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GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. 



To determine the absorptive properties of different stones, the follow- 

 ing' varieties of different stone were placed in the boiler of a steam en- 

 gine and remained for sixteen (16) days. They were then weighed, and 

 then placed in water, where they remained three (3) days and nights, 

 and were again weighed, with the following results : 



The soils, clays and sands have been sufficiently referred to in speak- 

 ing of the surface geology of the county. They furnish the usual 

 materials for economical purposes and uses, and need not now be more 

 specifically referred to. 



Vine Culture. The cultivation of the vine in some parts of the county 

 is awakening deserved attention. The experiment, so far as tried, has 

 been eminently successful. Several amateur grape-growers in the city 

 of Sterling are devoting some attention to this interesting branch of in- 

 dustry. Their success has been most flattering, and there is a well 

 grounded belief springing up that both grape-growing and wine-making, 

 in favorable localities in Northern Illinois, may be made a source of pro- 

 fit to the cultivator. The soil in and about Sterling seems well adapted 

 to vine-growing. 



At Morrison, the soil partakes somewhat of the nature of the loess 

 clays. The vine flourishes in it in the greatest luxuriance. I observed, 

 last fall, one little vineyard just below the town, on a southern slope of 

 the hill, which seemed from the highway nothing but a mass of purple 



