vou. xvii. No. la. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



9.^ 



nd forms a eompoimd more soluble in water than spring- of tlie year he was making fence. " My 

 geate of lime, there is reason to believe that mag- j fences,' said lie, " are all of cedar, but falling 

 nesia, properly applied, may be of service in agri- i short of cedar rails, and having none from the 

 culture. It would be very desirable that some ex- swamp, I was induced to cut down a pine tree and 

 periments should be made upon this subji^ct; for ^ convert it into rails to finish out my fence; tliey 

 it will be seen by the analjsis of our limestones | were the only pine rails I ever made use of. Ten 

 that has been given, that many of them are ma;;'- or twelve years after tliis, when resetting my fence, 

 nesian. In the .soutliern part of Berkshire c )unty, I found the pine rnis so sound that I let them re- 

 the real dolomite, which contains 40 per cent, of main; since then I have not seen them having left 

 magnesia, is common ; and it occurs in smaller my farm." I proposed taking a ride and look if 

 quantity in many of the limestones of that country. I any of them were remaining. We did so, and 

 Nor is it easy by the eye to determine whether a found a number in the fence perfectly sound. I 

 limestone be magnesian. The dolomite, however, | asked how long they liad been there. He replied, 



is very liable to disintegration, and hence it is easi- 

 ly reduced to powder ; and from the principles 

 above suggested, I infer that this is the proper way 

 to prepare magnesian limestone for agricultural 

 purposes. Indeed, I would extend the remark to 

 all limestones where fuel is not abundant. For 

 the great object of burning lime, so far as its ap- 

 plication to soils is concerned, is to reduce it to 

 powder. Indeed, when applied in the state of 

 quicklime it is very apt to prove injurious, like 

 magnesia, until it has absorbed carbonic acid from 

 from the atmosphere : tliat is, until it is brought 

 back to the state in which it was before burning. 

 The inhabitants of Berkshire coimty will probably 

 never need to use magnesian limestone for agri- 

 culture, or any other purimso, because they have 

 enough tliat is free from magnesia. But nmch of 

 their dolomite might be more easily reduced to 

 powder than any limestone could be burnt. And 

 if this suggestion about pounding and grinding 

 limestone be of no importance in respect to that 

 which contains magnesia, it may be of consequence 

 in regard to that great quantity of fragments of 

 pure white limestone, which are necessarily accu- 

 mulated at the quarries, and which are now entire- 

 ly wasted. How little additional labor would it 

 require, by means of water power, to bring these 

 into the state of powder admirably fitted for agri- 

 culture ! and who can doubt, but this might become 

 an article of exportation, when tlie contemplated 

 rail-roads are completed, and the value of lime 

 upon land shall be as much appreciated in this 

 country as it is in Europe ! 



From the Farmer's Cabinet. 

 BEST TIME FOR CUTTING TIMBER. 



between '28 to 30 years. 



An old friend related the following : — " I served 

 my apprenticeship to a carpenter. — During my ap- 

 prenticeship my employer «as sent for to build a 

 barn for a farmer in the neighborhood, who was 

 very particular to have everything done in the best 

 manner. In the old of the moon in the month of 

 February, he cut down and hauled all the logs 

 necessary for the frame. In the spring my employ- 

 er was sent for, and when he came to hew the sills, 

 one was so defective we were compelled to get 

 another from the woods to supply its place. Whilst 

 we were building the barn he would frequently la- 

 ment the loss of the sill he cut in the winter, say- 

 ing, ' in a few years I shall have to put in a new 

 sill, for this one will rot,' pointing to the one cut 

 in the spring. But, said this old friend, I lived to 

 see the same barn moved, and before it could be 

 effected, they were compelled to put three new sills 

 under it ; they were all rotten except the one cut 

 in the spring." This satisfied me that the spring 

 was the proper time to fall timber to insure its 

 lasting well. 



Being at Egg Harbor, fitting out a vessel and 

 in company with several persons, the conversation 

 turned us to the proper time to cut timber for ship 

 building — an old man related the following : — I 

 well remember a gentleman coming from Phila- 

 delphia to Egg Harbor, and sending for a ship- 

 carpenter to build him a schoonjr. When they 

 entered into a contract, the gentleman bound him 

 up to cut down all the timber when I he sap run, 

 and then take his own time to build her, provided 

 he would get her round to Philadelphia before the 

 winter set in. We all thought he knew but little 

 about cutting timber, and would soon have a rotten 

 vessel. Eighteen vears after, said he, I saw the 



they are frequently very grateful, particularly in 

 pulmonary complaints, and most people who are 

 well, like occasionally to taste of good preserves. 



We have before published the follo\ying direc- 

 tions, but in this place tlie information may be of 

 value, as it will lessen the expense of making pre- 

 serves. Take 8 lbs. molasses — bright New Or- 

 leans or sugar house — 8 lbs. pure water, 1 lb. 

 coarsely powdered charcoal ; boil for twenry min- 

 utes, then strain tlirough fine flannel, double ; put 

 it again in a kettle with the v/hite »f an egg, and 

 boil gently till it forms a .syrup of the proper con- 

 sistence, and strain again. This syrup is said to 

 be better for preserving fruit, &c. than a syrup 

 prepared from the best of loaf sugar, as it is not 

 so liable to candy, nor to ferment, — Hilli/arXs 

 Prac. Farmins:. 



Spicfd Tomatoes. — As this is the season for 

 securing a supply of this healthful vegetable, we 

 commend to all housekeepers to put up some after 

 the following receipe. By so doing they may pre- 

 serve them perfectly good until tomatoes come 

 again : 



Recipe for a bushel of Tomatoes. — Take your 

 tomatoes and pour boiling water over them', skin 

 them, then boil them well, after which add a tea- 

 spoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of black pepper, 

 one tablespoonful of cayenne, an ounce of cloves, 

 an ounce of mace, mix well, and put the tomatoes 

 in jars, run mutton suet over them and tie them in 

 jars, either with stone blue paper or buckskin. 

 Prepared in this way they will keep a year. 



[We had Tomatoes preserved in this manner, 

 during the whole of the last winter. The quanti- 

 ty of cloves, however, in this recipe, is greater 

 than is required. Half an ounce to the bushel is 

 sufficient — Al. Ev. Joui:] 



For many years my attention lias been turned j same vessel opened. Her timbers were then 



to ascertain the proper time to cut timber to insure 

 its greatest durability. I am satisfied that the 

 spring, when the sap flows freely, is the best time 

 to fall timber. I am borne out in this opinion by 

 the following statements that I have collected. 



J C informed me tlrat a detachment of 



British troops crossed from Philadelphia the 1st day 

 of May, in 1777, and on the 2d commenced cutting 

 down his woods for the supply of the army, and at 

 the same time to burn up his fencing, which they 

 completely accomplished. " But," said he, " they 

 taught me the proper time to cut timber to make it 

 last. After they marched off, I found many trees 

 that were not cut into cord wood ; those I split in- 

 to rails, believing, at the same time, they would 

 soon decay, from their being cut in the spring — 

 but I have been agreeably disappointed, — most of 

 them are as sound now as when made into fence." 

 This he related five-and-twenty or thirty years af- 

 ter the peace of '83. 



Conversing with an old gentleman in the neigh- 

 liorhood of Haddonfield, he told me that in the 



sound, and in good condition. 



Yours, &c.. 



An Old Man. 



To Preserve Pears, Plu.ms, &c., for Tarts 

 AND Pies. — Gather them when full grown and 

 just as they begin to turn. Pick one third of the 

 largest out and put to them as much water as will 

 cover them, boil and skin them. — When the fruit is 

 boiied soft, strain it tlirough a coarse sieve, and to 

 every quart of this liquor put a pound and a half 

 of sugar: boil and skim it, and then throw in your 

 fruit; just give them a scald, take them off the fire, 

 and vhen cold put them into bottles with wide 

 mouths, pour your syrup over them, lay a piece of 

 white paper dipped in sweet oil over them, and 

 cover tight. 



Economical people will not, of course, think of 

 either making or using many preserves, on account 

 of the expense, and the rigid adherence to the 

 teachings of experience will generally avoid them 

 because they are unhealtliy. In sicksess, however, 



Tomato Pies equal to the fine English 

 Gooseberry Pies. — The other day we partook, 

 for the first time, of a Tomato Pie, and were so 

 much pleased with the treat, tliat we enquired into 

 the mode of making them. The tomatoes are 

 skinned, sliced, and after being mixed with sugar, 

 are prepared in the same manner as other pies. 

 The tomato is likely to become one of the most 

 useful of plants. — Springfield Pioneer. 



Cattle F^eep. — To the people of the Eastern 

 States, it may appear incredible, that cattle actual- 

 ly thrive as well or better here in the woods, than 

 in the best clover and timothy of any state ; such 

 we believe is the unvarnished truth. This fact is 

 mainly to be attributed to the vast abundance of 

 the wild pea that starts early, grows large and 

 luxuriantly, and furnishes cattle with excellent feed 

 until about the first of July ; when the wild bean 

 succeeds it and supplies succulent food in great 

 profusion until late in the fall. Besides these, 

 there are some kinds of grasses that flourish to 

 some degree, and the greatest variety of other 

 herbage we have ever observed in any country. 

 Here the lover of the science of botany has a 

 grand field for the exercise of his patience, and de- 

 lightful, as well as useful investigations. Here 

 the votary of Flora can procure from nature's own 

 gard»ns, varieties to compose the richest bouquets, 

 and can for months in succession gratify his taste 

 with flowers, worthy of a place in the most splen- 

 did gardens. — Wisconsin Culturist. 



