.\o. 4. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



55 



I i 111 row oar hat up as high as any oae in the 

 :ro\vJ. * 



LARD FOR OIL. 

 ,\nothcr prospect held out to the farmers is, that 

 of convcrlincc their lanl into oil ami candles. Lard 

 lias been used by many persons for lights, and has 

 been adopted, it is saidj in the light-houses in Can- 

 ada on the Lakes. 



' But it has now been discovered that oil ettual 

 to sperm can be easily extracted from lard, at 

 great advantage : and that it is superior to lard for 

 burning, without the necessity of a copper tubed 

 lamp. Eisiht pounds of lard are equal in weight 

 to one gallon of sperm oil. The whole of this is 

 converted into oil and stcarine, an article from 

 \'rhich candles, that are a good substitute for Sper- 

 maceti, can be made. Allowing then for the val- 

 ue of the stearine above the oil, and it may be 

 safrly calculated that when lard is six cents per 

 pound, as it is now but four or five cents at the 

 AVest, a gallon of oil can be aflorded there for fifty 

 ccr.ts ; since the candles from the stearine will sell 

 for from twenty-five to thirty ccnls per pound." 

 Now we are not certain, though we have read tliis 

 jpassage several times, that we understand the ele. 

 ments of this calculation. 



The quantity of oil obtained from eight pounds 

 of lard is not stated, nor the quantity of stearine. 

 But oil and stearine in sufficient quantities, as we 

 understand the statement, can be obtained from 

 eight pounds of lard to pay for the manufacture 

 and to produce a gallon of oil equal to sperm oil, 

 and of the value of 1, 50 cts. ; and as all this comes 

 from eight pounds of lard, the actual cost is only 

 the price of the lard, 4S or 50 cents. Under such 

 a process, how long may it be calculated that oil 

 v.-iU remain at 1,50 cts. per gallon, or spermaceti 

 candles at 25 to 30 cents per pound ? This certain- 

 ly, if we understand the statement, and we are by 

 no means certain that we do, is sufficient encour- 

 agement to make our hogs all lard if we can so 

 cor-trive it ; and especially, if it can be done upon 

 corn after the oil has been e.'ctracted. (See above, 

 page 54, column 3, line 8.) 



OIL FROM CASTOR BEAN. 

 The Report refers in the next place to the ex- 

 traction of stearine from the castor bean, which is 

 Slid to have been successfully practiced at Alton 

 in Illinois. We hope some oT our friends in that 

 region, if perchance they should see our humble 

 sheet, will give us without delay some information 

 on this subject, 



SILK. 

 On the subject of Silk the Report presents, it 

 must be admitted, some golden prospects. The 

 fact that in one year our importation of silk goods 

 'e.-iceeded 20,000,000 dollars, is very'<:'ften referred 

 to in discussing tho subject of silk growing ; but 

 we believe the average import for several years has 

 tot much exceeded from seven to twelve millions. 

 In 1S39-40 it little exceeded ten millions. This is 

 just ten millions too much. The Report calculates 

 that " should one person in a hundred of the -pop- 

 ulatioR of the United Stateij produce annually 100 

 lbs. of silk, the qu.antity would be nearly 18,000,- 

 000 pounds, which at S5 per pound [and much of 

 ft might command a higher price] would amount to 

 nearly $90,000,000, nearly $30,000,000 above our 



*.Since penDingthe .-itiove, we have sesa itstateii in some 

 e-Xch.-ingc paper, that forty tons of grceJl corn foJJer were 

 obtained from an acre in Worcester Co. Mass.; and at .i 

 laic ajrriciilturul meeting in Boston, the editor of tile New 

 Englanil Farmer is rcpcrtta in the Ploughman to li.ive said 

 th.at he iinilerstoortttiat liiO tons of green corn hadlieen cm 

 fr .m a single acre at three cuttings, in a season, and he had 

 known 37 tons cut on an acre at one time. 



AVe have no diaposition to impugn these statements in 

 tile smallest rae.^sure ; butwi? sliould be e.tceedingly g'ad to 

 know when and wliere th se crops were produced; and how 

 and n'henths ainutuit was asjertaineJ. 



whole cotton ctports, nine times the value of our 

 tobacco exports ; and nearly five or six times the 

 average value of our imports of silk." This is 

 what we call dreaming with one's eyes open. How 

 can sober men indulge in such calculations as 

 these ? What sort of a population have we that 

 one in a hundred, of the three millions o( slaves 

 too, shall produce one hundred pounds of silk each 

 annually, or at that rate ; and who can suppose 

 that if we should produce IS million pounds of 

 silk, that it would retain its price of five dollars 

 per pound, or indeed one half of it ? Why we 

 shoultf have to carpet our rooms with it and use it 

 for dish-cloths. 



But we found no difficulty in accounting for this 

 flight of the imagination in the Report, when we 

 came to look at the statistical tables obtained by 

 es/tmo«c, for 1S41. Here it is said that in Massa- 

 chusetts there were produced in the year 1841, — 

 198,432 lbs. of silk cocoons. Now we believe that 

 in the whole of Massachusetts there are scarcely 

 mulberry trees enough to feed the worms that 

 would be required to produce half that number of 

 cocoons. But we arenot withoutlight in thecase ; 

 and there are some facts which may wake us up 

 and bring us to our senses, if it is possible that we 

 have relied upon the returns in these statistical 

 tables, obtained by estimate. 

 •^'A law was passed in Massachusetts in 1.S36, al- 

 lowing a bounty of one dollar for every ten pounds 

 of silk cocoons produced in that state. Under that 

 law, the whole amount which clauned the bounty, 

 and this included likewise, all that were reeled or 

 thrown for four years from 1836 to 1S40, both in- 

 clusive, was 11,090 lbs. 1 oz., and of reeled and 

 thrown silk, 757 lbs. 8 oz. ; and in 1841, as return- 

 ed by the United States census, the whole amount 

 of silk cocoons produced in Massachusetts that 

 year, was 1,741 lbs, which is undoubtedly much 

 below the truth. But for 1841-2, we have the au- 

 thentic return to the Secretary's office of silk co- 

 coons claiming the state bounty, from 10th of Feb- 

 ruary, 1841, to 29th of January, 1842, amounting 

 to 27,219 lbs. 5 oz.,and 1390 lbs. 4 oz. of silk reel- 

 ed, which is included in the above cocoons. This 

 indeed is a most remarkable and encouraging in- 

 crease, but 27,219 lbs. does not look much like 193,- 

 432 lbs. We know Mr. Ellsworth would make no 

 mistatement nor willingly be imposed upon, with 

 all his enthusiasm for agricultural improvement ; 

 but we are sorry to see Mons. Tonsoiij of multi- 

 caulis memory, come again. 



STATISTICAL TABLES. 

 The Report presents a great many statistical 

 tables of agricultural products obtaiced for the 

 year 1841, by estimate. 



We would not be ccptiou- or fastidious in the 

 case. We think statistical knowledge of immense 

 importance. But at the same time We have little 

 confidence in returns which rest upon estimates 

 and not upon actual inquiry. Take again the case 

 of Massackuse'tls, in the article xif wheat. In the 

 return here for 1841, the amount is put dflwn at 

 189,571 bushels. Now in 1833-9, when, on ac- 

 count of the bounty perhaps, more wheat was 

 sowed in Massachusetts tha-n in any one year be- 

 fore, the returns to the Secretary's office amounted 

 to 108,570J bushels, from which 45J bushels were 

 to be deducted for %vrong returns. As the bounty 

 was not given where less than 15 bushels were 

 raised, there was some amount which was not 

 returned ; but it could not have been large. In 

 1840, as by the U. S. census, it amounted to 158,- 

 923J bushels. There is no reason to suppose 

 that the production has increased. There are 



many other returns which, as they do not agree 

 with informution which we decin certain, wc con- 

 sider as erroneous. Most certainly ilierc is no in- 

 tention to misstate ; and no wilful error ; but judg- 

 ment and opinion, or as it is termed, estimates, are 

 extremely uncertain in all matters of statistical 

 information, and there can be little hope of accu- 

 racy until Congress create a bureau or department 

 or commission for this very object ; ask returns 

 from the States, and the States on their part by a 

 very simple legislation, co-operate with Congress 

 in obtaining, with all practicable exactness from 

 year to year, this most desirable information. 

 AGRICULTURAL PATENTS ISSUED IN 1841: 

 Of the patents issued the last year for agricultii- 

 ral machinery, the following are among the arti- 

 cles ; — 



4 Bee Hives, 7 Ploughs, 

 2 Churns, 6 Seeding and planting 



5 Corn Sl'ieUers, machines. 

 2 Cultivators, 13 Smut Machines for 

 2 Hulling and Cleaning cl-aning grain. 



machirie for clover seed 1 Straw Cutter, 



rice and grains, 2 Threshing Machines. 



2 Mowing and Harvest- 1 Winnowing and Fan- 



ing machines, ning Machine. 



2 improvements in Scythes and Snaiths. 



The Report contains much other valuable matter 

 to which we mean to revert hereafter. 



For the Kctc Ccitcsec Farrntr. 

 Anti-Monsology. 



Thcye is perhaps no animal mol-c p-estifcrous to 

 the farmers than rats and mice. They sometimes 

 destroy hi3 seed when eo^ti, prey upon his crops 

 when growing, and when they are carefully secur- 

 ed after many a day of trilsome labor in the barn, 

 granary or cellar, they are sure to insinuate them- 

 selves into his reposi'orics to fee^t up.on and reck- 

 lessly Wlste his substance. Even winter, with its 

 penetrating frosts and piercing winds does not 

 retard their movements, nor does summer with its 

 sultry suns diminish aught from their labors. 

 When deep snows mantle the earth, they will, un- 

 less precautionary measures are taken to check 

 their labors,bark and destroy his young fruit and 

 shade trees, and then, when spriflg comes on, with 

 its genial suns to warm his heart into new efforts 

 of taste and utility, it sinks coldly witliin him, and 

 he often relinquishes his labors in the horrors of 

 despair. By stamping down the snow around 

 young trees and shrubs, the wholesale venders of 

 mischief may be nonsuited. The best way of 

 banishing them from mows or bins of grain, and 

 all similar places, we ever heard of, was scatter- 

 ing the branches of mentha viridis or common 

 spear mint about in the irfows when packing away 

 grain, or strewing it oyer the bins of grain, casks 

 of apples, &.C., exposed to their depredations. We 

 have tried it, so ht.ve our neighbors, and found it 

 to be efnctual. W. B. 



Mount Osceola, Feb. 1842. 



Squash Culture. 



This docs not differ eesciitbilly from the culture of 

 cucumbers and melons. Where they have too much 

 tendency to form vines, which materially affects and 

 dimmishcs the growth of the fruit, it is an excellent 

 practice to break off the end of the vines, and hoe earth 

 over it, thus diverting the juices of the plant from the 

 growth of the ™e to the fruit, thus increasing it size, 

 and at the same time, preventing the stalk from run- 

 ning over an undue quantity of land. 



Wc find baking the best method of cooking winter 

 squash for our palate, especially the green Valparaiso. 

 The process of baking requires no more labor than 

 boiUng where cooking stovca are in use, and the fla- 

 vor of'them is much increased, so as to recemble that of 



W B 



sweet potatoes. ii. «.'• 



Moimt Osccok, 1843. 



