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THE CULTIVATOR. 
193 
*35 
of water rotting, and to the tedious operation of dressing it by hand. 
We are disposed to give instructions upon the first head, and beg 
that some gentleman, acquainted with the best process of extract¬ 
ing the fibre from the shive, will assist us to do it on the other, in 
the hope of preventing the further waste of a material essential to 
our manufactures and our comfort. 
The process of water rotting flax is simple, and lasts but 10 or 12 
days. It consists in preparing a pool or pond, near a stream, or 
where water is at command, of sufficient capacity, into which the 
water may be introduced, and suffered to become warm. The flax 
is placed in this in small bundles, and kept beneath the surface by 
boards or plank and weights, until, by repeated examinations after 
the 7th day, it is found that the fibre will separate freely, when it is 
taken out, unbound and spread evenly upon the grass a few days to 
dry and bleach ; and for coarse fabrics, it need only be suffered to 
dry. 
It may be well to add, that flax does best on a light wheat soil, 
perfectly pulverized,—that it should be put in with a bush harrow, 
and then rolled. An Irish report upon the culture of flax, recom¬ 
mends an open, black, loomy soil, enriched by having lain long in 
pasture, as being superior to a clay, or any other soil; and that ei¬ 
ther on the first or second crop after pasture, they have always 
found it to do better than after potatoes or turnips. 
The sheaves, being made small, are placed in the pit, crosswise 
upon each other, until the pile rises to within six inches of the sur¬ 
face, when it is strewed with rushes, straw or any coarse rubbish, 
and loaded with blocks or stone to keep them down or suspended. 
The pit should not exceed six feet in depth, as otherwise it will not 
acquire the requisite or uniform warmth; the water should be 
clear and soft., though stagnant during the rotting process—the 
steeping being designed to effect a partial rotting by means of fer¬ 
mentation. The pit should not be shaded, as the sun and air should 
freely act upon it. The water in which flax has been steeped 
should not be given to cattle ; but it affords a good liquid manure. 
Mr. Billings says, in his Survey of Somersetshire, that he has found 
its effects, when applied to pasture lands by watering carts, to ad¬ 
vance the land in value ten shillings per acre. He considered it su¬ 
perior to animal urine. It derives its fertilizing properties from the 
gummy matter separated from the flax in the steeping process. 
The Flemish mode of steeping flax, as described in Radclifl’s 
Flanders, is said to improve the quality of the lint greatly, to in¬ 
crease its whiteness, and to effect a saving of 10 per cent, in the 
product. It consists in placing the bundles in the steep vertically, 
instead of horizontally, as is the usual practice; in immersing the 
flax by means of transverse sticks, with that degree of weight an¬ 
nexed which shall not push it down to the bottom, but leave it the 
power to descend spontaneously towards the conclusion of the 
steepage ; and of leaving at first a space of at least six inches be¬ 
tween the bottom and the roots of the flax. The spontaneous de¬ 
scent of the flax is an indication of-its being sufficiently steeped; 
and the strength and quality of the fibre are said to be much better 
preserved by this mode, in which the temperature of the atmosphere 
acts with more force upon the upper part of the plant, which con¬ 
taining the most gum, needs it most. Radcliffe gives the dimensions 
of a Flemish pool as two rods long, one rod wide, and six feet deep.— 
Clear and soft water is preferred. 
Loudon speaks of a practice, of recent introduction in England, of 
breaking and dressing both hemp and flax without rotting ; and he 
gives a drawing of Hill and Bundy’s machines for performing the 
process, without describing them or their mode of operation ; but he 
does not leave us to doubt of its being a great improvement, calcu¬ 
lated to abridge greatly the labor and expense of the process. “ The 
machines are portable,” says he, “and may be worked in bams or 
any kind of out-houses; they are also well calculated for work-hous¬ 
es or charitable institutions ; a great part of the work being so light 
that it may be done by children and infirm persons; and such is the 
construction and simplicity of the machines, that no previous instruc¬ 
tion or practice is required. The woody part of the hemp or flax is 
removed by a very simple machine; and, by passing through a 
second machine equally simple, the flax may be brought to any de¬ 
gree of fineness, equal to the best used in France and the Nether¬ 
lands, for the finest lace and cambrick. The original length of the 
fibre, as well as its strength, remain unimpaired; and the difference 
in the product is immense, being nearly two-thirds—one ton of flax 
being produced from four tons of stem. The expense of working 
each ton obtained by this method is only five pounds [about $22,] 
The glutinous matter may be removed by soap and water only, 
which will bring the flax to such perfect whiteness, that no further 
bleaching is necessary, even after the linen is woven; and the 
whole process of preparing flax may be completed in six days.”—» 
Enc. of Ag. p. 850. 
Hill and Bundy’s machines, according to this veritable author, 
would have given to the immense quantity of flax thrown away in 
the west, an intrinsic value of fifty dollars to every ton of stems— 
and it amounted, we think probable, to some hundreds of tons. It 
stands the manufacturer at least in hand, to inquire into the cha¬ 
racter of these machines, and to procure their introduction into the 
country. 
Compost. —Mixing farm-yard dung, in a state of fermentation, 
with earth, in which there is much inert vegetable matter, as the 
banks of old ditches, or what is collected from the sides of lanes, &c. 
[or from marshes and swamps] will bring this inert dead matter, 
consisting of the roots of decayed grasses and other plants, into a 
state of putridity and solubility, and prepare it for nourishing the crops 
of plants it may be applied to, in the very manner it acts on peat.—- 
Dung, however, mixed with earth, taken from rich arable fields 
which have been long manured and cultivated, can have no effect as 
manure to other land that the same dung and earth would not pro¬ 
duce applied separately ; because there is generally no inert matter 
in this description of earth to be rendered soluble.— Loudon. Mr. 
Loudon, in the last part of the sentence, must allude to fermented 
manure—as the earth, in a compost of tmfermented manure, will be¬ 
come enriched by the gases, if not the liquids, given ofl' by the fer¬ 
menting mass. Hence one advantage of covering unfermented 
manure heaps with earth. The compost, to be sure, is easiest made 
in the soil, and in the field. 
Jerusalem Artichoke. —We are induced to speak of this root, be¬ 
cause we have seen it recommended for field culture in several jour¬ 
nals, as a profitable article for cattle food. That it is a native of a 
warmer climate than ours, is evident from the fact, that its seeds 
never mature with us, and in some seasons the blossoms scarcely 
expand. But it is, nevertheless, readily propagated by the tubers, 
which remain in the soil uninjured by frost during our most intense 
winters. This root was once extensively cultivated in Europe, but 
its culture gave way to that of the potato. As it grows to a height 
of six to ten feet, the intervals between the plants require to be 
farther apart than is usual with the potato, though their product has 
been 500 bushels or more, to the acre. As compared with pota¬ 
toes, they are watery, and inferior in their nutritive properties; and 
although they are greedily eaten by farm stock, they do not possess 
great fattening properties. The Germans use the stocks and leaves 
as forage. Though we do not think the culture of this plant an ob¬ 
ject where the potato or ruta baga thrive well, yet further south, 
where they do not do well, it might be advantageously introduced. 
Morus Mullicaulis. —Gideon B. Smith, of Baltimore, says he has 
many inquiries “how to preserve the morus multicaulis from injury 
from winter weather.” Thus it would seem, that even in the mild 
climate of Maryland, this plant is liable to be injured by the frosts 
of winter. Mr. Smith very properly advises, that it be there plant¬ 
ed on high dry ground, where the growth will be moderate, and the 
wood matured. We advise, that in this latitude, the plants be cut 
down to near the ground, in the Belgian mode, and the stumps co¬ 
vered in winter, at least till the roots have become strong, and the 
plants well established. 
The Sillc Business is rapidly progressing among us,—faster, we 
opine, than is justified by our experience and a due regard to pru¬ 
dence. We are in the height of a silk fever, and when the parox¬ 
ism abates, although some will lament their credulity, and abandon 
the pursuit, yet the business will ultimately progress, and become a 
source of individual and national wealth. We see only the fair side 
of the picture—the disappointed do not publish their opinions. Like 
all other business, it requires intelligence, and prudence, and expe¬ 
rience, to ensure success. But our object, when we began this ar¬ 
ticle, was s ; mply to state, that several successful attempts have been 
made in obtaining two crops in a season. To effect this, the eggs 
should be exposed to a proper temperature for hatching, as soon as 
the leaves of the mulberry are sufficiently developed to nourish the 
worms, say 10th to 15th of May. In forty or fifty days thereafter, 
the worms will have completed their labor, and the moth have laid 
