42 



NEW ENGLAND 



drills above the suiface— tlie plains to lie about 

 8 inches apart, the drills two feet ; some persons 

 to guard against a winter often changnig iron, 

 thaw to fro^t, throw with the plongh a ridge on 

 the north si.le of the drill, not very high— il proves 

 as a conductor for the cold to pass off as the sun 

 acts on the turnip, which it does more rapidly 

 than the solid mass of earth of the field in which 

 the plants are growing. In the spring, the turnips 

 will be found sound and fresh. 

 Baltimore, 22d of June, 1834. 



ArGtJST 20, 183*. 



ed 14_from half grown to full grown ones. To 

 use his own words the trap not being very large, 

 "they were literally piled on one another for 

 want of room." Rats are the most destructive, 

 fouhlesome and disagreeable vermin that can in-^ 

 test our premises, and any thing is of imporlanre 

 that will assist us in getting rid of them.— 0/ao 

 Fanner. 



necessary to be said is, that cold water, as drawa 

 from wells, should never be applied to them. The 

 water should be exposed to the sun for such time 

 as will render it as warm as rain-water; and tlx; 

 ipiantity applied at once should never be very 

 great ; but rather like the application of a gentle 

 rain. — Farm. Assist. 



From the Baltimore Farmer S/- Gardener. 

 HOGS. 



Mackmj Breerf.— In commencing the business 

 of a stock-breeding establishment, it was deter- 

 mined to spare neither pains nor expense, within 

 the bounds of reason and sound discretion, to 

 make the establishment as complete as could be 

 done with the limited means at our command. It 

 is a decided aphorism in the breeding department, 

 that dirterent kinds of stock, and animals of the 

 same kind, but possessing diflerent fpialities, form- 

 ing varieties, are best adapted to different locations, 

 and different views of farmers. 



It therefore becomes necessary, in order to an- 

 swer all the purposes intended by such an estab- 

 lishment as we are desirous of rearing up, to pos- 

 sess all the best and most approved varieties of 

 the several breeds, with which the superior art of 

 breeding has lately enriched Europe and our own 

 country. 



In the prosecution of this desirable end, we 

 have added to our stock of improved breeds oi 

 hnifs, another superb variety called the Markay 

 Breed. The history of these fine animals is given 

 us by the gentleman from whom they were pur- 

 chased. He says, " I purchased the hogs of Capt. 

 John Markay, of Boston— they are what is called 

 the Mackmj Breed. Tlie comitetition for the pre- 

 mium on swine, at the Brighton and Concord 

 shows, has been of late years chiefly between this 

 breed and the Bedfords. Capt. Mackay himself, 

 has taken on his breed over two hundred dollars 

 at the shows in the last six years. 



" When Capt. M. followed the sea, he made it 

 a rule to purchase pigs, when be saw those of pe- 

 culiar good quality, in whatever part of the world 

 they might be, and brought them home to his 

 farm inVVeston, near Boston. After I.e left the 

 sea, he became engaged in rural pursuits, and re- 

 solved to see what he could do by crossing his va- 

 rious races of swine, which he had collected on his 

 farm. By perseverance, directed hy good judg- 

 ment, he at length obtained what he calls a dis- 

 tinct breed, to which the public have aflixed liis 

 name ; and which for aptitude to fatten at any age, 

 larn'e size, &c. are perhaps unrivalled. Capt. 

 Mackay has now quit breeding swine, having sold 

 out his stock. 



" The specific characteristics of this breed are, 

 head short and small, chest very broad, back tol- 

 erably broad, rather falling below, then rising 

 above a straight line, gammons large, legs very 

 short and tolerably small, constitutions not so 

 hardy as the Bedford, but disposition more easy 

 and peaceable." 



From tlie New York Farmer. 

 MAKXJAI- LABOR COL.L.E6iES. 



A coiiRESPONDENT of the New York Observer 

 thus speaks of these institutions in Alabama : 



The University of Alabama has about 80 stu- 

 dents at present. It is established as you know 

 at Tuscaloosa. The Rev. Dr. Alva Woods is 

 President. This institution has great resources 

 as it regards funds, having realized already more 

 than S200,000 from the two townships of land 

 granted to it by Congress. 



The Methodist College, at La Grange, m the 

 north-western part of the State, is said to be in a 

 flourishing condition. It has m.ue than one hun- 

 dred students in all its departments. 



I understand that the Baptists intend to establish 

 a College upon the manual labor plan. 



The Pieshvterians have recently obtained a 

 charter for a College upon the manual labor plan, 

 to he located near to Marion, and to be under the 

 entire control of the South Alabama Presbytery, 

 his believed that manual labor by the students, 

 lean be rendered exceedingly profitabh; in this 

 State, by the raising of cotton. This is an inter- 

 ! esting experiment, and if successful, it will lead to 

 importaiij. results. 



HAIT FOK RATS. 



One of our subscribers informs us, and his ve- 

 racity is unquestionable, that he was advised in 

 baiting a wire trap to catch rats, to mix a paste of 

 corn-meal and raw eggs ; he did so, and the first 

 night he caught 7, the second night the trap contain- 



WATER. 



Where water can be carried over lands, with- 

 out too great an expense, it should always be at- 

 tended to, as great crops of hay may be had Irom 

 such grounds. The means of watering the ground 

 or of taking it off, should be completely under con- 

 trol ; for, if too much be suffered to run on, it may 

 do more hurt than good. Chalybeate waters, and 

 such as are impregnated with mineral acids should 

 he avoided. That which has a rich sediment is 

 best. The quantity should be proportioned to the 

 nature of the soil ; as sandy grounds require more, 

 and stiff soils less. The channels should be so 

 uiade as to carry the water to every part, except 

 where tlie ground is naturally wet. The main 

 rhannel should just have descent eyough to cause 

 the water to run ; and the lateral branches should 

 l)e run in such directions as that the descent be 

 very moderate, and at the same time convey the 

 water to every part of ilie ground. Sometimes it 

 is necessary to carry off the sur|.lus water by other 

 channels, where the ground has little hollows run- 

 ning through it. 



When the weather is hot, the water should be 

 taken off the ground. The night, and days which 

 are cool and cloudy, are the best times for apply- 

 ing it. 



In the spring, it should not bo applied till the 

 ground is somewhat dry ; and after the grass be- 

 gins to start let the quantity be diminished, and 

 let it also be stopped during rainy weather. When 

 the grass is pretty well grown, no water should 

 be applied, except in cases of drought. After 

 taking off the second crop, the water may be 

 thrown on more plentifully ; but it must be taken 

 off sometime before the win<er-frost commences. 

 With regard to watering of plants, all that is 



From the Genesee Fanner. 

 •VINEGAR. 

 We think our correspondent who makes an in- 

 quiry in relation to making Vinegar, will find some 

 hints in the following article from WiUicirs Do- 

 mestic Encyclopedia, which will be of use to him: 

 The principal requisites to form good vinegar, 

 according to Parmentier, (Cours D'Agiic. tom. x.) 

 are 1. Contact with the air; 2. A temperature not 

 exceeding 20 deg. of Reaumur (77 of Fahrenheit); 

 3 The addition of some extraneous vegetable mal- 

 tp'r to promote the acetous fermentation ; and 4. 

 The presence of al.'oh.d. Vinegar can be made 

 from cider, from the juice of currants, from sugar 

 and water with a little whiskey : a cask that has 

 been used to keep vinegar in, is the best cask to 

 make it in. If cider is too weak, add half a pound 

 of sugar and half a gill of whiskey to each gallon, 

 and set the cask in the sun, covering the bung- 

 hole slightlv to admit the air, and exclude the dust. 

 Vinegar,'however, is best made thus: to a quar- 

 ter cask of good Ciller, add 4 lbs. of white Havana 

 sugar, and half 'a lb. of argol or rough tartar in 

 fine powder: it will be better for the addition of 

 some lees of wine; expose it to a heat not lees 

 than 7.5 deg. nor more than 80 deg. with the bung 

 out. Twice or thrice a day, draw off a pail full, 

 fud after it has stood exjiosed to the air, a quarter 

 of an hour, return it into the bunghole by a <unnel. 

 The method of imitating wine vinegar in the 

 English manufactories is as follows, as I have re- 

 peatedly seen. In a long room, quarter casks of 

 cider placed upright, side by side, raised above 

 the floor about twenty inches occupy all sides of 

 the room, which by means of stoves is kept at a 

 lemi.erature of about 80 deg. of Fahrenheit. The 

 top of the cask is bored full of holes: on each 

 cask is placed a tub holding about half a bushel or 

 more of Malaga raisins. 



The sole occnpalioii of the man who attends the 

 room, is to go round incessantly, and draw a pail- 

 r,d |V„m the bottom, and pour it upon Malaga 

 raisin- ; the cider j.ercolates through the raisins, 

 and runs into the cask by means of the holes in 

 the t.ip: This gives the wine flavor and body. 

 The operation takes about a fortnight according lo 

 the strength of the cider ; when this is weak, su- 

 gar and iiowdered tartar are put in. The tartar 

 certainlv adds to the strength of the acid, and also 

 to the vinous taste, but the acid of tartar .is by no 

 me.tns so wholesome as the acid ot vinegar. Tar- 

 tar can he discovered by means of sugar of lead: 

 1 the tartrite of lead [irecipitates ; the acetite oi lead 

 is soluble. 



To restore tainted Beef " 1 observed it tainted, 

 and so much so as to smell quite ofieusive. The 

 beef being very fat and fine, I was loth to throw it 

 away. I made the following experiment : I pro- 

 cured a half bushel of charcoal, and after taking 

 out the beef and throwing away the offensive 

 pickle, I re-packed it in a barrel, laying the pieces 

 of charcoal between the pieces ; and making a nevr 

 pickle, adding a little saltpetre. I covered the 

 beef and in about six days found it as sweet and 

 .rood as when it was first putup."— SouiAern ^gr. 



