126 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



in we may stow nine {rood loaves and two minced 

 pies at a batcli ; and when these are baked tlie oven 

 must retain snfticient licat to roast Haifa bushel of 

 apples. Will you undertake our job? Two things 

 are essential in a brick oven. It should so be built 

 tliat it will h'ttg: retain its heat ; therefore the cov- 

 ering must lie tliick. It should be readily heated; 

 and therefore the bricks must not be contiguous. A 

 very thick wall made wholly of bricks will be long 

 in lieating and will require too much firewood. We 

 therefore wish you to cover our ovens with one 

 course of bricks. Tiiis gives a tliickness of four 

 inches. Then j)ut on a covering of sand, made so 

 moist as to keep its place, and not less than four 

 inches in thickness — then you may lay one or two 

 courses more of bricks for an outside covering, ac- 

 cording to your room in the chimney. Now you 

 have given ns a thick wall for a covering which 

 will retain the heat as long as if made wholly of 

 bricks — and it may be heated in one half tlie time, 

 because we have only to heat one tier of bricks in- 

 stead of three. The coating of s;ind being a non- 

 conductor it will not communicate tiie lieat of the 

 oven tn the outside walls or covering; but will 

 serve to retain the lieat in tlie oven, and apply it 

 when we want it to tlie baking of our loaves. The 

 bottom or hearth of the oven must have a similar 

 construction. If you will undertake our job, we 

 will seek no farther. 



The Pnrmer's Wife, 



BY JAMES T. FIELPS. 



**5/ie is what you tcould have her. 

 Fix your eye kere.^' 



Who hath a hiippier smile than she 



Who waits on yonder sward, 

 Beneatli the spreading walnut tree, 



The coming of her lord ? 



Who makes his hearth gleam fresh and bright 



V/hen daily toil is done, 

 And s'lieds aroupd a holier liglit 



As swiftly fades llie sun ? 



Who, open hand and hearted, meets 



The cheerless fainting poor. 

 And kindly looks on all. she. greets 



That pass her lonely door ? 



'Tis she, the merry farmer's wife, 



Who sits liii' chair beside, 

 And tells him what a happy life 



It is to be his bride : 



And when misfortune's cares arise, 



And earthly hopes grow dim, 

 She'll point him upwrrd to the ekies, 



And place their (rust in Him, 



Who rich in love, witli goodness rife, 



Rules over land and sea, — 

 Then blessings on the firmer's wife 



Wherever she may be ! 



Yankee FurTncr. 



Frtiin t!:e Vaiikfie Faomer. 



Hay Making. 



Having devoted a portion of iwy lime for ten 

 yewrs past, until recently, to practical farming, I 

 will now make a few ren^arks for the benefit of 

 fnrmcrsupon the subject of hay making. As l.n- 

 provements are taking place in aImo.st every thinjr 

 around us, why may tliere not be an improved 

 metliod adopted in making hay ? Some of the best 

 iarmers of the country have long since adopted tlie 

 new mode, which I will now mention, omitting 

 however such practical operations as are well un- 

 derstood by all. 



1st. The mown grass should lay in tlie swath, 

 without being spread, the day on whicli it is cut 

 until tile afternoon, when the time arrives to rake 

 it into winrows. In Its green state it should then 

 be pitched (ns-t rolled) with the fork into cocks. 

 Where there is a lieavy burden, it may be pitched 

 into cocks before raking, and the scatterings raked 

 up afterwards. Every farmer having a large farm 

 will of course use the horse rake, as it will not on- 

 ly make an immense saving of labor, but it will 

 enable him to do the work quicker in case of an 

 approaching shower. The grass thus cocked in a 

 green state, will shed off the rains, which cannot 

 penetrate the mass, and will remain uninjured for 

 several days in case of damp weather. 



'2d. The object is to cure tlic grass in the cock ; 

 that is, to let it undergo the process of a gentle fer- 

 mentation, or "the sweating process," as farmers 

 say. In the fermentation a portion of the moist- 

 ure escapes from the grass and. npon opening may 

 be seen in pearly drops even in the centre of the 



cocks. Thifi is a very important process in hay 

 making. Thereby a very aubstan'ial part of the 

 grass may be preserved, instead of being lost by 

 evaporation in long drying under a burning sun. 



3d. The next day after mowing being fair, after 

 the dews have evaporak-d, the cocks should be 

 opened and well spread, and by turning, generally 

 three times, by 2 o'clock the hay will be sufficient- 

 ly made for the mow. But should it be too moist, 

 a peck of salt to the ton would always be benefi- 

 cial. The practice of sprinkling salt upon fresh 

 hay is highly approved. 



Hay cured in this mode is of greater value and 

 will command a higher price in the market than 

 hay made in the old way by spreading out thin, 

 and drying it in the sun until it loses its frarrrance 

 and green color. Tlie great advantage of the new 

 mode consists in drying, in some measure, in the 

 shndcj the hay not being spread out very thin ; the 

 fragrance and a portion of the juices are tliereby 

 retained, and all the labor of spreading the first day is 

 saved. I practised the new method for six years 

 past, and therefore know its superior advantages. 

 No intelligent farmer, who will reflect upon the 

 subject, and follow the new mode a few years, 

 would ever go back to the old vrny. I am aware 

 that to farmers in some of the most thriving agri- 

 cultural districts, my suggestions would seem to be 

 gratuitouB, as- they have adopted the new mode. 



Tn respect to clover, I believe that farmers gen- 

 erally know the advantages of curing in the cock, 

 and not spreading it too thin, and not letting it lay 

 till it becomes brittle and friabl**. If they will re- 

 flect upon the subject, they will perceive tiiat the 

 same reasons which apply to clover, apply also to 

 herds or other ii^vasses. Judge I5uel, one of the 

 best farmers in the country, submitted the question 

 to farmers, why they dried their herbs in the shade. 

 The correct an^^wer to that question will explain 

 the philosophy of the new process of hay making. 

 W. CLAGGETT. 



'Dead Branches, 



Last year we found that one of our apple trees, 

 (a fine Seek-no-farther graft,) owing , to injuries 

 sustained by the bark of the body, had partially 

 perished, and that many of the branches were whol- 

 ly dead. Remembering that we had formerly lost 

 trees from the same cause, and believing that the 

 dead branches operated perniciously on tlic remain- 

 ing vitality of the tree, we had them thoroughly 

 cut out, v/ith all such others as exhibited sj'^mp- 

 toms of decay. This was done in the spring; and 

 the remaining branches soon became, vigorous, and 

 gave an abundant supply offine fruit. This spring 

 the tree appears well and will continue to flourish, 

 most probably. 



The effect of allowing dead branches to remain 

 on a tree, is shown by a decay of part of the trunk, 

 frequently front the insertion to the roots; a result 

 which could hardly have happened, iiad the dead 

 limb been amputated in season, and an opportunity 

 offered for the renovating powers of nature in iieal- 

 ing the wound. Whether, as maintained by some, 

 a dead branch is more exiiaustlng to the tree by its 

 constant absorption of sap, than a living one, we 

 do not know ; but reasnmug from ficts and analo- 

 gy, it may be safely aflirmed, liiat a fruit tree can 

 never be in a iiealthy fruit bearing condition, while 

 the top is encumbered with decaying branches, to 

 vitiate the sap, the circulating vital iiuid of the 

 tree. Careful, judicious pruning, ig of great ad- 

 vantage to trees ; but the CAclsion of all dead bhin- 

 ches should be attended to, whether a general 

 pruning is performed or not. — Gen. Farmer. 



Fr«ui the Philadelphia Farmer's Catiinct. 



General direction for mriking Sweet-aeats 

 and Jellie*!. 



In preparing sugar for sweetmeats, let it be en- 

 tirely dissolved before you jtut It on the fire. If 

 you dissolve it in water, allow about half a pint of 

 water to a pound of suger. If you boll the sugar 

 before you add the fruit to it, it will be improved 

 in clearness by passing it through a flannel l>ag. 

 Skim otr the brown scum, all the time it is boiling. 

 If sweetmeats are boiled too long, they will lose 

 their flavor and become of a dark color. If boiled 

 too short a time, they will not keep well. You may 

 ascertain when jelly is done, by dropping a small 

 spoonful in a glass of water. If it spreads and 

 mixes with llxe water, it requires more boiling. 

 If it sinks in a lump to the bottom, it is sufficiently 

 done. This trial must be made after the jelly is 

 cold. Raspberry jelly requires more boiling 

 than any other sort — black currant jelly less. — 

 Keep your jellies, &c. in glass jars, or in those of 

 white qucensware. 



To malte Currtint Jelly. 



Pick yorr currants very carefully, and if it be 

 necessary to wash thorn, be sure they are thorough- 

 ly drained. Place tiiem in a stone jar, well cover- 

 ed, in a pot of boiling water. When cooked soft, 

 strain tlieni through a coarse clotli, add one pound 

 of fine Havana sugar to each pound of the jelly 

 put into ajar, and cover as above. Or you niay 

 break your currants with a pestle and squeeze them 

 through a cloth. Put a pint of clean sugar to a 

 pint of juice, and boil it very slowly till it becomes 

 ropy. 



This is an ^xcellpnt article, especially in sick- 

 ness, and no family need or ought to be without a 

 supply. 



Cherry Jam. 



To twelve pounds of Kentish or duke cherries, 

 when ripe, weigh one pound of sugar; break the 

 stones of part and blanch them ; then put them to 

 the fruit and sugar, and boil all gently till the jam 

 comes clear from the pan. Pour it into China 

 plates to come up dry to table. Keep in boxes with 

 white paper between. 



Currant Jam^ blacky red or white. 



Let the fruit bo very ripe, pick it clean from the 

 stalks, bruise it, and to every pound put three- 

 quarters of a pound of loaf sugar; stir it well and 

 boil half an hour. 



To preserve Raspberries. 



Pick your raspberries in a dry day, just before 

 they are fully ripe ; lay them on a dish, beat and 

 sifl their weight of fine sugar, and strew it over 

 them. To every quart of raspberries, take a quart 

 of red currant jelly, and put to its weight of fine 

 sugar ; boil and skim it well, then put in your rasp- 

 berries, and give them a scald. Take them off and 

 let them stand over two hours ; then set them on 

 again, and scald until they look clear. 

 Grape Jelly. 



Pick the grapes from the stems, wash and drain 

 them. Mash them with a spoon. Put them in the 

 preserving kettle and cover them with a large plate; 

 boil them ten minutes; tiien pour them into your 

 jelly bag and squeeze out the juice. Allow a pint 

 of juic^ to a pound of sugar. Put the sugar and 

 juice mto the kettle, and boil twenty minutes, 

 skimming them well. Fill your glasses while the 

 jelly is warm, and tic them up with papers dipped 

 in brandy. 



To dry Cherries. 



To every five pounds of cherries, stoned, weigh 

 one of sugar double-refined. Put the fruit into the 

 preserving pan with very little water, make both 

 scalding h'st ; take the fruit out and immediately 

 dr>' thi'm ; put them into the pan again, strewing 

 the sugar between each layer of clierries; let it 

 stand to melt ; then set the pan on the fire, and 

 make it scalding hot as before ; take it oft*, and re- 

 peat this thrice witii the sugar. Drain them from 

 the sj-rup, and lay thein singly to dry on dishes in 

 the sun or on the stove. When dry, put them into 

 a seive, dip it into a pan of cold water, and draw it 

 instantly out again, and pour them on a fine soft 

 cloth; dry them, and set them once more in the 

 hot sun, or on a st6ve. Keep them in a box with 

 layers of v/hite paper in a dry place. This way is 

 the best to give plumpness to the fruit, as well as 

 color and flavor^ 



PcMch Jflly. 



Wipe tlie wool well off your peaches, which 

 sJiouhl be f:ee of stories and not too ripe, and cut 

 tiicm in quarters. Crack tlie stones and break the 

 kernels pmall. Put i\\v poaches and kernels into 

 a covered jar, set thein in boiling water, and let 

 tiiem boil till they are soft. Strain them tlirough 

 a jelly bag until all tlie juice is squeezed out. Al' 

 low a pint Of loaf sugar to a pint of juice. Put the 

 sugar and juice into a jireserving kettle, and boil 

 them twenty minutes, skimming them carefully. 

 Put the jelly warm into glasses, and when cold 

 tie them uj* with brandied papers. [Plum and 

 green-gage jelly may be made in the same man- 

 ner with the kernels, wiilch greatly improve the 

 flavor.] 



Goosi berry Jelly. 



Cut the gooseberries in half, they must be green, 

 and put them into a jar closely covered. Set tJie 

 jar in an oven or pot filled with boiling water. — 

 Keep the water boiling round the jar, till the goose- 

 berries are soft ; take them out, mash them with a 

 spoon, and put them into a jelly bag to drain. — 

 When all the juice is squeezed out, measure it, and 

 to a pint of juice allow a pint of loaf sugar. Put 

 the juice and sugar into the preserving kettle, and 

 boil them twenty minutes, skimming them well. 

 Then put the jelly warrw into glasses, closely cov- 

 ered with brandied papers. [Cranberry jelly is 

 made in the same manner.] 



