Fenton Township

Fenton Township

J.ENTON Township was organized April 6, 1852. The meeting for perfecting the organization and electing township officials was held at the residence of James M. Pratt, on section 26. Joseph Fenton was chosen temporary Chairman, when the citizens proceeded to ballot for moderator and clerk, which resulted in the election of Zena M. Emery as Moderator, and J. D. Odell as Clerk. In the ballot-box at the close of the election for township officers there were 26 votes, and upon counting them James M. Pratt was found to be elected Supervisor; J. D. Odell, Clerk ; Joseph Fenton, Overseer of the Poor ; Thomas W. Havens was chosen for Assessor ; R. M. Thompson, Collector ; John A. King, D. C. Smith and George H. Peters, Commissioners of the Highway ; Hiram Harmon and Martin M. Potter, Justices of the Peace; and R. M. Thompson, Constable.

Fenton embraces all of Congressional township 20 north, range 4 east, except a part of sections 35 and 36, which are attached to Portland Township; and a fractional portion of section i in Portland, and section 6 in Prophetstown Township. Union drove Township bounds it on the north, Lyndon on the east, Portland on the south, and Newton on the west. This territory was originally included in the Lyndon Precinct. The Commissioners of 1849, who were appointed to define the territory and name the townships, gave this territory the name of Eden, which name it retained until the Commissioners of 185 2 changed the name to Fenton, in honor of Joseph Fenton, who was the first settler in the township.

Joseph Fenton located in this township, with his wife and four children, Oct. 10, 1835, taking up a claim on section 33. He came from New Jersey, where he was born Sept. 12, 1794. He married Elizabeth Durell, of the same State, in April, 1826. He died at his home in Fenton, where he first located, Sept. 28, 1874. Four children were added to his family after he located in Fenton. They had eight children, born as follows : Ellwood W., born Jan. 23, 1827; Joseph R., March 27, 1829; Elizabeth H., July 9, 1831; John D., Nov. 10,1832; Robert S., Oct. 6, 1834. These were born in New Jersey Alfred W., May r3, 1837 ; Mary E., Dec. 18, 1839 Sylvester H., Aug. 27, 1841, and Henry C., July 3, 1845. All of the latter born in Fenton. They are all still living except Elizabeth, who died in New Jersey. Mrs. Fenton died Jan. 15, 1879. The Fenton farm, which increased in acreage until it embraced 215 acres, is owned by the four sons. Part qf it is on section 4, Erie Township, the balance on section 33, in Fenton. The old house was in Fenton. It has been torn down, and on the site is a corn-field. Mr. Fenton came from Chicago with an ox team. They lived in tents until a house could be built, which was the first house put up in the township. Mr. Fenton, with John Freek, who came with him, and who married Mrs. Fenton's sister, put in the first crop in the township. During their first winter they had for neighbors a party of Winnebago Indians, who located there to hunt. There was plenty of wild game about in those days, which attracted there these Indians.

Lyman Bennett came in in- 1836, and the following year John R., William L. and Charles Clarke, Earnest Warner; and Joseph James, Robert G. Clendenin and Theron Crook came in 1838. From this on the population steadily increased.

The first birth in the township was that of Alfred, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Fenton, born May 13, 1837. He is now living in Erie village. The first couple to enter into wedlock were Daniel C. Smith and Eliza James, daughter of Thomas James. This happy event occurred in 1838. They are still living, but not in this State. Thomas James and wife are dead.

Miss Arminta Lathe opened the first school, in 1848. She occupied a log cabin owried by James M. Pratt, near his residence on section 26. This pioneer teacher left this world years ago.

The- first sermon preached in the township was in a log house, in 1846, by Rev. Hiram Harmon, a Methodist clergyman. At one period they had religious services quite regularly. Mr. James M. Pratt was a regular attendant, but was wont to ask the preachers questions during the delivery of their sermons, and have disputations with them. This considerably lessened the quantity of preaching. Yet, after the heated, religious debate was over, Mr. Pratt would invite the ministers over to his house, which was near by, and give them a good dinner. The members of the Church did not at all like this interruption, and said if it was not for Pratt they might have more preaching. Finally Mr. Pratt abstained from attending Church for a few Sundays, which seemed to detract from the usual interest of the services, and which finally resulted in the breaking up of the preaching altogether.

The people of Fenton went to Crandall's Ferry in early days for their meat. It was not until the atlvent of the railroad, in 1869, that a postoffice was established in the township. This was at Pratt Station, and Mr. Pratt was appointed Postmaster. He has been continued since.

A road was made through the township in an early day. It lead from Dixon to Rock Island, and was traveled by the Frink & Walker stages, which were a joy in those days to the traveler. It is claimed by old settlers that this road was one of the best in the State.

The Rock Island & St. Louis Branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, completed its track through the township during the first days of January, 1869. It enters the township on section 25 and passes out on section 33.

iiad regarding it. The growth or the destiny of a railroad station, or town, is as uncertain as the action or course of a tornado. The company long since withdrew its agent from the place, and only one building stands to mark the village site. The Clinton branch of the C., B. & Q. Railroad laid its track through the township in 1872. It crosses the St. Louis branch, and enters the township on section 24, running northwest and going out on section 4.

The soil in Fenton is mostly a black sandy loam. A good deal of the land is low, and, until it was ditched, was swampy and unfit for cultivation. It is rolling in parts, and in the northwestern portion there are high, sandy ridges. Sloughs are quite frequent in the township. Rock River winds along the southeast corner, and Rock Creek meanders through from north to south. There are several other little streams, and a pretty little lake, which the people have been pleased to call Lake Erie, quietly reposes on the southern border. About the water-courses there is a liberal growth of timber, and, take the township altogether, it is a very attractive one. Fruit does well in this township, and it is cultivated to some extent.

Fenton Center

Fenton Center is a little hamlet located on section 10, on the line of the Clinton branch of the C. B. & Q. Railroad. This town was platted in 1872, by James Enson, who gave ten acres of land here to the . railroad company, to induce them to locate a station at this point. The road was built through the place in 1872. The company erected a depot and also put up an elevator.

Fenton Center has a good school building, and a fine school. Miss Anna Mathews is the teacher, and the school has an average attendance of 25 pupils.

United Brethren Church. - This society was organized in 1866, at Coborn, on section 2r, by Rev. Samuel Midler. Joseph Pinkly and wife, J. P. Miller and wife, and E. J. Ewers and daughters were the original members. In 1871 the society erected a church building in the northeast corner of section 17, near Fenton Center, at a cost of $1,200. The society have had regular services since its organization. They were aided in the erection of their church by donation work. If has a membership of about 30, with a Sabbath-school. Rev. Conrad Bender is the present pastor.

Wh1Teside County

Postoffice. - Was established here in 1872. L. S. Burritt was appointed the first Postmaster. He was succeeded by Wm. Miller, and Miller by M. O. Hurless. R. M. Carr succeeded M. O. Hurless, and is the present Postmaster. Fenton Center has also a telephone, which is located in the postoffice.

Business. - There are two creameries in the town, one owned by G. L. Whipple, and the other by Wright & Allen. R. M. Carr has a general store, and is also a dealer in grain. M. D. Allen also has a general store. R. M. Thompson operates an elevator. Blacksmithing is carried on by C. A. Gilroy. M. D. Allen is the physician and surgeon of the place.

From the Assessor's rolls the following information is obtained : Number of acres of improved land 10,736; value of the same, $101,730; total value of personal property, $5 i ,069 ; number of horses, 488 ; asses and mules, 16; cattle, 1,348; sheep, 211; hogs, 1,331; steam engines, 2; carriages and wagons, 174; watches and clocks, 148; sewing and knitting machines, 84 ; organs and melodeons, 32 ; pianos, 3. Total value of lands, lots and personal property, $212,071.

The County Superintendent in his annual report ending June 30, 1884, gives the following information regarding schools : There were ten school districts, all with frame buildings. No graded schools. Two of the schools had libraries. The school property was valued at $2,800. Of persons under 21 years of age there were 340, of whom 235 were of school age, and 155 enrolled. The highest wages paid teachers was $50 per month, the lowest $20.

Source changes here: from History of Whiteside County, Illinois from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908 : Illustrated, with Biographical Sketches of Some Prominent Citizens of the County, by Davis, William W, published 1908; 10,067 words in this source stream.

Fenton Township

The poet wrote this of his esteemed friend, Elijah Fenton, who assisted in the translation of the Odyssey, and died in 1730, but he could with perfect truth have applied it to Joseph Fenton, after whom the township is named. Mr. Fenton came with his wife and four children from Burlington county, New Jersey, in October, 1835. He first lived in a cabin, before erecting a log house. Fish were plenty, and deer were constantly seen dashing over the prairie. The Winnebago Indians were there, and continued to haunt the land for years. Although harmless, they were not agreeable callers to the women. Alfred, their son, was the first white child born in the township, May 13, 1837. Except wild game, substantial food was scarce in the way of potatoes, corn meal, flour, all of which had to be obtained from Rock Island or Henderson Grove. In time, of course, they raised their own vegetables. Mr. Fenton's wife was Elizabeth Durrell, of Burlington. They had nine children. He was a domestic man and a kind neighbor. He died in 1874 at eighty. His son, John D., 74, is living at Erie.

Fenton Center

This is the metropolis of the township. Not very ancient, as it was platted in 1872 by James Usom, who owned the land, when the Mendota branch of the Burlington railroad came through. He deeded ten acres for depot, tracks and water tank to the company. The highest situation in the whole country about. It is like Mount Zion. A battery here could command the township with its guns. A little singular, too, as the land below is so level. As you approach the place from Denrock on the road, which runs parallel with Rock creek and the ditch, there are deep chasms into which a vicious horse might easily plunge a carriage.

A lively village with three general stores, Wright, Forth and Likes, a town hall, school taught by Miss Mamie McLaughlin, her third year, thirty pupils. The creamery is operated by J. Wright and son. The cream is brought in ten gallon cans, and the average is thirty cans a week. Butter is made in the summer. The cream is shipped to Clinton and Chicago. They have been in the business twenty years. Mr. Wright came here 32 years ago from Vermont, and is a typical New Englander, pi lin, frank, shrewd, intelligent, hospitable. House, store, and small hotel all in the same building. Mrs. Wright and daughter are scientific housekeepers. Travelers are entertained'in royal style with a generous table of substantial food and beds that recall the dreams of childhood.

membership is 75, Sunday school of 100 boys and girls, and the various other societies, Y. P. Union, C. Endeavor, Ladies'" Aid, and the prayer meeting. The minister in charge is a lady, Miss Mary Murrel, who twice served as missionary in Africa, and is here for the second time. She has made diligent preparation for her work by studies at colleges in Indiana and Iowa. The church is a neat building. The majority of the people are farmers who are enjoying comfort in their cosy homes after the struggles of other days. Morris Blaisdell came in 1854 from New York, and \V. S. James from Jacksonville in 1865.

Three Fenton Veterans

We found Michael N. Crohan, lively as a cricket. He came from Ireland, Connaught, Eoscommon, to this country in 1850 ; and enlisted at Morrison in 1861, in the 8th Illinois cavalry. During its service in the east, it was called Abraham Lincoln's regiment, only boys who could handle Mosby. When the reunion was held in Chicago, Mosby used to attend. Although Mr. Crohan is seventy, his eye is bright, manner animated, action vigorous as a fellow of forty. He is ready to shoulder the musket again.

Another member of the 8th Illinois cavalry is Elwood Elliott, who enlisted at Morrison. He was also in the second N. Y. infantry. His service altogether extended over three years and six months, passing through the Battles of the Wilderness, and other fierce engagements of the Army of the Potomac. Farnsworth was his first colonel, then Gamble. Mr. Elliott belongs to Albany Post.

Thomas Neary was living in Montmorency when the war began, and enlisted at Sterling. His first service was in the Army of the Potomac, but afterwards transferred to the south. He was mustered out at Houston.

Some Fenton Pioneers

One of the most prominent of the early emigrants was James M. Pratt, from Erie county, New York, who reached Lyndon at fifteen in 1837. His father, John C., had made his claim in 1835. James moved to his farm in Fenton in 1854. His wife was Miss Lucinda Emery. They had twelve children. Mr. Pratt was a man of high character and business ability, and was often called to positions of responsibility, as supervisor, highway commissioner, president of agricultural society.

Martin M. Potter was another New Yorker, who came to Whiteside in 1837, and settled in Fenton in 1851. An enthusiastic promoter of the old settlers meetings.

Solon Stevens saw his one hundred dollars of 1851 grow into a fertile farm of 340 acres. Joseph James was born in England, came to America in 1830, in 1836 to Whiteside, and helped to put up the first cabin in Erie township. There were numerous members of the Thompson family. Reutfen was from Vermont, and settled in Whiteside in 1841. married twice, and had a number of children. His son, Reuben M. was born in Ohio, and after pros- pecting, finally fixed his abode in Fenton in 1841. He became the largest landholder in the county, owning 1,863 acres of land, and engaged extensively in the raising of stook.

West of Fenton Center is a small cemetery. On the tombs are such names as Sprinkle, Montague, Shepherd, Baker, Burns, Ewers, Likes, Miller, Crocker. The graves of some soldiers. Jacob P. Miller 1840-1905. No regiment given. W. R. Moore, Co. F, 52 Illinois infantry. It is a pity that in some of the cemeteries the graves have only the name of the soldier on the stone, no description. A flag is placed on the mound by friends on Memorial Day, but when friends disappear, there will be no record to tell of the forgotten patriot who sleeps below.

Cemetery In The Fields

Further west on the borders of Fenton and Garden Plain is another graveyard about which it is hard to gather definite information. It reminds one of a famous church in London where Charles Second's favorite, Nell Gwynn, is buried, called St. Martin's in the Fields. This cemetery lies north of the road leading west from Fenton, and can be reached only by passing through a neighboring barnyard. The writer was told that a man in Erie was able to give particulars, and on addressing him received the following reply :

In answer to the letter, I hardly know what to tell. If you were here, 1 could speak better than write. That graveyard has always gone by the name of Orien Root graveyard, and as the land changed hands, it went by the name of the people who owned the land. It is located in the center of my farm. The part that is not sold off in lots belong? to me. Where the dead are buried, each person has a deed of the lot. JAMES SMACK.

My previous informant said it was known as the Jim Smack cemetery, confirming the allusion in Mr. Smack's letter. The old enclosure is in good order, trim and clean and several soldiers are lying on their "night encampment -on the hill."

The Dixon and Rock Island road, through the southern part of the township, was the main route of travel for years, and the Brink & Walker line of stages was the speediest and most luxurious method of transportation from Chicago to all points west.

In the fall of 1848 the first school was taught by Miss Arminta Lathe in a log house, owned by James M. Pratt. The first public schoolhouse was built in district number one, in 1857.

Authors Of Whiteside

Although our county has had no Bancroft in history, no Longfellow in poetry, no Hawthorne in story, no Gray in science, no Edison in invention, yet several of our citizens, native or resident, have shown literary skill in achievements that will be pleasantly remembered.

There are few immortals. Only one Dante and Shakespeare. Much literature is local or temporary. N. P. Willis, a household name a generation ago, is rarely mentioned. Of the hundreds of references in Hallam's Middle Ages, nearly all forgotten. Said the Latin poet, "many brave men lived before Agamemnon, but they had no Homer to embalm their deeds." Let us cherish the memory of our own worthies.

Robert L. Wilson

He had collected much material for a history of Whiteside, but when Charles Bent issued his prospectus for a similar work, Col. Wilson and Mr. Bent pooled their issues, and the history published at Morrison in 1877 by Charles Bent is generally known as Bent and Wilson's.

Robert L. Wilson was born in Washington county, Pa., in 1805, and his father removing to Ohio, the boy worked his way through Franklin College. He taught school in Kentucky, studied law, removed to Illinois in 1833, and in 1836 was elected to the legislature from Sangamon, being one of the "Long Nine" who secured the removal of the capital from Vandalia. In 1840 he removed to Sterling, which was his residence for the remainder of his life. He was circuit clerk for twenty years. As he and Lincoln were old friends, the president, on the breaking out of the war, appointed him paymaster. In 1875 he gratified a long cherished desire by a tour of Europe, going as far as Rome. He died in 1880.

Personally, Col. Wilson was one of the most genial of men. He was never too busy for a chat with friend or stranger. Although most of his life was spent in politics and business, he retained the freshness of youth, and his love for the studies of his earlier years. He once told the writer of working in the garden till ten in the morning, and then taking a bath, and reviewing his Greek testament. Fond of travel, and no American tourist ever traversed the classic cities and scenes of the Old World with a keener appreciation. A noble citizen, whose large nature enjoyed the good, the true, and the beautiful in the world about him.

Charles Bent

Pew men at sixty-four have had a more strenuous or varied career. Printer, soldier, journalist, legislator, official, his life exhibits a gratifying record of continual activity. While best known in this county by his asso- ciation with the Sentinel, whose character and circulation owe so much to his application ; he has held several responsible positions abroad in the state. His History of Whiteside County, published in 1877, will always he the standard for its complete account of the early settlement, as the data were obtained from the lips of the pioneers who soon afterwards passed away.

He succeeded Rev. Ebenezer Erskine in the pastorate of the Sterling Presbyterian church, 1865, and remained until 1873, when he removed to Princeton, then to Toledo, and finally to St. Louis, where he died in 1908. Like the well known Henry Van Dyke of his own church, Dr. Williams found his diversion in literature. Historical research had a special attraction. For many years he had a cottage at Mackinac, where he spent his summers, and his observations in that romantic region resulted in "Early Mackinac," which is an agreeable narrative of the various points of interest to visitors as they wander over the island.

In a letter received from him in October, 1905, he spoke of reading a paper before the Missouri Historical Society on Henry R. Schoolcraft, whose Indian explorations were first undertaken at Mackinac. For years he was in correspondence with the Michigan Pioneer Society, and furnished them an article on "The Early Fur Trade in America." On returning from a trip to Boston, he wrote an account of a visit to the school-house attended by a young girl with whose ways we are all familiar:

This Mary was not a myth, but a genuine maiden, whose performances are well attested. The little poem has been credited to Sarah J. Hale, but Dr. Williams was thoroughly persuaded of its authorship by a student who was a chance visitor at the school. As one proof he adduced the fact that the piece is not given among her published poems. The writer addressed Rev. E. E. Hale on the subject, but he replied that he had no positive knowledge that Mrs. Hale was the author. Dr. Williams made two voyages to Europe, and contributed letters to the Herald and Presbyter, Cincinnati, with which he had editorial connection.

Jesse Lynch Williams

While in Sterling, Dr. Williams lived on East Third street, in an old brown frame house, now owned by Frank Bowman, esq. Here his son, Jesse Lynch, was born in 1871, and after due. preparation, was graduated at Princeton, and inheriting the tastes of his father, soon took up literature as a profession. His first effort was "Princeton Stories" in 1895, but his first decided hit was made with the leading tale in a volume of newspaper yarns, entitled "The Stolen Story." This appeared in 1899, and has been made the basis of a play. The plot he has developed into a novel, The Day Dreamer, being the full narrative of the Stolen Story. This was published by Charles Scribner's Sons. Mr. Williams is married, and lives at Princeton, New Jersey. His mother, widow of the doctor, resides at the former home, Delmar avenue, St. Louis. While in Chicago, a few years ago, the writer recalls seeing on the bill boards the flashy pictures illustrating the Stolen Story, which was then having a successful run at one of the theaters.

Martha A. John

Her parents were substantial people of Pennsylvania, and belonged to the Society of Quakers or Friends as they are now called. The early home was in Shamokin, Northumberland county. Her father, Elida John, was a surveyor, and a prominent man in the community, a strong advocate for temperance, and every good cause. Her mother, Sarah H. Hughes, came from Chester county, Pa., her ancestors owning a farm on which Kennett, Bayard Taylor's town, was afterward built. Martha was one of ten children, and came to Whiteside as early as 1856 to take a position as teacher in the family of Joseph Wilson, proprietor of the well known mills.

An intelligent family, all of the children showing mental power in some form of activity. Martha was meditative, and put the musings of her leisure hours into verse. In 1902 she had a booklet printed entitled "A Souvenir: Incidents, Experiences, and Reflections, by Martha A John." We select a few stanzas to give an idea of the chaste spirit of the collection. The little volume opens with tributes to her father and mother, with their likenesses above. This is one of the stanzas To Mother.

Rural Blessings

Far out in the country, in a quiet dell A family of children were wont to dwell ; They knew most of the birds of ev'ry name, That each new year with the sweet spring-time came.

William Rosser Cobbe

When Chalkly John purchased the Sterling Gazette in 1880, he summoned to his aid his nephew to take charge of the editorial department. Cobbe was a stranger in Sterling, but had already resided four years in the county, two as teacher at Jordan Center school, and two as editor of the Fulton Journal. Peculiar in appearance, eccentric in manner. Tall, broad shoulders, inclined to stoop, a leisurely gait, sometimes ready to greet, sometimes passing without recognition, much abstracted, wearing a large soft hat often pulled over his eyes.

Cobbe was a soldier of fortune, a sort of wandering genius who reminds one of Oliver Goldsmith, Coleridge, and that restless class of English authors who lacked steady aim, who seldom had a permanent home, and who drifted on life's tempestuous sea. In his "Doctor Judas" he traces much of his early career. Very precocious in thought. At six he began to inquire about the beginning of God, and at seven, he enjoyed Paradise Lost and Pilgrim's Progress. Overcoming his skepticism at seventeen, he prepared for the ministry, had a circuit in Virginia, but resigned to accept a chaplaincy in the navy, from which he retired for service in the internal revenue department.

Inheriting a sensitive temperament, and engaging in continued mental activity, Cobbe's nervous system gradually gave way, and to secure relief, he contracted the opium habit, which he overcame only after a terrific struggle. His long bondage to the fiend that enslaved him, and his final triumph, he describes with a graphic pen in Doctor Judas, a book of 320 pages, published by S. C. Griggs and Company, Chicago, 1895.

There are twenty-five chapters, each devoted to a separate phase of the dreadful disease, loss of memory, disorders of the body, sleeplessness, fearful imaginings, general irresponsibility.

Doubtless the reader has already been reminded of a famous book on this subject, "Confessions of an English Opium Eater," by Thomas De Quincey. They appeared as separate articles in the London Magazine, 1821, and at once aroused intense interest by their morbid revelations and brilliant style. Cobbe devotes a chapter in Doctor Judas to a review of the Confessions, and while admitting the elegance of the narrative, believes that De Quincey's conclusions are erroneous, when he asserts there is no desire to increase the quantity in using the drug, that hideous dreams are not the necessary effect of opium, and that it really tends to prolong life.

W. R. Cobbe was a southern man, born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, 1846. His father was a slave holder, but loyal to the Union, during the war, as were all of the family. In 1869 at Elizabeth, he married Laura E. John, daughter of Palemon John, Republican editor and politician. She is a niece of Chalkly, Hugh L. and George D. John, of this city. In the fall of 1888, Cobbe left Sterling and went to Chicago, where he engaged in newspaper and literary work for several years. Finally he found his way to New York, leading a sort of Bohemian career, until his sudden death in a hallway in Park Row on the morning of January first, 1907.

Mira Cobbe

She is one of two surviving daughters, and grew up in Sterling. The famliy attended Grace Episcopal church. Every summer a picnic was given the children, and at one of these festivals held on a private lawn, the writer recalls a picture. In the center of an admiring group of girls and boys stood Mira relating some marvelous narrative to which the youngsters were listening with open mouths and ears. She was then in short dresses, but already displayed the art of an Italian improvisatore. Soon after the removal of the family to Chicago, Mira turned her talent to account, and for a long time has been contributing to various weeklies, articles and stories under the signature of Constance Beatrice Willard.

In the New Year's Greeting of the Sterling Evening Gazette for 1908, there appeared what is unusual in an issue of this kind, a page of music. It was an original song, words and air by L. L. Emmons, of Rock Falls. He is a native of that place, born in 1853, and has always resided there, except four years in Morrison when publishing the Record. Both Mr. and Mrs. Emmons take a deep interest in intellectual things, are fond of music, and so this harmonious outburst is simply the result of careful and continued culture in the household.

Rock River Of Gold

Unbidden fancies often go, To the bayous where pond lilies blow. My heart is with thee, oh beautiful Rock, 0, glimmering, shimmering Rock ! Oh, beautiful River, Rock River of gold, I love your sweet mem'ries, sweet mem'ries of t)ld.

My fancies revert to the old swimming hole, To the spots where I sat with my old fishing pole, Yes, those are the times that will never grow old, Those days 'long Rock River, Rock River of gold.

Oh, happy the hours when I played on your banks, And made your isles echo in light childish pranks. Ah, those are the mem'ries that never grow old, Sweet dreams of Rock River, Rock River of gold.

While teaching in Dixon in 1864, he prepared the material for a treatise on "Composition Writing," which was published by George Sherwood, Chicago. It was a small, unpretending book, bound in cloth, only fifty-two pages. It was not a text-book for pupils, but a guide for teachers in elementary schools that they might excite more interest in the neglected exercise of original composition. It is now out of print, and never had an extensive sale, or Mr. Davis would today be an operator on Wall street with J. P. Morgan. After graduating at Lancaster, Pa., in 1856, Mr. Davis oame to Sterling, which, except a few years' absence, has been his home ever since.

From those educators who believe in this couplet of Pope, the author received many kind words. Dr. Richard Edwards, then in the Normal at Bloomington, wrote: "Your plan of making the child's written exercise an expression of his own thought, and not a rehash of stolen platitudes, must commend itself to every philosophical educator." Prof. John S. Hart of the New Jersey Normal at Trenton, said : "For teaching young beginners in common schools the first steps in the art of composition, this book has no superior, if, indeed, it has an equal." Newton Bateman, also, expressed high commendation.

Except <an occasional appearance on the platform with such lectures as "How to Live One Hundred Years," "A Sunday Morning with Spurgeon," Mr. Davis' literary activity has been confined to newspaper work. During a tour abroad he wrote a series of letters to the Sterling Standard, and has furnished for a year a weekly sketch to the Gazette of "Men and Women I've Met," reminiscences of a lifetime. He is a regular contributor to the New Era, Lancaster, Pa., and the Lutheran Observer, Philadelphia. Many of his articles appear with simply the initials, W. W. D.

Dickens, Thackeray, Emerson, and others, who are best known in prose, occasionally dropped into poetry, and Mr. Davis in an evil hour was tempted to follow7 their illustrious example:

China Asters Eva Emery Dye

Perhaps none of our Whiteside authors have written so much or so successfully as this gifted woman. She was born at Prophetstown, which was her home until her graduation at Oberlin. Her early contributions to th& local papers gave promise of 1hat native ability which have given her mature works so flattering a reception. As her later years have been spent on the Pacific coast, the stirring episodes in the history of that romantic region naturally appealed to her imagination, and in several tales she has so vividly recalled the olden time that the heroes and their adventures live again before us in all their freshness and charm.

Of one of her first books, McLoughlin and Old Oregon, the New York World said that while the narratives of Bonneville and Irving are classics^ it is only justice to Mrs. Dye to remark that her volume is worthy a place beside her illustrious predecessors. This was in 1901. Then followed The True Story and Clark, 1902. In the Western Series of Readers for schools, published by a San Francisco firm, volume seven is by Mrs. Dye, and is entitled Stories of Oregon. She selects such topics as will be of fascinating; interest to the child, as The Way to India, John Jacob Astor, The Days of

Her Latest book, published in Chicago, is McDonald of Oregon, a Tale qf Two Shores, gives numerous incidents in the early settlement of Washington and Oregon by the Americans, the decline of the Hudson's Bay company, and the beginning of those frontier points that have since become emporiums of commerce. While as entertaining as Robinson Crusoe, it is the reliable narrative of an explorer who paved the way for the present prosperity. Prof. Maxwell pronounces this story with its artistic blending of history and romance, Mrs. Dye's greatest literary triumph.

Rev. Amos H. Miller

In 1892 a bulky work was published in Chicago, entitled "Military History and Reminiscenes of the Thirteenth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War in the United States, 1861-1865." Prepared by a committee of the Regiment, 1891. Publication committee: H. T. Noble, S. C. Plummer, H. D. Dement, C. E. Bolles. Historians: A. B. Munn, A. H. Miller, W. 0. Newton. At the reunion in Dixon, 1889, the plan of the book was approved, and Mr. Miller was asked to write the regimental history, which forms so large a part of the volume of 672 pages.

Mr. Miller was well qualified for his task as he enlisted in Company B, Sterling, and served four years in the war, winning the highest respect for his character as a soldier and a man. He was born at Strasburg, Pa., 1840, and came to Sterling with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Miller in 1847. He studied at Mt. Morris, Northwestern University at Evanston, and at the Garrett Biblical Institute. He continued in the Methodist ministry to his death a few years ago at Arlington Heights, Chicago. He was twice pastor of the Rock Falls church, and his funeral was held there, the Grand Army having charge, and Rev. W. W. Diehl conducting the services.

A sound preacher, a faithful pastor, a warm friend. We may speak of him as some one said of Dr. James Hamilton of London : "I like him as a preacher, better as a writer, and best of all as a man." He was married in 1874 to Miss Margaret Keene, of Mt. Morris, who survives him. His aged mother, nearly ninety, is still living in Sterling.

James D. Andrews

None of our lawyers has risen so rapidly. His father, Robert C. Andrews, came from Lancaster county, Pa., in 1838. settled on a farm near Sterling, and James, the youngest of seven children, celebrated Washington's birthday by appearing Feb. 22, 1856. After teaching awhile in Montmorency, he attended law school in the east, returned to Sterling, and was for a short time in partnership with his brother, the late Frank E. Andrews. Believing New York city would afford a wider field for achievement, he removed to the metropolis, and is now at the head of a special legal enterprise.

He is president and manager of Codex Publishing Company, organized for publishing law books covering all points of American law. It will be issued in twenty volumes. Various book companies in the United States will assist, and the first edition is to consist of 20,000 copies. It will involve an expenditure of $250,000, the largest amount ever invested in a similar work. He has already issued Andrews' Version of American Law, in four volumes. Mr. Andrews is considered among the best authorities on American law. Only fifty-one, and in his prime. He, doubtless, lives according to Coke:

His mother, Mrs. Andrews, will be gratefully remembered by our older citizens for her earnest efforts in sending supplies to the soldiers during the war.

Jerome H. Raymond

For several years University Extension lectures were popular in Sterling, and regularly every winter a course of six or twelve lectures were given in one of the churches. The speakers were from the University of Chicago, and among them were Moulton, Judson and Sparks. In 1902 the course was on "European Capitals and their Social Significance," and given by Jerome H. Raymond, Ph. D., associate professor of sociology. They were illustrated by charming stereopticon views of the great cities, and very instructive. As Jerome played in our streets in his childhood, people were naturally glad to greet the traveler on a university rostrum.

Walter Stager, Esq

In 1878 a bulky pamphlet appeared from the press of Callaghan ancl Company, Chicago, entitled "The Road and Bridge Law of Illinois," by Walter Stager, member of the Sterling bar. It presented in a concise form the various rules and decisions on this subject, scattered through a series of legal reports. From time to time he presents in the local press dissertations on judicial questions not generally understood. His latest effort was a carefully prepared paper before the Searchlight Club on the evening of Jan. 13, 1908, on "Evasion of Assessment of Moneys and Credits other than those of Banks and Bankers - the Cause and Remedy."

Mr. Stager is now one of the veterans of the Whiteside bar, having begun practice forty years ago, when a mere youth. He was born in Pennsylvania, emigrating to Illinois in 1855. He is a graduate of the law department of Michigan University, after a four years' course of study at that famous institution. For twenty-four years, 1880 to 1904, he discharged the responsible duties of state's attorney with eminent ability, two of the most exciting tragedies in the history of the county, the Kauffman murder and the Swartout murder, engaging his skillful prosecution and examination. The firm is now Stager and Stager, his son John being associated in the business of the office.

Rev. Martin Post

In 1897 appeared "The Riverton Minister," written by Rev. Martin Post, of Atlanta, Georgia. In his preface, the author says, This book contains a narrative drawn from life. Clothed somewhat in the garb of fiction, it is, so far as relates to the character and life work of the Riverton minister, a fact. There are 354 pages, and the sprightly yet earnest narrative presents a picture of a consecrated life among the lowly and suffering. On a memorial window of the church in which he preached is the inscription :

But Mr. Post's active career belongs to Whiteside. He preached in the Congregational church, Sterling, first from 1866 to 1872, then after an absence in California, from 1884 to 1894. He was faithful and devoted in all the requirements of his sacred office, a comforting pastor at the bedside of the sick and suffering, and a thorough student of the Scriptures. His sermons were carefully prepared and impressively delivered. Always a hopeful demeanor, although for years oppressed by domestic sorrow. He is now in charge of Joy Prairie Congregational church, west of Jacksonville, Illinois, he and his estimable wife, formerly Miss Carrie Corey, enjoying the regard of a generous people.

Miss Alice Dinsmook

A graduate of Vassar, and a teacher for several years in a private academy in Brooklyn, Miss Dinsmoor from a child displayed unusual aptness in thought and composition. Her early essays at the village school in Emerson were far beyond those of the average scholar. Her tastes incline to science and art, and articles on her specialties have appeared in magazines of the best class. She has frequently contributed to the Scientific American, occasionally to the Craftsman. Her last sketch, "Where Bulwer spun his Romances," the result of a garden party visit to Knebworth Hall, the historic home of the novelist and dramatist, was an elegantly illustrated feature of November "Town and Country," New York, in 1907.

Miss Dinsmoor is a daughter of the late James Dinsmoor, esq., of Sterling, a pioneer lawyer of Whiteside, and for forty years a member of the Sterling bar. His son, Jarvis, continues the practice of the profession. Both graduates of Dartmouth, the college of Webster and Choate. Miss Dinsmoor, for a congenial change of occupation, has left the professor's chair, and under the open sky of New Jersey is cultivating the acquaintance of fruits and flowers. Perhaps in time the world may be delighted with another "Our Village," after the manner of Miss Mitford, or Charles Dudley Warner's "My Summer in a Garden," or "Ten Acres Enough," which really inspired this horticultural diversion of the young lady.

His father, Gottlieb Seidel, came from Germany, and had a numerous family of sons and daughters. All grew up to positions of usefulness. William was one of the older children, and deciding to secure an education for the ministry, he worked his way through academy, college and seminary, graduating at Gettysburg, Pa. He has served the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran church in various missions and regular organizations in Kansas, Illinois, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The church and edifice at Minneapolis, Kansas, is a monument of his perseverance. He preached at Carlisle, Pa. He is now in Nashville, Tennessee, devoting his energies to the establishment of the infant St. Paul's.

Dr. Seidel is fond of research, and an earnest student of the doctrines and cardinal principles of his denomination. His sermons display deep thought and earnest preparation. Many years ago he conceived the idea of extending his ministry by the circulation of tracts, either by letter or personal distribution. To express his views on certain topics and texts, he has written various tracts on his favorite themes of Christian practice. The following is a partial list: "The Blessed Hope;" "Christ, the Bread of Life;" "The Hidden Life of the Believer;" "The Divinity of Christ;" "Christ, the Refuge of Burdened Souls;" "Christ, our Passover;" "God's Remedy for Sin;" "The Believer's Separation unto God." Dr. Seidel has also written numerous articles for the journals of his denomination, and has several lectures on Scriptural and other subjects, which he has delivered on various occasions.

Alfred Bayliss

For twenty years, 1874 to 1894. he was a resident of Sterling. For two years, editor of the Sterling Standard, the rest of the time principal of the Second Ward School. He was corporal in the Eleventh Michigan Cavalry from 1883 to 1865, a graduate of Hillsdale College, Michigan, in 1870, and in 1898 elected superintendent of public instruction in Illinois, a position he held for two terms, or eight years. Mr. Bayliss was untiring in the discharge of the responsible duties of his office. The consolidation of country schools was a favorite scheme he agitated from the start, and which he urged with all his influence. A prominent educator said : "Bayliss is the first since Bateman who had a policy, and knew what he was trying to do."

Besides the regular official reports of his position, Mr. Bayliss was prompt to issue carefully prepared circulars on Arbor Day and Memorial Day, with programs and literary selections for the proper observance of these anniversaries, and the education of the children in all the duties of good citizenship. He never failed to respond to calls for lectures in connection with hi.s work, and was in frequent attendance upon institutes in various parts of the state.

Before us now is a pamphlet of 35 pages, "The Library in Relation to the School," an address delivered at the Northern Illinois Teachers' Association, Dixon, April 28, 1899,' by Alfred Bayliss.

Clara Keen Bayliss

Mrs. Bayliss has always been a student. Graduating at Hillsdale in 1871, and afterwards taking a correspondence course at the University of Chicago. She has constantly aimed by travel and application to keep her mind fresh and scholarly. An industrious author. Her first science book, "Brook and Bayou," has been followed by two on the romantic people in the southwest, "Lolami, the Little Cliff Dweller" and "Lolami in Tusayan." Articles from her pen have appeared in the Chicago, New York and Los Angeles papers, in various magazines, and in school journals. She makes occasional addresses, and in the winter of 1907 appeared before the Woman's Club of Sterling.

Mrs. Bayliss takes a hearty interest in all movements of public importance. She is a member of the National Folk Lore Society, of the Committee of One Hundred on National Health, Daughters of American Revolution, Illinois Mothers' Congress, and other educational associations. She has improved every opportunity of travel, visiting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, exploring the seat of the cliff dwellers in New Mexico, attended the dedication of the Illinois monument at Vicksburg, and was one of the only two ladies present when Lincoln's casket was finally transferred to its cement bed in Ihe monument. Mrs. Bayliss is still busily engaged in literary and scientific research. Her latest book, "Two Little Algonkin Lads," is a fascinating story of primitive Indian life.

Mrs. Emily J. C. Henry

Although residing latterly in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the years of her active womanhood were passed in Sterling, her home most of her life. She is not a professional poet. It is only when inspired by some grand occasion or moved by some powerful emotion, that Mrs. Henry bursts into song. A year after the death of her husband, Major Bushnell, in battle, 1863, a touching anniversary poem, a simple In Memoriam, appeared in the Chicago Tribune. We extract some stanzas from seven in the entire piece :

Oh, pale white flowers, one year ago today Upon a coffined form in fragrant bloom ye lay. I cannot bear the faint perfume ye shed, Since soft it floated o'er my precious dead.

Peace, murmuring heart, thy Father knoweth best! His hand alone can lead to perfect rest. Beyond the valley dark and shadow deep, He giveth my beloved, peaceful sleep.

In 1903 a granite boulder was dedicated in Sterling on the spot where Lincoln spoke in the summer of 1856. Hitt delivered the address, and by request, Mrs. Henry wrote a spirited poem of which we present some stanzas :

Mrs. Emily J. C. Henry was born in Randolph, Vermont. Her father was Capt. John Edson, an officer in the War of 1812. Her mother, Emily Clement, was born in Norwich, Conn. Mrs. Edson's father was for many years a professor of Yale College, and a close friend of President Dwight, for whom he named his eldest son. While a child the subject of this sketch, with the parents, removed to Andover, New Hampshire, where, under the shadow of Kearsarge mountains, she was reared.

She attended school at Randolph (Vt.) Academy, and also at Concord, N. H., where she finished her education. Later, she, with the family moved to Burlington, Vt. Emily Edson was married in 1849 to Douglas R. Bushnell and came to Sterling, 111., in 1854. Mr. Bushnell was by profession a civil engineer. He surveyed the route now called the Northwestern R. R. from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa, and was prominently connected with the construction of other roads in Illinois and Iowa. He enlisted in the army in 1861 and was at once elected Captain of Co. B, 13th 111. Infantry. Among Capt. Bushnell's first duties in the army was the construction of a fort at Rolla, Mo., and during the while time of his service his engineering abilities were required. After participating in many hard fought battles and enduring the siege of Vicksburg (where he was promoted to the rank of Major) and passed through the fierce contests of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, on the day following, which (Nov. 27, 1863) while in pursuit of the enemy at Ringgold, Ga., he was shot through the temple and killed instantly. Mrs. Bushnell was appointed postmistress of Sterling in 1885 by President Lincoln, and at the end of her first term was reappointed by President Grant. She claims the distinction of being the first woman made P. M. by presidential appointment, in the United States. Near the close of Mrs. BushnelPs second term, she resigned her office to become the wife of Major Miles S. Henry, a leading lawyer of Sterling. Mrs. Henry is now a resident of Minneapolis, Minn.

Charles Farwell Edson

Over thirty years ago a lively lad played on the streets of Sterling, who was a general favorite on account of his bright face and sunny disposition. His father, E. W. Edson, was a merchant, his mother, a sister of John V. Farwell, of Chicago. They moved to California, where Mr. Edson died, and the movements of the family since were known only to the relatives. Meantime Charlie grew up, cultivated his native gifts, and is now a prominent factor in the musical and artistic circles of the Pacific coast. He has reduced the study of music to a rational basis, believing that to sing well one must have health, and just as a healthy mind depends on a healthy body, so a first-rate voice must have a right physical foundation. He has made a specialty of refined entertainment, and so versatile that every taste and every audience can be gratified. If desired, he presents an evening program of Shakespearean songs, or one of American songs, or ballads, German Lieder, operatic numbers, interspersing all with so much witty interpretation that it becomes an occasion of inspiring recreation. He has in addition a fine stage presence, poetic feeling, and dramatic power. The press wherever he has appeared unite in praise of the high character of his entertainments.

His home is in Los Angeles. The Graphic of that city speaks of his studio on Twentieth street as rich in attractive souvenirs of the chase, of things and people musical, and also as a voice work-shop. It is a delightful rendezvous for lovers of the artistic. There is a well stookad musical library, a few hundred of the best books, a piano, and every evidence of the genial lover of harmony. Mr. Edson received his preliminary education at Lake Forest academy, where he was leader of the college glee club. Later he studied singing at the Chicago Musical college, under eminent teachers, and piano under Seeboeck.

Will H. Payne

One of the most deserving of our Whiteside authors. Born in Newton township, 1865, with only a common school education, he has managed to attain by his own determination, a very creditable position in the world of letters. Besides much miscellaneous writing for dailies and weeklies, he has issued several stories, which have given him more than a local reputation. They form quite a list: Jerry, the Dreamer; Money Captain; Story of Eva; When Love Speaks; On Fortune's Road. A while in Chicago, now in Michigan. Mr. Payne is a sort of Bohemian, pursuing no settled course of literary endeavor, but engaging in whatever appeals most directly at the time. Since 1897, financial editor of the Economist.

iar to many of those who had business in Morrison, or who met him in his trips to the townships. He emigrated at an early age from New Hampshire to Illinois, enlisted in the 34th Illinois regiment, and at Goldsboro, N. C., had the misfortune to lose an arm. In 1902, with the assistance of some of his brother soldiers, Sergeant Enderton, Col. Peter Ege, and others, he issued Ms "History of the Thirty-fourth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Sept. 7, 1861-July 12, 1865, by Edwin W. Payne, Sergeant Company A." Its various sketches, letters, and tables, make the book an invaluable record of four years of gallant service.

Mrs. Fannie Macartney Worthingtox

Few of our literary people have the double accomplishment of writing and speaking. Addison, Irving, Hawthorne, were at home with the pen, but never attempted the platform. Sheridan, Burke, Alex. Hamilton, Wendell Phillips, were ready to write an essay or 'deliver an address. There are plenty of writers in America, and plenty of speakers, especially in politics, but few who have both qualifications. Mrs. Worthington belongs to the elect. Her mind moved rapidly, spontaneously, and pen and voice seem equally at her control.

Mrs. Worthington is the daughter of the late David McCartney, for many years state's attorney of Whiteside county. Her mother was Elizabeth Agge, born in Salem, Mass. Fannie inherited from her father much of that originality of thought and aptness of illustration which appear in her public speech. In her girlhood she became a student with her father of law and politics, and made so good use of her opportunities that in 1888 she was invited by the State Central Republican committee to enter the campaign as a r.egular speaker. Ever since she has been conspicuous on the platform of the party in the various campaigns. She has had the confidence and counsel of such leaders as Govs. Fifer and Tanner, Senators Cullom, Farwell, and Hopkins. She has enjoyed the regard of statesmen of other states. Mark Hanna, in the exciting money campaign of 1900, pronounced her one of the best informed persons he knew on the tariff, and especially on finance. In that struggle, she made 40 speeches in 60 days, often outdoors.

In another sphere, Mrs. Worthington has been postmaster of the Illinois Senate, bill clerk and librarian of the same, as well as serving as private secretary to state and U. S. senators. She was the only woman ever a member of a State Republican convention" in Illinois, holding that position from Whiteside in 1898.

Her platform addresses are not confined to politics, but, on all moral and social questions, temperance, woman's aims, municipal purity, she speaks with a vigor and eloquence that always arouse the enthusiasm of her audience. Occasionally she occupies the pulpit of the Congregational church, to which she belongs.

As is natural, her mind seeks permanent influence in literature. She has written stories, sketches, poems. Her songs and opera librettos and lyrics are popular on the stage.

ling, long editor of the Gazette, the leading paper of the city. She is a bright, attractive woman, of graceful bearing, brilliant conversational powers, winning personality, in the prime of her powers at fifty with a fair prospect of another half century of intellectual activity.

Grovk Wright

Although Mr. Wright never wrote a book or pamphlet, his fugitive contributions to magazines and newspapers would fill a volume. He wrote easily, smoothly, and instructively, on a variety of subjects. Electricity was a hobby and he had correspondence with Joseph Henry and Tesla, and on other topics with Charles Downing, C. L. Youmans, and David Starr Jordan. He was a man of wide information, and liked to take his pen and discuss any subject that appealed to his fancy. He had decided views, and was ready to defend them. He died in April, 1908.

In a letter received from him in 1907, he says: "I suppose you know that some of my poems are to be published in a book called 'Anthology of Illinois Poets.' It has been over three years in preparation, and contains 400 poems, with portraits of the authors. The price for the cheap edition is $5, and for the finest, $25." A specimen of Mr. Wright's verse i? found in an account of the picnic at the Brick School. This is the first stanza :

Soil Fertility

The most important problem that confronts the nations of the earth is Soil Fertility. Besides this the great social, political, religious, temperance and educational questions stand aside. It makes the difference between the populous plain and the uninhabited desert. The dec'ine of past nations ha^ been identical with the exhaustion of the soil. Westward from India the Star of Empire has taken its way, leaving in its wake an impoverished soil and bankrupt nations. The once fertile and populous valleys and plains of western Asia are now desert wastes. From Palestine along the shores of southern Europe to our own New England and southern states the soil robber has plied his reckless trade. Even the rich soils of the Mississippi valley are beginning to decline in fertility. History has repeated itself over and over again, and these soils will certainly meet the same fate as tho-e of Europe, unless an improved agricultural system, looking to the maintenance of the soil fertility shall generally be adopted by the tillers of the land.

It may well be a matter of congratulation to us as citizens of Illinois, that this state through its Experiment Station and State Farmers Institute leads all of the re.st of the states of the Union in investigation and experiment, in an attempt to work out for the first time in history, a system of profitable agriculture in which the fertility of the soil shall be permanently maintained.

In working out this system it is first necessary that there be an accurate soil survey made of the state. This survey is well under way, rather more than one-third of the state has been so surveyed at the present time, and the field work is still going on as rapidly as state funds will permit. This work is carried on by counties. Whiteside county has already been surveyed. In doing this work the surveyors travel on -foot and cover the territory thoroughly. They carry with them a map of the township in which they are working, ruled off into squares representing 40 acre lots, as they proceed with their work they take frequent borings with an augur. First the character of the surface soil for 7 in. is noted and then the sub soil is examined to the depth of. 40 inches. The variations of soil which they find are represented on their maps by rubbing on different colored pencils, no tract as small as a ten acre piece escapes them, and their maps will show any variations as small as an acre. Thus a sandy knoll or a pond hole will be accurately located. After a county has been mapped and the various types of soil located (there were 16 types of soil in this county) several samples of soil are taken from each type, both from the surface and sub soil; these samples are analyzed, chemically, for the purpose of determining the elements of plant food in which they are deficient, and which elements are present in abundant supply.

It is the intention to have these colored maps with the result of the analysis of the various types of soil published, so that the farmer may know just what is necessary for him to increase the productiveness of his fields. As a farther check upon this work there have been established about 25 experimental fields upon the principal types of soil of the state. These fields vary from ten to forty acres in size, and are divided into fifth acre plots generally. These plots receive various chemical treatments to demonstrate what treatment is beneficial as well as to demonstrate what treatment produces no increase in the crop.

Plant tissue is composed of ten primary elements, all of which are absolutely essential to growth. These elements are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, potassium, phosphorous, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, sulphur and iron. All of these elements must be present, if any one is lacking although the least, the plant will not thrive.

Hot house experiments in which seed is planted in sand, which has been subjected to great heat and also treated chemically in order to remove every vestige of plant food, show that if any six of these elements are added to a sample of soil which has been so treated, that the plant will not thrive, but if the seventh is added that the plant will proceed to grow in the normal, natural way.

The four elements, iron, magnesium, calcium and sulphur, while absolutely essential to plant life, yet are required in such minute quantities, that practically all soils are inexhaustible as far as these elements are concerned.

This leaves the three elements, potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen to be considered, and herein lies the problem of soil fertility. These three substances are required by all growing plants in quite large amounts, and are the three elements which limit crop production, all of the others being present and obtainable from never failing sources. Practically every soil is deficient to some extent in one or more of these three elements. These are called. the big three in soil fertility and limit crop production. Since these three elements are so important we will take them up briefly in detail.

Potassium is a mineral element which enters quite largely into the straw and stalks of all cultivated crops. The average corn belt soil of Illinois contains enough of this element in the first seven inches of the surface soil to produce a one hundred bushel crop of corn annually for centuries. The peaty swamp soil, however, is very deficient in potassium. An application of 200 pounds of potassium sulphate on the peaty swamp soil of Kankakee county, produced an increase of 66 bushels of corn per acre. Potassium is a mineral imported from Germany, where it exists in inexhaustible supply and costs laid down here, about $45 per tone as K2SO*. It is used quite extensively on the peaty swamp soils in the southeastern part of this county. Phosphorus is an element deficient in the most of Illinois soils. In contrast to potassium, phosphorus enters largely into the seed and grain. When the grain is said from the farm the phosphorus content is rapidly reduced. It is also removed from the farm in the blood, bones and hair of the animals sold. Every bushel of corn requires about a fourth of a pound of phosphorus, and when removed it can only be restored by a direct application of the element, in the form of bone meal or as rock phosphate. The old theory of maintaining fertility by rotation of crops and raising clover, is exploded. There is no system of crop rotation which will of itself maintain the fertility of the soil. Phosphorus is the limiting element in the most of our soils and so far as known exists in quite limited quantities in natural deposits. If the average Illinois soil becomes barren, it probably will be on account of the exhaustion of the phosphorus in the soil. Unlike potassium, .also, in the average surface soil of the state, there is only enough phosphorus for 70 one hundred bu-hels corn crops. The most of the Whiteside county farm lands are already declining in fertility on account of the lack of this element in available form. Nitrogen is the most abundant element of plant food, yet the hardest to retain in available form, as it is volatile and goes away in the air, and it also leaches away rapidly in the water. Commercial nitrogen in its cheapest form, as dried blood costs 15 cents a pound, yet the pressure of nitrogen in the air is about 12 pounds to the square inch, which at commercial prices would bring $11,000,000 to the acre.

Unfortunately with one exception the nitrogen of the air is not available for our cultivated crops. Nitrogen everywhere, but not one particle of the atmospheric nitrogen for the corn, the oats and the wheat. To the legumes alone, such as the clover, cow peas, alfalfa and vetch is the atmospheric nitrogen available. The fairy tale of the leguminous plants with their accompany- ing bacteria, is more wonderful than the tales of the Arabian Nights. This genii of the soil is more powerful than the genii of the lamp. It builds school houses, churches and cities, constructs and operates railroads, it marshalls together more glittering, sparkling gems than the mind of the Arabian genii could comprehend. In a word this wonderful bacteria make the soil productive or barren, according as to whether it is present or absent.

This bacteria is a microscopic organism, which grows on the roots of clover and allied plants, forming nodules which contain millions of these organisms. These bacteria, have the power to appropriate the nitrogen of the air and secrete it in the soil where it becomes available as plant food for all crops. It is not good economy for the average farmer to buy nitrogen when by practicing a wise system of rotation it will be stored in the soil by the clover crop.

In southern Illinois clover will not grow successfully and it was only recently that the reason was discovered, as the soil there is acid and the clover bacteria cannot live in acid soil. The application of lime neutralizes this acid condition, permitting the clover bacteria to live and clover then grows luxuriantly, where otherwise it would not thrive at all.

All soils become acid from long cultivation. From what has preceded, it is apparent that the different soils of the state require different kinds of treatment. In the field work of the Experiment Station some striking results have been obtained, a few of which may prove interesting.

The Green Valley field in Tazewell county is on sandy soil, and is very deficient in nitrogen ; where potassium was applied the yield of corn was 20 bushels per acre. Where phosphorus was applied it was 25 bushels, but where nitrogen was applied by legumes it was increased to 65 bushels per acre.

On the Bloomington field in McLane county, on the best type of corn soil in the state, where no treatment was given the yield of corn was 60 bushels per acre. Nitrogen gave a yield of 60 bushels, potassium gave 56, while phosphorous gave a yield of 73 bushels of corn per acre.

On the Odin wheat field, in Egypt, where the plot had no treatment, it yielded at the rate of 7 bushels of wheat per acre, where nitrogen was applied the yield was 9 bushels, but where phosphorus and nitrogen was applied the yield was 23 bushels.

At the Momence field in Kankakee county, situated on peaty swamp soil, where no treatment was given the -land, the yield was 7 bushels of corn to the acre, where nitrogen was applied the yield was 4 bushels, where phosphorous was applied the yield was 5 bushels, but where potassium was applied the yield was 73 bushels, indicating that potassium here is the limiting element.

The general plan followed by the state in the experiment fields is as follows: The land is laid off in one-fifth acre plots, 2 rods wide and 16 rods long, with a border strip 8 feet wide between the plots, so that the application of fertilizers may not affect adjoining plots.

The rotation to be followed, on the recently established experiment field in Union Grove township consists of two years of corn, one of o:its and one of

L - lime, Le - legume, Mur - manure, P - phosphorous, K - potassium, N - nitrogen. The plots marked 0 are check plots and receive no other treatment except that of the general rotation. The plots marked Le have cow peas or clover sown in the corn at the time of the last cultivation.

The ideal or standard fertile soil as adopted by the U. S. Bureau of soils, would consist of a soil in which the first 7 inches of the surface, per acre contains,

An analysis of the rolling land, common in the western part of the county, and the type of soil upon which the Union Grove field is situated shows that in the first 7 inches per acre there are, indicating a soil very deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus, but wonderfully rich in potassium. The deficiency in nitrogen should be supplied from the air, through the growing of legumes, and the phosphorus by direct application in the form of ground rock phosphate or bone meal. All acid and complete fertilizers should be avoided.

The importance of the study of soil fertility is hard to estimate. We claim to be patriotic, and indeed during the dark days of the Rebellion, the loyal people of WhiteMde county rallied to the standard of patriotism and freely gave of their life's blood, that the nation of the people, by the people and for the people might not perish from the face of the earth. All of this sacrifice that future generations might inherit an unimpaired government.

An impaired government is a condition to be truly deplored, but an impoverished soil is a greater calamity, for it means life and living itself. An impaired government can be righted, far easier than an impoverished soil can be restored. We but hold the land for a short time in trust, and have no more right to bequeath to coming generations an impoverished soil than we have an impaired government.

For years the soil has responded so generously to the tillage of the farmer, that he has given but little heed to the future supply of plant food. He has ever removed more from the soil than he has returned. He has drawn large drafts from the bank of soil fertility and failed to keep his credit good.

The great problem of the age is to work out a system of agriculture which shall be both profitable and permanent. If this be done it will be the first time in all history. If it be not done - history will surely repeat itself in Illinois.