NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



39 



illecljaiuca' Ptpartmcnt, :^rt3, ^c. 



OXIDATION OR RUSTING OF IRON. 



"There are many mysteries about iron," said a 

 machinist to us, one day, "and one of them is the 

 difference which different pieces or parcels of iron 

 exhibit in regard to rusting or oxidizing. Some 

 pieces will rust very easily and rapidly, while 

 others will resist rust along time." We agreed 

 with him, that there were many mysteries in re- 

 gard to the nature and action or changes in iron, 

 but thought we had better change the expression 

 "mystery," and refer it to our ignoranae. Indeed 

 mystery is only another word tor ignorance, for 

 what we know and fully understand is no mystery. 

 It would be a better expression, therefore, to say 

 that we are yet ignorant of many of the properties 

 of iron, and the causes of the changes which it un- 

 dergoes. 



The mystery of iron rusting, we all know, is 

 caused by its combining with oxygen. This is a 

 chemical, or, as some would call it, an electro- 

 chemical action, but all the circumstances which 

 vary this action are not yet understood, nor all the 

 laws which are necessary to produce, increase, re- 

 tard, or stop the action, fully known. Cast iron 

 resists the action of sea water, it is said, much bet- 

 ter than wrought iron, and yet when this kind of 

 iron has been immersed a long time in sea water, 

 on being exposed to the air it will become hot and 

 fall to pieces. 



In 1545 the ship Mary Rose was sunk during a 

 naval engagement. Not long ago some of the 

 cannon balls were raised from the vessel, where 

 they had been buried in the water 300 years. They 

 became red hot, on being exposed to the atmosphere, 

 and fell to pieces. This phenomenon cannot be 

 fully explained without knowing the exact ingre- 

 dients of the mass of which they were composed. 

 They might not have been made of perfectly pure 

 iron, or some circumstances connected with their 

 position might have brought about a change, dur- 

 ing that long period, with which we are not ac- 

 quainted in our limited operations. 



Some chemical experiments go to prove that 

 there are processes in nature, which, if we knew 

 low to apply them, would render iron proof against 

 rust, and, on the other hand, there are processes 

 which would make it one of the most easily rusted 

 of" any metal known. 



It is stated by Faraday that if iron be placed in 

 nitric acid, which will dissolve it readily, and be 

 touched or put in contact with a piece of platina, 

 the strongest acid will have not the least action 

 upon it. It has been stated by Stephenson, the 

 celebrated engineer, that iron which is worked will 

 not rust so readily as that in a state of rest, and he 

 cites as authority that in railroad iron the rails 

 which are worked do not rust, while rails which 

 lay alongside, and are not worked, will rust in a 

 iliort time. He tried to explain it by supposing 

 that electricity was developed, during the passage 

 of the cars, and that this prevented rust. How far 

 this theory is correct is not certain. The study of 

 nature and properties of this invaluable metal is 

 one of great importance. It already enters into 

 almost every manufacture. Without it civilization 

 •ould not continue. As new facts, in regard to 

 rt5 nature and capacities for new uses, are developed, 

 it becomes more extensively used, and we have no 

 iknibt by future researches it will be found capable 



of entering still further into compositions and struc- 

 tures for which it is now thought totally unfit. 

 Those who are "cunning workmen" in metals have 

 in this single one a study of great importance and 

 usefulness. — Maine Farmer. 



A New Watch. — A great improvement in tlie 

 manufacture of watches has just been made in Gen- 

 eva, by which keys are rendered unnecessary. 

 By simply turning a screw in the handle, the watch 

 is wound up, and another movement regulates the 

 hands. The first watch manufactured with this 

 improvement is intended for America, and its case 

 is said to be a rich and curious specimen of art, and 

 historically interesting, the ornamented border con- 

 taining a view of the famous "Charter Oak," of 

 Connecticut. It is a good action thus to make a 

 watch case teem with liistoric associations without 

 destroying its ornamental beauty." — Farmer and 

 Mechanic. 



MERITS OF FOWIiS. 



The breeding of fowls, with many, is more a 

 matter offanc^than of the intrinsic value of the 

 different kinds. The safest way of giving advice 

 on this subject is to say, — let each individual select 

 that variety which he likes best — breed and com- 

 pare the merits and demerits of each until his judg- 

 ment is well founded upon actual experience — hold- 

 ing rigidly to the principle of not crossing different 

 breeds for permanent use, but keeping them, if pos- 

 sible, entirely distinct, for in no other way will the 

 test be a fair one. 



The Cochin China, Shanghae, Great Malay, and 

 other monstrous breeds produced by crossing with 

 one another, in my humble opinion, are not the most 

 desirable kinds for general use, as their legs are 

 very long and large, which are bad points in a fowl 

 — their flesh coarse, and they are great eaters — 

 besides, they lay comparatively, but few egg?,, 

 which are very liable to be trodden upon and bro- 

 ken at the time of sitting. 



The dorking is a fowl, all things considered, much 

 to be preferred to all otheis for profit. They are 

 larger and longer bodied, and of better proportions, 

 according to theirsize, than any other variety — their 

 l)odies being long, plump and well fleshed — short 

 legs, full, broad breasts, little waste in offal. 



That there is a difference in the number and qual- 

 ity of eggs laid by different hens, is conceded tnr 

 all. 



Of these, the Polands stand first in public estima- 

 tion — but to say or believe, that they are everlast- 

 ing layers, is a great mistake. If! wanted eggs 

 only, and not chickens, I would keep this variety. 



Mr. Deland, of your city, showed some very fine 

 specimens of this breed at the State fair. The black 

 Polands are xiseful as well as ornamental. 



"An egg is an egg in the market" — and "a pint 

 is a pound," — and the buyer seldom stops to think 

 of the weight, although there may be three times 

 the difference in the bulk of those in the same bas- 

 ket. 'Tis not the largest eggs that are the most 

 profitable to the buyer, as the flavor differs not only 

 in the different breeds, but with the kind of food on 

 which the hens are fed, and the season of the year 

 in which they are laid. — Granite Farmer. 



A Lover of Poultry. 



J^ A white gunpowder, said to be more power- 

 ful than the black, has been manufactured in Eng- 

 land. 



