233 



THE ILLINOIS F^RIVIER* 



®hc gUiuoiss Javmct 



8PRINGFIGL,I>. MARCH 1. 1859. 



KHHATA. — In liiti 1 iHt runner is iiiiiuy t.vpogiBpliic^l erroM. 

 Yon iniike dio eaj that I |nit iu le-'S than one tuliU epoonfiil 

 of milk of lime before tho frost, and moie tbnn one after thn 

 frost. Tho worJa " to the giilloii," U left ont. Again — yon 

 make me say, " I am nn ailmlt in sugar makini,.-," whereas I 

 Bnid "lam no< an adept," Ac, Yob nmhe mo say that my 

 boilers were uinde of J4 inch plnnk, whereas I said IJj inch 

 p!3nk. Thi'se niistukeg are of some iinpoi tanci- and ahould 

 be corrected. II. KIMBALL. 



«•»- 



State Agricultural Society. 



The Executive Committee of this So- 

 ciety met in this city on the 22(1 ult., and 

 continued in sessiom three days. They 

 fixed upon Freeport, for the next State 

 Fair; and decided to oflfer premiums for a 

 Steam engine, which could be used ad- 

 vantageously for plowing, and all other 

 work of the farm. The premium is di- 

 vided into first and second — three thous- 

 and dollars for the first, and two thous- 

 and for the second. 



The premium list will be ready for the 

 press in a few days. The premiums of- 

 fered this year amount to fifteen thousand 

 dollars. Every effort will be made to 

 make the fair at Freeport a great suc- 

 cess. The fixtures will occupy thirty 

 acres of ground, and are designed to be 

 made sufficiently extensively to cover all 

 stock and all articles which may be ex- 

 hibited. 



mO' 



Morrill's Land Bill. 

 / This bill finally passed both Houses of 

 ' Congress, but has been vetoed by the 

 President. We deeply regret to an- 

 nounce this fact. "VVe looked to the re- 

 sults which would be accomplished by 

 that bill, if framed into a law, with the 

 highest satisfaction. Every State would 

 have had a Farmer's College. Farmers 

 sons would enjoy the benefits of an edu- 

 cational institution, where they could 

 learn just what would qualify them for 

 their duties in life. The farmers and 

 other industrial classes of the United 

 States will be grievously disappointed at 

 this act of the President. Shall they 

 yield their claims to a portion of the pub- 

 lic lands on account of this defeat? 



The Tea Plant.— The Patent Office 

 is experimenting on the cultivation of the 

 tea plant. Was not that pretty effectu- 

 ally done by Julius Smith in South Caro- 

 lina some years ago ? Mr. Smith found 

 that the plants grew well, but that labor 

 was too high to make the cultivation prof- 

 itable. 



"NanscDiond Sweet Potatoes" 

 We ask the attention of the lovers of 

 this most excellent vegetable, to the ad- 

 vertisement of Messrs. Ten Brook and 

 Allen, under this head, in this paper. 

 Undoubtedly the Early Nansemond Sweet 

 Potaloe is the best variety which can bo 

 had for the north. It comes early, pro- 

 duces well, is fair, yellow, very sweet 

 and hardy. Those who have tried the 

 yellow Nansemond here, will not give it 

 up for any other. When sweet potatoes 

 like these, grown in the north, and of 

 excellent quality can be had, what miser- 

 able policy to import, and plant sweet 

 potatoes that come from New Orleans or 

 points down the Mississippi? This was 

 done last year, by farmers in this sec- 

 tion to some extent, and an article was 

 produced by their trial which bore no 

 comparison in value to the Early Nan- 

 semond. 



The gentleman interested in the sale 



of the Nansemond Sweet Potatoes, will 

 promptly respond to all orders. 



4«> 



Currency for Taxes. 

 A bill to authorize the collectors of 

 this State to take the paper of our State 

 banks for taxes has been introduced into 

 the House. We apprehend that it will 

 be rejected ; and yet we do not see any 

 sufficient reason that it should be. Our 

 State has authorized the establishment of 

 banks. They are furnishing the people 

 with means to do business. The paper 

 is readily taken every where, except in 

 the payment of taxes. It appears to be 

 good enough for the people, but not good 

 enough for the tax collector. This ap- 

 pears to us to be as wrong, as it certainly 

 is inconvenient to the people. The 

 State should be required to take its own 

 paper, and if anybody is to lose on the 

 transaction, it should be the party that 

 authorizes the issue of the paper. The 

 theory of our government is, that it is 

 established for the benefit of the people. 

 We are quite willing that the theory 

 should be carried out in regard to the 

 money to be paid for taxes. 



-—- 



E^r° There is a periodical publi.shed 

 in" Cincinnati, we think, which is well 

 designed for the patronage of dentists. 

 It is a good work, as wo should judge. 

 One article seems to show that the offers 

 of premiums by agricultural and other 

 societies for articles of dentistry, is en- 

 tirely useless, so far as improvement in 



these articles is concerned. A good me- 

 chanic can make a good exhibition, for 

 instance, of a set of teeth, which would 

 be of no value if put to use. Those who 

 make these exhibitions ■will be found to 

 be pedants — pretenders, who seek in this 

 unprofessional way to secure business. 

 The argument seems to be entirely con- 

 clusive. 



-•0»- 



TiMBER Planting. — The best season 

 of the year for planting acorns of every 

 kind of oak, and also chesnuts, walnuts, 

 hickory nuts, &c., is immediately after 

 they fall from the trees. When kept dry 

 long, they lose their vegetating principle. 

 But by sowing them at their proper sea- 

 son there is danger of their being de- 

 stroyed by mice, squirrels and moles ; 

 and if persons prefer the spring season 

 for planting, they can be preserved in 



boxes of damp sand till early spring. As 

 most of the plants have tap roots, they 

 had better be planted where you design 

 to have them stand. Some, however, 

 may prefer to have them grow two years 

 in their gardens, and afterwar.i plant 

 them out. Experienced gardeners say 

 that the tap roots can easily be put off 

 with a sharp spade, running under the 

 tree, Avhich will cause the tree to throw 

 out lateral roots. The nut-bearing trees 

 produce much better when subjected to 

 this treatment. 



-f^ 



Bloomington NaRSERY. — We have 

 received F. K. Phoenix's catalogue for 

 this nursery. It contains a list of a 

 great variety of fruit and ornamental 

 trees, shrubbery, green house plants, 

 &c. &c., and very many valuable remarks 

 on the cultivation of orchards, shrubs 

 and plants. The nurseries of this State 

 are abundantly able to supply all the 

 demands which can be made upon them. 

 We venture to say that if cultivators will 

 carry out the suggestions of Mr. Phoenix 

 in the cultivation of their orchards, gar- 

 dens and lawns, they will be well re- 

 warded for all their outlays. 



"B@:= The Legislature passed a resolu- 

 tion at the heel of the session, authoriz- 

 ing the printing of 3,000 copies of the 

 Transactions of the State Agricultural 



Society for 1857 and 1858. 



••► 



Ho-xEY Blade Grass. — We still see 

 advertisements in the papers, designed to 

 dupe our farmers with this bald impos- 

 ture. The Honey Blade Grass is our 

 Hungarian Millet. 



