322 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



tut " all is not gold that glitters "—and for set- 

 ting forth her skill and industry and making 

 known her resources and her progress no State 

 need have a better representative than was this 

 —himself— one of her most successful working 

 farmers. How much more encouraging, effect- 

 ive and useful is the downright experience of 

 such men, than a mere parade of monstrosities, 

 and queer things— as " caUco com," and fan- 

 tail pigeons. 



The miserable census, put down the whole 

 wheat crop of Delaware in 1839 at 315,165 bush- 

 els, and four years after that the Commissioner 

 of Patents places it at only 333,103, while Mr, 

 Jones instances a single farm of 375 acres 

 that produced 2,884, nearly the one-hundredth 

 part of all that is credited to the State.— 

 He has no doubt that the crop of New- 

 castle county alone was upwards of 400,000 

 bushels. What miserable deceptions are the 

 returns and estimates we have had of tlie indus- 

 try and products of the country. 



No State in the Union is going ahead faster in 

 agricultural improvent than Delaware. She 

 has the advantage of being in the centre of light 

 and knowledge. Tho' his place has been well 

 supplied, we were sorry to see that Doctor 

 Thompson had retired from the Presidency of 

 the Society, which has contributed so much to 

 the honorable position which Delaware holds 

 among her sisters. 



If it were not altogether impossible to publish 

 the agricultural addresses delivered at the vari- 

 ous exhibitions, we should have been tempted 

 to give place to Doctor Muse's and the vener- 

 able Jonathan Roberts's, as also to Mr. Sellman's, 

 at Marlboro. With such advocates the cause of 

 Agriculture can never go backwards — that is, if 

 agriculturists will discard demagogues and com- 

 mit the business of legislation to those who 

 being thoroughly identified with, can the better 

 understand their interests. 



Let them put on their considering cap and 

 solve a few questions. How much of the 

 money raised by and for the government, is di- 

 rectly or indirectly paid by the landed interest, 

 and how much of it is expended for its account? 



HEMP AND FLAX. 

 Neie mode of preparation for the Manufactu- 

 rer — Importajit Invention. 

 The value of Hemp and Flax, and the great 

 range of country adapted to their culture, have 

 not escaped our attention. We are fully sensi- 

 ble of our obligation to procure and promulgate 

 the best information to be had, on the culture 

 and preparation of these articles, and hope to be 

 able to fulfil any reasonable anticipation on that 

 point. But, with all the space at our command. 

 (622) 



we have not yet been able to take up this branch 

 of industry in a manner at all comporting with 

 its importance. The most recent item of note 

 in regard to it, that has fallen under our notice, 

 consists in the improvements effected in tlie 

 pi-eparation and manufacture of them by Mr. 

 Billings. Of what is peculiar in both, fuller 

 accounts will be given in the January number 

 of the Farmers' Library. In the mean time we 

 took an opportunity of getting an experienced 

 manufacturer to look at tlie operation of his ma- 

 chine, a small one on rather a model scale, and 

 from him we have since been favored with the 



following : 



Patekson, N. J. Nov. 19, 1845. 



To the Ed. of Farm. Lib : 



The object of Mr. Billings is, to take the Flax 

 from the farmer before rotting, and to rot, dry, 

 break and scutch it, for the manufacturer. 



The break seems to me to do its work very 

 rapidly, and better than I have seen it done 

 heretofore ; the ends of the Flax appear to be 

 rather more entangled, but the scutcher relieves 

 it from this difficulty, and there is this advantage 

 in this latter machine over many others : that it 

 leaves the Flax in better condition for the hackle, 

 and can be prepared on any scale graduated to 

 suit the purpose to which it is applied. 



I had no means of ascertaining what the 

 waste would be in the processes of these ma- 

 chines, but Mr. Billings says he can so prepare 

 the Flax as to yield over the rougher and fine 

 eight buckles, 85 per cent, of long Flax. This 

 exceeds, by 20 per cent, the produce of any 

 other known machines. The best Flax produ- 

 ced in this way will not yield over 65 lbs. of 

 Flax to the 100 lbs. of scutched Flax, and if 

 this be so, it will be of just that value over any 

 other machine to the growers of Flax. 



A similar plan, as I suppose, for retting the 

 Flax, was tried at Hunterdon, New-Jersey, 

 about ten years ago, and was found unsuccess- 

 ful. In Europe, attempts to use steam for like 

 purposes have failed, and the Flax was never 

 so strong nor so durable, as when rotted in the 

 pots, as they are called, by the operations of 

 Nature. 



My own unpression is, that one cause of failure 

 has been the season in which it has been done. 

 If it were delayed till September or October, 

 I think it would do better and be more likely 



to succeed. 



Very respectfully, t. i- 



Mr. Billings has seen the above, and eayo 

 our correspondent has been led to erroneouB 

 conclusions by a misconception of his processes. 

 He says the rotting process is conducted on sci- 

 entific principles, and has been found to be per-^ 

 fectly successful. Some eight or ten pages of 

 our next number will be given up to this mter- 

 e sting subject. 



