W^^- 



The Illinois Faemek. 



VOL. VI. 



SPRINGFIELD, JULY 1861. 



NO. 7. 



July. 



July with his ardent heat is busy for the 

 farmer, and if we but act our part our gra- 

 neries shall be filled to repletion. The mu- 

 sic of the reaper now floats out on the morn- 

 ing zephyr, and the golden grain yields to 

 the steady march througli its scarred ranks 

 of ripened spikelets. Through the lateness 

 of the season the corn is yet in its infancy, 

 but is making good headway, and will doubt- 

 less yet show good results. The season has 

 thus far been a peculiar one, now cold, now 

 windy, now hot for a day, followed with 

 drenching rain and lower temperature, with 

 June closing in dry and warm. The army 

 worm has created no little excitement, and 

 in many places has left indubitable evidence 

 of his voracious disposition for mischief, of 

 which we shall treat more fully in another 

 place. 



It is too early at this writing to determine 

 the crops, but although we have had many 

 drawbacks, yet the prospect is a fine one on 

 the whole. The stand of corn could not be 

 better, and probably never before equalled in 

 the State, though the breadth planted is less 

 than last year. The low price of potatoes 

 has to some extent checked extensive plant- 

 ing, yet the farmers have given this branch 

 of farming a fair share of attention, not so 

 much for market as for home use. Glarden- 

 ing has also received more attention, and 'ere 

 long our farmers will be well up with their 

 Eastern friends in this respect. They are 

 just learning the value of the garden, in its 

 health on the household as well as its econ- 

 omy in cheapening the supplies of the lar- 

 der, With an abundance of vegetables 



which are so cheaply grown, a large saving 

 is found in pork, beef and flour ; the grocer's 

 bill for sugar is somewhat increased, it is 

 true — the excellent health of the junior 

 nsembers of the family and the small sup- 

 plies of calomel and paragoric required are 

 more than an ofiset — we stand by the gar- 

 den. The drain of laborers for the war is 

 being felt in many places, but with the less 

 breadth planted and now favorable weather, 

 but little inconvenience will be experienced. 

 The great absorbing topic is the war, and of 

 course war literature is at a premium, but 

 everywhere we see economy and thrift and 

 we should be thankful that no hostile squad- 

 rons tread the great prairie slopes of the 

 West, but are confined to the homes of those 

 who have called down on their heads the 

 iron hand of war. With our other draw- 

 backs has been^,he bursting of our bankins 

 bubble, a vicious system at the best, entail- 

 ing a loss of not less than six millions of 

 actual cash, and to that extent crippling acd 

 damaging the business of the country. The 

 lion's share of this loss comes out of the 

 banker's who have grown rich out of the sys- 

 tem. The people have become too well ed- 

 ucated in financial matters to be caught as 

 of old, and they could see as soon as the 

 bankers that the time of redemption was 

 drawing nigh, when nought but dishonored 

 stocks would be found to redeem with. But 

 the day is past, and the great financial swin- 

 dle of a secured currency is now made man- 

 ifest' Had our people been saddled with a 

 tax of six millions of dollars for the year 

 1861, in addition to tbeir other burdens it 

 would have created a storm of iedignation, 

 and why not now when the loss made by the 



