70 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



KuTA Baga. — The cioj) of Riita Baga vvliich I 

 hav(^ ventured for [)remiimi on one acre, was rais- 

 ed in this town, on a pieco of "j^reen sward inter- 

 vah^, and the seed were sown about the 10th day 

 of June hist. 



After the land was ploughed, I carted on 12 

 cords of green barn manure, which was spread 

 upon the surfiioe, and the whole again ploughed, 

 and then harrowed — back-furrowed three feetdis- 

 an t and sowed in drills on the furrows, about one 

 tfoot apart. After the second leaf had set, the 



weeding process commenced, leaving two or three 

 plants in a hill. The land being remarkably clear, 

 it was not necessary to weed them a second time. 

 The crop was harvtjsted and secured in my cel- 

 lar, on the 21st day of October, and there was 

 above one hundred and eighty-nine bushels, good 



measure. B,. Gordon. 



Button, JVov. 8, 1836. 



[Letter from Judge Maison of Sing-Sing, to the Con- 

 ductor of the Albany Cultivator.] 

 FATTENING SWINE. 

 We have lately seen an abundance of experi- 

 ments and instructions for rearing and fattening 

 swine ; and it is fortunate for the farmer, that the 

 almost despised ap[>le, (after cider was entered on 

 the list of proscription) is now Iteing elevated to 

 its proper rank and standing. 'I'he apple is found 

 to contriin nutriment enough, not Cor keeping alive 

 ofdy, but for actually fattening and hardening our 

 porkers, and that too, with out the aid of corn. — 

 But like all other great discoveries, it will take 

 some time and experience to reduce its impor- 

 tance to that simplicity and usefulness that will 

 bring the expense to a level with its value. 



The last direction 1 have seen, include boiling 

 or steaming with a mixture of flour or meal, or 

 some such expensive article. T.iis may all do in 

 our western or newly settled countries, where 

 firewood and timber must be burned to get them 

 out of the way ; but when wood attains the value 

 of six or seven dollars the cord, and coals eight 

 or ten dollars the ton, it \-ould be .-^heer nonsense 

 to talk about steaming or boiling. 



1 too have tried some experiments in this way, 

 and I find that apples for feeding, to give them 

 Their higlu'st value, must be pounded or ground 

 fine in a common cider mill, and then stand in 

 tubs or vats, for the saccharine matter to evolve, 

 wliich natural process will be efliected in about 

 tvventyfour hours in warm weather, and from that 

 to forty hours, as the fall weather grows colder, 

 until freezing; and I will hazard the opinion, that 

 one bushel of apples thus macerated, and passing 

 through the incipient process of fermentation, will 

 have acquired more nutriment and richness, than 

 two bushels could imparl if fed whole, or imme- 

 diately after grinding. 



Thus matured, the apples are ready for the 

 s\yil!-barrel,and with the addition of the wash and 

 the wastage of the kitchen, or even clean water, 

 till sufliciently diluted, will make a feed that hogs 

 do become so fond of, as to leave ears of corn thai 

 may occasionally be given them, to f3y to the 

 trough for their favorite beverage. I have no 

 doubt but the mass may still be bettered with the 

 addition of bran, or shorts, or any sweeping of 

 mills or granaries, the farmer may have on hand. 



It is certaiidy very ])robable that a cornbinati,on 

 of the carbonic, or alkalescent gases of the jui- 

 ces of the apple, gave rise to the opinion among 

 some old farmers, that the cider made in their cir- 

 cular troughs, with a large wheel, was always 

 softer and sweeter, than that of the nut mill, which 

 many would not use ; without any cheiriica'l knowl- 

 edge or even thinking at that time, that the slower 

 process of the large wheel made the difference 

 they tasted in the" liquor. 



Thus when we find that a good orchard, with 

 large pounders, or some cheap apparatus for 

 grinding, would enable a farmer to winter a large 

 number of hogs, and cattle, and poultry for breed- 

 ing, or the spring market, when the high prices of 

 grain will induce him to reduce his winter stock 

 to the least possible number. If I was a fariv.er 

 on a smart scale, I would go to the expen 

 putting up a cheap building to accommodate some 

 grinding machine, with a close cellar under the 

 whole to receive the necessary api)les for winter 

 feeding, made tight, with good floor to preserve 

 them from freezing through the cold weather. 



Prepare for SpRI^fG. — As the season is fast ap- 

 proaching vvlien Clover and other grass seeds will be 

 sown, we deem it advisable to bespeak for their future 

 pastures and meadows, from our agricultural brethren, 

 a liberal bestowal of seed. He who sows scantily must 

 expect to reap in a proportionate degree, or to gaiLser 

 more weeds than hay. In every soil there are ample 

 supplies of the seed of every variety of wild and nox- 

 ious lierbage,and if these are not supplanted by a whole- 

 some covering of artificial grasses, they will inevitably 

 germinate, and show their pestilent fronts to the annoy- 

 ance of [)roprietors, and the discomfirt of their stock : 

 for tlie earth will be busy in despite of all the maltreat- 

 ment it receives at human hands. — Farm. ^ Gard. 



Silk. — We have been shown .><otne specimens of silk, 

 from the Nantucket Factory. That completed in Jan- 

 uary 183G, is good, but thin ; the specimens of 1837, dis- 

 play a very great improvement, and the twilled silk, 

 which has a nnxtuie of the nanUin colored cotton, is an 

 admirable article, and must so(-n be in general use. It 

 is gratifying to see how rapidly and prosperously the 

 silk looms are increasing. — V. Y. Star. 



[0= A gentleman who has recently returned, after 

 spending some vveeUs in the interior oi this State, says 

 that all the people there are doing their best to econo- 

 mize bread stuffs, and that the consumption of flour is 

 exceedingly small. This is the effect of high prices. — 

 Jour. Commerce. 



