574 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



fragments till their weight would break them olY 

 and they would be precipiiatcd to the ground. 

 Maugre all these casualties, and the great expo- 

 sures to which they were subjected, one hundred 

 spun cocoons, not in the usual time, but occupy- 

 ing, I think, two or three weeks more than the 

 time required when fed under shelter with gather- 

 ed leaves; nor did they spin as good cocoons as 

 under ordinary circumstances, many of them be- 

 ing thinner than usual. Afier the first few had 

 spun, finding that they fell on the ground and 

 would spin their cocoons on the /alien leaves and 

 among the grass, I removed them into the house 

 and suffered them to spin there. I think it not 

 improbable that the egizs hatched Irom these co- 

 coons may produce a hardier race ol' worms than 

 those raised in the usual way. Il I knew how to 

 get I hem to 3'cu, I would be glad to send you 

 hall'. I will avail myself of the first opporluniiy 

 of doing so, that you may try them. 1 did not 

 finish my cocoonery this season in time to ope- 

 rate — but intend commencing operations next 

 spring. James F. JMcRee. 



CUTTING DOWN AND STACKIIVG COR^\ 



To tlie Editor of llie Farmers' Register. 



fVashingion Co., j^la., jlag. 10, 1S40. 

 This season I have given the plan ofien sug- 

 gested of saving corn, viz., by culling down at a 

 certain stage of ripeness, and curing in small 

 stacks, a full and fair trial ; and I am siili more as- 

 tonished that any other plan has ever been pur- 

 sued. The aslonishinfj diH'erence in the labor re- 

 quired to save a field of corn, to say nothing about 

 ''I'vffagc,'''' manure, peas planted among ihe corn, 

 &c. The singular capacity of this country to pro- 

 duce a pea crop makes il a most important one. I 

 never cut a stalk unless the shuck is yellow. I 

 find no trouble in going over my ground the se- 

 cond time. By drilling my corn I have no nub- 

 bins. J'jst as the peas are begmning to grow off, 

 the corn is in the stack. By the way of saving all 

 and losinci; none, I embraced in all my fields on all 

 sides a portion of wood land ; this strip while I am 

 making the crop grows up into a fine pasture, and 

 I have it in the fall to put in my cattle, horses, 

 mules, &c., and saves the crib awhile longer. In 

 the edge of this strip I stack my corn until 1 haul. 

 The state of the peas enables the wagon to strad- 

 dle the rows, and no destruction of that valuable 

 crop. If I plant pumpkins with the corn, I select 

 small fields from the centre of which I can afford 

 to carry in every direction the cut down corn — the 

 vines remain sate. As regards this mode of sav- 

 ing corn crop Mr. Buel will be found sound. 



He said a few years pa^st the same lot of land, 

 containing some three or four acre?, would scarce- 

 ly give him any thing for his labor. He concluded 

 to try mati and woods' trashy to see if any thing 

 could be done with it ; so he put on from 150 to 

 200 bushels of marl per acre — the marl bethought 

 very gooti, though he knew nothing about its pre- 

 cise sirengih. A short time after the above infor- 

 mation I saw the crop of corn, which, to my as- 

 tonishment, from the appearance of such poor 

 sandy land, was very good, it being green and 

 healthy from bottom to top, and having fine large 

 ears, which I think is the best symptom of a good 

 crop. He also showed me another lot that was 

 much belter. I asked if that was the efl'ect of 

 marl alone, he said it was combined wiih sliible 

 and farm pen manure. I should not be surprised 

 if the latter piece should produce from 30 to 35 

 bushels ol" corn per acre. I saw another gentle- 

 man's farm not marled, not more than a mile from 

 (he above, that will not produce 10 nor perhaps 5 

 bushels per acre tiiis year. A. Z. 



MARLING COMBINED WITH VEGETABLE MA- 

 NURES. 



To tlie Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Nansemond, J a., ^^tig. 15, 1840. 

 As you are anxious to obtain all the practical 

 information you can on the subject of marl and 

 calcareous manure, i have concluded to inform 

 you of what a gentleman informed me of the use 

 that he had made of marl and woods' liiter on a 

 very poor sandy piece of land, and what I saw of 

 the crop of corn now growing on the same land. 



MARYLAND STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



F"rom tlie x\meriean Farmer. 



The first annual fair of this society, took place 

 under the direction of the trustees, agreeably to 

 notice, on the 16ih inst., which was considered 

 ihe tiest exhibition of stock ever exhibited in Ma- 

 ryland. A large number of farmers presented 

 themselves and became members of the society, 

 many of whom brought with them fine specimens 

 of slock of the various improved breeds. The ex- 

 hibition of short horn Durham and Devon stock 

 was particularly fine, for which the society were 

 indebted to their owners: amongst whom were 

 Messrs. ,T. S. Skinner, Richard Caton, John Mer- 

 cer, Georce Law, W. Van Bibber, Charles Car- 

 roll, A. B. Kyle, Wm. Gull, J. P. E. Stanley, 



[:!]dmund Gray, VVm. Hughes, Frazier, and 



Drs. Stockett and Thomas, &c. That of horses 

 was more limited. There were, however, several 

 fine animals exhibited of stock. In the list of 

 nudes there was a very fine team, exhibited by 

 Mr. Goll. Among the sheep exhibited, it was 

 graiilyino to find a fine sample fi-om the celebrat- 

 ed flocks of Mr. Barney, of Delaware, of the 

 Bakewell breed. It was much to be regretted, 

 that a lot of sheep of the Southdown breed, be- 

 longing to Gen. Emory, arrived only at the close 

 of Uie exhibition of tlie day, in consequence of 

 unavoidable detention on the bay, as they were 

 an admirat-.le specimen ofihat highly valued breed. 

 The fine flock of Southdowns of Dr. Thomas 

 were also, in consequence of breaking away, pre- 

 vented from being present. There was a fine 

 exhibition of hogs of the Irish, Berkshire, and 

 Ulster breeds, from the pens of JMessrs. George 

 Law, J. P. E. Stanley, J. S. Skinner, and Dr. R. 

 Dorsey, which did great credit to their owners. 

 A great, as well as a very interesting variety of 

 implements of husbandry, was also exhibited, 

 which will be noticed in the reports ofthe commit- 

 tees on the same. 



Among other proceedings of the society, the 

 following officers were appointed for the ensuing 

 year, viz : 



Gon. Thomas Emory, of Queen Ann's County, 

 President ; Cols. John Mercer, of Anne Arundel 



