&l)c jTarmet'0 ittontljln llisitor. 



99 



Indian Corn. 

 The following observations in relation to In- 

 dian corn meal, were communicated to the 

 Journal of Commerce, by a physician in tlie cily 



of New York : — 



Yellow and wliite corn are not fire same in 

 quality, although they arc identical in kind, and 



grow in (lie same Held. 



' J ' 1 1 ! ■ nutritive qualities of the yellow corn stir- 

 pass that of llie white, and that is a good rea- 

 son why t lie common sense of the people, or 

 their ordinary experience, assigns to it a prefer- 

 ence, independent of its mere looks. 



'I'he investigations of vegetable chemistry have 

 revealed to us many important and interesting 

 facts. By the aiil of analysis, it has been ascer- 

 tained that butter in a pine slate is combined in 

 all grass seed and grains. 



Out of one hundred weight of yellow Indian 

 corn meal, for instance, a good chemist can ex- 

 tract from eight to ten pounds of hotter. Out of 

 the same weight of Indian meal six or eight per 

 cent, of butter can be made, thus proving it to 

 be in that proportion so much the less nu- 

 tritious quality of Indian meal. Any one can 

 satisfy himself by attending to the usual process 

 of cooking it. When it is boiled thick lor mush, 

 if a crust adheres to the side of the vessel, on 

 cooling, n is apt 10 peel off itself, owing to this 

 fatty material in it. 



Ii has furthermore been proved, that the butter 

 obtained IVom the mill;, is not animal secretion, 

 lint what previously existed in the pure and 

 original slate, in the hay or food of the cow ; and 

 a skilful chemist can make more butler out of 

 one hundred weight of hay, than the cow can, as 

 the cow must appropriate a considerable share 

 of it for the uses anil necessities of her organiza- 

 tion. Give a cow a hundred pounds of hay, anil 

 she will render back eight pounds of butter, but 

 an expert chemist can realise twelve or thirteen 

 pounds out of it. 



In the choice of the various articles of food, to 

 suit our taste on particular occasions — to corres- 

 pond to the multiplied emergencies of life — the 

 adaptations of the multifarious qualities of food, 

 display infinite wisdom and goodness. In sick- 

 ness, in health, in toil, while our means abound, 

 when they are scanty, we demand different kinds 

 of food and different varieties of the same kind, 

 to satisfy our real and imaginary wants. Of the 

 grain stuffs, rice contains the least fatty material, 

 and Indian corn the most, and ranging between 

 these two extremes, we have wheat, oals, rye, 

 barley, &c., all different, and yet all of them ca- 

 pable of being applied to i ! ii- respective condi- 

 tions which are united to them. 



It is because of the fatly nature of Indian corn 

 meal that it is such a strange kind of food, and 

 that persons unaccustomed to it cannot at first 

 endure it. The nations which feed principally 

 on rice, are not near so robust as those which 

 Ui>e Indian corn, as llie blacks of the .South most- 

 ly do. Persons unaccustomed to this kind of 

 food, therefore, will do best to commence with 

 the white Indian meal, in preference to the yel- 

 low, as it is not so rich ; and this preference to 

 the white over the yellow lias already occurred 

 in England where the articles are new. 



There is only one more observation which I 

 wish to make. As Indian corn meal contains so 

 much fiit in it, kept too long it is liable to he- 

 come rancid, and is then more or less unlit for 

 use. In the shipments made to the West Indies, 

 the meal is commonly kiln dried, to obviate as 

 much iis possible this tendency to rancidity. For 

 reasons just detailed, the while meal will keep 

 rather better; and from ils being lighter and 

 milder, it is as much preferred for use in warm 

 climates, as the yellow for similar inducement 

 is in cold. 



Woot. Matresses. — Mr. Ancrum, of Ashley, 

 Pike county, Mo., has a communication publish- 

 ed in the Report of Mr. Burke, Commissioner of 



Patents, on the subject of wool matresses. It is 

 new to us, never having seen one. 



Mr. Ancrum says that they make the "healthi- 

 est, the warmest, the most luxurious, the cheap- 

 est and most economical bed that can be made," 

 and that it is superior to any other material for a 

 bed for men, women, and children of all ages 

 and sexes, and that man recovers much sooner 

 from fatigue on such a bed than on any other. 



Statement of the principal articles of demeslic stores 

 shipped in Mexico !'<n- the army, from July 1, 1847, 



to .l/iril 30, 184SL 



Oats, bushels 465,5 10 



Corn, bushels 117,606 



Hay, pounds 6,105,637 



Coal, barrels 149,226 



Horses ;;,;:};; 



Mules ill.", 



Iron, assorted, feel 732,062 



Cumber, do 775,148 



Wliite and black Lead, lbs., 28,025 



Oils, assorted, gallons Il,(i00 



Nails, assorted, lbs., 102,973 



Rope, do 116,738 



Wagons 475 



Mule shoes 8)5,000 



Horse shoes 31,000 



Mississippi water, gallons, 98,470 



Copper, pounds...' 3(>,0G4 



Leather, pounds 50,000 



Tar, barrels 500 



In addition to the above, about 25,000 barrels 

 of subsistence stores have been sent forward, 

 and 200,000 packages of quarter-master's stores, 

 camp and garrison equipage, ordnance stores, 

 and clothing for the army, which it would be 

 impossible to enumerate in ibis brief statement. 

 The amount of fuel and- forage purchased in 

 the cily of New ! .'rleuns during the period stated 

 is as follows : — 



Coal, barrels 290,000 



Oats, bushels 440,000 



Corn, bushels 100,000 



Hay, pounds 6,050,000 



During the same period, some 15,000 troops 

 and 3,000 steamstcrs, with their arms, ammuni- 

 tion, camp equipage, &c, have been sent out 

 from this point, besides the provisions lor the 

 army, ordnance, military stores, Sic. 



The foregoing statement exhibits the most im- 

 portant transactions of the department in New 

 Orleans, during the period slated, under the im- 

 mediate direction of Major Daniel D. Tompkins, 

 Quarter-master, U. S. Army. 



HUB 



From the Manchester American. 

 Agriculture. 

 Agriculture is the first of all employments, and 

 it is a source of rejoicing to see that it ; s begin- 

 ning to receive that degree of attention in our 

 county which its merits obviously demand. It 

 is an employment in which the wisest and great- 

 est men have participated. It is emphatically 

 the source whence all earthly blessings flow. 

 And yet how many are there who neglect this 

 occupation to engage in others, less profitable 

 and less important. Now if farmers can by 

 means in their power, double, or trehle the pro- 

 ducts of their farms, is it not an end anxiously to 

 be sought for. As yet comparatively little has 

 b«"en done by those immediately concerned, llie 

 farmers themselves, towards enlightening their 

 minds and cultivating the soil in a scientific way : 

 hut a spirit seems waking up which promises- 

 well for the farming interests and the preserva- 

 tion of our free institutions. I look lo the infor- 

 mation diffused through agricultural periodicals 

 and the formation of town and county societies 

 as one means by which a revolution is to be 

 brought about in the cultivation of the soil. 

 When the country was new the suil yielded 

 abundant crops without manure, but this was 

 not always to continue. We have practised on 

 the exhausting system too long. Our farms ma- 

 ny of idem have become what we call worn-out 

 Is there any need of this ? Not at all. Are the 

 means in our power? Replenish where we ex- 

 act, and there will then he no necessity for the 

 cry of hard times. Can it be supposed thai mo- 

 ther Earth will continue to give, us our daily 

 bread unless she is rewarded lor it ? The making 

 and preservation of manure is of the first impor- 

 tance. Every farmer ought to make as much as 

 be possibly can. Not suffering it to lose its 

 strength by washing in the yard, or by letting it 

 remain over summer to ferment and lose two 

 thirds of its goodness before it is applied to the 

 land. Manure, to secure the whole of it should 

 be applied in the spring, broadcast, generally 

 leaving it to ferment in the earth, which will 

 cause warmth, producing disintegration of the 

 silicates of the earth and vegetation. 



The raising of roots for the feeding of slock 



and the market is an excellent branch of firm 



management. It is surprising that farmers do 



not cultivate these more extensively. An acre 



planted with ruta baga will go further towards 

 wintering a stock of cattle than many acres of 



the best bay. JJ. £. 

 Bedfnrd, Way lo 



Did not the signature indicate the initials of 

 the name, we would hardly be mistaken in the 

 author of the foregoing communication. Our 

 friend keeps up all bis enthusiasm and no doubt 

 his hard personal labor, rising betimes in tho 

 morning anrt continuing his exertions after the 

 going down of the sun. Success cannot fail to 

 the man in health of his perseverance. Rocks 

 removed— old hedges broken up— substantial 

 stone walls laid— great crops of vegetables and 

 grass growing where lately the ground was a 

 waste— thrifty peach and other fruit trees rising 

 in rich luxuriance: these are some of the fruits 

 of a farmer's enthusiasm who loves his business. 

 We will be very much gratified if some gentle- 

 man conversant in statistics, having leisure and 

 opportunity, will inform us bow great has been 

 the increase of production from farming in the 

 town of Bedford in the last ten years. It is be- 

 lieved that town has already made greater ad- 

 vance than, any other town of its size in the 

 Merrimack river valley. 



Aboriginal Industry. 



By the census of the Indian tribes, which is 

 now in process of being taken, it is shown that 

 the seven small bands of Ottawas about Michili- 

 mackinacv numbering about 700 souls, who rely 

 wholly on agriculture for a subsistence, have 

 raised, during the last season, 25,000 bushels of 

 corn and 40,000 bushels of potatoes. They also 

 made, the past spring, 325,000 pounds, or over 

 147 tons, o'' maple sugar ; which is worth, at the 

 Mackinac market, seven cents per pound— mak- 

 ing $22,750 on sugar alone. Corn is worth, at 

 the same place, 50 cents, and potatoes 37£ cents 

 per bushel. Thus simrle example shows w hat 

 the Indian tribes could do for themselves, were 

 they all to make a bold appeal to agriculture for 

 a living, and abandon tlie chase. — Washington 

 Union. 



The country of these Indians, as will be seen 

 from the map, is very far to the north-west: the 

 climate there is probably less severe than in 

 New England near the seaboard — the season 

 must be free of frost in a remarkable degree to 

 produce Indian corn. Wasm and fertile always 

 is the soil which naturally grows the sugar ma- 

 ple tree— rich and magnificent must it be to pro- 

 duce spontaneously such quantities of food for 

 man and beast under the rude cultivation of the 

 natives. What is- America not destined to be in 

 its whole wide extent under the free institutions 

 which for sixty years have matured in the grow- 

 ing tide of our successful experiment! 



Draiuing of Marshes audi Wet Arable Lands. 



By being drained, marshes which are now un- 

 sightly sources of disease, and as unproductive 

 as unhealthy, may he convened into beautiful 

 meadows, at once the fountains of wealth and 

 the guaranties of health. All who have such 

 lands upon their estates, should, at onoe, set 

 about to transform them intu arable soils— the 

 improvement may cost time, labor and money, 

 but it will pay 20 per cent, upon the outlay in 

 products, besides adding largely to the intrinsic 

 value of such eslates. 



The (acts here presented for consideration, are 

 worthy of mature reflection, Mr. V. Pym, of 

 England, a firmer of great practical experience, 

 used the following emphatic language with re- 

 spect to the value of draining lands:—" Without 

 that necessary operation— draining— the profita- 

 ble occupation of heavy laud cannot be car- 

 ried on." 



F. Falkland, Esq., also of England, the author 

 of several agricultural works of merit, thus 



