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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[Nov. 4, 



From the National Gazette. 



PENNSYLVANIA AGIUCULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The Exhibition of Cattle and Manufactures, 

 held at Mount Pleasant, under the auspices and 

 direction of the I'ennsylvania Agriciillural Soci- 

 ety, termioated Oct. 21, and gavo, Ihi-oughoul, 

 the highest satisfaction to the imiltituile of spec- 

 tators who appeared on the ground. No better 

 situation could have been chosen for the pur- 

 pose, whether as to facility of accessor conven- 

 ience and picturesque beauty. It is calculated 

 that four thousand persons were present on 

 Thursday. The horses, horned caitio, hogs, &.c. 

 collected for the occasion, tVom no incowsiderabje 

 distances, are probably not surpassed, if equalled, 

 in any part ot the Union, Mucli attention was 

 paid to the specimens of Domestic Manufactures, 

 also; and these likewise are fitted to excite ad- 

 miration for the progress already made, and the 

 most confident expectation of general ina[)rove- 

 ment. A striking proof of the utility of such 

 exhibitions is found in the deep interi'st which 

 so large a number of respectable farmers tate 

 in them. They meet not mcrelj to view and 

 study the breeds which thoy respectively pos- 

 sess, but to interchange ideas and facts upon all 

 the branches of husbandry which they cultivate, 

 and to establish an intercourse of business ad- 

 Tantageous to all parties. 



Yesterday Ploughing Matches took place and 

 premiums were distributed.* Alter which, the 

 directors and members of the Society, along with 

 several invited guests, sat down to an excellent 

 dinner at the Red Lion tavern. Jonathan Rob- 

 erts, president of the Society, presided at the 

 table. Mr Powel, whose contingent to the Ex- 

 hibition was so valuable and ivhose services as 

 a member of the Society are most important, 

 was unfortunately obliged to return home in the 

 morning, in consequence of a fall; from which, 

 however, no serious consequences are appre- 

 hended. Various appropriate toasts were drunk 

 in the course of the re[)asl, and samples o^ fine 

 domestic wines circulated that did not diminish 

 its zest. 



decided improvement. The same principle is j 

 applied to tlic double mould board plough, the' 

 model of which was exhibited at the meeting of ; 

 the societ3' in September. I 



Cultivators for Indian corn set in triangular! 

 frames, with hoes of diflerent forms, have long' 

 been in use in Pennsylvania. The great advan- 

 tages of those invented by Mr Beach, consist in 

 the tooth, or point, and share being ail cast in I 

 one piece, with the wings extending from the | 

 centre in a triangular direction, on tliree sides,' 

 eq;;i distant from each other, and in the princi- 

 ple of self-sharpening in the hoes being the same 

 as that in the ploughs, viz. reversion. These 

 implements are highly approved of by those who 

 have used them, and are made at the manufac- 

 tory, No. GOi High-street. 



2. A letter from Ab. Sharpless, of the Penn- 

 sylvania Slitting Mills, Chester Co., to Roberts 

 Vaux, dated Oct. l(t, 1825, on the spontaneous 



combustion of hay, in the mow of a barn belong- 

 ing to Wm. Painter, of Delaware Co. The 



PniLADELPHI.\ SOCIETV FOR PROMOTING .IGRICL'I.TURE. 



Stated Meetinf;,Oct. 18. — The Pre3idcnt,Judge 

 Peters, in the chair: the following communica- 

 tions were read : — 



1. A report from the curators on Rrown's ver- 

 tical spinner, and Beach's agricultural imple- 

 ments. The curators '■ are of opinion, that 

 Brown's spinner is a useful machine for household 

 manufactures, and as such, recommend it for the 

 approbation of the society." 



•• The irons of Beach's ))loiigh No. 3, are all 

 •■■.ast and so constructed as to sharpen themselves. 

 The ' cultivator' has also sell'-snarpcning iron-7, 

 with a beam to elevate or dejiress them." 



In Beach's plough, one Jiul, which while it se- 

 cures all the cutting parts of the plough, is plac- 

 ed entirely on", of danger from wear or accident, 

 and enables the share to stand on any angle 

 which may be found most beneficial. The share 

 is so formed, that it may be reversed as in other 

 self sharpening ploughs, but is differently secur- 

 ed, being held by dovetails without a holt. This 

 arrangement, inasmuch as it renders the imple- 

 ment more simple, and add.s to its strength, is a 



■ The amount of premiums offered was nearly $1400. 



Cl 



ing to Wm. Painter, of Delaware Co. The 

 grass was cut in the forenoon, from the 6lh to i 

 the 20th of June, and was hauled in on the aft-' 

 ernoons of the days it was cut. On the 27lh of 

 Sept., black smoke was observed to issue from ; 

 the mow, the dimensions of which were 10 feet ' 

 by 10 or 20, and .'30 feet deep; the quantity of^ 

 hay estimated at sixty tons. Upon cutting down 

 eight feet, the men came to the lire, which was 

 followed down to within three feet of the bot- 

 tom of the mow. The column on fire was about 

 ten feet in diameter, and the hay within this: 

 space was completely charred. In the centre of 

 the column, there was a quantity of ashes. 



" The question is asked, will the sap of the 

 grass so heat it as to take fire in a close mow ?" 

 One particular is deficient in the account, which 

 ! is, the species of grass from >vhich the hay in 

 ^question was made. — f^rom tfie specimens, ijo;v- 

 ever, of the charred hay exhibited to the Soci- ! 

 ety, it appears thiU the crop consisted chief]y of 

 red clover, (the most juicy grass we cultivate) 

 iviih a small mixture of timothy and green grass. I 

 •There can be no hesitation therefore in ansiver-^ 

 ing the query. 



The sap remaining in the grass, after the par- 1 

 tial curing adopted, and the immense mass in' 

 one mow, are sufHcient to account for the gen- ' 

 eration and extrication of caloric, to the extent 

 of combustion. Mr Painter is not of this opinion, 

 and thinks that the hay, before being housed, ) 

 must have been wet. If so it would seem that, 

 the fact could be easily ascertained : but it is not ! 

 necessary to suppose that any rain had fallen 

 u|)iin the hay. White and red clover, when 

 made into hay, have taken lire, and flame actu- 

 ally produced, both in stacks and barns, even 

 when more fully cured, and after having been 

 longer put up, than that of Blr Painter's. Ref- 

 erence is here made to particular cases commu- 

 nicated to the writer. [A case of the spontane- 

 ons combustion of a slack of white clover, is 

 mentioned in the Philadelphia Agricultural Al- 

 manac for the present year.] The plan he con- 

 stantly adopted to prevent the occurrence, Was 

 to mix wheat straw as evenly as possible with 

 the hay, when stowing away in either barn or 

 stack, and to sprinkle salt over every layer. In 

 this way, also, the quanlily of sustenance was in- 

 creased, for the straw absorbcil the succulent 

 from the partially cured hay (which consisted of 

 red clover and orchard grass) and the cattle in 

 the burn yard in 'wiater, would sometimes leave 



the hay and eat the straw. In the Philadelphia 

 Agricultural .\lmanac for the year lolo, this sub- 

 ject is discussed, and it is believed, in a satisfac- 

 tory manner. 



o. A communication from Dr Mr.ise, on the 

 maniifaclure of sewing silk in the town (lown- 

 shi))) of Mansfield, Windham county. Conn., the 

 result of a late visit iherelo. This business had 

 long engaged the attention of the farmers of 

 Manslield. The making there of 200 lbs. sew- 

 ing silk in the year 1 789, is recorded among the 

 articles of intelligence in the Columbian Maga- 

 zine of Philadelphia for January 1790; and' in 

 the late Mr T. Coxe's interesting and able Di- 

 gest of the Arts and Manufactures of the Unit- 

 ed States, from the rejiorts of the Marshals em- 

 ployed in faking the census of the year 1810, 

 the value of the sewing silk and raw silk in 

 Windham county was estimated at §27,373 that 

 of New London and Tollaml counties was 1120 

 dollars. It would be wilhin bounds to say, that 

 at present, from the continued and increased at- 

 tention to this culture, the value of the silk pro- 

 duced is double that of the year 1310. Two 

 kinds of silk worms are bred, one of «hich (a 

 superior sort) produces two crops annually. — 

 The profit of the business, whicli is chieilv at- 

 tended to by females, is greater than that of 

 regular agriculture. The excellence of the silk 

 ensures a ready sale of it to the storekeepers, 

 who at a liberal price take it in barter for their 

 good-, and find no difiicully in disposing of it in 

 the sea [)ort3 of New England, and in the city of 

 New York. It i* dyed on the spot, of the most 

 beautiful and substantial colours, liy a regular 

 artist. From the waste silk, and that from the 

 seed cocoons, neat and substantial clothing and 

 stockings are made. 



The geological survey made by Dr TroosI, by 

 order of the society, of the circuit of 15 miles 

 round Philadel[diia, was produced by MrWalms- 

 ley, on the pail of the commillee charged with 

 that subject, and referred to ihe curators. 



Three pain|)hlels were received from the 

 Agricultural Sociely of Turin through the Sardi- 

 nian Consul General, Mr Caiavailossi. 



A resolution was passed, od'ering •' the silver 

 medal of the society for the best experiment of 

 applying a stream, or other source of water in a 

 lield, in a way tiie least expensive, and so as to 

 insure a snpjdy of water." 



Two bottles of wine from native grapes, made 

 by Mr Adium, of the District of Columbia, were 

 presented by him. The members gencraly a- 

 greed that it was a very res[)ectable sample, hut 

 was rather sweet for general palates. For this 

 defect (if any) the remedy is ca.sy. With others, 

 this circumstance will be a rccommenilation. — 

 The best proof of the general estimation of Mr 

 Adlum's manufacture, is.that the wine meets with 

 a ready sale, which is no small recommendation 

 in a sea port where foreign wines are so acces- 

 sible, and when so many specimens of ordinary 

 home-made wines have created a prcjadice a- 

 gaiust the domestic article. That Mr AdIum is 

 master of the art is proved by this fact, that a 

 good judge o{ wine olVered to take all thiil .Air A. 

 made, provided it should prove of the (pialily of 

 some he had sent to I'hiladeiphia, and which 

 was a fine dry wine. 



Miss Patty Everts, of Bristol spun 110 knots 

 of woolen yarn, between C A. M. and 3 I'.M. '10 

 knots is a good day's work. — .V. Y. paper. 



