, 1870-04-04
THE FARM AND GARDEN.

Ot,r r1mS,cr Rc1oufccH-Uscful T*reo&
,-mound City-Whut Small Things
Sometimes Aceompllsh-MnA OF
Tool and Axc IfnndIe&-Sannn W1ro
-Plou Beams nnd Anndles-otnef
Iumhcr-The Fruit Hllls at Cob
dcu-ShEpuents of 16HD-HaAkinE OF
Ueuv Boxes mud CFASes-HaFrels
und fxnxrcl StAvcH-OtheF Indus
uic&-
IFKox oCR AaR1cUL1CRAL CORRESPONDENCE
CnAMAlos, Ill, Aprila
QUE 1KrEH R1SouacES-
Tho impression ia rather general that the
Statc Of Illinois Is nearly or quite dependent
uron o.bcr States for lumbar and timber for
building wagons, carriages, and indictments.
With the exception OF Pine. this Is not the
casa: Of the moro valuable deciduous timber
trees Ne have . large surplus, ~ propose to
show, Then We have Cypress, Yellow Poplar,
and ether soft wooda that occupy large space
in place Of tho Pine that we must have from
the North.
Our supply Of Oak is ve15 large, and accessi-
BILE, as wss shown during the war, when the
whole floli11a of TIE Mississippi and other
Webte,n rivers was supplied from this source.
UsKTuL TREES.
Among them We have, White, Burr, Spanish,
Post, and Black Oak- The White Oak Of the
bottom lands ia OF superior quality, and equal
to Eez England and Kentucky second growth,
for which 1t SELLS in market Tho Burr Oak is
strong and durable, and for Implements and
machines that must Of necessity bs expossd to
the weather, is OF great yalun, Our railroad
companies have overlooked this most valuxble
Of al deciduous Oaks for railroad CARS. Our
.rrr~~. 1ar;p IN u, - In fo1en
possA, On account Of its durability. have
posts Of this Oak, yet sound, thAt..were set in
the sp.ing OF 1910. or tho Hickories, we have
the Bite. Nut, Shell Bark, Pecan Nut illinois
uiekozy), and tho Pig Nut. The timber Of all
Of these ia Of great value for spokes, bent
felloes, ahafts, a1les, and Axe and dtool handles-
Fori agricultural implements We have White
Aah, IN small supply. q am not positive On
this point, ~ do not think II is the true White
Aah, Ftartnus americana but Dr.. Vasey is
Of the opinion that it il the White Ash ..of the
New England States. Possibly it may Le
r. Eplptera,) The Blue Ash {F.
QUO drangs4lata) is equal in value to
White Ash, md is quite abundant Our bet
snists have not fully settled the nomenclature
Of this family Of trees. OF finishing lumber
we have that king Of the Westeru forests,
Yellow poplar; Cucumber, Cottonwood, 6yca-
mere, blackberry, Sweet Gum, Dutternut, aud
Hack Walnut. Sour Gum Poperage) is valu-
Ahe for the bottoms Of berry boxes and hubs
OF carriages, aud many other uses. Beech,
Of fine quality for plane stocks and other tools,
ia abundant On the first bench Of land above
tbs bottoms and on the bills of the Grand
Chin. OF the Naples, We havs tho Sugar and
Soft Naples; White, Red. and Water Elms.
Cypress, for hundred miles along the Cash
River, and On tho borders Of the bayous and
1.goons OF the Mississippi bottoms, Honey
and Black Locust, Linn, Willow, and many
species Of small Size t1at ara Of moro or lees
value.
On this subject will conano my remsrks to
tLxt part Of the StAte denominatad Lower
Egypt, or the timber part Of Egypt, beginning
At De Soto, on the Illinois Central Railroad,
thence south to Cairo, distance Of sixty
miles This immense arboretum rests on the
Ohio River for over ono hundred and fifty
miles, and 70. a hundred On the MISSISSIPPI The
bottom lands Of these streams arc from three
to nine miles wide, and are covered with \
heavy growth, mainly Oak and Hickory, while
the streams and la8oona are boEGe.ed with in
mensc Cypress.
Through al this deep forest there runs but
one railroad, the Illinois Central, but All i'm
:uense trade floats past this wealth OF forest
without dreaming Of its value. The farmers
eave, for the past fifty years, been hewing
down this forest, for the purpose Of planting
orchards and wheat-helds; splitting Black
Walnut and Yellow Poplar into fence-rails:
burning Hicko1ies and 0Aka in log heaps,
without the least idea Of their real value to the
commerce and business OF the country. While
the railroads have opened up the forests Of
Michigan and Iudiaua to the commerce Of the
West, this richer field of forest growth has
been almost entirely neglected Nowhere in
heavy growth OF such superior quality Of use
full trees aa .ra presented by this comparative
ly neglected district Of woodland.
Several new roads are projected to run
through this district, and tho men OF business
are beginning to see and to appreciate its
value, but thus far it is but faint beginning,
though it may lead 10 revolution in the dull
raonntony that has hitherto brooded oyer this
fair Aeadis. The rich soil and soft Italian
skics Of this section make the orchards bend
with fruit, and the wheat fields teem with
superior quality Of gram.
The poor whites, who ovctdowed from the
South into this vast forest, without schools,
without enterprise, living on corn meal, game,
bacon, and whiskey, have been pretty well
pushed out, and other mon are planting
schools, churches, and machine shops, that
will not stop their Efforts until this shall be one
Of tho richest points IN the Valley Of the Upper
Mississippi.
We will take look At what is doing. and
then consider what may be- further done. And,
first OF
MOUND G1y.
This city Is on tho Ohio River, seven miles
northeast OF Cairo. steamboats, rcsch this
point at all seasons OF tho year and at alt
stages OF water: it ia, in fact, the head of
navigation for the winter as well IL Cairo,
Formerly the high waller covered tue city
from two to four feet deep, anu thus nade i:
an unpleasant place for business but now
three hundred acres are enclosed ly cub
stantial levce, that renders the city safe from
overflow. During the war this WAS point OF
no email importance for the building and re-
pair Of vessels Of all kinds required in the aer-
vice. At the close of tho war tho plaeo was
dead and the town hai = prospect Of speedy
decay. Cairo also fell on to a point for the
klAAblSI Ul OAf ASOI&ItIA &I1AE ~ LuS 11tGE
craft, and the world uas abont to lose sight Of
the cr7sde elements Of this azboreal and pomo-
nal wealth. Of which nature hAd been 60 laviah-
II seemed destined AZ = rlaee where the IRON
clads. thst had 40 bEavely opened the Missis-
sippi and other Western rivers to the COM
merce Of the whole country, should rs.st out
unnosiced By the busy world.
Captain Thompson. who Laid the Pittsburgh
alongside Of tho batteries at Donelson and
poured into them grape and canister, uatil
every water-tieht compartment was riddlel
with rebel shot. and his vessel went down on
the bar just AZ victory shouted her triumph
and Grsnt marched over the walls Of the con-
qucrcd fortress. Raising and rcfitting his
vessel, which was the first 10 r1n the batteries
At Irland No. 10. transferred to the seaboatl
to assist in tirishing the war, this gallant Cap
tain vas cent here with his ecars and his irou-
clads to rust out in dreamy inactivity.
Mound City, that had been 80 busy with
preparation for the Wat, who're immense COM
merria1 blocks, erected by the - Emporium
Company" were filed with cur sick AMI
wounded eoldiery, became almost deserted,
aud the single horse car that connected the
city with the Illinois Central At the Mounds
Station. three miles distant. was often without
\ single passenger. Lots that had been sold
for thousands of dollars each, went for the
taxes, with no one wishing to redeem them.
Large two-stary houses rented for e20 year.
and the spirit Of unthrift and idleness settled
down like Pail over the doomed city.
But sometimes even
HNAL THINGS
lend to important results, and in this Gaze il i
fully verified: 4 gentleman Of Louisville.
ky., who had large interests here, including The
Stokes Hcuse,-a hotel second to few in our
cities.-cast about for the purpose Of pottnt,
his property to come use. Making the &c
a.,a;s4.n.o nf tha Enrr Isrokhnra uho unra en-