1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Now the theory of chopping, and grinding food, 

 is based on a principle which' lies at the founda- 

 tion of animal physiology. Rest is essential to 

 the accumulation of muscle, as well as fat. If we 

 wish to increase an animal in flesh, or fat, we do 

 not work him. 



Now a cow wants one-thirtieth of her own 

 weight in hay a day, to keep her in good order ; 

 and we may thus calculate the amount of labor 

 required to masticate the food, and fit it for the 

 stomach. The labor of chopping, or grinding 

 twenty-five pounds of dry hay a day, is no small 

 item. This excessive labor is performed by one 

 set of muscles — the jaws ; but, by sympathy, af- 

 fects all the other muscles ; causes the blood to 

 circulate quicker ; the breath faster, the consump- 

 tion of food greater ; and still the growth of the 

 animal is retarded. 



If a machine was invented to grind hay, the 

 ground article would approximate, in value, to 

 unground oats, in producing fat and muscle. 

 Chopping hay and stalks is valuable just in pro- 

 portion as it approximates to grinding, and re- 

 lieves the animal of the labor of grinding it. An 

 animal fed on ground, or minced food, may per- 

 form an amount of labor equal to grinding it fit 

 for digestion, and fat as fast as another which 

 does not labor, but grinds its own food. 



Prematurely grey whiskers and beard, while 

 the hair is still black, show the relative amount 

 of labor performed by the jaws and the head. — 

 OMo Farmer. 



NEW BOOKS. 



Villas and Cottaoe?. A Series of Designs prepared for execu- 

 tion in the United States. By Calvert Vadx, Architect. Ill- 

 ustrated by 300 Engravings. Harper & Brothers, New York, 

 318 pp. 



Mr. Vaux was a partner in business of the late 

 lamented Mr. Downing, and probably furnished 

 to Mr. D.'s works the greater part of whatever 

 related to architecture ; between them there was 

 a happy combination of that varied talent and 

 skill necessary in such works to give them value 

 and currency, and they have, therefore, met the 

 wants of our people in a considerable degree, and 

 have done much towards forming a more correct 

 taste in the designs and finish of oui" dwellings. 



The designs struck out in the work before us 

 are not the mere results of the imagination, but 

 have a "local habitation and a name," and shelter 

 and afford convenience and comfort to men and 

 women of taste and refinement. They possess 

 the merit of having been tested, and by use are 

 found to answer the purposes expected of them 

 when constructed. No encomium, therefore, up- 

 on the designs is necessary ; they have been tried 

 and are not found wanting in any essential points. 

 The book itself does credit to artist, printer and 

 publisher ; the paper is thick, fine and white, the 

 tj^e large and new, and the engravings finely cut 

 and clear. 



There are designs given for nearly all classes 

 of dwellings from the cheap log-house to the 

 mansion costing from $10,000 to $15,000, and as 



they are within a reasonable day's ride from Bos- 

 ton, by rail, any person may make personal ex- 

 amination of such a house as he may particularly 

 fancy. Few persons can afford to build without 

 first consulting some such work as this. We 

 therefore commend the work on "Villas and Cot- 

 tages" to all who can aff'ord it, 'whether they con- 

 template building or not. We take pleasure in 

 making the following extract : 



"Architecture is entirely the invention of man, 

 and, as it expresses his needs and his nature, it 

 must necessarily be regulated by the laws to 

 which he is subject. At the same time, it is equal- 

 ly clear, that it can have no independent laws of 

 its own, simply because it has no independent ex- 

 istence. As it seeks to please the eye, its form 

 and colors should be carefully designed in accor- 

 dance with the laws of the eye, or it will be a fail- 

 ure, as far as this organ is concerned. As it ad- 

 xlresses itself to the intellect, it ought to be or- 

 derly and without any appearance of accident in 

 its conception, or it will appear unintellectual. 



As it appeals to the heart, it requires to be for- 

 cibly and artistically ti*ue in its expression, or it 

 will remain a lifeless collection of building mate- 

 rials ; and as it ministers to the soul, it must be 

 beautiful and pure in its intention, or it will be 

 ugly and baneful in its influence. It is always 

 the mirror of its age, accurately reflecting the cus- 

 toms, morals and science that prevail in every na- 

 tion at a given period ; and as these have been 

 dissimilar at different times and places, architec- 

 ture has naturally crystalized in various parts of 

 the world iiito what we call separate styles." 



For the New England Fanrw.r. 

 COMMITTEES. 



Too little care is taken in selecting persons for 

 the examination of objects and the awarding of 

 premiums at our Shows. They should be men of 

 sound judgment, and practical experience, in the 

 matters on which they are to judge. The neglect 

 of this indispensable qualification often renders 

 their awards the merest farce imaginable. The 

 duty is one of high responsibility, and no honest 

 man, void of the requisite qualifications will un- 

 dertake to discharge it. 



It is a rule, in some places, to name as chair- 

 man one who knows how to use the pen, who 

 can put in readable and creditable form the de- 

 icsions of his associates. To this there can be 

 no valid objection. There are many who wear 

 fine cloth, who can do a good service in this way, 

 who can do but little in any other. When ap- 

 pointed, they should prepare themselves for the 

 work assigned ; when prepared, should be on 

 hand to attend to it. It not unfrequently hap- 

 pens, on the morning of the Show, when a com- 

 mittee is called, no one appears, and the papers 

 have to be passed into the hands of those hastily 

 named, and superficially qualified. These remarks 

 are made for the instruction of ^those who ap- 

 point, and those who are appointed ; and if they 

 shall chance to create any improvement in the 

 discharge of the duties of either, the object of the 

 writer will be fully attained. *«* 



Nov. 19, 1857. 



