NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



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up edgeways, and tacked with a nail to tlie plank 

 at or near each end. The planks arc held together 

 by clamps made of pieces of scantling some two 

 feet long, with strong pins put in far enough apart 

 to include the thickness of the wall, and also the 

 two curbing planks. These clamps are hung over 

 the top of the edges of the planks, and said pins 

 liang down on each side, to hold them togetlier, 

 while a small stick, as long as the wall is thick, is 

 placed between the planks and immediately under 

 the clamps, to hold the upper part of the planks 

 apart. As the wall rises the lower edge of the 

 planks lap on the former layers, so as to keep the 

 bottom right. We use a plumb, which is indispen- 

 !»dbly necessary, to carr}^ up the wall true. The 

 window frames and door frames ought to be as wide 

 ;us the plank is thick, and about three inches thick, 

 framed together, grooved and planed on the faced 

 side to let in the stoppers to hold the sash and rab- 

 beted, for the doors to shut in; they need no casing, 

 which lessons the cost of finish very much. The 

 joints are put into the wall the same as brick walls, 

 hence you need no post, sills, or beams. I make flat 

 roofs, so as to not need any plates or rafters, letting 

 the joists give a pitch of half an inch to the foot, 

 which is sufficient to cause the water to run off. 1 

 nail on to these joists straight-edged pine-boards, 

 and plaster on two inches thick of gravel mortar, 

 >!o as to make it fire-proof. Then on the top of this, 

 as soon as it becomes dry, a coat of tar; then sift 

 on sand, which makes it hard as it settles into the 

 ttir; then another coat likewise, and if it leaks, sev- 

 eral coats of tar and sand, until it is water tight. 

 This soon becomes very hard and solid, and it is 

 I'heaper than any covering I have yet found, and 

 apparently durable. I carry uptlie wall still high- 

 er tlian the roof, so as to carry a balustrade in any 

 shape that taste may dictate. These walls are 

 rough and uninviting to the eye, but can easily be 

 made smooth and level by plastering on a coat of 

 coarse sand and lime, say one of the latter to eight 

 of the former, and floated on to level up. Then a 

 fine coat, say half Ihne and half sand, put on with 

 the trowel and brush, which makes a hard finish 

 for both outside and in. Then whitewash two or 

 three coats, with fresh lime and you have a beauti- 

 ful white finish, which is botli imposing and invit- 

 ing to the eye. 



"The cost of the w-alls will be about one-third 

 of the cost of brick; say from five to six cents per 

 cubic foot, before they are plastered, including labor 

 and material, board, &c., and they may be put up 

 by any common laborer, if he can make the wall 

 straight and plumb. If they are built in the early 

 j)art of the season, and of good material, tliey are 

 dure to stand; but they do not become hard like 

 stone at once. This hardening process is slow but 

 sure. The carbonic acid which is first driven off" 

 from the lime, by the burning in a kiln, returns 

 through the atmosphere, in the same quantity, and 

 re-unites with the lime in the wall, and this con- 

 verts the lime into stone again; and as the gravel 

 is stone, it of course all becomes stone or rock, and 

 will be as durable as time. In fact, you can break 

 the pebbles of gravel with a hammer before it will 

 loosen them from the wall." — Farmer 4' Mechanic. 



Ohio Wine. — A Mr. Shumans is preparing a 

 1k)X of wine, of his manufacture, from grapes 

 grown in Ohio, for the great London Exhibition 

 The peculiarity of the wine is, that it is not fer 



mented in the usual way, not adulteraled with su- 

 gar or brandy, but is the pure juice of tlie Cataw- 

 ba grape, retaining the aroma and flavor of the 

 fruit in a remarkable degree. The grapes were 

 gathered last September, pressed in October, and 

 the wine therefore needs the benefit of age. 



METHOD or SILVERING COIN, 



AS PRACTISED BY JIAJ. JEWREI.VOFF. 



The combination of iron with carbon (cast iron) 

 from the ease with which it melts, and the conse- 

 quent possibility of taking the finest impressions of 

 form, has come into very extensive application. 

 The art of founding converts cast iron into enor- 

 mous arches, columns, cannons, and also into the 

 most delicate bracelets, ear-rings, &c. Unfortu- 

 nately, the moist atmosphere very soon alters the 

 surface of these objects, and it is found necessary 

 to coat them with paint, which gives the cast iron, 

 the color of whicli is itself not very attractive, the 

 appearance of mourning. 



In the present state of the art of founding, cast 

 iron might easily be substit'uted for bronze were it 

 not for its sombre appearance, which entirely ex- 

 cludes it. This disadvantage may, however, be en- 

 tirely overcome, from the possibility of plating it 

 with silver; in fact, cast iron may be readily sil- 

 vered, and equally as well as copper and bronze. 

 Some successful experiments which Major Jewrein- 

 ofF, of St. Petersburg, had made on this subject, in- 

 duced him to give a short description of the meth- 

 od which he had employed. 



The liquid for silvering is prepared in the follo\.; 

 ing manner: — Cyanide of potassium prepared ac- 

 cording to Liebig's method, is introduced into a 

 stoppered vessel, and freshly prepared ]>ure chloride 

 of silver, still in a moist state, added; the whole be- 

 ing covered with water, and shaken violently for 

 some time, at the ordinary temperature. An ex- 

 cess of chloride of silver is taken, and should a 

 small quantity of it remain undissolved, a few piec- 

 es more of the cyanide are added after some time, 

 taking care, however, to avoid having an excess of 

 the latter salt, but always a small quantity of un- 

 dissolved chloride at the bottom of the vessel. This 

 last circumstance is important, because when the 

 liquor contains too much free cyanide of potassium, 

 It is easily decomposed, and moreover does not sil- 

 ver so well. 



Before employing it, it is filtered, and is thus 

 rendered perfectly clear, iron and a little chloride of 

 silver remaining on the filter. He effects the pla- 

 ting by means of a galvanic battery of one pair, 

 consisting of a zinc and a coke cylinder, which are 

 separated from each other by means of an earthen 

 diaphragm. The pair are placed in a glass vessel, 

 and diluted nitric acid is conveyed into the earthen 

 diaphragm. Experience has shown that the best 

 mixture for the coke cylinders should consist of 

 five parts, b)'^ weight, of finely pulverized coil, and 

 two parts common rye flour. 



When the cylinders are dry they are placed in 

 earthen crucibles, in the lids of which there is an 

 aperture for the escape of the gases, and are then 

 heated to redness. Those cast-iron objects may be 

 most easily silvered which have not been painted 

 as the removal of the paint from the surface of the 

 metal is somewhat difficult. The cleansed object is 

 immersed in the silver solution, and connected with 

 the zinc pole by means of a conducting wire, and a 



