Peninsula Enterprise, March 27, 1886

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Professionals -- Surveyors

Mr. W. R. Gunter through our columns to day offers his services as surveyor, to the public.

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Moral -- Property crime

Louis Downing, colored, who figured in the house breaking at Wagram in December last, heretofore mentioned in our columns, was sent to jail last Tuesday.

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Transportation -- Railroad - Stations and sidingsInfrastructure -- Public - Government : Postal service

The name of Upshur's station in Northampton, has been changed to Nassawadox. A postoffice has been established there, with Mr. John T. Rogers as postmaster.

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Moral -- Property crime

James Smith and Wm. Roberts, colored, for attempting to break into store of Mr. Geo. Wallop, Horntown, on night of 19th inst., were landed in our jail, by constable Gladding, on Wednesday.

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Transportation -- Road - Liveries

Accomac C. H.

Mr. B. T. Melson continues to increase his livery accommodations. His stables have recently been enlarged to meet the wants of his court-day patrons.

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Tourists and sportsmen -- Field sports - DogsTourists and sportsmen -- Field sports - Hunting : FoxTourists and sportsmen -- Field sports - Hunting : Rabbit and squirrelSea -- Market hunting

Fair Oaks.

The Fair Oaks's Kennel gave "reynard" a chase this week, which lasted 10 hours. The members of the club are willing to match their pack with any on the Eastern Shore.

Furs as an article of merchandise are not to be despised in these parts. Two hundred rabbit skins made up the last shipment of Turlington Bros., -- and still they come.

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Moral -- AlcoholFields -- Fertilizer

Keller.

The people in this section favor the refusal of license to the venders of ardent spirits.

Cedar Island guano is highly recommended by our farmers who have used it, and Mr. T. J. Killman, the agent here, is selling large quantities of it.

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Fields -- FertilizerMigrationMoral -- AlcoholTransportation -- Water - FreightWeather -- Northeast storms

Mearsville.

Mr. A. F. Mears has sold this season at his store 23 tons of fertilizers -- the result of handling only first-class articles.

Mr. George T. Byrd, who had sold his farm some time ago, preparatory to making Indian Territory his home, has changed his mind, and moved to Pocomoke City.

The local option question seems to be the principal topic in our community, and very many express a willingness "to roll up their sleeves" and begin work in the cause.

The schooner Somers, which was landed "high and dry" on the marsh, during the storm about two months ago, was gotten off last week and has been chartered by Mr. T. B. Schall, to ply between Baltimore and the West Indies.

Lady Burned to Death.

Women -- Personal injury

On the 18th inst., a highly esteemed lady the wife of Mr. Esau C. Kellam was burned to death at her home near Marsh Market, in this county. Her garden was being prepared for planting vegetables and her dress coming in contact with a fire, kindled thereon to burn the trash, she was soon in flames and before assistance could be rendered her she was burned to death. Her clothing was entirely consumed and her features disfigured beyond recognition. She expired before she could be gotten into her house.

Schooners Ashore.

Transportation -- Water - StrandingsInfrastructure -- Public - Government : Life-saving serviceWeather -- Northeast storms

During a gale on last Tuesday night three schooners went ashore on Dawson's Shoals, Wachapreague inlet, but two of them were almost immediately gotten off. The third schooner, A. P. Kindberg commanded by Capt. W. H. Mount, loaded with fertilizers and bound from Keyport to Richmond, Va., was not so fortunate. She was not gotten off until Wednesday night, nor until her crew had lightened her by throwing overboard 60 tons of fertilizers valued at $1,800. The life saving crews of Capts. Savage and Rich went to the assistance of the schooner and rendered all the service they could.

Local Option Meeting on Chincoteague.

Moral -- Alcohol

At a call meeting of the citizens of Chincoteague Island, Va., held in Temperance Hall, March 22nd, 1886, the following resolutions were adopted:

Whereas, The importation, manufacture, sale and supply of alcoholic beverages is everywhere shown to be promoting the cause of intemperance, with resulting crime, misery, ignorance and pauperism, imposing large and unjust taxation, for the support of penal and sheltering institutions, upon thrift, industry, manufacture and commerce.

Whereas, the fight we are engaged in is a fight of the "right against the wrong, good against bad, peace against riot," therefore

Resolved 1st, That it is the duty of all good citizens and especially all Christians to place themselves in the front ranks of the Grand Army that is waging an uncompromising warfare against the whole whiskey system.

Resolved 2nd. That the thanks of our community are hereby tendered the Friends of Temperance of our grand old Commonwealth, and members of our legislature, (especially the Hon. T. T. Wescott,) for their untiring efforts and zeal in the passage of the Local Option Law, and to the Hon. George T. Garrison, judge of our court, for his promptness in ordering an election, giving us the opportunity of setting our seal of condemnation upon the liquor license system.

Resolved 3rd, That a copy of these resolutions be published in our county papers.

J. T. KENNEY,

Chairman.

C. O. DISBROW,

Secretary.

The New Steamer.

Transportation -- Railroad - Steamboats

The new steamer Old Point Comfort, which has just been completed at Wilmington, Del., for the N.Y., P. & N. R.R., arrived at Cape Charles City on the 19th inst., and made a very satisfactory trial trip over the route, making the run from Cape Charles to Old Point Comfort in 1 hour and 45 minutes, and from Old Point to Norfolk in 50 minutes. The steamer is 183 feet long, 54 beam over all, with 30-inch cylinders. The boat is elegantly equipped and is designed for the transportation of freight and passengers across the Chesapeake bay. She developed a speed of 17 miles per hour on the trial trip. She is now regularly into service, making connection with the day trains between Cape Charles, Old Point and Norfolk.

Diversity of Crops.

Farmers -- Innovation

MR. EDITOR: --

The subject, "a diversity of crops" being in my opinion a matter of vital importance to our farmers, you will indulge me to elaborate the matter a little further. The one crop idea, being fatal to the prosperity of our people, it should be agitated until our farmers see the errors of their ways and your correspondent hopes for help in the accomplishment of that object. Especially do our farmers need to be awakened in my opinion to the folly of the one crop, sweet potato, since of late years it has not brought to them satisfactory returns for their labors. It is not enough that our farmers produce the sweet potato in quality and abundance, unsurpassed by any section of our country. -- It is a matter for just pride that the county of Accomac, occupying as it does so small a space on the map of our great country can boast that she is the largest sweet potato growing county in the United States, excepting, perhaps, Monmouth county, New York, and that such is the case is due less to the adaptability of our soil and climate to the growth of the sweet potato than to the industrious habits of our people. But does it pay to grow them to the exclusion of other crops? Could not our labor be better applied? Could not the rapid strides, which a comparison of the census reports of 1870 and 1880 show that our farmers made in the growth of the sweet potato, have been made in a more profitable direction? Surely the farmer would not have to work harder than he is required to do, to successfully produce a crop of sweet potatoes. The potato crop requires one continuous course of labor all the year around and is a source of revenue to the farmers for about three months of the year, leaving the farmer nine months to spend his surplus, or otherwise resort to that most dangerous of all alternatives -- "going in debt." Now let us see if a diversity of crops will not keep the farmer out of debt and in so doing add another button to his uniform of nobility. We will consider again, for instance, our ten acre piece of ground, not so very large but that a single one of our industrious farmers with a little day labor could work it, and always have, if not money in his pocket, the crops which he could convert into money on it. Under our diversified system of crops, he could have money coming in almost daily the year around. He could have kale and spinach in March, Irish potatoes in June, sweet potatoes in August, September and October and later on, cabbage that could be relied on to pay him two cents a head -- and he would find a market for the latter in the Southern as well as the Northern cities. The writer, while living in New York helped to pack day after day thousands of heads of cabbage for the southern ports, as far as Fernandina, Florida, grown by Long Island farmers, and that too, after a crop of Irish potatoes had been taken from the ground. The greatest of all blessings, will certainly accrue to our farmers from a diversity of crops -- that of keeping them out of debt, because of the fact, that there will be hardly any time during the year, when something cannot be sold to buy such things as the farmer needs. Now does our speciality, sweet potatoes, do this? Not at all -- on the contrary of late years so small have been the return for honest labor, that many of our farmers talk of abandoning this most honorable of all callings, saying "that they had as well play for nothing as work for nothing."

Truly, awakening measures should be discussed, that our farmers may be aroused to the importance of the work before them. They need only to be gotten out of the ruts in which they have been so long moving, and to have their labors applied in the proper direction, as indicated by your correspondent, to reap a rich reward. We feel sure, that only the happiest results could follow well directed labor of so industrious farmers as ours are.

Respectfully, &c.,

T. G. ELLIOTT.

Mappsburg, Mar. 24, 1886.

Peninsula Enterprise
Accomac Court House
March 27, 1886