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THE ILLIISrOIS F^RnVTEH. 



301 



holes as you find treat in the same man- 

 ner — you will insure the death of one 

 gopher for every potatoe. 



ESCALAPIUS. 



Delavan, June 15, 1859. 



— , ••. 



"Press the Retreating Columns." 



The operations of our farmers the past 

 spring and summer, so far, have been a good 

 deal like war. They entered the campaign 

 in bad plight, having been severely handled 

 by the last seasons. They commenced op- 

 erations with a bad spring; but they went 

 ahead in the finest spirits, met the enemy 

 face to face, grappled him, and after a hard 

 tussle, have got the better of him. The seed 

 of the summer and fall crops was put in, in 

 the worst weather. They have fought rain, 

 water, mud, insects, high prices of seed, — 

 with very tolerable success. They have now 

 the vantage ground. We shall have good 

 wheat, though not as much as we hoped. — 

 Com, our great staple, has passed through 

 its greatest trials, and its beautiful colors are 

 waving in every field. Our sappers and mi- 

 ners, under ground operators — potatoes, we 

 would have you to understand, are making 

 a glorious campaign. We are now promised 

 old fashioned crops. The meadows are 

 good — spring planted crops all generally 

 promising. Now is the time to ''press the 

 retreating columns of the enemy." See to 

 it, that the Gruerilla weeds are all cut down 

 and destroyed, so that they shall have no 

 chance to lasso the corn,the potatoes or other 

 crops. Gather your wheat in time, and if 

 the market opens at good prices, sell it and 

 pay your debts. If you sow wheat the com- 

 ing fall, you must "press the retreating ene- 

 my in earnest." Plow your wheat ground as 

 soon as you can. Bury your enemies, the 

 weeds, — kill them — show no mercy. Have 

 your ground in fine order for fall plowing; 

 put in your wheat with the drill, and open 

 drains to drive off the enemy of your wheat, 

 in the shape of floods in fall, winter and 

 spring, and see to it, as you desire a crop, 

 as you wish to see the golden heads next 

 July, waving in the breeze, that these 

 drains are always open and work well. 



We have no time to extend these remarks. 

 But we say to you, farmers, boys, girls, all 

 tliat there is a time very much like the cri- 

 sis of your fate — on which your success in 

 everything connected with your prosperity 

 and happiness depends. Well improve that 

 moment — "press upon the columns of the 

 retreating enemy," and "you will all come 

 out, right side up, with care." 



40> 



Whitewash. — This article, as ordin- 

 arily made, rubs off the walls after it 

 becomes dry, soiling clothes and every- 

 thing coming in contact with it. This 



may be obviated by slackening the lime 

 in boiling water, stirring it meanwhile 

 and then applying — after dissolving in 

 water — white vitrei (sulphate of zinc) in 

 proportion of four pounds to a barrel of 

 whitewash, making it the consistency of 

 rich milk. The sulphate of zinc will 

 cause the wash to harden, and prevent 

 the lime from rubbing off. A pound of 

 white salt should also be thrown into 

 it. 



Scene Three Years Ago. 



"You going to sell your wheat now — as 

 soon as you can thrash it — at the first prices 

 ©ffered?" ^ :{_ -y. :.:'-[: --\-i^ .^ ^ 



"Yes, I think that is my best policy. The 

 price I think is good — a dollar and a half. 

 And besides, within the next three months 

 the wheat will lose by sweating and drying 

 ten per cent." 



"Nonsense ! If wheat is worth now a 

 a dollar and a half, it will be worth two dol- 

 lars and more next spring, and you will not 

 have to hurry yourself to have it thrash- 

 ed out." 



"next spring." 



" Well, neighbor, have you sold your 

 wheat? 



"No — do you want to buy some." 



"Not exactly yet — what is it worth ?" 



"I am told they are offering one dollar for 

 a first rate article." 



SEEDING TIME. 



"Neighbor, have you got any wheat to 

 sell ?" - :■■^;^,. •;..■■-,•:■: 



"Yes, it has been falling all the while. — 

 I want to sell. I suppose I shall have to 

 give it away." 



"I want fifty bushels for seeding. When 

 I sold my wheat I anticipated buying INIay 

 wheat for seed. Yours is May wheat, I be- 

 lieve ?" ■■..:■;"/■::-.;■;-■/ 



"Yes, it is May wheat. What is the price 

 now of wheat? I want to sell or give it 

 away." 



"I don't want you to give it to me. I 

 will pay the full market price for fifty bu'shr 

 els. which is seventy-five cents." 



"Beelzebub take me! But you shall have 



it. I expect it will go down to fifty cents if I 



holdoD." 



JB@°'How many cases can be named alike 

 to this ? 



■«•- 



A Premium for Boys.— The proprietors 

 of the Prairie Farmer offer a nremiura of 

 §25, to the boy under sixteen years of age, 

 who shall raise the largest number of bushels 

 of ruta bagas or flat turnips, on one acre of 

 ground, the present season. The conditions 

 are, that the cultivation is to be performed 

 entirely by himself, and the work, amount. 



&c., certified by three responsible individuals. 

 The amount of seed, time of planting, mode 

 of cultivation, and time of harvesting to be 

 stated by the competitor. Reports to be sent 

 in by December 1st, when the prize will be 



awarded to the successful competitor. 



«•> ^ — 



Bnckwiipat, Tarnips, flungarian Grasi. 



We want our farmers to have full cellars, 

 full barns, and full purses this year. It 

 will answer to sow Hungarian Grass, Sugar 

 Cane seed, and corn,for making fodder, until 

 the twentieth of this month — weather favor- 

 able. Buckwheat can be sown till the first 

 of August; better, however, to bow it two 

 weeks sooner. Sow turnip seed the middle 

 of this month — so that if the fly cuts off the 

 young plants, you can sow again; if they cut 

 them off the second time, sow again — and 

 sow again if they cut them off' the third time. 

 Don't let the little rascally insects worry you 

 out. Good turnips have been raised from 

 seed sown in the second week of August- 

 Eastern and Ohio farmers make good crops 



of turnips from seed sown in corn. 



<«» 



Sheep Killed. — The Napa (Califor- 

 nia) Reporter says that a gentleman liv- 

 ing near Santa Rosa, discovered, one 

 evening recently, a considerable tumult 

 among his flock of sheep. Going 

 among them to discover the cause, he 

 found a couple of them with their throats 

 cut and dying. Imagining this destruc- 

 tion to be the work of wild animals, he 

 cut them open and secreted a lot of 

 strychnine in their bodies. The next 

 morning he found the poison had done 

 its work. Four panthers, measuring 

 not less than eight feet from tip to tip, 

 were discovered dead in a few rods of 

 where the sheep had been left. 



Zante Currants.— The Washington 

 Evening Star says ; 



The Patent Oflice is in receipt of a 

 lengthy and interesting communication 

 from Samuel B. Parsons, an experienc- 

 ed nurseryman, of Flushing, N. Y., who 

 is now traveling in Europe, concerning 

 the Zantc currants. During his tour, 

 he visited the Ionian Islands, and ac- 

 quainted himself with the mode of culti- 

 vation, climatic necessities, and the 

 method of drying and packing this fruit; 

 as well as the diseases incidental to the 

 plants, and the profits arising from its 

 cultivation; of all, which he informs the 

 Patent OflSce in detail. He also urges 

 the importance of attempting the intro- 

 duction of the fruit into this country. — 

 The agricultural department of the Pai- 

 ent Oflice did, however, introduce a 

 great quantity of the vines last year, 

 which were widely distributed in the 



