The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1888-01-12

walk. Ihoy always carry the scytbes
forks and rakes back and forth every
day, and work as long as there is day
light; and since it is daybreak ut 3 u. M
and not dark till $50 p. m., tho hours O.
labor arc long ones.
The forks used in the fields are made
OF the prongs of tree branches. A Hml
is selected which has at lenst three off
| shoots, and from this hay or wheat
fork is made. The wheat is stacked nj
first like that Of America, except in the
matter Of cap-shcafs. Instead Of three
or four top-sheaps just one is placed. IT
is turned heads down and spread SO as to
cover tho entire stack. Tho heads OF
Russian wheat arc long and slender and
the grain small and red. It would be
graded ut Duluth or Chicago as No. ::
The straw is rank and slender, and the
yield q little more prolific than in Amer
lca. 1t is harvested and sown in the
same month, August. When the wheat
is sufficiently matlmed it is hauled Oh
long, slender, oDc-horso wagons to the
Windmill on tho farm and threshed.
Hauling wheat to the thresher is q
lelsurely and lazy work, and is never
done till the ploWman wants the ground
1t occupies. The windmill Which fur
nlshes the fail power for the threshing
Is the same found throughout Holland
and Germany. it is double-armed, the
same as the one Don Quixote set out to
conquer. These mills are very common
around Warsaw, in Poland, and are
used for every conceivable work, the
women even grinding their coffee, churn-
ing and washing with them. The
sll8htest breeze sets them going, as their
faces are turned against tho wind so as
to catch its full force. This appears,
however, to be the only labor-saVing in
stitution found in Russia.
[ asked q landlord why he did not in
troduce the modern implements On lis
farms, and was informed that labor was
too cheap; besides, it was found ad-
vantagconS to give Us many people work
III tho country rs possible, because if
they go to the towns or cities thev be-
come troublesome! It will not bo till
the serfs leave the farms that Russia will
have modern improvements; and not till
then will she compete to any great cx-
tent with the United States in supplying
the wheat markets Of Europe.
no EDUCATION FOR THE POOR.
Though ignorant and kept away from
general communication, tho peasants in
Russia arc becoming greatly dissatisfied
with tue way they are treated by the
government and the landowners They
take the recently issued edict on the
subject of education TO cover their case
more especially than that of any other
class. The ministry Of public education
has but recently declared that it will
stop the last avenue possible to the edu-
cation OF the poor clGBsc8. II will rot
permit them TO enter even the private
universities, and has closed the doors OF
tho public ones by circular to the Gu
rators of tho scholastic circuits, an.
uoGncinY shat "gymDasia ma pro
gymnasia will hencoforth refuse to re.
ceivo as pupils the children OF
domestic servants, cooks, washer women,
small shop-kcepors and others of like
condition, whose children, with tho cx.
ception, perhaps, Of those gifted with
extraordinary capacities, ah0uIA not be
raised from the circle to which they be-
long and be thereby led, rs long as OK
perionce hn5 shown, to dcspiso their
parents, to become discontented with
their lot and irritatCd agains5 the newt
able inequalities Of existing social posi-
tiOns."
The real reason that this extraordinary
proclamation has been issued is the
growth of Nihilism. This the officials
freely and frankly admit. They say
that as soon as the child of a peasant
gets into school and begins to read and
think he or she becomes q Nihilist, nri
goes into the community from whence
the pupil came and spreads tho infac-
ton. So the last chanuel to intelligence
is to be thus closed. The edict was
issued at the instance Of the nobility,
and is also intended to check the emigra.
ton from the farms to the cities.