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62 



THE ILLINOIS ir^Il]MEIl. 



K*^'' 



er's son or the mechanic's apprentice, while 

 the eara of both are as delicate and as sub- 

 ceptible to harmony as the most perfumed 

 cit or effeminate dandy ; in fact, they are 

 more sc, for they have had the advantage of 

 robust health that labor brings, and only re- 

 quire cultivation to fully appreciate the rich- 

 est melody. It is in the country and in the 

 workshop where the human voice acquires 

 its notes of deep pathos, which, when ac- 

 companied with instrumental music, lifts our 

 souls above the gaze of mortals. It is there- 

 fore evident that the piano, could not 

 even if its cost was within the reach 

 of all, fill that place; but in the 

 melodeon we have just the kind of 

 instrument required ; it is fitted to the 

 hand of labor, and its full rich tones mingle 

 ■with the voice of robust health, or bink to 

 the cadence that soothes the fevered brain of 

 one prostrated on the bed of sickness. 



Conversing with a farming friend a short 

 time since, he said he regretted his inability 

 to furnish his wife with a piano, as she was 

 accustomed to its use before marriage, and 

 he confessed that the melody of those sounds 

 still lingered with sweetness in his memory, 

 but the tightness of the times prevented any 

 idea ot indulging in the luxury, but a melo- 

 deon he could afibrd, and would at once order 

 it. 



The ruling spirit of the age among farmers 

 is more land, and to this moloch is offered up 

 the richest gifts of sympathy — the fine chords 

 of affection are snapped asunder, and the mi- 

 ser's greed scatters the household far away 

 from the fireside, and the declining years of 

 age must be spent in the presence of the 

 sordid god, without the sympathy of those to 

 whom they have given being, and whom 

 they have sent out into the cheerless world, 

 beyond the kindly warmth ot the paternal 

 roof. Would it not be better to spare two or 

 three head of cattle from that ample stock, 

 and make a present of a melodeon to those 

 interesting boys, and give them and 

 yourself the benefit of sweet sounds in the 

 long winter evenings, and when soft zephyrs 

 steal through the vines that are kissed ly 

 the last rays of the summer sun as it sinks in 

 the hither west. The mother, proud of her 

 boys, will be proud to assist them in their 

 lessons, and music will go up from a united 

 household, over which memory shall linger 

 when that mother shall have passed to the 

 unseen world, and new hearths and new al- 

 tars are redolent with thankfulness and mu- 

 sic for the gift of the melodeon. 

 «•»— 



Spring is Coming. 



Yes, Spring is coming. He is playing 



hide and seek amid the peach hills of 



Egypt, and soon he will take to the 



track of the Great Illinois Central Rail- 



way and give us a pleasant greeting. — 

 Come on, Spring, we shall be most hap- 

 py to welcume you to the prairie slopes 

 and picturesque groves of our Cham- 

 paign. 



A friend writing us from Jonesboro, 

 says that " on the 8th inst., we had 

 rhubarb pies made from rhubarb grown 

 in the open ground, in my garden, from 

 plants set out last year — ^lots of peaches 

 in Egypt yet. Do not see that the young 

 trees suffered from the winter at all ; 

 wheat looks fine — weather pleasant — 

 several varieties of native flowers are in 

 bloom, — lilacs almost out.'' Give Spring 

 a start this way, friend Wiley, that we 

 too may enjoy fresh rhubarb pies and 

 vernal flowers. 



Hereaway old Winter has sent young 

 Spring to the wall, and once more remin- 

 ded the boys of their skates. The ice 

 is an inch thick, and the signal notes of 

 Spring are no longer heard. The frogs 

 have again dove deep into the mud. — 

 The peepers have hushed their discor- 

 dant notes. The birds of passage no 

 longer set their eyes on the north star, 

 and the fields lay locked in frost. The 

 plow is frozen in the furrow that the 

 spring like weather of last week tempted 

 out, and the early sown wheat is having 

 a cold bed : but be patient, for while the 

 busy fingers of the typo is setting this 

 up, Spring may greet his cheek with a 

 warm kiss, and he may truly shout — See, 

 SPKiisa a A Come. 



The above was written 11th inst., and 

 now on the morning of the 27th, we 

 have the ground frozen two inches deep, 

 and ice a half an inch; but of this 

 we ought not to complain, the weather 

 has been dry and farmers have been busy 

 plowing. The wheat, oats and barley 

 have been sown and a large breadth 

 plowed for corn. Our Double Michagan 

 is busy breaking up the borders along 

 the open ditches made last year, and in 

 grounds that could not have been broken 

 without draining. This backwardness 

 of the season will be of great advantage 

 to fruit, and to the farmer generally. — 

 A cold winter and late dry spring, ac- 

 cording to our exprience, indicate an 

 abundant harvest. — Ed. 



For tb« niinoii Farmer. 



The Farmer's Enemies. 



Although the farmer meets with many 

 enemies not belonging to the Animal 

 Kingdom, yet it is to this division, of 

 nature we intend to confine our inquiries 

 at present. 



And surely it cannot fail to be inter- 

 esting to the farmer to glance over this 

 vast assemblage and mark those that are 

 against him as well as those for him. — 

 We would much prefer being simply de- 



scriptive than systematic, but as the for- 

 mer method would require too much 

 space, we must of necessity adopt the 

 latter plan in part, as by this method 

 we may often at a single stroke dismiss a 

 considerable portion of this vast king- 

 dom. 



Naturalists have divided the whole 

 Animal Kingdom into four great branch- 

 es, as follows : First, the Vertebrata, 

 those having back-bones, as quadrupeds, 

 birds, fishes and reptiles. Second, Ar- 

 ticulati, as lobsters, spiders, centipedes 

 and insects. Third, 3Iollusca, as shell- 

 fish, snails, slugs, &c. Fourth, Radi- 

 ata, as star-fish, corals, and sponges. 



The Mollusca and Radiata^ although 

 playing an impo tant part in the watery 

 element, in which they chiefly reside, yet 

 do little, if any injury to the farmer, 

 consequently may at once be dismissed. 

 This leaves but two branches, the Ver- 

 tebrata and ArticulatUy in which to seek 

 the farmer's enemies. 



Beginning with the former, which em- 

 braces the higher animals, we will follow 

 naturalists, and divide the branch into 

 four classes as follows : Frst, Mam,' 

 maliay embracing quadrupeds, bats and 

 whales; second, Birds; third Reptiles; 

 fourth. Fishes. From these we may at 

 once set aside the fishes as not injurious. 



The first order of mammalia ( Quad- 

 rumana,) containing the monkey tribes, 

 has no representative in this portion of 

 the country, therefore requires no notice 

 from us. The second order ( Cheiropte- 

 ra,) containing the bats, include some 

 three or four species found in Illinois; 

 but as none of these belong to the fru- 

 givorous tribes they do no injury But 

 on the contrary, they befriend him by 

 destroying a vast number of insects, 

 their favorite food. 



The next order or group ( Insectivora) 

 contains a number of species found in 

 our State, which are often condemned 

 by the farmer and gardener as pests. — 

 To this group belong the Shrews and 

 Moles; of the former, some five or six 

 species are to be found in the State. — 

 These principally subsist on insects and 

 worms, and certainly do no injury to the 

 farmer or gardener. The common Sil- 

 ver Mole (^Scalops argentatusjhdiS often 

 provoked discussion as to whether it is 

 injurious or beneficial. As its food con- 

 sists chiefly of insects and worms, it 

 must be granted that so far as it de- 

 stroys these it is beneficial; yet it often 

 eats the tender roots of useful vegetablas 

 and plows up the beds and walks to the 

 no little annoyance of the earful garden- 

 er. The Star-nosed Mole {Qondylura 

 cristata,) I am unacquainted with, it is 

 probably to be found in the extremely 

 northern portion of the State. Mr. 

 Kennicott gives it in his list. Trans. 

 III. Ag. Soc. Vol. 1. 



The next order of mammalia, {Carni- 



