AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



PUBLISHED BY JOSKPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agricultural Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



vol*. XV. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAT 3, 1837. 



NO. 43. 



^■^sma^wats'wiaAa.a 



(From the Hampshire Gazette.) 

 SCIENTIFIC FARMI.\G. 



Formerly there was a great prejudice aiiion<r 

 fartiiers to uniting knowledge acquired from books, 

 with experience, in their agricultural labors. This 

 prejudice is fast dying away, but probably still 

 exists in some degree. It was thought that any 

 education, beyond a common knowledge of read- 

 ing, writing and cy]ihering, was entirely useless 

 to the vocation of the farmer. But such ideas are 

 very erroneous. 



It is never deemed useless for the machinist to 

 possess some knowledge of the science of me- 

 chanics, or for the archil:,ct, of the science of ar- 

 chitecture ; they must have such knowledge to be 

 expert in their profession. Then why is it not 

 important for (he farmer to study the science of 

 agriculture ? 



But what is the science of agriculture ? It is 

 that science which treats of the nature of plants, 

 Boils and manures. It makes known the compo- 

 sition of soils, and the kind of manure and par- 

 ticular plants tliat arc adapted to certain soils. — 

 Also, the effect 'vhichwill result from a particular 

 treatment or cultivation. Most of this, it is true, 

 may be learned by experience ; but experience 

 alone, does not give a man that assurance of be- 

 ing right, which he possesses by uniting science 

 with experience. If he trusts to the latter whol- 

 ly, he is compelled to tread a beaten paih, or move 

 with much uncertainty ; while on the other hand, 

 the intelligent, scientific farmer may strike out a 

 new track, try some new experiment, or adopt 

 Eome new mode of culture, and be able to calcu- 

 late before hand, nearly what will be the result. 

 He acts nnderstandingly. He knows in the first 

 pliice, the nature of the plant he wishes to culti- 

 vate — suppose this to be the operation to be pur- 

 sued — in the next place, the soil and manure 

 adapted to it, and finally, the mode of cultivation 

 which its growth j-equires. All this he knows 

 without having gone through with the process of 

 experiment. 



Rut the value of science in the lalrar of agri- 

 culture, may be made more clear by reference to 

 facts. Who arc the farmers that are most success- 

 ful and prosperous ? Are they not those who 

 read and study agricultural works, and search out 

 the best modes of cultivation ? What farmers 

 are they who obtain premiums for reclaimed lands, 

 and the large.st crops of corn ? Are they not 

 scientific farmers? those who exercise the mind 

 as well as the body in their operations? Jt is so 

 to the extent of our observation. 



One or two facts fell under our observation, 

 during the short space, in early life, that it was 

 our lot to be a 'tiller of the ground.' The far- 

 mer, with whom we resided, had a piece of mow- 

 ing land, which, during reniendirance, had not 

 been iiloughed, because his father said if it were 

 ploughed, it never after would yield good crops 



of grass. Tlie farmer's son, however, did not 

 place implicit confidence in the wisdom of his 

 grandfotlier, and obtained (lermission, after much 

 persuasion, to plough the land. It was planted 

 with corn and produced a very large crop. The 

 next year it yielded an excellent cro[) of oats, and 

 for three years succeeding, more grass each year, 

 than had been cut from it any two of the thirty 

 preceding years. Now had this farmer been in- 

 telligent, he would not have believed, for a mo- 

 ment, that ploughing would injure that piece of 

 land. 



Another fact. This same farmer had a swamp, 

 covered with nothing but aldcr-brusli and dog- 

 wood, through which a brook run, that was used 

 for irrigating his mowing land. His father told 

 him that if that swamp were cleared, the brook 

 would dry up. But this grandson was faithless 

 here. He took his axe and stub-scythe, levelled 

 this swamp, burnt it over and put it under pro. 

 cess of reclaiming. But what became of the 

 hrook.' Why, it continued to run in its accus- 

 tomed channel, with the quantity of water, so far 

 as [lerceptible, undiminished. Here again, had 

 the farmer been well informed, he would have 

 known that clearing the swamp could have but 

 very little effect upon the brook. It laid it more 

 open to the sun's direct heat, which would sub- 

 ject the water to a little more rapid evaporation, 

 and that is all. But we have pursued the sub- 

 ject farther than we intended to, and will here 

 close. 



(From the Silk Cultilrist.) 

 Northampton-, Ms. Feb. 21, 1837. 



F. G. CoMSTOCK, Escj. 



Dear Sir : — Your views respecting the seed of 

 the Monis multicaulis, as expressed in your last 

 number, so nearly coincide with mine, and as ] 

 also receive frequent inquiries by letter, "if the 

 seed of the multicaulis will produce plants like 

 those from cuttings," I am induced to trouble 

 you with a few lines, that the matter may be de- 

 cided at onee. My answer has invariably been 

 that they would not, and that the plant would be 

 different, perhaps a superior or an inferior one, 

 much depending on where the seed was raised. 

 Seed from my own trees produced plains supe- 

 rior to the white, but much inferior to the origi- 

 nal seeds, which were imported from Canton, 3 

 years since, by Dr Stebbins, of this i)lace, and 

 which he was assured were from the multicaulis, 

 produced plants, which are in my Ojiinion, supe- 

 rior to the original leaves, quite as large, thick, 

 fine, smooth surface, and close jointed, and which 

 the worms will select, when mixed with others. 

 It is important for those who intenil feeding silk 

 worms, to provide a change of food, and not de- 

 pend on one sort alone. When worms are falling 

 off by disease, it will be t'ound of great service to 

 change the food from a watery, su( culent leaf, to 

 one of a drier nature ; lor that purpose, buddings 

 of some sortshould be had. IMalberry seed should 

 be procured from every country ; from some aj)- 



parently inferior, good sorts may be obtained. I 

 have selected plants with leaves eight inches over, 

 from a hedge of coiimion white mulberry, which, 

 by grafting and budding, may be increased to any 

 extent. There is probably no seed sown so lia- 

 ble to sport, as the ganlencrs term it, as the mul- 

 berry. I would therefore, forewarn nil who pur- 

 chase multicaulis seed, that if they expect to pro- 

 duce plants like tliose from cuttings, they will be 

 disa|)pointcd. It is much the chcpc^f and easiest 

 way to propagate this sort by cuttings. 



I am constantly receiving inquiries from the 

 west, as to the ratable value of the native Red 

 and Black mulberry for feeding silk worms. I 

 would certainly recommend to those who have 

 ihem within their reach to use them. But in the 

 mean time, to cultivate the finer sorts, as we can- 

 not afford to raise coarse silk in this country for 

 a few years, while the culture is in its infancy. — 

 Such silk may find a market, but it ?ifi'fr can com- 

 pete with silk from the multicaulis, or white mul- 

 berry, which can be raised at the same cost. Al- 

 most every person who notices the silk culture, 

 speaks of it as respects seivins; silk alone, wliile* 

 the main object, and that on which its ultimate 

 success will depend, is to produce jin article sui- 

 table for the finest fabrics, and consequently sui- 

 table for export. 



Every person who raises cocoons should reel 

 them, if possible, it will be made more profitable, 

 and give more general satisfaction. The seller 

 can, with his silk in the skein, go to such a mar- 

 ket as he chooses ; not so with the cocoons ; he 

 must go to the nearest purchaser, and take what 

 he chooses to give, or the cocoons will perish on 

 his hands. There is no mystery in reeling ; it 

 reiiuires patience for a day or two, and practice 

 will [)erfect the work. The sim|de Italian reel, 

 with the vibrating motion, is all the machinery 

 required. Many persons sujipose American im- 

 provements on the reel have done away with all 

 difficulties, and that now a machine can reel silk. 

 W hen we can teach the worm to spin its thread 

 of a uniform size, from the commencement to the 

 finishing of the cot^oon, we may talk of "machi- 

 nery doing the work." It is well known that the 

 thread of the silk worm varies nearly one half 

 from the commencement to the end of the co- 

 coon ! the whole art of reeling consists in keep- 

 ing up the running threads of an equal size, by 

 adding new ends as the thread appeals to run fi- 

 ner. I would therefore urge it 11)1011 all cultiva- 

 tors to preserve a simple reel of the value of five 

 or ten dollars, and leave the silk reeled on the 

 loom. A ten pound bundle of silk may be easi- 

 ly sent to market ; not so with ten bushels of co- 

 coons; a parcel often pounds, was sent me by a 

 farmer in October last, for which he received 

 $6 50 per pou:)(l, cash ; it was rais(^d from a small 

 piece of ground, nil in about six weeks. If 1 

 have not already wearied your patience, you may 

 hear from me agiun on the subject of the silk and 

 the mulberry. Respectfully, 



Samuel Whitmarsh. 



