The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1880-05-08

/ spent March 25th on the planta
, ton of MI. g. Menelas, two miles
south of Brookhaven tation, Miss.
Brookhaven Is in the exact latitude OF
Natchez-3lo 34' and lies SO miles
east of that city. The farm is owned
by Mr.. c. Menelas, and his two neph-
ews, Messrs. II. and p. They were
born in Greece, educated at the Uni
versity at Athens, and finished their
studies at Paris. The senior having
inherited u fortune, added largely to
it by ten years devotion to CONNER
cial affairs in Bombay and Calcutta,
and thereafter making q tour of the
world, bought this plantation and
settled down, bringing his Greek
friends and nephews to share in cuti-
waiting and improvingit. The planta-
ton embraces l 400 acres within the
"piney woods REGION" but more than
half this area is still occupied by
groves of the long leafed pine Ptnas
duStrdlis) thinned, however, by the
urgent calls for timber, to which the
near neighborhood of prosperos rail-
road lines always gives rise. The soil
on the upland is thin ard sandy, like
that of the entire region of the loug-
| lGultu IlllC, Duu IllC bObbOilo OI bllS
creeks, of which there are two or three,
are of the richest character, and there
| il is Mr.. NJ. made his most successful
wear were corn, cotton, sugar cane of
two varieties, amber sorghum cane,
iute, German and pearl millet, COW
peas, tobacco, sweet and Irish potatoes,
oats, barley and rye, fruits and vege-
10, ;Dtx Ia cnu-aI fold |
with twelve varieties of northern
grasses for the purpose OF learning
which will prove hardy in the South. |
Mr.. Menelas received in the winter, |
500 healthy tea plants from Commits
sioncr lie Due, and l can cheerfully
saw that the site for them has been
we'll chosen, the soil carefully prepared,
MANFRED and fertilized, and the plants
iudiciously handled, and there is every
reason to think that the plants will
start well as soon as warm growing
weather comes on. Measures will
be taken to shade the plants from the
excessive midsummer heat, either by
the planting of crops between the
rows, or by other means.
Mr.. NJ. has been able to obtain only
half a dozen olive trees, and these re-
cGnIlN, anu llGIlC lllbIC NtilI bS S'tINt VA
them than that they had made a good
three acres of Scuppenong grapes,
way, and two acres of native and
European varieties. Of the former
the Ives leads, followed by the Con-
cord, Herbemont, Hartford, Clinton
and others, and of the latter there are ,
4 NyoI1 -tpin1 Cor
man varieties suited to that region,
ence, from which Mr.. Menelas obtain
ed his vines. Of sugar cane there are
eight acres this year, the canes in the
new field having been planted in Feb,
ruary; and in both the new and old
fields, the young cane was sprouting !
and coming up, and was not more
than two weeks or ten days behind the
best of that saw near New Orleans.
Last year there were only fouf acres,
and from this enough seed cane was
saved to plant four acres more. Beside
that, 900 gallons of mOlasses were {
made and l 900 pounds Of sugar. The $
popular impression, Mr.. NJ. said, {
seemed to be that sugar could not be
made from cane grown so far north, +
Dul lIlOuSll Ills MN was d llShO cilC, 6
and necessarily left a great deal of !
rich juice in the bagasse, he succt eded ,
with a centrifugal separator Of home
in making sugar with +
out the least difficulty. Compared r
with the sugar made from the North
amber cane, there was the +
widest possible difference. The South q
ern product was remarkably free from q
the gum and glucose which character +
ICES the other. The success of Mr.. NJ. r
in this particular seems to indicate t
that at time not far distant, the sue Il
,essful cultivation of the true sugar o
cane will pass beyond the near limits %
If the Gulf coast, and reach the lati-
ude Of Vicksburg and perhaps Green
lille and Memphis, where its cultiva-
ion is confined to the alluvial bottoms ;.
# the Mississippi river. Only one II
Icre of jute was grown, and this on II
reek bottom land alongside the cane 8
patches. The success with this crop
vas 80 marked that it is proposed to
xtend the acreage and prepare the o.
ibre for market on large scale. fl