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278 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



September 



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BAKEB & FHILUFS • ■ ■ FTTBLISHEBS. 



M. L. PUNLAP, Kditor- 



SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, SEPT., 1864. 



The heat of summer has become more subdued ; 

 the air is hazey and we can see the changing sea 

 son. No more the fierce heat of the dog days is 

 shed down on us. The fields where waved the 

 small grains are russet, or present the browned 

 furrow where the thrifty farmer is already prepar- 

 ing for the next year's crop ; he wants the sun 

 and air, the dews and rains, to prepare the ele- 

 ments of plant life, and is now making of his stub- 

 ble a fallow, that will be of value. Instead of 

 growing a crop of autumn weeds to impoverish 

 his soil, he is calling in the elements to make it all 

 the richer. He is manuring his land with brains 

 from which he will harvest great returns. 

 *«• ' 



The Tribune Strawberry. — We saved the Mon- 

 itor and Brooklyn Scarlet, each of which has a 

 dozen new plants, showing that they are vigorous 

 growers. Mr. Fuller is to send us the Col. Ells- 

 worth, when the list will be complete. We like 

 the way in which Mr .F. puts up his plants to send 

 by mail, iis they come in good order. In all other 

 cases we have received them in bad order. 



Wood's Prize Mower. — We purchased one of 

 these mowers early in the season. We know very 

 well that there are several very excellent mowers 

 besides this one, but there :s one very serious fault 

 with the majority and that is the want of a 

 good supply of all the parts that are liuble to break 

 or wear out. Wood is the only one that we know 

 of who keeps a full supply of these things at all 

 points where his machines are used or sold. We 

 would not hesitate to decide between two or more 

 good machines on this point. Several machines 

 are on sale here, but no other one has a supply of 

 extras. One of our neighbors has a good mower, 

 but breaking a section out of one of the sickles he 

 has had to send hundreds of miles after a new sec- 

 tion. His loss will be not less than five dollars in 

 the delay by using the one sickle, for his team 

 must stop while it is bt ing ground, and should any- 

 thing happen to it he is out of work, when team 

 and hands are idle. We have had too much sad 

 experience in this line to run any more risk than 

 we are obliged to. We hive one farm implement, 

 a most excellent one, by the way ; but we brok- 



one of the parts and had to telegraph a long dis- 

 tance for a duplicate, and after waiting three days 

 it came, with no trifling charge, compared with the 

 actual cost of the part needed. 



We were going to speak of the Wood mower, 

 and how we liked it, but got off the subject. Af- 

 ter cutting ninety acres of meadow, and expending 

 half a dollar for a new pin and for shrinking the 

 wrist, we sold it to a neighbor for $8 60 less than 

 its cost, repairs included, and received cash in 

 hand. Eighty acres of this grass was prairie and 

 part of it very rough at that. The team used was 

 the lightest of three that we have, and they came 

 through the work with the least possible effort. — 

 Ten cents an acre for the use of a mower is not a 

 large outlay. This same mower will doubtL s cut 

 two hundred more acres this season. Our hay hav- 

 ing been cut early, is of the best quality ; and we 

 do not have the mower to house nor lay out of the 

 use of the money. The wear is so slight on this 

 mower that it must be used a long time before it 

 will sell much below its cost as a second hand 

 mower. 



SnMMER Apples. — There is not a supply of good 

 summer eating and cooking apples. Abnut one-third 

 of our own orchard are summer apples, but we shall 

 add another thousand trees to it this fall. Early 

 Harvest, Red June, Red Astra chan, Kiikbridge 

 White, Early Pennock, Sweet Bough, etc., have 

 the money in them. At this date they are in de- 

 maud at two dollars a bushel. The truth is, wc 

 have never known the market to be fully supplied 

 with summer apples. The Keswick Codlin is a 

 great bearer and should supply the market with 

 cooking apples, but orchardi&ts are afraid that they 

 will overdo the market with them. But of this we 

 apprehend no immediate da^^ger, so long as Codlins 

 will bring fifty cents to a dollar a bushel at the 

 orchard, no complaint should be had on that score. 

 We have two hundred and twenty-five trees of this 

 variety, now six years planted, paying us a goodly 

 sum, and we would not complain at several thou- 

 sand more trees. If you cannot sell the apples, 

 you can make vinegar, and dry apples of the sur- 

 plus. The trees are not plenty in the nurseries. 

 We have grown them very largely, but the demand 

 for the trees has reduced our stock very material- 

 I3'. We shall endeavor to supply our immediate 

 local demand for the summer apples within the 

 next dozen years. We have no objection to grow- 

 ing the summer apples at double the price that 

 winter apples bring, which is usually the case in 

 all our markets. A very common cooking summer 

 apple brings a better price than the best of those 

 for winter. ' . 



