NEW ExXGLAND FARMER. 



115 



succory and coffee to coffee alone. Dig up the roots 

 of dandelion, wash them -well, but do not scrajie 

 them, dry them, cut thein into the size of peas, and 

 then roast them in an earthen pot, or coffee roaster 

 of any kmd. The great secret of good coffee is to 

 have it fresh burnt aud fresh ground. — Cottage Gar- 

 dening. 



illccljanlcs' department, ^rts, ^c. 



ASPHALTUM FOR COLORING WoOD WoRK. Advan- 



tages of staining itiside Wood Work of Dwellings, Stores, 

 Offices, School Buildings, &:c. — Editor Ohio Cultiva- 

 tor : From recent investigations and experiments, I 

 think it can be shown, that much expense may be 

 avoided, a more durable finish obtained, and better 

 effect produced, by staining with asphaltuin, (bitumen,) 

 and Tarnishing the inside wood work of dwellings, 

 offices, stores, school buildings, and even churches, 

 instead of painting in the ordinary mode. 



To finish well inside (not the best) with plain 

 painting, three conts nrc necessary ; and then to pre- 

 ser\-c the paint, improve the effect, and render clean- 

 ing of the work more safe, two coats of varnish 

 should be applied, unless the paint is white, and in 

 that case it will have to be frequently repainted ; and 

 in either way, the work has but a dead, heavy, and 

 monotonous appearance. Graining gives a pleasing 

 expression, and is very durable ; but it is expensive, 

 and I suppose for that reason, is comparatively but 

 little used. The staining process obviates the chief 

 difficulty, (the expense,) and where the highest finish 

 is not dcsu-ed, may be substituted in most instances, 

 where graining would be proper, particularly upon 

 pine. It shows the grain of the wood v.ith perfect 

 distinctness, and in skilful hands the depth of the 

 color and bhadmg may be varied, so as to produce 

 excellent eifoct with but very little trouble. Increas- 

 ing or diminishing the quantity of asphaltum used, 

 or rubbing ott', or suffering the full coat of stain 

 applied to remain on, are the means of varying the 

 color ; and it may be varied from the appearance of a 

 finish of mere oil and varnish, to that of a dark 

 shade of rose wood. 



To prepare this staining matter, all that is needed 

 Ls to dissolve the asphaltum (say two or three 

 pounds to the gallon) in linseed oil, by boiling and 

 stirring it ; then add a small quantity of spirits of 

 turpentine. (For inside work, painters usually apply 

 oil and spirits turpentine in nearly equal parts.) 



A C(jat of oil may be first applied, followed by the 

 stain ; or there may be two coats of stain, as may be 

 preferred. Uut one coat of the staining matter, I 

 think, will generally be found sufficient, and make a 

 more agreeable finish. After the stain tlicre should 

 be two coats of varnish. "Window- s«sh may be fin- 

 ished in this way with very good effect. 



From experiments which I have had made, and 

 the opinions of experienced painters whom I have 

 consulted, I doubt not that a given quantity of this 

 staining matter would go much farther, and might 

 be applied at less expense, than the same quantity 

 of con^mon paint. Lead ground in oil will mix 

 twenty-five pounds to the gallon of oil, and dry lead 

 sixteen pounds ; and in three coat work, every super- 

 ficial yard will require about one and a half pounds 

 of paint. Asphaltum may bo obtained at from eight 

 to twelve cents per pound. I give these facts to 

 assist those who wi.sh to test the comparative expense 

 of staining, with plain painting. Experienced paint- 

 ers here tell me that to oil, stain, and varnish two 

 coats, would be about equal in expense to two coats 

 of painting. 



A room, the wood work of which is grained or 



stained in the manner proposed, is already more than 

 half furnished, and needs no profusion of expensive 

 furniture to comjilcte the other half. Plainness and 

 simplicity in furniture, in such a case, will answer, 

 and in my humble opinion, give better effect, than 

 can be produced where the finish is with white, or 

 any other plain painting. 



In Barnard's work on School Architecture, stain- 

 ing with asphaltum is highly recommended, and it 

 seems to have been used in finishing the best school 

 buildings in Boston. CnARLES W. HILL. 



Toledo, Feb. 1850. 

 — Ohio Cultivator. 



NAKED FALLOWS AND NAKED SOILS 

 TEND TO STERILITY. 



There is no doubt of the truth of this proposition. 

 Any observing man who has travelled l:u-, and ob- 

 served carefully what was before him, cannot have 

 failed to note this result. Occasionally old fields, or 

 ooniiiions at the north, and whole plantations at the 

 south, illustrate the assertion ; while in ancient king- 

 doms, once world-wide renowned for fertility, as 

 Palestine, large portions of Syria, Greece, Italy, and 

 Spain, sterility now reigns supreme, where once the 

 golden harvests waved in the richest profusion, and 

 lowing herds and bleating flocks fattened on the lux- 

 uriant meadows and grassy hill-sides. A few years 

 of bad cidtivation, followed by abandonment of the 

 naked surface to the elements, have wasted the rem- 

 nant of fertility left by the last thriftless occupant. 

 A Utile consideration will show the inevitable ten- 

 dency of such management to similar results in our 

 own country. 



A soil judiciously cultivated, where all that is pro- 

 duced upon it is fed off upon the field ; or the refuse 

 vegetation, as of stalks and roots, after its consump- 

 tion by man or animals ; the offal of the finer por- 

 tions, as of grain, the leguminous plants or farina- 

 ceous roots, — where those are carefully husbanded 

 and returned to the soil, with the addition compar- 

 atively of a trifle in some of the essential mineral 

 ingredients, as of plaster, lime, or salt, Avhen they 

 are deficient, the soil will be constantly improving. 

 The reason of this is perfectly obvious. Yegetati^in 

 draws no inconsiderable share of its carbon, Avhich is 

 between forty and fifty per cent, of its entire weight, 

 from the carbonic acid of the atmosphere. This is 

 stored up in the roots, stalks, and leaves ; and if car- 

 ried back to the soil and incorporated with it, tends 

 greatly to augment its fertility. In fruits fed to 

 man or animals, much of this carbon is converted 

 into carbonic acid, and given again to the atmosphere 

 by their respiration. Yet much of the carbon, and 

 nearly all the salts, or mineral ingredients of the 

 food, are retained in their faeces; and if these are 

 applied to the field, they will be found to have im- 

 proved, rather than deteriorated, the soil from which 

 they had been taken. 



It is the loss by the partial fermentation and 

 decomposition of plants, grains, and grasses, in the 

 curing and preparation for food, in addition to their 

 largewaste from respiration in the animal system, 

 which renders the process of improvement by ma- 

 nuring with green crops (in which the whole product, 

 as of oats, buckwheat, rye, clover, or cow pens, grown 

 upon a field, is turned under by the plough) so 

 much more speedy and efficient, than the slower, yet 

 not less certain liiode of restoring all the offal and 

 manure derived from the crop to the soil where it 

 has been grown. Even a small quantity of such 

 mineral manures, as lime, plaster, salt, or bone-dust, 

 has a tendencv to absorb carbonic acid and ammonia ; 

 and by a small outlay, the fertility of the soil may 



