206 farmers' a*jd mechanics' journal. 



ing the beating, as fast as it is absorbed. The mixture is then 

 spread with a trowel on a plank, on which a sheet of paper has 

 been laid, and surrounded by a ledge, to deternnine the thickness of 

 the layer, and is then turned out on a plank strewed with sand, to 

 dry. When dry, they are passed through a rolling-naill, then press-^ 

 ed, and finally finished by a coat of drying oil. 



The following are some of the various proportions recommend- 

 ed :— 



2 parts paper pulp, 1 glue, 1 chalk, 2 bole earth, 1 hnseed-oil; 

 this forms a thin, hard, and very smooth sheet. 



3 parts paper pulp, 4 glue, 4 white bole earth, and 4 chalk ; 

 produce an uniform sheet, as hard as iron. 



1 part paper pulp, 1 glue, 3 white bole earth, 1 linseed-oil ; a 

 beautiful elastic sheet. 



When these plates or slates were steeped in water for four 

 months, they were found not to alter at all in weight ; and when 

 exposed to a violent heat for five minutes, they were hardly altered 

 in form, and were converted into black and very hard plates. 



[ Lond. Mech, Mag. 



AGRICULTURE. 



CIDER. 



" Any body can make cider," said a man, who calls himself a 

 farmer, to us one day. That is true, if by cider is meant the juice 

 that can be squeezed out of any apples, in any manner. Any body 

 can make cider, as the person alluded to makes it. We will give 

 you the process in full. Build your Press and Mill, wholly ex- 

 posed on every side, except a shed at the top, merely to keep otf 

 the direct rays of the sun, and rain, or, if wholly covered, be sure 

 and convert it into a hen-roost, and lying-in hospital, for sick sheep 

 atjd cows, excepting during the season when you are actually at 

 work there. Pick up every thing that has fallen from the trees, 

 since last May, — green, rotten, withered, and worm-eaten ; let no- 

 thing be lost. The hogs wont eat them — but they can be ground 

 up, and made into cider! After you have done this, clear out the 

 tenants of the cider-house, brush off a (ew of the cobwebs, — splash 

 over the press, (Sic. a few pailsfuU of water, sufficient to loosen the 

 dirt and let it trickle into the crevices, and there remain. " Every 

 little makes a mickle" in cider, as well as in every thing else. Then 

 shovel in your materials, whip up Dobbin, grind, press and bung it 

 up into musty barrels, that have never had a refreshing drop of 

 water, inside, sincp they were made. It may be all done in half a 

 day, — and that's cider, — if the rotle7i jii'icc of rotten apples may be 

 ■called cider. We were once cheated with a barrel of such stuff; 



