60 Feeding Shelves — Facfs and Opinions on Lime. Vol. III. 



firm and consisient ball, the interior of vvhicli 

 is smeared witlia peculiar gum, so as tosliield 

 itself against the rain and change of temper- 

 ature. The filament is not spun in regular con- 



Fig. 8. 

 (The reader will perceive the defect in the right hand 

 figure above, as it presents the appearance of a s'/unrf 

 surface on the riglit side. They are both precisely 

 alike.] 



centric circles, but in stops, going backwards 

 ^nd forward.s with a sort of wavering motion, 

 which it effects by means of its fore feet 

 while it remaiiw in the interior. 



Feeding Shelves. 



The engraving represents the feeding 

 shelves, and the manner in which they are 

 arranged and supported. We think having 

 the shelves of a width, an improvement on 

 former plans, as they will accommodate more 

 worms, and their falling may be prevented by 

 having a cleet on the sides. This may be 

 done by nailing a thin piece of board upon the 

 edge and letting it run an inch above the sur- 



face. The width of tiie shelves should be 

 such as to render the feeding convenient, by 

 laying in loaves on both sides. If they are 

 to be attended by children, they should be of 

 le.ss width than if by adults. As economy in 

 room is an object, it is believed a foot space 

 between the shelves will answer every pur- 

 pose. The length of the shelves will, of 

 course, be according to the size of the room, 

 and atler the worms have tinished their work, 

 may be taken down and kept under cover for 

 future use. With proper care, the furniture 

 of a cocoonery may be made to last an age. 

 — Silk Cullurist. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Facts and Opinions on L.inie. 



It was stated in the last number of the 



Cabinet that lime is more soluble in cold than 



in hot water; and it appears that a pint of 



water at threedifferent temperatures dissolves 



the following number of grains, viz: 



At 32° the freezing point, it takes up in.25grains. 



At 61)0 11.6 



At 2120 the boiling point, only 6.7 



It seems that pure lime divested of all for- 

 eign matter, is wholly soluble in water, and 

 constitutes an alkaline solution, or lime wa- 

 ter, as it is generally termed. All lime pro- 

 duced by burning lime stone contains more 

 or less foreign matter that is insoluble. Lime 

 produced by burning shells is much more pure, 

 there being nothing perhaps combined with 

 them but animal matter, which is discharged 

 by burning. The question has often been 

 asked, how it was, that in England 500 or 600 

 bushels of lime could be applied to an acre of 

 land with impunity, when in this country a 

 tenth of those quantities is found generally 

 to be sufficient. This is probably owing, in 

 part, to the soil being under a higher state of 

 cultivation, and containing more vegetable 

 matter, but principally to the climate, which 

 is much more moist; rain falling at more fre- 

 quent intervals, and during the winter season 

 the soil is less frozen and more saturated with 

 moisture ; consequently the solution of the 

 lime would be much more diluted, and would 

 penetrate the earth to a greater depth than it 

 does in this country, where a le.'^s quantity of 

 water falls, and at longer intervals, and dur- 

 ing the winter the earth is ot^en rendered im- 

 pervious to water by the frost. These causes 

 would neces.«arily tend to prevent the forma- 

 tion of the carbonate of lime in conne.xion with 

 the soil and the vegetable matter contained 

 in it, in such quantities as to prove injurious 

 by checking the decomposition of the manure 

 so as to prevent sufficient quantities of it from 

 undergoing solution to furnish a current sup- 

 ply of food for the growinir plants. 



In our dry climate 500 bushels of good 

 lime applied to an acre of our best land, would 



