156 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Apwl 



BUILDING IN FROSTY WEATHER. 



The bond which unites brick to brick and stone 

 to stone, t<y form a close and adhesive connection 

 between them, is a cement (mortar) formed of the 

 oxyd of calcium (lime,) silica or sand, and water, i 

 The water intimately diffused through mortar is the] 

 vehicle which plays the most important office — j 

 chemically sj^eaking — in conferring those qualities 

 upon mortar which render it capable of fulfilling 

 the objects for which it is used. And yet most build- 

 ers, architects, and those who have buildings erect- 

 ed during the winter season, appear to be entirely 

 ignorant of this fact in chemical science. 



The water in mortar holds lime in solution, and 

 gradually attracts carbonic acid from the atmosphere, 

 whereby its particles acquire powerful and adhesive 

 properties, and in the course of time it becomes a 

 stone itself, firmly adhering to the surface which it 

 unites. If we dissolve some quicklime in water, in 

 a vessel, and allow it to stand exposed for some 

 hours, it will attract carbonic acid from the atmo- 

 sphere, and a thin, hard scale like ice will form on 

 its surface ; this is a pelicle of marble, it is composed 

 of lime, water, and carbonic acid. The scale formed 

 on the surface of the lime solution in the vessel, 

 prevents carbonic acid penetrating under it, other- 

 wise a thick solution of lime would soon become a 

 solid block of marble. But in common mortar the 

 conditions for the absorbing of carbonic acid through- 

 out all its parts are very perfect, because the parti 

 cles of sand render it sufficiently porous to allow 

 the air, which contains carbonic acid, to penetrate 

 to its inmost parts ; therefore mortar ultimately be- 

 comes a stone. If we take quicklime and sand, 

 mixed together in proper proportions to form good 

 cement, but use no water to make them into mor- 

 tar, exposure of them to the atmosphere for centu 

 ries would not form them into a hard stone, be- 

 cause the water of crystallization, which is positively 

 necessary to promote cohesion among their parti- 

 cles, is wanting. Water, then, is the great vehicle 

 which chiefly imparts cohesive properties to com 

 mon mortar. 



Hard water, in freezing, parts with the mineral 

 and earthy matters which it holds in solution, and 

 the ice, when melted by heat, forms soft water; the 

 action of freezing separates the pure water from 

 the substances with which it was previously inti- 

 mately united. The very same effect is produced by 

 the action of freezing mortar in the Vi'alls of build- 

 ings ; the mortar that is frozen in walls never af- 

 terwards acquires strong cohesive properties. 



It is customary to suspend operations on build- 

 ings of brick and stone, during very severe frosts, 

 when mortar freezes rapidly, but this is only be- 

 cause of the mechanical difficulties of applying the 

 mortar before it freezes ; the chemical science in- 

 volved in the act of freezing its water being either 

 unknown or ignored. Mortar should never be al- 

 lowed to freeze in the walls of buildings ; to allow 

 it to do so, is unwise and unscientific. — Sde7it{fic 

 American. 



County Transactions. — We are under obliga- 

 tions to the officers of most of the County Socie- 

 ties of the State for a copy of their Transactions for 

 the year 185G. At this season of the year our col 

 umns are so completely occupied by the favors of 

 correspondents, that we find it difficult to notice the 



peculiar merits, or what may seem to us defects of 

 each ; or extract from them as we should be glad 

 to. Every one of them, however, we have exam- 

 ined with care, and hope to find room for a further 

 notice. 



In the Transactions of several of the Counties 

 there are evident improvements in the matter, and 

 especially in the manner of making them up. Still, 

 there is considerable room wasted by repetitions 

 and the introduction of unimportant articles. "We 

 have now before us the Hampden, Norfolk, Plym- 

 outh, and Hampshire, each and all of them contain- 

 ing instructive and pleasant articles for us all, to 

 which we must refer when our columns are relieved 

 from their present pressure. 



For the New England Farmer. 



APPLE TREES AND CIDER. 



"TIMES CHANGE, AND MANNERS WITH THEM." 



In 1832, it was remarked by a distinguished 

 gentleman, then President of one of the Agricultu- 

 ral Societies fostered by the bounty of the State — 

 "It is a matter of regret, that for many years past 

 there should have been so little competition for 

 the premiums offered by the Society for cider. — 

 When it is considered that good cider always 

 brings a good price, and is a pleasant and health- 

 ful beverage, and may be used in promoting the 

 cause of temperance, in the place of intoxicating 

 liquors, we are surprised that its quality should be 

 so little regarded." 



What think you, Mr. Editor, of these notions of 

 the fathers of the last age ? Were they entirely 

 in the wrong ? Our best farms now abound in 

 orchards planted for the purpose of making cider. 

 I can remember, when seven hundred barrels of 

 cider were made at my fathei''s mill, in one season, 

 and no one dreamt of there being harm in the op- 

 eration. Have we all at once become so much 

 wiser and better than our fathers were ? Or is 

 it true in this, as in many other things, "Young 

 folks think old folks fools, but old folks know 

 young ones to be so." Let us know your views 

 about having mills for the making of good cider. 

 For myself, I think there is no more harm in mak" 

 ing cider from apples, than there will be in making 

 sugar from that outlandish plant, of which, at 

 present, we know little or nothing. 



Feb. 2, 18<57. A Conservative. 



Winter Pruning. — Will trimming fruit trees 

 during the winter time, injure them in any way ? 

 I have a large orchard which I want to trim thi; 

 winter. Would the place where the limb was 

 sawed off dry up and rot, or heal over in the spring ? 

 Which is the best time to trim ? — E. Dennison, 

 Forestville, JV. Y. 



Trimming orchards in winter has been long 

 practised by some good orchardists with success. 

 The sap not moving at this time, the wood when 

 cut becomes dry at the surface in a short time, 

 ready to receive a coat of protecting cement. This 

 coat may be applied soon after cutting, or the fol- 

 lowing spring. A hot mixture of tar and brick- 

 dust, or tar and pounded dry clay, answers a good 



