VOL, XIV. NO. 8. 



AND GARDENER'S .1 



61 



ou$;lit to bo aslimiicd to handle the hoc or the mat- 

 tock: it is man's natural I'mployniciit. We were 

 matic to till tlio earth, uiul it is u good provcnlive 

 afraiiist a ilioiu-iand ills, moral as well ns physical. 

 Besides, what niechanie or liirmer can hear to set 

 down, day after day, to a dish ofnothinj; but pork 

 and potatoes, when, hy half an hour's work each 

 day in his jjarden, he might he \vell ] loviiled with 

 various dishes of j,'reen sauoe ? If he has a llim- 

 ily ol" young ehiUlren, it is still more ini|.ortant that 

 he should attend to this matter. 



Now, ye men of industry and eeonoiny — ye 

 lovers of life and of money — I enjoin it upon you 

 to have a kitchen garden — a little quarter of an 

 acre, w lierc you can employ yourselves for a wi:ile 

 both morning and evening, in bringing to maturi- 

 ty those good things, so useful and so healthful in 

 your families. 'I he earth is the mother of us all, 

 and on her wc all depend for our nomishment. 

 We therefore must not forsake her. If there is no 

 labor of the husbandman, then our bread will fail 

 us. The soil must be cultivated, in order to its 

 producing plcnteousoess for the food of man and 

 beast. The professional man, and the mechanic, 

 and the man of trade, should not be so exclusive 

 in his occupati -n, as to refuse an occasional and 

 personal attention to these things. To a man who 

 takes pleasure in beholding the progress of vege- 

 table nature, it will be no task to attend to the 

 trimming of his garden plants, thus giving vigor 

 to his body, and a profitable employment to a 

 thoughtful mind. Is it a mean thing to be seen 

 with a hoe or a spade upon your shoulder? 

 Fudge I 'tis the jjrejudice of ignorance. Awake, 

 then I " In the morning sow thy seed, and in tlu' 

 evening withhold not thine hand." — Bridgcwattr 

 Patriot. 



[From Uie Silk Culfirisl.) 

 Cmltnre and Transp'anllug of the Mulberry. 



No. I. 



Mr Editor : — At a time when the fee'ings nf 

 the comnumity are so much interested in the cul- 

 ture of silk, it seems important that all who have 

 investigated the subject, should communicate free- 

 ly the results of their experience and observation, 

 that those who are desirous of aiding in the ad- 

 yancement of this valuable branch of industry, 

 should possess the knowledge which is necessary 

 .to embark in it, without too great risk. 



Although the raising silk has been carried on 

 in the old vvor'.d for centuries, and in this country 

 for several years, it is still, to most of us, a new 

 business. It is true that we have the means of 

 obtaining a great deal of information from Euro- 

 pean authors, but nmch of it is useless or worse 

 than useless in its application to this country. It 

 wi.l not do to follow them as guides. We must 

 collect facts from this country, and opinions found- 

 ed on experience and observation here, or we 

 incur the hazard of discouragement and failure. 



The iinjiortance of having such means of spread- 

 ing information as isalfordcd by your paper, (The 

 Silk Cxdturist,) catmot be too highly a|)jjreciated 

 by the public ; and 1 am happy to see it so exten- 

 sively circulated. I propose occasionally to give 

 you the result of my investigations, as often as I 

 can communicate any thing of practical informa- 

 tion, and with this view J propose to give you for 

 this and some succeeding nunjbersa few liints on 

 the transplanting and cu.ture of the mulberry tree. 



Tlie first thing to be decided upon is the kind 

 of mulberry to be used, and as all are generally 



given up, for various causes, excejit the Chinese 

 Midberry, (morns mullicauiuij and the Italian or 

 common white Midberry, (mortis alba,) it remains 

 to (h^cide Ix^tween these two kinds. 



There ajipears to be no difi'erence of opinion 

 with regard to the superior utility in every respect 

 ol the Chinese over the Italian, when the climate 

 is equally adapted to both ; but there is so decided 

 a difference of opinion among those who have 

 tried the culture of the Chinese tree in this State, 

 that the jiublic must fiir the present remain in 

 some doubt whether the certainty of its living 

 through our winters is sufficiently established to 

 warrant exclusive dependence upon it. One of 

 my friends transplanted several thousand trees, 

 and in three winters lost them all, although they 

 were placed oii different kinds of soil and in dif- 

 ferent exposures. 



Another friend planted 800 and lost all hut 130. 

 That 130 I took and planted in diflTerent places, 75 

 in one spot, and the remaining 55 in another. 

 The former all died, of the latter about one in five 

 lived, but were very much injured. Another 

 friend bought one or two about four years since, 

 and has since successfully propagated them from 

 cuitings, layings, inoculating and engraftings, and 

 has now on hand several thousands which lived 

 through the winter as well as the white mulberry 

 tree beside which they grew. It is worthy of re- 

 mark, however, that the greatest propagation, those 

 which I last named, were engrafled in the white 

 mulberry stock. How much this affected the case 

 it is impossible to determine without more experi- 

 ment. As the facts are now, it would seem to be 

 more prudent to depend upon the white midberry 

 tree, which we do know is hardy, and seems to 

 withstand the cold of our severest winters, and 

 affords food nearly or quite as good as the Chi- 

 nese mulberry, and at but little more expense. 

 Besides, it is believed that the Chinese Mulberry 

 is more hardy when growing on the white mul- 

 berry stock, so that it will certainly be better, and 

 probably cheaper, to plant the white mulberry, if 

 the object is to have eventually a plantation of the 

 Chinese tree. If it is decided to (vlant white tnul- 

 berry trees, the next thing is to decide whether 

 they shall be planted close in rows, leaving room 

 enough between tue rows for the trees to spread 

 laterally, and for picking and carrying away the 

 leaves, or whether they shall be planted in the or- 

 chard form. The former is the best for many 

 reasons. By that mode, from one to three 'thou- 

 sand trees may be planted on the acre, which will 

 fm-nish a large amount of foliage in a short time, 

 and in the latter it would be many years before 

 the produce would begin to |)ay for the invest- 

 tnent. In the former mode the leaves would be 

 picked from the ground, and the time which would 

 be required in the orchard would be saved, and 

 the danger of falls, &ic. would be avoided. 



Yours, respectfully, S. W. Brown. 



(From the Main« Farmer.] 

 WINTER WHEAT. 

 Those who have succeeded best in this St.ite 

 with the winter wheat, have sowed it as early as 

 the middle of August. As yet it is a very uncer- 

 tain crop among us ; but because it is so now, it 

 does not follow, as a matter of course, that it al- 

 ways wi.l be. !tis necessary that the seed should 

 be acclimated — that it should be naturalized to 

 our climate, and to do this, no other plan can be 

 pursued with success, than to sow the product of 



one year for the crop of the next. Here many 

 who have begun the ctdture of winter wheat have. 

 failed. They have procured their .seed probably 

 from New York, or from a state farther south, sow- 

 ed it, a?id awaited the result with much anxiety. 

 Perhaps they reap a small crop, we will say, just 

 get hack their seed. This <liscourag(>s them ami 

 they give it up as an mqrofii.dde and hopclcew 

 pursuit. Now instead of iloiug thus, they should 

 save this same seed and sow it again, and so con- 

 tinue sowing tlie product for a series of years. 

 This is the oidy way in which it can be acclima- 

 ted, ami that this way he doiw successfully wo 

 have not the Tea.< dmdit. Indian corn, whea 

 brought from the South will not ripen hen;, and 

 yet it has been rendered perfectly suitabN; to our 

 climate, and indeed much farther north than w«i 

 are, changing its habits and characteristics accent- 

 ing to the latitude, and passing through insensible 

 gradations, from the tall and gigantic corn of thn 

 South, to the small and hardy kind of the Cann- 

 das. It is true that Indian corn is an annual, and 



does not have to stand the winters any where 



but what then ? Is the change which it has un- 

 dergone the less striking ? It is not possible to have 

 wheat perfectly winter proof, even in the most 

 ftivored climes of the South and West, the i)lanter 

 not unlVeqiicntly finds that the ravages of winter 

 have blighted his hopes by destroying his wheat. 

 Will not those who have already begun in tho 

 cause of rendering Maine independent as it regardu 

 bread stuff, p.ersevere in this business of cultiva- 

 ting the winter variety of wheat, and tho.se who 

 have means and inelin.-ition to assist, begin this 

 month ? Even if they should not succeed during 

 their life time, they may leave a valuable legacy 

 behind them ; for certainly none could be more 

 valuable than one which would be the means of 

 lessening the toil of the farmer, and at the same 

 time increasing his profits. 



I From the Genesee Farmer. ] 

 DURABILITY OF POSTS. 



We have several times called the attention of 

 our readers to certain facts proving the much 

 greater durability of timber, and particularly of 

 such kinds as are exposed to datnp, — when the 

 trees are cut ajlcr the leaves are fully expanded, 

 and before the sap rises in the spring. It has been 

 made a question, however, whether posts are more 

 durable when planted green, or after they are sea- 

 soned"? We believe a very common opinion is^ 

 that they are more diuable when well seasoned ; 

 but acorresjjondeut in the Farmer's Register saysi, 

 " My garden enclosure was erected of posts while 

 green. Several pieces remained exposed until 

 they were completely seasoned. Out of these » 

 horse-rack was constructed which has entirely 

 rotted down, while every post in the garden re- 

 mains firm." 



V»'e suppose the*e "pieces " were used for postal 

 to support a horse-rack in the open ground, and 

 unprotected from the wcailier. We have no re- 

 collection of having ever witnessed any thing sim- 

 ilar; and we should be glad if our correspondent* 

 can throw any light on the subject, — remember- 

 ing, however, that a regular detail of facts, is the 

 most satisfactory. 



Wool. — Hon. J. C. Bates' wool has recently 

 been sold in Boston for eighty-three cents per 

 pound, the whole shearing being taken, without 

 sorting — Hampshire Gazette. 



