480 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



great measure, owing to the quantity of calcare- 

 ous earth they contain ; and according as they 

 possess luore or less of it, they are more. or less 

 valuable. The principal distinguishing mark of 

 good marl is its effervescing readily with the acids. 

 This circumstance, while it proves the existence 

 of the calcareous earth, may be made use of to de- 

 termine the quantity of it ; which is a matter of 

 consequence for farmers to ascertain. 



In all cases, therefore, where lime and marl can 

 bo obtained with equal ease, a preference should 

 be given to lime for deep soils and coarse meadows; 

 and to marl for high, thin, gravelly lands, espe- 

 cially if much wild sorrel grow upon them. There 

 is scarcely a shape, in which marl can be used 

 with such propriety as upon these high lands 

 when they are in grass. The experience of far- 

 mers, in those parts where marl is much used, 

 abundantly confirms tlie truth of this doctrine, and 

 perhaps, by the use of marl in this way, with the 

 assistance of top-dressings of compost afterwards, 

 all poor, thin gravels, and even sand, may be 

 rendered more valuable than by any other mode of 

 management. 



But though Ave have thus decidedly given the 

 preference to the use of marl upon light soils, we 

 by no means wish it to be understood, that it might 

 not be applied upon any other ; on the contrary, 

 we think that upon strong clays, if a sufficient 

 quantity is put on, it will be highly beneficial. 

 Every description of marl, however, will not 

 answer for this purpose? Clay and slate-marl, 

 upon stiff lands, will increase their cohesion, and 

 in place of serving, will injure them ; but if shell 

 or stone-marl is used, the soil will be rendered 

 open, and b}^ its cohesion being broken, the water 

 will find a readier passage through it ; of course 

 the land will be rendered deeper ; the advantage 

 of which every farmer knows. 



GIVING CREDIT. 



In speaking of turnips, in his article on "Fod- 

 der Crops, No. 3," the Editor of the Journal of 

 Agriculture illustrates his point by the use of a 

 paragraph which lie credits to the Monitor, pub- 

 lished at Bockville, Canada West. By referring 

 to the Monthly Fanner, for Juno, p. 28-1, he will 

 find an editorial article with the title — "Impor- 

 tance of Roots," and in tliat article the paragraph 

 in question ; it was a brief statement of an ex- 

 periment with our CiAvs in the winter of 1852-3. 



We find no fault wiith tlie Journal, for its edi- 

 tor is scrupulously careful to make the handsome 

 acknowledgment for what ho uses ; but to show 

 the blundering work occasioned by a neglect to 

 give the proper credits in the first place. 



ged branches, throwing themselves straight out 

 with odd twists and angular lines, and might put 

 one in mind of an old raven with some of his 

 feathers pulled out, or a black cat with her hair 

 stroked the wrong way, or any other strange, un- 

 canny thing. Besides this they live almost for- 

 ever ; for ivhcn they have grown so old that any 

 respectable tree ought to be thinking of dying, they 

 only take another twist and so live on another hun- 

 dred years. I saw some in England seven hun- 

 dred years old, and they had grown queerer every 

 century." 



The Yew Tree. — Mrs. Stowe, in her new work, 

 otititled "Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands," 

 gives the folowing description of the yew tree, of 

 which we have read so much in English Litera- 

 ture : 



"Hero in England, I think, they have vegeta- 

 ble creations made on purpose to go with old, 

 dusky buildings ; and this yew tree is one of 

 them. It has altogether a most goblin-like, be- 

 witched air, Avith its dusky black leaves and rag- 



CHAPIK'S POETABLE CIDER MILL. 



The old cider mills of the country v/hich were 

 once considered as indispensable adjuncts to the 

 farm-house, have become sadly dilapidated and 

 out of joint. Cider-orchards as they were called, 

 have also become unfashionable since cider-drink- 

 ing has given way to tea and coffee., and a better 

 sort of apples will bi-ing from $10 to $20 per 

 barrel in European markets ; — so that now, one 

 sonaetimes finds it difficult to get a jug of liquid 

 for mince pies or to replenish the nearly exhausted 

 vinegar cask. 



Therefore, to enable those Avho have a few ap- 

 ples to grind and press, to do the work with fa- 

 cility, we give above a cut which represents a 

 Portable Cider Mill. 



Tlie manufiicturers say it is operated by two 

 men, and is capable of making five barrels of cider 

 per day, one barrel at a pressing. It is readily 

 moved from place to place by two men, and is 

 very convenient in neighborhoods. 



The utility of this mill has been certified to by 

 many reliable men. 



It is made of a size to 1)o operated by a horse ; 

 placed on four wheels and drawn by one horse 

 from place to place, and is capable of making 

 from 12 to 15 barrels of cider per day, with th« 

 work of only two men. 



Either size is taken into the orchard, and saves 

 the transportation of apples to distant mills. 



