The Somerset reporter., 1886-11-17
DURING WAR TIMES.
HOW THE SOUTHERN PEOPLE MAN
AGED VARIOUS DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.

bothered About Threshing wheat-A
Noman's Way Primitive Mills for
Crushing Sugar Consolidating Brown"
sugnr-Home Made Head wear-Fans.
All planters were required by the Con-
foderate government Il tax or 1.-THE of
one-tcnth of all the grain or provisions
that was grown in the south, each town
or city having its graaary where was car
ried the tenth of grain, bacon, rice, syrup
and so on to he used for the support of
our army In southern Alabama the
cultiNating of the cereals was rare
thing before the Wat. | think the same
viii Gpply To most Of the Interior south
crn states. Bat the planters began in
earnest tn grow corn, wheat, oats rye
and peas. All rinist places that had
hitherto been Thought dt for naught were
put into rice and sugar cane patches,
and were found to yield pleutifully.
Many fGracr3 were surprised at the great
yield Of Wheat. | remember hearing ore
ulaii - he lived in Troy, Alabama, tell Of
highly ferti,i"lnG one acre of common
pine upland Us Il trial. The result Uas
seventy five bushels Of wheat. Another
planter near Glennyillc, Alabama, eat
fifty bushels OF wheat from one acre he
had enriched
OF course there was some bother about
threshing the wheat. While some could
thrash and fan" at their gin houses,
there were those who would bide the
time for the travelling threshcr to come
around. Others whose sowing and reap
ing was on small scale would maui the
wheat out with fails of their own make.
One day we went to see the threshing ar
rangcmcnt one woman, whose husband
and sons were in the army, had devised.
We found the room carpeted with sheets
and tapestried with coverlets, and the
woman seated in a chair, with common
sized barrel before her. A sheaf of
wheat was in her hands and she was
pounding tho grains OF wheat out over
the barrel. She would in this primitive
way fail rs much as two or three bushels
and then spread the sheets on the ground
in the open air the wheat being poured
on in n continuous stream. The wind
acted as the great fan and carried the
chaff lightly away. The wheat being
ground at some Touring mill would last
her quite while. When used up the
same rude failing would be resorted to.
Hundreds during the war threshed in
the same primitive manner.
Mills had also to be erected for crush
ing the juice from the sugar cane.
Wooden cylinders were almost univer-
sally used, as those of iron were scarcely
obtanable during the war While wooden
cylinders were net satisfactory as all the
juice of the cane could not be thoroughly
pressed from the crushed cane, the
farmers cheered themselves with the idea
that there was no geat loss, us the swine
ha rha
furnaces for syrup and sugar boiling were
raised of rocks, if bricks were not con-
venient, though many small brickyards
were put in operation during the four
years of the war. Long wooden troughs,
followed from trees, were also indispen-
sable for pouring the syrup from the boil
ers to cool. The syrup was thick and
clear. The sugar was unavoidably
brown, as there was no means in the
| great stress of the times of clarifying it,
| | have seen the planters work long
| smooth oak splits, cat thin from The top
| to the bottom Of the barrel filed with the
home made sugar, to aid the dripping and
to better free the sugar from moisture
There was Il peasing and gratificd delight
| among the planters when they had been
successful in making their sugar very
| light and dry, and it not infrequently hap
pened that on II neighbor calling the first
| thing after the conventional greeting
would be to bring forth small package of
his make OF sugar wrapped in brown
paper. Another industry of the south
that the exigency of the times called W
was that of pottery, which if not food and
clothing, was quite serviceable. OF
course the earthenware then produced
was coarse and brown, the enamel with
4 i,l, ,rIo a1 hn, n
smile of disdain, perhaps from the an
cient Etruscans, but ours was time OF
necessity, and there were events of more
moment to occupy the thoughts than
worry over the rough glazed earthenware.
There being no way of getting hats OF
bonnets, and those we had at the be-
ginning of the war becoming too much
worn for further renovating, other eX'
pelients for the head wear had to be de-
vized, and it was surprising the variety o1
material that could be used for hats, caps
and bonnets.
There was palmetto, wheat and oat
straw and corn husks. Even the long
leaved pines, when neatly braided, were
not to be scorned. We soon became quite
skilled in the the varied designs of pal
metto and straw braidings, which besides
making hats was also used for making
baskets, fans and mats. Hats and caps
were mnde of cloth. The "bonne'
squash, known by some as the "Spanisf
dishrag," was grown by some for making
bonnets and hats. They were really
beautiful, appearing as network Of
gossamer There were those who would
make the frame Of the bonnet, theI
cover with the down and small white
feathers of the goose. Larger feather,
| TO- 81, nd hax
were by no means rustic looking. We
also CLEANED n knowledge of the "willow
wickerwork," and baskets of many
shapes and sizes went forth of our make
A neighbor, out of the willow twigs
wove the body for her babes carriage
We soon learned to make fans of the wing
feathers of the geese. When the feathers
were mature we would pluck them, being
very careful in plucking to string the
feathers one by one rs they were taken
out. All the right wing feathers were
placed on one string end the left wing
feathers on another string, so that when
we arranged the feathers for making the
fan each feather could be placed in its
proper place and would have the fitting
curve. We soon became quite skilled in
the art of making fans Beside those for
home use we made and sold in the city
of Eufaula many fans for as much as $40
and @15 apiece l made one for my
mother of the dark olive-green feathers
of the pcafowl. The handle l covered
with piece of dark-green silk velvet.
On either side where | had joined the
handle and feathers | placed n rosette
made of the small green and blue varie-
gated feathers that adorn the neck and
| breast of the peafowl. Mrs. =. A. Hayne
in Philadelphia Times
Railroads for Japan.
The Japanese government has agents
in England negotiating for large pur-
chases Of rails, engines, bridges, and
plant required for her railway develop
| ment.-Frank Leslie's.