THE CULTIVATOR. 
167 
one of the best practical farmers of America. These 
chickens soon learn to pick up worms and insects of all 
kinds; they become very tame and familiar, and will 
quickly come at the call of their feeder or any one else, 
in expectation of something to eat. On observing the 
insect to drop off as above stated, it occurred to me to 
call the chickens, and they devoured them as quickly as 
if they had been grains of wheat. By repeating this for 
three or four successive evenings, the whole swarm ap¬ 
pear to have been annihilated; as not one has been seen 
on the bushes ever since. I think it probable the rose 
bug may be got the better of by this means. It is proper 
to add that these chickens, though answering a good 
purpose on account of the vermine they destroy, must 
not be allowed to remain in the garden until they grow 
large and strong enough to do mischief by scratching, 
digging holes, and injuring fruit and vegetables. 
It is to be hoped the rising generation of farmers may 
see the propriety of paying some attention to the study 
of entomology; a department their fathers and grandfa¬ 
thers might be said to be in a great measure ignorant of; 
and none more so than is, gentlemen, your well wisher 
and humble servant, Senex. 
Saratoga county, August 21, 1842. 
Since the above was in type, we have received 
another reply to “ H. W. S. C.” from Dr. Underhill, 
of New-York, which shall have a place in our next. 
Domestic (Economy. 
COLLINS & STONE’S CHEESE PRESS.—(Fig. 97.) 
One of the Cheese Presses, of which a figure is given 
above, may be seen at our office, and will be exhibited 
at the State Fair. If it works as well as it appears, it 
cannot fail to command the admiration of Cheese makers. 
The following communication accompanied the press 
sent to us: 
Messrs. Editors —Will you allow me a small space 
in your widely circulated paper, for the purpose of invi¬ 
ting the attention of that portion of your readers who are 
particularly interested in the subject, to a newly invented 
Cheese Press, for the introduction of which, I am the 
general agent of the patentees. One of these presses has 
been forwarded to you, and we design to exhibit them at 
the Fairs in different sections of the country, and invite 
criticism. 
I claim for this press, as some of its qualities, the fol¬ 
lowing :—It is simple in its construction, not liable to get 
out of repair; occupying but little room, (about two feet 
square;) perfectly convenient to place the cheese upon 
it, and not expensive. I think all cheese makers, will ad¬ 
mit at once, that these are good qualities. But with ma¬ 
ny, these things are, very justly, of but secondary ac¬ 
count; and I speak with some confidence, when I add to 
the properties of this press, what, combined with those 
named above, must be of no small importance. The 
cheese becomes the weight to press itself, each pound giv¬ 
ing a pressure of twelve pounds. It can be constructed, 
however, to press 10 or 8, or any other number, to 1. 
Ihe precise pressure may be known, and it is sure not to 
exceed in any position, the given amount; and this is what 
cannot be said of any other press with which I am ac¬ 
quainted. If more pressure than the weight of the cheese 
is desired, it can be obtained by placing weight upon the 
platform: 1 lb. giving a pressure of 12. 
I noticed in the Aug. No. of the “ American Agricul¬ 
turist,” the statements of the Messrs. Allen and Mr. 
Marvin, giving details of their modes of making cheese, 
upon which they obtained premiums at your last fair. In 
one case it is stated that the cheeses were pressed “ un¬ 
der a weight of seven or eight cwt.,” and in the other, 
nothing is said of the weight of pressure; leaving it to be 
inferred, either that the precise amount could not be gi¬ 
ven, or that it was of no consequence. I presume to say 
there are but few cases where the weight under which 
cheeses are pressed, can be given with any tolerable de¬ 
gree of accuracy. Enough importance is not attached to 
the pressing of cheese. The dealers in cheese in this vi¬ 
cinity, inform me that in some parts of the country, 
much of it is injured by improper pressure; and they 
name counties in the state of N. York, where this is the 
case to a great extent. 
There has not been sufficient time, since the first press¬ 
es under this patent were made, to test it very exten¬ 
sively by actual experiments; but the few cheese makers, 
into whose hands they have been placed, speak of' them 
in the highest terms. They have been, however, criti¬ 
cally examined by some of our most scientific gentlemen, 
and annexed is a copy of a certificate of Dr. Comstock, 
the author of one of the best works upon mechanical 
powers, now in use, which, if not asking too much, I 
should be pleased to see in the Cultivator. 
Yours respectfully, L. Kennedy, Jr. 
Hartford, Ct. Aug. 23, 1842. 
Having examined with attention, the Cheese Press re¬ 
cently invented and patented by Messrs. Collins & Stone, 
I am clearly of the opinion that for simplicity of con¬ 
struction, smallness of size, and practical use, it is, so 
far as I am informed, much superior to any machine of 
the kind heretofore offered to the public. 
One of its peculiarities is, that the amount of pressure 
is graduated by the weight of the cheese, and hence, not 
only the exact force may be known, but the same press 
is applicable to daries of all grades. 
(Signed,) J. L. Comstock. 
Hartford, Aug. 1842. 
CROWELL’S THERMOMETER CHURN_(Fig. 98.) 
Above we give a drawing of Mr. Crowell’s Patent 
Thermometer Churn, one of which Mr. C. has been so 
kind as to send us, from Lime Rock, Ct., where he manu¬ 
factures them. We have not yet had an opportunity of 
trying it, but it is a neat well made article, and appears 
admirably adapted to facilitate the operation of churning. 
Mr. C. says they are in general use in his neighborhood, 
where “they have taken the place of all other churns, 
and are highly approved as the best and the most simple 
method of obtaining butter, both as to quantity and qua¬ 
lity, and in the shortest time.” The price is from $5 to 
$7,00. 
WATER POWER CHURN, &c_(Fig. 99.) 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —Of the improvements 
given in your paper, of the different kinds of farm im¬ 
plements, the great majority seem to be for the more es¬ 
pecial ease and convenience of the lords of creation. 
Now if this omission has been the result of selfishness or 
indifference on the part of those who were bound by 
strong obligations of reciprocity to have done better, 
would I lay myself open to a charge of treason, were I 
to advise the ladies to take this matter into their own 
hands, by letting their nohle lords shirk for themselves, 
while they are engaged in improving those little house¬ 
hold indispensables, and bringing them up to as war¬ 
rantable a state of advancement as the present time will ad¬ 
mit. The kind of system I propose recommending, it is 
true, requires water power, but in our country, such pri¬ 
vileges are very common, (small streams being suffi¬ 
cient,) and as in this plan, distance is no material objec¬ 
tion, it will be within the reach of a great majority of 
our butter makers. In order to illustrate its operation 
fully, and make it very plain and intelligible, I fear I 
shall have to trouble you with a drawing. 
It appears to me that with this drawing, it will hardly 
need an explanation; but lest some may not think it so 
plain, I shall go into detail. A, A, are two pieces of 
timber firmly set in the ground to support the moveable 
frames B, B, by a pivot through where one piece of the 
frame meets the other at right angles. D, is the dash 
fastened to the other piece by two holes through them, 
both with pins and strings. E, E, are wires to be made 
of suitable length to extend from the creek to the place 
where the churning is to be done. The wires should be 
so fastened together with hooks made on the end of them, 
as to allow of taking down in winter. F, is an up¬ 
right post to support the wires, and must be multiplied 
where great length is required. G. is the crank, H. is 
the wheel. Where there is three feet fall, and water 
enough to fill a hole three inches square, there is power 
sufficient to operate a churn on this principle. I will 
close this description by remarking, for the benefit of 
those who have small streams, that tight bucket wheels 
are considered the most powerful as well as economical. 
Let none who have convenient situations neglect to put 
them up, and then perhaps when the storm is raging 
without, you will find a calm sunshine within. 
I noticed a short time since, a few patches of Canada 
thistles on one part of the farm, and was very much trou¬ 
bled about them. I at first thought of plowing them, but 
upon the advice of a friend who should be experienced 
in such matters, I was persuaded to abandon it. I then 
took a hoe, cut them down quite in the ground, and put 
a handful of salt on each, laying a stone on it to prevent 
its getting away. The result has been, they have given 
no signs of life this spring. G. Cook. 
Tivoli, N. Y. June 7, 1842. 
THE TOMATO AND ITS USES. 
Every body cultivates the tomato, and every one who 
has not deliberately made up his mind to be ranked 
among the nobodies has learned to eat it. There is a 
great deal of fashion in this, it must be confessed, but it 
is not often that fashion is active in forwarding so good a 
work; for if the opinions of numerous M. D.’s of great 
celebrity, are to be allowed of any weight, there are few 
things more conducive to health than a liberal use of to¬ 
matoes. The fruit has long been extensively used in 
Italy and the south of France, and within a few years its 
cultivation as an article of luxury, if not of necessity, has 
spread over the greater part of Europe and the United 
States. The fruit is the best in a warm climate, where it 
has an acidity and briskness unknown in a colder one. 
In our southern states the fruit is finer and the flavor 
richer, than in the northern ones; still in these last, 
abundance of tomatoes of excellent quality are grown, 
where proper precautions are taken to give them an early 
start in the spring. Frequent inquiries are made by those 
who have but lately commenced their cultivation, as to 
the best modes of cooking or preserving them. To an¬ 
swer these inquiries fully, it might be necessary to con¬ 
sult the taste of each individual, and to gratify these tastes 
as far as possible, we have collected from various sour¬ 
ces, aided by our own experience, such directions for the 
use of this fruit, as will probably meet the wishes of most. 
Tomato Catsup. —Use one pint of good salt to one 
peck of sound ripe tomatoes. Bruise them, and let them 
stand two days; then strain them dry; and boil the li¬ 
quor until the scum stops rising, with two ounces of black 
pepper, the same quantity of spice, one ounce of ginger, 
one of cloves, and half an ounce of mace. Strain through 
a sieve, bottle and cork tight. 
Daily use of Tomato.— Slice up as you would cucum¬ 
bers, good tomatoes after peeling them, with salt, vine¬ 
gar, and pepper. Some prefer covering the tomatoes 
when so sliced, with sugar. Either way they will prove 
palatable and healthy. 
Tomato Soy. —Take ripe tomatoes, and prick them 
with a fork, lay them in a deep dish, and to each layer 
add a layer of salt. Let them remain four or five days, 
then take them out of the salt, and put them in vinegar 
and water for one night. Drain off the vinegar, and to 
each peck of tomatoes put half a pint of mustard seed, 
half an ounce of cloves, and the same quantity of pepper. 
The tomatoes should be put in a jar, with a layer of 
sliced onions to each layer of tomatoes, and the spices 
sprinkled over each layer. In ten days they will be in 
good eating order. 
Tomato Omelet.— Slice and stew your tomatoes. 
Then beat up half a dozen new laid eggs, the yolk and 
white separate; when each are well beaten, mix them 
with the tomato—put them in a pan and beat them up, 
and you will have a fine omelet. 
Tomato as a relish for Beef Steak _Wash them 
clean, cut them once in two, lay the inside upon the bars 
of the gridiron, set them over pretty hot coals for about 
ten minutes, then turn them over, sprinkle them with 
salt and pepper, renew the coals, and set them to broil 
fifteen or twenty minutes longer; when taken up, butter 
them or eat them with gravy, as best suits the taste or 
convenience. 
Stewed Tomatoes. —Take ripe tomatoes, slice them, 
put in the pot over the fire without water. Stew them 
slow, and when done, put in a small lump of butter, and 
eat as you do apple sauce. If you choose, a little crumb 
of bread, or fine crackers, may be added. 
Another mode —Take the tomatoes and pour boiling 
water upon them to make the skin come off easy, let them 
stand three or four minutes, and then peel them. Cut 
them open and take out the most of the seeds, as too ma¬ 
ny of these cooked makes the tomatoes too astringent. 
To one dozen good sized tomatoes, put a small tea spoon 
full of salt, and a large spoonfull of sugar. Stew them 
from three-quarters of an hour to an hour and a quarter, 
according as how fast they cook. Stew them down so 
as to leave very little syrup, and be sure to serve them 
hot; a shallow vessel is the best to cook them in when 
stewed in this way. 
Tomato Preserves. —Prepare a syrup by clarifying 
sugar, melted over a slow fire with a little water, by 
boiling it until no scum rises; or good molasses may be 
clarified by adding eggs, boiling and carefully scumming. 
Take the tomatoes while quite green, put them in cold 
syrup, with one orange sliced to every two lbs. of toma¬ 
toes. Simmer them over a slow fire, for two or three 
hours. There should be equal weights of sugar and to¬ 
matoes. Some, when superior preserves are wanted, add 
fresh lemons sliced, and boil with the tomatoes a few 
peach leaves and powdered ginger in bags. Tomatoes 
when ripe, make a fine preserve, peeled and treated as 
above; but the fruit is apt to fall to pieces in the process 
of preserving, consequently more care is required when 
it is desirable to prevent this. 
To Pickle Tomatoes.— Take your tomatoes and place 
them in layers in a pickling jar with garlic or shred on¬ 
ions, mustard seed, horse radish, red pepper, spices, &c. 
as wanted, until the jar is filled. A little salt must also 
