72 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I. 



intelligent direction, both of these great sub-n insects, so as to require but litth food— but 



jects of public prosperity will settle down to 

 their proper standard ; and when that is ex- 

 actly to be found, only time and experience, 

 faithful and unerring munitors — can, with 

 any precision, determine. 



From the New-England Farmer. 

 Raising Cliickens. 



The following is a valuable article, and 

 relates to a branch of rural economy, which 

 deserves more attention than it has received 

 in this country. Further favors of a similar 

 nature from the same hand are respectfully 

 eolicited. 



Mr. Fessenden. — In one of your late pa- 

 pers I saw mentioned a successful way of 

 raising chickens, — I have been in the habit 

 of raising them for some years, and if you 

 think favorably of the mode I have adopted, 

 jou can insert it in your valuable paper. 



I keep my hens warm under cover during 

 the winter, and feed them on " Brewers' 

 Grains," placed in an open box or tub, that 

 they may eat when they please, occasionally 

 giving them oats, corn, and oyster shells 

 pounded fine, and plenty of water — by keep- 

 ing them warm and well fed they begin lay- 

 ing earlier in the season. I prefer spring 

 chickens, as they lay earlier than old hens — 

 and the old hens to set, as they make the 

 best mothers. I take care the eggs do not 

 get chilled with cold, and keep them in a 

 warm place in my house. When three or 

 four hens want to set, I put from thirteen to 

 fifteen eggs under each of them, according 

 to size — the day of the month marked on 

 each egg — and after the hen has set a week 

 or ten days I examine them by holding the 

 eo-gs to a crack or knot hole in a board when 

 the sun shines through, and if I discover any 

 rotten ones, I take them away and replace 

 them with fresh ones, marked as before men- 

 tioned. When the chickens are all hatched, 

 I put two or three of the broods to one hen, 

 in a coop with an opening against an empty 

 barrel placed on the bilge, and with a little 

 eare, when put in the coop, the hen may be 

 made to brood them at the further end of the 

 barrel. In that way tlie chickens that are not 

 covered by the hen huddle together around 

 her, and keep eacli other warm. The hens 

 from which the chickens are taken I put into 

 another coop, and in about a fortnight they 

 begin to lay again. The hen being confined 

 in the coop, will leave her chickens much 

 earlier than if left to run at large with tliem, 

 and the chickens will become so accustomed 

 to going into the barrel and huddling togetlier, 

 as to be quite contented to give up the hen's 

 brooding them. After the chickens are two 

 or three weeks old I remove them with the 

 coops into my girden, where they feed upon 



do not keep them there until they are large 

 enough to injure the garden. 



1 feel persuaded that in the way I have 

 proceeded, our market could be supplied 

 with an abundance of poultry, and 1 recom- 

 mend it with confidence, if managed with 

 care and attention, as profitable to those who 

 may engage in such business. 

 Charlestoicn, July, 1836. 



Castor Oil Plant. 



We would invite the attention of farmers 

 to experiments on the culture of the castor 

 oil plant — knowing our soil and climate to be 

 adapted to its growth, and believing it may be 

 made a profitable crop in field cultivation. 



The plant to which we allude, and from 

 which castor oil is extracted, is the Ricinis, a 

 native of the East Indies and the north of Af- 

 rica, a species of which has been acclimated 

 in the West Indies and the United States. 

 it is generally known in this country by the 

 name of the " castor oil bean," and is culti- 

 vated in New-Jersey, Virginia, North Caro- 

 lina, and most of the states on the right bank 

 of the Ohio river. It is also extensively cul- 

 tivated in Illinois, particularly in the coun- 

 ties of Edwards, Randolph and Madison. The 

 manufacture of castor oil was commenced at 

 Edwardsville, in the latter county, by John 

 Adams, in 1825, in which season he made 

 500 gallons. His business has since increas- 

 ed, so that in 1831 he made about 12,500 

 gallons. 



We have had no experience in the culti- 

 vation of this plant; but are informed there 

 is nothing peculiar in its management, and 

 that on good land, its product is very abund- 

 ant. The beans are enclosed in capsules, 

 divided into three cells, and contain a large 

 quantity of oleaginous matter of a white 

 color and sweetish taste. There are tliree 

 methods of extracting the oil — by expression, 

 decoction, and by the agency of Alcohol — 

 the former of which is considered the best 

 both on account of the quality of the oil, and 

 the fact that a separation of the bean from 

 the capsule is unnecessary. 



The following is the process of extracting 

 the oil adopted in Illinois, and the result is 

 what is called "cold pressed castor oil," 

 which is always considered tiie best quality. 

 The beans are well cleaned and moderately 

 heated in a furnace, care being taken that the 

 heat be not raised Iiigher than can be endured 

 by the naked hand. They are then placed 

 in an iron cylinder, and a follower is forced 

 upon them by an iron or wooden screw, of 

 great power. The screw is turned by a 

 horse attached to a long and large lever, pre- 

 cisely in the same manner that a nut mill is 

 operated. The usual quantity of oil thus 



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