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302 



THE ILLIiN'OIS irA.IljVIEIl. 



Southern States and in California, and 

 from -wliich the happiest results are anti- 

 cipated. 



-«^ 



Evergreens— Sensible. 

 Hon. M. L. Dunlap has been into the 

 the Pineries of Wisconsin, for the pur- 

 pose of procuring Evergreens. He writes 

 to the Chicago Press and Tribune : 



Manitowoc, Wis., May 21, 1859. 

 We have to-day completed the taking 

 up and packing of G,500 evergreens, 



mostly of extra size. They have been 



grown in tlie open ground, and are of 

 fine form. Over two hundred of the 

 pines are from four to eight feet high. 

 Should our experiment succeed in the 

 removal of these larger trees, there will 

 be no longer any excuse for not having 

 every prairie homo embellished with these 

 beautiful conifers. We have been at 

 considerable extra expense in taking 

 them up and packing, and so soon as 

 the matter of success is decided, we 

 shall give the process to the public. — 

 That nineteen-twentieths of all the 

 evergreens, not of nursery growth, that 

 are sold throughout the country, die, is 

 a fact too well known to require any 

 comment ; yet year after year people 

 continue to throw away money in the 

 same direction. Some new aspirant of 

 these worthy geniuses comes forward, 

 "takcniip with care," and two "greens" 

 are again seen — the evergreen and the 

 green purchaser. Gentlemen, why do 

 you not make these gentry set out the 

 trees, and receive pay for those only 

 whicli live ? This would put a stop to 

 this petty swindling, and you would 

 save a large amount of money and vex- 

 ation. 



Care of \oung Peach Trees. 

 Those persons who planted out peach 

 trees last spring, will find it greatly to 

 their advantage to bestow a little extra 

 labor upon them the first season. It is 

 generally supposed that after a tree is 

 well set it will take care of itself, but 

 this is not the case. A young tree is 

 like a young animal, and needs almost 

 daily to be looked after until it becomes 

 established, when an occasional visit may 

 be sufficient. This is especially the 

 case with the peach, which, though with 

 good care is a vigorous grower, is quite 

 fastidious in some of its habits. As 

 the weather becomes Avarm, if showers 

 are unfrequcnt, give them a pail of wa- 

 ter as often as they need it, which may 

 be three or four times a week. To pre- 

 vent the too rapid evaporation of the 

 water, a mulch of straw a few inches in 

 thickness will be of great advantage. It 

 is very strange that this most useful ap- 

 pliance is not used by all Avho plant 

 trees, yet it is not. On "washing day,'' 

 let the "bill of fare'' be changed, and 



give them a pail of soap suds. This li- 

 quid manure is very applicable to the 

 peach. It seems to contain in solution 

 and ready for use some important ele- 

 ments of food for this tree. Not one 

 farmer in a hundred uses it, however, 

 for any purpose, unless to make a wet 

 spot for weeds, Avhere it is allowed to 

 run; not even those who read agricultur- 

 al papers, and ought to know better. It 

 is true, it is ready for use at a time when 

 the "men folks" arc generally out, and 

 it would not be right to ask those who 



do the washing to apply it; but let thorn 



save it in a b irrel, if nothing better is at 

 hand, till night or next morning, when 

 it should be applied. Young trees 

 ought also to be protected from the bor- 

 er; utlierwise they will certainly ruin 

 them. The egss of this insect are laid 

 in t summer months, On the tender 

 bark, at or near the collar of the tree. 

 When hatched, they eat under the bark, 

 and oFten to a considerable distance 

 along the trunk of the tree, destroyinir 

 the sap-wood, and producing an effusion 

 of sap or gum. Any one who has not 

 noticed their depredations, should dissect 

 a tree which they have destroyed in the 

 part where they work. They will then 

 have an occulai' demonstration of their 

 ravages. The only way to secure pro- 

 tection is to protect the parts from ac- 

 cess to the moth which lays the eggs. 

 A small cone of ashes or lime, about the 

 trunk, is said to be a protective; others 

 have succeeded by winding a band of 

 straw about the titink quite closely. — 

 Perhaps the two combined might be bot 

 ter than eitiier alone. There are proba- 

 bly other methods more or less efi'ectua 

 of which farmers must judge for them 

 selves. What I wish, more particular- 

 ly, is to induce farmers not to neglect 

 using some of the most approved means 

 at the proper time. 



Another necessity in the care of a 

 young peach tree, is to form a good 

 head. This can only be done by judi- 

 cious pruning; not all at once, but dur- 

 ing the first season's growth. I have, of 

 late, noticed, in several instances, good 

 yearling trees from the nursery row, left 

 to grow unpruned, except the removal 

 of a few of the lower branches. All the 

 side shoots, which grow in the nursery 

 row, should be removed, and new and 

 better ones grown to supply their places. 

 Shorten back the main shoot one-third 

 its length, also. Of the side shoots, 

 which are thrown out in abundance, 

 select three of the best ones for the 

 main branches of the head, and remove 

 the others. Ey a little watching and 

 pinching, occasionally, you can secure a 

 head to your liking. An old adage is : 

 "A stitch in time saves nine." This 

 s;imo principle is equally true of a con- 

 stant watching for any defects which 

 may appear in the development of: our 



plants, and the application of a remedy 

 before it is too late. — M. L. IIolbuook. 



IIow to strike China Boscs from Cuttings. 



Here is something from "Mr. Glasse's 

 Gardening Book," that leaves but little 

 to say on the subject it treats : 



"In the beginning of September get 

 some pretty ripe shoots. You may 

 know whether they are ripe enough, by 

 the lower leaves coming off easily. Cut 

 the shoots into pieces eight or nine inch- 

 es long. With a sharp knife cut the 

 lower end straight across, below a bud — 



draw the knife ,/>om the bud, not towards 

 it. Cut the upper end slanting, just 

 above a bud; leave on the two upper- 

 most leaves — pull off all the others. — 

 Take a pot about eight inches deep — put 

 a fe>v crocks in the bottom; over the 

 crocks lay some old shreds, and then an 

 inch of charcoal dust, or silver sand: fill 

 up with one-quarter peat and half loam. 

 With a round stick, make holes through 

 the peat and loam, down to the charcoal. 

 Put in the cuttings so as to leave the 

 two leaves above ground, and press the 

 soil down firmly. Give a watering with 

 rain-water. Then plunge the pot on a 

 mild hot-bed, or set in any Avarm place 

 Avhere it may be kept damp — put a hand 

 glass over, and keep the sun off until 

 the cuttings begin to push. Then give 

 a little air at night, putting the hand 

 glass on again in the day time. They 

 will soon strike roots." 



'■^Anotlicr loaij. — You may place the 

 pots when filled with cuttings, in a shady 

 border, with or without hand glasses, 

 and they Will strike in time. But the 

 first is the quickest way." — G-ard. 

 Chron. 



Excessive Eating. — In a letter to 

 Lord Murray, Sydney Smith says : 



"You are, I hear, attending more to 

 diet than heretofore. If you wish any- 

 thing like happiness in thy fifth of life, 

 you should pay more attention to the 

 amount you eat and drink. Did I ever 

 tell you my calculation about eating and 

 drinking ? Having ascertained the 

 weight of what I did live upon, I found 

 that, between ten and seventeen years of 

 age, I had eaten and drank 44 odd 

 horse Avagon loads of meat, and drank 

 more than Avould have preserved me in 

 life and health. The value of this mass 

 of nourishment is considered to be worth 

 £7,000 sterling. 



KSsT* The wheat harvest commenced 

 two Avcck since in Southern Illinois. As a 

 general fact, the wheat is gt)od, although 

 there are some poor fiehls. The South- 

 ern Avhcat fields are not as large as those 

 of the North; but the South can always 

 succeed Avith winter Avheat, Aviicn the 

 seed is put in avcU; and the excellence 

 of Southern Illinois Avhcat is undisputed. 



