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THE ILLINOIS FAKMER. 



261 



possible. Suppose these teams were on 

 the road an average of three days each, 

 it would require nearly 6000 hotels with 

 a capacity for 20 teams each to take 

 them in. ■ f:' \ 



"When we add to this other products, 

 such as flaxseed, field seed, potatoes, 

 hay, wool, beef and pork, the figures 

 become still more formidable ; and yet 

 the capacity of our soil is just begin- 

 ning to be developed. Surely, here is 

 the material for an empire without the 

 South or New England, but we need 

 them to make a perfect whole. 



Transplanting Evergreens- 

 Evergreens can be safely transplant- 

 ed in the autumn. All of the large ev- 

 ergreens in and about our house grounds 

 were set in October and November, 

 without loosing the first one. "We have 

 had twenty years experience in raising 

 evergreens, and have come to the fol- 

 lowing conclusions ; 



1. Evergreens caube removed during 

 the season of growth, provided the 

 ground is quite wet and that the weath- 

 er continues cloudy and wet some days 

 afterwards. But as these conditions 

 are not always at hand, we look upon 

 the matter as generally unprofitable, 

 and would not recommend it. 



2. All the autumn months and in 

 spring until the new growth begins to 

 show, is the only proper time to remove 

 evergreens, provided always that the 

 soil is damp, that the weather is not 

 dry or windy, for if the roots are ex- 

 posed to wind or sun for a very short 

 time the tree will die. 



3. The very best time is when the 

 ground is wet, the weather rainy and 

 the tree in a dormant state. April, of all 

 months, presents these condition in the 



greatest perfection j October isthe ncjxt 

 best month, -ir^-^r: \.- ,. ^.y/j,:^^^,:-^^. i.;,;^^- 



Though evergreens can be transplanted 

 at all seasons of the year and stages of 

 growth, with proper care of watering 

 and shading, yet it will not be found 

 profitable to make the attempt; better 

 wait for the proper conditions of soil 

 and weather, and then attend to it at 

 once. 



From the Country Gent. 

 FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. 



Preparing the Land for Fall Crops. 



MuNSTER, Peussia, June 10, '64. 



Messrs Editoes — Fail wheat and fall rye being 

 the staple crops in Germany, and considered the 

 most important ones — (Indian corn not ripening 

 at all) — and as, besides, our mode of operating in 

 raising these crops^is based on many hundred years 

 experience, I will briefly state how we prepare the 

 land before sowing, leaving it to your readers hoir 

 much or how little of my remarks may be applica- 

 ble to American Agriculture. From my own ex- 

 perience I know that, especially in the Western 

 States, this chapter is capable of some improve- 

 ment yet. : , w,. 



We have two main rules : ^ , - .> 



1. To give the field as much summer fallow as 

 possible. 



2. To give it time to settle between the seed- 

 furrow and the sowing of the seed. 



Besides it is important to know that wheat and 

 rye require different modes of treatment. For rye 

 it is best to plow two or three times ; for wheat 

 one plowing is much preferable to two. Young 

 farmers wanting to excel, will plow twice for 

 wheat, but this is a bad practice ; it loosens the 

 land too much, and the wheat afterwards falls a 

 prey to worms. Of course there are exceptions to 

 this rule ; there are cases when two plowings be- 

 come a necessity even for wheat. ' 



It is also of great importance to have a proper 

 rotation of crops. Wheat, as well as rye, wHl do 

 best where they are preceded by rape seed or flax, 

 next best after clover or beans, tolerably well after 

 ruta bagas or potatoes, doubtful after turnips and 

 beets. On most soils a good crop of wheat may 

 be followed safely by rye ; in fewer cases wheat 

 twice ; in even a smaller class of soils wheat af- 

 ter rye may do ; only jn exceptional cases wheat 

 or rye may follow oats. Oats are mostly the last 

 link in our rotations ; they care nothing for fresh 

 manure, and will do Veil where other crops would 

 require manuring; but the field needs a strong 

 dressing of manure after it has borne oats, so w« 

 let it mostly be followed by beete, potatotes or oth- 



