7. Process for preserving during many years the Pulp of Potatoes, and employing it advantageously in the Manufacture of Bread. The potatoes should be boiled by steam, by which means their flavour will be better preserved. To go to work economically, a large boiler is filled to the depth of about three or four inches with water, and placed on a clear fire. When the water is on the point of boiling, a grating of iron or wicker work, in the shape of a balance scale, raised on legs, and furnished with a cord by which it may be removed at pleasure, is placed on the top of a boiler. On this the potatoes are laid; and that no steam may escape, they are covered up with a piece of strong cloth, and a wooden lid. The water is allowed to boil twenty-five minutes. After having taken out the potatoes, and allowed them to cool for a quarter of an hour, the skins are easily removed by means of a knife or the fingers. After being skinned, they are bruised with a wooden roller, and the pulp placed to the depth of two inches on small wicker gratings furnished with edges, and supported on feet. These are placed in an oven at the temperature usually employed for baking bread. The oven is not closely shut, so that the steam may easily escape; and when no steam is observable, it is a sign that the pulp may be withdrawn. After being allowed to cool on the gratings, it is put into sacks, and laid in a granary or some dry place. If the desiccation of the potatoes is slow the pulp will assume a blackish colour. It may be ground in a common mill; and the mill-stone afterwards cleaned by passing through it a single sack of wheat. The farina of potatoes weighs twothirds less than they do in their natural state. It may be kept for many years without losing its quality, may be made to acquire a very agreeable flavour, and is very nutritive. It may be used in the manufacture of bread; and, for this purpose, may be mixed with wheat at the rate of one-half, and with barley or rye one-third. To make bread with a mixture of the farina of wheat and that of potatoes, 40 lb. of the former are taken to 17 lb. of the latter; 17 lb. of the dry farina being equal to about 55 lb. of the moist pulp. The leaven is prepared in the usual manner, and a mass of dough being formed somewhat liquid, and of about 15 lb. in weight, it is left to ferment for several hours. The kneading process is then performed with water, more or less hot according to the season, and sufficient in quantity to make a dough more firm than that of pure wheat. This dough is divided into portions not larger than 6 lb., which are put in small pans, and placed in the oven. The oven is left shut for a quarter of an hour, after which it is partially opened for some time, and when the bread has had suf ficient time to bake well it is removed. In half an hour it is again placed in the oven, and allowed to remain an hour, the door being left open during the time. This second baking is of great importance. The operation is the same with the farinas of rye, barley, &c. The bread made in this manner is of excellent quality, and may be kept for eight or ten days without alteration. The 40 lb. of farina of wheat, and 17 lb. of that of potatoes, produce about 100 lb. of baked bread; the half of the quantity having always given 50 lb. several ounces. Salt may be added according to the usage of the place; generally the proportion is from 3 to 4 ounces per quintal (about 221 lb. avoirdupois). All kinds of potato flour do not produce bread of equal quality; that derived from what is called the large white (Grosse blanche) potato,

marked externally and internally by red spots, ought to be preferred.— Bulletin des Sciences Agric. et Econom. Fevrier 1831.

8. Beer from Potatoes. To prepare 50 litres (88 imperial pints) of beer, 100 livres (110 lb. avoirdupois) of potatoes must be boiled, either in water or by steam. After being boiled, they are bruised, and thrown with 80 litres (14 imperial pints) of water into a cauldron, when they are reduced to the consistency of thick milk. While this operation is going forward, 6 livres (64 lb.) of malt are allowed to steep in 40 litres (7 pints) of tepid water. To this the liquid mixture of potatoes is added, at the temperature of 50° Réaumur (1444° Fahrenheit), and after being well shaken, the whole is carefully covered up, and allowed to remain for three or four hours. When this time is elapsed, the mixture is again put into the cauldron, where it is gradually reduced to the proper consistency by the addition of 2 livres (about 24 lb.) of hops. It is then passed through a hop sieve, and left to cool. When it is cooled to the temperature of 12° Réaumur (59° Fahrenheit), a quarter of a pound (livre) of liquid yest is added. As soon as fermentation commences, the liquor is skimmed, and drawn off into a cask, where the fermenting process is allowed to finish.-L'Agriculteur Manufacturier, Mai 1831.

9. Horse Food and Drink.—Some of the innkeepers on the western roads have lately begun to follow the practice recommended by the Bath Agricultural Society, of boiling the corn given to horses, and giving them the water to drink. It is most satisfactorily ascertained, that three bushels of oats or barley so prepared, will keep a horse in better condition than double the quantity in a crude state --Mechanics' Magazine, October 1831.

10. Wooden Houses. On the 19th September, M. Navier made a report on a memoir by M. Blom, a colonel of engineers in Sweden, relative to moveable wooden houses constructed by him. A report on a former memoir of M. Blom had been made last year by MM. Navier, de Prony, and Girard, in which it was suggested that the invention, although well adapted for cold countries, would be found open to objection in warmer climates. The present memoir of M. Blom has for its object the removal of this difficulty. He remarks that, with respect to the variation of temperature and the hygrometric state of the atmospheric air, it is hardly probable that the houses would ever be exposed to greater variations than in Sweden, where the thermometer of Reaumur in July generally marks 20°, and sometimes 24°, above zero, and falls in winter to the same number of degrees below zero. In the latter case, the temperature of the interior of the houses is preserved, by stoves, at from 12° to 19° above zero. M. Blom points out particularly the advantage derived from the construction of the wooden walls, both on account of their small thickness and their small conducting power: thus, in thaws, every part of the edifice promptly assumes the highest temperature of the atmosphere, and there is not that precipitation of water which is always observed on the surface of stone walls, and which produces a very injurious humidity. It is well known that the Swedish ships remain a long time in hot countries without being at all injured by the heat of the sun, although the surfaces of the decks are not covered with coating; and it appears that the moveable houses of M. Blom have been used for four years in the Swedish colony of St Bartholomew, and no complaints have been made of their having sustain

ed injury either from the heat or the hurricanes which prevail there. These houses are warmed by portable stoves, also invented by M. Blom, and they are insured against fire at the ordinary premium, the offices having been satisfied that, while they are not more liable to conflagration than ordinary houses built of the same kind of wood, they have the advantage of being easily removed out of the reach of danger. Every part of these houses is moveable, so that with very little expense, the form and position of the rooms may be changed at pleasure. In countries subject to earthquakes, these edifices are particularly desirable, as, independently of the facility of removal, they are much less likely to be destroyed or overthrown than constructions in stone. But it is in new colonies that their advantage would be most sensibly felt. Wherever it may appear to the settler desirable to fix his residence, his habitation is ready, and may be removed elsewhere when circumstances may render a change desirable. Large public edifices, such as hospitals, barracks, prisons, &c., may in like manner be easily transported wherever a change or increase in the territory may render it desirable to remove the seat of government. As far as the mode of construction can be understood from the drawings appended to M. Blom's memoir, it appears that the walls are formed of thick planks, two together. and united at their joints by keys. The planks in the outer row, which are the thickest, are placed upright or vertically; those in the inner row are placed horizontally. Between the two rows is interposed a species of pasteboard, impregnated with bituminous substances. The joints of the principal pieces, which form the angles of the roofs and floors, are secured by buttons; the angles of the panels which form the walls and partitions are united and secured in the same manner. The author states that he intends to send a house to France; and it is very desirable that he should do so, as it is impossible to form an accurate idea of the details of the construction from drawings. It appears that success in constructing these houses depends in a great measure on the excellence of the Swedish wood, as well as on the care taken in selecting and preparing the wood proper for the different parts of the edifice, and the nicety and precision of the work; other architects may, therefore, at first find considerable difficulty in constructing them. It is unquestionable that the mode of building employed by M. Blom is immeasurably superior to that hitherto in use in Sweden and Russia. In conclusion, the reporter strongly recommended M. Blom to the approbation of the Academy, as having invented and brought to perfection a new and useful branch of industry, which it would be desirable to have known in France.-Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences in Paris.-Journal of the Royal Institution, No. V.

11. Spirit obtained from the Berries of the Mountain Ash.-The highly ornamental tree, the Pyrus aucuparia, or mountain ash, affords clusters of scarletred berries, which have a remarkably acerb and bitterish taste. Yet they resemble the grape in containing sugar and natural yest in the due proportions to produce a perfect and spontaneous fermentation. Having expressed a quantity of their juice, I left it to ferment; and when the wine was perfect, it was distilled, and an excellent brandy was obtained. The quantity of brandy afforded by the berries cannot now be certainly ascertained; but I am almost sure, that one gallon of the juice produced half a pint of spirit, which was

moderately strong. It is very probable, that the service tree might become a very valuable one if all its properties were known. It is a beautiful tree its timber is valuable; and its berries, besides being beautiful, are capable of affording an excellent brandy.-Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia-Domestic Economy, vol. i.

12. On Cutaneous Diseases of Sheep.-The disease of itch or scab in sheep often occurs, and I have never heard any person point out the cause of its origin. I think it proceeds from a kind of vermin that breeds on the animal, which are of so minute a nature as scarcely to be observed. At Melrose fair, I bought a lot of lambs, some of which I put into new sown down grass to feed fat, when in a little time indications of scab appeared amongst them. On examination I found that it proceeded from immense numbers of small lice. These lice make the creature scratch itself till the wool is worn off, and this engenders the disease. The remainder that were along with my other sheep had also the appearance of being infected. I then bathed them with tobacco juice and the spirit of tar, the latter in the proportion of a wine glassful to each. After this was done there was not the least appearance of the disease in the flock. The bathing is a very easy and cheap process, as a man and boy will do two score in a day, and I do not think the liquor will cost more than a penny a piece. It is probable that this method of curing the itch in sheep may be known to different individuals, but never having heard of it before, I think it right to make it public for the benefit of all those who keep sheep. I have conversed with several people who have been amongst sheep all their lives, and they had not observed any thing of this kind; their conclusions being that the scab is just the scab.-Communicated by Mr Archibald Ronaldson, Sauchland, Mid-Lothian.

13. Agricultural Exhibition.—We have had pleasure in perusing the details of an Agricultural Exhibition at Stirling, by Messrs Drummond, seedsmen there, on a plan which we think deserving of general imitation and the highest encouragement. Messrs Drummond, about the end of September, issued a notice in their neighbourhood, and advertised it in different newspapers, explaining the nature and object of the exhibition; and in December the exhibition presented a fine and extensive assortment of agricultural produce, sent chiefly by proprietors and farmers of the district around,-turnips, potatoes, carrots, mangel-wurzel, wheat, barley, oats, beans, pease, rye, &c. Besides these, there were various rare agricultural productions, seeds, grasses, &c. Agricultural produce, in various states of manufacture, was also exhibited, and likewise different agricultural implements and machines. That no one might be deterred from contributing his mite, who might feel a disposition to do so, there was nothing in the shape of competition aimed at, but of course each individual would send that which he possessed that was good or rare. By having the different articles of production classed and named, mentioning also the kind of soil, quantity of manure applied, and produce per acre, an opportunity was afforded to visitors of judging of the expediency of raising such produce upon their own lands. Upon the whole, we conceive that the plan of the exhibition is an excellent one, and calculated to enable cultivators, by a comparison of different productions and agricultural implements and machines, to select those that may be the best.

QUARTERLY AGRICULTURAL REPORT.

DURING the last three months the corn trade has been in a state of the greatest inactivity, the demand having been confined entirely to the consumer, and a total disinclination to speculate having existed on the part of the trader. Considering that the crop of last year was certainly short of an average produce, and taking into account the reduced stocks of old corn all over the kingdom, so great a degree of depression in the trade could not have been anticipated. The holders of corn, though hitherto greatly disappointed, are generally ready to believe that, as the season advances, and the low state of the stocks becomes more apparent, some improvement will be experienced in the prices of all kinds of corn. On the other hand, any great advance will probably be prevented by foreign importations, which will take place to some extent on any reduction of duty on wheat below the existing rates. This is a contingency likely to happen, while the state of prices in the lower ports of the Baltic is such as to admit of a considerable duty being paid, and still to afford a fair profit to the importer. In the Danish Islands, for example, where the wheat is this year of fine quality, in many instances reaching 62 pounds per bushel, purchases have been made at 38s. per quarter, for shipment the first open water. Such wheat, duty paid, would bring, in this country, at present, 64s. per quarter; and as the freight will not exceed 3s. or 3s. 6d., a good profit, it will be seen, would be left to the importer. On this account, we may reasonably expect importation before the spring months are far advanced; and under such circumstances, any considerable increase in our own prices appears to be very questionable.

Since our last report, the weather has been generally mild, so that little comparative interruption has taken place in the field labours of the farm during the winter quarter. The growing wheat has generally a very promising appearance, though, having received no check from frost, it may be found in many cases to be too far advanced.

The extreme openness of the winter has allowed cattle to reap all possible benefit from the pastures. This has rendered fodder more plentiful than, from the shortness of the crop, was anticipated. Turnips, too, have been kept growing and fresh during the winter, and are therefore still abundant.

Fat cattle have declined in price; and storing cattle, which were generally bought high, will scarcely pay the winter's keeping.