182 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PRESERVATION OF GRAIN. 



M. le Comte Dejean, concluding that an es- 

 sential condition for the preservation of giain 

 in quantities, was to prevent air and moisture 

 from having access, has made some experiments 

 with this object in viev^, and with the best res- 

 ults. In 1819 he constructed wooden cases, lin- 

 ed with lead, and which, when filled with grain, 

 properly dried, were closed hermetically. At 

 the end of three years, the cases were opened, 

 and the grain found in the most perfect state. — 

 M. SaJnte Fare Bontemps, who diretted the ei- 

 periments, reported on them in March, 1824, 

 and from his calculations, it appears that the ex- 

 pense of a leaden lining to a case capable of 

 holding 33,000 wine gallons, would be at most 

 4,500 francs, and that of a case to contain 264,- 

 190 wine gallons, about 18,000 francs. As the 

 grain suffers no loss whilst in the case, requires 

 no laborious attention, the interest of the capit- 

 al required, would be amply compensated by the 

 advantages of the process. We do not doubt, 

 but that in many circumstances, these cases lin- 

 ed with lead, will be found preferable to Maga- 

 zines constructed in the earth ; the preservation 

 of the grain, will assuredly be more certain. — 

 M. Dejean's Magazines appear, therefore, to be 



a very important acquisition to agriculture. 



Ann. de Chimie xxvi. 104. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1824. 



TO MAKE SPRUCE BEER. 



.Take a sufficient quantity of spruce boughs ; 

 boilthemin waterabout half an hour, or till the 

 outward skin or rind peels off; strain the liquor, 

 and stir in at the rale of two quarts -of molasses 

 to half a barrel. Work it with beer grounds or 

 emptyings, or rather with yeast. 



EPILEPSY. 



A Physician of Triebel, near Soraii, has dis- 

 covered that the root of the common wormwood 

 is an efficacious medicine in Epilepsy, ye re- 

 commends gathering this plant in autumn, dry- 

 ing it in the shade without being washed, and 

 not pulverizing it till it is wanted for use. It 

 should be administered in the form of powder 

 as soon as signs of the approach of the fit are 

 manifested. To an adult it may be given in a 

 dose I'rom fifty to seventy grains, in a warm liq- 

 uid. After the patient has taken the medicine, 

 he should go to bed and cover himself well up. 

 and not remove from it till the perspiration has 

 ceased. 



Trench races. 

 The horse races for the Arrondissement took 

 r-iace at Paris, in the Champ de Mars, when a 

 prize of 1200 francs was won by a horse called 

 the Young Snalo. A prize of 900 francs was 

 won by a mare called La Mignone, belonging to 

 Potior, the actor. She went three times round 

 the Champ de Mars in nine minutes ten seconds. 

 There are two or three very odd names of hor- 

 s-ep, which we suspect to be Parisian variations 

 trom the English. There are, for instance, the 

 Streatlamlod and the Yoiinh Dio. The first 

 may be meant for the Sireatharn Lad. The 



Younh Dio we are almost afraid to guess »l. 



li not Owhyhee or Tambuctoo, if m-ij possibly 

 be GallO'English for the Young Jew. 



iFarmcr's clalenTjar. 



Foddering Cattle. We have heretofore gone 

 pretty much at length into this subject, in our 

 paper vol. ii. page 129. We shall therefore 

 give nothing more than brief hints, which we 

 hope may serve to remind agriculturists of what 

 they were not ignorant before. It is recommend- 

 ed not to begin to fodder with your poorest ma- 

 terials. Cold weather will increase the appetite 

 of your cattle, and they will eat food in the depth 

 of winter, which they would reject at its com- 

 mencement. They will likewise at any time 

 eat materials, when cut with a Straw-Culter, 

 which they would reject when whole. Corn- 

 stalks and the stalks of clover, if cut fine, will 

 be eaten by your cattle, when they would reject 

 them, if left at their full length. A farmer who 

 wishes to make the most of his means might al- 

 most as well live without an axe or a hoe, as 

 without a slravv-cutler. Even if he intends his 

 stcaw merely for litter and manure, he will do 

 well to cut it. Improved machines for that pur- 

 pose may be had at the Agricultural Repository, 

 No. 5 Market square, Boston, and at other places 

 which we cannot at present specify. A little 

 salt or brine mixed with straw and other mate- 

 rials, which cattle might not otherwise eat so 

 readily, will promote the health and increase the 

 appetite of the animals. We do not pretend to 

 say what should be the exact quantity of salt 

 which should be allowed to each animal weekly, 

 but we guess that their own appetite will form 

 a tolerable criterion for judging. Give them 

 some cut straw, or other food which has been 

 moistened with brine or salt water, and at the 

 same lime let them have access to fresh food of 

 the same quality, and we have no doubt but the 

 animal will prefer that quantity of each which 

 will prove best for them. Mr Cooper, in the 

 Domestic Encyclopedia, assures us (hat " a quar- 

 ter of an ounce of salt per day to sheep, and an 

 ounce per day to cows and oxen, is an allowance 

 ample enough." We assert nothing, however, 

 on this subject derived from our own experience, 

 but are of opinion that cattle oflen suffer in win- 

 ter as well as in summer, for Ihe want of this 

 useful and almost indispensable article. 



Mr Bordley states that " about sixty years ago 

 he learnt from u country farrier, that once or 

 twice a week giving salt to horses effectually 

 secures them against botts." Since that period 

 he has experienced the good effects of this man- 

 agement ; and adds thjit, during twenty years' 

 residence on his farm at Wye, in Maryland, he 

 always kept upwards of tifty horses on the banks 

 of a rivet, containing snlt-u-ater, and never met 

 wi;h afingle instance of that disease. 



Cattle which run out during winter should 

 have a shelter and a rack under it to hold their 

 fodder. This will not only promote the comfort 

 of the animals, but will be the means of pre- 

 serving their manure from being dissipated by 

 rains, or its strength exhausted by the sun. 



Care should be taken not to confine cows when 

 near calving, and sheep near the time of yean- 

 ing. They should have separate apartments, 

 and be well attended to. The fodder which cattle 

 leave in the barn, they will eat abroad in the 

 open air, especially if it be laid on the snow. 



FARMER 



SUMMARY OF NEWS. 



CONGRESS. 



Senate. DEC. 20. Mr Haynes of South Carolina- 

 reported 1 bill for granting to Gen. La Fayttte two 

 liundred thousand dollars, in 6 per cent stock, in com- 

 pensation for his services and expenditures during the 

 American |Revolution ; likewise au entire Township 

 of Land. This bill was opposed by Mr Macon of N. 

 C. .Mr Brown of Ohio, and Mr Noble of Indiana. These 

 gentlemen acknowledged the merit and virtues of the 

 subject of the bill, but objected 'o the shape in which it 

 was introduced. It was eloquently defended by Mr 

 Hayot!, was read a third time and passed. Yeas 37. 

 iS'ays 7. 



DEC. 2L The Military Committee was instructed 

 to inquire into the expediency of limiling the number 

 of Cadets at the Military Academy at West Point to 

 the numljer of Memtjers in the House of Representa- 

 tives: and that the number to be admitted from eacii 

 State and Territory respectively shall be the same as 

 that of the Representatives to which such State or Ter- 

 ritory shall be entitled, and that the brother of no per- 

 son educated at the .Academy shall be admitted so long 

 as there are other applicants. 



HoDSE. DEC. 17. The Committee on Indian Af- 

 fairs was instructed to inquire into the'expediency of or- 

 ganizing all the Territory of the U. S. lying west of the 

 State of Missouri and Territories of Arkansas and Mich- 

 igan into a separate Territory to he occupied exclus- 

 ively by Indians, and of authorizing the President of the 

 U S. to adopt measures for colonizing the Indians. 



DEC. 20. The ll»use in Committee discussed the 

 bill to authorize the occupation of Columbia or OregoB 

 river. The blanks were filled with $50,000 and the 

 bill reported to the House. 



A memorial from Massachusetts remonstrating 

 against the election of John Bailey, returned a repre- 

 s( litative from Norfolk District was referred to theCom. 

 of Elections. 



DEC. 22. Mr Randolph from the Com. on the services 

 and sacrifices of Gen. La Fayette reported a bill,.whicli 

 was a transcript of the one passed in the Senate, which 

 was read twice and ordered to lie on the table. The 

 hill, after debate, was read a thiid time and passed. — 

 Yeas 1C6. Nays 26. 



. DEC. 23. The Speaker laid before the House a let- 

 ter from A. Schcffer, of Paris, stating that a full length 

 portrait of Lafayette, presented by him, was sent by 

 the ship Cadmus, -which he prayed miglit be accepted 

 for the Hall of Representatives. 



Tht Committee of Elections made a Report that John 

 Bailey o) Mass. Henry Olin, from Vermont, Geo. Wolf, 

 and Alexander Thompson, from Penn. are entitled to 

 scats It the iiouse. 



