298 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



having been ascertained to be peculiarly adapted 

 for their perfect blooming— the dahlias especially. 



Various have been the estimates of the impor- 

 tance of marl in the improvement ol' the Jersey 

 soil, biit they have all fallen far below the actual 

 results. In my late visit I became acquainted 

 with some instances, showing the most asionieh- 

 ing products that have been reaped Irom the use 

 of it and improved tillage, and, with your permis- 

 sion, I will mention one or two, which are, how- 

 ever, by no means solitary cases. 



JMr. John Gill cultivates a farm of 30 acres in 

 Haddonfield : a portion of the land issiiuated on 

 a hdl-side, and is, therefore, not so highly im- 

 proved, but upon these 30 acres he kept the last 

 year such a number of cattle, and jirew such 

 quantities of produce, as were quite astonishins to 

 every one. Would he give a statement lor the 

 pages of the Cabinet 1 



Capt. James Cooper said, " In the year 1793 I 

 travelled eight miles before I could find a farmer 

 who had it in his power to supply me with a single 

 ton of hay ; on going over the same road at this 

 time, 1 could purchase more than two thousand 

 tons; many of the fatniers cuttinir upwards of a 

 hundred loads yearly. My Iriend, S. R., whose 

 farm, a kw years ago, yitlded nothing but black- 

 berries, and was one uncultvated waste, produces 

 the finest crops of wheat, br\(\ other grain and 

 corn, and yielded more than Iw) loads ot hay the 

 last year, at a cut of two tons am. a half per acre, 

 and all this is owing to the marl !" 



We visited Todd's pit, which is U; many sup- 

 posed to contain ihe finest marl in Nt,v Jersey; 

 the supply appears almost inexhaustibr,^ occur- 

 ring in an unbroken bed of the purest lualiiy, 

 from 8 to 10 leei thick. The owner, Mr. Alex- 

 ander Cooper, disposes of it by the rod squa^ ,o 

 persons who dig it themselves ; and at this prug 

 he is realizing about 1500 dollars per acre for tht, 

 marl, the land afterwards being more valuable 

 than before. This gentleman feeds his stock with 

 corn and cob-meal, and no where have I seen 

 finer animals, or in better condition. 



Your Subscriber. 



REEt.ING SILK IN TENNESSEE. 



From itie Sill? Journal. 



[If the folio winir letters, Irom the Rev. Mr. 

 Ros?, do not convince every reader of the prac- 

 ticability of the silk rulture in this country, we 

 know not what will. Those who doubt as to the 

 reeling process may find a good lesson here. — 

 Ed. S. J.] 



K'lngspnrt. {East Ten.') Feb. 22, 1841. 



Gideon B. Smith, esq. .-—Dear sir,— I never 

 felt 80 sanguine of the silk culture as at this 

 moment. There is nothing now in the way of 

 its immediate advancement in East Tennessee, 

 unless it may be that slowness which seems in- 

 herent in the motion of a farming jieople to 

 change their habits. I say there is nothing now 

 in the way — because, since I recommenced reeling 

 on the first day of this month, my success is such, 

 that 1 intend to advertise to buy from 1 to 2,000 

 bushels of cocoons. 



The great bugbear has been Ihe reeling. That 

 question, as to quality, I considered settled by my 

 experiments last summer, although at a costly 



trial. Since I have recommenced reeling, I deem 

 the question of qitantittj disposed of for ever. Pre- 

 suming I should not be able to obtain cocoons for 

 more than two reels, until the summer. 1 began 

 wiih that number on the first day of February. 

 My cocoons were very indifl'erent, with few ex- 

 ceptions, poine not yielding more than 8 oz. to 

 the bushel — nom; exceeding 14 oz. Part of the 

 time the weather has been very severe, filling my 

 room with ■ condensed .steam; nevertheless, 1 

 reeled, and two hours after dark. Thus showing, 

 what was not believed, that reeling can be done 

 after night. Under these circumstances my ave- 

 rage has been between & and 10 oz. (or each reel 

 per day. This reeling is better than the best 

 average I saw on the books of the Model Filature 

 in Philadelphia last summer. The best average 

 I saw there, in three weeks' work, was 10| oz., 

 in long summer days too, and having some, if not 

 many, first rate cocoons — none of which I have. 

 And I saw no cocoons there so bad as many of 

 mine. I think I will show 1 lb. per day to each 

 reel, even with such cocoons as I have, before the 

 1st of March. I have reached 14^ oz. 'Now. 

 ray dear sir, do you not say I have some reason 

 to be pleased. Many thanks to you for your en- 

 couragement to periieverance. The cost of ray 

 reeling is 2 shillings per day to each spinner, who 

 finds herself. The flossing and turning the reel 

 may be, together, 1 shilling more, if.hired, or 

 nothing, if litile servants are employed. Before 

 the Isl of March, I will show, that without count- 

 ing interest on fixtures, &c., which will be a thing 

 of nothing, I can exhibit beautifully reeled silk, 

 which cost me 2 shillings per pound lor reeling. 



In a short time I think I shall have a very con- 

 venient filature, and silk reels enough, if I am 

 sure of cocoons, to turn off sufficient silk to redeem 

 the- bold promise I made you last spring. I am 

 making improvements in the saving of time, &c. 

 ^very day. The double strainer to each pan 1 

 fi'd works well. Frederick A. Ross. 



[ Ve must apologize to our friend, Mr. Ross, 

 for tht publication of both the preceding and fol- 

 lowing ^tter. They were not intended for publi- 

 cation, bvf iiiey ;vjii (jo more pubhc good than 

 private har^T 



Rotherwood, jfpril 6, 1841. 

 Gideon B. Smith, esq. .-—Dear sir, — Your 

 esteemed favor, ,(•,[,£ 21st March, is to hand. 

 Mr. Lynn, I prefe,fj^p^ called on you, returning 

 from Philadelphia. \Ye think exactly alike on 

 the Euhjeci of our na-^^nai independence. And 

 I have always, before ,^^^6 ^vas any personal 

 interest, been a tarifi ma, . ^^y gjik enthusiasm 

 has hardly abated at any tii.<^ j„ gj^ years. It is 

 now higher than ever. I de.^ered a lecture the 

 other (fay twenty miles from ^gj^g i,-, a court- 

 house, and exhibited the model c- ^ feeding and 



spinning frame, which I carried 



bags. I enclose you an advertisemj^t/^yhici-^ j 



n my saddle- 



am spreading through this county, am you will 

 see from it that the business is no child's Hgy y^^j^h 

 me. It is no longer experiment. I want ^^j^jpc^ 

 but the certainty of sufficient cocoons to Sv-ure 

 the fact of immediately converting multicaviig 

 leaves into gold. The victory is won. Ti..^ 

 people have nothing to do but to secure it. Co- 

 coons can be made in this country lor ^1,25, and, 

 when labor is not hired, thousands will say, as a 

 man said to my inquiry, ' what it cost to make 



