The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-12-18
on1aIN, OF. rHE 0nnEAxy.

It Is a matter Of interest that most
of our cultivated grains cannot be
traced to their origin. The oat has
been found wild and thouroughlv IN.
digenous, though not in as perfect q
condition for agricultural uses as the
forms we grow, still there is no doubt
that the cultivated and wild forms are
the same. OF wheat, no form has ever
been found wild that any one conld
sa' was tho parent OF our kind; and
batanists believe that either wheat has
go widely divcrged from the wild orig
inal that the relationship cannot now
be detected, or that the wild original
has entirely disappeared from the
earth's surface. The last position is
the generally accepted one; though q
quarter Of a century or more ago, a
French gentleman tried series Of cx-
pcriments by which he concluded he
had raised wheat from wild grass Of
that country, by successive selections
throrg'l sevcral generations. These
observations, however. do not seem to
have carried much weight with them,
as we see no reference made to them
by those eminent men who have been
recently discussing the question.
Our Indian corn seems to bc more
Of mystery than any Of the othcrs,
for no one has venturcd an opinion
that we know, as to whether it ia an
imrr0ved race from some wild thing
now lost, or the original wild plant IT,
self, destroyed BY Nature, though pre-
served bv man. 1t was found nv our
old world cmigruMts when they first
landed here, In cultivation by the ma
tives, but nowhere wild. This was
the case with the Indians Of
Central America; but even the north
ern Indians, or at least the squaws,
grew corn. The Winnebagocs and
other tribes about Lake Michigan
made corn culture an especial feature,
using shells in the place Of spades and
hoes, and to this day the remains Of
their "corn cellars" {holee In sandy
gronnd) and cornhills are among tho
the most Interesting :. their remains.
Corn is found in nina now; but
whether it was known there before
tho intercourse Of EurODeans with
them does not appear conclusive, MS
the evidence conflicts; but it would bo
interesting to know this for certain.
1t would not only throw light on tho
native counrtv IF the Indian corn. but
perhaps help those who arc studying
Indian antiquities also.-Gernantown
Telegraph.
Among the most efficient appoint
ments in the shoe manufactures Of the
present day arc the boot and shoe
crimDin| machines-twoe entirely sep
arate inventions-thcf former being ca
pable of perfectly crimping twelve to
sixteen eases Ofboots daily, better also
than can hc criInprd bv hand. and the
shoe crinper finishing in a perfect
manner over four hundred pairs per
hour. In leather machinery, there arc
glassing, stoning, pebbling, and polish
ing jacks. tanning and stuffing mills.
also tn" hide unhair'ng machines that
wi II do the work Of four to eight men,
taking out the lime. Dispensing with
the objectionable batting or drnlching,
aud loin" eight hundr Il sides dailv
with ease. There is likewise new
machine for snftcniny leather, by
which every fibre is loosened and
softened without injury.
Mistress (horrificd) )-"Good gra-
ciOus, Bridget. have you been using
one Of INV stockings to strain the cot:-