Silk Raising— Receipts—Scenery oil the Connecticut* 
49 
of no very great importance in itself, yet viewed in 
connection with the business of which it forms a part, 
it is infinitely so, as I consider the culture of silk a 
business which may be made of more importance to 
this ^country, than any ever introduced into it; not 
merely as respects the general benefit, but particular- 
tv so to the industrious cultivator of the soil, from the 
most wealthy and independent farmer down to the 
man who owns but three acres of land. And it pos¬ 
sesses one recommendation of which no other busi¬ 
ness can boast. It furnishes employment for those 
classes of society whose time is now useless—females 
and old people of both sexes, and children—who 
would do three-fourths of the labor in a business 
which would, in a short time, save millions of money 
to our country, and which, however great, would be 
hardly equal to the happy moral influence that the 
habits of industry would have on our youth. 
' That the soil and climate would be favorable to 
the culture, I have not a doubt, judging in part from 
my own experience. About ten or twelve years since, 
I saw a short treatise on the culture of silk, and be¬ 
lieving it might be made useful to a class of society 
which were almost suffering for want of employment, 
and having a few white mulberry trees in my garden 
which came there by accident, I succeeded in procu- 
ringsome eggs, through the influence of a friend, which 
coming too early for use, I put in a small tin box 
and sent to the cellar, where they remained until one 
warm day in June. The box was then covered with 
small black worms, and never having seen one, I did 
not suspect they Were the silk worm mitil on opening 
the box, I found the eggs mostly empty. I succeeded 
however, in saving about one hundred and fifty, which, 
on being put upon some leaves, ate most ravenously. 
They grew to a good size and gave me no trouble, 
until ready to wind their cocoons, when they were 
disposed to ramble, notwithstanding I had furnished 
every accommodation directed in my book, green bushes 
and dry. But they ran from them all, until I cut some 
thrifty sprouts from a Lombardy poplar, with fine 
large leaves, and had them suspended over their tray, 
the extreme end touching the bottom of the tray.— 
They appeared at once to be attracted by the odour, 
and began to go up; the leaves wilting, formed little 
funnels in which they soon went to work, and on tak¬ 
ing them down, there were several branches where 
almost every leaf contained a cocoon, of which I had 
145, having lost but three or four. I selected twenty 
for eggs. The remainder I wound, with the assistance 
of an old lady formerly of Mansfield, Conn., when 1 
demonstrated a fact which I had doubted, that many 
of the cocoons would produce more than ten knots, 
on a reel measuring 6 feet 2 inches round, and forty 
threads to a knot. The cocoons were of a delicate 
straw colour, except eight or ten of a deep orange, 
one of which I put into the water with the others, and 
the moment it broke was joined on again, so that not 
a thread was wanting, and it run to ten knots and 
about ten threads. I am more particular in naming 
this, that the yield may be compared with that of the 
silk producing countries. 
I made about eighty skeins of silk. Twenty-four 
of them I gave to a Benevolent Society, which 
brought them at a Fair 24 shillings. Most of the eggs 
I distributed among some of my friends, requesting 
them to give them to those who would be most likely 
to profit by them. I believe, however, that very little 
was done with them. As I commenced the business 
as mere matter of experiment, more for the benefit of 
others than myself, I gave it up after raising, the sec¬ 
ond year, a few hundred with the same success as the 
first,—fully believing that it would be commenced 
and carried on with the success at some future day. 
OCTOCTNi.RU. 
Corn bread or pudding. —Stir up one quart 
of Indian meal with milk, add two beaten eggs 
and a table spoonful of melted butter, pour the 
batter into a bakepan, and slowly bake either 
with coals on the lid, and sitting on them, or 
hung over the fire. This is a nice process, and 
upon the baking greatly depends the flavour of 
the bread. Eaten warm with butter, we have 
found it one of the most delicious kinds of bread 
we ever tasted. 
An effectual remedy for burns and scalds 
however extensive, if immediately applied. 
From a physician of Philadelphia, originally 
published in the U. S. Gazette. 
Take soot from a chimney where wood is 
burned, rub it fine and mix one part soot to 
three parts of hog’s lard, or any kind of fresh 
grease that is not salted, spread this on linen or 
muslin for more perfect adaptation. In very 
extensive burns the cloth should be torn into 
strips. No other application is required until 
the patient is well, except a repetition of this. 
ORIGINAL, CORRESPONDENCE. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
TSte Connecticut Valley. 
SCENERY, CATTLE, SHEEP, FARMING, ETC. 
Black-Rock, March, 1842. 
To one who admires charming scenery, a 
careful cultivation of the soil, and the enjoy¬ 
ment of a great degree of human comfort with 
moderate means, no region can be more inter¬ 
esting than that bordering the Connecticut river. 
The traveller, taking the stage coach at Hart¬ 
ford and crossing the noble stream in front oi 
the city, passes into the fine old town of East 
Hartford, and as he rides for miles under the 
shadow of those magnificent old elms which 
dignify the dwellings and streets, cannot but im¬ 
bibe a most profound respect for the hardy in¬ 
dustry and homely virtues of the ancient dwell¬ 
ers in that pleasant land ; and also admire the 
good taste of the present occupants who so grate¬ 
fully preserve these precious relief. Through¬ 
out East Windsor, in nearly its whole length 
along the river, the same beautiful street contin¬ 
ues, each side highly cultivated and dotted with 
comfortable farm houses; and occasionally a 
dwelling of modern erection, and of considera¬ 
ble architectural pretensions. These, with the 
neat and tasteful churches standing in every 
hamlet and village, give an air of cheerfulness 
and beauty to the scene not often surpassed. 
The cultivation of the valley is of the best in 
New-England. The broad and fertile bottoms 
of the Connecticut are heavily cropped with 
grass, Indian corn, and the smaller grains; 
while the light and comparatively poor soils of 
the uplands, afford either pasturage, orchards, 
