244 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Remarks. — We have no definite information on 

 this subject, but in directions for nialving cisterns 

 of hydraulic cement, it is generally recommended 

 to place them below the region of the frost. Will 

 some of our readers who are well acquainted with 

 the above subject, communicate their views? 



For tlir IVeiL' England Farmer. 

 WHITE WEED. 



Mr. Cole: — Please inform your correspondent, 

 that ten years ago I had white weed in seveial spots 

 in four small fields and a pasture, and that I have 

 destroyed it entirely. I followed it for four or five 

 years with a spade, dug up the sods and buried 

 it, but I found it still gaining upon me. I suppose 

 the roots spread farther than I dug, and sprouts came 

 from the roots that were left. I finally resolved to try 

 salt, which has succeeded perfectly I cannot find 

 a single plant on my farm. I went over my land 

 when it was in bloom, picked off every blossom 

 (for fear there might be seeds in them) and buried 

 them, and covered the ground with salt for several 

 inches around each plant; the second year, there 

 were but few plants to be seen; the third, less; the 

 fourth, but one plant; this year is the fifth, and 

 none to be found. The cost and trouble is trifling, 

 and if my land was covered, I would undertake its 

 destruction. If your correspondent will inform me 

 of as cheap and certain destruction for witch grass, 

 I shall be much obliged. Stephen Adams. 



West Ncwfield, Me., July 2, 1851. 



For the New Evg-land Farmer. 

 BREEDERS' CONVENTION. 



Mr. Editor: — The breeders of Vermont have 

 agreed upon a State Show and Fair to be held at 

 Middlebury the tenth and eleventh of September for 

 the exhibition of stock, where there will be a large 

 collection of fine horses and sheep for sale. The 

 celebrated Morgan horse, Black Hawk, and two 

 hundred of his colts, will be upon the ground. 

 Fine specimens of stock from the Old Gilford Mor- 

 gan and many of the Hamiltonian and Eclipse 

 colts, and descendents of the Old Messenger. In 

 fact, it will be one of the best exhibitions of the 

 "Yankee harness horse," and French and Spanish 

 merino sheep, that has ever come off in America. 

 We shall have a good display of cattle too. 



Those who wish to buy a carriage horse of great 

 speed and endurance, had better attend this fair, 

 where there will be a good opportunity to select 

 from a large number, and many a fine stallion will 

 be upon the ground, of good action and fast on the 

 trot. Arrangements will be made with the differ- 

 ent railroad companies to carry passengers to and 

 from Bosten and New York at half price. 



A Breeder. 



HOW TO MAKE VINEGAR. 



There are many great notions entertained among 

 our farmers about making vinegar. The grand 

 old plan was to put out cider, or water and molasses, 

 in a cask, to the sun and expose it to the luminary 

 with a bottle in the bung hole. There are still as 

 many ideas entertained about making vinegar as 

 there are about making soft soap, and luck is fre- 

 quently held to be the umpire who decides whether 

 it will be vinegar or no vinegar. 



The reason why cider or other fluid mixtures 



change their nature and become vinegar, is owing 

 to a transformation of the particles and then a sep- 

 aration of one or more, and a combination of others. 

 The oxygen of the atmosphere, although it is not now 

 as was once believed to be, the only acidifier, still 

 it is the great one, and vinegar is formed by the 

 cider parting with its carbonic acid gas, which it 

 cannot do without absorbing oxygen. The rea- 

 sonable way, then, to make vinegar rapidly and 

 surely is to expose the cider as much as possible 

 to the atmosphere. The new way, and what is 

 supposed by many to be a patent way to make vin- 

 egar, is to let the cider percolate over a very ex- 

 posed surface. This is the way they m.ake it in 

 the vinegar manufactory. The apartment where 

 it is made is freely exposed to the air, and is kept 

 at a temperament of about 60"^. The cider is left 

 to run in small streams into troughs with bottoms 

 full of small holes, then from that over very fine 

 wood shavings, such as soft maple, and let these 

 be fully exposed to the air and resting on a slatted 

 bottom made ot clean bows or laths, below which 

 the vessel for receiving it should be placed; vine- 

 gar can be made from molasses and water, grapes, 

 corn-stalks, beet roots, and many other substances, 

 by this process, in a few days. Cider, however, 

 makes the best vinegar. Many modifications (for 

 cheapness) of the above plan may be resorted to,, 

 the grand .secret being the exposure of the liquids 

 to be changed into vinegar, in layers or strata, to 

 the oxygen of the atmosphere. There is not a 

 farmer but with a cask, an old tub, and a few 

 shavings, could make good vinegar in one-fifth of 

 the period now required by the common plans in 

 use for that purpose. In those vinegar factories 

 introduced here by Frenchmen, the plans adopted 

 are those we have narrated. — Scientific American. 



Remarks — It is a general opinion that cider 

 makes the best vinegar, and it is probably the best 

 substance generally used for this purpose; hut ma- 

 ple sap is superior to cider for vinegar. The juice 

 of blackberries makes a very superior vinegar for 

 table use, retaining the beautiful color and fine 

 aroma of the fruit. The juice of the little wild red 

 cherry, and many other small fruits, make excel- 

 lent table vinegar. In the days of our childhood, 

 in a new country, all the vinegar used in the fami- 

 ly was made from the wild fruits, or from the sap 

 of the maple. And in this respect there has been 

 no improvement in the quality of vinegar, but a 

 deterioration. — Ed. N. E. Farmer. 



BLUE-STEM WHITE WHEAT. 



I suppose you and your readers have heard and 

 know something, about the "Blue-Stem White 

 Wheat" which is growing so abundantly in Penn- 

 sylvania, Ohio, Maine, Maryland, and even in the 

 Southern States. It is a very large and beautiful 

 species of grain, and many claim the honor of hav- 

 ing discovered it first. But I believe there are 

 very few who actually know the original discov- 

 erer, or anything at all relative to its origin. 1 

 have seen stated in different papers, the names 

 of persons who were supposed to have discovered 

 it, and spread it over the country; but by no means 

 have they given credit to the right person. My 

 father is personally acquainted with the man who 



