148 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



actually sheared from them — the quantity of 

 lambs they afforded, and the price at which he 

 would dispose of some of them * 



I am convinced that our farmers could ob- 

 tain in and around Richmond the different, kinds 

 of stock, and better adapted to their wants than 

 they are in the habit of procuring from a greater 

 distance, and at higher prices. The Ayrshire 

 cattle, for instance, could be procured, T have no 

 doubt, around Richmond for much less than is 

 paid for them at the North, and the latter will 

 suit us for any purpose for which cattle are 

 wanted here far better than the Durhams ; the 

 latter can hardly be kept alive through the 

 winter with such food and treatment as we give 

 our horses. 



I see in the papers various conjectures as to 

 the cause of the gapes in chickens, and (he re- 

 medies, &c. I never cured one of the gapes by 

 any of the means suggested ; and as to the 

 cause, I know it is occasioned on my premises 

 by the chickens eating a slender, tough grass 

 with which the yard abounds: it resembles, and 

 probably is, the seed-tick grass that, borders road- 

 sides. At this season nearly all the chickens 

 are affected by the gapes, and few are raised. 

 Those hatched after June are hardly ever affected 

 by the disease; whether this is owing to some 

 change the grass undergoes, or their ceasing to 

 eat it, I am uncertain. 



Most respectfully, 



Wm. A. Staples. 

 Amherst, May IS, 1845. 



PRESERVATION OF FOOD. 



Whilst, in former times, during long voyages, 

 mariners were confined to salt and smoked 

 meats, which in the long run, always proved 

 injurious to the health, and thousands of human 

 beings have lost their lives for the want of fresh 

 aliments, which were even more essential in 

 sickness, these dangers and discomforts become 

 more and more rare at the present day. This 

 is certainly one of the most important contribu- 

 tions to the practical benefits of mankind ever 

 made by science ; and for this we are indebted 

 to Guy Lussac. At Leith, in the neighborhood 

 of Edinburgh, at Aberdeen, at Bordeaux, Mar- 

 seilles, and in many parts of Germany, estab- 

 lishments of enormous magnitude exist, in 

 which soup, vegetables, animal substances, 

 and viands of every description, are prepared 

 and sent to the greatest distances. The pre- 

 pared aliments are enclosed in canisters of tinned 



* We understand from Mr. Nolting that his four 

 ewes brought him ten lambs, and that the five sheep 

 yielded fifty-one pounds of washed wool. He has 

 no lambs that he would dispose of this season, al- 

 though he has been frequently tempted by high offers. 

 The largest fleece obtained from any one of his sheep, 

 was twelve and a half pounds. — Ed. 



iron plates, the covers are soddered air-tight, and 

 the canisters exposed to ihe temperature of boil- 

 ing water. When this degree of heat has 

 penetrated to the centre of ihe contents, which 

 it requires about three or four hours to accom- 

 plish, the aliments have acquired a stability 

 which one may say is eternal. When the ca- 

 nister is opened after the lapse of several years, 

 ihe contents appear as if they were recently en- 

 closed. The color, taste, and smell of ihe meat 

 is completely unaltered. This valuable method 

 of preparing food has been adopted by many 

 persons in my neighborhood and other parts of 

 Germany, and has enabled our housewives 

 to adorn their tables with green vegetables in 

 the midst of winter, and with dishes at all times 

 which otherwise could only be obtained at par- 

 ticular seasons. This method of preserving 

 food will become of the greatest importance in 

 provision fortresses, since the loss incurred in 

 selling off old stores, and replacing them by 

 new, especially with respect to meat, ham, &c, 

 is far more considerable than the value of the 

 tin canisters, which, moreover, may be repeatedly 

 employed afier being carefully cleansed. — Lie- 

 big's Letter on Chemistry. 



SOMETHING WORTH KNOWING. 



The following are very good recipes for lemon- 

 ade and ginger beer powders ; and to persons 

 who abstain from the ordinary fermented and 

 alcoholic beverages, will be found very conve- 

 nient and acceptable, particularly during the 

 ensuing season : 



li Lemonade Powders. — Pound and mix toge- 

 ther half a pound of loaf sugar, one ounce of 

 carbonate of soda, and three or four drops of the 

 oil of lemon, divide the mixture into sixteen 

 portions, and dissolve one in a glass of water. 



"Ginger Beer Powders. — Take away the oil 

 of lemon from the former recipe, and substitute 

 a few grains of finely powdered ginger, or else 

 a few drops of the essence of ginger." 



We have tried the above and can vouch for 

 it — we never tasted a more physicy mixture. 



MOWING. 



In the New York Farmer and Mechanic we 

 find the following excellent directions for the 

 management of the scythe: 



1st. The scythe should hang natural and 

 easy, and as I have said before, it must be kept 

 in first rate order. 



2d. As you approach the standing grass, let 

 the heel of the scythe move to the very point of 

 commencement, and let it stop the instant it has 

 done its work. Thus there is nothing lost by a 

 backward or forward swing. If the grass stands 



