^-=s'5rT-T7"T^^- ^.W'. ^■■!'*^*\ " ■-'vl-'y!^»!P5»wgBjc;»^^f9KPH 



1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEK. 



357 



blue vitral is, or was formerly, very cheap, tiz : 

 from three to six cents per pound." 



Mr. Fairfield informed me that the French gov- 

 ernment are pursuing d similar process with 

 every item of timber now used in ship building, 

 and that they have a way of forcing it into the 

 trees in the forest as soon as cut, ejecting the 

 sap and cyanizing it all on the spot. I have not 

 experimented with it, but Mr. Fairfield's success 

 seemed to be complete. 



The process is so simple and cheap as to be 

 within the convenience of every farmer, and 

 gardener even, and I therefore thought it so val 

 uable as to warrant a special notice of it. — I^ew 

 Jersey Earmer. 



-«•»- 



About Corned Beef. — VFhen beef is fresh it 

 contains considerable blood, which is drawn out 

 by the brine. If the meat is left in this bloody 

 mixture, it will require a much larger quantity 

 of salt to pre-erve it, particularly through warm 

 weather. My plan is to make a brine by using 

 for every hundred pounds of beef, five pounds of 

 salt, one -fourth of an ounce of saltpeter, and 

 one pound of brown sugar. This is dissolved in 

 just enough water to cover the meat, and poured 

 upon it. When it has been in this brine two 

 weeks, I take out the meat, let it drain, pour a 

 fresh brine over it, and then it will be good the 

 season through. 



The cook who uses corned beef should not be 

 so ignorant or indolent as to delay putting it over 

 the fire until an hour before dinner. A good 

 sized piece requires three or four hours steady 

 boiling to do it jusiice. Insuificient boiling 

 must be made up for by extra chewing. Always 

 have the water boiling when the meat is dropped 

 in ; otherwise the sweetness will be drawn out 

 into the water. A boiling heat hardens the outer 

 surface at once, and thus keeps in the juices 

 which give richness, and which contains most of 

 the nou'ishment. An excellent way of cooking 

 corned beef is to have a large boiler with a wire 

 or wooden rack on the bottom for the meat to 

 rest over the water. When the water boils, place 

 the me it upon the rack and put on the cover of 

 the boiler with a cloth over it to keep in the 

 steam. The heat of the steam will rise above 

 the boiling point and penetrate the meat and 

 cook it more quickly and better than could be 

 done by boiling. — American Farmer. 



<•• 



The "After-Growth" of Grass. — A distant 

 friend writes: "I have a large quantity of sec- 

 ond crop on my mowing fields, and the question 

 is what to do with it. Shall I cut it for hay or 

 feed it off ? My stubble fields are also full of 

 young grass and clover, the season having been 

 very favorable to a catch. Is it advisable to let 

 whole growth lay on the ground, or is it better 

 to mow it, or feed it off ? If it is to be fed off, 

 what kind of stock shall be turned on ?" 



In regard to the first of the above questions, 

 we may say, that whether the second crop of 

 mowing-fields should be cut, or fed off, or let 

 alone, depends on various circumstances. If 

 there is, as stated by our correspondenl, a 



" large quantity" of grass on the ground, it is 

 advisable, even in reference to the land, or to 

 the amount and quality of the next crop, to take 

 off, in some way, at least a portion. If the crop 

 is needed more for winter feeding than for im- 

 mediate consumption, it may be made into hay. 

 As we have remarked on previous occnsions, af- 

 ter-math or rovcen hay is, when properly cured, 

 of the very best quality in reference to (he pro- 

 duction of beef, mutton, or milk. On fields 

 which were mowed early, the second growth ia 

 generally large, this season. Most farmers in 

 this section will cut some for hay, besides leav- 

 ing considerable to feed off. It will be better 

 for the succeeding crop to cut it pretty soon, to 

 give time for the grass to start a little before the 

 frosts sets in. A certain amount of covering for 

 the roots is beneficial ; but too thick a coating 

 affords harbor to field mice, which do much in- 

 jury, and, besides, "smothers out" the grass 

 more or less. 



Probably as a general thing, it is better for 

 the land, or for the next crop of grass, to feed 

 off the after-math. On the ground that is not 

 wet, the sward is generally made firmer, evener. 

 and the herbage thicker and finer, by the tread 

 of cattle in connection with their grazing. They 

 should not be allowed to leave the ground too 

 bare at the close of the season. — Boston Culti- 

 vator. 



nm» — 



Wintering Bees. — It seems to be an under- 

 stood fact that bees should be wintered in a 

 warm place ; that is, not out of doors in the 

 open air. They should not remain in winter 

 where they are in summer. It is remarkable 

 how many people there are that yet oppose this 

 theory. They refer you to " wild swarms that 

 harbor in trees," where the greatest amount of 

 honey, they say, is found. It is somestimes true 

 about the honey. But it must be considered 

 that bees in general are well-wintered in trees; 

 and bee-keepers may here learn a lesson. It is 

 the tree — the thick sides surrounding the colony 

 — that protects the bees. 



The other day in mentioning to a bee-keeper, 

 who never reads, but gets his knowledge from 

 experience, that the books say that bees will 

 sometimes starve in the midst of honey in win- 

 ter. I was surprised to hear him say, " Yes, sir, 

 I have had them often die that way." 



" But what causes it ?" 



"Well, my opinion is they can't get out of 

 their place on account of the cold. The moment 

 they attempt it they are chilled, and rather than 

 be frozen to death, they will stick together and 

 starve. I have kept my bees buried in the snow, 

 and kept them out of the snow. I shall here- 

 after keep them in the chesse-room." 



"What is that for?" 



" There they are dry ; and when the weather 

 gets cold I shall warm the room. I shall keep 

 the room dark?" 



" You have never tried it ?" 



" No. But I have seen it tried. I saw it done 

 last winter, and not a swarm of the whole died, 

 but came out clean and fine. Everybody else 

 loss bees that kept them out-doors, — Val. Farm, 



