NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



349 



they are the true snlvents, and occasion a diarrhoea. 

 But even this diarrhcra is a protection against the 

 dysentery. Whenever the dysentery has prevailed, 

 I have eaten less animal food and more fruit, and 

 have never had the slightest attack. I have seen 

 deven patients in one house ; nine were obedient to 

 the direction given, and ate fruit : they recovered. 

 The grandmother, and a child she was most partial 

 to, died. She prescribed for the child burnt brandy 

 and oil, powerful aromaties, and forbade the use of 

 fruit. She followed the same course herself, and 

 met the like fate. A minister, attacked with dysen- 

 tery, ate three pounds of red currants between seven 

 o'clock in the morning and nine in the evening : 

 next day he was entirely cured. — Tissot. 



ilTccljanics' department, ^rta, Ut. 



Self-sustaixing Bridge. — We were present, on 

 Wednesday afternoon of last week, to witness the 

 construction of a bridge, thrown across an arm of 

 the Cobbossee stream, in Gardiner, and invented by 

 Mr. Littlefield, an ingenious and respectable citizen 

 of that place. It is upon a new plan, which Mr. L. 

 has got patented, and promises a great saving in the 

 material, labor, and cost of construction. The sides 

 of the bridge consist of two ellipses, one supporting 

 the other, and making it self-sustaining. It requires 

 no abutments or piers, and but a very little timber 

 — the principal part consisting of two elliptical tim- 

 ber trusses extending from one side of the stream to 

 the other, and fastened to horizontal beams lying 

 crosswise the bridge at the ends. From these beams, 

 wires, or small iron rods, extend by an opposite ellip- 

 sis the whole length of the bridge, and receive its 

 floor, on which the travel is had. The ends of the 

 bridge are supported by common cedar posts. Built 

 for small bridges, they might be transported from 

 one place to another with facility. Mr. L. thinks a 

 span of almost any length would bo safe and sure, 

 and that bridges made on this plan will answer a 

 good purpose for railroads. The bridge we saw him 

 complete is forty feet long by ten feet wide, is capa- 

 ble of supporting a great weight steadily, was made 

 and finished off in two days, and cost for materials 

 and labor but about forty dollars. We see not why 

 it may not answer an excellent purpose, and prove a 

 very valuable invention. — Gospel Banner. 



Fire Proof Paint. — A paint that would be both 

 a preservative to wood from the ordinary wear and 

 corrosions of the weather, and at the same time a 

 protection from fire, has long been a desideratum. 

 Many experiments have been tried, and many failures 

 made. 



It has at length been accomplished by William 

 Blake, Esq., whom many of our readers will recol- 

 lect as having resided in this town several years ago, 

 and who is well known as an estimable man in his 

 social relations, as also being largely imbued with the 

 Yankee spirit of industry and research. We last 

 week had the pleasure of meeting with Freeland 

 Holmes, Esq., of Bangor, who exhibited to us speci- 

 mens of this paint, and gave us samples of the mate- 

 rial before being combined with oil. Mr. Holmes is 

 Mr. Blake's agent for Maine. 



It makes a dense, compact covering on whatever it 

 is placed, as hard as marble, and may be written 

 upon as well as upon a slate ; indeed, it is an artifi- 

 cial slate. By chemical analysis, it has been found 

 to be made up of silica, alumina, and oxide of iron, 

 as its principal ingredients. It is a mineral substance 

 found by Mr, Blake in Akron, Ohio. The history 



of its discovery and the experiments tried by ^Ir. 

 Blake before he finally succeeded in ascertaining its 

 true use, are very curious, and may form a chapter 

 for a future number of our paper. 



We can only add at present that it has been found 

 by actual experiment to have been instrumental in 

 saving a house from burning. The roof of the house 

 in question was painted with this paint. A house 

 next on one side took fire, and burned down. The 

 burning shingles and cinders rained down upon this 

 roof, which escaped, while the roof of the house next 

 beyond, not so painted, took fire several times. So 

 it has been proved by a "fiery ordeal," and stood 

 the test. — Maine Farmer. 



To SOFTEN Putty, and remove Glass without 

 BREAKING. — As it is often of importance to glaziers 

 and others to remove glass from frames without 

 breaking it, they will be glad to know, that a very 

 strong solution of caustic potash, or caustic soda, 

 applied round the panes for a few hours, by laying 

 upon them an old rag dipped in the solution, will 

 have the desired effect. — American Farmer. 



HOW MUCH DO OUR CROPS OBTAIN 

 FROM THE AIRT 



One of the most interesting and important ques- 

 tions which employ the skill and science of the 

 vegetable physiologists, as well as the practical 

 farmer, is. How much, or what per cent, of the food 

 of vegetables, is obtained from the atmosphere ? 

 That a large amount is obtained from this source has 

 long been known or believed ; but what proportion 

 is not so well known, nor what conditions are neces- 

 sary in order to enable the plant to take the most 

 of this food, and assimilate it to its own system in the 

 best way, is not yet fully ascertained. We have 

 been very much interested in reading an address, 

 delivered by Dr. Lee, of Buffalo, before the Monroe 

 County Agricultural Society. He there assorts that 

 plants — a field of wheat, for instance — obtain 

 ninety-seven per cent, of their food, and conse- 

 quently ninety-seven per cent, of the amount of the 

 produce is derived from the atmosphere, and but 

 three per cent, only obtained from the soil. How 

 this fact is ascertained, or how it may be demon- 

 strated, does not appear. There cannot be a doubt 

 that every plant has some peculiar character of its 

 own, which requires it to be placed in certain cir- 

 cumstances, in order to enable it to absorb what the 

 air supplies for food, and to make it convert the 

 greatest portion of it to the growth and maturing its 

 peculiar fruits. There cannot be a doubt that often- 

 times a plant may grow in an atmosphere full of the 

 necessary elements for its increase and health, and 

 yet some little requisite — the absence or scanty sup- 

 ply of another element — may prevent it from avail- 

 ing itself of this abundant supply of atmospheric 

 food. Hence the importance of thoroughly under- 

 standing all the laws by which the germination, 

 growth, and maturity of every species of vegetable 

 which we cultivate are governed. But in order to 

 ascertain these exactly, it requires more critical 

 knowledge of chemistry and botany than the great 

 bulk of farmers possess, and more time to be employed 

 in research than many men, even of scientific experi- 

 ence, have to bestow \ipon it. For this reason, we 

 suggest that agricultural societies should bestow 

 some of their funds in the shape of premiums, or 

 otherwise, for the purpose of instituting exact ex- 

 periments upon this subject, and to elicit and make 

 known to the public all the knowledge which can 

 possibly be thus discovered. — Maine Farmer. 



