The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1899-12-26

lana IN SunnOWerS, anu SOIu the pro- /
duct for eight cents a pound, which |
was some hundreds of dollars per acre. |
Then came the deluge. Everybody in |
Petty township planted sunfiowers in
stead of corn, and the farmers accom-
plished their own undoing. One
township III this county broke the
market from eight cents to two cents
by causing IN overproduction in the
worlds supply. Then many went
Lack to corn and wheat, and now
thing have settled down to a basis
That noys w.ei, Er2ugh, but does not
'na' pays wen e"o.-v>,-,
make rich men.
NEEDS LITTLE CULTIVATION. ID
The sunflower is grown from the
seed and a twenty-acre field soon after
1T comes mp looks like patch of
ground much neglected to the weeds
The plants are cultivated somewhat.
but III the rich soil of the island,
where Cracked started the industry
and where it still fourishes, the sun
Hover grows to unbelievable propor-
tions with little care. Early in the
season the field takes on the color of
the soft. rich green peculiar to the
leaves of the plant, and little later
blotches of deep yellow appear all
over the green palette, as one by one
the flowers stick themselves above the
IGeneral levei'f several sbip com=na
ss.AA.sallinyIon- district has builr school
| field on a level with the ton ~ ~ y, al
rall fence is one plane, the plants be-
| ing interviewer with their long. broad
leaves intermingled in what seems to
be perfect amalgamation.
The flowers that first appear are not
much larger than a saucer and are
light yellow i'll color Each day more
OF them can be counted, every one on
a tall upshoot and bending its head in
the most dignifed way Imaginable
making the field look like a crowd of
tonsured courtiers saluting their king
They bow toward the sun as a general
rule, bending to the east in the morn
ing, the south at noon and the west
IN the evening.
As late summer comes. no view Ia
richer than forty or eighty acres of
sunilowers. The color tone is yellow
then-a rich, deep yellow-with lust
enough dark brown for harmony and
a little OF dark green for contrast.
High stand the stalks and each is
bowed low with its weight of flower
but still reaching far above the fence
and the corn in the adjoining field.
HOW CROP Is HARVESTED.
The narrow, yellow petals wither
and fall away, or turn brown and sere
and then the harvesting of this most
unique crop begins. The heads are
cat off the stalks by hand and thrown
INTO wagon. After being carefully
dried they have lost all their beantv
and are dark, angular, ugly THINGS
that impress one most with their size
Some of the flowers are as LARGE IN
diameter as six columns of n news.
paper IS wide and the brown tonsure
IN the center IS often n foot in di-
nmeter after the petals have fallen and
IL IS dried. The seed liz separated bv
running the heads through an ordin-
airy thrashiug machine cylinder. which
KNOCKS tho seeds from the pockets i'm
winch they were Embedded. The
operation of cleaning is rather crude
yet there being no special machines
iDi lHe purpose.
The ylcld per acre varies crenlIv. A
heid OF flowers only as large ms des. .
scrt plate will not have halftIe arpouat
of seed as a field of flowers as large os I
a half-bushel Almost any kind og /
land with slight attention will weld .
600 pounds TO the acre: aud crops of I
1000 pounds to the acre are not verv
common, although they aro the result
oil extra attention by growers who have
"tndled the habits and needs of the
funtlower and who also have very rich
land. Just now the buyers are nav.
ing from Sl2j to- $3.50 per hundred
pounds for the seed delivered nj the
warehouse. The cost of raisipg an
acre Of sunlowcrs is very much less
lhan The cost of nm ocrc of wheat or
corn and the crop lis much moro Ger.
lam. This city is the great sunHower
seed market OF the world. but small
quantities, comparatively, are bonobt
40 bridgeport, st. Francisvilie. sum
ler, Birds and others of the smaller
towns in this county, each station
lending ont several carloads i'm wear
The cropof lS99is now being thrasbod
md sent to market and i'm this countv
vii aggregate about 5000, 600 pounds
n the opinion Of those most Interested
small quantities OF sunaower seeJ arc
.ent to market occasionally from vide.
y separated points in the United {