34 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



by adiiiixture of linseed oil and turpentine, givoi for 

 the same purpose. 



It may not be considered out of place to add here 

 some remarks upon the nature of parasites in general. 

 In every case they ought not to be considered as pri- 

 mary, but as secondary, indicating the existence of 

 disease rather than producing it. For instance, ani- 

 mals in an unhealtliy or impoverished state become 

 infested with parasitic lice, whilst those in healthy con- 

 dition arc free from them. Pjirasitcs, also, that attack 

 the internal organs are invariably the result of pre- 

 vious disorganization of the system. Even with trees 

 and vegetables the same laws prevail. The branches of 

 trees, when diseased, become covered with lichens and 

 fungi, from which the other portions in a healthy state 

 are free. Bodies entering into decomposition also 

 engender worms innumerable, and even vinegar itself 

 abounds with myriads of small thread-like worms, 

 under certain conditions of temperature or chemical 

 change. 



From all, then, that has been adduced, we arrive at 

 the following conclusions — 



1st. That the sudden removal of the lambs from the 

 support derived from their mothers at too early a 

 period produces disorganization of the digestive organs, 



which cannot be overcome unUss the ibod that is sup- 

 plied is. of a highly nutritious quality, and easily to 

 be assimilated in the stomach of the young animals. 

 For this purpose young succulent pasture-grass appears 

 to be best adapted. • 



2nd. Thai the present mode of keeping sheep in large 

 numbers upon arable land aiid dry artificial grasses is 

 totally at variance with the natural habits of the 

 animal ; that under such management the lambs, from 

 their tender nature, are the first that sufler; and that 

 when grazed upon land of a sterile character, the nutri- 

 tious portions of the food become diminished in ratio 

 to the quality of the soil upon which it is grown. 



3rd. That the early period of removing lambs from 

 the ewes lends greatly to produce disease, inasmuch 

 as such treatment is directly contrary to that which 

 would take place under the ordinary course of nature. 



The remedy, therefore, becomes apparent— that this 

 sudden transition be as far as possible avoided, by 

 suffering the lambs to continue longer with the ewes ; 

 and that, when removed from them, the food supplied 

 bo of a succulent and nutritious character, with a proper 

 admixture of nourishing dry food in addition. If the 

 weather be hot and dry, a j-lentiful supply of water 

 should be at all times given them. 



FERMENTATION AND BREAD-MAKING 



Fermentation is that apontaneoua change which, in various 

 forma, takes place in animal and vegetable substances, pro- 

 ducing new fluida and gaseous compounds. It is of three 

 kinds, namely, the vinous, producing alcohol; the acetutis, 

 yielding innegar ; and the putrefactive, of which the products 

 are very variable, and usually fetid. The two former may be 

 considered as merely dccopjpositious, the latter that of decay. 



"Wbentheexpresssdjuiceof thegrape.&c.isexposeJiuwarm 

 weather to the air, which is necessary to the operation, it soon 

 becomes turbid : its temperature rises a feiv decrees, a motioa 

 takes place io the flui I, and minute bHbhlea of air form and 

 break. If the process goes oq, a thick froth, consisting of 

 those babbles au 1 viscid matter, rises to the surfa'c ; and 

 when these bubbles have burst, a viscid substance falls to the 

 baltoraoftiie vessel. Tliis possesses the property of causing 

 fermeotatioa to take place iu othsr fluids, which without its 

 presence woulJ not uadergo such a change. This substance 

 is called yeast." 



In order to observe what happens during the vinous fermeu- 

 tatioD, dissolve some sugar in four times its weight of water, 

 and add to the solution a small quantity of yeast obtained as 

 above described, or from the fermentation of beer. Expose 

 this mixture, iu a glass with a bent tube, aud a bottle for re- 

 ceiving the gaseous products, to a temperature of about 73 

 degrees, it will soon be found that the substances will so act 

 upon each other as to produce carbonic acid, which will be 

 found in the gas bottle, while the sugar will gradually disap- 

 pear, and the flisk will cotitain a mixture of water aud alcohol, 

 or spirits of wine ; this is separated by distillation. These 

 changes occur wit'nont the interfereucc of the air or its oxygen; 

 nor does it appear that water is decomposed, or that anything 

 is added by the yea^t. It seems, therefore, that when sugar ia 



deprived of its oxygen and carbon in the form of carbonic acid, 

 it is converted into alcohol. Now alcohol consists of 3 equiva- 

 lents of hydrogen, equal 3 ; 2 of carbon, equal r3; aud 1 of 

 oxygeu, equal 8 ; its equivalent therefore is 23. Ia order, 

 therefore, that the alcohol aud carbonic acid alone should be 

 produced from sugar, this last substance should consist of 3 

 equivalents of hydrogen, equal 3 ; 3 of carbon, equal 18 ; and 

 3 of oxygen, equal 21 ; giving 45 as its equivalent. On 

 this admission, the production of alcohol by the separation of 

 carbonic acid from sugar may be thus shown : 



Hydrogen. Carbon. O.xygen. 



Suger 3 3 3 equivalents. 



Carbonic acid 12 



Alcohol .... 



1 



This will, however, show that sugar coutains a larger quan- 

 tity of carbon than is usually assigned to it. According to 

 Gay Lussac, 100 parts of sugar should yield 48.7(3 of carbonic 

 acid, and 5.24 of alcohol, which is very nearly in accordance 

 with the foregoing theoretic statement. 



Although sugar appears to be the only vegetable matter 

 that yields alcohol by its dscomposition, yet it is to be observed 

 that purs sugar suffers no fermentation. In tlie juice of the 

 grape, as well as in some other cases, there is some accompany- 

 ing matter which acts as a ferment ; and when yeast is thus 

 spontaneously produced it causes fermentation in sugar with- 

 out, so far as appears, adding anything important. Indeed it 

 is stated that scarcely 2 per cent, of this substance suffers de- 

 composition. It will therefore almost appear to proJuce the 

 effect by what has been termed " an action of presence," and 

 by Bcrzelius denominated " catalysis." 



In brewing, distilling, and vinegar-making in this country 



