56 



THE illi:n'ois fakmer. 



Feb. 



railroad. Mr. M. says that with the exception 

 of a slight taste of rawness, owing doubtless to 

 the want of age of the berry, the sample was 

 fully equal to the best Rio. 



Mr. Hoffman received a few seeds of coffee, 

 three years since, from his son in Australia ; 

 these he planted, and the past season produced 

 two bushels of ripe coffee. He estimates the 

 yieKI at thirty bushels per acre. 



Thus far the plant appears to be hardy and 

 promises to be productive. Several parties in 

 Effiogham county are preparing to enter on its 

 culture. It would appear from the statement of 

 Mr. Moulton that ths plant comes into bearing 

 the second year, and the third year it produces a 

 pretty fair crop. The berry is similar to that of 

 Rio, ;ind is doubtless the same. 



With these facts before them, the State Agri- 

 cultural Society have offered a reward of $50 for 

 the best 500 pounds of lUinoip grown coffee, fifty 

 pounds of which must be exhibited at the Janu- 

 ary meeting; and a f remium of $25 for the l>est 

 fifty pounds, five pounds of which is also to be on 

 exhibition. 



Effingham county is in latitude thirty-nine, and 

 as p.-rsons at a distance may be surprised to hear 

 that so many semi-tropical plants grow and ma- 

 ture in (his latitude, their surprise will abate 

 somewhat to know that the great volume of heat- 

 ed air, known as the trade winds, passing from 

 the coast of Africa to Central America, is turned 

 in its course by the Andes and is forced north 

 through the valley of the Mississippi river and 

 sprc'ids its genial influence over the prairies of 

 Illinois. We shall watch the progress of i his new 

 product of the prairie with a deep anxiety, and 

 shall hope to be able to report its permanent suc- 

 cess. This coffee has no connection with the 

 okra, an herbaceous plant, whose pods are exten- 

 sively used in soups at the South. Rural. 



A few days since me met the agent of a large 

 landholder in Christian county, who has made 

 sale of several tracts of land to farmers who have 

 been driven out of Arkansas and Southern Mis- 

 souri, and to receive pay in the cotton crop; the 

 land is sold at $20 per acre, the purchaser to put 

 one-half of the land (which has been broken up, 

 and in wheat last season,) into cotton crop, early 

 in May, and give it good culture, for which, when 

 ready for picking, the buyer to have a credit of $10 

 per acre, thus paying for the land with twocrops 

 grown, without being at any expense in the har- 

 vesting. As it will cost little more to cultivate 

 cotton than corn, aside from the picking, this is 

 an easy and sure way to pay for a farm. It is 

 another evidence that men of capital have an in- 

 terest in the success of cotton culture in the south 

 half of the State. 



-«• 



will contain from thirty-two to forty pages, oc- 

 tavo, or the same size page as the current volume 

 of Transactions. This is not intended to take the 

 place of any of the agricultural journals of the 

 State, but as a convenient vehicle through which 

 to send out a record of their proceedings, essays 

 and such papers as requires to be laid before the 

 public at an early day. At present the plan of 

 publishing biennial reports and Avaiting until the 

 subject matter grows ont of date, is a bad one. 

 They will now be sent out in time to be of use. 

 At this meeting there are some twenty-five es- 

 says, all more or less valuable, especially those 

 on sorghum, insects, cotton and the management 

 of soil, that should be sent out before the time of 

 planting arrives, so that the farmers may avail 

 themselves of the inforiuation contained in them; 

 and as there is no paper that would wish 

 to undertake the publication of so large a 

 mass of purely statistical matter and detail- 

 ed statements, though valuable, yet contain- 

 ing a larger proportion of long articles than they 

 wish to inflict upon their readers ; hence (heir 

 publication will prove a valuable aid to those who 

 are directly interested. This journal will also 

 prove valuable for the publication of the list of 

 premiums and awards, and leave for the volume 

 of transac>ions proper, only such material as will 

 be of permanent value. The price of the journal 

 will be fifty cents — the publication commencing 

 with January. It will be printed at the Register 

 ofiBce, and edited by John P. Reynolds, Esq., the 

 present able and efiicient Secretary of the Board. 

 We have no doubt that this work will prove of 

 immense advantage to the State. It will send 

 broadcast over the State a large amount of valu- 

 able practical matter that would otherwise mold 

 on the shelves of the society, waiting the tardy 

 action of a biennial Legislature to send it forth 

 to the people. Now it will go forth with all the 

 freshness of youth to give lessons in every de- 

 partment of rural economy. The number fo 

 January will, of course, from necessity, be out 

 rather late, but the others will doubtless be in 

 time. We shall look fcr the essays on sorghum 

 culture, on soils and on insects at an early day. 

 We welcome our friend Reynolds to the chair ed- 

 itorial. 



Journal of the State Aqkicltural Society. — 

 The Society, at its late meeting, decided to pub- 

 lish a monthly journal of their transactions. It 



Burn Corn for Fuel. — The Amboy Times ad- 

 vises farmers to burn corn instead of wood, for 

 fuel. It urges the question thus : 



" We repeat our advice to the farroers of this 

 country to burn corn and save their wood, espe- 

 cially where they are in the habit of selling the 

 former to buy the latter. Corn at thirteen ceBts 



