9a 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



cap, and the injection proceeds from one end 

 of the log to the other. 



In order to ascertain when the process has 

 been continued for a sufficient length of time, 

 so that the sap has been all expelled and re- 

 placed by the solution of sulphate of copper, a 

 piece of prussiate of potash is rubbed On the 

 end of the timber while in the damp state, and 

 if the solution has reached the end of the log a 

 deep reddish brown stain is produced, showing 

 that the timber is thoroughly impregnated with 

 sulphate of copper. 



The sap expelled from the timber in the pro- 

 cess of impregnation contains at most only 1- 

 1000th part of organic matter in solution, and 

 accordingly no inconvenience is experienced in 

 employing it as a solvent for the sulphate of 

 copper. It is, indeed, preferable to many kinds 

 of spring water, particularly those containing 

 lime, which decompose a considerable propor- 

 tion of sulphate of copper- Troughs are there- 

 fore laid under the euds of the logs to catch 

 the sap and the waste solution, which are con- 

 ducted to a reservoir to be pumped up to the 

 cistern and mixed with sulphate of copper to 

 the proper strength. 



The solution that has been found most ef- 

 fectual for preserving the timber is composed 

 of 1 part by weight of sulphate of copper, and 

 100 parts by weight of water. The strength 

 of the mixture is ascertained by a hydrometer, 

 having a properly graduated scale. The speci- 

 fic gravity of water at 60° Fahr. being 1000, if 

 1 per cent, of sulphate of copper is added, the 

 specific gravity of the mixture will be 1006, 

 nearly. 



The sooner the trees are prepared after being- 

 felled, the better, and it is therefore advisable 

 to prepare them as near as possible to the place 

 where they are felled. Trees felled at any time 

 between November and May, may be prepared 

 in May ; but those cut down in May, or at any 

 time from May to the end of November, should 

 be prepared within three weeks from the time 

 of being felled. 



In the coarse of the operations carried out in 

 the practical application of this process, the 

 following facts have been ascertained : 



All kinds of wood do not absorb equally, and 

 the absorption of the liquid is more rapid in 

 the sappy parts than in those nearer the heart 

 of the tree. 



The quantity of the solution forced into the 

 timber is equal in cubic measure to at least 

 one-half of the cubic dimensions of the timber. 

 When a solution containing about 2J lbs. of 

 sulphate of copper in every 22 gallons, has 

 been forced through a log, it appears, after al- 

 lowing for the sulphate carried off by the sap, 

 that every 35 cubic feet of wood have retained 

 from 11 fbs. to 13 fbs. of sulphate of copper. 



For a log about 9 feet long, the process of im- 

 pregnation occupies two days, when the timber 

 is newly felled and the solution is supplied by 

 a head of about 3?} feet. If the wood has been 



felled three months, three days are required; 

 and if four months, four days are necessary to 

 complete the impregnation. 



Of different kinds of tree, those which pos- 

 sess most moisture are most easily penetrated 

 by the solution ; and of the same kind, those 

 which have grown in the dampest soils. Hence 

 the least valuable and cheapest kinds of timber 

 are precisely those which give the best results 

 when impregnated with the sulphate of copper. 



[Plough, Loom and Anvil. 



Mares versus Geldings. 



Farmers generally do not seem to be 

 fully aware of the benefits which they 

 might derive from the use of mares, in- 

 stead of geldings. Farm work for horses 

 is comparatively light. It is slow work. 

 They are not necessarily exposed to labor 

 which produces heaves, founder, spavin, 

 broken wind, &c. These are all caused by 

 unnecessary exposure, indulgence in eat- 

 ing or drinking, under unfavorable circum- 

 stances, or over driving; or, by two or 

 more of these causes combined. It is 

 true it is necessary for horses to perform 

 some work upon a farm, which draws se- 

 verely upon their nature ; but, for the 

 most part, farm work is steady, every day 

 work, where horses can be well fed and 

 cared for. Consequently mares are just 

 as good farm workers as geldings. 



If such is the fact, we propose to show 

 farmers that they should, for their own 

 benefit, keep mares for farm w T ork, instead 

 of geldings. With proper treatment, a 

 good breeding mare will bring a colt every 

 year, without interferring materially with 

 the operations of the farm. 



If the necessary pains have been taken 

 to secure the services of the best stallion, 

 the colt will be worth, when a year old, 

 one hundred dollars ; and, by the time he 

 is old enough to use, he should be w T orth 

 two hundred dollars. Well, if the colt is 

 worth one hundred dollars at a year old, 

 and the service of the horse costs twenty 

 dollars, it leaves eighty dollars for the use 

 of the monev invested in the mare, as her 

 labor will certainly pay for her keeping.— 

 Now, if the mare is worth two hundred 

 dollars, the eighty dollars would pay forty 

 per cent, interest annually upon the invest- 

 ment, which is far better than loaning mo- 

 ney at three per cent, a month, as there 

 is, in this case, no usury law for debtors to 

 avail themselves of; and then there is no 

 more risk in the mare than there would 



