Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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.. MMM* VVAlXUAIli Notes ami Observations on Soil, Culture, Seed, Time of Sowimj, Preparation of Soil, Diseases, Preventives. Messrs. Editors:?For ton or twelve years past I have becj un observer of the wheat growing interest of our section aud, believing that uiy uotcs and observations iu that direction might be profitable to some who may bo youug and inexporiuecd, in J reference to this important crop, 1 have j concluded to give theui for the public good ] or at least for the benefit of our young , aaqmiw,! uhmw iiu hot so much iu the quautity of land planted, , as the quality aud culture, that success lies, j I have sceu one aero of laud, with iutelli- j gout aud rightly directed culture, produce j of. much as six or eight acres managed in ^ the usmU^ay; aud right here 1 would like v our 'joung farmers at some lnisnr.. ? ~ , solve uie this little question: What does f it profit a man if he keep and Iced two hor- t ses or mujes to cultivate und harvest the p product of forty acres, when all that the forty acres, produce can be made on 'fottr ? acres withgood mauagcuiunt and one horse c and onchand ? Comment is uuueeessary. j, The conditions ibr the aMMnmcnt of suowheat culture are precisely the samo ? as for success in corn or cotton. Whatever is ^ worth having in this world or the nest, qgpt iA bo gotten and retained by reeled, intelligent and di 1 lm<>dfc'Worlc> "If , . ^ cUyii^iiy^>l7iiri1 ir^toW and coru crops as they do their wheat and p, other small giwfn crops tho country would nj be bankrupt in five years, beyond the hope w of recovery. And why is it? Is it be- 0( causo wheat is so cheap and iueonsidcrablc -jv an article of deit or trade as not to be ]); worthy of Serious consideration? Who would be willing to supply this couuly with jj wheat flour ono year for one hundred thou- ? saud dollars? * Surely this sum kept among , us would make sorno of us lecl bettor, if not * 1 u^' . ra JTMin r.Vin mionr-iKMi .U-/.-I _ ?~ w.?viuui?f oii/vuiliy, UOll l-CUl'O- j'u a-cuss-way of managing this crop, the idea has bccouio prevalent in the country that ,1(, wheat raising is too risky and uncertain a ' ' business to justify any considerable outlay, -{^ cither in ouality of soil or labor bestowed. j .TK* <uihurft-af anil noroja ered slfTOf^WitHWess, but why? <3ivc your t|,, cotton or any other crop the same culture and chance that you do your wheat and the wj great guano princes of our country would C0| soon exchange their silvo mounted carriages pol and palatial mansions for a cart and cabin. ()|jle that expects something for nothing will j-U] ,die in expectation. My observation for ^:( :the past ton years has satisfied me entirely, the condition being the same, wheat is . t just ascertain a crop as any other, and the jls blauie of failure is, nine times out of ten, (ct on the farmer and not ou the crop. 1 am (ju perfectly aware that wheat has many en- w^ ciuics and disadvantages, but what crop is ac| there that has not? I aui also satisfied tj1( that many of the enemies and disadvantages n , to which this crop is exposed arc tho result wo of ignorance, want of judgmcut and bad p y management. I will now try to lay before of my observations : oaa FIRST, LAND. ? g0, , have noticed that wheat does best on if ^idling or sloping Southward.: profitable crop Ot any Umo.'p? j;:. frrm. If not in this condition it must be j ph nuulo so by Icrlilizcrs (jiomc-maue me <rjbest). The land must not be springy or or soggy, nor yot so thirsty as to contain mois- iu turo only while it is raining. This last til difficulty may be met by deep and thorough m; plowing. Second or third year cleared laud te gives better results than older lands, for an reasons to be explained further 011 under ar tho head "rust." My observations show ca ino that tho best lauds for wheat aro those m that have been thrown out of cultivation ti< bo easily br ok and plot? two or throe times, each plowiug jj crossing tho Jast; sow and harrow or brush Ci in 1 \ bushels to the* acre. Product geno- J( rally 15 to 20 bU&hels per acre; with 200 c| pounds guano or aihmoniatod phosphate to 0| the aero, 20 to 25 buVhels. w 8KC'0.\l>f TI.MK SOWINO. c, My notes indicate that'Arum tho first to ol ii,? 1 ???.,i.JNiiia ) >?itn,i.. tf VIIU IlimvilL V/a | 111 mm J " ? brings tlic best and .surest results. Tlio reasons soeui Jo be that Sowing at this son- :>i son saves the plant from the fly, the time ti for whose ravages is past, given umplo time si 'for taking firm root in the soil, thus pro- hi von ting freezing out, and sufficiently late to k prevent over-growth of stalk and injury by ? frost. Eight out of ten crops sown at this ir time were satisfactory ; one was destroyed tl ^ .s^roi and ihe odou' i|iu\,ij. iJ ,,,U) g rj!!lll>, KIND Of WIIKAT gOtfrN* ' ' 1 note almost any variety that would ma- ^ fure from the la.>t of .May to the middle of '' done, is less liable to "rust" and "smut." ! a almost every instance, the later varieties '' being injured or entirely destroyed Lyr this post oi the wheat crop. TOUUTII, INMKCTS. i ,] 111 ten years oi observation ! lia\ . not I U cn enoU'jti iusei t trouble in wheat to be t i worthy offa uoto. Think, though, froui reading and observation, that tho insect trouble iu 'general is confined to old lauds or wet bottoms, or too early sowing. Cure: good uplands, well prepared at tho proper time aud sowed as ubovo directed. UUST. This is tho great terror of the wheat grower, and one which has baffled the sl^ill af agricultural chemists through all tho past. If a remedy has been discovered it lias not yet reached us. If it is ever dis an ?yiUUi > nffo'rHmo ana Character YtfftF ?rnwtb nf tlin V:?:? * ...? i ivwiug i iic suoject ti this light, 1 have gone to eonsidorablo cxjensc of tiuio, money and labor to search out, f possible the eause of tlib existence of this orriblc destroyer, and though not through nth my investigations nor thoroughly satsfiod with their correctness, 1 lay them bcbre the reader, if for no other reason than hat they may stimulate iuquiry on this imortunt subject. Take a grccu stalk of wheat into your louth and chew it and you will readily poreive that thcro are at least two ingredients l it with the taste of which you arc pur:ctly familiar, vi*: sugar'and salt, the suar JbeiMT^ry perceptible to the taste, the 0* bnrc.ly fro. By analysis it will be found yjfnic sugar or sweet constituent contains in idit.ion a substance called "gluten," a linrcl called "albumen" and a substauee called arch. The salt principle, when analyzed, reduces common salt, a little phosphorus, itre or saltpctro, and some traces of lime, ith the addition of a coloring matter and 1 her elements too tedious to mcution bore. < nke a blade of wheat on which the (pftt i is just begun to show itself") pf!Tcc it un- j ;r the louse of a uiioioscope and you will t server tTiat udiqj appeared to your eyes qf mere brown speck, is-really a living, or- 1 mized growth, vegetable in its character c id of the fungi or mushroom genus or c ee as to its nature. Now how did this ngi or parasite, if you please, get here? you will carefully remove the fungi and aiu examine with the microscope you will rceivc that the external ? - *o V4 tl,v uluviu s becu ruptured either by attrition or v rasiou, or some other sufficient cause to i fttnetra mean m v-'e qcue.v.s-uicmpiam;--* at envelopes the blade. Through this ^ oak a small portion of this sweet juieo of & licli I spoke has exuded, and coining in b ntact with the carbonic acid of the air, a -mentation was produced, and the product t, that fermentation was. or is, this brown n<n that you see on the blade of wheat. M 1' >w in a short space, say in a few hours 11 an its appearance on the blade, it arrives ii maturity, or the capacity for reproducing u elf. Every breath of air or drop of wa passing over it wafts or carries the small st-like sporules trom blade to blade, ami u lerevor it tinds a lodgment its poison is so :ivc, that immediately other ruptures of li j delicate membranes are produced and p w fungi; till, with lavorablo conditions of athcr, whole lields aro swept over in a ? v hours. ei What is tho cause of this dreadful dis- o< ie? Eor an answer wo can only present h no data gathered up iu tho past, and j, that (JuUt should reveal the oausc, the . is in a groat measure answered.? 8ft that rust is most prev- l' owth, imbibes a greater quantity of swodt-' v sacarinc juice than it is capable of using the development of grain, at the same 1 ne an insufficient quantity of silicious v utter is produced to form a sufficient ex- i rnal coating or membrane for the stalk , id blade, the forced growth of the plant . ill tho poverty of the soil iu what I might I1 .11 'soluble glass," (to convey my idea in| \ ore simple lunguago,) not furnishing safc' < out that if some means could bo diseov- ' cd by which tho stalk could bo made bar- < 2r, viz : giving it a thicker coat, that the , tanco for rust would be in great measure j >viatcd; and thus one great draw-back on heat culture removed. T believe it is gen ally known that little complaint is made * ru?t by farmers who reside in those dis- ( icts whose soil is of that character known ] i "ealcarious," that is, containing lime, id yet we know that tho simple applicant! of lime to our soils docs not always re- ' til in preventing rust. One reason may 3 assigned for this : Tito piv.e s f I ing lime deprives it of salt, which is its atural concomitant in soils where it exists t its natural Rtatc; heneo we might infer tat salt, in the proportion of say a uu>ut tu, ^ bushel of lime, would TnilP iV combine say, fVotn 2(Wtrr4wr aundy of lime-tl'ud salt.ui the above pro-1 ortinns with a Riiit'iMrt /nAftfiiB 1....... I - - - ? ?j.... u?t?j wi uaur aid tiinuuro. 'i hat ru; t is tlio result offer- > ten 1 ;*tiou an<l that fonneutation in general mi only be produced by the presence of tine Mienrilie or sweet substance, will bo b' M'lonuy inquiring mind that will take L tin'! ! (o investigate the subject.? I CO CO : riytl t t Will j I'OVCIlt fern: mi- . itiou ami }i\\ siiiie icnt iiardnoss of lough dens to tho stalk and blade to preslrre it from abraaiou or rupture of the external coat by attrition or otbor caasos, uwst be, in tho nature of thiugs, a long step towards a reuiody for rust. Cbeuiistry hu/ taught us that most of tho alkalies or jwwsh producing elements in ualure are do^uotivc to fuugoid development, and the Reverse is true where potash is abscut frvt the soil. Iu all strong new lands alkali I abundant, hence the idea that new lands/ire best for small grain, especially wheat Even the this cereal when first cultivate^ Then the soil contained a largo prooorticn of alkali. Successive and excessive cukivaSon has absorbed this element, and wheat on these lands has bcconio a failure. Tin old field lands referred to abovo owo their siperiority not to the fact that they aro old folds, but to tho mode of?troaluieut by waich ibis important constituent (potash) is supplied ?ui'iili'iAlj, in Kcowcs Courier. * AN HISTORIC PARALLEL. Rom in iaccitee* <5f the Great Plague in . ?**"' London. t Th? present epidemic in some of the Southern cities brings to mind D&oo's description of the epidemic plague i? Loudon, ; known as the great plaguo. In many features the two disorders present: poiittif of rcsemblanco. Both were imported and grew by reason of the unusal warmth of thu souion acting upon the filth of the streets. In jacli case the desolation and loss of|rLfo 1 nrerc awful, and the most stringent <iuataiir inc regulations failed to opy'nto as eficA 1 -ivc checks.*1 rhcTVmdon plague was, howl 1 ivor, far the most destructive, uot less thafl >nc huudrod thousand persons having dictf ' ?f it. " 1 'ittio plague ragedtn Loudon dun lie 1 pring, summer and autumn of lC(fy. It 1 irsl appeared during the previous .year-in | 1 lie Parish of St. (Jiles-in-thejFiJlds, mid 1 ms believed to have been bruu<'lw?ivi>r4-n?.i I L ^ y - - ? |" v"? [ollHIIll . Il .i j- .I.', . , 1 .1 i oorcr sections of tho city that yeawlhat the _ ravest apprehension was feltsless It might J ocomc general. ])ut the c^ol \fcathen. of J utunm and winter checked uifti was believed ? 0 have killed it. Upon the return of war in r a! her it broke out again, an3 the scasop?",J ike the present one, proving unusually m>E, ' t spread with alarming rapidity. 1 1 >st precautions were taken to arrost its ; rogress. The city was <jua rami tied-? no s no was allowed to leave it Inuring QUM en- ' ji'ed. An ellbrt was made to enforce clean- \ ness~^i^pple were mured in their houses. 1 'ainiljes aiilictddj^y tUo disorder were kept 1 iv iho stwets. 1 tho eity proper, ""HlV* Irr.Tuiy tho 1 oourrodi?thoboSt<,uarTStLalis. ,cav. , t.ing and his court lied to 91 j,up0 0p )g tho city in charge of them, .. r . ?.. w 01 y from ermarlo. Iho condition of tlr|^ , l)cioc lis out is graphically described by^|ktLl0l\ i'n'rt ;?I I ieular Dart called the citv. orw^" 1 'c I ? " ' J within tlio vails, that was not yot nm^^fcctcj . but 11 the whole, the facff^rthings, I say, was nuch altovcdy'^gorrow arui-sadncss sat up>'? cvulXJfotec, and though some parts woro ovorwhelmed, yet all looked, deeply SOUMni^^^^^^^^^^^k^apparant jer. * * * London might well be said io bo all in tears. The mourners did not ;o about the streets indeed, fpr nobody put in black, or made a formal drctes of iiwhrrnmg, for their nearest friends. Dot the voice of mourning was truly heard in the streets; the shrieks of women and cliilIren at the windows and doors of their houses, when their nearest dSfttious were perhaps dying or just dead, wctoso frofjuont to be heard as wo passed the street, that it wan enough to picrco the stoutest heart in the world to hear them. Tears and lnincn corn thoi??clvc3 lor the loss of their friends, expecting that themselves should he suminoucd the next hour." 8oon the streets were descried nnd business stopped, whereby thousands were thrown into idleness find destitution. Grass sprouted iu the principal througb&rcs. In a little while people c: mo out nguin from tlioir houses, being driven to mii^le with ; e.uli oiiu i" in scuivli <>l provisions, which began to bo very scarce. ' This ncocssity of going out of our houses to buy provisions." coutiuucs Defoe, "was, in a great measure, tho ruiu of sho whole city, for tho people catehed tho (Ustaoipor on these occasions one of another, and even tho provisions themselves were often tainted?at least I have great reason to believe so? aud therefore / cannot say with satisfaction Jfhft.1 trn^ ? t.ji -f-'k 1 brought provisions to town were never infected. I am certain the butchers of White Chapel, where the greatest part of flesh meat was killed, were dreadfully visi- 1 ted, and that nt least to such a degree that i few of their shops were kept opcu, and those 1 that remained in them killed their meat at * Mile-End and that way, and brought it to 1 market o*n horses. It is true peoplo used 1 all possiblo precautions; wheu any one ? bought a joint of meat in the market they t would not take it out of the butcher's hand, t but took it off the hooks themselves. Ou J the other hand the butcher would not s touch the money, but have itput into a pot t full of vinegar, which he kept for that pur- o pose. The buyer always carried email mou- p cy to make up auy odd sum that they might a take no change. They carried bottle's for t scents and pcrl'auics in their hands, and all o the means that could be used were employed, v But thou the poor could not^do evcu these t< t hings, nnd^thcy went at all hazards, lu- g numerable dismal stories we heard every tl lay on this very account. Sometimes a ii nan or woman dropped down dead in the h fory market, lor many people that bad the dague upon them knew nothing of it uutil ho inward gangrene had affected their vials, and they died in a few monicuts. ' This jjused that many died iu that manner iu lie streets suddenly, without any waruiug. 08 mk;'M or pm*?, mm ';~J ust sit down and die, as I have said before. 'p I'hese objects were so frequent in the streets, n bat when the plague came to be very rag- 111 ug on ouc side, there was scarce any pass- P' ug Untile' streets but that several dead n jodies would be lying here aud there upon ci ,he ground; on the other haud, it is observ- tt dole that, though at first the people would >top as they weut along aud call the neigh- ' jors to come out on such au occasion, yet af- t) icrward no notice was taken of them. Hut b f at any time we i'ouud a corpao lying, go P icross the way and not * md seek some other way to go on tlio buai- S ness we were upon, and in those cases the 11 corpse was always left until the olficors bad ^ notice to come aud take thorn away, or till a night, when the bearers attending the dead- j cart would take them up aud carry them t away. Nor did those undaunted creatures 1 who performed these offices fail to search ^ ;?--.?<! aud sometimes to strip off lon>*Bn"a JliVhmifL"- . ^ J they could got. * * * lt iH Boarcety '1 crediblo what dreadful cases happened in * particlar f^iiliob every day; peoplo in the ( rage of the distemper or in the tormont of t the irruckings, which was indeed intolerable, 1 running out of their owu government, rav- ^ inxr and distracted nfYoniiiiiea lm>in? . t-o t ? "v"& [ lout hands upon themselves, throwing them- j selves out of their windows, shooting themselves, ?.to. Mothers murdering their own children in their lunacy; some dyiug of 1 griof, as a passiou) somo of mere fright and surprise, without any iufcction nt all; others frightened into idiotism and foolish i distractions; some into despair and lunacy ; ) others into melancholy madness. * * * 1 In sonic the swellings were inado so hard that no instrument could cut them, and ' then they burned thorn with caustic, so that 1 many died raving mad with the torment, j and some in the very operation. In thww distresses, for want of help to hold thorn ' down in their beds many | * and wbufu tftn rfirccfly down to tho river and plunge themselves into the w:^c?\ wherever lliey 'bund it. It often pierced , niv soul to hoar <?rr.n..a .....1 .f ?j ? ??v j^?uuuo UIIU trie's UI those who wui?thus tormeutcd. This runniug of distempered people about the streets was very dismal, and tho magistrates did their utmost to prevent it; but, as it was always in the night, and generally sudden,o when uttemps were made, the oilicers eould *.1 \j Hi l>i i IV jOV'? not be at liaiul to prevent, ami cvoy when any got out iu the day, the officer^ appointed did uot care to meddle with them, bccauso as they were all grievously infected, to be suro, when they camo to that height, so they wcro moro than ordinarily infcctuous, nud it was one of the most dangerous things that could be to touch them. On the other hand, they generally ran on, not knowing what they (lid, till they droppod down ^atlr dnnd 1 l i 1 tlicu die iu perhaps half an hour or an hour; and, which was most piteous to hear, they were sure to come to themselves entirely iu that half hour, nud then to make most ^riejious and piercing cries and lamentations iu the deep afflicting sense of the conlition they were in. * * * After a ivhile the fury of the infection appeared to jo so increased that, iu short, thev shut un v ? -tr io houses at all ; it secerned enough that ill tho remedies of that kind had been used ill they were found fruitless, and that tho >laguc spread itself with an irresistible fury, o that it came at last with such violcuco hat the people sat still, looking at each iher, and seemed quite abandoned to des air. AY hole streets scorned to be desolated, nd not to be 6hut up only, but to be empied of their inhabitants. Doors were left pen, windows stood shattering in tho mid in cuiptj houses, for want of pcoplo 3 shut thcra. In a word, people began to ive up themselves to their fears, and to liink that all regulations aud methods were i vain, and that there was uothing to bo oped for but an universal desolation." An Old Newspaper.?There has lately Ben discovered, in the library of tho Uniirsity of Heidelberg, a copy of a newspacr which proves to bo the oldest pcriodiil of which there is now any cortaiu :iowled<_;u. fr, j? " i?.l?mn h...; rinted bv Joliu Carious, of Strnahnrc ? bo paper was issued woekly?each uuiber consisting of two sheets. It was minly occupied with letters from corrcsondents in adjoining States, which were jrtributcd regularly. It is interesting to otc that letters from Vienna were about igbt days on the route, from Venice fourscu to seventeen days, apd from Ilomo venty-ouc days. "When the matter conlincd iu the letters, together with tho cws retailed at second-hand, failed to fill le sheet, the remaining space was loft lank. Intelligence of every sort found a orrespondent from Florence writes, on leptcnibcr 4, to the offect"that the Governicnt of Venice made a considerable prcsont 0 Signer Galileo, of Florence, Professor of latheiuatics at Padua, and incroased his nnual stipend by 100 crowns, because with liligent study he found out a rule and rneasire by which it is possible to sec places 30 nilcs distant as if they were near, and, on ,he other hand, near objects to appear much arger' thaw they m? The news recoived from Praguo affords 1 disturbed picture of plunder and murder ;led and thrown into tho Moldau. Seren " jodics were tako from tho water in ono day; uid at another time seven malefactors wero . * ipprohended."who confessed fclmf. n.. )... LS'th of this month, they threw about four- , ,cen persons into the water, and that their ' ' >aud numbered 80, who were, for the most )art,*tn7tW9R of Pragbe." k Teach tiie Giki.sto Head.?Dr. Honler in the J'rcsbi/tcrian, iu a very bcnsiblo uticle on learning to read, says : "As to the propriety of girls studying (locution sufficiently to enable them to rend veil, none, we suppose, would deny. This s all that is taught in any of our Southern ichools, and wo nro sorry that so littlo ntontion is paid to it. A woman that canjot read woll, or a man either, is not well >ducated, we care not what elso they may mow, or can do. They ucod to go back to SiHBpelling^h<>ok and begin an. ^^Not k?ely, eloquently, so as to rendor in the highest style of art the best productions of >!.? ?..?1 ? '* >ub utov uuiuuits, wnciucr proso or poetry, whether simple or dramatic, whether comic or tragic." ???? The man who would be truly rich, in a worldly sense, need not increase his fortune, but limit his desires.