Illinois have
been noticed under the head of "_Forest or timbered land_." Of oaks
there are several species, as overcup, burr oak, swamp or water oak,
white oak, red or Spanish oak, post oak, and black oak of several
varieties, with the black jack, a dwarfish, gnarled looking tree,
excellent for fuel, but good for nothing else.

The black walnut is much used for building materials and cabinet work,
and sustains a fine polish.

In most parts of the State, grape vines, indigenous to the country, are
abundant, which yield grapes that might advantageously be made into
excellent wine. Foreign vines are susceptible of easy cultivation. These
are cultivated to a considerable extent at Vevay, Switzerland county,
Indiana, and at New Harmony on the Wabash. The indigenous vines are
prolific, and produce excellent fruit. They are found in every variety
of soil; interwoven in every thicket in the prairies and barrens; and
climbing to the tops of the very highest trees on the bottoms. The
French in early times, made so much wine as to export some to France;
upon which the proper authorities prohibited the introduction of wine
from Illinois, lest it might injure the sale of that staple article of
the kingdom. I think the act was passed by the board of trade, in 1774.

The editor of the Illinois Magazine remarks, "We know one gentleman who
made twenty-seven barrels of wine in a single season, from the grapes
gathered with but little labor, in his immediate neighborhood."

The wild plum is found in every part of the State; but in most instances
the fruit is too sour for use, unless for preserves. Crab apples are
equally prolific, and make fine preserves with about double their bulk
of sugar. Wild cherries are equally productive. The persimmon is a
delicious fruit, after the frost has destroyed its astringent
properties. The black mulberry grows in most parts, and is used for the
feeding of silk-worms with success. They appear to thrive and spin as
well as on the Italian mulberry. The gooseberry, strawberry, and
blackberry, grow wild and in great profusion. Of our nuts, the hickory,
black walnut, and pecan, deserve notice. The last is an oblong, thin
shelled, delicious nut, that grows on a large tree, a species of the
hickory, (the _Carya olivae formis_ of Nuttall.) The pawpaw grows in the
bottoms, and rich, timbered uplands, and produces a large, pulpy, and
luscious fruit. Of domestic fruits, the apple and peach are chiefly
cultivat