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Spring Work. 



Our farmers are now called to this work in 

 earnest. — Has the drought of last fall and the 

 cold ©f the winter, cut off your wheat? If so, 

 what ia to be done with the land. You can s«w 

 apon it spring wheat, sping barlej and flax, with 

 a reasonable prospect of a handsome profit. 

 Either of these crops are better than oats. What 

 is to be done ? There is no time to be lost. — 

 Wheat will be likely to bring a good price the 

 coming summer. We are told that St. Leuis 

 operators are contracting at $1,70 for the next 

 crop of barley; and flax seed is bringing large 

 prices at St. Louis and has done so for the last 

 two years or more. The supply is not at all ade- 

 quate to the demand. 



" Farmers should now attend tu their orchards. 

 Trim where necessary. If you have no orchard, 

 you should lose no time in putting out one — 

 especially should yon not lose another year. — 

 Fifty apple trees will make an orchard for a fam- 

 ily. No land pays better than that filled with 

 apple trees. The market cannot be overstocked 

 with good fruit in Illinois for fifty years to come. 

 Farmers, should by no means neglect their or- 

 chards. 



The State Normal SchooL 



The Legislature have authorized the establish- 

 ment of a State Normal School. This school 

 is mainly intended for the instruction of young 

 men, so as to qualify them to be the instructors 

 of youth. We notice that many of those who had 

 been urging the establishment of an Industrial 

 University, united in sustaining the project for 

 a Normal School. They required the Normal 

 School as the beginning of a system which shall 

 be extended, as necessity shall require, until 

 such means of education can be provided as 

 are demanded by the beat interests of oar agri- 

 cultural population. 



i^^There are many opinions in regard to the 

 proper time for trimming trees. We prefer 

 spring. Do this with sharp instruments, that the 

 wounds may sooner heal over. Shrubbery must 

 now be trimmed and pruned so as to make com- 

 pact and handsome bushes. Roses blossom best 

 by cutting oS the tops ot shoots and trimming 

 out superfluous wood. Currants and f ooseber- 

 ries early in the spring, and superfluous wood 

 taken out. Ladies you should have your pruning 

 knife or shears whenever yougointo the garden; 

 and this you should do often — there is iaterest 

 and health is it. 



Sngar and Molasses from the Chinese Sogar 

 Cane. 



The Executive Committee of the State Ag- 

 ricultural Society, realizing the importance of 

 deciding for the Society the value of this plant, 

 and adding . another staple to the productions 

 of the country, have offered in their forth- 

 coming pre'nium list, the following premiums: 



Best 60 Ibfl. Sugar, nutdefrom the Chinese Sugar Cute. 



The Society's QohD MxDiX. 



Second best $15 00 



Third best 10 00 



Best five gallons MoISMes made from Chinese Su- 

 gar Cane The Society's Gtou MxDAl. 



Second best $16 00 



Third best 10 00 



We are of opinion that there will be specimens 

 of sugar and molasses from the China sugar 

 eane, at the coming State Fair at Peoria, which 

 will satisfy the public that sugar and molasses 

 can be readily and cheaply made in Illinois. If 

 this is done, if Illiaois can manufacture sufficient 

 for her own consumption — what will be the re- 

 sult? Illinois has, say, a population of one and 

 a half millions; these require an average of $3 

 dollars worth of sugar in each year. Here are 

 three millions of dollars saved in the State, on a 

 rough calculation. 



We hope every farmer who can, will procure 

 a few seed, and try the experiment on a small 

 scale. He can, at least, make sufficient seed, to 

 plant a large field, the coming year. 



■^.HedgeB & Free, of Cincinnati, have been 

 getting up a sugar mill, te answer the wants of 

 the farmers of the west, who design to manufac- 

 ture molasses from the Chinese sugar cane. — 

 They intend to have one on exhibition in Wash- 

 ington City, at the fair held there the present 

 month. The cost — a material point — is not 

 stated. But we shall hear more of this mill. 



.Mr. Kroh, of Wabash county, writes 

 that he made seventy gallons of syrup from the 

 Chinese sugar cane last fall, and that he is now 

 using the article in his family with great satis- 

 faction. He is making arrangements to increase, 

 extensively, the eultivation of the plant. Kore 

 than a hundred acres will be occupied with it, 

 in that county, the coming season. 



<•• 



IA.Several persons will receive the Farmer 

 for the present year without ordering it. The 

 publishers are instructed to say that the Farmer 

 is sent to such persons by order of the Corres- 

 ponding Secretary of the State Agricultural 

 Society, in pursuance of direetions by th« Ex- 

 ecutive Committee, — as premiums for articles 

 exhibited at the last State Fair. 



