6io 
September 22 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
SOME [FACTS 3'ABOUT ARKANSAS. 
88 ^ ■‘d r A NKGLKCTKD STATE. 
The tide of immigration seems to have 
swept over and beyond the State of 
Arkansas with its vast forests, mineral 
and af^ricultural wealth. The main artery 
of travel is the St. Louis, Iron Mountain 
& Southern Railroad and its branches. 
Generally speaking, the State might be 
considered one vast forest containing 
much valuable timber, with clearings 
here and there. The railroad company 
established last April an experiment 
fruit farm at Hope, Hempstead County, 
with the view of developing a fruit grow¬ 
ing and shipping center at this point, 
and this was the Mecca of my pilgrim¬ 
age. Hope is a town'of about 2,500 in¬ 
habitants, owns and operates its own 
electric light and water-works plants, 
charging the citizens enough for their 
maintenance and running expenses. At 
present cotton raising, saw milling, and 
a large planing mill seem to be the 
business of the community. Regarding 
cotton, the claim is made that half a bale 
to the acre is an average yield, hut from 
inquiries from many sources (including 
the old darkies who have worked cotton 
“since way fo’ de wah”) it more fre¬ 
quently takes from three to five acres to 
make a bale. There is a good demand 
for com at Hope at an average price of 
50 cents per (ear) bushel, and the average 
yield (so far as learned) was about 12 to 
13 bushels to the acre. As to the saw¬ 
mills, there seems to be a number of 
small movable mills, which use up the 
available timber in a locality, then re¬ 
peat the operation after moving into 
another neighborhood, the product in 
many cases being sold to the local plan¬ 
ing mill. 
Land is valued and sold at from $2.50 
to $25 per acre, according to quality and 
location, hut by carefully looking over 
the ground, there is little trouble to get 
good land near town at frorh $5 to $10 
per acre. This land may be partly 
cleared (that is stumps encumbering the 
ground), or may be woodland. It is no 
uncommon thing for a contract to he 
made to clear woodland for the cord wood 
that is on it; that is, to cut off the brush 
and timber, leaving the stumps, so that 
it matters little whether the purchaser 
buys forest or cleared land. The aver¬ 
age renter in the locality is anxious to 
rent freshly cleared land, as he can get 
larger returns from it than from land 
which has been in crops for a number of 
years. This fact enables one to buy a 
piece of land, get it cleared for the cord 
wood on it, and by renting it, get it 
broken and secure returns from it the 
first year without himself spending much 
time or money. Manures are not used 
here, it being considered cheaper to 
abandon “ worn-out” land, and clear 
fresh tracts. 
The quality of the land runs from 
white sandy, to white clay, or, to use the 
local phraseology, “craw fish land,” up 
to black loam showing the remains of 
shells, supposed by the Arkansas State 
Geologist to be the shells of mollusca 
now represented by the common snail. 
On a branch of the railroad running from 
Hope, large deposits of green marls are 
found. These are about 10 miles distant. 
One specimen of this marl on analysis 
was found to contain 3.06 per cent of 
potash with traces of phosphoric acid. 
When one considers the value of cotton¬ 
seed meal, either as a cattle food or fer¬ 
tilizer, cow peas for a crop of green 
manure, and the availability of these 
marls, there is a mild species of wonder 
why they have not been pressed into the 
service of renovating the so called “worn- 
out” lands. Phosphoric acid seems to be 
the weak element in the local fertilizer 
materials, but ground bone, or basic 
slag, in the moist, warm climate of this 
region, it seems would completely fill 
the bill. 
As an example of the possibilities of 
this region, let us suppose a newcomer 
visits this locality, and purchases a small 
tract of land. He contracts to get 20 
acres cleared for the cord wood on it, 
and then rents the place at the regular 
rates ; one-quarter of the cotton crop, or 
one-third of the ccrn crop. Taking the 
cotton to require three acres to the bale 
(new land has been known to yield half 
a bale to the acre), and the price received 
for the cotton to be six cents per pound, 
the 20 acres of land would give a gross 
yield of 6% bales of 500 pounds each, 
equal to $200, making the rent of the 20 
acres amount to $50. As the land costs 
only $5 per acre or $100 for the 20 acres, 
the purchaser would be getting a net 
yearly income of 50 per cent on his in¬ 
vestment. If the whole 20 acres were 
planted in corn, with a yield of 12 bush¬ 
els to the acre, or 240 bushels, 50 cents 
per bushel, would make the gross cash 
value of the 20 acres $120, while the rent, 
one-third, would be $40. Of course it is 
understood that in the estimate of the 
cotton crop, it is supposed that the cot¬ 
ton seed would pay for the expenses in¬ 
cidental to ginning, hauling, etc. 
The usual methods of culture in the 
neighborhood, would be considered crude 
by many. For example, when cotton 
follows corn, the tract or field is not 
thoroughly plowed, but the usual 
method is to split the furrow or ridge 
where the corn stalks stood, throwing 
the furrows into the hollows on each 
side, and drill the cotton seed into the 
freshly turned furrow. The after cul¬ 
tivation usually consists of cultivating 
with the sweep, and sometimes hand 
hoeing the rows and thinning out. The 
main hard work comes at picking time, 
the whole field having to be gone over, 
perhaps over a dozen times in order to 
gather the crop. 
Notwithstanding the fact that these 
were the conditions found to exist in the 
locality visited, it should be borne in 
mind that the tide of improvement and 
immigration seems to have passed over 
and beyond this State, although the rea¬ 
son for this I could not see in my short 
stay. The spirit of improvement is 
abroad in the Southern States, and the 
Southern planters and farmers are large 
users of manures, guano, etc. A visitor 
to Pensacola, Fla., would be surprised to 
see the large traffij at that port in guano, 
etc., and to learn its destination. To¬ 
day, the average Arkansan has more land 
than ready money, and he seems to find 
it best to clear fresh land, rather than 
run the risk of running in debt to the 
local merchant for fertilizers, which he 
has never used, and knows nothing about. 
It seems to be quite a fad now to in¬ 
vest in a home in the arid region. I wish 
to compare this arid region with Ar¬ 
kansas, and allow those interested to 
draw their own conclusions. To buy a 
home in the arid region, one must first 
obtain water rights from a canal com¬ 
pany composed of capitalists. These 
water rights certificates will cost you 
about $25 per acre. He will then have 
to locate the land, and pay the United 
States Government at least $2.50 per acre, 
making the first cost of the land at least 
$27.50. In addition to this he will have 
to pay the canal company for the amount 
of water used yearly (in other words a 
yearly rental), and there is no limit to 
the rate which the canal company may 
charge, together with the ability of the 
farmer to pay, and still retain enough to 
drag out an existence. 
Good land may be obtained in Arkan¬ 
sas for $5 per acre, where there is an 
average rainfall of about 56 inches an¬ 
nually, a fair portion being precipitated 
during the growing season. There is 
"almost unlimited free cattle range, where 
in many places grass grows to the height 
of 18 inches, and an abundance of fuel 
for the cutting. 
There was a little talk of smallpox 
while I was at Hope, and discussions as 
to quarantines, etc. But who could 
wonder at this, when the fact was that 
they should have quarantined their own 
back yards. In nearly all the Southern 
towns and cities I ever visited, there 
seems to be a strange lack of attention 
to sanitary or sanatory, science. Erery 
yard at its back has a constant ^menace 
to the health of the residents in the 
shape of decaying vegetable .and animal 
matter, not to mention human t xcreta. 
There is no excuse for this when dry 
earth, which is lying all around, is the 
very best deodorant extant. Let the 
city councils of Northern cities as well 
as Southern, use more of the sanitary 
Prom Now 
to January 1st, ’95 
For 25 cents. 
Sir Arthur Sullivan 
The Ladies’ 
Home Journal 
will be sent on trial to any address 
the rest of the year, on receipt of 
only twenty-five cents. 
These numbers include the 
Special Holiday Issues, al.so ex¬ 
clusive publication of such musical 
features as : 
A New Ballad by Sir Arthur Sullivan 
A New Waltz by Luigi Arditi 
A New Song by Reginald De Koven 
Eminent Contributors include 
D. Howei.ks, Eugene Field, Frank R. Stockton, 
Mrs. Whitney, and many others. 
THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA 
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♦4 
science of prevention of epidemics, rather 
than rush into the questionable prac¬ 
tices of vaccination and quarantines, re¬ 
membering that epidemics do not come, 
but that they grow, and they should 
quarantine against their own uncleanly 
habits. 
The roads in Arkansas can hardly be 
dignified by being called roads. They 
seem, however, to fill the demands made 
on them, and probably when the demand 
or necessity for better roads arises, they 
will be forthcoming. In riding over the 
rough roads in this locality, it was a 
pleasant sight to see patches of Red 
clover, and in some abandoned fields 
much Japan clover was seen; at least, 
that was the name given to it by the 
residents. 
As an indication that the citizens of 
Hope are enterprising, before I left, 
there were reliable reports that at least 
60 acres of strawberries would be set out 
there this fall, and this result was di¬ 
rectly attributable to the experiment 
farm of the railroad company, b. stdk. 
CATARRH OF THE STOMACH. 
interesting facts about this pecul¬ 
iar DISEASE. 
A Well-known Man Relates His Exverl- 
ence and Tells How He Succeeded in 
Getting Relief. 
[From the St. Louis (Mo.) Chronicle.] 
“No one knows except myself the 
amount of suffering I endured for up¬ 
wards of four years, from what I was 
told was catarrh of the stomach.” The 
speaker was Mr. J. P. Fox, one of the 
best-known professional swimmers in 
St. Louis, now at Prof. Clark’s Natato- 
rium, 19th and Pine. The rest of the in¬ 
teresting story is best told in Prof. Fox’s 
own way. 
“It’s a little over five years since I 
first became afflicted with the disease. 
My trouble all commenced with a severe 
cold contracted by foolishly going into 
the water one bitter cold day, and not 
taking suffleient care of myself on com¬ 
ing out. Treating the cold lightly, I 
got another and another until my condi¬ 
tion became serious. I had occasional 
aching of the eyes, and this was followed 
by stinging pains, almost unbearable, in 
my head. Then my throat commenced 
to fill with a slimy substance which 
caused me to hawk and spit in a most 
disagreeable manner. What with this 
and the constant bad taste in my mouth, 
my life became a burden to me. My ap¬ 
petite, which had previously been very 
good, began to fail me, and from being 
of goodly proportions I became gaunt, 
pale and thin, manifestly under my 
proper weight. I am not easily scared, 
as a rule, but just then I certainly lost 
my nerve, starting at almost every 
sound. I consulted several doctors and 
faithfully followed their advice, but ex- 
perienuea no permanent relief. Then at 
times I began to go light headed. One 
day in particular I have occasion to re¬ 
member, while conversing with a friend 
I was suddenly siezed with an attack of 
vertigo. I reeled around, staggered half 
way across the room and fell, striking 
my head heavily against the sharp edge 
of a swinging door, and being knocked 
senseless, a state I remained in for over 
half an hour. On coming to I found my¬ 
self in bed, with a doctor, nurse and 
mother bending over me. I was con¬ 
fined to the house over a week, being 
barely able to walk across the bedroom. 
I became nervous and sleepless, and 
even while in my weak state suffered 
from aching and racking pains. I had 
no desire to eat, and what I did get down 
caused indigestion of the worst kind. 
With the continuous coughing my throat 
became very sore, and if ever there was 
a miserable being I was the one. My 
nerves were all unstrung, and I felt al¬ 
most completely worn out. Often I 
would bo seized with a feeling of s]|ffo- 
cation. This went on until one day a 
friend insisted that I try Dr. Williams’ 
Pink Pills for Pale People, and he read 
to me a paper wherein several cures of 
cases similar to mine were reported. 
Like a drowning man grasping at a 
straw, I determined to give them a trial. 
I then, or rather my mother did, threw 
the doctor’s medicine away and began to 
take the pills. Actually, before I had 
taken half of the contents of the first 
box, I began to feel a marked improve¬ 
ment. I began to sleep well, with my 
returning appetite I began to take a 
better view of life, the gnawing sensa¬ 
tions in my stomach disappeared, I ceased 
to belch up gas, and had no feelings of 
vomiting after eating, the soreness in 
my throat went away, and, well, within 
a month, I ventured out of the house. I 
kept on with the pills, and—well, you 
see me now. I feel as well as ever I did, 
and I don’t suppose there is a sounder 
man, physically, than myself in the 
country. I am in and out of the water 
three and four times a day, giving swim¬ 
ming lessons, and I certainly attribute 
my present good health to Dr. Williams’ 
Pink Pills. You can use my name if 
you want to, and I shall be pleased to 
tell of the great benefits I have derived 
from the use of the pills at any time.” 
An analysis of Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills 
for Pale People shows that they contain, 
in a condensed form, all the elements 
necessary to give new life and richness 
to the blood and restore shattered nerves. 
They are an unfailing specific for such 
diseases as locomotor ataxia, partial 
paialysis, St. Vitus’ dance, sciatica, neu¬ 
ralgia, rheumatism, nervous headache, 
the after effects of la grippe, palpitation 
of the heart, pale and sallow complex¬ 
ions, and all forms of weakness either in 
male or female. Dr. Williams’ Pink 
Pills are sold by all dealers, or will be 
sent postpaid on receipt of price (50 
cents a box, or six boxes for $2.50—they 
are never sold in bulk or by the 100), by 
addressing Dr. Williams’ Medicine Co.» 
Schenectady, N. Y. — Adv. 
