The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-10-31

vunsnondent from Mississippi lnslnu-
etes that don't know very mucn apou'
hlack-gum and sassafras ana persiliihon'
or wouldn't say that those woods were
good for hubs and bows ana sluts'
We'll. since / saw his 'obiter dlcta IN
your paper / asked the foreman OF our
wagon factory, and he said: we used
To get all the blackgum we couiu iot
hubs. for it has no grain, ana you can
snIit it. and it makes very me hup,
knt NOWADAYS we buy all our hubs ready
made. and they are of post OAK. Ut.
porcber who is the highest authority
concerning the trees and herbs OF the
South, says in his book: lhe WOOD
of blackgum is extremely dltilcuit TO
split. and is much used for hubs OF
wheels.
The first real fine stringbow | ever mad
was bought from an Indian boy, ana II
was made Of the heart of sassafras. ne
taught me how to fasten the feathers III
the arrows. That bow was the envy OF
nv schoolmates, and could send an ar
row out of sight.
daad nersimmon, or one cut down
and seasoned, makes very hard, dur
allie CLINT or wedge. DR.. Porcher says
that the grain is of such fine texture
that he has used it for engraving.
used to saw my gluts and then bevel the
edges. and round the top, and my BOY
Rob said "dem simmon gluts beat dog
wood all to pieces"
This is wonderful book of DR.. Porch
or,s--a hook of 700 pages, containing a
description of every tree, plant ana shruD
in onr Southern land, and their practical
and medicinal uses. 1t was published IN
1860. and its title is, "Resources of the
Southern Fields and Forests" What
patient and careful investigation was
necessary to produce such book!
Twelve years were spent in the work,
ond the learned doctor became second
Iinueus in his devotion to it. And vet
this book is hard to find, and l sup
pose is out Of print.
And now the time has come for me to
mt away the flowers and there's trouble
ON the old mans mind. | have cleaned
ont the pit and arranged the shelves to
nv wife's satisfaction, and am now en-
gagged in taking up the geraniums a.c
repotting the various plants. nave TO
90 away down to the lower part OF the
cow lot. where the rich earth had gath
cred. and spade it up and sift it into the
wheelbarrow and roll it up the hill Ike
Ajax or Samson. My wife has great
big round sitter like the plasterers use,
and after | get load Of earth and turn
If out in the broad walk near the PIT
then | have to haul load of sand ana
sift that, and then load of wood ashes
and sift that. and then mix all together.
She told me how She watches me from
the window. where she is sewing and en-
courages me by telling me not to work
so hard. but to stop and rest awhile. Yes
terday she came out to help me, and
when she wanted me to change the palm
to larger pot, and the heEotrope to
smaller one, ! rebelled little and asked
her if she had noticed that yaller jackets
nest under the stone step, not Ear from
where she was standing. The little
boogers were just pouring out and IN,
and as soon as she saw them she shook
her skirts and departed those coasts with
aIacrity. She wants to know why |
don't destroy their nest. Well, l have
tried. Time was when we schoolboys
didn't want any better fun than to
break up q yaller jackets nest. We
fought them with brush and brooms and
dirt. and killed the last one before we
quit. OF course we got stung sometimes,
but there is where the heroism came in.
But now | have no boys-they are all
girls-and so | poured hot water in the
hole where the jackets went IN, and II
killed few, but there are over a thou
sand in the colony, and they all got
mad with me and ran me into the house.
Then | piled up dead grass and old pa
pers over the grand entrance and poured
kerosene on it and set it on fire and
killed few more, but still | couldn't
miss them. Then | got gtung on the ear
and that made me mad and / mixed up
a pan full Of mortar and soused it down
into the hole and all around, and | piled
up a big lot of clay and gravel on top
and was sure | had them fast and would
starve them to death, but next morning
they had a new hole and are attending
to business at the same old stand
have put circle of empty flower pots
~saneund the premises to warn the children
away and now / am waiting for further
instructions from my friend in Missis-
sippi.
When | was last in Florida ! pulled
up a little sprout of the oppopponax and
brought it home and planted it. 1t grew
off nicely and we kept it in the pit last
winter and transferred it to the garden
last spring. 1t is now beautiful little
tree about eight feet high with numer-
Gus branches, and A think will bloom
next season if we can save it. 1t belongs
to the mimosa family and its delicate
leaves are quite sensitive, though not so
much so as its humble cousin, the sensi-
tive plant Like that plant, its blooms
are round tufted balls of different colors.
but unlike that plant, these balls shed
a delightful odor. When pressed into a
pincushion for lady's bureau they will
perfume it for years. am going to win
ter it outside of the pit by protecting 1t
with a barrel and pine tops. Then there
are the lemon verbenas, or citradoras,
that are always refreshing and delight
full to the olfactorys. We put the small
ones in the pit and leave the large ones
out. Then there are variety OF pretty
plants whose flowers will gladden. us all
the winter. A greenhouse eight by six
teen feet can be built and glassed for ten
OF fifteen dollars and it is always pleas
inc and refining tn the family, especial