PRACTICAL FARMER 



91 



tioii. Thus, at the commencement of summer, 

 the system is more nerved and braced by the at- 

 mosphere of winter and spring, and by the dryer 

 food which necessity obliges us to take at those 

 seasons ; so that the cooling fruits of summer are 

 wholesome from their opening the bowels, &c. 

 But it is not wonderful that a continuance of 

 watery and inutritious food like fruit, should, to- 

 wards the autumn, produce debility in constitu- 

 tions partly predisposed to it, by the continual 

 and relaxing heat of the summer months. — Know- 

 ledge/or the People. 



intended to be planted out as standard trees, 20 

 feet square apart would be a good distance ; but 

 in that case the plants should not be transplanted 

 until they are about an inch in diameter. In either 

 case they will require trimming and topping, and 

 if kept as hedges, should be treated as other hedges 

 are. 



SOWING M liBERRY SEED. 



The following "directions for sowing the seed 

 and raising the plant of the While Italian Mulber- 

 ry Tree," are given by Mr Robert Sinclair, Jr., 

 one of the proprietors of the Farmer and Gar- 

 dener, a valuable agricultural paper published at 

 Baltimore. They will be found useful to those 

 who are commencing operations. All that is 

 necessary is to manure the land well, sow good 

 seed, water the plants should the season be dry, 

 and keep them free of weeds by the frequent use 

 of the hoe, and we will warrant a good growth, 

 without charging any premium. 



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

 feet long and 4 broad. Manure it ivell, dig deep, 

 pulveiise finely, and then lay the bed off in drills 

 12 inches apart, 1-4 or 1-2 of an inch deep ; sow 

 the seed as thick as you would onons or parsnips ; 

 cover with rich mould, press the mould down 

 gently, but sufficiently to cause the seed to come 

 into contact with the earth ; and should the weath- 

 er be dry, water the seed bed every other evening ; 

 it will assist in promoting the germination of the 

 seed and vigorous growth of the plant. 



2. Keeps the beds clean of weeds ; and should 

 they receive an occasional watering with suds or 

 soot and water, say once a week after 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 stiri-ed, 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 ])repared 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 kept 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 mould put 

 into the holes, to be pressed around the plant. If 



[From llie N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.] 



Mansion House, Poughkeepsie, ) 

 August 31st, 1835. ) 



The culture and manufacture of silk is now a 

 sixbject of domestic economy which is engrossing- 

 much of the public attention ; and I doubt not you 

 will be gratified to learn, as will the friends of 

 American industry generally, that the citizens of 

 Dutchess are making extensive preparations for 

 adding this to the other productive employments 

 of the county. While engaged in his official du- 

 ties at Washington, last winter, Mr Senator Tall- 

 madge became acquainted with Mr Gamaliel Gay, 

 of Rhode Island, a gentleman well-skilled in the 

 silk manufacture, who was exhibiting iu the fed- 

 eral capitol certain improved machinery of liis 

 own, for the reeling and weaving of silk. Mr 

 Gay seemed to understand the subject thoroughly, 

 and his machinery was so perfect, according to a 

 report of a committee of the house of representa- 

 tives, as to bring within a single view the whole 

 process of the art, from the reeling of the cocoons, 

 to the completion ot the most substantial and beau- 

 tiful fabrics. After having looked into tbe subject 

 for his own sjtisfaction, and becoming convinced 

 of the excellent adaptation of the climate and soil 

 of Dutchess for the growth of the mulberry, Mr 

 Tallmadge arrived at the conclusion tliat the cul- 

 ture of silk might speedily be rendered of vast ac- 

 count in the productive industry of the county. 

 At his instance, therefore, Mr Gay visited Pough- 

 keepsie in the spring, and the result of consulta- 

 tion and en<iuiry, was the speedy formation of a 

 company to enter at once upon this interesting 

 branch of manufactures. The reader need not 

 sui)pose that they were to wait for the jilanting 

 and growing of the tree from which the worm 

 spins its gossamer thread. There were already a 

 sufficient number of the white mulberry trees 

 planted and in vigorous growth, to show that there 

 need not, and would not long be a lack of the rich 

 material, when a demand should be created for it. 

 The erection of a manufactory was therefore com- 

 menced, and orders sent to the silk-growing coim- 

 tries of Europe for the raw article wherewith to 

 •begin the manufacture. The edifice erecting is 

 of brick, four stories high, and 36 by 100 feet in 

 its dimensions. It is situated near the grounds of 

 the whaling company, not many rods from the 

 river, and will derive its water power from the 



