THE CULTIVATOR. 
71 
Silk Culture in tije Rniieb States. 
SILK CULTURE— By Gideon B. Smith. 
THE COCOONERY—No precise rules can be laid 
down for the arrangement of the cocoonery, because 
every one must be adapted to the circumstances, the ex¬ 
tent to which the business is intended to be carried, the 
location, the situation—high or low, the exposure, and 
even the climate. There are some general rules, how¬ 
ever, that are applicable to all, and which cannot be de¬ 
parted from safely. These are, sufficiency of room for 
the accommodation of the worms intended to be fed, and 
for the free and convenient access of the attendants to all 
parts of the frames or hurdles. The frames should be 
set in ranges, as directed in the former article; and the 
passage between the ranges should be at least four feet 
wide. There should be a passage also two or three feet 
wide between the walls and the frames, and also be¬ 
tween the ends and the walls. There should, if possible, 
be windows on all sides of the cocoonery; but at least, 
on the north and south sides. The windows should be 
provided with blinds, and the sashes should be hung on 
hinges, that the room may be darkened, or completely 
aired, or completely closed at pleasure. When a house 
is to be built expressly for the purpose, an invaluable 
ventilator may be made by leaving a space of eight 
inches open in the clapboarding immediately at the floor 
all around the room, with a board shutter hung upon 
hinges, that it may be opened or shut close at pleasure. 
This when open admits a free current of air through the 
cocoonery and under the frames, and in sultry weather 
will be found of immense advantage. One or two trap 
doors in the ceiling to admit of the upward passage of 
the air is also of great benefit. When the business is to 
be carried on in a small, domestic way, however, these 
things of course cannot be done; and such conveniences 
as the room selected affords for ventilation must be put 
up with. In such cases, where there is any choice, the 
room should be selected that affords the greatest facili¬ 
ties for ventilation. For example, a room that has win¬ 
dows on the north and south sides, or even a door on 
one and a window or windows on the other, should be 
preferred to one having windows or doors on the east 
and west sides. So also a room with a high ceiling 
should be preferred to one with a low ceiling; and a 
room in the second story, to one in the first. A room 
on the north side of the house is better than one on the 
south side, because it can be kept cooler, provided it 
has sufficient ventilators. 
PAPER NETS—Besides the frames described in my 
former paper, I would recommend the preparation of pa¬ 
per nets, for the purpose of cleaning the hurdles. They 
are made by a punch as follows: the paper should be of 
a strong texture, and of the size of the frames or hurdles. 
Paper half the size of the hurdles may be used by pasting 
two sheets together. The punch is to be two-thirds of 
an inch diameter. I use one made by cutting off about 
three inches of the end of a gun barrel, and grinding the 
end to an edge from the outside, and a block of smooth 
grain wood to punch on. Half a quire of paper may be 
punched at a time by the use of a mallet. The holes 
should be in rows one-third of an inch apart; and the 
holes of each row should be diagonal in relation to each 
other. About three inches of the paper at each end 
should be left without holes, turned over, and the edge 
pasted down, to form a loop for a small, smooth rod to 
pass into to facilitate their removal with the worms on 
them. There ought to be about three sheets of these 
nets for every hurdle. The rods for the paper nets 
may be made of any light wood, about the size of a 
small broomstick, long enough to reach the whole width 
of the net, with six inches for a handle. The use of these 
paper nets will be described hereafter. I will now say, 
however, that in France they are considered an invalua¬ 
ble improvement in silk culture; and that the few who 
have used them in this country approve of them very 
highly. They are used in clearing the hurdles, remov¬ 
ing and separating worms, &c. When it is desired to 
clean a hurdle, a net is spread over the worms before 
feeding in the morning, and a few fresh leaves spread 
over the net. In a few minutes the worms will pass up 
through the holes; and then the rods are passed into the 
loops at each end of the net, and the net with the worms 
raised and carried to a clean shelf. So-, when you wish 
to thin the worms on a hurdle after each moulting; as 
soon as a portion of the worms revive, lay on a net with 
fresh leaves, and bear off to a clean hurdle all that have 
revived. This is very necessary at every moulting, be¬ 
cause there are always differences in the moulting and 
revival of worms; and all that moult and revive at one 
time should be carried to one hurdle. But I shall have 
occasion to speak of this subject more at large hereafter. 
Thus much I thought it best to say now, that some idea 
of the value of the paper nets might be had, and that 
those who expect to engage in silk culture might thus 
be induced to prepare them. 
I do not know that any other fixtures are materially 
necessary to a beginner; all others, or the few simple 
things necessary, will suggest themselves to every one 
as they progress. I shall, in my next, speak of the 
hatching and rearing of worms. 
BOUNTY ON SILK IN TENNESSEE 
The legislature of Tennessee passed an act at its recent 
session granting a bounty of fifty cents per pound on 
reeled silk, and ten cents per pound on cocoons—the 
produce of that state. This is equivalent to one dollar 
and fifty cents on every pound of reeled silk; or about 
33g per cent added to its value, and will just about pay 
the whole expense of production. G. B. S. 
^Domestic (Erconontg. 
ORANGE COUNTY BUTTER. 
Messes. Gaylord & Tucker—I am now in the re¬ 
gion of the celebrated Goshen butter; and as I have fre¬ 
quently heard the question asked why Goshen butter 
sells for six or eight cents a pound more than that of 
other good butter regions, I have concluded to give you 
the result of my inquiries as to the method of making 
butter here. 
1st. The milk house or cellar should be under ground, 
and entered through a door on the north or east, with a 
stone or earth bottom, and two or three windows, with 
such shutters as to entirely exclude the rays of the sun. 
A back cellar should be made, dark and cool, with one 
small window to keep the butter in. Thousands of tubs 
of good butter are spoiled for want of a good cellar to 
keep them in. 
2d. The milk is put into shallow tin pans, with a pint 
of cold water in a pan, and set on the bottom of the cellar, 
where it remains till it is thick; so thick that when it is 
cut or broken whey will appear. It must by no means 
stand till whey rises and stands between the milk and cream. 
To a barrel of milk, one pail full of cold water is added. 
It is now churned, cold or warm water being added 
during the process to keep it at the right temperature. 
If the weather is too cool to allow the milk to change, a 
little butter-milk is put into each pan when it is strained. 
In very cold weather a small box stove is used to warm 
the cellar. 
3d. The butter is taken out with a ladle, (the hands 
would warm it and make portions of it oily,) washed 
through cold water twice, and then salted with as much 
salt as will dissolve, and no more. Let it stand in the 
tray on the cellar bottom only till it is cool enough to 
work. Work the milk out. (This process must not be 
continued too long, till the butter becomes sticky or 
oily; for from this state it could not be recalled.) Pack 
it closely in the tub, and cover it well till the tub is 
filled. Then put a thin cloth over the butter and keep 
it covered with a strong brine till it goes to market. 
The butter cellar should have a little air admitted to 
prevent mold. To prevent the firkins from molding, 
they should be set so as not to touch the wall; and in a 
very damp cellar, on a board an inch from the bottom. 
This is the result of much and careful inquiry; and 
whether this is the best method or not, the butter is cer¬ 
tainly the best I ever tasted. The best Oneida or Che¬ 
nango butter that I have seen is not equal to it. But 
why should it not be? The county is certainly as good. 
Great care must be used to make and preserve good but¬ 
ter in any place. Sixpence a pound will pay for this 
care. Why will not all our farmers strive to secure this 
sixpence? Yours sincerely, 
J. Edmunds. 
P. S. In kneading the butter, it should be simply 
pressed with the ladle, and not cut or rubbed. Pressing 
it will make it solid; while rubbing or cutting it will 
make it soft or oily. J. E. 
A FARMER’S BREAKFAST. 
Messrs. Editors —If you will permit me, I wish to 
give you a description of a farmer’s breakfast. It will 
not perhaps be as inviting as those served up on city ta¬ 
bles, but more substantial, and doubtless as healthful. 
The first thing is the bread; for now, as in the days 
of MartinuS Scriblerius, “ bread, gentlemen, bread is the 
staff of life;” and during the winter months, our bread 
for the breakfast is mostly hot buckwheat cakes. Some 
complain that such cakes are unpalatable, and liable to be¬ 
come sour. It is true, some do not like the taste of such 
cakes at first, but I have seen no one who did not soon be¬ 
come fond of them; and there is no more necessity of sour 
buckwheat cakes than of sour wheat bread. I wet up my 
cakes in the usual manner, (a quart of flour for 7 or 8 per¬ 
sons, with lukewarm water sufficient to make the batter 
of the right thickness, with about a teacup of good sweet 
yeast—the yeast only necessary when you commence 
using cakes, or if the batter becomes sour and needs re¬ 
newal,) set the stone jar in which I keep the batter 
where it shall be moderately warm until it begins to 
rise, when I remove it to a place where the temperature 
is low, and the fermentation is checked before the mass 
is sour in the least. This batter is baked in small cakes 
and placed on the table, hot; care being taken to leave 
enough in the pot to ferment the next wetting up, which 
should be done as soon as breakfast is over. A loaf of 
wheat bread is placed on the table to suit the taste of 
such as may prefer it to the cakes. 
The preparations for the bread completed, the next 
thing is the meat. For this, I prefer beef of good qua¬ 
lity—not the coarse, tallow loaded meat that is some¬ 
times seen, but the fine grained flesh, well mottled with 
fat, tender and delicious. This should be kept frozen; 
and when wanted, a sufficient quantity chipped or sliced 
off, the thinner the better, and placed in the fryer on the 
stove; cover it, and do not hurry it in the cooking, or 
burn it. For a gravy, which is essential with cakes, I 
take a spoonful or two of flour, a sufficient quantity of 
butter and pepper, and work them well together in a 
dish. When the meat is properly cooked, I turn from 
the tea kettle hot water into the dish, stirring it con¬ 
stantly till the whole is incorporated and a rich gravy 
produced. This is turned on the meat, the whole boiled 
up and stirred, when it is placed in the dish ready for 
the table. 
But a farmer could not make a breakfast without pota¬ 
toes. One of the first things to be done, therefore, in 
getting a breakfast ready, is to select ten or a dozen po¬ 
tatoes, (they should be kept ready washed, but secured 
from light in a cool cupboard or cellar, as light is inju¬ 
rious to the quality of all roots,) pinkeyes or Mercers 
my husband thinks are the best, and place them in the 
stove oven, turning them occasionally to see they do not 
burn, and they will be done by the time the other parts 
of the breakfast are ready. 
These are the substantials of a farmer’s breakfast. But 
other things are necessary to give zest and relish to the 
meal. A bowl of apple sauce made with about one- 
third quince to two-thirds apples, the cider made from 
sweet apples, and reduced by boiling about three parts 
to one, may be considered indispensable; pickles, too, 
green, hard, and thoroughly penetrated with cayenne, or 
garden red peppers, will not be amiss. Coffee or tea, as 
the taste may determine, not too strong, as either may 
be injurious, with sweet cream and sugar, will furnish 
the drink for the farmer’s morning meal. Mince and 
apple pies, with cakes and cheese, are ready for such as 
wish them. 
The table is ready. The meat and potatoes, of right, 
occupy the center, flanked by the smoking cakes and 
coffee. Around are the sauces, the pies, cakes, &c. In¬ 
dustry and sweet sleep have given an appetite; and with 
the invoked blessing of heaven, the farmer’s breakfast, 
plain and simple as it is, is not unfrequently better enjoyed 
than the late and sumptuous repasts of the rich and opu¬ 
lent. 
Should you give a place to this, I may hereafter give 
you a picture of a farmer’s dinner. 
A Farmer’s Wife. 
WINTER BUTTER. 
The following mode of making butter in winter is 
recommended by E. H. Derby, Esq.: The milk when 
taken from the cow is immediately strained into pans 
and set in the coldest part of the house. As soon as the 
frost begins to operate, a separation takes place; the 
cream rises in a thick paste to the top, and leaves the 
milk, without a particle of cream, frozen in the pan. 
The cream is not so hard but that it can be easily scraped 
off with a spoon down to the solid ice; it is then set 
aside till a sufficient quantity is collected for a churning, 
when it is warmed just so much as to thaw the cream; 
five minutes churning will convert the cream intd good 
butter. A. 
PINE APPLE CHEESE. 
A lady friend of ours wishes to learn the method of 
making this kind of cheese, which seems at the present 
time to be rather a favorite article in the market. We 
hope that some of our dairy friends who are acquainted 
with the process of making this cheese will furnish us 
with a full account of the method adopted by them. A 
compliance with this request will be considered by us as 
a personal favor, and the information will doubtless be 
acceptable to many. 
iDfotes for t\jc JRontl). 
A Good Cow—Mr. S. Brooks, of Steuben, Oneida 
county, has furnished for the C. N. Y. Farmer an account 
of the product in butter of a cow for the year 1839 and 
1840. He says—“I made from one cow, after supply¬ 
ing my family—consisting of three persons—with butter, 
and milk, in the year 1839, 3004 pounds of butter, which 
I sold. In 1840, with the same number of persons in 
my family, I made 320 pounds of butter, after using f ,r 
my family butter and milk as we wanted. The cow 
was fed 1^ pecks of potatoes boiled, with the sour milk 
mixed with it, from 20th of September to the 20th of 
May. The cow had two calves during this time. She 
was a cross between the English and our common breed 
of cattle.” 
Effect of Plaster on Soils _One of the most 
satisfactory answers we have seen to the charge so fre¬ 
quently made, that plaster exhausts the soil, is found in 
the following, which we copy from the N. G. Farmer: 
cc Josiah Bard well, of South Hadley, Mass., has four 
acres of pasture ground, and applies to it annually 1000 
pounds of gypsum. The same application, and "at the 
same rate has been made for 35 years in succession. On 
this lot he pastures annually one large yoke of cattle, 
one horse, two cows, and sometimes three cows. Prior 
to the use of plaster, Mr. B. says it required at least six 
acres of this land to afford as much feed as he has ob¬ 
tained from one acre by using plaster. He has also a 
piece of mowing ground which contains four acres. 
Two crops of hay are taken from it regularly. On this 
ground he uses plaster of Paris freely, and applies a top 
dressing of manure. His annual product of hay is fully 
16 tons. 
Castor Oil in the West —According to the Alton 
Telegraph, some twelve or fifteen thousand dollars has 
been paid out at Edwardsville for castor oil beans, grown 
in the vicinity; and the oil mills are turning out about 
100 gallons of oil daily. Experience has proved that 
these beans at $1 a bushel are as profitable a crop as Illi¬ 
nois can produce; and the demand is steadily increasing. 
Mr. Marsh of that city has commenced the manufacture 
