550 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



see 'much beauty in the necessity which compels 

 me to " box tlie compass " in following a winding 

 path from the highway to my front door. 



Another Specimen of Farming — and a very fa- 

 vorable one too. 1 understand the writer to say 

 that although he is able to do only about 15 or 

 20 days work in the summer, he finds after paying 

 " all expenses," a profit of $336 annually, over 

 and above the support of his family. l)o the 

 clothing and groceries come ..out of this, or are 

 they paid for out of the profits of some other pro- 

 fession, to which the time of " D. M." is mainly 

 devoted ? 



State Almshouse at Teivk'bury, Ms. — The ac- 

 count which is here giveu^l the six hundred in- 

 mates of this institution, is a most sad one. That 

 such an accumulation of ignorance, vice and mis- 

 ery should be possible in Massachusetts, in our 

 day, is enough to make the blood run cold, and 

 to prove that there /5 a difference between virtue 

 and vice. 



Cetonia Inda. — A description of an insect in- 

 jurious to the peach. 



" English Vegetables afid Meats," "Application 

 of Manures," " Tanning," " Cider Mills," and 

 other machines, "Chapter on Husbandry," "Con- 

 cord Grape," " City Mechanics and Country Far- 

 mers," " Marrow Squash," "Wages," and a great 

 variety of other articles, must be passed over. I 

 will here suggest to every reader of the Farmer, 

 that the inquiries which are made of the Editor 

 for information ujjon almost every branch of agri- 

 culture, and which are usually pilaced under the 

 heading "Extracts and Replies," ought to be 

 answered by. all who think they can give any in- 

 formation, from their own practice or observa- 

 tion. This department of the paper might thus 

 be greatly increased in value, for in many coun- 

 sellors there is safety. Besides, these familiar 

 questions and answers could hardly be classed as 

 " book-farming," and might thus do more good 

 than elaborate essays. The corn is now pretty 

 much husked, and the long evenings may be well 

 employed by those who seldom write, in answer- 

 ing the questions of the less experienced. 



Winchester, Oct., 185i. A Reader. 



cvT the New England Farmer. 



SOAP, WHITE LEAD AND OIL. 



Mk. Editor ; — It is not so generally known as 

 it should be, that a mixture of the above named 

 ingredients makes an excellent coating for gates, 

 fences and out-buildings. The addition of the 

 soap (soft soap only is to be used) considerably 

 diminishes the expense of the paint, without in 

 any degree lessening its durability, or the facility 

 of laying it on. 

 . I have a house, the north-west side of which 

 wqis painted Avith this mixture nineteen years 

 agOj and the paint is now much more brilliant 

 than that put upon the other sides at the same 

 tiuie, though the latter was of the best quality of 

 white lead and oil, and four heavy coats applied, 

 while of the soap paint 1 applied l)ut two. Fences 

 p:unted with this mixture, as well as the roofs of 

 buildings, for which purpose any coloring matter, 

 or pigment, may be substituted for the lead, en- 

 dure much longer, it is ascertained, than those 

 paintecl with pure oil paint. The . Ikalescent 

 qualities of the compound tend to indurate the 



fibres of the wood, and render them impervious 

 to those atmospheric influences which are the 

 chief cause of decay and rot. The quantity of 

 soap to be used can be best ascertained by expe- 

 rience ; on this point no definite rules can be 

 prescribed. 



MILK. 



The value of milk for dairy purposes, depends, 

 to a considerable extent upon the animals kept. 

 When analyzed, the fluid is found to consist of 

 three distinct substances, viz : — cream, curd, and 

 whey, into which it separates spontaneously in a 

 state of repose. According to Berzelius, cream 

 has a specific gravity of 1.0244, and consists in 

 one hundred parts, of butter, 4.5, caseous mat- 

 ter, 3.5, and of whey, 92. On analysis, caseous 

 matter yields carbon 59.78 ; hjdrogen, 7.42 ; ox- 

 ygen, 11.40; nitrogen, 21.38. When deprived of 

 its cream, milk has a specific gravity of 1.03, and, 

 in one thousand parts, yields of water, 928.75 ; 

 caseous matter, 28 ; sugar of milk, 35 ; muriate 

 and phosphate of potassa, 195. There are also 

 noticeable traces of other substances. 



Every farmer must have observed a striking dif- 

 ference in the quality of milk. While some ani- 

 mals produce a thin, bluifih fluid, others yield a 

 rich, yellow, or cream-colored milk, which is in 

 every respect superior for any purpose. Feed, no 

 doubt, as we have often taken occasion to observe, 

 has a very decided influence in determining the 

 quality of the milk of most animals ; yet there 

 are some cows which can never be made to pro- 

 duce a rich article, be they kept as they may. 

 This fact — :generally well understood it is pre- 

 sumed by the more experienced and practical part 

 of the community — is of very great importance to 

 the former, and should be scrupulously attended 

 to in the seleob'^-° ^^ ''^nimals for dairy purposes. 

 T* wois, ordinarily speaking, as much to keep a 

 poor animal, or one that yields a poor or indifier- 

 ent quantity of milk, as it does to feed a superior 

 milker. We are not sure but that in very many 

 cases, it actually costs more to keep the poor ani- 

 mal. 



There are generally indications of good milkers, 

 which will be of great service, if they are studied 

 so as to become familiar with them. 



London Currants. — A writer in the Horticul- 

 turist speaks of the fine currants of the market 

 gardens near London, which are grown in the 

 following manner : They are planted in rows 

 twenty or thirty feet apart, and three or four 

 feet apart in the rows ; the ground which is natu- 

 rally good is highly manured, and cropped be- 

 tween with vegetables. When the plants com- 

 mence bearing, they are pruned very hard ; the 

 greater part of the young wood is thinned out, 

 and what is allowed to remain is shortened back 

 to three or four inches. By this means the trees 

 are always kept short, never attaining a greater 

 hight than two or three feet. These strong 



