370 
FENCES ON THE PRAIRIES.— ICE-HOUSES.—POUDRETTE AS A MANURE* 
simple, it is obvious to an ingenious mechanic, how I 
easily such a machine could be improved upon, 
and answer a tenfold purpose. J. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
FENCES ON THE PRAIRIES. 
Peoria , November 6th, 1843. 
I have now been a resident of this country fiye 
years, and in addition to my own experience in 
farming here, I am backed by the opinions of sev¬ 
en eighths of those who have emigrated to the 
prairies from England, that fencing upon them is 
just so much money thrown away. Grazing of 
cattle, and indeed of all other beasts, may be done 
throughout the west precisely as sheep are man¬ 
aged on the Downs in the south of England. I 
need not dwell upon this subject, as you are famil¬ 
iar with it. A few properly-trained cattle-dogs, 
and an agreement on this subject among the set¬ 
tlers, is all we want. I hope you will call atten¬ 
tion to this matter in a complete essay, for I recol¬ 
lect only a paragraph or two that has appeared in 
your paper yet, and that, if I mistake not, was in 
your April No., under head of Tour in England. 
Fencing here, as you well observe, is an “ intoler¬ 
able burden,” and what is more, I will add, a per¬ 
fectly useless one. 
Charles Wenball. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
ICE-HOUSES. 
Petersburg, Va., December 5th, 1843. 
A great deal has been written on the proper 
construction of ice-houses, and yet there are very : 
few which preserve ice in the best manner. The 
chief defect, as far as my observation extends, is 
imperfect drainage. Nothing can compensate for 
this ; all the lining of roof and walls with tan-bark, 
charcoal, &c., will be attended Avith little benefit. 
As the season for cleaning out ice-houses, prepara- 
ory to putting away the ice, is at hand, I take the 
liberty of making a few suggestions on the sub¬ 
ject. 
The best site for an ice-house is at the summit 
of a steep declivity, with a northern aspect. If 
there be trees about it, so much the better. When 
the pit is excavated, it will not be a difficult mat¬ 
ter to cut a drain on a level with the floor, either 
by ditch or tunnel. When the ground is level, the 
only drainage that can be effected is by absorption. 
If the earth be of a loose and porous texture, the 
absorption may keep pace with the supply of wa¬ 
ter from the melting ice, but if it be compact and 
retentive, I know of no remedy, not even by sink¬ 
ing a well of moderate depth. The ice-water and 
rain-water will destroy the ice long before the hot 
season is past. 
The best ice-house I have ever seen, is one made 
in as cheap and rude a manner as the plainest 
farmer could desire. On the side of a hill a pit 
Avas dug; a simple pen of logs supported the Avails ; 
it was covered Avith rived pine slabs, and so open 
as to admit a free circulation of air. During the 
heat of the day, the sun shines full upon the roof. 
And withal, the pit is only 12 feet square, by 14 
feet deep. It has been in use now for 6 or 7 years* 
and has never been clear of ice since it Avas first 
filled. Two years ago, Avhen the Avinter was so 
mild, it was only half filled, with thin ice; and 
yet there was some remaining at the end of the 
next season. In the construction of this house, 
there is nothing to distinguish it, except the per* 
feet draining. 
Our ice-houses in Virginia generally become 
empty by the last of August or first of September; 
in many cases still earlier. There is no time when 
it is more desirable to have a full supply than in 
September; for the weather is then sometimes ex¬ 
ceedingly hot, and more sickness prevails thati 
during any other month. Since ice has become 
an article of necessity almost as much as a luxury, 
I trust these remarks may not be unproductive of 
some benefit. T. S. Pleasants. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
POUDRETTE AS A MANURE. 
New York, Dec. 2d, 1813. 
O^D. K. Minor presents his compliments to 
those gentlemen Avho have used poudrette, man¬ 
ufactured by the Netv York Poudrette Company, 
in 1841, ’42, and ’43, and requests each to furnish 
a detailed statement as to the kind of crop —the 
character of the soil —the manner of using it —and 
the results of its application—especially when 
used comparatively with other manures. The ob¬ 
ject of this call is to collect facts in relation to the 
use and value of poudrette as a manure, which 
will be published in a pamphlet, and one or more 
copies sent to those who communicate the results 
of their experience, that all may be able to judge 
of the best mode of using it, and the crops and soil 
to which it is best adapted; and it is hoped there¬ 
fore, that those who have used it will give full re¬ 
ports, at an early period, that others may profit by 
their experience. Communications may be ad¬ 
dressed to D. K. Minor, New York. 
GOOD AND BAD POINTS OF CATTLE, AND THE 
FORMATION OF FAT AND MUSCLE. 
As this subject is likely to be brought up for dis¬ 
cussion at the annual meeting of the State Agri¬ 
cultural Society in January, we beg the attention 
of all those who take an interest in cattle, to the 
folloAving article from the London Veterinarian, by 
Mr. Robert Read, V. S.; and especially that part 
in which he treats of handling, and combats the 
opinion recently expressed by Dr. Playfair, that 
animals which fat the easiest, have the smallest 
lungs. Dr. P., as we are informed, knows nothing 
practically of breeding, or the anatomy of animals. 
He took his opinions from the butchers in London, 
who formed theirs entirely from an examination 
of fat cattle, which must, of necessity, present the 
lungs in an unnatural state. Cline, like Read, an 
able veterinary surgeon and Avriter on the best 
forms of animals, and who examined hundreds, in 
different conditions, expressly says that an animal 
