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.A NIN( N ) UNTY, S. C., WEDNESDA Y)C8O6. \ 01. 1 L IarA -lm k%-uuties froi the c law c flroratnlg the South Carolina Fire it ftr considering a commlrumicatien f e rairoad commissioners, show iu. iat th'-ir report was filed with the p e printer within the time rescribed by V., the Senate adopted a resollition, b' entr Black, directing the commit t - on printing to inufire the reason wi the State 1inter has not printed t iannual rport of the railroad com mrissio - rs. This cleared the Calendar ata vial atter exceis ~ams wh'ich h-d passed the House. The ses 0: hour wais mrnked by a won i:d di."iteh Of )a iness, and at t elc. fhe Senate adjourned. HOt;E OF IEPRESENT.'.T'. h, following measure., receiyed a hird reaainu: Bill extending tbe time for tlhe pay nent of the taxes which expired on De ember 15 to January 15. 1-. The biil further remits all costs and penalties :hbarged upon delinquents. An amend nent was adopted in the House exclud ing the county of Darlington -'rom the provisions of the bill; bill to c.nfer cer :ain rights upon the Port Lloval and Western Carolina Railroad: bil! to mend Section G of the General Stat Ites, relating to phosphate deposits, the bill in general gives the State a reierred lien on the phosphates for the .ovaltv, and directs the royaly to be :aid quarterly on "crude rock" and "not titer it has been dried or cleaned;") bill o provide for the equalization of assess nents, k-c. ri:* (OLLEGE BiLL. It was after 2 o'clock when the House cached the College tuition bill, which mad been at the head of the Calendar for ome time. The Senate bill was taken ip in place of the bill introduced in the iouse. The committee on education eported it adversely, while two of the neibers, Messrs. Daniels and Young, -ecommended its passage. A motion to ill the bill brought on the discussion, hich was opened by the 1ev. "Mr. krcher, Methodist minister and member rom Spartanburg, who advocated the >assage of the bill. He was fo!lowed on heisame side by the Rev. Mr. Young, of bbeville, one of the minority of the oummittee. Three or four additional ;peeches were made. Shortly after : )'clock, however, a motion to adjourn util 7.30 p. m. was carried, and the louse adjourned without reaching a ote. Mn-ri s7a5sos. The judiciary committee subimitted an iverse report on the labor contract bill, vhich takes its place at the foot of the alenadar. This virt:ally postponcs the natter until the next session. The discussion of the College tuitior ill was resumed and was participated in >v Messrs. S. P. Hamilton, Brawley and xershaw against Messrs. Archer, Pope, 3oozer and Ansel in favor of tuition. A notion to kill the bill failed-67 to 28. Ir. Brawley, however, succeeded in get ing in the following anendmcm: "Pro ided further, that the faculty of the aid University may grant beneficiary chwarships without the payment of any es to such competent and deserving ouths of this State as may be unable to av the same, and the trustees of the aid University shall prescribe such rles tnd regulations as may be proper to con ine the enjoyment of this privilege to Lose whose necessities require it." This xas adopted 57 to 46, and the bill so imended was returned to the Senate. Mr. Hyde's general incorporation bill assed its third reading. Also a bill to imend the debt settlement Act in accord ee with the decision of the Supreme Zourt. The House was in session until nearly ninight, and managed to put through iconsiderable number of bills. '1ue-'.ay, Iunermiber I. The special order for 11 o'clock was the House bill reorganizing the agricul urai department. At 12.30 it was called lip. Senator Younns, as chairman of the committee on agriculture, which had reported it without recommendation, said that as this bill revoilutiona':ed the method of conducting the department, and as it was followed by other meas ures on the same subject, he thought that a proper consideration of the sub ject could not be had this session. In order, thieref ore, that time be allowed for a careful investigation of the whole subject, he moved to continue the bill to the next session. Senator Talbert said that this measure was due to the farmers of the State, and ought to pass at this session. Senator Youmans replied that he was a farmer and didn't share this view. Senator Sinkler was always in favor of maitaining the honored institutions of the State, but he saw nothing revolu tionarv in the bill. It was a graceful concession to the agriculturaists. Senator McMaster wanted full inform ation, and thought it impossible to con sder the subject intelligently in the short time before adjournment. .enat' r Smith was a farmer, but I: thought the matter too important teo b conidered now. There were a niumber of counties in which the farmers were vet unorganized, and these would be without rep~resentation if the bill pase Senator Sinkler again defended the Senator W\othbrd saw in the bill a pro vision for about a hundred and seventy ex-officit. members. There had been gra talk against the few ex-oHileit' mem es of the College board, but now 171 wee to be created off-hand. Think o: giigteSate Grange and State Agri cuuI Departn'ent oindy tiv. members eaho toites-e hundred and seventy: Ahn of treating it. this way o.rganiza tion., which had d~onec so much for thc Sate: This was enough reason for in to opphose the bill. He was a farmer, but sew no good in it It was proposed foi a purpose, of which h'e w.ould not speak. ehoped the. bill w~ouldl be continued. Seatr'Murray said that thle b ili could e *aended to suiIf the Agri dI d Siety and Grange wxere s< ron they' could control the count' delegaton Hei favored the considera 'tio o' th'e ii. Thet matter had beer lay fullyv discused in the papers5 ai in te rclnvenOns. S.:n''tor Talbert asked whate th< G.tage lad dloae beyond putting mnone2 in''the ok.ts of its head iaen? S. ntor Woil'ord rejoined that if thi When the genkral appropil tnil had received its third re'adiu:., nt R2aime moved to increaso the no-roori tion for the Governor's coninL,.ui him from $'2,500 to S4,010. After" little dis cussion the aniendnent was d by a1 Vote Of 23 to 9.o Senator Rhame then ovdi o ine the appropriation for ibet . p farnishing of the Goveruor'., i, from 2.00 to ,. T 'aL. was adopted bv a teof 1i + k On Senator 'Moore's iotion . Was appropriated for repairs to ti::e in Beaufort. On Senator Smiythe's motion the tp propriation for piubhc printin- ws m creased from 1 i2, 000 to .I15," Senator Edwards moved to add..4 to the University appropriation a proviso that tuition fees be charged in th South 1 Carolina College. in accordance % with the bill which has passed the Seate. The 1 Senator said that lie did thi becausei there much doubt whether t'h tuition bill would pass the House at this ses Sion. 3 Senator Buist thought this a sad and fearful thing to put on riders of this sort. It might result in a dealock and t prevent an adjournment of thLe General V Assembly. Senator Edwards said that this amend ment would bring in $6,000 of the '23, 000 voted to the College. He v.ould not vote for the appropriationi without this proviso. Senator Smythe said that ti e unwis dom of the practice of putti g legisla tion on the appropriation bills uad been proved last session when each -ouse had put a rider on the appropaLio.i bill, atnd each endeavored to coerce the other. Senator Murray maintained that it was the right of the people to couple conditions with their grants o. moxey. He favored the rider. It was not coercive. Senator Sligh held the same '.aw. Senator Heaphill believed in and lavored the rider. The vote on the amendmeat resulted yeas 17, nays 17. The Chair voted "aye," and the amendment was adopted. Senator Murray moved to reconsider and to table the motion. Senator Buist then moved to adiourn the debate on the bill uui! t-morrow, so t'iat it could be seen what 11: HouseV would do with the tuition L011, which2 was the special order for the ay. The Chair thought this motion in (cder. Senator Murray then withdrew his motion, and Senator Buist respoided by withdrawing his. Serator Murray offered an a:r endment adding to the College appropration all sums.receivea from tuition fes. ir. t wanted to make the College a eal uni versity, and would cheerfully wite .)O0 000 to that end if the State u afford it. This amendment would cost the people nothing, and it would greatly aid the Universitv. Senators Edwards, Sligh and 1emp hill opposed the proposition. Senator Woflford moved to table- yeas 17, nays 17. The Chair said that, as there swened to be no demand for the this additionad appropriation, lie voted '-aye," and the amendment was tabled.] Senator Murray moved to atdd to Sec tion 7 of the bilathe follo sing adlditional paragraph: "That the sum of ten thousand dol -lars be, and the same is he'eby. atppro priated to continue the work 'iu on the' Columbia Canal, to be expendeta by the directors of the penitentiary in utilizing1 the surplus convict labor upon th~e work in such way as they may deem xest, and that they be directed to utilize the old Canal in such way, if piossible, as to furnish water power to~ the penitentiary. Senator Austin moved to tabl. After a short debate, in which Senator Murray etiectively supported his aimenidmnent, a vote was taken on Senator Aus~tin's mo tion to tablc-yeas 17, nays 17 The Chair 'joted "no" and the amlend ment was saved. Another debate en sued. Senator Hemipiill moved to make the amounit S>,O000. Senator Smythe moved to table it. T1he vote was the same. 17 to 17. This time the Chair voted "no," and the motion was not tabled. On the question of adopting the Hlemphill amendment there were 16; yeas to 18 niays. Senator Murray then moved to m12lke the appropriation SS,000I' instead .of $10,000&, fearing that the figure he :lirst proposed could not be carried, and the amendment was adopted byi a vote of 6 ts 8. After a strong speech by Senator Woodward, and debate by Senator Sigh and others, the Murray "'mendment ap propriating .S,000t for the work was aftixed to the bill-yeas 20, naivs 14. .After this action te general approprmi ationi bill passed its third reading and was returned to the House with its amendments. On Senator McMaster's motio, his Canal joint resolution, which a as the special order foir 11 a. mi., was post poned. T1he legislative aptproplriation bill passed its iinal reading. The Hou~se joint resintin -provi'ding for eieeting seven trustees of :-ee South Carolina 'Uiversity: on Wednesdayv ae the electioni of a otudge of thje Eighthi cireait 'was cuonemared ni. The cons~ iention of the* Second~ 1ead-L iug iils~ was beg.t1 The' irs'. on the CalenCer was ti' e in.e b.)il mn relation to costs a. c1iy ,es"- . eerail amend were dptd hIur me vote W as recon sidered, and i '''e et 'elte on the amendmaents~ wa' l'onluded1 the. Senateo at" :> occk too 'w recess until 7 p. m 'Tne fOnowing bilis receie:1 - r e ond rea.ding:, .1dnewm'g inm aliii the Columbia i Hom Ilsra *nc'Cp n - authorizing' the town. cou" n of 3Virmsbo.1o t>issu bS'ionds 1n *id ''f te Monut Zion Collee rehIting. to theo mXinh"" trinlinf school for teacehers; dot~ne a great dea. -I w v on Setnator Youma. ftion ruiii : yrd Erwin He~nphil. Howel. Izlar. Pattron, I t "nh. Cim, Smi Ih. Smythe.V,Wili., Wg, Wortbid Na %-Se'3n. Itor< 1-ix e Austin. tuist'. Ceews. Edwans, Fi W, 1eCaill, Moie, doody. _urry, i Sligh Taihe )Ott andl 'Wood va:- t. All of the ato at vti-d. :moid thr s of thei a voe ag2t4 the bill. sn::tor io un mgavue whis vte ia avor o - contim-iane-- with such hear mhis i ttra: ele to as to ma.k ripl'>e o thteAr ofssd aroundi the A otlonton to c otion to reco rideIr wa's adote b a vote. of 20 to 14, and the oiv Tillman measu;1re whichl had a chanc-e'of suces-s was buriedl. The result is distinctly traceable to a deter. - ination on the part of various ag-ricull tural Senators not to consent to what thev consider "Tillman dictation. I received its second reading withe the fol lowing amendments: Colleton-County levy raised from to 6 mills, of which;2 to ordinarv coln ty p7-urposes and , to roads and bridges, including $500 for part of the cost of building a bridge over Rantowle's Creek. Edgetield-County 1evy raisal from : to 3 mills. Hampton-Provision made for paying the stenograber of the circuit. General-The provision at the end of the bill allowing county commissioners to borrow moner under certain condi tions was stricien out, on motion of Senator Hemphili. NO i'AX Os DOGS. Tie Taibert dog license bill, afterI having lain neglected on the Calendar for a week, was-. taken up with a recom mendation from~ the committee to which it had been submitted that it be con tinned until the next iession. A motion so to continue it failed en a division. After some debate, the vote on the p sage was 15 to 1.. The Chair voted "no." So the bill seemed killed. At the night session, however, it was recon sidered, and was passed to its third read ing by a vote of 16 to 11. TH1-1DI RnADPING:. The following House bills received1 their second reading: Changing the name and amending the charter of the Chester, Greenwood and Abbeville lail road: amending tile mode_. of divesting the rigut of dower of insane married women; amending the charter of the town of Buarnwell; creating two school district, in Barnwell county; ineorpol a-ing the Maverick Mills of IarnwellI county; prOViain for the completion of the State House; bill to amuentI the stock law as to Ilorry and other counties. The following measures were killed: Bill amending the Act prohibiting the. sale of liquor in the town of Laucaster: bill relating to the hunting of deer. The bill exempting portions of Uerke lev and ColIeton counties fro: the stock la'w received its second reading, With Senator Smythe's amehnlinent that it shall not aplly to lands of A. S. Perry and half a dozen others. Thc bill for the relief of the King's' Nlountain 31ilitary School was continued until the next session. Senator Sligh's bill to rcgttate the taxation of attorneys' costs wascontinacd on his own motion until next session, as it was too late to be acted on this yea. i There was a very one-sided fight over the House bill providing for the issue of liquor licenses in Berkeley and Beau fort counties. Senators Sinkler, Smythe, Youmans, Buist and 3Ioise spoke strong ly in favor of the bill, showing what a deplorable condition these counties had been brought to by the enactment of a. prohibition law which is not and cannot beefocd Senator MIurray opposed: th iladmade a motion to kill it. but subsequently withdrew his motion. Senator Kennedy renewed it. It was deetd 2he bill then passed its sec ond reading by the following vote: Yeas : 3, nays ti. :xorst or n1EnsENThTIva. The Senate amendments to the general appropriation bill caused quite a debate. The first light occurred on the University section of the bill. The appropriation had been raised in the Senate fromi 815, tu00 to 81l7,000., and the skirmish was open'ed by Dr. Pope, who, as usual, ex pressed the hope that the House would niot caucus. He regarded it as singular that this increase was not asked ior until the bill had reached the Senate. Mr. Hutson, chairman of the edtuca tionl committee, anid Mr. Ficken, acting chairman of the ways and means com mnittee, explained this omission. The House refused to agree to the amend ment. The ne~xt an'endment was the tuition rider tacked on to the section by the Senate and embracing substantially the ;irovlions of the tuition bill p~assedl by that body. The House unanimously re infsed to concur. It also refused to concur in the amend ment striking out the 810,0001 appropri .te for the completion o' the central building of the Penitentiary. Th--n the Canal rider was reached, an amendment appropriating $$,000U for the work on the Canal, mainly to furnish water power to th~e penitentiary. This reopened the Canal de bate, in which dozen oPr more miembers took part. C ol. Thomas. of Richlanid, made an earnest but brief app'e~ He s aid lie suptposed~ the members w~oul , voe as their convie tions dictated lie hoped, however ther would vote- te concu" r in this aanend iment, if for no other reason than to gv the Richland~ delegaion the c .nsolatio of hainig done someting fo r Coauni. Mr. Davenpvort, of Gtreenville, opposed this appropriaition. M. Da'.enport made the assertion that rain -tenithis of the members of the House were uinable to pav their iust debts. Th'ley must not, b ecause they were here in Columbia living like rich men, for what thy w ~ere. l*:very year theSe appjropriiation h a tc be made. If membe,~rs cntimned ving appropritilons this way they w'onii voieo the' shirts off their backs. After discussing the mxattei for ani hiour Mdr. Cappelman called the previ ous ques tion, whieh ended the idebat. The [louse, without a division, r'efus'ed to cencur in the :auendnment. All the amendments in reference to h Lunatic Asylum wer'e agreed to, xcept that reducing thi' per diem of the r At. tis m r. rienli moved to reCOHniaer die vote wherelv the House re1fu4sed to agree to the anendment in cresint the Coege appropriation from S15,00() to S17,00, stating that he did so in order to give Coi. Haskell, who had been dllisposed and who had just entered the hanl, an opportunity to explain the niecessitv- for the inereased al propriationi. Mr. Naskell explained that I he increase WILS needed Iainlv inl colseluence of the increased popularity in the College of the school of applied mechanics and the vagricultural departmncut. Or. Po pe andI the Rcv. Mr. Archer fought the amendmentbIitterly.lu astiking contrast were the remarks of Mr. Tin dal, of Ciarendoi, the president of the Farner.; Convention antd the represen tative of that body. lie had been, he said, opposed to fr-e tuition in the Col lege, but he could never consent to starve the institution nor to cripple its usefnl nesgs byv n;-ierdly appropnlation. After tae further discussion the mo tion to reconsider was carried by a large majorit v and the Senate amendment agreed :1 without a division. T"he aiminent giving 475 for repairs of the arsenal at Beaufort was adopted bV a I'- ot 49 to :3. Th . ate inerease in the appropria tion f r puhlic printing from $12,000 to and that in the legislative ap priation from ,000 to $10,000 were not concurred in. The benate amendment appropriating .55,000 i to .id in the rebuilding of the, State Medieal College at Charleston' seemed to have stilred up the most dire ful wr. of the reformers, who once more rlied and made a desperate fight againg i. The first opposition came from Dr. Pope. of Newberry, who said that the College had no right to call upon! the State for this aid. After some discussion by several mem h ters, the amendment was agreed to by a 03 to 44. S i;" 1T -;.s I N. In pursuance of the resolution adopted this morning the House to-night confined its attention to hills which had already pa s..d the Senate. This arrangement developed the fact that a number of bills which were on the Calendar for a second reading had already been ratified. The hill to prohibit the obstruction of navigation in the rivers of the State by brid -s was continued till the next ses The work on the Calendar progressed rather slowly but without much trouble tutil the Anderson-Laurens prohibition bill was reached. An effort was made, I as the bill promised to consun. a good deal of valuable time, to continue it until the next session. This was, how ver, voted dowu, yeas 16. nays 72, and the iebate occupied therest of thenight. Mr. Cappeluann moved to strike out the nacting words of the bii. His motion was killed. A member from Oconee moved to add tiat couity to the bill. This was adopted. Mr. Keitt, of Newberry, moved to add that count v to the bill also. Dr. Pope moved to table this motion. I it was adoitteti he sa i it wound split the Democratie party in Newlberry. The motion to table was tabled by a tie vote of veas 5!, nays 50. A vtote was then taken on the amendment direct to add Newberry county to the bill. Mr. Hlyde then Ioved to amnund by adding Marion. Voted down. Mr. )'Brien moved to amend Iy adding Charleston. Voted down. The bill was then read through to the end without farther amendments being ol'ered. Mr. Sarratt, of Union, moved to strike out the last eight sections of the hill, re ducing it to the level of an ordinary )ro hibition bill. This reopened the discus sion, with the evident intention to keep it up until an agreement could be reached. After a long debate a motion to strike out the most objectionable sections of the bill failed by a vote of :37 to 52. Several other amendments were voted down. The bill, with the amendment including Oconec county, passed without a divisinu. The House sat for sonme time longer discussing unin.portant bills. 'The close of the Se-in.zu Instead of carrying out the daily re ports of the proceedings, we give below a statement of the more important mat ters acted upon. i.ETnON OF JVi-. For Judge of the eighth judicial cir cuit the following candidates were placed in nomination: of entr Buist, Mr. W. H. Parker, By Mr. Pope, Mr. E. H. Graydon, of Abbeville. By Mr. An sel, Mr. T. Q. D)odadson,1 of Greenville. By Mr. O'Brien, Mr. J1. J. Norton, of Oconee. By Senator Murray, Mr. B. F. Whit nr. of Anderson. 'fhe balloting resulted as follows: Norton 1st. 2d. 3d. 4th. 5th. Parker ......42 41 41 37 5; Whitner...30 81 3,; : - Gravdo'n. ..14 10i - - Donaldson. ...........* - - Lzar. ... I 1 1 1 1 Trotal vote . 152 151 152 .!50 1511 Necessary to elect 77 7i 7 ) Colonel Norton was accordingly de lared electedi. In the .ioint asemlyl to et a iboard lege, the folh"ving named1 gentlemen of DIrli.n ton:.iohn' Brattmnc of Faield; lug Simlnt'"n on . ChaietIon; Paul F. l.nsbu're:'enator iziar, of Urangeburg: SiL. \. (. ''Iiason of Charleston: Mr. I. D.nilds, of Richlaind; .1. D). Bland ig, of. Suniter: J. F. J. Caldwell, of N*wery Cl 1. W. Boyd. of D)arling tn:' '. . r oflDarlington: F'. Wt. McMster, of~ IUiehland: Judge A. C. Ihtskell oI Richland. i'pe .aie I. Gm. lKissick,of Union. :ieenativ ~Th~ omas, of Rlichiand, Nee-ary to chice 0. IzL r 1:'4, rrod 9::, Ciro J d. Hasl 1iT, 3easter4S, Sigl ., llnso, 1 48, Caldwvell 3:1, Bladinig- 24, l> d -- J. E. Tindal 2, Donaldson i, Patterso. i 'f lie names of Mssrs. Calawell, E"Ov(. Blanding, 3IcMaster antd l1iton ne_ now withdrawn, leaving the race between Mlessrs. Coker, 11Henry, Edwards ad Sligh. The vote stood: H enry9l0), (oker 85., Edwards 5:, Siigh . lesss. hi nry and Coker were accordin-gly ('elarl d elected. 'urrio ,Y' IN a". I : The conference comalitte on the College tuition bill reported :i agree ment, which practically retaitis the House amendments to the hill. The: only changes from such aiewlainents are that not only the beneficiary youth, but his parent or guardian, shall be unable to pay tuition, and that the trustees may at any time change a student from the beneficiary to the pay class. All the provisions about afifidavits as to property from the eoi2:tv officers are stricken out. In this sL; _- the bill has been duly passed. The House, Iy a decided vote, passed a joint resolutio n appointing Johnson Hagood, Wm. ). Johnson end B R. Tillman a commission to tra;'el i this country and in .Europe, with a view to obtain information as to the establish ment of an-Agricultural College. But the Senate killed the resolution by a considerable majority. THE CANAL. The Senate's proposition to give 88,h00 I for work on the canal failed in the House. The latter body offered other propositions, but the Senate "cut the Gordian knot" by receding from its own proposition. ADJtrRNMENr. Both houses adjourned sine die at -.11, on the morning of the 24th. shlOW a,~ a Ft'ti izerl. The opinion prevails, gen2rally among farmers, that snow is quite a fertilizer to winter grain crops. The opinion, doubt less, migrated with our ancestors from i England to Virginia and North Carolina, and thence to the more southern states, as population moved southwesterly. That snow greatly benefits grain crops i in those regions where it covers the ground the greater part of the winter there can be no shadow of doubt. But ow? In the first place by protecting i from cold. Absurd, says one, to say that anything covered with snow is protected from cold. Why snow itself is a terribly 2 eold thing. Admit it is a pretty cold 4 thing, but its temperature need not be lower than 32 degrees, and the ground under it need not be colder than 32 de grees. Suppose juflt before the snow fall the soil of a wheat tield freezes lightly. A light freeze would not hurt grain. Now cover it up with six to ten inches of snow, and let the weather tarn very cold. Let the thermometer drop I own to ten degrees, or as it sometimes 1 oes to zero. What then? Will the soil temperature sink down to those tigures? Not at all. The loose, porous: snow checks the escape of heat from the soil, just as a good fur keeps the heat from escaping from an animal's body, and the soil retains its temperattue of approximately thirty-two degrees. The I wheat plant is kept about as (old as it:, would be in a nice frosty moring, Just! Dold enough for a little ice to form. It, is protected from the zero cold, and i from (what is of more importance still, the cold, drying winds which invariably attend these severe spells of cold. The! destructive influence of cold winds on j vegetation is apt to be overlooked. It, intensiies the cold very much and, as pointed out in a former article, is ofteni the cause of death in plants. Snow, then,1 efectually protects crops from extremei cold and from cold and drying winds. But does it not do more than that? Does it not really enrich the soil; is it not really a fertilizer? Not much. Sno, like rain water, contains a little am monia; but only a little. In numerous 1 cases, all the snow and rain water which falls in a year, upon a given area, havei been carefully collecte .i and examimed; the amount of ammonia in them ascer-] taned, and the calculation made as to how mach ammonia would thus be ea ied into the soil of an acre. The largest amount thus determined has been a very little over ten (10) pounds per acre, the smallest about four 4pounds per acre; and the most careful observations ind cate that the average amiount of nitrogen (both as ammonia and nitric acid a which: an acre receives from rain and snow in a whole year, is only about live (4)pounds, representing or' equivalent to, six Itt) pounds of ammonia. Snowv does not': carry into the soil any more ammoma than a corresponding rain, nil of which soaks into the soil. A fall of ten inches of snow is about equal to one inch of rain, which is a good soaking rain. Now, divide six pounds of ammonia byv the number of rainf'alls in a year, and see how little ammonia would be carried into the soil by one rainnill or' onle snow. Thirty rains ini a year would muake ene rain or snow carry one-fifth of aipounid of anmonia into the soil of an acre, or not more of that substance than thee pounds of cotton seed meal would sup ply to an acre; and ammonia is the only fertilizing material which snow contain. It is obviously, therefore, a very poor fertilizer, though it niay greatly beneit crops by the protection it affords against cold. At the North. where snow takes the place of rain, the winter leach'ing of soils is greatly ireduced, because i e' snow melts in the spring and ra"vs olr ?reat mecasre, wtithout soaxking imO a:e frozenu ground. Wtith ai't doesnt - main long enoug en thde groundt to pI teet grain to anyI cste'r t; n~eith'er du:w take the plac e of0.i su~ ~ ielietly t diminish the lechlingt of the soil in a appreiatve degree'.-W. L.-1. in the Atlanta Constitution. IT t t ja.i . Ga. D~eceiberi 21.- -'Tie - no ted bunii-.r of1 F'rnk S:!tier. It e m ;, l i~e ride 'hN in~,) ';eei'elr. The. Wa.Ih.;t u correspondelt of the Ncw York Vorld writes (December 9) as hollo;-.: .1ige W. D. Kelly, of Pennsyl V'ia. wh.o has been on a six weeks' tour trough t:e South. returned to-day. His '- wa .o the purposeof makimg a per )lnal inispe'ction of the progress in that ,eetion. His titlue was ebi-fly spent in Tenseand Alabania. In reply to a Woril Icrrespondent he said the signs ' pgr-s t e a.. indeed marvelous. "imy fi ourne through the i-tuth in 1, 7 and wenit again in 1875, risitin the same places I just come rom, and no one coul luthve convinced aue tiat the people of that section had nade such strides as they have. I could ;carcelv convince myself that the places [ visited were the saie that I saw on my ormer journeys. They are enjoying town there not only progress but pros )erity greater than is enjoyed in the ~orth, and it is all owing to a change of ;entiment oii the question of labor. The )ld planters are beginning to recognize lot only the dignity but the value of abor." "Is there moral and social progress as VeIl?" "Yes; the progress in that direction is qually marked. The people are living n a better class of houses and begmnning x> show taste in art adornments, and are ntroducing the comforts of life that vere aiknown to the middle and lower :lasses a few years ago. The residences )f the peOple are more neatly kept, the mxteriors are painted in taste, and the in eriors of those I entered were comforta >ly furnished, with signs of refinement. Che educational privileges of the colored Jeople are now better than those the vhites enjoyed when I last visited the ioutb, and those of the whites are great v improved. The class distinctions vhich were the carse of that section xist no lIoner. or only to a limited ex ent; and tht social position of a citizen S no ioinger reckoned by what his father Vas, but Iby his own conduct and ability. t is no longe.r degrading to work, but he producers are more respected than he idlers." -'The towns I visited," continued the udge, "are under prohibitory enact ents, and the moral condition of the >f the people is much improved thereby. he money that was formerly wasted in rink is now employed to promote the velfare of those who earn it, and the re uit is greater comforts, better health and* .n increased power of produstion. The groes are industrious and thrifty as a lass', and the man who earns a dolltr in a nine or a manufactory has a purchasing >ower in those little towns equal to five imes that of tile planter who is depyndent uon the yield and the prices of cotton. I:he rate of wages paid workingmen is bIouIL that paid in Pennisylvania for the ame clas of laborers and the same kind >f employment, and the negroes are )roving themselves admirably adapted to nclianical industries." "iThey love the heat of the milk aal aing at tcir work. They save their rages iOr spend them wisely, and as heir employers are beginning to see hat the prosperity of the country de )eIIs upon the colored people as labor rs they are no longer treated like >easts. I wnct into their houses and chools, sometimes by invitation and ometimes incognito. I told them sim )ly that I was a Northern man and was nterested in seeing how they were get ing on, and1 I cannot express with great aphasis the impression made upon my ind by what I saw and the value of in ormation I aconired. "The people of the South are making iore money than we. They can pro hice rough iron more cheaply, because he materials are in such close juxtaposi ion. I stood on coal beds which had ron mines on each side of them, not' or'e thuan two miles away, and lime tone lying between. In Pennsylvania? can assert on good authority that it osts seven dollars to get the materials ogether before the manufacture of the run commences. In the South, or in hose parts of it 1 visited, it does not ost more than two dollars. Then, again, an is so mneh cheaper. "In Pennsylvania land costs from one mudred to 'seven hundred dollars an ere, while in the South land can be >urcased for' one dollar or one dollar su a quarter that is equally as good for. he purpose." Where does thle capital come from '' 43Iost of it originally came from the f orth, but now local capital is becoming nterested and the profits of the business ire inimediately reinvested." "'Will the inth compllete with the %rhern States in the manufacture ofj ron?" "Yes, and outran us. Thley- are noti aaking anyting but low grade iron iow but secll all they can make at the am price we get for a similar qua'lity. iev dlo not make enough to supply the l~nnd, .so that there is n10 biddingI .gaust us, but~ the time will come when aiities fo r celp production will be it by the producers of myX own and~ i-K. Pa..Iceclaber IS.-Christi::ai F'. l1chau. -a .:iir, hot its dlaughters, 3Minnie ud ~ Annie tis aflternoon. kilinga the er~nr ourig t auiy wounded the latter, ad a:stem tt escapie "11ot at poli1cc u ii. i wh daidiv elubbedt Schau - t' aI elfeited li" arrest. Wh ile en hilleer iit alis -r a b de~iehe tlie -!v arhal f an ni 'Ir Itb afterward .. *- . . , . :i. ~ hin r !eiV I N .11 1.11 1_1Il I % . I:AJS %. '.ht Constitut esa Wedding in the Moua4 tain% of West Virginia. (From tile winfield, W. Va. Letter) After a silence of a few minutes, in which the old fellow had stared at me to his content and sized me tip from head to foot, he suddenly bursted out: "Stranger, is you married?" Being an swered in the negative his roomy and capacious mouth broadened into a grin and said: "Wall, while you is out in this country you oughter hunt up a gal and git married," and then turning to a great buxom lass who would tip the scales at 175 and 16 years old (his hired girl) he continued: "Now, that is Arn. She wants to get married the wuss kind, and if y'all can make it up, I guess I can scrape round and git some flour, kill a chicken, churn and give you a weddin," and your correspondent thought that if he was looking for physical strength and development, he couldn't do better. When bed time came I was advised to "shell off," which, to -my surprise, I had to do before the family, consisting of the old man and wife, ten children (a small crop for this part of the country,) and the fair Ann; so, with my face a lovely crimson, I shelled off. Pretty soon all the family followed my exam ple. From the log rafters of the one room house, in which the family ate, slept, cooked and did everything else, there hung large festoons of dried pumpkins, apples, dried and strung, the clothes of the whole family, pieces of pork, and endless other things for com fort and winter consumption. On the table, three times a day, we got invariably fried pork, sweet potatoes, coffee (minus sugar) and forever and eternally "Johnny constant" or corn bread, and, I may add, buttermilk. House after house we stopped at, and it was always the same-nothing of the comforts of life. These are fine counties for coal and timber. Thousands of large logs are haulct to the banks of Coal river ready for a rise, and a boom is being built to catch the logs. 31ODERN CIVILIZATION. fuman Beings Living on Oats and Sleep ing on Straw. (From the New York Exchazmes) It happened that not long ago my business led me through the classic pre cincts of Mulberry street, one of the slums of that peculiar civilization which is summed up in every great city. Years ago, I remember, when Tony Pastor first spread his wings as a popular warbler, he used to preface some of his ditties by the remark that he had only been induced to sing them at the urgent request of some of the first families of Mulberry street. While picking my wmay through the groups of ragged, motiveless, poverty besotted creatures, who for want of a better name, are still called human be ings, my attention was arrested by a large sign ahead on which was written, "Hay, Straw and Oats." This otherwise not unusual sign seemed strange on this treet, where there appeared no detached cats, or any indications that there were stalls in the neighborhood. The fact is that in this vicinity civilization is at so low an ebb that any place where a beast of burden will lie down is already monopolized by men, women and chil dren, who are more profitable lodgers. Horses find quarters in more advanced localities, where human beings do not covet the places reserved for them. In the front of this store were a num ber of bales of clean straw, of a kind most usually used for bedding horses, and within its walls were numerous bar rels and boxes. My attention was soon ttracted by a wretched man comning out of the door with a bundle of straw under is arm, who was followed by another vith a dirty bag in his band, apparently tlled with corn or grain. Pretty soon aman who appeared to be a helper in the store came to the door, and I made old to ask him, as politely as I could, what these people di4 with the bundles of straw and the bags of grain. "What do you suppose?" was the bluff reply. '-Yer a little, fresh, boss." ~I assured the man that as a stranger in New York, I had only asked out of. -uriosity, and hoped he would excuse ne. I soon gained his confidence, and ent away with some points on latter day civilization of a very suggestive character to student of "ethical culture." This clerk of the grain store informed me that cellars and basements consti tuted the lodging places of a considera le portion of th inhabitants of Mul berry street. Th enterprising landlord rovides a stove in middle of the floor, upon which is a kettle of water. On the ides of the den bunks are built up to the ceiling. The lodger provides his own bedding, which consists of an arm ful of straw, purchased at the feed store for five cents, and which may do service for an indefinite time. With the lodg ing is included the kitchen privileges. These consist of the use of the hot water, which is supplied by a faucet in the ket le, and the right to warm or cook what ever fodder the lodger may chance to have on top of the stove. The fodder is sually oatmeal or cornmeal, which he has purchased at the feed store, added to such swill as he may beg or steal through the day. The bill for lodging .nd culinary privileges is something like twenty-five cents a week, and when it is onsidered that twenty or thirty, often of both sexes, are packed into these holes, the business of the hotel keeper ecomes a ouite lucrative one. And yet this great New York abounds ut schools and churches, charitable in titutions and art galleries galore! The Torch in Arkansas. S1. Loc-, iDecember 21.-A special im Little Rock. Arkas. says: "News a een received from Vituni, an inland own of Faulkner county, in this State, t> hei eft'eet thatt about 'clock on Sunday norning~ every buisines house in the town was siniultaneously ,et on tire and burned Sthe ground, including the barns, cribs mdi~ I2inousesS of 31essrs. George and Iiniemas I tarris, residing about hlf a mile rm \'i!uni. Nothing at all was saved. I d t aris Bros. lost great guamtities if corn. fumdder, eotton~ seed, hay, &c., they --ing conisidered the w~ealthiest farmeri e'cunty.. Total loss about $15,000. >ne~ has~ yet been arrested, but susp mintst i one, or two bad characters. - p4t. ::ny wotaanl~ can :alpre |h