122 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Nov. 2, 1S31. 



the utility and practicability of its being pursued 

 03 a lucrative branch of business. 



He stated that the inhabitants of the United 

 States, can be clothed with silk goods with less 

 land and less labor than with flax, wool, or cotton, 

 and that it can be made impervious to water, for 

 outside garments, while cotton, wool, and flax can 

 be made useful for inside. 



I perfectly coincided with him relative to con- 

 verting the cocoons into silk goods with less ex- 

 pense and labor than cotton, wool, or flax are man- 

 ufactured ; for in converting cotton into {roods it 

 has to be cleansed from seeds &c ; it is then brok- 

 en and finished ready for drawinof, and has to pass 

 through a card called a breaker, anl another called 

 a finisher — then through the drawing, roping, 

 process, and theji spun and woven. The ma- 

 chinery for breaking, finishing, drawing and roping 

 &c, is very expensive, — all of which is not neces- 

 sary for the operation of silk. 



Silk is first drawn from the cocoons by a reel, 

 say like those of D'Homergue's orDu Ponceau's of 

 Philadelphia or .T. H. Cobb, Esq. of Dedliam, or 

 E. Boynton's of Newbury. It could then be 

 taken, spooled, and twisted and doubled for such 

 kind of goods as are intended for manufacture. 

 Then washed and woven by water or steam power 

 as well as cotton, wool, &c, — and with much less 

 labor than the afore-mentioned materials. He in- 

 formed me he had upwards of fifty thousand white 

 mulberry trees of 2, 3, and 4 years' growth, a part 

 of which he would sell at extremely low prices, aiul 

 of such ages and quantities as to suit purchasers. 



The trees will do to take up and set out till the 

 ground is frozen and as early next spring, as the 

 frost is out till the month of INfay. He stated that 

 lie pruned a part of the aforesaid tree this year, 

 and gave the prunings to the silk worms which 

 produced upwards of serenty pounds of cocoons, 

 which were stifled in an oven with a temperature 

 of 140 down to 120 degrees by the thermometer. 

 He took the prunings without separating the leaves 

 and placed them among the worms to feed on, and 

 thought they diil better than if the leaves were 

 strip[ied off", as the worms would climb and regt 

 themselves on the branches — as intended by tlieir 

 beneficent Creator. 



The improvement he has made on his silk mill, 

 will no doubt be of utility. He run from said 

 mill 200 yards of different sized thread, reeled 

 and spooled from the cocoons, and laid on si)OoIs 

 or bobbins in such a manner as to be put into a 

 bobbin nest for doubling and twisting for any fii- 

 bric wanted. 



He declines exhibiting said mill at present, for 

 various reasons; one of which is the great hiridnince 

 it would make him, to gratify the idle curiosity of 

 people who might call on him. 



Bristol, R. 1. Oct. 24, 1S31. Bono Publico. 



Remarks ly the Editor. — We esteem the above 

 valuable information, and would take this oc- 

 casion to recommend the introduction or at least 

 the more general trial of the Chinese IMulberry, 

 (Morus multicaulis] as a siisbtitute for the white 

 mulberry. Its properties are said to be the follow- 

 ing. It continues low and bushy, so that the 

 leaves can always be gathered without a ladder, 

 and the leaves are of large size, very tender, grow 

 m abundance, are eaien with aviility by the worms, 

 aiid the silk they produce is of the "first qu.ility. 

 This species of mulberry may be obtained by ap- 

 plication at the oflice of the New England Farmer, 

 No. 50J. North Market street, price $1 each. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PODOPHYLLUM PELTATUM. 



This plant has in different places, diflTirent com- 

 mon names ; as lilay apple. Lime plant, Reuben's 

 Mandrake, &c. It delights to grow in a rich, 

 moist soil and in a shady situation. It will not 

 produce large fiuit until the roots have extended 

 themselves and acquired strength. It is a singu- 

 lar plant, the whole, stem, leaves, flower and 

 fruit, is formed in the earth, and nothing appears 

 after it rises above the surface but llie extension 

 of parts. The stem is smooth, round and rises 

 about 12 inches above the surface, has two peltate 

 palmate leaves, deeply divided into several lobes. 

 In the fork of the stem proceeds the flower and 

 fruit. The flower is white. The fruit ovate in 

 shape, is green while growing, and yellow when 

 ripe, agreeably acid, delicious to many, and salu- 

 brious. 



The roots, which are large, creeping and joint- 

 ed, are medicinal and supply the place of jalap, 

 being far less nauseous than that drug ; and from 

 this circumstance alone the plant deserves exten- 

 sive cultivation. 



' We have,' says Doct. Bigelow, ' hardly tny 

 native plants which answer better the comnon 

 purposes of jalap, aloes and rhubarb and which 

 is more safe and mild in its operation. The rcot 

 is the part to be employed, and should be givenin 

 substance in fine powder. I have commoily 

 found 20 grains to operate with efficacy, and lot 

 to be attended with pain and inconvenience.' ' "Hie 

 root,' observes Doct. Thachcr, ' is an excellint 

 purgative in doses of 20 grains. It is most ad- 

 vantageously used in combination with calomel 

 or crystals of tartar. The root often operates as 

 an antlielmintic, and as such, ii is used by the 

 Cherokee and other Southern Indians.' 



The medicinal properties of the Podophyllum 

 peltatum are well established by the above named 

 eminent physicians. 



The fruit which was exhibited in the hall of 

 Ihe Massachusetts Horticultural .Society the sei- 

 son past was of good size, but not the largest. 

 It was grown under the full influence of a scoroli- 

 ing sun. R. GREEN. 



Mansfield, October 10, 1S31. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BEANS. 



Mr Edttor — As the bean is among the most val- 

 uable productions of the kitchen garden, it is im- 

 portant that the best variety should bo known. 1 

 have taken some care to ascertain this point. 

 Last spring I planted the Dwarf, or Bush Kidney, 

 Ihe China and the Early Canada, in separate rows, 

 eight roils in length, and a pint of seed in each. 

 They were fit for use in the order named, with a 

 few days' intermission. The Kidney is a rich pro- 

 lific bean ; but soon in maturity and out of use 

 and liable to mildew. The China is also good 

 productive, and more lasting. But the Canada, in 

 my estimation,- was superior to the other kinds. 

 As it purported to be an early kind, I planted it 

 for a Hush bean. On discovering its propensity 

 to ramble, I placed on alternate sides of the rows 

 the brushy prunings of my trees, of three feet 

 apart, heading them down to five feet in lieight. 

 These were soon covered by the exuberant and 

 vigorous shoots; but the process of maturation of 

 the early pods was not retarded. From their first 

 coming into use to this day, Oct.. 22, there has 



been no time when a supply could not be obtained 

 fur the table, for either stringing or shelling. 

 They are still in blossom and vigor. No frost as 

 yet has materially injured them. Nearly ha a 

 bushel of |)ods has been lately gathered for future 

 use. In addition to a supply for the season, from 

 these kinds, I have gathered from the Canada a 

 peck of dry beans, as they became liable to waste. 



Running beans are the most productive; and 

 when early, their value is greatly increased. My 

 practice with all kinds of this description is, to 

 support them with high brush, or untrimrned sap- 

 lings. By this method their produce is materially 

 increased. O. Fiske. 



IVorcesler, Oct. 12, 1S31. 



. PARSNIPS. 



To the Editor orthe .N'etv England Farrnei. 



Sir — You have jiublished some remarks on 

 Parsnips \n one of your late numbers. But in 

 in looking over my books, I find the means of 

 making some supplementary observations, extract- 

 ed from an edition of a work entitled ' Gleanings 

 from the most celebrated Books of Husbayidry, Garden- 

 ing and Rural .Offairs,' which was printed at Phil- 

 adelphia, in 1803 from the second London edition, 

 the Philadelphia edition being ' interspersed with 

 remarks by a gentleman of Philailelpliia.' This 

 Philadelphia gentleman was no other than the 

 late well known Mr Bordeley, a very excellent and 

 amiable man, who has left behind him various val- 

 uable monuments of his zeal for the jiublic good, 

 etipecially in matters concerning agriculture. 



Under the head of ' Garden Parsnip (Paslin- 

 acea sativa' I find the following particulars in 

 the aboved named work, which are copied with 

 slight variations not affecting the sense. 



' Soil. A rich deep loam ; next to this stmd ; 

 stiff" or hide bound land is destructive to them. If 

 the soil be proper it will require very little manure. 



' Seed. Sown [in England] in February or March. 

 It is also sown in autumn immediately after ihe 

 seed is ripe. Sosving at this latter season prevents 

 the young plants being choked with weeds. The 

 frost neither injures the seed or plant, 



' Culture. If sown broadcast the plants are to 

 he thinned to ten inches or a foot asunder. If 

 drilled the distance of the rows to be 18 inchesy 

 the plants to be thinned to the distance of 10 in- 

 ches, horse hoed twice and earthed at the second 

 time, but not so as to cover the leaves. If the tops 

 are cut off", but so as not to injure the crown it 

 will iucreiise the size of the roots.* Though left 

 in the gnmnd they are not injured by the frost. If 

 housed, they are to be dug when the leaves begin 

 to decay, which should be cut off 3 or 4 days be- 

 fore they are laid up. They are to be put in samt 

 in a dry place. The leaves are dangerous to 

 handle (especially in a morning, while the dew 



*We apprehend that there is a mistake in this a'^sertion^ 

 It has also been maintained by some agriculturists that 

 the tops of carrots might I>e cut off as soon as the lower 

 leaves begin lo wither without injury to the root. But the 

 Alassdchusetls Agricullur.d Jour., vol. iii. No. 3, p. 131-2 

 stives the detaiU of certain experiments ma'le by the Hon. 

 J. Quincy, in which a certain number of beds of carrots 

 were cut, and the same number of similar beds were left 

 uncut, and the aiUanlaije was in favor of the latter, about 

 as 8 to 5. From the result of these experiments, Mr Quin- 

 cy concluded * that the carrot forms no exception to the 

 usual analogy of nature in the growth of vegetables,' 

 which depend nearly as much upon the leaves as the 

 roots. We do not believe that the laws of vegetation 

 with regard to parsnips differ from those wliich regulate 

 the growth of carrots and other plants. — Ed. .\. E. Far- 

 mer. 



