1839] 



FARMERS- register; 



283 



ent kinds of cultivation — and a comparison of the 

 ancient and modern husbandry, as far as it can 

 be ascertained by observations upon changes 

 either in the soil or the climate, or tlie introduc- 

 tion of plants unlcnown to the old Romans. I 

 am unable to judge, vvlielher disquisitions of this 

 sort would be acceptable to the public ; bpt were I 

 persuaded, that tiiey would be not unfavorably re- 

 ceived, I would gladly concur in forwarding the 

 plan of my excellent friend and neighbor, Mr. 

 Young ; and would not confine myself to the pracr 

 tical part of Italian airriculture, but endeavour to 

 explain both the physical and moral causes which 

 tend, in any degree, to liicilitate or obstruct it. 



J. S. 



EMPLOYMENT OF MINERAL TAR, OR PYRO- 

 LIGNEOUS LIQUOR, FOR THE PROTECTION 

 OF WALLS OF MASONRY OR OF MUD. 



jected to the process, from the Lombardy poplar to 

 the oak,and both in a green and seasoned state; and 

 the general result was, that the process iardened 

 and rendered more durable the interior surface of 

 all woods, green or seasoned ; but that, at the 

 same time, it rendered the slakes and tallies more 

 brittle, and consequent I}- more easily broken over 

 by the surface of the ground. In consequence of 

 of case-hardening the outer surface, the Kyanised 

 wood is rendered more durable, and exterior decay 

 prevented or retarded ; though, of course, decay, 

 or dry rot, or wet rot, may go on in the heart of 

 the wood as much as if the outer surface had never 

 been Kyanised. In no kind of wood, green or 

 seasoned, does the liquid penetrate farther than 

 from an eighth to half an inch. Mr. Masters has 

 kindly promised us the details of his experiments 

 on this subject. In the meantime we subjoin a 

 quotation liom Barrow's Life of Lord j^Jnson, in 

 the opinion expressed in wliich, our reailers who 

 have tried, or think of trying, the process, will 

 feel interested. — Cond. 



lujanising.—'' It is to he hoped that we shall 



When the walls are thoroughly dry, towards 

 the end of summer (having previously been either 



newly built or put into a state of thorough repair), { have no more tampering with dry-rot doctors and 

 they are to be coaled over, once, twice, or thrice, | jheir nostrums for the "preservation ef Her Ma- 

 with the tar. The last coat, immediately when jjesty's ships. The steeping of large logs of tim- 

 put on, may be powdered with sand; and this, I her m solutions of any kind is perfectly useless: 

 when solidified, may be whitewashed. In France, { f'le solution penetrates only skin deep, whereas 

 earthen walls, and the ,vvalls of court-yards and I ''i« rftal dry rot commences at the centre where 

 terraces, are treated in this manner and so ren- the fibres, being the oldest, first give way, as ia 

 dered of great durability. (^4iinalesdes Ponts et\i^^Q C'Ase in standing trees. The only plausible 

 Chaussees, ns quoted in the Frank. 7our., vol. I find promising preservative of timber is the gas of 

 xxii. p. 2S4.) the kreosote procured fi'om the distillation of coal 



j or vegetable tar, which, when driven off in the 



shape of gas, will penetrate every part of the 

 PRESERVING SPECIMENS OF PLANTS, OR OF | largest logs, and render the wood almost as hard 



as iron; so hard, indeed, as not easily to be worked. 

 It is understood that, in Belgium, ihey are usino- 

 it as blocks for the railroads. The worm {teredo 

 navalis), as proved at Sheerness, will not touch it; 

 while pieces of the same wood, steeped in corros- 

 ive sublimate, sulphureous acid, and other active 

 solutio7is were bored through and through. Let 

 our ships be built of good sound Englisir oak, as 

 they formerly were, well seasoned under cover, 

 and left on the stocks as long as the}' conveniently 

 can be allowed, and we shall liear no more of dry 

 rot, or wet either. (Sir John Barrours Life of 

 Lord y^nson,as quoted in (he Mech. 3Ias.,vo\. xxx 

 p. 336.) 



ORGANIC SUBSTANCES GENERALLY. 



Dr. Riddell of Louisiana has found that by 

 wholly extracting the moisture from the specimens 

 to be preserved, which he does by means of un- 

 slacked lime, and then enclosing them in hermet- 

 ically sealed cases, they may be exposed to the 

 light without in the slightest degree losing their 

 color. By carefull}' surrounding fresh specimens 

 of Rosa gallica with fine powder of quicklime, in 

 a close tin box, complete desiccation was accom- 

 plished in a single (lay ; and the flowers, when 

 taken out, were found of their natural shape and 

 color ; but stiff and brittle from dryness. Th(3 

 rose, or other flower or plant, insect, &.c., so dried, 

 is next put into a case (like a wax flower), with a 

 pane of glass in front, and the whole closed by 

 means of putty so as to perfectly air-tight. Spe- 

 cimens of insects, fungi, fi-uits, &c., are effectually 

 embalmed in this maimer , but the most practi- 

 cally important part ofthe discovery to die botanist 

 is, that cacti, and other succulents, may be per- 

 fectly dried in a few days, and afterwards deposi- 

 ted in cases with glass fronts, with their form and 

 color perfectly preserved. The details at length 

 are given in Silliman''s Journal, vol. xxxv. p. 330. 

 — Cond. 



AGRrrr'L 



T'RAL PERIODICALS IIV THE UPTITED 

 STATES. 



From tlie Genesee Farmer. 

 Twenty years siii'^e there was i)ut a single pe- 

 riodical in Ibis country devoted to the greaFinter- 

 ests of agriculture; and though much talent and 

 ability wa.s dis|)layed Mjy the conductor, it barely 

 existed through son)e two or threp of its first years. 

 This paper was the 'American i'"'armer,' publish- 

 ed by .1. S. vSkinner, Esq. ;it Baltimore. In a 

 country where ien-twelfilis of the inhabitants 

 were farmers— a country that supported some 5 

 or()00 political pap'^rs — the propriety of a sincle 

 T. . . ' : - • vx j agricultural journai, was by many considered 



Kyanising wood for plant labels, slakes,.and problematical. The experiment succeeded, how- 

 various other garden purposes, has been tried du- ever, and the utilitv of the paper was so obvious 

 nng the last three years by Mr. Masters, at and its benefit to tlie community so great, that it 

 iL anterbury. Various kinds of wood were sub- 1 was soon placed on a firm basis. Afier issuino' 



KYANISING WOOD. 



