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IHK 81 MF Uli WATCHMAN, Kntabli Consolidated 4ug. 2, 18S1. ?br 0?I itcbaun ant) $ontbnm. PublUlietl Every Wednesday, ?BY? 08TEEM PUBLISHING COMPANY. SUMTER, a. a Tann?: ll.fi per annum?la advaaoa. AdverUMoenu: Ona Snaare Aral Insertion.$1.10 ?vary subsequent Insertion.19 Contract* for three months, or ?01? will ba made at reduced rates All communications whloh sub? serve privat? int tracts will ba charged far *a sdvertlsoments. Obituaries and tributes of respects will ba char cod for. SKKD BELKCTIOV. Ttie Necessity of ftystcmatlc Rrvcdlng of Field s? ? ?1-4. From the Hartfvlll? Messenger. <A pa par read before the Darling? ton Agricultural Society at their an? nual meeting August llth. 1007. Pub Uahed by request.) afoot farmer* know, and many of them practice, tha essential principles af successful animal breeding. They kaoe> th*y must breed from the best Individual animals they have or can gat In order to Improve their herds. They know that animals usually transmit their more prominent char? acteristic! to their progeny and that these characteristics are more mark? ed In some of tha progeny than in othert Farmers also know that there la a variation In the productive capacity of seeds, but few of them have real? ised th? tremendous difference In the capacity of Individual plants of ?? va? riety to produce both quantity and quality Prof Hopkins of the University of Illinois, speaking of corn, say*: "The Individuality of the seed ear becomes apparent when one field row yield* 10 bushel* per acre and another ad >>lnlng row planted from a different seed Sir, but on the same kli. ] of soil, produces ISO bushels per acre. Huch differences are not unusual In breed? ing plant?. Similar differences ore of? ten seen In different animals. Kxperl me .ts have *hown that one cow may produce ISO pounds of butter fat in a year, while another cow, even when consuming the same quantities of food, produces 180 pounds of butter fat. Prof. Reyssr of Lincoln. Neb., say of wheat breeding: "We studied all the progeny of a few mother plant* through three generation* and found that the)* showed wide variations In yield and composition. That som" mother plant*, although excellen themselves, produced uniformly very poor f.rogeny. That some mother plants produced uniformly good pro gaey " In If 01 a number of good cotton plante were selected on our plantation and the seed from each planted In a different row In 1903. The best plants were again selected that year and the same method followed every yea antll now. The general seed from the four best plante were teeted on our farm last year and were found to vary very much In yield?the dlfferenc betwen the poorest and the best be Ing nearly SO per cent. This result was a great surprise, as I would hav judged the two varieties to be about equally productive. This experlmen la very suggestive, for if the seed from two fine plants selected for sev? eral generations turn out such a tre mendous difference In yield, how much greater difference Is there I tha yield of average crop seed and the best pedigreed seed. My cotton Is becoming more un form esch year, but still nhows varle attve. I have a photo with me which ehowe how cotton may revert to an undesirable type. This ?prlng I got together a number af the best seed ears of corn that could And and planted a part of eac ear aeparately In adjoining row*. The rows from the different ?eed ears ?how a great diversity of characte titles. While too early to estimate the yield of the grain, thr main fea turee of the plants can now (August Itth) he judged. Some rows hav sst their ears over six feet from th ground and others lens than fo feet. Pome hjive a tendency to pro duce two ears and others only on The largest and finest looking see ear has produced h very poor stan and many off {he stalks are deforme I mention theae experiment* ?how that jam cannot tell positive from the looks of the parent pla whether *br not N will produce sbundsnce of desirable seed, eoaree. the progreny of plann or anl mats srs likely to resemble their pa rents, but ths productive power o any particular plant or animal can not be judged until tested* *hctl April, 1850. 4lie Just a SUM! IM nit breeding and animal breed? ing are both based on the <?ame gen eral principles, ami success is much ion quickly assured by following these principles in the plant depart? ment of nature than in the animal department. In breeding field seeds, by far the most important aim is largo yield, and an increased yield is quickly ar? rived at by a very simple systeri of plant- breeding. It is, however, very Important to breed quality along with quantity and it is especially im? portant In cotton breeding to consid? er the question of quality. The cot? ton produced in this section of the country ifclls, I believe, in the mark? ets <>f the world at the lowest of any except India cotton. In the western part of the cotton belt the OffliWiry upland varieties produce a lint 1-16 to I S of an Inch longer than that produced here, and the hinder cot ? >ns of the river valleys of T- xas and Mississippi have a stap'e fully 1-16 Inch longer than ours. My experience In the cotton bu-ines^ h\B proved to me that It Is almost Impossible to sell our cotton to New England mills. They sornedmes take it i-i small 'ioantltles at the first of the season because they can Jay it down at their doors In about one week from ship? ment, while it require* about one month to get cotton from Texas. Af? ter September I find it impossible to nell our. ordinary upland c'otton in any qmntity in New Englvnd. and our brokers tell us that the mills pre? fer the western staple on recount of Its superior length and strength. Even the mills In the Piedmont section of our own State for the same reason get a large portion of their cotton from Alabama and Mississippi. There is n > miM why we should allow this condition, so unfavorable to the lemapd and pr'ce of our staple crop, to remain as it is. , Something more than a year ago, a staple expert visited a mill Which was spinning some of the cotton rais Pd on our home farm. Without know? ing where the cotton came from or who raise ] it, he inforn ed the'presi 1ent of the mill that it was the best tplnnlng upland cotton he had seen luring an extended trip "of Inspec? tion of southern mills. That crop of -otton was made from seed which were grown from 30 plants carefully selected from the field In 1902. All >f theje original plants shovred about 1 1-8 Inch staple, and the crop of 1905 from these seed showed about 1 1-6 Inch staple and was strong and uniform. I think I have said enough to con? vince this audience of the practical value of seed selection, and will now outline simple methods to be applied to cotton and corn. To bef.in with, If you have not a desirable variety of cotton, get a few of the best seed you can find. Plant these seed in checks 4x4 or 5x5 in order that each plant may have an opportunity to develop fully. Do not select a rich garden spot for your seed patch. Tou can judge results much better on ordinary| land with the same treatment you give your general crop. When the bolls begin lo open In September, go along the rows and select the plants which are mo.-t perfect In every respect. Select ?wily well faulted plants with large bolls, well balance limbs, healthy leaves and erect, strong stalks. Then take a small comb and pull out the ?eed. with cotton attached, from ' the mlddl? of each of several locks. Smooth out the cotton on the seed and c >mo It so that you can julge Its length. If you comb a few seed on each of 100 plants you will probubly find a considerable variation In the length of the staple. Some plants will prob? ably have lint as short, as 3-4 to 7-8 Inch, and other plants may show a length of 1 1-8 inches. You will also notice thru the lint on some seed is very short at the point and long at the base of the seed, and that other plants will bear seed having lint of nearly uniform length at both ends of the seed. You will, of course, select those productive plants which show the best covered seeds, the longest and , mast uniform lint and the largest bolls, and these should ?be the moth? er plants for your next year's plant breeding ple.t. The best bolls of each f>f these plants should be picked ?eparntely and each package given a different number. The following Spring, the seed cotton front each plant Is planted In a separate row and a stake *llh the number of the mother plant p\ iced at the end of the row. That fal) a number of plants are selected on e.-mh row as formerly, end the seed cotton i':om each n>?v picked and weighed separately in or? der to test the yielding power of each. The yield of the plan.* select? ed for the next iMMl'i work. Of course, should be kept separate, but should each be wclgied and added to the general produce of l*s row. All ad IV?i not?Let all the ends Thou Ali; 'ER. S. C , WEDNES: the plant! of the poor yielding rows should be discarded The best plants >f the lies? yielding rows should be saved for the next year's breeding patehi and the general seed from best ; yielding rows can be thrown together and ginned for field purposes. If-j these seed are separated by the grav? ity method perfected by Dr. Webb and Mr. Bokyin of the plant breeding department of the government your system will be well nigh perfect. This method carried on from year to year will quickly result in a big increase in yield and quality. The correct method of corn breed? ing is even simpler than that appli? cable to cotton. Select 2."> ears from the best field of corn you can find, of a variety you like. Pick ears of good size, straight rows and deep grain that are well filled at butt and tip. Take none that have been attacked by weevils. Select only from upright stocky stalks that have their ears set low, riant 2."? rows with these seed, us? ing one-half to two-thirds of the seeM from each ear, reserving the balance to us- hi case of disaster. Give each seed ear and corresponding row a number. Take note of the features which each row displays during the growing season. When the tassels be? gin to appear, detassel alternate halves of each row. Belebt ears for the next year's seed and plant from the dctasselled ends of the best rows. This Is Important, ai it has been prov td that the dctasselled stalks produce much better seed?their seed being all cross-bred and none inbred. Alf are familiar with the disastrous re? sults of continued inbreeding'of ani? mals, and similar results follow the Inbreeding of corn. * The Illinois experiment station in 1 *? o3 and l'.)04 got an average yield of 12 bushels more from the seed of dctasselled plants than from the seed of plants of the same variety that had been allowed to tassel. Take all the good remaining ears from the detasselled ends of the best yielding rows for field seed the fol? lowing year. Continue to carry on this system for a few years and the results will surprise you? In the scope of this paper I cannot begin to cover all the features of seed breeding that are important to our farmers and would advise all those who are Interested to write the Unt? ied! States department of agriculture for bulletins, giving full details of how to proceed with the work of se? lection and breeding those crops in which we are most interested. Eevery year important problems are being worked out and proved by the department of agriculture at Washington by the State experiment stations and by our best farmers, and the progressive farmer must keep In? formed and use all that will benefit him. In other words, he must keep out of the ruts, and to do this, he must keep wide awake and watch the road. The splendid reception given the Williamson nlnn should reassure all who have doubted the progresslveness of the southern farmer. It Is to my mind the longest step forward by southern agriculture In several gene? rations. It makes me believe that this work of seed selection and breeding will soon receive the attention to which its importance entitles it. PRITCHARD AGAINST RAILROAD. Important Decision In South Carolina Damage Suit. Ashevllle, N. C, Aug. 29.?Judge J. C. Prltchard in the United States court, rendered a decision today In the case of Charles J. Morrow versus Charlotte Air Line Railway company, remanding the case back to the South Carolina State court. Morrow sued the railway for $10, 000 on account of personal damages sustained by him, the suit being en tared in the State court of South Car? olina. The railway company petition? ed that the case be moved to the Uni? ted States circuit court on the ground of diversity of citizenship, the rail? way company alleging that It was a citizen of North Carolina, while the plaintiff was a citizen of South Caro? lina. Judge Prltchard after hearing the argument remanded the case back to the South Carolina State court from WhenOe it was removed on the ground that the railway company was a do? mestic corporation. MISS SUSAN Mi MANNING. Sister of the I*nte (iov. Manning Died In Cniiiflen Sunday Night. Camden, Sept. 2.?Miss Susan If, Manning, sister of the late QOV, John L. Manning, died at her home In Camden last night and will be burled In Columbia on Tuesday. is t at be thy Country'J, Thy (iod's a DAY. SEPTE VlBER -.-1? ATTACKS INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY. Act Repudlalng Relief Association Contract! No Good?.*-.dsre R. <>. Purdy Declare! Unconstitutional the Statute. ? Charleston, Aug. 29.?In the Cir? cuit Court of Common Pleas. In cham? bers, Judge R. O. Purdy yesterday filed a decision and decree in the case of Joseph R. Sturgess vs. the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, dismissing the complaint and declaring unconstitu? tional the act of March 7, 1905, In which the right of a relief association to enter into agreement nn<l contract for relief from liability was denied. Judge Purdy hel i that such an act was in violation of the Federal and state constitutions which guaranteed personal liberty and the right t% make contracts. Th?- decree follows: Iii the submission of the case to the *ourt, the attorneys naked Judge Pur ly te pa*-; on I wo questions, wheth? er the act of the legislature allowing a recipient of the hospital and relief tunl to recover benefits, notwith? standing his compensation for dam? ages, is constitutional and valid, and secondly, whether th<> term 'disabil? ity*' in the contract means a total Inability to work <>r mere inability to perform the class of labor In which the member was engaged at the time of nil injury. After citing numerous cases Involv? ing the points of law on the first ques? tion, Judge Purdy proceeds: "In the light of these principle* escape Is im? possible from the conclusion that the act "store under consideration is an il? legal Interference with the freedom of ? * i contract guaranteed by the federal and State constitutions and therefore null and void. * * * Here is a con? tract of highly beneficial character and undoubted validity attempted to he struck down by a statute that can be referred to in a single source of authority under the police power and which is detrimental rather than ben? eficial to the only portion of the pub? lic affected. My duty to uphold the constitution In such a case by declar? ing the statute void seerm* to be clear and I feel no hesitation in so pronouncing it." Tn passing upm the second ques? tion, the court declared that the, con? tract tpegks for itself in sufficiently clear terms:* "The regulation does not say physical Inability to work in the line In which ho was formerly,en-> gaged and the court cannot read such a meaning into it. A party may not be physically able to follow one line of work, yet thoroughly able to fol? low another and mor? lucrative one. Plainly no such case as this was In? tended to be provided for by the pay? ment of disabled benefits; hence, I hold that the disability referred to means physical inability to perform any labor." It seems that in March. 1907, J. R. Sturgess, a carpenter employed by the Atlantic Coast Line, was injured. He was a member of the relief asso? ciation of the company and when join? ing the same had bound himself by signature to either accept the benefits offered and provided by the associa? tion, in case of death or accident, or to sue and thus attempt to gain by litigation. The man chose to sue and recovered $2,700 damages. He then entered suit against the relief depart? ment of the railroad and sought to obtain the sum of $421.50. The plaintiff's attorneys brought forward an act of the South Carolina legisla? ture, dated March 7, 1905, which for? bids the making of any contract "be? tween the relief association and the members which may bar litigation. The judsre reviewed the case at length and showed that the relief as? sociation gave many and generous benefits and gave the employe nv m ber a clear and fair option and elec? tion. That it was right and proper he should be allowed to choose between certain benefits of the association and the doubtful ones of litigation was brought forward. The act, Judg*1 Purdy said, was contrary to the fed? eral and State constitutions in that it interferes with ihe right f>f individ? uals to make and enter Into contracts. The suit was dismissed. KILLED AT TYBEE. Right Fielder for savannah Meets sad Accident. Savannah. C!a., S?'pt. 1.?Joseph L. Brlskey, right fielder for Savannah's team in th<> South Atlantic league, broke his neck at Tybee Island this afternoon by diving into shallow wa? ter. Other bathers saw him as he lay dying on the bottom, but he had an? nounced that he was going to make a long stay under the water and they thought nothing of the matter until some minutes had passed. Then they drew him up to find him dead. Brlskey leaves a widow and a three weeks-old baby In Houston, Tex. nd Truth's." THE Till 4. It 07. N>w A GREAT BRIDGE DISASTER. BRIDGE NEAR QUEBEC COLLAP? SED WITH FATAL RESULTS. ?? .... j Scores of workmen Precipitated into St. Lawrence River?Store Than Eighty Dead. Quebec. Aug. 29.?The great Que? bec bridge collapsed late this after? noon and now the vast mass of steel work lies a tangled wreck across the St. Lawrence channel. A careful es? timate of the loss of life is S4. The bridge fell at exactly 23 minutes to 0 this evening, just as many of the workmen were preparing to i? ;iy,. The accident was so terrible in its ef? fectiveness in wiping out the lives of the men employed that very little is known as to the cause of the dis tster. Quebec. Aug. 29.?A section of the new bridge across the st. Lawrence river, five miles below this city, col? lapsed late today, carrying scores of bridge workmen and machinists into the wat. r. II is estimated tint the I obi of life is more than Go and may exceed that number by 20. The bridge was about a mi! ? and a half in length and half of it, from the south shore to midstream, crum? pled up anil dropped Into the water. Ninety men were at work on this section of the structure and the whistle had just blown at D.CO for the men to (juit work for the day when there came a grinding sound from the bridge midstream. The me:) turned to see what had happened and en in? stant later the cry went up, 'The bridge :s falling." The men made a rush shoreward, but the distance was too great for them to escr.pe. The fallen section of the bridge dragged others after it. the snapping girders and cables snapping like a crash of artillery. Terror lent fleetness to the feet of the frightened workmen as they sped shoreward, but only a few of them reached safety before the last piece of iron work on the south shore was dragged into the river. Near the shore the wreckage of the bridge did not go below the surface of the water and (ight workmen who remained above the water were res? cued and taken to the hospital at Lewis. The steamer Glennmont had just chared the bridge when the first section fell. The water thrown up by the debris went clear over the bridge of the steamer. The captain U once lowered boats. The small boats plied backward and forward over the sunken wreckage for half an hour, but there was no sign of life. The twisted Iron and steel had Its vic? tims In a terrible death grip. A few Moating timbers and the broken strands of the bridge toward the north shore were the only signs that any? thing unusual had happened. There was not a ripple on the smooth sur? face of the St. Lawrence as It swept along toward the gulf. All the men drowned were employes of the Phoe nlxville Bridge company and subcon? tractors of Quebec and Montreal. At 10 o'clock tonight 16 bodies had been picked up and of the eight men In the hospital two are not expected to live throughout the night. The Quebec bridge was begun about seven years ago and it was to be finished in 1909. Subsidies had been granted by the federal and pro? vincial governments and the city of Quebec, and the es'imated cost of the work was $10.000.000. The Phoenixville Bridge company of Pennsylvania had the contract for the construction of the bridge and were working from both sides of the river. The horror of the situation is in? creased by the fact that there are a number of wounded men pinned in the wreckage near the shore. Their groans and shrieks can be piainly heard by the crowds who have gath? ered at the water's edge, but nothing so far can be done to relieve their sufferings. There are no searchlights available and by the feeble light of lanterns It Is impossitde to locate some of the sufferers. A Criminal Investigation. Quebec. Aug. 30.?Steps to begin a criminal investigation into last nighi's terrible disaster, when perhaps eighty men lost their lives in the collapse of the gigantic bridge, five miles from here, has already been begun at the scene of the disaster. The people are literally crushed by the awfulness of the calamity, and lit? tle ha*? been done In the way of re? covering the bodies. No list of the dead has been compiled and no steps have been taken to explore the great mass of broken and twisted steel. Today hundreds of workmen rush? ed by the construction company to ?? HI 11 IT; SOUTHRON, Established June, ism Series-Vol. XXVII. Xofl , th(? sc< ne, commanded by skilled ^.'n^ gtneers, are exploring the wiaiw^ ! and t:ikirg out the crashed and brofc? ? en bodies of the victime. So far as i>- known only Lcil ol tt*a 102 workmen, lall Amertcane, are known to have escaped. Two of these are dying today, of the other eight, four are believed to have a chance of recovery. Traffic on the St. Lawrence is practically blocked today. PEW HODIKS FOUND. Tlie Quebec Bridge Disaster Fully Great as Reported. Quebec, Aug. 31.?This city is mourning today for the dead who were killed In the bridge disaster. The latest estimates place the number of dead between seventy and eighty. Structural defects, are now believed by some engineers to have been re? sponsible for the disaster. Fuorteen bodies. onl\, have been recovered, v and it Is doubtful if any more will be be found, as it is believed the bodleg have been crushed to a pulp un let tho enormous weight of the wreckage. j AS I XCONSTITI TION \L LAW. Supreme Court Declare* a State sta(. uto Viill?Act Holding Railroad-; Liable for !/>ss or Damage to GoOdsl Shipped Over Their own or conti? < ! Ing Lines Invalid, j Columbia. Aug. 31.?The suprema * j court today rendered a declsiOB . de I daring unconstitutional an act of the I general assembly, passed in 1*J03, J which attempts to make a railroad j liable for loss of or damage to goods j shipped over Its line, whether or not J the lotis or damage occurred on Its I line or a connecting line. On the I ground that this act is unconstitutlon I al, being an interference w ith In- 1 Iterstate commerce, the supreme court, ? I in an opinion written by Associate ? I Justice Woods, reverses the lower J courts in the cases of William Lewis I vs. the Atlantic Coast Line and S, R, j Vanning vs. the Atlantic Coast Line. I In the case of R. Keith Charles J against the same railroad company, ii\ Ian opinion written by Associate Julk I tice Jones, the supreme court sus? j tains the constitutionality of another I act passed in 1903, which imposes on I railroads a penalty for failure to sef I tie ? claim In 90 days. In view of the agitation In regard J to the regulation of railroads and the J widespread discussion of legislation ^ I on this line, these decisions of ? the j South Carolina supreme court are of special interest at this time, especially {to shippers. The decision in the Vcn? ning case is lengthy and states fully the court's view on the act of 1903. I The facts are about as follows: I The Belknap Hardware Company. In January. 1905. delivered to the. I Southern Railway at Louisville Ky? I a steel range and warming closet, I consigned to the plaintiff at Man I ning. S. C. The defendant. Atlantic j Coast Line Railroad Company, the . I terminal carrl*r, delivered to plaintiff I the warming closet only, and this sec? tion was brought to recover $21 dam? I ages for failure to deliver the range, I and $50 statutory penalty for falling J to adjust and pay the claim within, 90 days. It was testified that the. j range was never received from th> I Southern Railway by the Atlantic I Coast Line at Columbia. The rnagls* J tr?te gave judgment for plaintiff in J the sum of $21 damage and $50 for failing to adjust and pay the claim in I 90 days, and on appeal the circuit [court affirmed the judgment, j % The supreme court, following the I decision in similar cases, held that the receipt by the defendant of the J warming closet devolved upon it the burden of showing it had never re> celved the range. The judgment of the magistrate was not based on the disbelief of testimony on this point, but on the statute of 1903 (24 Staf, j 1) under which the defendant as one I of the connecting carriers woiibj fd. J liable without respect to whether the j range was lost on its line or on that of another carrier. "The vital que*? tlon, therefore," said Justice Waedg, "is whether this act of 1003 must b* j held unconstitutional as an attempt I to regulate interstate comrreree." Tbs I opinion then considers fully the eSSJi I stltatlonallty of this act. waten w*s I intended to make radical changes in the law as to the liability of carriers, j for losses or damage occurring en I connecting lines. Peelsjons ,of thfl. United States supreme cmirt and, I other courts are cited to show that a. stipulation in the bill of lading. limit*. I ing the liability of each carrier to |{q own line, would be a reasonable Ilm? itation. At a meeting of representstives of the various county cotton grower!1 associations held In Columbia rrr?|% dent Smith was instructed to vote for 13 cents as the minimum ptlca of cotton at the meeting to \*- h{)$ In Jackson. Miss., Sept. b, Lank*