1861. 



THE ILLIKaiS FAKMEE. 



Gang Plows. — We, the undersigned committee, 

 appointed by the lUinoiB State Agricultural So- 

 ciety to examine the plows upon trial at Decatur 

 on the 10th and 11th November, 1858, repor* 

 that we have examined the Gang Plow and Seed 

 Sower invented by Joel Lee, of Galesburg, and 

 in our opinion it Is an improvement on most 

 ot^er eimilar plows, and we believe it is worthy 

 the attention of farmers generally. 



We have also examined the gang plow manu- 

 factured by C H. Dawson, of Jacksonville, and 

 pronounce it a great improvement on the old 

 single plow in common ase. 



We also examine! the single plow with wheels, 



mauufactured by H. Prather, of Decatur, which 



we think will be valuable for deep plowing, and 



and for foul ground. 



S. M. Paksons, 

 EzraT Mabquisse, 

 F. T. May, 

 T. B. Happin, 



D. S. SXAFFOBD. 



Decatur, Nov. llth, 1858. 



The above committee was appointed by the 

 State Agricultural Society at the trial of the 

 Fawkes' steam plow at Decatur, in November 

 1858. Siuce that time we have heard little from 

 gang plows. We have great faith in the single 

 plow on wheels, and it is possible that two plows 

 may be so arranged that they may do good 

 wovk. The pressure on the bottom of the fur- 

 row, as with our common plow, is very great, 

 and it appears to us that wheels could be used to 

 good advantage to relieve this friction ; with this 

 improvement, we have little to expect of our 

 present plows, which to our mind are about per- 

 fect. The wheels can be rollers to pulverize the 

 fresh turned soil, for at that time the lumps are 

 easily crushed, but let them become dry, and it 

 wi 1 require a large pounder. Prof. Turner has 

 been turning his attention in that direction with 

 very promising results. 



Broom Coek Seed. — We would call the atten- 

 tion of broom corn planters to the card of Mr- 

 Powell. Mr. P. had a fine crop on a hundred 

 acres, grown on the open prairie, without any 

 fence, six miles west of our home. The land 

 was purchased of the I. C. R, B., and has paid a 

 handsome profit on the investment. In the same 

 neighborhood large fields of corn were grown 

 without fence, the new settlers keeping their 

 small amount of stock in pastures, thus saving a 

 large outlay for fencing. Here was some two 

 thousand dollars worth of broom corn taken off 

 of one hundred acres, that only cost the culture. 



A Moth Teap. — Since writing the notice of a 

 moth trap for the last number of the Faemer, 

 we have received drawings of it from the inven- 

 tor at Springfield, and frcm what we can gather 

 from them, we have the promise of a veritable 

 practical trap for that destructive insect, the bee 

 moth. It has the merit of simplicity and cheap~ 

 ness, but as insects do not always follow out the 

 plans of inventors, nothing short of a trial will 

 show whether it is within the range of their in- 

 stincts. If this should prove to be so, we may 

 soon count on cheap honey. The inventor did 

 not state whether it had been put to the test, but 

 has the favorable opinion of several bee men of the 

 neighborhood. We have long distrusted our own 

 opinion on all these matters, and must beg to fall 

 back upon the true test — a trial. Aside from 

 this, we can but hope that this thing will work 

 to a charm ; it strikes us so favorably that we 

 shall feel disappointed if it does not succeed. 



-• — •- 



Meteorological Speculations — Editor Chi- 

 cago Tribune : On the 10th inst. there were a 

 succession of showers having all the appearance 

 of summer rains; and in the evening, -flashes of 

 lightning from distant clouds followed each other 

 as often as once in fifteen minutes for more than 

 three hours. Yesterday, the llth, a flock of 

 wild geese passed on their way north, flying very 

 high; and to-day, the 12th, the birds make the 

 woods vocal with music. It seems like the 1st 

 of April. 



This is unusual at this season in this latitude ; 

 but by referring to the Army Meteorological Re- 

 ports, I find that the season, as there reported, 

 was much as at present. From other sources 

 I learn that the summers of 1833, 1840, 1845, 

 and 1854, were distinctly marked dry seasons in 

 all the Southern States east of the Mississippi 

 river, except Florida. 



From these and other facts I am led to believe 

 that the alternating wet and dry seasons of this 

 country are governed by fixed laws of periodicy, 

 and that the period is setpennial. If my conclu- 

 sion is correct, a season of great drouth may be 

 expected in the South during the present sum- 

 mer. 



I wish to attract the attention of the public mind 

 to this subject, not to provoke discussion, but 

 to turn thought in this direction, so that science 

 may be enriched by the observations of the 

 masses anxious to know the truth. Hoping that 

 a large army of observers will be brought into 

 the field. 



I remain very respectfully yours, 



C. B. Reed. 



Eight Miles from Decatur, Ills., Feb. 12, 1861. 



Well, we think the weather is a little uncertain 

 after all. We have not been able to detect these 

 cycles of weather for the past twenty-four years. 



- Ed. 



