1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



23 



or in hollow trees." They are known to breed, 

 however, in the tops of trees, often in the desert- 

 ed nest of some other bird. It lays four eggs, 

 nearly round in form, and pure white. This Owl 

 is frequently seen abroad by day, but has nothing 

 remarkable in its voice or habits. 



This species is fourteen inches and a half long, 

 and three feet two inches in extent ; ear-tufts 

 large, of six graduated feathers, black, edged with 

 rusty yellow ; upper parts, dark brown, sprinkled 

 and spotted with white, pale, ferruginous, and 

 dusky ; throat and breast, clouded with rusty 

 cream, and black and white ; belly, beautifully 

 streaked with large arroAv-heads of black. A fine 

 specimen of this beautiful Owl was taken a few 

 days since in this vicinity. 



The Short Eaked Owl {Otus brachyotus, 

 Cuv.,) is another species common to both conti- 

 nents. It is occasionally seen in England ; is 

 abundant in the forests of Labrador, and Sir W. 

 Jardine speaks of having received specimens from 

 Canton, in China. It is a bird of passage, coming 

 to us from the north in November, and leaving 

 us again in April for its northern breeding places. 

 It feeds upon mice and other small game, silently 

 watching for its appearance from some convenient 

 perch, instead of hunting for it on the wing, as do 

 most of the Owls. Wilson has the following ob- 

 servations concerning it. "It flies frequently by 

 day, and particularly in dark, cloudy weather, 

 takes short flights ; and, when sitting and looking 

 sharply around, erects the two slight feathers that 

 constitute its horns, which are at such times very 

 noticeable, but, otherwise, not perceiveable. No 

 person, upon slightly examining this bird after be- 

 ing shot, would suspect it to be furnished with 

 horns ; nor are they discovered but by a careful 

 search, or previous observation on the living 

 bird." In England it is known as the Woodcock 

 Owl, from its appearing at the same time with 

 that bird ; but in the extreme north of England, 

 and in Scotland, it is known to breed. Jardine de- 

 scribes the nest as placed on the ground, among 

 the heath ; the bottom of the nest scraped until 

 the bare earth appeared, on which the eggs were 

 placed, five in number, without any lining or oth- 

 er accessory covering. 



The length of this Owl is fifteen inches, breadth 

 of wing three feet four inches, general color 

 above, dark brown, broadly skirted with pale yel- 

 lowish brown ; beneath, yellowish, streaked with 

 dark brown ; tail long, rounded, crossed by alter- 

 nate bars of dark brown and yellow ochre, and 

 tipped with white. j. a. a. 



Crops in Illinois. — A correspondent of the 

 Prairie Farmer, at Fair Haven, Carroll Co., writes 

 that the threshing machines are disappointing the 

 people this year just as much as they did last, but 

 in a different way. Then every one expected more 

 than he got ; now every one gets more than he 

 expects. People who expected 20 bushels of 

 wheat to the acre get 25 ; those who expected 2o, 

 get 30. A part of ours has been threshed, and 

 yielded 33 bushels per acre. Last year we had 

 17 bushels per acre, and the year previous but 6 ! 

 and ours was a pretty fair average (I think) of this 

 part of the country. 



CIDER— HOW TO PREVENT ACIDITY. 



Levi Bartlett, in the Country Gentleman, de- 

 scribes the stumming process (burning the cider 

 with burning brimstone,) which he says he prac- 

 ticed many years ago with perfect success, there- 

 by having cider which would exhilarate but not 

 fuddle, nor produce headache : 



There are three stages of fermentation to which 

 cider is subject, viz.: the vinous, the acetous, and 

 the putrefactive. When cider has passed through 

 the vinous fermentation, if left unchecked it soon 

 runs into acetous, and from this it soon passes 

 into the putrescent fermentation, becoming ropy 

 and worthless. Most of the cider put up by far- 

 mers passes into the second or acetous fermenta- 

 tion, becoming more or less sour and inebriating, 

 and when drank, by many persons, producing a 

 flushed face and headache, and what is worse, pro- 

 ducing crossness and ill temper in many of those 

 that use it as a common beverage, and guzzle it 

 down in large quantities. It would be far better 

 to convert all such cider into vinegar. This 

 making of a man into a cider cask is poor busi- 

 ness. 



If new cider is fermented in an open cask, after 

 a time, longer or shorter, depending upon cir- 

 cumstances, all the heavier portions of extraneous 

 matter, pomace, &c., will settle to the bottom of 

 the cask, and the lighter flocculent matter will 

 rise to the surface, forming a spongy, brown 

 crust. Just as soon as the vinous fermentation 

 has ended, cracks or fissures will appear in the 

 crust, and small white bubbles of carbonic acid 

 will fill the fissures of the crust. The liquor at 

 this precise time is clear and bright. The grand 

 secret of having a cider equal to pure wine, is to 

 check the fermentation. If tlie cider is left to it- 

 self, the acetous fermentation follows — the sed- 

 entary matter at the bottom of the cask rises, and 

 the liquid becomes muddy — this, acting as yeast, 

 produces a second and more violent fermentation, 

 resulting in hard cider. 



When the white bubbles begin to appear the 

 crust should be removed, and the liquid drawn off" 

 without disturbing the sediment at the bottom of 

 the cask. Pour two or three pailsful of the liquor 

 into a clean, strong, tight barrel ; then fumigate 

 — that is, have prepared a long tapering bung 

 with a looped wire inserted in the smaller end of 

 it ; in the lower end of the loop fix strips of cot- 

 ton or linen cloth, dipped in melted sulphur, to 

 form a good sized match, light it, and thrust it 

 into the bung-hole of the barrel ; the match will 

 burn till the oxygen in the barrel is used up ; 

 then withdraw the match, put in a common bung, 

 and tip the cask in "double quick time," to the 

 right and left, so as to mix, as far as possible, the 

 liquor and gas in the barrel ; then fill it full, put 

 in a tight-fitting bung, place it in a cool cellar, 

 and in the course of a year or so, there will be a 

 barrel of apple juice that "temperance" ladies and 

 children can partake of without "a blush or a 

 scowl." 



Round dealing is the honor of man's nature ; 

 and a mixture of falsehood is like alloy in gold 

 and silver, which may make the metal work the 

 better, but it debaseth it. 



