1854. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
255 
Chemical Elements of Food. 
The subjoined Table, showing the relative proportion 
of the elementary bodies in some of the principal 
articles of food, may be'of use for reference, and may 
serve to explain some facts, such as the following : We 
know a family, the husband being English and the wife 
of Dutch descent,who have long been remarkable for two 
things : 1. For their unusually healthy and muscular 
frames and the great amount of work which they per¬ 
form : and 2. For their eating cabbage every day in 
the year, except perhaps for a few weeks in summer. 
The table shows that cabbage contains nearly as much 
nitrogen as beans : and it is well known that beans 
and other nitrogenous food favors especially the growth 
of the muscular system : 
DRIED AT 230° FAHRENHEIT. 
Carbon. 
Nitrogen. 
Oxygen. 
Hydrogen. 
Ashes. 
Water lost 
in drying. 
* Wheat,.| 
Beans, (haricot,) 
•[Cabbage (heart¬ 
ed,) . 
46.1 
> 2.30 
4.30 
3.70 
43.40 
^5.80 | 
2.40 
7.9 
92; 30 
fGrass, (hay,)... 
45.80 
1.50 
38.70 
4 99 
9.01 
^Mangold wurzel 
42.80 
1.70 
43.40 
5.80 
630 
* Potatoes,. 
44.00 
1.50 
44.70 
5.80 
4.00 
*Boussingault. fThaer. 
Preservation of Manure during the Summer Months. 
This is rather too generally neglected, judging from 
the number of exposed manure heaps which may be 
seen along all our roads. The cleanings of pigsties, of 
stables, &c., are thrown down where it may be most 
convenient, and there left exposed to the destructive 
or wasting influences of wind and rain. By such treat¬ 
ment the manure heap will soon lose all its virtues. 
The great superiority of covered over uncovered ma¬ 
nure was recently made manifest by a report of some 
experiments made with each. As it requires, however, 
considerable time and expense to provide a place of 
shelter for the manure of the stable, the pigsty, and the 
cattle-yard; and as some may be induced by the arti¬ 
cle referred to, or by other considerations, to take some 
more care ofdheir manure than hitherto, but who have 
as yet no shelter provided for it from sun and rain, we 
would suggest a method which may be practiced by 
almost any one. Set four, six, or eight posts in the 
ground in or on the edge of the yard or by the side of 
the manure hedp, so as to have something like a wa¬ 
gon shed with the roof sloping, if possible, to the south. 
It may be about ten feet wide, if to be covered with 
12 feet boards or slabs ; or double this width so as to 
permit a wagon being driven into it or through it, to 
carry off the manure, if the roof be made to slope 
both ways. Let the shed or shelter, be boarded up on 
three sides, leaving it open only on the north. Let the 
manure from all quarters be wheeled to this, laid'down 
in a row or heap running the whole length of the shed, 
and made as firm as'possible by slapping with the sho¬ 
vel, &c. Near by should be a few loads of muck from 
a ditch, or earth or dirt of some kind, a layer of which 
should be thrown on each successive layer of manure. 
By this means the manure will be kept from sun and 
rain, and at the same time the gases which are apt to 
escape during the heats of summer, even under shel¬ 
ter, will be absorbed by the mucky or earthy matter 
which is put on the manure—a little over each days 
addition or layer. Let those who think all this would 
not pay, try it. 
if ln> litotttiifr. 
CURRANT WINE. 
Mr. D. D. T. More, of Watervliet, furnishes us the 
following recipe for making currant wine : 
To one quart of currant juice, add three quarts of 
water and three pounds of the best white sugar. Let 
it stand four or five months, until all fermentation is 
over, after which it may be bottled, and will soon be 
fit for use. Wine prepared in this way will keep for 
years. While fermenting, it should be left open—if in 
a barrel, the bung should be left out. 
Mr. More informs us that wine may be made from 
the black currant by the same recipe, and also that a 
very palatable drink may be made from the tomato, 
by using the same proportions of juice, water and 
sugar. — 
TO DESTROY BED-BUGS. 
Messrs. Editors —We have made use of the fol¬ 
lowing simple, yet efficient means of destroying bed¬ 
bugs and similar vermin, for several years, and found 
it to be complete in its extermination. 
Remove from the room every thing which is not in¬ 
fested ; then take a small quantity of sulphur and set 
it burning in an old kettle, keeping the room closed 
tight until the smoke has all disappeared. ,After this, 
thoroughly ventilate the room, and the smell of sul¬ 
phur will all pass away. D. C. 
Mint Sauce. —Many of our country friends do not 
know what a luxury they deprive themselves of when 
they eat lamb either boiled or baked, without mint 
sauce. Set a few roots of spearmint in one corner of 
the garden, and they will soon furnish an abundant 
supply. Strip off the leaves and chop them fine, add 
an equal amount of sugar, and cover the whole with 
vinegar. A small tea-cup full of the mixture will be 
sufficient fora large family. Try this and see if it is 
not far preferable to greasy gravies .—Ohio Cult. 
To Boil Rice. —Rice is one of those vegetables 
which is easily injured by poor cooking, and may be' 
made really unpalatable by a little over-boiling. Rice 
should be carefully looked over, and thoroughly wash¬ 
ed in two or three waters. The kernel will then have 
a pearly lustre. It should be put into boiling water in 
which a little salt has been thrown, and allowed to 
boil fifteen to seventeen minutes. The water should 
then be drained off—and the kettle set back from the 
violent heat of the fire—when it has steamed in this 
way about fifteen minutes, it will be perfectly soft, of 
snowy whiteness, and each kernel will retain its indi¬ 
viduality, ahd not be lost in one solid mass of paste. 
A pint of rice may be boiled in three quarts of water. 
Am. Asrst. - 
To Kindle a Fire .—To start a fire in the morning, 
take a piece or two of rosin, the size of an ounce ball, 
or chestnut; wrap it loosely in paper, and set the paper 
on fire. About one cent’s worth a week kindles my fire. 
