670 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



No. 9 



the last beinof the particular object of this comnm- 

 nicalion. 



For two years after it ber-ame my object to 

 raise a flock equal to our domestic demand for 

 wool, my stock raiher diminished than increased, 

 notvvitlistaiidinir addilions by purcliascs. Tliis 

 was ascertained to be ihe effect ot" nociurnal plun- 

 dering, or rather nujrderinirs. Never till tlien did 

 the atrocity of "siicep steaiino;" come home to my 

 business and bosom. As my homestead is on the 

 line of separation between the cultivated fields 

 and the standino; pasture, and the flock could seek 

 proteolion near the houses, it was surprising this 

 destruction could go on without detection in the 

 act. Some ol the culprits, however, fell undersuspi- 

 cion, and observation taugiit me they were shy, 

 shrinking li-om observation, easily alarmed, and in 

 pursuit; as voiceless as their victims. The con- 

 clusion was, that any noise miffht alarm the prowl- 

 er, and drive him from his purpose. Bells put in 

 motion by the flight of the flock, would probably 

 draw attenticn. With this view, bells of the 

 largest size suitable to the size of the animal, up 

 to the highest tone audible at some hundreds of 

 yards, were procured and fiistened about the necks 

 of ever}' sixth or eii^hth sheep, by means of strong 

 leathern collars. Nearly flve years have elapsed, 

 and up to this time, not one has been lost li-orn 

 this cause. 



A neighbor who could not keep a flock before, 

 purchased a new stock, and adopted the same ex- 

 pedient, and has since suflered no loss, at the last 

 report. 



To the lovers of good clothing as well as those 

 ol good mutton and music, a flock thus equipped, 

 s»ndinir firth the agreeable chime as they pour 

 rdonir to the welcome salt, or file oft' to the field or 

 fold, is no utiiriteresling spectacle. 



This expedient may be no novelty — may be an 

 old thing, neglected lor its fi-ivolity. Yet the ra- 

 tionality of the plan, so usefully sustained by ex- 

 periment, is deemed worthy the sanction of my 

 proper name. 



THOS. MEAUX. 



DOUBTS OF THE VALUE OF SOME OF THE 

 OPIIN'IONS NOW CURRENT ON AGRICUL- 

 TURAL IMPROVEMENTS. 



To tlie Editor of the Farmeis' Register. 



, December 16, 1836. 



Sir, — In a desultory course of reading, I re- 

 member a long time since, to have met with a 

 passage, in regard, I think, to Socrates, or if not 

 him, some other of the sages of Greece, who be- 

 ing appealed to by his disciples on a disputation 

 between them about "i/ic sovereign good,'''' (for in 

 those days they liad their (iivorite abstractions as 

 we have ours,) answered their inquiry by another, 

 "gor)(/ for v)hat .?" Though 1 do not remember in 

 wiial book I met with the passage, it has often oc- 

 curred to me as applicable to a multitude of con- 

 troversies that are carried on in our time, each of 

 the disputants contending lor some abstract doc- 

 trine, which in itself; is neither right nor wrong, 

 true nor false, but may be the one or the other, ac- 

 cording to circumstances. It would be an impro- 

 Eer use of your columns, to illustrate this position 

 y examples taken from other pursuits, but it may 



not be amiss to give some relating to husbandry, 

 and I think, the question of Socrates, "good for 

 what ?" not inapplicable to several of your corres- 

 pondents, who have recommended different ap- 

 |)lications of aifricultural skill and labor, because 

 they have succeeded in other countries, or with 

 particular individuals here, or have taken sides as 

 to the preiiL-rence of one mode of husbandry to 

 another, not with retisrence to circumstances, but 

 in the abstract. I could reler to a large number of 

 instances among the communications published in 

 your Register, but will mention only a tew; per- 

 haps, you and your readers may justly think them 

 more tlian enough. 



The culture of silk was a favorite object of at- 

 tention in Virginia, Georgia, and other parts of 

 our country, at a ver}^ early [icriod. The project 

 seems to have been lost sight of for very many 

 years, until lately, when it has been revived with 

 increased ardor, to the north as well as the south, 

 and has occupied no inconsiderable space in your 

 columns. In the numerous publications on the 

 subject that I have looked over, I do not remem- 

 ber to have met with one word of discouragement. 

 I should not feel disposed, were it in my power, 

 to discourage it altogether; but all will agree, that 

 the diflicuhies attending it, if any, should be f lirly 

 slated, and that those who engage in it, should be 

 enabled to act " undersiandingly.'''' 



Having paid some attention to this matter, I will 

 give you the result oi' my inquiries, and certainly 

 have no wish that my opinions should pass for 

 more than they may be (bund to be worth. 



From all thai I have been able to learn, the silk 

 culture has never been carried on extensively and 

 with success in climates where the cold ol winter 

 is long or severe, or in countries that are not well 

 peopled, in China, the breeding of silk worms, 

 and the manufacture of silk, have been carried on 

 for thousands of years, and at this time, employ a 

 considerable part of the crowded population of 

 that immense empire. It has long since been ' 

 observed, and I believe, is undoubtedly true, that 

 no two distinct countries, in the same parallels of 

 latitude, resemble each other more in climate, than 

 China and the United States. In turning over the 

 pages of Staunton, Barrow, and other travellers in 

 China, I was struck with the circumstance, that 

 in going from north to south, they did not find the 

 cotton plant an object of cultivation, till they came 

 to about latitude 38, and then only on a small 

 scale, till they had gone some distance fiiriher 

 south; shewing a striking coincidence, in this re- 

 spect, between that climate and ours. The cul- 

 ture of silk, does not seem to have extended so liir 

 to the north, by several degrees of latitude. In 

 France, fi'om ail I can learn, and I have taken 

 some pains in the inquiry, it is not extended fur- 

 ther north than the banks of the Loire, though it 

 has been attempted in Normandy, and other more 

 northern parts of that country. In Italy, it is car- 

 ried on as well in the extensive valley of the Po, 

 as south of the Appenincs; but this fertile region 

 is fenced from wintry blasts by the lofty ramparts 

 of the Alps, for its whole length from east to west, 

 and its climate is much more temperate in winter 

 than ours, and the length of summer greater. 



If a mild temperature were the only requisite to 

 preserve the life of the worm, this object might be 

 attained by artificial means, and with due atten- 

 tion, the proper warmth of the apartment in which 



