1839] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



447 



any considerable degree even the very doubtful 

 merit of unusually large size. 



Since the above was in type, we iiave seen in 

 Morris's Silk Farmer of July 22nd, thai the cur- 

 rent price in Philadelphia of" silk-worciis' egtrs 

 was "$20 the ounce, on the muslin, equal to $40 

 the ounce of net eggs." Sundry persons in and 

 near this town have raised eggs, and have them 

 for sale, and have not yet eold lor more than at $5 

 the ounce (actual and honest weight,) lor one-crop, 

 and $10 lor two-crop eggs. The latter kind can 

 scarcely be prevented from hatching in summer, 

 and therelbre have already been mostly lost. 



MUD FOR MANURE. 



From ttie Maine Farmer. 



Messrs. Editors : — A few years since I read a 

 comnumication li-om the 'New England Farmer' 

 ori the subject of the leaves of trees as a manure. 

 It was :rom the pen of a good farmer who, it would 

 peeni, employed every method within Ins power to 

 increase the cjuantiiy of his manure by artificial 

 means. This writer slated that a very few loads 

 of" the leaves of irees, mixed each year with the 

 manure of the barn yard, is excellent, but that 

 large qunntities is po?iiively injurious to vegeta- 

 tion. 1 thiidi 1 can stale one case which may go 

 to prove the correctness of the statements made 

 by this writer. I lia\e a piece of land which has 

 been for many years improved as a <iarden. A 

 ibrook which Ibrmerly ran throuirh this garden, 

 but which has changed the direction of its current 

 lel"t a copious deposit of" mud, or the matter of de- 

 cayed leaves of trees. 



A superficial observer on examination of the 

 soil of this garden would assert at once that an 

 abundant crop of almost any kind could be raised 

 upon the same. 'J'hree years ago I manured this 

 garden wiih good barn yard manure, at the rate of 

 80 loads per acre. I expected that the succeeding 

 crops would be very great, but I was disappointed : 

 ray crops in my other fields, where the soil did not 

 appear to contain one half of the lertility of this 

 garden, were much greaier. I concluded that my 

 garden had been so long in tillage that it was ren- 

 dered unproductive on that account, and the last 

 year I seeded the same down to grass. I shall 

 continue this garden in grass a year or tvvo, when 

 I shall convert it again to tillage. I suspect that 

 the chief cause of the infertility of this garden is 

 owing to an excess of vegetable matter in the soil, 

 or as the writer albresaid would liave it, there is 

 too much of the matter of decayed leaves ol' trees 

 brought on by this brook. Now shall I seek the 

 proper remedy? Lime undoubtedly is the very 

 thing wanted in this case. Wlien I break up this 

 garden again I shall sow upon the same a liberal 

 portion of good lime. 



When the comnmnication of the writer afore- 

 said appeared, the editor of" the 'N. E. Farmer,' 

 recommended to him the use of lime mixed wiih 

 the leaves in ihe form of compost. Some kinds 

 of mud will make a most excellent manure with- 

 out being mixed with lime ; but I think that lar- 

 mers who practice haulinglarge quantities of mu<'k 

 Irom swanipB and other places, where the nialc- 



rials are composed wholly or in part, of the re- 

 mains of decayed leaves of trees, &.c., should mix 

 lime in abundance with the same previous to ap- 

 plying it to the soil. Lime will correct ail ill- 

 eHecis on land that may have been injured by an 

 application of this kind of manure. R. 



Ramjhrd, May, 1S39. 



CHIKCH-BUG. 



For tlie Farmers' Uegister. 



Surry, July lOth, 1839. 



#* *# » #«# 



The chinch-bug is on every farm that I have 

 seen or heard from in the county. It is quite 

 amusing to hear of the remedies used to destroy 

 theai ; some tar their corn, others oil it, others 

 again try to scald them to death with hot water. 

 It is quite unnecessary to state that none of the 

 remedies do the least good. This year on Itirms 

 where they have just made their debut the corn 

 crop will be cut short at least a fourth, and lor the 

 next year I believe many would l)e willing to com- 

 promise and take half a crop. You have no idea 

 what an awful sensation they have produced 

 among the farmers; very many are frightened al- 

 most unto dealii, imagining that a famine with all 

 iis horrible consequences is almost at their thres- 

 hold. From thei." imaiense prolificity they will be 

 enabled to do crreal ddiuase. » * # * * 



MONTHLY COMMERCIAL REPORT. 



For tlie Fanners' Register. 



The news from England to the 6th of this month 

 is very unfavorable. The pressure for money 

 was great, and the exchanges between Englanti 

 and the continent were so much against ihe former, 

 as to continue the drain of" specie which had ex- 

 isted for some months previously, and embarrassed 

 all commercial operations. The demand for Bri- 

 tish manufactures was inadequate to meet the 

 sums required to pay lor grain and oiher commo- 

 dities imported, and the deficiency had to be made 

 up in gold and silver. The price of wheat had, 

 however, declined so much on an average as to 

 increase the duty on flour from one sliilling to eight 

 shillings per l:>arrel ; the prospects ol" the growing 

 crops were liivorable, and therelbre, a reflux of 

 specie msy ere long be anticipated. Meanwhile, 

 however, much commercial distress is to be appre- 

 hended. The imports of cotton into the kingdom 

 were 71 r^OOO bales against 973,000 to same date 

 in 1838 : iiut such liad been the diminished con- 

 sumpiiun, that only 432,000 bales had been re- 

 quired against 026,000 in the first six months of 

 ihe respective years; and at that rale, ilie slock 

 on hand was more than sufficient to supply the de- 

 mand for the remainder of the |)iesent year. So 

 great a change was not anticipated, and lieavy 

 losses are like to be the result. 



It is pretty well ascertained that the receipts in 

 the various markets of the U. Stales in 1839 will 

 he about 1,350,000 against 1,800,000 bales in 

 1838 ; but notwilhstandiuir this great deficiency, 

 prices cannot be supported, and indeed the demand 

 has entirely ceased, except lor domestic consump- 

 tion. 'I'lic nominal pricca arc 12^ to 14^ cents. 



