The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1847-01-26
AGRICULTURAL.
Winter Calculations for Farm
erS.

FUEL.-Everv farmer knows that green
stick of w God is much heavier than a seasoned
one. IL a stick Of beech or maple, or OF any
other wood commonly used as fuel. be
weighed when first cut, and again when
thorough seasoned, it will be found TO have
lost about one third of its weight, which IS,
of course, the water in the wood, evaporated
by dryiny. How much water is there, then.
in single cord Of wood 7 There are I2o
cubic feet; deduciing two-ffths for the inter-
stices between the sticks, leaves II solid feet
of wood. Ono-third or 26 cubic ieet oil TINS
is wafer, which is equal TO more than SIN
barrels, the quantity in every cord oil green
wood. The teamster, then, who draws 10
one winter, hundred cords Of green WOOD
10 market loads, draws, and uploads, more
than 600 barrels ofwaier, which he need not
have done had the wood been cut ayear
sooner and properly seasoned. How much
would he charge for drawing those 6Oo par
rels, in water, separately!
Again-ln burning green wood, the water
in the wood, being cold, is heated from ireeZ-
ing to boiling. In the consumption oil every
cord of green wood, therefore, sir barrels oil
water are thus made TO boil, the heat oil the
wood passing into the wafer, instead oil being
liberated aud becoming available, as would
be the case if The wood was dry, and no wa
ter to heat. Many ofour villages, containing
three thousand inhabitants, consume each
year five thousand cords Of wood, one-ihird
Of which. al least, or sixteen hundred, is
green. Hence, the people Of such village
are al the needless expense of boiling about
ten thousand barrels Of cold water yearly
could tho o Y oil
doing this, pay
Again-lt is ascerianed that the heat re-
quired TO evapordte barrel OF water, after 1t
is heated to boiling, is more than five times
that required for boiling. That is.-if yes
sci Of cold water be placed over fire. and
half hour be required 10 heat it from the
freezing TO the boiling point-then II Will be
found 10 require FIVE more half hours TO e.
vaporate all The wafer. Consequently in
burning a cord of green wood, the heat re-
quired TO drive off the six barrels OF water IN
steam, which must be done while the wood
is burning, is five times as great as the mere
boiling of the water, or equal 10 heating thir-
ty barrels to boiling. Hence, the farmer ~ no
burns twenty cords of green wood IN win
ter, as many do, also performs the needless
task Of evaporaring sixty barrels OF wafer,
which is equal TO heating to the boiling point
no less than six hundred barrels.
Is there any mistake or error in these cal
culations Then let it be pointed out
The weight of water in green stick, may
be easily knownby first weighing IT, then
seasoning il by the stove few weeks, and
weighing again. In this way the quantity
Of " alter in a cord may be determined with
out mistake. The heat required for evapo-
rating can be ascertained by experiment.
All the other calculations follow as matter
of course. and contain no material error.
Now is the time for every man to have his
wood cut a year in advance, and, If posi-
bile, two years, SO as 10 season one year I'M
der shelter
Again-It has been found that in COM
mon fire. place, The loss of heat which escapes
through the chimney. is rine-tenths Of the
amount caused by the consumption oil the
wood; that is, nine-.enihs are lost. This
has been determined by comparing the
quantity of wood needed 10 heat the same,
room equally. where fireplace, and a
stove with forty feet pipe, were each used.
Hence, the village which burns thousand
cords Of wood in re-placcs, expends nine
tenths Of this amount, or nine hundred cords,
in heating the air above the chimney tops.
Through the chimney OF large fire. place,
there is current Of hot air, foot square,
and moving four feet per second. That is,
four cubic feet of hot air are sent out into the
wide atmosphere every second, which is equal
TO eighiy-six thousand cubic feet in twenty
lour hours, the amount which every farmer.
who uses an open fireplace, contributes to
the winds.
FEEDING DOMESTIC AHINALs.-lf one COW
daily treads three pounds Of hay under foot
IN the mud, she will waste about hundred
pounds per month or herd of twenty cows
would waste Il ton per month. AT this rate,
how many times, every ten years, would the
quantity wasted pay the expense of making
leeding boxes aud racks!
WATERING CarTLE.-Many farmers suf
fer loss by not providing good and conven-
tent wafer for their cattle. An animal that
is compelled 10 60 half u mile over slippe-
ry road, and chased perhaps by dogs. cannot
gain in flesh by the operation. If COW has
10 travel twice a day half mile TO water and
return, she travels two miles day or ten
cows perform twenty miles Of travelling per
day, and two thousand miles each winter.
GArEs.-Every field on the farm should be |
BY good Substituting and seIf-fas-
'enlng gate. Farmers, who are too busy in |
summer TO make them. or GET them made. |
should see to it now. How lorg does it re-
quire to take down q pair of bars! At least |
Two minutes; which ifrepeated three times |
day for year, amounts to thirty hours, or
Ihiee days of working time-which would |
yearly pay for good gate. Or. examine ii |
n another point Of view,-three times day.
> eighteen hundred times year now, is
here any man between Halifax and Califor-
ma, who would take down and replace set
'f bars eighteen hundred timesin succession.
u payment for farm gate Hardy-yet
his is the price yearly paid by those who use
'ars that are constantly passed. and the
,ate is not obtained by il. Agaiu-how
much better is weil-hung gate than half
lung one ?-or one with good self fastening
atch, than one with pin crowded into an
luger-hole Try it by dragging badly
lung gate over the ground. eighteen hundred
lines in constant succession, securing it each
Ime with u pin. and see if you do not think
nus labor would pay for good hinges and a