Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1881-01-13
Present, Past and Future.

MRssRs. EDIroRs: A few dots on the cold
snap, in q sort Of Journalistic form, may be In
teresting to your many readers, and II you deem
thom 80 please publish them.
1t seldom OCCURS that we have two such great
extremes as this winter and last have been,
coming as they do in such CLOSE proximity to
cach other, and the effect will afford. valuable
data In ON agricultural point of view.
Last winter was nothing more than winter In
tho Land of Flowers. This winter Is certainly
from Northern latitude to Southern cline.
Last winter even tho sweet potatoes remained
sound in the patch and came up In the. spring.
This winter, there will DO comparatively few
that will escape tho froeze, unless much oaro has
been taken to preserve them.
There seems to be o falling off in the cotton
crop, the top crop failing to mature. It does
not become necessary to be wise to see that it
was tho warm winter failing TO freeze up The
salts Of tho earth, rendering the soil friablc,
that was tho cause of tho failure as soon as
tho guano was used up tho cotton failed. Corn
being shorter lived matured better.
predict that 1881 will be good fruit year,
not only in quantity but in quality. All fruits
will be moro aromatic, which nothing but cold
snowy winter can produce.
Those that havo sowed largely in small grain
will be well rcmuncrated, and had rather risk
wheat sown anytime between now and tho 10th
OF February this year than TO hayo it sown in
october for tho next two or three years 10 come.
Experience proves that it is unwise to mako but
one surplus crop and that cotton. But it is very
evident thcro will be surplus Of wheat made
I, ,nt n Ia, A., \
the best way to utilize tits to carry il over and
not sell ii. have by summing it kept ii for
three years and then found it better than tho
new crop.
With reasonable amount of rain there will
be moro cotton made in 1881 in this section than
ever has been before. But I am anticipating
started out to say something of the aspects Of
The weather since last Tuesday. Tuesday night
the weather was clear but the sky looked mirky
and at o'clock iinc snow commenced falns
from tho West and by 10 A. NJ tho snow was
four inches deep, there being already some snow
from last week. The clouds cleared away md
The sun shono out, but the mercury kept below
the freezing point. AS the shades of evening
came on Wednesday The mercury sank rapidly
and p. NJ. itindcatcd 100 and at II NJ, 10 md
at a. NJ. Thursday morning ut zero. The
highest point reached Thursday was $50. Thurs
day evening and night and Friday morning indi-
Gated the same changes as Wednesday night tho
mercury having been depressed to zero again
Friday was little warmer, but at no time did
The mercury reach above the freezing point
During Friday night it cloudcd up and Saturday
at J l o'clock it commenced showing again and
showed very rapidly until night. Tho snow on
Sunday was near seven inches deep. To-day
(Aonday) the mercury hns moved above 32o and
slight thaw has commenced. The river has
been full of mush ice, the earth has been tho
roughly frozen to ''hnrd pan" and although The
weather has been trying and unpleasant in the
extreme yet tho prospect is very prolious for
the present year, and other things being equal,
The Garth will yield an abundance of good things
TO the devotces of tho tillagc Of the soil. So
mote ii be. FRANK.