THE ILLIISrOIS FARMER. 



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pay fco canvass for, both morally, social- 

 ly, intellectually and financially. (The 

 publishers are making propositions to 

 print twelve thousand copies of the 

 March number. Shall they not have 

 the subscribers ? We can work under 

 almost any condition of things, but we 

 will no doubt become eloquent when 

 greeting our twelve thousand snbscri- 

 bers. — Ed. -: 



«•»- 



State florticultnral Soeicty— First Day. 

 This Society met at Bloomington on 

 the 16th January, 1860. The attend- 

 ance was much the largest of the 

 aunual meetings thus far, this being the 

 third one since the organization of the 

 Society. It has been charged that this 

 Society has been under the control of 

 nurserymen, who were using it to adver- 

 tise their wares. But such has not been 

 the case. It is well known that nursery- 

 men and fruit grows have diflfered widely 

 on the subject of root grafting vs. bud- 

 ding, on high and low heads, on deep 

 and shallow planting, as well as vaiious 

 nursery practices, more or less effecting 

 the value of the tree for orchard culture. 

 It was natural that these mooted points 

 should be discussed and finally settled, 

 for it is the nursreyman who lays the 

 foundation of the orchard, and fruit 

 growers have a right, and it is their duty 

 to look into the nursery and critecise the 

 the various processes. These points 

 have been maijily disposed off as pre- 

 liminary to orchard culture, and hence, 

 the discussions at this meeting have been 

 more of a practical nature, and to the 

 general reader will possess no small'in- 

 terest. Other engagements have 

 prevented us from writing out our notes 

 at the time, but with ample time before 

 us we can now do them better justice 

 than to have been compelled to sit up 

 after the long sessions and when worn 

 by the day's work to have, written them 

 out at the time. With these remarks 

 we will proceed to the subjecf in hand. 

 The meeting was called to order by the 

 President, C. R. Overman, who deliver- 

 ed an appropriate and eloquent address, 

 going far back into the past and con- 

 trasting it with the present. He jointed 

 proudly to our schools, those great aids 

 in the onward progress in our beautiful 

 calling. He spoke eloquently on the 

 subject of an agricultural and horticul- 

 tural department to the Kormal Univer- 



sity, and recommended that the subject 

 be brought to the attention of the next 

 Legislature, and that the farm of some 

 one hundred acres belonging to the Uni- 

 versity, be put under the charge of 

 proper persons in connexion with the 

 proposed department for an experimental 

 farm, garden and fruit orchard. This 

 was subsequently ac-ted upon as will be 

 seen by the proceedings. ' ; ■ 



■■:;■-:■;-•: \; EVERGKEENS. . 



Mr. Bryant, Chairman of the Com- 

 mittee on Evergreens, appointed at the 

 last session, read an able report on this 

 subject. The report is too long for our 

 space and we condense it. 



"Beautiful as are our prairies, when 

 clothed with the green grass, the waving 

 grain and the flowers of spring, summer 

 and early autumn; they are at this sea- 

 son, where yet unornamented with trees, 

 among the dreary spoto of earth. Many 

 farmers — some of them perhaps having 

 failed in a few ill-directed efforts to cul- 

 tivate fruit and other trees — appear to 

 have adopted the idea, that as they found 

 no trees upon the soil, nature never in- 

 tended that any should grow there; and 

 that it is useless to contend with her. 

 And among the groves and belts of trees 

 with which some residences are furnish- 

 ed, how seldom do we see an evergreen! 

 Very few trees of that class are natives 

 of our State, and those are only found 

 in the most rugged and retired situations. 

 Here then is a deficiency for the culti- 

 vator to supply.- Let him who plants 

 trees remember that a single fine ever- 

 green attracts more attention and is 

 more pleasing to the eye for at least six 

 months in the year, than several trees 

 without leaves; and that as a protection 

 •against the fierce blasts of winter, one 

 row of evergreens is more efficient than 

 twenty rows of deciduous trees. Experi- 

 enced tree planters have asserted that a 

 double row of Norway spruces is as 

 effectual a screen against wind as a 

 building of equal height.*' 



The following is a list of evergreens 

 which prove perfectly hardy in Bureau 

 county — all of them will doubtless suc- 

 ceed much further north. They are all 

 well worthy cultivation — those markedf 

 are most desirable. ;. 



tWLite Pine, 

 ■f-Austiian Pine, 

 Cembran Pine, 

 tUed. or Norway Piue, 

 Gray, or Labrador Pine, 

 tScotcbPiue, 

 tYellow Pine, 

 Jersey JPine, 

 American Arbor VitsB, 

 Siberian Arbor Vitaa, 

 lied Cedar. 



+N<Jnray Spruce, 

 tBlack Spruce, 

 Red Spruce, 

 White Spruce, 

 tHeniloclc, 

 tBalsaai Fir, 

 Savin, 



American Yew, 

 tSwedish Juniper, 

 tlrish Juniper, 

 Trailing Junipei*, 



The American European Larch, al- 

 though not evergreen, belong to the 

 family of Conifers. They thrive well 

 in the soil of our prairies; the former 

 better than in its native swamps. The 



European Larch does best on a dry soil. 

 Larches produce a fine effect interspersed 

 among evergreens. The pines, 'the red 

 cedar and the junipers are particularly 

 adapted to high knolls on the prairies, 

 but will grow well in almost any of our 

 soils not absolutely wet. The •spruces, 

 and especially the arbor vitae, thrive best 

 in moist locations. They will grow 

 well, however, almost anywhere in the 

 deep loam of our prairies. In dry, 

 sandy or gravelly soils, the Norway 

 spruce is said to become stunted and 

 short lived. The hemlock in this lati- 

 tude does not thrive well unless protected 

 from the hot sun of summer by a shade 

 of some sort. ■-:':■''<'. ^/: :;-;;';••: -^y': ■■■:'■' \ 



In planting evergreens singly, or in 

 clumps upon a lawa, the soil should be 

 prepared by spading it deeply at least a 

 foot or two beyond the extent of the 

 roots. Care should be taken not to set 

 the trees too deep. It is better that the 

 collar should be considerably above 

 rather than below the level of the lawn. 

 After the trees are well planted, give 

 them a dressing of rotten chips and 

 leached ashes if at hand. Then mulch 

 thoroughly with prairie hay, old straw, 

 or corn stalks if nothing better car be 

 had. The mulching should be at least 

 three or four inches thick, and extend 

 considerably beyond the length of the 

 roots all round the trees. This mulch- 

 ing should be renewed often enough to 

 prevent grass from growing near them 

 until their growth is well established, 

 and they have attained a sixe to need no 

 further nursing. The roots of most 

 evergreens are near the surface; they 

 therefore do not bear much digging near 

 them. 



For planting evergreens in belts for 

 protection or screens, the ground should 

 be trench plowed as deeply as possible. 

 Plant the trees, if pines or Norway 

 spruces, in two rows ten feet apart with 

 spaces of ten feet in the rows; alterna- 

 ting so that the trees in each row may 

 be opposite the spaces in the other. If 

 but a single row is planted place the 

 trees six or seven feet apart. If the red 

 cedar or arbor vitae be used, they should 

 be planted closer — ^little more than half 

 the distance. After planting give a 

 dressing of rotten chips, stir the ground 

 two or three times early in the season, 

 and as soon as the first of July mulch 

 liberally as above directed. The ground 

 may be planted with potatoes, beans or 

 other low hoed crops for a few years, 

 taking care not to interfere with the 

 trees. After two or three years growth 

 the plow must not be allowed to pass so 

 near as to disturb their roots; but grass 

 and weeds should not be permitted to 

 grow near them while small. Cattle 

 must bo carefully prevented all access to 

 evergreens as they are certain to injure 

 if not destroy them. 



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