fF^- 



1862. 



THE ILLIKOIS FAEMEK. 



j^ tM«!«Pi<Mj»iMivwncn^v*mq|9qi!^pi^ 



187 



How far can Crows Count ? 



A corri:'8poni1eiit of the Plattsburjrh Republi- 

 can in disutssiiig (his question, narrates the fol- 

 lowing incident which goes far to answer it: 



A few years since we were riding in a stage- 

 coach with >e eral gtrntlemen, when ihe conver- 

 sation turned on the subject of cro" s and many 

 interesting anecdotes were related Oue gentle- 

 man said he knew that crows could count — at 

 least as far as three — for he had often proved it. 

 Being troubled with crows in his field, he had of- 

 ten attempted to shoot them. But they knew 

 what a gun was as well he did, and therefore 

 kept out nf ois reach. He then concluded to put 

 up a small b oth ii^ the field, and place some car- 

 rion — a (ie.-!;i horse — within gun-shot. Fron. this 

 place he suipused he could fire at them when they 

 alighted to Cfit. Whenever he entertd the booth 

 the CIUW8 would all sit on the distant trees, and 

 not one would come near till he was g<'ne. Then 

 all wou d alighi except the sentinel who remain- 

 ed to give warning if danger approached 



The gentemiin, finding that pkn to fail, 

 thought h-^ would deceive them. So he took 

 his son with him to the booth, concluding that 

 when they saw one go away, the crows would 

 think the coast wa-» clear, and descend to the bait. 

 But wlien the son left the booth, a crow sung 

 out caw, c«w, Ciw. (there goes one) but not a 

 crow would leave his place. 



The next day the gentleman took two persons 

 with him to the b oth and then let them depart 

 one at a time The crows on the trees saw 

 saw the first and cried out, " there goes 

 one," in their peculiar dialect. Then when the 

 other went they cried "there goe< two;" but 

 they would not alight for they counted three 

 when they entered. 



The day following the gentleman took three 

 others with him. When they went out one by 

 one, the crows cried -'there goes one" — 'there 

 goes two" — "there goes three." And when these 

 men were out of sight they all alighte J, and the 

 gun rf the fourth n an did its wo? k. 



The gentleman etat.d that this thing had been 

 tried repeatedly, and it was evi.lent that crows 

 could c. unt as ta^ as three, but Uiere their 

 arithme ic ei.drd When they w'U a-cnd to the 

 high'-r briiich of mathematics is yet u) be ascer 

 tain"ii. lu the meantime othe/s can bring on 

 their incidents of crow nology. 



— —•*■ 



A Thoitsan . Plow Patbnts. — The New York 

 World any- : 



"It mny surprise many of the mu'titnde who 

 use pi. ws, as well as those who do not, to learn 

 that ab'>ut n 'housHud patents ii .v>. been is- 

 sued f.r aieged improvements in pi w- pine '; ■> 

 foundation o' the American goveruin-n' Ah.ut 

 two-thiriis of these patents have be? n eranted 

 Since ttie vi'nr 1847. Some carious 'i:ve>iigator 

 will (lonbil ss mount t' is hobby, and give u^ a 

 book ab ut the origin iind progress o'' >he im- 

 plement which the ta'ming world is now tryii.? to 

 discard — if it can find anything better to use in 

 cultivating the soil " 



None of the cultivated graiii plants have 



been <bund growing in a state of nature. It is 

 a remarkable fact that neither oits, b^^rley, 

 wheat, nor rye are ever found in any country 

 growing wild; no migrating; nation possesses 

 them ; their existence marks the tilli r of the soil, 

 and although they should be found in the midst 

 of solitude and silence, yet n;an has been a set- 

 tler there. 



CONTENTS 



June 181 



A Western Fruit Book 162 



Low Headed Trees and Shelter 162 



Evergreen Trees > 163 



Low-headed Fruit Trees 164 



Why that Rose-bush Failed « 164 



Raising Lambs for Butchers 1(5 



Use of Sweet Apples ^ 165 



Varieties of Potatoes 166 



Trotting Horses too Young 166 



Com in Massachusetts 166 



Raising and Keeping Celery 166 



Soil aad Crops 167 



Packing Fruits for Long Distances 168 



Planting Caltbages 168 



A Good Farm Fence 168 



Raspberries 169 



Kindness to Milch Cows 169 



Post and Rail Fence 169 



Usefulness of Toads in Gardens 169 



Remedy for Peach Grub and Apple Borer 170 



Test Your Seeds , 170 



Cut Worm and Corn Grub Killer 170 



Sweet Potatoe Culture 171 



Oiling Harness Jl 171 



Top- Dressing Grass Lands 172 



Farmers' Parlors 174 



Present State of the Immigration Question 175 



Curl of the Peach L«af. 176 



Plant a Few Beans 176 



Patent Bee Hives 177 



Remedy for Ringworms 188 



Mulching — Caution 175 



Whitewashing Extraordinary IflS 



Cotton Growing in Western Pennsylvania 178 



Strawberry Culture.. 178 



Ornamental Trees 179 



Remedy for Hog Disease 179 



Remedy for Worms in Dried Fruit 179 



Wine Making in New York.. 179 



The Fruit Tree Borer 179 



Grape Sickness 180 



Delaware vs. The Concord 181 



Unsound Wheat 182 



The Raspberry 183 



Personal 183 



How to Pick Strawberries 183 



Vermin on Cattle ». 184 



Recipe for Making Rhubarb Wine 184 



Fine Wheat and Rye. 184 



Editor's Table: 



Cultivation of the Sugar Beet — Price of Corn 

 — The Peach Grub — The Strawberry Crop in 

 Egypt 185 



Threshing Machines — Steam Plowing Postponed 

 — Sorghum — Two-Horse Cultivators — Plant- 

 ing Corn in Rows — OflScers <)f the Madison 

 County Agricul. See. — Red Cedar Stedlings — 

 Sweet Potatoes— The Garden — Price of Wool.. 186 



How Far Can Crows Count? — A Thousand Plow 

 Patents — etc.... Jgy 



