124 



GENESEE FARMER. 



Aug. 1845 



Butter. — One of the most prominent reasons why there 

 is so much poor butter ronde, is, that tho salt used is not 

 good. Even the best of our common salt contains a consid- 

 erable quantitj' of impure matter. Rock and bay salt, 

 which are considered the purest that can be obtained, are 

 mixed with small tjuantitics of sulphate of magnesia and 

 lime, nitrate of soda, aud muriate of magnesia. 



The following mode is recommended to render it pure. — 

 ''Put into a lar^e kettle a peck of salt, with clear rain wa- 

 ter enouoh to dissolve it : boil it, and skim off every parti- 

 cle of scum that rises on the surface; then dissolve I ounce 

 of the carbonate of soda in four ounces of water, put it in- 

 to tho kettle, stir it well, then boil it again for ten minutes, 

 skimming off the scum that rises ; then strain the brine 

 through several folds of flannel. A considerable quantity 

 of earthly matter will thus be found in the bottom of the 

 kettle, which is tho cause of the impurity. After having 

 thus stra-ncd it, add a small quantity (half an ounce or so) 

 of muriatic acid to the brine, to neutralize the soda; tVien 

 put the brine again into the kettle, and boil it till it crystal- 

 izos, or in a shallow wooden vessel till the water is evapo- 

 rated : the first is the quickest. After the salt is vvr-Ucrys 

 talized, it must be washed, by putting it into a clean basket 

 and throwing over it a bucket of perfectly pure water, and 

 let it drain off rapidly ; then let it be dried. Perfectly pure 

 salt can thus be obtained, suitable not only for butter, but 

 for preserving meat, ice.; and the increased excellence thus 

 secured will well repay all the trouble and expense of prep- 

 aration. It can be rendered more pure than is usually 

 bought, indeed, if the carbonate of soda should not be ad- 

 ded : but it is still better when it is also used." 



Safety in a Thunder Storm. — The following para- 

 graph is extracted fromCavalo's Elements of Natural and 

 Experimental Philosophy, and contains some valuaMebints: 



" With regard to personal security in time of thunder 

 storms, if a person be in a house which is not furnished 

 with a conductor, it is advisable not to stand near any me- 

 talic articles, viz: near gilt fiames, chimney grates, bell 

 wires, iron casements, and the like. In the middle of a 

 room, upon a dry chair or table, or mattrass, or other isola- 

 ted articles, is the safest situation. Should a storm happen 

 when a person is in the open fields, and far from any build- 

 ing, the best thing ho can do is to retire within a small dis- 

 tance of the highest tree or trees he can gel at ; he must 

 not, however, go quite near them, but he should stop at 

 about fifteen or twenty feet from their outermost branches : 

 for, if the lightning happens to strike about the place, it 

 will in all ])robability strike the trees in preference to any 

 other much lower object; and if a tree happens to be split, 

 the person will be safe enough at that distance from it. 



THE WEATHEPt .AND THE CROPS. 



In this region, and wc believe throughout all central and 

 southern Ohio, tho past two or three wci^ks have been as 

 favorable for tho growing crops as the heart of man could 

 desire. The fine rains mentioned in our last, have continu- 

 ed at intervals of not more tlian two or three days, so that 

 the ground is now well saturated, and the warmth has 

 brought on the corn with astonishing rapidity. The wheat, 

 too, that was not killed by frost, has filled out more plump 

 and heavy than has been known for many years in these 

 parts, and the yield, though very light in straw, will, it is 

 judged, be greater than for two or three years past, though 

 this is not the case in many of the more northern counties, 

 where the most wheat is commonly produced. Wc regret 

 to lenrn that tho late rains have not generally extended over 

 the Reserve counties, and thoy arc again suffering from 

 drought to a degree that precludes all hopes of realizing n 

 hay crop, so important to that region. If the fiirmers do 

 not provide plenty of turnips, itc, in those jiarts, there will 

 be great suffering among the cattle next winter. 



Ohio Cultivator, .July 1st. 



Let each one do the good that is in his path and his call- 

 ing, and his work shall remain, even if it seeras to ]>ass 

 Rway, and will bear fruit in its time. 



One of the Editors of the Courier and Enquirer, writing 

 from Livingston Co., makes the following mention of a 

 gentleman well known in these parts, and throughout the 

 country, for his liberality in every praiseworthy enterprise: 



This county is beginning to feel how much can be done 

 by tho weal til and exertion of a single individual. Mr. 

 .James S. Wadsvvorth of Genoseo, who has recently suc- 

 ceeded to an immense estate reaching probably two mill- 

 ion, seems to be governed by a public spirit which, if gen- 

 erally shared by our wealthy men, would give a new aspect 

 to the whole State. You recollect his munificent donation 

 of $10,000 to distribute that capital, practical book, the 

 "School and Schoolmaster" throughout this State. Ho 

 has still more recently established from his own funds and 

 under his own supervision, a School which cannot be with- 

 out a marked effect. From each town in the county — 

 /welve in all, — he selects one boy, confining the choice un- 

 der 14 years of age, of poor parents and of good spirit — 

 This selection is to be made annually for three years, and 

 the number is limited to thirty-six. These lads are taken 

 to his farm in Geneseo, and placed under teachers, where 

 they first receive instruction in the rudiments of knowledge 

 and of the simplest gardening. As they grow up they are 

 taught in the more advanced stages of education and in the 

 more important wonders of agriculture. They are to re- 

 main in this condition, under the control and discipline of 

 Mr. \Vadsworth, until they are twenty-one years of age.— - 

 Having thus become skilful farmers and thoroughly educa- 

 ted men, fit for the public duties of good citizens as well as 

 for labor of the farm, they are prepared to enter upon active 

 life. The vacancies created by their departure are to be 

 filled by repeated selections from the different towns in the 

 county. 



From such a plan, endowed with so much munificence, 

 much good may well be anticipated. Mr. Wadsworth is 

 certainly entitled to the warmest gratitude of the whole 

 community, as well as the people of this, his native county. 



Remedy foK the Botts. — A correspondent of the Al- 

 bany Cultivator says : — " Having seen many horses die with 

 Botts, and many remedies given without effect, I was indu- 

 ced, by a merchant in Cambridge, to try the following for 

 a horse of my own, after I had tried most of the remedies 

 in common use without effect, and had given him up for lost: 

 Half pint vinegar, half pint soft soap, half pint gin. and 

 half pint molasses, well shaken together, and poured down 

 while foaming. To my great surprise, the horse was, in 

 five minutes, wholly free from pain, and ate freely ; tho 

 next morning I was on my journey. I have since recom- 

 mended and given the same in perhaps fifty cases, with the 

 same good effect ; not in one instance has it failed to effect 

 a perfect cure." 



The Red Ant. — The little Red Ant, where he is dispo- 

 sed to make himself familiar, is one of the greatest of all 

 pests that afflict a household. He is always on hand in 

 the sugar howl, makes the preserve dish a sort of every-day 

 lounge; and if a choice pie is set awny any where for an 

 extra occasion, this little fellow is sure to find it out and. 

 keep guard there. Several modes are recommended to 

 drive him away. One is to strew sage leaves about the 

 cupboard; another, to use cedar boughs instead , and a la- 

 ter one is to guard any particular treasure with common salt. 

 For instance, says tho New Yoik Farmer and Mechanic, if 

 a safe or cupboard is to be kept from them, set it from the 

 walls, so as to touch nothing laterally ; then place a cup 

 containing salt under each leg, so as to oblige the animals 

 to tjavel through it. Thoy will r.ot do it. — Prairie Farmer. 



Pl.Ns. — Two tons and a half of pins arc put up every 

 week at the pin factory in Derby, Connecticut. What be- 

 comes of all the pins ? 



^Vhenevcr you buy or sell, let or hire, make a clear bar- 

 gain, and never trust to " We shan't disagree about trifles." 



The wheat crop has been all harvested in Michigan, and 

 the quantity and quality are all that could we wished. No 

 chance for high prices within reach of the lakes and canals. 



