1863. 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEE. 



257 



Corn on the Prairies. 



DEDICATED TO MRS. MICHAEL L. SULLITANT, THE lADT 

 OP BROADLAN0S. 



The arching sky is wide and high, 



The sea is deep and grand : 

 Eut fair to eye as sea or sky, 



la open prairie land. 



Above behold ? in blue and gold. 

 The wealth of heaven is stored; 



Within the deep the jewels sleep 



Of ocean's treasured hoard. ^ 



But on the plain a wealth of grain 



Above them all is worth : 

 The richer spoil of prairie soil — 



The firmament of earth, 



The sea bird white stoops in his flight, 



Amid the clouds of snow: 

 He thinks he sees the western breeae- 



Heave ocean waves below. 



Those ocean waves are em'raldleareSj- 

 Moved by the breathing west : 



And silken sprays of rainbow rays- 

 Are flashing on each crest. 



The sacks of green in satin sheen, 



Their pearly treasure hold ; 

 And now, again each glistening grain 



Is turning into gold. 



Hath ever sun since time begun 



Such wild abundance met ? 

 In boundless corn he rose at mom — 



In boundless corn will set. 



The mirage now its misty show 



Is forming in the air; 

 Against the skies great cities rise, 



Mid fields as gardens fair. 



More plain and near they now appear. 



Distinctly seen the whole; 

 A paradise delights the eyes — 



A wonder fills the soul ! 



The fairest dream did ever beam 



Upon the prophet's sight; 

 The golden show that rose to glow 



Amid the miser's night : 



The brightest hope did ever ope 



The poet's eye of trance. 

 Are here beheld — are here excelled 



In one bewildering glance ! 



That mocks the Arab's pain ; 

 In clouds and fears, too, disappears 

 The mirage of the main. 



And this to-day must pass away. 



But not its promise true ; 

 It all shall be a verity 



Beneath these skes of blue. "W. J. T. 



— Mr. Sullivan t was formerly a farmer on the Sci- 

 ota, near Columbus, Ohio, where he took his first lee- 

 sons in com culture. As that is called the best com 

 land in OhiOj it may be supposed he knows bow to 

 grow corn. 



We were at hia house in May last, when he was 

 busy in planting eighteen hundred acres ofjiis favor- 

 ite ceraL The field is nearly square. Now suppose 

 Mrs. S. should wish a drive after tea, and her farmer 

 husband be pleased to show her around the com 

 patch, we fear she would find it rather late on her 

 return, as the drive would be seven miles, in addition 

 to the two miles going and returning from the field — 

 at two and a half miles an hour, a good walking rate, 

 it would take nearly four hours — ample time to feast 

 the eye on one little patch of com. Should she 



choose to return through the pasture lot of thir- 

 teen thousand acres to take a look at the four thou- 

 sand head of cattle, and fire thousand government 

 horses, by way of variety, she would need a canteen 

 of water and an extra ration, To go around the farm 

 will require a trip of over thirty miles. A pretty 

 good day's drive on a well trodden road. 



Ed. III. Farmer. 



In barren sands the spell disbaadB 



Stacking Hay. 



A large percentage of the hay that is stacked is 

 lost from the want of a little attention. The best 

 thing that we have found to put on the stacks to 

 shed off the rain and to keep the top from blowing 

 off, is to cut up a quantity of corn so soon as it 

 will do and put it on the stacks. The corn stalks 

 will cure nicely, and the corn will be in fine order 

 when the hay is needed. Sometimes we husk the 

 corn and feed it at the time, and use the fodder 

 only to put on the stacks, but it is better to leave 

 the corn on, as its weight assists to hold the stalks 

 in place. A few hours work will often save dol- 

 lars worth of hay. 



We can safely put down the waste of hay by 

 rains and wind at one sixth,and in such seasons as 

 the last at one fourth. We lost an entire stack of 

 German millet, worth twenty-five dollars, last year 

 by not attending to it in season. 



Farmers need more barns, and we are glad to 

 see increased attention being paid to the subject. 

 As hay increases in value barns will spring up to 

 protect it. When labor was cheap and prairie hay 

 abimdant, it was of little account if a share of it 

 was lost, but now when it is worth five to six dol- 

 lars a ton even a email per eentage of loss is Uit. 



