The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, November 09, 1899, Image 4
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THE COTTON SITUATION
We had a convention of cotton growers
in Raleigh this week for the discussion
of matters interesting the cotton
grower and for the devising of
some plan by which the cotton farmer
may realize more for bis product. With
our Southern love for political economy,
the discussion tended mainly towards
this aspect of the question, and the
idea of some seemed to be that the cot- i
ton growers should form a gigantic sort
of a trust, to hold and control the sale
o?the crop so as to furnish it to the market
as the demand requires. Then, too,
there were those who still are infected
with the paternalism that would make
the Government orgamze bonded warehouses
for the storage of cotton and
the issuing of sub-treasury certificates.
What the convention seemed, to the
- writer, to have entirely overlooked is
lV- ??/-xf the individual
UIO n^puuaiuiiitjr vi wv ?
planter for the existing state of affairs.
5The inveterate cotton grower looks upon
cotton as his only resource for money*
and regards everything else that he
may be induced to grow simply as
''supplies."
Sometime ago one of the city papers
cited as a bright example for imitation
the fact that "Mr. ?had raised
- corn enough to do him 3 years." The
inference seemed to be that it was a
wonderful stroke of business on the
? part of this farmer to grow corn enough
in one year to "do him" three years,
and that for three years he could therefore
devote his entire attention to cotton.
What would be thought of a
groceryman who boasted that he had
bought flour enough to last his sales
three-years and hence would buy no
more flour, no matter what the fluctua
tion of the market or the depieciation
of the flour, or the keeping of his money
locked up unproductive ? The farm,
er who raised enough corn to "do him"
three years seemed to think that was
- a due thing. He did not think thai
corn had a money value in the market,
that it Qould be at once turned into s
more valuable product in the shape oJ
heef or pork, or that he ought to grow
more corn every year and not depend
on tlie weevil-eaten corn of the yeai
before until it was worthless. In fact
though the city editor thought this ?
fine example of business foresight, ii
was at the botton one of the reasoni
for the present state of the cotton grow
- - er. ,
* .; Systemless farming lies at the rool
of the whole evil. Too much land it
cotton, too few bales for ihe acres, toe
many mules and too few breeding marei
thus forcing the cotton crop to bm
eveu the animals that cultivate it am
which bring nothing to the farmer bu
their labor during the crop season
The statement was made at thi* meeting
that the average cost of producing cot
ton was over 6c. per lb. And right her*
is where that dreadful fellow, the "aver
age" farmer comes in. There are mei
in this State who are growing cotton foi
1?? nno man ?mn flftim
IIU icoo jnu jn/uuuj wuw v ?? ?
ing that he <rows it for less than 3c
per lb. But the average man is th<
"cropper." The man who has nothing
oq earth invested but a mule and a plov
Mid his own labor and that of his fam
ilj, and is furnished with food and fer
tiliiers by^the merchant or landlorc
who hold a mortgage on his crop, anc
secure themselves liberally for the in
vestment. A large part of'the cottoi
crop in the Sontb is raised fey thes<
men, who prodAqp from one Iwle U
more each seaso n atyl 11(
make up a total that * arts *<towwiin
' valne of that grown, by men'who hav<
capital invested in farming.
**. The tenant system ^df the South is
responsible with the fCredit system foi
the condition in .which the,cotton growere
find themsely^s. uMen have mors
land than they fefc cultivate in cotton
and they rent thcrfextra acres to crop
pers to grow cotton.on, to come in com
- petition with their ,QWn crop and swel
the general dimensions of the whole
They neither farm in a systematic manner
themselves nor require the tenant5
to farm, but all crop thelaudiucotton.
The land owners are creating of theii
own accord the competition that breaks
down the market. It would be far bet
ter for the owner of broad acres to let
the surplus land lie idle than to keep
up the tenant 8>stem cow so common,
and it would be still better f& them tc
go to farming instead of planting nothing
but cotton. With a variety of crops
and stock, cash would be coming in at
Afferent seasons and business methods
could be adopted thai sire now impossi
iH CUWUU guuus ili U1C UJJUICU OMlrCO
expressed the opinion that the developments
of the cotton mill industry in
the South are bound to continue; that
the advantages in the South are so
manifest that tbey will steadily gain
the supremacy over the New England
mills. Becect statistics prepared regarding
the production and character
of gray goods show that South Carolina
produces more than New Hampshire
or Maine, and is only surpassed by
Massachusetts, and that the quality of
the goods was as good as any produced.
An analyst has made the discovery
that California roses contain 20 per
cent, more perfume than those grown
elsewhere.
# f
The doll is probably the most an*
tique toy. It h as beenfound inside the
graves of children in ancient Borne.
Die.
The salvation of the cotton farmer
jgv" does not rest in legislation. ^Lt does
not rest in combines to bull the market.
It does not rest in visionary sub-treasury
schemes. Bat it does rest in the
improvement of Southern lands, in the
growing of better crops on less number
of acres. It does rest in the carrying
on of improved farming all the year
IP through, and the dropping at once and
forever of the one crop idea that keeps
*' teams and labor idle part of the year
when they might be making money in
other ways. It does rest In the feeding
of more cattle and hogs, in the making
of home cnred bacon both for the home
and m the market. In brief, it rests
m the adoption of good farming with
tlie cotton as the money 01 op clear of
ail expenses now charged against it.
It rests in making the cropper a permanent
farmer, and compelling him to
form instead of merely to grow a crop
of cotton that leaves him poorer at the
end of the year than he was at the beginning.
It rests in getting out of the
old ruts, and the abandoning forever
the notion that somebody should carry
the cotton farmer, but will show him
that like all other farmers, he must
work oat his own salvation. It is with
the hope of helping him to a knowledge
of how he may do this that we are
working. It is for the elevation of the
cotton farmer and for his greater prosperity
that we have been working these
many years. Here and there one sees
the light, and starts on a better plan,
and with the hope thai many o;ore may
do so we will keep on in the fight for
better methods in Southern agriculture.
W. F. Masset,
Wake Co., If. C.
Daring a recent interview one of the
leading authorities on the manufacture
^ J * ? ?- TT??%4 A/1 i
SOUTHERN FLOUR MILLS.
One of the most suggestive papers
; prepared for the Huntsville convention
was that of Mr. W. E. Damon, of
Nashville, Tenn., on flour-milling in
the South. He traced the decline
of flour-milling 111 the fifteen Southern
States from the time, two decades ago,
when the revolution wrought bj the
building of roller mills began. At
that time there were 5,885 flour mills
in the South, representing 3t>u,uw,uuu
of capital. The high price of cotton
and the over-shadowing of burr mills
by i he roller system hastened the decliue
of the Southern milling busiuess
until, it is estimated, it is now represented
by 3,000 plants, notwithstanding
the fact that the population of the
South has, in the meantime, increased
more than one-third. Of those mills,
not more tl.an 350 are to be found in
the nine cotton States. Mr. Damon
contends that the South, which is now
short on flour and long on cotton, it
able, not only to raise ail the wheat
necessary for its own consumption,
but also for export. He says :
"For the encouragement of the
Southern farmer I wish to say that the
average yield of wheat per acre in the
cotton States named is greater than in
the great wheat growing States of Illinois
and the Dakotas. Willi approved
methods and appliances I feel safe m
asserting tliat no section of this country
could surpass the South in this respect.
With the magnificent possibilities
afforded by the throwing open
of the p >rts of Cuba and Porto Rico
to American flour, to say nothing of
the prospective opening of the HicaOOVIO
molrinn o rnnto
! icvgunu UIUU) uibi^vj uiaiuug < ivuvv
. by which 400,000,000 hungiy mouths
can be reached in the Orient, the
, South should be encouraged to a revi,
val of her flour-milling industry. The
1 necessity of feeding her own people is
\ n'gent. The opportunity of feeding
; others is alluring. Nowhere in the
( United States are there such openings
i for flour mills as in the South, especially
! in the cotton-crowing States. Already
r the farmers, tiring of five-cent cotton,
[ are turning their attention to wheatr
growing. Georgia farmers are producf
iDg forty bushels per acre. South
t Carolina is holding wheat conventions
t ano will probably quadruple h'af crop.
$ There is a general awakening all along
. the line, and some of the Southern
States are building flour mills fastei
t than the old wheat-growing States,
i Not being overcrowded, the opportuni,
ties for profitable operation are good."
^ The facts presented in Mr. Damon's
f paper are strong arguments in favor ol
i an enlaigement of an industry which
t has for years been more profitable k
the South than elsewhere. It will be
r enlarged as the area devoted to wheal
. increases in size This area need 110!
5 encroach upon that devoted to cotton
l except, perhaps, in some of the oldei
j States, yet it will tend to make cotton
r more profitable in reducing the cost ol
its production, and certainly will add
to the general wealth of the South
j Mr. Damon, for instance, estimates
r that the cotton States, exclusive ol
j Texas, raises but a trifle more than
. 8,000,000 bushels of wheat with which
. to feed a population of 1^,000,000 perj
sons, who require the flonr from 48,
i 000,000 bushels of wheat. The deficit
. mltM J"1supplied from other States at
i a cost of abont $40,000,000. If this
i coma besavea to ine oouin it wowo
> be sufficient relarn for building floui
} mills. But other advantages are to be
? cfz^iilerod. *lf ?small mils of from
}"J sbfty^jto gfevdnty-flvo barrels dailj
capacity should be built until the num}
ber in the South is in the same proportion
to population, as the number was
in 1879, there would be nearly 5,000
" additional industrial establishments,
employing 20,000 persons and contrib'
nting to the support of at least # three
times as nuu.y. The propositkm has
. evidently been studied by a few farsighted
men, and they, as well as
[ others who may embark in the enterJ
piise, should be encouraged by an increasing
number of wheat-growers.?
1 Manufacturers' Becord.
: SELECT THE SEED NOW.
I >
There is no one thing which, of itself
, alone, will insure the production of a
> good crop. But there are some things
- which are vof much more efficiency in
> securing this result than are others
i which contribute to the general success.
> Among the more important items is the
selection of good seed. To the host of
farmers who grow corn this subject is
> just now of special interest. For the
i yield and quality of the com crop of
next year, will depend largely npon the
kind of seed that is used, and it is now
I the lime to select the seed. The too
, common custom of selecting from the
crib in Spring involves altogether too
much risk, 'ilie ears may have been
damp when cribbed, have been frozen
in the Winter, and their vitality impaired
or destroyed. Besides, when
chosen in this way the farmer cannot
tell anything about the kind of stalk
upon which the com was grown. This
is a matter that has never received the
attention which it deserves, even when
the seed corn was selected at husking
time. Good, well filled ears, of fairbnt
not excessive size, which are produced
by stalks which are tall, well leaved,
but only medium size at tbe ground,
should be chosen. Ears that are ripe
comparatively early in season are also
preferable to those which mature late,
and those from stalks which produce
two good ears are better we beiieve
than thosefrom stalks which yield only
one ear each. From the double-eared
stalks, however, the lower ear is to bo
preferred for s?ed. Part of the shucks
shouid be left on the ears saved for seed,
though ihey should be stnpped down to
the buU of the ear. These ears should
be thoroughly dried and then stored
where they will be safe from mice and
squirrels and from rain. Cold, unless
extreme, will not injure the germinating
qualities of the seed if it is kept
dry. The corn should be left on the
cob until it is wanted for use. Even
with the best of care it will not be reliable
for seed if kept several years. It
is best to save seed every year. All
this is on the supposition that there is
a large field of some given variety to
select from, or else that no other kind
is grown upon the farm. If several
kinds, which npen at about the same
time, are grown near each orher the
seed will mix badly and will not be
suitable to plant.?Practical Farmer,
While it has been known in a general
way that the water-powers in the
Southern States weie being gradually
taken hold of and used for manufacturing
purposes, yet it will be a surprise
to many persons to know that at Columbia,
S. C., the largest cotton mill in
the South is to be established. The
water power will be used to drive dynamos,
current from which will be
conveyed to the mill to operate the
spindles.
Have you tried wide tires? The
wider the tires the lighter the draft.
Don't save the horses by walking, but
ride and let the wagon become sired.
RAILROADS AND RESOURCES.
In an address before the real estate
convention of Arkansas, Mr. Alexander
C. Hull, secretary of State, set
forth an elaborate statement of the
possibilities in the zinc region of the
State. The address was practical
throughout, notably in these concluding
sentences:
"Everyone knows that the future
success of the Arkansas zinc region
depends almost altogether on railroad
transportation. That the railroads are
going to traverse that country, and
that in the very near future, everyone
rni. r^ 1_ xL^.1 no
agrees, xnen wim umu euKipuoc assured,
just picture in your minds a
country "flowing with milk and honey,"
figuratively speaking; a country
composed of five counties running
over with miners and investors, the
entire area a veritable miniDg camp
thousands of men busily, engaged ic
throwing out as many tons daily of $4?
zinc ore, to furnish tonnage for the
railroads, and large profits to the mine
owners and good wages to the laborers
and added to this, consider the greai
amount of tonnage furnished by the
importation of mining machinery o:
every kind and nature, and suppliei
for the miners, and the exportation o:
the varied products of the country
which, in addition to the zinc output
probably consists in a greater variet;
than that of any other country on th<
continent. Again, with these condi
tions, consider that the large area o
government lands there insures a dou
ble farming population, thousands o
new homes' inhabited by happy au<
prosperous farmers, with a correspond
iog increase of cereal and live-stocl
productiors, the establishment of man
ufacturing plants and industries, fui
nisbing employment for thousands o
mechanics and laborers; new town
and even cities springing up {as if b
magic; every avenue of trade and but
' ?J -it
ine88, professional ana uuiamot
greatly stimulated, property values eE
hanced, traffic of every kind doublec
yes, quadrupled; in short, a countr
teeming With wealth and prosperity
the effects of which will permeate
ery nook and comer of our great Stab
and you have m a measure an idea c
what the future of "Arkansas zinc
means, because it has been left to th
zinc product and its present partial)
developed condition to start the ball i
. motion that to biing about this trans
tion of activities by reason of the fa<
that until the vast riches of zinc wei
discovered the people had despaired <
, getting railioads, and it is the rai
t roads alone that will make ah thef
j other conditions possible."
t Supplemental to this speech is one <
, I he typical editorials of the Arkansi
Gazette ot Little Bock urging tl
. prompt raising of a subscription <
$100,000 to the railroad which is \
! connect Little Bock with the miner
, resources in the Northern part of tl
t State, m which the sequence is give
I as follows:
"The millions of tons of fine ore i
I North Arkansas is waiting for tl
I miner, the miner is waiting for tl
t railroad, the railroad is waiting on tl
t Eastern capitalists, the Eastern cap
. talists are waiting on the Board <
. Trade committees, the committees &]
*"* 11 ..AmnttHl ftf T .1
. I WBlllDg UU uic ?UU?/clvj-vttuv*o v?
! tie Rock."
i The two utterances are strong plei
[ for the construction of a single mi
road line. Their chief significant*
i however, appears in their demons tr
i taou of the connection of railroad coi
r struction geneially with the develoj
. ment of the natural resources of it
> South, and of a feeling friendly to sue
i undertakings. Without railrobds i
i this day of close competition and <
, sharp economics in industrial open
tions, the railroad is an absolute essei
J tial to development of natural ri
i sources* The iron, the coal, the hm<
> stone of Alabama and Virginia, th
i phosphate rock of Florida, South Caj
olina and Tennessee, the oil of W&
' Virginia and Texas, the marble c
. Georgia have been in the ground fc
ages. The timber has stood in Texai
Louisiana, Mississippi and the Atlanti
coast States tor many years, increasin
annually in potential value. They a
, would be today as nothing comparj
tively were it not for the railroads. A
' these have advanced they have create
' industrial values, and as industria
values have been developed agricui
ture has been given the opportunity
for improvement. Manufactures an
agriculture have helped the railroads
but to a greater degree have the raij
roads helped agriculture and m&nufac
tures. And all three influences ar
working* together for the good of th
South as it prepares to find new an
wider markets for its products.
The drum fish is a huge game fisl
nfantifnl ftlonff tlie Cuban coasl
Its limit is about 250 pounds, au<
should an experienced angler get on
of these jumbos at the other end of hi
line he had better let go or cut loose
for it requires a skillful hand to pla
the drum, who generally pulls like i
cart horse and is as stubborn as a mule
A 10-year-old Cuban lad was snatche*
overboard by a hundred-pound drum i
short while ago and the father onh
saved the child's life by instantly plung
ing overboard, and with a quick strok<
of a knife, severing the line which ha(
become entangled around the lit'l<
one's waist. Drum fish in that latitudt
average from sixty to two hundred an<
forty or fifty pounds in weight, ant
run in such enormous sch(H)ls tha
their noise at night, when coasting a
long the shore, is distinctly heard 01
land. Their scales are used for th<
manufacture of buttons.
A Canadian inventor from Toronto,
who evidently believes that miture'f
methods are the most perfect to securt
any given end, has patented a covering
for vessels which it is expected will re
volutionize the maritime industry, and
particularly the construction of yachts
and other speedy craft. This consists
of a disposition of the material so as to
conform, as nearly as possible, to the
osm>1ao o fi&h M?nv of tl?? mechanic
al and engineering problems of the daj
are found io have been solved long ago
by nature, but even so this proposition
to follow nature and cover a ship with
scales is rather startling, to say the
least. The inventor claims that great
speed may be obtained by following
this construction, which consist essentially
in covering the hull with small
plates of any suitable material, arranged
like shingles so as to overlap each
other.
The assessor's returns for this year
to the Board of Agriculture reveal much
expansion sentiment as to the sowing of
alfalfa in Kansas. The number of
acres reported for the year ending
March 1st is 278,477, a net increase of
46,929 acres or 20 per cent over last
year. Every county 111 the state except
Haskell and Stevens report an
acreage. The widespread interest taken
m this wonderful crop by growers
of all kinds of livestock is indicated by
the fact that the area has increased
from 34,384 acres in 1891 to 278,477 in
1899, making a total gain of 244,093
acres, or 709 per cent.
* C , /
GEORGIA'S FIRST COTTON FACTORY.
It is not generally known that Wilkes
1 County was the scene of the first cot1
ton factory in Georgia. Rev. Frank
T. Simpson, furnishes the following
article on this subject: *
"An article has been going the
rounds of the newspapers, in which ii
1 was stated tliat the first cotton factory
1 in Georgia was built near Athens, on
1 the Oconee river, in the year 1827. It
1 is a well established fact, however,
^ that Georgia 8 first cotton factory was
* built in 1811, on Upton creek, nine
miles southeast of Washington, in
k Wilkes County. It was here the Bar"
netts, attracted by the fine water powr
er, soon after the Revolution, built a
' grist mill. In the year 1791, the mill
5 was burned, and the family moved to
> Columbia County. Two years after
| Mr. Miller, who married Mrs. Green,
} of Savannah, and was a copartner of
* Whitney, the inventor of the cotton
5 gin, purchased the mill site and lands
> adjoining, and put in operation a gin.
This wonderful machine attracted vis5
iters from far and near but only ladies
^ were allowed to see it in operation,as a
| patent had not been granted. It is
^ said that a Mr. Lyon dressed himself
? in his wife's clothes, and got the seci et,
> and being a skilled workman, made the
f saw giu, a great, improvement on the
3 Whitney gin, which used wire teeth in
: separating the lint from the seed.
I "The house in which the gin was op*
erated was bought by Thomas Talbot
f and used as his kitchen while he lived.
* A few rods from where stood the gin
" was built the factoiy. The stockhold^
er8 were Boiling, Anthony, Capt. Si"
mons, the Talbots and Bolton, the lat *
ter also being the architect. The
foundations oi the house are still to be
' -seen. It was built of stone quarried
y from the adjacent hills. Over each
u door and window was a slab of grey
rock, which contrasted with the brown
l" stone of the walls, made ii quite an attractive
building. It was sixty feet in
y length, by fifty feet in width, having
r> two stories with a basement and attic.
r" It was entered by a door leading into
an anteroom, about ten feet wide, from
f which the main room on the first floor
was entered, and in which wer* stairs
ie which led up to the upper floor and aty
tic. The walls were neatly plasteied
p and the glass windows were protected
1_ by strong" shutters filled with uails.
Over the front door was inserted in
^ the wall a laige stone with the letters
Bolton,' the name of the architect,
** but in eircnlar form, with the figures,
,e 1811 beneath. . /
"The hinges, hooks, nails, etc., were
all wronght in the smithies in the
18 the neighborhood, Billy McFerrin, an
18 Irishman, being the head smith. He
" lived to a good old age, and for some
^ years before his death he was paralyzed.
but managed to walk with crutches.
16 Homeless and poor, he was cared foi
>n by Thomas Talbot, at whose house he
died.
II "The factory did not prove to be a
ie paying investment, and after being op
ie erateda few years was closed. The
lP machinery was sold to Thomas Talbot.
)l" who started a small factory on his own
plantation to furnish clothing for the
re numerous slaves.
"The factory building wos unused
for years, except occasionally foi
? m>1?a kaii n/i
18 prc&CUIUg UJT UiC uapuoio, nuw uau uu
1- church in the neighborhood, And by
e, Esquire Richardson Booker, who here
a- taught for many years a Sabbath
i- school.
"In 1834 i William Simpson bought
le the property from the estate of Geneh
ral Green, and put in the house a corn
n and wheat mill. In September, 1841,
yf an unprecedented rise in the creek
caused the wall next the stream to fall.
i- The next year the timbers and stone
J- were used in erecting a fine flouring
i mill. The stone with Bolton's name
ie cut in it is in the possession of the
r- writer."
it m , m
)f BEST WHEAT FOR TkE SOUTH.
?r }>
For a number of yeais the Agricul^
tural Department has been investigating
the grain rusts, which cause so
much loss and are so very widely distributed.
Experiments have "been
J made with a view to prevention and to
i determining what varieties most resist
i the disease and also whether varieties
not resistant in some localities may not
* be. resistant in others. These invesd
tigations have been conducted in nearly
[? every State in the Union with the re["
suit that much valuable information
has been obtained.
e The department finds that the stem
? rusts are more prevalent in the West,
d and the leaf and crown rusts in the
East and South. It recommend? the
following varieties to Western growers:
k Turkev. Mennondite, /Odessa, Rieti,
I Fringe's Ho 5, and Fringle's Defiance,
f and for early spring sowing Hayne's
e Blue Stem and Saskatchewan Fife.
8 The following resist leaf rust: Theiss,
r Fulcaster, Oregon Club, Deitz Longw
berry, Sonora, Diehl Mediterranean,
a Arnolus Hybrid and Calif Spriiig.
u Durum and poulard wheats, used most1
ly for maccaroni, are also very resistr
j ant. Eikorn, used for feed, seems
Y absolutely resistant. Hearly any var.
iety may rust if sown too late.
3 There are six different species of
j rusts and the damage they do every
3 year exceeds, in the department's opin3
ion, that of any other pest, and in some
i localities those of all other pests coml
bined.
I In the Carolinas wheat is quite com.
monly injured by rust, but it is not
l grown extensively in those States. The
3 orange leaf rust seems to be the prevailing
species, though as yet it is uncertain
whether it is the only one present
> in cases of severe injury. One peculiar
1 fact of interest is that early wheat,
1 such as early May, is also more injured
' than late varieties, which is just the
reverse of the rule. A probable reason
' for this is that early wheat is sometimes
1 weakened by frosts or freezes, and is
1 thus rendered more liable to rust. In
' the Atlantic coast States the wild blackberry
rust is extremely abundant,
especially in the edges of clearings
near fieids of wheat?a fact which has
given rise to the erroneous opinion that
this rust has some ontogenetic connection
with the cereal rusts.
Very little wheat is raised in Georgia,
1 a D? ?' ? ^ ?a Ka/)1tt in_
DUl UBUttiiy WXIBl 19 glUTU 10 uauij iuj
tired by rust. Leaf rust is the species
most prevalent, but frequently the
grain is not severely injured until the
stem rust appears. In Georgia and in
all the Gulf States oats is seldom injured
by rust. The variety of oats most
commonly grown is the Texas rust
proof.
The division of forestry at the Department
of Agriculture at the present
time has sixteen men in the State of
Washington gathering data regarding <
the growth of red fir and how best to 3
keep the land in a productive condi- <
tion. Fir is a rapidly growing timber, i
and Gifford Pinchot, chief of the di\ i- <
sion, believes that with proper care <
there should be a perpetual supply, 1
which should maintain Washington as (
a great lumber-producing State in per- ?
petuity. ' |i
- " ' . .
A GREAT IIARDWOOD COUNTRY.
Western North Carolina is probably
one of the richest hardwood timber sections
in the United States. The average
altitude of the plateau section is
about 2,200 feet, and from its top and ;
slopes rise the mountains attaining as
great a height as 6,700 feet. On the
eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge and '
in the adjacent territory the famous
"short leal" or "North Carolina Pine"
grows in abundance. Interspei sed are i
to be found the various varieties of oak, ?
together with the poplar, hickoiy and i
other woods common to this section. (
TTnon the nlateau and the adjacent
mountains grow the virgin forests of
poplar, oak, ash, chestnut, hickory,
birch, beech, linden, buckeye, maple, 1
walnut, cherry, white pine, hemlock
and balsam, and among the smaller i
timbers dogwood, holly and persimmon.
The best and largest growth of timber
is to l?e found in the north coves
of the mountains and in the river bot
toms. The tops are not so heavily timbered,
as the slopes and neither does
the timber grow so prime and large. It
is estimated by lumbermen familiar
with the section that the average amount
of merchantable timber per aci-e
of ordinary timber land is about 5,000
feet. This includes such stock as can
be cut aud handled by portable mills.
On lands that can be operated by
means of water-courses the amount of
timber which can be taken off an acre
and handled at a profit is much larger.
Good timber lands can be bought all
the way from $2 to 85 an acre. Stumpage
at a distance from the railroad can
be bought at 81*50 a thousand. The
poplar of this section finds ready sale
in Northern markets. The varieties of
oak include white, chestnut and red
oat ?nH nartirnlarlv adanted to the
export trade. The other woods mentioned,
while not so plentiful, constitute
a considerable portion of the
hardwood industry. A verjf feasible
way of handling the timber is by
portable mills of from fifteen to thirty
horse-power, and with capacities of
from six to twelve and fifteen thousand
feet a day. Large boundaries are
operated in this way ai a profit.
The opportunities offered investors
to put money into tracts of standing
timber are many, and there are for sale
tracts all the way from one hundred
aces to forty and fifty thousand acres
on which a tree has never been cut.
These tracts can be bought at prices
1 before mentioned and on terms very
1 reasonable. There is hardly a better
1 investment for idle capital than timber
land it! a section where there is no
' danger of forest fires destroying the
1 growing trees.
1 Mr. George Vanderbilt a few years
! ago purchased a tract of eighty thous'
and acres of the finest timber land to
> be found anywhere in this section, and
t while he no doubt contemplates man'
ufacturiug a large portion of the tim'
ber, he has expert foresters now on the
property and is giving every attention
1 to the care of the trees and the growing
' of new ones, besides having converted
' the property into a vast game preserve
? The freight rates compare favorably
k with those from other points where
1 similar timber is to be had. The Southern
Railway makes through rates to
1 Doints North or South. New York
and Boston can be reached by rail and
| water as well as by all rail. Foreign
shipments are consigned via Norfolk or
1 -Baltimore. Many large tracts have been
purchased within the last few years
and a considerable development in the
' timber industry is going on/including
' furniture factories, stave factories,
planing mills, and nearly all kinds of
wood-working concerns.
The tanbaik obtained in this region
has been a very attractive feature in
bringing several large tanneries into
western North Carolina.?Southern
Fxeld.
SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS FROM
AN ACRE OF LAND.
\ !
At a recent meeting of the Georgia
State Agricultural Society, Mr. F. J.
Merriam, who runs a hillside farm near
Atlanta, Ga., in the course of an interesting
talk made the following statement:
"If a man will but study his ground,
he will find it to be fully as entrancing
as the study of books. Through marriage
I became connected with a small
farm. With my brother-indaw I broke
ground in 1893 to meet the market demands
m Atlanta. That year I made
only $500, but the $115 which I received
from 250 billSof cucumbers convinced
me that I was on the right track.
The next year my sales went up to 1,934.29.
I got $500 from one acre
. which I had planted in potatoes. The
next year, 1895, I marketed $3,329
worth of vegetables. This year I found
lettuce to be the best seller, getting
$791,40 on that article. It was in 1896,
*-??? r ~l v. i..?u
IlOWeYer, mm. X iuua. auu gaiucu i
the final conviction that there is money
in tiie land when the farmer studies
his surroundings. -In that year I sold
$5,068 worth of stuff, of which $764.60
came from lettnce, $583 from turnip
salad and $404.00 irom beets. I
keep books strictly, and find that it
costs Tne exactly one-thiid of what I
raise to pay the necessary expense, in*
eluding repairs. In 1897 prices were
low and the more ordinary vegetables
were m demand, but even under this
stringency I made $4,738.60. Of this,
$529.55 came from three acres planted
in tomatoes, $398.90 from beans and 1
$329.55 fiom turnips. In 1898 found
the market still depressed, but I made
that year $4,794.20, of which $732.90
came from turnip salad and $561 from 1
collards. This year, notwithstanding
! the very bad season we had in the spring
moDths, up to the 1st of August I have
sold $4,138.55 worth, $600 of which i
came from one acre planted in cabbage, <
and I intend to pocket a round $10,000 *
this year out of my little farm. 1
"Georgia soil under u system of deep f
plowing and thorough tillage will pro* <
duce fine crops. Our red clay subsoils <
are rich in plant food. The Georgia c
"Cropper' has been plowing for years 1
down to what he called 'the har**', and 1
this same hard subsoil has been absorb- i
ing all these years the plant food from *
ihe thin layers of cultivated ground as
it was packed down by the hea/y rains,
a./^ow it ia ro'i/iv hv thp macrif* nf
UUfcU WVUUJ IV 4 VtVVkJ MJ V
modern improved farming to yield up ^
its riches in crops that will astonish the b
civilized world. We have striking ex- a
amples of this in the farms scattered b
here and there over the State, which ap- B<
pear like oases in the desert of surround- aj
ing barrenness. Farms where thrift is bi
the order of the day, and the owner 0j
looks personally after every detail, are bi
object lessons of what we may expect a1
when the community at large becomes ft
better educated in modern farm meth- w
ods. And the fact that these success- tt
ful men are still progressing, that their w
crops are growing larger, their land bf
richer and their net profit at the close th
>f the year shows a corresponding in- ui
crease, goes to prove that no limit can eh
ce placed upon the productiveness of er
>ur soil and the wealth and prosperity, th
is an agricultural community, that we be
nay finally aspire to." to;
- ? -v- .. .
(
FARM FORESTRY. i
j
Tree Planting; In the Northeajrt, the j
West and the Pine Belt*. * <
Wherever the planter has chosen his <
trees with intelligence and so succeed- j
ed in producing a useful plantation, <
there has been the real spirit of for (
estry. (
In the spruce lands of the northeast, 1
for example, many lumbermen have
come to see that by leaving the small ,
trees standing they can return for a !
second crop earlier than would other- (
wise be possible and that this plan ,
pays. In many cases they are leaving 1
the spruce which measures less than <
10 inches in diameter and in others
that which measures less than 12
Inches, because the trees under these 1
sizes can be harvested with greater
profit if they are left a few years to
gain a larger growth. Similar work
has been done in other sections of the
United States, as, for instance, in ,the
southern pine belt, where repeated
crops of long leaf pine have been cut
from the same tract
By far the greater amount of such
work has, however, been done by
farmers and other owners of small
tracts of woodland. Very many fanners
have made a practice of thinning
their wood lots with care, first removing
the dead, dying or unpromising
trees and then letting the remainder
stand in order to utilize the growth of
the trees and to obtain continually
from the wood lot firewood and other
material for the farm and occasionally
a crop of larger trees for the market
Other farmers, again, devote a number
of acres to the production of hard
wood sprouts for fuel. They cut over
the land every 25 or 80 years and calculate
that from one-half to one cord
of wood is produced annually by this
system of forestry.
Tree planting on waste places on
the farm is yet another kind of forestry
which has been practiced. Work of
this character is now widespread, and
much of it has been accomplished. In
New England there are numerous instances
of planting white pine on
waste places with excellent results,
nnd fn Massachusetts the planting of
larch has proved highly satisfactory.
Many farmers have found it profitable
to plant locust and red'cedar for fence
posts, and in more than one case the
cultivation of black walnut has
brought large returns. In the central
west the fast growing catalpa and the
allanthus have produced remarkable
results in short periods in the hands of
private growers.
A distinct branch of tree planting is
practiced in the treeless states of the
west. There, in addition to the uses to
which their wood is put, trees have
proved of great value in the form of
windbreaks. In these cases the best
results have generally been obtained
from the osage orange, catalpa, maple,
elm, box elder, Norway spruce, Scotch
pine and others, according to differing
local conditions.
There is yet another use to which
tree planting has been put Along the
banks of streams trees have been set
to fix the fast eroding soil and to prevent
the increasing floods, and on cultivated
hillsides which have begun to
gully from the washing of rain trees
have been made to do good service in
checking the excessive surface drainage
and saving the fertile solL
The protection of woodlands from
fire forms one of the most important
branches of forestry which have been
nracticed in the United States. Indeed,
without such protection any efforts to
cut the timber with a view to Reproduction
or to plant new forests are
useless-. Various measures to guard
against forest fires have been adapted
in different localities. For example, in
the Atlantic pine belt many forest
owners burn off the upper layer of
leaves and needles in the -early spring
In order to prevent the spread of fire
later in the season.
In Michigan, lumbermen have endeavored
to lessen the danger from fire
by lopping and burning the brush left
after lumbering. The ctrtting of flro
strips along railroads, and even within
the forest itself, has been used as a
precaution against fires. But a common
and a very effective way to guard
against fire is careful watching. Many
large owners of forest land employ a
number of men as a fire patrol, and
often an extra crew of watchers is
hired during the dangerously dry seasons.
In the same way many lumber
companies which own logging railroads
employ a man* to follow the
trains and put out any fires that may
be started.
The foregoing is extracted from a
circular by Gifford Pinchot, forester of
the United States department of agriCulture.
The yearbook of 1899 will
consist of a resume of the achievements
of this country In every branch
of science relating to agriculture and
will be prepared with a view to its,
special distribution at the Paris exposition.
The division of forestry will
contribute a short history of forestry
in the United States and also an acA
Handy Device.
In making a husking horse an Ohio
Farmer correspondent employs a pair
of old wheels of convenient size, an
FOB HUSKING A2TD FODDEH CABTDTC. ]
ixle of gas pipe the desired length and <
two pieces 1 by 3 and 10 feet long for :
ddes. These are made np like a wheel- j
jarrow. Then he puts uprights in a 1
slant over the wheels. Ton can husk 1
)n one end and pile the fodder on the j
)ther end. He uses it for carting fodler
from one shock to the other and
las hauled five shocks at once on It Its
very handy In winter, when feeding :
vben the ground Is frozen, to wheel J
'odder or straw on. J
- 1 c
Shape of Pork Barrels. 1
It is about this time of the year that i
tie Dork barrel berins to rive trouble, t
ecause the pork rises to the surface a
nd can no longer be covered by the t
rine. Why does pork rise late In the a
sason? An old farmer many years o
?o explained the reason. The pork ti
irrel is made the same shape as any c
ther barrel?that is, with its sides ai
alging In the middle and smaller
x>ve and below. The proper shape
>r any barrel to hold pork or beef is
1th straight staves and smaller at ^
le top than at the bottom. It is some- *
hat harder to reach down into such a
irrel to get out a piece of meat, but !
e pork will keep as good as at first
itil the last layer is reached. That
ould be kept down by putting a covon
it as large as can be squeezed .
rough the top and weighting it to theN
ittom.layer with heavy stones.?Bota
Cultivator.
m - ' i it i 11 i anS? m
HAIRY VETCH.
Nlitt the Alabama Station Thlnlet I
of It For Winter Paatorage, Etc. j
Hairy vetch (Vicia villoaa), sown in
September or October, alone or with
>ats, affords nutritious pasturage dui>
ng the following February, March,
Iprll and May. If not grazed too late,
t affords a cutting of hay from April
iO to May 10. Hairy vetch is disposed
>f as pasturage, hay or green manure
nnioir crmwlnc summer
JU UiUC JLVi V|u>vu ? ?. 0
:rops, each as cowpeas, sorghum, late
lorn, etc. It grows only from seed, but
ian be so managed as to reseed the
pound continuously.
At the station hairy vetch was cut
for hay at four different stages. The
yield of hay increased up to the time of
full bloom, when the maximum yield
of 5,789 pounds of hay per acre was
obtained. Chemical analysis showed
that, at whatever stage this plant was
cut, the hay was nutritious. Considering
both quality and quantity of hay,
It was concluded that the best time to
cut vetch, growing alone, was three or
four days before the. period of full
bloom.
Hairy vetch rapidly enriches the soil
In nitrogen if the plant is plowed in for
green.manure. It Is able to draw this
nitrogen from the air and add it to the
soil only when the roots of the vetch
plant are supplied with enlargements
of definite character, known as root
~ *nVvAT*/?l Ofl
UUUU1C9 VI lUU?v.ivu.
When sown in the usnal way on- most
poor soils in Alabama, the vetch plant
does not have these "humps" or nodules
on the roots. If devoid of tubercles,
hairy vetch does not enrich the
soil and falls completely If the land is
poor.
Such soils can be made to produce
vetch plants containing tubercles by
sowing, along with the vetch seed,
some of the earth from a place where
the English pea or the wild vetch has
been grown for several years.
The process of employing suitable
soil or other material containing definite
kinds of tubercle producing germs
is called inoculation.
In order to have available" for use
in futflre years a sufficient supply of
valuable inoculation material, it is important
that prospective vetch growers
should sow at least a small area of
vetch this fall. The soil from this
plot may be used for inoculating larger
areas in subsequent years.
Hairy vetch can be advantageously
introduced as a "catch crop" into the
ordinary rotation of the cotton farm
without reducing the area of cotton,
corn or small grain,
Foreins Rhubarb la the Cellar.
Horticulturist Fred W. Card of the
Rhode Island station, in summing up
his experience in forcing rhubarb, expresses
a desire to impress upon every
one who has a garden with rhubarb
in it the fact that he and his family
ma& be enjoying in February and
March of next year a more beautiful
product than ever grows in the open
ground. To do It he will need to transfer
a few roots to a dark corner of the
A OOERXB IS BHUBASR "/
cellar after they have frosen la the
fall, packing a little fine mellow earth
about then, and fhegi simply see that
the plants are kept moist Whoever
owns a garden with no rhubarb In it
should see that some Is planted then
forthwith. A
warm cellar will hasten the crop,
but a moderately coed one will give a
finer product and probably a better
yield. The length of time between
planting and harvesting varies from
less than three weeks to more than
two months, depending chiefly upon
the temperature.. Allowing the roots
to freese In the field will, greatly facilitate
forcing. Large roots should
* - * * "*?? ?m mm anil
pen until the weather is very cold, j
ben close it, but open again during j
llld weather. Keep the hill In the J
bade all the time. t
?? ]
>unt of the efforts of private landpraers
to apply the principles of forjtry.
An Impression widely prevails
)road that little or nothing has'been
>ne in the United States in the way
! forestry. This Impression, Mr.
Inchot thinks, the yearbook ought to
move, and, In seeking information
garding such forest work as has been
scribed, he earnestly invites conreondence
from those who have done
iy work along the lines ef forestry. ]
! i m ^ ,? . J
yield live TO too yuuuui
every, ten ounces of that yield will
make a delicious pie. The color of the
cooked product win he much brighter
if It is placed upon the store in eoid
water* and it will be sweeter if the
sugar is added Just before it Is eaten.
Failures With CHmaon Clover.
Many of the failures with crimson
elovtr are due to use of old seed, which
is sold at a. low price. This is discolored
and will show poorer germination
than fresh seed and produce-weaker
plants. Even fresh seed may, howeTMv.be
of poor quality. The seed of
crimson clover Is not easy to harvest
The plants require to be cut when the
seed Is hard and ripe but not yet loosened
from the plant If wet weathM
follows cutting or if the seed is not
properly dried, it becomes discolored
and may begin to sprout If it is then
dried and germination is checked, the
vitality of the seed may be seriously
injured. It is, therefore, never enough
to say that a given sample Is fresh.
Valuable For Burly Qvulag.
Bur clover has been extensively Introduced
and is a -valuable pasture
plant for early grazing in the south. It
is eaten well by cattle and sheep and
occasionally by horses and mules; is of
little value for hay. ,
Seed should be sewn In October on
rich loamy soil, and the plant will
make good grazing by February or
March. The seed matures In April or
May, after which the ground may bo
plowed and cultivated in other erops
during summer, me ciover seeo wui
remain in the ground and, If the field
la cleared of Its summer crop bj October,
no reseeding will be required. It
Is an excellent plant to mix with Bermuda
grass.
To Keep Swoot Potato**.
Dig, If possible, when the ground is
Iry, put in hills or banks not exceeding
K) bushels; put a ventHatinf tube in
he center of the hill and coyer rery
Ightly until the weather becomes quite
ild. Protect the hill from sunshine.
Yhen really cold weather sets In eorer '
rith cornstalks and pine straw.to a
hlckness of eight or ten inches, with J
, layer of dirt on them, Increasing tbe ,
hlckness of said layer as the winter j
dvances. a the vpnHletin* tube
?
i
WINTERING BEES.
Food and. Free Putage Over iht
Combs?Where to Keep the HlTe?.
"In preparing colonies for wintering
the beekeeper fchould bear in mind that
a swarm ought to be confined to a
limited number of combs. The necessary
amount of food should be contained
in six or eight combs, and .in
Borne localities even five" or-six would
be sufficient Several cases were reported
to me of bees that had at least
on nmmria of hnnev in the hive having
perished during the blizzard of the past i
winter, but the bees were clustered at
one side of the hive (a ten frame Langstroth)
and the honey was on?the other,
and the cold was so intense^ that they
were unable to reach it and so starred
to death. Again, it should be borne la
mind that bees hare a habit of filling
combs nearly full of pollen and putting
a little honey on top before sealing It
over. Thus the beekeeper is often deceived
as to the amount of honey contained
in the hive, and the bees perish before
spring for want of honey."
A writer who -gives this advice la
American Gardening further tells that
a winter passage over the combs Is lm- ' #
portant in successful wintering. In
whatever covering is used on top of the
frames be sure to arrange to have a
free passage for the bees over the
comb. The ' beekeeper himself can
make a little device with old barrel
hoops for holding up the quilts or
cushions above the combs so as to permit
the bees to pass freely over. The
writer says: ^
In localities where the winters am
long and severe many beekeepers prac- ?
tice cellar wintering, where a proper
and even temperature can be maintained,
along with dry, pure air, an of
which are very essential to Insure success.
Ample ventilation must be pro*
vided for and should be so arranged as
to be controlled from the outside. AH
light should be excluded, and perfect
quiet is very Important
The cellar should b? secure from the
depredations of rats or mice; In fad;
everything that can annoy the. bees la ^
any way must be guarded against The
visits to the room in which the bees
are kept should be at rare Intervals; aa
occasional examination, of course^
should be made to see that they are all
right but If In proper condition when
put in the cellar the less they are die*
turbed the better. Just when to put
them In Is somewhat dtflVult to detar'mine
and depends both upon the season
and the locality. Many piefsr to
let them stay out until November, or
as late as they can have a etasndng
flight When ready ^to pat themgln
choose a cool day and avoid all shalftg
or jarring of the hives. * __
In many of the middle andMthmp* 4 I *
states bees will wiifter Just as *)U if
left upon their summer stands* Vefy
few, if any, beekeepers in thwvidaity
of Philadelphia practice cellar wintering,
as there'are usually one Or more
warm days during each month of win*
ter when the bees can have a good fly.
? ?* *--? 1# +V.O mhn* kM
0LK.1I uciiig uro vmvt u w>? 1 j < ^ ^
plenty of food, plenty of young beet,
tod a good, vigorous queen, and are
well packed In chaff hives, or with an
outer case about the hive with ths ?
space between filled'with chaff, leaves,
' sawdust, etc., the beekeeper can list
assured that they will come out strong
and vigorous in the- spring.
,?
A Good Cm Per Vegetables amd Pmi
Pratt*
Every farmer understapd* tho fact -
that the best tlmeNto fatten hogs Is
early in the fall, while the weather is
still warm and while there is great
abundance of succulent food to be fid
with grain. If vegetalta and fensalable
trait are cooked tad mixed
with meal of grain cooked at the him
time, they will keep the young hogs
thrifty until the time comas with ptiA
weather to top oft with- com. tU is
well to cook some wheat middlings
with this food, as the middlings wffl .
encourage growth, which. far young
hogs is tgpite as Important as to fattaa
thATTi, gays PoUgkmSB.
?r . * , *
_____ #
Rhubarb Roots For Fordaf, *
In*fegard,to whether rhubarb roots
are better for forcing after having been .
frozen, one grower says that t&n . ? ,
taken from 'open ground in faff, bp * v J
fore frost will take several .ggjjilfs * ^
longer to have rhubarb fit to puff. In %
the fall he digs the roots Intended
for forcing and puts t&jfe in tt <fid
shed, covering slightly topreveot drying
out. Roots taken from these, not- ~
frozen, and put in the forcing house
will be five. weeks before stalks are
fit to pull'yet if hard frozen when
put In- the forcing house they will be
ready to pull in threer weeks.'
_
Not only is stock (arming tilt most
profitable system of agriculture In all
civilized countries, bnt It is tbe moat ,
permanent, says Farm and Ranch. No?
where has ft ever been adqptad tad
abandoned. We have, heard the opinion
expressed that land Is becoming too
dear for raising cattle or hogs.or sheepi
This is a broad, flat mistake. Tbezlcb.
?r the land the better St Is adapted to
the feeding and developing ot live
stock. No one will disputethlsproposttlon.
As the productiveness of land,
other things being equal, regelates
the price, it will be seen that the dear*
er the land the better for raising stock,
as a general role. Beef, pork, mutton
and dairy products are profitably pre!
doced in the older states and in Mb- '
rope on lands worth from flOO to |900
per acre. The most valuable fanning .
lands in the world are the stock farms
of this country and Ehzrope, hecanss
the fertility la maintained and even
improved, and the intelligent labor and
thought required to make atock faming
successful are reflected on ovary
feature of farm life, and the dvflSdng
Influences cluster around it and the
comforts and luxuries of life are made *
to abound. Texas farmers stent ahookd
market 1,000,000 fat cattle, HOOOgOOO ^
fat hogs and mutton sheep by tfco
square acre. It can be done, and In
coarse of time we expect to see those '
figures exceeded. Then will gwjri
ty take up her abode on the farm.
: . i 3.
Horses la Lsrgs Cities. >7;^^
The great cities of the world use up
an enormous number of horses, treqr H
fear, and these mustcocstaatly be nBupplled
by hones from the country or
from foreign parts. It is stated that in
die suburbs of aleiie there are
750,000 horses In use and that 100^000
Worses must every jetr be sent into ^
these suburbs to take the place of those
worn out The city of Berlin
takes 100^000 new hones every year.
L large number of the horsss need hi
minibuses and on tram ihies both in
England and on the continent an in*
ported from the United States. The
lorses from the United States are shipped
from the ports of New York sad
Boston to the ports of London, Uw- 'M
pool and Glasgow, and <pzite a large
lumber are transshipped *t Loadoa far
he ports of Antwerp and Havre. The ilH
cean rates on horses from New York |
nd Boston are from ?5 to <6 per heed,
odnding feed snd sttanrtsimsb Snsnr- |
ace for the voyage snd faM?-diy, J
_JSbi6F