172 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



DEC 6 1 -tr. 



(From the Genesee Farmer. 1 



BRIEF HINTS FOR DKCEMBER. 



Doiiiestic iiiiimalsslioulil iilwayscutiimence wiii- 

 ijoil coiiilitioii, anil tliis sliuiild he preserv- 



ter Ml (,'■ 



anil tliis sliuiil 

 C.I lliroiigli till s|)iins. 'I'o 'I" this, never attempt 

 to winter mure than you have ahnnilant nieans (if 

 proviiliiig for. All aniriials should be refjularly 

 fed, Ihey sliould lie kept warm ami comfortable 

 by sufficient shelter, should have a regular supply 

 of water, and, sheep and cattle PS|iecially, should 

 liave a portion of roots constantly intermixed with 

 their daily food. 



Large troughs for feeding with hay, are pref- 

 erable to racks, as they more eftectually prevent 

 waste. 



Sheep, instead of being left out, exposed to the 

 weather all winter, should he proiierly jirotected 

 by suitable sheds. If this were attended to, and 

 they have a daily supply of roots with their hay, 

 very Cew would ever be lost in wintering. 



Oats, for horses, yi-ill aflTord much more nour- 

 ishment when ground, tlwn when left unground. 

 Riita bagas are excelleut winter food for hor- 

 ses, fed in moderate quantities, with hay, and a 

 small quantity of oats. 



All stables for cattle and horses, should be kept 

 constantly ventilated, very clean and well littered 

 with straw. 



Straw, and poor hay are ri'adily eaten by cattle 

 if it is salted by sprinkling brine over it ; and it is 

 still better, if in aildition to this, they are chopped 

 previously. 



It is a very suitable time during this month, to 

 cart leached ashes on laud which may need it. — 

 It is particularly valuable on wet meadows ; a 

 friend spread eight or ten loads on an acre un his 

 meadow (which was occasionally overflowed by 

 the large creek which jiasses near it) ami the con- 

 sequence was an increase of one half more grass, 

 although it had previously produced yearly, two 

 or more tons of hay to the acre. This effect con- 

 tinued for several years. Chaptel says, " the r.c- 

 tion of buck ashes (leached ashes from asheries) 

 is most powerful upon moist lands and meailows, 

 in v\ hich they not only facilitate the growth of use- 

 ful plants, hut if employed constantly for several 

 years, they will free the soil from weeds." 



In the Garden, if the ground continues open, 

 manure may he sjiread and buried, vacant ground 

 ridged or sjiaded, sticks for peas, beans, &c., pre- 

 served or made, trellisses repaired, and vegetables 

 securely covered. 



disposed to deny ; that an error so fatal to the 

 proper performance of the vital functions should 

 be corrected, is equally evident ; not however by 

 exteniling the time of our meals to two or three 

 hours, and thus running the imminent hazard of 

 becoming gluttons, if not wine-hibhers, but by al- 

 lowing time to prepare our food by thorough mas- 

 tication for healthy and nutritive digestion. 



But if these sensitive travellers suffer so much 

 from ourconiempt of established rules in the mat- 

 ter of eating, what would be their ineffable bor- 



Id, a king 



to the fair ones wno have fed him, he makes up 

 two rolls of the same kind and form. Each of 

 the ladies ofiens her mouth at once, when with 

 his own hand he supjilies a portion to both at the 

 same inoniHrit. 



All this time the unfortunate victim at the door 

 is bleeding, hut bleeding litile ; for so skilful are 

 the butchers, that while they strip the flesh from 

 ihe bones, they avoid the parts which are travers- 

 ed by the great arteries. At last they fall upon 

 the thighs likewise; and soon after, the animal 



ror if permilted to sit down at the table of one of perishing from loss of blood, becomes so tough, 



FASHIONABLE EATING. 



One of the most serious charges made against 

 the people of the United Sta'es.hy the herd of 

 cockney tourists that have of late years inf.sted 

 ithis country, is the voracity and rapidity with 

 which Americans eat. To this charge we must 

 ;plead guilty. We do eat with a despatch that 

 .may well astonish any but a native; or rather we 

 bolt our food, at the most imminent hazard of suf- 

 focation, an event thatindeed is not of uiifrequent 

 occurrence among ns. Teeth were given man 

 for mastication, and the stomach for digestion ; — 

 but we swallow our food whole, and charge the 

 Stomach with the double office of maceration and 

 digestion. Is it to be wondered at, that the arch 

 fiend dyspepsia stalks among us, numbering as his 

 victims many of those we are the most loth to lose, 

 palsying their efforts, and making life a burden. 

 'J'})i»i we are in a fault in this matter (cw will be 



the most ancient kingdoms of the woild, a 

 dom claiming all the religion and all the decency 

 of the age, and boasting a monarch descended in 

 a direct and unbroken line of succession from the 

 illustrious Solomon. Fond of beef as they con- 

 stitutionally are, how would they turn up their 

 noses at the quivering steak, the abominable teff 

 bread, and the. delicate manner of feeding, des- 

 cribed in the following condensed account of an 

 Abysinian feast, derived from the pages of Bruce, 

 and confirmed by the recent researches of Gait 

 and Pearce. 



"At an Abysinian feast brijule, or raw beef cut 

 from the animal while living, constitutes a promi- 

 nent article, and the skill with which this is serv- 

 ed up, determines the ability and standing of the 

 cook. When the company have taken their seats 

 at the table, a cow or bull is brought to the door, 

 and its feet strongly tied ; after whii-h the cooks 

 proceed to select the most delicate morsels for 

 presentation at table. Before killing the animal, 

 all the flesh on the buttocks is cut off in solid 

 square iiieces, without bone, or much effusion of 

 blood. Two or three servants are employed, who 

 as fast as they receive the brinde, lay it upon cakes 

 of teff, placed like dishes down the table, without 

 a cloth or any thing else beneath them. All the 

 guests have knives in tlieir hands, and the men 

 prefer the large crooked ones, which in time of 

 war they put to all sorts of uses. The company 

 are so ariaiiged, that one gentleman sits between 

 two ladies ; and the former, with his long knife, 

 begins by cutting a piece which wsuld be thought 

 a good steak in England, while the quivering fibre 

 is yet perfectly distinct." 



In Abysinia no man of any fashion feeds him- 

 self, or touches his own meat. The women take 

 the flesh and cut it lengthwise like strings, about 

 the thickness of one's little finger, then crosswise 

 into square pieces somewhat smaller than dice. — 

 These they lay upon a portion of the teff bread, 

 strongly powdered with black Iiepper, cayenne, 

 and fossil salt, and then wrap it up like a cart- 

 ridge. In the meantime, the gentleman having 

 put up his knife, with each hand resting on a la- 

 dy's knee, his body stooping, his head low and 

 forward, and mouth open, very much like an id- 

 iot, turns to the one whose cartridge is first ready, 

 who stuffs the whole of it between his jaws, at 

 the imminent risk of choking him. This is a 

 mark of grandeur. The greater the roan would 

 seem to be, the larger is the piece which he takes 

 into his mouth ; and the more noise he makes in 

 chewing it, the more polite does he prove him- 

 self. None but heggats and thieves, say they, eat 

 small (lieccs and in silence. Having despatched 

 this morsel, which he does very expeditiously, the 

 lady un the other hand holds forth a second pel- 

 let, which he devours in the same way, and soon 

 till he is satisfied. He never drinks till he has 

 finished eating, and before he begins, in gratitude 



that the unfeeling wretches who feed on the re- 

 mainiler, can scarcely separate the muscles with 

 their teeth. After the feeding is finished, the po. 

 tatioiis commence, and are continued without the 

 least regard to sobriety or decency. — lb. 



GREAT CATTLE SHOW AND FAIR AT 

 PITTSFIELD. 

 On Wednesday anil Thursday, the 4th and 5th 

 days of October, the annual Cattle Show and Fair 

 of the Berkshire Agr. Society, W!(s held ut Pitts- 

 field, being the 27th anniversary. 



'Ihe weather, though quite cold, was, on the 

 whole, extremely favorable, until the afternoon of 

 the second day, when a cold rain set in, and con- 

 tinued tluough the evening, making the return of 

 the numerous comjiany assembled to their home 

 extremely unpleasant. 



The exhibition of animals, domestic manufac- 

 tures, agricultural impleriients and tnachinery took 

 place on the first day. The various Committees 

 were appointed at the Society's meeting in the 

 forenoon, and were hard at work during the whole 

 afternoon, in examining the animals and articles 

 submitted to them, and during the evening in pre- 

 paring their reports. The inuuense throng of cit- 

 izens in attendance, on both days, afforded abun- 

 dant evidence of the interest taken by the whole 

 county, in the objects and exhibitions of the so- 

 ciety. The attendante on both days, as well as 

 the interest manifested, were greater than at any 

 previous Fair. Tliere is a spirit of enquiry ; an 

 earnest seeking after improvements, among our 

 agricultural population, which has been mainly 

 excited by this society, the effects of which are 

 seen more rnd more strikingly every year, il 

 will be seen by the rejioits of the conmiittees thai 

 in every department of industi-y, the progr ,ss ol 

 improvement is apparent, and while they have di- 

 rected our attentions to tlio.se things which were 

 superior to former exhibitions, they have aisc 

 pointed out tlie particulars in regard to which this 

 exhibition has suffereil in the comparison. It is 

 certainly very important that this course shook' 

 be rightly pursued by the committees of the so 

 ciety? Improvement is promoted by encouruginf 

 what is good. It is also promoted by careful dis^ 

 crimination, and by pointing out the defects to bf 

 remedied. 



In the evening, the Young Ladies' Benevoleii 

 Society held its annual sale, in the lecture room 

 giving'an o|iportuuity of a pleasant, social inter i 

 cour.se of several hours, to a very large con.pan;, 

 of both sexes, from every part of the county, aii(( 

 from abroad. I 



The animating exhibitions of the Ploughin|: 

 Match, took place on the morning of the secoHJ 

 day, on the fiirm of Mr Pluukett, about two niiJcf 

 east of the village. Owing to the unusual nun 

 bcr of tcauis entc red for ploughing, the field «! 



