330 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



THE CLIFF SWALLOW. 



A beautiful story is going the rounds, taken from 

 an old number of the Greenfield (Mass.) Advertiser, 

 of the Cliff Swallow, which species has recently 

 made its appearance, and begun to make settlements 

 under the eaves, in Delaware county. Pa., its nest 

 being in the shape of a retort with a long neck. — 

 The story referred to is of one of these swallows, 

 ■which was seen to linger after the tribe had taken 

 its usual flight to the tropics, apparently alone, 

 through the autumn and winter. The following is 

 the explanation : 



Spring came, and he was there. An occurrence so 

 singular, and contrary to the habits of the migrating 

 tribes, caused his motions to be watched with more 

 attention. At length another head was observed 

 protruding from one of the nests, which seemed to 

 be the abode of the bird which had been remarked 

 with so much interest. On examining the nest the 

 mystery was beautifully solved. Another swallow 

 was found there a prisoner. 



One of its legs had become entangled by a thread 

 of hair, which had been used in the lining of the 

 nest, and held it there a captive. Yet it was not 

 deserted by its faithful mate. Through all the long 

 and dreary winter, this patient self-devoting love 

 supplied her wants. He saw without i*egret, but 

 for his hapless consort, the deepening gloom of the 

 fading year ; he felt without feeling, but for her, 

 the advancing rigor of winter ; and if he, at times, 

 remembered the sunny skies of the South, and the 

 pleasures his tribe were then enjoying, it was only 

 to sigh that she could not partake of them. By 

 night and by day, in sunshine and in cloud, in the 

 calm and the tempest, he was with her, ministering 

 to her wants, and cheering the hours of her hope- 

 iless captivity by his caresses and untii'ing devotion. 



where the worm fell on the lime it was destroyed ; 

 in some cases the worm would spin himself up sev- 

 eral times, but finally would drop, curl up and die. 

 The next season, not a worm was to be seen, nor 

 has there been one since. Of course, I then 

 thought, and do now believe, that this was owing 

 wholly to the use of the muriate of lime. 



If others have tried the experiment and have 

 not succeeded, I cannot help thinking that they did 

 not use the lime at the right season, and in the 

 right way ; I believe it should be used at the very 

 time, or rather a little before, the worm is leaving 

 the tree and going into the ground. The worm is 

 then in that state when he is weak, and can be 

 easily destroyed. The time I think, is of the ut- 

 most importance when the muriate should be 

 used, and the ground should be well covered. As 

 I only made one experiment, of course I have no 

 means of judging the eflect of the lime when used 

 at a different season or in a different way from the 

 time or manner tried by myself. 



As a fertilizer, your muriate is already too well 

 known, and you have received testimonials from 

 far better judges than myself, to require anything 

 from me on that point. 



Hoping that the above will be a sufficient an 

 swer to your questions, I remain yours truly, 



William Plumer. 



P. S. — The time I used the muriate in my ex])er- 

 iment was, I believe, from the 10th to the 15th of 

 June. 



{t5=" For sale by James Gould, 70 State St., or 

 C. Young & Co., 118 State St. 



CANKER WORMS. 



Boston, May 2Sth, 1856. 



'To THE Editor of the Evening Transcript. 



Dear Sir : — There was, last year, under date of 

 June 21st, published in your paper, a letter from 

 William Plumer, Esq., of Lexington, in relation to 

 certain experiments made by him for the destruc- 

 tion of the canker worm, since which time several 

 persons have expressed a doubt of its effects, hav- 

 ing tried it at a much later season of the year, and 

 after the worm had gone into the ground. Under 

 these circumstances, I requested Mr. P. to state the 

 time and mode of trying the experiments, and the 

 follov,'ing communication is his answer to the same. 



Please publish this in your valuable journal and 

 oblige Your most obedient servant, 



TO State Street. James Gould. 



Lexington, May 21th, 1856. 



James Gould, Esq, : — Dear Sir, — I take plea 

 sure in again stating, at your request, the means I 

 used some years since to destroy the canker worm 

 by the application of your muriate of lime. And 

 I do this the more willingly, because I understand 

 there has been doubt expressed by some in regard 

 to the coiTectness of my former statement. 



The facts are as follows : that I caused the 

 ground to the extent of the branches, under the 

 trees in question, to be covered from a quarter to 

 half an inch deep with the muriate of lime. I then 

 gently shook the tree, and found, that in every case, 



EFFECTS OF HEAT UPON MEAT. 



A well-cooked piece of meat should always be 

 full of its own juice or natural gravy. In roast- 

 ing, therefore, it should be exposed to a quick fire, 

 that the external surface may be made to contract 

 at once, and the albumen to coagulate before the 

 juice has had time to escape from within. And so 

 in boiling. When a piece of beef or mutton is 

 plunged into boiling water, the outer part contracts, 

 the albumen which is near the surface coagulates, 

 and the internal juice is prevented either from es- 

 caping into the water by which it is surrounded, or 

 from being diluted or weakened by the admission of 

 water among it. When cut up the meat yields 

 much gravy, and it is rich in flavor. Hence a beef- 

 steak or mutton-chop is done quickly, over a quick 

 fire, that the natural juices may be retained. On 

 the other hand, if the meat be exposed to a slow 

 fire, its pores remain open, the juice continues to 

 flow from within, as it has dried from the surface, 

 and the flesh pines, and becomes dry, hard and un- 

 savory. Or if it be put in cold or tepid water, 

 whicli is gradually brought to a boil, much of the 

 albumen is extracted before it coagulates, the nat- 

 ural juices flow out, ar^d the meat is served in a 

 nearly tasteless state. Hence, to prepare good 

 boiled meat, it should be put into water already 

 brought to a boil. But to make beef-tea, mutton- 

 broth, and other meat soups, the flesh should be 

 put into cold water, and this afterwards very slowly 

 warmed, and finally boiled. The advantage de- 

 rived from "simmering" — a term not unfrcquent in 

 cookery books — depends very much upon the ef- 

 fects of slow boiling, as above descril^ed. 



These are the views of Liehig and Professor 

 Johnston on cooldng meat. 



