gmrjj cf a iluralisit. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Centleman near Newl 
York Olty.l 
flLUNO AN ICE-HOUSE. 
Jan. as.—One does not feel like bottling up ' 
such weather as we have had, for use next 
Summer; still, a little ice will be very ac- ; 
ceptable next July and August. Ice is plen¬ 
tiful enough this Winter, and one can choose ] 
his own time for gathering the crop, as well 
as select any thickness, from a few Inches to 
as many feet. My men aro grumbling be¬ 
cause the ice is too thick to be worked con¬ 
veniently ; for when we have to saw through 
ice eighteen inches to two feet thick it is slow 
work; besides, packing it away is no easy 
There are several conditions necessary 
for preserving ice; the most important are, 
a good ice-house, good ice, and then have it 
well packed. If the blocks are sawed crooked 
and at all kinds of angles, the packing be¬ 
comes laborious and slow work; for unless 
all the interstices are carefully filled, the ice 
will not keep well. Of course where the pre¬ 
serving of ice Is conducted by companies, 
such as supply our large cities and villages 
with this very necessary article, machines are 
used for cutting which insure regularity in 
alze and form of the blocks; but in the coun¬ 
try. whore there aro few who save ice, and 
all* depend upon ordinary hand work in cut¬ 
ting. there is little uniformity in the blocks; 
and we have to do the best we can under the 
circumstances. My ice-house is rather an ex¬ 
pensive affair, brown stone front, etc., costing 
several hundred dollars; but T must confess 
that my neighbors’ cheap houses, built of 
wood, beat mine in preserving ice. Still, by 
carefully packing away twentv-flve to thirty 
tons each Winter, I manage to have a supply 
during the hot Summer months. Ice is cer¬ 
tainly a great luxury In the Summer, and 
every farmer should have an ice-house, and 
fill it for his own use. Of course 1 am now 
spooking of those residing in cold latitudes, 
where WO have to suffer from cold in Winter ; 
consequently, it is no more than fair that we 
should enjoy n little of it in Summer, when 
we can appreciate even a lump of ice. If ice 
from a pond cannot bo obtained handily, then 
the ice-house can be tilled with snow, a little 
at a time, wetting down each layer, and al¬ 
lowing it to freeze solid before another is put 
on. In this way a house can be filled with a 
solid cake of ice, that will keep as well as 
blocks cut from a pond. 
A COLD SURPRISE. 
Jan . 29.—A ride of a few miles last even¬ 
ing satisfied me that we were having some 
cold weather, and upon arriving home about 
11 o’clock P. M., Ilooked at the thermometer 
ponging upon the side of my woodhouse, but 
was much surprised to find the column of 
mercury out of sight. It had all sunk into 
the bulb, and it was evident that the lowest 
mark, 16° below zero, was nowhere for this 
night. Now, this same instrument has served 
me for ten years, the mercury never touch¬ 
ing bottom before. I immediately made a 
raid upon ray stock of thermometers in the 
green-house, to find one that was long enough 
for the occasion ; and I soon had one hung 
up where it might show me what old Boreas 
meant by this sudden visit. In the meantime 
my men had gone to bed leaving the usual 
fire in the furnace of my green-house, which 
I soon discovered was not going to answer 
for this night, although it had carried the 
plants safely t hrougb many others. I opened 
the valves and let on all steam for the next 
two hours, increasing the temperature about 
five degrees during the time, and at 1 o’clock 
A. M. the thermometer outside showed the 
unprecedented cold of 20 " below zero. I went 
to bed and got up agaiu at five o’clock, the 
mercury then stood at 20 " below zero, which 
I think will answer very well for New Jer¬ 
sey, and ought to satisfy the most ardent ad¬ 
mirer of cool climates. I suffered no loss ol 
plants, for the very gooci reason that I did 
not dopend upon somebody else to attend to 
the fires, or, in other words, was not caught 
napping. I have always endeavored to em¬ 
ploy good men, and pay good wages, still, I 
never relax my vigilance, knowing from long 
experience that if laborers possessed the 
abilities known as economy, industry, hon¬ 
esty and faithfulness to their employers we 
would soon have to do our own work. There¬ 
fore instead of grumbling because our work¬ 
men are often careless, indolent and indiffer¬ 
ent, we should be thankful that they are so, 
for if it were otherwise laborers would be 
scarce. 
Every night before going to bed I take my 
lantern and go to the barn, green-house and 
about all the out-buildings and see that the 
animals are in their places and properly cared 
for ; door?, gates and bars closod; in fact, see 
that everything is secure and my workmen 
have attended to their business. I have done 
this ever since I called myself a man, and it 
has become a babit and not an Irksome task, ® 
although sometimes a growl escapes me * 
when the animals have not been properly ’ 
fed, watered and bedded down, or gates have 
been left open and cows or other animals are 
found in the garden and fields of grain. My 1 
men Boon learn that ** the owl,” as they some¬ 
times call me, among themselves, will surely * 
find them out if tilings are out of place. It 
makes no difference whether I have one man 
employed or forty ; my habits of vigilance 
are the same ; therefore losses through care¬ 
lessness have seldom occanjed on my prom. ' 
ises. 
How any farmer can practice what some 
clo in the way of talcing care of their animals 
is. more than I can understand. More than 
one man feeds his stock at five or six o’clock 1 
m the evening during the coldest weather, 
and then never visits them again until eight 
the next morning ; and usually some careless 
boy or stupid workman is entrusted with this 
business; and it is no wonder that animals 
suffer and losses are frequent occurrences. 
CAN T AFFORD A NEWSPAPER. 
Jan. 30.—A Lady relative of mine, residing 
in a Western State, says she cannot afford to 
take a newspaper, and ftskR Mrs. Ritualist 
to send her the RURAL New-Yorker after 
we have read our copy. Of course Mrs. Ru- 
ralist will do just as she pleases in the mat¬ 
ter, but I protest against accommodating any 
man or woman who will not. subscribe for 
at least one newspaper. Now, tills lady has 
a husband perfectly able to work, besides 
owning a good farm near a large city, and is 
out of debt. They have three children, all 
old enough to, and can, read ; still their pa¬ 
rents think they cannot afford to take a news¬ 
paper. I think such a disposition, for it can¬ 
not be called inability, is heathenish, and 1 
won’t spoil a story nor suppress my thoughts, 
even if it is found among my own blood rela¬ 
tion . These good folks call themselves Chris¬ 
tians, and contribute to the Home and For 
eign Missions, and cram their stomachs from 
one year's end to another with rich and ex¬ 
pensive food, but can’t afford a newspaper ! 
This is not an isolated instance by anv means; 
for I have visited many hundreds of fanners’ 
families who were in the same condition. Is 
it any wonder that such people find it hard 
work to make a living, or that their children 
grow up ignorant, unmannerly gawks, know¬ 
ing less, if possible, than their parents, be¬ 
coming the victims of those who do read and 
learn wliut is going on in the world ? If the 
children ask for mental food, they are. given 
the Bible or some cheap Sunday-school book, 
not because the parent s reverence these works 
anv more than other people, but they are 
furnished gratuitously by some Christian 
Commission, and this makes a wonderful dif¬ 
ference. How are men and women to learn 
j the ways of the world through which they 
are obliged to pass except by reading what is 
going on from week to week ? 
Innocence and ignorance are very well 
where all are in the same boat; but in these 
go-ahead times men and women must com¬ 
mence to study while young, and continue 
persistently, else they will be run over and 
left behind. A family had far better diepense 
with rich and unwholesome food than with 
newspapers ; and parents who deprive their 
children of this kind of reading ought to be 
banished to the land of the Hottentots at 
once and make room for better people. There 
are families in the older States who do not 
take a newspaper, as well as in the new ; and 
L can count a few even in ray own neighbor¬ 
hood ; and their farms, stock, children, as 
well as parents, show plainly the shadow 
cast upon them, and nothing short of a men¬ 
tal earthquake will ever remove this pall of 
darkness. 
But to subscribe for a newspaper and read 
it diligently is not enough : for a journal of 
geometry or geography would not help a man 
much in raising potatoes ; neither are the re¬ 
ligious papers to be considered the all-impor¬ 
tant guides for the inhabitants of this mun¬ 
dane sphere. A farmer must take papers 
and read books which instruct; him in hi? bus¬ 
iness, just as the lawyers, merchants, doctors, 
and men in other professions seek informa¬ 
tion where it is to be found. If you cannot 
afford but one, let that be a periodical de¬ 
voted to rural pursuits, provided you get a 
living from tilling the soil. 
---- 
"WHERE 18 THE REMEDYV’ 
Tun article under above heading, by Dari¬ 
us H. Pingrey of Chillecothe, Ill., suits me 
exactly, only we want more of the same. I 
would recommend for the farmer to let his 
land he still one year for a remedy. J. G. l. 
She Norseman. 
TEETH OF YOUNG HORSES. 
I noticed in a late Rural New-Yorker an 7 
article entitled “ The Teeth of Young Horses.” e 
Now, as I am a true friend of that noble an- i 
final, the. horse, and fearing some unlucky g 
beast might get his tusk; knocked out through c 
the influence of the above-named article, I t 
intrude upon your notice at this time. i 
I am a blacksmith by trade, and have 
knocked and pulled out hundreds of wolf 
teeth In the last thirty years ; and I must say 
that my experience differs materially from 
that of Mr. She ad. Although he Bays that 
he Ifl backed by the bast authority in this : 
country and attaches V. S. to his name, yet I 1 
think you will say (that is if you ever saw a 
wolf tooth) my theory is nearer right than 1 
lfis. As I am wholly unacquainted with 
technical terms, and with writing for uews- 
pajjerc (this is my first attempt), I shall lie 
under the necessity of using plain, every-day 
language. 
In the first place, Mr. S. has not described 
a wolf tooth at all, nor located it in the right 
place, 7 never, in my life, yet saw a wolf 
tooth near the tusk, but always near the 
double tooth or grinder, and often so close 
that it is difficult to extract it. Again, it 
is my opinion they are not colt or sucking 
teeth ; for I have seen them in horses past 
ten years old. I must beg leave to differ 
from Mr. S. in regard to the horse being more 
subject to them, for 1 have found them 311 st 
as often in the mouth of the mare. I will n /1 
mit , however, that the tusk or bridle tooth is 
more natural to the horse. My opinion is, 
that the wolf-tooth is similar to what we call 
wisdom teeth in a person ; they have no reg¬ 
ular socket in the jaw. I think they ought 
to be extracted as soon as discovered ; and 1 
will give you my reasons for this opinion : 
If you will take the trouble to examine the 
skull of the horse, you will observe a long 
crease or cavity just in front of the double 
tooth or molar ; and it is said by those who 
pretend to more knowledge of anatomy than 
I do, that the optic nerve extends from the 
eye to this cavity. Now, if these wolf teeth 
are left to grow, the root eventually presses 
into this cavity, causing inflammation in the 
optic nerve, and very frequently blindness. 
Some one may ask the cause of the wolf 
tooth ; the anly answer I can give is. if you 
will give the reason for those unnatural teeth 
called “ wisdom teeth ” in peraons, 1 will tell 
you. I would also say that the punch and 
hammer is a very bad way of extracting 
them; for if the home dodges (and he gener¬ 
ally will when you strike), you are in danger 
of loosening the grinder, thereby causing se¬ 
rious injury to the horse. In my opinion, 
Sir. Smead Is right in just one point in Iris 
artiele, and that is, a horse’s tusks or bridle 
teeth should never be knocked out, whether 
large or small. Chas. Graves. 
Brandon, Vt, 
—-- - 
TO HALTER AND BREAK A COLT. 
Get the colt into a small yard or on a barn 
floor, with as little excitement as possible; 
take a whip with a long lash, and give him a 
few sharp cuts around the hind legs, never 
striking him forward. As soon as he turns 
his head towards you, go towards him, talk¬ 
ing to him gently; if he turns from you, a;>- 
ply the lash; in a short time he will follow 
you and let you handle him. Then take a 
strong cord about ion feet long, fasten one 
end around his under jaw, as you would a- 
round a cow’s horns, so that it will not slip; 
pass the other end over his neck on the off 
side and down through the loop around his 
jaw, on the side next to you; take the cord, 
step to one side, give him a sharp pull; he 
may go the other way the first time; do not 
try"t.o bold him; go up to him and pat him 
and try him again, saying, "Come here!” 
When he turns his head or steps towards you 
pet him, to let him know that he is doing 
right; never try to drag him forward by main 
force. When he will not come give him a 
pull sideways, slacking the cord as soon as 
you give him the pulL If the colt is about to 
lose his temper let him rest for an hour or 
two. Never lose your temper; be gentle but 
firm. As soon as he will follow you any 
! -where, put on a well-fitting strap-halter and 
hitch him in the stable. If he is a small colt 
you can use a halter instead of a cord. 
’ Alfred. N. Y. E. A. C. 
- —■*-*•-*•-— 
SWEET CORN FOR HORSES. 
• Will you, or some of your readers who 
; have had experience in feeding sweet corn to 
horses and fowls, give me some information, 
through your valuable Rural New-\ orker, 
as to the relative qualities of sweet corn com¬ 
pared with common field com ’ I raised 
some three acres of the large Asylum com 
for the Boston market, but it matured when 
the market was glutted, and sold as low as 
75 c. to SI per barrel. My idea was that farm¬ 
ers were unwise to sell at such prices,—that 
it was worth more to feed out to stock. It is 
said the fodder is worth more, and If it will 
do to feed to horses and fowls, why is it not 
better to raise this than common field com, 
as I have more bushels to the acre ? 
Bridgewater, Mass. D - 8 - 
KICKING MARE. 
Charles D. Mora asks how to cure a 
mare of the bad habit of kicking. Fasten a 
cord to the end of her tail, pass it between 
her legs and fasten to the lower part of the 
collar ; draw tight. Treat the mare kindly. 
-♦♦+»-—— 
HORSE SHEDDING TAIL HAIR. 
1 would like to inquire if there is any pre¬ 
ventive for a horse shedding the hair from 
his tail every Summer,— b. 
We know of none, and never knew a horse 
did it. 
--»■»■»-- 
TREATMENT OF CURB. 
Will some one be kind enough to inform 
a reader of the Rural New-Yorker if a 
curb on a horse’s hind leg may be treated the 
same as a bone spavin, and with good results ? 
Bedford. 
SHEEP FOR THE SOUTH. 
Will you please answer in Rural New- 
Yorker whether you know of any wealthy 
Northern farmers who, having more good 
sheep than t hey can accommodate, would bo 
willing to send, aay one or two hundred, to 
South Carolina, to some planter to tend and 
raise on shares, to be agreed upon between 
them, after being satisfied of the planter’s 
capability and ’reliability to do bu 1 If not, 
will you cal! attention to the subject in your 
valuable paper; for I think it one which 
might be of great profit to both a Northern 
and Southern planter, as sheep and cattle are 
so easily' raised with us without any atten¬ 
tion in the way of feeding ; but if you attend' 
to them, and feed them a little in February 
and March, it is a very profitable business. 
I have a large place of 1,500 acres, on the 
banks of the Congaree River, 20 miles from 
Columbia, S. C., with swamp land in which 
the cattle keep fat Winter and Summer 
without one grain of feed ; and also high 
rolling hills from the top of which you can 
look 15 miles, and all around mo miles and 
miles of unfenced timber lands and unculti 
vated fields. Don’t you think that is a good 
range for a flock, with a herdsman to follow 
them? Rye, oats, turnips, hay, etc., are 
easily raised with us, and apart from that, 
when our corn and cotton fields are open 
first of November, cattle and sheep luxuriate 
for months, with no snow and ice to starve 
theim Common sheep can be bought here 
for $ 2 , and could soon be much improved by 
crossing on the Merinos, which cost too much 
when single animals are sent from the North. 
T. K. Legare. 
Fort Motte, Orangeburg Co., S. C. 
-- ♦-*-•* - 
WATER-GLASS IN WASHING WOOL. 
Among the many practical applications of 
water-glass, or the silicate of potash and soda, 
its use in the washing of wool is said to be 
not the least, important. For this purpose 
one part of the water-glass is to be dissolved 
in forty of warm water, and the wool placed 
in it for a minute, and stirred around a little 
with the hand. It is to be taken out and 
rinsed in cold, or luke-warm water, when it 
will be quite entirely free from smelL After 
this treatment the wool is said to remain 
perfectly soft, and is not affected ip. the slight¬ 
est degree, even if allowed to remain for 
several days in the solution, and then rinsed 
out with warm water. Wool may ue washed 
very rapidly in this way, and in large quan¬ 
tity, by inclosing it in baskets or nets, im¬ 
mersing it in the solution, and treating it a* 
above mentioned. Even the sheep can be 
rendered of snowy whiteness very quickly, U 
immersed for a minute in a vessel oontairur.t 
the above solution, at a temperature of 1 W 
to 120 ', and then rinsed in pure water, in 
tins case it may be necessary to take aom® 
precaution to prevent the introduction of trie 
solution into the eyes of the sheep, whienra; 
bu done by fastening the legs securely to pre¬ 
vent struggling, and, perhaps, enveloping me 
head for the time in cloth. 
