NEW ENGL.AND FARMER, 



AND GAR DENE R'S JOURNAL. 



PUnHSHEl) BV GEORGE C. liARRETT, NO. 52 NORTH MARKET b^I'KEET, (Agricui.tduai. WAHKunusr.) — T. G. FKSSI'.Nni:N, EniTOR. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 30, 1835. 



No. 18; 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Refrister : 



Ben Lomond, June 6,1833. 



Tboiigh the .subject of tlie followintr coninnMii- 

 catioii may be consiilered by yourself us unworlliy 

 of a place in your periodical, yet I feel that it cou- 

 fniiis information interesting to at least a small 

 portion of your readers. In this communication, 

 I sliall make no pretensions to originality or dis- 

 covery, as tuy information was derived from an in- 

 telligent lady near me. She informed me that 

 lier yard was at one time infested with (I use her 

 own words) all kinds of foul weeds, the common 

 old field broom straw, &c. &c. While on a visit 

 to her this spring, I was struck with the peculiar 

 beauty of her yard, and its purity from all " foul 

 weeds." I inquired the cause, as it was a subject 

 of interest to nie, havitig seen many beautiful sites 

 for yards destroyed by allowing the foul weeds to 

 tafce possession of them. 



Her modus operandi is simple, but which I fear 

 will be no re.'ommeiulation. At any time in the 

 spring, (before a raiu is jireferable) if ashes are 

 scattered over the yard, in a short time all the foul 

 weeds will be rooted out, and in their place will 

 come a beautiful bed of the greensward grass. 

 The ashes should be scattered frequentlj', always 

 before a rain, (I suppose during the year.) 



Query. — Would not the sulphate of lime (plas- 

 ter of Paris) accomplish the same object ? Wheth- 

 er the ashes act as a manui-e, thereby facilitating 

 the growth of the grass, or whether they destroy 

 the weeds, I am unable to say, though I think the 

 former supposition the most probable. This com- 

 munication is induced from the reflection, that 

 there can be no ornament more superlatively 

 beautifid, than a handsome yard about a hand- 

 some building — and trusting that these ideas will 

 serve a useful purpose, I am willing to submit 

 them to your discretion, though not clothed in 

 such a garb as I could wish for your truly useful 

 paper. 



As I highly approve of a piece which I met 

 with in your paper, suggesting the idea that all 

 communicators should affix their true name, I sub- 

 scribe myself, T. B. Watkins, 



of Goochland. 



[The facts stated above are not only interesting 

 as furnishing matter for useful and often needed 

 practice, but beraiise they also serve to illustrate 

 the views already expressed in other articles in the 

 early part of ths No. (pp. 129 and 130.) The 

 principal, if not the sole agent of the change pro- 

 duced by the application of ashes, was the calca- 

 reous earth which they contained — of which 

 earth, the benefit to greensward is as remarkable 

 as to clover. Broom grass is not, usually, at once 

 destroyed by the use of this manure, (as shee]) 

 sorrel is,) but the growth is evidently injured by 

 calcareous manures, so as' to induce the belief, 

 that the destruction will be complete in time. 

 "We have only in one case observed the almost 



complete destruction of the growth, of broom 

 grass, which was previously the unmixed cover of 

 a worn-out old field. This was also produced by 

 top-dressing — but with marl, instead of ashes. 

 The piece of ground (about an acre) was neither 

 ploughed nor grazed for several years after ; and 

 by the third summer, the broom grass luid gener- 

 ally disa[)peared, and was substituted by other 

 weeds, except in some small spots which it was 

 supposed the manure did not reach. After plough- 

 ing in marl, and even after several years of tillage, 

 broom grass will return, and even grow luxuriant- 

 ly ; but it is in separate and scattered bunches, 

 instead of forming a regular and unmixed cover 

 to the land, as before marling. 



We are the more pleased to be indebted to a 

 lady for this experiment ; and hope that it may be 

 noticed and repeated by other ladies who can, and 

 will, in other matters, return equal value to the 

 Farmers' Register — which might be well done 

 by many.] 



(From the Baltimore Farmer.] 

 DIRECTIONS 



FOR SOWIKG THE SEED AND RAISI.NG THE PLANTS 

 OF THE WHITE ITALIAN MULBERRY TREE. 



1. To SOW an ounce of seed, prepare a bed 50 

 feet long and 4 feet broad. Manure it well with 

 a compost composed of one third ashes, and one 

 third decomposed leaves from the woods, or gar- 

 den mould; dig rfeep, pulverise finely, and then 

 lay the bed off in drills 12 inches apart, one fourth 

 or one half of an inch deep; sow the seed as thick 

 as you would onions or parsnips; cover with rich 

 mould, press the mould down gently, but suffi- 

 ciently to cause the seed to come into contact with 

 the earth ; and should the weather be dry, water 

 the seed bed every other evening, it will assist in 

 promoting the' germination of the seed and vigor- 

 ous growth of the plant. 



2. Keep the beds clean of weeds ; and should 

 they receive an occasional watering with suds or 

 soot and water, say once a week af ei- they are 

 up, if planted this month, August, they will be fit 

 to transplant into nursery rows in April next, or if 

 not desirable to be so removed, they may be per- 

 mitted to remain until the ensuing spring, care 

 being taken to keep the bed clean of weeds, the 

 earth stirred and watered in dry seasons. 



3. The second year, if not removed before, the 

 plants must be removed into the nursery rows, 

 which must be prepared as for any other crop. 

 The ragged roots being taken off and the tap root 

 shortened, the plants must be planted out twelve 

 inches apart in rows three feet apart, the earth to 

 be well trodden around the plant. As before, the 

 earth must be kei)t open and free from weeds. 



4. At two years old the plants may be planted 

 out into hedges, at 18 inches apart, in rows six 

 feet wide. The ground should be prepared as 

 before directed and some good rich mou!d put 

 into the holes to be pressed around the plant. If 

 intended to be planted out as standard trees, 20 



feet square apart would be a good distoncu ; hu' 

 in that case the plants should not be trans|)lanted 

 until they are about an inch in diameter. In ei- 

 ther ease they will require trimming and topping, 

 and if kept as hedges should be treated as other 

 hedges are. Robert Sinclair, Jr. 



AMERICAN SILK. 



We have received a sample of exquisitely beau- 

 tiful silk, produced on the farm of E. Goodrich, 

 Esq. of Hartford, Conn, which wi? design to ex- 

 hibit at the anniversary of the State. Agricultural 

 Society. The sample was reeled on the Italian 

 reel. It is worth from five to six dollars | er lb. 

 A young girl, after one day's i)ractice, can reel a 

 pound per day. 



Mr Goodrich, we believe, has planted out more 

 nuilberry trees than any other person in the Uni- 

 ted States ; and while we tender to him our thanks 

 for the beautiful specimen of silk which he has 

 sent us, we cannot he unmindful of his ability, 

 nor can we doubt his willingness, to lay us and 

 the public under ^ill greater obligations, by com- 

 municating for the Cultivator, some results of his 

 experience and observation in the silk busine.ss. 

 Under these impressions, we respectfully solicit 

 from Mr G., in behalf of the public as well as of 

 ourselves, answers to the Ibllowing queries, and 

 such other information upon this interesting sub- 

 ject as he may please to communicate. 



1. Can the silk business be profitably managed 

 by the generality of farmers — or by any particu- 

 lar and what class of them ? 



2. What is the nature of the bounty offered by 

 the state of Connecticut for the cultivation of silk, 

 and its probable advantages or disadvantages ? 



3. Does there promise to be a ready and per- 

 mauent market for cocoons — and can the reeling 

 process be managed with economy and profit by 

 the cultivator .' — Cultivator. 



SPICED TO.tlATOES. 



As this is the season for securing a su|)ply of 

 this healthful vegetable, we commend to all house- 

 keepers to put up some after the Ibllowing recipe. 

 By so doing they may ];reserve them perfectly 

 good until tomatoes come again. 



Recipe for a bushel of Tomatoes. 

 Take your tomatoes and pour boiling water 

 over them, skin them : then boil them well, afYer 

 which add a teacupful of salt, a table spoonful of 

 black pepper, one do. of cayenne, an ounce of 

 cloves, an ounce of cinnamon, and an ounce of 

 mace, mix well, and put the tomatoes into small 

 jars, run mutton suet over them and tie them u| , 

 either with strong blue paper or buckskin. Pre- 

 pared iu this way they will keep a year. 



Silk Company. — We learn that another Sillc 

 Company has beer, formed in this city, and has 

 [lurchased a spot for the location of their estab- 

 lishment at Woburu, on the Lowell Railroad. It 

 contains 280 acres, and cost about $15,000. — 

 JVorfolk Advertiser. 



