THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



171 



ters to judge of the ineriis of each, and avail 

 ilieniselves of euch hints or details of practices 

 as may be most conducive to ilieir interest. 

 13ut as it may be some time yet belora we can 

 perlbrm tiii;?, we will here give the outline of cul- 

 ture pursued on Jilack Kiver, a more detailed 

 account of which we are promised. 



Open trench planting. — The ground is prepared 

 by fiilier ploughing, harrowing and breaking 

 with the iioe, or dug and made hue wiih the hoe 

 only. Tliid depends on the nature o( the soil, and 

 the time ai command. The ground is trenched 

 tiy trenching ploughs, which makes five lurrows 

 ai each time. The rice is first, " clayed," that is, 

 the rice intended lor seed is spread out thinly on 

 the thrashing lioor, and fine clay being nnxed 

 wiih water, to the consistency ol white wash, is 

 thrown over the rice, which is then siirsed, and 

 each grain becomes enveloped in a thin coat ol 

 clay. It is then fit lor use, or may be laid by lor 

 a lew days. This is only done when it is intend- 

 ed to sow iin open trenches, (or were it not done, 

 the rice would Hoal as soon as the water was put 

 on, but being coated with clay, it retains its place 

 in consequence of the increased weight from the 

 moisture imbibed by the clay. The ground be- 

 ing properly prepared, the rice is sown intiie open 

 trench alid not covered, but water is immediately 

 put on, and the field kept in this state lor about 

 twenty days, or uniil the rice " floats," that is, 

 the rice having grown so large that its specific 

 gravity and the slight hold its roois have of the 

 earlh, are unable to overcome its buoyancy, and 

 it is detached and floats on the surliice of the wa- 

 ter. As soon as a lew of the plants are observed 

 to be in this condition, the water is run ofl and the 

 field dried. It is then hoed once or twice. When 

 in the third or tburth leal, (about the Ibrty- fifth 

 day I'rom planting,,) the water is again put on, 

 '■ topping" [covering] the rice for three days. It 

 is then drawn down until the rows of rice are 

 apparent. In twelve days after the field is dried 

 and hoed twice, commencing as soon as dry 

 enough, ft will now be ready for the joint flow 

 in about thiriy days. 



Some, instead of drying it at the end of twenty 

 days, merely " slacken" the water, so as to show 

 the tops of the rice, and increase the water as ii 

 grows, so as to keep the tops of the rice merely 

 visible Ibr sixty days. 



Covered planting. — The following directions 

 are given for this : The ground being prepared as 

 above, sow and cover the rice, put on the water 

 until the rice is " piped," dry it, and keep it so 

 until in the needle slate, cover it with water for 

 ten days, draw it down until you can see the lops 

 of the rows. Twenty days alter dry it, and as 

 soon as it is enough so, hoe it as often as possible 

 before the joint or harvest water is put on, which 

 will be in about from thirty to thirty-five days. 

 When the joint flow is put on, the water is kept 

 just below a while streak which is always seen 

 on the stalks of rice just below the ear. When 

 fit for harvest, (which is determined by the se- 

 cond or third lower grains being so eofi as to be 

 mashed with the nail,) the water is let in and out 

 tor several tides so as to wash out the fields en- 

 tirely, which renders it less offensive (and of 

 course less unhealthy,) while harvesting is being 

 carried on. The task at this time is to cut a 

 quarter of an acre and carry out a quarter. The 



quantity of seed n»ed is two and a half bushels per 

 acre. The usual average product is about thirty- 

 bushels per acre, ilie greatest average from fifty 

 10 sixty bushels. The largest quantity made, 

 eighty busliels per acre. The usual -weight of 

 the rice is lony-seven pounds per bushel.— Ed. 

 !S. Agric. 



WHAT WILL AN ACRE YIELD IN SILK 1 



From tlie Burlington Sillc Record. 



In 1838, M. Darcet published at Paris the 3d 

 edition of his " Description of a healthy Co- 

 coonery." In that work there is a memoir on 

 the silk culture, written by M. Bourdon, a dis- 

 liiiguished modern culturist, contaming a variety 

 of interesting lacts and observations. In 1837, 

 at the instance of the French government, he 

 made a tour of inspeclion through the silk dis- 

 tricts of France, lie says, " In rearings regard- 

 ed as of average goodness, the product per ounce 

 of eggs is 25 kilogrammes of cocoons," (about 

 56 lbs.) He says moreover, that "in every 

 ounce of eggs at least 26^000 worms perish," and 

 that there are 40,000 in an ounce. This, it must 

 be remembered, is the average result throughout 

 France, as reported by an official agent so lately 

 as only four years ago. The loss of worms, 

 therefore, is nearly two-thirds, and yet the busi- 

 ness continues to be the most profitable that ex- 

 ists in France. iVl. Uourdon further says, that 

 there are cocooneries where the product of an 

 ounce of eggs does not exceed 18, 22, and 35 Ibe. 

 of cocoons. 



Now to prevent this enormous loss of worms, 

 the most strenuous efforts of scientific culturists 

 in France have been made. The causes of thia 

 loss are stated to be " the frosts of spring nipping 

 the young leaves of the nnulberry tree at the time 

 of the hatching of the eggs, and to diseases by 

 which tlie worms are destroyed." The evil has 

 been cured, but not until " ten years of toilsome 

 research" had been devoted to an investigation 

 of its causes and its remedy — and ten years is a 

 lung time in these United States. The remedy 

 was found in a most elaborate system of ventila- 

 tion, watchfulness and care, of which incessant 

 cleaning formed a most conspicuous item. This 

 system was invented by Messrs. Darcet and 

 Beauvais. It required an increased temperature, 

 more frequent repasts, and constant renewal of 

 the air of the cocooner}', by pumping it up into 

 the garnet, by machinery made .^or that express* 

 purpose. M. Bourdon confirms the natural con- 

 clusion of the reader's mind, by informing us that 

 on this system of leeding, " ihe cares and atten- 

 tions are multiplied ; very frequent removals of 

 the litter are absolutely necessary; the least 

 neglect in the distribution of the repasts cannot 

 fail to be attended with serious consequences.-' 

 On the other hand, the solicitudes of the feeder 

 are abridged, for the worms spin in about 22 to 24 

 days. 



The results obtained from thia elaborate system 

 of feeding are as follows: 



M. Beauvais got from 2240 lbs. leaves 200 lbs. cocoons. 

 At Faventines, 2240 " 171 



Marquis of Balincourt, 2240* " 132 " 



* Leaves watery and not nutritious. 



