58 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



Feb. 



little ; so that, where strong glas^i can be em- 

 ployed, glass fifteen inches wide can be used. 

 We havp some made this way, costing only eighty- 

 seven cents eich, completely glazed. The con- 

 stant jaring of sash, however, finds out th'i weak 

 places in the glass, and it is as well to have a 

 few sashes adapte 1 for six-inch glass, in order 

 to use the pieces that occasionally offer from the 

 larger sash. The frame should be about 2J feet 

 high at back, and 1 in the' front — steeper at the 

 back, if anything. 



To mike a hot bed, long stable manure should 

 be empl >ypd. and if it ctn be turnpd a couple of 

 times, before he^itiiig violently er.cli time, before 

 permanently usinsc. the more regular will be the 

 heat in the bed, and the longer will it last. 



A southeastern nspect is best for a hot-bed, 

 and it s-hould- be well sheltered from winds on the 

 cold qu:irter. 



If the ground is dry, the soil may be dug out 

 about a foot in depth, tut for very early forcing 

 it is best to have the whole above ground, us 

 wll^?n sunk, the cold rains or thawing snow col- 

 lecfs in the pit and cools the materials. 



The foundation for the hot-bed should be about 

 eighteen inches wider than the frame to be set 

 on it when finished, and the manure regularly 

 laid OD till about the hi;rht of three feet has been 

 obtained, when the frame may be set on. It ia 

 not well to tramp the manure too heavily, or the 

 heat will te too violent. Sometimes the manure 

 is very "strawy." in wnich case it should be 

 watered with drainage from the manure heap, or 

 the heat will be "a good time coming," when it 

 with comp ict or heavy soil-; the more friable the 

 soil will be. — S. Edwards, Lake Ridge, Tompkins 

 Co.,^. Y. 



Remarks. — ^\e think the better practice is to 

 use the cobs for fuel ; keep them in a dry place, 

 and they make not only good kindling and fuel, 

 and for the summer are very valuable. We find 

 them good to start our greenhouse fire, heating 

 up in a short time. It cannot be possible that 

 an article containing so much woody fibre is of 

 any value as food, especially when ground in 

 what is called farm cob mills. 



We have one of those in which we have ground 

 several hundred bushels of corn in the cob, but 

 it has stood idle for some time past, from the 

 fact that we prefer the corn on the cob to corn 

 and cob meal. 



We have seen no farm mill as yet that we think 

 ■will pay on a farm when near a good mill. — Ed. 



Special Notice. — For terms see prospectus on 

 last page. All exchanges and comuiunicaticns 

 for the eye of the editor thould be directed to 

 Illinois Farmer, Champaign, 111. Electrotypes 

 and business matters and uubscriptions to the 

 publishers, Springfield, III. Implements and 

 models for examination should be sent to the edi- 

 tor. The editor will, so far as it can be done, 

 personally test and examiue all new machines ani 



improvements submitted to his inspection. He 

 will be foun^^t home, on his farm, nearly all of^ 

 the time. So faj* as it is possible the conductors 

 on the I. C. R. R. will let off passedgers at his 

 placQ, which is directly on the road, three and a 

 half miles south of the Urbana station, now the 

 city of Champaign. feb-tf 



The Season and Business. 



On the whole we can say that the month of 

 January has been favorable both for the crops 

 and business of the country. In the north part 

 of the State an almost uninterrupted run of fine 

 sleighing has enabled farmers to get out feucing, 

 building material, fire wood, and do no small 

 amount of marketing, while grass land, winter 

 wheat and fruit trees have been protected from 

 the cold. In the center the ground has been bare 

 of snow most of the time and the weather has 

 been favorable for husking and mnikcting of corn, 

 large quantities of which has been shipped south 

 via the I. C. R. R., which has been employed to 

 its utmost capacity. At the south the winter has 

 been open, but few days that persons to work out 

 of doors needed their coats. The winter wheat 

 has been soTiewhat expr'sed, but looks well thus 

 far. Before our next issue we intend to pass 

 over the I. C. R. R- to Cairo, and if time will 

 permit, over the C. & M. R. R. to Cincinnati 

 for the purpose of inspecting the crop prospect 

 along these great arteries of western commerce. 



NANSEMOND SWEET POTATOES, 



GROWN SOUTH FOR SEED, 



ATS2 .O0PERBUSH.-S5.O0PERBBL., 



And larger quantities on still letter terms for Cash. 



Experience i Sweet rotates Culturists unite in the opinion 

 that seed (iNansemond; should be obtaihcd so fur South as to 

 insure proper niatuiity. 



The following are reasons why I expect my large stock to 

 be in demand : 



1st. 1 have had many years' experience East and West in 

 the t'otatoe business. 



2nd. The facilities for keeping in my new mammoth Po- 

 tatoe House surpasses any in the United States. 



3d. The ntimerous railroads centering here, enable me to 

 ship in any direction. 



4th. T e soil, climate, and length of seasons are greatly 

 in mv favor. 



5th. My prices are reasonable. 



jg®» Any quantity of Sweet Potatoe Plants, packed 1 

 moss, will be sold cheap in their season. Address, 



W. A. ALLEN, 



March Ist, 1861. [It] Tincennes, Ind. 



BROOM CORN SEED.— I HAVE TWO 

 hundred bushels of broom corn seed, of superior quality, 

 for sale. The crop of brush commanded the highest market 

 price last seas n, most of it 880 per ton in Chicago. The 

 best of reference as to its quality can be given. 

 AddresSi I-- POWELL, 



fcb 26-2m* Champaign, Dl. 



