The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-30
LETTERS TO EDITOR
A Tale of Two Switches


 Tn the Editor of The Age-Herald
 Several years ago while visiting friend in South Carolina I noticed lying on the ground where they had been dropped by the man engaged in trimming a hedge two long switches of California privett.
 Switches have always held sort Of an interest for me ever since our wooden legged and wooden headed teacher or long ago used to slip up behind his pupils and with a long keen sparkle berry switch would liam the everlasting fllin out Il us." I can still recall the sound of the switch brought down across an atlas convealed under jacket, and the reel ing of the switch after the atlas had been removed under protest. The lines traced by the switch were as dark as sparkle berries themselves, and did not fade for a long time.
 The privett switches were long and keen, but when I picked them up l had no thought of using them for the pur- post of making an impressing on youth' although | believe switches properly ap- piled are means of grace. My formula for raising children is, first if they are out of sorts, give calomel in broken doses; for often when one realizes that the doll is filled with sawdust, that the world is hollow, and that nobody loves one, 1t is because of an inactive liver rather than unfortunate surroundings, and a few small doses of calomel will restore hope, brighten the skies and make life worth living and be less unbearable to those around.
 If the ealomel fails to bring about the desired result, then massage with switch, because if it isn't the liver 1t is the heart which is wrong, and a counter irritant is indicated the combination of calomel and switch will make an angel child out of the reverse.
 picked up the switches, got few more, and cutting them into pieces about six inches long, wrapped them in an old copy of the Columbia State to retain the heat, put them in my travelling bag and iourneyed to Bessemer, one of the two cities in Jefferson county, Alabama.
 On arriving at home I stuck the cut tings along the front fence, had Appollus water them and waited for God to give the increase It came so quickly as to surprise me, every little piece began put ting out green shoots and leaves, and soon it was time to shorten the growth by cutting The cuttings were set out and before very long promising young hedge 15O long was the result. It became neces- sary to trim the hedge frequently and the cuttings were taken over to the park and under Mrs Hard's direction the Italian gardener Giacomo Mule. commonly called Jake" set them out, trimmed and set out the cuttings until in a few years the switches from South Carolina had grown into beautiful hedges agsregatng over 15oo feet, most of it surrounding the pret- tiest park of it's size in the state. So yen- o,.o,,., ;s ,at,,ra ilyl
 Several years ago, Mrs. Haf'. z were in Livingston. She admir- " tt- graceful weeping willow there s few switches from it, took tht tel iAu ( cut them in sections and stuck ont tA I'd a moist place in a vacant lot lad ! a house, and mature again went we 'Ei- After time we transplated then he park and the delicate r
 the fraceful trees there last sIng u- lighted the hundreds of visitors. Taey will give pleasure as long as the ift once while making trip throus 7oith-