again, it should be borne la mind that bees hare a habit of filling combs nearly full of pollen and putting a little honey on top before sealing It over. Thus the beekeeper is often deceived as to the amount of honey contained in the hive, and the bees perish before spring for want of honey." A writer who -gives this advice la American Gardening further tells that a winter passage over the combs Is lm- ' # portant in successful wintering. In whatever covering is used on top of the frames be sure to arrange to have a free passage for the bees over the comb. The ' beekeeper himself can make a little device with old barrel hoops for holding up the quilts or cushions above the combs so as to permit the bees to pass freely over. The writer says: ^ In localities where the winters am long and severe many beekeepers prac- ? tice cellar wintering, where a proper and even temperature can be maintained, along with dry, pure air, an of which are very essential to Insure success. Ample ventilation must be pro* vided for and should be so arranged as to be controlled from the outside. AH light should be excluded, and perfect quiet is very Important The cellar should b? secure from the depredations of rats or mice; In fad; everything that can annoy the. bees la ^ any way must be guarded against The visits to the room in which the bees are kept should be at rare Intervals; aa occasional examination, of course^ should be made to see that they are all right but If In proper condition when put in the cellar the less they are die* turbed the better. Just when to put them In Is somewhat dtflVult to detar'mine and depends both upon the season and the locality. Many piefsr to let them stay out until November, or as late as they can have a etasndng flight When ready ^to pat themgln choose a cool day and avoid all shalftg or jarring of the hives. * __ In many of the middle andMthmp* 4 I * states bees will wiifter Just as *)U if left upon their summer stands* Vefy few, if any, beekeepers in thwvidaity of Philadelphia practice cellar wintering, as there'are usually one Or more warm days during each month of win* ter when the bees can have a good fly. ? ?* *--? 1# +V.O mhn* kM 0LK.1I uciiig uro vmvt u w>? 1 j < ^ ^ plenty of food, plenty of young beet, tod a good, vigorous queen, and are well packed In chaff hives, or with an outer case about the hive with ths ? space between filled'with chaff, leaves, ' sawdust, etc., the beekeeper can list assured that they will come out strong and vigorous in the- spring. ,? A Good Cm Per Vegetables amd Pmi Pratt* Every farmer understapd* tho fact - that the best tlmeNto fatten hogs Is early in the fall, while the weather is still warm and while there is great abundance of succulent food to be fid with grain. If vegetalta and fensalable trait are cooked tad mixed with meal of grain cooked at the him time, they will keep the young hogs thrifty until the time comas with ptiA weather to top oft with- com. tU is well to cook some wheat middlings with this food, as the middlings wffl . encourage growth, which. far young hogs is tgpite as Important as to fattaa thATTi, gays PoUgkmSB. ?r . * , * _____ # Rhubarb Roots For Fordaf, * In*fegard,to whether rhubarb roots are better for forcing after having been . frozen, one grower says that t&n . ? , taken from 'open ground in faff, bp * v J fore frost will take several .ggjjilfs * ^ longer to have rhubarb fit to puff. In % the fall he digs the roots Intended for forcing and puts t&jfe in tt <fid shed, covering slightly topreveot drying out. Roots taken from these, not- ~ frozen, and put in the forcing house will be five. weeks before stalks are fit to pull'yet if hard frozen when put In- the forcing house they will be ready to pull in threer weeks.' _ Not only is stock (arming tilt most profitable system of agriculture In all civilized countries, bnt It is tbe moat , permanent, says Farm and Ranch. No? where has ft ever been adqptad tad abandoned. We have, heard the opinion expressed that land Is becoming too dear for raising cattle or hogs.or sheepi This is a broad, flat mistake. Tbezlcb. ?r the land the better St Is adapted to the feeding and developing ot live stock. No one will disputethlsproposttlon. As the productiveness of land, other things being equal, regelates the price, it will be seen that the dear* er the land the better for raising stock, as a general role. Beef, pork, mutton and dairy products are profitably pre! doced in the older states and in Mb- ' rope on lands worth from flOO to |900 per acre. The most valuable fanning . lands in the world are the stock farms of this country and Ehzrope, hecanss the fertility la maintained and even improved, and the intelligent labor and thought required to make atock faming successful are reflected on ovary feature of farm life, and the dvflSdng Influences cluster around it and the comforts and luxuries of life are made * to abound. Texas farmers stent ahookd market 1,000,000 fat cattle, HOOOgOOO ^ fat hogs and mutton sheep by tfco square acre. It can be done, and In coarse of time we expect to see those ' figures exceeded. Then will gwjri ty take up her abode on the farm. : . i 3. Horses la Lsrgs Cities. >7;^^ The great cities of the world use up an enormous number of horses, treqr H fear, and these mustcocstaatly be nBupplled by hones from the country or from foreign parts. It is stated that in die suburbs of aleiie there are 750,000 horses In use and that 100^000 Worses must every jetr be sent into ^ these suburbs to take the place of those worn out The city of Berlin takes 100^000 new hones every year. L large number of the horsss need hi minibuses and on tram ihies both in England and on the continent an in* ported from the United States. The lorses from the United States are shipped from the ports of New York sad Boston to the ports of London, Uw- 'M pool and Glasgow, and <pzite a large lumber are transshipped *t Loadoa far he ports of Antwerp and Havre. The ilH cean rates on horses from New York | nd Boston are from ?5 to <6 per heed, odnding feed snd sttanrtsimsb Snsnr- | ace for the voyage snd faM?-diy, J _JSbi6F