310 



FARMiERS' REGISTER. 



No. 5 



much hollowing in the miJtlle ; the sides so eleva- 

 ted as to firevent the water ii-om the running in, 

 eonsecjuontly there will he but little to run out, to 

 wash out the manure. A hirge quantity ol' ma- 

 nure may be made in such a yani, by Jiauling in 

 muck, soil, or some other material, and |)lough- 

 ing or pitching it over occasionally. But it is 

 said, we haVe no meadow Irom vv^hence to get 

 muck ; there are no scrapings in the road to be 

 collected; therefore, we have nothing to make 

 compost nC But I would say, if they have no- 

 thing elfie, take the soil ii'om the fioki, and with a 

 little additional manure, the field may again be re- 

 siored to its former fertility. Another object of 

 some importance is to have the manure applied 

 in the best manner. I have until recently been 

 of the opinion that it is best to be applied in a 

 green state, and have the (ermentation take place 

 in the ground ; but of late I have had a different 

 opinion, although I have tried no experiment that 

 is satislactory in my own mind. I would suggest 

 the idea of recommendiniji; a premium to be ottered 

 lor the best experiment on the application of ma- 

 nure, that it may be ascertained which is the most 

 profitable, to apply manure in a green state or to 

 make a compost of it by mixing other materials, 

 takinff into ilie account all the additional expense 

 of labor. 



Another thing is, to keep the ho^s at work. By 

 keepintr a good supply of hog?, and accommoda- 

 liiifr them with materials to work Vv^ith, they will 

 add much to a (i\rmer's stock of manure. 



Some liirmers are averse to the credit system ; 

 to supply iheir hogs with materials to work with, 

 to fill their cow yards and barn cellars with muck, 

 &c., and to give one, two, or three years' credit 

 is too much. This is one important reason why 

 so little improvement is made in firming. I l;ie- 

 lievc there are the materials on almost every larm, 

 and means within the reach of almost every far- 

 mer, to enrich his larm to almost any extent. 



Suppose a person to make a certain additional 

 quantity of manure; consequently in the same pro- 

 proportion the products of his farm will be in- 

 creasi>d ; Irom which, by spending on the farm 

 will again increase the manure, and so on, until 

 Ids fhrm may be enriched without limit. Finally, 

 I believe that if all the fltrmers would pay their 

 attention to making manure and enriching their 

 larms, th;it their interest requires, the western fever 

 would be less prevalent among us; and our young 

 men, instead of leaving the farms of their sires 

 and engaging in speculation, or emiirratino; to the 

 far west, would cultivate the land of their fii- 

 Ihers. and learn from experience that they may 

 be amply repaid (or all their toil, and that the cul- 

 tivation of the earth is second to no other employ- 

 ment. Yours, with sincere respect. 



.TosKPTi Hov»'. 



COarPAUATIVE VALUF, OF THE: WHITE AND 

 CHINESE MUI.nRRRV. 



To llio l^ditor of tlic Farmers' Register. 



In the Register, Vol. vii. No. ii. you have co- 

 pied Irom the 'Southern Agriculturist,' a letter 

 to J)r. .Toseph Johnson, dated "Paris (France) 

 13th September, 1S37" — the following parasraph 

 relative to the value of "morns multicaulis'" is 

 extracted from that letter: 



"Silk-wor7ns. — This is a subject of deep con- 

 cern to our country. Prince and others have pro- 

 pagated and recommended the "morus multicau- 

 lis," as the best subject lor that purpose — do all 

 you can to destroy this opinion. Noisette, who 

 has studied the "morus" more than others, tells 

 me there is none equal to the common white 

 (morus alba.) that the " morua multicaulis" after 

 four or five years dies, or vegetates badly. This 

 is experience — profit by it." 



This is French experience, let us contrast it 

 with a little of jJmericaii experience. 



On the farm of the Potomac Silk and Agricul- 

 tural Co., situated G miles north-east of Freder- 

 icksburg, and 4 miles west of the Potomac, there 

 is a field of 3^ acres of "morus multicaulis," con- 

 taining about 7,000 trees. The roots of twelve 

 hundred of these trees, are now taking their fifth 

 years growth. They have been transplanted 

 twice on this farm — were headed down in Novem- 

 ber last, near the ground, yet, not one of them 

 has died, and they are now throwing up stalks, 

 much more promptly than the " morus alba" 

 standing but a few steps distant, and which was 

 headed down about the same time. 



The "morus alba" was transplanted in the' 

 spring of 1837, the " multicaulis" in the spring of 

 1838. Layton Y. Atkins. 



Slafford CO., Va., May lOth, 1839. 



THE PROPERTIES OF FLOWERS. 



From tlic London HorUcuItural Journal. 



The advancement of floriculture has always 

 been an object of the first importance with us. 

 We have taken more pains with it than with any 

 other branch of horticulture or gardening, because 

 it would be Ibllowed with advantage by a large 

 class, and by persons in all grades of society. The 

 HorticulturalJournal has paid great attention to the 

 properties of flowers, with a view of teaching the 

 amateur what is necessary to render him a suc- 

 cessful exhibiter, and confirming the more experi- 

 enced, but perhaps wavering, professional garden- 

 er in some fixed principles. It is desirable that all 

 persons should be united upon the value of fancy 

 flowers, and, of course, upon the standered of 

 perlection by which such value shall be estimated. 

 The ]Metropoliian Society has done more towards 

 fixinar this standard than all the hoiticullural 

 and floral societies put together. The rules laid 

 down by that society have been followed, or pro- 

 fijssed to be Ibllowed, by almost every establisli- 

 ment deserving the name of floral or horticultu- 

 ral, in the kingdom, and it has been of great 

 service to the science. The properties of flowers 

 were, at one time, valued by no set rules of pro- 

 priety, by no consistent attribute of beauty. The 

 whims and fancies of particular individuals pro- 

 nounced particular points estimable, without con- 

 sidering whether such points increased the splen- 

 dor of a flower ; whereas the points insisted upon 

 by the Metropolian Society, without a single ex- 

 ception, increased the beauty of a flower even to 

 ordinary eyes. Thus it was that roundness and 

 flatness in the bloom of a pansy were said to be 

 the standard of perfection ; place side by side a 

 pansy of the old shape, and one nearly approaching 

 thecircle, unbroken through the petals, overlapping 



