1863. 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEE. 



325 



its Sabbath repose. The sound of steam 

 came from all quarters, and at seven 

 o'clock, the sound of hammers, of for- 

 ges and a thousand miner notes float 

 out upon the air, the whole city is astir, 

 men, women and children come from 

 every quarter, and just before nine 

 o'clock thousands of the latter are on 

 the way to school. 



At eleven we go on Change, that is 

 to the rooms of the "Board of Trade." 

 In this room between the hours of elev- 

 en and one, hundreds of thousands of 

 dollars of the agricultural products of 

 the Northwest are disposed of daily. 

 Several hundred dealers in one large 

 room, mixed higly, pigly, driving their 

 bargains, makes a small babel of itself. 



A ride of sixteen miles and we are at 

 our old home, now embowered in bend- 

 ing orchards, rich in ripening fruit. 

 The old Flemish Beauty pear trees have 

 bowed their heads with their usual of- 

 fering, the more stately Buffums stand 

 firm, and though loaded to the utmost 

 stand up bravely like a sentinel at his 

 post. The old Lombard plum tree is 

 never found wanting in delicious fruit ; 

 some say that it is proof against the 

 curculio, but we have no such soft mis- 

 givings, and credit the poultry for the 

 exemption. Our old favorites are again 

 laden with apples, Keswick Codlin, 

 Cooper's Early "White and Porter, 

 Ramsdells' Sweet and Late Golden 

 Sweet assist in making glorious aids, 

 and the trees always bend with tempt- 

 ing fruit ; but sweet apples do not sell 

 readily, and they go to the cider mill, 

 which swallows up the windfalls, mak- 

 ing good returns in the way of small 

 change. Two bushels of sour wind- 

 falls and one bushel of sweet apples 

 make a rich cider, that is selling at the 

 press at fifteen cents a gallon, or at the 



rate of fifty to fifty-five cents a bushel 

 for the apples ; in the city the price is 

 twenty cents, while common cider is 

 about half that price ; so much for an 

 excess of sweet apples. Do not be 

 afraid to plant sweet apples, they will 

 be wanted. 



The Stanard, Rambo, Jonathan, 

 Snow, Belmont, Summer Queen, Wil- 

 kins' Favorite, Autumn Swaar, Early 

 Pennock, Holland Pippin, etc.j are very 

 full. For cooking apples, Codlin, Coop- 

 er's Early "White and Holland Pippin 

 are the most popular and command the 

 highest price. 



The Isabella grapes are loaded this 

 year with fine clusters, though the frost 

 has injured their flavor. 



The May Cherry, here called Early 

 Richmond, is all the go, and every tree 

 is set that can be obtained. We heard 

 wonderful stories of the profits from 

 this fruit; one man sold one hundred 

 and twenty-six bushels from a young 

 orchard of six hundred trees, four years 

 set, at an average of over four dollars 

 the bushel, that is over a hundred dol- 

 lars an acre. Next year he thinks it 

 will double the crop. Of course this 

 pleased us, for we have the same num- 

 ber of trees two years set, to which we 

 shall look forward with pleasure. 



The potato crop is about an average 

 one. 



Barley and oats have been good, 

 wheat middling,and corn nowhere, with 

 the frost after it. 



**• 



*The above article was written and intended 

 for the October No. of the Farmer, but by some 

 mishap was not received in time. 



. *•• 



I^^The first snow of the season 

 fell on the 22d ult., and was nearly aa 

 heavy as any one fall of snow during 

 last winter. 



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