206 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[Jan. 20, 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FRIDAY, JAiNUARY 20, 1826. 



Boiling Potalnes.—\ye are ;is?ure(i liy a gen- 

 tleman, who has experimental knonledsfe of the 

 fact, that there is a great advantage to be de- 

 rived from paring potatoes, or at least culting: 

 them open or cutting nIT the ends, and soaking 

 them ahniil an honr in cold water before boil- 

 ing. When boiled thev should be put \n\ofrcsh 

 water, (not that in which they had been soak- 

 ed) which should be raised to a boiling temper- 

 ature before the potatoes are put in. The 

 soaking of the potatoes before boiling is s.Tid 

 to extract a strong narcotic and iHsagreeable 

 substance, which is always present, in greater 

 or less quantity, in this useful root. We do not 

 speak experimentally, but recommend the trial 

 of the above method of cooking potatoes trom 

 the alleged experience of others. 



Injliience rf Solar tight on the prociss of Com- 

 hustion. — In the Annals, of Philosophy, (a work 

 printed in L<jndon) for November 1825 is an 

 article "On Ihe influence of Solar Light on the 

 process of Combustion. By Thomas W. Kcever, 

 M. D.*' In this, the author says in substance 

 that the common npin'on that the .=nn's rays, or 

 even the ordinary light of day, when admitted 

 freely into an aparlment in which a common 

 fire is burning, have the povver either of dull- 

 ing it considerably, or 'honld Ihe combustion bo 

 going on langu:illy of altogether ellecting lis 

 extinction, is correct. This he illustrates by 

 several experiments, fot which we have not 

 room in detail, and sliall mention but one viz: 



power of theory, nor one sole experiment to do 

 away the evidence of our senses. 



My belief is that the true cause of the in- 

 creased motion of the water wheel in Ihe night 

 time is, The increase of the "weight of water, 

 generally, at that time. Al.l bodies have less 

 weight when the moon and sun are nearly ver- 

 tical— else what causes our tides? When the 

 moon and the sun are on opposite sides ot our 

 earth, they bolh, indeed, contribute to cause our 

 high tides; but in regard to the weight of bod- 

 ies, the attraction of the snn on one side of our 

 earth— say at midnight, — which increases the 

 weight of objects about ns, is often counteract- 

 ed, and even overbalanced by the superior at- 

 ' traction of a vertical moon, which renders the 

 weight of all bodies less. At midnight when 

 the moon is with ihe sun, or near enough to him 

 to act in conjunction with him, all bodies on our 

 side of the earth are hewwe.M, and watcrmills go 

 fastest. When the moon does not act in con- 

 Junction with the sun, but at any time of night 

 "is in, or near the horizon, watermills go lastcr 

 in (he day time, but not so much faster as when 

 the sun and moon bolh contribute to make bodies 

 heavier. 



ISow 1 would inquire where the moon was 

 when the great e\|)eriment was made on the 

 watermills? It seems she was never thought of. 

 This total neglect of one, of her sex, and one so 

 amiable and charming too, is altogether inex- 

 cusable ; anil though we should be disposed to 

 yield to our opponents the jialm in hydraulics, 

 we never intend to pardon their want of gallan- 

 try. 



Unless our modern jihilosophers first explode 



"Two portions of green wax taper, each fjetvtnn's tb.eory of Ihe tides, and the univer 

 weighing ton grains were bolh igniled at the sally received theory of the powerful attraction 

 same moment; one of them 1 placed in a dark- ; of Ihe heavenly bodies, they must admit that 

 ened room, the other 1 exposed to bro,adsiin.; 

 shine in Ihe open air: thermonieler in sun 78'^ j 

 Fahrenheit, in room 67"; loss as follows: 

 In five minutes that placed in sunshine lost 8i grs. ' 

 Darkened room lost Of ! 

 From tlii-, and a number of other experiments, 

 given in detail in the article to which we have 

 referred, Mr M. Keever concludes " First, that 

 the solar rays in proportion to Ihoir inlensily 

 are possessed of the power of rclarding to a 

 considerable exletil the process of coniliuslion ; 

 •and, that consctiucntlv the popular ideas on this 

 subject are founded in truth. Secondly, that 

 this phenomenon is occasioned by the action of, 

 the chemical rays on the portion of atmospheric 

 air that immediately cnvelojies n particle of 

 matter about to enter into n stale of combustion, 

 aided no doubt by the high temperature of the 

 portion of materials that have already com- 

 menced this proce'^s." This action of the sun's 

 rays, is supjiosed to deprive the atmospheric 

 air of some part of its oxygen, which is a great 

 stimulus to combustion. 



TO THF, KDITOn OF Tllr. .\!:VV ENOI.A.VD FARMRH. 



Frnmingham, Jan. 11, 182G. 



Sir, — I have a high respect for Professors 

 and other learned men, but am not fnlly satisfi- 

 ed with their reasoning, or their experiments 

 as reported in the last week's J'armer. 



I believe the I'acI is well ascerlained that, 

 " water mills generally go faster in the niglit- 

 tijiie than in the dav-tinx','" and it is not in the 



per-iture of water, even in this climate, where the 

 thermometer has, perhaps, as great a range as in any 

 part of the globe, could hardly produce such differeace 

 in its specific gravity that any variance in its power to 

 turn machinery could be appreciated by the nicest ex- 

 periments. 



As respects the difference in the weight of water 

 caused by the attraction of the sun and moon, we 

 know, or at least do not doubt, but that it U sufficient 

 to produce tides in the ocean. But on smaller bodies 

 of water, tides are not perceptible, unless such bodies 

 are so situated as to be affected by the flux aud reflux 

 of the sea. If the attraction of the sun and moon pro- 

 duce no visible effect on lake Superior, we cannot be 

 convinced bj' anything short of experiment, of its per- 

 ceplible influence on smaller colhctions of water. 



Reason and philosophy assure us of many changes 

 in bodies, which are not evident to the senses. Metals 

 expand by heat and contract by cold ; and theoretic- 

 ally speaking, a crow bar or spade is rarely for two 

 hours in succession craclly of the same length and size, 

 Tliis expansion or contraction is of little or no impor- 

 tance in those implcments,bul in pendulums for clocks, 

 and springs for watches, it is worthy of seiious and 

 scientific consideration. And the attraction of the suu 

 and moon on the ocean is a matter of moment, but we 

 doubt whether said attraction can ever be detected by 

 any effect it produces on a water mill unless it be a 

 tide mill. The cause supposed by our correspondent 

 undoubttdly exists, but we do not think it adequate to 

 produce the effect which he attributes to it. A certain 

 philosopher maintained that " the mathematician can 

 demonstrate with the most decisive certainty, that no 

 fly can alight on this globe which we inhaliit, without 

 coii.municating viotion to if ; aud he can ascertain, 

 with the most accurate precision, what must be the a- 

 mount of the motion thus produced." This principle 

 he migtit have carried slill further, and said that what- 

 when ihe sun and moon are in conjunction in i ever " communicates motion to this globe which ws in- 

 cur hemisphere all bodies are lighter than at | habit," affects its relative position with regard to the 



other limes ; and on Ihe other hand that when 

 the sun and moon are in conjunction in the op- 

 posite hemisphere their attraction ■increases the 

 weight of all bodies around us. Water is one of 

 those bodies— er^'o — the weight of water is in- 

 creased at these times. 



But what causes walerwheels lo move ? The 

 weight of water, on one ol their sides ; and in 

 proportion to the weight of it will be the mo- 

 tion ot the wheels. 



1 am not in the habit of betting, but will stake 

 Ihe moon against any two comets in the solar 

 system that the famous experiment on the wa- 

 termills was made wlien the 7iwon zaus np. 

 Willi much respect, 



Yours, &c. B— R. 



Remarks by Iht Edit or. — There are two principal 

 causes which may operate to vary the weight or spe- 

 cific gravity of water. These are temperature, and the 

 relative position of the sun and moon, as regards that 

 portion of the earth where the water is situated. In- 

 creasing tlie temperature of water from the freezing 

 point, or 32° to the boiling point 212" will cause it to 

 expand about 1-22 part of its bulk. In other words 22 

 gallons of water as cold as it can.be without freezing 

 is as heavy as 23 gallons of boiling water. But the dif- 

 ference of the temperature in common streams, &c. in 

 Ihe night and in the day time, of any consecutive night 

 and day can be but trifling. Aud, we lielievo, ihe ctif- 

 fercnce between the extroinc summer and winter tom- 



sun , and a'! other bodies which compose Ihe solar sys- 

 tem, and even cause some change in the centre of 

 gravity of said system. Such calculations, however, 

 appear lo us to be more nice than wise, as no practical 

 result can be adduced from the knowledge thus obtain- 

 ed. ^\'e doubt whether the fact is well ascertained 

 that water mills, generally, go so much faster in the 

 night time than in Ihe day time as to make Ihe differ- 

 ence of any importance in p'actice. General opinion 

 may be proof presumptive, but is not proof positive. — 

 General opinion once maint.uned that this earth was 

 a plane, round which the sun was whirled every 24 

 hours, and Ihe correct theory on this sulijcct was con- 

 idered as impious as well as unphilosophiral. We be- 

 lieve that Trofessor Clcavcland has pursued the only 

 correct mode of philosophizing. — actual and accurate 

 experiment. First establish facts, and then investigate 

 their causis. We would not be understood to assert 

 that our correspondent is in an error, and the common 

 opinion is not correct, but that further experiments are 

 necessary to eslaldish or confute such opinions. - And 

 in making such experiments it will be expedient lo 

 note Ihe sitnallon of the sun and moon, with reference 

 lo that attraction which produces tides. 



J\lns<irtch iisctls Lcmslaiurc. 



o 



SENATE. -'A^- II. The President commu- 

 nicated a letler from the Solicitor General Davis, stat- 

 ing that hi h;id filed informations against twelve vend- 

 ers of Lottery Tickets, and against the publishers of 



