!837] 



F A R M E R S ' R E (i 1 ST E R , 



477 



(J'lct of that respectable rjenllem in oonveys a se- 

 vere ro|)roof' to those who neglect tlie improve- 

 nii'iit ol" llieir mosses; iunl happy woiilil I he, if I 

 coiilil riii<r thai neijrleet in iheir cars, till Hiey were 

 shatned out of their intioience, and set about re- 

 ciaiiiiiiiir liie mosses on their estates in good earn- 

 esi! Tiiey would thereby add to thi'ir own reni- 

 rolls, without dinnnisiiinir those oftheir neighbors. 

 They wouM create employment lor liiousunds ol 

 peo[)le, niueh more wholesome and profitable, in a 

 pecuniary and mora! |)oint ol" view, than that ol 

 spinning or weaving coitpn, so unfavorable to 

 health and morals; while the resources and physi- 

 cal strength ol" tiie nation would.be more aug- 

 mented by such improvements, than ever they 

 have been, or can be, by overdriven manufactories, 

 or conunei'ce too much extended. 



These bring a temporary, but very uncertain gam; 

 but, by the improvement of moss, and other waste 

 lands, in Scotland alone, the arable and produc- 

 tive part ol" this kingdom may be more than tri- 

 pled ; the tbod of mankind quadrupled; the popu- 

 lation proportionally increased; and the climate 

 mended. 



An increase of population has ever been justly 

 considered as the strength and best security of any 

 stale. That must be more than ever desirable 

 and necessary, when our colonial system has 

 been so wonderfully enlarged, and when we may 

 be considered as at war, unaided, with Europe — 

 and but little better "with Americ;?. — headed by 

 the most consummate and successful general, and 

 most ambitious and unprincipled tyrant, of modern 

 times. 



But, inadequate as our population certainly is, 

 to the supply of such immensely extended colo- 

 nies, and to the force with vvhich we are threaten- 

 ed, it is much more tlian can be supplied with 

 food, either raised within the island, or that can 

 be imported l"rom our own colonies. We must 

 pay annually, even in ordinary seasons, five, 

 sometimes seven or eight millions of our guineas, 

 already too scanty for our extended commerce, to 

 procure grain to support the present population; 

 while millions of our acres, capable of raising 

 that grain, are neglected, and many thousands of 

 our inhabitants, who might improve that land, are 

 buried alive, in unwholesome factories, to the ruin 

 of their health, and contamination of their mo- 

 rals. 



This may do in ordinary seasons, and while it 

 is possible to procure from our enemies the grain 

 which we need; at least the injury it does, is slow 

 and not immediately perceived : but if a great 

 failure of the crop should happen when we are at 

 war with all Europe, and denied intercourse with 

 America, we must eitherencounter famine, or lie at 

 the mercy of our most inveterate and unprincipled 

 enemies, for the staff of lile. And who knows 

 but they might demand from us, the same sacri- 

 fice that was exacted from Esau; compel us to 

 barter our naval superiority — the birth-right which 

 we inherited Irom our fathers, and of which we 

 are so justly proud — for a morsel of pottage! 



These evils, I hope and trust, kind heaven, 

 which has so lonir held this happy island under its 

 protection, will continue to avert. But they must 

 be mentally blind indeed, who do not perceive the 

 dangerous consequences of paying away so many 

 niilliona of our fifuineas for grain, annually, at a 

 lime when our manufactures, and colonial pro- 



duce, are excluded from the continents of Europe 

 and America; and they certainly want a prudent 

 and necessary (()iesi<j:ht, who do not perceive the 

 extreme danger to which we would, under exist- 

 inircircustances, be ex[)osed by any material failure 

 of a crop. 



Every improvement in airricnlture has a happy 

 tendency to secure us against these evils. But 

 that of reclaiming mosses and wastes, as far as 

 (hey are capable of improvement, would not only 

 raise Ibod lor the present inhabitants, but for thou- 

 sands, and hundreds of thousands more, which 

 would in that case be procrealed and brought into 

 existence. 



The quantity of manure that might be made 

 from moss, lor the arable land, is also a matter of 

 irreal importance. But as this pa[)er has already 

 t)een too nmch extended, I must leave that sub- 

 ject, and a particular account of the modus operan- 

 di pursued by some of ihe most successful improv- 

 ers of moss, to be inserted, if you think proper, in 

 some subsequent mmiber. 



Meantime, I am, &c. 



William Aiton. 



From tlie Farmer and Gardener. 



CULTURE OF THE MORUS MULTICAULIS, SILK 

 WORMS, &C. 



Mr. Roberts — The following paner on the sub- 

 ject oi'-'ninfiis multicaulis, silk, &c., has been 

 liravvn up in consecpience of the numerous appii- 

 ca'ions made to me for infbrmation on the various 

 branches of the subject; and for the purpose of 

 correcting numerous errors that continually per- 

 vade the public press. Eivery word I write is 

 founded upon my own experience. Another ob- 

 ject in drawing up this paper, is to endeavor to res- 

 cue the credit of many valuable improvements in 

 the business, which have been filched fiom the 

 author of them. 



Tliere can be no doubt with those who have 

 made themselves acquainted with the qualities of 

 the various varieties of the mulberry, that the new 

 Chinese s/)ec?es, or morus multicaulis, is the best 

 fi)r feeding silkworms. I estimate the compara- 

 tive value of the morus multicaulis and the best 

 white or Italian variety, as one to two; tiiat is, I 

 consider the morus multicaulis worth one hundred 

 per cent, more than the while [talian. It saves 

 nine-tenths of the labor in gathering the leaves, 

 on account of their being at least ten times the 

 size of those of the white. One pound of morus 

 multicaulis leaves contains one-third more nutri- 

 tive matter tlian a pound of the best white mul- 

 berry leaves; the reason of this being, there is ve- 

 ry little woody fibre in the morus multicaulis leaves, 

 and in the best white there is a very large portion, 

 all vvhich passes off in the form of excrement. 

 The morus multicaulis affords leaves, and is not 

 injured by the loss of them, the first season — all 

 they require is a Cew to be lel"t on the tops and ends 

 of the branches. The white requires to be 3 or 4 

 years old before it can be used. The morus mul- 

 itHiaulis is perfectly hardy, when grown on its own 

 peculiar and natural soil, which is light, dry, and 

 not over rich. On low rich soils, tfieir growth is 

 protracted to so late a season that they do not ri- 

 pen their wood, and of course they are killed to the 

 ground in winter. I have uni!i)rmly grown them 



