Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1871-09-01
Fruit Canning and wine Making
fin Aiken.

We were aroused the other morning by a
knock at our sanctuln, aud a request from j.
G. Derby, Esq, to take drive. Notwth
standing our pressing engagements, wo cou' d
not resist tho temptation of II visit to the Der
by Farm Nothing could DO more conducive
to the sweet oblivion Of tho thousand and one
petty unnoyanccs of life than the lulling MUIR
muir Of the pine trees in the park Though
which we drove, and tho refreshing coolncss
of the oak grove, on the border of which
stands the Derby Mansion, with its surround.
ings of shrubbcry aud flowers, and the broad
spreading vineyards reaching on to the or.
chards in the distance tccming with lucious
fruits
a broad portico shelters the spacious hall
and parlors from the morning sun Here.
with the charms of music, and surrounded
with works Of ort, aud the eeoances and ap.
plianccs of luxury, one would little dream that
he was in the midst of the most thriving and
incessant activities; some of which, when
known and needed, must be Of incalculable
benefit to the surrounding country a few
yards from the house, cnbowcrcd \, III trees,
is temporary shed under which were seated
rows of women preparing and canning peach
cs. figs and tomatoes at one end Of the shed
\ furnace and boler facilitated the work In
an adjoining house several men and boys were
making the cans. The scene was to us n sur
prise, not murc from it's novelty than the sim
plic,tY aud auietncss Of the whole proceed
ing
If there be any truth in the provcrb about
making two blades Of grass grow where one
grew before surely he must be ever held III
grateful remembrance MS indeed brnetactnr
to this section Of country whp has introduced
the utilities and illustrated the fact that the
crops of fruit of all kinds which are here pc
duccd almost spontaneously and which have
hitherto been, from want of better knowledge,
suffered for the most par, to perish withou,
profit, can be made an immediate and per-
pctua of wealth.
The several beautiful pieces Of machinery
used for making the cans were made in Brook
Iyn, N. y, especially for the Derby Farm.
The cans are manufactured with great nicely
and precision by Mr. j a. Shradcr, of New
York, and putting up of the fruits aud vcgc-
tables is entirely under his supervision, and
by ii method peculiarly his own We have
tasted peaches canned by Mr.. Shradcr two
years since, on the Derby Farm, that arc MS
fresh aud palatablc as when first put up We
trust another season. that not Only the dainty
fig, but blackhcrrics, pears, grapes, and, in
deed, the most fnvoritc vegetables will be
canned in Aiken on an extensive scale.
Our attention was next called to tho wine
cellar This department is under the special
| direction Of Mons. i. Mcrzeau. He has un.
dertakcn to demonstrate that good wine can
be made from our native grapes without the
aid of alcohol. Though there is but one vim.
tngr in the cellar, he is MS proud Of his ycarl-
| ing rs a nurse of her smiling and rosy check
cd pets, and would not allow us to depart un-
til we had sampled sorrc thirty different bar
rcls of his ca,awba, Burgundy and Scupprr
nong wines Ct the vintage of 10 In some
of these We thought VIC detected by smell
rather than tastes slight trace Of acctic acid
but the grcntrr part of the samples were
sound, with rich hoqnet, clear, with bright
aud beautiful color, answering to the best
rictics known under their respective hrmds
| We were more than gratiticd ut having our
lingering doubt dispellcd, and to be ntlc 10
congratulate Mons. Mcrzcau on his triumphant
success Tor we sec in the abundant proluc.
ton of such wine MS this Il power to overthrow
the dominion Of "Old Bourbon" and make
| glad the heart Of Il prosperous agricultural
community. .iihcn Lo"raof
| WnAr BECOMES or rrIs: PUBLIC FUNDS
The First Comptroller nl the Treasury has
prepared Il statement Of cash balance due
| from collectors nfintcr revenue on the 18th
of this month One hundred and scvcn;r.
eight names comprise this formidable list
of whom scvcnty.nine arc actual defaultcrs,
the balance having unadiustcd accounts
The liabilities Of the dcfautcrs amount to 81.
75O, ,176, while the aggregate Of unsettled
accounts is Sl2l,ll2 Of the dcfaultcrs
forty were appointed by President johnson,
thirty six by Mr.. Lincoln and but three by
the present administration Mr. Johnson
appears to have been peculiarly unfortunate
in his selection Of revenue officers, his forty
dcfnuting friends having cmbczzlcd 81 7fS..
III of government funds leaving S03O117
for Mr.. Lincoln's men, while President
Grants appoinlecs have been obliged to cnn
tent themselves with S6t5Sl, louisiana ap-
pears to have been the paradise of revenue
roug"s, that State having furnished ten de-
! tautcrs, who stole ovrrtwclvc hundred thous
and dollars while New England is without
u representative on the list, all her revenue
officers having adj ustcd their accounts
But three dciaultcs arc from New York.
D. L. Baily, $l32Gl2; Mastcn, of the thir-
! tccnth district, SCI, ,22l, and j B Ilalsted,
of the Twenty yninih district, SlS,S70. This
is n most credituble exhibit for the Empire
State, especially when the immense amount
OF revenue she annually pays into the govern.
mcnt Treasury is taken into consideration.
The entire amount of internal revenue col
lnotpd m fo tIn cloco IF tho l,ct G,,.,l ,,o,r