128 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



rate. At Mobile 44,000 bales arrived in one 

 week, and the receipts to the close of next monih 

 will exhibit a quantity surpassing ;ii| exportation 

 at the opening of ihe season. Prices wiih us 

 have undergone little change, and the current 

 sales are at 8 to 9^ cents. In the large southern 

 and western mnrUeis 5 to 9 cents. 



Sugar (rom New Orleans is sold in the Atlantic 

 ports at 5 to 6,^ cents, and if in bad condition at 

 even lower rates. 



The banks in this state, as in some others, are 

 relying on the clemency of the slate legislatures, 

 and on their action will depend whether many ol' 

 the charters be relinquished and the institutions 

 closed. The stockholders are less interested than 

 the community in the result. 



Exchange on New York 7 per cent, premium, 

 on London 15, on Philadelphia and Callimore ^ 

 to 1 per cent, premium. X. 



J^ebruary 22. 



NITRATE OF SODA AS A MARURK. 



From the Fanners' Cabinet. 



In the last number ofthe Cabinet there is a pa- 

 per Irom the Farmers' Magazine, stating the 

 mode of application and uses ol' this article as a 

 manure, all ol' which has been verified by the 

 writer ofihis, last season, though he had not then 

 heard of its application to iiirriculturul purposes 

 either in Europe or this country. It costs from 

 three to four cents per pound by the sack, and is 

 much cheaper than saltpetre. Ii should be sown 

 early in the spring on the grass sod at the rale of 

 about one hundred pounds to I he acre, and per- 

 haps a heavier dose might answer better, but ex- 

 periment must determine that point. 



The nitrate of soda, or cubic nitre as it is often 

 called, can be purchased in quantities ofthe vvliole- 

 sale drtiggisfs. It exists naturally, in inexhaustible 

 quantities, in the desert of Aiacama in Peru, South 

 America, from whence it is imported into this 

 country, and is used lor various chemical purposes. 

 It (brms a bed of variable thickness, covered with 

 clay, ofone hundred and filiy miles in extent. This 

 article in the crude stale in which it is imported 

 into this country, is in dirly-wliite saline lumps, 

 rather soft antl (i-iable, and damp on the surface. 

 It allracis moisture from the air, and dissolves 

 very readily by exposure to rain. 



From present appearances, it seems probable 

 that this substance will soon be (bund lo he ofgreat 

 imporlance to the farmer as a manure, and the 

 ease with which it can be transported will be a 

 means of extending ils benefits; and the greater 

 tlie consumption of it, the cheaper it will become, 

 as it will then become an object of commerce on a 

 large scale. 



If a number of farmers in different sections of our 

 country would make an experiment the coming 

 spring vviih the nitrate of soda, and communicate 

 the result for publication in the Cabinet, great 

 good might arise fiom it, and (bribe encouragement 

 of those who are disposed to try it, the writer of 

 ofihis can vouch lor ils efficacy in promotin<r the 

 irrowth of grass. If would be well to try the efl'ect 

 of it on corn, applied in small quantities on the hill, 

 and also on potatoes. 



New manures which admit of easy transporta- 

 tion to distant places at a cheap rate, are invalua- 

 ble to tiie agriculturist, and ought to be sought 

 after, and brought into notice by all who desire 

 the prosperity of our couniry. 



CONTENTS OF THE FARMEUs' REGISTER, NO. II. VOL. VIII. 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



Pase 

 National importance of agriculture, . . 85 



Number of silk-worms' egg?, of several kinds, to 

 the ounce, . . . . .95 



Miscellaneous remarks on root ctdture. Experi- 

 ment in feeding mangel wurtzel to milch cows, 96 

 Spaces for silk worms. Mistakes of Dandolo's 



meaning by his translators. 

 Injury to corn from stripping the leaves for fodder. 

 Remarkable fertility and chemical composition 

 of Scioto bottom land, .... 110 



Remarks on Mr. Carter's proposed change of ro- 

 tation. Insects and weeds, . . . m 

 Suggestions to experimenters on silk culture. Re- 

 quisites for success. Necessity for healthy eggs 

 and the means of obtaiiung them, . .117 

 Cultivation of Irish and sweet potatoes, . . 119 

 On the profits of silk cidture in Virginia, . .119 

 Premiums awarded by the Agricultural Society of 

 Charlotte ..... 121 



Remarks on different schemes of rotations . 121 



The five-shift rotation .... 122 



Remittances by mail to publisheis, may be free of 

 postage . . . . . .125 



Farm-yards. Meadow. Manuring. Preservation 



of timber. Flesh converted to manure . 126 



Monthly commercial report . . . 127 



SELECTIONS. 



Description of several Scotch farms, and the man- 

 agement thereon, . . . .65 



General descri|)tion of D'Arcet's system and appa- 

 ratus for ventilating and heating cocooneries, . 77 



Page 



Expenses and proceeds of crops . . .82 



Cranberries, . . . . . S.3 



Culture and consumption of mangel wurtzel, . 83 

 Cotton seed, . . . . .8.3 



Wonders of cultivation, . . . .84 



Allowance of water to horses, . . .84 



Witch (or wire) grass, . . . .85 



Artesian well at Crenelle . . , .85 



Review of Dr. Richardson's account of fiorin grass 86 

 Observations on the cultivation of the sugar beet, 90 

 Sale of flowers, . . . . .95 



Value of cotton seed as manure, . . .97 



Poisoned cheese, . . . . ■ . 98 



Cheap manuring, . . . . .98 



The domestic cocooneiy, . . . .98 



Rocky mountain flax, .... 101 



Large seedling grape, raised by Van Mons, . 101 



Short-horned cattle, . . . .102 



Capture of a bear, .... 102 



Working cows, ..... 106 



Hay-tea for swine, .... 106 



Best form for a cocoonery, . . . 108 



Creat wall of China, . . . .108 



On making good bacon, .... 109 



Barn cellars, ..... 109 



Magnificent conservatory, . . . 110 



Notes on European agriculture, . . . 112 



Peach trees, , . . . .114 



Agricultural excursion into St. John's Berkley 

 (S. C.) . . . . . . 115 



Jerusalem artichoke, . . . .116 



Treatment and food of growing stores . . 124 



Nitrate of soda as a manure . . . 128 



