AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
195 
is admitted between the bottom and the inside 
of casing. The action of the steam is to drive 
out, in the first instance, certain volatile oils 
contained in the flax; the steam being condensed 
by the cold top—in the space of which is a 
quantity’' of cold water to produce this effect— 
a continuous shower of water falls down on the 
flax, and a decoction of the extracted matter of 
the flax is thus obtained. In ten or twelve 
hours the flax is taken out of the chamber, and 
passed between rollers, which press out the 
water, splitting and flattening the straw in the 
direction of its length. The extracted matter 
is of value for feeding animals, for which 
purpose it is used in the patentee’s concerns. 
Dr. Hodges has analysed it, and pronounces it 
as possessing considerable feeding qualities. 
From the experiments instituted by the com¬ 
mittee, it appears that, in a well-organized 
establishment, thirty-six hours may be taken 
as the time required to convert flax straw into 
fibre suitable for the spinner. If this plan is 
successful—which, from practical experience in 
various works, appears likely to be the case— 
by its adoption all the objections against flax 
cultivation may be said to be overcome; as 
what with the saving of the seed, the chafi, and 
the value of the steepwater as a feeding material, 
the whole, or at least by far the greatest portion 
of constituents which the flax plant absorbs 
from the soil, will be returned to the soil in the 
shape of manure. The absence of noisome 
smell, and of a poisonous liquid, which we find 
to do damage to fish when let off into rivers, 
renders the general adoption of this new plan a 
matter to be desired. 
In saving flax straw, to be steeped either by 
Schenk’s or Watt’s process, the farmer will have 
to adopt the Courtrai system. It should be 
carefully performed. The flax stems are to be 
put together in bunches, about one-half larger 
than can be grasped in one hand, spread a little, 
and laid in rows after each puller, the roots and 
tops alternately, which will prevent the seed- 
balls from adhering in being lifted. Except in 
settled weather, the stroking should never be 
allowed to remain undone overnight, but gone 
into at once. The flax should be handed to the 
stroker with the tops, the handfuls as pulled being 
set up against each other, the tops joining like 
the letter A. The stooks are made 8 to 10 feet 
long, a strap keeping the ends firm; they should 
be thinly put up, narrow at the top, so that they 
may get the full benefit of the exposure. In six 
or eight days after pulling, the flax should be 
ready to be put up in sheaves similiar in size to 
those of corn. It is then put up into ricks, and 
allowed to stand until the reed is ready for 
stacking. The sheaves should not be made too 
large, as in this case the outside straw is discol¬ 
ored by the sun before the interior is dry. 
In making the rick, lay two poles parallel on the 
ground about one foot asunder; they should be 
laid north and south, so that the sun may beat 
on both sides of the rick during the day. A 
strong, upright pole is put at each end of the 
horizontal ones. The flax is then put up 
between them, the length of a sheaf in breath. 
The sheaves are to be placed top and root 
alternately, from 7 to 8 feet high; the top 
finished by laying a single row lengthwise, or 
across the others; another row as before, but 
with the tops all one way; by this arrangement, 
a slope is formed for drawing off the rain ; the 
rick is finished by placing stones on the top, and 
securing with a rope. Thus built, the rick 
will stand for months—it can be stacked at 
leisure, and put into a barn—it may be kept 
stacked for years without any injury. 
- ©-©-« - 
Young Monarchs. —The Emperor of China 
is in his 22d year ; the Emperor of Austria is 
23; and the Sultan of Persia is 20. Three 
young men rule one-third of the world. 
-e O-o - — 
A barber desiied a groggy customer of his, 
one Sunday morning, whose breath smelled 
strong of alcohol, to keep his mouth shut, or 
the establishment might get indieted for keep¬ 
ing a rum hole open on Sunday. 
MANAGEMENT OF CIDER APPLE TREES. 
Continued from page 132. 
Tree Guards. —It is not sufficient carefully 
to select and plant the trees to insure their suc¬ 
cess. They must be attended to in several 
ways the first few years after having been 
planted. They must be protected, 1st, against 
sun-strokes; 2d, from the teeth of animals; 3d, 
against bruises, &c.; 4th, from wind. 
Protection against Sun-strokes. —If the 
onguent de St. Fiacre (cow-dung and clay,) 
would stay on, a coating of this would be the 
best protection against sun-strokes, but a heavy 
rain will frequently wash it off. The simplest 
and most lasting means is to cover the side of 
the stem next to the sun w r ith a thin layer of 
straight-drawn straw, placed longitudinally and 
fastened with osiers. 
Protection against the Teeth of Animals. 
—Those who have planted trees in the neigh¬ 
borhood of woods know by experience, that 
during long and severe winters, when the 
ground is covered with snow, deer, hares, and 
especially rabbits, gnaw the bark off trees as 
far as they can reach. When the bark has 
been gnawed through all round, the tree almost 
invariably dies. The dung of cows or of swine 
may prevent those animals from making the 
attack, but it is easily washed off by rain. Tar 
is preferable (not coal-tar, for this would kill 
the trees.) The whole of the lower part of the 
stem is done over with a brush ; one application 
will last the winter. Furze is also a good pre¬ 
servative ; a quantity of this sufficient to pro¬ 
tect the tree is tied round it by the thick 
ends, the tops downwards and resting on the 
ground. By this the foot of the tree is kept 
cool, the earth is prevented from getting hard 
and cracking, and weeds from growing. 
Protection against Bruises, &c.—Spikes 
and laths stuck with nails are frequently em¬ 
ployed, but they do not fully answer the pur¬ 
pose; they often make wounds in the trees, 
and they do not prevent them from being up¬ 
rooted by the wind, or by implements coming 
against them. Posts are the only efficient pro¬ 
tection in this case ; they may also be made a 
means of enabling the trees to withstand the 
action of wind. Guards composed of one post 
with spikes on it, or of two with cross pieces, 
or of three meeting so as to form a triangle, 
united by a single peg, are all defective, because 
the trees, when shaken by the wind, bruise 
and wound themselves against them. Four 
posts in a square round a tree are rather ex¬ 
pensive, and the fourth is useless. Besides, it 
has been remarked that when the wood begins 
to decay, the four twist more readily than a 
triangle formed of three only. Three posts 4£ 
to 5 feet high, placed in a triangle at 14 to 16 
inches from the foot of tree, and united with 
cross pieces at the middle and top, appear to 
us to be the best means of protecting the trees 
from beasts rubbing against them, and from 
the shocks of axles, horses, collars, &c. By 
this means also we can keep the trees perfectly 
upright, in spite of the most violent winds. In 
order to do so, it is only requisite to fasten the 
stem with bands and cross pieces to the two 
posts opposite to the prevailing wind. The 
bands are prevented from pressing too hard on 
the stem by the interposition of moss, hay, or 
straw, &c. We may also keep the trees up¬ 
right, if posts are too expensive, by placing 
turf against the stem in the opposite direction 
to that of the strongest wind, and treading the 
turf so that it may afford a greater resistance. 
Culture and Management of the Trees du¬ 
ring TWO OR THREE YEARS AFTER BEING PLANTED. 
—Weeds should be destroyed by frequent hoe- 
ings, which also serve to loosen the surface of 
the ground when hard. Root suckers and 
shoots which push from the stems of the trees 
should be removed, not by tearing them away, 
but by cutting them off with the pruning knife. 
It is sometimes advantageous to protect new 
plantations from dryness, especially in light, 
sandy, or calcareous soils. Furze, old thatch, 
&c., laid on the ground effect this purpose per¬ 
fectly well. In calcareous or very stony soils, 
flints and chalk lumps may also be used with 
with the same intention, but care must be taken 
to prevent them from coming in contact w ith 
the stem. With the view r of preventing the 
bruises and cankers which often result from 
this practico a turf is rolled round the stems of 
the trees. The mound raised at the foot of the 
tree is usually levelled in two or three years, 
when the tree appears to have well taken root. 
The levelling of the mound is done with the in¬ 
tention of destroying the larvae of insects, and 
to enable us to cultivate the surface, and thus 
benefit the roots. If there is danger of the 
tree being blown to one side, or uprooted, turf 
should be placed against the stem, as previously 
directed. 
(To be continued.) 
USE AND HEALTHFULNESS OF FRUIT. 
Because bowel complaints usually prevail 
most during the hot season of the year—the 
latter end of summer and antumn, when fruit 
is most abundant, and in tropical climates wdiere 
fruits are met with in great variety—it is inferred, 
according to the post hoc propter hoc mode of 
reasoning, that the one is the consequence of 
the other. It were about as reasonable to attri¬ 
bute the occasional occurrences of sea-scurvy 
in the navy to the use of Lemon juice, Lime 
juice, or Potatoes. These articles of diet are 
powerfully anti-scorbutic, and so are ripe fruits 
anti-bilious; and diarrhoea, dysentry, and cho¬ 
lera arc complaints in which acrid and alkaline 
biliary secretions are prominent conditions. I 
have seen many cases of dysentery, obstinate 
diarrhoea, and liver disease in people who have 
been long resident in tropical climates, and, 
from the history which I have been able to 
obtain respecting their habits of diet, I have 
come to the conclusion that these diseases were 
induced and aggravated, not by the light vegita- 
bleand fruit diet most in use among the natives, 
but because Englishmen usually carry out with 
them their European modes of living. They 
take large quantities of nitrogenous and carbo¬ 
naceous food, in the shape of meat and wines or 
spirits, rather than the light native food, as rice 
and juicy fruits, and the vegetable stimulants 
and condiments, the native peppers and spices 
so abundantly provided by Nature. It is well 
known that, though large quantities of animal 
oils and fats, wines, spirits, and malt liquor, which 
contain a large amount of carbon, may be con¬ 
sumed with comparative impunity in cold 
climates and in winter, when the carbonaceous 
matter gets burnt off by the more active exer¬ 
cise and respiration; in hot climates and in sum¬ 
mer this element gets retained in the liver, and 
ultimately gives rise to congestion of that organ 
and its consequences—diarrhoea, dysentery, and 
bilious disorders. Though in extensive practice 
for 15 years, in a district abounding with orch¬ 
ards and gardens, I cannot remember an instance 
in which I could distinctly trace any very serious 
disorder to fruit as a cause ; though one might 
reasonably expect some mischief from the amount 
of unripe and acid trash often consumed by the 
children of the poor. I would not be supposed to 
advocate either immoderate quantities of the 
most wholesome fruit, or the indiscriminate use 
of unripe or ill-preserved fruit. But I do con¬ 
tend, as the result of my own experience, that 
not only is a moderate quantity of well ripened 
or well preserved fruit harmless, but that it is 
highly conductive to the health of people, and 
especially of children, and that it tends to pre¬ 
vent bilious diarrhoea and cholera. I am inclined 
to view the abundant supply of fruit in hot 
climates, and during the summer and autumn, 
and the great longing of people, especially of 
children (in whom the biliary functions are very 
active,) for fruit, to a wise provision of an 
overruling and ever-watchful Providence, which 
generally plants the remedy side by side with 
the disease, at a time when the biliary system is 
in most danger of becoming disordered. I have 
generally observed that children who are strictly, 
and I think injudiciously, debarred the use of 
