SEPT/21 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SS© 
ing. It stirs up and Bavea farm-life from its 
eternal sameness and dinginesB. It helps it out 
of deep, old-time ruta, aud gi^ea its vision 
scope. It allies thought and toil in social con¬ 
tacts, out of which flash vigor and brightness. 
I would not rob farm life of its rationally con¬ 
servative, sober Becoud-thoughts; but [ would 
have it more closely leagued with real thinking, 
and not so case-hardened against new ways and 
ideas. There la no line of life that has more to 
hope from these, than his wbo tills the soil. On 
the fruition of that hope, not only the future of 
the farm, but that of the country is staked. 
Our national well-being rests on the stamina 
aud oommaud of those who man this great un¬ 
derlying iudustry. No people has yet fallen, no 
republic will ever fall, where a bright-minded 
race owns aud tills the soil. B-ain upon the 
farm means not only intelligent work, but 
thought commanding the situation. Knowing 
and feeling its sovereignly of ownership and 
its rights, it is armed hi their defence. 
The problem of our future has more to do 
with tboae wbo own and occupy the land, than 
how to deal with tramps, with the ‘ dollar of 
the daddies,” or unlimited greenbacks. Just now 
the iron bauds that neither eat nor till, are 
driving muscle back to till the soi'. East and 
West, the same fate awaits the toilers of the 
workshop. These must have a re-adjustment 
of abodes and business. The graud result must 
be, among the owners and workers ou the farm, 
a re-enforcement of braius, brightened by 
the oontaot of human masses in factory life. 
God grant them the will to tarry ou the lands, 
and own their homes' Iu this result there livrs 
a hope of better days upon the farm, and a 
brighter country life. 
Jfirni Crops, 
NOTES FROM NORTH-WESTERN ILLINOIS. 
SPRING WHEAT, 
1 herewith send the Rural samples of four 
varieties of Spring Wheat, viz : 
1. Pfife Cor Fife). —An early, reliable, stand¬ 
ard hard wheat; it has been cultivated here for 
many years, and is in much favor with both the 
farmer and miller. 
2 Mammoth. —This is also a favorite old- 
established variety; produces well, but Is not 
quite so early or as hard as the Pfife. The 
Mammoth and the Pfife mixed, it is claimed, 
will rnako better flour than either will, if ground 
■separately. 
3. Early Sherman. —This is an early wheat 
and promises well, but its cultivation is au ex¬ 
periment with us, as this is the first year it has 
been grown here. It proved a success last sea¬ 
son in Butler county, Iowa, whence the seed was 
procured for live acres of this wheat. 
4 Lost Nation. —This is another new variety 
here, never having been introduced into this 
locality until this season. The seed was pro¬ 
cured from Fraukliu county, Iowa. Prior to 
the la‘e “ heated term ” this wheat made a flue 
appearance, but the scorching sun and heavy 
rains, at a time when the grain was forming 
and was most teuder, oaused much of it to blight 
and injured it generally'. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH SEEDS 'FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF 
AGRICULTURE. 
Besides those four varieties, there are some 
other kinds of spring wheat produced here, but 
I am unable at present to send samples or a de¬ 
scription. I have, within the past six years, dis¬ 
tributed among the farmers in this vioiully seve¬ 
ral varieties of spring wheat sent to me by the 
Department of Agriculture for experiment, but 
have failed to sucooed in establishing any as a 
variety superior to those commonly grown here. 
The fault may not have been in the seed sent, 
but I have found it very difficult or impossible 
to get busy, practical farmers to give the special 
and scioutifto attontion to tbe cultivation of a 
few quarts of different kinds of cereals, in order 
to test which is the best kind. 
We have had hotter success in experimenting 
with gardeu seeds sent by the Department of 
Agriculture, some of which have proved of 
superior quality. Also, the eight quarts of 
Silver Cbalf winter wheat, sent to me last fall, 
bid fair to prove a success; and some Tappa- 
hannook winter wheat, from second year’s trial, 
is very satisfactory, 
AREAS OF SPRING AND WINTER WHEAT. 
This is a spriug wheat region. Ogle County 
reports to our Illinois State Board of Agricul¬ 
ture, 40.427 acres in spriug wheat, an increase 
Of 0.329 acres over last year’s. Only a small 
amount of winter wheat is grown in this county, 
as it usually wiuter kills, but it has stood the 
test well the past two seasons, aud the area of 
winter wheat will be largely increased this fall. 
Iu the central and southern sections of the 
State more winter than spring wheat is pro¬ 
duced. The State Crop Report for June says: 
' aroa of Bpriug wheat is quite limited 
a.H compared with wiuter wheat; there being 
291,912 acres of spriug wheat to 2,032,843 acres 
of wiuter wheat iu the State in 1878.” The 
total acreage of spring wheat iu this State, iu 
1877, was 248,458; aud the acreage in 1878 is 
291.912. showing an increase of 43,454 acres in 
favor of the present crop. 
The United States Department of Agriculture 
in report of June, 1878, says, in regard to 
spring wheat: “ The early opening of spring 
has given a long season for the sowing of spring 
grain, resulting in an extraordinary increase in 
aoreago Returns have been received from the 
larger portion of the sprirnr wheat area, the re¬ 
sult of which may be slightly modified by fur¬ 
sown. The early part of the season was highly 
favorable to tbe growth of this cereal, and the 
prospect for a large yield was never more favor¬ 
able until about the middle of July, when there 
came heavy rain-storms, and the extraordinary 
“ heated term” setting in just before the grain 
ripened, caused much of it to blight, and will 
reduce the yield from one-fourth to one half of 
what it would otherwise have been. The dam¬ 
age to the crops in certain localities here is 
HHIA-L) OF GORILLA. 
ther data from the area now unreported. So far 
the comparison stands with last yetr as follows: 
Wisconsin, 117; Miunesota, 130: Iowa, 125; 
Nebraska, 140. The northern borders of Illi¬ 
nois, Missouri and Ivausas, which have a small 
area of spring wheat, also make an iuorease, 
Kansas, of one-third; and Missouri, of one-half. 
This would indicate au increase approximating 
two million acres of spring wheat. The oldeBt 
reporters and earliost settlers of this district 
state that the past bas been the mildest wiuter 
and earliest spriug known in au experience rang¬ 
ing from 20 to 40 years.” 
PLANTING SPRINC WHEAT. 
In order to secure a good crop of spriug 
wheat, tbe ground should be plowed in the fall 
great, but it is reported to be still worse fur¬ 
ther north—in Wisconsin, Northern Iowa and 
Miunesota, where great losses have been sus¬ 
tained, 
It is impossible at the present writing to 
estimate correctly “ what will the harvest be ” 
Wiuter wheat and rye are very good; oats 
heavy, but fallea badly; barley less than usual 
acreage, and colored. No buckwheat here. 
Cdrn doing well. Potatoes plenty. 
Ogle Co, HI., July 30,1578. 
THE SUGAR BEET. 
There are many reasons why the sugar beet is 
one of the most valuable crops the farmer can 
raise. Until factories are established for making 
TVX A.N". 
and the seeding done as early iu the spring as 
possible—as soon as the frost is out of the 
ground. The farmers commenced seeding here 
last spring about the 7th of March, and that 
which was first sown has proved the best. Two 
bushels per acre are the usual amount of seed 
ORANG-OUTANG. 
the beet juice into sugar, the crop will need be 
fed out upon tbe farm, but iu this the return 
from an acre of beete, is much greater thau from 
any other crop which can bo raised for feeding. 
The cost to the farmer for an acre of beets is 
not a serious consideration, and cannot exceed 
$15 ; tbe planting comes before corn, and the 
cultivation between that of other crops. No 
other crop gives as large an amount of easily di¬ 
gestible food for cows, young stock, sheep or 
hogs, as the sugar beet, while the manure from 
feeding the beet is of much greater value than 
when animals are fed upon almost any other 
kind of roots. 
France grows one-half more wheat upon an 
acre, fattens a much greater number of cattle 
than the same territory in America, from the 
faot that that couutry raises enormous quanti¬ 
ties of sugar beets for making sugar, and has the 
rich manure from the refuse which is fed to the 
stock. 
To have the full value of the raising of sugar 
beets, we should have the sugar manufactory as 
well, but until that comes, no more profitable 
crop can be raised and fed out upon the farm, 
than beets. 
The ground for beets, like that for any other 
crop, should be mellow, tilled deeply, and rich. 
The seed should be sowed as early as pocsible, 
in rows from two and a-half to three feet apart, 
•10 as to allow the use of the cultivator between, 
ind the seed should be sown at tbe rate of three 
■ four pounds to the acre, and the plants 
binned out, aud, if need be, transplanted so as 
to stand from 12 to 15 inches apart; this will 
give large roots, and a crop of 25 to 35 tons to 
the acre. 
We do not need to go into elaborate discus¬ 
sions of the advantages of this crop to the far- 
ner, or of the beet sugar iudustry to the na- 
•ion; the experiment of raising a few square rods 
)f beets is easily made, and when once done, the 
'armer can satisfy himself as to their value for 
nilch cows, breeding or fattening sheep, and for 
feeding and fattening swine. The establish¬ 
ment of the beet sugar industry in this country, 
must come sooner or later. 
ijoriirultural, 
TEACHING BOTANY. 
PROFESSOR W. J. BEAL. 
Botany, in the proper sense, is most intimately 
connected with floriculture, vegetable garden¬ 
ing, pomology and all departments of agricul¬ 
ture. For some time, year after year, with class 
after class, I have required my students to study 
books less aud, nature more. The results have 
been gratifying to teacher and pupils. For the 
encouragement of those who have not tried this 
method, I may say it is the easier method of 
the two for the teaoher. 
The first two weeks were occupied, every day, 
In the examination and comparison of the Bmall 
limbs of eight species of trees before any leaves 
had appeared. Among these were limbs of apple 
trees and cherry trees. The examination was 
made during the usual time for preparing lessons 
and not in Vie class-room. The hour with 
the irjacher was given to a report of the obser¬ 
vations of the students, the specimen s being out 
of their- siglu. Iu some cases, each student wrote 
out a carelul description of what he had seen. In 
a similar mauner, ail other parts of plants were 
taken up and specimens studied. In nearly all 
cases they studied the objects before studying 
the text which referred to or illustrated them. 
Au effort was made to keep them working after 
something which they had not yet discovered. 
Quite often members of the class disagreed in 
their views of the same objects. Ou the next 
day they were required to bring in all the proof 
they could for their belief. This led to interest¬ 
ing discussions. They were rarely ever told, for 
the first few weeks, anything which they could 
learu by examining the plauts. They were often 
taught how. and were required to make experi¬ 
ments on growing seeds and plants, such as cut¬ 
ting away one or more cotyledons, the plumule, 
to see if buds would appear to continue the 
growth. They marked the radicle by prickiug 
it at equal distances with iuk. to see which part 
of it elongates most rapidly. They cut off buds 
of trees to induce dormant buds to start; they 
watched aud worked with the tendrils of vines 
and twining plants to learn how they behaved. 
They germinated seeds iu moss or between damp 
folds of paper. They studied the behavior of 
insects on certain flowers. How were they in¬ 
duced to do this extra work ? By always making 
most of ihis kiud of work iu the class-room, aud 
by giving them good marks for all such work 
which was well done. There is generally, 
though not always, time enough to give each 
student ol the class a chance to put iu a word or 
ask a question on some interesting point. 
It is astonishing to notice how much is discover¬ 
ed by so many good eyes, and yet it is sometimes 
equally surprising to see that some simple, 
prominent points are overlooked by all. 
For some weeks but little use is made of 
microscopes or text books. Iu nearly all cases, 
or in aii important cases, specimens were ex- 
a xum i n ed and a need was felt for definitions and 
names before these nam is were given. 
As we progress, a few hints are given, such as 
the following: It is often of importance to 
count the parts, to examine several similar 
specimens of ah ages and stages of development 
