The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, December 02, 1897, Image 6
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.THE JJjHT.
4'0pcn the window. Mother dear.
^ And let me breathe the fragrant air
; That b!<^s in from the garden whore
The flowers bloom. And let me hear
The chorus of the birds that sing
Within the trees, for it will bring
To r^y faint heart a little cheer.
Please, Mother dear?
It seems so close and hot in here."
She raised the window. Full ana free
The sun-kissed air came streaming in
Upon his face so pale and thin;
The song of birds?In rapturous glee?
Fell on his ear. He smiled, and then
The eyelids closed; he slept again,
Tno mother holdiDg tenderly
The outstretched hand.
For woll she seemed to understand.
""Upon tne sauunf .uuhici ur.ii,
It's growing dark?I cannot see.
Let in the light?sit close to me.
That I may feel your presence near.
Let in the sunlight from the sky?
The light that's pure and free, that I
May see your face again. Bend near?
Ah, there's the light!
Gool-b.ve, dear mother?good?goodnight."
The light had come?the radiant light
Of angels bending o'er him low.
The light which but the dead can know,
Which guides the soul upon its Sight
To that fur land of peace and rest;
The Heavenly light which, las. and best,
Illumines through the darkest night.
, ?James C. Challiss, in IndeDendent.
I THE WRONG CUE. ?
| _ O
Qoaooooooooooooooooooooooo
? ILA WEIR taught
elocution at Mad WsW
3 ame Thonro n's
^ Young Ladies'
!!|p; PL ? =? Seminary when
JigM g k - - ||ff Thorndyck Farrington
was
cashier of the
tC^g=- L^~- First National
Bank.
Lila was both young and pretty, and,
as the bank was just around the corner
from the seminary, it often happened
that Mr. Farrington walked
hone from school with her, to the un"*'
*- - "> -1 ?_ .# 1. 1^ T-1
cusguiseu caagriu 01 uer lover, 4011a
Cunningham.
He met them one afternoon in February,
slipping along over the icy
pavement, and talking gaily together.
John had gone oat of his way on
r purpose to walk home with Lila, bat
came too late; and, when he met her,
half a block from the seminary, leaning
on Farrington's arm, he passed on
with a bow that was very still and formal.
- "Confound the fellow!" he mattered,
as he glanoed back at Farrington's
stylish figure. "What does Lila mean
by letting him dance uttendance on
her every day?"
The cashier of the First National
wore on this occasion a handsome
brown chinchilla overcoat and a stylish
Derby hat. In one hand he carried a
cane with a head of beaten silver.
"The fool!" John mattered, with
h more force than elegance; but Mr.
Thorndych Farrington was just then
oblivious to epithets.
When John called that evening, Lila
knew in a minute that he was out of
j? sorts. '
"See here, mj little girl," he said,
aoberly, "I wish yon wouldn't let that
fellow, Farringfon, walk home with
1 you so much."
"Now, John, don't be silly!"
"I don't like him, Lila. Besides. I
wouldn't want any man to walk home
with you as much as he does." I
"Well, John Cunningham, if yon
gCY ; aren't perfectly absurd!"
"Idon't think lam," he said, flushing
deeply. "Some one asked me this
morning why I'd let that fool of a Farrington
out me out. I don't liko such
innuendoes, Lila."
"What perfect nonsense, John!"
"VnnsBnsft or nnt T don't like it'"
^be said, with. some spirit. "Lila, I
am going away to-morrow, and I want
yon to promise me that you won't allow
Farrington to walk home with yan
/ ' anymore."
"You are going away to-morrow,
V John!" she echoed. 'To Waahingr
ton?"
"Yee," he mid, slipping his arm
around her. "I am going to-morrow,
. % ' darling!?to be gone two months, peri
hape. But if I succeed in this underK
taking, Lila, there will be an end to
all this weary waiting, and we can be
'Vv - married at once!"
"Humph!" she said, saucily. "It
takes two to make a bargain."
"Yes?but we two are one! Dont
trifle with me, Lila. I can't bear it.
This hope lies too near my heart."
"I did not mean to trifle, John."
"I don't think yon ever mean to
hurt me," he said, gravely; "but sometimes
you do. I know I am jealous,
Lila, but I can't help it. It is all in
^ vain that I strive against it, and when
I think of that fellow Farrington, I?
.it makes me wretched!"
"But what can I do, John? I can't
insult the man by telling him he can't
walk with me."
"Your woman's wit will serve vou,
Lila. I never saw a girl yet that
rrnf rirl r\f on if film
. saw fit."
"But suppose I don't want to get
'1 - rid of him?"
"Lila!"
"Well, John? I think you might
trust me more."
"I do trust yon. But I tell you it
makes me unhappy to see you with
that fellow, and I think that ought to
be sufficient!"
"I suppose I might go home the
back way," she said, musingly.
"If you did several times, he would
soon see that you were trying to avoid
him."
"But, John, the%back way is horrid!"
He took her pretty, perverse little
face between his hands, and lifted it
60 that he could look right down into
her eyes.
"Darling," he said, softly, "do it
just to please me."
?
MM i* _ 'k\.4.( -
"Well, I will! But you're a perfect
tyrant, John Cunningham "
'"And you are an angel!" he cried,
rapturously. "Lila, you shall never
regret the little things you ilo to
please me. They make me love you
all the more."
John went to Washington the following
morning. Two weeks dragged
themselves away, and then something
unexpected happened to shorten his
sojourn in Washington. His purpose
was accomplished with less difficulty
than he had anticipated, and in full 1
realization of his fond hopes,he hurried
back to Lila.
He had not written her, because he
I wanted to take her by surprise, and
ct?a never dreamed of his CominjT.
, It was rather late one evening when
he ran up the steps and pulled the
! bell.
There was a bright light in the parlor,
and John leaned over to peep
through the lace curtains into the
room.
"Pshaw!" he exclaimed, with much
i vexation as he saw a gentleman sitting
with his back toward the window.
"There's somebody there! 'I'll go right
on up to the sitting-room."
. The door was opened by a little colored
girl, who was the only servant
that the Weirs kept.
"Hush?sh!" John said, warningly,
as he stepped into the hall. "Don't
! tell any one I am here. Katie."
The little girl retired under cover of
a broad grin.
"I wonder who is in there!" John
said, reflectively, as he stepped up to
the hat-rack to identify the hat and
overcoat that were hanging there.
There was a cane with a beaten-silver
head lying across the top oT the
rack, and under it a brown overcoat
hanging beside a Derby hat.
John's face changed its expression,
as he took down the hat, and saw inside
of it an embroidered band
marked, "T. W. F."
"Thorndyck Farringten!" he mut
tered, with quick resentment, ana jasi
then he heard Lila's voice raised to a
key somewhat higher than ordinary.
"John is so fearfully jealous!" she
said. "I don't know what to do with
him!"
"Why do yon put up with it?" was
the query, in a lower tone. "I cannot
bear to see you subject to the will of
such a man, darling. I wish you would
let me put a stop to it!"
"I am going to write to him myself,"
saidLila. "I can't stand it any longer.
I have fully made up my mind to break
off oar engagement."
John heard this; but he heard no
more. The floor seemed to heave like
the waves of the ocean; the light in
the hall grew suddenly dim, and he
gasped for breath.
His first instinct was to get out of the
honse. He staggered toward the door,
and down the steps, like a drunken
man.
"What wa9 that?" Lila exclaimed,
as she heard the front door bang.
She started up and peeped out into
the hall, but no one was visible.
"I guess it was the wind," she observed,
as she went back to her seat;
and John's brief visit was not discovered.
Bat the next day there came to her
a note, saying:
I take this opportunity of releasing you
from an engagement which has grown irksome
to you. You are free to favor whom
you will, Mr. Thorndyck Farrington not
excepted. May you have more happiness
than you deserve! I do not fancy the role
of hoodwinked husband. Thank heaven I
found you out-beforo it wa9 too late.
, JOHX CtTXXIXGHJLlI.
In the afternoon John was sitting
in his office, trying to make up his
mind whether he wonld go to Panama
or Alaska; all he If new was that he
could not stay where he was.
As he sat there, with his dull gaze
fixed upon the floor, Harry Weir came
Inn'irinafln?hi>i1 *ni1 indisrn?nt_
"See her, Cunningham!" he said,
laying his right hand ronghly on
John's shoulder, "what the deuce do
you mean by acting in this way. "What
right had you to send such a note to
Lila?"
John struggled to his feat, and threw
off Harry's hand.
"Because," he said, bitterly, "your
sister is a heartless, unprincipled
flirt!"
"You're a liar!" Harry cried, hotly,
and with one stout blow he sent John
staggering back over the ohair, which
fell to the floor with a crash, and John
on top of it.
With one faiut cry that- was half a
groan, John fell back in a limp, senseless
heap npon the floor.
As Harry saw John lying there,
white and unconscious, his auger gave
way to horror.
"Great heavens," he cried, falling
on his knees at John's side, "I have
killed him!"
Half frantic at his own violence, he
summoned aid, and John Cunningham
was taken home, not dead, bat seriously
injured.
Harry told a straight story, and the
law had its course. He was placed
nnder arrest, to awa:1 the result of
John's injuries.
From the prison he wroxe a nore xo
his sister.
'Dear Lila," he said, "'I did not
obey your injunction, for I could not
keep my hands off Cunningham. The
thought of you made me forget your
earnest prayer that I would not molest
him. I knocked him down, and I fear
he is fatally injured. Forgive me,
and break this to mother as gently as
you can."
Half an hour after this note reached
her, Lila left the house with a face
that was white as death, and eyes
that were shadowed by dark despair.
It was not to hei brother in prison
that she went first, but to John Cunningham
who lay back upon a bank of
pillows, pale and suffering.
"Is he going to die?" Lila asked,
with ashen lips, a3 the doctor passed
her in the hall.
"No," the doctor answered, graTely;
"but his back "
"Broken?" she gasped. ^
tin
i _ -J.1....
"Xo, not so bad as that; but it's an (
ugly sprain. It may be months?"
Lila heard no more. She hs.d dashed I
past, and was kneeiing down beside
her lover's bed.
"John, John!"-she sobbed, "lam
so sorry!"
As he opened his eyes a slight spasm j
crossed his face.
Against his will the look of love came
back, and he murmured:
"Lila!"
Her arms were about him in an I
instant.
"John, dear!" she cried, burying j
lier face in the pillows, while she shook i
with convulsive sobs, "you did not
mean it, did yon?"
"Did you mean it, Lila?" ho said,
gravely.
"Did I mean what?"
"What you said to Mr. Farrington
last night. I was in the hall, Lila, and
heard you."
"John, dear, you are certainly
dreaming."
"No," he said, turning away his
head, with a look of pain. "I meant
1 ? ? ? J T A
IO surprise vuu, auu x imu
hall. I?I heard what you said about
inc. I saw Farrington's overcoat on
the rack. Oh, Lila! why did you deceive
me?"
"John," she said, impressively, "I
do not understand a word of this!"
"Thorndyck Farrington called upon
yon last night, Lila."
"He did not'"
"I saw his cane and overcoat in the
hall!"
"John!" she cried, with a sudden
inspiration, "did that mislead you?
That was his hat .and overcoat. He
and Harry went skating night before
last, and Harry got into an air-hole.
You have misjudged Thorndyck, John.
He save^d Harry's life, and because
Harry was all wet he loaned my
brother his hat and overcoat to wear
home. As for the cane, he made Harry
a present of that a week ago."
"Then he wasn't at your hou^e last
night?" John said, faintly.
"No; I have not seen him since you
went away."
"Bat I heard you say?"
"What did you hear, John?"
"You said, 'John is so fearfally
jealous. I don't know what to do with
him!' Yon said more, too. I don't
remember the words, only you declared
that you were going to break off
your engagement with me, and?"
A joyons laugh rippled from Lila's
lips, but she checked it as she remembered
John's condition.
"Dearest," she whispered, bending 1
over him till her soft cheek pressed
against his bearded one, "I was reading
aloud. I will show you the book
in which those very words occur.
Harry took cold, in spite of all precautions,
and the doctor ordered him
to stay in the house. I amused him 1
by reading aloud last night. You forgot
that I was a teacher of elocution.
Like Mr. Orator Puff, I have 'two
tone^ to my voice.' One is up, so, j
the other down, so. Oh, John, dear i
John! Did yon really think I was
saying all that?" I
"Of course I did!" he answered, ]
tremulously, and then ho folded hit i
arms around her, while his tears wet
her glossy hair. '
"Darling," she said when she had
let him hold her there in silence for a
long, long time, "never doubt me
again, no matter what happens."
"I never will," hb answered, sol- j
cmnly. 41 ought to have gone right
to you for \n explanation. My jealous
nature made me the easy victim of aj j
mistake. Ou, Lila! If I had lost you ;
by my own precipitancy!"
44What if I had lost you!" she said, J
with a shudder. "And Harry, through
your death!"
4 Thank God, there is no danger of
that! I shall get well, the doctor says, j
and?and, Lila, I wish you would
bring Thorndyck to see me." ' '
Harry was discharged, of course, !
and at the end of two months, John j
was able to be about. Meanwhile, he
changed his opinion of the cashier of
the First National, whom he allowed
to walk home with Lila whenever disposed
to.
But it was not very long that Lila .
* ? t m _ J
ieu cne neea 01 an escort, sue ieit (
Madame Thouron's in May, and in
Jnno she and John were married.
Harry Weir and Thorndy ck Farrington
were groomsmen at the wedding, ?
and they do say that the latter is going
to marry John's sister. ,
Snake Orercotnei m Coir. . MB
On a farm belongicg to one of the
townsmen of Starrnca. Penn., a year y
ago since, a cow was noticed making t
repeated and fnrious charges at a j,
dense thicket. An investigation by : t
the owner of the animal showed that ' c
she was fighting a big blacksn&ke and j
trying to stamp it to death with her j
fore feet. The thicket was an isolated ; ^
clump of laurels, and the snake did j Q
not seem disposed to leave it and trust j t
its life in the open country.
Finally the cow lowered her head ' f
and attempted to impale the snake on j,
her horns. In an instant the snake ! (,
sprang on the cow's head and coiled j n
itself about her horns. The cow was j ^
dazod for an instant and then set off c
on a ran. occasionally kneeling to rub i r
herself against the ground, but she
was unable to rid herself of her en- _
emy. j,
The cow seemed finally to realize j
that all her efforts were useless, and t
sat off at a full gallop. The men on a
the farm made an effort to follow her .
and turn her back. When cornered t
she would charge everything in sight.
Occasionally the snake vould half
twist itself and its head would play
before the cow's eyes. On these occasions
the poor animal would bellow e
with terror and go backward in an 1
endeavor to escape from the snake. *
Finally the poor brute dropped from J
sheer exhaustion and panted out her *
life. The snake was immediately dis- ?
patched, and on being measured was 2
found to be over six feet in length.? 1
New York Press. .. '-a' ?
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?. V Ss
-1' *
'; * : '".
POPULAR SCIENCE.
Close connection is traced by H.
Luggin between photo-voltaic cnrrents
iet up in silver salts and tho dccom- I
positions giving photographs.
Vaccination laws are not enforcetlin
England. At Norwich, with a population
of over 100,000, the vaccination
officer's fees this year amonnted to
about f>40; he receives fifty cents for
each case.
The Silesia Yerein C'hcmischer Fabriken,
at Woischwitz, near Breslau,
provides carbonic acid water for its
employes during the summer. The
families of the workmen are also supplied
freelv with this water.
In the streets of Portsmouth. England,
each of 240 lamp posts is provided
with both an arc and an incandescent
lamp. It is designed to use
the weaker light at hours when the
other is not necessary and an automa- j
tic switch on each post enables the j
operator at the central station to extinguish
instantly one set of lights and
light the other set.
The number of minor planets known
between Mars and Jupiter now considerably
exceed 400, of which M.
Charlois of Nice has discovered eightysix,
while Herr Palisa, the Austrian
astronomer, has detected eighty-three.
The magnitudes of the first 400 of
these planets hare just been tabulated
by Herr G. Huber. All are telescopic,
only two being brighter than the eighth
magnitude, while the later discoveries
?tho second 200?nearly all arc of the
twelfth majnitude or smaller.
Timber used in mites is subject to
decay from various causes, such as
warm moist air, but the most serious
cause, according to a paper by Mr. J.
Bateman .to the British Society of Mining
Students, is the chemical action set
m flip cotton monld fnnorus. This
*T # o
fungus is the white, fluffy material
seen clinging to timber, especially in
return air ways. Various methods of
protecting the timber have been tried,
such as trickling water over it constantly,
steeping in brine, charring the
surface and creosoting. The last is
the most effective. The timber is
placed in a wrought iron cylinder, the
air is pumped out, and creosote is
forced in to a pressure of 100 pounds
per square inch. Pine fir, etc., absorb
ten to eleven pounds of creosote
per cubic foot and oak and othdr hard
woods about six pounds.
It has long been a riddle to the entomologist
to find out how moths,
especially those of the larger varieties,
escape from the tough cocoon which
incloses them during the grub stage.
Professor Oswald Leatter, a member
of the London Entomological Society,
has been studying the cocoon method
of the moths, and in making his studies
opened up the oocoons spun by the inand
r>nt the imairos into artificial
silk bags, with an opening at the end.
When the time arrived for the imago
bo apply his solvent, the liquid escaped
into little glass tabes instead. Carefnl
analysis was made of this, and it was
found to be a pure solution of caustic
[jotasb. This discovery is a new one
in entomology. Caustio potash will
iestroy the human skin, and it is at
[east passing curions that it should be
listilled in an insect's mor.th.
i
Minister; M Cosiness Men.
The idea tnat clergymen are poor
irasiness men is pronounced false by
51-Postmaster-General Thomas L.
Fames, now President of the Lincoln
National Bank in this city. He says:
'We have among our depositors a large
lumber of clergymen, and I am free
:o say that they are the best business
men that I have ever known. Yon
>rdinorily call a man who is intelligent.
methodical and prompt a good
.msiuess man. Our ministerial depositors
are more than methodical and
prompt. They avo clefrer and sharp,
jspecially ia tho keeping of accounts.
[ do not wish to make any exceptions
n my general characterization of clergymen
as good business men, but I
vill say that the Roman Catholic
dergymen?those that I have met?
me remarkably able business men.
They seem to be especially trained
hat way. The average clergyman of
my denomination, however, can hold
lis own with the average business
nan. 'A clergyman of tho present day
annot afford to be slipshod or negligent
in worldly afikirs."?Church
Economist.
Bible Condensed to One Inch.
An eccentric Londoner, Richard
tfebb, has completed a machine for
nicroscopio writing. He asserts that
rith it he can write the entire conent?
of the Bible four times in a space
>ne inch square. He has succeeded
n writing the Lord's Prayer on glass
n a space one-hnndredth of an inch
vide by one-fiftieth of an inch long, or
ibout the size of the "period" at the
ind of this sentence.
Ten years ago Mr. Webb set to work
0 break all records for minute penaanship.
"* He soon found tiiat mehanical
aid was necessary and devised
, contrivance which diminished the
,cope without altering the character
if the movements of the pen. The
esult is a marvel of mechanical skill.
The machine is operated by a handle
escmbliug a pen, which is held in the
taud and used a3 an ordinary pen.
rhe motion givon to this handle is
rausmitted through numerous wheels
rnd levers until it operates the writing
>oint, which is a diamond 30 small as
j be invisible to the naked eye.
More l'olar Expeditions.
Mr. Harmsworth, who defrayed the
ixpenses of the Jackson expedition in
?ranz Josef land, has declared that
le will send two ships to the Arctic regions
next season, and keep an
ixpedition in the Arctic regions until
1 complete map can be made of all the
iccessible parts of the North Polar
vorld. The Jackson expedition has
:0st him $200,000.
- - ....
-JhhiTFifcle illwif i rf"liti?
Nesting Material.
When the nests are located in perfectly
ilry situations, there is nothing
better for a foundation than that
cheapest of material, dry earth. A
little tobacco dost added never comes
amiss. For the npper layer, lawn
clippings, hay or straw, excelsior, or
i - i mi i x .1 -
moss may ue useu. iae ie3sc uesirable
of all these is hay, as the presence
of small seeds constantly tempts the
hens to scratch it from the nest. If
the owner considers it too much trouble
to wash the eggs which may be
soiled, the slight precaution of keeping
the nest clean and dry will add at
least one-half to the attractiveness of
his basket of eggs.?New England
Homestead.
BT 1 " An Ideal Hedge riant.
This is what Professor Massey of
the North California Experiment Station
calls the Citrus trifoliata. The
belief is general that none of the tree
oranges is hardy et the north, but,
according to the professor, there are
few places where this delicious orange
is not completely hardy. He says
It passed through lost winter in
Michigan safely. Its compact dwarf
habit makes this plant easy to keep in
good shape without hard pruning. Its
complete armament of the strongest
and sharpest spines pointing in every
direction makes it a better defense
than even the honey locust. It makes no
suckers and its roots spread but a
short distance and are not exhaustive
of a broad strip of soil, as the other
plants used for farm hedges are. It
bears a great profusion of the sweetest
of orange flowers, and loads itself with
little sour, seedy oranges, like limes,
which ripen in October. When the entire
hardiness of this plant is fnlly
realized the question of the best hedge
plant will, I think, be finally settled.
The plants are now so cheap in the
Southern nurseries that it will be easy
for the exDeriment stations and in
dividuals iu the extreme north to test
their hardiness.
To Prevent a Horse Kicking.
The illustration shows a device to
be used where, a horse kicks his stable
companion. It is made from one-inch
galvanized iron tubing. The two oorners
are screwed together with a rev/A
Wa v r*-'"
|lf
nOLDBACK IX STABLE.
turn coupler. Pins go through holes
ia the upper ends and are attached to
the woodwork of the stall. A cord is
fastened to the device for raising or
lowering as required. When not in
use it is raised and is well out of the
way of everything. In use, it does not
interfere at all with the animal's movements,
except to prevent liis being too
free with his feet and legs. ;
Tn nroronf tliiovaa falrinor hnraoa nnt
of the stable place a bar of iron across
the doorway, as shown in cnt, one end
(a) entering far enongh through [the
doorpost to allow the other end (b) to
fit into a socket. An iron key is put
into a hole in the bar near (a) and padlocked
there. These two devices are
not patented and they are effective.
Orange Judd Farmer.
The PriTate Dairyman's Opportunity.
Creamery butter is the standard in
the markets, because it is uniform and
can be had in quantities sufficient to
supply the retail trade, saysF. W. Mossman,
of Massachusetts. The creameryman,
however, has his trials. The
impossibility of overseeing the production
and first handling of the milk
is a serious difficult}, often causing a
lower grade product. Unless a firstclass
buttcrmaker can be obtained,
much loss will result in many ways.
It is because of these drawbacks
that there is still an opportunity for
expert private dairymen to make a
butter far superior in quality to the
nvarorm r?T??ao m nvtr r\rnd n TliPfP
are people in almost every village ami
town who are glad to obtain for family
use a strictly gilt-edged article at its
true value. To a limited extent this
demand has b^en met, but I am led to
believe that the field is by no means
fully occupied.
To succeed in this it will often be
necessary to lay aside preconceived
ideas. Tempering cream by the sense
of feeling or determining acidity by
taste, will not answer. Butter owes
its good qualities very largely to its
treatment in the ripening.vat and only
to a small degree to the worker.
The essential features of good butter
making are, a pure, sweet cream
of proper consistency ripened rather
slowly at a temperature of 58 to 62 degrees,
or a little higher with or without
a starter. The acidity at churning
rr fP- nrWM>' . . *'
" " . :
fima "o1\/I 1-? t? ? ? A rr ?_ ?
?""u auuuiu nut UU iur LTUIU U. I per
cent., preferably under than over,
though the writer has recently made a
rsample of butter which scored ninetynine
points in a possible one hundred
from cream which at churning time
showed 0.745 per cent.
Churning temperaturo is governed
by the per cent, of butter fat and degree
of ripeness of the cream, also the
character' of the herd and period of
lactation. The temperature should be
such that from thirty to sixty minute* ,
is required for churning. Cream ought
never to be churned when it breaks in
from five to ten minutes, as such treatment
is ruinous in point of quality and
economy.
Excessive washing of butter is always
at the expense of the flavor. If
in just the right condition, it require*
very little washing. Some prefer a
w&smng 01 Dr.ne at a temperature ox
fifty-four to fifty-eight degrees. Good
results are obtained in this way.
flavor is supposed to be removed in a
less degree than by the use of pnre
water. Color and salt of the beet
quality are to be used in quantities to
suit the trade. Working is important,
i. e., it is important to do just as littla
of it as will answer the purpose of
evenly incorporating the salt and removing
moisture. .
Strict cleanliness is to be rigidly ol> '
served with every implement and in .
every operation from beginning to end, |
not one day in seven only, bat every
day in fche year so long as the business
continues.?American Agriculturist. V]
Sabsollio; Explained.
Testimony iu favor of subsojliog,
especially as an antidote to drought, '
keeps pouring in from almost every ,
quarter. It should be clearly under- '
stood that good subsoiliug does not
: a iL. * :i ..
uusau tumiug uuhu iuo dutisci kuu
and turning up the subsoil on top
of it. That would do a good deal of
harm. The crude material so broughtS I
up has not had enough air to prepana ; |
it as plant food, and may be in itself ^
very deficient in some essential food b
elements.
To subsoil for best results, as little
as possible of the surface soil should
be turned under. It should, however, f
be clean-turned once and the layer be- 43
low it well stirred to a greater or leas &
depth, as is found practicable, and
left so. The main interest and chief V
benefit of this sort of subsoiling is to '
! open ap the more or less impervious ! i
stratum that lies below the reach of 'jd
ordinary plowing in such a Way that $#
by the action of air and s;ci?t^re
frosts it may be brought into a eondi- .
tion that will enable it to hold the '
greatest quantity of moistnro and at "<
the same time permit the free ciroolation
of air aronnd the roots of the "
plant. In the growth of trees, for example,
the repeated movement of ths
soil caused by the leverage of the roots 1
under ths action of the wind may bsseen
very mulh the eam? effect as results
from aubsqiling. There is no
transposition of the different layers at
the soil, only a loosening proportioned
to the amount of wind power that is
brought to bear on the branches and
leaves of the tree. The decaying
vegetable matter, a leading ingredient *
in the food of the tree, always stays on
the surface and the small fibers of the
roots come np to feed upon it. But -
another set of roots reaches down
deeper and deeper, mainly to bring up
moisture, without which as a diluting
agent food cannot readily be mad*
available. The work done by the
leverage of the tree is of very much
the same sort as is done by good snb^ :
soiling. What the tree keeps doing,
it may be for centuries, snbeoiling will
do by one process tor the plants whfcdW
mast prodace their fall growth and
perfection in a single season. '
There is a wide range in the char- J
actor of soils and some soils are sncftt r
a happy combination of sand and loam \
as to be readily pervious to both air
and moisture. If there is excessive* J<
rainfall, it is slowly but surely drained, "
off through the lower layers, and in
protracted dronght moisture cornea a
l<?.k /* f)ia tnrfa^a in tha aimn Mjir - ' x'">
Bat this combination is not common,
and the leading advantage of sabeofiing
has been its power to protect crop*
from the effects of extreme and pro- i .1
tracts!! droughts. It is the remarkable "V
consensus of experience in this direction
that emf^i^sizes the importance j
of a fnller attention to the effect of
subsoilipg and the best jvay of doing
it than it has ever before hail.
The best season for snbsoiling is
evidently the fall; once stirred by the
subsoil *plow the mpistnre and froat .
together will reduce the soil so stirred 1
to flue particles, through which the
air and moisture and the roots to be
benefited enn freely pass. Some
plants hnve in their roots much greater
penetrating power than others, bat
subsoiliug will do at one process and
more effectually what is only partially s
and slowly done even by the most
penetrating kind of roots. * . ^
The best way is to send round an or- ,
dinary plow and turn over an ordinary
furrow at tne ordinary ueptn, ioiiow- ?
ing in the same fnrrow with a subsoil |
plow of some sort that will stir ir'few
inches of the next stratum of soil and *
leave it in the same position. An. or*
ilinary plow without the moldboard
will do this fairly well.? NewEngltml
Homestead. * ,
American pottery was recently
shipped to Liverpool and Edinburgh
from Kokomo, Ind., the first sent from,
the United States to the British liiet.
' ,V-|