262 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



house at Abbottsford, and he could assure the 

 meeting that nothing could be more useful, safe, 

 and economical. He was sure the expense 

 was not the twentieth part of what it had form- 

 erly cost him for oil and candles. The light it- 

 self was greatly superior, was extremely clean- 

 ly, saved much trouble to servants, and did not 

 produce the least smell, or the least injury. 

 Not only could it be used in kitchens and din- 

 ing-rooms, but it was extremely useful in bed- 

 rooms, where a flame could be kept up during 

 the whole night so minute as to be scarcely 

 perceptible, which could be enlarged to a pow- 

 erful light in an instant at any hour when want- 

 ed. It was also very safe, at least was much 

 safer than common lights, for it was not carried 

 from place to place as common lights were ; 

 and unless combustibles were brought to it, no 

 danger could arise. The light was, indeed, so 

 convenient, cheap, and delightful, that were it 

 once introduced, he was convinced it would be 

 used within two years in every private house 

 in Edinburgh. — Lon. Far. Jour. 



A CHEAP MODE OF M.\NUFACTURING BARO- 

 METERS. 



Take a common phial bottle, and cut off the 

 rim and part of the neck. This may be done 

 by a piece of string, or rather whip-cord twisted 

 round it, and pulled strongly by two persons, in a 

 sawingposition,one of whomhokls the bottle firm- 

 ly in his left hand. Heated in a few minutes by 

 the friction of the string, and then dipped sud- 

 denly in the cold water, the bottle will be de- 

 capitated more easily than by any other means. 



Let the phial be now nearly filled with pump- 

 water, and, applying the finger to its mouth, 

 turn it quickly upside down : on removing the 

 finger, it will be tbund that only a few drops es- 

 cape. Without cork or stopper of any kind, 

 the water will be retained within the bottle by 

 the pressure of the external air, the weight of 

 air without the phial being so much greater 

 than the small quantity within it. 



Now let a bit of tape be tied round the middle 

 of the bottle, to which the two ends of the 

 string may be attached so as to form a loop to 

 hang on a nail ; let it be thus suspended in a 

 perpendicular manner, with the mouth open, 

 downwards, and this is (he barometer. 



When the weather is lair and inclined to be 

 so, the water will be level with the section 

 of the neck, or rather elevated above it, 

 and forming a concave surface. When disposed 

 to he wet, a drop will appear at the mouth, 

 which will enlarge till it falls, and then anoth- 

 er drop, while the humidity of the atmosphere 

 continues. 



To the truth of this experiment I can give my 

 probatum est: but shall be glad if any of your 

 scientific correspondents will explain more par- 

 ticularly the ratio of it. 



Why will not the water remain in the bottle, 

 unless the rim be cut oS ? which is the fact. 

 Why should the water drop in moist weather, 

 when (as 1 have tried) holding the bottle be- 

 fiiie the fire will not produce the same effect ? 

 Calcutta Gazette. 



(Translated for the Charitston Courier.) 



FROIU " L'HISTOIRK DES CHIENS CEI.EBRES." 



THE SPANIEL AND THE SCHOOLBOY. 

 We might till a serial of volume if we were 

 w relate the accounts of those valuable Dogs 



that have saved their master's lives but to 

 give authenticity to our collection, we insert on- 

 ly attested facts, from works of reputation. 



In a Paris Journal, and other periodical pub- 

 lications of September 1778, we found the fol- 

 lowing story : — 



A schoolboy, instead of going to join his class 

 at the Mavarin College, played truant, and 

 went to bathe in the Seine, with several of his 

 school-fellows, and a Spaniel Dog. While the 

 boy was swimming and crossing the river, he 

 »vas seized wih a violent cramp, so that he 

 could no longer sustain himself, and sunk sense- 

 less to the bottom. His companions unable to 

 swim, could afford him no assistance, and he 

 was in imminent danger of perishing, when, 

 happily his dog ran to his relief; he plunged 

 eleven times successively to the bottom of the 

 river, and seizing his young master, now by 

 his clothes and then by his hair, he drew him 

 by degrees near the shore, where his associates 

 received and succoured him. Exhausted by 

 this great fatigue, the poor Spaniel had not 

 strength enough to escape from the abyss from 

 which he had rescued his master — he was car- 

 ried away by the current, and died for fidelity. 



German Cement for mending Glass and China. 

 — Reduce, separately, to the finest powder, equal 

 quantities of unslaked lime and flint glass, and as 

 much litharge as both of them together ; the 

 proportions to be adjusted by measure, when re- 

 duced to povvder. Mix them well together, and 

 work them up into a thin paste with old drying 

 oil. This cement, or paste, which is very dura- 

 ble, will even acquire a greater degree of hard- 

 ness when immersed in vvater. — Eng. publication. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1024. 



HORTicci.TrRE. A gentleman in Dorsetshire, hav- 

 ing: imagined that lime, from its causticity, would be 

 deleterious to insects, and that the crevices in walls af- 

 forded a nidus for the eggs of that wonderful species of 

 them which so much injure our fruit trees, determined 

 on making an experiment on a peach tree, which was 

 nearly destroyed by them, having had its young shoots, 

 for several years, regularly curled by the ajjhis in the 

 month of May ; he therefore began by unnailing and 

 matting the tree, and then had the wall white wash- 

 ed with a very thick solution of lime, and after it was 

 quite dry the tree was again nailed: the result was, 

 that every tree in the garden, except the one on the 

 white washed wall was covered with the aphides, 

 that not having any aphis (or blight of any kind on it,) 

 except on the extremity of a branch that extended be- 

 yond the white washed wall, and the tree is in a most 

 vigorous and healthy state. If a darker color is pre- 

 ferred, on account of its greater absorption of heat, 

 soot may bi- added to the lime, and perhaps may con- 

 tribute to the destruction of the insect. Care must be 

 taken to fdl up all crevices in the wall, and not to let 

 the tree be touched by the white wash. Whether the 

 lime destroys the eggs of the aphis, or is so destructive 

 or disagreeable to the insect itself as to cause it to 

 avoid the white washed wall is a question to be solved 

 by naturalists. — Bellas Weekly Mcstcnger. 



Remarks. — The insects above mentioned are some- 

 times, we believe, called Pucerons, or Vine Frellcrs. — 

 They are, likewise, known by the name of Plant Lite. 

 LinjDus and Gmelin enumerate ,^bout seventy species 

 of these liny depredators. Rees' Cyclopedia gives a 

 long account of them, and says " they abound with a 

 sweet and graceful moisture, and are therefore eagerly 

 devoured by ants, the larva of cocciuellae, and many 

 otfeer creatures, or they would become, very probably. 



more destructive to the whole vegetable creation than 

 any olher race of insects known." Mr. Curtis sayt 

 " they are the principal cause of blights in plants, and 

 the sol; cause of the honey dew. Though no mode ol 

 destrojing aphides will, perhaps, ever be devised on a 

 large siale, in the open air by artificial means, it can 

 be accimplished most etfectually when they infest 

 plants u stoves, green houses, and frames, or any situ- 

 ation in which they can be enveloped for a certain time 

 in clones of smoke. Powders or liquids, however fa- 

 tal to Ephides, must ever be ineffectual, from the trou- 

 ble and difficulty of applying them so that they may 

 come in;ontact with the insects." Tobacco smoke is 

 however adequate to their destruction in green houses, 

 or confiud situations. Deane's New England Farmer 

 asserts tiat " the best remedy is the simplest. Soap, 

 suds, for(ibly applied, will, after one or two applica- 

 tions effe.-tually destroy them, without apparent injury* 

 to the pfent." 



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FRrn TREES. The following experiment willef-iIlM 

 fectuallj protect fruit trees from the ravages of the 

 ^Caterpilkr : — A clod of earth moulded round the top 



of the truik of the tree is the whole of the process 



From thehourthat this operation i3performed,'the in- 

 sects, even in the most remote branches, will begin to 

 fall, and he tree will in a short time be wholly freed 

 from this Jestructive incumbrance. It is true that the 

 animal wll attempt to renew his depredations, but as 

 soon as he arrives at the ringof earth, which should li 

 be permittd to remain, he will hasten down the trunk,, 

 with morerapidity thau he attempted the ascent. 



London paper. 



It would b? well to ascertain by experiment whether 

 the above mjntioned mode of annoying Caterpillars *:" 

 would produce the result specified. We doubt its effi- 

 cacy, but hop; it will be tried. — Editor. u]] 



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Tit 



ciRosEii.LE lED WINE. A Sample of wine, manu^' 

 factured at Pro'ideuce, by Dyer& Co. from currants of 

 American groirth has been presented to us by Mr. E. 

 Copeland, Ji. of No. 65, Broad-Street, Boston. The* 

 wine is right/y denominated " superior Groseille Redii' 

 Wine.,'''' ant we doubt whether the Falernian of Ho- ' 

 race, or evet >he Nectar of Jupiter could hold a candle 

 to it. To ourhomespun palate it is preferable to most' 

 imported winei ; and surely every true patriot should-' 

 drink such wine (if he drinks any wine) because it is a. 

 real, wholesonre, genuine Columbian beverage. ), 



CO.MMUNICATION. 

 REMARKABlE GAIN I.V A YOKE OF OSEW. — Mr. Asa 

 Rice, of Shrewsbury, owned and fatted a yoke of ox- 

 en, which were lately slaughtered by Messrs. Winches- 

 ters. These cattle performed, unaided, all the work 

 on the farm of Mr. Rice, consisting of one hundred 

 acres, for the two last years. They hauled all his 

 wood, on a haid road a mile aud a half the last sea- 

 son. They pkughed ten acres of ground twice, and\j 

 harrowed the sime, moved about one hundred loads of* 

 manure, and in the time worked seven and an half i^ 

 days on other people's land. They were kept constant- ) 

 ly at hard labor of one kind and another till the first / 

 of August lait. In this month they were kept in good .'« 

 feed only. The months of September and October 

 they were fed with stalks and small ears of corn. — 

 'I'he months of November and December they eat 35 

 bushels of potatoes, and ten bushels of cobish meal,* 

 so called, together with good hay. They were sold at 

 Bri»hton the last Monday in December, it was said for 

 half a dollar per hundred more than had been given jj 

 for any other cattle, for a number of months. Their 

 weight was 2763 lbs. tallow 002. 



* By " cobish meal," icf believe ottr correspondent ' 



nunns the produee of Indian corn ground or broken ' 

 tcith the cob, without shelling it before it uas submitted 



la the operal'ior of the mill. r 



