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.1863. 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEE. 



267 



— We cannot say, as yet, though we have the 

 matter in hand, and shall be able to report in due 

 time. ; V ■■-■^,:.^i* '..''' ,,;. 



Hop Root "Wanted for Yards. — Can you sell 

 me hop roots to plant an acre, if so, at what price? 



John Slater. 



— ^We have no such an amount of roots, but they 

 can be had of hop growers in Otsego or Montgom- 

 ery counties, New York. Cornelious Lane, of Buel, 

 Montgomery co., has a very fine yard, and could 

 supply any amount of roots. What the price is 

 we cannot say, but suppose not much above the 

 value of the labor in putting them up for shipment. 

 Mr. L. could also give directions as to the propor- 

 tion of staminate plants. He is one of the oldest 

 and most successful hop growers in the State of 

 New York, and is thoroughly posted. Mr. Slater 

 will do well to write him on the subject. There is 

 no reason why we cannot grow hops in the West. 

 The white willow will make good poles in four or 

 five years at most. 



Depth of Cellars. — ^In building a cellar how 

 deep should it be in the ground ? 



— Not over two or three feet. The house should 

 be set up at least four feet above the natural sur- 

 face and filled in around bf the earth from th cel- 

 lar. This will tend to throw the surface water 



from the building and give you a dry yard, as well 

 as to have plenty of air to keep the cellar dry, 

 which is very important. Four feet above ground 

 and three feet below will give you a cellar seven 

 feet in the clear which is ample, as most of the 

 cellars are not over six to six and a half feet. 



A Hog Tamer. — I hear of a hog tamer, can you 

 tell me anything bout it ? what is it like ? is it of 

 any value and its cost ? 



— What is called a "hog tamer," is a sort of 

 shear punch that cuts the gristle or rooter of the 

 hog loose, in a circle of about one and a half inch- 

 es, and thus prevents his rooting. One of our 

 neighbors had one sent him by a friend and loaned 

 it to us on trial. We used it on about a dozen 

 aged and adolescent porkers and it has acted like 

 a charm, as they do not show the least propensity 

 to root or get out of the pasture ; but are given to 

 corn and clover. We look upon it as a valuable 

 invention. We do not see it advertised, and could 

 not tell where it can be had or the cost. Some 

 clever fellow might make his fortune out of it. 



of growing them without poles was a humbug, and 

 that they would not fill out the fruit if left on the 

 ground. He says that no well bred gardener would 

 thing of growing Limas without poles, as it has 

 always been the practice ; he has a poor opinion of 

 these, what he calls newfangled notions. The pol- 

 ing has been a very expensive piece of work, as I 

 have had to go over six miles to the river timber 

 for the poles, and then had to cut down young 

 hickories for them. I shall grow but few Limas 

 in this way. I did not like to depart from the ad- 

 vice of a gardner, as he ought to be better posted 

 than j'Ou, as he has spent the greater part of a 

 long life in the business. 



-—It was, we believe, Sir William Pitt, who 

 said that age did not always bring wisdom nor grey 

 hairs knowledge. We have great respect for the 

 antiquity of gardening and old gardeners, but not- 

 withstanding all this, we sometimes excuse our- 

 self in daparting from these time honored customs, 

 that are not convenient to be performed and the 

 want of poles determined us to let them run, and 

 the result is a good crop of well grown Limas. At 

 this writing, Aug, 15th, they are plump and fine, 

 in all respects as good as any we have seen in the 

 hands of a regular gardener. It is possible that 

 with poles a larger yield can be had per acre than 

 by our mode, but we will grow them at a less cost. 

 We have an acre of which we may make further 

 mention when we harvest the crop. 



Valuable Receipts. 



A DELICATE DESSERT. 



Lima Beans. — ^I planted a lot of these last spring 

 and poled them, as a gardener told me your plan 



Lay half a dozen crackers in a tureen, pour on 

 enough boiling water to cover them. In a few 

 minutes they will be swollen to three or four times 

 their original size. Now grate loaf sugar and a 

 little nutmeg over them, and dip on enough sweet 

 cream to make a nice sauce, and you will have a 

 simple and delicious dessert that will rest lightly 

 on the stomach — and it is easily prepared. Leave 

 out the cream, and it is a valuable remedy for "sick 

 room cookery." 



BOILING POTATOES. 



This is a formula: Let each of a mess 

 be of equal size. Let the water boil before 

 putting the potatoes in. When done, pour olF the 

 water and scatter three or four table spoonsful of 

 salt, cover the pot with a coarse cloth, and return 

 it to the fire for a short time. Watery potatoes 

 are made mealy by this process. How simple is 

 the process, yet how few understand it ! 



' SIRirP FOR COOKING. 



in making ginger-bread with sorghum molasses 

 mix the soda with the molasses ; then warm, stir, 

 till light, then mix with flour in the usual way, 

 which will make light bread. 



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