NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



100 



ENGLISH CATTLE MARKET. 



Bv llie autliority of thu British Parliament, an ex- 

 imiiiiation lins bucn lUcnie into tlie state of die (-at- 

 ile markets in the vicinity of London. Tlie evi- 

 ilence given Ijefore the committee rci)iebents the 

 most ilisgnsting and rriiel scenes; tlie streets of 

 Smithfield were wet with the blood of slaughtered 

 animals, and the offal was left in the gutters to the 

 nporation of the sun, producing the most horrible 

 stench. It appeared by the evidence, also, that 

 niu<;h meat was sold, which was unlit for eatihg ; 

 being "very old cows, skin and bones, and worn 

 out bulls." The sheep were frequently driven 

 into the market with one of their fore legs tied uji 

 to prevent their ruiming away, and when thus dis- 

 abled, the animals were goaded ou by the inhu- 

 man drovers. 



The state of Leadenhall market is thus describ- 

 ed by one of the witnesses, (a surgeon) and he 

 stated that similar cruelties were practised at hun- 

 dreds of other places within the precincts of the J roared with agony in a shocking manner, and got 

 city : — I upon its knees, when they gave it the death blow, 



A great part of Leadenhall is excavated, and , and it was killed. I state this only to show the 

 the slaughter-houses are uitderneath. You des- nianncr in which slaughtering is con. lucted. 

 cend a flight of steps several feet, (perhaps twen- | Another instance came under the eye of the 

 ty feet) and you go into a dismal dungeon which same witness, in which the animal received seven- 

 is almost dark ; there is a little light only, from teen blows from an axe, inflicted by ignorant men, 

 the place that you enter — and around the floor of before it dropped. This gentleman was a mem- 

 this place, covered with blood aod filth and gar- | ber of the college of surgeons, and his opinion 

 bage, are the poor sheep lying in different places upon this point may be worthy of some attention, 

 till they are killed. The persons who are cm- He says, "the cutting the throat of the bullock 

 ployed to slaughter in these underground cellars with a very large kifife, I consider to be the easi- 

 appeared to me the most filthy, low, disgusting ' est possible death; but I very strongly object to 



Oct. 17,' 1828. 



ing at the stake they are in the habit of fastening 

 one of the hind legs, to the wall, but in doing so, 

 it fell on its side ; they wanted the animal to stand 

 up on its legs, it was hampered with rojies, and 

 hardly could, when one of the slaughtermen be- 

 gan to twist and break the tail, joint alter joint; 

 and then as if that was not suftJcient to effect 

 the piirpose, he jumped upon it ; another of the 

 slaughtentien took up a drover's stick and beat it 

 about the head in the most cruel manner, and 

 goaded it.in dillerent parts of the body, to make 

 it get up ; but still the animal did not rise ; then 

 they called for a bucket of water, and I saw them 

 pour the water down the nostrils, which was 

 done for the purpose of giving the stimulus of 

 suftbcation, (for cattle breathe through their nos- 

 trils, not through their mouths); immediately af- 

 ter which, one of the slaughtermen took the iron 

 axe and gave it six blows on the sides of the head 

 (not on the vital part of the head) and it then 



lands are admirably adapted to the growth of 

 mulberry frees. Will not the farmers of the east- 

 ern shore find this a subject worthy of their at- 

 tention ? — Baltimore Palriut. 



characters that can possibly be mentioned ; I have 

 seen them slaughter the sheep, and prepare the 

 carcase with a horrid filthy bucket, containing 

 blood and whatever may have been in it, as filthy 

 and dirty as can be ; I hare seen them take a 



their throwing the animal down, which is attend- 

 ed with a great deal of trouble and cruelty." 



Driving cattle into the market was represented 

 as a great nuisance. A bookseller testified that 

 ladies were put to great inconvenience and terror 



cloth and wash and wipe the meat all over with by it, and that they would not go into the streets 

 the water fiom the bucket, the most horrid, dis- | to purchase goods upon days when cattle were 

 "usting scene that can possibly be imagined. The known to be there ; he was satisfied that he had 

 place is so close that you cannot enter it without personally suffered a loss in his business in con- 

 thinking of contagion. It is even worse than . sequence of it. Sheep were driven through Hat- 

 VVhitechapel, inasmuch as these places are under ton Garden upon the evening of the Sabbath, to 

 ground ; there is no ventilation, and there is not the great annoyance of worshippers. Sunday 

 the least check whatever to any cruel or filthy i evening was the noisest of the whole week. It is 

 practices that the slaughtermen may choose to j not stated in the papers whether any measures 

 practice. I has been taken to put an end to these disgusting 



Merely sheep were slaughtered there, no cattle; scenes — Courier. 



they slide them down trap doors, and I have seen 



them frequently so crippled as not to be able tb 

 stand when they !,ave reached the bottom, fre- 

 quently v/ith their jaws or legs broken. 



The manner in which the cattle are slaughter 



ed in most of the slaughter-houses is inconcciva- ; 



bly dreadful and horrible. The cattle are sent to ] 



some of the large slaughter-houses to be slaugh- 

 tered by slaughtermen einployod by the man who 



keeps the premises ; he takes in the cattle, and 



receives so much a head fur their being slaughter- 

 ed ; he appoints a certain number of men, who 



are generally of the lowest possible description, to 



slaughter the cattle, and this business they per- 



I'orm without any observation or remonstrance or 



direction from the master butcher, or the man 



that owns the premises, or any one else, and they 



do it in any bungling cruel manner they choose 



to adopt. I saw an instance at the time I refer 

 to, which was so dreadful it will never be effaced 

 from my recollection, and I was not a solitary 



Cve-witness, but other gentlemen were present. 

 At Whitechapel, one of the bullocks was drawn 



up to the stake to be slaughtered, and when stand- 



SILK. 



There is scarcely a day passes that does not 

 bring us an account of some successful experiment 

 in raising silk, in the Sou'h and West. The Ohio 

 State Gazette notices a specimen of silk, uf ai 

 cxoe" 



Clermont county, in tiiat State. — A day or two 

 since, we received information of the succcs; 

 an exiieriment made by Dr. M. W. Alexander, of 

 Mecklenburg county. North Carolina. This gen- 

 tleman raised two crops last summer, the last of 

 which was superior to the first. — Another gentle- 

 man in the same State was very successful in rais- 

 ing silk, and contemplates entering into the busi- 

 ness on an extensive scale. Indeed we have in- 

 formation from several of the southern and west- 

 ern Stales, of the extensive commencement of 

 white mulberry planting with the same view. To 

 obtain a mulberry orchard that will yield leaves 

 enough for the most extensive establishment. 

 Would not require more expense or trouble than 

 every farmer bestows ujiou a common apple orch- 

 ard ; and what is bettor ? Old fields, or worn out 



WHEAT PRODUCED IN FRANCE. 



At a recent meeting of the Academy of Scien 

 ces in Paris, the Secretary read a paper on the 

 " present and former produce of wheat in France,'' 

 from which it apjiears that forty years ago the 

 amount of wheat annually grown in France was 

 sufficient (reckoning the population at that time 

 at 25 millions, from which five millions are to bo 

 deducted for children under ten years of age",) to 

 give to each person 583 lbs. of wheat per annum, 

 or one pound nine ounces of bread daily, after 

 taking away the wheat necessary for seed for the 

 ensuing year. The population since the period 

 here referred to, has increased to thirty-five mill- 

 ions, but there has been no increase in the wheat 

 produce ; from which it is inferred that the land 

 brought into cultivation since the Revolution, has 

 been chiefly laid out for vineyards, leguminous 

 plants, and potatos. 



IMPORTANT INVENTION. 



We this morning examined and saw in opera- 

 tion a most ingenious and valuable machine for 

 spinning flax and hem)), invented by Dr Bell and 

 Mr Dyer, two intelligent and highly respectable 

 gentlemen from New England. They entered 

 upon the prosecuti(;n of their plans last winter, 

 and have now brought them to a successful ter- 

 mination. As the patent has not been secured, 

 we are not permitted to give a full description o" 

 the invention ; hut the following particulars will 

 be interesting to our readers, especially to those 

 who wish well to the cause of Ameiicau Manu- 

 facilfres. 



This machine is constructed on an entirely new 

 principle, having no analogy to the process for the 

 cotton, woollen, v/orsted, or other manufacture.-— 

 The quality of the yarns produced is pronounced 

 by competent judges, to surpass other linen yarns 

 in as great a proportion as cotton or woollen 

 yarns spun by the present improved machinery, 

 are superior to those wrought by hand. The 

 size of the thread can be varied to any extent, 

 from that of cambric to that of the rope-yarns 

 used in the manufacture of cordage. In the de- 

 gree of velocity, its operation is limited only by 

 the quickness which the S[)indles and fliers are 

 capable of supporting. The instrument now in 

 operation produces about the same quantity of 

 I thread per spindle, fineness being equal, as the 



The 



, , ,, ,. ■ 1 11 1 J throstle spmdks \\\ the cotton manufacture. 



ent quality, made by Mrs- l)amel I arker,^o^ j ^^^^^^ fJ,,uation of the thread from dressed flax 



,! is completed at one operation. The material laid 

 ' on the m.-ichine is wound upon the spools ready 

 for the loom, without the intervention of any as- 

 sistance ; the wliole being effected by the rotary 

 motion communicated from drums. Indeed, all 

 the motions of the instrument are of a circular 

 kind. — J^. Y. State man. 



For fattening siinne. — Wash potatos clean, boil 

 and mash while hot — mix in at the same time 

 oats and pea meal. Put the mixture into a large 

 tub, which must stand till it becomes sour but not 

 pir.rid. Keep a quantity of this on hand, always 

 fennenting and give it to your hogs as often as 

 they will eat. It is said that pork may be fatten- 

 ed in this way and make a saving of one third of 

 the food and time eonsuiued in the usual mode. 



