300 



NEW ENGLxiND FARMER, 



-MARCH 29. 18"r. 



IFrgm llie Mninc Fnrmf-r.) 

 CAISADA THISTI.es. 



Mr Holmes : — In looking over Vol. 3, of tin- 

 Mniiie Parmer, 1 was iniirli plea.sed witli "Uncli- 

 Ebeii's " moile, of ilcstroyiiig tliis nuisance. I be- 

 lieve he has got the right notion, and am williiii.' 

 ■to ondorse h.'is theory witli the following statement 

 *of fects. 



"Somo 8 or 10 years ago I was in the habit of 



going to niy neighbor's yard for water — it was 



oonijilet v>ly covered with Ihistles, as were tlie 



streets jn front and rear of my house. When they 



were fairly in blossom, I mowed them, without 



any r egard to the age of the Moon, lielieving as 1 



liad often been told, that by mowing at this stage 



"f ' neir existence, they would be destroyed, as tin; 



fa'iUs being hollow, the rains would remain in 



'h eiji and lot the roots,— during a residence of 3 



or 4 years in the same [ lace, I saw few or iiolhis- 



t'c: 5 where I mowed them, 1 then removeil to 



an othcf house, in front of which was a yard about 



4 / jy S Fods, whioli was well covered with' thistles, 



at the same stage of their < .\istence as iu the (br- 



"1 ;r case, I mowed them, with this difference in 



th B result : the ne.\t year I had twice as wany. 



I mowed them again with no better success. I 



Ipi .'t the house the next spring. iMy successor 



n KiWcd them wlien in bloi^som as ! hnd done, and 



I iaey \v«v"e nearly or quite destroyed. The l;ist 



ftf.ason I noticed the place frequently, and could 



not discover a thistle. 



From my experience, I am satisfied that there 

 13 no particular time in the growth of the thistle, 

 that mowing will kill them, but believe with "Un- 

 cle Kben," that by mowing them on the ikcrcasc 

 of the Moon, they will be destroyed, 'ihis is as 

 rational as to believe that a slight sprinkling of 

 sail will destroy a root that varys from six inches 

 to as many feet in depth, and of "no particidar 

 length." i do not believe the Moon has anything 

 to do with makins: soap, but 1 believe it has touch 

 to do with vegetable life, that tindier cut on the 

 increase of the moon, wiil last longer than that 

 cut on the decrease, and in confirmation of this, 

 I intend sending you the residt of an experiment 

 made by an ob.-erving and intelligent man, as 

 soon as I can see him and get Ids wriiten state- 

 ment of what he once comtnunicated to me ver- 



bally. 



G. 



1 From the Dedham PiUriot] 

 MANSFIELD COAL. 



Sir — T promised some time since, to give you 

 some account of the progress of the mining oper- 

 ations in this town. I sn|)pose the history of the 

 discovery of coal here, is well known. 'J'he fiist 

 coal found was by a A!r Harding, in digging a 

 well. Soon after this discovery, some gentlemen 

 obtained a lease of the Harding (tirm, and formed 

 themselves into a Company, called the "lAIassa- 

 chusetts Mining Cou*i)any," appointed General 

 Chandler of Lexington, Agent, and commenced 

 operations in the fall of 183.5 ; the winter, as you 

 recollect, commenced early, and continued with 

 great severity, which obliged them to.snspend their 

 operations till spring. 



As soon as the weather wouhi permit a build- 

 ing was erected, a steam engine procured and j)nt 

 into operation, for the purpose of pmnping water 

 from the pit, hoisting, &c. 



At the depth of twenty feet from the surface, a 

 vein ofcoal was discovered, six feet in thickness. 



rimning sonthvvest aqd northeast, clipping to the 

 northwest at an angle of about 50 deg., which 

 was |iursned laterally for a litt'e distance, suHi- 

 ciently far, however, t<i satisfy the Company, that 

 coal in abundince, and of good quality existed 

 there. 



!t was then determined to sink the pit perpen- 

 dicniarly io the depth of sixty feet, and then tiiake 

 a lateral cut or drift (as the miners say) to the 

 vein. This has all been done. The perpendicu- 

 lar shaft is now sixtj' feet deep, and a side cut of 

 twenty feet brought the vein of (;oa! in full view; 

 and' at this time, with only two regular nnners, 

 about two tons of good coal are brought to the 

 surface daily, which is sold as fast as procured, at 

 $8 per ton. 



Gen. Chandler (who, by the way, is a gentle- 

 man eminently qualified f(U- this business) is now 

 in Pennsylvania, engaging experienced workmen^ 

 and "in a few days will be able to produce 20 <u- 

 30 tons jier day. 



1 fnd, iii conversation with people upon this 

 subject, that there is little faith in the success ol 

 these e,X| eriments. Rut your readers may rest 

 satisfied, that there is ail abnudauce of good coal 

 in Mansfield, and the genthuucn engaged in these 

 operations are determined to draw it from it hill- 

 ing places, that it may be made to administer to 

 the comfort of themselves and others. 



I have never seen a belter fire from the best 

 Pennsylvania veins, than can be made from the 

 Mansfield coal. It ignites easily, burns friudy ami 

 imparts as niiicli heat iis the best Anthracite. 



The operations here nj-o by no means confined 

 to the Mass. Co.; pi s or shafts have been sunk by 

 different companies, in various places, but owing 

 to the necessary delay in getting engines, pumps, 

 &c. into operuliun, they have not yet been able 

 to get to a depth suflicient to furnish so i)ure an 

 article as the one alluded to. JJut I am informed 

 that the 'coal indications' in all the shafts, are 

 good ; and we have every reason to believe, that 

 in a short time, coal will be produced, e<jiial in 

 i]uality to the ' Harding Vein,' from all the pits, 

 and in gteat abundance. 



You liave probably see'i in the New York pa- 

 pers, 1 letter from Capt. Bunker, of the steaudioat 

 President, to'TUr Foster Bryant, whii-li states that 

 he used the Mansfield Coal in his Cabin Stoves, 

 during a recent passage from Providence to New- 

 York, and that he found ii equal in all respects 

 to the best Pennsylvania. Coal. A certificate to 

 the same effect was signed by the passengers and 

 published. 



Soon, 'Peach Orchard,' 'Broad Moimtain,' 

 ' Lackawana,' ' Schuylkill,' ' Lehigh,' ' Diamond 

 Vein,' iSic. &c., will be known only as things thai 

 Were; and ' Aiausfiehl Harding Vein,' will be the 

 caption used by advertising friemls, in order to 

 make sale of remnant lots of Pennsylvania Coals. 



With till! compliments of ilie .season, accept my 

 sincere wishes (or your future usefulness, comfort 

 and prosperity. 



Mansfield, Jan. 1, 1S37. 



WHITE WASH. 



.As the citizens of our village have, much to 

 their credir, turned their attention to painting and 

 white washing the outside of their buildings, we 

 insert the fdlowing in hopes something may be 

 drawn from it to tlirir advantage on the score of 

 utility and economy. 



Inromhuslible Wash and stucco White Wash. — 

 The basis for both is lime, which must first be 

 slacked with Iiot water, in a small tub or piggin, 

 and covered, ta keep in the steam ; it then should 

 be passed in a fluid form, through a fine seive, to 

 obtain the flour of the lime, it must be |-iit on 

 with a |iainter's brnsli, — two coats are best for 

 outside work. 



First. — To make a fluid fir the roof, ami other 

 parts of wooden houses, to render them iucom- 

 bnstible, and coating for brick, tile, stone woik 

 and rough cast, to render them im|(rvions to the 

 water and give them a durable anil handsome ap- 

 pearance. 



'I he proportion in each recipe 5 gaMon>. 



Slack your lime as before directed, .say (j quarts 

 into which put one quart of clean rock salt for 

 each, gallon of .water, to-be entirely dissolved by- 

 boiling and skimmed clean ; then add to the five 

 gallons one pound of alum, half a pound of cop- 

 peras, and three-fourths of a pound of potash — 

 the last to be gradually added ; four quarts of fine 

 sand or hird wood ashes must also be added, and 

 coloring matter may be mixed in Mu-h quantity as 

 to give it the requisite shaile. It will look better 

 than paint and be as lasting as slate. Tl iiinst be 

 put on hot. Old shingles mu.st be first cleaned 

 with a stifle t room, when this may be applied. It 

 wi'l stop the small leaks, prevent moss from grow-- 

 ing, render them incombustible, and last many 

 year§. 



Second. To make brilliant stucco while wash 

 for buildings, inside and out. Take cleam lumps 

 of well burnt stone lime ; slack the same as be- 

 fore ; add one foiirih of a pound of whiting or 

 burnt alum pulverized, one [lound id' loaf or oth- 

 er sugar, three pints of rice flour, made into a 

 very thin and well boiled paste, starch or jelly, 

 and one pound clean glue, dissolved in the same 

 manner as cabinet makers do. 'I his may be ap- 

 plied cold within doors, but warm outside. It 

 will be more brilliant than plaster of paris, and 

 retains its brilliancy for many years, say from fif- 

 ty to one hundred. It is superior, nothing equal. 

 1 he east end of the President's house, in Wasli- 

 iiigion, is washed with it. — Ohio Far' 



Washi.ng Hhef.p. — Bartholomew- Nelson, Ksq. 

 late of Augusta, now of Hallovvell, remarkable for 

 his plain, [u-actii-al common sense, observed in 

 conversalion, that he thought he hail made quite 

 an improvement in his mode of washing sheep. 



Having a stream in his pasture, where he could 

 raise a small head of water, he made a plank box, 

 eight feet long, four feet wide, and three and u 

 half high, just below his ilam, from which he 

 conducted a stream of water into his box, sufli- 

 cient to keep it full and running over at the low- 

 er end, besides a constant discharge from the bot- 

 tom of the box through a two inch auger hole to 

 let off the sediment. 'I'his box or vat, he con- 

 sidered of fair size for four men to work at, stand- 

 ing on the outside, dry, while they washed their 

 sheep, and then returned them lo the flock in the 

 yard, made of suitable size for the iininber of 

 sheep to l)e washed. He thought this cheap es- 

 tablishment increased the comfort of hi.i laborers, 

 compared to wadmg into the water, and also that 

 they could wash faster and cleaner, without bend- 

 ing so much, or exposing their clothes to be rent. 



A number-of neighbors might join in preparing 

 such a convenient concern, where they could find 

 suitable water; or one could build, and then rent 



