The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1901-08-01

opened in East Tennessee post offices
and sent to the Confederate authori
ties at Nashville. OF this fact Col.
Brownlow has indubitable proof. The
postal clerks on the line of East Ten,
nessee and Georgia Railroad threw
large packages of the Knoxville WHO
into the rivers of East Tennessee as
the train passed, saying, No Lincoln
ite newspapers should be circulated.
1t is proper to add that when my
father made complaint to Hon. John
II. Reagan, of Texas, the Postmaster
General in Mr.. Davis cabinet, he
strongly condemned the outrage My
father never believed Judge Rea-
gan capable of countenancing any
violation of the law regarding the
mails. The course of the Confederate
Postmasters in East Tennessee re-
ferred to was not without precedent.
While jackson was President the
Postmaster Of Charleston, S. G.. re-
fused to deliver to subscribers anti
slavery publications and in so doing
was sustained by Postmastsr-Genera
Amos Kendall, a Connecticut Yankee,
"a Northern man with Southern prin-
cipIes, as his enemies called him.
These "reminiscences of postal service
in the South in 1861 illustrate the
truth of the adage inter arma leges
silent"
Prof. S. A. Knapp, LII. d., of Louisi-
ana, is in Buffalo on his way to the
Philippines as a special envoy of the
Department of Agriculture. He is
very much pleased with the Exposi-
ton and is especially interested in
the Louisiana and Texas Rice Kitchen.
Prof. Knapp is graduate of Union
College, New York. He was for
several years President OF the Iowa
State College. In 1873 he visited
Japan, China and the Philippines as
the Representative of the United
States Government. In 1900 he was
sent by the Department of Agricul-
ture as Special Commissioner to
Porto Rico under act of Congress to
investigate the Agricultural condi-
tions there. The mission on which
he is now starting is to introduce for
age plants into the Philippines and
bring back from various countries
seeds and plants to the United States
that will be of practical value to our
farmers. Prof. Knapp said today to
your correspondent:
'.Somethtng like fifteen years ago
the culture of rice with modern ma
chinery was introduced on the
prairies Of Southwestern Louisiana.
All the modern implements and ma
chinery employed on the large wheat
fields of the Northwest have there
been successfully used. From Louisi-
ana it has gradually extended to
Texas. The Gulf Coast Rice belt is
the only portion of the world where
machinery is extensively used in the
cultivation of rice With the employ
ment of machinery some difficulties
arose The same care in the maturing
and handling Of the grain could not
be exercised as was formerly the case
by the hand process. AS result,
the breakage in the milling of rice
was large item, creating a loss of
from twenty to forty per cent. in the
gross value of the product Three
years ago the Department of Agricul-
ture attempted to remedy this diff
Guilty by the means of the importation
of rices better adapted to cultivation
under the machinery plan. We intro
duced variety of the japanese rices
known as the Kiushu. This almost
entirely remedied the difficulty that
had formerly prevailed. The result
was SO gratifying to the Department
that | am now going again to see
what rices can be found in the old
world that will be still better adapt
ed to the rice belt of the South.
Il also have mission to secure
other plants advantageous to the
United States and particularly any
leguminous plants for forage pur
poses. 1t is a part of my mission te
60 to the Philippines in the interest
of forage crops for our cavalry anc
draft animals in those Islands. AL
the forage for the support of these
animals has been and is still export
ed from the United States at an ap
proximate cost of $1,3O0,OOO. The
Philippine Islands are well ada pteo
to the production of forage and it i:
only necessary to introduce the righ'
varieties of grasses and get then
started under proper auspices to pro
duce all the hay and green fodder re
quired. Then anticipate visiting
India and other rice producing coun
tries to get such varieties as are
/ adapted to the various soils and th'
climatic conditions in the United
: States, and | am desirous of gettin;
, forage plants that are especial,
t adapted to the sandy soils of the pin
| woods districts of the Southern
= States. Rice from an economic stand
? point is cereal of great value t.
the people of the United States, from
the great ease with which it is digest
' ed and the large per cent. Of nutri
| tive value it contains, and shoui'
: consequently enter the daily menu .
t our entire population. Again it Cal
t be produced upon lands that are nov
' considered waste. There are enougI
lands along the Gulf Coast and tn
e Atlantic Coast now idle, which ca
e be devoted to rice and produce all tn
a rice that we consume in our entir
IL ID q
i that the production of rice is limite
to semi-tropical countries. This
u an error. There are varieties of ric
e that will mature as far North as Bos
. ton. Again, rice is one of the mos
= certain crops of all the grain famil,
e With proper conditions the crop
e almost absolutely sure. Consequent
~ | Ic II "a tho caroaI to no uSei in conn
0 tries OF dense populations. 1t
n reasonable to conclude that rice wi
: bear more important mission in th
: support of our people in the futur
= than it has in the past, and it is e,
e ceedingly necessary to obtain the be:
y varieties of rices, those that are tn
}. most nutritive, have the highest valu
a and are the most profitable for prs
r duction.