CULTURE OF MADDER, &C. 



35 



and washed, and they are ready for use by 

 pounding them well in an iron kettle. 



The process of washing, drying, and grind- 

 ing, and packing on a large scale, that is to 

 make a business of it, would require an addi- 

 tional chapter on the subject, which is not 

 needed where it is only cultivated on a small 

 scale : which information I am willing to com- 

 municate to any coiTespondent, or for publi- 

 cation if requested, to the best of my ability, 

 though I am unaccustomed to writing for 

 publication. 



\Ve raise prmcipally for our own use, so 

 that I could not supply crown roots for more 

 than a few tliousand sets. 



Mr. .Joseph Swift, residing on Vermilion 

 River, about seven miles from Lake Ei-ie, in 

 the north-west comer of Lorain County, Ohio, 

 is the most extensively engaged in the culti- 

 vation of Madder of any man I know of in 

 the Western States. M. Moyer. 



Niconza, Miami Coimtj', Feb. 1847. 



A Productive Farm. — Messis. Edilors : 

 Mr. Mordecai Abraham is a neighbor of mine, 

 living upon rented land, and pays $1 .50 

 per acre for ninety-six acres. He has just 

 given me the following items as the amount 

 of his crop for the year 184G. His fami has 

 been worked exclusively by himseli" and son, 

 %vith a team of two horses. 



Bushels. 



28 acres Winter "Wheat 8.58 



9 acres Spring Wheat 164 



39 acres Com 2,0.50 



■ 5 acres Oats 300 



I acre Potatoes 00 



A patch of Onions 7 



Total 



3,429 



In addition to the above, Mr. A. had 1| acres 

 of flax, which was a good crop, but not saved 

 for want of time ; and three to four acres of 

 spring wheat which he was unable to har- 

 vest. He also had nine acres of good timo- 

 thy hay, which was well saved ; and one hun- 

 dred and si.xty bushels of apples, one-half 

 of which were sold for fifty cents per 

 bushel. 



The wife and daughters made a piece of 

 silk — enough for eleven handkerchiefs, which 

 sold for $1 .50 each, and they have kept a 

 hand-loom in motion for most of the season. 



For harve.sting and threshing, Mr. A. paid 

 IGl bushels of wheat, which, with the .$144 

 rent, shows the amount to be deducted from 

 the above, in estimating the value of the la- 

 bor of the family. 



I send you this for the purpose of showing 

 your readers abroad what two men and two 

 horses can do in the way of furnishing some- 

 thin" to eat, when they set themselves to 

 work upon our prairies. The land upon 

 which the above crop wsis raised is not above 

 a medium quahty of the huuls in tiiis region ; 

 and I verily believe there are 30.000 .sections 

 or square miles in the State wliich are as pro- 

 ductive as llie faiTTi in que.><tion. II" I am right 

 in this opinion, there are then 120,000 quar- 

 (83) 



ter sections which might be made as produc- 

 tive as the one upon which Mr. Abraham 

 raised the above crop. Again, we have some 

 20,000 square miles not so fertile, which may 

 be set down at half the productiveness of 

 those first named — equal to 40,000 more 

 quarter sections — making in all 1(50,000 fiirms 

 of equal productiveness with the above. Now 

 if you will tiike the trouble to cypher n-p how 

 many people could live comfortably upon the 

 provisions raised by Mr. A. as before stated, 

 and then multiply that number of people by 

 160,000, you can, I think, give a pretty 

 shrewd guess how many human beings can 

 be fed upon the productions of Illinois when 

 the same shall be brought into tolerable cul- 

 tivation. E. Harkness. 



Fruit Farm, Peoria County, Feb., 1847. 



Mr. Phelps's Durham Cow Victoria. — 

 Mensrs. Editovs : In redemption of the 

 pledge made you when last in your city, and 

 in obedience to the wishes of our mutual 

 friends, who have solicited it for your col- 

 umns, I send a brief notice of my Durham 

 cow Victoria. 



She was calved on the 30lh day of March, 

 1841, and slaughtered on the 6th day of 

 Januai-y, 1847, being 5 years, 10 months, and 

 7 days old — has had four calves at three 

 premature births, none of which have been 

 reared. 



Her standard hight was -.4 feet 8 inches. 

 Length from horns to tail ...7 .. 4 

 Breadth across the hips ....2 .. 1^ 



Size in the girth 7 ..9 



Weight on foot 1899 lbs. 



Net weight of quai-tera 1312 lbs. 



hide 93 .. 



rough tallow.. - 176 .. —1386 



Loss in slaughtering, 304 lbs. 



She would probably have weighed 2,000 

 lbs. had she been kept until maturity. 



.lounializing the weight of animals having 

 become somewhat fashionable, I will add 

 that I marketed with Messrs. A. D. »&: H. 

 Reed of Farmington, the present season, fif- 

 teen hogs, averaging 416 lbs., the lightest 

 v^eighing 332 and the heaviest 524 lbs. 



^ViLHAM J. Phelps. 



Elmtcood, Peoria County, Feb., 1847. 



'^^W A baker of Benio, in Switzerland, has 

 succeeded in making veiy palatable bi-ead 

 fi-om Iceland Moss. It results from a scien- 

 tific examination of this bread that out of 102 

 parts, it contains 44.;J of fecula or nutritive mat- 

 ter. Bread made cliiefly of potatoes is said 

 to contain only 15 in the 100 parts of nutri- 

 tive matter. [Galiguani. 



C^" In Germany the Goveniment of one 

 of the southern States, has ordered tiiat ath- 

 letic schooKs, to promote the liill development 

 of the human frame, should be considered as 

 belonging to the ordinaiy category of youths' 

 Iruininf'. 



