90 



THE ILLmOIS FAEMER. 



Mar. 



White Willow. — ^Will you give, through the 

 Illinois Fabmer, your opinion of the white willow 

 on the hills of Egypt, used in fence as posts and 

 for retaining the soil where subject to wash ? 



The white willow will doubtless grow well on the 

 hills about South Pass, and could be used for fence 

 posts by putting oak rails, so as to grow fast at the 

 ends. We have some doubts of its value to hold 

 the soil where it will work, as the roots in that 

 soil, like all forest trees, run too deep for the pur- 

 pose. Shrubs like red wax berry and the Baeberry 

 would do better. The former we think the best of 

 all, as it is semi trailing. W. R. Prince, as will be 

 seen by his letter, recommends it to protect the 

 banks of rivers from being abraded by the current) 

 and it will doubtless prove valuable with us for 

 this purpose, but the washing and gullying of hill 

 Bides is another matter. 



Gen. R. K. Swift, of Chicago, writes us that he 

 spent the past summer on one of the small penin- 

 sulas jutting into lake Huron. That he has sev- 

 eral hundred acres of land, part of which he is 

 bringing under culture. At that point he says 

 they have one hundred and fifty days without frost, 

 it being protected by the lake winds and its mara- 

 tine climate protects it from late and early frosts. 

 The General is giving the cranberry a trial in the 

 way of field culture. That he will succeed we 

 have no doubt. It will be one of the best points 

 in which to grow and send out native colgreens, 

 that could be well selected. We shall some day 

 hear from this little point that so saucily juts out 

 into the rough waters of the Huron. 

 «•• 



Another Cotton Gin. — The Mt. Vernon Guar- 

 dian says that their enterprising fellow citizens, 

 Stratton & Ferguson, have recently purchased and 

 fitted up at their mill, a new and complete cotton 

 gin, which is now in working order, and that it 

 will prove a great accommodation to farmers, 

 many of whom have raised small crops of cotton 

 the past year, and it will doubtless be the cause of 

 extensive crops being planted the ensuing season. 

 The want of a machine for ginning has heretofore 

 deterred many from planting cotton, who will now 

 cultivate it to a considerable extent. 



" NtJESERTMEN AND Tree Dealers. — Nurscrymeu 

 are required to take out licenses, as wholesale or 

 retail dealers, as the case may be ; and tree deal- 

 ers, who buy to sell again, if they peddle their trees, 

 must take out licenses as peddlers, and also as deal- 

 ers, if they have places of business." 



So says Mr. Com. Boatwell, and to whose behest 



we have bowed under protest. We cahnot see why 



nursery products should pay license more than 



farm products. But there is this excuse : it is 



impossible at the first attempt to do equal and exact . 



justice to all, and we must wait the sober second 



thought to be put on a par with others. 



«■» 



Tobacco Culture. — ^We would call attention to 

 the article on this subject from our Ashly corres- 

 pondent. To our northern readers we would re- 

 commend growing plants in hot beds. One hun- 

 dred and fifty feet and half an ounce of seed will 

 give an abundant supply of plants to the acre. We 

 are not sure that paltring or pricking out in cold 

 frames will not be the best for our climate, giving 

 the plants an early start. The first cost of glass 

 and pots is large, but if it will pay that is no ob- 

 jection. 



«»» 



Carbon Coal. — ^This coal, so called, is mined 

 near Danville in Vermilion county, is of good qual- 

 ity and in an almost unlimited supply. To the in- 

 habitants of the east part of the State, these 

 mines are invaluable. We shall have more to say 

 of them soon. 



CONTENTS: 



Editorial : Pagk. 



March 65 



Plows and Plowing — Spaders and Spading. ... 66 

 Red Cedear Seedlmgs — Fine Wool 69 



Poetry: 



A Farmer's Wife to her Husband 70 



Correspondence: 



Wm. R. Prince on Peach Trees 71 



White Willow , 71 



List of Pears 72 



Stabling for Cattle 73 



The Weather and Crops 73 



Tobacco Culture ,►. ^ 74 



Horticulture : 



Proceedings of the Missouri State Horticult- 

 ural Society 77 



Plant an Orchard ., .80 



Raspberries ^ 81 



Luxuries of Home Production 81 



Stock : 



Cooking Food for Stock— Does it Pay ? 82 



Hogs in the Apple Orchard 83 



The Horse Market 83 



The Horse and his Improvement Si 



Agriculture : 



White Willow for Hedges, &c 86 



Cotton Seed 86 



Flax Culture 86 



' Large yield of Corn 81 



Illinois Cotton 81 



Miscellaneous : 



Robert Kennicott and the Hyperboreans 87 



The Aphis 87 



Fairbank's Scales 85 



McCormick's Reaper in Scotland 85 



Editor's Table : 



March — At Home — A Valuable Subscriber — 



Tobacco Seed 88 



Cotton Seed — Illinois Cotton — A Word for the 

 Illinois Farmer — Business of the Illinois 



Central Land Department 89 



White Willow— Gen. R. K. Swift— AnotherS 

 Cotton Gin — Nurserymen and Tree Dealers 

 — Tobacco Culture — Carbon Coal 90 



- r i rtMu Jwl Kj j* . . 



