PUBLISHED BY J. B. RUSSELL, AT NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (4t the Agriculturjil Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN EDITOR 



VOL.. X. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 9, 1831. 



NO. 17. 



ICE HOUSES. 



Mb Fessenden — Your coi-respoiident C. whose 

 eommiiniiratioii was given vol. x. page 13 of the 

 New Englatiil Faimer, coiii|ihiiiis of noi luring alile 

 to keep his ice through the summer, ami imputes 

 it to thesoil on which his house is locatfd. I have an 

 ice house, which is built on the same kind of soil, 

 which he ilescrihes, say a gravelly knoll. I dug 

 a pit, say from 8 to 12 inches larger than I intend- 

 ed the frame. I dug it al)out 8 feet below the sur- 

 face, and with the gravel, which came out of the 

 pit, I raised it about 2 feet. My frame was 10 

 feet long, 8 feet wide and 10 feet deep. I planked 

 it up with 2 inch hendock plaidis, and filled the 

 gpace on the outside, which was from 8 to 12 

 ioches, with tan, and rammed it down as fast as I 

 planked it up till I came lo the top of the frame. I 

 then put on rafters of joists 4 or 5 inches square, 

 and lined them and filled the space with tan, as 

 tight as it could be rammed in, and then shingled 

 the roof. Tiie ends were boarded up, with a door 

 at each end, for the convenience of filling the 

 house. My house holds about 6 cords. I fill iti 

 with square pieces of ice, as close as I can pack 

 them. I put nothing between the layers of ice, nor 

 on the sides, nor do I break any in pieces to fill up 

 the spaces, e.xcept broken pieces that will not make 

 good stowage. I have filled the house to the top 

 of the frame. I then fill the roof with shavings, 

 and ram them down as tight as 1 can. I have had 

 no diOiculiy in keeping my ice, and have spared 

 as much as we have used, and have often ice in the 

 house, when we clear it for filling afresh. I think 

 shavings are better than straw, as they will not 

 rot so soon by the dampness. I go to the ice house 

 at any time of day, when ice is wanted. My ice 

 house has no drains to it. Under the plank at bot- 

 tom I rounded out a place lengthwise, about a 

 foot deep, sloping towards the ujiddle like an egg, 

 cut in two lengthwise, which I think is sufficient 

 to receive all the water that will waste from the 

 ice. I-remain with respect, 



Your most obedient servant, 



Medford, Oct. 28, 1831. A Sdbscriber. 



We are personally acquainted with the writer 

 of the above, who is a respectable and intelligent 

 agricidtinist in the neighborhood of Boston. We 

 regret that he did not authorize us to add his name 

 to his useful article. — Editor. 



SUN FLOWER OIL. 

 To the Editor of the New England Farmer. 



Dear Sir — I have read several articles in differ- 

 ent newsjjapers, respecting the value of sun-flow- 

 er seed, for the purpose of producing oil. The 

 favorable manner in which this article was spoken 

 of induced me to make a trial myself. Accordingly 

 last spring I jjlanted nearly one half of an acre, 

 the produce of which Was thirty bushels of good 

 seed. So far the success was equal to my expecta- 

 tions. Last wrck I took a quantity to the oil mill 

 of Mr Smith in Ipswich, and the most we could 

 procure from a bushel was two quarts. We at 

 first made several trials by grinding and pressing, 

 tJut in this way the most we could get was one 

 quart and a half-pint, from one bushel. We then 

 lieated the seed, and pressed without grinding, but 



dill not succeed so well; we then ground and press- 

 ' ed cold and procured two quarts, and this was the 

 I most we could procure in any way. 



My object in making this statement, is to correct 

 any wrong impressions that have been made, re- 

 specting the value of' this article. By the above 

 experiment I am certain it has been overrated by 

 at least one half. 



After such a decided failure I do not feel miich 

 disposed to boast about raising sun-flowers, but 

 will just observe that mine were mostly of the single 

 headed kind, and some of them measured upwards 

 of four feet in circumference. 



I presume the cause why it did not produce as 

 much when hot pressed as cold, wa's that the hull 

 of theseed when hot absorbed the oil more readily 

 Yours respectfully, Joseph Mann. 



Salisbury, Oct. 31, 1831. 



for the new ENGLAND FARMER. 



CORN STALKS— Again. 



Mr Editor — I have no inclination for a corn 

 stalk controversy, but beg leave to a<ld the follow- 

 ing to my communication of Sept. 28. Your cor- 

 respondent from South Boston supposed my com- 

 munication calculated to mislead, &c. I should ex- 

 ceedingly regret any such result. I have read his 

 Itatement with much interest, but still remain in 

 tie dark on certain points. He states that ' cows 

 vihen' fed with stalks must be fed to the full, that 

 th-y ii.ist be satisfied or they will stnnil all day 

 impalienily watching the cornfield,' &c, and ' that 

 they wil^ neither eat grass nor drink water, so 

 long as they expect anything better.' This is 

 doubtles true, but with my cows the case was of 

 differeu character. To avoid the above evil my 

 cows were fed with stalks late in the afternoon 

 and at/io other time. They appeared to feed as 

 usual (irough the day, until near the time for 

 stalkspnd when they sometimes arrived half an 

 hour j)o soon, I repeatedly noticed that they found 

 empl(jfment at feeding as before. Now if a full 

 supplj of stalks will greatly increase the milk, why 

 shouj a small quantity in addition to the usual 

 suppj of grass diminish it .' This is- the main 

 pointtoncerning which I am in the dark. That 

 my <j>W8 consumed more food, in all, on those 

 dayswhen fed with stalks, than before or after, I 

 canilt for a moment doid)t ; and if it be a fact 

 that^rass feeding ceases to nourish the animal 

 whe| her thoughts are on the corn stalks. 

 It is'ertainly a fact of no small importance to the 

 farrtr. The quantity of stalks consumed by my 

 cow\as stated before, was four hills each, per day, 

 a siijll pittance to be sure, but considering the 

 luxiKant growth of the season, including an 

 aburance of suckers, not so scanty as might be at 

 firstupposed. 



^s much to be regretted that farmers (as 

 the are called) are so much inclined to follow an 

 oliliractice. taking it for granted that it is a good 

 one Few on this point perhaps have been more 

 guil- than myself. But in the corn stalk busi- 

 nest think there are very many who have done 

 as uch as I have, feeding in this small way, the 

 whe of which, so far as my late experience jiroves 

 nniiing, is an entire loss and something worse 



into the bargain. If the best, and only successful 

 mode of feeding, is to give them as many stalks as 

 they will eat up clean at one time (and I do not 

 presume to doubt it,) it is certainly time for far- 

 mers to attend to the subject ; f.ir if this theory be 

 correct, I am persuaded there are hundreds in 

 Massachusetts sustaining yearly loss, and though 

 some may think even green stalks a dry subject, 

 on paper, I cherish a hope that the above may ex- 

 cite further investigation and eventually benefit 

 some others beside 



Your obedient servant, 

 ^/elcton, Oct. 14, 1831, E. F. Woodward. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FAHMFB. 



PRODUCTIVE CULTIVATION. 

 Mr Fessenden— To number the most acres 

 or to see who shall possess the largest domain 

 ought not to be the chief ambition of the agricul- 

 turist, but to strive for excellence in the cultivation 

 of what land a man may already have in posses, 

 sion ; to see who can make the most at the least 

 expense, from the fewest acres ; to make two and 

 even twenty spears of grass grow where none be- 

 fore vegetated. 



If such a strife for excellence were encouraged, 

 we should see the man of few acres proudly stand- 

 ing by the side, yea lifting his head higher than 

 his viore acred neighbor. To encourage a compe- 

 tition of this kind, and to show what may be raised 

 on a small spot c'-.'-m, ;!, T ^-ive below the pro- 

 duce of.o^se a(||,,4;ir-Je ye"^= in succession, belong, 

 ing to B. Norris, Esq. of this town, the truth of 

 which can be abundantly verified, if required 

 Yours &c, L. W B 



Bristol, R. 1. JVov. 2, \8Sl. 



1829. 

 12178 bunches of onions, at 60 bushels to the 

 thousand bunches, a commoji average, would be 

 730 bushels of Onions. 

 " Potatoes. 



" Carrots. 



" Round Turnips. 



" Beets. 



" Beans. 



Ills. Winter Squashes. 



Cabbage heads. 

 1830 

 10560 bunches of Onions, equal to 

 638 bushels Onions. 



" Potatoes. ' 



" Carrots. 



" Round Turnips. 



" Beets. 



3 pecks of beans. 

 2500 lbs. Winter Squashes. 



150 Cabbage. 



1831. 

 10363 bunches of Onions equivalent to 

 628 bushels of Onions. 

 130 " Potatoes. 



23 " Round Turnips. 



30 « Beets. 



2 pecks of Beans. 

 2000 lbs. Winter Squashes. 



200 heads of Cabbage. 



70 

 50 

 20 

 30 

 1 

 3200 

 150 



80 

 30 

 31 

 26 



