424 



F A R M E R S' REGISTER. 



[No. 7 



great number of useless saws thus and made them 

 :<food as new, and have communicated this me- 

 thod of doing it, io many of my brother mecha- 

 nics in Kentucky and other states. And now, as 

 a mechanic and farmer, have thought lor several 

 years of having this information pubUshed to the 

 world, for there are thousands of handsaws thrown 

 aside as useless, for want of a knowledge how to 

 restore them to usefulness. 



J. H. Wkntworth, 

 Millwright <f Kentucky. 



From the New Hampsliire Silk-Grower. 

 PROFIT OF DEAR LIME USED AS MANURE. 



Mr. Cooke — You requested me to be more par- 

 ticular in relation to my experiment with lime in 

 growing wheat. 



The cost of lime in this vicinity is from four 

 dollars to four dollars and a half per cask. I ob- 

 tained mine by going to Weathersfield with my 

 own team for it. It costs from a dollar and a half 

 to two dollars per cask at the kiln, with the cask. 

 Of fifty cents less without. 



My mode of applying it in compost was as fol- 

 lows: — Having a quantity of meadow mud, chip 

 manure, &c., on hand, I put a layer of that three 

 or four inches thick, then a layer of unslacked 

 iime, of perhaps an inch in thickness, then another 

 layer oi' compost, and so on alternately until my 

 linie was all worked up. It remained in this situ- 

 ation a week or tvvo, until the lime was complete- 

 ly slaked by the moisture of the compost, when it 

 was shoveled over and thoroughly mixed. It was 

 then applied to the land; ploughed in and well 

 miKed with the soil by harrowing. 



How much of the crop should be attributed to 

 ihe lime, I know not, but am of opinion that 

 enough to pay the extra expense was obtained in 

 consequence of using it— so that if it benefits the 

 land hereafter, it will be net gain. I am decided- 

 ly of opinion that it is better to apply it in compost 

 than any other way. I tried various experiments 

 with slaked lime as a top-dressing, without any 

 apparent effect. 



1 have used lime but one season, and that an 

 unpropitious one; perhaps further experiments will 

 modify my present opinion of its utility, as well 

 as of the best mode of applying it. In that case 

 you may expect to hear from me again. 



J. K. Smith. 

 Dublin, January Is/, 1838. 



SEEDLING CANTON MULBERRY TREES. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Georgetoion, D. C. Sept. 1st, 1838. 

 I send you above, an impression from a leaf of 

 a new variety of mulberry; it is not so large as 

 the leaf of the morus midticaulis; but I think 

 thicker and softer, and will prove, I have no doubt, 

 a valuable acquisition. I procured last winter, 

 through the department of state, a pound of this 

 seed, from the consul of the United States, at 

 Canton, China — represented by him to be the! 

 mulberry most esteemed in that country, for feed- 

 ing silk-worms. I had not much confidence in it, 



as 1 had heard and seen so many statements, that 

 good kinds of mulberries could not be propagated 

 li-om seed, or that they did not Ibllow their kind. 

 That doctrine may be true generally ; but this 

 plant is an exception, as they are all alike, as far 

 as I can judge — though some are very tall and 

 thrifty, and others, where they stand very thick in 

 the seed beds, are low and delicate. The leaf of 

 which an impression is annexed, is from a plant 

 about three feet high; and there are thousands in 

 the beds as good. 



They have in Northampton, Massachusetts, a 

 variety they call the Canton mulberry, more es- 

 teemed there than even the midticaulis. I know 

 not whether mine be the same; but it certainly 

 bears a larger leaf than any mulberry I have ever 

 seen except the multicaulis, and much resembles 

 this latter in so many particulars that I think it is 

 probably the original tree from which the multicau- 

 lis, by artificial means, has been produced. These 

 seedlings have withstood the heat and drought of 

 this scorching summer, better than any thing 

 else in the garden. I would sell a few thousand 

 of them. Very respectfully, your obed't. servt. 



J. Mason, Jr. 



[The impression of the leaf is 6g by 5g inches, and 

 not lobed. We have never seen any of the Canton 

 mulberry trees of Northampton; neither that of Dr. 

 Stebbins (described by bim at page 257 of Farmers' 

 Register,) nor Mr. Whitmarsh's famous "Chi- 

 nese mulberry" seedling; and if it were otherwise, 

 the identity or difference could not be pronounced 

 upon, merely by comparison with the picture sent. 

 But the description given by Mr. Mason, seems to 

 agree very well with that of the Canton, as given by 

 others. The reason why the latter is preferred in 

 Massachusetts, is not because of its superior value, 

 but because it is more fit to withstand the rigorous 

 climate of that region. It will scarcely be preferred 

 in any place where the mulHcaulis will grow well and 

 safely. Though we have no faith, in general, in the 

 seeds of any mulberry bringing with certainty the 

 same variety as the parent tree, we admit that Mr. 

 Mason has good ground (in the similar appearance of 

 all the plants,) for considering that his kind is an ex- 

 ception to this rule. He is mistaken in supposing 

 that the leaves of his kind are the largest of any 

 except the multicaidis. This will be evident to him 

 on referring to a piece in a previous part of this num- 

 ber, (at page 417,^ in which the sizes of leaves of the 

 native mulberry, and also of sundry seedlings, are 

 stated.— Ed. Far. Reg.] 



From the Fraiiltlin Farmer. 

 HOES. 



Many of our most thrifty farmers of the east 

 grind their hoes, and take a file to their fields with 

 them to sharpen them when dull, with as much 

 regularity as they take a whetstone with them to 

 the meadow. Those who have never used a 

 ground hoe would be astonished at the compara- 

 tive ease and expedition with which he can prose- 

 cute his work with that useful little implement. 



