456 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



tion of sweet oil was added, and the dose adminis- 

 tered. The next morning the horse was greatly re- 

 lieved, and justified the hope that it would recover. 

 p, s. — Since writing the above, we learn that 

 the horse has recovered, and is agahi at work. We 

 have great confidence in the treatment resorted to. 



FAT MEAT AS FOOD. 



The prevailing fashion and taste are against the 

 use of fat mutton and beef. At hotels and private 

 families, the fat meat to which persons are served, 

 is usually left, and the lean only eaten. Those who 

 purchase meat, of course select the lean, instead of 

 the fatter pieces, and butchers, accommodating 

 themselves to the demand, kill all sorts of lean and 

 ill-fed animals. 



The losses resulting from this are many. In the 

 first place, it is contrary to public economy, the 

 number of lean animals sacrificed to secure a given 

 weight of meat, being twice as great as would be 

 required, if all the animals slaughtered for food 

 were well fattened. The cost of raising animals 

 far exceeds the cost of fattening them, and there- 

 fore a pound of lean meat costs more to the pro- 

 ducer than a pound of fat, besides the unnecessary 

 waste of animal life involved. Another disadvan- 

 tage resulting from the use of lean meats exclusive- 

 ly, is in the fact, that lean meat, whatever the 

 quantity used, will not supply the place of the fat, 

 especially in winter. Food is required for two pur- 

 poses — one is to supply materials for the growth of 

 the body, and to repair the waste which labor and 

 all our activities occasion ; the other use is to sup- 

 ply fuel for the maintenance of animal heat, the 

 amount required for the latter purpose being much 

 greater in cold regions, and in the colder portion of 

 the year. The fat of animals is in many respects, 

 for man, the best and cheapest of all the heat- 

 producing articles of diet. In high latitudes, there 

 is no substitute for it, or possibility of doing with- 

 out it ; and the same thing is true, though not to 

 the same extent, in temperate climates during the 

 winter. Strangely enough, in this variable climate, 

 our diet is made comparatively uniform by fashion 

 and habit, instead of varying with the changes of 

 temperature. In summer, we use too much of car- 

 bonacous, or heat-producing food, and liVer diseases 

 and various fevers are the consequence ; while in 

 winter, a sufficiency of such food is not supplied, 

 and hence the prevalence of pulmonary affections. 



Life and health are more involved in this mat- 

 ter, than some imagine. In the last January num- 

 ber of the Ohio Medical and Surgical Journal 

 there is an excellent article, that was read before 

 the American Medical Association, by Dr. Hooker, 

 which shows conclusively, that persons abstaining 

 from fat meat, are much more liable than others to 

 lung diseases, and especially consumption ; while 

 those who are in the constant habit of using an 

 abundance of fat meat, are almost untouched by 

 this terrible destroyer. Multitudes of facts within 

 the knowledge of every one, are referred to by this 

 writer in support of his conclusions, placing the 

 matter, one would suppose, beyond doubt. 



What, then, is the conclusion of the whole mat- 

 ter ? Just this : — let farmers see to it that the an- 

 imals designed for the butcher are properly fat- 

 tened ; let butchers, who have a regard for their 



reputation, buy only good animals, and let those 

 butchers be discountenanced, who wiS continue to 

 murder such as are unfed ; let consumers use a 

 due proportion of fat meat with the lean, and let 

 the proportion be larger in winter than in summer ; 

 and especially, let those who have constitutional 

 tendencies to consumption, learn to eat good fat 

 meat ; and if their present tastes are averse to it, 

 let them struggle to overcome this aversion, as 

 though fife depended upon it. How much better 

 is good, fat beef, than cod liver oil ; how much bet- 

 ter it is, to use the beef while you are well, and 

 keep so, than to use quarts of the oil, when it is 

 too late ; — and finally, let all those who are inter- 

 ested in the health and vigor of our whole peo- 

 ple, use their endeavors and influence to dissemi- 

 nate right views in relation to this important mat- 

 ter. — Ohio Farmer. 



Coal Locomotives. — After a variety of exj^eri- 

 ments, A. S. Adams, master machinist of the Boston 

 and Worcester railroad, has now in operation a 

 freight locomotive adapted to burning coal, which 

 seems so well to meet the wants of the road that 

 all the engines of the company, used in drawing 

 freight, are to be altered to the same style. The 

 engine in question, the "Bison," has one of the 

 Delano grates, by which the coal is forced from the 

 bottom up through the bed of the fire. This grate 

 is but 38 inches in length, but by its manner of 

 operation all the gas is consumed and the top of 

 the bed of coal is kept always ignited, no new coal 

 ever being thrown upon it. The draft is also kept 

 good and is never obstructed by clinkers. Careful 

 estimations of the precise cost of running this en- 

 gine have been made, and it appears that with it 

 for 12 cents per mile a common freight train can 

 be run and make the usual speed. A wood engine 

 to run the same train costs 30 cents per mile. The 

 saving, as will be seen, is very great. The cost of 

 altering a common wood engine to fit it for burn- 

 ing coal is but $150 ; and as we have before re- 

 marked, the Worcester Company have decided to 

 have all their freight engines converted into coal- 

 ers as speedily as possible. — Traveller. 



To Dress Skins with Wool or Fur on. — 

 Take two table spoons full of saltpetre and one 

 of alum; pulverize freely, mix them together 

 and sprinkle carefully over the flesh side of the 

 skin. Then roll the skin together and let it remain 

 a few days, according to the weather. Unroll and 

 scrape them with a chip, dull knife, or draw them 

 over a board fence until they are dry, soft and pli- 

 able. 



Errata. — In a recent article on the Milking 

 Machine, first paragraph, for process, read pro- 

 gress. Last period of fifth paragraph should read : 

 —"The cap fits to the top of the cup, air tight, by 

 its own construction, and also hugs around the end 

 of the teat so closebj as to prevent the air from pass- 

 ing doiim beside the teat, but by its flexibility," &c. 

 Sixth paragraph, for flinching read pinching. Sig- 

 nature should be, Kingman. 



