it we are not
taking in a mild death-dealing potion. But, come to think of it, there
are other great scientists in the country besides those composing the
National Academy. Some of them have decided in a contrary manner. Is it
not best to have the question decided by a majority vote of reputable
chemists, and then stick to the good old things, whichever way the
decision may be? On principle I don't object to suine, oleo, or any of
the objectionable articles. All I want is to know when I am buying, and
paying for them in real genuine dollars. Bogus dollars are every whit as
respectable as bogus butter or bogus honey, though the law makes it a
little unhealthy to use them with any degree of liberality.

Letter from Champaign.

A light rain yesterday (the 18th) was the first for five weeks, and the
first sign of a January thaw we have had. But it began to snow at dark,
continued lightly all night, and has been snowing, blowing, and drifting
to-day up to this hour, 2 P. M. Coming soft at first, that part of it
will lay where it fell, and the uncovered portion of the wheat has got a
new blanket, which we hope will out-last January. We have had but one so
long uninterrupted spell of sleighing for these many years, and that was
in the winter of '78-'79. With the exception of the few very cold days
before and after the 5th, the month has been quite favorable for stock
and all the labors of the farm.

* * * * *

The damage done by the cold wave of January 4th to 7th is believed to be
greater than first reported. Growers tell me that Snyder blackberries
are killed down to the frost line, which proves it is not iron-clad, as
some believe. Accounts from the Cobden fruit region are of the gloomiest
character, everything being given up for lost but the strawberries. The
Fruit-Grower says they will have to rely on them and their truck patches
this year, and advises an extension of early potatoes, tomatoes, and
Japan melons. According to local records at Anna, there has been nothing
like it since the first week in January, 1864; and the estimate of the
damage done in '84 is computed from what followed in '64, rather than
from what is absolutely known. Let us hope that they are mistaken, and
that the Cobden fruit region will sustain its well-earned character as
the source of a perennial fruit supply.

* * * * *

It appears the cold wave did not reach its minimum