286 



Object of As^ricullural Papers — Fermented Food. Vol. \Y. 



The object of Agricultural Papers* 



We have greatly misconceived the design 

 of the agricultural periodicals of the day, if 

 one of their leading objects is not to atibrd 

 the practical farmers of the land an opportu- 

 nity of communicating and comparing their 

 several methods of tillage — thus embodying 

 the opinions and experience of the whole 

 reading community, for the mutual benefit of 

 all. It is a great fallacy to suppose that when 

 an individual becomes the editor of an agri- 

 cultural paper, he necessarily constitutes him- 

 eelf a dictator of opinion and practice to his 

 readers. His opinions, although they may 

 be highly enlightened and judicious, are at 

 least the opinions of a single individual, and 

 entitled to no more exlra consideration than 

 his advantageous position for the acquisition 

 of valuable information may justify. The 

 common objection, therefore, to subscribing 

 to an agricultural paper — that he, the ob- 

 jector, knows as much about farming as the 

 editor, is the clearest proof of a deplorable 

 ignorance ; ignorance even of the very ob- 

 jects and intentions of the publication he 

 rejects. . 



As the world waxes older and wiser, the 

 useful arts keep pace in their improvement, 

 with the progress of society. But these im- 

 provements, which are advancing almost 

 daily, are not, perhaps, in themselves more 

 important than the facilities afforded by the 

 periodical press for making them known, 

 with almost magic celerity, to the ends of 

 the earth. Thus an important discovery in 

 farming, which, without this aid, would pro- 

 bably be years in travelling beyond the limits 

 of ten square miles, is taken up by the agri- 

 cultural papers, and circulated throughout 

 the country in a very few days — whilst a 

 distant periodical repays the obligation by 

 recording an equally valuable idea of similar 

 character, and destined to a like extensive 

 and rapid circulation. But if all practical 

 farmers were, in surly silence, to keep their 

 discoveries and improvements all to them- 

 selves, how disastrously would the value of 

 all the agricultural papers of the land be cur- 

 tailed ! And this brings us to the point we 

 had in view in adopting the caption we have 

 placed at the head of this article, and that is 

 an appeal to the friends of this paper for com- 

 munications on the various topics connected 

 with t!ie interest of agriculture in the land. 



Many of our agricultural exchange papers 

 from other states, come to us regularly 

 freighted with exceedingly interesting com- 

 munications, embodying a great fund of in- 

 formation, practical and scientific, and con- 

 Etituting a large proportion of the value of 

 those publications. Now, could we prevail 

 on our subscribers to yield us a like efficient 



aid in our labours, the benefits of such an in- 

 terchange of opinion and experience, would 

 redound alike to tliem and to the general ad- 

 vancement of the great interests which it is 

 the object of our little sheet to advance. Let 

 our friends then make it, if not a matter of 

 patriotism, at least of personal interest, to 

 enter upon this mutual comparison of practice 

 and opinion, which cannot fail of the happiest 

 results to alh 



In these communications, the drapery of 

 highly polished diction is by no means neces- 

 sary, though certainly not unwelcome. Let 

 no one tlierefore be deterred from communi- 

 cating valuable matter which may be in his 

 possession, because he may not happen to 

 think his style of writing sufficiently classical. 

 All original communications, embodying use- 

 ful information, will be gladly received and 

 cheerfully inserted, in preference to any other 

 matter. — Tennessee Farmer. 



From the Yankee Farmer. 

 Fermented Food* 



Mr. Editor, — I observe an article in the 

 Farmer of Dec. 14, on the cooking of food 

 for animals, as a matter of economy. These 

 remarks appear to be rational; and if the 

 method there described should be carried into 

 eft'ect, no doubt the farming interest would 

 be very greatly advanced. But the mere 

 cooking of food for animals is not all that 

 may be done to advantage. All food, after 

 being cooked, may be rendered much more 

 valuable for animals by being fermented be- 

 fore feeding it out to them. The reasons are 

 simple, philosophical, and plain, though pro- 

 bably very few are aware oT them. Diges- 

 tion of food in the stcmach is performed on 

 the same principles as is distillation. It is 

 well known as a settled fact in chemical phi- 

 losophy, that distillation cannot be had from 

 any thing without a proper state of fermenta- 

 tion, and that must be performed before the 

 liquor goes into the kettle. 



So in digestion. The digestive process 

 cannot proceed until after fermentation in 

 the stomach, if the food is taken in an unfer- 

 mented state. Thus we see that all this 

 labour must be first performed by the stomach 

 before healthy and nourishing digestion can 

 take place. For it is only by a proper de- 

 velopement of the proper gases, that di- 

 gestion and nutrition take place at all. And 

 this is the reason that creatures are often 

 killed by over-eating certain articles. Hogs 

 have been frequently killed by giving too 

 much at a time of sweet whey. The reason 

 is, that before healthy and digesting fermenta- 

 tion takes place, an unhealthy fermentation 

 takes i)lace, by which the stomach and ether 

 intestines are so distended that dic-cstioa 



