194 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JANUARY 1, 1834. 



at that time. Any person may make an orchard 

 as large as lie can desire in three years, hy plant- 

 ing 20 or 30 trees, and laying them or planting 

 cuttings from them. The leaves contain a much 

 larger quantity of nutritive matter than those of 

 the white, or any other variety, and consequent- 

 ly one pound of them will produce a much 

 larger quantity of silk. The leaves are also so 

 large that one half, at least, of the expense of 

 gathering is saved — one leaf of morns multicnulis, 

 being equal to at least a dozen of the white variety. 

 We have thought it our duty to call puhlic atten- 

 tion to this subject once more, as it is all important 

 in all new beginnings, with individuals or nations, 

 to take such a start as not to he obliged to turn 

 back and begin again. 



PERSIAN MANAGEMENT OP SILKWORMS. 



Tuiaj^siatic method of managing silk-worms, 

 is preferable to that formerly practised on the 

 Aktourba, where much time and expense were 

 wasted in feeding the silk-worms with gathered 

 leaves, which soon decayed, and rendered the 

 frequent shifting of their beds necessary. The 

 Persian or Boukharian rears bis mulberry trees, 

 to about six feet high, which they attain in four 

 or five years, he then begins to lop their tops 

 and branches, which are given to the insects, 

 as soon as they have sufficient strength, by 

 placing them gently on their beds. By this means 

 the shoots remain fresh and succulent, and the 

 worms devour them even to their woody fibres, so 

 that no part of the nutritive foliage is wasted. As 

 these insects are every day supplied with food, the 

 leafy branches gradually form a kind of wicker 

 work, through which the impurities pass, so that 

 the cheerful worms preserve the requisite cleanbu 

 ness without trouble to the cultivator, and speedily 

 obtain a vigorous state. In this manner they are 

 continually supplied with leaves, till they prepare 

 to spin, when small dry brush-wood is placed in 

 all directions aver the leafless branches ; on this the 

 worms spin their silk. Two persons, an adult, who 

 lops the brunches, and a child who collects theni, 

 are thus enabled quickly to procure food for a great 

 number of silk-worms. 



The mulberry tree, in our climate produces new 

 shoots twice in every summer. These shoots ac- 

 quire in the same year the firm consistence of wood. 

 In Persia and Boukharia. where the summer is lon- 

 ger and the vegetation more vigorous, the shoots 

 may be even cut twice a year. The tree by this 

 method of cutting, always remains low, and pro- 

 duces a great number of young shoots from its trunk 

 as well as from its branches, every subsequent year. 



By stripping them of their leaves, however (on 

 the contrary)., many branches wither and not only 

 the buds are lost, and much foliage wasted, but 

 the worms receive less nourishment, as the leaves 

 sooner decay. It has been remarked, in the silk 

 establishment near Aktourba, that the worm, when 

 compelled by necessity, eats leaves of the Acer tar- 

 taricum, which resemble those of the mulberij tree. 



ACCOUNT OF COMMON SALT. 



It does now appear that the mineral kingdom 

 contains a single species capable of being employed 



as food ; but there is one mineral species which 

 indirectly contributes to the nourishment of many 

 other animals as well as man, and that is common 

 salt, the flavorof which, to a certain extent, is not 

 only grateful to the palate, but, practically speak- 

 ing, mankind could not exist, or at least never have 

 existed without the constant use of it. Thus, 

 though employed in very small quantities at a time 

 by any individual, and almost exclusively for the 

 purpose either of preserving or of rendering his 

 food more palatable, this substance may fairly be 

 classed among the principal necessaries of life; 

 and eorrespondently with this statement, we find 

 tint nature has supplied it in abundance, indeed, 

 in profusion often, in various parts of the globe: 

 for, to say nothing of those apparently inexhausti- 

 ble masses which occur among the solid strata of 

 the earth, and which have been constantly quar- 

 ried through successive ages from the earliest rec- 

 ords of history, the ocean itself is a never-failing 

 source of this valuable substance. In other in- 

 stances salt springs afford the means of a ready 

 supply; and throughout a considerable part of the 

 sandy districts of Africa and Asia the soil itself 

 abounds with it. The abundant supply of com- 

 mon salt coincides with its extensive utility. It is 

 every where indispensable to the comforts of man ; 

 and it is every where found, or easily obtained by 

 him. And, though not to the same extent, the 

 same observation holds with reference to many 

 other natural saline compounds. Thus carbonate of 

 potash, and natron or carbonate of soda, alum, 

 borax, sal ammoniac, and sulphate of iron, or green 

 'vitriol, which are most extensively useful salts in 

 many processes of the arts, are either found abun- 

 dantly in various parts of the world, or may be ob- 

 tained by very easy means : while a thousand oth- 

 er saline compounds, which are rarely of any 

 practical importance, are scarcely known to exist 

 in a native state. — Kidd's Bridgewute.r Treatise. 



THE WEEVIL. 



Salt is said to be a complete preventive against 



the destruction of wheat by the weevil. Mix a 

 pint of salt with a barrel of wheat, put the grain 

 hi old salt barrels, and the weevil will not attack it. 

 •In stacking wheat, four or five quarts of salt to 

 every hundred sheaves, sprinkled among them, 

 will entirely secure them from the depredations of 

 the insect, and render the straw more valuable as 

 food for cattle. — HorL Register. 



MILCH COWS. 



We are frequently asked vt bat breed of cattle we 

 think best for the dairy ; and as we have taken no 

 inconsiderable pains to inform ourselves on this 

 subject, both by actual observation and obtaining 

 the opinions of a great number of practical men, 

 we think proper to answer the question in this 

 way: Were vie about commencing a dairy, out 

 choice would be, without hesitation, half blood 

 Durham Shorthorns. We should be particular in 

 selecting those by a first rate Durham Shorthorn 

 bull, out of some of our best common cows, and if 

 we could procure them from the hornless or buf- 

 falo breed, so much the better. Half blood short- 

 horns are almost always good milkers, and first 

 rate butter makers, averaging, in good pasture, 

 eight to ten pounds of butter per week. We have 

 to support us in this opinion, the testimony of sev- 

 eral practical and intelligent persons, who have 

 had both full blood and half blood cows: and 

 among these persons is a lady in Pennsylvania, 

 whose husband owns some of the finest Durham 

 Shorthorn stock in «America. This lady superin- 

 tends her cows herself, and has witnessed the milk- 

 ing of the full and half blood for many years ; she 

 has kept their milk and cream separate, and as- 

 certained the quantities of milk and butter yield- 

 ed by both ; and has thus been able to decide with 

 scarcely the possibility of error. Her trial of both 



breeds has not been confined to one or two selec 

 animals, she generally has half a dozen of each 

 and as her husband deals largely in this kind of 

 stock, her cows are continually changing. She 

 also has Devon cows, and half blood cows of the 

 same ; but her preference for the dairy is as stated 

 above, decidedly in favor of half blood Durhams. 

 It is true her cows run in good pasture, without 

 which no breed run be gooil milkers. Where the 

 pasture is short without doubt, the North Devons 

 are the best, because they do keep in good condi- 

 tion in pastures that Durhams would fail in. 



But a word to those who wish to obtain deep 

 milkers. Whoever would have a large quantity 

 of milk, and that of good quality, must provide 

 good pasture and good water. You might as well 

 expect a good crop of corn from a sand hill, with- 

 out manure and rain, as a large quantity of milk 

 from a cow in poor pasture with bad water. And, 

 let us remark, good water is as essential to good 

 milk yielding as good pasture. We bail a cow 

 last summer that yielded live gallons of rich milk 

 a day. She ran in a tolerable pasture, but there 

 was a stream of pure spriug water running through 

 it. We also kept salt constnally within her reach. 

 The same cow this summer in a much better pas- 

 ture, does not yield three gallons of milk. The 

 reason of ibis tailing off is, that she is supplied with 

 water from a pump, occasionally, when her atten- 

 dant conceives she wants it — not when she thinks 

 she wants it, which is- the great point. She also 

 gets salt " as it happens." 



We have often beard of cows giving large quan- 

 tities of milk, that " eat scarcely any thing" to which 

 we always reply, " tell that to the marines, for old 

 Sailors won't believe you." A cow canuot.inake 

 mint out of nothing ; and she can only give you 

 milk in proportion to the quantity of good food you 

 give her. 



In giving our opinion of the best milkers, we 

 know we render ourselves obnoxious to the criti- 

 cism of those who own other breeds. There are 

 three or four parties to this question, which may 

 he .lamed after the breeds of animals they prefer. 

 They are full blood Din ham Shorthorns, half blood 

 Duiham Shorthorns, North Devons.Ahlerneys, &c. 

 The party to which we belong is indicated as 

 abo/e. — Jhner. Farmer. 



. RURAL ECONOMY. 



Prom the letter of one of our esteemed corres- 

 ponlents near Philadelphia we make the following 

 extnets : 



Ireme:* Geese. — One of my neighbors, who 

 is wry curious about his poultry, has Bremen 

 gees. He procured them last spring, when they 

 wertonly a few weeks old ; and early in the fall 

 one if them weighed 16 lbs. without fattening. 

 They would probably weigh twenty pounds each 

 at th'u time. They are snow white, and most 

 beautfful creatures. I hope soon to obtain some of 

 the ytung brood. 



Oli Pear Trees. — One of the Bell Pear Trees 

 at the lack of our house is nearly one hundred 

 and tv«nty years old. The other is a sucker from 

 it, ant both continue to bear abundantly. 



Orchard Grass. — Some of our farmers who 

 have audi soil, cultivate the Orchard Grass with 

 profit. It would be more grown if its successful 

 culturedid not interfere with the usual rotation of 

 crops ,l this district. It may be sown with clover 

 and tinothy : it will then come to its nest after 



