The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-08-27

EChas. q. Noise, of Sumter, at the recent
!"Joint summer meeting" at Bennetts
vile: j..
True politeness has. been defined a'
follows ITO listen with interest tt
things yo6N know all about, when they
are told to you by q man who knows
nothing about them." This was said by
the Duke de Morny, the right hand man
of Napoleon III. will not make such
a demand upon the politeness of thit
joint meeting, for 1 would not presume
to address practical farmers upon the
management of agricultural matters
But I propose TO. offer q few thoughts
upon a line which rises above the actual
operations of the field, the orchard and
the vineyard, aud treats of the hygienic
and humanitarian aspect of the subject.
In doing so I. will con6ne myself to
single branch of agriculture, piz: Fruit
growing in its broadest sense. = =, '3,lsg
This honorable and interesting ,avoca.
tion,. aside from its practical uses, in
wolves vast and far-reaching interests
nothing less than health, sobriety and
consequently. happiness here and here
after. tt:.
You have. all, doubtless, experienced
the pleasures. which attend horticultural
Occupations. You know how much hap
piness arises from the careful observation
of the wonderful Operations of nature
how sweet it is 10 watch the gradual
unfolding of fruit blossoms; to. notice
the slow growth Of the fruit, and mark
the changes which succeed each other,
until, for example the ripe peach clothes
itself with, "a down as delicate as that
upon q maiden's check, and with colors
which rival the hues of the rainbow.
You know how delightful it is to eat the
fruit of your own raising. y
When the inspired writer wishes to
describe the acme of domestic happiness,
he speaks not.of waving fields of golden
grain, nor of Glowing. herds" which
awend slowly Ger the lea," but he tells
us of that rural beatitude "when every
man sits under his own vine and under
his own fig tree" To such an extent
does the love of nature, as shown In her
works, pervade the Sacred Scriptures,
that even in the dire extremity of war
che chosen people were forbidden by law
to destroy the enemy's fruit trees, for,
says the lawgiver, "The tree of the field
is mans life," meaning the means by
which man may live, and only of those
trees which bore no fruit, It is said
"shalt thou destroy and cut down."
Again, "what man is he that hath
planted vineyard, and hath not yet
eaten of it? Let him also 60 and return
unto his house, lest he die in the battle
and another man. eat of it,"
In the Old Testament king James's
version, fruit and kindred subjects are
treated of in one hundred and forty pass.
ages, and the vine, viz grapes, vines,
and wine in two hundred and forty.seven
passagesl
The vast strides made in fruit growing
and vine culture in the past few years
must have struck you forcibly. Persons
like myself, who havepassed the merid-
.ianlof life, can easily remember the time
when. Strawberries were cultivated in
small quantities and of inferior quality.
Now they are grown in large fields, and
are sent to distant markets by carloads.
The dainty epicure of New York has
paid as high as six dollars quart for the
earliest, while thousands of baskets sell
annually at one dollar each. This little
plant can yield more profit to the acre
than the best sea island cotton or Joshua
Wards rice in their palmiest days.
Those who are engaged in its cultivation
may rightfully claim the strawberry Leaf
from the coronet of tottering English
nobility of birth, where it has been long
recognized as an aristocratic emblem,
and wear it proudly as sign of the only
true nobility, the nobility of honorable
labor.
In like manner, did time permit, could
I speak of the rapid progress of the cul-
tivation c' all the other berries; of the
extensive orchards which flourish all over
our State; of the vineyards which adorn
the slopes of Barnwell, Aiken, Darling
ton and the entire Piedmont section OF
South Carolina; of the wines which are
made in nearly all the counties removed
from the seacoast of the luscious mel.
ons which are sent to market by special
trains; of the figs which weigh down
the wide spreading trees in the old Getty
by the Sea-" Of the railroad depots
stacked up with crates of apples and
peaches. All these bear upon material
and monetary interests. I come now to
the higher theme, to the orchard and
the vineyard, rs they affect the health,
the virtue and the happiness of our peo'
pie.
As our State enjoys the same climate
as middle and, southern France and
northern Italy, It follows that every fruit
which AourisGes in those favored regions
of the earth will thrive on South Carroll.
ma soil. And so is. The pomegranite,
the fig and the orange perfume the moss
clad live oak region of the coast; while
the peach and its congeners, the nectarine
and apricot, together with the plum and
the grape, cover the middle section ; Ind
the hardy apple grows luxuriantly on the
hillsides and mountains of the northwest
counties.
All ripe fruits are extremely whole
some, and in our warm climate the long
summer is shortened by the grateful food
furnished by our prolific SOIL.
The health.giving quality of fruit has
been sung in verse and rehearsed in prose
by sacred, by classic and by modern
authors. We cannot speak of the
hygienic properties of all the fruits which
grow in South Carolina. Itwould require
q volume to tell the tale. Let me take
a single example, the apple. At one
time it was the common crab.apple o.
Europe and Asia but by careful cult:
walton it had risen, at very early period
of history, to a high position among The
most valued kinds of food, and now the
persistent labors of pomologists have
produced not less than two thousand
varieties This luscious fruit has been
highly priced, in all ages, for its beauty
it's delicious taste, but above all for its
health-giving qualities.
We find it frequently mentioned in
the "Song of Solomon" )" in proverbs
the most precious portion of the eye, the
pupil, is called the "apple of the eye:"
.no:o,t Dop,opo o1u1o6 th al