The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-02-28

Editors Of the IntellisCnocr; Co.,,
The present cold snap was heartily. vel.
c,mcd bv the farmers, Ss it affords many
NJ them The long wished for opportunity
70 do somo very necessary hauling, which
the soft condition Of the roads, owing 70
the rains, has prevented Tor seVeF"'
weeks.
TIE FRUIT BUDS.
The spring.like weather, and warm
rains have developed the lrnlt ouas 70
such an extent that grave apPrenenssio ~
wSre entertained for the safety oil the
trnit crop Tor The coming season. The
to,ai Sestrnction Of the fruit in this Vicin-
~. ior another year would be public
~, amitv the magnitude Of which We eau
e cata' ccyiocturc. ! see there, are state
on n3,. 'NmSlisbed OF tho destruction oil the
f.";, IN other localities, but careful ex-
.mination fails 10 reveal any injury OF
importance here. 49,. 4.
In warm exposures the grass is grow.
ing and the meadows are as green as in
AnriI. The stand Of wheat 10 exception
ally good and judging from present APP
poarSnces there will DO yield much
above the average. The present freeze,
h0weye5will be trying upon It especially
where the soil is not we'll drained.
In the garden, hyacinths, tulips, Easter
flowers and lilies are peeping above
their winter mulching, deluded by the
showers and sunshine into the belief that
winter was ended, but alas their conf
.dence is rudely destroyed by the north
winds blast. Lilac bushes have fairly
unloldcd their leaves, and early varieties
Of peaches arc displaying the delicate
tints oftheir halt.opened buds.
LARGE HAY MARKET.
Fully ono third Of the fodder remains
in the fields and II is thought there will
be a great deal Of "roughness" unconslm-
ed unless protracted cold weather ensues
There will in consequence DO much more
hay to dispose Of in the Spring than for
several years past. skazR.'.
Pasture lots and meadows turnover BY
stock are greatly injured by being tramp.
ed up or more properly'speaking tramp
ed down during the soft weather. The
by.roads and even the pixies are in de-
ploruble condition.
The newly elected directors Of the cost
" Warnock pike find it impossible to
take any steps toward its restoration
without funds, they have therefore refus-
ed to organize until an effort has been
made TO obtain an appropriation from
the com missioners, failing in which they
will have no alternative left but, to levy a
tax on the district, or abandon Che road.
Your Belmont county readers will pray
for the passage Of the bill offered by sen.
ator Knox in the State Senate asking for
the transfer OF the National road, or
rather applying the tolls collected in each
county through which the road passes to
the maintenance OF the road in that coun-
ty, il the bill becomes law SO much OF
the road as passes through Belmont coun-
~ will be maintained in its original COM
pactness. Your Bridgeport neighbors
100, will be required by its provisions to
retrieve that portion OF the road within the
incorporate limits from the slough OF des-
pond into which it has fallen, n feliciti-
Gus result certainly. ~
For the last month the. farmers have
been literally mud bound and an advance
in grain or provisions would have availed
them nothing, as no wise man would have
ventured upon the roads even with an
empty wagon.
GOOD ROADS.
Why will farmers forever neglect this
important matter OF making and main
tanning good roads? II there is one un-
desirable feature in country life that re.
stricts our social intercourse, curtails
our comforts and conveniences, depre-
ciates our land and renders our calling
distasteful to so many, it is the misera-
bic roads which we make without judg'
ment and maintain without labor; for the
pretence Of working the roads is a miser-
able farce, an obligation which every one
feels ut liberty to violate. Year after
year pillow points and moving knives are
broken by the stones that cucumber the
fields, and yet no attempt is. made to col.
lect and and spread them upon the roads,
Limestone is cropping out Of every hill
side, and our land is underlaid with 1t
and yet no systematic effort is made tc
utilize It for road purposes. :.
II the road law at present existing in
this State was changed, and the road tai
collected, or,worked ont under the super.
vision Of a practical road maker, and the
money thus collected applied to working
the roads in tho manner adopted on the
National pike, in ten years every by-roat
In Belmont county would DO macad'
amizcd. j..
The cry Of hard times which is ascend
ing from every city in the land, is not
heard in agricultural communities. With
the exception OF fruit, fair crops Of PRO
duce were gathered throughout the en-
tire county, Nor which aatisiactory ptice'
were received. The stringency in money
and depression in buSiness, which arr
felt so keenIy in the city are notexpcr
fenced among the farmers, and the reason
may be found in the fact that theirs il
the only business that Is not over done
For years the tide Of immigration hal
been flowing to ous cities and. towns
crowding to repletion every department
Of trade, increasing the number OF con
sumers and reducing tho number OF pro
ducers in the ratio Of nearly two to one
Al RESULT tTuuc IL ONeE uouot Wu6Ss a.
lowered, workshops arc closed, and tbs
thoronghfares Of tho nation arc crowded
with an army Of tramps begging bread
from city to city.
HOMES IN TIE COUNTRY.
The remedy then, which naturally sug
Eests itself to the mind Of every thought
ful individual, is TO DO found in a reds
tribution OF population. Suffer some o
the unemployed tFadeSmen and mcchan
les to depart from the city and with thu
opening Of the Spring so to work ener
getically raising corn and potatoes, culti
waiting fruit, or rearing stock. Every
dollar thus earned is actual gain, every
man thus employed joins the ranks oftht
producers and aids in restoring prosperi
ty and wealth to the Nation.
Why then should this eminently hon
orable and Independent occupation be Sc
neglected? Surely not because the labol
is moro severe and exacting. than tn
physical exertion Of the average mil
man or mechanic, or the exhaustins
routine Of a clerks life. ....
REAL PLEASURE.