Vol. 6.— No. '20. 



JNEW ENGLAND FAilMER. 



157 



months olit, weighed 71^4 lbs. ; another, six months 

 old, 700, and many others nearly equal to this. — 

 A heifer, two and a half years old, 123".2; a bull, 

 1988; a cow, 1498. All the spcoinicps given, 

 were, with the exception of one bull and some 

 oxen, of the improved short horned breed. 



Penn. Gazette. 



BITE OP THE RATTLESNAKE. 



An article has been published insevcnil journals, 

 giving the account of !i remarkable cure of the 

 bite of a Raltltsnake, by cupping with a common 

 porter or black bottle. Thcplan resorted to was, 

 to fill the bottUi half full of spirits of Turpentine, 

 made quite warm, and after scarifying iho wound 

 made by the snake, to apply tlie mouth of the bot- 

 tle to it, and then pour cold water on the bottle 

 until perfectly cooled. It is said in the case 

 above alluded to, that the patient was in the most 

 excruciating agony, previous to the bottle being 

 applied, but soon became easy, and fell into a 

 sound sleep. The next day he was able to walk 

 about and work as usual. Spirituous liquors of 

 .nny kind, or even warn^ water, will do very well 

 ns a substitute for spirits of turpentine. 



Penn. Gazettt. 



mile of my father's house, performod u similar 

 cure on the foot of her brother. In neither in- 

 stance was the sliglitest iuoonvcnieuce CJipcricnc- 

 ed, from the poison being received into the mouth, 

 nor did the wounds amount to more after the suc- 

 tion, than a briar scratch would have produced ; 

 I ujention these cases, as instances coming under 

 my own eye. In fact, the North American si-.va- 

 ges are perfectly aware of the certain benefit of 

 suction, but as well as Ihe whites, are deterred, 

 in many instances from its application from an ap- 

 prehension of danger to the person who performs 

 the humane act. I will not say, that in tlie pi'r- 

 formance of such an act, there is no danger — but 

 I have known no serious consequences follow 

 where it has been put into practice. 



William Dardt. 



A'ew York Branch of 'he Linnean Society. — At 

 a late meeting, Doctor Pascalis communicated 

 the introduction and division of his work on Ihe 

 gr(jwih and culture of silk. The Doctor's treatise 

 embraces not only the old and natural method of 

 rearing silk-worms, but also the lately impr.jf .1 

 artificial system, by which the crops of llie .-iilk 

 jiave beeii qunlruplcd. lie takes upon him.--filf 

 the solution of a great problem, by proving that 

 the silk-worm is a perfectly electrical insect; and 

 can be managed under this dntum without iiiurh 

 fear of failure, so as to obtain its valuable prod -i! . 



That the. exercise of intellect is one means of 

 prolonging human life is an inconteslible truth. — 

 The corporeal organ by which we perform the in- 

 explicable functions of thought, is the brain. And 

 it is a deliberate opinion of men, whose specula- 

 tions have been turned to such topics, that nothing 

 tends more directly to procure sound health and 

 quiet days, than a due activity in the functions of 

 the brain. We ure assured by a learned writer, 

 that there is no instance of longevity in a profes- 

 sed idler. The truth is, that whoever is regularly 

 engaged on subjects requiring thought, has no 

 leisure for indulging in any excess. 



Three large Bulls, of the celebrated shorthorn 

 breed, ha\o arriveil here in the ship Mentor, from 

 Philadelphia. We understand they were procur 

 ed by J. Hare Powel, Esq. for the South Carolina 

 Agricultural Society, and with the lauilabh- view 

 oC iuiproving the breed of cattle in this state, 



Charleston Couriu: 



The following particulars respecting the p;o: 

 lice of an acre of land, were handed us by a ^'..i 

 lleman from Simsbury, who assure? it is orrecl. 



Mr. D. Latliam mowed from 1 acre o: land on 

 fhe^Jd July last 2 tons hay — on the l>'la July, 

 ploughed the same, and planted it with pulafoes, 

 and after hoeing the potatoes, sowed T irnips 

 among them. In the latter part of October he 

 gatUoreJ 'iOH bushels Turnips and l.iO bushels of 

 Potatoes from the same land. — Hartford 2'imts. 



A Phirida p-iper says, " That a horrible state of 

 tMuiis, ',.::■> existed for some lime, ami the most fla- 

 . r;(i]! iireu^he-, of law taken place in Tnllahasse 

 That the civil authorities are frequently set it deli- 

 Jiuc-e, &c. This deplorable state of tiiiuas is fuUv 

 accounted tor in ihe subsequent pari:jrM|di 



Permit. Gazette. 



" The vice of drunkenness exists in this place, 

 and almost throughout the District, to a most a- 

 boiiiinable degree." 



Cider Molasses. — While cider is so abundant as 

 to be sold in Pennsylvania at 62.1 cents, and in 

 New England at 33 cents per barrel, why do nof 

 the farmers imitate some of their economizing' 

 iiciglibors, and boil down the cider to molasses ? — 

 A barrel of the juice of good sweet apples, it is 

 said, will producelliree gallons of molasses, worth 

 ,$1,50, and excellent for most culinary purposes. 

 People's Friend. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON* FRIDAY, DEC, 7, 1S27. 



Remedy for poison. — The most efficacious reme- 

 dy for the jnost active poison knov/n in nature, is, 

 suction by the human mouth, in cases of wounds 

 into which poison is injected, and which may be 

 extended to those from the fangs of serpents, par- 

 ticularly froTi those of the rattlesnake ; — .and, I 

 have no doubt also, but that the same remedy 

 would have equally beneficial results, if applied 

 to wounds inflicted by doss undpr the influence 

 •f hydrophobia. Colonel John Wharf, of Wash- 

 ington county, in Pennsylvauin, sucked a wound 

 en the foot of one of his sons, inflicted by a rat- 

 tlesnake. A young woman within a quarter of a 



HORSE CHESNUT. 



The Horse Chesnut, (JEsculus hippocnsianum,) 

 is a magnificent and beautiful tree, when in May 

 it is covered with its digitate foliage, and fine 

 large spikes of whits flowers. It is of rapid 

 growth, and speedily produces a considerable 

 hulk of limber ; which, however, is of no great 

 value, though some say it is aj good as that of 

 other chesnut. Being highly ornamental as a sin- 

 gle tree, and in the out-skirts of plantations, it 

 need never be planted in masses for limber. An 

 English writer compared it, when in flower, to 

 "a giant's nosegay." An objection to its culture 

 in soiiif situations, is, that "its leaves begin to 

 drop early in summer, and make a litter lound the 

 trees, during the remainder of the season." 



The horse chesnut requires a good and rather 

 dry soil, and . suffers materially from storms of 

 every kind, when planted in exposed situation. — 



1 M'.^iohon directs that the nuts should be planted 

 j about the middle of March. They should be 

 j sown in drills, first throwing the nut^ into a tub 

 'of wat'T, and rejecting such of tlicm as swim. — 

 ; The drills may be thtee feet asunder, and the 

 'nuts pl.mted about six or ei^iht inches from one 

 another in the rows, covering them with light rich 

 ; mould about two inches deep. When these trees 

 are transplanted, their roots should be preserved 

 as entire as possible. They should he set in large 

 holes. level with Iho surface of the ground, all 

 the fibres being spread and covered with fine 

 mould. They should then he tied to stakes to 

 protect them from high wind.-j and cattle, till large 

 enough to defend Ihernselvus. 



The fruit of the Horse Chesnut furnishes li 

 grateful food to hordes, and iias been successfully 

 employed for fattening cattle, the tallow of whicli 

 it renders uncommonly firm, especially when mix- 

 ed with ground barley. The milk obtained from 

 cows fed with it, is also said to be richer than 

 that produced by .-my other aliment. The nuts 

 have been used with advantiign in feeding poultry: 

 but they are unwholesome for hogs. Deer are 

 peculiarly fond of this fruit ; which has also been 

 usefully substituted for soap ; because on steeping 

 and boilinjj it in water, it makes a good lather, 

 preparatory to the use of that more expensive 

 article. In Turkey, the nuts are ground and 

 mixed with provenili'- for hori^cs, especially for 

 those which are troubled with ccughs, or broken 

 winded, in both of which disorders they are ac- 

 counted very srood. 



Rees' Cyclopedia, s.iys, "The common horse 

 chesnut is propngaled by sowing the nuts, after 

 preserving them in sand during the winter, in or- 

 der to prevent their rotting in the spring. The 

 horse chesnut has been employed in France and 

 Sn iti'erbnd, for the purpose of bleaciiing yarn ; 

 and it is r.°rommended in iho iViem. of the Society 

 ' of Berne, Vol. U. part '■! — as capable of extensive 

 I ir<" in whitening, not ordy flax and hemp, but silk 

 lipd wool. It contains an astringent saponaceous 

 juice, which is obtained by peeling the nuts and 

 j raspit'2 them. They are then mixed with hot rain 

 I or running water, in the proportion of twenty ^luts 

 ' to ten or twelve quarts of water. Wove caps and 

 •stockings were milled in this water, and took the 

 dve extremely well ; and successful trials were 

 i made of it in fulling stufis and cloths. Linen 

 I washed in this waler takes a pleasing light sky- 

 I blue color; and the filaments of hemp, steeped in' 

 lit some days, were easily se arated. Tlie author 

 j of the memoir above referred to. imagines that jl 

 I the meal of the chesnuts could bo made into cakes 

 I or balls, it would answer the purpose of soap in 

 washing and fulling. The sediment, after infusion, 

 loses its bitter taste, and becotues good food for 

 fowls when mixed with bran. 



BUTTER IN COLD lVEATIIi:R. 



In order to make butter in cold weather, it is 

 recommended to pour as much boiling water into 

 the cream as will bring it to the temperature of 

 milk just from the cow. Cream so managed, it is 

 said, will require very little churniiicr, and no dis- 

 advantage accrues except that the butter will be 

 white for a day or two. 



In Scotland, dairy women give their butter a 

 fine yellow color, by grating some orange carrots, 

 straining the juice, and mixing it with the cream 

 previous to churning. Butter, thus made, not 

 only acquires a baautifu! yellcw c»!or, but a flayor 



