154 Mangel Wurtzel — Brooks^ Silk Spinnmg Machine, S^^c. - Vol. II. 



Mangel ^Vwvtael. 

 To the Editor of the Friend : — 



Knowing thy interest in afjricultural affairs, 

 and thinking many readers of '* The Friend" 

 would feel a similar interest in the very in- 

 teresting particulars detailed m the accompa- 

 nying statement ; I send thee the following re- 

 lation of them, drawn up at my request by the 

 friend himself, and of the accuracy of which 

 there can be no doubt. I think the produce 

 of the cow beet so great and so well adapt- 

 ed to feeding cattle, particularly on small 

 arms, that I am desirous of giving a wider 

 circulation to the accompanying particulars 

 in order to induce our country friends to give 

 them further trials. C W. 



Particulars relative to a crop of beets, 

 (Mangel Wurtzel,) raised in the season of 

 1837, on the farm of Isaac C. Jones, called 

 Rockland, on the banks of the river Schuyl- 

 kill, m the neighborhood of the city of Phila- 

 delphia, viz : 



Net measure of the ground on which they 

 stood was 67 square poles. Add for the head- 

 land or turning ground, 4 do. Total, 71 square 

 poles, being nine less than half an acre. 



The produce on the above mentioned ground, 

 excluding the leaves, and confining it en- 

 tirely to the roots, amounted to four hundred 

 and thirty bushels, agreeably to the measure- 

 ment of Joseph Berry, the farmer who attend- 

 ed to their culture for the said Isaac C. Jones 

 throughout the season. On weighing a por- 

 tion of these beets, it was ascertained they 

 would average fifty-five pounds per bushel, 

 rwakinw an aggregate of twenty-three thou- 

 sand six hundred and fifty pounds, or a little 

 over ten amd a half tons (of 22.50 pounds i 

 each,) being at the rate of twenty-three and ' 

 two-third tons to the acre, or nine hundred : 

 and sixty-nine bushels. 



Many of the above mentioned beets Wi'ighed I 

 from seven to thirteen pounds. One that was 

 particularly measured and weighed, produced 

 the following result, viz: — Twenty-seven 

 inches in circumference, and weighed thir- 

 teen and a half pounds. j 



The produce would have been considerably 

 increased had not many of the seed proved 

 defective, and the plan of transplanting re- 

 sorted to ; but the latter, if well done, an- 

 swers an excellent purpose. t 



The above-mentioned ground was accurate- 

 ly measured by said Joseph Berry, and the 

 subscriber, this 11th month, 8th, 1887. I 

 Isaac C. Jones. 



Never shrink from doing anything which 

 your business calls you to do. The man who 

 is above his business, may one day find his 

 business above him. 



From the F;iimer aii<l Gardener. 



.Brooks' Silk Spinning Macliiue and the 



Silk Ciitture< 



VVe have always been sanguine with re- 

 spect to the ultimate success of the silk 

 culture in this country : our opinion was 

 grounded in our honest belief of its great pro- 

 fits, itshappy adaptation to ours oil and climate 

 and to the interests aud wants of our people : 

 but there was one difficulty which always pre- 

 sented itself to our mind, and made us fear 

 that some years would have to revolve around 

 before it would be fully established. 0:^ We 

 allude to a want of a market for the cocoons. 

 Almost any farmer with his own domestic 

 force, could gather leaves, feed and attend the 

 worms, and produce a crop of cocoons ; but 

 the latter without a market near at home or 

 the means of converting them into silk, be- 

 ing of a nature that forbid compression, and 

 occupying much space, would not in that state 

 bear distant transportation to find a market. 

 And as matters stood a few years since, the 

 only good effected in submitting the cocoons 

 to the operation of the Italian reel, the one 

 most approved, was to transform the delicate 

 fibre from its conic shape into raw silk, which 

 had again to be submitted to the operation of 

 twisting before it could be said to be gen- 

 erally merchantable. All these difficulties, 

 however, are, in our estimation, entirely re- 

 moved by the introduction of the excellent 

 machine invented and successfully put into 

 practice by Mr. Adam Brooks, of Scituate, 

 Massachusetts. Of this machine, and its won- 

 derful performance we had often heard, but 

 could not from any description of its mode of 

 operation, fully comprehend its very great use 

 and peculiar fitness for the purposes of the 

 American agricultural public. We had con- 

 templated a jaunt to the eastVvard next spring, 

 for the purpose of examining the operation of 

 one of Mr. Brooks' machines, and of gaining 

 such practical knowledge as would enable 

 us to go into the silk culture the ensuing 

 year, having already provided ourself with an 

 abundant supply of the morus multicaulis 

 trees, the best variety of the mulberry for the 

 feeding of worms and production of silk .The 

 opportune arrival of Mr. Brooks in our cit}^ 

 however, last week, has saved us all that trou- 

 ble and expense. We prevailed upon him to 

 take his machine out to our residence in the 

 country, where he put it into operation, and 

 worked up about half a peck of cocoons, to 

 the entire satisfaction of every one present, not 

 only winding off the gossamer silken fibre 

 from tlie cocoons, but at the same time con- 

 verting it into a most beautiful sewing silk, 

 doubled and twisted, equal in evenness and 

 fineness to the best Italian, and greatly supe- 

 rior in elasticity and strength. This was all 

 done with perfect ease, and so simple is the 



