1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER 



25 



Ed. Farmer: — Inclosed* you will find a list of 

 ofiQcers of the Vermillion County Agricultural 

 and Mechanical Association, elected at the an- 

 nual meeting, held at Catlin, November 2d, 1861, 

 to serve for the year 1862 : 



President — Jacob H. Oak wood, Catlin; 



Vice President — John Allen, Salina; 



Recording Secretary — Lemuel Cross, Danville; 



Treasurer — John H. Gass, Catlin; 



Directors— Josiah H. Smith, Ridge Farm; Benj. 

 Hayworth, Georgetown; Benj. Small, George- 

 town; Joel Acre, Catlin; Charles L. Pate, Catlin; 

 H. H. Couover, Dallas; AYm. Sandusky, Pallas; 

 James H. Dougherty, Salina; James P. Filombs, 

 Pilot. 



Marshal — David B. Stockton, Dallas. 

 Respectfully yours, 



Lemuel Cross, ec'y. 



— We belive there is two agricullural organi- 

 zations in the above county, and both in good 

 condition. Could they be consolidated, this 

 county would stand the foremost, as it is the 

 first in preparing for the season of 1862. 



Coal for Fuel. — In the use of soft, or Illinois 

 coal, a very important point is to put it in a 

 shed with a plank floor, so that the coal can be 

 shoveled from the bottom of the pile; in this 

 way the fine coal becomes mixed with the coarse 

 parts, and gives a better fire. On the other hand, - 

 if one has to take coal from the top of the heap, 

 there will be a large lot of coal dust or waste, of 

 no use. The coal dust, when kept dry, as all 

 coal should be, when mixed with the coal, aids 

 the fire very much when first put on. There 

 should always be a coal box for each stove in use, 

 more especially for a cook stove, that will hold a 

 couple of bushels, with a board placed slanting 

 in one end, so as to shovel out the coal from the 

 bottom, using a portion of the slack, or coal 

 dust in each fire. In this way the last bushel of 

 a car load is as good as the first. 



Fine and Coarse Wool. — Walter Brown's 

 Wool Circular for August, says it might be well 

 for such as can afl'ord to hold their very fine wool'', 

 to select them out and retain them nntil the de« 

 mand shall improve. Should the war be pro- 

 longed, there is danger of a large accumulation 

 of these wools, and in this view of the case, it 

 would be wise in our farmers to change the char- 

 acter of their flocks, and give their attention to 

 raising the middle qualities of wool. 



In the hands of most farmers the middle wools 

 have always pa»d best. The sheep cost less, are 

 more hardy, and in addition to the wool, the car- 

 cass is valuable. 



Transactions of the State Agricultural 

 Society. — We have receivtd from the Corres- 

 pondiuEr Secretary, John P. Reynolds, Esq., vol- 

 ume IV of the Transactions of this Society for 

 1859-'60. 



In addition to the Transactions proper, those 

 of the State Horticultural Society, and the Nat- 

 ure,! History Society are embraced in it. Among 

 its valuable essays, is one on the army worm and 

 other insects injurious to vegetation, by Gen. B. 

 D. Walsh. 



The volume contains seven hundred pages of 

 matter valuable to the farmer, with over a hun- 

 dred illustrations. It is not only a credit to the 

 liberality of the Legislat are which ordered ten 

 thousand copies to be printed, but an evidence of 

 the industry and ability of the Secretary in its 

 preparation. The ofl&cers of the County Socie- 

 ties have done little more than to give a list of 

 oflicers and amount of money expended. The 

 Society should be more liberal in the way of 

 premiums for essays. The volume is now being 

 rapidly distributed throughout the State. Of 

 the exe®^jc® at the work", alike creditable to the 

 State printers and' 'th«' binders, we have before 

 made mention. ;. . . • — . . 



-«•»- 



The HoRTicuLTukilST.-45feiE| old' ^red; veil es- 

 tablished journal has jv^st closed its^ Sixteenth 

 volume, a complete set of which odornthe shelves 

 of our sanctum, and which we prize very highly. 

 For sixteen years its monthly visits have been 

 ever welcome. We have often purposed ofl"ering 

 something from the West for its page?, but thus 

 far have failed, in part for the want of time, and 

 partly not daring to venture among its able corps 

 of contributors. Within the period named it has 

 changed hands on several occasions, and of late 

 has met with another of these changes, but it 

 has fallen into most excellent and able hands, 

 and we expect to see its usefulness take a wider 

 field. $2 for plain, and $5 for colored edition. 

 Address Mead k Woodward, New York, or send 

 us $2 50, to club with the Fabmeb. 



Gardners' Monthly. — This is a most invalua- 

 ble work, and should be in the hands of at least 

 ten thousand of the farmers and gardners of this 

 State, to say the least. Thomas Mbehan, the 

 editor, is one of the practical men of the age; 

 $1. Address G. W. P. Brinkloe, Philadelphia, 

 Penn., or send us $1 50 for that and the Fae- 

 UER cue year. 



