150 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



throughout the vvliole of the season, the difteieuce 

 being discernible at a distance. There were two 

 stalks cultivated in tlie hill, at five and a half hy 

 three feet, the greater projiortion of the stalks pro- 

 ducing two good ears. 'Ilironghout the whole of 

 the season it maintained a vigorous and rajjid 

 growth, and when the corn on both sides of these 

 rows exhibited evident s}Mnptoms of having suf- 

 fered injury from a short drought, the corn on 

 these rows was apparently uninjured. In cutting 

 and clearing off the corn, jtreparatory to seeding 

 wheat, much of the general crop was very imper- 

 fectly matured, while the corn raised on the bone 

 manure presented a much smaller proportion of 

 imperfect ears. Circumstances prevented me, as 

 I had intended, from ascertaining the exact differ- 

 ence of produce — but gentlemen who were com- 

 petent judges, estimated that the produce from 

 these four rows would exceed the produce from 

 an, equal number of hills from the farm pen man- 

 ured land, by at least one third, and more than 

 double that of the land which had received no 

 manure. From the result of this experiment, I 

 am satisfied that bones are a valuable manure for 

 corn, if applied even in very small (juantities. — 

 The expense of them would be small, and they 

 are much easier pounded, when performed as 

 above stated, than gypsum, and the exjicnse of 

 collecting and hauling is very trilling. On every 

 farm there are a greater or Ics*: quainity of bones 

 scattered abotti, and in the vicinity of every village 

 OF city, they are deposited in large qvianlities, [)re- 

 senting anything but an agreeable or pleasing 

 appearance, reminding the passenger at every ^tep 

 that he is, as it were, in the m"'dst of a charnel 

 house. How much better vvoidd it certainly be 

 that the tiller of the soil should enjoy the full 

 benefit of their enriching qualities, and that these 

 animal remains which tiow present nothing but a 

 loathsome spectacle, should be employed to beau- 

 tify aryd fertilize the soil which once afforded them 

 subsistence, and instead of presenting an eye-sore 

 to their late masters, be to them a source of profit ? 

 I regret that circumstances so occurred as to 

 prevent me from having it in my power to present 

 you with more practical results, than are above 

 stated. As it is, I hope it may induce some one 

 of your readers to bestow some attention on a 

 means of improving their exhausted farms, within 

 the reach of almost every farmer. I anticipate 

 that the benefit which the wheatj.^rop may receive 

 from the application of the bones, will be as de- 

 cided as has been that of these four rows of corn. 



A. NicoL. 



dimensions of this manunoth apple tree carefully 

 and accurately, and found it to be 45 feet in height 

 and 55 in breadth ; circumference of the trunk 9 

 feet 4 inches. About seven feet from the rot)t 

 there are eleven branches, the average siz ; of 

 which are 3 feet 10 inches in circumference. But 

 the most remarkable fact about it is, tJie quantity 

 of fruit it bore the jiresent year: one hundred 

 and eighty bushels of apples were taken from it 

 this fall. Four or five bushels, of such as were 

 bruised and partially and entirely rotten, were left 

 under the tree : and a good deal of its fruit must 

 have been taken away by different [lersons through 

 the summer and fall; so that the real quantity it 

 bore must have been very near, if not quite two 

 hundred bushels. The apples are very large. It 

 stands near the South Branch, on verj' rich soil. 

 1 have been informed that it did not bear any fruit 

 until after it was twenty years old. It grew spon- 

 taneously where it now stands, and, although forty 

 years old, continues to grow. — Romney Intel. 



Silk ix ViRGiPfiA. — We have recently received 

 from Virginia, very large additions to our Silk 

 Manual subscription list. One gentleman writes : 

 " The people in this State are wide a\vake upon 

 this subject; and great progress lias already beetj 

 made in the establishment of pfantations of Mul- 

 berry Trees, &ic.'^ There is no doubt but that 

 the Silk business will prove eminently successful 

 in that State. VV<! shall be glad to receive com- 

 munications from that section, detailing its pro- 

 gress and prospects. — JV. E. Farmer. 



Great CROP of Ruta Baga. — Mr Holmes: A;? 

 It may be useful to report the produce of certaii> 

 crops occasionally, in order to let people know 

 what we arc doing " down East," 1 wish to inform 

 yon that Mr Joseph Weston, rJd, of Bloo^mfield, 

 raised during the past season on twentyfour rods 

 of ground, 170 bushels, being if I mistake not, after 

 the rate oC eleven hundred thirtyihree and one third 

 bushels to the acre. What would friend Cobbett 

 say to this, if he were alive now ? If he who 

 njakes two sj)ircs of grass grow where but one 

 grew before, is more of a benefactor to mankind 

 than be who conquers nations — surely he who 

 makes an acre of ground produce at the rate above 

 mentioned, is deserving great commendation for 

 his skill and industry. — ' S.' in Maine Farmer. 



Mammoth Apple Tree. — We are indebted to 

 a highly respectable gentleman of Hardy county, 

 Ya. for the following facts relative to a mammotli 

 apple tree, on the farm of Capt. Daniel McNeil, 

 of that county. Our informant says, he took the 



To Drive Bugs frow Vines. — The ravages 

 of the yellow striped l»ugs on cucumbers and me- 

 lons, may be effectually prevented, by sifting char- 

 coal dust over tlie plants, if repeated two or 

 three times, the plants will be entirely free from 

 annoyance. There is iir charcoal some {>roperty 

 so obnoxious to these troublesome insects, that 

 they fly from it the instant it is applied. — Indiana 

 ..Aurora. 



