Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1909-01-16

Last Thursday, while MIR. William
Jones, the well-known mine prop haul
er, was at work in the woods he had a
serious misfortune to happen to his
mule team. Another party was telling
trees near Mr.. Jones' team. One tree
fell across the back of a mule and killed
it instantly. Another tree struck two
mules as it fell seriously injuring them.
This is pretty hard luck considering the
fact that this team was Mr.. Jones'
principal means of making living and
that the mules were valued at about
$4,000 each.
Maryland is Corn State" The
corn crop occupies greater acreage
and is worth more to the farmers of
the state than any other crop. Its
average yield per acre is already great
er than in some of the Corn States"
of the West, and is on the increase.
Ten bushels per acre could easily be adj
ded to it by more judicious system of
seed selection than at present prevails.
That would mean at ordinary price an
increase in the income of the corn grow
ers of Maryland of more than three
millions of dollars, very substantial
increase and well worth trying for.
On the second page of this paper
there is large advertisement of I. II.
Merrill Company, Pocomoke City, in
augurating their January reduction sale,
in which they are going to sell five
thousand, eight hundred and forty dol
lars worth of seasonable goods, such as
mems and boys clothing, furnishings,
etc., for three thousand, five hundred
and ninety-six dollars and eighty cents.
This is seven days sale, starting
Saturday, January 10th, and concluding
Saturday, January 23d. Every garment
in the store is included in the sale.
The members of the Ladies' Aid
Society of the Whatcoat M. E. Church
and also the members of the Quarterly
Conference and their wives were enter
tanned on Friday evening of last
week by Rev. and Mrs. C. w. Pretty
man at the parsonage. Every member
of the Ladies' Aid was present except
five. Miss Priscie P. Cottingham presi-
ded and Mrs. Winona Harris was
secretary. An encouraging financial
report was furnished by the treasurer,
Miss Mollie A. Townsend. Music, re-
citations and reading were features of
the festivities and at 10 p. M. a COLA
ton consisting of fried oysters, chicken
salad, Maryland biscuits, olives, sailed
nuts and coffee was served in abund-
ance to the company. These annual
receptions given by the pastor and his
wife are looked forward to with inter-
est by the membership Of the church
and are a valuable contribution to the
social life of the denomination.
I'm Yates county, N. Y, farmers
have found out that it is more profit
able to skin the hogs than to scrape
them. The change in method was
brought about by an enterprising butch
er, who found market for hog skin.
He began to skin hogs for farmers,
taking skins for pay. As they are
worth from so cents to Sl.00 apiece, it
is n paying business, and from the
81 4dpoint of the owner of the hog it
is good thing, too. He is not re-
quired to make any extensive prepara-
tions at butchering time, as before.
No platform to build, no water to heat,
no extra help to employ. Now the
butcher drivesint the yard, kills, skins
and cleans the hogs, and hangs them
up ready for market. The loss in
weight is slight, from five to fifteen
pounds according to the size of the hog,
and the butcher will pay half cent a
pound more for pork skinned to cut up
on the block, and for home use it is
much better. The practice of skinning
hogs is rapidly spreading over that
state, and it is believed by progressive
farmers that in few years it will en-
tirely take the place of the old method
of scraping.