PRACTICAL FARISIER 



55 



liirmiiig from them to pay me fifty times over. 

 The fact is, I find they contain not only the theo- 

 retical ideas of many, but that many practical 

 farmers send the Editor accounts of their cultiva- 

 tion — such as " D. C." and "W. B." whom I 

 know from report to be among the best farmers in 

 JMassachnsetts. I can tell you, sir, no money goes 

 with a freer will than tiie two dollars and a half 

 I send Mr Barrett every year." And the thriving 

 appearance of his farm showed that wherever he 

 had got his theory of farming, the school was a 

 good one. 



At one of the places where I stopped to rest 

 my horse today in looking around, I noticed the 

 very thrifty appearance of the fruit trees. And 

 this seems generally to be the case : the soil appears 

 to be suited to the growth of fruit trees, and their 

 hardy looking and fine forms showed tliat they 

 might yield to the owner a bountiful supply of 

 fruit. I did not ascertain whether they raised 

 many cherr\'^ and plum trees, but should imagine 

 the soil that bears the apple will .ilso sustain 

 these. I was not a little disappointed, however, 

 to ascertain^that nearly all the fine looking trees 

 I saw aroufid me were the original, miserable, un- 

 improved fruit — and could not but look on it as 

 an abuse of the bounties of Providence. The 

 reason, as they informed me. why there were not 

 moi-e trees grafted was, the distance they genei-a!- 

 ]y lived from any large market, and the difiiculty 

 of procuring good scions for grafts. Neither of 

 these objections, as it seems to me, is of much 

 weight, as the difference between the increased 

 price of good fruit, and the total unsaleableness 

 of that now produced would amply pay all the 

 trouble and expense of transportation. And by a 

 number uniting and sending for a package of sci- 

 ons, the expense would be very small. Our 

 friends Kenrick or Winship v^ould furnish a lilj- 

 eral supply for a trifle. But the shoe pinched 

 somewhere else — I found they were too apt to be 

 disciples of the ivellenoicgh school, and so long as 

 the pigs and the children did not break their teeth 

 in eating them, or die of dysentery, it was "well 

 enough," and there was no use in indulging in 

 luxury. There were many good and excellent 

 exce})tions to these remarks, some of which I shall 

 mention hereafter. I found great numbers of 

 trees growing along by the stone walls, oc- 

 cupying room which would otherwise gen- 

 erally lie idle, and which as your correspon- 

 dent " W. B." very well observes, " throws only 

 half its shadow on the farmer's ground," although 

 I imagine they are seldom so well cultivated or 

 managed as his orchard. 



Your friend, Rusticus in Urbe. 



Modest appearance, good humor, and prudence, 

 make a gentleman. 



SILK. IN ESSEX COUNTY. 



Messrs Editors — I am glad to observe the 

 symptoms of regeneration spreading in our good- 

 ly town ; and I hope our business men and our 

 men of money, will cherish the spirit of enter- 

 prise and improvement which is abroad in the 

 land. It needs only a proi)er application of the 

 means we possess, to make Salem what she ought 

 to be. It is humiliating to see other places with 

 but a tithe of the natural advantages we possess, 

 taking the lead and faroutstripping Salem in every 

 thing of a business nature. 



The bad tendency of this laxity of enterprise, 

 and inactivity of our abundant capital, in driving 

 from our community the " bone and sinew" of the 

 town, has repeatedly been laid before us. But a 

 new impulse has been given ! Salem has awaken- 

 ed ! Salem will prosper ! 



The object of this communication is to suggest 

 the practicability of forming a company for the 

 growth and manufacture of silk. The County of 

 Essex possesses within itself all the advantages 

 of raising and manufacturing an article which 

 annually takes from the county thousands of doI_ 

 lars. The suggestion of the erection of a Manu 

 factory for the production of silk fabrics is no' 

 visionary. It can be done. " Whatever man hat 

 done, man may do," is an old adage ; and whers 

 is the man, or where a nation that has perforjnee 

 a thing which a Yankee has not performed, od 

 could not perfoi-m, with additions and improve- 

 ments ? 



Some of the farmers of Essex, a few years 

 since, iu consequence of the suggestions of ob- 

 serving men, and the encouragement given by 

 Agricultural Societies, planted very extensively 

 the mulberry tree. They have probably upwards 

 of 100,000 of them in full vigor, which would 

 yield Silk amply sufficient to supply the wants of 

 the county, and moreover leave a surplus for ex- 

 portation. The culture of silk has from the first 

 colonization of the country, more or less engaged 

 the attention of the American People As early 

 as 1745, the colonies of Georgia and V'irginia ex- 

 ported quantities of raw Silk to England. The 

 manufacture of Sewing Silk has been carried on 

 in Connecticut and Massachusetts very profitablv 

 for a number of years. " America is destined to 

 become a rich silk growing and silk manufactur- 

 ing country," was the remark of a distinguished 

 patron of domestic industry. It has been proved 

 by actual experiment, that the quality of Ameri- 

 can silk is far superior to that of France or Italy 

 and that tlie product from the same number of 

 trees is greater. 



I shall feel myself well repaid, if this commu- 

 nication serves to direct the attention of the friends 

 of American Manufactures in Salem more partic- 

 ularly to this subject, being convinced that should 



