NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JULY la. 18 7. 



(JJ^-A fiirn.t has favoreil us with the following 

 useful (.'Xliafts. 



FaRM-tard Manurk. — "This must be rankfil 

 in the first class; anil when inipioved yarrls have 

 been constructed for the soiling of cattle, and at- 

 tention has heen l)aid to the quality as well as the 

 increase of diiiifr, the nuinure thus proiluced he- 

 conies of inestiiiiahle value. No hushaiulrnari can 

 carry on fiis business without it, and every one 

 who attends fora moment to the difficulty of |>ro. 

 curinL' » sufficient quantity of duujr, as well as ol 

 pre|)urin!{ wliatis got, will ucUnowledite, that how- 

 ever imperfectly the subject be understood, none 

 is more deserving of serious investigation ; yet 

 even the most superficial observer on the com- 

 mon state of culture, can hardly fail to remark, 

 that the evident inattention to its management, is 

 such as woul.t almost lead to the sujiposition thiit 

 it is not worth the fanner's care. 



Nothing is more common than to see largi^ 

 heaps ol manure thrown out of the stables ami 

 feeding-sheds, and exposed in that state to the 

 weather, without any reganl to its being either 

 laid up in a regular and cs-ireful manner, seemed 

 fr<MU evaporation, or carefully mixed in diftVrent 

 proportions, according to its various qualities ; — 

 yet these proportions are severally of a vei'y tlis- 

 tinct and important nature." 



"Shkf.p Dung decomjioses quickly when it is 

 moist, and compactly heaped together ; but when 

 dry and ilispersed, its decomposition is*low and 

 imperfect. Its efte<'t upon the soil is soon dissi- 

 pated, and is generally exhausted after a second 

 crop. Much ammonia is disengaged from the ex- 

 cretnents, and more especially from the urine of 

 sheep, and this renders their mamire particularly 

 vuluahlc upon soils which contain insoluble moulil. 

 That which is found on the floor of sheep cotes, 

 when left undistm-bed, is of two qualities — that of 

 the upper layer, which is occasionally reneived 

 with fresh litter, being strawy, dry, and not fer- 

 mented ; while, on the contrary, that of the un- 

 der layer is moist, clammy, and fit for use. When 

 the dung is removed, care should therefore be ta- 

 ken to mix both layers, so that they may be equal- 

 ly decomiiosed ; and, when thus prepared, the 

 manure should bespread sparingly upon the land, 

 if used for corn [grain] crops, or it is apt to make 

 them run to straw ; but upon cold, sour soils, this 

 may be used in larger quantities with considera- 

 ble advantage. The 'uost usual way of piocur- 

 ing it, however, is hy folding. It is only necessa- 

 ry to remark, that it appears from an ex|)crimeiu 

 on record, that 134 ewes mid wethers, with 30 

 lambs, were piumed during six weeks in a sheep 

 cote, and littered with <me lond of straw per week, 

 which ])rodiiceil 28 large loads of dung. In anoth- 

 er standing fold, containing mi English acre, the 

 plan adopted was to s|)read the straw a foot deep, 

 and strew turnips upon one half of the fold, every 

 Iwo or three days alternately, until the litter be 

 caiiK! wet, when it was again covered with fresh 

 straw : the sheep thus lay very dry ; and in this 

 manner, it is said, that in the course of the sea- 

 son, 800 Ions of the best mamire on a farm, in 

 Kast Liiihinn, was produced by 308 wethers. — 

 The quantity, iiulecd, appears so very extraordi- 

 nary, as to seem almost incredible, and had it not 

 been stated on the respectable authority of Sir 

 John Sinclair, we shoidd have hesitated to aft'ord 

 it insertion." 



Lkached .Ashes, or Sonper'a waste — ".Are pos- 

 sessed of eminently fertilizing properties, and are 

 particularly useful for dry, loamy lands, or on 

 loam mixed with sand. It is only of late years 

 that the value of this manure has been duly ap- 

 preciated ; and there are few soils on which it 

 tiiay not be beneficially employed. The quantity 

 per acre, varies from 50 'o 1 )0 bushels. It is 

 considered to be, generally, better for grass i)as- 

 turi', than arable, ami crops of clover-hay have 

 been more than doubled by it. The best method 

 of using ihis manure, has been though^, by many 

 persons, to be that of a com|iost with dung and 

 earth. So far as the earth is concerned, there 

 can he no objection to the practice ; but in re- 

 gard to dung, it may admit of doubt, for, in pro- 

 portion to the quaiuity of alkaline matter left in 

 the ashes, the duration of the effect of the dung 

 will he lessened, njuch in the same manner, ashy 

 a mixture of quick lime.* If applied as a top- 

 dressing, there can he no doubt that it will be 

 found to be a useful and lasting manure ; it des- 

 troys slugs and vern.iu of every description ; in- 

 creases and brings in clover upon worn out pas- 

 ture land." 



(Frnm Uie Silli Cultuiist.) 



Avon, Me., Feb. 4, 1837. 



F.G.Comstock,Esq.,—hiR: * * * The 

 farm on which I reside, is well adapted to the 

 culture of the mulberry and sugar beet — it being 

 rather dry and of a loamy soil, well situated upon 

 Sandy river, a branch of the Kennebec. 1 have 

 a few hundred mulberry trees of four and five 

 years growth, and about 30,000 seedling plants, 

 which latter are the product of four ounces of 

 seed, all White mulberry. 



For two seasons past, 1 have reared the silk- 

 worm with sur|)rising success, and converted its 

 product into sewing silk. 1 intend to make the 

 culture of the mulberry, the rearing of silk worms 

 and the reeling of silk, a permanent business. 1 

 have but a little opportunity of writing at this 

 time, or 1 would go into the history of the silk 

 enterprize in this vicinity. Yours, &c. 



Da.mel Fowi,e. 



Fryeburg, Me. March 14, 1837. 

 F. G. Comstock, Esq.— Sir: * » * I have 

 hail floidjts about the silk business in Maine here- 

 tofore, which are now removed. The success I 

 had in my small way, the last season, is a clear 

 proof to me that it can be carried on in Maine, 

 (when by experience, we become acquainted with 

 it.) to a handsome i)rofit. — I was greatly encour- 

 aged by reading Gen. 'I'almadge's travels through 

 the silk districts of Italy, that on the ninth day of 

 March last, the snow was something like two feet 

 deep, and in these cold rerions they made the best 

 of silk. Such information cheered my drooping 

 spirits very much, and 1 shall goat it with re- 



* The following account, among numerous oth- 

 er instances, of an experiment on its effects in 

 equal proportions upon a crop of potatoes, is ex- 

 tracted from a report <lrawn up by order of the 

 Board of .Agriculture : — 



No. produce, 



1 No manure, 134 lbs. 



2 Stable-dung and soap-ashcs. 298 lbs. 



3 Stahle-dung alone, 315 His. 



4 Soap ashes alone, 383 lbs. 



doubled vigor and confidence this season, in plant- 

 ing out trees and sowing seed, as far as the small 

 means 1 am in possession of, will permit, We in 

 i^laine need not despair, although the snow is to- 

 wards twice as deej) as above ; it will shortly dis- 

 appear, and vegetation comes forward rapidly 

 when it does start, and our summers are long 

 enough for the leaves to grow, and the weather 

 congenial for one good crop, which is piohably 

 as much as we shall obtain to advantage, as far 

 north as we are. The trees do not die, except 

 the tei:der twigs. The main stem and the roots 

 stand our winters well, 'j'hree years ago, this 

 spring, 1 sent to Boston, six dollars for morus 

 multicaulis, and they scut me six trees in good 

 order, of the true kind. I planted three of them 

 in stony ground, the other three in rich soil. They 

 all lived : the latter grew very luxuriantly to the 

 height of four or five feet — the leaves very large, 

 some of them eleven inches wide and as many 

 long. One of those that grew so very rapidly, 

 died the second winter, the rest are all alive. 1 

 have had the main stem live through the winter, 

 above one foot high, without any protection. 1 

 have increased them a few, aiul had I known 

 how to manage them, I might have had 1000 

 at least, by this time. The roots do not die ; — 

 they sprout up and grow well every year. Last 

 fall I cut them down about six inches from the 

 ground, and cut them into slips two or three eyes 

 long, and put them in the cellar in wet moss. — 

 Yesterday I examined them and found them in 

 good order — green and fresh as they were when 

 taken from the stump. 



I am likewise much encouraged with my Chi- 

 nese mulberry trees. 1 fed about 5000 worms the 

 last season, the cocoons of which my wife and 

 daughter spun oft" on the common wooden spin- 

 ning wheel, having no better machine to work 

 with, and no information but what'we have ob- 

 tained by reading. After all the waste that was 

 made, (which was considerable) we obtained 1 

 1-2 Ihs. of raw silk — when doubled and twisted it 

 made 375 skeinsof sewing silk, of the same length 

 and number of threads as the common and im- 

 ported article. 



If it were not too much trouble, I would like 

 to ask through the medium of the Cuhurist, wheth- 

 er it was any thing like a medium production, and 

 also the best mode of planting my morus multi- 

 caulis slips ? — whether to lay them down and 

 cover them up, or to put one end in the ground, 

 leaving one eye out? 



Yours very respectfully, 



James Walker. 



Jlnswers by the Editor. — 1. We have known 

 2000 cocoons yield a pound of reeled silk, but it 

 was consiilered an extraordinary yield. When 

 3000 are required to the pound, we consider it a 

 good yield, and in all our calculations of product 

 and profit, we allow 4000. We should, therefore, 

 think the 1 1-2 Ihs. from 5000 cocoons, at least an 

 average production. 



2. It is not very material whether the cuttings 

 are put into the groimd in a horizontal or perpen- 

 dicidar position. '1 he usual method is to put 

 them in perpendicular, leaving the top bud just 

 below the surface of the earth ; but as those spo- 

 ken of have two or three buds upon them, we are 

 of opinion that more trees would be produced by 

 placing tlieni horizontally, t'.iul covering them 

 slightly — to the depth of half an inch. 



