250 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEE. 



Aug. 



•was intent on throwing up vigorous seed stalks, 

 some of which were nearly in bloom ; this, to 

 him, was a strange freak, and of course he gave 

 the credit to the army worm, which by eating off 

 the leaves had put it into a state of rest in lieu of 

 the usual heading, and of course the next opera- 

 tion was to produce seed. 



Of course, we must see the new wonder of na- 

 ture, or the effects of the new style of leaf prun- 

 ing by the array worm, when after that we could 

 see more clearly into the transmutation of wheat 

 to chess, grasshoppers to army worms, and other 

 not hitherto well uoderstood phenomena of na- 

 ture. On looking at the cabbage we were forci- 

 bly impressed with its identity with rape [brassica 

 rapa), whtch snme setdsman had set out for cab- 

 bage. The mystery was at an end, and of course 

 the subject of transmutation as much in the dark 

 as before. 



Our friend is an excellent civil engineer, but 

 we assured him that he would need to read the 

 Illinois Farmer more attentively hereafter or 

 give up gHrileniiig and depend upon the market 

 for his vegetables The d'fference between rape 

 and cabbiige is too important not to be under- 

 stood by the person setting out the plants. 



Hill's Double Shovel Plow — " Our farmer" 

 says this is the best plow of the kind that has 

 come under his notice. It was gotten up by a 

 neighbor who has a farm adjoining ours, and is 

 an employee in the engine shop of the I. C R.R. 

 at this place. He is but a new farmer himself, 

 having a person to carry on his farm ; but being 

 thrown out of employment for a short time on 

 account of *he dull times, he concluded to get up 

 a couple of double shovel plows. He overhauled 

 our museum in this line, and taking some old 

 broken car springs, from which he cut the shov- 

 els, succeeded on the first trial to perfection. We 

 have never seen so go d work done with any plow 

 of the kind before, and we look upon it as the 

 ultima thule in this direction. They are simple, 

 strong, and cheaply made — three very important 

 items in this or any other farm implement. We 

 have no idea that Mr. H. thinks of manufacturing 

 these plows or taking out a patent, and will be 

 as much surprised to see this notice as he was 

 to find that be liad a better double shovel than 

 any in our collect on. This is the class of men 

 who get up go d implempnts, with ingenuity and 

 a natural taste tor farming, they can see at a 

 glance what i* waaiit'g. We are tired of these 

 gingerbread agricultural implements, and are 



glad to know that this class of inventors and 

 makers are getting shy of us, and well they may, 

 for we bode them no good. 



Wisconsin Farmer. — This sterling paper 

 comes to us for July in a new dress and en- 

 larged to forty-eight pages J. W. Hoyt, Secre- 

 tary of the Wisconsin Agricultural Society, is 

 editor. We are glad to see such signs of agri- 

 cultural prosperity among our badger neighbors. 

 The whole trade of Wisconsin has been East and 

 to the pineries ; hence the war has little effect 

 upon her prosperity. Another important item, 

 the Wisconsin bankers took a lesson of Illinois 

 " stumptail," and instead of letting it go down 

 for the purpose of shaving it, keep it afloat and 

 making it better daily. The mob at Milwaukie 

 also taught them a fearful lesson ; had our bank- 

 ers pursued the stume course all would have been 

 well with the farmers of our own State. We are 

 glad to see at least ore agricultural paper show 

 signs of increasing prosperity. 



Turner's Cultivator — We learn that this im- 

 plement is to be greatly simplified and strength- 

 ened. In its simple condition, with rollers, 

 shovel, teeth, and plant protector, it is the King 

 OF Cultivators, but, like any other king, it can 

 be spoiled with gew-gaws. With good cast roll- 

 ers to pulverize the luffps, a strong frame for the 

 cultivator teeth, with a simple apparatus to reg- 

 ulate the depth, a nice fitting plant protector, 

 skavering knives might be added for garden cul- 

 ture, but in the corn field they are out of place. 

 The draft must be low at the centre of the axles, 

 and not at the top as at present arranged. It is 

 time that drums made of pine boards for any im- 

 plement of the kind should be thrown out of use. 

 In these times of economy and reform the farm- 

 ers will no longer submit to the use of pine and 

 brittle ash in implements requiring strength and 

 durability. 



» ♦ 



Peach Trees. — We would call the attention of 

 peach orchardists and others to the advertise- 

 ment of Mr. PuUen, in this number of the Far- 

 mer. No man in New Jersey, the country of 

 peach orchards, is a better judpe of what is need- 

 ed to make a good selection for profitable orchard- 

 ing than Mr. P. In his list he has long since 

 discarded all unprofitable varieties and gives his 

 attention only to such as have proved valuable. 

 Send for his catalogue at once, get your trees la 

 the fall and " heel in," or set at once. 



