No. 5. Domestic Convenience. — Improved Breeds of Cattle, ^'C. 



175 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Domestic Convenience. 



The cellar of a farm-house is a very im- 

 portant part of the mansion, as it is the depo- 

 sitory of a principal part of the family fare, 

 and ought to be constructed with particular 

 regard to convenience and safety, and kept 

 with perfect neatness and care. The win- 

 dows of a cellar should be protected by iron 

 oars, about six inches apart, so as to prevent 

 the access of freebooters, who generally pre- 

 fer entering a house by the wrong road. 



They should always have a wire grating 

 fixed permanently on the outside, to exclude 

 rats and mice, whose presence is ever unde- 

 sirable where family stores are kept; and the 

 inside of each cellar window should be pro- 

 tected by a hanging sash, with glass, to fas- 

 ten with a turn-button, or, when open, to be 

 suspended to the joist above by a hook, to be 

 out of the way. Besides the above, there 

 should be a shutter, either outside or in, to 

 exclude the light when desirable, and also, 

 more effectually to prevent the frosts of win- 

 ter from doing injury. 



Fruits and roots are always best preserved 

 when light is excluded from them ; they 

 should not be kept warmer than is necessary 

 for their due preservation ; and a damp at- 

 mosphere in a cellar should be avoided as 

 much as possible, both as regards the safety 

 of the contents, and the welfare of the fa- 

 mily above. 



AH of theee requisitions are attained by 

 the windows being constructed in the man- 

 ner above proposed ; for, during a fine day in 

 winter, by opening the sash window, ventila- 

 tion speedily takes place, and the tempera- 

 ture is reduced to a proper standard, when it 

 should be again closed. Light is always ad- 

 mitted or excluded at pleasure, and vermin 

 are obliged to quarter on the careless or neg- 

 ligent. 



The writer, after having paid the penalty 

 for his negligence, in not fixing his cellar- 

 windows right for many years, at last went 

 to work, and made the arrangements above 

 stated ; the cost was trifling, and the conve- 

 nience and benefit very great: light is ad- 

 mitted or excluded in an instant ; ventilation 

 is elTected speedily when needed, by which 

 dampness is avoided ; and there has never 

 been a rat or mouse in the cellar since the 

 alteration. 



As the female part of the family is espe- 

 cially interested in this matter, it is hoped 

 they will review it at least once a week, till 

 the good man goes to work and makes the 

 needful improvements in their condition, for 

 many females have suffered much in health 

 and constitution, by their frequent visits to a 

 damp cellar. T. S. 



Montgomery County, Oct. 20, 1840. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Improved Breeds of Cattle, Sheep, and 

 Hogs. 



I WAS much gratified by viewing the fine 

 specimens of various breeds of cattle, sheep, 

 and hogs, at the exhibition lately held at the 

 Rising Sun, near Philadelphia, by the Phila- 

 delphia Society for promoting Agriculture. 



The Durham cattle were numerous and of 

 superior quality, and, as I understand from 

 those who have had an opportunity of judg- 

 ing, by comparison, about equal to what we 

 might expect to see at a show in most parts 

 of England, 



Until within the last 15 or 20 years, scarcely 

 any of those very valuable animals were to 

 be seen in this part of the country. Many 

 of the fine animals of this breed, imported by 

 Col. Powell, have been disseminated through 

 the country, which, with those introduced by 

 others of our spirited fellow-citizens, have 

 put the farmers of this State in possession of 

 a stock of cattle, which, if properly managed, 

 will bear competition with those of any part 

 of the world. 



Both the Bakewell and Southdown sheep 

 are beautiful animals ; they are much more 

 docile than any other breeds of sheep, and 

 more disposed to fatten at an early age; they 

 produce good wool for most purposes, and are 

 worth, to the butcher, nearly double the price 

 of any other breeds. 



There was a I^rge number of Berkshire 

 hogs exhibited ; many of them appeared to 

 be of perfect form. Mr, W. W. Barber 

 showed a very superior lot of full-blood, and 

 some of mixed breed, which, I think, for neat- 

 ness of bone and beauty of form, were supe- 

 rior to any I have seen. A pair of them, 6 

 months old, were sold to a gentleman of an 

 adjoining State, for sixty dollars; the litter 

 of pigs of which they were a part, were sold 

 for upwards of one hundred dollars. 



Mr. Barber informed me that he was the 

 first person who introduced them into Chester 

 county; since which they have become such 

 favourites, that you may find them on many 

 of the farms throughout the county. C. 



Nov. 10, 1840. 



Editorial. 



Just when our last number had passed the press, we 

 found we had committed a heinous crime— nothing less 

 than omitting to give credit for a borrowed article ! ! 

 The sin has borne heavily upon us, nor could we con- 

 sent to be comforted, until the opportunity offered of 

 acknowledging it, and promising " never to do so no 

 more." The peace of mind which we now enjoy is in 

 proportion to the degree of suffering which we have 

 experienced for the last month, and is so delicious, that 

 we are fain to propose to certain of our friends to " go 

 and do likewise." Verbum Sap. 



