Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-01-20
A BEE sTINGs DIR. BURGESS.
With Result that He Writes Timely
and Interesting Article.

Courier: In your issue Of December
80, 1908, was an article headed
profits in Bee Culture" by ]. Wade
Dickson, of Westminster. ! read ii
with great deal of interest and plea
sure, and have watched for his "se-
ries of articles" promised If the first
article proved to be interesting to
the public" For one, | wish to as
sure Mr.. Dickson that his first, or in
troductory article, attracted my at
tention at once, and that there can
be no doubt that his series Of arti-
cles will prove both interesting and
profitable to the public. 1t is the de-
veiopment of just these "adiuncts"
to farming and farm life that our
Southern people need SO much. Come
on with your articles on bee-keeDing,
Mr.. Dickson. You are sowing good
seed, which will certainly find good
soil elsewhere in Oconee county.
A few years ago Mr.. Foosche, Of
Coronaca, Greenwood county, eXhib-
tied some of his bees at one of the
State institutes held at Clemson Col
lege. | heard him make some mar
vellous and almost incredible state
ments about bees-what they do and
what can be done with them. | sub
sequently visited at the home Of Mr..
Foosche and saw some of his work.
Now hple is one thing he was doing
raising queen bees to be shipped
(by maiD to distant parts Of the
world. He was cooperating with
firm in Illinois, think it was in
iiiinOis--who. when they received an
order for certain kind Of queen
bee, would furnish Mr.. Foosche the
shipping package. with instructions
where to ship. He told me Of having
.h fN ,,e.t, 10, Il
where.
Here is another BIT of informa-
ton picked up while visiting Mr.
Foosche. He (Mr. F) was raising
| turnip seed for one OF our nations
largest wholesale seedsmen, Buist
He planted annually some eight or
more acres of the seven-top variety
Mr.. Buist furnished the bags for
shipping, and Mr.. Foosche delivered
the seed at the station and received
| his pay. / have forgotten the guam
| tity shipped. The Buist Company no
doubt shipped large quantity Of
those same seed to South Carolina in
| five and ten-cent packages at a tre-
mendous profit. | am told that one
| of Clemson's trustees, Col. Hardin,
has raised every seed planted on his
| farm for years. Cannot others do
| it also?
In this connection let me quote
| from Il. l.. Gossett in the same issue
| referred to above: Strict cotton at
81 cents and old corn at 81 per
bushel, bacon II " cents per pound
| and -four $3.50 per barrel-every-
| thing is all out Of proportion. 1t is
| a big problem any way you take it.
and just what to do with the present
| crop of cotton is hard to decide
| Probably it is best for the individual
farmer to use his own pleasure and
| do as he thinks best" That last SEN
| tence is worthy the serious considera-
ton of all our people. Couple it
with Mr.. Dickson's adiuncts to farm
| ing and work out our own agricultu-
| raj salvation.
In the Progressive Farmer, Janu-
airy lith, is a short but fine arti-
| Gle by j. G. Strbling, of PendletOn,
on the theory set forth by DR.. TAFT
| Butler, that the South has too much
| labor on the farms" ! 'mmend it
| and its precepts to our agricultural
| readers. | heard Prof. Hart, a ma
| tive of Canada, and few years back
professor of animal husbandry and
dairying at Clemson, say that, in his
| judgment this Piedmont country
could be so handled, by proper plow-
ing and cultivation, that almost every
ter ce, hillside, ditch, etc, could be
| relegated to the past. | believe it,
and what a change it would bring to
our already beautiful country!
The reports published recently by
| The State, under the caption, Pros
perity Smiles on Palmetto State"
have been extremely interesting, as
in direct contradiction to the position
| taken by many that we are a down
trodden, suffering people. | saw
| nothing in The State from my old
home Scction-Summerto Cl2ren-
don county. | visited there the lat
ter part of last October. That sec
| tion is note6 for two things i'm the
| agricultural world, viz, good land
and good farmers. Last year Provi-
dence blessed them with good sea-
sons and 'prOsperity smiled" about
Summerton. In conversation with
prominent man OF that place, he
made this remark: "Our people are
drunk with prosperity" One planter
had 40 acres in cotton. Early in
the season he offered to take 90
bales for his crop. AT the State Fair
he told me that what | had heard
about his crop was true, viz, that he
had ginned 120 bales. had nine pick
ed out and would get enough more
to make 40 bales all told. And
down there they call 500 pounds a
bale. | could tell you the names OF
some of my old associates who are
making (last year, about as follows:
On ten acres, | 5 bales and more; on
80 acres, 60 bales and more; on GO
acres, 20 bales and more; on 800
acres. 200 bales or more. That was
being done in many cases. / dined at
homo friends