42 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
til three-quarter^ of the water is carried off. It is then poured into a buc¬ 
ket, from which the liquid is made to pass through a second filter, pre¬ 
pared as the first. During this time the evaporating pan receives the juice 
of a second purification. 
Second filtering .—This second filtration is the same as the first; but 
when it is finished, the same filter serves for passing the juice of another 
purification, after which only a sufficient quantity of water is poured on' to 
wash out the whole of the saccharine liquid. 
Beilingdown the sirup or drying .—The evaporated sirup, which has 
been filtered a second- time, may be kept for several hours without under¬ 
going much change. It is, however, best to finish the evaporation. It is 
this last ebullition which is called the boiling, (lacuite,) or drying. It is 
not difficult to perform if the purification and the two filtrations have been 
well managed, and if a sufficient quantity of animal charcoal has been em¬ 
ployed; as this charcoal is not expensive, and as its properties may be-re- 
stored by calcining it again, it is best to employ in each filter six kilo¬ 
grammes for 100 kilogrammes of juice. Every operation-will be facilitat¬ 
ed by the depuration which it produces. The boiling will be well and 
speedily performed in a pan of a round or square form, and very shallow; 
not more than two inches in depth of sirup should be put in, an_d .it should 
be made to boil by a good fire, and stirring with a small skimmer,-* and 
when the quantity of vapor rising from fhe surface of the sirup shall appear 
to diminish while the boiling continues, it is nearly boiled enough. It is 
still more advanced, if the liquor raised with the skimmer appears very 
sirupy; and finally, the boiling is sufficient when, by putting'the end of 
the finger on the skimmer, the drop of sirup raised, being pressed-with 
the thumb and forefinger, forms, when they, are separated, a thread, which 
bends back as it breaks. The pan should instantly be removed, from the 
fire, and all the sirup poured into a bucket well hooped, or lined with thin 
copper, or into a large caldron placed within a larger vessel, and the in¬ 
terval between the two filled up with linen cloth, or straw, in order to 
avoid the too sudden cooling of the sirup. The pan is again placed over 
the fire, and a second charge of sirup poured in, to be evaporated to the 
same degree as the first, and then mixed in the same vessel, called the 
cooler. And thus'one boiling follows the other, until the products of four 
or five boilings have been mixed together, in the cooler. We may then, 
after gently'stirring the mass, fill one or several moulds, or the barrel, to 
crystallize it__ (To.be c ontinued’) 
LIME—CUT-WORM—GRASS-SEED! 
JVew- York, March; 15,1837. 
It is a rare occurrence'that I have ventured to record my agricultural 
experiments in the newspapers, although I think it a duty that we owe to. 
each other, and not only to record them, but affix the name of the party 
making the experiment, that he may be referred to in case of need. 
I have read recently much about the destruction, caused by thecut- 
wnrm, and .it brought to my recollection what happened to me about eigh¬ 
teen years a^o, when I owned the reclaimed salt meadows, which* are 
dyked, opposite to Newark, in Newrjersey. I wished to make an expe¬ 
riment on the efficacy of lime on that peculiar soil. I had previously sa¬ 
tisfied myself as to its value on upland soil. These meadows were ditched 
in lots of about five acres. Early in the month of April I took a lot, had- 
it well ploughed and harrovved, and sowed it with flax-seed, also with a 
mixture' of timothy, red top or lierds-grass, and red clover, seeds. I di¬ 
rected a “ land ” or “ bout” of eight.paces wide and the whole length of 
the lot, in the middle of t e field, to be limed, at the rate of about 100 
bushels of slaked Barnegat lima to the acre, as near as might be. That 
year, for the first time, I found my meadows infested with the cut-worm, 
and in every part of the lot, except where the lime was put, the roots of 
the flax were eat off and destroyed, and the roots of . the grass seed very 
much injured, but not entirely destroyed. Where the lime, was thrown 
there was not only good flax, but the grass se.ed came up and flourished; 
the color of the grass was a very rich deep green, and it could be distin¬ 
guished from the other part of the lot, as far as the eye could discern the 
field. 
Afterwards, during that year.and the following years, when the horses, 
mules, horned cattle and sheep, were turned to feed on that lot, you would 
see them confined to that space where the lime was put, as'long as any¬ 
thing remained there to be eaten. The experiment having, satisfied me, 
I made after that year free use of lime on those meadow’s, and haveiseen, 
at the end of twelve years, the beneficial results of its application. My 
lands have never since the application of lime to them been infested with 
the cut-worm. , 
I have known many persons declare, that lime was of no use to their 
farms; but on questioning them as to the mode and extent of the applica¬ 
tion, I found they.w’ere entirely ignorant of the manner, it should-be ap¬ 
plied. I believe lime judiciously, applied will benefit any soil. You-may 
apply too much in the first instance, as well as too little. To a rich al¬ 
luvial soil, like the reclaimed salt meadows, I know that 100 bushels of 
lime to the acre, on the first application , is not too much, and I believe 
that 200 bushels would be better; but if on th e first application, you were 
" If the sirup rises in foam, it is well to throw in a small lump of butter, 
which will cause it to subside immediately. 
to put 100 bushels of lime to poor or worn out upland, I am persuaded it 
would injure the land for several.years. ■ 
Hence, as the result of my experience, I would recommend that worn 
out upland should be ploughed deeper than in the ordinary tillage it had 
been—say from two to four inches deeper. Prepare the land for sowing 
the crop you intend to put in—say, if you please, oats or other small grain 
—sow your seed and harrow it once, then spread from 30 to 40 bushels of 
slaked lime, as near as may be, to the acre, and sow your grass seed, 
and then cross harrow the land. Many persons, I know, throw it on the 
round after the crop is put in, leaving the rain to wash it into the land; 
ut I prefer, to harrow it once'in. Afterwards, when you plough up the 
same land, and seed-it dpwn, you may apply from 60 to 100 bushels of 
lime, not only without injury, but with great benefit in the result; and if 
good husbandry, is followed, lime to the extent of 200 to 300 bushels per 
acre may be applied afterwards, with great advantage. And my experi¬ 
ence is, that in grass lands, the good effects of lime will be seen at the 
end of twelve years. I have applied many thousand bushels of lime to 
my land, and therefore have no hesitancy in recommending its general 
use, if iudiciously applied. 
I think it advisable also to mention when the application of lime has 
appeared to be injurious, and leave others to make a further experiment; 
and-therefore I state, that my Scotch farmer advised me not to sow wheat 
when I fresh limed my land, as it.would smut the wheat. I replied to 
him, if it is beneficial to pickle your wheat and roll it in lime before sow¬ 
ing, to prevent smut, surely liming the land will not cause the smut. I 
disregarded his Warning, and directed the application of lime on the wheat 
land—the following- year my wheat was very much'injured wi h smut. 
The philosophy of it I do not understand, but I took good care never to 
do so afterwards. 
I have taken a- Course in relation to sowing grass seeds widely different 
from my neighbor farmers. I condemn the practice of putting a small 
quantity of seed, such as is usually put on an acre, because the seed When 
it comes up does not sufficiently cover the ground. You lose much in 
quantity of hay, and in its quality. My rule has been,, whether on up¬ 
land or low land, to mix well together .my grass seeds—say herds grass, 
or red top, as it is sometimes called, timothy, and red clover—apply one 
bushel of seed to the acre, in equal portions of the different seeds. The 
consequence will be, that the seed comes up as thick as hair on a dog’s 
bg.ck, the land is completely covered, and not injured by the rays of the 
sun after mowing in a dry season; the grass, instead ofhaving large stalks 
anddry, are smalland full of juice, and the haynot only increasedin quan¬ 
tity, but is much more palatable to the animal. 
All Which I respectfully submit to the consideration of practical farm¬ 
ers. A. DEY. 
BEMENT’S IMPROVED TURNIP DRILL.—Fig. 7. 
Mr. Buel—Sir —I Will ask-the favor of a small space in one of your 
columns, for a cut, representing one of my “ Improved Turnip Drills,” 
the principle of which differs but very little from the one described in the 
fifth number of the third volume of the Cultivator. The improvement- 
consists in'substituting*copper and block tin in the,place of a tin cy¬ 
linder—with large holes for mangold wurtzel, beets, and small peas— 
with a band which can be slipped over, the large holes, in which are pierc¬ 
ed two sizes of smaller holes, the larger size for onions, carrots, and other 
seeds of a rounder oval shape, not larger, than onion seed; by slipping the 
band, and placing, the smallest sized holes over the larger, it is then pre¬ 
pared for ruta baga, and seeds of the same size. 
The wheel by which it is impelled, serves the double purpose of cover¬ 
ing and pressing the earth to the seed, thereby causing a much more rapid 
vegetation. 
The objection to the former coulters, through which the seed dropped, 
is completely obviated in this—for the coulter and seed tube are separate, 
which renders it almost impossible to fill with earth. 
Another advantage this has over the former, is, the coulter being in 
front of the wheel, gives it the advantage of running close to a fence or tree. 
It is very substantial and durable—the wheel is of cast iron, 16 inches 
diameter and 4 inches broad. 
