50 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



80 w.iU:, so va->, so bomidias.-i is tho liokl. llint 

 itna3;inatioD cannot ^rasp the population sufli- 

 (^icnt-to fill it; and it is only in proportion as 

 that ilourislies will be the snl>s;antial uo.ilth, the 

 ppw;cr, the grandeur, and (he happiness of our 

 country. It is the only solid foundation on 

 v.h'ich our national pro.-[ierity can be erected, 

 and therefore the object, of all others, that 

 ou!;'-ht first and chiefly to engage the attention 

 ot s^vernment. ISo rational sciicmc for its ad- 

 vancement can therefore, consistent with that 

 wisdom ivhich characterises true statesmen, be 

 treated othenvise than with an impartial and a 

 deliberate investia^alion of its merits; and if 

 found eligible, whatever apparent did'ic,;^ties 

 may be in the way, its adoption must and will 

 be eflccted. 



It is therefore true ]>olicy to drav/ into this 

 field as many as possible, e>iiccially of young 

 men, qualilied tor it by a suitable education, and 

 possessed of a capital sudicient to conduct tlieir 

 affairs to advantage. But how is such an ac- 

 quisition to be eflected ? 



At present there is no doubt that there are 

 numbers of men of fortune in our states, and 

 many of them large owners of lands, who would 

 wish to fjualify, as firmers, at least some of 

 their sons, and give them suitable establishments 

 as such, but are deterred from it by such consid- 

 erations as the following. 



Success in every profession or calling depends 

 on a perfect knowledge of it. — Such knovv-ledge 

 cannot be obtained witliout actual ajiplication 

 for its attainment as a student or apprentice for 

 a competent time. — The proi'ession of a iV.rmer, 

 no less than that of a lawyer, a physician, a di- 

 vine, a manullicturer, or of any of the mechanic 

 arts, cannot be iluly acquired without such ap- 

 plication. — For any one to undertake a business 

 w'dh which he is aaacquaiiited, or rather for 

 ■vliich he has not been I'egularly educated, is 

 the height of follj-, as it must in all ]irobability 

 eventually ruin him. — In every kind .of busi- 

 ness there will be sharp competitions, and those 

 who arc the most ajioit and skillul in it, will, 

 with equal means and industry, make the most 

 by it, and those who have not a competent 

 kn<)wledge of it must suflor in its pursuit. 



IV'ow, how are the sons of v.'ealthy gentle- 

 Tiien of other professions to acquire such knowl- 

 edge of agriculture ? At present there is no other 

 way than to put them out to serve as appren- 

 tices to farmers. To this there arc many ob- 

 jections. From their previous education they 

 will not be disposed to submit to the necessary 

 discipline, and tiieir masters will not have it in 

 their power to enforce it — They mav be associ- 

 iitcd with laborers whose manners will contam- 

 inate theirs — They will probably' be destitute 

 ■>f all society by which they might be stimulated 

 'o further advances in their previous studies and 

 a progress in refinement — Released from ade- 

 quate restraints, they may be enticed, by j)rotli- 

 gat<' companions, into low-bred jiractices, luid 

 contract disgraceful and ruinous habits. Anil, af- 

 ter all, in the l)cst situations, they could learn 

 dftic more than the business of a farmer in its 

 most ordinary state. 



For all this there is no remedy but an instilu- 

 lion like lliat which is now proposed, tiie hajipy 

 tendency of which, when once established, will 

 beyond all doubt bo abundantly demonstrated as 

 soon as it shall be completely carried intcj oper- 

 ation. ^ 



It will make agricultural jmrsuits more fash- 

 ionable, and engage in them (he noblest spring 

 of human activity, the ambition to shine pre- 

 eminent in a sphere of usefulness, of the most 

 brilliant character, and the widest extended 

 magnitude. 



(to be C0XT!>KEI).) 



PnEF.1RI.yG FL.'W. 

 Wc esteem mirsclvcf fortunate in beiny pcritiiffed to 

 lay before our readers the following extracts from a 

 correspondence between His Excellency the Governor 

 of Connecticut, and .S. W. Tomeroy, Ksq. of this State. 

 The subject is of ]^reat importance, and if it continues 

 to engage the attention of men of mind, influence, 

 character and standing, its discussion may be the 

 means of giving a new staple to New Kngland of little 

 if ajiy less importance than cotton or tobacco to South- 

 ern sections of the Union. — Ed. N. E. F. 



Litchfield^ Con. June 2.3, 1822. 

 Df.ar Sii^, 



I have read with great satisfaction your Essay 

 on the Cultivation of Flax, and consider it as the 

 best I have seen ; what we now want, is a dis- 

 covery of the best means of extracting- the gluT 

 tinous matter, and decomposing the woody fibre, 

 without fixing the color, so as to render the 

 process of bleaching, difficult and expensive. 

 The common process of rotting in the air, we 

 know will never give us good Flax, and the 

 process of water rotting will not be practised 

 by our people generally ; it being a disagreea- 

 ble and unhealthy business to those employed 

 in it, and besides poisonous to our streams of 

 water. 



The extension of our Flax culture, will, in 

 my opinion, greatly depend upon our success in 

 finding out a mode by which common farmers 

 can extract the gluten, and weaken the woody 

 fibre, so as to render Flax, after being stripped 

 of its seeds, manageable bj' such operations or 

 machines, as can be introduceu-info common use. 

 The practical question is therefore, does (here, 

 or does there not exist in nature, a cheap and 

 common solvent, which can he applied to Flax, 

 in mans, by operative farmers ? 



Yo\i live in a part of our country which is 

 deeply interested in this question. You, more 

 probably than any person with whom I am ac- 

 quainted, can discover this solvent^ (if it exist,) i 

 and the public attention having been much at- 1 

 traded to your publication, your recommenda- j 

 tion would have a most extensive and salutary 

 infiuence. 



I therefore take the liberty to request your 

 particular attention to this interesting subject. 

 I feel confident that the thing desired can he done, 

 but I cannot command the means of making (lie 

 necessary experiments : I can only suggest hints, 

 which may be useful. 



F'lax may. in mass, be subjected to the action 

 of steam. This may of itself extract the gluti- 

 nous matter, and sufficiently weaken the woody 

 filiro, alter being merelj' dried in the air : Will 



drosseil, as atferw.inls. A question must hi- 

 ever arise, respecting the expences of ail l 

 processes, compared with the value of the Fhi 

 whea it has been prepared as an article of coi 

 merce. 



I send you samples of Flax, which, as I ti 

 derstand, were prepared in IlilKS: liundy's M 

 chine. The yellozc is from Flax which had n 

 been rotted ; and the zi'hite is the same artici 

 after being bleached, hy means of soap suds, 

 a weak solution of muriatic acid. 



\ our friend and obedient servant, 



OLIVER WOLCOTT. 



S. W. P0.MEROV, Esq. 



t fix the color of the plant ? The Flax, before 

 steaming, may be soaked in weak lye, with or 

 without lime, or lime water, and with, or with- 

 out soaj) suds, and urine. Near the coast, salt 

 water, with and without the combinations bet'orc 

 mentioned, may be useful. 



Any of the chymical processes of bleaching, 

 may, for ought I can perceive, be as well ap- 

 plied to Flax in massj before it is broken and 



Brighton, 1-ith July, 1822 

 Dear Sm, 



Your highly valued favor of 29th ult. ivi 

 samples of Flax; prepared in Hill & Bund_' k) 

 machines, came to hand a few days since. 



Soon after the publication of the "Essay 

 Flax Husbandry,'' the Hoard of Trustees oft ')" 

 Massachusetts Agricultural Society, proraulgat 

 the offer of liberal rewards for the best expo 

 ments on the preparation of Flax, by boilh 

 steaming, or any other than the usual mode 

 Though the quantity required was only 75 1 

 and the period for receiving it continued 

 the middle of January, none was exhibite 

 and as the competition was not confined to lo 

 bounds, there is reason to believe that the pi 

 lication of the invention bj' Messrs. Dey & M 

 donald, of a machine that would supersede ( 

 necessity of nny preparation, and its success 

 operat!o,n confidently relied on, had an-efiect 

 paralize all efforts of the kind. 



From- the best information I was able to c 

 lect, before my Essay went to press, I fel 

 strong conviction that the machines of Hil 

 Bundy could not be made extensively useful 

 this country ; and if their neglect in G. Britr 

 except for employing infirm people and childi 

 in poor houses and cottages, was not sufhcic 

 I have since received intelligence from a sou 

 entitled to confidence, that places the quest 

 beyond. all doubt. An acquaintance with a g 

 tieman of respectability, lately arrived fr 

 England, has furnished interesting facts c 

 nected with the present subject, some of wh 

 it may be well to state belore 1 attempt a re 

 to your queries. This person has been ext 

 sively engaged in the manufacture of linen 

 machinery at Leeds. He says that " spinn 

 by hand is mostly abandoned ; that last y 

 about tzcenty thouscmd spindles were in operat 

 at Leeds and its vicinity, which worked up ; 

 thousand tons of flax for i'abrics, from the coi 

 est sort, to those worth three shillings sterl 

 per yard, at as cheap a rate (calculating len 

 and breadth) as cotton is spun, and i'rom I 

 prepared in the usual way ; — that no confidei 

 is placed in the general utility of Hill & Bunc 

 machines — the price of dressing and bleach 

 by them being sixpence sterling per pound' 

 about equal to the cost of the whole mate 

 as now used ; — that " the advantage of work 

 bleached (lax is of no great importance si 

 the discovery and impro\emenls in (he prod 

 of bleaching with the Oxi muriate of lime, 

 which linen, even from dew rotted fiax, is hi 

 ched nearly as chea]) as cotton, and, if judicifl 

 ly applied, without the least danger of injurj 

 the article;'' — it should also be considered (I 

 cloth made from bleached f}a:i-niust be submi(| 



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