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NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



OCTOBER S. ISJfi. 



WOOD PAVEMENTS. 



The Biif;gestion in the annexed article is emi' 

 nently deservinir of attention. The experiments 

 made, Ijoth in England and France, or the con- 

 servative qualities of corrosive siihliniate, a|)plied 

 to timher, and the comparative cheapness of the 

 rnixlnrC, forcibly recommend its use on such an 

 occasion as paving with wood. 



Should the city authority conclude to pave 

 Broadway with wood, I would suggest to them 

 the expediency of immersing the blocks in a solu- 

 tion of corrosive sublimate, to preserve them from 

 decay. 



Experiments[have been recently made u^ both 

 France and England, which prove that wood pre- 

 pared in this way is no longer liable to be affected 

 hy moisture, but acquires a firmness from the sub- 

 limate that enables it to resist decay. At Wool- 

 wich, "pieces of wood that had been subjected to 

 this process, and others that had not, were left for 

 a twelvemonth in a ditch. A quantity of decayed 

 and rotting timber had been thrown in along with 

 the same and the whole had been kept rather warm, 

 for the purpose of encouraging fermentation. — 

 When removed at the end of the twelvemontli, the 

 prepared wood was found perfectly sound through- 

 out, while tie other places were all more or less 

 rotten." A committee appointed by the Royal 

 Academy of France, to inquire into its preserva- 

 tive powers, have reported in its favor ; and in 

 England some large vessels have been built alto, 

 gether of timber that had been seasoned in this 

 way. The solution, which is recommended, is 

 made by dissolving about a pound of the salt in 

 eight or ten gallons of water. The requisite peri- 

 od for incarceration must vary according to the 

 thickness and hardnessof the timber, from a week 

 to three or more. — JV. Y. Amtr. 



9IARBL.E CEMENT. 



An important improvement, which has been for 

 several years in progress, is about being introduc- 

 ed to the more general notice of the public, and 

 we believe into extensive use for building purpo- 

 ses. It is a composition or cement, of which the 

 principal ingredient is marble or limestone, which, 

 when applied to the inner or outer walls of build- 

 ings, presents the appearance of polished marble, 

 of the various hues and qualities, which distin- 

 guish the beautiful material imitated. What would 

 be thought of a magician, who possessed the pow- 

 er of changing the sombre brick and stone walls 

 of the buildings of a city, in one week, into sub- 

 stances resembling the most beaiitiful Grecian, 

 Italian, Egyptian or Verd Antique marble, or 

 porphyry, like the rock of Gibraltar.' Yet all this 

 may be done by this invention of a humble citi- 

 zen of Orange County in this State. This cement 

 has been sufficiently tested by experiments on 

 buildings, to satisfy practical men of its decided 

 superiority over any other cement, stucco, or oth- 

 er hard finish for walls hitherto unknown. In our 

 next number we expect to be able to furnish the 

 public with some interesting particulars on the 

 subject ; and in the mean time we can state, that 

 a company has been formed in the city, to carry 

 on the operations connected with the manufacture 

 ofthis new cement, aud its application to build- 

 ings. — ;V. Y. Far. 



Holcome's Deflective Telescope. — We had 

 occasion, a few days since to notice that Mr Hol- 

 comb, of Soutliwick, Mass., had manufactured a 

 large Telescope, for the Wy.sliington College. We 

 have since learned, that the Colleg-e in Newark. 

 (Del.) has, with a liberality that augurs success, 

 ])urcliased another of these instruments. 



This magnificent instrument is 14 feet in length, 

 and 10 inches clear aperture. There are but two 

 telescopes of equal power in this country, the one 

 made by the .seme artist foi Washington Col- 

 lege, at Hartford, the other for Mr Charles Weth- 

 erall ofthis city. This argues well for the enter- 

 prise of the little state of Delaware, under whose 

 auspices this flourishing institution was recently 

 founded. 



On iMonday evening last this telescope was first 

 brought forward for trial — the moon then in quar- 

 ter, shone with unusual brilliancy, the beauty, wit, 

 snd science of Deli' ware were a.sseuibled, not ts 

 pay a common oblation to Phoebus, Bacchus, or 

 the Muses, but to make to the chaste Diana an of- 

 fering more refined and intellectual than any 

 which 



" Arcadian song 

 Transmits from aacient uncorrupted times." 



Joy beamed in every countenance, as Holcomb's 

 Telescope unveiled to view, the charms of this 

 fabled Goddess, and the evening will be long re- 

 membered in the annals of Newark. — A*". /. paper. 



INDIAN CORN. 



All, or nearly all, the accounts we have publish- 

 ed of great products of Indian corn, agree in two 

 l)articulars, viz: in not using the plough in the af- 

 ter culture, and in not earthing, or but very slight- 

 ly, the hills. These results go to demonstrate, that 

 the entire roots are essential to the vigor of the 

 «rop ; and that roots, to enable them to perform 

 their fimclions as nature designed, must be near 

 the surface. If the roots are severed with the 

 plough, in dressing the crop, the |)lants are de- 

 prived of a portion of their nourishtneut : and if 

 they are buried deep by hilling the plant is par- 

 tially exhausted in throwing out a new set near 

 the surface, where alone they can perform all 

 their offices. — There is another material advan- 

 tage in this mode of cultivating the corn crop — it 

 saves a vast deal of manual labor. 



There is another question of interest to farmers, 

 which relates to the mode of harvesting the crop, 

 that is, whether it is best to top the stalks, cut the 

 whole at the ground when the grain is glazed, or 

 cut the whole when the grain is fully ripened. 

 We have stated the experiments of Mr Clark of 

 Northampton, one of the best practical farmers of 

 our country, and of other gentlemen, shev\'ing that 

 the grain suffers a diminution of six or eight bush- 

 els the acre, by top[)ing the stalks ; and there 

 seems to be no counterbalancing benefit, in the 

 fodder, unless at carrying the stalks to the bord- 

 ers of the field, that they maybe secured before 

 the crop is gathered, and before they become 

 blanched and half ruined. And it is no protec- 

 tion against early autumnal frosts, but rather expo- 

 ses unripened grain to be more injured. Hence 

 so far as regards these two modes, all who have 

 made a comparison, seem to concur in the opinion 

 that stripping the corn of its tops and leaves, is a 

 bad practice. William Carmichael, of Virginia, 

 has given us in the Farmer's Register, his experi- 

 ments in this matter, which go to corroborate the 



conclusion we have drawn. He took, promiscn- 

 ously 100 ears from corn that had been t(i|)ped 

 and 100 ears from that which had not been top- 

 ped, growing side by side. The first weighed — 



On the cob, 50 lbs. — shelled, 41 lbs., and meas- 

 ured 21 qts. 1 pt. 



The other, on the cob, 54 lbs. — shelled, 46 lbs., 

 and measured 26 qts. 



Showing a difference of nearly one fifth in fa- 

 vor of the unstripped or untopped corn. — The 

 fact is, that topping not only prevents the further 

 elaboration of the sap, which can only take place 

 in the leaves, and which is necessary for the growth 

 of the corn, but it deprives the 'grain of much that 

 is already elaborated, and on its way to the grain. 

 If a fruit tree is deprived of its leaves, before the 

 fruit has attained its growth, or mature flavor, the 

 fruit will no longer grow, nor will it attain high 

 flavor, for its supply of elaborated food, or vegeta- 

 ble blood is cut off by the loss of leaves. We 

 have noticed this particularly in the plum. 



Satisfactory experiments have not been made to 

 determine, whether it is most advantageous to cut 

 the crop when the grain is merely glazed, or to 

 wait till it is perfectly lipe. This will depend np- 

 on the amount of loss, if any, in the grain, by early 

 harvesting, the relative value of the grain and fod- 

 der, and the prospect of both being injured by 

 early frosts — for neither are liable to suffer from 

 frost after the crop has been cut and put into 

 shocks. It is to be noticed, that in early cutting, 

 the stalks are succulent, and abound in elaborated 

 sap, on its descent from the leaves to the grain, and 

 that this supply of food to the grain continues to 

 flow rapidly for some days after the corn is in 

 shook, and if so, the grain itself continues to im- 

 prove, though we think it likely that the crop un- 

 dergoes some trifling diminution. But if frost is 

 likely to intervene before the complete maturity 

 of the crop, there is no doubt but the corn will 

 suffer less in shook than it will standing, while the 

 fodder will be materially injured by frost. Ad- 

 mitting that there is a small loss in grain by early 

 cutting, though it is undoubtedly less than when it 

 is topped, the difference in the value of the fodder, 

 under the two modes of management, is vastly in 

 favor of early harvesting. We do not pretend to 

 calculate to a nicety, the difference in nutritious 

 properties, of corn stalks cut in a succulent state, 

 early in September, well cured and well housed, 

 and those left .standing till October and November 

 in the field, but we should think it fifty per cent. 

 Well cured corn stalks afford an excellent winter 

 food for neat cattle ; and when fodder is likely to 

 be in demand, they may be made to contribute 

 largely to the profits of the farm. Several of our 

 acquaintances have kept their neat stock almost 

 entirely upon this fodder during the past winter, 

 and we have done the like, having first cut ours in 

 a cutting machine ; and so far as we can learn, 

 the cattle kept upon them are in excellent condi- 

 tion. 



The preceding considerations justify uS in ree- 

 ommending, that in the management of the Indian 

 corn crop, the following rules be observed, at least 

 partially, so far as to test their correctness : 



1. That the corn harrow and cultivator be sub- 

 stituted for the plough in the culture of the crop. 



2. That the plants ba not hilled, or but partially 

 so — this not to prevent the soil being oflen stirred 

 and kept clean. And, 



3. That in harvesting, the crop be cut at tb» 

 ground as soon as the grain is glazed. — CuUivator, 



