358 



THE ILLINOIS FA^I^MER. 



in my opinion, ought to be taught in 



lectures, and by familiar lectures child- 

 ren can be made to understand it in 

 one-tenth of the time required to be 

 spent in committing the long and dry de- 

 tails found in grammar books. I have 

 known many young men who have at- 

 tended school a great while, "almost 

 know a good deal,'' from the diversity 

 of their studies, without knowing much 

 in reality. 



Children should be taught the value of 

 knowledge in books; they should realize 

 that they contain the results of study 

 and investigation of talented men, of 

 celebrated minds, are to be found in 

 those books, opened for their informa- 

 tion. What an opportunity for their in- 

 struction? What fields of information 

 in every branch of science is opened to 

 them? The education which they can 

 obtain in our schools is the key to un- 

 lock the gates of these ample fields. 



Mr. Editor, if I could speak to the 

 children now in our common schools, I 

 would say to them from the stand point 

 of near fifty years which I have attain- 

 ed— ^'Your time is precious; the hours 

 that you are now in school are more val- 

 uable to you than words can describe; 

 every moment that yon give your min !s 

 to your books and your studies, will tell 

 on your future lives; not only on your 

 lives, but on those who will be associated 

 with you. Give, therefore, your whole 

 minds to your studies this winter. Let 

 not the frivolities of youth intervene 

 between you and your books; and here- 

 after you will rejoice that you have done 



so. 



J. S. 



Seed Corn. 



Editor of the Farmer: — I have been 

 benefitted by the remarks in your paper 

 heretofore on the necessity of saving 

 seed corn in the fall. For two years I 

 have had no trouble with my seed corn; 

 and I think I improve and forward the 

 crop by selecting ears that have ripened 

 early in the season. 



I would say to my brother farmers, if 

 you have not saved your seed corn, do 

 it now. And if you are not satisfied 

 with the variety you cultivated, seek the 

 liberty of selecting seed from your 

 neighbor's eld, where the corn suits 

 yon better. 



I believe it will be found best for us 

 to have early and late corn. We want 

 early corn for feeding out early to hogs 

 and to stock. There are many varie- 

 ties of early corn in the country, and it 

 will not be difficult to make a selection 

 of a variety that matures early tnd 

 yields well. A little time given to this 

 matter now, will save much difiicult^ 

 and vexation in the spring. 



Farmers now must take such a course 

 in farming as to secure crops all the 

 time. This can bo done, and must be 



done if we are to get along prosperous- 1 

 ly. Yours, 7V. B. 



The Ainericflii Chestnut. 



In answer to an inquiry on the cul- 

 ture of the chestnut, we give the follow- 

 ing from the North Western Farmer, 

 communicated to that paper by Mr. 

 James Weed, of Muscatine, Iowa: 



"Convinced of the great utility of this 

 tree for our north-western climate, we 

 propose to offer a few suggestions rela- 

 tive to its culture and the inducements 

 it presents to cultivators. 



To begin with the seeds; these should 

 be gathered fresh from the trees and 

 immediately packed for transportation in 

 such manner as not to heat or become 

 dry. If to be two or three weeks in 

 reaching their destination, we would 

 pack in dry sand, or peihaps slightly 

 damp swamp moss would answer equally 

 as well and not so heavy; but if only 

 two or three days, simply put up in 

 small boxes or casks, containing from 

 one-fourth to one-half bushel, not so 

 close as to prevent a suitable ventilation, 

 would probably answer as well as any 

 mode. When received, they should be 

 immediately mixed with six or eight 

 times tlieir bulk of sand, rather dry than 

 moist, in boxes, and the boxes placed in 

 a cool dry cellar, or they may be sunk to 

 their tops in the earth, on a dry ridge, 

 where they Avill not be likely to become 

 too much saturated with standing water, 

 and thus exposed to the action of v\'inter 

 frosts; but this is not so essential to the 

 chestnut as to the seeds of stone fruits, 

 such as the peach, plum, &c. If kept 

 in the cellar, care should be taken to 

 keep them sufficiently cool to prevent 

 their sprouting too much before the 

 ground is in suitable condition to plant. 

 The planting should be don« as early in 

 the season as practicable, and if for nur- 

 sery culture, the rows should not be less 

 than four feet apart, and the nuts 

 placed from eight to twelve inches apart 

 in the row, and about one inch deep. 



After planting, if the earth is drawn 

 up with the hands into a high ridge, it 

 ■will not smother the young plants, and 

 will facilitate their coming up if the soil 

 is stiff and inclined to bake. With us, 

 when in good condition, chestnuts have 

 grown readily and with as little difficulty 

 aa coin. Tiiey should be carefully hoed 

 as soon as they appear above ground, 

 and with the use of the plow, cultivator 

 and hoe, the soil should be kept well 

 stiricd and free from weeds the first sum- 

 mer; and the first winter the trees should 

 be kei)t well mulcliei. with leaves or man- 

 ure to prevent their being thrown out of 

 the ground by frost. Their after treat- 

 ment will consist in clean culture and 

 Jadicious pruning to raise the head by 

 "degrees to its required height. Choice 



varieties may be propagated by grafting 

 as readily as the apple. Spanish chest- 

 nuts would perhaps be very desirable, 

 but Ave have found them too lender for 

 this cliniate. 



Transplanting the chestnut success- 

 fully has generally been regarded as a 

 difficult matter, and our early experience 

 tended to corroborate this opinion. We 

 have observed that after removal, the 

 trees usually put out leaves readily, and 

 continue to show prominent signs of 

 living until the heat and drouth of sum- 

 mer supervenes, when they become 

 withered and die. In the spring of 

 1857 we planted a row half a mile long, 

 twenty feet apart, requiring one hundred 

 and twenty-two trees. These Were 

 twice head in the early part of the sea- 

 son, and when the first drouth of sum- 

 mer commenced, they were thoroughly 

 mulched with the refuse hay from a 

 stack yard; and of the whole number of 

 trees but eight died, thirty-eight sprout- 

 ed from the root, and seventy-six suc- 

 ceeded perfectly. We have come to re- 

 gard good culture and a thorough mulch- 

 ing after removal, as essential to suc- 

 cess. The chestnut will probably grow 

 well on moist western soils; it certainly 

 does well on the clay soil of our oak 

 lauds, and will grow freely on such as 

 arc slightly sandy, and we see no good 

 reason why they will not grow as well on 

 our broad prairies, where trees of this 

 character arc very much needed. 



Among our native ornamental trees 

 the chestnut holds a high rank. The 

 oak and elm are justly admired for their 

 grandeur and gracefulness, but these are 

 cliiefly characteristics which belong to 

 their maturity, while the chestnut far 

 surpasses them while young in its fine 

 form, clean smooth stem, broad, green 

 and glossy foliage, and in its light yel- 

 low flowers, all combining to give it an 

 air of lovely simplicity and spriglitli- 

 ncss, scarcely equalled by any other of 

 our deciduous trees. Nor are its open- 

 ing burrs in autumn an unattractive 

 feature. 



As a timber tree, its reproductive 

 quality constitutes its most remarkable 

 characteristic. When a chestnut grove 

 is cut off during winter, numerous young 

 shoots spring up from the stumps, and 

 these form trees suitable for fencing and 

 framing timber in the shortest time in 

 which trees can attain to those sizes; and 

 will continue to produce a crop of tim- 

 ber as often as cut off. 



For its fruit the chestnut is unques- 

 tionably at the head of all the nut-bear- 

 ing species. The prices at which the 

 nuts have hitherto been sold in this mar- 

 ket, ($8 to $12 per bushel,) is suffici- 

 ent evidence of the high estimation in 

 which they are held as a luxury. We 

 are informed that" the price has advan. 

 cod in the Ncav England States, from 



•{.; _. 



