No. 8. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



125 



Tiie nvrt following letters ought to have oppcnied 

 11 ilie June numliei of the Farmer, but did not reach 

 IS seasonably. We hope they will nltract the alien- 

 ijii which they deserve ; and should he very happy 

 .1 hear from the writero of them aeofter. ns they tind 

 t convenient to favor ua. Onr friend W. B. will aa 

 iuroJIy give the desired information reapeeting To- 

 mnto Fige. 



Various Inquiries.'-Sirariue fiom Lard and 

 Oil from Coru Meal. 

 Mr, Colman — It ia with pleasure I acknowledge 

 ihe great eatislaction as well as instruction I receive 

 From reading your invaluable paper. Your April No. 

 is particularly gratifyinjr, and is calculated to fill the 

 mind with a deep interest, particularly the notice you 

 bave taken of the Repoit of the Commissioner of 

 Patents, Mr. Ellsworth. But I could wish that some 

 of your correspondents would make tbemselvea re- 

 sponsible by signing their names to their communica- 

 tions. Much more confidence, 1 think, v\'ould be 

 placed by your readers ii'* comn^unication8 thus bus 

 tsined, and the editor would be troubled with none 

 but such, as the authors at least considered worth 

 printing. A plain, simple statement of nil the facts 

 relating to the subject, is vhat is v.'aated, and if that 

 IB fortified by a responsible usmo, so auich the belter. 

 No words (unless explained) should be made use of 

 but such are to be found in common school dictiona 

 ries, for our farmers are not all brought up at the feel 

 iff ^Gamaliel. 



In the last No. of your paper, is a communication 

 signed " W. B." beaded " Tomato Figs,,' dcscrib- 

 ipg ibcir valuable and luscious qualities, and stating 

 them to be within the reach of almost every inan, and 

 stating also, that in their firoparotion the medicinal 

 aualities of the fruit were concentrated. Very well, 

 to far, so good. But why stop here ? Why not tell 

 us /low to prepare the " Tomato Figs"? He would 

 then have done us a real service, and for one, if on 

 trial I had found he had told us ths truth, I would 

 have bailed him as a benefactor. But 1 hope he will 

 take up the oubjecf agnin, and tell the whole story, 

 and, by way of setting a good example, put his name 

 to it. 



J mention these things, not for the purpose of carp- 

 ing or finding fault, but to show that we farmers want 

 facts more than speculation. We want truth, the 

 whole truth, and if possible, nothing but the truth 

 jKpon subjects communicated to us. An imperfect or 

 erroneous statement of farts, sometimes iivjures the 

 circulation of an Agricultural paper more than if the 

 space occupied by it had been left blank. 

 ^tcariife/rcai Fiitd Oils, or Oils obtained from the 

 seeds of Plants. 

 " The chemical nature of soap has of late years 

 "been elucidated by the labors of M. Ohevreul. 

 ''fb'^ '^'^^™'^.' bas found that fixed oils of fats are 

 "not pure pro.\imate principles, but consist of two 

 ** substances, one of which is solid at common tem- 

 "peraturcs, while the other is fluid. To the forme* 

 *,* he has applied the name of Stearine (suet) and to 

 " the latter Elaine (oil). Slearine is the chief ingre- 

 " dient of Eupt, butter and lard, an^ is the cause of 

 " their solidity, whereas'oils contain a grealej pro- 

 *_* porcional quantity of elaine, and are consequently 

 " fluid. These principles may be separated from one 

 " another by exposing fixed oil to a low temperature 

 "and pressing it when 'congealed, between folds of 

 ?'bibuloua'(absorbing) paper. The stearine is thus 

 "obtained in a separate form, and by pressing the 

 "bibulous paper underwater an oily matter is pro- 

 *^ cu'ed which is elaine in a state of purity." — Tur- 

 r.er^a Elements of Chewiislnj, Ath American Edition, 

 from 3d London Edition, Philadelphia, 1832. p. 485. 

 Query. — Is or is not this process the same with that 

 practiced in Alton, III., for extracting Stearine Irom 

 jJieOilof the Castor B?an, of whicb candles is made?'' 

 Again, Siearincfrom Lard. 

 "The method or preparing stearine and elaine 

 "from the vsgelable oil3 has been already described 



" (page J,S.">) and the same process which originated 

 " with M. Braconnot, is also applicable to hog's lurd 

 '• This process by which M. Cbevreul obtains these 

 " principles, is by treating hog's lard in succeeeivo por- 

 " tions ol hot alcohol. The spirit in cooling deposits 

 " the slearine in the form of while christnline needles, 

 " which are brittle and have the aspect of wax, fuse 

 "readily wbon boated, and are insoluble in Water. 

 "The alchobolic solulion, when cvnpoiatcd, Ictu'cs 

 "an oily fluid whicb is elaine." — iliid, p. M4. 



Here are two methods of procuring Slearine irom 

 Lard, of which, according to Mr. Ellsworth's report, 

 candles are made worth 25 or 30 cents per pound, and 

 one by which the same substance is obtained from veg- 

 etable oils for the same purpose. Whether either ol 

 them is the besfribat can be devised, remains to be 

 seen. I hope we shall hear more on the subject. 



But the subject in Mr. E's. reporl, or so much of it 

 as you have noticed in your paper, appears to me to 

 be the most extraordinary, and if the results of Mr. 

 Webb's experiments an^ the deductions drawn fiom 

 them by Mr. Ellsworth are not deceptive, will un 

 doubtedly prove of great importance to the people of 

 the Northern and Western parts of the United States. 



Mr. E. does not give us particularF, but says 

 minute account of these experitnentscan be furnisbed 

 if desired" I hope you will desire it, and also pub 

 lishit. Let us bave facts; there is still immense room 

 for facts in the science, yes, science of Agriculture. 

 We have not yet learned ever, its lirst niJime.tts. 

 Oil from Corn Meal. 



I am informed that Oil from Corn Meal is obtained 

 by a mercantile firm in this slate to a very considaia. 

 ble extent. I am told they are largely in the distilling 

 business, and purchase large quantities of corn and 

 obtain the oil from the meal while in a state of fer- 

 mentation, byBkiming. The meal is afterwards dia 

 tilled, by which operatior., as my informant said, the 

 oil they saved wes clear gain above that of other dis- 

 tillers. I presume this is the company to which Mr. 

 p. refers in his report, as wisbingfor the privilege of 

 supplying the light houses on the ],,akes with oil. 



Our fruit trees are now in ftiU blossom, and the 

 earliness of the season keeps the owners in constan, 

 fear that a frost may come and disappoint their best 

 hopes. The man who can devise some cheap meth- 

 od, within the reach ol common farmers, whereby 

 orchards could be protected from early frosts, would 

 deserve well of bis country. It is a subject which I 

 hope your correspondents y/ill take into considera- 

 tioR. Yours &c. 



J. CROCKER. 



Wooster, Ohio, 1843. 



Mr. CoLMAN^In your May number of the Gen- 

 esee Farmer I discovered an article headed " Sugar 

 from Indian Corn and Stearine from Lard." On 

 reading the article I was much disappointed in not 

 receiving any information on the method of obtaining 

 Stearine from Laid. For the past two months I have 

 devoted some time and pains to the investigation of 

 the best method of obtaining stearic, margaric and 

 oleic acids, and sti arine and oleine from lard and tal- 

 low. The method which 1 found to be the best for 

 obtaining the above acids from lard and tallow, is this : 

 boil the fat in water for four or five hours, with a suf 

 ficient quantity of lime to form an earthy soap. Du- 

 ring this process, the elements of the fat are so ur- 

 ged as to form the acids, which combine with the 

 alkaline earth and form with it their respective salts. 

 These salts or earthy soap is decomposed in a large 

 quantity of water by sulphuric acid , the acids being 

 thus liberated, rise to the top of the water, which, 

 when cold, is to be taken off, shaved fine, and iben 

 subjected to strong pressure, when the oleic acid will 

 run off in a substance resembling oil, and leaves the 

 stearic and margariv acids in the press, a substance 



very much r«somblingepcrmnceti, which, when made 

 into candles, I found to be disposed to nieltandrun 

 dowji ; this, however, might be owing to its not being 

 sufliciently pressed, as iho press «bicb I bud unsnot 

 very good. 



Il the process which you referred to in your last 

 number is any thing like the foregoing, it is the fore- 

 mentioned acids that are obtained by it and n»t tho 

 stearine and oleine, as you there stated. The stearine 

 arid oleine are obtained by a dilTerent process. I have 

 tried several experiments lor the p.urpoEcof obtaining 

 them, but aa yet am not satisfied with the results. 

 From what investigation I bave made on the subject, 

 I think I can soon satisfy myself with a process for 

 obtaining them. 



My object in writing to you is to obtain informoiion 

 on the subject. If you have a p^mrhlct on the sub- 

 ject you can spare, \ wisii ygu would send me one. If 

 not, be so ^'bod as to write me those thi;i^ that are 

 practical, Yours&c. 



JOHN McLEAN. 



JacJifOn, Michigan, 1842. 



P. S. The process which I have given you in 

 part in this letter, was patented in England in the 

 year 182^}. J. McL. 



We have sent the pamphlet of tbo National Agricul- 

 tural Society to J. McL., and hope it has been recei- 

 ved. 

 Cattle Shows, Fail's, and Ploughing Matches. 



We subjoin a notice of the times of holding the 

 several Agricultural Fairs, which come within onr 

 knowledge, within the district where our paper prin- 

 cipally circulates, and shall keep it in until the times 

 arrive. We shall be obliged to the Secretaries of the 

 diffeient Agricultural Societies in New York, Ohio, 

 New England and C'anoda, if they will give us (post 

 poid) the notices of their respective fairs. 

 New York Stale Fair, Albany, Sept. 28 and 29. 



MonroeCounly " Rochester, Oct. ]3andl4. 

 Ontario " " .Canandaigua, Oct. 12andl3. 



Genesee " " Biitavia, pet. 20 and 21. 



Wayne " " Palmyra, Sept. Sand 6 



Livingoton " " Geneseo, Oct. 4 and 5. 



Oneida " " Rome, Oct. 11 and 13. 



Seneca " " Waterloo, Oct. SO and 21. 



Tompkins" " Iihaca, Oct. 6 and 7. 



Onondaga" " Syracuse, Oct. 5 and 6. 



Jefferson " " Watertow'Q, Sept. 15. 



Cayuga " " Auburn, Oct. 12and]3. 



(Dswego " " Oswego, Oct. 5. 



.CANADA. 

 Durham, Bowmanville, Oct. 18. 

 Nortbumbeilnnd, Grafton. Oct. 12tb. 



Over- Production. — It would seem „h«t whateve 

 can be prodiiced by the steam engine power-loom and 

 other improvements in machinery, has been generally, 

 and in some articles of manufacture, sadly overdone 

 in Europe and the United States ; but this only adds 

 to the farmer's comfort and wealth, as whatever de- 

 pends solely on the hands, the plough, pr the team, is 

 not depressed pro jnta in price and demand. When 

 I see a farmer's wife exchanging a pail of butter, a 

 basket of eggs, and a badly skimmed cfieese, for cali- 

 co and muslin enough to clothe all her children, while 

 her husband stands by complaining of hard times, and 

 contending that the dealer shall add thread and tape 

 gratis, I am ready to exclairn vfith the Mussulman, 

 "God 18 just: he gives to the rich man only one 

 belly." 



ExTRAORDiNAKi.^-Three hundred large Hogs, 

 brought from Kentucky by wtiy of New Orleans, 

 were offered for sale last Monday at Brighton, Mass 

 They remaineil unsold. What next? 



New Wheat is selling at &0 pents per bushel in 

 Cint>innali. 



