186 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



possible beat may be in contact at ihe bottom, and 

 back part of the kettle. A rough board shed is 

 put round the whole to shelter it, say about eight 

 feet square, and the chimney is toj)ped out above 

 the roof of this shed. 



In about two hours a hogshead of slop may be 

 had from boiled potatoes, or refuse vegetablef, 

 which, witli a little mixture of corn meal and salt, 

 will furnish a day's keep for 40 or 50 pigs, of the 

 most nourishing, healthy and' economical kind." 



The expense of this fixture is stated in the for- 

 mer account at $8, and we would ask, will any 

 farmer or planter, who has any stock worth speak- 

 ing of, to feed, be longer without such a conveni- 

 ence.^ If he consults his interest, he certainly 

 will not. There is hardly a larmer in the country 

 that could not set up one himself, and save at 

 least one-third of its expense, so that the cost of 

 it is hardly worthy of being entertained at all. 



(From the New England Farmer.) 

 RURAIi AFFAIRS. 



Butter in Winter. — There is much general 

 complaint in reference to the difficulty of chiirn- 

 Mig in winter, and also to the quality of the butter. 

 Moderate winter weather is unfavorable to butter 

 making; the cream being so long in rising that 

 the butter acquires a bitter taste. The method 

 pursued in my family is, to warm the basin into 

 which the milk is strained, and then immediately 

 set it where it will freeze moderately hard as soon 

 as possible. The act of congelation causes all the 

 cream to rise ; which is, in a tin basin, often near 

 three fourths of an inch thick. With one of 

 Spain's churns, (sold by H. Huxley & Co. New 

 York,) butter is generally obtained in ten to twenty 

 five minutes. By feeding the cows partly on tur- 

 nips, the butter is as yellow, and possesses a flavor 

 noways inferior to that made in summer. 



Feb. 1836. S. F. 



Watering Live Stock before Foddering. — 

 I would wish to inquire, Mr Editor, through the 

 New England Farmer, if watering horses and 

 cattle, before giving them fodder is more condu- 

 cive to health tlian afterwards. While, and imme- 

 diately after, eating, manj) people feel a disposition 

 to drink more than what is really conducive to 

 bealth. It is well known, that if we refrain from 

 drinking for some ten or thirty minutes after eat- 

 ing, much of the sensation of thirst will pass 

 away, — the fluids of the stomach supplying most 

 of the needed moisture. This is more especially 

 so if the mastication has been slow and complete. 

 Cattle, immediately after swallowing their half 

 masticated portion of dry fodder, must doubtless 

 have a strong thirst, leading them to drink more 

 than is necessary. If they- are watered before 

 eating they will drink no more than the general 



state of tlie system requires. It is the practice 

 with many farmers to water in the ev^iing before 

 and in the morning after foddering. This brings 

 two dry meals to succeed each other. This prac- 

 tice cannot be correct. It seems to me, therefore, 

 that when stock are fed on dry fodder, and watered 

 twice a day, convenience and reason unitedly 

 demand that watering should be done the first 

 thing in the morning, and at the time of foddering 

 in the evening. And yet this is not "the practice 

 among mankind. We all drink during and im- 

 mediately after eating. I wish the scientific, and 

 those who have experience, would favor the public 

 with information on tiiis subject. S. F. 



Feb. 1836. 



Use of Tea and Coffee. — The above subject 

 suggests a doubt concerning the propriety of using 

 thesQ rlrinks. if the nutriment of our food de- 

 pends much on the saliva being well united with 

 it, and on its being conveyed to the stomach in 

 this condition, it would seem as though the fre- 

 quent sipping of these drinks rendered the saliva 

 of comparatively no use. How contrary to nature 

 does it appear for a young lady to take into the 

 ston)ach two or three cups of these li(piids with 

 only two or three ounces of bread ! How rational 

 to expect numerous pains and diseases as the con- 

 sequence ! When we think of the quantities of 

 beer, cider, wine, spirituous liquors, tea and coflJee, 

 that are taken into the stomachs of civilized 

 j)eople, we should conclude that the tendency of 

 civilization was to convert mankind into drinking 

 animals. S. F'. 



Feb. 1836. 



Cutting Clover Hay green, — On the 22d and 

 23d of June last, I began cutting clover. It was 

 very green ; and although it cured slow, owing to 

 the coolness of the weather, I carted some of it 

 into the barn the same day, and the rest the two 

 succeeding days. It was thrown lightly on the 

 mow and moderately salted. In about ten days 

 it had become considerably heated, and sotne of 

 it turned blackish. In this state it was removed 

 to another mow, and suffered for a while to lie 

 without pressing down. Other hay Vv'as afterwards 

 mowed on it. Having occasion, within a few- 

 days, to remove this clover hay, I was surprised 

 to find it in excellent order, having a bright -color. 

 Horses and cows eat it well. When removed 

 from the first mow it was smoky and dusty. But 

 now no signs of either. S. F. 



Feb. 18,1836. 



Rice Flour. — Among the many uses of rice is 

 that for washing hands. It is of a gritty nature, 

 between fine sand and Indian meal ; answering a 

 most excellent purpose to cleanse and soften the 

 skin. S. F. 



