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250 



THE ILLINOIS F-A^HMER. 



A Lesson AVhich Uugbt not to be Forgotten. 



We hear from all around us of large 

 numbers of Cattle d^'ing and dead of star 

 vation. Not sufficient food was provided 

 for them last season. What would have 

 been the condition of man v of our farmers 

 had the fall, winter and spring seasons, 

 been of the usual severity ? It is a re- 

 corded fact that in some cases horses 

 have lived in blue grass all winter, sheep 

 were not required to be fed until 10th of 

 January, and, cattle have not required, 

 by any means, the usual quantity of 

 fee.d. 



Are we not to blame for the state of 

 things presented on some of our farms 

 and on our prairies ? Skins of cattle 

 hung on pens, and sheds, and skeletons 

 about on prairies, poisoning the atmos- 

 phere. 



When our great staple crop of corn 

 was known to have failed last summer, 

 there was time enough remaining of the 

 season to have made large crops of corn 

 fodder. Corn sown broadcast and light- 

 ly ploAved in and the land rolled, would 

 have yielded large crops of fedder, with 

 little cost, that would have saved the 

 lives oi thousands of head of stock. 



This practice of raising stock to starve 

 them to death, because we fail in mak- 

 ing a crop of corn, is as unnecessary as 

 it is brutal. 



Rochester Trees. — M. L. Dunlap, 

 of Champaign County, has a fine Nurse- 

 ry, some four miles South of Urbanna 

 and which shows beautifully on the West 

 side of the Central Rail Road. He has 

 a large supply of fruit trees of his own 

 growing for sale, and will also sell at low 

 prices, Rochester trees, to all who may 

 want them. Of course no sensible man 

 will prefer trees grown in Rochester to 

 those grown in our own climate and 



soil. 



«•» 



Spiraes — These beautiful shrubs 

 have lately been introduced to notice. 

 They generally grow some four feet 

 hi<Th, have handsome foliage, and beau- 

 tiful flowers. Sprael Prunifolia has 

 small, double, white flowers, with which 

 the plant is completely covered. The 

 Ulmifolia, has clusters of white flowers, 

 somewhat resembling those of the Cher- 

 ry. St. Peter's Wreath in flower, is 

 white as a snow drift. There are nu- 

 merous others, all beautiful. 



Hedging for Open Prairies. 



We like au article on this subject in the 

 Chicago I^ress and Tribune, written by lion. 

 L. Dunlap, iu reply to a correspondent. He 

 says tliat the land for hedges should be dry 

 and rolling ; it should be well prepared for 

 receiving tlic plants; these plants should be 

 two years old ; should be planted six inches 

 apart, and should be suffered to grow with- 

 out being cut back or trimming. Hedges 

 thus planted will grow up some fifteen or 

 twenty feet, and will be a perfect protection 

 against stock, and will also break the prairie 

 winds to some extent. 



If the hedges are to be cut back, we have 

 been in favor of setting the plants three or 

 four inches apart; but if they are suffered 

 to grow, they will make small trees, and 

 should have more distance. 



jg^^Premium Lists for the State 



Fair for 1859, will be ready for distri- 

 bution by the 10th of April. They will 



be sent to the Presidents and officers of 

 all the county Agricultural Societies in 

 the State; all the Agricultural and other 

 papers; all the Post-Masters. Persons 

 desiring copies for themselves or for dis- 

 tribution will please send their orders 

 to the undersigned. 



S. FRANCIS, Cor. Sec. 

 State Ag. Society. 

 Springfield, March 29, 1859. 



j^^'AU papers in Illinois are reques- 

 ted to pcblish the above, and send to 

 the " Illinois Farmer, Springfield, " 

 one copy each of their respective pa- 

 pers. 



-»•>- 



jg@°"It is a great mistake to suppose 

 that deciduous trees should be planted 

 out as soon as frost is out of the ground. 

 They do best when the ground has become 

 dry, and something warm — in the condi- 

 tion suited to the planting of corn. — 

 Evergreens should be the last trees plant- 

 ed out. 



Ladies will be careful not to uncover the 

 plants they have protected until the Middle 

 of this month. To expose tlicm to a sudden 

 freeze, and afterwards to a hot sun, will be 

 sure to kill them. 



16@=0ur correspondents for the past 

 month seem to have been busy with their 

 farm work. All right. Now is the time 

 to commence work for the season. Pros- 

 pects are fair for good crops. We shall 

 be glad to hear from correspondents as 

 they have leisure to write. 



Who Wants a Fine Currant Bush. 

 You may have one, or as many as you 

 like, in this way. Find out who has 

 some Red Dutch or White Dutch Cur- 

 rants: they are much better than the 

 common red and white currants. Go to 

 them and ask for a few cuttings, or go 

 to a nursery and buy a few, and, if you 

 take a fancy to some other kinds, for 

 instance, to some of those fine new kinds 

 several of which every good nurseryman 

 ought to have, such as the White Grape 

 White Transparent, Fertile of Paliua, 

 Cherry, and others. When you have 

 the cuttings, (they should be about a 

 foot long), take a sharp knife, and cut 

 all the buds out from more than half ttfe 

 lower part, taking care not to tear 

 the bark, nor cut any more than just 

 enough to take the buds out; then put 

 them away Wrapped in paper, and 

 buried in some earth in the cellar till 

 early spring. As soon as earth is 

 mellow set them out. They may be 

 simply stuck up in the mellow soil, after 

 it is spaded, and the weeds and grass 

 roots all taken out, and the earth press- 

 ed close about them. The first bud 

 should be two or three inches above the 

 soil, and there should be no bud below. 

 Thus each cutting will grow to fine little 

 tree, and no suckers will come from the 



root. Next year they will bear fruit. 



ft 



Draining In»proTcs the ([uality of Crops 



That the productive power of the soil is 

 largely increased by draining in cases of re- 

 tentive lands, has often been noticed ; few, 

 however, have remarked upon the improve- 

 ment in the quality of the crop effected by 

 the same process. Mr. French, in his essay 

 on drainage, gives a brief paragraph on the 

 subject, so pertinent and conclusive that we 

 copy it here. " In a diy season," he says, 

 " we frequently hear the farmer boast of the 

 quality of his products. His hay crop is 

 light, but will 'spend' much better than the 

 crop of a wet season — his potatoes are not 

 large, but they are sound and mealy," — and 

 so of other crops. " Every farmer knows 

 that his wheat and corn are heavier and 

 more nutritive where grown upon land suf- 

 ficiently drained." 



Tlie deepened soil in which manures have 

 their full effect — the season not shortened at 

 both ends by the presence of stagnant water 

 in the soil — the mellow, porous seed or root- 

 bed, not affected by draught or freezing out, 

 all resulting from drainage, readily account 

 f(jr the improved quantity and quidity of the 

 crop, whether it be grain or fruit, roots or 

 grass, or whatever it may be desirable to cul- 

 tivate iu the best manner. 



