PRACTICAL FARMER. 



135 



BEANS. 



Mr Holmes : — Permit me to sufrgest to my 

 brother farmers, that as tlie price of beans have 

 been for several years past, there is no crop, (all 

 thin jTS considered) gives a greater profit than beans. 

 T}iey do not need land in a high state of cultiva- 

 tion, if planted by themselves, as they always 

 should be, when a variety not prone to nist is cul- 

 tivated. That variety called the pea-bean is very 

 prone to rust, but not so much so if a few kernels 

 of corn are planted on the north side of everj' hill 

 — let the bean crop be depemled on more than 

 the corn. Aside from their inclining to rust they 

 are too late a bean for our climate, and oiight no 

 longer to be cultivated in Maine, since there are 

 several other varieties of white beans that mature 

 much earlier, and yield more, and are as valuable 

 for the table. Never plant a running beao, they 

 smother themselves and every thing near them. 

 Many beans are taken into the woods as supplies 

 for loggers — many more taken to sea, as they 

 are not injured by frost in winter. This is judi- 

 cious. Besides, they are more hearty, as we say, 

 and therefore evidently save meat and bread, and 

 one who dines on them is well sustained through 

 the remaining part of the day if he labors hard. 

 Let us raise more of them, and attend more to the 

 varieties we plant, and my word for it, so long as 

 people lumber and go to sea, the price will fully 

 reward us. A Far.mer. 



Highly Important IiNvkntion. The life Spar. 

 Shortly after the destruction of the Royal Tar, we 

 alluded briefly to the manifest importance of every 

 vessel's being abundantly provided with life pre- 

 servers, adding, that no traveller should venture 

 upon our seas or rivers, either in sail or steam 

 boats, without being fmrnisl^ed with one of these 

 sure aids i.'i times of danger. We nosv publish, 

 with great pleasure, a new invention of greater 

 magnitude, viz: The Life Spar. In conse(|uence 

 of the numerous accidents whicli are daily occur- 

 ring upon our waters, the inventor, S. T. Arm- 

 .strong, agent of the Roxbury India Rubber Coni- 

 jiany, was induced to offer this article to the pub- 

 lie. One of these will supj)ort and save twenty 

 four persons. It can be inflated with very little 

 effort and transported with the greatest egse, — 

 Wiien a boat is leaky, two of these spars attached 

 to either side of the boat, will enable ir to buffet 

 the most severe storm, afier the vessel itself can 

 afford no chance of safety. 



The si)ar is twenty feet long and thirty-six in- 

 ches in circumference, of a cylindrical form, com- 

 posed of the strongest twine duck, and' covered 

 between its lining and exterior with India Rt.b- 

 ber. It may now be seen at the Company's store 

 in Washington street, Boston, and Pearl street. 

 New York ; and it will anjount to culpable neg- 

 ligence in caj'tains and other persons, who are 



subject to risks at sea, either of life or property, 

 not to give it a fair trial. We repeat, that, in our 

 estimation, it is an invention of the highest impor- 

 tance, and we believe that in a short time owners 

 would as soon think of sending vessels to sea with- 

 out chart or compass, as without these life spars 

 and life preservers. — Boston Post. 



On SKLKCTL-vG Seed. — No duty in the whole 

 course of husbandry should be more carelully at- 

 tended to than that of selecting seed. One rule 

 that ought always to guide the farmer in his se- 

 lecting is, to select the best. The brevity of the 

 present summer and early frosts, have to a very 

 great extent, rendered the products of the soil not 

 only unprofitable for consumption, but wholly un- 

 fit for seed. During the last few years, many los- 

 ses have been sustained in the potato crop, in con- 

 sequence of usingunripe seed ; and if the greatest 

 care is not exercised in selecting and preserving 

 seed for the next season, failure must inevitably 

 follow, not only in potato fields, but also in those 

 sown with wheat, oats, and other white crops. 

 Let the riijest seed that can be obtained be se- 

 cured ; and these individuals whose crops were 

 injured by the early frosts, ought in no case to use 

 the products of their own farms for seed, if they 

 can possibly obtain seed of a better quality from 

 their neighbors. That these hints may lead to at- 

 tention on this subject is the desire of 



Melville. 



Potatoes. — Every Englishman who goes to 

 the continent, eats potatoes a la maitre cChotd. On 

 his return, he is desirous of having them at his 

 own table, a thing that can seldom be accomplished, 

 though the process of preparing them is very sim- 

 ple. It is as follows : Boil the potatoes, and let 

 them become cold. Then cut them into rather 

 thick slices. Put a lump of fresh butter into a 

 stew pan, and add a little fiour, about a tea spoon- 

 ful fora middiingsized dish. When the flour has 

 boiled a little while in the butter, add by degrees 

 a cupful of broth or water. When this has boiled 

 up, put in the potatoes with chopped jiarsley, pep- 

 per and salt. Let the potatoes stew a few min- 

 utes, then take them from the fire, and when quite 

 off the boil, add the yolk of an egi;, beat up with 

 a little lemon juice and a table spoonful of cold 

 water. As soon as the sauce has set, the potatoes 

 may be dished up and sent to the table'. — Maga- 

 z'ne of Economy, 



Chilblains or frosted feet are cured by bath- 

 ing the feet in warm water until they are soft, 

 then place them in a basin of cold vinegar for 

 a few moments, and go to bed immediately, and 

 you vvill rise in the morning, freed from this 

 disagreeable and vexatious complaint. — JVew York 

 Star. 



