152 



FARiMEilS' REGISTER— STREETS PAVED WITH SHELLS. 



viction of its utility, they would most generally re- 

 ply, tliat it might do for your wheat, but it would 

 not for corn. l>ut I can only say, that I have found 

 it best for every crop. I wouM pursue this sub- 

 ject further, but I find ijry paper giving out. If 

 what I have advanceil will aid the interests of 

 agriculture in any resp6ct, I shall be happy. Yours, 

 respectfully, and sincerely, 



JOHN H. CRAVEX. 



P. S. Our harvest has just commenced. In this 

 county, Avhile we shall have more than an average 

 crop of straw, we shall not have a half a crop of 

 grain, and even that will be more indifferent than 

 any that I have ever seen, being infested with eve- 

 ry thing that is bad — rot, scab, smut and rust. 



J. II. c. 



Krom the Abbeville "VVhij. 

 DOBIESTIC SILK IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 



When on an excursion to the country a few days 

 since, we found, much to our surprise and gratifi- 

 cation, that some of our female friends had turned 

 their attention to tlie culture of silk ; and that 

 many of them had made such progress in this lauda- 

 ble experiment, as already to have realized con- 

 siderable profit from the production of the raw 

 material, and manufacturing it into cloth. IMrs. 

 Patrick Calhoun, of this district, who, among her 

 other many excellent virtues, is remarkable for 

 her industry and attention to her matters of do- 

 mestic concernment, sliowed us in a house which 

 she had fitted up for the purpose, at least, wo would 

 say, one hundred thousand silk worms, all healthy 

 and busily engaged, some of them in forming the 

 cocoon and others fitting themselves for the pro- 

 duction of that valuable material. Mrs. Calhoun, 

 who had tried the experiment last year on a smal- 

 ler scale than she is doing the present, assured us 

 that she had no doubt, should no unforeseen acci- 

 dent occur, she would be able to raise silk enough 

 by the latter part of August, to manufixcture more 

 than a hundred yards of cloth. 



We know of two other ladies in this district, 

 Mrs. Covington and Mrs. Baskin, who have been 

 similarly engaged for several years, and we have 

 seen some pieces of silk cloth manufactured by 

 them, which, when worked up into clothes, makes 

 a beautiful and lasting dress. The cloth manufac- 

 tured by them has sold at this place for $3 per 

 yard, and it is sought for with avidity, not only on 

 account of its rarity, but also for its beauty, dui-a- 

 bility and cheapness. We hope that our ladies 

 will turn their attention to this interesting, profi- 

 table, and laudable employment, and that we will 

 be pardoned by those whose names we have given 

 to the public, for having done so without their per- 

 mission. 



Streets Paved witli Shells. 



To the Editor of the Farmers'' Register. 



The perusal of the " Supplementary Chapter" 

 to the Essay on Calcareous Manures, (in No. 2 of 

 the Farmers' Register,) and the inquiry with 

 which it closes, as to the effects of marl in purify- 

 ing the air and contributing to healthfulncss, in- 

 duces me to mention a case somewhat in point. — 

 If I can give you no very satisfactory information, 

 I may be the cause of eliciting it from others. 



The streets of Mobile are generally unpaved, 

 and as a substitute for stone or gravel, which are 



not to be obtained, shells (which have long been 

 untenanted,) are strown over the carriage ways 

 and side walks to the depth of several inches. — 

 These soon become a firm mass, and form a smooth 

 surfltce, so as to resemble a Macadamised road. — 

 The streets have a remarkably neat and clean ap- 

 pearance, and are much more pleasant than the 

 paved ones. 



The shells, which are of various kinds, gene- 

 rally small, are raked up in great quantities in the 

 shallow lakes, and brought to the city in large 

 lighters. 



Mobile is much moi^e healthy now than it was 

 before this plan of improving its streets was adopt- 

 ed. It was proposed to " shell" some of the streets 

 of New Orleans, but whether it was carried into 

 eficct, I am unable to inform you. The sugges- 

 tion you have made may call the attention of its 

 citizens to the subject. M. 



We thank our correspondent M. for the prompt com- 

 munication of the fact of streets being paved with cal- 

 careous materials : and we shall be still more obliged to 

 him, or toothers, for a more minute examination of the 

 effects on the health of the inhabitants of Mobile. The 

 favorable change, in this respect, which he states has 

 taken place, is certainly some confirmation of the opinion 

 maintained in the " Supplementary Chapter, &c.": but 

 as the effect was probably never before ascribed to such 

 a cause, all the circumstances will require to be known, 

 and carefully considered. 



Roads have been made in some part of Ireland of 

 broken limestone ; and i^robably the same material (for 

 want of harder,) may have been used there or elsewhere 

 for pavement in towns. If any such fact exists in a 

 warm or unhealthy climate, information of the circum- 

 stances might throw much light on this subject. — \Ed, 

 Farm. Re"-. 



Sumacli L-eaves. 



To the Editor of the Farmers'' Register. 



Having heard that Sumach Leaves were pur- 

 chased by the tanners of morocco leather in Nor- 

 folk, and thinking that the article might be worth 

 collecting for market, I requested a friend to make 

 inquiries on the subject, and from him have re- 

 ceived the following information. 



" The leaves are the only parts of the plant 

 which are used for tanning. They are cured as 

 hay is, and cleaned of twigs, &c. by being beaten 

 with sticks, as grain is sometimes threshed out of 

 the straw. This is no doubt very tedious — but 

 where there is a good growth of Sumach, as it 

 costs nothing but the labor, I think the farm- 

 ers in your neighborhood may find it to their 

 advantage to gather and send it to market. Mr. 



, of Norfolk, uses a good deal, and pays for it 



^1 per hundred pounds." 



Sumach bushes grow very thick on light soil of 

 only middling quality, and if once in possession of 

 the ground, would doubtless keep it, without fur- 

 ther trouble. The seed we know are very abun- 

 dant, and easy to collect — and it may possibly be 

 worth sowing them over a few acres of hilly land, 

 of small value under cultivation. The red skin, 

 or pulp, which incloses every seed, contains a 

 large proportion of strong acid, of a pleasant taste. 

 Query — Could not this be put to some economical 

 use ? Dispersed as the bushes are generally, the 



