412 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 7 



crops in the adjoining counties of Clialham, 

 Orange, Granville and Franklin. In pome in- 

 stances, vvliole fields have been entirely destroyed, 

 and great fears are entertained that tiiey will next 

 attack the corn,* to v/hich they also are very de- 

 structive. The cluster aroui.d (he stalk in incre- 

 dible numbers, suck out its substance, and it soon 

 withers and falls to the ground. In some places, 

 to prevent their reaching the corn, for which they 

 are marchini? jn clouds, the farmers dig little 

 ditches and fill them with straw, in which (he bugs 

 make a temporary halt, and are burnt — the opera- 

 tion of burning being frequently repeated, during 

 tlie day. Although the bugs have wings, 'hey 

 travel on the ground. They are natives of the 

 forest; and it is said that where the woods are oc- 

 casionally burnt, they never become troublesome. 



Icssly. Fn my long life, being more than seventy 

 years old, I never new but one (ree marliu, (a 

 barren heifi^r, that has been a twin with a liull 

 call) raised in our couritry — that with its male 

 twin, a cow of n)ine produced, four years ago. 

 They are well grown, handsome, and so much 

 alike, they are not readdy distinguished from each 

 other; they have been recently subjected to the 

 yoke — the martin has not a feminine appearance, 

 and is at least, equal in strenjith and aiiiliiy to its 

 twin brother. I have no doubt it will perl<^)rni 

 well, as would also the 6paye(J heifer, if rerpiired 

 liir son)e years, and then make the n)ost valuable 

 bee/! The martin has had free access to the Siull 

 for nearly twelve months — he-has never, to the 

 knowledge of any one, noticed her, and lier ap- 

 pearance would justiiy the belie!', and also the re- 

 port that they will not breed. I am, 

 respectfully your's, 



Phii.tp Taru. 



SPAYING HEIFERS. 



Gloucester County, llrginia, } 



February ISth, l"8-21. S | 



From tliu American F'armer. 



Mr. Skinner. — A friend of mine, observed to I 

 me a short time since, that you had requested in- 1 

 formation on the subject of spaying heifers, and 

 though a euhsrriber to your useful publication, the 

 American Farmer, I have overlooked it. 1 will 

 however, give you some account of my CNperi- 

 ence. Ten or twelve years ago, I began with two 

 in the spring, when they were two years old, and 

 succeeding, I have not failed to spay from two to 

 three each spring since — so that the whole number 

 amounts to between twenty and thirty, and have 

 iost two only by tlie operation. My most san- 

 guine expectations have been exceeded in the supe- 

 rior excellence of the beef, which is peculiarly de- 

 licate. I have had them slaun^htered flom five to 

 six years of age, and believe they would be larijcr, 

 and probably better a year or two older; they are 

 thrifty and fattened with facility; the size in much 

 Increased by the operation, which is performed in 

 the same manner that sows are treated for the 

 same purpose, but I believe it might be improved 

 (and I mean to try) by forming an inclined plane 

 of soft earth, nearly to" an anfrle of forty-five de- 

 grees, against a post for securing the hind legs 

 when the animal is laid on her back, with the heels 

 up, and the head confined below; for the pain 

 must be excessive when suspended by ihe hams 

 sustaining its whole weight. I have no doubt 

 but the bowels in that situation will be sufficiently 

 out of the operator's way. Two years since, I 

 caused two young cows with their first calves, 

 a month old, to be spayed — they were about two 

 years and nine months old, having, by accident 

 liad access to the hull, about the aije'of two years 

 --^my object was to ascertain wliether they would 

 continue to give milk as long as they oucrht to 

 live, agreeable to report: They di continue to 

 give milk, but not eijual to what I expected— I 

 am inclined to believe these cows were too yountr, 

 their udders not sufficiently fbrmed, & which had 

 not grown with their growth— our milkers too, 

 are black women who perform that business care- 



* This they have already done to a considerable ex- 

 tent, it is said, in Mecklenburg and Ansoa counties. 



SILK-CULTURE IN TUKKEY. 



Miss Pardee, in a late work, has the following 

 notice of the manulkcuire of silk, and the culture 

 of the mulberry tree in Turkey: 



''Our next job of inquiry was the mode of lecd- 

 inrr the silk worms, wliicli produce, in the neigh- 

 borhood of Broussa, an extraordinarj^ quantity of 

 silk. We accordingly visited the estsblishment 

 of a Frenchmtui, who exports the raw material 

 to Europe. I was struck by the color of the silk, 

 which was of a dingy white; and learned that, 

 desnite all the efforts of the feeders, they seldona 

 succeed in producing any other lint, although the 

 worms arc themselxes of different qualities and 

 colors, varying from a dead white :o a dark brown, 

 and are fed with the leaves of both the red an(l 

 the white mulberry indiscriminately. The most 

 experienced feeders, however, give a decided pre- 

 il>ri'nce to the wihi white mulberry, of which most 

 ol" the plantations about Broussa are liirmed. 'J'lie 

 silk, when first spun, is of a clear, silvery, brilliant 

 tint; but submersion in the highly mineralized wa- 

 ter of the neighborhood, robs it of its lustre, and 

 reduces it to the dead, dingy color 1 have men- 

 tioned ; and I was assured, that in some hundreds 

 of pounds weight of silk, not more than two or 

 three could be met with of yellow. 



'I'he Asiatic method of rearing the worm is to- 

 tally different from that of Europe, and according 

 to the account given to me, much more profitable 

 in its results, as well as simple in its process. The 

 insect lias a natural dislike to being handled, which 

 is inevitable where it is fed day by day, and the 

 withered leaves of'ihe previous day cleared away; 

 the discoml'ort produced by the touch rendering 

 the worm lethargic and retarding it growth. The 

 Asiatics never approach it with the hand; when it 

 is hatched, the floor of the apartment is covered 

 with layers of llje mulberry branches to about 

 three or (bur inches in depth ; and upon these the, 

 insects are laid, and suffered to ft'cd undisturbed 

 until their first sleep, when they are covered by a 

 fiesh supply of bouixhs similar to the first, through 

 which they eat their way, and upon which they 

 subsist until their next change. 



This operation is repeated four times, always 

 at the period when the worm casts ila skin; and 



