The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-10-01
CHARLESTON S. C, THURSDAY MORNING. OCTOBER l. 1855

| The physical characteristics of this section
| are yery different from our preconceived no
tious, The phrase Down South" raises pic
ture in many minds of dense swamps, umbra-
geous woods, tropicsl plants, sluggish streams,
Tenomous reptiles, yellow fever and miasma.
How much this idea is due to the pictures
inquire; but the fact is patent that the variety
of climate and soil to be found in the so-called
Confederate States is f,r greater than IN the
loyal States. Near the Atlantic the lands are
generally low and fiat, ascending and becoming
more and more hlily as you proceed westward, !,
until they attain an elevation OF near tniee
thousand feet. Its low lands, middle region
and mountain tracts seem like 80 many dlher-
emit countries, some having the characters,!cs
of Switzerland, while others have those OF HIM
dostan. and capable of producing any OF tne
plants Of the temperate zone, besides many
pertaining to the tropics, with water.power In
| abundance and mineral deposits OF immense
value undeveloped.
| Aiken. which is in the middle region-a sec
tion which possesses strong attractions 70 par
| ties who would escape the rigors OF a Northern
winter, and entirely exempt from the chill and
fever and malaria Of the low-lands. Here we
are on the high ridge Of land which divides the
head wIters of the Edisto River from these
which sre tributary to the Savannah; its alti.
tude being six hundred feet above the sea, and
four hundred feet higher than the Savannah
River, at Augusta, seventeen miles distant.
! The country to the wesS OF the town is quite
broken and billy, the descent being 80 rapid as
to require grade (for five miles) for the South
Carolina Railroad, Of ffty-ei 3ht feet TO the
mile, being one Of the heaviest railroad grades
in Che Atlantic States. 70 the eastward the
lands are comparatively level. To the north and
south the country is prettily diversified with
hill and dale. The lover of nature is grathed by
finding many picturesque SPOT, ana the roads,
covered with the fallen pine straw lor leaves),
afford excellent rides and drives. Had the
yey to you some idel of the opportunities Of
fered BY many locations, where, by the exer-
else Of tact and ingenuity, very slight outlay
of money would convert these vacant Lands
now unapprOpriated and unappreclated-
lovely and delightful rural homes. The lu1u-
riance of the growth, in the open air, OF rare
and beautiful roses, vines, flowers and SHRUBS
many OF them Of indigenous growth, and which
cannot be had at the North without the protec-
ton of hot-house-afford the means OF en-
bellishing home at but little cost OF time or
money. Before the war many OF the wealthy
planters OF the low country, and some o1 tne
Charleston merchants, had Their summer
houses in or near Aiken; attracted here Dy the
remarkable salubrity Of the climate and other
marked advantages of this locality.
To give you more definite idea of the tenn
perature. I append q statement Of the ther-
mometrical observations for the past year
(1S67), taken from the report OF the Smithso..
nian Institute. The extreme st for the several
months were as follows:
De-, nes March. ssS Ses Pei Sept sS Sss
Jan. .7s-n Apr1..s2-s9 july. ..0s-n Oct. ss-a2 q
Feb. 1921 May. ..s6-51 Aug. 1886 Nov. 1882
Mean winter monthsl, 48 deg spring. 90 deg;
summer, rs deg; autumn, 64 deg; annual mean,
g deg.
It will be observed that the highest point
reached during the year was ninety three de-
grees, and the lowest twenty-one degrees.
Think Of that, you who have been shivering
with the thermometer below zerol The first
frosts are in November, and the peach, the
plum and other early vegetation, blossoming In
February and March. Peas, potatoes and
other hardy vegetables are planted in January,
and by the LIST OF May strawberries, green
peas, &C., are in season. The farmer. need
too hard to work. The growing season is over
two hundred days, or two thirds of the year.
Wheat ripening in june affords ample time to
plant and gather q crop Of corn or potatoes on
the land from which the wheat mas peen
reaDed.
The lands are generally light and easily cul-
tiyated-some are quite sandy, and others
have a clay sub-soil near the surface. The
system OF culture which it obtains is not such
as we would approve Ct, yet the far :1ers make
O very comfortab subsistence for their fam!.
lies. Manures are but little used, and sub-soil
ploushs are unknown. In my opinion too
much orthe work is left for unaided nature to
do. With different system this country
would blossom like a rose. Fruit growing ls
the speciality here. As for peach trees, have
never seen the like in my life; almost every
farmer has On orchard, and some contain from
five thousand to ten thousand fruit trees, some
of which have been pointed out to me as being
over twenty years old, and still bearing. The
peaches are shipped to Charleston by rail, and
thence to New York by steamer. AS the early
varieties ripen in June, some four to Six weeks
earlier than the Jersey and Delaware crops,
they command handsome prices, sometimes as
high as s25 per box for the earlier kinds. 1t
is estimated that $780, 600 worth of peaches
will this year be shipped from this neighhor-
borhood. One Of my neighbors has already
sold over s4OO worth of strawberries from his
patch.
will pay, and that more enjoyment and luxu-
ries can be had, with gwen amount OF labor,
than in any Northern State l q acquainted
with. For my part, have had enough OF cold
weather and being frozen up from four to six
months Of the year. As an Illustration OF
the opportunities afforded for enterprise,
Northern family who settled here last year,
planted largely OF green peas this spring; al
though the crop did not turn out WE'LL enough
has been accomplished to demonstrate the
practicabiIity OF making money by such enter
prises, some If the peas selling in Now York at
s. Is per bushel, and netting on an average
over So per bushe. Beets, potatoes, cabbaSes,
&C., havo frequently beea brought from the
North, and sold at profit here. Whyp Be-
cause farmers neglected to store such articles
for winter use. The owner of tho farm have
purchased saved few turnips last winter, and
sold them for s9 so per barrel But little at
tention has boon paid heretofore to diversity
ing pursuits, the people being content to tread
in the old beaten path.
It is astonishing how few articles OF South
ern manufacture one finds in the stores for
sale. Th, merchants visit New York and lay
in their entire stock there. 1t is evident that
the cost OF transportation alone would afford
handsome profit on very many articles, and the
cost OF living and making the articles need be
no greater than elsewhere.
OF great many articles the raw materials
are found here in abundance. What is NODDED
ia the capital, industry and tact to make such
articles as are In demand and bring them pro-
perly to the notice OF the consumer.
The combination of advantages OF this vlclnl-
ty admirably adapts it for manufacturing pur-
poses. The numerous creeks and streams af-
ford cheap and ample power. Its connection by
rail with the commercial centres OF the South
afford home market protected by the cost or
transportation from the present sources of sup
DIV. The raw material is at hand, and the
nrice of unskilled labor is much cheaper than