Vol. X No. 22. 



AND HOllTICULTUllAL JOURNAL. 



nnd a successful experiment this season, by llie 

 President of the society, in rearing the worm, re- 

 moves the only iloubt that tiie business may he 

 made a source of profit to every man, who has 

 room for a few miilherry trees. The copouns pro- 

 duced in the United States, have been pronounced 

 superior to those of Europe, and those pniduccd 

 by Mr Le Ray de Chaumont are befieved to be 

 equal to any in the country. 



The management of the silk worm is perfectly 

 simple, occupying but a few weeks In the sprit 

 and all the labor may be performed by females, 

 by the aged, and by children. It is asserted liy 

 one of our distinguished countrymen, now in the 

 Mediterranean, and who is preparing a digest of 

 a 'very simple ihode of cultivaliiig the sill; worm, 

 and preparing the silk, adapted in the most simple 

 form to the use of families, that its cultivation is 

 not as troublesome as the cultivation of flax, and 

 infinitely more certain and profitable.'* He re- 

 marks, you will he surprised at the simplicity of 

 all the means of obtaining silk, and of the little 

 trouble attending it. 



But facts make a stronger appeal to the iinder- 

 standitig thati argumetjts. It is stateil ii; the New 

 England Farmer, that the town of Mansfield, in 

 Connecticut, alone, has produced this season, five 

 tons of silk, worth in market, eigbtyfive ihoiisiiml 

 dollars. This rich source of wealth is within 

 our reach, with little other effort, than to plant the 

 mulberry tree ; which is as easy of cultivation as 

 the apple tree. 



This culture recommends itself to our notice 

 in a pectdiar manner. In older pans of the cciitn- 

 try, especially in sotiie of the New England states, 

 it has already become a question of polilic dis- 

 cussion, how the daughters of a numerous class 

 of farmers, are to find einplovment, whi.li s],„\\ 



prevent their growlu^ t.|. i.. ;.il..n^«n3, n triirderi lo 



their parents, on the one baud ; or going out to ser- 

 vice in the families of their more wealthy neigh- 

 bors, on the other. The spiunitig wheel and the 

 lootT), have until lately alVurded orcnpatiim for 

 that class; but the improvements in machinery, 

 by which the woollen mannfaciure is at present 

 prosecuted, and the extensive stdistitution of cot- 

 ton stufl^s for woollen, in household use, throw 

 female labor out of competition. The culture of 

 silk seems to afford the desideratum requireil ; for 

 the whole operation may be performed by female 

 labor, and that too with such fai'ility, that a single 

 female may, in a few weeks, without extraordina- 

 ry exertion, produce silk to the amount of a hun- 

 dred dollars. 



The appropriate education and employment of 

 females, in all ranks of life, is a concern of the 

 highest importatice ; for precisely up'in these two 

 circumstances, does her usefulness depeiid- 

 Aniong barbarous nations, woman is reduced to 

 the level of the beasts of burden ; ami among 

 some of the people of the old world, she is deni- 

 ed the comtnon attribute of humanity ; with both, 

 she derives from man merely that degree of cnn- 

 sideration and protection, which he extends to his 

 other property. It is only under the Christian 

 dispensation, that she rises to the full enjoyment 

 of herjust rank, and participation in the cmicerns 

 of life. The customs of society, having a just re- 

 gard tothat refinement and delicacy, which attach 

 to the female character, and constitute its greatest 

 charm, have exchtded her from nccnpaiions deem- 



* Com. Porter's Letlors. 



ei\ peculiarly tnasriiliiie ; from participation in the 

 business o( legislation and guveriimeiit ; fi<iiii ex- 

 ercising tlie function of public, teachers of oiu' 

 holy religion ; and frotii the labors of our i\M. 

 But ill the domestic cinde she shines pre-eminent. 

 There she erects herthrone, and from it sileiuly 

 influenc(?s the affairs of men. Ein-intraged by 

 lier smiles, we are slimul.ited to the peiformnnce 

 of our best actions. — Much of the prosperity en- 

 I joyed by our society, may be ascrilied to tbo zeal 

 I with which the olyecls of our institution have 

 been promoted by the fair daii^'liti'is of Jefferson 

 county. They have enteml into a spirited cotn- 

 pctition for oiir premiums, upon tlio various arliides 

 of household inauufitctnre, that most valiuible and 

 fertile source of national wealtii ; and above all, 

 they have uniformly, as upon the present occasicm, 

 idiei'red us by their presence at our anniversary 

 iiieeiiiigs. While such continues to be the case, 

 our sorii-ty will be | erpeluated and its benefits will 

 be diffused. 



Fiom L"ucl.iii's Maj! izine ofiNaliiral HisL.rf. 



ON HARES TAKING THE WATER 

 I think 1 am enabloil, by deci.-ive facts, to set- 

 tle all doubts respecting the cipability or inclina- 

 tion of hares for taken the w.ater ; a curious point 

 i)f natural history, which has drawn the attention 

 of some of your correspondents at various times. 

 Near my residence there is a large shei-l of wa- 

 ter, in which (here is a small island at n<i great 

 distance from tiie shore. Conceiving that the 

 spot might be made a convenient receptacle fiir 

 hares or rabbits, I at various times, as opportnni 

 ties of catching thein occurred, turned out several 

 of each species ; but was surprised, on subsequent 

 visits, never to meet with a single individual. 



.Irowned in jiitempliiig lo escape, or been starved 

 from a deficiency of proper food ; ihoiigh, as the 

 island aboiindeil in rich vegetation, unlomdied, of 

 course, by cattle, I could not so easily admit llie 

 latter supposition. One day, however, on landing, 

 I was startled by a large bare bouncing up, which 

 I knew could not be one placeil there by myself, 

 as many months bad elapsed since I bad repeated 

 my experiment of peopling the island. On seeing 

 lii:r rise, I immediately returned to the boat for: 

 a dog which had accompanied me ; when, to my , 

 surprise. I saw her in the act of swimming towards 

 the maiidand at a steady pace, and belbre I could 

 cut her off, she had effected a landing, and, after 

 shaking herself, went away at full speed. On 

 examining the island, I found a regular hare track 

 liiim the iioint whence she started, through the 

 rich grass, to her seat ; an evident proof that she 

 was in the habit of crossing the ferry, and repo- 

 sing for the day in a situation which she had wiselv 

 selected, as removed from alarm of dogs, guns, 

 and sportsmen. This is not the only instance I 

 have to offer: Jiuother occiirre<l in the case of 

 a three-foiirili-grown leveret, which accidentally 

 fell into my bands, and whose motions I deter- 

 mined to watch after landing it on the island. For 

 a time it ran about in a .-taie of uneasiness, when, 

 as if aware that it «as under lestraint, it made 

 for the nearest point to the land, and without a 

 moment's hesitation, as a matter of course, plung- 

 ed boldly into the. water, and, like its more ex- 

 perienced predecessor, swam on shore with the 

 greatest ease and confidence. — E. S., F.L. S, July 

 21, 1831. 



173 



SNAKES TAKING THE WATER. 

 Sir— I was not aware until I rea<l the articl s 

 on this subject that any .•louhts bad been enter- 

 tained respecting it. Snakes will not only enter 

 freshwater ponds and rivers, but will cross con- 

 siderably channels of the sea. About thirty years 

 since during my fir,t excursion into North Wales 

 I met by accidental Caernarvon with the Kev W. 

 Bingley, author of Animal Biograpln/ ; we engaged 

 a fishing-smack, to sad for a day on the southern 

 coast of Anglesea, anil to land us on those parts 

 we wished to examine. It was a l)rilliaiit cloudless 

 day, in the raontli of August. On our return in 

 the evening, I was surprised by a suihlen cry of 

 the boatmen, when, about fif'y yards south of the 

 vessel, we saw a snake, with its head raised about 

 one foot above the water, progressin;; rapiilly to- 

 wards the Isle of Aiiglesra: the snake was then 

 in the broadest part <ir the Menia, nearly a mile, 

 from laud oil either side of the straits. The bead 

 and neck had an osc-illatory motion. One of the 

 men ill our vessel tlnew out a small coik boat, 

 and with oars and the most dreadful imprecations 

 hastened to arrest the pro;;ress of the poor auitnal, 

 which ajipeared to have no |ioWer of escape by 

 diving. After a ffw strokes witii his oar, the man 

 succeeded in wounding the snake, and bringing it 

 into our vessel. It was nearly a yard in length, 

 '.!ud differed in no respect from the common snake. 

 Mr Bingley, who was well arqiiaiiiteil with that 

 part of Wales, said that snakes abounded in the 

 southerii part of the Isle of Anglesea ; and were 

 I'requenily seen crossing thence to the Caernarvon- 

 shire coast. The CO -nmoii people entertain many 

 siipf-rslitious notions respecting them, anil their 

 association with demons and wizards : this, he 

 iidd me, was the cause of the rage with which 

 our Welsh boaiinaii pursued the snake we bad 



an animal like the snake could first nscert.iin the 

 existence of land across a strait so broad as the 

 Menai on its soiillierii end ; and by what instinct 

 it was first impelled to undertake so long a 

 voyage of discovery. 



lam. Sir, yours, &c, Rohert Bakewell. 



Hampsted, June 7,1831. 



P. S. — The frequent pa.ssage of snakes across 

 the Menai, to and from the Isle of .Aii:;lesea was 

 further attested by fi.-liermen wlnmi I questioned 

 respecting it. Tlii'y said that the snakes generally 

 deposited their egirs oil the low grounds on the 

 Anglesea coast. — R. B. 



Hares taking the JVattr. — I once saw a hare 

 that was closely purstieil spring into n river about 

 20 yards wiile, ami swim boldly across it. Rab- 

 liits will take water when less pressed, as I have 

 seen four, and beanl of more, to do so, which 

 might have easily escapeil without getting wet. 

 In one case, allhougb a man stood on the bank 

 which the rabbit was striving to gain, and the 

 bank was not more than 1| ft aiiove the water, 

 the rabbit lauded, and made its escape. — Henry 

 Turner. Botanic Gardens, Bury St Edmunds, 

 May 1.5, 1831. 



Lotteries. — The evils resulting from lotteries are 

 beginning to excite the attention of the Philadel- 

 pbians. Public meetings have been held. A 

 committee has been appointed to memorialise the 

 legislature — another lo collect facts. If the latter 

 committee |ierforni their duty faithfully the effect 

 will be overwhelming. 



