300 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[April 15, 



From Memoirs of the Pennsylvania ^IgricuUural Society 



ON THE PRESERVATION OF POSTS. 



Philadelphia, February 2d, 1824. 

 Dear Sir. — In accordance with my desire to 

 promote the interests of ngriculture, and »vilh 

 your request, to communicate my experience 

 of the benefit to be derived from the applicatioji 

 of salt in the preservation of posts, without en- 

 tering upon the theory, I will give you the re- 

 sult of twenty years' practice, and the mode 

 which has I'ully realized my most sanguine ex- 

 pectations. In 1803 1 pinnted four gale posts 

 of Delaware oak, of very inferior quality ; a two 

 inch anger hole was bored through thera, which 

 was filled with salt, and plugged at both ends. 

 As they were to support highly finished gates, 

 they were cased with boards, and some salt was 

 put inside of the case near to the ground. The 

 posts are now as sound as when put do»n, and 

 bid fair to last for some generations to'come. — 

 This experiment was tried under the most un 

 favourable circumstances, as the posts were so 

 much worm eaten, that my cnrpenlers were a- 

 verse to finish them, under the belief that they 

 would not last tive years. 



i have since applied salt to the posts of rail- 

 fences, by boring an inch auger hole, about four 

 inches above the ground, <liagona!ly across the 

 post, so as to reach about two or three inches 

 under ground ; the hole is filled with salt, and 

 closed with cedar or chesnut plugs. With the 

 result I am well satisfied, as I have not found any 

 decay among them, although 1 have several 

 thousands so. prepared. It has been observed, 

 by some who have seen them, thatthe salt would 

 in time dissolve, and by leaving a hollow in the 

 post to retain the moisture, cause its decay. — 

 I have not found that the salt diminishes lo any 

 extent ; and if it should, it must penetiM'.e the 

 wood and thereby prevent decay. But to ob- 

 viate such apprehensions, nothing is easier than 

 to draw the plugs, and fill Ihem again with sail 

 at the expiration ol' eight or ten years, or when 

 required, which would be at a very distant pe- 

 riod. This can be done at less than a cent a 

 post, exclusive of salt, which must be admitted, 

 is preferable to planting them anew. I have 

 usually paid the workmen a cent a post for bor- 

 ing, filling andpluging; they generally earn two 

 dollars a day. A judicious farmer, on viewing 

 my posts observed he could see no reason why 

 salt should not preserve tvood, when it preserv- 

 ed so perishable a vegetable as cabbage during 

 many years. 



If I have been prolix, be pleased to allribute 

 it to my zeal in my most favourite pursuit ; and 

 with much esteem, I remain yours, 



William Phillips. 



John Hare Powel, Es^. 



THE USE OF TAR IN PHESeRVING THE HEALTH OF SHEEP. 

 Doivningtoum, od mo. 6lh, ]8"4. 



Respected Frik.nd. — I beg leave lo submit to 

 thee, a few remarks on the sulijecl of s(ime expe- 

 rience which I have lately, and dearly bought, in 

 regard to my sheep. 



Until the last yrar, I hid been in the practice 

 of apj.lying lap to Iheir iiosps, severiil tunes in 

 the course of iho suininer, wilh the view of pro- 

 moling their health, as it is generally believed, 

 that i)ine or cedar shrubs, hiive that effect ; and 

 tar is the best subslilule within our reach. 



Two of my Dishley ewes have lately been 

 destroyed by what is here termed the gadfly, and 

 three others are now afiected in a similar man- 

 ner. Such a case never occurred while I used 

 the tar ; but before I commenced this practice, 

 I lost a number of sheep, which were supposed, 

 at that lime, to have died of dropsy of the brain, 

 but which I am now satisfied were killed by the 

 abovementioned insect, as the symptoms were 

 similar throughout; and as the sheep were ex- 

 empt from this disease while I pursued the tar- 

 ring process, it is reasonable to conclude Ihat 

 the fly was thereby [)revented from depositing 

 its eggs in the nose. 



It is not in my power, at present, to describe 

 this insect wilh such precision, that it might be 

 known ; nor, indeed, can 1 positively say, that 

 the tly which I have noticed, is the same which 

 does Ihe injury; but 1 have observed one flying 

 about the sheep from the seventh, lo the begin- 

 ing of tne ninth month, of which the animals 

 are very much afraid. This fly resembles that 

 which is so destructive to the peach tree, al- 

 though it is not so large. 



I have dissecletl Ihe head of one sheep, and 

 found the maggot stationed near Ihe brain, so 

 that the inlLinimation producnd by it, extended 

 to Ihe brain ; and thus the disease might read- 

 ily be misl.iken for Ihe dropsy of the brain. — 

 I have one preserved in spirits, which 1 intend 

 to exhibit at the next quarterly meeting of the 

 Society. 



I have little doubt, that these insects cause 

 the sheep to discharge so much mucus from the 

 nose ; for which 1 have frequently blown snuff 

 up their nostrils with a quill, occasioning vio- 

 lent sneezing; and I think it quite probable that 

 Ihe worm is tiirown out by these powerl'ul ef- 

 forts. With sentiments of respect, 



I remain, thy friend, 



Joseph Kep.sev 



JoH.v Hare Powel. 



From the National Gazette. 



A few years ago, while a student, I paid an 

 evening's visit to one of my fellow students, in 

 whose room a number of us were assembled, 

 all of whom were smokers of tobacco exceplin" 

 myself. \Ve had not long been assembled, 

 when they lighted their pipes, and commenced 

 smoking to my no small annoyance. I embrac- 

 ed Ihe opportunity of giving them a lecture on 

 what 1 considered not only a useless, but a per- 

 nicious practice. Not relishing my admoni- 

 tions, they undertook to expel tne from Iheir 

 society, not " vi et armis," but by the power of 

 smoke. 



1 stood my ground valiantly for some time, but 

 finding ray situation unpleasant, I adopted Ihe 

 following expedient of securing mvself ao-ainst 

 the attack of my visible but intangible foe. Ta- 

 king my silk handkerchief from my pocket, I 

 folded it several times, and held it tight over 

 my moiilh and nostrils, and Ihns prevented Ihe 

 smoke from entering my lungs; and was conse- 

 quently enabled to defy the aitempts of enemies 

 laughing at Iheir fruitless exertions, which end- 

 (led in smoke, and having siiffpred less fvom the 

 I'umigalion than my unmerciful assailants. 



This circumstance made little impression on 

 me at the time, and would probably have been 

 forgotten, unless forcibly recalled lo ray mind, a 



few days ago, on reading an account of a young 

 man's being suffocated by smoke, and thereby 

 losing his life. 1 then determined lo make an 

 experiment, in order lo ascerlain how long a 

 person could brealiie in a room filled with smoke, 

 by means of a silk handkerchief or similar arli- 

 cle. I accordingly placed in a small room over 

 the kitchen, a vessel containing a quantity of 

 chips, so far ignited as to produce a considera- 

 ble smoke without blaze. The room was spee- 

 dily filled, and when ray breathing became op- 

 pressive, I resorted to my handkerchief, and was 

 gratified lo find that I could remain in Ihe room 

 without much inconvenience as long as I thought 

 proper. From this experiment I felt convinced 

 that any article through which a person can 

 breathe, and which is at the same time imper- 

 vious to smoke, would in most cases prevent 

 suffocation, where the air is not too much rari- 

 fied by the heat. 1 had very soon, a serious o|i. 

 portunily of testing the value of my experiment ; 

 for, at about 1 1 o'clock at night of the s ime day 

 on which it was made, I was aroused from sleep 

 by the cry of" fire," in my own dwelling. 1'wo 

 girls who slept in one of the finished rooms of 

 Ihe garret, had been awakened by partial sufTo- 

 catiini, arising from smoke, and with dilhcully 

 had made their way down to the first story to 

 give the alarm. I immediately proceeded to 

 the small room where Ihe experiment was made, 

 thinking that the smoke might possibly originate 

 there, but found all sale ; 1 then relumed, and 

 I went up to Ihe garret which 1 found so tilled 

 with smoke, Ihat no object in the room was visi- 

 ble, nor could I breathe the air — 1 was there- 

 fore obliged lo retreat; but soon made another 

 effort lo enter the room, when 1 fierceived near 

 the door, and close against the partition, a num- 

 tser lif arlicles of clothing on fire, which I im- 

 mediately drew out of the room, and was again 

 forced to descend to Ihe second story to brealhe. 

 1 then procured a silk handkerchief, wilh which 

 I covered my mouth, and entering the room 

 wilh water -[leedily extinguished Ihe fire, which 

 had comniunicaled to the wash board, and ivould 

 shortly have enveloped the building in flames. 

 I remained long enough in the room to open 

 the windoiv, for Ihe purjiose of clearing awav 

 the smoke, and lo ascertain that there was no 

 more danger; which I could not have done, 

 had 1 not been protected against the effects of the 

 smoke. 



I have made several experiments similar lo 

 the first, and wilh the same resulls, so thai I 

 feel confident that Ihe simple expedient which 

 I have suggested, will be the means, if adople<l, 

 of saving much (iroperly from destruction, and 

 delivering some of my fellow beings from an 

 untimely and terrible death. 



Tiie fire which threatened destruction (oour 

 dwelling and lives, originated from a shoe siring, 

 which had been burned in Iwo, being carelessly 

 thrown among a number of cotton and woollen 

 clothes, without being extinguished. From caus- 

 es as trivial as this, many olher fires do, with- 

 out doubt, lake their rise; from which itisevi- 

 tlenl that too much care can scarcely be used 

 where there is ihe least probabilily of danger. 

 Yours, very respectfully, J. W. 



I 



The inhabitanls of New York are now suppli- 

 ed with good milk at 3 cents a quart, at the Ful- 

 ton Market. 



