•298 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



the 'scattering saw dust in a Mill Race — it will swim | dgrees of temperature in five or six places in' 



mixture several times a day for four day 

 ger. Then I added the gum, dissolved in a quart 

 of hot brook water, giving the whole a thorough 

 stirring. I should not have agitated the mixture 

 anv more, but mv girl Nancy, had got into such 

 a iiabit of stirring it that she kept at it all day, 

 when 1 went to "work to strain it olT from the 

 dregs. I took a tight piece of coarse linen cloth, 

 and it took me an hour to strain the ink through, 

 the dregs were so line and thick. After accom- 

 plishing the task, however, I measured it, and 

 there were three quarts, lacking half a pint, of 

 the six quarts, from first to last, poured into the 

 pot. Some was wasted unavoidably, some was 

 dried away as stated, and some was absorbed in- 

 to the earthern pot. I poured it ofT into a stone 

 jug. 



I now took the spirits of wine and salt of tar- 

 tar, shook them together well, strained the wine 

 otr, poured it into the jug ; corked it tightly, 

 shook it up well, and sat it aside. — You shall 

 hear from it further. But meantime, as it ap- 

 peared a sin to throw away so much costly stuff, 

 (the dregs) I tried an experiment of my own, 

 by putting two and a half quarts hot water to 

 them, stirring all up in the aforesaid pot, to see 

 whether another batch of ink cannot be made 

 therefrom. 



April 12. It is now about four months since 

 the above was written. A day or two since, 1 

 took from the jug some of the ink, and after 

 thoroughly shaking the jug, took some more. 

 The first was pale, but the other of a very good 

 color, and to my entire satisfaction. 1 am now 

 writing with this " Fleming Ink," and think it 

 will prove the best 1 have used for many years. 

 Perhaps it may be doing a favor to some of your 

 readers to know the result of this experiment. 



W. S. 



To the Editor of the J^tw England Farmer, 



Sir, — There is a problem that 1 have long 

 sought for in vain which if discovered would be 

 of great importance to the business of our ceun- 

 try — it is 



What size and descent must a Mill Race be to 

 carry a given quantity of water in any given time? 

 Or, in other words suppose there was a Race 

 made of smooth planed boards 4 feet wide, 2 

 feet deep at the head with a descent of 3 inches 

 in a rod, how many gallons or tons of water 

 would it carry in fifteen minutes, allowing a cu- 

 bic foot of water to be G2^ lbs. avoirdupois ? 



Or suppose such a Race of equal width lor 10 

 rods as the velocity of the water would increase 

 on an equal descent what depth would it run in 

 such a race at the end of 10 rods if two feet 

 deep at the head ? 



Algebraically considered as we know the spe- 

 cific gravity of water, the principles of falling 

 bodies, and the size and descent of the sluice — 

 the question may appear limited by having 

 more given equations than unknown quantities. 

 Yet by my few experiments, I find the depth of 

 water alters the velocity, that the bottom and 

 •sides of any Race or Sluice will occasion a fric- 

 tion to retard motion. This may be proved by 



which decreases the depth and that decreases 

 the motion. 



A rule for our Millwrights to calculate by 

 arithmetic how to form a Mill Race to carry a 

 given quantify of water in a given time, would 

 be the desideratum of their business ; and he 

 that may discover it ought to have his name 

 perpetuated by honorable mention. 



I am, with due respects to all men of science, 

 their friend. SAMUEL PRESTON. 



Stockport, Pa. March 26, 1824. 



SCIENCE THE HANDMAID TO THE USEFUL ARTS. 

 To the Editornf the J^'ew England Farmer, 



Sir, — A few days since, 1 visited a Lead Pipe 

 Manufactory. Inquiring of the manufacturer 

 how much dross was formed, he said two or 

 three hundred weight from a ton of lead, which 

 is of course, something more than ten per cent. 

 Asking what he did with it, he said, nothing. 1 

 suggested to him that if he would mix 12 or 16 

 parts of charcoal with one of dross (in bulk) and 

 burn the charcoal the (ead would probably be 

 restored. He tried the experiment and in two 

 or three hours with an inconsiderable quantity 

 of charcoal he obtained 200 weight of lead. 



Query. Would not some knowledge of sci- 

 ence, particularly of chemistry, be useful to 

 artists ? 



,} Friend to Science and the Useful Arts. 



soke other observations. 



ALEXANDER REED. 



From the American Farmer. 



EXTRACT TO THE EDITOR, 

 Dated Washington, Pa. March 6, 1824. 

 Dear Sir, — 1 sent you a small sample of our 

 tree sugar, by a friend, who will leave it in the 

 care of Mr. Henderson. It is from the parcel 

 that took the first premium last fall. I consid- 

 er it superior to common lump. My intention 

 was to send you fifteen or twenty pounds of it, 

 but it was all snatched up whilst I was engaged 

 with the business of our society. I have be- 

 spoke some of this spring's making, which 1 

 shall send you. We are all alive here about 

 the fate of the Tariff Bill, now before Con- 

 gress. There is not the slightest doubt amongst 

 us, either as to the expediency or constitutional- 

 ity of an increase of duties. It is somewhat 

 singular to remark the different aspects in which 

 the same object will present itself to different 

 individuals. We have here the consolation that 

 no change can place us in a much worse situa- 

 tion than we arc. No articles from our farms 

 will bear transportation to market, with the ex- 

 ception of horses ; and I fear they will not pay 

 well. — We have had quite a mild winter — the 

 medium heat for Jan. was 39 1-10, for Februa- 

 ary, 33 4-10 at twelve o'clock. 1 have no 

 doubt but a thermometrical table would be a 

 very desirable article to many of the readers 

 of the Farmer. The subject has a close con- 

 nexion with husbandry, and might be highly 

 serviceable to foreigners who contemplate set- 

 tling in our country. A table might be so ar- 

 ranged, as to shew at tne view, the different 



OTES ON THE PRECEDING. — By the Editor, 

 'the people of the United States within the 

 eSlensive region of country congenial to the 

 g*owlh of the sugar maple, are not aware, pro- 

 blbly, of the treasure they possess in that very 

 l>Jautiful and majestic native tree of the Amer. 

 icn forests. — Imperfect as were the returns 

 frm only eight of the twenty six districts in 

 w ich maple sugar was manufactured, in 1810, 

 wiile they show the manufacture of nearly 

 10bo0,000 of lbs. in that year. — The State of 

 OKo alone manufactured more than 3,000,000 

 poinds — many families make from 3 to 400 lbs. 

 an[ were the whole Union to produce it at the 

 saie rale, we should, instead of importing pro- 

 duie more than double the quantity necessary 

 foijthe consumption of the United States. — The 

 tinie devoted to the making of maple sugar, is 

 when farmers in grain sowing regions have lit- 

 tleio do, being from the middle of Feb. to the 

 enc of March. — A single tree is said to have 

 yidded 5 pounds of sugar in a season — forty 

 trets frequently stand on an acre of land, and it 

 has been calculated that with 34 trees to the 

 acE, 500,000 acres, which is less than some sin- 

 glecounties in the United States, would yield a 

 supply for the whole of our consumption, as the 

 poplilation stood in 1810; or that a tract of 

 2,0(0,000 acres, whereof three fourths might 

 be ceared for the plough, would have then suf- 

 ficed, or say double that for our present popula- 

 tion, making not more than one seventh of the 

 land of New York or Pennsylvania. — In the re- 

 turns before referred to, we trace the manufac- 

 ture of maple sugar from Vermont in the 

 north, to Tennessee in the south, embracing a 

 district of several hundred millions of acres. — 

 What would not the genius and the power of Na- 

 polean havt extracted tVom such resources ? — 

 The samplesent us by Mr. Reed, is very beau- 

 tiful in coloi, and of excellent grain — it may be 

 seen in our office, where many have seen and 

 much admired it. 



[A writer in a late western paper makes the 

 following remarks, which it may be of use to add.^ 



Another subject of much regret, and one 

 which demands the early attention of the agri- 

 culturist, is the great destruction made among 

 the sugat trees, by cutting them with an axe, 

 instead of tapping them in a proper manner. — 

 It would appear that those who thus destroy 

 them, do not look forward and see what the con- 

 sequences will be in a few years. 



An improvement has lately been made in the 

 manner of tapping the sugar tree, which, I 

 hope, will be widely circulated, that it may su- 

 persede the barbarous use made of the axe in 

 tapping them ; and, in my opinion, it is prefera- 

 ble to boring them. I am informed it is used 

 almost exclusively in the state of Kentucky. — 

 It is this : 



About one of the small roots of the sugar 

 tree, dig a hole large enough to set the vessel 



