154 



^\)t laxmtx's iHontlilj) fatsttor. 



be/ore they are broushi under the plow. The clover, 

 as 1 ihiiik, is a irieiinial plant, and if allowed to 

 reiiiain four or five years lietiire [liowin;;, llie ad- 

 vantage to the soil as a f^reeii crop, aie nearly 

 lost. 'Tis true, if sorii!.' portions of it is suffered 

 to ripen each yar, new plants will sprin'; tip to 

 succeed those going to decay ; but I should ruc- 

 onniiend taking it up at least as soon as the third 

 year. The action of clover in improving the 

 soil is not only in supplying a large amount of 

 vegetahle matter, hut it acts mechanically. Its 

 lap roots penetrate the soil, and as ihey decay 

 render it friable ami permeable to heat and mois- 

 ture. — Michimn Farmer. 



Preparation of Coffee. 



Coffee, when properly prepared, is a deli- 

 cious and nutritious beverage ; but judging from 

 that which we fiecpienlly meet wiih, the best 

 n)odes are seldom practised. In SiUimaiVs Jour- 

 nal, we find a notice of a memoir on Coffee by 

 the dislinguished French chemist, M. Payen. 

 The results brought out by his chemical re- 

 searches agree exactly with facts previously 

 luiovvn ill regard to this article. A great error 

 in the preparation of coffee, is, that it is burned 

 too much, by which the liquid, when it is brought 

 to the table, is destitute of agreeable flavor, and 

 has a bitter, unpleasant taste. The reason of 

 this is shown. 



"Coffee roasted only till it becomes slightly 

 red, preserves the maximum of weight and of 

 aroma, but gives out less coloring matter. In 

 this state, 100 parts are found to have lost 15, 

 while 100 vols, have increased to 130. Roasted 

 to a chestnut color, as is commonly done, the 

 loss is 20 per cent., while the increase in vol- 

 umes is from 100 to 153. This swelling of the 

 grain depends upon the property which the nit- 

 rogenous matter deposited within the tissue has 

 of puffing up remarkably when heated. 



"If the heat is continued until a dark brown 

 color is produced, and the grain is covered with 

 a sort of glaze, the loss is twenty-five per cent., 

 while the original qiianlily of nitrogen, 2.45 per 

 cent., is reduced to J.77, being a loss of one- 

 fourth." 



The soluble imtler was also found to be much 

 greater in the coffee subjected only to a low de- 

 gree of burning — the brown piving 16.15, the 

 chestniit-coliM-ed 19.00, and the red 25.00 ptr 

 cent. The dift'erenee in " the aroma" it is a<lded, 

 " being nearly the same, the lower degree of 

 roasting will produce not only the ln'st ami most 

 nutiilious beverage, but one free from the harsh 

 and biili'r flavor caused by the action of too high 

 beat upon the nitrogenous matter." 



Plant Trees. — The man who plants a tree 

 liquidates in part a debt which he owes to his 

 ancestors, by paying it to posterity. A sensible! 

 wriKn- says: "There is no part of husbandry 

 which men more commonly fail in, negluci, and 

 have more cause to rei)ent of, than that they did 

 not seasonably begin to plant trees, without 

 which they can neither expect liaiit, ornament, or 

 delight iVom their labors. Wen seldom plant 

 trees till they begin to be wise, that is, till they 

 grow old, and find by experience the prudence 

 and necessity of it. When Ulysses, after a ten 

 \eais' absence, was returned from Troy, and 

 if luiid his aged lather in the field plaining tree.", 

 he a>ked him, ' W'liy. being so far in years, he 

 would put himself lo llie fatigue and labor of 

 plaining that of which he w.is never likely to 

 enjoy the fruits r' The good old man, taking 

 him for a stranger, gently re)iliej, ' 1 plant thefti 

 ugiiinst the time my son Ulysses comes home.' 

 The application is obvious, and is instrnciivo 

 both to old and young. 



CiiAiicoAL. — Pounded charcoal, or the refuse 

 of the heap, should lie thickly strpwcd over every 

 place where filth is allowed to accumnlale. It 

 absorbs the br.d smell, and makes an excellent 

 niamne of what otherwise would not (Jiily he 

 useless but offensive. It alfo prevents the larvie 

 of iiisiH'ts frmn l:ecouiiiig flies or iiiolli.". Pii;s 

 like to eat charcoal, ami are ihunght lo liillen on 

 it; and in the cmir.so of the summer months, I 

 frequently have a bushel or so at a time lliio»n 

 over the pen. It makes the manure so much 

 innre valuable that I find it worth w hile to buy 

 it for the purpose ; and in so doing iIm; pens are 

 never offensive. — .'Jincricnn ./J^rlcu'turlst. 



Age of Poultry. 



Farmers usually sell poultry alive, excepting 

 in some parts of the country, such as the Bor- 

 ders, where geese are killed anil plucked for the 

 sake fif their feathers belbre being sent to mar- 

 ket. Poulterers in towns, on the other hand, kill 

 and pluck every sort ol' fowl foi sale, so that the 

 purchaser has it in his power to judge of" the car- 

 cass ; and if he buys an inferior article at a high 

 price, it must be his own fault, it is easy to 

 judge of a plucked (owl, whether old or young, 

 by the stale ol' the legs, if a hen's spur is hard, 

 and the scales on the legs rough, she is old, 

 whether you see her head or no; but the head 

 will corroborate your observation, if the under 

 bill is so siifl'that you cannot bend it down, and 

 the comli thick and roiigli. ,\ young heif has on- 

 ly the rudiments of spurs, the scales on the legs 

 smooth, glossy and fiesli colored, whatever the 

 color may be, the claws tender and short, the 

 under liill soft, and the comb thin and smooth. 

 An old hen-turkey has rough scales on the legs, 

 callosities on the soles of the feet, and long 

 sU'ong claws; a young one the rever.se of all 

 these inai ks. When the feaihers are on, an old 

 turkeycoek has a long beanl, a young one but 

 a sprouting one ; and when they are off the 

 smooth scales on the legs decide the point, be- 

 sides difference of size in the wattles of the neck, 

 and in the elastic shot upon the nose. An old 

 goose, when alive, is known by the roughness of 

 the legs, the strength of the wings, particularly 

 at the pinions, the thickness and strength of the 

 bill, and the firmness and thickness of the feath- 

 ers ; and when pluckeil, by the legs, pinions and 

 bill and the coarseness of the skin. Ducks are 

 distinguished by the same means, but there is 

 this difference, that a duckling's bill is much lon- 

 ger in proporlion to the breadth of its head than 

 that of an old duck. A young pigeon is discov- 

 ered by its pale colored, smooth scaled, tender, 

 collapsed feet, and the yeilow long down iiiler- 

 s|)eised among the feathers. A pigeon that can 

 fly has always n.'d colored legs and no down, 

 and is then too old for use. — Sleplien's Book of 

 the farm. 



How iHE Peruvians use Guano. — Much has 

 recently been written on the employment and 

 utility of guano; but the manner in which it is 

 applied as manure in Peru, seems to be but little 

 known. The Peruvians use it chiefly in the cul- 

 tivation of maize and potatoes. A few weeksaf- 

 ter the secils begin to shoot, a little hollow is dug 

 round each root, and is filled up with guano, 

 which is afterwards covered with a layer of 

 earth! After tlu; lapse of twelve or fifteen 

 boms, the whole field is laid under water, and is 

 left in that state for some hours. Of the Guano 

 Blanco a less qnanlity sufllces, and the field niusi 

 h:; more speedily and abundantly watered, other- 

 wise the roots would be destroyed. The efl'ect 

 of this manure is incredibly rapid. In a few days 

 the growth of the plant is doubled. If the ma- 

 nure be repeated a second time, hut in smaller 

 (piaiitity, a rich harvest is certain. At least, Ih- 

 produce will be threefold that which would have 

 been obtained from the nninaunrcd soil. The 

 hacienda of the valley of Chancay have, during 

 the last fifty years, consumed annually from 

 "13,000 to 3(),bo6 bushels of guano brought li-om 

 lUf islands of Cliincha and Pisco. The price of 

 a bushel of colored guano is one dollar and a 

 quarter, and the price of the white from two to 

 three dollars. The price has recently undergone 

 many fluctuations, in consecpieuce of the great 

 expm-ts to Kurope. The employment of this 

 kind of manure is very ancient in Peru ; and 

 there is anlhentic evidence of its having been 

 used in the time of the Incas. The white guano 

 was then chiefly fiiuiid on the islnnds opposite lo 

 Chincha ; so that for upwards of (100 years the 

 deposite has bfien progiessively removed fiDiii 

 iliiise ishiuds without any apparent decn^ase of 

 the aecuinulaiion. The uniformity of idimale on 

 a coast where tliiu'C is not rnueb r;iin innst cmi- 

 liihnie to reniler the Peruvian guano a more arid 

 manure thin the African, as fev\erof the saline 

 panicles of ihe former being in solution, they are 

 cousequently less suljei't to cvaiior/iiion. 



Von Tshudi's Travels in Peru. 



Be ic^^peiatc and you will be cheerful. 



Domestic Economy. 



Skippers in Cheese, — Cheese, every dairyman ia 

 aware, is liable to be attacked by skippers. The 

 richer the cheese the greater consequently is 

 this liability. To prevent this evil, cut out a 

 large plug in the centre of the chi-ese, and fill 

 the cavity with the best French brandy. The 

 operation should be repeated several times, when 

 the plug may he replaced. In this way the cheese 

 will not only lie preserved, but its flavor greatly 

 improved. — Germantown Telegraph. 



To drive away Ants. — I saw in your paper, a 

 plan to drive away red ants by feeding them w illi 

 bacou ; hut the following will heat that ; it is lo 

 drive away black ants: Wlien they trouble your 

 sugar-box, &c., just roll up a small piece of cam- 

 phor gum in paper, and put inside the box, and 

 it will soon kill or di.'perse all these intruders; 

 sage lea leaves, thrown into their way is also 

 very iroublesoine to them. — Ohio Cultivator. 



To destroy ihe tVheat Fly. — It is asserted by 

 those who have made the experiment, that one 

 bushel of iinslacked lime (ground lo a fine pow- 

 der like gypsum) to tbe acre, sowed in the spring, 

 dressed as the plants make their appearance, 

 will effectually prevent the ravages of ihe fly. 

 It may be so, yet we greatly doubt. However, 

 the application is a simple one, and it it efleets 

 no good, it will assuredly, ia most instances, do 

 no harm. 



Scalding Milk. — In Devonshire, England, where 

 dairying is extensively practiced, the milk in- 

 lended for the churn, or for cheese, is scalded as 

 soon as it comes from the cow. This process 

 obviates most effectUHlly the natural tendency of 

 the milk to sour in warm weather, and when 

 intended for butter-making, secures the advan- 

 tage of sweet milk for family use, after tliecreain 

 is removed. 



Steaming Grain. — The fact ought ever to be 

 borne in mind, that grain of all kinds, when in- 

 leniled as feed for stock, or for fattenin;; poultry, 

 or domestic animals of all kinds, may be steamed 

 to great advantage. One half the amount of 

 grain prepared in this manner, or by ihe ordina- 

 ry process of boiling, \\\\\ hasnflie.ient to accom- 

 plish the whole fed in an unprepared or raw 

 state. — Maine Farmer. 



Potato Yeast. — To two middling sized boiled 

 pntatoe-s add a pint of boiling water, and two la- 

 ble-spoonfnls of brown sugar. One pinl of hot 

 water should be applied to every half pint of the 

 compound. Hot w.iter is beiler in warm we;ith- 

 er. This yeast being made without flour will 

 keep longer, and is said to be much belter than 

 any previously in use. 



Warts on the udder and teats of cows may be 

 easily removed, simply by washing them in a so- 

 lution of alum and water. We have known this 

 application to result favorably after all other pre- 

 scriptions had fiiiled. — Maine Farmer. 



Thorough Draining. — Irrigatioa. 



The Royal Agricultural Society of England is 

 still urging the importance, and encouraging the 

 practice of deep and thorough draining of all 

 moist land.s. Pipes sunk two and a half feet deep 

 were regarded as low enou:;li a few years since; 

 but hugin' experience has demonslrated the su- 

 periority of drains four li'ct from the surface. 

 With such a hydroslalic pressure above the open 

 tube, one of iwo inidies in diameter will carry 

 off twice as much water as it «oidd if a foot and 

 a half higher u[i, or nearer the top of ihe ;;round. 

 Few are fully aware of the great benefits that 

 accrue from the removal of all stagnant water, 

 whether above or below the sui luce of improved 

 land. On all clayey soils, orlhoselhat have a 

 hard pan Kubsi>il, draining is found to be useful. 

 If a fiiiuier were able to irrigate every field whtm 

 too dry, and drain it when loo wet, it would add 

 immensely to his chances id" always growing 

 most abundant crops. Our hot siiinmersiin and 

 (piite common lack of timely rains, render irri- 

 gation ol" far gie.iti-r importance in this country 

 than in Falkland. There are hundreds of small 

 streams that iniuht he turned from their nalinal 

 beds at a trifling expense, anil made lo water 

 and fertilize hundreds ol' acres. The govern- 

 ment of F.iiypt is now expending some ei;;ht or 

 ten millions of dollars in dumiiig up the Nile and 

 culling canals to use water for agricultural pur- 



