250 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEE. 



August 



Tobacco is ahead of last year ; it is considered an 

 extra crop this year. Yours, truly, 



S. B. Stkwart. 



— Egypt will yet come out of the woods. The 

 infusion of Northern blood is already being felt. 

 There are numerous bright spots gleaming out here 

 and there. The natives, with their plantation ig- 

 norance, are giving way, running away, or becom- 

 ing assimilated to the go ahead of the new settlers 

 from the North. But a few years since and a lead- 

 ing Egyptian editor, now a leading traitor, said 

 there was "no cureuli or other blight," on the 

 peach crop of Egypt ; that the worm {eureulio) was 

 occasioned by late frost. No wonder that such 

 intelligent (! !) gentlemen turn traitors to their 

 country. Ignorance, swagger and meannees go 

 hand in hand. It is theirs to pull down, not to 

 build up. 



The products of Egypt are becoming varied and 

 of importance to the North. Next winter our 

 Northern cities are to have daily supplies of sweet 

 potatoes from her cellars. But no thanks to her 

 native energy for this and like favors. She has 

 neglected the common school, and thus lost the 

 key to her development ; the North will find it 

 and unlock the rich treasures of her soil. 



We had lost all traces of the whereabouts of the 

 Castor Bean, and are glad to hear from it again. 

 The counties of St. Clair, Madison and Macoupin 

 did, for a long series of years, supply the world 

 with Castor He. This oil is largely used for the 

 various hair oils and for machinery, and is now less 

 used to aid the running gears of the genus homo 

 tban formerly. 



When the rebellion flung its dark pall over the 

 south part of our State, and the K. G. C.'s sought 

 its downfall, a hundred rifles gleamed along the 

 fields of Clear Creek Landing, and came at the bu- 

 gle call of the now lamented Col. Stewart. These 

 lifles have been kept bright and their bayonets 

 sharp for the domestic foe who, cowed, dare not 

 bum a house or steal a horse from any of the loy- 

 al hundred, for just on the edge of the settlement 

 dangled the skeletons of the cow boys and traitors 

 who could gain no farther entrance, and stand 

 a sentinel, pointing their bony fingers as a warn- 

 ing. This band of farmers have kept treason at 

 bay — have been little harmed, for no guerrilla dare 

 show himself within the settlement ; while Union 

 or rather Northern men in other parts of the coun- 

 ty have had their orchards cut down, horses sto. 

 len, houses burned and some of them murdered, 

 these men of the hundred rifles have not been mo- 

 lested, consequently peace and prosperity have 

 been their good fortune. — E». 



For the Illinois Farmer. 

 The Crops— Apples and Peaches— High 

 vs. Low Heads— Cutting back the 

 Peach. 



Patson, Adams Co., Ill, July 21, '64. 

 M. L. Dunlap — Dear Sir : 



Thus far the season has been very dry at this 

 point. We have had no rain since the 3d inst., 

 and crops are beginning to suffer. Last year while 

 the rest of the State was suflfering with drouth, we 

 had abundant rains and fine crops, but now the ta- 

 bles are turned and we in turn are like to have 

 short crops The corn and potatoes came up bad 

 ly; in fact some of it is just appearing above 

 ground, often one plant in a hill ; the consequence 

 will be a very uneven growth, as well as stand. — 

 Although late the color of the corn is good and 

 with timely rains may yet produce a tolerable 

 crop. The section thus suffering is not large, as 

 the adjoining country has been more fortunate. 



The apple crop will be short, caused by the hard 

 winter and the late spring frosts. 



No peaches, and trees are somewhat damaged by 

 the winter. When you were here, some three 

 years since, you remarked that my trees would not 

 produce another heavy crop, but such did not 

 prove to be the case, as we have had two heavy 

 crops since ; but this I attribute to severe heading 

 back. When the peach is badly injured this se- 

 vere heading back will save them. I shall expect 

 several good crops from the orchard that you sup- 

 posed near its end. I commenced shortening in 

 May, but that was rather late and have lost about 

 a dozen trees. Should have commenced the work 

 earlier. 



You also took exception to the hight of the 

 heads of my apple orchard, but I am yet satisfied 

 that an apple tree should head say four to four and 

 a half feet from the ground, and peaches three to 

 three and a half. At this hight they are less liable 

 to split down, and even then will rest the ends of 

 the branches on the ground. With lower heads 

 you cannot get under them with a horse to work 

 the ground. Nor do I think high headed peach 

 trees kill as badly as the low ones. I have had 

 forty years experience in orcharding, and have no 

 reason to change my mode of practice. 



Yours truly, Clabk Chatton. 



— ^Mr. Chatton is certainly a very successful or- 

 chardist, but hie orchard is located in a most fa- 

 vorable spot The orchard is carved out of the 

 heavy forest on the east bank of the river, on a soil 

 of loes overlying the mountain limestone. He has 

 excellent drainage, rich soil and shelter made by 

 the forest walls that surround his farm clearing Ot 



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