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146 



TME ILLIjSTOIS F-A.RMEII. 



the best pea in market. The peas oflF in 

 time for celery, late sweet corn or cabbage. 



Corn is planted as a first crop, and is off 

 in time for the red strap leaf turnip, or for 

 spinach. 



Spinach does not survive the winter, so 

 vrell hero as it would in a less variable climate. 



The repeated freezings and thawings of 

 ■winter go hard with it, and some of it is kill- 

 ed. After this crop is off, the ground is oc- 

 cupied by tomatoes, which is a large and im- 

 portant product iu this garden. It is sur- 

 prising to see, how widely this tropical plant 

 has become distributed, and how extensively 

 it is cultivated. Few like it at first, and yet 

 almost every one becomes fond of them on 

 further acquaintance. The plants are started 

 in hot-bods, earl}- iu March. They are trans- 

 planted into hot-beds twice, and into the 

 ground a third time early in June. The re- 

 peated transplanting induces early fruitful- 

 ness, and thefirst pickings arc early in August. 

 lieans arc also planted after spinach. This 

 comes off so early, that almost any crop may 

 follow it. 



JSquashes or cucumbers follow lettuce. 

 Quassia chips, steeped in hot water and 

 sprinkled xipou the vines, are found to be ef- 

 ficient protection again;;t iT'g.s. 



Onions arc exteuoiveiy cuhivated, both the 

 rare ripes, from pips, and those from seed. 

 The potato onion is raised, and the large 

 white Portugal onion. Carrots form a good 

 succession crop to the onions. They are 

 sowed between the rows about the middle of 

 June. 



The Kolil-rabi or cabbage turnip is grown 

 more largely every year, and is working its 

 way into favor. This worked off in July, in 

 time for a crop of sweet corn. 



Beets are followed by celery, and peppers 

 are transplanted among the heads of lettuce 

 a week or two ULlbre they go to market. 



The great secret of success in market gar- 

 dening lies in this succession of crops. 

 Heavy manuring, thorough cultivation, and 

 a good market are of course important ad- 

 juncts, but alio! these will not give maximum 

 results without the gardener's skill, iu keep- 

 ing -the ground fully occupied. 



— „^, 



Agriculture and Agriculturist. 



The following essay was written by a stu- 

 dent at M'Kcudrec College. It is made up 

 of generalities; but the writer promises well : 



The litter of the soil, in an especial man- 

 ner, has the great volume of nature always 

 spread open before him, and always present- 

 ing lessons of truth to the inquiring mind. 

 Agriculture was the first business of man, or 

 at ieust horticulture on a largo scale. If we 

 lot our thoughts ascend the hill of time, and 

 rest iu the enticing shades of the garden ot 

 Eden, there we perceive that the occupation 

 of our first parents wjis to dress the garden 

 and cultivate it. How beautiful, how pleas- 

 ing the scene, when Adam, the first inhabi- 

 tant of earth, was placed in the garden, sur- 

 rounded with all' the luxuries which earth 

 cauld afford to satisly his animal nature, and 

 was styled the mighty lord of creation. And 

 if still anything was wanting to complete his 

 happiness, which the singing birds and deli- 

 cious fruits could not sausly, his great bene- 

 factor soon sujjplied the wants of his nature 

 with a helpmate to aid him in keeping it; 



and it was the enticing words of the father of 

 lies that turned out the two, and thus drove 

 them to narrower and meaner cares. 



If we trace down the geneology of thi.s 

 science, we find that Able was the first hus- 

 bandman, and that husbandry has occupied 

 a very elevated position among the higher 

 ranks of men. The greatest inen that have 

 ever lived have been some of farmers. In 

 ancient Greece and Kome it was the theme of 

 their popular poets. We read of Cicero, at 

 his 1 usculan villa, of Cato at his farm, and 

 Cincinnatus left his plow to lead the armies 

 of the great republic to have his home, wliile 

 t\e great natural!st,Pliny, provided himself by 

 his vineyards. 



In England too, the great men and nobles 

 shrink back from almost all connection with 

 trade and commerce, while they hold the 

 cultivation of the soil iu high renown. Eut 

 we need not go to classic (j recce and Home, 

 nor to England, to find lovers and patronizers 

 of this science. ^\ e have had, and have at 

 present, men whose names arc enrolled among 

 the noble aud mighty of the earth, who have 

 been cultivators of the soil. George Wash- 

 ington, — a name we ail love to speak — the 

 i'ouuder of our great republic, was a farmer. 

 When called, he canu; to the service of his 

 country; when he had triumphed over her 

 enemy, ho retired again to his farm. Chosen 

 tifst President, he again served the country 

 he had saved, then hidding his ofiicial breth- 

 ren farewell, iie returiKd to cultivate the soil. 

 Look if you please at Gen. Putmau, in whose 

 breast the torch oi freedom was lit while plow- 

 ini; in his field, he was informedof the battle 

 of Lexington, iie imnicdiately left his oxen 

 aud plow in the field, and hastened to the 

 help of his country. 3iauy more such in- 

 stances we miu'ht mention, but these will 

 suffice to show, that the greatest men iu an- 

 cient as well as modern times have received 

 their first lessons on the farm. 



Put tliere are many who argue in this man- 

 ner : if yoii intend to be nothing but a 

 iurmer, you need not desire any more educa- 

 tion thau to be able to reckon how much your 

 pork will amount to at six dollars a hundred, 

 or how the world will be at the end of six 

 thousand years. And if you understand the 

 orthograpny of your motucr tongue so as to 

 read tne market prices, you know full enough, 

 as much as you can, and not hurt yourself 

 Jiut is not tills cliurming reasoning, — sound 

 sense — that the clsss of men on whose shoul- 

 ders rests the sub-si^tencc of the whole world, 

 should be as ignorant as the wild beast oi the 

 luountaiii? ^\ hy duos the attorney, or man 

 of any other proicssiou, demand a good edu- 

 cation;' is it not because they can under- 

 stand their business belter, and pcrlorm what 

 their offices demauds.'' Put i uffirm, that if 

 any person Las a right to a complete educa- 

 tion, it is the fiiriner. in order lor him to 

 carry ou his trade to an advantage, he must 

 understand the nature of the soil, and the 

 means that are best calculated to enrich each 

 soil, Aud how can he understand these 

 phenomena of nature without some knowledge 

 of chemistry and natural philosophy. 



Put the age in which we now live, can be 

 styled none other than the age of improve- 

 ment, lifty years ago, the larmer was 

 obliged to .'scatter the grain with his hand, 

 cut It down with his siciile, thnish it with his 



horses or flail, and shell his corn with the edge 

 of his spade; he was compelled to perform the 

 drudgery which time and invention is now 

 performing with sleight of hand. Now, the 

 tarraer can sit down and sow his sead; he can 

 harvest his grain on horseback; can thrash it 

 with little or no trouble; his mowing is but a 

 table-talk, and his corn-sheller his music box. 

 In fine, our motto is "whatever man has done, 

 man may do," and a little more. As for real 

 substantial enjoyment, we believe that farm- 

 ing gives more of it, than any other profes- 

 sion. The farmer is his own master; he can 

 work when he pleases, do what he pleases, 

 and there is no one to ask him, — Why do 

 you do so? none to criticise him. While he 

 is sleeping his corn is growing; while he is 

 visiting, his wages are still going on. The 

 owner of the soil alone can say — 



'•I am monarch of all I snrTey — 

 My light there is n&no to dispute." 



The works of nature surround him on every 

 hand, and the pattering rain, the silent dew, 

 and the glorious sun, speak to him in charac- 

 ters of living light. He can look upon the 

 rainbow and read, that seed time and harvest 

 shall never fail, as long as sun and moon en- 

 dure. He looks upon the work of nature 

 around him, and feels that there is an Al- 

 mighty }>owcr of infinite wisdom, and bound- 

 less truth; and they are whispering to his 

 wcarv spirit, of faith, and hope, and a rest in 

 Heaven. J. W, CAVELL, 



McKendree College, Aug. 6, 1858. 



A Yankee Baclng Horses with an Arab. 



The editor of the Utica Herald dates his 

 last letter from the region of the Dead Sea. 

 A portion of his ride over the wilderness of 

 Judea is described thus : 



The ride was very lonely and tedious. 

 My Bedouin Sheik still seemed consumed 

 by fears of hostile Arabs, He reconnoitered 

 every mount, suspiciously examined every 

 ravine, and his restless eye was ever roaming 

 over the wide desert. After riding some- 

 thing over an hour, he told me the great dan- 

 ger was passed, and I could now consider my- 

 self as tairly out of the hands of the Philis- 

 tines. His manner changed completely. 

 The expression of care passed from his face; 

 he became by turns listless and jocular; de- 

 manded bucksheesh like an Arab clothed in 

 his right mind; toyed with his long spear; 

 and wound up by challenging me to a horse 

 race. 



Now, if I am not mistaken, your recollec- 

 tion of me will not be exactly that of a "gen- 

 tleman of the turf." I never owned a "fast 

 nag" in my life, and never appeared in the 

 list with "the fancy." I own no stock in the 

 "Oneida Course;" never acted as iudge at a 

 trotting match; and am not a regular subscri- 

 ber to the Sporting Times. And to confess 

 truth, I am one of the most cgregrious cow- 

 ards on horseback, alive. And yet, here I 

 was coolly called upon to dispute the course 

 with a wild Bedouin, who had spent half his 

 days in the saddle with a wild Arab horse ! 

 What could I do? I parlied; I equivocated; 

 I begged to be excused; I pleaded an attack 

 of rheumatism; said I was opposed to racing 

 on conscientious grounds, and resorted to the 

 most desperate subterfuges to worm myself 

 out of the scrape. But all was in vain. Mj 



