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WARNING TO FARMERS agricultural commissioner STEVENS ON THK RECENT ‘ RISE IN COTTON. ONLY DELUSION AND SNARE Dawn of Better Times In Sight If Farmers Will but Stand Firm and Diversify Crops. Atlanta, Feb. 1. It ia to be regretted that many of our fanners - are almost in despair at the outlook ahead of them, and numbers of them (particularly of the tenant class) are talking of abandoning the farms and seeking employment in the cities. This would be a fatal move to the great majority of those who might try it The cities are already overcrowded with peo ple who cannot obtain regular work, and additional numbers would only ag gravate this already bad condition. Re member how your fathers acted at the close of the war, 34 years ago. Return ing as they did to ruined homes, with out money, without credit, many of them broken down in health, they went to work with the same resolution and bravery that had enabled them for four years to resist the overwhelming armies of the north, and out of that ruin they built up a great state, and in a measure restored their shattered fortunes. You are sons of those heroic sires, and should uot be daunted by difficulties no greater than they met and overcame. Industry and economy are bound to win now, as they did after the war. While the results of last year’s opera tions have in very many cases been dis couraging, let us not lose heart, but with redoubled energy and with re newed hope let us strive for better re sults this year. “Where there is a will, there is a way,” and if we earnestly de sire to be rid of the despotic rule of “king cotton,” we can certainly find a way to do so. I think I can see the dawn of better times coming for our farmers. With the reports of largely increased seeding of small grain; of many flour mills being erected in thß state (the largest in the south, now about completed in Atlanta, which will consume 5,000 bushels of wheat and 3,000 bushels of corn daily, and will fur nish a cash market at railroad stations for grain); of packing houses being es tablished, that staud ready to purchase every fat hog and beef that we will raise, I am sure there is reason for the “faith within me” that Georgia has reached the last milestone on the downward road to poverty, and will from this point, steadily, and I hope rapidly, advance towards the goal of prosperity and independence. Do not be deceived if as planting time approaches the men who control the prices of cotton, permit it to advance a little in value. They want a large crop planted and are even now getting anxious, because of the prospective decrease in acreage. You have been caught by this attractive bait in former years, and experience should teach you to recognize and avoid it now. Don’t forget the caution that I gave in the January letter, viz: to repel the thought, that because your neighbors will plant less cotton you will plant more in hope of better prices. This is most danger ous grouud to take, for if generally adopted, the logical result would be an enormous crop, with still lower prices. I know that advice on this line is sel* dom appreciated, but being a farmer of long experience, I deem it my duty to put the matter plainly before my brother farmers, hoping that good may result from it. If my advice given last month has been followed, the fences on our farms have been repaired; new terraces run off and old ones mended where nec essary; many compost heaps have been made; as the weather permitted, much grain has been seeded, and the prepara tion of the ground for other crops is fairly under way. While the season for wheat sowing is past, there ia still time to plant oats, this being probably the best spring month for that purpose. As the period for rooting and growth of the crop be oomes shorter as the the season advances, it necessarily follows that the land seeded to oats during this month should be richer, and if possible better pre pared, than land seeded in the fall. The root growth of the spring sown oats will not be as great as when seeded in the fall, therefore if a good crop is expected from the spring planting, there must be more available plant food in the soil. ou also need a variety of oats that will mature quickly, and I known of none better than the “Burt.” While they do not yield as heavily as some'other varieties, they mature very early aDd Midom rust Do not fail to put in * K-wi acreage in oats while there ia still time to do so, for you are likely to need badly next summer, and you could have no better feed for your work stock. In the southern part of the state corn planting should commence before this month expires, particularly on the red lands of that section. These lands warm | ap earlier than do the gray lands, and can therefore be planted from ten days to two weeks sooner. Don’t make the mistake (so common among negro ten ants) of planting corn very close. I prefer T feet rows and 3 feet in the drill, with ft row of grgnnd peas or field peas in the middles. By this plan as much or more corn will be made than by oloser plan ting, and a crop ef peas also. What- ever fertilizer is need for the corn should be strewn along the planting furrow— no fear but that the corn roots will find it. ?n planting ground peas in the corn middles, I advise the nse of the whole ground pea, dropping one every 15 to 18 inches. Planted with the hull un broken they will take longer to oome up, but in my experience you get a bet ter stand. They should be planted in this way immediately after planting corn. Many, however, prefer shelling the peas, and in that case the planting should be done two to three weeks later. Some good farmers will doubtless differ with me in regard to such early planting of the above mentioned crops, but from long observation of results 1 am satisfied that early planting of any crop gives the heaviest yield. Great care should be used in the selection of seed corn, as there is such a large amount of damaged corn this season, much of which is hard to detect with out careful examination. Many perfect looking ears have a rotten cob, with the germ of the grain discolored and dead. You cannot be too careful in this matter of selecting seed, as the en tire success of your crop depends on it. In the middle and upper portions of tho state the same general directions for planting will apply, save that the time for planting gets later and later as we go up the country, until there is fully a month’s difference between the two ex tremes of the state. When the moun tain section is reached ground peas would hardly be a profitable crop, and field peas should be substituted for them. The advice as to 7 feet rows for corn, of course, applies only to uplands. The river and creek bottoms will bear much closer planting. Sugar cane should also be planted the last of this month. The ground should be deeply broken and well fertilized for this crop. If the stalks are long cut them in several pieces, and in planting let the pieces or the whole stalks lap, for one-third of their length. By this plan you will get a better stand. Commercial fertilizers are best for sugar cane, as stable manure heavily applied gives the syrup a dark color and an unpleasant taste. There is very lit tle profit in making syrup to sell at 15 to 18 cents a gallon, as at present; but if greater care were used, resulting in a fine article of syrup, and the same should be put up in half-gal lon and gallon cans, attractively la beled, I believe cane-growing could be made very profitable. The maple syrup from the north is put up in this way, and readily sells for high prices, though not a whit better than our best cane syrup. There is great room for im provement here. Irish potatoes should be planted this month, also all hardy garden vegetables. Should a cold snap threaten after they are up, cover lightly with straw or leaves, which will afford ample protection. Don’t fail to make every effort to have a good garden, for no other ground on the farm will pay one-fourth as much on the investment as will a fertile and well-cultivated garden. It is to be hoped that you have given ample care to your Btock of various kinds during the severe weather through which we have passed. A good thick bed of straw or leaves, under shelter, is as much appreciated by your stock dur ing cold and wet winter nights, as your own comfortable bed is by yourself. “A merciful man is merciful to his beast,” and will provide for its wants, but many of our improvident farmers will permit their cows to stand all night in a wet lot, drawn up in fence oorners, shivering with cold and hunger, while their hogs run around squealing for warmth and shelter, which they perhaps finally find in the dust under some old outhouse. This pioture is not overdrawn, but oan be seen in every neighborhood in the state. There is no profit in such treat ment of stock, and if you can take no, better care of your animals, you had best sell them to some neighbor who will care for them. This mistreatment of stock is only one of the many curses brought upon us by the all-cotton oraze, and will quickly disappear, when our people learn that there are many farm products that pay better than cotton. The excessive amount of wet weather that we have had during the past three months has very much delayed the work of the plow, but we must not on that account become impatient and plow our lands when too wet. This would be almost certainly fatal to the crop that follows and might diminish the productiveness of such land for sev eral years. The energetic farmer will always find plenty of work on his place requiring his attention, whether it be wet or dry, and nothing is gained by plowing the land when not in proper condition. This applies not only to the top soil, but the subsoil as well. The passage of the plow through either, when wet, will simply puddle the clay and render it, when dry, impervious to the roots of the growing crop. O. B. Stevens, Commissioner of Agriculture. Rise of Foatn In Churns. Question.— Why is it that sometimes in churning foam will rise in the churn Mid it will take hours for the butter to “come?” Answer.—One of the best authorities on the subject gives the following rea sons for the condition you mention: 1. The temperature is not right—us ually the oream is too cold in the churn. 2. The cream may have been kept too long. 3. The cream of a “farrow” or “strip per” cow mav be causing the trouble. 4. The cream may be too thin—get rid of some of the skim-milk. 5. The cream may be too thick—add a little skim-milk or water. 6. The churn Is too full. To make good butter the cream when chnrned should have a temperature of between 55 and 75 degrees. If the tem perature is below 55 degrees the butter will not “come” readily, and if above 75 degrees the product is apt to be a white, spongy bntter. Overchurning is also to be guarded against, and care must be taken to stop the churning at the point where the bntter separates itself from the milk. Otherwise the granular ap pearance and character of the butter will be lost, and you will have a smooth, fatty product.—State Agricultural De partment. Silent Brideii. In Korea during the whole of the marriage day the bride must beasmnte as a statue. If she says a word, or even makes a sign, she becomes an object of ridicule, and her silence must remain unbroken, even in her own room, though her husband should attempt to break it by taunts, jeers or coaxing, for the female servants are all on the watch for such a breach of etiquette as speech, hanging about the doors and chinks to catch np and repeat even a single utter ance, which would cause her to lose caste forever in her circle. This custom of silence is observed with the greatest rigidity among the higher classes. It may be a week or sev eral months before the husband knows the sound of his wife’s voice, and even after that for a length of time she only opens her mouth for necessary speech. With the father-in-law the custom of silence is still more rigid, and tho daughter-in-law often passes years with out raising her eyes to his or addressing e word to him. In Bulgaria a month’s silence is imposed on brides unless specially addressed by the husband. Wanted Her Money’* Worth. Bridget Rafferty had served the best years of her life as a cook, and now that she was “wearin awa’ ” and an opera tion became necessary she haughtily declined to go to a ward, but took one of the best rooms in the hospital. The operation was successful, but the patient was allowed very little food. During her convalescence she made frequent use of the electric bell at her bed. The nurse would fly to her, to be greeted with some trifling question or the re mark, “I only wanted to know if yon were there. As such frequent use of her bell sug gested to the matron on that floor that the nurse was neglecting her patient, the nurse remonstrated, and received the following unique explanation: “Well, you see, miss, here I am pay ing S3O a week, and I’m not seeing any thing, I’m not hearing anything, and, miss, I’m not eating anything. So I just ring the bell to get my money’s worth, and, anyways, I enjoy hearing it ring. ” —San Francisco Argonaut. No Diamond* For Her. Here is a story from The Bookman, told by Rudyard Kipling. His father, John Kipling, went to pay a visit to an Indian rajah who was about to bring home a queen. The elder Kipling had been engaged in the decorations of the palace, and its owner showed him the gifts of stuffs and perfumes he had pro cured for his coming spouse. The rajah also sent for his jewel caskets and asked Mr. Kipling to assist him in selecting the gems to be included in the marriage gifts. They were of extraordinary size and value, such gems as are seldom seen except in the east, and to the artist the selection was a pleasure. Finally he lifted a wonderful diamond, one of the choicest gems in the collection, and said: “You should send this. No wom an could resist it.” The rajah looked np, caught it and held it jealously tt) his breast, then, slowly replacing it in the casket, answered, “Nay, such gems be not fear women.” They Were Sew. “Now, George, quit pulling my ear!” “It’s my ear now, sweet I Going to pull it all I please!” This is why the hard featured pas senger with the iron gray chin beard, who had been sitting in the seat behind a young man in anew black broadcloth suit and a young woman in a gray silk traveling dress, got up hastily and went forward into the smoking car. —Chicago Tribune. Here’* n Trtelr. First Lady—What birthday present are you going to give to your husband ? Second Lady—A hundred cigars. First Lady —And what did you pay for them? Second Lady—Oh, nothing 1 For the last few months I have taken one or two out of Jack’s box every day. He hasn’t noticed it, and will be so pleased with my little present and the fine duality of the cigar*. — London Fan. <O3BB “ —To — ATLANTA, CHARLOTTE, AU GUSTA, ATHENS, WILMING TON, NEW ORLEANS, CHATTANGOGA, JNASHVILLF AND NEW YORK, BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, RICHMOND, WASHINGTON, NORFOLK, PORTSMOUTH. Schedule in Effect Dec. n, 1898. No. 408. No. 41. Lv. New York *ll OOurn *9 00pm 44 Washington 4 40pm 4 80am ''Richmond 9 00pm 9 05am “ Portsmouth *8 45pm *9 20am Ar. Weldon 11 10pm 11 50am Ar. Henderson *l2 57am *1 50pm Ar. Raleigh *2 16am *3 34pm 44 Southern Pines 4 23am 5 58pm “ Hamlett 5 07am 6 53pm “ Wilmington *l2 05 pm "Monroe, 6 43am 9 12pm Ar. Charlotte *7 50am *lO 25pm Ar. Chester *8 08am *lO o6pin Greenwood 10 35am 1 07am " Athens 1 13pm 343 am Lv. Winder 2 08pm 4 28am Ar Atlanta (C TANARUS.) 350 pm 6 20am SOUTHBOUND. No. 35. Ar. Athens 8 05 am Lv. Wiuder 8 46 am Ar. Atlanta 10 40 am NORTHBOUND. No. 402. No. 38 Lv. Atlanta (C. TANARUS.) *1 OUprn *8 50pm •* Winder 2 35pm 10 40pm Ar. Athens 316 pm 11 19pm •* Greenwood 6 41pm 2 03am 4 4 Chester 7 53pm 4 25am Ar. Monroe 9 30pm 5 65am Ar Cnarlotte *lO 25pm *7 50am “Hamlet *ll 15pm *7 45am Ar. Wilmington, *l2 05pm Ar. Sontueru Pines 12 08am *9 00am "Raleigh 2 10am 1118 am Ar. Henderson, 328 am 12 50pm Ar. Weldon 4 55am 2 50pm Ar. Portsmouth 7 25am 5 20pm 444 Richmond *8 45am 7 12pm 44 Wash’tonP.R. R. 12 31pm 11 10pm “ NewYork 44 6 23pm 6 53an. NORTHBOUND. No. 34. Lv. Atlanta 5 30 pm Lv. Winder * 7 25 pm Ar. Athens 8 05 pm ♦Daily. TDaiiy Except Son. Nos. 403 and 402.—.“ The Atlanta Special,” Solid Vestibuled Train ol Pullman Sleepers and t loaches between Washington and Atlanta, also PnllmaD Sleepers between Portsmouth and Ches ter, S. O. Nos. 41 and 38. —“The S. A. L. Ex press,” Solid Train Coaches, and Pull man Sleepers between Portsmouth and Atlanta. Company Sleepers between Columbia and At'auta. Both trains make immediate connec tion at Atlanta for Montgomery, Mo bile, New Orleans, Texas, California, Mexico, Chattanooga, Nashville, Mem phis. Macon, Florida. For Tiokets, sleepers, etc., apply to Agents ir W. B. Clements, G. P. A., B. A. Newlaud, T. A , Atlanta, Ga. E. St. John, V. Pres, and Gen’l Mg’r. V. E. Mcßek. General Superintendent H. W. B. Glover, Traffic Manager. T. J. Anderson, Gen’l Passenger Agt. General Offices, PORTSMOUTH, VA. GEORGIA RAILROAD AND CONNECTIONS^ For information as to Routes, “ Schedules and Rates, both Passenger and Freieht. write to either of the.undersigned You will receice prompt and re liable information. JOE W. WHITE, <4.. G. JACKSON 2jr £ T. P. A.| G. P. A. AUGUSTA, GA S. W. WILKES, aK. NICHOLSON. r&C. F. & P. A. G. A. ATLANTA ' ATHENS. W. W.HA RD WICK S. E. MAGILL, S. A " |F. A. MACON. MACON. ML R. HUDSON, F. W.COFFIN, f. a. s.;f.;&;p. a. MILLEDGEVILLE. AUGUSTA. , CUBAN RELIEF Oolie, Neuralgia ami I IWiIIVI v iu tivc minutes. Seur stomach and Summer <om plain la. I'rW. 2 K G. W. DeLaPerriere, Winder, Ga. PROFESSIONAL CARDS. L, C. RUSSELL. E. C. ARMIHTEAD , RUSSELL & ARMISTEAD, r Attorneys at Law. Winder, Ga. Jefferson. Ga. W. H. QUARTERMAN, l Attorney at Law, Winder, Ga. Prompt attention given to "31 legal matters. Insurance and ,Real Estate agent. •*> •?*> JOHN H. SIKES, Attorney at Law. Winder, Ga. Offioe over Harness factory. J. A. B. MAHAFFEY, Attorney at Law, Jefferson, Ga. Silman’s old offioa Winder Furniture Cos. UNDERTAKERS AND— —FUNERAL DIRECTORS. C. M. FERGUSON, M’g’r. WINDER, GEORGIA. A. HAMILTON, Undertaker and Funeral Director, Winder, Georgia. EMBALMING By a Professional Embalmer. Hearse and attendance free. Ware rooms, cor ner Broad & Candler sts. DR. W. L. DkLaPERRIERE, DENTAL PARLORS, In the J. C. DeLaPerriere building, over Winder Furniture Cos. Call and see me when in need of anything in the line of Dentistry. Work guaran teed. Honey to Lend, We have made arrangements with brokers in New York City through whom we are able to place loans on improved farms for five years time, payable in installments. If you want cheap money come in and see us at oncej Shackelford & Cos 100 Broad St., Athens, Ga. Lodge No. 33d, (Winder) Officers —N J. Kelly, W. M.; J. H. Jackson. S. W.; W. L, DeLaPerriere, J W.; J H. Ki. gore, Sec’ty. every 2d Friday evening at 7 o’clock J. T. Strange, N Gk; C, M Ferguson, V. G.; J. H. Smith, Treasurer; A. D McCurry, Secretary, Meets every Ist and 3d Monday nights. RUSSELL LODGE No. 99. KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS. Meets every Ist. and 3d. Thursday vening in each month. R. B. Russell, P. C. and Rep., C. B. Almond, C. C., H. C. Poole, V. C., A A. Camp, K. of R. and A. S„ W. B. Dillard, P., W. H. Toole, M. of E., T. A. Maynard, M. of F„ J. J. Smith, M. of A, F. L. Hoi* land, L G., O, L Dabney, O. G. ROYAL ARCANUM. Meets every 4th Monday night. J. T. Strange, R; J. H, Sikes, V. R; J. J. Kilgore, Secretary. (COLORED). WINDER ENTERPRISE LODGE, No. 4282. G. U. O. of O. F. Meets every Ist and 3d Friday night in each month. Dudley George, N. G.; G. W. Moore V. G.; L. H. Hinton, Secretary, Honey to Loan. We now have plenty of money to loan on improved farm property in Jaokson and Banks counties. Term* and interest liberal. Call and see os. Dunlap & Pickrell, Gainesville, Ga. Sept 12th, 1898 Crichton ~ ~ The Cooyplete Butuneea Course. Total Goat* $35,