Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Pi' ♦ i Autos and Railways. By Sylvester Stewart. HAT the automobile has a great future I do not deny. Its chief mission is to change city streets from manure yards to clean thoroughfares. The horse is unfit for use on city streets. He occupies too much spac^; he is too hard to steer; he has the ■wrong kind of feet on him; besides, oa crowded streets, his worried driver whips, frets and jerks ten per cent, of his energy out of him and shortens his life. But whatever efficiency the auto may attain by future im provements, It will always remain true, that if it is put on steel rails, the same engine and the same quantity of fuel necessary to pull ten passengers or one ton of freight on the best macadam road will pull at least forty passengers or four tons of freight on steel. So, Instead of “making railways obsolete,” the auto will call for light steel rails for itself, in hundreds of thousands of localities, and will probably be equipped, in many cases, with guides, so that it can run either ou or oft vails. The automobile, instead of being a menace to the railway, will be a feeder to it Light railways—T rails, plateways, etc.—will branch from main lines, «nd on these branches will run freight and passenger automobiles. In road ways there is nothing like steel, nor anything that makes any approach to It. Of course, in sections too thinly settled to justify two roads (a common road and a light railway) the business automobile will have to use the common road, but wherever it docs it will be compelled to charge a high rate for freight and passengers, on account of the great resistance to progression en countered oa all roads but steel—Engineering Magazine. The Nebular Hypothesis. By Agnes M. Clarke. )T is stated that things may he improved beyond recognition, nay. out of existence. So it has happened to the nebular hypothesis. Stat nomiuis umbra. The name survives, but with connotations indefinitely diversified. The original theme is barely recalled by many of the variations played upon it. Entire license of treatment prevails. The strict and simple linos of evolution laid down by Laplace are ob literated or submerged. Some of the schemes proposed by modern cosmogonists are substantially reversions to Kant's “Natural History of the Heavens,” the long discarded and despised Car tesian vortices reappear, with the eclat of virtual novelty. In others; uor are there wanting theories or speculations reminiscent even of Buffon’s cometary impacts. Moreover, the misleading fashion has come into vogue of bracketing Kant ^rlth Laplace as eo-inventor of the majestic and orderly plan of growth com monly designated as the “nebular hypothesis,” This has been, and is, the source of much hurtful confusion. Save the one fundamental idea—and that by no means their exclusive property—of ascribing unity of origin to the planetary system, Kaut’s and Laplace’s evolutionary methods had little in common. Their postulates were very far from being identical; they em ployed radically different kinds of “world stuff;” and the “world stuC” was subjected, in each case, to totally dissimilar inocess.—Knowledge. Hie Rose—Undisputed Queen of Flowers. By John N. May, Treasurer of the American Rose Society. HE history of the race IS full of romance and poetry. When the flower was first introduced as a garden bloom must ever remain a matter of conjecture; but it is certain that the ancients knew and admired this Queen of the Flowers many, many centuries ago. Early Greek writers mention it in many of their writings, asserting that it was consecrated to Venus as an emblem of beauty, to Cupid as an emblem of love and to Harpocrates as the god of silence. Probably this last fact explains why fhe white i*ose was regarded as a symbol of silence, and at ancient carnivals was suspended from the ceiling and around it was written this sentence: “He who doth secrets reveal • ' “ Beneath my roof shall never dwell.” ? What faith and what confidence must have existed between man and man in those days when only the presence of a flower was needed to insure silence and to impress upon those present the injunction that secrets were to be kept inviolable! The Romans also held the rose in great esteem. The beautiful varieties we know to-day were unknown to them, for it is a matter of history that until the beginning of the nineteenth century very few double roses had been in troduced. Since that time innumerable and grand varieties have come Into existence, and to-day they range in color, size and fragrance from the small dainty button size to those measuring five inches and more in diameter, and In color from the purest white to the deeper maroon, or nearly black. The only ehade of color not yet attainable is blue. Though nature has been lavish in bestowing all other shades, forms and sizes, the lover of the rose must he content without this color. But this, I am sure, will he no great hardship, as one has a glorious range of hues from which to choose. The wild or native rose can be found growing in abundance in nearly every temperate zone. It is found in Asia, Africa, the whole of Europe and North America. The native varieties are the original parents of all the grand roses that now embellish the gardens and homes of millions of the earth's Inhabitants. The old-fashioned rose, with its single row of petals, found growing by the roadside In the country districts of New England is the an cestor of some of the highly colored and fragrant blooms that now lend their beauty to decorative purposes. No one will dispute the popularity of the rose. Certain flowers become the fads of the hour and hold sway for a time, but are soon dethroned. The rose is always In demand, summer and winter, and the sales of its bloous are not exceeded by those of any other flower. Its season of special favor is winter, when no special function is deemed complete without the presence of this beautiful flower. Can Floods Be Prevented? -V |Hfe Middle West, meaning the territory of the lower Missouri, 1 the Kaw and the Des Moines rivers, suffered a flood loss last spring estimated at $25,000,000. And this despite the fact that millions of dollars are used each year by the Government and by States in building levees and otherwise endeavoring ta confine the lower Mississippi and Missouri within safe bounds. It has proved thus far Impossible to control entirely the mighty force of these rivers; their frequent rebellions result in Inundations with alarming regu larity. Suppose the money lost this one season, to say nothing of the vast sums vlped away during all the forty years of Western settlement, had been spent in intelligent preventive measures at the hemlg of the streams, would It have been effective? Already many Western farmers have thrown up dams across ravines and sloughs on prairie farms, which hold back the rain’s bounty. These are constructed primarily as cattle watering places, but they keep the floods from the land below and save many a field from having Its crop washed out. If this system be extended over the whole area of the upper basin on a larger scale, it would not only retain a great portion of un seasonable rainfall, hut give opportunity for Irrigation on the lower levels from the stored water. The Senate of the recent Congress has already real ized the necessity of doing semething, for It passed a hill appropriating $10- €00,000 for the purchase of 2,500,000 acres on the top of the Appalachian range In the States.of North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia, the object being to protect the forests and to prevent floods by holding the waters on the hillsides, rather than allow them free course over deforested areas. The bill failed In the House, hut It ought to succeed at next session. The es tablishment of a permanent reservoir system under Government control and with ample appropriations for Its construction should be the next step in the development of the West. It will mean a tremendous body of water held high up on the prairie slopes, exerting its influence In the modification of the hot winds and the drouths; it will furnish to the growing area of Irrigated lands a steady supply through the summer months; it will retain the rains the life of the agriculturists of the leaver Mississippi and Missouri one of and so prevent the floods that annually spoil the low-lying farms and maka %uxlety.—The Independent. CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT: AND IF. If I were an elm tree, tall and strong, And you were another across the street, We’d reach our arms out straight and long Until our hands—our leaves- would meet, And this is the way we d swing and sway Up to the sky the whole long day; And, oh, when a great wind blew us about. How we would toss our arms and shout! Von and I would have glorious fun If 1 were a tree and you were one! —Little Folks. OPTICAL ILLUSION/ These two quadrilaterals are of ex actly the same dimensions. So are the two triangles. Yet, at first glance, there is au apparent difference in size. This is an optical illusion due to the lightness and heaviness of the lines. A STEAM-ENGINE EGG. Here is a very interesting little rec reation which does not require much apparatus in order to present a scien tific demonstration. Set up the little structure as shown in the cut, a few small boards being sufficient for the construction. A B C D will he the floor; E G and F H two upright pieces joined above to a crosspiece G H. The height of the upright pieces should be about five inches, and they should stand about three Inches apart. Into a block of wood about half an inch across and an inch high stick a strong pin. Then place the block in the centre of the “They rausn’t die,” said Arthur. “I’ll take care of them myself.” He brought a basket and put all the little chickens into it. Then he carried them off to an empty oat bin in the barn, where there was plenty of room for them to run about. The next morning, when Mrs. Allan went out to the barn to tell Arthur to hunt for some eggs, she stopped at the oat bin to look at the motherless little chickens. There in one corner of the bin hung the big feather duster, and gathered under were all the little chickens! “I thought the duoter could be a mother to them, mamma,” said Arthur. So Mrs. Allan let the duster hang in the bin, and the thirteen little chickens gathered under it until they were old enough to roost on a bar.—Florence Hallowell Hoyt, in Youth's Corapaniou. A SHETLAND PONY FARM. A Shetland pony farm, where ponies are raised aud trained for their life- work, is full of interest to oue who ad- mires the gentle little creatures. The Chicago Tribune describes such a farm, located in Wayne County, Indiana, where about 200 of the little animals are raised every year. There are warm barns with long rows of straw-littered stalls. Overhead are mows of sweet-smelling hay, and a trough of pure running water sparkles and gurgles at one end of each barn. Each stall contains a pony, and they are all as quiet aud well behaved us a thoroughly disciplined school of chil dren. If a stranger enters the barn, it is instantly known by every pony there; and there is a turning of heads and a switching of tails indicative of restrained curiosity. There is a broad and long space of clean flooring between the two rows of stalls. To walk along this floor and in spect the ponies from the rear recalls the remark of a famous man about Chinamen, “They all look alike until Missing Dinner Puzzle. Where is the duck and chicken we ordered? platform between the upright pieces; into the crosspiece insert another pin; the two pivots so formed will serve to hold the egg. Prepare your egg by emptying it through a small aperture L; then make two other openings (N M), to which glue two little paper tubes, disposed as indicated in the illustration. Through the opening L introduce n little cold water, and close the opening with a piece .of gummed paper and set your egg In position, balancing It on the pin points. The flame of a candle on a lamp burning feebly will set the 4 Hi egg in motion. Steam formed In the egg brings pressure to bear on the side opposite an opening,^ and a rotary motion Is communicated to the egg.— New York World. AN ADOPTED MOTHER. Arthur Allan was a very tender hearted little hoy, and there were tears In his eyes when he came Into the kitchen one morning carrying in his arms a big brown hen, which had been run over by a hay-wagon and killed. “What will beuome of Brownie's little chickens, mamma?” he asked. “They are out under a currant-bush, all peeping for their mother.” Mrs. Allan went out in the garden with Arthur to look at the poor little chickens. There were thirteen of ihc yellow, fluffy little things, and they were only three days old. seen separately.” In training the ponies, kindness is practiced under all circumstances. When the little pony colt, which a man can take up in his arms and carry about, is strong enough to run aud play with Its mother, and a little halter is put on it, and it is taught to lead and start and stop at the word. When it grows stronger, but is not yet fully grown, a little set of buff harness with silver buckles is fitted on it, and it is driven about with reins. A gentle pressure of the bit on the tender mouth is sufficient to guide it. Later ou it is hitched to a little yel low cart, aud trotted about the smooth grftvel drives that wind among stately trees In every direction. It is taken close to putting locomotives and along side queer-looking vehicles, and into the neighborhood of shops where there is the sound of clanging iron and pounding hammers aud ringing hells. Its actions under all these conditions are carefully noted and recorded, and its special qualifications for particular purposes fully ascertained. It has been learned at this farm that a pony’s natural characteristics are not easily changed, although vicious pro pensities may in a measure be subdued, and a timid, shrinking spirit encour- 1 aged by kindness to assume more con fidence and aggressiveness. It is never attempted to teach the ponies any special tricks, the sole pur pose being to make them useful, tract- a hi.- and safe under all circumstances. When a pony is sold and started away from the only home aud friends it has ever known, the purchaser is recom mended to be kind and considerate to it ut all times. Useful Dog* A man went to the city clerk of Hor ton to get a license for his dog. When asked tor the name of the dog he said it was "Blacksmith.” “How did you come to pick out such a curious name?” asked the clerk. "Why, you see,” responded the man, “every time l give him a kick, lie makes a holt for the door.”—Horton (Kau.j Headlight. SOUTHERN * FARM "- JtOTES. ED*® *<3= TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE PLANTER, STOCKMAN AND TRUCK GROWER, Twelve Point* in Dairying. At a recent meeting of the Georgia State Dairy Association, President Redding summed up the points in favor of dairying as follows: First—The first advantage of dairy ing is that it takes less fertility from the soil than other branches of farm ing. A ton of wheat takes $7 out of the farm and sells for less than $16. A ton of butter takes fifty cents’ worth of plant food from the farm and sells for from $400 to $000, Comment is needless. Second—Butter is a condensed prod uct. Nothing can be made or grown upon the farm that will bring as much per pound. Farms remote from market and communities far from railroads can send butter from farm or cream ery with the least possible expense. The dairyman can coudeuse tons of fodder and crops on the farm Into dairy products and send them to market in compact and portable form. Third—Butter is a finished prodnet. It is ready for the consumer either at the private dairy or local factory, or creamery. The only exception is where cream is sent long distances to a cen tral station from skimming scattered over a large section of the country. But this exception only proves the rule. Fourth—Dairying brings in a con stant income. The man who sells crops of any kind has to wait until he can market his product once a year. There is little satisfaction in this. It Is unbusiness-like to go without cash for fifty-one weeks and then have a lot of money come in ut one time. The dairyman has an Income nearly or quite fifty-two weeks in the year. Fifth—Dairying gives constant and remunerative employment. The grain or potato grower must spend a large part of the year in enforced and de moralizing idleness; but the dairyman finds profitable work is most profit able during the winter time. (The point is not well taken for this south ern latitude. It might be said that the cotton farmer spends eleven months and three weeks of the year in making and harvesting his crop and one day to pay $300 worth of debts with $400.) Sixth—On the dairy farm the work Is better divided. The grain harvest comes so close to haying that it often gets mixed up with it, to the detri-* ment of both; but when the corn is grown and put into the silo for dairy feed, and not so much or no grain raised, the harvests are several w'ecks apart. Seventh—Skill and brain work get better pay In dairying than in any other branch in farming. To produce fine dairy products requires something besides hard work. The dairyman must have knowledge and skill, and must exercise great care. Eighth—There is more room at the top, greater opportunity to improve, than In any other kind of hard work. Cows produce from 150 to 500 pounds of butter per year, and butter sells from ten cents to $1 per pound. No branch of agriculture show’s anything like this or gives such a chance to rise. Ninth—Take the country through and there is no other kind of farm work so w’ell suited to women as dairy ing. Tenth—Dairying leads to thoughtful ness for the comfort of animals and thus tends to morality. -To do her best the cow must be made as comfortable as possible In every way. She will tolerate no neglect or cruelty. She Is a teacher of gentleness and kindness. Eleventh—Dairying is the most pro gressive branch of farming. Twelfth—Dairying pays better than any other branch of farming, both ac tually and prospectively. Horse Sense About Peach Grotrlng. In a late issue of the National Stock- man John F. Boyer gives some points on peach culture, that every observant person who has bad experience will fully Indorse. He says: The production of the peach can be obtained in the sands of Florida, and in the icy clime of the far north. Yet we would not expect the best results in such extremes. The climate should be free from all daugerous frosts, but it is not. We get very nervous on cold nights late in spring when the tem perature is likely to fall below the freezing point. The only and safest way to grow peaches is to locate our orchards on hills where there is more of an equal temperature. The man is the most important ele ment; he can cause failure when the most favorable conditions surround him. The man himself should have an iron constitution, he must use his brains, he must know chemistry in order to know what element of plant food is removed from the soil. Otherwise the soil may become exhausted and cansc failure under most favorable condi tions. He must like and hare confi dence in the business, he must be able to hear reverses. The most Important question before us to-day is how best and most economically to assist na ture In the work and reap greatest re wards. Chemists tell us that a well matured peach contains about eighty- eight or ninety per cent, water, there fore it is essential to have an over abundant supply of water where the fibers can reach it. We must, how ever, bear In mind that the peach tree will not bear stagnant water. This is very injurious. But what is the use talking about irrigation in a section of country where the streams are down in the valleys and the orchards located on the hills, especially if we think about the 27,000 gallons, the amount necessary to apply one inch of water to a single acre of ground, and in a dry season three such applications a week would be none too much. I have between seventeen aud eighteen thou sand peach trees in cultivation with a ground space of about eighty-eight acres. Were I to apply one inch of water to each acre devoted to peach trees it would require 2,376.000 gallons of water each application. This would be an impossibility. Could I apply a mulch with straw or litter I might pos sibly hold the required amount of moisture, but this is another impossi bility. Thus I have been driven to what is known as horsc-leg irrigation. Batter Makine la the South. Some time ago we read In an extract from a letter written by a butter ex pert, now located in Central Georgia, the following statement: “I wish to add emphasis to all you have said, that those who are making a good article of butter have a demand for it greater than they can supply. I came here as a dairy expert, to give special atten tion to the making of butter. I find that I am able to make just as good butter here as at the North, aud we have increased the dairy herd from fifty to seventy and we intend to in crease as fast as possible to 300. Dairy ing as a side issue in the cultivation of cotton, in a good rotation, would re duce the acreage and largely increase the profits.” Want this man says is the same thing that we have urged many a time in this paper. He does not say it any better than this paper has said it; hut he does say it from the standpoint of experience and actual business practice. If the readers of this p.iper were all ignorant people, who could not recognize both the need for a change in the general line of farming now In vogue In this section, and the wisdom of raising such things as there is a home demand for. we should not think it worth while to in sist upon this point. But every intelli gent cotton 'grower certainly knows that exclusive cotton is not profitable, and that a change to something for which there is a good cash demand at home is the wise thing to do. All cannot and will not go to making but ter. But a great many can, and if they will make good butter, they can soli It at a good price for cash, at home. It will be a good change to try. But ter-selling is the least exhaustive way of converting farm products into cash, and dairy farming is the most certain way to improve the farm. When the need for rllange and improvement is so universal and so urgent, it should surely induce the thinking farmers to look thoroughly into the proposition. We believe butter can be made cheaper in Georgia than in Wisconsin or Iowa. Then, why Import butter from those States? How to Deitvojr Sa«safra» Sprout*. G. R. L., Chattanooga, Tonn.. writes: I find that in a great deal of my best soil sassafras sprouts come up and it is almost impossible to kill them out. Can you tell me any way to accomplish this? Is there any certain season o/ the year when these sprouts can he cut so that it will kill the roots and pre vent their further growth. I have heard that salt would 1:111 them, but 1 fear this would be a very tedious and expensive method of getting rid of the trouble. Sassafras sprouts are exceedingly hard to get rid of. Atigora goats when placed on such lands help to destroy them. Probably the most feasible means of getting rid of them is to plow the land very deeply so as to bring most of the roots to the surface as they do not strike very deeply into the soil. Then harrow and re-harrow ihe ground well so as to bring them to the surface and gather up and burn. It does not cost any more to go about their destruction in a systematic way than to trifle with them for several years and still have them in posses sion of the soil. If ordinary plowing does not cut them off and bring them to the surface, a plow of the sub-soil type which will run deeper can be used. It would hardly be feasible to use salt to destroy them. It is much better and cheaper to plow them out and burn them.—Professor A. M. Soule, in the Knoxville Journal and Tribune. Pointed Paragraphs. (Chicago Dally News. Often the price of liberty is $10 for ten short days. Lots of people who rob Peter to pay Paul manage to stand Paul off. Many a man salts away .money in the brine of other people’s tears. . She may be a thing of beauty until you aee her emerging from the aurf. A warship goes on a whaling voy age when it starts out to whip some body. Bulletin Bubbles. (Philadelphia Bulletin.) • A poor lot^-potter’s field. In hot weather even a straw hat is felt. Dead letters do not require a “post” mortem. An up-to-date newspaper doesn’t al ways wear a stylish, wrapper. A stingy man may hedge and still not be a hedgehog. When some men get a job they ara between two fires.