lO 



THE iLLiisrois f^rm:er. 



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sPBiiirGFiEi:.D, ir.ii., January i, isss. 



Our New Head. — Messrs. L. Johnson & Co., 

 the celebrated type founders of Philadelphia, 

 are preparing an elegantly illustrated head for 

 the Farmer, which we had hoped would be 

 ready in season for this number. As we were 

 desirous, however, of anticipating the issue of 

 the January number, we have been obliged to 

 go to press without it. 



4«» 



The New Year. 



Oar annaal labor is again commenced. 

 This is the first number of Vol. III. of 

 the Illinois Farmer. We send it forth hop- 

 ing that it will not only retain all its old 

 subscribers, but that its patronage will be 

 largely increased. 



Agricultural papers can in many ways be 

 useful to farmers. Devoted to their wel- 

 fare, the editors labor for their benefit. 

 Whatever new and useful discoveries are 

 made in the profession, are gathered and 

 published. If well, or even tolerably well 

 conducted, they furnish a vast amount of 

 useful information, — tending to render the 

 labor of the farmer interesting to himself 

 and beneficial to the community. They 

 enlist the attention of young farmers, — 

 furnishing them with food for thought, — 

 making them better men, and increasing 

 their capacity for usefulness. 



With a few words more, we commit this 

 sheet to the hands of our friends. We 

 greatly desire an increase in the number of 

 our subscribers. We know our friends can 

 do thii for us if they will make the effort. 

 An additional name procured by each would 

 largely add to our subscription, and in 

 many places we are sure that an effort 

 would increase the present number many 

 fold. The terms of the Farmer will be 

 found in our prospectus. The cost for a 

 year is small. Few persons would feel it. 

 We guaranty the safety of the mail on reg- 

 istered letters with money. 



Hoping to hear favorably from the 

 Farmers of Illinois, in response to this no- 

 tice, we tender to them the compliments of 

 the season. 



■••»- 



What of the Times? 



The times are still hard — Farmers' pro- 

 duce remains low. The prospect for the 

 next six months for an increase of prices is 

 not flattering. What is to be done? 



We answer, just what men engaged in 

 other business do when low prices overtake 

 them with stocks of goods on their hands. 

 They sell on the best terms they can — lose 

 as little as they can avoid — pay their debts 

 as far as possible, and go to work again. 



This is the correct way of doing business, 

 unless men owe no debts and have means to 

 hold on to their produce. 



These low prices are not confined to one 

 point in the country. They rule every 

 where. There is no reason to expect fam- 

 ine prices for produce for years to come. 

 Our true policy is to sell for the most we 

 can get, pay our indebtedness and form our 

 plans for the future. 



When the country recovers from its pres- 

 ent financial distress, produce will bring 

 higher prices — not as high as heretofore, 

 but such as will furnish fair profits to the 

 farmer. The devouring claim for hire will 

 not be as great the coming year as it has 

 been during the past. Even with prices 

 such as they were eight months ago, the 

 high rates of labor kept the farmer busy to 

 raise money to pay his help. 



When the vast amount of produce now 

 on the hands of our farmers, is moved off 

 to the Atlantic market, a change of times 

 for better will be perceptible. Our farmers 

 will be relieved measurably of their debts, 

 and our merchants, also, to the same extent, 

 will be relieved of theirs'. All will breathe 

 more free, and we shall have bounding 



hopes in the future. 



1^ 



The Credit System. 



The late revulsion in financial matters is 

 likely to be fatal to the credit system as 

 lately understood. New York wholesale 

 dealers in dry goods will greatly curtail 

 their system of credit. Wholesale grocers 

 will require cash for goods — (that has been 

 done for sometime.) Thus it will be seen 

 that merchants cannot give their former 

 credits — unless they are possessed of large 

 capitals — larger than usually belongs to 

 them. So, that whether it pleases us or 

 not, we shall have to submit to a greatly 

 reduced system of credits. 



And, indeed, there is little propriety or 

 necessity of this old system of crediting un- 

 til Christmas. That system was founded 

 on the former practice of the farmer selling 

 off his staple crops in the fall. This is not 

 so now. Farmers sell off their produce 

 every week in the year, if they choose. 

 Beef and other cattle are sold at all sea- 

 sons, and so of hogs, sheep, wheat, barley, 

 and everything else. Farmers have, as a 

 general thing, no more money in December 

 than they have in July, or other months. 

 If their store bills were due four times in a 

 year, they would pay them easier than they 

 will if all are condensed in one bill in De- 

 cember. We believe this. We suggest to 

 our farmers to think of this matter seriously. 

 Whenever you can, pay for articles as you 

 purchase them, and make ^our bills as light 

 as possible. Pay day must come. 



Good Sense. 



A friend from the country, said to 

 as the other day: "Sir" said he, "I 

 want the Farmer the next year. A year 

 ago this fall I read your Farmer, where you 

 advised farmers to select their seed corn 

 from the field. I haven't had much con- 

 fidence in book farming, but somehow or 

 other I thought I would try your plan of 

 saving corn for seed. I did so, and my 

 corn never came up better than it did laat 

 spring. My neighbor took his from the 

 crib and had to plant twice, and then the 

 stand was a poor one. Vf hen I came by 

 his house this morning I asked him to join 

 a club to take the Farmer. He said he 

 couldn't afford to do it. He lost enough by 

 his bad seed corn to have furnished the 

 Farmer to all his neighborhood. I had a 

 hearty laugh at him, and told him, what I 

 have told you, about the agency of the 

 Farmer in making me save my seed corn last 

 year, and that I couldn't afford to be with- 

 out it." 



There is good sense in the remarks of our 

 friend; but he failed to make his neighbor 

 believe that anything beneficial to farmers 

 could be found in books! 



The Osage Orange Uedge. 



Scattered about the country, we can 

 now find good Osage orange hedges, — which 

 answer all the expectations of the cultiva- 

 tor, and we also find hedges which are of no 

 account, a nuisance where they stand. It 

 is true that bad seasons sometimes affect the 

 newly planted hedges; the drought kills 

 many plants before they get a fair growth, 

 and this followed by a severe winter kills 

 other weak plants. But this no more argues 

 against the practicability of making good 

 Osage orange hedges, than the loss of trees 

 in an orchard argues that an orchard cannot 

 be established. When we fail from bad sea- 

 sons in either case, we must go to work 

 again. 



Experience adds greatly to the success of 

 growing the Osage orange for hedges. It 

 seems to be now conceded that they should 

 not be cut down the spring after they are 

 planted, but should be suffered to grow un- 

 til they get a strong root. Then they should 

 only be ^.ut back once in a season. By 

 these means, if planted eight inches apart, 

 they will make good plants, throw out 

 strong latterals and in four or five years 

 make a good fence. 



There seems to be an ambition to make 

 this Osage orange impassable for all an- 

 imals. But why should we delay tlie 

 growth of our hedge to make it im- 

 I passable for Logs? Hogs should not be 



