THE ILLIjSTOIS EA.IIMER. 



known as its favorite place of resort. When 

 abundant, it sometimes lays its eggs in rye 

 and timothy, A strong growing wheat like 

 the "Amber," would be best able to resist its 

 riivages, as it requires several of the insects 

 to destroy a single plant. We therefore do 

 not conclude that the "Amber'' is fly proof, 

 that the May wheat is the first to be destroy- 

 ed, from the fact of some property in it 

 that pleases the parent fly. 



4th. These pupas will remain as they are 

 until April or first of May, they then pass 

 out of the pupa case in the form of a fly 

 maggot, and the fly itself appears, lays its 

 eggs in the creases of the leaves, when in 

 about five to ten days they are hatched, and 

 at once find their way down between the 

 sheath and stem, when they commence 

 pumping up the juices of the plant. If the 

 plants average half a dozen each the crop is 

 settled for, and you may proceed to plow it 

 up for other crops. There arc two or three 

 varieties of ickncuman flies that prey upon 

 these pupas, and sometimes so lesson their 

 number that they do little harm. You can 

 easily see by the 10th of May what is to be 

 done with the crop, whether to let it stand 

 or plow under. Nothing but the ichnenman 

 will save it now. 



5th. We are no believer in the doctrine 

 that wheat will under any condition of 

 things turn to cbcsa. We have grown too 

 much chess, much more than good farming 

 would warrant, but we could always trace it 

 to natural causes. If there is chess in the 

 soil, and it will remain in meadow land for a 

 long series of years, or if but a small quantity 

 was in the seed; the thinning out of the 

 wheat plants will allow the chess room to 

 swell out into wonderful prolific proportions. 



We know of no better place for the insect 

 tribe to make tbeir forays than the "model 

 farm," if it is their ambition to have their 

 ways watched and duly to be gazetted by our 

 friend Powell, the efficient Superintendent of 

 these grounds. 



All stubble land containing the Hessian 

 fly should be turned under immediately after 

 harvest, as then they are in the pupa state 

 and can be destroyed. 



Lite sowing is sometimes a remedy, say 

 after 20th September, as at that season the 

 fly will have laid her eggs, but in this case 

 the young plants are in danger from an 



enemy nearly as fatal — the winter frost. 



••» . 



Sowing Mountain Asn Seeds. — In 

 one of your late numbers, in answer to 

 a,n inquiry about planting the seeds of 

 the "Mountain Ash," you recommend 

 putting them in the rotton pit one year. 

 This I believe is in accordance with 

 most publications on that subject, but 

 my experience has taught me difiercnt. 



I had little more difficulty in growing 

 these seeds than those of the apple. I 

 prefer sowing them thick in beds instead 

 of drills. Let the bed be well prepared 

 and raked smooth, then cover the sur- 

 face with light mould; sow the seeds on 

 after being washed from the pulp, rake 

 lightly, and the process is finished. Let 

 them grow one season in the seed bed 

 and they are ready to transplant into 

 nursery rows. They vegetate early in 

 the spring, and the young plants being 

 weak will not come up through a heavy 

 soil, hence the necessity of covering the 

 bed with vegetable mould. — [Genesee 

 Farmer. 



Farmers what do >ou Live for? 

 We cut the following remarks from 

 the N. W. Farmer., which will be found 



as appropriate to this latitude as to 

 Northen Iowa: Ed. 



It is for the pupose of acquiring title 

 to all the land which "joins you" with- 

 out regard to the means, or the'sacrifice 

 which you are obliged to make in doing 

 so? It is to break up your boundless 

 prairies and thereby increase the num- 

 ber of acres of your crops, from year to 

 year, regardless of the proportion be- 

 tween the expense and the profits of the 

 operation? Is it to increase the number 

 of your cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, 

 regardless of the expense of keeping — 

 the quality of the animals, or the profits 

 arising from the sales thereof? Is it to 

 amass wealth for future gcneratrons, re- 

 gardless of you present comfort and en- 

 joyment? Is it to pinch your life out for 

 the sake of becoming rich — for the 

 purpose of furnishing your children with 

 a "bone of contention," or a profligate 

 son with the means of defraying his ex- 

 penses down to perdition? We are afraid 

 that too many of you, would answer this 

 question in the affirmative were we permit- 

 ted to take your practic for your answers, 

 which would not be very flattering to the 

 pride of your more rationalintervals. It is 

 true, that you are not the only class of 

 men who act upon the same principle. — 

 But, other men ac tunder different cir- 

 cumstances, and their conduct is no ex- 

 cuse for yours. You must recollect that 

 one great point is conceded by all candid 

 men, to-wit: that no condition of life 

 affords so favorable an apportunity for 

 the real enjoyments of life as the farm- 

 ers. The perpetuity of our free institu- 

 tions depends upon the virtue and intel- 

 ligence of our citizens; and, for that 

 virtue and intelligence we are chiefly de- 

 pendent upon you. Well, then, if you 

 are not guilty of doing the things of 

 which we have so broadly hinted that we 

 suspect you, what are you doing ? Are 

 you doing your duty? Have you moral 

 courage enough to defy the current of 

 public opinion, and discharge your duty 

 to yourself and country ? Ask you what 



that duty is? Your own conscience, 

 and your own interests tells you plainly 

 what it is. The question is, will you do 

 it? ^ ^ - 



Permit us to give you a few items of 

 what we consider to be you*duty. 



Own no more land than you can oc- 

 cupy to advantage, as the capital inves- 

 ted in useless land is generally poorly 

 invested. 



Recollect, that one acre, well cultiva- 

 ted, will produce as much as three acres 

 poorly cultivated, besides the money 

 invested, and labor and materials wast- 

 ed. 



If you have more land than you really 

 need, sell part of it, and with the pro- 

 ceeds improve the balance of your farm, 

 build comfortable houses for youself, 

 and family, and stock, and otherwise 

 improve your premises, and you will be 

 f;ir more comfortable and happy in the 

 end. Keep less stock, and that of a 

 better quality. You can just as easily 

 raise a horse worth two hun'dred dollars, 

 as one worth one hundred dollars, as 

 many of you now do, not seeming to 

 care so much about the quality as the 

 number. Obtain the best breeds of 

 stock, of all kinds — give them proper 

 care and keeping, for you lose twice as 

 much by stinting your stock, either in 

 sfood or shelter, as you gain in so doing. 

 They will require protection from the 

 inclemency of the weather just as much 

 as you do, if you would derive the high- 

 est amount of profit from them possi- 

 ble. 



But, your stock is not all you have 

 to look after. Your crops require your 

 especial attention. Perhaps you will 

 say, *'what is there about farming that 

 everbody don't understand ?'' Do you 

 know how your land ought to be plowed? 

 If you do, and practice upon your knowl- 

 edge, you are one in a thousand. Most 

 farmers are afraid to disturb mother 

 earth; and, therefore just tickle her bos- 

 om, and she soon ''runs out," as they 

 say. Don't you know that the richest 

 soil upon the Mississippi bottom "runs 

 out" sometimes ? What is the cause ? 

 you ask. The cause is perfectly plain. 

 Those properties of the soil required for 

 the growth of the same crop, from year 

 to year, become exhausted in the sur- 

 face; and, hence it becomes necessary 

 to sub-soil, a practice which all lands 

 require occasionally at least. By this 

 time you understand that we mean to 

 say that you must plow deep — and that 

 is not all; plow thoroughly, and often, 

 both before planting and after. Well, 

 seeding, perhaps, will be the most im- 

 portant step in order. Do you know 

 what kind of seed you ought to plant ? 

 If you do, do you ])lant it ? Here you 

 are planting seed; and although you know 

 better, you say, you are planting any- 

 thing you can get, rather than take a 



