2SG 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MARCH IS, 1835. 



SJfSSW 51li3'^2S.,£^.53'3I> SS'ilSia'SSm 



nOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 13, 1C35 



ECOKOMY IN BVILDIIVG. 



W\SS. SOCIETY FOR PROSIOTING Ann ICULTURE. 



The following is an extract from a letter from Mr J. 

 PI. Gourgas of Wi-ston, Ms. to tho Trustees of the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural Society, and deser^'es the 

 attention of the enliglilcned inhabitants of the United 

 Statfs. 



The Extract. — '• I shall close my letter by recom- 

 mending two tilea, sent herewith. Tiles, with few 

 exceptions, are the general covering for all buildings in 

 England, and I believe the whole continent of Europe. 

 The printed bill will explain the manner in v/hich they 

 should be laid. The introduction of them would be 

 invaluable to our farmers. Shingles will last onl y about 

 fifteen years. I e.\pect we couM get tiles made at 

 Charleslown, of the same ware as their jars. I woidd 

 willingly give ten dollars a thousand for such tiles 

 The Trustees would confer a most extensive benefit, 

 &c. I have a small Jot of said French tiles, and a few 

 more printed bills, and will be happy to have them at 

 your disposal. J. M. Gornr.AS. 



Fei. a, 1835.- 



The handbill, which is alluded to above, contains the 

 following explanation of the subject: 



" Every man acquainted with tlie care required to 

 keep buildings in good repair, knows that a sound roof 

 is the main point ; shingles answer the purpose but 

 imperfectly, because they last but a short time ; they 

 are expensive, and become more so every year from 

 the increasing difficulty to procure them of good timber ; 

 moreover they are a dangerous covering on account of 

 their aptitude to catch fire. The article here offered for 

 consideration, if manufactured of a good quality, will 

 never fail; tiles of a good quality never wear out, and 

 they are safe .against fire. Tiles are quickly laid, they 

 require no fitting, no nails ; tlierefore, wherever good 

 clay is to be procured, they would he afforded for a price 

 which, when laid, would be much less than the expense 

 of shingles. The tiles here offered to view were im- 

 ported from Havre in France ; they cost there 30 fr. 

 per 1000 di livered on board — about !i|i.5 of onr money. 

 One thousand shingles of a good quality, will in general 

 cover ten feet square ; one tliousand tiles, such as arc 

 here exhibited, vvould proliably cover eighteen feet 

 square ; on tlje top of tlie roof a saddle-board may be 

 u.sed, or a strip of lead. If a tiled roof is well laid, it 

 will foim a well connected, firm slicet, which nothing 

 can put out of order, unless some extraordinary storm 

 (as unfrcquejil in our climate as the well remembered 

 September blow), when a few tiles may possibly get 

 blown off, and easily replaced. 



" A tile to be perfect ought to be hard, and not porous. 

 it ought to be perf-ctly flat ; if a tile should be porous, 

 the rain would soak in. and a frost taking place in quick 

 succession, as is sometimes the case in winter, wobld 

 crack it to pieces ; if tiles should not be perfectly flat, 

 they would not lay well, and the wind, rain, or snow 

 would blow in. All the buildings in England, and upon 

 the whole continent of Europe, with few exceptions, 

 are tiled— and they are tiled upon slats, without hoards ; 

 the coldness of our winters would however make the 

 boarding requisite for comfort, especially for dwellino- 

 houses. Under the impression that the general intro- 

 duction of tile covering for our buildings would be of 

 gieat advantage to our community, this little roof is 

 pxhibitod, with an invitation to every gentleman who 



feels inclined to manufacture the article, or to get others 

 to do it, to Kelp himself to a tile and a handbill. 



" N. B. The knob under the tile should be somewhat 

 larger and better formed, that it may l.ay snug against 

 the slat, and have a steady hold against it ; for the sake 

 of despatch, tiles might be pressed through a frame, and 

 the knobs put on .afterwards. It is conceived that the 

 onlj' dilFiculty which might occur during the process of 

 manufacturing tiles, would be to keep them from warp- 

 ing when burnt ; but practical men would no doubt 

 easily devise the proper way of doing it." 



There are few topics relative to the greatest good of 

 the greatest number, of more importance than the best 

 forms, modes and materials of constructirg houses, and 

 other buildings for the use and accommodation of man 

 and beast. We cannot expect the civic virtues, spirit 

 of patriotism, love of country, will have an abiding in- 

 fluence in a territory, where the inhabitants are not well 

 lodged, as well as well fed and well clothed. There 

 can be but slight local attachments, which may be styled 

 the bonds of society and the guarantees of the social 

 compact, among a population whose dwelling places 

 are unsightly, uncomfortable and unsubstantial. 



With regard to the use of tiles, we are not qualified, 

 cither by observation or experience, to speak with cer- 

 tainty ; or to judge of tiieir merit, when compan^d with 

 slate, either as respects cost or convenience. Dr Big- 

 elow, in his excellent work, " Elements of Technology," 

 page 46.5, observes that " Tiles are plates of burnt clay, 

 resembling bricks in their composition and manufacture, 

 and used for the covering of roofs. They are necessa- 

 rily made thicker than slates or shingles, and thus 

 impose a greater weight on the roof. Their tendency 

 to absorb water, promotes the decaj^ of the wood work 

 beneath them." 



It is possible, however, that tiles might be manufac- 

 tured so thin, light, and well burnt, as not to be liable 

 to the objections above stated. They have been, and 

 perhaps now are, much used in the cities of New York 

 and Albany, and other places in the State of New York. 

 We should be very much obliged to Judge Buel, Mr 

 Fleet, or some other scientific or patriotic gentleman, 

 acquainted with the subject, for information whether 

 tiles are used and approved of in modern buildings, in 

 their vicinities ; and their opinions of the relative 

 advantages,of tiles compared with slate, and other 

 materials for the roofs of houses, &c. 



[For tile New Enul.inti Farmrr.) 



Llnnccnn Botanic Garden and J^u.rserles, \ 

 near JVew York, March 7, 1835. 5 



Di-iAR Sir — We have been repeatedly asked to des- 

 ignate the finest varieties of Vegetables, and we now 

 enumerate some of the most desirable, and will do so 

 with regard to others at a future opportunit}'. 

 Yours, very respectfully, 



^Vm. Prince & So.\s. 



Beet. — Long Blood, Early Turnip Blood, Early Yel- 

 low Turnip, Early White Sugar. 



CaiAnn-c.^Earliest French, Early York, Early Royal 

 Dwarf, Large York, French Ox-heart, Early Emperor, 

 Bonneuil, Harvest, Battersea, l^arge late Bergen, Early 

 Savoy, Cape Savoy. Monstrous French Savoy, Large 

 Panealier Savoy, — the latter citrafine, and far surpass- 

 ing the kinds of Savoy usually cultivated. 



Carrot. — Early Scarlet Horn, Altringliam, Long Red 

 Studley, and large White. 



Cc/ct!/.— Turkish large White Solid, North's Giant 

 Red, Dwarf Curled. 



Cuevmber. — Early Long Frame, Long Green Prickly, 

 Long Green Turkey, Early Green Cluster, and Long 



Green Southgate, for table, the latter longest of all ; 

 and tlie Small Green and Gherkin for plcliles. 



Endire — Italian Green Curled, and White Batavian. 



Indian Corn. — Early White Tuscarora, and Sweet or 

 Sugar. 



Lettuce. — Early Curled Silesia, Large Early White 

 French, Vtrsailles, Turkish, and Red edged Early 

 White, as head .or Cabbage Lettuces for spring and 

 summer sowing; and Florence Coss, Magnum Bonuin 

 Coss, and Monstrous Coss, for looser or less solid heads. 

 The Cess Lettuces are deemed sweeter and more tender 

 than the Cabbage varieties 



Onion. — Early Silver Skinned and Pale Red Madeira, 

 are earliest of all, and sure to attain their size the first 

 season. The Yellow Duteh not quite as early, but pro 

 duces very large Onions tile first, season. 



Melon. — Pine Apple, Persian, Citron, Skillman's, 

 Netted Minorca, Netted Romana, French Muscade, 

 Malta Winter, all of which are green fleshed. The 

 Cohansa, Imperial, Cyprian, Green Fleshed Sugar, 

 Large Yellow Cantaloup, and other Cantaloup varieties. 

 are also valuable. 



Peas. — Six Weeks, Washington, Dwarf Blue Impe- 

 rial, Dwarf Green Marrow, Knight's Marrow, Wood- 

 ford's Marrow, and various others. 



Puvip/uns. — Spanish Cheese, Yellow Cheese, &c. 



Radish. — Earliest French Scarlet, very tender, and 

 earliest of all, Mason's Scarlet Short top, Salmon, and 

 White Naples, as long varieties. Tlie Scarlet, Violet 

 and White Turnip varieties are best for early sowing, 

 and the Yellow Turnip and Spanish varieties for hot 

 seasons, or for tropical climates. 



S(juash. — Summer Bush, Summer Crookneck bush, 

 Vegetable Marrow, and Italian, for early ; White Can- 

 iida, Yellow Fall Crookneck, for autumn; and Tene- 

 riffe. Acorn, and Cocoa nut, for winter. 



Turnip.- — Early White, and Early Yellov/ Dutch, 

 White Stone, Yellow Stone, &c. for spring sowing, as 

 garden varieties. 



Cauliflower. — Early, and Half Hardy. 



Brocuii. — Grange's Cape, Suljdiur colored, Purple 

 Cape, and new Imperial late Dwarf White. 



Mrs Kirk, of the Old Ship Inn, Rotherham, provided 

 for her .SliefEeld friends, a Christmas Pie, which, when 

 taken to the oven, weighed upwards of 17 stone, or 238 

 ^lounds; it consisted of one rump of beef two legs of 

 veal, two legs of poik, three hares, six rabbits, three 

 geese, four pheasants, eight partridges, two turkeys, 

 four fowls, with upwards of one hundred pounds of the 

 best flour. — jB"^- Jiuper. 



Tliursday, the second day of April, has been appoint- 

 ed as the Annual Fast in New Hampshire. 



To CoRRESi'ONDF.NTS. — We liavc received the Hon. 

 Mr Latlirop's Address, .and several other favors, which 

 shall be given as soon as we can find room in our col- 

 umns, not pre-occupied nor pre-engaged. 



THERMOMETKICAL. 



(Reportfd Cur llie New ICni^tand Farmer. I 

 Range of Thermometer at the Maverick House, East 

 Boston, in a shaded Northwesterly exposure, free 

 from the wall. 



