No. 8. 



Ice Houses — Extract — Outlets for Cisterns — Eu^i^s. 



261 



The following communication was mislaid, or it 

 would have appeared in the Cabinet for Ucceniber. 

 For itie Farmers' Cabinet. 



Mr. Libby, — Sir, I observed in the last 

 number of your highly appreciated produc- 

 tion, an inquiry by " Public Good," '* what is 

 the best manner of constructing an ice house 

 that will preserve ice from January to Janu- 

 ary." Mine is such an one — the construction 

 of which is simple. The excavation is lb by 

 13 feet, and 15 feet deep ; tiie b(.)ttom, ends, 

 and sides are lined with pine slabs, fiimly 

 spiked at top to the roof frame at an angle of 

 about 70° ; the roof inch boards. The em- 

 bankment around it commences at some 8 or 

 10 feet distance, gradually raising to near the 

 eaves, which are about 3 feet above the com- 

 mon level. 



With the best wishes for your success in 

 your laudable enterprise', I remain, sir, yours 

 respectfully, I. T. S. 



P. S. I would be much obliged by your 

 very interesting correspondent from "New 

 Grarden," if he would inform the readers of 

 the Cabinet, whether more than one conduct- 

 or to a building is preferable. If the build- 

 ing is small, whether or not an addition of 

 one or two points to the main conductor is 

 desirable; and if so, at what distance should 

 they be attached to it from the top. 



Albern, Nov. 15, 1838. 



JVote.— Since writin? the above, one of my men has 

 just come from preparing my ice house to be retilled, 

 and says there is a considerable quantity of ice in it 

 yet. I put 27 wagon loads in last winter; it would 

 have contained 8 or 10 more. Mr. P. G. will observe 

 ORe of near tlie dimensions required, will contain 

 about 35 wagon loads. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Weeds onght never to stand until they 

 are in Flower. . 



" Were farmers at the trouble of collecting 

 all sorts of weeds before they have formed 

 their seeds."* To show how early plants per- 

 fect their seeds, and how much sooner this is 

 effected than almost any imagine, we are told, 

 that a person employed by a London florist 

 to collect seeds on the banks of the White 

 river, in Russia, sent home to his employer a 

 beautiful /oicer, carefully packed in paper, 

 regretting that he had been unable to find a 

 specimen of the same plant sufficiently ad- 

 vanced to yield seed; when the flower came 

 to hand, it still retained its beautiful hues, 

 and to appearance, about as perfect as when 

 plucked, but on e.Kamining the paper in which 

 it had been packed ; a few brown particles 

 like dust were observed ; these were sown, 

 and produced perfectly formed plants of the 

 flower which had been plucked in full bloom ! 

 Weeds ought never to stand until they are 

 in flower. Er.vdicus. 



* Sec Cabinst, p. 193, Vol. III. 



For the Fnrnicrii' Cabinet. 



Outlets for Ci^itcriis. 



Small matters sometimes defeat grnat designs. 



There is an essay in each of th-' two last 

 numbers of the Cabinet on the subject of 

 building rain water cisterns; either of v.hich 

 no doubt will answer the purpose well, and it 

 is hoped that before another year rolls round, 

 those who are destitute of the means of fur- 

 nishing water to their stock in their barn 

 yard.s by other and better means, will re.sort 

 to building of ci.«terns, either on the plans 

 proposed or some other ; the circumstance only 

 of collecting the water which falls from theroof 

 of a barn, instead of sufiering it to deluge the 

 yard, and carry offthe best parts of the manure, 

 would be productive of great gain. But there is 

 a matter not noticed in the essays referred to, 

 which should claim attention in building a cis- 

 tern ; and that is the constructing of a propev 

 outlet from it, to discharge the superabundant 

 water when it is full. Most cisterns have 

 simply an opening through the wall at or near 

 the top, for its exit, and the consequence is, 

 that the water passes round the outside of the 

 wall, and soaks down to the bottom and de- 

 stroys the adhesion of the mortar, and finally 

 makes its way through the wall, causing it to 

 leak, and rendering it entirely useless. To 

 remedy this a gutter should be constructed of 

 such material as to carry the excess of water 

 to some distance off, and not permit it to soak 

 in around the wall ; this is easily accomplished, 

 and if properly done, and aft;erwards kept in 

 order, it will be found that the cistern will 

 remain sound for a much longer time. It is 

 also very important to have a cistern closely 

 and securely covered in, both with a view of 

 keeping the water pure, and of preventing 

 poultry and other small animals, from having 

 their lives endangered from drowning. 



A. B. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Eggs. 



During the winter season when fowls can 

 get no animal food, they lay but few c^gs, 

 but so soon as the frost comes out of the ground 

 in the spring, and the worms begin to move from 

 their winter quarters and show themselves, 

 the hens find it out, and commence feeding on 

 them ; later in the season insects of various 

 kinds are much sought atler by them, and du- 

 ring the period that they can procure portions 

 of animal food to mix with their other food, 

 they continue to produce eggs; but no sooner 

 are they unable to procure meat of some kind, 

 than the number of eggs are diminished. 



If, when eggs are plenty, proper measures 

 were adopted for their preservation, they 

 might be furnished at any season of the year, 



