NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



135 



small as not to warrant a decided opinion, either for 

 or against, if I may credit those who have built 

 them, who consider them an excellent substitute for 

 wood. 



Bricks, for the construction of country houses, are 

 rarely used, except in districts where they are manu- 

 factured. Furthermore, they have but few advan- 

 tages over other materials. They are also objection- 

 able on account of their readiness to absorb and 

 retain moisture ; and, without a coat of paint of some 

 subdued shade outside, are, to my taste, decidedly 

 bad, and quite out of place among the green fields of 

 the country. 



Let us next pass to iron as a material for building, 

 which, no doubt, is first rate ; but its expense wUl 

 confine it for the present to the massive warehouses 

 of our commercial cities, where great strength and 

 solidity are required. But those who live to number 

 this century with the past, may live to see iron farm- 

 houses and iron bams — particularly if this branch 

 of American industry is fostered as it should be. 



Last, but not least, in our list comes stone. This is, 

 to my mind, decidedly and emphatically the material 

 for us at the north. Its solidity, durability, strength, 

 beauty, imperviousness to moisture, its coolness in 

 summer and warmth in winter, the facility with 

 which it can be obtained, render it, take it all in all, 

 the best ; and, when once built, there it stands, to be 

 transmitted to " the children, and the children's 

 children, unto the third and fourth generations." 

 The lamented Colman said, " We build too much 

 for the present ; " and, when agricultural commis- 

 sioner for the state of Massachusetts, he gave a very 

 favorable opinion in regard to stone over everj' other 

 material for building purposes. A great many farm- 

 ers labor under the mistake that they have no 

 stone fit to build a house, and still have miles of stone 

 wall on their farms. Think you these men would 

 buy stone to lay even a cellar wall ? Certainly not. 

 Then the objection is answered, for stone fit to laj' a 

 cellar wall is fit for the outside walls of the house. 

 Indeed, almost every farm in this rock-bound region 

 has suitable stone, enough and to spare. 



Connected with this subject is the matter of 

 roofing. Shingles are in most general use here, but 

 they are expensive, and not durable ; though there 

 is a great difference in them. Those that are split, 

 instead of sawed, are preferable. Slate is used in 

 oiu: cities, also tin and zinc ; but all these are too ex- 

 pensive for the country. Mastic has been tried, but 

 with what success I know not. So also has paper, 

 and an article called asphaftum, been used in Eng- 

 land ; and a sample has been imported, but by whom 

 I cannot learn. Tiles are used a great deal in Eng- 

 land, and are there considered cheap and good ; and 

 I see no reason why they might not be used, to some 

 extent, in this country. Now, as Mr. Delafield has 

 impor<'ed a tile machine, let some one try the experi- 

 ment, and give us the results through the columns of 

 the Agriculturist. Perhaps, after all, stone houses, 

 with tile roofs, after the fashion of the mother coun- 

 try, (only Americanize them a little,) will be the thing 

 needful. 



One great reason why modern covered roofs do 

 not last as well as old ones, is the bad nails we use 

 now-a-days. This cut nail business was set out in 

 its true light by Lieutenant-Governor Reed, at the 

 legislative agricultural meetings at Boston, in 1848, 

 lie said, "These nails are a little better than cast 

 iron ; that is, of cast iron run only once through tlic 

 rollers. Tlie nails arc also small, five hundred to the 

 pound. The proper size is only four hundred. These 

 poor nails are sold at four and a half cents per 

 pound ; but the manufacturers would make good 

 nails of refined iron, if ordered, at five and a half 

 cents per pound. Manufacturers would make good 

 nails, but the public have called for cheap nails, and 



they have got them, poor or worthless." Gov. Reed 

 then showed the two kinds of nails spoken of above, 

 and they were examined with a great deal of in- 

 terest. 



Inside finish, also, claims a passing remark. Let 

 us strive to do away with so much paint. Rather 

 finish with some of our beautiful native woods, and 

 a much handsomer finish will be obtained than by 

 painting. J. B. D. ' 



Boston, Jan. 1850. 

 — Am. Agriculturist. 



r/gr 



EMERY'S CYLINDRICAL DYNAMOMETER. 



Mr. H. li. Emery, of Albany, N. Y., the author of 

 this invention, gives the following account of its 

 peculiar advantages : — 



" This instrument is intended to be used as a com- 

 parative test of the power required to overcome the 

 resistance of bodies under draft and more particularly 

 that of ploughs. The common spring instrument 

 has many faults, among which the most important 

 arc its vibration, and its want of self-determination in 

 pounds of the medium force constantly re(|uired to 

 perform the work. This invention is not only free 

 from these faults, but it also indicates the absolu1% 

 relative quantity of force expended in performing p 

 given quantity of work. It consists of a strong iron 

 cylinder Vvith piston ground steam-tight, the piston 

 rod passing through a stuffing box, and terminating 

 with a ring. The cylinder being filled with the 

 proper fluid, and a small hole made through the piston, 

 by applying the force to the ring, the piston is drawn 

 out in a given time and by a given force. The State 

 Agricultural Society, American Institute, and the 

 Worcester Mechanics Association, each awarded the 

 inventor a silver medal and the highest recommenda- 

 tion for its correctness and utility." 



AMERICAN TEA. 



The New York Journal of Commerce publishes 

 a letter from Dr. Junius Smith, dated Golden Grove, 

 Greenville, S. C, January 14, 18.50, in which that 

 gentleman thus describes the progress he has made 

 in his experiment of tea culture : — 



"You will be pleased to hear that the tea-plant, 

 in strength and vigor, is in bud and blossom still, 

 and promises to continue until greeted by the vernal 

 breezes, and cheered by solar heat. I have one re- 

 markable plant, a branch of which is so loaded with 

 seed, now about the size of a pea, that it bends under 

 its weight, and almost touches the ground. 'J'he tea- 

 plant is a curious shrub, and to watcli its develop- 

 ment i^ an amusement deeply interesting. In answer 

 to your inquiries respecting the probable time of my 

 being able to dispose of tea- plants and seed, I beg to 

 inform you that it is my intention to accommodate 

 the public, so far as I can, with both plants and tea- 

 nuts, the ensuing spring, most likely in March, and 

 thus open the way to an extensive cultivation in the 

 United States." 



