170 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



hrcediiif? stock, uIkm'o il would pcipoliiaU! itn ilf- 

 frcls. Tlio (]iiaiility oC yolk or <fn;a.s(! is a gnod 

 jiroorof till- thickiicss of tin; llcoce, s<iiice, by tlio 

 rlosciicss and tliickii(>ss o(tli(i wool, tiie j^n-asc or 

 lUTspiraldf iiialfcr of tlic anitnal is rrtaiiit'd ; iiciice 

 fiiic, closed, ciirlod wool lias ever tlie greatest 

 quantity of yolk. — Bath .Memoirs. 



The culturk of Hops. — Iron rods have been 

 lately snbslituled for liop-poles, in several parts of 

 England, with very reniarkaiile sueeess. Under 

 this system, the rapid growth of the vino, ])artie- 

 nlarly alter the passing of the thunder clouds, is 

 quite surprising ; the plants are jjorfectiy free 

 from mould, rust, the ily, &e. ; the crop proves 

 weighty and abundant, exhibits a bc>autiliil color, 

 and ri|H'ns much earlier than when traileii in the 

 usual way. I'ho rods should be i)oiiited, in order 

 more eHectually to attract the electric Ihiid, to the 

 agency of whicii in i)roducing vegetation these 

 results are attributable. From the sujierior dura- 

 bility of the material tl#e improvement is consid- 

 ered to b(> also n saving. In England, where 

 whole counties are devoted to the culture of the 

 hop, this discovery is of inuncnse impoitaiice ; 

 and is not without its value here. 



Rice family Jiiu:AD. — The following letter 

 from a lady, will teach the housewives of our 

 country how to add to tho comforts of home: — 

 " I have been trying e.xperiuients with rice Hour, 

 and I liave proiliiced « bread that is unrivalled, 

 far sujicrior to tho receipts you have. Since i got 

 it perfect, I have sent some snmples to every one 

 I could thiidx of. It is the best bread 1 ever 

 tasted, and I don't think it more expensive than 

 wheat bread, for the rice Hour goes so much far- 

 ther than the samt* weight of flour. 1 make it 

 thus: one quart of rice flour made into aslifl'pap 

 by. wetting it with warm water, not so hot as to 

 make it lump; when well wet, add boiling water, 

 as mmdi as two or three quarts ; stir it continuallv 

 until it boils ; then atld one pint of milk ; w hen 

 cool enough to avoid scalding the yeast, aiii! half 

 n pint of good yeast, and as imicii wheat floiu- as 

 will mako it of a projior consistency for luead ; 

 put it to raise ; when sutlieienty risen, it will be 

 necessary to add a little more wheat flour. It' 

 l)akeil too soft, tho loaves will be hollow. The 

 first I baked were mere shells. If you can abbre- 

 viate tho recei|)t for use, you may ; but if you do 

 not give nil this infor. nation, people will not suc- 

 ceed in making it" good. The same nu.vture, 

 rather thinner, baked in niuflhi rings, makes the 

 best nniilins 1 ever tasted. 1 forgot to say the 

 bread must stand half an hour or more iu a warm 

 place, after it is put in the baking pan?, and it will 

 ris« agniu ahnosl as niuoh as it diM at Hist." 



EXTRACTS PROM AN ADDRESS 



Before the Essex .l<;ricultaral Societj/, at Danvcrs^ 

 at their Annual Cattle Show. Septe^nber 30, 1835^ 

 Bij \)^y^l:L V. Knsc. 



The business of the farmer requires his constant 

 care and inspection ; he must not intrust it to an- 

 other; if he expects his work to be well done, he 

 must do it himself, ox at least see it done. How 

 many fanners have been misled by the notion 

 that their resixM'tabiliry and conscqiieiuM; in society 

 is commensurate with the number of their acres, 

 Ibrgetting that it is the condition, and not the size 

 of their farms, whicli gives them a character. — 

 This (k'sire to be considered the owner of a wide 

 omain has been a fatal snare to many who mightd 

 avo eiijoyed their homestead in peace and pleiityh 

 — it has involved them in peciiniary embarrass- 

 ments, which have driven them sorrowing from 

 the very -fields, perhaps, whicli their ancestors 

 reclaimed from the wilderness, to seek for them- 

 selves and their little ones a habitation amongst 

 strangers, or in some distant, solitary wild, wbtjre 

 tin; voice of a stranger would be welcomed as the 

 voice of a friend. \Vh(>n it is matter of choice, 

 the best sized farm is tiiat which the owner has 

 skill, capital and energy to luanagt; to the best 

 advantage. A mi.ftake similar to thi.s, and of tho 

 same disastrous consequences, has led some far- 

 mers into extravaganctMU the size of their houses, 

 extravagance in furnishing them, and extravagant'e 

 in their style of living. Mow maiiji-kind hearted, 

 pains-taking, industrious fa.iners, forgetting that 

 " it Ls the eyes of others, and not our own, which 

 ruin lis," Inivo been lured by the false glitter to 

 rivet on the chains which have afterwards galled 

 tliom to the quick ! No man, c\cc|)t a landlord, 

 wants a larger liouse limn will accommodate Jiis 

 lainily, and occasionally his friends. Let every 

 farmer, then, who is about to build, first sit down 

 and count the cost, then let him consider at how 

 much less expense a lioiiso of moderate size is 

 furpished and kept in rej)air, and how much less 

 labor is required in sweeping and scouring, (it 

 will be jirndent to make the calcii.ation, although 

 it may not be prudent to intermeddle with the 

 operation ;) and then let him seriously reflect how 

 small a house will hoUl his tried, valued, and true 

 friends. A man of anqjle fortune will consult his 

 taste — he may think that a large mansion, costly 

 furniture, and a corresjonding style of magnifl- 

 cence, will increase his happiness — let him try 

 it, for biink bills are as worthless as the seared* 

 and withered leaves that are put into circulation 

 by an autumn gale, and specie as valueless as tho 

 pebbles washed by tlie waves of the sea, if they 

 do not contribute to the happiness of their pos- 

 sessor, or if they are not in his hands the means 

 of cimfv-rring happiness on others. But bn^fore 



