Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1895-10-04
LETTER FROM BETHEL.
The Ideal Conditions that Prevail In an
Ideal Township.

Correspondence of the Yorkville Enquirer.
FOREST HILL, October 2.-The fel-
low that sung, "Sometimes drunk and
seldom sober; but fall of the year
comes in October" didn't miss it very
far. All through the month of Sep
tember, we had the very hottest kind
of weather, missing even the u.s.
ual equinoctial gale; but October
came in with quite cool wave and
early yesterday morning the bottoms
were white with frost. There has
been no killing frost yet though, and
may not be so for some time.
The leaves on the trees are still
fresh and green, and ripe tomatoes
may still be gathered from the vines.
The dry weather, it is hoped, may
last awhile longer, as rain now would
be of no benefit except to lay the dust.
The late cotton bolls and turnip patch
es are past redemption. The turnip
crop did promise to be fine but the
farmers say now that there will be few,
if any, made.
The cane crop is very good this
year, and there has been a quantity of
molasses made in this community. Be-
sides there has been quite quantity
of cane used for feeding horses, cattle,
and hogs. Some of our farmers have
not fed any corn since the cane got
ripe enough to feed, and they say that
their horses and hogs fatten on it.
There has been more long forage
housed this year, and in q better con-
dition than the oldest inhabitant can
remember of having been saved.
The corn in the field is very dry,
and shells off the cob like old corn
that had been housed for six months.
1t is a good time now for those
having corn on the river and creeks
to take the advice that Senator
Finley gave them some time ago, to
gather in the corn before it was
washed away by freshet. Mr..
Finley's mythical lore does not seem
to have come directly from Jove, and
the early freshet that he predicted
turned out to be drought. Yet it is
a long lane that has no turn, and
when the wet weather does come, it
may come hard and last long time !;
so since the most of the crop is dry
enough to house, we think it would be
well enough to save what is made and
not run the risk of having it swept
away.
The fruit is most all gone. There is
still good many late apples and a
few persons have late peaches; but
the main fruit crop consists of musca-
dimes, winter grapes, persimmons and
black haws. The persimmon crop is
as good as I recollect of having seen,
and the lean hounds and opossums
ought to get fat.
This is good weather for chills. l
was over at Dr.. Campbell's few days
ago, and Mr.. James Stanton and my
self went to the orchard and eat some
apples and finished up on hog plums
and muscadines. also eat piece of
watermelon that the doctor was eating
as we came into the house.
Fearing that I had eaten too much
and might get sick, thought would
ask Billy-the doctors youngest boy
what he had eaten since breakfast.
So I said, "Billy, have you eaten any
apples today ?" ayes, sir" "Mus-
cadines ?" "Yes, SIR" "Hog plums ?"
ayes, sir" "Watermelon ?" eyes,
SIR" AS he had already filled my
bill, thought I would see if he had
eaten anything else, so I asked, "Any-
thing else ?" "nothing except some
grapes and raw potatoes" was the
answer. I thought if Billy could stand
it l could. l came out all right; but
Mr.. Stanton and Billy paid for their
indulgence with chill or two.
hear of some persons having chills,
but this particular section is as a gen.
eral rule healthy. The watermelon
crop is about done, and Cuffee no lon
ger sings:
80, de ham bone am sweet, and de bacon
am good,
De possum meat am berry, berry fine;
But give me, o, give me, / only wish you
would,
Dat watermillion smilin' on de vine."
Cuff will have TO be content with
the bacon and 'possum but it appears
that some of them want the ham bone
also, for they broke into Mr.. Bone
smokehouse about two
weeks ago and took two hams.
Mr.. Clawson Warren has made
quantity of the finest molasses that we
have ever seen in this country. They
are made from Siam Jelly cane. Mr..
Warren sent off for the seed, paying Is
cents an ounce for it. The price seem
ed large; but from the quality of mo-
lasses made it was a good investment
on Mr.. Warren's part.
They have hen over at Mr.. VIM.
that believes in woman's
rights; so instead of laying the aver
age sized egg, she lays eggs about the
size of pigeon egg. 1 don't think she
wears bloomers; but l expect she
crows.
Mr.. J. R. Cook still has plenty of
apples in his orchard. He has the best
selected orchard of apples in this part
of the State.