198 



THE FARMER AT HOME. 



The color of the hair generally affords an external characteristic of 

 the species or variety ; but climate, food, and age produce great 

 changes in it. The human body is naturally covered with long hair 

 only in a few parts ; yet the parts which we should generally describe 

 as destitute of it, produce a fine, short, colorless, sometime* hardly 

 perceptible hair. The only places entirely free from it are the 

 palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. Hair not only serves as 

 a cover or ornament to the body, but exercises an important influence 

 on absorption and perspiration ; where the hair is thick, the perspira- 

 tion is freer. If the root is destroyed, there is no means of reproduc- 

 ing the hair ; but if it falls out, without the root being destroyed, as is 

 often the case after nervous fevers, the hair grows out again of itself. 



HALO. A halo is a luminous circle, usually of various and beau- 

 tiful hues, surrounding the sun or moon during certain conditions of 

 the atmosphere. A halo of the moon is usually a white circle with 

 an inner edge sometimes tinged with pale red. There is much truth 

 in the remark, that a dense halo close to the moon portends rain. 

 Lunar halos are most frequent, because the sun's rays are too dazzling 

 to admit of their being seen. The most probable cause of this phe- 

 nomena is, that it depends on the refraction of light in passing through 

 small transparent prisms of ice, floating in the higher regions of the 

 atmosphere. 



HAMS. The ham is one of the most valuable parts of the hog, 

 and which, if properly cured, may be preserved for almost any length 

 of time, retaining its fine properties. The most esteemed, are made 

 from hogs fed on solid feed, corn being the best, which are allowed 

 considerable exercise ; which do not weigh more than two hundred 

 or two hundred and fifty pounds, and which have a large portion of 

 muscular or lean flesh in their structure. The quality of the meat 

 depends also on the manner of pickling and smoking it. Saltpetre in 

 the curing of it gives it a good color, and prevents it from being too 

 salt ; the meat having a greater affinity for the former than for the 

 latter of these substances. A little saleratus will render it tender, and 

 sugar or molasses will give general improvement to the flavor. Our 

 own rule is, to every hundred pounds of flesh, one pound of saltpetre, 

 half a gallon of molasses, or its equivalent in sugar, and half a tea- 

 cup of saleratus, made into a pickle, with salt sufficient to raise an 

 egg half above the surface, the whole being simmered over the fire 

 till all the impurities rise and are skimmed ofF. When cold, the 

 hams are buried in it, and remain there from four to six weeks, when 

 they may be taken out, dried, and put in the smoke-house. The 

 smoke of cobs or hickory wood is best. They may be kept through 

 the season hanging in the smoke-house, now and then making a little 

 smoke under them ; or, they may be sewed up in bags and white- 

 washed, or they may be packed in ashes ; either, if well done, will 

 protect them from flies. 



