64 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
land in British ships on English account. It is then 
manufactured in Europe, and sent mostly in European 
bottoms, to enter the American market “duty free!” 
I regret that the nature of this communication will 
not permit me to give the valuable details furnished me, 
of the China silk trade ; but the export of raw silk from 
Canton for a few years, may serve to illustrate the ten¬ 
dency of all the Asiatic raw silk trade from ports be¬ 
yond the Cape of Good Hope: 
EXPORT OF RAW SILK FROM CANTON. 
Years. 
To America in 
American ships. 
To Ejigland in 
British ships. 
To England i 
American ship. 
1832-3 
144 Piculs, 
6,651 Piculs, 
None. 
1833-4 
210 “ 
9,836 “ 
80 Piculs. 
1834-5 
13 “ 
10.000 “ 
None. 
1835-6 
225 “ 
9,276 “ 
None. 
The 
Chinese picul is 
equal to one hundred and thi 
ty-three and a third avordupois pounds. The prices of 
raw silk at Canton, in 1832-3, were for “nankins” $351 
per picul— “canton” $225 per picul, and “common qua¬ 
lity” $58 per picul. 
Under the existing regulation for manufactured silk, 
an import duty, whether of ten, or ten thousand per cent, 
on raw silk can have no influence to encourage or de¬ 
press the silk culture of the states. This may seem pa¬ 
radoxical, but the elucidation is simple and easily un¬ 
derstood. The silk culture, is the producing of raw 
silk. Raw silk has no value except that arising from 
its use in “silk manufactures.” The comparative prices 
of manufacturing labor, enables Europe to make “ silk 
manufactures” much cheaper than they can be made in 
the states; and by the existing (“free”) regulations, 
Europe can, and does, supply our market at prices that 
prevent the possibility of competition by our own ma¬ 
nufacturing establishments, which must cease opera¬ 
tions, and leave the value of raw silk to be regulated by 
its use in silk manufactures of Europe, where an Ame¬ 
rican import duty of ten or ten thousand per cent, can 
not effect it. 
By the present tariff, the only manufactured silk 
chargeable with duty from Europe, is the sewings, that 
pay twenty-eight per cent, which enables American ma¬ 
nufacturers to compete with the European sewings in 
our market. This, at present, consumes nearly all the 
raw silk made in the states ; and if an additional im¬ 
port duty was levied on sewings, or if an equal duty 
was levied on any or all other “ silk manufactures” re¬ 
quired in the market, then, and not till then, would a 
duty on raw silk have a controlling influence on the 
American silk culture. Yours, &c. 
CHARLES F. DURANT. 
[ Potatoes—Spring Wheat—Muck for Rye—China 
Corn. 
Messrs. Editors —In a former volume it was intima¬ 
ted, that I might communicate the result of some expe¬ 
riments then in view. Potatoes being an important 
crop, both for the table and stock, I have tried a num¬ 
ber of varieties, on different kinds of soil, the last four 
years. Last spring I selected a patch that was seeded 
down the previous year, but owing to the severe drouth 
of 1838, the grass seed all failed. The soil is a dark 
brown loam, eight to ten inches deep, resting on a deep, 
soft, tenacious subsoil. There was spread upon it, at 
the rate of about twenty-five ox cart loads of coarse 
barn-yard manure to the acre, and covered with a plow 
about ten inches deep, then harrowed well and then fur¬ 
rowed about three feet each way. Each row, the way 
it was planted, contained about one square rod of 
ground. It was alternated, with two rows of potatoes 
and two rows of corn, running north and south. First 
two rows of Rohan potatoes, two do. of a new variety 
from France, turn rows of short Lops and two rows of 
new Lancashire pink eyes, both imported from England 
in 1838—two rows of Mercers and two do. of kidneys. 
The land was quite uniform, and the tillage the same. 
When planted there were six eyes of Rohans put into a 
hill, in the form of a triangle, all the other kinds had a 
plenty of seed, adding to each hill a part of a shovel 
full of good manure. They were all well tended, and 
when dug about the 20th of September last, the two 
rows of Rohans yielded five and a quarter bushels, the 
two rows of French two and a half, the two rows of 
short Lops live and three-quarters, the new Lancashire 
pink eyes one an 1 three-quarters, the two rows of Mer¬ 
cers two and three-quarters, and the two of kidneys two 
and a half bushels. 
I have cultivated the Rohans two years, from seed ob¬ 
tained from Mr. Thompson, of Catskill, N. Y. I tried 
some early planted on warm ground, but the vines were 
fresh when the first frost came ; the quality of these, 
however, was better than those later planted. 
It is well known that any kind of potato not fully ripe 
is not a fair trial of its quality; I am of the opinion, if 
Rohans had a longer season to grow, they would be 
greatly improved in quality. The potato from France 
proved a second quality for the table. The short Lops 
were also green when cut down by the frost; in quality 
they may be ranked with the Mercers. They are round, 
not large tubers, but numerous in the hill ; they are 
heavy, yellowish meat, good flavor, boil mealy and often 
crack to pieces. The new pink eyes are early, fine 
quality, but yield poorly. 
I hope to be excused for my particularity, when it is 
so necessary to give the result of any first trial. 
I planted last spring about two square rods of China 
corn, the seed from Mr. Thorburn, N. Y. It was on 
the patch with the potatoes, and yielded at the rate of 
98 bushels to the acre, of sound, good corn; and one of 
my neighbors had a patch of the same, that produced 
at the rate of more than 100 bushels to the acre. These 
highly cultivated patches, however, are not a fair trial 
of common field crops, but they show Avhat might be 
done in the field, if we tilled less and cultivated better. 
I have cultivated three years different kinds of spring 
wheat. I tried what was considered a superior kind, 
from the virgin lands of Michigan, where it yielded 
bountifully, but it produced miserably here, 50 per cent 
less, on the same land, and same culture, than the Sibe¬ 
rian from Rome, N. Y. and the quality much inferior. 
The Siberian answers best here, and in a common sea¬ 
son yields from fifteeento twenty bushels to the acre. 
The fall before last, I was preparing six acres for 
winter wheat, the Dickerson from Tioga, New-York. on 
ground that had been cropped probably for a century, 
with little return of manure; the quantity of compost 
which was intended to be applied to the acre falling 
short, there was spread on the residue about 30 loads of 
muck from a drained meadow, and then sowed with rye; 
the yield was 34 bushels of superior grain; on measu¬ 
ring the ground it was one acre and ten square rods. 
Other trials of the application of decomposed muck for 
a crop of rye, have been favorable. 
Yours respectfully, D. L. DODGE. 
Cedar Brook, Plainfield, N. J. March 14, 1840. 
A writer in the third volume of the Genesee Farmer, 
estimates the difference of time between passing through 
gates and bars, where a man and team passes but once 
a day for half the year, to be equal to 3^ days, and goes 
into a calculation of the amount, of which this time 
would pay the interest. As a moment’s reflection will 
convince any one, that there is a great saving of time in 
using gates in preference to bars, and as our old bars 
are fast going to decay, and must soon be replaced by 
new ones, or something else, I will give my method of 
making what I call improved balance gates. Balance 
gates are those having the top rail extended sufficiently 
to balance the weight of the gate; and, as ususally made 
about the country, are, of all things, the most unsightly ; 
but there is a way of making them both comely and du¬ 
rable. My method of making them is as follow :— 
Take a tree of cedar, pine, chestnut, or other durable 
timber, twelve or fourteen inches in diameter at the butt, 
and which tapers pretty fast; cut it eighteen or twenty 
feet long; hew the small end for eleven feet, three by four 
inches at the end, and six by four inches at the distance 
of eleven feet from the end. Mortice, six inches from 
the end, a hole four inches long and one inch wide; also 
another mortice eleven feet from the end, six inches long 
and one inch wide. In these mortices insert slats of 
good white oak, of sufficient size to fill the mortices, ex¬ 
tending from the shaft four feet and two inches—on 
these slats lay boards, either four, six, or eight inches 
wide, and at such distances apart as corresponds with 
the fence, or suits your taste. Then take two slats simi¬ 
lar to the first, only thinner, place them on the boards 
opposite to those morticed through the shaft and rivet 
them together—one rivet in each end of each board, and 
the gate is ready for hanging. A better idea of the 
gate can be obtained from the above plate, fig. 35. 
The post on which the gate hangs should be of sea¬ 
soned white oak, twelve or fifteen inches in diameter, 
six feet long, either round or an octagon, and set in the 
ground two feet. Insert in the top of this post a cast 
iron gudgeon, having the end oval, such as is technically 
called sfep-gudgeon. Let this gudgeon project above 
the top of the post two and a half inches. Insert the 
box for this gudgeon to run in, into the shaft so deep 
that the shaft will barely clear the top of the post. The 
gate should hang so near the post on which it rests as 
not to sag when opened, and if it hangs right it will turn 
as easily as if suspended on hinges. If the end of the 
shaft is too light, weight is to be added; if too heavy, 
the sides should be hewn off. 
The gate should shut against a post of sufficient size 
to admit of being cut away so as to let the shaft come 
into line with the two posts. The best fastenings for 
such gates are sliding bars, to enter a mortice in the 
post, so that the gate can neither be raised nor the bot¬ 
tom shoved through either way. 
The advantages of these gates over others, are their 
cheapness and durability. They can be made by any 
farmer, and a man can make one as quick as he can 
make a good set of bars. The whole expense of a gate 
made in this way, will not exceed $2.00 when made in 
the neatest manner. The reasons why they are more 
durable than other gates are, they cannot slam by high 
winds if left open; unruly cattle cannot break them by 
jumping on to them; they are not liable to be run against 
by careless driving. They are also very convenient in 
deep snows, as they can be lifted over the snow drifts. 
In short, for field gates, either in summer or winter, in 
high winds or low, I would recommend them to my 
brother farmers as a cheap, durable gate, and one, if 
made right, that will be an ornament to their farms. 
Yours, &c. MYRON ADAMS. 
Ontario County , Feb. 10, 1840. 
Weather, Crops, &c. in Indiana. 
Editors of the Cultivator —Heavy peals of thun¬ 
der are now rattling over our heads. This has been a 
remarkable month. But little snow has fallen, and none 
laying on the ground. The weather has been, for some 
days, much like April or May—frost nearly all out, and 
ground so dry that some plows have been started. This 
is very unusual for so high a latitude as 41-2, even in 
the West. The months of December and January were 
very steady cold, and good sledding nearly the whole 
time. The first snow fell while the ground was yet 
soft; consequently, the roots of the wheat have been 
kept in fine order, and the crop now is exceedingly pro¬ 
mising. There is still an immense quantity of the last 
crop in the hands of the growers, at 50 cents a bushel. 
As the great Western Prairies begin to furnish this 
staple to the east, it will soon be time for farmers theie 
to turn their attention to other products. For, as here 
no regard is paid to the preservation of the quality of 
the soil, while its present quality lasts the eastern 
farmer can not compete with the western wheat grower. 
You would suppose that some imagine that this soil 
can never deteriorate, to see them moving their stables 
to a new location, on account of the accumulations of 
manure, and setting fire to immense piles of straw “to 
get it out of the way.” But such are the facts. You 
can easily imagine how long the best soil will last un¬ 
der such a system of cultivation. 
The December number of the Cultivator is just re¬ 
ceived. I can not speak in too exalted terms of him 
whom so many thousands will delight to keep in re¬ 
membrance, by looking upon his fine intellectual face. 
My warmest wish, gentlemen, is that you may be ena¬ 
bled to fill his editorial chair, with honor and credit to 
yourselves, and satisfaction to his numerous admirers. 
And when the time comes that we shall have nothing 
but your likeness to look upon, may you enjoy that most 
enviable of posthumous fame, that the world are now 
bestowing upon your much lamented predecessor. And 
so far, I am in candor bound to say, the evidence is 
strongly in your favor. 
I remain your devoted agricultural friend, 
SOLON ROBINSON. 
Lake Court-House, Feb. 28, 1840. 
Experiments in Maryland. 
Messrs. Editors —As I am not* particularly devoted 
to the plan in which our ancestors cultivated the soil, I 
have in my little way digressed from that old style which 
is wedded to almost every neighborhood, that of the son 
treading in the footsteps of the father, year afteryear, 
in the same monotonous way. In 1836, I purchased a 
small piece of land; the year before the owner took oft' 
of it a crop of wheat which brought him about four 
dollars to the acre, being about five bushels. I found 
it well set in clover. I immediately divided the arable 
part into three lots. In the fall of 1836,1 sowed five 
bushels of wheat on the half of lot No. 1, containing 
about five acres Tn the spring of 1837, I eowed three 
bushels of oats on the other half. This has been twice 
plastered over, a bushel each time to the acre—in spring 
of 1836, on the clover—in the spring 1837, on the wheat 
and oats. I was very particular in not suffering this 
lot to be grazed, and especially so in not suffering a hog 
to touch any part of the clover. I had a little cut, but 
the second growth was turned in, in the fallowing for 
the grain. It is enough to say, I got the land in good order 
before seeding either wheat or oats, which with us is 
no very easy work, the soil being stiff’ and very subject 
to baking. In July, 1837, by the time some of my 
neighbors had secured their harvests, I had as follows 
in market:— 
2£ acres in wheat, making 22 bushels to the acre, 
55 bushels wheat sold at, $1.50,. $82 50 
2£ acres in oats, making 52 bushels to acre, 130 
bushels oats, sold 45 cts... 58 50 
Admitted by persons competent of judging, 
that I lost by cutting a swath or two to get 
out the wheat, and not cutting it time enough, 
at least 20 bushels, which could have been 
saved with better management; making 20 
more, at 45 cts. 9 00 
$150 00 
The first crop paying the cost of the land, it having 
cost me $30 per acre, leaving the land indebted for the 
expenses of working it. This it must be remembered 
was the year of the drouth. This crop was thought by 
my neighbors to be rather better than any other grown 
in this vicinity, of the same kind. As I was convinced 
of the value of clover and plaster, I felt anxious to make 
more to the acre than I could by the culture of wheat 
and oats. In an adjoining lot, which was on clover, I 
suffered my stock to graze very close, yet no hog was 
seen there, for to my mind it is a dear meat that is raised 
on young clover, especially at the price it is now bring¬ 
ing. 
On this lot I raised a little corn, about forty bushels to 
the acre ; but on about five acres I planted 27,000 to¬ 
bacco plants, being less than the usual distance apart, 
for which, from the old school planters, I got a scolding, 
and a prediction that I would not succeed, for deviating 
from the custom of planting nearer than three feet. But 
I took the time and trouble to work the ground with 
the plow, harrow and roller, until, from its being in a 
rough and cloggy state, it was made even and well pul¬ 
verized. The consequence was I had very little trouble 
to work it, the plow going but once ; the rest was done 
with a small handled harrow. Getting ground in good 
