206 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



To the Editor of the JVew England Farmer. 

 INQUIRY. 



Sir, — 1 hnre worked at the Blacksmith's trade 

 for thirty years past, and have been more or 

 less troubled with the smoke of the Sea Coal 

 which I use, when my shop is closed and I have 

 a fire in a cast iron stove, which is necessary in 

 cold weather to warm the shop — My throat (and 

 that of my man) feels as when I have a cold — 

 and a kind of hacking which continues thro'' the 

 night — I am not troubled with it when the doors 

 are open, and very little except when we have 

 a fire in the cast iron stove. I hope some of 

 your correspondents will inform me if I am en- 

 dangering my health or that of my workman by 

 heating the shop, and if there is any remedy — 

 ifno remedy but to open the doors I will do it. 

 I had rather freeze than suffocate. Vulcax. 



[Placing a dish full of water on the stove will give 

 ty its gradual evaporation a degree of elasticity to the 

 air, aHd afford at least a partial remedy to the evil com- 

 plained of.] 



THE VARIOLOID* EPIDEMIC. 

 Dr. .T. K. Mitchell, of Philadelphia, one of 

 the physicians of the Alms House and Small 

 Pox Hospital, has published a statement founded 

 on his observation and that of Dr. John Bel!, 

 which exhibits very strongly the value of vac- 

 cination, as a protection against the fatal effects 

 of this disease, although if shows at the same 

 lime that it does not entirely prevent the re- 

 currence of the disease. The slalemeut em- 

 braces 148 cases of small pox, or varioloid, 

 which have lately occurred at Philadelphia. Of 

 these, 48 occurred in persons who had previous- 

 ly had the vaccine disease and no one died. 

 Eight cases occurred in persons who had previ- 

 ously had the small pox, and of this number four 

 died. The other 93 cases occurred in persons 

 who had previously had neither disease, and of 

 these 32 died and 41 recovered. Two of the 

 persons who bad the small pox a second time, 

 took it naturally the first time. — Eight of those 

 who took the disease after the vaccine, had been 

 vaccinated recently. Some of the mildest cases 

 were in persons who were vaccinated more than 

 twenty years ago. 



A varifly of the Siua!l Pox, but of a tniUIcr type. 

 JJ. Mr. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 18i>4. 



AGRICULTURAI, ADDRESSES. 



We have been favored with copies of several Ad- 

 dresses delivered during the last autumnal exhibitions 

 of New England societies. These are not only excellent 

 in themselves as vehicles of information not only to Ag- 

 riculturists, but to persons of all profi-ssions and occu- 

 pations, but they afford pleasing and conclusive evi- 

 dence that the public mind is taking a rij^hl dtreclion, 

 and that our first characters, and men of the greatest 

 intellectual powers are devoting their energies to the 

 improvement of Agriculture. We should be glad to 

 give these Addresses at large, but as they have been 

 already printed, extensively circulated, and to be ob- 

 tained by most of our readers through other channels, 

 we have thought it adviscablo to confine ourselves to 

 the republication of such extr.Tcts as convey the most 

 important yT-fflc/Jca/ rr«/A,j. This plan we are sensible 

 will compel us to omit many passages, which we ad- 



mire. But, as it is expected that we should contribute 

 our might to original matter to the mass of information 

 already before the public, we are constrained to ex- 

 clude from our columns many meritorious productions, 

 in order to make room for communications, which are 

 written expressly for this paper, and are recommended 

 as well by their novelty as by their utility. 



PARING AND BURNING. 



We have had repeated calls for information on the 

 subject of paring and burning the surface of soil for the 

 purpose of increasing its fertility, and are disposed to an- 

 swer those ends to the extent of our ability. Sir Uutii- 

 phrey Davy says, " It is obvious that in all cases par- 

 ing and burning the soil must destroy a certain quantity 

 of vegetable matter, and must be principally useful in 

 cases in which there is an excess of this matter in soils. 

 Burning, likewise renders clays less coherent, and in 

 this way greatly improves their texture, and causes 

 them to be less permeable to water. 



" The instances in which it must be obviously prejui 

 dicial, are those of sandy dry siliceous soils, containing 

 little animal or vegetable matter. Here it can only 

 be destructive, for it decomposes that on which the soil 

 depends for its productiveness. 



" The process of burning renders the soil less com- 

 pact, less tenacious and retentive of moisture ; and 

 when properly applied may convert a matter that was 

 stiff, damp, and in consequence cold, into one powdery, 

 dry, and warm ; and much more proper as a bed of ve- 

 getable life. 



" The great objection made by speculative chemists 

 to paring and burning, is, that it destroys vegetable and 

 animal matter, or the manure in the soil ; but in cases 

 in which the texture of its earthy ingredients is perma- 

 nently improved, there is more than a compensation 

 for this temporary disadvantage. And in some soils 

 where there is an excess of inert vegetable matter, the 

 destruction of it must be beneficial, and the carbonaceous 

 [coay] mattir remaining in the ashes may be more use- 

 ful to the crop than the vegetable fibj.., from which it 

 was produced. 



" Many obscure causes have been referred to for the 

 purpose of explaining the effects of paring and burning; 

 and I believe they may be referred entirely to the di- 

 minution of the coherence and tenacity of clays, and to 

 the destructions of inert, and useless vegetable matter, 

 audits conversion into a manure, 



" All soils that contain too much vegctablefibre, and 

 which consequently lose from ore thin! to one half 

 of their weight by incineration, [burning] and all such 

 as contain their earthy constituents in an impalpable 

 state of division, i. e. the stiff clays and marles, are im- 

 proved by burning ; but in the coarse sands, or rich 

 soils containing a just mixture of the earths; and in all 

 cases in which the texture is already sufficiently loose, 

 or organizable matter suflicently soluble, the process of 

 burning cannot be useful. 



" All poor siliceous sands must be injured by it ; and 

 here practice is found to accord with theory. Mr. 

 Young, in his Essay on Manures, states, " that he found 

 burning injured sand ;" and that the operation is ne- 

 ver performed by good agriculturists upon siliceous 

 jandy soils, after they have once been brought into cul- 

 tivation. 



" An intelligent farmer in Mount's Pay told me, 

 that he had pared and burned a small field several 

 years ago, which he had not been able to bring again 

 into good condition. I examined the spot, the grass 

 was very poor and scanty, and the soil an arid sili- 

 ceous sand."' 



(_Tti be continued.) 



LIST or AGRICDLTURAL BOOKS, FOR SALE BY THE PR 

 CIPAL BOOKSELLERS IN BOSTON. 



[Ceyitinued from page 198.] 



Davy^s Jlgricutturat Chemistry. — Charles Ewer ; S; 

 uel T. Armstrong ; Richardson & Lord. 



Domestic Cookery. — Charles Ewer. 



Domestic Encyclopedia — Charles Ewer. 



Erery Man liis own Cattle Doctor. By FrancIs Ci 

 TER. — Ricliardson & Lord. 



Farmer^s Dictionary. — R. P. &i C. Williams. 



Farmer^s Jlssislant ; A Digest of all that relates to , 

 riculture and the conducting of Rural Affairs 

 Charles Ewer ; R. P. & C. Williams ; Cummin 



, Hilliard, & Co. 



Forstith on Fruit Trees.— R. P. & C, Williams ; W< 

 &: Lilly; Charles Ewer; Cummings, Hilliard, & ( 



General Report of the Agricultural slate and Polit 

 Circumstances of Scotland. By Sir John Sinclai 

 — R, P. & C. Williams. 



Haynes'' Treatise on the Culture of the Strawbe7 

 Raspberry., and Gooset)erry. — R. P. & C. William 



Husbandman and Housewife. — Charles Ewer. 



Horse Hoeing Husbandry : or A Treatise on .the Prin 

 pies of Tillage and Vegetation, wherein is laugh 

 Method of introducing a sort of Vineyard Culture 

 to the Corn Fields, in order to increase their Prod 

 and diminish the ComHion Expense. By Jeth 

 Ti'LL. — To which is prefixed, An Introduction, ( 

 planatory of some Circumstances connected with t 

 History and Division of the Work ; and contain 

 an Account of certain Experiments of recent da 

 By William Cobeett. — Wells & Lilly. 



Management of Bees. — Charles Ewer. 



MarshalTs Gardening. — Charles Ewer. 



Massachuset/s Agricultural Repository Wells & L 



ly; Cummings, Hilliard, & Co. 



Memoirs of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society. 

 vols. 8 nio.— R. P. & C. Williams. 



JVew England Farmer, or Georgical Dictionary ; cp 

 tainiug a compendious -Account of the Wajs and M 

 thods in which (he important .4rt of Husbandry, 

 all its various Branches is, or may be practiced 

 the greatest advantage in this country. By Sajii'I 

 Deane, D. D, Third Edition ; corrected, improve 

 and enlarged ; and adapted to the present state 

 the Science of Agriculture, — Wells & Lilly ; Cui 

 mings, Hilliard, & Co. 



N. B. The price of the N. E. Farmer has been > 

 dueed fiom $3 to $2. 



jVu/«;ri Botany, or the Genera of North Americ; 

 Plants, and a Catalogue of the species, to the yc 

 1817.— Wells & Lilly. 



Tliacher^s American Orchardist ; or A Practical Tre 

 tise on the Culture and Management of the App 

 and other Fruit Trees, with Observations on tl 

 Diseases to which they are lialile, and their Remi 

 dies. To which is added the most approved Methc 

 of Manufacturing and Preserving Cider. Compile 

 from the latest and most approved .Authorities, an 

 adapted to the use of American Farmers. — Cuir 

 mings, Hilliard, & Co. ; Richardson & Lotd. 



A new Year'^s Gift. — At the commencement of th 

 New Year, the members of Rev. Mr. Bascom's Srcietj 

 in Asliby, presented at his door, among other valuahl 

 presents, nearly /b77i/ cords of excellent wood. Some < 

 the loads were of extraordinary size ; btit the last wa 

 a " Mammoth," indeed. Its width 8 and a half feet- 

 its length fourteen and a half — its height a little ov( 

 twelve feet ; producing an aggregate of almost twelv 

 cords ! The load was composed entirely of hard wooH 

 most of it birch and maple. There were thirty-sevei 

 pair of cattle in the team. 



.Small Pot not in Boston. — A meeting of the Gene 

 ral Vaccinating Commiltee of Boston, was held on th 

 20th inst. in which it " was voted and unanimously de 

 dared, that no instance has occurred within this cil; 

 of the Small Pox, within the knowledge or belief ci 

 any member of the Committee. And that our countr 

 brethren be assured that the Ward Commiltees of vac 

 cination have visited, within the last ten days, ever 

 family in the city, and that there isno foundation what 

 ever for such reports. And that a vigorous system o 

 vaccination being now in progress in every Ward, th( 

 Committee trust, under Providence, that the city wil 

 be preserved from this great calamity. 



