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■*¥?e»5?f. 



THE ILLIlsrOIS FA^RMER. 



137 



tionerj, bread, cake, pickles — and par- | 

 ticularly the -work of the "fairy fingers" | 

 of their sex, quilts, counterpanes, em- \ 

 broidery, every variety of needle work, | 

 jeans, flannels, linseys, blankets — a j 

 thousand things which we have not time j 

 to mention, but which all will admire; — 

 their taste will be improved, their ambi- 

 tion excited — and they will know whnt 

 can be done by woman when surrounded 

 by her famiiy, to add comforts to her 

 home aud to carry out an innace taste 

 which has only to be taught and stimu- 

 lated to be greatly improved. 



But these remarks need not be extend- 

 ed. We want every one to go to the fair 

 who can . These are the great gala days 

 of the farmers aud mechanics of Illinois. 

 Illinois spreads out before the world the 

 evidences of the industry, the genius aud 

 tactc of her people, — the. results of the 

 labors of her farmers and the productions 

 of her soil. Where can our fnrmersfijid 

 a more appropriate theatre for their pre- 

 sence? It is their own exhibition. It 

 will be an exhibition to tlieir glory or 

 shame. We are quite sure it will redound 

 to their honor. 



Ccntralia will offer conifortable quar- 

 ters for all Avho niay come. She has 

 made great preparations to greet the 

 people at the Centralia Fair. Come m 

 car loads, in vagon load'-, buggy loads, 

 horseback, or on foot. Come all, come 

 aud be Avclcome ! Come ! Come ! 



The Sugar t'ane Crop. 



The editor of this paper last spring made 

 ah ciibrt to induce our farmers to enter into 

 tiic oultivatiou of a cr'>p of e agar cane, with 

 the view of-ecuring the establishment In this 

 cit}" of -i sugar m'll .and refinery. The feel- 

 ing was decid^^dl}' in favov of the mu&..sure 

 •,virli ir.anr of our farmers, but the deludes of 

 rain fur some six weeks of the usual planting 

 time, (■perattd much against carrying out the 

 enterprise. It is supposed, however, that 

 some 200 acres of land were planted with cane 

 in this vicinity. Some of that planted, failed 

 from wot weather and other causes; but, we 

 have rea&on to believe that there Avill be a 

 large crop where the ''caae stood" v/ell; and 

 that there are other patches about the county, 

 of which we have no record, sufficient to make 

 up ail that is necessary to keep the mill at 

 wi'rk during the sugar making season. Some 

 ofthecaneat this time must be perfectly 



mature and ready for the mill A portion will 



be BUich later, but if frosts keep olf, we have 

 reason to believe that most of the crop will 

 mature. 



The experience ofcane growers this season 



has proved the following facts: — that cane 

 should planted on dry or thoroughly drained 

 land; that the seed should be tried before it 

 is planted; that the first plowing should be 

 done early and with great care, and the hoe can 

 be u.sed advantageously once in dressing the 

 cane; that it can be planted as early as corn, 

 and if so planted, will be ripe before corn, not 

 requiring as much timo to make the crop as 

 corn, and that the climate and soil of llliuois 

 are perfectly and happily adapted to the grow- 

 ing of this cane. 



We expect that wheu this number of the 

 f ARMEtt is issued Mr. Dopow will be here 

 with his mill. The location is at the juuetion 

 of the two railroad.s, [lies' mill] south of this 

 city. He vail want the early matured cane 

 at once to go work upon. Persons, whose 

 cane is matured, wdl obtain every informa- 

 tion necessary, of Mr. Dcpew, or of the editor 

 of the Farmer, at his office, Journal Uuild- 

 ina's. 



Mr. Depew will Co his dut}' in working up 

 the cane, and it is necessary that he should be 

 constantly supplied with the article. A great 

 and thorough demonstration of the value of 

 the sugar cane is now to be mode. 



IL may be as well for the editor of this paper 

 to state, that he has no pecuniary interest in 

 the establishment of the sugar mill iu ihis 

 city. Ilia efforts are solely to benefit the 

 farmers of Illinois, and with them the masses 



of our peuplo 



.^ . _ - 



S^^'W'd plums can b*. thus saved for j 

 sauces : Pick them over, saving tiie perfect 

 one.<; put them into boiling water and let 

 them remain over the fire a ruinute, till they 

 begiu to crack open. Put them ina jar,ke<i- 

 or barrel, with sufficient water to cover them, 

 and place a sheet of paper of the proper size 

 over the truit to keep it from the air. You 

 can take them when you please, and stew 

 them for sauce, adding a little sugar. Plums 

 thus treated will keep till spring. 



J. P. Bliss, of Chinchville, N. Y., 



has used the following prescription for the 

 cure of horses attacked by hots with perfect 

 success : Take a table-spoonful, a little heap- 

 ed, of alum, and the same c^uautity of cap- 

 peras, pulverize them fine aud put them into 

 a pint of vin^^gar. Pour the mLxture down 

 the horse's throat. li, will generally allbrd 

 relief in five or ten minutes. 



■••^ 



B^^Bidbs, such as tulips, hyacinths, nar- 

 cissus, and the like, should be planted nexj 

 mouth. They make beautiful spring flowers, 

 that can scarcely be dispensed with. A hun- 

 dred tulips can now be had for eight cents 

 each, and a hundred would make a gorgeous 

 bed of flower's. Hyacinths are higher, and 

 narcissus can be had at less price. 



The Great Even of the Age. 



Our readers are aware of the great en- 

 terprise, attempted last y€ar but which 

 fa'led, of connecting the Eastern and 

 Western continents by telegraphic wire. 

 In the last and previous month, the 

 attempt was repeated and success was 

 complete. The wire which lies on the 

 bottom of the deep abyss of the ocean, 

 is some 2,000 miles long. The electric 

 current passes through it perfectly, and 

 messages now pass as quick as thought 

 from o"ie continent to the other. Won- 

 derful achievement I AH the g: ea*" 

 events transpiring in Europe, and the 

 lesser but not less important changes in 

 state of the markets, which are immedi- 

 ately felt throughout our whole country 

 — affecting the interests of our farmers 

 and commercial men — can be read, if 

 lised be, by our hearth- stones in Illinois, 

 on the same d;iy that they are in 

 Europe 1 



Astounding r^snlts of the genius and 

 enterprise of our covintrymen ! An awe 

 comes oyer us while we contemplate these 

 truths. What will be the next gieat 

 achievement of the human mind? Shall 

 we see serial cars passing to and fro, 

 over our heads, guided by human will? 

 Who dare say that this will not be wit- 

 nessed by men now living? 



Wool Growing. 



We should not be at all suprised that 

 many of our formers were looking about 

 them with the desire of engaging in some 

 more profitable description of agricul- 

 ture than wheat raising. A good many 

 must be becoming tired of raising wheat 

 as a staple cropj. In seeking for some 

 more profitable business to engage in, 

 perhaps they will be inclined to look 

 favorably on sheep husbandry. Sure 

 we are, that under all the vicissitudes 

 which have attended crops of late years, 

 wool growers have been steadily going 

 ahead, and even at this time when bar- 

 ley, wheat and other articles of produce 

 are at low prices, wool is grown and sold 

 at a fair profit. 



We should like a practical article on 

 this subject from some one of our expe- 

 rienced wool growers, and we do not 

 know an individual more compe- 

 tent to the task of giving one. than An- 

 drew B. M'CONNELL, one of the Vice 

 Presidents of the State Agricultural So- 

 ciety, who has for many years been one 



