1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



109 



glad to learn that the energetic President of the 

 association still holds on — for without his energy, 

 skilfully applied, what would it be ? 



I am truly pleased to see that the Governor was 

 able to speak so fiivorably of the State Farm School 

 at Westboro'. There is no one of the institutions 

 under the care of the State, from Avhich more is to 

 be hoped, than this, if properly conducted ; — there 

 is no one ^yhose influence will l)e more baneful, if 

 not properly conducted. Only think, here are con- 

 stantly six hundred youths, between the ages of 

 ten and twenty, training up for good or evil — in a 

 situation to be moulded at M-ill, without any con- 

 trolHng influence of guardians and relatives. If 

 they do not come out valuable members of the 

 community the fault will be on the heads of those 

 who guide them. We hope for the best. 



Pardon this hasty scrawl, and believe me ever 

 faithfully yours, EsSEX. 



Jan. 14, 1856. 



PEARLASH. 



We re-j^ublish the following article in order to 

 give the correction which some chemical friend sent 

 us on Jan. 5 th. 



Pearl Ash. — This is the common name for car- 

 bonate of potash, and is an alkaline substance ob 

 tained from wood ashes. The ashes of the burnt 

 timber are collected and put into cisterns ; water is 

 poured u])on them, which dissolves all the soluble 

 parts of the ash, and, after standing some time to 

 become clear, is drawn off and evaporated to dry- 

 ness in iron pots, when the half-melted pearl ash re- 

 mains. It is then put up in casks containing about 

 500 weight. Pearl ash obtained by this process is 

 usually of a greyish coloi', from the presence of im- 

 purities ; but it is readily freed from these by dis- 

 solving it carefully in water, and evaporating the 

 clear liquor. Pearl ash, when pure, is a white sub- 

 stance, of an acrid, caustic taste, easily soluble in 

 water, with which it has so great an affinity as to 

 attract it from the air, unless it is kept in closely 

 corked vessels or casks. It is an article of great 

 utility in many of our manufactures. Soft soap is 

 in part composed of it ; many kinds of glass are 

 made by its aid. It is also used by scourers in 

 cleaning wool. Sec. ; and its use in remoAing grease 

 and scouring wood-work, paint, &c., is very great, 

 although soda has of late rather superseded it for 

 the latter purposes. 



Messrs. Editors : — I note your article on "Pearl- 

 ash" in yours of to-day, and, inasmuch as it is not 

 wholly correct, beg to refer to it. 



The lye, after being "evaporated to dryness," 

 leaves a deposit of what is known as black salts, 

 and the pearlash of commerce is the result of the 

 following after processes, viz : These salts are then 

 placed in an oven, so constructed as to bring as 

 much surface as possible in contact with flame of 

 wood fire, and the impurities are thus burned out, 

 and if properly treated, instead of being of a grey- 

 ish color, the pearlash is i\\Q xevy luhitentss of while 

 inlensified. 



Touching the matter of its uses, I apprehend that 

 the "soft soap" ap])lication would produce a very 

 indifferent commodity for domestic uses ; potash 

 (a caustic alkali) being not only more reliable, but 

 more economical. CllEM. 



January 5th, 1856. 



FOUKTH AKNUAL MEETING 



OF THE 



U. S. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The United States Agi-icultural Society met at 

 Washington, in the East Room of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, Jan. 9. Although the severe storm,which 

 had blocked up the roads at the North, prevented 

 many delegates from reaching the city, there M'as a 

 respectable attendance from various States and 

 Territories. 



Credentials were presented by gentlemen repre- 

 senting various State Boards of Agriculture, and 

 State and countv societies. 



The President", Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, then 

 delivered the following; able 



Gentlemen of the Society, and friends of Agri- 

 culture : — Official duty requires me to submit to 

 you, on this fourth anniversary of our Association, 

 a statement of its operations and progress for the 

 past year, and to offer such recommendations as 

 these may suggest in respect to its future mission. 

 The year which has just completed its course has 

 been one of unusual prosperity to the American 

 farmer, in which a kind Providence has rewarded 

 his toil with abundant harvests, with ready mar- 

 kets and remunerating prices. Among the second- 

 ary causes which have contributed to this result, we 

 recognize the scarcity produced by the drought of 

 the preceding year, and the demand for American 

 produce created by the war in which many of the 

 countries of Europe are still involved. As philan- 

 thropists and Christians Ave deplore this conflict, 

 yet we cannot lose sight of the fact that it imparts 

 to the agriculture of our country peculiar import- 

 ance, and, should it continue, will afford an increas- 

 ed demand for the products of our soil. Still our 

 main reliance must ever be upon the progress of 

 society within our own borders, upon the ]jrosperi- 

 ty of our industrial pursuits, and the consequer"* 

 home consumption of our agricultural products. 

 The commerce of one section of our republic with 

 another, hardly second in importance to our foreign 

 trade, is worthy of the attention and study of our 

 political economists and the Atisest of our states- 

 men ; and this commerce is created and sustained 

 by the art which it is the object of our association 

 especially to promote. 



Gentlemen, I congratulate you on the progress 

 of our institution during the past year. If it has 

 not accomplished all which we anticipated, it has 

 furnished pleasing evidence of its growing prosper- 

 ity and usefulness, and strengthened our hopes in 

 regard to its future development. 



*♦»♦** 



The arrangements for the Boston exhibition were 

 on a mosthbcral scale, and so perfectly systematized 

 as to be easily controlled, and to contribute to the 

 comfort and happiness of the multitude in attend- 

 ance. 



The number of entries in all the departments 

 was nine hundred and thirty-one, embracing be- 

 tween one thousand and fifteen hundred animals. 

 The sum awarded in premiums alone was nearly 

 twelve thousand dollars, a larger amount than has 

 ever before been distributed by any other Agricul- 

 tural Society in our country. The other incidental 

 expenses were very large ; yet all these, as will aj)- 

 pear from the treasurer's report, were more than 



