94 



THE Ii:.LI]>^OIS fa.ii]nj:ek. 



are mostly at "\Vhcaton,Ayhere at one timo 

 they intended to remove the whole stock. 

 To us the great attraction was the large 

 amount of evergreens, nearly all im- 

 ported from the French nurseries. 

 Norway spruce leads off in largo 

 numbers, and the Austrian pine, 

 fine, showy, thrifty plants, grow as 

 though they were pleased with their 

 Republican location in free soil. The 

 small fruits occupy a large apace ; so 

 of grapes, dwarf pear and apples. If 

 our tree planters will compare the prices 

 of this large nursery with those East, 

 they will observe that they average less, 

 while the plants and trees are better 

 grown, of course acclimated, to say no- 

 thing in regard to saving of freight and 

 the risk of loss by distant transporta- 

 tion. In this case, " far brought and 

 dear bought, " proves but poor economy. 

 During the season we intend to visit 

 other Illinois nurseries, and show what 

 c»n bo had at home. 



i Trip to Egypt. 



The readers of the Farmer will recollect 

 that in the last number an announcement 

 was made of a Fair, to be held at Centralia, 

 by the Southern Illinois Horticultural Soci- 

 ety, May 22nd and 23d. In accordance with 

 that announcement, we proceeded to Cen- 

 tralia, and much to our disappointment, 

 learned that the contemplated Fair waa post- 

 poned indefinitely. Dr. Warder had been 

 advertised to deliver the address, and we had 

 expected to have seen the vernal flora, the 

 embryo fruit of the orchard, ripe strawber- 

 ries, mulberries, and the early vegetables of 

 this favored region ; but alas, none of these 

 came to greet our vision, and we decided to 

 take the return train for home. "With Mr. 

 S. Silver, we visited several gardens in the 

 city, and found the dwarf pears, the peach, 

 the apricots, and the grape vines loaded to 

 profusion. The otrawberry season was near- 

 ly over; green peas were. in abundance, and 

 new potatoes will be plenty in some two 

 weeks. Most of the fields of winter wheat 

 look well, though some of them have suffer- 

 ed with winter-killing. Until within a few 

 days, the weather had been dry, and the 

 chinch bug had began to make their appear- 

 ance; but the late heavy rains have checked 

 them. Corn was coming up good, and on 

 the whole the prospect is flattering for the 

 grain crops. Irish and sweet potatoes have 

 been planted in liberal supply, and gardens 

 have received more than usual attention. — 

 The dwarf pear is giving good? promise of 

 success, and large plantations of them will 

 now be planted out. 



The Coutraliu House, which is kept by 



Mes.sr8. Hutchinson & Ilawley, is a model of 

 its kind. Not being disposed to run the 

 risk of the market for a supply of vegetables 

 they have an extensive garden, which fur- 

 nishes an abundant supply the year around, 

 and thus their table is always loaded with 

 fresh regetftbles in season, and out of season. 

 In this way they have built up a reputation 

 with the traveling public of which the Cen- 

 tralians should be proud. 



CAUSE OF THE FAILURE OF THE FAIR. 



In regard to this, we could learn nothing 

 definitely, though several threw the blame 

 on Superintendent Arthur, for not granting 

 half fare on the I. C. R. R. Others, that 

 Secretary Kennicott had resigned, and that 

 no one had been appointed in his place. We 

 knew Charley was capable of getting up a 

 Fair without much help, but we hope for the 

 credit of Egypt, that they did not rest the 

 •whole responsibility upon him, though we 

 were assured had he put his shoulder to the 

 wheel, the whole thing would have moved 

 forward to success. On this half-fare ar- 

 rangement we have something to say. From 

 our experience, it is a source of great incon- 

 venience to the rail roads, resulting in a loss 

 to them in the disarrangement of their busi- 

 ness, and of little or no particular advantage 

 to enterprises of this kind. The thing has 

 been run into the ground — so many excur- 

 sions of this kind have provpid fjiilurefl, that 

 we do not blame Superintendents from shut- 

 ting down on the whole thing. Last year 

 when the Fair was at Joncsboro, Superin- 

 tendent Arthur took an active part. He is- 

 sued over one hundred and fifty free passes 

 to persons attending the Fair, not half of 

 which were used on that occasion, but most 

 of them afterwards, and with all this liber- 

 ality on the part of the Illinois Central rail- 

 way, the Fair was but a partial luccesi. — 

 AYc do not believe this to be the cause of 

 failure, nor do we think it either the policy 

 of the road or of such Societies to depend 

 upon any such arrangement to ensure suc- 

 cess. It certainly will not pay the road and 

 should be abandoned. We know this Com- 

 pany take a deep interest in all that tends to 

 develop the agricultural and horticultural re- 

 sources of the country, from the fact that 

 they own large tracts of land, and wo can 

 suggest no better way for them to encourage 

 an enterprise of this kind, than to carry ar- 

 ticles for exhibition free, and to pass such 

 of the ofliccrs as take an active part in the 

 getting up of these shows ; beyond this, we 

 cannot see that the public have any claims 

 upon the Company. People do not like to 

 pay freight on articles for exhibition to please 



others, but would willingly bo at the trouble 

 of packing and sliipping, if sent free of 

 freight; and in this way a larger show would 



be had than otherwise. In this way tho 

 Company might encourage these enterprises 

 without loss to themselves, as the increased 

 number of passengers would make up the 

 loss on freight, and thus, without loss to any 

 one, tend to build up and encourage these 

 shows. If the Company was paying large 

 dividends to stockholders, the case might he 

 different; but so long as the Company are 

 struggling to pay current expenses and the 

 seven per cent, to the State, it is not right to 

 censure them for doing what is their duty for 

 the best interest of the road. We are not 

 disposed to lay the blame to any one in par- 

 ticular, for there is little doubt that the real 

 difficulty is in the want of material for such 

 a show, and the want of time in the mana- 

 gers to get it up. Until a taste for the beau- 

 tiful is more generally infused in the rural 

 population, our Egyptian friends will find 

 the getting up of floral exhibitions an uphill 

 business. Horse-racing and circuses seldom 

 fail to draw a crowd from the rural popula- 

 tion without the aid of half fares, but the 

 time is not distant when this Italia of the 

 West will draw large crowds to see her rich 



ofi"erings ol floral and pomonial products. 

 4*. 



The Prices of Farm Producti. 



The prices for all kinds of farm pro- 

 duce are well sustained, and bid fair to 

 continue. There seem then nothing to 

 prevent the farmer growing richer every 

 year. The great thing is to so manage 

 — by industry and proper cultivation of 

 the soil- — as to have plenty of something 

 to sell. If he does this, the prices his 

 surplus stock will command will soon 

 place him in a position of independence 

 and comfort. 



We would again urge our farming 

 friends to cultivate no more land than 

 can be cultivated well. If you have 

 been in the habit of planting forty acres 

 to corn every year, stop and think 

 whether you cannot raise as much from 

 thirty acres, rightly tilled, as you could 

 from the forty, run over in the usual 

 style. If you shal^ be convinced that 

 the thirty acres are susceptible of net- 

 ting you as great a crop as the forty 

 acres have previously produced, just 

 calculate some of the advantages to be 

 derived from this going over a less quan- 

 tity of ground. The expense of keepin(T 

 up fences will be reduced twenty-five per 

 cent. In the plowing of the land, and 

 in the tilling of the crop, the amount of 

 traveling to be done will also be reduced 

 twenty-five per cent. The amount of 

 wheat, oats, clover, or timothy raised on 

 the other ten acres should also be taken 

 into the account. 



Every good farmer in the Ohio Val- 

 ley should not fail to give due attention 

 to the raising of the grasses. Plow no 

 more land whether it be for coi-n, oats, 



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