LLIN0I8 Farmer, 



YOL. IX. 



SPRINGFIELD, ILL., MARCH, 1864. 



XO. 3. 



DEVOTED TO THE 



FAEM, THE ORCHARD AW THE GARDEN, 



PUBLISIIED BY 



BAKER & PHILLIPS, 

 SPfilNGPIELD, ----- ILLINOIS. 

 IM. L. IDJJJSriuAJP, Editor. 



All business letters should be addressed to the 

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March. 



"When on the bough the purple buds expand 

 The banners of the vanguard of the Spring, 

 And rivulets, rejoicing, rush and leap. 

 And wave their fluttering signals from the steep. 



Longfellow. 



"With Marcli begins the active duties 

 of Spring — the first putting forth of 

 the muscles of the year. "With us the 

 buds be'gin to swell, the grass sends up 

 its tiny blades in the sheltered nooks 

 and swale like meadows. The spring 

 wheat and barley must be sown, and 

 towards the last of the month the oat 

 crop and the flax must be put in. The 

 grass and clover seed is sown, and large 

 preparations making for the great sta- 

 ple, corn. The orchard, the small 



fruits, shrubs and plants must be set 

 during this and the following month. 



If we do not lay the foundation of 

 the year's crop with care during this 

 month, we may not expect to succeed 

 during the remainder of the year. It 

 is in getting a fair start, that will enable 

 us to keep up with the seasons work. 



JSTorth of this, little can be done un- 

 til the last of the month, bevond ffettina: 

 ready, as the land is often in the hands 

 of Jack Frost, but hereaway, there is 

 seldom any impediment to the plow 

 after the tenth of the month. 



The canes of the raspberry should 

 now be cut back, before they commence 

 their annual growth. If you want im- 

 proved berries, do not neglect this work. 

 The very old wood should be cut out 

 of the currant bushes, bilt keep your 

 knife and shears out of the gooseberries. 

 In England and north of 44 '^ , where 

 the sun shines as through smoked glass, 

 it is well to thin them out for heat and 

 air, but in our climate this will ruin 

 them; hetter give them shade and thick 

 bushy tops, than the English mode of 

 treatment. 



This spring we intend to ridge up for 



strawberries, and plant with a view to 

 cut off all the runners. The ridging 

 can be done with Staftbrd's cultivator 

 or any one that is arranged to throw 

 the earth to the center of the row. 



Amid the sowing and planting of 

 spring do not forget the small fruits — 

 currants, gooseberries, strawberries, 



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