THE ILLINOIS FA.IIMEII. 



Mr. Yan Derin, of Sangamon, would 

 recommend both winter and spring; al- 

 ways has a crop of spring wheat; thinks 

 it quite a sure crop; have sown on corn 

 stubble, and plowed it in in the spring, 

 and find that course to be the best; have 

 burned off stubble land and plowed it 

 with good success; likes spring plowing; 

 grows some fifteen bushel to the acre on 

 an average; sows five pecks of seed to 

 the acre; sows spring wheat on winter 

 wheat ground when the crop has been 

 winter killed; sows winter wheat on oat 

 or spring wheat stubble. 



Mr. Rosenstiel, of Freeport, believes 

 in rotation; has not failed in a crop of 

 wheat for the last eighteen years; of 

 late years we grow spring wheat; clay 

 soil or barren lands are the best; deep 

 plowing and rotation of crop is my mot- 

 to; have sheep, and they keep down the 

 weeds; plow in the fall; sow early and 

 roll; every farmer should have a roller; 

 put wheat after corn; plows after the 

 corn is off, in the fall ; never in the 

 spring; likes Canada club; sows broad- 

 cast; no remedy for chinch bug. 



K. K. Jones, of Adams. — Wheat has 

 not been a paying crop in the last twen- 

 ty years ; would say that if you trench 

 plow and turn up the subsoil, sow ealry, 

 turn under a clover layer, and I will in- 

 sure you a good crop. 



Mr. Rosensteil said that Mr. Jones 

 must be mistaken, for wheat is a profita- 

 ble crop, and has paid for his land, fenc- 

 ing and all expenses, and had a good 

 profit over. 



Mr. Talcott, of Winnebago, insisted 

 that wheat growing is profitable; that 

 good farmers had for twenty years, 

 proved it so ; the crops haa averaged 

 not less than twenty bushels to the 

 acre, 



Mr. Rosensteil puts the average cost 

 of spring wheat at forty cents per bush- 

 el. 



Mr. Mills, of Salem, Marion Co.— No 

 spring wheat grown in Egypt; winter 

 wheat is as sure a crop as corn ; suc- 

 ceeds best when we put it in best ; he 

 drills, sows in August, and gets from 

 ten to forty bushels to the acre; where 

 he manures, puts ten loads of manure 

 to the acre ; likes clover ; calls twenty 

 bushels to the acre a good crop. 



Mr. Beebe, of Ogle county. — Turns 

 under timothy ; crops good ; plows un- 

 der late in the fall. 



0. T. Chfeise, of Chicago. — A farmer 

 from Carlinville put in two hundred 

 acres, and had a good crop ; the next 

 two years were failures ; his neighbors 

 had good success; drilled and rolled 

 with a corrugated rolled, and had a fine 

 crop, 



Mr. Rosensteil changes seed ; changes 

 from prairie to timbered land, and vice 

 versa ; changes all his seed ; does not 

 change varieties. 



Mr. Gore, of Macoupin, always suc- 

 ceeded in getting twenty bushels winter 

 wheat ; this year had eight bushels ; 

 sows May wheat; harrows thoroughly 

 and rolls ; lost his crop with late soW'. 

 ing ; sowed last of September. 



Mr. Palmer, of DuPage county. — 

 Turned under clover after mowing; I 

 had a good crop of spring wheat ; had 

 twenty-six bushels this season; think 

 clover of great benefit; sows early ; al- 

 ways gets a good crop^i - 



Mr. Bragdon, of Prairie Farmer.— 

 Have traveled much o£ late, and have 

 seen many good farmers and these sow 

 clover with every crop of small grain. 

 There is one fact, if you persist in sow- 

 ing clover and wheat, you will fail , you 

 must plant corn also. 



The Chairman says that with him clo- 

 ver is a difficult and uncertain crop. 



Mr. Bragdon would recommend plas- 

 ter with clover. 



Mr. Manlove, of Schuyler county, has 

 grown clover for the last twenty years, 

 and only failed last spring; sows on 

 snow. 



Being complimented with a call, we 

 gave some account of the progress of 

 spring wheat culture and the prejudice 

 against it at an early day ; but that 

 now it was the great staple of the north 

 em counties having usurped the place 

 of winter whaat, and that it is fast, be- 

 coming popular in Central Illinois ; and 

 predicted that it would soon be in high 

 favor with all. The time of plowing 

 and of seeding was at the season when 

 the farmer could do it the cheapest ; on 

 the other hand the winter, wheat crop 

 was seeded and harvested at the most 

 busy part of the season, the hottest, and 

 when man and beast are the least able 

 to do a had day's work. Predicted 

 that Egypt will yet grow spring wheat, 

 by fall plowing and sowing in January 

 it will mature before the heat of sum- 

 mer sets in. The great fault in spring 

 wheat culture is spring plowing, sowing 

 on corn stubble and late sowing. 



The question for to-morrow evening is 

 the rotation of crops. 



("The election of officers we give in 

 another column.] 



FOURTH DAY— SEPT. 14. 



This morning, as we predicted is all 

 that could be wished, and the crowds 

 are pouring in from all quarters, and 

 the grouuds will be a perfect jam be- 

 fore night. 



The Springfield Zouave Grays, Capt. 

 Cook, have just arrived on the grounds, 

 and make a. noble display of citizen sol- 

 diers. This will add much to the inter- 

 est of the occasion, with their superior 

 band of music. 



PLOWlNa MATCH. 



This morning we attended the plow- 

 ing match halt a mile from the Fair 



Grounds. The lands staked was wheat 

 stubble, clean of weeds, — ^in this respect 

 all that the plowman could ask. The 

 lands were too short (only seventeen 

 rods long,) requiring no small amount 

 of turning at the ends. There were 

 seventeen entries — but seven of whom 

 were ready for the trial. The Commit- 

 tee like all other Committees have noth- 

 ing ready, and when the time arrived for 

 the trial, the ground is yet to stake off, 

 and this, too, with a large crowd in the 

 way. Why could they not have done 

 this yesterday, or early m the morn- 

 ing ? Each plowman is to strike out his 

 own land and plow one fourth of an acre 

 in two hours. The Committee contend 

 that it was not their duty to put up the 

 stakes, but that of the Superintendant. 

 We hope that at some plowing match 

 during the present century, that the Su- 

 perintendant of this department will at- 

 tend to his duty, and see that every- 

 thing is ready at least one day before 

 the trial is to take place, for it is hardly 

 fair to keep a crowd of five hundred 

 persons and the impatient plowman and 

 horses in waiting to see these men go 

 through the slow process of staking off 

 the ground. 



S. H. Miller, of Peoria, with Toby ft Anderson's Peoria old 

 ground plow, with chain attached, did very good work. The 

 chain is of little account, and after a round or two, they put 

 on a rolling cutter which added to the cleanness of the furrow. 

 Mr. Barworth, of Urand de Tour, had entered, but his plows 

 was delayed, and he could not get it in order in time to come 

 into the ring. Several of the plowmen have trouble with 

 their plows not scouring freely In this loose stubble, this is 

 especially the case with the plow of Eldridge & Co., which 

 was not so well prepared for the trial. Deere'splow has a 

 rolling custer, and consequently cuts a clean furrow and 

 turns under the stubble much better than a chain. The chain 

 should be thrown aside for the rolling cutt«r and the "weed 

 hook." 



Keemer & Hall's plow, Jacksonville, runs hard, scours 

 well, does not turn under the stubble or sufficiently pulverize 

 the soil. 



The "Quincy B." plow is used with a rolling chain and 

 cutter. The plow Is too heavy for prairie, but well adapted 

 to the more heavy and clayey soil and timber lands of the 

 river counties, it is strong and well made -, stubble not well 

 tm-ned. 



Bloomington clipper, made by Hamilton & Wotton, does 

 not pulverize the soU or turn under the stubble clean. 



Bunn & Ellsworth plow does very good work — leaves some 

 stubble ; the plowman understands his business ; uses a roll- 

 ing cutter. iSirrows very straight. 



Toby &, Anderson, plowman Mr. B. Cole, does good work ; 

 pulverizes the soil ; leaves some babble. 



We see no improvement in the form 

 over the plows of ten years since. The 

 tendency has been to lengthen the mold, 

 but it is at the expense of pulverization 

 and inversion of the stubble. 



Out of the eight competitors, the Toby 

 & Anderson, and the Deere plows do 

 the best work. Most of the plows are 

 too heavy for our prairie, compelling the 

 team to drag about a useless amount of 

 material. 



We subjoin the names of the plow- 

 men : . 



B. Cole, Peoria, Peoria old gronnd plow; Eldred McDon- 

 ald, Brown & Ellsworth's plow; Christopher Quinn, Bloom- 

 ington, Clipper; Edward Grable, of Adamscounty, "Qnlncy 

 B," Barte'll & Boyd, makers; Henry Tomlinson, Morgan 

 county, Keropar & Hall's plow, Jacksonville; Wm. Clay- 

 brough, of Morgan county, Moline plow of Messrs. Deere A 

 Co., a twelve inch Clibper; S. H. Miller, Toby & Ander- 

 son's Peoria Plow. 



Two hours was allowed each plowman 

 to do his half acre. They all went to 

 work in good style, without any hurry. 

 In fact all were good plowmen; struck 

 their furrows straight, and cut an even 



