1864:. 



THE ILLINOIS FARMEE., 



plants will come up through this straw in the spring. 

 Willson's Albany is a poor berry, and should be 

 kicked out. The Halleck box is fhe one he pra- 

 fers to ship in. 



PLUMS. 



Dr. Hull said that plums can be grown in all 

 parts of the Stata, that it is too late in the day for 

 us to be driven from the field by insects. The 

 curculio can be shook from the trees at little cost. 

 He grows abundant crops annually. 



The apparatus used is made of cotton cloth in 

 form of an inverted umbrella. This has a slot in 

 the side so that it will enclose the tree, when a 

 8li<''ht jar on the tree brings down the insect, when 

 h«°is destroyed. This form is made to correspond 

 to the size of the trees, but not to exceed twelve 

 feet in diameter. It is placed on a sort of wheel- 

 barrow. 



It is the curculio that lays its eggs in the peach, 

 which produces the worm that is so often found in 

 the fruit from the south part of the State. The use 

 of this insect catcher in our peach and plum or- 

 chards will add thousands of dollars to their value. 

 Dr. E. S. Hull, of Alton, is the inventor— it is not 

 patented. 



A FRUIT PICKER. 



Elias Hibbard has on exhibition a valuable im- 

 provement of this kind that should be more gener- 

 ally in use. It is not patented, and can be cheaply 

 made. No attempt has been made to supply the 

 demand. "We used one of them the past season, 

 and found it better than any thing of the kind yet 

 in use. 



FOURTH DAY'S SESSION. 



Alton, Dec. 18, 1863. 



This morning the newly elected President, Smily 

 Shepherd, took the chair. Mr. S. is a veteran hor- 

 ticulturist. His head is whitened with the frosts of 

 many winters, but his eye is as bright, and his in- 

 terest in the cause as lively, as the most ardent 

 lover of the Godess Pomona. If we mistake not, 

 Mr. S. was the first man in the State who attempt- 

 ed the culture of the grape for market. This was 

 some twenty years since, at his residence near 

 Hennepin, in La Salle county. To him the West 

 is indebted for many valuable facts in fruit grow- 

 ing, showing the difference betweea the soil and 

 climate of the West and that of the East 



The morning was occupied by Dr. B. S. Hull, on 

 the subject of the plum culture, showing his cur- 

 culio catcher and how to work it. As we cannot 

 describe it without drawings, we will not attempt a 

 further description than that made in our last 

 letter. The implement is not patented, and as yet 

 used only by a few persons about Alton ; but the 

 rapid increase of the curculio on the peach, as 

 well as on the plum, will soon bring it into more 

 general notice, and we trust that some mechanic 

 at Alton will yet thrive under the direction of the 

 inventor. We have been personally acquainted 

 with its use for the past seven years, and can bear 

 testimony to its efficiency and great value. With 

 it the entire crop of peaches and prunes can be 

 saved from the ravages of the curculio with but 

 little cost. Every consumer of early peaches 

 knows how this curculio worm deteriorates the 

 value of this excellent, and during July and Au- 



gust, rather costly fruit, and anything that will 

 abate the nuisance will be hailed with pleasure. 

 Last year the Doctors trees were oaded with'plums, 

 as in fact they have been for the past seven or 

 eight years. In consequence of this successful 

 experiment the fruit growers about Alton are pre- 

 paring to plant this fruit largely the coming spring. 



Plums, which have been ranked with the lost 

 arts in fruit culture, will again appear in market 

 more abundant than ever. 



After passing the usual resolutions and provid- 

 ing for the publication of the traasactions, the 

 Society adjourned. 



Strawberries and Grapes af Pittsburg, 

 Pa. 



We give below clippings from a report of Dr. J. 

 A. Warden, of Cincinnati, of his visit to the 

 grounds of Kev. J. Knox, of Pittsburg, Pa. Our 

 readers have heard much said of the success of 

 this gentleman in the growing of small fruits, and 

 it will interest them to hear of the mode of culture 

 by one so well qualified to do it justice. 



We wish to call the attention of our readers to 

 one very prominent fact, and that is the growing 

 of staminate strawberries, by cutting off the run- 

 ners. It has been supposed that all that was worth 

 knowing in regard to this fruit was contained in 

 and about Cincinnati ; but here we see a Cincin- 

 nati man who has given the world law on this sub- 

 ject, gradually yield the palm to the gardens of the 

 coal smoke city, which has upset the old theory 

 that none but pistillate plants can be made to pro- 

 duce a full crop of this delicious fruit. In the re- 

 port of the proceedings of this meeting at Alton it 

 will be seen that otheri besides Mr. Knox keep 

 down the runners and plow deep for this fruit. — 

 The result of this will be in greatly increasing the 

 quantity of this fruit in market. 



It will be observed that the Dr. does not so much 

 run to conclusions as in the giving of facts. It 

 is not probable that the trellis of Mr. BLnox is the 

 best, and certainly not the cheapest. Of this here- 

 after.— Ed. 



Having recently enjoyed an opportunity of in- 

 specting the plantations of Rev. J. Knox, in the 

 vicinity of Pittsburg. Pa., I proceed to give yon 

 some account of his admirable management and of 

 his wonderful success. These experiments of Mr. 

 Knox have demonstrated that he has an excellent 

 soil and situation for fruits, especially for grapes 

 and strawberries, and also that he has known how 

 to take advantage of his favorable surrounding*, 

 so as to bring about the most admirable results. 



The situation is upon the high rolling land south 

 of the Monongahela river, above which it is eleva- 

 ted between four and five hundred feet The slopes 

 incline variously, but those looking to the south 

 and west are chiefly selected for grape planting. 

 The soil is a clayey loam, with a liberal intermix- 

 ture of sandstone, but also has lime enough to im- 



