266 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[Na. 5 



carefully and gradually thrown into the flask, until, 

 after repeated additions, no further eflervescence is 

 perceived. Let the remainder of the powdered 

 marl be weighed, by which the quantity projected 

 will be known. Let the balance be then reslored. 

 The diff'erence of weight between the quantity 

 projected, and that requisite to restore the balance, 

 will show the weight of the air lost during the ef- 

 fervescence, and will stand thus, — 



'If the loss amount to l^per cent, of the quan- 

 tity of marl projected, or from 13 to 32 per cent., 

 the marl assayed is calcareous marl, or rich calca- 

 reous earth. 



' Clayey marls, or those in which the argilla- 

 ceous ingredient prevails, lose only 8 or 10 percent. 

 of their weight by this treatment; and sandy marls 

 about the same proportion. The presence of 

 much argillaceous earth may be judged by drying 

 the mart, after being washed witli spirit of salt, 

 when it will harden, and form a brick*. 



From tlie New York Farmer. 



EI^CTRICAL. SHOCK FROM A SHEET OF PA- 

 PER. 



Place an iron japanned tea tray on a dry, clean 

 beaker-glass, then take a sheet of foolscap writ- 

 ing-paper, and hold it close to the fire until all its 

 hydrometric moisture is dissipated, but not so as to 

 scorch it; in this state it is one of the finest elec- 

 trics we have. Hold one end down on a table with 

 the finger and thumb, and give it about a dozen 

 strokes with a large piece of India rubber from 

 the left to the right, beginning at the top. Now 

 take it up by two of the corners and bring it over 

 the tray, and it will fall down on it like a stone; 

 if one finger be now brought under the tray, a 

 sensible shock will be felt. Now lay a needle on 

 the tray with its point projecting outwards, remove 

 the paper, and a star sign of the negative electri- 

 city will be seen; return the paper, and the posi- 

 tive brush will appear. In fijct it forms a very 

 good extemporaneous electro phorus, which will 

 give a spark an inch long, and strong enough to 

 Bet fire to some combustible bodies, and to exhibit 

 all the electric phenomena not requiring coated 

 surfaces. If four beaker-glasses are placed on the 

 floor, and a book laid on them, a person may stand 

 on them insulated; if he then holds the tray ver- 

 tically, the paper will adhere strongly to it, and 

 sparks may be drawn from any part of his body, 

 or he may draw sparks from any other person, as 

 the case may be; or he may set fire to some in- 

 flammable bodies by touching them with a piece of 

 ice. 



I beg to remain, 



Yours, &,c. 



G. DAKIN. 



Oxford, March 20, 1836. 



From the Cutiivator. 

 DIFFERENT KINDS AND QUALITIES OF THE 

 MULBERRY. 



No litftle confusion and perplexity prevail.s as to 

 the distinctive names and synonymes of the differ- 

 ent kinds of the mulberry, and as to the relative 

 qualities of each for producing silk. The kind 



specifically known as mvlticaulis, has been equal- 

 ly well known under the synonyme of Chinese, 

 Seed has been recently vended in our market, as 

 Chinese, at the enormous price of ^5 the ounce,, 

 declared not to be the multicaulis, and believed 

 not to be a species ever grown in China. The 

 red of America has been confounded with the 

 black of Europe. We hear of the Dandolo,. 

 Italian, Brussa and Conslantinopolitana; and of 

 the rough, dwarf and Pennsylvanian — the firs6 

 four of which, we suspect, are identical, and the 

 latter perhaps only varieties of the red, as neither 

 Beck nor Eaton make mention of any American 

 species hut the red. Yet we have had forwarded 

 to us, by a friend, three impressions of mulberry 

 leaves, said to be indigenous, growirrg wild in 

 Ulster, which seem not to belong to any of popu- 

 lar species, and two of which, at least, appear to 

 be dissimilar. Upon these, our correspondent sue 

 cessfully fed the silkworm. Two of these leaves 

 are 10| inches long and 8 broad, the other is 8 

 inches long and broad; and we are told of indige- 

 nous kinds bearing both red and white fruit. If 

 our friends will furnish us seeds of indigenous 

 kinds, other than the red, they will confer on us 

 a favor, and perhaps do a public benefit. 



In the mean time, though we cannot promise to 

 clear up the matter, we will endeavor to throw 

 upon it all the light in our power. 



We will in the first place, show, from three 

 modern authorities, all the species of the mulberry 

 which have been described. Kenrick, an Ame- 

 rican authority, names five species, viz: — 



* Henry's Elem. of Exper. Chem., vol. ii. chap. xv. 

 sect. iii. See also Kirwan on Manures, p. 12. 



The three last named are stove and green-house 

 plants, and of course, too tender for our climate, 



1. Tlie black is peculiar to Europe and Asia, and 

 does not, when introduced, stand well our northern 

 winters. It seems from Gen. Tallmad<re"s letters, 

 I)ublished in the Journal of the American Insti- 

 tute, that worms fed on the black mulberiy make 

 the strongest thread, and we are left to infer, that 

 Italian sewing silk, which is of the hightest repiate 

 in the market, comes from this species of the mul- 

 berry. Tills is given on the authority of an ex- 

 tensive manufacturer of Italian sewing silk. 



2. The red mulberry abounds in our woods, in 

 several of the states, but it is a different species 

 from the black of Europe. Good silk has been 

 produced from the leaves of this tree, in Ken- 

 tucky, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania, and 

 we have been presented with a beautifiil fiibric pro- 

 duced from it in the first named state. It is quite 

 hardy. 



3. The white is the common kind, well known 



4. The Dandolo is a new species or vari 



