NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



211 



gealtl) ?Bcpartinent. 



No Excuse. — Our farmers never forget the barn, 

 the corn-crib, nor the "spring house;" but a bath 

 room, quite as necessary to the comfort and health 

 of their households, rarely enters into the calcula- 

 tion. Even when it is impossible to convej' a suffi- 

 cient supply of the element directly into the house, 

 a sponge and plentiful buckets of water will be found 

 to answer the purpose admirably, where the city 

 bath is unattainable. No person is excusable for 

 neglecting a daily ablution with the common " wash- 

 bowl and pitcher" apparatus within reach; and with 

 them, a square of oil-cloth to protect the carpet or 

 floor, he may gain comfort and increasing strength, 

 with very little trouble and expense. 



The only objection that can be urged against this 

 healthful practice, is prompted bj' indolence — a 

 cowardly shrinking from the trouble, and mayhap of 

 the first plunge ; but this grows less and less ; habit 

 steps in to aid us, and by rising a few minutes earlier, 

 the busiest man or woman may secure the necessary 

 time. Then the warm glow, and brisk and health- 

 ful circulation, that succeed the chUl, is an ample 

 repayment for all transient discomfort. The un- 

 shrinking use of a coarse crash towel, a short, quick 

 walk in the open air, if possible, directly after, and 

 our word for it, the most delicate of you all will re- 

 turn with such an appetite as you never know going 

 from chamber to breakfast room without the appli- 

 cation prescribed above ; a prescription that we would 

 enforce by earnest solicitations, for a trial at least, to 

 those of our readers who wish for a long life and 

 healthful one. — Neal's Gazette. 



illecljamce' ^Department, C^rts, ^r. 



Lithography. — Lithography is the art of print- 

 ing from stone. This process is based upon the fact 

 that printing ink, being largely composed of oil, will 

 not adhere to any surface which is wet with water. 



Every one knows how utterly impossible it is to 

 mix oil and water. To lithograph, then, all that is 

 necessary is, to draw on the smooth surface of a drj- 

 Stone, with a greasy crayon, whatever is desired to 

 be printed. A weak solution of nitric acid is then 

 rubbed over the stone, which fastens the drawing so 

 that it cannot be rubbed off. After this, a solution 

 of gum-arabic is passed over the surface, and then 

 the stone is ready for printing. 



By means of a sponge, water is now rubbed on the 

 stone, and while yet wet the inking roller is api)lied. 

 The ink of course adheres to the lines of the draw- 

 ing, because they are oily, but to the wet stone it 

 does not stick. The paper is now laid on, and, with 

 the stone, passed through the press ; the result being 

 a beautiful and exact copy of whatever is drawn. 



Such is the process by which the lithographic 

 prints, that are sold in all paits of our country, are 

 made. The colored ones are painted with water 

 paints after the printing is completed. 

 _ The stone employed for lithography is of a pecu- 

 liar kind of Ume and clay nature, resembling in ap- 

 pearance a ."mooth, yellow hone, yet possessing the 

 quality of absorbing water. This 'stone is known as 

 lithographic, or compact lime. It is found chiefly in 

 liavaria, one of the German states, though there' are 

 quarries of it in England. 



The Bavarian stones, however, arc those most uni- 

 versally employed, and their importation is a consid- 



erable object in commerce. In New York these 

 stones are Avorth from five to ten cents per pound. — 

 T/te Studetit. 



Ieox Houses. — A young man in New York has 

 invented a new mode of constructing iron houses, of 

 which the Tribune gives the following description : — 



It embraces a rigid frame of cast-iron pillars, with 

 other parts of .sheet iron. Pillars of peculiar con- 

 struction are placed at equal distances, and each in- 

 terlocks with the girdles, and cross sills, as well as 

 the lintels, doors and window frames, and all the 

 parts which requu-e to be firm, or to brace other 

 parts. The panels are of sheet iron, as also are the 

 floors, ceilings, and shutters for the doors and win- 

 dows. To every part of the house there is an inte- 

 rior and exterior wall, leaving an air chamber 

 between; this renders each room fire proof, and 

 each, if desired, may be rendered air jwoof. The 

 roof is also of iron, and couples to the walls and 

 floors. The frame may be ornamented in the cast- 

 ing as taste shall dictate, and the whole may be 

 painted to perfection, equal to the finest fresco work. 

 The house will resist any kind of atmosphere in the 

 most perfect manner, and when put togcthx^r, is so 

 strong that it may be turned over and back again 

 without injury. These buildings will be more desi- 

 rable than any other, and may be taken apart in a 

 few hours, and re-put together on another site with 

 entire facility. Having been taken apart, one may 

 be packed in a small space, as the whole is in sec- 

 tional pieces, so as to be fitted for rebuilding, and 

 for changmg the form, or extending in either direc- 

 tion, or in height, within a few hoias, without pre- 

 venting its use while being so altered or added to, 

 and without loss of any of the material of the origi- 

 nal building. — Family Visitor. 



Remarkable Mechanical Talent. — There is a 

 French Canadian boy at St. Hyacinthe, who has con- 

 structed a working model of a steam locomotive 

 complete in all its parts, about eighteen inches in 

 length, without any assistance or instruction even in 

 the use of tools. He is only about fourteen years of 

 age, and has had to make for himself every imple- 

 ment necessary for his work, with the exception of 

 one or two files. Among these implements is a rude 

 species of turning lathe, and the tools for making 

 screws. His models have been the engines wliich he 

 has seen on the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Bailway. 

 — Montreal Herald. 



REMARKS ON BARK-BOUND CHERRY- 

 TREES. 



In the last February number of the Horticulturist 

 appeared an article from Prof. Turner, of Illinois Col- 

 lege, upon the disease of the cherry-tree ; attributing 

 it almost entirely to the trees becoming " bark bound," 

 and advising for its remedy the peeling of tlie outer 

 corticle of bark entire. 



I liave the greatest respect and esteem for Prof. 

 Turner as one of my own correspondents, and as one 

 who is doing much to advance horticultural science 

 at the west. Yet, not having perfect faith in his 

 theory, I trust it will not be deemed uncourtcous in 

 me to state what I consider the primary cause and 

 the ultimate remedy ; pro\-idcd, in so doing, I occupy 

 not too great a portion of your columns. 



With an eye to this subject, I have, during the four 

 years past, examined a large number of cherry-trees 

 of all ages and sizes, and growing ujion vaiicd soils. 



