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THE SOUTHERN WORLD, SEPTEMBER 1,1882.
8
Many fine homesteads, beautifully located
are still open to the settler, and many of the
fortunate first comers are dividing up their
lands into lots for sale, both hammock and
pine lands; but now that the railroads are
actually in course of construction, reaching
down all through this section, where here
tofore the want of transportation has retard
ed settlement there will not much longer
be a single homestead unentered.
The country is very healthy, and full of
great possibilities for the future, and all that
the Indian river, Manatee and Tampa re
gions need,' are transportation facilities;
given these no more desirable section could
be found in the state.
Dallas Wheat.
Hugh L. Wysor writes to the Rural New
Yorker his opinion of Dallas wheat as follows:
“ In a former article I had occasion to re
fer to this, the so-called ‘Rust-Proof wheat
of the South. I then stated (hat about one
half of it had been winter-killed. I did not
state, however, that it had been purposely
sown in a very unfavorable location. It. is
known to all farmers, that some places on
nearly every farm can be selected where
wheat never rusts, no matter what the season
may be, and where it never fails to mildew.
As I desired to test the rust resisting power
of the Dallas, I sowed it in a sink-hole from
which the drainage was very bad and a
large portion of which was shaded by a
walnut tree. What remained of the wheat
after the winter-killing stood' the April
freeze remarkably well, and continued
healthy retaining all its blades till within a
week of harvest. I was about to congratu
late myself that here I had what I had been
looking for so long, when it was violently
attacked with the black rust on botii stems
and leaves. It was cut green and I conclu
ded to cast it aside as worthless. My surprise
may be imagined when a week afterward,
the wheat having thoroughly dried, I hap
pened to examine it and found it to com
pare favorably with the best wheat we ever
raised here. I send the Rural a sample and
it can say what the kernels might become
under good treatment. The chief peculiar
ity of the Dallas, and one It has no doubt de
rived from having been originated and
grown in a hot climate, is that the kernels
shrink very little in drying. This is in
what its rust-resisting power mainly con
sists, and a valuable quality it is too. It is
a magnificent wheat and if it shall be able
to endure our Northern winters, it will be the
most popular wheat we have had for years."
Crops and Noted Places In Alabama.
Editor Southern Would.—-I have just re
turned from a trip through the counties of
Crenshaw, Coffee and Pike in this State. I
never saw better average crops of corn, peas,
potatoes, pindars and sugar cane. Cotton is
suffering some with rust and the wet weath
er. The health of the country is fine and
farmers are in fine spirits.
Near the line dividing Alabama from
Florida, is a popular resort called McDade's
pond. About the time Gen. Jackson took
Pensacola from the Spaniards and fought
the battle of New Orleans, Capt. McDade
and his command were surrounded and mas
sacred here, (except one man), by an over
whelming force of Indians. This gave it its
name. The pond is about three miles long
and one and a half to two miles wide. The
bottom is supposed to be broken and un
even. It is surrounded with a narrow belt
of good oak and hickory land which is near
ly all in a fine state of cultivation. Next to
this strip of land is a beautiful level pine
woods, affording abundant grazing for deer
and turkeys. This is a great place tor fish
ing and bunting. Large crowds come here
every Christmas and the 4th of July, and
enjoy themselves in fishing, hunting, danc
ing and eating. They come a distance of
one hundred miles to enjoy the sport. If a
railroad was constructed to this point it
would develop into one of the most popular
resorts for amusement and recreation in the
South. Gallant Keley.
Opine, Ala.
The Lumberman’s Qaxette, of Bay City,
Michigan, wittily remarks: “Spruce is
becoming a valuable tree in this country.
Entirely ignoring its commercial value as a
lumber and timber commodity, over fifty
thousand dollars are obtained annually in
the single State of Maine from the produc
tion of spruce chewing gum, a large propor
tion of which is consumed by the factory
girls in that state; and still in the face of
such facts people persist In stating that fe
male labor is only amply remunerated
in this country, when they can afford to in
dulge in each expensive luxuries."
Tbe Farmer a Mechanic.
No~3.
Tools used for different purposes often
require to be ground in different ways. The
primary object of grinding is to reduce the
cutting edge to the^minimum thickness,
while preserving at the same time, such an
angle as proper strength may require in the
use of the tool to be ground. Tools which
are used to cut small or soft substances may
be made quite tbin in the blade. Such are ■
case knives, or razors, scythe blades, lancets,
etc. They are alBO usually more highly tem
pered (harder) than those for heavy work.
Again: A tool that is used for cutting at
right angles to the length of the edge, must
be ground at right angles to the edge. The
operation of grinding produces scratches on
the face of the tool and serratures or fine
notches on the edge. It is found by ex
perience, that any tool that is used
with a drawing cut—like a scythe—will
cut much better if the serratures are
pitched forward in the direction of the draw
ing cut. The teeth of a common hand-saw
are an exaggerated illustration of the serra
tures or notches that are produced in a tool
by grinding. So, then, in grinding a scythe
blade it should be held on the stone in such
manner as to cause the serratures to pitch to
wards the point of the blade as in tbe hand
saw. In all cases the grindstone should re
volve towardt the cutting edge and not from
it, os in the latter case the steel would not
be cut clear away, but would hang in a thin
curtain or fringe. This is especially true of
tools having very thin blades—as scythe
blades, case knives, etc. A drawing knife is
used with a drawing cut from either direc
tion and must, therefore, be ground at right
angles to the edge. It cuts both ways, in a
manner somewhat analagous to the 2-handed
crosscut-saw. Pocket knives, case and butch
er knives, should be ground so that the ser
ratures will be hooked towards the handle;
that is, held to the grindstone with the han
dle inclined forward as the stone turns to
ward the operator. A carving knife on the
contrary, should be held in the opposite
manner, as will be suggested by its peculiar
use. Chisels, gouges, plane bits, axes, etc.—
tools that are used with a eruthing cut should
be ground at right angles to their edges. In
deed, it is generally impiacticable to do oth
erwise. A common club axe requires much
more skill in grinding than is generally
thought. It must not only cut easily, but
it should also chip well. If the blade is very
thin the axe will enter easily and deeply, but
will be apt to itiek badly, and besides, will
not chip well. A happy mean must be struck
between the extremes. The best makes of
axes are made rather thin in the blade when
new, because repeated grindings will soon
reduce them to a less acute angle. This tool
is an exception to the rule in regard to con
caving the faces of the blade; there is prop
erly no baril to -a club axe to be concaved,
and, no definite rule can be given for the
proper curve of the faces. In grinding one
should be careful to avoid grinding off the
cornersand making the edge line too convex.
The middle point of the cutting edge should
not be more than half an inch below a
straight line drawn from corner to corner.
A double-bladed club axe is now made,
whereby one blade may be used for cutting
hard knots or near the ground, and the other
for the more ordinary uses, and the two
blades are shaped accordingly—one being
thicker than the other and they may be
even tempered differently.
A good oil-stone Is almostas Indispensable
as a grindstone. These also differ in hard
ness, and one of medium hardness Is also
best for the farmers use. Water or turpen
tine may be used when a newly ground tool
is first put on tbe stone; but in order to get
a very fine edge, good neat’s-foot oil should
be applied before the whetting is finished.
In whetting as in grinding, the face side of
the tool—chisel, plane, bit, or other tool with
a basil—should be laid perfectly flat on the
stone and ground or whetted just a little,
preserving a perfectly plane surface. The
correct principle in using the oil-stone is to
pxuh the tool, edge forward; but in practice
It is more convenient to move it back and
forth, pressing more heavily as the edge goes
forward. Care should be observed to place
the basil of the tool flat on the oil-stone, so
that the cutting edge and the angle of the
back will both bear upon the surface.
In all tools for cutting wood a very fine
smooth edge Is desirable, ancl this can only
be attained on a good oil-stone, and better
still if strapped on a piece of leather which
may be tacked on one side of the oil-stone
block. A plane bit or firmer chisel, if the
metal be good, can be made to cut a hair and
will do all the better work.
Tbe stroke on an oil-stone should be from
end to end as near as practicable, so as to
preserve as long as possible, the true plane
surface. But eventually the stone will be
come concave and rounded on the edges. It
may then be very easily drrued by rubbing
heavily on an undressed plank with plenty
of water and fine sharp sand.
In whetting a drawing knife it is better to
lay the tool on the work-bench, basil side up,
and take the stone in the hand. The face
side should have only a few light strokes
occa-tonally while the whetting proceeds.
The drawing-knife and chop-axe are perhaps
more frequently used than any tool in the
farmer's shop, and should be always kept in
the best order. Tbe chop-axe will soon lose
its edge if tbe chop-block is gritty.
In putting plane bits in order, it should
be remembered that the bits lor different
kinds of planes should not have the same
curvature of the edge. The jack plane
being used for rough surfaces, should
have its bit ground much more convex on
tbe edge, otherwise it will choke badly and
work hard. The fore-plane, jointer, and
smoother, each, should have the edge of the
bit nearly straight, especially the smoother,
otherwise it will be difficult to dress a board
smooth.
It is a very simple operation to sharpen an
auger or auger bit, if the principles that
have been already given, be kept in view.
Remember that the lower side or surface of
the cutting blade of an auger is wbat is called
the face side and should be rarely touched
with a file, and then only very lightly. The
upper and inner side of the blade is the
basil, and it should be filed with a very fine
round file, and a piece of oil-stone made
small enough to nse in such a place, will aid
greatly in giving a keen, cutting edge. The
<pun of an auger should never be filed on
the outiide. Sometimes the screw will need
a little sharpening, which may be done with
a hand-saw file. R.
Temperature of Wells.
. is well known to every drinker of well
water that when fresh drawn from the well
it appears cooler in summer than in winter.
This is usually explained by the fact that
the temperature of cool well water in sum
mer is in such striking contrast to that of
the air, and is therefore especially grateful
to the thirsty drinker. But it is not gener
ally known that tbe water of many wells is
actually colder in mid-summer—as shown
by the thermometer—than it is in mid-win
ter. Observations on sub-earth temperature
have been conducted for a hundred years m
one of the vaults of Paris, the thermometer
being placed at the depth of ninety feet be
low the surface of the earth. During tbe
whole of that long period the temperature
was found to be uniform, day and night, the
year round, and from year to year. Later
observations made at different points in the
North Temperate Zone, show that even at
the depth of fifty feet the changes of temper
ature with the seasons are not noticeable.
Between tbe surface and a depth of fifty feet
the temperature varies at different seasons
in inverse proportion to the depth. This
variation is due to the change in the tem
perature of the air above tbe surface with
the different seasons. In tbe summer tbe
mean temperature of the air Is 80 degrees,
at Atlanta, Ga., and the winter mean about
40. The mean temperature of the year
is about 61 degrees. If we had summer
weather all the time the temperature of our
ordinary well water would correspond very
closely with the temperature of the air, and
we would be compelled to drink water of the
temperature of 80 degrees—as they do in the
tropics— unless ice or other artificial means
be employed to reduce it By observation
it has been found that the average tempera
ture of well water is about the same as the
mean annual temperature of the air, (in the
shade) at, or a few feet above, the surface of
the earth. In Paris, atthedepth of ninety feet
beneath the surface, the temperature under
goes no appreciable change from season to
season and from year to year. This depth is
therefore called the stratum of constant
temperature; and it is probable that It varies
very little in places of the same latitude
elsewhere on the globe. As before observed,
at depths less than ninety feet, the difference
in temperature of well water in summer and
winter begins to be noticeable, and when the
depth is reduced to less than fifty feet, the
difference between the summer and winter
temperature becomes more marked. But a
singular and fortuitous law, results in giv
ing us the colder temperature in mid-sum
mer—just when most grateful to our palates.
It has been found—by observation—that
the temperature of the air above the earth-
due to the summer and winter season, re
spectfully—as communicated to the earth
itself, travels downward at the rate of about
five feet per month. In accordance with
this observed rate the Influence of the sum
mer temperature of the air would not be at
Its maximum, at the depth of thirty feet,
until six months after the season has passed.
As a necessary result, at such depths, or less,
the water of wells is warmer in December
than in June, and riceverta. In very shal
low wells the difference between the temper
ature of the water at different seasons of the
year is still more noticeable; and in wells of
only ten or fifteen feet in depth, water Is
coldest in the spring and the warmest In
fall.
As already remarked, the mean annual
temperature of the well water of a section
of country is practically tbe same as the
mean annual temperature of the air of that
country. Well water varies, winter and
summer, within very narrow limits, and for
practical purposes the temperature at any
season may be assumed os about the mean of
the year. Hence, in any new country,
where observations on temperature have not
been conducted, the mean ^mual tempera
ture may be approximately formed by ob
serving the temperature of tbe well water at
any season, especially if it be a deep well.
This law is very convenient to a traveller in
a strange country, if provided with a ther
mometer. He has only to observe the tem
perature of tbe well water at any time in
order to get a very near approximation to
the mean annual temperature of the air.
R.
Have the Hay.
The abundant rains of the latter part of
July and the first half of August, have had
the effect to produce an abundant crop of the
natural grasses in the corn fields and other
lands that were in early crops. With the
cure and attention that was bestowed last
year, the farmers will not only have an abun
dant supply of corn, but also hay. Last
year there was probably more hay saved in
the extreme Southern States (in Georgia
certainly) than for many years past. Wehope
that harvest will be repeated tills year and
that the farmers’ barns will groan with a su
perlative plenty. There is nothing that pays
better than to save the gross that has cost
nothing to grow it. If the Northern farmer
can afford to plow and harrow and seed
down his best lands to grass, that he may
have lmy for winter and spring, how much
more may the Southern farmer reap the
spontaneous growth from tho fields that have
already yielded heavy crops of corn, or other
grain.
Almost without exception, the several
kinds of grass should be mown for hay when
in full bloom. The old time practice was to
puff hay j ust before frost; and the result was
a tough, woody, fibrous stuff, that was little
better for food than the frost-dead gross of
our early winter fields. The ripening of the
seed converts the starch and sugar of the
green grass into woody fibre.
The blade should not be put into the grass
until the morning dew has disappeared, and
before sunset all that was cut before noon
should be put into small cocks to bespread out
next morning, after the dew has again dried
uway. The following afternoon should find
it secure in the barn or haystack. Where
the grass is very thick and rank, it may re
quire two day's sun to cure it properly, but
it should be safely housed as soon as it is dry
enough to keep well.
Crab grass hay is not so good as crowfoot,
and both are inferior to the best timothy or
clover, but if cut at the proper time and well
handled, they make a hay that is much su
perior to the average bay brought from the
West. Indeed, it would be of decided ad
vantage to the Southern farmer It his mules
and horses would utterly refuse to eat hay
brought from abroad—starve frit; and not
much the worse for the Western farmer, for
hay should be consumed on the farm where
it is grown. R.
Ravlni Vegetable Seeds.
Dr. Geo. Thurber gives, in the American
AgriculturUt for August, tbe following valu
able facts concerning the “mixing” of
plants and its effect upon seeds:
If there are many varieties of the same
vegetable in a garden, it is impossible to
save the seeds of some in an unmixed state.
Sweet corn and all of the squash family, are
quite sure to “ mix." On the other hand,
peas and beans rarely cross; It one saves
seeds of any vegetable, let it be of tbe best;
instead of leaving the last peas on the vines
for seed, set apart a portion of a row- for