Vol. G No. i;j. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



99 



^liatthe farjucr cannot bo profited by all the aids 

 which science or learning Ciin afford. 



The Address bein:j concluded, the customary 

 trial of If'urkiiig O.itn coniin(?nceil, and continued 

 duriniT a very heavy rain, the numerous spectators 

 losing, in tlio interest I'elt in this part of theE.\hibi- 

 tion, all thought of the inclemency of the weather. 



At two o'clock the Society dined together at the 

 Town-Hall. 



We were agreeably disappointed at findinij, af- 

 ter dinner, that our Shrewsbury friends had not 

 been deterred, by the weather, from bringing on 

 the fine team of woriiing oxen, which they had 

 promised to exhibit. Itconsisted of si.xtyfive yokes, 

 all of them handsome cattle. Olher teams from 

 a greater distance would probably have been e.\- 

 liibited, liad not the weather on Tuesday as well 

 as Wednesday prevented. 



We had not opportunity to make a minute exa- 

 mination oi ihc .flrtides of Manufacture. We no- 

 ticeU, however, ten or twelve pieces of Carpeting, 

 made in families, all of which were good, and some 

 of them of extraordinary excellence. The exhibi- 

 tion of woollen goods, generally, and of Broarf- 

 dolhs eepecially, was far superior to that of former 

 years. 



Of the quality of the Butter and Cheese exhibit- 

 ed, we had, of course, no other than ocular evi- 

 dence — These articles made a goodly show of fair 

 and fat things, and we doubt not would well stand 

 the ^ron/ of their excelienco. 



On the whole, notwithstanding the disappoint- 

 ment occasioned to many by the weather, and the 

 inconvenience experienced from that cause, there 

 is reason not to regret it over-much. We have 

 proof, now, that the interest felt in this annual ex- 

 hibition and competiti,an by our farmers, is not 

 merely that excited by the amusements of a fair 

 ■^veather holiday ; that it is an interest which comes 

 borne to- the business and bosoms of men of all oc- 

 cupations, but more especially of the cultivators of 

 the sfiil. No object of ordinary interest would 

 have tempted men to bo abroad, exposed for hours, 

 on such a day as Wednesday. 



The duties of the day were all performed, and 

 at the hours assigned for them; so that, at half 

 past four, the various Committees were ready with 

 their Reports, which were made at the .South 

 Meeting House. The first was on the Ploughing 

 -T/a/cA, the Committee being composed of Emory 

 Washburn, |'C/i«i)»»rt7iJ /Vdolphus -Spring, Ebene- 

 zer Estabrook. Luther .Spring and Silas Allen, jr. 

 The length of this, and of most of the Reports, 

 prevents our giving them entire this week. Yeom. 



BEARS. 



We intended ere this to have devoted a short 

 paragraph to our shaggy neighbors of the forest 

 w9 may almost say of the field — for notwith- 

 standing the uncivil treatment they frequently 

 meet with, they venture forth into the orchards 

 and corn-fields of the farmer, and cross the travel- 

 ler's path whenever they list. 



On Sunday last, an old she bear and three cubs 

 were seen, about a mile from here, on one tree, 

 picking chesnuts, by a boy who was out on the 

 Game errand. The bears would stand on the large 

 branches, bend in, or break the small ones with 

 their paws, and pick the chesnuts from the burs 

 with their teeth. As soon as they saw the boy, 

 Mrs Bruin alighted from the tree, and took French 

 leave; while the young Bruins, nothing abashed, 

 continued picking nuts. The boy having neither 



arms, nor ammunition, came home to obtain both, 

 as well as some assistance in killing the bears. 

 But before his return they had made their escape 

 — hov\ever, the old bear and two of the cubs were 

 killed on Monday morning.- On the same day an- 

 other full grown bear was killed, which, with one 

 that was killed on Sunday afternoon, not far from 

 hence, and the three already mentioned, makes 

 five on Sunday and Monday. 



A gentloiuan was out with his dog a few days 

 since, when hearing a liostile bark, he came U[; 

 and saw a lusty bear endeavoring to climb a tree, 

 and Pompey attacking him in the rear and pulling 

 him down. Bruin would then turn upon the dog to 

 punish his presumption ; but Pompey being more 

 agile, and having no inclination fur a bearish 

 hug, would spring from the enemy's reach and 

 make good his retreat. Thus stood mntters be- 

 tween the four-legged combatants; when Pompey 

 being reinforced by powder and ball, an end was 

 put to the battle and Bruin together. 



The bears of Hoosac have become uncommonly 

 numerous. We have heard of something like a 

 dozen, killed in this neighborhood within a month. 

 Every day or two we have accounts of bears being 

 seen by some person or other; and though we 

 make all proper allowances for the magnifying 

 fears of the spectator, it must doubtless be con- 

 ceded, that no bears, in the old and respectable 

 state of Massachusetts, can bear away the palm 

 from the bears of this neighborhood, for downright 

 fearless and familiar intercourse with their civili- 

 zed neighbors. — And yet, to do them justice, these 

 bears aie as civil and well behaved set of bears as 

 we ever met with — exceedingly moderate in their 

 wishes, asking, generally, for nothing but plenty 

 of corn, nuts and sweet apples, and taking them 

 without leave rather than trouble the owner with 

 any kind of importunities Berkshire American. 



FATTENING PIGS ON COAL. 

 Cunningham, in liis "Two years in JVew South 

 ff'ales," relates — '•! had often heard it said among 

 sailors that pigs would fatten on coals, and al- 

 though I had observed them very fond of munch- 

 ing up the coals and cinders that came in their 

 way. still 1 conceived they might relish them more 

 as a condiment or medicine than as food, till I was 

 assured by a worthy friend of mine, long in com- 

 mand of a ship, that he once knew of a pig being 

 lost for several weeks in a vessel lie commanded, 

 and it was at last found to have tumbled into the 

 coal hole, and there lived all that period without 

 a single morsel of any thing to feed upon but 

 coals : on being dragged out, it was found as 

 plump and fat as if it bad been feasting on the 

 most nutricious food. Another friend told me of 

 a similar case, which came under his observation; 

 and although these may be solitary instances, yet 

 they ferve at least to show the wonderful facility 

 which the stomachs of certain animals possess of 

 adapting their digestive powers to such an extra- 

 ordinary species of food, and extracting wholesome 

 nourishment therefrom. When we consider coal, 

 however, to be a vegetable production, containing 

 the constituent principles of fat, carbon, hydrogen 

 and oxygen, our surprise will decrease." 



caught by the eastern islanders, is suspended over 

 a fire, kindlpd immediately after its capture, until 

 such time as the effect of the heat loosens the shell 

 to such a (logree that it can be removed with tlif 

 greatest case. The animal, now stript and defence 

 less, is Set at liberty, to re-enter its native ele 

 ment. If caught in the ensuing season, or at any 

 subsequent period, it is asserted that the unhappy 

 animal is subjected to a second ordeal of fire, re- 

 warding its capturers this time, however, with a 

 very thin shell. This, if true, shows more true 

 policy and skill than tenderness in the method thus 

 adopted by the islanders; it is a questionless proof 

 too, of tenacity of life in the animal, and must fur 

 thcr be accounted a very singular fact in natural 

 history. 



The following receipt to cure a cold is said tn 

 be 130 efficacious, that wo republish it at the re- 

 quest of a correspondent who has tested its vir 

 tues. — .'?/H. Farmer. 



Take a large tea spoon full of flaxseed, with 

 two penny worth of atic liquorice, and a quarter 

 of a pound of sun raisins. Put it into two quarts 

 of soft water, and lot it simmer over a slow fire, 

 till it is reduced to one; then add to it a quarter of 

 a pound of brown sugar candy, pounded, a table 

 spoon full of white wine vinegar, or lemon juice. 

 Note. — The vinegar is best to be added (mly to 

 that quantity you are going immediately to take; 

 for if it he put into the whole, it is liable in a little 

 time to grow flat. Drink half a pint at going to 

 bed, and take a little when the cough is trouble- 

 some. This receipt generally cures the worst of 

 colds in two or three d.iys, and if taken in time, 

 may be said to be almost an infallible remedy. It 

 is a sovereign balsamic co/dial for the lungs, 

 without the opening qualities, which engender 

 fresh cclds on going out. It has been known tc 

 cure cotds, that have almost been settled into con 

 sumptions, in less tlian three weeks. 



TORTOISE SHELL. 



The following singularly barbarous jDrocess for 

 obtaining the tortoise-shell, is abstracted from an 

 Indian Newspaper, called the Sincapore Chronicle: 

 — This highly-prized aquatic production, when 



Virtues of Olive Oil. — An extraordinary effec 

 of Olive Oil is reported by Mr Baldwin, the Brit- 

 ish Consul at Sniyrni, who observed that, among 

 the numerous tribe of oil porters, none were in- 

 fected with the Plague. Led by this hint, he pro 

 posed unction of the body with oil to keep off the 

 Plague, and the following was the result 

 of the first trial. In 1792, twenty-two Venetian 

 sailors lived five days with three infested persons, 

 all of whom died; but the twenty-two sailors whu 

 had been repeatedly anointed with oil, remained 

 free from the infection. Three Armenian families, 

 consisting of tv^enty-seven persons, occupying the 

 same floor, closely attended the sick of the Plague, 

 but being daily rubbed with oil, were preserved 

 from the infection. The nurses in the hospitals 

 of Smyrna, who attended the sick night and day, 

 have, by the same methods, been happily preserv- 

 ed from contagion. .A.fter this, the oil was em- 

 ployed in the first stages of the plague at Smyrna, 

 and with the happiest effect. The body was rub- 

 bed all over with tepid Olive Oil. A pint was es- 

 teemed sufficient to effect a cure. The Caffres, 

 who constantly smear the body with lard or oil, 

 remain free from the Yellow Fever; and the Esqui- 

 maux tribes, who also regale on Seal Oil, remain 

 also free ; and when the Plague raged in London, 

 tallow melters and butchers were found e.xempt. 

 Instead of clogging up the pores, as might be sus- 

 pected by some, the pores become open, and the 

 oil produces a salutary perspiration. 



