104 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



or a friable subsoil, on gentle eievation?, or decliv- 

 ities, being tliQ most suitable of all for the Mul- 

 berry from China. Wm. Kknrick. 

 JVeivton, Mass., Oct. 6, 1835. 



[For Fesseiiden's Silk Manual.) 

 Transplanting 3lHlberry Trees, «fcc. 



What would be tlie proper season for ttikiiig up, trans- 

 porting, and setting out young trees (Morus Muilicauiis) 

 from the Northern States to the Southern, — say tlie lat- 

 itude of New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, or St Augus- 

 tine ? Will the Editor of the Manual be so good as to 

 give us an article on this subject,in the next number .-' 



Geo. L. Crosby. 

 By the Editor.— We believe lliat either Fall or Spring 

 will answer for transplanting mulberry trees as well as 

 all other trees. Mr Cobb says, " I prefer transplanting 

 in the Spring." * " In France they transplant just after 

 the fall of ihe leaf in the autumn." t The following, 

 from Mr D. Stebbins, of Northampton, Secretary of the 

 Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society, 

 contains useful hints relative to transplanting, and infers 

 that Autumn is to be preferred. " In setting out your 

 raulberry trees," says Mr S. '• I should recommend that 

 you head them down to within four or six inches of the 

 ground, and the sprouts from the roots will, next spring, 

 grow with great vigor. I have, in my nursery, evidence 

 of the fact, and also that the new tree from the root has 

 ' grown a greater height llinn those not headed down. It 

 requires all the nourishment of the root to support the old 

 stalk, and it also looks old and unpromising, but ihe new 

 shoot looks young and vigorous. 



" I have one or two thousand yellow Incusts of four to 

 eight feet in height to set out, and intend to head them 

 down before setting; having, for five years past, been 

 setting out the whole stalks to no profit of increase. 

 The importance of heading down is acknowledged by 

 our best gardeners here.'' 



Massachusetts Silk Company. 



An association of gentlemen of this city and vicinity, 

 under the above title, with a capital of |ilOO,000, liave 

 purchased a large tract of land in Framingiiam, Mass., 

 20 miles from this city, on the Worcester rail road, and 

 they have 100,000 trees of the White Mulberry, and 10 

 to 20,000 of the Morus Multicaulis trees, which are to be 

 »et out ; and, with the future addition of trees, will form 

 a large plantation. They have made a selection of an 

 imrivalled location, and there is every reason that the 

 Silk business, under the direction of the gentlemen inter- 

 ested, will succeed, and be a source of profit to them- 

 selves and a great benefit to the country. A plantation 

 cf 150 acres of White Mulberry trees, at six years of 

 age, will produce 20 to 25,000 lbs. of raw silk annually, 

 •which, at $4 per lb., will amount to the enormous sum 

 of $100,000. 



Economy and Comfort. — As the .season ha*^ 

 arrived when every [)roj'.rictor tnust procure shoe^ 

 for his slaves, we think it notaniiss to pilblish the 

 following recipe for making an elastic ])aste with 

 which to s.aturate them. '! he tendency of which 

 is, first, to make them perfectly water jiroof ; sec- 

 ondly, to make tiiem last as long again as they 

 would without its use ; and, thirdly, to make tlie 

 hardest leather soft and ]?liant, and therefore more 

 easy and comfortable to the feet. We hsve said 

 that it will make the leather perfectly water proof, 

 and in so snyiiig we speak from experience, hav- 

 ing gunned in a \)a\v of boots saturated with this 

 mixture for years, from early dawn till near night, 

 day in and day out, during each return of the 

 woodcock, season, the better part of which titne 

 we were half knee deep iti tnud and water, and 

 came out witti our stockings as dry as when we 

 entered tiie willow bottom. The following pro- 

 ];ortions will answer for fifty pairs of shoes. 



Take 3 oz. gum elastic, cut it up into fine shreds, 

 put it into a gallon jug, add to it 3 quarts of Sen- 

 eca oil, let it .«:tand three or four days, when the 

 gum will have been dissolved, and the paste fit for 

 use. Stir before using; then rub the uppers and 

 soles of the boots or shoes well with it three or 

 four diffei'ent times before the fire, whilever the 

 leather will absorb it. The degree of comfort 

 which this mixture will ensure to the wearer of 

 heavy shoes and boots can only be realized on trial. 

 It might be'^used with an equally good effect upon 

 the harness and gearing of work horses, and we 

 have no doubt would make one pair last as long 

 as two. 



Having given this recijie we feel it due to can- 

 dor to say that the merit of its discovery belongs 

 to Mr Gideon B. Smith, of this city. — Ballimore 

 Farmer. 



A Squash. — The N. H. Gazette says that a 

 squash of the Canada species, was raised in the 

 garden of Wm. Stinson of that town, this season, 

 tliat weiglied two hundred pounds and was sold for 

 Jive dollars. Wr Stinson, adds the Gazette, is in 

 his own jerson, a tolerably decent edition of 

 Daniel Lambert — and we wonder not that every 

 thing about him thrives. 



The Worcester (Mas."?.) Spy, says : — John Por- 

 ter, of Sterling, has this year gatiiered frouj a sin- 

 gle vine, twelve good ripe pumpkins, weighing, 

 in the aggregate, 2S6 pounds, averaging about 22 

 pounds each. The vine was of s{)ontaneous 

 growth, and received no attention during the sea- 

 son. 



Snow fell October 1, to the depth of half an 

 inch, in Montrose, Susquehanna county, Peunsyl- 



* Cobb's Manual, p. 16. t Rush's Manual, p. 45. 



