THE illi:n^ois F^HiyiER. 



100 



heat in 2 minutes and 31 seconds ; 

 second heat, 2 minutes and 33 seconds ; 

 heing the best time then on record. He 

 ■was entered in a match against Confi- 

 dence, to cotoe off December 17th, 1836 

 for $4,000, against |2, 000— $500 for- 

 feit. He received forfeit. 



An association is now forming in this 

 city, to act in concert -with our Veterin- 

 ary Association, to create a fund for 

 the sole purpose of collecting together 

 the skeletons of all celebrated animals 

 as they may die — horses, cattle, sheep, 

 hogs, &c., &c., Each member is requir- 

 ed to pay a fee of $5 and S3, annually, 

 thereafter. Should any of our friends 

 feel disposed to encourage the move- 

 ment, they can get further information 

 by addressing a line to me. — R. Jen- 

 nings, V. S. Philadelphia, Pa., Decem- 

 ber 6th, 1858. 



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Sugar Grower's Convention in Winnebago 

 County. 



This "was held in Rockford on the 8th 

 instant. We are indebted to the Rock- 

 ford Register for the following report of 

 its its proceedings : 



The meeting assembled on Wednes- 

 day afternoon, 8th inst. H. P. Sloan 

 ■was chosen President. D. T. Talbot, 

 Superintendent of the County Poor 

 Farm exhibited one specimen of syrup; 

 Joseph Miller, Rockford, two specimens 

 of syrup — one the draining from granu- 

 lated sugar, one from juice yielding one 

 gallon to four of juice; Peter Simpson, 

 Rockford, three specimens syrup — one 

 •which was in proportion of 7 to 1, two 

 ■which were in the proportion of 9 to 1; 

 W. P. Sloan, Winnebago, one specimen 

 syrup, which was in proportion of 6 to 

 1; Geo. C. Cleveland, Cherry Valley, 

 one specimen syrup — proportion 7 to 1, 

 Micajah Collins, Winnebago, one speci- 

 men — proportion 4 to 1; Sylvester 

 Scott, Guilford, one specimen — propor- 

 tion 9 to 1; Israel Gibbons, Winnebago, 

 one specimen — no statement. 



The President made a statement in 

 brief of his experience, as follows : 

 Planted one acre of moist prairie land; 

 planted early, after planting potatoes; 

 in rows in hills, 3 to 4 in a hill; cut 

 about the 5th of October; expressed the 

 juice with one of Talcot, Emerson & 

 Co.'s iron mills; considerable cane sour- 

 ed and was lost. That which was cut 

 before a frost soured; boiled the syrup 

 in a 40 gallon Russia iron pan, 8 inches 

 deep, 2 feet wide and 3 feet 4 inches 

 long; is of the opinion that iron colors 



the syrup; used lime water for cleansing, 

 one-half pint to thirty gallons, which 

 ^ave the syrup a bitter taste; then tried 

 saleratus, one table-spoonful to 23 gal- 

 lons; thinks the saleratus makes the 

 syrup clearer and more palatable; if the 

 syrup is well skimmed and straiaed 



through cloth the alkali is unnecessary; 

 should boil 7 to 9 gallons of juice down 

 to 1 to make it keep. Made no at- 

 tempt to make sugar. All suckers 

 should be removed from the stalks to 

 make them mature. Yield of juice per 

 acre about 1,800 gallons. Can groAv 

 about ten pounds to the hill; a good 

 stock should weigh 2 pounds; or 10 or 

 15 tons of clean stalks to the acre, 

 which would yield 200 gallons of syrup; 

 thought the cane could be matured in 

 this climate, and by selecting the best 

 stalks good sugar can be made. It 

 costs no more to raise it than corn, and 

 the syrup at 25 cents per gallon, yields 

 as much profit as corn at 40 cents per 

 bushel. The leaves and seed for forage 

 will pay all expenses of raising the cane, 

 and horses like the grain better than 

 other grain. The yield- of seed \vas 

 about 40 bushels to the acre. He 

 thought cane planted on good sandy 

 loam ripened earlier than when on heavy 

 soil, and produced sweeter cane; thought 

 if outer skin of the cane were removed 

 the syrup would be much improved; had 

 made the experiment and found it so. 



Joseph Miller stated that he raised 

 two lots of cane; one-half on river bot- 

 tom land, one-fourth acre on light, 

 sandy soil. The cane on the latter was 

 smaller, yet of equal length ■vsdth the 

 other. This was fully ripe about the 

 middle of September, and was crushed 

 the 26th of the same month, yielding 1 

 gallon of syrup to 4 gallons of juice. 

 The cane on bottom lands yielded 1 gal- 

 lon of syrup to 10 gallons of juice — the 

 syrup being of equal quality. From 

 this syrup sugar was made by taking 8 

 gallons of juice and boiling it down to 1 

 gallon. This being set aside in crockery 

 vessels, at the expiration of three weeks 

 was drained and produced 2 1-2 pounds 

 of fair, well grained sugar to each gal- 

 lon of syrup. The juice was clarified 

 with milk and eggs. 



George C. Cleveland stated that he 

 planted in drills 6 inches apart, and in 

 rows 4 feet apart; occupied 13 rods of 

 good prairie soil; cultivated once and 

 hoed once. Planted May 20th, express- 

 ed juice October 1, with wooden rollers; 

 run them through once; did not get two- 

 thirds of the juice; boiled the juice in an 

 iron kettle, and while boiling added two 

 spoonfulls of lime water to each pail full 

 of juice; would recommend to leave out 

 the lime; boiled the juice to a thin syrup, 

 and put in a little saleratus and milk; 

 kept the syrup well skimmed, but is of 

 the opinion that filtering would be bet- 

 ter than skimming. Produced 1 gallon 

 of syrup to 6 1-2 gallons of juice. Had 

 ten gallons of good thick syrup from the 

 thirteen rods. 



S. Scott stated that he planted 12 

 rods of ground on the 20th of May, in 

 drills 8 inches apart, on clay loam; soil 



very thin — too poor to raise good corn; 

 plowed deep, and cultivated same as 

 corn, harvested October 5th; had 157 

 gallons of juice; yielding 17 1-2 gallons 

 of heavy clear syrup; expressed the 

 juice with -wooden rollers by hand; did 

 not get two-thirds of the juice from the 

 stalks; boiled the juice in a copper kettle 

 on a stove; used nothing to clarify; 

 skimmed and strained through woolen 

 cloths, and boiled to proper consist- 

 ency. 



Other speeches and statements were 

 made, showing that sugar cane must be- 

 come one of the most, if not the most, 



important staple crop of Illinois. 



*•• — ' ~" " 



Light iu Stables. 



Stables should be so constructed, hy the 

 insertion of windows in various parts of the 

 building, that they should be "b'ljht as tJ"^." 

 A ^'dark" stable is only a suitable black 

 hole, — prison house for such a vicious speci- 

 men of the equine race as the notorious 

 "■Cruiser-" it is also the very wor.'^t location 

 for any kind of animal. Sir A. Njlie (who 

 was long at the head of the medical staff in 

 the Russian army) states that eases of dis- 

 ease on the dark side of an extensive barrack 

 at St. Petersburg, have been unifbrnily, for 

 many years, in the proportions of three to 

 one, to those on the side exposed to a strong 

 and uniform light. Humboldt has remarked 

 that, among bipeds, the residents of South 

 America who wear very litt e clothing — thus 

 allowing the cutaneous, as well as the orbital 

 surfaces, to receive a free ray of light — en- 

 joyed immunity from various diseases which 

 prevailed extensively among the inhabitants 

 of dark rooms and underground locations, 

 and so excellent an authority as Liunaus 

 contends that the constant exjiosure to solar 

 light, is one of the causes which render a 

 summer journey through high northern lati- 

 tudes so peculiarly healthful and invigorating. 

 Dr. Edwards has also remarked that persons 

 who live in caves or cellars, or in very dark 

 or narrow streets, are apt to produce deform- 

 ed children; and the men who work in mines 

 are liable to disease and deformity. 



Light, therefore, is a condition of vital ac- 

 tivity, and in view only of preserving the 

 sight of a horse, it is absolutely necessary 

 that while he be the habitat of the stable, 

 his optics shall have free access to the sun's 

 rays. ; 



If a horse was in the same condition as a 

 polype, with no organ of vision, who shuns 

 light, a dark stable might prove to be his 

 earthly paradise, but as the horse has qyectal 

 organs of vision, evidently susceptible to the 

 influence of light, and the integrity of his 

 organism, or a part of the same depending 

 entirely on the admission of lipht, it is abso- 

 lutely necessary that stables should be con- 

 structed accordingly.— ^i??K'rica?i Veterinary 



Journal. 



■I ! 



-••»- 



Sage. — The broad leaved sage is very 

 productive and can only be propagated 

 by the root. Though hardy, like red 

 sage, it is greatly benefitted by a slight 

 protection. 



