1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEK. 



279 



North- Western Fruit Growers Companion. 

 — We are ia receipt of No. 1 of this new work, 

 hailing from Keokuk, Iowa, Thomas Gregg, edi- 

 tor and publisher — monthly, $1 per year. It is 

 very nicely gotten up, and gives promise of use- 

 fulness , we hope it may have a long life, but it 

 has a hard time to get a foothold. If it can 

 struggle through the war, it will do well. Such 

 a work is needed and should be well patronized. 



We copy the following on orchard planting : 



"On inquiring what sorts had done best, we 

 received for answer — naming them in the follow- 

 ing order: — "Winesaps, Janets, Yellow Bell- 

 flowers, 0) tleys. Wines, Rambes, Fulton Straw- 

 berries, Early Harvests and Junes." " But" 

 the Doctor added, with an emphatic earnestness, 

 •' Had I planted only Winesaps, I might have 

 been a rich man now." On another occasion he 

 expressed the opinion, that had his planting been 

 confined to Winesaps alone, he might have by 

 thig time realized fifty thousand dollars from his 

 orchard. Its hardiness as a tree, its excellent 

 bearing qualities, and its good character as a 

 market fruit, render it far superior with him to 

 all others, as an apple to make money on. Such 

 is Dr. Gris wold's opinion of the Winesap. It 

 may be added here, that he is now cultivating a 

 large lot of yearling seedlings, which he will 

 bud entirely to this variety for future planting. 



There are other varieties of which Dr. G. 

 speaks very highly ; as, for instance, the Red 

 June — a good bearer and profitable apple ; the 

 Fulton Strawberry — a very fine apple ; the Fall 

 Wine and the Janet. Among the most highly 

 prized of the apples in his orchard, for quality 

 alone — not being so productive as others — are 

 mentioned the Pryor's Red, the Porter and the 

 Spitzenburgs. 



Peaches In Egypt. — The Bro. Evans, at Cob- 

 den, have sold 8,000 baskets of peaches from 

 July 15th to Aug. 26th, and have some 500 more 

 to ship. These have sold at an average of two 

 dollars in Chicago, the expense of commission 

 and freight is about fifty cents a box, leaving the 

 neat little sum of §12 000. They purchased 

 this farm last winter of Col. Barnbridge for 

 $10 GOO. Aug. loth they shipped 100 pounds 

 of grapes at 25c. a pound. The rot will destroy 

 two-thirds of their crop of grapes. June 17th 

 they shipped Keswick Codlin apples, that sold at 

 $2 25 a barket in Chicago. Aug. 3rd, shipped 

 sweet potatoes which sold at $2 25 a basket. 

 Who will say that the fruit lands of Egypt will 

 not pay? 



Is the Pig a Grazier ? — In replying to this 

 query, the Maine Farmer remarks " that if there 

 is any one animal that is omnivorous, — that is, 

 one that will live upon everything and anything 

 — fish, flesh, grain, or grass, — it is the pig. He 

 is carnivorous, granivorous, and graminivorous. 

 We know that he will live, grow and thrive in a 

 butcher's yard, where he can get nothing but 

 flesh and blood. And to the question whether 

 he is a grazier, we can answer yes. We have 

 known the hog to live the year round and keep 

 in pretty good order on grass in summer and 

 clover hay in winter. The farmers in the Mad- 

 awasha district, also in other sections of this 

 State, and indeed throughout the Western and 

 Southern States, turn their hogs out to " graze" 

 as regularly as they do their cattle. Some of 

 them keep them during the winter all or in part 

 on clover hay. Our neighbor Kezer, of Win- 

 throp, used to feed his store hogs on clover hay, 

 crumbled or pounded fine with a flail, and they 

 throve well upon it. 



A writer in the Country Gentleman last Feb- 

 ruary gave an account of some clever hay fed 

 swine, that were found to be in good condition." 

 " I have seen," says be, " twenty-five shoats 

 (September pigs) the present winter, which have 

 been fed on clover hay alone, and they are in 

 good flesh ; in fact they are in better condition 

 than the average of pigs wintered without good 

 warm shelter, and fed upon grain. The clover 

 fed these pigs was cut on the 4th of July, and 

 secured without a drop of rain upon it, and of 

 course very nutritious. The pigs, in addition, 

 are supplied with warm, comfortable quarters, 

 and have at all times access to warm spring wa- 

 ter." HealsoadJs: "I once had a neighbor 

 who owned a noted sow, to which he never fed a 

 mouthful of grain during winter, but kept her 

 in a yard with his cattle, and she ate with them 

 the hay and throve upon it." 



Hogs, however, thrive best on a variety diet, 

 and oftener a supply of good corn meal is found 

 to be the best in this variety, making them very 

 thrifty ; but corn is not absolutely necessary to 

 keep them in good store order. 



Jerusalem Artichokes. — Chas. Dement, of 

 Dixon, has a field of eight acres of this vegeta- 

 ble. They are very fine plants and cannot fail 

 of an enormous yield. Mr. D. thinks they will 

 prove profitable for hogs and other stock. The 

 plant appears to delight in our prairie soil, and 

 will doubtless prove profitable. Those wishing 

 to try them, can now get the tubrues in any 

 quantity. 



