FARMER'S . ASSISTANT. 41 i 



warmed ; all the culinary business may be performed ; roots 

 may be boiled for cattle in large vessels made for the pur- 

 pose ; and all this may be pertormed without half the risk 

 from fires which attends the usual methods. 



For close-stoves to be set in rooms, it is believed, that the 

 Russian stoves will be found preferable to those rnude of 

 iron. They are built of brick, and may be made of different 

 forms. They should be supplied with air from wuhout the 

 room they are intended to warm; as this will be a great 

 saving of the heated air in the ruom. They are used en- 

 tirtly in Russia, and they require less fuel than our iron 

 stoves, as two cords of good wood will supply one of them 

 a whole Winter. Cooking may also bt done in them, as in 

 our iron stoves, by having an oven fixed in them for the 

 purpose. 



WATER. This is found, by chemical experiments, to 

 be the same substance as air, but in a mure condensed 

 form; being composed of about eighty-five parts of oxygene, 

 and fifteen parts of hydrogene, gas. 

 See AIR 



This substance, however, in its condensed and in its gase- 

 ous state, is the essential food of plants as no vegetation 

 can be produced without air, nor without water; but, with 

 these alone, every species of plant can be made to vegetate 

 to a certain degree. 



It is, however, unnecessary to dwell minutely on this ar- 

 ticle ; but something should be said of its application to 

 meadow-lands; of drawing it off, where too abundant; and 

 of applying it to plants. 



Where water can be carried over lands, without too great 

 an expense, it should always be attended to, as great crops 

 of hay may be had from such grounds. The means of wa- 

 tering the ground, or of taking it off, should be completely 

 under control; for, if too much be suffered to run on, it 

 may do more hurt than good. Chalybeate waters, and such, 

 as are impregnated with mineral acids, should be avoided. 

 That which has a rich sediment is best. The quantity 

 should be proportioned to the nature of the soil ; as sandy 

 grounds require more, and stiff soils less. The channels 

 should be so made as to carry the water to every part, ex- 

 cept where the ground is naturally wet. The main channel 

 should just have descent enough to cause the water to run; 

 and the lateral branches should be run in such directions as 

 that the descent be very moderate, and at the same time 

 convey the water to every part of the ground. Sometimes 

 it is necessary to carry off the surplus water by other chan- 

 nels, where the ground has little hollows runing through it. 



