274 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



Sept 



From sundry letters received of late, we learn 

 our notice of the cheese trade is having a very de- : 

 cided influence in opening the eyes of the cheese ; 

 makers, who have been very cleverly done out of I 

 two or tliree cents on the pound. At least six dai- 

 ries are selling to customers among the dealers, 

 and have succeeded to th^ full extent of their 

 stocks. The retailers are pleased with it, as they 

 pay the maker ten cents, the price that dealers 

 pay for "Hamburgh," and thus save the commis- 

 sion. 



S. writes us that he sold a Chicago dealer a load 

 of cheese, nearly a ton, as "Illinois cheese," at 

 seven and a half cets per pound. A few hours af- 

 terwards he called into the store, and the clerks 

 were busy boxing and labeling it "Hamburg." He 

 inquired of them the price of this cheese, and they 

 informed him eleven and a half cents, and the 

 usual charge of a cent an inch for the box. In 

 a few moments a city dealer paid this price for two 

 of these cheese, weighing in the aggregate one 

 hundred and eighty pounds, making the nice little 

 sum of seven dollars and twenty, or near eighty 

 dollars on the load. This was a little too much 

 for him, and he naturally termed the transaction a 

 swindle. He now supplies several of this dealer's 

 retail customers at one cent a pound less than the 

 selling price of "Hamburgh." He thus saves not 

 less than three cents a pound, and the retailers 

 save one cent ; a nice little sum that the cheese 

 dealer was wont to make. 



We say to all dairymen, to sell your cheese on 

 its merits ; have it inspected if you choose, but 

 do not be done out of your honest earned money 

 by this slight of hand. 

 Here is another letter. 



"I am now selling my cheese to the retailers at 

 ten cents, and am offered for the whole stock of 

 the season nine cents by a cheese dealer, but I pre- 

 fer the ten of the retailers. It is a little more 

 trauble, to deliver it, but not enough to make the 

 difference in the price. One difficulty with much 

 of our western cheese, is the want ot a good cheese 

 iiouse where it can be properly cured." 



As this branch of farming is now attracting a 

 large share of attention, we intend to give it more 

 space hereafter. Out of a large number of samples 

 of this years cheese, we know of but one lot that 

 falls below No. 2, or "Western Reserve. Three 

 years ago we knew of but one small cheese dairy 

 in, this county, now the demand is nearly supplied 

 at home, the, makers getting nine to eleven cents 



a pound. Ed. 



••• 



Lombardy Poplar for Hedges. 



TiSKiLWA, Aug. 22, 1863. 

 To the Hditor of the Elinois Farmer : 

 D£AB Sir — ^Much is said in regard to fences and 



fencing material in the Northwest. The Osage 

 makes a good fence, but at present I suppose the 

 seed is hard to be got, and aside from that it re- 

 quires great pains and labor to keep it in good or- 

 der, and if not kept well trimmed, and the rub- 

 bish cleared away, it soon becomes a nuisance. 

 Does not the country afford ample material for 

 fencing ? Many of the soft woods, such as the va- 

 rious kinds of willow, the cottonwood and the 

 Lombardy poplar. These will grow from the slip, 

 are easy obtained, and are fast growers. 



When I first came to this State in the spring of 

 1844, I stuck some cottonwood slips in the earth 

 that was thrown out of a ditch made for a fire. I 

 sold the farm, returned last fall to take a look at 

 the trees that had grown from the slips stuck in 

 the bank. The man on the farm told me the larg- 

 est had been cut for wood, but I found many large 

 enough to make from a half to three-fourths of a 

 cord of wood from 18 years growth. The ditch 

 had long ago been abandoned for a fence, and the 

 rains and frosts had nearly leveled the bank with 

 the original earth, so that the trees had not a fair 

 chance. 



I have seen the cottonwood when set eight inch- 

 es apart and four years' growth strong enough to 

 turn any stock. I have seen the Lombardy poplar 

 at eight years' growth from the slip, eight inches 

 in diameter, two feet from the ground. I have a 

 piece of fence on my farm of the Lombardy pop- 

 lar, set four years last spring and turned out against 

 all kinds of stock. The slips were cut the first of 

 December, and buried in the ground, remained 

 there till May, then cut about eight inches long and 

 set six to seven inches deep, twelve inches apart. 

 All grew but three plants in thirty rods, and two 

 of them were trampled on by the horse when plow- 

 ing; they are now from two and a half to five inch- 

 es in diameter. I have about thirty rods put out 

 last spring that are now from two to three feet 

 high. 



This timber when cut green and allowed to dry, 

 makes excellent stove wood. A German told me 

 that in the old country he had seen the Lombardy 

 put out for fence, and after four or five years, cut 

 it three to four feet high, every three or four years 

 and thus the farm was supplied with wood. 



I shall have a few thousand cuttings to spare 

 this fall and winter, and persons wishing to make 

 a good and cheap fence, and supply his farm with 

 plenty of wood, and at the same time good shelter, 

 and withal ornamental, can have their wants sup- 

 plied by addressing me at Tiskilwa, 111. 



The Lombardy has advantages over the cot- 

 tonwood — the latter sheds off cotton and seeds 

 and sprouts from the roots, the former doesnei- 



