386 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JVIHE 15, 1^36. 



tben, nnd still continue in use foe such p'Tpcses. 

 The use of this metal for oulinary vessels, attenijit- 

 ed to he mado, hotli in England and France, was 

 of short duration, for it was soon ascertained that 

 the various acids that are contained in a consider- 

 ahle |iroj)<)rtion of our articles used as a veg-etable 

 diet, act upon the zinc, and that the coinponnds 

 formed from the union of the metal with these ' 

 acids, are both disgusting to the taste, and pi ison- 

 ous. B-sides, it is found that the metal is rapidly 

 acted upon, by contact with moist air, oraltcrnate 

 wetting and ih-yiug, and that when corroded, it is 

 sohible in water, (as we sh dl state when speaking 

 of the oxide of zine,) forming a very deleterious 

 solution, and rendering the water wholly unfit for 

 ordinary domestic purposes. 



Within a few years an attemjit has been made 

 to introduce the use of this metal for culinary ves- 

 sels into the United States, and it was especially 

 leconimeiided as having the peculiar property of 

 preserving the sweetness of milk for a much lon- 

 giT time than the materials generally used for 

 such purposes, hut unfortunately the anticipations 

 were not verified in the trials, and the use cf the 

 metal for such purposes is now alm'isf totally 

 abandoned. 



If milk be kept in a zinc vessel, it will" if expos- 

 ^ed to a warm atmosphere, soon begin to undergo 

 a cliange. An acid is formed, which attacks the 

 metal vessel and dissolves a portion of it, forming 

 a salt which is both disagreeable to the taste and 

 deleterious to the system. The metal cannot, 

 therefore, ever ha used for the above purpose with 

 safety. 



More recently, it has been proposed to iise the 

 metal for covering the roofs of buildings, as a sub- 

 stitute for slate, co])|ier, and other materials, that 

 have been for a long tiine in genera) use ; and un- 

 fojtilnately for the ptd):ic, large suids have aire, idy 

 been expended for zinc roofs, wh'Pb is worse tl lau 

 useless, when we take into .^i^hsiduratiou i '.he 

 trouble and expense of removing the material, a nd 

 supplying its place with some other. One con ild 

 LardJv see how it i„ possible that the puft?jc shon Id 

 be so deceived in the use of an article that li as 

 ^'•'«" ":. thoroughly tried and coude a^ed, both ,n 

 F.ance aud. EngVat.A ^^^ ^^^ ,^ 



Mritti'miT s nerhaus more ceiiiim 

 Nolhiugispe 1 1 adva«tageousl y 



Lnoftbetnetalis - S'-' ''yj/f ^^^^ U 

 temperature, that ^'^/'^ ;;-;,. nnd'eon- 

 ble to get out of place iion. e'^P"' „f,„„tii,a 



-r;=h-::^.=i'=^^^^^^^ 

 -r-£.s:n.ni;:H:.^:iX.;^^ed 



ra ; to'e bly w.dl, it can never be made to res.st 

 r:^icmoLu.ungsu.....-- 



:;rorS::r::' S'the .^'winter. The.-e. 

 1 :f the leakage is q: ite evident to -y ';-^;'- 

 has studied the principles of -^I''''^ ":' ;~ 

 laws of fluids. Suppose, tor '"•^a"' "^j 

 ntains a depth ol 



and the 



that a roof covered with zine co 



si iuche/of snow, and taut the snow melts ra,„d 



Iva d ecomes saturated with water to the dep h 



I'fi inches; this wo.dd bave_ precisely the 



water in the small spaces between the coils, to- 

 gether with the weight of a column of water three 

 inches in depth on the same, is sufficient to allow 

 water enough to pass through any roof thus cov- 

 ered to inundate the building. 



It will be seen that the above objections apply 

 equally to all metal roofs put together in the same 

 manner. If wc would keep our buildings dry, the 

 snow must not be allowed to accumulate on them, 

 t:r the metal used to cover the roofs must be made 

 water tight by soldering. The past winter has 

 tested, in the severest manner, roofing materials; 

 neuvy snows followed by heavy rains and rapid 

 thaws, have crntinually alternated during the 

 whole season, and the damage done to the build- 

 ings, furniture, and goods, will be felt for a long 

 time. 



The brittleness of zinc renders it highly object- 

 ionable. This property is increased in a tenfold 

 proportion, by ditninishing its temperature. At 

 the freezing iioint of water it is almost as brittle 

 as glass; and hence if any heavy body falls upon 

 the coils which project above the roof, they are 

 very liable to be broken, and when broken it is 

 exceedingly difficult to repair them. 



The third objection to the use of zinc for roofing 

 is that it is .Hissolved in the water which rims 

 over the roof an.'l thus renders it unfit fiir all do- 

 mestic purposes. The fact seems to be one that 

 has not yet attracted the attention of the public. 

 Having unfortrnately resided under a zinc roof, 

 and shared largely in its deleterious effects, I have 

 been led to examine the qijalities communicated 

 to the water by means of the zinc. 



There are two distinct compounds formed by 

 exposing to the action of the air this metal. If 

 the metal be heated to whiteness in the open air, 

 it takes fire and burns with intense brilliancy, form- 

 ing an exceedingly light, white substance, which 

 is a compound of the metal with a portion of the 

 oxygen of the air. It is therefore an oxide of zhic, 

 and^'generally denominated the flowers of ainc. 

 This is the only compound of zinc and oxygen 

 described in most of the books ; it is a white pow- 

 der so light .-IS readily to float in the atmosphere, 

 and is perfectly insoluble in water. 



If zinc be exposed to moist atmosphere, ic be- 

 comes covered with a gray coating, which is de- 

 scribed as a mixture of the white oxide and the 

 metal ; but as the gray compound is sohible in 

 water, and neither of the others possess the same 

 property, the opinions advanced in the books can 

 hardly be correct. Berzelius, who first described 

 tiie gray compound, considers it as a sub-oxide, 

 though he docs not mention the faot that it is so 

 luhle^'in water. This last property is one that 

 renders the metal highly objectionable as a roof 

 ins, for the sub-oxide formed by the action of al- 

 ternate wet and dry weather, is dissolved off by 

 the rains, and carried into the cisterns, deteriorat- 

 iii" the water, and rendering it almost entirely un- 

 fit^for all domestic purposes. It thus acquires 

 a styplic, coppery taste, and if taken into the 

 stomach, produces nausea and vomiting. It de- 

 composes soap, and produces that properly in the 

 water called hardness, which renders it unfit for 



washing. , , , . • ■ 



If the water which has dissolved the snb-oxide 



of zinc befreelv nxposed to the air, oxygen will be 



d the snb-oxide will be gradually con 



and thus the water at length becomes nearly pure 

 again. This effect is quite perceptible after a dry 

 season, when the water constantly becomes belter, 

 until it is again deteriorated by a fresh fall cf rain 

 which dissolves more of the metal. Now, since 

 rain water is so valuable an article in all largf 

 towns and cities, any agent that would deteriorate 

 it must be got rid of, even if it be at a considera 

 ble expense. Besides, rain water, after hcinj 

 filtereil through sand and charcoal, is now comint 

 into use for drinking, and substituted for tht 

 spring water, which has been formerly universally 

 us d for this and for all culinary purpose. It ii 

 therefore, quite certain, that the use of zinc as t 

 roofing for dwelling houses, at least, must be en- 

 tirely abandoned, or otherwise, the use of rain wa- 

 ter which runs from it must be partially or en 

 tirely discontinued. 



PACTS WORTH KEEPIIta. 



Mr Bdf.l — Sir — In conversation with a gen 

 tleinan from (Saratoga county, a few days since 

 he communicated to me the tollowing information 

 whi<h I deem of sufficient i nportance to occupj 

 a small place in your Cultivator. 



He said a neighbor of his, who has a flock o 

 sheep, has lost by death 27 out of 30 lambs am 

 he could not account for the cause. The firs 

 symptoms of disease, are a drooping, running a 

 the eye.s, weakness in the back and loins, and los 

 ing of the use of their hinder legs, &c. 



A person recommended the use of Lobelia 

 [Inrlian Tobacco) which he tried by turning a fe\ 

 of his lambs into afield where this plant was foiuJ. 

 in abundance. It was soon found by the land)! 

 which they ate freely, nipping it close to th 

 ground. In a few days a perceptible differenc 

 was .-iianifested, and tliey became remarkably live 

 ly, playing and gamboling about the field as tboiig 

 nolhing had ever been the matter with them. 



Having proveil so salutary and beneficial to tip 

 few, he turned in the remainder, which had ill 

 same eflisct and all became healthy and thrift 

 sheep. 



Til order to be certain, and to test the efficac 

 of the plant move particularly, some of the drie 

 Lobelia was given to some oihers, in the same si 

 nation, and proiluced the same eflect. 



I have been induced to offer the above for pill 

 lication, believing that such information shoul 

 not be withheld from the public. 



Yours, &c. Caleb N. BEinENT. 



Albany, Dec. 1835.— JV. Y. Cultivator. 



\.A correspondent of the Maine Farmer says, 

 l««^ear planted my cucumbers, &c. near wliei 

 D-rew some tansey at one corner — soon after U| 

 the '' striped jackets'' attacked them, except lliof 

 in the immediate vicinity of the tansey — obsen 

 ill" this, 1 ])Ut around each hill some sprigs of tai 

 sev, which caused the bugs to leave them, and b 

 a few applications, so as to keep it somewlii 

 "leen, were kept off', as the scent is strong and 

 believe not agre.able to them. C. D. 



East Winlhfop, May, 1836. 



It is said that Branches of elder laid ineachlii 

 will keep bugs from vines. 



absorbed, an r ■ 



'i 'rnofisifits wbolesur- verted into the white oxide or flowers ol zmc, 

 same effect in l-"-"^' ^ 7,^,"; rt.7,he same w, icli being insoluble in water, falls to the bottom conv 

 Ii;;"th""T;e"^^^^^ "^ «>- laslast as formed, m the sta,e of a white powder, 1 



To obtain Good Timber. — Bark ihe tree befoi 

 it is cut down. By this means, the alburnimi 

 ted into hard and durable wood. — Botto 



