430 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 7 



— not what he can do. but what he has done, 

 and can do again, one mi<rht suppose would re- 

 move all doubts t'roia the subject. 



"To the Editor o( the Nortliariipton Courier: 



Manchester, Ct. Augitst 8, 1836. 



"In reference to an article in your valuable paper 

 of August 3 1, in which you inserted a statement 

 of the profit of the ciiiture of the Ciiiiiese mulber- 

 ry, from a small beiritininir. under the head of 

 "VViio would not be a Silk Grower." 



To prove that the writer is by no means extra- 

 valiant in his calculations, I will prove the actual 

 experiment I have made this season in Manches- 

 ter, Connecticut. 



On the r2ih of Maj^, I set out several thousands 

 of the Morus Multicaulis, of which, I took for 

 experiment 300 trees and set them on ten rods of 

 ground, or one-sixteenth of an acre. Instead of 

 setting the trees perpendicular, they were placed 

 horizontally in the ground, forming a continued 

 row ot trees in the following manner: having 

 ploughed a furrow five or six inches deep, I laid 

 the roots and a single sialk in the farrow, so that 

 the end of the stalk should be covered about two 

 inches deep. The rows were three feet apart. 

 From these 300 trees and roots so planted, I now 

 have 3700 fine trees or shoots, which on the 1st 

 day of August would average 2.^ feet in height, 

 with large substantial roots of the size of com- 

 mon goose quills. 



On the ISih ot June I commenced feeding six 

 thousand worms of the six weeks kind, on the fo- 

 liage of these 3700 shoots, and on the first day ol 

 August, tlie 6000 worms were transformed into 

 three bushels of the finest cocoons I ever saw, 

 (each of which bushels I presume would reel at 

 least lilbs. of silk) worth at least $\5. By the 

 15lh of September I'rom the same trees I shall 

 have sufficient foliage to feed 10,000 worms, which 

 would yield three to four bushels more. For the 

 above three hundred trees, I paid 37^ cents each 

 last spring, and estimate their product, 3700, will 

 be worth at least 25 cents each, or .^925, and the 

 three bushels of cocoons worth .^15, making 



8940 00 

 Deducting the cost of the three hundred 



trees, last spring, 112 00 



Ditto labor and expense of feeding the 



worms, and land, 12 00 



Leaving a profit on the two hundred 



trees, lor the first year, of 8815 30 



Now, if this should be carried out through the 

 second and third year, as was done in the case re- 

 ferred to, I think the result would exceed that of 

 the silk cabinet. 



From the experience of the last and the present 

 year, I consider that good cuttings on good land 

 will produce at least half a pound of foliage each. 



The writer in your last has made allowance for 

 cultivation, feeding of worms, gathering of foli- 

 age and other items of deduction, which I do not 

 think is necessary, and instead of the result triven 

 for ihe second and third year h'ing excessive, I 

 must say, that in my opinion, froni the experience 

 I have had, and experim -nts mad-*, the profiis 

 might have been greater than there made. I pre- 



sume the object o[' the writer was merely to con- 

 vince the public that the culture of the mulberry 

 and silk might be made a lucrative employuient, 

 sufficiently so, to encourage the culture ot" silk to 

 almost any extent. 



I consider it less labor to gather five pounds of 

 fiiliage from the Chinese or Morus Multicaulis, 

 than to irather one pounil from the white mulber- 

 ry. I iiave been eiiiiaged three years in the cul- 

 ture of the mulberry and manutiicture of silk, con- 

 stantly making experiments, and am fully satis- 

 fied that the business may be a profitable one to 

 be pursued in liimilies, as well as by corporations. 

 It is my intention to erect a large cocoonery next 

 fall or spring, upon a new and improved plan of 

 my own invention, about which you may know 

 more hereafter. 



At my establishment, about 100,000 of the Chi- 

 nese, or Multicaulis, are under successlul cultiva- 

 tion, and I am so well satisfied with the results of 

 experiments already made, that a similar course 

 will be pursued next year, as the most sure me- 

 thod for propagating the trees, and increasiug the 

 quantity of the foliage. I am daily removing the 

 leaves and topping the sprouts, to check the 

 growth of the tree and hasten the product of 

 wood. Some of the sprouts have been cropped of 

 their leaves three or four times without any injury, 

 and every succeeding crop of leaves is improved ; 

 although the size may be less, the number and 

 weight have been increased. 



From mv own experience I am fully convinced, 

 with Mr. Whitmarsh and Dr. Stebbins of North- 

 ampton, that the Chinese mulberry ought to be 

 headed down every year, in order to multiply the 

 tree and foliage, and that in this way the tree may 

 be preserved during winter, slightly covering the 

 stumj)s in the field, and the tops to be used as 

 cuttinirs the next year. In a large field the stumps 

 may have a light fiirrow turned over them with 

 a horse plough. The roots left in the ground will 

 be considered as permanent roots. Allhoua'h it 

 may be necessary or prudent for the plants fiom 

 seeds, cuttings or layer trees, formed by bending 

 down the side branches, to be removed to the cel- 

 lar during winter, yet I do not consider that trees 

 cultivated by burying the root and stalk early in 

 the spring will need removal, on account of the 

 early formation of roots, and presume they will 

 make good standards. 



WARD CHENEY." 



From tlie Cultivator. 



Wilson's eiowiivg and grain cutting ma- 

 chine. 



Among the thousands of labor saving inven- 

 tions, which fbrin one of the most prominent fea- 

 tures of the present age, it is natural to expect that 

 many splendid and plausible plans may prove 

 abortive, and deceive the inventors, and often the 

 public, ; and therefore, lew men, if any, are ca|)a- 

 ble of deciding with cerlninty on the merits of an 

 invention, until experience shall sanction the de- 

 cision. 



A machine has been recen'ly exhibited in this 

 city and i's vicinity, hv the inventor, Capt. Alex- 

 ander M. Wilson, of Kliinebcck, for mowing ixrass 

 and cutting grain. I will predicate my remarks on 



J 



