Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-28
THE LATEST FROM PITCAIRN.
A Woman Visitor Says the Island Is Para
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A Woman Visitor Says the Island Is Para
 disc and Reports All Well There.
 When the British ship Comliebank sailed from Portland last winter, bound for England, says the Morning Oregon ian, Captain Smith carried with him a large quantity of clothing, books hard ware, etc, for the lonely Pitcairn island CTS. These were collected by Dr. R. B. Knight of Portland from merchants and others who take an interest in the inhab- itants of Pitcairn. The Comiebank reached England short time ago and Captain Smith has written Dr. Knight an account of the passage, inclosing a letter from Mrs. Smith, who accompa- nied her husband on the voyage, describ ing the visit to the island Mrs. Smith writes:
 Tn true jack tar fashion I climbed down the side of the Comliebank and landed without mishap in the islanders boat which looked like basket. There were ten men in the boat and I enjoyed the row of two miles to the island. When we neared the shore the surf was very rough, washing on the rocks, and 1t looked to me rather dangerous under taking to try to take so frail a craft as their boat into waters so furious. But nothing happened to me worse than little wetting, which I scarcely noticed at the time, and entirely forgot when one of the natives picked me up in his arms and carried me onto the beach, the boat not being close enough to allow me to step out of it on dry land.
 "The islanders had been watching the boat returning, and, seeing lady In it, sent a reception committee to bid me welcome. It consisted of one barefooted damsel, with a bunch of flowers, and sev- eral small children ranging in years from 2 to 6. They, too, presented flowers, which had been pluclxed by the wayside as they hastened to welcome me. As soon as the first greetings were over the girl took my arm and assisted me to climb a very steep hill up to the settle ment.
 "The air was heavy with the perfume of beautiful flowers and orange blossoms. Cultivated flowers are in great profusion all over the island, and orang0s, lemons, lines, cocoanut guava and breadfruit trees grow in one great mass no atten- tion being made to keep them separate. The island is divided into avenues, which are beautifully clean, no leaves or twigs are to be seen on them, which Is quite noticeable to a stranger, seeing there is so much foliage. The head man, Mir. Me Coy, who keeps the lines of government in his own hands, and the islanders look up to him as their adviser and director, has the avenues swept every Friday, the work being done by the children.
 "There are only 13O souls on the island at present, two-thirds of these being chill dren. The islanders rise in the morning at o'clock, when the laborS of the day commence with the ringing of the church bell and all hands assemble to ask the Supreme Ruler for a blessing on the la bors of the day. They partake of their frugal meals and then labor until noon in building houses or whatever may be to do for the good of the island Then from labor to refreshment for one hour, when all hands go to school-men, wo- men and children-until D. m. Then two hours are devoted to cultivating their portion of land. They grow Irish potatoes. sweet ones pumpkins, beets, beans, arrowroot, onions, lettuce, etc. l also saw pineapples. %
 q saw the graves of John Adams and his wife. John has headstone, his wife none. She departed from all labors of an earthly nature some years ere John was called upon to go aloft and, according to the dates on the stone he has now been dead seventy-five years. A new school house was in course of erection at the time of my visit, and they were at a standstill for nails, so our arrival with the keg of assorted sizes was providen- tial. I dined at the McCoys house on chicken soup and stewed chicken, nicely cooked, with rice and tomatoes, bread fruit sweet potatoes, lemonade and or anges. l forgot to say they cultivate su- gar cane, and I saw an old woman boil ing a large caldron of sirup and at din- ner had some of 1t.
 My three hours on the island came to an end all too soon. I would have lnger- ed longer and left it with regret. fhe whole population escorted me to the boat. Many of them kissed me farewell and told me to soon return, and if l would only stay they would keep me for year, or until such time as the ship returned. Time being up for me to return, l was again carried into the boat and was safe ly landed on board my floating home. And so ended a treat never to be forgot ten so long al memory lasts. It Is par adise on earth without a doubt, and I envy them their perfect life of harmony and the peaceful quiet that ever sur- rounds their isolated dwelling"
 This is a good time to manure or chards, and If the fertilizer is spread evenly, covering the whole surface, 1t will give the best results. It is often the custom to put stable manure around the trunks of apple trees for a space of 3 or feet each way, thinking that thus the tree would get the benefit of it more quickly A very young tree might do so, but any of bearing age will have roots that extend to the middle of the rows. It Is there that most of the feeding roots of bearing trees will be found In it's earlier growth the tree exhausts much of the mineral plant food near it. This does not matter so much, as the large roots near the trunk have very few feeding rootlets.