402 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 11, 1828. 



JIOWING. 



They who have not been iii theh- youth accus- 

 tomed to do this work, are seldom Couiul to be 

 able to do it with ease or expedition. But when 

 the art is once learnt, it will not be lost. 



As this is one of the most laborious parts of the 

 husbandman's calling, and the more fatiguing as it 

 must be performed in the hottest season of the 

 year, every precaution ought to be used which 

 tends to lighten the labour. To this it will con- 

 duce not a httle, for the mower to rise very early, 

 .ind be at his work before the rising of the sun — 

 He may easily perform half the usual day's work 

 before nine in the morning. His work will not 

 only be made easier by the coolness of the morn- 

 ing air, but also by the dew on the grass, wliich is 

 cut the more easily for being wet. By this means 

 he may he still and rest himself during all the hot- 

 test of the day, while others who begun late are 

 sweating themselves excessively ; and hurting 

 their health, probably, by taking down large 

 draughts of cold drink to slake their raging thirst. 

 The other half of his work may be performed after 

 three or four o'clock ; and at night he will find 

 himself free from fatigue. 



If the mower would husband his strength to 

 advantage, he should take care to have his scythe, 

 and all the apparatus for mowing, m the best or- 

 der. His scythe ought to be adapted to the sur- 

 face on which he mows. If the surface be level 

 and free from obstacles, the scythe may be long 

 and almost straight ; and he will perform Ids work 

 with less labour, and greater expedition. But if 

 the surtace be uneven, cradley, or chequered with 

 stones, or stumps of trees, his scythe must be short 

 and crooked. Otherwise he will be obliged to 

 leave much of the grass uncut, or use more labor 

 in cutting it. A long and straight scythe will 

 only cut off the tops of the grass in hollows. 



A mower should not have a suead that is too 

 slender ; for this will keep the scythe in a contin- 

 ual tremor, aiid do much to hinder its cutting. — 

 He must see that it keeps perfectly fast on the 

 snead ; for tlie least degree of looseness will obhge 

 him to use the more violence at every stroke — 

 Many worry themselves needlessly by not attend- 

 ing to this circumstance. 



Mowing with a company ought to be avoided 

 by those who are not very sti'ong, or who are lit- 

 tle used to the business, or who have not their 

 tools in the best order. Young lads, who are am- 

 bitious to be thought good mowers, often find 

 themselves much hurt by. mowing in company. 



Mowers should not follow too closely after each 

 other : For this has been the occasion of fatal 

 wounds. And when the dangerous tool is carried 

 from place to place, it should be bound up with a 

 j-ope of grass, or otherwise carefully secured. 



" Mr. de Lisle introduced in England, the inow- 

 jng of wheat. The method is this : The scythe 

 he uses is at least six inches shorter in the blade 

 than the conunon scythe ; and instead of a cradle, 

 has txvo twigs of osier put semi-circular wise into 

 holes made in the handle of the scythe, near the 

 blade, in such a manner that one semi^circlc inter- 

 sects the other. 



" By this method of mowing wheat, the stand- 

 ing corn is always at the left hand. The mower 

 mows it inuard, bearing the corn he cuts on his 

 sc^he, till it come to that which is standing, a- 

 gainst which it gently leans. After cve»y mower 

 (oBows, a gatherer, who being provided with a 

 t^ook or stick, about two feet long, gathers up the 



corn, makes it into a gavel, and lays it gently on 

 the gromid. This nmst be done with spirit, as a- 

 nother mower immediately follows." — Com. Farm. 

 As reaping is slow and laborious work, it would 

 be right for our countrymen to learn this method 

 of mowing their wheat ; which will undoubtedly 

 answer also for other sorts of grain. — Deant. 



Soap, saving of. — For the use of private families, 

 where linen is dirty by perspiration or grease it 

 will be of great service towards renderhig it white, 

 to steep it for some time in a clear liquor, made 

 by mixing one quart of quick hme in ten gallons 

 of water, letting the mixture stand 24 liours, and 

 then using the clear water, drawn from the lime. 

 After the linen is steeped in this liquor it should 

 be washed as usual, but it will require much less 

 soap to be used. 



KITCHEN GARDEN— JULY. 



Several successional crops are required to be 

 sown this montji for the supply of autumn, and 

 some main crops for winter consumption. Many 

 principal crops wiU be now arrived to full perfec- 

 tion, and some mature crops all gathered. When 

 the latter is the case, the ground should be clear- 

 ed and dug for succeeding ones, or for some gen- 

 eral autiuun and winter crops, as turnips, cabba- 

 ges, savoys, brocoli, cauliflowers, celery, entfive, 

 &c. &c. 



The business of sawing and planting this month 

 will be more successful if done in moist or showe- 

 ry weather, or on the ap])roach of rain, or imme- 

 diately after ; especially for small seeds, and ynung 

 seedhng plants. 



Old crops of artichokes now advancing in full 

 fruit should be divested of some of the small side 

 heads, to encourage the principal top heads ui at- 

 taining a larjjer magnitude. / ■ 



Now is the time to gather aromatic herbs for 

 diying and distilling, &c. as spear-mint, pepper- 

 mint, balm, penny-royal, camomile flowers, laven- 

 der-flowers, sage, hyssop, marjoram, fennel, dill, 

 basil, taiTagon, angoUca, raariffold flowers, sweet- 

 marjoram, &c, most of v/hich, when just coming 

 into flower, are in the l>est perfection for gather- 

 ing. The fennel, dill, and angeUca, should remain 

 till they are in seed. 



Plant the last crops of beans, for late produc- 

 tion in autumn. Let them be principally of the 

 smaller kind, as they are most successful in late 

 planting, putting in a few at two or three diflTerent 

 times in the month ; and also some larger kinds, to 

 have the greater chance of success and variety ;— 

 and in all of which, if dry weather, snak the beans 

 in soft water, six or eight hours, then plant thern, 

 and water the ground along the rows. 



Earth up. celery plants, to blanch ; also tlie 

 stems of young cabbages, savoys, brocoli, borecole, 

 beans, peas, kidney-beans, &c. to strengthen their 

 growth. 



Sow the principal late crops of Iddney-beans, nf 

 the dwarf kinds, for autumn supply ; and sonic 

 more for lale successional production in Septem- 

 ber, &.C. sow them all in drills, two feet or two 

 feet and a half distant ; and if the weather is very 

 hot and dry, either soak the beans, or water the 

 drills well before you sow them. 



Continue to plant out different sorts of lettuce at 

 a foot or fifteen inches from each other. Plant 

 them in small shallow drills, to preserve the moist- 

 ure longer ; and water them well at planting. 



If vom* melons are advanced to fiiU growth. 



give them but httle water, as much moisture will 

 retard the ripening, and prevent their acquuing 

 that rich flavor peculiar to this fruit. If they are 

 ripe gather them in the morning, fllature ripe- 

 ness is sometunes shewn by the fruit cracking at 

 the base round the stalk, or by chaiigmg yellow- 

 ish, and unparting a fragrant odour. 



Radishes may be sowed for an autumn crop to' 

 draw next month. 



LONDON PORTER. 



This popular beverage would seem, from the 

 statements made of its ingredients, very iU to de- 

 ser^e its renown. The proportion of the malt 

 consumed to the porter made, shows that if niah 

 and hops alone were used, the hquor produced 

 woidd not be so mtcxicating as the most watery 

 small beer. Its inebriating property must arise, 

 therefore, from sotne other uigredients. What is 

 called ^^porter essence" is the most in use for this 

 purpose. Tlie following is said to be the recipe 

 for this agreeable and highly salutarj' compound : 



"Take ^ cwt. of Spanish liquorice, and 4 lbs. of 

 copperas, boil them together in a copper pan, in 3 

 gallons of water. Then take J cwt. of molasses 

 or treacle, and ^ cwt. of raw sugar, and boil them 

 till they tliickeu a good deal, add the ndxture 

 above mentioned, and boil altogether two hours. 

 When cold, add the following ingredients, in pow- 

 der, 4 lbs. of gentian root, (ground) 4 lbs. of 

 orange pease, 2 lbs. of ground calanms root, and 

 stir and mix till the substance becomes like a sofV 

 extract." 



Other ingredients are used, such as quassia, the 

 multum powder, as it is called, to save hops, the co- 

 culus indicus, and nux vomica, which are in the 

 highest degree destructive to animal hfe, though 

 their immediate effect is only a Ivind of stupid 

 intoxication. More than 30,000 lbs. of nux vomi- 

 ca, and more than 12,000 lbs. of cocubis indicus. 

 are annually imported into Great Britain. As the 

 only other use for these drugs, besides their infu- 

 sion into porter, is to poison vermin, it is naturally 

 concluded that nearly the whole goes into the 

 porter, for the purpose of poisoning men. It is 

 this delectable beverage which gives London por- 

 ters that mflammatoi-y habit and red coniiilexion 

 which are mistaken for health, hut which ratheir 

 betokens so much solidified hydrogen, ready to take 

 fire at every moment. It is a problem for the cu- 

 rious, which is the more effectual and honorable 

 means of extinguishing life— English porter or 

 American whiskei .— Ba/irmore American. 



Soda, in washing. — A few ounces of soda will 

 soften a hogshead of the hardest v.ater. It is 

 said to be greatly sujierior in wa.shing to either 

 potash or pearlash. It gives a delicate whiteness 

 to the linen without the slightest injm-y, and never 

 unless excess is used in the least affects the hands. 

 To glasses, decanters, table spoons, &c. it gives a 

 lustre equal to the highest polish, without labour, 

 if washed in water, in which a small quantity has 

 been dissolved. 



The Georgia (Augusta) Courier of the 23d ult. 

 says that on the [)revious Satm-day there were 14 

 cart and wagon loads of Watermelons in market 

 which is considered unusually early. 



Several instances have occurred recently, in 

 Connecticut, of dairy women having the I^nc 

 Pock, caught from the cows. 



