1836] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



195 



perpetually grazed. It will probablj'^ be found, 

 that, grasses bear ffrazing in proportion 1o the 

 quantity of ground leal' they put forth. 



[c]. Some persons object to the harrow, ns 

 not cov-ering the grain deep enough. If a irrain of 

 wheat is buried over 2 or 3 inches deep, it forms a 

 joint near the surface from whence (if the plant is 

 sown early, and the fdl growth vigorous) it puts 

 fortli roots, and the spire and roots below tliat 

 joint perish that fall, and the plant tiirives by these 

 sur/iice roots. 



on the subject, I can produce any, even theslightest 

 improvement in the quantity or mode of prothicuig 

 an article, which may properly be deemed one of 

 the necessaries of life. 



From the Repository of Patcnl Invcutioiis. 

 OBTAUVING CRi:Aar FRO^r MIT.K. 



A process of divesting milk of its component 

 portion of cream, to an extent hitherto unattainable, 

 has been effected by Mr. George Carter, of Not- 

 tingham Lodge, and is thus detailed by that gen- 

 tleman, in a paper presented tothe Society of Arts: 

 A peculiar process of extracting cream from milk, 

 by which a peculiar richness is produced in the 

 cream, has long been known and practised in De- 

 vonshire; this produce of the dairies of that coun- 

 try being well known to every one by the name of 

 ''clotted," or "clouted cream." As there is no pe- 

 culiarity in the milk from which this fluid is ex- 

 tracted, it has been frequently a matter of sur|)rise, 

 that the process has not been adopted in other 

 parts of the kingdom. A four sided vessel is 

 formed of zinc plates, twelve inches Ions, eight 

 inches wide, and six inches deep, with a fiilse bot- 

 tom, at one half the depth. The only communi- 

 cation with the lower compartment is by the lip, 

 throuijh which it may be filled or emptied. Hav- 

 ing first placed at the bottom of the upper com- 

 partment, a plate of perforated zinc, the area of 

 which is equal to that of the false bottom, a gallon 

 (or any given quantity) of milk is poured imme- 

 diately when drawn fr-om the cow, into it, and 

 must remain there, at rest, for twelve hours; an 

 equal quantity of boilmg water must then be poured 

 into the lower compartment, through the lip ; it is 

 then permitted to stand twelve hours more, [i. e. 

 twenty-lour hours altogether,] when the cream 

 will be found perfect, and of such consistence that 

 the whole may be lifted off by the finger and 

 thumb. It is, however, more effectually removed, 

 by gently raising the plate of perforated zinc from 

 the bottom, by the ringed handles, by which 

 means, the whole of the cream is lifted off in a 

 sheet, without remixing any of it with the milk 

 below. With this apparatus, I have instituted a 

 series of experiments; and as a mean of twelve 

 successive ones, I obtained the following results: 

 four gallons of milk treated as above, produced 

 in twenty-lour hours, four and a half pints of clot- 

 ted cream, which, after churning only fifteen 

 minutes, gave forty ounces of butter — four gal- 

 lons of milk treated in the common mode, in earth- 

 enware pans, and standing forty-eight hours, pro- 

 duced four pints of cream, which, after churning 

 ninety minutes, gave thirty-six ounces of butter. 

 The increase in the quantity of cream, therefore, 

 is twelve and a half per cent. The experimental 

 farmer will instantly perceive the advantages ac- 

 cruing from its adoption, and probably his* atten- 

 tion to the subject may produce greater results. I 

 fihall feel richly rewarded if, by exciting an interest 



From tlie Britisli Farmer's Magazine. 

 HISTORY OF THE NUTMEG. 



Tlie tree called myristkha moschata by botanists, 

 grows naturally in a group of islands forming a 

 part of the JMoluccas, called the Isles of Banda, 

 in the Indian Archipelago : a cluster which seems 

 to have been thrown up by the sea in some volca- 

 nic effort, as theie is now upon one of them, 

 named Gonong Api, a volcano, constantly emit- 

 ting smoke, and often flames. The first island, 

 BandaNiera, is the chief settlement, and contains 

 two forts : its harbor is spacious, but difficult of 

 access. The second is Banda Lantoir: the third 

 and fourth in importance are Puloway and Pulo- 

 vun. These lour islands were the only places 

 where the cultivation of the nutmeg was allowed 

 by the Dutch, but there are several others under 

 the same government. What these islands pro- 

 duce in superfluities, they want in necessaries. 

 The soil is a rich black mould, but it produces no 

 corn, the natives subsisting chiefly upon sago. 

 The nutmeg tree grows like a pear tree in form 

 and size ; its leaf resembles that of the laurel, be- 

 ing of a bright green color on the upper surface, 

 and grayish underneath : when bruised, it diffuses 

 an aromatic perfume. The flowers are white, 

 small and scentless. The fi-uit is similar to a wal- 

 nut in form, but more fleshy and full of juice. 

 The external pulp dries up to a crust of a deep 

 yellow color, which, opening at one side, discloses 

 a membraneous coat of a beautiful red tint, known 

 to us by the name of mace, which lies immediately 

 over the thin and brittle shell of the nutmeg. This 

 is the time te gather the fruit ; if left longer on the 

 tree, the mace would get loose, and the nutmeg 

 would lose that oil, which preserves it, and which 

 is one of the great excellences of the fruit. The 

 nutmegs, which are gathered before they are per- 

 fectly ripe, are preserved in vinegar or sugar. 

 The tree yields three crops annually, the first in 

 April, which is the best, the second in August, 

 and the ihird in December, yet the fruit requires 

 nine roonihs to ripen it: thus the tree is constantly 

 bearing flowers and fi'uit at the same time. After 

 the fruit is gathered, the outer covering is stripped 

 off, and the mace being carefully separated from 

 the kernel, is laid in the sun to dry. Tlie nuts 

 require more prepararion; they are spread upon 

 hurdles, and dried for six weeks, before a slow fire, 

 in sheds erected for the purpose. After this they 

 are separated from the shell and thrown into a 

 strong mixture of lime and wafer, which is a ne- 

 cessary preciuition to preserve them from worms : 

 with Ihe same intention the mace is sprinkled 

 with salt water. After this process, tlie fruit is 

 cleaned, and packed up for exiiortation. 



It appears, from experience, that only one-third 

 of the nutmeg trees bear fruit, but this cannot be 

 discovered until the twelfth or fourteenth year of 

 their growth ; therefore, they must not be cut 

 down at an earlier age. The fruit-bearing pro- 

 perty is of short duration, as the tree Avill yield 

 only from the twelfth to the twentieth year, and 

 generally perishes at the age of tAventy-four 



