Ohio Chltivator. — Col. Harris keeps his paper us freih 

 as a new blown rose, and withal, stuffed full of the valuable. 

 Central Ohio had ought to feel proud of their paper and its 

 handsome editor. (Ool., we keep that likeness of yours in 

 our sanctum.) The missing Nos. of the FarmeH arc mailed. 

 The Ohio Cultivator is $1; Beml-monthly. We club It wltli 

 the Farmer for 1 1 75. 



CuuFA, OB Earth Almond.— A writer in iht Ohio Culti- 

 vator says this new edible should be put In cloth bags and 

 kept though the winter in a dry place, free from frost ; that 

 in tight boxes or in a cellar they are apt to mould. They im- 

 prove by keeping, and like a winter pear, require houie ripe- 

 ning. He considers them valuable, and plants largely. We 

 have several inquirers for the seed or tubers. Who has them 

 CD sale ? 



NoRTHWisTiRK Farhir, Dubuque, lova. — This monthly 

 Is of the same age with our own pet, and Is giving indabitable 

 signs of usefulness. Mark Miller is the Home Editor, and I. 0. 

 Brayton, a practical nurseryman and fruit grower, the Hor- 

 ticultural Editor. S. Lombard, a practical farmer, Is Associ- 

 ate Editor, and Edgar Sanders, the well known florist of Chi- 

 cago, has lately become the Editor of the. Garden Department. 

 We think our Iowa friends should be satisfied with this array 

 practical talent. We always read the A'orthiceeieni, because 

 we expect practical good sense, fresh from the farm, the orch- 

 ard and the garden. 



Lamoille Ncrbert. — We ask our readers who are in want 

 of fine evergreens and other trees, to look through the adver- 

 tisement of Mr. Edwards. His prices are exceedingly low, 

 and we know bis trees to be fine. Belts of evergreens about 

 the garden, will make from one to two weeks difference In the 

 maturity of early vegetables, by preventing the cold winds 

 from sweeping over the ground and robbing It of its heat ; be- 

 sides how much better will such a garden look, both in sum- 

 mer and winter. Of small fruits, it will be seen that his stock 

 is large and select. The small fruits are the great fruits after 

 all, and It is a matter of surprise to us, that so many will neg- 

 lect them. A farmer who purchases a hundred apple trees, 

 will usually take half a dozen currant buihes, two gooseberry, 

 one pie plant, one grape and cherry, costing two dollars. His 

 bin will be for apple trees, that he will have to wait four to 

 six years for fruit, say $20; for small fruits that will produce 

 good crops the next year, $2,00. Every farmer, on a new 

 place, sheuld Just reverse this; for the small fruiti are always 

 reliable, always ready, imd tunilsh fruit at once. 



SwiET Potatoes. — Those who intend to sprout their own 

 seed, should order at once, and send for directions. See card 

 of J. AV. Tenbrook. Mr. T. Is now publishing a pamphlet on 

 the culture of this rich esculent, which he proposes to send to 

 bis justomers. and others con have it by enclosing him twen- 

 ty-flre cents in stamps. 



Silver Maple Se^olinos. — These, for timber belts are very 

 valuable, and those planting largely should order at once. A 

 few thousand will add lines of beauty and of use to the farm. 

 Plant trees, plant trees, and they will break the chill winds 

 from your stock, your orchard and your garden. 



Steam Plow, Lancaster. — This engine stands where left 

 last fall, and we hear nothing from Mr. Fawkes. Tliree acres 

 of the breaking done last fall has been town to spring wheat, 

 one acre to oats, and half an acre to plant to corn; all of this 

 to test the value of fall breaking. Seven acres broken up last 

 March with the double Michigan plow, has also been sown to 

 wheat. The sowing was done the 14th, 15th and 16th ingt., 

 and four and a half days work of two teams to barrow in; a 

 full day to the acre of the last fall breaking. At this writing, 

 our roller has not arrived, (19th) but as soon at It is received 

 we shall commence to roll. This is probably the first crop of 

 gr&in sown on land plowed by steam on tlus side of the Atlan- 

 tic. The great prairie slopes are the place for steam culture, 

 and it la fitting that the first crop should be grown on them. 

 The breaking was done In the most perfect manner, and from 

 present appearances, will 'produce a fine crop. Yet we think 

 that if broken to the same depth with double Michigan plows, 

 the winter's frosts would have had a more decided effect upon 

 It. 



Sweet Potatob Plants. — In this No., we introduce to our 

 readers, another patron of good living, Mr. M. M. Murray, 

 whose ambition is to supply the million or more of people In 

 this great Northwest of ours, with an ample supply of sweet 

 potatoe plants. Mr. M. claims to have the genuine Na.vsb- 

 MOND, which all our readers ought to know. Is the only variety 

 of any value In these diggings. But comparatively few of our 

 farmers grow a tithe of what they should use in their own fam- 

 ilies, to say nothing of the markets. The sweet potatoe is one 

 of the most valuable of our autumn vegetablos, coming in use 

 the last of August, and keeping into January. With plants at 

 such low rates, no excuse can be had fur not adding tliis to 

 the list of staple luxuries. 



The HoRTiccLTURisT.-The February No. of this valuable 

 journal did not reach us in time to make a note of its contents 

 in our last. As we have before stated, Mr. Mead is giving It 

 a more practical turn, and of course, enhancing its value for 

 the West, where utility it more in demand than mere orna- 

 ment. Not that we have failed to appreciate the valuable ar- 

 ticles on ornamental gardening, but the truth Is, that we have 

 not had the means of indulging in such luxuries. 



The editor commences with a chapter on Dicarf Pearg, De^p 

 Planting. He is a^jainst deep planting, though he admits 

 that the tree should be so worked that the junction should be 

 below the surface when planted. In New York, where the 

 winter covering of snow fully protects the quince stock. It Is 

 of no consequence about setting the quince stock below the 

 surface ; but on the prairies, where the ground has no protec- 

 tion from the sudden freezings and thawlngs of our winters, 

 the more tender quince stock must either be set below the sur- 

 face, or a mound of earth be thrown around it. When the 

 stock has been worked high, we should, with Mr. Mead, pre- 

 fer the shallow planting, and In this case bank up ; but we 

 would not take from a nursery any of those high worked trees. 

 We insist upon dwarf pears being worked lower for our prai- 

 rie planters. Will our Eastern nurserymen please make a 

 note of this? 



Underdraining, protection, shallow planting, and thorough 

 culture, will give us a supply of this delicious fruit. 



Since writing the above, the March No. has come to hand, 

 and the subject of Dwarf Pears is again discussed. Shallow 

 I>lautlng is shown to be tlie best, and so well is this being un- 

 derstood, that most nurserymen are working their trees two to 

 five Inches high. Pear quackery and special manures are 

 having their day, and we shall goon be on open plain sailing, 

 with fine trees and plenty of pears. 



We club the JInrticulturalitt and Farmer at $2,50. Back 

 numbers of both from January can be supplied. 



The Sullitant Farm.— Much has been said of this farm, 

 but the public has very incorrect ideas in relation to it. Mr. 

 Michael Sulllvant is probably the largest individual land hol- 

 der in the State. He resides near Columbus, in Ohio. His 

 son, J. M. Sullivant, resides on a portion of this land, some 

 eight miles south of Homer, in the county of Champaign. 

 This farm is a part of a body of land containing about twenty 

 thousand acres of prairie, only a small portion of which is 

 under culture. Mr. Sullivant is a practical farmer, and man- 

 %Koe tlie business with care and economy. He has of all ages 

 of cattle some ux hundred head, being something less than 

 Capt. J. N. Brown keeps on his farm of fourteen hundred 

 acres, set in blue grass. Last fall he sowed six hundred acres 

 of wheat on the sod which looks well, and two hundred on 

 old land, which Is of little value. Of his spring crops we 

 •hall speak 'at the proper time. He sold to Messrs. Murphy 

 k Slaughter, of McLean county, Kentucky, one thousand 

 tons of timothy hay; four hundred of which have been sent 

 to New Orleans. The price was $10 per ton delivered at the 

 depot, after having been baled by the purchasers. Mr. S. has 

 some 200 tons more than will be necessary to winter his stock. 



In draining, orcharding and planting of timber belts, Mr. 

 S. is doing considerable. But few of the very large farms 

 have even paid the outlay, but from what we learn of this 

 farm, it has been made to pay quite well, and with the 

 experience of the Messrs. S., father and son, we may look 

 forward to good results from this " Great Farm." We intend 

 to visit it lu May, and take a look at the machinery that 

 works these thousands of acres, and are makinif them attrac- 

 tive and useful. 



WooDBCR.v NuRSKRY. — Farmers of Central and Southern 

 Illinois, should not overlook this fine nursery. When you or- 

 der fruit trees, don't forget the silver maples. 



YooNo's CcLTivATOR. — We gave this an hour's trial to-day, 

 (20th) and must say, that our good opinion of it at a weed 

 exterminator is not abated. That for a young crop of weeds 

 it must be decidedly the best thing of the kind. It makes a 

 clean sweep the width of the implement. As It will only re- 

 quire once passing through a row. It will work six to eight 

 acres a day. It is not calculated for rough, sody or clody 

 ground, or for tall weeds; and no shiftless farmer should In- 

 vest In one; but for nurserymen, gardeners, and such farmers 

 as delight In thorough, clean culture and fine growth, we can 

 commend this new candidate for public favor, as we are quite 

 sure 1' will please them. 



The Qakdeber's Mo-ntulv.— The March No. of this excel- 

 lent gardening journal Is at hand, and as usual filled with val- 

 uable practical matter. Wo wish every subscriber of the 

 Farmer had a copy of it, as we know it would be worth five I 

 times its cost to them. It is devoted to hurticulture, arbori- • 

 culture, botany aud rural affairs; $1 a year; ?1,75 with the ' 

 Farmer. Subscriptions received and forwarded by the ed- i 

 Itor, at West Urbaua, aud the publisbers of the Fanner, \ 

 Springfield. I 



Maeb Good Implemknts. — Many of our cultivators, shoT- 

 el plows, harrows, reapers, et-c., etc., are made of poor mate- 

 rial, and Instead of being a benefit, are a real damage, as 

 they always fMl when most needed. The greatest fault It 

 with the timber, much of which is of brittle ash, wholly unfit 

 for other purposes than fire wood, and not the best for that. 

 When we have abundance of good liickory, maple and oak, it 

 appears sheer nonsense to use XY\t poor ash. WTien we shall 

 have second growth ash we may use it; but out with this trash. 



Last season we purchased a shovel plow; the standard was of 

 ash nicely painted, but did not run ten rods before it broke, 

 and that without coming In collision with anything more seri- 

 ous than deeply plowed land. The team had to be turned out 

 and a half day spent In repairing. Damage, loss of team half 

 day, fifty cents; repairing, seventy-five cents; loss of time to 

 look aftpr it, twenty-five cents; total, one dollar, damage to 

 the maker the profit on two other shovel plowi purchased of 

 other parties. 



The same thing occurred with two cultivators; one of which 

 was made some few miles distant, taking about a day with 

 team going and returning, to have it made good. W» have 

 met with repeated loss in thii way, and have come to the con- 

 clusion to pay for no more poor timber. It is often the case, 

 that new cultivator teeth and plows must be sent to the shop 

 to be sharpened, before you can use them. It is a well-known 

 fact, that Eastern-made tools, as a general thing, are better 

 made and of better material than those made West. This la 

 a shame to our workmen, yet such is the impression, and it is 

 just that and no more that makes them more sought after than 

 from our own shops. Unless we see signs of reformation in 

 this respect, whe shall become a little more personal in our re- 

 marks, and point out to our readers who do and who do not 

 use good timber and good workmanship. While the cast steel 

 mould boards of our steel clippers are faultless in form, the 

 worm eaten beams, covered over with putty and paint, only 

 serve at a disappointment, but in justice to our plowmakers, 

 they have made good progress, and are but little liable to 

 censure, yet not all are free from thi.i sin of rotten wood. 



Cast Iron Land Rollers.— To cultivate corn with success, 

 a land roller is almost indispensable. It crushes the clods and 

 makes the surface in fine tilth. The seed can be planted 

 shallow, and vermin cannot find the hills until the plants are 

 up, and the earth being so firmly packed about the roots, that 

 it will l>e almost impossible to pull It; It may be broken off 

 but this will start again. We have one of Atwater's six sec- 

 tion rollers, costing f 45 and weighing S50 pounds, with which 

 we are well pleased. It is cheap, durable and efiicient. See 

 his advertisement. 



McQciston's Corn Subller. — Manufacturers are begin- 

 ning to appreciate the value of the Illinois Farmer as an ad- 

 vertising medium, circulating as it does, largely in the cen 

 tral and south part of the State, and more or less all over the 

 west. In this number we introduce to our readers Mr. Isaac 

 P. Atwater, the owner of McQuiston's Sheller and Horse 

 Power. A neighbor of ours has one of them, and is highly 

 pleased with it. Great speed of work and durability is 

 claimed for them, and also, what is of no small Importance, 

 immunity from breaking the corn. We hear of one sold in 

 November, that up to February first had slielled over thirty 

 thousand bushels, with less than three dollars expense for re- 

 pairs. The one we saw at work was shelling green corn, ele- 

 vating and bagging it at the rate of fifty bushels per hour; 

 that was in November; If dry corn, of course It would do 

 much more. We doubt if there is a better and cheaper shel ler 

 in the State. Farmers having large lots of corn to shell, 

 would do well to write Mr. Atwater. 



Review or FLSisnMAN's new mode of Plowing, it una- 

 voidably crowded out. It will not spoil to lay over, and we 

 cannot afford to leave out much other valuable matter for it. 



Aw Illinois Barn and Piggerv. — In the next number, we 

 hope to have the engraving for the above. Will some of our 

 readers send us plans? — no untried ones, but actual, targible 

 buildings, owned by somebody and used to some purpose. 



Fngravinos.— The readers of the Far^ner will see that we 

 are redeeming the promise of the Publishers in improving the 

 paper, as the receipts will warrant, which thus far have more 

 than met their most sanguine expectations. If they had ta- 

 ken the course of some publishers to send old garden and 

 flower seed, or the paper six months on trial, they would now 

 have a list of over ten thousand; but they believe In substan- 

 tial progress, and will give value for value. 



SCBSOIL Plow. — In this number we present a cut of Deere 

 A Co. 's Subsoil Plow, the first plow of the kind made in the 

 State, so far as we are advised. Many have made deep tillers 

 for trench i)l()wing, but this subsoiler is another ihing en- 

 tirely, it breaks up and loosens the subsoil without throwing 

 it out. AVe hope our fanners will give it a thorough trial; for 

 one, we are bound to do so. 



