NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



403 



improved; and on the whole, I nm persuaded 

 that by the cultivation of this productive vegeta- 

 ble, the economical farmer will be grealy en 

 riched. If all the above benefits are not real- 

 ized, I shall be much disappointed, as my reli- 

 ance on this crop is so great, that 1 inleud, the 

 ensuin;? "reason, to plant all the seed 1 can pos- 

 sibly procure, at a reasonable expense. 



DESCRIPTION OF A MOULD-BOARD, 



Extracted from a letter, dated March Z3, 1708, 

 from Mr. Jrffersnn, to Sir John Sinclair, Pres- 

 ident of the Board of Agriciiltnrc at Lotdon. 

 printed in the -llh volume of the Tran.wctims of 

 the American Fhilosophical Society in Pkita- 

 delphia. 



In a former letter to you, I mentioned Ihe 

 construction of the mould-board of a plough 

 which had occurred to me, as advantageous in 

 its form, as certain and invariable in the method 

 of obtaining it with precision. 1 remember that 

 Mr. Strickland of York, a member of your board. 

 Avas so well satisfied with the principles on which 

 it was formed, that he took some drawings ef it, 

 and some others have considered it with the 

 ^;ime approbation. An experience of five 3t!ars 

 Ikis enabled me to say, it answers, in praclice, 

 to what it promises in theory. The mould-b^ard 

 should be a continuation of the wing of the 

 ploughshare, beginning at its hinder edge, find 

 m the same plane. Its office is to receiveihe 

 sud horizontally from the wing, to raise it to a 

 proper height for being turned over, and to 

 make, in its progress, the least resistance jos- 

 sible ; and, consequently, to require a miniimm 

 in the moving power. Were this its onljiof- 

 fice, the wedge would offer itself as the ntst 

 eligible form in practice.* But the sod is tobe 

 turned over also. To do this, the one edge'of 

 it is not to be raised at all; for to raise t^is, 

 woulil Ijc n ivasle of labor. Tbe other ed^ is 

 to be raised till it passes the ^erpendicubr, that 

 it may fall over with its ovn weight. And that 

 (l)is may be done, so a? to give also the least' 

 resistance, it must be made to rise gradually 

 tiom the moment ffie sod is received. The 

 mould-board then, in this second office, operates 

 as a transverse, or rising wedge, the point of 

 which sliding back horizontally on the ground, 

 the other end continues rising till it passes the 

 perpendicular. Or to vary the point of view, 

 place on the ground a wedge of the breadth of 

 the ploughshare, of its length from the wing 

 backwards, and as high at the heel as it is wide. 

 Draw a diagonal line on its upper face, from 

 the left angle, at the point, to the right upper 

 angle of the heel. I5evil the face from the 

 diagonal to the right bottom edge, which lies 

 on the ground. That half is then evidently in 

 the best form, for performing the two offices of 

 raising and turning the sod gradually and with 



the least effort; and if you will suppose the 

 same bevil continued across the left side of the 

 diagonal, that is, if you will suppose a straight 

 line, whose length is at lonst equal to the 

 breadth of the wedge, applied on the face of 

 the first bevil, and moved backwards on its par- 

 allel, with itself and with the ends of the wedge, 

 the lower end of the line, moving along the 

 right bottom-edge, » curved plane will be gen- 

 erated, whose characteristic will be, a combi- 

 nation of the principle of the wedge in cross 

 directions, and will give us what we seek, the 

 cross board of least resistance. It offers too 

 this great advantage, that it may be made by 

 the coarsest workman, b}' a process so exact, 

 that its form shall never be varied a single 

 hair's breadth. One fault of all other mould- 

 boards is, that, being copied by the eye, no two 

 will be alike. In trnlh, it is easier to form the 

 mould-board I speak of with precision, when 

 the method has been once seen, than to describe 

 that method cither by words or figures. 



* I am aware, tliat were the turf to be raised to a 

 given height, in a given length of mould-board, aud 

 not to be turned over, the form of least resistance would 

 not be rigorously a wedge with both faces straight, but 

 with the upper cue curved, according to the laws of 

 the solid of least resistance described by the mathema- 

 ticians. But the difference between the effect of the 

 curved and of the plain wedge, in the case of a mould- 

 board, is so minute, and the difficulty in the execution 

 wliich tlie former would superinduce on common work- 

 men, is so great, that the plain wedge is the most eli- 

 gible to be assumed in practice of the first element of 

 our coDslructicn. 



ANALYSIS OF SOILS. 



" In cases when the general nature of the 

 soil of a field is to be ascertained, specimens of 

 it should be taken from different places, two or 

 three inches below the surface, and examined 

 as to the similarity of their properties. It some- 

 times happens, that upon plains the whole of 

 the upper stratum of the land is of the same 

 kind, and in this case, one analysis will be suffi- 

 cient ; but in vallies, and near the beds of riv- 

 ers, there are very great differences, and it 

 now and then occurs that one part of a field is 

 calcareous, and another part siliceous; and in 

 this case, and in analogous cases, the portions 

 ditierent from each other should be separately 

 submitted to experiment. 



" Soils when collected, if Ihcy cannot be im- 

 tnediately examined, ehoultl b^ i>rpserv«?d in 

 phials quite filled with them, and closed with 

 ground glass stoppers. 



" The quantity of soil most convenient for a 

 perfect analysis, is from two to four hundred 

 grains. It should be collected in dry weather, 

 and exposed to the atmosphere till it becomes 

 dry to the touch. 



" The specific gravity of a soil, or the rela- 

 tion of its weight to that of water, may be as- 

 certained by introducing into a phial, which 

 will contain a known quantity of water, equal 

 volumes of water und of soil, and this may be 

 easily done by pouring in water till it is half 

 full, and then adding the soil till the fluid rises 

 to the mouth ; the difference between the weight 

 of the soil and that of the water will give the 

 result. Thus if the bottle contains 400 grains 

 of water, and gains 200 grains when half filled 

 with water and half with soil, the specific gra- 

 vity of the soil will be 2, that is, it will be twice 

 as heavy as water, and if it gained 165 grains, 

 its specific gravity would be 1825, water being 

 1000. 



" It is of importance, that the specific gravity 

 of a soil should be known, as it alfords an indi- 

 cation of the quantity of animal and vegetable 

 matter it contains; these substances begin al- 

 ways most abundant in tlie lighter soils." 



Daw. 



above this some clean sand ; sink this tub in the 

 river or pit, so that only a few inches of the tub 

 will be above the surface of the water; the riv- 

 er or pit water will filter through the sand, and 

 rise clear through it to the level of the water 

 on the outside, aud will be pure and limpid. 



Recent experiments have shewn that tile? are, 

 greatly improved, and rendered impervious to 

 water and frost, by being rubbed over with tar 

 before they arc laid on the roof 



To purify the muddy -j:ater of rivers or pits. 

 Make a number of holes in the bottom of a 

 deep tub; lay some clean gravel thereon, and 



THE REAL HYSON TEA PLANT, 



Introduced into the United States, and no'^ culti- 



ratcd in Korlh Carolina. 



A R n, an old traveller in the Indies, and 



at present an inhabitant of Moore county, IV. C. 

 is well acquainted with the growth and cultiva- 

 tion of the above lea plant in foreign as well as 

 this country, and also with the mode and man- 

 ner of curing its leaves; and gives to the public 

 the following communication respecting it: 



As soon as the leaves arrive to maturity they 

 should be gathered in the morning, while the 

 dew is upon them, after three or four days of 

 good sunshine weather in succession previous 

 to gathering, and clear from any rain falling in 

 the interim to wet them : then dry up the dew 

 on them as early as you can in the shade, (say 

 in a room where there is as little wind or air 

 stirring as possible,) after which, put the leaves 

 into a stone jar or jars, with as small mouths as 

 can be had so as to preclude the steam from 

 getting outj or the air or water within, by tying 

 cloths ovei^thcm, and putting on plates or small 

 waiters, witlt weight thereon : then set the jar 

 or jars into a large pot or kettle, with water up 

 to their neck;, and by no means let auy get into 

 their mouths, boil it slowly, until the leaves 

 are completely wilted : take the jar or jars out 

 and set them away, with their covers securely 

 on, until thoy and their contents are perfectly 

 cool : take out the leave>, with their liquid sub- 

 stance (if anv,) and put the whole together ia 

 equal quantities, into large dishes, to dry in the 

 shade as before recited (say on tables in a room 

 as clear of wind or air as possible,) often stir- 

 ring the leaves, that they may absorb the liquid 

 (if any) and dry with expedition: when thor- 

 oughly done, should be immediately canistered 

 up, and is then fit for use. 



The writer of this article has, for some years 

 past, successfully cultivated and cured in this 

 country the above plant from seed which he 

 himself obtained from the East Indies ; and there 

 is not the least doubt but that it will prosper 

 and do well in any part of the United States, as 

 the seed which falls from the plant or other- 

 wise will stand the winter of this climate, and 

 come up in the spring ; but the most advisable 

 way is to gather the seed in the fall, and sow 

 them in the spring, in small drills, of good fine 

 earth, about two feet wide ; from which yon 

 can draw out in a wet season, and transplant as 

 other plants, as soon as three leaves appear on 

 the plant, leaving and depositing them about 

 eight inches apart, and cultivating them with a 

 hoe, as you (vould cotton or indigo, which had 

 better be done in the evening, when the heat 

 of the day is over. Three gatherings may be 

 had in a season — the first is the best. 



A wisp of straw should be placed in the bot- 

 tom of the pot or kettle, to set the jar^ on, 

 when boiled. **■ 



