Vol. XIV. no. is. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



91 



moved an addition thereto ; tlie same was second- 

 ed by Mr Tesi-hemaolier, and on motion deterred 

 for consideration this day tin-ec weelis. 



Three volnnii'S of tlie New En{,'laiid Farmer 

 were presented hy Mr George C. Barrett, and tlie 

 tJianlis of the Society voted lor his vahnd)le dona- 

 tion. 



Adjourned to the next Saturday. 



lion. John Lowell, cfRo.vbury, forwarded .some 

 valuable specimens, with a letter concerning tlie 

 »atne, wl)ich arrived too late for exhibition on this 

 day. 



[by the editor.] 



Chinese Mulberkt propagated by sf.f.d. 



We are happy to he informed that there is in cul- 

 tivation in Northampton, Mass. a sort of Chinese 

 Mulberry, wliieh, if not the genuine Moms Mitlti- 

 caiilis, appears to possess its best qualities. It 

 can and lias been propagated 6^ seed, remained 

 ti'ue to its kind, and withstood the last severe win- 

 ter. On the 24th inst. we leceived a fine large 

 leaf of the sjiecies aliuded to, together with a note 

 from Mr D. Stebbins, Secretary of the Hampshire, 

 Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society, from 

 which the following is an extract: 



"This leaf is the product of seed imported from 

 China, and planted in this town last year. 'J he 

 seedling was exposed to the open severe winter, 

 end this spring reset, and has grown to a good 

 sized tree. There are thousands of the kind now 

 growing. 



1835, July 20, the leaf measured 8 1-4 inches 

 <ong and 6 inches wide. 



July 27, it measured 9 inches long and 6 1-2 

 inches wide. 



Aug. 3, it measured 10 inches long and 7 wide. 



On the 4th, 5tli and 6th Sept. were light frosts, 

 which checked the growth of the leaf, and the 

 rees began rapidly to form wood ; the very con- 

 l* iition wanted before winter sets in. Had the 

 •veather continued favorable to the middle of Sep- 

 ember, the leaf might have been 14 to 16 inches." 



The Northampton Courier of the 23d ult. con- 

 ains a communication from the same gentleman, 

 a which he observes as follows : t 



It is a fact well established, that the white mul- 

 lerry, (Moras alba) is liable to have the stalk of 

 he first year killed to the ground, while the root 

 emains alive, and sprouts the spring following ; 

 o it was with the Chinese mulberry raised from 

 he seed last year, (1834) although the stalk was 

 illed the root remained aiive, and suffered no 

 lore than the common white mulberry, and in 

 oiiie cases not so much, as can be shown in sev- 

 ral nurseries in this town, — another fact, the 

 eed sown here last year was from about the same 

 ititude in China, as the Italian white mulberry 

 roru Italy. 



The Morus miilticaulis, which was introduced 



ito Europe by a botanist, and from Europe to 



limerica, being the product of only two jilants, 



i.hich originally came from the Phillipine Islands, 

 robably from Manilla, situated in latitude fifteen 

 ) orth : being imj;orted from a latitude so near the 

 iquatcr, cannot be expected to withstand our 

 < /inters in latitude fortytwo, so well as if it Lad 



een orig nally from a higlier latitude. 



. That the seed, which was imported last year 

 j ir the first time came from a high latitude is evi- 



1 enced by the plants resisting the severity of the 

 ' ist winter so well, even in exposed situations, and 

 } eing so nearly acclimated in the seed, it may be 



expected that trees from such seed will be us 

 likely to bear our climate as the Italian white 

 nnilberry, both being from neatly the same lati- 

 tiKle, yet from dilliu-ent quarters of the globe. 



I'lants from the seed of last year, which were 

 expo.sed to the open winter have this season grown 

 to a good sized tree, and appear to form wood 

 earlier and with more facility than the Morus 

 miilticaulis from Euroiie. 'Ihe leaf is large and 

 stout, airording a rich food for the silk-wonii, and 

 if not preferable, .may he considered equal in 

 value to any other mulberry, and full confidence 

 is entertained by the cultivators that it will, after 

 the first year from the seed, layers or cuttings, 

 withstand the severe winters as successfully as al- 

 most any other tree. 



Our climate is peculiarly adapted to the culture 

 of the mulberry, and the silk made in New Eng- 

 land has as good a fibre and better lustre thu 

 any imported, and is worth more by the poi:nd. 



Grape Vines — Last Wednesday you advised the 

 citizens to plant grape vines, but it is not every 

 person brought up in the city knows how to plant 

 them. I will inform them how I do it, and my 

 vines are the finest I ever saw. I dig a hole in 

 the fall of the year two feet six inches deep by 

 three feet in diameter, should there be any stones 

 in the earth, I carefully pick them out and throw 

 them loosely into the bottom of the hole — leave 

 the hole ojien through the winter and throw all 

 the fish and meat bones in it from the kitchen, and 

 occasionally tlirow some of the earth in to cover 

 them, and each wash day have a quantity of the 

 strongest soap suds thrown in. The bones to be 

 thrown in to within six inches of the surface, 

 which six inches is to be filled with good mould 

 mixed with tvTO quarts of soot. Plant your vine 

 in March or .■\pril one inch deeper in the ground 

 than it was originally. Cut off" the vine to within 

 eighteen inches of the root, and when it begins to 

 sprout rub off" all the sprouts but one, six or eight 

 inches from the ground — keep it clear of weeds 

 and the ground loose around it. — Evening Star. 



Rhubarb. — This is one of the many plants wh :ch 

 a farmer may have in his garden, and which may 

 he made to contribute to the delicacies of his table, 

 and to the health and comfort of his family, with 

 very little expense or labor. The plant is peren- 

 nial, and resembles much in its habits the burdock, 

 though the leaves and their stalks may be some- 

 what larger, in a good soil. A dozen plants will 

 serve to supply a family. The leaf stalks are the 

 parts used. The skin or cuticle is pelted ofl^ — 

 they are then cut into quarter or half inch pieces, 

 and used without further preparation, with sugar 

 and spices, like unripe gooseberries, for pies and 

 tarts, which fruit it very much resembles in flavor. 

 It may be used in the spring, and till mid-sumnier. 

 Medical men ascribe to it a salutary influence upon 

 health, particularly to children, when used in this 

 way. The seed ripens about midsummer, at which 

 time it may be sown, — Cultivator. 



Preservation of Grapes. — It is customary in 

 France to pack grapes for the London njarkets in 

 saiv-dust. If the precaution of drying the saw- 

 dust by a gentle heat, before use, be had recovirsc 

 to, this expedient may answer very well ; but if 

 this is not done, and if the wood has been cut 

 fresh, the turpentine, and other odors of the wood, 

 cannot fail to injure the fruit. Oak saw-dust will 

 answer best. I 



STOCK. 



Mr Holmes : — I noticed in a lati; number of 

 your uiseful paper some queries intimating that 

 those who reared Stock paid too little atten- 

 tion to them the first year of their age, which no 

 doubt is correct, and that thereby cau.ses a great 

 loss. Since observing that piece, in conversing 

 with an experienced farmer on the subject, wluo 

 approved the jiiece, he stated that niucli dej.ended 

 on a calf having the liest of keeping for one or 

 two months alter be was dropt. He said he knew 

 from actual experi.'nce that calves very highly 

 kept until one or two inoiiths old, would uniformly 

 m.ike much larger and better animals, with less 

 expense in al'ter keeiiing, than those stinted for 

 the first two months. Tliis he said was the time 

 to lay the foundation for a large or small animal. 

 If this is the fact, the expense of doubling tlie 

 keep for so short a time cannot be great, and 

 1 hope the experiment will be fully tested, as I 

 believe much in his remarks, as he says they are 

 not theory only hut experience. — Maine Farmer. 



POTATO TOPS. 



Mr Holmes: — I noticed .i short time since in 

 the Farmer an account of some one collecting a 

 part of his potato tops last year and burning them, 

 consequently his wheat this year was much better 

 on that part of the ground tiian where they were 

 sufTered to remain and rot, which leads him to 

 suppose they contain worms injurious to the wheat 

 crop. But I can tell him a better way to clear 

 his ground of potato tops. If dug before the frost 

 kills them, or they get very much dried u)), spread 

 them on the grass ground and make them as hay 

 in the sun — then put them in the barn mixed with 

 straw and salt. If it is desirable to let the pota- 

 toes remain till late, cut the tops so near the 

 ground as to leave enough to pull them by, and 

 then proceed as above, and the farmer will find 

 himself richly paid for all his labor, csiiecially this 

 season when liay is so scarce. I have tried it and 

 find it make excellent food for beef cattle, and in- 

 tend to save all mine this fall. — lb. 



Rum or no rum. — Mr — 



-, of this town, 

 who jiassed a part of last winter in the woods 

 surveying lumber, testifies that he surveyed for 

 two teams, one of which had three yoke of oxen 

 and six men, and rum for a helper. The result 

 was, that of the party which had the rum, indi- 

 viduals were perpetually sick with colds, and un- 

 able to work ; while the other party, who had no 

 rum to shield them and give them strength, were 

 never in better health than during the whole 

 winter, and scarcely lost a day, and what is better 

 than all, they got out ,SO,000 teet more of lumber 

 than the other party. — Brunswick Key. 



Specific for Ringworm. — On the authority of an 

 eminent practitioner, the following remedy for 

 ringworm has lieen given. Moisten the diseased 

 surface frequently with the common cranberry 

 juice, and it is said the disease is very speedily 

 overcome. If, in the sequel, this simple applica- 

 tion is found r ally a sj ecific, the discoverer is 

 deserving a gold medal. — Boston Med. Jour. 



The Astor Hotel. — '! he last blocks of granite- 

 are being placed upon this splendid fiibric, and ere 

 the winter commences, the whole will probably 

 lie under roof. Perhaps it will not be asserting 

 too much to say that no building of equal magni- 

 tude was ever erected in so short a time, at the 

 expense of an. individual. — JV. Y. Gazette. 



