1861. 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMER. 



2T9 



The Illinois Parmer. 



BAILHACHE & BAKER PUBLISHERS. 



>I. L. DLTLAP, EDITOR. 



SPRINGFIELD, SEPTEMBER 1861. 



Editor's Table. 



The ripening breath of September is breatluDg 

 cut its blessed and cooling zephyrs. The heats 

 cf summer are p^ist ; the harvest moon rides the 

 midnight sky with a subdued look, as much as to 

 say, I am just looking on to see Pomona paint 

 up the the fruits that ardent summer has thrown 

 into the lap of autumn, and some night 'ere long 

 I will jewel up the landscape when the frost king 

 first kisses the deep Yordure of summer. The 

 season has been bountiful and the germing will 

 soon be over, and were it not for the trumpet's 

 voice that remind us of vast armies preparing for 

 deadly strife, we should have great cause for re- 

 joicing over a prosperous season ; but, alas \ the 

 dogs of war are loose, the temple of Janus is 

 opened and the battle fields will be the great har- 

 vest where death shall garner up the sons of toil, 

 and a wailing cry shall go through the land. — 

 AVould that tho crop could be spared us, but the' 

 heats of August have only retarded, not thrown 

 its poison away. 



-<•♦- 



Munifice^;t Donation. — It was announced at 

 the late meeting of the Aliimni of Yale College, 

 that the scientific department of that institution 

 had received ddring the collegiate year a second 

 donation of $50,000 from Joseph E. Sheffield, 

 Esq., of New Haven. The course of education 

 in this department is essentially that of the poly- 

 technic schools of Europe, and is designed to fit 

 young men for commercial and other practical 

 pursuits, as well as for the direct applications of 

 science. 



Vermillion County Fair is to be held at Cat- 

 lin, 12th to 15th October. We have no doubt 

 that as usual, a fine show will be had in this 

 county ; the officers are full of enterprise, and 

 know how to get up a good Fair. They challenge 

 the world to compete for their $1,056 in pre- 

 miums. 



Invited Guests. — All the members of the Press 

 throughout the Union, are respectfully invited to 

 attend our Tenth Annual Fair, and will receive 

 their tickets upon reporting themselves to the 

 Secretary. 



At most of our County Fairs the press have 

 been overlooked, and in some cases that have 

 come under our notice they have been permitted 

 to pay their own gate fees ; in fact, this we have 

 done on several occasions ourself. At one Fair 

 in particular, two editors of prominent Western 

 agricultural journals, and one from a prominent 

 city paper were present, and though they met 

 several of the officers, some of whom they were 

 acquainted with personally, yet they received no 

 especial courtesies at their hands, and thepc v«ame 

 officers appeared disappointed when no notice of 

 tlie Fair was taken in these respective papers. — 

 From what wo know, and juf'ging from our coun- 

 try exchanges we think it time that a change was 

 had in this direction. A County Fair is to some 

 extent local in its charecter, and for this reason 

 the local press should make a full report of i?, 

 adding such suggestions as the occasion would 

 seem to call forth. But few editors care to pay 

 a dollar to admit themselves and families, make 

 a full report of its doings, without the least as- 

 sistance of its officers, give up their columns to 

 the list of awards and do all the advertising 

 gratis ; yet such appears to be the expectation 

 of a majority of the managers. This is what 

 we call snubbing the press, and we shall 

 take no offence if the society is snubbed in re- 

 turn by saying not a word about it. The f ficers 

 of Vermillion can see through a grindstone when 

 the handle is out, and we shall calculate upon a 

 certainty that the county papers will do them 

 ample justice. From several premium lists be- 

 fore us we see similar indications of good policy. 



Illinois Teacher, for July, is on our table, 

 published by N. C. Nason, Peoria, at one dollar. 

 For some time it has been without a responsible 

 editor, but we hope to see it agiin flourish. It 

 should be in every school in the State. 



-—— 



Tee Horticulturist, for August is at hand, 

 and as usual filled with valuable advice ; $2, C. 

 M. Saxton, New York. 



