268 



may perhaps amuse some of your leaders. I siiail 

 cloee Ly offering it as my opinion tliat when the 

 United States como to bo a silk growing country, 

 which will be in the course of a few years, New 

 England will turn out tht? silk of the best staple, 

 the most even, the most clean, the most perfect', 

 because of her hills, of her pure and lively wa- 

 ters, of her clear and healthy atmosphere, and of 

 'he industry and intelligence of her inhabitants. 

 The Southern States will make most in quantity ; 

 the warp and organzine mills requiiin;r curious 

 machinery will be seated in New En:,°!and, and 

 also there the manufacture of silk goods, which 

 are delightful articles for .summer's wear, and 

 well adapted for the trade with the South Ameri 

 'jn republicks. 



With good wishes, 



I am respectfully your friend, 

 iVeston, Feb. 1827. j. M q 



WATER PROOF SHOES AND BOOTS. 

 Mr Fbsskkden—I perceire that the subject of 

 water proof shoes and boots is going the rounds 

 ot the public papers. Having some knowled-re on 

 this subject, I feel constrained to lay it before the 

 public through the medium of your useful paper 

 More than three years since I endeavored to' find 

 some menstruum that would dissolve the India Rub- 

 ber. There are several that will effect this object 

 m a very small quantity, or proportion, but the 

 most active and powerful that I have tried is the 

 oil of turpentine. I put about two ounces of the 

 gum into one of the largest she buttles used for 

 Day and Maitiu's blacking.with about a criH of the 

 oil, and placed in a steam heat. It di'^solved in 

 about two or three days, and when dissolved was 

 about the thickness of molasses in cold weather 

 r applied It to my boots wilh a painter's binsh — 

 The first coat soon dried in ; I applied a second 

 ■^ third, and a fourth, until the leather was com 

 ptetely saturated. I set them away, and when 

 they were dry, I applied the sponge blackin.. 

 used by harness makers, to prevent the glutinous 

 qualities ot turpentine from collecting the dust _ 

 After a short time, I applied the common black- 

 ing and the leather reeoived a beautiful polish 

 and remained smooth and pliabl 

 walk in the water without having the upper pan 

 ^f my boots w.ter soaked. The small quantity of 

 the oil contained m gum, produced no bad effects 

 Ml'on the leather. I wore these boots longer than 

 1 ever wore a pair before. They have hem. twKe 

 new soled, and the third p.ir of soles is nearly 

 wn out, and the upper leather has never cr^ck 

 «d ,n the least, but is now in a firm state and will 

 resist water as well as when the gum was first 

 "Pphed. With a little attention ,n in. king, a gem- 

 lleman may have his shoes or boots entirelv proof 



n\ r Z'Z^ ' """''' '-^-"^--'d the following. 

 D:sso!ve the Gun, Sheila, in alcohol to about life 

 c onsistency o! tun molasses : take a piece of felt 

 fet. not very closely worked and fill it with the 

 sum so that It will take in no more ; let th e 

 put between the soles of the boots or shoes when 

 umle : take a pi.ce of cotton cloth and also sate 



::t',tb'\""''r '"''"•"' ^b-ementitd a nd 

 t between the side lining and the ontside of 



ItlZ'Jr ''^'" '^^ '"""'^ "^-^ completed let 

 them be hlled wirh the preparation of the India 

 Kubber, and they will with,n..nd the water fo 

 twenty-four hours - '"' 



INEVV ENGLAND FARMER. 



is iiuL twenty cents, and 1 presume that any shoe 

 maker would furnish them for fifty, and consider 

 himself well paid for his trouble. 



I am satisfied from e.xperience that the small 

 quantity of the oil of turpentiue, required to dis- 

 solve the gum, will not injure the leather ; but if 

 any person doubts this, or dislikes the smell of it, 

 (which only lasts for a few days) the oil can easily 

 be washed out with alcohol. I have a bottle full 

 of the pure gum, from which I separated the tur- 

 pentine, and I occasionally apply it to my boots 



;;^ta,^employed and less sales; of consequ;;, 



o:f:fir^r^jXnZ^'T;v''^" f ""^"^ 



^r.e,ly feu by the comr^abr^'r^ m 'v r.- 

 The numerous variations and risks which a2 

 the product of vineyards make them a verv ini 

 venient, and nnprofitable property. In great c™ 

 you must wait the returns, when they^Ire ™ 

 yon must pay large sums ,n advance. The owT 



and shoes; It makes calf "skin' shoes as 'so^ '^ \Zu:^J:^:^'\ therefore have other resoi 

 pliable as the prunella. ("istinct cipitil) to enable him to wait for th 



^ imbursement of his advances. The owner of" 



UNPROFITABLKNESS OF VINEYARDS "'""''"'^ "■''° has the misfortune of having „ 



Mr FEssKNDK.w.-The project of raising our Lm;" Tf '" „" T""" °' ''"^'' """'^- He i 



own wine in the United States, has been quite a ' ^V" I at /ow prices or to drink his m 



favorite one with some persons. I have always I 77,' u "'"'", ', ""'" alternntiv,. results his brn 



.loubted its policy, if not its utter impracticability , ^' " '"''"'^"=^' '"« 'liscouragement,his gloon,> 



1 .^. 1 iiovc [iiways 



oubted Its policy, ,t not its utter impracticability 

 m the Northern States. One of my principal ob 

 jectious, however, was, that I did not approve the 

 policy of forcing a culture which was not well 

 adapted to our soil and climate, when other na 

 tions could supply us with much better wine than 

 we could produce, at one half the e.xpe.iso it would 

 cost us to make it. 



I was not, however, aware, that in the most fa- 

 vourable countries for producing wine, it was con- 

 s.dered « dangerous, and on the whole very un 

 profitable mode of investing capital. Bk.ssot dk 

 V\ARvi.,.E must be well known to all politicians 



of fifty years of age, but as he may not be 



t„ ,,1 r ;, J '"'■ "'^ Known 



to others I would s.^y, that he was one of the 

 ablest^ and most distinguished men among the 

 Frenen revolutionists-so much so, that his fac 

 tion was called by his name, Brisso.ines! He 

 was an eloquent and sensible man-tolerably well 

 acquainted with our country and e.Uremely par 

 'lal to 11 and lo lis institutions. 



As he was called a Girondist, J presume that he 

 oelonged to the department of tie Gironde the 

 region o the finest wines of France) probably ep 

 resen e Bordeaux in the National ConventfonZ 



^ :sl|:zt:dt^p:■fi;r£:;t;:m 

 discusses the question whether the United St;to! 

 can produce wine-good wine -and e.xpresse 

 his opinion that ,n some southern part, u,e Ln.l 

 Indeed he seems to have no doubt about it, but he 

 proceeds to caution us against the introduction of 

 the culture, and the following aie his argument/ 

 They seem lo me to deserve ,reat weight not be' 

 oause ho says them, as he might feel In interest 

 n dissuading us from the culture of the vinl b. 

 be ause thoy seen, to be founded ,„ good sen e 



" The culture of the vine, says Br.ssot, ,n „/; 

 countries in which it exists has made a lar. " 

 portion of tne population wretched, and a/^ ri " 

 The long and very considerable advanci which 



tiVBtor verv small warrea ^ '"" 



" VVould It be belie^ved that an abundant crop of 

 he t A TT' ^'^='^t'-°"= both to the owner of 

 the land and the labourer employed = In f^ tl^e 

 expense ofharvesling is increased whii;",::^;-:!: 



I , ■ -■'"'"■»s'-iu-;iii,nis jTioomv 



and quarrelsome disposition, and the destructio; 

 ofhishealt. HehastoomnchwineinabS 

 and profitable years, and too little bread in ye., 

 of^scarcity. These are the two sad alterna.ioC 



"Thus we see that countries covered with vine 

 yards are generally less populous, and exhibit. 

 picture of a population degenerate, feeble, an,' 

 miserable. For the most part such countrieshay, 

 not the requisite number of labourers in years.o' 

 plenty, and the want is supplied by a wretched «e» 

 of Itinerant day labourers. The disastrous effe ' 

 of the culture of the vine extends in wine coi 



nowru t , ti , =Mti,-,iB in wme coij 



■|i!te 



ir mor 'Pi -•»("-";"= u, iiarves 



nc.ng It, for the cheapness of wine induces Ht 

 to take It to excess. It is of course a poison 

 [all classes, especially for those who find in this 

 dulgence a momentary relief from their other s 

 ferings. It has therefore been observed that 

 dustry studiously shuns all these teniptin 

 dangerous wine countries. You never see in th' 

 any re^spectable Manufacturing Establishmenj 

 none of that assuidity and intelligence necessi 

 to their success. Mr Brissot in a note explai 

 some of the causes of their ill success of tb° cl 

 lure of vineyards. 



"The proprietor who regulates his expenses 

 his income is every year led into mistakes in vi 

 culture. One year he makes 30 per cent-tlfik ,, 

 next year his grapes are destroyed by frost fmirSr 

 this ! even in the South of France] the third yei 

 he suffers by a bankruptcy, (of the merchant ^i 

 whom his wine is consigned) or his wine will bl 

 come acid. The fourth year he will have a modi 

 erate crop, not enough to make up the losses 

 he two preceding years. In ten years a propri 

 tor will scarcely find more than one which is tl 

 erably good. It is a proverb in France, that the 

 is no worse property than a vineyard." 



Such were the opinions of Brissot de Wai 

 viLLE, brought up in a wine country, a politic, 

 economist, addressing his own countrymen, w 

 must know, whether what he said was true or no, 

 I can only add, that being in Bordeaux in 180* 

 at the time of the vintage, which was very abno- 1 

 dant I heard that a proprietor of one of the beat 

 esta es offered his whole crop, gratis, to any wl 

 would gather and press it, because the wine wo-i 

 not pay for the casks. For the table, we in th 

 Northern States, may, and ought to cultivate tW 

 grape. Curious men who have the ambition ^ 

 produce ^home bred wine, much worse than cider, 

 may raise it, hut let ingenious and spoculative men 

 kevvare of laying out extensive vineyards in Ma?.' 

 sachusetts. 

 Jiorburi/, March 6, 1837. 



fall 



