138 



THE ILLIISroiS F^VUMER. 



of the large wool growers of this couu- 



We would like to have him furnish a 

 fair calculation of the cost, expense of 

 keeping, feeding, &c., of a flock of 1,000 

 sheep in Central Illinotp, the amount o^ 

 t}ie wool they would jield, and the worth 

 of it in market. It would be a fair thing 

 to estimate the cost of keeping, &c.. for 

 the last year. Last year our crops were 

 not good — and this year wool is low. 



What we want is, statements that will 

 show whether wheat raisers can turn 

 their attention profitably to the growing 

 of wool. 



Mr. M'Connell in furnishing the state- 

 ment we ask. will gratify many of his 

 friends and do a great service to tlie far- 

 mers of the State. 



—•>- 



About the Fact! 

 Last year a farmer in this county pre- 

 pared his ground well for wheat and put 

 the seed in with great care. After the 

 work was done, the field regulnrly plow- 

 ed, well harrowed, no trash to be seeu on 

 the surface, — looked well, we mifjht well 

 say bea\itiful. A neighbor had a field 

 ricfht alon2; side. Both fields had been 

 broken ujj one year. "Now," said the 

 neighbor, "You are too particular. J 

 will get as f^ood a crop Jis you, and will 

 put the seed in at lialf the expense." 

 '•We'll see," said the first. Both fields 

 were cut at the same time and thresjied 

 by the same muchine. The first field 

 yielded ten bushels of wheat more to tlie 

 acre than tlian the other; — a fact whicli 

 pioves the benefit of tliorougli cidtlva- 

 tion. 



Hed'-dng— A New Idea. 

 II- J. Chase, Esq., of Peoria cuunt}. 

 has noAV upon Ids farms twenty-two mil :.> 

 of Osage Orange hedge. Tic was amon<j: 

 tlie first who planted 0>agc Orange 

 hedges in the State. lie tried almost 

 every plan proposed for making quick 

 and good hedges; and he has now couk' 

 to the conclusion and practices on this 

 system : He plants the hedge plan is 

 near together and lets them grovr up 

 without clipping. If they get too high, 

 he cuts oft' the tops with an axe. ll- 

 has hedges cultivated in this manner 

 and they are perfectly impassable \l<>r 

 man or beast. He will clip no uio.o 

 hedges. 



rnrra oi Lewis II. Thomas. 

 This farm is in Macoupin county, six 

 and a half miles west of Yirden. It 

 has been entered for competition and pre- 

 mium with the State Agricultural Socie- 

 ty as a grazing farm. We had the 

 pleasure of examining it a few days 



ago. 



The tract consists of a section and a 

 half of land. We think it was entered 

 abou!- "50 or '51. It w»s then in the 

 middle of a large prairie, where there 

 was good water, a branch leading into 

 one of the afiluents of the Sangamon 

 passing through it. The old road from 

 Sprlngfi'?ld to Carlinvillf^ passed over 

 the tract. Mr. Thomns had the lands 

 survrycl out in "5:^, an;l foi'mcd liis plans 

 for the future improvements. The land 

 is divided into several lots — some of 

 them containing 160, and others 80 

 acres. He went to work in the fall of 

 '5'2, and broke np the land an ample 

 width for plantinghedge round the whole 

 tract and for keeping the fine from it — 

 then in the same iranner for his cross 

 hedges — and in the spring of "53 com- 

 menced planting his hedges. 



The land Avas away from the rango of 

 cattle. In fact his hedi^es received no 

 injury but from passing hunters or d(^cr. 



He attended to his licdgcs for two or 

 tliree yeai's without much attempt to 

 cultivate his farm — though he found 

 time to build a Iiouse near the centre of 

 the tract, and a large barn, and to plant 

 seed for forming a grove of peach trees, 

 a locu.^t o-vove, and a larjxe trrove of 15 

 acre-, fill'-il witli oak, wahiut, hirikorv, 

 svcaniore, chestnut, ash. soft maples and 

 niany ^ihcr kieds of ou." forest tree^'. 

 This lasc laentloncd t"^ vo j- nuw in a 

 u:i0st })rrmi!^ing ..•late of growth. Sojuo 

 of the tr^>e-; are fifteen and tweniy-fivc 



-some less, but all are fiuurisli- 



\\\ iiei'Mit- 



11. g. ;.'!*;.> V, n-, indeed, lae fir;-f grove 

 of the kind that we ever saw, and it Avill 

 be s{)okin of to the p''ai.~e of Lewis IT. 

 Tlioma.s in long, long years to come. 



But we have lost sight of ilie beauti- 

 ful hedges tliat surround and cios.s this 

 farm. The outride hedges are all bull- 

 proof, ao arc most of the inside hedges. — 

 some of the latter being ^iit aoo'it three 

 years old. 



The groves and hedges about Mr. 

 Thomas' farm are a most beautiful crea- 

 tion — tlic work of a young man, scarcely 



now thiity years old. They thow what 

 can be done by well directed and intel- 

 ligent industry. The hedge3 on his 

 farm, in one string, would make a line 

 of eleven miles, and he does not believe 

 that they have or will cost him 25 cents 

 a rod. 



No man can examine the hedges of 

 Mr. Thomas without being profoundly 

 impressed with the belief that Osage 

 Orange hedges are to be the fences of 

 Illinois. 



Mr. Thomas has now fences for the 

 present, and probably for half the next 

 century, and how much longer, who can 

 tell? 



-««^ 



KS^'We are told of a fnrmer in this 

 county who put into a crib last fall 3,000 

 bushels of corn. The crib was made of 

 rails and not covered. The corn was 

 exposed to all the vicissitudes of weather, 

 rains, sleets, snows, and the deluges of 

 water in May and June — of course the 

 corn was not the best — being faulty, as 

 most corn of the last season was — but 

 the crib j^radunlly settled, and it W^as 

 found on examination that the vrholc lot 

 of corn was rotten, with the exception 

 of about a hundred bushels. We sup- 

 pose the owner of the corn retlects on 

 Providence for the loss of his Ia«t year's 

 crop. 



SmGULAR Palliative for Toothache. 

 — A little horseradish scraped, and laid 

 on the wrist or the side aifectcd, wiJl, in 

 many cases, give .speedy relief. K bet- 

 ter way is to place a little scraped horse- 

 radish in tlie mouth, or the tooth, or 

 just ..round the gum. It relieves rhdJ- 

 iuatlc pains in the g'lm and face also. 

 The .aouth may aflerwirds bj rinsed 

 with a little oamplxorated water, luke- 

 warm. 



Beceii't For 3!AKix.^. Ige-Ckeam.— 

 Two quarts goo<l rich milk, four fresh 

 eggs; three-(>narters pound of white 

 sugar; six teaspoons of Bermuda arrow 

 root. Hub the arrow-root smooth in a 

 cold milk; beat the cggb and sugar to- 

 gether; bring the milk to the boilinr' 

 point; then stir in the arrow ro<^t: remove 

 it then from the f.re and immediately 

 add the egg* and stgar, stin-ng briskly 

 to keep the eggs from cooking, then 

 set aside to cool. If iipvored with cx- 

 iracts. let it be done JAHthcJvrt pucting 

 it in the freezer. If tiic vanilla bean is 

 used, it must be boiled in tlie milk. 



t 



