458 



NEW ENGLAND FARI^IER. 



Oct. 



water, Stetson, Bryant & Hobart of Bridge- 

 water, for their early, persistent and continued 

 efforts to introduce the Jersey cattle. New 

 England climate has a peculiar and remarkable 

 effect on the imported stock ; their progeny 

 showing a marked impi'ovement in form ; los- 

 ing that harsh angular foi-mation which charac- 

 terize the Jersey, and rounding out in lines 

 pleasing to the lover of good stock. 



L. W. Puffer. 

 North Bruhfewafer, Mass., Aug. 15, 1865. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CHEMICAL TERMS.— Wo. II. 



Base or Bases. — By these terms is meant 

 such substances as will combine chemically 

 with acids, and form salts. Thus in com- 

 mon salt, — which is a chloride of soda, or soda 

 chemically combined with chlorine, — the soda 

 is the base. In sulphate of lime or gypsum, the 

 lime is the base. In sulphate of iron, o.xide of 

 iron is united with sulphuric acid. In this in- 

 stance the oxide of iron is the base. A base 

 may be an alkali or an oxide of a metal. 



Redaction. — When the elements of a chem- 

 ical compound are separated from each other, 

 and restored to the condition in which they 

 existed before their union, they are said to be 

 reduced. This may be effected by the force 

 of chemical affinity, by heat, and by galvan- 

 ism. Thus, if to a solution of sulphate of 

 iron, ammonia be added, the oxide of iron 

 will separate from the sulphuric acid, and fall 

 to the bottom, and the acid will combine with 

 the ammonia for which it has a stronger affin- 

 ity than it has for the oxide of iron. In this 

 case the iron is said to be reduced. Heat a 

 small quantity of red oxide of mercury in a 

 tube over a lamp, and the oxygen will be 

 driven off, and may be collected in a receiver, 

 and the mercury will be found attached to the 

 upper part of the tube, in the form of metallic 

 coating, and may be collected into a globule. 

 The mercury is said to be reduced. 



Neutralization. — When sulphuric acid and 

 lime are brought together, a new substance, 

 plaster, or gjpsura, is formed, which is neither 

 alkaline nor acid. The alkali and acid just 

 balance each other, and neither of these pro- 

 perties is any longer apparent. 'Ihey are 

 both neutralized. They are not absolutely 

 destroyed, for the plaster or sulphate of lime 

 may be reduced, when the lime and acid will 

 exhibit the same properties which they did be- 

 fore tliey were united. 



Filtration. — is the straining of a liquid 

 through porous paper, as blotting paper. This 

 C!onsists of the fibres of linen or cotton mat- 

 ted together. Writing papc^r will not do, be- 

 cause its pores are filled with glue or starch. 

 This process is employed to separate from a 

 solution all undissolved particles and impuri- 

 ties, and leave the solution clear and trans- 

 parent. 



Combustion. — By combustion is understood 



the union of combustible bodies with oxygen, 

 and the process may be regarded as one of 

 oxidation. The process may be rapid or slow, 

 complete or incomplete. AVhen the process is 

 incomplete, particles of uncombined carbon 

 are removed by the current of heated air, and 

 form soot and lampblack. The products of 

 combustion are chiefly in the form of gas. 

 When coal and wood are burned, water in the 

 form of vapor, carbonic acid, carbonic oxide, 

 ♦fee, are formed. When sulphur and pho>pho- 

 rus are burned, sulphurous acid and phospho- 

 rous acid are the result. Ashes are the in- 

 combustible portions found in bodies exposed 

 to combustion. 



Capillary Attraction. — If a piece of char- 

 coal is dipped into cold water, it will diink up 

 more than Its weight of water. The charcoal 

 is porous or spongy — that Is, the solid matter 

 is divided by hundreds of spaces or minute 

 tubes. Could these spaces or tubes be laid 

 open and laid side by side, they would cover 

 a surface perhaps a thousand times larger than 

 the piece of charcoal can cover. AVhen a 

 smooth surface, as of glass or wood is dipped 

 Into water, a certain portion of the warer will 

 adhere, showing that they have an attraction 

 for each other. In the case of the charcoal 

 or other porous body, the immense surface 

 requires a large amount of +luld to moisten it. 

 If a glass tube with a fine bore be dipped into 

 water, the water will rise In it above the sur- 

 face of the water into which it Is dipped. It 

 will rise in proportion to the fineness of the 

 bore. Capillus means hair, and any fine tubes 

 are called capillary tubes. The sides of small 

 tubes are supposed to aid each other in draw- 

 In<ij up liquids Into the tubes. It Is this power 

 of attraction that causes oil to rise In a lamp 

 wick, and water to spread In paper, sugar, 

 sand, &c. — which causes salt to be diffused 

 through a piece of meat. By means of this 

 power, aided perhaps by vital force, the root- 

 lets and sap vessels of plants attract water and 

 various solutions from the soil, and convey 

 them through the trunk and branches to the 

 leaves. 



In my next I shall give definitions of vari- 

 ous chemical substances. R. 



Concord, Mass.. Sept. 5, 1867. 



For the Kmo England Farmer. 

 PROCESS OP "WINTER BUTTER- 

 MAKING. 



Sometime m the month of January, 1866, I 

 sent you a conunnnication signed "Ruby," 

 promising to write again, on making winter 

 butter. But a multitude of caivs and a change 

 In our business relations, have prevented me 

 from fulfilling that promise, until the present 

 opportunity, wiilch I embrace with pleasure. 

 Since then my husband has sold out his farm In 

 Paxton, and purchased a small ])lace In Wor- 

 cester, consisting of a house, barn, and one 

 acre of land. The dairy — except the old 



