Part 2

[9] Vegetable ashes are _lime_, combined with an earthy saline matter.

_Gypsum_ is composed of lime and sulphuric acid. Mayer was the first to present to the public a series of experiments upon it, in its relation to agriculture. Many chymists have followed him, and a great variety of opinion yet exists with regard to its mode of operation. Yvart thinks that the action of gypsum is exclusively the effect of the sulphuric acid, which enters into its composition; and founds this opinion upon the fact, that the ashes of turf, which contain sulphate of iron and sulphate of alumina, have the same action upon vegetation as gypsum. Laysterie, observing that plants, whose roots were nearest the surface of the soil, were most acted upon by plaster, concludes, that gypsum takes from the atmosphere the elements of vegetable life and transmits them directly to plants. Bose intimates, that the _septic_ quality of gypsum (which he takes for granted) best explains its action on vegetation; but this opinion is subverted by the experiments of Mr. Davy, who found, that of two parcels of minced veal, the one mixed with gypsum, the other left by itself, and both exposed to the action of the sun, the _latter_ was the first to exhibit symptoms of putrefaction. Mr. Davy's own belief on this subject is, that it makes part of the food of vegetables, is received into the plant and combined with it. The last opinion we shall offer on this head, is that of the celebrated Chaptal. "Of all substances, gypsum is that of whose action we know the least. The prodigious effect it has on the whole race of trefoils, (clover, &c.) cannot be explained by any _mechanical_ agency--the quantity applied being so small--or by any _stimulating_ power--since gypsum, raw or roasted, has nearly the same effect; nor by any _absorbent_ quality, as it only acts when applied to the leaves. If permitted to conjecture its mode of operation, we should say, that its effect being greatest when applied to the _wet_ leaves of vegetables, it may have the faculty of absorbing and giving out water and carbonic acid, little by little, to the growing plant. It may also be considered as an _aliment in itself_--an idea much supported by Mr. Davy's experiments, which shew, that the ashes of clover yield gypsum, though the clover be raised on soils not naturally containing that substance."

[_Alb. Argus._

(To be continued.)

MANURES OF GREEN CROPS.

All _green succulent plants_ contain saccharine or mucilaginous matter, with woody fibre, and readily ferment. They cannot, therefore, if intended for manure, be used too soon after their death.

When _green crops_ are to be employed for enriching a soil, they should be ploughed in, if it be possible, when in flower, or at the time the flower is beginning to appear, for it is at this period that they contain the largest quantity of easily soluble matter, and that their leaves are most active in forming nutritive matter. Green crops, pond weeds, the paring of hedges or ditches, or any kind of fresh vegetable matter, requires no preparation to fit them for manure. The decomposition slowly proceeds beneath the soil; the soluble matters are gradually dissolved, and the slight fermentation that goes on, checked by the want of a free communication of air, tends to render the woody fibre soluble without occasioning the rapid dissipation of elastic matter.

When old pastures are broken up, and made arable, not only has the soil been enriched by the death and slow decay of the plants which have left soluble matters in the soil; but the leaves and roots of the grasses living at the time, and occupying so large a part of the surface, afford saccharine, mucilaginous, and extractive matters, which become immediately the food of the crop, and the gradual decomposition affords a supply for successive years.

[_Davy's Agric. Chem._

ESSAY ON AGRICULTURE.

The judicious and increasing attention of our citizens to agricultural pursuits, must be regarded, by every enlightened friend of his country, as among the happiest presages of its future prosperity. Agriculture, the most ancient and useful of the arts, the inseparable companion, if not the parent, of civilization, is rapidly obtaining that rank in public estimation, to which its intimate connexion with the cardinal interests of every well regulated community gives it so unquestionable a claim. The absurd prejudice, which has associated the cultivation of the soil with the idea of an ignoble servitude, is fast disappearing under the influence of milder systems of government, and has already ceased to operate on minds having the least pretensions to discrimination or enlargement of view.--The Patriarch of the human race was commanded by his Creator to "_replenish the earth, and to subdue it_;" we may, therefore, infer, that a limited attention to agriculture was among the happy employments of Adam, in the days of primeval innocence.

But, in the language of a distinguished prelate, that original transgression which banished man from Paradise, banished Paradise from the earth. The primal curse is still in unmitigated operation, and, without "_the sweat of the brow_," the least reluctant soils will yield but scanty fruits for the sustenance and the comfort of man. Toil is an indispensable pre-requisite in every department of life, where wealth, or honour, or even _daily bread_, is sought with a reasonable prospect of success. The scholar, amid the lofty abstractions of the closet, when fatigued by incessant vigils, realizes the painful truth, that "_much study is a weariness of the flesh_." The merchant, though stimulated by the incitements of enterprise and the bustle of occupation, must occasionally feel the energies of his body and mind relax under the pressure of business, without variety and without remission. And how grievous are the toils of those _choice spirits_ who discover no enterprise but in the pursuit of pleasure--who disdain to "_eat the bread of carefulness_," and seek, amid the fugitive joys of sensuality, a temporary refuge from the torpor of dejection, or the oppressive listlessness of voluntary inaction.

Let not the unobtrusive husbandman fear to compare his lot with that of those whose proud externals and apparent exemption from toil are extremely fallacious indications of their just rank on the scale of human happiness. Living in a land of promise and of plenty, and under the government of mild equal laws, the American Farmer must exult in the consciousness that "_the lines are fallen to him in pleasant places_"--that his is, in truth, a goodly heritage. He loves the soil, because it is the legacy of his fathers, and because he derives from its fruitful bosom the means of sustaining life, and protecting his feelings and opinions from the dictation of arrogance and the various temptations of penury.

His quiet and unsophisticated modes of thinking and living, indispose him to listen with eagerness to the solicitations of intrigue or sedition, and it is proverbial that the contagious frenzy of revolution, extends not without difficulty, to the cautious, reflective, and well balanced mind of the farmer.

[_R. I. American._

ON DRESSING FLAX.

_Extract of a Letter from R. H. Harrison, Esq. to J. Wood, Corresponding Secretary of the Cayuga Agricultural Society, N. Y. dated_

NEW YORK, March 27, 1820.

DEAR SIR--Every farmer is acquainted with the method of raising flax, and also of _rotting_ it; or, as it is generally called, water and dew _retting_, and the method of separating the boon, or woody matter, from the harle, or useful fibre. Flax has deservedly the character of being one of the most impoverishing crops, in the present method of treating it: it makes no return, either as animal food, or as manure, to the land; it is therefore surprising that a discovery which was to obviate all these disadvantages should only have been brought into practice within a few years.

A Mr. James Lee, in England, discovered that the process of steeping and dew retting flax, or hemp, was not necessary; and that if treated and dressed dry, it will be superior in every respect, produce more, and make considerable return to the land, as fodder for cattle and as manure.

A patent was granted to him in 1812; and of such importance was it considered, that he obtained an act of parliament to keep his specification secret for seven years. This may be a reason why so little has been known of it in this country. I have, however, one of his machines in my possession, and have dressed flax with it. It consists of a break, or as he called it, a scraper, to separate the boon out of the stem, &c.--it is then passed through a pair of finely fluted rollers, and is finished and ready for the hackle.

The flax plants, when ripe, are to be pulled, to be spread and dried the same as hay, laying the roots in one direction; when dry, to be carried into the barn: And from the report of a committee of the house of commons on the petition of James Lee, and also on petition of Lee and Bundy, respecting their new machine for this purpose, it appears that the following are the results of Mr. Lee's discovery:

1st. That preparing flax and hemp, in a dry state, for spinning, answered most completely; the cost of preparing is less, it avoids the risk of steeping, and saves _time_ and _material_.

2d. The _strength_ and quality of the cloth is much superior to that from flax, water steeped or dew rotted.

3d. The great advantage from the quantity of food for cattle, and also manure obtained by this new method, the boon, or outer coat of the flax, containing a sixth of the gluten of oats, the woody part being excellent for manure.

It also appeared in evidence before the committee, that

100 _lbs._ flax, in a dry state, produced one fourth, 25 lbs. fibre

100 _lbs._ flax, dew retted, produced one eleventh, 9 1-1/2 ________ Excess, _lbs._ 15 14-1/2

or a saving in proportion as 90 to 33.

In confirmation of this I can only say, I procured some flax, in its dry state, which had been thrown away as not worth _retting_--4 lbs. of dry flax produced 1 _lb._ of fibre fit for the hackle: when dressed in Lee's machine, the samples of flax, tow, and thread, though, from the poor quality of the flax, inferior to some samples of English flax dressed in the same manner, were greatly superior to any that had been retted.

I have, however, never made the experiment of weighing the flax, and then ascertaining its produce when retted; but from the knowledge of those who gave evidence to this point, have no doubt of its correctness.

There is another advantage; the flax dressed in a dry state becomes much whiter, and is easier bleached--merely washing it in soap and water makes it white: the finest particles of flax are also saved, which are essential to the manufacture of lace, or very fine linen: the seed is also all preserved.

Mr. Brande, professor of chymistry at the Royal Institution, made some experiments on the nutritious quality of the chaff: the result was, an eighth of nutritious matter. Mr. Lee says, it is equal to a crop of oats for feeding cattle; and it appeared also, that horses, when accustomed to it, prefer it to clover chaff.

Having thus briefly stated the advantages of the dry method of dressing flax, I will proceed to give some account of the machines for preparing it, which have been invented since Mr. Lee's. The best appears to be Hill and Bundy's, for which Mr. Bundy obtained a patent, in England. It consists of two machines, a breaker and a rubber; the first for separating the harle from the boon; the second cleanses it from small particles of wood and bark, left by the breaker.

The breaker consists of fine fluted rollers, so disposed as to draw the flax through them, at the same time to take off the woody parts from it; once passing through is generally sufficient. It is a machine combining great mechanical skill, and on an entirely different principle from Mr. Lee's, and is not liable to get out of order.

The rubber is made to have the same effect as rubbing by hand would, to cleanse the fibre, and open and subdivide it, to produce the finest thread.

Mr. Lee has invented a new machine, consisting of fluted rollers, to work by water or horse power: it is different from Hill and Bundy's, which is worked by hand; and the rollers work differently.

From experiments made by the different machines, it appears by the report of the committee of the house of commons, that in Hill and Bundy's, one breaker and two rubbers would produce 80 _lbs._ of prepared flax in a day, and would require one man or woman and three children: the work is light--a man can turn two breakers and two rubbers.

Lee's machine would produce about 11 _lbs._ a day; his new machine, worked by water, will product 50 _lbs._ in a day, and requires three men or women to attend it.

Having never made any of the machines, I can only state the probable cost. Hill and Bundy's one breaker and two rubbers, could be furnished for about $200. Lee's machine, at from 60 to $70. His new machine I have never seen a draft of, and could not tell the cost.

The high cost of Hill and Bundy's machine will prevent our farmers generally from obtaining it. But what better business can be done, than purchasing the flax, in its dry state, from the farmer, to manufacture it in this way; and every town might employ its paupers in dressing flax by these machines: they might also be introduced into our state prisons and penitentiaries with good effect.

Having given you this hasty sketch of the recent improvement in dressing flax, I would suggest to our agricultural societies generally, to procure one of the machines, as there can be no doubt of their answering. The general introduction of them would not only promote greatly our agricultural prosperity, but also the domestic manufactures of this state.

_To dress Flax to look like Silk._--Take one part lime and between two or three parts of wood ashes; pour over them a due proportion of water to make a strong ley, after they have stood together all night, which must be poured off when quite clear. Tie handfuls of flax at both ends, to prevent its entangling, but let the middle of each be spread open, and put it in a kettle, on the bottom of which has been first placed a little straw, with a cloth over it, then put another cloth over the flax, and so continue covering each layer of flax with a cloth, till the kettle is nearly full. Pour over the whole the clear ley, and after boiling it for some hours, take it out, and throw it in cold water: this boiling, &c. may be repeated, if requisite. The flax must be each time dried, hackled, beaten and rubbed fine; and, at last, dressed through a large comb, and through a very fine one. By this process the flax acquires a bright and soft thread. The tow which is off, when papered up and combed like cotton, is not only used for many of the same purposes, but makes lint for veterinary surgeons, &c.

[_Am. Farmer._

AGRICULTURAL MEMORANDA.

_Caterpillars._--Hemp is a great enemy to caterpillars. By surrounding a bed of cabbages with a row of hemp, the cabbages will be preserved.

_Churning._--After churning some time, throw into the churn one spoonful of distilled vinegar for every gallon of cream. When churning proves tedious, this will greatly hasten the separation of the butter.

_To cure Hams Westphalia fashion._--Sprinkle your ham with common salt for one day; then wipe it dry. Take 1 _lb._ brown sugar, 1/4 _lb._ saltpetre, 1/2 pint bay salt, and 3 pints common salt. Stir these well together in an iron pan over the fire till moderately hot. The ham to lie in this pickle for three weeks.

_Rue._--The growth of this plant ought to be cherished in every stock yard; nothing being more salutary or even pleasant to fowls.

_Guinea Corn._--The stalks of this grain, if pressed, are said to yield a juice sweeter and of greater body than the sugar cane.

_Carrots._--According to some agricultural reports, carrots will yield 600 or even 900 bushels per acre.

At the last meeting of _The Columbian Institute_, some valuable specimens of _American plants_, beautifully preserved, were presented by Dr. _Darlington_, a representative in Congress from Pennsylvania; and several fine specimens of _American minerals_, chiefly collected in the valley of the Mississippi, by Mr. _Schoolcraft_, the ingenious author of a work which has lately appeared on the lead mines of Missouri, and natural history, &c. of the western country.

_To make fat Lamb._--"To make or fatten lamb for the market, let your ewes be well attended to, and fed upon a patch of rye; upon turnips, or other corresponding food; affording abundant milk. As fast as your lambs fall, and can run well alone, all you have are to be shut up together in a dark pen or stall, of proportionate size to the number of lambs you expect, having a narrow trough, breast high to them, to be daily supplied with Indian corn meal; with the bran in it; and hanging up within their reach one or more wisps or small bundles of fine hay for them to nibble, at. This stall must communicate with, or adjoin, a larger apartment, into which you are to turn ewes twice or thrice a day, to suckle their lambs, and to sleep all night with them.--Before turning the ewes out to pasture, each time, the lambs must be lifted into their small dark pen, or stall, (one six or eight feet square, is sufficiently large for thirty lambs or more,) where they will have no room to skip or play their fat away; here they will nibble so much of the fine hay, and eat so much of the dry Indian corn meal, from want of other employment, as to render themselves voraciously thirsty against the next meal of milk from their dams; which, with the other causes mentioned, makes them grow surprisingly large and fat in a short time. Lambs thus educated, will often promiscuously suck the ewes, without knowing or being attached to their own dams.--Hence a very great advantage: for when all grow large and strong, they become capable of consuming more milk than a single ewe can afford; and more especially those ewes which have two or more lambs each. For upon killing off all the lambs of a ewe, that ewe continues to give suck to the other lambs promiscuously as before, to the great advantage of the surviving lambs, now requiring additional nourishment. This is not the case when lambs run out at large with their dams."

_New method of inoculating trees._--A common method of inoculating is by making a transverse section in the back of the stock and a perpendicular slit below it; the bud is then pushed down to give it the position which it is to have. This method is not always successful; it is better to reverse it, by making the verticle slit above the transverse section, and pushing the bud upwards into its position--a method which rarely fails of success; because as the sap descends by the bark, as has been ascertained, and does not ascend, the bud thus placed above the transverse section, receives abundance, but when placed below, the sap cannot reach it.

_Grape Vines._--About one month since, I trimmed a very luxurious grape vine, calculating that I was early enough to allow the wound made by the cutting to heal before the sap began to rise; but to my surprise I found, three days since, the sap issuing from every part where the knife had been used, the ground was completely wet with it: I tried rosin and other things to stop it, without avail. In conversation with a neighbour he informed me, that to stick a potato on the part would stop the sap. I tried it and found it to succeed completely. Apprehending that many persons may, at this season, have vines similarly situated with mine, I thought communicating the above might give them an opportunity of benefiting by the information. A. B.

[_N. Y. Daily Adv._

_To dry Peaches._--The following mode of drying peaches is adopted by Thomas Belanjee, of Egg Harbour, New Jersey:--He has a small house with a stove in it, and drawers in the sides of the house, lathed at their bottoms. Each drawer will hold nearly half a bushel of peaches, which should be ripe, and not peeled, but cut in two, and laid on the laths with their skins downwards, so as to save the juice. On shoving the drawer in they are soon dried by the hot air of the stove and laid up. Peaches thus dried are clear from fly dirt, excellently flavoured, and command a high price in market. Pears thus dried eat like raisins. With a paring machine, which may be had for a dollar or two, apples or pears may be pared, and a sufficient quantity dried, to keep a family in pies, and apple bread and milk, till apples come again. With a paring machine, one person can pare for five or six cutters.

CANKER ON PLUM TREES.

_Lansingburg, April 5, 1820._

S. SOUTHWICK, Esq.

_Sir_--I observe in your _Plough Boy_ of the 1st inst. some observations on the disease in Plum Trees, called _Canker_, wherein the writer states that the disease is probably caused by the trees being bark-bound. I have had sufficient proof to convince me that it is caused by insects only. From a variety of observations and experiments, I find that when young shoots are throwing out of the trees, they are stung by a species of fly, and a number of eggs or nits are deposited through the tender bark, where they remain until the tree commences growing the next season; those places then begin to swell, and after a few weeks, small worms can be distinctly observed by the naked eye, which, after about one month more is elapsed, eat out of the protuberances, then become black, take to themselves wings, and commence operations as before stated.

The only remedy that I can discover, is to cut off every limb affected, on its first appearance; and if the tree be so much affected as to be past cure, it should be totally cut down, in order to destroy the whole race of insects which cause the disease. The first discovery of this complaint was on the sea-board: and it has advanced north about twenty miles a year. At present nearly all the bearing trees on the sea coast to the southeast, are totally destroyed, and it pervades all this part of the country. The poorest natural blue plums are first attacked--the dark coloured grafts, next--and lastly, the light coloured fruit fall victims. Some few kinds as yet withstand their attacks. By observing the above caution, my trees are entirely free from them, and bear abundantly. I am, Sir,

Yours, &c. ARBOREUM.

ON DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES.

SIR--The Montgomery Agricultural Society have announced the following 40 premiums to be awarded to ladies in October, 1820. As some of them are novel, their publication in the Plough Boy, I am persuaded, will have an excellent effect, as an example.

W.

* * * * *

To the lady who shall produce the best piece of cloth, made of merino wool, spun in the family, not less than 15 yards, $8

2d best do. 6

For the best piece of cloth made of common wool, spun in the family, not less than 15 yards, 6

2d best do. 4

For the best piece of flannel, spun in the family, of merino wool, not less than 20 yards, 6

2d best do. 4

For the best piece of flannel made of common wool, spun in the family, not less than 20 yards, 5

2d best do. 4

For the best pair of rose blankets, spun and made in the county, 5

2d best do. 4

For the best piece of carpeting, spun in the family, 6

2d best do. 5