64 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



in statiire or flower, they are capable of, and are, 

 in consequence, more subject to the attacks of in- 

 sects. On the other hand, if supplied with more 

 than they require, the soil turns sour, the leaves 

 of the plant turn yellow, and it soon puts on any- 

 thing but a pleasing appearance. Then, in order 

 to shun these extremes, use observation, and give 

 water whenever the soil seems to be approaching 

 a state of drj-ness, and at no other time ; this may 

 happen twice a day, or twice a week, but give it 

 then, and give it effectually, so that it passes out 

 at the bottom of the pot. Plants that have grown 

 so as to fUl their pots full of roots, and plants 

 in active growth, will be found to require much 

 water in hot Aveather, but less in dull and damp 

 weather ; while others that have not so filled their 

 pots, or that are not so vigorous, would be only 

 ruined by a like application. The same rule holds 

 good in the application of liquid manure, and in 

 the using of pans to set the pots in ; both of the 

 latter do more harm than good, unless the pots are 

 full of roots. The best liquid manure for pot 

 plants is made by stee]nng horse and dry cow dung 

 in a tub or tairlt, so constructed that the liquid can 

 be drawn off" clear, for turbid manure water renders 

 the pots unsightly. The above is simple, and can 

 scarcely do harm ; but guano and other artificial 

 manures must be used with extreme caution, say 

 no more than half an ounce to a gallon of water. — 

 Garden Oracle, England. 



ACTION" OP SALT AND SALTPETRE ON" 

 MEAT. 



The following interesting account of the action 

 of salt and saltpetre on meat will doubtless be new 

 to many of our readers : 



The manner in which salt operates in its pi-eser- 

 vative functions is obvious. Salt, by its strong 

 affinity, in the first place, extracts the juices from 

 the substance of meat in sufficient quantity to form 

 a saturated solution with the Avater contained in 

 the juice, and the meat then absorbs the saturated 

 brine in the place of the juice extracted by the salt 

 in the fnst place. Thus matter, incapable of pu- 

 trefaction, takes the place of that portion of the 

 meat which is most perishable. Such, hoAvever, is 

 not the only office of salt as a means of preserving 

 meat ; it also acts by its astringency in contract- 

 ing the fibres of the muscles, and so excludes the 

 action of air on tlie interior of the substance of 

 the meat. The last mentioned operation of salt 

 as an antiseptic, is evinced by the diminution of 

 the volume of meat to Avhich it is applied. 



The astringent action of saltpetre on meat is 

 much greater than that of salt, and thereby renders 

 the meat to Avhich it is applied very hard ; but in 

 small quantities it considerably assists the antisep- 

 tic action of salt, and it also prevents the destruc- 

 tion of the florid or red color of the meat by the 

 application of salt. From the foregoing statement 

 of the mode of the operation of salt and saltpetre 

 on meat, it Avill be perceived that the application 

 of these matters deteriorates, in a considerable de- 

 gi-ee, the nutritive, and, to some extent, the whole- 

 some qualities of meat ; and, therefore, in tlieir use, 

 tlie quantity applied should be as small as possi- 

 bly consistent Avith the perfect preservation of the 

 meat. — Exchange. 



FACTS AND FANCIES. 



Fat Sheep. — A drove of 200 sheep was recent- 

 ly taken in the Noav York market at a trifle over 

 $4 a head. An extra fine lot of Kentucky sheep, 

 brought in by Levi Brine, sold 7 for $49, 11 for 

 $80, 10 for $75, and 10 more for $75, Avhich Avas 

 equal to 9c per lb. for the meat, beside the value 

 of the fat and pelts. 



Corn in Illinois. — The Illinois Central Rail- 

 road runs through the Egypt of the Prairie State, 

 and has been the means of adding many millions 

 of bushels, annually, to the corn and other bread- 

 stuff" products of Illinois. By it the broad prairies 

 have been broken up, and the station, the village, 

 and the farm-house, noAV dot immense corn-fields 

 Avhere but a few years ago Avaved an unbroken 

 sea of grass and Avild floAvers. This company has 

 given notice that it Avill sell its lands and receive 

 corn in the ear in payment, delivered on the car at 

 any of the stations of the road, at eighteen cents 

 for seventy-five pounds. To store the corn, the 

 company is building eleven miles of corn cribs 

 along the line of their road, tAvelve miles south of 

 Chicago, Avith a capacity of 3,000,000 bushels ! 



Extravagance in Dress. — Dress may be ele- 

 gant and not extravagant. It should be remem- 

 bered that hoAvever the eye may be taken at first 

 sight Avith a magnificent dress, it is the loearer that 

 a man finally falls in love Avith. Greater economy 

 in dress and a fcAV other items of family expenses, 

 would equal the extra taxes levied upon us by Avar. 



The Oil Springs. — A gentleman named Den- 

 ton, Avho has been investigating the matter, says 

 that the oil found so abundantly in Canada, Ohio 

 and Pennsylvania and many other localities, is not 

 coal oil, but co7-al oil. He says, — "Stored aAvay 

 in cells, forming in the aggregate immense reefs, 

 as it Avas collected from the impure Avaters of the 

 early oceans by minute coral polyps, [an aquatic 

 animal, that has no special organs of sense, and is 

 capable of multiplying by buds and artificial sec- 

 tions as Avell as by ova. — Ed. Far.,'] it has been 

 driven by heat and pressure into reservoirs and 

 crevices Avhere man's ingenuity is discovering it 

 day by day. I have in my possession many speci- 

 mens of this fossil coral, Avith the oil plainly visi- 

 ble in the cells." This is gratifying intelligence, 

 and seems to us rational. It has generally been 

 supposed that this oil came from coal, forced out 

 by a tremendous pressure, and found its Avay to 

 caverns Avhere it has been waiting — perhaps for 

 thousands of years — for the scientific researches of 

 man to brhig it to the light. 



Peaches in Minnesota. — The Minnesota 

 Farmer and Gardener says : The peaches groAvn 

 about St. Paul are all protected in the Avinter by 

 training the branches near the ground and cover- 

 ing them in the Jail. 



