NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



333 



indeed, louder, and their inflections more capricious ; 

 but the redbreast's voice is soft, tauder, and well 

 supported ; and the more to be valued, as we enjoy 

 it the ^^reatest jiart of the winter. 



Durin;j; the sprin<;, the robin haunts the wood, the 

 gi'ove, and the garden, and retires to the thickest 

 and shadiest hedge-rows to breed in, where its nest 

 is usuailv placed amon;^ the roots of trees, in some 

 eoucealed spot near the ^rnind. In winter, it en- 

 deavors to support itself, by chirping- round the warm 

 habitations of mankind, and by comiui^ into those 

 shelters \\here the ri<i;or of the season is artificially 

 expelled, and where insects are found in the greatest 

 numbers, attracted by the same cause. The female 

 laj's from five to seven eggs, of a dull white color, 

 diversilicd with reddish streaks. Insects and worms 

 are the principal food of the redbreast. The latter 

 it verv dexterously rendered tit to be eaten, by taking 

 hold of the extremity of one in its beak, and beating 

 it against the ground till the inside comes away, and 

 then rejjeating the operation with the other end, till 

 the outer part is entirely cleansed. — Selected. 



^caltl). 



The Tomato is one of the most wholesome fruits 

 that is cultivated. The plant is vigorous, hardy, and 

 productive, and one of the easiest to cultivate. It is 

 adapted to all parts of the country, by starting it in 

 the north, in a hotbed, or some other mode to forward 

 the plants, which costs but a trifle. 



This frnit may be cooked in twenty or thirty dif- 

 ferent ways, suiting the taste of almost every person ; 

 and to many it is very palatable indeed, though most 

 persons need to be accustomed to its use a while 

 before they relish it. 



The tomato is excellent for bilious affections, and 

 for dyspepsia. When we were publishing the Yan- 

 kee Farmer, there was an article in that paper on 

 the healthful properties of the tomato, and the same 

 paper contained a seed catalogue, in which was the 

 tomato. A person who had been severely afflicted 

 with the dyspepsia for ten j'ears, so that he could eat 

 but very few common dishes of food, procured some 

 tomato seed, of which plant he had previously no 

 knowledge ; and he raised some fruit and used it as 

 food, and he had jellies and other preparations made 

 in the fall, that he might use when the season for 

 fresh tomatoes was over. By this simple remedy, 

 he was completely cured, in a few months, of an ob- 

 stinate disease, that had bid defiance to the best 

 medical skill for ten long years, for so they must 

 have seemed to the unfortunate invalid. Here we 

 also have the important bearing which a single fact 

 gleaned from a useful paper, has upon a man's 

 health, life, and interest generally. 



Bdrtino Alive. — Mr. Mansfield, of the Cincin- 

 nati Atlas, writing from Xenia, under date of July 

 26, says, " I cannot doubt that there have been 

 many cases of too hasty burials, in cases of cholera. 

 I saw a young man to-day, who was reported all one 

 day to be dead, and was actually in a state of col- 

 lapse. He said that he heard the persons at his bed- 

 side say, 'He is dead ; ' and at the same time, he was 

 perfectly conscious, and in full possession of his 

 senses ! He said that he was in dread that they 

 would burv him alive ! 



The Hair. — Dr. Holland has started a new theory 

 with regard to the functions of the hair. Ho says it 

 is a safety valve to tVie nervous system, forming a 

 connection between the nervous organs and the 

 great principle pervading the universe. lie says the 

 profuscness of hair is always proportionate to the 

 prevailing vital energies. — Selected. 



flTeii)tinics' ^Department, Tlrts, ^c. 



Mineral Cements. — Roman Cemeiit. — It is a 

 remarkable fact, in the history of hydraulic mortars, 

 which originates, as we have seen, with the pnz/o- 

 lana and trass employed by the Romans, that the 

 more the knowledge of their uses has been spread, 

 the more substances have been discovered, which 

 either act as hydraulic mortars themselves, or can be 

 mixed as cements in the preparation of artificial 

 mortar ; so that what appeared originally a privilege 

 accorded to a few favored spots only, can now be 

 obtained almost every where. A strong inducement 

 to study the nature and modes of occurrence of hy- 

 draulic lime, was created by the patent granted to 

 Parker and Wyatt, in London, in the year 17i>G, for 

 what they termed " Roman cement." The materials 

 employed in the manufacture of this cement, are the 

 nodules, of an ovoidal or globular form, which are 

 found in the London clay, and known by the name 

 of septaria. They are not confined to the banks of 

 the Thames, but are also found on the Isles of 8hep- 

 pcy and Wight, as well as on the coasts of Kent, 

 Yorkshire, and Somersetshire. The composition of 

 these nodules has already been given. They are 

 calcined in perpetual limekilns, with coal, in which 

 a very moderate and well-regulated heat is carefully 

 preserved. After calcination, the stones are ground 

 under heavy edge-stones to a very fine powder, 

 which is sifted and then packed in casks for sale. 



In the year X. of the French republic, Lcsage 

 pointed out the existence of similar cement stones on 

 the coast of France, near Boulogne, and Drapier 

 proved their identity with the English, by chemical 

 analysis. 



Roman cement is one of the most powerful hydrau- 

 lic mortars, and is exceedingly valuable, not only on 

 account of the rapidity with which it hardens, — and 

 this is effected in a very few minutes, — but because, 

 when hardened in considerable masses, it is not liable 

 to crack. 



Since that time, similar calcareous marls have 

 been found in numerous places, wherever pains have 

 been taken to look for them, and have been used for 

 similar purposes. To give an instance of this, Kittle 

 in Aschaffenburg, examined a series of Umestones 

 from the Spessart, and found, in four different places 

 in the neighborhood, limestone, which yielded a 

 very tolerable mortar, and two varieties which were 

 excellent. Hydraulic lime has occasionally been 

 met with in the same quarry as fat lime, and, its 

 nature not having been investigated, has been 

 neglected as useless in consequence of the slowness 

 with which it is slaked. 



All artificial or natural hydraulic limestones are 

 soluble (before as well as after calcination) in muri- 

 atic acid, with the separation of silica, except when 

 sand or some similar substance has been added to 

 them. 



Practical Remarks. — Thehydraulic limestones, when 

 they do not contain a sufhcient quantity of lime to 

 be capable of slaking with water, must be very finely 

 pulverized ; it is only by this high state of division 

 that a proper action can ensue. A thorough pene- 

 tration of the siliceous portion by the lime is never 

 entirely effected, but a certain proportion remains 

 enclosed and removed from the sphere of action. 



One point, which is very often neglected in pre- 



