402 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[July J 5, 



that they were superior to any of their own. 

 Experienced farmers, herJsmen, bntchcr?, so 

 pronounced them ; they awarded the premiums. 

 Still, this may all be infalualion, the mere love 

 of novelty. They produced calves ; the calves 

 were better formed, grew faster, had flesh on 



by (lie free current of air passing through the 

 cask. 1 covered the inside of each cask vvith a 

 fresh coat of pitch, and having placed shavings 

 of wood in each, I lighted them, one after the 

 other. I begun to extinguish this tire when it 

 was at its height. For this purpose 1 made use 

 more valuable parts, had belter hair, and " /s«cr| of an iron ladle capable of holding two ounces 

 jfee/," indicating a dispo-itiou to fatten; they I of water, and provided with a very long handle; 

 Weighed more on the same keeping. Was all I being kept at the distance of four or live feel by 

 this illusion? We think not. We s:iy we fhinkl the volume of the fire. 1 carefully poured the 

 not; we add, we knuw it is not all iWfwJoj. I water from this ladle in very small streams a- 

 We know it to be founded on good and substan- long the inside of the cask, and moving it grad- 

 tial grounds. We had some excellent cows of ually along the edge as the llimes ceased. In 

 native race which we had carefully kept through} this way the (5rst ladlefull of water extinguished 

 three successive generations, and we have been nearly one half of the fire, and what remained 

 amply rewanled for it. We have recently cross- was efiectually put out by a ladlefull in thesamf 

 ed them Tvith the foreign breeds; the calves | manner. The striking success of this experi- 

 were manifestly superior. Not having a large | m6nt induced me to repeat it in the presence ol' 

 farm, we parted with the calves to our friends,! many persons, and with care and atteution in the 

 and recently upon inquiry of a friend who had j application and management of water, I have 

 two of our calves, and had a slock of eleven more than once succeeded in extinsuishing a 

 cows, we found the two highest as to milkers, highly ignited cask with a single ladlefull, ol 

 were of this mixed race. 'wo ounces, of water." 



We have now two cows of the mixed race, Mr Van Marum in explaining the theory 

 one out of Fill Pail, and one out of Mr. Parsons' I **l'''ch is developed by this experiment says lliat 

 Holderness, and they are much superior to any|" when a small quantity of water is thrown upon 

 cows we have been able to purchase fur 20 1 a liighly ignited body, part of thit water is in- 

 years. AVe jire now raising calves of the haifjstantly converted into steam, which rising from 



the surface of the burning body, prevents the 

 contact of the atmospherick air, and by that 

 means puts out the flame, which cannot appear 

 again while the production of the steam is con- 

 tinued." 



" According to these experiments,''' he con- 

 tinues, " it appears that the art of extinguishing 

 a violent lire with a small quantity of water con- 

 sists in this: that the water be thrown on thatj 

 part of the fire which is the most violent; so 

 that the quantity of steam, produced which sup- 

 presses the flame may be the greatest possible: 

 that water be cnnlinued to be thrown in the 

 neighbouring inflamed parts, as soon as the fire 

 has ceased in that in which the operation was 

 begun and that all the burning parts be v sited 

 m this way as soon as possible. By thus follow- 

 ing the flames regularly with streams of vater, 

 they may be every where suppressed before the 

 part on which the operation was begun shall 

 have entirely lost, by evaporation, the water 

 w'.th which it was moistened; this is oftci ne- 

 cessary to prevent the parts from breakinj out 

 afresh ; for on the principles above mentioned, 

 a burning body of which the flames are sup- 

 pressed cannot be again in flames until the wb- 



blood to supply the cows which are now getting 

 aged. One advantage they certainly have ; 

 (hey keep their flesh better without diminish- 

 ing their milk. Still there are native cows, a 

 very few^ as good, and some better. 



We now proceed to the most important con- 

 sideration in relation to these imported animals. 



Their calves sell better ; they are more care- 

 fully watched; they have introduced a habit of 

 attention to stock; they excite a spirit of rival- 

 ry, and one of the most valuable and important 

 effects of the late interesting letters of Col. Pick- 

 ering will probably be to induce our farmers to 

 endeavour to compete with and surpass the im- 

 ported breeds. 



While Col. .raqucs, iha most successful and 

 the most intelligent of our breeders, who under 

 great disadvantages of location, seems to rival 

 the celebrated Bakewell in his skill and «tten- 

 tion, can sell his pure breed, as he has done this 

 spring at 300 dollars for an eight months' bull 

 calf, there can be no doubt that the experiment 

 will be fairly tried. .'Vs Col. Pickering does not 

 seem to believe that any serious evil has result- 

 ed from the imporl;i,tion of a wurse stock, we 

 think we miiy salely encourage the crosses oi 



this r.nce will, our own, keeping in mind as we j 'er thiown on it be totally evaporated." 

 ought to do, as ho wisely sugijests, thati for the I Mr Van Marum then relates experiments nuidc 

 most ready and rapid way to improve our stock, j on » larger scale, one of which we will trrns- 

 is to select and raise only the best of our own cribe from the account given of it by Von Zach 



breed. 



METHOD OF EXTINGUISHING FIRE. 



lEi-traclcd from a Utttr' from M. Fan Marum lo Mr 

 Btrtkuikt. Xuh. Jour. vol. V. p. 103.J 



" I took two casks, which had been full of 

 pitch, and of which the inside was yet well cov- 

 ered willi that iuliaaim.ible substance ; the heads 

 o( these were taken out, and in order lo assist 

 the operation of combustion, I gave them a co- 

 nical shape, placing the larger aperture of twen- 

 ly inches diameter uppermost, llie other of sis- 

 teen inches diameter beluw, mounted on a three 

 legged stand, a few inches IVoru the ground, so 

 »hal the fire might be kept \\i brisk as ^^ossible 



a celebrated German astronomer, 



Dr Vaa Marum being at Goiha, in the course 

 of a literary journey, which he was making in 

 Germany in 1793, tiie Duke of Gotha well 

 known as an amateur of the physical and math- 

 emalical sciences, signiiied his desire to see on 

 a large scale, that experiment of extinguishing 

 tires, ihe efl'ect of which M. Van Marum had 

 shown him, in extinguishing a pitched cask, set 

 on fire, with a small ladle of water. He caused 

 a building to be coustructed under M. Van I\Ia- 

 rum's direction, in the dutchess's garden, of e- 

 qual dimensions in all respects with that used for 

 the same experiment at Harlaem, which was 24 

 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 14 feet high. It 

 had two doors on the north east side, and two 



window-like openings on the north'west side ; 

 the top was left entirely open to give the flames 

 free vent ; the inside of this receptacle was jilas- 

 tered with pitch and afterwards coveied with 

 straw mats, on which melted pitch had been 

 poured. To the bottom of these mats cotton 

 wicks, soaked in spirits of turpentine, were sus- 

 pended, that so the building might be every 

 where on fire at the same time. In this state 

 the fire exciled by the wind, was soon so violent 

 that tha flames with thick clouds of smoke, were 

 carried several feet above the opening of the 

 roof, and so fiercely, that the spectators assem- 

 bled about the building quickly drew back ; many 

 were of opinion that it would not be possible to 

 extinguish it, hut that Ihe building must be re- 

 duced lo ashes. When ihe straw mats were en- 

 tirely consumed, the ii nrior wood work of the 

 buildinar was soon mi '.^e in every part. The 

 most unfavorable ci.Cii'nstances attended this ex- 

 periment ; for the wind drove the flames direct- 

 ly through (lie doors on ihe north-east side, by 

 wbirli it had been iiidnded (o in(roduce (he 

 slrr-arns of waier to extinguish them; but not- 

 withstanding this, Mr Van .Marum placed a small 

 portable pump or engine before the door in 

 that part of the north east side of the building 

 nearest to the smith east side; without regar- 

 ding the apprehension of his assistant-^, he set 

 it in action, and pliceil himsell betbre this door, 

 as near as the in[ense heat of (he fire would ad- 

 mit, he directed the streams of water first to- 

 wards Ihe south east side, and as near the door 

 a^ possible, and continued until the flames were 

 extinguished on the side, and sprinkled with 

 water in the same direction; aller which the 

 water was directed along the south west side 

 land afterwards the north east, so that in a few 

 minutes the flames were ?ot undor,and (he bur- 

 ning partitions were extinguished. After this 

 Ihe pump WHS placed before one of the open- 

 ings in (lie north west side. He also ve.y soon 

 extinguished the nnith \vest side ; and lastly 

 coming to the centre ol'lhe building, where ttie 

 fire appeared here and there in the chinks of 

 the boards and the holes lel't by the nailj, break- 

 ing out at intervals in small flashes, he entire- 

 ly extinguished them and thus perfectly subdu- 

 ed this violent fire. It ivas esumated by sever- 

 al of the spectators, (hat the tire was extinguish- 

 ed at most in three minutes frora the commence- 

 ment of the action of the pu:aps lo the time 

 when the wood just remained burning, and brok« 

 oul afresh in some places; these renewals were 

 however so inconsiderable, that the burning 

 parts were quenched by means ofsome wet rags 

 fastened to a slick. Before selling the pump lo 

 work, its reservoir was filled with four buckets 

 of water; but in carrying it to the first window 

 of the building, and from thence to the middle 

 of it, near a bucket full was spill ; so that it may 

 be positively affirmed, that this violent fire was 

 extinguished with three buckets of water exclu- 

 ding that which was afterwards used to quench 

 those parts of the building which remained red. 

 It was easily observed, when the flame was out, 

 that «ot only the straw mats were burned, but 

 Ihc entire wood work of the building had been 

 on fire, insomuch that the smallest part of wood 

 could uot bo found in the inside of the building 

 which had not been more or less severely burnt. 

 The north-east side in particular, against which 

 the wind drove the flames with the utmost viO" 

 lence vv^s entirely charred '•" 



