354 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEE. 



Dec. 



The finer varieties of peaclies have not been 

 tested at South Pass, nearly all of the old stock 

 of trees having come from St. Louis and Alton, 

 with a few from Rochester. A gentleman who 

 takes a deep interest in fruit culture in our State 

 has ordered from France two hundred trees of the 

 choicest varieties known there. These trees will 

 be handed over to the peach growers ^t South 

 Pass, for trial. 



An immense number of varieties of apples have 

 been planted at that point, but have not yet 

 fruited. It must be recollected that half a dozen 

 years have not intervened since the planting of 

 the new orchards, hence so little is known of 

 other thf.n the varieties found in the old or- 

 chards. It would be difficult to make any per- 

 son believa that a better autumn apple than the 

 Buckingham could be found anywhere. AVith 

 Keswick'i Codlin and Buckingham for summer 

 and autr.i^'.n cooking, Yellow Beilflowerfor winter 

 they are ^uite well content ; while AVinesaps, 

 Vrhite Wiuter Pearmaia, Smith's Cider, Willow 

 Twig and Piawle's Janet do not make a bad list 

 for the tal-e. An article on the culture of straw- 

 berries at that point must go over to next month, 

 in which ve show that the Wilson will continue 

 popular for soma time to come, and that it is 

 more at home there than at any other point. 



Eed Cedars are abundant at the South part of 

 the State, and cost but a trifle for plants six to 

 eight indies high. We have always fancied that 

 an evergreen shelter was warmer than one of de- 

 cidious trees, but attributed it to the density of 

 the foliage. Our farmers are becoming alive to 

 the value of tree planting, and the next ten years 

 will materially modify our climate from this 

 cause. — Ei>. 



Fruit Trees. 



M. L. Dunlap, Esq., Editor Illinois Farmer : 



Will you or some of your correspondents fur- 

 nish, through the columns of your paper, a list 

 of fruit trees for an orchard of 3,000 trees, to be 

 planted in the southern part of the State, for the 

 purpose of raising fruit for market, with a view 

 of obtaining the greatest amount of profit. The 

 orchard to consist of apples, pears and peaches, 

 1,000 trees of each. The list to specify the num- 

 ber of trees of each variety to be planted. 



M. & B. 



— Will not some of our readers respond to the 

 above. We do not expect that one person can 

 give the data for the several kinds of fruit, and 

 we shall be just as well pleased to have them re- 



ported from diflferent individuals. Our readers 

 are well aware of the fact that in no part of the 

 world is the apple more at home than in Western 

 New York. There we do not hear of tender va- 

 rieties, or the running out of old sorts ; yet at 

 a meeting of the Pomological Society of Western 

 New York, a few years since, in answer to the 

 question, what varieties to plant in a market or- 

 chard of 1000 trees, a promineat member replied 

 that he would plant 999 Baldwins, and as to the 

 other tree, he was not sure whether he would set 

 a Baldwin or a Rhode Island Greening ; and so 

 general was this opinion that few, if any, would 

 plant less than half to three-fourths of that vari- 

 ety, filling up mainly with Greening. It is well 

 known that these varieties are of little value at 

 the West, from two facts : one is, that they are 

 not hardy in all locations, and in the next place, 

 that the fruit will not keep well ; being late fall, 

 and early winter. It is possible that Rawle's 

 Janet, AVinesap, Smith's Cedar, White Pippin, 

 or some other variety may hold the same posi- 

 tion in the south part of the State as the Baldwin 

 in Western New York ; and the same may be said 

 of the pear — while the cherry is already reduced 

 to one leading variety. (Kentish of Downing) 

 May Cherry of the West. It is true that we be- 

 gin to look for the best, instead of the greatest 

 number of varieties. 



The State Horticultural Society, at its late 

 Fair, as will be seen in the report in last num- 

 ber, have, through one of its committees 

 on fruits, composed of the ablest fruit growei^s 

 in the West, pronounced the Keswick Codlin 

 the best cooking apple for summer ; Maiden's 

 Blush for autumn, and Winesap for winter. 



AVe must go one step further, and make the 

 same decision for the table. Let us hear from 

 all parts of the State on this subject. — Ed. 



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Turnips for Milch Cows.— Milo Smith of 

 Northamton, in a communication to the Home- 

 stead, made the following statement : "We tried 

 one of our best cows in milk recently, that was 

 fed a half a bushel of turnips a day in addition 

 to her other feed, by weighing her milk carc" 

 fully for one week. We then left ofi" feeding the 

 turnips, while her other food was precisely the 

 same. She dropped off on her milk from two to 

 three quarts per day, and on returning the feed 

 of turnips, she came back within three days to 

 her full flow of miik. This difference in the 

 quantity of milk, as we sell ours, makes the tur- 

 nips worth from fifteen to eighteen cents per 

 bushel, and I think they can be raised for much 

 less than that." 



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The most impudent of all things ia a mirror, 

 it is continually casting reflections. 



