228 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mat 



put on one spoonful of spirits of turpentine in the 

 hollow between the horns. Feed lightly. Two 

 doses is generally sufficient to effect a cure in one 

 or two days. 



_ The difficulty in the teat, I apprehend, is occa- 

 sioned by the milk duct becoming dry and closing 

 up ; all that is necessary to effect a cure is to insert 

 a large-sized knitting needle into the hole of the 

 teat, and it will at once give the milk as freely as 

 ever. , j. l. 



JVorthhoro', March, 1857. 



that the more highly nitrogenized is the character 

 of the food, the less is the quantity of food required. 

 — London AlhenfPum. 



COMPOSITION OF WHEAT, FLOUR, 

 AND BREAD. 



Chemical.— Ja?i. 19.— Dr. W. A. Miller, Presi 

 dent, in the chair. — A paper was read, by Mr 

 Lawes and Dr. Gilbert, "On the Composition of 

 Wheat, Flour, and Bread." The authors described 

 the results of an extended course of experiments, 

 in which the wheat was traced throughout from the 

 field to the bakery. The crops under examination 

 were grown each successive year from 1845 to 1854 

 inclusive. In 1846, which year yielded altogether 

 the most fully matured crops, the proportion of ni- 

 trogen was lowest, and in 1853, when the crops 

 •were altogether poorest, the proportion of nitrogen 

 was highest. The characters of a highly matured 

 crop are, low proportion of water, low proportion 

 of ash, and low proportion of nitrogen. In refer- 

 ence to the effect of manuring, it appeared that in 

 crops manured with both nitrogenized and mineral 

 matters, there was the best produce and the great- 

 est reduction in the proportion of nitrogen. The 

 character of the ash of wheat, though subject to 

 considerable variations in poor crops, was found in 

 well-matured produce to have great fixity of com- 

 position. The character of the ash, moreover, was 

 very independent of the nature of the manure, but 

 it was observed that the proportion of lime increased 

 with 1 he high maturation of the crop. In reference 

 to the products of the mill, the bran was found to 

 yield 10 times as much ash, and Xh. times as much 

 nitrogen, as did the household flour. The authors 

 estimated the amount of water in bread at from 36 

 to 38 per cent., and considered that 100 lbs. of flour 

 yielded on the average 138 lbs. of bread. Their ex- 

 periments showed that the loss of dry matter in 

 fermentation is extremely small, certainly less than 

 1 per cent. They considered that the average amount 

 of nitrogen in bread was J per cent. It is well 

 known that millers and bakers consider the excel 

 lence of flour to be in proportion to the amount of 

 starch. Contrary to the opinion of Liebig, and of 

 most chemical physiologists, the authors maintained 

 that the bakers' standard is the correct one ; or at 

 any rate that the least nitrogenized bread contains 

 an ample sufficiency of nitrogen, and that the great 

 demand for food is for its respiratory or carbonifer- 

 ous constituents. From a large number of analyses 

 of flour, in which the gluten was separated mechan- 

 ically, it appeared that, both in Europe and Ameri- 

 ca, in proceeding from the north to the south, the 

 proportion of gluten gradually increased, and, con- 

 sequently, according to the authors' criterion of 

 high maturation, the most matured crops were 

 grown in the coldest latitudes. Dr. Marcet was in- 

 disposed to admit the authors' conclusions in refer- 

 ence to the low value of the nitrogenized constitu- 

 ents, and referred to some exneriments showing:, 



UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. • 



Great National Trial of Machinert and Implements of every 

 description pertaining to AGRicnLTUEE, and Household Man- 

 ufactures, at the FIFTH ANNUAL FAIR, to be held at Louis- 

 ville, Ky., during the fall of 1857. 



The undersigned, a Committee of the United 

 States Agricultural Society, appointed at the fifth 

 annual meeting held at the Smithsonian Institution, 

 in the city of Washington, on the 14th day of Jan- 

 uary, 1857, "to make all the necessary arrangements 

 for a JVatio7ial trial in (he field of Jlgricultural Im- 

 plements and Machinery;," respectfully invite the in- 

 ventors and manufacturers of all such articles, both 

 in the United States and foreign countries, to par- 

 ticipate in a public trial to be made at the society's 

 annual exhibition, to be held at Louisville, Ken- 

 tucky, during the fall of 1857. 



This new arrangement for the exhibition of agri- 

 cultural implements and machinery of all kinds in 

 actual operation, results from a conviction on the 

 part of the society that no just awards can be made 

 except upon a practical working trial before com- 

 petent judges; and the fullest opportunity will be 

 afforded to test the comparative merits of the vari- 

 ous machines that may be entered as competitors 

 for the awards, both as regards land for field imple- 

 ments, and steam power for stationary machinery. 

 A separate trial of reapers and mowers will be 

 made at the appropriate season, special arrange- 

 ments for which as to time, place, &c., will be an- 

 nounced at an early date. 



It is intended that these exhibitions shall be on 

 the most extensive scale, for the purpose of testing 

 the working qualities of these important implements 

 more thoroughly than has yet been done on any 

 ))revious occasion either in the United States or in 

 Europe. 



All articles from foreign countries intended for 

 exhibition may be consigned to the "Agent of the 

 U. S. Agricultural Society, Louisville, Ky.," by 

 whom they will be received and stored free of charge- 

 This brief announcement of the projiosed trial is 

 made at this early date to afford the most ample 

 time for the preparation and transmission of ma- 

 chinery. A circular containing full particulars as 

 to regulations will be issued as soon as practicable, 

 and, with the premium list, will be forwarded to per- 

 sons who may apply to the Secretary of the Com- 

 mittee, Henry S. Olcott, American Instiluie, N. Y., 

 where all business letters should be addressed. 



To enable the society to make arrangements on 

 a sufficiently liberal scale, it is absolutely necessary 

 that the Committee should know what articles will 

 be offered for competition ; and they therefore re- 

 quest that all inventors or manufacturers who may 

 be disposed to unite in the proposed trial will com- 

 municate their intentions to the Secretary at their 

 earliest convenience. 

 Tench Tilgiiman, Chairman, Oxford, Md. 

 Jno. D. Lang, Vassalboro', Me. 

 J. Thompson Warder, Springfield, O. 

 Geo. E. Waring, Jun., Am. Institute, N. Y. 

 Henry S. Olcott, Sec", W. C. Farm School, N. Y. 

 Committee on Implements and Machinery of U. 

 S. Agricultural Society. 



