112 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



April 



ments j^cll simple ?torm-gla!5ses which are used for 

 the puvposL^ of iiKJiL'utinj: approiiching storm?. One 

 of tht'rio consists; et a gl.iss tube, about ten inches 

 iti loiiAth inid three-fourths of an inch in dianitter, 

 filled with a liquid containing camphor, and having 

 its mouth covered with a piece of bladd(-r perfora- 

 ted with a i-eedle. A tall [iliial will answer the 

 purpose ne:irly as well as the ten-inch tube. The 

 com,jositi n placed within the tube consists of two 

 drarlim- of c:iniplior, half adriichni of puresdt pe- 

 tre and half a. drichm of the miiriat • of annnoni.i. 

 pulverized and mixed with about two ounces of 

 pt-oof sp rits. The tube is usually suspetided by a 

 thread n 'ar a window, and the functions of its con- 

 tent-; ate as f illo'.vs : If the atmosphere i- dry and 

 the weather promises to be settled, the solid parts 

 of the cair.phor in the liquid contained in the tube 

 will remain at the bottom, and the liquid above 

 will be quite ch'ar; but on the approach of a 

 change to rain, the solid inatt>^r will gradually rise, 

 and stndl crystalline stars will float about in the 

 liquid ();i the appioa(di of high winds the solid 

 parts of the camphor will rise in the form of leaves 

 and aj'pear near the surface in a state resembling 

 fe mcntittion. The indications are sometimes man- 

 ifested twenty four hours before a storm breaks out! 

 After some expciience in observing the motions of 

 the ca;nplior matter in the tube, the magnitude of 

 the stM'iii iiiay be estimtitcd ; also i^s direction, in- 

 asmuch as the partich's lie closer together on that 

 side of the tube tluit is opposite to that from which 

 the coming storm will approach Tiie cause of some 

 of till se indicatons is as yet unknown; but the 

 leaditig ]irinclpleis the soluliility of camph.or in al- 

 cohol, a ul its insolultility in water, comlitned with 

 the fact that the dryer the ataiosphere the more 

 aqtieous vapor does it take up, and vice versa. — 

 Jour. N. Y. State Agr. Soc. 



"Plum Muss." 



Under th.is euphonious title the London Grocer 

 dcseribos a new article of merchandise. It says : 

 "Plum muss or Ickwar consists of pure native 

 plums boilttd into a mass, no ingredient whatever 

 being added to it ; the plums being so sweet in 

 themselves, they require no sugar. In Hungary it 

 is used in both the cottage and mansion, and is a 

 common article of sale in every provision shop. — 

 Ttiii poor eat it with their bread, and all classes 

 use it for the several purposes in which our more 

 expensive preserves tire foutid useful. It is of a 

 more solid nature thtin our manufactured jams, 

 but if fjund too firm for cooking purposes, it may 

 be thinned with a little lukewarm water as i^. is re- 

 quired for use, without losing flavor. We are as- 

 sured that it will keep good for two or three years 

 if carefully stored ; it might therefore form an im- 

 porta.nt and economical article of export to our 

 colonies, and for ships' stores it Avould no doubt 

 prove invaluable. It possesses, as the reader may 

 judge, a very pleasant flavor, is undoubtedly very 

 wholesome, and in the event of its being piopcrly 

 introduced by a good house, mtist become a very 

 favorite article with housekeepers. It is certainly 

 a novelty, and as it can be obtained in the mass at 

 a very moderate rate indeed, it might be retailed 

 at a price to suit the million. 



Sprinfif Wheat in Egypt. 



Wheat. — We learn from our exchanges that the 

 farmers throughout the State, and especially south- 

 ern Illinois, are already sowing their spring wheat 

 and that large amounts if the weather continues 

 fiivorable, will be [)Ut in the present spring. The 

 only drawback there seems to be is the scarcity of 

 help, though this is remedied in part by many far- 

 mers doing their plowing last fiill. Two or three 

 years ago, wages for faun hands was only from -^ilS 

 to §18 per month, while now they are from %t<) to 

 $25, and in some instances, as high as S3() is paid. 



It is also said that the winter wheat has not 

 been injured by the cold weather, and that the 

 prospects were never better fen- a rousing crop. — 

 Cairo Democrat, March Wth 



There arc at least three good points in th.e above 

 — fall plowing, early sowing iind culture of spring 

 wheat. We want no better evidence that the 

 northern farmers are invading Egypt than the 

 above. Slip-shod farming is giving place to the 

 pincy woods style that has so long obtained — light 

 isbreakititr. — Ed. 



To EiriiN Early Vegetables. — San Francisco 

 papers speak of new potatoes and green peas as 

 ainoiig the extraordintiry luxuries nov,' afforded iu 

 that market. They have also a limited supply of 

 fresh tomatoes, whicli command the fi'arfid price 

 of two dollars per pound. — MarysviUe Appeal, Jan. 

 28th. 



The San Francisco papers that call the above 

 "extraordinary luxuries," are not well posted, and 

 hence not very good authority. New potatoes ar j 

 brought in successively, almost all the year round, 

 and have been in market all v.'intc-r, soiling at six 

 to eight cents a p )und, as our retail prices current 

 has shown ; so of green peas, except that their 

 price has lately advanced to '75 cents ; but toma- 

 toes have continued in market with scarcely any 

 advance, tind our weekly report shows that the 

 prices have been only six to eight cents a pound. — 

 Cal. Farmer. 



— Green peas at 75 cents a pound must bo rath- 

 er a luxury, and now potatoes at $4 80 per busheL 

 San Francisco market must b3 a very paradise for 

 market gtrdcners, or it is a difficult climate to 

 grow such common vegetables. — Ed. 



—•— 



SuGAK AN Antidote for Wor?js. — M. Dcbont 

 says that sugar is an excellent destroyer of worms. 

 He once accidently put sugar instead of salt on a 

 leech which he wished to detach from the skin, 

 and was surprised at the spasms it produced. He 

 therefore tried sugar on earth-worms, and found it 

 had a similar powerful effect ; and has since used 

 it in solution with success as an injection in chil- 

 dren. — British Medical Journal. 



The world moves ; in old times sugar used to be 

 considered the best possible encouragement for 

 these parasites. — Scientific American. 



