NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. BARRETT, NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the Agricultural Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



l^OL. XIH. 



BOSTON, AVEDNESI5AY EVENING, NOVEMBER 19, 1834. 



NO. 19. 



COMMUNICATION. 



For the New Engliind Farmer. 

 CONSTRUCTION OP HOUSES, &e. 



Mr. Editor — Sir, In this day of rapid impiove- 

 neiit ill almost every useful art, have any vaUiahIp 

 iiscdveries been made in the mode of coiistructinj; 

 loiisis ; especially, in the method of covering the 

 ■oof and outside walls ? Is there any manner rt- 

 :ently invented, in any part of our country, of sr- 

 uriiii; the roof and outside walls of houses, equally 

 ilegaiit and durable, and at the same time, far less 

 ixpensive than the ordinary way ? In respect to 

 his certainly much room for useful iniprovemeiit 

 'eniaiiis. 



To throw before the public briejly in your paper, 

 he fii'ts, discoveries, and information, which lie 

 vithiii the scope of your wide vision, in regard tu 

 his subject, be assured, will oblige one, interest 

 naiiy, and unquestionably profit some of your 

 •eadeivs. InquiRER. 



By the Editor. The topics for investigatii^ii 

 ibove suggested are of very great importance, and 

 iliall receive our particular attention as soon as 

 )re-eiigagements will permit. In the mean time 

 /ve should be happy to publish any remarks of 

 lorrespondents who wish to enjoy "the luxury of 

 |eing good" by coutribiiling to our columns what- 

 !ver may be useful to the above mentioned branch 

 (f ec-iinomy. 



STEAM. 



The Sailor, long the pride and boast of the 

 Jritish Nation, to whom we owe our prosperity 

 lud wealth, he who, when we are safely lodged 

 rom the threatening storm, is ploughing the trea«li- 

 irous ocean in a fragile bark, and perishing with 

 hirst, although surrounded by the tempting ele- 

 nent he so much craves, but to drink which would 

 jrove his ruin, will hear with heartfelt joy and 

 'ratitude that a means is now attained to render 

 >ure and profitable the foaming wave. We live 

 n extraordinary times ! little did our ancestors 

 magine that a power so latent as steam would be- 

 joine the grand agent in promoting the comfort of 

 man, and increasing the wealth of Great Britain. 

 [t is by steam our rapid intercourse with distant 

 parts is promoted ; our most extensive and bene- 

 ficial manufactories are carried on by steam ; our 

 corn is ground by the same agent; our food pre- 

 pared and dressed ; and " strange, though not more 

 strange than true," our brave sailors may now be 

 supplied with pure and wholesome water from the 

 briny ocean by the same great minister to humun 

 comforts. These observations have been induced 

 from witnessing, on Monday last, Mr. Well's Pa- 

 tent Apparatus for depriving sea water not only of 

 its saline properties, but of rendering it potable, 

 pure and wholesome. By this machine, a con- 

 •tant stream of pure and wholesome water is ob- 

 tained from the sea without cost or trouble. We 

 frankly confess our former scepticism on this sub- 

 ject was great ; but our doubts have been removed 

 by witnessing the process ; its simplicity is admir- 

 able, and its results most important and satisfac- 

 tory. The small machine which we witnessed at 

 Will k on Monday was calculateil to cook for 60 

 persons, and also to produce, in twelve hours, 100 



g.illons of excellent, pure and wljolooine waor 

 without extra fuel. — jYav. fy Military Gaz. Aug. 30. 



From Lomhn's Gardener's Magazine. 

 AVATER -WORKS. 

 Thames Water. John Martin, Esq. the cideliral- 

 ed artist proposed a plan for supplying London 

 with pure water from the river Colne, and this he 

 considers the best ; but, lest it should be foiMid in- 

 superably objectionable, he submits a second phiii, 

 which is that of" preventing the discharge of any 

 sewer into the Thames above Millbauk, or perhaps 

 Neat House Gardens, and keeping back the ascend- 

 ing tide at the same spot. The water above will 

 ihen be the pure river water ; and from this the 

 metropolis may be supplied by engines in the usual 

 way." The ascending tide he proposes to keep 

 back by a strong dain or weir, which might be 

 built of cast iron, in Deeble's manner, across the 

 river, and have, at each end of It, two locks for 

 the passage of vessels. To prevent the foul 

 tide water from overflowing above the weir, the 

 following ingenious contri»aiice, on the prin- 

 ciple of the common bull-cock, and that of the 

 self-acting sluice invented by the late Mr. Biamah, 

 is suggested. " There must be contrived a stioii<{ 

 leaf, suspended by proper hinges, and made buoy- 

 ant, as soon as the water rises to it, by means of a 

 copper tube, air and watertight, affixed to its lower 

 edge. The tide, in ascending, will begin to raise 

 iliia leaf as soon as ;• attains a higher level than 

 that of the weir, and will thus be the means o( 

 barring itself out. The leaf, when raised quite up, 

 will be supported against the weight of water by 

 leaning against the pillars which rise from the weir 

 and sustain the bridge above it, should such bridge 

 be thought a desirable addition to the plan. As 

 the tide ebbs, the leaf will, of course, fall gradually 

 with it; and the waters which have been accumu- 

 lated meantime above the weir will discharge 

 themselves over the dam. By thus diverting the 

 sewers from the river above Chelsea, and prevent- 

 ing the foul tide water from rising beyond that 

 mark, the river, for miles up, might be considered 

 as one grand reservoir of water, wiiich, if not so 

 pure as that of the Colne, would assuredly be far 

 purer than any with which Loudon is at present 

 supplied." 



Mr. Ainger, an architect, in submitting a differ- 

 ent plan, concludes with the following words : — 

 " Plans of improvement, even the most reasonable 

 and obvious, require to be made public many 

 years before their advantages and difficulties are 

 fully and generally appreciated. I submit this, 

 therefore, in a somewhat immature condition, for 

 the purpose of eliciting that discussion by which, 

 if it be worth notice, its usefulness and practica- 

 bility can alone be determined, and its ultimate 

 success promoted." 



MINERAIiOGY IN HANCOCK CO., MAINE. 



The Hancock Advertiser has an article under 

 this caption, in which there are some interesting 

 ilen)3. The Advertiser says — " The finest granite 

 found in the United States, is situated in the towns 

 of Bluehill and Sullivan ; and beneath an immense 

 quarry in the former place, is supposed to lie a 

 bed of Bituminous Coal. There has also been 



ruMiid several beds of iron ore, one of wIjIcIi at 

 Bass Harbor, Mt. Desert, has been pronounced tbe 

 most valuable in the United States, perhaps in the 

 world, the ore containing from 70 to 75 per cent, 

 of pure iron. We have a specimen in our office, 

 of the iron, as also of the coal from Bluehill. We 

 have also found specimens of several minerals in 

 different parts of the county, which indicate a vol- 

 canic action, particularly about Mt. Desert and 

 Bluehill mountains. Sulphtiret of iron exists in 

 large quantities in various places. Plumbago, lead 

 and silver, are also said to have been found in 

 Bluehill and vicinity." — Portland Mvertiser. 



From Fessenden's New American Gardener. 

 GARDENER'S WORK. 

 JSTovtmber. Gather from your garden, before the 

 the hard frosts commence, all those fruits of your 

 labors which you wish to preserve through the 

 winter, not forgetting winter squashes. Take up 

 and preserve cabbages. Preserve your celery. 

 You may gather a part in dry weather, and pack 

 it in boxes in dry sand, and place the boxes in a 

 warm cellar, leaving the tops and leaves open to 

 the air. Those cabbage and cauliflower plants 

 which you mean shall stand through the winter in 

 frames, should, during the continuance of mild 

 weather, be allowed every advantage of free air, 

 to inure ihcni, by degrees, to bear cold. T;ike the 

 glasses off entirely in the warm part of the day, 

 but nlu •" them on again at night, and in wet or 

 cold werther. If your b.-ets, turnips, parsneps. &c. 

 are not secured, take them up and preserve them. 

 You may now sow the seeds of rhubarb, sea-kale, 

 skiripts, parsneps, and many other kinds, which 

 are somewhat slow in vegetating, and they will 

 come forward early, and grow vigorously in the 

 spring. In the beginning of this month, you may 

 manure and trench the ground which is intended 

 for early crops, and if it be of a stiff, heavy nature, 

 lay it up in ridges to receive the benefit of the 

 winter frosts. You may now sow early peas, to 

 come up in the spring, if you can preserve them 

 against mice. This is, perhaps, as eligible a pe- 

 riod as any for the planting of apple-trees, and 

 other fruit-trees, or sowing seeds in a nursery. 

 Lay light litter of some kind a good thickness over 

 the roots of the more tender and choice kinds of 

 trees and shrubs, to protect them from frost. 



December. The severity of the weather in this 

 month generally allows but little to be done in the 

 Middle and Northern States. Should the seaso« 

 permit, you may perform any of the operations 

 directed for last month, which remain unfinished. 

 If the weather continues open, carry out and 

 spread manure, and trench the ground, as directed 

 lor the last month. Provide from the woods, &c. 

 pea-sticks and bean-poles, of suitable lengths and 

 sizes. Collect all your old sticks and poles, which 

 are still fit for use, and place them together with 

 your new ones under cover, to prevent their rot- 

 ting. Be careful to shut the frost out of the apart- 

 ments in which you have stored your fruit for 

 winter and spring use. Examine the fruit which 

 you have on shelves in cellars, once every ten days, 

 and take away any that you find tainted. Repair 

 all decayed trellises, espaliers, &c. Procure .stakes 

 &c. which may be wanted in a more busy season. 



