446 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 7 



ticaulis was a distinct species, and would produce 

 its Iil<e. 



Ft must now he admitleii that tlie multicaulis 

 will run inio varieties; liut does this prove that it 

 is only a variety of ilsell"? By no means. Tliere 

 is no species of mulberry that has been lirought 

 into general cultivation, that can be relied on to 

 reproduce its exact likeness in all, or even in a 

 majority ol" cases. Indeed, the whole family of 

 moras seems disposed to be sportive; and the 

 long course of culture to which they have been 

 subjected, has contributed, as in tlie case of many 

 other plants, to increase this |)ropensity. Witness 

 the rose and the dahlia, liie varieties of which are 

 endless, but which to this day would have re- 

 tained all their original features, if they had been 

 permitted to remain in their natural hubilals. 



I have recently examined a great number of 

 seedlings of several species of mulberry. The 

 varieties of the moras alba are endless, as is well 

 known; and there is the same want of uniformity 

 in theod'spring of the Canton, the Alpine and the 

 Brussa, respectively. In all these species there are 

 a multitude of varieties which are totally worth- 

 less; and if the multicaulis was produced in the 

 same manner and to the same extent, this charac- 

 ter would doubtless apply to its odspring with the 

 same Ibrce. But throughout all the«e diversities, 

 a practised eye will, without any hesitation, assign 

 each individual to its appropriate species. Il" ihe 

 multicaulis could ever run into the white mul- 

 berry, there might be some reason for the belief 

 <hat it was derived from that species. The white 

 mulberry retains its glossy, brilliant ibliage 

 through all generations; and in the nmltitude of 

 individuals which have derived iheir existence 

 Irom it, none can be produced which a botanist 

 could possibly mistake lor the multicaulis. On 

 the other hand, whatever shape the leaves ofmul- 

 ticaulis seedlings may assume; however they may 

 degenerate in size; it is equally out o( the order 

 of nature that they can ever take the specific 

 marks of the white mulberry. 



A most curious and remarkable instance of the 

 sportive tendency of the vviiite mulberry, may be 

 seen at .John Carter's nursery, near Richmond. 

 The individual was originated on his grounds, 

 near to where the multicaalis and the alba had 

 both fruited; and different as it is in some respects, 

 from any other mulberry plant which has come 

 under my observation, yet its parentage is suffi- 

 ciently obvious. I cannot concur with the origi- 

 nator, that il is a hybrid. In its growth it is ra- 

 ther dwarfish — the joints of the branches are not 

 more than Ihe fourth of an inch apart — the leaves 

 are about five times as large as the white mul- 

 berry leal^butin shape and character very much 

 resembling it; and upon each branch thereis such 

 a dense mass of foliage as entirely to exclude the 

 stem from observation. It deserves to be propa- 

 gated as a curiosity — or rather as a monstrosity. 



TUCKAHOE. 



From tlie Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 

 USEFUL INSTRUCTIONS RKGARDING THE 

 MILKING OP COWS. 



The operation of milking is performed difitjrently 

 in various parts of the country. In some, the 

 dairy maid dips her hand into a little milk, and by 



successively stripping the teat between the finger 

 and thumb, unloads the udder. The plan, however, 

 is attended with the disadvantage o)' irritating 

 more or less the teat, and rendering it liable to 

 cracks and chaps, which are followed by inflam- 

 mation, extending to the rest of the quarter. 

 This accounts for the disease occurring more fre- 

 quently among the cows under the charge of one 

 milker than it does in those which are under the 

 charge of another; and, aa this practice is more 

 common in some parts of the country than in 

 others, it also accounts for the disease being more 

 common in these parts. This plan of nulking, 

 where the irritation is not sufficient to excite the 

 extent of inflammation to which I have alluded, 

 frequently produces a horny thickening of the tear, 

 a consequence of the cracks and chaps, which 

 renders it more difficult to milk than when in its 

 natural slate; and at the same time predisposes to 

 inflammation, when any case occurs to set it up. 

 Tlaese effects may be, and are almost entirely 

 avoided, by the more scientific plan of milking 

 adopted in other parts of the country, where, in- 

 stead of drawing down or stripping the teat be- 

 tween the thumb and fingers, the dairy maid fol- 

 lows more closely the principles which instinct has 

 taught the calf. (The calf jerks its nose into the 

 udder and forces down the milk.) She first takes 

 a slight hold of the teat with her hand, by which 

 she merely encircles it, then lifts her hand up, so 

 as to press the body of the udder upwards, by 

 which the milk escapes into the teat, or if (as is 

 the case when some hours have elapsed between 

 milking times) the teat is full, she grasps the teat 

 close to its origin with her thumb and lore-finger, 

 so as to prevent the milk which is in the teat from 

 escaping upwards; then making the rest of the 

 fingers to close from above downwards in succes- 

 sion, forces out what milk may be contained in 

 the teat through the opening of it. The hand is 

 again pressed up and closed as before, and thus by 

 repeating this action, the udder is completely emp- 

 tied, without that coarse tugging and tearing of 

 the teat which is so apt to produce disease. 



From the Farniors' Cabinet. 

 BROKKN LIIMBS OF A.MMALS. 



An idea prevails with many persons, that 

 broken limbs of liorsesand other quadrupeds can- 

 not he cured, owing to the difficulty of keeping 

 the part sufficiently at rest during the time neces- 

 sary for a broken bone to heal or acquire sufficient 

 strength to support its share of the animal's weight. 



I heard of a case, some montlis since, which 

 was successfully treated in the following manner, 

 viz: two pieces of scantling sufficiently strong to 

 support the horse were placed over and parallel 

 with him in the stable; apiece of strong linen was 

 then passed under him and the two opposite ends 

 confined to tiie scantling so as to raise him from 

 the ground or floor when required: a wooden box 

 was provided with a bottom, two sides, and one 

 end, composed of boards nailed togetlier, and of 

 sufficient length, width, and depth, to contain the 

 leg from the knee to the foot, inclusive, besides a 

 space of half an inch or more, on each side of the 

 leg to admit the necessary bandages, &c., with 

 the bottom cut away sufficiently for the foot to en- 



