Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-05-17

siI
It Of from north to south, east to west
measured 1t with poles, paced it off again
then lay down under q tree to rest.
This measuring and resting took several
days. When they were sure of the exact
size they brought in horse and plow and
began TO turn over tho soil, one man driv
ing the horse, another holding the pillow
while the third rested under tree. After
two or three burrows were made there was
evidently q difference of opinion as K
whether the lot should be plowed up and
down or across. There was an earnest con,
versation, d vast amount Of pointing and
gesticulsting, and the horse and pillow were
taken away.
The next day the plowing began again
and after three days of what In Bermuda Ii
called labor, the lot was plowed. Such ex-
ertion Of course demanded period of rest
and after the lapse of one day the three
men reappeared, armed with hoes and
rakes, and began to Smooth down" the
soil This is work that the Bermuda darby
must delight in. Hemust first determine
where to begin, and that requires some
hours of elaboration. Then, having made
mp his mind, he attacks one corner with q
hoe, and strikes several effective blows. A
carriage drives past, and he stops and leans
upon the hoe handle till 1t is out Of sight.
Two or three more blows, and he goes slow
ly off to a distant part of the lot for a drink
of water
On his return to work he breaks two OF
three more clods, finds stone or bit OF
broken glass that attracts his attention,
picks it up and carries 1t to one of his fell
low worl1men to get his opinion Of it. Re-
turns to work, breaks q few more clods,
and by this time is so fatigued that he has
to stretch out under a tree and rest. II IL
only, Of course, while he is under the boss
eye that he exerts himself in this way.
When the boss is absent tho darby Is asleep
under q tree. He gets four English shil-
lings day for this business, and does not
earn one. Although the Bermuda darby
is better educated and generally moro civ
ilized than his brother in the West Indies,
he is just as lazy and just as thoroughly
worthless.
AT the end of two weeks the lot was
plowed and raked down toa proper smooth
ness. Then followed period of inactivity,
perhaps TO let the soil recover from its UNI
wonted exertion. After lapse of three or
four days the men appeared again and re-
ing alternating this with siestas under the
tree and heated arguments about whether
the beds should run lengthwise or across.
This important matter took days of delib-
Grafton, and at length the beds were
marked out,
Then came putting out the "sets," for in
Bermuda the onion seed is sown in the
open ground and allowed to grow until the
l.. ,f all
finger, the plants being then transplanted
to long beds of six straight rows each, with
narrow walks between. 1t took more than
q week TO put out the sets, and February
was almost gone before the garden was
planted. Those three men were ut work at
it for four weeks, doing what one good
American gardener would have done in
four days.
This was a good example of "cheap" col
ored labor; Three men at 81 O day each;
twenty.four days, $72; an American gar
dener Mt So day, four days, IS. The owner
of that lot would be frightened to pay a
laborer ~ q day, but he was really paying
his men Mt the rate Of $40 day each, CON
sidering the work they did. But when the
men went home to rest after their arduous
toll nature began her work, and it Is a good
thing for Bermuda that nature is not as
lazy as the darkies.
For two or three days the tops of the lit
tie onions were wilted and brown, and 1t
was hard to see that anything was planted
at ALL But they began 20 pick up, There
came warm rain and sunshine, and more
warm showers, and at the end Of the week
the onion beds were as green as they would
be with us In a month. All the weeds that
show themselves are carefully pulled out
by hand frequently by women and chill
dren, and the soil Is loosened with marrow
spading forks with long handles. Cor.
New York Times.