1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
3 
AN ICEHOUSE UNDERGROUND. 
1. I am building an icehouse at Fletcher. N. C., (al¬ 
titude 2,400 feet above sea level), to supply my house from 
.lune to December; have excavated on the north side of a 
hill, in the woods, 15 feet deep by 8 x 12; two-inch drain 
pipe from bottom; heavy clay soil. How many tons will 
this house hold? What per cent of melting can I expect? 
How shall I finish the •'house?'’ Should the bottom and 
sides bo ceiled with boards, with sawdust between the 
boards and the clay soil, or will filling the bottom with saw¬ 
dust or straw, and putting in the ice, without boarding be 
sufficient ? 
2. I have a cylindrical cistern, 15 feet diameter by 20 
feet deep, below ground. I expect to collect water during 
Winter and Spring for use in Summer and Autumn, when 
my family will be there. How can I aerate the water? 
Charleston, S. C. b. h. r. 
1. I think that the “percentage of melting” of ice 
in this icehouse would be about 100 by the time that 
Summer was half over. There is no # advantage in dig¬ 
ging a hole in the ground to put an icehouse in. In 
fact, the warmth of the soil would rapidly melt the 
ice unless it is well insulated from it. In the climate, 
here mentioned an icehouse should be no less than 12 
feet each way inside measure. It should be double- 
walled, with a dead-air space of eight to 10 inches 
between the walls. To obtain this dead-air space, the 
outer wall should be made as tight as a carpenter can 
make it with building paper beneath against the stud¬ 
ding. Between the walls of the house and the earth 
excavation there should be a space, in fact, will have 
to be. in order to construct the building. Therefore, 
it will be seen that the excavation will have to be made 
much larger than what it is. The drain pipe is all 
right, but it should be “trapped” in order to keep out 
warm air from beneath the ice. The principal safe¬ 
guard against the melting of the ice in such a warm 
climate will be a double roof and tight construction. 
There should be some means of ventilation by holes 
high in the sides in the gables. The sawdust should 
be well packed about the cube of ice, the latter being 
laid closely and with broken joints. Ice is kept suc¬ 
cessfully in almost any kind of an old house in our 
more northern climate provided it is quite a large one, 
but B. H. R. will have to build with more care. By 
observing the principles here indicated, he should be 
able to keep ice as long as wanted. 
2. As to aerating water in a cistern, I know of no bet¬ 
ter way than by using a bucket chain pump. The manu¬ 
facturers of these make extravagant claims for them, 
but there is no doubt that they are very useful in keep¬ 
ing water in a cistern pure. G. D. 
close. The site mentioned is an ideal one for a lean-to 
greenhouse, and in a climate as mild as Philadelphia 
could be heated by a small hot-water heater, such as is 
used for brooder houses by poultrymen, costing from 
$17 to $35. Second-hand pipe can be used to good ad¬ 
vantage, as there is but little pressure. I would run 
the flow under the bench nearest the eaves, and return 
against the north wall, as shown in diagram. The 
south bench should be raised, the north bench to be 
solid, which is the best for growing lettuce, while the 
south bench will be found the most effectual for start¬ 
ing seedling plants, as it has bottom heat. A pit should 
be dug deep enough so that the return pipes can be put 
below the walk. john jeannin, jr. 
CELERY GOES TO SEED . 
On December 19, 1904, I sowed seed of White Plume cel¬ 
ery ; came up and grew well, and in February, 1905. I 
pricked it out in a bed under glass. It had no check in 
its growth, and by the time it was ready to put out where 
it was to mature some of the plants went up to seed, and 
nearly all of the plants went to seed as soon as it starter’ 
after it was planted out. I made sowings later in .Tanua 
and February, but from other lots of seed, and none of thv. 
plants has gone to seed. Was the fault in the seed, or 
did I sow it too early in the season? We want to get 
celery for the table in the Spring and early Summer. When 
shall we sow the seed so as to have celery by the first of 
June? d. f. 
Oregon. 
I think the trouble was in planting too early. The 
plants were in the beds too long and got root-bound. 
I think the seed should not be planted till the first of 
February, and then kept growing fast till time to put 
outside in the early Spring. henry field. 
Iowa. 
Celery is a plant that requires plenty of moisture and 
PLAN FOR CHEAP GREENHOUSE. 
We have not as yet got to the question of cold frames, 
but the south side of a building, used as a carpenter shop, 
has tempted me to consider the erection of a glass-house 
there, about 10 x 20 feet, and high enough for one to stand 
erect in. I do not feel like going to the expense of heat¬ 
ing it, but have wondered whether the possibilities of such 
a structure would repay the slight outlay, and the ground 
It would occupy; and also whether a “greenhorn” would 
be justified in such a venture. The thought in mind was 
principally with a view to having plants ready for the 
garden, and possibly lettuce, etc., early in the Spring. 
Philadelphia, Pa. w. c. c. 
Build a greenhouse by all means. A greenhouse has 
many advantages over the hotbed. One can put in many 
a pleasant hour caring for growing plants in the stormy 
days of early Spring when it would be very disagreeable 
to do the same work if hotbeds were to be used. An¬ 
other advantage is that we can control the heat, which 
is so essential to the growth of early plants. Insect 
pests can be subdued by fumigation or otherwise. The 
danger from drawing plants from the lack of ventilation 
is reduced; stocky and vigorous plants are almost a 
certainty if a reasonable amount of attention is paid to 
watering and ventilation. It is of some advantage to 
have cold frames in connection with a greenhouse, for 
transplanting early vegetable plants when the season is 
far enough advanced that there is no danger from heavy 
frosts. 
It is a well-known fact that most vegetable plants are 
benefited by transplanting, whether it be in a cold frame 
in the open ground or in pots. After the vegetable 
plants are removed to the cold frames a crop of lettuce, 
radishes, cucumbers or melons can be grown with very 
little cost for fuel. The cost of heating is the stumbling 
block that prevents many amateurs from venturing in 
greenhouse building. In this case it would not be nec¬ 
essary to start to grow early vegetable plants before 
February 1, and such a house as the inquirer mentions, 
10 x 20, can be heated with one ton of pea coal, costing 
about $4. It would take at least four loads of manure 
in hotbeds having the same area to furnish the heat. 
The cost of handling the manure added to the cost of 
the manure itself would bring the price up to possibly 
$8 or $10. Then, again, the hotbeds would require 
more attention, as we frequently have days in early 
Spring when the sun shines for an hour or two which 
would necessitate the ventilation, and if neglected might 
draw the plants beyond repair, while in the greenhouse 
there is always sufficient air to carry the plants for 
some time, even though the atmosphere became quite 
BOOKED FOR IMMEDIATE SLAUGHTER. Fig. 6 . 
but very little heat. It is possible that D. F.’s plants 
bolted (went to seed) because of too much heat under 
glass, probably bottom heat, as he pricked them out 
under glass. I have known instances where celery seed¬ 
lings were pricked out and shaded and apparently did 
well on the start, and were ruined by too much heat 
and not enough moisture, while plants from the same 
sowing transplanted in the open (cold frame), with 
plenty of moisture and cold air, were all right. I am 
not sufficiently posted about the climate of Oregon to 
ldvise when to sow celery seed to have celery June 1. 
As celery is a very hardy vegetable seed can be sown 
at any time when the ground can be worked. Some time 
can be gained by sowing in hotbed or greenhouse in 
flats, and removing flats to cold frame to harden off. to 
be transplanted later. Here in the East our main crop 
celery is sown in the open ground early in the Spring, 
and set August 1 without pricking out. It is altogether 
likely that D. F.’s plants got some setback, either unduly 
forced or a check from lack of water. I do not think 
the seed was at fault. White Plume celery, in fact, all 
so-called self-bleaching kinds, are more likely to bolt 
than the later kinds. joiin jeannin, jr. 
I have never known of celery plants running to seed 
prematurely as described, excepting where the plants 
have experienced a check in growth which D. F. states 
did not occur in his case. I sow celery seed in a cool 
greenhouse at any time during the Winter, and as soon 
as the plants are well started in growth transplant 
them to small flower pots, so that I have good-sized 
plants ready to set out in the Spring. In late October 
I had plants of this character of the White Plume and 
other varieties two feet or more in height, and with 
a cluster of solid stalks which would measure four 
to six inches in diameter at the base. This celery was 
planted early in a furrow which receives the drainage 
from a pile of stable manure, and has made a strong, 
rapid growth, and the entire plants in three rows do not 
show a single plant running to seed. Other plants from 
this same seed which were started, transplanted and 
grown in the ordinary manner, show quite a number 
of stalks which have run to seed prematurely, but these 
were planted in rather heavy soil, and did not receive 
the cultivation they should have had at the proper time, 
l he worst trouble I have ever had with celery running 
to seed prematurely in this way has been with very 
early plantings which after being set out encountered 
a period of very dry weather, and this may have been 
the case with D. F.'s plants. He states that his plants 
had no check in growth, but unless the young plants 
were grown in pots before beiqg set in the row it would 
hardly be possible to transplant them without seriously 
checking the growth. I think that the remedy in his 
case would be to make his early plantings in trenches 
or furrows where the plants can be well watered until 
they have made a strong growth, and are ready to 
earth up for blanching. It is possible in transplanting 
the young celery plants to forward them under glass the 
temperature in the frames or beds was too warm for 
the proper growth of the celery plants; and the closed 
warm atmosphere caused them to shoot to seed quickly. 
My own experience with the early plantings running to 
seed as described above, was after the plants had been 
set in the regular rows in the open ground. 
Pennsylvania. e. d. Darlington. 
ADVICE ABOUT GLASS GARDENING. 
I have a hothouse 11 x GO feet for growing lettuce and 
radishes. At each end I have a large stove, and the bench 
space near stoves seems too hot for lettuce. I was think¬ 
ing of trying flowers, taking about eight feet of bench space 
near each stove. We are situated about 10 miles from At¬ 
lantic City, N. ,T., a good market, and I think I could sell 
all the flowers 1 could raise. I thought of planting some 
Easter lilies. If 1 planted some small mailing plants from 
a floral nursery could I grow first-class plants by Easter 
under favorable conditions? What temperature would it 
take to grow them and how much space for each plant? 
I would like you to suggest some other flowers I could raise 
under the above conditions. m. j. q. 
A lettuce house heated by means of stoves would 
not provide satisfactory conditions for the culture of 
Easter lilies, for the latter would require a temperature 
of about 60 degrees at night in order to bring them in 
flower by Easter, and such a temperature would prove 
disastrous to the lettuce. In addition to this, the lily 
bulbs should have been potted some weeks earlier than 
this date, to give them a chance to make some roots 
before the top growth began. From these facts it is 
evident that it would not be wise to experiment with 
the lilies under such conditions, and a more likely crop 
for such a space would be found in some geraniums, 
these popular flowering plants being much less exact¬ 
ing in their requirements, and seldom failing to find 
a market when nicely grown in four-inch pots. Get 
some cuttings of the geraniums, and after cutting off 
all the leaves except the two or three leaves at the 
tip of the cutting, plant them in shallow boxes of sand, 
making the sand quite firm, then give them one good 
watering and after that only water them when the sand 
seems dry. and they should root in about three weeks. 
Then pot them firmly in three-inch pots, using the same 
soil in which you grow lettuce, and by about the middle 
of March or the first of April the young plants should 
be ready to be shifted into four-inch pots. Give the 
geraniums full sunshine and plenty of fresh air. just 
as you would with the lettuce, and like the latter, the 
geraniums do not need very heavy watering during the 
Winter months. w. H. taplin. 
A hunter shot an eagle and sent it by pxnress to a 
friend who thought it was a wild turkey for Thanksgiving. 
The women folks nearly pulled their fingers off trying to 
pluck it and “heat seemed to have no effect upon It.” Later 
they found that they had spoiled a good eagle for mounting. 
