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> ' . -v^V v v/. J " % I , ' ? .v;-. '' VOL XLIY NO 0!) NEWBERRY, S. C.. TUESDAY. DECEMBER 10. 1907. TWICE A WEEK. $1.50 A YEAR !SOIL DEMONSTRATION <.; BY THE GOVERNMENT s Important Work to bo Dono in this 1 Stato Under tho Suporvision of t Experienced Students of n Soil Conditions.1 1 Tlio Slate. I Tlinit the United States department t of agriculture recognizes the vast fj possibilities of the Southern soil a and especially that of South Caro- i , linn is shown by the various experi- a ments that are to bo conducted in i this state by its agents. The bureau i of plant industry, through the agent \ iu charge, Dr.* A. A. Knapp, has or- I gani/.ed a farmers' cooperative dem- s oust rat ion work to he conducted in t certain states of the union. The ac- j] t-ua 1 work is conducted by agents '] who have their respective terrilo- r ries to supervise. <1 Mr. J. M. Jenkins, state agent for 1: South Carolina, was in the city yesterday to consult with Mr. L. C. i Chappell of Lykesland, who is the e sub-agent for this county. The object. of the visit of Mr. Jenkins is to get the fanners interested in the t work and to have them prepare the t land for the purposes of the experiments that are to be tried in the )' spring. Tiie work "that is to be done is not exactly an experiment, how- | ever, for the real experimenting was done in Washington under the 1] supervision of the experts ot the department of agriculture and that s which was there accomplished will be put into actual test on the land of tiie farmers who will agree to set' aside an acre or so of their land for the purpose. Thus far Mr. Jenkins ' has met with nothing except encour- :1 agement from the farmers and all v of them arc anxious to cooperate t with him and tho department which 1 1 -j he represents. (l The counties that the agent is su- n p'ervising in this state are as fol- * lows: GreenviMe, Anderson, Laur- x ens, Richland, Chester, Fairfield, 0 Newberry and Union. Already sub* ( agents have been appointed in the counties of Richland, Anderson and s Fairfield and tlie work is well under ' way in these counties. Tn order that t the public may understand the various terms used in connection with ? the work the officers are here explained : 1 A Held agent is a special agent of ^ the United States' department of (i agriculture who Superintends "the ^ , farmers cooperative demonstra- , 1 , . . il tion work" in a certain district, rj This is the position that Mr. Jenkins holds. j A demonstrator is a practical c fanner, who works a portion of his j farm under the supervision of a j, lictld agent, which tract he is expecU ; od to inspect at least once a month v V and to report on same to the Held \agent, so that the latter may be kept Nost'ed on the progress of the work j n\id tiie success of the undertaking j arid may give others the benetit of j th'\ work by publication. <1 A cooperator is a farmer who a agrees to follow the instructions of f the department, and to make tiie re- v port of progress at the end of the ? season. ' ^ The Held agent is expected to visit ? as many centres of influence in his r district as possible, and by personal C [i effort secure tho cooperation of p m bankers, merchant's and farmers in li a!iS this cooperative work; also always n interest the editor of tire local paVm per. Second, establish neat* these f centres the special demonstration | :* farms, then secure cooperafors. n Small, thrifty and energetic farmers a m will generally do belter as special | &' demonstrators. Large farmers have p IWm too much business to give the work n the requisite attention. The agent <> must' use judgment ?in selecting co- d operators and secure men who will 'I follow instructions and report. f Plan of Work. s The general plan of the work that I will be done is out'lined in a bulletin o gotten out under the direction of Dr. p S. A. Knapp, who is directing the n work from Lake St. Charles, La. The < plan of the work is about as follows: p The object of the farmers' co- e operative demonstration work is not F ** I * >nlj to place a practical object les- j on, illustrating the best methods of I >roducing standard farm crops beore tin; farm masses, but to secure beir active participation in such denonstrations, to an extent that will >rove that the average farmer can lo better work and will do it if pro>erly approached. These demons! raions must show that better and larger crops can be raised on the averse farm, and at vastly greater net >rofit per acre. Incidentally they ire designed to prove Chat there is no iccessity for this widespread detcroraiion of the farms and the general >overty of the masses on the farms, jike all great reforms, this demontration work can not be done for he people to be benefited, but it mist be done by them to he effective. | The sick man must take the proper nedicine to effect a cure; it will not lo for his neighbor to take it for lim. The remedy for the farmers that s recommended by the department mhraees the following: Better tillage of the soil . Rotation of crops and soil renovaion by the use of legumes and win- J er cover crops (oats, wheat, etc.). The judicious use of commercial ert'i'lizer. Creator care in selecting and danting seed. The use of more horse power and tetter machinery. The raising of more and belter lock. Keeping an account of the cost of arm operations. fo this end the farmers' cooperaive demonstration work has been iulugurat'ed. One Ceaiure of this t'ork shoal'.! !>c ehpsjially noted. The armers in some of the states have bought tnat the work was done ntiler instructions from Washington nd by persons who did not undertnnd the soil of the*patticular state ihose fanners were trying the methds of the department. This is not orreet, for. as a matter of fact, the gents in the various districts have tudicd the soil of the state in which hey are working. tftfr. Jenkins, the agent for the 'outli Carolina district, is a native f this state and graduated at Clemon college, and therefore is well ersed in the soil of his native tatc. lie is thus able to give the armers tlie best possible work basd on his observations of the soil roni this stale at the capital and lso from actual experience here, 'he two crops what will receive the t tcntio^i of the agent in the Connies mentioned will be cotton and orn, for these atfa the real crops of lie state of SodTh Carolina. The eadquarters of Mr. Jenkins will be n Laurens and from this point he fill conduct, the experiments. Tho Demonstrations. According to the plans of the delartment" there will be about 1)T)0 emonstrators in each county where lie experiments are to be conducted, 'he farmers will be asked to lay side one acre or more of their farm or the purpose of the demonstration fork. The demonstrators will act nder the sub-agents, who are appointed by the agent of the district, uh-agents have been appointed aleadv in the counties of Anderson, "Wster and Richland, and in the ountics of Union, Chester and Faireld the work has already been comyenced. For tin; work as indicated above lie agent locates the best farms hat he can get to have on them llie ecessary one acre or more allownce and on these the deinonslraions are carried on. It is generally onsidered that the size of the farm lakes no difference if the owner an give supervision to the work liner direction of the demonstrator, 'lie department also recognizes the i?e| that it will be hijst for the more tnple crops, such as corn and colon, 10 he made the basis of their j perations. Corn and cotton are lhe loney crops and when the farmers re shown how to improve these i rops the greatest work of the de- j artment will have been accompli-h- ' d. *tn brief the idea of the departi / i men I' in sending, out the agents to instruct the farmers is to give them the benefit of the compilations of all '! the experiments made upon a given crop by the experiment stations and to put these experiments to the test on the land of the farmers in the state. i Propai'ation of Soil. Refore the experiments are actually put into force the soil has to be prepared under direction of the department 's agents. For this the farmer is instructed by the agents of the department also. The prepanV tion of the soil is to take place in the fall so that the land will be ready for the work in the spring. The pit wing done in the early fall and inter cultivation is for the purpose of doing for the soil! what the colder climate of the north' does for its land?opei s it snllici3ii?tly to admit the air. The bulletin of Dr. Knapp gives j the following advice along this line and this will be read with interest by the farmers throughout the stale: "In the richest soils there is but little food ready prepared for the plant, and nature's plan is that this food shall be prepared more or less daily by the action of the air, the moisture in the soils and by the sun. i: These three active forces make ready t the food so the plant can be properly' nourished. This can not be done j without' plowing and cultivating to, admit the air, and the earlier this work is commenced in the fall the greatci the elYect il will have upon the crop of the following season. "The elVet't of using good seed is! not sullicieutly appreciated, nor perhaps is it' understood just wba/t makes good seed. It must be the bos'. variety, carefully selected, early in the fall and stored in a dry place. In passing through the states we find very little of the corn fit for seed, because the rain has watersoaked the cob and injured the germs. In many cases it has even caused decay in a portion of the ; kernel. This could have been pre-' vented had the seed corn been gath-j ered in August or 'September. Our reasons for very frequent cultivation has been explained above, to | wit: The admission of air, the con-j servat'ion of moisture in the soil ami j the prevention of surface crust. The! farmer may say that this frequent I cultivation is so much work for nothing, but he will find, in case of col- 1 ton, in the fall, that his plants have ! fruited closer to the ground and have put on a good many more early bolls than they would have done had he pursued the ordinary methods; and corn will set more ears." The bulletin gives other valuable advice to the farmers along the line of the applying of fertilizers and what should be done under boll weevil conditions. The department' and its agents are very much pleased with the result of the work thus far. Mr. Jenkins slated yesterday ihat he had mel with words of encouragement" from every farmer he had visited and all were ready to cooperate with him. He believes that the work of the, , Farmers' Cooperative demonstration will accomplish much for the farmers in this state and it will be largely through their own efforts also. Oscar II, king of Sweden, died on i Sunday morning. , I Times Had Changed. "Did you and pa start with plenty ' of money?" asked the daughter. "We lived upon very little else ' but love, dear!" was the mother's 1 gentle answer. "But I suppose pa soon uot lots of salary?" ' j "No; dear; il was a great struggle ^ at first." "Then how did von manage? Pa had a little in the bank?" 1 "Not a farthing." "Oh, my (Jeorge is in just the ( <am.e posi'ion, and we love each olh- \ e;\ and ." "If thai pcnni)/-;s adventurer ever ] dares to enter this house again I will I tell him what I think of him! Go to 1 your room at once!"-?Stray Stories. .< AWFUL MINE DISASTER* Dreadful Black Damp Kills Nearly / Four Hundred Goal Miners. Mouongah, \V. V., Dim*. 0.?'Six ( charred and blackened bodies lying in iho improvised morgue prepared g near the entrance to tlie mine, live li men hovering between life and death s from the awful bruises sustained and h the deadly gases inhaled in a tern- n porary hospital into which one of 1 the company buildings has been e transformed. and !Uit) men imprison- I I'd by tons of coal, rock and mine de- o bris in the depths of the hills sur- t rounding this mining town, with the 1 chances all against a single one of them being alive, is ttio most ami'- h ate summary obtainable tonight ol' v the result of a mine explosion today, c which i.i all probability was attend- li ed by greater loss of life than any t former disaster in the history of the bituminous coal mining industry of America. 1 The explosion occurred shortly af- y tor 10 o'clock today, after the full ^ force of .'{SO men had gone to work ! in the two mines affected. The ( mines are Xos. (i and S of the Con- ?1 solidatinn Coal company, located on I' opposite sides of the West Pork river, al this place, but merged in their underground workings by a heading u and on the surface by a great steel I tipple and bridge. j i Six Bodies Found. ' The finding of the six corpses and , the five badly injured men is the on- j ly reward for strenuous and uninterrupted work oil the part of the large 1 rescuing forces that immediately'set to work at every possible point. The iivt living men are unable to 11 give any detailed report of the disaster or to even explain how they x reached the surface. They state that v back of them when they began'their J frantic stniggle for liberty there was 11 a large number of men engaged in a similar struggle, while still further I back in the workings there, was a large number, of whom they know ^ nothing. i It is the opinion of the mine officials and others familiar with minim*that these 11 men had not penetrated' the mine as far as had the majority] of the day shift when the explosion ! ( occurred and that they headed for : ^ and reached the main entrance bo-!* fore the heavy enve-in that now blockades the entrance not more than a few hundred feet beyond thej" main opening of mine No. (i. ' ^ All Caught in Cave-in. j (] As to the miners referred to by a the rescued men as having boon alive I r when last seen, it is believed that I f they were caught back of a heavy j e cave-in of coal and mine roof and : that they could not have survived 1 more than a few minutes in the deadly gases with which the entry filled f as soon as the ventilating system h was interrupted. There is more hope n for those in more remote sections of li I lie mine, as they'may have reached li workings where fresh air is supplied by other openings. But at best only ( the most slender hope is entertained . a for the survival of any one of tho j 1 < men in the mine until the debris can n lie cleared away and communication . a with the outside reestablished. s There is much speculation as to ; 1' [ho cause of the explosion, but the n most generally accepted theory is b that it resulted from black damp. Tt r is believed that a miner attempted | r to sr| off a blast which blew out and |e iciniled an accumulation ??f this 1 loudly gas and Hi,-it liiis in- lurn.n ignited tlie coal dust, a highly in-lg i'bimmablo substance found in groat- j I >r or loss (|iiantities in all West Vir- e rinia mines. However, all explana- ' I ions of (lie cause ni> to this time are j l ocessnrily specnlative. Bit? Price for Bull Dog. I Philadelphia Press. j c Miss Tnnes Klizabeth Nehaoffer, of j fi Jermanlown, who already owns three Jk mlldogs valued al $10,000. added to | ior collection yesterday Champion , n Mahoniel, imported last year by 1?. 1 [jobban. The price paid Mr. Lobban Jo >y Miss Schaefl'er was said to be | H5,000. ' ; - 0., N. & L. ROAD. Annual Mecfting?^CjOinpany's $500,000 Stock is Held by 123 Persons. 'olumbia Keeord. There is in proyress to,lay at the .'Moral olliccs iti the Hank of Ooiimbia, the annual in??" of tlio loekholders of (he Columbia. Newerry and Lanivns railroad. At. the ucetiny for I<)()(>, held on October ('tli, the number of Hie stoekholdrs was only 12.'l. and tliis is about ,K> "umber represent??l, in person bv proxy, today. The capitali/.a-1 ion is $.100,000?SO,000 slia.vs of h<i par value oi $'2.1 eaeli. It i.*? believed (lis*I tiie present | oard of directors will be re-elected, I nth the exception that a vacancy a used by death will leave to be "led, and that the directors will | hen reelect the present ollieers. I he d i reel ors a re: W. (!. Cliilds. W. A. Clark. \Y. 11. '.vies. .James Woodrow (died this car); IT. C. Moseley (Prosperity), r. A. Carlisle (Newberry), 10. St. ohn. (Portsmouth), ,1. S." Williamsj Richmond), II. Walter, (New York), H. Ken ley, (Wilmington), W. fj-.| Elliott, (Wilminyt'on). | The ollicors: W (i. ( liilds. president, chairman I (lie board and .yen era I mannycr; I. ( . Moseley. Prosperity, vice pres Icnt ; I. II, (iihbes, secretarv and rea surer: W. II. |iVles. general ounsel: S. W. Paraham, auditor; Uexauder Rowland, auditor of di*uirsemenls: U. A. Mr.-wid, Irallic lanayer; . ,Jt Craiy, yeueral pasenyer ayent. I I he total cast of (he board, equipnents and permanent improvemc:ils ins been $1 .(100,200. The mail is vry prosperous, tliou.yh burdened nth a bond mortynye of $12,000 per niles. The lenyth of the line is 7.1 niles. IEV. DR. CHREITZBERG IS ILL Venerable Preacher of the South Carolina Conference Sustained a Fall and Fracture. Thousands of friends in South arolina will be pained to learn of he serious illness of the venerable A. >1. ( hreit/.bery. the oldest member of lie South Carolina conference, and >erhaps the oldest preacher in I lie late. Dr. ('hreit/.bery stepped from the otloni step of the stairs at his home "i Hampton avenue Thursday niyht iml received serious injuries on his yht hip and left shoulder. A carnal examination by consulting phvsiians yesterday resulted in the anlouncement that there had been a '"actnre of the hip bone. I his will be a very serious matter or I)r. ('hreit/.bery, as he is verv uuch advanced in yeai\. and it will ican a linyeriny illness, even should ie survive the shock of set tiny the irokv u member. On the 17th of this month Dr. ^hreit/.bery will be 87 years of aye, .id all bii.l 1!' of (he years of that imy career have been yiven to the ninistry of the Methodist church j nd t?? the viyorons. forceful, and ' accessful preachiny of the Word, or i).l years hi' had an active collection with IJie conference, liaviny :>(,n placed on the superannuated elation in 1802. II,. |lns hvi(.(l lvp. esented the South Carolina conferee in the ven'-ral conferences of S78 and and has written a umber of pamphlets which are re-j aided as a part of the best litera- I are of the South Carolina confer-| uec. A immy other publications '"in his pen is a history of the conerence. A. Turkey Shoemaker. " Well. remarked Archie, as lie ame iu from the farm-yard, "von tdks won't have to cat barefoot furcys this year." "What do von mean?" asked his u?t her. The buddiny humorist grinned rrenrously. "T just shoo'd them," he replied. -Judge. THE NEWS OF POMARIA, The Old Hen Dies Peacefully After 28 Years?Pleasant Entertainment. I'omavia, December !>.?<An entertainment was id veil Friday night in the Hot he) seliool house by some of the b??ys of Prosperity. A fairly I good erowtl was present, ami the show is spoken of as having been very creditable, Mr. John Sullivan, of Honea Path, spent several days very pleasantly here this last week. It is reported that' some of the young men' of Pomaria are not so anxious for him to return. A large eo.igsvgation was present at Bethlehem church yesterday to 'near an excellent sermon by the pastor, Hev. J. J. Long. The frequent rains recently have interfered seriously with the sowing of oats. Some of the farmers in this community had .jnst begun to sow when the rainy weather commenced, and if the rains continue, further sowing will have to be postponed until spring. I'oinaria can no longer boast of tho oldest hen in the stale. Mr. \V. Q. Hipp, of this place, had a hen to die on Thanksgiving day, thai was in her 28th year. While it seems incredible that a iicn should live to this age, yet there can b<> no (pics!inn of the fact in this ease, for it is vouched for by Mr, Hipp himself in whose possession the hen lias been all the time. An even more remarkable fact is that she continued to lay up In the very last year of her lif>, having laid fix e <>r six egtis last spring. It may not he out of place to state that in spile id the suspicious day of her demise?especially suspicious when we recall how scarce thanks* giving turkeys were?she did not meet a violent death, but laid herself down peacefully to rest, having successfully escaped all the .perilous x'icissitudes of quarterly conferences, summer picnics, and the like, to which her t ril < is heir. S. A Valuable Reversal. There is a young artist in Washington who classes himself as of I lie impressionistic school, and who, boil iv somewhat out in drawin. , gc;it rally mokes up for his lack of technique by spreading color recklessly and counting on distance for his effect. I At an amateur exhibition he o.ice hung one of bis most extraordinary i , perl orniances. | "Well," said a friend, xviiotn the I artist had taken to see the work, "f don't want to flat! -r you, old chap, but that is far ami away the best stuff you have ever done. I congratulate you." Much pleased, the artist was receiving the compliment with becoming modesty, when he chanced again to glance at the picture ami turned very red. The committee had hung it upside down! Ilur ryi:ig to the head ol the oomj mil tee, he was about to launch into j a loud complaint, when iie was in! formed of the good news that an hour before the picture had been sold for $(>]. The original price mark had been $10.?hippincot I's. On the campus at Stanford university the score of fraternity houses are cleaning up and preparing for I lie social receptions and luncheons to be givn to visitors on the day of Hi.- big football game. A man got the contract to paint the Dekc house white with Hie understanding that the job must he done and dried long before Now !). After making a rush start, the painter asked |>crinission to ha.ig out his sign. I lis requ? st was granted, and he put up a conspicuous announcement over the front porch: '* I licse premises being painted by til;;nk Blank." Then the work dragged. He came one day and stayed awav two. So the impatient collegians added to the sign neat lettering until the permanent announcement read: "These premises being painted by Blank Blank. ; Now and then."