36 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMER. 



Feb 



tatoes would make only an average of nine 

 pounds of starch to the bushel, which at 

 three cents the pound, would be only twen- 

 ty-seven cents, leaving little for the manu- 

 facturer. Kiln drying corn for the Euro- 

 pean market is to have a trial on a large 

 scale on the opening of navigation, and 

 should it prove successful, will again make 

 corn one of the shipping staples of the 

 State not even second to wheat. 



COTTON. 



In the south part of the State cotton cul- 

 ture has become the general topic in farm 

 circles, and if seed can be procured in 

 time, a large breadth will be planted. The 

 Port Royal, or sea island seed will not be 

 used, none but the Tennessee and Arkansas 

 upland, and native will be planted. It will 

 be useless for speculators to attempt to palm 

 off southern seed, as all parties here are 

 aware of its worthlessness in this climate. 



Another feature in cotton culture which 

 has been thus far overlooked, is the value of 

 the seed for oil and oil cake. In St. Louis? 

 the manufacturers have been in the habit of 

 paying a good price for the claen seed 

 for this purpose. It is estimated that an 

 acre of good cotton will yield, say nine to 

 welve hundred pounds of seed cotton, leav- 

 ins -four to eight hundred pounds of seed to 

 the acre. This will make some eight to 

 twelve gallons of oil, worth five to eight dol- 

 lars, after deducting the cost of making above 

 the value of the oil cake. There can be no 

 question that cotton culture is to co,mpletely 

 evolutionize the south half of our State, 

 and for some years at least to come, to give 

 it a prominance over the north. School 

 houses, so long needed in that section, will 

 soon be among the things that are. 



A SHORT LOOK AHEAD. 



Whatever may be the resulfe of this war 

 the State of Illinois will be the gainer. It 

 its true that we shall lose many of our most 

 valuable citizens, but their place will soon 

 be filled by others ; we shall have a large 



tax to pay, but as we shall have abundance 

 to do it with, none but speculators will feel 

 its bad effects. Our railroads must do the 

 carrying trade for the States, both east and 

 west of us. We shall feed the armies dur- 

 ing the war, and after peace once more re- 

 sumes her sway, the border States must 

 draw on us for food, for horses, for mules, 

 for seed ind for agricultural implements, 

 while we shall in the meantime have fully es- 

 tablished the growing of cotton, tobacco, 

 flax, sugar and other products to be added 

 to the other staples of the State. Emigra- 

 tion is beginning to pour in, and during the 

 past three months more lands h9,ve been 

 sold for actual settlement and new farms open- 

 ed than during the nine months preceding. 

 Illinois will not long remain the fourth State 

 in the Union. 



Mrs. Pastington on Pickets. — " As for sleep- 

 ing on a picket," said Mrs. Partington to the 

 three months' volunteer who had dropped in to 

 see her, " I don't see how they can do it with- 

 out hurting 'em. Sleeping on a post would be 

 a great deal more sensible, unless there's a nail 

 in it which might be prejudicious for the uni- 

 form. Every one to his taste, and such things 

 as where a man shall sleep is at his own auction; 

 but nobody can help thinking that either a 

 picket or post ia a very uncomfortable place to 

 sleep on. At any rate, there isn't much room 

 for more than one in a bed, and — ." The three 

 months' man interposed to tell her the nature 

 of pickets and posts, in military parlance, to 

 which she listened very attentively, while Ike 

 was trying experiments in Prestidigitation by 

 essaying to rub the cat and the soldier's little 

 brown dog into one. 



I^^A gentleman who has recently made his 

 way from Memphis, and whose character is 

 such that his statements are considered trust- 

 worthy, states to the Oincinnati Gommereial 

 that United States Treasury notes command 

 thirty per cent, premium in the " Southern 

 Confederacy. " They are rated equivalent to 

 gold, and much sought after. 



-«•»- 



A young lady at Niagara was heard to 

 exclaim, " What an elegant trimming that rain- 

 bow would make for a white lace overdress." 



-«•»- 



— We should enjoy our fortunes as we do our 

 health— enjoy it when good, be patient when it 

 is bad, and never apply violent remedies except 

 io an extreme necessity. 



