1Y6 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



June 



arrangements in their own behalf to attract such. 

 They must be assisted by all possible ways by 

 the Union and State. All the inhabitants should 

 consider the advantage resulting from an increa^e 

 of population, developing a useful activity. — 

 Those who have connections in Europe should 

 make use of it, thus helping to create a steady 

 flow of immigration. It must be sustained by 

 practical pamphlets, letters, &c. 



"It is very desirable that the most influential 

 men of the Northwest unite in laying a petition 

 before Congress in relation to said subject. 



"As to the success which I have had, I will 

 state that the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Ca- 

 leb B. Smith, has given me the written assurance 

 that he would carry out my propositions as soon 

 as Congress would pass a law referring thereto. 

 Persons of influence will urge the difi^erent rail- 

 roads leading to the West to unite in taking 

 Buch steps as shall increase the facilities for im- 

 migration. In Chicago they opened me prospects 

 of making at the next session of the Legislature 

 a motion in behalf of immigration purposes." 



f — We think this an opportune time to agitate 

 this subject. The war has seriously reduced our 

 laboring population and small farmers, and their 

 places could be filled to advantage by the Ger- 

 man emigrant. It is demonstrated that a large 

 part of our State is adopted to the grape, and 

 that this uew branch of business will open a wide 

 and prjfitable field to vine cultivators from the 

 the German States. There is no portion of the 

 West that ofi'ers to this class of industrious emi- 

 grants, a more inviting field for their labors than 

 the Praiire Stste, for there is certainly no State 

 among those of the West so well adopted in soil, 

 in climate, and acctss to luarkets for the small 

 farmer as this ; at the same time the large prai- 

 ries afford abundant scope for those who have 

 the capital and taste for large farms. We hope 

 our Legislature will take the matter in hand and 

 give such aid in the way of bringing the value of 

 our State to the comprehension of the German 

 emigrant, bo as to induce them to settle with us. 

 We would hold out no inducement to the purpose 

 but siniply to bring the value of our location to 

 to the knowledge of the industrious laborer and 

 of the small farmer. The rich emigrant will 

 take caie of himself, but the other classes need 

 information, not money, so as to direct them in 

 the cheaj est aud best manner to our soil, Ed. 



■«•»— 



The Curl of the Peach Leaf.— The " Ohio 

 Farmer" says the remedy for the blistering of the 

 p«ach leaf is to sprinkle the trees, just before 

 opening of the flower buds, with a mixture com- 

 pounded of equnl parts of lime, flour of sulphur 

 and soot, dissolved in water. 



-An evil conscience Is the greatest plague. 



Plant a Few Beans. 



Friend Harris, of the Genesee Farmer, annu- 

 ally discourses upon beans. His reflections on 

 this topic for 1 862, appear in the May number 

 and are as follows : — 



CULTIVATION OF THE WHITE BEAN. 



For years we have earnestly advocated the more 

 extensive cultivation of the white bean as a field 

 crop on American farms. 



The great need of American Agriculture is a 

 good "fallow crop" — some plant that will stand 

 our hot, dry summer, enrich the soil, and allow 

 the use of the horse hoe to clean the land during 

 its growth. A plant, in short, that shall occupy 

 the same place in our rotation as the turnip does 

 in English agriculture. 



The white bean comes nearer to this than any 

 other plant yet introduced. If the beans are 

 consumed on the farm — as turnips always are in 

 England — their cultivation would add materially 

 to its facility. Ihere can be no doubt on this 

 point. All the leguminous plants — including 

 clover, peas, vetches, beans, etc. — contain large 

 quantities of nitrogen, and this when consumed 

 by animals or plowed under, becomes ammonia 

 — the very thing which we most need for the 

 growth of the cereals. 



Let us then grow beans. No crop will pay bet- 

 ter. When prices are good, as at present, they 

 can be sold ; and if prices fall, they can be fed 

 out on the farm with advantage. 



In regard to their cultivation, we have written 

 so much in previous volumes that little need be 

 added at this time. They are generally grown 

 on warm, light soil, but will succeed on almost 

 any soil if properly cultivated. For this, as for 

 all other crops, the land should be well under- 

 drained, either naturally or artificially. The 

 land may be plowed in the fall and again in the 

 spring, and made clean and mellow before plant- 

 ing; or a clover sod may be turned over and the 

 beans planted at once. The common "white me- 

 dium" is generally considered the most produc- 

 tive variety, but the White Mountain or Morrow 

 yields nearly or quite as well, and brings a bet- 

 ter price. It is a little larger, rounder, plump- 

 er and handsomer, and is gaining in popular es- 

 teem. 



They may be planted in hills 2^ feet apart, and 

 15 to 18 inches apart in the rows, dropping five 

 to six beans in each hill ; or they may be drilled 

 in with a machine, in rows 2^ feet apart, and a 

 single bean 2 inohes apart in the rows. The latn 

 ter, perhaps, gives the larger crop, but the for- 

 mer requires much less labor in hoeing, etc. In 

 this section they are generally planted the fixdt 

 week iu June. 



— "Mick," said a bricklayer to his laborer, "if 

 you meet Patrick, tell him to make haste, as we 

 are waiting for him." "Shure an' I will," re- 

 plied Mick ; "but what ghall I tell him if I don't 

 meet him ?" 



