it>2 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 14, 1327. 



lifter their poor fellow creatures and see what can 

 je done lo secure them the common necessaries 

 of meat, clothes and fire. The greater enjoyment 

 uf which man is capable results from tlic con- 

 sciousness of having furnished the means of en- 

 joyment to others. 



TO REMOVE ICE IN CANALS, Sic. 



A gent'e,inan in this city has put into our hands 

 ■he following letter from a person in New York, i 

 The experiment which the writer proposes is at 

 least worthy of considerntion and trial. 



" -As it may occur in a day or two that yon may 

 be again incommoded by ice in the river from your 

 >-ity to the overslaugh in tlie basin, and in the ca- 

 :',al, I beg leave to point out to you an experiment 

 that I made with success in Gothenburg in Swe- 

 flcn. I was a passenger in a packet bound to Eng- 

 land, that was frozen up, and while 100 men were 

 sawing her out, I tool; a tin cannister, containing 

 ibout a pound of powder, and introduced into the 

 neck a tin pipe, which was tilled with powder, and 

 :'astened to it a pole about C feet long. The ice 

 was about 2.V feet thick, into which I cut a hole, 

 and introduced the flask. After pushing- it under 

 the ice to the end of the tube, I pKiced a match 

 into it, and when it e.Kplodcd, it broke up into 

 jmall pieces lialf an acre of ice. 



" My opinion is, that if the canal is frozen, one, 

 ^^vo 01 six inches, so that it is free of holes and 

 tight in the sides, that a gill of powder, placed 

 'jven ten, fifty, or one hundred yards, would com- 

 pletely break it up, so that a boat could piss. If 

 you have a glass factory near, I am of opinion that 

 oottle or tubes, suitable for this purpose, could be 

 l)lown for a trifling expense, from six to eighteen 

 inches long. I mention this mode, as they would 

 i'e water-tight and easily filled. 



"As the benefit will be very grefit, and as the 

 ^'Xperimont can be made v. itli a trifling ctpense, 

 1 shall be pleased to learn that a U'lul has been 

 «nude, and that it has succeeded." — .V. Y. Enq. 



The best horse, of four years old, belonged to 

 Roger Phelps ; the best of three years old, own- 

 ed by Ralph AVatson ; best two years old colt, 

 was owned by Martin Palmer. 



Specimens of domestic goods were more nume- 

 rous than at any former exiiibition. Among those 

 meriting particular attention, wore some beautiful 

 pieces of table linen, ofTerod for inspection by 

 I Mrs. Sheldon. Carpetings, flannels, &c. were 

 presented by diftorent individuals. 



An address was delivered before the Society by 

 Major Ellsworth. 



JAMES GOODWIN, ChrK. 

 Simsbimj, JVov. 26, 1827. 



SILK WORM EGGS. 



Mr Gideon B. Smith of Baltimore informs the 

 Editor of the American Parmer that he has a 

 quantity of silk worm eggs of the best Italian stock 

 for sale, which, during the cold weather, can be 

 sent by mail to any jjartof the Union, the postage 

 of which will not exceed the treble postage on a 

 common letter. I'hose who may wish for eggs, 

 C!in address him at Baltimore, by letter enclosing 

 five dollars, for which a sufficient number of eggs 

 will be sent them, with proper directions for them 

 to obtain a practical knowledge of the cultivation 

 of silk, and an abundant supply of eggs for com- 

 mencing the business on an extensive scale anoth- 

 er year. From the eggs sent them for five dollars, 

 they may obtain from 150.000 to 500,000 eggs for 

 the next year — which will of course produce them 

 as many worms. 



CATTLE «iIOW AND FAIR At' WINDSOR. 1 

 The Farmers' annual exchange Cattle Show and 

 Fair wa.'j attended at Windsor, Broad-street, on 

 •he 1st of November. From the Reports of the 

 1,'ommittees, it appeared tliat there were more 

 than three hundred head of neat cattle on the 

 green; of this number, two hundred and four were 

 ni yokes. Tliey were generally in fine order, and 

 at no previous exhibition has there been so large 

 1 number of beautiful working oxen collected 

 together. 



The first and best of cattle, five years of age, 

 were owned by Henry Spencer ; second best, 

 by Hezekiah Braincrd ; third best, by Hozekiah 

 Hills. 



The best pair of four years old, were owned by 

 Jasper Morgan ; second best, by Isaac Hayden : 

 thi'd best, by Elisha N. Sill. 



The best pair of three years old steers, were 

 owned by Henry Spencer ; second best, by J. Bar- 

 ker ; third best, by Elihu Mills. 

 The best pair of two years old, were owned by 

 Martin EUsuorlh ; second best, by Saral. Phelps ; 

 third best, by Elihu Mills, .Ir. 



The best pair of yearlings, were owned by Eli- 

 hu Loomis ; second best, by Nathan Brown ; third 

 best, by Jasper Morgan. 



The best bull, the celebrated Holderness, was 

 owned by Mr. Watson. 

 The best calf, by Elisha N. Sill. 



WORCESTER COAL. 

 The proprietors of the Worcester Brewery have 

 for some lime past been burning- coal obtained 

 from the land of William E. Green, Esq. a little 

 distance from the mine which has been horctoforo 

 worked. Wo understand from them, that it is of 

 a bettor quality, on an average, than any they 

 have used before. It has been taken entirely from 

 the surface, and is what the colliers call sa-esnings 

 or refuse. It may, therefore, bo reasonably ex- 

 pected, tiiat a further excavation will produce coal 

 of an excellent quality. — Spi/. 



Injthe first case, a troublesome creature gained 

 aanission into the hive, which, from the impene- 

 trlbility of its shell, they could not destroy. Here, 

 then, their only resource vias to deprive it of loco- 

 mltion, and to obviate putrefaction, both which 

 oljjects they accomplished most skilfully and se- 

 Cdrely, and, as is usua' with these sagacious crea- 

 tines, at the least possible expense of labor and 

 materials. In the" latter case, to obviate the evil 

 or putrescence by the total exclusion of the air, 

 tnf:y w^ere obliged to be more lavish in the use of 

 thbir embalming material, and to form with it so 

 cofnple'e an incrustation or case over "the slime- 

 gtft giant," as to guard them from tlie consequen- 

 cffi which the atmosphere invariably produces 

 upnn all animal substances that are exposed to its 

 action after life has become extinct. May it not 

 be asked, what moans more effectual could human 

 wisdom have devised, under similar circumstances. 



INSTINCTIVE SAGACITY OF THE BEE. 



This iiardly needs now an illustration ; but, the 

 following, which we copy from a recent work on 

 the natural history of this industrious insect, may 

 iuterosi some of our readers: — 



" A snail having crept into one of Mr Reaumer's 

 hives early in the morning, after crawling about 

 for some time, adhered, by means of his own slime, 

 to one of the glass panes, where, but for the bees, 

 it would probably have remained till either a moist 

 air or its own spume had loosened the adhesion. 

 The bees having discovered the snail, immediate- 

 ly surrounded it, and formed a border of propolis 

 round the verge of its sliell, which was at last so 

 securely fixed to the glass as to become unmove- 

 able, either from the moisture of the air from 

 without, or by the snail's secretion from within. — 

 Moraldi has related a somewhat similar instance. 

 A houseless snail or slug had entered one of his 

 hives. The bees, as soon as they discovered it, 

 pursued it with their stings till it expired beneath 

 their repeated strokes ; after which, being unable 

 to dislodge it, they covered it all o'ver with pro- 

 polis. 



In these two cases, who can withhold his adnai- 

 ration of th? ingenuity and judgement of the bees ? 



THE DRUNKARD'S MIRROR. 



A sliort time since, the papers of a deceased 

 grocer, formerly residing in a neighbouring town. 

 n:cidentally fell into our hands. Among them 

 were a multitude of orders drawn hy a mechanic 

 ii his neighbourhood, which have been accepted 

 i'nd paid. The following, copied verbatim, ex- 

 cept the names, are a fai:- specimen of the whole : 



Mr. Please to send one qt. of N. E. Rum 



010 hand of Tobacco S Trout Hooks and three 

 Buisquit. Y'our Friend 



May S8, 1803 



Mr. Please to send me my qt. N. E. Runt 



by the bearer, Your Friend. 



May 29, 1803 



Mr. The morrow being the Sahbath you 



will please to send rae one quart W. I. Spirits and 

 s:x buisquot, Y'our Friend. 



■May 29, 1603 



f 6r month's together, such orders were receiv- 

 ed and "inswored, one, two, and three, a day ; — 

 sometimes for a pint, sometimes for a quart, and 

 sometimes fur two quarts at a time. When two 

 quarts were ordered, it was in consequence of 

 •' the morrow being the Sabbath." Orders writ- 

 ten in the morning were very fair and legible, but 

 when more ihan one a day were sent, those writ- 

 ten after the liquor had operated, were done with 

 a trembling hand, and were difficult to read. 



What a subject this for reflection ! Rum drink- 

 ers of every grade, remember that the papers and 

 books of the traders will remain, standing memen- 

 tos of your weakness, long after you shall have 

 ceased to afi"ord occalar demonstration of it to 

 your acquaintance. Are you willing to subject 

 your families to such a reproach? If so, go on, 

 your purpose will be accomplished. — tfor. Spy. 



Indelible Wtiting. — As the art of man can un- 

 make whatever the art of man can rr.ake, we have 

 no right to e.'tpect an indelible ink ; however, a 

 sort of approximation to it, may be made as fol- 

 lows : — Let a saturated solution of indigo and 

 madder in boiling water be made, in such propor- 

 tions as give a purple tint ; add to it from one 

 sixth to one eighth of its weigiit of sulphuric acid, 

 according to the thickness and strength of paper 

 to be used; this makes an ink which flows pretty 

 freely from the pen — and when writing, which 

 has been executed with it, is exposed to a con- 

 siderable but gradual heat from the fire, it be- 

 comes completely black, the letters baing burnt 

 in and charred \y the actioa of th.e sulphuric acid 



