68 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



Maech 



cise the greatest care in preparing their lists, 

 acceptins; such information only as they know to 

 be perfectly reliahle. 



It will be understood that ho varities are to be 

 classed for "general cultivation" within any 

 State or locality, upon brief or partial experi- 

 ment, but must be generally and successfully cul« 

 tivated for a considerable period of time. In the 

 case of those classified for particular loca itiesor 

 purposes, the nature of these particulars should 

 in all cases be given if possible. 



Trusting you will find it convenient to give 

 promp attention to this work, we remain, 

 Very Respectively, 



P. Bakrt, Chairman, 



J. S. Cabot, 



L. E. Berkmans, 



J. A. Wabder, 



Chas. Downing, 



Wm. Reid, 



Marshall P. Wilder, Pres. Ex~Off. 

 Committee. 



Low Heads the Best Winter Protec- 

 tion for Trees. 



Fruit trees of all kind", we believe, are greatly 

 to be preferred with low heads; but the popular 

 taste demands them quite high. 



Nursery men, of course, find it to their advan- 

 tage to supply the wants of their customers; 

 hence trees as genera ly sent out have their 

 heads pretty well trimmed up. 



Trees two or three years old (the proper age 

 for planting) may easily be remodeled to suit the 

 planter; if trimmed too low, trim up; if too 

 high, cut back Do this at the time of planting. 

 As a rule, the more you shorten, the less the risk 

 of transplanting, and the better the subsequent 

 growth. 



The cherry, the apple and the pear, with long 

 and naked stems, are apt to ba injured during 

 winter and early spring, by the aciion of the sun 

 upon the exposed bodies. Protection from this 

 is desirable.; the best is the shade of a low 

 spreo.ding top. There are many other reasons 

 why low headed trees are best. 



Where a tree has already attained considerable 

 size, and the form cannot be easily changed, 

 some other protection should be devised. 



Sometime since, while visiting the grounds of a 

 successful orchardist, on the Hudson, we observed 

 his pear trees were protected on the south side 

 by strips of bass matting the whole length of the 

 trunk, tied loosely. Long rye straw would do 

 equally well. 



He remarked that, beside preserving the bodies 

 from injury, since he had 4)ur8ued this practice, 

 his trees were more exempt from blight. 



The culture of the finer sorts of the cherry is 

 often unsatisfactory in the west, by reason of the 

 cracking of the bark. With thietreatmeut better 

 puccess might be h^d ; the experiment is at least 

 worth making — Wis. Farmer. 



The system of low heads is bound to win, as one 

 after another gives in his adhesion to it. It is 

 certain that with high beads, the fruit crop is not 



only tardy, but uncertain, with low heads we 



cannot be any worse off, and may bemuch better. 



et us give it a thorough trial. Ed. 



[From the Farmers Advocate, Chicago.] 

 Sorghum and Imphee. 



Messrs. Editors : — I promised some time last 

 fall to report my experience in the raising and 

 manufacturing of Sorghum. I will now also state 

 what 1 have seen of other manufacturers. 



In the Spring of 1861 I sowed a small bed of 

 the black Imphee, as an experiment I let it re- 

 main in the bed until it had attained a hi ight of 

 about six inches ; after I had planted in the field 

 all I expected to, I transplanted out of the bed. 

 I set out one fourth of an acre, an^ it >ipened 

 some three weeks earlier than that which had 

 not been transplanted. I also found ihat which 

 was 'ran planted to be c,uch the easiest tilled. 

 I think this the best way of putting out Sor- 

 ghum. If the land is drilled, or check-rowed, it 

 is not so much work as one would snppost^. Last 

 year's crop did not yield as well per acre as 

 former years. I think this may be accounted for 

 by the difference in seasons, and not in manu- 

 facturing. 



Many are of the opinion that the best way to 

 manufacture is to boil the expressed jui e with- 

 out clarifyingr, or using any ingred ents what- 

 ever. I differ from this opinion. If never so 

 carefully skimmed, the syrup, if made without 

 clarifying the juice, will have the taste of the 

 cane. 



I have manufactured of three different kinds 

 of Imphee, and all make a different kind of 

 syrup. Chinese cane grown upon different soils 

 differ in quantity and quality, I have lost much 

 from impure seed. 



I can get but little informa'ion about cane 

 sugar. At one manufactoiy I saw about 300 

 pounds of sugar, but none that 1 have seen is 

 pleasant tasted, although it may be light colored. 



I have made an article from cane juice which I 

 call cider, but I will have to give it a new name. 

 I propose calling it "Plantation Champagne." 

 We think it a good substitute for cider, and with 

 experience, have no doubt it will take a place 

 and rank with the best champagnes. So we may 

 obtain sugar, syrup, champagne and vinegar 

 from this new article of Chinese sugar cane ; and 

 beside all this, the seed is valuable for distilling 

 purposes and for feeding stock. What other crop 

 do we raise that is of greater value ? 



S. P. Whiting. 



Alton, Knox Co., III., January 24, 1862. 



— Sometimes a lightly uttered word destroys 

 an existence, or takes away the happiness or 

 repose of a family. What matters it? We have 

 laughed ! 



— A good many of Nature's human produc- 

 tions are written in cypher— a kind of cypher, 

 which like that in mathematics, means nothing. 



