AGRICULTURAL MECHANICS AND RURAL ECONOMY. 63 



are, in the first place, taken to the building where the process of making the tallow is carried 

 on, and picked and separated from the stalks. They are then put into a wooden cylinder, 

 open at the top, but with a perforated bottom. This is placed over an iron vessel (about the 

 same diameter, or rather larger than the wooden cylinder, and about six or eight inches deep) 

 containing water, by which means the seeds are well steamed for the purpose of softening 

 the tallow, and causing it more readily to separate. The furnace has four or five iron vessels 

 in a row, about three feet high, four or five feet broad, and eight or ten feet long. 



When the seeds have steamed ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, they are thrown into a 

 large stone mortar, and are generally beaten by two men with stone mallets, for the purpose 

 of detaching the tallow from the other parts of the seed. They are then thrown into a sieve, 

 heated over the fire, and sifted, by which process the tallow is separated, or nearly so, al- 

 though they generally undergo the process of steaming, &c. a second time, that nothing may 

 be lost. The other part of the seed is ground and pressed for oil. 



The tallow now resembles coarse linseed-meal, but with more white spots in it, and derives its 

 brown color from the thin covering over the seed, (between it and the tallow, ) which is separated 

 by the pounding and sifting. In this state it is put between circles of twisted straw, five or six 

 of which are laid upon each other, and thus forming a hollow cylinder for its reception. When 

 this straw-cylinder has been filled, it is carried away and placed in the press. The tallow is 

 pressed out by means of wedges, driven in very tightly with stone mallets, and passes 

 through a hole in the bottom of the press into a tub, which is sunk there to receive it. It 

 is now freed from all impurities, and is a semi-fluid of beautiful white color, but soon gets 

 solid, and in cold weather is very brittle. The inside of the tubs which collect the tallow is 

 sprinkled or dusted over with a fine red earth, well-dried, which prevents the tallow from 

 adhering to the sides. It is thus easily removed in a solid state from the tubs, and in this 

 condition the cakes are exposed for sale in the market. As the candles made from this vege- 

 table tallow have a tendency to get soft and melt in hot weather, they are commonly dipped 

 in wax of various colors, as red, green, and yellow. The cake or refuse which remains 

 after the tallow has been pressed out of it, is used for fuel or to manure the land, and 

 so also are the other parts of the seeds from which oil is extracted. 



It may be remarked that this tree has been cultivated in South Carolina for more than a 

 hundred years, and appears well adapted to the climate. — Agricultural Department, Patent 

 Office. 



On the Construction of Hot-beds. 



The following remarks, relative to the construction of hot-beds, were recently made at the 

 Farmer's Club, New York City, by J. P. Lowe, Esq. : — 



It is a useful practice, and indeed economical, to have the necessary amount of earth col- 

 lected in a heap, say latter part of August, so that it may be ready for use when required in 

 early spring at the time of making hot-beds. This heap, during the winter season, in con- 

 sequence of frequent freezings and thawings, becomes finely pulverized, and not being 

 trodden down, or in a compact state, the atmosphere can freely circulate through the mass, 

 and in so doing deposits ammonia, &c, which will prove conducive to its fertility. 



Next in order, I shall speak of the proper covering for sashes, for the reason that this is 

 generally provided during late winter as preparatory to the making of hot-beds. Moss, 

 hay, and refuse material are frequently but injudiciously made use of, for, during the 

 removal and replacement of such substances, at times necessary to give air and light to 

 plants, small portions by accident fall upon them, which soon undergo decomposition ; and 

 the plants, being too tender to withstand the produced eiFect, very often droop and die. Mats 

 are, doubtless, much better as a covering to prevent the effects of frost than the materials 

 already spoken of; for the objections in the one case are not applicable in the other, and the 

 best kind as well as the most easy to construct are those made by almost every gardener. 

 Two men accustomed to such work can make during a day from six to seven mats, six and 

 a half feet long by five feet wide, and the mode of operation can readily be understood. A 

 coarse frame of the required size is procured, and from four to five nails, according to the 

 size of the mat required, and at equidistant points from each other, are driven in each of the 



