THE FARMERS- REGISTER. 



443 



lull growlh of (he crop. The crop of the western 

 part ol' the stale, we understand, iliou<^h upon less 

 satislactory lesiimony, to be no better than iliat 

 of the eastern part. 



After the worst winter, and greater portion o( 

 spring, ever known, for corn and spring crops, (on 

 account of coniinual rains, and long continned 

 cold,) the weather became so fine, that the hope 

 of an average crop of corn, which had waned al- 

 most to extinction, was revived every where. 

 But the before sti'ited corn did not grow as fasi 

 as was expected ; and latterly, drought has pre- 

 vailed until it threatens great injury to the grow- 

 ing crops of both corn and tobacco. Without suf- 

 ficient rain soon, the corn crop in this region will 

 be cut very sliorl. 



The oai crop was very short, owing to the wet 

 slate of the ground preventing sowing in proper 

 lime, or on land in dry and good condi'ion. 



July 30, 1841. Ed. F. R. 



PRICES OF WHEAT. 



The Shifiping and Commercial list of July 29ih, 

 reports the New York prices of " Wheat, Ohio 

 and Genesee, (old.) ,^1.25 to 1.27.^— southern, 

 (new,) §1.18 to 1.18if." The Baltimore prices, 

 same day, according to the American — "New 

 wheal, Md., ^1-18 to 1.25." The American 

 Farmer, ol Baltimore, (29ih,) says — "The sales ol 

 Maryland red wheats are making to-day at 118 to 

 122 cents for good to very prime parcels. Sales ol 

 new Maryland while wheat, of prime qualit), 

 suitable for family flour, at 128 and 130 cents." 



(n Richmond and Petersburg the highest prices 

 (or wheal talked of by buyers are 110 to 115 cents. 

 We advise farmers to wait awhile for prices at 

 home to more nearly approach those of the north 

 — and the owners of n'ver crops to ship them to 

 Baltimore ; or, still better, to New York, where 

 the sales are lor specie, ur paper convertible to 

 specie.— Ed. F. R. 



mode of castrating colls, which is not new, but 

 plain and simple ; and, 1 believe, if care be taken 

 (in the part of the operator, ir is the best mode. 

 I never had one to mind ciiiiing more than a boar. 

 Tlie plan is this: Alit;r the coll is thrown down 

 and carefully tied, the integuments of the testicles 

 are to be laid o|)eii with a sharp knile, and the 

 stone pulled out, and the cord of the nut cleaned 

 down. 'J'he cord i.s then to be securely tied with 

 a strong thread, well waxed, and the cord is then 

 cut off' near the thread, and the ends of the thread 

 left SIX or eight inches long. After both stones 

 are taken out, the wounds are to be well "reased 

 with old bacon gravy and salt. 



Staunton River. 



CURE FOR THE POLL-EVIL. 

 COLTS. 



CASTRATIKG 



To tlie Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. 



Ckimpbell county, March 15, 1841. 



1 send you a certain cure for the poll-evil in 

 horses, which you can publish, if you think it 

 worthy of a place in your columns. The remedy 

 IS this : Make one or two incisions in the swelling, 

 and then wash the wound nicely with strong soap- 

 suds, and fill the wound with lime. A fevv appli- 

 cations will perform the cure. Care should be 

 taken in cutting, so as not to cut across the neck, 

 and thus wound an artery. 



I will (while writing about horses) give you my 



THE MUSCARDINE OF SILK-WORMS. 



To tlie Editor of the Karmcrs' Register. 



1 beg leave lo make a lew remarks on ihe arti- 

 cle, which appeared in the last niiml-ipr of the 

 Register, entitled " the muscardiiie." This arti- 

 cle is calculated to gratify the curious, but when 

 viewed in connexion with some recent publications 

 on the same subject, it is also calculated to excite 

 unnecessary alarm, and lo strengthen the already 

 strong prejudices which possess the minds of 

 some persons in relation to the success of the cul- 

 ture of silk in Virginia. 



The writer of the article takes it as settled that 

 tlie muscardinc is contagious, and cites the expe- 

 rimeriis of Dr. Bassi, of Milan, to establish this 

 character of the disease. [ have been rearing 

 silk-worms lor portions of six years, and during 

 that period have only seen about thirty cases of 

 the muscardiiie. I have twice rubbed the " lari- 

 riaceous efflorescence" (which the Europeans say 

 is the seed of a vegetable that extends its roots 

 through pans of the worm,) on the healthy silk- 

 worms, in order to '-inoculate" them with ihe 

 disease, but ihey retained their health and went 

 on as usual. This disease may be contagious in 

 Europe; but until some more decisive evidence 

 than any which has yet been adduced shall esta- 

 blish its character of contagion in I'irginia, I 

 shall hold that it is in our climate of rare occur- 

 rence, and 7iot contagious. 



I have now about 600,000 silk-worms in va- 

 rious stages, Irom one day old to maturity. They 

 are remarkably healthy. The oldest are spin- 

 ning in 22 to 25 days, and Ibrming excellent co- 

 coons. The varieties, "mammoth sulphur" and 

 " pea-nut." 



The use of lime I consider -invaluable.* I 

 sprinkle it over them just before giving ihera 

 iheir meals, once during the third and fourth ages, 

 and daily during the last age. It counteracts^lhe 

 bad efilgcts of heat and moisture, keeps the appe- 

 tite o( the worms keen, and no doubt hastens 

 their maturity. Layton Y.Atkins. 



Stafford, Va., July 5th, 1841. 



* Other preventives must not be neglected. The 

 lime, although excellent, will not save worms that are 

 piled up ill layers, nor will it supply the place of libe- 

 ral, ventilation. I prize highly the labors of scientific 

 men, but they are fallible, and it is possible that Dr. 

 Bassi may be mistaken. The climate of Europii may 

 be calculated in an unusual degree to produce the dis- 

 ease ; and in assigning causes for disease, doc 'or. will 

 differ, and the imagination is often allowed to • much 

 play. 



