194 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
its eggs. By exposing these* a new generation of worms will come 
forth in July. _____ 
An Improvement in Tanning. —The tanning process is likely to 
be greatly cheapened and expedited, by a recent improvement pa¬ 
tented by Messrs. Bells, of Virginia. The improvement consists in 
freeing the hide, as a preliminary measure, from grease, and every 
useless substance, by mechanical pressure, by means of rollers piss¬ 
ing over them when drawn from the vats. They then imbibe the 
tanning readily, and the whole process is completed in from two to 
eight weeks. __ 
PRESERVATION OF FRUIT. 
Our holiday rounds have afforded ample proof of the efficacy of 
cotton in preserving fruits, in their natural state, for a long time af¬ 
ter their natural period of decay. We have seen and tasted black 
Hamburgh, sweet water and Isabella grapes, in this year 1837, as 
fresh and plump as they were when plucked from the vines in Sep¬ 
tember or October, preserved in cotton, according to the directions 
given in the Cultivator last summer. Fruits thus preserved should 
be mature, and perfectly dry. and if grapes, the unripe and defec¬ 
tive berries should be carefully plucked off. They are placed in lay¬ 
ers, and alternated with clean cotton batting, in a stone jar or tight 
box, the mouth of the vessel covered so as to exclude the air, and 
the jar or box placed in a dry place, secure from frost, till the fruit 
is wanted for use. 
The Magazine of Horticulture. —The first number of vol. 3 of this 
work has just come to hand, and deserves high commendation. It 
is devoted to our sister art, Horticulture. This number is wholly 
original, and is interesting and instructing to the practical gardener, 
as well as to the amateur pomologist and florist. Among other in¬ 
teresting subjects, of which it treats, we see commenced a descrip¬ 
tion of one hundred and twenty-six varieties of the pear, by R. Man¬ 
ning, Esq. of Salem, worth itself, when completed, a year’s sub¬ 
scription. This is a subject on which Mr. Manning is eminently 
qualified to give instruction, having all the varieties he describes in 
his own grounds, and having devoted years to the study of this fruit. 
The list will embrace most of the new foreign varieties. 
The Magazine of Horticulture is a monthly 8vo of 40 pages, neat¬ 
ly printed, at three dollars a year—published by Hovey &. Co., Bos¬ 
ton. 
The Zodiac —a neat literary monthly, 4to, published in our city, 
although somewhat prone to change, continues to shed its light, if 
not in the heavens, at least upon the earth ; and Gen. Holstein, who 
is now the proprietor, will be happy to forward it to order. 
Ploughing. —It has been ascertained, that a team, walking at the 
rate of one and a half and two miles an hour, will plough the fol¬ 
lowing quantity of a medium sod, to the depth of five inches, in nine 
hours:— 
Inches. A. R. P. 
Breadth of furrow 8 at 1 j mile per hour, I „ 0 „ 0 
9 „ „ 1 „ 0 „ 20 
8 at 2 „ 1 „ 1 „ 10 
9 „ „ 1 „ 2 „ 00 
The difference in the quantity ploughed in these instances clearly 
demonstrates the value of action in horses; but it must at the same 
time be observed, that the distance travelled at the slow pace is only 
twelve, while at the quicker rate it is sixteen miles. 
THE NATIVE MULBERY. 
Will not the indigenous mulberry of our country (morus rubra,} 
ultimately supersede foreign varieties, for the fabrication of silk,— 
in the northern sections of our country 1 We publish to-day a 
communication from Mr. Fay on this subject. The sample of silk 
which accompanied it is a beautiful specimen. The reputation of 
Italian sewing silk stands pre-eminently high, and this, we are told 
by Gen. Tallmadge, is neither produced from the white mulberry, 
nor the multicaulis, but from the indigenous mulberry of the coun¬ 
try, the black mulberry ( m. nigra). If we are permitted to reason 
from analogy, is there not good reason to believe, that every species 
of the mulberry will produce better silk, in the climate to which it is 
indigenous, than it will in a different one to which it may be trans¬ 
ferred! We have both fabrics and raw silk from our native mul- 
bery, and although they do not excel in softness and beauty, they 
appear equal to any in strength and durability. Neither the black 
nor the multicaulis, can withstand the severity of our northern 
winters; nor does the white often escape being seriously scathed.— 
We write for the latitude of 42°, and we speak from personal know¬ 
ledge. The red abounds in our forests, is as hardy as our pines, 
and we presume may be as readily multiplied, and in the same way, 
as the exotic species are. The subject is at least worthy of parti¬ 
cular investigation. 
To Cure Chopped Hands, in winter, rub a little cream or vinegar 
upon them, after using soap. The chopping proceeds from the 
caustic effects of the alkali in the soap, and these neutralize it. 
The natural sweat performs this office in summer. 
NOTICE OF CORRESPONDENTS. 
Amos David, who writes to us from Tennessee, for a few seeds of 
the Morus multicaulis, is informed that this seed is not to be had in 
the American market, that we are advised of. 
Plaster combined with manure .—We have received a communica¬ 
tion from Austin Johnson, Rupert, Vt. showing the great efficacy of 
gypsum in bringing into operation the fertilizing properties of dung. 
A piece of meadow ground, upon a steep slope, and upon which 
grass would not grow, was selected for the site of hay stacks, and 
the hay was fed to stock upon the ground, whose droppings render¬ 
ed it rich with dung, with the view of bringing in a turf. But this 
proved inefficacious, until he sowed plaster upon it, in two successive 
years, at the rate of a bushel to the acre, as upon the rest of the mea¬ 
dow. In consequence, he presumes, of sowing the plaster, the clo¬ 
ver sprung up luxuriantly, and he cut a heavy burthen, at least two 
tons to the acre, when before he had not got enough to pay for the 
labor of cutting it; and it proved far the best part of the meadow. 
This indicates, in our opinion, that plaster is a specific food for clo¬ 
ver—that clover will not grow well in soils which do not contain it, 
although they be made rich with dung—and that therefore it is a 
valuable application upon all dry soils, upon which clover does not 
seem to thrive naturally. 
J. N. Smith, of Coffee Creek, Pa. requests us to publish direc¬ 
tions for makiug and preserving cheese, for the benefit of himself 
and neighbors. We have the same request from others. We have 
had the promise of such an article from an esteemed friend in 
one of the best cheese districts of our country, and we trust this 
note wiL prompt him to redeem his promise. 
QUERIES BY JUDGE GOLDSBOROUGH, CAMBRIDGE, MD. 
“My farm,” he says, “ lays contiguous to an immense deposit of oys¬ 
ter shells, the deposit made by the Indians before the settlement of 
the province of Maryland, and the shells more or less in a state of 
minute separation, covered in part with vegetable black mould and 
sand. These beds are very numerous on the banks of the Chop- 
tank, a large river emptying into the Chesapeake bay. As the 
shells can be procured at a cent a bushel, would it not be advisable 
to pay the expense of hauling them one and a half miles! And 
would it be advisable to mix them with salt marsh and vegetable 
mould from the woods, forming compost beds 1 
“ The most of the tillage land has been successively in wheat and 
corn, without grasses, and the soil generally of a whitish stiff clay, 
flat, but near enough to a creek of the above river to drain it by su¬ 
perficial drains or ditches. As this land has received no aid from 
the tenants, except from barn yard manure, I am apprehensive of 
the consequences of my inexperience in the use of lime, or other ma¬ 
nures, which have not been heretofore tried on the farm.” 
ANSWERS. 1 
As far as we can judge of the constituents of Judge Golds- 
borough’s soil, from the preceding description, we are persuaded the 
decayed oyster shells, sand and vegetable mould, are the best mate¬ 
rials to improve its texture, and to induce fertility. It seems to 
want, in its composition, more sand and carbonate of lime, which 
these materials afford; while the vegetable mould, and probably 
some animal matter, commingled with them, will prove a certain 
source of fertility. The cost and expense of hauling are trifling, 
compared with the promised advantages. The salt marsh will confer 
fertility, like all vetetable matters, if the soil, by its application, does 
not become too highly charged with saline matter, of which, how¬ 
ever, we do not apprehend danger. The vegetable mould from the 
woods is an unfailing means of fertility, and requires no preparation. 
Thus the materials promise to be all beneficial; but the only por¬ 
tion of them likely to be improved by mixing in compost, is the salt 
marsh, and this, we are of opinion, will be readily converted into the 
food of plants if spread and ploughed in. 
