THE CULTIVATOR. 
The Value of Turnips. 
“ The introduction and cultivation of green crops,” says 
the London Farmers’ Magazine, “constitutes an era in the 
history of agriculture, not less important, or less valuable, 
than any of the splendid discoveries w'hich have added so 
much to the value of other arts, and though some real, or ra¬ 
ther supposed causes, have retarded a more extensive and ea¬ 
sily practicable cultivation, the progress hitherto made, has 
doubled our agricultural produce, has afforded a better and 
more regular supply of food, and has added to the general 
comforts of every class of society. An extended cultivation 
of green crops, (roots and clover,) joined with our more mo¬ 
dern discoveries, would nearly again double our agricultural 
produce; and the day is fast approaching, -when all restric¬ 
tions and fetters imposed by ignorance, prejudice and power, 
must snap before the march of intellect, and our common 
wants, and allow the cultivation of this art to proceed with 
other arts, and to take advantage of every known means of 
improvement, to supply the primary and indispensable requi¬ 
sites of life. Self-interest and individual gratification must 
ultimately give way to the general good.’ 
Here is an opinion expressed, after a half century’s 
experience, on a broad scale, that green crops, consist¬ 
ing principally of turnips and clover, have doubled the 
agricultural products of Great Britain; and that an ex¬ 
tended cultivation of these crops might be made again 
to double her products. The turnip culture had all the 
insect enemies to combat, and all the prejudices to over¬ 
come, in Great Britain, which it has now to encounter 
among us; yet it has triumphed, and the land has been 
enriched, and the farmers prospered. It is not so much 
the immediate profit of the crop, as the tendency to im¬ 
prove the fertility of the farm, that gives to green crops 
their intrinsic merit. They afford a profitable means of 
increasing the fertility of the soil, which no other class 
of crops can furnish. 
It is true, that in England, the main turnip crop is fed 
off by stock, or drawn and fed in an adjoining field, the 
economy of which practice is, however, questioned by 
many intelligent English farmers. Francis Blaikie, in 
the Farmers’ Magazine, states his practice to be, to 
draw his Swedes in November, top them and cart them 
to an orchard, or other old turf, where they are placed, 
as he expresses it—that is, the bulbs are placed so close 
as to touch each other, tops up, and one tier deep. In 
severe weather, a slight covering of litter, here it might 
be earth, is thrown upon them. In such situations, says 
Mr. Blaikie, we have had them keep aood till midsum¬ 
mer—if under a shade, the better. They strike fresh 
fibres into the ground; they are not liable to rot, nor 
will they become too dry for use. This hint deserves 
notice from our farmers. Although kept in pits in 
winter, they might be thus advantageously placed in 
early spring, and thus preserved for late feeding—the 
Swede enduring a considerable degree of frost without 
injury. 
In a subsequent communication, Mr. Blaikie states, 
that he had preserved several acres of turnips in the 
manner above described; that they remained the whole 
winter without affy covering, except by occasional falls 
of snow; that they were very little injured by the wea¬ 
ther, while two-thirds of the remainder of the same 
crop, left in the fields, perished and became rotten; and 
that at the date of his writing, April 6, he had quanti¬ 
ties remaining in fine condition. 
Anglo-Meriuo Sheep. 
This is the name given to a new breed of sheep in 
England, produced by a cross between the Merino and 
English long-woolled sheep, which has been brought to a 
state of excellence by L ord Wester n. Fine samples of this 
cross attracted admiration at the last Smithfield cattle 
show, and have been since the subject ol'frequent comment 
in the British agricultural periodicals. In the March num¬ 
ber of the (London) Farmers’ Magazine, we find a let¬ 
ter from Lord Western, accompanied by documentary 
proof, setting forth the high value of this new breed, as 
regards both carcass and fleece. The object of his 
lordship was to implant the Merino wool on the Leices¬ 
ter carcass; and although he admits that his sheep may 
not fat so early, or come to the size of the improved 
South-Down, still less to the weight of the Leicester, 
yet they give a handsome carcass, and carry a heavy 
fleece of equal to Merino wool; and are, withal, an im¬ 
provement in hardiness, upon the pure Merinos. The 
carcasses of some of his shearling wethers weighed 
150 lbs. 20 to 25 lbs. of which was gut fat; and his two 
shears weighed a little more. The wool of the cross¬ 
breed averaged over 5£ lbs. in a flock of 201 sheep. 
Mildew on Grapes. 
A. J. Downing, a good authority, states, in the Hor¬ 
ticultural Magazine, that foreign grapes, as the Sweel- 
water, Chasselas, &c. may be preserved from mildew, 
by securing an annual succession of new plants, which 
is effected with very little trouble, by layering a thrifty 
shoot of the old vine in June, of some five to eight feet 
in length, xvhich takes root, and produces fruit for one 
or two seasons, not subject to mildew. The layer is 
separated the next season, and the old plant dug up and 
thrown away. Ii is a common remark, that the foreign 
grape will be free from mildew one or two seasons after 
it comes into bearing, but that it is afterwards subject 
to mildew. The cause lias not been satisfactorily ex¬ 
plained. The finest vine of a foreign grape which we 
ever saw, grew in the garden of the late Judge Scott, of 
Catskill. We saw it in several successive years, when 
the fruit was at maturity, and it had no appearance of 
mildew. This exemption from mildew, the Judge as¬ 
cribed to the circumstance of his having placed a large 
fiat stone in the bottom of the hole before planting his 
vine—and which prevented the roots from penetrating 
the subsoil, the conjectural cause of the mildew. 
Silk Manuals and Silk Periodicals. 
There has been recently published, or republished, 
Silk Manuals, by Cobb, Kenrick and Whitmarsh, of 
Massachusetts, by Dennis of Rhode-Island, and by Ro¬ 
berts of Maryland. Of these we have seen Whitmarsh’s, 
of which we have spoken, and Dennis’s. Roberts has 
been complimented, in a substantial manner, by the le¬ 
gislature of Pennsylvania, who have resolved to pur¬ 
chase fifteen hundred copies of the author, E. R. Ro¬ 
berts, editor of the Farmer and Gardener, for distribu¬ 
tion among the inhabitants of that State. Every silk 
grower should possess one of these manuals. 
There are also now published, in the Atlantic states, 
the following periodicals, devoted almost wholly to the 
silk business, besides several, we believe, in the west¬ 
ern states, which will also be found highly useful in the 
management of the mulberry and the silk-worm, viz. 
Journal of the American Silk Society and Rural Econo¬ 
mist, published at Baltimore, Md. at $2 per annum—ad¬ 
dress G. B. Smith; the Silk Culturist, published at Wea- 
thersfield, Ct. by Judge Comstock; the American Silk 
Grower, published at Philadelphia, by Ward Cheeney 
& Brothers, the Southern Silk Grower, published at 
Baltimore, by E. Y. Reese ; and another is published at 
Keene, N. H. the title and publisher of which are un¬ 
known te us. 
Mr. Dennis’s Silk Manual contains more than a hun¬ 
dred pages in small type. From the cursory perusal 
which we have given it, we are of opinion that it will 
serve as an excellent guide to beginners, and that it con¬ 
tains much valuable matter, in relation to rearing the 
mulberry, the management of the worms, and the ma 
nufacture of silk, which may be useful to those who 
may claim to be proficients in the business. We subjoin 
Mr. Dennis’s 
“twenty-two reasons 
“ Why the Farmers of the United States should raise Mulberry 
Trees and Silk. 
“ 1. Because it is a very certain crop. 
“ 2. Because silk is as easy raised as wheat, and much less 
laborious. 
“3. Because raw silk, or cocoons, will command cash in 
the market, and at a handsome profit to the producer 
“ 4. Because a pound of silk can be raised to a much greater 
profit than a pound of woo!. 
“ 5. Because three pounds of silk can be produced from the 
same land that would produce one pound of wool. 
“ 6. Because one pound of raw silk will sell for six dollars, 
and one pound of wool for fifty cents. 
“ 7. Because the labor of raising silk is performed in six 
weeks, while the labor of taking care of sheep, and providing 
them with food, lasts all the year. 
“ 8. Because the labor may be performed by children, or 
feeble persons, whose services would be worth very little for 
any other purpose. 
“9. Because there can be considerable quantities raised, 
without materially diminishing the other products of the 
farm. 
“10. Because the climate and soil are as well, if not bet¬ 
ter, adapted to the growth of the mulberry and the production 
of silk, than any part of Europe. 
“ 11. Because there is no probability, and scarcely a pos¬ 
sibility, of the business being overdone. 
“ 12. Because mulberry trees are easier raised than almost 
any other tree. 
“ 13. Because the timber of the mulberry tree is worth as 
much a3 locust, for building ships, fences, or any other pur¬ 
pose. 
“14. Because large mulberry trees injure the crops grow¬ 
ing under them, less than almost any other tree. 
“15. Because mulberry leaves, when green, are greedily 
eaten by cattle, hogs, and sheep; when cured like grass to 
make hay, are an excellent food for cattle and sheep. 
“ 16. Because land cultivated with mulberry trees, and the 
litter from the worms spread upon it, would be impoverished 
less than if cultivated with almost any other crop. 
“ 17. Because it will cost no more to transport a pound of 
silk to market, that will sell for six dollars, than it would to 
transport a pound of bread stuff, that would sell for six cents. 
“ 18. Because the small sum of five dollars, or even one, 
expended in purchasing mulberry seeds and cuttings, with a 
little care in cultivation for a few years, will enable a farmer 
to produce considerable quantities of silk. 
“ 19. Because the eggs can be kept in an ice house until 
the middle or last of the seventh month, (July,) and then the 
worms can be hatched and fed after the busy season of mow¬ 
ing or harvest is over. 
“20. Because the man, with a little land, who has a fami¬ 
ly, can increase his mulberry trees and keep his family em¬ 
ployed at home, without the risk of sending them abroad for 
employment, Where they would be liable to have their morals 
corrupted. 
“ 21. Because it would relieve the nation from paying mil¬ 
lions of dollars annually, to other nations for silk. 
“22. Because there are twenty or twenty-five silk manu¬ 
factories already established, several of which have been 
stopped, waiting for the importations of raw silk.” 
Agricultural Periodicals, 
Have been multiplied among us till their number ex¬ 
ceeds thirty in the United States, and even the family of 
“ Cultivators” has increased to six or seven—in 1819. there 
was but one—and the correspondents to these journals 
have become so numerous, that it is impossible for any 
one editor to copy from others all, or but a small portion, 
of what he may find in them, interesting and profitable to 
his readers. Original communications, possessing or¬ 
dinary merit, are ever entitled to precedence; and every 
editor feels himself under obligation to labor somewhat 
personally in his vocation. We have ourselves felt em¬ 
barrassed for want of room to insert articles of merit 
which have originated in other agricultural journals; 
67 
but have been obliged, from the number of our corres¬ 
pondents, with whom we are desirous of maintaining a 
good understanding, to forego this satisfaction. The 
truth is, that although every agricultural journal may 
contain many good things, no one of them is capable of 
publishing all the good things which are issued from 
the agricultural press, and which are calculated to im¬ 
prove the soil and the mind. 
Under this situation of things, we submit to the con¬ 
sideration of the independent farmer, whether he will 
not find it to his interest, and that of his sons, to extend 
his patronage to more than one of these journals—whe¬ 
ther ten dollars, the price of a daily political journal, 
might not be profitably expended in this way, in the 
subscription to half a dozen agricultural journals. 
The editors of the Farmers’ Cabinet, Philadelphia, 
appreciating these facts, and to meet the requests of 
their friends, have offered io become local agents for all 
agricultural works. We meet their offer in a spirit of 
liberal feeling, and tender a reciprocity of favors. Sub¬ 
scriptions for the Farmers’ Cabinet, or any other agri¬ 
cultural periodica], will be received at the office of the 
Cultivator. 
Horticultural Publications. 
Robert Buist, of Philadelphia, one of our best 
practical gardeners, has just published The American 
Flower Garden Directory, containing ample directions 
for the selection of flowers, and for their management 
in the garden, green house, parlor, &c.—400 pages. 
E. Sayres, formerly of this city, has published at 
Boston, The American Fruit Garden Companion, being 
a treatise on the propagation and culture of fruits in the 
middle and northern states—170 pages 12mo. 
Although we have been presented with the latter of 
these works, we have not had time to give it that exami¬ 
nation which will justify us in speaking of its merits. 
The Season 
Has hitherto been very auspicious, and so far the 
prospect of an abundant harvest is highly encouraging. 
Our correspondent at Emmettsburgh, Md. writes, “the 
wheat in this county bids fair to be considerably over an 
average crop.” We have heard the prospects spoken 
of as flattering from most parts of the country, without 
any material drawback. The clover has suffered consi¬ 
derably from the want of its accustomed fleecy covering 
in winter. The weather in April was unusually warm, 
vegetation shot forth luxuriantly, and the season on the 
first of May was two weeks earlier than usual. 
Since writing the above notice, we have made a tour 
as far south as Philadelphia. From personal observa¬ 
tion, and from the information of travellers, we are 
fully confirmed in the opinion, that the harvest prospects 
of the winter grain crop are almost every where propi¬ 
tious. 
The Tendency of Rail-Roads 
Seems to be, to retard the growth of small cities, or 
at least to concentrate business more in the large ones, 
to which they greatly shorten distances. We lately took 
the rail-road through New-Jersey, in order to see the 
cities of Newark, New-Brunswick and Trenton, and 
the villages of Elizabethtown, Princeton, &c. but to our 
surprise, we did not pass through any of them, and some 
of them we had hardly a distant view of. Where rail¬ 
roads have been constructed, they now engross almost 
the (entire travel; and the traveller seldom stops more 
than five or ten minutes, at any intermediate points, un- 
less he has special business to detain him. In moving 
at the rate of one hundred miles in six hours, one has 
hardly an opportunity of seeing the country, much less 
of seeing, or doing business, in the towns and villages. 
New-York Geological Report. 
The Reports communicated to the Legislature at the 
recent session, of several of the gentlemen belonging to 
the geological corps, comprises about 350 pages, and 
contains many matters interesting to the farmer. We 
shall endeavor to select the most interesting of these 
for publication, particularly those which develop mine¬ 
ral and vegetable sources of fertility. 
The fii st communication is from Messrs. Emmons and 
Hall, suggesting the propriety of a suitable building 
being prepared for the reception and arrangement of 
the specimens collected by the gentlemen engaged in the 
geological survey—a suggestion which highly merited, 
but which we believe did not receive, the efficient con¬ 
sideration of the legislature. These specimens will be 
of incalculable benefit in future time—they will consti¬ 
tute a museum of the natural productions of our state— 
animal, vegetable and mineral—of great interest to the 
naturalist, and of essential use to the farmer and me¬ 
chanic. And when we consider that the number of mi¬ 
nerals, fossils, &c. will probably exceed 4,000, the im¬ 
portance of the state providing a suitable place for their 
deposite and classification, must be apparent to all._ 
We pay some 120 to $150,000 for the geological survey; 
and the money will be well expended, if we profit, as 
we may, from the labors of the corps. We are afraid 
however, that like the labors of agriculture, the valua¬ 
ble services of this corps, will be treated by our legisla¬ 
tures, as of minor importance, when put in competition 
with party politics and rail-roads. We shall be exceed- 
ingly happy to acknowledge ourselves mistaken in this 
opinion. 
The second article in the governor’s communication is. 
the report of Dr. L. C. Beck, on the Mineralogical and 
Chemical Department of' the survey. The report com 
