VOL,. Xv.KO. 43. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



331 



less source, assuiijifr tlie poor as well as the rioli, 

 in all times and in all countries, ol' an in<^is|)en^^a- 

 ble article ofsubsistance ? — Northamp. Cou. 



REPORT ON Sir,K 



Tlie Report of the Committee on Silk, in the 

 House of Representatives at Washington, throu<{h 

 their Chairman, Mr Adams^ is before us. It em- 

 bodies a vast deal of statistical matter bearing up- 

 on the progress of the business in this country. — 

 The Corninittee,so far as their investigations have 

 been prosecuted, express themselves highly grat- 

 ified with the fitness of this country f(U- the growth 

 and manufacture of silk, and the progress it has 

 already made, in the estahfishment of incipient 

 institutions. In IVIaine, the Legislature ofl'ers a 

 bounty of five cents on every pound of Cocoons, 

 and fifty cents on evepj' pouml of reeled silk. — 

 The subject is enlisting some attention there. In 

 New Hampshire, one Company is established and 

 many individuals are entering into the biisiness, 

 but no legislative aid has yet been granted. Ver- 

 iriont, the legislature gives a bounty of ten cents 

 on every pound of Cocoons raised in the state, 

 and the business of mulberry trees and silkworms 

 is exciting much attention in many towns. iMas- 

 sachssctts leads in the business, and her Ifgisla- 

 ture sfJers $1.00 tor every ten pounds of Cocoons, 

 fifty cents for every pound of raw silk, and $1.00 

 iier pound for every pound of reeled and twisted. 

 There are various incorporated companies in iVlas- 

 sachusclts, besides in<liviilu<ils in every section of 

 the state, rlirectly engaged in the business. The 

 Northampton Company lias a capital of $150,(00. 

 with about three huudre<l acres of land, various 

 buildings, with machinery in operation, and over 

 100,000 Chinesi! and White Mulberry trees. The 

 New England Slk Company at Dedham, has a 

 capital of $100,000 and twenty or thirty acres of 

 Mulberry trees. The .Massachusetts Silk Compa- 

 ny at Framingham, has a capital of $1.50,000 and 

 one hundred and sixty acres of land, with nearly 

 one hundred thousand mulberry trees. There are 

 also the Boston, Nantucket, Roxhury and New- 

 buryport incorporated tiilk Companies, all of 

 which are |ireparing to grow and manufacture 

 silk or are already in successful operation. The 

 business is also prosecuted with singular success 

 by farmers, who make it a part of their household 

 operations, in almost every section of the state. — 

 In Rhode Islam], one incorporated Company ex- 

 ists with a capital of $100,000 at Providence, and 

 the business is enlisting the interest of people in 

 other sections of the state. Connecticut, where 

 silk has long been grown on a small scale, the 

 legislative encouragement is ample, paying $1,00 

 for every one hundred Italian or Chinese Mul- 

 berry trees five years old, and 50 cents for every 

 pound of reeled silk. There are two incori)ora- 

 ted companies, one with a capit;d of $20,000, al 

 Mansfield, and the other with a cajjital of $.30,000 

 at Hartfur<l. The business is extending into dif- 

 ferent sections of the state, and promises to be a 

 source of future opulence to its citizens. These 

 facts in relation to the business in New England, 

 we gather from the Report, and another week 

 shall show its progress and extent through the 

 middle and southern states. We are amazed at 

 the interest the subject has already excited. Thus 

 far New England leads, and Massachusetts goes 

 ahead of all her sister states in the silk business. 

 . J^ortkampton Cou. 



rUl.TURE OP KUTA BAGA. 



Mr James M. l.,awton, in a communication in 

 the Cultivator, gives the following rules for the 

 [irejiaration of the soil, and the culture of the Ru- 

 ta Baga. Tlie conclusions at which he arrives, 

 are the result of many years experience and close 

 observation. 



1. The land he says, p?-opt'r!)' adapted to the 

 nature of the plant, is a strong loawt. 



2. The land should be ploughed early in the 

 spring, in order that the sward, if it have one, may 

 rot by the 10th of June. 



3. The land should he made (lerfectly mellow 

 and smooth, anil a good coat of manure that is 

 fine, say sheep or barn tnanure should be put on. 



4. Throw the laud into ridges 24 inches apart, 

 with a small horse plough. 



5. Roll down the ridges by a light roller, or 

 other instrument ; make a light furrow, say an 

 inch deep, drill in the seed on or about the 15lh 

 of June : the seed should be 10 inches apart in 

 the drill, and when the plants come up, all but 

 one plant shonlil be pidled u]>. 



6. Dress (he plants three times in a season, that 

 is, keep the weeds out, and the earlb stirred about 

 the |ilants; as they are first breaking the ground, 

 they must l)e powdered with plaster of Paris, — 

 and twice afterwards also — when they receive the 

 two last hoeings. 



Rir Lawton fiirlher adds, that he has found the 

 above rules, when closely followed, never to fail 

 in |)roducing a good crop ; this last year he raised 

 from 90 rod.s, that is from half an acre and ten 

 perches of land, 605 bushels of sound, close grain- 

 ed Ruta baga turnips, on land fi distance from the 

 house and barn, on which, never to his knov\'l- 

 edge, a Sfjoonful of manure )iad been placed until 

 within a few days of the time he put the seed in 

 tlie ground. This product was equal to 1075 5-9 

 bushels per acre. The success of Mr Lawton 

 should surely serve to stimulate every farmer and 

 planter to at least appropriate an acre or two to 

 the culture of this excellent and hardy root. Un- 

 like the other members of the turnip fiimily, it 

 will preserve through the hardest winter in the 

 field, if the precaution be taken to throw a fur- 

 row lip against the rows, just as the hard frosts 

 set ill, and may be ilrawn thence for use, as oc- 

 casion may suit. They are also more firm in 

 meat, and more nutritious than any other turnip. 

 Horses and cows that feed upon tliem do init scour 

 as when kept on the other varieties. — Baltimore 

 Fanner. 



DUTY OP FIELD DRIVERS. 



Cattle at this season of the year should be kept 

 from grass lands, particularly side hills and wet 

 portions. 



The following extracts from the Massachusetts 

 Revised Statutes, show, ill part, the duty of Field 

 Drivers : — 



Sfclion 1. Wliei) any beasts are taken up and 

 distrained by any field driver, for going ^t large 

 contrary to law, they shall be forthwith impoun- 

 ded in the town pound, and the pound kee|)er 

 shall furnish them vvilli suitable food and vyatejt, 

 so long as they are detained in his custody. 



Sect. 2. The field driver shall be entitled to 50 

 cents per head foralj horses, asses, mules and neat 

 cattle, antjl ten cents per head for all sheep and 

 swine. 



Sect 4. When any person is injured in his 

 land, by sheep, swine, horses, asses, mi!it:s, go^ts^ 



or neat <'alllp. In' rniiy recover his damages in an 

 acrtioii ol trespass again.st the owner (d' the beasts^ 

 or by distraining the beasts doing the dan age, 

 and proceeding therewitli as herein after direc- 

 ted ; provided that if the bcasls shall have been 

 lawfully on the adjoining lands, and .=hall have 

 escaped therefrom, in consequence of the neglect 

 of the pe.-son, who has suffered the damage, to 

 maintain his part of the division fence, the ow- 

 ner of the beast shall not be liable for such dam- 

 age. 



Sect. 5. The beasts so distrained for doing <lam. 

 age, shall be impounded, either in the town pound, 

 or in some suitable jilace, under the immediate 

 care and inspection of the person who distrained 

 them, and he shall furnish them with suitable 

 food and water, so long as they remain impoun- 

 ded. 



Sect. 8. When beasts are impounded, the per- 

 son impounding them, shall, within twcntyfonr 

 hours thereaftiM', give notice thereof, in writing, 

 to the owner or the person having the care of 

 tlietn, if known, and living within six mil s from 

 the place of impounding, which notice shall be 

 delivered to the party, or left at his ))lace of abode, 

 s'.nd shall contain a description of the beasts, and 

 a statement of the time, place and cause of im- 

 pounding. 



Sect. 14. If any beasts, that have been lawfully 

 distrained or impounded, shall escape or be res- 

 cued, the pound-keeper, field driver, or other 

 person who distrained them, may, at any time 

 within seven days thereafter, retake the beasts, 

 and hohl and dispose thereof, as if no escape or 

 rescue bad taken place. 



Gideon B. Smith, Esq. of Baltimore, says in a 

 letter to the Editor of the Genesee Farnicr, pub- 

 lished Feb. 4, 1837 : 



"As a fr end to my country, I would earnestly 

 urge upon all who contemplate making silk, to 

 turn their attention exclusively upon the Morus 

 Miilticaulis. Do not waste time and means In at- 

 tempts to raise them from seed, or in getting bet- 

 ter varieties, (the first is very diflicult, the latter 

 impossible.) But if ihey have or.ly the means of 

 purchasing only one. little tree, take it, cut it up, 

 plant the cuttings with a bud on each in a hot 

 bed. 'I'he next spring cut up the produce in the 

 same way, and so go on to the next, and if neces- 

 sary the year following, and they will have as 

 many trees as they can use. Let us see. Out 

 of one tree they can make t 'n the first year, and 

 of the ten they can make 150 the second year, and 

 of the 150 they can make 2,250 the third year, and 

 of these they can make 33,75(tthe fourtli year, be- 

 sides having all the old roots to form standarl 

 trees — and in the tnean time be acquiring prac- 

 tical information in the management of silk W(u-nis. 

 Let them select some high dry gn)und for their 

 mulberry orchard, if sandy, all the better. Such 

 is my advice to all who cultivate silk. All my 

 practical inf1)rmation has been derived from my 

 own practice, and with my own iiands. 1 have 

 had no servants to do the work for ine and report 

 to me tl.e results, — but 1 have done it with my 

 own hands, and observed the results with my own 

 eyes," 



The Albany Argus says than one bushel of un- 

 slacked iirae, ground fine like plaster of Paris, to 

 the acre, and sowed in the spring just as the wheat 

 1 begins to grow, will destroy the wbeAt fly. 



