188 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 3 



specimens effervesced on the application of the 

 acid. This Ihct geems to add to the perplexity of 

 the suhject, and would appear to indicate tiint we 

 are using (and certainly derivingg-reat benefit fi-oni 

 the use) a certain description oi' liineptone, hut 

 which is not gypeum. It' this is a fiict, it goes to 

 confirm the idea, that limestone, in a pulverized 

 state, is equally fertilizing as gypsum. 



The subject is important to the farming interest, 

 and certainly merits further investigation. It 

 would not be ditficult to erect machinery which 

 would crush the hardest limestone and prepare it 

 for grinding in a common plaster mill. 



The facts presented above, and the qiiei5tions grow- 

 ing out of them, are curious and interesting, and well 

 worthy of the investigation which it is hoped will be 

 bestowed on them. But altliough it seems sufBcisntly 

 proved (supposing the specimens to have been fairly 

 selected) that the plaster of N. York (or what is called 

 plaster) generally has a natural admixture of carbo- 

 nate of lime, it cannot be possible that it is wholly of 

 the carbonate — or that it is 7iot gypsum, but a lime- 

 stone formation. It is sufficiently lemarkable if the 

 admixture of carbonate of lime, if in considerable pro- 

 portion, should to this time have escaped the observa- 

 tion, not only of the plaster dealers, and of the intel- 

 ligent agriculturists, but also of the chemists and geo- 

 logists who have examined this extensive and valuable 

 formation. The doubts suggested on this head, will, 

 doubtless, serve to bring forward early and satisfactory 

 explanations. The description given of the substance 

 sold by Mr. Moore for plaster, in addition to the test 

 of the acid applied producing effervescence, leaves no 

 doubt of its being principally composed of carbonate 

 of lime: but with all our confidence in this form of 

 lime, as a manure — and deeming it, when applied in 

 sufficient quantity, far better as an improver, than gyp- 

 sum — still we cannot believe that it can produce, in 

 such very small quantities as gypsum is given, effects 

 that could be mistaken for those of gypsum — or indeed 

 any effects that would be certainly perceptible. Pul- 

 verization would greatly aid the immediate action of 

 shells, or limestone, by enabling every atom to operate 

 at once: but even with all this aid, the effect of sow- 

 ing a bushel of pulverized limestone, or shell marl, 

 could not be mistaken for that of gypsum. Our infer- 

 ence is, that, Mr. Moore's limestone (or marl) contains 

 a large proportion of gypsum, or of some other fertil- 

 izing substance than merely the carbonate of lime. 



If we have not misunderstood the words of the pri- 

 vate letter which accompanied the foregoing article, 

 the writer had sent the same to the Journal of Science, 

 and in that case, the subject will, doubtless, be pro- 

 perly attended to by Professor Silliman. Though not 

 authorized to use the name of the writer of this com- 

 munication, we can say that none would be better au- 

 thority. 



MACLURA FOR SILK WORMS. 



■J'o tlie Eilitor of Uie Farmers' Register. 



In one of your late numbers I noticed an arti- 

 cle translated li-om a French worlc, giving an ac- 

 count of the discovery that the Madura, or Osage 

 Orange, is a valuable lood for silk worms. I have 

 not the No, of the Register to refer to, but the ar- 



ticle, I think, attached great importance to the dis- 

 covery, and awarded very considerable credit to 

 the dicoverer, claiminfr both liar the credit of 

 France. Now the fact is, this discovery is purely 

 Jimcrican, and was made as long ago as 1829. 

 The suggepiion, that the Madura would be pro- 

 per lood for silk worms, was made by Wm. 

 Prince, ^sq., of the LinuEsan Botanic Garden, 

 Flushing, N. Y., who requested General T. M. 

 Forman of Cecil county, Maryland, to make the 

 experiment. Gen. Forman's letter to ]Mr. Prince, 

 giving the result of the experiment, was jjublished 

 in the American Farmer, vol. XI. p. 179, August 

 21, 1829, and I extract fi-oni that letter the Ibllow- 

 ing. 



''July loth, 1829. 



"From the worms in their earliest stage, after 

 '• being hatched, I selected a parcel, and imme- 

 " diately commenced feeding them with the Mac- 

 •' lura, while all the others were fed with our na- 

 " tive mulberry with which our country abounds. 

 " Perhaps the Madura worms were rather better 

 " attended to; if so, it was accidental, and not in- 

 " tentional. I can, however, assure you, that they 

 " grew faster, and completed their cocoons from 

 " ten to fitteen days before the mulberry worms. 

 «# » » » Be assured of this, that if the qual- 

 " ity [of the silk] is equal [to that from the mul- 

 " berry] the Madura is the plant to cultivate; it 

 " cannot be injured by clipping; the size of the 

 " leaf is a strong recommendation; it is infinitely 

 " the handsomest, and willmakelhe most impen- 

 " etrable hedge, or ornamental standard tree." 



General Forman sent the cocoons to Mr. 

 Prince that the quality of the silk might be ascer- 

 tained, and Mr. Prince sent them to me. I care- 

 fully examined them, and found them equal, in all 

 respects, to those made from the mulberry, the 

 silk being equally strong and lustrous. So far, 

 the Madura seemed fully equal to the mulberry, 

 and in some respects, far superior; hut one objec- 

 tion could be found to its use, and that was insur- 

 mountable. The Madura is armed with very 

 strong and exceediuiily sharp thorns, which render 

 the gathering of the leaves very difficuh, and even 

 dangerous. 



So much for this great French discovery. It is, 

 however, hke many other discoveries made in 

 France and other parts of Europe. They seem 

 extremely loath in the old countries to give the 

 young giant genius of the new that which be- 

 longs to it. It is a singular fact, that already the 

 United States have made more improvements in 

 the silk culture and manuli:icture, than have been 

 made in all Europe lor a century, and yet we can- 

 not be said to have become a silk producing jieople. 

 I mean that we, although in the infancy of the 

 business, have out-stripped all Europe in the im- 

 provement of it. I will not pretend to describe 

 all our improvements — are they not the burden of 

 all the newspapers in the country? But I will 

 call your attention to one other improvement made 

 in the United States, and also filched from us by 

 France. In 1829, a memoir was read before a 

 learned society in Paris, detailing the discovery 

 that chlorine was an elft^ctual preventive and cu- 

 rative of the tripes in silk worms (a disease ana- 

 logous to the plague in the human species.) The 

 memoir set ioith various experiments, and ex- 

 tolled the discovery- as of immense importance, as, 

 it uiliict is, and congrutnhiting the silk interest in 



