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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Clinton New Era, 1887-09-23, Page 7tuDAT iSLjr.P,TEMBEtt.23, 1$ i; Nova Scotia as it is.... A re Went of Stratford, who •has. been. visiiingNeva Scotia, has coutri- baked a eeries of well-written letters to the Beacon, of that place, the fol- lowing being the last of that series:— ' To give some idea of farming here, will prat describe the proem of edit 'clearing the ground. The land is ter- ribly rough, the trees and underbrush 'so dense that it is a puzzle how a rab- bit can wiggle through. This is equally true of the plain and moun- tain. I shall speak of both in gene- ral terms, for the same style of farm- ing is peculiar to both. By dint of tbard work one man can chop about hree acres during the winter. Every tree is cut up into lengths to enable four men to carry the pieces on hand spikes ; the branches are spread over the surface of the soil with the view of burning up tee smaller ground brush, and the whole cleared as best it can. This is sown with wheat and harrowed (?) in with hoes. This clearing and hoeing process is con- tinued until there are perhaps 60 acres out of a hundred -acre farm cleared. By the time the last is clear- ed, the greater portion is cropped to death, and never restored by proper cultivation by this process. The farm apd farmer are impoverished. He knows no way but one of farming, and is generally too poor to purchase artificial manures, even if be possess.- ed ossess=ed any knowledge of them. He knows as much of -summer fallowing as ha does of the song that Sappho sung. He simply plows, sows and harrows, and trusts to Providence for the rest. His farm becomes a .flower bed of noxious weeds. He knows nothing of rotation of crops, or restoring the soil by sowing clover and plowing it down for manure. That very useful implement, the cultivator, to him is an unknown quantity. His theory is, if I cultivate I exhaust the soil.' Such an ingenious argument is irre- sistible, and perhaps nothing could better illustrate the triumph of theory over experience. His hayfield°is fre- quently left unchanged for years until it will yield nothing but ' brown top,' something inferior, but equivalent to our June grass, yielding about a ton to three acres of ground. This he la- boriously secures and says it is 'grand altgother.' But wherever the soil gets half a chance it promises, with proper cultivation, to yield a fair crop. One very intelligent young man, while looking at his hayfield, remarked that ' this is a very good crop for a field that has only been ploughed once in 80 years.' I relate this for the reason that it in a degree e7rplains the unsatisfactory status of 'farming as practised in this part of the Dominion. Very few sulky rakes have come into use yet. The old double -toothed revolving variety, dis- carded in Ontario a quarter of a cen- tury ago, is still in general use here. The farmer cannot raise enough in a dry year to winter his few head of stock, and he is then compelled to buy bailed hay from Ontario. He *generally keeps but one horse, and lube forces with his neighbors in the , spring, or hires one, as he cannot af- ford to keep two all winter. He sows again the seed grown upon his own farm for years, sometimes as late as the 15th—and as I have seen in one instance in 1867 upon the 21st—of J une. His wheat does not ripen fully in the field, and has to be hardened before grinding, by artificial process. This possibly, from lack of phosphates in the soil, and owing to late sowing, turns out a dark slaty colored variety of flour, and makes bread darker than our brown bread, but withal very pal- atable. Most farmers have to buy Ontario flour. I am informed that Piston county alone purchases at least 15,000 barrels during the pear., There is not enough oats grown in this county for home consumption. Here again Ontario and P. E. Island sup- ply the lack, the former principally oatmeal. The hemlock trees are nearly all cut down, the bark stripped off and sold at 'the tanneries.' The proceeds go to buy flour and other necessaries. I have frequently seen cart loads of bark (about half a cord) hauled over twenty miles for . this, purpose, the trees being made ante log fences, or more generally left to rot on the ground. This isabout thelast of Pictou's famous lumbering business. Some of the farms in the mountains, owing to the 'wash,' have large spaces of bare rock cropping up and enlarg- ing year after year. The roads wind- ing around hills become in spring the beds of torrents, and are in many in- stances relapsing into a state of na- ture. Owing to the depopulating process going on, the few people who remain are not able by statute labor to keep them in repair. Some of these roads are through fields, and perhaps a dozen gates have to be opened in the space of two nines. A stranger always feels as if he were trespassing but meets with no trouble except with the 'quatest dog in the world.' In regard to the exodus referred to, I was informed by a man on Mount Dalho'isie that 80 young people of his acquaintance, that 'formerly lived within a radius of, three miles, of which his place was the centre, had left, and only four were residents now of the Dominion, the rest being in the States. Here in some places the snow lies thirty feet deep, barring all egress for weeks together. The winter in the mountains lingers fully two weeks longer than in the neighboring low- lands. Though far ahead of Ontario fer sheep raising, few are kept, and even some of these fall a prey to bears. A reward of $5 is paid for the scalp of the latter, but few are killed, their lairs being in deep mountain gorges, and difficult of access. A farm with good buildings and fences peculiar to the country, can here be bought for from $500 to $750, but in more level districts a farm may cost from $1,200 to $2,000, but there are no purchasers. Many farms are deserted entirely, and are more or less in commons and relapsing into forest. The soil in the two Cariboo Islands (in Pictou county) would bo consid• ered fair. in Ontario, and is enriched by the refuse of the lobster factories, of which more anon. Large quanti- ties of this lobster refuse has been worked into compost on the main land with excellent results, Shoving that the soil is capable of a great deal. Near Pictou is situated Acadia farm, 320 acres, owned by a Mr Don- ald Fraser, a gentleman who repre- sented the county in parliament prior to Confederation, and also the builder of the first railroad in Nova Scotia. On his farm may be seen fields of wheat, clover and timothy that would compare favorably with anything of the kind in Downie. Be hae.brought a piece of swamp into .cultivatton which " will apparently- yield --three toils of timothy to the acre and there are, thousands of acres .of such land through thecpuntry, which might be cultivated with equally satistactorl results. Fruit is cultivated to a small ex' tent, sufficient to show that certain varieties will succeed well with a fair chance, but this important source of Wealth does not hold the place it de- serves in the estimation of the people. The sea north of the Cariboo Is- lands was at one time swarming with lobsters. Some Americana discover- ed this source of wealth, and estab- lished ten canneries, but the business hits dwindled down to two or three at present. Millions of these creatures have been caught in traps set in the shallows. These traps are on the same principle as wire fly traps, and baited. The lobster finds his way in, but forgets the combination, and thus remains. The traps are visited twice daily, by boats who gather them in,, reset, and so on. This was a very flourishing industry at first, the lob- sters were very large, some of their claws measuring nine inches in length by five in breadth ; now those caught are very small fry indeed. The north -shore and Cariboo Islands abound with oysters, many of the shells mea- suring fully nine inches in length. This is how the assessor encourages industry, at least in Pictou county :— There are two neighbors ; each start out on the same footing.. Donald Maclnertia has a weedy farm ; house, barn and lances are in keeping. He exists by the grace of God, and some assistance from his daughter ineBos- ton. He is worthless attogether,.but can talk politics, and, as a voter, is as good as his neighbor. The assessing fiend comes round and sees confusion worse confounded. There are a horse, perhaps cart, and worn-out farming implements. 1e values the whole at $500, perhaps enough. He next goes across the lot to the home of Findlay MacCarver. The latter works 16 hours in the day, has got carts, sleighs and a waggon (buggy) and good buildings, and his house is furnished with home-made furniture, all of his own workmanship. His buildings contain grain, too—he does not need to buy Ontario flour. The fiend en• quires how many horses, cows, sheep and pigs there are; how much wheat, oats, barley, hay, buckwheat and po- tatoes. The farmer tells honestly what he thinks is correct. The fiend next enquires the value of his house- hold furniture. MacCarver is modest, but he is mad at the interrogatories, and tells the fiend to go in and judge for himself. The latter obeys, and, after seeing the den Maclnertia hi- bernared in, be thinks this 'grand al- together.' Here is a house swept and garnished, good furniture, perhaps better than his own, the floor covered with tasty carpets and mats of curious design and marvellous workmanship; and, by way of parenthesis, let mesay, that I have never seen in our exhibi- tions in Perth county anything to equal the ordinary home-made car- pets seen in these houses, and the mats are something to swear by. The average N.S. wife works up even rags into a thing of beauty. The fiend places what value he considers right upon the whole, and often more than the would bring in the market, say $1,500. ;McCarver is religious, says grace at his meals before and after, and keeps family worship on the same principle; and goes to 'meeting' every time. But an 'aith or twa' would re- lieve his pent up feelings, and this is how he does it : ' Consider the lillies how they grow, and Confederation, and the Intercolonial, and the Na- tional Policy, and Blake, and Mac- kenzie, and the Dominion and Onta- rio, and his wife, and his ox, and his ass, and the stranger that is within his gates, and everything that is in Ontario's ;' and as a safety valve for his feelings, he goes to work and whitewashes his house, barn and stables, roofs and all, and his new picket fence. Next year the fiend comes round again on a similar er- rand, takes last year's assessment as a fresh basis, and takes stock of the white -wash. This time the value is $50 more. Now; under the circumstances, who can be honest, much less religious And still MacCarver gives far more proportionately for religious purposes than his compeer of Ontario, whose cheap cheese _has swamped all the cheese factories in the Province, and left them in ruins, mere caravansaries for tramps, as I have seen, besides lowering the price of butter, so that it is scarcelg worth the trouble of making. And that he is religious beyond cavil, the following will illus- trate: In the town of Merry -go -smash (this is Micmac), there were two churches of the same denomination, but those of one particular shade could not be expected to travel,- to heaven in the same path as that of the other party, whose hands were stained by impious bribes, and very justly they built a church for them- selves, where they could worship in spirit and truth,' uncontaminated by the uncircumcised. Hospitality is characteristic of the whole Province. I was credibly in- formed that a respectable looking person might travel in the rural dis- tricts from Cape John to Cape Sable and neither ask for nor lack a meat or a night's lodging, and the poor are not now farmed out to the lowest bidder nor put in gaol—each county has its own poor house. (Ontario please note.) The Province is, beyond a doubt, rich in minerals—coal, iron, gold and copper. As a stimulant to discovery and development the following in- ducement is held out: A person wish- ing•to search can get a permit for five dollars ; this will entitle him to make a search either in his own land or in his neighbor's wheat field. If he thinks he has found a mine, for twen- ty dollars more he can secure a claim in either 'place, and override his neighbor's rights, subject to compen- sation for damages done. We, in our simplicity thought a liberal reward should be given to the discoverer of such a source of national wealth, whe- ther the discovery was by accident or design, and thereby help -to stay the exodus of ' a bold peasantry, their country's pride.' But the young men, end women too, as soon as they chip the shell, fly abroad and leave a land that is far superior to many of the Eastern States, as a farming country, and far in advance of Michigan in character of soil ; and in beauty of landscape unequalled, perhaps, on the continent —a Province that bears the same re- lation to the Dominion that a rudder does to the ship. Her wealth of mine, farm and sea, still in its infancy,when fully developed, will make for her what nature designed she bhould bo, the helm, that should guide our great eh._ig of state. --Nova Scotia, is not dead, but -sleep.. ins,, Wbenshe awakes and puts on her beautiful garments, as eventually she will, and, essalizea.that she has too long been the pasture ground of poli- ticians,she wiU shine the brightest star in the galaxy of theDominion, I visited her with pleasure, and left with regret, enjoyed list -hospitality, experienced the moat disinterested kindness from all with whom it was my lot to meet, and of whom I hese many sunny memories. Such is a cursory glance of Nova Scotia as reflected' upon my -retina. It has been my aim neither to carica- ture nor to slander, but to state plain facts as they are, in a plain manner, and if by so doing, one more holiday - seeker visite her shores, or one useful hint be expressed that will benefit the home of my childhood, my task is fully rewarded. N. H. NEWS NOTES. It has been discovered that eight out of every ten boys in Dayton, 0., carry a revolver, dirk or slugshot. Mr David Stirton, Postmaster of Guelph, has been a resident of that place tor sixty years. David can claim to be the oldest inhabitant of that burg. The Speaker of the House of Com- mons has issued his warrant for a new election in West Bruce to fill the va- cancy caused', by Hon. Mr Blake's resignation of this the second seat to which he was elected. The Brantford Bow Park herd Lias again been successful. At the Mins nesota State Fair, now being held at St. Paul, Minn„ Bow Park gets the first prize of $500 for a grand beef herd. Good for Canada. Sunflowers are used in Wyoming Territory for fuel. The stalks when dry are as hard as maple wood and make a hot fire, and the seed heads with the seeds in are said to burn better than the best hard coal. An acre of sunflowers will furnish fuel tor one stove for a year. Mormonism is increasing at an alarming rate in the far western United States territories," notwith- standing the endeavors of Congress to put it down. Five hundred recruits from European countries are now en route to Salt Lake City, Mr Amos Doupe, the well-known athelete, of Kirkton, after several years of successful competition in the Caledonian games held in Canada and the United States, and with the best athletes of the country, has de- cided to retire from the athletic field as a competitor. The hay crop in Frontenac this year is ten per cent.better than it was last season. The drought has affected only districts which are rocky and yield poorly at any time. A great deal of the hay is being pressed, but the condition of the trade does not warrant extensive exportation. A demented character named Jos. Lizotte, living at Hedlevville, an ad- joining municipality to Quebec, bas. for some time past been anxious to go to England. `Wednesday morning he was missed and so was his brother-in- law's skiff. It appears he started off about 2 a.m. and was seen at an early hour passing by Montmorenci Falls. Friends ha* started in pursuit, but up to a late hour on Thui:aday had not caught up to the ' voyaguer.' The Count of Paris has caused a sensation in Europe by placarding the walls of the chief cities in France with a proclamation in which he proves to his own satisfaction that the republic is in a very bad way,and that the country can only be saved from destruction by the re-establish- ment of a monarchy. As the Count regards himself as the rightful heir to the French throne his wail will doubt- less be taken with a grain of salt. At Ouray, Col.: on Thursday after- noon a negro cook named Joe Dixon, employed at the Hotel Brunswick,had a grievance against Ella Day, a wait- •eress, and shot her four times. Dixon was jailed. A mob went.to the jail:to lynch the negro. They captured the guard, but failed to gain an entrance. They then saturated the building with coal -oil and set fire to it. The firemen, in the attempt to extinguish the flames, drowned the negro, whose body was roasted in the burning building. The girl is not expected to recover. TUE POPTIL.A.11 The English agricultural papers,re- newing 1 the attack on the Ca- nadian cattle°trade,repeat the charges of barbarous cruelties, especially in the winter trade, and express a fear that disease is likely to be imported by Canadian cattle. In reply, it is pointed out that very'tew winter ship- ments have been ,made during the last three or four years by bona fide Canadian traders,the bulk of the win• ter trade being done by States ship- pers. It is also shown that there is no possible ground for fear of the impor- tation of disease. Last week's Aber- deen importation of 350 Western Ontario cattle in excellent condition, fetching high prices, is pointed to a complete refutation. The special session of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Montana ad- journed last Thursday evening. Pro- bably never before has it been the case that prairie. dogs and ground squirrels necessitated a special session of a legislature, but such was the case in Montana. The Legislature last winter authorized a bounty of 10 cts. for prairie dogs and five cents for ground squirrels, and to date the Ter- ritory has paid $698,971 for ground squit'-rely, and -$153,709 for prairie dogs. The Bounty Act had exhausted the money in the treasury, and was rapidly running the Territory in debt. The Governor, with permission of the President,called a special session and the law was repealed. There have not been in years as destructive bush fires in Frontenac Co. as those which have burned this year. They are still consuming val- uable timber, fences, buildings and,in some instances, the crops of the sea- son. At Eganvitle,in the next county, fires are raging in every direction. On Sunday morning one fire stated below the Gascades, and by night bad travelled Balt a mile towards the tillage. The fires in the vicinity of Golden Lake are probably the largest. The fanners have been night and day battling with the flames. Mr Brisco was working between two fires when a heavy wind arose, spreading the•fire so rapidly as to encircle him. He made a bold dash through the burn• ing pinery, and lost his hair and whiskers. Fires are licking up the bush in the vicinity of Lake Clear, and the inhabitants bave difficulty in saving property. oodsHous� I.ONDESSORO. OUR SPECIAL OFFERING THIS WEEK WILL BE oots and Shoes Our spring and summer stock is completely shattered, still we have a number pf broken lines, that is to say, eight or ten 'pairs of a certain style and quality, with some sizes sold out. We intend clearing put all these broken lots before the arrival of the fall goods; so that we may commence the fall trade with an entirely new stock. 'We have gathered together those that are to be sacrificed, eekd find about one hundred and fifty pairs, various kinds and sizes, which will be offered at prices that will astonish you. Do not fail to call and see them. W. L. OUIMETTE, en- LON DESBORO New — School — Books. 2,000 SCRIBBLERS just received. ALSO ALL THE BOOKS REQUIRED FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS, HIGH SCHOOLS, COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES and MODEL CLASSES. WALL MAPS, LESSON TABLES. &C. W COOPER, -- Beaver Block A._ WHOLESALE cP RETAIL GROCER, • We beg most respectfully to direct the attention of the public in general, that we aro still selling groceries at the lowest possible prices for pure goods. During the five years we have been in business in Clinton, we have endeavored to' keep the best goods in the market, and have estab- lished a good trade by so doing. Our stock is large and well selected. TEAS A SPECIALTY A LARGE QUANTITY JUST ARRIVED. EXTRA VALUE AND ANY QUANTITY OF CANNED GOODS, CROCKERY, GLASSWARE, &C. SOLE AGENT FOR NEW ERA. BAKING POWDER. HIGIIEST PRICE PAID FOR GOOD BUTTER AND:EGGS. WE BUY ANY QUANTITY OF ALL KINDS GOOD FRUIT .A...A.NGU"S, 99 ABBRT ST Iron. and Hardware Merohan Having bought the IEiLI II WARE Stc>rel of J. B. SwameIc will sell it at reduced priers.Y�o is the time to procure Shelf Hardware, Lin. seed Oil, Glass, Paint & Builder's Supplle THE PEOPLE'S Harness & Grocery � D t., Lonaesboro Mystock of GROCERIES is now complete (RO(J%� L-R/E(� in ll its branches. I Lave a large stock of CANNED FIpl, which I am selling at 13 cents per can, two cans for 25 cents. Call and see my stock ofCOLORED GLASSWARE before purchasing elsewhere,and convince yourself that the prices are away down MBOS=NE OIL —I have a large stock of Machine Oil of different brands, which will be sold at a small advance on cost. HARNESS.{ My Harness stock is complete as usual with all seasonable goods, such as FLY SHEETS and NETS, LAP RUGS, DUSTERS, RUBBER HORSE COVERS and BINDER WHIPS. I have a few TRUNKS and VALISES left. WHIPS, CURRYCOMBS, BRUSHES, and all goods usually kept in this line also on hand. Also all kinds of TINWARE on hand. Pro- duce taken in exchange. Thanking my customers for past favors and soliciting a continuance of the same. GEO. NEWTON, - LONDESBORO BuyYourGroceries From Thomas Cooper & Son WE HAVE THE LARGEST, CLEANEST ANI) BES AS- SORTED STOCK OF 0-R0 TZ, IES • In town. Our prices are as low as the lowest, and we warrant everything first -claws. Solo agents for the celebrated "COOPER'S BAK- ING POWDER." Bost brand of CIGARS by the Box or Thousand at Manufacturers Prices. TEAS a specialty. Give us a call. Thos COOPER & SON CLINTON. TO ADVANTAGE AT R M RACEY'S Hardware Store, Clinto HELLO JOHN !--- WHAT WIZERE ARE TO'D COZNO ?. °Adams'" Emporiu LONDSSORO, Where I can get 16 Les BRIGHT RAW SUGAR for $1, 15 BRIGHT YELLOW SUGAR for $1,13 LBS GRANULATED SU for $1. I am also going to get one of the JUBILEE OIL CANS a GALLONS OF - OIL for $2.25 and OTHER GOODS EQUAIJ LOW. HAS HE MUCH SUGAR" Yes, nearly FOUR TONS. I had better come along. He gives highest prices for produce. 0 R. ADAMS, LONDESBOR Just Receive ANOTHER CAR LOAD OF STEEL -NAIL --ANY QUANTITY OF Building Paper, Glass,Paints & Oi LOW PRICES. - - ANOTHER LOT OF THE OELEBRATED DUFFIELD LAMP The largest .oil light in the world. A wonder to all beholders. 260 Candle Power :x: HAR"I A—N"17 BRAE SIGN OF' THE PADLOCK, CLINTON. Any quantity of Good Cloy and Timothy Seeds wante Highest price paid. :X: N. ROBSON. CHINA NAL What They Sa3 Twenty eight Thousand Dollars paid at auction for the renowned ting horse Pancoast, proved his exelence, and so the Leading Clothing House of • FISCHEI Opposite the Post Office, truly proves its superiority over all opposi in Style and Fit it beats them all, and FISCHERS Leading SUIT Aro worn from one end of the county to the other. The Spring has arrived, and is one of the finest in the town and vioinity. A disc of 10 per cent from the 15th of Feb. till the 15th of March,will be e for cash. Prices low and workmanship unsurpassed. Terms Cat FISHERS Leading COMING HouseClini NEW GOODS EVERY WEB SPECIAL ATTENTION PAID TO GETTING NEWEST FA ARTICLES. WE MAKE A SPECIALTY IN �Ynll - Paper, Ceiling Decorations, choicest 1 terns, BOOKS & STATIONERY, great varii EVERYTHING AT CLOSEST PRICES, CALL AND EXAM .A. W ORTHINC,-T OST, Clinic