Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1893-01-12
THE MOUNTAINS AS
HAVE SEEN THEM.
Crops-Their Mode of Culture-Care Of
Fruits, Vegetables and Other Cereals
Waterfalls and Cataracts-Climate
Manners and Customs of the People.
For the KEowEE COURIER. !

For the kEoWEE COURIER.
Situated in the upper portion OF
Oconee is an elevated plateau Of
table lanc, which, beginning at the
top of Boa,wright Mountain, extends
Northward for distance of twenty
five miles, and is estimated any
where from two to ten miles in width.
This section OF country is inhab-
tied by class of people who, for the
most part, live at home and board at
the same place. Having beer thrown
among these people for short time
it may not be amiss to give brief
sketch of their mode and habits of
living, scenes and incidents that may
be observed in a mountainous coun-
try, all of which are entirely differ
ent from those regions that are less
elevated III their nature, which differ
ence may be strikingly noticed, even
IN the middle or lower portion Of the
county.
The first peculiar difference we
notice is that most all uplands are
cultivated alternately; that is, the
land which is worked this year will
lie over for another year, allowing a
heavy coat of weeds and grass to
cover the land, which is turned under
ground during the fall and winter
months. This is about all the ferti!-
izing the land gets, as commercial
fertilizers are seldom used, and, those
that do, use both the commercial with
homemade fertilizers on their bot
tom lands, which, generally speak
ing, are cultivated every year.
Corn, which is the main crop, is
planted from the first of April to the
middle OF May, and is cultivated,
with slight difference, as it is in
other portions OF the county, the
striking feature being that, in places,
the corn is planted on hillsides
so steep that, to us who are not
used to the like, it would appear that
a "scotch boy" you'd have to follow
alongside the OK or mule, as the case
may be, and help him to preserve an
equilibrium in case he should make a
misstep, which might result in pre-
cipitation less disastrous to the corn
than to the OK himself; and if Eel.
lew. be too well tied up. to the lines
he would most certainly follow suit
humanity after oxanity. But these
people are used to the like and never
seem to notice such things, and:
apparently, move along as well az
those whose lands are entirely level
One advantage, however, | see IL
two sided" land. Like the fellow
who had discovered new way o
making one-cent stamps answer tht
purpose of twovcent stamps, OF
} inquiry of how it could be dom
replied, sSU sc two of them" SO whel
one side of our land wears out w
just step over 20 the other side anc
wear it out, too; not two stamps Il
one, but two hillsides where other
wise, if the hill were to lean over
t only one side would be level and tn
r other side wrong end upwards,
! Tie cabbage and apple crops ar
. next in Importance, both of whic
: seem to do better on low lands tina
e on hillsides. Cabbage is planted
e where the ground is very rich, i
b rows from three and half TO fou
= = seet wide and about two and ha
4 4 feet apart in the drill. The slips az
set out about the latter part of Ma
e and the first of JUNE. Experiene
e has taught the planters that the ea'
) lier setting is always subject
;. ;. decay, white those thai are put o,
d late do not mature so early, an
hence are less liable to rot: Abot
one good working is all that the ca
bage GETS and that is during tt
mouth ofsAugust. After few ligl
frosts have fallen, then comes Il
is time of hauling thend off to marks
u Those whose crops are SO large tn
ithey cannot readily dispose Of the