THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



105 



at Washington. The following is a receipt for 

 making it, with some additional improvement, 

 obtained from experience. Take a half bushel 

 of nice unslacked lime, slack with boiling wa- 

 ter, covering it during the process, to keep in 

 the steam. Strain the liquid through a fine 

 seive or strainer, and add to it a peck of salt, 

 previously well dissolved in warm water, three 

 pounds of ground rice boiled to a thin paste, 

 and stirred in boiling hot, half a pound of pow- 

 dered Spanish whiting, and a pound of clean 

 glue, first soaking it well and then hanging it 

 over a slow fire in a small kettle, within a large 

 one, filled with water. Add five gallons of hot 

 water to the whole mixture ; stir it well, and let 

 it stand a few days, covered from dirt. It should 

 be put on quite hot. For this purpose, it can 

 be kept in a kettle on a portable furnace. It is 

 said that about one pint of this mixture will 

 cover a square yard upon the outside of a house, 

 if properly applied. Brushes more or less small 

 may be used, according to the neatness of the 

 job required. It answers as well as oil paint for 

 wood, brick, or stone, and is cheaper. It retains 

 its brilliancy for many years. There is nothing 

 of the kind that will compare with it either for 

 inside or outside walls. Coloring matter may 

 be put in and made of any shade you please. 

 Spanish brown stirred in, will make red or pink, 

 more or less deep according to quantity. — 

 A delicate tinge of this is very pretty for inside 

 walls. Finely pulverized clay well mixed with 

 Spanish brown, before it is stirred into the mix- 

 ture, makes a lilac color. Yellow ochre stirred 

 in, makes a yellow wash ; but chrome goes fur- 

 ther and makes a color more generally admired. 

 In all these cases, the darkness of the shade 

 will of course be determined by the quantity of 

 coloring matter used. It is useless to give par- 

 ticular directions on this point, because it is al- 

 together a matter of taste. It would be best to 

 try experiments on a shingle, and let it dry. I 

 have been told that green should not be mixed 

 with lime ; the lime destroys the color, and the 

 green has a tendency to make the wall crack 

 and peel. 



When walls have been badly smoked and 

 you wish to have then a clear white, it is well 

 to squeeze indigo plentifully through a bag in 

 the water you use, before it is stirred in the 

 whole mixture. If a larger quantity than five 

 gallons is wanted, the same proportions should 

 be observed. 



Messrs. Botts & Burfoot : 



Gentlemen, — While on a trip to Maryland a 

 few weeks ago, I met with the above recipes, 

 which if you think worthy a place in your pa- 

 per, you are at liberty to use. I think you 

 would do well to urge your readers to use more 

 lime on their houses and fences ; it not only adds 

 greatly to the neatness, but is extremely pro- 

 Vol. 1II.—J4 



motive of health. There can be no sort of 

 doubt that it is a great preserver of timber, and 

 the labor of putting on is but a small matter 

 compared with the advantages derived from its 

 use. 



I saw several beautiful carpets manufactured 

 of wool dyed of the most beautiful colors, the 

 recipes for dyeing which I obtained and will 

 send you if desired. 



Geo. W. Craven 



We esteem a good household recipe given in 

 a few lines as frequently of more practical va- 

 lue than pages of fine spun abstract theory. — 

 We hope Mr. Craven will not fail to supply us 

 with the recipes for dyeing, and any other mat- 

 ters of household economy with which he may 

 be acquainted. 



For the Southern Planter. 

 MANURE. 



Messrs. Editors, — I am pleased to see that 

 your paper continues to stand high (deservedly 

 so too) in the estimation of the farming commu- 

 nity. Periodicals treating of agriculture, have 

 generally contained too much theoretical and 

 too little practical information, and my appre- 

 hensions were, when the Planter was first esta- 

 blished, that it would, ere long, be devoted to 

 the theories of wild and speculative minds ; but 

 so far, I am gratified to see, that such theories 

 only are published as are capable of being 

 tested by practice, which course I hope you will 

 continue to pursue; since, I think it will move 

 more beneficial to you as it undoubtedly must 

 to your subscribers. Although not a subscriber 

 myself to your paper, since it is taken by a 

 member of our family, justice requires me to 

 say that I have read it with interest and profit, 

 and as its pages are open to all interested in 

 agriculture, I have taken the liberty of request- 

 ing your opinion on the subject of which I am 

 about to treat. 



My want of experience in the practical opera- 

 tions of farming (this being my third year) will, 

 I feel assured, be a sufficient apology for any 

 incorrect opinions w hich I may advance or ad- 

 vocate. My sole object is to elicit information, 

 which no one, even with the experience of years, 

 should hesitate to ask. The science of agricul- 

 ture is rapidly engrossing the public mind ; in- 

 deed it offers so extensive a field for investiga- 

 tion that the chemist in his laboratory, the phi- 

 losopher in his varied pursuits, and the states- 

 man in the legislative halls, are now forced to 

 give it that consideration which its importance 

 demands. The particular subject appertaining 

 to agriculture, of which I propose to speak, is 

 the mode of making and applying manure. — 

 The manner in which manures act, the best 



