258 



THE ILLINOIS FARMEK. 



Sept. 



to tl e Ions: wool, heavy mutton sheep, and 

 our farmers find in the mutton a pleasant 

 change from fat pork. 



One great truHi is apparent to the most 

 careless observer, that the comforts and con- 

 venienct s of home have multiplied in a won- 

 derful ratio within the past four years — tin- 

 eel has been exchanged for use — show has 

 gone our of date, and the real comforts of 

 life are held at a premium. 



An TJnoffieial Look among the Farms 

 and Nurseries. 



( don tinved from page 241.) 

 The nnr=crips of th=^ Messr". Overman & Mann 

 are locsited on a hiph swell of the prairie, over 

 lookh g I liirge extent of country, yet the sur- 

 fact' of the f rm is undulating, and most of the 

 fruit trees have (heir long rows running do^n a 

 B'ntherii pI'Uje, and as yet unprotected from the 

 sharp praiiie winds. The stock of 



N \TIVK ETKRGhEENS 



Is larjre, and as they have been succe-sful in ac- 

 climating them, we shfll do our readers a ser- 

 vice bv giving the process. lu the first jilace, 

 post are driven in the ground at the distani-e of 

 eight feet apart, say two or more rows as re- 

 quired, and stand out abou* five feot high ; on 

 these are pliceJ poUs or scantling, and across 

 these at the 'istaiice of a foot and a half, are 

 Smnll pdles, or even large bru-^^h, and on <his a 

 covering of rye straw ur prairie hay, but, not so 

 thick Imt that the ^uu comes through the iiter- 

 etices of t' e straw, giving ju^t !. fijnt appeiir- 

 ance of sur;l;ght, simiUir to that of a rrtti^er 

 dei;se fr<.i-t. i etwem the-e rows of posts the 

 pLtiit bede are m)ide fix feet wide, and the pUints, 

 whicli aiesixto eiglit inch^.H high, beddi d in 

 them , the sides ate left (pen tor a free circula- 

 tion of the air. They are w tered occasionally 

 a-i nefd'-d, with a giidcn engine, by carrying 

 the liose uniler th' s tlier aod sprink ing with a 

 r 8^ Tiir Li ay tains of toi.rse wet them Ihor- 

 ctdl. 1;., i-x,' tie Cover .nrrc-iis the .lews and titiht 

 Vhnv.o s 'Wiie:-i i 'a ge quantity are thu- tn at- 

 e>:, it w- 111 ■ b^' t)-'ier to have a good well with 

 a-; bu'din' .-i.piih of vva'er, and with a fo'ce 

 ! u.i.p s lid tlie \v;>!er tlnouj,h India-rnbbei lio-e 

 t e iS < C' r-q i.reu .-^ay three to tour hundred 

 f et. til pU - lie lo I einain in there beds two 

 yt 1 5 : ii- reuii.ij yi ur ti.e cover will bec^mn 

 t .i;i, ail i o y w.l i., eJ httie more than to look^ 

 lili 1 Liifc WfCiis Hi d an occasional watering. Of 



I cours", when exposed to the winds the covering 

 . of straw must be kept on by small poles or btu^h 

 I over it. Last spiing they bedded out some ^ev- 

 I ei ty thousand plants, nnd n10^t of them are do- 

 I iiig well. We noted among them BUck or Amer- 

 i ican Spruce, Balsam, Hendo k, Aibor Vi'se and 

 Bed Cedar. Ihe last nanied from Union county 

 in this Slate, and the others Mr. 0. personally 

 attended the gathering himself in the north part 

 of Wisconsin. We are thus particular, for most 

 people lose a large shiire of their young ever- 

 greens by exposure to our hot sun and drying 

 continental winds the first season after setting 

 thenn out on the prairie. We have been success- 

 ful with putting them in the shade of other trees 

 and protecting them from thesr arp prairie winds, 

 but the plan of the Messrs. 0. & M. is doubt- 

 less the best under all circumstances, when we 

 coufid. r growth and acclimation. Their loss is 

 about ten per cent. 



KVERGKEENS FROM SEED. 



They have planted aboutsevenfy dollars worth 

 of European evergreen seed under this s^me pro- 

 tection, but without success, and some two hun- 

 dred Norway Spruce plants is the result The 

 seed was sown in a black loamy soil made up into 

 seed beds, ^^'e shiuld have stated that for the 

 convenience to water these evergreen^^beds are 

 located on the lower grounds or the black mncky 

 lo^i.m. The seed requires sand, and hence the 

 failure. 



GREY WILLOW. 



The want of timber on the prairie has been 

 felt by ad, but to grow trees aud transplant from 

 the nursery has been more expensive than many 

 can (.ffwrd ; it is true the Cottonwood, wou dgrow 

 readily from cutting and make a rapid growth, 

 yet the wood is of little value and it also affords 

 a good hnrbor for insects. la the grey willow we 

 have a rapid, clean growing tree, valuable for 

 t-helter fr' m the winds, good for rails and fire 

 woed; added to this it can be grown from cut- 

 ting at a iiore nominal rate. It is well known 

 that charcoal for powder is made from the wil- 

 low, and it is this same grey willow that is used 

 at Wiluiir.gton f r this purpose, on occount of its 

 rajiid gn wih and valuable quilities. For fire 

 wood alone we think it will pay to plant it. The 

 grain is straight and it splits freely into raiis, 

 1 aid when laid up from the ground must prove 

 (Ju able. They hivesouie trees four years old 

 from cuttings eighteen feet high and five inches 

 in diameter, six inches from the ground. Thus 

 it will be seen that it will soon make not only a 



