180 



SILK MANUAL AND 



Mabl.— It would be well if every cultivator was aware 

 of the important fact, that whoever finds marl, finds a 

 mine of great value. It is one of the best and most 

 general manures in nature ; proper for all soils and all 

 crops. Marl i.s usually found under moss or peat, in 

 low, sunken lands, and especially nigh the sea or large 

 rivers. It has been sometimes d"iscovered by ant hills, 

 as those insects bring up small pieces of shells from 

 their holts. It may be known by the application of a 

 mineral t^cid, and even good vinegar will cause an effer- 

 vescence. 



" To find the composition of a marl, pour a few oun- 

 ces of diluted muriatic acid into a Florence flask ; place 

 them in a scale and let them be balanced : then reduce 

 a few ounces of this dry marl to powder; and let this 

 powder be carefully weighed, and gradual]; thrown in- 

 to the flask, until after repeated additions, no farther 

 eflx-rvescence is perceived. Let the remamder of the 

 powdered marl be weighed, by which the quantity pro- 

 jected will be known. Let the bularcethpu be restored. 

 The difference of weight between the quantity projec- 

 ted and that requisite to restore the bnlance, will show 

 the weight ^S air lost during ihe effervescence. [That 

 air proceeds from calcareous earth alone, which con- 

 tains fortyfour per cent, of this carbonic acid air. Sup- 

 pose five hundred grains of marl lose fortyfour grains 

 ly the escape of air, then that innrl contained one hun- 

 dred grains, or one fifth part of 'the whole weight of 

 ime stone.— T. C ] If the l-ss amount to twenty or 

 twentyfive per cent, of the quantity of marl projected, 

 the marl essayed is calcareou>-, or marl rich in calcare- 

 ous earth. Clayey marls, or tiiose in which the argilia- 

 cous ingredient prevails, lose only eight or ten per cent, 

 of their weight by this treatment, and s:indy marls about 

 the same proportion. The presence of much argi la- 

 ceous earth may be judged by drying the marl, after 

 being washed with spirit of s;.it. when it will harden 

 and form a hrlck."— Domestic Encyclopedia. 



of mustard. Let every one try it, and I am sure he 

 will never use the drugs again The drugs, if you take 

 them freely, leaves a burning at the pit of your stom- 

 ach, which the real mustard does not." 



Working Oxen.— We are told that laboring cattle 

 will perform their spring work with more vigor and less 

 apparent fatigue, if they are fed two or three times a 

 day with a few ears of Indian corn. Some, however, 

 prefer giving them small quantities of raw potatoes, 

 which are said to be more cooling than corn, and to an- 

 svver'the purpose of physic as well as that of food. Per- 

 haps it may be well to change their diet occasionally, 

 from the roots to the grain ;. and these, with regular 

 meals of good English hay, will, in ordinary ca*es, be 

 sure to keep them in good working order. 



Pennsylvania Horticultural Society — We have 

 received a list, issued by the Horticultural Society es- 

 tablished in Philadelphia, offering premiums for culina- 

 ry vegetables, fruit and flowers, for 1837, to the amount 

 of about three hundred andffty dollars. " The object of 

 the Society, in offering these premiums, is simply to 

 excite a spirit of emulation among cultivators, to im- 

 prove tlie varieties of fruits and vegetables, and dissem- 

 inate a knowledge of the art of gardening." And with 

 such munificence and zeal on the part of the Society, 

 they cannot fail to realize that objecl. Great good will 

 be accomplished by these premiums. " The spirit of 

 emulation among cultivators," is a revolutionizing spir- 

 it, and radical in its effects. It will make the garden of 

 Pennsylvania beautiful beyond comparison, and fills her 



barren places with vernal beauty. 



" In quick succession 



Various crops will crown the garden's fields." 

 Such will be the fruits of a spirit of emulation. Ag- 

 ricultural and Horticultural pursuits, fostered by such 

 encouragement, and aided by knowledge and scientific 

 industry. Where is the Ma.^sachusetts Society, with 

 her liberal list of premiums ? Let not Pennsylvania 

 outstiip her in this good work. 



In addition to the above, a premium of Five Hun- 

 dred Dollars is offered in the following terms: 



BLIGHT IN PEAR TREES. 

 The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, anxious to 

 promote the discovery of a preventive for the disease 

 usuallv termed hll<rht in Pear Trees, offers a premium 

 of FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS, to be paid the per- 

 son who shall discover and make public, an effectual 

 means of preventing its at'ack. The premium not to 

 be awarded until after tlie expiration of three years from 

 the publication of the preventive, nor until the Socioty 

 shall be fully satisfied of its efficacy. Communications 

 on the subject may be addressed per mail to David 

 LANr)RETH,"Cor. Sec. Philadelphia. 



Mustard Seed.— The comn^m mustard seed, which 

 grows with very little cultivation, and is easily gather- 

 ed and cleaned by those farmers, who have floors for 

 threshing wheat or flax seed,— is worth naoney. Mr 

 Cobbett makes the following remarks on this article :— 

 ' Why buy mustard, when you can grow.it in your gar- 

 den .? The stuff you buy is half drugs, and injurious to 

 health. A yard square of ground, sown with common 

 mustard, the crop of which you would grind for use, in 

 a little mustard mill as you wanted it, would save you 

 some money, and probably save your life. Your mus- 

 tard should look brown instead of yellow ; and as to the 

 taste, the real mustard has certainly a much better than 

 that of the drugs and flour, which go under the name 



13-.STON PioGK.RY.— About six miles from the city, in 

 We-^t Cdml)ridge, is the Boston Piggery. At least 

 700 bogs are here con><tantly kept in pork condition, 

 r.ntirdy on the offal irom tbe dwelling houses in Bos- 

 ton every one of which is visited in turn by the city 

 carts. The offal increases, and the contractor calculates 

 that it will be sufficient hereafter to fatten 1000 hogs.— 

 He now receives four cart loads a day, and pays the city 

 *3 .500 a year, or about $2,75 a load. He receives ^S 

 Tday for what the hogs leave. The city Treasury lo- 

 ses $1000 a year by the operation, and it is said the 

 man makes three times that sum. The pig pen is an 

 enclosure of fifteen acres, with places of shelter from 

 the storm. As the hogs attain their size, they are slaugh- 

 tered on the spot-the fat barrelled up, and the lean 

 sold in tlie city. According to the rule in the country, 

 the contractor should furnish each family in the city, 

 once a year with a spare-rib, for the food furnished the 

 piggery. — Springfield Repub. 



