2S6 FARMERS ASSISTANT. 



In Spain, they are prefered, by the Grandees, to Horses, 

 for riding ; especially in the more mountainous pans of that 

 Country. 



In every situation, where their labor is almost constantly 

 required, they are certainly much more profitable to keep 

 than Horses; and the same may be observed, where they 

 are to be used in broken mountainous Countries. 



For further observations, as far as they may be applica- 

 ble to the Mule, we refer the Reader to articles HORSE, 

 FOALS, &c. 



MUSTARD (Sinafiis.) This plant requires a soil suf- 



..ficientiy strong tor turnips. Let the ground be well pre- 



"pared, by ploughings and harrowings cany in the Spring, 



and sow, of well-ripened seed, at the rate of two quarts to 



the acre. When the plants are a few inches high, thin 



them, so as to stand about ten inches apart, and destroy the 



weeds with the hoe. 



When the lower seeds are ripe, the middle seeds green, 

 and the top of the plants in blossom, cut them with a sickle, 

 bind them in moderate-sized sheaves, and put these in small 

 stacks for a few days. In this situation the green seed will 

 soon ripen. Carry the sheaves to the barn, having a large 

 cloth uuder them, to prevent wasting, and in a few days 

 they will be fit for threshing. 



The ground for raising this plant should be previously 

 well cleared of weeds. 



The best mustard for culture is Durham mustard, or &'- 

 na/iis Ar-uensis, The culture of mustard is profitable. 



MYRTLE (Myrica.) This is a beautiful shrub, or tree, 

 as- the different species or varieties of it may be ranked, ac- 

 cording to the size they grow; but the species recommend- 

 ed for culture are those which bear the most berries, com- 

 monly called the candieberry myrtle; or, Myrica Caerifera 

 Xiatffolia. 



In France, they are cultivated for the wax afforded from 

 the berries. It is extracted by boiling them in water, when 

 the wax rises to the top. Four pounds of the berries afford 

 0-ne of wax. Candles made of it burn with a clear white 

 flame, and, if burned when newly made, afford an agreeable 

 and salubrious odour. 



The wax is superior in quality to beeswax, and applica- 

 ble to all the purposes for which the latter is used. The 

 wax of the myrtle is of a pale-green ; but, as is observed by 

 Mr. Green, us color may be deepened of that hue, by 

 throwing some alkali into the water in which the berries 

 are boiled. 



