8 



1 1 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



but has been used in days of "auld lang 

 syne," " down in old Virginia," and proved 

 to be a good thing, they need not be afraid 

 of the expense. 



Select a spot upon rising ground where 

 the surface water will run off, and strike 

 a circle twelve feet across, and set a 

 circle of strong stakes about five feet high 

 and one foot apart — saw off the upper 

 ends even and square — set another circle of 

 stakes four feet distant all round, the same 

 height, but they need not be quite so close 

 to one another— leave a space on one side 

 about two feet wide for a door way, and 

 set stakes or nail boards on each side so 

 as to make a passage to the inside space ; 

 put strips across the inside space from the 

 tops of the stakes, sufficiently strong to 

 hold up a stack of hay. 



Now take prairie hay, or some of the 

 superabundant straw that all Western 

 farmers waste or burn up, u to get it out 

 of the way," and tramp the space between 

 the stakes full and as tight as possible, 

 taking care to raise it a foot or two above 

 the top of the stakes, then make a com- 

 plete round stack that will shed water, 

 tapered from the outside stakes to the 

 centre. To make a ventilation, nail four 

 boards about five or six inches wide toge- 

 ther; let two of them be one foot the 

 longest, and set this box up as a stack 

 pole, and nail a cap on the top of the two 

 long pieces. If this give too much ven- 

 tilation stuff straw in one end. Hang 

 two tight doors, made to shut upon wooden 

 listing. 



This " hay stack ice house," that any 

 farmer can make in two days will keep 

 ice two years. Of course the size may 

 be varied. The ice should not be laid 

 upon the ground, but upon some rails co- 

 vered with straw — or a bed of straw 

 would be better — a slight ditch should be 

 dug around outside to drain off the water 

 that drips down. With slight repairs it 

 will last years. 



Now, besides being a good ice house, 

 it would make one of the cheapest and 

 best winter store houses for turnips, &c, 

 convenient to the cattle yard, that can be 

 contrived when the soil will not admit of 

 making cellars under our buildings. And 



in all damp climates, cellars under dwell- 

 ings are a positive nuisance — complete 

 hotbeds of pestilential miasma. 



There is one more purpose for which 

 the fabric may be used. Cobbet, who de- 

 precated the use of ice, in speaking of an 

 ice house in his "Cottage Economy," 

 says if you are tired of it for that use, it 

 would make one of the finest nests for 

 young pigs in the winter, that could be 

 contrived. 



Now, I do not entirely deprecate the 

 use of ice; but I believe, like all other 

 good things, it is often used to excess — 

 and certainly think that tea, coffee, and 

 milk, are used too much in this country, 

 to say nothing of that other thing that is 

 so often used "to make the water taste 

 better." Strange taste. And if we all 

 drank more cold water and less " warm 

 drink," our health would be decidedly 

 better. Therefore, I think that a cheap 

 plan to make water more palatable, must 

 be advantageous in these cheap times. 



Solon Robinson. 



Lake C. H., la., Dec. 31, 1841. 



WALNUTS. 



It has been ascertained that the shag 

 bark walnut maybe successfully engrafted, 

 and that the engrafted trees are much the 

 surest bearers. It is probable that the 

 hickory, or shag bark, would do well en- 

 grafted on the pig nut. If it should, the 

 quantity raised might be greatly increased 

 and the quality much improved. The 

 Maderia nut, which is usually sold at the 

 shops under the name of the English 

 walnut, at twelve and a half to sixteen 

 cents per pound, may be cultivated here 

 without difficulty, and is very productive. 

 In the vicinity of New York there is a 

 tree which has pioduced in a single year 

 as many as sold in the market for two 

 hundred dollars. We have no doubt that 

 it might be engrafted on the butternut or 

 the walnut with perfect success. 



THE SAP OF TREES. 



What a curious hallucination is that 

 which supposes the sap of trees to fall, or 



