;*■'" 



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THE ILLINOIS EA_K]MER. 



lasses for consumpticn In' tlicir faaiilic?. 



La.st fail many families i«a\'C(l a ,n'Ood 



deal Oi money, and sccnicd tlicmselvcs 



many comforts hj DiGar.s of tlio mol;is«os 



Ihcy nianiifacturod tluMn.U'lvo.s. 



A luimbcr of fanners could join to- 



gctUcr and puvclinsc a niill and boilers, 



and save tbcir cost the fir.<t yofir. 



May 20, "58. " J. S. 



■ ««»_ _-. - .^- 



The LfiMlo!! ri!nt'Kl)crry. 

 fJiUt'ti's of the Far)iicy: Voy tbrcc or 

 four years the Eastern A^u-ricnltiira! pa- 

 pers hare couttuncd advertisements of- 

 fering fur ealc the Lawton Llncklicrry, 

 accompanied by a cut representing a 

 larcfo and most beautiful Viackljcrrv, cal- 

 culated to make one's " mourli M'ater." 

 It Lad very mucb that efu'ct on me. — 

 Two years ago last fall, (IS.'iO,) 1 sent 

 to Mr. F. Tro'\vl)ridge, New Haven, 

 Conn., for a dozen of the ])lants, "which, 

 with the express charges, co-t me just 

 six doUars and fifty cents. They came 

 in good time, and I planted them out 

 •well, according to directions. The next 

 spring three or four sprouted ;ind sont 

 up small tlioots, but before fall all I'ad 

 died but one plant, and the slioofs of 

 th;it had grown but a foot hig-li. 



Supposi))g that my failni-e wa.- not 

 from my own neglect, or fault of th.e 

 soil, and still having in iiiv mind's eve 

 tlic luscious fruit of wh/u-li we iiad rv:id 

 and heard so nnich last f^ill ;; 'car, 

 (1858,) I sent for some two dozen more. 

 I received tiiem in reasonabh' time, 

 planted iliem out. and, at tlie pre-ent, 

 there i'aprospcct tliat one of rli.' ]>lants 

 is alive. 



r>ly present stock, tlteiefoie. \-- one 

 living ])lant from thefir.'-r do./en :!!nl one 

 bdlious plant from the second two do/on. 

 The first itientioned plant lias fiowered, 

 and I may sec it it fruit. 



On tlic vrhole, I regard tlie Liwton 

 1 lickbcrr}' speculation as -'a leu-suif of 

 knov.deduo under diilicultie-."' Y. 



riidci-])rainin2: and rppcr-lJrninii!;,'. 



Editor of tlu- Furmrr : — HaA-'.n't we liad 

 u great time tu eonsidor (he advantages of 

 draining oiiv Innds? Haven't sve. as v/e 

 looked over our iiercs, thouuht ol'tlie manner 

 in wlneli v;e should carry ei{' (lio surjihis 

 watci'y Haven't wc had Imc (Jroutc-t ,!'.nd 

 Best J']i!gincer fo poiut 0'>:t to us liow this 

 sliould bo doncy Haven't we received les- 

 sons in se'cnce and duty^ After the win*] 

 and su!j dries np the iiiud, and we i^'ct our 

 crround plowed and planted, will wc lor^'et in 

 re\icAved prospects of prosp-nity, tlic lessons 

 of the past"' 



No — let us )n>t fnget tlu.ir teachings. 

 Hut the moment wc have tlie nu ans and the 

 time, go iibont drainin<:()ur lands. H'^veean- 

 not iuive undor-drains, let us have unj'er 

 dnuTis; and lit us cut them ile<;[i tnoug)! to 

 earry off the water. 



Thoiiiiii we are told that the ;.;round was 

 cursed for man's sake, I have even thought 

 tliat mother earth Avas kind r.ud affcetionate 



to those who well cultivate her bosom. 

 Those who nourish her best with manures 

 and rotation of crops and destroy the noxious 

 weeds, and nuiso her tender and valuable 

 plants, — seeure a G;cnerous reward. Go in- 

 to a garden and sec the difference in crops 

 truni tender care and cultivation, and another 

 garden where every tiling grows wild and 

 weeds choke the plants and vegetables. Is 

 not, here u lesson, which a respect for our- 

 selves should prevent as from forgetting? 



Make maps of your farms now, and mark 

 out the places for drains and the lowest 

 points and where the water can bo carried 

 off. Probably you would find it for your in- 

 terest to unite with your neighbor in a sys- 

 te).i of drains. Many farms, I know, •where 

 such a policy would work well. I am some- 

 times disposed to grumble at the long and 

 dreary rains. They liavc .sadly interfered 

 with my calculations in making summer 

 crops; but still I shall try later crops, do all I 

 T can to make food for man beast, and under 

 all elrcunistances WORK ON. 



Trial of PIoavs at the Fair. 



Editor (if ill" Farmrr : — I agree with 

 IdcuLchboy that the trial of the ])low3 can be 

 made one of the most interesting features 

 of the Fair. As the success of agriculture 

 depends more on the plow than on an}', or 

 all other implement.^, it is a thing tliat is apt 

 to be overlooked and passed by as a matter 

 of little or no consequence, and I would have 

 b(.'e/i :^lad had the society seen fit to have of- 

 ferod sidficient premiums to have called into 

 (ho iield a large nuud>er, who look upon 

 thomselve.s, plows, and teams, as tlie icry 

 hrsf ill fill- Slat''. I would say come one, 

 eome all, and will do nil in my power to give 

 you a fair and full chance to try all your 

 ])lows, under the eye and supervision of the 

 proper committee. And 1 would say to 

 I'louehhoy, i>lea,se accept of my thanka for 

 the .sneut stions which you have offered. A.s 

 it will call the attention of the public, and I 

 hope tliat of the committee also, to the fact, 

 that the exi'ininations upon whii.h the awards 

 have been based, have generally been very 

 imperfect and unsatisfactory. I believe that 

 no set of judges would presume to decide 

 upon the speed of a race horse without a trial. 

 Then why not test the ])lows thoroughly? 

 J..et ns know what resistance they offer, and 

 how much power it takes to move each and 

 every one of them a given depth? Let us 

 Iviiow how they will work in the various soils? 

 Most of farmei-s do not keep a quantity of 

 plows on hand which are adapted to (.ne kind of 

 work only, but they want .t plow as you do a 

 man, that can do any kind of labor upon a 

 f.nn .xkilli'nllv. "' VWIW^ MILLS. 



Poultry— U(;lto!i lireys. 



Editor Fiinitrr: — I am no chicken fan- 

 ci'T, other than to net a iiood breed for the 

 pva-[>osc of keeping my family with eggs. I 

 iiave tried 8han<2:hais, Cochin Chinas, Bra- 

 ma.>«. INdands, Half Spanish, and the common 

 barn yard fowls. 1 found that the throe 

 llist layed many eggs, but it cost a good deal 

 to keep them. And if we, by chance, raised 

 a cldeken, they did not cat as well as the 

 cliiLkens of the common breeds. There waB 

 mere meat, and a good deal more bone, to be 

 sure, but they were not as delicate in flesh as 



our old stock. The Poland hens would lay, 

 and woxdd set, and some of them would leave 

 their eggs before they were hatched, and 

 sometimes very soon after they were hatched 

 — which \,'as death on the young broods. 

 Tlie Half Spanish were good for little, either 

 to lay, to set, or for the table. The common 

 barn yard fowl is no stranger. They will an- 

 swer very well as layers and for the table, if 

 well provided for. This breed has lost caste 

 on account of the in and in breeding system 

 of our farmers. If they would change 

 he rooster occasionally, it would great- 

 ly improve their stocks of fowls. Last 

 fall 1 obtained a lot of Bolton Greys. They 

 commenced -to lay early and have continued 

 to lay up to this time, 5th month, 11th day, 

 — without any disposition to set. I think 

 for city purposes, where eggs are wanted, 

 the}' are a capital fowl. They are small, are 

 very industrious in providing themselves 

 with food, and it costs but little to keep them. 

 They are a beautiful fowl. 



J. SIMONS. 



-«•»- 



Plant Oil! 



Mr. Editor: — Some suppose that most 

 seeds should be planted early to get good 

 crops. This is a mistake as a general fact. 

 Peas, onions, and some other vegetables should 

 be planted early. The great object is to 

 plant or sow at the time, when the plant will 

 start vigorously and will be met with no cold 

 chilly weather to cheek its growth. These 

 truths are not too muoh thought of. We are 

 anxious, after a dreary winter, to got our 

 seeds into the ground; and the result often 

 is, that we fail from this premature labor. 

 We have been trying to get early beans, 

 — they will not come sooner than those planted 

 three wt-eks later, and will not produce half 

 as well. So of many other vegetables. We 

 have known ei>rn, some of the e,arlier varie- 

 ties, planted in August, make good roasting 

 years. If planted early in the spring, it 

 would not have reached the same state of 

 rtiaturity in double the time. Hence it ollen 

 is that field corn planted in the middle of June 

 makes the best corn. 



Sugar cane if planted early in the spring, 

 comes up weak, and does not take a healthy 

 growth for two months or more; when if 

 planted in June it will go ahead with aston- 



ishing rapidity. 



A. 11. 



-••»■ 



Mr 



Editor 



Tree Culture. 

 • — The time is fast corains: 



when i'armers who wish to plant groves on 

 their farms should be looking out for seed. 

 The soft maple seeds arc nearly ripe, and so 

 arc the ash. The sugar maple seeds come 

 later. An hour's labor in the timber will 

 secure you all you want. 



You have no idea how rapidly timber trees 

 will grow i'rom seeds. In tive years soft ma- 

 ples will make a handsome little tree, and the 

 ash will grow about a.- fast as the locust. 



We can form no judgment of the growth of 

 fine flourishing forest trees, planted and start- 

 ed in nurseries, by stunted trees, their roots 

 and tops cut off, which are often brought 

 from the woods and planted about our yards 

 and streets. To make a fine, healthy, rapid 

 growing tree, it should have a fair start from 

 the seed. ACER. 



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