■ a i aMajKaM.r«ua > MMa^u fl KW(MHfl T W r 



^1)C JTavmn's iilontljlij Visitor. 



^SSB 



71 



fore (liynppr.-ireil or become latent to melt tlie 

 fiiow. CoMtiiiiu; llie heat ol' the l;ini|i, niid the 

 llieriiioniftHi- will riso till it rfju-lies 'il'-i ilL'f;ieeti, 

 when tin; wnter will boil; it then rciiiiiiii.s' stii- 

 tiotiarj till .-ill ihc waiter lins hoilcil ;nviiy. It lias 

 heeii Ibiiiul that tli(^ time required to evapornte 

 all the Mater would have heated it to 1213 de- 

 grees, or that JOOO deffrees nf heat has disap- 

 peared or hecoiiie latent to convert the water in- 

 to fleam. The heat rei]iiired fur liriirefietion, is 

 also shown liy mi.xing an ecjiial weight of snow 

 at 32 <le^rees, and water at 172 dejrrees ; the snow 

 all melts, liiit the resnllini,' liipiid is only 32 de- 

 grees, the ]J0 dpj;r>;es of the hot water having 

 gone to melt the snow. A vessel of water in 

 freezing, is cimslanlly giving out heat, hnt the 

 lemperalnre does not lower till it is all frozen, 

 as it is the latent heat only that is passing off. 



_ AprLiCATio.-v.— the applications of these prin- 

 cipjes are very nuuierous and important, some of 

 which, here mentioned, may not strictly appei-- 

 lain to the kitchen. 



I. Metals being good conductors, thev are best 

 for ves.«;els over liie tire, the heat passing readily 

 tlirough, to llie sid)slanccs contained in them.— 

 Hence, too, why copper, w liich is one of the best 

 conductors, is employeil as the heatijig-rod or 

 Inlie, for lard lamps. Wooil, being a poor con- 

 dncior, is advantageously used as u handle 

 for vessels and tools which become heated, by 

 iiot burning the hand. Hence also, the reason 

 that enrlhern-ware tubes are best for the inser- 

 tion of stove jiipes, ihrongli wooden partitions, 

 when melals by conducting the heat rapidly to 

 wood, might set it orj (Ire. 



2. Diderent substances ami surfaces radiate 

 heat very ditteremly. Liglit and porous bodies 

 usually throw it oft' from themselves, much more 

 l-apiilly ih.-m heavy and com|)act ones; and 

 smooth and polished surfaces more rapidly than 

 rough surfaces, llenee the heat thrown off from 

 n large fire of burning wood arid charcoal,— po- 

 rous sub.staiices— burns the face more than the 

 heat from a metalic stove, not a porous substance. 

 Polished melals radiate very slowly; hence wa- 

 fer will remain hot much" loii-er in a tea-pot, 

 kept bright and polisliei] by the neat housewife, 

 than ill the larnished tea-pot of ibe careless one. 

 For the same reason, pipes (or eari-ying heat by 

 hot water or hot air fm-naces, should be bright, 

 in orrler that none may be wasted on llie way' 

 lill it reaches the place of destination. Hence' 

 also the reason why stove pipes aiitl drums made 

 o( polished Russia iron, do not ihiow off so 

 iiiucri beat as iron whose surface is rom'li, or 

 rendered porous by blacking. ° 



Subst.-mres radialing freely, absorb also free- 

 ly; and those radiating liiile, absorb liiile.— 

 Hence the reason that a polished tin plate, placed 

 under a hoi stove, or l)eside it against a wooden 

 wall, remains cold, and protects the wood.— 

 Hence also, as every cook knows, n bright bak- 

 ing till will not absorb heat and burn the bread 

 as a black.-^ned one will ; and indeed it ol'ien pre- 

 vents the proper degree of baking, which isul 

 once (d.viated by giving it a slight coating in ihe 

 smoke of a lamp. A new tin boiler, over a clear 

 and hot charcoal (ire, failed to boil water at all ; 

 ilie reason being suspected, n few shaviiiiis of' 

 pme were thrown in to smoke the sur/hee — 

 when the water soon boiled ra|iidlv. Hence the 

 niiliiy o( the ihin coating of soot whicli forms on 

 the bollom o( boilers. 



3. Uoilint' water, (in all ordinary cases,) beiii.. 

 always at 212 .legrees Far., it is obvious that a 

 pot ol polatoes will cook just as fist when boil- 

 ing slowly as when boiling very fast ; hence the 

 notion ot cooking a bailed dinner f.sier by a 

 very hot hre, is founded in error, and only wastes 

 liiel ihe great amount of latent heat carried 

 oft by steam, renders it important to keep boil- 

 ing vessels closed by metal coveis, which con- 

 dense steam, and return in part the latent heat 

 Covering newly baked bread, by n cloth, con- 

 jlenses the rising sieam in the same way and 

 keeps the crust soft. Ii is the amount of heatie- 

 quireo (or evaporating water, though by the slow 

 process at common temperatures, that occasions 

 the cooling proce.ss of sprinkling rooms in hot 

 weather. The more rapid evajioration of ether 

 and alcohol, render cooling by these substances 

 more effectual and rapid. Baked polatoes remain 

 long hot; but if the skin be broken, to let out 

 the steam, they soon cool by tlie iiassing off of 

 the latent beat of liie steam. 



Were it not for the latent heat required lo eon- 

 vert snow inio water, warm weather would dis- 

 solve at once our snow-banks into liquid, and Ire- 

 inendous inmidalions would be tin; conseipience. 

 From a similar cause, ibe water in the pot is not 

 boded oft' at a (lash, and the dinner spoiled. 



Water freezes sooner than many other siib- 

 slances; hence often tlic water (ieezes and leaves 

 them when ihey are mixed or in sobition. Hence 

 the ic(! mountains of the polar seas are fresh • 

 and beiico the concentration of vinegar, lemon 

 jnice, and maple sap by freezing. 



Dkep Cli.tivatioiv. — A coires|iondent of the 

 London Gardener's Chronicle, speaking of the 

 impoi lance of deep culiivation, and in connexion 

 a deep diffusion of manure, says, " I have (bund 

 the roots of ibe Swedish turnep i\ve (ect below 

 the surl'ace on which its bulb was growing, and 

 all around It to a distam-e of three or (iiiir thet, 

 the fibres of tlie root to a lesser depth, had com- 

 pletely permeated the soil." 



Dead Animals. 



Animal matter contains every element that is 

 necessary to grow every plant known. In it are 

 phosphate and carbonate of lime, ammonia, car- 

 bon, in short, in the best form, all the essentials 

 of vegetable growlh. Whenever a fowl, cat, dog, 

 sheep, pig, horse or cow dies, let the carcass be 

 cutufi, and added lo the manure heap. The 

 carcass of a single horse will turn loads of use- 

 less muck or peat inio manure, richer ihan any 

 ordinary barn-yard dung. Why then suffer it 

 to decay uselessly and amioyingly? It is true 

 it is not lost, for the gases that taint the air are 

 appropriated by pi. mis ; but Ibe farmer who 

 owned the animal, gels but a small portion of 

 what should be all his ovvn. Why will be Haste 

 the rfearf energies of the horse, wlien he has lost 

 the living ones .-' 



If our readers will heed what we say, they will 

 not suft'er dead animals toaimoy the eye and dis- 

 gust Ibe nose hereafter. Bury iliem in the ma- 

 nure bea|i; add some ipiick lime to hasten de- 

 cay, and charcoal dust or plaster lo absorb the 

 g.-ises, and much will be gained in the good ap- 

 pearance of Ihe farm and in ihe quality of ihe 

 manure. If your neighbor be so improvident as 

 to waste a dead animal, beg it of him, that it 

 may not be detrimental to health and useless to 

 vegetation. Laws should lie passed lo compel 

 the saving of this most (lowerfiil of fertilizers, 

 when common sense and decency fail lo do it. 



Whenever it is desirable to hasten decay, and 

 rapidly turn animal mailer into manure, sulphur- 

 ic acid may be used. This would be too expen- 

 sive (allbongh the acid is cheap) tor (lirm purpo- 

 ses, but may be employeil /or ibe garden, where 

 expense is not so imporlant. It i.sYreqiiently de- 

 sirable to have a rich manure in the garden, and 

 it is not at band. Animal mailer put into siil- 

 phiiric acid will in a few hours furnish it. Eve- 

 ry house will supply much refuse animal matter. 

 To this, rats, mice, tealhers, hair, bones, horns, 

 &c. may be added. If tin! garbage of n slaughtei-i 

 house can be got, it should be. ' All the.se will 

 soon be reduced to an available slate, be inoffen- 

 sive, and add great fertility to ihe soil where 

 used. The rei|iiisite quantily of acid may be 

 ascertained by experiment — aboul 10 or 15' lbs. 

 is usually adowed for 100 lbs. of animal mat- 

 ter. — ^Imerican ^'Jgricullurisl. 



Thanksgiving Tale. 



In one of ibe small interior towns of New 

 England, where the superstitions of our ances- 

 tors still possess strong hold on the minds of the 

 people, the fads occurred on which the follow- 

 ing tale is founded : 



An honest larmer and bis family preparing to 

 celebrate Thanksgiving at his wife's father's in 

 an adjoining town, were hurried and confused 

 extremely on the day preceding that festival, by 

 the multiplicity of the things which must be 

 done before they could leave lioiiie with perfect 

 safely. The house was to be banked up, and the 

 gleanings of harvest, cabbages, turnips, &:,c., put 

 into the cellar, that the external entrance thereto 

 might be closed (or the season. Having carried 

 in the vegetables, the boys were despatched to 

 the barn for straw to fill the passage way, while 

 the good man himself was busied on the oppo- 

 sile side of the house. An old ram, the horned 

 patriarch of a large flock of sheep kept on the 



farm, haying got a taste of some of the scattered 

 leaves o( the cabbage, unobserved, entered the 

 cellar and silently continued his feast. The ave- 

 nue through which he bad emcred was immedi- 

 ately closed up, and all ihe necessary work and 

 arrangements being completed, the larger boya 

 and girls set off on foot in high glee!the dog 

 riinmng and harking belbre ihem, ap|iareiitly us 

 well pl(;ased with going lo grandpapa's as any of 

 the happy grouji. 



Soon after, ihe parent pair and their little ones, 

 having put out the fire and fastened the doora 

 and windows, by means of many curious con- 

 trivances, to keep out thieves, started on the 

 same destination. 



On the afternoon of the day following the fes- 

 tiva[, which had been kept under llie paternal 

 roof' with many devout and jovial e.xercises, the 

 faniily relumed home, accompanied by some of 

 their young cousins. Some of tlieir youthful 

 neighhnrs, of both sexes were invited in, and a 

 merry Thanksgiving carousal was in the full tide 

 of siiccessfid ojieration, when one of the boys, 

 who bad been sent into the cellar wiih a little 

 loiv wirkcrl candle, which gave just light enough 

 to make darkiie.'s visible, "to draw cider, ran back 

 into ihe room with eyes ghuing wildly, uttering 

 a half-suffocated exclamiition— "TAe devil is in the 

 cellar !"_ " I'oh ! " said the father, "you have 

 been frightened at your own shadow— give me 

 the light." On which he seized the candle, leaT- 

 ing the pewter candle-stick clenched fast in the 

 sliaking hand of the boy, and boldly rushed to 

 the cellar stairs; but ere be had descended half 

 the steps, the large saucer eyes and enormous 

 horns of the beast caused him lo retreat, as much 

 terrilied as his son— " .Suit enon<^h, the devil is in 

 the cellar!'" The utmost confusion and uproar 

 now prevailed in the house. The good man 

 seized the great Bible and attempted to read, but 

 ihe candle sputtered, burnt blue, and threw so 

 feeble a light on the sacred page, and the book 

 trembled so in the hand of the reader, that he 

 could not distinguish one word from another. 

 The children cried and clung to their mother — 

 the lasses nestled close to their favorite swains 

 — and the whole bouse shook with the agitation 

 of its half demented inhabitants. One bright 

 thought, however, occurred— a messenger was 

 despalched to the minister, "to lay the devil." 



The parson, a man more celebrated for good 

 nature, piety and credulity, than for talents or 

 heroism, slipped the small Bible into his pocket, 

 ()Ut ()n bis band and surplice, that he might appear 

 as formidable lo bis great adversary as possible, 

 and hastened to the relief of the distressed par- 

 ishioners. 



On coming lo the house, the reverend man 

 was hailed as a deliverer, and implored by at 

 least a dozen voices at once to " drive the devil 

 awiiy." Ibii few moments were lost in asking 

 questions, which none could answer, before the 

 parson was pushed forwaril as a leader, lighted 

 by the same penurious candle into the cellar, the 

 most courageous of the company keeping close 

 behind him. When he reached the foot of the 

 stairs, the eyes of fire and the shadowy outlines 

 of enormous horns, magnified ten fold at least, 

 by the lerrois of those that beheld them, remov- 

 ed all doubts, if any had previously existed in 

 ihe mind, as to the infernal nature of the being 

 I.e had to contend wiili. The divine instantly 

 fell on his knees, and with uplifted hands began 

 lo pray in his most fervent manner. The ram 

 not imilerslanding the good man's motives, but 

 supposing by the motion of his hands, that he 

 was daring him to a butting contest, made a pass 

 with all his might at his supposed adversary, but 

 deceived by ihe swelling dimensions of his dra- 

 pery, missed the slender body of the priest, and 

 drawing hastily back to renew the assault, book- 

 ed one of his horns into the belt of bis surplice, 

 and pulled the parson into the cellar! While 

 thus in the power of his victorious foe, lost to 

 hope as it regarded himself, the natural benero- 

 lence of his disposition burst forth in the excla- 

 mation — " Brethren, take care of yourselves — 

 the devil has got rne ! " This exhortation was 

 better obeyed than any that he had ever deliver- 

 ed from the pulpit ; — liis friends all fled and left 

 him to bis fate. 



Among the company was a shrewd young 

 farmer, who had from ihe first supposed the 

 head lo be notliing more than some domestic an- 

 imal, but being a lover of fun, and willing to see 



