380 



THE ILLINOIS FA-RIMEII. 



About Corn. 



Mr. Editor: — What becomes of the 

 corn crop? According to the last cen- 

 sus the corn crop of the United States, 

 in the aggregate amounted to about 600,- 

 000,000 bushels annually. How and 

 in what manner is such a vast amount of 

 grain consumed profitably for the pro- 

 ducer? Of the crop of 1850, about 

 4,500,000 bushels were exported, and 

 more than 11,000,000 bushels were con- 

 sumed in the manufacture of spirituous 

 liquors. The balance were used at 

 home, as food for man and beast. Since 

 that time, the amount consumed in the 

 manufacture of alcohol and highwines 

 must have largely increased to keep 

 pace with the growing demand for alcohol 

 in the manufacture of burning fluid, 

 &c. It is certainly a funny doctrine, 

 promulgated by some individuals at the 

 present day, that we should gj on in- 

 creasing our grain products, until we 

 can afford, rather than get nothing for 

 it, to compete with European labor and 

 European crops and prices at their 

 own doors. 



Illinois farmers, you have doubtless 

 learned ere this that machinery does 

 not lessen the cost of the products of 

 the soil — it only enables you to secure 

 a larger amount thereof. Shall we, 

 then, go on in the strife of competition 

 in the European markets, against serf 

 and plebian labor, until we and our 

 children are sunk to their or a lower 

 level; or shall we unite in asking and 

 providing a home market? 



We now import fifty bushel of corn 

 for every one we export. A fact! 

 Every ton of railroad or other iron, 

 every yard of cloth, every pound of tea, 

 comes charged not only with its half 

 dozen profits as merchandise and trans- 

 portation, but the food eaten by its pro- 

 ducers, — they and their cattle — while 

 producing it. What are the facts, 

 then? Simply these — that this year, 

 1859, disguised as manufactured mer- 

 chandise, the United States are actually 

 importing food for her farmers, whose 

 cribs are full, and labor to her mechan- 

 ics who are idle. Let us, farmers, join 

 Pennsylvania in asking a tarifi* to pro- 

 tect our manufactures, our products, 

 our labor, or we shall be forced to com- 

 pete with European labor in its worst 

 forms — buying back the very corn we 

 send them with two freights added. 



The fact is becoming daily more ap- 

 parent that we can much more than 

 supply ourselves with food. Prices have 

 always been low except when there has 

 been a great European demand from war 

 or scarcity, or when the emigration into 

 the midst of producers has furnished 

 temporary consumers enough to absorb 

 the surplus, and furnish a mai-ket. But 

 emigration of producers soon swells the 

 stream of production instead of con- 



sumption. We must find a market for 

 surplus at home or abroad. We are 

 not writing a political article, but we do 

 think it high time the farmers opened 

 their eyes to the fact that they, as pro- 

 ducers, set the wheels of trade in motion 

 by furnishing merchandise. Traders 

 will never work this reform — they fatten 

 at any price — the farmer must look to 

 his own corn. — W. H. Gardner, JLm- 



6oy, 111., August 5th, 1859. 



«» 



From the American Stock Journal. 



Raising Cattle on the Prairies. 



The adaptation of the prairies to the 

 production of stock cannot be question- 

 ed. And where the attention of the ag- 

 riculturalists is devoted exclusively to 

 this branch of husbandry, the range for 

 summer pasturage and the gathering of 

 winter supplies is unlimited. As we 

 propose offering a few observations on 

 this subject for the readers of the Stock 

 Journal, it will be necessary first to ex- 

 amine the present condition of the stock- 

 growing interest. 



In connection with other farm man- 

 agement, the keeping of cattle is follow- 

 ed quite exclusively, but in few cases 

 with any system calculated to improve 

 the character of the stock. The early 

 settlers were poor, coming from differ- 

 ent States, each with a cow, or two, of 

 such excellence as they chanced to pos- 

 sess; and this laid the foundation of the 

 breed which now predominates. These 

 cows were bred to such males as chanced 

 to be running at large on the prairie, 

 consequently the owner had no hand in 

 the improvement of his stock — it being 

 trusted to luck and a favorable cli- 

 mate. 



This course, at first the only one, 

 from necessitv, has been since followed 

 from habit, until it is a rare circum- 

 stance for the farmer to be able to point 

 to the bull to which his cows are bred. 

 The result may be imagined — a regular 

 course of amalgamation and deteriora- 

 tion has been going on — the New Eng- 

 land red, with the long horned animals 

 of the South, and the offspring of these 

 with the muley, or perchance an ani- 

 mal with a sprinkling of Durham or 

 Devon. 



Efforts have been made, with parti- 

 al success in some loclities, to confine 

 the males at home, which would enable 

 those who wished to improve their stock. 

 Under these circumstances, however 

 favorable our climate, and improving 

 improved animals, it will be seen at once 

 that we can effect but little. These are 

 some of the dilHculties attending the 

 breeding of cattle. 



We offer a few suggestions on the 

 following topics: first, care in the selec- 

 tion of animals for breeding; second, 

 feed and feeding; third, shelter and^gen- 

 eral management. 



We cannot at once replace our pres- 



ent herds by the purchase of very supe- 

 rior animals — hence we have to be con- 

 tent with improving such as we have. 

 A bree^ of cattle may be improved by 

 care aud judgment in choice of parents, 

 and after-care and feeding. The choice 

 of a male depends upon what is to be 

 required of the offspring, and in no case 

 would we be willing to allow an unmatur- 

 ed, round, meaty, long-legged, low and 

 narrow nipped animal to be used, but high 

 and wide hipped, short, flat, lean legged 

 animals, with a good countenance, and 

 clean, nice head. 



The breeding of cows for the dairy is 

 an entirely different business, and one 

 in which the cow is the type to be prop- 

 agated. To breed good milkers, you 

 should make a trial of all your best cows 

 — those likely to breed after themselves 

 — and in this way you can very much 

 improve your dairy animals. We have 

 little faith in a poor cow for milk bring- 

 ing year after year an offspring proving 

 a good milker, for this has not been the 

 result of our observation, though we 

 have seen cows, which produced offspring 

 equal or superior to themselves, and 

 their offspring the same and so on. It 

 is a fact that the dairy cow can be im- 

 proved as well as any other class of an- 

 imals. 



Do not breed from your heifers too 

 young. Theirown growth and the chang- 

 as of the climate are all they should 

 provide against, until the third winter 

 or spring, if you would have them bring 

 and mature an offspring superior to them- 

 selves. Do not use a young male. The 

 best cattle breeders of England never 

 use a male in getting improved stock 

 until he is full ripe, or has reached the 

 age of from four to five years. Owing 

 to males generally running at large here, 

 and early becoming vicious, we know 

 of only one bull in this county over four 

 years old. 



Let good judgment be exercised in the 

 selection of animals, and any breed can 

 be improved, provided the care and 

 keeping to which they are subjected are 

 such as are adapted to their wants. 



We would never recommend any farm- 

 er who has not resolved to care well for 

 his stock, to purchase any already im- 

 proved animals, for their posterity will 

 deteriorate to an equality with the na- 

 tives, as readily as a hitherto well-kept 

 farm in the hands of a sloven. In fact, 

 the herds of the West to-day are just 

 what the care of their owner has made 

 them. In Texas, with a superior cli- 

 mate, they are long-legged and mon- 

 strous horned — in other States they of- 

 ten fall behind the dogs in breeding and 

 keeping. In most northern States, where 

 the climate is less favorable, they are a 

 shade better, because receiving a little 

 better care. How common it is to observe 

 the marked difference in the stock of two 



