362 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
Hepaui Earley—Large Results- 
Three years ago last Spring, Mr. Isaac Wat- 
kins, of Orange Co., N. Y., received from the 
office of the American Agriculturist one of the 
little seed parcels distributed among subscrib¬ 
ers, which contained a sample of the Nepaul 
Barley. This he planted in the garden in a 
3x4 feet bed. It yielded 3i quarts, which 
was sown broadcast in the field the next Spring, 
but the cattle destroyed a part, so that he only 
got about i bushel. Last year the £ bushel 
yielded 9 bushels, weighing 71 lbs. per bushel. 
His neighbors were so desirous of getting it, 
at $3 per bushel, that he let five bushels go for 
$25. The remaining four bushels he sowed this 
year on about an acre, and it yielded a little over 
40 bushels. Mr. W. thinks it will produce fully 
a quarter more per acre than the common va¬ 
riety. (Mr. Watkins says, this is only one of 
several ways in which he has been more than 
repaid for his investment in a subscription to 
the American Agriculturist.) 
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Ice-Houses. 
The views of both practical and theoretical 
men have changed much, within a few years, 
about the preservation of ice. Why ice keeps 
ordinarily better above ground than below, is 
explained in sundry ways: the fact is acknowl¬ 
edged. Why ventilation is necessary to the suc¬ 
cessful keeping of ice in small quantities has 
been likewise the subject of many learned ex¬ 
planations which, however, do not w r ell agree. 
Still it is a fact. In keeping large quantities of 
ice, it is only necessary to pack it in a compact 
mass in a building which will shield it from the 
direct influence of the rains and sunshine, fill¬ 
ing in straw or sawdust between the ice and the 
walls, or having the building double walled, 
and the space between the walls filled with tan- 
bark, sawdust, or similar porous and non-con¬ 
ducting material. The ice-house should-be con¬ 
structed so that it may be easily filled, and the 
ice easily gotten out, bearing in mind that a 
mass of ice melts only on its surface, if well 
packed. It is desirable to have a double roof; 
absolutely necessary to have perfect drainage; 
desirable to prevent draughts of air coming 
up through drains, or striking the ice anywhere, 
and absolutely necessary to have ventilation 
above the ice—that is, above the straw or saw¬ 
dust which covers it. This ventilation ought 
not to be a draught of wind, but only enough to 
keep the air from becoming close and damp. 
Farm or family ice-houses must be constructed 
on the same principles, but the amount of sur¬ 
face exposed being so much greater in propor¬ 
tion, it is much harder always to secure the 
conditions necessary to keep the ice with little 
loss from melting. We advise no one to build 
an ice-house that may not contain a mass of ice 
10 feet square, and at least 8 feet high. 12x12 
by 10 feet high is a good size. For convenience 
in filling, the house may be set on a side hill. 
It is well to sink the bottom a little below the 
surface of the ground after .leveling, to cement 
the bottom, and to provide drainage secure from 
currents of air passing through the drain. 
Eight inches is sufficient space between the 
outer and inner boarding, and this may be filled 
with any non-conducting material—spent tan- 
bark is perhaps as good as anything. The 
building should, we think, be entirely of wood, 
not even having the side toward the hill of 
stone wall. The door for filling, which must be 
in the gable, toward the hill, may serve also for 
taking out the ice, and ordinarily, it is best it 
should. A sliding pannel in this door, opening 
a hole a foot square, will furnish ventilation and 
the means of regulating it. The roof should 
be well shingled with extending eaves, and the 
rafters boarded over to prevent the too great 
heating of the air above the ice. 
Willow Fences and Wind-Breaks—Report 
of Personal Observations in tlie Field. 
During two years past there has been no little 
excitement in regard to the practicability of 
using the White Willow (Salix alba) for fences, 
especially upon the vast prairie regions of the 
West where fence-limber is almost inaccessible. 
The Osage Orange is successful south of latitude 
about 40° in Illinois, but is not always reliable 
north of this line, and there is a great need of 
a plant to fill its place. While in Illinois last 
season we tried to collect some items, but were 
not very successful. Having gathered some 
rather striking facts in regard to the willow in 
central New-Jersey, we deemed the matter of 
sufficient importance to send one of our associ¬ 
ates of good judgment (Mr. Weld) to Illinois to 
make a thorough personal examination of the 
whole subject. Mr. Weld started Oct. 20thand 
was absent nearly three weeks, visiting Ogle 
county, where the willow has been most thor¬ 
oughly tried, and extending his journey to some 
other parts of the State, to examine the Osage 
Orange hedges, and other matters of interest to 
our readers, of which some account will be given 
in future numbers. Tie visited several farms 
where the willows have been tested for fences,' 
and for wind breaks, from two to twelve years, 
and reports as follows: 
My visit to Ogle county, Ill., was in company 
with gentlemen intimately familiar with the 
agriculture of the prairies, with the soils and 
seasons, the crops and modes of culture. We 
traveled many miles, and examined a large num¬ 
ber of localities where the willow fences are in 
use. We found a few hundred yards of fence 
11 years old, the first planted in this county, or 
State, some also on the same farm, set during the 
immediately subsequent years—but of fences 
planted within the past 4 or 5 years, particular¬ 
ly that 1, 2, and 3 years old, we saw miles 
upon miles, throughout this entire region. 
Thus the conviction comes to my own mind, 
that where it is best known the willow is most 
highly esteemed. We observed poplars and 
cotton wood, and poor powdery locusts, and 
the yellow willow too, all giving way to the 
white willow. The 11-year-old trees were 
planted at first merely as a wind-break; cuttings 
of finger size and a foot or more in length being- 
stuck in the prairie sods, a foot apart, so says 
the planter. From many cuttings two or more 
shoots starting from the ground must have been 
allowed to grow, for as the trees now stand, 10 
to 12 trees occupy about 8 feet length in the row. 
The cut illustrates the manner in which the 
trees occupy the ground, but they are larger 
and more completely fill the row than the cut 
represents. Lack of time and space prevents 
giving in this number a picturesque view of the 
fence. The trees now stand at least 40 feet 
high. The trunks at a liight of 2 or 3 feet are 
from 6 inches to a foot or more in diameter, 
and rise with a uniform taper, and very straight, 
to the top. They incline a little, uniformly, 
showing the effect of the prevailing winds, but 
not one, that we noticed, was broken or had 
lost an important branch, nor had one died. 
There is one vacant space of a few feet where 
a pair of bars had been. The land on which 
this row of willows stands is good corn ground 
On the east side it has been for several years in 
cultivation, and now sustains a luxuriant growth 
of clover and timothy. The land on the exposed 
side of the fence has never been plowed, and is 
prairie grass, tamed by the grazing of cattle. In 
this, numerous roots extend near the surface to 
a distance of a rod at least, as I proved by dig¬ 
ging, and doubtless they go further in some 
cases. These roots, however, were not so strong 
as to prevent plowing within say 16 feet of the 
fence. On the cultivated side, at eight feet off, 
no roots were found of large size. Still nearer, 
where the plow had been run closest to the 
trees, matted fibres abounded, and some as 
large as one’s finger were stretching out into 
the field. The grass grew well within 6 feet. 
The owner of the land estimates that as a wind¬ 
break, the influence of this screen is felt for 
several hundred paces, making the land earlier 
and more productive, preventing the lodging of 
grain, the blowing down of corn, etc. 
In a few places the trunks spread apart at a 
liiglit of a few feet above the ground, so that a 
man can easily get through, but no farm stock 
could do it, and a better stockade would not be 
needed to confine a herd of elephants. To 
make it dog-proof, would require only a little 
labor and a few stakes. 
The appearance of the fence is attractive, the 
liight of the trees being very uniform; and 
even when the fences extend over dry knolls 
and through “ slues,” (sloughs,) the result only 
is to make the line of the tops a little less undu¬ 
lating than the ground line, showing that the 
willows grow faster in wet soil than in dry. 
On the same farm there were some yellow 
willows, set at the same time, as we were in¬ 
formed. They had not made nearly so good 
growth, and there Avere numerous vacant spots 
Avliere trees had died. They were more branch¬ 
ing and crooked also. One farm Avhich we 
visited was not only fenced externally, but 
the owner Avas dividing up the land into 10 to 
15 acre lots, using the AvilloAV exclusively. 
Much was set on this farm last Spring. It Avas 
Avell cared for, and the growth, though small, 
was healthy. Here Ave saAV no dead cuttings. 
There was also about an acre set last Spring for 
timber, fuel, etc., the cuttings being a foot apart 
in i'Oavs 12 feet apart. The ground has been 
regularly worked all Summer, and the plants 
look well, having made a groAvth of two and 
a half to three feet. Some of the older fences 
on this farm were originally set too loose, and 
the result is that in the four-year-old hedges 
spots are not infrequent Avhere an animal might 
work through. It had been attempted to remedy 
fliis by setting some large cuttings to fill the 
gaps. They had all failed. The wdllow cutting 
must have light and air; it will not groAV in the 
shade of either weeds or older willows. 
From what I have seen, and from the views 
of those Avho know most about the White Wil¬ 
low, I am of opinion: 1st. That it Avill grow on 
all good soil, and in Avet soil; 2d. That in 
four years, it will make a fence that will turn all 
domestic animals, if it be topped at a liight of 
four feet, and the tops used to strengthen the 
hedge somewhat; 3d. That left to grow it will 
in 5 years, or 6 at most, make a fence without 
topping, so that this fence will be an effectual 
