1S37] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



19 



whii-h will bo. thus colored will show the place of 

 the sap vessels. Il'tiow the upper eiul ol'ii hnnich 

 be cur, jind plunirod into the colored water, we 

 shall be able in the same way to trace the counse 

 of the pores throuu-h which the proper juice de- 

 scends. Some oflhese pores, however, cannot be 

 discovered in this way, as they will nut take in 

 any colored liquor. 



All the nurishment which a plant receives, is 

 cither by means olthe water which is absorbed at 

 tiie roots, or li'om the air which is absorbed into the 

 leaves; all the wood in the lariiest and heaviest 

 trees is formed in this way. The manner in which 

 water and air is liuis changed into solid wood, is 

 indeed curious, but is readily comprehended by 

 those who are familiar v.'ilh the extraordinary 

 chanijes shown by chemistry. The liict was very 

 strikingly proved by a phiiosoj)her in Ilollaiui, 

 who planted a willow weiirhino; /f/"/!/ pounds in 

 a quantity ol' earth which he also weiirhed and 

 covered with sheet lead. lie watered it for five 

 3'ears with pure distilled water: at ihe end of which 

 lime the tree weighed one hundred andfilxty nme 

 ponnds and three ounces, and the earth had lost only 

 three ounces. 



The quantity of water which passes off into 

 vapor from plants through the leaves, is often very 

 great. Dr. Hales ibund. by very accurate experi- 

 ments, that a sun-flower which weighed only three 

 pounds, threw off in twenty-lour hours, twenty- 

 two ounces of water, or nearly half its own weight. 

 In the same space of time, the Cornelian cherry 

 (Cornusmascnla) is saitl to throv.^ off twice its 

 own weight of water. On a warm summer's day, 

 at a time when there had been no rain for several 

 weeks, Dr. Watson placed a bunch ol grass under 

 a bell glass, and in two minutes the inside of the 

 glass was covered with drops of water like dew 

 which ran down its sides. By weighinfrthe water, 

 he ascertained the exact amount; and from this 

 experiment he was led to conclude that in one day 

 an acre of grass throws off nearly two thousand 

 gallons of water. Some plants when cut wither 

 much sooner than others, owing to the property 

 they have of throwins offthe water from the 

 leaves with greater rapidity. Hence by tryinor 

 this simple experiment, we may find at once how 

 much watering different cultivated plants retiuire. 

 Hence too, the reason why plants may he removed 

 and trans[)lanted with greater success in damp 

 weather when the leaves give ofi' but little water, 

 (ban in dry weather when they throw it off' rapid- 

 ly. Hence, too, the reason why, in iransplantiufi 

 trees, if the roots are mutilated, and diminished, 

 it is also necessary to reduce iti proportion the 

 branches, in order to prevent the leaves throwing 

 olf moisture faster than the roots can sujjply. 

 Hence, also,the reason why mown grass is changed 

 into hay in a few hours in dry weather, v/hile in 

 damp weather no efforts of the fiirmer will enable 

 him to succeed. The great quantity of water 

 given off by plants, will teach us to avoid the 

 blunder whicli some people make, of leaving 

 weeds to grow around plants for the purpose oi 

 shading them and prevent the ground (lryinu",when 

 in fact they carry off a nnich greater quantity ol 

 water than would dry ofi' the bare earth, besides 

 diminishing the ft'Tiility of the soil. Some plants, 

 however, give off but little water, as some kinds of 

 moss, and may thereflirein some cases be properly' 

 employed in shading the ground. 



Thus, by the study of this science, liirmers and 

 Hardeners may find the re;ison for the difliM-ent 

 openitions they perform; and may very often know, 

 or be grwitly assisteil in determining what is 

 necessary, and what is not necessary, ibr their 

 success. At the saitie time they will be enabled 

 to guard against mistakes, by vv||ich great injury 

 is oJien done when least intended. 



From tlu: Genuessec Farmer. 



TIIE MORVS MITLTICAULTS ATiD MR. WHIT- 

 MAllSM^S aiULBEUItY SEEL). 



Baltimore, Jan. 21, 1S37. 



Mr. Tucker — Please excuse my interference 

 in the controversy in relation to CHiinese mulberry 

 seed. From the commencement ol'the excitement 

 on the calture ofsilkin the United States, I have 

 lelt a deep interest in every thing that I'elales to it. 

 For some years I was almost alone in urging it 

 upon public attention, and have never ceased in 

 my efforts to inculcate its highly important l)ear- 

 ing upon the interests of my country. Thus much 

 as an excuse for the following remarks. When 

 "Chinese mulberry seed" has occasionally been 

 offered ibr sale, [ have uniformly denounced the act 

 as improper, because all of the white mulberry 

 species are natives of China, and as moras mul- 

 ticaulis was familiarly called "new Chinese" mul- 

 berry, the natural inference would be that the 

 seed offered was morus multicaulis — and /to .seed 

 of ihe latter, to any amount, can be offered for 

 sale. Occasionally I have seen morus multicaulis 

 seed advertised, and I have had hundreds of aftpli- 

 cations for it; but I have always cautioned appli- 

 cants a.:5ainst purchasing it, because I knew tliU 

 well that there was no such thing as morus mul- 

 ticaulis seed to be had any tvhere. I have now in 

 my garden the second oldest morus multicaulis 

 tree in America — AJessrs. Prince of Flushing have 

 the oldest. My tree is about eight years old 

 Prince's is about 10 years. These trees bear fruit, 

 and hfive yearly produced a little seed, but not 

 enough to pay lor saving it. The reason is obvi- 

 ous. The demand for trees is so great, that he 

 would be a madman that would allow his trees to 

 bear seed when he can make a young tree, five 

 feet high, from every bud his tree produces. Thus 

 every spring, every limb containing a bud is sure 

 to be cut off and planted as a cutting, and hence 

 no seed is produced either in Europe or America. 

 All nurserymen know the tardiness with which 

 mulberry seeds vegetate, and the difficulty with 

 which weeds can be kept down until the plants are 

 up sufficiently high to enable them to keep them 

 (the weeds) down by ordinary cultivation. With 

 us the time required for the seed to vegetate has 

 generally been li-om lour lo six weeks. Usually 

 many ot the germinating seeds have been destroy- 

 ed in my efforts to eradicate the weeds. And 

 when the seeds have at length begun to grow, so 

 as to enable the nurserymen to keep the weeds 

 down, the season has so advanced that the plants 

 have scarcely time lo mature their wood before the 

 severe cold of the fall .sets in, when all wood not 

 thoroughly ripened is destroyed. These reasons, 

 even if morus multicaulis seed were abundant, 

 would operate against raising them from seed. 

 And here it may be proper to remark on another 

 improper influence that has been brought to bear 



