THE COTTAGE GAllDENER. 
December 25. 
I 221= 
I 
! SFDES OF AN ICE-IIOUSE. 
' At page ];3;i of tlie November number, a correspontlenl 
tells you, he placed between tlie two walls of his ice-liouse a 
, lot of bog-eartli wliicli had been subjected to tlie action ot 
i the sea, and wishes to know if he has done wrong. I think 
with you, lie had better have left the space open; but a 
better plan than either would have been to have tilled up the 
space with pounded charcoal. Some years ago, my then 
employer requested me to give directions for the building of 
an ice-house. I selected what 1 considered a good spot; 
my next object was to secure a proper drain and trap, 'fhe 
walls were as your correspondent describes liis,—the space 
between filled up with the article I have named; the dome 
covered with clay three feet deep, and upon that, tufts of co.arse 
grass. The house was finished by the end of June. When 
I the season arrived to fill it, I placed over the bottom faggot- 
wood, upon this some clean straw; then the ice, well 
pounded; when two feet up the well, I sprinkled a little 
salt; and, from the rose of a waterpot, I gave two gallons of 
warm water. This, I confess, appeared to sui’prise my em¬ 
ployer, who, I have no doubt, thought, if a new light had 
broken in upon me, it must have come as Humphrey 
Clinker's did—through a crack in my ujiper stoi’y. How¬ 
ever, the same was repeated till I reached the kerb; all 
was well covered with clean straw; the doors closed; and 
the men well supped. At the end of the next summer I 
found the well half full, although the family used it very 
freely. I should tell you, during the same frost I built 
a stack in a good place out-of-doors, which served me till tlie 
following May.—W. ]>., The Rectory, Herstiiwiiccux, Sussex. 
JOINTS OF PIPES—WARMING A SMALL 
GREENHOUSE. 
It may interest some of your readers to know that tlie 
“ caulking” of a joint is not now done with putty, so as to I 
occasion the difficulty named by “J. E. S., Strood,” but with 
India-riihber bands, which are most effectual, and easily 
applied. 
Your replies to “ T. S. F.,” on the subject of the “ cheapest 
mode of warming a greenhouse,” are clearly not wliat he 
wished for, as he expressly states he did “ not want to build 
a fireplace.” I have, known a greenhouse, of about the size 
he names, effectually jireserved from the effects of even last 
winter’s frost by one of.] oyce’s stoves, which answered every 
end, and was much approved. Tlie only difficulty was in 
procuring the “pii.tent fuel,” which was rather costly; but 
common coke did almost as well. I may also state that I 
have known a large tin pail of hot water, put in at night, 
keep itself and a small greenhouse warm for eight or nine 
hours, and especially if the pail have a cover, and be also 
protected by a matting or carpet over it, This tvifl “keep 
out the frost.”—H. J. 
THE APIARIAN’S CALENDAR.— Janu.vry. 
By J. H. Payne, Esq., Author of “ The Bee-Keeper's 
Guide," dc. 
TitE sun has again entered the ascending part of the 
ecliptic, and our bees will be among the first to discover it. 
Apiarians must, therefore, be upon the alert as well as their 
bees ; for, upon examination, I expect the stocks, from the 
mildness of the autumn, will be found to have, drawn largely 
upon their stores, and that feeding will be recpiired earlier 
* than usual. 
I Ex.vMiN.vnoN.—I would recommend, upon the first mild, 
1 bright day, that a careful examination of the stocks should 
take ])lace, the floor-boards to be well cleaned, and, where 
teeding is found to be necessary, to prepare barley-sugar for 
the purpose. 
. Feeding. —I have said, prepare barley - sugar for the 
, purpose, because for spring-feeding I think it best, as well 
! as being less trouble than liquid food. Feed, if possible, at 
the top of the hive. I have found a deep tlower-pot-pan a 
convenient thing to cover over the barley-sugar when placed 
upon the top of the hive, hut it re(pnres to be fixed almost 
air-tight, to prevent a current of cold air from passing 
through the hive, which is very injurious. 
Shade. —Many person have advocated the sun’s rays in 
winter not falling upon the hives. i\lr. Taylor says; — 
“ Where the hives stand singly, I have always seen the ad¬ 
vantages of fixing before each a wooden screen, nailed to a 
post suidv in the ground, and large enough to throw the 
whole front into shade. This does not interfere with the | 
coming forth of the bees at a proper temperature, and it | 
supersedes the necessity of shutting them up when snow is 
on the ground. 'The screen should be fixed a foot or two 
in advance, and so as to interee.jit the sun’s rays, which will 
be chiefiy in winter towards the west side.” 
Enemies. —That determined enemy, the Blue Titmouse, 
is now carrying on its work of destruction, and should be 
destroyed, either by trapping or shooting. 
GRUBS, 
The English name of the hexapode worms, which are 
produced from the eggs of Beetles, are this year very 
abundant in old pastures. They are easily destroyed by 
dressing the land with fresh lime and earth, or by cliimney- 
soot, and afterwards the pasture will be improved. Books 
or poultry are fond of these grubs, and, if encouraged, will 
soon devour and extirpate tbem. 
Two years ago I had a field infested with the Grubs, I 
put my poultry into the field, the poultry got fat on them, 
and I afterwards dressed the field with fresh lime mixed 
with old earth, and there was not a grub to be found in the 
field. This autumn I found a great number of Grubs in 
another place. I manured with fresh lime and earth, de¬ 
stroyed the Grubs, and converted them into manure. The 
grass is beautiful.—E. N. N. 
PROTECTING FRUIT TREES. 
If not already done, no time ought to be lost in covering 
Apricot and Peach - trees, Ac., with Yew branches, in 
situations where the wood is not sufficiently ripened to 
withstand the severe frost that we must expect before the 
w'iliter is over. 
]f Yew is not to be had. Spruce and Silver Fir, and 
Laurel branches will do, only they are not so effectual for 
such covering as the Yew. 
It may be said, why pdant trees in such situations? I, 
for one, would not, but circumstances frequently compel us 
not to do what we wish, but what we can. Hence the 
reason for this safeguard, and, believe me, it will repay for 
the trouble.—D. Ferguson, Stowe, Buchiuyhuvi. 
GOOSEBERRY CULTURE. 
Ascertain, before you prune your Gooseberry-trees, 
whether or not you have a ^stock of Bullfinches to contend 
with. “Where there is a doubt upon this point, give the 
pretty creatures the benefit of it, and leave the pruning, 
however tempting this frosty weather is for the purpose, till 
later in the season. “Why take their life, when you have 
a better chance of securing a crop) by later pruning ? 
If I were to start Gooseberry growing in earnest, I would 
practice what my father did as far back as I can remember. 
I I w'ould not winter pirune the trees at all, but treat them 
j similarly to Peach-trees—disbud them in summer. This 
1 may appear a fomidable piractice to the uninitiated, but 
I (puite a different affair in pnactice, and I can honestly say 
that I never saw such crops anywhere equal to what I 
have seen produced by such culture. To those who grow’ 
them in piots I w'ould strongly advise it; but let me add, 
the ground my father had to work upon was light, with a 
gravelly subsoil, and at this season he had about two feet 
of ground round the stem of the trees cleared, say three 
inches deep, and replaced with about two inches of good 
cow manure, and about an inch of the earth replaced on the 
top. This was usually practised, and it was duly rewarded 
at gathering time.—1). Ferguson, Stowe, Bucldnyhum. 
