1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



455 



hours, and if it fail, add salt to the water and 

 continue the drenching. 



^lore persons have been struck down by light- 

 ning during the jjresent year, than during the 

 same length of time for many years. Protection 

 is attainal)le l)y almost everybodj, and it is sur- 

 prising that individuals will reject "the way" 

 which the good book says the Creator made for 

 the lighthinff of the thunder. 



For the yew England Farmer. 



STATE ALMSHOUSE AT TEWKSBURY, 

 MASSACHUSETTS. 



Messrs. Editors: — Various remarks have been 

 made by different indinduals in refereuce to the 

 State Almsliouse at Tewksbury, some of them 

 having a tendency to make a wrong impression 

 on the public mind, and Iiaving some personal 

 knowledge of the place, T thought! would make a 

 statement in regard to the institution. 



On the 2d day of May last, and 17th day of 

 August, inst., I made two visits to the establish- 

 ment, went through all the rooms, looked at the 

 diseased inmates, which were numerous, viewed 

 all th^ conveniences and apparatus for cooking, 

 the privilege of getting water, the furniture, and 

 likewise all the bedrooms and beds, school-rooms 

 and scholars, and everything else of much impor- 

 tance. We have but very little reason to expect 

 in such a congregation of heterogeneous accumu- 

 lations of ignorance, vice, disease and misery, col- 

 lected from every point of the compass, that per- 

 fect order can be established in a few days, or 

 perfect neatness uniformly prevail, where con- 

 stant accessions of filth, rags and vermin are con- 

 comitant with many of the new comers. Water 

 is one important item of such an establishment : 

 the superintendent informed mo that they had a 

 good supply of water at present, but were im- 

 proving the wells to have it more plentiful and 

 of better quality. He is subduing and preparing 

 the soil about the buildings for future crops, 

 which appears to be of astrong, I'ctentive nature, 

 and will be found good for the production of fruit 

 trees, grass, and many kinds of vegetables. The 

 soil at the foot of the eminence, on which the 

 buildings are located, is a sandy loam, is clear of 

 stones, and easily wrought and will be found by 

 deep plowing and good cultivation to be excellent 

 for grain and many kinds of roots. 



Tlie floors of the house were white and unstained 

 by filth or paint, and imitated the parlor floors 

 wliich our grandmothers used to pride themselves 

 in exhibiting to company. I saw and examined! 

 the bread which was made of wheat, well-baked, 

 light and good, better than many of ua haveatj 

 home. I saw a very largo numl)er of I>oys well- 

 clad, cleanly and obedient, march up to the din- 

 ner table in single file, under better discipline 

 than our ancient military officers kept their sol- 

 diers. I saw tlie scliool vviiich consisted of some 

 hundred or two of children, very still and obedi- 

 ent to tlieir teacher, and apparently under good 

 discipline, and the governess doing her duty well. 

 I saw the Kl(;ei)ing apartments, which were clean 

 and well ventilated ; the beds and coverings were 

 clean and in good order. And, finally, considering 

 the newness of the establishment and tlie recent 

 time of occupancy, and tlie numberless difficulties 

 the superintendent and other functionaries are 



doomed to encounter, when fully taken into con- 

 sideration, by the rational mind, what reason has 

 a reasonable man to complain. Let those who 

 use slang and misrepresentation beware that they 

 slander not]; what beautiful things truth, moral 

 principle, and a conscience void of oSence are ; 

 the slanderer generates fuel to consume his own 

 vitals. Let truth and reason prevail over every 

 evil passion, and by the exercise of thera prosper 

 the better. The first time I viewed the premises, 

 and went through the apartments and saw the 

 conveniences, my impression was tliat if those wlio 

 were taxed to build anl support the establish- 

 ment were as suscepti!)Ie to envy, as some of our 

 fallen race are, fhey must feel a (k^gree of it on 

 seeing facilties and conveniences so much superior 

 to their own for rendering the burden of lal)or 

 light. What have we reason to expect in an 

 establishment for such a purpose, where the in- 

 mates, many of them, are the parentage and prog- 

 eny of all the diseases and vices incident to the old 

 world, with the addition of the variety which ex- 

 ist in the new, but the prevalence of the pesti- 

 lence which walketh in darkness and devoureth 

 at noonday. 



The offspring of many of the inmates are liter- 

 ally conceived in loathsomeness and disease, and 

 l)orn dying in every variety of malady, wliieh is 

 the curse threatened in the commandment of "vis- 

 iting the iniquities of the parents upon the chil- 

 dren to the third and fourth generation," and a 

 severe chastisement for the violation of the laws of 

 God. Who can wonder that cholera and death 

 in every hideous form should be doing its work 

 among such an unfortunate class of polluted vic- 

 tims. The inmates are lirouglit there from every 

 part of the State, and many of them covered with 

 dirt, rags and vermin, to be cleansed, and otiiers 

 with their blood tainted with the most health- 

 destroying diseases. Little chance do the offspring 

 of tlie poor, inconsiderate. vitiated parentsstand to 

 arrive at manhood. On the ITtli of August inst., 

 there were six hundred inmates at tlie institution, 

 and I was informed by the physician that l>ut 

 three had died in August up to that time. It is 

 evident to me that the diseases which the chil- 

 dren inherit from their parents are sweeping tliem 

 off in infancy, independent of cholera or tlie epi- 

 demics inaident to ouv eliinate. The superintend- 

 ent and other officers of the establishment shew a 

 good degree of Interest in their labors, and the 

 frequent arrival of new inmates seems to promise 

 them a steady run of business. I feel gratefull'or 

 thegentlemanly kindnessof the superintendent and 

 other officers of the institution for conducting me 

 over so much space to give me an opportunity to 

 gain valual)le information, Silas Bhow.x. 



Wilmington, Aug. 21, 1854. 



\7iiEAT Flour, Bolted and Unbolted. — It is 

 said that there are of nutriment peculiarly fa- 

 vorable for the growth of the muscular system, 

 in every 1000 His. of wheat, .about 2Slbs. In ev- 

 ery 1000 lbs, of flour only about 20 lbs., and in ev- 

 ery 1000 lbs. of bran, about 00 lbs. To please 

 the eye and the palate wo sift out tfic most nu- 

 tritive part of the grain, and seek a substitute 

 for it in the consumptioii of animal fooii, &e. — 

 There is yet another loss or disadvantage from 

 this rather foolish lastidiou.sness. The liolted 

 flour will not go nearly so far as the unbolted 



