VOLUME II. NO. 11. !- 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.—THURSDAY, MARCH II, 1851 
1 WHOLE NO. 61 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL, DEvoieu to 
Agriculture, Horticulture, Mechanic Arts and Sci¬ 
ence, Education, Rural and Domestic Economy, 
General Intelligence, the Markets, &c., &c. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
ASSISTED BY 
J. H. BJXBY, L. WETHERELL, and H. C. WHITE. 
WIRE FENCE —NOT ABANDONED YET. 
ANALYSIS OF THE LEAF OF TOBACCO. 
which is indicated by a hair-like string half 
an inch long, when the sugar is dropped 
from a spoon or ladle. It should be stirred 
occasionally while cooling to prevent its 
becoming waxy, and give it a grain; the 
more it is stirred the liner the grain. 
Sugar from the maple, as generally made, 
has a dark color, that restricts its use to 
common culinary purposes, the refined 
grades of cane -sugar coming into general 
use where a superior article is desired. 
Under the stimulus of a small premium 
offered by the New York State Ag. Soc’y., 
experiments have been tried which result¬ 
ed in purifying maple sugar so as to be but 
little if any inferior to loaf. 
This process as described by Mr. Benj. 
Gauss, Jr., of East Bloomfield, N. Y., to 
whom the first premium was awarded in 
1848, consists in “putting the sugar into 
boxes to drain that converge to a point so 
the molasses settles to the bottom. On the 
surface of the sugar in the boxes, damp 
flannel cloths are plaeed, and these are 
washed every day in clean, cold water, to 
extract whatever of coloring may be ab¬ 
sorbed from the sugar. This is continued 
until the whole coloring matter of the sugar 
is extracted.” 
Others put the sugar into large tubs 
converging to a point at the bottom, and 
draw therefrom the molasses as fast as it 
settles; keeping a wet cloth on the top that 
the sugar may not get dry before it drains. 
The sugar is then dissolved in water, cleansed 
and boiled and drained as before, when it 
becomes nearly as white as loaf, and giving 
almost the same taste. Dr. J. C. Jackson, 
Geologist to the State of New Hampshire, 
in a lengthy article upon the subject recom¬ 
mends the adding of “ one measured ounce 
of pure lime water, to every gallon of sap” 
to neutralize the acid and facilitate granula¬ 
tion. To make pure white sugar, the same 
writer recommends the following process: 
Procure sheet iron cones with an aper¬ 
ture at the small end;-let them be coated 
with white lead and boiled linseed oil and 
thoroughly dried. Put the warm sugar in¬ 
to these cones, stopping the hole in the low¬ 
er end until cold. Then remove the stop¬ 
per, and pour upon the vase a quantity oi 
strong whiskey or fourth proof rum; allow 
MUD BRICK FOR BUILDINC- 
NUMBER VII. 
BY PROF. E. EMMONS. 
Ix has been established by the French 
chemists, that the value of tobacco depends 
mainly upon the amount of potash contain¬ 
ed in the ash. This is especially the case 
with tobacco which is designed for smo¬ 
king, or in other words, for the manufacture 
of segars. 
Mr. Johnson, Sec’y of the N. Y. State 
Agricultural Society, having received a fine 
sample of tobacco grown at Rochester, it 
occurred to me that it was worth the while 
to give it the chemical test, and determine 
thereby its approximate value. I am no 
judge of the weed, either in the character 
of the segar or in the old form of the pig 
tail or plug; yet I like the distant odor of a 
good segar, and especially the more refined 
form, that of rappee. But I cannot say that 
I am disposed to promote this kind of indus¬ 
try, although I have no doubt in regard to 
the pro its of its culture by those who know 
how. Y et it must be borne in mind that 
tobacco exhausts the soil of expensive ele¬ 
ments, and will in the course of a few years 
render a middling soil quite barren. 
The dry leaf gave 20 per cent of ash.— 
Tt was sufficiently dry to be crisp and quite 
brittle. 
Composition of the Ash. 
Silex. .... 16.50 
Earthy Phosphates,. 16.00 
Carbonate of Lime,.31.70 
Magnesia,... 3.60 
Potash,. 03 . 8 O 
8oda.. 5.60 
Chloriurn,. 3.60 
Sulphuric Acid,. 2.75 
In the inorganic part it will be observed 
that there are three expensive elements— 
the earthy phosphates, lime, and potash.— 
In the culture of this plant, therefore, atten¬ 
tion should be paid to this fact —and it 
should be remembered that none of the 
soils of New York are lime soils; even the 
wheat lands of Monroe, cannot be regarded 
as rich either in lime or the earthy and alka¬ 
line phosphates. Therefore due care should 
be taken to add those fertilizers which con¬ 
stitute the largest proportion of the ash. 
Albany, N. Y., February, 1951. 
From very early date of history, we have 
matter relating to the dwellings of man, be- 
ing constructed of adobes or mud brick; and 
at the present day throughout the world, 
with some exceptions, the houses of the 
common people are built of this materia), 
and they have been tried in this country to 
a small extent with the most satisfactory re¬ 
sults in 
Messrs. Editors :—My first ideas of wire 
fence were taken from ColmanU European 
Agriculture. It is there called an invisible 
fence, and my first effort was to follow the 
description therein given. I made all the 
posts (except the two extreme ones and two 
others rendered necessary by the undula¬ 
tions of the land,) of band iron 1^ inch 
wide and -l inch thick. The bottom of 
these posts were fastened in large fiat stone. 
I am now satisfied that these iron posts are 
not as good as those made of wood, and 
cost some eight times as much. Slats'of 
white oak, inch thick and 1^ inch wide, are 
much stifler and almost as durable. Iron 
posts are very liable to get bent. If a wire 
breaks, it recoils with such force as to bend 
every post for twemy rods, These wooden 
slats are nearly as invisible as iron, and look 
better if painted. They should be bored 
with a gimlet of the size of the wire and 
fit tight upon it. I think the fastening of 
the bottom in fiat stone of little consequence 
—not worth the expense. 
I believe I have now given every partic¬ 
ular in regard to this kind of fence, and 
my experience in using it for more than 
two years. I have extended these remarks 
much farther than I intended, but the 
subject of fence is the most important mat¬ 
ter that the farmer is ever called upor, to 
contemplate. Fences we must have; rail 
and board fences are passing away, and. al¬ 
so the materials for making them. The 
great question is, what shall be the substi¬ 
tute? A writer in the 11th No., 1st viol- 
Rural New-Yorker 
every ease. 
At Geneva, in this State, are quite a num¬ 
ber of buildings of this kind, from the hum¬ 
ble cottage to the stately mansion. Thev 
are mostty finished in good stvle and pre¬ 
sent as good an appearance as any that are 
built of more costly materials. This mode 
of building was introduced here about 12 
years ago by an English mechanic—a ma¬ 
son by trade. The first building which he 
erected was a kitchen attached to his house, 
which he finished with much care, and it 
presented such a good appearance that it 
was visited and examined as a curiosity by 
a great number of persons, lie was after¬ 
wards employed by others to build dwellings 
of larger dimensions, which were soon imi¬ 
tated with Yankee spirit. Yet even here 
the notion has its advocates and opposers; 
prejudice shows itself the same as in other 
cases. 
But I can recommend this mode of build¬ 
ing with perfect confidence, having mvself 
constructed one and lived in it for years, 
and actually found more good qualities com¬ 
bined than it is possible to find with anv 
other kind. It proved to be warm in win¬ 
ter, and cool in summer; the walls are nev¬ 
er damp—it afforded no harbor for vermin 
—it required no lathing, the walls being 
ready to receive the plastering, both on the 
inside and outside. The base boards and 
window casings were nailed to the brick; 
the nails held as well as if driven into pine 
timber. 
The process of mixing the clay*and 
moulding the brick is a very simple affair, 
requiring but little ingenuity, and can be 
performed by any common laborer, who by 
a short practice will make them with oreat 
facility, 200 being considered a good day’s 
work for two hands in preparing the clay 
and moulding oft' the brick. The clav is 
prepared as follows:—A circular pit about 
12 feet in diameter, should be dug 2 feet 
in depth, and a floor of rough boards placed 
over the bottom. This is then to be filled 
with clay, and a small admixture of loam or 
sand, and water is then to be added suffi¬ 
cient to moisten the batch. A yoke of ox¬ 
en are then driven into the pit, and turned 
about to the right until the clay becomes 
free from lumps, then 0 bundles of wheat 
or rye straw should be cut in lengths of 
about 6 inches. This is then to be scatter¬ 
ed over the batch of mud, keeping the oxen 
moving at the same time until the two are 
thoroughly incorporated. A table is then 
placed by the side of the pit, and while one 
man shovels out the mud from the pit an¬ 
other fills the moulds. To make the bricks 
square it is necessary 7 to fill the corners first 
and dash in the mud,—this makes the 
bricks solid. When the moulds are filled 
they are placed upon a wheelbarrow, and 
taken to ground previously leveled and 
sanded, where the moulds are carefully in¬ 
verted and lifted from the brick, which 
should then be covered with a sprinkling of 
sand to prevent its drying on the upper side 
too fast, and also prevent its cracking. 
The moulds are nailed together like a 
box and are of the following dimensions.— 
On the inside 15 inches long 1 foot wide 
and t) inches deep with cleats on each end 
to lift them by. There should also be an 
aperture left in each end of the moulds to 
admit air, as the brick adhere without such 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT. 
is very confident that 
hedges will be preferred to wire. In an¬ 
swer to him and others who think likewise, 
I will merely quote a paragraph from Col- 
man’s European Agriculture. He says: 
“But I must confess myself disappointed 
in the condition of the hedges throughout 
England. Of course there are many excep¬ 
tions, and perhaps the cases to which I refer 
should be considered exceptions to the gen¬ 
eral fact, but in frequent instances they are 
greatly neglected. There are many vacan¬ 
cies in them; they are not well trimmed; 
they are intermingled with various weeds 
and rubbish; and instead of being confined 
to a width of four or six feet, they are often 
seen with these pernicious accompaniments 
occupying more than a rod in width.” 
Is not the above remark equally applica¬ 
ble to the hedges in this country 7 ? A hedge 
is of slow growth, and not suited to our <ja- 
a-kedditive propensities. A farmer makjes 
up his mind that he wishes to divide a cer¬ 
tain field. The decision made, he is riot 
easy until he sees the work done. If he 
favors a wire fence, in a week it can be fin¬ 
ished, if a mile in length. If a railroad| is 
to be fenced, wire is the stuff to do it with. 
These winter embargoes imposed by snow 
drifts would be greatly lessened by 7 its use. 
If animals are frightened by the locomotive, 
they of course run from’the fence. 
It is true there are some objections to 
wire fences, but by the time thev come into 
general use, Yankee ingenuity 'will obviate 
them. Of one thing we may be assured; 
the material can never be exhausted. Wire 
is one of those commodities, the more it is 
used the cheaper it becomes, and the bet¬ 
ter the article. Wherever in this wide 
world civilized man has placed himself, j 
there it can be obtained. This can- be said I 
SOLUTION FOR A QUERY 
Mr. Moop.e :—One of your Michigan cor¬ 
respondents, in No. 55, proposed “ a query 
for solution ” on the subject of sheep. As 
I have seen no reply, I propose to offer the 
following in answer: 
In the first place, he says that it was a 
small flock of sheep which he purchased. 
Now if taken from another flock it must 
have been a large one, or none would have 
remained; and, he might have selected tire 
best, which would be one reason for their 
increase in wool and flesh over the remain¬ 
der of the flock. Again:—In some sheep 
the food which they eat assimilates more to 
wool than to flesh—but as here there was 
an increase of both, we must solve 
the ques¬ 
tion under one head. An increase of flesh 
will in most cases bring an increase of wool. 
In the second place, his flock ran to the 
straw* stack, while his neighbors had hay 
and grain. It is known that in the Western 
States there are great quantities of straw, 
of which little use is made. Perhaps his 
small flock of sheep ran over a large lot of 
straw, picking up the heads of wheat or 
oats, which is the best kind of food for 
sheep, tending to a healthy action, and con¬ 
sequent increase of both wool and flesh.— 
Hay, too, that grows on cold land has not 
the same properties as that which grows on 
warm or cultivated soils. Therefore, as he 
has done, plow your land deep and well, 
and you warm the soil, and by that means 
change the quality of your hay &c., and 
your stock will do better than before. 
Practical Farmer. 
West Rupert, Vt., Feb., 1851. 
T0BABCC0 CULTURE. - INQUIRY. 
Mr. Moore: —Some of your subscribers here¬ 
abouts intend to raise tobacco, this season, but not 
understanding the culture ol' the same, wish you 
to publish in the Rural the best manner of culti¬ 
vation. We wish to know when the seed should 
be sown — time of transplanting, and proper dis¬ 
tance of plants apart — soil, manure, Ac. 
Oneida Co., March, 1851. A Subscriber. 
Remarks. —We have of late had several 
verbal inquiries, similar to the above, from 
persons residing in this section. Will some 
one who has had experience in <rrowinof 
