FARMERS' REGISTER— BROWN'S SALTPETRE. 



601 



There is some diversity of opinion with regard 

 to the manner in which the seed should be allowed 

 to ripen. Some allow the brush to remain upright 

 until it is perfectly ripe, others bend the stalk be- 

 low where it is to be cut, allowing the head to hang 

 pendulous, by which the panicles are more apt to 

 remain straight. We believe the more experien- 

 ced growers, only bend those heads that become 

 crooked before they leave the sheath in which, 

 while young, they were enveloped. 



The stalks of broom corn which are left after 

 the heads are cut off, should be cut and burned, 

 otherwise they will be found rather troublesome in 

 after-cultivation. 



To the Editor of the Fanners' Resister. 



The enclosed printed page detailing the process 

 of making salt-petre in Virginia, is taken from a 

 copy of the London Magazine, for the year 1763. 

 The simplicity and cheapness of its manufacture 

 may induce not only the theoretical but the prac- 

 tical farmer to make the experiment — an enter- 

 prise which if successful, must be gratifying alike 

 to his pride and economy. rusticus. 



January, 30, 1834. 



MR. JERKBIIAH BROWIv's METHOD OF MA- 



KiKG saltpetre; 



Published in Virginia by order of the trustees for 

 the Improvement of xJrts and Manufactures, and 

 also in England by order of the Society for the 

 Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and 

 Commerce. 



Saltpetre is to be found in tobacco houses, sta- 

 bles, cowhouses, hen and pigeon-houses, and in any 

 covered place where the influence of tlie sun sel- 

 dom reaches. A sixty feet tobacco-house will 

 yield upw ards of 16 C. wt. a year, and so in pro- 

 portion far larger or smaller houses. 



In order to prepare the floors for attracting ni- 

 tre, all dung and other trash must be removed ; 

 and i* the floors are not level, they must he made 

 so by laying on marl, or any soil not too stiff, 

 which must l)e lightly trod down with their feet. 



The floor being thus prepared, sprinkle strong 

 ambeer over it, made from tobacco-trash, and cov- 

 er it with wet ground leaves, or other tobacco- 

 trash, for a fortnight; then clean out the trash, 

 and in any cool dry morning that succeeds, you 

 will find on the floor the nitre attracted and con- 

 densed like hoar frost ; sweep this off lightly, and 

 put it by in some hogsheads, or safe place in your 

 house, until you have leisure to go through the fol- 

 lowing process. This work you must carefully 

 repeat as often as you observe the above mention- 

 ed' appearance of nitre on your floors; by which 

 means you will soon be furnished with a compe- 

 tent quantity to employ a leisure day. 



The process. Make a ley from this earth in the 

 same manner as is usually done for soap, noting 

 that the earth is not to be hard packed on the straw 

 in the bottom of your ley vessel, which would re- 

 lain the water to be poured on it too long, and over- 

 charge it with saline particles, to Ihe great inter- 

 ruption of the process : j)lace the earth hollow in 

 the vessel, for the reception of the water; the first 

 put to it must be warmer tl)an new milk from the 

 cow; afterwards add cold wafer: fix a vessel to 

 receive the ley as soon as you begin to put the wa- 

 ter in, as it will not remain long upon the earth, 

 but in a few minutes begin to drop into the re- 

 Yoh. I.— 76 



ceiver : If it runs foul, it must be returned upon 

 the earth ; as soon as it has dropped a gallon, you 

 may begin to boil it in a cast-iron pot. Every 

 bushel of eartli will require near eight gallons of 

 water. Continue to boil it gently until you have 

 fully charged your pot with the ley, and you will 

 find the watery particles evaporate until it is re- 

 duced to a thick oily consistence, shooting into 

 small icy crystals, which you will easily perceive 

 by exposing the suds, in a spoon, to a cold place : 

 Then put the liquor out of the pot into wetted 

 wooden trays, and set it by in a cool place for the 

 first growth : If you accidentally boil it too thick, 

 add a little cold wate^: When your trays have 

 stood with the suds a few hours, you must raise one 

 end to let the ley drain off from the petre-salt, 

 which is the first growth, and which, by boiling a 

 second time, will yield you a fresh quantity. 



After it is thus drained and become dry, you 

 may put it into casks or tubs, until you have lei- 

 sure, without prejudice to your crops, to refine. 



Te refine petre-salt. Put into your pot about a 

 third of the quantity your pot will hold of this 

 first growth, and set over the fire : You are to be 

 provided with an iron rod, or poker, to stir it : As 

 soon as it begins to melt, you will see it begin to 

 boil furiously : Keep it well stirred down, as at this 

 time it is very apt to take fire, which will destroy 

 the whole; when you observe it in the boiling to 

 look of a dirty white, slacken your fire, and stir it 

 briskly for a quarter of an hour ; then increase 

 your fire, and continue the stirring, though the 

 danger of burning it is now over: The pot, be- 

 fore it is sufficiently melted, will be at the bottom, 

 of a flaming red, and the matter will appear like 

 boiled cream ; and when it becomes whitish and 

 liquid, pour it upon a stone, or some earthen vessel 

 or a hard well-rammed earthen floor, clean swept. 

 As soon as it is cold, it will become hard, and if 

 you throw it upon a stone, will ring like broken 

 china. 



If you have not leisure immediately to clarify 

 if, put it into a tub in a dry place until some con- 

 venient ojjportunity. 



7'o clarify coagulated cream of nitre. To eve- 

 ry pound of this matter, put six pounds of water, 

 after you have broke it into small pieces: Put 

 your pot upon the fire, and stir it until it is well 

 dissolved; then make the fire all round the pot, 

 which will cause it to boil in the middle, and pre- 

 vent any waste by its drying and sticking on the 

 sides of the pot ; and as soon as the earthy matter 

 begins to settle in the pot, pour the liquid into a 

 tray, or other open vessel, that its sediment may 

 settle : Pour off the clear liquor, and evaporate it 

 with gentle fire, until in a spoon it will shoot into 

 crystals: thenpour it into your tray, with dry sticks 

 fixed across, so as to be a little below the surface 

 of the liquor: set this by in a cool place, where it 

 may stand until it shoots into clear transparent 

 crystals; then pour off the liquor, and set the tray 

 so as to drain it off perfectly dry. 



Thus your salt petre is completely made, and in 

 a few days will be dry enough to remove out of 

 your trays info casks or vessels proportioned to the 

 quantities. 



The liquor you last poured off must be again 

 evaporated over the fire, for it will yield salt petre 

 equally good as the former; and thus continue the 

 operation, until all the watery particles are totally 

 evaporated. 



