The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1889-11-15
cUllok SEED wITESur ANY sfeH OF

ing and thoughtful as any in ihe agricultural
world. or this class there is one who has
recently created considerable comment by
discovery which, if effectively carried out,
will be one of the most valuable to the coun-
try at large that has been made in the last
quarter of century. Ills name is MIR.
Todc Ferguson. n well-known farmer of the
county. He has discovcrcd-or perhaps in |
vented would he the better cXprcssion-a |
new staple. IL is, in word cotton seed |
without the lint His process has been tested
and has been found satisfactory. 1t has
been manipulated by the deterioration of
the amount of lint to the multiplication OF
the seed. This has been accomplished by
the gradual, careful and critical breeding of
the plant. | use the word breeding al
viselly.
The results obtained by Mr.. Ferguson
have been through scientific breeding.
There arc male and female cotton plants
the male being designated, he thinks. by the
red stalks. The seeds arc vari-colored, the
shades being generally blue, green and
white, and of course cannot be distinchvely
specified Given this fact MIR. Ferguson
Ssls Slsn,s sni ti%s M1s ago to pick Oa. the
! nsm them. planted another patch separately.
When this crop was ready for. picking the
male plants were again selected and their
production of seeds planted separately again.
| This process of selecting male plants was
kept up until mt last the lint refuses to ger
inmate and nothing is left in the bolls save
| large amount of seeds. The amount of
seed contained in the boil is more than equal
| to the weight of the lint and seed found in
| the average sized boil of cotton.
Mr.. Ferguson believes that he can produce
| four hundred bushels of seed to the acre by
| this new discovery where only thirty-five
| bushels are now gathered with the lint. He
| has been very careful, in producing the re-
suits given above to obliteratc all vcstigcs of
| lint from n boil of cotton, and has succeeded
| in n most remarkable manner.
While coming here yesterday over the
| Port Royal and Western Carolina Railroad
met Col 7. J. Moore. one of the distinguished
farmers of this section, and at my request
he showed me boil with the seed. 1t has
| the appearance, both on the exterior and in
the interior, of a regular boil of cotton after
the lint has been picked out. The seed are n
| little larger than the common cotton seed.
| and are perfectly free from any scmblancc
of lint. The bols are filled with these sccd
| which are rs numerous rs Okra seed in n
pod of okra. Ii is also valuable point in
this new discovery that thc bolls grow in
| greater profiision than usual.
| Col. Moore prcfnccd his exhibition of the
discovery by II warming not to publish his name
|
with which he emphasized his belief in the
discovery made by Mr.. Ferguson induces me
to give him credit for this letter. lie said
that he had seen Ma. Fcrguson's patch of
cotton seed plants apd could testify to
| the Gcnuincncss of the discovery. Mr.. Fer
guson, it is understood. has unlimited faith in
his discovery and is still assured of still bet
| ter results.
cxamined.hc composition of the seed.
The hull contained full amount of sub
stance exactly similar to that found in cot
ton seed now used in the oil mills. 1t is
thought that this new staple will pan out in
such manner by iudicious cultivation that
it will supcrccdc to great degree the pres
cnt king. 1t will supply the demands for
the oil mills anl enrich the farmers. 1t WILL
if Mr.. Ferguson calculations are correct.
yield to the planter eighty dollars where he
IIow makes only ffty-aSSuming that one
Acre ofcotton will yield fifty dollars. The
eighty dollars will be obtained from fou,
cents per bushel, that being the present price
The new staple will therefore, net the farmer
u fifty dollars in clear money, if the cost of
production should even reach thirty dollars
The vast good that may result from Mr-feT-
gnseRs- invention viii he better imagined
than described. The figures l have given
above are not my own, but were named to
|
here for all they may he worth.-E. =. Mex
II Nrws anil Co"rjcr.
THE COLORADO observation-disclosures, Col.
Nov. l0.-A Trinidad, Col, Republican
special says: The bodies of John Martin
and Henry Miller the cowboys frozen to
death near Sierra Grandc, in the last week $
terrible blizzard were brought to Folsom for
burial. Four other men belonging to the
| g.
they are dcad 1t is reported by parties
who know that at least twenty men are miss
ing from this range and it is feared that
many will never be found.
Jolly and Wise, who escaped badly frozen,
tell hcartrending story of their sufferings
When the blizzard struck them on Wednes-
| day night of last week they were holding n
| herd of 900 cattle. The wind became n
| hurricane before morning, and they went on
the last guard about \. Nj. The storm
was so binding that they could not hold the
herd, and jolly started to camp for help
In the meantime Miller and Wise had left
the camp to assist in holding the cattle.
jolly could not find the camp and Miller and
Wise could not find the herd. All three
were drawn together by shouting, and they
wandered around till daylight when they
found Martin. The cold was so bitter that
the men entered Il ravinc and after fastening
their horses took the saddle blankets and
buried themselves in n snow drift about 3
i. NJ. and il was only by the greatest efforts
that jolly and Wise succeeded in keeping
awake. They were slightly apart from Mar
tin and Miller, and had difficulty in talking
to each other. The snow piled upon them
to such weight that they were forced to seek
another drift. About ! q clock Friday morn
ing Miller called jolly and Wise and told
them they had all better go, and when they
crawlcd out they made search in the drift for
Miller and Martin. The latter could only be
found and he was dead. They took their
horses and started, leading them. Soon
they found Miller on his knees. his horse
standing in front of him though trying to
protect him from the cold. lie was asked to
get up and so with them, but was unable to
rise and was assisted to his feet, but could
not walk. Jolly started to get assistance
while Wise remained with their dying COM
n,n 1, Nf L. q