FARMERS' REGISTER. 



849 



by the hanil. Besiiles, the broaflcast-maclune, 

 the drill-macliine, we perceive, is now much in 

 use on the borders, particularly in sowing wheat. 

 There are various sizes ol" those drills, hut all are 

 formed for tjie same purpose, and on the same 

 principles. Their object is to deposit the seed at 

 a given depth in the soil, and cover it up so as to 

 require little harrowing al"tcrwards. Tiiere is a 

 practice of drill-sowing in Cumberland and Diun- 

 friesshire, which deserves imitation in other dis- 

 tricts. A person brings a large Sullblk drill from 

 Suifolk, and undertakes to sow the autumnal 

 ■wheat with it, at 2s. per acre. This is a very ef- 

 ficient implement, and as it costs £40 when new, 

 employing it in this manner seems a very good 

 plan of getting the wheat seed sown. The an- 

 nual interest and tear and wear attending the 

 ownership of this drill, would be equivalent to the 

 sowing of twenty-four acres of wheat land. It is 

 ^generally believed that drill-sowing saves seed. 

 Whether the saving is an object, appears doubt- 

 ful from the iollowing statements of Lord West- 

 ern, in a letter to Lord Rayleigh, dated from Fe- 

 lix Hall, in last March. He addresses his lord- 

 ship to inform him " of the result of a mode of 

 wheat sowing, which differs from the practice of 

 this neighborhood, and which I have tried eight 

 or ten 3'ear3 with great success, and the advan- 

 tages of which are peculiarly striking this year, 

 when the failures of plants are so prevalent. Any 

 person now may have ocular proof of it. I can 

 show them 100 acres of wheat, upon every acre 

 of which I have a sufficient plant — I may say a 

 full and thriving plant upon 90 of the 100. It is 

 a nice question at all times to determine cause and 

 effect, but I have no doubt in this case that the 

 superiority of my wheat plant to most of my 

 neighbors this year (which will generally be ad- 

 mitted by them) is owing entirely to my mode of 

 putting the wheat into the ground. I use the 

 drill in rows, nine inches apart, and put in at 

 least three bushels per acre. I adopted the 

 plan inconsequence of what I saw atHolkham 

 about eight or nine years ago, and from the stre- 

 nuous advice of my friend the Earl of Leicester, 

 and the example of himself and several of his 

 very intelligent and experienced farmers, who 

 joined him in urging me to this course. One old 

 farmer, who occupied a very large farm under 

 him, told me he had uniformly pursued that sys- 

 tem above fifty \-ears with the greatest success; 

 he was of opinion that the quantity of seed was 

 generally too small (of course the quantity should 

 vary according to circumstances,) but he was sa- 

 tisfied an increase of seed would increase the 

 growth of the country most essentially. Since 

 that time I have sown all my wheat in this man- 

 ner, and I have had great crops, I may say quite 

 equal to the best farmers around me.' I by no 

 means ascribe these large crops of wheat exclu- 

 sively to this drill system, because the seasons 

 have been so good, and i have farmed hi^h. I 

 confidently believe, however, that something is 

 due to the system, and that this year has shown 

 that great advantages are derivable from it in sea- 

 sons, and under circumstances that are unfavora- 

 ble lor the preservation of a good plant — the first 

 object of every practical farmer, particularly on 

 heavy land, whereon are so many failures. The 

 general objection to the plan is, that the wheat 

 will be thick in the rows, that it will grow up 



without tillowing, and with many short ears. I 

 do not, on experience, find this objection j^wel I 

 founded. I think the numijer of short ears to be 

 l()und in this mode is not greater than in the 

 wheat that has more room to tillow, and they are 

 ffeiierally filled with good corn, full-sized grains. 

 I hardly have heard any oilier objection made, 

 and the advantaires of the thick [jlaiit are many, 

 some rather |)eculiar to this country. One consi- 

 derable difiicully we have to encounter in our 

 clay-bottom lands arises from the tardiness of our 

 early vegetation, which renders our early plants 

 comparatively a more easy prey to vermin of every 

 sort, such as the sluir, the worm, &c. and bad un- 

 genial weather. Where there are any rabbits, 

 destruction will often ensue in these lands from 

 the weakness of growth in the plant, which would 

 be overcome in warmer and quicker vegetating 

 grounds. This remark of course does not ai)ply 

 to gravel-bottom lands, which are to be found in 

 some few and limited districts. Now, it will be 

 admitted generally, that where the plant is thick, 

 it will grow considerably quicker upon first com- 

 ing out of the ground — the numerous blades seem 

 to protect anii keep each other warm; and the 

 roots partly matted toijether, get a better hold of 

 the ground, so that they are not loosened by the 

 biting off the blade, nor are they so loosened by 

 succession of fi'osi and thaw ; they are by no 

 means so likely to be root-fallen, which is produc- 

 tive always of the worst consequences when it oc- 

 curs, and the mischiefs of which are peculiarly 

 striking in many instances this year. 1 can drill 

 with liie heavy Suffolk drill, covering ten fieet or 

 twelve furrows at a time; nearly if not quite as 

 slraio-ht as is practised in the light land of Norfolk 

 and Suflblk." 



We were glad to observe the prevalence of rib- 

 bing with the small plough the seed-furrow for 

 spring wheat or barley on a winter ploughed fur- 

 row. There is no better mode of obtaining a fine 

 mould, a good depth of bed for the seed, and of 

 avoiding the bringing up of a raw clod which the 

 ordinary plough would inevitably do in a late or 

 damp season, and of dispensing with much har- 

 rowing. This ribbing is applicable to all soils, 

 and particularly to those which are apt to throw 

 out in severe frosts and bright sunshine in spring. 



From tlie New England Farmer. 



NOTICE OF THE CHINESE TREATISE ON SILK 

 CULTURE. 



[The following article, from a late English publica- 

 tion, relates to tfie curious old Chinese treatise, of 

 which a translation has recently been published, and 

 from which an extract was republished in the 4th num- 

 ber of this volume. These remarks will not be unin- 

 teresting to those who have read that extract; and may 

 induce others, who have passed it over, to return to it, 

 and give it due attention. — Ed. Fak. Reg.] 



Not very many years have elapsed since the 

 project of introducing the silkworm into this coun- 

 try was seriously taken up by several scientific 

 persons; and the probability of its becoming event- 

 ually a source oi" wealth was warmly discussed. 

 Gradually, however, the ardor of these projectors 



