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2 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



Ian. 



habits of a people, long used to the 

 peaceful pursuits of rural labor, of me- 

 chanics and of commerce,to that of the 

 soldier, but the process is sure, and 

 the barbarian must yield to the steady 

 persevering valor of the educated sol- 

 dier, who makes all ready before he 

 strikes. 



During the past year genius has not 

 "'been idle, to make amends for the want 

 of laborers on the farm, the gang plow, 

 the wheel rake, the two horse cultiv^a- 

 tors, the hay pitcher, the binder and 

 improved mowers have taken the place 

 ■ of thousands of hands that are away 

 handling muskets and training huge 

 guns. 



We shall look for other improvements, 

 to fill up the drain on farm labor. What 

 these may be we know not, but of what 

 we yet need we can speak with more 

 confidence. First we need a combin- 

 ed planter and roller, for the planting 

 of corn. We want our plows to run 

 with wheels, so that the driver can ride. 

 We want the reaper so arranged that it 

 will gather and carry the sheaf to the 

 binder, who will ride and deliver the 

 bundles ready for putting into shocks. 

 We want a machine to cut the standing 

 corn ready to shock up. We want a 

 corn sheller adapted to hand or horse 

 power, so that each farmer may shell 

 his own corn, so as to save the cobs fur 

 fuel, as the cobs of a hundred bushels 

 of corn is equal to half a cord of wood, 

 or half a ton of coal. In addition to 

 these new implements we wish to im- 

 press upon all farmers and owners of 

 small lots, the value of the small fruits, 

 Bueh as currants, strawberries, grapes, 

 etc., as well as to give renewed atten- 

 tion to a good garden. But above all 

 miner considerations let the farmer on 

 the prairies plant timber trees, white 



willow, golden willow, box alder, silver 

 maple, cotton wood or pomething of the 

 sort. We have several cords of weep- 

 ing and golden willow, set out in cut- 

 tings in the spring of 1858, that we 

 shall use this year and which has cost 

 us but a trifle, we can make it ready 

 for the stove cheaper than to haul it 

 from the grove a distance of eight miles. 

 Putoutyour timber belts, live fences and 

 orchards, and if you do not have as 

 many greenbacks in the autumn, you 

 will have laid in more real wealth that 

 will bring or save you greenbacks at 

 some future day. 



X)o not forget to hand your Illinois 

 Farmer to your neighbor and ask him 

 to subscribe, that he too can make pro- 

 gress with you. 



Brains are now coming into use on 

 the farm, and the farmer who neglects 

 to use them at the proper time, will rue 

 it. See, therefore, that the stock is 

 ready for every day use. Brains, ma- 

 nure, good implements and muscle are 

 the elements to depend on for the year 

 1864. 



Air the Cellar. — It is important 

 that the cellar, where the vegetables for 

 the family are kept, should be well 

 aired. On all pleasant days when the 

 air is above freezing, we open the out- 

 side cellar door ; in fact, there is not a 

 day that this door is not entered for 

 some purpose, the door leading to the 

 kitchen being seldom used. In this 

 way the cellar is always kept sweet, 

 and no noxious gasses are there to pass 

 up into the living room, to poison the 

 air. The bottom of the cellar is ce- 

 mented and is nearly as hard as stone. 

 Much of our spring sickness can be 

 traced to foul and damp cellars that 

 have been kept cjiosed during the win- 



