226 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mat 



entific man, that may be fully relied on. The 

 intermediate weather was somewhat variable, 

 from mild and thawy to the above given state of 

 the thermometer. Tliere has not been on the 

 ground, at any one time curing the winter, more 

 than four inches of snow, until the 16th inst., 

 when we had about eight inches, (our robin 

 storm.) Previous to this the weather was warm, 

 and farmers had commenced to sow their wheat. 



There is an unreiisonable contrast in the price 

 of provisions there and here ; simply because 

 there is, as yet, no railroad from the Mississippi 

 river, and these hard times in the east, and all 

 over the world, will tend directly to retard its 

 construction. Corn here is worth twenty-five 

 cents; wheat, from sixty to seventy-five cents; 

 pork from two to three cents per pound. 



Now I don't wish to dishearten any of the 

 good New England farmers, but only to encour- 

 age some of tliose, who depend on their every- 

 day earnings to feed perliaps a large family, to 

 think if they might not help form a part of the 

 respectable number of farmers already in this 

 new farming State — to the advantage of their 

 sons at least, many of whom, while the father is 

 hard at work to get ofi" his daily allowance of 

 shoes, (or liis family must come short,) are per- 

 haps worse than idle. 



The city of Oskaloosa, only twelve years ago 

 ceded from the wolves and Indians, has now 

 2500 inhabitants, and stores, &c., furnishing 

 every thing for comfort and convenience. 



* Daniel Fry. 



Oskaloosa, Mahaska Co., Iowa, 3 Mo. 20, 1855. 



For the New England Farmer. 



GRAVEL WALLS. 



Mr. Editor : — A few days since, my attention 

 was called to an article in your January number, 

 requesting information as to the manner of erect- 

 ing "gravel wall or concrete buildings," the cost, 

 »&c. My engagements preventing a reply at the 

 moment, an intimation of the inquiry was given 

 to Geo. B. Parrott, Esq., Civil Engineer of Bos- 

 ton, (a gentleman well qualified to advise on the 

 subject,) from whom the following communication 

 was received. 



At an early day, I will endeavor to add some 

 remarks from observations and inf^uiries I have 

 made in reference to this subject. w. n. n. 



Waltham, March, 1855. 



Drar Sir: — At your request I herewith furnish 

 you with a report upon the subject of building 

 with what is called the "gravel wall," or con- 

 crete. Properly managed it not only makes a 

 very cheap, but at tlie same time a most durable 

 wall. The use of this kind of wall is very an- 

 cient, for it is found to have been employed by 

 the Romans. "The walls of the fortress of Cin- 

 dad Rodrigo, in Spain, are also of concrete. The 

 marks of the boards which retained the semi-fluid 

 matter in their construction are everywhere visi- 

 ble." ^ 



Of course, the quality of the wall must depend 

 upon the nature of the materials to be employed. 



In almost every building constructed in this 

 vicinity, we find different methods used in mak 

 ing the concrete, and the construction of the 

 works is left, almost invariably, to some hod-car 



rier, who only knows that he has been accus- 

 tomed to make up the materials in a certain mari- 

 ner, ivithout knowing any one of the ■principles 

 which regulate the action of the materials he works 

 with. "We thus find that nearly all of the wall 

 constructed during the past season in this vicini- 

 ty is simply made by turning over the lime and 

 mixing it with the gravel ; water is then thrown 

 upon it and it is left to absorb moisture necessa- 

 ry for its slaking ; it is then turned over once, 

 and in some cases twice with a shovel. It is then 

 in a hot state deposited in the boxes, and left to 

 arrange itself as best it may. Such a mode of 

 proceeding leads directly to a waste of materials, 

 and failures are consequently frequent. 



A very important lesson is to be derived from 

 these failures. They clearly demonstrate that 

 the greatest possible care must be taken in the 

 mixture of the ingredients ; that the first condi- 

 tion necessary to obtain good concrete is, that the 

 lime be brought to the state of a perfect hydrate 

 previous to its being mixed with the other mate- 

 rials, and when deposited in the boxes, it should 

 be well beaten with a rammer to prevent the ma- 

 terials from separating. 



The quantites of sand and gravel to be used, of 

 course vary according to the quality of the lime 

 and sand. The proportion found to yield a good 

 result is as follow : — 33 parts of rich lime, 33 

 parts of sand, and 66 parts of broken stone or 

 gravel. 



For the New England Farmer, 



GAS LIME. 



Mr. Brown : — Seeing an inquiry from two of 

 your correspondents concerning gas lime, I will 

 give my experience with it as a manure, though 

 small ; but then, you know, "every little helps." 



Last spring I bought a barrel of it, for which I 

 paid $1,00. Plaster sold at that time for $1,33, 

 of which I bought a barrel, and mixed it with the 

 lime one month before using. I applied it to 

 corn with apparently good effect. My corn was 

 not killed by it, though others make that com- 

 plaint ; but, in every case where the corn was 

 killed, fresh lime or ashes were mixed with it, or 

 as least so far as I know. INIy lime and plaster 

 cost me 1,17 per barrel, instead of $1,33, as it 

 would had I bought all plaster. I think fresh 

 lime as cheap at $2,00 per cash as the gas lime 

 at $1,00, though it would have to be applied with 

 more caution, if applied in the hill when newly 

 slaked. If others have had any experience with 

 this kind of lime, will they be so kind as let us 

 hear about it. S. Tennky. 



W. Portland, Andg. Co., Me., Feb., 1855. 



Corn Cobs. — Corn cobs contain considerable 

 farinaceous matter, the same as the corn itself; 

 and it is said that in France a mill has been re- 

 cetitly invented for separating it. Now that the 

 farinaceous matter in cobs is nutritious, there is 

 no doubt ; but whether the great amount of hard, 

 woody, innutritious matter they contain may not 

 in some cases injure the animal as much as the 

 farina benefits, is more than wo know. Probably 

 this may depend on how the animal is fed other- 

 wise. If fed on very concentrated food, the 

 woody matter, we should think, might be benefi- 

 cial rather than otherwise ; but if fed on coarse 



