The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-09-14

Crop-The Commissioner Of Agriculture
Talks About the Cotton Crop-wake
Forest College,. N. Milan Sentenced 70
the Penitentiary
Messenger Bureau. Park Hotel.
Raleigh, n. c., September IL.
The Primitive Baptists term them
selves the regulars" and are as q
general thing known as the Hard
Shells and are quite strong in this
state. 1t is learned today that twenty
churches of this denomination in the
Wilkes and Surry section will at once
become Missionary Baptists. Rev.
days to receive them. Four years ago
the late Rev. DR.. Columbus Durham re-
ceived an entire association of them,
twenty-five churches, as Missionary
Baptists. From time immemorial they
have been anti missionary.
Persons who come in from the south
ern part of this county say that a man
and his son have confessed the murder
of a woman for which at the last term
of court here Berry Cook was sent to
the penitentiary for twenty years.
OthO Wilson reports that on his farm
near here the oats have been thrashed
and that the yield was thirty-nine
pounds to the bushel.
The crop of peas is SO far almost a
failure. 1t is a very important crop
in this state.
United States Marshal o. j. Carroll
returned today from Chase City, Va.
He is somewhat improved but is yet
very feeble.
Chief Marshal P. H. Lybrook, of the
state fair, will have large staff and
his headquarters will be at the Park
hotel. He expects seventy-five assist
ant marshals, besides those from Ra-
leigh. Thirty-four have already ac-
cepted.
The commissioner of agriculture says
he is getting letters daily regarding the
crops. One today from Maxton says
the cotton is so greatly damaged by the
drought that if it continues few days
longer there will be only two-thirds Of
crop. The commissioner then said:
You can say for me, farmer of thir-
ty years experience, that if the sea-
sons are right in June July and
August, in spite of drought and every
thing else the crop Of cotton will be
an average one, I don't care what hap
pens. OF course when people pitched
their hopes so high and cotton was SO
magnificent, as it was August 1st, it
appears to them now as If the crop is
pretty nearly destroyed. The August
return gave the condition as 1O2A. That
was SO from the 1st to the 10th of that
month. The North Carolina average
is, say, half bale to the acre. That
in fact is a good yield for this state. 1t
s said that twelve bOlls to a stalk will
produce a bale to the acre. / want you
to note the fact that cotton this year
is heavily fruited." By this the COM
missioner means to say that he consid-
ers the crop up to the average. There
was of course an increase in the
acreage. There was of course an in
crease in the acreage of cotton, a big
increase. Then too 400, 900 tons of COM
mercial fertilizers was sold in the state
last spring.
Wake Forest college has begun it's
! session pretty we'll, but leading Bap-
lists say not as we'll as would have
been the case had the faculty gone into
the field and canvassed the state, as for
instance the Agricultural and Mechani-
ical college did. 1t requires work to se-
| cure students. The university seems to
! be sure of having a great attendance
| this term.
| The republicans are speaking OF eS-
| tablishing a new paper at Greensboro.
| Money is raised to lay the track Of
| the Charleston and Northwestern rail-
| way formerly the Chester and Lenoir)
| from Hickory to Newton.
The Widow GOldstein" company,
! which appeared here last night, has
| Cancelled all it's engagements and left
for New York today. Poor business is
| the cause.
Dick Morse, who for years has beeI
a street preacher at Charlotte, and
| who was arrested at Greensboro. ar
| rived here today and put in the entire
day making music, having q queer or
gan strapped on to his wagon. He
| was in his shirt sleeves.
Rev. r. B. Owens is made examin-
| ing chaplain of this Episcopal diocese.
J. M. Milan, the Seaboard Air Lines
assistant ticket agent at Charlotte, gets
three years in the penitentiary for
| stealing $2,25O Of the company's funds
The temperature was 95 here yester-
day and today.