^JM THE FARMERS' REGISTER: A MONTHLY PUBLICATION, DEVOTED TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PRACTICE, SUPPORT OF THE INTERESTS AGRICULTURE. And he gave it for his opinion, "that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of gras^i, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together." Swift. EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. VOL. VIII.— 1840. PETERSBURG, VA.: PRINTED BY EDMUND AND JULIAN C. RUFFIN. 1840. % TABLE CONTENTS OF VOL. VIII. Accomac, quantity and value of exports of 255 Address (extract from) to Society of Husbandry and Manufactures, of Middlesex, (Mass.) 229 Agricultural convention of N. Y., proceedings of 172 Agricultural education, essay on the nature and im- portance of 331 Agricultural excursion into St. John's, Eerkeley, S. C. 115, 178, 219 Agricultural moralities 505 Agricultural i)eriodicals, credibility of 620 Agricultural practices on the great Pee-Dee S. C. 636 Agricultural publications, separate, at the Farmers' Register office 185 Agricultural report of a Gloucestershire hill farm 150 Agiicultural Society, (English,) Royal, proceedings of 561 — of South Carolina 621 — of Maryland, pro- ceedings of 574 — of Charlotte, premiums awarded by 121 — of Cumberland, address to 274 — of Mason, Cabell and Kanawha, address to 48 — proceedings of in support of a Board of Agriculture 693 Agricultural Society for the state of Virginia proposed 633 Agriculture, European, notes on 112, 208, 357 Agriculture of France 263, 323, 391 Agriculture of England, described by Daniel Webster 307, notes to same 312 Agriculture of Rhode-Island 263, 540, 541 ; Rotch- larm, 641 Agriculture in Mass. 493 ; of Essex 363 ; in Ken- tucky, 40 Agriculture and products of south-eastern North Ca- rolina 249 Analysis of soils 614; of Edisto Island, report on 519 Animals, sick, treatment of 622 Apples lor fattening geese 262 ' Arator,' Taylor's, its republication needed 662 , Pre- face to new edition, by the editor of the Farmers' Register 703; the entire work republished 703 to 771 Arboriculture, report on, 695 Army worm 660 Artesian well at Crenelle 85 Artichokes, Jerusalem 21, 116 Ashes, value of 302 Asses, Poitou 679 E Bacon, to make good 109 Balloon adventure at night 644 Bean, culture of 102 Bean pods poisonous to swine 228 Beatson's system of cultivation 143 Bee-moth 57, 355 Bees 411; Mr. Keith's management of 270 Beet-sugar 159 ; in Europe 134 Belting or girdUng trees for clearing land 513 Birds, usefulness and value of 166, 294 ; importance of protecting 548 Bloody milk 665 Blue-grass of Kentucky— poffl praienm, or green- sward 650, 661, 198, 516, 517, 513 Jbone-dust as manure 621, 670 Bots and their cure 497 Bread, bark, in Norway 517 Breeding, rules for 666 Buckweat S82, 646; harvesting of 691 Biiel, Jesse, notice of 240 Bug, striped, 411 ; to destroy 668 Bulleting-as a substitute for spaying 141 Bushes, on destroj'ing 501 Cabbage, preservation of 538 Cabbage plants 530 Calcareous earth for manure in Loudoun county, and elsewhere in middle Virginia 570 Calcareous earths and soils 406, 407 Calcareous soils of South Carolina and Georgia 176 Calcareous lands of Rocky-Point 246 Calcareous manures, search for 16 ; general statement of effects of, and directions for their profitable ap- plication 481 Canals and rail-roads in Virginia 543 Canker-worm, to prevent 538 — their ravages 553 Carrots, harvesting of 6 — as food for horses 177 Caterpillar in the cotton crops 538 Caterpillars, Shakers' mode of destroying 262 Cattle, on stall-feeding, 129 — Devon 217 — short-horn or Durham 303 ; cream-pot 562 ; improved in Ken- tucky 195; short-horned (or Durham,) hint to buy- ers of 102 ; Hoven 662 Celery, culture of 47 ; to preserve throughout winter 167 Charleston S. C. remarks on 244 Cheese, poisoned 98 Cherry, wild, grafting on 171 Chickens, rearing 300 China, great wall of 108 Chinch-bug 405 Cider, directions for making and preserving 622 Cisterns 620 Clearing land, directions for 353 Clover after corn 513 Clover in corn 447 Clover seed, on raising and cleaning 547, 626 Cocoonery, the domestic, described 98 ; best form for 108 Cocoons, perforated, spinning of 404 Cocoons, curing 32 ; by use of camphor, &i,c. 219 Coal mines, burning 514 ; explosions in 532 College of William and Mary, graduates of 419 Commercial reports 64, 127, 192, 256, 384, 448, 511, 575, 635, 699 Commissioner of patents, his report for 1839, 157 Conservatory, magnificent 110 Corn, culture of 255, 279, 369, 444 Corn, cutting down and stacking 574 ; injury to by stripping the leaves for fodder 110; harvesting ot 354 ; experimental crop of 645 ; sown broad-cast 400 ; products of different kinds, errors in regard to 51 ; sown for forage 500 Corn plants, number of on poor and rich land com- pared 221 Correspondence between the Agr. Soc. of St. John's, Colleton, S. C, and the editor, on calcareous ma- nures for cotton, &.c. 528 ; of Gen. Washington with Col. Carrington, on agricultural subjects 560 Cotton, cultivafioii of 62; competition of x\merican and East Indian 582, 654 ; Indian 406 ; kidney-seed 42; crops of the world 35 Cotton in India G53 Cotton seed 83 ; as manure S3. 97 IV FARMERS' REGISTER— INDEX. Cotton lands, improved by being overflowed by brack- ish water 191 Cotton trade 056 Coiicli, witch, or wire-grass 85 Coulter plough 226 Cow, short-horn. Blossom 647 Cows, period of gestation of 551 ; working of 106 ; holding up their milk 625, 666 Cranbeirics 83,447; increasing demand for 573 Cropping on one quarter of an acre 425 Crops, expenses and proceeds of 82 ; on Eastern Shore Maryland 634 Crows, a mode of fiightening from corn fields 629 Cucumbers, to preserve from insects 499 Cultivation, wonders of 84 Curculio 181 Currency, disorders of, and remedy for 237 Cymliu (or squash) cultiue 663 Dahlia, propagated by buds or joints 57 Dailies, Holstein 641 Dandolo's book on silk-cullure 145 Dandolo's translators and their folio ivers, remarkable and numerous errors of 102, 190 Deep and close tillage of corn, experiment of 53D Desert, sandy, of North CaroHna 245 Dioncea muscipula, or Venus' fly trap 261 Distances proper for various roots 231 Divers things 177 Dogs, wild, of Van Diemen's Land 5S3 Siberian 625 Drag-log 226 Drainage by steam-power 61 Drained pond 663 Draining, the Deanston s)fstem 388 Durhams vs. Devonshires 261 E Editorial notes and remarks on the tropical plant scheme of Dr. Perrine 28 ; on the proper procedure for the Silk Society of Norfolk, and agricultural societies in general 39 ; sources of error in compar- ing products of different kinds of corn 51 ; on the galactometre 54 ; the management of silk-worms in their early stages 55; on Hussey's machine for shucking and shelling corn 61 ; cold weather of January 63 ; D'Arcet's forcing system of sflk-cul- ture 77 ; number of silk-worms' eggs to the ounce 95 ; on the spaces for silk-worms, and the gross blunders of Dandolo's translators and their copyists 102 ; chemical cojnposition of fertile soils from Sci- oto 110 ; suggestions to persons about to commence silk-culture 117 ; postage on remittances 126; an establishment for reeling silk 140; calcareous soil for vines 145 ; Guinea and Gama grass 183 ; Mr. Hicks' silk reel ISS ; on the errors and blunders of the translators of Dandolo, and their copyists 188 ; on modern French silk-culture and opinions thereon, in ' Maisoa Rusiiqiie' 213; on thick or thin plant- ing of corn on rich land 221 ; on Washington's let- ter to Mrs. Andeison 222 ; the prong-hoe"234 ; Mr. Ronaldson's seeds 255; editorial putis and advertise- ments 284 ; on the evils of government banking 097 ; on marling in South Carolina and Dr. Johnson's stric- tures 302, 408; on mailing in South Carolina and erro- neous reasoning in regard to marling. '542,343; earliest notices of silk-culture in 1840, in Virginia 377 ; the second Physick humbugSSO ; on the eifects of marl- ing in the country about Williamsburg 418; ne- glect of Parmeis' Registei' 4-!5; iiroposed investiga- tion of eO'ects of 446 : marling in North Carolina 500 ; on the means for diffusing knowledge on marling in South Caroliiia 502 ; on the oppression of the fence law, and meaii;, for relief 504 ; general failure of silk- worm re«riugs this season 5 10 ; confusion of names of rrasses 517, 051 ; on the death of Dr. Perrine 566; many-headed Califoinian wheat humbug 568, 601 ; on old seed wheat 569; on the calcareous earth of Loudoun and elsewhere in middle Va. 570 : edito- rial puli' direct 57! ; experiment ol rcaiiiig silk- worms in open air 573 ; on puffs of salesmen of the " full-bred Berkshires" 597 ; on the formation of a state agricultural society in Va. 633; new theory of retarding silk-worms' eggs 674 ; treading of wheat land, and trampling roller 679; on the petition to equalize the rates of postage, 700 ; on Taylor's Arator, introductory to the new edition 662; on era- sures of subscriptions without orders 772 Egg-hatching by artificial heat 43 Eggs, their shape indicative of sex 511 Emancipation in Jamaica, effects of 1G6 Embankment of a kingdom from the sea 647 Epidemic among horses 277 Excogitations 47 Experiments, on making 45 ; with artificial manures, reporting upon 596 Explanations (by Fairfax) 45, 404 Fallow, winter 143 Farm-yard, plan of 126 Farmers' life and duties 292 Farmers' Register, pecuniary profit of reading 445 ; addi-ess to subscribers to 638; conditions of for next ensuing volume 639 Farming, Kentucky and Eng'ish 5 Farming, system of J. Sheimer 293 Farms, in Scotland, Strathncver, Norwich and Cul- raaily, reports of 65 ; Gloucestershire hill farm 150, 198; Gloucestershire vale farm 285; small, of Belgium 506 Fence law, oppression of, and dawn of relief 504 Fences, different kinds of 23 Filatui-p, model, in Philadelphia 349 Financial prostration of the country, causes of 141 Fior-in grass, review of Dr. Kichardson's account of 86 Fish of salt water-, naturalized in fresh-water ponds 619 Florida, Southern, delightfulness of its climate, and governmental abuses and neglect of 142; unhealthi- ness and sterility denied 146 Florida islets, fi'opical products of 565 Flower-beds 197 Flower garden, edgings for S67 Flowering, premature, of fruit trees and shrubs 55 Flowers, sale of 95 Fodder, on pulling 279; curing and stacking 584 Food for stock 663 Fox-hounds, high pi-ices of 508 France, soils and climate of 222 Frosts, late, to preserve fruit from 646 Fiuit, preservation of 58 Fruit-trees, cultivation of 357 Fuel, economy of 658 Furnaces, hot air 338 G Galactometer 53 Garget 239 Generation and reproduction of plants and animals, atialogy of 385 GeoloH;ical features of New England ; speech of Dr. C. T. Jackson 152 Goat, the shawl, account of the introduction into Eu- rope and Australia 551 Grafting upon the roots of apple and pear trees 425 Grape, large seedling raised by Van Mons 101 Grape vine .339 Grape-culture 295 Grass seed, sowing on wood-land 694 Grasses, artificial 575 Grasses, name*, of, confusion of S69 FARMERS' REGISTER— INDEX. Grave -yards, gatherings from 365 Grazing system of Kentucljy, improvement produced by 314 Gregg's system of cultivation 147 Green-cropping, a plan of 210 Green crops, as manure 235, 531 Green manures 382 Green and dry crops, plouglied in for manure 398 Green-sand marl and its eliects on the Pamunkey 679, 690 Guinea and Gama grass 1S7 Gypsum, cause of its action on limed land 58 Gypsum, long protracted efl'ccts of 582 H Hay-making 275, 306, 405, 449 Hay tea, for hogs 106 Heating water, machine for 661 Hemp 593, cutting and preparing for market 592 Hogs', cheap mode of raising and fattening 59 ; report to N. Y. Agricultural Society on 12 ; on the dilfer- ent breeds of 630 ; pens for 132 ; food for 21 ; the comparative dispositions of different breeds to fatten 669 ; Woburn, 594 ; Berkshire 501, 506 ; " the lull- bred Berkshires'" 597, 598 Hollow-horn 480 Horse, Arab, powers of 363 Horses, epidemic among 277 Horses, treatment of 32; water for 84; shoeing of 353 ; articles of food for 469 ; importing from France 31 Ice house, for keeping ice two or three years 22 Ice mountain of Hampshire, Va. 667 Independence 534 Indian Key, massacre at 567 Insects 444 Instinct, force of 319 Iron cottages 646 Iialy, domestic industry of 145 Jamaica, crop of 64 K Kiyogg, the Swiss farmer 670 Kyanizing timber 518 Kyan's anti-dry-rot solution destructive to vegetable life 82 Lagoon islands, formation of 413 Lake, bottomless 586 Legislative aid to agriculture called for 571 Lightning rods for barns 562 Lime as manure 10, 300 ; obstructions to 292 ; with marsh mud 573 Lime, to separate from magnesia 565 Lime-burning 193 Lime-stone in lower North Carolina 257 Liquorice 531 Lucerne 321, 322, 400 ; culture of 383 ; in France C07 M Machine for shucking and shelling corn 61 Magnesia objected to 569 Malaria and mill-ponds 141 Mangel wurtzel t>3; culture of 174; experiment of feeding to milch cows 96 Manures 57, 295, 585 ; application and effects of 14 ; experiment in Massachusetts 304 ; importance of 2 670 ; preparation of 186, 588 ; on making 612 ; from leaves 381 ; from stables 229 ; liquid 668 ; green 1, 7 Manuring 3G3 ; green 93 Marl, manner and cost of water transportation of 691 Marl, blue 320 Marl and marling in South Carolina 301, 341, 502 Marl and limestone of the Neuse and Trent 253, 257 Marling, combined with vegetable manures, 574; in North Carolina 500 ; tlie results of, immediate and remote, in the country about Williamsburg 415; investigation of effects proposed 446 ; general que- ries on 489 ; answered as to different farms in Prince George county 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496 ; on the Pamunkey lands 679 Meadow 126; manuring 126 Manures of capacity, dry 558 Mice, antidote against 554 Milk, different qualities 274 ; that will not produce butter 57; instrument for measuring the richness of 53 Millet 191, 445 Mountain, burning, in Pa. 530 Mud, swamp, for manure 293 N New Hanover (N. C.) general appearance of lands 246 Nitrate of soda as manure 128, 586; natural produc- tion of 613 O Okra soup 550 Orchard destroyed by canker worms 553 Orchard grass, cultivation of 626 ; aflvantage of grow- ing with red clover 227; grown with red clover 414 Overseers, rules for 230 Painting, with milk instead of oil 236 Pamunkey lands described 679 Pasture 562 Patents, for agricultural purposes, granted in 1839, 157 Pea, culture of 237, 515 Peach orchards, annual cultivation, and crops for 539 Peach trees, 114 ; treatment of 665 Peach tree worms 571 Pea-nuts, or ground peas 21 Peas, field 382 Pedestrianism extraordinary 616 Perrine. Dr. Henry, death of, and the sacking of In- dian Key 566 Petition to congress to equalize (he rates of postage on magazines and newspapers 699 Physick humbug, the second 380 Pigs, 303; store, treatment and food of 124; young, food and treatment of 135 Pine forests of North Carolina 250, 253 Plants, predaceous and carnivorous 245; excretory powers of 595 Ploughing, depth.of 137 Plum, culture of 182 Pocoson, reclaimed. Judge Gaston's 251 Potato ground for next season 591 Potatoes, (sweet,) to keep in warm weather 597 Potatoes, (Irish,) raised from slips 646 ; from the seed 556; culture of 259; planting of 449; experiment with 236; Irish and sweet, cultivation of 119; Ro- han 622; digging 590 Poudrette 32 Poultry 340, 553 ; raising 600 ; boiled food for 559 Prince George county, observations on the earliest marled district of 485; and in relation to queries and answers on 497 Promiscuous remarks 52 Prong-hoe, description of 234 VI FARMERS' REGISTER— INDEX. PufT direct, editorial, 571 ; by agricultural papers 284 Pumpkins, preservation of 228 Pumps, frozen, to thaw 191 Q Queries and answers on marling in Prince George -1D7; on the borders of the Pamunkey 683, 684, 687, 688, 689 Questions and suggestions 652 R Rails-roads and canals, improvement by 420 : in Vir- ginia 543 Rape, culture of 239 Rat-catching 535 Reaping machine, Hussey's 294 ; 634 Red-root, in clover seed 177 Reel, silk, a simple and cheap one 188 Remittances by mail to publishers mr.y be free of postage 125 Review of ' Maison Rusiiqiie,' Art. "Vers-a-soie" 213 Rice, culture of near Wilmington, N. C. 243 Ridge-lands of eastern Virginia, described ICS Roller, trampling 680 Rolling, a protection from the fly 262 Root culture 5, 28, 96, 231, 2S6; at Mount Airy 13G Root crops 238 Rotation, four-shift, with pea fallow added 1 ; five- field and grazing 183 ; remarks on Mr. Selden's change of 511 Rotations, new schemes of proposed 1,7; remarks on the different schemes of 121, 337, 577 Rotations, proposed change from the four-shift 111 ; the fiveshilt 122 ; of crops, in Europe 165 ; in Ita- ly 627 Ruta baga 223 Ruta baga, hoeing of 410 Rye in wood-land 299, 400 Salt, use of in agriculture 32 Sassafras bushes 622 Savannas of North Carolina 24S, 252 Scalding seeds 390 Scioto bottom lands, remarkable fertility and chemical composition of 110 Seeds, to save 296 ; protracted vitality of 551 ; causes of Iheir not germinating 35 ; presented by Mr. James Ronaldson 255 ; from South Florida 168 Sheep, profits of 408 Sheep breeding 599 Siberian life on the Kolyma 648 Silk culture. A, B, C of 53 ; northern, report of 370, 396; earliest notice of in Virginia, 1840, 377; re- ports of experiments of 27, 34 ; modern European improvements in 280 ; compared with corn-cul- ture in profit on poor soils 17 ; near Norfolk, Va. 254; in Delaware, practical results of 142; mo- dern French mode and opinions of from 'Maison Rusiiqve' 213; in Brunswick 402; in Italy 587; estimates of profits of in Virginia 119 ; suggestions to persons about to commence 117; in East Ten- nessee 186 ; forcing system and healthy cocooneries of D'Arcet, account of 77 Silk manufactured by Mrs. Anderson, of Gloucester, and presented to Gen. Washington 222 Silk, reeling 14 ; on the necessity of proper instruction in 140 ; operations in Philadelphia 540 Silk reels, caution against 500 Silk Society of Norfolk, proceedings of 36 Silk-worms, rearing near Paris, report on 343; fail- ures ot this season's 510, 537 ; causes of failures in rearing 617, 623 ; reared in open air 573 ; spaces proper for 102 SUlc-woims, wild, of Assam, ami their products 503 Silk-worms' eggs, preservation and retarding the hatch- ing of 33 ; the new theory of retarding the hatching o(, and causes of failures in rearing— discussed 674, 675, 678 ; the retarding the hatching of, the cause of failures in rearing 545; method for retarding the hatching of 649 ; number of different kinds to the ounce 95 Slave-hunting in New Hampshire 443 Slaves, management of 42G Soap, to make 25 Societies, agricultural or silk-cultural, advice to 39 Soils, their compositions and qualities 387 ; of Eastern Virginia described 168 ; of Kentucky, and the rich lands around Lexington 350 South Carolina, the times in 318 "Southern Magazine" proposed to bo published 634 Speculation in eastern lands 516 Squash, large 59; cidture of 319 Stables, dirty, ill effects of 229 Steamer, cheap, for roots, &.c. 167 Stoves for negroes' houses 212 Strawberry, culture of 667 Stucco wash 560 Sugar versus cotton 22 Sugar-beet, culture of 174, 223 Sun-flower plant 480 Sun-flower seed oil 410 T Tarring trees, to protect them from the canker worm 538 Temperature and weather during rearings of silk- worms, by Potomac company 18 Ticks on sheep, to destroy 211 Toads, useful 294 Tobacco, duties on, payable in Europe 631 Tobacco convention, proceedings of 270 Tobacco planters of Dinwiddle, proceedings of 6C2 Trenching 673 Tropical plants, governmental obstruction to their in- troduction into Florida 28 Tuipentine and tar business in Noith Carolina 251 U Universe, an idea of 1S4 University of Virginia, graduates of 418 V Valley of Virginia, manners of primitive settlers of 656 Vegetable kingdom, remarks on 386 Vine, Isabella grape 162 Vines, trimming leaves from 35; calcareous soils re- quired for 145 Vineyards and wine making, 'Journal of a recent visit to the principal vineyards of Spain and France,' 427, 450 w Washington, his letter to Mrs. Anderson, on receiving her present of silk cloth 222 ; correspondence with Col. Carrington 560 Waste lands of France 600 Water, stagnant 503 Water-power, novel, constructed by the Shakers 549 Weather, cold, of January 1840, 63 Weeds, extirpation of 173, 672 Wheat, after oats 512 ; the wonderful Californian, or many headed 568 ; contract concerning proposed and discussed 610 Wheat, old, preferred for seed 669 Wheat culture 554 Wheat land, treading of 679 Wheat-sowing 562 FARMERS' REGISTER— INDEX. VI I Wire grass 516 Wire worm 364 Wilminglon (N. C.) and its rail-way 243 Wine, currant 692 ; blackberry 692 Wine makins: 163 Wines, of Spain and France, Busby's general account of 427, 450 Wives imported into Virginia 585 Wood-land cleared by "belting" 513 Worms in peach trees 571 T H E F ARMEKS' REG IS T E R . Vol. Vlll. JANUARY 31, 1840. No. 1. EDMUND RUPFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. THE FOUR-SHIFT ROTATION, WITH PEA FAL- LOW ADDED. REMARKS ON OTHER MODI- FICATOA'S OF ROTATIONS. To the Editor of tlio Farmers' Register. JVestover, Nov. 20, 1839. In your last, or October No. of i he Fanners' Register, you seem to raise objeciions to all the systems of farming as heretol'ore practised in Vir- ginia. It is not my purpose upon the present oc- casion to discuss the merits or demerits of the dil- (erent systems of liirminir as practised by our Ibre- liithers; that is most fully and justly done by yourself. But to present to your consideration a rotation of crops thai I am about to adopt, and which has occurred to me to accord with your ideas uj)on the subject. The principles of a proper rotation of crops as ndvanced by yourself seem to me to be in accor- dance with the most approved views upon the subject, and deserve the due consideration of every tiller of the soil, who wishes to profit by, and ad- vance ill, the theory and practice of agriculture. I think it jjroper too, that I should assign my reasons lor the abandonment of a system that I have practised unremittingly for sixteen years, and in good liiith have recommended to the public. i shall but briefly refiir to the Ibur-field and fal- low system as heretofore practised by ni3seli; as its merits have already been fully discussed, and subsequent experience confirms the opinions then entertained by me. Believing as I still do in the many advantages that this lour-field rotation possesses over the many as heretofore pursued in Virginia, I think it but proper that I should say a word in reference to the objections urged by yourself to it. This will be the more necessary also, as some of the objections there urged by you to it, are the basis on which the new rotation that I am about to re- commend is founded. You object to it, first on account of its "severity;" secondly, from the "difficulty of fallowing one-fourth of the ftirm every August and September lor wheat; "and thirdly, from the "succession of the three fibrous rooted, narrovv-Ieavcd, exhausting grain crops, of wheat, corn, wheat." To the two first of these objections, I cannot add my assent ; but the latter has always been an objectionable feature with me; particularly the last crop in the succession, wheat following corn. First then, as regards its " severity." I cannot think that you give to this fallow system its due, or that you attach sufficient importance to the ex- tensive improvement it receivesin the way of ma- nuring. The cropping and draught fi-orn llie earth is rapid and hard it is true ; but at the same time the improvement afl'orded in return, is per- haps greater than under any other system as yet devised, when so great a profit is given. Oiie- fourlh of all the arable surface is annually im- proved by the best of all green manures (clover,) which receives its food from the atmosphere, and is returned to the earth as manure, and that at a season when its virtue is greatest, and when it is Vol. VIlI-1 in the greatest degree of per'ection for improve- ment (August and September). It is tlie parti- cular time at which it is turned under that I think its wonderlul efi'ects towards improvement prinri- p:dly consist. And in addition, the iinmcn.-e mass oi' materials that is afforded lor the [lu' res- cent manures ; which, under a tolerably well reg- ulated liirm should be sufficient to manure the en- lire arable surliare once in every 8 or 10 years. So that one-third of the farm at least will be annual- ly improved. The question then will be, whether the improvement thus aflurded to the earth is suffi- cient to sustain the heavy draught of the three grain crops of wheat, corn, wheat 7 My expe- rience goes to pi-ove that it will more than do so. In this calculation your clover should not be grazed of!', and your ploughing and draining he well executed, as without it, no system can be im- proved to any extent and be successful. I cannot corroborate this assertion more strongly, or ad- duce a stronger argument to the contrary of its severity, than that my crop of wheat of this year, (under this system for the last ten years, and \vith its full share of chinch-bug,) averaged me 24 bushels to the acre throughout ; that my crop of corn (with its full share of bug a'so,) wiil produce more than double what the same field did when I first cultivated it in that crop ; and indeed that the entire estate will now double or treble iis product when I first took it ten years since, and always under this system ; and indeed, 1 can say, that I do not know of a farm where the system has been fully carried out, that has not improved under it, and that rapidly. Second, as to the "difficulty of fallowing one- fourth of a farm during the months of August and September for wheat." I have upon a for- mer occasion stated that there was no operation on the farm that was performed with more ea^e and certainly than the fallowing of one-lourth for wheat, during the months of August and Septem- ber ; longer experience does not change that opi- nion ; and I must think the supposed difficulty more imagiriary than real. My impression is, that it is one of the most valuable features in the system ; it gives employment to our teams when they would have but little else to do at that season. The difficulty most generally consists in the mis- application of means. To attempt to turn under a clover lay at that dry season of the year with only two horses to a plouiih is utterly impractica- ble. A larmer who wishes to fdlow at that sea- son, with only three or four horses on his farm, should apply the ihi-ee or four to onelarire plouiJfh. To this erroneous calculation, the difficulty" is most generally attributable. A plough with only two horses, I consider insufficient at any season to turn under eHectually a good clover lay. Where- as a good three or four-horse plough will in all seasons do it. And here, permit me to remind you of a failure at Coggins a i'ew years since, from this very circumstance, atlemptiiig to liillow with two, instead of three or four-horses. I greatly prefer a lour to a three-horse team at this season, as the leaders tend more effectually to keep the FARMERS' REGISTER plough in the earth of a dry season. A good four- 1 Jiorse ploiiirh will ploiifrh one acre a day, even in] Ihe dryest season, and ii" the eeason is lavorable, ! two acres with ease. I have ploiifrhed as much! as two and a half acres a day with one plouifh. It is moreover questionable whether a Ibur-horse {)iough will not liUlow more in a day (supposing j the season a (iivorable one,) than two tvvn-horse j ploughs. The fiirrow slice of the Ibrmer, will be nearly double of the latter, and then the ob-j eiructioris from choakinfr will be triuch less in ihe| one case than the other, f will here remark, that ; this obstacle of (he ploughs choakinir, is greatly | prevented by adding another block to the breast i of the plough, thereby raising the beam. There is in truth, no operation on the firm that gives me Jess concern than fallowing; although unquestion- 1 ably the most important. And in verification of this fad, my purtmse is to enlarge instead of di- minishing, my (allowing operations; all that you have to do to have it perfected, is to furnish good ploughs, a suffi 'lent force to propel them, and un- deviating instructions tjiat tli^y are never to slop unless the earth shouKl be too wet. With these provisions and instructinns the great difficulty is easily overcome. So easy and valuable is this feature in the system that I do not think I could be induced to adopt any in which I did not fallow for wheat at this season. You are not only so well remunerated for it, but it enables you to get in your crop with so much more ease and cer- tainty. 1 have asserted and still maintain that a good clover IhIIow liir wheat will double in a term of years the same land in wheat after corn. My crops liave more than done so, in the last 10 years. Now let us reason a little on the f()re(Toing. This season I had 50 woikingdays for fallowing, be- fore the season arriveil for see(hng, say li-oin the 12ih Auffust, to Ihe 8ih October; no deduction ehoulil be made fur rainy days, as they accelerate instead of retarding the fal!owine otherwise when it succeeds the moslex- hauslinjf grain crop that we cultivate? Now, it may be very reasonably asked, why I am about to abandon a system that has improved my estate so greatly, and at the same time liir- nisiied so good a reward lor my labor; embracing undoubtedly the two desiderata of profit and im- provement to so great an extent ? 1 nuisl answer that it is with reluctance that 1 do leave it. But while we are doing well, why should we not do better? The system that I am about to substitute
pe- cially — covering as it does annually at least one- fourth, and oitener a third or more of the arable land — it is scarcely possible to devise a succession of crops which shall not cause corn to be imme- diately followed by wheat, or some other broad- cast grain (or white) crop. This objectionable Euccession is almost universal throughout this re- gion, unless where the land is so poor, that to sow email grain would eertainly cause more loss than profit. The succession is objectionable Ibr several reasons already stated in the preceding numbers ; but the strongest of them I suppose to be — not the mere confmg together of two narrow-leaved, fibrous-rooted, grain crops — but still more because the corn rears insects which live to prey on the wheat. It is very desirable that this succession should be broken, by finding some grass, or broad leaved crop, which can be interposed, and will oc- eupy the ground the whole interval of time between tlie corn and the next grain crop, i have tried, Ibr this purpose, the sowing of red clover at the last tillage of the corn, in June, and with great and general success, but never over the whole of the ground. Legions of minute insects were pro- duced and fed upon the young clover, greatly to its injury every where, and, in some pans, lo its entire destruction. But for this, there might have been obtained throuiihout, as there was in parts of the ground, a good and clean ciop of clover, of (iill size and perfection of growth the year next succeeding the corn, and which would be ploughed under Ibr wheat in August or September. Could the clover crop, so sown, be but rendered sure, its interposi- tion would add a most important value to any Ibrm of rotation now in use. I hope that further expe- riments will be tried, and success found, perhaps in the later sowing the clover seed, and with sonje protecting crop, as oats or buckwheat, which pos- sibly might serve to attract and divert the insects from the clover. It is also desirable to fill up every portion of the growing season with some crop, which shall aid either in tillage, manure, or grazing. Corn usually ceases to draw fiom the land in August, and the land then is left iille, and suffered to get fouler, until in October, when ploughed for wheat ; or un- til in February, if left for oats. If peas, or buck- wheat, coidd be sown at the last tillage, in June or July, this interval might be profitably filled. A paper in the first volume of the Farmers' Register (page 345) slates that a good crop of buckwheat has been thus raised and reajied at very little cost. If a good crop of buckwheat, (or peas,) thus made among corn, and succeeding its ripening, were ploughed under green, Ibr wheat, it would do much to improve the succession of crops, even if wheat shoulii follow, in the same year. And if wheat were not to follow so soon, rye n)ight be sown in early autumn, or oats in spring, and either turned in for manure, to be followed by a broad- cast crop of peas sown in summer, and that again to be turned in for wheat in the next autumn. Three broad-cast crops, of kinds of plants so dif- ferent, and each turned in belbre forming seeds, could scarcely fail to cleanse the land as efl^ectually as possible, both of weeds and insects, and also to enrich it greatly. But whether the profit would exceed the expense, must be shown by carelijl ex- periment and a sufiicient course of practice. In Britain, the turnip crop is the most important in the rotation for improvement — the master- wheel in the machine. If eaten by sheep, on the ground where they aiew, the root tillage and growth, and the dung of the sheep, together serve to improve the concTiiion and fertility of the land, and prepare it admirably for the succeeding crop. I lear that turnips cannot be a like meliorating crop in this much drier climate. If they can, we would have a great advantage over England in this respect, that common turnips with us are sown in August, and ruta baga in Ju'y, but both late enough to come on laud from which either wheat or oats had been reaped. lu England, turnips require to be sown so early, and wheat is reaped so late, that both occupy the ground a whole year— while here both have full time to ripen in succession in the same season. Another great advantage we have 8 FARMERS' REGISTER, over Britain is the necessity which there exi=^ts lor a whole year ol' rent being lost, once in five or six years at most, while the heavy labors ol' a com- plete summer lalknv are execuled, to precede wheat. The moisture of the climate there, which encourages the growth of weeds, and the want of a great tillage crop, liUe our Inilian corn, to help to eradicate them, causes the necessity lor summer fallow there ; and the contrary circumstances otier no inducement or excuse lor it here. For our sum- mer fallow (so called,) is a totally different opera- tion, and has benefits and elfecis altogeiher dilfer- enf. Now, lor example, (and not to recommend tlie particular succession,) su[)pose that turnips were to Ibllow wheat, as part of a rotation in Eng- land, (as they do in some good larming districts there,) and also in this country, let us see what could be the difference of manner. In Et)gland, in four years there could be made but three crops, thus : 1st year, clover, (or last year of any grass) — 2nd" " no cro[), the land being ploughed from winter or sprinii, arul throuch sum- mer, for lalknv, and wheat sown in autumn — 3rd " wheat — 4th " turnips — In Virginia, the same succession and number of crops n>ight be had in two years only, antl ihe heavy and expensive labor of summer fallow be rendered unnecessary. Thus: 1st year, clover — ploughed under in August or September, and wheat sown in Oc- tober— 2nd '• wheat, followed by turnips, matured the same year. This immense advantage which our climate offers, in rearing secondary crops, has never been profiled by, and indeed has scarcely been thought of as a source of benefit. Being relieved of the necessity of naked or summer fallowing, we might keep our lands always producing or bearing some crop, except during the short times necessary for preparing lor their seeding. And the more con- tinually the land is thus kept occupied, not only is there the more of crops to feed and to sell, but, if properly managed, also the more of manure, the more complete the extirpation of weeds and insects, and f)y the absence of weeds, as well as by the frequent thorough plougliing, the better the tilth and the easier the tillage of the land. Every person who has read extensively on the subject of rotations, and with the view of finding precepts to direct his own practice, has probably been disappointed in not meeting with any particu- lar scheme of rotation suited to his own circum- stances. The cause of this deficiency is most apparent, and the preliminary dilTIruIties of sup- plying it would be perhaps the greatest to liim who had most studied the subject. !t is very diffi- cult, if not impossible, to have any regular succes- sion of crops on even a particular farm, which shall not be very faulty in some respects, or which shall not violate some of the important principles which have been laid down in the foregoing num- bers. And even if that could be done lor a par- ticular farm, with full knoiviedge of its soil, cli- mate, locality, markets, &c., it is manifestly impossible to prescribe any plan of succession of crops which shall be suitable generally. All that can be done is to lay down the theoretical princi- ples, which ought to be adhered to in practice aa nearly as circumstances may permit — and to pre- sent examples of different rotations in practical operation, and point out their delects, as well as their advantaires. Fun her — even if a scheme of rotation should appear before trial to be perfect, (lor any certain locality and circutnstances,) still, when tried, unlbrcseen objections might and pro- bably would be Ibund in iis most desired and im- portant parts. This is so certain, that it would be a sufficient ol)jeciion to any new scheme of rota- tion, that its parts, which might be Ibund objec- tionable, could nor. be changed, without a new arrangement of fields, or a general change of plan, which would cause great difficulty, and require years to bring about. With these remarks, and excuses for errors in advance, I will presume to submit some schemes of rotations, which, though altogether untried in practice, seem to be free from the greatest objec- tions to existing rotations, and to permit the opera- tions of the benefits now deficient and required ; and also, to be capable of being changed in particular parts, without necessarily changing the general plan, or arrangement of fields. The schemes being merely supposed, or suggested for experi- ment, I shall not refrain from naming particular crops, or i)iocesses. vvhich are as yet altogeiher untried and of doubtful value, because in any such case, a substitute may be ado[)ted if preferred. Suppose, for example, a farm containincr any certain quantity of arable land, besides a suflicient standing pasture on the most hill}', or wet, or poor parts of the fi^rm. The soil of the fields of me- dium texiure, not too light for wheat, nor too stiff lor corn ; eiiher naturally well constituted, and thereby fitted to receive and retain improvement of fertility, from vegetable or other putrescent matters, or rendered thus fit artificially, by the application of calcareous manures. if the plan of sowing clover among corn can be made as certain as this crop is as usually sown, then it would furnish a basis for a most admirable three-shift course, as follows : 1st year, 1, corn — clover sown in June, just after last ploughing. 2nd " 2. clover — first crop mown, except where top-dressed, and there grazed by hogs — 3. clover — second crop ploughed un- der in August or September for wheat,which sown in October— 3rd '•' 4. wheat— .5. secondary crop, peas, sown broad- cast in July — to be followed next year by the recommence- ment with corn. This gives five crops in three years. The following substitutes would be permitted in this rotation: 1. If the clover, even though cer- tain enough in ireneral, (and upon this proviso en- tirely depends this scheme,) should sometimes fail in part, or altogether, (as sometimes will happen, even on wheat,) peas might be sown, and even be preceded by rye or some other green crop ; so that the main object and benefit of a green manuring crop being interposed between the corn and wheat would still be perfectly secured, though at addi- tional cost of seed and labor. 2. The pea crop of the third year might be made cither a forage or a FARMERS' REGISTER, % manure crop, or partly of both, according to the wants of the hind, or of the proprietor. 3. If deemed too costly, orlijr any other reason, tliis pea crop might be omitied, and then, without cost, it would be substituted by the usual volunteer growth of carrot-weed which ibllows wheat, and would be an intervening, though poorer vegetable manure crop for the corn crop of the next year. A four-shift rotation might be made of the foregoing, adding, as the Iburth year's crop, clover sown on the wheat of the third year. This would be 1st year — 1. corn — 2nd " 2 & 3. clover — first crop mown, se- cond ploughed under green — 3rd " 4. wheat— 4th " 5, 6. clover, first crop mown, second ploughed under, dry. This scheme gives six crops in four years. The great objection to this would be the clover of the fourth year preceding corn, and nourishing insects to feed on the latter crop. If the plan of sowing clover among corn cannot be relied on, then the ordinary three-shift rotation (of 1. corn, 2. wheat, 3. rest or clover,) might per- haps be relieved of its greatest delect, by sowing peas among the corn at the last tillage, and ploughing them in green, for wheal. This would interpose a broad-leaved leguminous manure crop between the two grain crops, and yet without sepa- rating them by more time. A more extended, and seemingly better rotation (though still comprised in four years,) would be the following, provided green crops are certainly profitable to be ploughed under lor manure. 1st year, 1st crop, corn — 2. secondary crop, peas sown broad- cast m June or July — 2nd " 3. wheat (or partly oats) — clover sown — 3rd " 4. clover mown — 5. clover turned in for 4th " 6. wheat (and oats) — 7. secondary crop, peas broad-cast — to be followed by the return of corn again. This rotation offers seven crops in four years, of which three are of grain, one of hay, and three of green manure. Perhaps buckwheat, or some other broad-cast crop, might advantageously vary the succession, by occup3'ing part of the space al- lowed lor peas. In this last scheme, the reader may not imme- diately perceive that in its general plan it is noth- ing more than the Ibur-shift rotation long Known in one or another form. If the two secondary crops of peas (of 1st and 4lh years) be omitted, the rotation l)ecomes that heretofore in use on Curies', Shirley, VVestover, &c., and described as the (bur- shift fallow rotation. If, in addition, the fallovv- ing-^and the wheat crop of the fourth year be omitted, it is then the four-shift rotation of Col. Taylor. Thus, besides other substitutions which might be made, either of these changes may be made to any desired extent, without any alteration of the general plan or frame-work of the rotation. The following scheme for a five-shift rotation, has also the great merit of permitting many changes in minor points, and substitutions of its crops, without altering the main features and plan of the succession. Its most obvious delect is, that Vol. VlII-2 it has too many and successive green manure crops, and that its entire value rests upon the (per- haps yet doubtful) profit of manuring with green crops of annual?. 1st year, 1st crop, corn — and with its last tillage, 2. peas sown broad -cast, [or buck- wheat on part,] and ploughed under, in autumn, and rye sown; 2nd " 3. r3'e, ploughed under in blossoiT), to sow 4. peas broad-cast, turned under in autumn — [or, on part, rye not sown, and the ground used for vines and early planted roots ;] 3rd " 5. wheat, [or part in oats] — clover sown — 4th " 6. clover, mown — 7. do. turned in, to precede wheat; 5th " 8. wheat— 9. secondary crop, peas sown broad- cast, [or part in turnips, and late planted Irish potatoes.] This scheme offers 9 crops in 5 years ; that is, 3 crops of grain, 1 of clover hay, and 4 crops of green and 1 of dry manure. The last one, the peas in the fifth year, may be made a forage in- stead of a manure crop, if desired. Early planted roots and vines, to any extent desired, might be substituted for part of the corn crop ; and late planted roots for part of the secondary pea crop in the fifth year. If the frequent recurrence of green manure crops be objected to, it is easy to omit or substitute them, without affecting the general plan of the rotation. Thus, if a part of the field be too poor to bear a good and profitable crop of broad-cast peas or buckwheat, for green manure, in the first year, then that crop, and even the rye and the peas of the next year, might be omitted, and the land suf-. fered to cover itself with the cheaper manure of annual weeds instead, which would be ploughed under in autumn for wheat. The crop of mere weeds, thus interposed between the corn and wheat, would still be an improvement upon the usual course, of the one grain crop following the other immediately. In this case, more labor would be required to plough for sowing wheat, but the crop would be so much better as to much more than compensate the greater cost. So the secondary pea-crop of the filth year, may be omitied on poor land, and its place will be cheaply il'not more pro- fitably supplied by annual weeds. And if the land be too rich to need so many manure crops, this crop of peas may be harvested as a forage and seed crop. Also, on the richest parts of the fields, one or more of the green crops, of the first and second years, may be harvested lor forage, or partly grazed. Thus, the details of the rotation maybe so much altered f()r different circumstances, that it may be made to suit the richest land, or the poorest, on which both corn and wheat can be pro- fitably raised. Another defect (at least according to the long established mode of thinking and cullivatincr in lower Virginia,) is that too little corn, or space of the land cultivated, (one-fifth,) is allowed for this now all-important, and on some farms, the almost sole crop. But this defect, (if it be one,) is greatly lessened by the quantity of food for stock provided in roots and green crops, which will serve in place of much of tiie corn now used. Further, the corn 10 FARMERS' REGISTER crop should be as much iavored as possible by ihe dispensation of the prepared and collected manures of the iiirm — and yet not by their direct arid full application to that crop. Tiiis branch ol'ihe suhjpct will require some ex- piaiiaiory views, which 1 shall proceed now to olier. When (arm-yard or other hiylily piiirescent ma- nures, ready lo act as Ibod lor plants, are applied to any crop, their main operation is to increase the stalk and lealj or root, of ihe crop, much more in proportion than its seeds. It is therefore proper to let such rich manures tjive out their greatest sup- ply of food to crops which are cultivated for their stalks and leaves, as clover, and green crops in general — or for their roots, as potatoes, turnips, &c. rather than for corn or wheat, of which the disproportioned increase of stalk and leal'is scarcely any benefit, and may be to the injury and loss of the grain. The great apparent increase in grain crops on spots made rank by heavy and recent manuring, is always deceptions. The far greater part of the increase is in the stalks and leaves ; and the smaller early promise of grain is frequently cut off by the wheat being lodged, and the grain shrivelled ; and the place of corn ears being occu- pied by the black fungus, which is the certain ef- fect of a too luxuriant growth. Therefore, as far as convenient, the vegetable and animal manure of a fiirm should be given to the green crops in preference to the grain crops; and when of ne- cessity laid on the latter, they should be so given as that their greater value is reserved for a suc- ceeding green crop. Though the amount and value of liirm-yard manure on clover (for exam- ple,) are greatly increased by its being: thus con- verted to clover-manure f^r wheat, still its action is made more gentle, and it does not produce an undue proportion of straw in the following wheat crop. With this view, and also for economy of labor, and a belief of greater effect in general, my favor- ite practice of applying uniotted barn-yard ma- nures, as well as the better decomposed, has been as a top-dressing on clover, in the early part of its year of best growth, (or year alter being sown.) There need be no fear of waste from evaporation, or exposure, if the manure is spread thinly and evenly, as fast as carried out. The first rain car- ries all the soluble parts of the manure to the roots of the clover, and of course the enriching action ia immediate. The growth soon covers and shades tlie solid and unrolted par!s, and thereby hastens their bcoming decomposed and soluble, and their consequent descent into the soil, and servinij as food to the clover. If used lor grazing tor hotrs, (after beginning to blossotn,) or if mown, the pro- fit of the manuring is partly reaped in a li;vv weeks. If all the growth be plou JNlexico - - - 900,000 " the Central Republic, Columbia, Brazil, Buenos Ayres and Chili 1,383,567 $2,532,567 And yet, as late as 1820 it was asserted confi- dently by many, that Americans could not compete with foreigners in the manufacture of cotton ; that cotton manufactories in the United Slates might maintain a sickly existence for a few years, but that they would ultimately fail, and involve their projectors in pecuniary ruin. Such wilt be the progress of the culture and manufacture of silk in the 'United States. It will meet with opposition and ridicule for several years to come, and when * Many are making their calculations to feed one or two milliong of worms in 1840, who have not trees enough to sustain more than 200,000. FARMERS' REGISTER, 21 it shall be going on successfully in did'erent sec- tions oi" the union, we shall siili hear the prcilic- tion oC iaiiure. " You may hold out for a short peiiod, hut it will be deinoustrated in ihe end that you cannot compete successfully wiih other na- tions," and long after this, when all doubt as lo our ability to produce and manuli^cture silk profitably shall be removed, it will be said, "soon the mar- kets of the world will be oversiocked, and the price so low, that the business will be unprofi- table." Layton Y. Atkiks. Stafford county, Va., Nov. 1S39. FOOD FOR HOGS. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES AND GROUND PEAS. From the Mississippi Farmer. In the last Farmer, over the signature of 'An Inquirer,' the altenlion of the public is dirrc(ed lo some of the articles which may be raised as food for hogs. This is one ot ihe most important items m farming; and I would gladly see the ex- perience of our olil planters on the subject, given to the public. To be able to raise our slocks of hogs in good order, without feeding on an article costing so much labor as corn, is certainly a great desideratum — yet one which I am persuaded could be measureably attained, were the proper atten- tion and pains given to the subject. It is merely as /ti'nis, which I hope mayelicict moresaiislactory communications, that I propose to give to the rea- ders of the Farmer the remarks which follow. One of the cheapest articles which can be raised as food for hogs, a little experience has proven to me to be the common ground artichoke. This sweet and nutritious root is so thrifty in our cli- mate that it may be produced abundantly with no other trouble than that of planting if. Indeed so thrifty and hardy is it known to be, that I have heard several farmers insist that it yielded better without, than with cultivation. It may be propa- gated either by the seed or the root, though by the root most speedily and safely ; on examination of one of the roots, it will be found covered with germs, or 'eyes,' and from each, if planted sepa- rately, there will spring a stalk. Hence one of the roots may be cut into a great number of small pieces for planting; and from the rind pared off by the cook when the vegetable is used f^)r the table, (where it is very fine) the plant will spring as well as from the whole root. The manner of produ- cing the artichoke which I would recommend — although a very slovenly one — is, that the farmer would plant with it in the spring the corners of his fences and the waste spots through his fields. By this means, with no further pains v.'haiever, except (of course) to keep his fields closed, there will be produced by the i'all, when he opens his farm to his stocic, enough of these roofs to keep his hogs in food through the winter. Nor would there be a necessity for replanting in the succeed- ing spring ; for though hogs are remarkably fond of the artichoke, and will root to a considerable depth for them, yet they seldom exterminate them from a spot on which they have once taken hold ; and the young plants often spring up on the suc- ceeding sprins after all their depredations, thicker than ever. The artichoke is so produciive that nearly half a bushel of roots may sometimes be gathered from a single stalk. Another excellent plant for hogs, and one easily cultivated, is the pindar or ^gouber pea.'' The yield of this pea is most aslonishinom twenty-five to thirty years must elapse belbre the trees can be made into rails. This ob- jection is as unsatisfactory as it is unsound. There are thousands who, if ihcy \vcre.now to ap- propriate sufficient ground, according to the size of their fitrms. and plant it as propo>ed, may with the blessing of Providence, live to enjoy its advan- tages lor years. What! not [dant an orchard, or a grove ol locust, or a cluster of maple, because we may not live to enjoy the benefits tliereof! Such sentiments should never find an abiding place in the bosom of an American firmer; for every m- telligent man knows lull well, ihat every measure of this kind lends not merely to adorn and beautify his planlatioi), but alt'o greatly to increase its pros- Cedar post and rail, fence. — James Garnett, esq., a name familiar to the reading farmer, says S " I can affirm, from my own experience, that a cedar post and rail fence, without any ditch, the materials for which grow spontaneously over a large portion of Virginia, and will grow by planting almost any where in tlie United Stales, will last, without the slightest repair, fi-om thirteen to four- teen years ; and may be made to last six or eight years longer, by a lew occasional supplies of rails and posts. I also know from my own experience, that eitlier cedar, chestnut, or locust, the last of wliich is more durable than either, will in fourteen years grow sufficiently large to make the fence anew, if planted by the side of it one or two to each pannel." — Mr. Garnett''s jlddress before ihe Fredericksburg,, Va., j^griciiltural Society. A great diversity of opinion has prevailed among many persons, as to the best time for cutting tim- ber, so as to insure its greatest durability. Some recommend the summer season, some the fall, others the winter v/hen the sap^ has generally de- scended ; while others affain who have entered in- to a careful investigation of the subject, have come to the conclusion that the most suitable period lor felling timber, is in the spring while the sap flows It-eely. This will no doubt be considered as rank heresy by many of those who cannot regard with complacency, what they deem innovations on the old and favorite s^'stems. But this opinion is gaining ground ; from the simple circumstance that it is well sustained by incontrovertable facts. An old and observing friend, Capt. Cooper of the Navy, furnished for publication some time since in an agricultural work, a variety of facts, toue'.hing tliis important matter; from which it clearly appears, that spring, that is, while the sap is flowing li-eely, is the best time for cutting tim- ber.* The late Joseph Cooper, Esq. warmly advocated this system. In the same paper, page * Farmers' Cabinet, vol. iii. p. 29. — one fact we give. "J. C. (Joseph Cooper, Esq.) informed me tliat a detachment of British troops crossed from Philadelphia on the 1st day of May, in 1777, and on the 2d com- menced cutting down his woods tor the supply of the army, and at the same time to burn up his fencing, which they completelyaccomplished. "But," said he, " they taught me the proper time to cut timber to makoi it last. After they marched off, I found many trees that were not cut into cord wood : those I split into rails, believing at the same time they would soon decay, lioin their being cut in the spring — but I have been agreeably disappointed — most of them are as sound now as when made into fence." This he related five- and-twenty or thirty years after the peace of '83. 1^'ARMERS' REGISTER S^ 4, is a communication recommendinor the month of August, wiihin one day ol' the time u'iien ihe moon IS roll, as ihe best period lor ouiiing ;ill it likely to be most influenced by the words and feelings of the resi- dent governmental officers ; and that the conse- quent abuses of the powers of either class cannot be prevented by the fear of public opinion, and cannot be punished by the force of civil law. It is hence very natural that the public officers, pri- vate proprietors, and all the dependent population of Key West, should constitute a formidable host of organized enemies to every mercantile im- provement of every other island nearer to the na- tural centre of the only business of the reef, to every agricultural industry in every portion of South Florida a[)proximaling to the same centre ; in short, to every person, place and enterprise which has any tendency to diminish their hitherto absolutely despotical monopoly of the whole busi- ness of all South Florida, by indicating the indis- pensable necessity of an adtlitional port of entry. But the easternmost jiopulation at Indian Key ia in 24"^ 4S' north latitude and 80° 55' west longi- tude, or 19 miles north, and 60 miles east of Key West ; while it is but 13 miles south and 1 1 miles east of Cape Sable, and the preparatory nursery for tropical plants is on Lower Matacumba, only one mile west of Indian Key. The most experienced men of the world will hence be least stirprised at the natural effect, that since the 8th of Januaiy last, I have not been able to obtain for the preparatory nursery a single plant, from even Cuba, through the only port of Key West. The most intelligent agriculturists can best calculate the vast damages of a single year's delay in the geometrical multiplication of the first desirable plants in even the wintry zone, and can hence best imagine the incalculable da- mages of the same delay ia the progress of a pre- paratory nursery of valuable plants in Tropica! Florida. But on the 8lh January 1840, one year of fruit- less exertions will have elapsed ; and it is very evident that the preparatory nursery for tropical plants cannot ever be filled with the useful plants ol' even the Bahama Islands, until an additional port of entry shall admit the direct importation of living plants at the only proper season of the sum- mer rains. But it is notorious that in the congress of the United Sates there exists a powerful anti-south- ern influence against every measure adapted to promote the settlement and cultivation of the ter- ritory of Florida, and consequently against every means of removing any governmental obstacle to the introduction and propagation of tropical plants in Tropical Florida. As then, the only population in all South Flori- da is an exclusively anti-agricultural population; and as there does exist in congress a strong anti- southern influence against all agricultural improve- ment of South Florida, it is evident ih.at next ses- sion no measure will be adopted to remove any obstacle to agricultural industry in South Florida unless effected by the powerful counter influence of the enlighted agriculturists of all the southern and south-western states. The first essential measure then, is the eflieclive excitation of con- gress to withdraw great governmental wronsrs, by the immediate opening of ports of entry in South Florida, at the most suitable sites to diminish most the governmental obstacles hitherto grievously interposed to the natural salvage of wrecked per- sons and properties along the reef, and simulta- neously to the natural settlement and cultivation of the main land of Tropical Florida. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant. Henry Perrine. P. S. — fs it not deplorably (rue, that all my la- bors for Tropical Florida have merely been the isolated efforts of a single agriculfurist in a desert FARMERS' REGISTER. M dislricl, feebly struggling against the ruinous ob- stacles to individual industry powerfully interposed by the national government of tiie United Stales, by all the red men on the savage main land, and by the only white men on this wrecking reef? Is not hence this great enter[)rise essentially depen- dent on the mighty influence of the uniied etlbris, the associated exertions of all southern agricultu- risis ? And is it not physically impossible lor an isolated individual to overcome the combined ob- stacles powerfully interposed by the inimical go- vernment of the United States at Washingion, by the murderous red men on the desert main land, and by the hostile white men on the wreck- ing reef o! Tropical Florida; all pertinaciously sustained by the ruinous policy of the same inimi- cal government 7 H. P. IMPORTING WORK HORSES FROM FRANCE. From the Franklin Farmer. Mr. Editor : — We have been too much in the habit of going to England for all our notions, and we have consequentlyin some instances adopted her prejudices at the expense of our interests. Lib- erality requires of us to do them justice; but expand- ed views demand that we adopt the improvements of other nations, when reason and propriety sus- tain us in giving them a preference. I have been led to this iniroduction by reading the communi- calion under the signature of Sam'!. D. Martin in a late number of your paper, as to the white color of the improved Short Horns. An Englishman will derive it from a native wild breed. The ev- idence adduced by Mr. M. is not indeed conclu- sive, but it is very persuasive to my mind that the white color was imported by Sir Wm. St. Quintin from Holland. Cattle were imported, and of that color, to improve the Teeswaters. The dray horse of England we have, was imported from that country; and the English race horse is also known to be descended from stock imported from Asia and Africa. We all believe, who have paid any attention to the subject, that the English domestic horse may be improved by selections and raising for thousands of years, and one /bur mile racer could never be brought to the post, with any prospect of success. From the superior sizes and strength, and stride of the modern race horse, it is conceded, they can go over the course sooner than the original Arabian, Barb or Turk ; but they have evidently lost something of the temper, metal, symmetry, polish and attitudes of the original ; and notwiihstandins their continual boast of their "high bred cattle" the English are still occasion- ally infusing portions of the oriental blood into their stock. And, who among them doubts, that such a horse as the Darley Arabian, the Godol- phin Arabian, the Byerley or Hcmsley Turk, or theCurwin Bay Barb, would be now a desirable cross. And whatever they may think or do, should not we who have set up for ourselves in government, politics and thinkirig, resort to crosses to give beauty, docility, activity, soundness and last- ingness to our thorouijh- breeds? Lindsay's Ara- bian, or his equal would be a decided improvement upon our leggy and and overgrown and coarse full-breds. Napoleon declared that their Limousin and Na- varrese horses were better (or war than the English thorough-breds. It is not extreme speed merely, accoiding to hiu), which makes a good war horse it is spri^htliness, activity, quickness of perleclion and docility and I add lastingness, and all these qualities are prominent in the Arabian. In his opin- ion a good Arabian stallion is the best horse in the world, and crossed on their own stock, particularly their Navarrese. all the properties they desired might be attained. Now, be it known, 'l do not endorse all these notions. Perhaps the Emperor had occasion, at Waterloo to change his opinion as to the relative merits of his Navarrese horses in conflict with the English terrible greys. But so far as my experience goes, I underwrite for the sprightliness, activity, quickness of perception, docility, ability to bear fatigue, and courage of the Arabian ; and these properties are very desirable to country gentlemen, who indulge themselves in riding to hojnds, or prefer tra- velling on horseback to being jolted in the mail stages. This brings to my recollection an old stage contractor, who would have nothing to do with a nicked or cropped horse, and held the bet- ter the breed the better the steed. And if high breeding was necessary for the sandy roads of Vir- ginia and Carolina, it will be found much more necessary on McAdam turnpikes. Your heavy coarse legged and hooled brutes will be limping at all seasons, and in hot weather you may look out lor thumps and high blowing. There are some farmers, who are invincibly prejudiced against blood for farming horses. They are lor the Dutch or English work horse. Iftliey will be so good as to attend a moment I will introduce them to two varieties, which I think will better suit their views and purposes. They are described by an Englishman with his En- glish predilections about him ; and moreover, by an Englishman who is the best writer in the language on the subject of horses. " Where," asks the celebrated Nimrod, " where in England will you see what is every day seen here — a man take a powerful horse out of a cart, and gallop him along the road at the rate of twelve or four- teen miles in the hour? This description of horse, the light cart horse — light, yet ver}' strong ; on very short legs, and not more than fifteen hands in height — is far superior to any thing we liave in England for such purposes as those for which he is used. Look for example at the cart horses that convey fish to Paris! What English cart horses would go their pace (considerably faster than that of the diligences) and keep up their good looks as they do ? Then, what admirable animals are the black roan stallions we see on the roads lead- ing from Paris, drawing the public carrying wag- ons ! We have nothing in England that can at all compare with them in any one respect. They will out-walk our horses by a mile in the hour, and will live where ours would strave. I have often expressed my surprise that we do not avail ourselves of a cross from this excellent breed." lie might have said breeds — the cart breed and the wason breed. An Englishman will tell us to go to England for cart and wagon horses, but his countrymen are advised to go to France for them. Prejudice and ignorance aside, why may not we as well go to France 1 Crofts. 82 Farmers' register. CURING COCOONS. For Ihe Fanners' Register. This is an important work, aiul simulJ be well Jdne. It" ihe cocoons cnniioi be rcelfd iniriiediaicly alter they have bccMi finished by liie worms, tliey must be spreatl out, in layers of ijic ihickness of a sinirle cocoon, and exposed lo the rays of the sun until the chrysalides are completely stifli^d. In dry weather, when the thermometer (Fahrenheit's) rises to 80 in the shade, this may bo accomplished in six hours. The cocoons should be spread on frames or hurdles that have been covered with dark colored cloih or paper, and placed on the ground, and not at any elevation whatever. In dry weather exposure lor one day on the ground will kill the chrysalides as eflectually, as three days when the hurdles are elevated only two or three feet; and besides, when the hurdles are placed on the ground they are not liable to be overturned by high winds. II' heavy rains have immediately preceded the time of exposing the cocoons to the rays of the sun, three days will be requisite to effect that which may be done in six hours, when the earth is quite dry. These are unquestionable fads, ascertained by careful expe- riments, but I am not prepared to assign positively the cause of this difference. I suppose however, it should be attributed chiefly to the great reduction in the temperature of the earth which usually fol- lows copious rains. Whether the chrysalides are killed", or not, must be ascertained by opening a small number of the thickest cocoons. If any of them should slill be alive the cocoons should be exposed to the rays of the sun another day. After the chrysalides have been etl'eciually killed, the cocoons must be spread out in a dry apartment, and suffered to remain in that situation for three or four weeks. They must not be thrown into bulk earlier than three weeks after the chrysalides have been killed. If this should be done immediately, fermentaiion ensues, the fibre is weakened, and the cocoons would not pay lor the expense ol" reeling. When 1 speak of expense, I allude to hired labor. In families where there are females without profitable employment, cocoons of inferior quality might be reeled with advantage, and converted into sewing silk. I have recently reeled cocoons formed in July 183S, which were cured on the above-named plan, and the fibre appears to be as strong now as it was twelve months ago. Layton Y. Atkins. Stafford county, Va., Jan., 1840. RE-MARKS ON THE KftlPLOYMENT OF SALT IN AGRICULTURE. POUDRETTE. TREATMENT OK HORSES. To tlie Editor of llic Fanners' Register. I wish you a happy new year. Some years ago an essay was published by a person of the name of "Johnson" on the use of salt as manure, and I well recollect at the lime, that ihere was considerable discussion on its me- rits, but the evidence adduced was of so contra- dictory a nature, that on summing up i he pros and cons, I was fairly posed. To read Mr. Johnson one would almost set down the farmer who omitted the use of salt lo his crops, as little better than an idiot. Tlie application was represented to be bo cheap and scipntific — there was such a neatness and even elegance about it, when compared with filtliy dung — then it was so handy withal! You may rest assured, sir, and I think the niajority of your readers will coincide with me in the opinion, that there is no reliance to be placed on these short cuts to fortune. " I should not wonder," said a f>iend of mine at the time, "but that the day will come when we shall be able to carry the manure for an acre of land in our coat pockets." The reply in substance was, if ever that time should come, that the waistcoat pockets would be large enough for the produce.' What puzzles me most about salt is this: that it should promote the growth of what ought to grow, and destroys weeds, those real blessings to bad farmers; but how that which destroys, nourishes ! That is ano- ther poser. Whatever may be the etfect of salt on friable soils, 1 know from experience that on still loamy, or retentive land, it is very injurious. Such soils continue wet and close for many years after a di'essing of salt. But what would with me be an objection against its use is, that it des- troys the best drainers we have — the common earth worm. They are continually working up and down, and that to a depth greater perhaps than is supposed ; every worm hole being a pipe leading to the drains, if any. With respect to poudrette, another of those portable manures, it is well to be cautious. A number of certificates are going the rounds of all the agricultural periodicals, detailing its virtues, &c., plausibly enough drawn up to be sure, but still, 1 repeal, let the prudent farmer be cautious j we poorfiirmers have been, of late, among ^^ break- ers" too much. It is not to be inlcrred, however, that the writer would wish to consign poudrette, if pure, to the already large liimily of ^' humbugs.^'' In the neighborhood of large cities where "truck- ing" predominates, I have no doubt but that it will be both a convenient and useful manure, but lor regular farming, or to the great body of lidrm- ers in general, poudrette can be of little avail, even if it was attainable. As regards the keep of farm horses, public opi- nion is liovv decidedly in lavor of cutting their fod- der, whether it be hay, straw, or a mixture of both. Yet notwithstanding the plan has so much lo recommend it, I am perfectly convinced from observation that not one farm in one hundred puts it in praelice systematically. The best criterion of the excellence of this plan, is the fact, ihat in sea- sons when the hay crop is short, farmers resort to it as a measure of economy, in order to make their stork of fodder hold out. In the treatment of farm horses much difference of opinion prevails. Some not only house them, but keep them constantly clothed up in the stable. Of ibis method I by no means approve, /or though it improves the coats of the animals, it renders them lender and exceedingly liable to cold. 1 give the preference to the Norlblk (Eng.) system, of letting them run out, as it is called, which means nothing more than leaving the siable door open into a yard always kept well littered with dry straw or stubble ; and as a proof (hat this plan is more in accordance with the natural habits and tastes of the animals themselves, than warm close slables, it is a well known fiict, that however cold the weather may be, they generally prefer the open FARMERS' REGISTER yard to (roins; under cover, thotifjli tliey liavo ihe option ol' so dointr. Ciire is iiere.-sary in this piMn not 10 pill loo niuiiy horses logeilier in one } ;inl, and liiiit (here wre no ki( l3eds flailing to grow, the preventive process is indicated by a knowledge of the causes most fre- quently productive of this result, which we think are those stated above. If you sprout your seeds before putting them into the ground, you will pre- serve them fi-om the first cause of failure, but if you pulverize your soil thoroughly and press in this state with a hoe. spade, or roller, upon the seeds thus sprouted, the root stem will soon and surely derive sufiicient moisture from the soil. In a few instances I have found tny neiahbors blaming the seed as useless, particularly of onions, carrots, and parsnips, when I have obtained a little of the seed and (iDund it to sprout quite well. You may easily save yourselves from such reflec- tions, or from the temptation to blame others, by steeping the suspected seed in warm or lepiu water, from si.K to twenty-four hours, according to the size and hardness of the seeds, and then THINNING OUT THE I.EAVES OF VINES INJU- RIOUS TO THE FRUIT. From the Annales d' Hort. de Paris. Mr. Erassin, the manager of the celebrated vines at Thierney and Fontainbleau, does not thin out the leaves to ripen the fruit, as is too frequent- ly done by many who cultivate grapes. When the fruit is flill grown, instead of thiiming the leaves, which shade the fi'uit from the gun, as is the com- mon practice — which is so injurious, that the more the leaves are removed, the less the fruit ri- pens— he takes away the leaves between the grapes and the wall, in order that the heat of the sun may be reflected by the wall on the grapes. M. Poiteau truly observes that no leaves can be safely removed by any one uho does not possess some just notions of vegetable physiology. setting it away in a warmish place for a day or two. If good it will sprout in this time ; if kept warm in a darkish place, and it does not sprout in this lime, the seed is I;iuit3^ In cotmexion with this subject, I may state that several circumstances incline me to the bidief that corn which has been sprouted — no matter in what steep — is safe Horn the ravages of the red or wire worm. It has been fiishionable to steep in a strong solution of copperas, and to ascribe the safety of the seed in this stale not to the change which fermentaiion has produced in the germ or chit which is usually first attacljcd, but to the change in the taste from the copperas. We have known corn soaked in simple water — in water alone — to escape from ihe attacks of the worm as ,wel! as that soaked in a copperas steep. Until this matter is made more certain, however, I would hold it bad husbandry to neglect the copperas, as in addition to the change produced by heat and moisture, we have also the disagreeable taste communicated by this salt,. THE COTTON CROPS OF THE WORLD. P'rom the Philadelphia Inquirer. There is no subject connected with commerce or agriculture, which possesses a higher interest for the citizens of the United Slates, than the produc- tion and consumption of cotton. We have, on more than one occasion, devoted our columns to the insertion of information upon the subject ; and our attention is particularly called to it just now, in consequence of a recent publication of a valuable letter, signed " Gotlon Plant," in a spirited New York pa^er, called "The Whip." The writer commences by stating that the entire growth of cotton ill the world is set down at 1,000,000,000 lbs. Of this 550 millions are supposed to he jjrown in the Uniied States, 30 in Brazil, 8 in the West Indies, 27 in Egypt, 36 in the west of Africa, 190 in the westof Asia, 35 in Mexico and South Ame- rica, except Brazil, and 14 millions elsewhere. Thus, at 10 cents per lb., a price below which it has rarely ever fallen, this crop is worth 100,- 000,000 dollars. For the last fifty years, however, the value (though often fluctuating suddenly and widely) has averaged 19 l-2cts. At this price the FARMERS' REGISTER present frrowth ofthe world is worih $192,500,000. Of llii?, about 350 millions oC pounds iire con- sumed iind maniiliictured in EnL^iind, iihouf 150 millions id llio U. !"'aies, 80 in France. 250 \n China ami India. 25 in S. Ameiica and Mexico. iniludiMiX Brazd ; H5 in Germany, 45 in Tui'key and Aliica, 10 in Spain, 23 in Russia, and the re- mainder elsewhere. The value ol'coiion mnnnfarfures in Enjrland is beheved lo he annually about 170 millions of dol- lars ; in France at 70 millions; in Uie U. States at 60 millions. The capital employed in manufiiclnrins by ma- chinery, is estimaicd" in En-Tland at 200rniHinns of dollars; in France at 120 millions; in the U. States at 110 millions. The consumption in manufactures of raw cotton in ail Europe, in 1803, was ostimaied at onlv 60 million.'? of pounds. (Die. of Span. Com.) The whole consumpiion in Europe, in 1S30. was about 887 niilliori« of pounds. In 1S38, it is believed to be nearly 500 millions of pound?. Souih Carolina and G;iorjria were the fir.«f Ptale.? in this union to irrow couon to any con.-idcrahle ext'nt. In 1791, two millions of pnnnds were {jrown in the union — one and a half million of which rrnwv in S. Carolina, and one half million in Genrrria. In 1801, forty million' was the crop of the Uni- ted Slates— of which 20 millions <:rew in South (Carolina, 10 in Geor-. When it is remembered that ihe first coUon plant in ihe Uiiiied (Stales was raised in 1787, surely our readers will find reason forsurprise at the won- derl'ul increase ihat lias accrued in liitle more iiian fifty years ! Bold, indeed, must be the man who would venture to predict the wealth, trreainess and power, iikely to become our national attributes through the agency ofcotton. PROCEEDINGS OF THE SILK SOCIETY IN NOR- FOLK. On the 231 Dec. 1839, at 11 o'clock, A. M. at the Eaccoms a member of this eocieiy by sigiiilyinij his desire, to the corres- ponding tecreiary and paying into ihe treasury any sum nolles.s than one dollar, and the same sum annually. Art. 3. The Society shalll meet quarlerly at such time and |ilace as a majority of ih« members in any meeiiiig shall appoint as well for the trans- action of business, as lo the end that they may ex- chantre courtesies wilh other similar associations ; and hold also, a 'silk liiir,' annually. Art. 4. The officers of liiis Socieiy shall be a Pre- sident, six Vice Presidents, a Re<-ording Secreta- ry, a Corresjiondinir Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Execmive Comaiiiiee, of which throe shall Ibm a quorum, to consist of ihe President and correspond- iniT secretary, eso^c/o, and five members ; all of whom shall iiold theiroffices till oihers be appointed. Art. 5. It shall be the duly of the President to officiate at the meeting ofthe socieiy to perlbrm the duties assigned to that office ; to appoint commit- tees, and lo deliver an address belbre the Society on the great objecis and interests ofsilk, at the meeting succcedintj that at which he was appointed. An. 6. It shall be ihe duty of the Vice Presidents to refiort lo the President, one month precpedin;; each annual meeiinir, the progress and condiiion of ilio culiure of pilk in ibeir several couniics and lowns : a!.so in the absence ofthe I^resident, or du- ririL'- a vacancy of ihat office, the Vice Presidenla shall ficrliirm il;e diiiics oftlio cluiir. resj)eclively ia their appointed order. Art. 7. The Recordinir Secretary shall keep the books and papers of the'Society; and shall record its proceedings. FARMERS' REGISTER 37 Art. 8. It shall bethedutj'' ofilie Corresixinding Secretary to conduct ilie correspondence, ol ilie So- ciety, and cause to be jiubiisiicd such papers and docunientsastlie Execulive Commit lee shall direct. An. 9. The Treasurer shall lake charge ofihe funds of I he sociely, and pay them out on llie or- der of the Executive Comniitiee. He shall also receive and dispose for exhibiiion all specimens of n»achinery or of silk produced (or premium or exhibition, and shall furnish his account imimally. Art. 10. It shall l>e the duty of the Execulive Commitiee to devise and execuie plans (or the promotion ot the interests of the Society. They shall make a quarterly report of their proceedinirs; shall recommend measures lor the adoption of the Sociely, and shall award premiums and medals under llie reLmlations of the Socieij-. Art. 11. The Society may elect any number of linnorary members, who may meet and deliberate but not vote u-iih the Society. Art. 12. No less than one fifth of the members fshall constitute a quorum for llie transaction of business at anv rejj. Its subsequent management of pulling and brea- king reijuires very heavy labor ; none but our strong able negro men can handle it to advantage. Very little is exported, being mostly manulactured in the state into bale rope and bagging. It is not considered an exhausting crop; Irum ten to filteen crops in succession have been taken ofi' the same ground without any material variation in its pro- duction. It is of rapid growth, and soon protects the ground from the infiuencc of the sun, that connected with the superior order in which the ground is prepared lor sowing, and the care taken in preventing all stock from trampling in winter, would keep our best lands in good condi- tion for hemp fifteen years without the aid of ma- nures. Its culture and manufacture may be con- sidered disagreeable but not unhealthy, unless from the quantity of dust arising from it, persons inclined to consumption may be more exposed, than when engaged at other occupations. Coriiii our gieat staple, upon it we depend to fatten our horses, mules, cattle and hogs, as well as for bread in our lamilies. In our best lands, a good hand will tend 30 acres after the ground is prepared in the spring, and the corn planted. Eight to ten barrels may be considered the ave- raire crop, and i^l.50 to $2 per barrel the average price. The quantity sold, however, bears but a small proportion to ihat consumed by the farmer in Ihe feeding of stock. Upon all our large stock farms the corn is cut up in the fail, stacked in shocks of 16 hills square, and led out to stock in the winter and spring, in lots provided lor the purpose, or upon our blue gra^s pastures. Our system of feeding and grazing cattle and hogs requires less labor to the quantity of ground oc- cupied than any other mode in which we can use labor. Some of our large farms containing 1000 to 1500 acres, all in grass and cultivation, anti I'eeding 200 to 300 head of catllc, and as many hogs, requiring only about ten good hands to do all the work. Cottle in all our rich counties form an impor- tant item in our system of husbandry — the num- ber 1(3(1 lor the butcher annually being very great ; probably in no one item has greater improvements been made than in our cattle. In their neatness of appearance, aptitude to fatten at an early age, and greater weight of carcass, they have been greatly improved. The breeding and feeding cattle are similar to to that of mules. Calves are raised until two and three years old by the sm;ill farmers, when they are sold to the grazier, v.ho winiers them the first year on fodder, and the next v.'inter and spring ihey are led for the butcher. < hir stock now consists priticipallj' of the full Itlood Durham short-horns, with all the interme- diate grades, crossed upon our common cattle, ■with a kw Herelbrds and Lona-horns. I can form no idea of the number of improved Dur- hams ol'pure blood. The number is now trreal and increa-inif rapidly. Very lew less than 100 have been brought into the state the i)reseni year, mostly imported. The prices given in the last 4 or 5 3'ears have caused a rapid demand for them. Our own state is not yet fully su|)plied, and the new stales must rely upon us lor their supply whenever they are prepared with grass to breed them. The pedigrees ol' our imported rattle and their descendants are preserved and published with izreat care ; with but lew excepiions, the Franklin Farmer contains ihe pedigrees of our be-st stock. We are also preparing to publish a Herd Book, similar to that of England, in which great eare has been taken to give correct and laithful pedi- grees. Our principal markets for beef cattle are Louis- ville, Cincinnati, New ^Orleans, Baltimore and South Carolina. H. BiiAkton. KIDNEY-SEED COTTON. To the Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. Indian Key, T. F., 15th July, 1839. The notices in your periodical of new varieties of cotlon remind me that I also have a new spe- cies, which has been growing at Cape Florida since 1833, and ai Indian Key since 1837. I al- lude to ihe species called kidney seed cotlon m Yucatan, of which 1 forwarded seeds to many parts of the United States every year since 1827, but I have never received any history of their failure or success. Fearing that even those sent to Cape Florida in the spring of 1833 might have perished by neglect, on my departure from Cam- peachy in January, 1837, I packed up a small quaniityuith ihe other seeds to be carried by myself to Florida; but owing to the delays and difficulties of getting even from New Orleans to Key West, I had finally to pass via Havanna to the Florida Reef, and hence did not reach this islet until the 20th of July. In August of that year one mass of the conglomerated seed was- planted in a box containing a cubic fool of tho soil which here consists solely of calcareous pow- der colored by vegetable mould. On my arrival here with my family the 25th of December last, 1 found that the box contained six shrubs about 3 feet high, with stems as thick as my thumb, and branches to correspond. In I'^ebruary last the first bolls began lo open, and they continued to ripen during the ensuing months of March and April; and the shrubs were ihen transplanted on Matacumba. The seeds collected from these bolls I am sowing at intervals in the most unpromising sites and surfaces on that island — e. g. on ihe dry shell bank which rises a lew leet above high wa- ter mark of the sea, and on the rocky jirairie, behind which is covered with water by every heavy shower. My confidence that this shrub will domesticate ilself in the worst sites sind sur- faces of these calcareous keys is lound in the fol-- lowing liicis. 1st. It grows spontaneously on similar sites and surfaces near the sea at Cam- peachy ; 2ndly. it has flourished the last six years near Cape Florida; 3rd. a wild species of shrub- cotton is indigenous to the rocky wastes of these- islands; 4ih. the sea island cotton planted by C. Howe at Duck Key 8 j'ears ago continues lo grow and bear cotlon ; 5th. on the lOtli May last at Key Vacas, I picked cotton Irom a shrub which Mr. Piinl, an old resident, assured mc was planted there in the year 1823 — 16 years ago. The trreat im[)orlance of this new slai)le lo the Florida Keys may be estimated from the following considera- FARMERS' REGISTER 4S tions. Isf. Because ihey cannot ever be cultivated by large planters in annual staples, and hence they requite perennial staples adapted to small cultivators. The reasons are evident j because the eurfaces of these islands are so rocky that the plough cannot be used, and because the sub- stance here called soil being nothing but calca- reous powder colored by vegetable mould, the latter is liecomposed and the Ibrnier blown away by exposure to the sun and wind; 2ndly. because the kidney-seed cotton yields its staple during the dry season from November or December to April or May ; and can hence be picked by even the poor invalids who will certainly visit these islands every winter, when the government of the United states shall remove the obstacles to their inter- course by the establishments of pons of entry ; 3rd. because, like all other perennial shrubs, when once planted it is planted Ibrever; and because, like the moras mullicaulis, when it grows too high lor con- venient picking, the shrub may be cut down, and fresh stems will spring from its roots. When I arrived at Campeachy in 1827, 1 found a shrub orrowing in the yard of Col. Toro which was still bearing cotton on ni}' departure in 1837. In my articles on the morus multicaulis in the Key West paper, I have endeavored to show that if the cul- ture of silk be worth pursuing in any of our slates, it will be immensely more profiiable in the slerd islands of the Florida Reei] and that they alone can supply all the raw si:k requisite lor home con- sumption and foreign export. In future articles I shall endeavor to show that I lie perennial cotton shrub for small cultivators will be still more desi- rable than the perennial mulberry tree. But I shall leave to time and experience the demonstra- tion of the fact, that for these islands the most pro- fitable of all perennials will be the tibrous-leaved agaves and other plants which yield Ibliaceous fibres and propagate themselves on the most arid «oiIs> Very respectfully yours, &c., H. Peruine. •EGG-HATCHIiVG EXHIBITION- From tlie New Genesee Farmer. A short time ago, while in London, I went to .see, among other " sights," the much-talked-of- egg-hatching-apparalus, or, as it is called by its proprietor, the Eccaleob'wn — a word from the Greek, signifying to bring to life. The establish- ment is situated in Pall-Mali, opposite the Italian Opera-House, and consist of a large handsome back aparment, entered by a passage from the street. The first feeling on entering the room is that of rather a warm atmosphere, along with the slight smell of a poultry yard, which the place literally is. On one side on your left is a huge oblong case airainst the wall, elevated three or lour feet from the floor, and used as a hatching oven ; on the opposite side, running nearly the length of the room, is an enclosure Ibrmed of paling,separated in distinct divisions for difl'erent sizes of birds, and containing, close to the wall, a row of coops or houses for the little creatures to run into. At the farther end of the room is a glass-case on a table in which the birds of one day old are kept and nursed; and in the centre of the room is a table with a number of saucers in which lie the yolks of eggs at different stages of advancement toward maturity, but which being broken are of course useless lor hatching; they only exhibit the pro- gress of the chick. Such is the general outline of the establishment, which is fitted up with iron steam-pipes running round the room to preserve a certain temperature; and with a man, who attends the oven, and a woman to look alter the poultry-yard or enclosure, the whole is before the eye of the visitor. The first thing we do is to take a peep into the oven, where the process of incubation is perlbrm- ed. This oven executes the office of the parent hen, and in a remarkably perfect manner ; in fact nuich better than most hens could perfbrm the operation. — Every botiy, who has any thing to do with hatching poultry, knows iha: the great dif- ficulty consist in keeping the hen upon her eggs. Some hens are better hatchers than others, but. generally speaking, they are loo apt to leave their eggs to get cool ; and this, by checking the incu- bation, at once destroys the unborn chick. B_v the Eccaleobion process, this chance of loss is en- tirely avoided. If the egg be a fresh good egg, it must give up its chick ; nothing can keep it firom being batched. The oven or case, as we have said, is a large oblong box projecting from the wall. It is to be divided into eight compartments, like the floors of a house, and each exposed to view by means of a glass door. To satisly our curiosity the door of one of the compartments was tljrown open, and on looking in we perceive that the interior is a sort of shaliow box lined with cloth, heated with steam-pipes, and the bottom covered with etrgs lyi^g at an easy distance from each other. A jug of water is placed among the eggs, for the purpose of supplying the air of the box with a necessary degree of moisture. Thus each compartment or box is a distinct oven with its own eggs, anil in each the eggs are at a par- ticular stage of advancem'Mit. In one box they may be but newly put in, and in another they may be in the act of being hati'.hed. The meaning of having eight boxes is to insure a batch of chicks every two or three days. Each box holds from two to three hundred eggs, or the whole upwards of two thousand. An egg requires from twenty to tvventy-threiB days to hatch according to its quality and other circumstances; the exact time is allovyeil to be twenty-one days ; but such is the variety of eggs, that a batch will require three days in entirely chipping. The progressive series of phenomena during incubation, as exhibited in the broken egga on the table of the room, are exceedingly inter- esting, particular!)' that in which the heart is seen beginning to beat on the surface of the yolk, and are as follows : 1 quote from a pamphlet handed to visitors : — " 1st. day. In a few hours after exposure to the proper tem|)erature the microscope discovers thai a humid matter has formed within the linea- ments of the embryo: and at the expiration of twelve or fourteen hours, this matter bears some resemblance to the shape of a little head ; a num- ber of new ve.-icles also suddenly appear rudimen- tary of dillerent parts of the future body of the chick ; those first formed, and most easily distin- guishable, may afterwards be rf»cognized as assum- ing the shape of the vertebral bones of the back. — 2d day. The eyes begin to make their appear- ance about the thirtieth hourjand additional vcsselj? 44 FARMERS' REGISTER. closely, joined together, indicate the situation of the naval. The brain and spinal marrow, some rudimenis oC the vvini^s and principal n)uscles, become observal)le. Tne Ibrnnnion of the heari is aic-o evidently proct^eding. — 3d thiy. At the comineacenieni of the third il.iy the beaiimj of the heart is perceptible, iillhoui^ti no blood is visible; a lew hours, howove.r, elapse and uvo vesicles, contrtiiiing blood, maUe their appearance; one Ibrming the left ventricle, the other the great artery. The auricle of the heart is next seen, and in the whole of these, pulsation is evident. — 4th day. The v.'ings now assume a more defined ehape, and the increased size of the head renders the globules containing the brain, the beak and the^front and hind part of the head distinctly visible.— 5th day. On the 5th day the liver makes its appearance, and both auricles now plainly Been appmach nearer the heart than they were before. That beautiful phenomena, the circula- tion of the blood, is evident. — 6ih day. The lungs and stomach are distinguishable, and the full gush of blood from the iieart distinctly apparent. — 7ih day. During this day, the intestines, veins and upper mandible, become visible, and the brain begins to assume a constituent (brm. — 8th day. The beak, for the first time, opens, and the Ibrma- tion cl flesh commences upon the breast. — 9th day. The deposition of matter Ibrming tlie ribs, takes place, and the gall-bfidder is |)erceptible. — lOih day. The matter fornsing the skull now becomes cartilaginous, and the protrusion of leathers evi- dent.—12th day. The orbits of sight are now apparent, and the ribs are perliicted. — 13th day. 'J'tie spleen gradually apjironches in its proper position in the abdomen. — Hthday. The luniis become inclosed within the breast. — 15th, 16lh and 17ih days. During these days the infinity of phenomena in litis wonderful piece of vital me- chanism, elaborate it into a more perlect Ibrm and it presents an appearance closely approaching a mature state. The yolk of the egg, however, from which it derives its nourishment, is still oui- eide the body.— 18ih day. On the 18lh day, the outward and audible sign of developeii life is apparent, by the liiint piping of lhechi(;k being Jbr the first' time, heard.— I'Jth, 20ih, and 21st days. Continually increasing in size and strength the remainder of the yolk gradually becomes inclosed within its body; then with uncommon power lor so small and frail a being, it liberates itself from its prison in a peculiar and curious manner, t>y repeated etforts made with its bill, peconded by muscular exertion with its limbs, and emerges into a new existence. '* The position of the chicken in the shell is such as to occupy the least possible space. The head, which is larire and heavy in proportion to the rest oflhe body is placed in ii-ont of the belly with its beak under the ri^ht wing; the Itjel are gnihered up like a bird trussed for the spit ; yet in this singular manner, and appareiit uricoml!)rtable po- sition, it is by no means crampeil or confined, but performs all the necessary motions and etfons required Ibr its liberation, with the most perlect case, and that consummate skill wliieh instinct renders almost infdiible. The chicken, at the time it breaks the shell, is heavier than tlie whole egg was at first." The superintendent of the oven politely exhi- chipping. Some had chipped the day before, others that day, and some would not be chipped nil the morrow ; in a lew cases we observed the beak of the diick boring its way through the shell and getting itself emancipated. When the little creatures are ushered into the world, they are not immediately renioved out of the oven, but are alloweii to remain for a lew hours until they be- come dry ; they are then removed and put into the glass-case, on the table at the end of the room. This case is very shallow, and the glass cover can be easily pushed aside to permit the superinten- dent handling them if required. They are here for the first time fed though not for twenty-four hours after being hatched ; the materials scattered among them is email bruised grits, or particles little larger than meal; these they eagerly pick up without any teaching, their instinctive desire for food being a sufficient monitor. After the brood has been kept in the glass-case, (which is partially open) lor two or three days, and been thus gradually accustomed to the atmosphere, they are removed to one of the divisions in the railed enclosure on the floor. Here hundreds are seen running about, uttering peepy cries, picking up grits or otherwise amusing themselves, all being apparently in as lively and thriving a con- dition as if trotting about in a barn-yard. At six in the evening they are put to bed for the night in a coop ; these coops are wooden boxes, lined with a flannel curtain in front, to seclude, and keep the inmates as warm and comfortable as if under the wing of a mother. At six or seven in the morti- in>r they are airain allowed to come forth into their court-yard, which being strewed with sand and provided with Ibod and water, aflbrds them all the advantage of a run in an open irround. I made some inquiries respecting the failures in hatchinj; and deaths, and received the fdllnwing information : — The ejjgs are usually purchased from Leadenhall market, and, consequently, not being altoffether li-esh, or otherwise suitable, one half oflhem IWA in hatching. Once hatched, they are salt?, for not more th;m one dies out of fifty whicfi are brought into existence. If good and suitable eirtzs could be procured at all seasons the failures in hatching would be comparatively tri- fling. Bad eggs therefore, are the weak point in the establishment, and I should recommend the proprieier to complete his arranirements, by adding an eirir-laying department to those wliich he has for hatching. This miixht he done by keeping a regidar poultry-yanl, either in connexion with the place or in the country. The apparatus for hatch- ing is capable of producing forty thousand chickens in a year, and making allowance for failures, the actual proiinct cannot fill I short of half of that number. When three weeks old, n& I was in- fbrined, the chickens are taken to market, and sold for a shilling each. Thus, we would siqipose, the Kcc deoliion turns out at least, a thousand pounds worth of chickens nnnually — no bod revenue, it will be said, after payinnr expenses, but not great- er than the irisienions contriver and proprietor, Mr. William Bucknell, deserves. This thinir, trifling as it may appear to some, is hiixhly deserving of public attention. Attempts to hatch egiTs, in ovens are of old date, but have never succeeded on a permanent or large scale in this country, fn Egypt the practice has been more successful j yet even there, with the advaj}- FARMERS' REGISTER, 45 taijes of a superior climate, one in five of the hatched birds dies, and many are deformed, doubt- less liom iho unequal rtp|)licntion ol* the hoaf. It liari only been by the Eccaleobiiui, as far as I can learn, that the birds have been lMOMar- tially so, and under particular circumstances. We .all remember that excellent litlle book called ' Ara- tor,' published many years ago, by Col. John Tfiylor of Caroline, a man who may truly be .said not only to have given the first eti'ectual impulse to Virginia agriculiure, but to have ren- dered it more essential service than any one man of whom we have any knowledge. In this work was Ibund an unqualified, indiscriminate recom- mendation of very deep ploughiuir, liigh beds lor corn, and the inclosing system without grazing. Every body considered him, (and deservedly too,) as one of the best, if not the very best farmer in Virginia, particularly for his skill in restoring worn out lands to their original fertility ; and such mar- vels were related of his corn crops by those who saw them, wiihout any accurate knowledge of the various causes which contributed to produce them, that all of us, without exception, especially the lyros aitiongst us who aspired to agricultural fame, began to tear up our lands as deep as 3 or 4 horses in a plough could turn them ; to throw them into the highest ridixes which this operation could effect, no matter what might be the nature of the soil ; and to inclose their fields without grazing, even to the starvation of the slock. The consequences might have been easily foreseen by all our brethren who had Iheii' due share of brains ; but unfortunately some of us are vvofully deficient in this article. Hence all the owners oi' very shal- low, sandy soils, turned up a perfect caput morinum, an utterly steril earth, wiih which they liave been carrying on a deadly warlare ever since, or have fled from it in despair, to a new country; whilst each animal of the 60s genus, on their farms, has served as a kind of '■^memenio mnrV^ to every passing stranger. For ail this Col. Taylor's ' Ara- tor' bore the blame, ah hough a very moderate de- cree of discrimination would have enabled them, at once, to decide that, as no one system or prac- tice could possibly suit all soils and situations. Col. Taylor's omitting to particularize the excep- tions, proceeded entirely liom the circumstance of his giving to his brother agriculturisis more credit for con)mon sense than they deserved. J3y the way, my old and good friend, I wish you or any of your correspondents would tell n)e, why the term "co?umon" should be applied to an article which all asree is one of the most uncommon things in the world. I have been in a great quan- dary about it, Rir nearly or quite half a century, and should like to be relieved from it before I die. But to return to 'Arator' and its recommendations. That one whicli I have yet panicularly to notice, js " the inclosing system" wiihout grazing. He gave, unfortunately, (as I think,) all the advan- tages, without slating the disadv;mlages of the practice. Hence most of those who tried it, with- out any specifications whatever of the extent to ..which it might beneficially he cxiended, became pcepiics, if not entire i^fid^Ii- in regard to its ulilily. For ihey found, n[)on trial, thnt it not only infesled our lands, almost irreclaiin.ib'y, with many peren- nial and other most noxious weeds, but made them tlie prolific hot hcils of a variety of insects highly injarious to our crops, which uniler no oiher sys- Lcui, |:ri>ba!ily, could cvrr cu.'ii. r so much daninge from the same cause. In the Flemish husban- dr}'^, whicli is said to be the most perfect in Chris- tendom, no labor nor expense is spared to extirpate everything that beais even the name of weed; but tlie inclosing practice fosters the whole of them — nay, it greatly multiplies all of them, un- less they are mowed tlown, (which is never done,) belbre they blossom. This operaiion, if regularly repeated, only a few times, would soon destroy all annual and biemn'al weeds, which are much the most numerous ; it would also prevent, in a great measure, the increase of the perennials ; and by leaving the cover on the land, would still give U3 the chief benefit ascribed to the inclosing system. liut permit me, before I conclude, to offer a lew more remarks on the subject of experiments. To carelessness or prejudice, or to both uniled, we must asnribe all the numerous disputes and contro- versies that have occurred, and are still occurring among our brethren, in regard to particular prac- tices in every branch of husbandry. Even men who are equal!}'' well disposed to ascertain what is best, must forever differ, unless all will bestow the same degree of atieniion on every circumstance and particular, which are essential to enable them to form a perfticlly impartial and correct judgment. If a single one of these essential circumstances and particulars are unnoticed by any experimenter, that man will certainly form a very difi'crent opi- nion from the one who has carellilly regarded all which are connected with the subject of their mu- tual examination. And the great misfortune to our cause is, that hardly any two men can be found equally qualifi'^d, equally desirous to make fiir experiments. But lor this inequality, together with our presumplion and self-conceit, which are generally in a duplicate ratio to our ignorance, many a ponderous agricultural tome would be rcr duced to the pamphlet-size; and what would be far better, ^'book-farming,^'' which has long been, with many, a term of derision and contempt, would soon overcome all the foolish prejudices which have heretofore existed against it. For our agricultural papers and books would contain little else, besides minute details of experiments in the different branches of husbandry, made with the utmost care and accuracy; instead of being crowd- ed, as they too frequently are, with the crude con- ceits and visionary opinions of merely speculative agriculturists, who find it much easier work to theorize than to practise ; and far less laborious to give us mere opinions, insiead of such facts as would prove of real use in promoting our cause. It may perhaps be concluded from the foregoing remarks, that I am in liuor of entirely excluding speculative opinions from our agricultural papers. Far from it; but I would ask as a small favor, in behalf of those who prefer facts, that the authors would merely lake the trouble to give these opi- nions and speculaiions some caption by which we could judge whether we would read their commu- nications or jniss on to others that would give some of the inlbrmation we want. Let them lake, ibr example, the single word ''excogitations,^^ which might be written in a few seconds, and we might then use it, as sailors do a light house — steer by it, without ever going into it. For my own part, Mr. Ediior, I have no objection to see- inir and reading such things occasionally, in an aiTiiculiura! paper, as I myself, (to confess the truth,) am somewhat addicted to them ; and there- FARMERS' REGISTER. 47 fore, upon that admirable principle oC "doing as we would be done 6i/," a principle so much praised, so liiile practised, 1 would not consent that, they should be banished altogether. Only let them be marked, no matter how, but in such a way that they miiiht be distinsruished from other articles without reading them, and it will perlectly satisfy your old friend, CoaiMExxAxou. January 1st, 1840. To tlie Editor of tlic Farmers' Register, EXCOGITATIONS. You see, Mr. Editor, that I have been the first man among your numerous correspondents, to adopt my own susgestion on the subject of cap- tions ; and for so doing, I shall claim of you some portion of that praise which is justly due to those rare people who practise what they preach. I shall also hope that this circumstailce, if none other, will secure for me, at least a perusal of what I am about to ofi'er to your readers. My subject will be that long and apparently in- terminable vexed question about the best rotation of crops. No one has yet been universally ap- proved; nor has it ever been conclusively settled, whether there may not be at least one, (if not more,) which is far less com|)licated than any now in vogue, and equally efficacious. In all the rota- tions and arguments in their favor, which 1 have examined, far too much credit seems to have been given to the mere alternation of what have been called white and green crops : whereas, I deem it demonstrable, as far as any thing of the Icind can be, that the intervention of vegetable and animal manures has been the chief, if not the sole cause of any increased fertility of the soil, which may have appeared where those rotations have been practised. Every experienced agriculturist, 1 be- lieve, admits that some crops exhaust more than o;hers, but that all exhaust some, if wholly taken from the land. Therefore, the phrase "amelioratinf; crops," is a contradiction in terms, and calculated to deceive; lor it is not the crop which produces this effect, but the manure applied with it or to it; although it is certainly true, that a less quantity of manure will suffice to ameliorate the soil, where the crop is one of the least ex- hausting kinds, than where it happens to be the reverse. If I am right in ascribing the improvem.ent u/' cultivated land, chiefly if not solely, to the inter- vention of vegetable and animal manures between our crops, in sufficient quantities to supply some- what more than the portion of nutriment which these crops require, then it is a matter of flar less consequence than is generally supposed, whether these crops be all white, all green, or an alternation of both. U|)on this theory, permit me to propose a course of crops, which, if not new, has not, I believe, been sufficiently tried any where to justi- fy its general adoption. It is to keep but lour fields, one for standiiio; pasture, the other three for corn and wheat, which are the staple crops throughout the whole tide-water portion of our state. To these, add a few lots for soiling, and root crops. Let the wheat always be followed by the corn, and give to that, all the vegeto-animal manure of the farm, applied in its freshest state, as far as practicable. Immediately afier the last working of the corn, sow clover seed and plaster of Pans, half a bushel to the acre. Cut this clo- ver in the spring, then sow on it half a bushel more of plaster, and fallow the land in time for wheat, sown upon a single plouuhing, and put in by the large drag-harrow. To keep up your lots,- depend upon ashes, plaster of Paris, lime, marl, (if attainable,) or any other manures which are free from the seeds of weeds. To such a course, I cannot foresee even a plau- sible objection, unless it be the expense. But, if this were greater than that ol" the other most pop- ular rotations, which it certainly would not be, but much less, then such objection is unsustainable. The whole of the expense in money, would be the first cost of the clover seed; lor after that, every farmer should raise his own seed ; and then, one bushel of plaster per acre annually, which, at the present price, ready ground, is only 30 cents a bushel in the tide-water portion of Virginia, where you buy it thus ; but not more than about 15 cents where you prepare it yourself. Look now at the superior advantages ; there would be much more simj)licity, and of course greater practicability among slaves, a larger surface always under cul- tivation, and far less labor, especially in making and keeping up division fences. Add to this the fact that every field would annually produce some profitable crop to the cultivator, which is not the case in any of our rotations in the United Stales. I say profitable, lor although you would not sell the clover which would be produced after the corn, the single cutting would contribute much to the improvement of your stock, while the subsequent plouiihing in of the second growth, would return to the land more of the fertilizing principle than the wheat crop had drawn fi-om it. If the land become " clover sick." which it would not do in many years, some oilier green dressing, of which there are many, might be substiluled for the clover, until the land again recovered its aptitude to pro- duce this excellent grass. Should you think this "flourish" worth pub- lishing, let it appear as one of the contributions of your old friend and correspondent. Commentator. January IGlh, 1840. ON THE Cl^LTURE OF CELERY. From the fllagp.zine of Horticulture. As good celery is always sure to meet with a ready sale in the market, and commands a liberal price when found there, I propose giving a few practical remarks on the necessary treatment re- quired, from the first sowing of the seed in the spring, to the taking up ofthe roots, in llip autumn, for use. In the first place, be it remembered, that the writer of this does not cluim any greater knowledge than that possessed by gardeners and others, who have had experience in the cultivation of celery ; but as this article ntay meet the eye of those persons who have not acquired the requisite knowledge, to grow it to perlcciion, it is jirobable that they may glean Eomclhing fium ir, thai may be of some assistance to thorn. There are six or eight varieties of celery culti- vated, and ail those who cultivate it, have llieir 48 FARMERS' REGISTER favorite kinds ; nevertlieles?, I will venture to re- commend ihc white solid, and the rose colored solid celery, to be grown, niiher for the market or ibr private family use. The second iveek in April, il' there is a cucumber frame at work, pref)are two or three shallow boxes, and fi.l them with fine rich soil, and sow the seed on the surface, with a liberal hand ; then press it down pretty solid, with a piece of board and cover it, lightly, with very fine sifted earlh ; this done, give the whole a gen- tle watering, and piaoe the boxes in a I'rame, close to the front. When the plants make their appearance, give them air everyday, if possible, by propping up the sash, at the front, where the boxes are placed. As Boon as it is perceived that the plants have the least tendency to grow up weak, they must be removed from the frame, mimediately to the open air, choosing some well sheltered spot. On the approach of foul weather they may be removed to some place under cover, and taken out again after the unfavorable weather is over. If no frame, as spoken of, be at hand, sow the seed on a rich moist piece of ground, the last week in April, in a sheltered situation ; the ground must be well en- riched Ibr this purpose, and the older the manure is, the better. Dig it over, and rake the surface very fine and even ; then sow the seed pretty thick, on "the surface, and with a clean spade beat it lightly down, nice and even, and cover it over, about a quarter of an inch, with fine soil. As soon as the plants are about two inches high, they should be transplanted into a nursery bed — but, previous to this, the ground must be well manured and dug over ; then lay a board on the ground, in order to stand upon, and set the plants ojt in regular order, at least three inches apart, plant from plant. Some may think this last pro- cess too much trouble ; but I can assure all who have such an idea that it is a process indispensably necessary, and the utility of it will be presently seen. When the plants are taken up from the seed bed, before proceeding to transplant them, do not neglect to rub off all the side shoots, which, it will be seen, are just making their appearance around the base of the plants, and cut off' i he ends of the roots, il' it is desired to produce first rate celery. About the first or second week of July the plants will be ready (or the final planting out — their strong, robust appearance, by this time, I imagine, will give great encouragement to the grower, to go on and end the good work ; but on the contrary, il" the plan's had not been removed from the seed bed, as belbre advised, what a miserable appear- ance would they now make ; so much so, that the stems being too weak to bear up the tops, now that they stand singly, they would lie flat upon the ground. When this is the case, the remedy is, to cut off the tops, and leave three or four naked stems sticking up — a disgrace to any person who has the least pretensions to its culiivation. The plants being so weak, it will be found necessary to shade them from the sun through the middle of ihe day, for some time, until nature has made a fresh edort, and the plants start to grow ; not so with those that have been transplanted ; for by removing iheni with a trowel, on a damp day, they will scarcely (eel the change. This is the gain — tor whilst the others will require shading and nursing, these will be iriaking u rapid growth j [ and however well the former plants are nursed, it is rare that they ever make such good heads as those that receive no check. If the cultivator has a peat meadow, that is at 710 time overHowed with water, he will find it the best situation of any, Ibr the growth of celery ; but as there are but ihw, comparatively speaking, who have such facilities, the next best location would be where the soil is deep and moist, with the sub-soil clay. One sure guide to go by is, al- ways to prefer deep moist soil, whatever the sub- soil may be ; for it matters not, however rich the ground is made with manure, if there is a defi- ciency of moisture, the growth will be stunted. In preparing the trenches Ibr the final planting, if the soil is deep, dig it oiit to the depth of eighteen inches by fifteen inches in width ; and the length as far as is thought proper tbr the number of plants; six inches of the trench must be filled up with the best old rotted manure that can be procured; as long strawy litter is not suitable, it should never be used. After the manure has been thrown into the trench, it should be dug over, in order to mix the soil at the bottom of the trench, thoroughly with it ; this done, cut a little of the soil from each side of the trench, for the purpose of covering it about an inch, and it will then be ready fbr the plants, which should be set out six or eight inches apart, in a straight line, down the centre. Keep the celery free from weeds, and earth a little, at different times, until the trench is nearly filled up ; then earth it up no more, until it is done for the last time, which should he the first or se- cond week of September, or sooner, if necessary. I have two reasons fbr following this process. The first is, that the roots of the plants are already cov- ered as much as they ought to be, if we suppose the sun and air has any effect on them, or is of any benefit to them. My second reason is, that the celery will make a stronger growth, and will he very much superior, both in size and quality, to that which is earthed up every week or ten days, as is generally done. Good celery ought to be solid, thoroughly blanched and of large size, and perlectly clear of any blemish, such as rust or canker. J. W. RUSSKLL. Mt. Auburn, Cambridge, December, 1839. ADDRESS, DELIVERED BEFORE THE MASON, CABELL AND KANAWHA AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, By Gen. P. H. Steenbergen. Gentlemen of the j^gricultural Society : As your presiding officer, I am required to lay belbre you such communications as I believe con- ducive to your interests and prosperity. 1 could have wished that some other gentleman had been selected to address you on this occasion — one who is better qualified than I am ; but as your friendship or partiality has assigned me this duty, I will proceed to the task, requiring at the same time all the indulgent feelings you possess towards an agriculturist, who feels himself more compe- tent to manage well his own estate, than to advise oll'.ers how they should conduct theirs. In the execution of this duty, I must necessa- rily take a review of the character of our soil, the present stale of farming in this valley, and in the neighboring country ; and in its progress, contrast FARMERS' REGISTER. 49 them willi other seclions of the state, that vvc know are marching onward, with rapid strides, to hifjh ferlilily. The alhivial bottoms of the Ohio and Kanawha were naturally ag (eriile and productive as any in Virginia; they are admirably intersected byline, bold, iiaviirable streams; possessing a mild cli- mate, well adapted to the growth of all the vege- table productions. What prevents the owners fi^om reaping the reward to which the occupancy of" such soil, and the enjoyment of such a climate, would justly entitle them? Nothing, I believe, but the want o!" judicious management. Our land is yet good ; and ail hough it has suffered severely by repealed ijrain crops, it possesses within itself the power of resusciiation. How then shall we siiniula.fe tiiem into active production I What resources are at our command, .that when applied will certainly resiore their ori- ginal fertility ? We have no lime, plaster, or marl ; these cannot now be procured, but at such prices as will be ruinous to use them. We must seek ■this improvement then by deep ploughing, the al- ternating courses of grass, and the preservation and use of farm-yard manure. These, assuredly, nrc within the control of every man owning an acre of land. You should commence immediately, if you Iiave not already begun, the sowing oj' clover and timo- thy combined ; let none of your ground remain another season idle, without some grass growing tipon it. Our soil, by the use of clover, may be brought to the highest state of lertilily, parlicu- jarly when combined with moderate grazinir of cattle, and the eradication, in a green state, of all weeds and filth that grow up. With due respect (or the practice of others, I must say, that I am no advocate for the non-graz- ing system pursued in some parts of the state. They sow clover, and permit it as well as every spontaneous production o!" the earth, to mature all their seeds. I think it is of more advantage to be grazed, and kept in a green, succulent state, making continued efforts to bloom, than suffered to remain, dry up, and have its best virtue scat- tered by the sun and winds; besides the cattle leave on the soil, better prepared, the very ele- ments of fertility. It is indispensably necessary, therefore, that a ■proper quantity of cattle should be kept on every estate lor its due improvement. They are empha- tically destroyers of weeds, briers and shrubs ; the restorers of soil ; the chemical agents constantly preparing new food ibr future plants ; they return to the earth, when judiciousl}' managed, more than they exact from it. Look for example at the iirazing districts of Virginia and Pennsylvania. What else has kept them progressing with surh rapid strides of im- provement ? Every year produces a sensible ad- dition to the productiveness of the soil, and to the profits of the farm. Their pastures arc thickened and carpeted over with green sward. My practice has always been, to Iced all the roughness growing on my larm, on my grass land. Straw I consider an excellent application for mea- dows or for pastures ; the grass growing through prevents the exhalation, while the continued damp- ness and heal combined, soon causes its decay ; but in the corn-stalk we have our greatest source of aianure, growing usually, as it does in this coun- Vor.. VJII-7 try, to the height of twelve or fifteen feet. Open, porous, imbibing and retaining tiie moisture that rapidly acts as the element of iis decomposition, it soon becomes the active, stimulating Ibod of fu- ture vegetation. How important is it then, that every iiirmer should lully understand how he can use them to the greatest advantage? Corn maybe called the staple of the country ; it is justly coiisid(!red an indispensable article of food, and tlie principal source of'i)rofir to the culti- vator. It is the leading crop of the alluvial lands of our rivers. Standing therefore, as it does, in the front rank of our necessasy and productive husbandry, it well becomes us to look to every source by which we can maintain the fertility of our s(jil under the severe exaction required lor ii3 production. All the corn raised on nn estate, when ripe, and before the fijdder has dried, should be cut up and securely shocked ; it is immaterial to what use it is aficrwards applied— whether for (eedmif or for sale— you will have the fodder and stalks in cither case at yourcommand. Feed iliem on your grass land, in the lidl and early part of the winter, where the animal matter of the cattle, combined with your stalks, all turned under after the fi-ost leaves the earti), will, with the decay of the sod, furnish a cheap and good preparation for a corn crop. You carry out, by an easy application, the princi- ple now well established, that long unrotted ma- nures are most suitable, and best fitted for fall maturiuiz grain. You here apply at oiicc, and on the spot, where under other circumstances you would have to ex- pend much time and labor in hauling your fodder trorn the fields to the barn yard, and in again carl- ine two weeks too soon, or as much too late, for the other. And this differ- ence alone would be enough to cause a very con- siderable difference of product in that crop, al- though the two kinds oi" corn might be bcfth good, and equal in productiveness, on a general average of years and of seasons. But besides the above-mentioned and very cbtti-' mon sources of erroneous judgment, there arV' olhers affecting every comparative trial of diflfer-' FARMERS' REGISTER ent kinds of com. If planted at like distances, if the one kind has proper space for that parlicular situation and season, a very different variety of corn would probably have too much or too little. And if different distances are allowed, the proper and correct allowance can seldom be made in new trials. Though more distrustllil than most others seen) to be ol" the alleged superior productiveness of new and highly praised kinds of seeds, still we would by no means desire to discourage compa- rative trials. All that we have aimed at, in these and previous remarks, is to prevent too much reliance being placed on single experiments, or insufficient testimony of any kind. Besides the reports of several gentlemen which were communicated i'or, and published in this journal, we have heard several other concurrent opinions, (and indeed seen the growth in one case,) going to confirm the superior productive- ness of the twin, or Baden corn. But one of those who had the largest and fullest experience of all whom we have met with personally, and who had a high opinion of this corn, still re- commended to others his own practice of plant- ing but a part of his crop in that kind, and fur this reason : that, in a favorable season, it was more productive than other kinds, but less so if otherwise ; and iherefoiehe deemed it useful not to trust to it for his entire crop. Now we do not as- sert the soundness of this objection — and the remedy proposed is but a mode of dividing and balancing risks of loss. But the same objeciion, and the same reasons for diffei-ence of productive- ness, must apply, in a if he will not mix his sand and clay"— if he will not modify his black and while grounds — if he vi^ill not manure his poor ground's — then he should cultivate separately each different portion, liow- ever small, in different crops, suited to their na- ture; whereby they are made separate and dis- tinct fields. It is not only important that a field should be uniform in quality, but that it should also have a uniform surface, lc)r which purpose the liirmer should at every ploughinff and harrowing have an eye to this object. Even our bottoms have their slides and bumps, and without attention they will so lemain; but with attention they will soon disappear. Before the Itdlow plough starts, let the farmer examine the field, for the purpose of ascertaining the direction of every sink, however * Of the conservative efficacy of the Kyan solution upon the woody fibre which has imbibed it, several articles in our pa^es afford satisfactory evidence ; — of the remarkably deleterious nature of the effluvium from the surface of timber, thus treated, upon vege- table life, the above paper furnishes an instance sin- gularly striking and demonstrative. G. Jb' A K M E 11 S ' R E G I S 1' E R 5^ inconsiclerable, aD(] when started, let him walk in those sinks, the team Ibllowing directly behind ; thus hiyini; out the field into lands of dillerent sizes and shapes, as the deflections may require. A few such |)!ouyhinrrs wilt cut down a slight bank, consequently a slij^ht sink is filled, and ad- ditional work will presently level more uneven around. It will be understood that when speak- innr oC the level, J do not mean a perfect horizon, but a uniform grade ; yet for grounds sufficiently porous to absorb rains as they fall, I would prefer a perlect level. Nor would 1 be understood as re- commending a naked fallow to ridging on clay; but will the reader not discover the folly of ridg- ing clay, which has an uneven liice? will the Water not gather and stand in the sinks, to the destruction of the neighboring veiretables ? The harrow also assists much in levelling, whether worked in the direction of the ploughing or crosswise. In ditching hkewise the firmer should have an eye to the filling of sinks. The earth cast out of n dilch should be removed and spread on som.e ad- jacent sink, unless indeeii there is a probability that by some means the ditch may presently be- come useless, and consequently a pest ; in which event the earth should be returned. The farmer should if possible avoid turn- rows, for they breed briers, weeds, and pestife- rous grasses ; consequently he should avoiil open drains; for every such drain within a field must have two turn-rows. Besides the pests, let the I'armer count his loss of ground, and limes in turn- ing, and he will either wink, or nod, if he does not speak. Under- drains are made of wood, or stone, or brick, or tile. I have used wood, stone, anu brick; as to brick they are too costly; where stones are convenient I would use them for a short drain, the lower end of which has an outlet; but in the general, logs laid in the manner recom- mended by Col. Taylor is preferable ; only I would recommend the use of larger logs. Stone and brick, (and perhaps tile,) 'are objeciionable in this; (hat after hard or long continued rains, the water runs in such quantities, and with such velocity, that these materials are undermined, and sink, consequently the drain is choked ; moreover I have known clawfish to make dams, and cast out the water. A long and larue log catmot well sink, and if it should, there is yet a drain; nor can a clawfish well contrive to make a dam amongst logs. Where timber is an object, under- draining, according to the recommendation of a late writer in the 'Cultivator,' must be preli^rred. His mode is to turn down guttered logs, |)lacing short boards underneath, and crosswise, lor the purpose of preventing their sinking. I have a bottom fifld, a portion of which is clay, theiialance sandy; on the clay, and not far distant from the sand, there is an ooze, which a few years ago I determined to dispose of; for which pur- pose I cul a ditch from the ooze into the sand, cast in stone, and returned the earth; but presently, by the operation of clawfish, the water again ap- peared. I then cut another dilch, near the origi- nal, and filled with loss, but to my mortification the water appeared again, if this drain had an outlet at the lower end, I have no doubt but that the last experiment would have been effectual ; but the clawfish and lizards stirring up the mud, the pores were stopped, and out came the water; Shall I acknowledge that a clawfish or lizard, is a better mechanic or philosopher than 1 ? No — no — I will cut a wide and deep ditch, and fill it with coarse sand, which will absorb, and convey oH'lhe water, and in which the clawfish cannot enter; taking care to cut deep at the spring, thus securing a fair start. Indeed ii' this experiment should fail, what of il? I do not consider that I have lost by the fiirmer experiments, neither can I lose by this, although lading; (or first I got clear of the sione, second my ground was manured by the bu- ried logs, and the sand will be the means of im- proving the clay. Facts and inquiry. — We all know that Hessian fly will dcposiie their eggs in wheat ; I know that they likewise deposite in rye and oats, and believe that they deposite likewise in grass. Now if it may be possible that the fly would preler deposit- ing in oats to any other vegetable, then nothing can be more certain than the protection of our wheat and rye by sowing oafs at the same time with these. The grazing of the oats would more than compensate for the seed, and both oats and fly would be swept off by the winter's frosts. It is my opinion that wheat is first choice, oats next^ and rye last ; but if oats may be first choice, then by their use, hundreds and thousands could be added to individual purses, and millions to the country. Can any one give us any facts relating to this subject ? Frozen pumps. — My water pumps freeze ia winter, so that I am subject to considerable incon- venience ; can the editor, or other person, inlbrot me how it can be obviated 7* Winter ploughing. — Solomon says, " He that will not plough by reason of the cold, shall beg in in harvest and get nothing." So we see that so far back as the time of Solomon, ploughing in winter was necessary, and all-important; and no less is the necessity and importance at the present time. I say therefore to my fellows, plough on at every opportunity through the winter. Plough your clays first, then your loam, and lastly your sand. Feed your horses v/eil, and they need no- more rest than a man, that is one day in the week. I beseech you again, drive on, or you may beg in harvest and get nothing; or what is nearly as bad, you may reap a harvest and nel nothing. Winter preservation of outs. — If you wish to have oats tor early cutting or grazing, sow about the first of October, and in the latter part of No- vember cover them lightly with straw. In thia way they can be preserved as well as turnips. Mountaineer. December, 1839. THE GALACTOJIETER, QR INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING THE RICHNESS OF MILK, AND DETECTING ADULTERATIONS. To tlie Editor of the Farmers' Register. Clermont, Fairfax co., Va., Jan. S(h, 1S40. Dear SrR — 1 put in charge of my son, James M. Mason, who was wiih me a few days ago on his way to Richmond, a liitle instrument, recen'ly procured for me by a friend at Paris, iniendinl in ascertain the relative [juriiy of milk, of which I * We have no practical knowlcde,-e on this poiiit.-Ko. 64 FARMERS' REGISTER beg your acceplance. To induce you lo do so ihe more readily, I will state, that as 1 have retained one of Ihe game description, it will be no depriva- tion to nie, and that i am gratified lo have an op- portunity of placing it in hands, belter than my own to test its utility. I have long thought it a desideratum of impor- tance to larincrs, to be able, by some easy means, to estimate the relative value of milch cows, the effects ol" different kinds of (Ijod on the product of the cow, and the comparative fitness of pastures, as to the same. VViiether this Galactomelre of M. Cadet-de-Vaux, wd! answer the purpose, re- mains to be tried. From the printed description which I send you, it would seem, tiiat it was chiefly designed to detect the adulterations prac- tised in milk brought to market. But on the same principle, I should suppose it would indicate with accuracy enouL NOT PRODUCE BUTTER. 'To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. Can you or any of your subscribers inform me why milk will not sometimes turn lo butter after the necessary care and attention to cleanliness, &c. iiave been bestowed upon it, and the operation of churning continued in some inslances nearly a day? For the last six weeks my wile has not been able to make any butter, although we get a very good quantity of milk, which has the appear- ance of considerable richness. Our milch rows are fed on mangel wurlzel, beet, cabbage leaver, wheat chaff, and wheat bran or corn meal. W'ft have recently been more than unusually attentive to neatness in the management of our milk, and yet, when it comes to be churned, we yet no butler. We have been advised by some to throw in a little salt in the churn; by others, soda or a small quan- tity of buttermilk. We have tried all these reme- dies, but with no good effect. The milk in some instances as soon as it cools after being taken from LAND. To ttie Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. Cambridge, Md., Dec. 1839. Reviewing casually the last August No. of your Register, I read, with some attention and much pleasure, an essay of " Senex" "on the cause of greater value of oypsum on limed land." In the general sentiments of the writer, incideji- tally communicated, I heartily concur; but I must take exception to his theory in explanation of the fact above stated, as the chief purpose of his com- munication. His remarks upon the absurdity of the applica- tion of carbon, in substance, as a manure, Irom its insolubility in water, are undoubtedly correct ; it is certainly from the carbonic acid alone that ve- getables derive their carbon ; yet this is not wholly through the roots of the plant, as he suggests, but partly by the respiration, through the leaves, of atmospheric air, containing a portion of it ; I ap- prehend, too, that he inadvertently remarked, that the sap, "as it passes up through the lubes of the vegetable is decomposed," &c. &c. He is no doubt acquainted with the fact, that the sap con- tinues unaltered until it arrives at the leaves, where it is elaborated for the secretions and growth of the plant. His sentiments of Prof Armstrong's "Essays on Vegetable Physiology," and liis recommenda- tion o\' them to the reading public, cannot he too oltcn, or too earnestly repeated ; to which might be profitably added those of Prof Lindiey on the same subject. Without a good general know- ledge of the science, the great interest of agricul- ture can never he advanced. Now, to his theory " on the cause of greater value of gypsum on limed land." I take the chief exception. It is my present chief purpose to demonstrate, that his theory, which, he says, has been so long satisfiictory to himsellj is unsound and unphilo- Sophie; and secondly, and concisely, to oti'er a substitute which I consider more consistent with settled chemical laws. The theory of " Senex" is unsoimd and unphi- lopnphic, being wholly fbunded upon a supposition which 1 will prove erroneous — "of the mutual action on each other, of the gypsum (sulphate of linte, or plaster of Paris) and of carbonate of lime" — by means of which " mutual action," he says, "the vegetables growing on the soil, will obtain an ample supply of carbon, and grow as they had never been seen to grow before." The erroneous position assumed by him, of the "' mutual action" between the sulphate and car- bonate of lime, has led him into his false course of reasoning; and necessarily into the false conclu- sion, "that the plaster will faciliiate the extrica- tion of the carbonic acid," &c. Thus, that the sulphuric acid of the plaster, when this substance comes in contact with the carbonate of lime, previously applied to the land, quits its base of lime, seizes the carbonate of lime, and extricates the carbonic acid, which is thence ^vec to enter the FARMERS' REGISTER 5y vegetable and furnish "an ample supply of car- bon" lor its nutriment and yrovvtli. Such must have been his course of reasoning. Sir, under a settled, technical rule of chemical law, the sulphuric cicid of the plaster will have contbined with the lime, its base, in definite pro- portions ; and the addition of mure of the same base to the acid, or of more of the same acid to its base, will [>roduce no chemical action whatever; nor will the circumstance, that the lime added contains carbonic acid, enable it to exert amj influ- ence upon the plaster (sulphate of lime) ; lor no set of double affinities can possibly, in this case, operate to produce the " mutual action" on which " Scnex" builds his theory ; because, the base of the plaster is already possessed of the equivalent of its acid ; and it will neither take more nor part with its own; and its base and that of the carbon- ate beinn: the same substance, and, moreover, the acid of (he sulphate being stronger in its affinity, as regards the common base, than that of the car- bonate, there can be no play of double affiiuiiies between them ; and consequently no decomposi- tion, or "mutual action,''' can possibly occur ; and hence the theory of "Scnex," and his exposition of the "cause of greater value of gypsum on limed land," are radically and palpably erroneous. The solution which I propose is simply and con- cisely thus : the oxalic is the only acid which will act upon sulphate of lime ; this acid is present in the "sorrel and peat," and in all lands which pro- duce the "sorrel and peat;" this acid raaj', when present in lands, prevent the action of sulphate of lime, bj' its known action upon this substance, by changing its constitution, and consequently iis character, Irom a sulphate to that of an oxalate, whose virtues, as a manure, are not known ; and thus, it may, and will of necessity, defeat the action of the " sulphate.^''* JJy the addition of lime, previously to tliat of "plaster," the oxalic, or possibly other acid, if any in the land, will be neutralized by the lime, and the plaster will be protected in its constitution, and proper character ; and thus it will be enabled to perlbrm its office as a manure, sui generis ; at least, so liir as the lime, previously applied, had been sufficient to furnish an equivalent base to the oxalic, or, possibly, other acid in the land; and hence the " cause of greater value of gypsum on hmed land." Quod erat desideratum. In the consciousness that 1 have no motive for my critical review of the paper of "Senex" but that of correcting what I consider erroneous, and, moreover, that 1 find much to admire in his paper, 1 have the honor to be yours, Joseph E. Muse. BI(i SQUASHES. From the Boston Journal. We lately stated that a squash was exhibited at the Horticultural room in Boston which weighed 115 pounds! This we thought a pretty large one; but a New Heaven paper chronicles one raised by R.Johnson, of i^iiddleion, weighing 150 pounds. This, thought we, on reading the paragrajjh, is surely a nr.onster, and Massachusetts must give way. We reckoned without out our host, how- ever, for a squash raised in Lincoln, by Daniel Weston, may now be seen at the provision store of William Clark, in Court street, near Bowdi in pquare, weighing one liundied and sixty-one pounds avoirdupois ! Who can beat that '} * See ' Essay on Calc. Man.,' 2d ed., p. 92, where our view of this subject is presented. — Ed. F. R. AN ESSAY ON THE BEST AND CHEAPEST MOt)E OF RAISING AND FATTENING PORK. From tlie 3Iaine Farftier. After a suitable building is prepared for a pig- gery, the farmer who wishes to enter into the pork- raising business, should select a thrifty variety of swine for his purpose. Experience has abundantly proved that the large-boned variety are not th6 best or most profitable kind, nor are the small Chinese or Newbury white breed the best for him who has a plenty of food lor his swine. In this, as in most other pursuits, the middle vvay is best. Here it may be well to remark, that no animal improves more by crossing than swine. A judi- cious selection should be made of females or breeders. It will be Ibund that there are generally some in every litter that are not duly mixed. An indiscriminate preservation of sows lor breeders should never be done, lor much, very much de- pends upon the form, disposition, &c. None should ever be allowed to have a second litter which were uneasy, which devoured their offspring or were cross to their pigs. In regard to breeding; it will be necessary to observe that a suitable pldce^ should be prepared for them to bring forth in. If the time of farrowing is in cold weather, the pen should be made warm and comfortable. The straw flimished them should be cut or made small or short, and not much in quantity, lest the pigs should be suffocated or destroyed by being over- laid when they have crawled under it. It may also be welJ to remark here, that sows go with young sixteen weeks, and are more exact in the time of their gestation, than most other females. The owner should note the time that the female has been to the male, and also when the eixteeii weeks will expire, in order that he may know when to pay particular atention to the sow, and put her in good condition for farrowing. In England, old males and females are considered the best for breeders, provided they are not over four years old. I am satisfieil that this is true. I also know by experience tlrat they should not be kept very fleshy or fat. In regard to the time when pigs should be broughtTorth, in order to be most profitable, there is a diversity of opinions among breeders. I am of the opinion that pigs that come in September are the most profitable for wintering, in order to be fattened during the next fall. Those that come in the spring, eat during the summer what other^ hogs should have. They also eat much more in the winter, than those which come in September, and, in foct, they will eat more during the next summer. As all young animals mature fast at a^ certain age, the Septeniber pigs will, when fatten-' ed and slaughtered at the usual time, weigh nearly as much as ilie earlier ones. Some suppose that very early pigs, say such as are farrowed in March or April, are profitable to raiee and butcher in the ensuing fall, but it take^ 60 FARMERS' REGISTER nearly as much to fatten them as the others. It may be as well perhaps, for those who live in towns and cities, and have a cow to eat the slops &c. from their kitchen during the winter, to keep an early spring pitjf and kill iiim in tliH fall, )br iheir own use ; but (or the person who raises any thing that will answer I'or food lor pigs during the winter, and who wishes to carry pork to market, this course will not be very judicious, as this kind of pork will seldom bring so much in the market as older and larger kinds. In regard to keep, 1 am wholly opposed to plant- ing and hoeing Indian corn for our swine, even to fatten them on ; especially since roofs of various kinds, with less labor lo the acre and wiih an amount of nutriment three or fourfold more, can be produced among us. Earley is easily raised without the aid of the hoe, and is an excellent food to t'a'Aen swine upon. I consider it nearly as good as Indian corn. Peas are better than either. Advantage may be taken of them by having a succession of crops. This can be effected by sow- ing them at diHerent times in the spring of the year. Let them mature sufficiently to be fit to boil green, then prepare a portable fence so as to enclose a certain space — into this turn the hogs and thus move them from place to place as they eat oti the crop. They will thus fatten so much as to need very little more to make them excellent pork at killing lime. No manure of any consequence may be lost by this course, especially if your peas are upon good arable land which may be turned over by the plough in I he fall. A great saving in food may also be effected by turning them out to pas- ture. If you have a good clover ley, they may be put into it about the 25th of May, and will" live very well until your peas are fit to be eaten off. Be- sides the food which they obtain, the exercise and air is of great benefit to their limbs and health. An orchard, even if not on arable soil, and which cannot be ploughed, is an excellent situation for them, especially if they can also have access to good running water. Hogs will benefit an orchard much. They stir and enrich the soil, destroy in- sects, and render the trees more productive, while the early wind-falls are thus converted to food without much trouble. Among all the kinds of cheap fijod for swine none are better or more economical than apples gathered in the fall. If cooked and fed lo them regularly, with a little meal, they will nearly fit them fi)r the knile, and if a little corn meal, or meal of barley or peas and oats be added, the work is done. When in their pens, during the winter, they should be fed twice per day, at given times and at no other, with warm Ibod. fn longer days they should be led three times per day, viz : at morning, noon, and night. By being regular in the times of feeding, they will not expect it at any other, and will not be uneasy. Young pigs, -vhen taken Ji-om the sow, should lor a short time be fi^d regularly four or five limes per day, and gradually taken off three times. Every man who keeps hogs should prepare his piirgery for boiling or steaming food, and have their food cooked and dealt out to them warm and in exact quantities. Their swill should be occa- sionally salted and a dose of sulphur mixed now and tlien with it. Clmj-coal or rotten wood should also be allowed them to eat whenever they desire.* I liave recommended that their Ibod wiien feci out to them should be cooked and warm, yet 1 have found by actual experiment that rula haga, given to old breeders, raw, will keep them in very good condition during the winter. I have also- spoken of apples, many object to sour apples as being improper food fbrswine, but this is a mistake. It you bruise a sour apple you will find the taste changed very much. Boiling or grinding changes these apples or their juices so that they are as valu- able as sweet ones and they are fbund to contain' as much saccharine matter as some sweet ones. Pumpkins raised by themselves on good soil make much more profitable and excellent food for swine than many liave believed. I have no doubt that ripe pumpkins cooked and properly fed to swine are worth as much, pound lor pound, as potatoes. I never raise oats fbrswine. They area |)oor, light, chatty grain. Their average yield is about thirty bushels per acre, while barley willtyield as much or more, and one bushel of it is worth more than three of oats for hogs. They are of- ten sown among peas to prevent the peas from lodg- ing, but although you begin with but tew among your peas, they will gain upon them, and in time your peas and oats are nearly all oats, and in my opinion poor keep Ibr swine. Some other substi- tute to prevent the peas from lodging should he used. Rye, for instance, is much belter, and the crop when harvested far prefi^rable. Lodging or sleeping pens. There seems to be loo much inattention to the comfort of swine as it regards their lodging or sleeping comlbrtably. Al- though in warm weather, hogs like lo wallow in' the mire and filth, yet they like to sleep warm and dry, especially in cold weather. When you com- mence fattening them, which should be in Septem- ber, give them a warm dry apartment to sleep in. I would also recommend that they should be kept in darkness. They will thus be less annoyed by flies and kept from hunting after external objects which will make them uneasy. JFeaning the pigs. If you have an abundance of food for the sow, it will not be disadvantageous or unprofilable lo let the pigs remain with her un- til they are eight weeks old. The usual custom however is to lake them off when four weeks old, and they do very well if they can have milk fed out to them for some time. Indeed they often do well if taken from the dam at a lew days old, if they can be well supplied vvilh warm milk from the cow. Close attenlion should be paid lo them while weaning, lest they become poor and their digestive organs become deranged. It is hard bringing them up to a good stale of health and flesh when this has once taken place. Profits of pork-raising. I have no doubt that pork-raising may be made the most profitable of any stock or meal-raising business in the stale; and I had almost said of'any other branch of hus- bandry or fiitrming. Certain I am, that if the right process be pursued any reasonable quantity of ic may be raised, pound for pound, cheaper than beef. Pork generally goes into the market at a year and a half old, whereas cattle must be kepi much longer. A considerable profit may be made by salting * In cases of scouring, as young pigs will often, when first taken from their dams, give them some liquor of oak bark or dust from a bark mill mixed with their food. FARMERS' REGISTER. 61 pork. Very lew are aware that pork increases very much in weight by beinij saUed, but it has been proved by experiment, tliat it will actually gain in weight 15 or 20 per cent. This should be generally known, that [leople may not be led to sacrifice their pork when it is low in the market, but salt it. The other parts of the hog, not usually packed down, may be made into bacon, sausages, &c. and then sold at a higher price than in the " round hog.'' Calculation of profits. It maybe desirable to have an abstract olihe expenses and profits ofpoik, raising. This must vary, as every one knows, according to the diH'erent locations as it regards markets, as well as the different situations and chances for feeding, &c. The following may be given as a sample or general estimate. 1st. We will suppose the pig comes in Sept. and is slaughtered when 15 months old. We will suppose that he has been kept upon barley meal or potatoes. If kept upon barley 455 days (the time of his life) at four quarts per day, he will devour 56 bushels and a fraction, and suppose he weighs 300 lbs. 56 bushels at 70 cents per bushel is 39,20 300 lbs. of pork at 7 cents is 21,00 818,20 los^. This allows the cost of tending &c. lo be paid by his manure. 2d. Suppose you keep him 455 days on potatoes and he averages 1 peck per day he will eat during his lile time 113 bushels, which at 16 cents per bushel will be 8 18,08 300 lbs. pork at 7 cents is 21,00 2,92 gain. Thus you see that it becomes necessary to pur- sue an economical system. To put into him all such (bod as he will eat to advantage and which will cost the least, and to make him also earn his living, if possible, from the time he is able to root until he is slaughtered. Suppose you take your pig in September, He will, if you give him the material to work upon, immediately commence operations in manufacturing manure. Give him apples, grass, weeds, potatoes &c. with a little oat and pea or barley meal. Keep him growing during the winter. I would suggest the idea of having a plat of ground, say 1-4 or 1-2 an acre, planted to artichokes. Peas and artichokes may be planted together in drills in the spring. They will grow tonrether — the peas gathered, and the artichokes suffered to remain. Early in the spring following turn your hotrs in and let them root among tliem. This will keep them in part, until the 25th of May, when your clover will be large enough to be cropped by them. This will sustain ihem almost wholly, until your peas are fit to be eaten off, when they may be turned in upon them and there fed until the grain crops are harvested, and you are ready to begin the fattening process. Then cook your apples, your rutabagas, pumpkins &c. In this way a hog may be kept from weaning time until he is fifteen months old, on most of our farms, for 12 dollars. He will make you ten loads of first rate manure, worth, after deducting ex- penses of furnishing him with material, one dollar per load, and the account current with him will stand thus : — Porker, Dr. to board, &c. 15 months, $12,00 Sundries, 3,00 i5,oa Cr. By 300 lbs. pork, at 7 cts. per lb. ^21 ,00 10 loads of manure at ^IjOO per load, 10,00 831,00 Balance in favor of porker, 816,00 Samuel Wood. MACHINE FOR HUSKING [oR SHUCKING] AND SHELLING CORN. It is stated in the Maryland papers that a ma- chine has been introduced for husking, or (as we Tuckahoes say) shucking corn. A correspondent of the American Farmer says that this machine " which has excited much admiration on the East- ern Shore of Maryland for two years past, was invented and put in use by Mr. Hussey,the invent- or of the reaping machine," of which statements have been given in the Farmers' Register. The same writer says that many farmers there, with the former machine, have shucked and shelled their corn "at the rate of 40 bushels of shelled corn per hour; and of 100 bushels per hour of corn previously husked." This, if correctly de- scribed, must be a very curious as well as valua- ble machine; and we are surprised that so little progress has yet been made in extending informa- tion concerning, as well as the use of, both those machines of Mr. Hussey's. If he will bring them and exhibit them in operation in lower Vir- ginia, and they prove deserving of their recom- mendations, he will find many purchasers. — Ed. Far. Reg. DRAINAGE OF LANDS BY STEAM POWER. From tlie Durliain Advertiser. The drainage of land by steam power has been extensively adopted in the fens of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Bedlbrdshire, and with im- mense advantage. A steam engine of ten horse power has been found to be sufficient to drain a district comprising 1000 acres of land, and the water can always be kept down to any given dis- tance below the plants. If rain fall in excess, the water is thrown of by the engine ; if the weather is dry, the sluices can be opened and the v/aler let in from the river. The engines are required to work four months in the twelve, at intervals varying with the season, where the districts are, large; the expense of drainajre by steam power is about 2s. 6d. per acre. The first cost of the works varies with the different nature of the sub- strata, but generally it amounts to 1/. per acre for the machinery and buildings. An engine of forty horsepower, with scoop wheels for draining, and requisite buildings, costs about 4000/., and is ca- pable of draining 4000 acres of land. In many places in the fens, land has been purchased at from IIZ. to 201. per acre, which has been so much improved by drainage, as to be vVorlh from 60/. to' 70/. per acre. m F A R ai E R S ' REGISTER CULTIVATION OP COTTOIV. From the Carolina Planter. Report on the cultivation of cotton, read before the Pee Dee Agricultural Society, at its semi-annual meeting in October, 1839, by the Hon. John Camp- bell. The first cbjer.l of consideralion in (he cultiva- tion ol" cotton, is the selection of a soil suited lo its production. Rut as every variety of soil wiihiii the limits of liie Pee Dee country, of sufficient fer- tility, is found, under a judicious system of cultiva- tion, to yield a good return for the labor bestowed upon it, and as a committee has been appointed hy this society to report particularly upon ma- nures, it is thought unnecessary In make any com- ment upon (his branch of the subject : except to remark, that from an exhausted soil, or one natu- rally poor, and unimproved by art, it is in vain for the planter even with the most favorable sea- sons, to expect an abundant harvest. The fields being selected and the proper season having arrived, the first operation is to prepare it for planting. In properly preparing land for planting short staple cotton, good ploughing is indispensable, and among the rules which may be laid down as ad- tnitting of no modification are these : Every part of the soil should be turned and efi'ectually pul- verized ; and the depth of furrow on ail lands should be regulated by the stratum which divides the fertile from the unfertile n;oulds. Therefore, in the breaking up or preparing of land, the plough may go as deep as the soil will admit, but not deeper, and from ihe violation of this rule, which nature has provided as a criterion, thiii soils are sometimes much injured. Light and dry moulds that are easily pulverized may be ploughed immediately before planting. But on clayey soils, where the extremes of wet and dry present the disagreeable alternatives of mire or clods, the best season of ploughins is often short and critical, and such soils should, when practicable, be ploughed early in the winter, tliat they may by the action of the fi-ost be rendered friable and more easy of cultivation. The usual and best method of planting cotton is on ridges, the centres of which vary in distances from three and a half to seven feet, in proportion as the soil is more or less li^rtile. The ridges being widest u[)on the more fertile soils, wliere, fi-om the larger size, to which this plant attains, it requires the greater distance to admit the influence of the sun and the circulation of the air. Upon all soils the observance of this rule is important, but par- ticularly upon such as are backward in bringing cotton to maturity. The ridges are formed ac- coiding to circumstances either by the plough alone, drawn by one or more horses, or by the plough and hoe. The land being thus prepared, the object is to plant. Cotton being produced in all the southern and south-western states, over the territory embracing a considerable v.iriety of climate, is planted at dif- ferent times li-om the middle of JMarch to the first of Ivlay. As a universal rule, however, it may be remarked, thai the planter should select the ear- liest period that is consistent with saiety. Confi- dent that, lot human systems vary as they may, the approach of the season which wakes up the vegetable creation from the sleep of winter, and by its genial influence gives it life and beauty, is regulated by a steady hand — and grateful when he commits his seed to the earth, that if he dis- charged his duty in preparing his land for their reception, his labor will not be in vain. In the re- gion embraced by the Pee Dee Agricultural Soci- ety, the best lime for planting is during the month of April, commencing about the second week and completing the operation as soon afterwards as practicable. It rarely, indeed it almost never, oc- curs, where lands have been well prepared, that there is a failure in the stand. The seed are planted either in drills, in checks, or in chops. But the most usual and convenient method when seed are abundant, is to sow in drills run on the tops of the ridges and to cover lightly with a plough constructed for the purpose. If the weather is moist and warm the plant will appear in a few days ; if the contrary, the seed will re- main for weeks without vegetating. The stand of cotton is sometimes injured by heavy floods of rain falling shortly alter planting, succeeded by drought, forming a crust on the (Irill which the vegetating and seed are unable to penetrate. Light soils are not subject to this evil, and on stiff lands it may in a great measure be avoided by sowing the seed and leaving them exposed until after a rain, when they should be rapidly covered while the earth is friable. The moisture absorbed at such a time will occasion the seed to vegetate before another rain has fallen and another crust has formed. Alier the plants are up, commences a most im- portant part of the cultivation ; and here the com- mittee will remark, that practical results on the culture of cotton are varied so much by circum- stances, that it is impossible to lay down rules which will be of universal application. But de- pending almost entirely upon experience and ob- servation, and very little upon theoretic reasoning, every judicious planter will be regulated in the management of this crop by the condition of his field. The first process, however, after the cotton is up, is generally, in common language, "to chop out." This operation is performed by drawing the hoe rapidly across the drill at short intervals, leaving between each chop three or four plants. The plough immediately follows, running as near the drill as practicable without covering or otherwise in- juring the plants. The hoe succeeds, removing the grass which by this time begins to appear, re- ducing the plants if of sufficient size and vigor, to a single stalk a place, and drawing around them a little mellow earth. The plants will now stand in the drill from ten to twelve inches apart, and if this hoeing is well done the principal diflicuiiy in the cultivation of the crop will already have been surmounted. Ifjon 'he contrar}', it is negligently performed (as is too frequently the case) the planter, if fully cropped, may expect much vexa- tion in its subsequent cultivation. The first ploughing is generally performed with two furrows to the row, leaving a narrow ridge of not more than six or eight inches to be worked by the hoe. In the second ploughing the intervals between the ridges should be effectually ploughed out, and the fresh earth thrown lightly around the lower part of the cotton stalks. Every subsequent FARMERS^ REGISTER. 63 ploufrhiiifT ehould be performed in the same man- ner, wiih an increasing pariicularity as the plants increase in size and approach niaiurily, noi lo run deep and near, lest by so doinij; tiie lateral roots, vvliich are thrown out in search of food, sl|ould be injured, and the circulation ol' the sap too mucii checked. Ploughs of various models are used in eflecting the same results, but it is deemed unne- cessary to enter into a description of ihem or a de- scription of their relative adaptation to the objects intended. Every planter in the selection of ploughs will of course be governed by his own ob- servation. The cotton crop should be worked at intervals of not more than three weeks from the commence- ment to the termination of its culiivation, and suc- cess depends not less upon the judicious and skil- lid management of the hoe than of the plough. There is however much greater unilbrniity in the method of using tliis implement ; and it imay be remarked, in general, that where the soil is mel- low and in good condition, it is sufficient to remove the grass where the plough cannot reach it and to draw a little fresh earth to the plant with the hoe where the beds are hard ; its province, in addition, is lo loosen the surface. With a view to the increase of productiveness, many planters are in the habit of topping their cotton, and there is no doubt that where this ope- ration is performed in time, it produces good re- sults. The plant when its upward growth is checked by this process, yields more of its circula- tion to the support of iis lateral branches and to the nourishment of its fruit. The committee deem it almost unnecessary to allude to the great importance of having the cotton gathered as soon after it has opened as is consist- ent with a proper regard to the attention due to other interests on a plantation. Every planter of observation must be convinced of the great loss in weiglit, and in the deterioration in quality, sus- tained by cotton, from long exposure in the fields to the storms and frosts of winter. The cotton plant is well known to be subject to a great variety of diseases, some of them appear- ing in the plant and others in the fruit only. Some have supposed that all of these diseases proceed from insects. Many ol" them no donbl do; but experiments have proved the existence of a circu- latory system in the vegetable as well as in the animal creation ; and it is known that, like ani- mals, vegetables extract a fluid from whatever substances are applied to the organs through which they receive and digest their nutriment, that may either tend to promote their health or produce dis- ease. Hence it is obvious that the health of ve- getables like that of animals may become injured by drawing within their circulation deleterious or poisonous qualities, and that the rot and other dis- eases in cotton may be attributed to this cause. This alone, combined with the circumstance that we have not yet been able satisfactorily to trace the causes or provide against niany of the diseases to which cotton is liable, shows the importance of an improved state of agricultural knowledge — knowledge, the advancement of which has no doubt been much retarded by the secluded state in which the cultivators of the soil have generally lived, and the want oi' that patient and continued observation necessary to understand the process of vegetation, and to remark intelligently upon the difiif^rent results of the application of different soils and njarmres, and the eflects of other external agents to which ihe plant ma}' be subjected. A state of things which it is hoped that this society, now in i^s infancy, will have sonie agency in re- moving within the limits of its influence. The cotton plant under the name of Gossyp- fiiiim has been historically known since the lime of Herodotus, the father of prufane history ; but so recent has been its cultivation in this country that many now living can recollect its introduction among us as an article of commerce. It would be Ibreign to the objects of this report to refer to the important influence which in its processes of cultivation, manufacture and sale, this article is now exercising on the destinies of the human race. But in illustration of the extent of its cultivation and of its value, the committee will briefly refer to the last report of the secretary of the treasury, containing a statement of the annual commerce and navigation of the United States, commencing on the first of October, 1837, and ending on the 30th September, 1838. According to this report, the entire exports of the domestic produce ol' the United States amounted lor that year to S96,- 033,821. Of this amount the export of raw cot- ton alone amounted to .f 61, 556, 811 and manufac- tures to ^3,758,755, making in all $65,315,556, and leaving less than 831,000,000 for the exports of the domestic produce of the whole union be- sides, including the contributions of the earth, the forest and the sea, agriculture and manufactures. Thus we see that the single article of cotton alone, raised exclusively in a section of country contain- ing less thfiH a third of the population, constitutes in value more than two-thirds of the export of the domestic produce of the United States. To ihe support of the pre-eminence, which, under a fortunate combination of circumstances, we have obtained as to the cultivation of cotton, we are mainly to look not only for individual pros- perity, but lor the permanence of our commercial and political importance, and this pre-eminence is to be preserved not so much from our local advan- tages, as from a perseverance in that enterprise, industry and skill which have placed the competi- tion of other regions, not less favored by climate, at a distance, and given to us tlie command of the world. THE WEATHER. This has been the most severe winter, and the most unfavorable to farming operations, of all within our recollection. In the beginning of win- ter there was an unusual quantity of rain, and since, of snow, but still more unusual excess of ice-bound earth and water, and of severe cold. In our thermometer, in Petersburg, at the outer extremity of a north porch, the mercury was 9 degrees below zero, before sunrise, on Jan. 19th. On the 2d, the weather was seemingly as cold, at least, but we did not observe the thermometer un- til 15 minutes before 9 A. M. when it was pre- cisely at zero. Scarcely any farm labors have been performed since Christmas, and all preparations? for the next crops are necessarily very backward. 64 FARMERS' REGISTER. MONTHLY COMBIERCIAL REPORT. For the Farmers' Register. The commencement of the year Ibund tlie navi- gation of our rivers closed by ice; and sucJi was ihe accumuiaiion at Richmond that it has not yet .disappeared. The receipls and shipment ofgoods and produce having tiius been suspended, except so far as it could be effected by rail roads, the busi- ness of the month has been much smaller than usual; and tlie resources of the mercaritile commu- nity being in a great measure cut otf, money has been exceedingly scarce. Advices from Europe have also been retarded : the steam packet which was to have left London on the 1st January, not being yet reported. Prices of most articles have declined. Tobacco about 75 cents per 100 ; cotton about one cent per lb. The general sales ot tobacco are from SJ3 to ^6 for lugs, to middling leaf; good and fine would of course command higher rates. Cotion 8 to 10 cents, being higher than in any of the southern ports ; in these the range of sales is generally be- tween 7 and 9 cents, but in the interior markets as low as 5 to 7 cents, which is the quotation at Columbus, Georgia. The crops in that part of the country and in Alabama cannot be got to the ports of shipment, owing to the low stale of the rivers. The quantity produced exceeds that of any former year, and threatens to overstock all mar- kets. Wheat and flour have advanced within the last week; the former maybe quoted $1 10 to ^1 18 per bushel; and flour $6. The export of both articles to Europe is unusually large ; and it is fortunate that there is such an outlet, as the quan- tity which will be biought to market from the west must be very great. Indian corn may be quoted 50 to 55 cents per bushel. Some small shipments making to Euro- pean markets. Stocks of almost every description are much de^ prccialed, and the enormous li-auds, in some bank- ing institutions of the large cities, which have been recently disclosed, tend to shake confidence in Ihem. X. January 30, 1840. CROP OF JAMAICA. The Jamaica Royal Gazette of the 21st Nov, estimates the deficiency in crop of the Island of Jamaica at one third the expoits oflast year. The •iilling ofl", as shown by official returns, has been on the Ibllowing articles : — On sugar to the amount of 18,135 hhds, 3,070 tierces and 1,510 barrels : on rum, 9,826 puncheons, 165 hhds. and 396 casks ; on cofl'ee, 2,897,974 lbs. ; and on ginger, 1,542 casks, and 1,062 bags. These deficiencies, it is stated, have resulteii from the want of labor (not laborers,) to take off the crops. The seasons have been favorable and productions abundant. CONTENTS OF THE FARMEUs' REGISTER, NO. I. VOL. VJII. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. The four shift rotation, with pea-fallow added. Remarks on other modification of rotation New schemes of rotations, with green manure crops - - - - _ - Application of manures and their effects. Sheep - - - - - Comparative view of the profits arising from the culture of corn and of silk, on poor soils Record of temperature and weather, con- nected with feeding silk-worms, at the co- coonery of the Potomac Company Governmental obstacles to the introduction of tropical plants in South Florida - Curing cocoons - - - - Remarks on the use of salt in agriculture. Poudrette. Treatment of horses Advice to new silk or agricultural societies Kidney seed cotton . . . - Explanation . . . - On making experiments . . . Excogitations . . . - Sources of error in experiments of the product of different kinds of corn - . - Promiscuous remarks ... The Galactometer, or instrument for measuring the richness of milk, and detecting adulter- ations . . . . . The a, b, c, of silk culture - . - Milk that will not produce butter Machine for husking and shelling corn The weather - - - - - Monthly commercial report SELECTIONS. Roots. Necessity for other products than corn for stock. Rotations. Farming in England - On liming land . . . - Report on swine . . . . Reeling silk .... Search for calcareous manures - - r Page 1 7 14 17 18 28 32 32 39 42 45 45 47 51 52 5 11 12 14 16 silk- Food for hogs. Jerusalem artichokes and ground-peas - - - . . Mode of keeping ice for several years Sugar versus cotton . . . . Artificial divisions of a farm Soap-making - . . . G. G. Gleason's experiment of rearin" worms ..... Root culture . . . . . Importing work horses from France Preservation of silk-worms' eggs. Ice-house not the only place to retard or prevent their hatching . . . . . Experiment of Aaron Clapp in rearing silk- worms ..... Millet Causes of seeds not germinating Thinning out the leaves of vines injurious to the fruit . . . . . The cotton crops of the world Proceedings of the Ruffin Silk Society in Norfolk Agriculture in Kentucky . . . Egg-hatching exhibition ... On the culture of celery . . . Address, delivered before the Mason, Cabell and Kenawha Agricultural Society On the injurious effects of Kyan's anti-dry-rot solution, as regards the destruction of vege- table life . . . . - Prematuie flowering of fruit trees and shrubs Bee moth . . . . - Propagating dahlias by buds or joints - Manures . . . . - Preservation of fruit - - - . Big squashes .... An essay on the best and cheapest mode of raising and fattening pork . . . Drainage of lands by steam power - Cultivation of cotton - - - . Crop of Jamaica .... 21 22 22 22 25 26 28 31 33 34 34 35 35 35 36 40 43 47 48 5a 55 57 57 57 58 59 59 61 62 64 THE FARMERS' REGISTER. Vol. VI ir. FEBRUARY 29, 1840. No. 2. EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. DESCRIPTION OF STRATHNAVER, MORVICH, AND CULMAILY FARaiS, IN THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND [SCOTLAND.] Communicated by Patrick Sellar. From the ' Reports of Select Farms.' Introduction. — The counly of Sutherland is situated in ilie 58iii tieir;ee of north iiUiiude, pa- rallel to Goitenhurirh in Sweden, and Labrador in America, and not two degrees I'urther south than Cape Farewell in Greenland. Its climate, and its productions, and the style of firming followed to bring these last to niaturily, must differ, in many particulars, from what [)revails in Enijiand. It consists of a peninsula, nearly of a square form, washed on the west by the Atlantic, on tlie nortli by the Great North Sea, and on the east and south-east by the county of Caithness, and by that portion of the German ocean called the Moray Firth. The exiialations which are pro- duced by these great bodies of water moderate the rigours of winter, and the heals of summer ; causing at the same time a dampness during every season, more especially in the vernal and autumnal ei^uiiioxes, favoratile to grass; but not in every year propitious to the sowing or the ripen- ing ol" corn. The centre and east portion of this district, cx- ceptiuiT a narrow stripe along the south-east coast, scarcely two miles in breadth, rests on mountains of gneiss and micaceous schistus, with here and there a mass of primary limestone, or a blufi" hili of old red sandstone* placed upon it. The whole is broken into abundance of wild, and, on the west coast, savage scenery; subdivided by many lakes and streams of water, and covered chiefly with peat boir, on which grow the eriophori, carices, junci, erica»,, and other alpine plants, given in his kindness by providence to those countries, where the extreme leng'h of winter and the absence of spring forbid, during a great portion of the year, the vegetation of plants of a moie feeding, but less hardy nature. The tillage farming of the county may, with one exception on the north coast in the limestone * The old red sandstone on the west coast extends from Clachtoll in Assyrit on the south, to Culkein on the north. It includes the lofty interior mountams of Sonlbhein, Canisp, and Quenag. From thence to island Handa the coast is composed of round, lumpy hills of gneiss, stretching up to the base of the lofty quartz mountains of the Diriemore. The coast north therefrom, to the vicinity of Cape Wrath, which is granite, is composed of the old red sandstone. To the east of the Cape it is again found, forming the lofty cliffs of Cfochmore and Farout-head. The mountain limestone also forms two considerable ranges; the one commencing on the north coast at Elian Garrow, run- ning to the south of Far-out, extends to the point of Sangoemore, stretching into the interior to the west summit of the lofty mountain of Ben Spiunniue. The next stretches alons: the greater portion of Loch Eri- bol, and includes Elian Choirie to the top of th'^it sea loch. The rest of the county comes within the gene- ral description in the text. Vol. Vlll-e dislrict, be said to be limited to the south eastern siripe of coast above menlionod ; where (he irneiss changes into sandstone, and where breccia of va- rious combinations, and coal measures, are tum- bled together in great confusion, and CDvered wiiji debris li-om the neighboring mounlains. H^Te there has been formed a soil, consistitiii- oi' Inam of different defiihs, approarhitig in some pj oip to coarse alluvial matter of consideraltle lenaciiy, but all of it adapted, wh»'n limed, to the growth of heavy crops of tnrni|)s. The mountainous part of the country is placed chiefly under sheep. It exports annually one hun- dred and eighty thousand fleeces to employ, and forty thousand sheep to feed, the English manu- fiicturer. The shores abound in fish, and its fishe- ries afford more than fifty thousand barrels (if herrings to the same end; that is to say, either lor direct consumption in Kngiand, or for Ireland, where (hey set free an equal value of food belter adapted for the English market. The part of the country employed in tillaire, exports to the south country several cargoes of corn, sotiie choi<"e Hiiih- land whisky, and a good many droves of caiile ; but it is chieHy available for the esculent liiod, and the refuge durinir wimer which it affords lo ifie weaker portion of {h>^ flocks that occupy the great extent of pnstorMl country, with which it is by the wise provision of nature connected. Oi' the above-mentioned agricidtiiral produce of the county of Sutherland, the writer of ihis report may annually export about one-twentieth [tart of each of the above mentioned species of produce, varying in amount according to the nature of the season, and the skill and industry of liie persons employed in directing, superintending, and curry- ing through the operations nece.=sary to improve the quality and preserve the health of the stock, in raising the necessary food, and in delending it against the effects of climate. He will proceed to describe — 1st. his farms, which belong in property to the Marqins and Mar- chioness of Staflurd, and he will ext)lain, 2dly. The management employed in each de- partment to bring out and realize the produce. Description o//ar?n.— The first and most im- portant part of the farm possessed by the reporter is in Strathnaver, a tract of mountain land, on the north coast of the county, in latitude* 58° 30\ situ- ated betwixt Loch Naver and the sea. The river Naver runs through it from south lo north, and it extends, at its greatest breadth, from Loch Laygal on the west, to Badanloch on the ea?t. The pasturatre consists of a (jreat variety of plants, sin^ularlv adapted to the maintenance, during eveTy month td' the year, of t!ie only do- mesticated animal possessed of a cover adequate. to defend it by day and night from the effects of such a climate— so light in weiirht. as not to sink in the peat bog where it finds its Ibod ; and with power and instinct to spiel] the inaccessible crags, with which such a country abounds. * Within aboat one hundred miles of the latitude of Greenland. t Climb- 66 FARMERS' REGISTER Where the waters, by cutling out ravines, glens?, and straths, have formed an alluvial soil, composed of the debris of the mountain rocks mixed with peat, there the finer sorts ofplanis appear. These plants vary according to the quality of the compo- nent parts whereof the soil on which they grow consists. On spots, for instance, where the de- composing felspar abounds, some natural clover, rye-grass, yarrow or millefoil, mountain daisy, primrose, and other plants of first quality are dis- covered— mixed with the holcus mollis, agiostes, airaj, &c. which are natural to the decomposing mica — with the fescue grass, brome grass, com- mon bent, heather, et hoc genus onine, which is content with the nourishment to be derived from the sterile bank of quartz gravel. Ih this respect the pastures of the county of Sutherland possess an advantage over many tracts exhibiting a more flattering outline; and with the ever varying pro- portions and combinations of matter contained in its gneiss, there is throughout the country an infi- nite mixture of the plants best suited for the main- tenance of ' keeping stock' during every season of the year ; which grasses, by the irregular burst- ing out of rocks in a state of partial decomposi- tion, and by the serpentine course of burns and waters, are ultimately interwoven with the alpine plants that grow upon the peat-bog, and Ibrm the principal part of the maintenance of the stock. Of these alpina plants, there exists a considera- ble number and variety. On the knolls, the hea- ther (erica vulgaris) prevails. It fills with seed, ripening in all seasons of ordinary fertility, like a field of corn,* and forms a principal part of the food of stock, during the wet months of October, November, December, and January. In exposed Bituations, the shepherds burn it, and the sheep eat the young shoots in August and September. In lower positions it is left to come to greater length, eo that the sheep rnay work down to it in time of snow, and in order to afford shelter in lambing time. Adjoining to the heather, the sheep find, on the ppat of damper and deeper quality, the ling (erica tetralix), cotton grass (eriophorum vaginatum), rasj) grass (carex ccbs- pitosa). The leaves of these plaints ihey consume along with the heather, during the autumn and winter months. In February the heather has lost its seed. It is succeeded by the pry (cnrex pani- ca,) the stool bent (jtincus squarrosus), and by thick beds of the flowers of the cotton grass, which are found in the latter end of February', and begin- ning of March, pointing wilh freat vigor to the cheerless sun of that wet and uncomfortable sea- son. These plants continue in use, until the se- cond or third week of April ; and during all this time, they furnish for keeping stock, food of the best quality and in the greatest abundance. From this date to the middle of May, a link is in this country wanting in the chain of alpine eatage. On well drained and moderately stocked ground, the finer qualities, which in this season beo-in to epring, supply the defect, but under ditterent^'man- agement, the 'hunger rot' and a train of conse- quent ills sometimes ensue. In the middle of May, however, the deer hair (scirpiis ccespitosus) takes the place of the moss. It shoots throuf^h * In 1816 it filled very imperfectly, and the conse- quences to the flocks were deeply felt during the en- suing winter. the ground like a thick braird of corn, and wi(h the fine grasses, by this time in full vigor, provides for stock most abundantly, until the month of Au- gust ; when the ground is lightened by the depar- ture of the annual cast or sale lot of sheep ; and the young heather and ling come again into play. The next part of the concern, comprising Mor- vich and Culmaily, consists of a tract in Strath Fleet, and on the' shores of the south-east coast of Sutherland. On the south and west it rests on the sides of a pretty considerable chain of moun- tain, composed of inclined reil sandstone, called Bhen Bhrae and turni|)s; and with ten or eleven bandwiii or bands of reapers to cut, bind, and stock the crops. In thrashing, the first rope ofthatch is loosened, and the sluice drawn at eight o'clock : one of the women, wiih a boy aiiil horse, carts in the corn • the miller leeds ; the seven ijirls attend, each her pan.cular part of ihe macliinery ; and by Ibiir o'l-lork, the Ibdder ol' two ten quarier stacks is thoroughiy sep;iraied fiom the corn, and strewed for ihe caitle, the corn separated from the chaff, and measured over by the second (meve and' ni Ker to ihe granary-keeper ; and ihis person's re- ceipt lor the quantity in the master's pocket. The expense may be as Ibilows : _-.„ . , £. s. d. Millwright, two-thirds of a day - 0 18 Second grieve - - . . 0 i o Eight women, say eight hours, 64- days .... One lad and cart - - . -say 6J Say 5|(/. per quarter - 0 8 11 This, for oais, barley, and wheat, may cost ee- venpeirce to eightpence per quarter. No other general remark occurs, except on the subject of manure. On Culmaily-larm there is a very considerable supply of sea-ware, of very excellent quality; on Morvich, which ia more in- land, there is great abundance of lern or breekan (lilices), which grows luxuriantly on the soil com- [)osed of the debris of the lelspar rock, and yields potash. It is the practice to mix the sea-weed with the court-dung, in alternate strata. The dunghills so Ibrmed being hard trampled down by the carts and the leet of cattle, the mass is found in the beginning of May to be stronijly saturated with an infusion of the muriate of soda. It ia turned over and slightly covered with mould, for fer- mentation, preparatory to its being applied to the soil, and it Ibrms a manure of the very first (lualiiy. The li^rns are cut green, brought together into a great stack, where they ferment to a considerable decree; they are subsequently trampled down under the sheep's feet at sortings, smearing, and at shearing time ; and being mixed and further fermented in the mass with court or Ibid dung, they are therewith applied to the naked fallows about to be sown with wheat. The first; and most important part of the rotation employed, is the growth of ihe green cro[), that is cole and turnips ; lor they are managed in precise- ly the same manner. This species ol'crop is most important in two respects ; first, as the pharmaco- pcpia (or ihe whole slock on the farm, and second- ly as the key-sione of the system of tillage farming employed — and that on which the quantity and quality of each succeeding crop of the rotation de- pends. Green crop. — The green crop, of course, suc- ceeds a culmiliiious or corn crop. The first ope- ration is the furrow, in the direction of the former ridires, given immediately after harvest and the conclusion of the wheat seed : ihe ground is cast into breaks fifteen yards broad, and the ploughing s^ deep as lo leave some of the lime visible tielow the plouirh sole. When this work has been com- pleted, the field is neaily water-fijrrowed, and left 10 receive the fertilizing effecis of winter. On fields ofliglit soil, when the crop is intended to be sown on bonedust, the gates remain shut until after the conclusion of the oat-seed in March. On loams of heavier quality, where dung is to be employed, four dunghills are founded on the head- ridge, two at each end of the field. The foun- dation is composed of virgin mould or ditch scour- inir?, two feet deep ; over this are placed, in alter- nate strata, (bur layers of Ibid dung, and four of sea-weed ; and the mass, when completed, is neatly spaded up, covered on the sides and lop with mould, and the field shut up to wait further procrressat a more advanced period. When the oat-seed has been completed, the jiaies are opened, the waier-furrows shut by the plouL^h, the field thoroughly harrowed and hand weeded, cross ploughed in wide breaks, and again harrowed to perfection, and every weed gathered into heaps, burned, and the ashes spread. This done and the dunghills being at the same time FARMERS' REGISTER. 69 lurned lor f'rnientation, ihe gates are again sliut, iiniil ihe coMiijIetion of the barley-seed, when the ti!laf the ear marks of the owners and the figure or ■* biiist mark' of the hirsel. Tliis figure on the -pack sheep was reverted on the shoulder to facili- tate after sortings. The operation begins by gathering the flocks shedding off yell sheep (or those which have no lambs), and felling the numbers en hand. This generally occupies a da}'. The yell sheep being despatched to their proper places the ewes and lambs are committed to their ewe herds who watch them during the short nights of this season. By daylight next morning, the flock is folded ; by seven, the lambs are separated from iheir mothers ; the mothers sent off under their own shepherds fo the barren ground where their milk is to be dried up, and th(! lambs left in three folds. The first contains wedder lambs, the second ewe Iambs and the thin! packs. At tJiis stage the men generally breakfast in the Ibid; immediately after which the wedder lambs are divided into three sorts called tups, mids, and paleys. The tups are branded with a hot iron, buisted with a distinguish- ing tar mark, and, under charge of the second wedder hog herd, despatched to a tract of coarse pasture along the banks of numerous litile burns (on 5 and 6) which fall into Loch Layjial, there fo be tended until the middle of September. The mids are in like manner branded and buisted, de- livered to the third wedder hog herd, to be sum- tnered, until the middle of August, on No. 2, where several little burns fall into Badanloch ; and the paleye (young weak and stunted lambs) are, un- der the charge of one of the principal men, sent -directly to the h:iy-lbg or aftermath, and other succulent food prepared for them at Culmaily. The ewe larnl)R are then sorted into three lots : — First, the paleys are chosen, branded, buisted and despatched straightway to the hay-fog prepared for them on Morvich. Secondly, the woiet-bred Iambs are despatched to the outskirts of the wed- •der herding, intended to be in that year shifted to hogs. And, thirdly, the tops (the most choice and best breed) possess the outskirts of the ewe * Wedder hogs once shorn. VoT* vjn— 10 I herding, to be In that year shifted to hogs. The I packs, or shepherds' lambs, arc divided into two sorts, sellers and keepers: the first, being heeled or marked with red chalk, are delivered to the. buyers, or put into an inclosure to wait their arrival; the second are divided among the flock lamb hir- sels. This concludes the speaninir. Wcdden>. — When the small wedder Iambs reach Culmaily, generally to the amount of fifteen to twenty scores, they are, after a i'^w days' rest on the sandstone mountain, minutely examined, any lame ones dressed, the weakest portion put into Ihe hay-fi3g, then about three weeks old, and the rest admitted to the sweetest of the mountain-grass. About the 12ih August the sale wedders are deliv- erpd, and the mid lambs (iom No. 2, and the best ofthe paleys, are admitted fo their place. By the 12 h September the rape is ready for use: the lambs, then paley, are sent to five hours' rape and nineteen of lieather in the day and night. The mids are admitted to tiie place formerly possessed by the paleys, and the tops from No. 5 and 6 to the former position cfthe mids. In this posture the lots remain until about the 15ih October : the early turnips being now fit for use, nets are set up across the fops ofrach of three fields, a lot smeared* info each, and five hours' turnips to nineteen of heatherf allowed (or the rest of the season. With March comes the cotton-grass flower ; what turnips re- main are then mostly consumed by cattle, and such ofthe wedder hogs as are fit to liice the blast pro- ceed to Straihnaver — the best lot by the first week of March, the next about the third week of March and the worst about the 1st April: one or two scores may be unfit to go sooner than Whitsunday. It is observed at speaning-time that the paleys consist of two sorts, viz., first, well-bred lambs, which, by reason of being very young, or twins, or badly fed by their mothers, or some other mis- fortune, are much under pize ; and, secondly, ill- bred Iambs, marked by a tendency to short, stubby faces, broad bumpy wiry brows, flat ribs, sharp shoulder-top, round gurning- bones, and twisted legs. When the spring sortings take place, the well-bred mids and paleys are generally found to have advanced themselves to the tops ; ihe ill-bred sheep have as certainly sunk to the bottom, and the last one or two scores which, with equal or supe- rior feeding, lie en hand until Whitsunday, are nearly altogether composed of that sort of stuff. And here the writer cannot help anticipating an observation, which perhaps would have come in better further on — that the difl'erence in expense of keep, loss by death, and of ultimate profit, in favor of well-bred and arrainst ill-bred stock, is so great and striking on a sheep farm, that the apa- thy of many etockmasters to the subject is incre- dible. The reporter and his leading men, year after year, have observed Ihe lamb of' a bad ewe a mid or paley — the same lamb unfit to jzo out in spring — the same beast brought in to make up for sale in its last year — and after all this extra ex- pense, sold as a sholt, at twenty per cent, under , * The smeaiing is an application of salve composed of butter or oil mixed witii tar, turpentine, or some other substance, tothe root of the wool, for the purposes of killing vermin, protecting from wet, and increasing the softness and the growth of wool. t There is a waste of manure dropped on the heather land, but no remedy for this is known that is consistent with the health andhardihooH of the young stock- 74 F A U ISl E R S ' REGISTER, the price of the lot, merely on account of the base j the purpose of realizing the greatest possible value blood which flowed in ils veins. ' '^ -■ -^i - i i "When the month of June has brought its in- terminable day, the vvedder hogs yield their first fleece. They are then caih'd dinnianlf? ; are sent back to the deer hair ; and when i( \W\\fi in August, and the fuie weddcis have jrone souih, ihey are sorted into their wedder lierdiniis, to replace the waygone lot of the las^t year's evve hoirs ; and al- ter two years' stay there, they travel, in their turn, to the feeder. JEioei=. — The ewe lamb follows a course some- what different Iroui the wedder. At the delivery of the sale sheep, it [idis into ihe finest grass on from Sutherland mountain ground. The reporter has ?een tups very showy to look at from a disumce. and full of wool ; but on ap- proaching them more nfariy, the observer must have been struck, with how the feet were quiie under ilie carcass, the breast and twist much nar- rower than to all appearance was compatible with so broail a carcass ; with a hollowness or flatness hetwi.xt the eyes, some bristly hairs on the fore- head, and very likely an oiler to produce a stubby horn ; of which the point, like a small nipple, is just discernible where lliat ornament grows on horned sheep ; and, on the whole, the head turns its herding — the paleys in Morvich— the worst j out to be larger than at first sight it was thought bred fidl-gmwn lambs in the wedder herding — itobe. Touch him, and you will find aflat neck, and the ciioice lambs in the ewe herding, made narrow hard shoulder, small tail, flat rib, and the vacant by the cast of the sale sheep. The inten- tion of this arrangement is, that the keeping lambs may, as liir as possible, be at once hailed to thai herding where they are to be settled as ewes ; the deaths, &c. be beaten up from the best bred of the eecond chost'n lambs and paleys ; and those least fit for breeding be yelled off for sale — the smallest in the ewe herdinga, by being protected by mean? of a contrivance called " brecks,,"* and the largest and strongest by being sent to the her- dins No. 3, which abounds in those plants best calculated lo give increase of bone. The coMirivaiice of yellina or breecliing a cer- tain numl)er ol" ewes in e;;ch herding, besides the advantiige it offers in the improvement ofthe breed, answers im excel!ent piupuse at lambin^-time ; for the yell ewes beintr all sorted ofl' the herding a lew days belbre the lamt>infr begins, a greater abundance of feed is left to briufr nulk on the ewes, and thereby to put layer on their lan)bs — an ar- ticle which it becomes the policy of the store- farmer never, if he can, to lose until he quit the sheep to the ft'eder. These ewe flocks are tended, as n)rmerly ex- plained, in three double herdincs, and one smaller or single herding ; and it was also observed, that one of these double herdings is cleared out annu- ally, to receive the choii-e or keeping ewe lambs. The single herdins yiekis a third of its number annually, and receives from the second lot of ewe hogs its proportion of young slock. By this con- trivance, the ewes can be sorted into three kinds: what approaches to tenderness is sorted down to the single herding. No. 8; what is open in the staple, or inclined to be |)inny in the fleece, are hailed below the double shepherd's house; what is bad skinned, above it. By keeling, or marking with red chalk, the hardiest tups to No. 8, the saddest skinned to the under end, and the loftiest .and most open skinned, to the upper end of the double herding, the whole flocks are kept in that medium, betwixt the two extremes, vvhirh every Btore-liirmer knows to be essentia! to good farminor, and to the sale of that quality of stuck and wool that brings the greatest sxun of money out of the market. Tups. — In treating of the wedder sheep, allusion was made to the necessity of possf-.-ssiriL' well bred Clieviot eheep : this, in the writer's very hum- ble opinion, is a condition absolu'ely re()uired for * Apiece of coarse cloth sowed on across the root of the tail, and about six inches down each hip oo either side of the tail. back, where the ribs strike out, hard as a deal board ; he has very little layer or wool along the back, but (if in condition) exhibits a mass ofgreaso and wool mid-way down the rib; while he will clip at a show from ten to fifteen pounds of wool, of the quality of hemp. This class of sheep is the parent of sholts; his progeny will pay nothing to the breeder, feeder, or butcher, compared with the truly bred Cheviot sheep. Upon which then Ihese three questions arise — Where is this truly bred Cheviot sheep to be foundl How chosen? And how shall his blood be best infused into the flock? These are questions which the reporter will answer with diffidence, being conscious that many breeders are much more c.npable Ihan himself to answer them satis- factorily. Still the Soiiely having done him the honor to call for his report, he will send his opinion and his practice together, and will feel too happy to have them nmendetl m any particular. 1. — The breed of Cheviot sheep from which he has chosen, and would again choose his stock (were ihai to do), feed on the Scotch side of the Cheviot hills, and along the tract of high and stony moorland liirms which stretches out betwixt that mountain ranurc and the source of the Teviol : on the English side there has been, generally speak- injr, too much of Dishley blood applied, to have left in the aniinal the thrift, courage, and consti- tution necessary for the wastes of the county of Sutherland. West of the Teviot, again, it is within the memory of man since the stock was crossed in, from the ovls aries rustica, or black- faced sheep — a cross, of which the first is the best, as is the case in all crosses betwixt animals so en- tirely different from each other. The spirited farmers ofthe western district have, for many years, been importers of tups from the east border; and the circumstance has not, per- haps, in every case, been favorable to the flock fi-om which the imporintiori was made. When this trade began, the west-country breeders fancied sheep with very fine bare heads, flat clean bones, and a short fine fleece, to counteract, as quickly as possible, the opposite qualities of their own flocks. In order to suit the market, the tup-breeders pre- served only the finest of their young store. But the west border genilemen had not gone through many gener;ifions, when they found that thecrosa had been too quick: a reaction followed, and, to the surprise of the tup-sellers, the top was turned to the bottom, the bottom to the top ofthe fair, and nothing could be sold but tups of coarse quality, , The tup-breeders turned with the tide — a few to F A R Al E li S ^ R E G 1 S 1' E R 75 uii extreme degree; tUciny slopped aliort at ihi' certos denique fines, where ;l;ooi1 indiingemeiit eiidij : and, certaitjiy, the iighl sujH, and the must beautil'ul specimens ul well-bred Cheviots, are only to be Ibund in iliis quarter. II. — As to the choice of a tup. Alier Mr. George Culley's description, which is in the liands ot every breeder*, it would be presumjjtuous in the writer of this report to say more on that subject than respectCully lo point out the shades of ditl'er- ence betwixt Mr. Culley's picture and ihe(iuali!y thought to be suitable to tlie county ol'Suiiierland. 1st. His head ought not to be so very thie and small, but the nose should be lull and aquiline from the tip (where the orifice is jet black) lo the Ibreliead. The brow should be inclined to be long and narrow, covered with short, wiiitef, Hal- growing, swirling Jiair. This cover ought to be- gin at the tip and extend over the whole head to the back of the crown, close behind the ear, where it is cut oti'at once by the circle ol'clean, soft, thick- BBt, and rather boardy wool, which terminates the fleece. 2d. The junction of the neck lo the head must not be so very fine, nor the t0|) of the shoulder too broad, but a rapid increase of strength from the top of the neck to the withers or junction of the shoulders ; ihe top of the shoulder ought lo be to the touch, as if the flesh on the chin overtopped the shoulder. This flesh or layer should be deep in quality and well covered with close-set wool, to cover the back broadly and efli-ciually to the cleaving on the tail head, where the spme term- inates in a broad tail, set on so low that the eye, in returnin^^ along the back, iancies there is a gradual rise from the tail to the neck, and a little swell on the loin. 3d. The skin ought to be by no means thin, and the wool should be thickly planted on it, fine, soft, slightly inclined to be boardy, hanging toge- ther in regular staples from root to surface, elastic to the gripe, and covering the belly, and also the quarters as tar as the mutton extends ; al the * Mr. Culley's description of the ram: — 'His head should be fine and small, his nostrils wide and expand- ed his eyea prominent and rather bold or during, ears thin, his collar full from the breast and shoulders, but tapering gradually all the way to where the head and neck join, which should be very fine and graceful, be- ing perfectly free from any coarse leather hanging down; the shoulders broad and full, which must, at the same time, join so easy to the collar forward and chin backward as to leave not the least hollow in either place ; the mutton upon his arm or Ibiethigh must come quite to the knee ; his legs upright, with a clean, fine bone, being equally clear from superfluous skin and coarse hairy wool fi-om the knee and hou^h downward; the breast broad and well formed which which will keep his forelegs at a proper wideness ; his girth, or chest, full and deep, and instead of a hollow behind the shoulders, that part, by some called the Ibrc- flank, should be quite full ; the back and loins broad, flat, and strait from the waist; the ribs must rise with a fine circular arch; his belly strai,'!;ht; the quarters long and full, with the mutton quite down to the hough, which should neither stand in nor out ; his twist deep, wide, and full, which, with the broad breast, will keep his four legs open and upright ; the whole body cov- ered with a thin felt, and that with fine, bright, sort wool. — Cullcy on Live Stock, p. 103 and 104. t Many very excellent Cheviot sheep have a gray color on the nose, which gets darker near the tip. Others have a slight tinge ol Ifetnon color on the face. I termination of which it is cut off at once by the clean while hair that covers the legs. The whole animal exhibiiing greater strenfrth, daring, and agility, than Mr. Culley's descripTion brings before the mind. III. In breeding tups, the general practice in the highlands, alier selecting the tups thought to be the best, is to shed oH' from each hirsel of ewea a certain number of what are considered the "truest," and most perfectly formed ; to put one tup to each lot so shed oH, and set apart; to bid the shepherd tend this lot during the " riding" season fceparate from the rest of the flock, and from the produce to select tup lambs. It many years ago occurred to the writer, that in this me- thod there were many delects : first, the separation intended was not effectually maintained — during the long moonlight nights of November and De- cember the ewes got back to their accustomed haiff, and the tups mingled in the flock; — secondly, it caused a great additional disturbance to the flock, both atridmgiime, and at the subsequent lambing, cutting, clipping, and speaning, to say nothing of the loss occasioned by the fox, eagle, cat, martin, raven, &c., all of which could be more cheaply fed, in some other way than on tup lambs; — thirdly, in the course of his observation it occurred to him that a great proportion of the ewes so set apart in the sever'al hirsels lormed no proper cross to the tup employed in that particular hirsel, but possess- ed a tendency to the same delt>cts, and lo tliesame perfections possibly wiih the tups; consequently, the delects on both sides were aiiijravated, and the very perliections, by increasing to excess, be- came delects; — and, lastly, as all breeders know that animals in very many cases, and especially where crossing has taken place, breed back not to the immediate parents, hut possibly to the great-great- grand-dam or sire ; it must follow that, without a particular genealogy of tup and ewe, the object intended to be eflected by any particular union will often turn out contrary to the wishes and ex- pectations of the master. It was resolved to make a careful selection from the elile ot" particular fa- milies in his own flock ; to purchase, at whatever expense, a few of the elite of certain ancient and well-bred flocks in the east border; to form them into one "selected hirsel" for the breeding of tups; to place them under his own immediate notice, to suidy the particular tendency of each family to- wards a deficiency or excess in each particular " point ?" by judicious crosses betwixt the various families to produce stock more perfect than either dam or sire ; and through this stock to infuse the best border blood into his flocks. The experiment wrought like a charm, and in a few years it lilted up the reporter's stock to a new position, both at the tup shows, and, what is more lo the purpose, in the market where the stock and wool are annu- ally sold. The most choice lots of the county of Suther- land wool and sheep are generally sold in the " great annual market," held at Inverness, in the second week of July. At this market farmers assemble from all pans of ihe highlands ; they are met by wool-staplers and sheep-buyers from the south of Scotland and from Yorkshire, and iransactions to a very great amount take place without show of stock or sample, resting entirely on the character held in the market by the owner and his goods ; and it is very seldom that one 76 FARMERS' REGISTER hears of a disappoinlmenl occurring Id buyer or peller. The market is aJveriiseil lo tai^e place on Tliursday, and ihe buciiness ceriainiy nnulit l)e despulclied in one day; but genllcnien who find themselves removed lor a lime from resiliences which, ihonoli comlijrlable and beauiilbl, are jet solitary, when CGn<,negaled with the brethren o!' their proiession, under agreeable circumstances, can seldom be induced lo st^parale before the con- clusion of Ihe week. Tiie weekly sieemers be- nvixl Inverness and the Forlh and Clyde, and the daily coaches beiwixt the same city, EdinDur<^h, Aberdeen, and Glustrow, afibrd such liicilities, that an Enclish liirmer, by embarking at Yar- mouth or Sunderland on the cast coas", or at L\- verpoolonthe west, mifj;ht attend this market at the expense ofone fortnight's absence Irom his home. j^ccounts.—The farm accounts are kept in the most simple Ibrni possible, by journal and ledger, checked by double entry, vouched by the steward's reporis and other documents, and abbreviateil by five waste-books. The wasle-books, consisting of a corn-book, cash-book, sheep-book, lime bill- book, and memorandum of statements with work- people, are carried on from week to week through- out the year, and at lis termination the whole posted from these through the journal inio the ledger, which is shut by a balance account on the 1st January yearly. Farmer's books are not such agreeable companions now, as ihey were belbre the. bfitlle of Waterloo; nevertheless, a wise man will keep ihem correctly, and balance ihem punc- tually ; recollecting that it is in the roui, not the fight, that the carnage lakes place, and that that parly is safest which shows the most correct front to the enemy. When a farmer's accounts betray coniusion or slolh, his servants become indiderenl to their duty ; faithful servants (juil, worse men take their places, and pillage begins. A rogue is shy to engage with a master who pays punctu- ally and liberally, with a prolessed inlenlion liiar- le^sly to send a thiel" to justice. He wails for a place of a contrary description, and there he exercises his vocation. Capital. — According to the best o[)inion which the reporter can form, the capital necessary to en- able a farmer to carry on business in Sutherland may be stated at about lour pounds, to lour pounds ten shillings per tillage acre, and twenty shillings lor each sheep. A Scotch farmer, however, under a decent landlord, may venture farther than would be safe in other circumstances, in conse- quence of the landlord's right of liypothec, or pre- lerence established by Scoich law over the whole produce of the farm in security of his rent. This right of prelerence exists, tacitly, over each crop for the rent of that crop, and over all stock until three months alter the last conventional term of payment. Suppose a tenant's rent pavable, by equal portions, at Martinmas 1829, ami Whitsun- tide 1830, (or crop and year 1829. At Martinmas, markets for corn, and, at Whitsuntide, markets for stock, are ruinously bad, in consequence of the glut caused at these seasons by the distress of the English larmer. The Scotch landlord knowing the perfect nature of his security scruples not, in such ciicumslances, to give his tenant v/haiever indul- gence is necessary for the ftiir conversion of his produce into money. The difliirence of five, ten, fifteen, or twenty per cent, on the gross sales of his larm ia an important oae. Neither is such an ex- ercise ol" the landlord's right attended by any bad consequ,"nces to society ; diminishing, in the first place, the glut oi'maikels at term time, it slackens at another seasun the grijie of the lorestaller, and softens the monojioly which he vvoidd ctfiervvisa be possessed ol ; secondly, the dealer who buys farm produce, knownig peilt'ctly \\\k! public law of ihe land, leels himself at hberiy, belbre settling with the tonuni, to say, " I presume your rent id paid?" The answer li"om the most necessitous man is, "Indeed, sir, it is not, but here is a letter Irom my landlord or his agent, lo say that you may pay nie 50/. on account, and (or the balance, he and 1 will grant a receipt in full." I>3' a judi- cious exercise of this right of h\ poihec during ihe late diliicull ytMrs, thousands of Scotch (armers have been saved from ruin ; and men are now prosperously conducting the operations of a farm who, in other circumstances, must have sunk un- der the (iressure of ihose times which iiave over- whelmed so many of their brethren in the south. Those who disapprove of the right of hypothec say, "Let the tenant find personal security to the landlord, if he cannot pay on term day; or let the landlord at once take an execution lor his rent." But it is eubmiiled that it would not be wise to reconmiend the subsiituiion of an execution for the existeiice of the landlord's tacit right of hypo- thec ; and with respect to security, where is he to find ii, but among persons in circumstances simi- lar to his own, lo whom and with whose friends he miiHt join in obligations of the same nature 1 In the extent and uncertainty of his engagements his head turns, he plunges into one or more of the fatal circles which liom three months to three months revolve round the banker's coiinting-house; and after iiicreaj^ing lo the best of his ability, the revenue derived Irom the " Excise," and thereby proving the " prosperity" of the country, down he comes. Poor. — Another instance of Scotch feeling the reporter will notice, as it exist among a diflerent class — the cotter or agricultural laborer — that is, with respect to poor-rates. The English, the bravest and most generous people in the world, have established them ; and yet it is not said that they are any where so established, unattended by a considerable degree of improvidence and dissipa- tion among the parties in belialfol' whom the pro- vision is made. On the demesnes of which these farms are a portion, with a more dense population than ever existed there at any Ibrmer period of lime*, there are no tithes, no poor-rates, and — no drunkards, or beggers ; positively levy or none, besides the Irish, and the lew squalid, ruined men liom the south, who wander occasionally in'.o the country. Nay, one meets with few f)easants' sons, of this district, who have nol, liom such slender wages as ihia report speaks to, been taught to read, write, and, perhaps, to cast up an account. ' If a tolerable proficient, away he goes to "seek his (brtune ;" and the proverb says, "it is a bare moor but he will find a cowe t upon it." Go where he may, his heart is with his father's house ; and if he succeeds in li(e, which he generally does to a cer- tain extent, the "inmates'' there are Ihe better lor it. The first feeling of a Scotch peasant is affec- •Vide census, 1811, 1821, 1831. ,t Cowe, a bit of heather. F A R M E li S ' REGIS T K R . 77 lion for his kindred ; llie second is liis sense of their mutual bul sole de|)endence, under Provi- dence, on industry and llirilt, to siive them lioni the sli;inie orbeiiirary. The parent wrestles hard to push Ibrward some part of liis liiniily hy dial ol' educaiion : tlie cliiki, unknown to any. 'deposits his sair won penny fee, To help his parents dear, shoidd ihey in hardship be.' By reciprocal ijood oiiices, hy joint industry, pohriely, and produce, they get on wonderliilly. In sickness tliey apply at the nearest liouse where any medicine orcomlbrt is likely to be ohtained lor their liiend in distress; they seem to expect 'l as a debt, or rather a loan, due from one Christian to another: hut I'or the least drop of honey, jelly, wine, or even vinegar obtained there is a visit liom the patient, as soon as he can crawl abroad, with a thousand thanks, and a fowl, some eggs, or the like ; which how to reliise or to pay I'or without oflence it requires some tact to discover. On entering the habitaiion of the cotter, his fare is found to be very simple. In summer, oatmeal porridge witli milk Icr breakfast, potatoes for dinner, and bread and milk or something similar for supper. In winter, porrid^re, with [)erhaps a little bit of butler or some treacle, to breaklasi ; potatoes mashed, cut into slices, and done on the gridiron, and eaten with a very liitle fish, pork, or a bit of cheese to dinner, and gruel with a few potatoes ar a bit of oaten or barley bread to supper. His abstinence is nearly complete from tea, cotiee, sugar, candles, soap, ale, parliament whisky, * and every taxed commodity, except tobacco; and the nature of the climate has rendered it one of the necessaries of his lile. To a greater share of the comforts ol" life, the agricultural working man and his family may, doubtless, be admitted, and are so daily ; but pru- dence and care and moral conduct continue, and it is hoped will long continue, to characterize this eimpie, industrious, and virtuous class of men. Patrick Sellar. Morvich, 6lh January, 1S31. A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE APPARA- TUS FOR CARRYING INTO EFFECT THE FORCING SYSTEM OF VENTILATING CO- COONERIES, INVENTED BY d'aRCET. [Several years have passed since we met with some general notices, in a French periodical, of M. D'Arcet's plan of ventilation for cocooneries, and of its admiiable success in the practice of JVl. Camille Beauvais, in the very unfavorable climate of the vicinity of Paris. One of these articles was published in a former volume of the Farmers' Re- gister. But still nothing was stated of particulars. We attempted to procure the full plan, as first published, Iro.ai France ; but, hke many other Buch efforts, in vain. At last, it has been obtained for, and published in, the ' Silk Grower,' and we hasten to lay the article before our readers. The Buccessful and interesting results of the earliest • Within these few years, illicit distillation has al- most entirely disappeared, and the character of those that dealt in it has proportionally improved. experiment on this plan (though very imperfectly executed,) by Messrs. Cheneys, were published in I ur No. 12, of the last volume. Highly as we estimate the value of this "arti- ficial systeu)," which sul'jects, almost entirely, the weather and atmosphere to the control of man, and though we believe it will be found to be the cheaper and better mode in regular cstablishmenta on a great scale of operations, yet we by no nieana recommend it for any other. The natural tem- perature and ordinary seasons of Virginia are su(^ ficiently good for a high degree of success and profit in silk-culture ; and in feeding-rooms of mo- derate size, where sufficient space and change of air are secured, nothing more than the natural air and temperature is essential, though doubtless a little fire in cool and damp spells would be eco- nomical, as well as very beneficial to the vigor of the worms. But though no expensive fixtures or scientific processes and rules are necessary for suc- cess, and still less for beginners, it will not be less interesting to know what art and science have done, and can do, in overcoming every natural de- fect o!' climate, and source of disease and loss la the feeding insects. — Ed. F. R,] From the Aniericaa Silk Grower. [The system of rearing silk-worms, recently matured in France by Beauvais and D'Arcei, shows the devices to which the climate of that country makes it necessary to resort in order to insure success. In publishing the description of it, we think it proper to state that we do not, by any means, consider the whole of the arrange- ments described, required in our superior climate, A perusal of" the details may, however, afford some valuable suggestions to those possessing co- cooneries or intending to erect them. Silk-worms undoubtedly succeed best when kept at a unilbrm and pretty high temperature, say about 74° Fah- renheit, and times occur, even in our climate, when the natural heat of the atmosphere, especially of mornings and evenings, falls lower than is desira- ble. Under these circumstances it is very advan- tageous to have some convenient mode ol" diffus- ing heat through the cocoonery, lor which purpose a furnace and air-chamber may be established in the basement or cellar beneath, either directly in the middle, or at one side or end with flues con- ducted under the floor, in which apertures may be made at suitable disiances to let the warm air into the apartment. This may be ettecled without re- course 10 that multitude of holes recommended by D'Arcef, the sizes ol" which are regulaied upon mathematical principles. In an apartment 25 or 30 lijet long, eight or ten holes, of moderate size, may suffice. Instead of holes and flues above to lead ofl" the air into a chimney, we would allow the warm air to rise, as it naturally will, into the garret, and then escape ilirough apertures or ven- tilators in the roof We prefer cocooneries one story high. — Ed. yJm. Silk Groxoer.'] The great profits afforded by the silk culture in the southern provinces of France as we'l as in, other places, had led to repeated attempts to intitr* 78 FARMERS' REGISTER (luce this branch of agricullure into the northern anil cenlriil departmenis. These trials weie con- tinued iljfough a long succession of years, but ge- nerally proved unsuccesslLil. Recently, however, Caniiile Beauvais, either liom possessing more perseverance than his predecessors, or being more capable ol' Ibrming a just appreciation of the mflu- ences ofclimate, has succeeded in establishing the culture of the mulberry and the rearing ol' silk- worms in the vicinity of Paris. The important improvements introduced {-.y him have povyerlully contributed to the success oi' this branch of indus- try, and are therelbre well worth the attention of those interested in the silk culture. To remedy the delticts of climate upon silk- worms, protect them liom the ordinary sudden vicissitudes of weather, and place them under at- mospheric conditions most favorable to their health and developement, were the first objects of his researches. In pursuit of these ends he applied to Claude Dumoni, who furnished him with the means ol' regulating the entrance and esi-.ape of air into the cocoonery. Peclat soon afterwards su'Tgested modifications which were of great ad- vantage, and, finally, he had the happiness to find a new'^assistant in D'Arcet, who, applying science to observation, succeeded in maturing a complete plan of a salubrious cocoonery, by means of which the proper degrees of ventilation, temperature and moisture, necessary to insure successful rearing can always be obtained. The magnanery, or cocoonery, described by D'Arcet, in which this ingenious system is carried into eHect, is at Villemonble near Paris, and was erected by the government architect, Destailleurs, for De Grimaudet. It has two wings, both uni- form, and each about 150 liset long by 50 wide. The lower or basement story is appropriated as u filature or reeling apartment, and place lor drying leaves. It has pillars along the centre lor the sup- port of the floor above ; at one end of tiiis apart- ment, and through its whole width, a portion is cut oli(see fig. 3) serving as a chamber lor warm or cool air, and from this the ventilation of the whole cocoonery is tll'ected. The air chamber is supplied with a furnace (4) the flue of which ter- minates in the main chimney (21.) It is in this portion of the basement that the heating and cooling, together with the general means of ventilation are elfected. The remainder of the story (M) is appropriated to the drying of leaves when these have been gathered in a moist state, and for reeling cocoons according to the me- thod of Gensoul, after the completion of the feeding. The apartment (O) immediately above the basement is devoted exclusively to the rearing of worms. It has four flues, or conductors, made of wood running under the floor lengthwise, (the commencement of which are seen at plates 1, 2, fig. 14.) Through these the air, after being pro- perly warmed or cooled, in the air chamber, (3) is conducted into the cocoonery. Above these flues are placed the hurdles (8.) The apertures (15) through which the air passes into the cocoonery are of unequal size, each flue has sixty, of which the first that receives the air is only about an inch sq'jare, the size of the others increasing in arith- metical proportion as they recede from the air- chamber. The sum of the superficies of the sixty holes, amounts to 0,198 of a square metre, (the square metre being equal to 1,196 square yards.) The vitiated air of the cocoonery is drawn off by means of lour flues (plate 2, figs. 20) placed above, with apertures (19) opening into them. In Ibrm and arrangement these flues and apertures correspond with those below lor introducing the air. PLATE I.-END VIEW. FARMERS' REGISTER. 7D PLATE II.— SIDE VIEW. The upper flues are made to unite into one box, previous to entering liie main chimney (21,) tiiis box is furnished with a ventilating wheel, (tarare) (22) and its size, as well as that of its opening into the chimney (23,) is five times greater than that of either of the flues. The air from the cocoonery may be conducted at pleasure either immediately into the main chim- ney (21) or by way of the ventilating wheel into the garret. By closing the register (23) and thus cutting otf the direct communication with the chimney, the ventilating wheel is made to draw the air frona the cocoonery and force it outside through aperiures in the garret with greater or less rapidity. The size of the main ventilating chimney (21) should be equal to double the capacity of the lour flue?. Ventilating flues may, if nece.=sary, be con- structed upon economical principles, the cracks in the wood being closed by means of coarse paper or cloth coated with glue, fn constructing a new cocoonery, the flues may be advantageously es- tablished in the space between the floor and ceiling. At the bottom of the main chimney there is a furnace (fournmu (Tappel) (25) specially appro- priated to the purjiose of creating and increas- ing the draught. The pi['e (5) from this is 8^ FARMER S ' fl ii G I S t E R conducted into one leading from the furnace con- Etrucied lor healing the air-chamber, the draught lurnace at the boiiom ot the chimney, and ven- tilating wheel above, both operate to the same tnd, namely, that ofaivvays producing the proper flegree of ventilation in the cocoonery. In cases v\ here the external air is too warm ami it becomes recessary to cool it down by means of ice, or oiherwise, belbre introducing itinio ihe apartment containing the silU-worms, the ventilating wheel may be brought into action. In his general considerations upon the adoption of this plan lor artificial veniilaiion in cocoont-ries, JD'Arcet observes;— If there be an established principle in Hygiene, it is above all others that which makes the breathing of li-esh air necessary for the preservation of good health in animals ol every description. Intelligent persons are unani- mous in their opinion upon this point. The sub- ject therelore needs no farther discussion in regard to the main principle, and its applicability to co- cooneries. The only remaining question is as to the choice of means best calculated to efiecl the proper ventilation in such establishments. Upon reading what has been published upon the Bubject of rearing silk- worms in China, we find that Irom the earliest periods the Chinese have recog- nised the necessity of preserving the irrcalest pu- rity in the air of their cocooneries. We are, how- ever, obliged to acknowledge that the means they adopted for this purpose were very imperlect. To renew the air of a cocoonery by opening to a greater orless extent its windows and doors, shows the infancy of the art. JtR efl'ects are to renew the air unequally ; to produce sudden changes of tem- perature with irregular currents, annoying to the worms nearest the openings, and insufficient lor those situated lirirthest liom the doors and windows as well as in the corners of the apartment. The deficiency of scientific knowledge in China, its immense population and the low price of labor in the country, are circumstances which atl'ord an explanation of the imperfeciion which exists in the means employed for the ventilation of cocooneries, and the success of their rearing. Eut this success is only to be attained at the expense of time and attention. In France we may and we should do better. Whilst engaged in applying means (or the re- storation of health to cocooneries that had been long in use, I ascertained how very rapidly the air became vitiated in those apartments where a large quantity of ammonia Harmed and accumulated. 1 tfierefore saw the great necessity of contriving the means by which a regular and active ventilation might be eli'ected, and the air constantly maintain- ed in a healthy condition. The system of ventila- tion which I have described in my memoir upon healthy cocooneries, has appeareil to me the most convenient for adofition, because it spreads the current of air through the apartment evenly and slowly ; it is at the same lime simple and economi- cal, easy of application, admitting ol" every de- gree of (juickness in the current of air, and, when necessary, of an instantaneous check. Tlie |)lan has been in use lor three years, and has perlectly answered my expectations. The extensive cor- respondence which 1 have kept up in relation to ihe subject has afl'orded the most positive evi- dences, that the system, even when imperlijctly ap- plied, ban been productive oft he most happy results. Some persons have thought that the plan of ar- tificial or forced ventilation, such as I have de- scribed, must be attended with injurious effects upon the health of silk- worms in consequence of its too great violence. But this charge is wholly contradicted l»y the expedience of three years, du- ring which time, in all that has been said and written upon the subject, not one objection has been made against the too great rapidity of the current of air in the salubrious cocooneries erected according to my [dan. On the contrary, I have been questioned, especially by the silk culturists of the south, upon the propriety of increasing the l)ovverol the ventilating apparatus, a thing most readily accomplished wheievprit maybe required; fcinee it is only necessary to raise the height ol'the main chimney, increase the size and velocity of the ventilating wheel, and employ the means of veniilaiion with more or less force, according to the atmos()hcnc conditions which may exis'. The loicing systen) of ventilation ap|)lied to co- cooneries has lor its principal object the withdrawal ol' vitiaied air Irom apartments, and the gradual substitution of pure air. But its advantages are not limited to preserving the health of the silk- worms and persons employed in the cocoonery. It is recognized as a piinciple, the truth of which has been confirmed by actual experience, that it i? easier to raise than to cool dowiiihe temperature of the ventilating current. In some situations and under certain circumstances, it is necessary lo re- duce the temperature of the air, in order to effect the most proper ventilation in cocooneries, and obtain the greatest possible product from the rear- ing. Now the Ibregoing system of \eniilation otjers the most convenient means of efieciing this object, in the following manner. When the ventilating current introduced into an apariment is not saturated with watery vapor, it is evident that its temperature will be lowered by coming into contact with wet or moist bodies. When, therefore, it becomes necessary to cool down the temperature of the air, and when this mitsl be done without the use of ice, it may be conveniently effected by sprinkling water in the air chamber, and upon the floor of the cocoonery, or by suspending in this wet cloths. I will not lar- tfier dwell upon the employment of these means of which 1 have said so much in my memoir. But 1 will observe that silk-worms transpiring freely, and, together with the fresh leaves, being exposed on all sides to a current air, must neces- sarily have their temperature reduced below that of the surrounding air, a proper regulation of which cannot help being advantageous under the circumstances relerred to. As to those persons employed in Ilie cocoonery, and whose natural temperature is fixed above that of the air, the cur- rent refreshes them in the same manner that it does out of doors, on v/hich account it will be equally beneficial to them as to the silk-worms. An application of these observations will tend greatly to establish the correctness of the preced- ing remarks. Supposing that we had to superintend a rearing in the south of France, and that the air was to get into the calm and sultry condition which they term in tliose countries tovffe. In this case if" the cocoonery was not well ventilated there would be no means of checking the progress of infection and preventing the death ol" the silk-worms in tlie FARMERS' REGISTER 8i apartment. If, on the contrary, the rearing wae carried on in a cocoonery io which the pysiem ol artificial ventilation was properly adapted, ihe ■evils might he readily remedied in the following manner: According to the observations of H. Bourdon, the air which has become toiiffe, has a high tem- perature, is stagnant and almost saturated with moisture. To restore the air to a healthy condi- tion it is necessary either to remove a portion ol'the watery vapor which it contains, by lowering the temperature and producing a current, or otherwise by raising the temperature of the apartment n little higher and giving the necessary activity to the ventilation. In preparing my memoir upon healthy cocoon- ■eries I had introduced a chupler describitig the means adopted to give the current of air at all times the proper degree oi'moisture. 13ut the fear ofcomplicating the apparatus iieyond what was •essentially necessary, induced me to suppress iliis chapter, [n the heahhy cocooneries at present established, there are, therefore, no contrivances introduced lor directly removing any excess ol' moisture from the circulating air. On the other hand, as neither the use of ice or the evaporation of water has been generally adopted, the means iel't for reducing the temperature of the current of air, are extremely inefficient. Under existing cir- cumstances, it is therefore necessary, in order to guard against the sad effects of the tovffe, to a- bandon the means first poiiited out, and have recourse to those above described. Conformalily to this, the temperature of the ventilating current must be raised some degrees to render it capal)le of evaporating an adliged to desist from my experiment. Having a considerable quantity of the root, 1 next tried my milk cows vviiii moderate quantities at a time, but did not find it increase the quantity of milk, or improve' the quality of the butler, like carrots or fresh cab- bages, given in the same quantities. 1 then gavei the remainder to my swine, and found them not so fond of them as they are of potatoes. I of course gave the raising of it up as an unprofitable con- cern, and am indeed firmly of opinion, that w'here a farmer can command manures to raise potatoes; carrots, cabbages, and turnips in all their diflerent varieties, he should never spend his time in raising the beet root. I am, sir, your most obedient servant, Jas. Trott^rj Newton, January 10, 1815'. COTTON SEED. From the Carolina Planter. I promised to advert again to cotton seed, as a manure. I have said it is the very l)est we have, and 1 do not think there is a planter who will dis- agree with me. It was formerly thought that it was not suitable for cotton — I know planters now who plant — erroneously I think — a double quan- tity of seed, that a portion of it may serve for ma- nure. I have manured cotton for eight crops with, it, and found that it uniformly produced better re- sults than any other manure. It does not last so long, its efl'ects being scarcely visible after the se- cond year, and sreatly diminished after the first. I do not think either that is as easy to obtain and keep a good stand on ground, manured with it — but I h ive heard that objection made to all kinds of maaare — and from my experience I would advise that more seed shoiild be put on manured land iit general. Cotton seed is valuable as a manure for gardens, and there is something peculiar in its ef- lects on strawberries, and is sometimes carried to the north for tiie purpose of improving that de- licious fruit. It is, however liable to an objection in gardens. It undoubtedly produces worms, and 1 have sometimes thought ants. There is great carelessness and loss in taking care of cotton seed — most persons throw the seed, they save for planting, into a bulk, where it heat* 84 r A 11 31 E K S ' R E G I S T £ K and epoils, and occcigioria a bad stand — while ihat intended for nuuniro is picked out ol the jxin house window and Icl't expo.sed to eiiii luid rain, by means of whii-li, ninch of il)e bulk and more of the oil and gas is iocit. For llie last few years I have had a large room built at the side of n^y gin house, under the window. The floor 1 had rei^uiariy tongued and grooved, and made vvaier tight, the sides wcalhur boarded, and tiie lop cov- ered with plank aa securely as possible. Right under tlie window, there is a hole in the top in which the seed is thrown— some time in the month of January, I have ihe top taken olf that the rain may get lo the seed and destroy ihe germinaiing principle— a better plan would be lo keep on the to|), and a lew days before the manure is hauled into the field, have one or more large holes made in it, lo ihe boitom, and hll iheni wiih water. Or it may be left a week or so in the field in small piles. However ihis may be, by preserving the seed from sun and rain as long as possible, more is added or preserved to ihe amount of ihe manure than any one would suppose. The bottom of my floor when seed is removed, always appears satu- rated with oil, and I have nodoubtoil would run from the heap, if ihe floor had been made with a suita- ble inclination. This plan I would recommend for the adoption of all who are desirous of increasing the quantity and preserving the quality of their manure at the smallest cosr. Some planters haul their seed into the fields as soon as ginned, and pile it. on leaves or slraw, and making a layer ol' leaves, and one ofseed to the top. This is a good plan — attended, however, wiih some additional labor, and the loss of something in the quality of the manure. All the virtue imparted Uy tb.e cotlon seed to the leaves is preserved, but not better than in ihe seed itself in the box, while much is necessarily lost by evaporation. Bosides the leaves can scarcely be made very available manure by this process in due time — I have not, however, tried it. Other planters haul their seed inl'i the cow and stable yards, and make a sort of compost. The quality of the compost ia grpatly improved, and this manure is perhaps ihe richest in the world, but the loss in quantity is immense and the trou- ble considerable. Now ! go to save lime and la- bor in all things, as much in making and apply- ing manure, as in any thing else. There are many opinions as to the method of applying the seed as manure, and the quantity lo be applied. My plan has been with cotton, to run a furrow, fill it up and bed on it, and with corn to drop the grain and throw a handful on it, and do no more until the corn comes up through it. If it produces worms the sun will kill Wiem— if it produces noxious gasi's, destructive to vegetable life, they evaporate, and if something is lost in the strength of the manure much time is gained in the method of application. It answers well. 1 know by experience. Some sow their seed broad cast, plough them in and [ilant. I cannot think this n good plan, though I have heard it highly commended. For small grain, for which nothing is so good as cotton seed— I know it does well, for every grain then tias its manure— but be- fore the corn or coltoa roots can well reach the centre of the rows, manure so disposed must be greately impaired. Some persons contend (hat not less that a hundred bushels ofseed la the acre will do any good — others that thirty bushels are sufficient. The iruih lies between. 1 usually apply a wairon load lighlly thrown on — proba- bly about 70 bushels, un cotton ground, and on corn perhaps not over fifty bushels. Any quan- tity will do good, and ibr my own part I have never thouglit \ had done harm by putting loo much. I intended when 1 began to have said some- thing of the system oi' purchasing cotton seed for manure, now adopted by many excellent planters, but 1 have already made this article too long, and most deler my rejiarks for the present. Short Staple. WONDERS OF CULTIVATION. From tlie Carolina Planter. There is scarcely a vegetable which we novi? cultivate, that can be found to grow naturally. Bulibn has stated that our wheat is a fictitious production, raised lo its present condition by the art of agriculture. Rye. rice, barley, or even oals, are not to be found wild, that is to say grow- ing natural in any pari of ihe earth, but have been altered by the industry of mankind from plants not now resembling them, even in such a degree as lo enable us to recognize their relations. The acrid and disagreeable opium graveolens has been transformed into lielicious celery, and the colewort, and plant of scanty leaves, not weighing altogether half an ounce, has been improved into cabbage, whose leaves alone weigh many pounds, or into the cauliflower of considerable dimensions, being only the embryo of a lew buds, which in their natu- ral state would not have weighed as many grains. The potato again, whose introduction has added millions to our population, derives its origin from a small bitter roof, which grows wild in Chili and Monte Video. 1 ALLOWANCE OF WATER TO HORSES. I From the Sporting Magazine. t It is by no means an uncommon notion that if j horses are to be got into condition for work, they I should be allowed to drink but a very small quan- tity of water. On what physiological basis this opinion is founded, I conltjss appears to me a per- fect mystery. Nevertheless, as many persons adopt this treatment, it is filling to notice it. For my own part, I have ever found that it is an ex- tremely bad plan lo stmt a horse in his water, and have consequently always made a practice of leav- ing plenty of it at all times witliin reach of every horse I have had. Of course 1 do not intend to say that when a horse comes in heated li'om ex- ercise lie should be suffered to drink, or should have a bellyfull of water jusi prior lo being ridden ; but if a horse be watered ad libitum in the morning, he will not require to drink again for some hours, and should never be allowed to do so then unless perleclly cool. Those horses that are only sup- plied with a limited quantity of water at a time, and are never permiiled to slake their thirst ful- ly, will be much more liable to be griped, if at any time they by chance should drink their fill, ihan those that are always suffered to take as much as nature dictates to them : but should a horse liave been hard worked and come into his FARMERS' REGISTER, 85 stable very hot, I would, after having seen liim well dried, only pive him a sniiill quantity, (or two reasons ; first, because his eagerness fur wa- ter may lead him to drink more at a time than is 2;ood for him; and, secondly, because a large quantity of water will probably cause him to break out into a cold sweat, in which he may remain all t)iglit if not looked to. ACier having taken a third, or less, of a stable pailllil of water, lie should be kept without any for some tinie, and then lie allowed to take wlial he pleases. When, however, you intend to stint your horses in this way, do not sutler your groom to offer him a pailful of water, and to take it Horn him when he has druid< a small portion of it, but let just the ()uantity you wish him to have, and no more, be given to ivm ; he will then li^el to a certain de- gree satisfied with what he gets; whereas by taking from him what lie expects to iiave, he be- comes fretful and di.-conteiited. In the first in- stance he makes up Jiis mind to slake his thirst with a short allowance of water; whereas in the second his just expectations are balked in mid career, and his imagination cheated as it were in the height of his enjoyment — and there is much more in this than may be supposed. Phy- siologists are well aware of the connexion existing between the stomach and the brain ; and those who have not inquired into this fact milst either do so before they attempt to refute if, or take what I have said as proved. WITCH [or WIRK] grass. From tlie Maine Cultivator. A writerin the Farmers' Register, whose article we find copied into the New England Farmer, af- firms with great confidence, as if he had made a very important discovery, that lands inlested with witch grass, may be effectually expurgated of that weed by pasturing sheep upon it. The man is mistaken. He supposes, because the roots, after the land is laid down, become fine and almost ina- perceptible, that the soil is entirely free from them. If he will plough up and cultivate the land again, he will find that those little fine roots, which he supposes can no longer be witch grass roots, be- cause they are so small, will swell up again and stretch out as they were before being driven into insignificance by the land's having been laid down. We have been deceived in the same way ourselves. A neighbor had a piece of land that was formerly inlested with witch grass, but for several years latterly had been devoted to the pasturing of sheep. On turniriLT up the sward with a shovel, it appear- ed as if there were no longer any witch grass roots in if. Wishing to improve a small garden spot we removed several loads of the soil to the garden and ploughed it in. In a short time the deceitful lit- tle roots swelled out, and we found that we had thus unwittingly introduced an enemy to a fearful extent. The theory of the Farmers' Register is a mistaken one. After all, witch grass is not so bad an affair. It does but little injury to crops if of;en hoed, keeps the soil light and free — and, as a jrrass plat, affords the earliest and most constant feed for cattle. — There is no sweeter grass than this, and none lliat makes better hay when cut early. You can get three crops of witch grass hay in one season, as well as two crops of any other sort of grass. It is an enemy indeed in the garden, and the best way to exterminate it here, is to dig it all out ii-orn the beds by the roots, and carry it off. We have gone over a garden of an acre in this way, and have completely triumphed. TO FARMERS. For ttie Farmers' Register. No country can be truly wealthy, without being a large agricultural producer. All the commerce and manufactures of England, great and mighty as they are, could never alone enrich her. This assertion may seem a fallacy to some; but it is nevertheless true, that her chief wealth is her en- lightened spirit of agriculture. It is from this source iv.ainly that her princely nobles derive their immense income ; and of more real comfort than the average of our agricultural community. I speak of the tenantry, not of the laborers ; but even tfiis latter class is a thousand times better off' than their newspaper statements would lead us to believe. The main attention of America should continue to be her agriculture ; they cannot be too often, too earnestly, or too emphatically urged upon the minds of her enterprising sons; pay strict attention to this, and manufactures and com- merce will follow as a necessary consequence. Our wealth and strength will be greatly in- creased ; we shall obtain a much greater average crop from the same number of acres under culti- vation, having better roads, better buildings, and above all a more enlightened and thorough educa- tion to the agricultural community. If any one class of men in our great republic is to be better educated than another, it should be the directors of the agriculture of the counirj', A Ptpil, Chesterfield, 1840. ARTKSIAN WELL AT CRENELLE. From the Mining Review. At the last sitting of the Academy of Science, M. Arago staled that he had that morning been making some thermometrical experiments at the Artesian well at Grenelle, in order to ascertain the temperature at the depth which had already been attained, viz., 483 metres, or 1584 feet. When the workmen had reached 460 metres the chalk was of a green color, indicating the proximity of water. Sirfce then the chalk had become mixed witii clay, and of a dark color, a still stronger indication that the sheet of water which it is intended to meet is near. M. Arago usedjhe thermometer of M. Walferdin, and after having taken all the ne- cessary precautious in order that the pressure, which at such a def)th is equal to fifty atmospheres, might not injure the bulb, six thermometers of the same kind were successively let down to a depth of 481 metres, car-e having been taken not to low- er them until lh>ly-six hours had elapsed after the boring, in order that the heat which this work might have communicated should have subsided. The thermometers were left in the well for thirty- six hours. The heat at this depth was twenty- 86 FARMERS' REGISTER seven degrees of Reaumur, or 92^ of Fahrenheit, being about tvveniy-three nielres lor each degree of temperature. M. Aiairo expressed a hope ihat no water might be ibund lor 100 metres more, as in Ihat case theie would be a permanent hot spring at the very gates of Paris. REVIEW OF A " NEW ESSAY ON FIORIN GRASS, INCLTDING THE HISTORY OF ITS DISCO- VERY, AND AN ACCOUNT OF ITS VALUABLE QUALITIES, AND MODE OF CULTURE." BY WILLIAM RicHARi>soN, D. D. London, Raid- ing, 1S13. pp. 91. From the Edinburgh Farmers' Magazine. Dr. R. is certainly one of the most persevering, indefatigable, and patriotic characters of the pre- sent age. It is very (ortunate for the world, that a discovery of such importance as that ol" florin should have been made by such a gentleman. There are very few, indeed, who would have encountered, with so much disinterested zeal and fortitude, the host of enemies that have as- sailed him; and scarcely any that could have ac- quitted themselves with so much ability. Like some other great heroes, he does appear at times to be a little irascible ; but that is not lo be won- dered at, when it is considered that " he has been attacked from all quarters ; and, while his florin was only gaining ground by inches, he had as many battles to flght in support of this native vesretabie, as Henry the Fourth had to engage inlbr the recovery of his hereditary kingdom.' So much paper indeed has been expended in these numerous conflicts, and so true it is, that, after all, florin has only gained ground by inches, that it is not improbable the whole of the crops in Scotland might be covered by the learned and unlearned essays, letters, and dissertations, that have been written and printed respecting this wonderful grass ; — a melancholy proof certainly of the obstinate prejudices of n'ankind against every new discovery, however valuable. And yet we must say, (or the honor of our country, upon the aulhorily of Dr. R. himsell', that we are much more open to conviction, and much more tractable, than our southern neighbors. Concerning several late discoveries, such as the culture of wheat in the Highlands of Scotland, the inexpediency of summer-fallow on heavy soils, and others of the same kind, a dilfcrence of opinion still prevails; and, with regard to the notable expedient of reducing the several breeds of live- stock to a single breed, the difnculty of providing a suflicieiicy of winter Ibod in many parts of Scot- land apj)eared to be almost unsurmountable. Red clover and rye-grass will adbrd but a poor croji on the bleak heathy mountain ; and neither turnip, nor even rula bag.i, are Ibund capable of resisting the successive frosts and thaws of our severe cli- mate, even if it were possible to raise good crops of them in such siluaiioii--. Hence any kind of herliaire that would sup|iiy the place of hay anil succulent food in our mouniaiii districts, must al- ways have been a most important desideratum. When it was said, a lew years ago, that the most barren moors and mosses could produce such herbage, and that there was a native vegetable to be Ibunii every where, which, U[)on such land, would yield a crop of hay thrice the weight of that of the best meadows of England, and of a far superior quality, it was naturally to be expected that farmers would be somewhat incredulous. Jjut now that the fact has been ascertained, and indeed 'demonstrated' by Dr. R., it is quite unaccounta- ble to find men still exclaiminir against a discovery lor which they had long wished, and against a crop, from the want of which they had felt much loss, and always very serious inconvenience. It would have been our duty, long ago, to have laid before our readers some very excellent speci- mens ofcontroversial acumen on this subject, had it not appeared to be more "decent and honorable" (to adopt the words of our author) " to leave the projector a clear stage, and a fair opportunity to make his own way." As he ver)' judiciously adds, " if his discovery was nothing, and his schemes lii- tile, ihe world would soon detect him, as they have already so often of themselves detected and ridi- culed the putfed discoveries of pompous charlatans.' But it is now full lime that the benefit of our author's discovery should be extended over every part of Scotland at least, and that we should con- tribute our mile (or that purpose. If our English readers should still remain obstinate and perverse, they have only themselves to blame for the conse- quences. The first questions that it seems natural to ask about this grass regard the discovery of it — ita properties — the amount of its produce — and its application. Second, It must be desirable to know upon what soils it will prosper, and how it should be cultivated. Lastly, What are the peculiar advantages to be obtained from its culture to individuals, in the first instance, and ultimately lo the public at large 7 In arranging and condensing Dr. R.'s observa- lions, under these several heads, it may be neces- sary to notice, very shortly, the objections that have been made to his statements; and also the omis- sions, which it may be readily believed will ofien be chargeable against a writer whose mind is too much occupied with leading topics, to suffer him to atlenil to minute details. To the discovery of the valuable properties of this grass, our author positively lays claim, and gives a full account of the steps by which he had acquired this knowledge. These properties, he observes, " have escaped the attention of man for five thousand years." This discovery, too, "of which the world begins now to (eel the importance, was not the result of accident, or a lucky hit, thrown in my way by good (brtune, but the very thing I was in search of" Notwithstanding this the doctor admits, that " the aborigines of the British isles seem all to have had some vague notion of the value of florin;" that it was not " unknown to the botanical writers of the seven- teenih century;" that 25 years ago, "the Reverend Marcus M'Cousland, descanting on the value of a piece of ground he had recovered from the sea," exclaimed, "See, it is all florin!" and that the natives of the wild parts of Donegal, alwayscharg- ed a hiiiher price lor florin hay, though spontane- ous, than lor that made of other grass. All this time the Doctor did not even know it. He had taken pains, about eight years ago, to procure some plants, but did not succeed ; and at last found a tenant who said he knew the grass. " I went with hinr. to my bog, where he showed it to FARMERS' REGISTER 87 me in abundance." After someexperiments with nine rools ruised from this bog, the author laid down a rood with fiorin, altera crop'oCpotatoes, on the 15th November 1806. It is not our business to reconcile these accounlp. One thing cannot be disputed. 'J'he doctor has the merit ol' having first discovered thai it was infinitely more valuable than any other grass, and than any other person seems ever to have ima- gined, or will yet believe. Mr. Wakefield, in his late account ol' Ireland, not only denies the au- thor's right to this discovery, but that he was even the first cultivator of" it ; and refers to the surveys of Tyrone and Derry, to prove that it had been previously cultivated by Mr. M'Evoy, and the Reverend Mr. Samson. In refily to this, our author very liberally abuses Mr. Wakefield, and seems to withdraw his pretensions. Be this as it may, it is of more importance to be able to distinguish this grass from every other; and, to all appearance, this is no easy matter. " The slifrhtest assistance is not to be derived from botanical books ;" and, in tiie whole of this essay, there is not a word of description to enable the reader to select the fiorin cultivated by Dr. R. (rom other stoloniierous grasses. At one time, his di- rections to those wiio sought for fiorin stolones, were, " to raise the grass growing in contact with the north w^ll of their parish church, telling them they would find it to be fiorin." Rut this simple expedient must not be depended on for success, now that it appears from Sir H. Davy's experi- ments that there are at least two varieties; — the latifulin cultivated by Dr. R., and the angvsfifolia, of much less value. Respecting its pro/jeriics also, the infiirmalion is not quite so full and satisfactory as mighi be wish- ed. It would have been of importance to know the weight of it consumed by horses and cattle, that it might be compared with that of other hay ; and particularly, whether horses enjoy the same health and vigor when led on dry fiorin, as on good clo- ver and rye-grass hay. Yet a vegetable, which possesses the properties ascribed to fiorin in the fbllowingexiracts, must beof extreme importance. "See the contrast — our native fiorin has no disorders, no enemies ; the vicissitudes of season make no impression upon it; and this hardy grass vegetates in the severest frost ; its stolones con- tinue to lengthen under the snow : deluges ol' rain do not in the least injure it; and if Nature has thrown its period ofperlection into the winter sea- son, she has had the kindness amply to compensate by making both the plan and its enormous crop equally insensible to the severities attendant en the season. And though we cannot accumulate a fiorin crop in the short and moist days of ihe lira- mal months, we can consume it to the greatest advantage in that period ; and should we mow more than we can use, we know that fiorin urass will remain on the ground without injury, until the lengthening day brings sufficient drought to enable us to convert into excellent hay, both what was cut, and what was left uncut through the winter. ' p. 25. "During the lime I was thus endeavoring to ascertain the extent to which fiorin culture might be carried, I was equallydiligent in tryin said, with some appearance of reason, that the author should have brought into view the early s[)ring food obtained from meadows and artificial irrasses. and also the second and sometimes third crops alter the hay crop, or the value of the pas- turage till the fields are again shut up lor hay, or ploughed (or a crop in March. Fiorin aives neither early pasture so valuable for ewes and lambs and fattening stock, nor a second crop which may be either cut lor hay or soiling, nor any after eatage, like the land which produces the hay with which it is compared. The application of the author's crops is no where distinctly stated. One cannot but wish for par- ticulars on this head. How many horses, cattle and sheep does he support liom a given quantity of land under fiorin 1 The weight of Ihe crop is of itself no criterion of value. Of this succulent Ibod perhaps twice the weight of hay is consumed. I In the second place, it must be desirable to know [upon what soils fiorin will prosper, and how it should be cultivated. Wiih regard lo the kind of soil it seems to be of no consequence whatever. The doctor has raised excellent meadows on miry bog, so wet, that lie describes it, in Ovid's words, as being " Instabilis terra innabilis unda.'''' 1 1 grows spontaneously on dry sandy grounds, with so much vigor, that he has recommended its cultivation on the blowing sands oft he Hebrides, as an excellent expedient lor preventing the destruction of the contiguous land, and at the same time converting these blowing sands into better meadow than any in England. There is very little concerning the mode of culti- vating it in this essay, which in this instance does 88 FARMERS' li E G I S I' E R not very well accord vvilh its title ; but it has heen already described in this and various mher jour- nals. The doctor's rood laid down in November, 1806, is "light dry upland ground, and got a very weak top-dressing every year; always lurl' n)ould with a little ashes." The sixth crop, mown in October, 1812, was like all the former ones very fine. The greater part of the essay is occupietl with Q display ol'the vast advantage that cannot (i^il to be derived from this important discovery, both to individuals and the public at large ; which was the last branch of our inquiry. Fortunately, on this point there is little more to be wished for. It is now only necessary to consider its advantages in a national view; and here we must give Dr. R. the merit of having made more of his premises, such as they are, than perhaps any other gentle- man in the united kingdom could have done. The doctor's first object is to show, that, "it shall not again be necessary either to import grain or export bullion ;" but that we shall resume our former enviable description — a grain exporting country.'" To establish this comfortable conclu- sion, the country is (Hvided into land of three de- scriptions. The first includes "boggy and miry ground contiguous (o the farms or demesnes of proprietors." "The discovery of the faciliiy wiih which these now unprofitable wasies may be made, at small expense: to produce crops of the highest value, will no doubt bring many of their proprietors into action; superabundance of hay will be the imme- diate result; what then becomes of the ancient meadows that have hitherto supplied Mr. Miller, and the gentlemen of this description with hay? must they not be instantly convened into tillage grounds'? and with the advantage of a prolusion of manure, derived from the cattle fed from mea- dows which never require animal dung, aslms li-om the spot answering the same purpose. Tiie im- mense addition to our grain crops that will arise from this source, n.ust be obvious to every one, who has travelled through Ireland, Scotland, and more particularly the north of England. " The next descrl[)tion comprehends the exten- sive grazing farms scattered through the mountain districts ofour islands. The cattle fed upon these bleak pastures through the summer, are at present sold off, or sent elsewhere to find sustenance ihrouijh the winter. "Rut now, since we became acquainted with this hardy vegetable, we know that we can make fiorin meadows on the cheapest terms, and to any extent, through every part of these dreary regions, which vvill not again be depopulated in winter, their cattle finding food within their own limits, in greater abundance in winter than in summer; and administered to them with the greatest facility.'' The third is by lar the " most important of the three descriptions of ground," and compjehends the cultivated (arms spread over the whole fice of our islands. To introduce fiorin culture here, the author very judiciously consiilers, that two posi- tions must be established — first, that fiorin " pro- duces steadily hay crops more than treble the amount of what we now mow from the same ex- tent ol'ground." Ol" this there can no lonirer be any doubt; for he assures us, " that the lowest amount of an acre ol fiorin he ever knew wciject ; in which he impressed the idea that nature'' s plan should be followed, and that nature's mode of pro- pagating peach trees is to drop them from the tree when ripe, and to cover them with washing rains, the rooting of hogs, or the leaves of the tree. .So that he inferred that peach B\ones should be buried as soon as taken from the tree before they get dry. He then gave his own experience lo prove the correctness of his reasoning. Immediately upon reading his remarks, I re- membered having selected stones and planted a nursery for my father while I was a boy, and that I had accidenily managed it as this eastern farmer directs, and the stones all came up and afterwards made a fine orchard. I have since planted some stones in the summer as soon as gathered, and have succeeded m getting a stand. Francis H. Gordon. Clinton College, Dec. 28, 1839. KXTRACT FROar AN ACCOUNT OF AN AGRICUL- TURAL EXCURSION INTO ST. JOHn's, BERK- LEY, [S. C] BY THE EDITOR. From the Southern Cabinet. The parish of St. John's, Berkley, is long and narrow, extending from the Eastern branch of Cooper River to a short distance above the Eutaw Springs, a distance of near 50 miles. Its eastern boundary is the Santee, and its western, the parish of St. James, Goosecreek, embracing the western branch of Cooper River. The lower section of this parish includes some of the finest lice plantations in the state. But of these it is not our intention, at present, to give any account, and we shall, therefore, confine our remarks to middle and upper St. John's. The soil of this parish embraces almost every variety, with perliaps the exception of tlie stiff clay. In the lower section, the clay preponderates, so far as lo form what may be termed a clayey loam. In the middle, much of the land cultivated is a light sandy loam, while in the upper part, the sand predominates, forming a very light soil. In this classification, we of course confine ourselves lo the hiirhlands under cultivation. Throughout the whole parish, pine barrens abound, and along the Santee, and in other places, portions of the swamps are reclaimed. The crops cultivated are cotton, corn, peas, po- tatoes, groundnuts, (in small quantities.) and rice in sufficient quantities to supply the demand for family use. Cotton of course, is the principal crop intended for market, while the others are generally planted only to meet the demand of the plantation, j though we were happy to find that on some [ plantations, corn was also one of the crops raised lor sale, and that it was profitable. We were sorry to find, that no rotation was adopted, but that usually, the fields supposed best adapted to the culture of particular crops, were selected for these crops, and under such were kept with little variation. Yet lo such an extent do they now carry the manuring system, that these fields, with the exception of those cultivated in potatoes, have actually so improved as, in some instances, to yield from 50 to 100 per cent, more than formerly. This has been brought about, as we have already stated, by manuring, and in nothing were we more pleased than to find how universally this practice has been adopted, and how strenously all are engaged in this laudable work. When we first visited St. John's, so little was the system of manuring afipreciated, that the fijw who had commenced the practice systemati- cally, were actually laughctl at by their neighbors as visionaries — not that manuring was wholly un- attended to, but because they thought it impossible to manure the whole of their crops. Little atien- lion, therefore, was paid lo the subject. What little manure was made, was placed in meager quantities around ihe corn, or some crop near the homestead, and the cleariiig of new land was relied on to su[)ply the places of I hose fields which were worn out by constant culluic. In this re- spect, we were happy to find there had been a great change of opinion, and consequently of practice. On every plantation we visited, (and we have understood, on all or nearly all,) the collecting, preparing and applying of manures, is considered of primary importance, and is now conducted systemaiically. The manure most used, is what is here called " compost.^^ It con siats ofquantiiies of leaves, gathered in the woods and carted into the stables, cattle, sheep and hogs' pens, and from thence into the fields. A specific number of hands and carts are set apart for this work, and on no account (on most plantations) are they diverted to any other. Dr. Ravenel has one cart and mule, with the driver, and two young negroes, (a girl and boy, who could not be em- ployed advantageously in the fields,) constantly enfTa^ed in haulinij in ";pcn- sable lo our safety and prosperity, "'ierchanls, manufacturers, mechanics, and professional men, carmot prosper if the crops of these nccessart/ grains fiul; and Ihey should all unite cordially with 120 FARMERS' REGISTER. farmers in endeavoring lo improve llie condilion ol our agriculture. The cotton planters ol'lhe south, too, have learned from recent experience, the dan- ger of neglecting the culture of corn, and they will no doubt profit by it. I will now take up a question relative to silk- culture, which is ol' the first imporiance, viz., can the citizens of Virginia and the old southern states compete successl'ufly with France and Italy, in the production of raw silk? That we can compete with China and Turkey is proved from the fact that American silk sells for. SI to ,^2 per pound higher than that of China or Turkey. The subject of manufactures, I am not prepared to examine; and I shall not attempt to show tliat we can compete with other nations in that branch of the silk business. Let us produce raw silk in abundance, and profitably, and we may safely leave the competition with Ibreigners, in the manu- facture of silk, to our northern brethren. Tht-y will in due time adjust that matter with other na- tions, and become the purchasers of a larije por- tion, and perhaps all the raw silk raised in the United Slates. In the extracts from Younir's Notes on the Ag- riculture of Lombardy, published in the Regisiex, (Vol. 7, page 274,) there is a siatement which I have found difficult to reconcile wiih other facts Rtated by Young; but as I think I have solved the difficulty. I will first give t!ie exirjict to which I reler, and then my explanation, and if n>y version shall appear to you erroneou?^, I shall be pleased if you will correct it. The extract from Young is as follows: '' The Ibllowing is the account of the profit and loss of six ounces of seed, lor three years, at Vi- cenza, by Si-fburths Durham. Do. $2 00 (or the best beeC. ^2 00 do. for the best ihree- tburih Durham heiltjr, and also .$2 00 Ibr the best ram. To Major VVm. Gaines ,^2 for the best bull, Tom Powell, by Medley. To Hilary G. Richardson 81 00 for the best hoar, of the Berkshire breed, and ^2 Ibr the best Berkshire pigs. To Co!, J. P, Marshall ^2 for the best brood sow. R. J. Gaines, Sec'ry. REMARKS ON DIFFERENT SCHEfllES OF RO- TATIONS. To tlie Editor of the Farmers' Register. Not many years since, a controversy was warm- ly maniltjsied in your journal, between two par- ties of agriculturists on the lower James River, on the comparative merits of the three and fonr- shilt systems of husbandry. A mong the most dis- tinguished of the disputants, was Mr. Hill Carter of Shirley, than whom no one in our state enjoys, or is entitled lo, a higher reputation as a larmcr — as far (at least in my judgment) as consists in the carrying out, and thorough execution of his plans ; fbr which he possesses in an eminent degree the advantages of a (iiir theatre, extensive means, industry and intelligence. I observe in the De- cember No. of the Register, (the last I have re- ceived,) a communication (rom Mr. Carter in which he condemns his favorite four-shift rotation. This, 1 have long been prepared for, though I am sorry to find that the unfavorable result of his ex- perience has been ascribed by us to different causes; leading him as I see to reserve the most objec- tionable leature of the system he abandons ; I mean the three successive grain crops. This, I am the more surprised at, that the ofiject aimed at is to get rid of insects ; particularly, I presume, the chinch-bug, which is undoubtedly the greatest .scourge that has ever visited the crops above the (alls. This insect feeds exclusively on grain crops Vol. VHI— 16 as long as there is the least succulence in them, and then preys on the spear grasses which grow among them ; never, that i have seen, touching clover. But the nursery afforded for three conse- cutive years lo insects, is not the greatest objec- tion (perhaps) to the system. 1 believe thai to keep up the supply of pabulum necessary Ibr any crop, but particularly wheal, it is important to al- ternate platits of dilierent characters, as well as to introduce an ameliorating crop as often as c;in be done with an eye to the desideratum with all pro- prietors of the soil ; 1 mean, advantage to the land as well as to the purse. To this end, none is so convenient or useful as clover, none so well calculated lo arrest '.he encroachments of pests, both of the animal and vegetable kingdom, or oi' poverty, that most depressing of all evils. I have always considered the " 6eaw iWeaZ" of an itnproving, and at the same time profitable sys- tem, the five-field. But not with Mr. Carter's rotation; in this we differ radically. Not only as regards the consecutive crops of grain, but of clover and the kind of grain which (bllows it. Under Mr. C.'s rotation, wheat succeeds ihc. second year's crop of clover. This [ thruk is objectiona- ble on account of the pests which spring up in the second year of the maturity of clover. If Ibr the sake ol improvement to the land, or Ibr grazing, I wished to give two crops of clover to a field, I should do so under a six-field course, viz., clover, clover-nasture, corn, wheat, clover, wheat. This is undoubtedly one of the most improving and pro- fitable systems to the grazier and farmer, who have large tracts of uplands. But to the farmer, (without'the other branch of the prolession as with Mr. Carter,) and much less to the larmer and planter as with ifs, it will not answer; at least, I speak Jor myself. To return from a digression to my perfection of a live-shil\ rotation, i. c. clover, corn, wheat, clover, wheat. This gives two fields of clover and two of wheat, with the advantage of a regular alternation. Tlie stubble fields to be gleaned by hogs, and moderately trampled by cat- tle—the first chiefly for the benefit of the iiogs, the latter of the clover, which is the better Ibr hav- ing the earlh settled about ii belbre the winter's frost sets in ; and in puffy lands is also measura- bly protected fi-om the usual drought of July and August. Both clover fields to be moderately grazed* after the 20th June I he second year, by a fttock only suffici(>nt for ihe purposes ol' the liirm— the field (or fallow first. The two fields thus afford grazing enough for the slock, and have left on ihem more clover than is taken oti— trampled too to a degree, wliich is beneficial to the succeed- ing crops, as well on account of the settling of the clover, fiiciliiatinji; in some measure the opera- lion of ploughing, as from the pressure of the hoof promoting the [)rodtictivpness of l!ie soil ; fbr 1 agree with Mr. Carter in the oj/inion that some trampling is indispensable lo a good product in wheat. To this system, as lo all others, I consider a standing pasture an important aid, even though it be such a one as / have attached lo a three- field course, which a friend (Dr. J. M. M.) cha- racterizes a short bite. Being large, this serves my stock, will the aid of lots fbr lavoritee, until * Unless one is reserved for cutting hay and seed from. 122 FARjNlERS' REGISTER the clover field is ready, and afterwards for its relief in wet weather. These renKJiks, Mr. Editor, alihoijfrli dr;uvn from me by my Irieiul JNJr. Carter's rommuDica- tion, are hy no means oHered as a comnicnlary, and I am sure will be received by him in the t-pirii they are wrilien. He very properly is aciuaied by a sense ol duty to a oommuniiy which justly looks to him as a bright exainjflar iti our prolession. /, by an assumed oblifration as a subscriber to your Register, to express li-eely my views on auri- culture, Thai, may (for wliat they are worth) at least elicit discussion on a subject which wants light. RrvAANA. THE FIVE SHIFT ROTATIOIV, To the Editor of llic; Farmers' Register. Cliericoke, Jan. loth, 1840. I liave now for some years been experimeniinor on the difiierent rotations, of the three, lour, and five-field systems, and altliougli my experiments have not been of sulficient duration to arrive at conclusions, that may be as siitisfactory as I hey would have been, or as I ihink tliey will be at a future day, and I had not designed communicating their results until 1 had carried tbem further ; but being so entirely convinced mysellj and seeing that some of my James River friends have altogether come into my views, thereby removing heavy au- thority against me, I have not deetned it necessary longer to delay what was my intention at a fu- ture day. For surely whatever can be done for lowland Virginia tiirming, should be done quickly ; and although I doubt if many, or indeed any, will be so lar satisfied by the resiilis of my expermicnls, as to adopt my views instead of their own, sliil I think it my duty to comnnmiraie that from whicli 1 have derivnl benefit, and others may, if any will practise, and at leas; my testimony may strengthen that of others, entitled to more weight. [n 1824 I moved to the place where I now re- side, and commenced farming. I. fjiind the liirni cultivated after the theii universal mode Ibliowed in this section of country, the iliree-shill system, to use the provincial term ; (if they had called it the make-shift system I dare say it would have been a betier one.) This system, il system it can be called, [ followed np diligently for some years, making and using all the ntauure the farm aflonl- rd, and this was wli:it we called a good deal, and all other means which I then knew of, for enrich- ing land. But notwithstanding all my efl'orts, to my surprise, I fijund my crops did not at a'l in- crease, the corn crop remaining at about the same as when I took possession of the farm, and the wheat crop evidemlv,! think, declined. Findiriix that my income did not at ail answer my expec- tations, and not hkely to answer my wants, I de- termined afier giving the ihree-shif^t systen', as ! ihnnght, a lifir trial for 7 or 8 years, to abandon it, and at once to cut each field into two, so making ''\ fields out of the three. One I kept as a siand- ing pasture, to aid the oilier field winch came into pasiure in the reanlar i-otaiion of the five-field system, whicli I then determined to adopt, fallow- ing one each year iin wheat. This is now the beginning of the Sh year since I cniTunenced this p^stcni, and the oric-six'h fTocii.ices more wlie;it, or corn, or grass, than the third formerly did. My land lias been regularly improving, as well as my cr(i[)s and income bom the linm. 1 do not know but that the income of the farm is approat hin.les con- structed in such a luanner that all the liquid dis- charges of his cattle are conducted, together with the wash of the barn-yard, into a cistern, pumped into a hogshead, and applied in a lifjuid state to the soil which it is wished to manure. This mode of making use of this substance, is likewise re- commended in the Code of Agriculture : — " The advantages of irrigating grass lands with cow urine almost exceed belief^ Mr. Harley, pf Glas- gow, (who keeps a large dairy in that town,) by using cow urine, cuts some small fields of grasa six times, and the averaije of each cutting is fif- teen inches in length. There are disadvantages, however, connected with this mode of applying this powerllil manure. It must be applied soon after it is formed, or oftentimes the putrefactive process will commence and deprive it of part of its efficacy. And, as urine is of a scorching qua- lity, it is unsafe to apply it to growing crops in great heat or drought. Hence it is unadvisable to use it except for grass, after the months of April and May, unless diluted. It is particularly useful in the spring, when the application of liquid ma- nure gives a new impetus to the plant and makes its growth more vigorous. This n)anure forces newly planted cabbages in a most remarkable manner."' BEET SUGAR IN EUROPE. As a source of wealth, profit, and general be- nefit to the agricultural interests of the country the cultivation of the sugar-beet, either for the purpose of making sugar, or feeding stock, is most unques- tionably entitled to the attention of every agricul- turist and philanthropist in the country. When in the sugar districts of France, a few years since, the writer became so much interested in this subject, that he has ever since watched its progress, not only in that country, but throughout Europe, with increasing interest, and with the hope of seeing it, long ere this, introduced into this country. At the time of his visit to France, four or five per cent, was the maximum yield ol" sugar from the beet, and with this yield, it was consider- ed an excellent business. Since that time, so much improvement has been made in its manu- facture, that 7 or 8 per cent, is now readily obtained, and in some cases as high as nine. The writer has lately been shown a letter from M. Crespei of Arras, one of the largest manufacturers in France, which states that at 07ie of his establish- ments, (and he is interested in eight or nine,) he will make 1000 hogsheads of sugar the present season, and this at a cost of less than 5 cents per pound. David Lee Child, Esq. who has spent eighteen months among the sugar manufactories in France, Belirium and Germany, in a work on this subject which he has recently published in Boston, esti- mates the quantity of beet-sugar nianuiiictured in FARMERS' REGISTER. 135 Euro|)e in 1838, at 150,000,000 of Ibe.; and it is confidently expected tlial the crap ol" 1839 will reacli 200,000,000 ot'lbs., or two hundred tlioupand hhds. which is nearly (bur times the averaj^e crop of Louisiana. Indeed, the manuliiciure of PUiX'ir fi-om the beet has not lor a long time been consi- dered a matier of speculation or experiment in Europe, but a subject oC very sure and profitable investment ol'capiial. The manufacture of suijar from the beet however, is but a S7nall portion ol the advantage arising from its culture. As winter Ibod for stock, particularly milch cows, it is un- questionably the 7nosi profitable crop the fiirmer can raise; and its meliorating effects upon the soil, and the increased quantity of manure, wher- ever the beet has been cultivated in Europe, iiave, it is well known, more ihan doubled the produce of the soil, and in many cases, more than trebled the price of the lands. — Jour. Com. TREATMENT AND FOOD OF YOUNG PIGS. From the American Swine Breeder. In the second chapter of this work, we have al- ready alluded to this subject, — and it is certainly one deserving the most careful consideration, — care and attention to these animals at this ten- der age is of liir greater importance than the practice of many would lead us to suppose and upon their treatment during the i'ew first weeks depends the ease and rapidity with which they can be subsequently reared and Ihtfened. To wean young pigs in such a maimer, that they may lose no fiesli during the process, and may rernain at iis close in a healthy and growing con- diiion is an undertaking attended with considerable difficulty. Their Ibod should in general be given moderately warm, and milk is undoubtedly o7ie of the best articles which can be ofi^iired at lhi> period. The produce of the dairy should, therefore, be used frequently and freely. JNl any judicious liirmers have asserted, as the result of experi<^nce on this subject, that cows may be kept, for the exclusive nourishment oi'young pigs, wiih great economy. That this will be the case, when the proceeils of the dairy are given, no one who has tried it will dispute. Several instances are recorded of hoirs that have been/aliened! entirely on this article (br liie purpose of experiment ; and the result has Bhown, iltat no pork is superior in point of weight and substance. O/' the astonishing rapidity vvith which animals will thrive and increase while usinir it, wo have ourselves seen abundant proof, in the growth of an improv(>d Jlerkshirc boar, which was weaned under the direciion of a highly intelligent agriculturist, Solomon Porier, Esq., ofConnecli(Mit, and afterwards fed almost en;irely on this article, and which attained, at the age of three months, the great weight of one hundred and forty pounds. The practice of mixing milk with other articles for Ibod of young pigs, is highly recommended by many farmers. >Says a judicious breeder, in a letler to the Hon H. L, Eilsworlh, " From actual experience, I have come to the conclusion, and practised upon it for the last twelve or fourteen years, of having as many spring pigs (that come say in March) as I have cows lor the siimmpr, and feeding the pigs on milk or'whey, mixed with provender, ground from corn, rye, oats, larley, or buckwheat, and prepared in the li.rm of a pudding, in which way the pigs will eat it best. If they appear lo be clogged with one kind of grain, I try another, and ofien mix different kinds lotrether." The author of the 'Practical Elements of Airri- rulture,' suggests that pigs should be weanefFat. the end ofibe first six or eight weeks ; and be fed three times daily wjih wheat bran, barley dust, or by tijrinaceous Ibod mixed with water warmed to the temperature of the mother milk, and with whey, or other refuse of the dairy or kitclien. Young pigs, he remarks, are sometimes disposed of when sucking the dam. In other cases, they are sold when weaned, to persons who design to feed them, and in other cases they are (t;d by the breeder himself! " When they are fattened by the breeder, two modes of feeding may be adopted. They may either be suffered to go at large, or they may be kept in pens and houses; by the first of these methods after being weaned and fed for a period until they are able to shift for themselves, they are turned abroad to pick up what they can in the straw yard, a little green food, as tares or clover during summer, and turnips or potatoes during the winter being supplied to ihem. They do not, un- der this management, receive any more expensive feeding until they are put up finally lo be fat- tened, when they are confined lor a few weeks and fed on farinaceous and other food. The pigs intended for this species of management should be the best of the smaller varieties, and they may be killed for domestic use or disposed of when seven or eight stones weight. All the accommodation re- quired underlhis system of management, is a few pens with sheds : first, for the breeding swine when nursing their young, and second, for lh(3 pig.-? which are in the course of being fattened. In all cases upon a farm, a certain number of pigs may be kept at large in this manner, for pick- ing up the waste of the firm yards. But the re- gular course ofmanagement and ihat best adapted, where the ft'edini; of the animals is carried on upon a large scale is where separate feeding-houses lor the pigs in which a greater or lesser number can be kept.* "Weanlings," remarks Mowbray, "should have at least one month of delicate feedino-, warm lodg- ing, and care. The same kind of food should be continued to (hem three times a day, to which they were at first accustomed with the sow. The first food should consist of warm and nourishins oi" wind or rain. It is almost unnecessary to add, that depth of soil is equally advantageous to every crop, the roots of which go deeper into the soil than those of corn, though its progressive increase in value is not so great as that which lies nearer to the surface, III order to inaiutain the properties of a deep soil in a perfect state, it is, however, expedient to plough it from time to lime to the (till depth of the vegetative stratum ; so that, being completely worked by li-equent turnings, it may be freely exposed to the influence of the atmosphere, ff th>it be not done, or only superficially performed, the ground will, bj' slow degrees, become gradually impoverished ; for, besides being deprived of the benefit of exposure to the air, a crust olharu and almost impenetrable matter will, in some soils, be formed immediately below thai portion upon which tlie plough was usually made lo act, thus consti- tuting a barrier between the upper surface and the subsoil, which is well known to farmers under the appellation of the moor-bond, or pan. It is not, however, necessary to repeat the operation, even on heavy land, more than, perhaps, once in six or eeven years, especially if the intermediate plough ings under the common course of cultivation be made at various depths ; for nothing tends more to the formation ofthe pan than the constant repe- tition of the process at the same depth. Thus it will not escape observation, that one great advan- tage of the alternate system of husbandry arises from the distinct nature of the different roots which are cultivated, and the consequent necessity of ploughing at various depths, so as to afibrd them room to seek for sustenance. On tenacious clays, which, being confined to the growth of grain, are usually ploughed to the same depth, it also forms a strong reason for the adoption of the summer fallow. The maintenance of the properties of the soil in its original state is, however, a very different mode of procedure I'rom that required by an endea- * Von Thaer calculates this difference in proportion- ate degrees in land which contains a vegetative stratum of soil of four, six, eight, and twelve inches in depth ; provided, of course, that it be all of equal quality. If, therefore, each seed were to prcxiuce a plant, it would follow that ground which contains eight inches depth of fertile mould, might be sown with double the quan- tity of that which consists of onlj' four inches. He, however, admits that this principle cannot be carried to that extent, because the action ofthe atmosphere must ever afford such a superiority to the surface, that a cubic loot of mould, if divided into two square feet, will always produce a greater number of plants than if the seed were sown iqion one foot superficial ; but he as- sumes the value of the land to be increased in the proportion of 8 per cent, for every inch of mould be- yond the depth of six to ten inches, and to be diminished in the same proportion, from six to three inches in soils of a thinner staple. — Principcs Jiaisonnh d'jlgri- culture, vol. iii., p. 138. s. 735. vor \o restore it to perfection ; for there is much land of a deep and naturally mellow staple, the lower strata of which have been rendered sterile by shallow i)loughing, and can only be pro- ished."* Many instances have, indeed, been re- corded in which the subsoil, when brought to the surface and exposed for some lime, has proved extrem.ely \'c\\\\v ; but in all those cases, the earlhj when chemically analyzed, has lieen found to contain a considerable portion of carbon, and un- less afterwards sustained by proportioi,ate quan- tities of manure, its good qualities have been speedily exhausted. It cannot, therefore, be deem- ed generally expedient to bring up a greater quan- tity than at the most two inches ofthe virgin earthy even supposinir it to be naturally ofthe best aver- age quality. The operation should be performed before the winter, and the soil should be incorpor- ated by the means of a summer liillow ; observing however, that its main objecl being to expose this fresh substance to the atmosphere, it should be lelt as lonrr as possible on the surfi\ce. The manure should be also applied at the same time, and, in- stead of being mixed up with the soil, should be spread uniformly over this layer of new earth, which thus imbibes its juices during the whole of the wet season, and, notwithstanding all the ob- jections which have been urged against the eva- poration of dunct never fails to produce a striking effect on its amelioration. In this manner, Mr. Thaer assures us that he has successively, during a series of years, effected the gradual and complete mixture of different layers of soil in one season ; that he has thereby not only aufrmented the vege- tative stratum of his soil, but has experienced a very sensible improvement in his crops ; and that, after the close of a rotation, he has repeated the experiment with equal success. To which we may add, that many farmers who have followed the same plan, have^niform'y found it attended with similar results ; though others, who have no) taken the precaution of ffoing leisurely to work, or who have not been sufficiently aware of the nature of the subsoil, have, in some instances, done consi- derable injury to their land. J There are, no doubt, manyc/ee/) soils naturally of an equal quality throughout, but which, con- sisting of tenacious clay, or till,\\ of various kinds, would, if brought up lo the surface, impoverish the * Survey o( Essex, vol. i., p. 198. fOn the subject of evaporation, see vol. i., chap, x., pp. 239 and 248. If the land lies upon such a slope as may cause the dung to be swept off by the rains, then it should, however, be buried by a very slight ploughing. X See the Reports of Essex, vol. i., p. 197 ; Bedford p. 276; Bucks, p. 12S ; Stevenson's Surrey, pp. 148 and 170; Malcolm's Surrey, vol. i., p. 2(58; Kent's Norfolk, p. G7; Gen. Rep. of Scotland, vol.i., pp. 347 and 419; and Loch's Improvements on the estates of the Marquis of Stafford. II In Scotland, "/tZZ" is understood to imply, as a subsoil, a mixture of clay with sand and gravel, devoid of vegetable matter, and impervious to water. In Ireland, this description of soil is called "Lackleagh," and the pan which it forms is there broken up with a plough of immense weight and strength, called a "miner," which FARMERS' REGISTER 39 ground, and brinjr in their train a long list of nox- ious weeds, were they not corrected by the process of perhaps more than one summer fallow, together with an applicalion of both lime and dung ; and it is also true, that even if these substances can be readily obtained, yet the expense, even il'repaid by the land, may not suit the farmer's pocket. Under ordinary circumstances, indeed, large operations of that nature, which are intended to etiect a per- manent improvement in the soil, cannot be consi- dered a coming within the scope of common farm- ing and can only be undertaken by the owner of the land, or on terms which will secure the tenant in the return of his outlay ; for it should be clearly understood that in no case can it be elfiected with- out either the assistance of extraneous manure, or by the sacrifice of a portion of that which properly belongs to the usual cultivation of the (iirm, and might, therefore, probably be more advantageously applied to the support of the soil already under tillage. Neither should poor soils be ploughed deep ; for the vefjetative mould with which the surface of land of that description is covered, having been formed by the decomposition of the scanty herbage which grew upon it when in a state of nature, is proportionably thin, and the subsoil on which it reposes consisting generally of sterile materials, it will be /bund bad policy to mix them with the up- per stratum, which, though perhaps not very pro- ductive, yet requires the whole power of the small portion of manure which it furnishes to preserve it in tolerable condition.* This, more especially, il"it be intended to return the land to grass ; for the sward seldom penetrates farther than about two inches into the ground, and its value, therefore, depends chiefly upon the fecundity of the surface upon which it rests. Thus the generality of those farmers who are situated upon wolds and downs, carefully avoid ploughing below the top-soil ; for when there is a vein of rubbly chalk, or of small broken flints, immediately under the topsoil, they look upon it as "the dross of the land," and that, if ploughed up, it is quite poison to the field. t If the land be of a sandy nature the ploughing of which has been always carried to one depth, and that a pan has thus been formed underneath, in that case, also, it is judicious to break it up ; for, independently of tlie labor of the operation, the surface may have been much ameliorated by good culture, and the hard crust which lies at the bottom both secures the manure from being car- ried doivn below that part which is actually tilled, and also prevents the escape of humidity from the upper stratum. Another layer of sand, indeed, not unfrequently exists under the pan ; for that acts without a mould-board, and is followed in the fur- row by another plouo;h of the common power. See vol. i., chap. xxix.,p. 465. * "The Norfolk farmers, generally possessing a thin light soil, with a poor and barren subsoil, prefer shallow ploughiiag at all times, and argue that it is easier to keep a small quantity of soil ni good heart than a greater quantity, which would be formed by deep ploughing." — Dumfries Rep., App. p. 578. t "Many instances are shown where land of this kind, ploughed too deep upwards of twenty years ago, has not yet recovered its former goodness ; and, to keep the top-soil as deep as possible, the best farmers will not permit the surface flints to be picked off for the roads, lest it should make the land both lighter and tliiuner." — Davis's Swvey of Wiltshire, p. 52. species of crust is often found where land has been much marled ; but although it might be desirable to have it at a greater depth, yet its removal is a work of extreme difliculty, and, on such soils, will rarely repay the expense. On sand veins where there is a great depth of soil, and in which no ob- struction of this kind is found, it is however not luiusual to plough very deep, and to have a second plough following in the furrow ot'the first, so as to throw up new soil, and to bury that which is sup- posed to be exhausted : as is the case in many parts of Devonshire. In fine, it will, in most cases, be found inexpe- dient to add to the stratum already under tillage by any other means than those which little by little may gradually tend to increase the depth of vege- tative mould by the mixture of small quantities of the virgin earth of the subsoil with the surface ; but if a more extensive operation be comtemplated, then the following questions may be not unaptly put before coming to a conclusion. 1st, What return may be expected from land, the subsoil of which has not yet been submitted to the plough ? 2ndly, What change will be occasioned, either by the increase or diminution of the tenacity, or of the friability of the land, by the admixture of the subsoil with the surface? Srdly, What quantity of manure will be required beyond that already disposable upon the farm? And 4thly, What will be the entire cost? To solve which, the earth should either be sub- mitted to a chemical analysis, or its qualities ascer- tained by spreading some of it, to a certain depth, in a garden, and sowing seeds upon it. The pro- bable improvement in the soil may thus be ascer- tained, and the supposed increase in the future crops, when compared with the expenditure, will determine the propriety of the experiment. We have not hitherto touched upon the subject of the actual depth to which ploughing is commonly carried, nor is it necessary to say much regarding it ; Ibr it of course depends more upon ihe state of the land and the judgment of the farmer than up- on any general rule. The usual operation is gene- rally confined to from four to five, and rarely ex- ceeds seven inches; though, in the hundreds of Essex, and some other districts where the soil is rich and deep, it is sometimes carried as far as nine. An opinion is indeed entertained that, if carried deeper, more manure is necessary to ensure a crop ; audit will be readily admitted that, were this idea well founded, it would form a strong argument \n favor of moderate depths. It is, however, only justly applicable to land of which the subsoil is inferior to the surface ; lor when this is of the same quality with the cultivated part, not only can no injury arise from gradually incorporat- ing it with the tilth, but benefit will be derived by all plants which penetrate far into the ground, as they naturally absorb their nutriment both from the soil and the manure with which it is mixed. It must, however, be admitted that when ground is suddenly ploughed to an unusual depth, it increases the difficulty of destroying weeds. This is parti- culariy observable in thin stapled clays, on which they spring up as if indigenous to the soil ; it is therefore obvious that no benefit can be derived from ploughing such land deeper than common, unless it he done in the manner we have already pointed out. 140 FARMERS' REGISTER ON THE NECESSITY FOR PROPER INSTRUC- TION IN THE ART OF REELING SILK. To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. Philadelphia, Feb. 26th, 1840. Dear Sir— I am exceedingly obliged to you for the valuable present you have been pleased to make to me of a series of the Farmers' Register, for 1839, and January No. of the present year : I beg you will accept for it my grateful thanks. Al- though I do not profess to be an agriculturist, yet I have always felt the liveliest interest in the pro- gress of agriculture, considering it as the nurse of mankind, of which commerce and manufactures are but the handmaids. I am happy to find that you pay considerable attention to the culture of silk, an article to which this country will one day be indebted lor immense riches. The great question at present is, how to make it profitable'? I observe in the last number, for January, that it is not doubted but that a great quantity of cocoons will be produced in the course of the present year ; and there can be no doubt of it when we consider the large bounties given by some of the stales for their production. But, it is asked, what shall we do with theml To this question your correspondent answers, by recom- mending to the larmers to reel their silk from their cocoons ; but he does not say how that reeled silk is to be employed. I presume that he believes that it will be immediately manufactured. Your correspondent is very sanguine on the subject ; he Bays that he has seen silk reeled by an American farmer who had never been taught the art, which was mistaken by a connoisseur for Italian silk. I should be very happy if this should prove to be the case ; I have, however, strong doubts upon the subject. I believe the art of reeling silk from the cocoons requires teaching and experience, and that it is not to be learned by intuition. Whether I am right or wrong, this is an important question, which lias produced in this country many different opinions, and which ought at last to be set at rest. 1 am happy to liave it in my power as a first op- portunity now offers to decide it definitively. [n our large cities, and in several country places, from Boston to Philadelphia inclusive, there are manufactories of sewing silk, with competent machineries, directed by skilful throwsters, chiefly emigrants from England. These factories, going on under the protection of a duty of forty per cent, on foreign sewing silk, are in great want of the raw material, and are obliged to import it in large quantities from China and Bengal. This foreign article, which is by no means of the first quality, sells in our market for ^5 a pound. Now, sir, it is very plain that there will be no market this year for the purchase of cocoons, as there is no filature established any where that 1 know of; but there will be an abundance of markets for the purchase of reeled or raw silk ; and if that reeled by our farmers is equal to the Italian, it will readily sell for ^7 a pound, which is the price of Italian raw silk in England ; and if inferior, it will at least produce the same price with China silk, which is S5. There cannot be a fairer opportunity to test this long controverted question, and ascertain the real value of American raw silk. It is only by such facts that the correctness of the discordant opinions can be finally decided upon. I beg you will excuse my employing another hand to write this letter ; the weakness of my sight obliges me to have recourse to this method. Again accept my thanks for your very valuable present, and believe me to be, very respectfully, dear sir, your most ob't servant, Peter S. Dv Ponceau. [In the circumstances in which the venerable writer of the foregoing letter has been placed by age and infirmity, its dictation was a task which we did not expect from, nor desire to have imposed upon him. Being so freely performed, however, it is so much the more gratifying, and valued, as a testimonial of the writer's kind approval of our labors, and of his still unwearied zeal for the esta- blishment of the public benefit by silk-culture, which is the subject of his remarks, and to pro- mote which, he has been one of the earliest, most zealous, and certainly among the most disinterest- ed of laborers. Mr. Du Ponceau maintains, as heretofore, the difficulty of the art of reeling silk, and the neces- sity for its being regularly taught. In this he is opposed by the much more general belief of the great facility with which the art may be acquired. Being totally without practical knowledge on this controverted point, we offer no opinion of our own, but wish to present fairly the opposite opinions of others. But whether the difficulty may be too much magnified by the one opinion, or too much underrated by the other, there can be no doubt of the immense advantage of a skilful and expe- rienced reeler commencing the operation in a re- gion where silk-culture is but just begun. Many places in the middle and southern states will this year oflier profitable and sufficient business for a single capable reeler, though it might not be safe to establish a regular and extensive filature in ad- vance of the large and regular business of feeding worms, which we trust will proceed with regular increase from the trials of this year. In all the prin- cipal townsof Virginia, Richmond, Norfolk, Peters- burg, and Fredericksburg, good reelers would this year find extensive employment in the crops of co- coons that will be made in the environs, and would make for ihemsel ves good profits, both by their work and by instructions of others, as well as render most important public service. For the latter ob- ject, as well as for individual benefit, in the in- struction afforded, each considerable ieeder of silk-worms in the vicinity might well afford to pay his share of a large pecuniary premium to induce the establishment of a reeler, in addition to the payments for particular services rendered. This ought to be an object especially attended to by societies formed for aiding the promotion of silk- culture.— Ed. F. R.] FARMERS' REGISTER 141 SKETCH OP THE CAUSES OF THE PRESENT FINANCIAL PROSTRATION OF THIS COUNTRY. "Again: is ii not equally clear that it was the magnitude of Uie surplus [revenue,] and not the removal [ofthe deposites] ofitself, that caused the after derangement and disorder? If the surplus had been but two or three millions, the ordinary sum in deposite, it would have been of little impor- tance where it was kept ; whether in the vaults of the bank of the Uniied States, or those of the states ; but involving, as it did, fifty millions and more, it became a question of the highest impor- tance. I again ask, to what is this great surplus to be attributed, but to the same cause 1 Yes, sir, the tariff of 1828 caused the surplus, and the surplus the removal and all the after disasters in the currency, aggravated, it is true, by being deposited in the state banks; but it may be doubt- ed whether the disaster would have been much less, had they not been removed. Be that, how- ever, as it may, it is not material, as I have shown, that surplus itself vvas the motive for the remo- val. We all remember what occurred after the removal currency was concerned, in vain. The explosion ioliowcd, and the banks (ell in convuisionc, to be resuscitated for a moment, but to lall again from a more deadly stroke, under which they now lie pros- trate."— Debate in Congress. MALARIA AND MILLPONDS. To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. Washington County, JV. C. Jan. 6, 1840. The ' Essay on Malaria' I read when it first made its appearance, in the sixth volume of the Register, with great interest. 1 thought I knew every word of it to be true, from long observation and suffering from the ignorance o/' those facts in early time. But fo"- more than tvventy-five years I have been fully convmced of the great cause of most of our sickness in this country — stagnant water, and mud exposed to a hot fall sun ; and have spared no labor and cost in my power to avoid them. One ofthe strong reasons (or moving my house at , (rom my father's location, vvas The surplus poured into the treasury I to get it farther from the river swamp, and by millions, in (he form of bank notes. The though it was but two hundred and fifty yards, withdrawal from circulation, and locking up in the vaults of the deposite banks, so larjie an amount, created an immense vacuum, to be re- plenished by repeating the issues which gave to the banks the means of unbounded accommoda- tions. Speculation now commenced on a gigantic scale ; prices rose rapidly, and one party, to make the removal acceptable to the people, urged the new depositories to discount freely, while the other side produced the same effect, by censuring them for not affording as extensive accommodations as the Bank of the United States would have done, had the revenue been left with it. Madness ruled the hour. The whole comnmnity was intoxicated with imaginary prospects of realizioff immense fortunes. With the increased rise of prices began the gigantic speculations in the public domain, the price of which, being fixed by law, could not par- take ofthe general rise. To enlarge the room for their operations, I know not how many millions, (fifty, I would suppose, at least, ofthe public reve- nue) was sunk in purchasing Indian lands, at their fee simple price nearly, and removing tribe after tribe to the West, at enormous cost; thus subjecting millions on millions of the choicest public lands to be seized on by the keen and greedy speculator. The tide now swelled with irresistible force. From the banks the deposites passed by discounts into the hands of the land speculators ; from them into the hands of the re- ceivers, and thence to the banks ; and again and again repeating the same circle, and, at every revolution, passing millions of acres of the public domain from the people into the hands of specula- tors, for worthless rags. Had this state of things continued much longer, every acre of the public lands, worth possessing, would have passed from the government. At this stage the alarm took place. The revenue was attempted to be squan- dered by the wildest extravagance ; resolutions passed this body, calling on the departments to know how much they could spend, and much re- sentment was felt because they could nor spend fast enough. The deposite act was pas.^cd, and the treasury circular issued ; but, as far as the I have no doubt of having long since been remu- nerated for the cost in the health of my people, though it has been but six years. It is a work which ought to be in the hands of every man who lives in the low country, or bilious fever region of our country. I hold the right of property inviola- ble, except in cases of life and death ; but were I living in the neighborhood of a millpond, I should consider the right of property in it no more than that of a tame bear, that was devouring my child. To calmly sit by and see all one's children and dear companion as pale as corpses, in a short time violent disease, and, after watching with the ut- most anxiety, to follow to the grave those dear ob- jects of your love, perhaps one after the other un- til all are gone, and to know that all those heart- rending sufferings arise from the malaria of the various millponds in your neighborhood, must evince a degree of forbearance beyond Christian, and an obduracy of heart, in ihe owner of mills, almost equal to that of cold-blooded murder, [fl know any thing that would induce me to accept the dictatorship of a country, it would be that of having the power to constrain the inhabitants in the bilious fever region to remove all stagnant wa- ters from it, and to keep all arable land in the fall covered with vegetation, and thereby sheltered from the power and influence of the sun. * * For the Fa-'iners' Register, BULLETING FOR SPAYING. Little Hock, jJrk. Dec. 27th, 1839. I have tried spaying pigs with shot. [Described in an article in the Farmers' Register.] The ex- periment has been tried by Mr. William Wilsan also, and other careful farmers in this vicinity ; and, so liir as I know, every experiment failed (o produce the desired effect. " I am fully of the opi- nion it is nol worth the attention of the farmer. Allen Martin. 142 FARMERS' REGISTER PRACTICAL, RESULTS, AND OPINIONS THENCE DERIVED, ON SILK CITLTURIi: IN DELA- WARE. To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. Dagsboro, Delaware, Feb. 18, 1840. In answer to your inquiries as to my silk culture, I may say I have been, or rather Mrs. Waples has been, somewhat engaged in it, for about three years. When I first commenced the business, my object was to introduce the culture of it into our county, believing then, as I now do, that it would be of' an Incalculable advantage fo a dis- trict of country like ours. I began by raising the white Italian mulberry, for Ibod for the worm — presuming then, from information received, that that species of mulberry would suit our climate, doubts then being entertained whether the morus mullicaulis would stand our winters ; consequently I had procured many of the white mulberry, upon which I have principally fed my worms. Two years ago, 1 procured some of the morus multi- caulis, and have turned my attention mostly to the cultivation of them, and am progressing with them for standard trees as food for the worms. I have had no intention from the beginning of spe- culation upon the morus multicaulis. I sold a few to two of my neighbors, which about paid me for the first cost of mine. From some cause, which I can't account for, the cuttings of one and two buds which I planted last spring, nearly all failed ; but as things have turned out, my loss will be no- thing; for I have enough for my own use, and lo sell them would be next to impossible. The great rage for speculation in that article has, lor a while, played the mischief with the progress of the silk culture ; as the great loss of speculators hab caused many, very many of the people (other- wise well disposed towards the rearing of silk) to believe that it is all a humbuor. These, you know, are the days of humbug. But now is the time for those who intend rearing silk, to stock their farms with the morus mullicaulis. I intend to keep a goodly number of the white mulberry for a resort, if necessary. I find not much difference in the two kinds for food ; but in the gathering, one hand can gather more food from the m.orus multicaulis, than five hands from the Italian mul- berry. The worms are fond of both of these spe- cies, and they make equally as fine silk ; but fi'om the easy propagation and the facility of procuring the food, I much prefer the morus multicaulis. I fed last year about 300,000 worms. The cocoons were fine, of good size, and of a fine texture ; said by judges to be equal to any they ever saw. I propose this year, if nothing happens, feeding from half a million to a million of worms. Here- tofore I have kept no account of expenses orco>t of any thing in the premises; I have gone on in this business entirely with my family, and in a manner not to interfere with my other business ; making this business almost entirely an extra one — having done the principal part of the work with a negro woman and black children, the lat- ter of whom, but for this business, would be doing little or nothing. I propose keeping an account of all the ins and outs this year — and if I sliould live, will try and give you a particular account of our doings in the silk for the year 1840. This much I am fully persuaded of, that it can be made a profitable business, and particularly in a family way. There is no doubt with me, but that every family in our community might raise from fifty to one thousand dollars worth of silk a year, (ac- cording to ti.e numbers of the /iamily,) with but very little interference with their ordinary business. If so, and I have no doubt of it, if it could be ge- nerally introduced, what an amount of money would it come to yearly l I have now full faith in the multicaulis standing our winters ; mine thus far are not injured the least, although our winter has been what we call a hard one. At some other time I will give you my idea on manuring and farming. With sentiments of the highest respect, your friend, Wm. D. Waples. DELIGHTFULNESS OF THE CLIMATE OF SOUTH- ERN FLORIDA, GOVERNMENTAL NEGLECT AND AIJUSES, AND THE 3IEANS OF REMEDY. To '.lie Editor of the Farmers' Register. Indian Key, Tropical Florida, \st January, 1840.* A happy new year lo you ! But what a contrast between the weather and vegetation of Peters- burg at this very hour, when compared with the weather and vegetation of Indian Key. Can yoa realize the fttct that this coral rock of twelve acres is covered with ever-verdant foliage and ever- blooming flowers 1 On the r2th December, 1838. my family en)barked amid the cold desolation of the season at New York, and on the 2oth Decem- ber, 1838, my (iimily arrived, amid the cheering consolations of the same month, at Indian Key. My many years of previous residence in tropical climates debarred me from enjoying all the plea- sure of absolute novelty in this speedy transition from the leafless vegetation of the snowy hills of New York to the evergreen woods of the never- frosty Keys of Tropical Florida. But my Northern family was greatly astonished and highly delighted with the magical change, from the cold and gloo- my scenery of December in the latitude of New York, to the warm and brilliantscenery of Decem- ber in ilie latitude of Indian Key. They have now passed one year and five days amid the phy- sical enjoyments derived irom the weather and vegelaiion alone of Tropical Florida; and they are now as well convinced as I am myself of the su- perlative delightfulness and the superlative health- iulness of the tropica! climate of South Florida. They have relinquished thesociety of their friends and acquaintances at the pleasant village of Pal- myra, Wayne County, New York ; they have spent a year rt this village islet of six families, in my temporary dwelling, which has necessarily been my fan)ily fortress or domestic prison ; and they are still as anxious as I am myself to be transferred to the still more solitary enjoyments of the desert wilderness on the adjacent mainland of the Peninsula. All men who are practically ac- quainted with the first settlement of any new country must well know that, during the first years, their own minds and their own families must necessarily constitute their only "good society." He who cannot find sufficient enjoyments in his * Lat 24° 48' N. Long. 80° 55' West. Heat 70° to 72° Fahrenheit. F A il M E U S ' R E G I S T E R 143 own head, wiih his own family, or in his own hands on his own lands, is not fitted for a pioneer in any newsetlienient, and especially in the soulh- ern extremity of Tropical Florida. But snch arc the attractions of even a desert wilderness with a tropical climate under our Iree government, that even my children now can appreciate the great trouble of my trequenl dreams at Campeacliy. The great atlliction of these perverse imaginations consisted in their whirling me from the Gulf of Mexico over the Peninsula of Florida, and hi tinaily dashing me down amid the snow and ice of the Peninsula of Michigan ! And even now the greatest annoyance of my troubled dreams always consists in their malicious transportation of my shuddering frame to the liosly regions of the northern slates. How many years have 1 fruit- lessly labored to convince the American peo|)le that the most slandered section of their immense domains is the most desirable district in the union lor the physical enjoyments of the human race. Would the Seminole savages cling so pertina- ciously to the slandered everglades of South Florida were they not in reality the most desira- ble district in the United States for the physical subsistence of the poorest people ? Superadd in- telligent management to physical labor in this productive climate, and an earthly paradise on the poorest lands may soon be created by the poorest hands. During my travels in the Northern States, in August, 1838, I visited the costly garden and costly hot house of the reputed possessor of millions of dollars. The extravagant expenditure of ostentatious wealth was exhiLiited even in the sashes of varnished mahogany and the panes of plate glass which surrounded his magnificent col- lection of tropical jjlants. Very natural, however, was my incidental remark, that the poorest man in 'J'ropical Florida could easily collect a much finer exhibition of tropical plants around his hum- ble habitation. Indeed you will readily conceive that the garden of Eden itself must have been lo- cated in a tropical country. Did you ever dream of any frost or ice among the bowers and flowers ot the first garden, of the young world 7 How long would any naked couple remain alive in any gar- den of Virginia'? I'he fig leaves which Ibrmed the first clothing of Adam and Eve, were not they the gigantic leaves of the fig banana, now grow- ing on this coral rock of Indian Key? And whence came the thread to stitch these leaves together, unless from the pe/;o/es which compose the stalk of the same banana ? When these first poor people of the young earth were driven out of the first garden into the universal wiklerness of the eastern world, they become the pioneer squatters on public lands. Yet remark and re- member, there was not then any vegetable mould, there could not be any rich black soil, on any surface of the recent earth : yet vegetation flou- rished ; and these pioneer squatters of the human race found sufiicient subsistence in the desert wil- derness of the eastern heinisphere. I allude to these primitive facts, in this primitive style, because all emigrants to Tropical Florida must be pioneer squatters on public lands. The first squatters ol the United States were the pioneer settlers at Jamestown and at Plymouth ; and degenerate must be the descendants of those pioneer s(juatters, if they dread the minor privations and minor dan- gers of pioneer squatters near Cape Sable and near Cape Florida. As truth is mighty and must prevail, I have no doubt that in a liivv years Tro- pical Florida will be densely crowded with poor propagators of perennial plants. All that is re- quisite to attract emigrants in shoals is to make them eflectually acquainted with the irrefutable realities of the superlative delightlulness of the tropical atmosphere, and the superlative produc- tiveness of the calcareous earth of South Florida. Yet, such is the Ibrce of the national prejudices of national ifrnorance, that I have been compelled, through the senator and representative of South Florida, to suggest to the leeen (bund upon examination to contain eighty-six tons of vegetable matter to an acre. Fields of barren sand have been rendered product ve by the appli- cation of alkaline substances. These soils have been ashed, and portions of vegetable matter have been removed by two successive crops. In some soils there is a large amount of vegetable matter in an insoluble state. In this case it must by some application be rendered soluble, and this can easily be done. The geological formation of soils is of much im- portance. A soil with a loose substratum must lose much by infiltration.* The farmer will find great advantages from the chemical analysis of his soils. A g.'-oss analysis will not show the difi'er- ences which exist. It must be conducted with a re- finement of skill and care. The influenceof half a bushel of gypsum spread upon an acre of land has been known to render it ieriile. It seemed a mere drop in the bucket, yet it produced a surprising difl'erence in the crop. Gypsum has not the same efl'ect on all soils. If the soil abounds in the in- gredients which are applied, they are thrown away. If a soil, for example, contains 1.5 percent, oi' phos- phate of lime, it does not require the application of bone manure. So of lime where lime abounds. — Thesoil of the banks oithe Nile, probably the most * The Dr. here gave another pointed reference to the impure state of the well waterof Boston, which was felt like an electric shock in <^he abdominal tnuscles of tlie representatives from the country; ( the Boston gentlemen are too far gone in this matter to feel at all,) and made them think at once of resigning their seats or removing the seatof government. There are salts cf iime enou^^h in the waterof Boston v/eils drank every yp;ir, io make ten statues as largo as Lofs wiie ! and as to the other impurities which exist in it, according to the Dr.'s ac- count, they are not to he named. No apothecary's mixture surpasses it ; and we know of nothing for which it is suited but for wlii=ky or brandy punch ! fertile in the world, contain only 2.8 per cent, of lime. The saline manures, such as carbonates, sulphates, phosphates, &c. are absorbed by the plants. They act as stimuli to vegetation ; and change the soil so as to render it fertile. Saline manures do not act always in the same way. They act principally on the foliage. Tiiey excite action in the plant, and carbonic acid gas is absorbed. The decomposition of vegetable substances gives out carbonic acid gas, v,?hich is immediately seized upon by the plants. Large amounts of ammoniacal gas are obtained from the putrefaction of animal substances. This is a valuable manure. The car- bonate ofammonia, to obtain it pure from the shops, would be too expensive for a manure. We must make it in our dung heaps. The nature of manures is just beginning to be understood. The attention paid to it, when sci- ence was imperfect, led to few valuable results. — Two new acids were discovered by Berzelius in 1833— the crenic ami apocrcnic. They were dis- covered in the Porlar well in Sweden. They are found in all soils. They are among the cunsiiiu- enls of peat. They are probably universal. These acids must be neutralized. The opinions of farmers are often only blind prejudices, though there are bright and honorable exceptions to this remark. Facts which are uni- versally admitted must have a foundation. These acids are found in humus or geine— are found also in our waters — in all soils — sometimes in union with bases— sometimes in a free state. In respect to these scientific investigations, we have as yet oidy skimmed the surface. More, however, has been effected within the last three years than ever before since the history of man. Geological and agricultural surveys are credita- ble to the state. The facts which they collect and embody, may be rendered of the highest service. — A state geologist might be fully occupied in the analysis of soils. Agriculture, thus made the sub- ject of scientific inquiry, would cease to be a drudge- ry and attain its proper rank among the first em- ployments of man. Agricultural books are many of them full of absurdities, because the nature of the elements of which they treat is so little under- stood. Many have heard of the experiment of the man who shut up a hen and fed her exclusively up- on wheat. It was a matter of insoluble mystery how, under such circumstances, she could obtain lime enough to form ttie shells of the eggs which she laid, which in truth contained a weight of lime greater than the weight of her body. It was not known that the wheal itself on which she was fed, llirnished the linu; which she required. Chemistry shovvb that lime enitis into iJie composition of wheat. Every farmer has not a tas'e for science ; but some have, and this ta^te should be cultivated and encouraged. Suljecib- counecled with ao-riculture are well adapted for country lyceums. Here facts would be obtained from practical and observing minds. The action of manures should particularly I invite attention. Experiments in cultivation should { be made on soils whose composiiiun is known ; and I products shoidd be exactly uoied and compared I with each other. I De Candoile, a distinguished Swiss philosopher, I who has given particular attention to vegetable I physiology, has treated of i.he action ofpoisons up- ;nn'plants. Ther.'^ arc euhetance? whi'- h are poi- 156 FARMERS' REGISTER Bonous to plants as there are those which are de- Btructive ol" animal life. Nux vomica and some other substances poisonous to animals, are poison- ous to plants. Substances whicli taken into the stomach of a man may be serviceable lo health, il' received into his lungs might be (iital. So suh- etances which il applied to the roots ol plants might prove destructive, if imbibed in a gaseous form by the leaves, may stimulate and advance their growth. In simple carbonic acid gas, plants would die; but received in quantities larger than exists in our atmosphere, it [)roves favoraiile lo them. Carbonic acid gas, which in certain quan- tities is nutritious to plants, is destructive to animal life. The quantity of vegetable matter in soils and other different substances, presents a curious inqui- ry. Silex is the same as rock crystal, obtained after solution. Alumineisthe same as clay; but clay is not found pure, and usually contains more than fifty per cent, of silex. Oxides of iron, man- ganese and lime are found. Lime is usually Ibund in the Ibrm of a carbonate. Peroxide of iron, iron rust, is found. Silex, alumine, lime and iron, com- bined in various proportions, constitute soils. Ve- getable matter, containing the crenic and apocrenic acids is found. Geme is not a simple proximate principle but contains these two acids. [The Dr. illustrated this matter by an exhibition of the cre- nale and apocrenate of copper, obtained from geine.] The analysis of a cla)^ soil in this vicinity is as follows: "Water, Vegetable matter, Silex and alumine, Carbonate of lime, Oxide of iron, - Loss, - - - Of another is as follows : Dark clay : Water, Vegetable matter, Silex and alumine. Carbonate of lime, - 2. - 3.5 74. - 5. 15. - .5 100. 100. To give some idea of the quantiiy of vegeta- ble matter contained m an acre of ground, we may make the Ibllowing calculations: Example of calculation of the weight of a soil and of its manure. Let the specific gravity of a soil be 1 277— wa- ter being 1.— ihen one cubic (bot of waler weigh- ing 1000 ounces, a cubic foot of the soil vvo~uld weigh 1277 ounces or 79.187 lbs. An acre of land contains 4.3.560 square feet area, and if vve estimate the cubic foot of soil as weighing 79.186 lbs. or half a cubic foot at 39^ lbs. nearly, supposing we wish to calculate the weight of an acre of ilie soil for the depth of six inch'es, (the usual depth of tillage,) vve have tlie lbllovvines required, such accommodations would obviate one cause of perplexity and delay, and be more especially convenient in consequence of their pre- sent agency in Ibrwarding such models. I am happy to say the patent office building is so lar completed as to afford, within a few weeks, the necessary accommodation for the office, and to enable the commissioner to receive the nume- rous specimens of American art as contemplated by the act of reorganization, and to carry out the wishes of congress by collecting and distributing valuable seeds ; exhibiting, also, under appropri- ate classifications, the most important varieties, both exotic and indigenous. The inquiries propounded by the honorable secretary of state, in taking the next census, ren- dered it necessary for the commissioner to expend but a small part of the appropriation lor procuring agricultural statistics. From data of so high a source, the commissioner can safely predicate fu- ture calculations, and hopes to present to congress such details of domestic products as will be of im- portance in financial estimates. The diplomatic corps of the United States resid- inc abroad, have been solicited to aid in procuring valuable seeds, and the officers of the navy, with the approbation of the honorable secretary of that department, have been requested to convey to the patent office, for distribution, such seeds as may 1)6 offered. In many cases, no charges will be made lor seeds. If small expenses do arise, they can be reimbursed by appropriations from the pa- tent fund, daily accumulating, and consecrated specially to the promotion of the arts and sciences. The cheerfulness with which the diplomatic corps and the officers of the navy have received the request of this office, justify sanguine anticipa- tions from this new undertaking. With the additional assistance granted last ses- sion, and correspondent exertions on the part of those connected v/ith the bureau, the business in each branch is brought up. Less delay will, I trust, arise in future applications. The number of caveats issued in 1839 was two hundred and twenty-five. The number of applications for patents the same year exceeds eight hundred. One-half of tliese liave been rejected on examination. That the in- vestigations of the office have not been conducted without care and attention, may perhaps he infer- red from the fact that no appeal has been taken liom the decision of the commissioner on these cases. These rejections will show patentees, that they are protected from interference, to a great extent, and the public generally, how much they are guarded against useless or invalid patents. I only add that a small appropriation will be re- quired to continue present periodicals 'aken at the office, together with some additional standard works which are needed for daily reli?rence. Verv respectfully, Your obedient servant, Henry L. Kllsworth. Hon. R. M. Johnson, Prenichni of the Senate of the United States. LETTTERB PATENT GRANTED DtTltING THE YEAR 1839, FOR INVENTIONS OF SIACHINES, &C., FOR AGRICULTURAI^ PURPOSES. INVENTIONS OR D'.SCO- VERIES. PATENTEES. RESIDENCE. WHEN ISSUED. Bee-hives . . - Samuel C. Myers Mount Pleasant, Pa. July 22 Bee-hives - - - John Sholl Kevv York November 29 Bee-hives . . - William M. Hall Wallingford, Ct. December 27 Binding grain Israel Keyes Putney, Vt. July 17 Churn - - - . Milo B. Hough - Dover, Ohio January 21 Chtirn . . - John S. Thomson Wyalusing, Pa. - July 27 Corn shelier - - . Alonzo R. Dinsmore We:,t Chester, N. H. - February 23 Corn shelier Wm. Mcllroy Bartley and Wm. Boon Greenwich, N. J. March 30 Corn shelier ... William R. Parker Milton, Del. July 9 Corn shelier Lester E. Denison Saybrook, Ct. - August 12 Corn shelier - - . Samuel H. Kisinger and E. G. W. Stake Williamsport, Md. October 31 Corn shelier and hulling grain - - - John Mercer Harrisville, Ohio June 24 Cultivator, corn John B. Smith - Norfolk, Va. April 15 Cultivator, garden John B. Smith - Norfolk, Va. April 10 ; antedated Oct. 10, 1338 Cutting, attaching scythes to snaths ... Ebenezer G. Lamson Shelburne, Mass. July 2 Harrows, revolving Moses G. Cass - Utica, N. Y. - September 10 Hulling clover seeds and other grass seed - Abraham Keagy Morrison's Cove, Pa. June 24 Mowing machines Asa B. Trask and Davis Aldrich Ellington, N. Y. October 16 Plough . - - - William Small - North Argyle, N. Y. April 22 Plough Ebenezer G. Whiting - Racine, Wisconsin, T. - July 11 Plough - - - - Ambrose Barnaby Ithaca, N. Y. - September 11 Plough Josiah Dutcher - New York, N. Y. October 9 Plough, coupling, &c. Joseph Card and Grandi- soa IVewell Mentor, Ohio - November 9 Plough, hill-side and hori- zontal - - - John M. Jordan - Lexington, Va. - April 19 Plough, mould-boards of - Samuel Witherow and Da- o ' vid Pierce Philadelphia, Pa. October 5 Rake - - - - Hezekiah Haynes Middletown, Vt. June 18 Rake, hay and grain harrow George Davis Belmont, Ohio - July 22 Rake, hay revolving Ephraim B. and Moses D. Wells Morgantown, Va. September 20 Seeding, planting corn Nirain R. and Orin G. Merchant Guildford, N. Y. October 12 Seeding, planting corn and other seeds David S. Rockwell New Canaan, C. March 12 Seeding, planting machines Moses Atwood, jr. Hampstead, N. H. June 24 Seeding, planting machines John M. Forest - Princess Ann C. H., Va. June 25 Seeding, sowing grain, plas- ter, &c. ... Samuel Hoffer - Londonderry Pa. July 17 Seeding, sowing seed - Martin and Samuel Lee Seward Guildford, Ct. - July 27 Smut machine, &,c. - William C. Grimes York, Pa. March 25 Smut machine John B. Yates - Sperryvillej'Va. - October 12 Smut machine Leonard Smith - Plattsburg, N. Y. October 18 Smut machine Luther B. Walker Orangeville, N. Y. October 18 Smut machine Samuel W. Foster Scio, Mich. December 21 Smut machine, cleaning grain George Mann, jr. Lockport, N. Y. June 29 Smut machine, cleaning grain - - - Thomas McCrea Ann Arundel, Va. August 9 Smut machine, cleaning wheat Elisha W. and William B. Young Parkman, Ohio - July 2 Straw cutter - Willis Grantham Marshall's Ferry, Tenn. June 18 Straw cutter William A. Staples Lynchburg, Va. November 16 Straw cutting - Charles T. Botts Richmond, Va. - March 15 Straw cutting, &c. Thomas Hopper New Brunswick, N. J. - March 15 Thrashing and cleaning grain - - - - Matthew McKeever Staunton, Va. March 15 Thrashing, shelling, and hulling grain Thomas Elliott, jr. Middletown, Ky. March 26 Thrashing machine, teetii for - - - - Jeremiah Wrightson Tobacco Stick, Md. May 17 Winnowing machine, fann- ing mills Alfred Ervin - Jefferson, ]\Id. - September 30 Winnowing, separating wild peas, &.C., from grain, re- issue . - - - Lester Butler Cobleskill, N. Y. Patented June 3, 1837, ^ and reissued March 8 FARMERS' REGISTER 15^ BEET SUGAR — AGAIN. From tlie Journal of Commerce. Good reader, did 5'ou ever see any heet sugar? did you ever tasle it ? We have; and niusi say that handsomer or better flavored brovvn sugar we never met with. The grain is very fine, — finer than is usual even with cane sugar, — while the flavor is like that ofmaple, free from Ihe least tinge ofnausea, and sweeter to the taste ihan the purest loaf. Ifsuch sugar can be produced at the same price as cane or maple, it will have a great run. We conceive that Mr. Child (to whos* book we alluded in our former remarks) is rendering an important service to the American public, and we hope to himself also, by bringing the queslion to a practical test. He manulticiured, (so far as we know,) the first beet sugar ever produced in America. For this, he has within a Cew weeks received a premium of iglOO from the Massachu- setts Agricultural Society, it being tlie same article to which previously a medal was awarded at the great Boston Mechanics' Fair in the autumn. About 300 lbs. were made in 1838, much of which was good, but a still better article was produced the next year. An improvement in the drying apparatus, by which the access of smoke was pre- vented,— and better acquaintance with the- man- agement of il, by wliich fermentation on the one hand, and carbonization on the other, were avoid- ed, gave a nearly unexceptionable material ; the liquor was light colored and transparent; the proporfion of lime required, less; the defecations more prompt and complete, and ihe concentrations almost without scums; in short, the sugar ow, Esq., of Brooklyn, which is twenty iTiiies west of this place. I should like to know whether manuring is desirable? what kinds, and to what extent 1 what protection is best? and whether my mode of trimming is, or is not, well adapted to perpetuate the vine? In conclusion, I would remark, that the Isabella grapes are eatable, and often in the market long before they are ripe; and consequently many peo- ple are ignorant of their excellence when in per- fection. I give it the preference to any grape I have ever tasted, and the vine is the greatest bearer I have ever known. Alden Spooner. Hempstead, Long-Island, Feb. 15, 183S, From Hie Soutliem Cabinet, NOTES ON EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. BY A CHARLESTONIAN. NO. IT. I stated in a former number that, in my opinion, England was in a higher state of cultivation than any other country in Europe. This is in parJ owing to the industry of its inhabitants — to the intelligence of those under whose direction the lands are cultivated — and not a little to the climate itself. The persons connected with agriculture in England may be divided into three classes. First — the owners of the soil. These are, in the ma- jority of instances, composed of the wealthy no- bilitj7. The property is usually entailed, and the laws of primogeniture assign it to the eldest son. He seldom cultivates his lands, but hires them out in large tracts to the second class — the farmer. This individual leases the land, commonly for a term of nineteen years. He is usually well-edu- cated and intelligent, and is able to introduce those improvements in agriculture which the lights of science, and the experience of others encourage him to adopt. The manual labor is performed by a third class — the peasantry. These are usually poor and ignorant, and have scarcely any hope of rising beyond the condition of serfs. They are the cultivators of the soil from generation to gene- ration, and the sons and daughters in nearly all in- stances, follow the condition of their parents. This is the class which, above all others, is most benefited by a removal to America. In England provisions are high, and the price of labor cheap ; in America, it is, in general, the reverse. Here, the industrious husbandman is soon rescued from a state of dependence and poverty. Lands in our new settlements can be purchased at a less cost than the taxes would amount to in England. Hence the dilBculty of obtaining laborers on our American liirms will, for a long time, present a serious obstacle to our improvements in agricul- ture. Man every where struggles lor independ- ence, anil he will not labor for oihera when lie has FARMERS' REGISTER. 165 so fair a prospect of becoming the owner ol' a farm. But the strange and wayward climate of England, unpleasant and uncomfortable, as it may be in many respect?, may give us a clue to the secret of its lertility. With tlie latitude of Labrador, its winters are less severe than (hose of Maryland. Surrounded on all sides by contending oceans and currents, it partakes of their variable climate — it is a land jjossessing the atmosphere of the sea. The gull and the tern fly over it as if it were a part of their possessions, and the Solan goose and other eea-birds not only nestle among the beetling rocks, but their notes are heard in every part of the island. Within three days' sail of En.gland, the fogs and drizzling rains commenced. My journal tells me there was but one day out of forty in which it did not rain during some portion of the day. I heard no thunder, nor did the rain fall in torrents as with us, but light showers were conti- nually sprinkling the earth like heavy dews — then the sun would shine tor half an hour, throwing its rays in fitful streams through the passing clouds, giving slight indications of fair weather, which soon ended in disappointment. There is no calculating on a dry day in England. An um- brella is almost as necessary an appendage to an Englishman as a hat. It is no wonder that he is enraptured with the bright clear sky of Italy, for he was born among fogs, and has all his lifetime been looking through a haze. He judges by con- trast. Others have told the tale of the azure skies and balmy air of Rome and Venice, and his imagination has been fired by the theme ; hence he conceives no sun so bright, no air so soft. Had Carolina been as accessible, and could he as easily have made the contrast, he would, if not blinded by prejudice, have admitted that no Italian sky- exceeded that of our own southern land. Men may boast of having chmbed the Alps to see the sun rise from the mountain of Riga, or set in the Adriatic, yet 1 am either so prejudiced or old fashioned as to believe that the poet or the painter may go to the ends of the world and find no fairer sky for the embellishment of a picture than that presented during summer, along our Southern Atlantic coast. But to return to the foggy climate of England. It has appeared to me that these in- cessant slight showers in a high northern latitude, (where the nights are so short, and the continu- ance of twilight so long, that I find it noted in my journal that I was reading by daylight at half past ten in the evening, and resumed my book at half past two — leaving but four hours of night) — contribute, in a considerable degree, to the abun- dant productions of the soil. The sun, during the long days of summer, imparts sufficient warmth to the nourishment of the plants, and these are continually kept fresh and green by nature's wa- tering pot. [t is true, the early part of the summer of my visit (1838,) was characterised as rainy in every part of Europe, still it was not regarded in England as a very striking exception to their ordinary seasons. To the fogs and drizzling rains together with the absence of to9 bright a light, I ascribed that rich dark greeh of the fields which I have never witnessed in any other country — the scent of the flowers was, lor the same reason, stronger and longer retained — the groves were full of melody — ihe goldfinch and the thrush seemed to sing sweeter alter every passing shower, and the skylark carolled high in the air, in spite of the drizzling mist. But, in addition to a favorable climate, the soil of England has the benefit of a judicious tillage. I was particularly struck with the system, almost universally adopted in regard to. the rotation of crops. It should be remarked that they never cultivate two successive crops of grain on the came field. Although physiologista have not been able fully to account for the fact, that the successive cultu'ation of grain or vegetables exhausts the soil whilst a change to different product does not impo- verish the land to any considerable extent, yet it is now universally admitted, by ail good husband- men, that this is the case. Some have ascribed this to the exhaustion of the proper food of the plant in consequence of its cultivation during successive years, whilst Decandolle, Macaire and others have accounted for it on the doctrine thai plants exude from their roots certain substances poisonous to plants of the same variety, which in time renders the earth unfit for their cultivation. (See January number of the Southern Cabinet, p. 17.) As toil) oars perdrlx doyed on the appetite of the Frenchman, so the teeming earth longs for a change of food, and vyithholds her fruitfulness unless she be indulged. It has often been inquired why is it that a forest which has long been covered with a growth of pine, when cut down does not spring up again in pine, but in oak, gum, and hickory, and vice versa. The fiicts, in a majority of instances, are so. All plants spring from seed — there can be no spontaneous production. Omnia ah ova is a doctrine as old as the days of Linnaeus, and nature has never departed Irom it. May it not then be that nature, after having for ages nourished one kind of tree, has exhausted the properties of the soil adapted to that kind of pro- duction, and when a new forest is to be created, imparts its influence (o trees of a different kind, better suited to its present state, and withholding its lertility from that to which it is no longer adapt- ed. Be this as it may, the English farmer acts on the principle of the necessity of a rotation ol" crops. The result from this and other judicious modes of culture has been an increase of three fold. In Carolina, we have adopted the opposite course. Many fields have been planted in Indian corn since the days of the revolution, and the result has been that we have retrograded from forty bushels per acre to eight, and often less. I will now give the method of English culture in regard to the Rotation of crops. 1st year. Fallow crop. Irish potatoes — beans or turnips. The potatoes, as is the case in high northern latitudes, produce small stalks, and are consequently planted much nearer in the rows than with us. Endless varieties have been produced from seed. The beans, adapted to field culture, are the kinds usually called horse bean (Faba vulgaris.) Hun- dreds of acres are cultivated with this bean, and its numerous varieties, and the product is immense. It is used as food for cattle. I have never known it to thrive equally well in any part of America, probably owing to our warm summers. In our southern states especially, the pods in general do not fill well, and 1 doubt whether it is calculated to be a productive crop. There is, however, one variety from the south of France, called the win- ter bean, (Za Feverole cVhimr,) which is remark- 166 FARMERS' REGISTER. ably hardy and prolific. It is planted late in autumn, and stands the winters ol" France and England, and might be experimented on, as a winter crop, when nothing else can be cultivated with us, and it would not interfere with the crop of the Ibllowing spring. The Heliogoland bean — purple held bean — and Alexandrian field bean, are also varieties which the agriculturists ol' England and France recommended to me as probably well adapted to winter culture in our southern climate. The turnip crop is considered as the most valua- ble in England lor feeding cattle. These diff'erent productions, however, require to be noticed under separate heads. I will endeavor to return to the subject in a future number. 2nd year. Wheat — the varieties are yearly increasing. At present, the kinds cultivated almost universally in the higher grounds and lighter soils of Scotland, are the golden drop and blood red. The skins are thicker than in most other varieties and they yield more bran. These varieties would, I think, answer well on our elevated mountainous regions. The average crop is said to be about fifty bushels to the acre. In the Lothians — the Carse of Sterling, and in the low rich soils of Eng- land— in Denmark — and the alluvial soils of Germany, 1 remarked that the varieties called Uxbridge and Hunter's wheat, were most culti- vated, and considered most productive. The yield is (ioui filly to sixty bushels per English acre — the average weight per bushel is from 62 to 63 lbs. — the finest, 65 lbs. The Mengoswell's wheat is a variety of Hunter's and is cultivated on the Carse of Gowrie as a superior grain. Three new varieties have been very recently introduced. The Whitlington wheat from the south of England — the Chevalier wheat from France — and the Hick- lings — the latter is white in straw, but yellow in sample. Rye is not cultivated. Grass seeds are sown in the fields of wheat in the month of April. These are red clover (Trifolium pralcnse) and rye grass (^Lollum pereuHe and Jlalkuin.') Calves and sheep are allowed, in autumn and winter, to feed on the young grass. 3d year. This is a grass crop — usually a heavy one. It is sometimes cut twice, but usually only once a year, and serves as pasturage in the fall. 4th year — A crop of barley or oats is now raised. This is once more succeeded by a itdlow crop. In this manner crops succeed each other by fours in good lands, or where the soil is inliirior, another year is added for grass and pasturage — atibrding a wheat crop only once in four or five years, but producing in the mean time, other articles equally valuable to the farmer. (To be continued.) VALUK OF BIRDS. From tlie Farmer's Montlily \ isitor. Mr. Hill, — I was much pleased, that in your first volume of the Visitor, you took so much inter- est in the preservation of the small birds. Without their aid in destroying the innumerable insects that prey upon the products of the larmer, agriculture in a It3w years would have to be abandoned. The rapidity with which many kinds of insects are j)roduced is almost beyond conception, and were it not for the check put to it by insectivorous birdSj it would be in vain to sow or cultivate the soil. And many think it doubtful policy, in giving a bounty lor the desiruction of crows and foxes. The crow, it is true, sometimes plucks up the newly planted corn ; but where he pulls up one blade of corn, he probably pulls up a hundred of the large white worm. So of the fox, he carries off a few lambs, and sometimes a stray goose, but his principal food in the summer season is tlie large white worm, beetle, bugs, mice, moles, &c., which probably more than compensate tor the few lambs they take. Could the exact amount of damage done by insects to the various crops of grass, grains and fruits, in a single county, lor one year, be ascer- tained, it would be astonishing. Two years ago last season many fields that produced a good crop of hay the year before were almost barren : scarcely a blade ol grass was left on many square rods, and the roots were so completely cut an inch or two be- neath the surface, by the large white worm, that the turf n)ight be rolled up like a carpet. Sometimes whole fields of corn are nearly de- stroyed by the grub, or (he wire worm : orchards are defoliated by the canker worm or caterpillar ; and fields of most promising wheat are destroyed by the wheat fly or weevil. ' The natural history of the various kinds of inju- rious insects is not sufficiently studied. No doubt nearly every kind might have its file or history traced through all its various chajnges, habits, food, &c., and probably ways and means discovered to greatly lessen their numbers and check their rav- ages. In a late number of the New England Farmer the editor says, "We as yet know of but one effec- tual remedy against the canker worm — that is, the encouragement of the birds. In our code of penal justice, killing a small bird should be placed next to killing a child. We were assured the last sum- mer, that at the beautifully cultivated district in the south part of West Cambridge, abounding in fruit, they were entirely free from canker worms, while in Old Cambridge the orchards suffered severely. The great security which they found was in the encouragement and preservation of the birds. A gunner in West Cambridge would be in as much danger as an aboliiionist in South Carolina." February 12, 1840. L. B. EFFECTS OF E3IA1VCIPATION IN JAMAICA. An intelligent resident in Jamaica, recently in- formed us that the results of the emancipation bill ultimately would be, the expulsion or retirement of all the white population of the island, already so disproportioned to that of the colored classes ; and that, at no great distance from the present time, it would come to be a St. Domingo. Had the eman- cipation or apprenticeship system been left to the white colonists themselves, or had their disparity in numbers with the colored population not been so great, no doubt is entertained that the legisla- tion of the British parliament at London would have been nullified in Jamaica; but, as the case stood, acquiescence was only the necessary act that could Itill whh quieting efiect on crushed re- bellion. No new demonstrations in favor of equal- ity between the colored and white population have FARMERS' REGISTER 167 been afiorded by the emancipalion bill: since tlio?o on tlie part of the persons of color, who at- tain anv conventional distinction amongj the whites of the- island, stand aloof from those havino; the hue of ihern^-elves, and consort with the whites as instruments, merely, and proud of that distinction. Colored mahere not being so materially changed in its transit as to aliect the staple. Prof. Shephard is now engnged in analyzing the soils of Edisto Island, at {he request of the agricultural Society of St. John's Colleton. We view this as a most important step taken towards the advancement of our aijriculiure, and the .so- ciety merit the thanks of the community (i^r it, which we hope to gee imitated by all of the agri- cultural societies of the south, especially of this Plate, and even by individuals. No one with whom we arc acquainted, is better able to cnrry on this nice investigation than the able Professor to whom the agriculiaral society of Si. John's Colleton have assigned it. The many advantages which would arise from an accurate analysis of of our soils, are so obvious, that we scarce feel warranted in alluding to them. We, however, cannot refrain from mentioning a i'ew. The first ie, that having ascertained the component parts of a fertile soil, and the relative proportions of each ingredient, we can by analysing our own, discover in what it is deficietit, or in what it superabounds, and if practicable, apply the remedies which may bring it nearer the standard we aim at. Ag'i'n, it will enable us to correct and bring into culture spots, and insome instances acres, which at present are wholly uiifimductive, when cultivated in par- ticular crops. For instance— it is well known that in many fields, both on the ijriands and main, there are spois which produce what is called the " blue cotton," whicii yields nothing. Other spots are subject to the " rust," — as soon as these are analyzed, and compared with fertile soils, their excess or deficiency, in any particular ingredient, will at once be detected, arid the remedy applied. The analysis, therefore, of the first quality ot Sea- Island coiion lands will at once establish a stan- dard, by which all on which are grown the same varieties ol' cotton can be judged. The same benefits will result Irom analyzing on the soils in which other crops are cultivated. But will the analysis of the soils of Eilisto Island benefit our friendaolSf. John's Berkley, or elsewhere? — much, for they will, by it, become accpiainted with the component parts of the best soils fur growing Sea-Island cottons in, and by analyzing their owri they can nt once ascertain the ditierence, and how near, by admixMires, or application of manures, they can a|)proxiniaie. But to return to the cul- ture of cotiun in St. John's Berkley. The soil of Middle St. Johns is a light loam, while that of Upper Sf. John's is so light, that it may almost be termed sandy. It is seldom that afield, selected liar cotton in this parish, is culti- vated in any other crop. The selection being generally mnde on account of the supposed adap- tation of the soil to this particular plant, or the locality of the field. Small fields are sometimes alternated, but the lame scarce ever. All ol the crops, however, (colion, corn, and potatoes,) are planted in lanils4 leet apart, so that whenever any chanire is made in the culture of a field, the labor of preparation is not increased, by having to level down and re-form new beds at an altered distance. As soon as the crop has been ginned, preparation is made !(»• planting, and each planter endeavors to have his fields ready by the 2.5ih of March. Most of the planters adopt the plan of placing the manure under the list, or rather they strew it between the rows, and then forma list which of course mixes the manure, eotJon stalks, weeds, grasses, and earth (f<)rming the list) well together. A very small bed is n?ade on this, which is gradually increased in width, (but not height,) at each workinir. Some, however, prefer to make the bed at oii'-e of the size intended, and endeavor to keep it thus throughout the season. The hoe in this and the subsequent operations is the princi- pal instrument ui=e(\. The plough, if used at all, is only employed to break up the alleys. Former- ly the " skimmer" was much used, but Horn some cause which 1 could not learn, it has been laid aside. Fron) the 20lh March to 1st April, the crop is planted. The holes are not made as for- merly, by the hoe, but by what is here termed a dibble ; made from a 2|- inch plank, 6 inches wide and tapered to a half inch, at the bottom, whilst the upper part is Ibrmed into a handle. Across this, a groove is cut diagonally, into which a lath or thin piece of board is fixed, which can be readily adjusted to difierent distances, and is of such length as to touch the ground when the dibble is struck into the bed, and marks the spot where the next hole is to be made. The usual distance is from 20 to 24 inches, and it is supposed that two hours FARMERS' REGISTER. 179 is gained by usinu tlie dibble in place of the Iioe. The thinning commences at the second workinir, is continued at the subsequent and completed, by the time the plains are six indies hiijh — one stalk only being left in each hole. Of course each planter endeavors to keep his fields as clear of grass as possible, and hoes as often as he can, which however is seldom more than five times. The crop is usually laid by, from the 20th lo the 25th July — but we find tiiat the opinion of some of the best planters, is in liivor of laying it by, by the 1st of July, even iltcuirh it be a iitile grassy ; working it laier, they think, increases the growth and prevents the pods from maturintr. In hoeing some increase ihe size of their beds, uradually, whilst others are careful so to perform this operation that no new surface is exposed, by which they have less grass (o contend with, ns nearly all within germinating distance springs up and is destroyed in the first workings. As soon as from 15 to 20 ibs. can be picked, (which is usually by the first week in Seplember.) «iome hands are sent in; no task is given in picking cotton, though they gene- rally average (i-om 90 to 100 I hs. when ttie pods are well open. Tln-ee of Dr. Uavenefs neirmps, last fall, picked in September 13G, 140, and 142lbs. each. The cotton is spread out in the field as it is picked, and the next day on the sraff'old. It is then housed until wanted for the gin, when it is passed through the whipper (o free it from dirt, and this operation is repeated after it is cjinned, to clear it of broken seeds. Some of the planters sort and pick their cotton before it passes through the gin which renders the labor of moling it much less. Generally, however, nothing is done to the cotton until it has been ginned, which operation is mostly done in this parish by the loot gin — on some plantations, in conjunction with Farries'gin worked by horse power, which is considered the best yet used, and gets out from 250 to 300 lbs. per diem. The average product in this parish does not exceed 100 lbs. per acre, except when ma- nured; the averaore on manured land is supposed lobe 150 lbs. Upwards of 250 lbs. Iiave been made on sixty acres. We have, in the above, given the outline of tiie culture as practised in this parish, and will now notice a few particulars more in detail. We havo stated that no rotation is Ibllowed, and one of the strongest reasons assigned, (and one not readily got over) is, that the three principal crops (cotton, corn and potatoes) are cultivated in such unequal quantities, that a rotation with these is out of the question, and no other crops at present offer suffi- cient inducements. But although no rotation at present can be established, yet the crops grown on some of the small fields are at times alternated. It has been Ibund that cotton and corn can be cultivated, by the aid of manure, for an indefinite period, on the same soil, without diminution of product, yet potatoes cannot, no matter what quantities of manures may be applied. Corn succeeds, as is well known, adiriirably after pota- toes; but for years it was believed that cotton could not be successfully grown. This, however, was an error which is now happily corrected. It oidv requires, as Major Porcher lias fully ascertained, ihat the ground be bedtled up, very early, (say in January) so that the beds may consolidate, as tlie cause of the cotton's dying appears to be connected with the looseness of the soil ; the more compact the bed is the better will be the '• stands," and the sooner it reaches the hard earth under the bed, the sooner will it grow of. Hence the reason foe- small beds. This is directly at variance with the practice pursued on the Sea Islands, but of their culture we hope hereafter to give some interest- ing details, and will not here enter into any com- parison. Many experiments were related to us, going to show that corn and cotton may be grown for yeara consecutively on the same field, vvithout deterio- ration or diminution, when proper quantities of manures have been applied ; in lact, that old fields have been actually restored to what is supposed to have been their original iert'iliiy. Several were mentioned to us, but we do not find the quantities of cotton staled but in three instances, one a field at Mexico, (Major Porcher's) which has been cultivated without rest, since 1801, and seldom planted in any other crop than cotton, yielding the last year 176 lbs. per acre. The other is the field ol' Mr. Thomas W. Porcher, already alluded to, which produced 170 lbs. per acre. Dr. Raven- nel's fields, which have been in the culture ol' cot- ton for years, have also materially improved, the averaize, the last year, being 150 lbs. per acre. 'I'he manure most relied on, and the only one in fict which has been used in atiy quantities, is the compost, made, as we have already stated, by hauling into the stables, cow, hog and shepp pens, the leaves gathered in the wood's, where they re-_ main until spring and are then carted out. Of this, from 250 to .300 bushel baskets full, are con- sidered sufficient for an acre of cotton. Plaster of Paris has been used with decided efiect by Mr. H, VV. Ruvenel and Mr. S. G. Deveaux, but unfor- tunately the experiments have not been repeated, and were not made with that accuracy which enables us to judge of its relative value. We hope, however, to have the pleasure of giving to our leaders some further experiments with plaster hereafter. Various other manures have been tried ; such as swamp mud. fowl dung, cotton seed, &c. We conversed with no one who had experimented with the first, but understood that it was but little used, it not having been generally Ibund beneficial. Perhaps this has been owing to its having been taken fresh from the swamp, and applied lo the crop. All the experiments we have ever made with swamp mud, went lo prove that it could not be advantageously used unless it had been ex- posed lor some time to the action of the almo- sfihere, or was corrected by the admixture of lime. We would suggest to our friends of St. John's, (especially the upper part, where the soil is so very light,) whether a most excellent imitation of marsh mud, which has been Ibund ofsuch inimenpe bene- fit to the cotton crops of the Sea Islands, could not be made by adding to the mud taken (i-om the swamps, a small quantity of lime or marl and of salt, the latter perhaps in the greatest proportion. We hope some ofthe planters will make some small experiments with a manure thus Ibrmed. The benefit, we think, will not be confined to the productiveness but extend to the quality also. Fowl manure cannot be obtained in any very large quaniiiies, but as very little manures a large space, it is also applied to the cotton and with great ellect. Cotton seed is chiefiy reserved /or ll:e corn. When used for cotton, it creates too luxuriant a growth, and the pnds are late in open- 180 FARMERS' REGISTER. jng. Several experiments have been made with jime and salt, but these generally have been bo jooseiy made, that nothing dcfiniie beyond ilie jact that they were benefifial, could be iraihercd rem them. Mr. Frederick A. Porcher, olSumer- ton, has made greater use of these I no iiiaiuires than any other planter in St. John's, and has kindly furnished ns with an account of his opera- tion with both, and which being inieresiing, we give in full. "In 1839, I applied to a small field of cotton, limestone in the proportion ol sixty lour liushels to the acre. The soil was originally a good loam, of the quality indicated by the growih ol" oak and hickory. This, I presume, from its continuity to two large swamps, and from the growth of the forest land in the neighborhood. 1 do not know when the land was cleared, but it must have been a great many years since. It had obvious- ly been subjected to a long course of exhausting cultivation. When I first took it in, it was co- vered with the broom grass. A crop of slips 1 believe was the first step taken towards reducing it to cultivation, and this was (bllowed, every al- ternate year, with a crop of cotton. During the alternate years it rested — manure was freely given. The first, crop, that of 1835, was almost a total failure — that ol" 1837, promised belter, but it did not yield more than 75 lbs. ol" clean cotton per acre. Perhaps it shared the fate of other crops on lands of a better reputation, the autumn of 1837 having been peculiarly unlavorable to the maturity of the cotton. The products of the field from the crop of 1839, is, as well as I can judge, a fiaction below 150 per acre. "The hme used was procured from the margin of a creek on the plantation. It lies about six leet below the surface of the highland. It is of vari- ous appearance — some of it being en hard that it is with dilHculty broken by the pick axe, while others crumble with the application of very little lorce. Fossil remains abound throughout the stra- ta, but more in the loose masses than in those more compact and hard. 1 have reduced all to quick-lime in the kiln, and have Ibund it quite available for mortar.* "The lime a|)plied to the land was broken with a hammer, a very toilsome operation, and in that way applied. 'I'he field is laid ofi' in scjuare half acres, and contains, in each acre, sixty rows, each 150 ii'et in length. To each of these rows a bushel of the pounded lime was apjilied on the list. The land was manured as usual. The quantity of manure applied I do not recollect ; I am sure it did not exceed sixteen horse cart-loads to the acre. "I left the plantation in May, before the lime had had any time to develope its agency, and did not return until October. In June, my overseer wrote me that he could not perceive the action of the lime, except perhaps in the increased vigor of the iirowlh of the joint and nut grasses with which the field is infeslecl. Some time in July, he wrote that the limed cotton was improving rapidly, and recommended its application to every acre of cot- ton which should be planted. The lime did not cover the whole field, the i)art not limed is of a character more congenial to cotton tlian the other. The lime gave out in the middle of a pond. In * Prof. Shephard has kindly promised us an analysis of this limestone. this pond I doubled the quantity, and instead of one bushel put two, that is, at the rate ol" a hundred and twenty but-hols to the acie. Here the suc- cess of the e:r any ininrovement, and my neighbor, Hartwell Hili, and a faithful me- chanic, is the maker of the one sent to you. You can readily' see it is simple and cheap. J\ly only object is to let the public know that silk reels can be made for a mere trifle, which I bplieve to be equal to any now in use, and no patent right on them. If you think the public can be benefited in any way by iftsertinff the above in the Rptrisier, you can do so. I expect to draw upon me the censure of some who hold patents of other reels; but I don't leaf a comparison of this reel wiih any I have s^en ; not meaniufr in appearance, but as to performance. Any common carpenter can make the reel, and there bein>r no patent right on them to pufl' them otf, has kept them in the back ground. You can see frotn the numbers how to put the parts together. The band must be put on so as not to rub on any thing but the two whirls. Thomas Hicks. The above letter was received just in time to be included in the last sheet of this number, and two late for us to see the reel put together. We value the present the more as coming from one of the earliest, and now one of the most experienced of all the new silk-culturists of Virginia, and who has had enough praclice to succeed well in reeling fiilk, as well as in feeding worms, even with such humble machinery, and with mechanics and reel- ers totally ignorant when first employed. The opinions of Mr. Hicks, being derived from prac- tice, are especially entitled to respect, and his com- munications for this journal will always be very acceptable. We shall best second the liberal and public-spi- rited intentions of Mr. Hicks, by having the reel, which lie has sent lo us, put together and kept (or some months for examination in this town. It is proper to state that it agrees with the Piedmontese reel in one respect (as all reels ought) that of making the hanks ol'the same, or standard size.-E.D. F. R. FURTHER REMARKS ON THE ERRORS OF THE TRANSLATORS OF DANDOLO. Our advertisement on the cover of the January- No., inquiring for a copy of the original work of Count Dandolo, C' DelV Artedi govemareiBachi da Scia,') has served to obtain it ; an end which all of our sundry previous attempts, made both in this country and in Europe, had failed to reach. The copy obtained is of the fourth Milan edition, which is later than any we had seen referred to, or heard of, before. For the gift of this long sought and much valued volume, we are indebted IO the kindne?s of Robert Chisholm, esq., of South Carolina. Before obtaining this, we had received the Florentine abridgment of Dandolo'e first edition, which was acknowledged on a pre- vious page; and we had also been oiFered by Pe- ter Hulme and John Vaughan, esqs., of Phila- delphia, a copy of one of the early and therefore less perfecteditions, the loan of which is now ren- dered unnecessary. To all of these gentlemen, we feel as much obliged lor the kindness of iheir inlentions and iheir oliers, as if ihry had been fully availed of A very slight examination of this volume, and comparing it wiih iheEnalish iranslalion, (which, however, is of an earlier and less (ijll edition,) served to confirm our previous o[>inion, that ail our known translations, and the American treatises drawn from them, are grossly incorrect in the sta- tistics and ariihmetical statements — and that such errors arc even more generally pervading than we had before suspected. As to the particular error which we had ventured to expose in the last num- ber, (at p. 102,) even before seeing the original work, it appears that we have not presumed too much. The spaces are expressly stated by Dan- dolo in sqvarebraccia, which his French translator foolishly changed to feet, (according lo the sup- posed equality of lineal rheasures,) and thereby re- duced the true spaces nearly one-half We only erred slightly in one respect, (by paying too much respect to Murray's authority,) which was in FARMERS' REGISTER. 189 making (lie Milanese braccio too small, and by go doing, we somewhat abated in appearance the real enormity of (he errors made by the tranisla- tors and (heir copyists. The Milanese braccio, instead of being about 22 English or American inches, is, in truth, 23.4257, or nearly twenty-three and a half inches. This further correction being made, serves still more to increase the variation of the translators from the author's words as well as meaning. But though this one radical and all-pervading mistake is the greatest and I he most ludicrously absurd of all, there are almost as many other mis- translations and incorrect amounts, as there are quantities named in the work. The reader may form some idea of the detriment thereby caused to a treatise of which the great value consisted in careful and accurate experimenis and practical operations, of which all the quantities have been changed, and most of them greatly changed, in all the many existing versions. If all the sums and numbers of a treasury report (for example) were increased or decreased from 10 to 75 per cent, by typographical errors, or if a work on practical mensuration had every arithmetical pro- blem worked wrong, and showing wrong results, their value would thereby be scarcely more inju- riously affected, than is Dandolo's admirable work by the mistakes of his translators. A worse name than " mistake," however, is deserved es- pecially by the compiler of the Congress ' Manu- al,' in as much as he stated that, " having the use of the original work in Italian, as well as the French translation from which the English ver- sion was made, the errors of the latter were corrected — " an engagement which his perform- ance utterly falsified in every one of the numerous particulars ; and it would seem that either his ig- norance, or his gross inallenlion, prevented his even suspecting the wide variance between the original which he pretended to consult, and the translation from which he really copied liis work — which, like most other government jobs, was pro- bably as well paid for, as it was imperfectly and fraudulently executed. The error above named in the braccio's lineal measure affects all of the many dimensions stated of the laboratories, and their shelves, passages, and all other parts. The weights are still more erro- neously rendered. The quantities of leaves di- rected to be given in every day throughout the feeding time, are changed by the translator from Milanese to English pounds, by a very simple rule. The changes are made by merely adding 50 per cent, to the Milanese weights. But un- luckily the simplicity of the rule is its sole recom- mendation, as it is altogether incorrect. The Mi- lanese great pound (peso grosso,) of 28 ounces, is equal to 1176S.425 English grains, and the Eng- lish pound avoirdupois is 7000 grains. There- fore the Milanese pound is equal to 26.90 ounces avoirdupois, instead of 24 ounces, as is the ratio of increase made throughout the English translation. {[' mistakes and errors are indeed to be found to but half the extent here alleged, is it not manifest that a new and correct translation of Dandolo is greatly required? Or rather, does it not prove that, as to its most important facts, Dandolo's lias beer, almost a "sealed book" to ail others than his countrymen'? It is indeed a most striking proof of the value of this great work, that, notwithstand- ing the numerous arithmetical errors of all the versions, Dandolo's authority (falsely as it is cited.) should yet continue (o be held in the high- est estimation ! It was easy enough to ascertain, as we had done, in part, before even seeing the original, that the numbers and quantities of the translations are wrong ; but it was far more difficult to determine what would be right, and possibly we may not have avoided falling into some new mistakes, in escaping from the old ones. But we shall offer the grounds of our alterations ; and if any, or all are wrong, the means will thus be furnished to the better inlbrmed to correct all such errors. If the translators had in like manner submitted their authorities, their statements would not have been deceptions, and might have been useful, even if proved to be erroneous. We invite, aa well as offer the means for, the correction of our mistakes, if any are here made. A concise statement will be offered of the errors of quantity in the transladons, not so much howe- ver of individual cases, as of whole classes. First, and the most erroneous, (he substitution of (he square, braccio of Dandolo by the supposed equivalents in square feet, has already been suffi- ciently exposed, in the last number. Next, as to the length of the braccio ; in regard to which the difficulty of correction is not the defi- ciency, but the superabundance of authorities, and their wart of agreement. The common weights and measures of Italy, of the same de- nominations, are different in every two towns ; and even of the same city, different authors of reputa- tion report different values of the same denomi- nations of common weights and measures. The uncertainly thence arising is so great, that it is a matter of great difficulty for a foreigner to un- derstand the value of any particular denomina- tion. Nor would it have been discreditable to the French or the English translator of Dandolo, if he, by following some one author (and referring to the authority so preferred,) had been led into 190 i^ A R M E R S ' REGISTER. error. But many and various as are the authori- ties to serve as guides, it does not appear, lo our understanding, tliat the English translntor of Dandolo has truly followed any one of them ; or if he has followed one, no intinialion is given of which, nor of tiie grounds of preference. It would be foreign to our direct purpose, though serving to show more fully the general confusion and difficulty of the subject, to state the various values of the braccio and of the pound in different towns of Italy. The braccio of Milan alone, (the measure of course referred to by Dandolo,) is va- lued as follows, by different high authorities: According to Cavallo, in a table in Rees' Cyclo- psedia, (art. '•' JVleasures,") and also in Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, the Milanese braccio is equal to 1.725 English feet, or 20.700 inches. According lo Murray (in Brewster's Journal of Science, and Edin. Ency.) it is "about 22 inches." According to the table in Dandolo's 4lh edition (page 311,) it is equal to 5.95 decimetres, making 23.4257 inches. There are two Milanese pm/nds u.sed in com- merce. The heavy pound (pesn grosso) is of 28 ounces, (of which the value will be presently also stated,) and the light pound, (joeso soUile,) of 12 oz. according to Dandolo, but of 8 or. accordinir to Rees' CyclopoBdia. By the table of compara- tive weights given in the original of Dandolo's work, as well as other parts, (and as also stated in the Florentine abridgment,) it is manifest that the heavy pound is referred lo in a I the instruc- tions, and statements of quantities. But this could not be known from the English or any known translation. For raw silk is one ol" ihc commodi- ties, (and a very large and important one in Lom- bardy,) which is always weighed and sold by the light pound ; and therefore a reader who was in- formed as to that fact, might have very reasona- bly (though incorrectly) inferred, that the weights of the kindred articles of cocoons, silk- worms, (heir eggs, and perhaps all other weights named in con- nexion, in the same treatise and by the same writer, were also reckoned by the same weight, the light pound. This difficulty would be still more increased by the following attempt at expla- nation in Rees' CyclopoRdia. "At Genoa, Flo- rence, Leghorn and Milan, the pound for weigh- ing gold and silver is divided into 8 oz., and the ounce into 24 danari, or 576 grains. The com- mercial weight in most of the above places is the Bame for light goods as for gold and silver, and is called pesosotiile; but a heavier weight is used for coarse commodities, and is called peso grosso.''^ Having decided, however, that the pound refer- red to by Dandolo is the " libbra grossa Milanese " of 28 ounces, let us see the authorities for its value. According to the tables in Rees' CycIopiEdia, 1 Milanese pound, peso grosso, is equal to 11592 English grains. According lo table of Dindolo, the same, or 1 " libbra grossa Milanese''' is 0.7625 kilogrammes, [or 11768.425 English grains.] Tiie Milanese ounce is 2.7232 decagrammes, [or 420.2986 English grains.] Of the several and variant values of the com- mon lineal measure and common weights of Mi- lan, we receive as correct those which are accord- ing lo the table in the 4th edition cf Dandolo'a work, as quoted above. This table stands as a part of the regular work, and may be inferred to be from Dandolo's pen as much as any other page. But should it be even an addition from another hand, yet being published in Milan, and designed particularly for this work, and the values being all exactly stated iu the new French and new Italian equivalents, it would be very strange indeed if a table thus prepared, for such a pur- pose, should not be correct.* Yet this table gives different, and in some cases very different values from any other authority. By adopting these corrections, and applying ihem lo every quantity staled by Dandolo, it will be seen that his allowances both of food and space fur silk- worms were considerably greater than as slated in any knovvn version of his instructions. It is unnecessary lo extend these strictures and corrections farther than these three great clasees of errors, each and every particular quantity named of each being incorrectly rendered by the translator and his followers. Neither have we extended our examination to every particular quantity of other kinds named. But if a cursory and partial glance and comparision may serve as grounds for an opinion, we may venture lo affirm that in all other quantities stated, whether of land, or of money, or in the smaller measures of lines, inches, or ounces, there is as much departure from the author's meaning as in the more general errors specified. In short, if there is even a single quan- tity correctly staled, among all designed to be given by the translators, we have not observed such an exception to their general, if not univer- sal rule of translation. A few particularcasesonly of grosserrors will be staled which do not come under the above general classes. * As this table purposes to give the values of Mila- nese weights and measures in those of the " new Ita- lian and French weigfits and measures," it may be in- ferred that the admirable metrical system of France was established also in the kingdom of Italy, when the latter was under French rule. If so, it makes the authority of this table indisputable. FARMERS' REGISTER. 191 The Milanese square land measure pertica, (perch,) is the one used by Daiidolo, and in va- rious passages of his estimates. This nn^asure (nccoriliii!^ to the table of Dandolo) is ofa hcclare 0.065452 ; or is equal to 782.6035 English square yards, or between one-sixth and one-fifih of an English acre. The value of this measure is given in the English translation in three very ditlerent quantities, and all of them wrong. At page 287 of the translation, the pertica ofthe original is made " acre" ; at page 358, the same quantity and de- nomination is given as only ten square feet, and in several other places, the pertica is simply rendered as "perch" in English, which is equal to 30;^ square yards. At page 352 ofthe tran.'^lation " the 2928 square feet" named, according to the original should have been "2928 square braccia," or nearly (our times the extent in square measure. The Milanese coin lira of the original (the mo- ney value always used) is in most cases slated as '''franc'''' by the translator, though other money values are stated by the lira, as in the ori- ginal. Yet so far from these values being equal, the lira is very little more than three-lburlhs of the /r«nc. Such are the elements of the long and elaborate (and originally valuable) estimates of cost and product of silU-cullure, as presented by the trans- lators of Dandolo !— Ed. F. R. nearly worn out by repeated crops of cotton, was planted in oats. In ijie autumn of that year, the stubble was listed in, together with a considerable jjfrowih ol" weeds, which iiad succeeded the oats. The list was ploughed over, and kejjt l()r a fort- night nearly covered with brackish water. The land was bedded as usual and produced a very fine crop. I am disposed to aitribute the success of the experiment mainly to the flowing, because, though the whole treatment was such as to warrant an expectation of improved production, it was scarce- ly sufficient to account lor a growth equal to that on perlectiy new land, which was the case in the present instance. Salt has been used with success lor manuring coiton, and I see no reason why a moderate flow of salt water should not have the same efi'ect. Yours, with respect, A CORRESPONDEKT. COKRECTION OF ERRATA. In the communication of John A. Selden, esq. in the January number, the Ibliowing typographi- cal errors, all in paire 3, need correction. Column 1, line 2 from bottom, for " lime my corn crop," read " house my corn crop." Column 2, line 27 from top, for "insufficient," read " inefficient." Column 2, line 13 from bottom, the words "this corn" should be transposed, so thai the passage shall be read, "I lost corn this season," &c. Column 2, line 10 from bottom, lor ^'successful spring cultivations" read "successive,'" Sac. Column 2, line 9 from bottom, the words "and is" should be omitted. IMPROVEMENT OF COTTON LANDS BY FLOW- ING WITH BRACKISH WATER. Charleston, 19th February, 1840. From the Soutliern Cabinet. Dear Sir, — In compliance with your request, I have taken some pains to possess myself ofthe facts connected with the experiment of flowing cotton lands with salt or brackish water. They are as follows : — la 1838, some marsh land, which had been TO THAW FROZEN PUMPS. To llie Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. Jackson, Ten., Feb. 29th, 1840. 1 noticed, in the January number of the Register, that a person, who signs himself " Mountaineer," inqiiires "how the Ireezing of pumps can be ob- viated ?" If he will put into the pump a quantity of salt — if the weather be not as low as zero — it will soon dissolve the ice. Brine will not freeze until the weather is at zero ; hence the solution of the ice by the salt when above that point of tem- perature. Mechanic; From the Southern Cultivator, We have been requested to give what we know and could collect from others on the culture of mil- let— with which we comply cheerfully. Millet is the most productive crop perhaps that can be put in the ground, and yields grain and hay of excel- lent quality. In some instances it has been sup- posed to yield four tons of hay per acre when cut and cured ; and stock devour it with greediness — its value consists not only in the blades, but in the stalks, which are frequently four and five feet long, very succulent, and are eaten entirely up by stock. Henry Turney, esq. of Maury, is Itimiliar with its growth and culture — he considers it a valuable article for provender, and thinks it best to sow it about the middle of May ; others sow the first of April. This may be left at the option ofthe culti- vator. Tolerable fresh land and strong is best suited to its growth. The ground should be well ploughed and harrowed, the seed sown and then harrowed in, and left in a smooth condition, in order to facilitate the cutting, as millet is a crop that has to be mowed. A peck of seed is some- times sown to an acre — though a gallon per acre we think is most common. It has been remarked by many, that nearly every kind of fowls delight to leed on the grain of millet, and of course must fat- ten on it. It would be valuable no doubt, for all kinds of stock, and recommends itself to the atten- tion of farmers. 192 F A K i\l E R S ' REGISTER MONTHLY COMMERCIAL, REPORT. For the Farmers' Register. Supplies of produce pour into our markets from tlie interior, in quantities great, and at prices low, almost beyond precedent. Already about 1350,- 000 bales cotton have been received at tbe ports of shipment : nearly equal to the entire receipts of last year. Quotations ol prices in the larije mar- kets at the south and west raniie from 4 to 9 cents ; the largest sales are between 6 and 8 cents. The numbeT of vetsels in those ports being madequate to the demand created by this, and other abundant crops, the rate of Ireight to Europe on cotton has advanced to 2 to 3 cents per pound. The supplies of flour, are also very large, and will be greatly increased when the Eriecanal shall be re-opened some weeks hence. The price oi" flour has declined to S^a" *» 84i[, and the exporta- tion of it is checked by want of vessels. The duty m England has advanced to 13 shillings slerlina per bbl., which, with the present high rate of freight, makes the cliarges equal to the first cost. "Thus the wholesome bread which we could furnish and which would tend to extinguish our debts in England, and enable us to import her manufactures, is denied to her mechanics and workmen, who must eat musty flour lor the bene- fit of her land-owners. I Indian corn sells at 45 to 50 centa per bushel . The tobacco inspections have been thronged , I until lately. Supplies are less abundant just now, owing to the weather and to farming operations. Prices range Irom §2^ to $6-^ per 100, and oc- Icasionally higher for a fine or fancy sample — ge- [ neral sales between i§3 and $6. Scarcely any of the best quality is yet brought to market. Low as cotton and provisions are, the manu- facturing establishments at tlie north are said to be doing less work than usual. The scarcity of money, destruction of credit, and derangement of exchanges, have palsied our trade, and all interests feel the blighting eflects. Bank paper, based in some of the states on any thing but sound capital, hat-; become in such cases almost worthless, and the rates ol" discount as quoted embrace a range from 5 to 95 per cent. The highest rate is in JMississippi, where, with abundant crops, an almost general bankruptcy prevails. The rates of exchange are improving where the banks are sound, and the diU'erence between New York and the southern stales is now reduced to 5 to 7 per cent. Exchange on London is quo- ted in New York, 8 per cent., in Virginia, 14 per cent, premium. X. iMarch 24. CONTENTS OF THE FARMERS' REGISTER, NO. II. VOL. VIII. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. On the necessity for proper instruction in the art of reehng silk . . - - Malaria and mill-ponds - - - - BuUeting for spaying . . - - Practical results ot silk-culture in Delaware, and opinions thence deduced - - - Delightlulness of the climate of Southern Flo- rida. Governmental neglect and abuses, and the means of remedy - - - - Domestic industry and products of Italy. Cal- careous soils for vines . . - Causes of the erroneous opinions generally en- tertained as to the unhealthmess aud unpro- ductiveness of the Florida Keys Seeds irom South Florida . . . Remarks on the soils in general, and especially of the ridge-lands of lower Virginia - Divers things . - - - - The five-field rotation and grazing Separate agricultural publications at the Farm- ers' Register Office . - - - Preparation of manure - - - - Extracts of private correspondence A simple and cheap silk reel - - - Further remarks on the errors of the translators of Dandolo - . . . . Correction of errata . . . . To thaw frozen pumps - - - . Monthly commercial report - . - SELECTIONS. Essay on stall-feeding of catUe - Pens for swine. Manure Beet sugar in Europe - - - . Treatment and food for young pigs Statement of culture and product of sugar-beet, Page 140 141 141 142 142 145 146 16S 168 177 183 1S5 186 1S6 188 188 191 191 192 129 132 134 135 Page mangel wurtzel, field carrot, and parsnip crops ------ 136 Depth of ploughing - - - . 137 Sketch of the causes of the present financial prostration of this country ... 141 Winter lallow. Greg's and Beatson's systems of cultivation . - . . 147 Report of the management of a Gloucestershire ii^hill farm ----- 151 Speech of Dr. C. T. Jackson on the application of geology to agricultural improvement - 152 Report from the commissioner of patents, and list of agricultural patents for 1839 - - 157 Beet-bugar - - . . . 159 Isabella grape-vines — wine - - . 162 Notes on European agriculture - - - 164 Value of birds - - - - - 166 Eti'ects of emancipation in Jamaica - - 166 Cheap steamer for roofs - - . . iQj Method of preserving celery through the win- ter for family use - . . . 167 Texan statistics - - - - - 168 Grafting on the wild cherry ... i7i New York State Agricultural Convention - 172 The extirpation of weeds . - . 173 Culture of mangel wurtzel and sugar beet for stock - - - - - - 174 Calcareous soils of lower South Carolina and Georgia - . . . . 176 Red root in clover seed - - - - 177 Carrots as food ibr horses - . - 177 Agricultural excursion into St. John's, Berkley 178 The curculio . - . - . 181 Cultivation of the plum . - - - 182 An idea of the universe . . - 184 Improvement of cotton lands by flowing with brackish water .... 191 Millet 191 ■>■■**>«— Mw^ '■wjjm.'PULH.ii ijiKJii iiujB jjy.i»i>jm wuh'Mbw— wiwaaw rij^ THE FAR S' KEGlSTEl- J» Vol. Vlll. APRIL 30, 1840. No. 4. EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. LIMK AND L,IMK BURNING. From Prof. Ducatel's Geological Keiiort of 18C9. A very sirikintr experiment, iliai speaks volumes ore's;icourai>enieiji to those who siill liesitate in tiie use ol" lime, is lurtiished l)y the Hon. Outerbridge Horsey, a pan of whose liirni, situated at the lijol of the toulii mountain, on liie eu^re ol' what is ter- med " the JNlaryl^nd tract," consists ofa very thm siiicious soil. It is this, ot two pieces of niound, botli ol' tiie same jzeological character and nearly in equal arable condition, one was limed with filiy bushels to the acre, the other was well manured, without lime, and both planted in corn. 'i"he limed portion, previous to the operation, was le- luarkably poor, yieldinjr at most ivvo barrels to the acre. It promised in the month ol' August, to the eyes ol' some experienced liirmers, to yield to the acre eight barrels ot'corn, which to ail appearances was one third better than on the manured portion. But besides the prejudice that exists against this use of lime, as regaids the incapacity ol' certain eoils to receive any benefit Irom it, it is most generally objected to as too expensive ; whereas in truth it is, taking all circumstances together, the cheapest as well as the most eliiectual means «r improving all kinds ol' soil, which assertion will, 1 trust, be nianiliisi by these two considera- tions, namely, that it is the surest and most per- inanent. IT judiciously employed, the directions being simple, as will presently appear, tlie expen- tlitme of capital in the first }ear cannot liiil to be at least repaid by the additional product ofthe next, and nine times out of ten will supply the means ol •extending its further use in future years. J udgment and reflection undoubtedly must accompany lliis as well as every other scheme of improvement tbat could possibly be devised lor any purposes. Having taken especial pains to inquire minutely into the subject, referring not only to the results obtained by experience, but to the cause that may have produced these results, I hazard the Ibllowing suggestions to the farmers of Frederick county, and the recommendation applies to all other por- lions of the state. Get lime, at almost any ex- ))ense, and apply it according to the nature of the soil as is herewith directed. If the soil is naturally a good one, and under good cultivation, it is ad- visable to apply at once the whole quantity of lime which may be judged necessary permanently to improve it, and this quantity on such soils need not exceed one hundred and fifty bushels. Should it be impracticable or inconvenient to procure in the same year the whole quantity, from fifteen to aeventy-five bushels may be first applied, and the remainder two years altervvards, after the first cutting of the clover. These directions upply to wheat land, on which it appears prelerable to turn in the vegetable matter first, then apply the lime, to be harrowed in subsequently. On corn lands the method that has been crowned with the best success, is that pursued by one of the most ihriliy larmers of Carroll county, JMr. Jacob Schriver, which is to mix the lime in the soil with stable tnanure. Jn this way, he informs me thut he hae Vol. VHl-20 obtained very heavy crops upon poor land with only from Ibrty lo fifty bushels of lime. In gene- ral, lor unim|)roved lands, it is alv\a>s better to turn the lime in with stable manure, and when not so provided, with any vegetable matter that may lie on the suil. A good plan is to turn the lime in with the sod, sow buckwheat, and when in blossom return it to the suil, furnishing in this way vegetable matter for the lime to act upon. In this latter case, the returns, though certain, are not so speedily lo be expected. Those farmers who burn their own lime, should not neglect lo use the reluse of their kilns in making composta with alternate layers of it, and of whatever vege- table or animal mailer they can bring together. These, when [irojierly mixed up, and comminuted, are to be used as ordinary manures. The liare- going directions ap|)ly to ail sorts ol soil, whether they be on limestone lands, red lands, chestnut lands, or any kind of lands, whatever 'oe their color, texture, or other |)hysical characters, pro- vided there be soil enough to support any sort of vegetation. 1 have in former reports civen my theory of the aciion of lime, and alihough larmeis are more im- mediately interested in the results of its appiicalion, they cannot liiil to employ a more judiciously, as well as other manures, when they understand the reciprocal action that takes place between these and the plants which ihey wish to cultivate. I shall, therelore, introduce here a lew simple no- tions of vegetable physiology, and repeal again what I conceive to be the mode of operation of lime. Every one knows that [Janis have not the power of creating new elements, which iliey ai inoct can assimilate and elaborate so as to Ibrni new compounds out of those derived from the earth, air and water in which they live. Accor- dingly, the result of a chemical analysis shows that all ilie earthy and saline matters contained in them are traceable to the earth; whilst by their destruc- tive distillations, they are Ibund to yield gases, that lorm the elementary constituents of air and water. The principal solid constituent of vegeta- bles is carbon, or charcoal, which vegetable phy- siologists assert they derive in the first place Irom the carbonic acid gaa ofthe atmosphere, and from the lermentation of the animal and vegetable sub- stances that during their progress of decompo- sition in the soil also yield tins gas, and is supposed to be either decomposed by ihe leaves of vegeta- bles, or absorbed by their roots when in a state of aqueous solution. It is Ibund that when a plant is allowed to grow under a glass receiver, containin" a mixed atmosphere of carbonic acid gas and oxy- gen, the Ibrmer gas is gradually absorbed, and nothing but pure oxygen remains, and this pro- cess of vegetable decomposition goes on more rapidly under the influence of the solar beams, for during the night the reverse takes place, thouo-h the quantity of carbonic gas which they emit is trifling, compared with that taken up in the day. Thus jilants are constantly lemoving Irom the atmosphere a gas known lo be deleterious to ani- mal life, ihaugli necessary to iheiuseKes. and 194 FARMERS' REGISTER, replacing it by one cssenlial to both man and brutes, exhibiting a most adniirable provision ot nature, to which we must refer that liealihlulness of a country lite, which, coinbinetJ wiih active ex- ercise and the enjoyment of rural t^ports, nialies the mere consciousness of existence a pleasurable sensation. It is also an admitted opinion among vegetable physiologists, that plants have the pro- perly of secreting from the soil that sort of tbod which is most congenial to their own wants, whilst they, at the same time, excrete, or throw oti', that which is best suited lor their own growths. If this doctrine could be well established by experi- mental results, the pursuit of the agriculturist would become a science Jbunded upon an immu- iable basis, and a consistent sysiem of rotation in ciops would secure to him a perpetual recurrence ut good crops. But it must be acknowledged that this is the most obscure department of vegetable physiology. As to the action of lime, or rather carbonate of lime, I can conceive it to operate in three in)por- tant ways. 1st, As a neutralizer of any acidity of the soil wliich renders it prone to throw out asces- cent growths, such as sorrel, pines, briars, &c., that intertere with the production of plants that atlord farinaceous seeds, in which case it may be sup- posed, by a new combination, to give out its car- bon to the growing vegetable. 2d, As an amend- er of soils ; since it undoubtedly contributes to stitfen a loose soil, and gives body and consisten- cy to a porous and sandy one, thereby improving its physical condition. And 3d, As a septic, or decomposer of the vegetable matters that may have existed in, or been applied to a soil, reducing ihem into soluble compounds, fitted to the nourish- );vent of vegetable lile. These 1 conceive to be the most immediate benefits derived from the applica- tion of lime; but it would seem to act also bene- Hcially as an absorbent of moisture, lor it has been ibund to protect soils Irora the pernicious efiects of a drought, and when used lor making compost, its utility and actionare aseasily understood asexplain- ed. When applied in alternate layers, with sta- ble manure, or vegetable and animal matters of any kind, a powerful itirmentation takes place, which gives rise to the tbrmation of a compound called ammonia, and to the production of carbonic acid. A re-aclion soon takes place between these two substances, and a carbonate of ammonia, is thus formed, together with numerous other salts; and the whole mass is converted into a powerful manure. Lime is further serviceable to the farm- er, by enabling him to destroy the insects and the seeds of weeds that Irequently accumulate in the barn yard manure ; for by applying it in its caustic state in alternate layers with the ma- nure, sufficient heat is generated to destroy them efieoUially; and this operation produces, more- over, a variety of soluble salts, that increase the action of the manure, if it be used belbre they have been removed by rain. There is another combination of lime which is very valuable to the agriculturist ; it is that in which it exists in bones, that are principally composed of phos- phate 0/ lime. Most extraordinary results have been obtained by the use of ground bones as a top-dressing, especially on buckwheat crops. It tbllows from the above consideration, that it is a matter of much importance to the Maryland farm- ers, (0 obtain lime at as cheap a rate as possible. Desirous of serving them in this way, I have turn- ed my attention to the subject of lime-burning; and after reflecting upon the theory of the opera- tion, and coiisuliing tlie practice of the most ex- perienced lime-burners in the state, I think I am enabled to give seme simple directions, I he obser- vance of which will have the desired efT'ect. In the first place, as regards the consiruction of the kiln, 1 recommend that it should be in the shape ofa truncated egg at both extremities, with the but-end downwards, contracting the upper extremity, so as to make it act in the manner of a reverberatory furnace. Its shape should be very symmetrical, with a view of securing a unilbrm draft in all parts; and it should be built with so- lidity, of the most refractory material, with an elevation of about twenty-two leet, and a bulge at its greatest diameter of eleven leet. A kiln of the size will burn from 1,000 !o 1,200 bushels of lime. Next, in conducting the operation, which, ac- cording to the present practice, lasis at the least three days and three nights, all lime-burners agree that on the morning of the third day, their kilnS' become choked up by something which prevent© the formation of fresh lime, and during the whole of which they are burning wood apparently to no purpose. The cause of this choking, when the kiln, in popular language, is said by some to be ''sot," and by others "glued," is owing to the accumulation of that peculiar gas which it is the object of the burning to separate liom the lime, in order to bring it into a pulverulent state. This carbonic acid gas, as it is termed, is very heavy, so that where it has thus accumulated, it forms a dense atmosphere, binding round each unburnt portion of stone, and thereby impeding the pro- gress of its calcination. It is true that by urging the fire, the gas finally becomes so rarefied as to be expelled ; but this is the unprofitable part of the labor, which may be avoided by simply throwing some water over the kiln. The water immedi- ately absorbs the gas, the kiln is relieved, and the calcination proceeds as rapidly as in the first stages- of the progress. In corroboration of this view, I have found that it agrees with the experience of several observant lime-burners, one of whom in- formed me, that on an occasion, when his kiln vvae in the condition above described, his hands be- coming impatient at the delay of their expected results, bethought themselves of ascending to the top of the kilnand fanning it with their hats, and were surprised to find their operations, by this simple act, greatly hastened. The efleet \ya8 evidently, in this case, to remove by ventilation the dense atmosphere of gas, as previously stated^ that by its pressure prevented calcination of the lime-stone. Another tells me that under similar circumstances, the same phenomenon was pro- duced by the timely occurrence ofa shower of rain. !f our lime-burners then will adopt the plan of kiln described above, and resort to the simple de- vice just suggested for expediting their operations, I have not the least doubt that they will find in it a saving of one-third of their time, labor and fuel; and by so doing, they will be enabled to aflford this most invaluable material at one-third less than its present cost, putting it thus within the means of a much greater number of farmers, to reap the benefits to be derived from its use. FARMERS' REGISTER, 195 » ON CATTLE. BY LEWIS SANDERS. (COMMUNI- CATION TO THE KENTUCKY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.) From the Franklin Farmer. At no time within my recollection, has ihc pub- lic been so much exciteil and seemingly interested on the subject ol" improving the breed ol" catlle as •at the present. Frequent applications are made to me fi-om different quarters, Ibr my opinion ol the various breeds, best crosses, &c. &c. Have often given my views, such as entertained at the time — those opinions muy have difliered Irom what I now hold — the expression of opinions by those having experience on any branch of business, will lead to discussion, from which truth may be elicited. The general characteristic of the cattle of the United States, is the same as the common cat- tle of Devonshire, and adjoining counties of Dor- setshire and Somersetshire in England, ti"om whence, I think, they were derived. Plymouth, a ■considerable seaport, lies in ihe former county, it was the last port for vessels to touch at, bringing out the first settlers of the colonies, and the most convenient one tor taUingon board such live stock and supplies generally, as would be thought use- ful to the settlers of a new country. I have observed the rattle of the New England Stales, of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, and they seem to have had one common origin. The first settlers of Kentucky brought wiih them the blooded horse and the common cattle ol their native state, (Virginia.) The first effort to improve the breed of cattle in fhis couuiry that we have any account of, was made by Mr. Matthew Paiton, then living on the South branch of the Potomac in Virginia. Mr. Patlon, with a numerous liimily, removed to Ken- tucky, bringing with them their fine cattle, (a very full and interesting account of this valuable stock has been given by Mr. JJenj. Harrison, a grand- son of Mr. P's. and published in the Franklin Farmer, to which reference is made.) This breed was held in great estimation, and was generally spread through the country. Cap- tain Wm. Smith, was a very successful breeder, immediately after Mr. Patton's time. Up to the year 1817, all the English cattle in Kentucky, were derived fi"om the Patlon stock, and from Miller's stock ; Captain Smith's was made up from them. Soon alter the late war, I imported from England the stock, known as the impor- tation of 1817 — in all twelve heatl — lour short horned bulls, lour short-horned cows two long- homed bulls and two long-horned cows. One of the short horned cows died in Maryland, and one of the short-horned bulls was sold to Gen. T. Fletcher, of Bath county, where he clied, having greatly improved the general's and his neighbors' stock. Another short horn bull was taken to the southern part of the state by Mr. Tegarden, and sold by him to the shakers, who took him to the Wabash country, leaving in the L neighborhood of Lexington, Tecumseh and San p. Martin bulls — and 3Irs. Moite the Durham cow and the Teesewater cow; from these five animals (short horns) have mainly sprung the stock of 1817. Mr. Clay imported at the same time a bull, a cow and heifer of the Herefordshire breed. Mr. Prentiss imported two short-horned bulls the next winter. I continued to breed from this importation for several years, and alter twelve or thirteen years, could not discover any improvement in the young stock — seemed to be rather a decline, the impreB- slon was made, that we had bred too long in the same fiimily. In 1831, 1 procured a bull and three cows from Col. Powell's celebrated stock — cross- ing these with the stock of 1817 was highly bene- ficial, which has been continued with singu- lar advantage. In 1833 all my stock went into the possession of my son. About this time, Mr. David Sutton imported several of the improved short horned Durhams. Then the Ohio com- pany imported a number from England, and subse- quently numerous importations have been made by spirited individuals of Kentucky, and we now have an abundant supply of the improved short-horned Durham, the greatest favorites at this time. " All ihiiigs in nature are destructible.'' There is nothing permanent. Animate and inanimate nature, like the moon, is constantly changing, this well applies to the breeding of domestic ani- mals. When a good breed has been obtained, the great difficulty is to keep it good ; to prevent de- terioration calls into requisition all the talents and abilities of the breeder. No people with whom we have intercourse, have given so much attention to the breeding of domestic animals as the English. Within a less period than a hundred years the weight of their beef cattle, and of their sheep Igr mutton, has^ been more than doubled. The first breeder of note in that country, that undertook to improve ihe breed of cattle was Mr. Bakewell. Sixty or seventy years ago, he commenced his im- provement, selecting for that purpose '.he long- horns, with his contemporaries Mr. Princep, Mr. Fowler, and Mr. Munday, this breed was brought to a high state of excellence, and there held in the greatest estimation. So much so, that Mr. Princep refused 500 guineas for a two year old. bull ! — he was offered one hundred pounds each (!t?485) Ibr twenty dairy cows, and relused to let his best bull go to his neighbors' cows for thirty guineas the cow — a lour year old steer, of Mr. P's. weighed 3400 pounds besides the rough fat. At this period (1798) the circulating medium was gold. Mr. Fowler refused 500 guineas lor ten bull calves, (near about the time that Hubback, then a bull call, was bought for eight pounds ;) hif8_ bulls were let out Ibr the season from the first of April to the first of August, Irom sixty to eighty pounds each. Notwithstanding the great value and impor- tance of this breed, brought to such a high state of excellence and perfection, with so much care and expense, it was not kept up, but suffered to run out, almost to disappear. About the time that the long-horns were in the greatest lavor, commenced the improvements in the short-horn breed. Skilful breeders, with C. Collingsat their head, brought this breed toahigli state of perfection, as evinced by the enormoua prices obtained lor his stock in 1810, viz.; Comet, six years old, one thousand guineas ; Lady, four- teen years old, two hundred and six guineas. Coun- tess, out of Lady, nine years old, four hundred guineas, &c. &c. The Durham Ox, the wonder of the age, was sold in 1801, Ibr two thousand pounds (|9,700) he was taken about as a show. At this time the circulating medium was paper, 196 FARMERS' REGISTER the Bank of England siiRpended cash payments j We now posseRs the material; apply the right pon in 1797 and did not resume for many years after- oi' talent and proper judiiment, and Kentuciie same, plan as before mentioned. We generally sow Dale's hybrid, and ihe Aberdeen red-top yellow. We find them the best sorts. We have made it our practice, for a number of years past, lo try all sorts that we heard of, and we consider these iwo sorts the best. In sowing our turnips, we generally sow Swedish in the first part of the soil. If there is a more stifRsh part in the field than another, we fiow red-top Aberdeen, or Dale's hybrid, as we find either of these sorts answer a etiffish soil bet- ter than the Swedish turnip. In preparing our dung for turnips, we generally collect it inio large heaps in the fields during the winter ; and we generally give it two turnings be- lbre we put it into ihe drills. We siudy to have it well rotted before it is used, and «:ive it the first turning about the middle of April or the end of March, and the last about eighteen days belbre put on. We study to have it with as much mois- ture as possible. We make it our study lo collect, all Ihe urine that coines from the stall-fed cattle, and drive it lo the dunghills in the field; and when we are putting the dung out, ifwe find it haa not enough of moisture, we drive water from the nearest part to the dunghill. We consider the dung being put into the drills with plenty of mois- ture, is a great benefit to the crop in dry spring, both for turnips and potatoes. ['S'tV,— Above I send you a copy of an essay, which, I think, should be inleresiing to your agri- cultural readers. A premium of £1 was awarded to it by the Ayrshire General Agricultural Associ- ation : it is from a very intellisJTpnl practical man. Archibald Hamilton, esq., of Caroline, his master has spared no necessary expense on the lands at Roselle ; they are completely drained, subsoil plouirhed, and levelled, and so clear of weedd that the whole estate has more the appearance of gar- den than farm ground; and as it lias been frequent- ly asserted that such high keeping does not yield a remuneration corresponding to the outlay, 1 took the liberty of inquiring as lo this point, of the wri- ter of this essay last summer, when he inlbrmet<»dient servant, W. S, Jersey. Jan.. 24, 1840. 212 FARMERS' REGISTER. STOVES FOR NEGROES DWELLINGS. To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. Amelia. March 3, 1840. One of (he greatest obstacles to the improve- ment of onr farms in tliis part of Virj^iiiia is the time and labor nece?snry to collect fuel lor our- selves and slaves. This, on almost every large farm, occupies, durinij ihc winter months, nearly all the Ibrce and all ihe teams of the estate. Thus we have, comparatively, no time for the accumu- lation of the means of manure, or the distribution of it when made. I will suggest a plan that will secure to our slaves as much comfort as at present, and at the same time save their masters the end- less vexation of always cutting and hauling wood. It is simply to substitute stoves in place of the eight-feet fire-places, which consume a log at a fiiincr. From accurate e.xperiments during the last five years, I have found that a stove would consume, in a given time, biit one-tenth the wood of a common fire-place, whilst the general warmth and comfort of the room was four times as great. Thus the total gain was as one-tenth to four. But to my plan. Let a 40 by 20 feet house he put up ; the base- ment frame or brick, (I would prefer the latter,) 10 feet pitch. Divide this by cross partitions, so fig to leave the centre or stove room 16 by 20. The end rooms will of course be 12 by 20. Divide these again, so as to make of each two dormito- ries 12 by 10. Thus the ground floor will consist of four lodging rooms, two on each side of the stove room, in the centre of this middle apart- ment or stove room, have a cheap cast iron stove, with a pipe sufficiently long to extend throusrh the roof of the house in a vertical position. Such a stove and pipe can be bought and fixed for ^12, or at the utmost ^15. The garret might also be di- vided, if desired, into four or five sleeping rooms. I would have all the rooms properly ventilated, by windows at proper distances. I annex a diagram to illustrate my views. N w IV C w=: D rzd w= D — d d- D w: d- D vi- S B A B, Southern front, 40 feet. B C, Eastern breadth, 20 leet. DDDD, Dormitories, 12 by 10. S, Stove room, 16 by 20. d, d, &c. Doors, w, vv, &c. Windows. Such a budding would cost but a trifle in com- parison with the saving it would effect. The stove room would accommodate comfortably 32 persons, and the lour lodging rooms on the first iloor, and the four garret rooms would easily lodge this number. To accommodate this number of «lQ\Tes, upon the present plan, with fire, would re- quire eight fire places; but I have shown that each fire place will consume at ihe mininium 10 times as much fuel as a stove. Hence the total gain in fuel will he as 80 to 1. Or 1 load of v/ond will upon this plan keep .92 slaves ns romforialile, and for as Ions a time, ns SO loads upon our [iret^ent system. I need not point out to him who groan^^ under the unceasinij toil of prnviiiing fuel lor his slaves, ihe great benefit of diniinishinix his labor eighty fold ; nor need I advert to (he humanity of an arrangemsnt, which would secure to every slave, however old and decrepit, comlbit and warmth at all times. I proceed to notice some (4' the objections which I Ibresee may be made to this plan. 1st. Some will say that the negroes will he un- healthy. This I deny , and I think my experience bears me out. During the last five years 1 have principally used stoves lor warming my f-chool room, (di:rin«i a large portion of the time stoves only,) and I have never perceived any injury from tliis cause to my own health, or to that of my pupils. 1 have generally had about thirty bpys under my care; and the average amount of doctors' bills, for the whole school during the five years, has not exceeded $\5 per annum, and no portion due to the stoves. Again, it is iiotorioui=; that north of the Potomac, in the middle and east- ern states, nine-tenths of the middle classes use stoves, without injury to health. For my own part, I sincerely believe that stoves are more healihv than fires, because of the unilormity of temperature that may be induced and continued. 2dlv. Some may say ihat there will be cruelly in debarring slaves the light of a cheerful fire. If so, and no light-wciod knots are convenient, pro- vide a lamp. The cost of this will not exceed ten dollars per annum, and may easily be defrayed from the gain in fuel and labor. 3dly. Others will object to congregating so many negroes together under the same roolj and to the danger of" infection in case of" disease. 1 answer, that I consider it better and more humane that they should be togeth.er. In this way, by a[)pointing a head man, a master may at night keep hi.s slaves under the best control ; and, by making him accountable, keep his negroes at home, unless ab- sent by leave. It is a sickly philanthropy which induces us to give our negroes a carte blanche p,s to their doings and goings at night. How much better and more humane would it be to keep them, after a day of toil, resting at home, than, as at present, to permit tliem to prowl over half the neighborhood in search of pelf or whisky 7 Hun- dreds olslaves are ruined by these nocturnal visiis, whilst the masters' horses are rode, the masters' corn or pigs stolen, to gratify their passion for liquor, and swell the gains of some neighboring dram-seller. My plan would prevent ail this. Make your head-man accountable to you, that the negroes be all in place at a certain hour, and also, 11 necessary, make him lock the door, and keep it locked, alter that hour. The liability to disease and infection would be little or none, if due atten- tion were paid to keep the rooms and premises clean. We all have old women, good lor nothing else, whose business it might be to attend to this. Moreover, a convenient house might be appropri- ated as a hospital, into which each negro, as soon as taken eick, might be removed. This, the uni- versal practice on the large West Indian estates. FARMEKS' REGISTER 213 when slavery existed there, would he a good plan even at present. 4ih. As to the expense of such a building, I calculate that it would nut at the utmost exceed $500. At double this, it would, by savuig, pay for itsell' in less ihan four years. We all leel that the two greatest obstacles to improving our lands in this section of Virginia are, the lence laws and I'uel getiiniT. As to the first I despair, now thai our constitution has been amended, ever to see it removed ; but surely we may, by judicious econo- my, rid ourselves in a great measure ol' the latter. The plan I propose, i(" pursued, would enable us to employ our teams and hands during the winter in making and hauling manures, preparing for a crop, &c. Our oxen would be relieved from the four months' purgatory they now annually under- go, and in the spring of the year, instead of being, as now, almost unable to shake their tails, would he sleek and fat, and ready lor any work on '.he farm. The farm itself would no longer be cut up with ruts and roads in all directions, nor have its woods pillaged of all valuable timber. Admitting, however, that the expense of appro- priate buildings is too great for many to encounter, the same advantages, though in a less degree, ap- ply to the use of stoves in our common cabins. The saving, even in this case, both of fuel and Ifi- bor, would be immense. There would be no need, where old field pine could be had, of ever cutting a slick of Ibrest tmiher lor fuel. I have Ibund that dried pine is in all respects the best fuel forstoves. One week's work, the winter preceding, would se- cure an ample supply, even for a winter ofas intense cold as the last. The saving of labor by this plan all must see and admit: the saving of fuel will appear to some, who have none to spare, equally beneficial. It is evident to all, that vvithout reform in many particulars, our dear mother state must go on declining. We complain of the tariff, the banks, or the administration, as the principal causes of our present embarrassment and difficul- ties. It is neither the one nor the other; but our own habits of prodigality and expense. If we would curtail these, economize our time, talents, and labor, mind our farms more, and politics less, we should soon cease to feel the pressure of pover- ty and the perplexity of debt. Wm. H. Harrisoiv. REVIEW. MAisoN RUSTiQUE, DV xix^ siECLE. Paris, 1836. Art. — Education de Vers-a-Soie. The "Maison Rustique," a French work in four large volumes, contains the latest European trea- tise on silk culture that we have seen. The writers of the different parts ot' the treatise on the rearing of silk-worms, to which our remarks will be con- fined, are Loiseleur-Deslongchamps, Eonafous, Chapelain, and Deby, whose names are subscribed to their respective portions. We were curious to search in this treatise for the latest opinions and practices on this subject. We shall present merely such views as differ from earlier or established authorities, or s'lch passages as may exhibit any thing of novelty, passing over the greater portion of the treatise where there is general agreement between the writers and their most respected pre- decessors. The dimensions and plan of a magnaniere, or cocoonery as termed in this country, is given in detail, and with a figure of the horizontal plan, which prevents tl|| possibility of mistake of the author's meaning. The plan shows an apartment of 30 feet long, 16 wide, and 12 feet high, inside measure.* There are 4 rows of shelves, (running across the smaller diameter,) of 5 feet width, and 12 feet length. The shelves are in tiers of 2 feet apart, and of course 5 tiers of shelves, or 6 count- ing as the lowest shelf the floor beneath. These shelves, including the same space of floor beneath them, amount to 1440 square feet; and this space the author (Deslongchamps) says is enough to accommodate, in the last age, the worms from 6 oz. of eggs, which is 240 square feet for each ounce. He says elsewhere that — '•'In almost all the countries where silk-culture is usual, the ounce of eggs does not make but four- fifths of that of Paris, or poids de marc; the Ita- lian ounce is still less, containing but 39,168 eggs, according to Dandolo ; that of the south of France is about 40,000, and that of Paris is very near o0,000."t * These measures of length, E.i)d all used incur trans- lated extracts, are French. Tfie French foot is equal to 1.07 very nearly, of the American foot. Twelve j inches make the French foot, and 12 lines the inch.-ED. t This statement of weights is incorrect. Supposing that Dandolo's quantity of silk-worms' eggs (quoted above by the French author) is correct, that is, 39,168 io the Milanese ounce, the following will be the num- bers of eggs to the French ounce, and also to the Eng- lish or American. ."59,168 eggs to the Milanese oUnce (=420,298 English grains.) 44,033 " " Pari? oz., 16 to pound j5oids(fe marc, (:=472.5 Eng. grains.) 40,771 " " English or American oz., avoirdu- pois, (=437.5 grains.) The value of the Milanese ounce is calculated by the table in the original work of Dandolo (4th Ed.) ; those of the Paris and English weights are taken from the table in Ure's 'Dictionary of Chemistry.' The weights of various small parcels of eggs given from our own counting, at page 95 of Farmers' Re- gister, exceeded the above considerably, there being, of most of the kinds, between 37 and 38,000 to the avoir- dupois ounce, whereas, according to Dandolo, there should be 40,771. The difference probably was caused by his samples being of well washed and perfect!}- clean eggs, while ours were merely scraped from the cloth, and retained nearly all the dried glutinous matter. 214 FARMERS' REGISTER It is this latter weight (poids de marc) that is used throughout. Then, if all the worms were raised, (which he supposes to be in an ounce, and as we thinl< incorrectly,) there would be 208 worms to the square foot, (and one-sixth of the worms being on the floor); or if half that quantity only be reared, there would still be 104 worms to the square foot ; a number nearly double of what is deemed safe by culturists in this country. Next, it is to be observed that the passages be- tween the rows of shelves are Miy 2 feet wide, or less than half the proportional vridth usually deem- ed requisite, the shelves being as wide as five feet. It is true that the tiers of shelves are farther apart than usual in the United States, (being 2 feet one above the other,) but considering that the floor serves for the lowest tier, this distance of the shelves lessens the evil of crowding but little. We are far from advising such contraction of space as recommended in this treatise. But pro- ceeding as the recommendation does from a writer distinguished for his intelligence and his long con- tinued devotion to this subject, and having much practical experience, it may be fairly inferred that if narrow passages between the wider shelves were so very dangerous as supposed in this coun- try, Deslongchamps would at least have been able to suspect the existence of the evil. It should however be remarked that the small size of his building, compared to those planned in this coun- try, and the consequent near supply and Iree en- trance of the outer air, through the windows, must be better for ventilation, than pa:=3agee of triple the width of his in an apartment of 100 leet by 30, or more. We (ear much for the results of rearing worms in the large sized buildings which are preferred by the most zealous beginners in this country. M. Deslongchamps was the first person in Eu- rope (though not in America) who recommended several successive crops of silk-worms in the same season, by retarding the hatching of the eggs for the latter crops. His first views on this practice were translated tor and published in the Farmers' Register, at p. 381, vol. iv. This subject he has doubtless investigated and urged with all the ardor ol one claiming a new and important discovery, and aiming to maintain its value by conclusive experiments, in opposition to the opinions of all the scientific as well as the merely practical cultu- rists. It is therefore the more interesting to hear the latest opinions of this writer. The system of successive and retarded broods is universally ac- knowledged as safe in this country; and it is as much and as successfully advanced in practice as which serves to make them adhere so closely to the cloth whereon they are laid. — Er. F. R. any other part of this infant industry. But the proper and safe manner of preserving the retarded eggs, in ice-houses, is not settled, and there are few who would trust to the entire exclusion of outer air from the eggs, as proposed by thia writer. Yet, if he is correct in this opinion, it is of great importance that it should be known and acted on. For by closely stopping up the eggs in glass or other air-light vessels, they would be se- cured from dampness, and might be kept buried in ice, for any length of time, with little trouble, and sale from all sources of injury or loss. Our au- thor says — " We may preserve the eggs, and put back the time of their hatching, by placing them in cellars or quarries, of which the temperature is low, and varies but little. From numerous experiments in trials of multiplied rearings, to which we havp been devoted, we have demonstrated that, in ice- houses, the eggs may be preserved at least all the summer, and during a lime the limit of which we have not yet been able to determine. In every case, in order to guard the eggs from the influence of moisture, it is essential that the cloihs to which they adhere should be placed in glass or earthen jars, of which the mouihs should be sealed so as (o be perl(3cily air-tight." Of the choice of eggs, in general, and the causes of injury from their bad quality, the author thus speaks : "To have productive rearings of silk-worms, the first thing necessary is to procure good eggs. Those produced by each culturist should be consi- dered by him as the best, because that he is sure of their quality and coniliiion, and that sometimes he would be deceived in that respect in buying from other persons. However, wiien unprovided, it is proper, in procuring eggs, to obtain (hem from (he region most advantageously known in regard to the silks they furnish to commerce." The last words are but another mode of expres- sion for the region where silk-worms thrive best, and are most healthy and productive. This re- commendation is very important to this country especially, where so many new beginners will be obliged to provide their first stock by purchase, and from unknown or doubtliil sources. There is a ridiculous opinion generally existing and operating in Europe, which this author as well as his enlightened predecessors have condemned — that is, that in every location it is necessary to change the eggs of silk-worms, from time to time, for others raised elsewhore. On this head, Deslong- champs says — " This prejudice could only have originated in districts where suitable care is not given to the worms ; for it is under such circumstances only that the eggs can degenerate. They may also be improved [from a degenerate condition] up to a certain point, by good care. Thus, in 1824, some silk-worms fed on leaves of the red mulberry [nw- nis rubra, the indigenous mulberry of America,] FARMERS' REGISTER 215 made cocoons of which Ihe hundred weighed but 1 oz. 6 gros* The eggs of these cocoons having been preserved and hatched, we succeeded so (iar in regenerating and improving the stocl< ihat in 1S27 the worms descended from them made co- coons of which the 100 weighed 6 oz. 1 gros 24 grains; and in 1829, 100 cocoons, still of the same race, weighed 6 oz. 4 gros.'''^ This last paragraph presents several curious facts, which may be very usefully applied by the practical culturist. But we have no liiiih in the utter condemnation of the moras rubra (our indi- genous red mulberry,) which is implied in the au- thor's words, and in which he but accords with many other auihorities. We admit fully that this tree is much inferior to the white mulberry, and still more so to the morus multicaulis, for furnish- ing food to siilc-worms. But the inferiority is not eo great as to prevent the worms feeding on it heartily, and their forming good cocoons and good silk. This we have long ago and repeatedly as- serted, and now repeat our advice to ail who may possess this tree only, to plant a better kind, but not to wait for its growth and product before com- raencing their (eedmg operations. In addition to other facts and proofs formerly advanced by us in this journal, we will adduce another of later oc- currence. In the family of Col. C. Hamblin of Halifax county, N. C. silk-worms had been rear- ed successfully in 1837 and 1838 exclusively on leaves of the common red mulberry, and without a doubt being raised as to the food being altoge- ther suitable. The daughter of that gentleman, now Mrs. Mettaur, continued in Petersburg, last year, this employment, which she had gained some experience of at her former residence. She raised last year a brood of about 30,000 silk- worms, under all the disadvantages of a town lo- cation, confined space, and great difficulty in ob- taining food for the worms; and yet with as much success, at least, in regard to the health of the worms, and the quality of their products, as in any case that we have known. The leaves used were almost entirely of the red mulberry. The worms were perfectly healthy, the cocoons of good qua- lity, and we have seen the silk reeled from them, (by a negro girl who had learned at home, and who used a reel made by a plantation negro car- * Tho gros is the eighth part of the French ounce. Of the French pound (poids de marc) 92,64 are equal to 100 lbs. avoirdupois, American weight. The French pound in American grains = 7561 American pound ----=: 7000 The French ounce - - - = 472.5 American ounce - - - . ^ 437.5 The French pound and its parts are used throughout the extracts from the French work. — Ed. t The Paris pound of the lightest of these crops contained 914 cocoons, and of the heaviest, 247. — Ed. penter,) and it is of excellent quality, both as to material and manufacture. Mrs. Mettaur even prefers the leaves of this despised tree to any other, because they keep fresh longer than others after being gathered ; and no doubt also being preju- diced in favor of what she has had experience of only, and which had served so well. And though we are sure that this preference is misplaced, the very fact of its being entertained, after the experience of three seasons, is a strong proof that the value of the native tree is much greater than is generally supposed. "The eggs naturally and spontaneously begin to hatch when the temperature has been main- tained for about 15 days, at from 55 to 59 degrees [Fahr.] But then the worms come forth at dif- ferent times during many successive weeks, and there would be no means of making the rearing regular or profitable. To obviate this inconve- nience, the eggs should be kept at the lowest pos- sible temperature until the time when the buds of the mulberry trees begin to open ; then the eggs should be gradually brought to a higher tempera- ture for hatching," &c. We pass by the directions for the artificial heat necessary to be used in Europe for the hatching, as that is altogether unnecessary in our belter climate. In the genera! directions for feeding and man- agement at the commencement of each age, the weights and sizes of the worms are stated, as fol- lows: " The silk-worm, at the moment of its coming forth from the egg, is 1,^ lines in length, and weishs y|^ of a grain, poids de marc.''^ "Immediately after the first moulting begins the second age ; the worms are 3^ to 4 lines in length, and weigh |^ to ^ of a grain." " Measured and weighed immediately after changing their skins, the worms in commencing their third age are 7 lines in length, and weigh each, one grain." " At the beginning of the fourth age, they are one inch in length, and they weigh 4 grains." ■' In beginning the fifth age they are from 20 to 22 lines in length, and weigh from 14 to 17 and even 20 grains." And when at the greatest size, and about to commence spinning, " their length is generally 36 lines, [3 French inches,] and with some it is even 40 lines; their weight generally is from 72 to 80 grains and sometimes 100 grains or more." The reader in applying these and other French weights and measures, should not forget that the value of each denomination of pound and ounce, or of foot, inch and line, a little exceeds that of the same denominations of this country. These weights and measures may be useful for comparison, to the young culturist. From the figure given of the perfect cocoon, it appears that the worm spoken of is the kind that produces the '•' pea-nut cocoon."' This is also important to be 216 FARMERS' REGISTER. known, as there are very different sizes of worms of the different varieties, as well as of the healthy and unhealthy stocks of each variety or kind. " If all the epochs of the rearing have been passed through successfully, an ounce of eggs may produce 100 or even reach 120 or 130 pounds of cocoons. But such products as the last are very rare ; and the culturist may consider himself fortunate whose crop rises to the first named amount ; for it often enough happens that there is not obtained more than 80, or even 70 pounds. As to the cocoons themselves, they are very fine when 250 to 260 weigh a pound, poids de rnarc* It results from observations made during many years in the region long devoted to silk-culture, that there are good crops of cocoons made when the winds have prevailed from the north during ihe lives of the worms, and that they have becii but middling, or bad, when, during the same time, the winds have blown olten from south, or south- west." The silk region referred to in this passage, of course, is the south of France; and there, from the north, blows the land or dry wind, and from the south, the moist wind from the Mediterranean, and from the north-west, that from the Atlantic ocean. We are well assured that there is not a greater difference between prevalence of the best and the worst of these different winds in France, than there is in favor of the average dryness of the air in the United States, and that of the best silk- region of France. A most striking proof of this assertion is presented in the following tabular statement of the proportion ol" losses of worms sustained in 39 rearings, compared with the very inconsiderable losses of worms sustained in most rearings in this country. "The space required by the worms [from an ounce of eggs,] and the quantity of leaves they will eat, depend mainly upon the number of worms, [kept alive to maturity,] and that number itself is according to the health of the worms, which depends not solely upon the care taken ol' them by the culturist, (which, it is true, he can regulate well or ill,) but still more upon the state of the external atmosphere, which it is always difficult, not to say impossible, to modify the influ- ence of upon the interior of the feeding apartment. it may thence be inferred that it is difficult to fore- see the quantity of worms that one will lose in the course of a rearing ; for, however fortunate it may be, there will always worms die, from one cause or another. Dandolo appears to liave achieved a degree of success unknown before his labors ; but we should probably err if supposing that it was easy to equal his results. The proof of this is, that in making rearings of not large quantity, and in which, consequently, (all other chances being equal,) it is most easy to obtain success, notwithstanding, it may be seen how va- riable have been the results of 39 rearings." "in 7 cf these broods we have had a loss of one-half the worms. * 255 to the French pound would be the same as 249 to the American pound.— Er>. " In 3, of two-filths. " 13. of one-third. " 8, of one-fourlh. " 4, of one-filth. " 1, of one-sixth. " 1, of one-seventh. " 1, of one-eighth. " 1, of one-ninth." If these 39 broods were all of equal size, and each represented (for illustration) by the number 100, the entire loss above staled would be as 1236 of the original quantity 3900, or a loss of nearly one-third, on a general average. We are sure that an average loss of even half this amount in Virginia, would be considered so disastrous as to frighten the most zealous young culturist from the business. Yet, these trials being of small broods, and carefully attended to, (as may be inferred from their being so carefully observed,) doubtless the rate of loss must have been less than in Ihe general business operations of silk-culture through- out France. Thus, the author proceeds, immedi- ately after the above passage : "According to this statement, when one pro- ceeds with 10 ounces of eggs, for example, the quantity of worms to be lodged and fed during the filth age may vary from ten to fifty and even a hundred thousand, if the total loss is of one-fifih, or one-fourth, or one-third, or even of half, the which, in great rearings is what happens the most Jrequenily.^^ We will close this notice with two observations on the last statements of the author, lor the pur- pose of applying his facts to the operations of silk" cullure in this country. First. We do not consider that, as yet, even a single full and complete, and accurately observed and reported experiment of rearing silk-worms has been made in the United States, even on a small scale ; nor have there been any operations sufficiently regular, extensive, and long establish- ed, to show the net profit to be counted on from the business. Both these things we hope and expect will be done during this now coming season, and, thereby, this new culture be firmly established. But without claiming that anything has yet been done, except to obtain and diffuse light and in- struction on the subject, there can be no question of this important fact having been ascertained, that silk-worms are incomparably healthier here than in France ; and that a loss of worms there which would be considered not incompatible with an unusual degree of success, would here be an un- usual loss, and indeed scarcely possible, with proper and profitable care used throughout. This immense advantage, caused by our drier climate, is more than enough to outweigh all our disadvantages on the score of our higher-priced labor, even if there were in truth as much difference in that respect, FARMERS' REGISTER, 217 as is most erroneously alleired. If men, or other ablo hanJs were liireJ to pluck leaves and lead worms, we agree, tliere would be a great differ- ence in the cost, of Ameiican and French or Ita- lian labor. But ourinfiira and idle slaves will furnish labor even cheajier than the cheapest in Europe, because its whole expense must be, and now is, paid for, whether employed or idle. Secondly. When a loss of one-half, or one- fourth, or even one-ninth (the smallest loss report- ed in the 39 trials in France,) of a brood of worms occurs, and li'om causes operating on the whole brood, the damage cannot be confined to merely those which die, nor does the number measure the proportion of loss. Where so many die from causes acting on all, it necessarily follows that all must have suffered greatly ; and that the surviving worms either cost much more in food, in care, and in time, or made less ultimate product, than would have been from the same number in good health and vigor. And further, it may be lairly deduced from the general existing state of things reported of France, that every existing stock of worms has become more or less degenerate, and continues to transmit hereditary feebleness ol" constitution, or disease, because every preceding generation of progenitors had been more or less enfeebled and degraded by the deleterious effect of a bad climate. The stocks produced from such eggs brought to this country and bred from, have generally been made still worse by the heretofore ignorant and careless management. But with correct views on this subject, and proper care, and availing of the unsurpassed healthy climate of (especially) the southern states, and with the remarkable quality of the silk-worm to receive and transmit heredita- ry vigor, as well as feebleness and disease, it seems likely that these insects will become individually more productive here than they have ever yet been in Europe, as well as being more profitable on the whole business. DEVON CATTLE. By Dr. R. VV. Gibbes, Editor of llie " Carolina Planter," Co- lumbia, S. C. There are lew of this variety of stock among us. The richness of the color and the symmetry of form possessed by them are very attractive — their hardiness it is said peculiarly fits them for southern soils and seasons — and their value as work cattle is not exceeded by that of any other. In England the Devons have been much prized. Mr. Coke, the prince of Ifirmers, whose practical judgment and persevering industry have placed him at the head of agricultural improve- ment, and made him literally, the lord of the soil, gives them a decided preference over all others. In referring to their history we find that the Vol.. VIII— 28 north of Devon has been long celebrated for a fine breed of cattle — and that Irom the earliest records they have remained the same in their essential characters. Within a iew years, attention and belter keep have greatly improved them. They are of a deep mahogany red color, (if with any white spots they are reckoned impure) with a yellow rim around the eye, and muzzles of the same color. They are fine in the bone, clean in the neck, have horns of a medium length bent upwards; are thin-faced and fine in the chops, wide in the hips, with a tolerable barrel, rather flat on the sides, tail small and set on very high; they are thin-skinned and silky in handling ; feed at an early age, or arrive at maturity sooner than most other breeds. They are considered a model for oxen bred for the yoke — being light-limbed and exceedingly active and quick gaited. In Smithfield market the meat is highly esteemed Irom its fineness of grain. They are not remarka- ble for size and are much less than the Durham. Several years ago, Mr. Coke, of Norfork, (now Lord Leicester) sent out to Mr. Patterson, of Baltimore, several pure blooded Devons of the finest specimens, and from these have sprung the stock now in that neighborhood. In Maryland the Devons are much esteemed, and several gen- tlemen are distinguished lor their beautiful stock. The Editor of the American Farmer, who has for many years been familiar with stock of all de- scriptions, considers the Devons as admirably adapted for " the Atlantic and especially the slave holding states." To sum up, in a few words, the grounds of pre- ference of the Devon over all other cattle for all the country east of the mountains, it may be said that, for size, hardiness, and dairy properties, they are at least equal to our country cattle, while for beauty they are lar superior, being all of the same deep rich morello cherry color, with a clear white handsome tapering horn, and white brush to the tail, with sometimes a little white on the udder; while lor richness of milk they are superior to our common cattle, and for easiness to be broke, and quick motion under the yoke, they are pro- verbial. Finally, they fatten early and quickly, and will keep up to the mark with overseer and negro treatment and short rations, under which the pampered short horn, so early to maturity, and so valuable on the rich prairies of the west, would degenerate, and fly to pieces! The following extract of a letter received by us from a gentleman familiar with the Devons of Mr. Patterson's stock, gives the character of the cows as milkers. "The Devon cow is not remarkable for her quantity of milk ; but for its quality it excels all other breeds. " The general daily yield when fresh is from 2 to 3 gallons — there are instances where 'hey have given 4 gallons, but they are rare. Seven quarts of a well fed Devon's milk will yield a pound of butter, whereas of most other breeds from 9 to 12 quarts are required, so that if we measure milk by its butteraceous qualities, the Devon which yields 3 gallons a day is a pretty fiiir milker. But much depends, upon the treatment which a heifer re- ceives when in calf with her first calf whether she make a good milker or not. If^ while forming her first bag, she be fed copiously with succulent 218 FARMERS' REGISTER. food or nourishing slops, calculated to distend the milk vessels, and give volume to the udder, in seven out of ten cases a good milker may be thus made; and in order to continue the copiousness of her yield she should be milked thrice a day, and always well stripped ; nor is it less important that she be milked until within a few days of her bringing Ibrih lier second calf. If thus treated with the first callj to continue as a milker till within a lew days of calving will subsequently become a habit with her." The lew Devons with which we are acquainted when in high condition are beautiful animals — but we can give no personal experience of their adap- tation to our climate. A friend who resides on one of our Sea Islands informed us that he has a very favorable opinion of them for our purposes — that they bear heat well, and are thrifty and hardy. Devons can be procured in Baltimore at one half the price of Durharas. The following interesting letter we copy from the American Farmer. To the Editor of the American Farmer : Philadelphia, 22d Aug. 1839. Sir, — In your paper of the 14lh inst. there is an editorial article which has afforded me great plea- sure. 1 allude to the one in which you state your opinion of the respective merits of different breeds oi' neat cattle. As you mention your purpose of writing more fully on the subject in some future number, I think it may not be amiss to furnish you with extracts from the notes taken by me during a residence of some months in England, so that you may have iijcts, in addition to those which I doubt not you already possess, to sustain what I think a tenable position, namely, that the North Devons are decidedly the best breed of cattle that can be introduced into this country. I believe I go farther than you do in esteeming the Devons superior to the short-horns even for the fertile grass and corn lands of Kentucky and Ohio. But I do so esteem them, and a conversa- tion 1 had some months since with an eminent grazier and cattle dealer fi-om Sciota valley tended strongly to confirm me in my opiinon. He staled that he had had much experience with short-iiorns and their crosses ; that there was no doubt of their great aptitude to feed well, and at an early age, and to acquire great weight; but that there, their advantages stopped ; thai they did not bear a journey well. In fact, he found they lost ffesh, when in a drove, about in proportion as they were well bred. A quarter bred animal would drive belter than a half bred, a half bred than a three- quarter bred, and so on. Now, if the short-horns do not drive well, where is their superiority tor the (iistiicts mentioned 7 They have not a home market to consume their cattle, which must be driven. The grazier above mentioned said the difference in loss of weight was so great as forcibly to attract his attention at a time when the short- liorns were in very high fiivor with him. I have forgotten the exact proportionate loss that he mentioned, but it was so large a per cenlage as to make him very chary of starting the half-breeds in a drove. There is one point which I think the western graziers overlook in preferring the short- horns, namely, the weight of beef that can be raised on a given quantity of land or food. The preference is given to the largest animal, the one that makes the greatest weight on the hoof. 1 believe the Devons will make a great deal more beef fi*om a given quantity of food than the short- horns, but it is true there must be a lew more of them to carry it. But to the extracts; — When in Norfolk, Eng- land, I spent some time with Mr. John Bloomfield at VVareham, who has a large farm, a part of ilie estate of the Earl of Leicester (Mr. Coke). His farm is within 3 or 4 miles of Holkham, and is acknowledged to be one ol the best managed olthe estate. Mr. Bloomfield is a man of great exact- ness of observation, soundness of judgment, and the strictest integrity. Every confidence maybe placed in his statements, and his opinions are not to be lightly esteemed. Among the notes, of information tie gave me, made at Wareham, i find the Ibllowiiig : — "Medium sized stock to be preferred as yielding more beelj mutton, wool, milk, &c., than either large or small slock, under similar and ordinary circumstances." Again : — "Mr. Bloomfield's dairy of 20 cows produced an average of lour pounds of butler lor each cow per week iuring the whole year. Strict accounts were kept during several years, and the result was nearly the same in each year." Now although 4 pounds a week may not at first sight appear to be a large yield, I should like any one to try if they can find a regular farmer's dairy of an ecjual number of cows yielding as much. Mr. B. frequently challenged cenllemen at- tending the sheep-shearings at Holkham to match it with any other breed than Devons, but he never met. It may be well to state distinctly that the average of 4 lbs. per cow was the net produce from all the 20 cows, in profit, or out ofprofii, after suckling their calves for a few days, and sup- plying the liimily with cream. Another note: — Mr. Bloomfield's butler is of the very best quality ; this is attributable to a variety of causes. The cattle are of a very good breed, — Devons, — and are well taken care of, being in remarkably fine condition. I never be- fore saw a dairy ol'cows in such order. Great care is taken in the management, as to milking, &c., of the cows, and the method of making the butter contributes not a little to render it y'ood." let another note : — "Sept. 1834. Mr. Han- cock, a London butcher, was brought by Mr. Coke to see Mr. Bloomfield's Devons. Hancock expressed himself highly delighted with the dairy and stock. Speaking generally of Devons, ho said, there are no cattle yield such good beef, except a very few of the very best Scots. He also said he took ten shillings worth more of fat out of Devons than out of any other sort (same sized animals). Again, he said the surloin of a Devon was longer by 5 inches, ihan of any other breeds, (same size,) and that he could cut three surloin pieces out of a Devon, when he could only cut two from any oiher sort. And further, he said, there is this difference between Devons and Scots: the former have less offal beef and more roasting meat than the latter, or than any breed that he has tried. He always prefers buying Devons when he can procure them. This Mr. Hancock is the butcher who was heard to say in London by a butcher of Wells, Norfolk, that the two very best bullocks he ever hung up in his shop were of Mr. Bloomfield's feeding." FARMERS' REGISTER 219 Now, sir, il" you deem the above of any value, you are at liberly to make what use you please ol if. I should prefer your incorporating any portion of it in your proposed remarks on caitle ; but if you think fit to publish it as a communication, I have no objection. Hoping you may succeed in calling attention to the beautiful Devons, I remain, &c. P. H. MISS RAPP S SILK GOODS,- COONS, &C. -CURING CO- From the Journal of the American Silk Society. The editor of this Journal having solicited of Miss Rapp, of Economy, Pa. the privilege ol' -exhibiting some specimens of her silk manufac- tures, he received from her a case containing the following articles, viz : 33 yards black fiijured dres*? silk, 12 do. lavender figured dress silk, 1^ yards green velvet, l^ do. black velvet, 3 yards black plain satin, 12 yards figured satin vestings, 13 pieces fancy ribands, (165 yards.) 4 pieces of plain ribands, and a raw silk handkerchief. These goods are all of first rate quality — heavy and dura- ble. They were exhibited at the public meeting of the American Silk Society on the evening of the 20th February, and elicited expressions of surprise and astonishment nt the progress already made in the production of silk in this country. They fur- nished conclusive evidence of the important liict, that we can not only (ijrnish all the raw material, hilt even the best manufactured silks from our own resource^, and that all that is wanting to accom- plish the great object is the diffusion of knowledst lieat is 23° r, the least 5° 7'. At Marseilles, the mete- orological observations of nine successive years gave an average of 25° 3' for the greatest heat, and 3° 1' for the least. I!. In the neighborhood of Paris, the baro- meter never coniiiujcp tv.'euty-liiur hours without changing. The barometer rises and falls sooner in the western districts than in the easlern. M. .Burckhardt, afier 15,000 hnromeirical ol servation in order to calculate the iiiflnence of the winds on the barometer in France, found that tlie souih wind gave, for a menn height, 27 inches 11.3 lines, while an east wind raised tlio mercury to 38 inches 1.9 line. He also (ound, that the height of the baromeier'ion the Mediterranean shores of France was 2S inches 2.2 lines, while its hein-ht on the At'aniio shorfs was 28 inches 2.8 lines. In the centre of France, liie greatest heitfht of the mercurj'in ihe liorometer, on an average of Keveral years, is 28 inclies5.7 lines, itslenst heiirht 27 inches 3.3 lines : in the unrih of France, the jjreatest lieieht is 27 inches 10.10 lines, tlie least 26 inches 8.5 lines : in the west, the average lieight of the mercury in the barometer is 28 inches 3 lines: in the north-east, at JMontpcllier, the greatest height is 28 inches 5.8 lines, the least 27 inches 6.5 lines. At Marseilles, the greatest lieight of mercury in the bi-rnmeler is 28 incites 7.2 lines, the least 27 itichcs3.7 lines. ill. It app<>ars from the result of observations made liy M. Colie, at 86 ditlerent [)lace.sin France, that along the whole south coast oftliat kincdom, the wind blows most frequently from the north, jiorth-west, and norlh-easi: on the west coast, fiom the west, south-wesi, nnd north-west; and • 11 the norlh coast, h-om the south-west. In the interior parts of I'V.'.nce, the south-west wind blows most liequonlly iu 18 places ; ilie west wind in 14 ; the north in 13 ; the soulb in 6 ; the north- east in 4 ; tlie 6outh-eaf?t in 2 ; the east and north- west each of them, in one. About Dunkirk, ac- cording to the same author, the prevading wind.^ are the aoiuh-west. As, however, the result of other observations difler from those given by M. Cotle, we shall subjoin them. Aceordingto these observations, in the centre of France, the prevailing wind.s are the south- west and north-east ; in the northern districts the south-east wind is most common ; in the eastern districts the north ami south- west winds ; in the, west ol France the north-east is the [irevailing wind ; in the south-east at JMonipel'ier, the norlh and north-east are ihe prevailinrj winds; and at Marseilles the south-east and north-west. IV. TTie mean (juanlily of rain that falls at Paris is 22 inches ; the evaporaiion is frenerally greater than the rain; the mean evaporation beint*' 33 inches. In the centre of France, the averaoo quantity of rain is rather more than 20 inches ; the number of rainy days in the course of the year 164. In the norlh of France there are 126 rainy days ; in the east 145 ; in the west 150 rainy days; in the south-east, at JMontpellier, there are 74 rainy days, and the quantity of rain is u|iwards of 27 inches — a proof of the violence ofihe rain when it does Jiill. At Marseilles, the quantity of rain is rather more ihan 21 inches, find the number of rainy days 57. TIIK DRAG LOG AND COULTER PLOUGH. From Uie Centreville Sentinel. Sir: — I desire to draw the atlenlion ol"your agricultural readers to two implements which I used lasi year in the cultivation of my corn crop; ihe dratr loiT and the coulter plough. I look iheru from the Farmer's Register, to which I am much indebted lor useful inlbrmaiion in my aizricuhural pursuits. Perhaps my uolicms of the beneiits of these implements can be best conveyed by an account of the cultivation of my crop. I flushed the ground with Chenowiih's plough, No. 9, early in the season, to the depth of the soil, and as the uround was ploughed, lolknved quickly with the drag log, whicli jiulverisee and reduces it much better than the revolving roller. 1 then ran over it vviih the large s|)ike-iooih harrow, and checkered it at the distance of lour leet each way, with the coulter plouirh, and after planting covered with the spike-tooth htirrow. When the corn rose so as to be seen distinctly, I ran the coulter ploughs close to the rows, and ran over it ayain transversely with the spike-'ooth harrow. Alter clearing and thinning, as soon as the grass benan to grow, I ran the coulter plouirh lour times in each row, crossing with rank cultivators, and shortly before harvest gave it the same cultivation 'reversed. This wa.? the entire cultivation — I never used a hoc except lor ciearinij. ]>/f y crop was much larger than any I ever made, 1 do not mention the quan- tity, as it was not put through acorn barrel, but ascertained by corn house measurement. I be- lieve I derived much benefit from the culiivation, thoused to the influence of the sun. I dij not say ihat the cultivation I have mentioned would be suitable to all soils ; mine is a li-iable mould vviih a red clay bottom ; perhaps it would liot answer in a slitf tenacious clay. The drag log is made of the Ibllowing materials. A solid square piece of limber, six feet long by twelve inches, another piece live iiiet lonif, of Kulficient strength to bear the weight of the log, to be connected liy pieces eight inches long, he- aides what is allowed lor tenons, the two long pieces to be connected by tlieshort ones, so that the pari ot ihe log next to the ijround will run even on It. Two strong oxen will carry it, and hold way with two fiuijliing ploughs. The coulter plougli I cannot describe on paper, it may be seen at Mr. R. B. "Uariuichael's, near Centreville, or at: my house on Wye. They were made by Mr. Hani- bleion, at Wye Mill. 1 am a very inexperienced larmer; most ot" your readers know that my early days were devoted to a difi'erent occupation, and [ should leel unwilling, from the experience ol' a tingle year, to involve any farmer in culiivaiion like mine, li" any shall be disposed to try it, I would recommend that he should confine it to part of his crop, and they could then determine by comparison the advantages of the cultivation. I have a strong and abiding attachment to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I have been in several of the Atlantic states, and I believe the natural lertility, ihe internal resources, and advan- tages ot the Eastern Siiore are ecpial to any region of the same extent in any of them. We have barren sandy districts, whifh ought never to have been cleared, or cultivated ; tliey have desolate hills and mountains, in New Yoik and Pennsyl- vania, which the hand of industry can _ never improve. I have witnessed with high gratification the progressive improvement of our agriculture ; and if the enormous debt which now hangs upon us, (the handy work of internal improvers,) does not biing ruin and desolation upon tlie state; thu day IS not (ar distant, when the increased produc- tion ofourlands will establish their real value. Wm. Carbiiciiaki>. fl'ye, March 20. From the Gtrmaiitown Tetegrapli. ON THE SUPERIOR ADVANTAGES OF CROW- ING ORCHARD GRASS WITH RED CLOVER. Read before the Pliiladrlphia Society for promoting Agriculture, iMurciil, 1S4U, by James Menae, M. U., V. l^rctideiit. My attention was first called to this subject when reading the late Mr. Bardley's 'Notes on Husbandry,' (1799,) in which he states the bene- tiis (o be derived from the sowing together the two grasses first meniioned , and his remarks appeared so well founded in reason, that I was disposed to pursue the practice he recommended ; but before tryinsr the experiment, I consulted the late Alger- non Roberts, of Philadelphia county, one of our best fiirmers, on the subject, and was pleased to hear him approve ol'ihe measure. My question was, " Which was the best grass to irrow witli red clover V He answered at once, '' Orcharil grass," by reason of their blossoming at the same time, and the orchard grass giving early and late pasture, which was a great object with him, as he devoied his atlemioiito the supply of buller for the Philadelphia Market. Joseph Cooper, of new Jersey, to whom 1 also applied lor an opinion on ihe same point, was equally pronipi; in (iivor of the union of tlie two grasses in queslion. Thus backed, I had no hesitation in deviating Iroiii ihe usual routine adopted in Delaware, and still continued very generally throughout Pennsylva- nia ; and upon the first field of wheat which I laid down, viz : in 1805, I had sown the Ibliowing spring, 12 measured pints of clover seed with one bushel and a halfof orchard grass seed previously well mixed. Alier the grain was removed, I saw , with very great delight, both grasses thickly covering the ground, and nearly as high as the stubble; and late in the autumn had the satisfac- tion to see my cows enjoying ;i luxuiious, succu- lent repast, alterthe fields, vviiich were sown with limoihy and clover in the vicmity had ceased to supply it. But this gratification v^as small when compared with ihat i experienced the lollowiug spring, by beholding the towering orchard grass in lulfblost^om at tlie same time with its compa- nion, and Ihe ground thickly set with both. Re-^ serving a certain space for maturing the seed of the orchard grass, i had the crop cut when u few only of the clover blossoms were beginning to turn, being then sure of perfect n;)aturity of the rest, aiid found that they, equally with the leaver, retained 228 FARMERS' REGISTER. iheir connexion with the etalii much better than when the grass was cut after the clover hlopsoms had assumed a dari? hue. Anoiher advantage attending this early cutting is, that the stalks pre- serve their pliancy and are eaten freely by cat lie; whereas they are wat^ted when they become hard from the mowing having been done at a late period. My experience of six years of the union of the two grasses enables me to say that the advantages of sowing orchard grass in prelerence to timothy, are as follows : 1. Two crops in place of one. 2. Good pasture late in the autumn instead of none. 3. The curing of both grasses in full perfeciion, while, when timothy is sown, the clover blossoms and leaves are dead, black, and chiefly fiill off in the curing of llie hay, owing to the ripening of the timothy from 12 to 15 days alter the clover. Farm- ers will never cut their grass until the timothy is fit for the scythe. 4. Early pasture, even before the pestiferous, hateful wild garlic makes its appearance, or at least as early as the latter, and by its rapid growth, smothers or lessens the crop of this enemy to the products of the dairy. The same remarks apply lo the autumnal growth of garlic. Orchard grass is upon a par with timothy, in point of nutritive quality and of animal partiality, and will command nearly as great a price as timothy. Two crops, and the early and late pasture of the orchard grass make up for the small difference in the price of hay from the two grasses. PRESERVATIOIN OF PUMPKINS. From the American Fanner. We understand that Mr. C. S. W. Dorsey is at this time feeding his milch-cows freely on pump- kins of last year's growth, whicli are in a state of perliict preservation. The butter is of the finest quality, and of the richest color, as might be ex- pected, I'rom such food. His mode of preserving so perfectly a vegetable which, while it can be kept sound, all consider so valuable, but which has generally been found to be delicate and perish- able, is worthy of being noted. We understand his system to be to cover tiie space in his barn intended lor their preservation with dry straw, say !i loot or 18 inches thick. On this is placed a layer of pumpkins, and on that another thick layer of straw, and so on ; and the result is that his cows iiave been supplied to the |)resent time with an abundance of this superior Ibod, in a i)erlecily sound and pure condition. SUGAR BEET AND RUTA BACiA. From the American Farmer. Wye, Queen ^rnne Co. Md., > March 26, 1840. ^ In a late No. of the American Farmer, Mr. Earney's manner of storing roots for winter use, is given. I have grown ruta baga for several years, and also sugar beet for the last two, which 1 esteem more valuable, but intend still to plant ruta baga. As the crops are planted at difli'erent sea- sons, success might attend one, where'the other failed. From my observation the sugar beet at- tains maturity by the middle of September — the ruta baga coniinues to grow till the liest becomes sharp. 'J"o preserve them through the winter, i dig a lon'ii, pit sufficient to contain my crop, and build over it a fi-ame composed of oak forks, and pine poles ; the two sides are lour feet |)erpendi- cular, which, with the ends and top, are thatched with cornstalks, and the top covered thick with the dry leaves of the pine. lam carelul to con- struct the house so as to exclude liijht, wind and rain. I insert a small wooden jiipe through the top to carry off the exhalaiiona Irom the roots ; and the door, which is also made to fit close, is never opened, except to get out the roots. I have used the last of my roots, witiiin a tew days. My cr"p of both was twenty tons, and a trusty servant, who has had the charge of them, tells me there is not more than tvifo bushels damaged in the whole lot. I pulled my roots about the last of October, and after separating the tops, left them to dry, and then stored them in bulk. The ru!a baga is a hardy plant, and might safely have been lef; out longer. Some of my neighbors tell me that their sugar beets were much damaged by the early (rosts of November. J do not intend to put my plan in comf^etition with Mr. Barney's— in a grazing country, perhaps his is the best, but in ours, where the principal benefits derived from cattle are butter, milk and beel' lor domestic use, and oxen for burden, it is an object to save labor and cost. If a Pennsylvania Farmer who expends as much in building hia barn as his dwelling, reads this communication, he will [ferliaps say ihe contrivance is worthy of the country Irom vvliich it comes Wm. Carmichael, BEAN PODS POISONOUS TO SWINE. From tliu New England Farmer. 3Jr. Breck—^owe years ago, I had thrown into my hog pen, where there were six shoals, some Saba, commonly called Civy, bean pods. When I came from my work at noon, 1 found them all sick, vomiting and in very great distress. Not knowing then that the bean pods had been given to them. I went to dosing them with such things as I supposed might be good, but, in spite of all my efforts, in about one hour after my first discovery of their be- ing ailing, five of them were dead. 1 opened and examined one of lheni,and Ibund that all of a liquid kind was thrown up, and the potatoes with wliich they were led in the morning, together with whey, were in a hard lump, and the beai'i pods mixed in with them. Some suppose that it is the spur on the end of that kind oi'bean pod which does the mischief. I am ofa different opinion, because those spurs, when green, are too soil to have any bad effect. I be- lieve them to be poisonous ; my hogs were evi- dently poisoned. Every man, who keeps hogs, and raises civy beans, ought to know that it is danger- ous to give these pods to hogt=, and that it may be more generally known, is the reason of this com- munication. Levett Peters. Westborough, March 3, 1840. FARMERS' REGISTER 229 MANURE} AND THE ILL EFFECTS OF DIRTY STABLES. From tlic Farmers' Cabinet. The following judicious remarks on the preser- vation of the urine of animals, have been extracied from Hayward's Agriculture, and may be accepta- ble and useful to tiie readers of the Cabinet. " The superior effect of putting the manure on the land as it is produced, as stated by Sir H. Da- vy to be the case with Mr. Coke, may be accounted for as arising iiom the urine absorbed by the litter which, if left in the usual way, spread in an open yard, would have been wasted and lost." To show the fertilizing effects ofurine, Sir John Sinclair says, " every sort of urine contains the essential elements of vegetables in a stale of solu- tion. The urine of a horse, being so much lighter, would be more valuable than its dung, if both must be conveyed to any distance. The urine of six cows or horses will enrich a quantity of earth sufficient to top-dress one acre of grass land ; and as it would require four pounds worth of dung to perform the same operation, the urine of a cow or horse is worth about twelve shillings (.93) per annum, allowing eight shillings per acre as the expense of prepaiinjj the compost. The advantages of irriiiaiing grass lands with cow urine, almost exceed belief. Mr. Harley, of Glasgow, (who keeps a large dairy in that town,) by using cow urine, cuts some small fields of grass six times ; and the average of each cutting is fifieen inches in length." In a note to the above, the author observes, that "whilst recommending I he careful and effectual draining of stablts, for the preservation of the urine, as the most valuable part of animal manure, I will also state a circumstance which cannot be thought unworthy of notice to agriculturists, which occur- red to me, to show how necessary this is also to the health ofanimals. " I took possession ef some stables, with the horses that had been some time kept in them, and, to my misfortune, in a very short time I found that horses kept in those stables had been subject to the dreadful disease called the mad staggers for several years. Some horses had died, and the horses then there, and which had been for some time kept in the stables, were in wretched condi- tion. Two fine fresh horses which were put into them were within a few months seized with the mad staggers, and one of them literally killed him- self by knocking his head about against the manger and stall ; the other was saved by copious bleeding and removed into a fresh stable, but was so redu- ced as to be lessened in value one-half. My neigh- bors advised the pulling down t he stables, consider- ing the disease infectious ; but having, on going into the stables early in the morning, been almost suffocated and blinded by obnoxious gas, I exa- mined the floor and drains, when 1 found the former to consist of large burr stones, laid on a stiff clay ; and the floor sunk so low below the drain, as not to admit of the draining away of the urine. This struck me to be a sufficient cause to affect the brain of any animal confined in it, the same as it had the horses. I therelbre had the floor taken up, relaid, and properly drained ; and the walls and ceiling, manger, cribs, &c. vvashed with quick lime ; and from that time for ten years, 1 never had a diseased horse." , The mad staggers is undoubtedly a violent in- flammation of the brain of the horse, produced, in all probability, by inhaling noxious, acrid gases, such as aietheproductof foul stables; for we never see cases of this disease among horses that breathe a pure, uncontaminated atmosphere. Horses which are kept in confined stables in ciiies, where the manure and urine are deposited in cellars un- derneaih them, are most subject to this disease. The remedy, or rather the mode of preventing the disease, is s'o obvious, that every person who has charge of so valuable an animal as the horse, should be apprised of the importance of keeping a clean stable, so as to insure a pure atmosphere, that the lungs or brain may not suffer injury by inhaling ammoniacal gas or spirit of hartshorn, which tends to produce irritation and inflammation of the fine, tender membranes, which line the nasal processes and the lungs ofall animals. The disease called hollow horn in cattle, is in- flammation of theintetior of the head and horns, which communicate wiih the nasal processes, and very probably proceeds from the same cause which produces mad staggers and glanders in horses; to wit, foul acrid gases, inhaled in sufficient quantities, and lor a time sufficient to irritate the very delicate membranous structure of the interior of the head, so as to excite inflammation, and finally suppura- tion, mortification and death. This is rendered the more probable, as horses and cows when stabled are generally enveloped in one common atmosphere, and the disease does not often show itself till the season is considerably advanced, when the foul malaria has had a long time to operate on the ten- der parts to which it is constantly applied while breathing. Milk cows are generally more closely confined than bulls or young cattle, and it is be- lieved they are much the most li-equent subjects of the disease. It is hoped this stibject will claim the careful examination of all intelligent farmers, and it is desired that their observations may be record- ed and published, whether they go to sustain the above theory or to destroy it. Of one thing we are all certain, that to breathe pure, uncontaminated air is more conducive to health, than to inhale that which is foul and irritating to the lungs. An oc- casional smell of a hartshorn bottle may not be disagreeable or unwholesome, if it is not too con- centrated ; but to be enveloped in an atmosphere of it for half our time, during the winter season, which is the case with a very large proportion of our horses and cattle, cannot be expected to pro- mote the healthy action of the system, but on the contrary to produce disease and premature death. Agricola. EXTRACT FROM AN ADDRESS TO THE MIDDLE- SEX (mass.) society of HUSBANDRY AND MANUFACTURES. BY REV. H. COLMAN. From tlie New Genesee Farmer. What constitutes national wealth? What are commerce and trade and manufactures all concern- ed with but the products of the field? A single article of the produce of southern agriculture is rated this year at 80,000,000 of dollars. But vast as this value of the cotton crop may seem, it is little compared with the value ofthe wheat and the corn crop, and the amount of vegetables and grasses, of dairy produce and ofpork, and beef, and wool, that are required and produced for the use and trade of 230 F A U !M i : U S ' R E G I S T E R the country. Ii is impossible to come at any exact estimate uT these maiieis ; but every iiuhvidiial may a|)|)roucli an esiimale by eonsiderinjjj wiiai is ihe exjjense of coilon to liim in ilie year eoinpared AVilh uiiier expenses incidental to his clothing and tsubsisience. We have, it iis true, in modern times, invented another mode of incr«^asing national ueaith, and that is by the creation ol' bills o! credit, bank notes, promises to ;>ay. Many ol us are simple enough to believe that uc grow rich jusl in proportion as we muhijily and can circulate tliese [jroiuises to jjay. Now, I admit that lo a certain extent and within rigid linnls this may be a wholesome ope- ration ; but is it ai}y actual increase ol' vvealih? Does a man grow rich in proportion as he multi- plies his promissory notes ol hand? In private hlij, this would be deemed an Irish way ol' getting lili ; in associations it does notditler Irom this. I mean where it is mere credit; not resting upon actual accumulations, nor based upon prospective lesuhs, which are as certain as any thing future in human calculations can be. Eut when ihese promises lo pay are once made, who is to |)ay them? It' they are c\er paid at all, it must be by the hand ol' productive labor— by the products of the held or ilie sea. W productive labor does not make them good, ihey will never be good li)r any thing. Every bill of credit that is issued is un assessment upon ihe industry of the country. it would have been well ior the public had they been this belbre ihey incurred the tremendous losses which they have already suffered, it would be well if ihey could see it now in season to guard, us well as vhey niay, against the tremendous ex- plosions which musi accompany the extravagance und reckless extension of a system fraught with innumerable evils to the honest industry of the country, and adapted to frame the profligate idler's palace out of the laborer's bones ! Eutiwhen will men learn any thing from expe- lience l What we call the public is a long-eared animal. The crafty understand him. '1 iiey low at night, lo see that all are in. Once a week he must visit every negro quarter after night. The horn will be blown in winter at 8, in summer at 9 o'clock, after which no negro must be seen out of his house. 6th. The overseer will be expected not to de- grade himself by charging any negro with carry- ing news lo the emjiloyer. There must be no news to carry. The employer will not encour- age tale bearing, but will question eveiy negro in- discriminately whenever he thinks proper about all matters connected with the plantation, and re- quire him to tell ihe truth. When he learns any tiling derogatory to the overseer he will immedi- ately communicate it to him. 7th. Tlie overseer musi ride but one horse un- less he obtains permission to do otherwise. And as the employer's business will require his whole attention he is expected to see but little company. Sih. He will be expected to obey strictly all in- structions of the employer. His opinion is request- ed on all questions relative lo plantation matters as Ihey arise, and will be treated with respect, but when not adopted he must cheerfully and liiilhful- ly carry into effect the views of the employer, with a sincere desire to produce a successlul result. He must carry on all experiments with fidelity, and note the results carefully, and he must, when in- structed by ihe employer, give a fair trial to all new methods of culture and new implements of airriculture. 9lh. The whole stock will be under the imme- diate charge of the overseers, and he will attend lo them personally, with the assistance of any negro he may choose from time to time. He must see and )t?ed every hog at least twice a week, and salt and count the cattle once a month. The overseer must vviihout being asked, inform the employer ol" any thing going on that may concern or interest him. 10th. The negroes must be made (o obey and to work, which may be done by an overseer who at- tends regularly to his business, with very little FARMERS' li E G I S T E R 231 whippintr; much vvhippinij imlicatpg a bad tem- pered or !in inatlentive maiiacer, and will not he al- lowed. The overseer must never, on any occasion, unless in self defence, kick a negro, or strike him wiih his hand, or a slick, or the hut-end of his whip. No imusual puiiisliment must be resorted to without the employer's consent. 11th. The sick must he treated with great ten- derness, and visited at least three limes a day, and at night if necessary. The greatest attention must be paid to all the children ; and ihey must be kept clean, dry and warm by the nurses. Suckling and pregnant women must he indulffed as much as circumstances will ailow,and never worked as much as others. Siicklers must be allowed time lo suckle children, arui kept working as near the house as possible. No liliing, spinning [?] or ploughing must be required of pregnant women. 12th. The use ol'spirits is absolutely forbidden on this planintion, unless when prescribed by a physician — not even a Christmas dram is allowed the negroes. Should the o'v-.-rseer get drunk he nmst expect to be instantly discharged. 13th. The overseer is particularly enjoined to keep the negroes as much as possible out ol" the rain and li-om all kinds of exposure, and to see that ihey make goud fires in cold weather and alier rains. 14ih. The overseer must not punish the driver except on some extraordinary emergency that will not aL'ow oi'delay, until the employer is consulted, or this rule, the driver is, however, to be kept in entire ignorance. lolh. !t is distinctly understood in the acree- ment with every overseer, that whenever dissatis- fied he can quit the employer's service, on giving him one month's notice in wriiincr — nnd that the employer may discharge him at any time, by pay- ing him lor his services up to that period, at the same rate as he agreed to pay for the year. ON ROOT CULTURE, AND THE DISTANOKS RE- QUIRED BY DIFFERENT ROOTS. To ihe Editor of the Farmers' Register. March 6th, 1S40. In your February number I perceive that one of your correspondents, who gays he is a cu'iivntor in latitude 41'\ has bestowed upon me a brieCcom- plimentary notice, lor which I here becj leave lo return him my thanks. But he has done it in a way lo produce erroneous impressions in recard to (he meaning ol" the passages lo which he refers in one of my former comnmnications, and there- fore f owe if, both to your readers and myseilj lo endeavor to correct his mistake. In speaking of the proper distances to sow tur- nips, he says : " I think two feet ridges might do, if straight." Tiiis remark he prefaces by assert- ing, as a thing absolutely certain, although it is very far li-om being so, that "narrow intervals," (by vvhicii he means any less than lliree feet.) "in the United StJites, are inadmissible." With what propriety he can apply this unqualified asser- tion to a country comprehending somewhere about 25 degrees of latitude, with every varie'y of soil and climate to bo found within such limits, I \v\\\ not now inquire, but will confine my remarks chiefly to my own case. Your correspondent has misconstrued me in this respect: he says, "1 think two leet ridges might do, if straight.^'' Now this IS mere matter of opMiicn, worth liille or no- thing, as such, to any body ; but it is malter of experience also. Fur, more than once, 1 have ac- tually compared two and three leet drills, not "ridges," which do not suit our climate, (about o7h degrees,) so well as drills on a level eurliice, where the roots have a litlle earth thrown to them as soon as the leaves are nine or len inches high. This comparison was made in similiir soils, and of similar fertility, as liir as 1 could judge; al- though, if there was any ditlerence, Ihe thrce-lt'et drills in the last trial were in the riclust ground. It is true, that ihe comparison was not as accu- rate as it might have be.m, and as it shall be here- atier, if J live, for 1 did not weigh. But I could discover no dilfercnce ei'her in the general or par- ticular size of the roots, although I examined them very minutely ; and Ihe, fact bring indispu- table, that Ihe iwo-leet drills produced in number one-third more roots, I inlerred that the whole quantity was nearly, or quite, one-third greater, ;iiid would, consequently, more than pay lor the cxtra labor, lo say noihing of ihe common opi- nion, that middle-sized roots contain more nu- triment in pioporiion lo their bulk, than those of the largest size. Much of this I admit was conjecture, and of course may be wrong ; but tlie comparison can easily and Uiirly be made by any b(idy who has curiosity enough to make it; lor three or (our rovvfs at each distance will sulfice. Conjectures, iiow.ver, and assenion too, will be found, upon examinalion, lo constitute a large portion of your correspondent's communication. Thus, after saying, ''I have had leaves of turnipa to measure threc-leet frequently, belbre ihe bulk was much larger than a goose-egg," he asks ihis (question, " !!" such plants were in two-leet ridges, what would become of them?" This question he answers hirnsell' by replying: "Evidently enough they would be sm.othered." Now I can truly affirm that I have never seen such evidence, although I also have had leaves o/' the ruta baga turnip to measure ihree-leet in two-leet drnls, but not frequently ; " and nothing like smolhering has ever occurred, /or they had enough of light, air and moisture lo nudce them grow very weil. But the fict is, in reganl to turnips, that tiie largertho leaves, ih.e smaller will be the roots in proportion. Again, in speaking of beets, your correspondent confidenily asserts, that the mangel wurtzel is " far superior lor cattle lo all the rest." In reply lo this, I must beg leave lo say, that he ought rot to expect such anonymous authority to stand good against the numerous names of experienced farm- ers which have appeared in several of our agri- cultural journals, who give ihe preference, afler comparative trials, to the white sugar-beet. To these have been added several statements of che- mical analyses, proving Ihat the latter kind of beet, iiad considerably more, o(" the saccharine piirici[;le ihan the former. Now, if that principle in vegetables be the chief source of nutriment to llie animals fed on them, it inconiestably follows, that your correspor.dera's preference f()r mangel wurtzel for cattle is more a maticr of fancy than of fact. Towards the close of his communication, your correspondent adds : •' I have a word or i wo more (0 say respecting the disi.iucc at which turnips 232 FARMERS' REGISTER. and beets otiijjht to be drilled." He then asserts, that, "any thing less than ihree-leot will not an- swer, and, even at that, it is almost impossible to give them the requisite tillatre, if the preparation is good." I will not affirm that mine has ever been what he would call "good."' But lean truly say, that in such as it has been, I have never found any thing like an impossibility in giving them what I deemed requisite tillage with a proper coulter, a very small |)lough and the hand-hoe, even in two-leet drills, " if straight," as ihey may very easily be made by any one who chooses ti) take the trouble. Be it remembered, that I confine my remarks to latitude 37 or SS'^. And be it also remembered, that the use of the plough in the culture of the root-crops, is every where, I believe, discotitinucd before the leaves of the plants nearly reach their lull growth. From the whole context of the communication which lias elicited my remarks, I conclude that your correspondent thinks we should be regulat- ed" in the distances at which we drill our root crops, by the length and size of their leaves. Ad- mit I ins to be true, and 1 would ask wliy he re- commends the same distance for heels ar, lor rula baga, since the leaves of the Ibrmer are little, if any, more than half the size of the latter 7 Surely this must be an oversight. V/hen I began this letter, I intended nothing more than to explain away what appeared to me a misconstruction, (although not a wilful one,) of certain remarks of mine in a former com- munication. But on perusing what I have writ- ten, I perceive that 1 have been led insensibly into several comments on your correspondent's opi- nions relative to the general management of root- crops, but especially of ruta baiia and beets. Should these comments appear to him to be freer than the occasion called (or, I assure him that they proceeded from no other motive than the one by which he himself appears to be guided — to vvit, the good of our cnuimon cause. Although we difi'er in regard to the matters which I have specified, 1 aijree with him perfectly as to the great importance of root-ciops, and the necessity of much more attention than is usually paid to the seasons or times, together with the proper soils and preparation for sowing or drilling all the di(!erent kinds usually relied upon for stock. Per- mit me here to add a it;w words relative to the diV'Crsity ofopinions and practice which prevail on these subjects. It is ascribable, in part, to the dif- ferences in soil, climate and fertility of the lands wherein our root-crops are culiivaled. But chiefly to the want of curiosity, atlded to the obstinacy of those who unilertake to prescribe in these matters, and who will insist upon the practice of their own particular locality being the best for all. A mo- meiil's reflection would prove this to be utterly ab&hrd. But the sireat misfortune is, that I'ur ev^ry one of our bretliren who will take the trou- ble'lo reflect and inquire, there are probably thou- eattds who will never be suilty of any such selt- anhoyance. Hence the slow progress which all muet acknowletlge to be made in every branch of our husbandry. Nothing illustrates this more ctetirly than the perpetual contioversies in regard to root-crops. Yet a very faw comparative trials \H\\\ each particular kind, as to soil, fertility, dis- tances and culture, would suffice, if accurately mivdl', to enable each more certainly to determine lor himself, wliich was best in his own situation, instead of pursuing, as we often do, some course which, if not the worst, is very far from being the best. Without such accurate trials, disputes will and must go on the end of time ; Icjr none of us can arrive at any thing like certainty in our prac- tice, merely by argumentations, however inge- nious and protracted. These may serve to amuse and entertain, but can never aflbid useful instruc- tion without minute, intelligible details of practice and its results. In conclusion, I beg leave to present you with a brief tabular statement of my own practice in re- gard to root-crops ; not that I presume to ofier it as a rule lor others, but in ihe hope of its doing some good, at least to such farmers and gardeners as have perhaps less experience than myself. I make the statement (or two reasons ; first, be- cause we hear no inquiry more frequently made by beginners in (arming and gardening — nay. often by old f)raciitioners, than about the best distances at which to plant o-- to drill the various |)lants which they cultivate. And secondly, because this very necessary information is not to be found in any one book of husbandry or horticulture that I have ever consulted. Many of them are sufli- cienily lull and explicit in other respects, but all are more or less guilty of omissions in regard to distances. On this subject I now offer what I have culled from books, confirmed by my own ob- servation of the practice of others, and by nume- rous experiments made by myself with moct of the specified roots. Kinds of roots and other Distances of drills or plants. hills. Irish potatoes, - - - 2| feet by 16 or 18 inches, if planted whole, 3 feet each way, if in hills. Ruta-basra, - - - - 2 feet by 10 or 12 inches. Sugar-beet and mangel wurtzel, - - - - 18 inches by 8 or 10 inches. Parsnips, . . - - Do. by do. Carrots, From 9 to 12 inches by 5 or 6 inches. Salsafy', ----- Do. do. Jerusalem artichoke, - From 3^ to 4 feet each way, one or two tu- bers in a hill. Common artichoke, - Do. do. 3 slips or sets in a flat hill. Asparagus, - - - From 9 to 12 inches each way, either I'or roots or seedling plants. Cabbages, - - - - 2 feet by 1 for early kinds, 2^ by 18 inches for late. Kale, Siberian and pur- ple cabbages, - - 1 foot by 4 inches. Cauliflower and broccoli, From 4| to 5 (eel each way. Brussels sprouts and va- riegated kale, - - Same distance as late cabbages. Spinach, - - - - - 9 or 10 inches by 5 or 6 inches. Lettuce, - . - - - 10 or 12 inches by 8 or 9 inches. Radishes, . - - - 6 or 8 inches by 3 or 4 inches. FARMERS' REGISTER. 233 Kinds of roots and other plants. Cucumbers, - - - - Musk melons, - - - Watermelons, - - - Early bunch cimlins - Runnintr sqiinRhes nf every kind, and pump- kins, - - - - - Early garden peas, - Late tall jjarden peas ol' every kind, - - - Early dwarf snap-beans of every variety - - Late runningsnap- beans scnrlet. runners and Lima beans, - - - Okra or gombo, - - Onions, - - - - - Celery, Tomato, Distances of drills or hills. 3 feet each way for ear- ly, and 4 foet for late, both in flat hills, or 3 feet by 1, the rows supported by sticks. From 4 to 5 feet each way, in flat hills. From 6 to 8 feet each way in flat hills. 3| feet each wav in flat hills. 5 or 6 Ceet each way, if quantity rather than size be the object, and in flat hills. From 3 tn 3| l(5et,eown very thick. From 5 to 6 feet sown thin. 2| feet by 3 or 4 inches. 4 or 4|- feet each way, in flat hills. 2^ feet by 12 or 15 inches on level surflire. 12 or 15 inches by 4 or 5 inches on level surface. 4 feet by 6 or 8 inches, in well manured trench- es. 3 or 4 feet each way in flat hills, the vines to be supported by 3 or 4 sticks around each hill. The above table I have taken, (as I before re- marked,) parily from books, and in part from the oral inlbrmation of experienced farmers and gar- deners, confirmed by my own experience, having Jong cultivated, at different times, nearly every ve- getable which I have enumerated. Some few I have omitted altogether, because I have never seen the-ni at any table, nor scarcely ever heard them commended by any persons who had tasted them. It is possible that the whole table may ap- pear to some to be nothing more than tellino; every one what they knew before ; but, lor the reasons already stated, I am sure that many will find it convenient to refer to it, at least in re^rard to the distances at which each kind of vegetable should be sown or planted. Of the seasons for these ope- rations 1 have said nothing, as they vary verj' much according to soil, climate and the tempera- ture of the weather in each month. But many of our common almanacs give the requisite in- formation as to the proper seasons lor plantinu; and cowing in each latitude ; and nearly all the old gardeners, every where, can tell those who are ignorant. There are, however, two subjects connected with the table, on which 1 will add a few " more last words." These are, the best kinds of manures, and the culture especially of root- crops. In regard to the first, I believe myself to Vol. VIII— .30 be warranted by some 30 or 40 years' observation and experience, in saying that the differences be- tween all the vegetable and vegeto-animal ma- nures, when applied in equal quantities, consist much more in the degree than in the nature of the fertility imparted, simply because one bulk, where all are of the same size, will contain more of the food of plants than another. Let me not be un- derstood as asserting that there is no difference whatever in kinds. All I contend for is, that it is far less than some reputed scientific agricultu- rists would make it: and that in many of their apparently learned descants on the subject, so common in our old books of husbandry, especially when they come to speak of their complicated composts and expensive stercoraries, there is much more of quackery, than real utility, particu- larly to the farmers and planters of our country. I have always found that the manure either of horses, cows, sheep or hogs, or ashes, all of which most of us can procure more easily than other kinds, would cause all the varieties of plants usually cultivated here to grow quite as fast and perlecily. as any compost I have ever seen tried, if applied in proper quantities, and at the proper time. I have also found, in regard to all the ve- geto-animal manures, that it is best to apply them as fresh as possible, provided they be mixed with the soil, in time for the fermentation to be nearly or quite over just before the seed which you design to cultivate are sown or planted. In this state much less manure will suffice, which saves labor in the application, and prevents the loss that ine- vitably happens when fermentation takes place before the manure is incorporated with the earth. Where plants appear to be " burnt" by manure, (as 'tis commonly said,) the effect is produced either by excess in the quantity used, or by too late an application, both of which faults are easily avoided. Should these and other manures be too scarce, and hard to procure in sufficient quanti- ties, even for the garden, an excellent substitute may be found in a strong infusion of soot and wa- ter, made about the color of good coffee. This mixture almost every one can procure. It should be applied between, not on the plants, and may be relied on as highly eflicacious in bringing them to perfection : three or lour times during their growth will suffice. Before I quit the subject of composts, let me re- mark that there is one, and which every farmer or planter may prepare, and which I will admit to be well vv^orth makinland, and is called a " haul-to." Col. John Taylor of Caroline, I believe, first used it in our state ; at least I never heard of' them before I saw tlietn on his liirin, some thirty-odd years ago, and I have never been without them since. So much for root-culture in drills, and the im- plements which seem to me best calculated lor the purpose. When hills are used, either for roots or other plants, let me earnestly recommend ihat^ instead of making them as usual, at right angles v/iih each other, they should be so made, as for the hills in every other row to be opposite the inter- vals of the row last made. In this way, although the hills will be the same distance from each other as when they were made at right angles, the rows themselves will be so much nearer in the mode re- commended, as to make a difference in its favor of many hundred hills in every acre. This diffe- rence will exceed 500 per acre, if the hills be made three feet apart each way, as any person who may doubt my word may easily prove to himself, if he will take the trouble to make the calculation. To those who prefer saving a little extra trouble, ta making the most of their arable lands, I would say — "go on, good, easy, self-satisfied souls, as many of your procenitora have been going on for centuries past ; far be it from me to presume that you will condescend, even to listen to any thing I can say in the form of recommendation. I ven- ture not upon any attempt so utterly hopeless." My humble efforts are addressed to those only, who, like myself, believe that the bept informed among us will always have something to learn ; and may always be benefited by the free inter- communication of each other's knowledge and prongs and the eye, and straight across the cutting ends of the three prongs, the plane surface so marked would be in size and shape much the same as those of a common hilling (or digging) hoe. The slight curve of the prongs is about the same as is most snitaWe for a common grubbing hoe. The angle which the prong- ed hoe makes with its handle, is that which suits best for the operation of digging, or which serves to make the prongs strike into the manure or earth precisely in the line of their direction. This useful implement is described in Taylor's 'Arafor,' and also in the account of the farming of Fielding Lewis, at page 17, vol. i. Farmers' Register. The description given above by our correspondent was accompanied by a drawing, which we have takerj the liberty to omit; because to wait for an engraving of it to be executed would probably compel us to keep back the pubhcation two months ; and, moreover, the figure not being exactly represented by the drawing, it would not have served as a perfect guide for the construction. We never object to the cost of illustra- tive engravings, and, on the contrary, would be pleased to have them whenever requisite ; but the difficulty of obtaining them, and the dtday and disappointment in their execution, constitute one of the many drawbacks to the exertions of publishing an agricultural journal in Virginia, where there is no support afforded for ar> engraver — and very little for a publisher of any thing — except despicable party political writings. -Ed. F. R- FARMERS' REGISTER. experience. And now, my good sir, hoping ihat you and your readers may liave patience lo get ilirough this long epistle, I remain your o'd Iriend and co-laborer. J. JVI. G. MANURING WITH GRKEiV CROPS. For the Farmers' Register. Some time last year, Mr. Rutfin requested me to communicate the result of my iniprovemenis by ploughing down croj)s of oats. 1 have been wait- ing to have an opportunity of exaiuin ng a held now sowed down itie third year in succession, (the two previous liaving been given to the laud ior improvement,) and intended to be harvested this year. Two successive years is the exit nl of my experience, and as exact results cannot be given, it is with much ditfidence 1 undertake to speak on the subject; yet, with the understanding that 1 only record my opinions, I proceed. Suppose one acre oCground, worth $5, prepared and sowed with one bushel ol' oats, and th« pro- duce be 10 bushels; and the sowing and liarvesi- ing thus continued lor seven years in succession. Years 12 3 4 5 6 7 Produce 10 9 b 7 6 5 4=z49 Loss 0 35 70 105 140 175 210 Jtp7 35 Land damaged to the amounl ol - - - 2 65 Total loss by harvesting, - - - - - 10 00 Suppose the oats ploughed down when sutfici- cienily ripe to vegetate, and the second growth also turned under in spring, and this process con- tinued lor six years in succession, but harvested the seventh ; then the produce would increase as ioUows. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 bushels. 70 bushels, at 35 cents, is - - ^24 50 Add, improvement ol laud - - 45 00 Off charges seven years 69 50 24 50 Total profit by improvement and harvest 45 00 Add original value ol' laud - - 5 00 Present value of land 50 00 Slock can be put on the crops, sufficient lo pay interest or rent. First case— Original value oJ' land - $5 00 Ori daujages - - 2 65 Present value oC laud - 2 35 Second case — Present value of land - 50 00 Difference in value Dillerence in harvestinfj 47 65 7 35 Difierence in processes - 55 00 1st case — Loss by harvesting and damage 10 00 2d case— Gain by improvement & harvest 45 00 Difference as above - - 55 00 First case — Harvested in seven years, 49 bush. Second case— Harvested one year, 70 bushels. First case— 49 bushels worth - - $17 15 Charges, seven years - 24 50 Second case — 70 bushels, worth Charges, seven years 235 24 00 24 00 Balanced - - - 00 GO I make the charges in both cases equal, because I consider the harvesting in the one case equal to the additional fallow in the other case. Years. Profit if crop be cut 1 yr. SO 00 3 50 - 7 00 10 50 14 00 17 50 21 00 Ry ploughing down oats for nine years in suc- cession, I suppose the produce the tenth year would bo 100 bushels, which I would willingly take as a maximum ; althoush I have lately no- ticed in the Cultivator that a Yankee has harvested 130 bushels the acre. This year I intend to begin sowing millet for improvement ; first taking off rye, when in bloom, for hay ; then turning down the stubble and sow- ing millet; and when the millet is in bloom, turn- ing this down and again sowing rye. As millet delights in a dry soil, 1 suppose it would, on such, be preferable to oats ; but the oats would be pre- lerable to millet on damp clay. I have sowed rye on an oat fallow, which is well, provided it be not on stiff clay; but in this case the deeper deposited oats are apt lo appear in spring, to the damage of the rye. I have known a sufficiency of volunteer oats to rise, on clay grounds, for the production of a crop, without till- age or additional seed ; but such are of weakly constitution ; therefore, I would prefer ploughing and sowing, whether for improvement or har- vesting. My present impression is, that all things consi- dered, 1 would preler oats and millet to any other crops, for improvement; but I deem it proper to state that I have never tried any beside oats, ex- cept clover and herds-grass, and these only on a limited scale. To him who has a small farm, and a supply of dung, manuring with green crops is out of the question ; to him who has much land and little dung, this manner of manuring is in the question. The impatient will receive simple interest ; but the patient will receive compound. Suppose a poor acre of ground desired to be sowed in wheat next fall : then I would now spread dung, and sow oats ; ploughing these down when in bloom — say first of June — sow millet; ploughing these down when in bloom — say first of October — sow wheat. Dung worth Preparation and sowing oats Lose as above stated 7 35 Do. Do. Harvesting 25 bushels wheat Improvement of land Profit. March, 1840, millet, wheat do. $9 00 2 00 2 25 2 25 4 50 20 00 20 00 25 00 45 00 - 25 00 MoUtVTAINEER. 236 FARMERS' REGISTER. MEMOIR OF A NEW METHOD OF PAINTING WITH MILK. BY A. A. CADET DE VAUX, MEMBER OF THE ACADEMICAL SOCIETY OF SCIENCE, From the Decade I'hilosopliique. " I published, in the ' Feuille dc Cuhivaleur,' but at a time when the thoughts ofevery one were absorbed by the pubhc mislbrtunes, a sinL'ular economical process (or paintinelfin(t!rior in quantity and quality. lu this as in most other cases too great a growth of vine or straw is incompatible with great crops of pulse or grain. Lime in all coun- tries has been Ibund an essential ingredient of pea or wheat soils : and where it does not naturally exist in them, should be applied previous to at- tempting the culture of these crops. The kinds of pea most usually cultivated as a field crop, are the small yellow pea and the mar- rowfat. We prefer the latter; as it is equally ceriain with the other, is excellent for the table as well as for feeding, is as nutritious for animals, and generally more productive. In some situa- tions, or in exhausted soils, the small yellow pea may however be preferable. From thirty to forty bushels per acre is not an uncommon crop, and this highest amount is often exceeded. The quantity of seed required i)er acre may be staled at two and a half bushels, although some use only two, and some put on three bushels per acre. For covering the pea ihe cultivator is a very good im- plement, as it gives them more earth than the harrow and less than the common plough. The ground should be left smooth by the roller or otherwise, as the ease of gathering is greatly de- [)endenl on the state of Ihe surface. In harvestinjj the pea some farmers hook them up with a scythe, some rake them by hand with the common hay rake, but the most expeditious method by far is to use the horse- rake in gathering this crop. In whatever way peas are gathered, it is necessary they should be ripe, and of course if very dry at the time, there will be some loss by shelling, but not perhaps more by the horse-rake than by the other methods, and four-fifths of the time required by the two first methods is saved. This, where the land is to be put into wheat, is frequently of great consequence. Once gathered there is no crop so easily thrashed and prepared for market as the pea, and k\v that better reward the cultivator. There is no plant cultivated which will bring pigs forward more rapidly than the pea, if the feeding is commenced as soon as the peas begin to harden, and the whole plant is fed out to them. When gathered and hard, two methods of feeding have been adopted, both of which are far prefera- ble to the barbarous practice of giving swine the pea without any preparation. The first is to soak and swell the pea in milk ifit can be had, if not, in water, and feed it to them in that stale. The second is to grind the pea, either alone or with other coarse grain, and fised it to animals in that way. This ispreferable to feeding whole, as in corn or any other food, the finer it is made the more readily it will be assimilated, and in all cases if cooked into pudding the advantage will be decisive. In England where corn cannot bft grown, a mixture of peas and barley is considered 238 FARMERS' REGISTER. superior to any other food for making pork ; here, closing the process 0/ lattening with Indian corn as giving more firmness to the pork, is pre- ferred. The greatest enemy the pea has to encounter is the Bruchus pisa, or pea-bug, which deposits its egg in the young pea by perforating the pod, and the larva? or grub of which remains in the peatill the period of transformation. To avoid this enemy some have proposed to use seed that was two years old, as in this case the seed must be free from the insect. Others have proposed to sow so late in the season as to have the period in which the bug deposits its egg pass before the plant blossoms or the pod forms. To do this the pea must be sown as late as the 10th or 15th of June. The pea is a very hardy plant, little liable to be injured by late spring frosts, and hence, when intended to be" lollovved by wheat, or required lor an early market, they should be sown as soon as the ground can be fitted lor their reception in the spring. ROOT CROPS. From tlie ftlaiiie Farmer. 3Ir. Holmes : — Among the improvements which of late years have taken place in agriculture in our country is that of the increased attention paid to the cultivation of root crops. Some writers when treating of the importance of root culture have run into the extreme in the most extrava- gant manner. Some writers have gone so far as to recommend the growing of roots as the chief or almost the only dependence of the farmer lor the winter support of his cattle. Now this I con- sider to be a theory at war with nature herself if not with common sense. To undertake to feed a large stock of cattle, on roots alone, through the winter, is, to say the least, an Herculean task. But good agriculture requires that grass crops be grown ibr the benefit of the soil. The Itirmer who does not often change from grass to tillage, and from tillage to grass, is at war with vital prin- ciples and his lands will in a short time suffer for lack of fertility. To cultivate roots largely is ex- cellent husbandry; but the scythe, the rake, and the pitchfork should not be neglected. In No. 7, of the Farmer your correspondent, "A. F." endeavors to prove the superiority of corn, grain, roots, &c. compared with hay as food for cattle. If a pro- per rotation of crops is absolutely necessary in or- der to preserve the fertility of the soil, no further argument is wanted to show the propriety ol'lar^ely cultivating grass crops. But let us talk of the profits of grass crops as we go along. Our soil and climate in Maine are admirably adapted to the growing of grass crops. How much hay may be raised to the acre and what is hay worth per ton. Land under the hand of the skilful farmer may be made to yield four tons per acre and is worth ten dollars per ton to the farmer who keeps none but animals of a superior quality ; to the farmer who keeps inferior stock hay is not worth six dollars per ton. Four tons of hay per acre, at 10 dollars per ton, give 40 dollars; and when we lake into the account the small amount oi'labor necessary to cut and secure the hay crop,and the accession of fertility to the soil J there is an income suflicient to satiety eve- ry calculating farmer. There is more nutriment in hay than many farmers imagine ; ruta baga is not worth as much pound for pound as hay for keeping stock. Some farmers are to be found who think that to raise roots for stock is consummate ibily. Now this is running into the extreme the other wa}'. Every fiirmer should grow roots to i'ecd his slock through the winter and increase 1»ie quantity of his hay crops by every possible means. How many bushels of ruta baga are equa.' to a ton of hay? say 200 bushels. This makes the ruta baga worth otdy 3 cts. a bushel, if hay is worth only 6 dollars a ton. But some farmers have valued their ruta baga at 20, 25 and even 30 cts. a bushel, and then iriumphant'y told the public what tremendous profits per acre they had realized. I think my experience has proved that a ton of good hay contains as much nutriment as 200 bushels of ruta baga. Now let us make some calculations as to piofils ; an acre of land that will yield 4 tons of hay will yield 1600 bushels ruta baga which at three cents per bushel will give a profit per acre of 48 dollars (not bringing labor in- to the account), but suppose that l^ ton ot'hay and 50 bushels ruta baga will keep a cow through the winter in as good, or better condition than with 2 tons of hay without roots ; this will raise the value of ruta baga to 6 cents a bushel, and the profit per acre to 96 dollars. Roots aid in digesting the dry Ibod, and in that case the animal receives more nour- ishment. Perhaps it may be found most profitable to feed our neat stock, in the proportion of 3 or 4 of dry fodder to one of" roots. But ruta baga is worth still more lor sheep and is most excellent for horses. Three bushels ruta baga given to horses will save to the farmer one bushel of oats; this will raise the value of ruta baga to about 11 cents per bushel, and the profit per acre to about 176 dollars. Potatoes are much better food than ruta baga, for neat slock except milch cows, and and for these, potatoes are preferable if they are cooked. Now let fair experin)ents demonstrate which are most profitable, beets or carrots. For milch cows beels and carrols (especially when cooked) are excellent. Of all roots the beet is most palatable ; the hog is very fond of good liv- ing, the more his appetite is gratified, the more he will thrive. It may be important to ascertain which contains the most nutriment, the beet or the car- rot, bushel Ibr bushel 1 which makes the most pa- latable pork? the richest milk? which root is most easily raised ? Except on light soils, I think the beet will yield a greater product than the carrot. I will not say at this time, what kind cf beet, whether the red beet, the sugar beet, or mangel wurtzel beet is to be preferred, but experiment can determine the case. A gentleman of Penobscot county says, " Has it not been proved to demonstration that beets are unfit as ibod for hogs." I should be glad to examine the gentleman's demonstration, and as- certain whether it is really logical or fallacious. Hogs in Oxford county will eat beets greedily and thrive very well. Now suppose that 1600 bushels of beets may be raised upon an acre, which 1 verily believe can be done, and if worth 12^ cents per bushel to feed or fatten swine, will give a pro- fit of 200 dollars per acre. To profitably raise beets, carrots, &c. the soil should be thoroughly cultivated and manured. I would rather hear a farmer tell how Bkillfully he manages his beets, FARMERS' REGISTER. 23^ carrots, &c. than to hear him boast how many acres he cultivates in such crops. In a few years we can demonstrate which are best for swine, beets or carrots. Although I think it an evidence of a good farmer to cultiva1«i roots largely, still 1 think that Indian corn should have its proper share of manure, for in our stale, corn crops unaided by manure must be exceedingly light. Perhaps there may be at this time some diversity of opinions among farmers in regard to root culture, but well directed experiments will cor- rect all errors and establish liicta whether theore- tical or practical. R. Humford, March, 1840. CULTURE OF RAPE. From the Cultivator. We are not aware that any efforts have been made in this country to introduce the culture of rape, which in England and on the continent is deemed one of the most valuable of crops, and enters extensively into all their systems of rotation. According to Decandolle, there are two kinds of this plant ; one the Brassica napus, the one com- monly cultivated in Great Britain; and the Brassica campestris, the one usually grown on the continent, and according to him the most produc- tive. In England it is frequently called coleseed, and in France and Germany co/sa, but in boih countries is highly prized for the excellence of the oil lis seeds yield, and the value of the rape cake for feeding animals, its qualities in this respect resembling the oil cake from linseed. According to Decandolle, the B. campestris has a rough, the B. napus, a smooth leaf. Rape, as its name Brassica indicates, belongs to the cabbage or turnip family, but it never heads like the former, and its roots are of little value compared with the latter, yet it forms an excellent green crop for feeding sheep, and when grown for its seeds, is excelled in profit by few other crops. It is biennial, that is, it requires two years to complete its growth, and ripen its seeds ; being sown in July, and perfecting its seeds in the August of the coming year. When used for latiening sheep, the plants are fed off' green in the fall, in the same manner as the turnip. According to Loudon, the place which a rape occupies in a rotation, is between two culmiferous or grain crops. "On rich soils it may be succeeded to the greatest advantage by wheat, as it is found to be an excellent preparation for that sort of grain ; and by its being taken off' early, there is sufficient time allowed Ibr getting the land in order for sowing wheat." The preparation of the land for rape is the same as that required for cabbages or turnips, and the Boil which suits the last will be the best for the first of these plants. It may be sown broad cast or in drills; suffered to stand where sown, or be sown in beds and transplanted, but in any case the ground must be kept clear of weeds, and the plants properly hoed and thinned. The mode of culture is essentially the same as that of the turnip. When grown as food for sheep it is sown earlier, is fed off' by animals on the ground, as the turnip, and wheat is sown immediately after ; when grown for seed, it is sown later, and the seed being gathered in July or August, wheat follows. In Notes on the Aiiriculture of Germany, by- Mr. Carr, an English gentleman, he says the aftea' course is as follows : 1 year, fallow, well dunged. 2 " rape. 3 " wheat. 4 " barley. 5 " peas/light dunging. 6 " rye. 7 " oats, with rye, or timothy grass seeds, and red clover. The clover and peas plastered in May. The clover is mown twice for hiiy, and left two years Ibr pasture, when it is heavily manured, fallowed, and again sown with rape. " The rape seed is sown broad cast in the last of July or first of August. This crop is greatly benefited the fol- lowing spring by dusting gypsum over it, about one hundred pounds to the acre. In July the seed is ripe, and as the weather is generally fine, ia trodden out by horses very expeditiously on large canvass sheets in the field. The oil of this seed pressed out, when purified, is without smell, gives a brilliant, clear burning flame, and is universally used all over Germany, in the saloon of the rich and the cottage of the poor. The value of the crop is somewhat precarious, because it is subject to so many contingencies ; the turnip fly, and caterpillar prey upon it when young, and when in flower, a small beetle (Haltica nemormn) often eats away the blossom bud, or lays its minute lar- va? in the petals, ultimately furnishing every seed pod with a maggot, which either eats the seeds away, or forcing the pod open when nearly ripe, causes it to fall out. When spared these calami- ties, it is, however, a very remunerating crop, worth from lOZ. to20Z. an acre, especially if there is a foreign demand. The straw is generally burn- ed, and the ashes scattered over the field ; it is sometimes sold to the soapraakers, who prize it highly. Two furrows are now given for wheat sown broad cast in September." We can see but one serious obstacle to the cul- ture of rape in the northern states, and that is the rigor of our winters, which might endanger the safety of the plants ; an obstacle of course that would not exist farther south. That it would be valuable, could it be safely cultivated, there can be no doubt ; the oil and the cake would insure such a result. In many instances, on good lands, the proceeds of the first crop have more than equal- led the price of the land. If any of our readers have attempted the culture of this plant, we should be pleased to learn the result, that we may give it a place in the Cultivator. THE GARGET. From the Mamc Farmer. 3fr. Holmes :— In No. 5, vol. 8, of the Farmer, Mr. Henry Butman notices a piece written by me over the signature of J. W. in a former number, wherein he makes me the author of the notion that tar applied to the noses of cattle subject to the gar- get at certain seasons, was a preventive. In that piece I adverted to an article which appeared in vol. 6, number 10, where it is said that an experi- enced farmer in Litchfield had made the discovery. 240 FARMERS' REGISTER, I v?rote to inquire who he xvap, whether ihe au- thor was known, whether he was to be attended *o or not, as grood authority, — how much tar was to he used, and if he ever knew a poor milker to beafliected with it, &c. &c. I did remark that if a preventive so simple, and so easily applied, was a sure one, it was a valuable discovery. Rut 1 doubted then, and now doubt, as well as Mr. B. I had no idea that so discerninfr a man as Mr. Butman would take me to be the author of that prescription, nor will he if he reads affain. I am always pleased with his remarks, lor he is not afraid to intimate something new. This he has done, in doubting or denying that such a disorder . that called garget exists \n cattle. But in the same breath he urges the adoption of a preven- tive, which is more frequent milking when highly fed. A good milker's bag will become distended — the milk curdled, and oi' course she is injured, and if he had said that the disorder called garget by common consent, (Mr. Butman excepted) is thus produced, there would have been less ano- maly in his logic. Pray, Mr. Butman, do not disorders always arise from a cause— hiuh keep, or something else? I had so believed. 1 am aware that certain things are seen in animals which do not produce injury, such as the turning of the fluids or secretions of the body, if I may so express myself, to bone, hoofs, nails, wool, hair, horns and the like; this is the order of Providence, and not similar to a wound by a sharp instrument, or the disorder called the "garget, produced by high feed, &c. There is o-enerally much in Mr. Butman's remarks as published, worthy of no- tice, and the piece alluded to, about our allowing our cattle to injure one another with their horns, when it may be so easily prevented, is of conse- quence. 1 hope we shall yet hear from the Litchfield correspondent. J. W. N. B. If the public had chosen to give the name garget to that disease of the cow, manifest- ed by an enlarged hag, caused by high feed or the want of beinir milked often enough, I doubt if Mr. Butman or 1 can hinder it. A SELF-MADE MAN — THE I.ATE JUDGE BUEL. [From the Eulogy on liis life and character, pronounced before the New York State Agricultural Society, Feb. 5, 1840. By A. Dean, Esq. of Albany.] The subject of these remarks was born in Cov- entry, in the JStaie of Connecticut, on the fourth day of January, 1778. He was the last born, and the last that has died, of a family of fourteen chil- dren. His fiither, Elias Buel, held the commission of major in the war of our revolution, and was a fair sample of the plain, unassuming, straight-for- ward character of the New England farmer. As an instance in proof that the end of the good man is peace, it deserves to be mentioned, that (he advanced years and declining strength of this ex- cellent sample of New-Ensiand's earlier popula- tion, together with his aged consort, received for the last five years of their lives their stay and sup- port from the filial affections of their youngest child ; until, fully matured, and at the advanlied age of 86 years, they both left this world, and as if their union had become indissoluble by bonds that had been lightened by nearly three fourths of a century, ihey left it within the brief period of six weeks of each other. When he had arrived at the age of twelve years, the family, including himselt; moved from Coven- try to Rutland, Vermoni, and two years afterwards, when he had completed the age of lburteen,he be- came an apprentice to the printing business, in the office of Mr. Lyons, in Rutland. The young apprentice distinguished the first four years of his term by a close, assiduous, and unre- mitted attention to the attainment of the priming art. In June. 1797, he formed a connexion in busi- ness with Mr. Moflit, of Troy, and commenced the publication of the Troy Budget. Tnis was conti- nued until September, 1801, when, at the age of twenty-three, he married Miss Susan Pierce, of Troy, and immediately moved to Poughkeepsie, where, in connexion with Mr. Joiner, he com- menced the publication of a weekly paper, called the Guardian. This was continued about, a year; after which, he entered into another co-partner- ship, and commenced the publication of the Politi- cal Barometer. Tiiis last proved to be an unfor- tunate business connexion ; and after about a year's continuance, either through the mismanagement or dishonesty of his partner, he found himself re- duced to utter bankruptcy. This is, I am sorry to say, rather a common his- tory; and man}', thus situated, abandon hope, and yield themselves up to liatal despondency. Not so Judge Buel. Wiih the unshaken assurance of success which naturally results li"om the firm de- termination to deserve it, he saw, with apparent indifference, the slow, labored, and rather scanty accumulations of some six or seven years sudden- ly swept from him ; and read, in this lesson of mu- tability, at least the chance of elevation, as well aa depression, in individual condition. He never, for one moment, lost confidence in the general inte- grity of men, nor in the ultimate success of industry and application. He left Poughkeepsie and re- moved to Kingston, where he established a weekly paper called the Plebeian. Here he continued du- ring the period of ten years, li-om 1803 to 1813, ap- plying himself with diligence and activity to his business. During a part of this time, he sustained with reputation the office of Judge, in the Ulster county court ; and by his persevering industry, and well directed application, he not only retrieved his losses, but also acquired some considerable real and personal estate. In 1813, his reputation as an editor and a man having made him favorably known to the pub- lic, he was induced, through the exertions of Judge Spencer and some others, to remove to the city of Albany, and to commence the Albany Argus. The next succeeding year, 1814, he was appointed printer to the state, the duties of which, together with the editorship of the Arffus, he continued to discharge until the year 1820 ; at which time he sold out with the determination to abandon the printing business. It is worthy of remark, that while engaged in this business he always performed himself the labor essential to its successful prosecution. He was always the setter of his own types, and until he came to Albany, the worker of his own press. Is there not something in the very nature of the printing art, that tends to originate and perpetuate FARMERS' REGISTER 241 habits of severer industry than any other occupa- tion or calling? Afier disposing of his printing establishment and business, lie purchased a liirm of eiglhy-five acres of land near llie cily of Albany, which then helped to compose that tract of land lying west ol the cily, and appropriately denominated the "San- dy Barrens." That which, ibr some years past, has been so extensively and fiivorably known as the "Albany Nursery," then lay an open common, unimproved, covered wilh bushes, and apparently <]oomed to everlasting sterility. These unpromis- ing appearances, whicli, lo a common mind, would have presented insuperable obstacles, served to in- crease the eHorts, rather than damp the ardor, of Judge J3uel. Dilliculties, hindrances, obstruc- tions, were with him everyday lamiliars. His mind had been in some measure lormed under their in- fluence. He recoj^nized and acted on the doctrine, that where Gcd has done little, it is incumbent on man to do much ; and that nothing in this world is ever lost by couriingsituations that require the ex- penditure of unremitted eHort. Man was made to labor, both corporeally and mentally, and his happiness in life depends much more than he is generally aware of, on the strict obedience which he yields to his primal law of his being. On this farm he continued to reside until the time of his death. Under his untiring and well di- rected industry, the most unpromising indications, soon disap[)eared, and as a practical commentary upon the truth of his agricultural doctrine, and in proof that he in reality practised what he preached, it may be mentioned that the same acre of land, which in 1821 he purchased ibr §30 is now worth, at a moderate estimate, §200. While residing on liis farm, since 1821, he has several times represented the city and county of Albany in the popular branch of the Legislature of this state ; has been ibr several years, and was at the time of his death, a regent of the University; and in the lall of 1836 received the whig support as iheir candidate ibr the office of Governor ol'the state of New York. He retired to his farm at the age of lorty-three ; a period of life when the mind has attained the full maturity of its varied powers. He carried with him a sound body, the result of a good original constitution, of strictly temperate habits, and much active exercise in the prosecution of his business; and a mind well stored with valuable information, of a character the most available lor the common uses and purposes of life. So iar as his pecuniary circumstances were concerned, he might, at this period of time, have been justified in dispensing with further labor, either of body or mind. He was no longer compelled to act under the spur of ne- cessity. But his ready perceptions, and accurate leelings, convinced him of a truth, which others are often doomed to acquire from a sad experience — that a liie of labor is, of all other kinds of lile, the last that should be terminated by an aoe of in- activity. Men violate the laws impressed by God upon the condition of things, when they assign to their declining years an inglorious ease in the ex- penditure of that Ibriune. which the successful in- dustry of their manhood had accumulated. There is also in all highly gifted minds, that are endow- ed with clear, strong intellect, combined with con- ecienciousness, a deep leeling of responsibility Ibr the due exercise of their powers, in a manner the Vot,. VHI— 31 most advantageous to their fellow-men. God has placed a double safeguard over the advancement of man, by leaving ihe means that conduce to it in charge both of the impulses that originate from sell; and of the promptings derived Hum liis high moral nature. The mind of Judge Buel fortunately had the sa- gacity to perceive both where his industry was the most required, and could be rendered the most available. Of the tliree great interests that divide between them the labors of men, viz -.—the agri- cultural, the mechanical and manufiacturing, and Ihe commercial, it is not difficult to perceive that the first has long been the most important, and the most neglected. The last, or commerce, is much dependent on the other two, and may always be expected to flourish where either agriculture or mechanical and manufacturing arts yield their mul- titude of producls. Between the other two there is a mutual dependence ; agriculture furnishes the support of life, the mechanic arts, in their turn, supplying the inslrumenis of agriculture. Of these two, Ihe mechanicarts had received reiativelymuch ihe most attention. To advance them, man's in- genuity and inventive powers had been severely tasked ; and science was required to furnish its contributions; and the devising and employment of labor-saving machinery attested, and in a varie- ty of instances, the triumphs of mind over the in- ert materials every vviiere abounding in nature. — But while the mechanic and manuliicluring arts was thus prospering, agriculture was allowed to labor on unaided, and unenlightened in the know- ledge of itself. The new and virgin earth on this continent, that had been for ages rearing and re- ceiving back into its bosom the tall tree of the for- est, and the waving grass of the prairie, required, at first, in many places, but a small quantity of la- bor 10 ensure ample returns. When the soil began to give evidence of exhaustion, instead of attempt- ing its restoration, new fields were brought under the dominion of the plojgh. The great mass of agricultural population, so far as their business was concerned, were litlle more than creatures of ha- bit. Men lived, and labored, and trod the same paths, and pefbrmed the same circles of action, with scarcely a single well settled principle for their guide, except that the same field ought not to be taxed to grow two successive crops of flax. The principal, and almost the sole opject in view, was to realize as great immediate returns as possible from the smallest amount of labor, without any re- gard whatever to the exhausted condition in which they might leave the soil ; much like the traveller, who seeks the rapid accomplishment of a long jour- ney, by 'driving so far the first day as to destroy his horse. The new system of agriculture, wilh which the name and reputation of Judge Buel is essentially indentified, consists in sustaining and strengthening ihe soil, while ils productive qualities are put in- to requisition ; in rendering the iarm every year more valuable, by annually increasing both its pro- ducts and its power of producing; like the travel- ler, who instead of destroying his horse the first day, should so regulate his motion, and administer his supplies of Ibod, as to enable him to make addi- tional pr'ogress every successive day, until the com- pletion of his journey. This new system— new I mean in this country — has been principally carried into eftect by manuring, by draining, by good till- 242 FARMERS' REGISTER. age, by alternating crops, by root cullure, and by the substitution of fallow crops lor naked fallows. The edbrts ol" Judge Buel have irreatly tended to make lionorable, as well as profiiable and im- proving, the pursuits of agriculture. He clearly perceived that to render the larming interest pros- perous, it must stand high in the pul)lic estmia- tion. So long as it was conceded to be an occupa- tion tliat required little more than mere iiabil to Ibl- Jow, and that it was inditf'erent to success, whe- ther the man possessed great intellectual power, or a mind on a level with the ox he drove, it could not be expected that any would embark in it unless necessity compelled them, or the very moderate extent of their mental bestowment precluded any reasonable chance oC success in any other. He taught men that agricultural prosperitj- resulted neither from habit nor chance ; that success was subject to the same law in this, as in other depart- menie of industry, and belbre it could be secured, must be deserved ; that mind, intellectual power, and moral purpose, constituted as essential parts in the elements of agricultural j)rosperity, as in those of any other ; and all these truths he enforced by precept, and illustrated by practice. Uy these means he has called into the field of agricultural labor a higher order of mind ; has elevated the standard oi"agricultural attainment ; and has tend- ed to render this extensive department of industry as intelligent, respected, and honorable, as it ever has been conceded to be useful, healthy, and inde- pendent. Thus gified, esteemed, beloved, distinguished, and in the enjoyment of reputation co-extensive with the agricultural interest in this country, it would seem, that if lile were a boon worth pos- eessing, he had almost earned a long and undis- turbed enjoyment of it. But ths dispensations of God to man are lull of mystery. Religion and rea- Kon here teach the same lesson : to observe, adore and submit. He had accepted invitations to deliver addresses before the agricultural and horticultural societies of Norwich and New Haven, Coimecticut, on the 25ih and 27th of September last. About the mid- dle of that montii, he left this city for that pur- pose, accompanied by his only daughter. On Sa- turday night, the 22d of September, at Danbury, Connecticut, he was seized with a bilious colic. This was extremely distressing, but yielded, with- in three days, to the force of medical treatment. — A bdioue lever then supervened, unaccompanied, however, by any alarming symptoms until Friday the 4th of October. His disease then assumed a serious aspect, and a change was obviously per- ceptible, particularly in his voice. He had occa- eionally, during his sickness, expressed doubts ol his recovery, although his |)hysicians up to the 4th of October, entertained no serious apprehensions that his disease v/ould terminate liitally. He re- tained throughout the full possession of his mental faculties, and expressed his entire resignation to the will of Heaven. He continued gradually to decline from Friday until about three o'clock in the forenoon of Sunday, when, after faintly uttering the name of his absent cotnpanion, with whom he had shared the toils, and troubles, and triumphs, of almost iijrty years, he calmly, and without a groan or a s'.ruirgle, cancelled the debt which his birth had crca'ed, and "yielded i5p his spirit to God who gave it," As a writer, the merits of Judge Buel have al- ready been determined by a discerning public. Jl is here worthy of remark, that he never had but six months' schooling, having enjoyed fewer advan- tages, in that respect, than most of our farmers and mechanics' sons. He. however, had the good fortune to possess a mind that could improve itself by its own action. Although, therefore, he lacked the advantages of that early education, which can polish, point, and refine good sense where it hap- pens to be fiaund, and endeavors to supply its ab- sence by some imperfect substitute, where it is wanting; yet by dint of study and practice, and of strong original endowment, lie succeeded in the attainment of a style excellently well adapted to the nature of his communications. It consisted simply in his telling, in plain language, just the tiling he thought. The arts of rhetoric, the advantages of skilful arrangement in language, the abundant use of tropes and figures, he never resorted to. He seemed neither to expect nor de- sire, that his communications would possess with other minds any more weight than the ideas con- tained in ihern would justly entitle them to. With him words meant things, and not simply their shadows. He came to the common mind like an old familiar acquaintance ; and although he brought to it new ideas, yet they consisted in con- ceptions clearly comprehensible in themselves, and conveyed in the plainest and most intelligible terms. His writings are principally to be found in the many addresses he hac delivered ; in the six vo- lumcs of his Cultivator, in the small volume (made up, however, principally or entirely, firom materi- als taken from the Cultivator,) published by the Harpers of New York; and in the " Farmers' Com- panion," the last and most perfect of his works, containing within a small compass, the embodied results of his agricultural experience, a rich legacy, to which the great extent of our farming interest cannot remain insensible. This work was written expressly lor the Massachusetts Board of Educa- tion, and constitutes one of the numbers of the se- cond series of that truly invaluable district school library, now issuing, under the sanction of that board, from the press of Marsh, Capen, Lyon and Webb of Boston ; which for the extent of the un- dertaking ; the great caution exercised in selecting the material; the talent enlisted in furnishing it; and the durable manner in which the books are ex- ecuted ; so richly deserves the patronage of the whole American nation. I deem it really the most fortunate circumstance in his life, that he should have been permitted, so immediately previous to his departure, to furnish just this volume, for just this purpose: and 1 shall confidently expect that the coming generation will be better farmers, better citizens, and better men, from having had the (br- mation of their young minds influenced to some ex- tent, by the lessons of experience and practical wisdom, derived from the last, best, most mature production of this excellent man. The se- veral district schools throughout our stale, will un- doubtedly feel it due to the important trusts they have in charge, to secure this among other valua- ble publications, to aid in composing their respec- tive district school libraries, from which so much good is expected to be derived. FARMERS' REGISTER 243 KOTES OF A STEAM JOURKEV. By the Editor. Wilmington and its Raihoay, At 1 o'clock, A. M. April 14th, I led Peters- burg, Va., in the soulhern steam carriage, and at 7 P. M. reached Wilmington, N. C, which was hiter than usual, owing to several causes of delay. Distance, 181 miles. The newly finislied Wilmington railway (of 163 miles) is the most level and straight route, ol any of considerable length, in the world ; and be- ing well planned and constructed, as well as on 6o remarkable and admirable a location, it neces- earily is an excellent road. It seems also to be well managed — a matter which is as important to success as all the other requisites put together. The construction of a railway of such great length is a rare instance of bold enterprise on the part of a community so small, and necessarily so deficient in wealth, as the people of the little town of Wilmington ; for to them is entirely due the credit of the enterprisf, and principally the suc- cesslul consummation of the work. This road makes, together with the Raleigh and Gaston, and parts of the Petersburg and Roanoke, Ports- mouth and Roanoke, and Greensville and Ro- anoke rail-roads, more than 300 miles of railway, finished and in regular use, within the state ol North Carolina. Making every allowance lor the aid of investments made by tlte citizens of Vir- ginia in these great works, the results, brought about too in the last few years, speak loudly in favor of the enterprise of the " old north state," which has been jeered as being the Rip Van Winkle of the American conlederacy, or as asleep in regard to public improvements. Perhaps Kip was aroused from his long sleep rather too early, alter all. At any rate, it would have been far better for his immediate neighbors, both north and south, if they had remained asleep fully as long. There being not sufficient accommodation at the public houses for the entertainment of so many visiters, we were met, upon our arrival at the de- pot, and divided among the principal inhabitants, hke so many captives, except for the intention not being hostile, but hospitable, and entertained in the kindest manner during our stay. The next day was the festival, to celebrate the recent completion ofihe rail-road, to attend which, as an invited g'jest, 1 had so far diverged from the point to which my previous engagements called me. An enormous length of tables was filled by upwards of 600 guests, and the dinner passed in the usual manner of all such entertainments. Of Wilmington it may be said, almost literally, that it stands on a mere sand bank. This I had heard before of its site, but did not realize the truth of the description. The ground is not level, as I had supposed li-om the very level surface of tlie country in general. On the contrary it is quite hilly. The elevations are hills of almost pure sand ; and having very much the appearance ol their having been formed by the wind on the ancienv shore of the ocean. Judging from the ab- ee*'.ce of all vegetation in the open parts of the "iown, I at first thought that I had, for the first time, seen land either too poor or too sandy to pro- duce (naturally) a blade of grass. Such, howe- ver, was not exactly the state ol" the case, as I found afterwards by walking out ia the adjacent country. The enterprise of Wilmington is conspicuoua in other things besides its great rail-road. The thickest settled and business part of the town waa all burnt but a few months ago; but there are al- ready indications that the ruins will soon be re- placed by new and good buildings, A new church, of the Gothic order of architecture, is, to my eye, the most beautiliil structure, and ihe most appro- priate in design to its purpose, of any modern building known. Steam 31 ills of Wilmington. There are five steam saw-mills in operation in Wilmington, which together saw 100,000 feet of plank a day; and another nearly reconstructed, which had been destroyed by the late fire. There is also a steam mill for hulling rice, and one for planing, and tonguing and grooving flooring plank. This last operation is as wonderful, to one who sees it for the first time, as inexplicable belbre see- ing it, on hearing it described. The planks are first cut to even widlh by a circular saw, which passes through with great rapidity. The plank ist then passed through the machine for the main operation ; and in a few moments it comes out finished. The plank passes at a regulated course through two rollers. The planing is efiecied by four cutting edges, which turn around an axle, and which cut like broad adzes, but wiih an inclined edge and stroke. These whirl around with eucti rapidity as to appear to the eye a solid iron cylin- der, and to leave the spectator doubtful as to how the planing is done. On each side are other cir- cular cutters, striking horizontally, at the same time, and with cutting edges differently shaped, so that one cuts out the groove, in one edge o( the plank, while the other, working oppceite, cuts so as to leave the tongue which is to fit into the groove of another plank. This mill, as well as one of the saw mills, we understood to be the pro- perty of Mr. Lazarus, our hospitable host. JRice fields and their culture. The tide of the Cape Fear river, at Wilmington, rises about four feet perpendicular. The opposite shore (in Brunswick county) was an extensive marsh or tide swamp, which has been ditched, and is cultivated every year in rice. This is indeed the principal culture in this part of the country, for market, as not enough corn is made for the con- sumption of the inhabitants, and very little other grain raised. The ditches and banks and flood- gates are so arranged that the tide-water can be brought over the ground, or let off and shut out, at discretion. This command of fresh water ia essential to productive culture. The rice is plant- ed in narrow drills. The water is then let on, by some planters, and by others it is kept off until after the plants have come up, and have been once weeded. In the other case, the shallow wa- ter is drawn ofT for the weeding. In both cases, the water is then thrown on again; and while its cover helps the af]uatic plant, rice, it effectually keeps down all the weeds that would olherwiee in- ^44 FARMERS' REGISTER. jure the crop. The water is kept on nearly through the whole lime of growih, but i;ot quite, ae thai would render the grovvlhtoo "?piiid!iujh account. 1 crossed the river to see a rice field. The plants had but just come up, and there was noiliing to be seen that was interesting. About 15 miles lower down the river, at Dr. F. Hill's plantation, when passing in the steam vessel, I saw the rice ground flood(>d. The river water is there mixed with ihe salt of the ocean, and would kill the rice; and therefore fresh water is brought by a canal from a large pond, distant several miles in the country. As I supposed, from my experience of embank- ed tide lands on James river, these rice grounds, wet as they are kept, and therefore the soil less liable to decomposition, are annually rotting away and sinking; and some have been thereby made worthless, and thrown out of cultivation. But, as to these grounds at and above Wilmington, there is a counteracting operation of the river freshes, which bring down and deposile on the land mud enough to compensate for ihe waste of the original soil l)y decomposition. The rice grounds lower down the river are therefore most subject to this lessening of the height ; and these are black soils, while those higher up the river are brown, or " mulatto" land, that color being given by the de- posite of sediment left by the river during freshes. The present and ordinary color of the river is the clear cofiee color caused by vegetable dye, and which belongs to all the rivers of lower Carolina, except the great Roanoke, which flows from lime- stone and other clear sources in the mountains of Virginia. Steaming to and from Charleston. On the 16th, at 2 P. M., our party proceeded, by the steam sea line of the Wilmington rail-road company, to Charleston, S. C, 180 miles, which full disiance was passed over in less than 15 hours. At 5 P. JM. of the 17th, we set out on our return, and the next morning, before 8, Ave were again at the Wilmington wharf The steamer is one of four belonging to the company, the best for speed, saft'ty, and accommodation; and the wea- ther was as delightful and as favorable as could have been desired. There was nothing for me to desire, except relief from the necessity of leaving Charlesion in so short a time, and upon the first visit. But so llir as could be in the space of the few hours spent there, I was highly gratified with all that was seen and met wiih. Even that short time did not prevent the offer of hospitable atten- tions from entire strangers, which though but the common characteristics of warm-hearied south- rons, were not the less appreciated. As a hearty well-wisher, though personally a stranger, to the commercial capital of South Caro- lina, I was as nmch graiified as surprised to see iiow liir and how well it liad already recovered from ihe desolating ellects of the great fire which but a lew years ago swept over so large a portior> of the city. But lor the knowing of tliat great calamity, and the looking for its destructive effects, I should scarcely liave guessed that so much of the city had been so recently destroyed. The inertness and indolence and improvidence of my southern countrymen are unlbriunately so conspicuous in my own state, as well as else- where, that I had taken up the opinion that these delects were to be seen the more strongly display- ed as we proceed southward ; and hence 1 had unconsciously taken up a very improper idea, and made much too low an estimate, of Charleston. Without toucliing on other matters, the buildings and general appearance of this city are more pleasing to me than of the more populous and splendid cities of tf.e north. In ihe usual style oJ' this one, there appears to be an unpretending dig- niiy and beauty, and in some cases even gran- deur, combined with simplicity. In this respect, Charleston may be likened to a gentleman born and bred, simply but perliictly well dressed, com- pared to a nmslachioed dandy and exquisite. In- deed, it seemed to me that the population contain- ed a larger proportion of those who appeared to be gentlemen than I had ever seen in any other city ; and, lor some lime, I believed that not a pair of 7noiistaches discraced the city ; but I was com- pelled to learn otherwise, by seeing before my de- parture several specimens of these ape-imitating " lords of creation." The Battery is a newly constructed and de- lighllijl promenade along the border of the Cooper river, extending to the point of junction with the Ashley. The pavement of the wall is of very broad tlat stones, with a low railing next the wa- ter, and open to ihe prospect of the harbor and islands below. The beauty of lliis view was en- hanced still more when seen from an upper apart- ment of a splendid old mansion to which we were invited by its owner, and in which I was lold had been entertain.ed my distinguished countryman who was sent as mediator and ambassador fi-oiu Virginia to South Carolina, both acting in their capacities of sovereign states. I had always felt proud of that occasion, as to both commonwealths, and was gratified to have now re-awakened, by the narrative and the scene, emotions which I had felt so vividly. In the rail- road and steamboat route from the Roanoke to Charleston, there is nothing to be de- sired by the traveller, except the removal of the existing cause of detention of travellers am! the mail, a" Wilmintjton for 17 hours. This remark- able delay in a journey so rapid in all its other parts, is now made necessary by the want of lights to direct at night the course of \he difficult navicration of the Cape Fear river. If this were done, it would only be necessary for the southern train li"om CharIe^^t.on to wait two hours later than at present, and it would receive the mail and pas- sengers a day earlier than now, and the whole journey would be expedited 15 hours to Charles- ton and all southward, without any additional speed while moving. If the Cape Fear river was north of Washington, it would have been lighted by government, and properly so, even if only ihx FARMERS' REGISTER. £45 private commercial benefit. As it ie, it has been long aalied lor in vain, even though there would actually be a great national benefit secured by the government, in t!ie more speedy transportation ol the great southern mail. A sandy desert. .Pre-hce.ous and carnivorous plants. The country adjoining Wilmington had to rae an entirely novel and very remarkable appear- ance. The original large growth of pine trees had been cut down for fuel or limber, and had been succeeded by an almost unmixed growth ol" thinly set dwarfish "shrub" oaks which rarely rose higher than six feet. The surlace of the earlh was but half concealed by the liillon leaves, and the scattered tufts of coarse grass ; and pure and perfectly white sand was visible in so many places on the surface, amidst the green vegeta- tion, that the general appearance was as if a snow had recently covered all the ground, which had melted in some places, while it still remained on others. I never saw any land so nearly approach- ing a sandy desert. This worst appearance here does not extend lar back irom the town. But this barren and unsightly soil, and the ad- jacent country which is not greatly belter, is the paradise of botanists. 1 was inlbrmed that there are I'ound more species of plants growing natural- ly within ten miles of VVilmington, than in all Massachusetts; and one-third as many as are given in Elliott's catalogue of all the plants of South Carolina and Georgia. I had new cause to lament my ignorance of botany, when in a re- gion so interesting to the better inlbrmed. Still, 1 did not lose all the gratification to be derived from some of the most remarkable of these beautilul works of nature. In the grounds around Wilmington is found in abundance the wonderful predatory (if not actu- ally carnivorous) plant, called "Venus' fly-trap," ( Dionatainuscipula,) of which a description was published in a Ibrmer volume ol" the Farmers' Re- gister. This plant is very small, and was not yet grown, and the largest of the traps were scarcely more than half the size they will be hereafter. Still, though not yet possessed of their full degree of sensitiveness which I hope to see, (as I had dug up and sent home a box of growing speci- mens,) they closed with a quickness, and operat- ed with a degree of eff'ect, far beyond my previous conceptions. The catching apparatus is an ex- tension of the leaf. It is in shape much like a very diminutive steel trap, set open for catching, except that the valves are close in the plant, and open frame work in the artificial trap. The teeth around the circumference (Ibrming a circle when lying open,) are long, and when they meet, inter- lock regularly and perfectly. All the interior is not sensitive. It is only three small and short fila- ments, on each side, which are scarcely perceptible, that serve as triggers. I saw every other part of the valves touched with a blade of grass, and even with some force, without its afiecting the plant. But as soon as one of these filaments was touch- ed by a small bug, the valves instantly and quick- ly closed together, (heir surrounding teeth inter- locked, and enclosed completely the unlucky in- truder, and will remain so closed until its strug- gles cease with its life. Then, or after the pur- pose of the death of the insect has been effected, the trap opens, and is ready to make another cap- ture. I cannot believe that this wonderful and admirable apparatus has been contrived by nature, and kept at work, without some object, i cannot but believe that the deaih of the insect furnishea some benefit to the plant, and that, so far, it may be said to feed upon its prey. These plants grow on the borders of the wet places among the sands. Formerly it was supposed that they were found only in the neighborhood of Wilmington; but they have been smce found in Florida, and else- where. There is another bug-catching plant which grows abundantly hereabout, which though not possessing the power of animal motion, and not seizing its prey by an act of mental volition and design^ as" almost seems to be the case with the other, yet this one is scarcely less curious in ita mechanical structure, and its adaptation of form to its object. This is the plant which bears the beautiful yellow flower vulgarly called " side-sad- dle " or "trumpet-flower," ('sarace?imyZata.^ It is a large pendent flower, on an upright stem of a foot to eighteen inches high. The very singular and beautiful form ol the flower could not be de- scribed by me so as to be understood, and there- fore will not be attempted. The trap is the leaf of the flower, and of a later growth, for the flowers now are generally fully blown, and some even on the decline, and none of the trap appendages are more than half grown, though the structure is fully shown in them, and also in the old and dry, but still v/ell preserved leaves of last year's growth, which remain, and nearly all of which contain the scaly wings of small beetles, and other unde- composed remains of their insect prey. This leaf is in the shape of a slender trumpet ; of very thick toueh texture, which is closed at the ground and ijradually enlarges to an inch in diameter at about fifteen inches high. On one side of this mouth of the trumpet, a part of the leaf extends and spreads over the mouth, so as effectually to keep out any rain water; and (or greater precaution, in the middle of this umbrella is a de'ep groove, which, as a gutter, conveys the rain water off. The low- er and closed end of the trumpet is always filled some inches deep with a limpid and tasteless wa- ter, secreted by the plant, which seems to attract insects. They descend into the trumpet easily; but can never return, as the sides are beset with numerous mi-nuie hairy filaments, which point downward, and effectually prevent any progress upward of the insects enticed to enter the recep- tacle. This magnificent and curious plant is said not to be found much farther north. There is how- ever another of very similar general structure, the purple saracenia, which grovvs as far north as New England. However, ["never saw it belbre, and it vvould have been considered as admirable for its beauty, and its curious mechanical structure of the flower, and its water-holding and insect-catching apparatus of the leaves, but for the infeiiority in all these respects to the more common saracenia fiava. As little knowledge of and taste for botany as I have, a longer residence in this neighborhood and sufficient leisure would tempt me to begin the studj'. It is surprising that this region is not more [visited by the lovers of curious plants and beau- 246 FARMERS' REGISTER. tiful flowers, and that the ready means now offered by the rail-roads are not more used to convey these rare treasures norlhward. I sent on by the train, in boxes, growing specimens of all the above plants, with their native soil, just dug up, and which must have reached Petersburg in perlect condition ; and might so be carried as lar' as Phi- ladelphia, even should they /ail to be kept alive afterwards. In this manner, by proper arrange- ments, hundreds of rare plants, which even in green-houses cannot be produced in perfection at the north, might be sent, in all their native splen- dor and vigor, to floricultural exhibitions a thou- sand miles distant. General appearance of the lands of New Hanover county. One of my first objecls after reaching Wilming- ton was to seek out, and make personal acquaint- ance with Dr. James F. McRee, a gentleman whom 1 knew merely as the only subscriber to the Farmers' Register in or near Wilmington. 1 drew the inference, in which I have rarely been mistaken, that a man who had thus appreciated my labors for seven years, would probably be one both able and ready to aid me in acquiring inform- ation. I was not mistaken. In addition to the pleasure derived from Dr. McRee's general con- versation, and to his kind and serviceable atten- tions in other respects, I was indebted to him for much of the inlbrmalion in regard to the pecu- liarities of this region, and its products, which I was enabled to acquire. My first inquiries of him were in regard to the extent of the marl Ibrmaiion of this region, (having previously seen it in Wil- mington,") and I heard from Dr. McRee such in- teresting facts on this subject, that 1 was very willing to accept his invitation to accompany him to his liirm, Ashemoore, near Rocky Pomt, the most favorable portion for observation. For this place we set out on the 17th. in a mile or two from Wilmington, along the ordinary carriage road, the excessive sandiness of the soil changes to rather less of that character, and to such as is general through the pine lands for many miles. The general growth is long leaf pine, thinly set, with very little undergrowth of trees or shrubs. The surliice of the earth is set with tufts of what is here called "wire grass," but which (as might be inferred from its locality,) is altogether ditl'erent from what is called by thai name in Virginia. This grass, as Dr. McRee informed me, (and to whom, by the way, 1 am in- debted lor all the botanical names here used.) is the aristida stricla. It grows in small tussocks. Each spire is a single straight upright stem, cylin- drical and as regular in shape as a wire. This is the most general grass in the poor pine woods, and open grounds of same quality. When burnt off' in the spring, as is most usually done, the young grass springs out more rapidly, and furnishes good grazing all over the country. The surface of the land, like that of the last 50 or 60 miles seen along the rail-road, is almost a level. The slight depressions are all of swampy character, and are called " bays" or bay land, be- cause the loblolly bay tree (gordnnla lasianthus) is always found in such places. But whether dry or wet, all these pine lands, and the shallow "bays" intersecting them, are Very poor, and, without being furnished with the calcareous in- gredient which they want, are, and will continue, worthless for tillage. It is from such pine woods, which cover so large a part of eastern Carolina, that the great supplies of turpentine and tar are obtained, the making of which is almost the sole business of the residents of the pine lands. The calcareous lands of Rocky Point. Upon reaching what are termed the Rocky Point lands, the marks of soil chansred from the indications of the basest to those of the most va- luable calcareous lands. Rocky Point is a low bluff" of the limestone peculiar to this remarkable region, jutting out on the north-east branch of the Cape Fear river. The stone or the softer marl (or that which may as correctly be called chalk, as the harder is limestone,) forms the continuous and nearly horizontal substratum of all this neighbor- hood, and comes so near to the surface of a body of some 6 or 7000 acres, as to give to it a peculiar and well established cliaracter for great iertility, and power of long endurance of continued cultiva- tion of the severest kind. A small tide water creek, which passes through the Ashemoore farm, marks the middle of this body, and on each side of it are the best of these celebrated Rocky Point lands. They are there best, no doubt, because the surface is lowest, and the calcareous substra- tum is nearest to the surface. It is sometimes so near that the plough turns up a white slice upon the top of the Mack soil ; and in these, and many other places, where the cause is the same, though not so manifest to the eye, the productiveness of the land is greatly impaired. This injurious ef- fect, however, is greatly increased by the too great wetness of the soil, owing to its level sur- face, its absorbent and sometimes close and adhe- sive texture, and especially to the solid calcareous sub-stratum, which prevents the surplus water es- caping downward by filtration. The land too has not been cultivated in beds (or ridge and furrow.) which, if properly executed, and with the neces- sary ditches, I am sure would make the lowest acre abundantly dry. There are no springs rising to the surface that cause wetness, but only the sur- face water from rains to guard against ; which is a very simple and sure business. The soil, in quality and in level, and in its calcareous sub-stra- tum, is more like the famous low grounds of Glou- cester and Back River in Virginia, which have been described at length in former volumes of this journal, than any other known lands. I never saw soil that seemed of better natural constitution and qualify than some of the fields of Ashemoore, or which promise better rewards for their culti- vation. The limestone is but an accumulation of pure shelly matter, solidified into stony hardness. The marl is the same in chemical composition, but about as hard as chalk, and has very much the texture of an impure chalk, and is soft enough to be used as manure without pounding, burning, or other mode of reducing. I analyzed, on the place, three spe- cimens which were selected as fair samples ; and Dr. McRee, before, with the aid of my portable apparatus, had examined several others. The general proportion of carbonate of lime in both kinds was lully 95 per cent. One specimen only, of marl just dug and hastily dried, yielded as little FARMERS' REGISTER. 247 as 88 per cent. ; and as this was the only one so poor, by 6 per cent., I suspected (hat it lind not been sufficiently freed from water, in dryintj. However, at any rate it is the richest and most valuable marl I have ever known, and the easiest to be used. The stone, of course, would require to be burnt ; and it will yield excellent lime, /or cement or for manure. The lowest parts of this body of land, not j^et cleared, are swamp, called " while oaks ;" nor because white oak is their general growth, and indeed it is very rare there — hut because such are the only places on which a white oak tree can be found in this part of the country. These swamps are covered wiih the trees that are most favored elsewhere by the richest, stiff", alluvial, and wet bottom lands. The calcareous bed lies near the surface of all these swamps or "white oak" lands. Dr. McRee has taken great pains to introduce grass husbandry on his land, and his clover is won- derfully productive. That sown on the first of March, 1839, was fit to mow, and was mown for hay the same year, in July, and the hay sold and delivered in market within eight months of the sowing of the seed. This is a remarkable proof of the admirable fitness of the soil for clover; and it was particularly valued by me, as the strongest knovim proof of what I have so often maintained, that if the soil be but made calcareous, the warmth of climate ol' North Carolina, or even farther south, is no bar to profitable clover culture. Before my practice proved otherwise (afer marling) it was as firmly believed that lower Virginia was too hot to produce clover to profit, as it is now senerally (and as erroneously) believed of lands 200 miles more southward. But though the calcareous deposite beneath the Rocky Point lands is richer and more easily acces- sible, than any known elsewhere, it is but the most remarkable case of a formation that is spread through a vast region of the slate, accessi- ble throughout a great part of its extent, and which would be highly profitable to be used wherever it can be obtained. I knew before that marl had been found along the Neuse and some of the upper waters of the Chowan, and that it had been used to some small extent by a few indivi- duals; and I inferred, that if sought for, it might be found at some greater or less depth, almost every where between the granite range and the sea coast. But 1 had never heard of a single actual discovery farther south than the borders of the Neuse and Trent. In addition to what I saw in Wilmington, (though the stratum of marl there is thin, and the limestone poor,) and at Ashemoore and the surrounding lands, I learned from Major Gwynne, the able engineer who directed the con- struction of the Wilmington railway, that marl was found in the wells dug at the water stations of that road, through the distance of 60 miles from Wil- mington. And this marl lies either under, or near enough for transportation to the wretched pine lands, which, wretched as they now are, need but to be marled to become valuable and productive under tillage. I may now, as heretofore, nrge this im- provement, for this region, in vain ; but a time will come when the value of this neglected means oC improvement will be properly appreciated in North Carolina, and when the putting it in use will add millions of dollars to the productive wealth of this region, which, of all within my knowledge, is most favored by nature, and the favors so offered are most slighted by man. And though I have not yet seen the continuation of this region through South Carolina and Georgia, I entertain no doubt but that my remarks would there be applicable. It would seem as if the Rocky Point land; so deservedly noted hereabout for its fertility, owes its value to its being so thinly sjiread over the cal- careous deposite, that the two earths have neces- sarily become mixed, by various natural causes. When the roots of trees, and even small plants, can strike through the upper poor soil and into the marl below, the parts of the latter which are taken up into the plants, at their death and decay are finally left on the surface. Thus, in the lapse of ages, the surface, no matter how destitute of lime, and how poor, must thus be made calcareous and rich. But not so if the surface soil be but six or even four feet above the marl, and cut off by a bar- ren intervening subsoil, which the roots of plants are not able to pass through. Then the soil will re- main poor; and so it would, even if within a foot of the marl below, but for the operation of plants or animals in bringing up the marl to the surface. In accordance with tiiese views, where the land is higher, it is very inferior to the best kind ; and at a lew miles from the river, a still higher elevation of surface becomes either the ordinary poor pine forest land of New Hanover county, or savanna, of which 1 shall speak presently. The texture of the calcareous substratum of the Rocky Point lands is altogether different from any of the numerous marl beds I have seen in Vir- ginia. In chemical constitution, and in hardness, much of the former may be properly called by its common name of " limestone ;" and by (he same tests the balance might be called chalk, slightly adulterated, and tinged with a very little foreign matter. But geologists, I believe, do not admit any true chalk to be in this country ; and the con- cretion of shells to a stony hardness, cannot make the limestone so called in mineralogy. However, in agricultural sense and use, they are truly what these names would imply. II' the people of Carolina who have the means of marling would apply the lesson afforded here, it might be considered that here God had marled, and thereby enriched the land, and had thus re- vealed to man the mode of improvement. The enriching of these lands was effected simply by natural marling, with the additional aid of fi-eedom from exhaustion, and thereby the accumulation, and fixing in the soil, of as much vegetable mat- ter as the calcareous ingredient could combine with. The limepfone is not disposed with any regular- ity as to the softer marl. Isolated masses of the former, of various sizes, are seen scattered over the best fields ; and sometimes the stone, and sometimes the chalk is nearest to the surface, or the one over the other. The ditches generally reach the calcareous substratum. When in the chalk or marl, the excavation is easy enough. But when the stone is opposed, blasting by gun- powder is necessary to open the ditch. I saw in two ditches where this last had been done, for stretches of 200 to 300 yards each. Still, Dr. McRee told me that this ditching by blasting was not very diflicult, and, as he thouirht, was not more expensive of labor, than to ditch through newly cleared forest land. There are some other unex- ^48 FARMERS' REGISTER. pected peculiarities of a limestone region in this neighborhood, and even at some miles liom the calcareous soils. These are subterraneous caverns and subterraneous streams. The former are like the limestone caves of the mountain region, ex- cept for their very narrow dimensions, which forbid any passage or examination. A small dog has been known to make his way through a sub- terranean passage for several hundred yards. I saw, at Ashemoore, one of the " natural wells'" which show subterraneous streams. This was in a field not of calcareous soil, and was about the eize across of an ordinary artificial well. Thevva- ter stood at about two feet from the surface of the earth, and is supplied by a perpetual stream pass- ing through below. The water, however, is now higher than usual, owing to additional supply from rain. 1 heard that a little marl had been used in som.e of the gardens of Wilmington ; but not the least use of it has as yet been made on fields, by any south of the Neuse and Trent, of whom I have heard. The Savannas. There are, in many places in New Hanover county, and other of the south-eastern parts of North Carolina, interspersed among, and surround- ed by forests, tracts of" open grass land, called sa- vannas, as clear of trees as if made and kept so for cultivation. These n:eadows, however, are altogether formed without the designed aid of man ; and if cultivation has ever been attempted on them, it was found profitless, from the unpro- ductiveness of the soil, and the attempt was aban- doned, after the first trial. The railway passes immediately through one of these savannas, about 27 miles from Wilmington, which is said to con- tain more than 4000 acres in one body. My pas- Bage through this piece was so rapid, that nothing could be distinguished as to its particular growth of grass, or the nature of its soil. It only present- ed to the eye one unbroken and unvaried expanse of level surface, as much elevated, apparently, compared to the road-way, as the forest lands, and covered with young grass, the deep verdure of which was made the more conspicuous by the old jrrass having been burned off early in the spring. To examine this kind of land more closely, was one of the objects of my visit to Ashemoore, under the guidance of Dr. McRee. Part of his estate is one of these savannas, which is partly eeen from the rail-road just north of the Rocky Point depot, and 15 miles from Wilmington. This Bavanna is of small extent, being only 200 to 300 acres, but in every other respect is similar to all the others, and would serve, as I was told, as well for observation as any number of them. I found that but a very small part of this savan- na had been burnt over this spring, whirh gave a better opportunity of judging of its usual growth from the still abundant remains of the dry grass ol the last summer. This was of many different kinds, all of which seemed new to me, or if not new, so altered by difference of soil as not to be recognized. However, my examination in this respect was necessarily very slight, owing to my ignorance of the scientific arrangement and de- Bcriptions of plants. The principal growth seen consisted of the aristida stricta, (before mention- ed as being general through the pine-covered land,) and a dwarfish kind of broom sedge, which s smaller than, and difierent from, those so well known in lower Virginia, but which was not tlie less manifestly one of the members of that family of grasses, (andropogun,) all of which, I infer fi"om my experience of the habits of some of them, must indicate by their growth an add soil. The old growth, notwithstanding all the eating and trampling by cattle, seemed but little dimin- ished, and had stood about tv/o feet high. I dug into the soil of this savanna, and at the place examined, a spot rather higher and there- lore then drier than the general surface, found the depth to be about a foot. This, however, waa more than usual. Along the side of the ditch made to form the rail-road, where it passes by the out-skirt of this savanna, the soil was about 6 lo 9 Inches deep, and less generally than 6 inches through the adjacent pine land. The soil of the savanna land is as black as earth can be, is mode- rately stiff, showing the presence of enough clay to form a productive soil for grasses and wheat, and would be supposed, if judged merely by the eye, to be as rich, and valuable for tillage, as in fact it is poor and worthless, as now constituted. The subsoil is a pale yellowish sand, with barely enough clay intermixed to be adhesive, and not to prevent water passing through and saturating it. Still lower, as 1 was told, lies a bed of clay, which, no doubt, forbids the descent of the rain water, and causes the general wetness of these lands, though they lie high, and are free both from springs, and from floods from any higher lands. There does not seem to be any great difierence between the savanna land and the great body which is covered with pine forests, except in the difierence of covering plants. Indeed, in many parts of the pine lanhels, at 85 - 212,500 Sundries, viz.: wheat, sweet potatoes, peach brandy, dried peaches, flax- seed, peas, beans, steamboat wood, &c. at least, .... 47,500 Total, 400,000 Your readers upon the other side of the water, who seem to regard our penin?ula as little better than a " barren sand beach," will probably be as- tonished to see that the surplus crop of the county of Accomac alone, for one year, amounted to the handsome sum exhibited in the above state- ment. And to this I will add, that the rate of rents on the Eastern Shore is perhaps higher than any where else in the state ; a circumstance which in- dicates, of course, the great prosperity of the aori- cultural interest. One half of all the crops of every description is the usual proportion for land of good quality, and in several instances within the knowledge of the writer, the tenant gives one half, without a house of any sort, and without the pri- vileae of fire-wood. For land below the average quality, two-fifihs of all the crops, or two-fifths of the corn, and a half of the oats, and either two- fifihs or a half of all the other crops is the usual proportion. The price of land is, of course, high in a corresponding degree. An Eastern Shore Man. Accomac C. H., Jlpril, 1840. CITLTURE OF INDIAN CORN. From tlie Cultivator. Messrs. ^cZiiors— Careful observation has satis- fied the writer, that the present system of culti- vating Indian corn, is generally very defective, and can be greatly improved. Not more than half a crop is obtained upon an average, except oti new or very strong land. We also see this valu- able crop frequently destroyed by autumnal frosts. The following is an outline of the plan which has been tried by the writer, with entire success. Good crops have been obtained — 75 bushels to the acre — and the corn invariably ripened before the liosts of autumn could injure it. Spread upon the ground, before ploughing, 20 to 30 ox cart loads of good, long, or unrolted stable manure ; when the corn is planted, put into the hill one halfof a shovel full of well rotted manure. This will give the corn an early and vigorous growth, until the roots are long enough to derive sustenance from the long manure. By thus giv- ing it an early start, it will ripen two or three weeks earlier than it otherwise would. The long mariure will carry it out, and make more corn and less stalk, than when all rotten manure is used. Let tiie manure, which is to be kept until it has rotted, be piled up, and covered, so as to 256 FARMERS' REGISTER. protect it from rain and sun, and it will lose much less of its strengih than if exposed. Some may say, that the quantity recommended per acre, is more than can generally be afforded. Unless the land is very strong, or in hijrh tilth, less can not be afforded. Asa. general rule, 5 acres, with 100 loads of manure, will produce more corn than 10 acres with the same quantity, besides the great saving of labor and ground. It is very clear that farmers generally do not manure their land high enough for Indian corn. Upon sward land, rotten manure is indispensable to give the corn a start, and insure an early and full crop. Poudrette is a good substitute Ibr rotten manure when it can be had. No farmer should be satisfied until his average crop is at least 75 bushels to the acre. A LOVER OF GOOD HUSBANDRY. New- York, March, 1840. MONTHLY COMMERCIAL REPORT. For the Farmers' Register. There has been nothing particularly worthy of note in the commercial operations o{' the month, and no material variation in the prices of domes- tic produce. Supplies of tobacco, being in proportion to the increased production, are larger than in previous years, and as the better qualities begin to appear, the range of prices is greater; embracing all rates from S3 to S^i and occasionally $2 or ^3 more for a fancy article. With the exception of two or three cargoes of low quality for the north of Eu- rope, and a small quantity for the south, no foreign exports have been made nor will there be for some time to come. Indeed foreign markets ofTer no temptation for shipments belbre the regular sea- son. The very high rate of freights has retarded shipments from New Orleans, where the stock is rapidly accumulatintj. Prices there, ,^3 to ^7^. or cotton, about 1,750,000 bales have been re- ceived, which greatly exceeds the supply ofany for- mer year to same period, and is 400,000 bales more than the entire receipts ol" the previous one ; leav- int; little doubt that the enormous quantity of two millions of bales was produced in this country ia 1839 : an excessive supply, considering the de- pressed state of manulactures on both sides the Atlantic. Prices range fi-om 5^ to 9 cents in the ports. The superabundant crops of last year are not confined to tobacco and cotton, but also embrace those of grain. The receipts and exports of flour have been very large ; and the great granary of' the west is just now about to send forth its ample, stores. The price of flour in the Virginia marketa is ^4 62 to S4 75, about the same in Baltimore and Philadelphia, and %5 12 to ^5 50 in New- York. Large shipments have been made to Eu- rope, particularly to England, but the prices there are moderate, considering the reported deficiency of their last crop. Indian corn is worth 45 to 50 cents per bushel. The rates of inland exchange have not im- proved this month — a difference of about 6 per cent, exists between New York and the southern states; but with some of the western states it is 25 per cent.; and indeed the notes of some of their banks are at 75 or 80 per cent, discount. The importation of goods from Europe has been unusually small, but has nevertheless ex- ceeded the demand. The spring trade in New York is said to be exceedingly dull. X. Jpril 28. CONTENTS OF THE FARMERS REGISTER, NO. IV. VOL. VIII. •ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Stoves for negroes' dwellings " ". ' Review. " Maison Rusiique, du xixe siecle." Ought rich or poor land to have the greater number of stalks of corn left to grow ? Mrs. Anderson's present of silk cloth, and General Washington's letter of thanks On root culture, and the distances required by different roots Manuring with green crops - -. - ■ Notes of a steam journey. Wilmington and its rail-way — Steam mills — Rice fields and culture— Charleston — A sandy desert — Pre- daceous and carnivorous plants — Lands of New Hanover county — Calcareous lands of Rocky Point— The savannas— State of agri- culture, and products of the country — Pine forest — The turpentine and tar business — Judge Gaston's reclaimed Pocoson — Marl and limestone of the Neuse and Trent — Odds and Ends — Silk culture in operation and preparation Mr. Ronaldson's seeds Quantity and value of produce of the county of Accomac Monthly commercial report - - . - SELECTIONS. Lime and lime burning .... Page 212 213 221 222 231 235 243 255 255 256 193 Essay on cattle ------ On flower beds ------ Sowing [Kentucky] blue grass - - . A Gloucestershire hill farm - - - - Notes on European agriculture - - - A plan of green cropping . - - - To destroy ticks on sheep - . . - Devon cattle Miss Rapp's silk goods. — Curing cocoons, &c. Account of an agricultural excursion into St. John's, Berkley . - - - - Soil and climate of France - - - - The drag-log and coulter plough - - - On the superior advantages of growing orchard grass with red clover . . - - Preservation of pumpkins - . - - Sugar beet and ruta-baga . . . . Bean pods poisonous to swine . - - Manure and the ill-effects of dirty stables Extract from an address to the Middlesex (Mass.) Society of husbandry and manu- factures Rules for overseers A new method of painting with milk Important experiment with potatoes Culture of the pea Root crops --«---- Culture of rape Culture of Indian corn . - . - Page 195 197 198 198 208 210 211 217 219 219 222 226 227 228 228 228 229 229 230 236 236 237 238 239 255 gg?^SSp^Sigi^MI!akes its appearance on the left bank of the river near its bed, and fifteen feet below the surface of the ground. It has been traced a mile up and down the river, and extends to an unknown depth, lying in horizontal masses. This limestone consists almost entirely of small convex concre- tions, irreixularly aggregated, and forming nume- rous cavities. The peculiar forms of these con- cretions make them resemble the moulds of shells, no longer preserving their organic character, but now united with silex into a rock. The cavitie.g contain more or less water which holds a portion of the lime suspended, so that there exudes from the rock when, first removed from its bed, a liquid resembling milk. The color of ihe stone, when first quarried, is a bluish green, ami its hardness is not much greater than that of ordinary limestone ; but on exposure to the air, it becomes brown, and hard enough to fire with steel. It is in fact a na- tural mortar, composed of about three parts lime and one sand, with a little iron. To its union with this sand, and to its entire freedom from clay, is to be ascribed its property of acquiring such remark- able hardness. The principal use of this lime- stone at present, is for mill-stones, particularly such as are wrought by hand, or hand mill-stones, which are in common use in the neighboring country. A pair of these is furnished at three dollars. The large kind, or water mill-stones, bring forty or fifty dollars." Six or seven miles further, upon Mill Creek, a tributary of the Trent, is ibund the most singular deposite of oyster sliells that oc- curs in any part of the world; they are really of the mammoth genus, and are found in extensive beds. ProftJssor Olmsted saw and obtained many of these shells measuring a foot and more in length, and ol' correspondent width. JMany of these shells, upon being exposed lo the air. crum- ble and decompose, and form a rich deposite of lime. J. Collinson Burgvvyn, Esq., of Green Hill, in Jones county, whose fium lies upon the Trent and this creek, in the course of the last year caused quantities of these shells, which are found also in great abundance on the river, to be dug up and spread on his fields, the worth of which he will ascertain from his coming crop. It is to be hoped from Mr. Eurgwyn's known devo- tion to the science of agriculture, that a liiir ex- periment will now be made, in testing the value of these organic remains, and that we shall be favored with the practical results of his experi- ment. A little farther up, another singular for- mation of sIr'II marl occurs on the plantation of Joseph Whilty, Esq., differing in its location from other similar deposiies, as here it breaks out " on the borders of one of those remarkable sivamps called yjocoso/is." I do not know that Mr. Whit- ty has made any use of this rich deposite on his land, lor in fact although this section of country afibrds such inexhaustible resources of this kind, but few of our planters have yet obtained their own consent to abandon even in a measure the old fashioned way of manurintr, and to try an ex- periment on a small scale. It was on liiis plan- tation whilst it belonged to Durant Hatch, sen., that a most interesting discovery was made in digging a well, which is well authenticated, and which we have often heard Gen. Hatch speak of FARMERS' REGISTER 259 in his lifetime. ACier tlie diggers liad progressed between filteen ami twenty feel into the earih, Ihey came (o llie iiead of an Indian cypress cr.- noe, wliich iiad been lied lo a cypress knee with a rope — the rope wiien exposed to tiie air, crumbled and fell down into a fine pulverized substance iike ashes. Gen. Hatch had the head of the ca- noe cut off and kept it many years as a curiosity. As BufTon seems lo think that this continent was formed by the rotatory motion given to the sands, &c., by liio ocean around some mountain, &c., and was gradually enlarged, &c., here is a well established fact, which would give emploympnt to some antiquary Cor year.', particularly when connected with the marine and organic remains which surround it. At Mr. Becton's, in the north- western part of this county, there occurs "a depo- site of a hard, dark-colored limestone, containing small oyster shells indjedded together with an abundance of sliarks' teeth, sometimes penetrat- ing the rock, and sometimes scattered loosely among the seams." Tliis is a very pure lime- stone, containing ninety-three per cent, of lime, and extends into Lenoir county, and may be traced to the farm of Col. Blount Coleman, in that county, where it appears in very great abun- dance. I neglected to mention a formation o( stone marl near Mr. Becton's, of the richest kind yet discovered in this country ; but as I have, I fear, wearied you with this dull detail of our in- terna! agricultural re.?ourccp, I will not trouble you Willi an}' liiriher descriptions of them. Enough has been said, I trust, lo induce you lo come among us, for if there be any country that afTords a rich and boundless field lor investigation, &c., it is ours — and we venture to affirm, that not one can be found where the lavish gifts of nature have been so eharaefully neglected and rejected. Respectfully yours, Jabies W. Bhyan. CULTUr.K OF THE POTATO. From the Cultivator. By common conpe.n1 the potato has been placed at the head ol'all the edible, roots, wherever it has been introduced, and the climate would admit of its cultivalioti. Originating from an obscure and worthless root among ihe Cordilleras of South America, in spite of prejudice and opposition, it has spread with a rapidity unknown to any other vegetable, and is doubtless destined to make the circuit of the globe, adding in an incalculable degree lo the means of subsistence. There are lew if any vegetables grown in the temperate zone that yield so great an amount of food per acre as the potato. Wheat, according to Sir H. Davy, contains 950 parts of nutritious matter in 1000; and the potato 250 ; but when it is remem- bered that the yield of the potato on an average is from ten to filieen limes as much per acre as wheat, the advantage in favor of the potato is manifest. Besides such is the human organization that pure nutritive matter is injurious to its heahhy functions, and the stomach requires to be more or less distended with other matter before ihe excitement necessary to nutrition takes place. We are, therefore, juBtified in supposing that good potatoes used exclusively as an article of food, would be less injurious than pure wheat flour. Be this as it may, the potato in most civilized coun- tries now ranks next as an mticic of food to the rice of the tropics; and the wfieat and maize of the more temperate regions. To Europe is America indebted for the gramina^, and liad we relumed them nothing more than the potato and maize, the debt must have been considered as can- celled. The potato is usually propagated by the tubers or roots, but new varieties are obtained or old ones that have partially degenerated restored, by cultiva'inglhem from seed. There are few plants that show more decisively the improvement that may be made by culiivaiion than the potato. In 1838, a quantity of the original roots were brought from Soudi America to England, and carefially planted. The result was a small inlerior root, more resembling the ground nut than the polalo, and not widely difl'cring in appearance from those of the first year's growth li-orn seeds. There is an idea p'-evalent among many farmers that potatoes are rnixed, or what by the breeder of animals would be called crossed, by having seve- ral kinds planted in the, vicinity of each other. This is an erroneous opinion. Tiie crossing takes place in the flowers or seeds and noi in the roots ; and hence there is the same uncertainty that theeeeds of any given variety of this.root. will produce potatoes of the parent kuid, that there is that the apple seeds will give apples like those from which they are taken, a thing of very rare occurrence. Every farmer who has paid attention to the manner of growth in the potato is aware ihat the tubers are not produced from the roots proper, these being, as in other plants, used solely for the purpose of nutrition, but on shoots thrown out above these, and nearer the surface of the earth. It was the opinion of Decandollethat by repeated coverings of the stem such shoots, and of course potatoes could be produced the whole length of the stalk, and some experiments that he made seemed tc fivor such a supposiiion ; still we must be permitted to say, that having in part repeated his experiments, we have found nothing lo justify the opinion that such a result would be effected by this treatment of the stem. 'I'he pro[)riely of cutting the tubers or planting them whole has been much discussed, and the multitude ofexperiments on record would seem to show by their conflicting results, that at least as much is depending on other circumstances, as on Ihe root being planted in a whole or cut state. If an acre of ground be planted in hills or drills with whole potatoes, and another acre be planted wilh sets or cuilings at equal distances wilh the other, the experiments made by the London Horticultu- ral Society would go to prove that the acre planted with whole potatoes would yield the most, but not much if any more than the additional quantity of seed required in planting. If whole potatoes are used, from twenty-five to thirty bushels will be used ; if cut, not more than half that quantity will be required. In both cases, however, much will be depending on the size of the whole potatoes, and the number ofeyes in those cut. The distance between the rows must be determined by the length of stem produced by the potato, and the several varieties vary much in this respect. In cultivating the potato a elimate rather cool 260 FARMERS' REGISTER, and moist is found most preferable to any oilier. Of course the root succeeds much beiler in iho iiorlliern slates and in ihe adjoining: 13iili$h provinces than in the souiliern parts of our couti- iry. In the north, parts of J\laine and New- Hampshire, and ihe Province of Nevv-i3runswick are celebrated for the excellence of their [lotatoes. In Nevv-Yoik, the tract lying east of Lake Ontario, between that and the Mohawk and I31ack rivers, produces good potatoes ; and the elevated lands in Ihe south of New-York and the north of Pennsylvania are noted not only for tiie quality of their potatoes but the large crops lliey annually [)rodnce. The potato will succeed well on almost any kind of land provided it is rich, ane Scottish territory, whilst the other (De- vons) are never attempted. If a change becomes necessary, would it not be better to take them Ji-om a more northern than a more southern dis- trict. With this view, I do not recommend, but I venture to direct public attention to the fiar-famed Ayrshire breed, as possessing all the qualities Phelim presumes the Devons to possess, except, perhaps, their peculiar fitness for the draught, while they are alfoirether superiorasa dairy stock. 1 do not surrender the Durhams, however, where they are not stinted in their summer paslui^nire or starved during winter upon straw, and the follow- ing instance, will show that they rank hiah as draught cattle ; a pair ofDurham steers raised by the late JMr. Brentnall oCGoshen, have in one day gone from that viliace to the Landing at Cornwall, a distance of aliout 20 miles, and returned the same day tot7/t a load ! One point ofconceded superiority the Durhams possess which has not been touched upon ; that of early maturity. Phelim confesses that the cows of the Devonshire stock are smaller than the bull; this IS a disadvantage, and hence their calves, as far as my experience goes, are small, puny and of slow growth, requiring at least one year more than the Durhams before they are fit to breed. UECEIPT FOR DESTROYING CATERPILT.ARS, USED BY THE SOCIETY OF CHRISTIANS CALLED SHAKERS, AT CANTERBURY, N. H. From the New England Farmer. "Take equal parts of spirits of turpentine and train oil; apply them by means of a swab fixed on a pole, commence the operation in the spring, (we suppose on the first appearance of nests) when these devouring insects begin to appear, ami repeat the operation once a week, till the trees are in blow, and very lew will escape with their hves." Signed F. W. The head of tlie family. We must express our admiration ofihis receipt, not because of its novelty, lor either of the in- gredients would bequiiesufi^cienttokill the insects, as will common soap suds from every Mondav's wash, most ihorouglily, withour train oil or spirits of turpentine ; but we admire it, as a specimen of the practice and industry of those citizens. If our farmers would only follow that part of the receipt, which requires a iveeJdy attention, ibr three suc- cessive weeks, it is immaterial whether they use spirits of turpentine or train oil, or soap suds, or the brush proposed by Col. Pickering, the evil would be cured at any rate. The great difficulty i^ the neglect to do any thing, till after the cater- pillars have covered the trees with nests. Then the labors of the sluggard commence, and one tree, (let this receipt be ever so perfect and powerful) will cost as much time and labor as ten trees would have required three weeks sooner. If our farmers would only adopt //i«< portion of tiie re- ceipt, which requires a weekly attack on this ene- my, the evil will soon cease, and in ten years we should scarce see a caterpillar in the country. By this course continually pursued, we have so much reduced the labor, that we have not one fourth part of the number we had three years ago. APPLES FOR FATTENING GEESE. From tlie T^aino Farmer. Being at a friend's house the other day, in Liv- ermore, he observed to us that his usual supply of material lor fattening his geese had been cut off, and he was not able to regulate himself with quite so fat roasters as common on that account. On inquiring into the subject we Ibunt'. that he had been in the habit of feeding his geese with apples; feeding them out whole, and uncooked, and permitting the fowl to despatch them in their own way and manner. He said that he never made any distinction between sweet and sour, and never perceived that the geese did, as they gene- rally devoured the whole, and fattened remarka- bly fast upon them. We presume that if the fruit were cooked it would be better, inasmuch as it could be more easily eaten and digested. We have never had any ex- perience in this mode of feeding and fattening fowl, and if others of our readers have we should be pleased to hear of their success. ROLLING, A PROTECTION FROM FLY. From the Farmers' Cal)inet. It is said, that the best protection to very young plants against the fly, or insec's that destroy them Bs soon as they appear above ground, is to roll the surface immediately aliereowing,so as to make it as smooth as possible. The p\anls vegetate quicker and better, by having the earth brought in close contact with the seed, and the insects are deprived ofshel'er, by having the clods broken down smooth. Every farmer should have a small, light roller for liis garden, and a large, heavy one for his fields, to be used as occasion may require. And H] in ad- dition to rolling turnip ground, the seed be sown fur or five times as thick as would be proper to stand for a crop, then there would be an abundance lor the fiy to feast upon, and enough left to satisfy the farmer — and if the fly should not thin them suf- ficiently, cut them out with a hoe, or run a harrow through them, to reduce them to proper distances, to flavor their growth. The advantage of compacting the earth to the seed, is exemplified in planting corn. The corn first makes its appearance where the impression of the foot is, and with more vigor than it does where the soil covers it lightly. FARMERS' REGISTER 263 From the Edinburgh Encyclop;edia. AGRICULTURE OF FRANCK. Before tlie revolution, agriciilliire in France was nearly in the same state in vvliicli it is still in al- most every country in continental Europe. About two-fifihs of the land susceptible of culiivation, were in what is termed culture and pasturajje. and produced on an averafre, about one-half of what jrood culture, on the like quantity of the same soil, would have produced. If France has been in any respect benefited by the revolution — if she can claim any permanent and general good arising from it as a compensa- tion and atonement for the physical and moral evils she has suffered and alllicted — that benefit and good must be looked ibr in the stale of her landed property, and in the condition of her agri- cultural population. IJelbre the revolution, the land in France was held by various tenures, almost all of which were decidedly and extremely unfavorable to agricul- ture. The manor rants of the clergy have been variously estimated. Condorcet, in his Life of Turgot, gives it as his opinion, that the clergy enjoyed near a fifth part of the property of the kingdom. Neckar calculated their revenue at 130,000,000 iivres; but it is probable that their manor rents may fairly be estimated to have amounted to about 120,000,000 Iivres, or 4,800,- 000/. sterling, exclusive of^ their tithes, which may be rated at about 3,600,000/. sterling. The domains of the crown and of the princes of the blood, rented for about 1.200,000/. sterling; the fijudal and honorary dues paid to the nobility, wiih cnrvees. militia, &c., amounted at least to 5,000,000/. sterling. Besides, the government drew /mm the produce of agriculture the sum of 8,000,000/. sterling. In short, it has been calcu- lated, that, exclusive of the rents of land paid to the lay-proprietors, and of the duties of excise, consumption, and the like, the produce of the soil was charged annually with upwards of 21,000,- 000/. sterling. But agriculture labored under disadvantages still more discouraging and oppressive, previously' 10 the revolution ; to understand and estimate which, it will be proper to consider the difi'erent modes of occupying land which then exisied, some of which, however, as we shall afterwards see, still remain. In the first place, there were the small properties of the peasants. These were to be found every where to a degree of which we liave no conception in England, atid which we should not have expected in the midst of the enor- mous possessions, and the oppressive privileges, of the nobility and the clergy. Even in those provinces where other tenures prevailed, they were to be Ibund ; but principally in Langucdoc ; Quercy, which now forms the department of Lot; the whole district of the Pyrenees, Berne, Gas- cony, part of Guienne, Alsace, Flanders and Lor- raine. The condition of the peasantry, who pos- sessed these small properties, varied nnjch in dil- ferent parts of the kingdom. In Flanders, Al- sace, on the Garonne, and more particularly in Berne, they were in comfortable circumstances, and might rather be called fiirmers than cottagers ; and in Lower Brittany many of them were rich ; but this character could by no means be applied to them generally. In fiict, the minute division of property had produced the effects which might be expected from it ; and poverty and misery were too visible, especially in Ijorraine, and the parts of Champagne which are contiguous to it. The second mode of possessing land, was by a money rent. 'J'iiis, belbre the revolution, was the general practice in Picardy, Normandy, part of Flanders, Artois, Isle of France, and Pays de Beauce. It ak-^o existed in some of the southern districts of France, particularly in Berne, and_ about Navareens, a town in the department of the Lower Pyrenees. These tenures were also f()und in other parts of France, scattered among those which were different and predominant ; but, upon a moderate estimate, before tlie revolution, they did not exist in more than a sixth or a se- venth of the kingdom. Feudal tenures were the third mode of occupy- ing land. They abounded most in BriUany, Limosin, Berry, La Manche, &c., but they were scattered in a greater or less degree through the whole kingdom. These feudal tenures were fiefs granted by the seigneurs of the parishes, under a reservation of fines, quit rents, forfeitures, sei vices, &c. As they lormed the most oppressive evil un- der \v'hich agriculture labored previously to t!ie revolution, and from which that event must cer- tainly be allowed the merit otMiaving J'reed it, it may be proper to notice some of them. Even to enumerate the whole of these oppressions ^would lar exceed our limits ; and, indeed, the English language does not supply terms by which many of them can be expressed. Among the more mild and tolerable of these feudal tenures, may be mentioned the obligation the tenant was under, of grinding his corn at the mills of the seigneur only; of pressing his grapes at his press only ; oi' baking his bread m his oven. The peasantry in Brittany were obliged to beat the water in marshy districts, to keep the frogs silent, in order that the lady of the seigneur, during her lying-in, might not be disturbed by their noise. In short, every petty oppression which could ren- der the lives of tlie peasantry miserLible, or interliire with the operations of agriculture, was authorized by these leudal tenures; though it must be con- lesstd, that, belbre the revolution, some of the seigneurs, convinced of their injustice as well as impolicy, jbrebore to exact them. Nor were the oppressions of the leudal tenures ihe only ones to vviiich agriculture was exposed. There were nu- merous edicts ibr preserving the game, which ()rohibited weeding and hoeing, lest the joung partridges should be disturbed; steeping seed, iest it should injure the game; manuring with night soil, lest the flavor of the partridges should be injured, by lijeding on the corn so produced; mowing hay before a certain lime, so late as to spoil many crops ; and taking away the stubble, which would deprive the birds of sheller. These were oppressions, to which all the tenants ol land, as well as those who held under feudal tenures, and even the proprieioi's of land, in many cases, were exposed. The latter, indeed, were dread- fully tormented by what were called die C'apilain- ries, which, asattectiiig them in some measure, aa lire feudal tenures atlected the iiirmers, may be noticed under this liead. By this term was to be understood, the paramountsliip of certain districts, granted by the king to princes of the blood, by which they were put in jjosscssion of ihe i)roperiy 264 FARMli^RS' KEGISTiiH of all game, even on lands which did not belong to them, and even on manors granted long bel'ote to individuals ; go Ihat by this paramountohip ail manorial rights were annihilated, 'i'he privileges thus conferred, were most grievous and oppres- sive; for by game was understood, whole droves of wild boars, and herds of deer not confined, but wandering over the whole country, to the destruc- tion of the crops; and if any person presumed to kill them, he was liable to be sent to the galleys. It may easily be conceived, that the minute vexa- tions, as well as the more prominent tyrannies, to which the fijudal tenures gave rise, would occa- sion Irequent disputes between the seigneur and his tenants ; but the latter preferred subrnitiing to them, rather Ihan appealing to the decision of judges, vvho were absolutely dependent on the seigneurs. We may here also notice the corvces, as one of the taxes peculiarly oppressive and injurious to agriculture, though not confined to the tenure we are now considering. By the corvees, individuals were obliged to mend the roads by their personal labor; hence it is evident lliat this tax must have lallen exclusively on the poor; or if it was per- formed by those who kept laborers, it must have deprived them of the means of fully attending to their agricultural operations. This tax was not only impolilic, in so much as it placed the repair of the roads under the care of those who were to- tally destitute of the little skill requisite lor such a task, but it was an easy engine of oppression ; for, under the pretence that the work might be done without inlerrupiion, those who were liable to the corvee had it frequently allotted to them at some leagues from their habitations. Besides these corvces, wiiich were an oppression to agriculture over the whole of France, there were the military corvees, which fell only on the villages lying in the route of the troops ; tiie inhabitants of which were obliged to leave their occupation, however inconvenient and injurious it might be, and repair the roads along which the soldiers were to travel. Such are a lew of the opjjressions under which agriculture in France labored, previously to the revolution, arising either from the feudal tenures, or lirom the more general operation of the laws and measures of government, the privileges of the nobility and clergy, and the usages of the country. The fourth mode of occupying land, resembled that which is common in Ireland, and which is there complained of as a great grievance, and as ttie source of much misery and oppression. Men possessed of some properly, hired great tracts of land at a money rent, and relet it in small divi- sions to metaijcfs, vvho paid lialf the product. Tliis mode of occupying land was most common in La JManche, Berry, Puitou, and Angoumois, but it was also met wuh in oiher provinces. The lust tenure was that of ihe metayer. These, who are a i^pecies of farmers Ihat gradually suc- ceeded to the slave cuUivutory of ancient times, and who, in Laiin, are called coloai partiarii, have been so long in disuse in England, lii.it there is no English name for them. They may be ge- nerally described, as supplying the labor necessa- ry to culiivate the land, while ilic proprietor fur- nishes ihem with the seed, caitle and instruments of liusbandry, and, in short the vvhole stock ne- cessary lor cullivaiing the larm. The common agreement was, that the produce should be equal- ly divided between the proprietor and larmer, after setting aside what was necessary for keeping up the stock, which was restored to the proprietor, when the farmer either quilted, or was turned out ofhis farm. Bfore the revolution, seven-eiuhths of the lands in France were held under this tenure. It per- vaded almost every part of Sologne, Berry, La Manche, Limosin, Anjou, Burgundy, Bourbon- nois, Nivernois, Auvergne, &c., and was Ibund in Brittany, Maine, Provence and all of the southern districts. In general, the half of the produce was paid to the proprietor; but in Champngne only a third. There were also other variations ; in some parts, the proprietor found half the cattle and seed, and the metayer, the labor and implements, besides paying the taxes ; the last, in other dis- tricts, were partly paid by the proprietor. In Nor- mandy, a singular species of this tenure prevailed, viz., on the liirms which the proprietors kept in their own hands. It is scarcely necessary to point out the misera- ble state of agriculture, winch must exist in a country where the system of metaying prevails. In the first place, it proves a lamentable deficiency of agricultural capital; and, in the second place, it has a manliest tendency to perpetuate this evil, and to keep the tenant in the lowest state of de- pendence, misery, and poverty. In some parts of France, the metayers were so poor, and conse- quently so dependent on their landlords, that they were almost every year obliged to borrow from them their bread, before the harvest came round. Such were the tenures of land before the revo- lution. Let us now inquire what effects that event has produced on them, and on the condition of the agricultural class in general. In the first place, the number of small proper- ties has been considerably increased in all parts of France. The national domains, which con- sisted of the confiscated estates of the church and emigrant nobility, were exposed to sale during the pecuniary distresses of the revolutionary govern- ment. For the accommodation of the lowest or- der of purchasers, they were divided into small portions, and five years were allowed for com- pleting the payment. In consequence of this in- dulgence, and of the depreciation of assignats, the poorest classes of the peasantry were enabled to become proprietors, possessing li^om one to ten acres. They support themselves by cultivating these, and by laboring, at the same time, for the neighboring fiumers. The number of small pro- perties has also increased fi-om another cause, since the revolution. Before that event, it seems lo have been the law, or at least the invariable custom, m some parts of France, lo divide the landed property among all the children. This lo- cal law, or custom, was extended, soon after the revolution, to the whole kingdom ; so that, by the present law of France, land, on Ihe death of a proprietor, is divided, by the law itsellj amouir his children. The depilorable consequences which must ultimately result from this division and sub- division of little properties, in a country like France, already so fully appropriated, need not be pointed out; they are sutficientlj' obvious. We content ourselves with staling the fact, as illustrat- ing one mode in which the tenure of landed pro^ perty has been affected hy the revolution. FARMERS' REGISTER. 265 In the second place, hirini^ at money rent is mucli more g^nenil since tlie revolution; and il France continues quiet, and recovers li'om the in- jurious consequences of tlie revolution, it may rea- eonabiy be expected that this species of tenure will become more and more prevalent. In the third place, leudal tenures are done away as well as liilies, game laws, corvics, &c. In some parts, however, the tenants, by tiieir cove- nants with their landlords, are still bound to per- form some services, but by the law, they must be entirely of an agricultural description. In the fourth place, the two other species of tenure, iliat is, monopoly, where men of property hired jfreat tracts of land at a money-rent, and re- let it in small divisions, and ilic s^-siem of metay- ing, still exist, though not nearly to such an ex- tent, or in such an o'ppressive and ruinous Ibrm, as before the revolution. Indeed, when we con- eider that these species of tenure vvere the un- avoidable and necessary consequences of indequate agricultural capital, we cannot expect that they should be abolithed by the mere operation of law, or by the direct effects ol" any revolution, however wisely [)lanned and carried into execuiion, {',', however, we find tliat they gradually die away, which seems to be the case, we may salely and rationally maintain, that the revolution, besides the ot better conducted than the rotation. Before, iiowever, we proceed to notice the culture of particular crops, it is proper to men- tion, lliai the application of land to the crops best suited to it is not well understood. Fi^ven in many parts of Normandy, land that would bear heavy crops of wiieat is not unfrcquently sown with bar- ley; and rye in manv parts is sown, where the soil is admirably adapted i" r wheat. It not un- frcquently happens, too, that rye is sown along wtih wheat; the consequence of which is, that, as the former ripens three weeks or a month sooner than the wheat, when the latter is reaped, almost the whole of the former is shed and lost. Different kinds of wheat are s^own iu France; the principal of which are tlie bearded wheat, va- rious species of the comniori winter wheat, and sprinnj wheat. What in Fnuland is called hedge wlicat, where it is of comparatively laie introduc- tion, has been lonir known in tiie north of France, particularly at Calais, Lisle, and Dunkirk; it is known there by the name of pullet wheat (ble pullet,) or white vvheat, (blancble,) and it is re- ijarded as wheat of the first quality. One of the best kinds of sprin.q- or summer wheat known in France, is called ble tremois ; the real sunmter wheat, triticum lesiivum — it is sown wilh success so late a^ the end of May, and yields a large in- crease. The straw, too, is excellent fodder. The produce of wheat in France per acre is small; Even in the best cultivated districts, and on the best soil, it cannot be averaged at more than 18 or 20 bushels per Entzlish acre. In most places it is reaped ; this operation being performed, like the other agricullural operations in France, chiefly by women. In other districts, however, it is mown : the whole process of harvesting is very carelessly performed. In a "food year, in Picardy, 40 sheaves are calculated to produce a septier of wheat of 240 lbs. The principal wheat districts of France, are French Flanders, Arlois, Picardy, part of Normandy, the Limagne of Auveriine, part of Alsace, &c. Beauce, a province which lies be- tween tlie Isle of France, Bloisois, and Oileari- nois, and vhich now forms the department of the Eure and J^oire, is so extremely fertile of wheat as to be called the frranary of Paris. The wheat of Narbonne is in high repute lor seed. Barley is not extensively or judiciously culti- vated in France. There are two sorts : the one which the French call square barley, or barley oJ' FARMERS' REGISTER. 269 autumn, because ihey sow it in lliat season ; tlie other is called spring barley: This is the coni- uion sort soa'n in France; they beled barley : the best peeled barley comes lloin Viiry-le- Francois, a considerable town in the department ol' Mame. Good peeled bar- ley is also made at Charpnton, near Paris. Re- s|)ecliniT the culture ol' oats, there is nothing that calls lor notice. Rye, as it may have been ob- served from the rotations which have been spe- cified, is very generally cultivated, principally tor its grain, but in some places as green food. In the latter way, the ridges ol' tlie wheat stubble are split down, as early as possible after the crop is oil the ground, and rye is sown, which in April or JMay is cut lor the cattle; and, ifthe weather proves liivorable, in some parts of France it is mown three times. The rye in France is very liable to a disease called ergot, which seems to be unknovvn here ; and which produces, in those wlio eat the grain so affected, the most dreadlul complaints. The average produce ol' rye, when reaped, is very small, perhaps not more than 15 or 16 bushels the English acre. The animal produce of wheat, rye, barley, and oats, which may be considered as the chief arable products of France, has been dillerently esti- mated; and, indeed, only an ap|)roximauon to the truth can be looked for on tins account. Ac- cording to Vauban, in his tmie. the annual pro- duce of these grains was 59.175,000 eepiiers of 12 Paris bushels, or 240 pounds weight. Accord- ing to Quesnay, the failier of the sect of the eco- nomists, it was 45,000,000 septiers. In the opi- nion of the Abbe d'Expilly, 78,472,380. Lavoi- sier calculated it at 50,000,000 septiers; and Mr. Arthur Young at 75,000,000. The variations here are very considerable ; but if we take the average of all these sums, it will give 61,519.672 septiers, as the annual produce of wheat, barley, uais and rye in France. The proportions of these difierent grains it is not easy even to conjecture, with any probability of approaching the truth. Rye and wheat are certainly produced in by lar the greatest proportions ; perhaps in pretty nearly equal proporiions. Barley and oats are cultivated on a very small scale ; the latter, especially in the south, from tiie too great heat of the climate, are not so much grown as in the north, and where grown, are in general unproductive. Bean:;, such as we cultivate in England, are principally ffrown in French Flanders ; besides these, the French grow what they call feces de marais, or beans of the marsh, which they eat only when green and fresh. They also dry them, but in that state they serve only as Ibod for cattle. Some persons eat them in Lent; buying them green, and peeling the skin ofi, they split them in two, and dry them in the open air. Haricots or kidney beans are pretty generally cultivated as a fallow crop ; they are carefully hoed, and are very productive. The limits of the maize district have already been noticed, in treating of the climate of France ; and the importance of this grain in an agricultural point of view, has also been sulTiciently pointed out, in the account of the rotations pursued in the south of the kingdom. It is planted in rows or squares, so far asunder that all necessary tillage may be given between them. A considerable part of ilie summer it aflbrds, as it were, a rich meadow, the leaves being stripped regularly for oxen, afford- ing a succulent and most laltening food, which accounts for the high order of all the cattle in the south of France. The meal of maize, besides being used extensively as Ibod fbr man, is also employed fbr fattening oxen, hogs, and poultry. Thus it appears that iliis most valuable grain is a meadow to leed the cattle in summer, and nou- rishing Ibod to fatten them in winter. In some parts of France, it is sown broadcast and thick, for the purpose of mowing to suit cattle. This practice is pursued in the northern districts, where the climate is not sufficiently warm to ripen it ; and even in the southern districts it is not uncom- mon to sow it as an after crop, in the same man- ner, and for the same purpose. Near Rousillon, it is sown in May, to be cut green in August, at which time more is generally in progress, to be ap- plied to the same purpose in December. In the north, it is sown in the beginning of May, on well (lunged fallow, and cut when beginning to come into ear. An arpent will maintain Ibur cows Irom June to September ; and the wheat that succeeds is always good. Although maize is undoubtedly an exhausUnii crop, yet in the Pays de Basques, on the low and humid lands of that province, it is cultivated lor three years successively without manures ; and this mode of farming, which is par- ticularly mentioned by M. Parmenlier in his 3Ie- moire siir le Blaise, is even recommended as good by that author. As maize, where intended to stand for harvest, is always planted in rows, little seed is required ; in general, only the eighth part of the seed which would be necessary if wheat were sown ; and the arpent yields more than double of that grain. la some very fertile and well managed spots, an ar- pent has yielded 2400 pounds, "it is commonly ripe in the month of September ; and even when later, the grain is protected from the inclemency of the season, by its broad and strong leaves. It is usual in most parts of France, to spread it under the roofs of the cottages to dry ; the eaves of the houses being made to project 10 or 12 feet from the plane of the walls for this purpose. When the corn is cut, it is tied up in bunches, and suspended from light raficrs, horizontally placed under the j shelter ol these eaves. Buckwheat is cultivated to considerable extent, particularly on the poorer soils ; and being of rapid growth, sufficient lime is allowed to clean the land, before the succeeding crop of wheat or rye is sown. It is much used as Ibod fbr man ; and, in some parts, as has been already noticed, as green food for cattle: in this case, it is a stubble crop. A very Itjw years before the revolution, conside- rable exertions were made by the iniendants of the several provinces, to introduce the regular and general culture of turnips. They distributed seed, and published small treatises on the proper man- agement, and great advantages ol this root; but their exertions seem to have been in a great mea- sure unsuccessful ; for turnips are very little culti- vated in any part of France. Mr. Birkbeck, who travelled in '1814 from Dieppe through Paris and Lyons to the Pyrenees, and back by the route of Toulouse, says he did not see a single acre of tur- nips, or even o[ raves, in his whole journey. That 270 FARMERS' REGISTER. they are not irrown in the souih of France, he as- cribes lo ihe exlren)e dryness oflhe cliinaie. This undoubtedly would render them a very precarious crop ; but when he assigns the severity of the winter in the northern disiricts of France, as the cause of their not being cuiiivatod there, his rea- son does not seem equally good. In (act, they are cultivated in French Flanders, in Alsace, Lor- raine, and in the other districts in the north and east ; and it appears from Mr. Young's Tour, in 1787, 1788, 1789, that at that period they were not entirely unUnown, even in the middle and southern districts. In the department of the Lot, raves, that is a kind of turnips with a carrot root, long, thin, and poor, are cultivated ; These are also grown near Caen in Normandy, in the road to Bayeaux ; and in Bresse, or tiie department of the Ain, where they are known under the deno- mination oi'navets. Between St Palais and Bay- onne, many turnips are grown in a singular hus- bandry ; the wheat stubbie is either burnt by it- self, or where it has not been left long enough, piraw is spread over it, and then it is set on fire. The ground thus cleaned of weeds, as well as ma- nured, is then sown with turnips. On the whole, however, the culture of this valuable root is very partially known in France ; and where known, is miserably conducted, as no hoeing is ever given to it. (To be continued.) From tlie Cultivator. Mr. Keith, of Maine, in a communication to the Monthly Visitor, afier describing several modes of managing bees, and the ill success that aUended them, thus in substance gives the result of an ex- jieriment made by placing them in a garret. He finished a room in his garret impervious to rats and mice, to which was a door secured against children and intruders. In this room was placed a swarm of bees, the hive on a level with and near the places made lor their egress and ingress. Theyoung swarm soon filled their hive, and then commenced building all around it, filling in with the finest comb, and without the support of slate or bars, the space from the roof to the floor of their room. Mr. Keith, by the aid of a candle, was able at any time lo inspect the progress of his apiary, and witness the Ibrmalions of the column of comb. There was no swarming, and of course the work had the bene- fit of all their increase in numbers. Alier the second year of their operations, Mr. Keiih com- menced taking honey from the room, doing it in the winter when the bees were doimant^in the central parts of the mass; these external combs always composing the best and purest part of the store. For many years Mr. Keith's table was abundantly supplied in this way with the choicest of sweets, until in 18— his dwelling house was destroyed by fire, and his bee-hive, ''"containing at the least eight hundred [joiinds of honey, and of living beings a multitude which no man could number," shared the common tine. From what we have seen, and have been able to learn on ihis subject, the mode ol treaiing bees as above described is superior to inosi oiheis, lor the ibllowing reasons, it prevents in most cases any swarming ; the bees are not as frequently attacked and destroyed by the bee-moih ; there is no neces- sity of destroying the bee as is the common but cruel practice ; and the store of honey is always at command. The honey bee is one of the most va- luable of our manufacturers; and that, and the silk- worm almost the only insects that contribute by their industry to the comlort of man. PROCEEDINGS OF THE TOBACCO COKVENTION. [When giving a place to the following report, on a subject so interesting to all tobacco cultivators, we cannot but express our surprise, as well as re- gret, that not one person from Virginia attended the meeting. This is another and a striking ex- ample of the complete torpidity of the agricultural class of Virginia, in all matters relating to their peculiar interests and duties. — Ed. F. Reg.] From tlie National Intelligencer. Washington, Friday, 3fay 1st, The convention of the tobacco planters of the United Slates assembled in the chamber of the board of aldermen, at the City Hall, this day. Delegates were present from Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky. Delegates had also been appoint- ed from North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and other slates, but had not arrived. At 12 o'clock, the convention was called to order by Mr. Jenifer, of Maryland who said that he had to announce, with great regret, that he had received a letter from Governor Barbour, the president of the convention of tobacco planters held three years since, and who still, had he been present, would have been the presiding officer, stating that he would be unable to attend, in consequence of du- ties detaining him at home, and expressing the re- gret which he lelt at the circumstance. Mr. J. suggested, therefore, that the convention should now appoint a president, with a view to or- ganize and proceed lo business. And he nominated for that office Gov. Sprigg, of Maryland ; who was unanimously appointed. The President having taken the chair — Mr. Jenifer suggested that the convention now proceed to appoint a vice president and secretary. A nd he would nominate fijr the former office a gen- tleman who, although a stranger among them, came there highly recommended by his character and position — Mr. Benj. Jones, of Petersburg. This nomination was unanimously agreed to. On motion of Mr. W. T. Wooton, ofMaryland, Mr. J. S. Skinner, of that state, was appointed secretary. And on motion of Mr. Thomas T. Somerville, of Maryland, Mr. John Mercer of that state was appointed assistant secretary. The convention having been thus organized — The president said he presumed it would proba- bly be within the contemplation of the convention to appoint a committee at this time, for the purpose of taking the subject upon which the convention had met, generally into consideration ; and who would be authorized to report at any hour to which the convention might adjourn to morrow. The convention was then addressed by Meesrc'. FARMERS' REGISTER 271 JeniTer, of Marylnnd, Tripletf, oC Kentucky, and Keech, ofPrince George's county, Maryland; and, also, by Mr. Dodge, the ogrnl appointed by the government to visit Europe lor the ()uipof:e of pro- curing information on the subject of tlie tobacco trade, who laid before the convention some inte- resting statistical statements, the results of his in- vestigations. Alier which, Mr. R. W. Bowie ofiered the fol- lowing resolution : Resolved, That a committee of be appoint- ed by the president to consider and recommend such measures as may be deemed must expedient to be adopted, to accomplish the objects contemplated by this convention. Mr. Tripiett suggested, as an amendment to the resolution, the addition, at the end theieolj of the words "and that the committee he requested to make report at 11 o'clock A. M. to-morrow." Mr. Bowie accepted the modification; and the resolution, as modified, was adopted. And the blank was ordered to be filled with the number ien. The President announced the following gentle- men members of the committee : R. W. Bowie, chairman, Wm. J. Blackstone, Thomas A. Somerville, John Mercer, John Barnes, Baruch Mullikin, Benjamin Jones, Edward Hamilton, Thomas F. Bowie, Alexander Keech, Mr. Jenifer, after urging a punctual attendance to-morrow morning, suggested that any Iriends who were in the tobacco interest, and were in the ciiy, be invited to attend, and that such members of congress as thought proper should attend also as members of the convention ; which suggestions having been assented to — On motion of Mr. Jenifer, the convention ad- journed until 11 o'clock to-morrow m.orning. Henry Godfrey Wheeler. Reporter to the convention. Saturday, May 2, 1840. Pursuant to adjournment, the convention re-as- Eembled this day at 11 o'clock. Mr. Jenifer offered a resolution, which was una- nimously adopted, returning thanks to the mayor and common council for tendering to the conven- tion during its sittings the use of the chamber of the board of aldermen. Mr. R. W. Bowie made the foHowinir report : The committee appointed by the conveniion of tobacco planters now assembled in this city, wilh instructions to prepare and report to this conven- tion such measures as may be deemed expedient to accomplish the objects ."ontemplaied by the con- vention, beg leave respectfully to submit the fol- lowing report : The sJatistical statement, respecting the enor- mous duties and exactions imposed on American tobacco, which was laid before the convention yes- terday morning, and which is herewith again pre- sented as a part of this report, showing "that Eu- rope levies a revenue of about thiriy millions of dollars on about 100,000 hogsheads of American tobacco, which cost in the United S'ates about seven millions. These duties and exactions appear to he so enor- nious that your committee have thourrht it necessa- ry to examine them with the greatest atiention, and have come to the conclusion that, enormous as they are, the following facte'show that there is no exaggeration. Russia. On examining the statement above mentioned, it will be seen that during three years, that is, from the 1st of October, 1835, to 30ih of September 1838, the average direct exfiortations fi-om the United Slates to tliat country amounted to 181 hogsheads but the actual consumption in Russia may be con- sidered as much greater, and may be safejyestimat- ed at 458 hhds. annually, the difference over the direct importations arising from the entrepots of England, Holland anon "he chauL^e of my eystem ol' iarniing. 1 was unable to make' during the year a dividing fence between my wheat and corn field, and, of course, after culling ihe wheat, the field was not grazed; it had been dressecl the year previous v.'iih marsh mud, and the while ciover was equal lo what i have seen in the fall of the year on fields sown with red clover. Red clover often liiils fi-om a defect in the ^eed, or ttie season; and, if the oats or wheat upon which it is sown be luxuriant, it is liable to be smothered before harvest. White clover is indige- nous, and on improved lands rarely fails : under smy circumstances, and I think under provident ilvupbandry would afford siifiicient vegetable matter ?o keep them in hcalihy action. The last two none are more shamelijily neglected, especially in our own stale. The loss among ihem by death, during the last winter and early spring, has been enormous; far indeed beyond any that; the oldest man among us can recollect. Now, as this, 1 believe, has been entirely owing lo a dis- ease which, although very common, has not yet been disiinguished by any technical name or piiy- siological description, I will endeavor to point out the piemonitory symptoms, for the benefit of sucJi young farmers as may not have attended to them sufficiently, to take timely warning against their faial consequences. The first is a sinking con- vexiiy of ihe back, and a position oflhe head and neck, which give lo the animal more the shape of ihe camel than the sheep. The next is an inward' shrinking of the belly, which gives lo that part an. upward curvature, nearly parallel lo the curve of the spine. Lastly, and whin the case is nearly desperate, may be seen a drawing of the li"ont and hinder liiet towards each other, as if the poor, doomed creature, hopeless of all aid fiom man, was about to fall into the agonies of death. A post mortem examination, alihough rarely made, except by dogs and buzzards, always discloses a carcass the bones of which have nearly worn through the skin, and intestines almost as empty as the exhausted receiver of an air-pump. Having described, as accurately as 1 can, what ihe doctors would call the diajinostics of this FARMERS' REGISTER 277 hillierto nameless, but most desolatinnr disease, I will lake ihe liberty lo call it the venter vacuus, or hollow belly ; a malady, by the way, far more de- structive to our poor sheep, than even the hollow horn is to our most wo-begone, skoleton-looking cattle. 1(" tlieir unfeeling masters could every now and then feel a lew twinges of it, they would, at least, be taught that sympathy (or their domesti- cated brute animals, which all men naturally feel, who are not themselves much less humane than both reason and duly require them to be. A small portion of our larmers boldly assert that we ourselves are the sole cause of this deadly dis- ease ; and thai nothing is more simple and cheap than the means by which it may be always and entirely prevented — to wit : dry shelters to protect them Irom bad weather; daily Ibod oC good long Ibrage, with some grain, pease, or a due portion oC such roots as they will eat; and salt sprinkled on tar, twice or thrice a week. Others, constituting, J believe, a considerable majority, would seem as strenuously to maintain, that their sheep are wiser than their masters in regard to shelters ; that arti- ficial ones make them unhealthy; and that brows- ing upon pine, cedar, and holly bushes, to warm their stomachs, with poverty grass and broom- straw lo give them the necessary distention, is lar belter lor them, than lo save them the material trouble of catering for themselves, without which they are apt to become too lazy and plethoric. But all badinage apart, I would most earnestly ask every man among us who owns sheep, if it is not highly important to tliem all to settle forever, and as speedily as possible, this difference of opi- nion in reerard to their proper management? The unanswerable proofs of the best practice are, and have long been, within the reach of every one who will take the trouble lo examine them with a mind open to conviction. For if foreign publications on the subject should be objected to as unsuitable for us, enough and more than enough from the high- est practical authority in our own country can be found to satisfy even the most skeptical. There are many of your correspondents who could exhi- bit these prools, if they would only spare as much time as to write them out for your Register. But lest this method should savour too much of " book- farming" (or some ofour brethren, I will respectfully suggest another mode, in all cases where the com- munication cannot be made from the writer's own experience. For instance, when we go to our re- spective courts, as it is the Virginia fashion for nearly three-fourths of us to do on every court- day, business or no business, instead of spending the greater part of our time in those worse than useless political party wranglings, where all are clamoring together and none listening, let only one or two men in each county endeavor to ob- tain, from their (i'iends and acquaintances, answers to the following questions : Do you, or do you not, shelter your sheep from bad weather during winter and early spring? Do you leed them well (i-om November until April ? What id the average weight of their fleeces, and what the average loss of grown sheep and lambs within that period? I presume that lew would refuse to reply to such inquiries ; and if their answers were arranged in a tabular form, as they might be, very concisely, such elalements (unless I grossly err) would exhi- bit so striking a difference between the results of the opposite modes of treatment, as would not only astonish even those who suppose this differ- ence to be greatest, but would forever banish all' doubt fi-om every mind, unless it was of ihat stu- pidly obstinate character upon which neither lacts" nor arguments can make any irai)ression. I pray you, sir, to endeavor to prevail on some of your friends lo give you some such statements as I fiave taken the liberty to suggest. If 1 may judge by what I myself know, and have heard from authority in which I fully con- fide, the average annual loss in our state, of unsheltered and poorly fed sheep, has rarely, if ever, been less than about 15 per cent. This last season, I am confident, it has been greater; while the fleeces of all such sheep, from the time of my earliest recollection, have not averaged more than three or three and a half pounds. With this state- ment, which 1 admit to be somewhat conjectural, although not entirely so, I beg j'our readers to contrast the communication of Mr. L. A. M. of Tompkins county, N. Y., in the 'Albany Culti- vator' (or this month (April.) He states that he "commenced the last winter with 535 lambs, and that up lo the 21st of February he had lost but two; both of which were mortgaged" (as he says) " lo the crows belbre foddered season com- menced." This farmer, be it remembered, both shelters and feeds his sheep with great care. To his statement I beg leave to add one which was published several years ago, in the Richmond 'Enquirer,' (i-om a Mr. Hill, of Caroline county, Va., a gentleman of unquestionable veracity. As well as I recollect, it was made two years (ollow- ing ; and in each year the fleeces of his sheep, to which he paid great attention, averaged upwards of six pounds. The three best flocks, by far, that 1 myself ever saw, were, one in Prince William, one in King George, and one in Essex. All were sheltered and well led from the commencement of cold weather to the end of it; and the last men- tioned flock was housed every night throughout the year, in an old tobacco-house, which was swept out every morning. These sheep were un- commonly fine, and might well have been com- pared with any that I have ever heard of in our country. To conclude, I beg you, my good sir, to remem- ber that this communication, like all the others which I have ever made for your paper, is sent solely pro bono publico, and not for self-gratifica- tion. I submit it therelbre entirely to your owq judgment to determine whether it can render any service or not ; (or I never wish to occupy even so much as a square in your Register, unless I can do some good by it; and of this you must judge ra- ther than Your old Iriend, James M, Garnett. Essex, jfpril lOth, 1840. EPIDEMIC AMONG HORSES. From tlie Carolina Planter. A disorder is prevailing extensively among horses throughout the souihern states — in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, it is very general, and we understand liarther west. The s\ niploms are an irritability of the whole 278 FARMERS' REGISTER system — with feverishnes?, and in some cases ac- tual lever — sliirht watering or mattering aiiout the eyes — wiih a cloudiness about the cornea — languor — refusal to eat— slight husky cough with slight discharge from the nostril— swelling of the legs — stiffness in liie loins and legs- sometimes only one leg being atiiecied. It attacks in come cases with coTicky symptoms— or the womb becomes excited and mares cast their Ibals— in others inflamma'ion of the bowels comes on. Should the catarrhal symptoms not be controlled early, swelling oC the glands ol' the throat and neck takes place with inflammation of the windiiipe and lungs— high lever and puffing of the skin — the inflammation o! the eyes increases and results in blindness— the stiflhess of the limbs becomes worse — spasms come on — with intense liiver, and inflammation of the brain or lungs takes place, and death ibllows quickly. In many of the cases rest and light feed are all that is necessary. The disease continues but three or four days. In most of the cases which have occurred in our neighborhood the irritability of the system has been checked, and the disease controlled by a single iarge bleeding, and lor salety we recommend it in all cases. In one case, where high fever was present, and highly inflammatory symptoms, with increasing stiffness in the limbs, great swelling of the legs, and disposition to spasm, with acute pain in the bowels, we saw eight quarts of blood taken from the neck, followed by an ene- ma of two ounces of laudanum, procure immediate relief— the symptoms returning on the Ibllowing day, eight quarts more weie taken away, and a repetition of the laudanum two or three times gave permanent relief In one fatal case which we have seen, symp- toms of intense inflammation of the trachea, lungs and bowels were present — in another inflammation of the womb. We consider the disease as catarrhal— afl'ecting the mucous membranes and glandular system — coming on with a general irritability of the whole systern, which, unless immediately removed, is Ibllowed by inflammatinn of the most irritable or- gan of the animal— in some horses there being a trreater disposition to have one organ affected than another, as is noticed in man— colds producing al- lections of the air-tubes, bowels, or rheumatic symptoms, according to particular susceptibility of individuals to take on disease of those kinds. While noticing the present epidemic, we would throw out a few hints on the diseases of horses in general. Most of them are inflammatory, and ihe extraordinary power of the heart and arterial sys- tem requires, that where liever is present, the most vigorous depleting measures should be used at an early period. More horses die of inflammation ot the stomach and bowels than from, any other dis- ease, and most persons who have given any atten- tion to the subject, notice how very rapidly inflam- mation runs its course in a iiorse. This renders it important to attend to symptoms immediately, and we can scarcely go wrong in bleeding a horse with symptoms of colic or hots — and giving enemas of laudanum — frequently horses are lost by waiting for the operation of a purge — in twelve or fifteen hours inflammation will run on to an uncontrolla- ble point, while ordinarily 20 or 24 hours will be necessary for the developement of the action of the cathartic ; large bleedings followed by large doses (preferable by enema) of laudanum are more suc- cessful in controlling inflammation than any other means — and we consider this as the most valuable treatment in acute cases ol' this kind. In chronic affections cathartics or laxatives may be used beneficially. A long controversy has occupied farriers and gentlemen who attend much to horses on the sub- ject of bots. A great many insist that they are injurious to the horse and cause death — while oilieis are perfectly convinced that they are harm- less. Writers of high reputation are arrayed on both sides, and believe, (like the knighis of the shield, who vitnved it from opposite sides and Ibught about their difference of opinion) they may both be right. During a healthy state of the stomach it is covered with a secretion of nmcus, upon which it is supposed the botleeds ; — when a hors« is driven too hard, or eats loo much, or drinks cold water when heated, inflammaiion of the mucous coat of the stomach is apt to lake place — the se- cretion is frequently checked — the stomach in health is protected by the mucus from the me- chanical irritation of the hot — but now its presence on an unprotected inflamed surface increases the inflammation, and disorganization rapidly Ibllows — ulceration effectinir what the hot is supposed lo make, a perforation through the coats of the sto- mach or bowels. This perforation we have seen where no bots could be fi-iund — and we have seen it in horses where bots were thickly present, and here we have invariably noticed the absence of the mucus. We frequently hear of soothing mixtures of lauda- num relieving bots (as it is called) — and also of rubbing the chest and belly vviih turpentine giving ease. It is by quieting inflammation or transfer- ring it to a less vital structure, and thus relieving the primary disorder. It is much 10 be regretted, that medical gentle- men pay so little attention to the diseases of this noble animal. How many valuable lives might be saved, if they did not consider it beneath the dig- nity of the profession to be horse doctors! " Of all domesticated animals, the horse has the most powerful claims on the sympathy and attention ofihe medical practitioner. The lawyer may construct his briefs — ihe parson' may per- form his clerical duties — and the merchant may grow rich in his counting house with little assis- tance li-om the horse ; but to the medical man, ihis spirited and intelligent animal is as essential as the knowledge which he acquires in the schools, or Ihe medicines which he prescribes lor his pa- tients. The horse is his companion and best friend in the town and in the country. He carries him proudly through the crowded street — he conveys him salely over the midnight heath. He shares with his master in all the toils, and in many of the dangers of jjrofessional \Ub. He is as much ex- posed to the elements — more indeed than ihe physi- cian and surgeon — and he is not exempt from many of the diseases to which his superior is liable. To inflammation, fever, rheumatism, organic dis- ease of the heart, liver and lungs the horse is very prone ; and the study of his maladies is as neces- sary to the medical practitioner in a pecuniary point of view, as it is interesting in a pathological." — Dr. J. Johnson. In England veterinary colleges have become frequent, and ihe later publications of the British F A R iyl E R S ' REGISTER. 279 prcgs show the esiimatioii in which this subject is held. " Tlie Society (iir the diHusion of useful kiiovvled^. spaces, whilst the superficial work of the harrow, in the other, kept down crop grass and weeds, and at the same time cut no roots but such as run very shallow. It may be that cutting the roots of corn has a tendency to "multiply spongioles at the ends of the cut roots next the stalks, more than sufficient lo compensate ibr the loss of the extreme feeders," as suggested by Mr. Garnett, (vol. 7, p. 4, Farm- ers' Register,) whose views generally I much ad- mire, and whose writings I have had the pleasure of reading occasionally, for the last ten years. But if it were possible to avoid it, I would never cut the root of any piant in its culture. Pulling fodder. — On this subject, I have no doubt, I am with many others, in preaching one thing and practising another; fori leel well con- vinced that much injury is done to corn in taking * See Dr. Muse's stateDienf, cic, vol. vii., p. 17, J^armers' Re'rister. 280 FARMERS' REGISTER. off the blades, at the time when most persons do it, and as it is usually done. But as we are com- pelled to have something of the kind (or our horses, and as it is a very common belictj (which I much doubt from small experiments of mine,) that we cannot raise clover and foreign grasses in ihis state lor hay, we are (breed to do that, that many of us believe is an injury to our corn. For I he benefit of those not averse to passing over their fields more than o/jce, (and this is an objeciion with some of my neighbors,) I will state, that of late I have been in the practice of going over the whole of my corn crop twice, and very often three ti7nes over parts of it, belbre the whole of my blades were pulled. My orders to my hands are not to take a blade from any stalk the ear on which is not very perceptibly changed in color. And even then, up to the ear only, unless its external shuck is partly or quite dry, in which Jatier case, all are to be taken from the stalk. In this way 1 am confident I have done much less injury to my corn than is done in the usual manner of taking all belbre us. True it is, 1 have to pass through my crop two or three times ; yet it is not so unpleasant afier all, unless the corn is so sorry that I might wish to keep altogether out of sight of it. Besides, I get more and better Ibdder by so doing; for if we wait till all the corn is ripe enough, much of the fodder will have dried up and become worihless. On the contrary, if we go to work too soon, then the corn is the sufferer ; and most of the earliest Ibdder in the last fields we reach will be lost : the lime of taking it being prolonged by tak- ing all belbre us. I have stated above I doubted the commonly re- ceived opinion that we cannot raise foreign grass in this state. Admit it to be true, however. If we were to clear up the many worse than useless branch and creek swamps, on most of our larms, they would supply a much belter article of food in the native grasses, than the best of our corn blades, to say nothing about the worst. Baden corn. — I planted about two acres of Ba- den corn last spring, and alihough I did not mea- sure the product, it certainly yielded at least a third more than any other variety in the same field. The land was thin, and not manured since 1838, when it was in cotton. I have planted the present year a field of il, selected from those stalks having the most ears ; and of another variety (a mixture of the Baldwin with the common flint, having a very deep grain on a small cob, taken from stalks having two or more ears,) in alternate rows, in hopes of improving the grain of the Ba- den corn, which is too short for tlie size of the cob, and at the same time preserving its prolific cha- racter. My seed was obtained from a gentleman in Georgia, who had received the previous year a part of a barrel, sent by the Hon. Jesse Cleveland, jrom Washington city, to some of his constituents in Ue Kalb county. jjpple and pear cuttings. — To such persons as may li?el disposed to try the experiment, and be humbugged, as I have been, by ihose that have asserted, that apple and pear cuttings would grow, if treated and planted as multicau'is cut- tings, 1 would say. apply your labor to some other occupation. Fur, out ol' one hundred, cut, waxed and planted, secundum urlem, last spring, not a single eye of eiilier succeeded. I had not much faith, 1 must acknowledge ; for I had, some years since, tried sticking a cutting in an Irish po- tato, and the result was, that the potato grew, but the cutting died. 3Iulticaulis. — I have planted, the present sea- son, about tliree thousand muliicaulis cuttings, pre- paratory to commencing the silk making business on a small scaie, another year. Many of my friends laugh at me, and say, "it is all iiumbuggery." A Iriend of mine writes me Irom Georgia, " I think, from your letters, that your symptoms of silk lever are 'rather alarming.^ I am of the opinion, however, that a lew doses of multicaulis, worked ofi' with silk-worm eggs, will restore you to health." Probably it may. friend B****; but I very much regret I did not take the multicaulis fever in 1S32, when G. B. Smith, esq., offered to furnish twenty trees to any one wishing to pur- chase, at one dollar per tree. (See American Far- mer, p. 81.) Then, if I had taken the "fever," and repeated the dose, it would certainly have proved the grand panacea to my pecuniary healih. It would have enabled me to contribute liberally, which I should have done most cheerfully, to the Smith Fund ; and thereby furnishing a solid to- ken of respect, to one much deserving it. Deep ploughing. — I should have stated in its proper place, that I am not opposed to deep break- ing of fand ; on the contraiy, 1 care not how deep the breaking is done, (even in the thinnest soils,) provided the soil be kept on top,* and lor that purpose, I once constructed a pioush with two coulters, to run in rear of the mould-board, and set as deep as I desired to break the subsoil, without turning it up and mixing it with the soil ; the plough at the same time turning to the lull depth of the soil. It answered a very good purpose in old land, that was clear ofroots and stones; but required two strong horses to pull it, and laborious work for the ploughman. In new and rough lands, it could not be used to any advantage. It was conse- quently laid aside ; and I now prefer, in thin soils, running the broad point coulter in the same fiir- row of a light, one-horse, turning plough, in which way the subsoil may be well broken with- oulturning it up, in any kind of land. In conclusion, sir, ill could write better, I would write ofiener ; but my great desire to promote the interest of that most useful, and much neglected class of the community, the agriculturists, will, I trust, be a sufficient apoloiry, for intruding my bunglins production on yourself and your very- respectable class of readers. It cannot be expect- ed, I know, that every farmer should be an ele- gant writer. And yet most of them may, in some sort of way, communicate their views, and the results of their experiments, so as to be under- stood, and possibly benefit others. S. 3I0DERIV IMPROVEMENTS IN EUROPE IN SILK- CULTUKE. From tlie National Intelligencer. The introduction of improvements in the silk culture will be much more readily eff'ected among an educated and intelligent people, having no preju- * See Gideon B. Davis's Essay, American Farmer, vol. xiii., p. 369. I once ruined a field by turning; deep, according to the directions of Arator. FARMER S' REGISTER. 281 ^ices in favor of old mode?, and every thing to !earn anew, than amonir those whose uneducated minds have, by long habit, become wedded lo par- licular usaiies. In tlie central and noriiiprn parts ■oC France," the disadvaniages of chn:iaie have been in a great degree overcome by art. The adoption of improvements in ihe conslriiclion ol cocooneries, so as to insure warmth and that free ventilation so indispensable, have enabled them to obtain in the vicinity of Paris three times the weight of cocoons from a given quantity of eggs that is the average produce in the southern de- partments, the consumption of leaves being at the same time fifiy per cent. less. At the njodei es- tabliphment at Bergerie^ de Senart, near Paris, under the direction of M. Camiile Beauvais, the results obtained have indeed surpassed ail antici- pations. The silk is remarkable lor its lustre and ptrenglh.and commands an exira price. With 1,000 kilogrammes, or one Ion (2,240 lbs.) of leaves not sorted or picKed, JM. Bfauvais has pro- duced 90 kilogrammes, or about 200 pounds of co- coons. The mulberry plantations at Bergeries oc- cupy about 35 acres of ground, and when they get into full bearing are expected to supply sufficient Ib- liage to roar the piodnct of at least one hundred ounces of eggs. J\]. Beauvais preserves his silk- worm eggs not only to any |)eriod of the ensuing year most convenient to have them hatched, but <'ven fill the year following this, in which last case the eggs have been Ibund lo haich perfectly well ^ind go through all their stages with regularitj'and vigor. By raising the temperature and increasing the number of repasts, he accoinpl'shes his feedings in from twenty-two lo iwenfy-lbur days, thus saving much valuable time and labor which may be de- voted to trimming mulberry trees and other objects connected with the business. The rapidity ol'the rearing has not been found to impair ihe value ol the silk. JM. Beauvais has exerted himself to dif- fuse all the information upon the subject which his opportunities enabled him to do. His cocoonery is open to all visiters, and, during tvvo months of the rearing season, he receives gratuitously those ■who place themselves under him for the benefit of his observations and practical instruction. Among the scientific individuals who have de- voted special attention to the silk culture is M. Robinet, member of the Royal Academy of Medi- cine. He is director of the government model cocoonery at Poicliers, where he has distinguish- ed himself by (he success of his labors. He gives gratuitous lectures upon the silk culture every sea- son at Paris. The course begins in February, and consists of two lectures a week, delivered on Wednesday and Saturday. Immense advantages must result from the lectures of Robinet, and the practical course of instruction by Beauvais. In a recent report made by Bourdon to the French Minister of agriculture and commerce,* he gives a statement of the success obtained in cocooneries where the new modes of heating and ventilating have been adopted, to a greater or less extent, compared, in many insiances, with results attendant upon the ordinary plans. He first pre- sents the experience of the model cocooneries esta- blished in the departments of Urome and Vauclusc " In the first," says he, " at Faventines, near Annales de la Societe Sericicole, 1838, p. .53. Vol.. VIII— 36 Valence, the beautiful race of silk-worms called white Sina, obtained from JM. Beauvais, yielded a product of 78 kilogrammes (or about 171 lbs.) of cocoons, with a consumption of 1,000 kilogram- mes (or atiout one ton ol 2,240 lbs.) of leaves. Two races of worms, producing yellow cocoons, one from Piedmont, the other Irom Ardeche, gave 165 lbs. and 158 lbs. of cocoons for the same quan- tity of leaves. " In the second establishment, situated upon the grounds of the Maiquis of Balincourt, near Palud, (yaucluse,)upon the banks of the Rhone, in a locality where the mulberry leaves are very wate- ry and but little nutritious, M. Peltzer has obtained 132 lbs. of cocoons to the ton of leaves. He ope- rated with the eggs of the white Sina, obtained under the superintendence of M. Aubert, in the Royal Domain of Neuilly, which eggs the king, in his enlightened zeal for the success of the silk culture, had requested to be placed at the disposal of the Marquis olBalincourt." "The produce of the other cocooneries of this proprietor, managed upon the common plan, do not yield more than from 44 lbs. to 56 lbs. cocoons to the ton of leaves." With some difference in the proportions of leaves consumed, similar crops of cocoons appear to have been procured by nearly all the fijedcrs who have availed themselves of the salutary in- fluences to be derived from a uniform temperature and constant renewal of the air. 'J'hus M. Than- naron, member of the Agricultural Society of Drome, obtained on his estate, near Valence, 168 lbs. of cocoons to the ton of leaves. M. Robert, at Saint Tulle, near Monosque, de- partment of Lower Alps, obtained the following results : The product of eight ounces of eggs con- sumed 18,032 lbs. of leaves, and yielded 915 lbs. of cocoons of excellent quality. It must be ob- served that M. Robert only gave his worms the advantage of the new mode of ventilation after they had passed the third moulting. Not having net hurdles, his worms were fed on temporary board shelves. Upon M. Robert's estate, the average product of leedings made by his tenant?, who pursued tlie old methods, was only about 61 lbs. of cocoons to the ounce of eggs. M. Mazade, jr. at Anduzc, (Gard,) in operating upon 12 ounces ofeggs, o"»tained 605 kilogrammcd (about 1,331 lbs.) of fine cocoons with a consump- tion of 9,103 kilogrammes (about 20.000 lbs.) of leaves : that is to say, about 147 lbs. of cocoons for every ion of leaves cnpsumed. The same amount of foliage afforded him only, about 88 lbs. of cocoons in his other apartments, which, though superintended by himself, had not the advantages of that veniilaiion and artificial temperature, together with the perfect equality in the seveial stages and fi-equcncy of repasts maintained in the system of Beauvais and D'Arcet. The agricultural commi.^sion of Alais awarded a gold medal to M. Maza<]e, with the expression ol'it^ thanks, for the fine example set to his dis- tric;. The ten)pcrature mnininined in the cocoonery during tile experimental feeding of M. Mazade ranged between 77deg. and 73 deg. Fah't. whilst the degrees of moisture ascertained by De Saus- i sure's hygrometer varied li-om 65 deg. to 85 deg. We learn from M. Mazide the liighlv interest- 282 FARMERS' REGISTER ing fact that ihe whole amount of labor required in this rearing of the produce of 12 ounces of silk- worm eggs consisted of 111 days' work, of which those of men were 46, and those of women id5. Now supposing the wages the same as thop*^ set down in Bourdon's calculations, namely, 40 cents per day /"or men and 25 cents lor women, then will the whole expenses of labor aniount to .S34 G-'i, which is much below the expense of mur- ing estimated by Bourdon, namely, ^53 lor feeding the produce of only ten ounces of eggs. The 1,331 lbs. of cocoons, sold at 35 cents per ]b, would brins S465 85, which sum, to those growing their own trees, would afford a handsome profit, even after allowing 50 or 100 per cent, additional Ibr expense of labor, and saying nothing of pren)iums or state bounties. Supposing the cocoons reeleil off into good raw silk, and sold at S5 per lb. the proceeds of the crop would be in- creased to nearly §700. In esiimaiinnr the costs of raising silk in most parts of Ihe United States, the main items are Ibr Buitable buildings, fixtures, and labor, the chnrcre (or land being a very insionificant item, as the following facts will sufficiently prove : The Rev. J). V^. McLean, of New Jersey, ac- tually raised last year upon one-fburlh of an acre 2576 lbs. of leaves from multicaulis trees produ- ced by roots and cutiinss planted in April of the same year, with which leaves he fed worms enough to enable him to make twelve pounds of reeled silk. He statec that his ground was by no means rich, and the trees small, ihoucrh pretty close together. At this rnte, more than 20.000 lbs. of Ibliage can be obtained li-om two acres of mul- ticaulis trees, the first year of plantinir. Here is a fact of immense importance to us in the United States, and, for the clear demonstration of which to say nothing of other services he has rendered his country, we (eel ours-^lves under great obliga- tions to Mr. McLean. The multicaulis, and. In- deed, any other variety of mulberry, will afford at J east three times as much foliage the second year as the first. The proportion of leaves consumed in M. Ma- znde's feeding, to the cocoons produced, is about 15 to 1 ; the same which Dandolo gives as the average consumption and product according to his experience. We have seen, however, that M. Beauvais has obtained, at Bergeries, near Paris, 1 III. of cocoons to 10 lbs. of leaves, which is a saving of 50 per cent, both in foliage and the labor of ca'hering and distributinrr. One of the most remarkable instances of suc- cess reported by M. Bourdon is that obtained by M. Planel, vice president of the tribunal of Va- lence, and member of Ihe Atrricultiiral Society. For many years his cocooneries had been almost entirely swept by the muscardine. After the adoption of the new system of ventilation, his Avorms not only escaped the devastalinir disease, hut afforded him 350 kilogrammes (770 lbs.) of cocoons from six ounces of egirs, being at the rate ofabout ISOlbs. ofcocoonsto theounce. The results obtained in two rearings, conducted in the two model cocooneries of Drome and Vaucluse, afford strong evidences of the happy influences spread by the system of Beauvais. Alanatred upon pre- cisely the same principles, and under similar cir- cumstances, as recards the interior of the cocoon- ery, notwithstanding the difference in climate, they progressed with perfect unifbrmily. Each aije had exactly the same duration — that is to say, five days from the first, including the 36 hours of moullinould be laid naked and made manifest to all.— Ed. F. R.] iJ/r. Holmes : — At this time, when po many *' new improvements" in the aris and sciences, as well as almost every branch ol" human industry, are put forth to the public, under the most impos- inj5 titles and caplivaling language, I think it will not be out of reason to throw out a liiw hints to my brother farmers, to be on their guard, and not suffer themselves to be imposed upon, by interest- ed persons, in the sale of some of those " new im- provements," which are almost daily, or at least every week, brought belbre the public — however specious may be their pretensions to the patronage of the community. For, sir, it is a (act, which cannot be controverted, and the more reflecting part of the community already perceive it, that we live in a day of hmnbiiggcry, or in oiher words, at a time when there are men, who are tleiemiiiied to lake the advantage of the more ignorant, by ushering to their notice this thing, or the other, as "a great" or "decided improvement" in this or that branch of business, or eomethin