THE CULTIVATOR. 
131 
Clarke's Silk Heel— [Fig. 68.] 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker— I wish to inform 
the public, particularly those interested in rai¬ 
sing silk, through the Cultivator, that I have 
constructed and obtained a patent for a silk 
reel, which I now offer for sale, and which I 
believefor simplicity, for making superior silk 
and for saving labor, exceeds any other now in 
use, in this or in any other country. This reel 
was used by several persons in Connecticut the 
last season, and by some in the State of New 
York, and met with their entire approbation, 
as the certificates below will show. Many 
more, fully confirming them, might be obtain¬ 
ed. AARON CLARKE. 
Greenwich , Ct. July, 1841. 
This may certify that I raised and had reel¬ 
ed the last season, nearly sixty pounds of silk 
of a superior quality. This silk was reeled 
principally by two young ladies, on a reel con¬ 
structed by Mr. Aaron Clarke, of this town. 
The main principle of this reel, is the same as 
that of the Piedmontese. It spreads and crosses 
the thread on the reel in the same manner, and 
makes a skein of the same circumference, and 
has all the advantages of the Piedmontese reel, 
but is much more simple, less expensive, and 
is turned by the foot of the reeler; thereby sa¬ 
ving the expense of a boy to turn. This, the 
young ladies who reeled for me, and who were 
experienced reelers, considered a great im¬ 
provement. They said they could turn the reel 
for themselves with perfect ease, could make 
better silk, and more in quantity from a given 
number of cocoons, and reel more in a day than 
on any other reel they had ever used ; and they 
had reeled on several different kinds of reels, 
and one of them on the genuine Piedmontese 
reel, but they both preferred Mr. Clarke’s. 
The reason is, that they having the reel under 
their own immediate control, could reel with less perplexity 
than by having a boy to turn, and could make in an instant any 
necessary changes in the motion of the reel, which could not be 
done when the reel was turned by any extraneous power, but 
which was a great advantage, as it enabled them to reel with 
less waste, to make a thread more even and freer from burs. 
The aforesaid silk was reeled under my own observation on 
Mr. Clarke’s reel, which I believe to be superior to any other 
now in use. By it, the tedious labor and expense of a boy to 
turn is saved, which, together with the advantages above na¬ 
med, equals, in my opinion, a saving of at least 50 cents on ev¬ 
ery pound of silk reeled. 
DARIUS MEAD Jr. 
Greenwich, Ct July 20, 1841. 
I have examined the above certificate of Dr. D. Mead, and be¬ 
ing fully acquainted with the facts set forth in favor of Mr. A. 
Clarke’s silk reel, do fully agree with him in believing it to be 
the very best silk reel extant : and further, that if the silk grow¬ 
ing business shall ever become established in this country, Mr. 
Clarke’s reel will probably supersede all other silk reels on ac¬ 
count of its simplicity and other excellent properties. 
White Flams, N. Y., July 20, 1841. D. PALMER. 
The price of the reel is $12. Any orders directed to the sub- 
subscriber, the patentee, at Greenwich, Fairfield Co. Ct., will 
be immediately attended to, and reels sent on the receipt of the 
money to any part of the United States. The subscriber will 
also sell rights for States or Counties on reasonable terms. 
Reels may also be had on a short notice at the following places, 
viz : Joseph Leeds, No. 2, Franklin place, Philadelphia. At the 
American Institute in the city of New-York, near the City Hall; 
at the United States Society of Science and Mechanism, No. 21, 
Courtland-st.; at Dr. Porter’s at the silk field, formerly Botanic 
Garden, near the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, where they are to be 
seen in operation. They can also be seen in operation at the 
following places, viz : Thomas Blackwood’s, Princeton, N. J., 
at Baltimore, by applying to G. B. Smith, Esq. Secretary of the 
American Silk Society, at Rlioda Collin’s, Bethlem, Ct., and at 
a number of places in Greenwich, Ct. A. CLARKE. 
lumbia, where, among other things, he cultivated thorn-sets 
for hedges, and tried every kind, both foreign and domestic, 
but gave a decided preference to that variety which he called 
the American maple-leaved thorn. _ None, however, have I ever 
known to succeed south of the District, nor very well even there. 
Mr. Solon Robinson’s contemplated journey will be most joy¬ 
fully hailed, as I verily believe, by all the true friends of Ameri¬ 
can husbandry, who read his letter in your June number. And 
should he succeed in the object of it, as I most sincerely and 
anxiously hope he will, he will better deserve the thanks of his 
country, than any man in the whole circle of my acquaintance. 
Mr. R. Jenkins, who recommends the soaking of peas before 
sowing them, 24 hours in urine, to make them “ come forward 
early," should have added—“ provided always, that the ground 
be very moist at the time of sowing.” For all who dislike to 
be disappointed in making experiments, may take my word for 
it, that no kind of soaking, for any kind of garden seed, will 
be beneficial, if they be sown in very dry earth. The greater 
part of them will never vegetate, as I have several times proved 
to my cost. 
The hint about “ the importance of associated effort," I sus¬ 
pect to come from our friend Mr. Solon Robinson, and there 
are very few of us who may not justly condemn ourselves for 
not paying more regard to it, than we ever yet have done. Nay, 
some who are really very zealous and active friends to our 
cause, will highly commend ‘‘associated effort,” in general, 
but unite and speak against it in particular cases, even al¬ 
though they profess to wish success to those who are engaged 
in them, and so far these really zealous, active friends counter¬ 
act their own desires. 
It would gratify me, and I presume many others, if Mr. C. 
Butler,of Plymouth, Ct. would give us an intelligible description 
of what he calls the “white daisy,” of which he affirms that 
“he gets no hay which he considers as valuable for cattle and 
sheep as daisy hay, cut in bloom.” Now the only thing known 
in my part of the country, by the name of daisy, is a most pes¬ 
tiferous weed, which we call the chamomile daisy, from the 
great resemblance of the flower to that of the chamomile, from 
which it differs in nothing but size. Neither horse, mule, cow, 
sheep, nor hog will touch it in its green state, and of course 
none of us have ever suspected that any of them would eat it, 
if made into hay. But we live to learn, and if our stock really 
would consume it in this form, we should deem it a great dis¬ 
covery, for many of our farms are so infested with it, that it 
has become a very great annoyance. It is perennial,—bears 
an immense number of small seed, and spreads with great ra¬ 
pidity, as it is a noli me tangere among all our domestic 
quadrupeds. 
In your notice to correspondents, you very properly request 
them to “remember that as much directness and conciseness 
as is possible, consistently with the nature of the subject treat¬ 
ed, is desirable in all communications, as you have room for 
nothing which has not a practical and necessary bearing on 
the great object for which the Cultivator was established,— 
the promotion of Agriculture.” 
Being somewhat long winded, and incontinently given to 
prosing on any subject that deeply engages my attention, I 
greatly fear that I may not have complied with your request to 
the extent of your wishes. Should this be the case, I beg you 
will not hesitate a moment to throw aside the foregoing cogi¬ 
tations as so much waste paper. This, I assure you, would 
break no squares with your friend and constant reader, 
June 30th, 1841. Commentator. 
Freezing; of Potatoes* 
Editors of the Cultivator^-Iu your February No. in a paper 
from J. M. Garnett, on the “ Preservation of roots,” I noticed 
the following: “Why those roots should always be destroyed 
when they freeze above ground , and not suffer equally when 
frozen under ground, is a matter of which I have never yet 
seen any explanation; it is among the numerous mysteries in 
vegetable physiology, for the cause of which we have yet to 
search.” 
Now vegetables exposed to atmospheric transitions, necessa¬ 
rily are affected more suddenly in their temperature than those 
which are buried in the earth, yet subject to frost. It is a well 
known fact, that in the freezing of water, caloric or heat is 
given out, consequently in the freezing of the earth around the 
root, which is kept above the surrounding temperature by its 
own vitality, caloric is liberated, and, therefore, the root 
freezes more slowly. So in thawing, the temperature is in¬ 
creased more gradually, requiring several days to raise it above 
the freezing point, if the root be five or six inches below the 
surface, when, if exposed to the atmosphere above ground, as 
many hours, would produce the same result. 
The extent of injury done to vegetables by freezing, does not 
depend so much upon the lowness of temperature, nor upon 
the length of time they are frozen, as upon their quick transi¬ 
tion from one temperature to another. These facts apply par¬ 
ticularly to the tuberous roots, and in a greater or less degree 
to^the whole animal and vegetable kingdom. 
Every root will be liable to injury by frost in proportion to 
its vitality; and the potato, of which Mr. Garnett was speak¬ 
ing, possesses this principle in an eminent degree. 
In the native state, the tubers were very small; but then, as 
now, were intended as reservoirs of moisture, nourishment, 
and vital energy, which enables them to resist the injurious ef¬ 
fects of cold to almost any extent, when not so suddenly appli¬ 
ed, or, what is of much more importance, when the tempera¬ 
ture in thawing, is not too quickly raised above the freezing 
point. Some of the spindle roots possess this property of vitali¬ 
ty in a much greater extent than the potato ; such as the pars- 
nep, horse-radish, artichoke, and some others. 
If the experiment be tried, it will be found that the potato will 
not freeze below 27° or 28° of Fahrenheit; and unless it is pro¬ 
ven that they freeze at 32°, the reasons here assigned must be 
considered good as far as they go. If I have erred in my state¬ 
ment, I desire to be corrected; if not, the subject is not a “mys¬ 
tery-’ . E. S. B. 
Rockingham , Iowa Territory, 1841. 
Smut in Wheat. 
Messrs. Editors —As your valuable paper is devoted to the 
benefit of the farming community, I avail myself of the means, 
by making an inquiry concerning smut in wheat, which ap¬ 
pears to be different from the common smut. It generally 
grows from about six to sixteen inches in height; and the 
whole bunch that grows from a seed, is invariably smut; and 
on examination, I found that it blows similar to the sound 
wheat; but I also found by trial, that it will not germinate, but 
like noxious weeds, it is always restricted to the same spots in 
each crop of wheat, where it mostly stands as thick as the 
xvheat itself; and it is also to be found diffused allover among 
the wheat. Last fall, I followed the recommendation in pre¬ 
paring my seed wheat, published in the Cultivator, vol. 7, page 
130, and also sowed a different variety of wheat, but I find the 
result is the same as in previous years; the heads of the smut 
look like those of the variety that was sown. 
If you, or any of your numerous correspondents, would give 
any information through the Cultivator, concerning the cause 
or preventive of it, it would confer a favor on the wheat grow¬ 
ing farmers. £> 6 t 
WiUiamsviOe, Erie Co. N. Y., July 7, 1841. 
Hessian Fly, 
Messrs. Gaylord &. Tucker —During the summer of 1839, 
the Hessian fly made its first appearance in this part of the 
west. The crop of wheat was a large one, and although the 
fly did us some injury, we still had wheat in abundance. The 
quantity of ground sown with wheat in the fall of that year 
was very great, and considerable anxiety,was felt in regard to 
the appearance of the fly, but we used no means to escape 
their ravages. As soon as the wheat was handsomely up that 
fall, we found that we had raised as many insects as spears 
of wheat; almost every spear containing from one to eight or 
ten insects within its leaves. They were found by pulling up 
the wheat and stripping off the leaf, where they would be seen 
attached closely to the stem near the ground. When first dis¬ 
covered, they were very small, like the point of a pin, and of a 
transparent white ; they grew rapidly until they acquired about 
the size, form, and color of a “ flax seed,” and were attached 
so closely that a dent of nearly their size would be made in 
the stem of the grain. They did not appear to injure the 
growth of the wheat during that fall or early in the spring. It 
looked so fine, that until the middle of May, vve felt in hopes 
of having abundant crops, but our hopes were soon gone. It 
appeared as if a new crop of insects nad been brought forth 
about that time, and almost every stalk of wheat was literally 
filled ; the consequence, you may easily imagine; our crop was 
almost totally lost. It became at once evident to all, that we 
must find some way to escape the fly, or give up raising wheat. 
4 he quantity sown last fall, was much smaller than for some 
vears previous; and many plans have been used to escape the 
fly. The one most generally relied on is very late sowing. I 
have read all the articles I could find in the books on the sub¬ 
ject, and watched the changes of the fly for the two seasons 
they have been here, and came to the conclusion that the fly 
laid the eog in the berry of the wheat while soft; and that in 
sowing wheat we at the same time, sowed the eggs of the fly, 
and must expect the one to cause the destruction of the other. 
Having convinced myself that the egg was in the wheat, it 
was easy for me to believe that by keeping the wheat long 
enough, the egg would spoil; and as I had wheat on hand 
which had been in a stack for a year, I thrashed it out and 
used that alone for seed. I sowed at different times from the 
1st of October until the day the ground was closed by frost. 
There has as yet been no appearance of the fly in my wheat, 
vvhile most fields that I examined, sown with new wheat pre¬ 
vious to the 15th of October, were well filled with them. An¬ 
other circumstance gives me great confidence; one of my 
neighbors had sown part of a field with new wheat, but fell 
short of seed, and came to me for a few bushels; he took my 
old wheat and sowed it on the balance of the field, very late 
in the fall. I, with him, examined the wheat; nearly every 
spear of the new wheat that we examined, contained the in¬ 
sect, while the old wheat was entirely free. I shall give you 
the result of my different experiments immediately after har¬ 
vest, if any of them are successful. I give my theory now, only 
because I think it confirms in some degree, the observations 
ma d e . a as published in your March number. She 
will, it is to be hoped, continue her investigations until she 
succeeds in ascertaining where the egg of the fly is deposited, 
as I think we can soon avoid the fly, ii the egg is as I believe 
in the grain. The great importance of this subject to us at 
the west, must be my excuse for offering you so long a paper. 
The fly is evidently a great traveler, and although it last year 
did not reach but a few miles west of this county in our State, 
we fear that this season it will be found to have reached the 
lake, and I even fear that it may reach the residence of your 
old correspondent, that good friend to the farmer, Solon Rob¬ 
inson, and he will I hope be prepared for them. 
Yours with respect, THOMAS W. WELLS. 
Marshall, Calhoun Co. Mich., March 24, 1841. 
The Peach Tree Grub. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —In the June No. of the Cul¬ 
tivator, a correspondent inquires of the best mode to destroy 
or prevent the worms from injuring the peach tree. For ma¬ 
ny years I have preserved the few trees in my garden from 
the-worms, by taking away some of the earth from the body 
of the tree, and putting fresh wood ashes in the place, and a 
little higher against the tree. When I performed this in the 
spring, May or June, and again in early autumn, September, 
the worms have not injured the trees; and the ashes have been 
a useful manure. The yellows is complained of at Pough¬ 
keepsie, New-York, and in New-England. It has not ap¬ 
peared here. The severe cold winters and the peach worm 
are the injuries suffered here. Respectfully yours, 
Schenectady, June 23, 1841. D. TOMLINSON. 
Improvement in Shingling-. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —It is known to every person 
of observation, that shingles composing the roof of a building, 
first give way around the nail, owing doubtless to the water 
penetrating by the nail hole. In the erection of a barn this 
summer on my farm near this place, it was a matter of some 
consideration with me to remedy this effect. I adopted the 
following simple, cheap, and I believe efficacious plan. I have 
mentioned it to a number of experienced workmen and gen¬ 
tlemen of judgment, and they coincide in one opinion of its 
advantages. I have therefore thought it a duty to communi¬ 
cate through the medium of your paper, that others may be 
benefited by its adoption. The plan is this. The workmen, 
when shingling, have a small tin cup suspended at their breast, 
by a string passing around the neck—into the cup is put a por¬ 
tion of white lead ground in oil, of the consistence as taken 
from the keg of the manufacturer; as the workman handles 
the nail, he dips the point into the white lead, to which a por¬ 
tion adheres; when driven, the white lead is forced up as tbe 
nail passes in, and completely fills up the hole, and tne head 
of the nail is imbedded in the paint, thus preventing the pene¬ 
tration of the water by the nail hole, and the corrosion of the 
nail head. The progress of the workmen is very little retard¬ 
ed by the operation. A keg of 25 lbs. will do for about ten 
thousand shingles. The same process will do for sideing or 
weather-boarding, and indeed in every instance where the 
nail is exposed to the weather. 
JAMES L. BOWMAN. 
Brownsville, Pa., June 25, 1841. 
Simple Cure for Cough in Horses. 
Two years ago one of my carriage horses had an extreme¬ 
ly bad cough, which had continued for six or eight months; 
different applications were made without effect. I applied to 
a man who I knew dealt in horses, and had paid some atten¬ 
tion to their diseases for a remedy. He at once told me that 
he had never found anv thing so-effectual for a bad cough as 
human urine, given a few times, by discharging into a bucket 
of water and letting them drink it, or on their food and eat it. 
I directed my driver to do so, and in one week the horse was 
completely relieved. I have frequently had it tried with the 
same good effect. J. L. B. 
