AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
56 
New*¥os'ls, TSmi’sday, Apral 5. 
JSl^" This paper is never sent where it is 
not considered paid fot—and is in all cases 
stopped when the subscription runs out. 
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“SLICKING UP." 
Just now every body, and especially his 
wife, is occupied in setting things to rights 
about the houses, out-houses, door yards, 
gardens, &e. This scattered wood is being 
gathered and neatly piled away by John. 
James is raking the chips in heaps to dry 
for burning. George gathers the dead limbs 
that have fallen from the fruit and shade 
trees. The loose pickets are nailed on; the 
cellars undergo their semi-annual purifica¬ 
tion, and every nook and corner is carefully 
examined by the good housewife to see that 
nothing in or about her domain is left out of 
order. Yet often when this is all done, there 
seems to be wanting something to give an air 
of neatness and attractiveness to the whole, 
especially in spring time, before the leaves, 
flowers and grass start up to give variety to 
the scenee. 
We saw this something a day or two since. 
It was nothing more nor less than a free use 
of the white-wash brush upon the trees, 
fences, stone walls, cellar sides and ceilings, 
projecting-oven at the back of the house, 
barn and carriage basements, out-houses, in 
short, everything near the dwelling which ad¬ 
mitted of its use, and was not supplied with 
a coat of paint. The buildings to which we 
refer were, in part, erected during the Revo¬ 
lutionary war, yet every thing about them 
wears such a. fresh and cheerful aspect, that, 
we should think, every one seeing them 
would go home and at once bring the white¬ 
wash brush into requisition. 
EARLY GARDENS. 
The southwest end of Long Island is 
rather celebrated for its early gardens. It 
has a quick, warm soil, and lies open to the 
southern winds fresh from the Gulf Stream. 
Notwithstanding the cold, backward spring, 
we observed that they had commenced mak¬ 
ing their gardens at Fort Hamilton and 
Gravesend, a fortnight ago or more. Early 
peas were planted a month since, and pota¬ 
toes were put in last week. These ripen by 
the last of June, and are then dug and sent 
to the New-York market. One degree north 
of this, up the Hudson, the season of garden¬ 
ing (though not vegetation) is fully two or 
three weeks later. The lower end of Staten 
Island is equally favored ; lower New-Jersey 
is still in advance of this. 
In the southern part of Warren County, 
N. J., we saw some gardens planted with 
peas, &c., last week. 
CHEMISTMI 
FOR SMALL AND LARGE BOYS AND GIRLS, 
CHAPTER XI. 
Oxygen—Symbol O—Atomic Weight 8. 
85. To procure oxygen for experiment, get 
from the druggists a few cents’ worth of 
chlorate of potash (K0,C10 5 ), and an oil 
flask, such as is used for holding olive or 
sweet oil, shown at f in the figure below. 
These oil flasks are to be found in mos£ 
families where sweet oil has been used. 
Wash out thoroughly and dry the flask, and 
fit into it tightly a cork with a bent tube of 
glass or lead pipe, as shown in the figure.* 
86. Take out the cork and put into the 
flask a tablespoonful or two of chlorate of 
potash (IC0,C100000), well mingled with 
an equal quantity, or more, of brick-dust. 
If you can get it, a substance called peroxide 
of manganese is much superior to the brick- 
dust for mixing with the chlorate of potash. 
Return the cork to its place, and place the 
open end of the tube under water in the tub 
—just as for making hydrogen, as explained 
in chapter ix (75). 
87. Now with a lamp apply a gentle heat 
to the bottom of the flask, and gradually in¬ 
crease the heat until it becomes a dull red, 
or until the gas begins to bubble up rapidly 
from the end of the tube. It is better to fill 
the lamp with alcohol, instead of oil or burn¬ 
ing fluid, for if this is done it will not smoke 
the flask. 
88. The first bubbles should escape, as 
they are chiefly air that was in the flask. 
As soon as you think the air is mostly out, 
raise up a vial or bottle, and hold it over the 
end of the tpbe, that the gas may rise into it 
and take the place of the water with which 
it was first filled. Before applying the heat, 
you should fill several vials, bottles, jars, or 
tumblers, or some of each, with water, and 
let them stand bottom upwards in the pan or 
tub of water, and also have one or two per¬ 
sons to assist in holding them, for they will 
not stand firmly, especially after they are 
filled with gas. As fast as they are filled 
you can set them aside into another vessel, 
by putting a saucer or plate under them, and 
lifting this up with some water in it, to keep 
the air from mingling with the oxygen. You 
can move vials, bottles, or narrow-necked 
jars, by simply putting the hand into the 
water to close them and keeping them closed 
while they are lifted out and carried to an¬ 
other vessel. A convenient plan is to fill 
junk or any other glass bottles with water, 
and cork them, then put the cork under 
water and withdraw it while the gas is rising 
into the bottle, and again insert, the cork 
- The tub or pan is to be tilled with water, which is left 
out of the figure so as to make the arrangement of the hot. 
ties, b b, vials, v v, and tumbler, t, more distinct, 
tightly and set the bottle aside till wanted. 
A bottle thus filled, b, is seen in the right 
hand of the figure. 
89. A single ounce of chlorate of potash 
will give off more than two quarts of oxygen 
gas. It is well to have several vials as well 
as bottles fitted with corks to fill with gas, 
for several interesting experiments may be 
made. It is also necessary to have them all 
prepared beforehand, for the gas is general¬ 
ly formed rapidly after it has once com¬ 
menced escaping. You should also watch 
for the diminution of the bubbles, and at 
once raise the tube out of the water, 
when there are but a few bubbles, other¬ 
wise the water may run back into the hot 
flask and break it. To prevent this also, the 
lamp should be kept steadily under the flask, 
near or distant from it as may be needed to 
keep up the formation of the gas. 
90. Experiments. —Take a vial of the oxy¬ 
gen gas, and, closing the mouth of it with 
the thumb, raise it out of the water and hold 
it right side up. With the other hand light 
a small stick, like a long match with no 
sulphur or phosphorous upon it, and when 
one end is well on fire, blow out the flame, 
leaving a little live coal on the end. Raise 
the thumb from the mouth of the vial and 
thrust in the fire end of the taper, and it will 
at once blaze up brilliantly, and continue to 
burn till it has entirely consumed all the 
oxygen. This is a beautiful experiment, 
and very instructive ; and you may repeat it 
several times Avith new vials of gas. When 
this is done, we will give you an explanation 
of the phenomenon, which will teach a very 
important lesson. 
GUANO ON BUCKWHEAT. 
All facts bearing upon the use of this fer¬ 
tilizer upon the various farm crops, are par¬ 
ticularly valuable, when so many are looking 
beyond the barn-yard for the means of im¬ 
proving their farms. We shall be happy to 
report all experiments of this kind, whether 
successful or not. The land on Avhich the 
buckwheat greAV, (a statement of which is 
given below,) we have known from our boy¬ 
hood, asmn exhausted old field, cropped with 
grain, and grazed by sheep, long after its 
fertility was gone. It is light sandy land ; 
and for the last thirty years has rarely pro¬ 
duced a crop that would pay the cultivator 
fair day wages for his labor. We remem¬ 
ber it as a prosperous desert of mulleins, 
threaded with innumerable sheep-paths ; the 
scanty herbage making long and brisk travel 
necessary for the poor animals to gain a 
starving living. Their owner never had the 
reputation of growing rich by the sale of 
mutton tallow. Those sentinel mulleins 
satv a new sight last summer, upon the 
scene of desolation they had so long sur¬ 
veyed. Buckwheat actually blossomed and 
berried on that desert. We do not know 
what the speculations of the mulleins Avere, 
upon this invasion of their old domain, but 
the cultivator has kindly furnished us with 
his views of the experiment: 
Grisavold, Conn, Dec. 18, 1854. 
Yours of the 6th instant came to hand, 
in Avhich you Avished me to give you a state- 
