TI-IE ILLINOIS F^KMER. 



151 



Red Astrachan. — A fruit of extraor .Unary beauty, first imported into England with the White Astraehan, from Svreden, In 1816. 

 It b3ars abundantly with us, aiid its sini!;ular richness of color is heightened by an exquisite blooai ou the surface of the fruit, like that 

 of a pluiu. It is one of the handsomest dessert fruits, and its quality is good, but if not taken from the tree as soon as ripe, it is liable 

 to become nieally. llipfins froin the last of July to the middle of August. Fruit pretty large, rather above t!ie middle size, and very 

 smooth and fair, roundish, a little narrowed towards the eye. Skin almost entirely covered with deep crimson, with sometimes a little 

 greenish yellow in tlie shade, and occasionally a little russot near the stalk, and covered with a pale white bloom. Stalk ralhtr short 

 and deeply inserted. Calyx set in a slight basin, which is sometimes a little irregular. Flesh quite white, crisp, moderately juicy, 

 with an agreeable, rich, acid flavor. — Doicnimj. 



[Remarks. — For a market fruit, this apple probably has no superior of its season; its senson is not over two weeks with us. In 

 the north part of the State it commences to ripen abjut the 5th of Augnst; at the south, the 1st of July or last of June. — Ed.] 



Fallawater. — This is a native of Pennsylvania, and was first brought into notice by Mr. Grarber, of Columbia, Pa. It is a very 

 good and productive apple, with a rich flavor. Fruit rather large, regularly formed, ovate or slightly conical. Skin smooth, green, 

 with a brown blush, dotted with large gray spots. Stalk slender, set in a narrow, round cavity. Calyx smalil, closed, and placed in a 

 smooth, narrow basin. Flesh greenish, juicy, with a rich, agreeable, sub-acid flavor. November to February. — Downing. 



[Remarks. — This frjit has been more or less grown in Iowa, Central and Southern Illinois, and has given universal satisfaction. — 

 The tree is a very fine grower, and proluctive, which are two good points; large size, a good keeper, and give both tree and fruit no 

 mean attractions. The engraver has us3d an insjead of an A in the name. — Ed.] 



a horse and they will bo very convenient 

 for picking, which \i\\\ only cost from 

 one to two cents a quart, allow three to 

 four new canes to grow in each hill. 

 After the fruit is off, cut down all the 

 canes and leave the ground to the new 

 ones, which will require the same treat 

 raent as before. We ask, is there any 

 mystery about all this, any part which 

 cannot be mastered by any farmer's boy 

 of a dozen years old ? We think you 

 ail say there \a not. It is desirable that 

 a belt of forest or peach trees be planted 

 about the small fruit grounds to break off 

 tlie severe winds and to protect the 

 birds, for birds are very useful in the 

 small fruits to take off the worms, 

 though they do take a little toll now and 

 then. We appeal to our female friends 

 to set this ball in motion, and see to it 

 that the ground is prepared and more 

 or less plants set out the coming spring. 

 We shall have more to say in regard to 

 t'.ie value of other varieties of the rasp- 

 berry. 



-••»- 



Premium Corn. 

 In company with Prof. Turner we visited 

 the farm of Mr. Litton, a mile south of the 

 Fair grounds, nt Jacksonville, to examine the 

 fields of corn, entered for the premium for 

 the best five acres of corn. Mr. L. has two 

 pieces, ono of which he intends shall take 



the first, and the other the second premiums, 

 thus by a coup d'etat, he intenas to carry the 

 whole thing Looking at the immense growth 

 of the stalk, the myriads of huge ears, it 

 looks as though he would carry all before 

 him. The rows are about three feet wide, 

 and in hills half that distance, each hill with 

 two to three stalks, and each stalk contain 

 ing two to three ears, seldom one each. We 

 have never seen a large fichl like this such 

 a perfect cane brake — such an immense 

 crop. We will make no attempt at guess- 

 ing, as it i; to be accurately measured. We 

 hope our friends who visit the Fair and 

 and have friends with them from the east, 

 will take a look at this corn field, for it will 

 then be standing nearly ready for the har- 

 vest. This field was worked with a hull 

 tongue cultivator, and one of Prof. Turner's 

 cultivators — the bull tongue going a foot 

 deep. 



The State and County Fairs arc doing 

 much to bring out the system of culture by 

 excitins: a laudable emulation. 



of use, Fairbanks' have gone steadily forward, 

 increasing in public favor year after year, and 

 are now much more generally used than all 

 others, not only in this country, but wherever 

 American commerce has been carried. This 

 could not be so if they were not all that is 

 claimed for thera in respect to their durability, 

 as well as convenience and accuracy. — Chicugo 

 Fress and Tribune. daf-lt 



Fairbanks' Scales. — It is a significant fact 

 which the public will appreciate, that whenever 

 new scales are put upon ths market, as large 

 numbers have been from time to time, during 

 the last thirty j'cars, it seems to be the first and 

 chief aim of the makers to show that they are 

 the same as Fairbanks', or like them, or arc im- 

 provements upon them, or have taken premiums 

 over them, thus recognizing the latter as the 

 standard for excellence, and showing the strong 

 hold they have upon the public confidence. It 

 is a well-known fact that while most of the scales 

 have, after more or less trial, passed mainly out 



. The Fair Groands. 



Jacksonville, August 21, 1S60. 



With a view of making personal inspec- 

 tion of the Fair grounds, we arrived in this 

 city at five o'clock this morning, and after 

 partaking of an excellent breakfast at the 

 Dunlap House, (which, by the way, is one 

 of the largest and best kept houses in the 

 State, and selected as the head-quarters of 

 the Executive Committee of the State Soci- 

 ety,) we called on Prof. J. B. Turner, and 

 after spending several hours with him on 

 his own grounds, of which wc shall speak 

 in another place, he accompanied us to the 

 Fair grounds. The city of Jacksonville is 

 one of the most delightful of rural towns ; 

 I with wide, well graded streets, good side 

 walks, lined with an abundance of shade 

 trees, ample yards, filled with trees, shrubs 

 and plants. It has an attractive, a vigorous 

 rural beauty, that is most gratifying to the 

 visitor. The American White Elm is the 

 principal shade tree, with a sprinkling of 



