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420
THE SOUTHERN WORLD, OCTOBER 16,1884.
opened that he may hear/' she said as
the girl looked up inquiringly.
" Oh, I must hush then. I feared it
would disturb him/* she cried, rising
up from the piano.
“ No, sing on; it will not hurt him.
It will do him good,” protested the lady.
“Yes; I do not think it will disturb
him. Please play on, Miss Mary,”
urged his mother.
"Yes, and after singing for the others
you must not forget, mine. I want it
last. Ringon and I will go back to him,”
said Mrs. DeRaussure, turning to go.
His mother went with her, and in a mo
ment after the glorious melody came
floating in again. Not a whisper dis
turbed tbe sweetness until the strain
had hushed.
“ Mother, you have cheated me out of
three days of heaven,” he said, re
proachfully.
"Ah, three whole days—that is an
age—but I trust, my son, that there are
many more such in store for vou; that
your life will be filled with them,” re
plied tbe mother, forgetful of ihe lady’s
presence and stooping to kiss a loving
amen to the hope.
The son wondered a little at the unu
sual tenderness of his mother, but he
had never in his life doubted or ques
tioned he- goodness or her judgment.”
“Ah,” sighed Mrs. DeRaummre, “if
poor Prank had only had such a mother
to maneuver for his happiness, perhap®
his life would not have to be so empty.”
An interlude from Strains and then
the pathetic melody of “The Stream,”
floated in filling each heart with tender
gladness. Not a word was spoken—even
their breathing was whispered—while
the song lasted. Then after a tributary
hush of a moment, Mrs. D**8au«sure
arose and silently stole from the room.
“ Mother, tell me of her.”
“She is lovelier than she sings, and
she is more loveable than she is lovely,”
answered the mother.
(to bk continued.)
»»♦■»«
Agricultural Department
Planting Peach Trees.
Tbe time is near at hand for setting
out fruit trees, and the farmers should
make up their minds what they intend
to do in this direction the present fall.
It is worthy of remark, that the peach
crop has missed oftener than it has hit
for the last ten years. It may not he
difficult to find at least some reasons for
these repeated failures if we search in
the right direction. It will be remem
bered by most of the middle aged and
older men of Middle and Southwest
Georgia, that a failure of this crop
twenty-five years ago was an exception
to the rule.
We well remember that year after
year, (four, five and six years A succes
sion,) the crop of peaches was enjoyed
in the greatest perfection in quality, and
profusion in quantity. If we now con
eider that up to within a few years most
of the fruit trees in the country were
seedlings, grown from seeds carefully
selected by the farmer himself, from ap
proved varieties, the conclusion will ap
pear reasonable, that probably seedlings
are more hardy—better able to resist
frost and other agencies of destruction—
than trees produced by budding or graft
ing. It is sufficient for our present pur
pose, if it is probably true—as we have
reason to believe—that budded, and
other kinds of artificial trees, are more
subject to the effects of frost, than seed
lings. Why it is so? is a problem for
the nurserymen to solve. We will men
tion the fact, however, that is often ob
served by purchasers of fruit in Atlanta
and other cities, during a season that
has been more or less disastrous to the
peach crop: Most of the peaches
brought to market during such years are
evidently seedlings, and of very poor
quality at that. Such peaches are nan
ally offered by farmers who know very
little about fine fruit of any kind; but
at the same time they furnish at least
the suggestion that these “ old fogy ”
farmers, while the quality of their fruit
is not of the best, vet, they hate peachee
when the orcharde of the fancy fruit qrow
era have none. These old farmers have
held on to the same varieties, and prac
ticed the same methods of propagation
ifcat vre** ..current with their fathers,
with this difference, however: they have
permitted their orchards to go into de
cay and decrepitude from neglect of
proper culture. The result has been,
that the trees have cessed to produce
fruit of the same good quality as they
did when they were young and vigorous.
We doubt not that much of the really
inferior fruit, of which we have been
speaking, could boast a fine “pedigree”
if it could be traced back a generation;
and if the seeds of some of the most
promising should be “ planted in good
ground ” the results would be agreeably
surprising. Our own recollection goes
back to the time when most of tbe very
best peaches in the country were seed
lings, planted and cultivated, in many
cases, by men who knew nothing, prac
tically, about grafting and budding. In
the anxiety, we might say “craze” after
very early peaches, the old standard
sorts have been neglected—even by
nurserymen—for the sake of early and,
in very many cases, very poor apologies
for the luscious July and August toed
lings.
In starting an orchard of peaches it in
proper, and perhaps best, to prepare tbe
ground by thorough plowing and clear
ing it of all trees and stumps, and then
planting the stones or pits right where
♦he tree is permanently to grow. The
soil may be too rich for growing peaches,
hut oftener, it is too poor. A soil that is
too low and moist is sometimes said to
he too rich, when it is too moist. A
gravelly, well drained soil, if not too
poor, generally gives good results when
planted in peaches. In general, a soil
that is rather poor in vegetable matter,
but well supplied with inorganic ele
ments—lime, potash and phosphoric
acid—is the best for this fruit. But one
of tbe most important points to be ob
served, is to locate the orchard so that
it will be least liable to injury from
spring frosts. As already intimated,
this is not so important when strong
soedlings are planted; but even these
are liable to be killed, sometimes, and
every reasonable precaution should be
taken to insure exemption from this
great and most fatal enemy. It is a
matter of well nigh universal observa
tion, that comparatively elevated loca
lions are more or less exempt from the
effects of late spring frosts. It is often
the case that orchards in such locations
entirely escape, whilo trees in the same
neighborhood, or even in the same or
chard, are a total loss. It has been ob-
-orved that the fruit on one part of a
given tree has been destroyed, while
that on another part of the tree has e»
capedl Scientific men are pretty well
agreed as to the explanation of this
seeming paradox; but it is not necessary
to discuss it at this time. The general
and safe rule is, that the higher location
in more exempt from unseasonable frosts
than the lower. There is no doubt that
forests—even of very limited extent—
when lying on the north and west sides
oi the orchard, afford a most effectual
protection against frosts. It would be
an easy matter to test the comparative
merits of different localities on the farm
for fruit growing, with especial reference
to frost. Trees might be planted, here
and there, all over the farm, and thus
we may find out, by this crucial test,
just where to plant, or where not to
plant, an orchard.
Of late years the idea has obtained
foothold that peach trees are so subject
to the depredations of the borer, and are
so easy to renew, that it does not pay to
exercise care in preventing their attacks
This is not the result of our experience
in growing peaches. We have found
to pay to use considerable effort to keep
the trees in a healthful state, and protect
them as far as possible, from the borers,
We have had trees to produce good crops
for from ten to fifteen years.
As a rule, one-year-old trees are better
for planting than older trees if a long-
lived and healthy orchard is in view
but if early bearing if an object, two or
even three-year old trees may be plant-
Nurserymen invariably advise pur
chasers to take 1-year old trees; but
they just as uniformly charge more for
two-year old trees. They say that the
former are to be greatly preferred, that
they make better trees, etc., but strange
to say, th«y a->k more for tbe latter.
In selecting varieties, it is generally
best to rely on tbe judgment of tbe nur
seryman—if he be an honest and ex
perienced man—rath»r than what is said
in the books. It is also best to patronise
nursery which is located in the same
latitude, and on tbe same character of
soil as that of the orchard in which the
trees are to grow. Fruit tree peddlerp,
as a rule, are to be avoided, especially
those who claim to repjpsent distant
nurseries. R.
Crops In Tennessee.
Editor Southern World—Farmers
are gathering their crops and preparing
for wheat. Corn is good; a moderate
yield of cotton; as much sorghum as
can get made. S weet potatoes are prom
ising but have not been dug. An abun
dance of pea hay and very warm weather
for the first of October. There was
plenty of fruit this summer but peaches
rotted badly. The bugs eat up the
squash vines and then eat on the
ashes. We cannot raise winter
squashes on account of the bugs. Is
there no remedy? Pumpkins do well
enough. I have been readingthe South
ern World ever since its publication.
Some of my family tried silk raising,
introduced through one of its corres
pondents. This year I got a fruit evapo
rator (American) and saved several hun
dred pounds of dried fruit with it. Ap
ples, peaches, blackberries, corn, okra,
etc., all evaporated successfully. Am
interested in the letters and have been
looking for something practical about
gardening. Can you tell me what time
to put sulphur in cedars to kill bugs and
how much to use?
Geo. T. Williams.
Bell’s Depot, Tenn.
Written especially for the Southern World.]
Artificial Hatching:.
BY HELEN HABCOURT.
Then there is the raising of capons
an important branch of the poultry bus
iness that is too little appreciated in the
United States, and in which our poul
terera would do we’l to take a lesson
from the thrifty Frenchman.
Says Fannie Field in the Prairie Par
er: “Chicks hatched as late as the
middle of June will make fine capons
by the following March. After the
chicks have been caponized, you have
nothing more to do except to keep them
growing until the time comes to market
them. How much profit can one count
on? Well, we marketed during the
months of February and March about
|800 worth of capons, and we count $500
clear profit. We obtained from twenty
five to thirty-five cents a pound, accord
ing to size and quality. They weighed
from nine to twelve pounds each, dress
ed weight.”
So much for tbe profit of raising broil
ers and roasters—in other words, * ‘ chick
en flesh.”
Now there is another aspect of the
case that we have not yet looked into
and that is the egg from which all these
pounds of flesh are evolved,—just as we
all know—” great oaks from little acorns
grow.”
Eggs are a very important item of do
mestic economy, and how very emphati
cally this is the case, few people arc
aware.
Dnring the nine months ending in
June, 1883, no less than two hundred
thousand dozen eggs were brought into
the port of New York alone, Denmark
Germany aixd France being the chief ex
porters. They come packed in straw in
long cases, holding each one hundred
end twenty dozen.
The imported eggs have harder shells
and are smaller than the domestic, and
for the latter reason they sell for from
one to two cents a dozen less.
Two hundred thousand dozen eggs was
the number imported for the nine months
ending in June, 1883,—that waB bad
enough, but for the previous nine months
—up to June, 1882, the showing was
still worse for our farmers, for tbe value
of the eggs then imported amounted to
nearly two million dollars I
All this vast sum of money might just
as well have been kept at home to en
rich our own people. Even the govern
ment made nothing out of the importa
tion, for eggs are free of duty.
Here is a great leakage, and it should
he stopped, At this very moment it is
still going on, simply becau°e our farm
ers shut their eves blindl, to one of the
easiest, quickest and surest sources of
profit open to them.
Up to the present time, the only pe
riod when the supply of eggs is at all
adequate to the demand, is during the
summer months of July, August and
the early part of September, and this is
the case, even then, more because of
good luck than good management; in
other words,, because the hens on the
farms are then able to forage more buc-
cessfu'ly for themselves—insects and
fallen grains being abundant in the
fields, so that they are not wholly de
pendent on. food and care grudgingly
bestowed.;—
The dealers tell us that it will not be
ong, unless our farmers bestir them
selves, before not even Denmark, Ger
many and France will be able to supply
their shortdbmings on the egg question,
but the far-off “ Heathen Chinee “hens
will also be laid under contribution, for
the Chinese are a provident people, and
believe in chickens; no house or yard
or boat is too small to raiflr its Sock of
chickens. The voice oi tli«- lien is heard
all over the laud—and water.
And here is a fact worthy of notice:
These imported eggs, spite of long, risky
ourneys, heavy freights and commis
sions, pay the producers well. How
much more then should eggs pay the
farmer, who has no heavy expenses, and
gets a better price for his fresh, home
grown produce ?
It would pay handsomely to raise
chickens for their eggs alone, even if
there were no question of any other
value, and when we look at the magni
tude of the demand, it seems strange in
deed that an industry capable of such
wide Bcop*'. and large and quick profits,
should ' i bcor so long regarded
merely a iiciJent of farm life, rather
than a mai. <art of it, and quite as im
portant a branch, too, as raising corn
or cotton.
In these several papers the writer has
spoken out boldly in favor of one par
ticular hatcher and brooder, and in so
doing has spoken with the single pur
pose of saving the readers of tbe South
ern World from “vain imaginings,’’
and useless loss, in experimenting with
incubators which are placed on the mar
ket as “ catch pennies,” as the majority
are.
In endorsing the Perfect Hatcher and
Broader, we but follow the example s« t
by the leading poultry journals of tbe
world, and by hundreds of eminent fan
ciers who use them and no others. Over
a hundred first premiums and diplomas
also attest to the truth of the endorse
ment.
There is a saying that he is a public
benefactor who causes two blades of
grass to grow where only one grew before.
Is this less true of him who causes two
eggs to be laid where but one was
laid
before, or two pounds of flesh to 8 roW
where was but one?
the end.
• » • H-
Well backed up—the dromedary.