VOL. XV. NO. 86. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



128 



(Pruin the Silk Manual.) 

 T. G. Fessenden, Esq. Editor of JVeio- England 

 Farmer and Silk Manual — I noticed an article 

 in your last Manual stating the progress of one 

 gentleman in Saco in the ninlherry business in 

 Maine. I was much pleasetf that lie had entered 

 Into it so largely ; his intelligence seems to he all 

 that you have upon that interesting husiuess. I 

 will state to you the progress I have made and 

 there are others in this vicinity making small be- 

 ginnings. I have ten or twelve thousand plants, 

 of four years growth. They are small of their 

 age, as I thought not best to force the growth of 

 thein. I have one or two hundred that are six 

 years old, hut through inexperience in the cultiva- 

 tion and other casualities 1 get not much from 

 them. One year ago last spring 1 transplanted 

 from the seed beds twenty four hundred and thirty 

 in a nursery form. They lived and have grown 

 well this summer particularly. I have fed a few 

 worms and made a little sewing silk by way of 

 experiment for three years past. This season 

 from my young trees principally, I have fed five- 

 hunilrt'd worms, whicli far exceeded niy most 

 sanguine expectations ; I had twenty pounds 

 cocoons, chrysalis not killed, which jiroduccd 

 one half pound raw silk spun on a common wool- 

 len wheel, having nothing betti'r to work with, 

 when doubled and twisted made three hundred 

 and seventy live skeins of sewing silk of the same 

 length and number of threads as imported silk. 

 Now sir, I shonlil like to be infornied through the 

 medium of your valuable paper, whether niy suc- 

 cess has been at a inodiiim rate or not, as those 

 of longer and more experience in the business.* 

 I batched the insects in my house and fed them 

 there the three first weeks, when I transferred 

 them to an out building which was only roughly 

 boarded where they made their cocoons ; I think 

 1 shall double my quantity of silk another season, 

 us I planted three thousand in addition to my 

 former number. 



T have the ground prepared for three thousand 

 more next spring ; my o[»inion is now confirmed 

 in the business ami J shall extentl my operations 

 as fast as my small means will permit me to do. 

 I ilo not intend to sell many of my young trees, 

 for when sold tliey are gone from me and I am 

 go niN(di behind iii the business. Enclosed you 

 will find a sample of the silk we have made this 

 year, manufactured by my wife and daughter 

 without any knowledge except what they gained 

 by reading and very attentive practice, mingled 

 with a good share of patience. If yon think the 

 above imperfect sketches worth noticing it is at 

 your disposal. Very respectfully yours, &c. 



JAMES WALKfiR. 



^fote. 

 * Considering that the cocoons were not killed 

 previous to weighing, and that the machinery for 

 winding was simple and imperfect, the product as 

 above stated was very satisfactory. In France, 

 according to J. D'Homergiie, it requires twelve 

 pounds of cocoons to produce one pound of raw 

 silk ; eight pounds will in this country be amply 

 sufficient to produce the same quantity. 



Mr Walker deserves much commendation for 

 his efforts in silk culture, and we are glad to per- 

 eive that he is determined to persevere, with 

 sch favorable prospects. — Ed. Silk Manual. 



(Fnini the National Intellijzencer.} 

 TO THE FARMERS OP THE UNITED STATES. 



That care ami skill have imi)roved fruit trees, 

 vegetables, rnd our domestic animals, are facts 

 known to all classes of hnshandmen ; and the-ad- 

 vantage of rearing cattle from the best breeds is 

 now well understood all over America. 1 he ad- 

 vantage that accompany procuring the best grain 

 for seed is as yet but partially understood and very 

 little attended to. 



Repeatedly sowing .some kinds of grain on the 

 same land, is in many cases foUo wed by an evi- 

 dent decline in the quality; still this it must be 

 observed, is not a uniform conseipience; ther,- 

 are many and well authenticated instances where 

 the change to a new soil and climate is accompa- 

 nied with deterioration, and in others as great an 

 improvement has taken place. 



As it is known that grains, (fee. in some climates 

 and soils degenerate to a minimum, sometimes in 

 quality, in others in quantity, and frequently in 

 both ; a practice calculated to remeily these dis- 

 advantages is of great importance to the U. S. On 

 the present occasion it is our object to jioint out 

 what may he done here, by showing what is done 

 in other countries, and under ciicnnistances far 

 less favorable to the husbandman or to the opera- 

 tions of husbandry, than in America. In Scot- 

 laud, for exiimple, the climate is cold, wet and 

 stormy ; yet by care and industry crops are pro- 

 duced, remarkable both for quantity and quality. 

 There the greatest attention is paid to the chang- 

 ing of seed. The low countries procure their 

 seeil potatoes from the high districts at great ex- 

 pense of money aitd labor. The whole oat crop 

 of some districts issought for, and sowed for seed ; 

 this is the case with a portion of country called 

 Blainsley, that lay south of Sontra Hills. In no 

 country has the culture of clover been more bene- 

 ficial, or attended with better success than in 

 Scotland, yet the die'ate is so unfavorable to the 

 ripening of clover seed, that nearly the whole h:is 

 to be procured from England or Holland. The 

 farmers of that country frequently change the 

 wheat seed, ami procure the best that is to be had, 

 paying very litth; respect, to price and the greatest 

 attention to quality. 



It woulil appear that the principle by which the 

 Scotch farmers are guided to the results they ob- 

 tain, is to select their seed from the districts where 

 it is grown in the greatest perfection, from the 

 climate ami soil being best adapted to the plant. 

 Thus they choose feed oats and potatoes of their 

 own growing, these b(!ing plants best adapted to 

 mountainous, cool and moist regions ; and clover 

 and wheat seed from England and Holland, which 

 are cotnparativcly low, warm and dry, and better 

 adapted to their production. 



It is well known that in America our oats are 

 not good,lhey have little Kernel or meal; anil the 

 quality of our barley is not what it ought to be. 



It is to the following circumstance the present 

 address owes its existence. 



In the year 1833, a well informed practical far- 

 mer visited Pennsylvania with the object of seeing 

 as much of our [iractice of farming, soil and cli- 

 mate, as a short stay here would permit. 



On his return to Scotland, he procured and sent 

 to his friends in Philadelphia some Angus Oats, 

 Hopeton Oats, Barley, wheat, and Rye grass ; the 

 cask containing the seed miscarried, and did not 

 arrive here until the fall of 1835. 



Some of each kind of these seeds have been 



sown here ; the wheat came up very thin ; it is 

 presumed the seed suffered from the long voyage. 

 On the 28th of April, 1836, the oats and barley 

 were sown on rather poor but fresh loam. It ia 

 true, the season has been cold, damp and unfavor- 

 able to these grains, still their success has surpass- 

 ed anything that could have been calculateil on. — 

 The barley and both kinds of oats are of siJjierior 

 grovvtli in strength of stein, as well as thicknes.s 

 on the ground ; they would loose nothing in a 

 comparison with the crops of oats or barley of 

 any country, and likely to suffer loss from exces- 

 sive growth, causing them to lodge. One kind of 

 the oats commenced shooting into ear about the 

 first of July, and the other about the tenth ; the 

 marks which were placed to distinguish the om 3 

 from the other have got displaced, and this accl - 

 dent prevents knowing whether it is the Augii! s 

 or Hopetoii Oats that first puts out the ear. 



Now let us inipiire into the economy of tiirmera 

 adopting the practice of annually supplying them- 

 selves with new seed grain, and found our calcu- 

 lations on a farm where about 20 bushels of oats 

 are sown each year: the farmer of such a piece of 

 land could apply himself with an annual change of 

 his oat seed in the following manner: it is pre- 

 sumed that each bushel or the imported oats ho 

 sows, will produce ten bushels ; then by anunally 

 buying two bushels, their produce would yield the 

 twenty bushels recpiired for sowing on his farm. 

 Suppose the price of the imported oats to be $1,50 

 cents a bushel, the two would cost .$3 — and the 

 price of country oats was .50 cts. the two would 

 cost $1. '1 he expense of changing the seed would 

 be per annum $2. The estimate is not given as a 

 matter of accuracy, but as a formula liy which 

 every one can make his own calculations. 



In procuring a change of seed, there are other 

 points necessary to be attended to besides the qual- 

 ity of the grain, and one of these is to guard against 

 bringing with it the weeds incident to the country 

 or f elds where it has grown : for want of atten- 

 tion to this, there are farmers whci have introduc- 

 ed into their fields, along with the clover they 

 sowed, the narrow leafed plantain, which arrogates 

 to itself a place which would otherwise be occu- 

 pied by clover, to the detriment of his hay both in 

 quality and quantity, and that more se'ious curse, 

 Bensalen clover or white daisy ; all this is the re- 

 sult of their not taking sufficient care in the selec- 

 tion of their clover seed. 



In proof of the sincerity, that the writer enter- 

 tains a favorable opinion of this system be will im- 

 port for next season's sowing, one hundred bush- 

 els of selected barley, one hundred of each variety 

 of oat.s, already s|)oken of, an ', it being too late 

 for reeeiving wheat for the ensuing sowing, meas- 

 ures will be taken for bringing to this country 

 wheat for the following year. 



Such persons as take an interest in renewing 

 their seed grain, are invited to apply to the sub- 

 scriber will) will furnish them with any quantity, 

 not less than a bushel. — the cost will be govern- 

 ed by the jirice abroad, and the exjiense of bring- 

 ing the articles here. The transaction will be at- 

 tended with considerable trouble, and the limited 

 extent of the operation will satisfy all who reflect 

 that there are other motives for undertaking the 

 business than tiiat of making money. 



Letters, post paid, will be attended to, address- 

 ed to James Ro.maldson, 



Ao. 200, South JVinth-st., Philad. 



