De Queen bee. [volume], September 03, 1897, Image 6

About De Queen bee. [volume] (De Queen, Ark.) 1897-current

Image provided by: Arkansas State Archives

                
DE QUEEN BEE.
EVANS & WINFORD, Proprietors.
DE QUEEN, - - - ARKANSAS.
THE WORLD AT LARGE.
Summary of the Daily News.
WASHINGTON NOTES.
Thk bureau of American republics
in Washington has just published a
handbook of Alaska, which contains
valuable information concerning the
new gold mining regions.
The reports of the federal mine in
spectors for the Indian territory show
that the coal output was 1,302,378 tons
for the last fiscal year for that place.
Thebe will be a novel department in
the new congressional library at Wash
ington when it is completed. It will
be a section solely for the blind, and
will have nothing in it but books with
raised letters.
President Go.mpf.rr, of the A. F. of
L., in an interview at W ashington on
the 26th, gave it as his opinion that
the coal miners’ strike would be ter
minated by the end of September and
that the settlement would be in favor
of the strikers.
In connection with the coining
French exposition Secretary of Agri
culture Wilson hopes to develop a plan
by which the breeding of horses for
use in the cavalry of European armies
will be encouraged in America, the de
mand for horses for army use being
very great in Europe.
The United States fish commission
will soon distribute a ear load of young
sters from the Illinois fish station at
Quincy to various points in Kansas.
When this has been attended to a sup
ply will be taken from the station at
Neosho and deposited in private waters
in Missouri. Each station will be
drawn upon for upwards of 100,000
fishes, consisting of rainbow trout,
rock bass, black bass ami croppie.
GENERAL NEWS.
Harry (’. Stone, the veteran man
ager of the Patterson opera house at
New York, became ill and was forced
to go to his home on the banks of the
Passaic river, and by his opportune '
arrival he saved his three daughters
from drowning. The girls had gone
out for a row on t he river and the boat \
had upset.
Gen. Az.iarraga, the Spanish pre-|
mier, announced at a recent cabinet
meeting, that the government would
follow the policy of the late premier,
Canova* del Ostillo, and it had the
greatest confidence in Gen. Weyler's
management of affairs in Cuba.
At Nashville, Tenn., Carl French, of
Indianapolis, Ind., and Miss Helen
Hunter, of Nashville, leaped from a
precipice at Sunset park, falling 160
feet to instant death. They were lov
ers and Miss Hunter's parents objected
to their marriage.
The Woman’s Relief corps at Buffalo, |
N. Y., on the 27th elected Mrs. Sarah
J. Martin, of Missouri, president, and j
Mrs. Robert F. Atkins, of Buffalo, •
senior vice president. Mrs. Kate
Jones, of Vermont, was chosen junior
vice president, Mrs. Belle T. Bagley 1
was re-elected treasure!’.
. Twenty detectives, who are well ac- |
quninted with the anarchists of Barce- J
lofia and other places, are watching |
over and protecting the queen regent i
of Spain, as the government has learned
that the anarchists of London have re- i
solved to assassinate her majesty to
avenge the execution of the murderer i
of Premier Panovas.
Joe Wolcott knocked out George
Green in the 18th round the other
night after one of the fastest fights
ever seen in San Francisco. It was
rather one-sided, Wolcott leading in
every round.
Driven to despondency by sickness
and dreading to undergo a surgical
operation Mrs. Anna Schlesinger, wife
of a prominent St. Louis business man,
committed suicide by shooting herself.
The. Ladies of the G. R.. at their
meeting at Buffalo. N. V . on the 26th
elected Mrs. Flora Davy, of Duluth,
Minn., national president. Mrs M. I).
I uminings, of Kingfisher, Ok., was
made chaplain. The members decided
against consolidation with the Wom
an's Relief corps.
A dispatch from Shreveport, la., on
the 27th stated that a general strike
was threatened on the Kansas City.
Pittsburgh’ Gulf railroad on account
of reductions in wages.
H. C. Di nker, who boarded at Ar
thur Storey's at Chicago, took Storey s
wife to the theater the other night.
When they came home there was a
violent quarrel and Dnnker tired two
shots, fatally wounding both Storey
and his wife.
Vice President Hanrahan. of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen
said publicly at Cleveland, ()., that
there would be no sympathetic strike
of that body to aid the striking coal
miners, but they would aid them all
they could by contributing money.
Ji rry Brown, a negro, was legally
hanged for an assault on a woman at
Fayetteville, W. \ a.. on the 21th. The
governor ordered a company of militia
to be present, as 400 negroes were en
camped in the woods with the avowed
purpose of preventing the execution.
Forß robbers tried to loot the Sav
ings Deposit bank at Canton, 0., the
other night, but were discovered by
the night watchman, who opened fire
on them and killed one man, the three
others escaping.
AFRICAN COTTON PLANT.
A Now Dynasty of the Royal
Product of the South.
A Cotton Plant that Growl From SJi to
Fourteen Feet High and Produce*
From Three to Four Bale*
to the Acre.
St Louis, Aug, 24.—The Globe-Dem
ocrat's special correspondent at Atlan
ta, Ga., says:
A chance discovery by Adolph Kyle,
an English Jew, promises to revolu
tionize cotton-growing in the south,
to change the method of production of
the greatest money crop in the world
and one that brings $360,000,000 annual
ly to the producers aside from what ac
crues to the transportation companies,
to factors, dealers in futures, the man
ufacturers and merchant*.
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THOMAS A. JACKSON,
Who Is Exploiting the New Cotton Plant.
From a few seed brought from the
heart of equatorial Africa a few years
ago enough cotton lias been grown to
prove without a doubt that he has
been the means of solving the prob
lem of profitable production, which
lias so long puzzled the political
economists of the country. The man
ner in which this cotton was accident
ally found smacks of the career of Bar
ney Barnato, the South African dia
mond king. Indeed, at the same time
that Barnato was investing in the clay
pits at Kimberly and laying the founda
tion of his fabulous fortunes another
adventurer of the same resourceful
race was making his toilsome way
through the miasmatic swamps of the
upper Congo on the road to the discov
ery that may be of more importance to
the commercial world than all the
gems from all the mines in the dark
continent.
One day In the autumn of 1894 a trav
eler about. 45 years of age, bronzed and
bearded from the effects of the tropical
sun and a long sea voyage, robust and
sinewy, signed the name of “Adolph
Kyle, England,'* on the hotel register
at the Kimball house, and in the course
of an interesting account of African
travel, told how he had discovered the
new cotton plant, a section of which,
containing 65 pods, he had secured and
had preserved. He then went on to
say:
“1 noticed in traveling throuth this
country that your principal crop is
cotton. Now, 1 have carried that piece
of stalk for many months, and it has
traveled over 6,000 miles of land and
sea, so that I doubt if the seed will
germinate, but 1 want to give it to some
good fellow, who will experiment with
it, ami see if it can be naturalized in a
cotton-growing country, where civilized
methods of cultivation are understood.”
A note was dispatched to Thomas A.
Jackson, who lives not far from the
city, and on the next day he called on
Kyle at his rooms in the Kimball.
Farmer Jackson is an east Tennes
seean, a man of large experience in cot
ton-growing, and possesses a liberal
education and an inquiring turn of
mind. He had been studying the
history of the cotton plant for
years, and as soon as he laid
eyes on the withered stalk that
had been carried so many miles, he
saw that it. was a different genus from
the shrub cotton of South America, or
the annual plant of Australia, the lat
ter being the variety which is com
monly cultivated as short cotton all
over the south. He had a long talk
with Kyle, and, while others made
light of the story, Jackson listened at
tentively, and finally carried oil' the
dilapidated specimen to his poor little
farm among the reddest of the red hills
of Georgia. Carefully he picked the
seed from the silken locks of cotton,
observing that many of the pods or
bolls contained five separate cells, in
stead of four, which is the rule with
ordinary cotton. Out of the 2G5 seed
secured, 57 germinated in the garden
plat where he planted them in the
spring of 1895.
The sturdy plants grew rapidly, put
ting forth first a pair of ordinary
leaves, and immediately above them a
, second leaf which grew out from the
stem about two inches, then followed
a joint at which a cluster <>f “squares”
or buds appeared, the leaf stalk con
tinuing and terminating in ca broad
thick leaf, while the portion be
tween the cluster of budsand the stalk
thickened to the size of a lead pencil,
forming a support for the heavy bolls
or pods. The plants grew to a height
of til or 14 feet, putting forth alternate
ly lae general leaf and the fruit-bear-
ing leaf, all the way to the top, and
continuing in full foliage till the frost
fell, except that the lower leaves
dropped as the bolls matured, so that
by the time the cotton was open and
ready to pick the leaves’ll ad disap
peared, leaving only the snowy bol s
ready to be gathered free from trash
of plant stains.
The new discovery became noised
abroad, and cotton men from a long
distance came to see it. Every seed
was carefully picked out by hand, am
in 1895 there'were enough toplant half
an acre, less 13 square feet as meas
ured by a cotton expert from Balti
more. The land composing his little
farm is not at ail adapted to cotton
culture, and the farm has been con
ducted as a grain-growing and
dairying establishment for years.
But' from that half acre he picked
a little over 2.000 pounds of seed cot
ton. It was not carefully ginned, but
it yielded 800 pounds of the finest lint
cotton ever grown in Georgia, giving 40
instead of pounds of lint to the 100
of seed, the latter being the average in
common cotton.
Experts said that it rivaled the finest
of Egyptian cotton, and was superior
in many respects to the far-famed sea
island cotton. The Clark Sp ol Cotton
Co. sent an agent here ami offered to
gin the cotton on the special machinery
operated by the company, so as to give
the fiber a thorough test, but Farmer
Jackson declined the offer. He saved
the seed carefully, selling a few at the
enormous price of 5 cents apiece in
packages of 100 seeds to some en
thusiastic planters who wished to give
it a trial. He sold the lint for 15cents
a pound when other cotton was selling
at 5 cents and 5’.. cents a pound.
This year he planted six acres, and
he has to-day the most magnificent
field of cotton ever seen in Georgia.
On account of the absence of limbs it
can be cut very closely, and the crop
now growing is on poor land with a
stiff clay soil. 30-inch rows and
the stalks six inches apart. It
stood a protracted drought of
eight weeks, and the hard clods
turned up by the plow in cultivation
are still tumbled about the water fur
rows. But in spit.) of all that, the
stalks will average over six feet in
height, and are heavily fruited from
the ground up. A number of stalks
were measured and the bolls counted.
On one there were 60 fine bolls, of
which 47 had five cells. Three rows,
selected at random, in different parts
of the patch, showed 53 plants in the
three sections of 10 feet each, or an av-
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| STALKS OF THE AFRICAN COTTON
PLANT.
erage of 18 to the 10 feet in distance.
The fruit on one of these sections was
carefully counted and showed that at
the rate of 100 bolls to the pound, and
1,500 pounds of seed cotton to the 500-
pound bale, there are nearly four and
| <t half bales of cotton to the acre now
on the ground, and the crop is not
nearly made, as it is still grow ing vig
: oronsly.
Measurement of the leaves on an
I average plant showed that they pre
sented a surface of 25 square feet in
the 46 leaves on the stalk, which goes
to prove what an enormous absorptive
capacity is contained in the plant,
which enables it to withstand pro
tracted drought of the fiercest heat of
a tropical sun. and also the increase
in the weight of the lint from the hu
midity drawn from the atmosphere
which keeps the plants green and
grow .u when other cotton is parched
by the dry winds and hot suns of Sep
tember in this climate. The best stalk
in the field of five acres of common cot
ton. grow ing near-by. and which would
be considered a fair average crop, was
plucked up by the roots and set in a row
with the mid-Afriean exotic.
parison was ridiculous, and thWS""*
parity in the appearance of the tw «-
plants was enough to dishearten th®
most inveterate mortgage broker in
Georgia. .
The appearance of the new plant 1*
essentially different from any other
variety of cotton known in this coun
try. it has no limbs, the stalk is stout
and straight and supported by a tough
fibrous bark; the blooms open at night,
and are cylindrical instead of Haring,
so that they do not admit the rain
which causes the dropping of the fruit
age during wet spells; the leaves drop
out of the way as the bolls ripen, the
fiber of the lint presents under the
microscope the smoothness of bits of
polished steel; the seed are small, of a
dark-brown color, and with a spot in
the side like the eye of a bean, and the
locks hang loosely in the wide open
bolls, so that it is easily harvested.
The cotton is creating a great sensa
tion, and planters and mill men are
coming for miles to view the wonder
ful field of cotton, which has the ap
pearance of a bit of jungle transplant
ed from some tropical clime to its pres
ent location among the red hills of
Georgia. It is probable that the Lowell
mills in New England will purchase
the entire crop ami give it a thorough
test in the manufacture of the finer
grades of goods for which it seems
peculiarly adapted.
Farmer Jackson planted with the ex
pectation of gathering is bales, and his
neighbors laughed at him. It looks as '
if he is sure of 24, and if the present
crop at harvest time fulfills half the
promise of the growing plants, th.*
legacy of a wandering Jew will revolu- i
tionize cotton growing in the south.
Farmer Jaek<on is not saving mm h
about his future intentions but he en- i
joys a rush of distinguished visitors, |
cotton growers, expert cotton buyers I
and mill men from all over the conn- 1
try during these summer days, ami
more than one exhaustive magazine
article is in the Course of preparation
with elaborate illustrations <1 seussing
the peculiarities of the wonderful cot- ■
ton plant from the jungles of the I p
per Congo.
Some idea of this prolific cotton may
be had from the fact that ten bolls ti
the stalk is considered a fair crop
of the latter on Georgia uplands,
and will yield 1,000 pounds of seed
cotton to the acre, gen ra ly two
and a half or three acres being re
quired to produce a 500-j. mud bale.
'lbis cotton, on the other Lan 1. prom- '
ises to yield from three to f mr bales to
the acre with careful cultivation, and
a very simple calculation will show the
difference between planting 22,00 ),000
acres to secure a 9,000,0(0 bale crop,
and the planting of 4,U00,( 0 a -res to
secure the same result. One of the
stalks grown in is'.ii; was'4 feet high,
ami bore 185 bolls. Speculation s rife
in regard to the possibilit.es of th, nc.v
cotton, and that little patch of ground
is the most fascinating spot in Fult u
county these summer days.
PROOF OF SINCERITY.
An Army Officer Stands the H'q.trme Test
of Butter In I atrtlUiii.
In the days of the “old aiiiiy ' on the
frontier, when military posts were
sometimes hundreds of miles from any
civilized place, there was little to do in
the way of amusement in the winter
time when the post was snow Mund,
Und it was then t ha t t he reputat ion the,
army has for card playing and drink
ing was gained. And it is true that a
great, deal of both was done at that
time.
It was in these days that an event
transpired that showed that the prin
cipal actor had the courage of his con
victions. and that be was most certain
ly born under a lucky .star. It was
after a very “wet" stag dinner party,
Mid all had partaken most freely of
the wine, and. strange as it
may seem, the subject that
came up for discussion was the Moham
medan religion. The Mussulmens be
lieve in fate. To them a man's fate is
written a hove, and tin time of h s< I at h
is set. and nothing can advance it.
Well, this belief had been discussed
long and earnest ly. The pros and eons
had been gone over at length, till one
officer wanted to know of w hat usi was
reason if everyone wa born with a lag
of destiny attached. One officer finally
arose and said there was no use of dis
cussing the matter any further: the
only way was to make a practical test
of the question, ami that he would give
himself as a, subject, Could a man
wilfully dispose of his life when the
fatal moment had been cho-en at his
birth from above?
He could get no one to try the ex
periment on him. Finally a wager was
made.
“Who will pay you if 1 lose?” said the
subject, as he drew his pistol and
showed that it was loaded. He placed
the pistol against his temple ami pulled
the trigger. The pistol missed tire.
“A joke,” yelled the crowd.
I he fatalist smiled, and, cocking th®
pistol, aimed it with a sternly hand at
the clock on the wall. He fired, and
the bullet crashed through the center
of the dial.
“Apologize to me now," he .said. “1
have won the bet. I always believed
in fate." -Cincinnati Enquirer.
"Did you tc|] that young num not to -al]
here any more ?" asked Mabel's fat her. se
’ ■ " Y no.” "\\ hby not ?” “1 didn’t
think that it was necessary. I don’t sec how
he could < all any more, now. lie calls sevun
tinuis a week '--Washington blur.
«SAS CROPS, I
In the Condition of
f f F “ Thing, But in a Few v>l
■ n improvement la Reported-tool 1
Cioar Weather, with Here and
Shower. *■ g
Little: Rock, Aug. 25.—The weath J
crop report for the Arkansas sectit Jnf (
issued yesterday, says: The mean uJ P
perature for the week averaged 4,4rt<J
per day below the normal, and
cipitation .63 inch less than the notuj
amount. ■
Following arc the total rain fall* fj q
the week ending 7 a. hl, Monday, a J
gust 23, reported by telegraph froinjJ ?
lected stations: I
Inehetß F«
Forrest CityT r ?B j
Helena gS
Litt.e Rock. Tra«i Bi
Malvern
Newport
Prescott OjH
Texarkana g llt l
Warren TraJ A
Brinkley g I( H
Fort Smith
| Pine Bluff “
Russellville om
The weather has been remarkabljß "F
cool and dry for the season. ■
While in a few localities crops 1
improved over last week, yet generalljß j
there has been a falling off in the cou-B
dition of most crops. I
Cotton is maturing rapidly and b«.l 1
ginning toopen, and some little picked,!
First bales are reported from severalH “I
localities. There is much complaintofß
blight and rust, and some complaintofß
shedding. Generally, however, the!
crop promises to be a fair one. ■
Fall crops, suoh as potatoes, turnips,l
sorghum and late gardens, .ire notdol
ing well generally on account of
t of moisture. ■
j Apples are being shipped in theßf
1 northwest section, and are briugiagßl]
good prices. I
| \\ here condition of the soil will per-1
init farmers are busy plowing und pre ■
paring the land for fail seeding. I
i Worms are reported in Crawford,! '
Jefferson and Miller counties, but iian I
done but little damage a-, yet. I
NORTHEAST SECTION.
The temperature averugisl 1.4 deg.
per day below the normal, and practi
! cally no rain has fallen, though a few ’
light scattering showers have occurred.
Cotton is doing very well, and is be
ginning to open in localities, though
nut general as yet» Cotton is fruiting
well, and there is but little complaint
of shedding. Latecorn isdamagedfor
want of rain Fodder has progressed
. well under favorable weather condi-
I tions The ground is too dry for stub
ble breaking, and ruin is needed for
turnips and late gardens. Fruit is do
! ing very well. Peaches and apples
abundant ami of tine quality.
HOU 1 HEABT AM UoN.
The temperature averaged 4.0 deg.
below the normal, and practically no
rain has fallen, though a few localities
have recived good ruins. In I’hilllp*
and Drew counties cotton is a very
I promising crop, and indicates a large
yield, but in Arkansas, Bradley. Cleve
land and Lincoln counties the crop i*
short and injured for want of rain.
, Some rust reported and premature
■ opening of the bolls, t orn is a short
j crop over most of the section, and in
places is being <u»t for fodder. Peas*
fair crop in some localities, but gener
ally poor. Sweet, and second crop of
Irish potatoes not lining well. Cotton
picking will begin in 15 to 20 days.
CENIKAL SECTION.
The temperature averaged 4.4 ‘leg.
below the normal. No rain has fallen
generally, but some localities have re
' ceived generous showers. Condition of
cotton not quite so good as last week;
| considerable complaint of rust and
blight arul need of moisture on up
lands. Cotton opening and picking
l will begin in localities next week,
i Cotton worms in Jefferson county not
increasing so as last week. Fol
der pulling progresses favorably. In
i Faulkner county all crops are doing
remarkably well, and are most promis
ing. In Hot Spring county the wheat
has been threshed, ami yielded 15 to 20
i bushels per acre. Rain needed for
turnips, late gardens and potatoes.
SOUTHWEST SE< HON.
The daily mean temperature aver
aged 2 8 degs. per day below the normal,
ami but a very few light showers have
occurred. While in a few localities
i cotton is still doing well, most of the
crop has lost during the past week.
There is much complaint of shedding
ami rust. In some fields some of the
stalks have .shed everything but large
bolls. while ot hers near by have a good
' many small bolls yet. River bottom
and sandy soils have suffered most,
from rust. Cotton worms have done
some damage in Miller county, though
not very much. Late corn practically
ruined by drought. Second crop of
Irish potatoes has not come up, and
1 sweet potatoes very small and inferior.
Peanuts and sorghum very poor.
I
NOR I 11 WES l 8E( HON.
The temperature averaged 6.5 <lrg
( below the normal for the week, ami
practically no rain has fallen. Cotton
is maturing fast, is well fruited and
I promises a full crop. Corn is also ma
-1 turing fast, and fodder pulling
J will become general next week.
1 A fair corn crop is assured. 1°
some localities the cotton crop
is reported the finest for years.
Second crop of Irish potatoes better
' stand than usual. Pastures fine and
peas doing well. Apples are being
shipped and bring good prices. Sweet
1 potatoes fine. Farmers busy prepar
i land for fall seeding. Some boll worms
I reported in Crawford county.
F. 11. Clarke.
bee lion Director. Little Rock, Ark.