Vol. VIII.— No. 8. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



Gl 



From the Baltrmorc A 



'seful to American Farmers. — The following de- 



Edptioii is taken from llie Asylum of Arts in 



cijnce, by a French gentleman, who is friendly to 



agricultural industry of the United States of 



uiierica : — 



A machine for breaking and dressing of flax and 



Si ip was invented by a Frencli gentleman about 



■ year 1814, under the offered bounty of Napo- 



i" of 1,200,000 francs. A description from a 



» wing, is as follows : — There arc from 60 to 88 



of fluted rollers, the top rollers riding those 



the bottom, and each pair lying by the side of 



li other so closely as to receive the fla.x or 



ip from one pair to the other, until it passes 



)Ugh the whole range. At the end of every 



ni oai roller, there are pinion wheels, and wheels 



ight angles to drive them, and the latter set in 



i ion by the power given at the head of the 



iiihine. Tlie to|) rollers are lever weighted on 



bottom rollers, and the latter give motion to I 



I former, by the said motion at the head of the 



01 ;hine. The rollers lie in a horizontal |)osition, i 



r ends bearing or resting in stands, and their 



)le range forming a level flat surface upon the 



as well as the bottom. The machine has 



aprons, one for feeding and the other for re- 



ing the hem]) after dressed, &c. &c. It is 



iijl tliat the machine will break and dress 2000 



nds per day, and will take ten hands to tend 



advantage, averaging after completed, 200 



11 nds per each person employed. Ere long I 



send over a description of the Linen Spin- 



t J, although complicated with needles aiid rollers, 



it may answer on small scales. It appears 



the linen machinery has never been effected 



hat simplicity and facility of operation, as that 



otton, and if ever found out, it must be by an 



erican, as centuries have passed away in Eu- 



, w ithout the discovery. I desire that every 



erican newspaper, friendly to agriculture, will 



! the above an insertion, for the beneflt of the 



1 oers, &c." 



LAW AND MEniCTNE. 



'^^ le followlbg^ arlicle is from ihe August number "of Flinl's 



J leru Review. 



Vhere can you go, where there are not at least 



:e as many aspirants for the practice of law 



medicine, as can find honorable subsistence 



employment in those professions ? — What 



t !t be the occupation of these supernumeraries 

 ble to dig, ashamed to beg, and with minds 

 rpened by cultivation, study, pride, and ainbi- 

 , and looking upon laws as man traps, and so 

 y as fair game ? It is out of the question, that 

 •e is a ruinous propensity in the great mass of 

 people to train their children to live by their 

 !, instead of their industry. We know not 



(I r others regard this uiiha|)py inclination. To 

 t is one of the most fearful omens of our day. 

 e, it must ultimately correct itself But what 

 nidable armies of scheming dandies, and of 

 ■dy and bustling demagogues, and reckless ed- 

 vvill be forced upon the conununity, born to 

 up the corn, and compelled to raise the wind, 

 :, as moon cursors and wreckers, they may 

 5t by the confusion ! Mr Este recommends, 

 ; the pursuit of agriculture swallow up these 

 ernumeraries, who, instead of making lia- 



, gycs and stump speeches, and energizing king 

 cus, may be more usefully employed to make 

 blades of wheat glow where only one grew 

 ore. 



There is a plant cultivated in Lancaster county 

 Pemisylvania, which is considered an excellent 

 substitute for chocolate. It is the holcus bicolor of 

 Welldcnow, from the seed of which is made a 

 beverage resembling in color, taste, and njauy 

 other qualities, the conmion chocolate. The 

 plant is an annual, 8 or 10 feet in height, and re- 

 sembles the common broom. The holcus bicolor 

 is a native of Persia, and grows well in this coun- 

 try. A single plant will yield seed enough to 

 produce by a second year's crop, a sufiicicncy to 

 furnish a family of six or eight |)ersons for a whole 

 year, with a good and nourishing beverage, which 

 is supi)osed to be preferable to tea or coffee. — It 

 is thus prepared : — The seeds and husks arc 

 ground in a coffee-mill into grains somewhat 

 smaller than ground coffee : it is then boiled over 

 a slow fire, with a sufficient quantity of milk, and 

 a small piece of butter, until the beverage assumes 

 a chocolate color, which it receives from the 

 husks. The liquor is then strained through gauze 

 and sweetened till palateable. 



From ihe Kentucky Reporter. 



THE WEEVIL. 



I am an old miller, and have observed tlie |iro- 

 gress of the weevil for many years, and I ofl'er 

 you my opinion as to the mode of saving your 

 wheat. 



The eggof the weevil is deposited in the wheat 

 while growing. When the grain is put in bulk, 

 it usually becomes moist and warm, the egg is 

 then hatclied into a worm, and whilst in that state, 

 it injures the wheat. AVithout this warmth, the 

 egg does not hatch, and the grain remains sound. 

 Then to prevent the hatching of the weevil, the 

 wheat must be kept cool. The most certain way 

 to this, is to dry it well in the sun, and then sj)reud 

 it th'jQ on a cool floor until used or sold. This 

 mode of saving wheat proved successfid in many 

 instances last season ; and where it was carefully 

 attended to, in no instance failed, as far as I have 

 understood. There is another mode of preserv- 

 ing wheat, which is equally effectual : that is, kiln 

 drying it, which kills the weevil in the egg. 



And sometimes it is saved by leaving it in the 

 field in hand shocks for ten days or two weeks, 

 if during that time the sun shines very hot. The 

 great heat of the sun operates like a kiln to de- 

 stroy the weevil. 



If, however, the wheat is well dried and kept 

 cool afterwards, that is all that is necessary. To 

 accomplish this, it must not be put in bulk, in gar- 

 ners, or in rail-pens ; because in that situation it 

 undergoes a sweat that generally hatches the 

 worm. When well dried, sjiread it out on a cool 

 dry floor, and doubt not it will escape the weevil. 

 F. KEATLY. 



Lexington Steam Mill, Jitli/ 4, 1829. 



Milkweed. (Jtsclepias Srjriaca.) — Under Gree>'s, 

 we have mentioned the yoimg stalks of this plant, 

 as an article of food. The plant is also called 

 silk weed, on account of the pod it produces, 

 which contains a vegetable silk. This, adhering 

 to the seeds, is calculated to waft them by the 

 wind in every direction. 



This plant has been considered as a troublesome 

 weed, in much of the northern parts of this state; 

 but perhaps the use which may be made of the 

 pods, of the leaves, and of the milk^of the plant, 

 may be found much more than sufficient to coun- 

 terbalance any inconvenience to be suffered from it. 



We will first point out the use made of the pods, 

 in France, as communicated by Mr Genet : — 



' Tlie silky substance collected from that plant, 

 is used in France, with great advantage, and is 

 cultivated under the luimc of houalte or tvading. 

 They card it, spin it, ajid manufacture it into vel- 

 vets, cloth, and hose, with or withouf" the in- 

 termixture of cotton or silk. 



' It is also used for wading to stulT quilts and 

 counteriianes ; and for that purpose it is far prefer- 

 able to cotton, being warmer and lighter. To 

 card it by itself, they expose it in bags to the steam 

 of water ; but, mixed with silk or cotton, it does 

 not require the intervention of the steam, to be 

 made into rolls and spun. The velvets and other 

 textures made of that vegetable silk, which I have 

 scon in Europe, resembled, if not excelled, the 

 brilliancy of the silk ; and, with proper mordants, 

 had received the most elegant coloring.' 



3Ir Genet subsequently adds ; — ' I have been 

 informed that a French gentleman, who attends 

 the dyers' department of the manufactory of 

 Mr Lynch, at Rome, has discovered that the leaves 

 of the asclepias, and probably of all the apoci- 

 nums, were an excellent substitute for woad.' 



Dr Low, of Albany, has also observed ' that 

 the milky juices of the asclepias were equal, if 

 not superior, in many respects, to the opium ex- 

 tracted from the white poppy.' 



Thus it appears that this i)lant aflbrds food, 

 clothing, medicine, and matter for coloring. Pro- 

 bably its cultivation may yet be found a matter of 

 con.siderable importance. 



We have also seen the pods gathered, as a sub- 

 stute for feathers, in making beds. We believe 

 they might be most advantageously mixed with 

 feathers, for that jiurpose. — Farmer''s Assistant. 



Butter. — The quality of butter depends very 

 much on forcing out the milk after it is churned. 

 This should be done with as little working as pos- 

 sible. The more it is worked, the more tough it 

 becomes. This being the case, could not a more 

 easy method be devised than the present laborious 

 one, of kneading and pressing it out by the hand? 

 — Loudon says, for butter of a good quality, the 

 cream should be skimmed oft' in about twelve 

 hoijrs after the milk is put into the pans ; but for 

 the very best, it should be separated from the milk 

 after having stood three or four hours. 



Twanily says, " a thurner should be of a cool 

 phlegmatic temper, and of a sedate disposition and 

 character." These qualifications he thinks are ne- 

 cessary, in order to keep a steady stroke, on which 

 the speedy "coming" of the butter depends. — J\I'.Y. 

 Farmer. 



J. S. Skinner, Esq. editor of the American Far- 

 mer, published in Baltimore, has issued a sample 

 number of a periodical, to be published monthly, 

 entitled the "American Turf Register and Sport- 

 ing Magazine." It will contain the pedigree of 

 valuable horses, information touching the disease.? 

 and cure of domestic animaks, advice to gunners, 

 notices of races, of sporting, gaming fishing, and 

 hints generally as to those amusements. The 

 price is $5 per annum, to contain plates. 



American Planks. — Cobbett, has imported into 

 England from the United States, a quantity of 

 American planks, for the'purpose of showing the 

 English planters of forest trees, the vast size 

 and properties of American trees, of which they 

 form a part. 



