The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-08

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 soaked in good sorghum molasses in which they are just now reveling. His camp had already ground and made up Is barrels of excellent molasses, and had that much more to grind when he left.
 So far no boil weevil has been found on the Parchman farm, but they are reported in nearby counties, and the state need not expect to escape them another year The other three state farms have them now in the greatest abundance, and they will see to 1t that the yield of cotton is mater ially decreased
 Mr. Mullins has been on the Parch- man farm, working 60 to 75 negroes the past four years, and during that time has let but three convicts get to the cane" record of which several other sergeants cannot boast.
 The Farmers Union Advocate has turned its batteries on the pestiferous English sparrow, and advises that the festive small boy be turned loose on the pests These little foreigners have null tipied in countless thousands in Jackson, and no doubt in all other cities, so that they have become a great nuisance. Twenty years ago the first pair made their appearance in Jackson-now there are millions. They have taken posses sion of every nook and corner about every residence and business house and public building, filling them with mites and lit ter, causing housekeepers no end of trouble and worry, and in several in stances have been known to choke up gutters and drains so that rains caused overflow and costly damage to walls and ceilings.
 Now and then a home is found that is not infested by the sparrows, but such are the exception to the rule. This means that the good housewife has discovered that a pan or plate of meal or chops, into which little rat poison or strychnine has been mixed, and the dose placed where the sparrows congregate, is a mighty good and simple way of getting rid of them. or at least or thinning them down to a stand
 Announcement comes from Natchez that the Natchez Packing company will begin operations about the middle of November, but that 1t will begin to buy cattle a month ahead of that time. Buyers will be sent out into the stock regions to buy and pay for the cattle as delivered to him f. O. b. This is the first enterprise of this character ever attempted In the state of Mississippi and its career will be watched with great deal of interest.
 Natchez is in the center of the boil weevil zone, and the packing company is born of necessity Time was when Adams county produced about 5000 bales of cot ton per annum. That was three or four years ago. The yield last year was only POGO or 5000 bales and the farmers simply had to get away from cotton. The pack ing plant will encourage them to raise cattle and hogs; In fact. great many of them are already embarked in that line of business, and as the boil weevil goes marching across the state the cattle-rais- ing feyritory will be increased and en- larged to such an extent that other pack ing plants will become necessary.
 A disease that is costing the state of Mississippi a good deal of money and which has so far baffled the foremost vet erinarians hereabouts. has broken out among the mich cows on the convict farm at Oakley this county. Eight valu- able cows have died already and others have the disease, which seems very con- tagious The trouble originates as a kind of itch, near the root of the tail and the cows rub and scratch them selves nearly to death against fences trees, etc, and finally die in great agony. Sergeant Whitaker, an old and ex- perienced farmer and stockman had neyes seen anything like 1t, and telephoneI penitentiary headquarters here for vet erinarian. One was sent down and made a thorough examination He admitted that he was puzzled, but had the sick animals isolated and prescribed for them
 They got no better and Dr. Roberts. for mer state veterinarian at the Agricul- tural and Mechanical college, who has been making his headquarters at Jack son some time, though retired from that kind of work, was asked to visit the farm and see what was the matter He made a thorough autopsy of one of the animals but has not as yet determined fully what is the matter The disease is something new in this section of the country. So far it has attacked only | the milch cows, number of which are | kept on Oakley, where the hospital Is also located. The use of the milk has | been discontinued, the carcasses of the dead animals are burned and every pre- caution taken to prevent further spread | of the disease.
 Representatives of the state board of l health, who have been out a week or more | on an investigation of the hookworm | disease, report that large percentage of the people of the state are afflicted.
 One of them says 80 per cent of the per- sons exaHlned were round to be infect | ed. The remedy, however is said to l be very simple, and even those who
 happen to think they are free of the | trouble might take the medicine to make
 sure of themselves. So far as known,
 no case of hookworm has proven fatal, but the physicians declare that victims 1 of their attack cannot do themselves | justice-that they do not feel like taking
 much in the way of exercise, and go
 about their work in a listless kind of
 way.
 Birmingham Special, the