Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Cotton, I ke every other crop, need; nourishment. A fertilizer containing nitro pen. phosphoric acid, and 1101 1 as than j, "J of actual '7 t J "1 "1 ' o,-1!!p" M 0 H a >| ) - o lj / V I] r>S(, i\y . cr, j ;1.U[ j!T1 a u'u the 1 a h >IT 1><): . trh .lit RlKUlt til ". ulljcct. Till ; ar.. : u.: \v >:;K , l " >'i !i , V V,.rU. THE FORTIFICATIONS IN i'li IHLKSTON HlRBOIi Progress of fho Work at tin Several Forts. NUMBER OF POWERFUL BATTERIES But Some Apprehensions Fel Because of Maimer From an Knoniy Beyond the Bar. Special to The State. Charleston, Feb. 21.?In obodi ence to the orders from Washing ton, the work on the fortification on Sullivan's island are boin, pushed with all alacrity. I ho for titications are so well located tha they command the entire harbo and particularly the entrance that it is well nigh impossible fu a nostue iieet to enter. The plana of the defense of th harbor were made by Capt. Fre< V. Abbot and the work was be gun under bin direction. The con struction of the batteries is no\ being done under the suporvisioi and direction of M?i.Krne?t RufT ner, who is one of the ablest en gineors of tho corps and is wel fitted for this most importan work. The department maintain close reticence of the nature o the work on hand and very litth information can be gathered fron the workmen. The work is s< systematized and the mechanic are assigned i.i divisions to thei rmnw'tivn norta da ll.ot a?? .11 A wi'^/wv < v |/??i vn, nw I II 14 l \/IIO I] 1 vision is not acquainted with th< work of another, he is kept, in ig noranco of the plans and tin manner of defense of (Jhariostoi 'harbor. Fort Sumter has been modern i/.ed and rendered somewhat irn pregnable by armor plate, fasten ed to the urini stone and re< brick walls of the old fortress. / number of eijrl t inch jjuna are or hand, if not mounted, l.a-t fal a torpedo tube was constructed which "oinni'ind ; trie channel The fort was in charire of ai orderly sergeant and a small d. ta11 of men. 1 lie mortar battery was com pieted some months ago, hul onlj four of the mortar- have been pn in Dlace. I'h n-t cninliiccmriii of the rifle buttery is now lein, placed, and will he complete shortly. < >110 of the big t?7,00< pound disanpeari n guns has hcoi mounted and thr"e others and the carriages are on hand to he placer in position as soon as tlie emplacement is completed. Tin third battery, in which 12 incli guns will be mounted, will probably not be completed for a year or morn. {Should war be declared, of course no time will be lost in completing the batter}' before tins time. Fort Moultrie lias also received attention from the government, and like Fort Siniiti r, it has been modernized. Fort Moultrie would contribute materially toward* Bending an old Spanish tub to th? bottom should it show itself ir these waters with a howtil inten > tion. Several guns of larger cali bre have been mounted on the . fortress. ^ Several rapid fire guns have been received here,and forwardec to the island in case of emergency A small quantity of powder if stored m the magazines at Fori Moultrie, but there is not enougl of it to discharge many of tin "M'u.pouiM! projectile*. mo pnw drr is now I joins used to fire t li? sun rise and Rim -set ?r?ins,111o firs of which ^ !is tired last Thursday sinojo the garri-on wa? sent hen several months ago. There i~ ; ..[large quantity of shot and he! Jon hand,piled high on the parade j ground, near Fort Moultrie. 1 will not take long, huwev.r, foi ' the government to send an amph mount of powder, gun entton 3 f>r< j 'ofii.'S end shells to Ckavb-s ton, should war b ? declared, fni ! the f?if tories have been workini it night and day for some week ' on the government's orders, t Mattery (3 and a detail of bat tery M from St. Augustine, Fla now stationed on the island, wil i eillin III) ro i 11 o f ll t nil ia li?c linai before stated in The State, by ai 'entire regiment. As was state* * I some time ago,the Atlantic Head | hotel has been leased and con b ! verted into temporary quarter ** for the troops until the regula barracks are erected. Notwithstanding the progres r of the work on the fortification! there is some uneasiness felt hen r lest war be declared. Oharlestoi is but a few miles from the oceai ? and with the tall church spires which can bo seen at sea on i bright clear day, an excellent tar get is atTorded a hostile lleet. 1 V is feared that such a lleet couh n take a safe position out of rang of the fortifications and reduc the city to ashes in a short while These foars are rather ground * less for Mr. Kuil ner is confiden R the forts will get in some of thei terrible work before the warship R can accomplish much. It is i 11 game at which two can play, am D ! . i : . _ I :i ? i . . i ' . ii jb jumi tib iiKoiy mux me \ izaya 8jAlmiranto Oquendo or the Al r phonso XII will go to McGinty'i region us that tho city will 1m p destroyed. The forts were do ''signed and built to repel an inva l !sion, and it is safe to say tha 1 they will do the work for whicl ' they were constructed. If the forts were silenced, tin lleet could never enter the har bor. Charleston's harbor olferi ' . the best advantage of any port 01 t the Atlantic or Gulf coast for : i train of torpedoes and mines. Deafness Cannot lie Cured 1 : iiMi-.isf.i |K>riU>n ol the oar. Thero i* only om \i ay i Hi' It' ll - ii. I llt.it i-. t>% i ol;lit ' - | ttonal rnnieilteM. |)nit(noiiii fi cauhoiI by an In itn- tl fun : i >i. nf Hit niiiroii-. Ii:. t.f t!. l'i'lMllkClll.lll 'I .1.1' \\ lu ll tlll-i lull.' 1> IllllillllUI Inve i r ' ii/ ' itui. I i>r tiuiiii f. rt ii. ,ir ! intf. nnU when It i- entirely i osi tl, Donfnoin in it | tiii.ru nut mi.i i t-1'" : ent irt i !< it i norinitl t .; . ir l' i. in i i i' it.irrli . I Wo will iflvo Oiiu Huti.lro l liiillarn for any I ! I ' ' - . . i t. I t i.".no t II it. i i 'attar:; >?-i. t for ?*ir 1 . .1 - fit I .1 i 111: V ' Y .?i CO . To;.-.Ii., 11 I - . 1 I lir t_ lit . -> I*'.iIn); , I*. a* ' the hf it. I i Cultivation nt Strawberries. lvirly in tho spring i- when the new -drawhorry bed should he lliadtVHMfl t IlOSH tvhii |t|ilit..inr.l tin having them cannot prepare tie ground too s. on. If in a fact that but few farmers, comparatively, know how to grow strawberries. It was for a long time believed that it was di Mien It and laborious t<? grow them, when, in fact,there is tie crop grown in a garden that | can be produced so easily, or i which gives such valuable results ) in proportion to cost. They can i be had on every farm, and abund autly. Growers who make their - land produce maximum crops ) have secured 10,000 quarts per acre, but 5,000 quarts may bo ) considered an excellent yield. To 1 give some idea of how many . quarts may he grown on a small ? garden patch of 25 by 100 feet, t whicn i? less than one-sixteenth i l of an acre, 300 quarts on such a ' i place is at the rate of about 5,000' -'per acre. Considering also that ''the quality of the berries will he t 'superior to any that can be our chased in market (as they u ill h<> ' (fully ripe and not damaged by! t j transportation), they will be 1 worth t least |0 cents ner nuart, (or $'!< for tin? crop of a small t patch hv 100 feet?smaller r | than a city lot. As more lu rries i ijcan he grown proportionately on' J a small plot than on an acre,there ' is no reason why 500 quarts r should not he picked the first i hearing season. The strawberry s bed, if kept clean and free from Lrr;ls> and weeds, shmilil emttimio -1 to produce crops for three sue ce-.-ive seasons or more. 11 l'KKl'AlUNU Till: IIKl). 11 ! 11 Plow or spade the ground ns 1 deep as possible, and then spread I) over the surface manure to the j depth of 2 or inches, working it s'well into the soil, hut before r working the ground apply also, for an acre, a mixture of 100 s pounds nitrate of soda,100 pounds i, of bone meal and 150 pounds mu0 riato of potash. Lot it be done a the first warm day; be sure and a work the manure and fertilizer i, well into the soil, and mako the n soil as fine as possible. Then - leave it until April, when the t ground should be worked 'over 1 again. For a small patch the e lobor will not be costly, and as 0 the firBt preparation is the most i. important, the work should be - well done. After the plants are t Ret out but little work will bo enr tailed on the farmer. As there s are new and better varieties in\ troduced every year, get from 1 Home reliable nurHeryman two , staminateand pinti 1 late (male and - female) plants, as tno selection of ? ..- -w.4:~- .i - i - *? 7i *anfnun uojiiujuH uii wiieumr uio 3 soil is heavy or light. If for a - garden make the rows 3 feet - apart, placing the plants one foot t apart in the row. Kvory fourth i row should consist of tho staminate variety and the others of the 3 pistillate kind. A patch 25 by 1(10 foot would require about 000 s: plants. I'se only young plants? 1 : sunners from iast spring's growth * ?which may he known by their roots being nearly white, those of old plants being dark. Set them in straight rows, pressing the earth well around the roots, using water, if necessary, being careful to cover the croons of the plants, i ; ci mn ation. After tl. plants bejjin to ?ro\v ' usi' the hoe and work between the plants well. A liaiel-v. heel hoe may he used between the rows, ami it will work very close to the plant- without injuring them. 1! the plants are "checked" in the row -?thut 1 in 111?? >* both lengt 1 i\vi-? ;?n'! croswise?(he or dinarv hoe in mm! not ho i sed.as the wheel-hoc will enable one to do the w <?r!v of several men with hoes. In that manner a small patch can he hoed in 15 minutes or even in less time. Do not wait for crass and weeds to appear, but keep the aoil loose. During the summer each plant will throw out runners, and soon the bed will be thickly matted. If will he an advantage then to cut the stems which connect. the runners with the parent plants. Should weeds or grass appear in the matted rows pull thorn out by hand. If the matted rows are a foot wide it will leave but a small space betweeu the rows to cultivate. If water can bo applied to a small patch during a dry spell it will be beneficial. Along in the fall, just as winter approaches, cover the rows with fine manure, and over the manure use a slight mulch of salt hav or straw. Marly in the spring rake the bed over,so as to remove the mulch and rake the manure fine, leaving the mulch between the rows, and after the plants arc well up use straw or salt hay under them, so as to have tin berries clean. These details art not s<> laborious as they seem foi a small plot,and if choice vat iet it > are used the experiment will hi very satisfactory. The instructions apply to larger areas also if honv) yields of choice fruit is desired.? Philadelphia Record. EVIDENCE AT LAST OF EXTERNALCAUSE Cans of I nexplnded Powder Re , covered From Near the Forward Magazine. Havana, via Key West, Fla. ' Felt. 2d.?The situation, whicl may be changed at any moment by fresh discoveries, may besom med up, when ibis dispatch ii sent this afternoon, substantial!) as follows: The divers having discoverec the cases of brown hexagona powder for the 10-inch gun unex ploded and believing also tha lots of unexploded powder woult be found in the 10-inch magazine on the starboard side forward,th< conviction grows that this maga zine did not blow up. If this bt so, and many have insisted fron the first that it is, the first con viction is forced that the ex plosion which wrecked the Main* came from the outside of tho pori how. As previously wired, tho niuir l portion of the wreck as seen fron I above and noted from below wai : blown from tho starboard. Tin highest American ollicials hen are confident that (ion. Rlanc< and the other high Spanish ofliciali had no knowledge direct or indi reet of the conception or oxe jcntionofa plot to blow up tin Maine, if such a plot existed, Im thev believe the iunior Snanis! ollicors, from tho nature of things aro more conversant with modcrt i oxplosives than their fillers ant superiors, were at tlit* bottom ol the disaster, if there was any out side agency. It is pointed out that it would not lie impossible It plant a mine of wet and dry gut cotton near where a foreign wai ressel was directed to anchor such a mine connecting with ar electric battery on shore. It ;s regarded as an interesting nmiit that ! 11 > Maine f.ir t!w> (ii-i turn* during her stay in tho bar lx?r, lay at the particular spot \\ la-re she was at the time of the cataslrophe, and, it in said,though not ollicially verilied, that the Maine was the lirst foreign war ves-d moored to t.hia particular huoy since the troubles in t'nl a grew acute. All stories as tit lax discipline on the Maine are without a shadow of truth. On the contrary (,'aptain Sigsboe was complained of by some for the rigidity of his rules and the strictness with which ho enforced them. Moreover. the Mtiine had been in commission for years and never had a serious accident until anchored in thin quiet harbor. In reply to a question put by this correspondent to a high American official as to what the outcome would be if it was proved that the disaster was due to hi.* outside agency, the official ii., question said : "Sir,the American people conic} not be restrained. I mean war. Still, 1 doubt whether it would bo necessarv to lire* a shot. Admiral Sciard could anchor the ! Iowa, the Indiana, the Massachusetts and the New York out1 side Havana harbor to prevent 1 the ingress of food supplies, with1 out whieh the rity could not exist a fortnight. Cuba is a waste c<| ' 1 llpclifltiftii I.'..,... ?l.~ , -MMUWU, I J* Cll II1CJ (hotels and c.ifihere iii Havana 'ilivo i'rom hand t<> nuuith on sup; I piles brought ironi the Tinted ' States. 'I Admiral Scianl demanded the surrentier of Havana, giving "| twenty-lour hours for the removal of the women and children, j surrender would follow. The forts (are old structures and could he demolished hy a six-pounder. Such new guns as have been . mounted are short of ammunition and have never heen tried. If General Blanco should decline to surrender the Spanish merchants i here, who represent eighty per ' I cent, of the property and pay sev1 outv-live per cent, of the taxes 6f t the island, would compel him to accede to Admiral Sciard's terms. As for the volunteers,the men for the most part are the employees ^ of these merchants and the volj unteer officers are largely their sons or their junior partners. t "These sentiments represent . the best informed Americans ^ here. A member of tho court of inquiry who conversed with this correspondent to-day strongly } preciated any premature expresj sion of evidence ot resentment, on the part of tho people of the United States until it wns proven that the disaster resulted from ? some other cause than accident, carelessness or the visitation of Providence. "Certainly the mombers of the court of inquiry, who are cool,experiencod and judicial, will not lose their heads. "Ono thin^ seems certain, if the Maine was blown up by an outside agency, the agent was a mine ' and not a torpedo, as no torpedo known could have produced such I tremendous results." ? Chamberlain's Cough Remedy. I 'I'll is remedy is intended j- especially for coughs, colds, croup, whooping rough ami iulluenza. It has become famous for ita C euros of these diseases, over a ? large part of the civilized world. , 1 lit* most Mattering testimonials r have been received, giving ac' counts ol its good works; of tho ' aggra\ating aml persistent coughs 1 it has cured ; oi severe colds tflat have yielded promptly to its , 'soothing effects, and dangerous attacks of croup it has cured, often saving the IiI'h of the child. I he extensive u*e of it for wliooping cough lias shown that it robs ' that disease of all dangerous eoni seijin nces. Sold I?v J. 1*. Mackoy ! >V Co. and li. <Hough tV Co., Lancaster, S. <'. 11 ll'lf f'lfP Intill H tin ji iiiii ii i mini MiU). j f i KKN t < >J. 1is. I - u (iiioi i>lil S n - \No t> I IMIfKf'TIONS ! ">?r KU-nh f'utx to Uw tVuui i. l-'or I' i ::irrh, take a plnt'h uikI sii'ilT up til*- Niisc tlir.'.1 tmu'H |mt cluy. ^ Sold l>y J. F. CIIEICJHTON, Heath Spring, S. C. 1'KICK, 25 ( 'ciits. . l_ T'? turn fotc11pntInn Knrovor# i 'I'iiUc ( (';inilv( ':it)i:irli0l IOC or ?*c. t If I'. I ('. i...i lo i';o i , (lruK.oU I'.fuiul moucy.