m 



SILK MANUAL AND 



for seed, is not new in practice — it lias for a^es 

 pri'vaiied," &c. Aiii-i in a letter from William 

 Moody to the Hon. Josiali Qiiincv, piiLjIished in 

 tlie 4th vohime of the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 Repository, the writer observes that " iate j)lanted 

 jiotatoes wliicli are gathered in before ripe, are 

 far the best for seed the next year.^' And an 

 English writer in London's Magazine, an article 

 republished in the N. E. Farmer, vol. v. p. 409, 

 states that the " ripe potato, having performed all 

 its operations, becomes more inert ; but the cir- 

 culation of the sap in the unripe tuber having been 

 stojiped, it starts more readily, and with greater 

 vigor when planted ; the one seems to die, worn 

 out with age, the other seems accidentally to have 

 fallen asleep, and when awoke, possesses an un- 

 spent vigor and energy." 



It would be well it some of our cultivators 

 would ascertain tlie experiment, the disputed point 

 whether ripe or unripe potatoes are to be prefered 

 far £eed. 



FARHEKS' WORK. 



Fences — should be surveyed, and tiieir defects recti- 

 fied, before cattle areperniiued lo wander nvor the farm. 

 " A stitch ill time saves nine," is an expressive adage, 

 particularly ipplicabie to niaUingand mending fences. 

 If cattle or sheep are once acciihioiiied to lnw or insuf- 

 ficient fences, tliey will hardly be restraintHJ by those of 

 the best rpialtty. 



It has been practised by snnie fanners to make fen- 

 cing {losts very durablw by tlic.' foilowiiiir sin^ple pro- 

 cess : They bore a hole vviili an incli auger in tliat part 

 of the pos , which, when set will be just above the sur- 

 face of the earth, with such a slope as will carry it 

 do '-nward two or three inches. They then till the hole 

 willi salt, which, we aie told, will pre-erve the timber 

 from dccLiy a v>ry long time. 



In making fences of posts and rails, which in many 

 parts of the country are best, it is advised by Mr Pres- 

 ton of Stock[)orl, Penn., to set the posts with the top 

 . pans in the ground, and he asserts that ihey will in that 

 jiosition, last three or fmir times as long- as when they 

 are set with the hut ends down. He advises also, in 

 making fences, always lo place the rails with the heart 

 side up 



The best timber for rails, according to Doctor Deane 

 is red cedar. It is easy to split, light to carry and han_ 

 die, sufficiently strong, anil the iniist durable of any — 

 In the ^I'ransactions of the Society of Arts in England, 

 there is an account which stales m substance, that posts 

 of oak, and oiliers of ciieslinit, were set down in Som- 

 ersetshire, where they had to uiide"-go repairs in eigh- 

 teen years Tlie oak posts were then found to be un- 

 serviceable, and the chestnut very little worn. The 

 oak posis were renewed, the chestnut remained, and in 

 twenty five years afterw.!rds,they were not so much rot- 

 ted as the oak. 



If the lower ends of posts are scorched before they 

 are put into the ground, iliey will last th ■ longer. Some 

 recommend soaking them in sea water to keep them 

 from rotting. The posts shoiild be set at least two feet 

 in the ground. Some farmers cut their posts so long, 

 and moitise them in such a manner, that they can turn 

 them upside down, when the lower ends become rot- 

 ten. 



When f:;ronnd is wholly subdued, and the stumps of 

 its original trees quite rotted out, stone walls, if well 

 made, are the best and cheapest fences. On hard, san- 



dy or gravelly soil, a wall will stand many years with- 

 out repairing. On a clay or miry soil, the foundation 

 should be laid in a trench, nearly as low as the earth 

 freezes. But a wall of flat or square shaped stones will 

 generally stand on any soil, if placed on the surface. 



A writer for the Genesee Farmer, gives the follow- 

 ing directions for " Planting Posts for Garden Fences, 

 &c." 



Instead of filling the holes up with the earth taken out 

 in digging them, I would recommend filling in around 

 the posts with leached ashes instead of common earth, 

 and topping ofi' with'5 or 6 inches of unleached ashes 

 above the surface of the ground ; for it is generally be- 

 tween icind and icatcr, as the sailors term it, that gar- 

 den-posts begin to decay. My reason for recommend- 

 ing ashes is, that 1 have frequently found pieces of 

 board, hoops and staves buried under heaps of leached 

 ashes, which had lain there many years, and were quite 

 as sound as when first buried. No doubt many of youj 

 readers have observed the same, in removing old ash 

 heaps near potash works. 



Raise more Clover Seed. — Mr Editor: — 

 Since it has been discovered that the article of 

 wheat can successfully be raised on a clover ley, 

 which clover ley cannot be jiroduced without clo- 

 ver seed, which is now known to be dear, and 

 scarce, owing, no doubt, princijially to fodder hav- 

 ing been very dear in the year 183-5-6 ; therefore 

 farmers saved none of their grass for seed. ' The 

 summer following, calculating on hay bringing a 

 great price in all after time, they raised very little 

 hay seed, and sold off such great quantities of 

 stock, and comparatively few mouths being left to 

 consume hay, of course it has become reasonably 

 low in market. This, therefore, is a favorable 

 time to urge the raising of clover seed the ensuing 

 summer; by which m.^ans much more wheat will 

 be raised, and we Farmers .^^hall not be under the 

 needless necessity of " going to New Yoik to 

 mill." 



Since clover seed has become so valuable an 

 article, we need not fciar loss by raising it. 



Maine Far. 



Wheat Crops. — It is yet too early t« form any 

 decisive opinion respecting the growing wheat 

 crop, but we are sorry to learn from various ()art.s 

 of Virgiiiia, tliat tiie prospect is poor ; and that 

 some are procuring sjiring wheat to sow, while 

 others projiose to sow the common wheat as .soon 

 as the frost leaves the ground. Another failure 

 of crops there must inevitably i)roduce much suf- 

 fering, as they liave not had a full cro|) for sever- 

 al years. — ZanesvUle Gaz. 



Sewing Silk. — The manufacture of American 

 Sewing' Silk is becoming important, and the arti- 

 cle is obtaining the best reputation. The Silk 

 Company at Northampton, are manufacturing at 

 the rate of $200 per day, and yet cannot supply 

 the demand. We are pleased to learn tnat a 

 Company has been incorporated to grow and 

 manufacture the same article in West Springfield. 

 — JVorthampton Cou, 



