, 1859-12-28

prairie sod Vas Us sure to bring crop Of wheat,
as IN the middle or southern counties. Such is
not the case now, and winter wheat Is rarely
seen in the north either on the sod OF elsewhere.
This Is GENERALLY attributed to . change in eli.
mate. Is not the explanation found in the fact
that the prairie by pasturage and othnrWise,
| has been half subdued, weeds and grasses hare
partial possession Of tho soil, md breaking the
| sod (which Immediately kills the wild grasses,
| plants, 6c.,) and the unthorough manner of
seeding, rather he1 ps tban retards their growth.
| Is It strsnge that when the tender wheat plant
has to makeits way against the united forces of
rag:Weed aud may.weed and smart weed. blue
grass and Write clover, thatit uniformly starves
| in the attempt?
| oSE CAUSE or PA1LrRE IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH
ERS ILLINOIS.
Another cause tas largely contributed to the
partial failure Of the winter wheat crop in cen-
tral and Southern Illinois, which the northern
counties are happily free Of. I allude to the ef-
fecis Of that absurd but disastrous delusion. the
widespread belief that whcnt will, under certain
circumstances advcrse to lis healthy growth,
Change into the chess or cheat plant It il
scarcely proper here to 20 into the merits Of the
question, it the question has auy merits, further
than to venture the opinion, that my syStem Of
las 'ruction or amountof expenditure, to correct
this belief and gire our farmers confidence In
our soil as true wheat-growing one, Wonld be
cheap, eTen were it 10 equal q tax Of ten cents
| per acre on cyery arabic acre in The State.
Whether detnsion 30 wide spread, and the ef
tects Of which help to keep down the price Of H.
l1nois grown wheatten OF fifteen per cent. in tue
I markets Of the world, does not deserve some
particular attention on the part oi the State 4g.
| ricultural Society and tue government Of the
!! State, is a Question here respectfully submitted
|, to tlts Executive Board
i AcnIrrLTuRAL SURVEY or Tue STATE.
And in this. connection, it may be 'proper to
stute that it ia understood TINT the Executive Of
i the State, contemplated q year ago, to recon-.
the State, with the intention {in connection sith
t this Society, probably Of the ultimate creation
i Of permanent Board Of Agriculture. The ad-
vice Of friends. the e1igenclea of party and The
complexion Of the General Assembly, were
| some Of the causes that Influenced the post
| poneuent Of such 4 Recommendation. Suel.
survey, properly organized and rightly made;
and such Board intelligently established,
would largely help TO correct the errors noticed,
and others Hereafter alluded to 10 this report,
aud greatly and Immediately widen and
strengthen the influence and moral power Of the
illinois State Agricultural Society. Should this
Executive Committee think proper to move in
season, their Influence would hastentbe perfect;
ing Of such scheme for the encouragement Of
agriculture in the State Of Illinois and iu thr
States Of tue Northwest generally.
TIE SIxsGlIEs AND ORCHARDS OF ILLINOIS,
According to u list published in the GardeafY,s
1onlhly. u capital publication, by the way,
there are seventy.tive nurseries in Illinois. The
list is no doubt incomplete, and upwards of
eighty niay By counted. They are, Is whole,
;probab'y equafto ANY other eighty, OF no great
,er age, in any State in the Uni. n. This Shows
the farmers Of Illinois hare not and do not neg
leet IN attempt to cultivate fruits on the prai-
,ries. The condition md prospects Of tl,e fruit
| crop and orchards, particularly engaged tue
Intention Of your committee on their tour, aud
Abe undersigned, for himself, feels reluctantly
| compelled to acknowledge TINT he did not see q
+, tirst-rate orchard, nor one in ffst-rate condi-
tion. Orchards we're not numerous, anl trees
III bearing still less SO, the want Of fruit, twas
| the sd and 4th Of June. Nowhere had tic trees
| tiat thrifty, vigorous appearance, common ia
Ohiu, Now York. and New England. The best
orchards were found growing where the natu-
ral drainage appeared to be best and tic most
| fruit but there Was all ever present indication
| Of something unsu,ted 10 the thrift mud vgor Of
| the trees, aud that sonething appeared to be
tile presence of more water about the routs than
+, the health Of the trees demanded. ~.
A QUESTION or pRA1sAaR.'
SO long rs tue problem why the prasies Of
Illinois remain prairies, and why in so mauy
thousand years. tue timber has not taken full
possession 0fthen, continues an open question,
| another, among the many suggested, but not
! accepted solullous, maS bc otie. Cd uutpely:
naturally and without the assistance ofman only
where there Is natural drainage, III about ruyiues
lnd along the banks Of rivers ia prairie coun.
tries, hut everywhere on that surface, where
there IL broken aud titled strata below. Ifsucl
be the case, only the hardest trees, such for in
Stance Us the back and white walnut, the roots
Of which rnn just under the surface, grow well
on thr open prairie when planted and cultivated
by man fruit treea, tue most of whose roots
run deep. when so PLANTED, u,aintain.ns sickly
existence u may be set down ~ I'LL ascertained
fact, that there Gun be 40 profitable cultivation
Of the apple aud the pear, tie peach aud tue
plnn', md fruits generatly, on the prairies of
ll'iun;s, until provision has been made for more
or less thorough drainage.
THE EXPERIENCE IN ENGLAND AND ABOUT cISctS-
SATi.
III England, originally wooded, where there
istw'ce The inequality OF surface there is with
liz. aud only llaff tile annual rainfail: where
droughas. such rs we call drouehts, are un:
tna~p, uutt where tie mercury rarely Indicates
Gu de-. in summer or 10 deg, ia winter, it is a
settled maxim that On soils with an underlying
clay like ours. there can bc no successful cult
ratIou osfru'ts. nor indeed any profitable sgri-
culture. except after thorough under drainage.
The CINCINNATI Horticultural Society has dis-
cnssed Ut length, aud finally decided, that to en-
sure succeAs with the apple, peao},, pear piupl,
and rine, trenching deeply, or thorough under
drainage, is absolutely necessary on tie calca-
Tt
peculiarly suited ia fruit growing
CONDITIONS FoR BEST OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES pon TILE
DRAINAGE.
As beiure remarked, where the soil Ind the
best natural drainage either by greater or less
INCLINATION Of the surface, or by ulraua Of
porous subaoil, there were 10 be seen she
thF!fliest trees and orchards bearing most
!befaly. But Ill inclined aurface or a Eravellv
subsoil where there is an inpe71neAbte Ilue clay
beneath, do not ansucrthe purpose Of tilted and
BROKEN strata which is natural drainage, nor Of
tile drain, laid fnEly four feet under ground; be.
cause, NJ every one who Las laad experience in
well digging IN tho praifie, well knows, that
except in tiise Of Hoods, the water level under
the surface does not iie in plane parallel to tile
horizon, but nearly in plane parallel to tue un.
dulatio1ls d. the surface. Thus the deep-root-
ing peer, whether ;.fauted on tue highest swell
III lie prairie. or On dec':sits having twenty
or thirty degrees Of inclination, or On the 1evei
It's roots far enough below the water fere!. to
cnsurc a adwarfed growth, barren life and early
disease and death.
LEWIS ELLSWORTH AND PROF. TURNER
To these conclusions have come some Of the
most successful nurserymeu, orchardists aud
ayricnl'urists Of Illinois. Among them we
mention Mir. Lewis Ellsworth and Professor
Turner Of Jacksonville. The former as far as
is profitable aud beutjcial to bis purchaser. who
in buying, should be able to command the whole
Of plant # possible. has adopted an expedi-
ent for understanding, namely that Of throw
ing his whole nursery grounds into
ridges. This method demands great sac
ridce Of space, but it ensures healthy
and vigorous growth. and enables him to
remove. for the purchaser. almost the entire
Roots OF The plant. For the reason stated, ii. |
does not appear to be good policy {for the pur- +
chaser at least) to trench, nanurr aud under |
drain nursery. in such u manner as will cause
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