NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



379 



iwj. :^jt,iif. 



SAUSAGE OR MINCING MACHINE. 



This' is a small, compact machine, remarkably 

 strong and durable, as it is made wholly of iron and 

 steel. It works -with ea'^e and rapidity, and is very 

 effectual in its operation, i^erforming its work in the 

 best manner. We would recommend, to those per- 

 sons engaged in the manufacture of sausages, an ex- 

 amination of this machine. 



Such is the competition in almost every branch of 

 manufacture, that it becomes necessary for the oper- 

 ative to avail himself of every species of labor -saving 

 machinery. This is true economy, and this cardinal 

 virtue is essential to success. 



This machine was formerly constructed mostly of 

 wood ; but recently a great improvement has been 

 made by lluggles, Noursc, Mason & Co., by making 

 the case and cylinder of iron, so that it is now wholly 

 composed of the most durable materials. 



The cut on the left represents the machine closed, 

 as it is in operation. That on the right represents it 

 thrown open, exposing the cylinder with its cogs, and 

 the knives. The length of the machine is about fif- 

 teen inches, the width eight, and the height about 

 the same. The cylinder can be conveniently re- 

 moved from the machine for the purpose of clean- 

 ing it. 



The umer part of the macliinc forms a barrel, in 

 which is a cylinder with three rows of pegs. The 

 meat is placed in the hopper, and it passes between 

 the cylinder and the case, and is then forced by the 

 pcijs against the rows of knives, when it is quickly 

 minced, and it passes onward, tending to the end op- 

 posite the hopper, by the spiral form of the rows of 

 pegs, where it is discharged. The strength of a man 

 is amply sufficient for turning it. The price is ,$12. 



BILBERRY, OR SWAMP PYRUS. 



In regard to the article on the bilberrj', on page 

 546 of this volume, Dea. S. P. Fowler, who is a nice 

 observer of trees and shrubs, thinks that the inquirer 

 M. is mistaken as to the name of the shrub in ques- 

 tion, as it is probably the Swamp Pyrus ; called also 

 June Berry, Shad Bush, and Sugar Pear. This has 

 •ometimes been used with success as a stock for the 

 pear. We have had fine specimens of the Bartlett 



pear raised on it. Whether it can be used to advan- 

 tage in this way to much extent, has not yet been 

 ascertained. 



Wuoxo Credit. — The article " Prepare for Win- 

 ter," which has recently appeared in several papers, 

 credited to Deckertotcn Home Journal, made its first 

 appearance in the N. E. Farmer, last November. — 

 How did the Journal manage to get the credit of it ? 



FEATHER BEDS. 



Tlie want of feathers is altogether artificial, arising 

 from a disregard of the physical and moral well- 

 being of infants and children ; and he who has the 

 good fortune never to have been accustomed to a 

 feather bed, will never in health need or desire one, 

 nor in sickness, except in cases of great morbid irri- 

 tation, or excessive sensibility, or some disease in 

 which the pressure of a firm or elastic substanc^e 

 might occasion pain. But when a rational regard to 

 the preser\-ation of health shall pervade the commu- 

 nity, feathers will no more be used without necessity 

 or medical advice, than ardent spirits will be swal- 

 lowed without the same necessary advice. The phy- 

 sician has frequent occasion to see persons who are 

 heated, sweated, enfeebled, by sleeping on feathers, 

 as if from a fit of sickness ; enervated, dispirited, 

 relaxed, and miserable. — Medical Intelligencer. 



ASSAFCETIDA. 



This article is obtained from a large umbelliferous 

 plant growing in I'ersia. The root resembles a larpo 

 parsnip externally, of a black color; on cutting ii 

 transversely, the assafcrtida exudes in form of a 

 white, thick juice, like cream, which, from exposuia 

 to the air, becomes yellower and yellower, and s\i 

 last of dark-brown color. It is very apt to run 

 into putrefaction ; and hence those who collect \\. 

 carefully defend it from the sun. The fresh jui.-o 

 has an excessively strong smell, which grows weaker 

 and weaker upon keeping; a single drachm of tlie 

 fresh fluid smells more than a hundred pounds of 

 the dry assafoetida brought to us. The Persians are 

 commonly obliged to hire ships on purpose for iti 

 carriage, as scarcely any one will receive it along 

 with other commodities, its stench infecting every 

 thing that comes near it. — Scientific Americmn^ 

 'Kii laat »-r!"i'iT? 'tii rtjiw ••iviit/uu t»t»c jiiho*>' 



