While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
"Go to the ant, thou
sluggard; which gathereth her food in the
harvest; consider her ways and be
wise."-Solomon.
The Oak Hill apiary consists of twenty or
more colonies, and their annual yield of
comb honey ranges from 300 to 500 pounds. It
was started with two colonies in the summer
of 1905. These were obtained by the
superintendent and H. C. Shoals, from two
hollow trees in the timber near Red river,
and were what are known as "wild bees." They
and their comb were placed in movable comb
Langstroth hives, and the native queens were
soon afterwards replaced by two pretty
yellow Italian queens, obtained by mail from
Little Rock. By this means the two colonies
of wild bees, in the fall of the year, had
become golden Italians.
The Apiary
Orchard and Swarm-Sack at left
Stanchions For Calves
Ora feeding them with pleasure and profit
A Double Swarm
On a pretty warm day in March, 1910, when
the locust trees in the campus were in full
bloom, two swarms of bees left their hives
about the same time, and both clustered on
the low, branching limbs of a small plum
tree. After taking a photo of this unusual
sight, Miss Weimer and Clarence Peete, who
is standing behind the tree, each using a
tin cup, gently lifted the bees from the
limbs of the tree and placed them in a hive
so arranged, that instead of destroying one
of the queens, the bees naturally separated
into two clusters around their respective
queens. On the following morning, the swarm
intended for Clarence was lifted out by him
and put in a separate hive. The operations
of hiving and separating the swarms were
very successfully performed, without either
of them receiving a single sting, and in the
fall both colonies had a good supply of
surplus honey. As an inducement to the young
people to learn to manage bees profitably, a
colony was presented to those who undertook
the responsibility of caring for them at the
Academy.
The Hen House; Open Front, Semi-Monitor Roof
The first frost in the fall
of the year indicates the time to remove the
surplus honey from the hives; and to cut a
bee-tree merely for its supply of honey and
wax. April and May however, are the months
to transfer colonies from boxes and hollow
trees to movable comb hives, so as to save
the "bee."
Pig Pen; Many Conveniences
A Model Hog House
The following description of the hog house
is given for the benefit of students and
patrons. It was intended to be a model in
the arrangement of every part and it is yet
unsurpassed in the number of its
conveniences. It was built in 1906 and is 24
by 32 feet.
An entry, four feet wide, extends through
the length of the building and the pens,
with outlots, are arranged on each side. The
drip boards of the troughs are arranged
along each side of this entry making them
easy to fill without wetting the stock or
pen. The floors intended for litter are
further protected from dampness, by being
elevated one inch from the rear to a line
parallel with the trough, and about two feet
from it. The litter is held on this elevated
part of the floor by a guard, 2x4 inches,
around its edge. Hanging partitions separate
the entry from the pens. Fat hogs are easily
and quickly loaded, by merely lifting the
partitions and driving them through the
entry into the open end of a wagon box,
placed at the rear end of the entry.
It has a floor over head for receiving the
corn from the field; husking and sorting it.
On this loft there is a bin for storing the
good corn intended for meal, and mouse-proof
boxes for preserving seed corn on the ear
until planting time. There are two hatches,
one on each side at the rear for passing the
husks for litter to the pens below. At the
right near the front, there is a shute that
conveys the corn for the pigs to a crib at
the right in the first apartment below, from
which it is taken at feeding time, by
raising a self-closing lid near the floor.
In the corner of this open apartment there
is a large box covered with a hinged lid for
ground feed, and a set of steps to the loft.
Under the stairs, there is an elevator and
purifying pump, that brings up pure and cool
water from a brick walled cistern,
underneath the floor of the building, and it
has never gone dry, when used only for the
hogs.
Old Log House
The old log house, which remained until 1910
and in which the school was founded, was for
a half century the largest and best building
occupied by the Choctaws in the south
eastern part of their large reservation.
During the period previous to 1860, when it
was occupied by Bazeel Leflore, chief of the
Choctaw Nation, its halls and spacious
porches were the favorite places of meetings
for the administration of tribal affairs,
social and religious gatherings.
An Indian graveyard was located a few rods
from its southeast corner. A neat little
marble monument still marks the grave of
Narcissa Leflore, wife of the chief Bazeel.
She died at forty in 1854. Small marble
tombstones, bearing the names of Leflore and
Wilson, mark a half dozen other graves. One
long, unnamed grave is marked by a broad
wall of common rock, three feet high,
covered with one large flag stone.
Chief Leflore, about the year 1860, located
at Goodland, where he spent the remainder of
his days. He left the log house to be
occupied by John Wilson his nephew. About
twenty years later Wilson left it to his
son-in-law, Frank Locke, its last Choctaw
occupant. He soon afterwards left it to
Robin Clark, the Choctaw Freedman, from whom
it was obtained in 1884, for the use of the
school.
Painting
The pretty and attractive appearance of the
premises at Oak Hill was due to a
considerable extent to the good work of the
boys that learned to use the brush in
painting and white washing. The following
facts are noted as an aid to them and
others.
All the school buildings
were painted cream and white. The materials
used were white lead and flaxseed oil, mixed
in the proportion of 15 to 20 pounds of lead
to a gallon of oil. A gallon of the mixture
is expected to cover 225 square feet of
surface with two coats. The cream tint, a
warm color, was obtained by mixing a little
chrome yellow (and burnt sienna) with a pint
or more of oil and adding as much of this
mixture as was needed to produce the desired
tint.
The red paint, used on the farm buildings
and large gates, consisted of Venetian red,
a dry paint, and oil, five to eight pounds
of paint to the gallon of oil. A white
trimmer was used on the face boards of the
roof, doors and windows.
The white wash used on the board and pale
fences consisted of quick lime slacked under
water and gently stirred during this
process. It should be allowed to stand a day
or two before it is used. A pound of salt to
the gallon of quicklime, the salt being
first dissolved in water, improves its
wearing quality. A little boiled rice flour
improves its adhesiveness for indoor use.
Skimmed sweet milk, used the day it is
mixed, is an inexpensive substitute for oil
in applying Venetian red to old gates. One
coat will make them look right well for one
or more seasons. Milk however should never
be used except to brighten up some old work
for one or two years, and each gallon should
contain three pounds of Portland cement,
frequently stirred.
Seed Corn Improved
Large yields of corn are secured only by
planting seed that has vitality sufficient
to produce a good ear as well as a stock.
Careful and successful farmers raise and
endeavor to improve their seed from year to
year. This may be done on a small scale as
follows:
Select ten good sized,
straight rowed, deep-grained ears. Remove
the tips and butts. Shell each ear
separately and plant in separate rows,
marked and numbered from one to ten. As soon
as the corn in these rows begins to tassel
go through them every few days and remove
the tassel from every stalk that is not
forming an ear; so that the pollen or tassel
dust of the barren stalk may not fall on the
silks of the corn-bearing stalks.
At husking time husk and
weigh the yield from each row or ear of seed
separately. Missing hills and barren stocks
indicate a low vitality in the seed-ear and
also in the crop. Select the seed for the
next year from the rows that yield the
largest crop.
The yield of the cotton crop
can be increased two fold by gathering the
seed at picking time from only the best
fruited stocks.
Health Hints.
Health means a sound mind in a sound body.
"Know thyself", and remember, that
"self-preservation is the first law of
nature."
An open window, day and night, is better
than an open grave.
"Warm sleeping rooms have killed more
people, than ever froze to death."
"A good iron pump, over a well protected
well, costs less than a case of typhoid."
"Wire screens in the windows may keep crape
from the door."
"A fly in the milk often means a member of
the family in the grave."
Work when you work and rest outstretched,
when you rest.
Planting Sweet Potatoes
Carriers, Droppers, and Trowelers
Ready For A Pull Double Swarm Of Bees
Oak Hill
1902, Looking Northwest
Oak Hill,
1903, Looking North
M. S. Stewart at left, Mary
Stewart at right of Supt.
Avoid all sins of the flesh.
Overeating and eating injurious foods or
drinks are responsible for many ills of body
and mind.
He who said, "I am the bread of life," said
also, "He that eateth me shall live by me."
Cherish a cheerful, hopeful spirit by
reading at least one promise from the Bible,
for meditation, every day. Learn how to look
pleasant, even when you may be feeling
otherwise.
Fix the mind on the virtue to be cultivated
rather than on the vice to be overcome.
If the heart action is sometimes weak, avoid
all acts of over-exertion and sleep on the
right side. Avoid snoring, by breathing
through the nose.
Sleep is "nature's sweet restorer." Pure
air, pure water and proper exercise are
nature's healthful invigorators. Use them
freely.
Headache. Headaches are due to three
causes, namely, eye-strain, indigestion, and
exposures to dampness and cold.
To avoid eye-strain, bathe the eyes
frequently with cool water, and avoid using
them intently too long, when the light is
not good, especially in the twilight after
sun set. To avoid the sick headache eat
slowly and temperately; and drink water
frequently both at and between meals. The
ache in the back of the head, caused by
exposure to drafts of air, cold and dampness
to the feet, may be relieved by the
application of hot damp cloths to the parts
affected, and warming the feet and limbs
until the perspiration is started. Never use
dopes or preparations for headache, pure
sparkling water is always much better.
Hot water, sipped frequently, tends
to relieve a cough, difficult breathing and
a weak heart action. Pure air, inhaled by
frequent daily deep breathings, and out-door
exercise do more for weak lungs than
medicines.
Chills. A chill is the protest of the
liver or lungs after an exposure one or more
days previous that was not followed by a
proper warming of the feet, especially in
the evening. Sulphate of quinine, a tonic
for the stomach, is a standard remedy for
malarial troubles but its use should always
be preceded or accompanied with a tonic for
the liver.
Smallpox. A mixture consisting of one
ounce of cream of tartar, and two ounces of
sulphur flour, should be in every home, to
be taken a little occasionally as an
antidote, and kept as an approved remedy for
smallpox.
This site
includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes
reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These
items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be
interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes
implied .
Choctaw Freedmen and Oak Hill Industrial
Academy, 1914, Robert Elliott Flickinger
