J^EW ENGL.AND FAMMEll, 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



fUBLISHGU BY GEORGE C. BARRETT, NO. 82 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agricultural Warbhoose.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



vol.. XIV, 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 6, 1836. 



NO. 2«. 



(Fertile New England Farmer.) 

 BROOKS' SILK SPIHriVING MACHIIWE. 



The late valirable improvements that I have 

 iiade in many respects on my machine, by whic.li 



spin nearly doiil)le to each spindle that was 

 pun liy the machine stated in the following letter, 

 nduce me again to invite those engaged iti silk 

 ultiire to try Brooks^s Patent Silk Spinner; fully 

 iclieving it is the best adapted to spinning silk in 

 he best manner, for any use whatever. As a 

 onfirmation of its giving satisfaction, I publish 

 he following letter from a citizen of Ohio, who 

 ever saw the machine before he purchased one ; 

 nd had no instruction how to use it, except the 

 Tinted directions wbicJi are furnished with each 

 nachinc. 



Mount Pleasant, Jefferson co., Ohio, ) 

 11th mo., 26tb; 1635. 5 



Respected Friend — Thine of the 14th lias just 

 ome to hand, and I am sorry to learn that mine 

 f 7tli mo. last, never reached thee. After having 

 ied my machine, I wrote immediately, to let 

 nee know that I would give th^ thy price for the 

 ght of this State. Not being acquainted with 

 le merits of the machine, I thought best not to 

 urchase the right, until I had tried it; I am well 

 leased with it, and have been an.xious to obtain 

 le right. 



I have succeeded well, and my success has 

 icouraged a number of my acquaintances to 

 irn their attention to the business, some of whom 

 have promised machines to, on the credit of thy 

 aving offered me the right of the State, either as 

 ly agent, or under purchase of thee. Having 

 ied the machine, and also having ascertained 

 lat the demand for it is likely to be greater than 

 expected last spring, I am willing to give thee 

 for this State. 



With much difficulty I succeeded in getting 

 50,000 eggs last spring ; they hatched and did 

 rell with me, and I have about enough prepared 

 ir the loom to make one hundred yards, seven 

 ighths wide. I e.xpectto make upwards of three 

 undred yards out of my crop, and am preparing 

 I go largely into the business next year. Thy 

 laebine meets my expectation every way; all the 

 lult 1 find with it is, 1 have not spindles enough. 

 have spun eight ounces per day with the four 

 lindles. I want a machine that I can spin two 

 r three pounds a day with. 



I have saved about three millions of eggs for 

 ext year ; one third of which 1 expect to feed 

 lyself, and all of which I expect will be manu- 

 ictured in this village at my factory ; I am putting 

 lern out to be fed in different neighborhoods. 

 Ve feed principally on the native leaf, which we 

 nd to do very well. After I get through with 

 ieding my worms next summer, 1 expect to visit 

 our State, and shall call to see thee. I have 

 btained a weaver from London, and we expect 

 ) maDufactiire every thing, from a ribbon to a 

 olting cloth. Thine, with respect, T. W. 



In a previous letter the writer of this request- 



ed liberty of me to build a machine on a large 

 scale, to be propelled by steam power. Also my 

 agent at IMansfield, Conn, is building a machine to 

 carry many spindles propelled by water power. 

 1 have published the above letter, although the 

 writer did not expect it to appear in print. 1 

 have not doubted the propriety of publishing the 

 letter, believing his philanthro|iy would be well 

 pleased to be useful to the public. 



Adam Brooks. 



(ForthcNew Engl.md Farmer.) 

 A NEW AND PRODUCTIVE KIND OF BARl,ET. 



The following is a correct statement of facts 

 I dative to a specimen of Barley from German 

 Seed, raised by the undersigned, superintendant 

 of the Spring Hill Farm, owned by William H. 

 Moody, situated in West Newbury, the last year 

 1835 ; viz. said specimen was raised, as above, 

 from three bushels of seed, sown on 150 1-2 rods 

 of land, tneasured by John Coker, as his certifi- 

 cate accompanying this statement says. I further 

 say, that the Barley was not threshed clean, and 

 that, in my humble opinion, had the straw been 

 thoroughly cleaned, it would have made the whole 

 quantity produced thirtyone bushels. 



The above statement is respeotfully submitted 

 for the consideration of the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural Society, by their obt. servt. 



Greenleaf Plumek. 



In presence of John Brickett, J. P. 



If necessary, the above can be more fully sub- 

 stantiated by a certificate from Nathaniel Ordway 

 and Nathan Liint, both of said AVest Newbury. 



N. B. — The above specified land was common 

 grass ground in the spring of 1833, — p'oughed 

 and planted with potatoes, manured, in the holes 

 only ; again ploughed, and planted with Indian 

 corn in 1834, manured as before ; and the present 

 year prepared only by ploughing, harrowing and 

 sowing in the ordinary manner without any ma- 

 nure. Gree.nleaf Plumer. 



A sample of the barley above alluded to may 

 be seen at the New England Farmer office, 52 

 North Market street. It is very fine, and will 

 probably prove a valuable acquisition to the coun- 

 try.— ^£rfi<or. 



(From tile Genesee Farmer.) 



INTRODUCTION OF THE POTATO, 



Its Calture, and Advantages of ne'fv Seed* 



That the potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a native 

 of South America, and was first introduced into 

 Europe from that country, by the way of Sjiain, 

 has been placed beyond a reasonable doubt by the 

 researches of Sir Joseph Banks, and the discove- 

 ries of late travellers. The first mention made of 

 the root, is found in a scarce volume ))rinted in 

 1553, where it is called papas. The potato was 

 introduced into Ireland by Sir Walter Raleigh in 

 1.586, and soon found its way into England, 

 They were not much known in London until 



1650, and at first were cultivated in botanic gar- 

 dens only. .\s nn article of food the potato was 

 at first lightly esteemed, and the best methods of 

 producing it little understood, as will appear from 

 the following remark in Evelyn's work : " Plant 

 potatoes on your worst ground, take them up in 

 November for winter spending ; there will enough 

 retnain for stock though ever so exactly gather- 

 ed." It is cirrious to observe the opposition 

 which its introductioti has in almost every instance 

 at first called forth ; but, like most other things 

 which possess intrinsic value, it has gradually 

 worked its way into notice and favor, and is culti- 

 vated within the tropics and 64 deg. North, while 

 it seems adapted to most exposures, and every 

 variety of soil. In sotnc jiarls of Germany the 

 potato did not gain a foothold until 1720; in 

 Switzerland in 1730, and it was not until the 

 extreme scarcities consequent upon the wars of 

 the French Revolution were felt, that the preju- 

 dices against the potato could be subdued in 

 France, and its culture successfully attempted. 

 The extensive culture and use of the potato in 

 Euroj.e as an article of food, has unquestionably 

 added millions to its present population, as it has 

 prevented those distressing famines which used 

 so frequently to occtn- ; tnd the poor of England 

 and Ireland may forgive Sir Walter for the intro- 

 duction of tobacco into those countries, whes 

 they remember that to him they also owe the po- 

 tato, a root which constitutes their chief sujiporu 

 It appears to be now pretty generally acknowl- 

 edged, that the maximum of the duration of life 

 in vegetables, as well as animals, is determined by 

 a law of nature, under whatever circumstances 

 the individual may be placed ; and Mr Shirreff, 

 in the London Horticultural Transcript, maintains 

 that in England not a healthy plant of any kind 

 of potato that yields balls or seeds, and which was 

 in culture twenty years ago, can now be found ; 

 and every agricultiu-ist of experience in this coun- 

 try, wliich is probably as favorable to the produe- 

 tlon of the potato as any region of the globe, if 

 they are not prepared to go as far as the English 

 writer, must admit, that the most esteemed varie- 

 ties of any given time are very apt to degenerate 

 and become worthless in the space of a few years. 

 Nature obviates this natural process of deteriora- 

 tion, by reproducing the individual from tlieseed ; 

 and in England, this jilain course of producing 

 new varieties or renewing old ones, has been 

 adopted with great success. There, many persons 

 are employed in raising what are calle<l seeding 

 potatQ. This operation is performed as follows: 

 The largest as well as earliest potato balls or ber- 

 ries are gathered when thoroughly ripened, from 

 several of the choicest varieties ; these are kept in 

 dry sand until spring, or else when gathered, the 

 seeds aru immediately separated from the pulp 

 and dried, and then kept in paper until wanted. 

 As soon as the season will admit, the seed is sown 

 in a light, clean soil, in drills half an inch deep, ."> 

 foot apart, and in the drills at the distance of six 

 inches. When the plants come up, they are pro- 



