190 
AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY AND GEOLOGY.—NO. 6. 
me, till late last fall, when I sold the entire remain¬ 
ing flock, for a valuable and satisfactory considera¬ 
tion, to Rev. Luther G. Bingham, of Williston, 
Chittenden County, State of Vermont, since which 
time I have had no pecuniary interest whatever in 
the sheep. The youngest imported buck, together 
with several of the young rams, and one or two of 
the imported ewes, were killed by dogs in my yard 
at Hartford, in the winter of 1841-2. Most of the 
original ewes imported by me were rather old, as I 
chose to select such in preference to young ewes ; 
of course most of the old ewes are now dead and 
gone. Some of the said old ewes bred but once or 
twice after reaching this country. That was the 
case with the dam of Mr. Bingham’s present 
choice stock buck, branded on the horn with the 
figure 3. I raised but that one ram lamb from her 
before she died. She was one of the best pure 
Merino ewes I ever saw—distinguished for fine¬ 
ness and softness , as well as great closeness and 
weight of fleece, very yolky, but not at all gummy. 
Superior judges of sheep and wool expressed the 
opinion that in her prime, in her younger and best 
days, she must have cut a fleece of probably seven 
pounds of washed wool. She was a sheep with a 
large, thick-looking, muffled neck, with some con¬ 
siderable loose skin on the body, with decidedly 
SHORT legs, well woolled all over, legs included. 
Until I sold the flock to Mr. Bingham last fall, 
I never sold any ewes, old or young, to any person, 
save one or two old ones which had long ceased 
breeding, and went to the butcher not known as 
being from my flock. 
1 never took the trouble, nor did I deem it need¬ 
ful, to procure any certificate of consuls, as to the 
genuineness or authenticity of my imported Merino 
flock. Such things are, of course, easily and 
cheaply obtained by those who need , or feel the need 
of them. 
There is no shadow of doubt as to the au¬ 
thenticity or purity of the breeding of the flock, 
since it arrived in this country from Europe, 
up to the time when I disposed of it, as herein 
stated, to Rev. Mr. Bingham. Further this de¬ 
ponent saith not at present, though he has no 
reasonable doubt that the purity of the breeding of 
said flock will hereafter be carefully, watched over 
by the present owner, whose charao&er and qualifi¬ 
cations, I believe, entitle him to great confidence. 
Mr. Burnham, Melancthon Hudson’s farmer, at 
Oakland (or Hockavum Bridge), near Hartford, 
Conn., came to New York, in my employment, and 
took the said imported Merino flock from the ship 
Illinois, in the fall of 1840, and delivered the sheep 
at my yard at Hartford. David C. Collins. 
Witness, A. Longett. 
W. J. asserts in his article above, that no part of 
the flock of the Duke del Infantado ever came to 
this country—meaning the United States. To 
show that- he is entirely mistaken in this matter, 
we addressed Mr. Charles Henry Hall, of Harlem, 
N. Y., for a corroboration in writing of what he 
had frequently told us in conversation. We sub¬ 
join his reply:— 
The Duke del Infantado, it is true, joined the 
patriot cause, and went ambassador to England 
from the Cortes, at the time Ferdinand was detain¬ 
ed in France, and returned to Cadiz when that city 
was in a state of siege. There I was introduced to 
the Duke, by the United States ambassador, Mr. 
Ewing. His flocks, he informed me, were in posi¬ 
tions of safety from the contending armies, in 
various parts of Spain—some of them in Andalusia. 
The result of my interview was, a purchase from 
the Duke, of a flock of 400 sheep, by myself and 
associates, which were shipped to Virginia, con¬ 
signed to Messrs. Brown & Rives, at Richmond. 
Subsequently there were obtained from the Duke 
2,000 more sheep, having his mark (a brand of Y 
upon the side of the face of the sheep), which were 
shipped to New York and Philadelphia, for ac¬ 
count of Commodore Charles Stewart, Consul 
Richard S. Hackley, myself, and others. Of one of 
the cargoes, Chancellor Livingston had a large lot 
of my Infantado sheep, which he purchased of my 
agent, Mr. Henry Ward; and I think in some of 
his writings he speaks of the high estimation in 
which he held the flock of the above-named Duke. 
The invoices of these sheep, and the result of the 
shipments, I have among my papers, and will select 
them out hereafter for the inspection of Mr. Allen. 
Chas. Henry Hall. 
AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY AND GEO¬ 
LOGY.—No 6. 
Q. Of what substances do the different kinds of 
grain usually consist? 
A. They consist chiefly of three substances, 
starch, gluten, and oil or fat. 
Q. What proportion of each of these usually 
exists in ■wheat ? 
A. 100-lbs. of wheat flour contain about 50 lbs. 
of starch, 10 lbs. of gluten, and 2 or 3 lbs. of oil. 
Q. In what proportion do they exist in oats ? 
A. 100 lbs. of oats contain about 60 lbs. oi 
starch, 18 lbs. of gluten, and 6 lbs. of oil. 
Q. What do potatoes and turnips principally 
consist of ? 
A. Their principal constituent is water. 
Q. How much water is contained in 100 lbs. of 
potatoes ? 
A. 100 lbs. of potatoes contain about 75 lbs. of 
water. 
Q. How much water is contained in 100 lbs. of 
turnips ? 
A. 100 lbs. of turnips contain about 80 lbs. of 
water. 
Q. What quantity of starch do potatoes contain ? 
A. 100 lbs. of potatoes contain from 15 to 20 lbs 
of starch. 
Q. Are these proportions of starch, gluten, &c., 
always the same in the same grain or root ? 
A. No. Some varieties of wheat contain more 
gluten than others, some varieties of oats more oil 
than others, and some varieties of potatoes more 
starch than others. 
Q. Have the soil and climate any influence upon 
the proportion of these ingredients ? 
A. Yes; the wheat of warm climates is said to 
contain more gluten, and the potatoes and barley 
grown upon light or well drained land, more starch, 
Q. W hen grain or potatoes are burned, do they 
leave any inorganic matter or ash ? 
