\".j;.G.— No. 43. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



341 



GARDINER'S CALENDAR— MAY. | 



Sow hurily aromatic herbs, if not done last 

 month. Small snliids four times in the month for 

 a complele succession. Railishes and lettuce 

 thrice. Peas and beans once a-weelt. Spinage 

 once a-fortni^ht. Carrots, for late drawing, twice 

 in the month. Borecole, in the first week, for a 

 second main crop. Dwarf kidney-beans, in the 

 first week, for a full crop in July ; in the last fort- 

 night, for crops in August and September. Bore- 

 cole and Brussels sprouts for the last crop, and 

 German greens to come in for spring. Savoys for 

 the last crop. Onions for drawing, young leeks 

 to be late transplanted, cauliflowers in the eecond 

 and third weeks for a Michaelmas cro ■. The 

 less hardy aromatic herbs, and pumpkins, the last 

 fortnight. Cucumbers for pickles on a dry warm 

 iiorder, in the last week. 1 



Protection Continue this, nightly, for kidney- j 

 beans and lender plants transplanted from hot- ; 

 beds. 



Propagate by bulbs and dried roots. If ^bun- 

 dance of potatos have not been planted, effect this 

 as early as possible ; in late situations they may 

 be planted till the middle of June. 



Plant slips and offsetts. 



Transplant the cabbage tribe, lettuce, celery, 

 radishes, and othier plants for seed. j 



Routine culture. Stick peas, top early cropB of I 

 beans, and also of peas ; earth up cabbages, | 

 bp-ans, peas, potatos^ &c. Thin, weed, hoe, and 

 stir the surface among seedling crops. Water in 

 dry weather, support stems, pinch off all decayed 

 leaves, &c. j 



Destroy insects and vermin. 



Hardy fruit department. '. 



Plant strawhorries, if it has not been donelasl 

 month. I 



Prune what trees you have neglected, and run 

 the risk of losing, or leave them unpruned till au- 

 ttimn as a proof of vigilance and skill. Summer 

 prune vines, peaches, and other early shooting 

 trees against walls, and such gooseberries as are 

 planted there to produce early fruit. Remove 

 all BDckers, excepting selected ones of raspber- 

 ries, and pinch off strawberry runners as direct- 

 ed for last month. 



Routine culture. Mulch, protect, and water 

 where necessary. Water strawberries over the 

 herbage, and especially after the fruit is set. j 



Destroy Insects, especially snails and caterpil- 

 lars. On the first symptoms of the leaves rolling 

 lip, unroll them and pick out the grub before it 

 does further mischief. Take special care it does 

 not get at the petals of apple and pear blossoms. 

 Fruit-room. Look over the fruit of every des- j 

 cription which the increase of temperature will 

 now cause to taint rapidly. 



Fruii-i-ellar. Open a few casks of such dessert 

 apples and pears as are now wanted for tho table. 

 Close them as soon as you have taken out the 

 proper quantity, and let them still remain in the 

 cellar. 



Slraie paper. — Notice has recently been given 

 in sijme of the papers, that straw may be convert- 

 ed into paper. There have been specimens of pa- 

 per manufactured from oat straw, for some weeks 

 past in the hands of several individuals in this vil- 

 lage, and recently we have been informed of the 

 process by which it is produced. The cohesive 

 property, so necessary to the formation of paper, 

 and which straw never was supposed to possess, is 



communicated to that article simply by boiling it 

 about twenty minutes in n solution of potash ; af- 

 ter which. It is converted into paper by the usual 

 process. The discovery was made at Meadville, 

 Penn. and was the result of accident. In remov- 

 ing the ashes from a leach of long standing, the 

 straw, at the bottom of the vessel, was observed 

 to resemble wet tow, in its te.xture. This hint 

 formed the basis of a course of experiments, whicTi 

 has resulted in the discovery above mentioned. — 

 We understand the process has beeh patented. 

 The specimens of the paper which we have seen, 

 are such as leave no doubt that all wrapping, car- 

 tridge, and other coarse papers, requiring great 

 strength, may be advantageously produced in fu- 

 ture from straw, in preference to rags or old 

 ropes. — Buffalo Jnurnal. 



Agricultural Convention. — A writer in the A- 

 merican Parmer suggests the expediency of an 

 annual convention of delegates from the different 

 states, to devise plans for the general improve- 

 ment of the agricultural interests of the country, 

 and to direct the attention of the public to those 

 products most calculated to supply the wants and 

 promote the prosperity of the country. He recom- 

 mends some time in the summer, when the citizens 

 of the south visit the north. 



took from them many shawls. They then became 

 an object of fashion. The ladies could find no 

 other stuff so light, which was so capable of pre- 

 serving them from the impression of the air. 



There was for some time a dispute aruong the 

 French naturalists whether the material of these 

 shawls was produced by t'le dromc.lary, Iamb, or 

 other animal. — They are now convinced that it is 

 the down of the goats of Tibet. A large number 

 of goats, called goats of Tibet, were purchased of 

 the Kirghis Tartars in 1819, and introduced into 

 France where they have greatly increased. It is 

 believed, however, by many, that they are not Ti- 

 betian goals, and that they differ but little from 

 the native race. The down begins to appear un- 

 der the long hair, in October and grows until 

 spring. When it is nearly ready to fall off, it is 

 gathered with combs ; and the combing is con- 

 tinued three or four days. The long hair is then 

 separated from it by hand, there being no other 

 way. Each animal gives from four to six ounces 

 of the down. A sh.iwl 5 quarters square, made 

 from this down, weighs 6J ounces Hamp. Gaz. 



Ebenezer Baldwin, George Tibbets, and Oliver 

 Wiswall, Esqrs , have been appointed by the Ex- 

 ecutive of New York, commissioners under the act 

 for facilitating the construction of a rail-road from 

 Boston to Hudson. 



NEW ENGLAND FAIIMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1828. 



JVew York Horticultural Society. — At a meeting 

 of the Inspecting Committee, April 29, the exhibi- 

 tion of flowers was uncommonly numerous and 

 beautiful. 



A bottle of currant wine was presented by Mr 

 Yuill. It was made in Scotland ten years ago, 

 and consisted of nothing but the juice of a mix- 

 ture of black and red currants, water and sugar ; 

 and although not a drop of distilled spirits had 

 ever been added, yet it had spirit, and a lively and 

 agreeable flavor. Recipe. — Three quarts of juice, 



one of water, and three pounds of brown sugar 



The management with respect to fermentation, is 

 very similar to that for good cider. — JV. F. Farm. 



GOATS. 



These animals are numerous on the Eastern 

 Continent, and great numbers are domesticated in 

 Europe, especially in the mountainous parts. The 

 Bulletin des Sciences states that there are 700,000 

 in the states of the king of Sardinia ; and that 

 17,000 are kept in one flock, near Lyons in 

 France. Goals are numerous in Spain, Italy, 

 Switzerland, Wales, &c. They yield milk in 

 large quantities, which is accounted the best milk 

 of all animals. The goal is the poor man's cow 

 in many parts of Europe. The unpleasant odor 

 attending them, is supposed to be very beneficial 

 to horses, and on this account they are often kept 

 in stables in England. The goat is. however, a 

 treacherous, roaming, mischievous animal. 



The precious stuffs, that ornament the heads 

 and shoulders of the rich inhabitants of Persia and 

 Turkey, are manufactured in the vale of Cash- 

 mere, from the down of the Tibetian goat. These 

 shawls were admired in France for their beauty, 

 fineness, and elegance, and a great price was paid 

 for them ; but very few were seen there until 

 1 Buonaparte defeated the Mamelukes in Egypt, and 



NETTLE, STINGING— Urlicn dioica. 



This perennial plant, found in dry, rubbishy 

 soils, and in hedges, is but sel ium seen where 

 the hand of man has not been at work, iind may 

 therefore bo considered a sort of domestic plant. 

 In many parts of Europe the 'young shoots are 

 gathered as a pot herb, for soups, &.c. and the 



plant is forced in hot beds for similar purposes 



The Domestic Encyclopedia observes that " The 

 Common Nettle, though generally considered as a 

 noxious weed, is of extensive utility ; its young 

 tops may be boiled during the spring, and eaten 

 as a substitute for greens ; being not only nour- 

 ishing, but mildly aperient. In the Western Isl- 

 ands of Scotland, a rennet i.s prepared, by adding 

 a quart of salt to three pints of a strong decoction 

 of nettles ; a table spoonful of which is said to be 

 sufficient to coagulate a bowl of milk. The leaves 

 are employed for feeding poultry ; and, especially 

 in tlie winter, when boiled they promote the lay- 

 ing of eggs — in a fresh slate, they are refused by 

 horses, sheep, goats, cows and hogs ; though 

 asses devour them eagerly. When dry, they are 

 eaten by cows, for which they are an excellent 

 food, increasing the quantity, and improving the 

 quality, of their milk. According to M. Van 

 Geuns, such fodder is an effectual preservative 

 against the contagious distemper affecting horned 

 cattle. 



The roots of the Common Nettle, when boiled, 

 communicate a yellow tinge to yarn. But the 

 most valuable part is its fibrous stalk or stem ; 

 which, on being dressed in a manner similar to 

 flax or hemp, has, in some parts of Europe, been 

 advantageously m3.nufEi.ctured into cloth. This 

 useful branch of industry has also been attempted 

 in Britain, and a coarse kind of durable canvas 

 was produced, which is considerably harder than 

 the cloth manufactured from hemp or flax. As, 

 however, this plant requires a rich soil to obtain 

 it in any quantities, and, as a much greater de- 

 gree of attention and accuracy is necessnry in the 

 operation of rotting, than ie requisite either for 

 flax or hemp, Dr Anderson is of opinion, that the 

 cultivation of the nettle will be attended v/ith dif. 



