Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-05-03
#isretlaneolts Readima.
Mr.. WILSON AT DUE WEST.
Secretary of Agriculture Talks Sense Il
South Carolinians.


A notable event occurred at Due
West last Friday night. IL was the
occasion of the first annual contest of
the South Carolina Inter Collegiate
Oratorical association.
The association, which has not been
organized great while, includes Fur
man, Wofford, Erskine and the Presby-
terian college, of Clinton. 1t has for
its object the promotion of friendly
rivalry in oratory among the various
colleges, and its annual contests prom
ise to be of extraordinary interest.
In the first contest last Friday the
various colleges were represented as
follows: Clemson, by w. L. Noise, Of
Sumter; Furman, by Richard Furman
Watson, of Ridge Springs; Presbyte-
rian college, of Clinton, by w. w.
Edge, of Mt. Tabor; Wotford, by
Philip c. Garris, of Smoak's, Colleton
county ; Erskine, by P. A. Presley, of
Due West.
The contest took place in the audi
torium of Erskine college in the pres
ence of an audience that included
fully one thousand people. The first
prize was won by Mr.. Noise, whose
subject was the "Scapegoat," and the
second prize was won by Mr.. Watson
on the subject, "Shall the Old Rebe!
be Pensioned ?" The different orations
were first severely criticized by the
professors in English from a number OF
colleges, and the reports of these pro-
fessors were considered by the COM
mittee on awards, in connection with
the manner in which each contestant
acquitted himself in delivering bis
production.
Secretary Wilson, of the agricultu-
raj department, was present by special
invitation as one of the judges, and
together with DR.. VIM. M. Grier,
president of Erskine, awarded the
prizes to the successful contestants.
The prizes were in the form of beauti.
full gold medals appropriately design
ed.
After the contest, Secretary of Agri'
culture Wilson delivered an especially
prepared speech, in which he told
something about the duties of his ce-
partment, and explained how he had
come south for the purpose Of learning
something of the agricultural needs
and requirements of this section. The
following synopsis of the secretary's
address is as reported by Mr.. August
Kohn to The News and Courier:
I came to the south to learn my duty
to its people. The department of agri-
culture has grown rapidly within the
last few years and has become the
great scientific department of the coun-
try. 1t does not concern itself with
abstract science, hut each division con-
siders the case of somebody working
in the field with his coat of, to help
him in the solution of problems re-
garding his life work. The life's zones
of plants are studied, and from similar
zones in foreign countries seeds and
plants are imported that give hope OF
value and usefulness to some part OF
the United States.
To illustrate briefly: Parts of the
United States that grow rice require
better varieties. The department sends
an explorer to the Orient and tons OF
seed are brought back and distributed.
Grasses are brought from the steppes
of Russia to be experimental with on
our arid plains. The date palm is be.
ing brought from Morocco to add a
new industry to New Mexico and
Arizona.
The people of the United States have
aesthetic tastes; they love flowers.
Tens of thousands of dollars are ex-
pended annually for the Easter lily,
and the department of agriculture, de-
string to save the money of our people,
imports bulbs and begins experiment
tation in four of the southern states.
An association built a mill to make
macaroni, and avoid the expense of
importing. The department of agri-
culture sends an explorer to Russia to
bring the finest macaroni wheats that
are peculiarly rich in gluten.
The United States sends thousands
of tons of apple parings, apple cores,
dried apples and cheap apples to Eu-
rope annually, that are made into
cider, favored with ferment, charged
with sulphuric acid and other things,
and returned to the United States by
the bottle. The department of agri-
culture has sent for the ferment, and
is on the eve of telling the American
people how to sell apples by the bottle,
rather than by the ton.
This illustrates the kind of work be-
ing done by the department of agricul-
ture along importing lines.
The sea island cotton of South Caro-
lima is threatened with fungus growth
on its roots. The pathological division
of the department will make q careful
study in order to avert the danger to
that valuable industry.
The Florida orange has been de-
stroyed, almost to the end of the penin-
sula, by the recent frosts. The de-
parlment is cross breeding our orange
with the Japanese tri-foliata, that is
hardy as far north as Philadelphia /;
thousands of plants are already sent
out, and if single one produces
good orange on a hardy tree the in.
dustry will be revoutionized.
The cereals are being cross-bred for
the purpose of developing varieties
that will not have rust nor blight.
The peach crop of several parts of
the United States is seriously affected
with blight. The department has
heard of hardy varieties on the head