The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, January 02, 1895, Image 6
Re-Organizing the Militia.
The Task Which Adj. Watts
Proposes to Undertake,
COLUMBIA, December 30.-Special
to the News aod Courier-It will not be
long before the militia of the State will
be re-organized if the preseDt pla?s are
carried out. Uoder the provisioos of
the recent Act the Adjutant General is
given very much more authority than
he has heretofore had, and Adjt. Watts
intends to exercise that authority. To
sether with the Governor and a major
general the Adjutant General will un?
dertake the organization of the entire
militia to suit the ideas of the present
officers It is more than likely that
the matter will be largely left to Adjt.
Watts, and as he is young, full of am?
bition, and desirous of making some?
thing out of the militia, be intends j
to get bard at work and see what if any- i
thiug can be done. There are now
two hundred and seven companies in
the volunteer service of the State. To
use an agricultural phrase, the compa?
nies will be weeded down to a stand,
by reducing the number to one hundred.
The new law provides that the militia j
companies "shall be distributed among
the several counties of the State as
Dearly equal as possible." Under this
provisi?n of the law it is intended to j
divide the State militia, and not cou
c?ntrate the companies as much as they J
have been for the past few years, lt
the plan as conceived is carried out it
will act as a boomerang to several of
the counties io which there are half a
dozen cavalry companies, and where
there arc as many colored military COQJT I
mands. The intention is to divide the !
hundred companies as nearly among the j
counties as can be done, and then if the j
commands do not come np to the j
scratch they will be retired and room j
will be made for the companies that i
may be on the outside waiting.
The Legislature appropriated $10,000
to the militia this year, and under the !
provisions of the new law this money j
will be distributed uoder the direction ;
of the board in such a way as may be J
deemed best. Under the old law it was
distributed pro raia, and the company
having the largest turnout received ?he
largest slice of the State's appropriation.
The new law is intended to change this,
and the chances are that the money will
be used directly by the companies but j
will probably be used for the purchase
of uniforms, equipment and such things. >
Nothing has, however, been decided in j
this direction. It is expected that
the new appointments will be announced
in the course of the next two weeks.
At that time the brigadier general for
the 4th brigade will be named.
THE NAVAL RESERVE.
Adjutant Watts will try to develop j
the naval reserve on the coasts. He j
expects to go on to Washington shortly
to see what can be done there towards ;
getting assistance, and if he meets j
with encouragement, as he has every j
reason to hope, he expects that several j
new detachments of the naval reserve
will be organized.
FINISHING THE CONFEDERATE ROLLS- j
Adjutant Watts is anxious to have j
the work on the Confederate rolls com- j
Dieted as soon as possible. He thinks j
that most of the companies have sent j
in their rolls and the others have been
arranged for. It. is highly necessary
that this important work should be ?
finished and that the record should be i
put in some permanent form. As it i's, j
the only data that is to be had of the
meo who fought for thetr State during i
the late war is contained on sheets of
paper that are filed away in a
cabinet in the office of the Adjutant
General. The roils have never been
published, and should anything happen j
to the originals now oo file they could j
hardly be duplicated. It would seem I
that every man who took part in the j
war ought to be sufficiently interested
io his command to see that the office is j
provided with a roll of members, but
such docs not seem to be the case, as}
there are still some commands of which j
there is no roll whatever. Moreover, ;
it is a very difficult matter to remcm- '
ber such things after the lapse of so !
any years, and where there is an ;
willingness on the part of many there
is an inability to give the detailed in?
formation that is sought.
The extreme Southern portion of
Italy was shaken by au earthquake j
on December 27th.
Twenty-five families at Point E*qai- :
maux. Labrad >r aro starving. Three
schooners carrying suppiies were -
wrecked.
Thc Presidents of the Colleges of
??diana have held a meeting and de?
cided to prohibit intercollegiate football
games.
The old State Car Ital at Atlanta,
Ga., was barned Dec. 27th. It was
owned by Venable, Bros., and used
as an office building. It was valued at
$125,000.
A ?300,000 fire occurred in Bu fra! o,
N. 5L, thursday night. The hydrants
were frozen and it was thirty minutes
before the firemen could turn ou a
stream of water.
Gladstone's britbday was December
20th. His friends throughout the
world arc assurrcd that bis health is
al meit perfect.
Eugene Debs and the other officers
of the American Railway Union who
are under sentence for contempt of
court have appealed to the Labor unions
for funds to carry the case to thc higher
courts. They say that the case has
cost ?25,000 already.
The Sunflower vs. Cotton.
Editor Darlington News :
j As tbe South is sorely in need of a
money crop to take the place ot cotton,
! which has fallen in price below the cost
j of production, will you allow me, tr.rough
the columns of your paper, to call the
i attention of our farmers to the sun
? flower, in. which they will fiud a subject
worthy of consideraron ? There can be
no doubt of the fact that this plant is
well suited to our soil and climate, as
many of us know that its seed will
remain in the grouod perfectly
sound all the winter, and will spring up
and flourish the next season iu spite of
adverse circumstances. It is a native of
j tropical America and perfectly at home
j with us. A few years since it was high
I ly recommended, not only as an oil and
food producer, but also, as greatly con?
ducive to the health of vicinities in
which it was planted; but as there were
ac oil mills in the country, there was no
market for t' e seed, and the sunflower
went down before "King Cotton," who
is now grinding his subjects in the dust
and trampling them under foot. Time?,
however, have changed and why can
Dot our farmers retrieve a part, at least, !
of their lost fortunes by cultivating the j
sunflower? Oil mills are now inactive
operation all over the South, and I ,:
have been told by operatives that little
or no change in the machinery of these
oil mills will be necessary to enable
them to be utilized for extracting oil
from the seed of the sunflower; io fact, :
that the most, expensive machiaery ne
cessary for the extraction of cotton seed ,
oil, to wit, the linters and the sepera- ;
tors, can be dispensed with. There is
at least one mill manager who is wili?
ng to buy sunflower seed now. These ;
mills were erected by enterprising men ?
for the purpose of making money, and I ,
feel sure that thc managers thereoi' will j
be very glad fo co-operate with the ;
farmers, and try to establish a market for |
both the seed and oil of the sunflower. '
The seed and (.il cake can be utilized at
horne as food for every variety of stock, i
and possibly for maukind also, and the!
leaves as forage for cattle and horses. The
oil cake is said to be superior to cotton
seed meal as a fertilizer, because it con?
tains a larger percentage of nitrogen or
ammonia. The seed has been
recommended for poultry, especially
and right here I would ask a question
that I have often tbougnt of, namely,
why cannot the Southern farmer raise
spring chickens for the Northen markets ?
just as well as he raises early vegetable*?
A friend of mine who was with the
engineering corps that surveyed the
Northern ^acific Railroad route tells me
that he saw thousands of acres of sun?
flowers growing wild in the Yellow?
stone Valley, twenty or thirty years j
ago, where the band of man gave them j
no assistance. If, then, tbe sunflower j
persists in g: owing under adverse cir-!
cumstances, as many of us know it does, j
it seems to me that it should be as cheap- ;
ly and easily ra'uted as hay or small !
grain of any description, and as easily
gathered, for the seed beads are admira?
bly formed for i-sing harvested by ma- j
ohioery-machines having been long j
since invented for gathering ears of com I
from stalks aod the seed beads of clover. '?
In connection herewith, please be
kind enough to publish the following ex?
tracts which will throw more iight on
this important subject.
Tuos. E. RICHARDSON,
Sumter, S. C., Dec. 5, 1894.
[Colman's Rural World.]
Mr. Duncan, an extensive cotton
planter io the Mississippi bottom, who ;
visited Russia last year, for the purpose
of gaining information in regard to the
culture of the sunflower in that country,
gives his observation as follows : "The ;
Russians, who grow the plant, general- !
ly sow the seeds after a crop of wheat ;
and rye has been harvested from the !
land. Some sow after oats and buck?
wheat, but have found it less profitable
to sow after the latter, as the buckwheat !
takes up such a large per cent, of potas
Blum from the soil, the flower does not j
pay. It thrives and heads well after ;
crops of rye and clover. The land in-!
tended to be planted is thoroughly
plowed in the fall, and left until the '
next spring, at which time the seeds
are sown, either in drills or broadcast
If in rows they are planted from twelve
to twenty-four inches ap-irt, depending
largely on the fertility of thc sou. Ou
some of the rieh, black lari']-:, they
grow from four to six crops without
renting the land."
'"The Russians climate that the
stalks and leaves of one crop, if ?eft o:>
thc lund, ?. '': manure tho soil sufficient?
ly, to yield six or more crops consecu- ?
tively without additional fertilizing
The roots of the tall stalks soon rot in
the ground and leave about; one ton of
manure per acre in the soil, which is
very fine for the next crop The plant
requires bu: iinle attention, and labor !
after planting When it is about ten
or twelve inches high, the field should
be throughly cleaned of grass and :
weeds. That i- all that will be re?
quired. Harvest time varies according
to soil, climate aod exposure of the
flower to the sun. Tbe usual time is
fixed, from September 1 to October 1">.
v\ hon the seeds aro fully r i po*, the
heads of the flower aro out from the
stalk, and placed io drying sheds, for
the purpose of curing them, l-he same
as curing leaf tobacco. When thc flow?
er is fully dry, the seeds are threshed
from the cups, and screened, and run
through a fan mill, and aro then ready
for the seed m iii."
[Atlanta Constitution.]
Few persons appreciate the value and j
profit of this common flower. Ry many j
ir ix regarded a nuisance, and yet its
cultivation will pay largely more than
cotton and grown at much less cost. Au
acre of land planted about twenty
inches apart will yield an average of
eighty bushels of seed, the oil from
which will produce about 150 gallons.
The oil cake is a valuable food for live
stock. The oil is said to be equal to
olive oil, is superior to linseed oil for
painting in spreading and drying
qualities. The stalks, having long,
strong fibers, make superior paper.
The green leaves are very nutritious as
stock food and the young flower cups
very palatable to man. Machinery for
extracting the oil is easily obtainable
and inexpensive. Bees have a perfect
''bonanza" in a sunflower patch, and
the seed is very valuable for poultry as
an egg producer The sunflower is in?
dependent of weather and persists in
growing under, the most unfavorable
conditions.
[International Cyclopedia.]
"The annual sunflower common io j
our gardens is a native of tropical !
America, where it sometimes attains a ;
height of 20 feet. This plant is now j
cultivated in almost all parts of thc '
world, and in the south of Europe is ?
sometimes a field crop, the seeds being
valued as food for cattle and poultry,
and on account of the oil which they
yield, which is little inferior to olive j
oil. An acre of good land produces
about fifty bushels of seed, each bushel
yielding a gallon of oil. The seeds arc
also used like almonds for makins
demulcent and soothing lotions, and in
some parts of Europe a bouilli is made
of ihem which is used as food for in?
fants. The flowers abound in honey,
aud are much frequented by bees. The
leaves are good fodder for cattle. Tho
stems are used for fuel, and yield much
potash.
[Encyclopedia Brit?nica.
Sunflowers are supposed to destroy
malarial conditions and prevent mias?
matic fevers, and they are planted in
many places for that purpose. * * *
it is extensively ased iu Egypt, the
East Indies and China, (where the
plant is cultivated as a source of the
dye-stuff safflower), its principal
applications being for culinary pur- !
poses and burning, and also as an oint- j
ment in paralytic affections and ulcers.
SUNFLOWERS IN TUE SILO.
[Colmans Roral World.]
Some experiments have been made
by one of the Canadian experiment !
stations with sunflowers mixed in the
silo with corn and other fodder plants.
The beads only were u?ed. The .
experiment was successful and quite 1
satisfactory, showing that there is a
place for this plant as a feeding crop in j
our agriculture. It is a substitute for !
the oil-meals and other fatty goods, 1
having 25 per cent of an excellent oil,
sweet, digestible, and devoid of any
objectionable quality The product of
an acre is from thirty to eighty, or even !
more, bushels of thirty-three pounds. ,'
The leaves may bc gathered as those of
corn are for fodder, and are acceptable !
and nutritious. M. W. Ii.
THS BUNCH YAM.
I procured tubers of the bunch yam j
last spriug and set a good many plants
on very dry, sandy land. OwiDg to
the very dry summer and dry situation
of the plants the crop was oct a large
one, but was very good for this season. !
The tubers are nice, and I am well
pleased with this yara. I think it is in j
every way to bc j referred to the sweet
potato if it is a heavier yielder, as it
seemed to bc this season. I have both I
the white and yellow varieties of the !
buuch yam, but we like the white the j
best-it is sweeter than the yellow, ?
and also yields better. J. E. M.
Warrensburg, Mo.
The Commercial Bank, of Spokane,
Wash , failed on Dec. 2S.
The treasury gold* reserve was re?
duced to $86,849,638 Friday
Ex.-Governor, L S lioss, of Texas,
will make the race for United States
Senate against, Mr. Chilton.
Superintendent Thomas Byrnes, of
the New York Police Department, bas
sent in bis resignation.
William F. Rossraan, bookkeeper of
the Hudson, X. Y. Bank has been ar?
rested for stealing ?14,000.
George Palmer, of Vassar, Mich.,
cor his wife's throat and his own yester?
day. He was crazy.
A marble monument to Robert
Browning is to bc erected in West
minster Abbey.
W. C. P. Breckinridgc delivered
his lecture to an audience of forty peo?
ple at Terre Haute, Ind., last Friday
ri i ?ht.
W. W. Coleman, a prominent mer?
chant of Baldwin Fla., was shot and
killed yesterday by his eighteen-year
old son. Coleman was drunk aud beat?
ing his wife.
Tiie snow is general all over the
country, and the cold is unusually
severe in Florid*. The orange and
carly vegetable crops arc seriously in?
jured
The Whittier Cotton Mills, of
Lowell, Mass . is to be increased $225,
UOO. and a new three story mill built in
( reorgia
Hundreds ol tramps of thc worst
types are nu their way South. They
are hunting a warmer climate on the
pretense that they are looking for em?
ployment.
ANOTHER COTTON "PICKER."
The following from Atlanta Constitution,
about a cotton picker, the work of a Pitts?
burg genius, will no doubt prove interesting
to our readers :
(Joe of the most remarkable mechanical
derices ever brought to Atlanta is to be
seen nt the warehouse of the Consolidated
Wagon Company, No. 35? Alabam.i Street,
just across the r.treet from the headquarters of
the fire department.
It is a cotton picking machine, and is
the work of a Pittsburg genuis. It arrived
in Atianta yesterday and will be here seve
days. The gentleman who is in charge
of it says that it is not yet ready for pub?
lic exhibition though he will take pleasure
in presenting it to HS many as may en!!.
He says that the owners of the machine
are DOW on their way to Atlanta from Pitts?
burg, and that they will reach here in a
day or two; that, on their arrrival, it is
their purpose to give a public exhibition to
demonstrate the fact to the satisfaction of
everybody who sees it that the machine will
do exactly what is claimed for it-pick the
cotton from the plant without injuring the
piant in the slightest or without bruising
or harming in any way the growing bolls or
the leaf of the stalk.
Yesterday f.fternoon the machine was
given a preliminary trial. A long row of
cotton plants Ml of open bolls, were nailed
upright to a scantling fixed to the floor.
Between each plant a large geramum or
some other delicate hothouse plant was
placed, each plant being in full bloom and
prolific of leaf. The cotton picker was pull?
ed over the row, and it did not leave a
vestige of lint in any of the bolls, while
the geranium and blooms were entirely unin?
jured and apparently untouched.
This trial was made in the presence of
several well known Atlanta gentlemen,
among the number being Ex-Governor Nor
theu, Mr. George \V. Truitt, the well known
cotton planter of Troup county, and other
wei', known cotton men.
Un irs way to Atlanta the machine was
given an active test on the field in {kr?
on county and of the resuit Colonel Tom
Lyons Says: !fIt absolutely amazed our
farmers, and demonstrates beyond the
shadow of ? doubt that it will do what is
claimed ter it. 1 saw it do it myself, and
? never would have believed that it could
do v.liHt it does if I bad not seen Lt with ruy
ow:; eyes.'r
The machine ii not on the market and
tbe one* now in Atlanta is from the
patentee's owe hands. He has been at
work on it for severa! years, and this is '
the second machine mude, it being a vast
improvement orer the first. The machine
will be carried hack to Pittsburg in a
few days, Hnd there a third machine will
be made, the suggestions which have been
made from a practical test being taken |
advantage of, and many more improvements
thus be made.
The dimensions of the machine are ap?
proximately nine feet in length, five feet
in width and si:: feet in height. It is mount?
ed on four metal carrying wheels, and in
general appearance is not unlike a road en?
gine except that it is hauled by horses, \
and receives the power to propel the work?
ing mechanism from the traction wheels.
The rear wheels are four feet in diameter. !
The tires are eight inches wide, and cleated
on the rim to provide traction ample
lo operate the mechanism for picking the j
cotton from lb? plants, and the stripping
devices and elevators, in motion. The ob?
ject of the elevators is to deposit the cot- i
ton in large Sf.cks located at the top near ?
the rear end of th? machine. The fror.t
wheels are three feet in diameter, with
three-inch tires, and are merely carrying
aod steering wheels to which the tongue is J
secured.
Tbe total weight of the machine is about
1.600 pounds, ar d of extremely light draught, !
wnd it can be drawn aud operated by one |
pair of horses. The cotton picking appara
tas can be readily and aimost instantly
raised or lowe-ed to suit the condition of i
the cotton and the surface of tbe ground
on which it is operated. The picking and :
stripping mechanisms are entirely encased
within light metallic cast-s. except the j
elongated slots through which the picking
needles protrude. The needles arr mounted ,'
on suitable bearings io vertical carriers,
thirty-four in number, seventeen on each ;
side, being linked together, working si- !
multaneously. The gears are encased with- !
in the carriers. Each carrier in making
the circu?? of its oblong course, makes
nearly on.: turn on its own axis, and each
needle while in the plant makes fifteen
revolutions, ami five revolutions in the op- i
posite direction while being stripped. The ,
needles are inserted longitudinally into tb: ,
plant to an extended position, then rotated
rapidly and moved backward at a speed
corresponding tc the forward rate of travel
of the machine, therby avoiding any move?
ment of the needles in relation to the :
plant, except a rotary motion. The needles
are withdrawn longitudinally from the plant
and pass between yielding stationary strip?
pers, whereby the cotton is deposited in the .
elevators.
The machine is drawn astride the cotton
row and the needles are inserted simultan?
eously from each side into the plant. The
needles are one-eighth cf an inch in diameter,
ten inches long and provided on one side
with a row of fine teeth, formed integral,
with the body ct the needie, the points ? f
the teeth being turned down to prevect
them from engaging with any foliage, im?
mature boils or blooms. The teeth are
shari) pointed and when ibey come in con?
tact with the fleecy staple, or matured cot?
ton, it is immediately engaged and spun
cleanly out of the burr, "ie teeth are in?
cline toward the point, or . re end of the
needle, to ta ci l?ate the stripping or the cotton
from them.
Tbe capacity of the machine is fruin six to
tight acres per dav. and from two tf) iou;
bales per day, according to the yield. It
tokes fifteen ordinary bands a whole day to
pick one baie, averaging about KO pounds
each, making a total of 1,500 pounds, or 500
pounds of lint a ter it is gi nned. From this
some idea cnn be had of the immense saving
(.i ?abor and enormous outlay required in the
past to harvest the cotton'."
Cotton pickers tire quite common inven?
tions since Mr. it. T. Mason, ofSumter, S. C..
discovered the world-renowoed secret ? >r
making a needle that would successfully pick
cotton (rom tbe fully matured bolls and leave
tbe un matu red cotton, aud ?eaves, boils,
blooms and stalks uninjured.
Mr. C. T. Mason, the inventor of the cele?
brated Mason Cotton Harvester, after many
years of hard study, work and experiments,
was tbe first person to discover a plan to
create a mechanical device, that would dis?
criminate between a fibrous and non fibrous
meter?a). Mr. Mason thought when he dis?
covered this (thea considered impossible)
fibrous and non fibrous discriminating feature,
in the working mechanism ot the cotton pick?
er, that ie- had plain sawing afterwards, bul
he found oui that what had theretofore been
considered the impossible, wad then the least
itu portail t. and would atter ward* be the sim
plest, viz: picking needles; and what be had
scarcely given my consideration and was
considered the easiest, turned out to b? and
is up to the present the impossible, viz., the
practical working mechanism of the picking
needles.
BY practical part lue writer rneaiiS to ?av
the construction of a machine with the
necessary working machiner? to operate the
picker sterns. ?it the same time- riot be too
heavy tu pull, nor too cumbersome to turn
around at the ends ot the rows, nod or such
lightweight as not to make the wheels cut
down in the plowed ground, and, also lessen
the popeilingand working power that must, of
course, be furnished by the horses.
The simplicity of the machinery and its
operation are also importaut factors, all of
which canoot be found in the above mention?
ed Pittsburg Cotton Picker; but without
which it is of no practical use.
Take for instance, the dimensions of this
picker, according to the Constitution: Ap?
proximately 9 feet in length, and 5 feet in
width and six feet in height--height of no
consideration, but adds to weight of course.
Say the space from the front of the cotton
i picker to the breast pole in front of horses is
? 9 feet more, that with the length of the pick
{ er 9 feet make 18 feet, and 5 feet for turning
[ around at each end of the rows. Just think
j how much space will be required to turn the
j horses and machine around, and as in 9 out
j of every 10 caaes, there is either a fence or a
ditch at the end of each row, so you can irn
: magine how much cotton would have to be
koocked down and made useless. At this
j rate at least one third of every acre of cotton
i would be sacrificed.
The weighr, 1,600 pounds, would cause
i the wheels even with wide tires to cut down
into the soft, cultivated ground and render it
impractical in point of propelling rower.
Then the driving power is not the only pow?
er to be considered, as the power required io
turn the working mechanism that operate the
picking needles (about, thirty-five in number)
is considerable, owing tc the rapidity of the
motion and the amount of power required in
a given time. Ordinnrillv ttiis working me- j
chan ism does not require much force, but j
when it comes to operating a number of .
needles continually within a given time, it
creates additional work for raotive Dower
from the horses.
Now the Mason Cotton Harvester weighs
onlv within a fraction of 400 nounds, has ,
i
: on ly two wheels, is only four feet long by 3 :
feet wide. Yet in the Stute of Texas the Mi
son Cotton Picker successfully picked the 1
cotton, but is was not considered of practical !
use, because irs dimensions were too cumber
some, its weight, 400, nearly caused the j
wheels to cut and sink down into the ground.
If 3 and 4 feet by 5 feet in height, and not
quite 400 pounds in weight, is considered im?
practical on the part of the j.'ason Picker, it
looks like a poor chaace for 9 by 4, and 6 feet
in height, and 1,600 pounds in weight of the
Pittsburg Picker to be of prictical use.
Simplicity of machinery and operation are
two features that have to be perfected in the
cotton picker, before it will be of practical
use to a farmer. The present delicate and
complicated machinery of the Mason and
other cotton pickers require an experienced:
machinist to operate and keep them io repair \
The Southern farmer in particular is careless :
about his machinery for farm nse, while the !
Western farmer is careful and more ex?
perienced, because he bas to depend more up- j
on improved farm machinery, while the j
Southern farmer depends more upon the ne- j
gro for labor; so, as Mr. Mason says, simpli- j
city, light weight, smaller dimensions, two
wheels instead of four and, in fact, general |
ease to operate and less cumbersome, are the ?
qualities lacking io his machine and it is al
fact well known that the Mason Cotton Pick- I
er is nearer perfection than any other. So it
is easy to see how impractical the Pittsburg
Picker would be. ?
Tiie picking needles c-n the machine in At- :
lanta, are patterned after the original Mason ;
fibrous and non fibrous discriminating need?
les. So the picking apparatus of trie Pitts- j
burg Cotton Picker will meet the same fate as j
the Mason Cotton Harvester, unless they de- j
vise a more convenient, lighter and less cum- !
bersome frame work to operate tb-: picking j
needles. At present the Pittsburg Cotton i
Picker is 15 years behind the Mason Harves- j
Many stubborn and aggravating cases of;
rheumatism that were believed to be incur- j
able and accepted as life legacies, have j
yielded to Chamberlain's Pain Balm, much to j
the surprise and gratification of the sufferers, j
One application will relieve the pain and i
suffering ?nd its continued use insures an 1
effectual cure. For snle by Dr. A. J. China, i
-?? - - ? - rn* -
Earthquakes continue to be felt in i
Itaiy and Sicily almost every day.
A fire occurred in Tampa, Fla.. Sun- j
day. The water pipes were frozen I
and the firemen could do nothing. Loss !
820,000.
An engine exploded on thc Knox- i
ville and Chattanooga ned scalded the
engineer John W. Ramsey to death.
The City Council of Little Rock.
Atk.. wishes to force telephone, tole- :
crraph and electric light companies rc
put their wires under ground, and ha<
adopted an ordinance taxi;;g ali poles
.JO cents per annum.
Col. W. V-. Wrenn has been appoint?
ed passenger traille manager for the
Plant system with headquarters at
Savannah, Ga.
The great dry goods firm of Lcchcn
stern & Son, of New Y^rk, failed yes?
terday. Liabilities"?400,000 ; assets
nor. more than $200,000.
W. ll. Lindsay, S6 years old. died
at Bedford, Ya., yesterday from hydro?
phobia. He was bitten by a rabid dog
s x month ago, but suffered uo ill effects
until a few days ago.
The Citv of Charleston will have
another hospital by virtue of the be?
quest of Jacob VV. Franke, whose
estate, valued ar ?30.000. was willed
to th? city for that purpose.
Young Vernier, the French mathe?
matical prodigy, is a youth of Is. who
has a high "[?inion of his genius, for.
when complimented on Iiis wouderful
proficiency, he calmly remarked thar
mathematics were so badly taught in
France that he had no trouble in con?
vincing the real savants of the
"insauity" of the prevailing method.
The Modera Slave Trader.
SaD Antonio, Dec. 30.-A Williams
of Atlanta. Ga., better known as
"Peg Williams,"' signed a contract yes?
terday through W. H. Ellis, represent?
ing the Tiahuivlo Plantation Company,
of Mapiamia, Mexico, to furnish the
campaoy 300 laborers. The negroes
will be obtained from Georgia and
Alabama. Williams claims he will
export 100,000 negroes frc m the
Southern States to Mexico ibis winter.
-?? --
?The Cotton Mo verne Qt.
New Orleans, Deo 23.-Crop state?
ment from September 1 to December
28, inclusive, issued by the ^ew Or?
leans Cotton Exchange :
Port receipts 5,053,097, against
6,083,563 last year, 3,498,825 year
before last and 4,636,535 for tba same
time in 1891. Overland to mills and
Canada 813.594. against 559,779
538,680 and 778,395. Iuterior stocks
io excess of September 1 532.7?l,
against 397,469, 349,339 and 577.370.
Southern mill takings 322.314, against
326,160, 310,586 and 285.344. Crop
brought into sight during 119 days to
date 6.722.686, against 5,366.967,
4.697,430 and 6,277 644. Crop
brought into sight for the week 394,
523," against 339,512, 221,668 and
293,999. Crop brought into sight for
the first 2S days of December 1,807,
21S. against 1,539,308, 1,216,426 and
1,495,412.
Comparisons iu these reports are
made up to Lhe corresponding date last
year and year before and ia 1891, and
not to the close of the corresponding
week.
Comparisons by weeks would take is
120 days of the season last year, 121
in the year before and 123 in 1891,
against only 119 days this year.
The famous trotting stallion Phallos
(213f) is dead.
The United States Government has
instructed Mioister Denby to demand
satisfaction from the Chinese Govern?
ment for having violated their promise
given in regard to the surrender of the
Japanese spies at Shanghai.
Hon. John W. Foster, who has been
invited by the Chinese government to
join her envoys in arranging peace with
Japan, leaves Washington to-day for
Tokio, Japan. He goes via Chicago
and Vancouver. He will return some?
time in the spring.
Representative Wilson will ?0 into
retirement and will spend his :ime in
writing the political history of tte Con?
gress during his twelve years of public
life.
There is a deficit of $80,000 in the
Kentucky treasury, and the Legislature
may be called together in extra session
to devise means to raise money to pay
the expenses of the government.
A Carolina man has just married a
New York widow worth three millions.
That is a practical way in wt ich to
bring Northern capital to the Soi.tb.
Florida will have a unique exhibit at
the exposition. It will consist of P.
phosphate pyramid 100 feet square and
50 feet high. The Plant Investment
Company, through its land department,
will make this exhibit for the State.
The exterior will be covered with peb?
ble phosphate, and the interior will be
highly finished in natural wood and filled
with the best products of Fiorids..
The Washington Post says of Sena?
tor Walsh, of Georgia, that "no one in
the Senate is half so suave, so persua?
sive, and so captivating."
Mr. Stanton's volume-4,Song? of the
Soil*'-is meeting with a phenomenal
sale.
Some of the horses and mules which
have been brought into this city to satisfy
mortgages, would not satisfy a hungry
buzzard. It is evident that their own?
ers planted an all-cotton crop -Au?
gusta Chronicle.
The Delavan Hotel ac Alab?ny X.
Y., was burned Sunday night. There
were oue hundred guests io the house.
All escaped except two women and one
man who jumped from the third story.
The smallest living colt ever foaled
in the United States made it appearance
in Hartford City, Ind., In 1SS9.
When 2 years old it measured nine
incites from the ?nano to the root of the
! tail, was only tweuty-oue iticht^ high
I and weighed 27.! pounds, it was of
j the Shetland breed.
A smart New Y >rk Afro-American,
who evidently rends tho funny napers,
got himself into trouble ar a church
tivai a nighi or two ago by trying to
work off some warmed over wi: the
expense of a dusky belle's doughnuts.
When ho called for a hammer wi:!:
winch to crack them, the eirPs ? steadv
comp'ny" went down into his boot leg
for a razor, ano. made a swipe at the
jugular of tho follow who "suited de
gal's cookin.'" It is evideir thar
northern associations elevate th.^ race
iu spots only.
An experiment with ball bearings
was recently made in Canada. A
street car, titted with bali bearings, was
drawn a distance of several hundred
feet by tuen pulling on three strands of
ordinary sowing thread. A carriage
manufacturer put another stiye of ball
bearings cu the ?.s?es of a coach ordi?
narily pulled by four horses. A
trained dog was birched to the pole and
ho drew the coach around the yard
with little effort. Tho combination of
pneumatic tires and bali bearings wouid
evidently relieve much of the strain
now put ot; horses drawing heavv vc- m
hides, ami here is a tip for an enter?
prising ca- riage-builder.
?