1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



121 



strings of dark water among the silver fingering of 

 tlie pebbles. Far away in the south the river- 

 gods have all hasted and gone down to the sea. 

 AVastcd and burning, white furnaces of blasting 

 sand, their broad beds lie ghastly and bare ; but 

 here the soft wings of the sea-angel droop still 

 with dew, and the shadows of their plumes falter 

 on the hills ; strange laughings, and glittcrings of 

 silver streamlets, born suddenly, and twined among 

 the mossy heights in trickling tinsel, answering to 

 them as they wave. — Buskin, 



VLNTEGAR IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. 



The whole philosophy of the manufacture of 

 vinegar is included in the word oxydation, the al- 

 cohol contained in cider, beer, or wine, combining 

 with the oxygen of the atmosphere, becomes acetic 

 acid, which in a diluted state is vinegar. 



The methods usually pursued in the domestic 

 manufiicture of this article are, to say the least of 

 them, susceptible of improvement. The conver- 

 sion of cider into good vinegar, by exposure to the 

 air in casks, requires weeks and even months to 

 accomplish ; because, only a small surface is ex- 

 posed at one time to the oxydizing action of the 

 atmosphere. 



By exposing a larger surface of the liquor to the 

 atmosphere, oxydation takes place with corres- 

 ponding rapidity, and the process may be com- 

 pletde in from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. 



The method of accomplishing this rapid acetifi- 

 cation, which has long been known to scientific 

 men and manufacturers, may be pursued without 

 difficulty in private houses, as follows : Take a 

 clean flour barrel, and bore auger holes all around 

 the sides, and in the bottom ; set it over a flat tub 

 or open cask, and fill it light with beech shavings 

 which have been soaked in vinegar. On top of 

 this barrel, which is open, lay two strips of Avood, 

 and resting on these, a pail filled with cider, beer, 

 or the like. Procure twelve or fifteen lengths of 

 cotton wicking, about thirty inches long : which, 

 after dip])ing in the liquid, arrange round the sides 

 of the pail at regular intervals so that one end of 

 each wick will be hanging in the cider, and the 

 other one hanging down outside, and below the 

 bottom of the pail. By means of these wicks, the 

 pail will gradually bo emptied of its contents, 

 which, trickling over the shavings, will be exposed 

 to the air, absorb oxygen, and finally be received 

 in the tub beneath. By returning the liquor into 

 the pail above, and suffering this trickling process 

 to be repeated two or three times, a splendid vin- 

 egar will be obtained. The whole secret of the 

 process lies in the mechanical increase of surface 

 accomplished by the shavings. — Scientific Ameri- 

 can. 



Remedy for Ringworms. — The North Brit- 

 ish Agriculturist says that the disease locally 

 known as ring worm or tetter, which shows itself 

 about the head and neck of young cattle, in the 

 form of whitish dry scurve spots, can be removed 

 by rubbing the parts affected with iodine ointment. 

 The disease may also be combated by the use of 

 sulphur and oil ; iodine ointment is, however, to 

 be preferred. As this skin disease is easily com- 

 municated to the human subject, the person dress- 

 ing the cattle should wash his hands with soap 

 and hot water after each ointment. 



For the Netc England Farmer. 

 POVERTY OF SHADE. 



Mr. Brown : — I am so confident that you de- 

 sire to give only sound doctrine to the readers of 

 the Farmer that I venture a criticism on one of 

 your "replies," with the full confidence of your 

 willingness. In the weekly Fanner for Jan. 11th, 

 in answer to "Subscriber," from North Dunbar- 

 ton, N. H., you say, "Perhaps the better way would 

 be to sow oats or barley with the grass seed, and 

 cut them for fodder. This course would i.ot ma- 

 terially exhaust the soil, and the oats might, in 

 some measure, protect the young grass, and give 

 it an opportunity to escape cbought, if it should 

 ensue." 



It is a very common idea that the shade afford- 

 ed in such case is more than an offset for the mois- 

 ture-exhaustion which it costs. But such is not the 

 case. While the roots can get moisture, the plants 

 will not dry u]) because of the power of the sun 

 upon them. During last summer we had a severe 

 drought. I had a piece of ground under my care 

 sowed with oats and grass seed. On a part of it 

 the oats were cut down by insects, so as to leave 

 scarcely a blade. There the grass lived through 

 the drought. On another part the oats stood un- 

 harmed by insects. There the little grass roots 

 all died from the severity of the drought. Cer- 

 tainly it was from this cause that the grass failed 

 there. 



In a field of potatoes, also, where perhaps an 

 eighth of an acre had a crop of coarse weeds 

 which lived in defiance of the hoe, there the soil 

 became so extremely dry that the potatoes died 

 of thirst ; while the case was different on precise- 

 ly the same kind and condition of soil where the 

 weeds had been subdued. The shadow of a weed 

 will never pay for the moisture it steals in time 

 of drought, and the same principle will hold good 

 against oats or barley in a water-account with the 

 soil. The more roots there are to suck the parched 

 soil the sooner its moisture will be gone. Naked 

 soil will retain moisture beyond that which is 

 thickly covered with growing grass or grain. A 

 row of corn, skirting grass-ground, will curl up 

 from drought before one Avould at a distance from 

 where so many roots are sucking. A weedy piece 

 of ground will suffer worse than a clean flcld. 



Lee, N. II., Jan., 1862. Comings. 



Remarks. — You judge us correctly, friend Co- 

 mings, in supposing that Ave "desire to give only 

 sound doctrine to the readers of the Farmer." 

 Our language, you will observe, was quite guarded. 

 Before proceeding, let us see what the point at is- 

 sue is : It is not, Avhat course of culture Avill pro- 

 duce the largest crops of grass, but, simply, whrt' 

 circumstances Avill best promote the germination 

 of grass seed and its early growth ? 



In i\iQ first place, the oats were to be cut green 

 — not allowed to seed — which Avould leave the sur- 

 face free for the young grass after it had got fair- 

 ly started, and not "materially" exhaust the soil 

 — that is, compared with the exhaustion when oats 

 are allowed to mature. 



Secondly, oats start quick, partially cover the 

 surface, and thus prevent a large amount of evap- 



