152 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



MISCELLANY 



The following extracts are from a •mall paiiiphlel lately repi 

 lisbed by Lilly * Wait, and Carter * Hendee, enlitled 

 KNOWLEDGE FOR THE PEOPLE, 



to llie growth of seeds geneially ; allliouyli tlie 

 soil at length becomes the proper means, hy which 

 alone the plant can arrive at perfection. 



U'hij should not flowers in water, and living plants 

 in pots, he kept in bedrooms ') 



Because the flowers and plants greatly iiijnre 

 the purity of the air during the night, hy giving 

 out large quantities of carbonic acid, similar to 

 that which is separated from the lungs by breath- 

 ing, which is highly noxious. Tiiereare instances 



WHY AND BECATJSE. 



Tfhy arcfrost-bitten potatoes sweet ') 

 Because of the spontaneous conversion of the 

 starch they contain into sjgar. , „. _ . . 



H'h, are potatoes unfit for cooki.^u: wlitn i/te-/ of persons who have incautiously gone to sleep in 

 ben-in to sprout '? '^ "^'"^^ '''""" '" which there has been a large gru w- 



^Because their fecnla or starch then becomes ing plant, having been found dead in the morn- 

 is eftectually suffocated as if there had been 

 a charcoal stove in the rooiri. 



sweet. 



JVhy are mealy potatoes more nutriiiou-s than those 

 tvhich are wary ? 



Because of the greater quantity of slarch which 

 they contain. Thus, a microscope shows a pota- 

 to to be almost entirely composed of cells, which 

 are sometimes filled, and sometimes contain clus- 

 ters of beautiful little oval grains. Now, these 

 little grains remain unchanged in cold water, but 

 when it is heated to about the degree that melts 

 wax, they dissolve in it, and the whole becomes a 

 jelly, and occupies a larger sjjace than it did in 

 the form of grains. When a potato is boiled, 

 then each of the cells becomes full of jelly, and 

 if there be not a great quantity of starch in the 

 cells, it will not burst. But if the number of grains 

 or their size be very great, the potato is broken 

 on all sides by the expaiuiion of the little masses 

 of jelly, and mealiness is produced. 



^hy do many persons become sleepy after eating 

 lettuce '? 



Because it contains a milUy juice, which, like 

 opium, is a narcotic. 



ffhy should water-cresses be carefully picked ia 

 washing ? 



Because a dangerous jdant grows mixed with 

 them iu springs ami streams, vvhicli, when not in 

 flower, much resembles the cresses. Water-cresses 



Jf'hy should rice be kept in largepiles or quantities 1 

 Because the heat will not then allow insects to 

 live in the inside of the heap ; consequently, the 

 great wastage takes place at the outside surface, 

 keeping rice, therefore, for any length of time, 

 either in small piles or in hags, is ruinous. 



li'hy should old jtearl and Scotch barley be loashed 

 before used? 



Because by long keeping it becomes mealy on 

 the surface, and the meal is generally musty and 

 sour. 



Jfhy is barley freed from its bran for domestic pur- 

 poses ? 



Because the bran contains a resin of a purga- 

 tive, and even acrimonious nature. Thus, Scotch, 

 French, or pearl barley, is merely cemmon barley, 

 kilndried, and deprived of its husks or bran by a 

 mill ; the grains are then rounded, and cut down 

 smaller, ami lastly, whitened in their own meal. 

 IVhy is lemon-juice altered by keeping ? 

 Because the mucilaginous matter which it con- 

 tains is very soon altered by spontaneous decom- 

 posilion. 



ff^hy are capers wholesome ? 



Because they are stiumlating, antiscorbutic, and 

 aperient. The bark of the root of the common 



are, however, of a deeper green, and sometimes caper passes for a diuretic medicine 



Bpotte<l with brown, the extremities of the leaves 

 are more brown, and especially tiie last leaves 

 which are undulated at their edges. The danger 



ff'hy are eggs used for clarifying syrup ? 

 Because the albumen, or white of the egg, being 

 coagulated in boiling,cond)ines and rises in a scum 



ouB plant (water-parsnip) is of a uniform green, ] wiih the dregs, when cold. The juice of the fruit 

 the ends of its leaves are longer and narrower, coni- 1 of the oehra {Hibiscus esculentus) according to Dr 

 cal at the extremities, an.rtoothed at the edges, j Clarke, contains liquid albumen in such quantities. 

 If examined in July, when tlie flowers are expand- 1 iHat it is •mployed in Dominica as a substitute to 

 ed, the two plants may bu thoroughly distinguish 



Nov. 23, 1831. 



FRUIT TREES. 



ale at the Kenbick Nuhseries, in 

 i.v, near Boston, a Uiust cxlensivs as- 

 sorliiient of Apples, Pears, Peaclies, Plunia, 

 Clicnies, Apricots, Nectarines, Alnionil:", 

 Mulberiies, Quinces, Raspberries, Gooseber- 

 ry :iiul Currant bushes, Grape Vines of the best lorc|Kn 

 sorl^, and 25 finest varieties of Strawberries, including 

 the most rare, productive and esteemed. 



Also about 41 varieties of the ino-t hardy ornamenfal 

 trees and shruls, and superb hardy roses, including Silrer 

 Firs, varieties of Spruce, Flowering Horse Cliesnuts, 

 Flowering Calalpas, Mountain Ash with bcaulibil clus- 

 ters ol reil berries in aulnnin and winter, Purple Acacia, 

 Three Tborned and Thornless Acacia, Bullernuls, Ailnn- 

 tbus or tree of Heaven, Elius, American and Scotch, 

 Sugar Maples, Weeping Willows, do. do. Napoleon from 

 St Helena tiee, Honeysuckles. M.iny cf llic aliove sorts 

 of trees of extra sizes, for ornamenting highways and 

 coiniiions. 



White Mltlderries, genuine sort for sill; woftns, 

 by the 10(1 or lOnO for Pl.inlations. 



Is.4BELLA and Catawba Grape Vines, either singly 

 or at reduced prices by the 100 or 1000. 

 China Roses, Chinese Chrysanthemums, Gb- 



RANELMS, Sec. fyc. 



Written orders addressed either to John or William 

 Kenrick, Newton, are legularly received by the 

 daily mail, and will be promptly attended to, or they 

 may if more convenient be left with J. B. Russell, at the 

 New England Farmer office, where also, catalosucs may 

 be obtained gratis on application. But purchasers arc ti>- 

 vited when convenient to call and examine the trees, Sf, 

 for themselves, and make their owu selections ; but when 

 this is not convenient, then let them forward their on- 

 deis, relying that the very best possible selection will be 

 made for them. Trees when destined for a distant place, 

 are carefully packed either in clay or moss, and mats, 

 and delivered whenever ordered in Boston free of any 

 charge for transportation. eptDl Oct. 19. 



(JJ^ Ammunition 



01 the heal quality ai.ii /o»ies( prices, for sportin(f— 

 constanlly for sale at COPELAND'S POWDER STORE, 

 6 Broad Street. 



N. B. If the quality is not found satisfactory, it may 

 be returned, and the money willbo rel"iiueu an. 



Ptar Seedlings. 



For sale at the Agricultural Warehouse, No. 82 

 North Market Street— 



Pear Seedlings, of vigorous growth, and prom- 

 ising appearance, raised within six ndlcs of Boston, in 

 fine order for nurseries — the largest size are bom 18 to 

 ■24 inches in length, the whole plant; price $10 per 

 thousand ; the second size from 12 to 18 inches in length, 

 price $5 per thousand. They will be suitably packed 

 as wanted, for tr.insportation to any distance. Oct. 19. 



ed. 



ffhy do wholesome mushrooms differ from other 

 fungi ? 



Because, when a fungus is pleasant in flavor, it 

 is wholesome ; if, on the contrary, it have nn oflen- 

 sive smell, a bitter, astringent, or styptic taste, or 

 is even of unpleasant flavor, it is unfit for food. 

 Color, figure, and texture cannot be relied on ; 

 yet the pure yellow, gold color, bluish pale, dark 

 or lustre brown, wine red, or the violet, belong to 

 many that are eatable ; while the pale or sulphur 

 yellow, bright or blood red, and the greenish, are 

 generally poisonous. The sati3 kinds have mostly 

 a compact, brittle texture; the flesh is white; they 

 grow intu-e readily in open |)laceg than in damp or 

 wood-shaded spots. In general, those may ho 

 suspected which grow iu caverns, on animal mat- 

 ter putrifying, as well as those whose flesh is wa- 

 tery. — Brande. 



tVhy do seeds grow in sand, or on moistened flan- 

 nel .* 



Because of the air, warmth, and water which 

 they receive, the use of soil being quite secondary 



ihe white of eggs, in clarifying the juice of the 

 sugar cane. 



If'hy do rich cakes keep good for a long penod ? 



Because in making them, wate^- is not used, 

 which would soon turn sour ; and sugar, of which 

 tliey contain much, will not ferment unless it be 

 dissolved in water. 



/r/iy t.< ginger beer the most refreshing of all 

 summer drinks ? 



Because it retains its carbonic acid for a lentith 

 of time ill the glass ; and ginger has this remark- 

 able property of occasioning a high, close, creamy 

 head upon all effervescing liquors. — Donovan. 



If'hy is a polished metal tea-pot preferable to one 

 of earthenware ? 



Because the earthen pot retains the heat only 

 one eighth of the time that a silver or polished 

 metal pot will ; consequently, there will be a cor- 

 responding difference in their fitness for extracting 

 the virtues of the tea. 



The receipts on the Liverpool and Manchester 

 railroad from January to June were about 300,000 

 dollars. 



Binding. 



Subscribers to the New England Farmer are infornred 



that they can have their volumes neatly half bound and 



lettered, at 75 cts. per volume, by leaving them at the 



Farmer office. Aug. S. 



Published cvrry Wednesday Eeeiiiiip, at §3 per annum, 

 payable at the end of die ye.-Tr— but those who pay witbi" 

 sixty d.iys from the lime of Bubacribing, are entitled to e^ <to- 

 duction of fifty cents. 



03= No paper wil I be sent to a distance without paymeot 

 beinc made in advance. 



Printed fV>r J. B. Kussf.ll, by I. R. Butts— by wiroiii 

 all descriptions of Printing- can be executed to meet Itw 

 wishes of customers. Orders for printinR receited hy J. B. 

 lii'SsELL, at the Agricultural Warehouse, No. 62 North 

 Market Street. iOFNTS. 



jV.nol'or/c-— ti.TnoRKURN & Sons. 07 Liherly-slrcel 

 .l/A.inv— Wm. TnoRBUKN.S'n Sl.irkeisireet. 

 I'liiUiidphia- 1). &, C LANnKETU.SS Chesuiui-slreet. 

 liiliimore—G. B. Smith , Editor ot the Anieiicaii Farmnr. 

 CincinMli-^. C. Paukhurst,23 Lower Markel-slreel. 

 F/mhinz, N- V Ww . Princk & So.is.Prop.Lia. l!oi. Garden 

 Middlebunj, Vt.—\\'\r.\yt Chapman.. 

 //.ir(/i'"/-<;oonwiN & Co. Booksellers. 

 Springfield, Ms. — E. Edwards. 

 Neirburyporl, Ebene/.kR Stedm ak, Bookseller. 

 PorUmoulli, N. U.S. W. Foster, Bookseller. 

 Pnrtlard, A/».— Samuei, Colmar, Bookseller. 

 Auirusta , Me. Wm. Mann. 



Halifax, N. S.— P. J. Holland, E«q. Recorder office 

 UoMreal. L. C— Henet Hillock. 



