M.x No.a;i. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



181 



iiplo machine coiisistiiiij only of a box ami 

 , ami this was Uie only machine for cuttinir 

 ,v known in New En^'laml until within a few 

 past. In England various machines for cut- 

 struw have been invented and in general use, 

 as is the case with most of the English labor 

 11^' machines, they are too complirateu and too 

 ?nsivo; those now in general use cost from fit' 

 J eighty dollars A variety of machines for 

 insi straw have been invente.l in New Eng- 

 1, more simple in their construction and le.-is 

 ensive ; tlic most valuable of these is Safford's 

 iw Cutter. Accordinir to accounts given ot 

 w Cutters, straw can be out by none of them 

 1 greater facility or despatch than with this, 

 ough it costs but about one tliird the sum that 

 e cost. 



is a subject of regret to every friend of the 

 icnltuial interest of thy .State, that they are 

 n»orc gemral use. Let any fiirmcr who 



Ies considerable grain use one oc'these machine:! 

 one winter, and there is no danger that he 

 j!d ever be without one ajrain. 

 A far ■> r of Addison County. 

 f^Mr Newell, No. 5'2 North Market street, has 

 cral kinds of Straw Cutters for sale. 



ON WOOD TAR. 



Vhen wood is distilled in iron long necks, or 

 in'ers, as they are now usually called by en- 

 leers, a large quantity of vinegar is obtained. 

 1 the charcoal that is left in the distilling ves- 

 3 differs much from the ordinary charcoal, in 

 tituliir by its much greater lightness, as it has 

 half the specific gravity of that made in the 

 oimon way. This charcoal is found to be par- 

 ularly well adapted for the use of the uunpow- 

 • manufacturer ; but the iron master will not 



hnse it. 



When the vinegar is suffered to stand a few 

 eks. in deposits a pet;uliar kind of tar in con- 

 erable quantity ; the same kind of tar is also 

 ■I in the rectification of this pyroligneous acid, 

 vinegar of wood. Peat being distilled in the 

 xhe manner, yields also pyroligneous aciJ, and a 



similar to the wood tar. 



IThis tar has for many years been a burden up- 



the hands of the manufactureis, and many 



ns of it have been buried in the ground, merely 



get rid of it. One great inconvenience attends 



deed the use of this wood tar, as it will not 



lite with the pitch and tar, in common use. 



Tfet for every kind of wood fence it is the very 



St preservative that can be applied — being firat 



ated in an iron pot, and laid on with a brush. 



soaks eo completely into the wood the first 



ne it is put on, that one would suppose it were 



no value, as it leaves no body on tiie surface : 



it after the wood has been exposed for some 



iys to the sun, it will be found, upon examina- 



on, that not only the surface, but even the tex- 



ire ofthe wood are considerably altered, for the 



ood will be found so hard, that it will require a 



uch more considerable force to make any im- 



ression upon it than would have beeu required 



sfore the application ofthe wood tar. 



A second and especially a third coat of this 



rood tar applied to wood, will bear out and proba- 



|ly preserve all wood work exposed to the weath- 



!r, much more effectually than any other known 



lethod. 



For ornamental work, and indeed for all good 

 utside work, it will be advisable, after laying on 



one or two coats of the tar, to finish the work 

 with white-lead and oil as usual. 



Besides the increased liardness which this w'ood 

 tcr imparts to wood, it ha.s also the properly of 

 preserving it from worms and insects ; even when 

 the woo ! is already worm eaten and growing rot- 

 ten, it stops the progress of the decay. 



When a little adtlitional expense is not an ob- 

 ject of consideration, there are several composi- 

 lious by which the appearance of the wood work 

 to which it is applied, is much bettered. Such, 

 tor instance, is adding- an ounce of tallow and two 

 ounces of powdered rosin to each gallon of the 

 'v ood tar, and using the composition hot ; this 

 looks extremely well. Another composition is, to 

 add two ounces of powdered green vitriol, or cop- 

 peras, to each gallon of heated tar. 



For the purpose of making a varnish for goods 

 mode of rolled iron, or east iron, half a pint of 

 spirit of wine may he added to a gallon of wood 

 tar : if this composition is laid on hot, and proper- 

 ly hardened in a warm room, it forms a beautiful 

 hb-^k varnish. 



It must be remarked that this wood tar is en- 

 tirely different from the mineral tar distilled from 

 some coals recommended by the Earl of Dunde- 

 nald. — Load. Mech. Jour. 



TiTE Olden Time. Diet Drink. The follovr- 

 ing recipe of Dr Ross was in use somewhat more 

 than a century ago, in Portsmouth, N. H. 



" Take dandelion, liverw ort, agrimony, violets, 

 strawberry leaves, of each one handful ; St John's 

 wort, balm, hysop, scabius wood, bettony, rosema- 

 ry, sage, of each two handfuls ; scurvy grass, half 

 a han Iful ; lign. vitfe dust 2 pound ; roots of sas- 

 saparill, sassaphrass, of each half a pound ; of 

 parsley and sparrow-grass of each six ounces : 

 seeds of carraway, dill, and coriander, ty'd up in a 

 bag, of each two ounces. Brew all in the wort ot 

 a bush' 1 of malt, wch. you are to drink at pleas- 

 ure. Add roots of el-er three pound." — Ms. Jour. 



Cupping glasses to poisoned wounds have been 

 proved by some experiments of Dr Barry and 

 others, to prevent the absorption of the venomous 

 matter. Wounds were made upon the backs and 

 thighs of full grown rabbits ; and after the bleed- 

 ing had ceased, two or three grains of strychnia 

 powder, or two or three drops of hydrocinic acid 

 were introduced into them. Then at intervals of 

 three, five and ten minutes, a cupping glass was 

 applied, to the wound, renewing it as often as it 

 fell off. No symptoms of poisoning occurred in 

 these animals ; but if the cups were not applied, 

 they all died. — Archives Generales. 



Cider Making At Mr Peter S. Scof eld's pa- 

 tent cider mill, near Paris Hill, N. York, one hun- 

 dred and seventy barrels of cider were made in 

 sixteen hours, with one grmder or grater and 

 three presses, and most of it returned the same 

 day to the owners. Seventy bushels of apples 

 have been well ground for the press in twenty 

 minutes at this mill ; and no less than 2'250 barrels 

 of cider have been made this season. [Statesman.] 



Rail Road from Boston to Albamj — A route for a 

 rail road has just been explored from Boston to 

 Stockbridge and from Stockbridge through Cana- 

 an, Chatham and Kinderhook to Albany. The 

 Northern Whig observes, that many individuals of 

 sound judgment and practict.l acquaintance with 

 such subjects, are sanguine in their belief of its 

 feasibility and utility. 



coiuai. 



The following Medicine for a cough has per- 

 formed such extraordinary cures, in private prac- 

 tice ; that the possessor is induced to publish it 

 for the benefit of society : — Take six ounces of 

 iValian liquorice (that stamped Solez/.i is by far 

 the be.^^t) cut into small pieces, and put into an 

 earthen jar, with a quarter of a pint of the best 

 white wine* vinegar, simmer together until the 

 liquorice is dissolved then add two ounces of oil of 

 almonds, and hidf an ounce of tincture of opium, 

 stir the whole well together, and it is fit for use. 

 Take two tea spoons full when going to bed, and 

 the same quantity whenever the cough is trouble- 

 some in the day time. [Hartford Times.] 



Precocity of the Ribband Cane. — A stock of 

 Ribband Cane of the second year's growth, plant- 

 ed by Mr Charles Morgan, on his lands ten miles 

 above Pointe Coupee Church, (arrond) tasseled 

 on the 2flth of October. It was, at the moment 

 oftasseling, fifteen feet high. The frost of the 

 IHth. of November injured the leaves,' but the 

 cane itself remained unaffected by the frost as late 

 as the 26th of last month. We think these facts 

 worthy of record, inasmuch as they demonstrate 

 that a larger portion of our soil than is generally 

 supposed will suit the cultivation of sugar. 



[N. Orleans paper.] 



American Olives. — The editor of a Georgia pa- 

 per has received a peck of olives, raised in that 

 ■;tate, which afe pronounced equil to those from 

 Sicily. If the editor can appreciate the present 

 we give him joy. 



Cotton. — The Worcester Spy says " We have 

 seen several balls of Cotton, raised this season, 

 in the garden of Daniel Waldo, Esq. in this town. 

 The cotton is perfectly ripe, and of a good tex- 

 ture and staple. 



From the Repertory of Arts for .Vot>. 1826. 



PATENT CEMENT &c. FOR BUILDING. 



Substance of a Sptcifcation of a Patent granted to 

 Abraham Henry Chambers, of London, for an 

 improvement in the manufacture of a building 

 cement, composition stucco, or plaster, Sfc. 

 " My improvement consists in the use and em- 

 ployment of certain burnt or vitrified earths or 

 earthy substances, and of certain metallic and oth- 

 er substances, which I cause to be ground or oth- 

 ervvise reduced to powder, and then to be mixed 

 and incorporated with the lime, for the purpose of 

 producing mortar, plaster, stucco, or building ce- 

 ment, by whatsoever name it may be called or dis- 

 tinguished, thus producing a most perfect and efR- 

 cieut cement po/.xalana. The earthy substances 

 which I prefer for this purpose are all those kinds 

 of clay or loam, that are capable of becoming vit- 

 rified and intensely hard by exposure to a strong 

 fire ; consequently chalk and all the various lime 

 stones, and other earths which become soft, plia- 

 ble, and capable of slacking or falling to pieces 

 when exposed to heat, are unfit for the purpose 

 aforesaid, but flint or flint stones or pebbles, may 

 be used with advantage, notwithstanding they do 

 break and fly into pieces when heated. A trial on 

 a small scale will, however, convince any one 

 whether any particular earth, ot earthy or any 

 matter is proper to be used, which will be ascer- 

 tained by exposing it to a very strong heat, when 



