68 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Sept. 17, 1830. 



FANCY WOODS. 



Even at a comparatively early stage of tlie arts, 

 mankind appear to have made use of the bright 

 or variegated colors of wood, to give beauty both 

 to their dwellings and their furniture. The tem- 

 ple built by King Solomon was overlaid on the 

 inside with boards of cedar : — ' all was cedar ; 

 there was no stone seen,' and among the most 

 ancient sj)eei!nens of ornamental furniture that 

 are to be met with, we find that attempts have 

 been made to heighten the effect by the contrast 

 of various kinds of wood. Although, both in 

 the materials and the designs, these are inferior 

 to the productions of modern art, many of the 

 cabinets which are still preserved have much 

 higher claims to notice than their mere antiquity. 



In all these works a veneer or thin plate of tlie 

 fancy wood is laid down in glue, upon a surface 

 of a plainer description. This process is of 

 course cheaper than if the whole work were made 

 of the solid fancy wood. The beauty of fancy 

 wood arises in many sorts from its being cross- 

 grained, or from its pressnting the fibro end- 

 '^ays or obliquely to the si r ace. The.se di fer- 

 ent positions of the fibres, as well as their ditfer- 

 ent colors in grained woods, give a clouded and 

 mottled variety to the surface ; and when some 

 of the parts are partially transparent, as is the 

 case with fine mahogany, the surface gives out a 

 play of different tints, as the oliserver shifts his 

 place, or the light falls upon them, and conse- 

 quently is reflected at different angles. 



In the earlier stages of the art of cabinet mak- 

 ing, and before the forests of the tropical regions 

 Iiad been explored for those beautiful woods whicli 

 have since added so much to the elegance of inud- 

 ern furniture, the veneering and ornamenting 

 •were in woods of native growth. None of these 

 have the deep and warm tints of the finest of 

 the foreign, but the figures with which they are 

 marked are often very beautiful. The yew, 

 which, with its other tints, blends a .certain trace 

 of pink or rose-color, and when it is gnarled or 

 knotty, has a very rich appearance, was the wood 

 used for the finest and most costly works. The 

 cornitjon veneering timber was walnut ; but as 

 tliiit has but few of those variegations, which are 

 technically termed curls, the works ornamented 

 with it were rather deficient in beauty. Th ; 

 knotty parts of < pollard' oaks, and ' pollard' elms, 

 are nnich better adapted for the purpose of orna- 

 ment ; but as the grain of both is open, and as it 

 is apt to rise, and as the earlier cabinet-makers 

 were not so well acquainted with the art of var- 

 nishing, as those of modern times, the beauties 

 of these woods were not tUrned to the proper 

 account. 



Comparative durahilily of Oak and Chesnut—iii 

 the transactions of the Society of Arts, in En- 

 gland, there is an account which states that posts 

 of oak and others of chesniit were planted in 

 Somersetshire — when they hail to undergo repair 

 in 18 years, which is longer than oak posts wouUl 

 last in this country, the oak posts were found to 

 be unserviceable and the chesnut very little worp. 

 The oak posts were renewed, the chesnut re- 

 mained, and in twentyfive years afterwards they 

 were not so much rotted as the oak. In 1772, a 

 fence was made partly of oak posts and rails, and 

 partly of chesnut posts and rails — the trees made 

 use of were of the same age, and were what may 

 be termed young trees. In nineteen years, the 

 oak posts had so decayed at the surface, as to 



need to be strengthened by spurs, while the ches- 

 nut required no such support. A gate post of 

 chesnut, on which tlie gate had swung for fifty 

 years, was found quite sound when taken up, and 

 a barn constructed in chesnut in 1743 was found 

 quite sound in every part in 1782. It should 

 seem therefore, that young chesnut is superior to 

 young.oak, for a!! manner of wood work that 

 has to be partly in the ground. 



THE INDICATIONS OF LONGEVITY. 



Hufeland, in his celebrated work on the 

 means of preserving health, presents the following 

 beau ideal of a frame destined to longevity. 



Let me now be permitted to delineate the por- 

 trait of an individual destined to long life. He has 

 a well-proportioned stature, without however being 

 too tall ; but rather of the middle size, and tolera- 

 bly thick set, his complexion is not too florid : too 

 much ruddiness, at least in youth, is seldom a sign 

 of longevity. His hair approaches more to the fair 

 than to the black ; his skin is strong but not coarse. 

 His head is not too large — he has prominent veins 

 on the limbs, and his shoulders are rather round 

 than flat. His neck is neither very long nor short — 

 his stomach does not project — and his hands are 

 large, but not too deeply cleft. His foot is rather 

 thick than long, and his inferior limbs are firm and 

 round. He has a broad arched chest, a strong voice, 

 and the faculty of retaining his breath for a con- 

 siderable time without inconveiiience or difficulty. 

 In general, there is a complete harmony of propor- 

 tion among all pans of the body. His senses are 

 good, but not too delicate — his pulse is slow and 

 regular. 



His stomach is excellent — hisappetite good, and 

 digestion easy. The joys of the table, in moder- 

 ation, are to him of importance — they increase the 

 vigor of his system, and tune his mind to se- 

 renity, while his soul partakes in the pleasure which 

 they communicate. He does not, however, eat 

 merely for the sake of eating — but each meal is an 

 hour of daily festivity — a kind of delight, attended 

 with this advantage, among others, that i' rather 

 increases than diminishes his riches. He eats 

 slowly, and has not too much thirst. An insatiable 

 thirst is always a sign of rapid self-consumption. 



In general he is serene, loquacious, active, sus- 

 ceptible of joy, love, and hope, — but insensible to 

 the impressions of hatred, anger, and avirice. 

 His passions never become too violent. He is fond 

 of employment, particularly calm meditation and 

 agreeable speculations — is an optimist, a friend to 

 nature and domestic felicity — ha9 no unbounded 

 thirst after the honors or riches of the world — and 

 banishes all unnecessary thought of to morrow. 



DIGESTION. 



'It is a common enough belief,' says an Europe- 

 an medical writer, 'that a dram after meals pro- 

 motes digestion. But there cannot be a more 

 erroneous ojiinion. Those, indeeil, who have 

 acquired this pernicious habit, may find, that with- 

 out their usual stimulus, digestion goes tardily on. 

 But this only bespeaks the infirm and diseased 

 state to which the stomach has been reduced. 

 For the digestion of the healthy and unaccustom- 

 ed, is sure ■ to be interrupted and retarded by a 

 dram. Common observation might satisfy us of 

 this. But the question has been submitted to 

 direct experiment by Dr Beddoes ; and he found 

 that the animals to whom spirits had been given 

 along with their food, had digested nearly one half 

 less, than other similar animals from whom this 

 stimulus had been withheld.' — Prof. Hitchcock. 



HOSTON, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17,1830. 



SWINE 



Should not be kept in close and filthy pens. 

 Although they are supposed to be naturally filthy 

 animals, they thrive better and enjoy better healtit 

 when allowed clean and airy lodgings. The late 

 Judge Peters, of Pennsylvania, in an article enti- 

 tled ^ JVolices for a Young Farmer,' &c, observed 

 that, ' There is no greater mistake than that of 

 gorging swine, when first penned for fattening. 

 They should, on the contrary, be moderately and 

 frequently fed ; so that they be ke|)t full, but do' 

 not loathe or reject their food; and in the end 

 contract fevers and dangerous maladies, originat- 

 ing in a hot and corrupted mass of blood. In 

 airy and roomy, yet moderately ^varin pens, paved 

 or boarded, and often cleansed, they are healthy 

 and thriving. They show a disposition to be 

 cleanly, however otherwise it is supposed, and al- 

 ways leave their excrementitious matter in a pars 

 of the pen ilifferent from that in which they lie 

 down. No animal will thrive unless it be kept 

 clean.' 



The same writer asserts that fatting hogs should 

 ahvays be supplied with dry rotten wood, which 

 should l>e kept in their pen, for the animals to eat 

 as their appetites or instiivcls may direct. It has 

 been su|)posed, likewise, that swine thrive better 

 when they can obtain fresh earth, which they are 

 often observed to swallow with greediness. Char- 

 coal, it is said by some, will answer as good if not 

 a more valuable purpose ; and that if swine can ' 

 (ibtain charcoal, tboy will not only greedily devour' 

 a j)ortion of that substance, but will be but little 

 inclined to rooting, and remain much more quiet 

 in their pens than under ordinary treatment. 



The modes in whicli swine are fattened in some 

 of the western parts of the State of New York, 

 are stated to be these. ' About the first of Sejv 

 tember, begin with boiled potatoes and pumpkins, 

 mashed together with a little Indian meal, ground 

 oats and peas, or other grain, stirred into the mix- 

 ture after it cools. From two to four weeks before 

 killing time, the food should be dry Indian coru 

 and clean cold water. Mr Yonghans fattens his 

 hogs in a large yard or field, with a shelter in it to 

 which they may retire to sleep. But Elder Turn- 

 er says hogs should never know what liberty is ; 

 but should be kept close all their lives, and as in- 

 active as possible. That with this method double 

 the quantity of pork can be ]>rodiK;ed with the 

 same expense of food.'* 



Rubbing and currying the liides of hogs while 

 fattening, is said to be of great advantage to there. 

 It is not only very gratifying to the aniinals, but 

 conducive to their health. It will be well, like- 

 wise, in every stye to place a strong post for them 

 to rub against. During the time of their fattening 

 they should have plenty of litter, which will be a 

 dinble advantage, providing for their comfort, and 

 increasing the quantity of manure. 



Tlicre is a great advantage in boiling, steaming, 

 or baking, ail sorts of food given to swine. The 

 last American edition of the Domestic Eneyclo- 

 liedia, infiirrns that a ' Mr Timothy Kirk, of 

 Yorktowp, Penn. fetl one pig with boiled potatoes, 

 ard Indian corn, and another with the same arti- 



" Memoirs of the New Yo»t Board of Agriculture, 

 vo'.ii. pp. 39,40. 



