THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



297 



Report of 1856. Several of these Goats 

 were exhibited at the Illinois State 

 Fair, held at Centralia, last fall, and 

 although there was no premium offered 

 for such animals, their excellence was 

 so marked, and the prospect of adding 

 another branch of wealth to our national 

 industry by their propagation so satis- 

 factory, that the State Society awarded 

 to their owner a liberal premium. 



Ilorticnllural Eiliibition in Southern Illinois. 

 The Pomological and Horticultural 

 Society of Southern Illinois held their 

 first exhibion at Jonesboro, on the 31st 

 of May and the let of June. It was a 

 very creditable exhibition. The City 

 Hall was provided with tables, which 

 were well covered with fruits and flow- 

 ers, cereals, &c., the products of the 

 season. The strawberries were the 

 great feature of the exhibition. Dr. J. 

 A. Warder exhibited 33 varieties — not 

 for competition. We saw there speci- 

 mens of wheat and rye seven and a half 

 feet high. Mr. Benj. Vancil, of South 

 Pass, contributed specimens of seed cane; 

 native molasses, native flowers, &c., &c., 

 and exhibited a great variety of garden 

 and horticultural tools. Mr. J. A. Car- 

 penter, of South Pass, an agricultural 

 library, gardening tools, microscope, 

 etc. Newhall & Clark, South Pass, nine 

 varieties of strawberries, and a hand- 

 some lot of cucumbers. Robert Gow, 

 Anna, early garden vegetables-tomatoes, 

 nearly ripe. James H. Crane, of Burke- 

 ville, a bundle of ripe May wheat. J. 

 M. Hunter, the "Ashley nurseryman," 

 a great variety of garden andgreen-house 

 plants. The ladies of Jonesboro pre- 

 sented flowers, early fruits, canned 

 peaches, blackberries, etc. Mr. Wil- 

 lard's family exhibited garden vegetables, 

 rare and fine — Wyatt's Victoria Rhubarb, 

 of collossal dimensions. Dr. Condon 

 had present his fine collections in natural 

 history. James Price, of Sandoval, 

 choice perpetual roses and other flowers. 

 Charles Kennicott, of the Egyptian 

 Nurseries, Sandoval, a great variety of 

 roses, delphinums, phlox, and verbennas. 

 Mr. Simons, of Jonesboro,fine specimens 

 of blackberry and currant wines. Wm. 

 Yates, of Tamaroa, Wilson's Albany 

 Strawberry, the largest variety present. 

 Messrs. Lobdell & Davis, Centralia, fine 

 wine, from the currant, and specimens 

 of fine currants and gooseberriea — vari- 

 eties rhubarb. We are unable to give 



the names of all the contributors. We 

 came away at the close of the first day's 

 exhibition, delighted with all we saw — 

 with the town of Jonesboro — its citizens 

 — and the country — (destined to be the 

 great fruit region of Illinois.) May we 

 be there again in the season of peaches ! 

 On the evening of the first day's ex- 

 hibition, Dr. Warder delivered an address 

 in the Court House "On the Strawberry 

 Question," embracing the history of 

 its cultivation at Cincinnati, and the 

 proper mode of cultivating this luxu- 

 rious fruit, by which every family, hav- 

 ing a small patch of ground, can supply 

 themselves with all that they desire. 

 This address, with the awards at Jones- 

 boro, will be a valuable contribu- 

 tion to the forthcoming volume of the 

 Transactions of the State Agricultural 

 Society. The next exhibition will be 



hele in Belleville in the month of August. 

 •>•» 



"The Microscopic Companion." — A 

 popular manual of practical Micro- 

 scopy, designed for those engaged in 

 Microscopic Investigations, Schools, 

 Seminaries, Colleges, etc., and com- 

 prising selections from the best wri- 

 ters on the Microscope, relative to its 

 use, mode of management, preserva- 

 tion of objects, etc., to which is added 

 a glossary of the principal terms used 

 in Microscopic science. By John 

 King, M. D.. Illustrated with 114 

 cuts. Printed by Robert Clarke & 

 Co., Cincinnati,1859. ^; 



It is not possible in a brief paragraph 

 to give an idea of the exceeding value 

 of this work. The Microscope opens to 

 our vision, in all the departments of na- 

 ture, new and wonderful creations of 

 beauty and magnificence. It shows us 

 living and well organized life where we 

 would not expect to find it. It is of im- 

 mense value to the physician, the geolo- 

 gist, the mineralogist and the botanist. 

 It enables one to discover the adultera- 

 tions in food, in drugs, pants, oils, milk 

 and other articles of value. To the far- 

 mer, it can be rendered of vast service in 



the detection of foul seed, of seed affect- 

 ed by minute insects, or fungus or smut. 

 The work is an able elucidation of 

 the principles which enter into the con- 

 struction of the Microscope, and the va- 

 rious uses to which it can be advanta- 

 geously applied. These instruments are 

 now furnished at a small expense in 

 Cincinnati. We recommend this work 

 as embracing information in a depart- 

 ment of knowledge to which few of the 

 people have access. 



Farmer's Congress at Mendota. — 

 The North- Western Prairie Farmer of 

 June 11, contains the proceedings of a 

 meeting of farmers at Mendota. The 

 names of sixty- two persons are given 

 as delegates — most of them from Lee 

 and neighboring counties. The main 

 objects of the meeting seemed to be to 

 get up an organization among producers 

 so as to control the prices of produce, as 

 well as to reduce the prices of goods to 

 be.purchased by them of merchants; and 

 to collect and publish statistics of the 

 condition of crops, — so as to prevent 

 produce operators from speculating upon 

 the same to the injury of producers. — 

 Several years ago an organization was 



gotten up in this city for similar purpo- 

 poses; but it lasted only for a short 

 period. The meeting voted to hold a 

 Convention in Freeport during the State 

 Fair. 



White Ash and Soft Maple. — The 

 seeds of these valuable timber trees are 

 now ripe. They can be gathered as 

 soon as ripe, and sovm in seed beds, 

 where they will come up in a few days, 

 and make good plants for next year's 

 setting. The trees grow rapidly, quite 

 as much so as locusts, and are beautiful 

 in all stages of their growth. Farmers 

 on the prairies will do well to obtain 

 these seeds the present season, and in 

 two years they will have young trees for 

 transplanting into groves and skirts o f 

 timber, for prairie protection, fuel and 

 timber, that will pay a thousand per 

 cent on their cost. 



Strawberries. — "Rural,'' i^ the 



Chicago Press and Tribune, says : 



''Those who have no spare place for 

 this delicious fruit, can plant among the 

 early corn in the garden; the shade will 

 benefit them, and a season will be gain- 

 ed. Two or three dollars invested in 

 plants will soon make a new bond of 

 union in the family, and the domestic 

 board will be one of interest to the little 

 folks; and even those old curmudgeons 

 who pull up their purse strings when 

 asked for these cheap luxuries by their 

 wives and little ones, can enjoy them 

 exceedingly well when away from home, 

 and they cost them nothing." 



A friend in the country, on a very 

 small piece of ground, the present sea- 

 son, at very little cost, raised strawber- 

 ries enough for abundant family use, 

 besides selling to the amount of forti/ 

 dollars ! 



We can supply any demand for plants. 



