Vol. (i.— No. G 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



4ii 



^:Aoi of llie hoiisi-, lalhcH at tlic boltoiiis. Kacli drawer will liolil 

 iitarly h-ilt'a Imsliel of jn^aclics, wliidi slioiiU be ripe, and not 

 peeled, but cut in two and laid on the lalhs wilh llieir skins 

 dDwnwords so as to save Ihe juice. On shoving the drawer in, 

 tlie^' are soon dried by tlie hoi air of the stove and laid up. — 

 Peaches dricil llius cat like raisins. Wlh a paring machine, 

 which may be had for a dollar or two, apples or pears may bo 

 pared, and sufficient quantity dried to keep a family in pies, and 

 Apple bread and milk, till apples come again. With a paring 

 iiUKhiue, one person can pare for five or si.t cutler?. 



ARTIFICIAL PONDS. 

 Pastures that are destitute of water, slioultl 

 have artificial [jonds made in them, for watering 

 piaces. 



" Observe wliero nishcs, reeds, flags, and other 

 .iqiiatic plants grow spontaneously ; or where 

 frogs are observed to lie squatted down close to 

 the ground in order to receive its moisture. Or 

 observe where a vapour is frequently seen to rise 

 from the same spot. Some say, whenever little 

 swarms of flies are seen constantly flying in the 

 same place, and near the ground, in the morning 

 after sun-rise, there is wattir underneath." — 

 "If a well is made in a sloping ground, and the 

 declivity is sufficient to give it a horizontal vent, 

 it will be worth the husbandman's while to dig 

 such a passage, and by means of pipes, or any 

 other conveyance, to carry the water across the 

 light soil, through which it might otherwise sink. 

 The greatest quantity of v/ater will be obtained 

 in this manner, because there will be a continual 

 stream." There is no difficulty in making a 

 durable pond in a clayey soil Let a large hol- 

 low basin be made in such earth, and it will pre- 

 serve the water that falls in rain. But it is apt 

 to be thick and dirty, if some pains be not taken to 

 prevent it. The declivity, by which the cattle en- 

 ter, should bo paved, and gravel should be spread 

 on the bottom. Or it might be better if the 

 whole were paved. 



There are many large natural ponds, which 

 have outlets in one part, and are supplied by 

 brooks or rivers in other parts ; but a greater 

 number of smaller ponds which are perfectly stag- 

 nant, unless when they arc agitated by winds. — 

 Such ponds as the latter, in hot sensons, are apt 

 to become putrid, and contaminate the air about 

 them. For this reason they should, if possible, be 

 drained. And when the water is not deep, and an 

 outlet can be made v;ithout too much cost, they 

 should be drained for the sake of reclaiming the 

 soil. Tliis will be of great value, as it commonly 

 is found to be extremely rich, being made up of 

 the finest particles of soil, wafted into them by 

 winds, and of decayed vegetable substances, be- 

 sides the fins mould washed into them by rains. 



Many farms contain little sunken spots, which 

 are most of the year covered with water, and pro- 

 duce some aquatic bushes and weeds. These 

 are notorious harbours for frogs ; and are also 

 called frcg ponds. They should be drained if it 

 be practicable. It is commonly the case, hoviev- 

 •er, that draining them in the common way, by 

 making an outlet, would cost more than they 

 would be worth when drained, because of the 

 height of the land on every side. But in this case 

 if the banks be not clay, they may be drained in 

 the following manner. 



Take notice on which side land that is lower 

 than the pond is nearest. On that side, in the 

 bank near the pond, dig a kind of cellar, two or 

 three feet deeper than the surface of the pond ; 

 do it in a drv season. If a hard stratum appear, 



dig through it ; and leave digging where tlio bot- 

 to'.. is loose gravel or sand. Then make an open 

 or a covered drain from tlie pond to the cellar. — 

 The water will be discharged Irom the pond, and 

 soak into tiic earth through the bottom of tlie ol- 

 lar, till a scurf is formed on the bottom thai; ill 

 stop tlio water from soaking into the earth. This 

 scurf should bo broken from time to time, and tak- 

 en away with a long handled hoe. Or, the cellar 

 may be filled up witli refuse slonos, which I think 

 is preferable to the otiier method. 



If the pond should not then become sufficiently 

 dry, a small ditch should be drawn round it, and 

 discharge itself into the cellar. The land tliat is 

 thus gained will be rich muck, much of which may 

 be carted awtiy for manure ; and common earth, 

 or sand, may replace it, without detriment to tlie 

 soil. — Dcane's jVew Evo-laiid Fanner. 



BREAD. 



The disease called dyspepsia has become so 

 general and obistinate in this city, as to consti- 

 tute one of the most toriblo plagues with which 

 we are afflicted. There is scarcely one in five 

 among persons of sedentary habits, who are not 

 more or less afiecled by it. We have no doubt 

 the principal cause of its prevalence is the un- 

 wholesome nature of the bread in common use. — 

 This, like many other articles of food, has been 

 refined till its nutritious qualities are almost de- 

 stroyed. For the sake of fineness and whiteness, 

 the coarser, but more nourishing particles, are 

 excluded from its composition; and it is wrought 

 into a tough, dry, and indigestible substance, high- 

 ly pernicious to the stomach. Fortunately for 

 the health of our citizens, an opposition line of 

 some extent in the baking business, has of late 

 years been set on foot, for the making of what is 

 called family bread. This, as it is not refined to 

 death, may be eaten with safety. Another kind, 

 of which large quantities are now baked, called 

 bran bread, and made of unbolted flour, is the 

 only one proper for confirmed cases of the dys- 

 pepsia, many of which have been cured by the 

 use of it. Though brown and coarse in its ap- 

 pearance, it is quite palitable. — A'. Y. Mirror. 



Boston and Providence Hail lioad VVe under 



stand that the Commissioners of the Board of In- 

 ternal Improvement finislied viewing the different 

 proposed routes of the Boston and Providence 

 Rail Road on Saturday last, and intend soon to 

 commence tlie survey. For a greater part of the 

 distance throe and in some instances four, diflbr- 

 ent routes have been proposed by the inhabitant.', 

 of the djlferent towns, and examined by the Com 

 missioners, — the most westerly passing near the 

 Wrentliani meeting-house, and the most easter- 

 ly, near the Mansfield mccting-hoiise. It seems 

 the route is not yet fixed upon, and will not ^e, as 

 wo understand, until some sjrveys are made for 

 the purpose of making a more accurate compari 

 son. It is however pretty satisfactorily ascertain- 

 ed, that a Rail Way may bo constructed between 

 the two capitals, without a variation of more than 

 '23 or 27 feet in the mile from a level, excepting 

 a distance of three or four miles about the middle 

 of the route, whore in the transportation from 

 Boston to Providence, two horses will be required 

 for the load that may be transported over the rest 

 of it by one. From the summit of the route to 

 Providence, the descent is gradual and pretty uni- 

 form, and it seems probable that no extra power 

 will be required in this part of the route, in either 

 direction. The route on the whole, is much more 

 favourable than was anticipated. 



The inhabitants on the diftbrent routes have 

 given the Commissioners every possible facility 

 and assistance in exploring the grounds, and 

 though those of each town and neighbourhood arc 

 inclined to think favourably of their own route 

 yet they all agree, in the most liberal and public 

 spirited manner, that the best route should be se- 

 lected, whether it prove to be their own or some 

 other. The people of Providence and Pawtucket 

 express their readiness to co-operate cordially 

 and liberally in the undertaking, and no local jeal- 

 ousies or rivalships seem likely to throw any ob- 

 stacles in the way of the enterprise, the only com- 

 petition as yet exhibited, being a generous emula- 

 in its favour. — Centincl. 



Steam Boats. — In the summer of the year 1607, 

 Fulton for the first time ascended the Hudson 

 river from New York to Albany, in a boat pro- 

 pelled by steam. This was the first successful 

 experiment of the kind ever made. In a letter 

 that le addressed to his .friend, Joel Barlow, un- 

 der date of August 22, 1807, Mr Fulton observes: 



" My steam boat voyage to Albany and back 

 has turned out rather more favourable than I had 

 calculated. I ran it up in 32 hours, and down in 

 30. The latter is just five miles an hour. I had 

 a light breeze against me the whole way, going 

 and coming, so that no use was made of my sails." 

 His boat was comparatively a rude structure, and 

 his engine of small power. After a lapse of 

 twenty years, we now witness numerous steam 

 boats, capacious to an extreme, elegaut in form 

 and finish, and which, without much exaggeration, 

 might be called floating palaces But in swiftness, 

 as well as in elegance, the progress of improve- 

 ment has been great. Instead of five miles an 

 hour, they now run at the rate of ten or eleven, 

 and, in some instances, twelve. — Alb. Arg. 



The Hop Duty (by which the product of the 

 year is estimated) was stated to produce 95,000/. 



NEW INVENTION. 

 Mr Noah Safford of Springfield, Vt. has lately 

 invented a Hydraulic Machine which bids fair to 

 equal, if not exceed any thing of the kind. Its 

 operation as a common pump is very easy and ef- 

 fectual, and leaves no doubt but it will be a pow- 

 erful instrument for throwing water. Their sim- 

 plicity and ease of construction is such, that they 

 cat. be afforded very low. One of the largest di- 

 mensions and up to all necessary power probably 

 will not cost much over $100, the smaller at a 

 much lower price. 



SURGICAL. 

 A distressing case occurred last week, in the 



family of Mr Michael Metcalf, Jr. of this town 



One of the children, two years old, was playing 

 with some kidney beans, one of which, half an 

 inch in length, slipped into the treachea, or wind- 

 pipe. This took place about 9 o'clock. The dis- 

 tress of the child increasing, it became apparent 

 in the afternoon, that suffocation would soon end 

 the sufferings of the little innocent. The parents 

 then consented that the operation of bronchotoiny, 

 cutting into the windpipe, should be performed. 

 This operation, by Dr. Twichell, seven hours al 

 ter the accident, was completely successful and, 

 the child is now in perfect health. — Kccne paper. 



