VOL. XIV. NO. 9, 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



09 



EXPERIMENTS IN TOPPING CORN. 



It was ilisi-ovoreil early in August, ISIO, that 

 proiHT grasses lor soiling my caltlo would soon 

 be vrry ilefieient ; and on tlie 20tli of that iTionth, 

 one row of corn in n field of thirteen acres, was 

 topped to ascertain bow the phiut woukl hear early 

 cutting. It was thought that it had receive<l no 

 iniuryt On the 21st of the same mouth I coni- 

 nienced feeding the rattle with the tops cut daily 

 as wanted. These lasted them until the IStli of 

 September. After this, the blades were stripped, 

 commencing where the toppings began. They 

 fed tlie cattle until the 5th October. 



In the process of topping and blading, one row 

 was left entire, standing between the row which 

 had been topped on tlie 20tli of August, and an- 

 other row which was topped ou the 2d of Septem- 

 ber. These rows were cut oft" by the roots on the 

 2d of October, and hauled in, and set up ge|>arate- 

 ly under my own inspection. 'J'hey were husked 

 and measured on the 8tli November. 



Produce of the row that had not been topped 

 and slrip|)ed, nine bushels and five-eighths of corn 

 in the ear. 



One of the rows which had been topped and 

 stripped, measured seven bushels and six-eighths : 

 d the other topped and stripped row measured 

 seven bushels and three-eighths of corn in the ear. 

 Thus it clearly appears that mutilating the corn 

 ilant before its fruit is perfected, is a very injnri- 

 )us practice. The injury done to my crop by this 

 node of management was clearly seen some time 

 fore the three experimental rows were cut off. 

 rhroHghout the whole field the busks were gen- 

 rally dry and open, except ou the row which had 

 lOt been topped and stripped. On this they still 

 etained a greenish hue, and were close set to the 

 ar when the plants were cut off by the roots. 



1811, 1 selected three rows of maize in the mid- 



le of my field, as nearly alike as possible. The 



lants were then about two feet high. I cut off 



le tops of the middle row as low down as might 



readily done without injuring the tassels, which 



'ere wrapped in their owtvleaves within the stalks. 



could not observe that the stalks in the row 



'hich had been cut, grew any thicker, until new 



^aves bad been formed from the crown of the 



lants. Before this happened, the stalks in the 



)WS on either side of it seemed to be as thick 



;jain as those standing in it; and the ears grown 



a the plants in this row, shot filled, and ripened 



oout two weeks later than the rest of the field. 



As several writers on agriculture had asserted 



lat the tops of potatoes might be cut and given 



the cattle without injury to the crop, 1 cut off 



16 tops from a row running through the middle 



a very luxuriant patch. Care was taken to cut 



lera in that way which was supposed least likely 



. prove injurious to the future growth of the 



ants. The debilitated appearance of the second 



•owth of the tops, determined me not to risk the 



:cond cutting of them. When the crop was 



itbered, the roots in the row that had been cut 



d not seem to be more than half as large as those 



the rest of the patch. 



In fact, I have never seen any advantage arise 

 |ther from carefully trimming, or ruggedly muti- 

 ting annual plants ; on the contrary, much in- 

 ry certainly follows. It is, however, probable 

 at good housewives and ignorant garileners will 

 mtlnue to trim and mutilate the tops of their 

 lions, as long as the woild m.iy happen to last, 

 r the express purpose of making the roots grow 



more luxuriantly ; unless iieichancc, they may 

 happen to reflect, that the tops would not have 

 existed, if nature did not consider them as neces- 

 sary to the well-being of the jilant as its roots. 

 Certain it is that the writings of many gentlemen 

 who ought to have known better, are exactly cal- 

 culated to confirm them in this truly savage prac- 

 tice. — Lorrain. 



[From the Mechanic's Magazine.] 

 Mode of preserving Milk for Long Voyages. 



Sir : — As the season of the year is now arrived 

 when hundreds of mechanics are induced to cross 

 the Atlantic, in the hope of bettering their fortune, 

 and to those who may carry young families with 

 them, milk may be an important article of diet, 

 ])erhaps the following extract from an old news- 

 paper of the date of 1822, setting forth a simple 

 and easy method of preserving it, may be of im- 

 portance ; more iiarticiilarly, as I perceive from 

 your last monthly list of new patents, that a me- 

 thod of preserving animal milk has just been pa- 

 tented — whether the same or a diflerent method, 

 remains to be seen. 



" Provide a quantity of pint or quart bottles (new 

 ones are perhaps best) ; they must be perfectly 

 sweet and clean, and very dry before they are 

 made use of. Instead of drawing the milk from 

 the cow into the pail as usual, it is to be milked 

 into the bottles. As soon as any of them are filled 

 sufficiently, they should be immediately well cork- 

 ed with the very best cork, in order to keep out 

 the external air, and fastened tight with pack- 

 thread or wire, as the corks in bottles which con- 

 tain cider generally are. Then, on the bottom of 

 an iron or copper boiler, spread a little stia,v ; ou 

 that lay a row of the bottles filled with milk, with 

 some straw between each, to prevent them from 

 breaking, and so on alternately until the boiler has 

 a sufficient quantity in ; then fill it up with cold 

 water. Heat the water gradually until it begins 

 to boi , and as soon as that is perceivable draw the 

 fire. The bottles must remain undisturbe i in the 

 boiler until they are quite cool. Then take tliem 

 out, and afterwards pack them in hampers, either 

 with straw or sawdust, and stow them in the cool- 

 est part of the ship. Milk preserved in this way 

 has been taken to the West Indies and back, and 

 at the end of that time was as sweet as when first 

 drawn from the cow." 



I am, Sir, yours, J. Elliott. 



March 30, 1835. 



is repeated with fresh flower.-i, until the oil is well 

 scented ; the wool, &c. is then jiut into a sufiicicnt 

 quantity of spirit of wine, and ilistilled iulialucuiii 

 murine. 



The bkst honey water Take of coriander 



seeds a pound, cassia, 4 oz., cloves and gum ben- 

 zoin, each, 2 oz., oil of rhodium, essence of lemon, 

 essence of bergamot, anil oil of lavender, each, 1 

 drachm, rectified spirit of wine, 20 pints, rose wa- 

 ter, 2 quarts, nutmeg water, 1 quart, musk and am- 

 bergris, each, 12 grains. DLstill it in a water bath 

 to dryness. 



Another method. — Put 2 drachms each, of tinc- 

 ture of ambergris, and tincture of musk, in a quart 

 of rectified spirits of wine, and half a jiint of wa- 

 ter : filter and put it up in small bottles. 



Eau de bouquet. — Take of sweet scented hon- 

 ey water 1 oz., eau sans pareille, 1 1-2 do., essence 

 de jasmine, 5 drachms, syrup of cloves and spirit 

 of violets, each, 4 dr., calamus aromaticus, long 

 rooted cyperus, lavender, each, 2 do., essence of 

 neroli, 1 scruple. Mix. Some add a few grains 

 of musk and ambergris : it is sweet-scented, and 

 also made into a ratafia with sugar. 



Cure fok the dysentery. — A table spoonful 

 of vinegar, and a tea spoonful of salt, mixed with 

 a gill of warm water, if relief he not afl^orded 

 in ten or fifteen minutes, repeat the dose. 



RECEIPTS. 



Ottar of roses. — The royal society of Edin- 

 burgh received from Dr Monro the following 

 account of the manner in which this costly per- 

 fume is prepared in the East. Steep a large 

 quantity of the petals of the rose, freed from every 

 extraneous matter, in pure water, in an earthen or 

 wooden vessel, which is exposed daily to the sun, 

 and housed at night, till a scum rises to the sur- 

 face. This is the ottar, which carefully absorb by 

 a very small piece of cotton tied to the end of a 

 stick. The oil collected, squeeze out of the cot- 

 ton into a very diminutive vial, stop it for use. 

 The collection of it should be continued whilst 

 any scum is produced. 



Essence de jasmin The flowers are strati- 

 fied with wool or cotton, impregnated with oil of 

 bebu, or nut oil, in an eai'tben vessel, closely cov- 

 ered, and kept for some time in a warm bath ; this 



Popular error There is aleoholiii every thing. 



— Such is the remark often made by those who 

 would parry the force of appeals that are made to 

 them on the subject of temperance. Alcohol, they 

 say, is diffused through every substance whicJi 

 God has made, and this is evidence that be designs 

 it should be used. But unfortunately for the ar- 

 gument, they are entirely mistaken as to the fact. 

 When God looked upon the world he had mad*, 

 and pronounced it very good, there was not a par- 

 tiele of alcohol in existence. Jt was not till the 

 work of death commenced, and some portion of 

 matter, in a state of decay, had undergone the pro- 

 cess of fermentation, that alcohol was formed. 

 True, the constituent materials exist in almost 

 every created substance ; but being there mingled 

 in such proportions as God designed, they are 

 adapted to the use and sustenance of the beings 

 he formed. But by the mysterious and wonder- 

 ful operations of nature, that change in the pro- 

 |iortion and arrangement of these materials, that 

 takes place during the i:rocess of fermentation, 

 converts xvhat was before a healthy article of food 

 into a deadly poison. Naturally, there is alcohol 

 in nothing. 



Another. — Common bread is fermented before 

 baking. It must therefore contain alcohol, and to 

 act consistently with the new principle of temper- 

 ance societies, we must debar ourselves from the 

 use of bread unless we can be contented with that 

 which is unleavened. Investigate a little further, 

 and the objection will vanish. True the dough is 

 fermented preparatory to baking, and alcohol is 

 formed; but it is evaporated by the heat of the oven. 

 The process of baking and that of distilling, are 

 exact counterparts to each other. In each case, 

 the materials are prepared for the process by fer- 

 mentation, and the consequent formation of alco- 

 hol. In each case the alcohol is separated from 

 the nutriment. But there is this important differ- 

 ence : — the Distiller throws away the nutriment and 

 reserves the poison; the Baker drives off the poison 

 and reserves the nutriment. — [Maine Temp. Her. 



