^. 



THE ILLIlSrOIS F_A.]RMER. 



9 



juice, &c. I can give full and satisfactory 

 instructions for making sugar. 

 ' With respect, &c., 



JAS. M KROU. 

 We trust Mr. Kroh will ji-ive us his 

 knowledge in relation to the growing of the 

 cane — the expression, of its juice — anil its 

 manufacture into molasses and sugar. If 

 he can furnish "full and satisfactory instruc- 

 tions for making sugar" of the juice of the 

 Chinese cane, he will perform an act which 

 will confer inestimable blessings on the coun- 

 try. We have confidence in the declaration 

 of Mr. Kroh. 



We would add that the above was a 

 private letter, but it contained information 

 too important to suppress. 



• Sugar Cane Seed. 



Editor of the Farmer: 



I am apprehensive that Biueh worthless Su- 

 gar Caue seed will be planted next Spring. — 

 This worthless seed will be either unripe, or it 

 will be mixed with Broom corn, or perhaps 

 with Douhra or Egyptian corn. If planted 

 near together, all these varieties of millet will 

 mix, and the seed of all will be worthless. 



A day or two ago I saw a farmer friend, who 

 has been very successful in making syrup from 

 a small patch of Sugar Cano. He informed 

 me that he should plant seed next Spring 

 "to make enjugh molasses to do him."' "Is 

 your seed pure?" I asked him. He replied 

 that it was. "Did you raise Broom corn this 

 season?" I continued. "Yes," said he. "Was 

 it near your Sugar Cane?" "Yes, along side 

 of it," was the reply. I then told him that the 

 Sugar Cano seed was crossed and adulterated 

 with the Broom corn, and he would get little 

 or no molasses from its product, if he planted it. 



My friend was surprised. He thought the 

 cane might mix with the Indian corn, but had 

 no idea it would with broom corn. He had 

 not read the a<!;ricultural papers. 



Mr. Editor, great success has attended the 



growing of the Sugar Cane tlie present year, 



where it has been cultivated with any Icind of 



judgment. It would be a misfortune nest year 



to have the farmci's hopes destroyed. There is 



enough good seed in the country; and I doubt 



not the seedsmen who Avill have it for sale will 



take every precaution to have the seed pure 



and ripe. The adulteration of the seed can 



scarcely be detected, but -when the good seed is 



ripe it will be of a very dark color and heavy. 



Improvement. 

 <«* 



Seed Corn. 

 Editor of the Farmer : 



You have published several invitutions to 

 farmers to save their seed corn. I have ex- 

 amined my corn with reference to saving seed. 

 It was planted early, and I thought the corn 

 had perfectly matured. But it was not so. — 

 The corn will not sprout on one car of twenty. 

 I am certain of this The germ was frozen and 

 killed before it was gathered. 



I am aware that corn in the dough, if saved 



carefully, will germinate— that is, saved and 

 put under proper shelter before killing frosts. 

 My own experience satisfies roe of this; but if 

 the same corn should be left on the stalk with 

 such freezing weather, as w j have lately had, 

 it would be good for nothing for seed. 



I think every farmer should contribute all he 

 can of knowledge in farming, to benefit others. 

 I fear that many of my brethren will rely up- 

 on bad corn for seed. This wo aid be a great 

 misfortune as well as vexation to them. 



-«♦•- 



Wire Fence. 



Editor of the Farmer : 



I have heard much said, and seen much which 

 has been written, on the subject of wire fence. 

 I am opening a farm on the prairie, which is a 

 good way from timber, and some distance from 

 a depot where I can get fencing plank. I can- 

 not wait for the Osage Orange hedge to grow — 

 because I want my fields and pastures fenced 

 so as to occupy them at once. My attention 

 has been turned to the wire fence for immedi- 

 ate useV,' What I desire to know is, whether 

 this fence has been in successful use anywhere 

 — how it is made — what is its cost — whether it 

 is effectual in keeping out stock from cultivated 

 fields, and keeping stock in pastures. Can you 

 refer me to any source where I can obtain the 

 information I desire? A. 



B^= Col. Horace Caprcn, of McHenry Co., 

 has his farm — a large one — principally inclos- 

 ed with wire fence, which has been sometime 

 in use. A valuble article prepared by him on 

 the subject for the 2nd vol. of the Transactions 

 of the State Agricultural Society, will be copied 

 into the February No. of the Farmer. 



For the Farmer. 



To My Brotlier Farmers. 



On account of the dull market and low price 

 of pork, many of you may be induced to slaugh- 

 tei and put up your own pork. This may be 

 done, so that the article will not sell for lialf 

 its just value in market. Indeed, it may not be a 

 marketable article. There are rules for barrel- 

 ing pork that ought to b. well understood by 

 those -who undertike the business. Bacon, 

 designed to be sent off, should be got up well, 

 salted well, smoked well and handled well. 

 Lard should be sufficiently cooked, should be 

 white, and the skins of the hog should not make 

 a part of it. A good deal of lard is used at this 

 time for burning In lamps, and lard in which 

 the skins of the beg and the feet have been ren- 

 dered, contain a gummy substance, which 

 crusts about the wick, and is worthless for that 

 purpose. Farmers, who design to put up their 

 own hogs, should do it well, so that there shall 

 be no mistake of their pork, bacon and lard, 

 being of the best quality. 



Chatham, 111. 



-< ♦ > .. 



Great Crop of Oats. 



^ At the late State Fair, Mr. Daniel Kelly ex- 

 hibited a specimen of oats from a field raised 

 by himself in Wheaton, Du Page County, aver- 

 aging eighty-eight bushels and one peck per 

 acre. This is certainly an extraordinary yield; 

 but the simple statement that he raised this 



large amount of oats per acre would be of little 

 benefit to tbe farming pubfic, without a knowl- 

 edge of the means by which he accomplished 

 it. We have now his statement. He says : 

 Editor Illinois Farmer: 



I have neglected giving the manner of raisn 

 ing the oats that I entered for premium at the 

 late f-iir. The land was prairie; corn stubble; 

 manured for corn the year previous, about 20 

 loads per acre. Last April harrowed the stub- 

 ble well; then sowed a little less than two bush- 

 els per acre; (I intended to sow two bushels,) 

 harrowed and cross-harrowed after sown. The 

 day of the month this was done, I do not recol- 

 lect. As soon as the ground was fit I fed the oat 

 field with sheep till the oat fields of my n«igh- 

 bors were six inches high. It being rather a 

 wet season, the oats fell to the ground in many 

 large places, besides there was a great waste 

 in harvesting. The oats were cut with Atkins' 

 Self-raking Reaper. I did not feed my own 

 field long enough, considering the wet charac- 

 ter of the season. The surveyor, after measur- 

 ing? the field and the crop, made an average of 

 88i bushels to the acre, besides all waste, which 

 was a good deal on account of the gram being 

 lodged. 



It is my intention to feed my grain fields ev- 

 ery spring with my sheep, if my ground is rich, 

 to prevent the grain from falling. This year 

 my sixty-two acres of spring wheat averages 

 37 J bushels per acre. Four years ago my wheat 

 crop averaged 47 bushels per acre; and that 

 spring I fed later than I had ever done before, 

 and I had the richest land. The feeding pre- 

 vents a superfluous growth of straw — ^besides 

 thickening the grain; and this practice requires 

 less seed to the acre and saves the necessity of 

 rolling the land. 



Our prairie soil is entirely too light, and I 

 find by experience feeding to be the best roller 

 and it saves expense, and indeed is a soorce of 

 profit where one has the right kind of stock. 

 Respectfully, 



Daniel Kellt, jr. 



Joyce's star Mill. 



The above represents the interior ar- 

 rangement of this mill. 



There is no denying the advantages of 

 grinding corn for stock. Many mills are 

 before the public designed for this pur- 

 pose. Joyce claims for his mill over 

 others: 1st: The arrangement for break- 

 ing and crushing the ear; 2nd: The meth- 

 od of connecting the cones and tempering 

 the mill; 3d: The changing grinding 

 places at pleasure; 4th that it pulver- 

 izes the corn and cob together; and 5th, 

 its general simplicity. He also claims 

 that it will make fine corn meal, and that 

 it is a convenient corn sheller and excel- 

 lent clover huller. 



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