The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-04-02
NO.
Letter From South Carolina

we had in Virginia, it was really grateful
to be transported, in the early days of
March. to the balmy cline of South Caro-
lima, where the weather is just warm
enough to make good breeze enjoyable.
The difference between Virginia and
South Carolina is even greater than / had
ever imagined. They differ in climate, in
soil. habits and manners Of the people, ag-
ricultural pursuits, their products, and in
deed in about everything What strikes
me as forcibly as anything else is their
forests. They are very dense, great deal OF
underground, and the trees areso very tall
and straight, particularly the pine, cypress,
poplar and gum, which frequently tower
up hundred feet or more without a limb
until near the top. The country is very
level, and small streams frequently spread
over an immense area. the water having
dark brown or reddish appearance, and
filled with various kinds Of fish, the pike,
the trout, sucker and catfish. with an oc-
casional alligator and the otter more fire.
quently. The cypress is very common
tree here-seems to come out of the ground
by several different roots which unite or6
it. from the ground and then grow very tall
and often very large. The wood is very
light and easily followed out, and they sink
itinto their wells and it serves as the walls
also use it for canoes and making shin
giles. In riding along some Of these
SWgmnS traaC ara en- n1Oarorc DC +O oh
struct the view until you come to the
main channel Of the stream where it opens
and YOU can see as far as the eye can reach.
The trees above are draped in a peculiar
greyish moss, which droops several feet,
5 or 6 feet, and always has that
same dead greyish appearance, sometimes
covering only portions of the tree, but
very frequently covering the entire tree.
1t is parasite, drawing the most Of its
from the tree and obstruct-
ing in places entirely the light of the sun
1t must be lovely indeed in hot summer
time. The forests have various species OF
trees, the cypress, the pine, the poplar,
the gum, oaks, of which there are several
varities-the white, the black, the red,
the chestnut, the swamp or water, and
the live oak, which is an evergreen, the
ash, the bay and the magnolia, the china,
the holly, the sycamore and cedar, with
of pine, ivy, whortleberry,
gallberry, cane, sc. This season is said
to be very late and the trees are not out
yet, though usually out before this time
We have seen but few trees in bloom.
The 14th Of February is generally garden
day here. and gardens are often made in
January. The farmers are busy preparing
their ground for cotton. They plough be-
tween the old stocks of cotton with single
They then put in their fertilizer made OF
cotton seed sometimes ground into meal,
or the ashes of the husks,) combined with
serf from the piny woods and Cuano. They
lay on this and leave it until the 10th OF
April, and plant the cotton seed they ex-
pect to grow on top of it. The cotton
blooms about June LIST. Bloom generally
appears in the morning when it is white
and becomes a beautiful pink by night and
drops off during the night leaving the pod.
They generally plant their corn, potatoes
and rice in the same way, and gather all
about the last Of September or 1st October.
Cotton seems so much more profitable that
it excludes other products, but requires
more attention-has to be ploughed and
hoed or times and thinned, They gen
orally raise one or two bales to the acre
and a bale is worth about $50, -generally@
expect one good hand to attend 10 acres,
and labor is worth from Sc to $40 per
month and rations. The women white
and black work in the fields, ploughing,
hoeing, and doing any kind of farm work
just as the men do. Everybody drives his
single team. Has his cart wheels
like our wagon wheels, put on rude
wooden axle, and TWO rude undressed poles
fastened for shafts, with holes in their
ends. The names are fastened to the neck
of horse, mule, COW or calf, as the case may
be, and without collar-two large iron
rings OF pieces of rope attached to names,
through which the shafts pass and pin
in the holes in shafts to pull by, is
about all Of their harneSs-sometimes a
harness saddle and the rope bride. The
country being perfectly level and without
rock, they travel in this way, having no
use for holding back straps even on their
buggy harness, and the sandy roads have
one single beaten track in the middle and
tracks for the wheels. They then hitch
up their horse, mule, pony, COW or calf,
which looks really funny to Virginian
who has not been accustomed to seeing it.
In some instances they put their cows to
variety OF purposes-ploughing, drive
them to their carts, ride them to mill, and
then milk them. Their stock is not so
fine as ours, only an occasional fine horse
or COW. Milk COWS are often very small.
not much taller than large sheep an oc-
casional fine Jersey or Attorney of usual
size is seen. Hogs, sheep and goats
very much like ours, and same kind of
stock. Have not seen any fat cattle and
do not think they raise them. 1t is said
that one great hindrance to this
country is that they keep their
smoke houses and granaries in the
west, and that the money spent by the
Southern people for western corn and
bacon is enormous and surpasses all be-
lief. They have any quantity of fish IN
their rivers and swamps. The shad, the
pike, the cat. the red horse, trout sucker,
and sometimes you can see large alligators
10 OF 20 it.. swimming up and down their
rivers, with their heads above the water.
and sometimes lying on the sides Of the
river, and when a hog or other animal
comes to drink, knock them in the water
with their tails and pick them up They
also have plenty of game, deer, turkey,
coons, opossums, squirrels, partridges. &C.,
but no pheasants or ground squirrels. They
have a reddish brown wood rat that is very
destructive to the corn, and lives princi
pally in the woods. They have plenty of
reptiles, snakes of all kinds-the rattle,
the coach whip, the pilot, the black, COP
perhead, water moccasin, Sc. The rattle.
coach whip and black, sometimes 6 or s
feet long. The coach whip is slim and
is said to wrap its victim and lash it with
~.