The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, February 07, 1879, Image 1
L ,?. ? . ; * , v, -' * -5"Tr.".?. > 4a?. fa ?. * -i i jf ,. . v^M^^^^^>Mraii^^lMg(3t-!r-..- tajBar '^J -- .v . .-, - ^ A'tAf iT . ,?. . : >"'.;J*<-.i?aiaiir -?^BKa,
* > \r+ . . - " , . *. ?apP^H^ MijME.tT-, ^'-?<ggy6M8nw3yBi8y?iiwy^BHByr^' . J*. "'-*?s238fi "'' ^*<3S??M^
VOL. X.?New Series. UNION C. H., SOUTH CAROLINA, FEBRUARY 7j 1879 NUMBER 6.
O&B GBAS8 AND 8TC0X AND LK88 CULTIVATION
The crops are about housed, and notwithstanding
we havo peace and plenty, we are
not satisfied. Nobody has any money and
everybody is in debt. The laborer says ho
cannot work for less that his labor is worth
as muoh now as it ever was, yet bo can buy
moro with one day's wages than he ever
> could wi'di t*vo, aud the query is, What is
the land owfter to do ? Farmers must employ
labor in the same ratio they get for
their products ; for instance, half bushel of
corn or three pounds of bacou a'.Tvays pai?
for a day s work; and if it will not do it
now, thingst "list come to a stand still.?
J Qoihe farmers say they cannot pay tho jpri*5*
C88. mad pttrjUir fb rout. AU. I have -Ao
nay about Imis ia, I novof *M? a plantation
' * before the'war lu was improved by renting
tft^Wnite noon, and I am confident I
. n6Vi$9frill see one rented to the "hclter
skelter negro" that will benefit tbe land or
its owner. Therefore, I would say, audit
. your accounts before the boginning of another
year, and if tho products oblainod have
cost more than their market value, change
^ your system at oncc. I have arrived at the
conclusion that the best tenants I can have
aro four-lcggcd ones, that will work day
nud night, aud charge nothing, only to be
well fed aud cared for. I belong to that
class of farmers who make farming their
occupation aud study, and the remedy for
our evils is iu a change of plan rather than
a change of occupation, therefore have no
idea of abandoning the ship ; for if sho goes
down, nil other occupations siuk with it.
Many precious lives have been fretted out
in the vain attempt to farm with demoralized
free labor, on a credit or borrowed capital,
to find each year plantations going to
ruin, aud debts still more annoying. Now,
instead of looking to the hoe and the plow
for all money crops, let us try grass culture
and stock raising, which requires very little
labor, saves old fields from washing, improves
laud, gives sure crops and large profits.
Why not learu a lesson from old father
Abraham ? lie would not have thought of
employing men, at fifty cents per day and
rations, to chop an hundred acre field of
cotton; he would have turcd his cattle ou
it to cat tho grass, and employed his time
and talents to a less perplexing aud more
remunerating branch of agriculture. Think
of it, brother farmers. Will not money
from plants that will grow twenty years
willinilf flirt licit i\C flirt rtr Ka no
nikUVW* V HVj UOV Vft 1 HVl ?*'/?/ V/ ft y IV H' J UV HO
acceptable as that derived from wearing
out our already impoverished lands ? The
farmer who raises grass, stock and provisions,
needs but few work auiinals ; his expenses
for labor arc also small, while his income
and independence is about as suro as
the certainty that rain will fall and grass
grow. Hut they say wo cannot grow grass
Qicre ; when the truth is, trying to keep it
drum growing, has nearly broken the last
?o*o of us, and the cry is, everybody in debt
and no money.
Now, brother farmers, I am raising grass
and clover here in Johnston county, North
Carolina, and I am pleased with my success
so far. The past season, I seeded tweutyfivc
acres ou the road in grass and clover,
and I also planted a row of elms, two hundred
yards, from my dweelling to the store
and lot. Tho season was exceedingly hot
and dry, and strange to say, many persons
passing by, found out that some of the grass
died (and they knew it would?this is net
a grass country), and nobody found out that
two-thirds of the elms di:d, and that this
was not a tree country. Somebody said, in
a swearing way, that I would have to sue
a neighbor for trespassing 011 my grass hold,
for he saw hiui pull up a bunch of broom
straw in one of thoui. Now does that porfiou
know that half of the cotton fields in
North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia,
would havo paid better in broom srtlyc
than in cultivation. Now let us assume
. ? (that one-half of tho land in cotton would
iroakc half a balo or GOO pounds of socd
cotton, at 2J conls, $15.00
Now '200 pounds guano, at 2?
cents per pouud $5.00
Picking out' COO pounds at 50
cents per cwt 3.00
Quarter of (>00 pounds for rent,
150 pounds at 2J per cwt 3.75
Ginning and bnggfng, 2.00 $13.76
$13.75 $1.25
Wc have now one dollar and twentyfive
cents to prepare the land, plant it, and cultivate
it, and taking into consideration ?hc
jnore cotton made the less the price, would
it not be more profitable to havo had hal/'
of it in broom sedge ? I sent* IV a four hundred
pound bale of wool which brought one
hundred dollars. I also sent off a four
hundred pound bale of cotton, made on one
acre which brought thirty dollars?tho
wool cost mo the least to make it Statistics
show that in the South during the last
throe years, wool has paid GO per cent, for
growing, while cotton has not paid f> per
cent; but somebody says, what if everybody
goes to raising grass and stock, what then?
With ihe saino propriety might be asked,
If everybody goes to Heaven what will become
of the devil ?
We havo the brain, and it is as necessary
to work it as it is to work tho muscle, for
as intelligent application is used and less
actual labor, greater prosperity is found.?
We must think more, and as an aid to
better thinking, must road more, and
. -ke our farms our constant, study. <!o,
reader, aud verify this statement, and if
found correct, be an advocate of a higher
education for the farmer. The strugglo to
accuuiulato money swiftly by raising expensive
crops on extousivc areas by infor'.^r la.
bor, is an inevitable failure. the rather
hard up old "colored lady" said when she
wont to tho commissary for rations, "If I
| don't get no meat, but ?h !
i viivt <m vufreedom
I has." So with grass fanners.
If 'Vicy don't handle much money, there is
a blessed quantity of comfort and pcaco of
Iniud in it?the wind works it, the n;r
feeds it, the dews and raius water it, and
the stock gathors and manures it. Now,
in couclusiou, I would adviBo farmers to
ma.k* their supplies at . bouip, make fPfc
ton tneir ^Surplus crop. It is oasy to
prove on papec^hat gr,ain cannot be raised
for its selling^ice, that no animal can bo
ruised on the farm for its market value; yet
we find that those who pursue that course
do not house their crops in barns covered
in mortgage deeds, nor live from year to
year tho slave of necessity. Therefore
burst these bonds that bind you, and arise
to freedom and independence. Look only
to your fields and your energies for your
supplies. If you arc in debt, surrender
your property ; don't undertake to borrow
money at twenty per cent, until you learn to
make Jour per cent, on that you havo already
got iuvestcd. I heard a conversation
the other day between a farmer and a
shrewd mochauic, which is worthy of note.
The mechanic contended he could not take
less for the bugfry without selling the material
for less than it cost him ; the farmer
could not pay for it without taking less for
his produce than it cost him to make it;
therefore no trade. Deny yourselves and
get out of debt, then wo will bo the happiest
pooplc under tho sun.?A. J. IIeatii
in Southern Planter and Farmer.
Too Much Land.?We knew a farmer
who, ten years ago, owned 0110 hundred and
fifty acres, and was doing well; he now
owns five hundred, and is worse off thau
before. And why ??Because this large
farm is a great bill of expense to him ; he
cannot afford to keep it up iu good condition,
aud it hangs a millstone of care about
his neck, llis wife and children, both
sons aud daughters, are obliged to work
hard to keep the great machine running.?
We presume his boys dcolura they will
leave homo as they arc old enough ; and
the girls say they will die before they will
marry Taruicrs. Neither sons nor daughters
are educated as they dcscrvo to be;
they cannot be spared for this from work
on tho big farm. Now we declare that
such a farm is a curse to its possessor and
his family, and an injury to the whole agricultural
interest, if that man wants to
save himself aud his household, he should
sell at least one half of his land, improve
the remainder to make it more productive,
release his children from boudagc, and try
to make his home a comfort, lie will live
longer, lay up as good a property, and will
train up a more intelligent and a happier
fauiily.?Amcrican Ayriculturist.
Cahraok Worm Remedy.?I will give
you a sure remedy for the cabbage worm :
Make a strong solution of lime water, pour
it over the cabbage in the evening ; if the
lime-water is made strong there will be no
live worms left that the water touches.?
Last fall I had a nice patch of cabbage infested
with the worms. After trying all
other remedies 1 could think of, I resorted
io me lime-water, ana to tell tlie truth, expected
to find my cabbago cooked next
morning, but I was agreeably disappointed
next morniug to find tho cabbage grecu and
bright, and the worms laying all over the
patch dead as a door-nail.
.
Incendiary Wasps.?Wasps used to
be considered dangerous only on account
of tho excellent facilities (hey possess for
carrying on warfare, but it has been developed
that they are dangerous in another
way. An exchange has discovered that
tho frequent mysterious burning of haystacks
and farmers' buildings has led to the
discovery that (hey are set on fire by wasps'
nests, and that the nests are ignited by
spontaneous combustion. This is said to
be produced by the chemical action of tho
wax in contact with the paper-like substanco
of which the nest is composed, a comparatively
small excess of oxygen being sullicient
to make it burst forth in a blaze.?
Therefore it remains for our citizens to seek
and destroy these infernal machines.
Chamomile.?A decoction of the leaves
of common chamomile will destroy every
species of insect, and nothing contributes
SO IlUW'll to llift linnll.li /->(' o no O
- - ... .. OO U
number of chamomile plants dispersed
through it. No green liouso or hot-house
should ever be without it, in a green or
dricded state; cither the stalks or (lowers
will answer. It is a singular fact that if a
plant is drooping and apparently dying in
nine cases out of ten it will recover if you
plant chamomile near it.
.. #? .
The immense number of worthless "cur
dogs" to be found in all parts of Virginia
is a disgrace to the people of the State and
a burden upon every productive interest.
Let. us all work together to remove it?
Shirt 11 rrh'/linn in (rrri; cnttnfn.? S<>.
Planter and Partner.
WHITE LABOR.'
One very important lesson that the resalt
of tlio Viur has taught tho Southern people'
that white men are capable of earning
their bread by manual labor in the field as
well as the negro. Numbers of worthy
young mcu, reduced to the alternative of
work or want, have resolutely taken hold
of tho plow or hoo, and have learned what
it is to do a day's work iu all weatkor with
the best baud in the field. To-day many
of these uieu are indopeudent; thoy have'
learn jd to work ; more, they have loarned
to manngo their farms suocesssfully ; and
having learned this they are matters of the .
situation by uatural right and result Tho 1
semblance arm snow of work wnich is onfyT
half work, or hardly that;?and it is found 1
too that labor does not debase the character
of a true man or disfigure his manly
form?that work is healthful and n wondeiful
developer of muscle, strength, and appetite.
All this wa3 known indeed to many a
white man in the South beforo Cuftce's
emancipation, for thousands of men of Anglo
Saxon descent were used to daily labor
in tbc field before the war. And it was
men of this class, who, at Appomattox, laying
their weapons to rust on the field of
carnage, returned to their desolated homes
and went at once to brighten the plow in
the field of labor, that taught the men of
softer muscle who hesitated awhile that
they could work too, if they would but try.
Example is contagious, and the notion of
Lee's veterans, who returned to their homes
in April '05, and starting <Ic novo, succeeded
in making a fair crop, iuspircd many
an idle young man to attempt the same thing
the following year, and the effort made iu
general brought success. Every year since
thcu has addqd more and more to the number
of Southern farmers who arc at the
same time their own overseer and laborer.
Thus it cauie to be generally kuowu that
the white man ran no extraordiuary risk
at labor in the open field at any season anywhere
in the Southern country. And
this white labor has been gradually supcrcccding
colored labor, till now wc should
not be surprised if the number of the former
who toil daily on the farm does not excoed
the number of the latter. We do not
mean that the white man is generally found
uu niroirag ; uuuK??- ??> >U? nugpf j
prefer to farm on their own hook, anil wc
tind them to be the most successful and the
most thrifty of all farmers.
The success of white labor in the South
will therefore no longer be a questionable
one. After thirteen years' test the problem
is answered in the affirmative, never
more, wc trust, to be subject to doubt.?
Let uouc now say ho cannot farm because
lie is a white man. lie can it he will but
try.?liurul Messn-gcr.
A Mother's Influence.?It is hard
for a young mother who has not yet overcome
the wayward tendencies of her own (
youthful nnturc, to realize the influence she '
exerts over her little ones. She is contin- i
ually surrounded by critical imitators, who
copy both her moralsund her manners. As <
the mother is, so are her sons aud daughters. <
If a family of children arc blessed with an <
intelligent mother, who is dainty and refined '
in her manners, aud docs not cousider it J
necessary to he one woman in the parlor '
and an entirely different person in herevcry- i
day life, but who is a true mother, and
always a tender, charming woman, you will
invariably see her habits of speech and
pleasant manners repeated in her children.
Great rough men, and noisy activo boys will
always tone down their voices, and strive
to stay quietly, and to be more mannerly,
when she stops to give theui a kind word
or a pleasant smile, for a true mother will
never fail to do all the kiud and pleasant <
things she can that will in any way help to I
lift up and cheer those whose lives are sha* .
ded with toil and care. The mother of to- s
day rules the world of to-morrow. Think
of it whon you arc tempted to be fretful and i
impatient, and guard well your hct?rc troas- I
ures. <
Benjamin Hunter, the Philadelphia murderer,
left an estate valued at $-10,100. Ilis ,
expenses since he undertook to collect the
debt due him from John M. Armstrong
with a hatchet, have amounted tc about |
?15,000. After deducting all this his family
will bo left in very fair circumstances. It
seems from this that the incentive t> mur- ,
der Armstrong was one of revenge and
greed rather than necessity. Dr. Andrews,
who assisted at the execution of Hunter in
a medical capacity, says that the story of
the attempted suicide was greatly exagoratcd,
and that the wretch would have
died from terror and cowardice if he had
not been strangled promptly by .Sheriff
Calhoun's patent choking apparatus.
Children are quick to percievc the standard
of integrity held by those around 1
them, and to catch the prevailing tone of mo...i
:? vm?
?. lociiug. ?? nen mcy near mjustico con- i
detuned in large things and paliatcd in small i
ones; when their own childish depredations i
arc treated with levity, or passed over with
indifference ; when deceitful practices are i
tolerable and simply troublesome habits punished,
it is not strange that they learn to
i measure the guilt of dishonesty only by the
material less or annoyance entailed.
imul n
ACTS or QXJnULAL 4WUOU.T. j*. %
AN Act to prevent Unjust Discrimination
by Common Carriers.
Be it enactetl by toe Senate and Ilonsc
of Representatives of the Stato of South
Carolina, now met wnd sitting in General
Assembly, and by the authority of the same:
Section 1. Th*t railroad corporations,
and all other chartered ormpnu'.^s acting
ns common carriers within the limits of
this State shall charge for the handling and
storage of goodq, warns and other pu
and for the carriage of freight and ; j**engers,
such rate* only as are reasonable,
p Sec. 2. That no oharge for the oarrioge
Masohlblo within the meaning of this act
which is in excess of the usual and established
charge made by the sauio corporation
or combination of corporations for the carriage
of tbc like kind, class nud quantity of
freight for any greater distance over their
line or lines in the same dircctiou: Provided,
That if such corporation or combinations of
corporations can show a greater necessary
expense to itself, or to themselves, for the
carriage of goods, merchandise or property
over the shorter distance thau that which is
incurred for like carriage over the louger
distance, a proper proportion ofsuch excess
of necessary cxpcusc shall be deemed a reasonable
additional charge. In the construction of
this sectiou the sum charged or received
for the transportation of freight shall include
all terminal charges, and tho road of
a corporation shall include all the road in
use by such corporation, whether owned or
operated under a contract or lease. "Hut
nothing in this 8 iclion shall be construed
so as to require any corporation or combination
of corporations to regulate their
charges fdt* shorter distances by their proportion
o& through freight beyuud their
line or lines."
Sec. 3. No railroad corporation or other
chartered company doing business as common
carriers within the limits of this Stato
Bhall charge, demand or receive from auy
person, company or corporation for the
hauling, storage, loading or unloading or
transportation of freight, or for any other
service, a greater sum thau it shall at the
it,a a j :?
>iuuiv viuiu kuaigc, uuuiiiuu ui ICUITIVU 1IOIII
any other persou, cauip&ny or corporation
for a like service, upon like conditions, and
OlideF nre Same circutii.stanees; and all
concessions of rates, rebates, drawbacks
and contracts for special rates shall bo open
co and allowed all persons, compnuics and
corporations alike, at the same rate per
ton per mile and by the car-load, upon like
conditions and under similar circumstances;
and ary discrimination which violates the
spirit and meaning of this section shall be
deemed unjust and unreasonable.
Sec. 4. That any railroad corporation or
other chartered company acting as common
carriers within the limits of this State,
which shall for itself, or for itself and other
chartered companies acting in combination,
with it, charge or receive any sum which
is unreasonable within the meaning of this
ict, shall forfeit and pay to the person,
company or corporation paying such overcharge
twice the amount so charged in excess
of reasonable rates, to be recovered by
iction in the proper courts of this State :
Provided, That the action be commenced
within one year from the accrual of the
ight of action.
Approved December 24, 1S7S.
An Act to require all Clerks of Courts
Sheriffs and Trial Justices to make
monthly Reports of all Licenses, Fines
and Penalties collected by them to the
Auditor and Treasurer of their several
Counties:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House
)f Representatives of the State of South
Carolina, now met and sitting in General
Assembly, and by the authority of the
same :
Section 1. That all clerks of courts,
sheriffs and trial justices be, and they are
hereby, required, on the iirst Wednesday in
every month or within ten days thereafter
to make, in wrif.int* tn thn rfknnntirn nuri;_
, ?c, ? ?J'~?'?
tors and treasurers of their several counties,
\ full and accurate statement of all moneys
collected by them on account of licenses,
fines, penalties or forfeitures during the
past month; and, in default, thereof, upon
conviction thereof, shall be liable to a tiuo
not exceeding one hundred dollars or imprisonment
in the common jail uot cxcocding
two months, or both, at the discretion
of the Court.
Skc. 2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent
with this act are hereby repealed.
Approvod December 23, 1878.
An Act to amend an Act to prevent Fishing
with Nets in the fresh water Streams of
this State at certain seasons of the year.
Br it enacted, &c., That thi title of sai<f
act be so amended as to read as fellows :
"An Act to prevent the capture and destruction
ol fish in the fresh water streams
of this State at certain seasons of the year,"
and that then the firstscciion of the said act
be so amended as that it shall read : "That it
shall not be lawful for nny person in the
Countiesof Horry, Marion, Darlington, Clarendon,
Chesterfield, Georgetown, Marlboro'
Williamsburg, Richland and Chester to fish
with nets or gigs, or set traps, or shoot fish
with any kind of gun iu any of tho tfooh
water rivers, creeks, lakes or other streams
in said counties betwoeu the l*td;?y of May
and the 1st day of September in any yea* l
hereafter.'1
Approved Ponombsr 28,1878w
HABD V?iMTBiLft v After
all, this has not been an exceptionally
hard winter. In this city we have
had -the severest cold known for twenty
seven years, that is to say sines the mentorab'o
season of 1860 51j and at the North
it nas been blowy, snowy and freesy for
two or three weeks. No doubt, if we had
not had the sure authority of the reoord to
insisted that it is coldest
season within thememoryof man. Hut tho
uses of the oldest inhabitant as a meteorological
rcgistcrareexhaustcd. He is "played
out," as it were, lie is no longer an authority
as to the past, or a prophet as to tho
future. The thermometer has superseded
hitn for one purpose, and Old Probabilities
for the other. In fact, it was always kuowir
to observing people that tho oldest inhabitant
was a delusive authority as to the
meteorology of past times. Horace Walpolo,
in one of his letters, remarks on tho tendency
of people always to find tho current
season tho worst, or tho best, as tho caso
might bo, that ever was known; to say that
the winter in question was tho coldest, or
the summer the hottest, or that tho frost
came later in tho spring or earlier in tho
autumnthan in any former year; yet theso
same persons, he remarks, could not, for
the life of them, tell what kind of weather
it was tho lasi mouth, or even the last
week.
The prcscut winter, so far, has ccrtaiuly
been cold and tempestuous, but it is not
half over yet, at least at the North, and it
may turn out in the end to be more thatv
usually mild. In New Orleans it has, in
fact, been exceptionally eold, and as our
winter is nearly over, we arc justified bv
v ? m " ?'
the record in saying that it is one of tho
coldest and stormiest known during this
generation. Hut in the North and Northwest
they have two months of winter beforo
them,"and those two months may bo relatively
warm. Even the great cold of tho
last two weeks ha? been many times exceeded
?uotably in 1972-73, when hundreds of
persons in Iowa ami Wisconsin and Minnesota
perished In the tremendous snow
storms of December and January ; when a
score or more of school childrcu with their
teacher were frozen to death in a suowed-up
school house, and a stage coach was caught
in a driving tempest, and the horses, driver,,
and eight passengers, many days atterward
were found turned to blocks of ice.
The Kansas .Journal, of January 2Gth,
185G, contained the following: "On tho
night of the 21th of December, 1855, tho
Missouri Itivcr at this place was irozen
over. It is now nearly five weeks that
the river has been a highway for teams of
horses, mules and oxen. Wo put this fact
on record for coining years. We havo
now had near seven woeks of hard freezing
weather?a fact unparalleled in the history
of this country. People will hereafter
refer to the long, cold winter of 1855-5G."
On Ecbuary 2, the Journal had the following
: "Tho cold of the past few weeks has
been general. From every part of America
?from Halifax to Cuba we havo accounts
?and it is everywhero spoken of as tho
coldest ever known. At Memphis tho
citizens arc putting up their ice, a circumstance
unknown before. The floating ico
has reached the mouth of the Mississippi?
a fact unheard of. even to tradition. Tho
Prazos llivcr, in Texas, is frozen sufficiently
hard for the ciossing of teams. In Cuba
they have a real Northern winter. At St.
Paul, Minnesota, the thermometer has been
11 degrees below zero." The issue of tho
Oth February contained this statement:?
' On Sunday and Monday, 3d and 4th, the
inclinometer stood 28 and 150 degrees
below zero." In thoissuo of March 1 is
found the following: ''The river at this
place broke up on Monday morning last,
the 25th of February, 1850, having been
closed sixty days."
In comparison with this the present
winter has been rather tropical than otherwise.?N.
(). Picayune.
" ? ? '
A Definition of an Editor.?Wc
have seen many definitions of many names,
words and phrases, but the following of an
editor, given by Josh Hillings, is about tho
best we ever yet encountered :
An editor is a male being whose buzincss
is tonavigate a nuzc paper. He writes
editorials, grinds out poetry, inserts dcths
and weddings, sorts out manuskripts keeps
a waste basket, blows up the "devil," steals
I 1?? --ii i
Iiuiivi, Iiiv.-I uiiici jn:ojuf? Uilllies, SCIIS 1113
papers for two dollars and fifty cents a year,
takes white beans and apple sass for pay,
when he kan git it, razes a large family,
works 19 hours out ov every 24, knows no
Sunday, gits dammed bi everybody, and
once iu a while whipt bi sumbody, lives
poor, dies middle aged, and often broken
hearted, leaves no money, iz rewarded for
a life or toil with a short but free obituary
puff iu the nuzpapers.
.
Lime on land sown to wheat hastens the
maturity of the crop. Prof. Johnston says
the same i* true of nearly all our cultivated
crops.