144 



THE ILLINOIS F^HMER. 



axle of the machine, and the subsequent 

 working can be done with a single horse 

 with a fine tooth cultivator, the teeth 

 made like small shovel plows, so that 

 they will scour. 



We teel warranted in saying that by 

 planting in drills while the ground is 

 newly plowed, that one working will be 

 saved ; that the rolling will insure a good 

 stand, however unfavorable the weather, 

 with good seed, subject only to severe 

 frost, as neither wet or dry weather can 

 seriously efi"ect it. In rolling, the seed 

 is planted shallow and the soil so firmly 

 pressed on ic,that it is sure to gdrminate. 

 ^vperience has not fully demonstrated 

 laow c^xose to plant the corn in the drills, 

 but If, ■yf[i\ \yQ gjj^fg ^o p^^t jn plenty of 



seed, ai4 jf too thick the surplus stalks 

 can be eaSily out out with a hoe, as one 

 person can go over iii^oo o^rps in a day 

 or even more. 



I'he i;\x««i{- pQ^ planters can easily be 

 changed so as to p\*mt in drills, and the 

 new ones, thousands of wiuoVi -will be 

 wanted, can be made for drilling; whettt 

 drills can be so altered that they can be 

 used for this purpose, and thus by a com- 

 bination be made to answer two important 

 purposes. At our coming State and 

 county fairs we hope to see this subject 

 fully discussed, so that makers of 

 planters and cultivators will be better 

 posted up in the wants of the farm. Our 

 corn crop is the most important, and any 

 improvement that will lessen the cost of 

 its production, insure its certainty and 

 improve its quality, will be hailed by our 

 farmers with delight. For ourself, we 

 have decided to adopt the foregoing and 

 give it a thorough trial, and we have no 



misgiving in relation to the results. 

 «•» 



For the Illinois Farmer. 



A Talk with the Editor. 

 Mr. Editor Dunlap: — From thou- 

 sands of your gratified readers, the most 

 sincere and heartfelt thanks are certain- 

 ly elicited, for the bountiful, the rich 

 and varied supply of good things you 

 monthly spread upon your Editorial Ta- 

 ble, for their entertainment. 



But something more perhaps, than 

 bare thanks, is jour due. I think so at 

 least, and it strikes me that it is the du' 

 ty of some of us to contribute something, 

 now and then, which, if rot exactly fit 

 for the "Table" among the more deli- 

 cious viands of the main feast, might 

 serve as a "ten o'clock piece," or a 

 ."four o'clock lunch.'' From my use of 

 these terms, you will infer that a farmer 



is now endeavoring to hold a talk with 

 you. Well, it is so; and while I am 

 rather proud of the title and rejoice in 

 the calling, yet I am almost ashamed to 

 say that like most of my bony handed, 

 cramp fingered brethren, I would rather 

 read a thousand and one of your instruct- 

 ive paragraphs, than to deface a sheet of 

 white paper with one sentence of my 

 penmanship. Farmers, however, who 

 would wish to give you their experience, 

 ought to be encouraged to do so by the 

 fact, that the transforming hands of 

 your excellent printers will give to their 

 thoughts, just as neat a dress, as to the 

 most fine and clerk-like manuscript im- 

 aginable. This is a great consolation to 

 those of us who prefer the hoe to the 

 quill. 



But, Mr. Editor, my preface is long 

 enough, and it is time I was saying some- 

 thing. Well then, as I have some facts 

 to state and some questions to ask, and 

 wish to embrace all in a very short chap- 

 ter, I will begin at once. 



APPLES. 



I have just CAten, with great relish, a 

 most luscious apple which, with others, 

 I pulled from a tree in Ociobci laot,. — 

 But this is nothing rare in my family, 

 for, during the last five years, we have 

 not been a day without ripe apples. — 

 And often in June and July we have 

 had apples of the past and present years 

 upon the table. On the lith of July 

 1858 I sold to a fruiterer in town at $2 

 and $3 per bushel, apples of that and the 

 proceeding year. The apple in question 

 was about 9 inches in circumference, 

 fresh, juicy, crisp, and high flavored, al- 

 together better than the Early Harvest 

 or Red June, both of which I have. — 

 But, say you, "let's have its name, and 

 your method of keeping?" The com- 

 mittees at our Fairs call it the "Willow 

 Twig,'' and I took the liberty of giving 

 it this name, when at the St.^Louis Fair 

 last Fall, as a member of the Fruit 

 Committee. The intrinsic merits cof 

 this apple have been overlooked. My 

 cellar is large, deep, cold and damp. No 

 door entrance from the outside, but win- 

 dows in the east and west ends. One 

 doorway with a door at the foot and one 

 at the head of the stairs, entering from 

 the dining room; the cellar floor is of ce- 

 ment. The choice apples for keeping 

 till July, I place upon a broad hanging 

 shelf, putting newspapers under and 

 over them; that's all. 



Gophers. 

 Some two years ago I complained, 

 throujih the Farmer, of these invisible 

 depredators. One of its correspondents 

 very kindly suggested a compounded 

 nostrum for their extinction; but, not- 

 withstanding my firm belief in the dead- 

 ly efficacy of "doctor stuff"," I failed to 

 use it. Last Spring I began to study 

 the habits, and inquire into the opera- 



tions of these underground pests, and 

 was soon convinced that those number- 

 less hillocks they throw up over our 

 meadows, were for more than one pur- 

 pose. These little mounds of loose 

 earth are evidently the places beneath 

 which the little rascals can securely in- 

 dulge in a nap in the heat of the day, 

 and they are so constructed that no rain 

 can find its way into their subteraneous 

 retreat. It then occurred to me that if 

 their hills be displaced frequently, Mr. 

 Gopher's instinct would warn him of 

 danger at hand^ and that he would soon 

 decamp. I soon began a leveling pro- 

 cess with my hoe and rake, and was sujc- 

 prised to find that a general stampede 

 from my grounds to those of my neigh- 

 bors' seemed to have occured, and now I 

 seldom see a Gopher hill within my en- 

 closure. 



PL/»JrrAlN. 



My experimp'-its with this detestable 

 weed, and other vegetable nuisances, 

 must hf deferred, as I have already 

 reaci^'^d my limits. Good-bye for the 

 present, Mr. Editor. 



J. R. Woods. 



Woodwild, (near Alton,) July 21, '60. 



Remarks. — We have taken the liberty 

 to pit the full name to the above, for 

 the limple reason that a man of such 

 close observation and success can be 

 found vhen wanted by others besides 

 ourself. We_have long known that the 

 Willow T/ig was a most valuable ,fruit 

 in the neiglberhood of Alton; north of 

 that point ifs less valuable. This' lev- 

 eling of the gopher hills is a new idea, 

 and may prove valuable in driving^this 

 animal from the ledge rows, from timber 

 belts, and beyond ;he verge of the roots 

 of fruit trees. We shall be pleased to 

 hear from our Alton friend at all times, 

 and here tender him cur thanks for his 

 good opinion and kind wishes.— [Ed. 

 — «•• 



[From the United TStatei Economist.] 



Business Prupects. 

 There is but one feeling prevalent 

 among commercial men as to the pros- 

 pects of trade during thg fall season. 

 There seems to be so little in the aspect 

 of commercial affairs that is threatening, 

 and so much that is hopeful, that all 

 with one consent have began to antici- 

 pate large trade for the balance of the 

 year. For ourselves, we cannot but in- 

 dorse this common sentiment; though it 

 is to be feared that its very universality 

 will prove a serious drawback on the 

 profitableness of business operations, for 

 it is one of the commonest facts in exper- 

 ience that the anticipation of a large de- 

 mand for merchandise induces a supply 

 so excessive as to render exchanges un- 

 profitable. It is not possible to point 



