444 



THE FARMER AT HOME. 



and whiter, is called the alburnum. In the middle of the stem is the 

 pith, which is a soft and spongy substance composed of cells. In old 

 wood this part entirely disappears, and its place is supplied by the 

 perfect wood. To the vegetable also belong leaves, flowers, and fruit 

 or seeds, each of which furnishes matter for study, on account of their 

 beauty and utility in vegetable economy. 



VEGETABLE CUTTER; 



VEGETABLE CUTTER. To farmers who raise turnips, carrots, 

 parnips, beets or potatoes for farm animals it is, as it were, indispen- 

 sable to have what is called a vegetable cutter. Those which are 

 large cannot be eaten unless they are cut ; and, those which are 

 small should also be cut unless they are, especially potatoes and flat 

 turnips, cattle and sheep are liable to be choked in eating them. To 

 cut them by hand with a common knife is a work of great labor. 

 Suppose a thousand bushels only w r ere to be fed out in a winter, any 

 one can tell how long a time it would take a man to cut them. If he 

 were to cut thirty bushels in a day, which would be three bushels in 

 an hour, it would occupy him nearly six weeks. To board a man this 

 time, if no wages w r ere paid, would be worth what it would cost to 

 purchase a good cutting machine. The Cutting Machine of Ruggles, 

 Nourse, arid Mason, will prepare sixty bushels in an hour. The 



