18 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



Jak. 



early grapes. Dr. Hoy suggested that therewa 

 a large number of spurious plants in the market 

 Others contended that the fruit from the same 

 vine and from -vines from the same plant had a 

 wide margin of quality, from biting acid to sugar 

 sweetness. 



The Concord and Hartford Prolific were also 

 added to the list for general cultivation. "White 

 Sweetwater and Northern Muscadine were added 

 to the amatuer list. 



The first business in the afternoon was the 

 election of officers, when the following gentle- 

 men were unanimously elected : 



PRESIDENT. 



C. B. Galusha, of Kendall county, 



VICE-PRESIDENTS. 



1st district, C. D. Bragdon, of Cook; 21 dis, 

 trict, Robert Douglass, of Lake; 3d district- 

 Chas. H. Rosenstiel, of Stephenson; 4th district, 

 J. H. Stewart, of Adams; 5th distriot, A. Bry- 

 ant, jr., of Bureau; 6th district, J. F. Nash, of 

 LaSalle; 7th district, M. L. Duulap, of Cham- 

 paign; 8th district, J. H. Fell, of McLean; 9th 

 district, N. Overman, of Fulton; 10th district, 

 J. Huggins, of Macoupin; 11th district, Charles 

 Kennicott, of Marion; 12th district, Jaipes E. 

 Starr, of Madison; 13th district, G. H. B,»ker, 

 of Marion. 



C. T. Chase, Corresponding Secretary, Cook 

 county; W. C. Flagg, Recording Secretary, 

 Madison; J. T. Little, Assistant Secretary, Lee 

 county; and S. G. Minkler, Treasurer, Kendall 

 county. 



For the want of space in this number, we must 

 defer further notice of the transansactions to our 

 next. Some very interesting facts on grape cul- 

 ture transpired. 



Gold at Vancocveb. — The gold fever rages 

 at Vancouver's Island, according to the latest 

 advices sent to England, and a correspondent 

 writes that it is common to meet men who 

 have found sums of from $5,000 to $10,000 ; 

 and lately three men arrived from Fraser River 

 who made $80,000 between them in six weeks. 

 Another man brought $30,000, the result of 

 his summer's earnings, and several miners 

 brought smaller sums. The steamer in which 

 these men came down the river brought about 

 $250,000 in dust. The amount of gold taken 

 out of a single district, named Cariboo, appears 

 really fabulous. 



Cotton CuUure on the Prairies. — His- 

 torical Facts and Proofs. 



Our recent publications of facts, says the Chi- 

 cago Tribune, connected with the culture of cot- 

 ton in this State have created much surprise 

 among those to whom the entire subject was new. 

 Many of our old residents looked upon it justly 

 as but the revival of an old topic, a return to a 

 source of agricultural wealth, well establihed 

 in the past, and only abandoned because made 

 less profitable by competition. All that is needed 

 to prove the practicability of profitable and ex- 

 tensive culture of cotton it this State, is a pro- 

 per presentation of historical facts. The actual 

 record will outweigh all theory eu the subject. 



Tho following statements in relation to cotton 

 growing in Southern Illinois, were furnished to 

 the Illinois Central Railroad Company. An 

 agent of the Company is now collecting informa- 

 tion of a similar character further south, and 

 there seems to be conclusive evidence that we 

 eight to ten millions of acres of lands which will 

 afford good merchantable cotton, from 300 to 500 

 pounds to the acre. During the coming year, if 

 Illinois cannot market her corn crop, she must 

 turn turn attention to cotton, flax, castor beans> 

 sorghum, and other semi-tropical products. 



— Men heedless of charity make more beggars 

 than usurers do. 



— Women never truly command till they 

 have given their promise to obey. 



Janies L. Lamb, Esq., (Mather, Lamb & Co.) 

 Re^ident now of Springfield, formerly resided in 

 Randolph county in 1823, 1824 and 1825. Was 

 storekeeper; used to purchase cotton of the far- 

 mers, and shipped it from Kaskaskia to Pitts- 

 burg by the Ohio; generally 200 to 300 bales 

 during the year. There were several gins worked 

 by horse power in the county. 



M. F. Hackett — Lived in Sangamon county 

 from 1829 to 1841; many of my neighbors at that 

 time raised cotton every year; Elihu Bowen's 

 gin worked by horse power; was generally re- 

 sorted to to gin the cotton. I never heard of 

 any trouble by frost — it was raised as easily as 

 corn. I have often seen it raised for first crop 

 on new prairie sod. 



W. Butier, State Treasurer — Came to Illinois 

 in 1824 with his father, who raised cotton annu- 

 ally for several years. Butler used to take the 

 cotton to Bowen's gin, and names a dozen differ- 

 ent neighbors who made cotton part of their an- 

 nual planting until the low price of manufactured 

 goods drove homespun out of the market. Eltha 

 Bowen's gin was located on Rock Creek, sixteen 

 miles west of SprinSfield. 



In Fayette county, twelve miles from Vandalia, 

 a cotton gin was in constant use between 1832 

 and 1836. 



LIEUT. GOV. Casey's letter 



Z. Casey emigrated to Jefferson county, Illin- 

 ois, from Middle Tennessee, in the year 1817. 



