1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



241 



unequalled in all qualities of tree and fruit by 

 any of its season. 



[Our readers in the north part of the State 

 will find much of value in the report. Several 

 in the Extra Hardy List, we have not fruited, 

 and know little of them. Of No. 2, we should 

 leave out Nos. 17, 20, 23, 24, 26 and 28. Of 

 No. 3, we should leave out Nos. 88, 39, 41, 48 

 and 49. A' so Black Vandevere in the next List. 

 Ed. Farmer.] 



The Field of War- 



Cal Harris, of the Ohio Field Notes, is having 

 the war fever, and will soon mount his Rosinante 

 and draw his sword for his country. The Col. 

 has seen service — for what agricultural editor has 

 not. We have kept down the fever by taking an 

 occasional turn among the tented soldiery ; but 

 a couple of weeks camping out and living on camp 

 fare, takes off the ardor of our spirits, and we 

 very contentedly return to the pen, which is bet- 

 fitted to our hand than the sword. 



We wish the Colonel success in raising his 

 " Reaper Regiment," and may they reap largely 

 of the enemy on the field of battle. Below we 

 cut from the Colonel's Field Notes : 



During the last days of June and the first days 

 of July, there was terrible fighting in front of 

 Richmond. The rebel army had been largely re- 

 inforced by Gen. Jackson from the Shenandoah 

 Valley, and from the army in the southwest, also 

 by conscripts frons the people, so that it far out- 

 numbered the army under General McClellan. 

 Being thus in force for offensire movements, the 

 rebels fell upon our army, where they were met 

 with stern and fatal resistance, but forced Mc- 

 Clellan to fall back by degrees, a distance of seven 

 or eight miles in all, to a position on the James 

 river, supported by his gunboats, where he made 

 a successful stand, and after resting two days, 

 again advanced towards Richmond, a distance of 

 nearly sen miles. The result of this series of 

 this series of battles, waz a loss of fifty thousand 

 men on both sides, two-thirds of which was from 

 the ranks of the enemy, who fought with desper- 

 ation, and were literally mowed down in thous- 

 ands by our artillery. Gen. McClellan has been 

 strengthened by fresh troops and plenty of gun- 

 boats, and will soon be in condition to assault 

 Richmond. Gen. Pope, from the Western army, 

 has been placed in command of the armies in the 

 Shenandoah Valley, and will probably concen- 

 trate the several divisions into a powerful force, 

 with which he will move on to Richmond from 

 that direction. Burnside is also mouing up to 

 the same point from North Carolina, so that Rich- 

 mond will be a hot place shortly. There wUl be 

 busines in that quarter now. 



The Government has called for 300,000 more 

 men, for three years or the war, whereupon Gov. 

 Tod issues his proclamation, saying that an ef- 



fort is being made to raise twenty- two infantry 

 regiments in Ohio. For this purpose, the State 

 is divided into di.«tricts, and camps of rendezvous 

 and instruction will be opened in Cleveland, To- 

 ledo, Mansfield, Lima, Dayton, Portsmouth, Ma- 

 rietta, Steubenville, and Zanesville, in addition 

 to the present extensive camps at Columbus and 

 near Cincinnati. 



In this State of affairs, we — that is; the editor 

 of Field Notes, have stood it about as long as we 

 can. Our fingers have been itching for several 

 months to clasp the sword hilt and the carbine ; 

 our good Quaker resolution has faded out, the 

 wing of the war eagle has touched us, our blood 

 is up, and the readers of Field Notes need not be 

 surprised to learn, in a few weeks, that we are 

 upon the war path, swooping down to the harvest 

 of death. 



Who of our readers will rally to our banner, 

 when the wheat and the hay are gathered; and 

 make up the " Reaper Regiment" for the war ? 

 We are in sober earnest, and shall expect a 

 prompt and hearty response. 



—*■ 



Comstock's Rotary Digger. 



Messrs. Comstock and Glidden. of Milwaukee, 

 Wis., have been on a tour through these States, 

 from Wisconsin to Washington by way of Cin- 

 cinnati, Columbus, etc ; for the purpcse of (x- 

 hibiting and testing a new rotery digging ma- 

 chine, the invention of C. Comstock lormerly 

 a citizen of this county. 



The machine consists of a cylindrical iron 

 frame about three feet long, on the face of 

 which are courses of flat steel tines, an inch 

 in width, working in eccentric cam slots, in 

 such way that as the machine progresses the 

 prongs enter the ground with a natural pro- 

 jection, like the spade in the hands of a man, 

 and leaving the ground lift the soil in the same 

 way, giving it a sudden shake, by which the 

 clods are broken and the soil left in a fine con- 

 dition. The constant lifting and shaking of the 

 earth behind the machine, keeps up a lively 

 flutter, much like that of witer after a stern 

 wheel steamer. The cylinder is about three 

 feet in length, with seven in each course and 

 twelve courses, each course fastened to an iron 

 bar running the length of the cylinder. 



Upon trial at Cincinnati, and again at Co- 

 lumbus, the digger did not work to the satis 

 faction of the exhibitors or the spectators, ow 

 ing, as Mr. Comstock thinks, to the compact- 

 ness of the soil where it was tried. It is a 

 heavy pull for a team of two extra stout horses 

 with the driver in his seat upon the machine. 

 On light soils, clear of roots and stones, it will 

 not not work over half that depth, the first 

 time going over. 



We think Mr. Comstock has got the true prin- 

 ciple of projection and elevation in his machine; 

 the difficulties yet to be overcome are to adapt 

 the digger to more general purposes as to kind 

 of soils and the necessities of farmers, who 

 must have a machine that is simple, effective, 

 durable, and at a reasonable price. WLile the 

 farmer can get a plow and harrow for twenty 



