VOL. XXIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., NOV. 30,1889.
NO. 48
*K rltte i tor tbe Indian* Farmer.
The Lawyer.
BT JOHN H. STAHX.
Wholesale blame of the lawyer is foolish.
In hia proper placa a good lawyer is a benefit to society; and for the wrong position
the lawyer sometimes occupies and tor the
unworthy lawyers, the -people are really
to blame. If. shysters were not able to
make money or lawyers were not paid for
doing "dirty work," suoh work would not
be done and shysters would be forced to
saw wood or do some other useful, honorable work.
I know of no advice which it is safer to
give than this. Avoid a lawsuit. I have
had but few lawsuits; and in every one I
have been a loser, in those in whioh I was
successful as well as those in which I was
defeated. It is true that an honest and a
wise man must sometimes be a party to a
lawsuit. If we do not defend our rights,
we will soon bs at the meroy of knaves. It
may be cheaper, considering only the one
transaction, to lose a small debt than to
collect it by suit; but just as soon as it becomes known that you will lose a small
amount rather than incur the expense and
trouble of collecting it by law, you n ill be
called upon to lose many small amounts.
There is a considerable class that -will
not pay unless they are ' made or think
they will be made to do sa. Then there
are rights of property and person wtich a
man must defend—r_gB®"?ajS"3a~w-.i _h depend the support or reputation of self and
family; and we must make our defense
in a legal way, within the law and therefore by the law. We must invoke the
courts of law, and therefore we must employ a lawyer. Nevertheless that advioe
is good wMohis to be excsedingly careful and slow in beginning a lawsuit. Certainly no man should begin a suit while
he is angry. Alwaya it will be wise for
him to allow his anger to subside and
for him to think of the matter coolly and
well, before beginning a lawsuit.
While I think that we employ lawyers
too muoh for oourt work,. I think we do
not employ them enough for cffioe work.
Office work is cheaper and it would save
much oourt work. A person conversant
with the inside facts knows that half the
lawsuits would have been avoided had a
lawyer been consulted in due season; and
the consultation would have likely cost
nothing, certainly not more than |5, while
the suit costs $25 to $100. We should consult with the lawyer far oftener than we
do; when we have intricate business to
transact, go to him for advice, that we may
proceed legally; buy no real estate without having him examine the title and
draw up the papers; make no important
oontract without at least submitting the
papers to him; and thus make far more
use of his knowledge to avoid lawsuits,
and not to pilot us through them.
Most emphatically would I reoommend
that no real estate ba bought or no estate
be settled without the services of a competent and an honorable lawyer. It requires
a good lawyer to fathom the mysteries of
many a title and pronounoe a safe judgment upon Its merits. I once heard a j adge
who had been upon the bench for a quarter of a century, indignantly speak of the
"arrant and vexatious foolishness of having other than a competent atttorney
draw up deeds." There was being tiled
before him a very expensive case, due to
the mistake of a "squire" in drawing up a
deed. Among the very -poorest kinds of
economy is settling up an estate withont
good legal advice. Same mistake is sure
to be made that a'-Tjrds a dissatisfied heir,
or some other person, an opportunity to
inflict a costly suit upon an innocent person. Perhaps all parties to the suit may
be friendly, honorable and innocent, but
the suit muat be brought to make titles
good or make sure of rights.
Finally, a good lawyer is always cheaper
than a poor lawyer, though the former
costs the more.
Qainoy, 111.
Letter From Oregon.
Bdlton Indiana Farmer:
"And still the march of Improvement
Like the restless tide moves on."
The early history of the Northwest is
replete with romance and adventure
which, when tasted by those who delve
therein, adds new interest to the oountry
which has already attracted the attention
of the whole civilized world by its wonderful march onward and upward, until
now, incredible as it may appear to those
who are not here to see for themselves1,
this vast section, half a century ago but a
vast wilderness scarcely yet trodden by
the foot of civilized man now teems with
busy life.
Lines of railroad extending every direction unite Oregon with her parent States.
Ships from every clime enter her porta
and depart laden with her produots. Her
valleys are dotted with thrifty farms, and
the lowing of oattle is now heard where
but a few years ago the startling whoop
of the savage redman rang ont upon the
air. Thriving towns and Important cities
have sprung up as by magic The rela
tion of its manifold resources ao potent in
the upbuilding of a grand country and so
conducive to the attainment of individual
wealth and municipal prosperity, will be
a theme of surprise and wonderment to
any one of the multitudinous readers of
the Indiana Farmkb who invest the resources, products, present status and future possibilities of Oregon.
Here are the fertile, peaceful valleys,
wearing throughout the year their mantels of green, and sleeping eternally in the
lap of spring. Here are the rugged mountains, with their yawning chasms, rushing, roaring torrents, peaceful Alpine
lake, and grand old sentine.'s, rearing
their lofty heads to the realms of eternal
winter and bearing on their sides glaciers,
excelled by none in beauty or magnitude,
and here are the rivers of all degrees and
of all varieties.
Tj give even a faint idea of the reality,
to the general reader, would require, not
only more time than I can spend on the
a abject, but a muoh more elegant pen
than I lay claim to possess and all I shall
attempt is to call attention to some of the
ohief among the many wonders.
To attempt the hardy Alpine climb,there
are the snow clad peaks of the Three Sis
ters, Jefferson, Hood, St. Helens, Adams
and Kanier, and here we may find the
glaciers, and all degrees of danger from
slippery path, yawning chasm ;or fatal
orevasse that our hearts may desire.
From this there are all grades,down to the
more gentle elevations, which alone tempt
the less ambitious, who aro content to do
the?r mountain climbing on the hack of a
horse or mule, or seated in the comfortable stage coach or mountain wagon.
Of rivers the Columbia is without a rival
In all of these United States ln the grandeur of its scenery, as it has but few equals
ln the whole world in the volume of its
waters, or the amount of country which it
drains. Though other rivers may here
and there touoh the border of mountains,
winding to one side on their way to the
sea, or follow down their slopes, from the
source at the summits, to the low land of
the valley, it alone has broken through
these stern barriers, and crossed direotly
through two mighty mountain chains,
carving for itself a way embattled by the
mighty peaks whioh ineffectually resisted
its onward march.
In its gorge in the Cascade mountains,
the Columbia river oners soenery so grand,
so msjestio, so altogether diflerent from
aught else ofthe kind this oountry affords, that it is a wonder of all who behold it, and so real ln its sublime grandeur
that the wonder but grows with repeated
seeing.
Of the thousand and one wonders,
whether of almost untrodden and unknown mountain fastnesses, with their
towering f orests,yawning chasm and rushing torrents or of others, I will make no
special mention, but must leave these to
be found and described by the reader
who, seeking the great wonders I have
mentioned, cannot miss finding theso lesser ones, for they are everywhere in his
path to the greater.      W. B. MoCaslin.
Portland, Oregan.
— .  •  .
King Cotton.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
The cotton plant is without doubt, in an
eoonomio point of view, the most important of any that has been made the ol j ast
of domestlo culture and manufacture.
There are three varieties of cotton in
oommon onltivatlon. The most important
is the herbaceous, or upland short staple,
which ln the United States is an annual,
the seed ot which is green, being planted
each year. The sea island is considered
by some as a variety of the herbaceous,
aud is distinguished by its long silky fiber
ani blask seeds. It is also an annual. It
i. planted along the Atlantic, seaboard, in
South Carolina and Georgia.
The shrub ootton, cultivated in the West
Indies, resembles the currant bash in sizs
and appearance, and is usually a biennial.
Th9 tree cotton grows to the hight ot 15
to 20 feet, and is found in India, China
and Egypt. It grows two or three years,
and need only to be pruned and cultivated to produce a large yield of the finest
cotton.
Herodotus, about 460 years B. C, first
notices ootton as "trees, bearing as their
fruit, flaeces more delicate and beautiful
than those of sheep." Cotton seed was
first planted in the United States in 1621
but for a long time was considered only as
a garden plant. The first shipment to
Liverpool was made In 1748 and consisted
of 7 bales and was valued at $20 per bale.
Another shipment was made of 3 bales in
1770. In 1801 the sea Island oo tton crop
exceeded 8,000,000 lbs., while the upland
short staple cotton amounted to 48.000,000
lbs,, of whioh 20,000,003 lbs. were exported. The cotton belt extended through
South Carolina, middle and southern
Georgia, middle and northern Alabama
and Mississippi, and some portions ot
Texas. It is grown still further north.but
to no great extent with pre fit.
Cotton seed is usually planted in this
latitude from the 10th to the 20_h of April,
in drills from three to four feet apart; the
distance between the plants averaging
about 18 Inches. Ic ls cultivated much
after the manner of oorn. It is a branching plant, growing from two to three feet
high, and commencing to bloom in June,
at which time a field presents the appearance of a vast flower garden. The bloom
resembles the hollyhock in shape, but is
rather smaller and more delicate. It possesses the peculiarity of changing its color
from a pure white at noon to a clear pink
in the morning, fading to white again at
noon. The flower ot the sea-island remains a pale straw color without change
The bolls, or pods, abont theaizo of a hickory nut pod, commence to open in October, and at this time to the end of the season, tho plants are covered with globes of
the purest white, bursting from the bolls,
alternating with unripe pods and flowers.
A man cm plok about 300 pounds of
seed cotton per day, which Is equal to 100
lbs, of lint cotton, which is ootton separated from the seed.
The ootton gin Invented by Whitney in
1793 consists of a large shaft or cylinder,
on whioh are placed from 30 to 60 circular
saws about one-halt an inch apart, with a
diameter four inches larger than the cylinder. These revolve between steel bars so
close that the seed oannot pass through.
The teeth of the rapidly revolving saws
seizs the lint and pull it from the seed,
while a brush revolving in an opposite
d i reo! i on cleans the teeth aa fast as the fiber
i% drawn through the bars.
Tho lint when free from seed is pressed
into bales averaging not far from 600
pounds each/.and ii covered with a coarse
cloth or bagging, and ia bound with iron
hoops.
For export a number of bales are compressed by powerful macLinery *_iato a
olose package, so as to occupy as little
space as possible.
Upland short staple cotton yields about
one-half bale or 250 pounds per sore, and
Is worth on an average about nine or ten
cents per pound, but by use of fertilizers
the production oan be nearly doubled.
The seed is valued at about IS cents per
bushel of 30 pounds in the market, but is
worth considerably more to the farmer
as feed for stook. The numerous oil mills
consume a large portion of the seed produot. Kjoent experiments prove that a
fiber excelling flax ln fineness and luster
oan be ob turned from the stalk.  .
Cotton farmers in the South are designated aa plantation farmers; one, two, or
three horse and ox farmers. Plantation
farmers are those who own from 1,000 'to
4,000 aores, and furnish all the supplies
and hire the labor, or rent the land in
small portions, generally to negroes. The
others are small farmers who furnish their
own supplies, and rent their lands only,
either at a stipulated rent or for a certain
share of the crop, generally three-fourths.
There are many immigrants who have
come to this oountry with their household
property on a wagon drawn by one ox,
representing their entire possessions, and
who ln a few years have beoome owners
Of 80 or 100 aores of land with two horses
and out of debt, owing their prosperity to
the ootton crop. Cotton land in this section before being cleared, can be bought
for from $4 to ?5 per acre. The new land
is the best, and a profitable orop of ootton
can be rained the second year, giving an
average of a half bale per acre.
Tho "black" or ootton belt extends from
North Carolina through South Carolina,
Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, and
waa originally the richest ootton soil in
the world, but now owing to insect enemies, careless cultivation and a long series
of exhaustive crops,the land produces bnt
little more than the higher, healthier
plateau seotions.
A cotton market town in Ootober presents a unique appearance. Hundreds of
vehioles of all kinds, loaded with ootton,
some in bales, some with high side boards
packed with ootton ready for the gin,
some piled high with sacks, each representing so much ready cash. Cotton 1b
"King" ln commanding ready Rales and
cash in hand at harvest time. Ox teams
are nsed by a in. j orlty of the Immigrants
for the first to* years, but are rapidly
being discarded for horses and mules.
The housewife and children all come to
market, and on their return carry back all
kinds of articles of domestlo necessity and
comfort. Here is one who has a new
wagon behind his old one, a stove, a plow,
bundles of ootton cloth and calico, sundry
band boxes filled for the girls, and boots
and shoes for tbe children. Another haa
a new buggy, a set cf harness, a saddle, a
bed room set, and sundry bundles for the
women folks; all bought with the product
of the cotton field. Even the one-ox
farmer takes home many an evidence of
Indus try and thrift, beside the prompt payment of his mortgage indebtedness.
Whoever has visited the Terra Sanita
district of Northern Alabama, and has
seen the thousands of bales ot ootton,
whioh a black finger has ..ever touched,
brought to market by enterprising and
thrifty farmers, the product of their own
handiwork, the owners and tillers of their
own soil, will not for one moment doubt
that ootton can be more successfully and
profitably grown with white than with
colored labor.
For the benefit of the subscribers of this
paper who have never seen cotton grow,
we will, on the receipt ot a self-directed,
stamped envelope, send some ootton with
seed, which seed can be planted in March
in a pat, and then transferred to the open
ground after frost. These plants will produce ripened ootton at any plaoe ln the
North.   Address S. A. F,, Cullman, Ala.