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Lime, a Stimulant — Salting and preserving Butter. Vol. VII. 



has done, man may do ;" and then fearlessly 

 and with full and persevering purpose of 

 heart, practise the resolve, " I will try." — 

 Parke's Philoso2)hy of Arithmetic. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Lime, a Stimulant. 



Admitting to the fullest extent, all that 

 has been advanced by way of eulogium, in 

 the use of lime as a fertilizer, a neutralize! 1 ; 

 and a sweetener, I have been accustomed to 

 view it in another light, which has with me, 

 the sanction of experience. I find it the 

 strongest of all stimulants, rendering what 

 was sluggish and inert, quick and volatile, 

 producing a vigor of growth in the plant, 

 often astonishing. And I have compared 

 this result to the stimulating effects of ar- 

 dent spirit upon the human frame, which is 

 sure to bring out all the vigor that is in it, 

 enabling it to perform prodigious labour, and 

 sustain, for a while, the greatest bodily ex- 

 ertion. But, unfortunately, the parallel holds 

 still further, for like it, the effects are but 

 momentary, and when the unnatural stimu- 

 lus is expended, a lassitude is felt, in exact 

 proportion to the excitement that had been 

 administered. And this is a law of nature 

 which must be obeyed, before an equilibrium 

 can again be brought about. 



Now, reasoning from analogy, must not 

 the same deleterious effects that are ob- 

 servable in the man addicted to the use ofj 

 ardent spirit, follow a too copious use of 

 lime in the soil 1 And does not this conside- 

 ration account for the fact, that in Devon- 

 shire, where far more lime is used than in 

 any other part of England, the average pro- 

 duce of grain is much lower than on any 

 other of their soils of very inferior natural 

 quality 1 It would therefore appear, by parity 

 of reasoning, that lime should be followed by 

 something for it to feed on, namely, barn-yard 

 or other substantial manures, that add staple 

 to the soil, and counteract the too stimu- 

 lating effects of an over-dose of lime; an 

 article better calculated to produce grass 

 than grain. A man accustomed to take al- 

 cohol . on an empty stomach, soon finds 

 himself in a woeful state of exhaustion; 

 quite unable to sustain even a moderate 

 share of exertion for any considerable length 

 of time — would it be allowable to apply the 

 same mode of reasoning to the system of 

 liming to excess'? 



It is asked, with much deference, what 

 would be the results of an extra pulveriza- 

 tion and thorough working of the soil, by 

 fallowing on proper occasions'? Would tiie 

 system operate precisely in the way in which 

 lime is said to act, in sweetening the soil, 



neutralizing its acidity, and adding to its 

 fertility, by repeatedly exposing it to the 

 action of the air and rain, and the influence 

 of the sun — effects, which it is averred, 

 would be found of the most lasting benefit, 

 and causing an evenness and regularity in 

 the crop, so necessary to its full develope- 

 ment. 



Was Jethro Tull acquainted with the use 

 of lime? R. D. 



Montgomery co., Pa. 



Salting and preserving butter. — We 



annex a receipt upon this subject, and will 

 take this occasion to say, that we have no 

 doubt it is a good one, though we should 

 prefer one we have used and know to be 

 good. The paragraph below states that 

 butter, packed away as therein directed, 

 will keep ten years. Upon this part of the 

 subject we cannot speak from any know- 

 ledge of our own; but with regard to the 

 time it will keep, put away agreeably to 

 the receipt we shall give, we are enabled to 

 speak advisedly, as our butter was potted in 

 the month of June, and was as fresh and 

 sweet when opened for use, in the month of 

 December following, as when first made, 

 having preserved all its richness of flavor. 



We took six ounces of fine Liverpool 

 blown salt; four ounces of saltpetre — and 

 six ounces of loaf sugar; and after pulver- 

 izing the whole, so as to make a fine pow- 

 der, we incorporated it with the butter, after 

 the buttermilk had been thoroughly worked 

 out, at the rate of one ounce to the pound, 

 then packed it away in stone jars, the tops 

 of which we covered, first with clean cloths, 

 and then with bladders, so as to completely 

 exclude the air. Thus treated when fresh 

 and well made, we have no hesitation in 

 saying, that butter would keep any desirable 

 length of time, though we should be unwil- 

 ling to risk the opinion that it would keep, 

 as maintained in the receipt below, ten 

 years: 



To salt butler. — Beat well up together in 

 a marble mortar, half a pound of common 

 salt, with four ounces of powdered loaf- 

 sugar; to every pound of newly made butter 

 (the milk being well drawn off by beating") 

 put an ounce of the mixed powder, incorpo- 

 rate it well; put the butter in pots for keep- 

 ing. In about a month — not before — it will 

 be fit for use, and it will continue for ten 

 years as good as butter newly salted. — Ame- 

 rican Farmer. 



Salt your Cows. — All cattle need more 

 salt when they are first turned to grass than 

 afterwards. Let them have access to it 

 twice a week, in May and June. 



