Ill III. _.ip|iiNiiRLi Ji.jiij.^"MV#i^»7*^»?»n- 



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202 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



July 



Purple Can v\^.^berry. 



I can only speak of this fruit so far as my ex- 

 perience goes in testing it. I tbink more of it 

 than any other small fruit growing, of its class, 

 having fruited them by the si(le of eight different 

 sorts, and am well saiisfi'-d of its qualities and 

 hardiness. With me th> y require do protection 

 in winter.and thus far h > ve borne full crops each 

 year, except in 1859, when the "June frost" dam- 

 aged them, so that I hai bat half a crop. The 

 flavor I never saw exotlled {■ r table use, jelly or 

 preserves — have also maimfactured some wine 

 from the fruit, which has no .qual, readily com- 

 manding one dollar more per gallon than other 

 sorts. 



The preparation of land for a raspberry plan- 

 tation is simple and easy. One thorough plow- 

 ing in fall, and if the sol' is clay, enrich with 

 well rotted cow or chip manure Set young plants 

 in spring four feet each way, tending well with 

 horse > ultivator, or hoe lo ke-p clean. The fol- 

 lowinp spring with willows t e 'o stakes driven to 

 each plimt, and cut the tops off, so that the 

 plants will not be more thau tour feet high, when 

 the fruit spurs shoot out, nd the fruit is easily 

 gathered while standing. Cur ut the old wood 

 the following spring, ti new growth to stake and 

 proceed as before. The preparation and care is 

 so very simple my only woi der is that every 

 family in the country is not well supplied with 

 the fruit. It is certainly no humbug such as we 

 sometimes have imposed up n us by itinerant 

 tree peddlars. C. H. Bosbntiel. 



— We do not think stakes »nd willow twigs at 

 all necessary in the culture of this very valuable 

 fruit. Our practice with both that and the black 

 cap is to cut back to within two feet of theground 

 and to dispense with the si alb a altogether. Our 

 plants are set in rows six feet apart and in the 

 row about four feet. Thi-^ {fives enough space 

 for the plant to spread and for horse culture. 



The following are the cominorcial weights of a 

 bushel of different article-, viz : Wheat, beans, 

 potatoes and clover seed, 60 pouuds. Corn, rye. 

 flaxseed and onions, 5G • im ds. Corn on the 

 cob weighs 70 pounds. Buckwheat, 52; barley, 

 48; hempseed, 44; timothyseed, 46; castorbeans, 



46; oats, 32; bran, 20; blue grass seed, 14; 

 salt, 50, according to one ccount, but Onon- 

 daga salt is 56, (the real weigut of coarse is 85 

 pounds to the bushel;) dried aoples, 24; dried 

 peaches 3o, accnin^ a -ely published 



in num tous paper?, \>u g to our exper- 



ience bith a^-e wron- -^een thousands 



of bushels sold at 22 pou«ds 'o the bushel, which 

 ■will measure about three peck^< 



A Lasp of scat, ash<-. s, &c., 12 bar- 



rels; of corn, 10 qnnr gunpowder, 24 



barrels; of flax or feaihers, 1 700; of vool, 12 

 sacks. 



New Steel Plow. 

 The Palo Advertiser says they have a new plow 

 made by the Collins Company, "and wiiich seems 

 destined to do away with the use of all other 

 kinds, on account of its rare combinations of 

 desirable qualities. It is entirely new in sever- 

 al features, and demands the attention of every 

 farmer who studies economy. The plow is cast 

 by pouring steel into iron moulds, which chill the 

 steel, giving it a hard, smooth surface, causing 

 it to wear longer and move through the soil with 

 less friction than any other p'ow. Each section 

 is cast of varied thickness, giving the exposed 

 parts any required heft. The 'shin,' for instance, 

 is nearly three times as thick as in ordinary plows. 

 Apparently this 'cast, cast-steel' plow will last 

 as long as three or four of the 'cast-steel' plows 

 now in use. Its surface is so hard that a knife 

 or even glass will make no impression on it, and 

 it shows temper equal to the best edged tools, 

 and is recommended to 'scour' in any soil." We 

 can see no more difiiculty in castinga plow of cast- 

 steel, than to cast a bell of the same metal. For 

 this purpose old files and scraps of cast eteelare 

 used. The fteel is melted in Plumbago crucibles 

 and undergoes no change, andisprobably as val- 

 uable as though rolled or hammered. 



The Pawkes' Steam Plow once More. 



It will be seen by reference to our advertising 

 columns, that Mr. Fawkes has returned to Illinois 

 to endeavor to demonstrate, practically, the fea- 

 sibility of working; our prairies by steam power. 

 Mr. F. will certainly never fail of s-uccess from 

 want of persever nee. He has expended years 

 of time and thousands of dollars in the steam 

 plow enlerprise, and though at times, seemingly 

 almost sure of the laurels for which he has been 

 striving, has n.vertheless stopped short of the 

 point of success. He no longer asks or expects 

 the encouragement of Agricultural Societies or 

 Railroad Corporations in the way of large prizes. 

 He is conscious that the people have 'ost confi- 

 dence in his invention, but his ownconfidence in 

 its capability to plow and ditch profitably, is un- 

 shaken. He has come back to prove this by ac>< 

 tual tests in the field. 



The encouragement be asks is work to do and 

 pay for ■yrhnt he actually performs. It is an en- 

 couragement to which he is entitled, and we in' 

 cerely hope it will not be withheld from him" 

 There are men both in this city and out of it, 

 that have extensive farms to drain and plow, 

 and who intend to have it done. To these we 

 appeal to give Mr. Fawkes a helping hand. There 

 is no risk in the matter. Money, more than ac- 

 tually earned, is not asked for. A chance to work 

 at fair prices — ^less than the same work can be 

 accomplished for by other means — is all that is 

 desired. Who will set the steam plow at work? 

 It IS a final effort on the part of the inventor, if 

 he fails. Let him not fail for want of opportu- 

 nity to try for success. — Prairie Farmer. 



