About Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1901)
horticultural Topics Conducted By P. J. Berckmans upon subjects relating ♦ ure are invited and an- ♦ •e given, whenever pos- ♦ <h the columns of the ♦ r Journal. Insertion ♦ given to all eotnmuni- ♦ •neral Interest and free ♦ a. The opinions there- ♦ I are In every instance ♦ a writers and not our ♦ sa all communications ■* i-Weekly Journal. At- ♦ ♦ ORESTRY fee of Deforestation Up- Supply and Arte ian Wells. ■one the true meaning of ry is misunderstood. They rat forests should be left the only means for their This does not define the derstood to mean, accord iphers. "the management as practically applied it is d with progressive agri comparing the methods >pe in the management of th the devastating policy here seen tn our southern t but feel surprised at the rich our forest area is de al is astonishing is to see *e of forethought for the s of the supply of wood fuel purposes. In the ys there was an absolute aring the land from tim irovlde room for growing ?rops. This system was terations without consld day should ever come il reserves could possibly d. nee of past generations to open the eyes of the n land owner of today present deplorable condi eac area. understood that the lum forester are synonymous, rsuit is the supplying of t by cutting such trees as arry on his business pur only to what is irnme and when the land is antable material he goes sew supply, without ever ere is a limit to his In for the wants of future plain words, he destroys. forester is to apply his ree life to utilise such crop which has reached n further growth has ioration may begin, then lof old trees allow the to attain more rapid de dn. by replanting with ' young seedling trees as * the various soils and lo t artificial reforestation, it usually a slower one. n the growth of seedlings te seeds falling from pa is natural reforestation, sent the only method ur agricultural economy tall hope for preventing notion of our lumber in- 111 be readily understood like the provident agri elng a prudent harvester •rial for ensuing years, follow that he e cut over areas with the trees which constituted growth, because he may ■ecies are more economl d to the soil and locality, re his practical knowl ture Is required. As our ly of botany in our com 'll known, it will be read out young agriculturists Kstand the necessity Vbgt reserves, not only ft re » nply of furl and F but upon the fufiuence •ly which, u not fostered pplication of the princi al economy will eventu ni to our whole country, i that there is but little present annual rainfall s some generations ago. Uy proven. There was a Ivers flowed with clear ’ m but muddy streams er portion of the year, 1 once were abun -1 a large part of the e southern Indians have es entirely disappeared, iddy because of the rapid ain water from the vast I lands into the water of falling as formerly ee covered country where is slowly absorbed by the covering the soil. The n covered with the earth 1 hillsides and prevented •. But this does not prove is less now than former f carried off more rapidly uesswork. person would think of tist to hate the eyes ullst would be promptly M he understands such lowever. do not give the thought to the treat c diseases. These dis -11 specialty just as dis iseases of the eye. and cing physician, who is not had the experi- treat them. «c difficult to • ople are afflicted all their life, but go to the proper phy- Ms practice, which is w of any other specialist tates. I have had thou ■ who had been treated s. not one of whom un ie. although they were capable physicians. As tey had been experiment ren treatment in no way te. The result was years h could have been avoid- whtch I have acquired In exclusively to the treat- Idiseases for twenty years h perfectly, and there is rrhen I give my opinion I eacfa ca ** pre r although a Wimilar. the K mere is ->»« special needs carWul atten- cln case on Its oRn merit a Bpon any plan df ready have become the most ■diet of the day. hpen my skill in medical [ patients get the most ex gpbtainable anywhere. MMed to consult me. I write for complete a. which will explain my I of home treatment. HATHAWAY. M. D.. h Building, a 11 *. Broad and consequently the natural storage of the past is no longer existing. We read that in several sections of the western and Pacific states many arte sian wells which five years ago flowed abundantly are gradually not only ceasing to flow, but water had to be pumped from annually Increasing depths. The first year 16 feet below the surface, the second 30 feet and ® feet at the fourth year, with the prospect that pumping will eventu ally become impossible unless the rain conditions which have rapidly changed of late years from the effects of forest fires are again replaced The absence of water in many of the areas of the west and southwest prevent the growing of forage or grain crops, hence these sections are purely deserts. At the present rate of deforestation of our southern states it will not be long before many of the now flowing artesian wells will become either useless or re quire the outlay of expensive pumping. This would prove a calamity to many communities now salubrious, but which previous to the opening of artesian wells were subject to malarial conditions. There are many other considerations connected with the practice of forestry, which other states are endeavoring to pro mote by organising associations for the preservation of their forests or by a state commission which consolidates the fish, game and forest interests. The village of Summerville, in South Carolina. has adopted ordinances tending to preserve the pine trees within its corporate limits, and by a rigid enforcement have main tained what is conceded to contribute to the salubrity of that locality as well as attractiveness. Similar measures could and should be adopted wherever new set tlements begin, and of these there are many in Georgia. The United States government organiz ed a division of forestry as a branch of the departmerit of agriculture. For years past it was found that Its work was divid ed among other organisations, and that this needs remodelling. Should our state legislature ever realise the absolute necessity of preserving what is left of our once magnificent forests by enacting judicious and reasonable laws, and organise a bureau of forestry, let it be so formed as to be independent from other branches of the state government in its work, but not unrelated to those that are intended for the promoting of the state's productive resources. That expert assistance is available for al! those owners of forest tracts who de sire to adopt a plan for their proper man agement is shown by many requests made to tne United States division of forestry by owners of large areas of timber lands in several sections of the south, where experts from that division have made pre liminary examinations for preparing proper working plans. • As in other branches of rural economy, the best results are usually obtained by co-operation. If a few forest land owners will combine, secure the advice of a gov ernment expert, their holdings would be made to yield a better revenue as well as preserving valuable material for fu ture generations. The price o* all classes of lumber is increasing as rapidly as is the diminishing supply of timber. It will not be long before well-cared-for wood lands will bring as profitable money re turns as many of our staple crops. The annexed article upon rapid defor estation. as published in the New York Sunday Herald, shows the probable dan ger which must eventually occur should forest destruction continue at its present rapid rate, unless measures are adopted for general reforestation. P. J. B. FACTS WHICH* INDICATE THAT WHOLESALE TIMBER CUTTING IS CHANGING OUR CLIMATE DEFORESTATION THE GREATEST WASTE NOW IN AMERICA. AS WELL AS A REAL DANGER These modern heat waves, with sun stroke and death on every hand, have be come a serious problem for science to solve. Important facts are herewith pre sented on the subject. It is believed that the rapid destruction of the great forests of the country by careless settlers, lum bermen and wood pulp makers are the chief cause of this marked recent change in our climate. And it is thought by some experts that without trees the earth would be uninhabitable. It is only in the United States and In dia, it is declared, that these devastat ing heat waves periodically sweep vast areas. In Europe—Germany and France especially—where forests are protected by law and heavy penalties rigidly enforced for violations, such-outbursts of heat, as a rule.,are unheard of. It has long been known “to mathemat ical certainty" tnat drought increases with the disappearance of forests. Trees not only create moisture and Invite rain, but their roots leaves and underbrush hold the rain that falls long enough to be absorbed by the earth. As hills and mountains, by fire or ax. lose their forest, tne soil dries up and vegetation languishes, while valleys and canyons are flooded, often with disastrous results. This is the case around Pitts burg and in other hilly localities which have been stripped of timber for fuel and manufacturing purposes. On the great plains rain seldom falls. When it does it is a cloudburst. The wash outs that come once in three or four years in Arizona are of indescribable vio lence. Eastern readers would scarcely be lieve that on the parched alkali deserts a cloudburst a few years ago along the Southern Pacific east of Tucson in half an hour buried sections of the railroad track 30 feet deep in sand filled gorges, changed the course of rivers, wound steel rails as If they were wire around the few straggling cottonwood trees skirting a dry stream twenty or thirty feet above the old track, and ploughed chasms In the ta rantula beds clear down to solid rock. WHERE RAIN 18 AN EVENT. In that strange city of San Louis Po tosi. in Old Mexico, where the timber disappeared long ago. I was told that It had not rained there for eight years. The dust was a foot deep, and the burning heat of the sun seemed to wither the very faces of the muleteers driving their silver laden asses through the streets. In the social Middle Park of Colorado one sees a vast desolation of stupendous mountains, isolated and In clusters, abso lutely naked—without tree or shrub. Ages ago the Indians. It is supposed, living in that once pastoral region, fleeing before invading tribes, burned the forests behind them. On every side. In a grand encircling am phitheatre. peaks of the Rocky Mountains rise to the snow line hemming in this Middle Park, fortunately supplied with rivers flowing swift and deep from the canyons of the snowy range. But the rainfall Is said to be decreasing with the destruction of pine forests of the higher mountains. In view of the vital necessity of pro tecting the timber yet remaining In Colo rado. the Forestry Association, composed of the best men in the state, was early organised, stringent laws passed and vig ilant watch kept to prevent destruction. The terror of fires In the Rocky Moun tains la akin to that of volcanoes and earthquakes. When once started by care less hunters, a match thrown into a bunch of dry grass, or by incendiaries, timber thieves and the like, vast tidal waves of flame sweep the pine clad slopes rising to lofty altitudes and stretching for miles along the great ranges. It has been observed that the absence of timber even in the mountain parts Interferes with the rainfall, causing periods of drought, or violent rainstorms doing great damage and passing quickly away. Irrigation, followed by vegetation and tree planting, brings rain. This has been nitrated all over the greater west. THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, ATLANTA. GEORGIA, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1001. In former times the summer storms were chiefly confined to the mountains of Colorado. Now they spread out on the plains, following the rivers, with their miles of wide areas of irrigated fields and recently planted timber belts. Moisture begets moisture, and with it come a mild er tempered atmosphere, gentle showers and cooling breezes. Instead of erratic pe riods of drought, floods and cyclones. All this, with many other facts, has an important bearing on the phenomena of heat waves now exciting so much con cern. VIEWS OF GOVERNMENT EXPERTS. 1 called on Col. George Sudworth. acting chief of the United States Forest Bureau, in Washington, for his views. He said: “There is much difference of opinion on the subject among scientific men, but stu dents of forestry are as a rule convinced that the wholesale destruction of trees in this country has had much to do with the recent aggravation of the meteorological phenomenon known as the ‘hot wave.’ “Hot waves may almost be said to be peculiar to thia country. They occur tn India, but In Europe and most other parts of the world they are unknown. We find them uncomfortable, but as yet we have not learned with any degree of certainty the causes that bring them about. Fu ture investigation is likely to throw more light upon the subject. I am satisfied a principal cause of the severe heated spells of recent summers has been the whole sale wiping out of forests. “That forests affect the air's tempera ture there Is no doubt. Evaporation within the limits of a forest goes on more slowly than outside. This means moisture and with moisture comes a cooling of the at mosphere. In regions largely forested the temperature is usually much lower. “We have long observed that areas originally humid are dried up by defores tation. Regions once heavily wooded with plenty of water in streams and springs have become parched, the streams being either dried up or nearly dry. The forest covered watershed means a spungy layer of ’humus,’ or leaf mold, which absorbs rain. This sponge spread over the soil gives up its water slowly, and thus the supply of moisture remains in the water shed for a long time. “Wipe out the forest cover and the spongy layer disappears. Even though the amount of rainfall remains unaltered, the smooth surface allows the water to rush away. There is nothing to hold the water and so it passes off -rapidly, leaving the ground dry. Water that falls on a slate roof runs off faster than if the roof were covered with moss.” FORESTS COOL THE ATMOSPHERE. B. E. Fernow, formerly in charge of the government forest bureau ana now pro fessor of forestry in Cornell university, says: “The general influence of the forest on the temperature of the soil is a cooling one. due to the shade and to the fact that moisture is retained for a longer time in the forest floor as well as tn the air. This moisture, of course, must be evaporated before the ground can be warmed. The av erage annual evaporation within the woods is about 44 per cent of that in open fields. “Extensive study of tne subject in Rus sia. both in Europe and in Asia, shows that in the western part of the Old World the presence of large forests has a very sensible influence upon the temperature. Apparently an alternation of forested and ufiforested areas in dry regions is more beneficial than continuous and uninter rupted forests, such an alternation set ting up a local circulation of air which is brought about by differences in tempera ture.” Professor Fernow says of hailstorms that they seem to avoid forest-covered areas. This is certainly Interesting to farmers and students of meteorology. The influence of forests upon fogs and clouds is marked and peculiar. Fog ling ers in the woods when it is clear else where. Trees act as condensers, gather ers of dew, frost and Ice, and this phe nomenon is especially remarkable in the so-called “Ice storms.” where the accumu lation of ice is so great as to overload and break the larger limbs and branches. The man who has most carefully studied this subject is B. Ribbentrop, inspector general of forests In India. He says for ests affect climate in a marked degree. History proves this in numerous instances a here the deterioration of the climate of whole districts, and even of entire coun tries, has followed the destruction of for ests. The once well wooded Dalmatia is now a stony desert. Persia, formerly one of the granaries of the east, is barren and desolate over a large extent of its terri tory. North Africa, which was one of the main grain producers of ancient Rome, is sub ect to the severest drouths. Spain. Italy. Sicily, Greece and Asia Minor have also suffered enormously from deforesta tion. Experiments by Ebermayer, the famous physicist, of Munich, show that where 30 per cent of a country is under a complete forest cover the precipitation is at least 10 per cent greater. Also, tnat the mean an nual temperature in a forest Is 10 per cent less than In the open. The difference Is greatest in summer, the season when the temperature is of serious Importance. Centuries ago. when most of India was a forest, the climate was very different from what It now Is. Ea-Htan, the great Chinese traveler of the fourth century A. D.. says of India that Its temperature was “neither cold nor hot.” FOREST AN OXYGEN FACTORY. In the United States observing stations established in forests have recorded over and over again the fact that the air over wooded areas was both cooler and molst er than above the open fields. * It has been claimed that forest exert an important influence in behalf of hu man health. Soil conditions in the wood* are unfavorable to disease producing germs, especially those of cholera and yel low fever. Every forest is an oxygen factory, and it is declared that Its production of that life giving gas is of sanitary importance. Ozone is also a forest product. The forest may be regarded as a blank et. with which nature covers the earth for its protection. This blanket, says Professor Mark W. Harrington, “deter mines many of the features of climate.” The amount of water exhaled by plants is enormous. Trees are about one-half water in their composition. Water is their chief food. Having drawn it from the soil to extract the nutriment which it contains in a very thin solution, they dis pose of the rest by transpiration. Proba bly a fair sized oak or poplar will force through its stem and leaves from ten to twenty gallons of w’ater dally. TIMBER MORE VALUABLE THAN MINES. “The Importance of preparing the for ests.” says Professor Fernow, “becomes more evident when it is considered that their annual increase by natural growth, representing the interst which we are at liberty to draw without imparing the principal, exceeds in t*he United States alone ten times the value of the gold and silver output of this country. It is worth more than three times the product of our metals and coal mines together.” "If to our total mining product be ad ded the value of all the stone quarries and oil wells and this be Increased by the value of all the steamboats, sailing ves sels and canalboats plying In American waters it will still be less than t-he value of the annual forest product of the nation by a sum sufficient to purchase at cost of construction all the canals, buy up at par all stocks of the telegraph compa nies, pay their bonded debts and equip all the telephone lines." Says Professor Sargent: “The forests in the mountain regions are essential to pre vent destructive torrents and to main tain the flow of the rivers." HOW WE CONSUME OUR FORESTS. We consumed last year more than 36,- 000,000,000 square feet of sawed lumber alone. This amount of lumber would load a train of cars long enough to encircle the earth at the equator. If to the sawn lum ber "be added the tfmebr, the railway ties, the telegraph poles, the posts for fences and the wood cut for fuel and for min ing, the train of cars would have to be one hundred thousands miles In length, or long enough to reach four times around the globe. The annual consumption of our forests is 25.000,000,000 'cubic feet. To furnish t<his amount would require the produce of 1,- 200,000,000 acres of woodland, whereas our total forest area Is less than 500.000,000 acres. It will be seen, then, that we are drawing upon our forest capital, where as we ought to be using only the interest. These remarkable figures are given by Dr. N. H. Egleston, who states that the annual consumption of wood in this coun try is 350 cubic feet per capita, whereas in Germany it is 40 cubic feet and in Great Britain only 14 cubic feet. The railways of the United States alone consume 500,- 000,000 feet of lumber every twelvemonth. The whole of the eastern part of this country, from the Atlantic ocean to the prairies, is naturally a forested region, simply because the rainfall is sufficient to encourage the growth of trees. The only areas within this region that are not for ested are those which have been cleared chiefly for purposes of cultivation. If cleared land is left idle for awhile the forests quickly reproduce themselves. TIMBER AREA OF EACH STATE. Following is a statement of the total wooded area in the various states of the Union, the per cent of forested land in the total area being mentioned in each case: / Total Wooded Per Cent Area in of State. Square Miles. Total Area. Maine 23,700 79 New Hampshire ... 5.200 58 Vermont 3,900 ’ 43 Massachusetts 4,200 52 Rhode Island 400 40 Connecticutl.9oo '39 New York 18,700 39 New Jersey 3.234 43 Pennsylvania 23,200 Delaware 700 36 Maryland 4,400 44 District of Columbia 12 20 Virginia .. 23.400 58 West Virginia 18,400 73 North Carolina 35,300 73 South Carolina ... < .. 20,500 68 Georgia 42,000 71 Florida 37,700 70 Alabama 38,300 74 Mississippi 32,300 70 Louisiana 28,300 62 Texas 64.000 24 Arkansas 45,000 84 Kentuckyß2,2oo 55 Tennessee 27,300 65 Ohio 9,300 23 Indiana .... 10,800 30 Illinois 10,200 18 Michigan ... u 38,000 67 Wisconsin .... ’ 31.750 58 Minnesota .... 52,200 66 lowa 7,000 13 Missouri .... 41,000 60 North Dakota 600 1 South Dakota 2,500 3 Nebraska ... 2,300 Kansas 5.700 Indian Territory ... 20,000 65 Oklahoma 4,400 ~ 11 Montana 42,000 29 Wyoming .... a.... 12,500 Colorado 33,500 32 New Mexico 23,700 19 Arizona .... 25,000 22 Utah 10,000 13 Idaho 35.000 42 Washington 47,700 71 Oregon 54,300 1 57 Nevada 6,100 6 California 44,700 22 Summing up the above figures, it is seen that there are in the United nearly 1,100,000 square miles of woodland, representing 37 per cent of the whole area of the coun try. OUR LUMBER RESOURCES. The standing merchantable timber in the most important wood-yielding states of the union is reckoned as follows by Mr. Henry Gannett, of the geological sur vey: State. Ft., Board Measure. Maine 5,475,000.000 New Hampshire 35,500,000,000 Pennsylvania 6.300,000,000 New York •• •• •• • • 14,720,000,000 Michigan 35,000,000,000 Wisconsin •• •• —*5,000,000.000 Minnesota .. .... .. 183.000,000,000 Georgia.. •• •• •• •• •••• .. 16,778,000,000 Alabama.. .. .. .. 18,885,000,000 Mississippi •• •• 25,000,000,000 Louisiana 28,260,000,600 Texas 68.000.000,000 Arkansas •• •• •• 41,315,000,000 Californials4,ooo,ooo,ooo Washington 114,778,000,000 Oregon 234,653,000,000 The principal forest products of the United States for the year 1890 (the lat est year for which figures are available) were: Kind. Amount. Value. Sawed lumber (ft.) 23,500,000,000 3267,000,000 Logs (ft., board measure).. ... .. 1,445,000.000 10,500,000 Telegraph p01e5,,.. 117,000 200,000 Ties 5,496,000 1,600,000 Fence posts 4,723,000 400.000 Piles 158,000 300,000 Staves 1,178,552,000 7,800,000 Headings 182,700,000 4,900,000 Laths 2,363,300,000 3,500,000 The greatest timber consumption is for firewood. We burn for heating and man ufacturing purposes annually 180,0000,000,000 feet, board measure—four times as much as we use for all other purposes put to gether. However, most of the firewood supply is of timber unsuitable in size or quality for the sawmill. The conclusion of all this seems to be that because we must have toothpicks, matches, coffins and firewood, and inci dentally, wood for ships and houses, with timber thieves ajd incendiaries running riot destroying forests, the globe is to be made uninhabitable. Boys who are Away at school should have a sure remedy for sudden attacks of cramps, diarrhoea or dysentery, and an hour’s delay in cases of this kind often leads to serious results. Parents should supply their sons with PAIN KILLER. which is simple, safe and sure. One dose rarely fails to bring relief from any bowel complaint. There is but one Pain-Killer, Perry Davis’. Price 25c. and 50c, SAVE TRAYLOR, SPENCER & CO.’S TOBACCO TAGS. The following brands of tobaccos man ufactured by Traylor, Spencer & Co., of Danville, Va., “Ballot Box,” “Maybelle,” “Plumb Good,” “High Life,” “Right of Way,” “No. 1,” “Bob White,” "Natural Leaf,” Spencer’s Special” and “Good win.” By saving the tags of the above brands (containing the name of Traylor, Spencer & Co.), and sending them direct to The Journal, Atlanta, Ga.. you can realize two-thirds of one cent for each tag in subscription to The Semi-Weekly Journal, as follows: 75 tags will pay for six months’ subscription to The Semi-Weekly Journal. This amounts to 6 centz per pound on tobaccos containing nine tags to the pound, in payment for subscription to The Semi-Weekly Journal. Traylor, Spencer & Co.’s tobaccos are sold direct from factory to best merchants In all southern states. Bundle the tags carefully and send by mall with your name to The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Ga. ••• Rest. Health and Comfort to Mother and Child. MRS. WINSLOWS SOOTHING SYRUP, for children teething, softens the gums, reduces inflammation, allays all pain, and cures wind colic. Perfe&Uvsafe in all cases We would say to every mouffißtio has a suffering child: Do not let your prejuolte, nor the prejudices of others, stand between you and your suFer tng child and the relief that will be sure—yes, absolutely sure—to follow the use of this medtaine, If timely used. Price 35c. a bottle. Prince Chun Sees Field Exercises. POTSDAM. Sept. 6.—Prince Chun yester day witnessed the field exercises and pa rade march of the First flegiment of the Royal Guard. The empress received Prince Chun at noon* ni w, Ji r TIMELY TALKS WITH FARMERS | Conducted By C. H. Jordan + Subscribers are requested to ad- + •!• dress all inquiries for information + <!• on subjects relating to the farm. + + field, garden and poultry to the + Agricultural Editor. All inquiries ♦ will receive prompt and careful at- + + tention. No inquiries answered by + + mail. Please address Harvle Jordan, Agricultural Editor, Monticello, Ga. + 4* + PASTURE GRASSES. Pasture and hay grasses are command ing interesting attention among the farm ers in all sections of the country. I am constantly in receipt of letters inquiring as to the best varieties of grasses for grazing in winter and cutting for hay in the spring. Many farmers want a com bination of grasses, some varieties of which will be green in winter, while others will spring into life in April and remain green all summer. This shows a trend of thoughts developing in the right direction and along the right line. Several hundred head of young thoroughbred varieties of Tjeef cattle were sold to farmers In dif ferent sections of Georgia last year, and the question of better pasturage than that usually found on the average farm is re ceiving attention. First class, healthy cattle cannot be profitably raised and herded on poor pasturage. The experi ment has been too of ten»tried and failed to admit of any argument. In raising beef cattle or any kind of stock something else is necessary than merely securing grass or forage. Stock must not only have an abundance of grass, but it must be of the best quality of grass obtainable. Quality rather than qauntlty must be the controlling idea, and of all people the man who is engaged in the cattle or stock bus iness should be the best pos|pd on the rel ative merits of the various grasses com posing the pasturage on the farm. He should know their relative feeding value, so that in the effort made to secure the best results from their use he will culti vate only such varieties as will pay for the care and trouble. A good hay or pas ture grass should not be too rank in its growth, because the stems are likely to soon become coarse and woody, rendering them largely unpalatable-and hard to di gest. The plant should have, if possible, a large proportion of leaves, which are al ways the most edible and easiest digesti ble parts. Permanent meadows should consist of perennials. But few grasses fertilize the soils upon which they grow, therefore some legumious plant should be mixed with the grasses. Where forage crops alone are grown leguminous plants should be used in preference to all others Some Good Grasses. Native grasses as a general rule are superior to all others, no matter how highly, advertised the foreign varieties may be. Those grasses which have thrived on southern soils for generations are thoroughly acclimatized, and many of them are as nutritious as any which can be imported from other countries. For a spring, summer and early fall grass, nothing is superior for a first class per manent pasture than Bermuda. This grass stands at the very top of all grasses in the United States for nutriment and per fection from every standpoint of criticism. It will thrive and make a perfect sod on nearly every variety of soil In the south ern states. Bermuda not only serves its mission as a first class pasture grass for cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, but it makes a hay easily cured and Inferior to none other in this country. The vetches, both hairy and winter kinds, are also valua ble for fall and winter grazing, extend ing well into spring. Other good grasses are Japan clover, fall oat grass, crabgrass, lucerne or alfalfa, Florida beggar weed, orchard grass, burr clover, Texas blue grass, teoslnte, alslke clover, red clover, yellow lupine and cowpeas. These are va rieties of grasses and clovers from which any man may make good selection for winter and summer growth for pasturage or hay, to suit the section of country in which he lives. Preparing Pasture Lands. The land upon which grasses are to be sown for pasturage or hay should be well plowed a few days before sowing the seed, and then harrow the top surface until the soil is smooth and nicely pulverized. In a mixture of light and heavy seed, they should be sown separately, other wise it will be impossible to secure an even distribution of the seed. The heavy seed will be thrown farther, while the lighter ones will fall nearer by, and the stand will be badly streaked and irregu lar. When seed are sown by hand it is always best to go over the ground twice, sowing one half the quantity one way and returning over the land in opposite direction. In covering seed a roller is preferable to a harrow, smoother or brush. If the seed are quite small and sowed just previous to a rain, no covering is necessary. In our section of the country August and September are the two months best suited in which to sow grasses or clovers. If the seed cannot be sown in the fall of the year on account of other growing crops on the land, then plant in February or March, so as to give the young plants time to become firmly rooted before the spring weeds or early hot weather comes on with their deteriorating effects. It is rarely advisable to sow grasses or clovers with grain, though clovers sometimes do well with wheat or oats. Application of Fertilizers. There is no better fertilizer for hay or pasture lands than stable manure or green cotton seed broadcasted and powed in when the land is broken. Such a fer tilzer will last for 2 or three years without additional fertilization. Os course top dressing becomes necessary if the grass shows failure from want of proper fertil ity in the soil. A satisfactory crop of hay cannot be grown on poor soils, neither can a good pasture be maintained on land which will not produce a good crop of cotton and corn. Proper fertilization is as necessary on hay and pasture lands as elsewhere. A first-class top dressing for spring application can be made of 50 pounds of potash per acre, which can be secured in 400 pounds of kanit, 250 pounds cotton hull ashes or 100 pounds of muriate of potash, put on broadcast by hand. Where a little nitrogen is needed 250 pounds of cotton seed meal may be added. It is a hopeful sign to note the interest farmers are taking in this matter, and it foretells the time not distant in the future when the south will once more take her place among the principal cattle and stock producing sections of the world. HARVIE JORDAN. EXCHANGES - Success in Farming. The difference between success and fail ure is very little at best. One farmer pro tects his stock from the weather and saves enough in feed to make money. Another feeds in the snow, rain and mud and loses all his profits. One houses his implements and they last for years. An other leaves his scattered In the fields where he finishes his work and they are scon worthless. The one puts all pro ducts in fine shape before offering them on the market and secures a high price. The other does not and charges his loss against capital and corporations. Furth er details are unnecessary, any one can see the difference. The wonder is that some farmers live at all. If farming were not the easiest, safest business in the world tuey would not. , Preserve Farm Manure. An Exchange. After the manure is all made, what is to be done? The most important problem with horse manure is to so treat it that the heap will not firefang or leach. Some people get around this by hauling to the field and spreading as soon as made. This answers very well and all things consid ered it is probably the best method. All the soluble elements are at once taken up by the soil and held until needed by tho plants. There is no danger of fermenta tion setting in and releasing the ammo nia. During the crop season, when all the land is occupied by growing plants, the best plan Is to spread the manure on the meadows and pastures. The grass plants retain the fertility, and when corn and subsequent grain crops are grown on the land they are greatly benefited. Os course the pasture plants are also helped, but they cannot use much in one season. At other times of the year when the fields are bare, the manure can be spread on the land, but it must be’ so placed that rains will not leach out the valuable ma terial. If put on plowed ground there will be little or no waste. Stubble ground is also good, as the stubbles will hold the material and prevent the wasting of the soluble ingredients. When the manure cajmot be taken to the fields, then the problem Is to preserve it as well as possible until such a time as it can be hauled out. Too often it is sim ply thrown out of the stable so as to be out of the way, and there left to take care of itself. Frequently it is placed under the eaves, where the water from th roof runs over it and washes out the beet material it contains. If there is no rain for some time, heating occurs and burning takes place, resulting in the loss of nitrogen. The proper method is to build a shed in Just a Little Negro Talk. BY BRIDGES SMITH. In a general knock-xbout over the country, and especially at the north. I have been struck with the amount of impertinence, not to say insolence, on the part of people who are employed to give at least polite, if not efficient, service to the public. In the south any stranger gets a civil answer from railroad, hotel or other employes. He may not get the service he expects, but he is treated courteously. From Atlanta to Washington the sleep car porter is all civility. He expects and receives the customary Up, and he seems to be fully aware of the fact that he must behave himself. Leaving Washington he becomes an other sort of Individual, and when he goes out of New York, to Buffalo, for instance, he is insolence itself. It is doubtful whether this latter type was born in the south. I have an idea that he is northern born and was brought up to believe himself the equal of the white man. and perhaps better. When you ask the porter on a New York Central sleeper to make up your berth or do any other like service he makes no answer, although you are certain he heard you. If you repeat the request he glares at you with a look intended to freeze your young blood. The northern man takes all this as a matter of course and says nothing. The southern man gets on his lynching clothes. The other night I saw this glare, and but for a sober second thought there would have been one insolent New York Central porter less in the world. I had hardly regained my normal state of temper when I witnessed a scene that should have meant a smashed nose, but in this case the in stigator of the riot was a white man. A poor weak stranger gave an order at one of the numerous restaurants out on the Pan-American grounds. The man waited and waited to have his order filled and finally uttered a mild protest against such treatment Then of all the tongue lashings I ever heard that waiter delivered it. The poor fellow knew his physical weak ness and took it like a lamb. Having plenty of troubles of my own, I did not mix up in what didn't concern me, although I felt it all over, and per haps the many others who heard it had equally as good excuses. At another restaurant a gray-haired old gentleman called for a glass of water to accompany his meal. The waiter told him to drink beer. The old man said he diu not drink beer and wanted water. Then this waiter flashed in the pan and told the cus*- tomer he must drink beer or do with out. The old man glanced at the number of the waiter and when his meal was finished reported the pro ceeding to the head waiter, and was Informed that he was too busy at the time to attend to it. On Broadway, in New York, a car never stops for a lone individual. You may stand at the proper place and swing your arms like a windmill, but the motorman looks straight ahead and the conductor looks at you as if to say: “Sorry, but the motorman failed to stop.” This is exasperating, but you have to take your medicine and walk. Coming back to the sleeping car por ter, I remember an instance that goes to prove that the southern born negro knows who he is throwing his insolent looks at. It was on a train from Toron to, Montreal, and my partner, also from the south, wanted his berth made up early. The number of his berth was 11 and it was made up promptly. I was not tired out like my friend and was seated at the end of the car reading when the porter asked “if dat man dat’s gone to bed wasn’t from the south.” I told him that we were both from the south, and wanted to know why he suspected us as southerners. “From de way he said to make up ’lebben." The manner in which my friend pronounced the word broqght up recollections of crap games. On the train was an English man going to Montreal and several men who were evidently northern men, judging from their accent. To these men the porter was very insolent, treating them as his inferiors, while to my friend and myself he was very humble and civil. He knew the tem per of the southern men and that it wouldn’t be safe for him to be sassy to them. There is a vast difference between the northern and southern negro. The first looks upon the color of his skin as his misfortune, and goes through the world regretting It. This sours him against the world, and you never see him in good humor. The latter negro takes his condition as a matter of course, and only in few instances does he regard himself the equal of the white man. Instead of envying the white man his skin and many privileges, the southern darky looks upon the white man as his natural friend and flies to him in case of trou ble. I don’t suppose it ever occurred to the northern born negro to turn to the white man as a friend in time of need. This probably explains the in solence of the negro at the north. An- eJose proximity to the stable and put the manure under it from day to day. If the bottom of this shed can be cemented and slope toward the center, so as to prevent the escape of the liquids, then there will be little or no loss. However, if this cannot be done, or if it is too expensive, it will not matter greatly, for If no rain reaches the manure there will be but little tenden cy to leaching. Os course there must be enough moisture to prevent heating. If this is not available from rainfall, it must be applied by means of a pump. If hogs are allowed access to the manure pile they will root it over and over, and not only keep it from fermenting, but will mix it in the best manner possible. The shed can be a cheap one, with simply a fairly tight roof to keep off the heavy rains. Treated in this way and then spread upon the field evenly, it will give the very best results. The horse stable can be cleaned out every morning without very great labor. The manure will not waste unduly and there will be no great expense for constructing liquid manure cisterns and caring for them. Undoubtedly these reservoirs will pay in some localities, but in most sections the shed with hogs for mixers will answer nicely. Manure from cattle and cow stable, where the animals are ited up and fed. can be treated in the same way. With this kind of material the matter of keep ing It from flrefanglng is not so impera tive. the manure from cattle does not heat so readily. It is known as cold manure and for that reason would never do fcr hotbeds and cold frames. It must be kept from leaching, and as a rule receive the same treatment as that from the horse stable. Where cattle are stall fed in a lot or around a straw stack, the manure may be left until the animals have been sent to market, then it can be put on a manure spreader and distributed over the field. The lot should be carefully cleaned, taking out every bit of manure, straw and corn stalks. other reason lies in the fact that the negro is not a laborer in the north. In New York city, for instance, he may be a bell boy at the hotels and in a few instances he is a carria-je driver, but he does no labor for .he city, such as working on or sweeping the streets. Neither does he work on the railroads as track ; hand. This work is all done by whitebnen. They will sometimes be round as por ters in stores, and receive good pay. Twelve dollars and a half, per week is about what they get. In oUr country a dollar a day is big pay. I know of one city government in the south that pays 80 cents a day for laborers, and could get thousands for 75 cents a day. The white men who do in the north what the negro does in the south, working the streets, get 31.50 per day and are glad to get it. Some of these days the Chinaman will take the place of the negro porter on a sleeping car. A railroad man said to me the other day that at one time it was thought that none but a negro could perform this service, but this was now a mistake. The Chinaman can perform the same service and much better for half the pay. If the negro is leaving the corn and cotton fields of the south and is to be taken off the sleep ing cars at the north, what is to be come of the negro? Is he breaking his own neck? A few days ago I witnessed a game of baseball between white men and ne groes. The umpire was a negro, the pitcher was a white man and the catch er was as black as your hat. This mix ed nine seemed perfectly homogenous, and the game went through without a bobble. It set me to thinking if such a thing was possible in the south! Os < course southern men would not engage in such a game, but suppose a nine of of northern men, whose views concern ing the negro are opposite our own, should attempt such a game, what would be the result? The witnessing of this game had a peculiar effect on me. At first it was actually revolting, but as the game progressed and I began to realize that I was a thousand miles away from home among a different class of people the horrifying effect wore off and I saw only the humor in it. At one of the theatres yesterday a negro was down on the bill for a vaudeville turn. As soon as he began to sing his coon song I knew at once that he was born in the north. The song and his manner of singing it was no more like the negro of our section than it was like Japanese, The negro may be happy up here, but he has a poor way of showing it. He is really in more danger of being lynch ed than our own set, and although he has many of the privileges of the white man he can never enjoy in the south, he has no white man to turn to in case of trouble. As far as I can judge, the northern negro, as a citizen, enjoying equal rights, is a miserable wretch. The southern negro, in his place, and he knows his place, is a happy indi vidual. The average northern sleep ing car porter will never get rich on his ten cent tips, but the average south ern porter, with his civility and will ingness to perform a service, will con tinue to get never less than a 25 cent tin, and at the end of his trips can laugh as loud as anybody. SOLDIERS ARE POISONED. Most of the Sick Men Only Slightly Affected, None Are Seriously 111. At Fort McPherson 226 soldiers out of a command out 416 men, are suffering frotn ptomaine poisoning and unfit for duty, leaving but 190 men for service. All drills and duties, with the exception of guard duty, have been suspended and the men who are not ill from the poisoning are lying around quarters and on the parade ground expecting at any moment to be taken with a severe cramp and forced to go to the hospital or headquarters. The cause of the poisoning has not yet been ascertained and it is probable that it never will be as it is an accident that is Hable to happen at any time to anyone, but it is thought the meat used in hash caused the trouble. As soon as it was learned that the men were suffering from something they had eaten or drank an investigation was made by the officers but blame is not attached to any one connected with the barracks nor it is probable that there will be. The commanding officer, Colonel John A. French, is of the opinion that everything pertaining to the unfortunate affair is an accident and one that could not have been avoided. This conclusion was reach ed after a thorough investigation. NO CURE. NO PAY. KKX.—If yoa Lore (mall, weak I etxani, loat power or weakening I drain, our Vacuum Orzaa Developer fr, will reatore you without dru<» or U’ . V electricity i ZtrtetureaadVarleoeele ‘ penaaaeatly cured la 1 tot week., I ' ft.in uao; not one failure; not one returned; eSect iQmediaU; ce -4k C-O.D. fraud; write for froo partleu lan. rent sealed in plain envelope. L9CAL AFRUARCt CO. 109 Tt»G Hk-. IHteMMflX' * 5