HSS^HSLJJ 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



43 



I lios already attracled the aticniion of American ciil- 

 iirist8, and plausible tbeories have hecn announced 

 i\\" may c unlidonily prediei ihni when the subject has 

 Mce taken hold upon llie puhlic mind, as it surely 

 luist, peculiar systems will he unfolded, baaed uponn 

 iiuly of naiuial laws, and upon the application of sci- 

 ■mirtc principles. 



1 led upon burdleg consisting of a light frame ol 

 V lod three feet square, intersected every three inches 

 Villi broom wire. They were strong and light, and 

 .'111 upon groovci nailed to upright frames, so ihot 

 hey could tie drawn in and out nt pleasure, tbusallord- 

 nj> great fncilitiea to the operations of fcedini! and 

 ■lo'ining. These hurdles are cheap, and, materiuls 

 iiiUidcd, cost leis than two cents per siiuarc foot, and 

 irc very durable. 1 placed iheiii in tiers eight inches 

 isiiudet, and each tier was separated by a shelf a foot 



Width pl'iced on the same level with the hurdles, to 



1 'I.I the biuihwood for spinning. The hurdles were 

 overed with paper, and v>hen the worms lelt them 



r the spinning shelves, they were removed with the 

 ;isi remains of dirt. 



We should anticipate our prepniationafor spinning, 

 HI I may derive from our knowledge of the hnbiis of 

 iise insects, many practical upplioations. When it 

 11.1 ceased to «nt, the silk worm, for the fiist time in 

 It I'fe, mnnifesis a dispos'tion to ramble. Its desire 

 s I'l aicenl as fur as possible, and if no impediments 

 ;.xi&l, it will wander away many yards. Il it can 

 jossi'ily set to the ceiling it is perfectly satisfied with 

 ho corners and angles it discovers there. The entire 

 nirfnce of the ceiling can be rendered available, by 

 lailinii to it strips of board edgeways, and making 

 luitable communication with it and the feeding shell, 

 Khicb is perfectly practicable. It is a gieat objeit 

 •villi the culturist to get them out of the way, and 

 heir injitinets certainly harmonize with our wish'.s. 

 [ succeed in the following manner. My hurdle 

 rallies te in nated within two feel of the ceiling, and 

 hj« sp ice I Tided with green feme, supported upright, 

 iq( h'?>yever quite toucliing the ceiling. Underneath 

 ihis mass of brush, which occupied (i superficiol area 

 )f less than lorty square feet, we had an ni/gregate of 

 learly three hundred feet of hurdles. The commii- 

 liuation between the hurdles and the brushwood, was 

 jy means of rods and strips of boards nailed to the 

 inrdle frames so as nearly to touch the hurdlps. In 

 :bie way, with a little care, the entire family ascended 

 .0 the brushwood, which, in a fev/ days, was convert 

 id into a web of cocoons full forty pounds in weig -t. 

 Every huidle, of which there were thirty, was remov- 

 ed. An ingenious observation of these little erlists 

 ..illaiiggest a hundred ways of promoting their in- 

 jtructive'labors, and the culturist must make his otvn 

 lelections. 



From data acquired by practical experience I pro- 

 ticed to draw up u list of expenditures in cultivating 

 -Jk, which, under judicious management, 1 believe 

 will be found to appro.viniate actual resulis. But 1 

 must say th.nt there can bens stundard of costs, where 

 every thing depends upon skill, knowledge and judg- 

 ment: and smco the audocious falsehoods of mulberry 

 dealers have been circulated to accomplish their ob- 

 jecis, I h'lve looked upon published statements with 

 some distrust, and accordingly invite to my own the 

 sharpest seriitiny. Good land, with a warm rich mel- 

 Ijw eiil, will contain from 10,000 to 15,000 plants of 

 the multieanlis variety, and they may be computed to 

 yield 5,0i)l) lbs. and upwards of foliage. For this 

 arniuFitof fodder Kve ounces of egss will be required 

 t) be hatchel. producingfull 100,000 pocoons, aquau 

 lay :n lei~isiiffijienl to reel 35 lbs. of pure silk. It 

 B'-lls readily for $5 50 per lb., and would therefore 

 bung the gross sum of $193 50. 



EXPENDITURES.— for Foliage. 



Rent of lau'l,...., • $6 00 



Pr.'paration for planting, • 4 00 



Plnnung and dressing two or three times, .... 8 37 



Iniereston trees worth $100, 6 0>) 



Taking up trees, trimming, protecting, &c. . 5 72 

 For Feeding. 



One lad, 16 or 17, first two ages $6 00 



TN^olads " third age, 6 00 



T.iree " " fourth" 10 00 



F've " " fifth '■ 25 00 



Guiiering and curing cocoons, 5 00 



Iiiierest on 2.000 leet hurdles, worth $40,.. 2 4U 



" " apartment aod fi.\tures, 4 00 



Reeling 35 lbs of silk, 75c 26 25 



$114 74 



Net income for one year, $77 76 



The farmer must bear in mind that thia sum ta over 



and above a handsome compennation for labor, in lad, 

 thai if his danglitcrs perform the reeling, every dofnr 

 will remain with his faniily. Can persuasion be 

 wanted to induce bim '.o see if these things he so? 

 Here is no competition to f ighten him; the con- 

 sumption of the article is truly enormous, and no pro- 

 duct of the soil finds a quicker market. 1 will not, 

 however, weary you with further comments, but will 

 close this long letter by expicssing my belief, thot the 

 enterprise of cultivating silk in the United Slates will 

 speedily make its way against the tide of prejuilice and 

 derii^lon which now sets strongly against it, and that 

 silk will become one of the staple products of our 

 Iruiifulland. 



I am, dear sir, respectfully, 



Your ob't servant, 



JAMES DEANE. 



Mr. Colman, — 



Dear Sir — I take pleasure in acquainting you 

 with a very successful experiment in raising silk, 

 mnde by Mr. Benjamin Barton, of Gill, which I 

 deem to be so conclusive, that its publication is 

 well calculated to dispel the prejudices which ex- 

 ists against this important branch of agriculture. 

 The silk worms were reared by an invalid member 

 of the family, and the silk beautifully reeled by 

 his daughter, whose smallest daily product was 

 oue and one quarter pounds of superb silk of the 

 peaiuit variety. This fact may forever settle the 

 question of reeling, concerning the difficulties of 

 which so much has been said by those who know 

 nothing of the art. Miss Barton is a young lady 

 of intelligence, energy, and ingenuity, and will 

 reel without ditliculty in a perfect manner, two 

 pounds of silk of twenty fibres in a day. 



Partly at my suggestion, the details of this ex- 

 periment were accurately noticed. The weight of 

 eggs hatched was 2J oz. The worms spun in 28 

 and 29 days. The amount of leaves consumed 

 was 2500 lbs. The weight of cocoons was 248 lbs. 

 The weight of reeled silk was 20 lbs., and the 

 amount of labor was one month, that is, the first 

 half was greatly less than that, and the last days 

 something more. The building used, was a vacant 

 corn-house, which, of course should not enter into 

 the list of expenditures, and the fixtures were 

 merely temporary shelves of rough boards, and a 

 few hurdles to contain the larviE, during their three 

 first ages. Neither should there be any charge for 

 eggs, as a great quantity was produced for fiiture 

 use. The expenses therefore stand as follows ; 

 Labor, one month, $12 00 ; board do. $6, $18 00 

 2500 lbs. mulberry leaves, 50 cts. pr 100 lbs. 12 50 

 Gathering cocoons, camphor for curing do. 2 50 

 Reeling 20 lbs. silk at 75 cts. 15 00 



Interest on reel and fixtures, 1 00 



$49 00 

 And the income, 

 20 lbs. silk for which Mr. B. has refused 



S5 per pound, - - - $100 00 



The state bounty of 15 cents on 248 lbs. 



cocoons. - - - 37 00 



The state bounty of 50 cenfs on 20 lbs. 



reeled sUk, . . - 10 00 



Deduct, 



Profit, including bounty, 

 " excluding " 



$51 20 

 The reader will observe that the cost of cultiva- 

 tion, including every thing, was less than S2 50 

 per lb. and that it is very nearly covered by the 

 bounty of the Commonwealth. There is, more- 

 over, another fact that deserves peculiar attention. 

 The worms passed each entire ngc loithimt the remorul 

 of their litter J which service was only performed 

 immediately after moulting. The worms were re- 

 markably large and perfectly healthy ; they were 

 fed during their first three ages with chopped 

 leaves, and during their two last ages on branches. 

 This is unquestionably the best method ever adopt- 

 ed, to promote the perfection of the worm and its 

 economical management. It is in harmony with 

 the natural habits and the peculiar structure of 

 the silk worm, that when large, it shall extend and 

 repose itself upon the stems of those branches that 

 furnish its nutriment. The insect is thereby ele- 

 vated above its litter, it has a natm-al support for 

 its body, its respiration is uninterrupted, it is high 

 and dry above the fermenting mass of litter, and 



consequently an immense deal of fatiguing manual 

 labor may ho dispensed with. If we can dispense 

 with the di^lre^^ing labor of cleuuing silk worms, 

 except nl the period of moulting, we have nothing 

 more to desire ; that such is the fact, I cannot 

 doubt, for the instance I have just related, is but 

 one of the many, that the experience of this year 

 has disclosed. 



I hope this letter will be acceptable ; there is 

 such a degree of prejudice, hostility and ignorance 

 displayed by some leading organs of communica. 

 tion, that facts are either studiously suppressed, or 

 converted into contemptuous ridicule and surcn!>iii| 

 but truth will triumph still. 

 With great respect, 



I am always yours, 



JAMES DEANE. 



Gruvficld, Oct. 20, 1841. 



Uses of Water-Lime. 



Water-lime, if properly mixed and applied, forms a 

 water-tight coat wherever frost cannot penetrate ; 

 hence it is valuable for, 



1. The sides and bottoms of cisterns. These should 

 be covered at the top one foot in thickness with two 

 layers of white oak plank or slab!, (or other durable 

 wood) and an intermediate layer of the mortar. Then 

 cover with earth. Cisterns in cellars will not of course 

 need this covering. 



2. The bottom or fl«ors of cellars. The first coat 

 should be mixed with gravel, or pebbles not larger 

 than a hen's egg; the second, of sand, and smoothly 

 spread. Cellars which cannot be easily drained, may 

 be cheaply and effectually kept dry by thus coating 

 the bottom, and pla.stering the side walls to the neces- 

 sary height with water-lime mortar. The water will 

 be eflectually excluded, 



3. Baths, for bathing rooms in basements. These 

 may he finished as elegantly as of cut stone. 



4. Underground water-pipes, — by covering astraight 

 smooth wooden rod with the mortar, and withdrawing 

 it as soon as the mortar is set sufficiently, which will 

 be in a few seconds. The materials for this purpose 

 should be first rate, and the ditch dry and beaten hard. 

 The mortar should be mixed in small quantities at a 

 time. 



5. The basins of small ponds, for landscape garden- 

 ing, and watering cattle. For the latter, after the ce- 

 ment has become hardened, it should be covered one 

 foot with earth, and the surface then paved. But 

 where cattle do not enter the pond, and it docs not 

 freeze at the bottom, the rim only need be thus cov- 

 ered. 



Sharp, coarse sand, and even small pebbles, render 

 water-liine cement harder than fine sand. The pro- 

 portion of sand should generally be about twice that of 

 the lime, but this does not appear to be accurately de- 

 lermined — experiments on a small scale are easy. The 

 mortar sets best, when suffered to become quite dry, 

 before water is admitted in contact with it. 



J. J. T, 



Onondaga Salt.— See lo your Picliie 



We have recently heard much complaint of On- 

 ondaga fine salt. Hams, after being five weeks 

 immersed in strong pickle, were found to be fresh 

 in the centre. Lime is often used by the salt boil- 

 ers to discolor the sulphate of iron contained in 

 the brine ; this enables them to do without hitron 

 pans, which are used to take out from thebottom of 

 the kettle the red sulphate and also the ocherous 

 substances deposited by the brine ; this lime or the 

 other precipitates, form a coating on the salted 

 meat and prevent the thoroitgh absorption of salt. 

 Hence the frequent complaints of spoiled meat, 

 when salted with Onondaga fine salt. We would 

 advise all those who have old brine, to scald it 

 and skim it, if not sour ; if there is no blood in 

 the pickle, a little fresh blood will cleanse it the 

 .roughly, and render the brine pure, strong, and 

 caustick. "• " • 



