NEW ENGI.AND FARMER. 



223 



•< In painting a house any light color, particubir 

 care should be taken to kill the knots in pine wood, 

 as it is technically termed, or the ertects ct' the first 

 painting will be greatly marred. The best method 

 of destroying the turpentine contained in pine knots 

 is bysincadiag upon them frcshly-slakcd lime, which 

 Avill effectually burn it out. After this has been done 

 the knots must be covered with a sizing, composed 

 of red and white lead and glue. 



" In painting the outside of a house, there should 

 be no turpentine mixed with the paint, excepting in 

 the case of white paint, and then only in the last 

 coat : not more than one part turpentine to four parts 

 oil should be used, as oil has a tendency to discolor 

 white. 



" White lead forms the basis of all pigments for 

 house paintings excepting black, which is geacrally 

 composed of lamjiblack ; but a now mineral .substance 

 has recently been discovered in New Jersey, which 

 forms a beautiful jet black, and resists the action of 

 the atmosphere and water better than aiiy paint yet 

 made. It has already been extensively us'.-d on ships, 

 and will probably entirely displace every other kind 

 of black paint before long. Not much black paint 

 is ever used on houses, although it is most exten- 

 sively cmplo3-ed for fences and iron work ; and as it 

 is important to use a material that will resist the 

 action of the atmosphere in ornamental iron work, 

 which is so soon dcstroj'od by rust, the discovery of 

 this new mineral ]jigment is a matter of importance 

 to buildei's. Wo have seen some sjiccimens of this 

 new paint, which were remarkable for brilliancy of 

 color and hardness of surface. A steam mill has 

 been erected for manufacturing this article, and we 

 shall be able to give moi-e definite information re- 

 specting it before we conclude our remarks upon this 

 subject. 



•' The colors and tints proper for house painting, 

 such as browns, drabs, yellows, pea-green, giays, 

 and imitations of stone color, are made by mixing, 

 with wiiite lead and linseed oil, the following colors, 

 which should first be finely ground in oil : — 



Drabs — Chrome yellow, lampblack, and red ; or Ve- 

 netian red and burnt umber, with white. 



Brow/i Sto;ii! color — Spanish brown, chrome yellow, 

 and lairipblack, with white. 



Grai/ Stone — Lampblack and Venetian red, with 

 white. 



French Graij — Indian red, Chinese blue, and ivory 

 black, with white. 



Sage cohi liiw unibei', Prussian blue, and Vene- 

 tian red, with white. 



Statj co'or— Black and Venetian red, with white. 



Dark Bid.: — Prussian blue with white. 



Ski/ Blue — Ultramarine or Prussian blue, with white. 



Vio!( t — Vei milion, blue, and black, with white. 



Liluc — D:r,y) black, ultramarine, and crimson lake, 

 or Indian red. with white. 



Peach Blassji/i — Carmine and ultramarine, with 

 white. 



Hose color — Crimson lake and vermilion, with 

 white. 



SaliiDji cjlor — Chrome yellow and Indian red or 

 burnt sienna, with white. 



Straw cjLr — Yellow ochre and orange chrome, with 

 white. 



Bujf cj'or — Venetian red and yellow ochre, with 

 white. 



Pearl W/tile — Ultramarine, crimson lake, and ivory 

 black, with white. 



French Wliie — Indian red, ivory black, Chinese 

 blue, or ultramarine, with white. 



Fu-ic/i. color — YellovN- ochre and Spanish brown; or 

 Venetian red, b!ue and umber, with white. 



Pea GrjcJt — Yellow and blue ; or chrome green, with 

 white. 



Grecii, — Prussian blue and chrome yellow. 



Olive Green — Chronic yellow and black ; or raw 



umber and black. 

 Bronze Green — Black and green ; or chrome yellow 



and black. 

 Ora/i'/v — Chrome yellow and vcDnilion. 

 Ch>co'ate — Sjianish brown and black; or Venetian 



red and black. 



" There are various other modes of producing the 

 above shades, but simplicity and economy are the 

 objects we have in view. The gradation of shades 

 ])roduced by a varied portion of these colors is almost 

 indcrinite. 



"Small quantities of the coloring matter should 

 first be added to the lead, and CDuti.iued till the right 

 shade is procured. Eiough should bo mixed at o.ie 

 time to cover all the woodwork required with one 

 coat." — Prairie Farmer. 



PUT IN THE ROOTS. 



We have frequently spoken of late respecting the 

 unaccountable neglect of the root culture among the 

 farmers of Maine. There are a few, and those among 

 our best and most i)rosi>erous ones, that have not 

 given tliem up, but rather have increased their cul- 

 ture of carrots and ruta-bagas since the decrease of 

 potatoes. Would it not be well for all to return to 

 it again ? A farmer from Springfield, Mass., gives 

 us an account of the mode he adopted in carrot cul- 

 ture, as follows : He ploiighed and manured his land 

 early, and let it be until late, so that all the weeds 

 should spring up that were near the surface. He 

 then soaked his carrot seed until it bega i to sprout. 

 The land was then cultivated and harrowed over — 

 all the weeds of course destroyed, and the surface 

 made smooth. The carrot seed was then rolled in 

 plaster, and made dry, and then sowed by a seed- 

 sower. 



In this way, the carrots soon came up, and, getting 

 the start of the weeds, wore easily weeded and taken 

 care of during the rest of the season. 



We have always been an advocate for the root 

 culture. They are so grateful to cattle during our 

 long winters, that it is an object to have a supjdy 

 for them. They conduce to the health of the ani- 

 mals, and they should have them, even if you should 

 have an abundance of corn aiid oil-cake to give them 

 besides. Some farmers say to us that they find it 

 more prohtablo to feed corji to their cattle, as it is 

 more nutritive antl fattening. We grant it. But at 

 the same time, your corn itself could be rendered 

 still more serviceable to your cattle, if they had a 

 fair supply of heavy food in the shape of carrots, 

 sugar beets, and rutabaga-, to fill tliem out and -ive 

 them what physiologists call the " stimulus of dis- 

 tention." 



Some of our acquaintances are trying parsnips for 

 a field crop. The following sera]) in regard to car- 

 rots we rind in Professor Mapes's Working Farmer : 

 "Yauquelin and Braconnet discovered that carrots 

 contained large quantities of pectic acid, and that this 

 acid had the power of gelatinizing water in which sugar 

 or its ultimates were held in solution. It is well 

 known that food in a gelatinized form is more easily 

 digested by all animals than when not so gelatinized ; 

 and probably to this fact may be attiibutei, in part, 

 the great superiority of carrots as food for cattle of 

 all kind-;. 



No winter food will enable cows to give so good 

 milk and yield so good butter as carrots. For horses 

 they are nearly equal to the same bulk of oats; and 

 for working cattle, carrots may be occasionally sub- 

 stituted fir grouu 1 feed when mi.Ked with cut hay. 



Grated carrot worked with winter-made butter, 

 after it leaves the churn, gives it the flavor of good 

 suinnicr butter. — Muiiie Farmer. 



