182 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



1862. 



But give us your chapter of actual "experi- 

 ments " It is ju-t what the re'iders of the 

 Homestead want, and we consider ourselves for 

 tunate in having provoked its production. 



The Concord hus met our expectations and 

 more. It has produced excellent crops of excel- 

 lent fruit; but no one would rejoice more than 

 ourselves, to find a grape in every respect its su- 

 perior. "Let there be light." 



Editor Homestead. 



We pretty fully concur in the above. That we 

 have seen the Delaware make good growth and a 

 fine show of fruit, in some particular locations, 

 we are free to admit, but that it is a grape for 

 general culture in all locations we most cnphat- 

 ically deny, while we have yet to hear of the 

 place where grapes grow at all that the Concord 

 does not flourish. In this respect it is the grape 

 for the million. 



That Mr. Mattier, at Cincinnati, succeeds well 

 with it, we have no doubt ; our personal acquain- 

 tance with him warrants us in the belief that he 

 is sincere in his statements. While the Delaware 

 grows luxuriantly at Quincy, it will not grow 

 with us, and yet we are in the same parallel of 

 Irtitude : there the soil is charged with lime while 

 here it is not, showing that so 1, not climate, has 

 a most decided efl"ect on it. Our Concords, set 

 last year, are loaded with fruit, and making a 

 vigorous growth, while the Delawares have no 

 fruit anil make but a feeble growth, and yet the 

 latter are well cared for, have tha advantage of 

 a rich border and against a six feet whitewashed 

 wall. We shall continue to plant and to recom- 

 mend the Concord until we have some new testi- 

 mony in the premises other than that drawn from 

 those intrusted in the sale cf Delaware vines at 

 a dolirtr each Ed. III. Farmer. 



-<•»- 



Unsound Wheat- 



Chicago, Miv 30, 1862. 

 To the Editor of the Commercial Express: 



Wi'h much [devsure I notice yi>ur remarks in 

 yesterday's i.«sMe under the above caption, and 

 alth High it covers the points fu ly, ; s to the re- 

 sults that oughi to be attained perhaps I may 

 be pardone i t'>r oifering a few remarks the im- 

 portance of the subject being my aptilogy for 

 tresspassing on your space. 



The sutiject "f cleaning Wheat i« one <^n\y in 

 its infancy at the West as yet, which has been 

 fully proven 1 y the advantages held by Eastern 

 Mills in fl luring Spring W teat u td within a 

 short lime. There they (very wisely) stopped at 

 no expense in proper appliance for thoroughly 

 cleaning iht-ir Wheat, and so enabling therp to 

 make a better flour for market, wi'h a greater 

 yield, than the Western Miller. The last few 

 years, however, has made a great change in this 



section, on the part of millers with regard to 

 cleaning grain; this will account for co much 

 infirior grain (as graded her*) being bought by 

 the Eastern miller. 



Now, what we want at Chicago, is to raise the 

 standard of our Wheat, and instead of ofi"ering 

 a premium f >r n en tT mix filth with their grain 

 — to make it an object for us to receive it in the 

 best possible condition — so that instead of being 

 driven from some markets as we are now, we 

 might take our position as not only the largest, 

 but the best Wheat matket. We never can arrive 

 ot this until our Wheat is cleaned better. The 

 remedy proposed — letting the faime-s clean it — 

 will not (while the country is so new) answer the 

 end, as the farmer has no means t > buy the re- 

 quisite machinery. The fanning mill is the only 

 thing he dreams of using, and this more often 

 than otherwise is not in a proper order, and De- 

 sides the small amount for c oh farmer would 

 not justify the expense. The wa<ehouseman in 

 the country can see no object in cleaning the 

 grain properly, while he makes it so profitable 

 to buy all the screenings from tlie nearest mill to 

 mix with the farmer's a'ready dirty grain (and in 

 this connection I will call your attention panic- 

 ularly to the great injustice done to the farmer 

 who is silly enough to think he can get an in- 

 creased price for Wheat over his neighbor who 

 carried it direct from the threshing machine.) 

 This brings us to the grain to Chicago Here it 

 is thrown into the large bins, with filth, dirt, pmut 

 and all, and the result is stump-tail. Can it be 

 wondered at. Some one here insist ^ that the 

 separators in the warehouses at present do not 

 remedy the evil. Granted, and for what reason? 

 That the cleaning is not thorough enough. When 

 they were first introduced they were thought to 

 take too much out, and buyers and sellers could 

 not afford to lose one per c?nt. of their grain. 

 Now (less than fo-ir years used) they do not clean 

 thoroughly enough; besides, in our go ah. ad 

 style, rapidity, n it eflBciency. is the desideratum; 

 so, to incre s- t.se quantitv, the riddles are taken 

 ofi" and oily a blast applied which does but little 

 good, grain ihr4>wn directly irito it ins'ead of 

 gently and thoroughly spread to meet t. Why 

 it is economy ro st re the g.'ain w^th smut to 

 daub it, and filth to prevenr circulation through 

 it, and ship it to ii jure still m -re in i'S tr .nsit, 

 and pay freight, in>urance, e evating, &c. , on all 

 this foreign mafer. to be sold a tiic ': illforime- 

 sixth the price it cost, it will take some of our 

 knowing grain men to fell. 



The proper place undoubted'y to clean the grain 

 is at the warehouse in the cmntry, where the 

 farmers should pay the proprietor so much for 

 cleaning his grain, and then sell it to him, bat 

 until a uniform custom in this respect is estab- 

 lished, it would not be practicable. The only 

 remedy then is, ro put the proper cleaning ma- 

 chinery in the warehous ;s here, clean the grain 

 ill the same manner that mills cl<>an it, so th«tna 

 smut ball p ss the warehouse ; the oats, ettcks, 

 false buckwheat, &o., shali be removed, and then 

 the grain, if sound, cannot injure in shipment. 

 Parties ship' i' g to Europe can make arrange- 

 ments at Oswego or Buffalo for special bins to 

 receive the wheat ; from them it can be discharg- 



