iTS- 



1863. 



THE ILLmOIS FAKMER. 



wot 



bloom all the brighter over the place where he fell 

 with his harness on. 



Tea Culture in Pennsylvania. 



The Gardeners' Mwithly says that the culture of 

 the tea plant is to have a trial in Pennsylvania. 

 We had supposed that the tea plant would not 

 thrive so far north, and the editor of the Monthly 

 is also positive on this point, and thinks, " the ex- 

 periment will turn out as valuable as Australian 

 coffee, tree cotton, and many other ignorant 

 schemes of ignorant men — ^for we do not regard 

 them all swindlers — ^we did not suppose there were 

 any green ones left. But it appears the maxim of 

 the philosopher that there is a " new fool born ev- 

 ery day," is about right. 



-••t- 



Harvesting Barley. 



The value of barley to the brewer depends on 

 its lightness or the absence of any weathering of 

 the grain after cutting. 



Barley should be cured and threshed at once di- 

 rect from the field, and not allowed to stand out 

 in the rain or to be watered by the dews, as eith- 

 er will lessen its value. 



The best way is to cut and throw it into gavels 

 and when sufficiently cured, load it with a barley 

 fork, and thresh at once ; this will save binding, 

 and as barley straw is short, and if carefully load- 

 ed, it can be readily thrown into the thresher. A 

 two horse power railway thresher and cleaner is a 

 good thing, as it will not require so many hands to 

 run it — one man to feed, one to take away the 

 straw and put up the grain is all that is needed, 

 as the grain is thrown directly from the wagon to 

 the feeder. In stacking barley, more or less is 

 lost, besides the less price that it will bring after 

 going through the sweating process, and the grsdn 

 becomes dull in color. 



Peek Navigation of the Mississippi. — It is 

 stated that Gen. Grant, very soon after the sur- 

 render of Vicksburg to the United States forces 

 under his command, dispatched the steamer 

 Imperial to New Orleans, with instructions to 

 return to St. Louis as fast as steam could carry 

 her. The object of this demonstration is to 

 show to the world that the Mississippi is open 

 for navigation its entire length, with no other 

 interruption than may be experienced from a 

 few guerrillas, who may for a time infest the 

 banks of the river. 



From Washington. 



Post Office Department, ) 



AppoiNTMEirr Office, >• 



Washingtox, July 6.) 

 M. L. Dunlap, U$q., Champaign, Illinois : 



Sik: The fifth sub-division of the 42d instruc- 

 tion under the new post office law, is hereby 

 amended by striking out the word " twelve " and 

 inserting "thirty-two" before the word "ounces," 

 so that it shall read as follows : " The weight of 

 packages of seeds, cuttings, roots and scions to be 

 franked is limited to thirty-two ounces." 

 By order of the Post Master General. 



Alex. W. Randall, 



1st Ass't P. M. Gen. 



Depaetment op Agriculture, ) 

 Washington, July 7, 1868.) 



At the suggestion of the Post Office Department 

 that the above order be published as extensively 

 as possible, you will confer a favor on this Depart- 

 ment and on the farmers of the country, by giving 

 it a place in your paper. It will be seen that the 

 right to send the usual weight of seeds, cuttings, 

 &c., and the frank of this Department has not been 

 abridged. 



Very respectfully, ■ / - 



. ■.. ; Yours,- &e.,-■v^ ':■'■ S- 

 Isaac Newton, -i 

 Commissidner. 



Two Horse Cultivators. 



We have numberless complaints in regard to 

 these — ^bad timber, green timber, poor iron, and 

 worse steel are all found in the catalogue of ilia. 

 Tires running off, shovels, wood work and bolts 

 breaking — good for the smiths, bad for the makers '-" 

 who have, in most cases, warranted their work, 

 and very bad for the farmer who loses his time. 

 This won't do, a change must come over the spirit 

 of your dreams, or the profit of your work will 

 melt away. Manufacturers of agricultural imple- 

 ments have something yet to learn, at least out ' 

 west, they must use better and more thoroughly 

 seasoned material. As a general thing, our East- 

 em made tools are better on these accounts. A 

 little more competition, gentlemen, will do you no 

 harm. 



?;^- 



Flax Machine. 



A new machine is now in use for breaking hemp 

 and flax, by which the whole of the woody part of 

 the stem is taken out without making any tow. 

 It is worked with two horses attached to any or- 

 dinary horse power. Its cost we have not learned 

 aayet. 



.^?8*-i. wi. 



