davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-12-19
Chinese Cork Tree.

The following description from the
Florists Exchange, seems to indicate
valuable ornamental tree, which
should be tested in Florida.
When the Phellodendron amurense
was introduced to cultivation it
brought with it the common name Of
Chinese cork tree. AS the trees grew
in size and no semblance Of cork what
ever appeared, it was difficult to under
stand how the name came to be applied.
Later on another species appeared in
cultivation, going under the name Of
P. Regeliana, and this proves to be the
one entitled to the common name cork
tree. The bark is corky in most
pronounced way. 1t is not only corky,
as is the messy cup oak, many Of the
elms and euonymus, but it is Of soft,
spongy nature, giving to pressure,
which cannot be said of some Of the
other so-called cork-barked trees.
1t must be said with regret that there
IS but very small number OF this tree
in cultivation. There are no seed bear
ing trees Of it here that there is any
knowledge Of But as the other spe-
cies, Amurense, seeds freely, it is prob
able that this could be used as a stock
on which to graft the cork tree, in
which case a stock Of it could soon be
secured. A good hardy cork tree
would be desired by all lovers of trees.
The merits of this tree are not ended
with it's corky bark. 1t makes hand
some round-headed tree, having pin
nate leaves; and in early fall the foliage
the tree conspicuous at a great dis
lance.
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-12-19
Early Towering.

The double lowered form Of Yellow
Jasmine (Gelsemium sempervlrens),
has been in bloom on our place for
more than two weeks. Within the last
week we have seen few blossoms Of
the wild single lowered form in the
woods. This is unusually early, it sell
dom flowers before January and often
not until February or even March.
Why is not the double lowered form
more common in cultivation? The
blossoms are very double, not quite
SO large as the single variety, but
very curious and quite pretty. We do
not think that, on Our place it has been
quite so profuse a bloomer as the
wild species, but there are plenty Of
blossoms to make it desirable for cult
walton. Possibly, if it had more care
and cultivation, it might bloom freely.
Perhaps DR.. Nehrling can tell us more
about it.
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-12-19
West Virginia.
The Poinsettia.
Editor Floral Department:

LUGCOI Il GUI w DOpW OHCOUG.
When you come to think Of it, we
have very few red flowers in Southern
California, aside from the scarlet
Geraniums The Poinsettia is in my
eye, the most gorgeous red that ever
existed in the flower kingdom 1t is
the Mexican flower, known as the
Christmas Flower AS [ have been
told, a man who was governor Of one
of the Mexican states came to Los
Angeles on a visit, and brought some
cuttings with him His name was
Poinsett, and the flower was named
after him. There is an old home in
Los Angeles which is surrounded with
the trees, which is owned by the faml-
ly whom he visited, and from that small
beginning, which he brought with him,
the plants have been propagated until
now there is scarcely yard in the city
that does not have its Poinsettias.
1t is one of the most difficult flowers
to paint, in the whole floral kingdom.
Even the great Paul de Longpre, king
of flower painters, does not succeed
with paints in getting the glow and
luster that there is to the natural flow
er. And by the way, it isn't the flower
which is red The bracts are red, and
the flower is an insignificant little
cluster of yellowish punches in the
center. But we call the whole thing
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-12-19

change describes, under the name at the
head Of this article, Chinese variety
OF Calycanthus, c. praecox, as it is cal
led by botanists at the present time.
From the description we should Judge
that it is fully as fragrant as Our native
species, and that the flowers are more
snowy, being partly yellow instead OF
all reddish brown. The Florists Ex-
change says:
When not too far North and in
sheltered places the Chinese allspice,
Chimonanthus fragrans, thrives out OF
doors. In the vicinity of New York
City and on Long Island and along the
coast of the Sound it is hardy But
as this shrub is impatient to flower it
pushes forth it's small yellow sweet
scented blossoms in winter if week
OF mild weather occurs, and so it hap
pens that its flowers are rarely enjoyed
in the North It follows that the plan
many adopt Of growing it in a pot, or
tub, for indoor use is good one, and
were the nurseryman or the florist to
recommend the plant for this purpose,
many a specimen of it could be sold.
There are parties having collections
Of plants in greenhouses who would be
glad to know Of the allspice. 1t is not
the sight Of the flowers, but the de-
licious odor emanating from them that
recommends this shrub One flower
alone when expanded will fill room
with delicious fragrance; and one flow
er after another is expanding for some
time. AS the flowers are produced
from shoots made the previous season,
it places this shrub in the class of
those that need good pruning in
spring when Towering is over, to bring
forth good lot OF young shoots.
Because it's flowers are not enjoyed
outdoors where hard freezings occur
the Chimonanthus is not in all nurse
ries outside of Southern ones, but it is
much valued by nurserymen of the
South, who find a ready sale for it
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-12-19
Chinese Al1spice, Chimonanthus.

Probably most Of you are familiar
with Calycanthus foridus, commonly
called sweet-scented shrub, which is
grown for the fragrance of it's reddish
brown flowers The Florists Ex-
The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-12-19

to paint the Poinsettia, with all va
rieties Of success. The design is burnt
on wood, painted on leather pillows,
used as velvet flowers on souvenir post
al cards, and in thousands of ways it's
popularity is shown. The Poinsettla,
the California Poppy, and the Orange
Blossom are the favorite flowers in all
articles made to catch the unWary
tourist, and help him to part from his
filthy lucre, which he comes West to
lose.
Used in decoration, nothing is hand
somer Although almost everyone
raises them, still if you go to the
florists to buy the blossoms you pay
one dollar a dozen for them, which
shows what demand there is for them
They have their own little peculiarities
also You must plunge the stem at
once after cutting into boiling water,
to prevent the flower from willing
Then if they are placed in cold water
they will remain fresh several days
The stems are full Of milk, and the
boiling water sears the cut portion
and prevents the milk from flowing out
We propagate them easily After the
blooming season, which lasts from the
first Of November, until the last Of
January they are cut sharply back,
which insures a new growth for next
iall's blooming, and the branches are
cut up into short pieces, each piece with
an eye, and these are inserted in a
trench, given plenty Of water, and al
most every cutting will strike root.
They do best on the south side Of a
building, or where they are protected.
They are fragile, and both wind and
frost play havoc with them. If they
are cut back each year, they can be
kept in neat bush shape, but if they
are not trimmed they grow into big
scraggly trees, and are the ugliest
things imaginable after they are finish
ed blooming, as they drop their leaves,
and are grayish green naked stems Of
no symmetry nor beauty And they
want plenty to drink also, and big
basin around each plant to fill every
week or so with water, during the dry
season, is the best way Of irrigating
them.
They are certainly the most pictur-
esque and most admired and unique
Of all California abundance of floral
life
Georgina S. Townsend.
Some one took exception to my
statement that there was a sheen to the
California Poppy. Evidently they had
never seen a field of Our native Poppies
I have seen the Eastern Buttercup, in
its native fields in Vermont, which has
sheen and [ have also seen the Cali
fornia Poppy, which also has sheen.
AS an evidence Of this fact, [ will state
that the Poppy beds at the foot Of the
main range Of mountains, near Altade-
ma, Cal, could be seen by the Spanish
sailors as they came up the coast,
thirty miles away, and they were SO
bright and wonderful that these sailors
went exploring to find out what shone
so brightly up on the mountain sides.
They thought it must be gold, and so
thew recorded if in their records. They
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22

whisky, and so Il came about that
then and during the remainder of the
month of April Betsy sold nine bar
rels of the stuff, some of it In Polk
county, some in Rutherford, and some
over the line in South Carolina. But,
although she kept in touch with her
business all the while, she showed up
at the term of Polk county superior
court the second week in May, es-
corted always by a party of her moon
sinner friends. She wore different
dress and different hat on each of
three days, this being the most i'm
portant event in her existence to date.
Got Cases Continued.
There were three indictments
against her, but she contrived, on one
plea or another, and by means OF tre-
mendous lot of swearing by moon
sinner friends, to get the case contin-
ued, always putting up cash bond fol
appearance. She thus invested 5000
Then the attention of the judge was
directed more particularly toward her.
and he found the extent of her work
and the damage she was doing in parts
of two states, in her open violations
of the law. She must have felt in
the very air that something was wrong
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22

sprang upon the jailer, who had bad
quarter of an hour, for not only was
Betsy a good wrestler, but star hair
puller and scratcher. Not satisfied
with these accomplishments, she
whipped out knife and cut the jailer
five times. He was compelled to
knock her down and then to tie her.
burning hole therein, through which
The matter was at once reported to
the Judge, who ordered that she be
placed in the strongest cell and close
ly watched, and at the next term Of
court she will be indicted for an as
sault with intent to kill, not to speak
of another indictment for attempt to
escape. Some of her moonshiner
friends have in quiet way made
threats that she will not stay in jail
long, but the county authorities say
| they can hold her.
Betsy's exploit in the Jail has given
her an added Importance and value
among her associates.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22

culture. attention is called to the fact
that marshes and stagnant pools are
the principal breeding places of mos
quitoes. Science has shown that mos
quitoes are the most common, if not
the only means of conveying malarial
germs and introducing these germs
into the human system; and that mos
quitoes are the only proved cause of
the infection of yellow fever. In Italy
vast areas of land have been aban-
doned because of the mosquito pest
While our salt marshes do not seem
to present the conditions necessary for
the breeding of the species of malaria
mosquitoes in this country, they are
breeding places for immense numbers
of other mosquitoes that prove a pest
to persons and to stock, in some cases
so troublesome they lower the valua
ton of the land.
Engineers believe the everglades of
Florida can be drained, and here
would be added to our rich lands 7,000,-
900 tillable acres. There are 100000
acres of swamp lands in Michigan, be-
tween 100000 and 100000 acres in
Minnesota, 100000 in Wisconsin. In
New Jersey and Virginia there are
large areas. Salt marshes are promi-
nent features of nearly all the states
bordering the Atlantic and Pacific.
In preparing this article we have
found it difficult to get any very recent
writings on the subject of the reclaim
ing of the swamps, but are looking
shortly for a flood of literature on the
subject. Some years ago quite good
deal was said, a crusade started for the
reclamation of our salt marshes; their
value as farming lands emphasized,
and that in the existing state they
were a serious menace to the health of
the people living in their vicinity.
Notable among the government re-
ports issued at the time was Shaler's
"Sea- Coast Marshes of the United
States" and Nesbit's '"Tidal Marshes"
Writing on the sea-coast marshes of
the eastern part of the country, Shaler
said: "The great advantage of the
northern marsh areas is found in the
fact that they generally are near the
large centers of population of the
country, where they will have high
value as market garden soils or fields
for the raising of hay. When brought
into their best state such areas will,
measured by the price Of other lands
in the same neighborhood, have a
value of not less than 5000 an acre.
AS the total reclaImable area between
New York and Portland (Me.) probably
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22
HARD LESSON IN SPELLING
Exercise in Dictation Submitted to
London School Is Some
what Difficult.

Students in London school were
recently asked to write this from die
tation: "a gluttonous sibyl with her
glutinous hand complacently seized a
sieve, a phthiscal ichneumon, a no
ticeable supercilious irascible and Gym
ical sergeant, an embarrassed and ha-
raised chrysalis, shrieking sheik, a
complaisant proselyte and an anony-
nous chroysolite. These all suddenly
disappeared down her receptive ESQ
phagus. She simply said: Pugh! not
saccharine!
"She then transferred billion of
bilious mosquitoes, an unstable bou-
quet of fuchsias, lilies, dahiias, hya-
cinths and phlox, liquefied bdellium,
an indelible defamatory infiammatory
synchronism and debatable syllogism
to the same capacious receptacle.
"Peaceably surrendering her daguer-
reotype to the ecstatic aeronaut, she
descended with her parachute-a
synonym for barouche-and griey-
ously terrified the stolid, squalid yeo-
many already torrefied by the heat,
101 Fahrenheit"
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22

exceeds 100000 acres, the money value
of their best state will amount to at
least $40,0O0,000. The cost of reclaim
ing these lands and reducing them to
cultivation should not exceed the fifth
of this sum-"
Shaler spoke Of the need for well
skilled engineering direction in the
retaining of the marshes, and that 1t
was to be regretted the experiments
had not been directed by some one
trained in the work-as in the very
successful work on the northern shores
of Europe
In Europe salt marshes are consid-
cred the most fertile of lands. For
many years past large areas in Dem
mark, Belgium and Holland have been
under cultivation. The Fens in Eng
land have been diked and ditched and
about million acres of matchless fer
tility been reclaimed.
There are many kinds of salt marsh
es; some bare mud fats without vege-
tation; others with heavy growth Of
grass, sometimes there is a sod foot
and more thick. 1t is a comparative
ly slow process to get the salt lands
rid Of water and saltiness, but in those
cases where proper precautions have
been taken. sufficient time and labor
allowed, the lands have given good
returns. The author of the circular
says it is generally conceded one acre
of reclaimed salt marsh is worth four
or five acres of upland, and that ac-
cording to the well substantiated fig
ures Of Shaler, the cost of reclamation
should not exceed one-ffth the final
value of the land.
The Yankee farmer has found out
that certain class OF bog land can be
turned to profitable account in grow
ing the cranberry, but when considera-
ton is given the extent of our swamp
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22

make corn whisky in the shaded and
well-hidden bollows in the mountains,
through which run streams whose wa
tiers are always just cool enough to
give the distillery worms the right
touch.
Capture Of Betsy.
Betsy has year by year become
more and more daring, and more
beautiful. A few months ago she be-
came extremely bold in her sales of
whisky, going to and from the stills,
sometimes alone, and sometimes with
male companions. Finally the state
authorities decided it was time to
stop her, so they sent three deputy
sheriffs for Betsy. The deputies had
the good fortune to find her, on foot,
and very near the South Carolina line,
which she knows perfectly we'll.
When she saw the three deputies
coming, she knew they were not her
friends, and made bold dash for the
line. AS Splinter she is success,
and her running was like that of the
Grecian girls who competed in the
ancient Olympian games. The depu-
ties did not stop to admire, however,
but gave chase and dashed across the
state line, coming up with and taking
hold of the stout and charming Betsy
about a hundred yards over in South
Carolina.
Betsy was nearly out of breath
from the run. but had voice enough
left to give a signal, which brought
out of the thick bushes near by five
tough-looking moonshiners, any one
of whom was ready and willing to
die for Betsy any time. Betsy had a
good-sized revolver slung about her
waist, and very poorly concealed by a
checked apron, but her moonshine
friends made no concealment what
ever of the pistols which they had
in hand, and while they fingered
these, they parleyed with the detain-
ing deputies, letting them understand
that they were willing to pay cash
for Betsy's appearance in cot" and
that they were 'willin' to put up $25
in greenbacks if Betsy could be sot
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22

ing IL, as one could find In that wild
country, even in a full days ride, and
she Is as pretty as she Ia adroit and
daring, with killing pair OF eyes.
bright and well-filled cheeks and hair
which defies conventionalities, Betsy
has cut no little figure in Folk county
since she was 16, for even at that early
age she began her work as y seller OF
contraband whisky. She made herself
such a figure, in fact, thaS even the
older moonshiners began to look up
to her and in their rude way to idolize
the plucky girl, who had been bred
all her life to think the selling OF
whisky was an act of the very best
sort, and that the .'revnooers" were
race of people who deserved only
death and who were sent out as OPP
pressors of the people. Such is the
faith which is literally the backbone
of Bcusy's point of view, and TINT of
hes moonshiner companions. who
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22

lands it would seem nothing has been
done in the developing of the posi-
bilities that lie therein. Shaler, writ
ing in Science in 1886, argues for the
utilization of our swamps and gives
Information in regard to the various
classes of swamps in the United States.
These neglected districts are of great
extent and very varied nature. They
consist, in part, of land which is some
what less fertile than the best soils,
but which in every other respect is fit
for tillage. A preliminary
study of the field has shown the re-
markable fact that we have left un-
touched in the region east of the Mis-
sissippi districts of easily drained
swamp lands amounting to more than
$4,000 square miles of area. The inun-
dated lands of the lower Mississippi
remain in the state in which they were
when first seen by men, while similar
areas in England were long ago won to
the state of the most fertile fields of
that country.
Our American inundated lands are
Invisible into several classes, deter
mined by the condition of their origin.
OF these the most important are the
tide water marshes, the lacustrine
swamps of the glaciated district, the
delta swamps Of the Mississippi, and
the class Of wet lands or upland
-swamps where the marshy condition
is due to the action of plant in retain
ing water under the surfaces of con-
siderable districts
Preliminary studies of the great
area Of fresh water marshes, extend
ing from the mouth of the James river
south to Albemarle sound, show that
in that district this class of marshes
covers an area of about 1000 square
miles. This class of marshes
can easily and cheaply be drained and,
when so improved, they afford exceed
ingly rich soils. Along the outer mar
gin Of these vast morasses, some hun
dred thousands acres have been won
to culture. These lands are remark
ably fertile. 1t seems likely that of
these easily reclaimed upland morass-
es, resembling the Dismal Swamp,
there is total area in the southern
states of not less than q square
miles. In the northern stai the area
of improbable swamp land is less ex-
tensive, but there is not state in
which they do not constitute an Inn
portant part of the land reserve which
the coming generation will be glad to
USE"
CHRISTOPHER WEBSTER.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-06-22

OF late years the public has had Of
fered no little information regarding
the watering of dry lands to make the
desert bloom; and now there are signs
public attention is to be called to the
draining Of swamp lands and the
Transforming of these waste places.
Recently bill was introduced in
congress for the reclamation of swamp
lands under system similar to that
adopted for the reclamation of the
deserts in the southwest AS yet only
beginning has been made, begin
ming that probably will some day lead
to legislative action.
The total area Of our swamp lands
is impressive, and it stands to reason
this large portion of territory will
some day be coveted by our fast-in-
creasing population. Eve are feeding
now nearly 100000 of people within
the boundaries of our own country and
sending enough material abroad to
clothe and feed an almost equal num-
her," And when one considers the adj
vantages offered by the swamp lands
one wonders why experiments have not
sooner been made in their reclamation.
Authorities tell us swamp lands can
be reclaimed as cheaply as arid lands.
Once drained, swamp land is drained
for good. Drained lands are more fer
tile than the average agricultural soil,
require little or no artificial fertiliz-
ing And, what is of decided impOr-
lance, generally these lands are To-
Gated in the midst of well settled re-
gions, a market near at hand, trans
portation provided. And not only for
utilization of waste lands is it urged
the swamps be drained, but because
many of them are such menace to
health. In an article on Reclamation
of Salt Marsh Lands in the circular
bureau of soils, department of agri-