No. 9. 



On Feeding Silk PForms. 



273 



turned up to be dried and contracted by the 

 sun and air, and afterward, when penetrated 

 by rain, it is expanded, and falls to pieces, 

 soinctIiin<r after the manner of slacked lime. 

 A soil which is thus pulverized remains li^ht 

 and porous, and will be found to retain a de- 

 gree of moisture even in the driest seasons; 

 actmg as a sponge, it absorbs tiie exhalations 

 from the subsoil, while a hard surface rends 

 open and permits them to pass off into the at- 

 mosphere. It is to this natural kind of pul- 

 verization, that Jethro TuU attributes the fer- 

 tility of the soil, and argues, that the only use 

 ofdung is to bring- it about by ito^ expansive 

 effecLs during fermentation. 



Frank. — We now find the value of our 

 new plough, which our neighbors consider a 

 long and heavy concern; how completely 

 does jts wide wing cut off the weeds, and its 

 noble mould-plate tumble them to destruction. 

 What a pity that it is not more generally 

 known • I now see the meaning of the term, 

 cultivating the soil with the plough; the 

 earth falls to pieces after it is raised by it, so 

 as scarcely to require harrowing, and the sur- 

 face is left perfectly level, with not a weed 

 to bo .seen on it 



Father.— It will require but little harrow- 

 ing; that, however, as well as rolling, it must 

 have; thus, the seeds of weed.s, which are at| 

 present bound up in the clods that remain, 

 Will be liberated and encouraared to grow on 

 60 fine a surface ; and then, as I saTd, their 

 destruction is inevitable. 



Frank.— llow totally different indeed, is 

 this system to that which is practised by all 

 our neighbors. You see that John Lam- 

 bert is turning over his large clods in the 

 barn close for the third time, and I heard him 

 say he should not break them, for the weeds 

 were already destroyed by the heat of the 

 sun ; adding, " the more you crush the clods, 

 and the finer you make the surface, the more 

 weeds you will have." 



Father.— Th^t is true : the sun has dried 

 the clods so thoroughly that the root weeds, 

 which were contained in them have all been 

 destroyed ; but the seeds of millions of others 

 with which they abound, only await a conve- 

 nient opportunity to vegetate, and that will 

 be afforded them the first rain which falls af- 

 ter the crop of wheat is sown, when they will 

 spring up and grow away with it. I ought, 

 however, to observe, it is not proper to pul- 

 verize the soil to such a degree of fineness 

 for wheat, as that retjuires a close and com- 

 pact seed bed. But you must have remarked 

 that I never fallow for wheat, always for root 

 crops, which also have all the dung and com- 

 post that I can afford. I never dung for wheat, 

 but re.^erve as much as possible for'^those crops 

 which provide food for cattle, always remark- 

 iog, the heavier these are, the larger is the 



dunghill the next spring. And here is anc;- 

 Ither observation which I wish to make— ac- 

 [cordmg to my theory, the weeds will fipring 

 |up in abundance on a/ finely pulverized soil 

 —if this they do on the wheat crop, they grow 

 with It, and have lime to come to maturity 

 and shed their seeds— not so on the root crops, 

 frorn which they are removed by the hoe. 



So you see, that our system is different 

 froni our neighbors, from the beginning to liu; 

 j ending, and answers the purpose of falTowing^ 

 I whether that be practised for the purpose of 

 cleaning the land, or affording it a sraaon 

 lofrest; flu Tull considers, that all crops are 

 melioratmg until they begin to blossom, and 

 to perfect their seeds. 



Frank. — Yes, and I now understand why 

 our neighbors fallow every four or five years, 

 and declare that it is necessary, (as indeed for 

 them it is;) and also, why you do .so much 

 better than they, without it. 



Communicated for llie Farmers' Cabinet. 



I On FcediJig §nk Worms. 



I The introduction into Europe and America 

 jOf the variety of the Mulberry tree, called 

 ''Morus Muiticaulis," is to form a new epoch 

 [m the business of producing silk and keeping 

 the worms. In a country like ours, where 

 everything connected with the bu.siness is 

 I new, and all has to be learned, it is natural 

 I that such circumstances should give rise to 

 [much speculation on the practices of the dif- 

 ferent countries, where the raising of silk is 

 [Carried on, and to the best of our powers, 

 ; combine in our practice, the good that is to 

 be found in them all. 



We understand that there exists a marked 

 difference in the qualities of the silk produced 

 in different countries, some coarser, others 

 finer, and each quality suited to particular 

 purposes; that the Italian silk compared with 

 the Chinese, is superior in fineness ; presuming 

 that this is the fact, the difference may be the 

 effect of the worms being fed on leaves dif- 

 fering in their properties, one from the other. 



As the Morus Muiticaulis, from its extra- 

 ordinary luxuriance, may possess le.ss of the 

 elements of" fibrin," &c. &c., than the white 

 {Italian Mulberry; worms fed on its leaves 

 may be the cause of the Chinese silk being of 

 1 coarser fibre, than that which is made in Italy. 

 [ Assuming that this might be the fact, "it 

 suggests that feeding the worms, in part with 

 the leaves of the white Italian Mulberry, may 

 be attended with advantageous results, and 

 feeding with a greater or less quantity, may 

 be found attended with good consequences to- 

 wards the latter period of the creatures' feed- , 

 ing term of its short existence. 



Most of the animals that feed on leaves and 

 erass, are fond of variety, this is well known ; 

 we believe, that in this respect, catterpillars 



