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South Threatens Foreign Tea
S* Supremacy in America >9
jEBHAPS It !• enough to de
duce from the evidences of
American tea culture up to
date that this country soon
will produce practically all
of the 610,000,000 worth ot
tea consumed here nnnual-
ly. To consider the home
tea product In the light of
an export, which, though
small In comparison, one
day will tuke Its place with
the great Americun staples,
seems at this stage super
fluous. The fact, however, that the Jour
nals of Ceylon and other foreign mar
kets already print Items about our grow
ing tea industry points significantly to
its importance. Farther, one of the many
who believe in both the producing and
exporting possibilities for American tea
has suggested that the skeptic turn to
the history of cotton in the south.
The handful of seed that was sown
in a Virginia garden and carried thence,
after many unsuccessful generations, to
the Carolina and Georgia, plantations, was
even there scorned in the light of wealth
that already was being got out of tobac
co, indigo, rice and the silk mulberry.
To this it might be added that those
who have the gift of prescience which
comes of putting together tlio past and
the present see ultimate success for the
tea industry in the pertinacity with
which partially successful experiments
have been returned to time and again.
START • MADE CENTURY AGO.
One day a century ago Mlchaux, the
French botanist, set out a tiny tea. shoo,,
which flourishes yet as a tree 15 feet high
at Middleton barony’ on the hanks of the
Ashley river. Ever since then the Unit
ed States agricultural records have nar
rated attempts at tea growing. As long
ago as 1848 the fact that it could De
grown successfully in this country was
demo fist ra ted at Greenville. S. C., but
tlie planting was soon abandoned.
Nothing further was accomplished until
1861, when the government took it tip as
att experiment in a portion of the old
Newington plantation at Summerville.
This project came to an untimely end
through the retirement from office of
Commissioner William G. Le Due, who
was responsible for it. and the death of
Mr. John Jackson, the manager. There
followed the report of Comissioner George
It. Loring. which stated that the cli
mate was unfavorable.
Then appeared Dr. Charles Shepard,
who not only believed that the half com
pleted experiment pointed to the success
of the industry, but who had also a
strong enough motive in his hope of es
tablishing employment for many thou
sands of the southern population, to de-
-vofe both his money and his brains to
Its* development.
COST LITTLE TO PRODUCE.
It - was a. little over thirteen years ago
that he established his first garden at
Farktrarst. a mile away from the aban
doned government garden of Summer
ville. It is'the record of what he has ac
complished there with government he.p
that has demonstrated the commercial
value of the enterprise, although sev
eral other gardens have sprung up In
the southern states lately. Incidentally
these may he taken as a recognition of
the unmistakable conditions of success
which have the last few years developed
with great rapidity at the Pinehurst In
dustry. Briefly these are:
The steady Increase of production, not
t only’ in Quantify but in the amount of
yield per acre.
The fact that the cost of production
hns reached a point where it is less than
25 per cent of the retail price which
can be maintained
The increasing dtrfhand for the tea,
whic h now. has a ready sale from Mas
sachusetts to Florida, and also in the
central aufl western states, and which
grows faster than the gardens expatTd.
YIELD $70 AN ACRE.
In addition to these favorable general
conditions' is the specific fact that much
Of'the ground planted of late has yielded
an-average profit'of $70 per acre, while
considerably less than this is not con%id-
ered bad TarmTng in that region. It is
also significant that the conditions pro
ducing the profit are the result of treat
ment of the soil chemically, and also of
a plan o7 applying certain seed to cer
tain conditions, both of which can be re
peated scientifically.
Basing a calculation or profits upon a
production of only 400 pounds per acre
Which yields $40 net as the lowest esti
mate. the possibilities may be seen in
the fact that the latest crops have dou
bled those of file year preceding on ac
count of certain definite experiments un
dertaken toward that end. The most
conservative prediction of the result of
still further treatment In the same line
points to the increase of production to
1.000 pounds per acre, or the same as the
annual yield of many plantations in Cey-
:on. This, it is believed, can be de
pended upon except during a year when it
Is unusually cold for that region.
GROWER MUST KNOW BUSINESS
Climatic and other opposing conditions
are such, however, that the would-be tea
grower' needs to become thoroughly con
versant not only with the science and
practice of the whole culture, but with
Its adaptation to this country.
One of the things which hns always
been considered necessary to success is
an annual rainfall of from 80 to 120
Inches, while In many parts of this sec
tion it averages only 56 inches. Orient
al authorities have also believed that,
while the plant would grow. It would not
thrive to Become productive in a tem
perature that ever dropped below 40 de
gress Fahrenheit. At Pinehurst 15 de
gress Fahrenheit is expected every win
ter, while within the last few years It
has once fallen to a half degree below
zero.
The fact that the plants stood this se
vere cold, with no greater setbaqk than
a low prunnlng, which retarded .growth
to about the same extent as the custom
ary pruning which takes place every four
or five years in India and Ceylon, was
taken as an encouraging sign. After
this Dr. Shepard followed even more
persistently than before the plan of ob
taining at whatever expense the hardiest
varieties of seed. Those especially or
teas grown at high altitudes have been
sought, and of all tried the Darjeerllng
seed has proved to be the best adapted
to the climate and at the same time the
most productive.
RICH SOIL IS NEEDED.
A system of soil treatment was de
vised. To compensate for the scarcity
and unequal distribution of rainfall, a
rich soil Is necessary, for tea flourishes
best In the mold soil of vulleyu. The
analysis of the best Indian tou soils
shows a great deficiency of lime, an ab
sence of sulphuric acid, plenty of manga
nese, with good amounts of nitrogen and
potash. Pinehurst experiments have been
conducted on sandy, clayey and bottom
lands, and on level ground, hillsides and
drained ponds. The conclusion reached
is that level lands thoroughly drained,
porous to as great a depth as possible,
and free from acidity will produce the
best results
For tlielr treatment. Dr. Shepard fol
lowed underdraining, with deep plowing,
and pulverizing, with chemical fertilizers
which supplied the elements lacking, and
with a cureful system of surface culti
vation which lessens the evaporation of
moisture.
The gain thus made is equal to 15
Indies of rainfall. The good effect is
further enhanced by planting between
the bushes cuwpeas, whose roots pene
trate the soil, and dying, not only act
as a fertilizer, but make the earth more
porous and capable of retaining moisture
during the dry seasons.
HIGH LABOR OBSTACLE HERE.
This care in cultivation lias already ef
fected a productiveness which averages
greater than that of China and Japan
and which approaches that of Ceylon.
By a greater increase it is designed to
still further offset tho. cost ot labor.
The American planter has to compete
with "cooly” labor by paying pickers
from 30 to 50 cents a day, or from six
to eight times as much per pound as tho
price paid in the east. This fact lias al
ways been considered the greatest obsta
cle to tiie industry in America. That
tiie amount of productiveness already ob
tained lias offset this expense so that a
desirable profit results has been shown.
This profit has been made, however,
from manufacturing one grade of tea.
It is a black tea. wAieli retails for $1 a
pound. Green teas have been manufac
tured to some extent also, but the possi
bility of substituting machinery for nand
labor in making black tea has led to its
being the chief staple. "With the lower
grades of tea,” says Dr. Shepard, "it ,s
impossible to compete with Asiatic prod-
nets, even witli tin- utmost economy.”
There are, therefore, two alternatives
presented to the would-be American tea
grower. lie must raise the quality of
his product above that of the cheaper
Oriental grades, or lie must reduce the
cost of production.
QUALITY PAYS BEST.
The former plan has been maintained
at Pinehurst with promising results, by
aiming to avoid tiie raspiness and extra
degreo of pungency which many tea
drinkers conceive to be tiie strength and
value of tea. “This is really due,” says
Dr. Shepard* “to "Tannic acid and similar
substances, which are deleterious rather
than nerve strengthening. A tea may
be rich in this last property and yet
not exhibit much color nor provoke throat
Irritation, nor act injuriously upon the
digestion.”
Something which has lately contributed
to a smaller cost of production is the
substitution of machinery for hand labor.
The black tea is now made altogether
by machinery, although as yet there are
processes in the green tea that are only-
possible by hand
BEST TEA $20 A POUND.
There is a field open to the tea grower
which has already been experimented
with, and which offers a limited field for
large profits. This is to make high
priced teas, which are rarely seen out
side the countries whore they *re grown.
“The best Oriental teas,” says Dr. Shep
ard, “are only slightly ‘fired - —that is,
they- are dried at low temperature ,to
preserve certain volatile oils which give
them delicacy- of flavor. They will not
bear distant transportation, as they- do
not keep their qualities for a long pe
riod.
“Such teas are worth from $5 to $20 a,
pound in Japan and China, whereas the
bulk of teas that we import from those
countries cost less than 15 cents a pound
at the port of shipment. Twenty dollars
a pound for tea means a dime or less
for a cup of this beverage. But the
price, strange as it may- sound, in this
country could not prove .a barrier to a
grade of tea which would otherwise
prove untattainable. It is a profitable,
if limited field, becatise there can be no
competition ftom afar.”—Chicago Trib
une.
| Ghosts That Do Hot Wait |
| For "Death to Stalk ^ j
• 1
Bulb'Gt'bwing Offers An Easy
Way To Healthy Livelihood
BABY’S PRAYER.
In looking- backward now, they come to
me,
Tfie scene, the shadow-s and the summer
air;
Her little head, low-bowed upon my knee.
As sweetly- offered she her baby- pruy-er:
"B’ess papa, an my ma, an’ all who
need.
An’ make of me a Uood girl, I am
p’ayin’;
An’ if at firs’, dear Lord, 'ou don’t sut-
seed.
Den twy, twy adainf.”
I smiled—but on the smile there also
went
To God another simple prayer from me
Itepeated now, with teardrops sadly
blent.
For the dear girl, wherever she may be;
"If she should stumble in the untried
way.
Still plead with Thy dear spirit from
aloft;
Be patient should her feet be led astray—
Not once, not once, but oft!”
—WILL T. HALE.
CONCERNING SEASICKNESS.
(From Harper’? Weekly.^
Two congressmen, discussing the dis
comforts of travel, happened to branch
off on the subject of seasickness. One of
them said:
"Talk about ?#nf!ckness, the fellow
that traveled with me on my last Eu-
lopern trip bent anything I ever mot in
all my experience before. I tried all
aerts of remedies on Wm, but without
avail He kept repeating, *Oh, I am so
sick—I am so sick.’
"Finally I cried out, 'Can't you keep
anything en your stonmoh? 1
" 'Only my bands, Tom; only my
hands-’ ’*
TUDENT8 of psychic phe
nomena are discussing the
strange caBe of Sir Fred
erick Carat Rasch, of Lie
house of commons. Swift
McNeill, M.P., a persona;
friend of Sir Frederick,
says It is developing Into
a really fascinating mys
tery.
“Lust week," explains
Mr. McNeill, in an Irish
journal, “or the week be
fore, Sir C&rne, who is a
member of the house of commons, was
seen there by Sir Gilbert Parker on a
certain day. It afterward appeared that
on that day he was lying seriously 111 at
this home in the country. Now Sir Gil
bert Parker, in a letter to The Daily
News, for lie also, he says, saw the
fetch on the same day sitting, not in
bis usual place, but below the gang
way, Sir Arthur also states that he drew
Sir 11. Campbell-Bannerman's attention
to the matter (for it had been announced
in that morning’s papers that Sir Carne
Rascih was ill in bis house), and tiie lib
eral leader, not imagining that he was
in the presence of a psychic phenome
non, cracked, it appears, a characteristic
joke.”
‘All kinds of explanations have been
offered for this apparent mystery,” com
ments T. P. O’Connor, in ”M. A. P.”
”It is not the first time that such a phe
nomenon has been reported in the house
of commons. Some six or seven years
ago 1 had to go over to Ireland to be
present at the funeral of a near relative,
and I was absent from my place in the
house for some days. Judge of my sur
prise when some of my friends told me
that they had seen me quite distinctly-
seated in tiie house on one of the eve
nings when beyond a doubt I was in Ire
land.
"Mr. McNeill—who dabbles a little in
the occult—is of opinion that such phe
nomena are applicable by the fact that
the iierson whose doublt is seen is at tne
moment in a condition of distress, either
physical or mental. In the case of 6ir
Frederick Carne Rasch, lie was ill at
the lime and very depressed in spirits; in
iny case, J was passing through a period
ol' great bereavement and lasting grief.
Others contend that we all have some
mystic second being, and that it may de
tach itself from the body when living, as
the soul is supposed to detach itself from
the body when dead.
"My own explanation is simpler. It Is
that some strong, iiowerf.ul, permanent
emotion is associated with a particular
individual in your mind; that this gives
to tiie outward form of another person a
certain resemblance to him; and that
thus you are in the predisposed condition
to accept small likenesses for large, and
to think the absent person present in the
person of somebody with a faint resem
blance to him.”
Mr. O’Connor proceeds to ascribe such
illusions to certain mental phenomena
with which the American reader of P’ro-
fessor William James' "Principles of
Psychology” is familiar. “Have you
ever remarked,” lie asked, "if you go ti
a certain street to keep an appointrnev.tj
and the person whom you. are to meet
does not turn up, how often among the
uassorshy you seem to catch sight of the
person you expect? This used to be so
much the case with me when 1 was a
young man that it was a positive agony
to me to have to wait for even a few
minutes ait a place where a meeting had
been arranged. I thought I saw tiie ex
pected person every second and in al
most every new face. In other words,
these illusion's come from the lmdde. and
not Irom the external."
Apropos of strange appearances, Mrs.
Chesnut, in her "Diary from Dixie." re
cently published by the Appletons, writes
under date "Richmond, Va., August 10.
1863."
“Today I had a letter from my sister,
who writes to Inquire about her old play
mate, friend and lover, Boykin McCaa.
It is now nearly twenty years since each
was married; each now has children
nearly grown. ’To tell the truth,’ my
sister writes, -in these last dreadful year*,
with Dayld in Florida where I can not
hear from him, and everything dismal,
anxious and disquieting, I had almost
forgotten Boykin's existence; but he
came here last night. He stood by my
bedside and spoke to me kindly and af
fectionately, as if we had but just part
ed.
“ ‘I said, holding out my hand, "Boy
kin, you are very pale.” He answered,
"I have come to bid you goodby,” and
then he seized both my hands. His own
hands were as cold and hard as ice.
They froze the marrow of my hones. I
screamed again and again, until my whole
household came rushing in, and then
came the negroes from the yard. all
wakened by my piercing shrieks. Some
one sent me an old paper with an ac
count of his wounds and recovery, but
I know- he is dead. "Stop!” cried my
husband at this point, and lie read then
from that day’s ‘Examiner’ these words:
“Captain Burwell Boykin McCaa found
dead upon the battlefield leading a cav
alry charge al the head of his company.
He was shot through the head.’ ”
As for premonitions of death, many
such cases are recorded; and their ful
fillment Is in part accounted for by the
effect on the body of a fixed idea. Ac
cording- to Tit-Bits, the late Lady Tweed-
mouth, shortly before she died, had a
strong conviction that the end was near.
At the last dinner at which her lady
ship was a guest in London she was
taken in by Lord Rosebery, and during
the meal eclipsed herself by the brillian
cy of her conversation. At the close of
the evening she placed her hand in that
of Lord Rosebery, and said, without a
quaver in her voice, "Goodby, Rose
bery.”
"Good night, you mean,” replied the
earl.
“No; it is goodby. This is my last din
ner in town. I am now going home to
Scotland to die.”
Professor Palmer, before he started on
his ill-fated expedition to win over the
Sinai tribe in 1881, wits sure that he
would never return. One day, when ne
was sitting in the editor's room at the
Standard office, Byron Curtis, the acting
editor, observed that he was staring va
cantly at a copy of the Globe.
"What’s wrong with you. Palmer?”
Mr. Curtis asked. "You’re awfully quiet
tonight."
Palmer looked tip sadly, "r was just
thinking,” he said, “w-hat It would look
like to see printed at the head of one ot
these columns the words. ’Murder of Pro
fessor palmer.' ” Not many months later
these were the very words which ap
peared in large type at the head of one
of the Globe columns.
"Poor Weston!” Foote, the great come
dian. exclaimed, as with streaming eyes
he looked at the picture of a recently
dead friend. "Soon others will he saying
‘Poor Foote!’ ” and in a few- more days
his prophetic words were verified. And
to give but one more example of these
strange premonitions. Hogarth chose as
the subject of bis last painting, “Tiie
End of All Things.”
“In that case.” said a friend, jocularly,
"there will be an end of the painter.”
"There wHl.” replied Hogarth, sadly;
"and the sooner my work is done the
better.”
When he had put the last touch to his
canvas he broke his palette in pieces, ex
claiming. ”1 have finished." and a few
■weeks later his clever hand was stilled
forever.
Royal Leopolds Daughter Once Sold
Yankee Candy For a Living
B Y selling candy over a counter
Princess Velva Marie Von Dorn-
berg, daughter of King Leopold
Of Belgium, lived for weeks in Washing
ton, and for a time supported her hus
band, Philip Louis Preleau, a Venetian
nobleman, while he was peeking for
something—juet anything—to do to earn
a dollar. The couple went under as
sumed names in the capital coty, and
their identity only became known
through publication in the press of the
real names in connection with tne adopt
ed ones of the two humbled aristierats,
who are now in Milwaukee.
While in Washington they lived at
1308 Eighth street northwest, the resi
dence of Sergeant James Hartley of
tlie first precinct police force, and, hav
ing no desire to form acquaintances, the
Hartley family were the only people to
know intimately their tilled lodgers.
The great secret was an irritating bur
den to the little princess, and in mo
ments of despair she confided in Mrs.
■Hartley, and little by little incidents in
the past came out, 'but never the para
mount fact that she was the daughter
of a king. This was a year ago last
winter, it being in Washington that the
princess joined the Red Feather com
pany, which carried her to Milwaukee.
PASSED AS MR. AND MRS. ALTON.
It was in December. 1903. that the
couple took a room at the Hartley-
house. The names of Mr. and Mrs.
Philip Alton, under which they lived in
Milwaukee and by which Sergeant Hart
ley recognized his former roomers, was
given. The woman was about 5 feet 4
inches high, had beautiful gray eyes,
a clear complexion and blonde hair.
The man had dark hair, was of medium
stature and of a retiring disposition.
In this single room they lived for two
months, taking their meals at near-by
restaurants. After a while Mr. and
Mrs. Hartley ascertained that the AI-
tons were scant of funds. Finally it
was explained that every day the prin
cess and the nobleman had been search
ing for employment and had been un
successful. Time went on and Alton
grew despondent, but Mrs. Alton encour
aged him. No work was to be had,
however, and finally the princess be
sought the police sergeant to assist
them.
The holiday period was then on and
on the advice of the sergeant Alton se
cured work as a clerk In Goldenberg’s
store, and then Princess Marie was in
stalled behind a candy- counter in a tem
porary store on Ninth street between
D and F streets, northwest. This bridg
ed over their' difficulties for the time,
but when the holidays were gone botn
were again out if employment.
HUSBAND LESS ENERGETIC.
Alton next got a position as night clerk
In the Barton hotel, but one night of
sleepless toll was all that he could stand.
Throughout their ‘trials it was noticed
that he did not have the determination
and will power to persevere as did the
princess.
During January there came some mon
ey from a friend of Mrs. Alton living in
New York, and that lent a ray of hope
to their endeavors. Other fields ex
hausted, Mrs. Alton turned toward the
theaters. An attempt was made to se
cure a position with the Francis Wil
son company- and arrangements were
about completed to take Mrs. Alton on.
Just at this point the actress whose
place she was to have taken returned
to the company and Mrs. Alton was still
out of employment.
The next week the Red Feather com
pany played in the city and on Thursday
night Mrs. Alton made her appearance
as a chorus girl..
"I was once a musical instructor,” she
told Mrs. Hartley, “and can easily- do
this work."
Her wages were nt sufficient to pay
the expenses of both, so Mr. Alton was
left hebind, not. however, until Mrs.
Alton had besought the manager to give
her husband some work with the com
pany and received the assurance that
this would be done as soon as opportun
ity presented.
TOLD OF EXPECTATIONS.
The couple had litle In their possession
to Indicate their former position in life.
Mrs. Alton told Mrs. Hartley that her
father had committed suicide in New
Y’ork because he had lost, in speculation
a large sum of money belonging to her.
“There is money coming to me now, and
some day 1 will get It,” she would say,
with a smile. Nearly $400, she said,
had been expended in taking her hus
band, who had married her against his
family's wishes, to the mountains after
an attack of illness. She acknowledged
that the name they were living under
was assumed, saying as the reason for
this the objection of the people to the
union. One day she told of the ser
vants who once waited pon her, of the
luxury with which she had been sur
rounded. From her trunk she took a set
of books covered with satin, an edition
de luxe of famous operas, whicn she
showed to prove that ss»e had been de
voted to music.
She said they were presented her as
a prize, and it is understood that they
were given her by the Paris Musical so
ciety- in appreciation of her raising
$100,000 for charity. Once Mrs. Alton
wanted to sell these books, but her hus
band would not listen to this.
It is said tlia tthe princess was put
into a convent in Montreal at her fath
er's orders for some tlfne, and later lived
with her guardian, under (advice of
the king, at New York. It was while
here that she married Preleau. His peo
ple disinherited him because he mar
ried the princess, who had been on the
stage, and her father refused to receive
her with her husband unless he ac
cepted the Catholic religion. In Mil
waukee Alton, as his name is given, is
in charge of an office force in a manu
facturing establishment.
(Continued from Second Page.)
elbow grease to apply It. Some small
savings of money they had, enough to
I've on without rent ito pay, for a year
ot more. And, by that time, the hope
was strong that the teacher’s health
would bo restored, and her return to
work possible
It wus a dosoliute looking place .hat
■the mother and daughter entered upon,
but. It wus the old, old story of “needs
must,” so they went to work with a
Leave determination to make ithe best
cl everything, and to look on Wie bright
s'de, nnd pretend to like It, even tf
they didn’t. A dilapidated house, with
n.ud-daubers In possession of the walls
an (1 ceilings, roaches nnd other hor
rors In it he shape of insects, smoked ceil
ings and dirty floors, and broken panes
of glass. All this Inside, and outside
an endless glaring expanse of white
saaid. But these two women, though
physically weak, were of the true south
ern grit. They had come to stay, and
to look on the bright side, and .they were
going to do both.
They invested in a mule, old enough
to know how wrong it was to run away,
a wagon, plow, and other necessary
farming implements. Then they got a
man to plow up a piece of land near
the house for a vegetable garden. The
first .thing they noted, as this work be
gun, was the immense number of bulbs
that were being thrown out by the
plow. No flower lover could stand such
destruction of good material, and this
mother and daughter were flower lovers,
indeed. So they gathered up all tlie
poor, rouiied-out bulbs, and planted them
in the home garden. By February, half
of the large garden was green with
sprouting bulbs, and their owners were
eagerly watching their development. It
was evident that the relative from whom
the farm had come down to them had
been a lover of bulbs, and had started
them many years before.
And It was not only In the vegetable
garden plot that they were discovered.
Very soon the slender green fingers of
sprouting bulbs were seen to be beck
oning to their new owners from far and
rear. They were In the horse lot, in
the cow yard, in /.he front and back
yards of the house. They were far
away in the fields, too, wherever there
had been a chance for heavy rains and
high winds to carry the seeds and tiny
bulbs.
The bulbs were not of rare varieties.
7 hey were only humble jonquils, narcis
sus. a few summer hyacinths, and many
kinds of lilies, large and small. There
were plenty of such bulbs In .the neigh
borhood, "just common things," and they
were regarded as scarcely more than
weeds. But that made no difference to
our two friends. They loved the beau
tiful flowers all the same, and felt
that their presence glorified .their hum
ph home. More than this, or that those
bulbs might mean ail the difference be
tween poverty and compefence, never
occurred to them. But all the while a
loving finger was pointing the way.
FINDING A LIVING.
But, at last, one day, the daughter
happened to be looking over several
flerist and seedsmen’s catalogues, and
her attention was naturally drawn to
■the prices of bulbs. She saw that even
the "common" varieties that were grow
ing like weeds at her door had a good
money value. So she sent samples to
tl ese seedsmen, asking what they would
pay for similar bulbs. Two firms re
sponded. giving prices, and asking how
many dozen she could supply. Glancing
out of the window at the thousand upon
thousand of thrifty plants pointing up
ward all over all .the land that was
in sight, the two women laughed.
The answer to the Inquiries stated that
the latter could be shipped by the bushel,
barrel or hundredweight, and every one
guaranteed. From both firms came or
ders. and when the proper time came and
the tops died down, the bulbs were care
fully gathered, and then the two wom
en sorted and packed them with their
own hands, to be sure that the work was
done as it should be. When the checks
came for those "worthless bulbs.” and
with them orders for more for the next
season the rejoicing In that little house
hold may be Imagined. Here, right at
ha nil, was the means of earning a liv
ing In their own home, while still en
joying the vital fresh air, sunshine and
rest. Already both mother and daughter
were in better health and strength than
they had been for years, and now they
knew that this healthful life could be
continued.
Other seed houses were written to. with
samples, and orders solicited for the fol
lowing year. And the orders came. The
first two firms that already were cus
tomers were asked for suggestions and
advice as to newer and more valuable
bulbs. In reply not only were the desired
suggestions made, (jut a supply of the
bulbs named, sufficient to give a good
start In their cultivation. And thus the
ball was started to rolling that was des
tined to bring health and prosperity to
these two plucky women.
Within two years after that first event
ful shipment of bulbs the old house was
in good repair, the entire farm was
placed under a good fence and was in
careful cultivation. Care, neatness, thrift
were in evidence everywhere. The crops
of bulbs were growing side by side with
corn, watermelons and other vegetables.
Thej; had to be set far apart, these rows
of bulbs, so that they could be worked
with plow and cultivator, and the mid
dle of the space between was utilized
for other crops.
Bulbs require heavy fertilizing and it
is not well to raise two crops in suc
cession on the same* land. Our friend,
the ex-teacher, never used commercial
fertilizers. She made a compost of cot
ton seed or cottonseed meal, manure from
t"he hen house, stable and cow pen. The
latter three places were covered deep
wftTi leaf mold and muck, and the drop
pings and manure were left to be trod
den by the animals for several months
before being conveyed to the growing
compost heap, while fresh leaf mold and
muck took Its place in the stalls, hen
house and cow pen. The whole heap
was kept wet with slop and wash water,
and occasionally forked over. Such a
fertilizer as this keeps the bulbs warm,
and in loamy land will not wash out.
A NEW OPENING.
The different varieties were planted ai
different time’s, hut were fertilized and
cultivated all alike. The greatest de
mand was for the double Jonquils, the
Bermuda illy (of which more anon), and
several varieties of gladioli:. Our friend
planted according to her orders, only in
greater numbers, so as to leave a good
margin for failures. But she never did
fall, and saw no reason why she ever
should. Bulbs come at a season when
there Is plenty of rain, and here In the
far south the winters nr 0 never severe
enough to kill them in the ground. True.
Jack Frost does sometimes audaciously
pinch their noses or squeeze their fingers,
hut he does not destroy them, and they
try, try again.
There la another opening in this line
also that Is very fascinating for the true,
patient flower lover. It is that of hy
bridizing and crossing the several varie
ties so as to produce new ones. The
person who succeeds in creating a new
and beautiful flowering bulb will sure
ly make a fortune out of It. There is
also good money In selling the flower
stalks themselves, where one’s location Is
not too far from a floral market, such
as a tourist hotel or city. In short, the
growth of bulbs la an industry that may
be carried on In country homes or vil
lages. and an Income more or less large
made, according to one’s area or lnclina-
tlon. But, of course, it is a business,
gild must receive tlie attention that any
successful buslnoes requires,
DE PAY-DAY GRIN.
(From Judge.)
De wort’ is stuffed plum full oh work,
An’ we each one has his share;
But day’s heaps oh ways oh doin’ Pings—
Dey’s some folks dat don’t eare,
An’ dey’s seme dat peHiieates wid time
An’ fools de days away,
An’ dey’s some dat neber t’inks oh work
When dey has a chanst ter play,
An' dey’s same dat keeps a-nuttjn 1 off
Till dey finds dat dey’s top late,
An’ dey’s some dat says no use ter work,
'Cuz eb'ryt’ing ‘is fate.
But fley's some dat works wid patient
han’s
An’ does da bes’ dey kin;
An’ dem’s de ones dat winds up wid
A pay-day gTln :
his ’’NeTia.’’
(From Harper's Weekly.)
Henry W. Savage’s "Bho-Gun’’ com
pany was playing recently in a ene-night
stand in a little town in iowa, where tne
local opera house was presided ever by a
townsman whose experience had been
more agricultural than dramatic, He
had an important idea of himself, which
was noticeabie in signs of his own
handiwork that he piaced around the
theater, Here is tiie gem of the lot,
orthography, syntax and all just as he
wrote it:
NoTfs
EVERY bODY iS QffshUly
hereBy Warned to notSMOKE
nNTH'TS IfEr,> house. T’nOes
So cot DO IN Wll BEPromptiy
Ejjected, DAM IT—I Must
have sent SiStoM.
Sined. Danl Tibbetts.
THE NEW MAN’S CHOICE,
(From The Youngstown, Oiiio, Telegram.)
A P, and M. V, street car on Elm street
bound for the Diamond Wednesday car
ried among the passengers a husky Hun
garian woman whose beauty had taken
a vacation about the tirrte of her crea
tion, so to speak, When the conductor
started to collect the fares just before fhe
ear reaehed tiie Diamond the woman put
forth her hand in which she clutched a
ticket upon which was printed the names
pf four candidates for the board of pub
lic service. On the back of the card wa^
written: “Stop car at Hahoning avenue
bridge and give her ten kisses.” The
conductor turned to the new man who
was learning the route and said: Here,
you collect tills; I’m a married naan
OFFENDED.
Castro was jn a. merry ..mod.
“I made the United States take water.’'
he chuckled.
“That's an insult, suhw exclaimsd a
corpulent stranger with a very white
goalee,
"Ah. indeed! Why should you call it
an Insult?”
"Because, suh, Kentucky is in the Uni-
fetj States, and no one on earth could
make her take water.”
Castro was so tickled he ordered a.
round of Venezuelan mint Juleps and
had it chalked up,
lot of useless thinking.
(Front London Tit-Bits.)
"Your little birdie has been very, very
ill,” she wrote to the young man, "It is
some sort of nervous trouble, and tho
doctors said I must have perfect rest and
quiet, and that I must think of nothing.
And ai) the time, dear Gussy. I thought
constantly of you,’’
The young man read it over and then
read it through very slowly, and put in
his pocket and went out under the silent
stars and kept thinking, and thinking,
and thinking.
PART OF THE EXHIBIT,
(From The Chicago Tribune.)
The automobile bumped over a decayed
cedar-blocked pavement, splashed into a
mud puddle, and then labored through a
stretch of deep sand.
"Can’t you take us through a better part
of town?” 'greened one of the passen
gers.
“Yes'?,’’ aaid the chauffeur, "when we
come to it. Tills is a ‘Seein’ Chicago,’
auto, sir.’’
MISSING A KISS,
Helen—And is Harry Cauliflower really
such a slow young man?
Ethel—Blow? Why. if he takes a girl
on a railread excursion she has to tell
him overy time they are coming to a
tunned.
HITTING BACK.
Mrs. Laker—1 am a true daughter of
Eva.
Mr. Lakei^-t’d like to know in what
yrmyl You can neither eook nor waen
dishes.
Mrs. Laker—Neither could Eve.
ALMOST INNOCENT.
Austere Aunt—"I don’t consider It keep
ing Lent Rt all. Minerva, when you stuff
„„r«.eif with all kinds of pickles."
Miss Mlnerva-"That’s unjust, aunt!*.
I don’t. I only eat five or six of the
varieties now/’
HOW IT HAPPENED.
(From Life.)
Farmer Medders—Was Deacon Burlap
buried from "llie house?
Farmer Green—No, from the back
yard! His wife was house cleaning!