22 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
in carbonate of lime, which constitute the very materials, when blend¬ 
ed with sand and manures, for a good soil. Our correspondent adds, 
that 120 bushels of Squancum marl is as much as the acre will receive 
for the first dressing. Twenty to 40 loads of blue clay, to the acre, is 
also a good dressing. The effects of marl are not transitory, like those 
of manure ; their benefits are abiding-—they improve the earthy ele¬ 
ments of a soil—they render it more retentive of moisture and manures, 
and improve a light or sandy soil for most of the valuable crops in hus¬ 
bandry. 
THE HOUSEWIFE. 
A good housewife is one of the first blessings in the economy of life. 
What we mean by good is, that she possesses those qualifications, and 
exercises them, which are essential to the good order and economy of 
a family, the tidy appearance, good manners and respectability of the 
children, and the comfort and enjoyment of the domestic circle. She 
should understand, practically, every branch of household duty, so as 
to be able to perform it on an emergency—and these emergencies are 
liable to occur to all—and at all times be able to superintend and direct. 
Depend upon it, men put a great value upon the housewife qualifica¬ 
tions of their partners, after marriage, however little they may weigh 
with them before; and there is nothing which tends more to mar the fe¬ 
licities of married life, than a recklessness or want of knowledge, in 
the new housekeeper, of the duties which belong to her station. We 
admire beauty, and order, and system, in every thing, and we admire 
good fare. If these are found in their dwelling, and are seasoned with 
good nature and good sense, men will seek for their chief enjoyments at 
home,—they will love their home and their partners, and strive to re¬ 
ciprocate the kind offices of duty and affection. Mothers that study the 
welfare of their daughters, will not fail to instruct them in the qualifi¬ 
cations of married life; and daughters that appreciate the value of these 
qualifications, will not fail to acquire them. To aid them in doing this, 
we shall occasionally make some extracts that we deem in point, and 
perhaps proffer some hints of our own, particularly in the art and mys¬ 
tery of cooking ; not that we would encourage epicurism, but that we 
think there is great room for improvement, both as regards comfort and 
ecomony, in the fashion or practice of the day. “A fundamental error 
in domestic life, of very serious extent,” says the authority Which we 
are about to quote, “involving no less the comfort than the health of the 
family, arises from the ignorance, or mistaken notions, of the mistress 
of the house upon the subjects of diet and cookery.” We begin with 
the following extracts. 
“Boiling. —Put your meat into cold water, in the proportion of about 
a quart of water to a pound of meat: It should be covered with water 
during the whole process of boiling, but not drowned in it; the less 
w r ater, provided the meat be covered with it, the more savory will be 
the meat, and the better will be the broth. 
“ When the pot is coming to a boil, there will always, from the clean¬ 
est meat and clearest water, rise a scum to the top of it, proceeding 
partly from the water; this must be carefully taken off as soon as it 
rises. When you have skimmed well, put in some cold water, when it 
will throw up the rest of the scum. 
“The water should be heated gradually, according to the thickness, 
&c. of the article boiled. For instance, a leg of mutton of ten pounds 
weight should be placed over a moderate fire, which will gradually 
make the water hot, without causing it to boil, for about 40 minutes; 
if the water boils much sooner, the meat will be hardened, and shrink 
up as if it was scorched: by keeping the water a certain time heating, 
without boiling, the fibres of the meat are dilated, and it yields a quan¬ 
tity of scum, which must be taken olf as soon as it rises. Water never 
becomes any hotter than boiling heat, 212°, though it boil ever so hard, 
if the steam or vapor can escape. 
“Two mutton chops were covered with cold water; one boiled a gal¬ 
lop, while the other simmered very gently for three quarters of an hour; 
the chop which was slowly simmered was decidedly superior to that 
which was boiled; it was much tenderer, more juicy, and much higher 
flavored. The liquor which boiled fast was in like proportion more sa¬ 
vory, and when cold had much more fat ort its surface. This explains 
why quick boiling renders meat hard, &c. because its juices are extract¬ 
ed in a greater degree. 
“The old rule of 15 minutes to a pound of meat, from the time boil 
ing commences, we think rather too little : the slower it boils, the ten¬ 
derer, the plumper, and whiter it will be. 
[These rules apply particularly to dried-codfish. To have this well 
cooked, the water should not be suffered to boil, but merely to simmer.'] 
“Let the covers of your boiling-pots fit close, not only to prevent on 
necessary evaporation of the water, but to prevent the escape of the nu¬ 
tritive matter, which must then remain either in the meat or broth ; and 
the smoke is prevented from insinuating itself under the edge of the lid, 
and so giving the meat a bad taste. 
“If you let meat or poultry remain in the water after it is done enough, 
it will become sodden and lose its flavor.”— Cook’s Own Book. 
To boil a ham. —Put in as little water as will answer, regulate the 
fire so that it may be an hour in coming to the boiling point,—let it boil 
two hours moderately;—then take it out without a fork, and plunge it 
into cold water. When cold take off the skin, and garnish it for table. 
The cold water fixes the juices in the meat, which consequently renders 
it finer and better flavored. 
CONKLIN’S REVOLVING PRESS HARROW. 
The machine consists of two cylinders, 20 inches in diameter, and 3 
feet long, formed of cast iron staves, which are bolted to end pieces or 
heads, in the centre of which are boxes, similar to those of a cart-wheel, 
and revoles on an axle, in the same manner. The teeth are of wrought 
or cast iron, and aFe inserted in the staves, and are fastened by means 
of keys or nuts upon the inside. 
The use of this implement is— 
1. To scarify pasture or meadow grounds, to root out mosses, fit them 
for grass seeds, and thus increase the product. 
2. To scarify stiff clays and tough sward grounds, after they have 
been once ploughed, which this harrow pulverizes and fits for the crop. 
Though we have not seen this machine in operation, from the prin¬ 
ciples on which it is constructed, and the excellent character and re¬ 
presentations of the patentee, we are induced to believe it is an excel¬ 
lent implement for the uses intended. The patentee is Mr. John C. 
Conklin, of Peekskill, Westchester county. 
Cattle Farming in Ohio. —The Ohio Farmer gives a list of 58 graziers 
in that state, whose aggregate number of cattle amount to 11,802 head. 
The following are the names of some of the largest graziers. 
C. Bradley & Co. Marion, 1,550 ; John Halderman, Big Island, 460 ; 
C. Halderman, ditto. 700; Messrs. Drake, Clariden, 450; Dan. Fickle, 
Marion, 400; Messrs. Kirby, Great Prairie, 600; Bush by & Welch, 
ditto. 650; Ballantine & Baudelch, 350. 
' NOTES ON FLEMISH HUSBANDRY. 
(Concluded from page 4.) 
Division No. 7— Rye soil —Silex 814; alumine 15; oxyde of iron 3— 
sandy, and of poor light quality. Chief produce, rye, flax, potatoes, 
oats, buckwheat; rape seed and wheat in a few favorable spots; clover, 
carrots and turnips generally. The courses adopted are those of nine 
and ten years. The first is, potatoes with farm dung; 2. flax with 
ashes and urine ; 3. wheat, with ten and a half tons of manure ; 4. rye 
and turnips, with ten tons manure ; 5. oats and clover, with ten and a 
half tons manure; 6. clover, top dressed with 105 bushels Dutch ashes; 
7. rye, with fifty-two hogsheads of urine and night soil; 8. buckwheat, 
without, and the only one in nine years without manure. 
There are in these districts large tracts of waste lands, that will hard¬ 
ly pay the expense of cultivation. These are being planted with forest 
trees, particularly with Scotch fir and other hardy pines. Immense 
tracts of waste land in Europe, have been planted within the last half 
century, with the Scotch fir. It grows upon the most barren soil, and 
seems likely to give an intrinsic value to land, which would be other¬ 
wise valueless. Its growth is rapid, and the wood is convertible to 
many useful purposes. We consider it one of the best plants that could 
be introduced into our waste grounds, such for instance as the Albany 
Barrens, and hope the experiment of cultivating it among us will soon 
be made. The method of proceeding in Flanders is to burn the waste 
ground, and plough it in ridges of six to fifteen feet broad, or to plough 
it without burning—to sow the seed at the rate of six pounds the acre, 
and cover it by a light shovelling from the furrows, which.are sunk 
about two feet, not only to supply covering to the beds, but as drains 
