Since writing tlie above, our attention lias been called to directions for building an ice 

 house, given by Mr. Wyeth, of Boston, superintendent of the large commercial ice 

 houses near that city, and published in the tenth volume of this journal. They are as 

 follows : 



In the beginning, we should remark that the great ice honses of our ioe companies are usually 

 built abovn ground ; and Mr. Wvetu in his letter to us remarks, " We now never use or build an ice 

 house under grotmd ; it never preserveB ice as well as those built abore ground, and costs much more. 

 I, however, send you directions for the construction of both kinds, with slight sketches in explana- 

 tion." The following are Mr. "VVyeth'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 ])lace, the frame of the sides should be formed of two ranges of upright joists, six by 

 four inches ; the lower ends of the joists should be put into the ground without any sill, which is 

 apt to let air pass through. Tliese two ranges of joists should be about two feet and one-half apart 

 at the bottom, and two feet at the top. At the top these joists should be morticed into the cross- 

 beams, which are to support the up))er floor. Tlie joists in the two ranges should be placed each 

 opposite another. They should tben be lin*d or facetl 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, 

 80 that one range of joists should be outside the building, and the other inside the ice room or vault. 



" Tlie space between these boardings or partitions should be filled with wet tan, or sawdust^ which- 

 ever is cheapest or more e;i.«ily obtained. The refisou for using wet material for filling this space is, 

 that during the 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 fillea about a foot deep with small blocks of wood ; these 

 are leveled and covered ^vith wood sliavings, 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 sawdusts The roof of tlie ice house should have 

 considerable pitch, and the space between the upper floor and the roof should be ventilated by a 

 lattice -^vindow at each gable end, or sometliiug {equivalent, to pass out the warm air which will 

 accumulat-e 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. 



"2/1. An lee H&nse Below Grormd. — This is only thoroughly made by building up the sides of the 

 pit with a good brick or stone wall, laid in mortar. Inside of this wall sot 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 be covered with dry tan or sawdust. In this floor tlie door must be cut 

 to give access to the ice. 



"As regards the bottom of the vault, the floor, the lattice windows in the gables for ventilation, 

 etc., the same remarks will apply that have just been given for the ice house above ground, with 

 the addition that in one of the gables, in this case, must be the door for filling the house with ice. 



" If the ground where ice houses of either kind are built is not porous enough to let the melted 

 ice drain away, then there should be a waste pipe to carry it ofi^, which should be slightly bent, so 

 as always to retain water enough in it to prevent the passage of air upwards into the ice house." 



STUDY THE ATMOSPHERE. 



Evert one should know the properties and functions of the air he breathes, and of that 

 gaseous ocean which surrounds the globe, and contributes so largely to the nourishment 

 of all plants and animals. To the farmer, the study of the atmosphere is peculiarly 

 important; for its elements, if wisely used, will be to him a mine of wealth. Its nitro- 

 gen, oxygen, carbonic acid, ammonia, nitric acid, and aqueous vapor, are the substances 

 from which crops are made, under the geuial influence of solar light and heat, aided by 

 the small amount of earthy matter which appears as ash Avhcn plants are burnt. If 

 crops were not formed mainly from water and air, it is inconceivable how tlie addition 

 of 150 lbs. of gypsum, or guano, to an acre of land should increase the weight of its 

 plants one or two tons. Let a dry cotton or corn plant be burnt, and it is nearly all 

 converted into gaseous bodi.es, and widely difl'used in the atmosphere; and when xager 



%. 

 BA 



