Communicated for the Rural Magazine.
ABSTRACTS
From the IVth volume of the Memoirs of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society; Richard Peters, President; Wm. Tilghman, James Mease, George Logan and Robert Coleman, Vice Presidents; Roberts Vaux, Secretary.
1. The Sesamum Orientale or Be-ne, written Bene, for making oil of the seed, from Bengal, Africa, Georgia, and the Mississippi. See Archives of Useful Knowledge, by Dr. Mease; Encyclopædia Britanica; Accounts of East India Agriculture, &c. It is planted in the end of April and gathered in the end of September, in 32° N. lat.; raised also in 34° 50' N. lat. The oil is fine for salad, and all the other uses of olive oil, and may be extracted, as is the flax-seed oil, or by boiling water, to the top of which it will rise, and may be skimmed, and bottled or put into casks. It is very common on the west coast of Africa, and grows to most advantage on poor, sandy hills. It is said never to become rancid, but to improve with age. [Letter of Thomas M. Forman, Esq. Rose Hill, near Savington, Cecil, Md.] In the same letter is an account of Napoleon or Crawford RYE. It is described to grow very tall, having a solid stalk, probably capable of resisting the fly, like Jethro Tull's solid-stalked wheat. This grain is said to improve in the Cecil county soil and climate.
2. Plan of FENCES of living trees for posts, such as the Sugar Maple, and wire for rails; by White & Hazard, Whitestown, Philadelphia county, lowest falls of Schuylkill. Common fence for 100 acres, for 50 years, costs $3,080. Do. of wire fence for 50 years, costs $1,751. Add profit on trees, such as American black Walnut, curled or sugar Maple, Mulberry, Apple, (244 trees producing annually, at one dollar, $244) Buttonwoods, &c. which the projectors make to produce $14,098, in fifty years. Interest on annual produce sufficient to keep such wire and live-tree fence in repair, from the time of completion for ever. Other orchard lands can be spared. These fences are good against the worst cows;—they are easy to repair. Inquire at R. Watkin's tavern, at the falls of Schuylkill.
3. Accounts of LIME and KILNS, and cooking STOVES, in Spain; by Anthony Morris, Esq. formerly of Philadelphia, now of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, A. D. 1816.—In burning lime, the Spanish peasants use only the small Shrub or brush wood, not larger than a man's little finger to the size of a pipe stem. The kiln is like ours in Whitemarsh, &c. except that the top of the kiln is very little above the surface of the ground, and is covered with clay to confine the heat. The arch within is of such height as to give the full benefit of all the flame of those dry, light materials. The Spanish lime, like our best Pennsylvania lime, is very good. The Spanish practice is recommended, where lime stone is plenty, wood scarce, and brush, trash and weeds so abundant as to impede or injure culture. In the same letter is a cheap method, as to fuel, for heating irons; and an economical kitchen, as to fire, for cooking.
4. A letter from Mr. Jefferson, concerning the success of the Gypsum, or Plaster of Paris, in Albemarle, Virginia, 200 miles from the sea-coast; also concerning improved hill ploughing, by his ingenious son-in-law, Col. Thomas M. Randolph.[3]
5. An American Plough, approved in England; as is our Cradling Scythe.
6. Also, further notice of the Mangel Wurtzel, for the culture of which see the Philadelphia Society's Memoirs, vol. III. Seed of a new kind, called the orange-coloured Mangel Wurtzel, has been sent to President Peters by Robert Barclay, Esq. grandson to the old Apologist of Uri. The progress in the culture of this root, in Great Britain, is great. Mr. Peters thinks the mottled kind best, and recommends the greatest care as to seed. It appears in other parts of this volume that 60 to 90 tons of Mangel Wurtzel, or Scarcity Root, or the improved Beet, have been produced by an acre.
5. In pages 107, 108, 109 and 110, are some interesting notices of the Mangel Wurtzel, or Scarcity or Beet root, by Mr. Isaac C. Jones, of Philadelphia. It appears that this gentleman was led into some experiments, after an entire city occupation of 20 years, by reading some interesting accounts of such experiments in the European books. In April, 1816, a piece of ground, not quite one fifth of an acre, was planted with the seeds, in parallel rows, of two feet three or four inches one way, by one foot the other. On gathering the crop in November, 1816, it was found that it weighed 8180 pounds, and that the weight of the leaves, pulled off from those roots, at different times through the season, was 5,595 pounds. They would have been more, but as the season of 1816 was uncommonly dry, the pulling was omitted for some weeks. This plant is very valuable for farm stock, and most so for milch cows. The leaves are excellent through the summer, and the cut or chopped root through the winter, when dry food is used. The Mangel Wurtzel, or Scarcity root or improved Beet, is excellent for the table, and is preferred by Mr. Jones' family to the red or garden beets, which are abundant and very fine in the Philadelphia market. The same gentleman raised in 1816, on 23 square poles (23⁄160ths of an acre,) 110 bushels of the long or orange Carrot root, being at the rate of nearly 800 bushels to the acre. A bushel of those Carrots (cut with an approved instrument in the form of an S) weighed 47 lbs., and a bushel of the Mangel Wurtzel, cut in like manner, weighed 55 lbs. The Carrots produced 800 bushels, and the Mangel Wurtzel, at this rate, 900 bushels to the acre, each in the uncut state. As he planted the Mangel Wurtzel, Mr. Jones found it easy to dress with the plough and one horse. The Carrots, when up, require the hoe and the hand altogether. It appears, that the seeds of this plant, about which the utmost care is necessary, may be had of John S. Skinner, Esq. Baltimore, and Mr. M'Mahon, Philadelphia, and of the seedsmen in New York, Hartford, Boston, &c. The Mangel Wurtzel fell into some disrepute in England, about the year 1810, but the marchioness of Salisbury revived it. It was introduced into Ireland, in 1787, by seed from Dr. Letsom, of London, but the good qualities not being known, nor the culture, it fell into disuse in Ireland also. But a machine for the planting of it was invented by Mr. Edward Linsey, and now it is extensively cultivated there and much approved. The leaves produce two or more crops in the north of Ireland in summer and autumn, and those leaves and the roots in winter are deemed excellent for milch and beef cattle, in that great butter country. Irish sowing time is April and May. Preparation the same as for turnips and potatoes: two drills to be opened two feet apart; sufficient dung to be used, according to the state and quality of the ground. Then cover the dung with the double mould board plough, at once, or the single plough at twice, by ridging them up as high as can be well done, with a man shovelling between the drills, right and left, smoothing the surface of the dung, which will leave the ridge about a space of ten or twelve inches broad. This complete method of fallowing will repay the trouble of shovelling, by raising a full proportion of earth under the roots. When the ground is thus completely prepared, two boys or girls can sow from two to three acres per day. After sowing, it should be well rolled, which completes the process.