65 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



the front ends of said bolts. The hooks are at- 

 tached to staples driven into the side bars. 



This construction renders it easy to lake off 

 the front bars and slats, in order to discharge 

 the pomace. Hoops or boxes of this sort, ex- 

 cepting the eye-bolls and nuts,&.c. lor taking ofl 

 the front part, are in use in Hingham, (Mass.) 

 and its neighbourhood. This contrivance obvi- 

 ates the necessity of cutting down and new lay- 

 ing the cheese, fcc for the purpo«e of exlracting 

 the liquor from its sides, according lo the old 

 method. 1 am. Sir, yours, &c. 



Dorchester, Sept. 22, 1824. J. MEANS. 



O^A model of the machine above described 

 may be seen at the office of the N. E. Farmer. 



[by the EDITOB.] 



In a Treatise on Truit Trees, by William Coxe Esq. 

 page 77, a box in some degree similar to that abovc- 

 meutioned, is thus described, as in use in makiug cider 

 from the crah-apple. 



" Three pieces of tough white-oak on each side, are 

 connected together by tenons and mortices, so as to 

 form a hollow square of five feet by four in the clear ; 

 on these cross-pifces are nailed white-oak slats, three 

 feet long, one inch and a half wide, and half an inch 

 thick, which stand upright when the crib is fixed on 

 the press ; the mortices are rivetted, with iron bands. 

 and the tenons secured by iron pins three quarters of an 

 inch thick, to resist the pressure of the beam. In this 

 crib no straw is necessary, the pomace being sufficient- 

 ly fibrous and tough to prevent its passage through the 

 sjats, with the severest pressure." 



The method described by Mr .Mears, of detaching the 

 front part of the box or crib, by means of bolts and nuts, 

 is, we believe, his own invention ; and we are of opin- 

 }en that it will prove a valuable improvement on the 

 orisinal invention. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dear Sir, — .\t the suggestion of some of my 

 ■friends, who. as well as myself, have occasionally 

 noticed in your valnalije pappr, sever.il accounts 

 of the weiarhls and ages of different animals, and 

 iespecially of swine, 1 h.ive consenied to trouble 

 'jou wilh a description of one raised on my farm 

 in 1821. 



In the year 1021 there was raised on th farm 

 of Mr Thaddeus Loavitt, in Suflield, Con., from 

 one sow, three pigs which in the month of May, 

 at seven weeks old, were killed, dressed, S; sold, 

 and weighed as follows, viz. the first weighed 

 23 pounds, Bounces — the second 31 lbs. 12 oz — 

 and the third 4U lbs. 4 oz. — and were all sold at 

 10 cents per pound. Total weiglit of the three, 

 100 lbs. 8 oz.— at 10 cents per lb. ^10.05. 



Failure of the Corn Crop. — The Easton, Md. 

 fiazette says: — " We have iulentionally wailed 

 for some weeks before we would undertake to 

 announce the calamity Ihal is impending over 

 the agricultural interest of (he Eastern Shore. 

 The deslruction occasioned by the drought is 

 universal, and we lament to say that accounts 

 ■from all quarters assure us, that the crop is 

 now too fir gone lo be benefilted by rain, and 

 that the quantity of corn made on llie Eastern 

 Shore will not lie more than two fifths of what 

 it was last year. Th(! di-itriictiou is unexam- 

 ^ed, and almost beyond calculation." 



From the Massachusetts Yeoman. j 



Mr. Denny — From the high and commanding ! 

 recommendation ofcutling up corn while green, { 

 published in your paper of last week, from the! 

 New England Farmer, I am apprehensive that' 

 many farmers may be too hasty in resorling to, 

 this expedient as a common practice for secur-' 

 ing it from early Irost. 



From the known economy of nature, as well 

 as from analagous reasonmg, I am confident of 

 the fact, thai the circulating nutritive juices in 

 all vegetables become stagnant when the plant 

 is severed. If this be granted, corn cannot ac- 

 quire any additional nourishment to enlarge or 

 sustain it, after being stacked in the field. Of 

 course it must become shrivelled, and conse- 

 quently light in proportion lo the quantity of! 

 aqueous and unconcocted matter with which it ■ 

 shall then abound, and which must evaporate in 

 drvinff. The harder the corn, the less will be 

 its waste by premature harvesting. 



From Ibis view of the subject, the course 

 which I shall pursue is, to watch Ihe signs of 

 the times as well as Ihe maturity of my corn. I 

 would risk a light frost, which in our climate is 

 often the harbinger of an "Indian summer," 

 rather than incur ;» certain diminution ol the 

 crop by this experiment. Were 1 apprehen- 

 sive of a di'slrMCtive frost, (and the indications 

 would be perceived early enough in Ihe day lo 

 allow Ihe firmer to cut and throw in heaps Ihe 

 produce of a large field,) I should yield lo the 

 necessity of securing and making the most of it 

 in the manner recommended. 



My opinion having been requested, I have 

 ventured the above observations for communica- 

 tion. Your ohod't servant, 



JVorcester, Sept. 20, 1824. O. FISKE. 



From Ihe Jlmerican Farmer. 



IMPROVED POST AND RAIL FENCES. 



Mr. Skinner, — .^mongsl Ihe many labours, as 

 well as ex(ienditures, necessarily allendant on 

 Ihe duties of a farmer in our State, there are 

 none of more consequence, or that give more 

 trouble to him, than his fences. Worm, and 

 post rail fences are the kinds generally used. — 

 To the first, there are many cogent reasons 

 ivhy Ibis system should be altogether abandon- 

 ed ; 'waste of timber, the occupation of too 

 much land, and foul ground, are Ihe principal 

 evils arising out of this practice : To the sec- 

 ond there has been but one objection, and that 

 certainly a very serious one ; I, of course, have 

 allusion to its early decay where the post comes 

 in contact wilh (he earth. To remedy this 

 evil, has been the subject of my attention, and 

 I flatter myself with Ihe belief that I have so 

 far succeeded, as lo make the post and rail 

 fence with this improvement, the most desira- 

 ble of all wood fences. I have a line of it 

 erected by way experiment, and 1 am happy lo 

 say, that as far as we are capable, as yet, of de- 

 ciding on ils advantages, it meets my most san- 

 guine expectations. 



.My greatest fear was, that it might be liable 

 lo be overturned by Ihe tempest, or by Ihe 

 cattle; but I have had opportunities to satisfy 

 me that it is proof against both. This imjirove- 

 meul coiisi-^ts simply in converting lUe block, or 

 I nil of Ihe post which is [ilauted in the ground, 

 inlo a sill; or in other words, of inserting the 



post in a sill of wood ; the butt of each post, 

 with the addition of a few inches in length, be- 

 ing generally sufficient for that purpose. 



The post and sill I have made of the same 

 length, but the latter of greater bulk to give 

 firmness to the fence. This post and sill, which 

 may he compared to Ihe leller T inverted j^, 

 are ranged on the ground where the fence is to 

 be built by a plumb line, each end of Ihe sill 

 reslinar on a flat stone buried nearly even wilh 

 Ihe surface of Ihe ground. The space, of 

 course, which the sill occupies lo be first level- 

 led where the ground is uneven. The rails 

 are then placed in the posts in the usual man- 

 ner;* the only difference in this fence being 

 the addition of Ihe sill. Upon this improve- 

 ment it will be observed, that the post being a 

 stick of say 4i feet long and square sided, can, 

 with greater facility and economy, be dressed 

 out than the posts on Ihe old plan, particularly 

 where you have the advantage of a saw mill. 

 The sills may be used out of any rough mis- 

 shapen timber, that could only be considered 

 worlliv a place behind the fire. 



There are three ways in which Ihe post may 

 be inserted in Ihe sill, viz: by a mortice, taper- 

 ed au?ur, or dovetail ; the last ol which I adopt- 

 ed. The expense for erecting this fence cost 

 me, by contract, Ihe same that is paid per pan- 

 ne! for building on the old plan ; but certainly 

 ought lo be done at a cheaper rate, as Ihe trou- 

 ble in thi« plan cannot be considered equal to 

 that of the old. Another and very important 

 acquisition to this improvement is, its de;ided 

 advantage over the old plan for gale posts, 

 which may in five minutes be regulated lo suit 

 Ihe swing of Ihe gale by raising or depressing 

 one end of the sill ; the pannel on Ihe side of 

 each gale post being securely braced. But i 

 have hung my gate upon the true principles 

 which is described, very accurately, in Ihe first 

 volume of the .\merican Farmer, and which 

 pleases me so n)uch that 1 should never think 

 of adopting any other mode. My gate posts, 

 therefore, are, of course, secured to a perpen- 

 dicular. 



I shall andeavonr lo have a model of Ibis 

 fence made lo present lo our Agricultural Soci- 

 ety, at their next meeting. 



I am, very respectfully, &c. 



!. S. WILLIAMS. 



Highlands, August 30, 1824. 



* Previous to putting up the fence, I throw two fur- 

 rows together wilh a plough, on the line where it is to 

 be built, wilh a view to close up the opening between 

 the sills. 



From Ihe JS'ew York Chronicle. 



Mr, Editor, — I not long since saw slated, by 

 Ihe correspondent of some foreign Magazine, 

 th.it the best strop for fine edging a razor was 

 made by the simple process of rubbing a bit of 

 hlock tin or pewler on a piece of leather till it 

 leaves a gloss. Rememberihg Ihe hardness of 

 the ultimate [particles of lin, as exhibited in its 

 power of dividing iron and steel, when made to 

 revolve against it, in the use of oxide for Ihe 

 purposes of attrition, I was induceil to try Ihe 

 experiment, it succoeiled beyond my anticipa- 

 tions. A fine and delicate edge was imme- 

 diately produced, and the tonsorial opf lalioa 

 jierlormed ivilh unwonted ease and satisfaction. 



