1880.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
Tlie Food. Supply of England.— A corres¬ 
pondent, “ J. B. C.,” in N. S. Wales, criticises an article, 
published in Sept, last, in which we suggest that England 
must in future draw largely upon this country, for her 
supplies of grain and meat, and that in this trade, we are 
likely to be without competition. He thinks that were 
we to give up grain growing, and take to grazing, we 
might successfully compete with the English farmers in 
meat, but he suggests that in wheat the Australian col¬ 
onies are about to enter the field as competitors. He says: 
"For wheat growing, we have the soil and climate, and 
we only require to take advantage of these two grand 
helps. This we seriously expect to grapple with, on a 
more extended scale ere long.” In the matter of meat 
supply, he is equally confident, and says that next month 
they will send their first shipment, protected by some 
•one’s “ process,” and “ hopes for great success.” In our 
article, we had in view European competition. Our 
Australian friend’s wheat, according to his letter, is yet 
to be raised, and his meat is yet to be shipped. When 
these reach the market, if the American farmer can not 
successfully compete with the Australian in meat and 
wheat, he (the American) will do something else. In 
the meanwhile, we shall remember a homely proverb— 
•“ Its the longest pole that knocks down the persimmons.” 
Osage Orange Hedge. —“ T. D. II.,” Russell Co., 
Va. The Osage Orange is almost universally raised from 
■seed. Plants may be grown from cuttings, but at a vast¬ 
ly greater expense, and not be so good as seedlings. The 
seed is not usually on sale until February and March. 
This is to be sown and the plants grown the first year in a 
seed-bed, never in the place where the hedge is to stand. 
Seed is sown as soon as spring is fairly opened, it being 
first sprouted by keeping it moist in a warm place for a 
few days. Hedge plants one-year-old can be had at a 
very low rate; by purchasing these, a year will be gained 
in the growth of the hedge,%nd all trouble of seed-sowing 
and future care of young seedlings avoided. Your other 
•questions are answered in Notes About Work. 
A Submerged Pump. — Theoretically a pump 
should raise water by atmospheric pressure, (“suction” 
as it is often called), for about 33 feet. But owing to im¬ 
perfections in our pumps, it is rarely that they can be 
depended upon to raise water directly, for over 25 feet. 
As the majority of wells are of a greater depth than this, 
numerous devices have been resorted to in the construc¬ 
tion of deep-well pumps. One of the most efficient 
pumps of this kind is a force-pump, placed completely 
under water, where there is no appreciable loss from the 
leakage of air or water. By an ingenious contrivance 
of levers, the motion is imparted to the pumps placed 
below the surface of the water, and it gives a full and con¬ 
tinuous stream, thrown with great force. We had one of 
these pumps in use for several years, during which time 
it kept in perfect order, and worked to our entire satis¬ 
faction; its use was only discontinued on account of be¬ 
ing obliged to abandon the well. The fact that the 
American Submerged Pump, the kind to which we have 
reference, can not freeze is not a small point in its favor. 
Further Household Notes— {See p. 23, etc.) 
Short Notes on Air.— At the freezing point, wa¬ 
ter is 770 times heavier than air; but heat expands air, 
making it lighter, so that at a temperature of 60’ it is 815 
times lighter than water... .At the medium temperature 
of 60% with a barometric pressure of 30, every 100 cubic 
inches of air weigh about 31 grains, and every 13 cubic 
feet of it weigh a pound. The air in a room 20 feet 
square and K) feet high, weighs 306 lbs. avoirdupois, and 
a 31-gallon barrel full weighs just about 5 ounces_From 
the freezing point (32°) air expands V 493 of its bulk for 
every degree of added heat shown by the thermometer. 
... .At the surface of the earth, the pressure of all the air 
above is equal to about 14 3 / 5 lbs. upon every square inch, 
or 2,105 lbs. upon every square foot (over a ton 1) _ 
Higher up there is less pressure of its own weight, and it 
is expanded or rarified, so that at the hight of about 2 % 
miles (2.7) it is only half as dense as at the earth’s surface, 
and it takes 26 cubic feet to weigh 1 lb. At the hight of 
5-/ b miles, it has only one-fourth of its density at the 
earth’s surface, and 52 cubic feet weigh only a pound.... 
The pressure of' the air upon water at the earth’s surface 
is so great that it only boils when heated up to 212°. But 
as the pressure higher up is less, water boils at 1 ° less of 
heat for about every 550 feet we ascend. At y* mile high, 
water boils at 207°; one mile high at 202°; two miles 
high at 193°; three miles high at 183°, and at this tem¬ 
perature the boiling water is hardly hot enough to cook 
potatoes The air grows less and less dense until at 
about 45 miles high there ceases to be any air at all, it is 
supposed—only vacant space. ..An important property 
of air is that as it becomes warmer it absorbs water or 
vapor of water, and hides it within itself. , so to speak, as 
it cools it gives out this water again. The air in a room 
20 feet square and 10 feet high, when heated from 32° to 
only the temperate heat of 70°, secretes within itself 3*/ 6 
pints of water. A current of warm air when cooled by 
any means, as by meeting a current of cold air, gives out 
its secreted moisture; the little water atoms given out 
become visible in the form of clouds, and when there is 
much water thus let loose the little drops keep uniting 
until so heavy as to fall down as rain. So the warm air 
gathers up from the earth’s surface myriads of watery 
particles, carries them heavenward hidden unseen in its 
vast storehouse, until it chances to be cooled, and then 
it drops the particles back in rain—or in snow if it is cold 
enough to freeze the falling drops. 
Dampen tlie Air Now.— We can hardly too 
often suggest the importance of providing ample moisture 
in all rooms heated by stoves, furnaces, steam pipes, or 
hot water pipes. There are sound scientific reasons for 
this, as well as in the results of practical experience. As 
stated in “Short Notes on Air” above, every degree of 
heat added to the atmosphere in a room gives it a power 
of absorbing and secreting moisture. The air in a room 
20 by 20 feet and 10 feet high, at 32°, holds, secretes, about 
1)4 pints of water. The same air heated to 70°, secretes 
upwards of two quarts of water,and unless this is supplied, 
it is hungry for more water, absorbs it from every accessi¬ 
ble source, from the furniture, from our bodies, and es¬ 
pecially from the breathing organs—the mouth, throat, 
and lungs, leaving them dry and husky. Therefore, every 
time the air in the room is changed by the admission of 
fresh, cold air, and heated to 70°, two quarts of water 
should be evaporated into the room. The strong ob¬ 
jections some have to warm-air heaters have arisen 
mainly from this cause. In using furnace heaters we al¬ 
ways put into the hot-air chamber extra water-pans be¬ 
sides any that are supplied by the manufacturers, and 
take good care to always have them filled with water. In 
stove-heated rooms there should usually be an evaporat¬ 
ing surface of water equal to one square foot for every 12 
feet square of flooring, and more if the water is not on a 
hot place enough to keep it rapidly evaporating. Plants 
in a room are mainly destroyed, or have a sickly growth, 
because the warm air becomes too dry and sucks out 
the very juices of the plants. The “house plants”— 
“olive” or otherwise—suffer similarly. In a warm room, 
a large towel frequently wet and wrung so as not to drip, 
and hung over a rack or chair back near the stove, will 
make a marked difference in the comfortable feeling of 
the atmosphere and in its healthfulness. 
Jlaea rout — Vermicelli— Sea-Biscuit—Pi¬ 
lot Bread.—Plain Crackers, and Common 
Bread, are all about alike, in composition and nutri¬ 
ment. Macaroni and vermicelli differ only in the size of 
the tubes, both being made alike, and both are simply 
dried dough made of flour and water only, the same as 
pilot or sea-bread and plain crackers. The wheat grown 
in southern Europe contains more gluten and less starch 
than any other, and therefore makes better macaroni. 
This gluten is nitrogenous, like lean meat, casein or 
curd of milk (cheese', etc., and strengthens one’s mus¬ 
cles more than the more starchy northern flour. Starch 
is carbonaceous, supplying material for producing fat 
and for promoting warmth in the system. Millions of 
people in Italy use macaroni as their chief, if not sole 
food the year round—the gluten answering for the lean 
meat consumed by other people to produce muscujar 
strength or working power. Sea-biscuit, Pilot bread, 
and plain crackers, those without the “shortening” of 
butter or lard, are simply flour and wa’er, worked into 
tough dough and baked instead of being air or sun-dried 
as macaroni and vermicelli are. They are usually made 
of northern grown wheat, containing more starch and 
less gluten than macaroni. 
A Nice, ILiglit, Toast ILuiielR.— It often hap¬ 
pens that after a late heavy dinner, or when arriving 
home late in the evening, or when one is an invalid, or 
dyspeptic, and especially when a troublesome tooth or 
other mouth ailment prevents proper mastication* of 
harder food, one wants a light, easily digestible and easi¬ 
ly masticated dish or lunch. Well-cooked oatmeal, the 
grains nearly whole and not “all in a mush,” is quite 
good, but is not always accessible, and is not liked by all. 
Latterly we have found the following very good, especi¬ 
ally for a late supper or lunch, eaten only an hour 
or two before retiring; Toast some slices of bread pretty 
well, scraping off any blackened, charred portion; lay 
the slices on a plate, preferably a soup-plate, and pour 
on cold milk enough to wet it through, and leave half an 
inch or so in depth of milk in the plate. Good milk ; a 
little extra cream in it is all the better, and a very trifle 
of salt improves it for our taste. Put over the toast thus 
prepared an inverted, large earthern bowl, or tin basin, 
large enough to cover it and set down upon the plate all 
round. Put this in a warm, not very hot, stove oven, two, 
three, or more hours in advance. The milk will cook 
and evaporate-and its substance be condensed in the 
toast, while the cover will keep the toast moist. It is 
37 
then very good, and eats well without butter, though a 
little may be applied if desired. 
Speaking of Toast, comparatively few know 
what really good toast is. A hasty singe of one or both 
sides does not make toast; nor do thin slices of 
bread dried through. Cut slices of uniform thickness, 
a plump half inch or %ths inch: move around over a 
brisk fire, to have all parts toasted alike ; keep only so 
near the coals that the pieces will be heated through 
when both sides are well browned. If the slightest 
point is blackened or charred, scrape 'it off, or it will 
spoil the flavor of the whole. If covered with an earth¬ 
en bowl, it will keep both warm and moist. A clean 
towel or napkin will answer if it is to go at once to the 
table. But, nobody can make good toast out of poor 
bread. Stale bread may be used for milk-toast; sour 
bread may be improved by toasting it through ; heavy 
bread makes pdor toast. Sweet, light bread, only a day 
old, or less, makes the best toast. For older bread and 
scraps see the next item. 
44 Busk,” was the old farm name for what is a pal¬ 
atable preparation of stale and dry bread. Save all pieces 
of dry bread, loaves too dry to be longer palatable, 
crusts, etc. Put all together, first carefully sorting any 
mouldy bits, and any burnt crusts. Bake or dry thor 
oughly in an oven until well browned—not dark-brown 
or coal blackened, a dark-buff-brown is best. This will 
keep a good while. When wanted for use, crush finely 
with a rolling-pin or otherwise. To be eaten in milk, of 
which it will absorb a large quantity. It is not only, 
nourishing dish, but makes a good disposition of much 
dry and stale bread that would otherwise be wasted. 
A Good Soft Ginger Cake.— Take 1 cup of 
Molasses; half cup of Butter or Drippings, 1 cup boiling 
Water; 1 teaspoonful of Cooking Soda : and half tea¬ 
spoonful of good ground Ginger. Mix soft, bake quickly 
To Fry Fresli Fisk, so as not to absorb the fat, 
or destroy the delicate flavor of the fish, is quite a desid¬ 
eratum. A Lady who has attended Miss Corson's practi 
cal Cooking Lectures, contributes the following to the 
American Agriculturist —derived partly from Miss C V 
advice, and partly from her own experience Small fish 
are to be fried whole; large fish have the fleshy portions 
cutoff with a very sharp knife, and divided into strips 
(fillets) of a convenient size for serving. When cleaned 
and ready for cooking, wipe dry, and roll them in pow 
dered cracker or bread crumbs. (Cracker, ready pulver 
ized, is now sold at most grocery stores, under the nam< 
of “crackerdust.”) Dipthefish, orpieces, in well-beaten 
egg, and again roll them in the cracker dust or crumbs 
removing any lumps so as to leave the surface smooth 
Have the fat hot, and drop in the pieces, watching them 
carefully until they cook to a golden brown; then lift 
from the fat and lay upon thick paper to absorb the 
fat. Fillets of fish with the bones in, may be treated in 
the same way. By this method the fish are well flavored 
and much more digestible for weak stomachs. Fish are 
nourishing, and not only supply good food for the 
muscles, but also furnish good brain material. 
Oysters anti Clams, and Meat Croquet¬ 
tes (balls or cakes) are best fried as above described for 
fish. The egg and cracker or crumbs retain their flavor, 
and keep out the frying fat. Placing on brown paper to 
remove the surplus fat is an important part of the process. 
Putty in Tasmania. — There Is no part of its 
world-wide domain in which the American Agriculturist 
meets with more appreciation than in Tasmania and 
Australia. In return for the many “ Hints and Helps ” we 
have given our Island friends, we are glad to occasionally 
receive some in return. A friend writes from Hobart 
Town. Tas., that having to reset some 18 squares of glass, 
he found the old putty, which had been in place for 
several years, very difficult to remove without injury to 
the sash. A fellow mechanic suggested the following 
method: “Take a heated iron, a soldering ‘ iron ’ (which 
is copper) is the handiest, and run it over the putty that 
fastens in the glass; in a few seconds it will be found 
that the putty, though before so hard as to require a 
sharp blow to take any effect upon it, will become so 
soft as to be removed with a common pocket knife.” — 
Our far off friend says: — and we commend his saying to 
those near at bs.nd as well as at a distance — “ I often 
think that simple common things are not communicated 
as they should be, as persons mistakenly suppose that 
others know such matters as well as they do themselves.” 
—The simplest devices are often the most usefuL 
Delaware Co. Dairymen’s Association 
held its regular fair in Delhi, N.Y., Nov. 12—13. From the 
report sent us by the Secretary, together with the list oi 
premiums awarded, it is evident that the show tvasa 
large and successful one. 
