USA > Illinois > McHenry County > Biographical directory of the tax-payers and voters of McHenry County : containing also a map of the county, a condensed history of the state of Illinois, an historical sketch of the county, its towns and villages, an abstract of everyday laws of the state, a business directory, officers of societies, lodges and public officers, a department of general information for farmers, dairymen, etc., etc > Part 8
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This is the language of a concern whose interests are entirely with foreign wools and ought to have weight with those who, owing to small returns, slaugh- ter their sheep when wool is slow of sale.
65
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
The wool production of the whole world is estimated by Mr. H. C. Cary at 1,800,000,000 lbs., of which twenty-five per cent., as we see by statistics below, is grown in Australasia, Cape of Good Hope and River Plate :
1875.
1874. 1873. 222,500,000 Ibs. 190,250,000 Ibs.
1872.
1871.
Australasia
244,500,000 Ibs.
181,750,000 Ibs. 185,750,000 fbs.
Cape of Good Hope.
49,000,000 "
49,000,000
47,500,000 "
55,750,000 " 48,000,000 “
River Plate.
201,500,000
207,000,000
232,500,000 "
210,500,000
195,250,000
From the foregoing table, it will be seen that there has been a marked increase in the production of wool in these countries in five years, particularly in Australasia. In our own country, there has not been any gain in the States east of the Mississippi during this period, but in California and Texas and in the Territories, there has been a rapid increase in the production of wool. In California, the increase being nearly, if not quite, one hundred per cent .; the product being over 43,000,000 Ibs. in 1875. The number of sheep in Colorado, according to census, was (1870) 120,000. It is now estimated at over a million, and in the other Territories the increase is four-fold.
We had expected to have given a statement of the growth of our woolen manufactories in connection with this article, but want of space forbids. We will merely remark that, notwithstanding the fact that forty to fifty per cent. of our woolen machinery is idle, yet the consumption is so great that we are obliged to import nearly seventy-five million of pounds of foreign wool in addi- tion to our own production to supply our wants.
As it may not be uninteresting to our readers to know the price at which wool has ruled in this country, we append the following quotations from "The Practical Shepherd :"
"From 1801 to 1807, wool bore low prices in this country; in 1807 and 1808, it rose to about $2 per fb. and so continued throughout the war of 1812, some choice lots fetching $2.50 per Ib. When our infant manufacturers were overthrown, at the close of the war, in 1815, it again sank to a low price and so remained until the tariff of 1824 was enacted."
Value of fine wool in market from 1824 to 1855:
1
1824.
1825.
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
January.
60
60
55
37
40
55
40
70
·
July.
70
65
35
36
48
45
62
75
1832.
1833.
'1834.
1835.
1836.
1837.
1838.
1839.
January.
65
57
70
60
65
70
50
55
July
50
62
60
65
70
63
45
58
1840.
1841.
1842.
1843.
1844.
1845.
1846.
1847.
January
50
52
48
35
37
45
40
47
July
46 .
50
43
35
45
. 40
38
47
1848.
1849.
1850.
1851.
1852.
1853.
1854.
1855.
January.
45
33
47
45
42
58
53
40
July
38
40
45
47
45
60
45
50
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GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
From the Annual Wool Circular of Messrs. Mauger & Avery, wool com- mission merchants, 149 Duane street, New York, we extract quotations of prices to date :
1856.
1857.
1858.
1859.
1860. 62
1861. 54
1862.
January
46
65
45
72
55
July .
47
60
45
62
58
40
60
1864.
1865.
1866.
1867.
1868.
1869. 70
1870.
January
78
107
78
70
65
65
July
115
86
80
70
65
65
5.7
1871.
1872.
1873.
1874.
1875.
1876.
January
60
77
65
60
48
July.
75
85
73 53
57
56
33
The average price of domestic fleece wool in the United States, from 1827 to 1861, was for fine, 50.3c .; for medium, 42.8c .; and for coarse, 35.5c .; average. price for four years, from 1861 to 1866 (during the war), for fleeces, 63 to 83c .; for culled, 56 to 61c. ; average price for ten years, from 1866 to 1875, inclusive, for fleeces, 44.4c. to 66.6c. ; for culled, 34.2c. to 55.7c.
In conclusion, we would give the views of a person familiar with the wool trade whose candid opinion we have asked and which we think will be of service to our growers :
" If you wish to be successful in growing wool, procure the best sheep, give them proper feed and shelter and the care and the attention they deserve. It does not matter much what the breed may be, if they can stand the climate. Long, combing wooled sheep produce the most valuable fleeces, particularly crosses between Cotswold, Liecester and Merino, but they must be carefully tended or else they become poor. Just at that portion of the wool attached to the skin a contraction of the fiber takes place, the staple is weakened at that point and the value of the fleece lessens from ten to fifty per cent. The Merino, more or less pure, is found in every neighborhood and is, perhaps, the predominant class in this country. In market it is graded according to blood in the follow- ing classifications : Full blood or XX ; three-quarter blood or X; half blood or No. 1; quarter blood or No. 2. The value of the different quarters de- pends largely upon Fashion, who, by her demand for different styles of .goods, calls for various grades of wools, sometimes for very fine, again for lower grades, and frequently for long, lustrous wools. This is a fact that farmers should take into consideration and not slaughter their flock of a certain breed, because for one year, or perhaps two or three years, the price of that class of wool has been low. In a short time the demand for that grade will be renewed and full prices be obtained.
" Farmers should be careful in putting up their fleeces. It is not material, as far as value of wool is concerned, whether it is washed or unwashed, provided the sheep are tagged in the spring, as the difference in price is compensated for by the increased weight of the unwashed wool. It is a mistake to suppose that
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GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
fleeces can be put up poorly washed or stuffed with unwashed and for a series of years to advantage. We know that unscrupulous buyers, in their desire to buy all the wool they can within their limited price, will frequently pay as much for faulty as for choice wools, but if the growers only hold out for the difference in favor of their honestly handled wool, they will get it. Unfortunately they are too apt to follow the practice of their less honorable neighbor, and the whole section becomes, in a few years, noted for the shrinkage of the fleeces, buyers refuse to purchase these, except at low prices, which are unremunerative to growers, who then slaughter their sheep and thus put an end to a branch of farming which might prove a source of revenue yearly.
" Now, as to time of selling. It has been truly said "that the time to sell is when everybody wants to buy," and of nothing is this axiom more true than of wool. In the summer, after a price has been established and all the dealers and manufacturers' agents are seeking for wool, eagerly competing to get the amount they require, then is the time to sell.
"If you will look back over the quotations for fifty-two years, comparing prices in July of one year with the price in January following, you will see that in twenty-two years the price advanced during the period between July and January. In twenty-two years it declined, and eight years there was no change in the quotations during that period, which proves that, as a rule, it is better to sell soon after shearing than to hold for higher prices until the next year.
"Now, as to best manner of selling wool. The custom, at present, is either for the manufacturer to send out an agent to buy, or, as is more generally the case, the local speculator buys up what he can in his neighborhood and ships it to the East to be sold on' commission, paying five to six per cent. for selling. There is no question but what considerable profit is made by middle men, which might be divided between grower and manufacturer, if the standard of the flocks and care in washing and putting up wools were better. In Australia, at the Cape of Good Hope, and, in fact, all countries, the large clips are known by the owner's name; they have a well-known standard and are bought and sold year after year upon mere description, frequently without being seen. Yet, in this "progressive," "enlightened" country, there is so little ambition (or is it lack of honor) among our wool growers* that they will not put their names to their fleeces, because, in too many instances, they would very much prefer not to acknowledge them. When, if, by care, they had really produced a superior article, the fleeces might have gone into consumers' hands with their producer's name attached. Their merits would have been recognized, the grower sought out and contracts made year after year for the purchase at full market value.
* With the exception of a few clips in California and Texas and some, perhaps, in the Territories, the wool of the Mormon community is shipped in bales, every one of which has the brand Z. C. M. I .- Zion Cooperative Mercantile Institution.
68
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
Some attempts have been made by. farmers to bring themselves in direct communication with consumers by shipping their wool to agents in the East. John Brown, who was afterward executed for inciting the insurrection at Harper's Ferry, endeavored to act in such a capacity at Springfield, Mass., many years ago, but, for some reason or other, it did not succeed. Recently, some of the Granger organizations in different States have shipped the wool of its members to market, but the irregularity of the clips has made it difficult to give entire satisfaction to all.
BEES AND HONEY.
Bees are native to many lands. The Italian bee has been imported and crossed with our. stock, but no perceptible improvement has resulted.
We are enabled to present the following items gathered from various and reliable sources :
California promises to become the greatest honey-producing country. Re- ports of the superiority of its product are almost discouraging to bee culture elsewhere in this country.
The Japanese, in their own land, are, perhaps, equally successful with cul- turists of bees in Italy.
In the Japan exhibits at the Centennial, there was a picture representing some Japs engaged in straining honey into vases. The hives were pictured in oblong boxes fastened to the sides of dwellings.
Great Britain exhibited straw hives with an aperture in the apex, over which was turned a glass dish for the reception of surplus honey.
Bees have their natural enemies in moths and bee-eating birds, called the King Bird, which is not the King Fisher. It is smaller, more resembling the Phobe or Pewee.
The Langstroth hive, whose patent has expired, is reported the best from many authorities. Its advantage over others is a shallow construction. High or upright hives invite the moths. None are free from their intrusion. Con- struct shallow frames, not over eight inches deep or sixteen inches long. Set them horizontally in the low hive. From these bees will dislodge and remove worms as fast as hatched. In the upright mode of setting frames, the distance is too great, compelling the bees to cross the comb, thus allowing the worm to lodge and start its web, which the bee is not strong enough to remove. Surplus boxes on top of the honey board, five by six inches, with glass on the front end, are indispensable. Don't remove these till well-finished by the wax-caps made by the unerring little artisans. Early morning is the best time to remove filled boxes. Place in a dark room and the lingering bees will all leave in a few hours if you set the door slightly ajar. Then paste a cloth over the entrance to exclude flies and ants.
69
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
Some bee-culturists denounce bee-houses. Dark, ventilated cellars or a corner of an out-house, suitably prepared by partitions and air-circulation, have been very successfully used. Mice must, of course, be excluded.
With any arrangement, be sure to watch for moths.
The principal hive used in California is the Langstroth. There is one called the Harbison hive, wherein the frames, instead of being suspended, are held up at an exact distance from each other, one of the uprights being prolonged, rest- ing in a mortise on the bottom board. The top and back sides are movable. The surplus honey is all above the frames. The Langstroth hive, so generally in use, is expensive and bulky and should be discarded or modified by having a movable bottom board, cover, upper and lower story one and the same thing. Then there is the objection before mentioned, too, the moth plague.
For wintering colonies or swarms, a report from the Michigan College Apiary, for 1876, offers some good suggestions. The colonies were all removed from the cellar once in January, once in March, temporarily, for purifying flight. They were not removed to the summer stands till the middle of April. All but one, composed of old bees, came through the winter in good condition. Those kept breeding into October consumed all the pollen. This lack was supplied by feeding during the last of April. Soon as the bees could fly in suitable weather, they would not touch the meal. Syrup was sparingly fed till fruit trees were in bloom. During the summer they were not allowed to swarm, but were divided. Three colonies were lost by their going off, which would have been prevented had the queen's wings been previously clipped. All have since been slightly cut.
Basswood, locust, crab-apple trees and shad-bush are surrounding the grounds of this apiary. Evergreens are also set out for wind-break and shades for bees. Grapevines, yellow trefoil clover, mignonette, black mustard, borage, buckwheat, sunflowers, are all honey-favoring plants and good to cultivate around the hives of bees.
ABOUT POULTRY.
Does it pay to keep hens? is a question no farmer ought ever to ask. If it does not pay for marketable purposes, it is certainly valuable to every family to have eggs and fowls for a healthful variation of diet. Pecuniary profits from raising fowls are very uncertain. Without some degree of care in giving food and providing for cleanliness, no profit can be secured. Domestic birds are often infested with lice, which prevents their prosperity or kills them.
Sulphur, scattered freely about their perches, is a good preventive; or whitewash, made of caustic lime, spread over the building used for their shelter. All hens are destructive to grain fields. It is not always profitable to let them roam over farm or garden when crops are in progress of ripening.
70
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
There is greater requirement for feed in the largest breeds. A preference for common fowls has been expressed by persons of experience in raising. It is said the black Leghorn breed is better. The hens are almost perpetual layers and not disposed to set. It is argued by some that if fowls are fed well they can, at any time, be turned into the garden without material damage. Owners must be their own judges of this. It is certain that they will pick up bugs and worms which are destructive to fruit and grain. Medium sized fowls are better foragers than the larger breeds, and are, therefore, better searchers for farm pests.
Fowls need a variety of food, both for the flavor of their flesh when cooked, and the richness and tone of their eggs. When they are limited to small pens, scraps of meat from the table, leaves of vegetables and bread crumbs should be given them. If necessary, deprive the pigs of pieces from the table; fowls need them most. If they are satisfied with their food, they will seldom peck off each other's feathers. No one particular 'kind of food is "best." Raw and cooked meals mixed prevent clogging. Much grain should not be given the young ones, except the last at night, when it will tempt a hearty meal, and re- main in the crop to give support through the night. Wheat, or other tempting grain, should not be given just after soft food. It will kill delicate breeds, often when the cause is unknown. Cooked and raw meals of different kinds may, with advantage, be mixed with minced grass. A quantity may be thus kept fresh and cool through the day. Bone dust, valuable for large breeds, should be added to soft food : one-tenth to one-twentieth of the dry meal, or it may be first boiled, and the meal mixed with the soup. Fresh water and lime are indispensable. For merely your own use, do not keep too many hens. Kill off the old ones every year ; save the pullets. In this way you will have more eggs. Give your fowls warm quarters in winter, else they will not lay.
SMALL FRUIT CULTIVATION.
THE STRAWBERRY.
In some localities of the Northern States, a winter protection is beneficial, if not needful. Some of the most successful growers protect their beds every autumn. A larger crop is certain to follow by so doing. The embryo fruit- buds are formed in the fall, therefore frequent and sudden changes of tempera- ture will often weaken, if not destroy, them. Where plants are covered with snow all winter, other protection is not so essential as where there is little snow, with frequent freezing and thawing. A covering of straw, hay or leaves to the depth of one or two inches is sufficient. Frozen plants thawed in the shade are less injured than when exposed fully to light. If protection does slightly retard the blooming, the plants may develop faster after starting than if unprotected ..
71
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
The strawberry is mostly exempt from disease. Blight from sudden changes of weather, mildew of leaves in warm, wet weather or a kind of rust are its chief dangers. It is often injured by the larvæ of insects. Sometimes the roots suffer from the wire worm, and the leaves from the rose slug. Hand picking, or the use of lime, is the surest method of destroying the slugs. Thorough cultivation is the most effective for the worm. The plant louse, or green fly, attacks the roots when the soil is loose about them; they choke, the growth. Flour of sulphur scattered among the leaves is a good preventive of the green fly's ravages, and also attacks of the red spider.
No kind of soil is equally adapted to all varieties of the strawberry. Deep, rich, sandy loam has been most recommended. It is, perhaps, the best, as a rule. A light sand or heavy clay may be brought into condition to produce fine berries, but a deep soil, light or heavy, is required by the strawberry. When the soil is naturally very wet, it requires underdraining. There are few farms where deep plowing would not make the soil suitable for strawberry beds.
Too many acres and too little care is the common cause of failure in fruit culture. Old plants seldom bear as large berries as young ones. Plants that have been stimulated will rarely last more than two or three years. It is safe not to expect more than two crops, and to make new beds on fresh soil every year or two.
Varieties .- It is premised that varieties of a Western origin generally produce the largest, softest and most acid fruit. The best known of these are: Austin, Iowa, Downer's Prolific, Green Prolific, General Scott and Victory. The well known Early Scarlet is an Eastern variety, also the favorite Wilson.
It is well not to be too sanguine of the value of new seedlings. They often appear better the first season than afterward. It is easy to originate varieties, but to secure one superior or equal to the best already in market is not so easy.
By observation and inquiry the very best varieties may be procured. Let the purchaser, however, not forget the botanical distinction of perfect or stami- nate and pistillate flowers. The former will bear fruit without the proximity of pistillate plants, while the latter alone will not. It is best to seek the plants of perfect varieties.
THE RASPBERRY.
Cultivation by roots and root cuttings is the best method for the raspberry. From the seed is only desirable to produce new varieties. Its natural manner of propagation is by suckers. Some cultivated varieties give suckers sparingly ; others start them abundantly. Any plant that naturally produces suckers from the roots may be propagated by cuttings of the same.
72
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
DIRECTIONS.
Take up the roots when the plants have ceased to grow, the latter part of summer ; cut them into lengths of from one to three inches. Have some boxes with holes bored in the bottom; place a layer of straw over the holes ; put on an inch or two of soil; over this a layer of roots; again the soil, and layers of roots, until the box is full. Bury the boxes, when filled, on a dry knoll or slight elevation in the garden ; bank them up with soil; cover thein so - deeply that the roots cannot freeze, and cover the whole with boards, to shed . water. If the ground is wet, a small excavation should be made at a point that will be under the center of each box.
As early in the spring as the weather will permit, take out the roots and plant them in rich soil, the pieces about four inches apart, in drills, covering two to four inches, according to the nature of the soil. If it be a heavy one, two inches will suffice. The best way is to place the drills not more than two feet apart, and cultivate entirely with the hoe or fork.
· Very little pruning is necessary for the raspberry. In general field culture, none is given except, after fruiting, to cut close to the ground all the old canes. It is, however, best in the spring to prune the bearing canes. The principal as well as the lateral ones should be shortened about one-third. The fruit will in consequence be much larger, and the yield quite as large.
The usual plan is to train the plants to stakes, but many are dispensing with artificial aids, and, by close pruning, endeavoring to make them self-sus- taining. Laying down the plants and covering them with soil is the simplest and cheapest way of protecting for winter. Although the raspberry is so hardy, a fuller crop may be thus gained. Two men can rapidly bend down the plants, all in one direction, and throw a showel of earth on them. Afterward, a plow must be passed along on each side, turning the soil over them. This should not be done until cold weather is at hand. In the spring, take up the canes by passing a fork under them, gently lifting them from the covering. Ten to fourteen years is about the average duration, under good culture.
BLACKBERRY.
There are but a few native species worthy of the attention of fruit growers. A variety called the Dorchester is one of the best. The berries are large, sweet and rich, flavored like the wild blackberry. It ripens early.
The Holcomb, introduced at Granby, Connecticut, is similar to the Dor- chester. It continues in fruit several weeks.
The New Rochelle, or Seaton's Mammoth Lawton, is an universal favorite. The fruit becomes moderately sweet several days after it turns black. A strong grower and very productive. It begins to ripen rather late, and continues a long time ; but, unless the soil is moist around the roots, many of the late berries will
73
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FARMERS.
not mature. More room should be given than for raspberries. Stakes or trel- líses are necessary for support of the shrubs.
The entire crop of Wilson's Early matures in about two weeks. A rather dry soil is preferable to one very moist. It should not be as rich as for rasp- berries. Pinch off the terminal shoots the last of August to check the growth.
THE CURRANT.
The currant is highly valued in culinary preparations. It possesses, as a plant, great vitality, and will grow in almost any soil or region, while to bring it to a high state of perfection, good culture and deep, rich soil are required. It thrives better in heavy loam than in light sandy soil. Manure, of almost any kind, may be applied to it. Currant bushes in the fence corners, or choked with grass, will bear fruit from year to year, but more and larger clusters will follow careful training.
The young plants should be set out and grown singly a few feet apart, the shoots be shortened or removed, to give the bush regular shape. The fruit comes mainly from the wood several years old. When a branch has borne two or three crops, it is best to clip it. Young wood will bear finer fruit than that very old. The air and sun should have free access to all the twigs. Dead branches should be cut off every year. Pinch off the ends of growing buds, during the summer, to make them more stocky and enlarge the fruit. The plants may be trained in single stems. The clump or bush form is less trouble and most natural to the currant. There is danger to the single stems from the currant borer. If one gets into it, the plant is destroyed.
In making cuttings for propagation, every hollow stem should be examined for borers. The currant worm is the most destructive insect. The moths ap- pearing in July depositing eggs on currant and gooseberry alike. English gardeners dust the plants and worms with powdered white hellebore. The remedy has been effectually used in this country.
Foreign varieties are generally superior to our native ones. Of these the Attractor, yellowish white; the Cherry, largest red currant ; Versailles, very large, considered, by some, better flavored than the cherry ; Holland Long Grape; Red Dutch ; Victoria; White Dutch and Black English are all su- perior.
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