The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-07-24
ARP AT CENTENNIAL.
Barlow Man Pleased with his
Trip to the Tennessee Show.
WIN Go Rack Again sOOn-Trip
Taught Him Much and He Tells
OF 1t IN an Interesting
Manner.

ne as agOOQ learner ne Is a Boou tSdShCA
Shakespeare a knowledge is the
wing with which we Fly to Heaven"
and, as Heaven is where we all wish to
go, it becomes us to acquire knowledge.
Lord Bacon said knowledge is power"
and SO it was a day well spent, for l
learned much in one day at the Tennes-
see centenniaIAso much that l am go-
ing to return very soon and take more
time and acquire more knowledge. l
sometimes think it a great pity that by
the time a man becomes fit to live his
time is out and he has to die. II 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 tx 20 years for fear we
would learn too much of His mysteries
and once again a the fruit from the
tree of knowledge.
I was Illuminating about this while
listening to the earnest discourse OF
Col. KiIlebrew, who has charge of the
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis and
the Western e. Atlantic railroad exhib-
its at the exposition. Now there is a
man who, as Paul said to Timothy, mag
nifes his office. 1t is like going to
school to hear him explain and expatiate
and philosophize upon things that ordi-
H. - --NoaSo1 ,o4tnn-
ton. If every man in charge of a spe-.
cial exhibit had his enthusiasm the ex-
position would not only be a grand sue
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 a dark
COlOIg dlIO AChSO " ID paw ahd SASNAAJ
and has the consumption, SO to speak
This tobacco grew upon land that is SC
per cent. ~silica-sandy land-poor
white land, as your Barlow county
farmers call it-you have lots of il
down there. / nave seen il, and it car
be bought for a song, but there is more
in it than in your valleys anc
river bottoms. The sand that is II
Florida soil will make tobacco growing
q success there. / have been expert
menting in tobacco growing and cur
ing for years, and know whereof :
speak. There are thousands of acres Il
north Georgia that are just suited to It
and all those poor white lands in Cob
county are just waiting for it. Some Q
that land along our railroad that vii
not grow corn high enough to shoot a.
ear or make a tassel, would grow IN
most aristocratic tobacco.
We paused again to look at som
little pyramids of broken rock, and
learned that it was phosphate-a recen
discovery in counties contiguous to tn
railroad. '"There are millions of IT an
millions in it," said the colonel. "As
usual. these discoveries were Academia
Some mineral experts were prospectln
for zinc, and were at a loss to accour
for these singular deposits. They hay
had them analysed, and they are pr
nounced by reliable chemists to be tn
very finest grade of phosphate roe
running from GA to IS per cent, an
some of the strata are 10 feet thick, an
underlie thousands of acres. There al
NO ~phosphates in Florida that will COZ
nare with them, and most of it can
mined with a pick-a single hand ia
ing out six o a day"
After inspecting many kinds OF or
and minerals, such as iron, manganes
bauxite, gold, silver, ochre, corundul
etc. much of which was from our cou
~ OF Barlow, we were shown the gres
est variety of useful and ornament
woods that has ever been exhibited
this country. And also the variety
farm and garden products is admiral
Just think of one farmer on a little p
of Is acres exhibiting 7s specimens tn
were grown upon his farm. Seven1
eight different products, useful for m
. rbeast Ard another man sends spe
mems Of 60 different woods that gr'
upon his land. Then there are seve
hundred botanical pictures Of the fc
of Tennessee that were gathered a
painted and framed by Gen. Kir
Smith. But it would take too mt
space to describe or even to ~catalog
the hundreds of interesting things
this magnificent railroad show.
would make a good exposition of it's
OF course it has cost money-m'
rnoney to get up such an extensive
lection, but it indicates the far-see
policy of Mr.. Thomas, the best railr
magnate of the south. For two ye
past he has had in his employ Col. XII
brew, who is without doubt the N
Efficient and best educated teacher
promoter Of agriculture and mine
ogy in the state, a man of large and
rval enterprise, a cultured scholar
can talk science with the scientists
RI --,o4;ool forming with the lumb