The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1883-11-17
OUR GoOSEQUlLL LETTERS.

| The Cresanthemum Show-Domestic Silk
| Culture-Increase of Business in the
Divorce Courts-An Affecting Farewell
Bishop Young, Formerly of Louisiana
Rev. Phillips Brooks-A Romantic Mar
| riage, Etc.
| PHILADELPHIA Nov. S. 1883.
EDITOR CHIEF:
This has been one of those glorious days
when the crisp air and brilliant sunshine
filed one with the energy needful for great
undertakings. Nothing very Herculean Of
ferod itself to me, however, and I contented
myself with ride out Chestnut street, over
the Schuylkill bridge, through West Phila-
delphia to the Park. There, I visited the
ing and delighting all Philadelphia, and
surely it is feast for the vision. I never
saw anything to equal the size, beauty and
variety of the flowers. They are as large
around, some of them, as coffee cup sau-
GERS; fully six and eight inches in diameter.
The rich lemon color and the pure, pearl
white are the most beautiful. The finest
varieties come from China and japan. The
cresanthemum is of easy culture-can be
grown from seed or cuttings-but great
skill is required to reach such perfection as
| the Park florists are exhibiting. Cresan-
| themums are the rage noW-every lady of
fashion wears them as a corsage bouquet.
The Park is much changed of late. Nature
has in many places donned her sombre,
autumnal dress and the brilliant foliage of
the colored leaf variety Of decorative plants
is all burned black by the frosts. It is still
one of the loveliest spots in the world, how
| ever.
Visited the rooms of the Woman's 3 Silk
Culture Association few day ago and,
felt my interest in the project renewed as 1
watched the process of silk reeling, saw the
woven in this country and heard the obllg
ing lady manager tell the story of its sue
cess. | also took fresh hold of the old
thought, which long ago entertained. that
| the industry is particularly we'll adapted to
the South. The North with her usual eye
to progress has taken hold of it, but owing
to climate, can not do with it what the
raised in the South. The mulberry grows
there easily: in fact, is already growing i'll
many places-never having died out since
the old Colonial days when it was planted
by order of the English Crown for the pur-
pose of introducing silk culture in this
country. In 1916 Virginia endeavored by
an act of the General Assembly to encour-
age silk culture, and it seems strange that
80 many years have passed and yet the in
dustry is in its infancy. No one need OK
pect to get rich in silk raising. AS the
labor and expense are trihing, and it can
be carried OIL by the poorest and humblest,
it is worthy of attention. 1t would comeln
very nicely as one Of several irons in the
fire. Ladies in conjunction with house
keeping or school teaching could have their
silk rooms, just as they have their poultry
yards or bee hives. Sugar planters could
utilize the labor of women and old men,
and the pooret classes could employ their
children in that way. The white mulberry
! is considered the best food for the silk
worm and grows easily from cuttings. The
Usage orange is also excellent food. Rails
| ing silk worm eggs is more profitable than
cocoons. There are 10000 eggs to the
ounce and it requires about one hundred
moths to lay an ounce of eggs. One pound
of fresh cocooas Will bring fifty cents, while
eggs that are free from disease command
as much as eight dollars an ounce. In
France the silk worm eggs have always
been raised by the peasants, but of late
|
owing, it is supposed, to the bad air of the
peasants huts, that France has imported
| largely from Japan. If this country would
establish reputation for good eggs she
might monopolize the trade with France.
In 1877 France paid 1 ,6S1, 400 francs for eggs
imported from the United States, and the
Chief of the French Commission to the
Centennial admitted that France made no
better silk than some that was on exhibit
ton then and raised in North Carolina.
Everything goes to prove that the South
ought to accept silk culture among her
other industries.
Judge Allison of the Desertion Court
holds high levee every few days and yester-
day was unusually exercised over the num-
Der OF cases presented to hlm: ne SCI
about trying to adjust matters by giving
good, fatheriy advice, but in every case the
men said they had too much mother-in-law
at home, and the women said they had
trusted and made up and been fooled often
enough and nothing would suit but separa-
ton. The old Judge held out in one case,
however; refused to grant the ordor and in
sisted that the couple must try living to-
gether a month longer. He said something
must be done to stay the desertions that
are increasing all the time. During ten
wears the number of these cases has in
creased four fold. AS it is, the law en-
courages the practice by permitting wom-
an to leave h or husband for the slightest
cause, rush into court and get an order
compelling him to- support herself and a;
children. Turning from this court to that
of Common Pleas, we find that during Oc-
tober seventeen divorces were granted.
What hope is there for the human family!
The farewell service of Rev. Matthew
Newkirk, in the Bethlehem Presbyterian
Church, of which he has been pastor for a
long while, was real sad. Even those who
had been most busy in propagating the
slanderous stories about him must have
been touched by pity at sight of the broken
hearted man. He announced his resigna-
ton to the congregation and said as his
health required a change of occupation and
scene he would go to Europe for a few
years. He is man of fine family and
considerable wealth. The story that has SC
blurred his life's page is this: About ayeal
!, ago very nice widow lady, Mrs. Dalton
became the soprano of his choir. He was
seen frequently in her company and the
world gazed and talked, as the world will
,, That perhaps would have subsided had il
not been that the two went to Bedford
Springs together last summer and stopped
at the same hotel, where he instead of reg
as Mrs. Newark, New Jersey. They re
manned at the Springs week, then re
turned together to Philadelphia. No ont
detected anything wrong in their oondac
, otherwise, and the Board of Trustees, afte
a careful investigation, rendered g verdic
: of simple imprudence. Society, however
? could not be appeased and set the ball 0
scandal rolling, which never stopped unit
it drove the poor man from his work an
his home.
l met Bishop Young of Florida lately ant
: had talk with him. In giving an accoun
d of his work in the South, he reverted to hi
: rectorship of Christ Church, Napoleonyille
! Assumption, and seemed disposed to ro
I, u back the car of time, that he might be onc
5 more the county parson, jogging along onhi
i old yellow horse from one comfortable, hos