The Aiken recorder. [volume] (Aiken, S.C.) 1881-1910, March 21, 1890, Image 4
THE BIGGEST CORN CROP,
SOUTH CAROLINA FARMER THE
CHAMPION OF THE WORLD.
He
Corn Crop
Acre—How
the Biftftest
Kver Grown on One
It Was Done.
The ncre entered by Mr. Z. J. Drake
wm a sandy soil in Marlboro County,
South Carolina. The original growth
was oak, hickory and long leaf pine.
Three yaars ago, before the land was im
proved, eight dollars per acre was a fair
valuation, while, thirty years ago, the
plantation of which this acre is an aver
age specimen was called by its owner
4 ‘Starvation’s Empire.” It had a gentle
slope, with northern exposure, and was
naturally well drained. The acre \yas a
fair specimen of much of the poor land
in the South, and its improvement and
productiveness affords an instructive les
son. As late as 1885, when it was in
corn, it made a poor crop—practically
nothing. In 1886 the acre yielded about
300 pounds of seed cotton, two dollars’
worth of ammoniated fertilizer being
used in the way common to ordinary cot
ton culture. The fertility was so re
duced that in 1887 the yield of corn was
not over live bushels per acre. But now
Mr. Drake undertook to improve it. To
provide the vegetable matter or humus so
much needed*, the land was liberally cov
ered with rakings of leaves, straw,, etc
from the neighboring woods. On top of
this, twenty five horse loads of stable
manure were evenly spread broadcast;
also seventy-five bhshels of cotton seed,
500 pounds of manipulated guano, 250
pounds cotton seed meal and 250 pounds
of kainit. The heavy dressing was all
plowed under with a turning plow.
It was laid off in rows with the same
plow, two furrows to the row, four
feet a|>art; 100 pounds of guano were
applied in the furrows, and then each
pair of furrows were thrown into a ridge
with the same plow. The Peterkin
cotton was planted with a Leytch cotton
plan *r, and made the great crop of 917
pounds ofjlmf fedtton on the acre, suoy-
ing conclusively the result of the improve
ment.
PREPARING FOR THE CHAMPION CROP.
Mr. Drake decided that this acre was
the one for him to enter in the corn con
test, and he determined to make the big
gest crop on record, season permitting.
The last of February, therefore, he
hauled upon the contest acre fifty one-
horse wagon-loads of stable manure,
averaging twenty bushels to the load, or
1000 bushels of manure in all, worth $50,
to which should be added $4 for hauling
and spreading. At the same time 500
pounds each of manipulated guano, cot
ton seed meal an 1 kainit were also broad
casted, and the whole was then plowed
under. Following the plow whole cot
ton seed was liberally strewed in each
furrow, 600 bushels being applied to the
acre. A subsoil plow came after, break
ing the soil to a total depth of twelve
inches and also burying the whole cotton
seed deeper than the other manure.
Thus the decaying seed would back up
the crop later in the season, when its
roots hail penetrated below the first layer
of manure. One horse and a man did
the plowing, also the subsoiling; both
completed in one day (March
of $2. The acre
same day with'a
Thonuis smoothing harrow, one man and
two horses doing^tfte work in about one
hour. The ij&ift day, March 2, the acre
was laid offi with the plow, in two fur-
and nail slats to tl
each row, to pre
No hilling was dot
was kept perfect!
for irrigating hi
season was
’he geftt
off, wit
rows to the row, followed by the subsoil
plow in each row. The rows were al
ternately three and six feet apart—that
is, there were six feet between two rows,
then three feet, then six feet, and so on.
THE VARIETY AND tCULTURE.
The seed planted was one bushel of
the common gourd variety of the South
ern white Dent corn, but it was a strain
that had been improved by twenty years
of careful se'ectibn from the best of corn
grown on this plantation. The planting
was done in half a day by four hands, on
March 2, the weather being warm apd
the land moist. Five or six kernels were
dropped to each foot of the row. The
latter were five inches deep, but the seed
was only covered lightly an inch deep by
raking in the sides of the furrow. Bain,
the next day, washed in more soil, and
covered the seed rather deeply. There
were good rains March 10 and 15, the
plants began to show on the 16th, and by
the 25th' there was a tolenbly good
stand. On April 8 the crop was hoed for
the first time, thinned to one stock every
five or six inches, and the few missing
places replanted. On the 20th the wide
spaces (six feet) between the alternate
rows were plowed out with the subsoil
plow. Theu a mixture composed of
two hundred pounds each of manipulated
guano, kainit, cotton seed meal, acid
phosphate and animal bone, was evenly
applied by sowing in each furrow (thus
confining this application of plant food
to the Wide spaces), after which the
whole acre was gone over with a harrqw.
Now, on May 15, the narrow or three-
foot rows were plowed out .with the
subsoiler, and 300 pounds of nitrate of
soda was sowed in these rows, and worked
m with a hand-harrow or cultivator. On
the 25th the harrow was run through the
wide rows to break the crust. It will be
seen that by this time the soil was not
only well lilled with plant-food, but had
been thoroughly cultivated on the sur
face, and also well worked underneath by
the subsoil plow, so that the whole soil
was not only full of fertility, but was in
that light and open condition that best
facilitates root growth.
ROOT DEVELOPMENT.
To stimulate a still further root de
velopment, especially iu the wide spaces
between the alternate rows, where there
was move room for those purposes, three
furrows were run, side by side, iu the
middle of the wide rows, with the sub
soil plow, and 200 pounds of manipulated
guano was applied in these furrows, the
rows then being w’orked by a harrow.
The next day there was about an inch of
rain, about six inches of rain fell four
days later, and, on June 2, the land was
lightly stirred wuth a hoe. A little earth
was hoed in to the corn, making the laud
about level. There was more rain June
4 and 5, and, on the 8th, three furrows
were again turned in the middle of the
wide rows, this time with a twenty-inch
•weep. • Now, 500 pounds of a mixture
composed cf equal parts of mauipulated
guano, cotton-seed meal and kainit was
Strewn in the wide spaces, and the corn
on the centre field was hoed. Rain
came the next day, but, on June 11,
100 pounds of nitrate of soda was sowed
in the narrow rows and hoed in.
THE WONDERS OF THE CROP.
ra, on both sides o
nt the corn falling.
but the whole acre
level. Arrangements
been made, but the
ocnouu naa early and wet, as comparer
with other years; tain followed frequent
ly, and no irrigation was necessary. In
fact, as Mr. Drake says, “the season was
the most favorable for corn I ever saw
The fame of the contest acre spread far
and wide, and famers and planters came
from all parts of Mar boro and adjoining
counties to behold it. P. L. Breeden,
great cotton planter, and one of the most
progressive farmers in the State, says it
was a “wonder to behold.” S. A. Brown,
editor of the Marlboro Democrat^ writes:
“The harvest waft indeed a curiosity.
One laborer told i* that the corn, when
pulled, was knee deep on the ground.
The yield was not much of a surprise to
those who visited the crop while grow
ing, and some Mftrion farmers put the
estimate at 300 bulhels.”
THE HARVEST AND ITS CORRECTNESS.
The acre was surveyed June 29 by Wm.
B. Alford, a legal surveyor, and also
trial justice, who takes oath that the plot
was measured by an accurate Gunter's
chain, and was 296 48-147 feet long and
147 feet wide, containing 43,560 square
feet, or precisely one acre. The bound
aries were marked by stakes firmly driven
in the ground, but this precaution was
hardly necessary, as no other corn was
grown in the vicinity, the acre standing
alone by itself. The harvesting was done
in the presence of a large number of
gentlemen—representative farmers—in
eluding J. C. Campbell, as the official
representative of the American Agricul-
turut, and G. B. W. Dunn, J. W. Rey
nolds and John J. Tart, as Mr. Drake's
three witnesses. The acre was first re
measured and found to be of the dimen
sions just noted. In order that the har
vest might be completed in the presence
of the witnesses in one day, about thirty
hands were employed to pluck and shuck
the eats and weigh them. Mr. Dunn
personally attended to the gathering,.the
weighing was done by Mr. Reynolds on
Fairbanks’s tested scales, and the tally
was kept by Mr. Tart. Mr. Reynolds
also kept a tally, which corresponded
with Mr. Tart’s record. Mr. Camp
bell supervised the whole af
fair. In addition to all these
precautions, the number and character of
the spectators made any cheating impos
sible, had it been thought of, and the
fact that no other corn grew in the
neighborhood rendered impossible the
addition of any grown outsids the con
test acre. Mr. Drake and his witnesses
certified before Justice Alfprd that the
crop, as harvested November 25, was
17,407 pounds of corn in the ear, of
which 110 pounds was soft or poor corn..
Each witness selected, from different
parts of the fibld, an average lot of ears,
and from 100 pounds of ears so gathered
Mr. Tart obtaidied 80J pounds of kernels
and 19^ pounds of cobs. Mr. Reynolds
obtained 82 pounds of kernels and 18
pounds of cobs,; and Mr. Dunn got 83£
pounds of kernels and 16£ pounds of
cobs. Averagiiig these tests shows that
32 per cent, of Jhe total crop was ker
nels, or 14,273 pounds of shelled corn,
equal to 254 pushcls, 49 pounds of
shelled corn at 5|6 pounds to the bushel.
This^if Irifn AIM until it contained
it—<i*V_ji • m~ ~ r —■- — - —
only lOperccntrof water, would shrink
(or Northern) and Southern corns, espe
cially for fattening purposes. This is
another great argument for home produc
tion of the meats and dairy products con
sumed in the South. It is notable that
Mr. Drake's corn had from twenty to
thirty-six rows per ear.—American Agri-
culturut.
SABBATH SCHOOL
INTERNATIOXAIi LESSON
MARCH 23.
FOR
Leason Text: “Christ Forgiving Sin,"
. finite v. t 17-26—Golden Texts
Luke v., 21—Commentary.
> pass on a certain da;
Ourh
17. “And it came to
as He was teaching.” Our lesson to-day:
Jesus in. a house in Capernaum, the house
HUed with people, and such a crowd about
th© door that no one can come near (Mark
ii., i, 2), and Jesus is preaching the Word
unto them. Just what Ho talked about we
may infer from His discourses, which are
more fully recorded; let each one search and
see.
“There were Pharisees and doctors of the
law sitting by, which were come out of every
town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem.”
So that here was gathered a convention of all
the leading and influential religious people of
the land, and they were being addressed by
this humble carpenter of Nazareth upon
topics with which they ought to be very fa
miliar, and of which the wondei’in their eyes
was that He should know anything.
‘"And the power of the Lord was present to
heal them.” But they had come for no such
purpose- physically they were not sick, and
spiritually were they not perfect, and did not
all people look to them for wisdom and light?
Why should it be written that there was
healing for them? The answer is fully given
in the eight woes of Matt, xxiii., where the
Great Physician describes their case as He
saw it. But they are deaf aud blind, they
will not hear nor see, thev come seeking uo
favors from Him, and they go as they came
deriving no benefit from the power of the
Lord.
18. “And, behold, men brought in a bed a
man which was taken with a palsy.” Mark
says that four men carried him. His trouble
was paralysis; he was utterly helpless, all un-
dono, not a thing could he do for himself.
“And they sought to bring him in, and to
be for" FHm **
-friend’s
RELIGIOUS READING.
TMV J
Borne time
What will f
From hands
To read thi
Unknown tof
Designed f<-*
Whe i my det
Shall make
O stone of
With poll
The King HiJ
The words i
Yes, I shall ut
My Saviour!
When He to'
My name c
’Twill only l 1
In the enje
And His sha
And mine
Then I shallS
Of all His
The sum of
Safe iu my
the nci'
God chooses the
He passes by the
fields and gardens
dew. He passes bj
bestows the hues 6
upon the tiny hum
the lofty pine and
ishes blossom and
All history teacbej
was the son of a p>
thresher; David wa
was a herdsman^ ti
and unlearned;
lancthon, the greatj
niation, was an
child of a poor :
servant; Carv the
translating the BibJ
the millions of Hir
Morrison, whotra;
Chinese language!
Milne was a herd-
the s n of Irish
weaver; Jay, of]
lected.
P STONE.
I behold it]
ironder be
now enfold it,
ne for me?
other,
e alone,
Ider Brother
gift my own.
waiting
nt most rare!
Df translating
raven there;
rstand it,
nought alone,
lafl band it,
f the stone.
i story
phrase,
> the glory,
eak His praise;
the measure
i to me;
treasure
[shall be.
EXALTED,
rmblest instruments,
kpests. and waters the
Ith his imperceptible
|e great elephant and
lire and amethyst
Ej-bird. He passes by
|uge elm-tree, and lav-
erfume on the violet,
te same truth. Moses
j Levite; Gideon was a
shepherd-boy; Amos
Lpestles were ignorant
i was a shepherd; Me-
ologian of the Refor-
krer; Luther was the
haulier was a farm
rinator of the plan of
Into the language of
stan,was a shoemaker;
sited the Bible into the
ras a lastinaker; Dr.
Adam Clarke was
John Foster was a
was a herdsman.—&-
QUAINT AND CUBIOUSL
to 239 bushels, and if the water is all al
lowed for the crop would be 217 bushels
of actual dry matter in the shelled corn
grown on one acre.
VERIFYING THE RECORD.
In addition to all the safeguards nar
rated to insure faithful accuracy, we
have made several independent investiga
tions, all of which fully confirm the
honor and integrity of the parties con
cerned. Not only Mr. Drake, but the
surveyor, justices and witnesses are men
of unimpeachable standing in their com
munities. While the American Aqricul-
turi»t is fully convinced of the correct
ness of Mr. Drake’s report .from begin
ning to end, we have deemed it wise to
explain the basis of our opiuion, so that
every farmer may be equally convinced of
the absolute fact that within a fraction
of 255 bushels of shelled corn have been
actualla grown on one acre, in a single
crop, in one season. This being the
largest crop of corn ever made on one
acre iu the history of the world’s agri
culture, the American Agriculturist deems
itself fortunate in having made it a mat
ter of record beyond dispute.
THE COST OK THE CROP.
This was heavy. Look at the items of
manure and fertilizer alone, to which are
appended Mr. Drake’s other statement of
expenses:
1000 bushels stable manure $5C 00
807 pounds German kainit 7 80
807 pounds cotton seed meal 10 80
200 pounds acid phosphate 2 00
1060 pounds manipulated guauo 13 32
200 pounds animal bone 4 00
400 pounds uitrate of soda 12 00
000 bushels cotton seed 120 00
Total cost of 50 loads manure, 5000
pounds of fertilizers aud 000 bush
els of whole cotton seed ft21!> 02
Applying the same 7 00
Total cost of plant food applied to
the contest acre $220 92
Interest on value of land, at 6 per
cent 1 50
The plowing represented labor worth. 4 00
The harrowing cost 2 00
Other preparation of the soil. 1 00
Cost of the seed 1 00
The cultivating represented labor
worth 9 00
Other work of earing for the crop... 11 00
The cost of harvesting 8 00
culture, aside from
Total cost of
plant-food..
.*37 50
all
expenses
*264 42
The crop wa* now a wonderful
sight.
Grand total, including
* for entire crop
Corn is valued at seventy-five cents per
bushel in South Carolina, or $191.16 for
the crop, to which maybe added $15 for
one and one-half tons of cured top-stalks,
making the total receipts $206.16. As
suming that the plant food in the stalks
will be all returnei to the land, the soil
is robbed only of the nitrogen, potash
phosphoric acids in the kernels aud cobs,
amounting iu value to $50 or $60. There
would, therefore, be left in the soil at
least $150 worth cf the inanurial ele
ments put ou in the spring. Crediting
only half of this balance to the crop
makes the receipts exceed expenses. On
the most practical basis, therefore, it
must be admitted that the improvement
to the land will fully make up fqr the de
ficiency in the value of the crop. The
financial showing of the largest corn crop
on record is therefore on the right side.
Contrary to the prevailing impression,
also, the quality of the Southern white
corn is quite on a par with the best aver
age Eastern or Northern corn. The
experience of the bes| feeders in the South
shows that practice fully confirms the
theoretical equality between the Eastern
(
. gnt
lay him before Him.” They realized their
friend’s helpless condition, they were sorry
for him, they believed Jesus could heal him.
their sorrow for him took a very practical
turn and they determined to bring him to
Jesus.
19. “They went upon the housetop, and
let him down through the tiling, with his
couch, into the midst before Jesus.” The
discouragements were many and great. It
seemed simply impossible to get their -friend
to Jesus, and it would not be strange if some
of the four urged a return, hoping for an
other opportunity; but some one or more of
the four nad the right spirit, the spirit which
laughs at impossibilities and cries: “It shall
be done.” Tne way to the flat housetop was
uot blocked, and this grand soul says: “If
we can’t get there in the natural way,
through the door, we’ll get there in an un
natural way, through the roof.” When we
attempt to come to Jesus or bring any one
else to Him, how often we .encounter what
seem to be insuperable hindrances, and how
seldom we see the perseverance of these four;
but their’s is the right way.
20. “And when He saw their faith. He said
unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.”
Th® great people present may have felt like
objecting very decidedly to this rude inter
ruption; or some hateful ones may have
laughed in their hearts at the meeting being
thus disturbed; but tbe quiet calmness ana
nity of Jesus would overawe them, and as
was still again, the helpless man lying on
his couch in their midst, these most unexpect
ed words fell from the preacher’s lips: “Man,
thy sins are forgiven thee P’ As the skillful
physician seeks carefully the source of the
more manifest symptoms, the seat of the dis
ease, and attends to that knowing that if the.
cause is removed all will be well so Jesus
goes at once to the cause of all sickness and
suffering and death, aud in the case of this
nan-granta toy-first, 4>ig^L Yg-kr>
NEVER
In the absence
grammar school,
societies for inuti
meetings were hel
modious house in
forming the teach
immediately wroi
any further meeti
although painfull
his good standing
friends to r. strain
act tyrannical,
their minds^that
ferred a respectful
ous conduct. Ren ndi g them of
mer and known
that, united with t
good reasons.
They promptly
dence both in his
house where your leetings were held, died
po:
One is, that a few
three men having
y
with the small
assented.
So, child of sor
He spoils your
wishes, He takes.
bos good reasons
frequently concea
trials. He says—
not now. but'tho
both folly and wi
or His wisdom i;
deuce.—Rev W. S.
GOD “WHY?”
>f the principal of a
is pupils formed two
improvement. Their
the only vacant corn-
village. A letter in
hat had been done, he
positively forbidding
His order was strictly,
beyed. It required all
ong his devoted young
lem from believing this
[painful was the state of
his return they all pre-
equest of this mysteri-
mys
his
for-
kindness he inquired if
s declaration that he had
was not sufficient.
:x pressed their confl-
ndness and veracity, but
said it would relicA their minds to know his
reasons. “Then,” 'aid he, “I have several.
lays before I left you,
een secretly lodged in the
Are you satisfied?” All
..God is trying yon.
Hans. He crosses your
av your delight; but He
all He does. Yet He
the cause of all these
. hat I do, thou knowest
?halt hereafter.” It is
,ness to doubt His love
mysteries of Provi-
DAILY WALK WITH GOD.
We lately met wit i the following from
the excellent Bishop Hall of Norwich, the
author ot the “Medil itions,” in a letter of
his to Lord Denny. It furnishes a beauti
ful example to imita e.
“Every day is a lit le life, and onr whole
life is but a day rpneated. Whence it is
that old Jacob numbered his life by dajrs;
and Moses desires to be taught this point
holy arithm. tio,| to number, not his
, of holy
I yeaiv. ba
forgiveness of his sins. At the same time He
indicates tolhe Pharisees their need.
21. “Who is this which speaketh blasphe
mies? tV ho can forgive sins but God alone?”
Thus these sin-sick Scribes aud Pharisees be
gan to reason in their hearts, not knowing
that God Himself stood in their midst and
uttered these words.
IB. “Jesus perceived their thoughts (R. V.,
reasonings) said unto them: What reason ye
in your hearts?” They must have been
startled at having the thoughts of their
hearts thus told out before all, and one would
think that this would convince them that
Jesus was more than man.
23. “Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be
forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?”
Each was equally easy to God manifest in the
flesh, but from their standpoint simply to
heal the man of his sickness would not imply
the same power of God as to grant forgive
ness of sins, and would not have led them to
accuse Him of blasphemy. To remove the
source of the difficulty was certainly more
difficult than to remove some of the outward
symptoms. The Pharisees then and now are
well content to let the inward rottenness con
tinue if only the sepulchre is kept well white
washed; but God’s way is, give life where
there has been death and cleanse the tomb of
its foul contents.
24. “The Son of Man hath power upon
earth to forgive sins.” Arid He will have
them to know it. But who is this Son of
Man? This is the first time we find the title
in this Gospel, but we shall find it about
twenty-five times as we go ou. It is at iv.-tst
thirty times in Matthew, fourteen times in
Mark and ten times in John. • It seems to be
our Lord’s favorite title of Himself, and is
touna om.siae oi tne uospeis omy in /vets vu.,
56; Heb. ii., 6; Rev. i., 13; xiv., 14. Of the
eighty times He uses it in the four Gospels,
He uses it in reference to His resur
rection and future glory about thirty
times, and that reminds us of Ps.
viii., 4; Ixxx., 17; Dan. vii., 13, where the Son
of Man is the one to whom dominion ou
earth is given. He has power to remove sin
and sickness, and does it even now in the case
of individuals. He removes sin as to its con
sequences and power from every one who
truly seeks Him. He removes sickness and
suffering whenever it is for our good aud His
glory but not until the resurrection will He
givo His people bodies forever free from all
infirmity. The time will come when He shall
have removed from the earth forever all
traces of sin and the curse; and He shall do it
as Sou of Man, David’s Son. Abraham’s Son,
in association with redeemed Israel aud the
glorified church.
25. “And immediately he rose up before
them, and took up that whereon he lay,
and departed to his own house, glorifying
God.’’ The Word of the Son of Man, God
manifest in the flesh, did it. He forgave his
sins, He healed his body. We would, as a
rule, have healthier bodies if we had healthier
souls, purer hearts, hearts iu which the
Word of God dwelt richly.
26. "Amazed—glorified God—filled with
fear—we havo seen strange things to-day.”
Jesus is the Lord God of the holy prophets
(Rev. xxii., 6, 16), and if our hearts looking
up to Him in childlike faith should say “Ah,
Lord God! Behold, Thou hast made the
heaven and the earth by Thy great power aud
stretched out arm, and there is nothing too
hard for Thee'’ (Jer. xxxii., 17), we too would
be amazed at the results of faith, and should
be compelled to glorify God every day because
of the strange things we would see. The
empty would lie filled, but the rich and self-
satisfied would still go empty away. The
Lord gives us to see our paralysis, that we
may in our helpfulness come and cling to the
Mighty One.—Lesson Helper.
On its cruise in the Arctic seas, the
Thetis discovered on the south side
of Herschel’s Island a deserted village
of which history furnishes no account.
On the graves were laid guns of long
obsolete pattern, and birds had made
their nests in the skeletons of the
brave men who had given np theu
lives there.
i here are 686 periodical publica
tions in Russia. Seventy-eight of
them are political and news dailies,
109 are scientific, 86 religions, 15 artis*
tic, 33 agricultural, 82 statistical and
bibliograpliical, 15 pedagogic, 13 for
children, and the rest miscellaneous.
dare
those
can teach others by ourselves. Let me tell
your Lordship how I would pass my
days, whether common, or sacred. When
sleep is rather driven away than leaves
me, I would ever awake with God. My
first thoughts are * for him. If
my heart be easily seasoned
with his presence, it will savor of
him all day after, while my body is dress
ing, not with an effeminate curiosity, nor
yet with rude neglect, my mind addressee
itself to her ensuing task, bethinking what
is to be done, and in what order, and mar
shaling as it may my hours with my work.
That acme, after some meditation, I walk up
to my masters and companions, my books;
and sitting amongst them with the best con
tentment, I dare not reach forth my hand
to touch any of them till I have first looked
up to heaven and craved favor from Him to
whom all my studies are daily referred;
without whom I can neither profit nor la
bor. After this, without any overgreat vari
ety, I call forth those which may best fit my
occasions. Ere I can have sat unto weari
ness, my family having overcome all house
hold distractions, invUes me to our com
mon devotions, not without some short
preparation. These heartily performed,
send me up with a more strong
aud cheerful appetite to my former
work, which I find mode easy to me by in
termission and variety. One while mine
eyes are busied, another while my hand snd
sometimes my mind takes the burden from
them both. One hour is spent in textual div
inity; another in controversy; history re
lieves them both. When tbe mind is weary
of other labors, it begins to undertake her
own; sometimes it meditates and winds up
for future use; sometimes it lays forth her
conceits for present discourse, sometimes
for itself, often for others. Neither know I
whether it works or plays in these thoughts.
I am sure no play nas more pleasure, no
work more use; only the decay of a weak
bodv. makes me think these delights insensi
bly laborious. Before my mealf. and after, I
let myself loose from all thoughts and would
forget that I studied; company, discourse,
recreations are now seasonable and wel
come. I rise not immediately from my
trencher to my books, but after some inter
mission. After m\ r latter meal, my
thoughts are slight; only my memory may
be charged with the task of recalling ol*
what may have been committed to her cus
tody during the day. And my heart is
busy r in exami* ing my hands and mouth,
and al' other senses of that day’s behavior.
r i he evening is come. No tradesmen doth
more carefully take in his wares, clear his
st.op-board, and shut bis windows, than
I would shut up my thoughts and
clear my mind. That * student will be
miserable which, like a camel, lies down
under his burden. All this done, calling
together my family, we end the day with
God.
But God's day calls for another respect.
The same sun arises on this day and en
lightens it; vet bee »use that Son of Right
eousness arose upon it, and gave a new life
unto the world in it, and drew the strength
of God’s moral precept into it, therefore
justly do we sing with the Psalmist; ‘This
is the day which the Lord has made.’ Now
I forget the world, and deal with mv
wonted thoughts as great men use, who at
some time of their privacy forbid the access
of all suitors. Prayer, meditation, reading
hearing, preaching, singing, good con
ferences, are the business of this day, which
t dare not bestow on any work which is not
aeavenly. I bate superstition on the one
ride, and looseness on the other; but I find
!t hard to offend in too much devotion, easy
!u profaneness. The week is sanctified by
ibis day: and according to my care of this,
* my blessing on the rest.’’
At a rat bant held in Coshocton
County, Ohio, recently, 2066 rats were
killed.
London Is to hare a “Monkeries,”
at which 1000 monkoys will be on ex
hibition.
A Florida paper maintains that bald-
headed men, as a class, are distin
guished for morality and benevolence.
A man in Chester, Penn., is seek
ing a divorce from his wife because she
danced for joy when he chopped his
fingers off.
Queen Victoria’* crown, together
with other royal regalia, is valued at
$600,000 and kept* under strong guard
at the old tower.
Edward A. Lahr of Fayette, N. Y.,
shot a white owl the other day that
measured four feet and ten and one-
half inches from tip to tip.
The youngest couple ever married in
North Carolina have been united in
Davis County. The groom was 13 and
his bride but 11 years of age.
Two young girls, beating their way
east on a freight train, were observed
at Greensburg, Penn., seated on the
ledge between two baggage cars.
The royal baron ef beef for Queen
Victoria’s Christmas table weighed 300
pounds. It was roasted at Windsor
Castle and sent to Osborne cold.
A kite 16$- feet high and 12 feet
wide, made of 54 yards of linen, was
recently made by five boys in Terry-
▼ille, Conn. At its first ascent it went
up 2000 feet.
Near Virginia City, Nev., the other
night, an unlucky yearling colt flound-
«red into a snow drift and stuck fast.
Then some lucky coyotes came along
and had supper.
Profiting by its previous experience,
a fox at Lancaster, Penn., when re
leased for the third time to be hunted,
seized a chicken and secreted himself
in a wood-pile before the hounds could
be released.
A Pacific coast journal says the Indi
ans at Round Valley Reservation now
own 1000 hogs besides other live
stock, havo 1400 acres planted to
wheat, and grow finer apples than any
of their white neighbors.
The president of the New York Mu
seum of Natural History is soon to
award a prize of $200 for the best
* •
method of breeding insects which prey
upon and destroy the mosquito. There
are a great many contestants for the
prize.
There are over 500 swells in the city
of Philadelphia who do not pay their
tailors’ bills. This fact was brought
out when the merchant tailors of that
firtjr'fbrmed aa organization fat mu
tual protection and. formed a black
list of dead beats.
The price now demanded in England
for whalebone is at the rate of $12,500
per ton, which, is the highest ever
known. One result of* this advance in
price will be that next season several
additional ships will bo sent to Davis
straits, after the Newfoundland seal-
fishing b closed.
An unexpected plunge in Swan Lake,
Alabama, thorouglily aroused a sleepy
railroad passenger. As the west-bound
train was nearing Decatur, the brake-
man shouted, “next"stop is Decatur!”
The passenger caught the last word,
and, iu his sleepy state, thinking the
train had arrived, he rushed out on the
platform and stepped off. He fell!
forty feet, alighting in the middle of
the lake, which is twenty feet deep and
two hundred and fifty feet wide. Al
though incumbered with boots and
overcoat, he swam safely to the shores
r
\
The*Great Hall of the Mammoth Cave.
8>>me important new discoveries in
the Mammoth Cave were described by
the Rev. H. C. Hovey at the meeting
of the American Association. They
are connected with the arrangement of
the cave passages in tiers and the great
pits or domes. Following the guide
across a treacherous chasm known as
the covered pit, the author found a se
ries of these chasms exceeding in size
any that had ever been discovered • be
fore. He afterward visited the pita
with a photographer, Mr. Ben Hains,
and means for taking photographs. As
measured from above, they varied from
forty-seven to one hundred and thirty-
five feet in depth. With much diffi
culty and risk he succeeded in reach
ing the bottom of Charybdis, the deep
est of the pift, and there discovered,
by the aid of chemical fires, that the
whole series of pits, eight in all, were
joined at the bottom into one magnifi
cent hall several hundred feet long.
This hall was traversed from end. to
end. Dr. Hovey proposes to name it
Harrison’s Hall, after the President of
the United States.—Popular Science
Monthly.
“Don’t Wake Him.”
Forty years ago the leader of the New
York bar was George Wood, whose
grave deportment and habit of closing
his eyes when in thought gave him an
owlish appearance.
One day a gentleman called on Daniel
Webster, who had temporarily forsaken
politics and resumed the practice of law,
to retain his services in a case involving
a large sum of money.
Mr. Webster, in accepting the re
tainer, askei what counsel was to op
pose him.
“Ob,” answered the client, “he is
some New York lawyer, with a com
monplace, every-day name which 1 for
get.”
“What sort of a looking person u j
he?”
“Rather a sleepy-looking man.”
“Is his name George Wood?'’
“Yes, that's his name.”
“Then,” rejoined Mr. Webster, with
emphasis, “don't wake him up!” —
He Had Tried Before.
Mr. Sraoothface (rubbing his chin)—
I think Til raise a beard.
Mi s. Smooth face—I thiak it would
be easier for you to raise McGinty.—
Epoch.
Hj
BAKER A CONFECTIONER,
AND DEALER IN
D1T GOODS, SHOES, I0TI0IS UO GBOUES,
AT ROCK BOTTOM PRICES.
TOBACCO AID CIGARS ii Gnat TvMj. Tojs, Finiwb, lit., Ii Stocky
Laurens Street aad Park Avenue, Aiken, $. C.
T. A T?.<-yBU=ffT l
AND
Most Complete Establishment South.
Established 1842.
GEO. S. HACKEE A SON
Office and Warerooms:
King Stoat, Opp. Dtonaii, Cbariaston, S. 0.
Manufacturers cl '
XPooi
_ Bltads, BCouldlxurs auxd
dlnir MAterlsils.
T. HARRY OATES & CO
831 BROAD STREET, ~
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.
THE PLACE TO GET BARGAINS- IN .
A-Hsros, oiRG’-Ansrs,
a-TXITAJR©, T=t A TnT.TOR
-VTcounsrs,
stirhsto-s, SE^miEa?
SUNDAY-SCHOOL BOOKS.
The Usual Discount Allowed toitusicTeachers
far*Write to us tor Prices and Catalogues. *
T. HARRY OATES & CO.
The Leading Music Dealers,
AUGUSTA, - - - - GEORGIA.
THE 10GDST1 HOTEL,
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.
Best $2.00 House in tbe South.
ieadquarters for Commercial Men.
#
Centrally Located near R. R. Crossing.
JB. S. I>0‘0X_,IT , TrX-.
PROPRIETOR.
Formerly of Tontine Hotel. New Haven, Conn.
Also Wcm Bnd Hotel, Long Branch, N. J.
CABINET MAKING
UPHOLSTERING.
In addition to my regular
Carpenter Work I am now pre
pared to Repair and Upholster
Furniture, and dealt kinds of
Cabinet Work in the best man
ner, at my shop near the Town
Hall.
I. A. GIVENS.
E50ME tune ago tnere appeared m a
Washington paper the following ad
vertisement :
W ANTED—By a gentleman and wife, old
residents of Washington, half a pew or two
seats in gt. John’s Episcopal Church; beet ol
social references given.
This willingness to give social refer
ences to secure the privilege of wor
shiping at St. John’s Church reminds
the Washington Post ef a story of
President Lincoln.* One day daring
the war a young officer called upon hyn
to secure an appointment in the army,
and brought him letters of recommen
dation signed by all the F. F. Y.’s in
the District of Columbia. There had
been no application for office before
President Lincoln so strongly support
ed by the aristocracy, and, turning to
the young man, he told him that he
would give him the appointment, and
handed him back the papers. “Don’t
you want to place the papers on file?”
asked the officeseeker. “I supposed
that was the custom.’' “Yes, that is the
custom,” said President Lincoln; “but
yon had belter take them with you, as
you might want to join St. John’s
Church.”
Menby wood, a farmer near Beach
City, Stark County, Ohio, welcomed a
plausible young stranger claiming to
be a son of a deceased brother from
California. The newcomer had the
family history quite pat and was treated
as one of the family, furnished good
clothes, loaned a good deal of money,
and obtained a lucrative situation. He
courted and was engaged to a daughter
of Wood, as he w»s supposed a cousin.
The day before the marriage the chance
arrival of an old friend of the Califor
nia brother made known that his only
son had died several years ago. The
impostor fled, narrowly escaping ar
rest. A likeness to the Wood family
had made his deception easy.
The Hangman in New Mouth Walt,
is looked upon with such horror that
he recently found himself completely-
boycotted on reaching Wagga-Wagga
to perform an execution. The cabmen
refused unanimously to drive him from
*he railway statbn, the porters also
declined to carry his luggage, and the
unlucky executioner was obliged to
trudge off on fool struggling with hi*
various traps.
POMONA HILL
NURSERIES,
Are known: by their fruits, as they
are testifying for themselves all
through the Southern and border
States and giving flattering reports.
Every firu.it that is known to suc
ceed in the South Is being added
from all parts of the globe. Over-
300 acres in actual nursery stock
Some of the specialties are the Kel
seys, Japan, Baton and Satsuma
Plums. The Buoy Duke Pear and
all the new fruits, as well as the old.
Evergreens, Shade Trees, Roses and
evei'ythlng usually kept in a first-
class nursery. Four large Green
houses. Chrysanthemums, Carna
tions and many Greenhouse Plants.
Rose growing a specialty. Plants
from Greenhouse ready to be put
out in April and May. Descriptive
Catalogue Eo. 1, Fruit Trees, Vines,
£0., and Greenhouse Catalogue No.
2 will be sent free to applicants.
Special rales to large planters. 'Cor-*
respondcnce solicited.
Address
Pomona Hill Nurseries,
POMONA. N. C.
PAVILION HOTEL
CHARLESTON, S. 0.
IPassenger Elevator and
Electric Bells.
Boose FresD anil Clean TMiddL
Table Best in the South.
Pavilion Transfer Coaches and Wagon* at al
Trains and Boats. Rates reduced. Beware of sav
ing your check to any one on train.
Rates. 09.00 and 09.SO.
WRIGHT’S HOTEL.
S. L. WRIGHT A SONS, Props.
COLUMBIA, - - - S. C.
Table an.
well furnish _
In the South.
pplied with the best. Rooms large and
ibed. One of the most comfortable he tele
Rates Reasonable.
A VOICE J”'
AON, of
■He w< He,: "Wm *1 wwk M . I
. 'SSO a lao.ifc; I ... bare a. a.
for S. S. Allen a Oo's a*ianaa and pWS-
»tton» a a U often mMk* 920 a ftar.~
(Hlffned) ~ r T Hftnilr
William Kline, laratabw*. C,.
write.: “I fear. knM..
aajrtkiag to aeB Hko jtmr alt.n
YaelerSar i Uafc antem •><**«■ t»
pay me .am MS.' W. J. ■-
more, Bauer, Me., w
take a. eerier Car yea.
'molt every heme I riait. Mr
proSI U often at maahat SCSU
(for a si.(le dev'.wMft."
0:henan:4eiagemtea» weM.
hare set apnea I. (ire ea-
irta .am their letter.. Kretr
one who takes hold of this ffrand basines* iMes mn grand nrslis
Shall we start YOU in this aaMasaab
reader? Write tent end leant aft abent ft ttryirntnlT. We
areatarting many; we will atmt yon It yon 4m't wmm
another ret. ahrad of you in yenr part »f the canal-y. Vaaa
take hold you wftl be able to piok. np retd <aat aET'B'MMl—
On aeeoant cf n forced aianaMemrer . mle 1 g&.QPW trm
rhotowrnph Albmmaa arete be mid la *e
people for »5£ each. Boand la Kara I Ttimi. Hftk Va
Bin* 1 '. Ghana imply deaerated ieaidm. It.ndaemmt slfcaa
world. Larreat Hue. Greetaet berpaitm war bnawn.
wanted Liberal term.. Bij l
become e tueeemfnl i
talking neceaeary.
efeaae. Affimte taka t
treat prod la await camp weaker. ~ A§
. - ->■ I-aSmaiakeasma* aa man. Taa.aw
w deem weft aaenraoe. , ri. i_ f_
*• t>e— who write lor earn-, wMb pawlontnm and tmw to
PamT^ Biblee, ’’•oaka and PartsdMs. AI
” iTea,
atom.
wm*. Big meney tier agent*. Amf «ae amt
I aareal. SaUe itamr ea aWM-Etie er aa
awhet^rt* okowm, wvmm ome wn u> ■Mr-
ti»NNNHNdN Of WdOM Wtfi MOrOT