^^: 



THE ILLINOIS FA.I11MEII. 



91 



The nurseries in tlie northern part of 

 the State can furnish beautiful ever- 

 greens at very reasonable prices, and 

 "which -would be likely to live. 



Chicago, May 3, 1858. . J. S. 

 Age of Trees. 



The longevity of trees is an interesting 

 study. While some trees live only a few 

 years, rapidly attaining their growth and 

 rapidly decaying, like the peach tree, others, 

 on the contrary, have a longevity exceeding 

 the age of man, and some species outlive 

 many generations. It is well known that 

 the age of trees is correctly indicated by the 

 number of wood-circles or rings found in the 

 trunk — each ring being the growth of a sin- 

 gle year. We here subjoin several remarka- 

 ble examples ascertained by the above rule, 

 or by tradition an<l history, quoted from De 

 Candelle : 



Years. 



An Elm lived to the age 335 



Cypres4(Ka8tern) 350 



Larch .*-. 576 



Chestnut, about 600 



Orange 630 



Olive TOO 



PlantanuB Orieutalis 720 



Cedar soo 



Many tropical trees seen by Humboldt.... .1,000 



Lime 1,076, 1,147 



Oak .810, 1,080, 1,500 



Yew 1,214, 1,408, 2,588, 2,820 



Taxodium, upward of. 4,000 



Adansonia, of Senegal and Capt Verd Islands » 5,000 



The Yew trees of Britain are of wonderful 

 longevity. The following list is quoted from 

 Prof. Balfour: ^ 



Years. 



K Yew at Fountain's Abbey, Ripon, lived 1,200 



Yews in the church yard ofCrcwhurst, Surry 1,450 



Yew at Fontiapil, Perthshire 2,500 to 2X00 



Y'ewat Bradbourn church yard, Kent .3,000 



Yew at Hedsor, Bucks, 27 feet iu diameter 3,200 



A Banyan tree (Ficus Indica) yet growing 

 upon an island in the Nerbudda river, India, 

 is believed to be identical with that which is 

 mentioned in history by Nearchus, in the 

 time of Alexander the Great, as being capa- 

 ble of sheltering 10,000 men at once. Por- 

 tions of it have been carried away by floods, 

 but enough remains to overshadow 7,000 

 men. Its principal trunk is more tlian 200 

 i'eet in girtli, and its branches are supported 

 by 350 other trunks, Avhicli equal that of our 

 largest oaks, while the smaller trunks are some 

 3,000 more. 



The White Pine (Pinus strobus) of the 

 American forest, with a diameter of 6 or 7 

 feet, attains iXia bight of 180 to 200 feet. In 

 the early settlement of Dartmouth College, a 

 Pine stood upon the College plain which 

 measured 210 feet in hight. In the Ohio 

 Valley, the Red Maple [Acer rubrum] and 

 the Sycamore [Planatanus occidentalis] attain 

 to great dimensions. .\ specimen of the for- 

 mer, in Indiana, measured 16 feet in diame- 

 ter; of the latter, 23 feet. 



But, all things considered, the monarch 

 tree of the world is the Sequoia gingantea, 

 called the California Pine, of the Sacrameato 

 Valley and Maripo.-a. One which had fallen, 

 measured 31 feet in diameter and 363 feet 

 in length. Among those yet standing are 

 some of still greater dimensions, as beautiful 

 in form as they are sublime in height, the 

 growth [as estimated by the annual wood-cir- 

 cles] of more than 3,000 years I 



Win ^nxit 



Farming. 



Editor of the Farmer : — I read an article 

 in your last number on the subject of drain- 

 ing. I subscribe generally to the views of 

 the writer, with such a state of things existing 

 in Illinois as did exist for two or three years 

 previous to the last. When we have high 

 prices for produce, we can afford to pay high 

 prices for labor and to cultivate on farms as 

 we have done and are doing. But if produce 

 is to rule low, as it now does, and labor can- 

 not be had at prices wliich will enable the 

 farmer to live, — we must adopt a new system 

 of farming. We must cultivate small farms 



with the help we have at home, and we must 

 cultivate them well. Then, we must drain 

 our lands and double and treble our crops on 

 these lands. This can be done, or all experi- 

 ence is of no value. 



We can do another thing. If we can raise 

 cattle, we can put our lands in grass. Stock 

 will do well in winter on good hay; and hay 

 can be made at less than half the expense of 

 corn. Do we raise hogs? Let us have pas- 

 tures for them in summer, and have corn 

 to fatten them in the fall, or other crops, — 

 rye or oats and peas, to finish oiF with corn. 

 We should aim to raise good stock hogs well, 

 to make them grow and fatten at the cheapest 

 expense. It is a well established fact that 

 corn ground into meal and steamed for hogs, 

 will go twice as far in fattening them, as the 

 cinide corn would do. The great object is, to 

 accomplish the most profitable farming at the 

 least expense, or rather with the least labor. 



I am glad to hear that Mr. Hensely is 

 about to make a trial of draining. He will 

 give draining a fair trial; and we shall be 

 sure to learn his opinion in good time. I 

 think that some farmers would be induced to 

 try draining, if draining tile could be obtained 

 readily and at fair prices. B 



-••.- 



The people of St. Louis are ecjoying 

 the luxuries of strawberries and cream. 



Tile Hungarian Grass— Setaria Germanlca. 



Editor of the Farmer : The culti- 

 vation of the Hungarian Grass [Setaria 

 G^ermanica) is no new thing in this coun- 

 try : it was many years ago introduced 

 into New Jersey. The farmers there, 

 for a time, were much pleased with it. 

 It produced heavy crops on good soils; 

 but it was soon found that it exhausted 

 the richness of the soil, and its cultiva- 

 tion was abandoned. Its (luick growth, 

 its great yield of fodder, its large 

 amount of seed, were a severe tax upon 

 the soil, which could not long be sus- 

 tained. In nev/ soils, its produce is very 

 great. I do not wonder that the farm- 

 ers of Iowa Avere pleased with it, and I 

 shall expect to find that the farmers of 

 Illinois, who sow the seed on their rich 

 black soil, will say, next fall, that there is 

 nothing like it for fodder. And their 

 soils will stand the drain of this crop 

 for some time. They must, however, 

 learn from experience whether it will 

 answer to be made one of our perma- 

 nent crops. I shall not be surprised, 

 if it shall be found that the seed shed 

 on the ground in gathering, proves 



troublesome to succeeding crops of 

 grain — something in the same way that 

 buckwheat becomes a nuisance when it 

 comes up from seed self-sown, among 

 corn and other crops, for years after the 

 first sowing. I hope, my fears in this 

 case will prove groundless, while I am 

 certain that the first crops will be very 

 gratifying to farmers. 



A Jerseyman, in 1855. 

 May 17, 1858. . 



-«•»- 



CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 



TO OWNERS OF STEAM POWER IN SPRINGFIELD AND 

 FARUERS IN THE COUKTRY : 



Editors of the Journal: — The experiments 

 made the last season with the Chinese Sugar 

 Cane, have demonstrated the fact that the cane 

 can be grown here with success : that its juice 

 can be manufactured into a superior article of 

 syrup, and that syrup into excellent sugar and 

 molasses — provided the necessary apparatus 

 and experience can Tje had for obtaining the 

 juice from the cane, and its manipulation after 

 it is obtaloed. 



Establishments for the purpose of making 

 eugar and molasses from the Chinese Sugar 

 Cane are now in process of erection in Ohio 

 and Indiana, and probably in other States. We 

 have been anxious that at least one should be 

 put up in this State ; and where is a better 

 point for it than Springfield? We know of 

 none. 



In answer to a communication to Isaac A. 

 Hedges, Esq., of Cincinnati, on this subject, the 

 following communication has been received by 

 the undersigned. Mr. Ware will come to 

 Springfield and put up a sugar mill, provided 

 a suitable steam power can be obtained here, 

 with the additional condition that farmers in 

 the neighborhood will grow fifty acres of sugar 

 cane the present season for his use. 



It seems to us that the steam power can be 

 had here, and also the necessary amouDt of 

 sugar cane can be grown. We address this 

 article to the owners of steam power in this 

 city and the farmers in our neighborhood. 

 Shall we make an e£Purt to add another to the 

 ••ich staples of Illinois, and by which we can 

 save in this State yearly five millions of dollars. 

 This subject addresses itself as well to the 

 interest as to the patriotism of our citizens. 



The undersigned will be glad to see the 

 owners of steam power in this cit^ and farmers 

 in the neighborhood on the subject of this 

 notice. What is done in the matter, it must 

 be obvious to every one, must be done soon. 



May 22, 1858. S. Francis. 



Cincinnati. May 19, 1858. 

 S. Francis, Esq., Cor. Sec. St, Ag. So. 

 Springfield, Ills. 



Dear Sir: — Your favor is duly received; my 

 thanks for it. Mr. W. G. Ware, who has been 

 in our employ for several years, and well versed 

 in the experiments of last year, requests me to 

 gay to you, that if steam and steam power can 

 be had in your city, (on reasonable terms) suffi- 

 cient to run > ff a crop or crops of, say not less 

 than 50 acres, and that quantity is grown in the 

 immediate vicinity he will come there with 

 mill and aparatns and work it up. He would 

 want power enough to be equal to (6) six first 

 rate horses, and the steam direct from a boiler 

 at 60 lbs. to square inch pressure, to do his 

 boiling, defecating, &c., all of which, both mill 

 and boiling could be generated in a boiler 12 

 feet long by 36 inches in diameter. 



If you can find such conveniences and get 

 the cane grown, he will contract at once for 

 fixtures, a portion of which he would build 

 himself. He would need power and steam about 



