1863. 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



21S 



to some wheat which was offered for sale as seed. 

 It was mixed with fine foul seed, and had amongst 

 it many small and imperfect grains. If it had 

 been properly cleaned, the best of it would have 

 been worth double the amount it sold for. 



We have several times noticed various contri- 

 vances which Sanford Adams, of Boston, has in- 

 vented for cleaning seed. He has lately construct- 

 ed a winnowing mill in a manner somewhat dif- 

 ferent from anything of the kind before made. 

 "We will not attempt a description of it, but mere- 

 ly state some facts in regard to what it will do. It 

 is so constructed that by changing the sieves in 

 connection with some other modifications, al- 

 mostjany mixture of seeds can be separated, and 

 each kind deposited by itself As an example, we 

 may mention that he received 326 bushels of what 

 was called rye. It had been bought for making 

 coffee ; but as some ergot was seen amongst it, 

 the purchaser concluded to have it cleaned before 

 offering it for sale. Mr. Adams had it put through 

 his new mill, and obtained 306 bushels 37 pounds 

 of clean rye ; 21 bushels 20 pounds of heavy oats; 

 6 bushels 23 pounds shriveled rye and oats ; 1 

 bushel small, black, worthless seed ; half a bushel 

 of peas ; 2 bushels 2*7 pounds of chaff ; half a 

 bushel of sticks and rags, and 8 pounds of pure 

 ergot, which was sold to a druggist at $1.50 per 

 pound. It will be seen that the measure of the 

 separated articles somewhat overran the original 

 mixture, which u accounted for chiefly by the 

 mixture of the articles being reckoned by weight, 

 the standard for several of the lighter articles be- 

 ing less than that of rye. 



In another case, 1*73 pounds of foul seed and 

 chaff were separated from 4,'702 pounds of flax 

 seed. In another case, a large lot of mustard 

 from California was found to be in such condition 

 that it was unmerchantable. Mr. Adams put 28,- 

 992 pounds of it through his mill, and turned out 

 27,829 pounds of mustard so clean and nice that it 

 was shipped to England. The refuse consisted of 

 foul seed, a great portion of which was thistle 

 seed, dust, chaff, &c. 



— -We have before made mention of Mr. Adam's 

 "Bean Sorter," and are pleased to hear of his fur- 

 ther success in this line. The common fanning 

 mill, however valuable, will not accomplish all 

 that is needed in that direction. We have one of 

 Goodrich's mills, made at Aurora, probably the 

 best in the State, at least the most complete in 

 seives and screens, yet we will not take out alj 

 the foul seed. Ed. 



4«» ^ 



More About Cuttings. 



In a discussion by the Horticultural Society of 

 Michigan, recently, the following suggestions were 

 made by one of the experienced nurserymen pres- 

 ent, which we print for the benefit of those not 

 well posted in these matters ; 



"Rose cuttings, generally, are most sure to grow 

 immediately after the flowering is over for the 

 month. Geraniums grow at any season, also fus- 

 chias, verbenas, and other similar growing plants. 

 Difficult woody plants require to have the new 

 wood from which the cuttings are taken, well 



ripened to insure growth. Pink pipings may be 

 cut at any season. Generally speaking, all plants 

 grow more readily just after blooming, and the 

 best cuttings are taken from those shoots that 

 have borne blooms. Usually it is well to leave a 

 small part of the past year's growth on the cutting. 

 Fuschias grow best from young shoots, also helio- 

 tropes and verbenas. Oleanders need to be rooted 

 in water previous to planting in the earth ; the 

 roots are tender, and should be handlad with care. 

 Cactus requires drying a number of days before 

 planting ; those leaves that have flower buds, are 

 said to bloom early, and also to continue flowering 

 annually. 



"Herbaceous plants root sooner when the stems 

 are placed in water for a day. Equality of tem- 

 perature and moisture is important to insure suc- 

 cess. For this purpose glasses are placed over 

 delicate cuttings ; some prefer clear, others green 

 glass. Cuttings generally require partial shading 

 until roots form. The soil should be firmly press- 

 ed to the lowest point of the shoot, that the air 

 may not penetrate and dry the embryo roots. Cut- 

 tings like the dew and moonlight, therefore the 

 coverings of those plac«d in hot-beds should be 

 removed, if the weather is moderate at sunset. 

 The horizontal branches nearest the ground are 

 much more apt to form roots than the upright 

 ones." . 



Illinois. 



Mr. C. D. Wilber, of Bloomington, HI., Secreta- 

 ry of the State Natural History Society, has j,ust 

 published a new and admirable Township map of 

 Illinois, exhibiting its geology as well as its geog- 

 raphy and topography. We gather therefrom the 

 following facts : 



Illinois, although admitted into the Union so 

 late as 1818, is already the fourth in population of 

 the States, and is rapidly increasing. Of its 55,- 

 000 square miles of area, no less than 35,000 are 

 underlaid with bituminous coal, covering all the 

 central and eastern counties. The north end of the 

 State— all above a line drawn from Rock Island 

 or Davenport eastward throsgh Ottawa to a short 

 distance beyond Morris, is coal bearing — thence 

 the line of coal region bears east by south, then 

 due south, and east by south again, so as to exclude 

 Kankakee and most of Iroquois county. On the 

 west the coal measures extend to within ten to 

 twenty miles of the Mississippi, up to a point just 

 above the mouth of the Iowa, whence the coal ap- 

 proaches within two or three miles of the river to 

 a point just above Rock Island and the mouth of 

 Bock River. The average thickness of the several 

 coal strata is about 15 feet. The rocks below it 

 are irregularly alternating strata of sandstone and 

 limestone. 



Illinois has no mountains, not many consindera- 

 ble hills, and scarcely an acre of waste land, while 

 most of her soil is prairie of unsurpassed fertility, 

 interspersed with woodland on the borders of her 

 streams, and on some of the poorer uplands. Her 

 *'wet prairies" or swamps, as yet defy ordinary cul- 

 tivation, but will ultimately be drained off at a 

 moderate cost, and prove equal in productiveness 

 to any other. Of her 35,459,200 acres, only 13,- 

 252,000 have as yet been brought under cultiva- 



JMtmm 



