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The Illinois Farmek; 



VOL. VIII. 



sHn 



S^GFIELD, ILL., FEBRUARY, 1863. 



NO. 2. 



DEVOTED TO THE 



FARM, THE ORCHARD AXD THE GARDEN, 



PUBLISHED BY 



BAILHACHE & BAKER, 



SPRINGFIELD, ----- ILLINOIS. 



Tk£. L. T>JJNTjJ^TE>, Editor. 



All business letters should be addressed to the 

 iniblishers. 



_^*ExcHANGE3 and all matters pertaining to the 

 editorial department, must be directed to Illinois 

 Farmer, Champaign, 111., as the editor resides a 

 that point, and is seldom at the office- of publication^ 

 from which he is distant over eighty miles. 



"\* For terms see prospectus and speei^|t*^ti6ss ^^ 

 adrertising department. " "^v. 



February. 



Like the columns of an nrmv tlie 



months march on, come to the front, 

 battle for a time and give place to oth- 

 ers, leaving to the care of the historian 

 their virtues and their faults. The 

 twelve battalions of which the 3^ear is 

 composed have their exact plans, and 

 wheel into line at their appointed time, 

 without regard to wind or weather: there 

 is no worrying or waiting—no counter- 

 manding oi the forward march. Though 

 they march in grand division, yet never 

 more than one at a time, is in the van 

 of the fight. If December open the 

 battle of winter with skirmishing, Jan- 

 uary bombards the field, and February 

 carries the entrenchments, and passes 



the victory over to March, the leader 

 of the second grand division of the 

 battalions of the year. Once a year 

 they again come forth with all the fresh- 

 ness and vigor that marked their prog- 

 ress six thousand years ago, when the 

 new made earth was first kissed by the 

 laughing zej)hyrs, or moistened by the 

 fleecy clouds. 



The months and seasons were made 

 for man, glowing with an evenness and 

 beauty that challenged his admiration. 

 All was then a continuous blooming of 

 spring, summer and autumn, but man 

 fell from his high estate, and lo! this 

 earthly baU was set askew the eliptic, 

 the seasons were set apart, and the sign 

 of winter took eternal possession of the 

 polar region, from ^diich he sends out 

 the chilly frost as wa.y ward as the heart 

 of man. 



We mnst take the months as they 

 come and go — at one time all smiles and 

 at other most ungenial, but as we can- 

 not mend their ways we must so study 

 their habits that we can draw something 

 of value from caeli. February is the 

 month of active preparation for spring, 

 the real beginning of the year's labors, 

 the plans of which should liave been 

 laid during the less active duties of De- 

 centber and January. 



■^he wood pile and coal bin should be 

 carefully looked after, and see that am- 

 ple store of fuel is provided for the next 

 ten months at least, for you will have 



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