304 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
Oct. 
BamBSfflmHaEEBEga 
barrels, with good coarse salt; the packages filled up 
with clean pickle. 
“For dried or smoked meats, the dry salting alone 
should be employed; they will be found of a perfectly 
distinct flavor from those cured alone in pickle; and al¬ 
though slightly salted, keeping far better than provi¬ 
sions so highly salted by the wet process, as to be scarce¬ 
ly eatable. 
“ The use of sugar or molasses is daily gaining favor 
among packers; as preserving meat in a superior man¬ 
ner, having a liner flavor, keeping better, and never 
becoming rusty; and however old, never excessive¬ 
ly salt. It has also been asserted on high medical 
authority, that the use of sugar in curing meat, would 
prevent that fearful disease sea scurvy. It has been used 
in curing hams for a long period, indeed a good flavored 
ham cannot be prepared without it; but it is of the great¬ 
est importance in curing beef, which is to be kept for a 
length of time, or which is required of a fine flavor. 
It is used in the first process, along with the salt, for 
dried provisions—say one pound sugar, or one pint mo¬ 
lasses to four pounds salt. With pickled meats, it is 
used in the last process along with salt, to pack up the 
meat in the cask, say about half of each, sugar and salt. 
“ As regards the kinds of beef to be packed; the best 
description consists of prime mess, the pieces rejected 
from mess causing too great a loss to the packer. The 
coarse pieces of the leg, which are rejected from prime 
mess, can be boned, dry salted, and dried; in which way 
they yield as good a return as the rest. 
“Owing to the great local demand, the most desirable 
description of pork consists of mess: the rib pieces of 
hogs weighing over two hundred pounds should be so 
packed: The hams and cheeks, as also the fore part, con¬ 
sisting of the neck and shoulder in a piece, should be 
cured and dried; the fashion of removing the bones from 
the latter is worthy of adoption, as when the bone is left 
the meat is much more apt to spoil, besides being an 
awkward joint. Prepared this way, the pieces rejected 
fetch as good a price as the rest. When the pig is too 
small for mess, but large enough for prime, the latter 
should be made, reserving the hams and cheeks; if too 
heavy for prime, remove some of the rib pieces to add 
to the mess; prime mess neither suiting the British nor 
Canadian markets; whereas prime suits the British and 
West India demand better than even mess.” 
It is known that provisions are sometimes preserved 
by being packed in air-tight vessels. In relation to 
this process, the writer from which we quote observes: 
“Provisions are preserved in many places without 
salt, by putting them together with water into metal 
cases, putting the cases into water to boil, converting 
the water in the case into steam, thus expelling the air, 
the metal case is then soldered down. Provisions thus 
put up keep unaltered for any length of time. 
“ The only objection is the expense, they having ge¬ 
nerally been prepared at places where provisions are 
costly, and put up in small packages. By packing where 
provisions are cheaper, and using large canisters, I do 
not see any reason why they should cost more than if 
prepared with salt. 
“ But it has often occurred to me, that the preserving 
of animal food might be simplified by filling up the 
packages with melted fat in lieu of water; that of the 
animal to be packed, being preferably employed, in 
which case wooden casks might be used, and boiling 
would not be necessary. The meat should be free from 
large bones, and immersed in hot fat long enough to 
expel the air, then put in a cask previously saturated, the 
fat poured on as filled. 
“ tfor sea use or export to the West Indies, this article 
would be invaluable, and would be cheaper than the 
usual mode of curing in inland places, where salt is ex¬ 
pensive, as all the material required would be on the 
spot, the fat selling as well with the meat, as if, as 
usual, rendered into tallovv, and for culinary purposes 
could be easily removed, either by exposure to the fire, 
or immersion in boiling water.” 
In the Liverpool Times, I find the following para¬ 
graph, under the head of “ New Import from America: 
f Some barrels of fresh pork have arrived at this port 
from America. It is preserved fresh and wholesome, 
by filling up each barrel with melted lard.’ 
“ I may add, that I have since learned that many Ca¬ 
nadian farmers keep fresh sausages all summer in the 
same manner.” 
FARMING! AMONG THE HILLS. 
From the large number of subscribers we have in New- 
Lebanon and vicinity, we were prepared to expect a 
good degree of attention to agricultural improvement, 
and in this respect we were not disappointed. Our trip 
was made with so much haste, that we were unable to 
visit as many people as we would have called on; though 
we probably formed a tolerably correct idea of the con¬ 
dition of the land, and the system of farming pursued, 
by passing through the neighborhood; and we are free 
to say, that neater and better cultivated farms than we 
saw here, are seldom to be met with in any part of the 
country. We intend no invidiousness in making parti¬ 
cular mention of the farms of Messrs. Jabez Pierce, 
John Murdock, Peter and Reuben Barker, and 
Elijah Bagg, (all of New-Lebanon,) and Roswell G. 
Pierce and the Messrs. Gardener of Stephentown. 
Fruits. —Apples, pears and plums do well on many 
of the slaty hills of this region. Some years since many 
of the farmers, by attention to their orchards, especially 
to the production of winter apples, laid up money, but 
their children seem to have fallen into an error in con¬ 
tinuing the old orchards, in many cases without giving 
them much attention, instead of setting out and culti¬ 
vating young trees. The consequence is that less apples 
are now produced, and of poorer quality than formerly, 
and the farms are too often cumbered by old scraggy 
trees of no value. Pears appear to do well here; near¬ 
ly all the trees we saw, were very heavily loaded with 
fruit. The same want of young trees was noticed, how¬ 
ever, as has been spoken of in regard to apples. But as 
a taste for horticultural improvements is evidently in¬ 
creasing, we trust this defect will ere long be remedied. 
Mr. R. G. Pierce of Stephentown is forming a nursery 
of various kinds of fruit trees, and in the course of a 
year or two, we have no doubt he will be able to sup¬ 
ply such as are wanted. 
Under-draining —We saw a few instances where 
this operation had been practised with excellent success; 
and we will remark, that in our opinion, greater advan¬ 
tage would result from a general adoption of the plan of 
under-draining, in this section, than almost any other 
mode of improvement. The land on the mountain slopes 
is natural to grass, when not too wet; its natural decli¬ 
vity is favorable to draining, and it is only necessary to 
take the surplus water from the surface, to make the 
most productive meadows. In other situations, where 
the soil is sufficiently exposed to the warming influence 
of the sun, the practice of this system will render the 
soil capable of yielding bountiful crops of almost every 
kind. We witnessed this on the farm of Mr. Bagg of 
New-Lebanon, and on that of Mr. Pierce of Stephen- 
towm. Will not these examples stimulate others to pro¬ 
fit by the same practice ? 
Fences. —Stonewalls, and what is called “half-wall,” 
are quite common. The latter is a fence with two or 
three boards or rails attached to posts, so as to form the 
top of the fence, with stone underpinning or base. From 
the abundance of stone which can readily be obtained 
on most farms, either in loose boulders or by quarrying 
from the beds of rock, walls are nearly as cheap in their 
first cost as any kind of fence, and when properly made 
are no doubt the best in the long run. We noticed that 
Mr. R. G. Pierce had commenced enclosing his farm 
with capital walls. He has.already several hundred rods 
laid apparently in the most permanent manner, giving 
to the farm an air of neatness, by their regular angles 
and straight lines, which is particularly agreeable to 
the eye. It is sometimes objected that walls do not form 
a good fence against sheep; the jagged and rough sides 
permitting them to climb readily to the top; but Mr. 
Pierce assures us that where attention is paid to lay the 
sides as even and true as may readily be done, sheep 
