■!r.- .- , v=;-'; : 



THE ILLINOIS FARMEE. 



Jan. 



tive that it can be planted with any of our seed 

 planters now in use; and if not, hand planting 

 must be rpsorted to. To do this the rows must 

 be laid off with a common corn marker, five feet 

 wide, hut they must not be deep, for the seeds 

 of cotton on our soil must be planted shallow, 

 not over one inch deep. Drop six or eight seeds 

 in a hill, with the hills eighteen inches apart in 

 the rows. Cover with a harrow and finish with a 

 roller. 



CUTURE. 



In from six to ten days the young plants will 

 appear above the ground, and at the same time 

 the seeds of weeds will not have been found idle ; 

 and as toon as the rows can be followed, the team 

 must be put to work. Use a two horse cultivator, 

 several kinds of which are now made, or treat it 

 similar to broom corn. The two-borse cultivator 

 that we use is well calculated for the w^rk while 

 the plant is small, but for subsequent workings 

 probably no better than others. All weeds must 

 be taken out from about the plants, and at the 

 second hoeing all but one of the plants cut out, 

 80 that the plants will stand one in a hill eighteen 

 inches apart. The crop will need continual work- 

 ings, with the double shovel plow and cultivator, 

 one or both, and the first two workings will need 

 looking after with a hoe, to thin out the plants 

 and to (ieep the weeds down about them, for it 

 must be remembered that the plant is not strong 

 like corn, in the early part of the season, but 

 when it does take a start in earnest, it is exceed- 

 ingly vigorous. 



SOIL, ETC. 



The soil should be such as is well adapted to 

 wheat, well drained, or free from standing water. 

 It is not to be recommended to those not already 

 acquainted with its culture, to go into it largely 

 at once, for experience in all new things of the 

 kind is needed, and there ai-e, doubtless, yet 

 much to learn in regard to its culture; but we 

 have confidence that Northern energy and North- 

 ern ingenuity will overeome all obstacles in the 

 way, and that at no distant day the cotton, the 

 castor bean, and sorghum, will take their places 

 beside the other great staples of the prairies. 



Rural. 



Since writing the above, for the Tribune, 

 we have received the tollowing note with a 

 beautiful sample of cotton inclosed : 



November, 1861. 

 M. L. Dunlap, JJrhana — Dear Sir : — I send 

 you a sample of cotton raised in Urbana the past 



summer by Isham Vest. Mr. V, came from North 

 Carolina over twelve months since. He found 

 among his things a lock of unpicked cotton ; he 

 got the seed and planted them very late last 

 spring. He raised from less than a dozen seed 

 over one hundred bolls of fully ripe cotton ; this 

 sample came from one boll. He is sanguine with 

 the belief that cotton can be raised here with 

 entire success. Yours truly, 



W. D. SOMERS. 



We learn that a supply of cotton seed 

 will be ready lor sale at most of the stations 

 on the I. C. R. R. in time to plant. There is 

 no speculation in this seed business, as it is 

 to be sold at cost to the planter. It will be 

 the pure upland Tennessee. Do not, there- 

 fore, be the dupes of speculators and pay 

 ten prices for the seed. 



We hope that at least one person in every 

 neighborhood in Central Illinois will plant 

 at least an acre of cotton the coming spring 

 for the purpose ot giving it a fair trial, to 

 become accustomed to its culture and to test 

 the actual cost per pound of the clean cot- 

 ton. It will be borne in mind that three 

 hundred pounds of seed cotton will make 

 about one hundred pounds of ginned cotton. 



Ed. 



—t~ 



Chemical Oddity. — While an ignorant lec- 

 turer was describing the nature of gas, a blue- 

 stocking lady of a gentleman near her, invuired 

 the difference between oxygin and hyarogin ? 

 "Very little, madam," said he; "by oxygin we 

 mean pure gin, and by hydrogin, gin and 

 water." 



-9— 



— A new " station" has lately been estab- 

 lished in a neighboring town on the Troy and 

 Boston railroad, and a worthy son of Erin ap- 

 pomted as an agent, with instruction to hang 

 out the red flag whenever there were passengers 

 awaiting the train. As the cars came through 

 the next morning the engineer saw the flag out, 

 and stopped. The conductor looking out for 

 passengers, and seeing no one but the agent, 

 asked him if there were any passengers to get 

 on, when he answered with an honest " No." 



" Then why did you stop the train ?" said the 

 conductor. 



' Why," exclaimed the agent, " I thought 

 somebody might want to get off!" 



That agent was immediately promoted to a 

 professorship on a gravel train. 



