338 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



be readily seen that very little bending is required, 

 and even that is so distributed over the whole 

 stem that no injury can result. No practical ob- 

 jections that we are aware of exist to this method. 



Before bending down the stem, the vine should 

 be pruned. This consists in cutting ofl the long 

 shoots to a length of four feet, (the first season,) 

 and the alternate short ones to the lowest good 

 bud. The vine so pruned is shown in Fig. 4. 

 Then the stem, having been bent down, it Avill be 

 easy to fold the flexible young canes so as to lie 

 compactly together, when they may be covered 

 with earth. The soil for this purpose must be 

 light and sandy, and should be so disposed that 

 water will not penetrate to the vines. If light soil 

 cannot be had, the vines may be pegged down 

 and covered Avith the branches of evergreens, 

 though it is improbable that these could be ob- 

 tained in sufficient quantity to protect a large vine- 

 yard. Leaves or straw would answer, though they 

 might harbor mice, which would soon destroy the 

 vines. 



The vines should be left covered as long as pos- 

 sible, but must be exposed before the buds begin 

 to push in the spring. 



A CHEAP ICE HOUSE. 



I saw in the Farmer of Nov. 21st, a plan for 

 an Ice Stack which may be a good one, but with 

 your permission I will lay before your readers a 

 plan for an Ice House, which, for availability, 

 cheapness and utility is probably hard to excel. 

 I have tested it two years and found it to work 

 like a charm. 



In the first place I selected a piece of ground 

 with a slope of one foot per rod, under the shade 

 of a jack oak grove; procured 45 rails 12 feet 6 

 inches long, then built a four square pen four rails 

 high, and filled it lo inches deep Avith sawdust, 

 then made a straight edge 12 feet long with a 

 transverse piece on each end of it tlu'ee feet long, 

 took one handle off a cross cut saw, then took a 

 one-half inch rod of iron and turned a right an- 

 gle hook six inches long on one end, cut it four 

 feet long and turned a ring as a hold for the hand 

 on the other end, took a brace and five-eighths bit, 

 a stout plank, two hands, and a team and sleigh, 

 and went half a mile to a pond — took my fixtures 

 and marked the ice off into squares of three feet ; 

 with my saw with one handle off sawed out the 

 squares, and bored a hole near one edge of the 

 blocks with the bit, and with my hook raised one 

 edge of the block a few inches, slipped the plank 

 under, gave a steady pull, and the cake was on 

 the sleigh in a "jiffy." 



Thus we continued, until we loaded nine blocks 

 ten inches thick. I then built a pyramid of ice, 

 nine feet square in the rail pen, leaving IS inches 

 of space between the ice and wall ; this space I 

 filled up with sawdust well packed in, and put 

 dust 10 inches thick over the ice. My stack of 

 ice was nine feet square and seven feet high. In 

 order to keep the sawdust from sifting out at the 

 crevices it will be necessary to use a little straw 

 about it. I then, after building up my pen, cov- 

 ered witli sheathing boards, — the work Avas done. 



I have tried the above plan two years, and saved 

 plenty of ice until ice was frozen the fall after- 

 Avards — indeed, Ave have plenty in the pen now, 

 Dec. 2d, put up last January. 



It Avill be necessary to give it some attention 

 through the spring, and keep the dust packed 

 Avell up to it at the sides. 



My ice has kept so Avell, that there has not been 

 Avaste enough from it to moisten the gi'ound 

 around the pen, although I have used the Avails of 

 dust tAvo years without rencAval. I last Avinter 

 cleared out the bottom of the pen and let the 

 ground freeze hard, and put in new dust beloAV 

 and on top of the ice. Farmers, try it, and you 

 Avill continue it, doubtless. Ice is so delightful in 

 summer, and two hands will fill a pen in tAVO days. 

 — P. K. HoNN, in Prairie Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 "IS FARMING PEOFITABLE ?" 



Mr. Bkoavn : — I see the above question is of- 

 ten asked in your journal. It might as Avell be 

 asked, is trade profitable ? Can commerce be so 

 managed, as to secure a competency to him who 

 invests his capital in ships and merchandise, to 

 send to foreign ports ? Can the laAvyer, Avith all 

 his hard study and diligent application of knowl- 

 edge to the various exigencies of Hfe, secure a liv- 

 ing for himself and family ? Can the mechanic, 

 after ceaseless labor and toil, earn his daily bread, 

 or anything more ? 



NoAV, sir, the man Avho is incompetent for what 

 he undertakes Avill not succeed in either of the 

 above occupations, and it is the same Avith farm- 

 ing. He Avho would earn his bread by farming, 

 and anything more, must have grounds, and must 

 know hoAV to cultivate these grounds, — he must 

 knoAV Avhat kind of seed is suitable for peculiar 

 soils, — he must knoAV Avhen to soav, and Avhen to 

 plant, and Avhat preparation is necessary before 

 putting the seed into the ground. We not only 

 have the promise of "seed time and harvest," but 

 we have the assurance of a crop, if the right seed 

 is put into the right ground. 



Let a man select a sterile piece of land, and, 

 perhaps, take the Avi'ong kind of manure, speiicl 

 fifty dollars in preparing an acre of ground for the 

 seed, and he may not find a crop thatAvill half-pay 

 him for his labor and expense of pi-eparation ; but 

 let him take a suitable piece of ground, and Avith 

 less than half the labor and expense, the crop will 

 pay him 100 per cent, on his investment. It is so 

 in every pursuit of life. In order to succeed in 

 life, a man must understand his business, and must 

 apply himself to Avhatever he undertakes. Some 

 never succeed in anything. From the Avant of 

 common understanding, they fail in everything, 

 Avhile others, Avith much less labor and bustle, 

 succeed in Avhatevcr they wish to pursue. 



In all probability, no investment of a small 

 amount pays better, than Avhat is judiciously ex- 

 pended in farming. Every dollar rightly expend- 

 ed is generally sure to pay double, or treble. The 

 gains are slow, to be sure, but the investments are 

 generally light. Let a man be so situated that he 

 could advantageously use 8.30,000 in preparing 

 ground for the seed, and he would be more surely 

 remunerated than he would in buying merchan- 

 dise, and selling, for cash, and on time, as busi- 

 ness is usually conducted. 



The farmer is often discoui'aged, because of 

 small gains. He forgets the small amount in- 

 vested. The average of those who Uvc by farm- 



