145 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
use. This year, the crop though small, is a good one, 
and the seed large and plump. 
Barley and Oats are poor throughout the county, and 
less to appearance than half an average crop. After the 
seed was committed to the earth the latter part of April, 
there came heavy cold rains, followed by hot and dry 
weather, and the clayey soil became covered with such 
a hard crust that the young plants were a long time in 
penetrating it. Two months after sowing it, I had it in 
contemplation to plow and turn under both my barley 
and oats, but the hardness and dryness of the ground pre¬ 
vented it; and this day, (July 2^th,) I commence reap¬ 
ing a poor crop of barley and oats, prematurely ripe, 
having been less than three months growing. These 
crops cannot be cradled, but must be cut with a grass 
scythe, and be housed in hulk. Iii the winter I shall run 
them through the cutting box, and feed the straw and 
grain together. 
Corn .—The young plants were injured by a heavy frost 
on the 1st and 2d of June, and have subsequently felt the 
eifects of hot and dry weather, but the crop generally has 
withstood the drouth better than other crops, and now 
bids fair to be a good one. But if the dryness continues 
it may still be poor. 
Potatoes .—This crop will be a short one both early 
and late. The early planted were injured by frost, and 
then by heat; and those planted for a fall crop, were re¬ 
tarded in their growth by the drouth, and have begun to 
blossom before the plants have attained half their ordi¬ 
nary height. 
Cabbages .—This island usually affords a large crop of 
cabbages by field culture, but the young plants which 
have been transplanted from the seed bed to the fields, 
are very much retarded in their growth for the want of 
moisture, and will produce a poor crop. 
Garden Produce .—Vegetables of all kinds are injured, 
and some cut off by hot and dry weather. Peas, beans, 
carrots, parsneps, beets, melons, cucumbers and onions, 
are all up to this time, (July 24th,) languishing for rain. 
- This county, (Richmond,) surrounded by water with a 
wide bay^ and ocean on its south and easterly side, has 
usually a moist atmosphere, but there appears of late to 
be no humidity upon the land or in the air. During the 
driest of the weather we have not even had dew to re¬ 
fresh the parched earth. The ponds and the wells are 
drying up, and unless we soon have a copious supply of 
rain, cattle will also suffer from the effects of the drouth. 
The mowing grounds after harvest will afford no pasture, 
and man and beast will feel the want of rain more seri¬ 
ously than at present. But we are in the hands of the 
Almighty, to whom we must look and pray for a sea¬ 
sonable supply. 
These memoranda are forwarded to the Editors of the 
Cultivator, as matters of reference hereafter. Few per¬ 
sons have any desire to read such facts about the wea¬ 
ther, but they may be useful to a periodical joui-nal as af¬ 
fording the means of future comparison. 
The following is an abstract of the weather, beginning 
the first of June. The days not mentioned were gene¬ 
rally clear, hot and dry, but sometimes cool morning and 
evening. 
June 1st and 2d. A heavy frost, which injured the 
fields of Indian corn, beans, peas, and other garden ve¬ 
getables. 
June 3d. Cold shower with hail. 
June 6th. Warm light showers. 
June 11th. Light drizzling rainy day. 
June 14th. Heavy rain and cool. 
June 16th. Warm heavy showers, which revived the 
cornfields. 
June 29th. Heavy squall of wind with light shower. 
July 2d. Heavy squall of wind without rain, followed 
by a light rain at night. 
July 5th. Light sprinkling of rain. 
July 7th. Light sprinkling of rain. 
July 10th. Threatening clouds, but no rain. 
July 11th. Cloudy, with light rain. Ground parched, 
and crops suffering for want of moisture. 
July 12th. Threatening clouds but no rain. 
July I7th. Cloudy with light showers. 
July 19th. Heavy refreshing shower, which continued 
nearly an hour. 
July 22d. Again hot and dry. The first perceptible 
effect of the rain of the 19th has disappeared, and the 
ground is again parched. 
July 24th. Still hot and dry, and all nature in a lan¬ 
guishing state. 
From the 8th to the 18th of Jul}’’, the drouth was some¬ 
what mitigated by cloudy intervals threatening rain, but 
never were appearances more deceptive. It is said that 
all signs fail'in a drouth, and so it has happened in these 
intervals, when myself, my neighbors, and everybody 
who pretended to be weatherwise, predicted rain daily 
from the appearances of the clouds. But the clouds pass¬ 
ed away and the rain came not, at least to this part of 
the island, (south side,) from which I write. The clouds 
might have dropped I’ain on other parts, but they mostly 
blew over in squalls, or left a light impression behind, 
as on the 2d, 5th and 7th July. Yet these clouds poured 
down rain, as we could see, upon the ocean to the east 
of us, and upon the hills of Monmouth co. in New Jer¬ 
sey, to the south of us. From your friend, and the friend 
of agriculture. Richmond. 
Oaldand Farm, Staten Island, .July 2ith, 1843. 
The Autumnal exhibition of the Pennsylvania Horti¬ 
cultural Society, will bo held on the 20th, 2Ut and 22d 
of September. 
CHIMNEY CAPS AND VENTILATORS.—(Fig. 68.) 
Messes. Gaylord & TticiCEH—To test the real value 
of the various Chimney Caps and Ventilators in use, I 
have made, during the past twelve months, many expe¬ 
riments, in most of which I have been assisted by Tho¬ 
mas Evvbank, Esq. of this city. Many caps were sent to 
me for trial by others. The experiments were witnessed 
by members of the American and Mechanic’s Institutes, 
and several other scientific gentlemen, who were much 
interested, and expressed their surprise at the results. 
Trials were made in the following manner:—A glass 
tube of 1 inch bore and 18 inches long, was provided; 
on the top of this tube the various caps were placed; the 
lower end of the tube was immersed in a vessel of water, 
the upper end with the cap, each in turn, was placed in 
the blast produced by a blowing apparatus driven by a 
six horse steam engine, used for melting iron in my 
foundry at Morrisania. The blast was through a six inch 
pipe contracted to three inches, the caps being placed 
about 12 inches from the pipe, so that the wind could 
have free action on the outside as well as inside of those 
caps that were hollow. 
More than one hundred caps were tried, consisting of 
the various kinds in use in this country and in Europe. 
The experiments were repeated several times with the 
same results. The mode of experimenting is here illus¬ 
trated. A. represents the blowing pipe. 
The results with the better kinds in use, were as fol¬ 
lows : (the dark part of the tube showing the height the 
water was raised:) 
No. 1, is a common T. vrith the cross pipe of a con¬ 
tinuous diameter. When the blast was directly through 
the cross pipe, it had a tendency to depress the water in 
the glass tube. 
No. 2, is the same cap turned at a right angle to the 
wind, when the water rose from 1| to 2 inches. 
Note .—These two experiments will explain why, in 
some instances, the brick arch or hood on the top of a 
chimney will in some cases prevent smoking, and in 
others entirely fail. If the adverse wind blow against 
the open end, the chimney will smoke worse than if 
without a cap; if it blow against the side of the arch, 
the smoking will probably be obviated. 
No. 3, is a well known and common cap. With this 
the water rose from 2 to 2^ inches. 
No. 4, is a common elbow, with the blind side to the 
blast. The water rose from IJ to 2 inches. 
No. 5, is the conical ventilator, with the point to the 
wind. The water rose 3^ inches. This cap was tried 
with the side forming a right angle with the blast; in 
that position the water rose 5 inches. 
No. 6, is a cap much used and highly prized in Boston 
and other places in the eastern states. It has a small tube 
in the end next the blast opening in the large cross cap, 
as shown by the cut. With this the water was raised 4^ 
inches, which was higher than any other (except with 
the cone, when placed with its side to the wind,) pre¬ 
vious to the trials with 7 and 8. 
No. 7, it will be seen is two conical frustrums, joined 
at their smaller ends to a center ci’oss pipe. With this 
cap, either end to the wind, the water rose to the full 
length of the glass tube, 18 inches, and was blown out 
the opposite end. Trial was made again and again with 
this cap, at a right and other angles to the blast, and in 
every instance the water was raised from 7 inches up¬ 
wards. A board was placed behind, on the side, and in 
every mpite, to break or deflect the blast, yet the water 
rose in the tube. This is a very simple cap, easy of con¬ 
struction, and not likely to get out of order, as it differs 
from most others in being stationary. 
No. 8, is a single conical frustrum, with the smaller 
end to the wind: the effect was the same as in No. 7. 
With the open end to the blast, the water was raised the 
length of the tube, and blown out the opposite end. 
Having the apparatus by which the above experiments 
were made ready for use, I will cheerfully loan it, fur¬ 
nish the size of the ferule, and grant any facility to any 
person who may have a cap that he thinks will answer 
the purpose of a ventilator. Jordan L. Mott, 
New-York, Aug. 1843. 264 and 266 Water st. 
THE SILK BUSINESS. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —It is scarcely admissi¬ 
ble of a doubt, that the United States will yet be largely 
engaged in the manufacture of silk. The best varieties 
of the mulberry will flourish well throughout a large ex¬ 
tent of our territory, and the worm is every where easily 
reared. Land of the best quality may be had cheap, in 
locations where the climate is most farvorable to the 
worm and the tree. But there have been, and still are, 
some obstacles in the way of a successful prosecution of 
this business. These obstacles may be chiefly enumera¬ 
ted as follows: 
1. Having derived our silk fabrics from foreign coun¬ 
tries, we are at present unacquainted with the manufac¬ 
ture, and cannot engage in it without the risk and liabili¬ 
ty to loss, which always attends an undertaking that has 
not the light and benefit of experience to guide its ope¬ 
rations. Partial failures and losses, are frequently, if 
not generally sustained, in the commencement of a busi¬ 
ness in which the operator has no experience, even 
where the most perfect success is ultimately attained. 
The losses and failures attending the outset of a business, 
are therefore no evidence against its final success and 
profitableness. 
2. The labor required both in feeding the worm and 
in the manufacture of the silk, is very much cheaper in 
those countries which have heretofore supplied us with 
silk goods, than it is here; and this cheapness of labor, 
added to the comparatively low rate of interest on capi¬ 
tal in those countries, allows the foreign article to be 
brought into our markets and sold at so low prices, that 
our people dare not incur the risk of starting the business 
here, without some additional guaranty against loss in 
the beginning. 
These, I believe, constitute the principal objections to 
the silk business in this country. Now, how can they 
be removed? or would the business be of sufficient bene¬ 
fit to this country to justifj' an effort to remove those ob¬ 
jections, and establish the manufacture among us? I 
think it can hardly be doubted by any one, that the suc¬ 
cessful establishment of the silk manufacture in this coun¬ 
try, would be a national benefit. Our annual purchases 
of this description of goods, averaging some twenty mil¬ 
lions of dollars, are of necessity paid for chiefly in spe¬ 
cie, because the foreigner wants few or none of the pro¬ 
ducts of our soil and labor, and if we buy Of him we 
must pay the cash. By manufacturing these goods here, 
we save the money at home, and distribute it among our 
laborers—adding to their comfort, and aiding them and 
our country to true independence. 
Let us then consider the objections and their removal. 
The absolute certainty that this branch of industry, in all 
its departments, is perfectly practicable here, and the 
certainty, also, that if once established it would be bene¬ 
ficial to the country, are, it seems to me, reasons suffi¬ 
ciently strong to justify the government in extending to 
it a special protection—such protection or encouragement 
as would furnish inducement to undertake the business, 
and afford some guaranty against the liability to loss at¬ 
tendant on an untried enterprise. Excepting in the out¬ 
set of\the business,while ils various processes arc not un¬ 
derstood, and the best mode of management has not been 
discovered, it is confidently believed that no extra pro¬ 
tection will be needed. It is thought by those who have 
had the most experience in the silk manufacture here, 
that if we can once make a fair beginning, and be in¬ 
demnified against lost, we shall, by the use of improved 
machinery, and by adopting better and more simple 
modes of manufacture, be fully able to produce silk fa¬ 
brics as cheaply as they can be produced in any part of 
the world. I will offer some practical proof of the 
soundness of this idea. It is well known that in the cot¬ 
ton manufacture we have made such improvements in 
machinery, that we are now able to supply some articles 
at a lower price in the foreign markets, than the English 
manufacturer can sell them. Low as the foreign opera¬ 
tives are forced to work, the manufacturer cannot bring 
his animal machinery into successful competition with 
the machinery invented by our ingenious mechanics. 
But without a protection in the beginning, the cotton 
manufacture could not have been established in our coun¬ 
try, and this improved machineiy, which has so much 
cheapened the price of cotton fabrics, would never have 
been invented. It is believed that the same results will 
follow the establishment of the silk manufacture, that 
have attended that of cotton. In countries densely popu¬ 
lated, where the laborer is anxiously seeking employment 
for a mere pittance—(a subsistence, in many cases it can 
hardly be called,)—there is no inducement to substitute 
machinery for matiual labor. In fact, if such an attempt 
was made, it would, by depriving the poor laborers of 
the only means they now have of procuring sufficient 
sustenance-to support life, occasion revolutionary vio¬ 
lence,—and the probability is that the machinery, if not 
the owners, w^ould be quickly demolished. It is, there¬ 
fore, to be expected that in those countries where labor 
is cheapest and population most numerous, implements 
and machines will be least used, and the few that are 
