RK-213

Springfield Ill Dec 6^th '56

Robert Kennicott

Dear Sir - I owe you an apology for not answering your letter more promptly; it came while I was very much engaged in fitting up machinery to run a Threshing Machine which we had purchased but a few weeks previous. I saw I was unable to give you the information you wished & so laid aside the letter, intending to answer it in a few days. I had some hopes of meeting with some of our neighbors who could give me the information you wished, but as yet I have had no opportunity of mentioning the subjest to them. We have been Farming it but some four or five years, consequently my experience is rather limited. As to the mole, we have a great many of them judging from the ridges they throw up, but as far as their habits are concerned I must confess I am very ignorant. The Squirrel I can

not enlighten you much about, as we seldom or never hunt any, though we have two double barrelled Guns & a Rifle; the fact is we do not have time to. The Farm we are living on was in a miserable state of cultivation when ^we purchased it, & we have been straining every nerve to improve it; we have set out an Orchard of 600 Apple Trees, which occupies a good share of my time and attention, as I have charge of this department, while my Brother oversees the cattle & Hog department & our Fathe (as there three of us) acts the part of an overseer in general; we are cultivating 250 Acres, which keeps us pretty busy to do it up right. Squirrels are not very plenty here, the Fox Squirrel is about the only variety we have, occasionly I have seen the Prairie Squirrel but not often; as to the field mice & Rabbits, we have plenty of them, but I am unable to inform you with regard to the varieties. The Rabbits we can ^protect our Trees so easily against, that we do not trouble ourselves much about them; the mice never trouble our Trees,

nor do I believe they ever will trouble Trees that are painted with the composition we use (the same I mentioned to you before) The Gophers have troubled us some, untill within a few days I shave seen no signs of them this year, I was very much in hopes the Winter had frozen them all, but it appears some are left yet, I have no idea what they live on, we have a small nursery of perhaps 1500 Trees which was very much infested with them. I found three Trees with their leaves very much wilted, I pulled them up easily and found the roots eaten off entirely & the Trees drawn in the ground a couple of inches, but as far as I could see this was all mischief they did for two years, though part of the nursery was literally covered with their Leafs. The Canker Worm is beginning to be very troublsome in our neighborhood but we are trying to get the Start of them -

My respects to your Father & Charly

Yours as ever L. C. Fransis

L C Francis copied

[page turned upside down, stamped] J. Kennicott Brenton Collections

[postmark] BOSTON 25 NOV MASS.

[handwritten] Robert Kennicott Esq West Northfield Cook County Illinois