1C25.] 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



261 



1 acklressed to answer in time. The Recordin;;: 

 Secretary, to whose unremitted esertion-i so 

 much is due, will have the gooilness to re;id you 

 exlracls of these letters. * * * * 



You see, g'ontlemen, that the opinion of these 

 respectable gentlemen is unanimous upon the 

 most important points. All agree in saving that 

 the Agricultural Societies have promoted ex- 

 citement and emulation, to the groat henefit of 

 the community at large. Let us analyze and ex- 

 amine these difl'erent statements and opinions 

 so as to enable us to form and adopt one of our 

 own, and judge whether we must wish and pro- 

 vide at all events for a continuation of our So- 

 ciety. [To be co7itinued. 



sufticient for a barrel containing .'53 gallons of 

 cider. Q. 



N. B. Place your cask in a dry warm siuialion, 

 and put on the bung as tightly as the twine, on 

 which the disks are suspended, will permit. 



P. S. The above, for its success, requires 

 neither ihc full nor the nen' moon, nor the moon 

 in apogee; neither the ascending, nor the descend- 

 ing node, nor the auspicious influence of any one 

 of the whole host of heavenly signs. The best 

 signs that 1 know of, are good cider, good bee(s, 

 clean casks, and strong hoops. 



From the .Anurican Farmer. 



TO PRESERVE SHEEP FROM DOGS. 

 Mr EniTOR, — 1 have read with some aston- 

 ishment, in several of the numbers of (he Farmer, 

 published latterly, the different communications 

 relative to the preservation of sheep; and from I 

 appearances, one would think thai the dogs had 

 been depredatmg more, the last few months, 

 than formerly ; or that our sheep are now worth 

 mnre care, and require more attention than 

 heretofore. 



I have been a housekeeper for thirteen years 

 and huve never lost a single sheep by dogs, 

 while my tlock has varied from forty to one hun- 

 dred and twenty ; and during my owning sheep, 

 it has been very common for me to learn of my 

 neighbours, that their flocks have been at dif- 

 ferent times much injured by dogs, and all, 1 

 have no doubt, for want of attention ; for some 

 of them have appeared surprised, and at the same 

 time pleased with my mode of taking care of 

 my sheep to prevent dogs from getting to them, 

 which is nothing more or less than to have my 

 sheep regularly drove to the pen with my cat- 

 ;lc and hogs. My success thus far induces me 

 to reason in (his way, that the cattle .will not 

 permit dogs to enter the pen and destroy the 

 sheep, but on the contrary, will drive out any 

 dog that enters, thereby preserving my sheep, 

 which every attenlive farmer may have done ; 

 lor sheep regularly penned, will acquire the 

 habit of being governed very readily, and cnuse 

 but little trouble. ' 



As to taxing dogs, it is of little use, for man 

 will have his amusement according to his taste ; 

 and nothing is more reasonable than for a rnnn 

 to take his dog and gun, and amuse himself 

 about his farm ; deprive him of this, he may 

 roam from iiis wife and family to public places 

 .for amusement, where, it is likely, be will not 

 engage in amusement as innocent as he would 

 do at home, with his dog and gun. 

 Yours respectfully, 

 A FRIEND TO SHEEP, and 



A FARMER. 



From Transactions of the Society of Arts. 



SUBSTITUTE FOR YEAST. 



To make a yeast gallon containing eight beer 

 quart'!, boil in common water eight pounds of 

 potatoes, as for eating; bruise them perfectly 

 smooth, and mix with them, whilst warm, two 

 ounces of honey, or any other sweet substance, 

 and one quart (being the eighth part of a gallon 

 of yeast) of common yeast. And, for making 

 bread, mi.\' three beer pints of the above com- 

 position with a bushel of flour, using warm wa- 

 ter in making the bread ; the water to be ivarm- 

 er in winter, and the composition to be used in 

 a few hours after it is made ; and as soon as the 

 sponge (the mixture of the composition with 

 the flour) begins to fall the first time, the bread 

 should be made and put in the oven. 



CEMENT FOR PRESERVING SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS 

 FROM WORMS. 



Take of powdered or small pieces of rosin 

 fourteen pounds — sand, sifted and washed clean 

 from dirt or loam, twenty-eight pounds — red 

 lead three pounds and a half— oil one pound 

 and three fourths : melt the rosin over a mode- 

 rate dre, put the sand and lead in by degrees, 

 then put in the oil. When they are boiling 

 keep them constantly stirring till cold, that you 

 may have a uniform mass. Take of this mass 

 or cement such quantity as may suit your pur- 

 pose, broken into small pieces, and to every 

 twelve pounds put in a bare half pound of oil. 

 When melted, apply it to xvhat you design, ei- 

 ther by pouring it on, or using it with a brush, 

 while boiling hot. It is to be observed that 

 your oil, to be added to the cement, must be 

 that sort which chymists call fat oil, and that 

 more or less must be used as you want the com- 

 position to be harder or softer. This will be 

 of a reddish colour; for the while and green, 

 ceruse and verdigrise may be be used. — Ibid. 



To muhe Vinegar. — In a late number of the 

 Farmer, a correspondent asks for information 

 in the art of making Vinegar. The following 

 method has been found good : — 



Take raw red beets, cut them into disks about 

 half an inch thick, and suspend them through 

 the bung-hole in a cask of pure cider. Renew 

 them three or four times at intervals of three 

 weeks. Fifteen or twenty disks at a time are 



CAUSES or CONSUMPTION IX NEW ENGLAND. 



Of all diseases, the most extensively fatal is 

 the Pulmonary Consumption. The causes of 

 its prevalence are both natural and artificial. 

 The natural causes are the severity, and es- 

 pecially the frequent and sudden changes, of 

 the weather. The artificial ones are intem- 

 perance, prevailing to a considerable extent 

 among the lower class, and unhappily not al- 

 together confined to them; a sedentary life, 

 continued to such an extent, and so much un- 

 accompanied by exercise, as to leave the consti- 

 tution too feeble to resist the attacks of a cold ; 

 leaning forward, on the part of students, clerks, 

 and several classes of mechanics, such as gold- 

 smiths, shoemakers, weavers, he. of many also 

 of the female eex, when engaged id sedentary 



employments, especially between tbo ages of 

 fourteen and twenly-two ; and dressin" in few 

 and thin garments, in the severe seasons. Uii- 

 I'ortunately for us, we derive our modes ofdress, 

 and our amu-ements also, from the inhabitants 

 of milder and more ecpiitable climates. Our 

 own, as I have remarked, is subject to frequent, 

 and those violent, changes. A young lady, 

 dressed « la Clrecqnc in a New England winter, 

 violates alike good sense, correct taste, sound 

 morals, and the duty of self-preservation. 



FOR RAISING CABBAGES. 



Take from the stumps of old cabbages which 

 you generally set out early in the spring, the 

 most prominent shoots, after they have suffi- 

 ciently expanded themselves, and set them out 

 in the same mode you do your plants, and they 

 will immediately take root, and afford you a very 

 early and luxuriant cabbage. Those who have 

 tried this method, affirm that they are much 

 earlier and by far superior to any that can be 

 raised from the plants. They must be broken 

 from the stumps, and not cut off, as their small 

 fibres greatly facilitate their taking root. 



RICE JELLV, 



This is one of the best and most nourishing 

 preparations of rice, particularly for valetudin- 

 arians or convalescents. It is thus made : boil 

 a quarter of a pound of rice flour, with half a 

 pound of loaf sugar, in a quart of water, till the 

 whole becomes one uniform gelantinous mass ; 

 then strain off the jelly and let it stand to cool. 

 A little of this salubrious food eaten at a time, 

 will be found very beneficial to those of a weakly 

 and infirm constitution. 



SWEDISH HORSES. 



I was surprised to find in the Royal Stables 

 in Sweden, that there was no straw, or other 

 bedding for the horses. The animals lie or 

 stand Oil perforated boards ; this is an universal 

 practii I'. It has been approved by the V^eteri- 

 nary Colleges of both Stockholm and Copen- 

 hagen, and adopted by the royal and other great 

 families, on account of its salutary effects on the 

 foot of the Horse. In countries where the hors- 

 es stand in a hot bed produced by their own 

 litter, their feet become tender and subject to 

 divers disorders : but you seldom see a lame or 

 foundered horse in Sweden or Denmark. If this 

 should prove a good substitute for straw, it 

 might bring about a reduction in the price of 

 hay. — AcerbVs Travels. 



The Mahogany Tree in St. Domingo is tall, 

 straight and beautiful with red flowers, and oval 

 lemon sized fruit. When the tree grows on a 

 barren soil, the grain of this wood is beautifullj 

 variegated — upon rich ground it is pale, open, 

 and of little value. The machineal tree also 

 grows on this island ; and its wood furnishes slabs 

 for furniture, interspersed with beautiful green 

 and yellow veins like marble ; but the dust of 

 this wood is of so acrid and poisonous a nature 

 that the carpenters are forced to work with 

 gauze masks to protect them from its injurious 

 effects. = 



Warning. — Children are in the habit of chew- 

 ing India Rubber. It perhaps is not generally 

 known that quicksilver is brought in this article 

 and it mdy be considered .rank j)oison. 



