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FARMS AND FARMERS. Short Talks With the Men Who Guide the Plow. OF GENERAL INTEREST TO FARMERS. Will It Pay? Farming has its bright, poetic side. The «nbowerod cottage, with vines and flowers and shade, the ruddy-faced children, the blooming maiden, the sturdy youth, tho patriarchal father and motherly mother; these naturally spring up before the mental eye at mention of the farm. Green fields, waving corn, lowing herds, frisking lambs, racing colts, crowing cocks and cackling geese, complete the picture. “Far from tho world’s ignoble Strife”—removed from many of the tempta tions that beset tho denizens of cities and towns — the farmer lives in close communion with nature. The sunshine, the clouds, the rain, the storm, cold and heat, touch him on every side and become part of his daily life. How to put himself in unison with nature; how to co-operate with her; how to avoid op position to her laws, these are his constant aim and study. They bring no personal animosi ties, no initiative antagonisms. To watch the tiny seedling spring from the buried seed; to See it expand and grow into tho lofty corn with its yellow tassels, flowing silks and hanging ears, or. the branching cotton with its snowy locks, suggestive of death and life, of the grave and the resurrection, this is the pleasing, ennobling occupation of each recur ring year of his life. In these ho secs his own life pictured: birth, growth, maturity, death. No, not death; for in tiio now perfected grain a new life is hidden away, seeming death only —areal immortality. Is it wonderful that noble natures, with the ripening and mellow ing of age, turn instinctively to rural life, and seek, or long for, its quiet and freedom from the bickerings and strifes of men and its fore thadowings of heavenly rest? But farming has also a hard, business side — a matter of dollars and cents, in tho strictest sense. In every venture, outside of the adorn ment of his homo, or the comfort of his family, the first question that a prudent farmer should ask himself is :“ Will it pay, is there any profit In it?” Why should he labor “for that which Is naught,” any more than a merchant or man ufacturer or anybody else? “In tho sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” is tho divine announcement; ho should sweat, but he should have bread as the reward thereof. After taking due allowance for possi ble contingencies, after careful, sober calcu lation, a farmer should have reasonable grounds for believing that an undertaking will pay before he begins it. Like a judge on the bench, he should canvass everything for or against it. Neither blind hopes nor gloomy fears should sway his judgment—these should be ruled out of court, and he should look at the naked facts in the light of the past experience. Past experience—that is tho touch stone, that Is the safest counsellor. You need not fear to follow it. The only point to be guarded is, that yon do not draw false influences from it, and then substitute these in the place of the experience itseif. Take the naked facts; they arc right hard to get at sometimes; they be come mixed up with opinions, and false deduc tions, but strip them of these as much as you can and then be guided by past experience, Whether it is pleasant or not. Be honest, whether it reflects on your past management or not. Let us propound some questions which are pertinent to tho present season: Have you good land to justify your running as many plows next year as yon did this? If you had left out a part of the poorest land you planted this year and put the manure and labor upon your best land, would you not have made as much, or possibly more, and saved the keeping of one mule and One hand ? AVould it not be very pleasant to have the money paid that hand back in your pocket now, and the feed consumed by that tnule bacjc in your bom ? Would it not have been better to have sowed down that land, or to have left it to rest and gather fertility to be utilized at some future day? Does it pay you to cultivate poor land? That is the most ser ious, the most important question that con fronts tl.e southern farmer today. Think of It. Look at it, as applied to your own farm. Count up the cost of cultivation, and then set over against it the actual yields obtained. No dodging. No shoving over the matter. Per haps one wet year you ma.de a fair eron on the poor land. Will you let that balance tho fail ures of four others, when the seasons were not favorable? Far bettor to concentrate on the best land on your farm, though, by so doing, you make it a one-horse farm, than to run eight plows on poor land and simply make enough to pay the expense of cultivation, or possibly not do even that. Does it pay to keep the same land year after year in cotton, without rotation? iP os it pay to run rows up and down hill and let tho soil Wash away, without terraces or ditches to save It ? Does'it pay to raise cotton to buy corn and meat? Does it pay to Imy mules and horses When they can be raised at home? Doesit Say to use commercial fertilizers on thin land, estituto of humus? Docs it pay to cultivate laud that is half prepared? Decs it pay to use poor implements of any kind? Which pays best, a big venture on credit ora small One on a cash basis? These are a few only of the many questions which a farmer may ask himself, lie ought to ask and weigh them well aus wer them carefully, and then plan his arrangements for another year, it is not wise to go forward as a matter of course, blindly taking tho chances as they come. Look before you leap. W. L. J. J. F. A., Atlanta, Ga.: I have about forty tons of cow dung not mixed with anything. I wish to know what to mix with it, and in what propor tions to Increase q’u.nity and improve quality. I llintl useit principally on vegetables. Cow dung has two marked characteristics as compared with excrement of other animals: Ist, its texture is close, and when in mass is cheesy. 2nd; as a consequence of above, and from its deficiency in nitrogen, it putrefies slowly, and disintegrates poorly. To over come these objectionable features should be the first object in manipulating it. This is mast readily and advantageously done by mixing it with some highly nitrogenous,easily fermenting substance, which, like leaven, may leaven the whole mass. Cotton seed meal is quite suitable, and as it can be easily obtained, »nd will supply the lacking nitrogen in the dung, you can use nothing better. To make a first-class article for vegetables, tho meal and dung should bo mixed in rates of one of meal to two "of dung by weight—but three of dung to one of meal would make a very excellent fertilizer. Chop the dung as fine as can be handily dene. -Mix it with the’meal very carefully, put .in pens, moisten every part, and tread down Compactly to keep tho fermentation within proper bound. Wat h cb’.,cly and if it gets Lot, quench by making numerous holes in tho mass and pouring in water without stint. Do this as often as it may need it. After the fer mentation subsides and the mass cools down, cut down and work over and put back in p< n to undergo a second fermentation. This is not apt to bo so violent, but must bo watched also, and if necessary quenched with water. After a few weeks the mass will bo ready for use. It is well when the iicap is fir.t put up to cover it a few inch. deep with rich earth. Cow manure is tolerably rich in phosphates and potash, and as cotton seed meal also con tains some of botli U may not be necessary to ■cd either of these to the above mixture. Es pecially will this be the case if the land has been dressed pretty liberally with phosphates in preceding ycer... i < tash is, if anything, more import ’.:;. in growing vegetables than phosphates Q., Han klnzrllle, oa.. W bat U the best plant for THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION, ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY. DECEMBER 27,1587. winter and spring pastures In this section of conn- | lry ‘, . wlnt(;rs mild and our soil ra her light i and sandy, u e need something for stock in winter and early spring. lhere are two plants that will meet your de mands; Burr clover and Schrader's rescue grass, (Brown’s unialoides). They arc both annuals, and have to be seeded down in au tumn—but with proper management will seed themselves indefinitely. The burr clover is a native of southern Europe, but found its way to South America, and thence to California, and thence eastward, so that it is frequently called Calitornia clover. It grows rapidly in early spring, blooms, matures seed and dies by May. If grazed or mowed up to middle of April, and then left to itself, it will mature seed enough to reset itself tho next autumn. Tiio ground should be rich. No valuable plant will make rapid growth in cool weather on poor land. Schrader’s rescue grass seems to be a native of America, has been extensively cultivated in Australia and is sometimes called “Australian Oats”—the seed being quitelarge. This is a very popular grass in Texas and Louisiana, and sparingly cultivated elsewhere in the southern states. It is better adapted to the lower portion of the cotton belt than tho middle or northern portions, though we have seen it growing finely in the vicinity of Atlanta on very rick land. If you will sow this grass on rich land we think it will meet your wants very admirably. In your locality the summer grasses afford good grazing by the middle of April, and if the Schrader is left un disturbed after that date, it will mature seed. When young this grass is very sweet and ten der; as it gets old it loses these qualities, and is not then relished by stock. As the seed are large as much as two bushels should be sown on an acre. In your mild climate, both bailey and rye might be advantageously used for the purpose you indicate. We are now cutting green barley every*day for stock as far north as Athens. Rich ground and early sowing is the secret. It is very hard on stock to keep them entirely on dry food from October to May; there is no necessity for it. There are not more than three months in midwinter when stock need be ent off from a fair supply of green food. AV. T. N. Rutledge, Ga.: What is the matter with, and what will cure hogs, that dance up and down on their hind logs, and after a fewmiun'ei tie or fall dov. n. There are several in this neigh borhood affected thus. It is probably some affection of the spinal cord in the region of the loin or hip. The nerves which regulate the muscular action in the hind legs come out from the spine at tho point mentioned, and any disease or trouble in the spine at that point causes irregular muscu lar action. Stringhalt in a horse is an illustra tion. Trouble in the spine may originate in the spinal cord itself, or may begin in organs near to it and be transferred to it. Disease of the kidney, for instance, may thus affect tho spine. lu any caso counter-irritation along the back in the region of tho loins is indi cated. Rub well with a strong turpentine ointment. As kidney troubles often come from worms, it would bo well also to give a teaspoonful of turpentine to each animal every other day for a week or two. Subscriber, A'erona, Hiss.: I have eight or ten acres of bottom land that I wish to sow “in clover. It will make fifteen or twenty bushels com per acre. Was n peas this year, broadcast, and mowed for hay. Ho you suppose I could get a catch without fertilizing'? If not, what kind would you suggest, and how much per acre? My idea Is to sow early in February or March, and after the clover is up give it a dressing of cotton-seed meal to enable the young clover to get over the first drought, when it will be deeply-rooted. The land is little inclined to be saudy. but same kind of land here brings fine clover when rich. It would bo safer to apply some manure be fore sowing the clover. .When clover first comes up. it is quite delicate and very de pendent upon tho immediate surface soil for its food. The small seed contain very little nourishment for the seeding; it must forage at once upon outside sources. Now a sandy soil does not hold plant food very well. The lat ter tends to sink down in it. Hence ths sur face is urually poorer even than the lower soil. Making the surface soil rich is the first step, therefore, toward starting a crop of clover. After its long roots have had time to descend and tap the subsoil it is more independent of tho surface soil. If sown with grass it can then give up the surface soil to the shallow rooted grass, and draw its supplies from the subsoil almost exclusively. Your proposed dressing of cotton seed meal will be too late to assist the young plants in ther first strug gle for existence. Let tho food be in the soil before hand, and ready for the first root that that comes out. The young plant will thus start out strong and vigorous, will send its roots out promptly, and reach the subsoil and become well established before the heat of summer. A dressing of cotton seed meal, harrowed in some weeks before, instead of after, the sowing of the clover would be pro per. It will need a little time to rot and yield up its food contents. It will do this better covered up in the soil than if exposed on the surface. If you can set some ashes apply them to the land before sowig tho clover. There is no better manure for clover than ashes. Twenty to fifty bushels to an acre may be ap plied. If you cannot get ashes apply one hundred pounds of kainit per acre with the meal. As stated before, apply all some weeks in advance of sowing the clover, and harrow in well. After the clover shows its third leaf, top dress with plaster, one hundred pounds per acre. This sometimes produces wonder fully good effects: sometimes it disappoints. You may be able to learn from some of your neighbors whether it prouuces good results on same kind of land. S. J. 8 , Silver City, Ga.: 1. I have an open woods lot and wish to sow in grasses for pasture. It has a rich, black, sandy soil, with red elay subsoil. I aim to sow in orchard grass and would like to mix some o'.her gnu or clover withit. What do you think would be host, and in what proportion should the seed be mixed? 2. How should the land be prepared, and when sowed'? Should oats be sown with grasses? 3. Will it pay to raise chufas for hogs? Ist. In sowing grasses for hay, it is impor tant to put together those that mature or ripen at the same time. All are then ready to cut, when one is. But for grazing purposes, varieties that mature in succession are prefera ble. AVhen tiie most forward is about exhaust ed, another is at its prime, and thus continuous grazing is secured. Another principle comes in. A plant of one variety interferes with its fellow of the same kind more than with one of a different variety. Two different grasses occupying tho same area will pro duce more herbage, than one variety with un divided occupancy. A mixture of grasses is, therefore, always desirable, and in case of i grazing lots a mixture of such will mature in J succession. Orchard grass is early, but blue grass Is earlier. If it could be raised readily Irotn tho seed wc should advise the sowing of some Texas blue grass. But as it is difficult of propagation except through “sets,” wc suggest Kentucky blue grass instead. It is earliest of all. Next, orchard and tall meadow oat, and last red top or herds grass. Sow one bushel each of blue and herds grass and two bushels each of orchard and oat grass per acre. This would bo regarded heavy seeding by many, but it is not too heavy. It is true economy to seed heavily. Red clover Is the only clover suitable for sowing with above grasses; but it had better be left out. At first clover overshadows the grasses and smothers them; in a couple of years tho clover will die out and leave the land to the grasses, but they will be spotted, having been killed out in spots by the clover. It the clover was sown alone, and at the end of the second year the land was pl. w d and prepared for gra s, it would be in most excellent condition for grass. No better preparation for this crop can be had than a good clover sod. 2d. As tho grass will occupy the land for many years, and the plow can never disturb it whilst the grass is in possession, preparation shouldjbe very thor ough. As a good Stand of grass is largely de pendent upon a rich surface soil, it is not ad visable to turn the land deeply, but it should bo deeply broken. A subsoil should fol low tho turner, or else a twe-horso scooter should be used. After breaking the roller and harrow should follow each other alternately until the soil is brought into finest tilth. It is well to do this some weeks in advance of sow ing tho seed, so that rain may settle the soil a little. AVhen ready to sow, if tho soil has been compacted by rain, run a barrow over be fore sowing the seed, and cover seed by follow ing with roller. Grass seed will bear only the lightest covering. September is the best month for sowing gruss, if the weather is not dry. The first of March tho next best time. It is better not to sow oats or any other grain with the grass. 3d. In tho lower section of tho state, where the soil is light and the clutfa grows finely, it is favorably regarded as a hog crop. AA r o are doubtful of its being a paying crop in the clay soil regions. ■—- • AMONG THE FARMERS. From the Cumming, Ga., Clarion. H. G. Whittaker,of Vickery's Creek dis! ri t killed two hogs ou the Sth Instant that netted 700 pounds; aged 17 mouths and 22 days. From the Lithonia, Ga., Era. Mr. Jacob Braswell, one of our most prosperous farmers, killed an IS-montlis-o'.d pig recently that balanced the scales at 410 peunds net, and from which he Saved 84 pounds of lard. From the Jackson, Go., Herald. A number of the most successful farmers of this county have quit using guano in any quantity. They otter a good argument in words and in crops against commercial fertilizers. Every fanner could easily test the question c n his own farm, and it is his duty to s >. From the Spr n;Place, Ga., Times. Rev. M. M. I'ates has gathered 1,950 pounds of seed cotton ofi of one acre of soil, and without guano this season. From the Gainesville, Ga , Eagle. A Mr. I.eadford, who liasbeeq farming this year on tlie Merritt place, five miles south of this city, mad.? witii one horse el ven bales of cotton, weigh ing 495 pounds each, besides a tine crop of supplies. From the Lexington, Ga., Echo. Mr. William Eberhart tested several kinds of cotton tliis year, endeavoring to get the best. Here is his tost: 214 pounds Stone made 64 pounds lint; 218 pounds Black Seed mode 71 pounds; 200 pounds Royal Arch made 65 pounds; 211 pounds Jilllard made 76 noun Is; 2 8 pounds 1“ .‘lerkln made 85Ja pounds. Area planted two-elevenths of an acre. From the Hartwell, G i., Sun. Four years ago a relative of Mr. S. V. Brown sent him from Texas six cotton seed. Mr. Brown planted them. Four came up and two died, leaving only two stalks, which were given his entire atten tion. This year as a result from the increase of two seed from four years’ planting. Mr. Brown gathered 1,797 pounds of seed cotton, from which lie realized something over 70 ) pounds of lint of line staple. BIRDS AM) BEAST. Condors Attacking and Devouring a Wild Ox on the Plains. From the Hartford Times. Darwin, while watching long tlie lefty flight of the Limm jrgeier’s American cousin, the condor, In its great circling sweep at enormous altitudes above the Chilian plains, wondered at the bird’s power of thus sailing hour after hour in those great sweeping circles without any apparent motion of the cU’spread wings. He arrived at the probably correct solution of the puzzle—a puzzle which has Bothered a good many other observers in watching tht spiral flight of the eagle and the ted-tuiled haw k The extended wings gave not a single flap, but seemed to form the fulcrum on which the movc mentsof the rest of the great bird—his neck, body and tail—acted. “If the bird ws' el to descend, the wings were for u moment collapsed; and when again expanded, with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady movements of a paper kite.” There Is something attractive in such a spectacle. The condor is known to soar far above the loftiest peaks of tlie Andos, which Hft ti e r snowy tops to elevations four miles above the sea; indeed it is known to rise six miles in vertical height—far above all ordinary clouds—and there, in that rarified re gion, in which human life could not exist, bis eagle eye surveys the world below in search of his prey, and finds in those silent spaces of the sky his native air. That a company of three or four condors can. and actually have, more than once, run down and killed one of the wild cattle of the pampas, first blinding the animal by destroying its sight, before kilting him and dining oil’ his carcass, is a fact which is said to have been witnessed by those who ave related the story. Why the Horne Shed Annually are Seldom Found by Hunters. From the Knowledge Box. At the last meeting of tho Biological socielj® Dr. C. A. White read a paper “On the Rapid Disap pearance of the She 1 Antlers of the Cervid-u” that called out considerable discussion. “Every hun ter," and naturalist,” said Dr. White, “is well aware that although the cervicce shed their horns annually, the number of shed horns, even in the most imperfect condition of preservation, which are ever discovered, bear no comparison with the number that must annually be dropped upon the ground in the regions where those animals live. It Is also well known that the horns of these ani mals killed before the time of she filing may be ex posed to the weather fir years without matt ral change. In some portions .of the western part of of our national domain deer and eIK are, or have been, so numerous that if their shed horns were not destroyed by some special agency, we ought, in view of their hard, bony character, to expect to find them in immense numbers and in a fairly good condi tion. In a late conversation at La e io, Tex., with Captain J. IT. Smith. Nineteenth Infantry, United States’army, upon this subject, he Informed me that he had discovered the agent of destruction of shed horns, which his presence in the game country of the western territories at the time of shedding ena bled him to do to his own entire satisfaction. This agent, he says, is the larvae of a small insect, which attacks the born as soon as it falls, and destroys it by burrowing into its substance He says that he has often observed this, and lu Bolt lined numer ous specimens at such times which were perfectly “riddled” by the larva-, until the horns were ready to fall to pieces almost by their own weight. “Although I have spent much time in regions where the cervidm were abundant, I have never been there afthe time of the shedding of their l orn® I cannot, therefore, either affirm or deny the observation of Ci p ain Smith, but I can join in the expressions of surprise which I have often heard, that so few shed horns should be discovered, even where deer and elk are very abundant. The shed horns seem to be equally rare at the high and low elevations, and at high and low latitudes; that is, within a wide range of climate and temperature. If Captain Smith is correct in his observations for tl.e region where be made them there must be more than one species of insect concerned in the destruc tion of the horns of tho cervldu*, because it is not to be expected that any one species could have the full range of climate and wide geological distribution which that family of mammals has.” A Fearful Fight Between Two Bull Reptiles Near Pomona. From the Pan Francisco Examiner. “Talking about centipedes, tarantulas and all the poisonous bugs and reptiles that infest tho southern deserts,” said Henry-<’armello of Pomona at the Grand yesterday, “I never did Seo so many things of this sort as I did late one evening just cast of Pomona, in L<»s Angelos county, last August. It b ata anything I ever read about. M.ym If and three or four others had been fishing. Wu were passing over the handy plain? where small vineyards here and there dotted tho surface. Suddenly, as wo drove along, ono of the buys uttered an excla mation of surprise and let bis gun go at some thing. Then he leaped out, and crack went his gun again, na though straight into the ground. Again he shot, and, to our exclamation of sur prise—for we could not divine what he was shooting at—said: “ ‘Why, there! Don’t you see! Tarantulas!’ “And, sure enough, there they were, thick and fast upon the ground, crawling hither and > thither, as though an army of them were loose, and devesting the country. Now, this w»ui>dg to you like a fish story, but it is true. That section was just swarming with these poison ous reptiles. Every ono of us began firing We shot and shot, and must have killed scores of them. Then, by deftly using some sticks we had, we got about sixty of them into a bucket. Fight? You just ought to have seen them. At first they wouldn’t fight. We put two or TWO FOR ONH I The Southern Cultivator 5 Atlanta Weekly Coiistitnta O3XTKS YEAH FOR. 51.60 ! A Complete Library of Agricultural Knowledge, Household Hints and General News Topical Secured by this unequalled Combination. THE LEADING AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AND THE GREAT FAMILY WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ARfl( HERE PLACED WITHIN THE REACH OF EVERY ONE. SUBSCRIBE AT ONCE AND GET THE FULL BENEFIT OF THIS UNPRECEDENTED AND LIBERAL REDUCTION. Single subscriptions to THE CULTIVATOR will hereafter be and to any present subscriber to the Conntilution wishing! the benefits of this Combination, we will send THE CULTIVATOR one year for SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS, if ordered before April next.. Just think, for a moment, that tho price of The Cultivator alone was SI. 50, and now it is offered with ono of the largest, handsomestand besM fi l , m,l X wc ? k „ l y newspapers in the country Tor advance of only ten cents oil tho old rnto of subscription, which was always considered liberal. Tho floral World, for December, says on this point: “J he Boutuebn Cultivator comes Io bur table a Marvel of Beauty in appearance and a I’m aeon of Excellence in contents. It is ono of tho best, and considering sire and amount of contents tho e/icopzuf monthly published for farm readers. Every number contains a score of conspicuous departments, ably edited and contributed to by practical specialists.” , -on J® corroboration of the above, look nt tho following grand array of contributors during the past year, and be assured that The Cultivator foe 1888 will show a larger and more attractive corps of able writer?: Scientific FfH’ITl TnntrA Bedding, .!. 8. Newman, Daniel Leo, F. A. Gulley, B. W. Hilgard, J. W. Glonn. W. 11. Yeomans, J. E. ociernmc r arm I opics. py n (t M w Philips, J. 11. Wilson, 11. N S/arnes, J. Al Stahl. Bryan Tyson. J. W. A. Wright, FranciS Wyntt. Prartina! Farininn li?" n • Aloultree, Jcfl. welborn, J. M. Gninos, S. G. Robertson, D. D. T.Moore. W. L. Scruggs, Charles T. rrauiioal r arming. -Thomas, J. B. Stephens. C. Mcnolas, Eden Taylor. M. U. Zellner, J. 11. Alexander, E. E. McGehee, Herbert Post, John ) r. Jones, J. D. Twiggs. J. B. Stokes. Live Stock sict5 ic t feter & J T : M * stuhl » AV * r * Miller, J. W. Street, S. W. Warfield, W. B. Schrader, G. A. Hoerlo, G. Camcrcr, Robert E. vivvrA. Park, George E. Brown. Poultry Department.} p r ‘est u?° er * Hale, Howell Cobb, Mrs. R. A. Alexander. J. L. Robertson, D. M. Owen, Sid Conger, George A. Horticultural Department. Mims, J. Fitz, A.M. Howell, Mrs. J. S. R. Thomson, Win. P. Neeld, Wm. 11. Lyon, Bee Culture.} J Brown, J. B. Mitchell, J. M. Jenkins. Household Tcnics M u da Hetnur, Mrs. E. R. Tenncnt, Bessie M. Lackey, Margin Willie, Comfort Marshall. Lnov V. S. KingJ luiiuviiiuu i J Mattie M illiamson, Amelia Thropp, Bettie Hearthstone, Emma C. Stout, “The Doctor’s Wife,” Mrs. Mel. R Colquitt/ gar In this large corps of writers will bo found the names of Professors of Agricultural Colleges and Directors of Experiment Stations; scientific farmers and noted stock breeders; old and experienced practical farmers; well-posted bee culturists and fruit growers; gifted women whose pons can indite poetry and fiction as well ns treat of household topics; in fact the list runs from tho astute mid learned teacher of agricultunil science, to tho plain and practical farmer in the field. Every topic pertaining to farm life and household economy is discussed by these writers from their own obser vations or experiences, and always with profit and interest to 'The Cultivator renders. InnilirV Dftnarfmfint Steady growth of this well-established department has surprised nnd pleased tho publishers of The Cultivator, as 4 . n . / . „ lt sbowshow necessary such information as it dispenses is to the great mass of farmers. The some gifted and ready pen that writes Thoughts for the Month, promptly and instructively responds each month to tho inquiries which .‘ome from subscribers in all parts of thd country, and cover every phase and feature of farming, stock breeding, poultry raising, fruit growing, bee culture, etc. 'lbis departuient alone, liko 1 noughts for tho Month/ is worth more than five years’ subscription in tho twelve months to any progressive farmer. ThoUClhtS for tho Month al ? v,, y q important feature in The Cultivator lopes none of its interest by repetition, ns each year bring ncwl x 1 ,y. A , , viiiii. seeds, improved methods of cultivation and labor-saving implements. This requires new suggestions, mere’ helpful hints and practical observations. In the hands of n thoroughly cultivated writer a practical farmer from his youth up, and an eminentofiicial authority on all agricultural subjects, this valuable department has grown in interest and usefulness, and any farmer can now safely take it as his iruido for farming operations during the month of which it treats. SPFC’IAI. OFFER FOR C'LVIIS. b Samp/esoiffree. THE CULTIVATOR PUBLISHING CO., Drawer 8, Atlanta, Ga. three together and tried to agg them on. No go. They seemed slow about beginning to use the poison on each other. Then we put in some more and began stirring them up with a stick. You ought to have scon them launch into each other. The more wo put in the more they fought, until when we had put in tho three score 1 have told you about, and had the buck et half full, wo had just a wreathing mass of poison. Sting and light 1 My land, how they did do it, though. They kept it up for quite a long time, until wc got tired lookingand watch ing them. Tlu? little ones died the soonest, and sunk to the bottom amidst a mass of blood, while the old and big ones stayed on top. “At length two old bull tarantulas held the field. All else had sunk down. These were two veritable Napoleons. Fight? You ought to have seen tho blood fly now. Such awful and vindictive thrusts, and such merciless bel ligerents I shall never see again if I live a thousand years. Tho battle lasted about five minutes more, and then they went down to gether. Which was the stronger, more endu ring or gamier it would bo hard to to say. When they got through wo just had a bucket ful of dead spiders. That was all.” Two Men Iloost High, Out of Respect for a Lion. From the San Bernardino Courier. C. H. Wilkins and Edward Somers lived I t the Wlsite Camp, San Antonio canon. Re turning to their houses about the time of the midnight that was the dividing line between tho 19th and 20th of tho present month, they Were very disagreeably surprised to see, by the light of their lanterns, a mountain lion in the act of going under tho building. Having no arms with them, and knowing that tho floor of their domicile was a flimsy affair, and could easily ho torn to pieces by tho danger ous animal, they considered a tree near by their only refuge, and upon such considera tion, they climbed the tree with tho dexterity which frequently accompanies danger. Com fortably ensconced among tho boughs, they spent tlie night, waiting for tho daylight. It came, but it placed the occupants of tho tree in even a more dangerous predicament than before. The lion still possessed the premises, and to descend would place those who might injudiciously attempt a descent in danger of being eaten bodily. At about noon Colonel Hopkins, Dave Wixom, Mrs. Van Clive and Miss Eva Goodrich appeared on tho scene in a carriage. When informed by tho dwellers among tho branches of the state of affairs, Mr. Wixom killed tho lion with a ball from a rifle, and announced that tho gentlemen might de scend in safety. Ed. Huch is now tanning the hide of the animal, which will bo presented to a gentleman well known in this city. Sense of Smell In Ilogs. Mr. George J. Romanes has communicated to tne Linnean society the results of a series of ex periments, made by him, to test tho strength and acuteness of the sense of smell in dogs. The paper is rej Tinted in Nature, and will lie found of interest and value, He cites the case of a terrier, who could not Ire thrown off bls master's track upon the pat e mentof Regent’s park, although this track was crossed and recrossecl by hundreds of fresher ones, and by thousands that were not so fresh. To make a test with a setter, the master had his men in In dian file, and the gamekeeper brought up the rear of the line. Each man placed his feet in the foot prints of his predecessor. The master's scent was most overlaid, that of tVo g: m keeper was freshest. When they bad gone 200 yards the master turned to the right, followed by five of the men, the other six turned to the left, keeping their usual order. The setter followed the common track with such <»;erness as to over shoot tho point of divergence, but quickly regain ing this point chose at once the track to the right. The master and a stranger to the d< g exchanged bools, and then went different ways. The setter fol lowed its master's boots, and found the stranger. When the master and stranger walked the park with bare feet, the setter followed its master's trail, but not with the eagerness with which lit followed tho trull of his boots. When he walked in new shooting boots the set ter would not follow. The master glue<l a single thickness of brown pa- I«r to the soles and sides of his old Bhioting-boots. The setter did not take the trail, until It came to a point where the paper, having worn away, the sole of one heel touched tie ground. Thou the dog rec ognized the trail at once. Walking In new cotton socks left no trull that the setter could follow; in woolen seeks that h-id been worn a day, the troll was followed, but not eagerly. The master walked lift}- yards in hia shootlng -1.0 4-, then kicked them off and carried them with him, while he walked In stockings 300 yards, then he took ol! hls stoci.l r;s, and walked another 300 yards barefoot. When the settler was put upon the track at the outset, it followed with usual eagerness, and kept up the putsull through the whole distance. Accompanied by a stranger to the dog, the master rode out along a carriage way, several hundred yards from the house, then he alighted and walked in his shooting boots 50 yards beside the carriage. Ho then entered the carriage and bbt friend got out and walked 500 yards along the way. Tho setter ran the whole 250 yanls at lull speed, without mak ing any pausa at tho point where tho scent changed. The muster walked in his ordinary shooting boots, having first soaked them in oil of anise seed. Al though the odor of the anise seed was so strong as to be i ercelved by a fri< nd an hour after the trail was rn".de, the dog followed the truck of Its master, thus disguised, with usual S|ac<l, after having examined tho first three or four steps carefully. Other experiments tested the power of scent through the ar. The master walked down a tram pled field, by a zigzag course, for a quarter of a mile then turned one side, got over a alone wall, and walked ba' k toward the house. The stone wall was bmast high and atrout HXI yards to the windward or bls'-onrse down the fi‘ ld. The <fi>g taking the t ai at the top of the field, followed rapidly its master 1 winding course. The moment It gained tha “wind's eye” of the place when: he was Mending, with only hie eyes above the to? of the wall, the d?»g threw up lu head, turned from the track it was following and went straight to Its Owner. And yet there were at the time several overheated laborerere near It In the field. Backache is almost Immediately'reieved by wearing one of Carter’s Smart Weed and Bel jadonna Backache Plasters. Try one and be ,ree from pain. Price 2S cents. A BIT OF HISTORY. Jackson’s Flank Movement at Chancellorsville. WHO ORIGINATED THE STRATEGY. Editors Constitution :-I was very much inti rested in the account of the “Last official Inter view hot we n ami Jackson,’’which you published this morning, written by Captain Carlton McCarthy in the Richn o id Critic. It very conclusively shows that the great flank movement which resulted In the defeat of 11< oker originated with Lee, and not (aa han been popularly supposed) with Jackson. In General A. L. Long’s Life of Leo, he published a letter from the gallant and accomplished engineer < fib er, Colonel T. M. K. Talcott, (who by the way is soon to become a citizen of Atlanta) in which he gives the following deeply Interesting account of that historic interview. Colonel Talcott says: “My recollections of tiio night before tire battle of Chaneellorsvil’.e nre as followed: “About simsei G neral Jackson sent word to Gen eral Lee (by mejthat his a Ivauoe was checked, and the enemy were in force at Chancollorsville. This brought General Lee to the front, and General Jack son met him at the southeast angle of the Chan cellorsville and Cathrene Forge road. “Gene:al Lee asked General Jackson if ho had ascertained the positic n and stiength of the enemy on our left, to which Gene al Jackson replied by stating the result of an attack made by Stewart s cavalry near Cathrene Forge about dusk. The posi tion of the enemy Immediately In front was then discussed, and Captain Boswell and myself were sent to make a moonlight reconnoisince. the result of which was reported about (10 p. in., and was not favorable to an atack in front. “At this time Generals Lee and Jackson were to gether, and Lee, who bad a map before him. asked Jackson, ‘how can weg<t at these people?’ To Whi< h Jackson replied,in en'cct/you know’ best.’ show me what to d » and L will do it.’ General Lee looked thoughtfully nt the map; then indicated on it and explained the movement ho desired Gen eral Jackson to make; and closed by saying: ’Gen eral Stuirt will cover your movement with his cav alry.’ General Jackson listened attentively, and his face lighted up with a smile while <General Lee was speaking. Then rising and touching his cap, he said: ‘Mv troops will move at four o’clock.’ “ Colonel Charles Marshall, who was at the time Lee’s military secretary, gives a graphic and lute esting account of either the same intei view or of another the same evening, os that given above by Colonel Talcott, and I quote Colonel Marshall’s ac count as given in General Fitzhugh Lee’s superb address on Chancellorsville before the Army of Northern Virginia asaociation. ••Ah! what an earnest talk. lajo and Jackson bud on the night olMuy l-t. Ai sunset they took their seats on a log, on tiio right or north >IOO of the plank road, and a little distance in the woods. Colonel Marshall, thejwell known nid-de camp of General Lee, was the only other person present, having bei n ordered to come to the spot for the Otose of writing a letter to Mr. Davis, dictated by eral Leo. Marshall sat on (the end|of a fallen treeMvithin three feet of the two generals, ana heairl every word that passed between them, and this is what he tells me Lee and Jackson talked about on that eventful night. Jackson spoke to General Lee about what ho had seen and heard dining the advance, ami commented upon the promptness with which the enemy bud appeared to abandon his movement towards Fredericksburg when opposed, ami the case with which l.p had been driven buck Ito Chancellorsville, and concluded by expressing tne opinion very decidedly and re [>ettting it more than once, that the enemy would recross tbo Rappahannock before morning. He said in .‘ubstancc: ‘By tomorrow morning there will not be any of them this side of the river.’ Gen eral Lee expressed the hope that General Jackson’s exncctaiions might b > realize <l, but said,‘that he d a not look for such a result; that he did not b d eve the enemy would abandon his attempts so easily, and expressed the conviction that the main body of <i< neral Hooker's army was in his front, and that the real move was to bo made from this di rection. and not from Fredericks on rg. On this point tncre was a great difference of opinion among our higher officers, and General Lee whs the only one who seemed to have the absolute conviction that the real nittyj of the federal army was the one he was meeting then. In this belief bo never waverod from the first. After telling General Jackson that the hoped his opinion might be proved to be correct General Lee aaded: “But, general, wc must get ready to attack the enemy, if we should find him h< re tomorrow, and yon must make all arrangements to move around his right flank.” d Dr. Bled oe, who was then editor of the Southern Ceview, hi d written to General Lee asking him the hired question, whether the flank mosementat Rhancellorsville originated with Jackson or with imsulf, and in reply General Lee wrote the folio ty ing letter, which settles the question beyond all controversy: “Lexi.kotoN. Vb., October 28, 1867.- Dr. A. T. Bledsoe, office Southern Review: Bal timore, Md.—My Dear Sir: In reply to your inquiry, I meat acknowledge that I have not read the article on Chancellorsville in the last number of the Southern Review, nor have 1 read any of the books published on either side since tl.e termination of hostilities. A have, as yet, felt no desire to revive my recollections of those events, ami have been satisfied with the knowledge posse sed of what transpired. I have, however, learned from others that the various nu thors of the life of Jackson, award t/> him the cr< dit of the success gained by the anny of northern Virginia, where he was present nnd ckacribe the movements of bis corps or ( ommand as imlcn-nd ent of the general plan of operations, and under taken at hh own suggestion, and upon his own responsibility. 'u have the greatest reluctance to do anything that might be considered detracting from his well d" erv< I fame, for 1 believe no one was more con vince! of Ids worth or appreciated him more highly than myself; yet your knowledge of military afiairs, if you have none of the events themselves, will tench you that tills could not have been so. J.v< ry moveim nt of an army must he well considered and properly ordend, ami everyone who knew General Jackson must know that he. was t gool a soldier to violate tliis fundainentn! nrineiple. In the oper ations around Chance Horsvilie J overtook General Jackson, who had i/ cn placed in cornu audof the advance, aa the skirmishers of the appioachlng arnifcs met, advum < d with the trom s to the federal lino of defences, and was on the fl-ld until their whole army n crossed the R ippahaiio< k. “T. e v is no question as tojwho was responsible foa the operations of the confederal s, or to whom any failure would have been charged. “What 1 have said Ls for your own information. “Witii my Let wi-bes lor the success of the Sou th em Review, ami for your own welfare, in but > of which J take a lively interest, “1 nin, with great resjH'Ct. your friend and servant, R. I . Lee.’ I It is due to the memory and lame of Ixe thut the fact* given above should be brought out—that his true character as a soldier should be clcariy por trayed—and that tlie world should know that so far from being “s’.ow and cautious” (us General Grant said he was/, ho whs not one whit behind even “fltonewall” Jackson in the boldness of his conceptions, and the rapidity of his execution, that President Jes ferson Davis was not wrong in his estimate when he said: "Izi would attempt anything that man might dare.” And yet lu this w* would dishonor the memory of Leo If we should disparage in any way his great lieutenant—“ Stonewall” Jackson—whom he cnlhil his ‘right arm,” and to whom he wrote wiiviy he was str can down nt < Uinncellorsvilio: “Could fa have dictated events I should have ch< s. n for th® g')od of the country to nave been disabled in your stead.” I had thoprivilege once of hearing Gen*, end Leo, Ih his office In Lexington, pronounce a glowing eulogy on Jackson, in winch he «al<l with far more than his ftccv;gtomo<| warmth of feeling: “110 never failed inc. Why, if u had had Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg I should) have won that battle, and if I had won a decidedl victory there wo would have established the Indc-i pendonce of the confederacy.” It was on the other hand beautiful to sec hows Jackson re< iproeated Lee's high opinion, lie soidJ “General Lee is a phenomenon. He is the only mniv whom 1 would be willing to follow blindfoido i.’*j And it was glorious to see the cheerful alacrity, tins Spendiiul skdl and the terrtiic energy with whiqly he executed the orders, or even the slightest wish oi his chief. Lee and Jackson were indectf lar nobile fratrum. “Lovely in their lives, in thefn death, they were not divided,’’ but sleeping side* by) side in “Lexington in the valley of Virginia.’' thru live together in the hearts of a grateful people, thefts fame is forever linked together, and their pura spirits ' a>k together in the sunlight oi that brighlerJ better land, where “war’s rude alarms” are never heard. J. Wm. Jo>e,. Atlanta, December 10,1«*7. SOUJBWEBT GEORGIA GRASS Uns More Money In it Than the Snnw Area of Colton. From the Camilla, Ga., Clarion. J The editor of the Clarion knows something about stock and something about southwesl Georgia and other parts of the world. lie has baldly assorted again and again that stock! raising can bo made as profitable hero as any* where. A beginning has been made. Colo* nel Kain Balter, of Dougherty county, in about the only one within our knowledge who Etho necessary attention to the business.' week he sola eight horses ranging fron] one year to four years old; all of which, ex* cept one, were foaled on his Mud creek farfri«| They brought him $4,500. A sucking colt waM. sold for SSOO. ! The purchasers were from Virginia, one oi them Mr. Scales, the son of Governor Scales] of North Carolina. They know all about stock raising. They met with Mr. Salter nil the Piedmont fair, and have been reading the Albany pamphlet. They were astonished t<j find a country so well adapted to stock raising as Dougherty county. They had visited KciU tucky and liked the condition of Mr. Halter’ll stock, raised mostly on native grasses, bettei than any found in the blue gruss regions. O course these high prices were for thoroughbred stock. But what Sain Salter has done, othci people tan do. The Clarion is indebted to th([ Albany News and Advertiser for these inter J ysting facts, ami calls special attention to the incident as told by our esteemed neighbor: “One most striking occurrem o. which deeply im« prcßHt <1 the minds of these gentlemen, was prefer*' cm e shown Georgia cured nav by the stock. Tha question of hay being under discussion, Mr. SaUej walked to his barns, and throwing open the doors exhibited large quantities of bright, sweet hay. disci a slon of the relative qualities of the western and Georgia hay ensured, when give an ooylaß demons! ration of the decided prefe* mce oi horscif for the Georgia hay, M.. Falter had *, pile of Gecr4 f’ia ai d western hay thrown near together in the ot and turned his horses in. All of them, aftel nibbling around, settled on the Georgia hay, leav« lug tiie western almost untouched. 'Die furthefl fact no sowing of seed was iicc< ssiirv to raise haw upon our ground, but that nature had seeded (■ with native graces of the finest quality, was a revo« hition that was almost startling in its effect. days ,e st to which to/ I I'fn IXT I K< - t your name ia VJIIIV X Cllour Ghrlsmast bujfl J Sulmtllmj at oncOfS or renew, or get a new subscriber. In tciv days some one will get 8■’•00 In gold as a present. 11l may be YOH. Don t delay a day. Every name u[X to January Ist will go in the box. LETTERSFROMTIIE PEOPLE The Flying Dutchman. Foitohh Constitution: Please give the' original story of the "Flying Dutchman.” T. T. j This name Is given to u spectral ship which is slips posed to cruise in storms oil the Capo of Good a sight of her being considered the worst of all post slide omens. Bhe is distinguished from earthly ves*> sols by bearing a press of sail when all others ara unable, from stress of weather, to show an inch ol canvas. According to on< account, a Dutch cupp tain bound home trom the West Indies met witst 1 long-continued head winds and heavy weather the < ape and refused to put back, ns he was advised,’ swearing a very profane oath, that he would beat around that case if he had to do so until the day oi ■ Judgment. He was taken at bls word, and doomeil to b at against head winds all his days. are believed Ui have become thin and sere, hlsshlp’g sides white with age, and himself and crew redmed almost to shadows, lie cannot heave-to ora lower » tout, but sometimes balls vessels through his truing pct and requests them to lake letters home for him The Black Holo of Calcutta. Editors Constiti tion: What was tha "Black Hole” of Calcutta? 8. D. 8. Ti e mime given to a small and close dungeon in • Fort William. Calcutta, the wene of one of the mo t tragic events in the history of British India. I'poH the capture of the city by Bur«Jah Dowub, on Jui.a 20, 177), the Brii a garrison, con-lstlng of lb) men, being made prlsmem, were locked up at night in this io nn, only 18 feet square, and poorly ventilat ed, it having been built only for the purpose of holding two or three piisonera at a time. In tho morning, of the 116 imprisoned, only 23 were found alive. In the Annual it< gsb r for 1758, Is a narra. tlvooftho sufleiingsof those Imprisoned, written by Mr. Holwell, one of the number. Ihe "'Hails Hole” Is now used as a warehouse. Hobson's Choice. Editors Constitution: I’lease give tho origin of the expression, "Hobson’s Choice/’ Thomas Hobson was born in 17M; he was fogf sixty yean a carrier between London and Canto, bridge. England, conveying to and from the unft verslty letters and packages, also passengers. Jt» addition to hlsexpress business he hud a livery) stable and let horses to the university students. Hol made ft a rule that all the horses should have. ac> cording to ttielr ability, a proper division of work: and rest. They were taken out In regular order, aa, they stood, beginning with the one nearest that door. No choice was allowed, and If any man rw foxed hi hike the animal assigned him he might g& without any. That or none. Heuoe th.ipbraOSf "Hobson's choice.” 7