J02r).] 



NEW ENGLAND FARMb.U. 



363 



nose, to the insertion of tlie tail, ami i« three 

 inches am! Ihree qiiarlcrs in girth. The head 

 15 terminnleil in a snout, which is nsked, having 

 ils edjfes fringed with trt'enty tivo cartilaginous 

 i'.cuminaled processes, wliicli surround it, in a 

 stellated manner, like thfi radii or points of a 

 horseman's spur. The average lenglh of these 

 is five twentieths of an inch; the two superior 

 ones arc considerably the longe.st, and are sit- 

 uated a little in advance of llie others. These 

 all seem to be feelers, and may serve to collect 

 or hold the food, or, perhaps, convey it to the 

 mouth by means of the elotiL;ation of the .snout 

 which is a kij I of proboscis. The neck is so 

 short, that the head appears to be attached to 

 the shoulders. The eyes, though estremely 

 small, and ahnost concealed in the hatf, possess 

 all 'thii organization requisite for distinct vis- 

 ion ■ but are not adapted to discover objects at 

 a distance. The animal has no external ears, 

 but two small oritices serve as the avenues of 

 hearint^. Th« legs are short, and are tive-toed ; 

 the interior are scaly, uilh broad palms rosem- 

 hlin? hands, anil armed with long and strait nails 

 like fing'ers ; and, as the habits of the animal 

 are those of burrowing in the sfround, these are 

 admirably adapted for that purpose. Tiic hind 

 jeet are placed far back, are a third longer than 

 the fore feel, and are furnished with shorl 

 slijhtly curved nails. By their lenglh and po- 

 sition they seem calculaled to reach forward and 

 receive the earth which is removed iiy the fore 

 claw.s, and [nish it back, so as to clear the hole 

 which the animal makes for its entrenchments, 

 or by digging in search of the worms and insects 

 on which it I'eeds. It is, indeed, an expert min- 

 er, and forms under ground (lassages !or its re- 

 treat, and throws up little hillocks tor a domicil. 

 The tail, three inches in length, and one and a 

 half in circuml'erence at the laigest par!, is sca- 

 1} and thinly covered wiih coarse hairs. It is 

 small at its insertion, but becomes quite large 

 abruptly, and lajiors gradually towards the ex- 

 tremity. The skin is closed uilh long.and very 

 ;iiip hair of a glossy green. This colour, which 

 di.sliuguishes it t'rom all other quadrupeds, is a 

 peculiarity of great beauty, and a most wonder- 

 ful ])rovi.>jion of nature for the security of the 

 animal from the observation of birds of prey, or 

 oliier enemies, against whose approach ils sight 

 smd hearing are not s;i(Ticient to give warning, 

 and its li;nbs agile enough to effect escape. — 

 When it emerges from ils subterranean recesses^ 

 and would be exposed to open danger, it eludes 

 notice and enjoys safely by being undistinguish- 

 ed from the verdant herbage through which it 

 creeps. It is a resident near the borders of 

 brooks and rivers ; and lives chiefly under 

 ground, or in meadow bogs; but also frequents 

 '.he water, and is said to be a good swimmer. 



" This account is drawn up for the gralifica- 

 ;ion of the Gentlemen by whose kindnes.s the 

 writer was lavoured with an o[iportunity of ex- 

 amining the animal sent him preserved in spirits. 

 A more exact and scientific description, by an- 

 other hand, is prepared for publication in some 

 of our Literary Journals, in which the non-de- 

 script is to bear the name of ASTROiiYCTER 



rP.ASINATUS." 



Dorchester, (Mass.) May lOlh 1825. 



A Bank has been est.ib'i^hecl at Cliirlofte County, 

 New Brunswick, and C. Campbell, Esq. cho?c-ii Presi- 

 dent. A Savings Bank is also tstablisbed there. 



The Cultivation of llie If'liiie Mulberr;/ and liu 

 raising of Silk IVorms-i recommended as xcfj 

 profitable in the United States. 



About five years ago, William Gillespie, Esq. 

 of the town of Montgomery, Orange County, 

 (N. Y.) sowed seed for a nursery of the while 

 miilberr}', {morus alba) for the purpose of the 

 culture of the silk vvorm. The ground occupi- 

 ed by the nursery is about four square rods. 

 This small lot yielded, last summer, 175 skeins 

 of sewing silk, rivalling in soflnes, strength, and 

 beauty, the best imported specimens of the same 

 articles. These skein«, with a sudicient ipian- 

 lity of tow for a p.iir of stockings, would com- 

 mand in market ^10. The whole labour ex- 

 pended in the culture, Mr Gillespie estimates at 

 ^2 — making the product of four square rods ^8. 

 One acre culliv.iled in the same way would 

 yield ^320, b.?side.s the expense of the labor. 



Farmers might clolhe their wives and daugli- 

 ters in silk of good quality at less expense than 

 It now requires to clolhe them in fine cotton. — 

 It is estimated that g5,(J00 worth of sewing silk 

 is sold annually in Orange County alone, and the 

 whole sale of the arlicls in the state of Nev/- 

 York may probably be estimated at >|Sl50,000. 

 All this wouiil be saved to our country by the 

 extension of this verj' profitable bra'ncli of hus- 

 bandry so as to supph' the home consumption. 

 jMuch of the labour, too, can be performed by 

 small children, who would otherwise be idle, 

 and tlius early habits of industry would be cre- 

 ated. 



The whole process is sim|ile, and a knowl- 

 edge of it eas/ty acquired. Atier the middle ol 

 May the egg of the silk v\orm is .bronrjhl from 

 the bureau, and exposed to the «;ir[nlh of the 

 air, but not to the rays of the sun. Early in 

 Jinie, the term of inculjiilioh exfdros, and Ihe 

 small silk worms make their appeai:ujce. They 

 are now to be fed by mulberry leaves, with 

 which they are supplied twicS a day — the 

 leaves to he scatlened in the enclosure where 

 they are kept. In about six weeks they attain 

 their lull growth, when they are of a beautiful 

 golden colour. A small quantity of leaves suji- 

 plies them for the five first weeks; the sixth 

 week they require an abundant supply. Mr 

 Gillespie informs us, that during this week, 

 when a stranger vi-sils their apartment, they 

 leave oiT eating, I'aise their horns, and give 

 plain indications that they kno\v him to be 

 strange. 



After feeding about six weeks Ihej' quit eat- 

 ing and are prepared to commence spinning.— 

 Oak or walnut leaves dried in Ihe sun, so as to 

 be curled, are now thrown into their enclosure ; 

 they lodge in the folds of the leaf, and begin to 

 spin from their own bowels — first the tow by 

 by which they attack their weh to the leaf, 

 then the thread, which they form into a perfect 

 weh, so as to shut themselves closely within. 



The larvse, or worms enclosed in the balls, 

 that are intended for propagation, cut their way 

 j out of the silken cell and escape from their own 

 prison, in the form of a butterfly, with beautiful 

 variegated wing?. White [laper is placed under 

 them, on which Ihe egg is deposited. One bal- 

 terfly will deposit 2000 eggs. These papers 

 wilh tlie eggs, are laid away in a chest or desk, 

 uulil the following spring, when the process 

 described above is again repeated. ." O Lord, 

 I how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast 



Ihou made them ail, the earth is full of thy rich- 

 es." 



After this interesting insect ha.^ furnished the 

 tine material, the low is picked off lj»e balls, 

 ivhich are thrown into hot wafer, and a slick is 

 passed among them, to which the ends of the 

 breads- attach themselves. For sewing silk, 

 forty of them are laid together and reeled. 

 The thread, thus composed of forty fibres, is 

 twisted hard on a large spinning wheel, then 

 doubled and twisted again, and wrought into 

 skeins.— The whole process of manufacture ii 

 completed by scouring in Ihe same manner as 

 ivoollen yarn, to delach the glutinous subslance,^ 

 which the worm employs in the I'abrication of 

 ils thread. 



It must be remarked, that the Mack mulberry 

 {morns nigra) a native of the Uniled Slates, will 

 not answer the purpose so well. The silk man- 

 ufactured from its leaf is said to be of a very 

 interior quaiily. 



Mr. Gillespie had a premium of |8 awarded 

 him at the anniversary of the Agricultural Soci- 

 ety of Orange County. 



The Legislature i'f New-Y'ork have oflered 

 ■I premium for Ihe planting of white mulberry 

 trees. 



The Acacia or Locust Tree, common as it is, 

 and therefore but liltle noticed, is one of the most 

 beautiful trees that adorn the grove. It has 

 been in bloom fora week, loading Ihe surround- 

 ing: air with Ihe most delightful perfumes, the 

 sweetness ol which only makes us regret Ihe 

 short duration of ils blossoms; these, however, 

 (vill he succeeded by pods of so rich an amber 

 brown, that autumn will seem to peep through 

 the veil of .spring to repay us for the loss ot 

 the orange odour. The elegant foliage of this 

 tree has been often remarked, formed by its pin- 

 nated leaves, so judiciously scattered over the 

 branches, that not one obscures another; and 

 their feathery lighliicss is only surpassed by the 

 pleasing emerald tints wilh which Ihey are 

 colored. But what makes this beautiful tree 

 Klill more interesting is, that it is regarded by 

 the Indians as the emblem of chaste love. These 

 children of the forest are, no doubt, as suscepti- 

 ble of the gentle passion as the moreipolished 

 inhabilatits of the city ; and they are certainly 

 not less delicate in expressing their sentiments, 

 which, instead of a sonnet or flallering words, 

 are lolil by a branch of the locust tree in blossom! 

 This is the love le4ter of an American Indian, 

 and we think it equals Ihe flowery language of 

 the Orienlals. In bad v/eatherand a1 night fall, 

 the leaves of Ihe locust fold themselves up, 

 giving to the tree the appearance of being 

 stripped of all ils foliage ; it is said that this 

 phenomenon being noticed repeatedly at even- 

 ing by an intelligent child, it observed that 

 it was not yet bed lime, for the acacia tree had 

 not begun ils prayers. — Fredemk, Md. Citizen. 



DENTIFRICE. 



Take sage and salt, of each a like quantity, 

 and pound them together ; then bake the mix- 

 ture till it be hard, and make a tine powder 

 ihercof, then therewith lub the teeth evening 

 and mornings, and it will take away all yellow- 

 ness. — Markham's English Housewife. 



