The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1911-08-31

The sIalner perlorates the bolls
and rots them before maturity.
found a good deal of the fruit
fallen from the plant. from the
plant and learned that the fruit is
also infested by the .stainer. Nor is
this all. The insect perforates the
seed of the plant, gets the oil from
the seed, and in this way stains
the cotton which has not been in
tested by the excrement caused by
an over-indulgence in the seed oil.
This l consider the greater impedi-
ment to cotton growing in San Do
mingo. The English Government
has investigated and has learned
OF the insect. l brought back some
OF the stainers and l am sending
some to the department of agricul-
ture.
These things show that these
islands Of Carolina have nothing to
fear. The party with whom | went
represented capital of about $5,-
1000, with options on lands
amounting to thousands of acres.
The idea of exploiting the San Do
mingo lands for cotton plantations
was practically abandoned by all
except one, and he will experiment
further before doing anything"
bhuo lutig IepOTleQ Ihe
results of his investigation Of the
cotton possibilities of the island,
Mr.. Whaley proceeded to tell in
glowing terms of the many agricul-
tural and other advantages which
the island does possess.
The island itself has very rich
and fine land. l rode through six
miles of bananas, one way upon
horseback, and the other upon a
train used to carry the fruit to
the steamers. The bananas seem to
grow out of the rocks as we'll as the
most fertile valleys. This was
Sasua, about fifteen miles east of
Porto Plata. The whole country be-
tween these two places is a valley
OF rich land which will grow any
thing that one needs.
Il saw corn growing without any
kind of fertilizer and yielding more
than forty bushels to the acre.
saw magnificent pasture lands, with
the grass growing in them as high
as the grazing cattle. With such
a cattle country l do not See why
the people want to go into sea is
land cotton. Hogs can be raised
with ease, and | saw the genuine
Southern "razor-back' grovelling
about when l was there. The royal
palm tree yields fruit unsurpassed
as food for them, and sweet pota-
toes grow when stuck in the
ground, without any cultivation.
one farmer pulled from one hill po-
tatoes which, when weighed in my
presence, tipped the scales at 25
IA pounds.
West of Porto Plata, for from
flfty to seventy-five miles, the
country continues most fertile
rode through ten miles of sugar
cane The cane is planted but once
every three years. When the time
comes for replanting the old fields
are abandoned and new ones chosen.
There is not the least attempt at
scientific farming. The only thing
In the way of implements which 1
saw while there was grub
blng hoe and a yoke of oxen hitch
ed to a plow.The soil in this place is
giving its results without being
scratched hardly. The sugar grow
ers are making money although they
are paying IIty to the United States
OF $1.00 per hundred.
The climate Is all than can be
desired. ] spent ten days in Por-
TO Pata and used covers at night. |
mere are very few mosquitoes and
In some places there are none. Ants |
are numerous, but they are confin-
ed mostly to trees. The scenery Is |
magnificent. Porto Pata is on the |
ocean at the foot of mountain O.
900 feet high. The ridges are
sharp and one can see growing
crops from the top to the bottom.
The country appears like Saluaa and
AsheViile set in the middle of the |
trophic ocean.
There are no roads to speak of |
In the part of the island / was in. |
The only roads are those in the |
and cane plantations. Lo-
comotion Is accomplished on horse
back or muleback chiefly. The gov
ernment of the place is in the |
hands of the natives, although the |
United States gets revenues. Every
day / was in Porto Plata there |
was a native killed. The white |
people are safe, but the natives go
fully armed and attack each other |
when slightly provoked.
The main trouble with the ma
tiVes is that they live too easily. |
Any man who Is satisfied to subsist
there, may do so without working.
There Is enough food for all. In
observing these mixed breed ma
tves, l was forcibly struck by the
necessity of keeping the white blood
In the South pure. Almagamation
OF the races is largely responsible
Tor the fact that this really gifted
land has not advanced in four hun
dred years.