1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FARMEH. 



236 



rocks belong to the lower Silurian formation, 

 and consequently underlie both the Devonian 

 Btrata and the coal measures ; and if the Scotch 

 have Silur an beds of anthracite, 1 see no reason 

 why we should not have Devonian beds of Bitu- 

 minous coal. 



Below will be found a table of the borings at 

 the three different points, taken down by myself 

 from the mouths of the operators. 



I suppose friend Worthen will consider that I 

 am stealing his thunder by writing about coal, 

 but he must take his revenge by writing just as 

 long and just as dull an article about bugs. 



Benj. D. Walsh. 



rock island depot. 



Ft. Inches. 



Limestone 117 



Shale or impure coal 00 6 



Sandstone 5 



Slate-colored limestone 1 6 



Coal 2 2 



Sandstone 6 



Light brown limestone 10 



White limestone 10 



Light grey limestone 10 



162 2 



__ HI* 



Legal WeigMs and Measures. 



Ills. Iowa. Cin. St. L. 



Articles, bu. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. 



Apples, dried 24 24 25 24 



Bran 20 20 20 20 



Barley 48 48 48 48 



Beans, white ...60 60 60 60 



Beans,castor 46 46 — 46 



Buckwheat 52 62 — 52 



Coal, stone 80 80 80 80 



Corn, shelled 56 56 56 56 



Corn, ear 70 70 — — 



Cornmeal 48 — — — 



Hair, plastering 8 — — — 



Lime, unslacked SO 80 — — 



Malt, barley 38 — 34 38 



Malt, rye — — 40 — 



Oats 32 35 33 35 



Onions 57 57 56 67 



Seed, Timothy 45 45 45 45 



Seed, Hungarian i48 — 50 — 



Salt, coarse 51 50 50 50 



Salt, fine 55 _ _ _ 



Sand — • 130 — — 



Turnips 55 — — — 



Wheat 60 60 60 60 



Peaches, dried 33 33 33 33 



Potatoes, Ir'sh 60 60 — 60 



Potatoes, sweet 55 46 — — 



Peas 60 _ _ _ 



Rye 66 56 56 56 



Seed, blue grass 14 14 10 10 



Seed, clover 60 60 62 60 



Seed, flax 56 56 56 55 



Seed, hem 44 44 42 44 



tS^ Nine Spanish Merino sheep were sheared 

 at St. Johnsbury, Vt., a short time since, the ag- 

 gregate fleeces weighing ninety pounds and two 

 ounces. The fltece of one of the above — a two- 

 year old — weighed 16J younds. A yearling 

 1?>| pounds. 



Preserving Fruits. : 



The Agriculturist, for June, has a good article 

 upon preserving fruits, in which it speakg of 

 putting up fruits in jars as follows : 



During the past years we have kept several 

 bushels of fruit of different kinds, always in 

 good condition, and the portion now unused is 

 almost as fresh and delicious as when first packed. 

 For keeping we have used all sorts of glass bot- 

 tles and jars, holding from a pint to two quarts 

 each — including geveral of the patent jars with 

 caps of various patterns. Among these were a 

 dozen glass jars with India rubber rings expand- 

 ed by a compressing screw, of which five gave 

 way and the fruit was lost. Of the common 

 glass bottle and jars we have not lost one. — 

 There is hardly a glass bottle of whatever form 

 that can not be turned to account for preserving 

 fruits, even junk bottles, sodawater bottles, jars, 

 etc., etc. She best form is a wide mouthed quart 

 bottle or jar, the neck drawn in, to give a shoul- 

 der for the cork to rest upon. For the larger 

 fruits wide necked bottles are needed ; for the 

 smaller, berry frusts, narrow neces answer per- 

 fectly. 



PREPARING THE FRUIT. 



Our method is to put the fruit in a preserving 

 kettle, of some kind — a glazed iron kettle, or 

 a thin one, or a tin pail will do, and sweeten it 

 with just sugar enough to fill it for the table. 

 The sweetning is added in the form of a syrup 

 made by boiling from one to three pounds of su- 

 gar (usually two pounds) with one quart of wa- 

 ter. Tho more juicy fruits, such a strawberries, 

 require less syrup, while pears and quincies re- 

 quire moro. The fruit is heated with the syrup 

 just long enough to scald it through. Some pre- 

 fer to use less sweetening and add more when the 

 fruit is to be used. Others use no sugar , they 

 think the fruit koeps just as well, and preserves 

 its aroma better without any sugar. We prefer 

 to use all the sugar that the fruit will keep more 

 certainly, and it is then slways ready to pour out 

 upon the table. The fruit to be preserved should 

 always be in good condition, ripe, but not ever- 

 ripe, nor containing any decayed portion. To- 

 matoes are peeled, and then cooked down one- 

 half, as this makes a better sauce and requires 

 less bottle room. 



TO BOTTLE THB FRUIT. 



The bottles or jars are thoroughly cleansed 

 and each one fitted with a stopper. For these, 

 soft corks are the best ; but they may be made 

 of soft dry wood. For each bottle or jar we pro- 

 vide a little tin "patty pan" coating one half to 

 one cent each by the quantity. Teasaucers will 

 answer. 



The patty pans are simply circular pieces of 

 tin, stamped in the form of a cup or plate, two 

 to three and a half inches across. We buy them 

 at wholesale for 87 cents or $1,25 per. But any 

 kind of cup to hold the wax will answer. We 

 We have seen the common blacking boxes used, 

 bottom for one jar or bottle, and the top or cover 



