118 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



"A very useful and ingenious mode of extract- 

 ing whey from butter, was recently related to 

 me by a gentleman who had resided many years 

 in the grazing districts of France ; and he in- 

 formed me that a similar apparatus is at present 

 in successful operation, near by here, in this 

 State, although I have not yet seen it. He de- 

 scribed it in a manner that could not fail to be 

 understood by any farmer in the Union. 



" The machine, he represented as made of 

 wood, in form not much unlike a grindstone, 

 closely fitted into a trough, leaving a space be- 

 tween the stone and bottom of the trough not 

 exceeding a sixteenth of an inch in thickness. 

 The trough is first filled with clean water sa- 

 turated with salt, one end of which is crowded 

 full of the newly-churned butter. Then the 

 stone is put in motion by means of the crank or 

 otherwise, and the butter is drawn beneath it, 

 and comes out at the other end of the trough in 

 thin sheets, not more than one-sixteenth of an 

 inch in thickness, almost entirely freed from the 

 whey, and for common use requires no further 

 salting. The brine thus prepared, has another 

 very important office to perform. It imbibes, by 

 chemical affinity, all the whey with which it 

 comes in contact, and leaves the butter by itself. 



"Although this apparatus is extremely rude 

 and simple, it is obvious to an ingenious me- 

 chanic, how easily such a machine could be 

 improved upon, and answer a tenfold purpose.'' 



PEACH TREES. 

 To the Editors of the Louisville Journal: 



Gentlemen, — I recollect seeing a short time 

 ago, in some paper, an article about peach trees, 

 recommending to cut them down or dig them 

 up, when affected with the yellows ; this pre- 

 scription is like cutting the throat of a sick ani- 

 mal, fearing lest it should die of the disease. If 

 the cause of the yellows is removed, and the 

 sick animal cured by proper remedies, natural 

 health is restored to each. 



The only enemy of the peach, as I believe, 

 is a small whitish worm with a brown head, 

 about an inch and a quarter long. Destroy the 

 worm in any way you may, and the health of 

 the tree is restored. 



I have some Heath peach trees, obtained from 

 Mr. William Morton, of Lexington, Kentucky, 

 now more than twenty years old ; from neglect 

 they occasionally have had the yellows, but de- 

 stroy their enemy, and the health of the tree is 

 restored. Scoop the earth from about the root 

 of the tree, so as to form a bowl eight or nine- 

 inches deep; the tree in the centre; the out 

 edges of the bowl to be eighteen to twenty-four 

 inches from the tree ; do this about the first of 

 September ; let it remain so until the first of 

 December; then fill the bowl level with wood 



ashes ; I have used leached ashes with uniform 

 success ; I have no doubt that lime will do as 

 well or better than ashes. By exposing the 

 roots to the sun and air, the propagation of the 

 worm is checked, it gives birds (particularly a 

 kind of wood pecker or sap-sucker) a chance to 

 peck them out. If the first attempt does not 

 relieve the tree, repeat it ; search for the worms 

 and destroy them or the tree cannot flourish. — 

 My old trees are as healthy at this time as 

 young trees can be, and if next year be a good 

 year for fruit, they will no doubt yield abun- 

 dantly. 



Your obedient servant, 



Lewis Sanders. 

 Grass Hills, Ky., JYov. 10, 1843. 



PRESERVING ROOTS. 

 In a communication from our friend Mr. Be- 

 ment to the Central New York Farmer, we find 

 the following : 



" Carrots and sugar beets are equally tender 

 with the potato, and as liable to be affected by 

 frost, consequently they will require equal atten- 

 tion, or the crop may be lost. In gathering 

 them, care should be taken to cut off their tops 

 about half an inch or so above the crown, as 

 they will not keep so well when cut too close, 

 for which reason some prefer wringing them off 

 with the hand." 



MILLER'S SAFETY REINS. 



These consist of gut covered with leather, 

 and are, therefore, proof against fracture; and 

 being round, and of neat light appearance, form 

 a rather ornamental and sporting-like appendage 

 to harness or saddle. They are mounted in this 

 way : — They pass through a hook placed on 

 the head of the harness-bridle, and through a 

 leather loop on the head of the riding-bridle, and 

 come down on each side of the neck. About 

 middle-way down the neck is a coupling with 

 two swivels, which receive the reins from the 

 head, and they then pass through the dees of 

 the harness, and through the turrets of the har- 

 ness-saddle, and along to the front of the splash- 

 board to a rein-holder, by which they are held 

 always ready for use. The head of the horse 

 and the turrets of the saddle being both higher 

 than the throat, and the coupling being short, 

 and having leave to traverse the reins on each 

 side of the neck, it settles on that part of the 

 throat at which the reins, on being pulled, exert 

 the greatest force, when, the windpipe being 

 forcibly compressed, the horse becomes affected 

 in his respiration, and, therefore, stands still, or 

 slackens his pace for breath, which he imme- 

 diately obtains on the reins being slackened. 



