1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FAHMER. 



101 



ICE HOUSES. 

 Mr. Browx : — I want your knowledj^e, or opin- 

 ion in regard to an improvement I desire to make 

 to my ice house. It is built entirely ai)ove ground, 

 12d/eet in the clear, and 12 feet high, Mith posts 

 set in the ground, sided up with 1^ inch prime 

 plnnk, and enclosed by another house or shell, 16i 

 feet in the clear, same' height and same material,— 

 leaving a space 2 feet between the two,— which is 

 filled With tan bark. The ground on which it 

 stands IS slightly elevated, and with an additional 

 6 inches of tan bark, then the ice (last winter 4 

 inches thick) is put in, a la^■er at a time, till the' 

 house is full. 



Now what I want to know, without the expense 

 of the experiment, is whether the ice will keep bet- 

 ter by making the bottom like the sides and sus- 

 pending the bottom with sleepers, say 6 or 8 inches 

 above the surface of the ground ? 



The ice house is protected by another house 32 

 by 30 feet, posts 12^ feet high, planked up with 

 U inch pine boards set on end. The spaces be- 

 tween the ice house and the outside ])rotection serve 

 as wood-house and carriage-house, so the room is 

 all used, and the ice house thoroughly protected 

 from the sun. The ice held out till the" last of Sep- 

 teinber,_and we used it without stint or measure in 

 the family, and supplied the neighborhood in sick- 

 ness, and used it as a milk-room in hot weather, 

 covering the warm milk-pans in the ice. The waste 

 M-ater Irom the ice flowed at times quite freely. 

 Next summer I want to make it supply a milk- 

 room before it loses its icy nature. 

 Locust Lawn, jVew Albany, bid. 



Remarks. — Raise your ice-house 12 to 15 inches 

 above the surface of the ground, and let the wind 

 have free passage under it, not being ol)structed by 

 your outside building. The floor should be tight, 

 though it is not absolutely necessary to have it dou- 

 ble and lined with tan, as the cold air will contant- 

 ly find its way to the bottom. The keeping of ice 

 well depends in a great measure upon having it in 

 large quantities and compactly stowed. We propose 

 to give a more extended article on ice and ice- 

 houses at a futui-e time. 



[er had one give so much or so rich milk before. As 

 apples will not generally keep through the winter 

 in cellars, they may be spread on the bain floor and 

 frozen, then piled up and covered with hay or 

 straw, where they will keep, and may be used as 

 wanted by pouring water upon them. ' 



West Windsor, R., 1S55. A Subscriber. 



CLAY AVATER — COAL ASHES. 



Mr. Editor:— What will settle a newly duo- 

 well, where the bottom of the well is of a clayey 

 nature? I have dug one this fall— the water is 

 beautiful to the taste, but will not settle and a])pear 

 clear. 



Will you inform me whether coal a.shes are good 

 for anything as a manure ? By answering the al)oye, 

 you will confer a great favor on a constant reader 

 of your valuable paper. j. p. r, 



Hopkinlon, Dec. 7, 1855. 



Remarks. — There are no means in our knowl- 

 edge, whereby to "settle," or make clear, the wa- 

 ter in your well, that is, while it is there. Nor do 

 we beheve that it contains any substance injurious 

 to health. K you prefer to have it appear perfect- 

 ly clear, place in a keg or cask of any kind whatever, 

 a layer of pebbles, then sand, then fine charcoal, then 

 sand, again, each layer beingthree inches in depth, 

 upon this and turn the water and let it pass through 

 and draw it off at the bottom. The water in your 

 well will, probably, always, retain its present ap- 

 pearance ; that is, if it has merely a whitish ap- 

 pearance and no sediment is visible to the naked 

 eye. But if particles are visible, then by-and-bye, 

 they will probably subside and the water become 

 much clearer. 



Coal ashes are good manure, and ought to be 

 preserved. 



APPLE ORCHARDS. 



Mr. Underwood, of Lexington, in reply to our 

 question, why he prefers southern slopes for apple 

 orchards, says :— "My reasons are these : that with 

 such a location the trees will be protected by the 

 rising ground on the north and northeast, and from 

 the winds and storms that prevail from that quar- 

 ter. The frost will also be out of the ground ear- 

 lier in the season, and of course the trees will 

 sooner get the benefit of the o])ening spring." He 

 also informs us that he has not taken the i^remiums 

 for orcharding which we supposed he had. 



apples for cows. 

 Mr. Editor : — I live in a county whore in times 

 past apples fed to cows were said to dry up their 

 milk. I think that may have lieen the case when 

 fed in large quantities. I have been feeding a cow 

 some four or five quarts a day, regularly, and nev- 



How to use liquid manure. 



Gentleaiex :— In all works on Agriculture, li- 

 quid manure is strongly recommended, but in no 

 one do I find directions for its use which are satis- 

 factory. Can you inform me through your valuable 

 paper, the necessary strength of the liquid ? What 

 proportions of either of the following articles are to 

 be used inlOO gallons of water, and the times of 

 Its application to grasslands? — either guano, super- 

 phosphate of lime, soot, night-soil, urine, or liquid 

 from manure heaps, {a.) 



If used of too great strength, it would only burn 

 up the grass, and if too weak, would be of little 

 advantage. (6.) 



I have engaged about 200 bushels of soot, from 

 a person who has cleaned chimneys where wood is 

 burnt, and also 200 bushels of soot, taken from the 

 flues of boilers where anthracite coal is used. To 

 what crops would they be of the greatest benefit, 

 and what is the mode of applying it. 



Salem, 1855. A Subscriber. 



Remarks. — (a.) It should not be used strong, 

 for more reasons than the above named. 



{h.) There is no danger of diluting it too much, 

 provided the ground be thorough-drained, or have 

 naturally a subsoil sufficiently j)orous to allow the 

 water to pass oflt freely. In this case, (and liquid 



