1819. 



THE genesee farmer. 



219 



them compare in richness of foliage with the low- 

 headed ones; and about two-thirds of them have a 

 stunted and feeble appearance. Two of the peaches 

 and three of the apricots have died with "gum;" and 

 they all show a meagre growth, when contrasted with 

 those in the other row. Besides, I find, since the 

 two "spells" of very hot weather that have occurred 

 this summer, these bare stemmed trees are gradually 

 shedding a considerable portion of their fruit. 



To satisfy myself more completely of the positively 

 injurious effect of the sun on the trunks of trees, and 

 on the roots where the soil is not shaded by the 

 spreading branches, I covered the ground beneath 

 one of these bare stemmed trees with litter four 

 inches thick, and bound a few handfuls of straw 

 around the trunk, to guard it from the sun. 



I find this tree more healthy than any other in the 

 row, making luxuriant shoots, and holding its fruit 

 well, and not appearing in the least affected by hot 

 or dry midsummer. 



I am, therefore, a warm advocate of the practice 

 of giving all small fruit trees low heads, so as com- 

 pletely to shade both the trunks and roots. And I 

 offer you the foregoing facts for the consideration of 

 your readers; [which we are certain they will profit 

 by. — En.] A Pennsylvania Subscriber. 



CONSTRUCTION OF ICE-HOUSES. 



Eds. Gen. Parmer: — Can you publish in your 

 next numberj a description of the most approved 

 method of constructing an Ice House ? Your sub- 

 scribers here would be pleased to obtain some infor- 

 mation upon that subject. H. H., P. M. — Town 

 Hill, Luzerne Co., Pa., July, 1849. 



Our correspondent will find the information desired 

 in vol. viu, page 26, of this journal. But as our list 

 of subscribers has more than doubled since the article 

 was published, perhaps we cannot do better than to 

 give the substance of it again. 



Ice is a cheap luxury in this country, and the Ice 

 House very justly begins to be reckoned one of the 

 necessary buildings on every complete farming estab- 

 lishment. Indeed it is indispensable to the proper 

 preservation of the products of the Dairy and the 

 Garden, as well as of meats, pastry, &c. It would 

 be a gain to many a family, in one year, of what one 

 that would answer every purpose would cost. We 

 recommend the matter, at once, to the attention of 

 our readers. 



The following excellent suggestions on Ice Houses 

 are extracted from the Horticulturist: — 



To build an ice house in sandy or gravelly soils, is one of 

 the easiest things in the world. The drainage there is per- 

 fect, the dry porous soil is of itself a sufficiently good non- 

 conductor. All that it is necessary to do, is to dig a pit, 

 twelve feet square, and as many deep, line it with logs or 

 joists faced with boards, cover it with a simple roof on a 

 level with the ground, and fill it with ice. Such icehouses 

 built with a trifling cost, and entirely answering the purpose 

 of affording ample supply for a large family, are common in 

 various parts of the country. 



But it often happens that one's residence is upon a strong 

 loamy or clayey soil, based upon clay or slate, or, at least, 

 rocky in its substratum. Such a soil is retentive of mois- 

 ture, and even though it be well drained, the common ice 

 house just described will not preserve ice half through the 

 summer in a locality of that kind. The clayey or rocky 

 soil is always damp — it i always an excellent conductor, 

 and the ice melts in it in spite of the usual precautions. 



Something more than the common ice house is therefore 

 needed in all such soils. " How shall it be built?" is the 

 question which has frequently been put to us lately. 



To enable us to answer this question in theme 

 tory manner, we addressed ourself to .Mr. N. .1. \\ vir. ,»f 

 Cambridge, Muss., whose practical information on this sflb- 

 ject in probably fuller and nun- complete than that of any 

 other person in the country, he for many years, having had 

 the construction and management of the enormous commer- 

 cial ice houses near Boston — the largest and most perfect 

 known. 



THE COMMON ICE HOUSE BELOW GROUND.l 



We desired Mr. Wyeth's hints for building an ice house 

 for family use, both above ground and below ground. 



In the beginning, we should remark that the great ice 

 houses of our ice companies are usually built above ground; 

 and Mr. Wyeth in his letter to us remarks, " we now never 

 build or use an ice house under ground ; it never preserves 

 ice as well as those built above ground, and costs muci. 

 more. I, however, send you directions for the construction * 

 of both kinds, with slight sketches in explanation." The 

 following are Mr. Wyeth's directions for building: 



" 1st. An Ice House above ground. An ice house above 

 ground should be built upon the plan of having a double 

 partition, with the hollow space between filled with some 

 non-conducting substance. 



" In the first place, the frame of the sides should be formed 

 of two ranges of upright joists, 6 by 4 inches; the lower 

 ends of the joists should be put into the ground without any 

 sill, which is apt to let air pass through. These two ranges 

 of joists should be about two feet and one-half apart at tho 

 bottom, and two feet at the top. At the top these joists 

 should be morticed into the cross-beams, which are to sup- 

 port the upper floor. The joists in the two ranges should 

 be placed each opposite another. They should then be 

 lined or faced on one side with rough boarding, which need 

 not be very tight. This boarding should be nailed to those 

 edges of the joists nearest each other, so that one range of 

 joists shall be outside the building, and the other inside the 

 ice room or vault. 



" The space between these boardings or partitions should 

 be filled with wet tan, or sawdust, whichever is cheapest or 

 most easily obtained. The reason for using wet material 

 for filling this space is, that during winter it freezes, and 

 until it is again thawed, little or no ice will melt at the sides 

 of the vault. 



" The bottom of the ice vault should be filled about a foot 

 deep with small blocks of wood; these are levelled and cov- 

 ered with wood shavings, over which a strong plank floor 

 should be laid to receive the ice. 



" Upon the beams above the vault, a pretty tight floor 

 should also be laid, and this floor should be covered several 

 inches deep with dry tan or sawdust. The roof of the ice 

 house should have considerable pitch, and the space between 

 the upper floor and the roof should be ventilated by a lattice 

 window at each gable end, or something equivalent, to pass 

 out the warm air which will accumulate beneath the roof. 

 A door must be provided in the side of the vault to fill and 

 discharge it; but it should always be closed up higher than 

 the ice, and when not in use should be kept closed altogether. 



"2d. An Ice House below ground. This is only tho- 

 roughly made by building up the sides of the pit with a 

 good hrick or stone wall, laid in mortar. Inside of this wall 

 set joists, and build a light wooden partition against which 

 to place the ice. A good floor should be laid over the vault 

 as just described, and this should also be covered with dry 



