University of South Carolina Libraries
LAURENS S. C, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 47, 1900. NO. 8. FROM CHARLESTON TO CINCINNATI. TIIK OltKAT ItAII.UOAl) sell KM K OK IIAYNK ANI> ( ai.iioi N? TIIK CCN? VKNTION at KNOW II.!.!: ANI> TIIK ItOUTKS BUOOK8TKD. Knoxvltle (Teilli.) Sentinel. Away buck in the Unities, neatly two-thirds of n century ago, when rail roads in this country wore very new, lloberl Y. Hay no, John C. Calhoun and probably other brainy SOUth Caro linians, formed a rough plan lor the building of a railroad from Charleston, then the foremost Southern port, to Cincinnati. This piganlic scheme of internal improvement was never car ried out, but in the march of progress other developments ill Uio way of rail road building, not literally the same, but answering the purpose for which Hay no and Cn'houil planned their road have long since materialized. The primary object of lapping the great center of western trade by a rail road having a deep water middle At lantic coast port as its terminus, which these great South Carolinians had in view, has been accomplished by the budding of not one only, but several highways of travel and commerce, The road planned by Hayne and Cal houn was to have been known as lb j Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston railroad. The company was orgauized and a great deal of the capital stock paid in before the project was aban doned on account of the panic of 1837. The route was to include Columbia, KnoxvUlo, Lexington, Louisville, Mnysvdlu and Cincinnati. The lirst meeting of the stockholders was held in Knoxville .January Olh, 1837. At that meeting the route was discussed and partially adopted. That portion definitely decided upon was through the valley of the French Broad, as the most feasible way of passing the mountains. Before this meeting of stockholders a railroad convention was held in KnOXVillo in duly, lSWl, ft>r the purpose of furthering the project Goueral Hayno was elected president of this convention, lie being the chief mover in the undertaking, and six 1 months later when the stockholders held their lirst meeting here he was elected president of the company which had been formed at the conven tion previously held and. also at other ' meetings. General Hay no's idea was ' to raise money for the road by issuing ' bonds predicated upon the credit of the 1 States ^through which the road was to run, each Stale bearing pro rata share. As governor of South Carolina he was belter enabled to forward his purpose. : The building of this road was lirst suggeatcd, it seems, by B, S. Thomas, who was at one lime editor of the old Charleston City Qazelto, ami who later became editor of the Cincinnati Daily Evening Post, Ho lirst projected it in his mind during the war of 1812, ami tells about it in his published remi niscences, lie says: " Before and during the war I re sided in Charleston and was engaged in editing and publishing the Daily City Gazette, of that place, and the Caro lina Gazette, weekly. I used about sixty pounds of paper per day, which, while the war lasted, cosl me fifteen to twenty cents per pound freight from Baltimore. 1 then pro jected a ' railroad' foi the Atlantic coast, without calling it by that name; my plan was to lay the rails, which were to he of wood, upon piles driven into the earth. I suggested my plan to the late Gov. Charles Pinckliey, l'etcr Treneau, Esq., and Col. Thomas Lehre, at one of our weekly meetings, at Mr. Treneau's house, when it met the fate of most projects that are new in their nature, ami gigantic in their extent; it was laughed at as being, if at all practicable, a hundred years too soon to be thought of. 1 gave myself no further trouble or thought about that or any other railroad, until the Baltimore and Ohio railroad was pro jected, when, being a resident of Bai? timore, and having lost my fortune, I had nothing to give but my time, and devoted two or three weeks of that, immediately preceding the opening of the books,to visiting the workshops and factories and urging upon their inmates the great utility of the undertaking, and the prosperity of every ono becom ing a stockholder, if only for a share. * * * In the fall of 18'27, I came out to Ohio and went down as far down as Louisville. On my return I stopped u fortnight in this city. The idea then struck me of a railroad from this city to Charleston, and the superior advan tages it would have overall others from the circumstances of its being from North to South, and thus bringing to gether people who are strangers to each other, and whose products are so admirably calculated for a beneficial exchange." Mr. Thomas then tells of how he suggested the project to a number of Cincinnati business men, but he re ceived little encouragement. Among those were Dr. O. Fairchild, Messrs. Alluon Owen, Wm. S. Smith, Hugh McLean and Francis Shields. About a year before Iub death, which occurred in 18119, Haync wrote from Charleston to Mr. Thomas, who was then in Cin cinnati, saying among other things: " Wo fear no competition from other cities on the Atlantic const. In the vast trade which will lie received from tho popular and fertile regions of (lie West into tho hroad? Atlantic there will he onough u>. us ail. General Bernard, in one of his reports, la mented that there wore no practicable routes for railroads and canals across the. Alleghanies, that in process of time they would all be found inade quate to the wants of commerce. Our ' passage across the mountains through the valley of the French Broad river ia the shortest and best yet discovered, t We shall probably effect it without a (single incline plane by concurring wlcvations not oxeccding l,'20O feet; a ml from the summit of tho mountains, westward, we have almost a lovel plain to, Knoxvillc, the head of steamboat navigation on the Tennessee. The aid of Kentucky, if extended us, will ccitninly continue the road to Lexing ton, itnd from thence all the proposed lines 1 to the Ohio will sooner or later be li! led up. Ii was necessarily our first Biopto push on from tho ocean; ' and here finding a road roady made to our hands, wo have availed ourselves of it for sixty-two miles of our way. From this point (Brancbville on the Charleston and Hamburg road) we have laid out tho road to Columbia, about sixty-live miles; have made all the contracts and are proceeding rapidly. In the meantime General Hamilton has gone to Europe to effect a loan of 8-,000,00(1 for our company on the credit of the State of South Carolina.'" At the Dieding of the stockholders in Knoxville above referred to the following directors were elected: Ohio?Edward f>. Mansfield, Wil liam Green, Joseph Bonsnll. Kentucky Llobort Wicklippe, Wil liam II. Richardson, .lames Taylor, John W. Tibbotts, Israel I.. Ludlow, John II. Casey. Tennessee?John Williams, ,1. (J. M. Ramsey, Alex. E. Smith. North Carolina?James P, E. Hardy, Thomas .1. Forney, Peregrine Roberts. South Carolina? Wobt. Y. Ilayne, James Hamilton, Charles Kdmouson, Mitchell King, Benjamin T. Elmore, A. Ulanding, John c. Calhoun, John W. Simpson, Robert G. Mills. At this meQ?Ug the committee to whom it was referred to examine and report on the surveys already made, and what part, if any, could then be definitely decided on and the proper measures to be lakcu to have such other surveys made as might be neces sary to enable the company, at its next meeting, to decide on the actual loca tion of the whole road from Charles ton to Lexington and the brancnes to Louisville, Cincinnati and Maysvillc, made its report. The report opened by saying that the surveys theretofore submitted to the legislature of South Carolina had lod to the satisfactory conclusion that a practicable route for , a railroad between Charleston and the , Uhto river existed. The surveys up to | this time, the report said, had been , confined to parts of the line where most difficulties were apprehended, , und no definite location Ol the route i UOUld then be predicted on. The only , fact clearly and distinctly ascertained . was that the valley of the French , Broad river must be adopted, as the wily practicable course through which the road could pass the Alleghany , mountains and the Rluc Ridge, , liaving in view the connection , uf the points described in the | dialler. The report said that nn Dthor route, by the head waters <>f the , Savannah and the valleys of the Tuck- | iiscegc and Little Tennessee rivet" hud | been surveyed, but was found U> bo j impracticable. On the other hand, it. i was clearly demonstrated that by Adopting the French Broad route, it | was impossible to conduct the i'<?ad i from the valley of the Bast Tennessee , outlrely through the Alleghany moun tains, to Hie crest of the Blue Ridge at Iwo points in Buucomho County, North Carolina, near where AshevillC , is now located, on a gradual ascent en- j Llrely within the range of locomotive [lowor as thon in use. These points, j die reportCOUtiuuod, were at the Reedy Patch and Kulte Mountain gaps. ' Fate surveys also led to the conviction , Lhat from one, if not Iroin both, of j Llicse deprosssons i.n the Rluc Ridge, . Lhc road might be carried into the level , country Of South Carolina, beyond Hie mountain region on a grade lhat would | suporcede the necessity of stationary power. Rut this part of the ground liatl not been sufficiently subjected to , die rigorous tests of tho instrument lo enable the committee to recommend which of tho several routes should be : Adopted. The report says, continuing: "Tkree at least should bo sufficiently '. examined: First, the route which leads down the Reedy Patch creek and Broad river till the ridge between the stream and the Catawba river is gain ed; second, the route by the Butt Mountain gap, descending through the opening which receives the Green river, between the Rluc Ridge and the. Saluda mountains, till the latter moun tain is llankcd on the cast; the third, Ihe route which descends from the Rutt Mountain gap into tireon river cove and passes Saluda mountain by Gap creek and continues to the level country near Greenville, S. 0. The report said that these surveys must be extended with a view of pass ing through Columbia? At Columbia the line wns to meet the projected line of the South Carolina Canal and Rail road Company, which had exclusive right to a railroad between Charleston and Columbia for thirty-six years, and which at that time had a track half the distance. Since the convention of 1880 Knox villc and Cincinnati arc connected, as well as Knoxville and the Carolina?. There is still a demand, however, for a more direct route fiom Charles ton to Cincinnati. The Tennessee Central, connecting East and Middle Tennessee for the first time, is a link in the chain of events which portend so much for Knoxville. How to encourage and keep the boys on tho farm ? Take them to the State Fair for sight-seeing and an object lesson will be taught thom to renew their efforts in their various avocations. Liberal railroad rates for tho great State Fair will be made for Fair Week. CASTOR IA For Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bought Bears the Signature of OUK GHKATK6T SPECIALIST. Kor '20 years Dr. J. Newton Hathaway has so successfully treated chronic diseas es that he is acknowledged today to sladn at the hoad of his profession in lids line. His exclusive method of treatment for Varicoccle and stricture, without trie aid of knife or cautery cures in 00 per cent, of all cases, in the treatment of the loss of Vital Forces. Nervous Disorders, Kidney and Urinary Complaints, Paralysis, Blood Poisoning, Rheumatism, Catarrh . and dis eases peculiar lo women, he is equally successful. Dr. Hathaway'B practice fa more than double that of any otnor spec* lallet. Caaea pronounced helpleaf* by other physicians readily yield to hid treatment Write bim today fully about your case. He makes no charge for OOnau Ration or advice, either at Ida oflioe or by mall. J. Nowto.? Hftttiawav, M. D., 22X South broad ttraot, Atlanta. 0? How <;<)()]) roads BENEFIT a ( OMMUNITV. < <<-ii. Hoy Stone in N. Y. World. Tin: splendid road conditions existing on the continent of Europe can he du plicated here. The question in one for tho people themselves to solve, and it is actually being solved in the United States to-day hy the voluntary action of cominuutiics in various sections of tlie country. Pot'example, 1 heard that there weie some especially good stone roads being constructed in the State of Now York, so I went theio myself, and to muke sure that I should mnko a thorough test 1 went in the midst of a January thaw. 1 got a pair of horses and a light buggy to test other roads around the country, ami I found that with ft great deal of difficulty 1 could drive over then). But in the section where the fanners had been building the stone road I found that two tons of hay were, being hauled with two horses on a common narrow-tired wagon. 1 said to the farmers: "Howdid you get started in tins business of building roads?" They said: "We started it ourselves. We thought we could do something, as our Holds are full of stone, With ?tom: fences nlong the road, so we scraped together enough money to buy a rock crusher, hired an engine to run it and ai ranged to bring in the stones and haul back the crushed stones." They have actually gone so far as to petition the Legislature for the privil ege of increasing their taxation beyond wind the law allowed, and the result is Hint all the farmers in that township are anxiously waiting for the roads to be extended in their particular neigh borhoods, 1 said to them: "Doesn't this pile up your taxes?" "Why," one farmer said, "in tliis one week, by the advan tage of having these stone roads and {Otting to market with my hay, when it sells id a good price, my teams have .'arned So every day, while my neigh bors' teams on the other roads aro eating their heads off. We could not Afford to have their roads; we do not jare anything about the taxation." A bright statistician, taking the rail load returns of freight and the amount >f it that is hauled over the public roads, makes the needless cost of re moving tho farm products of the Uni ted Slates to be 8000,000,000 a year. Prof. Latin, of Purdue University, in kestimated it from the point of view of Lhe fanners of Indiana. In that State they have some good roads,?not the highest class of roads, hut about 10, 500 miles of very good gravel roads. He found from the reports of the farmers themselves that the difference between good and bad roads was 78 :cnls an acre, annually on their farms. I look a broader view of it and sent ;)til Uttels lo the 10,000 farmers in the United States who had been selected is lhe best representative men to gath er statistics for the department of ag riculture. Taking the proper cost to 1)0 the present cost to the farmers in the {00(1 roads district of New Jersey where Lhere are. actually as good roads as are found in any part of Europe, I found lhe tost of hauling over the ordinary roads of the country is just about three times as much as the cost of hauling over stone roads. Where a load is Lhrce tons on good roads it is one ton jti the. average farm roads. The av erage cost of hauling a ton a mile throughout the United State is2? cent. In the New England States it is 32 cents, they being more hilly and hav ing generally worse roads. The cost in New Jersey was from seven to ten cents. The actual cost of moving products is not the only loss from bad roads by any means. Farmers lose by not beiiiK able to get to market when the market is good, by tho waste of prc duets that cannot be marketed at all on account of bad roads, by not being en couraged to cultivate things that re tinue a speedy market, and in a great many other ways. The actual money loss to the fanners of the United Slates by tho bad roads of the country is not less than one-quarter of the total homo value of till their products. The total home value of the annual products of the farms of the United States is about $2,500,000,000 and tho loss by bad roads is about ?000,000,000, so that the fanners lose, or thoy would lose if they could stand all that loss themselves,? one-quarter of the value of all their products hy the extra cost of getting them to market. One reason why the hoards of trade and the commercial bodies in the United States aic get1 nig interested in good roads is the fa^t that the whole business of the country is suffering for lhe want of them. Take the State of New York, where agriculture ought to be inoto prosperous than in any other State in the Union. The great cities and towns of the State would make a home market for more than its farmers can produce, but for the want of good roads, reliable ah the year round, tho New York fanners have no command of their own markets, and the produce dealers, even in the interior cities and towns, have no certainty of a regular supply from the surrounding farms and are therefore obliged to have rccourso toother States and Canada for their sup plies. Tho farmer, when he is able to get to market, genorally finds it fore stalled and himself obliged to ship to some distant point, while tho farmors along tho raProads of the far West or the good wagon roads of Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey and Canada aro supplying the home market. CJOOD ROADS FOB CHESTER. Some, of tho good citizens of Chester have sot lo work in earnest to provide good roads for it. A few weeks ngo they took the tirst step by organizing a society for tho purpose of promoting such work, and at its meeting ten days ngo, the commit ice appointed to pro pose a working plan submitted one which was 44 unanimously adopted." Accordiug lo tho local papor, the Ches ter Jtcporter, tho plan adopted and recommended to tho county authorities is as follows : 1. To prepare a list of all persons liable for road duty of 0 days or a $2 commutation tax, and to onforco ser vice or collect tho tax 44 through tho treasurer's office with general tax." 2. To establish a repair force for road luaiutonance in each township, U?der a road master employed by tlio year?" the force to be kept at work all the year " except in bad weather? and each such force lobe supplied with u a team of two mules, a plough, and such other necessary implements as the county is able lo furnish." 3. That the county employ a com petent civil engineer, when necessary, to direct all permanent work and to instruct the township road inastorH in their work. If the county shall under take lo macadamize the main public roads or do any other permanent work, requiring a long time for its cot.tple tlou, then to employ an engineer for such lime that the work may be thorough. 4. That the county commissioners levy one mill for " permanent work," that the chain gang be employed on such work only, that the board pur chase or hire the necessary machinery' for permanent work, and that applica tion be made \io the penitentiary au thorities for 16 to 20 convict laborers. The convict laborers would help the cause materially, but it is evident that their aid is not essential lo the plan and will be dispensed with it'necessary. Its main features are the provisions for the strict enforcement of the rood service or its equivalent in money, 'he inclusion of tho road tax on the gen eral tax, the employment of the chain gang on permanent work only, the steady employment of the repair force all the year, the assured use of the necessary " machinery," and the com petent supervision of the whole work. The plan cannot fail to insure the ma terial and continuing improvement ot all the roads of the county, and tho placing of the principal ones in first class condition, and it might be adopt ed by other counties greatly to their advantage. Incidentally to the subject of such improvements it maybe remarked that flu; time is cvidcntally near at hand when good roads will possess a special value and importance in any pint of the country besides and beyond that of a Hording smoother ways foi the pas sage of ordinary and slow vehicles only. The automobile has come to stay, and it is not. a mere toy, but is capable of tendering useful public Service, as it is largely so employed al ready in many cities, and its possibili ties are not yet neatly developed. An exhibition of its speeding qualities given in Chicago a few days ago is in terestingly reported by one of the local papers. The competition was between the VYinton four-wheeled gasoline automo bile and two motor tricycles over a fifty-mile course. The four-wheeler made the Qfiy-milos m 1 hour, 17 niin tes and f>0 seconds. The thirty-sixth and fortieth miles were each made in HO seconds. The average speed per mile was 'J'J '2-5 seconds. This record was beaten, however, by one of the tricycle motors, which made the f>0 miles in 1 hour, 15 minutes,.r>7 seconds, although it Blackened speed once to feed more oil to its small engine. Jt made the second miles in 1 minute, J>* 1-5 seconds. The highest speed of the four-wheeled automobile was at the rale of 40 miles an hour ; that of the tricycle motor was 45 miles an hour. Commenting on the exhibition n Chicago paper says : " While such speed as this is impracticable except on an unobstructed and smooth course, it demonstiales the amazing development of the self-propelling vehicle within a few years. The perfecting of automo biles for practical uses is only in its in fancy, and such contests stimulate while they illustrate its rapid growth." Forty miles an hour is good railroad speed, and when it is remembered that so.no of the machines are sold foi as low a price as $750?which is far less than the cost of a railroad, and not more than that of a line horse or cow?and that they can be run on any country road that is smooth and linn, it would appear to be good policy for any coun try community, which desires rapid transit for any reason to put its toads in such shape, it is not required, moreover, to make the roads level. The motors can go up and down hill. They have recently ascended and de scended Pike's Peak, and other moun tains, without difficulty. ?Newa und Courier. TI110 HOYS ON THE FARM. Cor. of The Progressive Farmer. The tendencies of modern inventions arc towards increasing the city and de creasing the country population. Too many young men are induced to join the army of consumers and leave tho ranks of producers. The results arc noticeable wherever we have hard times and money is close. Then there are thousands out of employment and families arc compelled to live in pover ty, This is an indication that there is something radically wrong with the methods of agriculurisls. The boys arc neglected. They soo more signs of prosperity among their city cousins and are easily led into the metropolitan channels. The gaudy displays of ap parent wealth make them believe that life is more real in the city than in tho country. The evils of the cities arc alluring pitfalls into which many thousands of honest country boys fall before they roali/.e their mistake. Some of tho responsibilities for this condition of affairs must rest on the shoulders of parents. The instructors in tho dis trict schools and even in some of the colleffes are largely to blame for directly and indirectly sneering at men who corao from the farm. Jloys o.ro tnuglit from many sourcos that manual labored ia degrading and not characteristic of modern Americanism. They sec llieir parents struggling ou old farms upuii which former fIfnilioe have failed and holiove there is nothing in farming. Tho frequent dilapidated condition of ronted farms and tho small yields in comparison with tho days 01 their lathers cause boys to lose faith in agriculture In every avenue of life tho hoys notico the results of concorted or ganization against tho farmor. They see tho numerous trusts, great cor porations and combinations of capital arrayed against tho farmor with no ap parent better conditions in sight for the future The land produces small crops of wheat, corn and potatoes and ii combination of buyers or a board of trade comers the market and lowers the prices of wheat tlie fanner has to sell, and raises the charges when he is the buyer. These unfavorable con ditions must change before the boys wdl bo content to remain on the farm. They must be recognized by the pres ent farmers in the matter of wages and the future of land holdings. One of the great evils of farming, noted by the boys, is the general loss ol soil fertility and the consequent decrease of crops and land values. A crop of corn yielding /*>0 hushjls per acre, will remove 'M pounds of phos phoric acid, 07 pounds of nitrogen and HO pounds of potash annually from that one acre. If this is kept up for many years without replenishing the plant food the soil becomes worthless for corn growing, A .'t? bushel crop of wheat takes from the soil 24 pounds of phosphoric acid, 59 p muds of nitrogen and ill pounds of potash. The same land will not long remain a prolific wheat Held if the soil is not replenished. This can he done only by using fer tilizers containing tho elements of plant food taken up by the respective crops. Rotation of crops does some good and leaving the land to rest occa sionally assists in holding the essen tials of plant food, but annual appli cations of fertilizers is necessary. Every farmer should study first how to increase his annual yield of farm products, and second how to properly market what ho produces. The se cret of the lirst lies in lhe purchasing and usiug of fertilizers, and the second in co-operating with other fanners iu securing a profitable market. A pro per mixture of potash, phosphoiic acid and nitrogen, which can be learned by reading reliable agricultural jour nals and testing the soil, will inciease the yield of corn from .'10 to 00 per cent, and leave the land in line con dition for the following year. Repeat ed oflicial experiments have demon strated this at the various agricultural experiment stations in the States where corn is grown. What is true of one crop is equally true of another. If Un land is kept in good tilth so it produces choice crops and the farmer co-operates with his neighbor in selling products, 30 as to get the hirst price, and pur chases in such a manner as to secure low rates on what he consumes, the hoys will see more beauties in the Heids of agriculture and stay on the larm. Joel Siiok.m akku. A FINK WHEAT CHOI*. The Greenwood Index has the fol lowing account as to preparation and yield of wheat crop grown hy Mr. rhomas L. Moore, of Ninety Six, one r?f the most intelligent farmors in that section. The land selected was ten acres, a red, still* soil, and lias been tinder cul tivation for thirty years. In 1808, 1 made over a bale of cotton per acre on said land. In 1800, I concluded I would do better, and with good pre paration, thorough cultivation, ami an application of about 400 pounds of compost, cotton seed meal, acid and kainit per acre, accompanied by the severe drought, 1 made about 200 pounds of seed cotton per acre. So you see 1 made no cotton seed to put back on the land; neither did 1 make any cotton with which to purchase fer tili/.ers, ami I planted wheat without manure. Sometimes in November, I can't give date, I ploughed up the stalks and with horse rake pulled them off the land. I then broke the land with a Dixie plough small wing. Sowed ten bushels of wheat -six of "Virginia Red Chaff" and four of "Rlue Stem"?putting in wheat with same plough. Afterward 1 ran a tWO-horse harrow over the land, followed hy roller which left it in good condition. I fed to slock the wheat on the best acre, as it was very rank and lodged badly. Comparing this acre with the yield of other acres, 1 think it would nave made .r>0 bushels. Two acres, next best, made 4.'l 1-2 bushels per acre. The nine acres made 225 bushels, an average of 2f) bushels per acre. The yield of the " Virginia Red Chaff" was nearly 28 and the Blue Stem" about 22 bushels per acre. We will now deduct the seed, nine bushels, and the toll for thrashing, fifteen bushels, from the 225, and we have left 201 bushels which at HO cents leaves to credit side #100.80; from which we will deduct ploughing and raking Stalks, 8-i; breaking land, ?0; ploughing in wheat, 80; Harrowing and i illiog land, $3; reaping and bind ing grain, 814; making 8?T2; leaving still to credit 8128.80. Not knowing the value to place on the straw, I have made it a set-off against hauling off the grain. From the above, we find the cost of raising the wheat about 10 cents per bushel, and the profit per acre $14.80. Tuos. L. MooitE, Ninety-Six, S. C, Oct. 1, 1000. The pecan crop of Texas promises to bo tho largest known in many yoars. Las*, year's crop was a small one, caused principally by the tloods in lira - /os valley, but this yoar the trees are loaded with nuts. The price is hotter than usual, owing to the fact (hat thore is no surplus from last year, and that the demand for tho nut steadily grows. St. Louis is the grent market for tho Texas nuts, and thence they are dis tributod all over the world. London, l'aris and Naples taking large quan tities of them. They are used almost altogether in tho confectionary trade. Oranges have begun to appear in the market, and are being hawked about the streets as California fruit. As a matter of fact, however, it is altogether to oarly for California oranges; most of those which aro now being shipped to Philadelphia come from Jamaica and Mexico. The latter country is rapidly growing in importance as a producer of thin fruit. An authority in tho trade says that within three years dio great er part of our oranges will come from Mexico, as the many now trees which have been planted there will begin to boar by 100:i. OABTOIIIA. Bean the The Kind You Have Always Bought THE SWEET POTATO. Tho New York Commercial is au thority for ihe statement lhai the an nual value of sweet potatoes is #20,. 000,000 and lhat none are exported. Here is food for thought for the South ern farmer, and there should at ont o he inaugurated a movement lo intro duce the BWeoi potulo to Hie Northern markets and then to Europeans. At tlu; Paris exposition a great effort is being made by representatives of ibis government lo induce tho people of Eu rope to cut corn bread prepared in va rious ways. We favor this scheme, und WO doubt not but lhat there will fol low a great demand for American corn. Would it not be well for our Southern fanners to pattern after this Yankee scheme ami send to the restaurants in the largo cities of the North cooks skilled in the pi eparaiions of the many delightful dishes made of sweet po tatoes ? There is scarcely anything more pal atable and nourishing than the sweet potato, and yet it is very rare indeed for one to find sweet potatoes on the bill of fare of Northern hotels and restaurants. The Irish potato is found everywhere, but the sweet potato is scarcely ever seen upon the market. Tho sweet potato is very prolific, espe cially in tills section of the South, making anywhere from loo to .'100 bushels per acre, and if our farmers would carefully study tho handling and marketing of the crop, the farm value should be from $00 lo ?100 per iu re. There are farmers in this county who havt studied the bedding of sweet po tatoes and keep them through the winter months, and then sail during March and the following months for 81.00 per bushel at Sparlanburg and at the mill towns in the county. If the Southern farmer would make an effort to place the sweet potato upon the markets in the large cities at the North the annual value would within three years approximate 8100,000,000. The railroads of the South can become great factors in the introduction of the sweet potato to the people of the North, and if they will hut lake hold of the matter, we predict that this industry could be revolutionized within the next few years. ?.FYc< /.<"i<c. BUSINESS AND POLITICS. Tho Munnj'urtarcrs1 /record icccntly made inquiry of bankers in the small towns and cities of the South respect ing the condition of business and the outlook generally. The following amus ing letter is from a hanker at North Mlddlelown, Ky : "This is an agri cultural section. This little town (600), with its big name, spoiled, in its build ing, the finest farm on earth, and made just a tolerable village. It is the real heart of the bluegrass region, because one.fifth of the entire crop of bluegrass seed produced in the. whole world is harvested within a radius of six miles of our town. The farms around us are fat, and so are the cattle, hogs and sheep on them. The farmers are high livers, wealthy, as a rule, and as one rarely works, they arc principally * round ' fellows, or stout. Panics never affect us. We get rich in hard limes, and richer in good times like the present. We have more export cattle than usual, and comparatively few hunches have been contracted. The. fall crop of grass is away above the average, consequently nearly every fanner has his feeders "laid in' (on hands), as well as his fat Stuff. Land is 40 per cent, higher than in 1805. While we ate in Bourbon County, Ihe land ot firewater, yet 00 per cent, of our male population never drink any thing but water or milk?drunkenness is conilucd to our negroes almost sole ly. This climate is suited chietly to Democrats ; the others are lean and hungry-looking. Hut our Democrats are not all Simon pure. Some of the very cream of the parly are for Bryan, a gold standard, expansion and free trade, and others for Bryan and the opposite. They don't care anything about the relation of business to poli ties?? business is busiucss, and poli tics are hell,' or bile, with us.'" South Kit n Forests.? George T. Winston, President of the North Car olina College of Agriculture, calls at tention in an eloquent and foiceful address to the Sooth's sacrifices in the past and its progress at present in the matter of lnanufaelures from woods. >l A century ago we used our forests mainly for firewood. Later we sold them as raw material to he cut down and shipped away, either as limber or as lumber, for manufacture elsewhere into finished products. At h'st we have begun to manufacture ourselves, but wo have, only begun, and lhe field is boundless. Recently in High Point a single customer from Chicago was anxious to place an order for ^100,000 worth of furniture. Factories there aro converting $4 worth of white oak into $70 worth of furniture. Skill and machinery arc doing tho work. With better skill and better machinery, with other manufacturing establishments in all lines of woodworking as numerous as cotton mills now arc, we shall real ize that one of our greatest sources of wealth is our forests. They ate a source, too, that is self-renewing, for with proper care and management they will last forever. Soil, moisture and temperature arc so perfectly ad? justed in our State that harten Heids will grow up again into forests within a single lifetime. It is a healthy sign, this of iho South, saving and proporly utilizing its forests. Property caicd for they c;in hi' made here as they are, in Europe, a source of great wealth, besides being, as they always are, a thing of I catlty and joy forever to the people." Most farmers in sholliug oars of sood corn, throw out the kernels from both ends. The apex undoubtedly produces imperfect kernels, hut a number of government experinu nls show that lhe lower kernels, while lhey may be mis shapen, have high vilality and con stitute good seed. B?ar? the 11,0 Kind You \\m Alw.iys Bga^l The absolutely pure BAKING POWDER ROYAL?the most celebrated of all the baking powders in the world?ee 1 e b r a t e d for its great leavening strength and purity. It makes your cakes, biscuit, bread, etc., healthful; it assures you against alum and all forms of adultera tion that go with the cheap brands. Alum lukiiiR powder5 arc low priced, a* alum costs but two K iits .1 |H)ttiul i 1'iit alum is .i corrosive poison anil it rend vis the baking powdet dangerous to use in food. ROYAL BAKING POWDrH CO., 100 WIH I AM ST., NtW YOHK. HOW TO MAKE A BICi CO UN CROP. Horc Is ll'c plnn adopted by a man who farms on 40 acres, li? raise a largo crop on about half of it. Tho soil is kept fertile by means of Rtuhlo manures, cow peas and clover. Ill the spring It is plowed six inches deep and thorough ly pulverized with the harrow just as soon as it i> in n "crumbly" condition, lie tells mo he has often stopped his plow in the middle of the forenoon to harrow it strip that has ju&l rcnehed lh? proper condition for hairowing. He says laud will remain in first class con dition for plowing several days, hut plowed land will not remain in lirst class condition for harrowing many hours. He harrows it thoroughly und plants at once. If for any reason ho is notable to plant immediately after harrowing, be goes over it again before be does plant. His object is to have the soil thoroughly and freshly pul verized when the seed is put in. His seed corn is cnrclully solectod in tho early autumn, thoroughly cured, ami kept in a dry place all winter, and not one grain in a hundred fails to germin ate and send up a vigorous shoot. The planting is shallow not over two inches for the deepest. This is easily managed, because the soil is perfectly smooth entirely tree from lumps and sods?and level, ami the planter runs as steadily as a Bloieh. Tho planter drops three or lour grains in hills forty-four inches apart. His object is to get three good stalks in each lull, and counting one hundred earn to a bushel a stand like this gives him ninety-three bushels an acre. He says two-thirds of the bills will have four stalks in them, hut quite a number of them will be barren, though he is slowly reducing tho number of these by careful selection of his seed each year. He has grown as high as one hundred and twenty-two bushels to the acre in favorable years, but he "feela quite welT' if he gets bcetwctn eighty and one hundred. After the corn is planted and before it sprouts the ground 18 harrowed twice with a slanting-tooth harrow, and nothing more is done un til the corn is four or live inches high, when cultivation begins with narrow shoveled cultivators running four or live inches deep. As the plants in crease in height and the roots extend into the rows cultivation is more shallow, and ceases when the bow of the cultivator will no longer pass over the plants. The lirst cultivations are intended to keep the soil mellow and loose, so that the roots will readily run through it, and hence the shovels are run doep. Liter cultivations keep the surface mellow and destroy weeds. "Pat, what is it the doctors arc sny in1 about the favcr bcin' all on account o' ihim germs? What's germs, any how ?" "Well, Dinnis, ye see it's this way. They're, jist bugs, wiggle tail i like. They've got lots o' differ ent kinds o' names. In Germany they call Ihim serins ; the French call Ihim Paris*it08, and in Ireland we call ihim Mike-robes, hut they're jist wigglin bugs." "MAKES THE MILK RICHER." A farmer on bciug asked why ho fed Ins cows a certain ration replied, "He cause it makes the milk richer." But he was in error. If the cow has been Studied and experiments made with rations of high fat content with a view of augmenting the percentage of butter fat in the milk, the results being faith fully watched, an intelligent dairyman or farmer will lind only the slightest difference in the fat constituent of the milk from year to year, and this ir respective of the rations given to pro duce a difference; be will note, possibly, a varying degree in a single, day?that is, the milk may be richer in fat at morning than at night, but it is im possible to increaso the butter fat of milk in an individual cow. It might be done by careful breeding of pro nounced dairy types known to be pro ducers of milk very rich in fat, but it would require, many generations. When a cow has reached that period when her milk (low is what nature has do creed for her, both in quality and quan tity, no manner of food o?- feeding, and we doubt as to breeding, can make the milk richer or produce a larger percont a?_rc of butter fat therein. Ii is probable, therefore, a large amount of feed is wasted by feeding a ration or rations with a constituent of large fat-producing tendency, thinking the result will !>?: the enrichment of Hu; milk. It is not only impossible to feed fat into milk, but in some cases the feeding of a ration so strong in fat material will derange the system of the cow and produce positive injury. And while the matter is in hand we may as well say another tiling right along the line; tho cow thnt has come to her normal milk yield is not likely to trans cend that amount, whatever it may he, as a result of any sort of feeding; the quantity may he perhaps percepti bly increased, hut only temporarily. This menus that, when a cow is giving her full supply she is doing all the laws of creation intended and any attempt to alter this plan will result in injury to the animal and disappointment to her ambitious owner.?-Farmer's Voice. ???mmm? * ?-<?*? A woman was taken before a French magistrate and asked her ago. She said twenty-eight. The judge looked up and said : "Madam, you were be fore mo ten years ngo, and gavo the same ago." Said the woman : "I do not doubt it. I am not a woman that will say one thing to-day and another thing to-morrow." ?aarttho /? Ihe Kind You Have Always Bougtd Mrs. ?.?"Oh, doctor, how 1 should hate to be buried alive I" Doctor?"Calm yourself, madam. No patient of mine need ever fear that." 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