142 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



remains at the same pitch of temperature, how- 

 ever fiercely it boils. The only dilTerence is, 

 that with a strong fire it sooner comes to boil, 

 and more quickly boils away, and is converted 

 into ^leam." 



The Editor placed a Thermometer in water 

 in that state which Cooks call gciitlc simmering^ 

 — the heat was 212°— i. e. the same deefrce as 

 the strongest boiling. Two Mutton Chops were 

 covered with cold water, — and one boiled a 

 gullnp — and the other siitimered gently for three 

 quarters of an hour ; the Flavor of the Chop 

 which was simmered was decidedly superior to 

 that which was boiled; the Lii;f»or which boiled 

 fast, was in like proportion more savory, and, 

 when cold, had much more fat on its surface : 

 this explains why quick boiling renders meat 

 hard, S;c. because its juices are extracted in a 

 greater degree. 



Reckon the Time from its Jirst coming to a 

 boil. 



The old rule of 15 minutes to a pound of 

 meat, we think rather too little; the slower it 

 boils, the tenderer, the plumper, and whiter it 

 will be. (_To be continued.) 



Montreal, Kov. 11. — A strange accident took 

 place in a chemist's shop a few days since. A 

 person having put a gallon or two of alcohol up- 

 on a stove in a tin vessel, the liquid took fire and 

 exploded with a violent shock. The whole 

 room was filled with smoke ; a person endeavor- 

 ing to escape by the shop door, had opened it 

 partly, and merely put his head out, when the 

 sudden expansion of the air in the room closed 

 the door, caught him by the head, and held him 

 for several seconds, until the confiagration ceas 

 ed. No other injury than the loss of the liquor, 

 and the fright sulTe red by the persons present, 

 was sustained. == 



It is computed that 55,000 barrels of Pot and 

 Pearl Ashes, will have been shipped during the 

 season from the Port of Quebec. This exceeds 

 by nearly twenty thousand the number shipped 

 last year, which was about SG.OOO 



sufficient abundance to answer half the domestic con- 1 naming some of the subjects treated of, which, 

 sumption. Oat meal and pot barley were regular ar- we assure our readers that they are very ably dis< 

 licles of import from Britain, and the latter article was will better recommend the work than the most 

 also brought largely from the United States. Indian rate eulogy. 



NEW E^GLAND FARMER. 



S,\TURUAY, NOVEMBER 29, l!i23. 



Letters of.'lgricola on the Principles of Vegetation 

 and Tillage. 



We have frequently, in the course of our editorial 

 labours, availed ourselves of the information contained 

 in an excellent work on husbandry, entitled " Letters 

 of wSgrico/a," &c. written in Nova Scotia, by John 

 YonNG, Esq, we believe a native of Scotland. Having 

 learned that a few copies of that treatise are for sale, in 

 this city, by Messrs. Wells & Lilly, we are induced to 

 attempt some sketches of its character and merits, with 

 a hope to be instrumental in recommending it to the at- 

 tention of Ni'w England Agriculturists. 



If the merits of a literary or scientific work may be 

 correctly estimated by the effects it has produced — the 

 value of the tree judged of by its fruit — the " Letters 

 of Agricola" may claim a very high standing among the 

 productions of the best writers of the age who have de- 

 voted thiir powers and faculties to the most useful and 

 important of human pursuits. Before this publication, 

 rural labour in Nova Scotia was held in great contempt, 

 and to handle a spade, or direct a plough, was deemed 

 an employment of the meanest and most degrading 

 kind. "Tillage was so much neglected that neither 

 oati, barlt y, rye, Indian corn, nor wheat, were raised in 



meal, rye and wheaten flour were landed by thousands 

 of barrels from Boston and New-York not only to sup- 

 ply the inhabitants of the sea ports, but also the farmers 

 in the country." The publication of the " Letters of 

 Agricola" (whose patriotic and scientific exertions re- 

 ceived every encouragement from the Governor, Chief 

 Magistrates, and other men of high standing, influence 

 and reputation in the Province) had an effect, which 

 can scarcely be parralleled in the history of arts, or the 

 annals of human improvement. " In the history of no 

 country has there ever been recorded a more radical 

 and instantaneous change, than has been witnessed in 

 Nova Scotia. Improvement has proceeded with such 

 gigantic strides, that already the point is out of sight 

 from which we started ; and although the whole has 

 been effected in little more than three years, it is with 

 difficulty that we can bring ourselves to the belief that 

 the provincial husbandry was in such a state of barba- 

 rism at its commencement." Agricultural societies 

 were established, cattle shows instituted, new imple- 

 ments and improvementsof every kind, introduced, and 

 Nova Scotia, instead of being dependent on other coun- 

 tries for bread corn, and other articles necessary to feed 

 its inhabitants, was enabled not only to supply her wants 

 from her own resources, but to export wheat, and other 

 surplus products of her soil, in considerable quantities. 

 This great and beneficial change of public opinion, 

 the knowledge of rural economy, and the const quent 

 amelioration of the state of society, and condition ol 

 the country was effected by the publication of the 

 " Letters of Agricola." Other causes were, no doubt, 

 auxiliary bul those " Letters'''' were the cause of 

 those causes. The writings of Mr. Young, (first 

 published in the Acadian Recorder, and circulated 

 throughout the Province,) furnished the spark, and 

 kindled the flame which pervaded the country. As 

 the author expresses it, " while I thus continued to 

 write, and he [Lord Ualhousie, then Governor of Nova 

 Scotia] to approve, the first characters for rank in the 

 Metropolis did not long stand as idle spectators but 

 touched by the lambent flame of patriotism, they has- 

 tened within their respective spheres of influence to 

 scatter and propagate that sacred fire, which soon bu 

 out with irrepressible and inextinguishable brightness." 

 The workis written in an easy but at the same tiinean 

 elevated style. The author uses some hard words, but 

 a farmer with a common country school education may 

 understand most of them, and those which he does not 

 comprehend, it may be well for him to ascertain the 

 meaning of by methods which are at the command of 

 every farmer in New England, who is in what we call 

 comfortable circumstances. 



" Cotting's Introduction to Chemistry," Conrersa- 

 tieins on Chemistry., and other cheap elementary works 

 on that science will furnish an explanation of all the 

 terms made use of by the writer, which are not siilli- 

 ciently explained as they are introduced. Perspicuity 

 is one of the greatest merits of the book, but some parts 

 of it will need to be studied, and not rapidly hurried 

 over as if it were a novel or romance, calculated mere- 

 ly to amuse. It has the merit of being better adapted 

 to the climate and soil of New England than any Euro- 

 pean writings upon agriculture. Every page evinces 

 that the writer is not a mere theorist, but has a practi- 

 cal knowledge of the art as well as the science of hus- 

 bandry. The reputation of the Icok, hcwtvir, is to 

 well established to require our testimony in its favour. 

 We shall therefore, conclude tliis article by merely 



II 



After describing the low state of Agriculture 

 Province, the author recommends the establishn 

 agricultural societies, and gives a brief sketch of 

 should be their constitution and objects — descri 

 physical causes which influence and affect ch 

 shews that the cultivation of a territory moderat 

 rigorof its climate, and contrasts the present with 1 

 cient state of Europe as delineated by classical 

 He devotes two chapters to proving that a gradi 

 provement has taken place in the climate of No^ 

 tia since the first settlement of that country, to c 

 the prevailing prejudice which existed against t 

 mate of Nova Scotia ; and to show from the nal 

 ts vegetable productions, that it will ripen all ths 

 corns. This part of the book is replete with C( 

 tion to our cultivators, who reside in the northeri 

 of New England, and entertain an opinion th 

 country is too cold for them to obtain a livelihoo 

 of course they must either starve or emigrate to tb 

 or Mississippi countries. The author then takes 

 topic " of soil as the bed of vegetation, and lay: 

 the simpler elements of agricultural chemistry ;"- 

 "• some hints on the food of plants" — '^ Enurn 

 the uses which the soil serves in vegetation" — " 

 trates the physical properties of the four earths 

 chiefly constitute soils, and expresses the advai 

 of chemically analysing the latter" — '• Leirrili 

 formatioB of soils as resulting from the disinl' c^ral 

 the primary and secondary rocks" — " F.nuni. rat 

 purposes in agriculture served by the difiVu nt i 

 ments of tillage" — " Treats on ploughs, and ( xpi 

 on the benefit which would be gained by tb( intl 

 lion of the drill machinery" — ^* Treats on the h 

 and roller, threshing mills, fans, the reaping ma 

 the patent sward cutter, the cultirator or gj ulib 

 "• Dilates on the nature of the animal and vtgeta 

 putrescent manures" — " Shews how water and 

 retain the gaseous and soluble principles of the p 

 cent manures" — " Discusses the doctrine of fern 

 tion, and explains the nature of composts" — " Sets 

 the nature and uses of peat, and its conversion int 

 nure" — " Illustrates the character of fossil man 

 lime, the mode of burning it, the manner in wh 

 should be applied, its effects on vegetation, tests 01 

 sum, pho?phate of lime, magnesia, burnt clay, &( 

 — " Enters on the natural obstructions in the so 

 "The trees of the forest" — " The inequalities o 

 surface of the earth, which are preventive of til 

 stones, rocks, wetness, principles of draining" — "1 

 a view of the cultivation ofland as affecting theil 

 dual — society — and natioual wealth," and " cond 

 with considering land in relation to its employof 

 capital." 



Such are the topics of this work, and as we said In 

 they are discussed very ably. Some things in tW' 

 are local, and not particularly interesting toanylx 

 the inhabitants of Nova Scotia. But, on the whol' 

 know of no foreign work of its price, (which b 

 $2,50 in boards) which can claim any competitiffl' 

 the " Letters ofJlgricola,'''' as a treatise adapted t» 

 use of New England Farmers. 



Fire. — In Dorchester, on the 26th inst. a large* 

 en house was consumed by fire. This building' 

 tained the Printing Office of Mr. R. Bannister, pri 

 and publisher of a religious paper, entitled " Tht' 

 m'/or." All the printing iipparatus, &c. fell a pn 

 the devouring element. 



