il[)t iTarmcv's iUciutl)lL) lUsitof. 



51 



iv:t.s, two aixl ;i Imlf peeks of liei(ist'ra.-<s, iviid n 

 liiisliel ofri'dto|>, lire, in llie opinion of pood jiul;,'- 

 ••H but i'l.xr Jillowaiices for an ac-re's si'cdinic. 



■['[ ^Ii ft-uorf yields may be oblained by loss lib- 



n.il seciini;;, it dof,-> not' prove that grealir pro- 

 (iucls uoiil.l nol n-sidt iVoiu adopting' llitt libural 

 f,yfljM„_iinlei;d, sucli a result is beyond ravil. 

 ' It is wriiten, " Hi' tliat soweth sparin^lly, sliall 

 iiI»o ivapsparinsly"— and it would bo for tlie ad- 

 vnutiiKK ol' vi:ry "uiany of our farniors if tlii'V 

 would (■oiisider whetlici- ibis inaxitii did not ac- 

 count, in some nieasiuo for llieir sleinler bar- 

 vesrs. 



1'bat soma soils, ami under c^'rlain cirrr.inslan- 



a lien's e^i!, and add a little low or llax, ami let 

 ilie whole lump be nearly as large as your fist; 

 crowd that down yunr ox of cow, and llicy will 

 soon j.'o to ealiai;. 



Danlap's Prairie, Cook Co.,Jilaich 10, 1811. 



Vtvvn Ihe Dntlou ('ui!iv:aor. 

 Maiile .Sugar. 

 MrssRS. EiiiTORs:— 1 bej; leave to cojuuiiini- 

 cate for insertion in your paper the result ol some 

 researches which I have made on llie nianufac- 

 ture of majde stisai-, having bef n mucli interest- 

 ed in proniolin^' this branch of N'ew l^i^land in- 

 lustrv, and hrhi^ satisfied ihat if pursued will 



1 Ml r * *■ ;i . /:...l.l» r.^ tU,% ,,,./. 



ces, wi 



I soma sons, ami oiniei c'-iiiuu ^.m Miiio."t. . ,...,.-,._,, -. - _ , 



II adi.ii(,aiid rei)iHre, bciivicr seeding tliun Iskill it cannot (ail lo prove prohtable to the peo- 



olbers, is irue ;— the juibnient of iho liiriiier must 

 ilecide in such cases as lo the proper amount. Il 

 is the practi.'C of sowinij too little seed scnerallif, 

 of which I am siieakini;, and it is one which it is 

 lo he hoped ouraffricullural writers will conlinue 

 to denounce, and, lietKir still, one which our far- 

 mers sciieraily will, ere lonji, renimnce. 



L';t those who have any doubt that there is 

 }.'reater advaiitaiie in more liberal scediii;.', try the 

 •jfFect ibis season of an increased <piantity of seed, 

 and see if tin! product does not prove that, in rc- 

 epect to this matier, '■ .'is ye sow, so siiali yc reap." 



I do not claim thai ihere is one single ori^'iual 

 siigseslion in liie above, Mr. liditor; bul an ad- 

 nge,"true as trite, says, " we need lo he often re- 

 minded of w hat we already know''— and my be- 

 lief in the utility of this axiom, is myapolo^'v for 

 OJTeriiig the preceding' rcmiirk.-. 



Respecifully, yours, I>. 



from liie Fr.urie Farmer. 

 Spring Diseases of Animiils. 



i:t w.m j. ncNur. 



As ihere are many wriiiiig in the Trairie Farm- 

 er, 1 Ihouijht of a few things that might be of use 

 to .«oine of liie new farmers in ihis coiinlry. As 

 this is the time of year that catlle are apt to bo 

 ailing, I will mention that when callle get hurt, 

 or ace diseased, you will .see that the nose will 

 ^.,-.1 ,ii-y — ;m,l sometimes they will refuse lo cat 

 Hu.ir food. Yon will in such case take one table- 

 j-pooufull of saltpelre, dissolve in a pint of «ari(i 

 ivaler, and stir till cold, then add iho while of 

 ihree ben's eggs, slir again, put in a liollle and 

 turn it down'the ox or cow. 1 have saved iiuin- 

 Oiiis ill diis way. Vearliugs do not require 

 more tliaii u lea spoou-fuU of salt|)etre and cue 

 eg?. 



Sher:p.—l have had sheep in York Slate that 

 would get sick wish what some call the blind 

 ttairgcrs — owing, as 1 supiio.^e, lo being kept long 

 from the ground or in too small a yard. For 

 this disorder I usually gave each sheep a gill of 

 whiskey, which I Ibund a certain cure. Uiit if 

 _\oii wish your sheep to be, like yourself, n true 

 Washingtouiui!, you usay, iustead «f whiskey, 

 give him a tea-spoou-full ofsaltjiel.'-e dissolved 

 in half a pint of water and one egg. This me<li- 

 <-inc seldom fails of n cure. For the worm ill the 

 (;„)t, — which is seen in lielweeii the two large 

 claw.s, by a bole with the liair of the foot drav.n 

 in afier k — drop into live hole two or three drojis 

 of spirits (sf turpentine; this will kill the worm, 

 «nd tlie slieeii wiiJ thiive again ; but if the 



?i|\lll II i^tiiiiHJ*. iiiii yr yi^j*K. |/i,jumi..iv i" ...n^ ^- 



de inhahiting inland towns where the sugar 

 maple abounds. 



It is well known to you without doubt ibat the 

 uorlherii jiaris of Maine, New Hampshire, Ver- 

 mont and .\'ew York have dense lijrests of the 

 sugar maple, and that at present only very rude 

 processes are m;ide use of in preparing the sugar 

 for market, so that it is too generally acid and de- 

 liiinescent; besides being charged with sails ol 

 the oxide of iron, insoniucli that it ordinarily 

 strikes a black color wilh tea. 



To remedy these ditiiculties was the object of 

 my researches: while at the same time ! was en- 

 gaged ill ascerlaiiiiiig the true coniposilion ol the 

 sa|) wilh a view to llie theory of veg<-table nu- 

 trition. 



I received several gallons of freshly drawn ma- 

 ple sa|i from Xorlhampton, Warntn-, and C'aiiler- 

 biiry, and ma<h; aii.'duses of each lot, separating 

 the"aci<ls, salts, and the sugar. I also analyzed 

 the sap ol' llie yellow and while birch, which do 

 not give any crygtulizpble sugar, liut an astring- 

 ent molasises. 



1 shall now commiinicale lo you the process 

 bv which 1 luanutactured sugar maple n:\\t re- 

 ceived from the Shakers of Canterbury who col- 

 lected it with care in a clear glass demijohn and 

 sent il forlhwith, so that il came to me williout 

 any chanire of conipositioii, the weailier bidng 

 coid at the lime. The evaporation was carried 

 on in glass vessels milil the sap was reduced t( 



to be stopped at lirst until the sugar is cold, ibett 

 remove the stopper and pour on the base of tlie 

 cone a(pianiil\ of strong whiskey, ot fourth proo 

 rum. .'\llow this to filtrate tbroiigli until the sug- 

 ar is white, dry the loaf and re-dissolve it iu boil- 

 iui hot water and evaporate it until it tiecomeiS 

 dense enough to cryslaiize. Now pour it into tha 

 cones agaiirand let'it hardet). If any color re- 

 mains, pom- a (ialuraled solution of refined wbitu 

 sugar on the base of the cone and this flyriip w ill 

 remove all traces of color from the loaf. 



One gallon of pasture tnaple sap yielded 3451 

 grains of pure sugar. One gallon of the juice of 

 the sugar cane yields ou an average in Jauiaica, 

 7000 grs. of siig.ir. Hence it will appear that 

 maple sap is very nearly half as sweet us eajie 

 juice, and since the maple reipiires iio outlay for 

 its cultivation and the proce.ss may be carrindoii 

 when there is little else lo Ue done, the iiiauiifac- 

 liire oj uiaple sugar is destined to heconie an im- 

 portant' department of rural economy. It is well 

 known by the report on the statistics of the Unit- 

 ed Stales, that Vermont ranks next to Louisiana 

 as a stiuar slate, luoduiiiig if 1 recollect correct- 

 ly, 0,000,000 of pounds in some seasons, though 

 the business is now carried on i« u very rude way, 

 without Hi.y apparatus, and wilh no great chemi- 

 cal skill, so" that only n very impure kind of sug- 

 ar is nia<!e, which on account of ils [leculiar fla- 

 vor has not found ils way iiilo coiiimou use, for 

 sweetening lea and eoffec'lt would appear worth 

 while then, to improve this tjiamifacture, and to 

 make the luiiple sugar etpial to any now in use. 

 This c:ui U<i readilv uccomplisbed, if the fanners 

 in the back country vk ill study the process of sug- 

 ar ninking, for cane and tnajile sugar are, whtii 

 pure, absolutelv ideiUical. 



It should be 'remarked, that forest maples do 

 not produce so much sugar as those grown in op- 

 en fields or id sroves, « here they have more ligh.t, 

 the underbrush being cleared away. 



In Farmingtoii, on ihe .-^andy river, in .Maine, [ 

 have seen a very fine grove of maples but 30 

 years old, whicli produced a large yield of very 

 •■■<iod sugar. A man and two boys made 1500 

 Ths. of sugar from the sap of tlieso trees in a siii- 



011 in glass ve.'s<is until the sap was rediice.i to j ms. oi so^,.. m.„.. ..... -..,. -. .■,-.,',. • 



about one-eid.lh ils oriVmal bulk, and then it was I gle sugar season Ihe sap was ''"I"'.™..; 

 .1 ..',;, 1."., .„.r„.;n,:7 .,u.„n,e of clear lime notash kettles, « Inch were sooure.l bngot Willi 



treate<l wilh'a suliicieii't ipiamity nl' clear lime 

 water to render il neutral, and Ihe evaporation 

 was completed in a shallow porcelain basin. — 

 The result was that a beautiful yellow, gramiku- 

 sugar was obtained, from which not a single drop 

 ofliiolasscs drained and it did not deliquiesce by 

 exposure to the air. Aiiotiier lot of the sap re- 

 duced to sugar without lime water, graiiidaled, 

 hut not so well, and was sour lo the taste and de- 

 li<piieseed by exposure, and gave a considerable 

 (iuantily of molasses. 



Having studied the nalure of the peculiar acid 

 of the nnide, I find that its eomhiiialioiis wilh 

 time were excessively soluble iu ahvdiol, S3 that 

 the ^ ellow sugar first dese/ilted could he render- 

 ed white in a lew minutes by placing il in an in- 

 verted eone open at the bottom and pouring a 

 fresh fjiiantitv of alcohol upon it and allowing it 

 lo fillrate through the sugar.— 'I'be whitened su- 

 gar was then taken and re-dissolved in boiling 

 water and cryslalixed, by which all the alcoholic 

 flavor was eiitirely reir.ovcd aisd a perieclly fine 



worm is not kiile,!, the sheep will grow poor, j chrystal.^d, and p^re suj^arresulte^^^^^ c,!..,,.;,,,' 

 ...id will certainly die. Now m the large way, 1 ;u!v se ha fol o » 



Tie Cs'/.-Vou will i«any times sen slieep in j inethod ol """•"'"«';''^";_f,.|\'^'i:[^ "'-•'" "^'"■"" 

 flocks th.-it will not eat, although you would tbitik " ' '"-'" "'"'""'• "" 



them in g<sori case; you will generally find they 

 liave "lost llie cud," ati<! will starve iUid die if 

 ?iot attended lo. It soiMetiiiJCS happens that they 

 <lrop it out of l1-.eir moirth by accident, some- 

 times by a sudden start, and sornetiines by cough- 

 ing it <nit. !n lhat case I have crowded theui in 

 ■n stable tiv yard as c'kise as i could 'ivX them, and 

 ^tood sHtrkMill dose lo the side of a well i-h*,vp, 

 rii»t\\. when that sheep commetie.ed <d.iewiughis 

 i-ud,'loseii'.e sudden l.iob! of ids tin-oat and thrust 

 ■my fingers iw li-is rooinh, take out his cud and di- 

 vide it pulling back one halt; atid l<:ie fltJjer h;df 

 into the' sick sheep's mouth and inHdi it as fiir 



several large copjwr or bras- kelties and set ilieui 

 up in a rov/ either by Iripod.s with iron rings, cr 

 fey liansiiig them «ii aci-o>M-bar,c!ean them «clt, 

 then collect the sap in buckets, if possiUe go that 

 bul litt-le ruin water will he mixed with the s:ip, 

 and take care not to have iiiiy dead leaves in <t. 

 F«r every gallon of tlie t«ap!e sap add ont uten- 

 ittred ««)-« of clea'.- lime water, pass llie sap into 

 the first keule at<d evaporate, then when it is ve- , 

 duced to about one half, dip it out ii!l<» the se<:-aiui ; 

 ketiile iiiH3 skim it ciich Hiiie, iheu suto liie next, ' 



potash kettles, uhich were scoured brigot Willi 

 vineL'ar and sand. The sugar was of a fine yel- 

 low color and well crvstalized. h was drained 

 of its molacses in casks with a fal.se bottom |)er- 

 li>rated with small boles, the cask having a liole 

 bored at the bottom with a tow plug placed loose- 

 ly in it to conduct oft" the uiolas.scs. Tins inetli- 

 o"d ii- a good one, but the sap ought to he limed 

 in boiling, .IS I have deseritied, tiicii it will not at- 

 tach to the Iron or copi.er boilers. The latter 

 metal must not be used with acid Bvrnp, foir coji- 

 per Baits are poisonous. 



Those who fear to trust aicoiioi ositlieir [srfcm- 

 i-^es may conieiit lhem.<e!ves wiiii the use of lime 

 water to" neutralize the acid aiuS clarify liiesyrun 

 wilh e"<'s or skim milk. Tiieii granulate the raw 

 si'.rarasMtsiitd. To refine it wilSiotit aicohoS, It 

 mav be rc-mel;sd. cast into cone*=, arsined, and 

 tbe'n elaved, or still tetter retined by the dispiace- 

 ment«f"tiie nioiasses by ("cans of a aaiins^ted 

 toiution of i-iaf suu'ar pourwS on tSie i):t.« of ttie 

 eoiie after the removal of the piug from Usaftex. 

 llthoii'dt this process docK nut give so yiUite. a. 

 s<i.';ir, i sliouhi prefer it Jo any rtskof atun!jiro{f- 

 es-liso of alooh..!, .-uuJ ic Suas tl^atlvai.tepot gtr- 

 ii... a much l.HiKer moUfesee, wbicJt wHl da lot 

 fKinilviJse, wliercastiw e-u«i aH'i tsKi^aS3« is a 

 vile comi«s«n<i uulU f«r atij u«e Ii«£ .i-'sttSiiag OK 

 fiir making Vinegar- 



4nviK/i-iio««f the.^^«si-.j rcetaiia, ya: iway 

 deem'iiiterestiMg t« t«je jHsMie, J'OU «« si UitertV 

 to p«ldjsli. , ,. 



C. -P. JACSt/SOS-. 

 »i.3l<i«j, March *i;'>*., S-^it, 



aivd so «u unlil it has rea^ched the last, wljer^^ -it ■ ^..^^^ ^^^ C««v«u— .is d-ia ses.sa<i foe >««;»- 

 is i-oduced to syi-«|., a«d iJk-ii may be tbr<jwn «;- , ^.' ^ „„,«.ead«Mg, k .«ay Ue .sS *eet!,» m 

 to a trough ami granujated by Uc.i«ng U m.P wwh j l^^^_^^^ ^^^ ^^ \^:^^^.t tk* ^^^>^i&<f-ti>«£^'- ««M««^ 



1.K »m: . . „ i ^T;Jt' aft/^-^Itvii-aWef '•iliwi""''** •" '*'PP°*'' 



As soan af- the firrt-kelilo is ti«ai1y ewpiyvl^i"- ! .. ^^.^,_,,^^, „f tesi <•<•»«<? 4«9is4i^ « «««■, 



in a n<:w lut wf tke sap and so cetiHime w-orknig i ■ "^^^,1^.5^ ,4^ ^^^j w^kh'H: tt»8 e«r» "M^ •*■ 

 it forward exartly f-nei- the auiRiKT «t « . 1. ►>Kg- f^ ^^^^^ ^ ^^.y^^ j^ p«s¥t#>« 



,-a„not tie handled in'tV: ^ame «-av,°i have lafceu «v ■boilers. The ^.nide sugar «cay ^y^^"^''^'-,] 'a^ e«,«riKK^.« U^ *^>*^ ««ie.« m<^ '%^ 

 :,he inner bark of sweet elder. «-,raped fii>c, a.Kl sequently or at 1 be Imie ^'^.^''^'^''f .V'' *" ^'^ , vear^ wk^ «>!• * "^^^ f^^f' 



.al>oul lw-ots'ble-spoons-l'«ll ofhog's Iard-.-.l«- -rones iv.ade ofsieet '^^^^''^'^/'V'"'"^ "' ' V^ H I^vd L l^e^^llil^^ ,,„^,t« t>a«4 i'. **5«^ fe" g«^'* 

 mer then, together unlil llie elder is till sr.ft; then =le«d ami Iwiicd busec.3 <»! a-nri <*f''3'''> ^^^=.S ,\en.~Sfrh.s,ii^Mf%>er. 

 take a lump of dough or leaven about as hi? as <=s that no paiitt re-.iy ._-si«s ofl. Thebe c«,t>o€ » e 



slosMi Irts throat a« possiUe, and tlfen *.et liim go. 

 3Ie wi'l in a few nivniites ootnaien-ce catling, aiwil 

 will soon In; welL 



Catlle v.iiil *)ften do I'he sarne "thing, but as ^hey 



