davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16

Mr.. James Smell, who about two
years ago moved from Indiana to
Blythe, Ga, says that in that section
rs fine celery can he raised rs the best
grown in the famous Kalamazoo dis.
trict.
The Florida Times-U Union and Citi-
zen is advocating the culture in Florida
Of arrowroot, casava and koonti, three
starch-producing plants of great possi-
bility.
MIR. George Luntz, of Charleston,
S. c., is urging the farmers of South
Carolina TO experiment in the raising
Of jute. He contends that the jute
plant thrives in the same kind of land
- that planted in rice.
Superficial readers of newspapers
may may find no interest in the records
of big hogs killed But the truth is
that such items are among the most
valuable published. They show .
steady purpose to improve the breed Of
swine.
Potash and phosphorus are usually
deficient in stable mannre, and its de-
cay in the soil promotes large growth
of fiber, which is not desirable in fruit
nor shrubs; but for corn and for top
dressing for clover the results prove it
most beneficient-
Farmers sometimes grow despond-
ent over low prices and cease to use
vigorous exertions in their business
A little reflection should convince them
that the lower the price OF produce the
more necessary it is to increase their
efforts, reduce expenses and add to the
productive capacity OF the soil.
ALI laud sown to wheat should be
sown to clover. II but one seasons
growth is TO be expected this short
growth will be worth quzdrupls the
cost of the seed. A clover sod Of ono
seasons growth is much superior TO
wheat stubbie, only for plowing undss
for corn
Here is . good preparation TO keep
iron tools from rusting: Melt to9eth-
er half pound Of lard and = piece Of
rosin about the size of an egg. Rub it.
over metal surfaces thai. are likely -
rust. 1t will not remove rust Aftsr|
ones. STATED. aad - this puEpoae kspe
- = oott4s .ssss,.,s
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
MISSISSIPPI SYPHONS.
Singular Means by which the Truck
and Fruit Farms Of LOuisi-
ana Are Irrigated.

The shores of the Mississippi river be.
low New Orleans are lined with gar
dens in which grow luxuriantly
myraid of fruits and vegetables. Thi:
is accomplished by very odd method oi
irrigation.
Near the mouth of the river on tht
south bank, in the delta country, ts~s
narrow strip Of land, not more thar
1000 yards wide in places, in which, i
is said, the best oranges in the country
NAV be grown. Thsre is no levee, bu
the waters have so wide an expanse tha'
the annual freshets do not cover thu
land, as would be the case higher VI
where the river is narrower and wher'
the levies are vital necessity. Beyond
the narrow strip OF land that marks thi:
side of the river are innumerablt
bayous and canebrakes and swamps. In
these bavous lurked the ''long. low, rak
ish craft" of the pirate Lafitte in thu
good old days. The country is inhabited
by Creoles of the most primitive type
who live by raising fruit, fishing, ant
oystering. The narrow strip of orang'
country is worth $500 an acre.
Higher up the river on the same side
as New Orleans is approached. are miles
after miles of truck gardens and small
fruit farms, blooming and fresh an6
green from the water drawn to then
from the Mississippi river. The methoe
of irrigation is by syphoning from thu
surface of the river, which is higher
than the land on the river side Of th'
levee. The levee is from 12 to Is fee
high. At every little farm is big blacl
iron pipe straddling the levee, one enc
in the waters of the river, the other enc
in a witch on the land. From this ditcf
others lead to all parts of the farm
Some Of the little farms have severa
syphons over the levee. The land, be
cause of its contiguity to the river, II
very valuable. The products of thu
farms are taken to New Orleans anf
landed at the French market by littl,
steamers and barges that ply up ant
down the river for the convenience O
the gardeners.-Cnicago Inter Ocean.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
GOLD BR1cKED.
Cents with Nothing to
show for 1t.

When Billinger went home In the
evening he was all out of sorts, not only
with himself but the rest of mankind.
and womankind, too, as it afterward de-
yeloped.
1t happens that the Billinger family,
like all other patriotic families, is In
terested in the present war. so deeply
interested, in fact, that not an item
escapes it. Mrs. b. is fiend for war
news and so familiar is she with all
the news going that she can tell the
name of every vessel given in the Span
ish feet that was destroyed at Manila
and can almost tell the class of ship
and guns she carried. She got the in
formation by reading the papers.
Upon the day when the bad humor
of Billinger manifested itself there was
tremendous efiiux of the gold-brick
papers without much news, but with a
superabundance of job type. On the
floor of the sitting-room, when b.
came in, were about eight or ten pa
pers. He saw them.
Look here" he said; "have you been
squandering your money all day long
on those papers?"
"Yes, but l thoaght there was going
to be some news in them and"-
"You might have known better. 1t
makes me tired the way some people
will run out and spend cent whenever
some wild-eyed. strong-lunged kid caAs
out 'extree.' We've got to stop that
business, and forever"
"Why, was in your Office. Billinger,
late this evening"" said the meek Mrs.
b., "before you came out and l saw
a dozen on your desk, all of to-day's
date"
II know it, and want to say right
here that one consummate fool in a
family is enough. And more than that,
it is the privilege of man to make a
fool of himself without his wife saying
word about it. But you mustn't do
it. And there'll not be even one fool
in this family after to-day. Registered
a VOW before high heaven-isn't that
what they say in the theater-that !
would only buy one of those papers a
day hereafter, even if Sampson de-
stroys the whole Spanish navy and
then goes over and captures the queen
regent, the boy king and Weyler, too.
That's how it stands. and, woman, you
must swear to the same effect. You can
fool some of this family all of the time,
and all of this family some of the time.
but henceforth you can't fool all of this
family all of the time, and rdon't care
who knows it,"
Then Billinger went down to cool OIL
and get drink and when little boy
| with sniffle-snoffie voice whined .'ex-
tree" it was all he could do to restrain
himself from lambasting the youngster
for trying to make him break his good
resolution. And the number of Bill
fingers is large and increasing at a
| frightful rate.-CincinnatiC Commercial
Tribune.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
sALLY's GOOD BISCUITS.
They Were the Real Bridal Thing
and Saved This Man from
Cyclone.

"Yes, sir" began the man with the
sty on his left optic, II have went
through most kinds of disaster known
to the human mind. Shipwrecked three
times and saved by the skin of my teeth;
blowed up once in a sawmill in Maine,
and came down a-straddle of the biler;
not to mention my getting my feet
caught into a sassige machine out in
Chicago. But the durndest squeak ever
had was with a cyclone in Kansas, long
in 49,"
"Tell us about it, said the man with
peachstone, watch charm.
"'Twas bout two weeks after mar
ried Sally Bowen. She had baked pan
OF riz biscuits f5r breakfast, an ct
three. I was setting out on the piazza
smoking my briarwood pipe when what's
but whirling and whizzing that was
pulling up telegraph poles, etcetera,
as it passed. It's cyclone says /,
and sauntered out TO the gate SOS to
get nigh enough to pull bit of the
critter for a souvenir as it whizzed by.
Durn me, if that cyclone didn't blow
clean over me, tip over the barn, cave
in the sod house with the piazza onto
the roof, bury Sal so deep that we never
was able to dig her out, and then dis
appear over the Missouri line. Oh, it was
tough trying to live in Kansas those
days. tell you."
81 think as how that's fake yarn, be-
gan he of the peachstone, ''fer how in
Sam Hill could a cyclone whisk away all
yer personal an real estate an skip you
unharmed. fer you don't look as II
you ever weighed over 1O2 pounds in
your life? It don't jest sound reason
able"
81 have sometimes thought" replied
the man with the sty, ''though never
was mean enough to say 1t right out,
seein' as how Sal is dead an gone, but
have sometimes opined it was on ac-
count Of those riz biscuits had for
breakfast. She had never rightly
learned how to bake. and they sort oil
lay heavy on iny stummick. ~. Y.
Journal.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
THE HOG IN ALABAMA.
The Man Who Improves Domestic Stock
u Public Benefactor-WhAt Haa
Been Done In Alabama.

At the last semi-annual meeting Of
the Alabama swine breeders President
Samuel NJ. Handy made an address, in
which he strongly advocated improve
ment of domestic stock, contending
thatl "a man was just as much q
benefactor who doubles the quantity
and improves the quality of butter,
milk and pork as the man who caused
two blades Of grass to grow where but
one grew before. He said, after trac-
ing the development in the dairy:
Scarcely less remarkable is the inn
provement in swine, the improvement
being in shape, size, prolificacy and the
capacity for assimilating food, convert
ing it into meat, and in rapid and early
development. We have so many exam
pies where weight of TOO to 1, 900 pounds
acquired at from 16 to "A months that
they scarcely cause comment. A note
worthy example Of rapid increase in
weight is the seven days test made by
Mr.. w. E. Spicer, now of Bushnell, ILL.,,
with his superb sow, No. 2, when -
pounds were added to her weight in
seven days, an average of trifie over
81 pounds per day, weighing at the
end of the test 67S pounds. However,
under present conditions 1 regard the
attainment of extraordinary size and
the rapid increase of weight of mature
animals of less Importance than the
early and rapid growth of the pig. To
be able to turn otf his shost of 200 to
300 pounds at six to eight months
is of threefold advantage to the
farmer. 1t decreases the hazard of
loss by disease, saves the amount
of food that would be required merely
for maintenance, and enables him to
turn his money oftener, not to mention
the slightly-increased price which this
class always secures on the market
Just how to accomplish such results il
the proper and important subject for
study and experiment by the farmer
and Of discussion at such occasions as
this
much attention is being given to
this part of the problem of improved
swine breeding by the breeders through
out the country, but it has been left to
Alabama, believe, and to q valued men,
Der of this association, to carry of the
laurels in the production of the heaviest
litter Of pigs at 100 days, 973 pounds
being the weight attained, nine of the
ten pigs making the remarkable aver
age of 1O1 pounds each."-Southern
Farm Magazine.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16

There are three matrimonial agen-
cies in Denver where hearts and hopes
and lives are welded. Any one OF them
can make match quicker than the GER
tain old lady in every neighborhood
used to. Not very long ago an old
farmer who was very meek-looking
man appeared in one of these places.
do this be one of them air marriage
shops?" he inquired.
"It is marriage bureau" replied the
good looking lady in attendance.
''Air there any of the girls here that
wanter git married.
NO, sir; but if you will leave your adj
dress will arrange TO have one OF them
meet you here this afternoon
I'm Bill Updike from Routt county;
my real home is down in Mizzoura.'
The woman saw at once that his adj
vanced age indicated desire TO have
home of his own with an angel in it
to keep lonesomeness out, so she
reached for one of the blanks which are
used to keep as data and began to ask
him questions.
"Are you honest in your desire to get
married ?" was the first question.
"Sartenly, mum. amt tenderfoot.
"You realize what it means to take
woman and care for her?"
''W-a-al, reckon I do"
"How old are you?"
"Forty-five last year-46. OF course; ;
what am I figgerin' like that fer?'
"What are your means and income?''
"Got a lot of cattle and bunch OF
bronks that's jest as good as they herd
'em nowadays"
Have you any relatives?"
Several; yes, num-"
''Of what kin are they?"
MOSTLY sons and daughters"
"Then you have been married be-
fore?"
"Well, yes, I should calc'late l had.
I've got two wives Sead and six trottin
round vet and % kids"
Il didn't know that. 1t might be pret.
ty hard for me to get you a woman un-
der such circumstances"
That's what thought" said the ole
man, turning to SO. 81 know there ain't
anything more outside of shop like
this that / kin git, and thought maybe
We might have somethin' little out o
date er somethin' like that. guess III
give it up now-I'm too old ter be
knocked round any more, anyway.
The woman in charge of the bureau
was not sorry to see him make his exit
denver Times.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
A CONFEDERATE CRUISER.
The Great Amount Of Property Cap.
tured by One Prlvateer In the
short Space of Eight Months.

Just what one little privateer can do
has been revealed by the short career
of the confederate cruiser Shenandoah.
She was actually cruising for the de-
struction of union property but eight
months, and during that time she cap
tured and destroyed vessels to the value
of 81, ,2OO, 900, and the United States had
never been able to direct blow against
her. She had visited every ocean except
the Antarctic, covering distance of
5s, 900 statute miles. She destroyed
many whalers in the Arctic ocean. 1t
was there that the last gun for the
southern cause was fired. 1t was fired
from the deck OF the privateer cruiser
Shenandoah, by Commander James Ire
dell Waddell, on June %, 1865, just "A
days after the surrender Of Lee at Ap-
pomattox.
Commander Waddell could not per-
suade himself to enter an American
port, and for some time aimlessly
secured the sehs. In August, however,
he spoke the English ship Barracouta.
bound from San Francisco to Liverpool,
and from her received conclusive evi-
dence of the end of the war between
the states. He resolved to seek an Eng
lish port, and so on November s the
Shenandoah entered st. Georges chan
mel, having sailed $4,000 miles withou:
seeing land. On November she
steamed up the Mersey, and. the con-
federate flag having been hauled down
by Commander Waddell, he sent a COM
munication to Earl Russell, English
minister of foreign affairs, placing his
ship at the disposal of the British gov
ernment. Through Earl Russell the yes
sci was transferred to the jurisdiction
OF the American Minister Charles Fran
els Adams. who caused her to be con-
veyed to this country to be d;smantled.
Atlanta Constitution.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16

more than greater skill In cultivation
The most intelligent and best farm
ers in each community are largely to
blame in this matter, since the others
generally follow the pattern set by
them. Their methods are followed by
the others An imitation is never as
good as the original; but an imitation
of good system is always better than
an imitation Of bad system--Wm- 7.
s., in Southern CultivatOr.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
Thought He wasn't wanted.

Liveryman-You1l have to be very
careful of what you say while driving
.his horse; he's SO very proud and sensi-
tive.
Jack Huggliegh - What do you
mean?
"Why. few nights ago, fellow had
this horse out and. while driving slow
ly-and hugging his girl. I suppose
he remarked: Two is company. three
is none and that blooming sensitive
horse ran away and left them in a
ditch.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16

Kind Lady-A man Of your evident
strength and ability to work must meet
with a great many painful rebuffs while
begging.
Robust Riggs-Tfue, lady. | believe
dat on account Nv my nnfortunit phys
ical looks git more offers Nv jobs dan
emmy odder hobo along de line, mum
Judge.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
what She u Going rer.

Jaque-Why does Miss Passey crosa
the ocean in m American vessel nowi
Doesn't she know that she is liable to Be
taken IA by some Spaniard3
Aazas-Just what she's going for.
She has lost hope Of being captured y
o. American. .-.ToWo Top6ee,
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
Naval keuraseAenia. &

NAVAL neurasthenia" is caused by
the strain on the nervous system due to
inaction and confinement on board ship.
The symptoms lanifest themselves in
various ways, principally in a nervous
irritability end an intense desire for
movement. no matter of what kind.
The affliction is not SO pronounced in
the case of the sailors of the feet as it
is in that of the marines. It is seldom
that the prostration is complete or lasts
for any length of time.-Chicago Times
Herald
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16

Judy-Ah. Dinnis. it do be shtrange
to hear We talkin' that way. whin it was
yersilf that usted to be tillin' me that
Oi was the shwatest craychure in the
wurruld.
Dinnis-Did Oi iver till yez that.
Judy?
"Indade an We did, Dinnis!"
"Begorra. an'ef that's so, thin Oi invy
mesilf the cindition Oi musht hev ben
in at the tonne. Richmond Dispatch.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
Her Choice.

Dorothy's father had lately brought
home three cows, one of which was
black and white, and peculiarly marked
while the other two were red. To hel
mothers inquiry as to which her little
girl liked best, Dorothy replied: "f-
guess the one with the hit-or-misa
skin, mamma" Judge.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16

The finest looking people of Europe
are the Tziganes, or gypsies Of Hun
gary. Physiessiy they are splendid
specimens of men and women. and are
rarely ill. So pure is their blood that
their wounds heal quickly without thu
application pt medicanents.-N. =.
oUhs
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16

Oh. should her papa chance to be = lordly
millionaire.
Then ''Tisian-tinted tresses' II the color
Of her hair,
But should a common sort OF man be men
toned as her sire.
Why then she's that red-headed she would
set q comb on fre.
IL A. W. Bulletin.
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
YexefahIe Ralaern.

Friend-eDo you raise sgetbles?
Suburbanite fsadly NO, ] only plant
them: and. as you viii observe. my
neighbor's chickens raise then.=-
yudSA
St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-07-16
FARMER AND PLANTER.
INTENSIVE FARMING.
without Jadicioas Crop Rotation Intsa-
slve Farming In nm EcOnon-
ieal lmpossibllity.

Without il. intensive farming is an
economical impossibility. With it
both land and farmer become prosper
ous- 1t has been often urged and, con-
sidering its vital Importance, little fol-
lowed. Without it, our worn lands
will continue worn and thin. If south
ern farmers would practice it 20 years,
the productiveness of every acre of up
land would be increased fully so per
cent; and even if not pound of fer
tilizer was bought, our lands at the
without guano as they do now with it.
If this be true, then it is q matter of
great economy.
Why hasn't it been practiced? ]
think we can trace as the reason the
same thing that is the cause of the
present worn and rundown condition
of many of our formerly best planta-
tions, to-wit: the undirected negro
tenant. He is the greatest curse in the
south to-day. The negro is the best
farm laborer in the world; but at the
same time the worse tenant-farmer.
His trouble is that he lacks judgment.
When this is supplied by the white
farmer he becomes . success. tits nee
essary for the good of the laborer. land
and landowner, all three, that the
owner plan and direct. If he does not,
he may get his rent in the fall, but his
land will be less valuable. In the case
Of negro tenants this can best be done
in the rent contract This should al-
ways specify the kind of crops to be
planted, and the number of acres in
each, and should require that the kind
of crops on particular fields be changed
yearly. A great improvement would
be to require the tenant to plant Is
acres in cotton, ten acres in corn with
peas between the corn rows, to be
picked and not cut or pulled) and five
acres in peas, and to make q tw0-year
rotation of these crops, putting in corn
and peas next year the is acres this year
in cotton. OF coure . three-year rota-
tion would improve the land faster
than this two-year plan, but we must
change plans gradually. Too radical
. change is not apt to be permanent
We must learn 70 walk before we learn
to run.
A farmer who tills his own land
would be foolish to adopt anything
less than the three-year system. 1t re-
quires less labor per acre, and while it
demands about ten acres more land to
the plow, it is for this reason more sat
isfactory, and, in the long run, for
more renumerative, even leaving out
the increased value of the land. No
one will deny that it is far more salts
factory to make $500 = year profit on 80
acres with two hands, than the same
amount on 90 acres with three hands.
This is about the difference between .
three and a two-year rotation.
No matter in what way you look ut it
the three-year rotation for q cotton
farmer seems to be as near perfect as .
system can be. For one plow it is IS
follows: