958 



GLEANINGS IN BEEaCULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



ready response; so I sat down. It was soon 

 evident, however, that No. 1 did not intend to 

 occupy the seal himself at all; for as soon as 

 he had tilled ihe seat he vveni into the smoking- 

 car. Now, I always prefer a seat next to the 

 window, and 1 therefore very soon moved the 

 baggage, etc., to half of the unoccupied seat. 

 In due time the owner of the stuff returned. I 

 said to him: 



" If you prefer a seat next the window, I will 

 take the other; as you took the seat first, you 

 surely t-hould have tirst choice." 



He looked at me a moment, then, evidently 

 having no more of a fancy to sit by me than I 

 had 10 sit by him (perfumed with his tobacco 

 smoke as he was) he remarked. "1 reckon I 

 had belter go back and fine in the smoker," 

 and I saw no more of him until he came for his 

 baggage when at his destination. 1 afterward 

 noticed vacant seats all over the car. People 

 usually kept out of ihem because they contain- 

 ed baggage, while the owner paid for one seat 

 and used two. Well, if the railroad folks prefer 

 to run a smoking-car for accommodation, it is all 

 right, certainly; but I wonder if it has occurred 

 to them that, while they do so much gratui- 

 tously for tobacco -users, they might certainly 

 do a h'M/c in the same line for those who ride 

 wheels. Do more people use tobacco than ride 

 wheels? We shall soon see. Which is of more 

 real importance to a man — his wheel or his— 

 " smoke " '?* 



As we get down into Georgia and into the 

 region around Atlanta I notice the ground on 

 the hillside is almost all terraced; or the rows 

 of corn, cotton, sugar cane, etc.. are planted so 

 the furrows all run around the hills, exacllv on 

 the plan given in our tomato-book. 



It is interesting to note that friend Day's 

 plan is being carried out so generally. Where 

 the best crops are grown, the whole plan in de- 

 tail is fully carried out; and when it is so 

 done, there is next to no washing, and no gully- 

 ing at all. 



Our trip to Atlanta was a very pleasant one. 

 The railroad officials were pleasant and oblig- 

 ing; and although the weather was quite 

 severe, even through the Southern Slates, 

 we suffered no inconvenience at all in travel- 

 ing. By taking some rations of beefsteak 

 along, nicely cooked by Mrs. Root, I managed 

 to have my meals regularly, and of the right 

 kind. The hot water was easily managed by 

 taking along a tin canteen. This, when filled 

 with good water, was kept hot on the steam- 

 pipes; or where there was a hot-water boiler 

 on the car the porter kindly permitted me to 

 place my canteen where it would keep hot and 

 out of his way. I find it better to speak to the 

 porter before taking liberties with his heating- 

 apparatus, for he does not like to have passen- 

 gers meddling with his department without 

 permission. A little explanation and courtesy 

 always secured all the privileges that I needed 

 in this line. 



As I have several times described the country 

 between Cincinnati and Nashville. I need not 

 go over it again. You will notice by the map 

 that at Nashville we start out eastward toward 



*The following- newspaper clipping- comes in very 

 well rlglit here: 



The bicycle has proven a beneficent apostle for 

 reform in more ways than one. if the assertion of 

 the United States Tohacco Journal may be accepted, 

 which declares that the bicycle has caused a reduc- 

 tion for tlie last year of seven hundred millions in 

 the consumption of cigars, the reason assig-ned be- 

 ing- that men seldom smoke while riding a wheel. 

 It has doubtless caused, also, a large falling-iitf in 

 doctor's fees, and left the patient wtio rode it in far 

 better condition than if he had swallowed the whole 

 contents of an ordinary drugstore. 



Chattanooga, and thence on toward Atlanta. 

 The ride through the mountains affords a grand 

 study to any one who is a lover of nature. It 

 is always exceedingly interesting to me to look 

 over the problems that were surmounted in 

 building a railroad through such mountainous 

 country. Usually they follow streanjs; or, as 

 they would say in California, up one canyon, 

 to the summit, and down another on the oppo- 

 site side. Through Tennessee and Georgia a 

 good deal of the road had to be cut throxigh the 

 hills more or less. The road curves arouiid the 

 hillside, first on the side of one hill then on the 

 other, occasionally getting through by cuts so 

 deep you can hardly see the top as you look out 

 of the car window; and where the hills are 

 very high, and the expense will warrant it, a 

 tunnel is cut right straight throueh. The scene 

 is occasiotially varied by beautiful fertile val- 

 leys. along the side of clear rivers. A good deal of 

 the land is. of course, unreclaimed and unused. 

 The valleys, however, are mostly under pretty 

 good cultivation, and in many places the 

 ground is cleaied and under cultivation, up al- 

 most to the summits of some of the mountains, 

 on hillsides where you would think it was al- 

 most impossible to do any farming profiatbly. 

 Some of this high land, however, is very valu- 

 able, so 1 am told, for certain crops. 



Apples of great tjeauiy, and of about the fin- 

 est coloring I ever saw anywhere, are raised all 

 through Georgia. At one station Mr. Calvert 

 informed me they sold ten large beautiful ap- 

 ples for only a nickel; and the whole carload of 

 people seemed to be eating apples in a way that 

 I hope did them all good — at least, it did me 

 good to look on: but I had some fears that at 

 least a part of the crowd could not stand so 

 many of them at all hours of the day: and be- 

 fore we got through, even Mr. Calvert, with 

 his strong and rugged constitution, was obliged 

 to admit that it would have been better laad 

 he eaten fewer, or taken them at regular meal- 

 time. 



Through Georgia they prepare the ground 

 and sow oats all through the month of Decem- 

 ber. They were not doing it when we made 

 our trip, however, for the ground was frozen 

 hard, even in the middle of a sunshiny day. 

 One of the passengers informed me that oats 

 were very seldom injured during average win- 

 ters. I made inquiries in regard to winter 

 oats. He said they had tried them more or 

 less, but the common variety seemed to suit 

 their locality best. The prevailing crop, how- 

 ever seemed to be cotton; and I am told they 

 raise cotton year after year right on the same 

 ground, using little or no fertilizer except cot- 

 ten-seed meal and the stalks, etc., left after the 

 cotton. The cotton-fields, as a rule, are re- 

 markably clean, and free from weeds; but 

 judging from the size of the stalks, a good deal 

 of the farming, like that here in the North, is 

 not by any means what we would call high- 

 pressure farming.^ / 



Perhaps the greatest foe to agriculture, es- 

 pecially on the hilly or uneven ground, is 

 the washing and gullying; and I was greatly 

 pleased to note that, ail through the South, the 

 remedy proposed in the back part of our toma- 

 to-book is the one in common vogue — running 

 the furrows around the hills instead of straight 

 across the fields. This is some trouble; but if 

 it is done right, it seems to be a perfect remedy 

 for washina. The Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, has put out a very interesting 

 bulletin fNo. 20). entitled " Washing Soils; how 

 to Prevent and Reclaim them." The teaching 

 is almost in line with that given by friend Day. 



Atlanta is a very beautiful city of about 

 ] 00,000 inhabitants. The streets are filled with. 



