FARMERS' REGISTER— UNDULATING AND PORTABLE RAILWAYS. 



729 



eituation that with expedition and convenience 

 they could be placed in the cutting-box, to which 

 they were to be subjected. In one day's work, I 

 had a prodigious pile of stalks thus Ktrijiped. The 

 next rainy day I brought in my "Eastman," and 

 a man and a boy soon reduced the pile to pieces, 

 half an incii in ienglh. Here, sir, I would just re- 

 mark, what a quantity of this labor I got tlirough 

 within a short time, by pursuing every moment 

 systematically, and beiug prepared ibr every oper- 

 ation before I connnenced it. It will now be read- 

 ily granted, that I had saved as much of the nutri- 

 tive qualities of the stalk, shuck, and blade, by my 

 mode of curing, as was possible to efl'ect; and also, 

 that I had prodigiously diminished the labor usu- 

 ally bestowed in the common mode of saving corn 

 and its refuse. At the same time that I was pre- 

 paring the stalks, I also shucked, so that in cut- 

 ting up the stalks, I cut, at the same operation, a 

 proportion of shuck with stalk. 



But the principal object was yet to begin, viz: 

 to prepare these cut stalks and shucks in such a 

 Avay as would render them the most nutritious and 

 palatable I'ood lor cattle. To etiect this, I pro- 

 ceeded thus: I placed three strong hogsheads, 

 made of cedar, well pitclied, on the outside, on a 

 ]ilat(brni, al>out three leet from the ground, having 

 at the bottom a large spigot to let olF their contents. 

 Just before these, I had a large trough placed, at 

 the distance of twenty feet, and well enclosed 

 along with the hogsheads. Between the hogs- 

 heads and the troughs, I had the steam apparatus 

 placed, all under a shed. Into these hogsheads I 

 threw a small quantity of boiling water, and into 

 the water a portion of corn meal, (coarse ground) 

 just sufficient, when the cask was filled, to |)roduce 

 the vinous fermentation, as if going to distil; with 

 a good straw mat top, lor each cask. After an 

 hour, and well stirring, I filled up with cold, sofl 

 water, and left the mass to ferment. As soon as 

 my liquid was ready, or just as the acetous ler- 

 mentation was about to conmience, I worked off 

 in my steaming-box aturn of the stalks andshucks, 

 mixed up, and as soon as sufficiently steamed, I 

 placed a quantity in my trough, pressing them well 

 down, with a fiilse top, moveable as I wanted, and 

 now drawing the spigot from the cask ready, the li- 

 quid was permitted to cover them, running along a 

 portable, light trough, such as distillers use for 

 conveying water. This I did in the evening, and 

 by morning I took up in light buckets the quantity 

 required for the mornings feeding of my oxen and 

 cows, &c. placing it in'the feeding troughs, step- 

 ping only a few feet, sprinkling a little salt over the 

 mass. The cut stalks and shucks had become 

 perfectl}' charged by absorption with liquid, at 

 once one of the most j^alatable and nutritious pre- 

 parations yet discovered — of this food I gave them 

 plenty. The efiect on the flesh and milk, exceed- 

 ed my most sanguine expectations. My cattle 

 became excessively fond of it, and I so fed as to 

 "lose nothing." 



My casks by a little management, 1 had always 

 "under way," one always ready. I now ascer- 

 tained to my full satisfaction, that I could not ise- 

 stow too much trouble, (as it is called,) in saving 

 my corn stalks! 



Satisfied of the value of my labor, I have since 

 added to the steam -box all refuse potatoes, turnips, 

 cabbage leaves, beets, parsni];s, carrots and pump- 

 kins, squashes, cucumbers, &c.; in fine all the ve- 



VoL. 11—57 



getable productions of the field, orchard or garden, 

 as the season may afibrdj "that nothing may be 

 lost"— -and I find that I am well jiaid for the labor 

 bestowed. The last, after absorbing what they 

 will contain of the liquid, goes to tlie support of 

 "old Ned." 



AGUICOLA. 



From tlie Rail Road Journal. 

 tJIVDULATING RAILWAYS. 



Washington, D, C. March 30, 1S35. 



Messrs. Badnall and Stephenson, in their viewa 

 respecting undulating rail road.«, are both right and 

 both wrong. Mr. Badnall's experiments prove, that 

 in locating rail roads in this country, where they 

 must necessarily be undulating, an eil'ectof power 

 may be had not differing materially from the effect 

 had upon level rail roads; and it becomes the duty 

 of engineers, to whom this subject more particu- 

 larly belongs, to give particular attention to it. 

 Mr. Stephenson's views are correct in favor of 

 level rail roads; but it is out of the question to have 

 them level for any considerable length in this 

 countr}', or any other. We must then consider 

 the results of Mr. Badnall's experiments as highly 

 useful and important, inasmuch as they demon- 

 strate that the useful efiect upon a rail road over an 

 undulating country may be nearly, if not quite 

 equal, to the effect if the road were level. I be- 

 long to the craft whose duty it is to make these 

 subjects their study, and if you do not greet me 

 too roughly, may remind you occasionally of 



Most respectfully, your 



PORTASLE RAILWAY. 



A novel machine was a ^exv days ago exhibi^ted 

 in the Kennington and Clai)ham roads. It con- 

 sisted of a sort of carriage-wheel which carries a 

 j rail road for itself, upon which the carriage travels 

 with great facility and quickness. It was com- 

 posed'of a jointed square instead of a circle, and 

 has four rollers, not touching the road, and four 

 feet which alternately come to the ground, pro- 

 ducing a kind of walking and escaping obstacles. 

 We understand it is the invention of Lewis Gom- 

 pertz, b]sq. Should these machines be adopted, 

 probably common rail roads may be partially or 

 wholly dispensed with. 



Translated tor the Farmsrs' l!c^i^;tcr, from the Truite de Chimiif 

 the French version of the work of Berzelius.* 



DESTRUCTION OF VEGETABLE MATTERS BY 

 FERMENT ATIOX. 



If vegetable substances are exposed to the in- 

 fluence 'of the air, and at the same time taking 

 care that they do not lose the water which they 

 contain naturally, or that they do not become drv, 

 they begin to be decomposed gradually; and this 

 destruction, which maybe called spontaneous, has 

 received the name oi' fermentation. This deccm- 



j *Part of the following extracts, relating to geine 

 j and geic acid, have been al.-o used in the Aprendix 

 j to the Essay on Calcareous Manures. 



