212 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



PEBRUAUY 11, 1835. 



and richness 



ter must preserve that adherence 

 which constitutes the quality of cheeses. 



We believe the infusion of rennet to be the 

 as it mingles with every particle and does 

 not speck the curd, exceptini; always when the 

 rennet is used by mixina: in a little milk, at 



best, 

 not i 

 dry 



the" moment it is wanted, and wrai>ping the whole 

 in a bag or knot of linen as is done in good 

 " pomagcries" in Rrieti. 



It would be difficult to determine the precise 

 quantity of rennet to be used, because it depends 

 upon its strength, upoii the qualities of the ndlk, 

 upon the season, the slate of the atinospliore, and 

 lastly, the kind of cheese to be made. We will 

 content ourselves ^yith making here some general 

 observations. 



Strong smelling rennet should not be used, be- 

 cause it communicates to the curd a bad taste. 



Milk curdles more easily in summer than in 

 winter; the quantity of ri^nnet should be less in 

 the former season than in the latter. Skim milk 

 curdles more easily than that which has preservetl 

 the cream ; the flitter it is, the more rennet it 

 requires. Heated milk also favors the action of 

 the rennet. 



Too nmch rennet is injurious, bocauss the curd 

 forms in adhesive clots, and lets the cream run ofl" 

 with the whey ; cheeses made from this are dry 

 and brittle. Too little rennet is equally prejudi- 

 cial ; the milk takes a long time to cmvlle ; the 

 whey is drained off with more difficulty, and may, 

 by remaining with it, communicate to the curd a 

 disagreeable sour taste. 



It is then, the proportion, which the dairy- 

 women should strive to find out — practice and 

 experience will be, in this case, the safest and 

 surest guide. 



IForllie New EnglanJ Farmer.] 

 THE CLIMATE. 

 Mn Fessenden — I differ in opinion with A. G. 

 in his answer to Mr Breck's first quere, "why it is 

 colder in the valleys than on hills, when we know 

 that tlx! higher we ascend beyond a certain eleva- 

 tion the colder it is." I also do not agree with 

 him that it is warmer in the valleys in summer. 

 I contimd that the valley is coldest both summer 

 and winter in the absence of the sun. If I un- 

 derstand A. G. right, he argues that the valley in 

 summer is warmer in consequence of the greater 

 density of the air in the valley, and that the cold 

 is greater in the valley in winter, in consequence 

 of the greater density of the air, in the absence of 

 the sun. I hold, that when the air is more dense 

 in the valley, either summer or winter, it is 

 in consequence of the cold, iu the absence of the 

 sun. 



I will agree with A. G. that the air at the sur- 

 face of the earth would be the most dense, if it 

 were of equal temperature with the nir above, for 

 iu that case, it would he compres.sod by the weight 

 of the whole column of the uir above ; but the air 

 cannot be called dense, at the surface of the earth, 

 when it becomes heated and expanded by the rays 

 of the sun or any other cause ; for by its expan- 

 sion it is made lighter and will as<-.end, and continue 

 aecendin" until it is cooled and condensed to the 

 same tenqjerature of the surrounding air above. 

 How is it that we keej) warm air in our parlors iu 

 icold weather? why, hy making the rooms tight. 

 But you take away the ceiling above and the warm 

 ;air will ascend and the room will at once be filled 

 a»ith cold air. Cold will not descend in water 



until the principal part of the heat has ascended, 

 therefore we see shoal waters congeal much 

 quicker than deep. If you go into the high lat- 

 itudes where the sun is absent for months, you 

 find a imiform cold, the heat having ascended and 

 caused nearly the same temperature of the atmos- 

 ph<!re from the surface of the e.irth to its extrem- 

 ity. If my theory is correct for the month of 

 January, it is the same for July. And that the 

 valley is colder in sununer, as well as in winter, 

 we have abmidaut proof in the cold summer of 

 1816, when there were frosts about every month, 

 it is well known to many, that vegetation was cut 

 off by the cold in the valleys, when on the neigh- 

 boring hills it remained unhurt. 



A. G. further says, " and should it be asked 

 why we have some days colder than others ?" 1 

 agree with him, so fiir as he goes in answering 

 the question, and as he says "the wind coming 

 from the North would bring cold." That must 

 be correct, and if it shoidd come from the South 

 it would bring heat. What is the cause of the 

 winds ? the expansion and condensation of the 

 air. What causes the expansion and condensa- 

 tion ? heat and cold. We have a good opportu- 

 nity of seeing the air put in motion, and ascend- 

 ing by heat, by the conflagration of buildings in a 

 still time, and the cold air rushing in at the sur- 

 face, to supply the place of the warm, which is 

 ascending. But the sun is the great agent and 

 cause of the winds. By the action of its rays, at 

 and near the surface of the earth, they then pro- 

 duce heat, therefore the air at the surface of the 

 earth, becomes heated and expanded, and contin- 

 ues ascending, so long as the sun's rays are emit- 

 ted. But in the absence of the sun, the atmos- 

 phere goes on cooling and condensing, in order 

 to return to its natural equilibrium. When heat 

 and cold is regular for a considerable length of 

 time, the winds then also, will be more regular, 

 as is the case with the monsoons or tlie trade 

 winds. If the air should be condensing north of 

 us, the atmosphere would begin to move on from 

 the south, and continue so, as long as the conden- 

 sation went on, in order to sujjply the place which 

 would otherwise be vacated by the condensation, 

 and if the condensation should be south of us, the 

 air would move from the north to the south the 

 same, and it would move with a velocity, in pro- 

 portion to the time of condensation, and if it were 

 not for heat, our atmosphere woidd be stationary. 

 Yoiu-s respectfully, WILLIAM KEITH. 

 West Ruxhury, Jan. 2.5, 183.5. 



it clay and swamp nnick. Last fall (1833) I put 

 140 loads of clay and muck en two acres, and 

 sowed it with wheat. The result is to be deter- 

 mined by the ensuing crop. My first pinchase 

 is a farm of 80 acres, a jilain mostly in mead- 

 ow, from which the last season, I cut 140 loads of 

 hay, raised 80 bushels of wlieat, 150 of corn, 200 

 of potatoes, 570 lbs. of cheese, 1200 lbs. of pork. I 

 mention these items to show how it is cultivated. 

 1 have lately purchased a farm of about 95 acres. 

 This abounds in clay and swamps, with mud and 

 wood ; about one half is arable land. Shall 1 

 find my account in carting clay and mud from tlie 

 swamps on to the sandy land." 



Now, Mr Fessendcn, the year lias passed away, 

 since the first experiment was made. One great 

 object in sending you this extract is to get from 

 Dr Allen, if he is willing to give it, a statement 

 of the results throsigh your paper, that the farm- 

 ing interest may be benefittetl by his ex])erimente. 

 I presume, however, you will agree with me that 

 the result of the first year is not a fair test of the 

 effect which such a comse of manuring is likely 

 to produce. Yours, with respect, 



GARDNER B. PERRY. 



ON THE USE OP SW^AMP MUCK POR MABfUKE. 



Bradford, Feb. 4, 1635. 



Ma Fessenden — I send you an extract from a 

 letter received almost a year since from my good 

 friend, Benjamin Allen, L.L. D. of Hyde Park, 

 N. Y. — a man highly distinguished for his class- 

 ical and general acquirements. The letter certainly 

 was not intended for the public, yet as the subject 

 is a ])ublic concern 1 know he will excuse me 

 when I forward a copy for tiic N. E. Farmer. 



G. B. P. 



"Dear Sir — You must know that I have be- 

 come a farmer and pass my time amid rural oc- 

 cupations and my books. Can you give me any 

 information on the uses and advantages of swamp 

 muck and clay as manure ? The soil of my fiirm 

 is a sandy loam, and in some parts approaching 

 to the gravelly. I have thoughts of applying to 



[From the Middlebury, (\ t.) American. J 

 POTATOES. 



Sir, — During my confinement and distress foM 

 the last five weeks and the extreme illness of my 

 family, I have been prevented from writing anti 

 almost thinking on any subject disconnected witl 

 our comfort and safety. Within this period ] 

 have received numerous comiiumications froir 

 sources of the highest respectability, from Georgi: 

 lo Maine, and from our friendly neighbors of thi 

 Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, request 

 ing me to conunuuieate the manner of my exper 

 iments in growing Potatoes. Please say to then 

 in your next number, that I will the moment mi 

 health admits (which is now rapidly improving 

 comnumicate with pleasure through the mcdiun 

 of your columns the result of my experimenti 

 and the manner I think best adapted for growin; 

 them — that plant, in my opinion, most valuable ii 

 the whole vegetable kingdom, in climates adapte( 

 to its growth, not excepting Bread Stuff of ever 

 description, — it affords in the northern latitudes 

 more, better and more heahhy nourishment to thi 

 human race, than all other vegetables ; and ever 

 loaf of Bread made of Wheat, Corn or Ryt 

 should contain at least, one fourth part of the men 

 of the Potato, prepared in a manner I will here 

 after describe. Let a free and constant use bi 

 made of it, the number of emaciated and dys 

 Ijcptic subjects, which by the by, is rather an un 

 necessary disease, will be lessened, attributable r 

 much to the state of the mind as body. 



Look at the Peasantry of Ireland, who only es 

 Bread and Meat one day in seven — the day ap 

 pointed for rest — the other six days they hav 

 Potatoes and Salt for breakfast, Salt and Potatot 

 for dinner and PotaToi s and Salt for supper. Di 

 ever a person hear of a case of dyspepsia amoii. 

 tiieni ? — and the Bairns of Scotland, whos 

 bread stuff is Oat Meal and Barley, are not mue 

 in the habit of complaining of this popult 

 disease. 



I should do injustice to my own feelings, wei- 

 I to omit tendering my thanks to the editors i 

 the Periodical and other Journals, as well as pr, 

 vate individuals, who have in the most compll 

 mentary and flattering terms expressed their d'. 



