were English, and of the best quality; though we travelled post with six, and sometimes eight horses, over paved and broken roads, sometimes hard frozen; they never absolutely broke, but were constantly giving way, sometimes three or four plates would crack, sometimes the iron that supported them would break, and at other times they would tear and wreck the wood to which they were fastened; scarce a day passed that we were not compelled to have some repairs made, tho' we strengthened them with cords and thin slips of wood, as much as possible. On my return from Naples, they underwent a complete repair at Rome; the defective plates were taken out and new ones put in; they were covered with wood, and the whole carefully corded, a precaution without which no iron springs will stand travelling post, a thousand or fifteen hundred miles; particularly as the postillions instead of having any mercy upon them, do all in their power to break them. When they enter or leave a town or village, the pavement of which is generally extremely broken, they snap their whips in such a way as to bring all the inhabitants to their doors and windows, and put their horses upon full gallop, to shew their address in driving. Before I got to Bologne, I found new repairs necessary, and I began to fear that no repairs would enable me to complete my journey through Germany with the same carriage. This determined me to try the following experiment. At Bologne they make foot balls of asses skin dressed in oil, and containing Z some oil to keep them supple. I purchased four of these, and after covering them with calf-skin, placed them between the two folds of the thorough braces behind, and before, where the screw springs are sometimes placed. These exceeded my expectation. Tho' I travelled in the months of February and March, when the roads were at their worst, through a considerable part of Italy, through the Tirol and Germany, and through the paved roads of France, by the way of Stratsburgh to Paris, a journey of many hundred miles, not a spring gave way, nor did any part of the carriage break, tho' I found before I arrived at Munich, that the air had escaped from one of the balloons that was placed under the front spring. The motion of the coach was also much easier than it had been before the application of the foot balls. PERHAPS springs of this kind might be adjusted to saddles, so as to render the motion of a hard trotting horse as easy as that of a Narraganset. Air cushions would be admirably adapted to the seats of the common Dutch waggon. These might perhaps be made out of the stomach of an ox or horse, well tanned and dressed in oil, and blown up to 1 atmosphere, or 22lb. pressure upon a square inch. Nor could a lighter, or warmer coverlid for beds be contrived than silk, rendered by elastick gum impenetrable to air, and stuffed with that material. I do not think it impossible even to make beds of it. And I sincerely wish it was effected, if it was only to relieve our poor geese from the horrible torture our luxury makes them undergo. I am, dear sir, With esteem, Your most ob't humble serv't. ROB. R. LIVINGSTON. BENJ. DE WITT, Esq. Secretary to the society for useful arts, &c. METHOD OF PREVENTING SMUT IN WHEAT. By EZRA L'HOMMEDIEU, Vice-president of the Society. IN the first volume of the transactions of this society, there is a communication of experiments made in England, to prevent the smut in wheat. This has been tried in our western country to good effect. A farmer in Montgomery county informed me, that the publication had been some thousand dollars advantage to the town he lived in; they there soaked their seed wheat in lie, as recommended in the experiments published. For three years past, in the county of Suffolk, the wheat has been. subject to smut, which was never known before.The soaking the seed wheat in lie or lime water was recommended, which had a good effect, and prevented the smut the next harvest. Finding that it was usual with English farmers to soak their wheat in brine, to prevent smut, which was not mentioned in experiments, in the communication, and which took its rise from a vessel's being stranded on the English coast, loaded with wheat, the grain was purchased by farmers for seed, as it would not answer for grinding; and it was found that the wheat from this seed was not blasted.This mode of soaking the seed wheat in strong brine, was also recommended to the farmers in Suffolk county; and it has hitherto been found equally beneficial as soaking it in lie or lime water.— Soaking the seed wheat in pickle, is less trouble for the farmer, than soaking it in lie or lime water :In many parts of the country, all farmers have not lime, and it is considerable trouble to make the lie for the purpose only of soaking the wheat, when every farmer has brine in his beef or pork barrels, which will answer all the purposes without being clarified; and after the wheat is sufficiently soaked, the remainder will not be lost, and may be returned to the barrels from whence it was taken. If the brine is strong, 12 or 15 hours will be sufficient.After it is taken from the brine, it will be best to spread it on a barn or other floor, and sift over it as much ashes or lime, as will be sufficient to prevent the kernels of wheat from sticking together. No doubt the plaister of Paris will be preferable where the wheat is sown out of the influence of the salt air. DESCRIPTION OF A LATE DISEASE IN FLAX, ON LONG-ISLAND. By EZRA L'HOMMEDIEU, Vice-president of the Society. ABOUT BOUT four years ago the flax in Bridgehamp, . ton and part of Southampton, in the county of Suffolk, was said to be struck with a mildew; the next year the flax was more injured, and the disorder extended at the distance of eight or ten miles; it has since extended all over the eastern part of the county, so that there is but very little flax raised.--Since I have been in this city, I am informed by persons from Richmond and Pittsfield, towns in Massachusetts, that last year the same disorder appeared among their flax. It is very extraordinary, that you cannot observe any injury done to the flax while it is yet green; but as soon as the stalk becomes dry, you see a small black speck, about the bigness of a pin's head, a little above the middle of the stalk; and in some instances, a small black streak of about half an inch or more, proceeding from the black speck. When the flax comes to the crackle or brake, all the stalks which have those black specks break off and become useless. I am fully of opinion that this disorder is no mildew, as has generally been supposed, but occasioned by some insect not yet discovered. would be very extraordinary, that a mildew should strike the stalk of the flax only in one or two points It |