14 



NEW ENGT.WD FARMER, 



July 31,1829. 



TJV 



this kind I rcnienibcr to have occurred in my own 

 iieigliljorliood. A man lc-l\ UU iieiglilior'.-* Iioiise 

 late in llic fvcnin^f, uiid at dajliglil liad notnacli- 

 cd liis own, a iiuartcr of a mile distant ; at wliicli 

 Ilia family being concerned, a number of persons 

 went out to search for him. We found him near 

 a swamp, with soiled clothes, and a tlion^'htful 

 countenance, reclining' by a fence. The account 

 he gave was, that he had been led into the swamp 

 by a jack-a-lantcrn. His story was no doubt true, 

 and yet had a little of the marvellous in it. The 

 night bring dork, and the man's senses a litdo dls- 

 onlered withal, by a glass too much of his neigh- 

 bor's chcriy, on approaching his house, he saw a 

 light, and not suspecting that it was not upon his 

 mantel, made towanls it. A bush or bog, might 

 have led to the sami- place, if he had happened to 

 take it for his chimney top. 



JVEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1829. 



CULTURE OF SILK. 

 The Directors of the Mouses of Industry and 

 Reformation, at South ISoston, with an enligljtcn- 

 cd policy have determined to introduce the culti- 

 vation of silk, for the ])urpose of aflonliiig eiiiploy- 

 nient to the inmates of those establishments. — 

 They have had a large number of White Mulber- 

 ry trees planted, as a preliminary step in tlic busi- 

 ness. It is an excellent plan, and in a few jears 

 their example will probably be followed by 

 many. 



Horticullural .\mong the articles exhibited at 



the Hull of the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety, on Saturday the 25th inst, were specimens 

 of the Otaheile Mulbern/— six varieties ol' Dclj)hin- 

 iuvi, polfiililla napolcnsis, varieties of campanula, 

 Malva, hamerocolis purpurea, schizanlhus pinnuta, 

 ifc, from Messrs Winsuip's nursery — specimens 

 of crassula coccinea, bouvardia tryphilta, fuchsia 

 coccinea, and very splendid Dahlias, from Mr ILv- 

 0ER9T0.N, of Charlestown. — Early Chenango Po- 

 tatoes from the garden of E. IlKnsEV DEnav, Es(|. 

 of Salem, produced by his peculiar and valuable 

 method of transplanting, (described in the New 

 England Farmer, vol. ii. Jiage 117.) — Specimens 

 of American Sewing Silk, maile this season at 

 Dedliam, Mass. by J. H. Coiiii. — Specimens of 

 two varieties of Cucumbers, one a new kind from 

 England, measuring 12, 13, and 18 inches in 

 length, from Mr Skmor's establishmnnt at Koxbu- 

 ry. — Fine Lettuce from !Mr Howe, of Dorchester, 

 raised from seed received from the New York 

 HorticiMtural Society, this sca.son. Many other 

 articles were left for examination, by Dr Harris, 

 of Dorchester, and others. Several donations 

 have recently been madi.' to the Liliiary and funds 

 of the Society, which may be more particularly 

 noticed hereafter. 



ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE GROWTH OF 

 SM.K. 

 The Trustees of the .Massachusett.s Society for 

 the Promotion of Agrirnltiire, have ofibred a pre- 

 mium oftiKTT noi.uRs to the person, who, on 

 or before the Ist Dcci-mbi^r, 18:i2, shall have 

 raisiil the largest plantation of the Whili^ iMiilbrr- 

 ry Tri'c, not less than 2000 plains, nor less than 

 Ihrte years old, — ami a premium <if twenty doi.- 

 LAiis to the {icrsoii who sliull exhibit withhi the 



same time the greulinl .juunlity of raw or unman- 

 ufactured silk, not less than ten pounds, oQiis own 

 raising. 



GARDENER'S CALENDAR FOR AUGUST. 



Keej) all your crops clear from weeds, using 

 the hoc where safe and convenient ; otherwise 

 make claw-hoes of your hands, and weed-extract- 

 ing nippers of your thumb and fore fingers. Pull 

 up the haulm of peas, beans, &c., and remove it 

 to your compost lied ; bury it between rows of 

 plants, or throw it, together with all weeds, &c., 

 to your swine, that your i)reinises may have a neat 

 appearance. Cut such herbs as are now in flow- 

 er, to distil, or to dry for winter use, being careful 

 to do it when they arc <lry, and spread them in a 

 dry, shady place ; for, if tliey are dried in the sun, 

 they will shrink very much, turn black, and prove 

 of little value. Your dung hills, and compost 

 heaps .should, during the summer iiiontlis, be kept 

 free from weeds ; for if the seeds are permitted to 

 ripen and fall, the dung, when carried into the 

 garden, will disseminate weeds innumerable. At- 

 tend to plants set out for seed, and put stakes to 

 such as need support. This month, as well as 

 the latter jiart of July, is the j>ro]ier season for in- 

 oculating or budding. M'.Mahon says " Cherries, 

 plums, or any other fruit trees, may be budded in 

 August, if the bark parts freely from the stock — 

 Pears ought to be inoculateil the early part of the 

 month, or while the sap flows freely ; hut the 

 peach, nectarine, almond, and a|)ple, will succeed 

 any time between the first of August and twen- 

 tieth of September, provided the stocks are young 

 and vigorous." 



Preserve peach, plum, cherry, and apricot stones, 

 &c. to sow for raising stocks to bud and graft on. 

 These may either be .sown immediately, or kept 

 in common garden earth or moist sand. But it 

 will be necessary to sow tlicm before the rnones 

 o|)en, anil the radicles begin to shoot ; otherwise 

 many of them will be broken or torn in the 

 l)roccss of sowing. Every day they are kept out 

 of ground is an injnry to them ; and if they re- 

 main in a dry state till spring, very few will veg- 

 etate till a year after, and the greater number not 

 at all. Continue to collect and preserve seeds as 

 directed last moiilii. Sow onions to stand over 

 winter ; likewise, cauliflowers. 



«•■' 



PARING AND BURNING SOILS. 



It is remarked in 1 aiicoid'cr'* Survey of Devon 

 shire ( Kiifr.) that the iiidiscriiiiinate practice of 

 paring and burning has proved very injurious to 

 the farming interest in that county. He says 

 " Where fields are known to have been most fre- 

 quently subjected to this ordeal, in addition to its 

 other ruinous eftects, such enclosures are seen 

 rapidly covered with moss ; and notwithstanding 

 the great pains which have been taken of late 

 years, by selecting the most perfect and beautiful 

 of the male and feinalo of the North Devon cattle, 

 iheir standard in point of size, is judged to he 

 rather on the decline than otherwise, and which, 

 by some is ascribed to the general deterioration of 

 the herbage, by a too frequent practice ofs|)ading 

 and burning the pastures, and thus destroying the 

 native stock of all the finer grasses." It dors not 

 fiillow, however, that paring and burning may not, 

 ill some cases prove useful, when there exists in 

 the soil a great excess of vegetable nintter. 



MAM KING GKASS LANI)S. 

 Tlic sainu writer, quoted above, says that in 



Devonshire " In a few instances, the manuring 

 the upland meadows was observed to take plac vs 

 little after the hay harvest ; but that labor is m 

 generally performed during the frosty season of w 

 ter. A composition also of lime and mould is p 

 pared in the |>rcccding summer, and usually 

 plied at the same time. From its tendencj 

 destroy the moss, and encourage a thicker gro\ 

 of white clover, this dressing is much ap])roved 

 and is yearly coming into more general use." 



ORCHARDS. 



The writer above quoted says " A very como 

 practice prevails of foddering cattle duriiiL' 

 winter in orchards, when it can be done with 

 injury to the young trees. Dressing the onlis 

 at the same time and manner as is usual to i 

 nure mowing grounds is also found very m 

 to increase their produce ; but to cultivate the 

 chards with jiotatoes is very much dLsajipruved 

 not only on account of the exhausting naiurt 

 that crop, but from its tillage, the ground bcco* ^ 

 so much loosened, as frequently to expose 

 trees being blown down by the westerly windf 



"The variety of names being applicable to 

 same fruit in this and other districts, and evot 

 the adjacent villages, precludes all chance of 

 ing understood at a distance, in Sjieaking of 

 apple that may be the favorite in such places, 

 rich sweet apple seems generally to hold the i 

 forence for cider ; those of a more acid quality 

 hoarding, or winter use. 



" Throughout the whole of this country 

 experience has shown, that the same fruit grow 

 on a moist loam, or clay bottom, will |)ruduc 

 vastly superior cider to that growing on an 

 der stratum of sheer sand or gravel. An acdi 

 looking to the south east is the situation ain 

 jncferred here for the culture of the apple tret- 

 The size of the fruit is much kept up on trees* 

 fast verging to decay, by cutting oft" the sucki 

 opening the top by i)runing away all the v 

 dead, and unprofitable bi-aiiclies, and dies: 

 each tree annually at its root, with a compoc 

 dung, lime, and way soil, in proportion of 

 scum, or horse load to two trees. The orch 

 thus invigorated and openetl to the influenc 

 the sun and air, the moss with which the brani 

 of the trees had been clothed for many years I 

 ofl", and the improvement in the size, qiian 

 and quality of the fruit, is not less evident I 

 the healthy and flourishing condition of the t 



SEA SAND. 



The same writer says of sea sand tliat " w- 

 it is used as a top dressing u|>on grass land, eit if 

 alone or with mould, it never fails ta bring forth 

 a succession of seasons, a very sweet and ral *; 

 ble herbage." 



From llio [Loudon] Mechanic's Hagazioo. 



POT.VTO BEER. 

 Dr Hare [of Philadelphia] having obscrv 

 there is a strong analogy between the saci 

 matter of the sw eet potato ami inoUisses, 

 saccharum of malt, was iiiihiced to boil a w 

 made from the potatoes, of lOtiO deg. spec 

 gravity, with a proportionate quantity of hops, 

 the space of two hours. It was then cooled 

 ohoiit .5t> degiTcs ami yeast adih-d. .\s far 

 Hare could judge, the phenomena of the firiin 

 tiition anil,'the resulting liquor wcro prccisel 

 saiuo as if mall had bccu used. The wort » 



