FARMERS' REGISTER— WILD ONION. 



Marl is not rare in Florida, and the whole coun- 

 tiy being based on a shell rock, it is, probably, 

 abundant, j\nd will, in due time, be developed. I 

 ha'v'e myseli" seen some very fine specimens. 

 Veiy respectfully, yours, 



II. B. CROOM. 



Z,ake Lafayette, near Tallahasse, March, 1834. 



P. S. With respect to fruits, I may state, that 

 peaches do very well, though they arc sometimes 

 destroyed by the spring trosls. Ajiplcs, pears, 

 cheiTies, &c. have not been sufficicntlj- tried. The 

 number of wild plums in this coimtrj^, is remarka- 

 ble, A species of goosebeny (Ribes rotundifo- 

 lium of Michaux?) grows wild in the hammocks, 

 and from the quantity of subaljiine growth, it 

 might be inferred that this country would prove 

 favorable to the production of most of the fruits of 

 temperate climates. But the fact remains to be 

 tested. Strawberries grow as large and as fine as 

 I have seen them in any country. They are now 

 rij)ening abundantly. (March 31st.) 



'Some corn which I planted about the 20lh of 

 February last, came up m due time, has been 

 ploughed and hoed once, and is now thrifty and 

 promising. It is probable tliat two crops of corn 

 might be made in one season, if it Avere desirable 

 to do so. But late corn in this climate is apt to be 

 attacked by worms, while in roasting car. 



THE WILD ONIOJf. 



To tlic Eilitor of the Farmers' Register. 



Cambridge, Md. Jprll 18, 1834. 



Will you allow me through the medium of the 

 Farmers' Register, to make the inquiry of your 

 numerous coiTespondents, whether there is any 

 effectual mode, and what it is, of extirpating 

 that most destructive of all v>^eeds, the wild 

 onion? 



I purchased several years ago, a farm near 

 Cambridge, of poor clay sod, filkHl with starveling 

 onions. I had always been impressed with tlie 

 idea, that heavy manuring would eradicate them, 

 by the substitution of other Aigorous vegetation; 

 but experience teaches me the error of that opinion. 

 I have made the land extremely rich, yet the onions 

 have increased in number, and in Adgor of growth, 

 pari passu with the improvement; and now at this 

 moment, my wheat field exhibits the mortifying 

 spectacle of a serious and doubtful conflict, between 

 these best and worst of the vegetable creation: and 

 I fear the onions will bear the palm. 



An answer to my inquiry will confer an obliga- 

 tion on, 



Yours, verj^ tndy. j. e. m. 



P. S. Has an eflectual onion riddle ever been 

 invented? — by whom? — and, where may it be ob- 

 tained? J- E. M. 



nolia Graniliflora, accompanied by its relative the fra- 

 grant Magnolia Aurienlata, the Olea Americana, Ho- 

 pea tinctoria, Ilex Opaca, Prunus Carolifiiana, 8cc. 

 Here too, are the Red-bud and tlie Beech, the elegant 

 Stuartia, tlie showy Hydrangea, and the gay Azalea. 

 These are often entwined about their tranks by these 

 elegant creepers, the Carolina Jessanaine, tlie Coral 

 Honeysuckle, the Decuraaria Sarmentosa, the luxuriant 

 Cissus, and the splendid Bignonias, while the TilJand- 

 sia Resneoides festoons their branches! Such is a Flo- 

 rida hammock — ^the pride of Flora, and the paradise of 

 botanists. 



A BREEDING MULE. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Spring Hill, Nansemond county, ") 

 2d 3fay, 1834. 5 



A circumstance has occun-ed on my planta- 

 tation, which seems to be against the general 

 principles of nature. Oji the 23rd of April, 1834, 

 a female nmle of mine, had a colt, never suspected 

 by me until I saw its birth. I bo'i W3r!.cu iier hard 

 all last year, upon the farm, and on the rail road, 

 through the winter hauling marl, and all the month 

 of March haiding logs, from a distance oilwo miles, 

 six loads a day, and thirty logs each load, making 

 twentj'-four miles each day. She was at work all 

 April hauling out manure, untd the 23d. On that 

 day I had gone, a little time before night, from the 

 labors of the day, owing to one of my family being 

 sick; and about 5 o'clock in the evening, the boy 

 that drove the mule, came running to the house, 

 saying that Jenny (for that was her name) had a 

 colt. I went out and in a lew minutes thereafier, 

 the thing (for I kno-.v not what to call it) was de- 

 livered, and is now doing well. I never suspected 

 the mother's being with foal, because I thought it 

 contrary to nature, though I had for four or six 

 weeks observed that her belly was enlarged, and so 

 much so, that the cart had to be altered, as it 

 rubbed her. She showed no other sign — so I did 

 not suspect it. She has little or no bag, though I 

 believe slie gives a plenty of suck, as hev child is 

 now gettuig fat. At first it Avasver}^ poor. Noav 

 you will ask what is the father of it? I cannot 

 saj' — but Ijclieve, a colt of mine, now three j'ears 

 old. He ran out on Sundays, with the nmles, 

 and the black boy tells me tliat there was cause 

 for such an efl'cct. So it is, the mule has a colt, 

 and it is exactly like the young stallion. If this is 

 a matter of curiosity, you may give publicity to it, 

 under my name. Ilundreds can prove the fact — • 

 and several can testify that they Avere present at 

 the birth. 



JOHN THOMPSON KILBY. 



P. S. The mother certainly is a mvh, for she 

 was foaled mine, and is noAv ten years old. 



[The fact stated by Mr. Kilby is particularly inte- 

 resting, because so authenticated as to leave not tlie 

 slightest ground for doubt. But though it is contrary 

 to the general operation of a laAV of nature, for any 

 mule or hybrid animal to be capable of procreation, it 

 is well known to naturalists that 'There have been some 

 (though rare) exceptions to the rule. Whether in 

 these cases the oflspring is barren, according to the 

 general and wise provision of nature, to prevent the 

 continuance of mongrel breeds, or not, has not yet 

 been determined]. 



YELLOW (or wild) LOCUST. 

 The Genesee Farmer of April 5th, says that "yel- 

 low locust seed is worth $4 or #5 tlie pound— say $1 

 the half pint. And trees of suitable size for setting 

 may be had at several nurseries in Western New York 

 at $G per hundred." At these prices, it AA^ould be a 

 profitable employment of labor to gather the ripe pods 

 of the wild locu^, where they are produced abun- 

 dantly, as on the high calcareous banks of the lower 

 James River. 



