88 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



For the Ncic England Farmer. 

 MATSEIALS FOB HOOFING. 



I notice in the Farmer of Oct. 16th a •well- 

 written article on this subject; also, another in 

 the number dated Dec. Uth, in which are set 

 forth some facts, and in my opinion some errors ; 

 and as but few, comparatively, are well acquaint- 

 ed with the article of roofing slate, the public 

 mind might be led astray, from some remarks 

 that have been made in previous articles on this 

 subject, and more especially those in the October 

 number, from the pen of llusticus. I deem it 

 my duty to at least give my opinion, and the 

 reasons for the same, and let the people judge 

 for themselves. 



That slate is the best material for roofing, 

 there is no doubt in my mind, reasons for which 

 were given by my brother llusticus. 



In regard to the strength of slates, Rusticus 

 sets forth that a slate to have strength must ne- 

 cessarily be composed of such properties as will 

 fade, which theory must be carried out, if we ad- 

 mit that the Glen Lake and the Eagle slate are 

 the best. I admit, as Rusticus says, that there 

 are slate that are soft, brittle, and do not fade, 

 which cannot be split thin on account of their 

 tenderness. I mean more particularly those he 

 mentions, or the Western Vermont. There are 

 also hard slate, so brittle that they cannot be 

 split thin, A slate need not necessarily be hard 

 or soft to split well. I am more or less acquaint- 

 ed with the slate from more than twenty quar- 

 ries in the vicinity of Hydeville and Fairhavenj 

 and this fact I have observed among these slate, 

 that both the hard and soft have their good and 

 bad qualities for splitting. Slate, to split well, 

 must not be soft, like clay, or chalk, nor hard 

 and brittle, like cast iron, or glass, but be 

 of pure, fine quality, solid and elastic. Good 

 splitting slate, both hard and soft, will bend 

 apart in splitting some of the largest sizes, some 

 six inches or more. 



As to the question whether the color has any 

 thing to do with the strength of slate, I am will- 

 ing to take Rusticus on his own ground. He 

 says the Welsh slates are a standard, and the 

 Glen Lake are equal to them except in color. 

 Why must the Vermont slates fade in order to 

 give them strength, any more than the standard 

 Welsh slates ? Slates fade in consequence of the 

 metallic properties of which they are composed. 

 Those composed of iron will fade and rust, while 

 those composed of lead or copper will remain for 

 ages unchanged. 



A good splitting slate that fades is better than 

 a tender slate that will not fade, but a slate that 

 is both strong and never fades is better than 

 either. Such as these are made at a quarry 

 within two miles of Hydeville and Fairhaven de- 

 pots, and within one mile of the quarries of the 

 Eagle and Forest Slate Co., owned by William 

 L. Farnam ct Son. This quarry yields a variety 

 of colors, the t^^p layers are beautiful, light varie- 

 gated colors, while those below are dark variega- 

 ted or clouded purple, and still farther down are 

 a fine purple, capable of being split sixty or sev- 

 enty to the foot. 



As another instance of the splitting properties 

 of this stone, blocks from six to ten feet long by 

 two or more in width, can easily be split the 



thickness of one-fourth of an inch or less. These 

 are softer than those of Glen Lake, the Eagle or 

 the Forest Slate Co.'s, equal in strength and su- 

 perior in fineness of texture, evenness of surface 

 and duration of color, and in no respect inferior 

 to any Welsh slate. Another Subscriber. 

 December, 1858. 



MILK STAND AND BUTTER-WOKKEE. 



We are permitted again to copy from Flint's 

 admirable work on "Milch Cows and Dairy 

 Farming," and place before the dairyman or wo- 

 man a representation of an excellent mode of 

 setting away milk, and also a convenient form 

 of a butter worker. 



Milk should never be set on the bottom of a 

 cellar, if the object is to raise the cream. The 

 cream will rise in time, but rarely or never so 

 quickly as on shelves from five to eight feet from 

 the bottom around which a free circulation of 

 pure air can be had from the latticed windows. 

 It is, perhaps, safe to say that as great an amount 

 of better cream will rise from the same milk in 

 tweleve hours on suitable shelves, six feet from 

 the bottom, as would be obtained directly on the 

 bottom of the same cellar in twenty-four hours. 



Fio. I. — Milk Stand. 



One of the most convenient forms for shelves 

 in a dairy-room designed for butter-making is 

 represented in Fig. 1, made of light and seasoned 

 wood, in an octagonal form, and capable d hold- 

 ing one hundred and seventy-six pans of the or- 

 dinary form and size. It is so simple and easily 

 constructed, and so economizes space, tfeat it 

 may readily be adapted to other and smaller 

 rooms for a similar purpose. If the dairy-house 

 is near a spring of pure and running water, a 

 small stream can be led in by one channel and 

 taken out by another, and thus keep a constant 

 circulation under the milk-stand, which may be 

 so constructed as to turn easily on the central 

 post, so as often to save many footsteps. 



The pans designed for milk are generally made 



