126 



THE ILLINOIS FiS^I^MEH. 



Into the account. — Ed.) A.nd this against an annual distruc- 

 tion of crops by Insects of over a million of dollars. Would 

 our people be content to oppose an invading army by voting 

 to Oeneral Scott a salary of f lOti, to two of his aids seventy- 

 five each, and to the soldiers nothing? 



They manage these things better in Europe. In Germany 

 and other Continental States Entomology in its rudiments is 

 made a portion of common school education. In the Agri- 

 cultural Schools a regular Professor of Entomology has a 

 place, and this branch is made his own, with no other ^oloff teg 

 added. When one considers that the Insect world numbers 

 over 400,000 species, it would leem to be a aufficient theme 

 and bran«h for one man. 



In France, this Is made a special matter of Government 

 attention. For instance, no sooner do caterpUlers appear In 

 any one of the Cantons than orders are issued to the pea- 

 Bants to " uncaterpilier " their trees, and it is done. The 

 same Government, to protect the country against the ravages 

 of locusts, pays a bounty of so much per bushel for the 

 bodies and eggs of these insects. 



This shows that Emperors and Kings do not think it be- 

 neath them to protect their people from these little minute 

 enemies. But perhaps some skeptical persons may question 

 if anything can be done. Let us take the single instance of 

 Sweden, where onco the royal dockyards were being ravaged 

 by borers— the larva of the Lymexylon Kivale—vih\c\\ de- 

 stroyed a large amount of the timber, rendering It unfit for 

 naval purposes, causing an annual loss of millions of dollars. 

 The King called on the great Linnaeus to examine into the 

 matter, and devise a remedy. He did so, and gave it much 

 study. He found the fly whose larva did such damage, laid 

 Its eggs in the timber, In June; and the remedy proposed was 

 to Immerse timber In water; and this was found to be effectual. 



He would agree with Dr. Fitch of New York that there Is no 

 noxious insect, that may not be opposed and counter-worked, 

 and for this, task, study, and a lung series of experiment is 

 needed. 



There are, according to Dr. Fitch, sixty noxious insects, 

 the enemy of the apple tree alone. In New York. How can 

 a few laborers and students in sciences cope with such an 

 army? 



The speaker would deprecate the Inference that the Insect 

 world were useless, and that they should all be Indiscrimina'.e- 

 ly destroyed. He referred to numerous familiar instances 

 where insects added indirectly to the comforts and luxuries of 

 life, as the bee, the silkworm, and others, lie thought, Indeed, 

 that the direct benefitt were less than the direct injuries. 

 They did much, however, to keep down one another. He 

 referred In detail to the beneficial labors of the socalled can- 

 nibal species of iasects, which constitute, it Is estimated, 

 one-fourth of the whole number. Much may be done in keep- 

 ing down the noxious Insects by protecting and encouraging 

 the propagation of the cannibal species. 



Cards of Invitation for a lady to a ball, were written with 

 Ink made of nutgalls, the fruit of the oak punctured by an 

 insect. The wax that sealed the envelope was made of shelly 

 the work also of an Insect. The silk of which her dress is 

 made, is the product of the silkworm, and dyed with cochi- 

 neal, which is used to the amount of a hundred million of 

 pounds, and if in going from the ball to her home, she should 

 take cold, the Doctor applies a blister of Spanish files, to 

 perfect her cure; thus half a dozen insects minister to a ladles 

 toilet, to prepare her for a single social ball. If it was not 

 for those insects that live on Insects, or If they were swept 

 away, this green earth of ours would be brown and barren In 

 summer, and the green vegetables all swept away. 



The next paper was read by Dr. Everett, of Diion, on the 

 "Geology of a section of Hock lUver, extending from Oregon 

 in Ogle county, to Sterling, In Whiteside county." The Doc- 

 tor illustrated his subject with a large box of specimens. — 

 These are from the Trenton and Hudson river limestone. 

 The large specimens of fossil marble, attracted no small at- 

 tention. The paper and specimens were both highly inter- 

 esting, but we have not the space for a description. 



Dr. Roe, of Bloomington, followed in a paper "Some fea- 

 tures of the Drift Formation In Illinois." 



The remainder of the morning session was occupied In a 

 discussion and comparison of observations on recent torna- 

 does. It was participated In by Mr. Shaw, Prof. Turner, 

 Prof. Adams, Prof. McChesney, Dr. Roe, and oUiers. No 

 defliilte theory wsis advanced however. 



Spbimqfield, 111., June 19, 1860. 



Editor Illinois farmer, Dear Sir : 

 I notice in one of your late numbers, 

 that Rats annoy you, and that you 

 have to some extent subdued them by 

 terriers, etc. They annoy us so much 

 that Ave cannot rest at night, and keep a 

 light all night. Please assist me. If 

 you have a terrier you can sell or lend, 

 bring me one when you come over, or 

 tell me how and where I can get one. 

 Please let me know what you can'do for 

 me, oblige, &c. 



Very respectfully, 



Silas W. Robbins. 



We know of no one who has a rat 

 terrier for sale, any one having them 

 can signify the same in the Farmer. 

 Three years since we were as much af- 

 flicted with the rats as Mr. Robbins, but 

 thanks to our industrious terrier and 

 their migratory disposition but few re- 



main. As soon as a new burrow is 

 made, the fact is duly noticed by "Ned,'' 

 who attends to them in person, or which 

 is often the case, is assisted with a spade 

 and the new family laid out. 



Farm buildings should be set up from 

 the ground bo that they cannot burrow 

 under them. Our barn is set up two 

 and a half feet, and in every case when 

 a rat has made his home under it, he has 

 been disposed of, had it been the usual 

 bight, they would have had a fastness 

 under the stone abutments, where noth- 

 ing but the spade could dislodge them. 

 Corn cribs should be set up at least two 

 and a half feet from the ground. Corn 

 will keep all the better for it. A nice 

 place for rats is to have the house set 

 about a foot from the ground, a hole 

 dug under it for vegetables, the sides 

 and banking will aflFord them a dry 

 place, in which to burrow, and as they 

 can live on the vegetables they will 

 flourish amazingly. — Ed. 



-«»- 



The Culture of Broom Corn. 



To-day wc visited the farm of Messrs. 

 Johnson & Bogardus, about one and a half 

 miles west of the depot, at the city of Cham- 

 paign, (late West Urbana) and found them 

 busy with their fine field of broom corn. — 

 Early in April they purchased a half sec- 

 tion, paying twenty-five dollars peracre cash. 

 A part of the land had been broken three 

 years since, and sown to winter wheat, and 

 last year grew up to weeds j the balance 

 was broken late last summer. Altogether, 

 it looked like an unpromising task to put 

 this three hundred and twenty acres into a 

 crop that requires such nice culture as broom 

 corn. The ground is somewhat rolling, with 

 a few smallponds and narrow fsloughs, lead- 

 ing through the grounds, at their junction 

 widening out into swampy places, too wet for 

 the plow. Through these they put a mole 

 drain, of over two and a half miles, all ter- 

 minating in an open drain. These are all 

 discharging water at this time, pure as the 

 springs from any hill-side. 



On the ninth day of April they commen- 

 ced plowing, and on the first day of May put 

 the first seed into the'^ground, and the last 

 of it the sixteenth of June. The first plant- 

 ing is two and a half feet high, and the last 

 is just showing above ground. Some twen- 

 ty acres of the slough was found too wet and 

 too full of wild grass to plant, but with the 

 thorough draining it can now bo subdued, 

 and next spring will be ready to plant. The 

 seed is planted in drills, the rows being two 

 feet and nine inches apart, making a contin- 

 uous row of three miles to the acre ; conse- 

 quently the boy who did the planting trav- 

 eled four hundred and fifty miles to accom- 

 plish the work. 



The first process ^in its culture is what is 

 called scraping. A one horse implement, 

 called a scraper, runs between the rows, and 

 the shares are so constructed that they scrape 



the earth from the drills and leave a slight 

 ridge in the center between the rows. To 

 do this, nine hundred miles of travel with 

 man and horse is required. 



In the next place, comes the hand hoe, 

 and finishes up what the scraper had left, 

 taking out all remaining weeds. One hand 

 does one and a half acres per day, and as he 

 works one side of the row at a time, travels 

 nine miles along the rows, taking out the 

 weeds ; that is, passes twice along the same 

 row. 



The next operation ie to" work it with a 

 Broom Corn Cultivator. These are made 

 with adjustable mould boards of a peculiar 

 construction, one on each side, with a com- 

 mon shovel plow in the center. These 

 are placod in a frame and can be arranged 

 to throw the earth to or from the drills. — 



We should have said that shafts sre attached 

 to the former, so that they work more truer 

 than a common cultivator, and the hint, we 

 think, a good one for corn culture. 



Two more workings with this cultivator, 

 and the crop will be laid hy, when the corn 

 will have so completely shaded the ground 

 that no weeds can grow. Hero we have, 

 from the planting to laying by, about six 

 thousand miles of travel, and this in addi- 

 tion to plowing, harrowing and rolling — 

 (twice). But this is only the beginning of 

 the end, as the largest amount of labor will 

 be in the breaking down of the heads, cut- 

 ting by hand, scraping off the seed, curing 

 and baling. It must all be cured under sheds, 

 which of course will require no small outlay. 

 Half a mile of post and board fence, and one 

 and a half miles of wire fence, have been 

 put up, and a house to board the hands — 

 stables and wells are among the improve- 

 ments made since the ninth day of April. — 

 The land is in the best possible order that it 

 could be under the condition of things ; the 

 growth is healthy and vigorous, and with 

 favorable weather, a good yield may be ex- 

 pected. The crop is contracted to go to 

 Philadelphia, where it is to be worked up 

 into genuine Shaker brooms. 



We need not say to our readers that these 

 gentlemen farmers are practical men, and 

 men of energy, and that the word fail is not 

 in their vocabulary. Soon as the fixtures 

 and machinery are ready for the harvest, we 

 will again recur to the subject. 



><••- 



Fairbanks' Scales. 

 It is with some business firms as it is 

 with some individuals, that thdjjr stand 

 alone in the walk or department of trade 

 to which they direct their attention. It 

 becomes a specialty with them, and by 

 making it such, they carry it to the 

 highest perfection of which it is capa- 

 ble. This 13 the case with Messrs. 

 Fairbanks, the celebrated Scale Makers. 

 They have devoted themselves so entire- 

 ly, and with such thorough science and 

 and skill, to the manufacture of weigh 

 ing instruments, that they seem to have 

 left nothing to be done by others. — N. 

 Y, Evening Post. 



It is by thus attending to every de- 

 mand in the wide world that this house 

 has become the great national scale 



