The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-12-20
sszaasEs g saea.lsEslsa gntelliaae.ses'r,
Tic Commissioner Of Agriculture.

:
Tlie Commissioner OF Agriculture.
Frequent interviews have induced the
beGJf chat tho Commissioners of AgricuI-
ture i striving very herd TO SO systena.
= tie and develop the interests of his De-
s partment rs to make it valuable 70 the
farmefs and to the country. The history
Of the Department has nothing in j. very
brilliant, praisewortly or noiuhlc beyond
the fact that thus far il has been little
clee than mammoth distributiyc seed
store.
IT'S said of old Gen. Newton, who vas
The first man TO fill the Offico Of Commits
sioner after the Department WAS cat
loose from the Patent Office, that he al
J ways believed he was % Cabinet afficcr
because ne presided over q Department..
He said 60 o friend he twas one Of the
Presidents counsellors and belonged to
tho Cabinet" but he had never "sot"
there.
He was succeeded by Mr.. CoSson, who
seemed TO have been energetic and in
dnstriG,is, but was more anxious to get to
japan on q large salary, where he was
sent and has been for about six ycars,
than lie VAS To extend the usefulness oil
the Department.
When he went to Japan, President
Grant placed old Judge WattA, super
ahnua!od lawyer from Pennsy ylyanii, over
tl:e Department, and he allowed things
to run st lnosc ends, and did no good to
anybody, aud was always willing to
accuse Southcrners of being botI, lazy
aud ignorant. His career was proti.lcss
10 the agricultural interests of the coun.
try.
MIR. Hayes brought Gen. lie Due from
minnesota, perhaps brcnuHc iic :..::a orig
ina!ly from Ohio, and the Presidents
iric'ti, and placed him where we trust
he will ren0yate matters, and make the
Department at lc.,st worthy the admiri-
:ion OF farmers il no interest to other
persons
Gen. LIE Due is alive to the fact tia.
farmers arc no, careful, thoughtful and
methodical ennngh ans, rely too much
upon the ha..its anil manners that have
come down rcrlIaps from long line OF
ancestors. nc knows they tuO frequent
~ fail to calculate the cost nf growing n
crop, nnd perhaps never know till the
end of the year whether a crop has or has
not any net money in it. Hcs therefore
particularly anxious To test n variety Of
vegetables and plants in different .ati-
tu'ics. and learn whether or not they
would be more profitable ns crops than
those now cultivated. With this view
he Is anxious tn Introduce the tea plant.
AZ we have before stated, into South Car.
olina. and thinks that II our people are
really ns Th'or ns they say they are, the
ten plnnt might supplant ,nany of the
roses AMI evcrgreels secn in the front OF
most of our dwellings,; Tor while these
latter simply please the eye nr refresh
= tho Olfactories, the former, If cultivated
property, wou'd he male 80 help tho
pocket. e M
No Une rcccives matcrinl payment 70,
cultivating flnwers, and It is quite an ex.
pcnse and labor; and hence ali ovei
South Caralins those grand and beautiful
Old flower gardens, which were 80 hand
some In anfe@btIi"ra Eries, arc now fre
qfentsy given up to weeds and briars.
1t would no. be so with the tea plant
for after year or two, it would bccom.
n source of profit, and this profit woult
increase annually.
At present the United States are i'm
porting annually several millions Of dol
ss:s Sorth CT Chinese teas, nnt, they ar,
all, more or less, so medicated TINT iii
said, the original grower would scarcel,
recognize the beverage If he wero to ounf
it in America. If South Carolina wer,
half as devoted to tea culture az she is I,
the culture and improvement of cotton
there could be millions of dollars wortl
OF te9 grown and sold in this State an
nuaily; and that, too, by the intelligent
industrious, lovely South Carolina wo
men. Only think what we are losing b,
our ignorance.
Gen. Le Duo he's received valuable in
formation upon this subject from Mr
James Edward Calhoun, of Abbevill,
Cynnty, 8. o., who for years had growr
th1Etea plant, and drank Of it pure ans
unadulterated. Mr.. Calhoun writes hin
the fruit of the tea plant is capsule, tn;
hull of which has many of the propertie.
OF qninine. This is another valuable
discovery, and should make us moFS
anxious all over the Routh to introduce
the culture of the tea plant.
About two thogsas:i plants have thi.
fall been sent into South Carolina by the
Gommissioner, aiia 1t Is about all no had
He is preparing to have million plant
ready by next fall, and If the parties te
whom ne has sent these plants in South
sCaFolinalWillaid him in his efforts, ant
report, as promised, the:r success witt
the plants given, them, he anticipate,
that In very few years ne will be abb;
to have the ten prepared for market, will
much profit, in several portions Of th,
State. His idea Ia TO induce the cultiva
eion of the plant at many points, ant
when the area becomes large enough
then to establish in some central point
perhhssps Columbia, the manufacture o
the merchantable article.
We sincerely hope the parties to whom
these pl9nts have been sent will beatov
moro than ordinary care upon them, aue
at the proper time report their success
TO the department..
Gen. LIE Duo is also very anxious Il
subject tho sweet potato (yam) to chemi
col analysis, with view tc test whethe
a Or Hut il would be profitable business {,
engage In the manufacture of sugar from
the ynm. Millions of dollays' worth o
sugar are made annually by the French
and by the Canadians on tiii N siae 0f tn,
Atlantic, fsom the beet, and If the palat,
IL qualified judge Il Il S;f: be-. ..s sestimon,
TO the superior sweetness of the yam owe
tho beet, We have written 20 friend /,
q send q, few yaIns TO the department, ant
we will watch with much interest th,
result of this analysis, and report 1t.
There is now q heavy duty upon sugar
s and every lump d child eats costs fh.
parent more than It should, and henc.
che riecesaity and adviaability Of Jus
such eSpatiu1ents aB are proposed to b,
IS s.:sz!1 g. 9 !. h The ..anartE.ant Tia object
to3learn IL We san.ct manufacture euga
an sa1vtffSt end v,rnve.,. tl.Sa ,,aoa,,yt,s :,