1S39J 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



r35 



izeil by the hand ofpersevfering industry. I found 

 on soils aboundinsT in slate stone, good corn, and 

 excellent irrass. They are untiring in improving; 

 their principal agents are lime, and the putrescent 

 manures, which they collect on their farms, and 

 do not much heed the notions of chemical combi- 

 nations. I was tor several days at the house of a 

 larmer, who not hiving a sufficient quantity of 

 putrescent manure to cover a field he was prepar- 

 ing tor wheat, jjurposed to send to the cily, at the 

 distance of eighteen miles, lor bone dust to com- 

 plete it. He was not one of those who having 

 determined upon a project, accompli.-hed it at any 

 cost ; but a plain praciical man, who had advanced 

 his fortunes by industry and economy. 



1 learn by a paper in the 'American Farmer,' 

 that iho late president of the Eaidt of the United 

 States, has retired to the banks of the Delaware, 

 and devotes his time and his talents to rural pur- 

 suits ; that by means of a steam power and a tank, 

 he has accomplished lor himself what the philoso- 

 ])her of tile Nile sui)posed he had achieved for 

 Egypt by the power of the stars. This I suppose 

 may be properly called elegant agriculture, and 

 like many other elegant arts, of no great value to 

 anj' but the projector ; no doubt the artificial show- 

 ers of Mr. Biddle, and the beautiful rainbows they 

 produce, has excited the wonderment of many a 

 Chestnut street lounger. 



Farmers have reason to admire the magic pow- 

 ers of Mr. B. displayed on the banks of the Dela- 

 ware. Though lijw of ihem will get a taste of the 

 fine grapes, they all participate in a depreciated 

 currency, which they find a wormwood dose, and 

 most of them have a cause to regret that he aban- 

 doned " the bank parlor" for " the groves of An- 

 dalusia ;" had he remained at his post, the fine vi- 

 gorous institution, which sprung like a Phenix 

 liom the ashes of its parent, would never have 

 fallen upon the desperate projects of a ruined spe- 

 culator. 



Tlie rotation of crops is a matter unsettled in 

 Maryland and Virginia, and [ was desirous to as- 

 certain the most approved in Pennsylvania, but 

 found they had no regular system ; so long as a 

 field produces a good crop of grass, they are reluc- 

 tant to break it. Formerly on the turnpikes which 

 were established in every section of the country, 

 a large demand for provisions for man and beast 

 was made ; wherever the rail-roads run, this is 

 at an end. The car passengers make but one 

 meal between Harrisburgh and Philadelphia, a 

 distance more than one hundred miles. They 

 fiitten many cattle and sheep which are sold in the 

 cities; but the loss of the domestic market has 

 been sensibly Itjlt, and will probaf'ly lead to a more 

 extensive cultivation of grain. That rail-roads are 

 a most beneficial improvement for travel, all must 

 agree ; and it is probable, on the great routes, will 

 be found profitable to the companies; but it may 

 be well doubted if they can advantageously com- 

 pete with navigable rivers, naviirable canals, or 

 well constructed turnpikes, for the transporlation 

 of Iteavy articles. The Philadelphia anci Colum- 

 bia Rail-Road has been but a few years in opera- 

 tion, and has carried very heavy burdens, from the 

 Susquehanna. It is now in a shattered condition, 

 and requires heavy repairs, which must continue 

 to recur, uidess a more stable mode of construction 

 shall be discovered. 



In comparing the improved lands oC Pennsyl- 



va,nia, with the improved lands, or such as may 

 be improved on the Chesapeake Bay, each have 

 their peculiar advantages. For the latter I should 

 claim the advantages of transportation. I think 

 where lands are equally Improved, those of Penn- 

 sylvania will afford the highest product of wheat, 

 and those on the Chesapeake Bay of Indian corn. 

 We are a little too far to the south for the perlect 

 maturation of wheat, and tliey to the north for 

 Indian corn. They will not have this year a full 

 crop of Indian corn, in consequence of the coot 

 summer, which will occasion no diminution here. 

 Our wheat, unless thrashed out early, is sometimes 

 greatly injured by the weevil fly ; they can keep 

 theirs in the straw 'till winter without danger. 

 By a heavy drought in mid-summer, our grass 

 suffers most, but it springs earlier and grows later. 

 In the marl region, we can apply calcareous ma- 

 nure at less cost. In Chester county, lime at the 

 kiln costs ten cents per bushel ; and to those who 

 have the stone on their own farms, preparing it 

 is equal to eight. Their expenses on agricultural 

 implements greatly exceed ours ; on account of 

 the stone which pervades the country, they require 

 to be much heavier than ours, and soon wear out ; 

 their horses caimot plough a day without shoes. 

 A farmer who held a farm of one hundred and 

 seventy acres, told me his blacksnuth's bill exceeds 

 annually Sl^O. In fruit and vegetables our ad- 

 vantages are decided, they can grow none which 

 do not succeed here. On the west side of the 

 Delaware, except in very favorable situations, 

 those who indulge in the luxury of peaches, wa- 

 ter-melons, and sweet potatoes, get them from the 

 city. With regard to manual labor, I could form 

 no decided opinion. The wages there are very 

 high ; but they can call on laborers at pleasure, 

 and discharge them when the work is done. Many 

 of the readers of the Register can estiniate the 

 yearly cost of a large family of domestic slaves, 

 who are treated with kindness and humanity. 

 They have eaten out many a fair estate ; and t 

 thiidc there was more correctness m the apothegm 

 of the late John Randolph, " that many southern 

 gentlenien hold their lands in trust for their ne- 

 groes," than is usually admitted. 



Rustic us. 

 E. S., Aid., \5th Nov., 1839. 



REV. D. V. MC LEAN S EXPERIMEXTS IN SILK 

 CULTURE. 



From the Journal of the American Silli Society 



[We have much pleasure in laying before the 

 public the fallowing paper from the Rev. D. V. 

 McLean, of Freehold, New Jersey. It was pre- 

 pared, as it purpoits, to be laid belbre the executive 

 committee of the American Silk Society at the an- 

 nual meeting, in Washington, on the llth of De- 

 cember ; but it vvtts deemed advisable to publish 

 it in anticipation of the meeting, lor two conclusive 

 reasons — first, that a printed copy of it might be 

 put into the liatids of every number of the society 

 promptly ; and, secondly, that the invaluable mat- 

 ter it contains might be as speedily as possible 

 diffused over the whole coun'ry. We earnestly 

 ask the attention of every person friendly to the 

 cause of this valuable paper, and es] ecially do 

 we ask of the editors ol' ncwsina.'^ers to ijive it fiee 



