The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-12-10
FERTILIZER TAN RECEIPTS
Twenty Three Per Cent. Greater Than
Last ~Year-Crops on the state Farms.
Book Agents Declared tie be Peddiers
Under yer Law

Raleigh. y. C, December 6.
The tonnage tax on commercial fer
t~ilizers this year brings In to the agn-
cultural department 6 5000. which il
IS per cent more than last years re-
ceipts. The demands on the depart
ment have been greater than ever be-
fore.
A little more han an inch OF snow
fell here last night. The fall lasted
about two hours.
The ~penitentiary directors inform
your correspondent that this years
cotton crop will pretty closely approx
innate 900 bales, OF which 200 come
from the states own farm. Cal
edonia," and 200 from the Tillery farm
The fusionists made a bad contract
with the owner OF the latter farm. by
which the crop was To be equally shar-
ed. However, the contract ends De-
cember 3lst. The cotton production
by the convicts will be about the same
as last year per acre. but 500 acres
were lost by the freshets- There were
300 acres in peanuts. but the stand
and the crop were pocr. There are 60o
acres Of good upland corn. All the
lowland corn was lost In future oniy
the Caledonia farm will be operated.
The Arson farm VIII be dropped De-
cember 31st. Its lease ran four years
longer, but by a compromise IL Is termi
I mated December 31st. the state paying
the owners a years rent, s.. 800. In ad-
vance January 1st. The Castle Haynes
farm owes the state s1.se0. which IL
refused to pay two years ago and the
fusion p~enitentiary superintendent
! withdrew the convicts.
/ It is decided by the penitentiary
board to bring the number of convicts
on the Ohio River and Charleston rail-
way up to 400. The state gets 75 cents
a day for each. BY the 18th instant
fifty convicts now in a quarry al Sails
berry will be sent there. 1t appears
! that there is some trouble about con-
vict labor in the quarry. hence these
convicts are turned back upon the
state. The convicts will go to Marion
by rail and then march to camp. forty
miles away and in seven miles OF the
Tennessee line.
The penitentiary will not quite pay
expenses this year. the directors think.
They borrowed SIS. 900 early In Novem-
Der, but they did this in order tn
be able to hold cotton. They have
sold no cotton or peanuts. They find
it cost 5000 to rebuilt and repair the
great bikes on Caledonia farm on the
Roanoke river, and that IL will cost
as much more TO reopen the bitches
there.
The state treasurer decides that book
agents who sell by subscription and
then personally deliver the books are
peddlers and must pay the license tax
The treasurer says whether they
come under the $40 or $50 classes is a
question Of fact the sheriff must deter
mine. He says a number Of sewing
machine companies are endeavoring
to evade the law by shipping machines
addressed to themselves but with a bill
OF lading to some purchaser who pays
the price and takes the machine. Sher-
ifs are told IL they can get positive
proof OF this they should levy upon al
machines not paid for and delivered
up to $3.50 worth, as that is the tax.
State veterinarian TAFT Butler lef,
today for Hyde county to make a
further investigation of the disease
among horses, which in the autumn
he diagnosed as forage poisoning. TIL,
diseases continues to prevail there. II,
goes to Fairfield and Engelhard.
The session OF the board Of agricul
ture will probably continue until Sat
urday.
The United States revenue cofIec
tons In this district for Novembe
were only sIo0. 600.