1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



229 



the doctor, and half the time the doctor is not at 

 home. In such a case, what a relief to the parents 

 and household it would be, to know just what the 

 doctor would do if there, and to have the remedy 

 at hand. 



Lot them dissolve (according to the age of the 

 child) from one-twelfth to one-fourth of a tea- 

 spoonful of iulphate of zinc in a great spoonful of 

 water, and give it to the child from the spoon; (for 

 .if a fit should occur, it might, bite a piece from a 

 cup or glass) and in from three to five minutes 

 the contents of the stomach will be evacuated, the 

 cause removed, and nothing further but rest is 

 needed. Its operation would probably be has- 

 tened by giving drink of warm water in order to 

 slightly distend the stomach. If it does not oper- 

 ate in five minutes, the dose should be repeated 

 until the stomach is evacuated. It might be well 

 to give from two to six drops of laudanum after- 

 wards, to allay any irritation of stomach caused by 

 the zinc or the indigestible food, especially if there 

 is tenderness upun slight pressure on the pit of 

 the stomach. 



FARM ACCOUNTS. 



We have been permitted to look at a Journal of 

 Farm Accounts, kept by D. Tennet, Esq., of Sut- 

 ton, commencing with .the year 1822. Mr. Tenney 

 has divided his farm into small lots, to each of 

 which he has given a name. This name is en- 

 tered on the top of the left-hand page of the jour- 

 nal, together with the amount of land which the 

 lot contains. Then follows the account as set 

 forth below. This lot is entitled "Young Orchard," 

 containing three-fourths of an acre, and the profits 

 are given for each year, from 1844 to 1852, inclu- 

 sive. We have selected a lot showing quite favor- 

 able returns ; but every lot shows a fair gain on 

 the capital and labor invested. In the "Young 

 Orchard" lot, in 



1844, the profit was $47.00 



184=1, " " 16.40 



1846, " " 75.40 



1847, " " 57.38 



1848, " " 101.50 



1849, " " 60 18 



1850, " " 132.50 



1851, " " 13115 



1852, " " 79.00 



The account is kept in the following form : 



Lffl-hand Page. 

 1852. By lu days work i)ick- 

 ing apples, at 75 cis., 



$7.50 



Right-hand Page. 



1852. By 197 bushels of winter 



apples, or 79 barrels, at S 1 — 



$79.00 



125 do. cider apples, at 6c, 7.50 



Deduct labor, 7.50 



$79.00 



In 1851, the apples sold at the door for S2 a 

 barrel, while in 1852, they only brought $1, after 

 being transported to AYoreester. 



The Journal contains accounts kept with vari- 

 ous kinds of land, where it was reclaimed, as well 

 as old land, and the results are all favorable. If 

 farmers would adopt Mr. Tenney's mode of keep- 

 ing accounts, we think they would find better re- 

 turns from their farms than they have been in the 

 habit of giving them credit for. 



ANALYSES OF CLAM AND OYSTER 

 SHELLS. 



Messrs. Editors: — In your January number of 

 the "Plough, Loom and Anvil,^' is a brief notice of 

 the application of oyster shells as a manure for 

 fruit trees. That those who use them may know 

 what they are adding to their soil when they ap- 

 ply them, I here send you for publication their 

 analysis, together with the analysis of the clam 

 shell. 



In the vicinity of the sea-coast and in the neigh- 

 borhood of large towns, the common clam and 

 oyster shells are quite extensively used by farm- 

 ers as a manure. They are sometimes thrown up- 

 on the land whole, sometimes previously broken 

 into fragments, and often burned. As a general 

 rule, the latter method may be considered prefer- 

 able to either of the others. 



Soils, however, containing already a sufiicient 

 quantity of lime for present demands, and where 

 the object is merely to compensate for the gradual 

 waste, shells unburned may answer quite as good 

 a purpose as those which have been burned. \V hen 

 used before burning, owing to their compact tex- 

 ture, they are acted upon but slowly by the ordi- 

 nary agents to which they are subjected , and hence 

 it requires a much larger quantity of them than of 

 burned shells to exert, in a given time, the same 

 den^ree of influence upon the soil. Unlnirned, their 

 eSects are not materially different — throwing aside 

 the small quantity of animal matter and soluble 

 salts they contain — from ordinary limestones bro- 

 ken equally fine and disposed of in a similar man- 

 ner. 



Before burning — omitting moisture — they are 

 made up principally of carbonates, with a small 

 quantity of organic matter, phosphates, sulphates, 

 and chlorides. The process of burning expels near- 

 ly air of the carbonic acid and organic matter, with 

 some of the chlorine, leaving the phosphate, sul- 

 phates, and a small amount of chlorides and car- 

 bonates. The rest, lime, which makes up nearly 

 the whole, is in a caustic state. 



As the composition of these shells, both before 

 and after burning, maybe of some interest, I here 

 give them : 



The common clam shell (Venus mercenaria) — 

 100 parts of the dry unburned shell gave of 



Silica none. 



Pho.sphates of iron, lime and magnesia 1.250 



Carbonate of lime 69 204 



Sulphate of lime 0.815 



Lime, probably combined with organic matter 13.907 



Magnesia 1.400 



Poiassa 1.847 



Chloride of sodium 6.101 



Organic matter 6.050 



100.614 



The same shell, burned till the organic matter 

 and carbonate acid were nearly all expelled — 100 

 parts gave of 



Silicia none. 



Phosphates of iron, lime and magnesia 1.856 



Lime 78.610 



Sulphate of 1.210 



Magnesia 2.078 



Potassa 2.816 



Soda and chloride of sodium 10.386 



Carbonic acid 3.043 



Organic matter trace. 



99.999 



Shell of the common oyster (Ostrea borealis) — 

 100 parts of the fresh shell, deprived Of water, 

 gave of 



