1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



295 



tight, fixed in such a manner that one side of it 

 forms so much of the fireplace at is exposed to 

 the heat of the fire. The water of the aqueduct, 

 in its cour>e from the fountain to the yard, is 

 made to pass into this box at one end, and thus, 

 becoming heated, passes out at the other end, and 

 continues to the yard, which is across the road, 

 and about six rods from the house. Mr. Malbon, 

 previous to adopting this plan, had a good deal 

 of trouble with the ice forming in his tub, but 

 has very little troul)le of that kind now. He says 

 his cattle drink much more than they would if 

 the water was cold, and he believes it to be more 

 healthy for them. The calves enjoy it so much, 

 that when let out to drink they will fight for the 

 •warm end of the tub. — Somerset Telegraph. 



PICKLED FODDEB. 



twenty pounds per day of this feed with cut straw, 

 kept his cows in excellent condition all winter. 

 Forrest Shepherd. 

 New Haven, Nov. 2, 1857. 



Remarks. — We give the above, not expecting 

 that our friends will immediately adopt that rrode 

 of making their hay, but to show how difiercutly 

 from our own practice the mode of hay-making 

 is in another part of the world. 



Messrs. Editors : — Not having seen in any 

 agricultural journal of the U. S. the method of 

 making hay, or rather preserving grass without 

 sunshine, as practised in East Prussia, I commu- 

 nicate the same, in hope that ^ome of the readers 

 of your valuable paper may test the experiment, 

 and publish the result in the Homestead. 



The process is as follows : "Pits are dug in 

 the earth twelve feet square, and as many deep ; 

 those are lined with wood, and puddled below 

 with clay. They may be made of any other size, 

 and lined with brick. Into this pit the green 

 crop of grass or clover is put, soon as cut. Four 

 or five hundred weight (cwt.) are introduced at a 

 time, and sprinkled with salt, at the rate of one 

 pound to each cwt., and if the weather and grass 

 be dry, two or three quarts of water should be 

 sprinkled on to each hundred weight, as it is laid 

 down in successive layers. 



It is only when rain or heavy dew has fallen 

 that this watering is considered unnecessary. 

 Much, however, must depend upon the succulency 

 of the crop. Each layer of four or five cwts. is 

 spread evenly over the bottom, is well trodden 

 down by five or six men, and is especially rammed 

 as close as possible at the sides, by wooden ram- 

 mers. Each layer is thus salted, watered and 

 trodden in succession till the pit is full. Much 

 depends upon the perfect treading of the grass 

 to the exclusion of the air. Between each layer 

 of four or five cwts., a thin layer of straw may 

 be sprinkled in order to show the quantity con- 

 sumed when feeding out to stock. When the pit 

 is full, the topmost layer is well salted. The 

 whole is then covered with a well-fitting lid or 

 follower of boards or planks, and then a foot and 

 a half of earth shovelled thereon, similar to the 

 covering of a coal-pit. This is to exclude the 

 air. The grass thus covered speedily ferments, 

 and in about a week sinks to about a half of its 

 original bulk. During fermentation the cover- 

 ing should be examined daily to see if there are 

 any crevices or openings, if 'so, they should be 

 carefully filled. When the first fermentation has 

 ceased, the pit maybe opened and filled up again 

 in the same manner as at first. A pit ten feet 

 square filled in this way will contain nearly ten 

 tons of this salted grass, which has the appear- 

 ance of having been boiled, has a sharp acid 

 taste, and is greedily eaten by the cattle. After 

 once opened they may be left open without inju- 

 ry. One experimenter says that giving only 



EOOFS AND ROOFING. 



Mr. Editor: — I saw the remarks of R. C. 

 Norton in the Farmer, No. 51, on the subject of 

 Roofs and Roofing. Since reading said remarks, 

 it has seemed to me that there might be a resi- 

 nous substance prepared, and laid on with a 

 caulker's mop, upon a tightly boarded roof, that 

 would be impervious to water, and fire-proof on 

 the outside. Tar and turpentine, or other like 

 substance boiled down to a proper consistency, 

 so that it could be laid on hot ; and after the roof 

 is well covered with it, sift on a coat of sand, and 

 let it harden, then lay on another coat, and sand 

 as before, and continue these alternate coatings 

 of "half-made stuff," (as the caulkers call it,) and 

 sand until ihe whole coating shall be § to ^ an 

 inch thick, the last coat of ''stuff" to be more soft 

 and pliable, to admit a good coating of fine sand 

 to complete it. This coating to be used instead 

 of shingles. The roof boards must be well sea- 

 soned, the side of the board next the heart of the 

 log. laid up and snugly fitted together. 



Will you please give your views upon the ques- 

 tion ? Whether or not such a mode for covering 

 a roof could not be profitably used, instead of 

 shingles, &c. I have a roof which I should like to 

 cover with something that would be more lasting 

 than sawed shingles. It was shingled Avith the 

 best of sawed hemlock shingles in 1845 or 6, and 

 now they are rotten and blowing oft". May I not 

 see your remarks on the mode proposed as a sub- 

 stitute for shingles ? R. Lewis. 



Whitejield, Dec. 18, 1857. 



Note. — We have not had sufficient experience 

 with the use and nature of the cement or prepa- 

 ration proposed by our correspondent, to enable 

 us to judge of its practical value for the purpose 

 of roofing. We apprehend, however, that its util- 

 ity will depend much whether the cold weather 

 will contract it, and the warm weather expand it, 

 to such a degree as to cause it to crack. A sub- 

 stitute for shingles, that shall be cheap in its first 

 cost, and more durable, is a desideratum. We 

 have examined, and are watching the uses of a 

 new material for covering roofs, called "Russell's 

 patent," introduced here by 1). M. Walker, Esq., 

 of Portland. It can be put upon new roofs just 

 boarded, or on old roofs over the old shingles, at 

 a cost of five cents per square foot. The propri- 

 etor recommends it as being very durable. Dr. 

 Hill, of this city, has had it applied to the roof 

 of a new house he is building. Mr. Johnson, 

 landlord of the Central House has had it put on 

 over the shingles of his buildings. It looks well, 

 and promises well, but time will prove it. — Maine 

 Farmer. 



