NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



V2L 



keep it perfectly cool, so that in ihf warm- ri<l himself of these intruders at the least ex- j sufficient room for a private family — to enlaigc 



pense. The common method of jrettinq; them j it, would he drawin;^ too largely from the ice 

 up has been to dig round, cut olT the large which might occasion it to melt more rapidly, 

 roiits, then hitch four or live yokes of oxen and If it should he r('(piiri_'d of larger dimensions, 

 draw them up by main lorce, ivbich is attended i (particnlaily for butchers to vvboni it will be in- 

 with an expense that the commonally of far- 1 valuable,) 1 would advise that the house be en- 

 mers can ill aftbrd. There have, however, j larged in pro[)ortion. The pit is dug about three 

 lieen machines constructed which extract themiCeet wider at top than bottom, the bouse being 

 at much less cost than digging, but which can- 1 built perpendicular, (of logs or plank, mine is 

 not be done short of ten or twelve dollars per the former.) will leave acavily eighteen inches 

 acre. These objections to clearing land from wide at top, round the house, in which straw is 



palhiT it mav not sour. On lh'> morning 

 , add the morning m:lk ti) that of the 

 eding night, without any additional heat — 

 tantl.ng awhile, as soon as the milk ap- 

 rs to begin to cluiitgc, churn it. lii summer 

 change gonerilly takes place about ten 

 ock ; in cold weather it requires to be kept 

 r lor th.s purpose, say in spring ami an- 

 , the milk of tlie lirst mess may be kept till 

 ly following, and then it roquires the ad- 

 )n of warm water to the milk, to bring it to 

 roper temperalure for churning. But in 

 ase is the milk to be heated except in the 

 ner before described. Where the cows 

 ot dally come to the salt water, a quantity 

 own or line salt is to be added to the milk 

 re churning. The precise time tor churn- 

 is lo be carefully watched, and at the tirst 

 ation of change [or sourness] let it be im- 

 itely churned in the usual mode. The churn 

 Id be furnished with a plug at the bottom, 

 when the butter is well come, the butter 

 is to be drawn off by taking out the plug — 

 water of about half the original quantity of 

 is to be poured into the churn, and the 

 ning resumed and continued until the but- 

 s entirely separated from the milk, which 



stumps, are in a measure obviated by the fol 

 lowing simple mode of preparing and burning : 

 That is, have the stumps in the spring of the 

 vear dug round to the depth of six or eight 

 inches with a common stub hoe, or what is bet- 

 ter, an old adze, such as carpenters use ; (a 

 man in one day can dig two acres.) Let them 

 remain to dry till a convenient time al'ter hay- 

 in?; then split otT a little of the outside of the 

 stumps and kindle fires under the principal roots 

 and carefully cover them with earth. In this 

 way the fire will work under the body of the 

 stump, and burn out a cavity. If it does not 

 completely consume the stump, it is left in a 

 condition for drying more speedily. Firing 

 should be repealed as often as convenience and 

 dry weather will permit, and in two, or at 



be easily learnt by practice and observa- j most, three years the stumps will be completc- 



The butler is then to be taken out with 

 loden ladle, and line blown salt worked into 

 th the ladle — let it stand an hour, then 

 ed over again in the same manner — this 

 ition is to be repeated at the interval of an 

 , two or three times, always with the use of 

 adie, until the salt is thoroughly combined 

 the butter. It is then in a suitable state 

 loulJiiig, or to be put down in stone pots 

 h kegs. 



he pots or kegs being well scalded, a strong 

 le is then to be made of salt and saltpetre, 

 le.ing well strained the pots or kegs are to 

 et on the sides therewith, and fine clean 

 prinkled on as much as it will adhere — 

 lutter is then to be well packed down and 

 )letely filled up by pouring on the top the 

 ue of the pickle. The salt upon the side 

 8 vessel prevents the butter from adhering 

 and permits the pickle freely to pass to 

 lottom. The butter-milk thus made is of 

 ased quantity and value from that of the 

 ary mode, both for use in the family of the 

 Br, and the residue for feeding swine. 



GILBERT VAN^EMBERG. 

 trncoat Island, Oct. 1823. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



I. Editor — If you thmk the following, or 

 ipart of it, worth publishing, you have it at 

 Dsal. 



well known that a great portion of the 

 in New England, and especially that which 

 ot been cleared many years, is more or 

 ibstructed with stumps, which are great 

 cles to cultivating and improving it, be- 



a considerable waste of land. It is true 

 most kinds of hard wood stumps will in a 

 . time decay ; it may, therefore, be more 

 iie farmer's ioteresl to let them perish of 



own accord ; but pine, that has arrived at 

 rily before beiner chopped, will remain 

 1 and unimpaired fbr twenty years, and, in 

 • instances, have been known to last fifty, 

 erefore, stands the cultivator in Jhand to 



ly pxtirminated at less than one fourth the cosi 

 laid out in the ordinary way of clearing. 



It may. however, be better policy, on some 

 farms destitute of fencing stuff, to dig up the 

 stumps in preference to burning stumps, as it is 

 exceeded by no other wooden fence, for Ions 

 standing and durability, when put to that use ; 

 and it is peculiarly adapted to slopping sheej. 

 without the addition of poling, which is neces- 

 sary either on log fence or stone wall. R. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



ICE HOUSES WITH ICE CL0SF.TS ATTACHED. 



Htgkland, 2rf October, 1820. 



Dear Sir — I herewith hand you a sketch of 

 my ice closet attached to my ice house, which 

 I recently described to you cursorily, and of 

 which you requested a more minute descrip- 

 tion. Having tested its value, I can with truth 

 declare it to be a most valuable appendage. — 

 The citizen and farmer may both enjoy its com- 

 forts — the latter more particularly, will soon 

 know its value, where he is deprived of the 

 benefits of a good spring. The greatest im- 

 portance, however, attached to its use, I con- 

 ceive to be the preservation of fresh meals, 

 which I have kept for three weeks, as sound 

 and wholesome, as the day it was placed in the 

 closet, being entirely free from the musty anJ 

 clammy flavour which it is apt to partake of, 

 when confined in the customary way on t1ie top 

 of the ice. The only danger I apprehended, 

 was the fear of losing my ice sooner in the sea- 

 son, from the closet drawing its quantum of cold 

 atmosphere from the ice ; I am happy to find, 

 however, that my house still contains a body of 

 ice, although it was little more than half filled, 

 and (from my absence,) very imperfectly ram- 

 med. The size of my house is twelve feet 

 square, and in depth to the floor, there being a 

 space of one foot underneath, sloped to the 

 centre where there is a well of two feet, to re- 

 ceive any water which may pass from the ice. 

 The closet is four feet in width, which affords 



to be closely crammed ; this, with a layer ot 

 straw at bottom and straw mats laid over the top 

 of the ice, will be quite sulficient for its preser- 

 vation. The partition is made of the same ma- 

 terials the house is built of, observing not to 

 join it loo close, leaving the slightest opening so 

 as to admit the escape of cold atmosphere into 

 the closet, the top of which to be tightly closed 

 up. The communication to the closet must be 

 by a descent from one end of it to a door, to 

 be cut immediately under the plate of the house, 

 and from thence by a small flight of steps to 

 ihe bottom of the closet, which is to be on a 

 line with the bottom of the ice room, the top 

 of the steps on the side to be secured by a slop- 

 ing door; the lower door of the closet to be 

 made only large enough to admit one person at 

 I time, both tight, and to be opened as seldom 

 as possible. The roof ought to project wide 

 ■'noUgh over the pit to secure it from the weath- 

 or ; where the ground is tenacious, 1 conceive 

 ,t unnecessary to wall up the pit, but when this 

 s not the case it will be the most prudent to 

 lo so. — 1 have been, I think, unnecessarily par- 

 ■ cular in the description, and if you agree with 

 .ue, you can make use of such parts of it as maj 

 >e thought requisite. 



I have added also a ground and elevated view 

 of the interior of the house, as it may serve t« 

 elucidate some parts of this hasty sketch. 

 I am yours, 



Very respectfully, 



J. S. WILLIAMS. 



Ground Viers. 

 I 



