St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-07-10
ARP AT CENTENNIAL.
Barlow Man Pleased with His
Trip to the Tennessee Show.
VIII Go Back Again Soon--Trip
Taught Him Much and He Tells
of 1t in an Interesting
Manner.

Manner.
Man never gets too old to learn, and if
ba is a good learner he is good teacher.
Shakespeare says knowledge is tie
wing with which we fly to Heaven
and. as Heaven is where we all wish to
90. it becomes us to acquire knowledge.
Lord Bacon said knowledge is power,
and so it was day well spent, for
learned much in onetday at the Tennes-
see centennial-so much that am go
ing to return very soon and take more
time and acquire more knowledge. 1
some times think it u great pity that by
the time man becomes fit to live his
time is out and he has to die. If the
old men who have made good use OF
their time and talents were given new
lease-another three score years and
ten, and had the vigor of their youth
restored--what a world of wisdom
would they accumulate. We would all
be Solomons and write proverbs. What
farmers we would make; what invent
ors; what teachers; what preachers:
what scientists. Maybe Providence
cut us down to 70 years for fear we
would learn too much of His mysteries
and once again eat the fruit from the
tree of knowledge.
I was Illuminating about this while
listening to the earnest discourse OF
Col. Killebrew, who has charge of the
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis and
the Western s. Atlantic railroad exhib-
its ut the exposition. Now there is
man who, as Paul said to Timothy, mag
mites his Office. It is like going to
school to hear him explain and expatiate
and philosophize upon things that ordj-
narily would attract no special atten-
ton. If every man in charge of spe-
cial exhibit had his enthusiasm the ex-
| cess, but would diffuse more knowledge
among men than any similar display
has ever done.
Now, for instance, when we paused to
! look at some tobacco that was hanging
| from the rods he said: "That tobacco
grew on very poor land. The best to-
bacco always grows on poor land" In
| deed it seems providential that poor
land is good for something.
The sandy, gravelly land of Gran
berry county, in north Georgia, grows
| the finest tobacco In the world, and it
commands the highest price. The soil
is not rich enough to give it dark
color, and hence it is pale and sickly,
and has the consumption, SO to speak.
This tobacco grew upon land that is so
per cent. siliea-saney land-poor,
white land, as your Barlow county
farmers call it--you have lots of it
down there. I have seen it, and it can
be bought for a song, but there is more
money in it than in your valleys and
river bottoms. The sand that is in
/ Florida soil will make tobacco growing
a success there. Il have been expert
menting in tobacco growing and cur
I ing for years, and know whereof !
/ speak. There are thousands of acres in
north Georgia that are just suited to it,
and all those poor white lands in Cobb
county are just waiting for it. Some OF
that land alongoour railroad that will
4 4 not grow corn high enough to shoot an
4 ear or make a tassel, would grow the
most aristocratic tobacco.
4 We paused again to look at some
little pyramids of broken rock, and
4 learned that 1t was phospha ate-a recent
discovery in counties contiguous to the
railroad. sThere are millions of it and
millions in it, said the colonel. AS is
usual, these discoveries were accidental
Some mineral experts were prospecting
for zinc, and were at loss to account
for these singular deposits. They have
had them analyzed. and they are pro
nounced by reliable chemists to be the
very finest grade of phosphate rock
| running from 81 to SIS per cent, ane
some of the strata are IL feet thick, ano
underlie thousands of acres. There are
! no phosphates in Florida that will com
pare with them, and most of it can bt
mined with picka single hand tax
ing out six tons a day."
After inspecting many kinds OF ores
and minerals, such as iron, manganese
bauxite, gold. silver. ochre, corundum
ETC., much of which was from our coun
ty of Barlow, we were shown the great
4 est variety of useful and ornamental
woods that has ever been exhibited II
this country. And also the variety O
farm and garden products is admirable
4 Just think of one farmer on little pla
of 25 acres exhibiting rs specimens tina
i were grown upon his farm. Seventy
eight different products, useful for maj
or beast And another man sends speci
i mems of 60 different woods that grow
upon his land. Then there are seyera
4 hundred botanical pictures of the flor;
i of Tennessee that were gathered ant
4 painted and framed by Gen. Kirb,
1 Smith. But it would take too mucl
space to describe or even to catalogu
II the hundreds Of interesting things i
this magnificent railroad show. I
would make good exposition Of itsen
OF course 1t has cost money-mucl
money to get up such an extensive col
lection, but it indicates the far-seeinl
policy of Mr.. Thomas, the best railroa
lnagnate of the south. For two year
past he has had in his employ Col. Kille
brew, who is without doubt the mos
efficient and best educated teacher an
promoter of agriculture and mineral
ogy in the state, man Of large and Lii
cral enterprise, cultured scholar VIII
can talknscience with the scientists an
practical farming with the humbles
farmer. He had charge of both thes
departments In the first Atlanta expo
sition. He has travelled muleback ove
Mexico, inspecting the silver mines fo
their owners. He has more recent