The enterprise-recorder., June 24, 1909, Image 3

About The enterprise-recorder. (Madison, Fla.) 1908-1933

Image provided by: University of Florida

                
Does It Pay
By E. A.
t t I IIIIIIIIIIMH
Not to many years ago, even to
the present time, ve and many other
farmers were deluged with literature
regarding the advantages to be de
rived from emigration to the "Golden
West." Promoters of laud deals, lm
migration agents, railway and Indus
trial commissioners, all contributed
Interesting data relating to their par.
tlcular section or field of action, until
jt would seem to the average farmer
of the eastern or central States, or In
any section that had been long under
cultivation that a realization of his
highest ambition was to be found
west of the mighty Mississippi,
General farming as carried on In
our own and the adjoining States,
was far from satisfactory. The land
which In the days of our parents had
yielded a competence, had greatly de
teriorated and Its value correspond
ingly depreciated. After absorbing
a large amount of Information re
garding the health and wealth to be
found In the fertile valleys of the
West, we became so thoroughly Im
bued with the prospect of prosperity,
that we disposed of our belongings
at a great sacrifice and began our
journey of discovery to find the Ideal
spot in which to establish our new
home.
We had been especially attracted,
through correspondence, to one of
the valleys In Colorado. The re
sources for Irrigation were superior
to those of many other sections; the
climate was reputed to be, and doubt
less Is, exceedingly healthful, while
the price of land was claimed to be
exceptionally reasonable. We had an
exceedingly interesting drive to the
great head gates of the river and
irrigation canal with the genial land
agent, who pointed out with much
pride the holdings of a great Eastern
real estate syndicate which bordered
the canal. In fact, this syndicate had
promoted the whole Irrigation sys
tem and was now offering the new
land for settlement. The "reason
able" prices of these acres were some
thing to wonder about, they being
frorn, (200 to $300 and more per
acre. The special Inducement offered
to homeseekers all along the valleys
of this and other States was that
from five to ten acres of this valuable
land would yield a larger revenue.
When we demurred at the enormous
prices for land that had never been
broken by a plow, the answer Invari
ably was: "You must consider the
valuable plant food this land con
tains." When we noticed a fine field
of alfalfa at the ranch home of this
wan, he at onca attempted to ne
gotiate the sale of four acres of this
field fall he could spare) at the "ex
tremely low price" of $1000, and this
three miles from the nearest town,
containing 700 inhabitants, not an
other town within many miles, and
the public road half a mile from the
plot.
We were then driven to the farm
of a man who, with his wife, had
come from Vermont several years be
fore. Both were far along In years,
and although the orchards and vines
bore luxuriantly, there was a look of
longing and homesickness In the care
worn faces when we spoke of "back
East." Then they told us that the
profits from the orchard fruits were
small on account of the excessive rail
way rates and the almost total loss
of the vine fruits In consequence of
the great distance to a market. Said
the gray haired woman: "I picked
eighty gallons of the finest goose
berries you ever saw, yet nothing
was gained. There was no sale
for them in our little town, and it
would not pay to ship them so many
miles to a large market. We used
one gallon at home, the rest we had
to throw away."
This man had been a practical
farmer among the Vermont hills. He
was far from being a poor man there,
but dissatisfaction with soil condi
tions and some ill health had induced
him to Jeave the old home and the
-'lB of relations and friendship. In
reply .to some questions be said:
"Yes, fhls Is a rich soil; plant foods
are plentiful, but it will never be
home, and we are always looking
backward. Had I taken care of my
soil, and "studied what was needed on
the old Vermont farm. I would be
bow prosperous man among my
own kin-to-day. instead of owning
ofily these few acres, which bring me
so, little,, even thpugh they produce
so muchj ' ,
And so, all along the Jonrney of
thousands t. miles' we found the main
conditions practically the same. The
'trctursli' i)lant foods produced fair
crops', but no hHVet than our.weU fed
soils ot'the East,'and it is eldom we
experience-; the - terrible hailstorms
which irequently devastate all of a
Bea3on's crops as we saw them do
there. Wherever we traveled we dis
covered" some drawbacks to the per
fect realization of tho dream la which
we -had been led to Indulge, r1 Ear
pri atcr problems uEfrontd . IV in
the W. n Hum we bad- encountered
in iu. r..M,'ani1 without ftiy further
(.-.- .(, ro lay the foundations of our
,.. K'ji. e iu the Inud of ita Sotting
to Go West ?
Summer.
Sun, we turned our. faces eastward
again.
Brother farmers, the problem has
already been solved for us by the
great chemical industries of the
world. It is true we, or those be.
fore us, hnvo taken from-the soil
far more than; we have put back.
This Is against all reason. Farm
manures are not, and never will be,
sufficient for the bringing up of out
worn soils in tho condition in which
the land Is now, but the chemical
manures will ob surely supply the
need, if we use them as liberally as
we should and with a proper rotation
of our crops. One of the strong ar
guments of the Western advertiser
Is the soil content of potash, which
enables the Western farmer to grow
abundant crops of alfalfa; yet here
in the East, upon land once consid
ered worn out absolutely, I have seen
during the past few years as luxuriant
a growth of this valuable plant as I
evor saw in the West, simply by te
application of generous quantities of
the element 'potash, combined with
the two other Indispensable plant
food elements, phosphoric acid and
nitrogen In lesser amounts. Both
potash and nitrogen are greatly lack
ing In many sections of our Eastern
States, Experiments have proved
this: Let every man experiment for
himself and thus determine the needs
of his soil; apply the fertilizer needed
in sufficient quantities and he will be
In a position to refute this story
about "abandoned Eastern farms, tho
fertility of which is exhausted." If
the crops show the need of potash,
supply it; If either phosphoric acid
or nitrogen seem deficient these as
well as the Indirectly available ma
terials are easily obtained. There is
no necessity for leaving the great
markets and the familiar surround
ings, to obtain the supplies of a soil.
From the American Cultivator.
Gloom Spread by Book Agents.
"When I was a small boy, living in
Huntsville, Mo., an early day book
aent came up from St. Louis by
steamboat and flooded our country
with a harrowing volume entitled
'Agnes; the Key to Her Coffin.' Ev
erybody bought tho thing and every
body wept over It," remarked a well
known resident of this city. "Its In
fluence descended upon the communi
ty like a nightmare. It reeked with
shrouds, funerals and graveyards.
For a long time 'The Key to Agnes'
Coffin' was the sole diversion of cer
tain portions of the populace; they
seemed to take a pure and chastened
Joy In the awful weight of woe that
oozed out from between Its lids, and
It made them feel better. There were
not many books In the country in
those days, and this sagacious agent
had sized the community's taste up
about right. The book was supposed
to be very consoling to the distressed,
In that it told of worse troubles than
their own." Macon Republican.
A LESSON IN "SHOP TALK."
...
Why the Cattleman Dilated so Particularly
ADOUt ateer
Tt was nt a dinner given by the
members of a certain English circuit
in honor of an eminent judge. The
legal element predominated, and the
conversation from the first ran In a
legal channel. Those among the com
pany who did not happen to be bar
risters or solicitors sat silent, listen
ing with vacuous smiles to the ex
change of learned opinion which was
being carried on round taem. One
only among this dumb minority, says
H. G. Brown, in the "Conclusions
of an Everyday Woman," seemed im
patient and ill at ease.
He was a big. Jolly, loosely-made
man, wearing clothes which some
how did not seem to set naturally on
him, the conventional dress suit ap
pearing less appropriate to his hand
some figure than would have been,
say, the loose shirt and riding
breeches of a cowboy or colonial
squatter. His cheeks were bronzed,
and his bright, clear glance spoke
eloquently of an outdoor life. x
As the dinner advanced and the
conversation plunged deeper and
deeper still into the profundities of
legal erudition, he became more and
more restless and perturbed. At last,
however, one of thoBe lulls occurred,
which may happen occasionally at
even a professional dinner, and It
was then that a resounding voice vi
brated through the room, causing the
learned brethren assembled thereto,
forget for an instant, their . profes,.
slonal imperturbability. .
Now I am going to tell you all,
boomed the voice, "how we akin
steers down in Texas!"
AU eyes were turned in the direc
tion of the perpetrator of this amaz
Ids announcement, our friend, ot
course, of the bright eyes and bronzed
cheekswbo, nothing daunted by
their icy stares, proceeded to enlarge
upon the technique of his business,
that of cattle-breeding, and continued
tls uninterrupted monologue until
ROBINSON CRUSOE NOW
A FELLOW CITIZEN.
He Waa Born in Norway, Wn
Stafarlng Man and Now Ha
Can Vote In Bostsn.'"
Judge Dodge, of the United States
District Court, was at his desk the
other day when William H. Fraser,
secretary of the Seamen's Union, and
the Rev. Geo&ge L. Small, of the Mar
iners' Home, came In, conducting a
weather beaten sailor, who wanted to
be naturalized, says the Boston Trnn
serlpt. The sailor laid his paper be
fore the Judge, who glanced at the
name, then looked again and then
smiled.
"Do I understand that your name
Is Robinson Crusoe?" said he.
"Yes, sir; Robinson Crusoe."
Further questioning brought out
that he was born In Wardo, Norway,
forty-four years ago, and that he Is
a mariner, engaged mostly In the
coastwise vessels on United States
shores. He first came to this country
in 1897, landing in New York on the
ship Jason, although not the Jason
of the Golden Fleece expedition.
Crusoe did not know how he got his
name, as he had it so long, but ha
was called Andorf In Norway. In
spector Moore asked him various
questions, to which he answered dif
fidently. He thought President
Roosevelt had been a farmer in the
country and that if he died "some
body" else would be President. The
Judge had to admit the correctness of
the reply, and Robinson Crusoe Is
now a full fledged citizen of the
United States.
.. WISE WORDS.
Eaten bread Is soon forgotten.
Irish.
A stingy man Is always poor.
Italian.
To a depraved taste, sweet is bit
ter. Spanish.
Blessed Is he who flndoth a true
friend. Bible.
Let not the shoemaker go beyond
his last. Latin.
Virtue that parleys Is near a sur
render. French.
If you cannot drive an ox, drive a
donkey. Spanish.
The dog has no aversion to a poor
family. Chinese.
You never know what you can do
till you try. Gorman.
Every miller draws the water to
his own mill. Dutch.
A knowledge of the way Is a good
part of the Journejv Spanish.
A friend's faults should be known
but not abhorred. Portuguese.
. Fools will always ask what time it
Is, but the wise know their time.
Italian.
Beyond all wealth, honor, or even
health is the attachment we form to
noble souls, because to become one
with the good, generous and true is
to become In a measure good, gener
ous and true ourselves. Thomas
Arnold.
sKinning".
the dinner was entirely at au end.
These legal "Johnnies" might know
something about the law, but what
ho did not know about cattle was not
worth knawlng.
When the diners had arrived at
that comfortable. Informal period
where chairs are pushed back, the
eminent Judge who was the guest of
the evening turned to his neighbor
and said:
"I want you to introduce to me that
young fellow who has just Imparted
to us so much useful information
upon the subject of cattle-raising. I
should like to congratulate him upon
the reproof he has so tactfully admin
Istered to us all.
"In future, at legal banquctB, I
shall certainly do all in ray power to
keep the table from talking 'shop,'
which is dull enough in all conscience
when only lawyers are present; and
whep there are outsiders who cannot
join In the discussion, it shows a lack
of good taste, besides."
So the man with the bright eyes
and bronzed cheeks became the hero
of the evening.
' ' ' A State Colliery,
'owing 'to the rise in the price of
coal;-the government of South Aus
tralia hays recently concluded nego
tiations for the purchase of 2500
acres of land In New South Wales, for
the purpose of establishing their own
' mine.., About, eighty acres have been
cleared, a dam has been constructed,
and preparations are being made for
minklng; Tit-Bits.
Belgium has been offering reduced
rites under certain conditions for
trsrvel oa its passengertralna and the
chaDgaias resulted in enormously in
creased business and revenues.
: British capital is to start steel
; foundry a. San Diego, Cel., using
' Erltlsh Columbia ore. ,
THE FIRST TAXICAB.
We are accustomed to regard the
taxlrah as an Invention of recent
years, but the Idea dutes back more
than IGOO years, and originated In
China. Professor Giles, of Cam
bridge, has discovered In the dynas
tic histories of the Celestial Empire n i
i-:-' v- V 4'
-" ' ' .,'. . - , V - "" V. ..:,'
' '-
THIS WAS THE "MEASURE-MILE-DRUM-CARRIAGE" Or" THE CHI
NESE SIXTEEN HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
full specification of a taxlcab of the
year 265 A. D., and the accompany
ing photograph shows a model of the
chassis made by Professor Hopkln
son. This history describes the vehi
cle as follows:
"The moasure-mlle-drum-earrlage Is
drawn by four horBes. In the middle
of It there Is a wooden figure of a
man holding a drumBtlck toward a
drum. At the completion of every
'11' (the Chinese mile) tho man
strikes a blow on tho drum."
Other records, covering the Chinese
reigns from A. D. 815 to 98", further
discuss the appearance of the "taxi
cabs:" "They ore' painted red, with pic
tures of flowers and birds on the four
sides, and are In two stories, hand
somely adorned with carvings. At
the completion of every '11' the wood
en figure of a man In the lower story
strikes a drum, and at the completion
of every ten '11' a man in the upper
Btory strikes a bell. There Is a pole
with a phoenixlike head, and a team
of four horses. Formerly the chariot
held eighteen soldiers, which number
was Increased to thirty by the Em
peror T'sl-Tsung."
The popularity of this peculiar car
riage, even as late as the fourteenth
century, is attested by a poem en
titled "Ode to a Taxlcab." Harper's
Weekly.
Animated False Fuce.
A novel animated false foce Is the
recent Invention of a Pittsburg man.
As shown In the illustration below,
the mask has openings in the posi
tions of the features. In each open
ing Is a flexible and extensible bag,
NEW CAPITOL TO BE
Frank E. Perkins, of No. 1133
Broadway, acting as agent for Law
rence H. Grahame, Commissioner of
the Interior of Porto Rico, received a
cable dispatch from Mr. Grahame say
ing the contract r the building of
the Porto Rlcan Capitol had been
awarded to the Gestera Company, of
X
1
San Juan.' The bid was $314,000.
The total cost of the Capitol When
completed will be $500,000. :
The Senate, House pt Representa
tives and Supreme Court will. occupy
the Capitol. Work will begin at once.
Three schooner loads of cement, will
be shipped to San Juan from New
York for Its construction.' rf ho build
ing Is of Greek design, '
Speaking of the constructlpn of the
building. Mr. Perkins, who received
the ' Atuerican contractors"' bids,
Bald."
. "The Capitol will be erected with
ITF
formed to slmulato that featnre.
Also within the mask Is a rubber
pipe, by which air can be blown Into
the 'jags, forcing the features in this
v. uy to protrude through the holes
In the mask.
The effect thus produced by the
wearer of tho mask 13 said to be ex
i treniely funny. He can at will force
the tongue and nose to stick out and
the other features to contract or re
lax, the rubber hose through which
air II supplied connecting with his
mouth. In addition, ho cr.n also
manipulate the pupils of his eyes.
The latter are attached to a string,
which Is operated by the hand of the
wearer.
For RpHPuling Chairs.
An Ingenious device by which
chairs can be reseated at a fraction
of the time formerly required, and
by a person of no experlenci In Buch
work, has been patented by a Massa-
cbusetts man. This Is a form of ad
justable clip, which Is so simple that
a man with no mechanical ability at
all can put a new bottom In a chair
in a few minutes, or as long as it
will take to hammer four of the clips
Into place. These clips consist of
pieces of melal bent so as to form an
offset, or elbow, and having their
holding ends pointed so that they'
can be driven Into the bottom frame.
The body of the clip has a Blot for the
holding screws and a holding nib at
the rear end. All that Is necessary
Is to screw a clip at each corner of
tho scat closo to the edge, place the
seat on the bottom frame and drive
the pointed ends of the clips Into tho
frame. This mukes a firm and strong
support.
It Is announced that with the re
moval of a row of frame buildings
not far from Illnnkfrlurs bridge, the
last wooden buildings within the
metropolitan district of London will
shortly disappear.
ERECTED IN PORTO RICO.
the possibility of earthquake in view.
The largo dome In tho centre of the
building will be of reinforced con
crete, as will, practically, the whole
structure. Buildings In Porto Rico
must be erected to withstand earth
shocks. A slight one was recently
felt on the Island. The work of con-
i.'-t.
4
1.m
structlon wlli begin at once. Only
1300,000 Jias been appropriated by
the Porto Rlcan Council to date, but
before this session of the body Is over
another $100,000 appropriation Is ex
pected. Most of the building ma
terials will be bought In the United
States. Althouch the lowest bid, that
of the Gestera Company, of San Juan,
is more than the first appropriation,
at the direction of the Commissioner
of the Interior of Porto Rico certain
thlngB may be eliminated, and thus
bring the bid down to the $300,000."
New York Tribune.