THE ICE CROP
How to Harvest, Store, Ship and Use Ice
A COMPLETE PRACTICAL TREATISE
FOR
FARMERS, DAIRYMEN, ICE DEALERS, PRODUCE SHIPPERS, MEA1
PACKERS, COLD STORERS, AND ALL INTERESTED IN ICE
HOUSES, COLD STORAGE AND THE HANDLING
OR USE OF ICE IN ANY WAY
INCLUDING
Many Recipes for Iced Dishes and Beverages
BY THE^O^T L. MILES
NEW YORK
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
1893
COPYRIGHT, 1892,
BY ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
PREFACE.
An attempt is made, in this volume, to record some of the
more prominent features regarding Ice as it affects the health,
convenience and industry of the people.
The development of the ice industry during the last forty
years has been phenomenal ; there are, however, but few rec-
ords by which its progress can be accurately gauged.
No pretentious, other than those of a practical character,
are made in behalf of this book. But it is hoped that the
information here collected will meet with the favor and
approval of those who are interested in this commodity.
THERON L. HILES.
CHICAGO, ILL., WINTER,
256250
5
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
Frontispiece* 2
Title Page 3
Preface 5
Chapter I, An Historical Sketch 7-11
Chapter II, Legal and Sanitary Methods 11-14
Chapter III, Cutting and Storing Ice \4-22
Chapter IV, Construction of Commercial Ice Houses 42-55
Chapter V, The Care, Handling and Marketing of Ice 56-62
Chapter VI, The Use of Ice in Refrigeration Refrigera-
tor Ice House for Use in Farming, Cutting Ice in
Small Quantities for Farm and Family Use, Co-op-
eration with the Ice Crop 62-83
Chapter VII, Artificial Ice and Cold Air Machines 84-91
Chapter VIII, Ice in Transportation 91-96
Chapter IX, Retarding Houses Without Ice Miscellane-
ous Hints 96-101
Chapter X, Recipes for Iced Food and Beverages 101-114
List of Illustrations 115-116
Index.. ..117-122
* The Frontispiece is from the ice harvest of the Knickerbocker Ice Co. of
Chicago.
THE ICE CROP.
CHAPTER I.
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH.
The Origin of the Ice Business in the United States Its Won-
derful Development Commercially and in the Manifold
Uses of Ice A Pen Picture of a Modern Ice Harvest.
Prior to 1805, there was no regularly conducted traffic in
ice, in this country. In the winter of 1805-6, a supply was
secured at Boston, Mass., and the following summer a cargo
was despatched to the West Indies, where yellow fever was
then raging.
DOMESTIC AND EXPORT TRADE were both of very slow
growth, and, in 1825, the ice consumed in the United States
and exported to foreign ports was probably less than fifty
thousand tons. During the thirty years following, the con-
sumption of ice increased more rapidly, and the enterprise of
the shippers carried the fame of Boston ice all around the
world. Cargoes were consigned to London, to the East Indies,
and the West Indies, Rio de Janerio, Calcutta, China, Japan,
and Australia.
THE EXPORT TRADE reached its height about this time.
Frederick Tudor, of Boston, Mass., who shipped the first cargo
to the West Indies in 1806, and whose enterprise had carried
7
8 TFE ICE CHOP.
his ships to 0i the ports Ta.eaJio.Tied, was titled the " Ice King."
Not many years after this, ice and refrigerator machines
began to supply the demand for ice in tropical climes, and the
importations of the natural product soon ceased. Two million
tons is a liberal estimate of the amount of ice stored at this
date, 1855, in the United States, with six or seven million
dollars of invested capital.
MANY NEW USES for ice have exerted a marked influence
on the demand during the succeeding years. During the war
of the Rebellion, the Government was a large purchaser, on
account of the hospital service. The brewers, who in earlier
days, had suspended operations during the heat of the sum-
mer, now pursued their avocation continuously, with the aid
of ice. Meat packers found in ice an agent for immensely
augmenting their product, while the fisheries consumed many
thousand tons.
The demand for ice creams and cooled drinks, together
with the growing taste for luxuries, in our cities and towns,
has stimulated the retailing of ice until, at this time, there is
hardly a town or village, where ice privileges exist, that does
not support a representative of the ice trade, and there are few
large towns in the South which are not furnished with one or
more artificial ice factories.
THE USE OF ICE. It is safe to say that, at this time, the
users of ice, directly or indirectly, now include nearly the
entire population of the United States.
DEVELOPMENT OF METHODS. The progress made in the
methods and conveniences for securing the natural ice crop,
and in the construction of storage houses, has kept pace with
the growth of the demand. Originally, axes and saws com-
prised the dealers' outfit. Now, a modern plant is replete with
tools and appliances, whose manufacture is a distinct calling,
and may comprise vessels, cars, wagons, immense storage
houses, where upward of one hundred thousand tons of ice are
gathered under one roof, also city supply depots and wharfs,
all of which are equipped with special regard to handling
this product.
AK HISTOKICAL SKETCH. 9
EXTENT OF THE ICE INDUSTRY. The annual consumption
of natural and manufactured ice is very great. By adding to
this the equivalent, in tons of ice, of the work performed by
refrigerator machines, in the various industries in which they
are used, the grand total is estimated to exceed twenty million
tons of ice used each year.
The capital invested in carrying on this business is not less
than twenty-eight million dollars. Employment, constant and
temporary, is afforded by the ice trade to about ninety thousand
persons and twenty-five thousand horses.
It is probable that more than half of the world's annual
ice supply is procured and consumed in this country, which is
the home of this industry.
THE PRESERVING OR ANTISEPTIC POWERS OF ICE have long
been made use of to keep food from decay. The best illustra-
tion of its powers in this direction is found in the accounts
which travelers in Northern Europe and Asia have given us of
the discoveries of huge mammoths frozen within large blocks
of ice. This species of animal has been extinct for ages, and
so perfectly have they been preserved that some of the native
tribes occasionally make use of these supplies of flesh for food.
Fish, meat and eggs are now frozen and kept during many
months, and the transportation of fresh beef and mutton for
thousands of miles over land and sea is an established custom.
Fresh fish are frozen in the center of cakes of ice, and, shipped
in this way, present a very handsome appearance.
This property of ice for domestic and commercial purposes
has been of an incalculable benefit to the human family.
Many eminent physicians have laid the seal of their approval
upon the use of ice as a remedial agent, and also for the allevi-
ation of suffering among the sick. So highly did they esteem
it that, prior to the general introduction of the trade in ice,
many doctors and managers of hospitals had private stores of
ice for use among their patients. The directors of the Penn-
sylvania hospital at Philadelphia may be credited with being
the pioneer ice dealers of that city, as in the early years of the
10 THE ICE CEOP.
century they disposed of their surplus stores of ice by sale in
that community. Many localities which are now important
centers in the ice trade were at one time dependent upon the
medical fraternity for ice for hygienic purposes.
PEN PICTURE OF A MODERN ICE HARVEST. (See Frontis-
piece,) Viewed from an eminence on the shore, a pretty and
engaging scene is often presented at an ice house in the
country, during the harvest. The clear sunlight flooding the
quiet landscape discloses here and there a snug farmhouse
sheltered among the hills, and surrounded with trees and
shrubs, rivaling, in their soft downy draperies of spotless white
and brilliant pearls, their vernal beauty when joyous spring
has clothed their boughs with fragrant blossoms and emerald
leaves. The broad stream or lake, ice-locked and still,
stretches away to the distance, a level and unbroken plain ; its
farther shore dwindling away until lost to view, presents a
delicately traced outline of forest and field against the horizon.
The near by shore stands out clear cut and bold of outline, but
quiet and deserted. Nothing in the aspect of nature denotes
activity or invites the attack of man by a display of treasure.
Stepping to the brink of the hill near the shore, a new
scene breaks upon the view. At the foot of the hill stands a
huge ice house, its shore side serried with galleries along the
entire front, with inclined ways extending from the water to
the top of the house, and a connecting bridge or runway
between each gallery and the incline. Alongside of the incline
is discovered a power-house and tool-room, and at a little dis-
tance large barns and dwellings. From the foot of the incline
leading out into the lake is seen a dark line, which branches
out and becomes a large blot on the clear white surface. A
closer inspection reveals an animated scene, of men armed
with strange weapons attacking, with great vigor, fields of ice,
which they detach from the main surface, and on which they
navigate the open water, already stripped of its frozen crys-
tals. All around are seen teams and horses drawing huge
loads of snow to the distant shores, plows and markers, cross-
LEGAL AND SANITARY MATTERS. 11
ing and recrossing the cleared surface, and long lines of ice
blocks, which are being floated along the channels to the
incline, where the puffing engine imparts motion to swiftly
gliding, endless chains, which catch up the waiting cakes and
whisk them away up the incline and into the ice house, look-
ing as though they were endowed with life-motion and were
traveling of their own volition.
CHAPTER II.
LEGAL AND SANITARY MATTERS.
Ice Privileges and Legal Points Artificial Ice Ponds and San-
itary Care of Ice Ponds and Fields.
Attention is now being given to the sanitary condition of
the sources from whence supplies of natural ice are obtained.
Ice sold for domestic uses and cut from canal water, must, in
New York, be so labeled.
Agitation in this direction has led to the prohibition of ice
cutting on specified polluted waters, by some boards of health,
for any other than cooling purposes. In several States the ice
crop is protected by the enactment of laws which make it a
misdemeanor to destroy or injure ice in the field where it is to
be cut.
No doubt the preservation of the purity of our streams
and lakes will receive more care in the future, as sanitary
knowledge becomes more widely diffused.
LAKES FED BY SPRINGS, and having clean beds, have nat-
urally risen in value for ice cutting purposes. Running
streams, especially those with a rapid current, purify their
waters very rapidly. Exposure to light and air, the influence
of oxygen, and the motion of the water, all assist in this good
office. Foreign substances are expelled from the ice in the
process of freezing, and streams of this character, not polluted
12 THE ICE CROP.
by the presence of sewerage, waste products from factories,
packing houses, gas works, etc., produce ice of great purity.
THE OWNERSHIP OF ICE FIELDS has been a bone of conten-
tion in many instances, where a knowledge of the legal rights
involved would have saved expensive litigation. In a general
way, ice cutting rights are divided into two classes. Ice on
navigable waters is under the authority of the national govern-
ment. "Navigable," in this instance, being used to denote
tide water, the proprietary rights of owners of the abutting
property are limited to the water line at high tides. On all
such waters, navigation being closed, the ice is free and is
secured by pre-emption, the first one to stake out claims being
entitled to cut the ice. In contentions over boundaries of ice
fields, where the issue is in doubt, the ice dealer whose prop-
erty forms the water front is given the preference.
Rivers, small lakes and navigable streams above tide water
are termed public. The boundary line of abutting property is
held to extend under the water to the center of the channel,
and includes the ownership of the ice formed above it. Public
convenience for navigation and commerce, however, take
precedence. The rights to this ice are thus subject to contract
and sale. The submerged land may also be sold, and all deeds
to water front property should clearly set forth the boundary
line and all the rights that are guarded and reserved.
WHERE DAMS ARE BUILT across streams and the water
line is raised on property beyond the limits of that held by the
owner of the dam, consent must be obtained from the holders
of property thus affected.
There are numerous creeks and brooks which are fed by
springs, or have their source in spring lakes, which make
excellent ice fields, with very little labor or expense. Advan-
tage may be taken of low lands in the vicinity of such streams.
Gravel forms the best bed for ice ponds, as it is free from
weeds. In some of our lakes, occurring in districts abounding
in gravel, the water is pure and sweet and the gravelly bed
can be seen at great depths. Springs are usually numerous in
such localities.
LEGAL AND SANITARY MATTERS. 13
The following methods of preparing dams can be employed
in some situations. The depth of the pond and the force of
the current of the stream are to be taken into account in fixing
upon the proportions and construction of dams. Also the
quantity of water usually running into the pond and the
largest amount likely to be received during a season of flood.
If the soil is a light loam, or a seam of gravel is near the sur-
face, dig a trench down to a hard bottom, and on the pond
side drive in a row of stout boards, breaking joints and sloping
them toward the dam. Behind this paling fill in with clay
rammed down. A crib formed of logs notched and bolted
together, and lined or faced with plank on pond side, should
be set at the rear of the sub-paling. This crib is filled with
stones and clay or sand. The front is banked up with earth
and covered with rip-rap.
The center of the dam is provided with a sluiceway large
enough to carry off flood waters, and, at the bottom, a pipe or a
box well bedded in cement gives a current on the bottom
which carries off sediment. It is also useful in taking off air
and gases, which, arising from the bottom, form air bubbles in
the ice. Some water should always pass over the upper
sluiceway.
Dams may be formed entirely of an embankment of earth
and stone. Their base should not be less than their height,
with increased thickness where pressure from a current has to
be resisted. Shallow dams may be formed by driving two
rows of plank across the line of the dam, and filling in the
inclosed space withTammed clay. Break joints in the plank-
ing, and bolt stringers along the top edges to bind them firmly
together.
IN CHANGING THE COURSE OF STREAMS, cut the new chan-
nel deeper than the old one, to insure the current following it.
Straightening or changing the course of a stream will often
improve the topography of a farm and drain wet or marsh land.
Food fish, which can readily be raised in these ponds, forms
a welcome addition to the family larder.
14 THE ICE CROP.
THE PURITY OF BROOKS which feed ice and fish ponds
should be preserved. No filth should be dumped into them or
on their banks. Stables and cesspools should not be situated
where they will drain into them. Vegetable refuse and litter,
which may be brought down with the current, should be
caught by screens and removed from time to time, or they
will accumulate in the pond and injure it.
CHAPTER III.
CUTTING AND STORING ICE.
The Science of Ice Formation Preparing the Ice Field for the
Harvest Getting Rid of Snow Sudden Thaws and How
to Remedy Their Damage Tools and Implements Used
Thickness of Ice Care of Ice Tools Filling the Ice House
Closing it up and Caring for It Shipping Ice from the
Field.
With the advent of a sharp freeze, attention is directed to
the ice field, from which a harvest is hoped for at no distant
day. The purification of the water has been given attention
before this time, together with all preliminaries relating to the
plant in its various and complex features. The weather now
determines the lot of the ice dealer. As the cold breezes
whistle over the water, stirring it into ripples, and breaking its
surface into waves, a wonderful change is rapidly transform-
ing its liquid pearls into flinty diamonds. Gradually the heat
in the water is radiated into the air. As fast as the surface
water is cooled, it is condensed, and sinks to the bottom, its
place being taken by the warmer and lighter water from
beneath. Gradually the entire mass reaches the point of maxi-
mum density, at 39| F. Below this temperature, until it
reaches 31 F., water expands as it is cooled. Now the surface
water no longer sinks as it grows colder, being rendered lighter
by expansion than the water beneath. Upon reaching 32,
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 15
convection, or freezing, takes place, and the surface assumes
the solid form.
CARE OF THE ICE FIELD. From this time until the crop is
stored in the ice house, the ice dealer devotes his energies to
the care of the ice field. Special situations develop special
duties and requirements, which the alert dealer studies with
care. If the ice is on a running stream, the possible pollution
of its higher levels will be carefully guarded against, and also
all rubbish removed from the surface of the field. Sticks and
stones bedded in the ice hinder the work and damage the keen
edges of the cutting tools. Motion in the water is necessary to
promote the growth of the ice, and, when the ice is sufficiently
heavy, traveling over the surface, or other jarring, is benefi-
cial. It has been found that where a roadway has been opened
across an ice field, and the travel over it considerable, the ice
was thicker along the roadway than at other places on the field.
On inclosed lakes or mill ponds, a gentle current induced
in the water promotes the growth of the ice materially. The
air is expelled from the water during freezing, if opportunity
is found for it to do" so. Unless this is done, the ice is cloudy.
Agitation of the water assists the escape of the air ; hence it is
that ice from running streams is usually clearer and more
brilliant than pond or lake ice. An outlet afforded to the land-
locked ponds and lakes is often beneficial during ice-making
weather. Too rapid a current, however, will retard growth,
and a gentle motion diffused over the entire field produces the
best results.
The growth should be carefully noted under different con-
ditions, attention being given to the atmospheric influences
and other general effects, and the regulation of the motion,
based on ascertained results at the locality where applied. As
the ice thickens, its growth is slower at the same, or even a
lower, temperature than that which at first made ice very
rapidly. The earth at the bottom and sides of the ice field
radiate heat into the water. The heat rays of the sun pass
through the ice, if it is clear, into the water below, with very
16 THE ICE CROP.
little effect upon the ice itself. The ice, being a poor conductor
of heat, is, under these conditions, an obstacle to its own
growth. It shuts in the water from contact with the cooler
air, prevents agitation of its surface by passing breezes, and
retards the escape of air and heat.
On running streams, these conditions are much modified.
In passing over shallows or rapids, where the current is swift,
the water remains open and exposed to the air. At these
points in its course it parts with, its accumulated air and heat
very rapidly, a thin vapor or mist being often perceptible in
the air at such places, owing to the rapid radiation. The tum-
bling and turning of the water at rapid shoals materially assists
the growth of ice at points below where the current grows
gentle. Streams of this character, whose beds are free from
accumulations of vegetable mold, or other sources which gen-
erate gases, produce clear and sparkling ice of greater thick-
ness than is found on still ponds or lakes in the same vicinity,
and exposed to the same temperature.
THE USEFULNESS OF SNOW. Snow, as it is well known, is
a great impediment to the inroads of frost into anything envel-
oped by it. A covering of snow on an ice field is a great
impediment to the escape of heat from the water, as well as
protecting the ice from the direct action of the cold air, and
greatly retards the growth of the ice. It is essential to remove
this snow as early as practicable, as the ice harvester has always
in view a possible thaw or rain, and endeavors to secure his
crop at the earliest practicable moment.
Snow, however, in the event of soft or warm weather, is
an aid to the ice by protecting it from the direct heat of the
sun, and the force of a rain is largely expended in melting the
snow. The water and snow on the top of the ice freezes into
snow ice as soon as the weather turns cold again. This snow
ice is white, being very porous and filled with air, and detracts
from the quality of the crop, its thickness depending on the
depth of snow on the field, amount of water, and the tempera-
ture. At the top of this snow ice, where it merges into the
CUTTING AND STOKING ICE. 17
snow, will be found a stiff, crusty layer, more or less firmly
united to the ice below, which adds to the difficulty of remov-
ing the snow on top. An inch or two of snow ice will lessen
the loss by breakage of cakes, in stowing, and the ice also
comes out of the house in better shape, and will stand shipping
better. It is not so brittle as clear ice, and is homogeneous in
its structure, not being readily split in any direction.
REMOVAL OF SNOW. Various methods and appliances are
in use for the expeditious and economical removal of snow.
As soon as the field will bear the weight of a horse, scrapers of
various designs are placed at work. If the ice is too thin to
support a horse safely, flooding is resorted to. At intervals of
six feet, more or less, according to the freedom with which
FIG. 1. CLEARING OFF SCRAPER.
the water rises through the openings, holes are cut through
the ice, and the water saturates the lower part of the snow.
This helps to thicken the ice rapidly, and, if the weather is
cold , it will very soon be heavy enough to support a horse. As
soon as this is the case, the scrapers are placed at work. The
snow ice thus formed is afterward gotten rid of by planing, if
more than an inch or two in thickness. If the snow is light,
and not too deep, it is scraped into windrows, by scrapers
similar to those in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.
18
THE ICE CROP.
FIG 2.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 4.
SNOW SCOOP SCRAPERS.
CUTTING AND STOKING ICE. 19
These windrows are distributed over the field, not being
made large enough to sink the ice at any point. Scoop scrapers
are now employed, which gather up the windrows and carry
the snow off to the shore, or to a distance from where the ice
is to be cut. If the field is very large, and the snow deep,
dumping points are selected on the field. The weight of the
snow will sink the ice at these points, and cracks will soon
loosen the dump from the main body of ice. A deep groove
plowed alongside of the dump will assist in loosening the dump,
and keeps the water off the field. Some of these scoop scrapers
are constructed with great care, and nicely adapted to the
needs of the ice harvester.
A SUDDEN THAW during the winter, while the ice crop is
forming, is an annoyance to the ice dealer, and, if accompa-
nied by rain, the field will often suffer by being flooded with
water from the surrounding hills. Sand and earth may be
washed on to the ice, making it dirty and injuring its quality.
Water standing on top of the field will soon comb and rot the
ice. If only an inch or two of water is on the field and the
weather turns cold, it can be left to freeze and then be
planed off.
If it is deep it can be readily handled, by cutting holes
through the ice, or tapping the ice field in a number of places ;
the water, being heavier than the ice, will sink and raise the
ice, if it has opportunity of so doing. Tapping should have
prompt attention, and the water removed without delay.
Even if the water freezes on top, the ice is not of good quality
and is not part of the ice below. It forms a layer which is
attached to the old ice, but yet is not solidly a part of it, and
gives trouble by splitting out in barring off. Ice expels the
air while freezing principally toward the bottom, and as it has
no chance for escape through the ice beneath, the top layer
will show a white streak.
For tapping the field the auger and the tapping axe are
used. If the water is accumulating rapidly and despatch is
wanted, the axe will be found the more rapid-working tool.
THE ICE CEOP.
The auger, however, makes neater work, and leaves the field
in better shape often an important desideratum.
THE OUTFIT FOR HARVESTING. Time is of great value in
handling ice in any of the various operations gone through
with on the field or in the house. Delays during harvesting
greatly increase the cost of getting ice prepared for the mar-
ket. Great care and much study have been devoted to per-
fecting the paraphernalia by which the ice crop is handled, as
will appear as the reader follows the round of duties of the ice
harvester. In some emergencies the crop is only saved from
partial or complete loss by the despatch which modern devel-
FIG. 5. ICE AUGER.
FIG. 6. MEASURE. FIG. 7. TAPPING AXE.
opment of tools and machinery has placed at the command of
the enterprising ice dealer. The advent of warm weather dur-
ing the harvest demands the utmost celerity in all depart-
ments, if the crop is secured.
More credit than is generally supposed to be warranted is
due to the splendid energy and managerial ability of the ice
harvester, during seasons when the home ice crop is a partial
or entire failure. No one, not practically familiar with the
business, can readily understand the extra strain and burden
imposed on the ice dealer who succeeds in securing supplies
sufficient to meet the requirements of his customers, by going
to the far north for this most beneficent and useful product of
nature. Enterprise pays in this, as in any business.
Having removed the snow the field is carefully inspected,
CUTTING AND STOKING ICE. 21
and quality and thickness of the ice ascertained in all parts.
The field is bored with the ice auger, and the measure indicates
the thickness. The auger is withdrawn and the appearance of
the ice noted before the auger reaches the bottom and water
fills the hole. If the snow ice is too heavy it must be removed.
Two methods for doing this are available. It can be cut
loose and broken into chips with the snow ice planer on the
field, the chips being after-
wards cleared with scrapers
and scoops ; or it can be left
on the ice and cut away by
the elevator ice planer as the
ice cakes pass up the endless
chain ice elevator incline, on
FIG. 8. FIELD PLANER. their way into the ice hollse .
The first method is in use wherever the endless chain ice
elevator is not employed. When it is to be removed by the
field planer, the ice field is first laid out and plowed to the
depth of the snow or sap ice to be removed. The snow ice
planer follows the plowed grooves, cutting off the refuse ice.
THICKNESS OF ICE. Generally speaking, the ice is desired
at an average thickness of fourteen inches ; this being conven-
ient for subsequent handling. In practice, the thickness of
the ice, as it is stored or shipped from the water, varies with
the exigencies of the season and the average thickness formed
at the locality^
In the latitude of Central and Southern Ohio six-inch ice
is often stored; in the vicinity of Chicago and Omaha, ten
inch ; in Maine, sixteen inch, and in Minnesota, twenty inch.
Ice, thirty inches thick, has been cut and stored on Lake Supe-
rior, in Northern Wisconsin, where ice forms equal in purity
and brilliancy to any found in this country. The ordinary
printing on the pages of a Chicago newspaper has been easily
read through a block of Lake Superior ice twenty-nine inches
thick. At Winnipeg, Manitoba, ice is cut forty inches in
thickness. Such thick ice keeps the year through.
THE ICE CHOP.
FIG. 9. MARKER, WITH SWING GUIDE.
FIG. 10. FIELD PLOW.
FIG. 11. SWING GUIDE PLOWS.
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 23
LAYING OUT THE ICE FIELD. As the ice field is inspected
and mapped out for plowing, all unsound places, air holes, or
shallow places where rocks or sand bars approach near to the
surface, are marked for avoidance. A convenient method is
to bore holes at such places, and plant pieces of brush in them.
Thin ice, formed where the ice has been removed during cut-
ting, is also marked in this manner, to give warning of the
danger of venturing upon it.
Like a good general, the ice harvester takes note of the
physical advantages of his position. If he can so lay out the
field that the current and prevailing winds are in his favor
and assist to float the ice toward the house, his strategy is not
without reward. Room for refuse ice is needed where it will
not impede the ice floating toward the house. The lay of the
shore line must not be overlooked, on streams where the cur-
rent is strong, in calculating for support for the shore ice.
The best ice in the field will always be secured as a prime
consideration.
Quality should always be of the first importance, and, in
these days of close competition, pure ice is necessary for suc-
cess in the ice business. Ice, for any purpose, should never be
cut from impure or contaminated water. Too much care can
not be given to securing clean, pure, healthful ice for all uses,
directly or remotely allied to preserving or curing food pro-
ducts. Natural ice from pure crystal water is one of nature's
purest productions.
Having gone over the field and determined the plan of
operation, the first task is to lay out the base lines from which
the marking and plowing are gauged. Stakes are planted at
either end of the line, and a heavy cord drawn taut between
them. The hand plow is now passed alongside the line, mak-
ing a score in the ice from end to end. Sometimes a long
board with sights is used for laying out the first line, and a
line marker is a cheap substitute for the hand plow. The
teeth of the horse marker are now set in the hand plow groove ;
the guide is unlatched and runs along on top of the ice. Care
24
THE ICE CHOP.
FIG. 12. HAND PLOW.
FIG. 13. PLOW ROPE.
FIG. 14. LINE MARKER.
CUTTING AXD STOELNG ICE. 25
is taken to keep the marker upright, by firmly supporting the
handles. This cuts a groove three inches deep. The blade of
the guide is now placed in this groove, and the marker cuts a
new groove parallel with the first one.
This operation is continued until the field is grooved in
parallel lines over its surface in one direction. Plows are now
started in the marker grooves, and are run back and forth
until the grooves have been cut about two-thirds through the
ice, care being taken to leave not less than four inches of solid
ice below the bottom of the groove.
Meanwhile the marker is at work scoring the field in lines
at right angles to those first laid out. A large wooden square
with legs about fifteen feet long is used to square from, and
the field is marked and plowed in both directions.
When the snow ice plane is to be used, the field is marked
out in one direction only. The depth cut is regulated by a
planer gauge, attached to the marker, to the thickness of the
snow ice to be removed. The runners of the plane set in the
grooves and are guided by them.
CHANNELS AND CANALS. The marking and plowing being
well under way, the channels and canals require attention.
Where the current is gentle, and on ponds and lakes, the open-
ing of the channel and canals is not attended with much diffi-
culty. Where the current is swift, as on the large rivers,
practical s^ill is required in opening up the field. The pres-
sure of "the current makes it difficult to open the channel and
canals, and the shore ice is in danger of giving way. Stays
and braces are sometimes employed to anchor the shore ice,
and to prevent the channels from closing.
In some instances it has been found advisable to have the
channel permanently fixed by piles driven into the bottom of
the river on either side. In others, braces are set in the ice,
at short intervals, before the channel is opened, as shown
in the illustration. The posts should be heavy, and the
cross struts may be ten or twelve inches square. The post
holes, if cut oblong, will allow short boards to be spiked to the
26
THE ICE CHOP.
sides of the posts at their lower ends. When inserted through
the ice, a quarter turn of the post will bring the projecting
ears under the ice, and no trouble will be given by the post
raising out of its place. The cross strut should just allow the
ice to float beneath, and be well secured to the posts, which
require inclined braces, joining the posts opposite the ends of
the struts, with their feet planted in recesses cut into the ice.
Water should be poured around the braces, and when the
braces and posts are frozen in place a very strong support is
secured against the current, as the following cut shows.
FIG. 15. BRACES FOR CHANNEL WITH SWIFT CURRENT.
Where the current is not so strong, square frames may be
employed. They are placed in the channel where the ice
cake will float through freely ; their sides should fill mortices
in the sides of the channel, and not project into the path of
the cakes, as shown in Fig. 16.
Various methods of dealing with cracks in the ice have
been tried. A good one is to take long planks and extend
them across the cracks laying flat on the surface. By boring
through the planks into the ice, and inserting wooden pins,
the loosened portion is firmly held, and the cracks will freeze
up. If the pins are inclined in opposite directions a firm hold
is secured on the ice.
When the channel has been located, if convenient, a deep
groove is plowed at either side, and the remaining ice is cut
away with the pond ice saws. Splitting chisels are now
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 27
brought into play, and the ice in the channel is split up into
cakes, which are sunk and floated under the ice. Canals
through the plowed field are similarly opened. The field is
now in readiness to furnish a supply of ice cakes for stowing
in the house.
A section is selected, and the grooves carefully double
calked with chips, from the plowing, to prevent the water run-
ning in. For this purpose a calking bar is used. Ice saws are
now brought into requisition, and the grooves at the ends of
the section are sawed through to the back. The groove at the
back is now struck into at several points with one or another
FIG. 16. BRACE FOR SLOW CURRENT.
of the ^barring off tools provided for this work. A section
called a float, and containing one hundred to one thousand or
more cakes, is readily split off. The tools used for this work
vary with the thickness of the ice and the size of the floats.
The fork bars are the most often used, the two-prong bar being
the favorite on heavy ice. If the first cuts with the saws are
so made that the ice cut away is a little wider on the bottom
than on the top, and the sides parallel, it will facilitate getting
out the first float cut away. By sinking the float a little all
pinching or binding at the sides is prevented.
The floats are split into rows of single or double cakes, as
they are floated near to the channel leading to the incline. As
THE ICE CROP.
FIG. 17. BEST CAST STEEL ICE SAWS.
FIG. 18. TWO-PRONG FORK BAR.
FIG. 19. THREE-PRONG FORK EAR.
FIG. 20. FOUR-PRONG FORK BAR.
FIG. 21. CALKING BAR
FIG. 22. BREAKING BAR.
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 29
the long rows are moved into the channel, a man, standing on
a bridge a few inches above the ice, strikes a needle or split-
ting chisel into the plowed grooves as they are passed beneath
his feet. One or two dexterous thrusts will cleave the ice to
the bottom. In frosty weather, with the ice hard, it can be
split true and square, in most instances. Cakes not smoothly
split must be trimmed before they reach the incline, and the
bunches removed.
The work on the field is directed to secure a supply of ice
cakes at the foot of the incline, in advance of the requirements
of those whose duty is found in placing the cakes in position
within the ice house. No more than will be run into the house,
and also leave the channel full, with some floats near at hand
at quitting time, should be detached from the field.
Ice floats left too long before being broken up into single
cakes, are in danger of having the grooves flooded, and wholly
or partially frozen up. In this condition they are either worth-
less or split up with much labor and great irregularity. The
single cakes left in the channel over night serve to prevent it
being closed with ice in the morning, and the delay incident
to opening it up is avoided.
Some early work, however, is always needed on the chan-
nels. The single cakes will have a connecting web of new ice,
which must be broken up and trimmed from the sides of the
channel and the cakes. The broken ice and damaged cakes
which are not wanted must be kept clear of the channel at all
times. The larger pieces may be sunk under the ice, and the
smaller ones be removed by the scoop nets or sieve shovels. A
snowstorm during the harvest is attended with much discom-
fort to the ice harvesters. The channels are filled with slush,
which packs around the floats and cakes, making their prog-
ress slow and laborious. It eludes the scoop net and is very
hard to deal with. The field is soon buried out of sight, and
must be cleared and scraped with as little delay as practicable.
HOUSING THE ICE. There is room for large latitude for
variations in the methods employed on the ice field. The situ-
30 THE ICE CROP.
ations are so different that the dealer is called upon to exercise
judgment and ingenuity, in determining what is best to be
done. On swift running streams the ice, after first forming,
may be broken by storms, and with a return of settled weather,
will freeze in rough and confused masses of broken ice in
places. At other points no floating ice has found lodgment,
and the second freezing is regular and of good quality. In
order to secure the ice from these favored spots, the harvester
may be obliged to open a channel several miles in length, and
float the ice do\; n to where his storage houses are located.
At the foot of the incline at which the ice cakes are taken
from the water, and along the channel directly leading to it,
the ice is subject to much wear. The work necessarily done
on the cakes as they are floated through this channel, requires
the presence of a number of trimmers and bar men at this
point, as well as those who are feeding the cakes into the ele-
vator, or placing them in position for the grapple. The tools
used at the foot of the incline and near by channel are illus-
trated on Pages 00-00.
There is often an accumulation of refuse ice taken from
the channel and thrown on the ice not far away. Ice cakes
sometimes slip from the grapples on their way up the incline,
and slide down, striking with great force at the foot of the
incline. All these, and other sources of wear, on the ice, make
it important to provide some protection to the sides of the
channel, and, as the edges soon dip below the surface of the
water, a footing or walk for the channel men. Where eleva-
ting by means of grapples, it will be found a convenience, and
often the means of avoiding delays, to have a water box or
trough sunk in the channel, at a depth to admit the cakes
passing freely on to the lower end, and yet near enough the
surface to prevent the cakes ducking, or dodging under, when
pressed forward from the rear. The jackman, as the slack is
taken out of the line and the pull is felt, bears a firm grip on
the handle of his grapple, and, at the same time, bears down
heavily, and ducks the heel of the cake, engaged by the grapple,
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 31
FIG. 23. ICE HOOKS.
FIG. 24. ELEVATOR FEEDING FORK.
FIG. 25. CHAIN SCOOP NET.
FIG. 26. SIEVE SHOVEL.
FIG. 27. RING HANDLE SPLITTING CHISEL.
FIG. 28. CHANNEL HOOK CHISEL.
FIG. 29. NEEDLE BAR.
32 THE ICE CEOP.
under the water. The men who are placing the cakes for the
jacks, if the ice is heavy, bear down on the cake with their
pike poles at the same time, to prevent the last cake from
being ended over. The water box is necessary, at these times,
to steady the cake below, and prevent it sinking too deep.
Several cakes are usually run up at one trip. A sharp lookout
is necessary on the part of the jackman, and some experience
is required to become an adept at handling the grapple. Seri-
ous accidents have resulted from careless or ignorant methods,
and caution should be observed by all who are employed about
the field, incline, or ice house. The construction of the water
box varies with the depth of \vater and amount of ice run
over it. Usually it is of a temporary character, and renewed
each year. Order and a thorough system should be care-
fully adapted to the work on the field and in the house, by
every ice harvester. Details, fully worked out, and the plan
once in force, it should be strictly observed by the proprietor,
and exact compliance insisted upon from all employes. Unless
discipline is maintained, especially on large fields, much loss
of time and money will result, and life and limb be jeopardized.
CARE OF ICE TOOLS. Provision for preserving the cutting
qualities of tools is of great importance. An inferior tool, or
one out of repair, will detract from the efficiency of the labor
employed to use it. The amount depends on the particular
kind of work under consideration, and the comparative condi-
tion of the tool with which it is done. Attention to this matter
is often neglected, from a failure to properly estimate its
importance, or from a mistaken idea of the ease with which
an incompetent or ignorant man can spoil the best implement
which can be made. Ice saws, of the best type, will, when
new, cut rapidly and true ; one or two dressings, done in the
wrong way, will detract from their cutting efficiency one-fourth
or more, and it will be impossible to cut true with them.
One man should be trained to correctly dress the saws, and
then be held responsible for their work. When the teeth are
worn short, or the saws are sprung, send them to the ice tool
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 33
FIG. 30. TOOTHED TRIMMER BARS, IRON HANDLE.
FIG. 31. TOOTHED TRIMMER BARS, D HANDLE.
FIG. 32. JACK GRAPPLE.
FIG. 33. HANDLE GRAPPLE.
FIG. 34. CHANNEL GRAPPLE.
34 THE ICE CROP.
manufacturer, to have the teeth gummed out to their correct
size and shape, and the blades straightened and stiffened. Ice
plows are frequently rendered useless by improper dressing or
careless handling. The range and proportion of the teeth, as
they are when new, must be kept up, and the cutting points
sharp and keen. The heels and bottoms must be dressed down
regularly with the points, no more, no less. Only a man of
known ability should be allowed, under any pretext, to dress
the ice plows.
Any delay in plowing may involve the loss of part of the
crop, and any detention of the work of those detaching the
cakes from the field, from a lack of plowed surface to work
upon, may prove to be the cause of an hour or more time lost
or frittered away by nine-tenths of the entire force employed,
both on the field and in the house. Nine- tenths of the entire
wages, for an hour or more, is thus lost to the owner, and an
incompetent workman is the apparent cause. The lack of man-
agement and system is, more likely, the source of this waste.
Plows which have been worn so they cut hard, need gum-
ming out, or reforging, or both. Plows and markers are the
chief cutting implements of the ice harvester. Too much care
cannot be taken to make a proper selection, originally. The
best plows are now made with steel beams and steel bolts.
They are superior to the old style iron plows. The guides used
on plows and markers should have no lost motion, at any
point, when the guide handle is latched in place. The latest
improvements are in the trussed form of guide, which is per-
fectly rigid, and the double hinge and swivel method of secur-
ing the handle to the guide, combined with the pin and mortice
latch. This construction produces a plow and guide which has
no looseness in any joint, and is so braced that the plow cannot
depart from a vertical position unless the guide is raised out of
its groove.
All ice cutlers who have had their fields marked in curved,
instead of straight, lines, with the resulting wrenching or
breaking of plow teeth, will appreciate and welcome this
CUTTING AND STOKING ICE. 35
improvement. Bars, tongs, and hooks should be kept sharp,
and, when out of repair, sent to the maker, to be brought back
to a condition of efficiency. The close of the cutting season is
the best time to select and ship to the ice-tool maker all
implements which require overhauling.
A tool room should be provided, of sufficient size to store
all cutting tools, scoops, scrapers, and extras of all kinds that
are liable to breakage or rapid wear. Space should be reserved
for a filing bench, having a large north light, and a grindstone
driven by power when practicable for sharpening bars,
hooks, and tongs. Where the ice houses are large, and in
isolated positions, the tool house, if well fitted up, is of great
assistance, affording the means for making repairs of an
urgent character. A good set of millwright tools, together
with a well-chosen supply of seasoned timber, of such sizes as
are used in the various runs and connections, will often repay
their cost in a single season. Large boarding houses are often
found included* in the ice harvester's inventory. This is a
necessity where the storage houses are situated any distance
from towns or cities. Several hundred men are sometimes
thus accommodated.
FILLING THE HOUSE. Ice should be housed during freezing
weather, if possible, as the cakes will then enter tho ice house
dry and hard. In soft weather the ice is soft, and contains
some water ; the cakes, being chilled in the house, are frozen
together, causing an increase of labor and breakage in getting
the ice out for shipment during the summer. "When the ice is
heavy, of best quality, and stowed, during freezing weather,
in a well-constructed ice house, it can be kept for two or three
seasons, and then be taken out in good condition, with but
little extra loss by breakage. It should have attention at all
times, however, and be kept in perfect order.
The various methods which are in use for elevating the ice
cake from the water into the ice house, or on to the platform,
will be noticed in detail, under a special chapter devoted to this
important branch of the mechanics of the natural ice trade.
36
THE ICE CROP.
"1
FIG. 35. WOODEN SKID. NO. 1.
FIG. 36. WOODEN SKID. NO. 2.
FIG. 37. WAGON AND LOADING TONGS.
FIG. 38. PACKING CHISEL.
FIG. 39. PACKING CHISEL.
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 37
The ice cake, as it enters the ice house, does so on a skid, or
run, which is placed at an inclination, the end nearest the
entrance higher than the end leading in toward the center of
the room. At its lower end the skid is connected with another
having the same general inclination, and thus a continuous
line of runs is formed, extending from the entrance to the far-
ther part of the room. The inclination of these runs is deter-
mined by the distance the ice is to travel on them, and the
height of the galleries on the front of the ice house.
The runs are usually arranged with a rapid descent near
the entrance, and the further end, on a level with the interme-
diate portion, graduated between these extremes. When the
inclination imparts too high a speed to the cakes, a break is set
into the runs. It usually consists of a board, in which a num-
ber of large nails are driven, with their heads left projecting
above the surface. This board is set in the line of the runs, or
attached to one of them, so the under surface of the ice
scratches on the nail heads. The number of nails and the
depth of the scratches is easily varied to suit the velocity
required.
As the ice cakes are run into the ice house, they are stored
at the farther end first, and are gradually filled in toward the
front. Through the back and center of the room, stowing is
most rapidly performed. Filling the front end, and under the
runs, require more time and care. The ice cakes are moved
into place with ice hooks and tongs. As the cakes pass along
the runs, they are caught with the ice hook and guided off the
run, at either side, as desired. The runs are made flat, with
no projecting sides or rails. Two lines of the V-shaped run
iron are placed on the runs, and the ice will follow them, but
is readily slipped off when wanted. The accompanying cuts
show the common patterns of runs, and the tools used in the
house during packing.
The hooks, tongs, and runs are used in directing the cakes
to their final positions. The bars, chisels, and adze are used to
trim any inequalities off from the cakes, and, in some cases, to
38
THE ICE CKOP.
level off each layer of ice as it is stored. This is not so often
done, when ice is stored for shipment from the house, as in
cooling rooms, when it is desired to pack as much ice as possible.
PACKING ICE IN THE HOUSE. The method employed in
arranging the ice cakes varies in different parts of the country,
The important thing to keep in mind is the amount of good,
merchantable ice possible to be gotten out of the house, as it is
shipped away during the warm season. This does not depend
upon how much can be crowded in, but upon the packing and
FIG 40.
HOISTING TONGS.
FIG. 43. ICE ADZE.
arranging of the cakes. Two things are to be observed in this,
prevention of waste by melting, and ease in loosening or
detaching the cakes, as they are taken out. The following
method may be taken as an example, and varied as good cause
is found for so doing.
If the ice is thin, place the two first courses on edge, and
pack as closely together as practicable. The succeeding courses
place in flat, or in the same position they occupy on the water.
Arrange the cakes one directly above the other, and leave a
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 39
space of two inches on all four sides or edges. In every five or
six courses, joints are broken. The last four or five courses on
top are placed, each one, to break joints, and closely placed at
edges. The reasons for this arrangement are, that the ice on
the floor of the house wastes rapidly, and, by placing the cakes
on edge, the minimum loss is obtained, and the succeeding
cakes, placed one above the other, and free on the edges, having
only the top and bottom surfaces in contact, the minimum
breakage and labor, in loosening cakes, is obtained ; also, by
breaking the joints every few courses, the circulation of air
currents, which is very destructive to the ice, is shut off, and,
finally, the top courses close in the mass thoroughly, and
prevent the top covering from sifting down into the body of
the ice.
The chapters on loss of ice by wastage in the house, and
the construction of ice houses, will present more fully some of
the considerations bearing upon the methods of stowing the ice.
In some localities the ice cakes are all placed upon edge.
Among the advantages claimed for this method are, ease in
loosening and taking out the cakes, and the closer packing
secures more ice, where storage room is limited. There is a
risk of damage to the ice house, by the pressure of the ice
against the side walls, when packed in this manner. The
edges, being uneven, tend to throw the ice out of plumb, or to
give the whole mass an inclination in one direction. In stow-
ing, care is required to keep the spaces between the cakes free
from chips or broken ice.
No more trimming than is necessary should be done in the
house, and the crowding of cakes together on the runs, and in
sliding them to their places, should be avoided. Broken cakes
should not be allowed to come into the house, and, if cakes are
broken in placing, they should be thrown out of the house.
Experience and practice, in the handling of runs and man-
aging the progress of the stowing of the ice cakes, attest the
value of system in this department. To do the necessary work
with as much despatch as possible requires close attention to
40 THE ICE CROP.
details, and watchfulness, that the labor and efforts of the men
are properly directed and distributed.
The runs outside the house are permanent, and arranged in
ghlleries, about five feet apart, with connecting runs from each
gallery to the incline. The top run is placed well up to the
plate. At each intersection of the incline and runs to the gal-
leries, there is a gate, which may be removed from the face of
the incline, thus affording access from the incline to the runs.
The gate at the lower run being open, the ice cakes all pass on
to the first run, and enter the house at this height. When the
house has been filled with ice to the height of the first run, or
one or two courses higher, the level of the house is then too
high to handle the ice over the lower run. The incline gate
is now placed in position, shutting off the first run, and the
ice is raised upon the incline to the height of the second run,
and passes into the house at this level.
It is now necessary to rearrange the runs within the ice
house. They must be uncoupled from the first gallery, and
raised up and secured at the height of the second gallery. The
under blocking and bracing is removed, and the runs set to
one side. Before they are disturbed, a number of ice cakes
are run in, and left near the entrance, to be stowed in the
space the runs and staging occupied, directly in front of tha
entrance. Unless care is taken, this filling in will be done with
irregularity, and more or less broken ice will be left among the
good cakes, causing loss by wastage and breakage, when the
house is opened up. This filling in under the runs suspends
the ordinary work of stowing, and is attended with some loss
of time.
After the cakes are all in place, the house runs are raised
up, blocked and braced in position, the connecting runs
coupled on, and a new line of runs conducts the ice from the
second gallery to the further part of the room.
A system of winding drums, placed in the roof timbers,
with ropes attached to the runs, at either end, saves time and
labor, in adjusting the house runs to the levels of the different
CUTTING AND STORING ICE. 41
galleries ; also, in shifting them, as they are raised to the level
of the courses, as the cakes are placed.
CLOSING AND CARING FOR THE HOUSE. When the room has
been filled to the level of the wall plate, the ice is covered with
dry planing-mill shavings or sawdust, ten or twelve inches
deep. The entrance opening is closed, and filled in with saw-
dust, or other packing.
The harvest being secured, the ice house carefully closed,
and all chance for circulation prevented by a top dressing, it
requires regular attendance once a day, to trim the top cover-
ing, if any part of it should sink into the crevices between
the ice cakes.
As the warmer days and spring rains set in, the proper
ventilation of the ice house is important. All steam or vapor
arising from the ice should be gotten rid of as soon as possible.
The various plans which are in use to attain this end, will be
found in the chapter on wastage and care of ice in the house.
As soon as the tools for harvesting are no longer required
for use, they should be promptly gathered together, and
inspected. All that have been broken, or damaged, should be
bundled up and consigned to the manufacturer, to be put in
thorough cutting order, and returned to the ice house, in the
early fall. All other tools should be carefully cleaned, and all
bright or polished steel coated with oil, to preserve from rust,
cases strapped to plows and saws, and all neatly packed away
in tool house, which should be dry. Snow scoops and scrapers
are better for an occasional coat of paint, and, if stored in a
dry, cool place, sheltered from the weather, will last much
longer. It is a good plan to have all the tools inventoried
directly after the cutting season, and they should be marked
with the owner's name or initials.
The elevator machinery should also be inspected, and any
defects noted, for early repair, the apron raised from the
water, and the water shaft and fittings cleaned, and thor-
oughly oiled. The ice chain, if given a coat of slushing oil,
will take no harm. All machinery which is exposed to the
42 THE ICE CROP.
weather should be thoroughly coated with slushing oil. The
engine should have attention, and all working parts be pre-
served from rust. All the brass trimmings on engines or boiler
should be taken down, boxed, and stored in a secure place.
SHIPPING ICE FROM THE FIELD. While the ice house is
being filled, winter shipments of ice may be made to points
where supply stations are maintained distant from any cutting
privilege. Large shipments are often made to points south of
the frost line, or where the crop is deficient. To accommodate
this traffic, loading platforms are built with connecting runs
from the lower incline run. A switch is arranged by which
the ice cakes can be directed, either on to the loading platform
or into the ice house. Long trains of cars can be filled daily.
At a single platform, ten to fifteen cars are loaded at one time,
while a double platform will accomodate double the number.
If the side tracks are placed at both sides of the platform,
no time will be lost while cars are being switched, a train
loaded on one track being switched out, and the track filled
with empty cars, while loading proceeds in the cars on the
other track. Diagrams of these platforms are shown at Fig.
52. Endless chains, with bars at short spaces, pass along the
top of the platform, and carry a cake, at a regular speed,
before each bar. (See Fig. 51.) A short doorway slide is
placed between the car and platform, and a man, stationed at
the car door with an ice hook, slides the cakes into the car as
fast as the stowers can place them.
CHAPTER IV.
CONSTRUCTION OF COMMERCIAL ICE HOUSES.
The Earliest Forms of Ice Storage Development of the Modern
Ice House The Site and Its Requirements Placing the
House Survey Foundations Size of an Ice House De-
tails of Construction for a House Embodying all Modern
Improvements.
The earliest reference to the use of snow for cooling pur-
poses occurs in Holy Writ, and carries us back about three
thousand years. History records the custom which prevailed
among the Romans, of storing snow upon the mountains dur-
ing the winter, which was made use of in the summer for
cooling beverages. Vaults, or pits, of circular form at the top,
and tapering to a point at the bottom, were scooped out in the
ground. The sides were lined, and the top thickly thatched
with straw, after being filled with snow, which was tightly
packed. The doorway was through the top. A modernized
Roman snow cellar is shown in Figs. 44 and 45, which is taken
from a cellar in use in Virginia. Its successor in the tran-
sition to more modern designs is seen in Figs. 46 and 47.
Before ice was cut and stored for commercial uses in this
country it was secured, in many instances, by those who used
it in their business. Brewers, dairymen, butchers, and some
physicians, had ice vaults, or cellars, constructed on the
Roman method. The first commercial ice houses were built
below the surface of the ground. Gradually they emerged
into the light and air, being only partly below the surface.
Brick, stone and wood were in use for building materials.
Gradually, experience leading the way, the ice dealer has
evolved the modern ice house.
43
44
THE ICE CROP.
THE MODERN ICE HOUSE represents many years of devel-
opment, and has a scientific, as well as a practical, value.
Improvements may be expected in this as in other branches of
the ice business. The discoveries and inquiries which scien-
tific and practical men are continually making in this direction
FlG. 44. INTERIOR VIEW OF OLD
STYLE ICE CELLAR. FlG. 46. MODERN ICE PIT.
FIG. 45. ROOF OF SAME. FIG. 47. ITS CONSTRUCTION.
are rapidly adding to our store of knowledge. Ice houses, as
now built and furnished, give few suggestions of their original
prototype.
THE SITE. Many features are combined in a really good
site for a commercial or large ice house. Good ice in ample
quantity, a porous soil, easy accessibility both from the water
and land, proximity to market ; also cheap and efficient trans-
COMMERCIAL ICE HOUSES. 45
portation. Observance of the first and last of these points is
imperative. Where natural drainage is lacking, the deficiency
can be supplied, and access effected, in most instances, if the
other features warrant the expense.
In selecting a site, when the lay of the land will permit,
place the length of the house north and south, and arrange the
incline and runs with as few turns as practicable. The ice
cakes require assistance to keep them in motion on a crooked
runway, and are constantly being jammed and spalled. On a
direct run of proper pitch the cakes will travel without atten-
tion in freezing weather. On warm, sloppy days, when the
ice is soft, it will require assistance. The platforms for winter
shipments via rail come in for attention in placing the incline,
which should be conveniently disposed for supplying them
with ice cakes as fast as they can be handled. System and
dispatch are the watchwords of the ice dealer while ice
cutting is on.
SURVEY AND FOUNDATION. The location and size of the
house being determined, a survey is made and all lines staked
out. It is important to have the foundations square and of
the exact size, so that dimension lumber and roof trusses will
fit as designed. Levels, also, call for attention, and the entire
site should be brought to grade.
In the construction of foundations practice varies. They
are partly dependent upon local conditions and climatic influ-
ences. For large houses, where the wastage is readily drained
off and the sills are comparatively dry. they are about as dur-
able as the balance of the building when placed directly on
the ground.
The life of an ice house varies from so many causes, that
no limit can be given applicable to all cases. When the lum-
ber is well selected and the construction thorough, fifteen
years of constant service will tell plainly on the building. If
repairs are made as often as required, its term of usefulness
is extended.
In warm climates, also for smaller houses, and for city
supply depots, foundations of stone or brick are employed to
46
THE ICE CHOP.
CCLMMEBCIAL ICE HOUSES. 47
advantage. They should be put in below frost, and extend
about two feet above the surface.
DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTION. In the building illustrated in
plates A, B, the sills are placed upon the ground. The house
is divided into four rooms, each forty feet wide in the clear,
two hundred and fifty feet deep, and forty feet high from sill
to plate. The dimensions of lumber required may be :
For outside sills, 8 x 10 inches, of such lengths as can most
readily be obtained.
Inside sills, 6 x 10.
Outside posts 4 x 10 inches x 40 feet, set 12 feet apart.
Studding, -3 x 10 inches x 40 feet,- with three feet centers.
Inside posts, 4x8 inches x 40 feet. Studding, 3x8 inches
x 40 feet.
For outer circulating air space, the studding should be
2x8 inches x 40 feet, with three feet centers.
For inner dead air spaces, 2x6 inches x 40 feet studding
are placed upright 12 feet apart, and horizontal cross studs
2x6 inches x 12 feet and three feet apart, are filled in between.
This makes spaces 3 x 12 feet on the inside of all the outer
walls.
Plates on the outer walls are 3 x 10, and on inner walls
3x8 inches.
The main studding is lined on both sides with moisture-
proof sheathing, and boarded up with matched lumber. The
inclosed space is filled with non-conducting substance, usually
sawdust or spent tan bark. The filling must be dry and
packed tightly.
The inner 2x6 studding is lined with sheathing, and then
boarded up with matched lumber. The joints of this studding
should be made with care and the lumber selected, no crooked
stock being used. Sealing up these joints with pitch adds to
their efficiency, and also to the durability of the lumber.
The outer studding is covered with weather boarding or
ship siding. Twelve inches at the bottom are left open and
hinged covers swung over them, which can be opened or closed,
as ventilation requires.
48
THE ICE CROP.
COMMERCIAL ICE HOUSES. 49
The interior Avails have 4x8 inch x 40 feet posts, and 8x8
studding, which are boarded on either side with matched lum-
ber and filled.
The lower section of these walls, to a height of ten to fif-
teen feet, is often left without filling, as it is more exposed to
the ill effects of moisture, and requires renewal before the
upper portion. This is more conveniently done \vhere no fill-
ing is in the wall.
In the center of each room, on the end at which the ice
cakes enter, an opening is left extending from the sills to the
plate. As the house is filled with ice these openings are closed
up. Boards are provided, when building, which will fit into
place and make the walls at these openings, as near as practi-
cable, the same as in other places. The middle section being
filled and planked by the inner and outer air spaces.
A.t the opposite end of the rooms a similar opening is pro-
vided. For closing it a slightly different plan is adopted. The
outer section is divided into doors five or six feet high, swung
on hinges ; these take the place of the weather boarding. The
interior wall is then arranged the same as the one at the oppo-
site end of the room. These doors can be opened as the ice is
coming out, and remain closed at other times.
Interior partition walls are sometimes of value. It is
thought they add to the durability of the house, and also effect
a saving in wastage. In the majority of houses they are
dispensed with.
The construction of the roof will be found convenient and
substantial, if the plans shown in Plate B are followed. Light-
colored roofing composition should be used, avoiding tar and
gravel, or tin, as these both attract and absorb the heat.
Gable roofs, with good shingles laid four or five inches to the
weather, are the best f roofs for ice houses. They are cooler
and more durable than most composition coverings.
The posts in Diagram B can be extended and additional
bracing put in. The increased area and weight will require a
proportional addition to the strength of roof timbers. In the
4
50
THE ICE CROP.
H
COMMERCIAL ICE HOUSES. 51
sizes of timbers for ice house construction, noted in this chap-
ter, consideration has been given to durability, and while
lighter material is employed, in some instances, the houses are
sooner racked and sprung out of place.
The ventilator on top is about twenty feet square and two
feet high, with slats on all sides. It will not be required on
high gable roofs, an opening in each gable end being sufficient
to carry off the moisture and heated air. The gable ends
should be well braced against the wind.
At the center of roof trusses a floor is laid through the
building, dividing the space above the ice. Trap doors are cut
through this floor about seventy-five feet apart, four to six
feet in size ; these doors are for ventilating the space between
the ice and the floor, and for dumping the sawdust through on
top of the ice. It also affords a convenient place in which the
sawdust can be stored and dried, when the houses are cleaned
in the fall.
The outer circulating air-spaces are continued to the level
of the loft floor, discharging the air into the loft, where it
finds vent through the ventilator.
The eaves project about two feet, and are provided with
ample gutters, which are furnished with large conductor pipes
every fifty feet. On the side of the house where galleries are
placed, the roof is extended to cover them, or, if at a gable end,
a special roof is provided.
Lightning rods are especially required on ice houses.
Being often the most prominent object in their locality, the
electric fluid finds its readiest path through them, and the
escaping vapor and much of the material used in their con-
struction add to their exposure. Copper strips, terminating in
forked points, raised above the cone of the roof, fifty or
seventy-five feet apart each way, provide ample protection. A
line of points across the house should be connected, and the
copper strips extended, without any break or interruption,
into the ground. They should be buried several feet below
the surface, and if they terminate in a drain or other damp
place, their efficiency is increased.
THE ICE CEOP.
I 3
fl
!> h
o
COMMERCIAL ICE HOUSES. 53
The floor of each room is graded slightly toward the cen-
ter, and a trench dug through the center from end to end. It
should have a grade toward the front of the house of about
two inches in a rod. At the rear of the house it may be nine
inches square, gradually increasing to double this size at the
front of the house. Lateral drains, alternating on either side,
are desirable. If the surface drainage sets toward the house,
it should be intercepted and condcuted away. After the
trenches are made they are filled with broken stone or cobbles
about nine inches deep at the start, and double the depth at
the front of the house. The side trenches may be six or eight
inches wide, and filled a,bout the same depth.
On top of the stones, shavings, straw, reeds, or other
porous filling, is placed, to the level of the floor. The entire
floor is now covered with a layer of charcoal, or with coal
ashes placed several inches deep. On top are laid boards, not
too closely placed, with length toward the main drain. The
spaces between the boards form channels to conduct the
waste water to the drains. Where the drains emerge from
the house they are trapped, to prevent any air currents from
entering through them, and collected into one or more main
channels.
Plate A illustrates the drainage plan, and a section view is
presented in Plate B. In porous soils, which can be depended
on to carry off the wastage, drains are not so necessary. For
very large houses, however, they should not be entirely
neglected. In warm climates and for city supply houses,
cement floors are the best.
For loading cars for winter shipments, the platforms illus-
trated in plates A, C and D are used for handling large quan-
tities. The ice cakes are elevated on the incline to runways
(see R, in Plates A, C and D), and slide by gravity until land-
ing on the platform. An endless chain with cross-bars passes
over the top of this platform, carrying a cake before each bar.
Where a railroad siding is placed on both sides of the platform
the work is expedited, as no delay is occasioned by waiting
54
THE ICE CROP.
for cars, a loaded train being pulled out and empty cars run
in on one track, while loading continues on the other.
THE INCLINED WAYS shown in Plate C are rigged with
endless chains, which carry cross-bars. In filling the house,
the ice cakes are floated to the foot of the incline, and fed on
FIG. 53. PLATE E. HOISTING GIGS AND REVERSING ENGINE.
COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. 55
to it, one or two cakes at a time in front of each bar, and thus
is made to travel up the incline. The cakes are passed through
gates on to the runways at the various levels desired, and pass
over these, by gravity, into the ice house.
There are two methods of arranging the chains called
the over-shot and the under-shot. The first named is mostly
used, and is the one shown in Plate C. The power required
varies with the length of the incline and with the style of the
elevators, which are arranged for one or two cakes on a bar.
The smaller rigs are operated with an eight or ten horse power
engine, and the larger plants up to one hundred horse power,
where several elevators and platform conveyors are coupled
on to one engine. For filling smaller houses there are several
methods in use, a choice depending on the surroundings and
size of the room or house.
Next in importance to the endless chain system, are the
jack grapples by which large quantities of ice are annually
stored. An incline is used which is similar to the one shown
on Plate (7, but of lighter build. These grapples are operated
with horses, or with steam power, when winding drums are
employed. By using friction-winding drums, the jack grap-
ples readily accomplish the work of a single elevator, and are
less expensive. This plan is shown in Plate E. An ordinary
threshing engine furnishes ample power, and this method is
rapidly growing in favor. Where the ice house is placed at
the edge of the water and there is no room in which to place
an incline, the gigs are very convenient. When they are
operated by means of a winding drum run by a reversing
engine, and large enough to handle four cakes at a time, they
are very efficient. Economy of power, simplicity and ease of
management, are all in their favor.
Small houses and cooling rooms are filled with the aid of
hoisting tongs.
CHAPTER V.
CARE, HANDLING AND MARKETING OF ICE.
Care of Ice in the House Leaking and Waste, How Prevented
Getting out Ice Lowering Machines Ice Shipments
Marketing Ice Ice Wagons and Outfits.
After a house is filled with ice and put in order, it is placed
in the care of an attendant. The top dressing requires fre-
quent inspection to keep it intact. Keep the circulating air-
chambers in the walls in operation, except when the air is
humid ; at such times the lower openings are closed. The loft
is ventilated directly into the cupola on top of the roof, which
also carries off the warm air currents rising through walls.
THE WASTING OF ICE. Ice in the house is attacked by
water, moisture, vapor, warm air and evaporation. Pressure
of the mass upon the lower courses assists in their destruction,
and heat from the earth is also radiated into them. Evapora-
tion goes on, to some extent, at all temperatures ; its immedi-
ate effect is cooling, as it carries off heat. Water rots and
wastes ice more rapidly than warm air. Water permeates the
mass and destroys the ice, while warm air affects only the
exposed surface. Vapor is wasteful when it settles down on
the ice and is condensed. Air currents, if they are strong, cut
away the ice very rapidly, and will sometimes comb the ice.
Keeping the room as air-tight as possible tends to preserve
the ice. Whenever the house is opened the warm air enters,
and vapor will collect above the ice. This should be given an
opportunity to escape, by opening the ventilator doors in the
loft floor.
As the ice is taken from the house, the covering of saw-
dust should be kept in place over the ice as far as possible. If
56
HANDLING A2STD MARKETING JCE.
57
FIG. 54. HOUSE ICE SAW.
FIG. 55. RAISING CHISEL BAR.
FIG. 56. STRIKING-UNDER BAR.
FIG. 57. DUNNAGE SHOVEL.
58 THD TOE CHOP.
the space over the ice is sealed up, the air, being above the
freezing point, becomes saturated with moisture, which settles
upon the ice, softening and melting it. When the outside air
is cooler than that over the ice or in the loft, the moist air is
driven out, if the ventilators are open. Hence, in clear
weather, the ventilators should be opened at night. In foggy
or damp weather, ventilators should be kept closed.
IN TAKING OUT ICE from the house, it is a good plan to
take out three tiers across the house at once. The upper tier
is worked a little in advance of the second, which is in advance
of the lower, or third, course. This gives a sloping front, on
which ice from the top can be lowered without breaking, and
work can progress on the three courses at the same time. The
covering can also be readily handled.
The tools employed are the house ice saw, raising-chisel
bar and striking-under bar. The saw has a narrow point,
with a double row of teeth for cutting down into the crevices
around the cakes, and a handle arranged to place pressure on
the point of the saw. The raising-chisel-bar is used for cutting
around the sides. The striking-under bar is struck under the
bottom of the cake, to loosen it from the cake beneath. Where
ice has been packed in double cakes the hand ice plow is some-
times employed to open the grooves, and the splitting chisel
for separating the cakes. The ice is run out to the door on
the house runs, or skids. The house tools not illustrated else-
where are shown below.
LOWERING THE ICE. There are several methods employed
for dropping the ice down from the top of the ice to the level
of the cars or wagons below. Gravity is the force usually
employed. Ice-gigs, with a counter-weight to return the
empty gig to the level of the ice, are, in one form or another,
mostly in use. They can be mounted on a wheeled platform,
and moved from door to door, as desired.
PACKING FOR SHIPMENT. When ice is loaded into cars it
is covered with marsh hay; any crevices at doors or windows
are carefully packed with hay, to keep out the air. Shavings
HANDLING AND MARKETING ICE.
59
FIG. 58. LOWERING GIG AND TRACK.
60 THE ICE CROP.
and sawdust are also employed. When shipped to a distance,
the floors and sides of the cars are lined, and in the South each
cake is packed in sawdust and done up in burlap.
When shipments are made in vessels, runs are set up from
the ice house, to discharge over the vessel's rail. As the dis-
tance is often considerable, the elevation of, the runway is
high near the house, and if the ice is taken from the bottom
courses it is necessary, in some cases, to elevate the ice on to
the vessel runway. The ice can be lowered into the hold with
tongs. A gig, to take on two cakes at a time, handles the ice
with great celerity, a counterweight returning the gig to the
deck after the ice is discharged. Ice cakes are packed closely
in the hold, being trimmed to shape, when required. Six or
eight inches of sawdust are placed at the sides of the vessel,
and, perhaps, ten inches of short shavings on top. Hay can
be used, but sawdust is the best. Hatches are thoroughly
caulked, and the hold is not opened until the end of the trip.
The pumps must be sounded every day.
IN MARKETING ICE, painstaking supervision of details is
constantly required. Resources should always be in efficient
working order when required. A sudden hot spell often
doubles the demand for ice, and the utmost exertions will
hardly keep pace with it. Enterprise in extending trade should
not be overlooked, and the efficiency of the service rendered
is of special value in this direction. System and supervision
should be extended through every department.
In retailing ice, as conducted in the large cities of the
North, no detail of management is deemed trifling. Many ice
dealers take pride in having neat and convenient wagons for
their retail business. As a handsome wagon and a fine team
are the means of attracting favorable attention, so there is
nothing which causes more unfavorable comment than ill-kept
stock and untidy wagons.
The quality of ice used for domestic purposes is now
closely scrutinized, and cleanliness on the part of those hand-
ling this commodity, is expected. Ice wagons are usually
HANDLING AND MARKETING ICE.
61
FIG. 59. A POPULAR ICE WAGON.
FIG. 60. ANOTHER ICE WAGON.
62 THE ICE CROP.
furnished with an ice scale, an ice axe, several pairs of ice
tongs, an ice shave, a bucket, and sometimes a broom. The ice
cakes are cut as required, cleaned, weighed, and placed within
the customer's refrigerator or ice box.
The use of coupon tickets is a great convenience. The
customer is furnished with a book at the beginning of the sea-
son, and for each delivery of ice he receives, a ticket is given
back to the ice dealer. These tickets, having the name and
quantity indorsed on them, avoid errors and disputes.
STRENGTH OF ICE. Two inches in thickness of ice will
usually bear up a man, four inches in thickness a horse, and
ice five inches thick is generally safe for a team of horses and
a loaded wagon weighing two tons.
Eight inches in thickness will bear up 150 pounds per
square foot of surface, if distributed over an entire field.
Ten inches in thickness will support 250 pounds per square
foot of surface. It is usual to estimate that ice eighteen inches
thick will support a railway train.
WEIGHT OF ICE. One cubic foot of ordinary ice will, on
the average, weigh fifty-seven and one-quarter pounds, while
a cubic foot of water weighs sixty-two and one-half pounds.
Thirty-six cubic feet of ice weigh 2,000 pounds. But as
stored in the house, it is reckoned that forty-two to fifty cubic
feet of space is required per ton of ice, depending upon the
thickness of the ice and the care with which it has been cut
and stored.
CHAPTER VI.
THE USE OF ICE IN REFRIGERATION.
Cold Storage Ice Houses Their Value for Handling Meats,
Fruits and Vegetables What They Will Do Principles of
Construction and Operation How to Build Them The
Dairy and Cold Storage Houses Convenience and Econ-
omy of Combining Them Combined Ice House and Dairy
Very Cheap Ice Houses How to Cut Ice in Small Quan-
tities Co-operation among Farmers to Secure Advantages
of Ice Supplies.
THE USES OF REFRIGERATION are numerous in these days
of invention and economy. The health, comfort and conven-
ience of the civilized world are so intimately interwoven with
results directly dependent upon the command, at will, of low
temperature, that it is now of paramount importance to
everyone.
Refrigeration in the commercial world is largely secured
by mechanical means, and this method will receive notice in a
later chapter. Cold storage, secured by ice, is in use all over
this country, for domestic and trade purposes in preserving
food products. The benefits of cold storage could be much
more widely diffused, than at present, throughout all the farm-
ing communities, where ice forms naturally during the winter,
adding materially to their profits and convenience, and an
attempt is here made to show, in a practical way, how it can
be secured.
THE CONSTRUCTION of a cold storage ice house, and the
tools and methods employed for cutting and housing the ice,
as well as the benefits to be secured, will be considered. Only
such facts as have stood the test of practical experience, and
which are within the limits usually attained by those who
63
64
THE ICE CHOP.
have good cold storage in use from year to year, will be pre-
sented. These results are only attainable by properly con-
structed storage houses, sufficient supply of ice, correct condi-
tion of articles when placed in cool room, length of time they
are kept there and cleanliness. Cold storage houses, not built
on correct principles, or improperly used, will prove of little
account, and disappointment will follow their use.
Cold storage may be used to advantage in prolonging the
market for many products. The entire crop, of fruit in par-
FIG. 61. A SIMPLE DELIVERY ICE WAGON.
ticular, need not be shipped at once, but by proper picking
and storing shipping can be extended over several months.
Fresh meat can be enjoyed at will, and the lengthening of
the season during which many varieties of vegetables and
fruits can be kept fresh for the home table will not only add
to the health and enjoyment of the family, but it is in the line
of economy as well. Good health is the best doctor, and the
more generous living which cold storage brings within reach
is a precursor of health. In sickness a supply of ice and cooled
viands is often beyond price. The suffering its judicious use
may alleviate, and the numerous instances in which recovery
is impossible without it, commend a supply of so beneficent a
commodity to all. Ice is a necessity to health and comfort,
THE USE OF ICE Ltf KEFRIGEKATION. 65
and, as it can be readily secured in nearly all communities
within the frost belt, very few farmers should be without it.
How LONG COLD STORAGE WILL PRESERVE. No rules as
to the length of time during which various articles can be
kept in cold storage to the best advantage, can be given, which
will apply invariably to all cases. In stating what is often
done in this way it is intended to show what it has been found
profitable to do, and what will be likely to prove of practical
value to those who are starting in to make use of cold storage
for themselves. Poultry and fresh meats can be kept sweet
for two or three weeks. Beef is improved in quality by keep-
ing this length of time. Butter, eggs and lard may be stored
for three to eight months. Apples, according to variety and
condition, from five to ten months. Pears, pulled when they
will just come away from the stem, and carefully handled,
will keep two or three months. It is best to ship them in two
or three weeks, not waiting for color to mature, as this will be
perfected by the time they reach the consumer.
Concord grapes will keep two to four months in cold stor-
age, and Catawba grapes will keep longer.
Strawberries, blackberries and cherries will keep two to
four weeks.
Watermelons, three to six weeks.
Muskmelons, two to three weeks.
Peaches, four to six weeks.
Oranges, lemons, figs, bananas and raisins, two to three
months.
Green corn, two to four weeks.
Squash, four to eight weeks.
Cabbage and turnips, eight to nine months.
Potatoes may be kept a long time ; they have been kept,
on a trial, several years, with no apparent loss of quality.
Canned fruits will keep well, and ice cream can be conven-
iently stored.
THE TEMPERATURE at which these results have been
secured varied from 34 to 38 F. Bananas, oranges, lemons,
5
THE ICE CROP.
FIG. 64; WAGON AXE.
FIG. 62.
WAGON SCALE.
FIG. 63.
ICE SHAVE.
FIG. 65. WAGON SAW.
FIG. 66. WAGON ICE TONGS.
THE USE OF ICE IK REFRIGERATION. 67
peaches, figs and raisins do better at 40. Peaches, pears, ber-
ries, plums and all the more delicately flavored fruits keep in
good form and appearance, but lose their delicate flavor if
kept too long.
Fruits which are picked green, or before ripening, mature
or ripen while stored. The tendency to decay in ripe fruits is
arrested by refrigeration. Upon exposure to heat and air the
usual process goes on more rapidly than in foods which have
not been refrigerated. Food should enter into consumption
with little delay when taken out of cold storage. The length
of time during which it is desirable to keep goods in cold stor-
age may be best determined practically with reference to the
ends sought to be attained in any particular case.
THE PRINCIPLES OF COLD STORAGE. Refrigeration de-
pends upon the circulation of pure, dry cold air. It is based
upon natural laws, which are well known and readily observed.
Air exposed to heat is expanded in volume ; it is thus made
lighter and will rise, being forced upward by the surrounding
cooler air. Air exposed to cold is condensed and made heav-
ier ; it will then gravitate to lower levels. The capacity of air
for absorbing and retaining moisture varies with its tempera-
ture. Warm air will sustain a considerable amount of vapor,
which will be condensed and precipitated if the air is cooled.
As water is cooled and brought to the freezing point it expels
a large part of the heat gathered at a higher temperature. As
ice is melted to water this process is reversed, and heat and
air are reabsorbed.
The operation of these natural laws is taken advantage
of in refrigeration.
As usually constructed, cold storage ice houses are built
with two stories ; the first floor for storing goods, the second
filled with ice. The floor between is arranged with openings,
through which the air, chilled by contact with the ice, descends
into the store room. A flue is provided to conduct the warm
air to the upper part of the ice chamber, when it is dried and
purified by contact with the ice as it descends on being chilled.
68
THE ICE CHOP.
/6
Drains and traps are required to carry off the meltage water,
and to secure the water condensed from, the warm air. Damp-
ers in the cold and warm air flues assist in controlling the
circulation, and ventilators placed in the roof keep the loft
free from dampness.
The walls, ground floor and ceiling are constructed as
nearly non-conducting of heat and cold as practicable. No
cracks or any channels are permissible by which air can enter.
Drains which take out the water are securely trapped, to keep
out the air. Vestibules with perfectly fitting doors are placed
at all entrances. Windows are fitted with three or four sashes
and air spaces between.
Dryness in the storage room is secured by a sheet metal
floor under the ice, usually galvanized iron, which forms a
large pan or vessel, in which
all meltage water is collected.
^ Water is very destructive tothe
ice, and the warm air is kept
away from the top of the ice ot
prevent the moisture from being
condensed there and settling on
the ice. When the ice is low in
the ice chamber, vapor may ac-
cumulate in the space above the
ice. A ventilator in the top of
the room is of service in con-
ducting this away from the ice
and keeping it dry. The water
from the melted ice will absorb
air and gases so it is spread out
over as large a surface as practi-
cable, and the air is conducted
over it to be purified,
by which these general features
FIG. 67. GROUND FLOOR.
There are several plan
are observed, in the construction of cold storage houses, some
of which have been made the subject matter of patents.
THE USE OF ICE IN REFRIGERATION.
69
The plans shown in the illustrations embrace the essential
features of good cold storage construction. These plans do not
conflict with any patented devices, and will prove adequate for
all practical purposes.
THE GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF COLD STORAGE HOUSES
may be, as shown in the illustrations, Figures 67-70, for
any size. Large houses require a girder and posts under the
Fig. 68. Section of House. Fig. 69. Section of Wall.
PRINCIPLES OF COLD STORAGE CONSTRUCTION.
center of the ice floor, and the air flues are best made double ;
one set at each side, with a drain on each side of the girder
along the center of the room. The construction of the walls
vary. Walls filled with sawdust, charcoal, tan bark or other
non-conducting materials, have been in use for many years.
70
THE ICE CHOP.
FIG. 70. EXTERIOR VIEW OF COLD STORAGE HOUSE.
FIG. 71. SECTION VIEW OF COMBINED ICE HOUSE AND DAIRY.
THE USE OF ICE IN REFRIGERATION. 71
Carefully conducted tests, however, have conclusively proved
that a wall of this description is inferior to a wall which con-
tains dead air spaces, felt or paper linings, a section packed
with mineral wool and an outer circulating air space.
The wall shown in Fig. 69 gives good satisfaction. It com-
prises air spaces, A, which are open to the outer air at the sill,
and at the top open into the loft under the roof. Dampers D,
in Fig. 68, are placed at the bottom, so they can be closed when
desired. The next section, B, Fig, 69, is of dry sawdust, packed
in place between walls of matched boards ; the outer surface
of these walls is lined with prepared water proof paper. The
inner section, E, contains dead air spaces, which are about
twelve inches square. The inner wall is of matched lumber
and the outer one is of weather boards.
This construction keeps the sawdust dry, and the walls are
free from dampness. The circulation of air through the outer
air spaces carries off the heat imparted to the weather boards
by the direct heat of the sun. When the air is humid, or
charged with moisture, these air channels are tightly closed.
The thickness of the walls may be varied with the capacity of
the building. Additional sections of filling and dead air are
re.quired for large houses where large quantities of goods are
refrigerated. Fig. 67 shows the ground floor.
The cold storage house shown in the illustration (Fig. 70)
will hold forty tons of ice, and do all the work required for
dairy, fruit and domestic service on a large farm with one fill-
ing of ice. By regulating the dampers, D D, Fig. 68, the cir-
culation can be adjusted to meet all conditions. When these
dampers are closed the ice wastes very slowly. The waste
water, from meltage, is useful for cooling milk, and the milk
room and cooling vats can be placed alongside the storage
house or made a part of the same building to advantage.
A CREAMERY ICE HOUSE. A very conveniently arranged
and completely appointed creamery is shown in illustrations
No. 72 and 73. Fig. 72 is a perspective view, and Fig. 73 the
plan of a combined creamery, ice house and water tower.
72 THE ICE CEOP.
The tank B is placed in the second story of the tower ; C is the
ice house, D the creamery. At I I are set creamers, which
are supplied with water from the tank by pipes passing
through the ice house to cool the water. At G is a churn,
which may be run by power located in the annex E. At H is
a butter molder, and J is the veranda.
FIG. 72. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF CREAMERY.
FIG. 73. GROUND PLAN OF CREAMERY.
By raising the ice chamber, a cold store room cin be
secured below it. If the structure is placed on an elevation,
water from the tank can be piped through the dwelling house.
COMBINED DAIRY, COLD STORAGE AND ICE HOUSE. Such
THE USE OF ICE IX REFRIGERATION. 73
an arrangement is shown in illustrations, Figs. 74 and 76. There
is no communication between the dairy and storage room.
For securing ice for the tank, double doors, made to fit very
tight, are set in back of the ice chamber in the loft over the
dairy. As leaving this door ajar would rapidly waste the ice,
it should be under the care of a competent person and properly
secured.
Where the ice house and dairy are required without the
cold storage room, the plan shown in Fig. 71 is a good one. If
a location on a sidehill is not conveniently at hand, the milk
room floor may be excavated sufficiently to secure proper fall
for drain. The floor of the ice house should be laid with
hydraulic cement, and slope toward the end nearest the milk
room. A cheaper floor is made from spent moulders' sand or
coal ashes, mixed with enough lime to give a hard finish when
dry. This makes a hard, durable floor. The water in the tank
must be kept above the supply pipe from the ice house, to pre-
vent any ingress of warm air. A trap placed in this pipe is a
still better method. At L, Fig. 71, is a double door, through
which ice can be taken out for the tank if required.
The size of these rooms can be taken at convenience. The
ice house should not be less than twelve feet square and
twelve feet high. Any smaller quantity than this wastes the
ice much more rapidly. A house sixteen feet square and
twelve feet high is a safe size for a dairy which is served by
forty cows or less. The lumber for walls is better if matched,
and the studding lined with paper. They are, however, often
built from rough lumber, with no air spaces. The packed sec-
tion should be ten inches in such cases.
A FREEZING HOUSE. In some instances it is required to
have a freezing temperature in the cold storage room. Poul-
try, dressed and frozen, and shipped in tight cases, has given
good returns. This low temperature is secured by means of
galvanized sheet iron tanks, Figs. 75, 77, 78, which are packed
with broken ice and salt. From the surface of these tanks the
cold is radiated directly into the room ; hence, the larger the
THE ICE CEOP.
THE USE OF ICE IK REFRIGERATION.
75
surface of the tanks for a given capacity of ice and salt, the
better, because of the large radiating surface.
The best form for the tanks is that of a hollow parallelo-
gram. The lower edge should set about eighteen inches above
the floor, to allow a circulation of air through the center of
the tank. The tank should be a little wider at the bottom than
at the top. This prevents the ice and salt from lodging. A
tank six feet high, sixteen feet long, and three feet wide,
placed at one side of the storage room shown in Fig. 68,
and regularly supplied with ice and salt, will reduce the tem-
perature of the room nearly to F. As long as the supply of
ice and salt is maintained, this low temperature can be held.
The tanks are furnished with a trap to carry off the water,
placed at the lowest end, and hand holds are arranged through
which the salt which accumulates at the bottom may be
FIG. 75. SECTION OF REFRIGERATING TANK.
removed. A drip pan is set beneath the tanks to catch all
drippings of condensation ; these pans are of wood, lined with
metal, and provided with a pipe to carry off the water.
Frost and ice accumulate on the surface of these cooling
tanks, and their usefulness is thereby impaired. Duplicate
tanks should be arranged, so that they may be used in turn,
and the ice removed. The ice coat prevents the radiation of
the cold into the room, and its force is spent in adding to the
ice upon the sides of the tank, a useless waste.
In some instances the cold storage houses are divided into
THE ICE CEOP.
THE USE OF ICE I]ST REFRIGERATION.
77
two or more rooms, so that various temperatures can be main-
tained to meet the requirements of a varied stock.
A VERY CHEAP ICE HOUSE, but constructed on the same
principles as those laid down in Chapter IV for commercial
ice houses, may take the form suggested by Figs. 79, 80, 81, or
any desired modification thereof.
A STILL SIMPLER DEVICE. Where the expense of an ice
house is not warranted by the small use to which it may be
FIG. 77. GROUND PLAN OF FREEZING TANK AND BENCH.
O O
FIG. 78. END VIEW OF FREEZING TANK.
put for cold storage, on some farms, a supply of ice sufficient
for household purposes can be placed in any convenient corner
of a barn or other building. A room partitioned off with
rough lumber, and walls, as well as floor, well insulated with
non-conducting filling, will answer, and repay its cost many
times over during the summer. In Fig. 82 is a view of an ice
room built into a corner of a barn in this manner.
An above-ground silo, if built of wood, with double walls
and air spaces, will make a most excellent ice house, if pro-
vided with double doors. The underground, or masonry silo,
78
THE ICE CROP.
should be boarded up, with joists between walls, and boards
to form an air space, if used for ice.
A LITTLE ORGANIZED CO-OPERATION in any farming com-
munity where ice-cutting privileges exist, will secure an
abundant supply of ice for all purposes for the entire section
or neighborhood. It is customary to do the threshing in turn,
and all participate in the use of the threshing machine and
FIG. 79.
FIG. 80.
FIG. 81.
SUGGESTIONS FOR CHEAP ICE HOUSES.
power, where only very extensive farmers find it profitable to
have an outfit for their own exclusive use.
In a similar manner the benefits of cold storage can be
obtained. The houses can be owned by individuals, or by a
few families who may be living near enough together to con-
THE USE OF ICE IN BEFKIGEKATIOK.
79
veniently use one in common. The tools and outfit for cutting
and handling the ice can be owned by a few enterprising young
men, who can fill a large number of houses yearly by contract ;
or the appliances can be the joint property of all those having
cold storage houses, who may combine to secure them, and
also combine their labor in securing the ice crop. This work
is done when the ordinary duties of the farm are light, and
other interests would not be interfered with.
The practical advantages of this plan will readily present
themselves to observing minds. An outfit of tools necessary
to harvest, in good
shape, one hundred tons
of ice, will just as well
harvest ten or fifteen
times this quantity, and
would really secure the
larger quantity to better
advantage than the
smaller one. But, allow-
ing that the labor in
getting out one hundred FIG. 82. BARN-CORNER ICE HOUSE,
tons of ice is the same per ton that it is for one thousand tons,
the cost of the tools per ton of ice harvested is only one tenth
as much in the latter case. The tools are durable, and will last
many years. Ice plows which have been in use for fifteen or
twenty years are still doing good service.
As the cold storage houses would be situated at several
places, a brief outline of the methods in use for handling ice
under similar circumstances, will be of interest. The ice is
transported from the water to the houses by wagons or sleds.
A platform is built near the edge of the water, in an easily
accessible place, of a height a little above the bed of wagon
boxes when they are backed up to the platform. The end of
this platform is toward the water, and the teams are backed
in on both sides. From the water end an inclined way or run
is built down into the water. Upon this run the ice cakes are
80 THE ICE CEOP.
rapidly run up on the platform, quickly loaded on the wagons,
and started on their way to the storage houses. Arriving at
its destination, the load of ice may be deposited on the ground
at the entrance of the house, and the team returned for another
load. Meanwhile two men, with the assistance of a horse, can
stow the first load in place in the ice chamber.
For such work the tools required on the ice field comprise :
One ice plow with guide.
One ice saw.
One ice chisel.
One ice floating hook, twelve to twenty feet long.
Three ice hooks, short lengths.
One jack grapple.
Two pairs of loading tongs.
At the ice house are required :
One pair hoisting tongs.
One pair drag tongs.
One pair edging tongs.
At this time the cash value of these tools is about sixty-
five dollars for first-class goods, which are always the cheapest.
COST OF ICE IN THE HOUSE. Eegarding the cost of ice
when stowed in place in the ice chamber, it would be difficult
to quote an amount which "would cover all cases. Locality
and tact have much to do with determining this cost. Ice,
twelve to sixteen inches thick, cut in small quantities and
placed in the ice chamber, would cost, on an average, for
labor, about fifty cents per ton. Where cut on a large scale
the cost for labor in cutting and stowing is less than half of
this amount.
A LOADING PLATFORM is illustrated in Fig. 83, which shows
the method of running the ice cakes up with a jack grapple.
The size of the platform is determined by the quantity of ice
to be handled over it. One horse and grapple will readily
serve several teams if a supply of ice cakes is maintained at
the foot of the incline. Where many teams are to be served
and the ice must be handled rapidly, two grapplers, one right
THE USE OF ICE IN REFRIGEKATIO.N. 81
FIG. 83. A LOADING PLATFORM.
FIG. 84. EMBANKMENT PLATFORM.
FIG. 85. FIG. 86.
LIFTS FOR LOADING ICE INTO SLEDS.
82 THE ICE CHOP.
and one left hand, can be used on the incline. By having the
rope continuous and a pulling post at each end of the horse
walk, the horse will pull a load each way, and several hundred
tons of ice can be landed upon the platform in a day's run.
Where the incline is long a team can be used to advantage on
the grapple rope.
A sweep such as shown in Fig. 85 is a convenience in hand-
ling ice cakes directly from the water to sleds or wagons where
only a small quantity is wanted, and where the ice platform is
FIG. 87. A CHEAP ICE SCEAPER.
not required. A similar device, which has the advantage of
being more readily moved, is shown at Fig. 86. Where an arti-
ficial pond is made with an embankment, a loading platform
may be constructed, as shown in Fig. 84.
IN PACKING THE ICE into the ice chamber, attention is
required to prevent any dirt from adhering to the ice and
being packed into the ice chamber, where it will accumulate
in the drains and on the floors as the ice melts.
At S, in Fig. 68, will be found an opening over the drip
pan ; through these openings, placed at convenience along the
back of the floor, the floor can be flushed with water and
washed clean.
THE USE OF ICE IK EEFKIGEEATIOK. 83
Time, labor and convenience are all conserved by the use
of such necessary tools as are listed on previous pages. More
can be added as the amount of ice cut is increased.
THE ICE FIELD should be kept free from snow by scraping
from time to time. For clearing the small surface from which
a harvest of forty tons can be secured, a simple scraper,
cheaper than those used on large fields, will answer the pur-
pose. An oak plank one and one-half inches thick, ten inches
wide and six feet long, with two holes four inches from the
bottom edge, and four feet apart, and a foot board mortised
through the center, will do tolerable work. An iron shoe on
the lower edge adds materially to its efficiency. Fig. 80 illus-
trates a scraper of this pattern.
Thirty-six cubic feet of ice weigh a ton. Hence, a surface
six feet square on an ice field, where the ice is a foot thick,
represent a ton of ice. At this rate a surface thirty-eight feet
square would represent forty tons of ice. Owing to loss by
breakage, and irregular cutting, it is usual to allow a consid-
erable margin, greater in small than in large quantities, and a
surface fifty feet square would readily harvest forty tons of
twelve-inch ice. Where the ice is thinner a correspondingly
larger surface is required to secure the same weight of ice.
The surface being cleared of snow, the ice plow is set upon
the ice alongside a line drawn taut in the direction in which
the plowing is to be done. The ice plow, drawn by hand and
guided to run parallel with the line, gives the base groove.
The blade of the guide is placed in this groove, and the field is
now grooved in uniform spaces in one direction. The plow
makes only one cut in each groove, while the guide is attached
to it. By repeating this method grooves are made crossing
those first made at right angles. The guide is now removed
from the plow, and by plowing back and forth the ice is
grooved to the depth desired, about seven or eight inches for
twelve-inch ice and two inches for six-inch ice.
A channel is now opened at the foot of the incline, and a
few hours work for four men, and a boy driving the horse to
run the grapple, will land the ice cakes on the platform.
CHAPTER VII.
ARTIFICIAL ICE AND COLD AIR MACHINES.
Historical Sketch The First Ice Machine Its Subsequent
Development Progress in the Use of Machines The
Principles Involved in their Construction Diversity of
Application Eecent Discoveries.
The artificial production of cold has engaged attention
from remote ages. The application of spontaneous evapora-
tion in Eastern countries was the earliest method employed to
produce ice.
America has the honor of being the home of the inventors
who first achieved success in making artificial ice by modern
methods. Jacob Perkins, in 1834, and Professor Twinning, of
New Haven, Conn., in 1850, each procured British patents.
The former did not procure a patent in this country, but Pro-
fessor Twinning secured one in 1853. - Two years later, he had
a machine in operation at Cleveland, Ohio, which produced
1,600 pounds of ice in twenty-four hours' run. This was a
favorable result from a pioneer machine of an estimated capac-
ity of 2,000 pounds in this time.
Much credit is due these early inventors, who introduced
a type of machine which is now extensively employed, and is
known as the compression system.
In 1851, Dr. John Gorrie, of New Orleans, La., patented a
machine for producing ice, by compressing and expanding
atmospheric air. This machine was also the pioneer of its
class. It gave rise to what are known as air machines, used
in England and on the Continent, and extensively employed
for facilitating the transportation of fresh beef and mutton on
the ocean.
84
ICE AKD COLD AIR MACHINES. 85
In 1848, Ferdinand Carre, of France, contrived an original
process for employing aqua ammonia. In 1865 he patented an
ice machine, and at the French International Exposition, in
1867, daily produced six tons of ice. This has proved to be a
notable invention, the present absorption system being based
upon it and extensively used.
Efforts have been directed to expediting the spontaneous
evaporation of water ; a reduction of pressure being effected
by a vacuum pump, and the vapors removed by a suitable
absorbing medium. The utilization of cold obtained by the
evaporation of other liquids, more volatile than water, have
received attention.
There have been discovered a number of freezing mix-
tures, some of which produce wonderfully low temperatures.
The addition of salt to broken ice is the best known of these ;
it is commonly employed in making ice creams and ices, and
is of great commercial importance as applied to refrigerator
cars and cold storage houses.
Of all these methods the compression, absorption and air
machines, and the freezing mixture of ice and salt, have
entered into commercial uses in this country. The details of
the latter method are referred to in Chapter VI. Regarding
the others, some account of the principal operations involved,
and of the natural phenomena upon which they are based,
will be given.
PRINCIPLES OF ICE MACHINES. It has been observed of
gases, that by compressing them to a fraction of their original
volume, heat was produced. If the compression was great,
most gases were liquified by it. A few gases were found
which would not liquify, and were designated as permanent.
By relieving the pressure, gases will resume their original
bulk, and the heat of compression is gathered up or reab-
sorbed by them.
There is, naturally, a constant tendency toward the pres-
ervation of an equilibrium of temperature among the atoms of
any body, and also between different bodies. This exchange
86 THE ICE CROP
is carried on upon a grand scale, in the economy of nature.
Where the difference in degree is small the exchange is
effected slowly, but where it is great the initial transfers pro-
ceed rapidly and with vigor.
By means of efficient insulation we can cut off, in a great
measure, a room, or a part of a room, from the influence of
the outer, or general exchanges of temperature. By this
means we are able to bring this natural law into service, by
controlling the exchanges of temperature of the objects we
place in such rooms.
By the union of heat with a fluid, the latter is converted
into a vapor, and the abstraction of heat from a gas converts
it into a liquid. When a fluid or a gas is at the temperature
at which a change in its condition is effected, the continued
application or withdrawal of heat does not increase or dimin-
ish this temperature. This heat is termed latent, or hidden.
The temperature at which ebullition takes place varies greatly
with different liquids. Water boils at 212 F., while ammonia
boils at 32 F. Some substances act as absorbents. Water
will absorb about seven hundred tioies its bulk of ammonia
gas when they are brought in contact.
In manufacturing low temperatures, by the Compression
and Absorption systems, a liquifiable gas is used as the vehicle
by which to impart cold to, and carry off heat from, the body
to be cooled. Anhydrous-ammonia (ammonia from which all
water has been removed) is usually employed. In the Com-
pression machines, this gas is subjected to a pressure, averag-*
ing one hundred and fifty pounds per square inch, in a com-
pression cylinder against a piston, which is operated by a
steam engine. The heated gas is carried to a set of condenser
coils, which are cooled by a water bath ; here the gas is liqui-
fied by the reduction of temperature and the pressure. By
this process it is made to part with the heat of compression,
and its latent heat of vaporization, as well. The liquid
ammonia is collected in a storage tank, and is then ready for
refrigeration duty.
ICE AtfD COLD AIR MACHINES. 87
From this point the Compression and Absorption systems
are practically identical. The liquid ammonia is allowed to
escape through a valve with a minute opening, into what are
termed the expansion coils. As the ammonia enters it is freed
from about three-fourths of the pressure at which it has been
held, and begins to boil and vaporize. As heat is necessary to
accomplish this, everything within reach of its influence is
placed under tribute. As the gas parted with about five hun-
dred and seventy heat units per pound at the condenser, its
capacity for heat is now very large.
The expansion coils may be placed in a loft of a cold stor-
age room in the same position in which ice is placed for this
duty. If they are submerged in a brine solution, the brine is
cooled, and may be circulated in galvanized iron gutters sus-
pended from the ceiling of the storage rooms.
After circulating through the expansion coils, the gas is
drawn out and forced again into the compression cylinder by
a pump which renders the system a continuous one.
IN MAKING ARTIFICIAL ICE, the expansion tubes may be
submerged directly in the water which is to be frozen ; the ice
forms in huge cakes on the tubes, and is sawed into small
cakes by a circular saw, when removed. This is termed the
plate system.
In the can plan, a large tank holds the expansion tubes,
and, suspended from its upper side, are numerous iron cans ; a
brine solution completely fills the tank, and , being chilled by
the tubes, it gradually freezes the water which has been placed
in the cans for this purpose.
IN THE ABSORPTION SYSTEM, aqua ammonia is placed in a
retort containing a coil of steam pipes. A mixed vapor of
water and ammonia is driven off, until sufficient pressure is
developed in the retort to force the vapor through a small pipe
into a condensing tank. Here the gas is cooled and liquified,
and also rectified, or freed from water, making it anhydrous.
The liquid passes into a receiving tank, and is then used for
refrigerator work.
88 THE ICE CROP.
This duty is performed in the same manner as described
for the compression machine. From the expansion coils the
gas is returned to a tank called the absorber, where the water
left behind at the condenser has also been sent ; here they are
reunited, and then pumped again into the retort, to begin the
round anew.
IN THE AIR MACHINES, this gas is compressed in a cylinder
against a piston, which is driven by a steam engine. The
compressed air is cooled by water jets sprayed in the compres-
sion cylinder, and also in a cooling tank which has a water
bath passed over it at the same time.
The condensed moisture is deposited in the cooling tank
and in drying tubes, which are exposed to the spent air which
has done refrigeration duty, and is still cool enough to further
lower the temperature of the compressed air. After being
dried, the air is expanded, producing an intense cold. This
air can be circulated in tubes, or used for cooling brine, as in
the methods already mentioned, or the air can be expanded
directly into the storage rooms or ice tanks.
A LARGE PLANT FOR THE STORAGE OF FRUIT is situated
at Waldo, Fla. , and is controlled by the American ice and cold
storage company. It is illustrated in Fig. 88. A perfectly
dry, cool atmosphere is maintained, and a temperature so
uniform as to demand only one degree of variation. The tem-
perature at which the rooms have to be kept varies from
33 to 45 F.. depending on the character of the fruit which is
to be stored. The higher temperatures are preferable, if suffi-
ciently low to preserve the fruit. Retarding houses for keep-
ing oranges or the more delicate fruits, can usually be more
successfully managed by the use of refrigerating machinery,
as it is not always possible to maintain a sufficiently even and
low temperature by means of ice.
THE LATEST INVENTIONS. All these ice-making and cold
air machines are more or less expensive and complicated.
It is natural, therefore, that inventors should be constantly
seeking some plan, idea or method, for securing a low
ICE AND COLD AIE MACHINES.
89
90 THE ICE CROP.
temperature at less cost for the plant involved. The expense of
the existing systems also prevents their use, except on a large
scale ; hence inventors are striving to find ngt only a method of
producing cold at low cost, but one that can be adapted for
use in houses, offices, stores, shops, cars, etc., on a more or
less limited scale. Several devices for this purpose have
already been patented. Some of them promise good results,
though at this writing none seem to be thoroughly perfected.
One of these devices employs a gas jet, or lamp light, the heat
from which, acting on a kettle filled with chemical compound,
produces a low temperature for a small house refrigerator,
while the same principle is claimed to be applicable on a
larger scale.
THE USES OF ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION are numerous.
For cooling and ventilating buildings, aiding in some lines of
manufactures, and in chemical works, it has proved its useful-
ness. In all hot climates it is extensively employed for mak-
ing ice. In breweries it is applied very extensively, and is
practically indispensable.
The handling of fresh meat, in the modern method, is
directly dependent upon artificial refrigeration, and in no
other direction are its benefits more marked or widespread.
The cattle on our Western plains have become the daily food
of those living at the antipodes. In ten years, from 1880 to
1891, the imports of fresh beef and mutton into Great Britain
increased from 400 to nearly 3,300,000 carcasses. During the
same period the exports of beef alone from the United States
advanced from 50,500 tons to 101,500 tons.
Not only are meats carried in refrigerator vessels from
'America and the antipodes to England, but within a year
Australian milk has been shipped in frozen blocks in such
quantities as to be retailed in the streets of London for four
cents per quart. Butter, cheese, eggs, fruits and other perish-
able products, are likewise transported enormous distances by
rail or water, without injury to the quality, and at a low cost
for freight.
ICE IN TKANSPORTATIOH. 91
It is also worthy of mention that refrigeration is now
employed by the engineer, in substructure work in soils
abounding in quicksands. A solid wall of earth is frozen and
maintained in such soils, within which excavating and con-
struction can proceed with ease*and safety.
That many other uses for refrigeration will be developed
goes without question. The students and inventors who are
engaged on the problems involved in the production of arti-
ficial cold, claim that before many years all modern houses
will be supplied with a refrigerating outfit in the garret to
supply cold air to any of the rooms in summer, by gravity,
as hot air is carried by flues from the furnace in winter.
The universal application of a practical device for this pur-
pose, will yield a rich reward for the successful inventor.
CHAPTER VTII.
ICE IN TRANSPORTATION.
Refrigerator Cars and Vessels Value of Ice in Transporting
and Marketing Perishable Produce Ice and the Fisheries.
On all the important lines of railroads a regular refriger-
ator car service is maintained, for transporting perishable
goods of all kinds. Butter, poultry, eggs, cheese, fruit, fresh
meat, vegetables, and other articles, are despatched by this
service. The shipping of packing-house products is an import-
ant branch of this department of railroad service, and a
description of it will show the general features common to all
branches of the business.
REFRIGERATOR CARS. A cursory view of the cars in any
freight yard discloses a decided difference in the appearance
and thoroughness of construction among them. Those styled
refrigerator cars fare very much better than their companions.
92 THE ICE CHOP.
A critical examination shows that these cars are models in all
details of construction, and their finish casts the ordinary
freight cars far in the shade.
The main features of these^ars are found, first, in their
walls, including floors and ceilings, which are variously made
of combinations of filled and air sections, with paper and felt
linings ; second, an ice tank placed, sometimes at one, or both
ends, and in others in the roof of the car ; third, in the regula-
tion of the air supply, or ventilation. Some very elaborate
designs have been made, covering the features necessary to
the successful working of these cars. Most of them are
patented. The floor, ceiling and walls have several sections,
the outer being usually an air space, or a space filled with
thick hair felt. Following is a compartment filled with pul-
verized charcoal, or other non-conducting filling. This com-
partment is faced with carefully matched lumber lined with
paper. The walls are about six inches thick all together.
The doors are the same thickness as the walls, "with bev-
eled edges, which wedge into the frame as the door is closed.
A fastening is used that is so made that a strong pressure is
brought against the door, forcing it into its seat, and an extra
precaution taken by inserting a strip of cotton flannel between
the door and frame, which thoroughly excludes air and dust.
In the best constructed cars there is no chance for direct
contact of the cooled air with the ice. This of special is
importance in cars in which fresh meat, butter, and other arti-
cles, are carried, which are absorbents.
Where the ice tank is located in the roof of the car, the
circulation of air is secured by gravity, and is changed by
admission of air through an opening so arranged that a
draft is created by the motion of the car. Very fine brass
wire cloth is doubled over these openings, to exclude the dust ;
as the air enters, it is discharged against a water surface,
which catches the fine dust carried through the screens. The
waste water is discharged through a trap, which effectually
shuts off the entrance of air.
ICE IN TRANSPORTATION. 93
When the ice tanks are placed at the ends of the car
gravity will not maintain a circulation of air. As the ice
melts, the upper strata of air remains warm. To avoid this
feature, resource is had in a forced draft. The air in the
upper part of the car is collected by a fan and forced through
tubes extending through the ice tanks and opening on to the
floor of the car. In connection with the fan is an inlet and
outlet tube, by which a gradual change of air is effected.
VENTILATING REFRIGERATOR CARS. In some cars there is
no provision for renewal of the air ; the object is, no doubt,
economy of ice, and for very low temperature, or for short
trips, it is an advantage which does not have any ill effects on
the contents of the car. For long trips and moderate temper-
atures, a change of air is beneficial, in most instances.
In some cars, ventilation is so arranged that the air can be
changed or not, as desired. The fans are run by motion taken
from one of the car axles, and are arranged to be run by hand
when the car is not in motion.
ICING REFRIGERATOR CARS. When a train is to be loaded
with beef or mutton, it is set in on a track alongside of the
icing platform. By means of double tracks on either side, as
many as fifty cars can be iced at short notice. Ice cakes are
delivered on a staging above the platform by elevator, suited
to the location, and run into the hopper of a large power ice
breaker. Barrows, of a capacity of five hundred pounds of
broken ice, are set below the breaker, and, by withdrawing the
damper, are filled with ice. From two to four shovelfuls of
salt are added, and the barrow is dumped into the mouth of a
chute which runs along the edge of the platform, delivering
the ice directly into the door above the ice tank. About four
tons of ice are placed in each car. By an extension spout the
cars are filled in the same manner on the farther tracks.
After icing, the cars are loaded, and at intervals on their
journey the ice is replenished.
In shipping other goods, which are not wanted below the
freezing point, ice is used without salt. Even with such goods,
the more frequent use of ice would often be advisable.
94 THE ICE CEOP.
VALUE OF ICE IN TRANSPORTATION. It is difficult to imag-
ine the state of affairs which would ensue upon a withdrawal
of all refrigerator service upon our railways. The amount of
privation and actual suffering which would follow would be
felt directly in every community in the land. To most people
the blessings which follow in the wake of the refrigerator car
are of a kind which are accepted without question, as a matter
of course. It would be a long list, to enumerate all the
advantages which are now mutually divided between the pro-
ducer and the consumer of the products of our farms, gardens,
vineyards, dairies and fisheries, dependent, in whole or in part,
upon this service.
It is but a short time since hundreds of bushels of fruit
were left to decay on the ground in California orchards, while
many other sections were destitute of fruit. Now a refrigera-
tor car service delivers these fruits at all the Atlantic coast
cities, as well as points between. Trial shipments have been
despatched to London, with gratifying results, and it is more
than probable that large quantities of the products of these
famous orchards will delight our cousins across the sea.
REFRIGERATOR VESSELS. On board the fastest steamships
plying between our Atlantic ports and Europe, are found
extensive refrigerator compartments. Dressed beef and mut-
ton are exported in large quantities, as well as fruits, vegeta-
bles, dairy products and oysters. The temperature, for meat,
is maintained a few degrees below the freezing point. Air
machines are principally used on the ocean, the brisk circula-
tion of air which they maintain being an advantage. The enor-
mous quantities of dressed meat transported from the United
States, Argentine, New Zealand and Australia, to Europe,
requires a large fleet of steamers, some of which are equipped,
at considerable expense, for this special service. In connec-
tion with these vessels, at both shipping and receiving wharfs,
are large storehouses, where the frozen meat is held, awaiting
shipment, or received after its voyage.
IN TRANSPORTING FRUIT ON THE OCEAN, a large fleet find
employment; in it are found steamers built with insulated
ICE IK TRANSPORTATION. 95
hulls formed by lining the outer steel hull with wood and pack-
ing the inclosed space with powdered charcoal. Refrigerator
service is essential to success in transporting the more delicate
fruits such as pears, peaches, cherries and plums which have
been landed in London from California and South Africa in
excellent condition in this way.
Ventilation, in connection with insulated hulls, is depended
on in handling most of the tropical fruits imported into this
country. Bananas from Central and South American and
West India ports form the staple commodity, giving employ-
ment to an extensive fleet of very excellent boats. From
Southern Europe large quantities of fruit are exported,
oranges, lemons, grapes and nuts forming the bulk of the
shipments which are carried in steamers in well ventilated
compartments.
The development of the fruit traffic from different districts
is attaining huge proportions with the control of the proper
conditions for transit which shippers now have within their
reach. Fruit shipments are now made to England from Florida
and California, Southern Europe, South Africa and Australia.
The shipments from one land forming the complement of those
from others, a continual supply of the finest fresh fruits is
available.
ICE IN THE FISHERIES. It is now long ago that fresh fish
were to be enjoyed only at places near by the fishing grounds.
Now they are in the market the year round. During the season
when fish may be caught, those not entering into immediate
consumption are placed in cold storage rooms and frozen, to be
taken out at any later time as they are wanted. Such storage
houses are found in connection with all important fishing sta-
tions on the New England coast, along the great lakes, and
among the salmon fisheries of the Northern Pacific. When
the fishing boats start on a cruise they are loaded with ice, with
which the fish are preserved, and the fishermen are not obliged
to return home with a small catch to prevent its spoiling.
In shipping fish to inland places, a beautiful sight is often
observed in a slab of crystal ice about three feet square and
96 THE ICE CEOP.
eight inches thick, within which a dozen or more fish have
been frozen. They are as beautiful in appearance as when
seen in their native element, while no occasion exists for com-
menting upon the utility of this method of transporting them.
Altogether ice is a prime necessity in this business in all
departments the fisherman, the shipper and dealer, and the
consumer.
It would not not do to close this chapter without referring
to the oyster. The association of oysters and ice are so inti-
mate that they are usually seen together. The trays of oysters
and ice may be seen in every direction during the season, on
their way from the oyster beds to delight the palates of their
admirers who are found everywhere.
CHAPTER IX.
RETARDING CELLARS AND HOUSES.
Cold Storage in Modified Form, Without Ice Ventilated Store-
age and Packing Houses for Fruit and other Produce.
It is well known that cellars which are dry, cool and well
ventilated are of great service in preserving fruit and vegeta-
bles. In Sicily, where oranges have long been produced in
great quantities, they are kept in cool caves, which are numer-
ous among the mountains of that island. Its volcanic origin
no doubt has particularly favored their formation, and the por-
ous nature of the rock insures ventilation combined with a dry
cool air.
CAVES FOR STORAGE. There is much of the natural phenom-
ena of caves which is interesting, and definite determination of
their philosophy would be of value. There are caves in which
ice is formed during the hottest weather, and in which it dis-
appears during the winter.
Shafts sunk in mining have exhibited the same peculiarity.
The even temperature and dryness of the air in many caves is
RETARDING CELLARS AND HOUSES. 97
remarkable. While the facts are yet to be determined scien-
tifically regarding these natural formations, some of their char-
acteristics may be secured by artificially constructed cellars.
STORAGE CELLARS WITHOUT ICE have been in use for years,
with profit and convenience to their owners. A convenient
place is to locate them in the side of a slight hill, as shown in
Fig. 89. A cross section is, shown in Fig. 90. An excavation
the width of the cellar is made, the earth being thrown up
against the outside of the stone wall, which is built on the
lower hillside. The opposite wall is formed by the cut face of
m*'~
FIG. 89. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF FRUIT CELLAR.
the hill. The rear end is constructed in the same manner as
the lower hill-side. The front wall and doors are made of a
double thickness of boards, with six inches inclosed space filled
with sawdust.
The doors swing inward, and are large enough to admit a
single horsecart. The sides and rear end are lined with inch
boards. The side walls are four feet high in the clear. To
form the roof, boards are cut of a length which will raise the
center seven feet above the floor and give easy passage for a
horse.
Midway between the center and either wall a 2x4 post is
set upon a footing of brick, and above it under the roof boards
a 1 x4 strip is run the length of the cellar. On top of the first
roof boards a layer of straw is placed, which will be a foot in
thickness when pressed down.
98
THE ICE CROP.
On top of this straw a second set of roof boards is placed,
covered with another layer of straw ; on top is now placed a
tight cover of matched boards, and two thicknesses of tarred
paper over the whole. Battens are placed over the joints in
the matched boards to hold down the tarred paper and prevent
any water passing through. The outer edges of the roof are
set firmly against the ground at the top of the walls.
On the upper hillside tiling should be placed, or other drain-
ing to carry off the surface water. A porous, gravelly side
should be selected whenever available. In the front two win-
dows are placed and one large one at the rear, double sashes
being fitted during the coldest weather.
FIG. 90. CROSS SECTION OF FRUIT CELLAR.
THE CHEAPNESS AND CAPACITY OF SUCH A CELLAR. For a
cellar one hundred feet deep the estimated cost is $100, no
skilled labor being required. Rough lumber is used except for
the last roof boards. Large storage room is provided in such
a cellar, fifty thousand celery plants have been accommodated
in one ; hundreds of bushels of vegetables, apples and other
fruits have been held in it during the fall and winter.
A COLD PACKING HOUSE. On large fruit farms a building
designed to properly care for the fruit during shipping and
packing, and as a store house for temporary use, is desirable.
RETARDING CELLARS AND HOUSES.
99
The illustrations below (Figs. 91 and 92) are taken from a venti-
lated fruit house with insulated walls, which has operated very
successfully in Ontario County, N. Y. A perspective view is
shown in Fig. 91. The main building is 24 x 36 feet, built into a
slight hill. The basement is built with stone walls eighteen
inches thick, extending two feet below the surface and rising
six feet above it.
The floor is made of eight inches of clean coarse gravel,
with a coat of hydraulic cement grouted in a finishing coat on
top, thus making a dry, hard floor.
The basement is divided into convenient apartments. The
entrance is from the front and north sides, the floor being
FIG. 91. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OP FRUIT HOUSE.
almost level with the outside surface. Both the doors and
windows are double, the latter being provided with screens to
keep out insects when open for ventilation. This basement is
ceiled with inch boards, on top of which, between the joists, is
placed an inch and one-half of mortar.
The upper building is fourteen feet to the eaves, the main
story being eight feet in the clear. The studding is five inches
wide, and on the outside are two thicknesses of damp-proof
paper, over which weather boards are placed. On the inside
100
THE ICE CROP.
of the studding are two layers of paper, then a two-inch wide
studding on which the paper is again doubled ; over this conies
matched inch lumber, making two dead air spaces to insure
against the changes of outside temperature affecting that on
the inside.
The ceiling of this room is formed by putting one thick-
ness of paper on the joists, covered with matched lumber.
The floor is of matched two-inch plank, thus making dead air
spaces between the cellars and the upper room, and also ren-
dering it impervious to rats and mice. (Fig. 92.)
This floor is occupied by an office and stairway in one end,
and these leave a clear floor space of 24x24 feet, for storing
and packing purposes. Shelves,
thirty-two inches deep, are placed
all around the wall of this room,
and are capable of holding about
seven tons of grapes or other
fruits, leaving the center for such
as are in barrels.
From the east side of this
room a door opens into the raised
portion of the shed. Through this
door the fruit can be unloaded
from the wagon without any lift-
ing. This shed runs the whole
length of the building and is six-
FIG. 92. SECTION OF FLOOR teen f eet wide> with a ground floor>
AND CEILING.
>
.9
() accommodate pack _
ing, also several loads of fruit over night or through a shower.
The top story is eight feet high in the center. The floor is
one-inch matched stuff, laid on paper. The sides and ceiling
are lathed and plastered. It makes a cool room, pleasant to
work in or to store grapes and other fruits in baskets, as the
veranda on the west side has a flat roof with a door opening on
it, which renders it very convenient for loading or unloading.
The veranda is six feet wide on the two sides.
RETARDING CELLARS ^ND' BOUSES. 101
A galvanized iron ventilating" 'tabey two- 'feet in diameter,
runs from the fruit to above the roof, to carry off the heated
air. Other ventilating doors should be close to the floor and
left open at night, thus making a cool draft all night through
the fruit room. The doors are to be closed air-tight early in
the morning ; the room above can be ventilated through the
shaft all day, drawing off the heat from the roof.
Pure air and plenty of it being required in a house of this
description, its location should be well chosen. The prevailing
winds and surrounding buildings or other features can be
noticed in selecting a site.
IN REMOVING FRUIT from storage room, it is always desir-
able to let the temperature gradually rise to that of the exter-
nal atmosphere. Otherwise the fruit, being removed at once
from a cool room, being cooler than the external atmosphere,
condenses moisture on its surface which, unless removed, may
cause decay after the fruit is packed for shipment or sale.
CHAPTER X.
ICED FOODS AND BEVERAGES.
Recipes for Iced Foods and Drinks Ice Creams of every Sort
and Description Fruit Mashes, Sherbets and the like
Other Iced Dishes.
There are few who do not thoroughly enjoy a dish of well
made ice cream or a glass of some refreshing iced beverage.
The addition of an ice house to the farm equipment is the
connecting link which will supply these luxuries. Few enter-
tainments are complete with ice cream omitted , and as it falls
to the lot of the charming wives and daughters to dispense the
cordial hospitality for which American farmers are famous, a
few choice recipes are presented here for their consideration.
The ice crusher illustrated in Fig. 93 is very convenient for
breaking ice for the freezer or for iced drinks. It is an
102 THE ICE CROP.
improvement over the common method of breaking the ice in
a bag with a mallet.
Recipes for ices are not numerous, because many dainties
are compounded by secret formulas for which confectioners
sometimes have to pay dearly. Again, one who knows how to
make good, plain, old-fashioned ice cream, generally knows
how to add the different fruits and flavors. But the following
have been compiled with great care, many of them are new or
heretofore secret, and they are sufficient in number to give the
housewife, caterer or confectioner every possible delicacy in
the way of ices, exclusive of intoxicating drinks.
ICE CREAMS AND ICES. Pour the mixture to be frozen
into the tin can ; put beater in this and put on cover. Place in
the tub, being careful to have the point on the bottom fit into
the socket in the tub. Put on the cross piece, and turn the
crank, to see that everything is right. Next comes the
packing. Ice should be broken in large pieces, put into a can-
vas bag and pounded fine with a mallet, or put in a tub and
shaved fine with the ice shaver. Put a thick layer of it into
the tub, then a good layer of coarse salt ; continue this till the
tub is full ; pack down solid with paddle or common stick.
After turning the crank a few times add more salt and ice,
and pack down again, till the tub is full. For a gallon can
three pints of salt and, perhaps, ten quarts of fine ice, will be
required. The water must not be let off, as it is one of the
strongest elements to help the freezing. If more salt than the
quantity given is used the cream will freeze sooner, but will
not be so smooth and rich as when less is used. Turn the
crank for twenty minutes, not so fast at first, but very rapidly
the last ten minutes. It will be hard to turn when the mix-
ture is frozen. Let off the water carefully, turn back the cross,
piece, wipe the salt and water from the cover, take off cover,
not displacing the can itself. Remove the beater and scrape
the cream from it. Work a large spoon up and down until
the cream is light, and the space left by the beater is filled.
Cover the can, cork up the hole from which the handle of the
ICED FOODS AND BEVERAGES. 103
beater was taken, add more salt and ice till the can is well
covered ; set in a cool place (covered with a bit of old carpet),
until time for serving. It is better for standing a couple of
hours. When ready to serve, dip the can for a few seconds in
hot water, wipe it, and turn on a platter. Rest it for a
moment, and lift a little. If the cream is to be served from a
mould, remove it when you do the beater ; fill the mould, and
work the cream up and down with a spoon. This will press
the cream into every part and lighten it. Cover the top of the
mould with a thick white paper, put on tin cover, and bury in
fresh salt and ice.
How TO SERVE CREAMS AND ICES. Much pride is taken by
good cooks in the way they serve their dainties to their friends.
Creams and ices look prettier served on pretty plates. If these
are lacking, lay a flower on each plate, or in some way beau-
tify it. A quaint way of serving cream was noticed not long
since. Calla lilies had been robbed of their stamens and their
cups filled with the cream.
ICE CREAMS.
VANILLA ICE CREAM. One quart of rich cream, one cup
of milk, one cup of sugar, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of
vanilla. This recipe nearly doubles itself if the cream is very
rich.
STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM. One quart of strawberries, one
pint of sugar, one-half pint of milk, one and one-half pints of
cream. Mash the berries and sugar together through a fine
strainer into the freezer, after the rest of the mixture has been
freezing about eight minutes.
BROWN BREAD ICE CREAM. Dry the crust of brown bread
in a warm oven. Roll fine and sift. Add one pint of the
crumbs to the preparation for vanilla ice cream. The vanilla
and one-fourth of the sugar must be omitted.
COCOANUT ICE CREAM. One quart of cream, one pint of
milk, three eggs, one and one-half cupfuls of sugar, one cup-
ful of prepared cocoanut, the rind and juice of one lemon.
104 THE ICE CROP.
Beat together the eggs and grated rind and put with the milk
in a double vessel. Stir till the mixture begins to thicken.
Add the cocoanut and put away to cool. When cold add
sugar, lemon juice and cream. Freeze.
FIG ICE CREAM. One quart of milk, two tablespoonfuls
of corn starch, one of gelatine, one pint of cream, a cupful
and a half of sugar, three eggs, two cupfuls of figs cut fine,
one tablespoonful of vanilla. Put the milk in a double boiler,
reserving half a cupful. When it is boiling pour in the corn
starch, which has been mixed with the cold milk. Cook ten
minutes. Beat the eggs and sugar together ; pour the cookod
mixture on this, stirring all the time Return to the fire, add
the gelatine, which has been soaking in four tablespoonfuls of
cold water, and cook three minutes. Set away to cool. When
cold add the cream and vanilla, and freeze. When the cream
has been freezing ten minutes, take off cover and stir in the
figs. Cover again and finish freezing.
CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM. One quart of cream, one pint of
milk, one even pint of powdered sugar, one tablespoonful of
vanilla, six eggs, one teacup grated chocolate. Mix sugar,
chocolate, cream and milk, and bring to the boiling point in a
porcelain kettle ; then draw the kettle to the back of the stove,
and stir in the mixture, six yolks and four whites, which have
been beaten separately and together. Draw the kettle forward
again, stir constantly till the mixture looks like thick cream,
then take it from the stove and add the remaining whites,
which have been well beaten. When slightly cooled add
vanilla. When cold pour in freezer and freeze. This quantity
is enough for twelve persons. Chocolate must be dissolved in
a little boiling water.
NEW YORK ICE CREAM. One full quart of cream, one
coffee cup of powdered sugar, four eggs, three teaspoonfuls of
vanilla. Beat the yolks and whites separately, then put
together and stir in one pint of cream. When it reaches the
boiling point draw cream to back of stove until the whole is
well mixed, then draw forward, stir until it thickens, about
ICED FOODS AND BEVERAGES. 105
three minutes. Cool, add the other pint of cream, then the
vanilla. Freeze.
NEAPOLITAN CREAM. Make a vanilla, a chocolate and
a strawberry cream; freeze in separate freezers, and fill a
mould the form of a brick in three smooth layers of equal size.
COFFEE ICE CREAM. Make the same as vanilla, with the
addition of coffee, of which take a cupful ground moderately
fine, put over it just enough water to keep it simmering unti.
strong, then pour through a bit of cheesecloth, and when cool
into the cream ready for freezing.
WALNUT ICE CREAM. One pint of the meat of walnuts
(American are the best), pounded fine in a mortar, one pint of
milk, one quart of cream, two small cupfuls of sugar, four
eggs and a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt. Beat eggs with
FIG. 93. ICE CRUSHING MACHINE.
one cupful of sugar ; put them and the milk into double boiler
and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Then
add salt and put away to cool. When cold add the rest of the
sugar, cream and nut meats, and freeze.
TEA ICE CREAM. One and one-half pints of rich cream, one
pint of sugar, one cup of good strong green tea, yolks of eight
eggs. Mix in inner vessel until it thickens. Strain through
sieve and freeze.
106 THE ICE OKOP.
ORANGE ICE CREAM. One and one-half pints of milk or
cream. One pint of sugar. The rind of two oranges rubbed
on loaf sugar. The juice of six large oranges. Yolks of eight
eggs. A pinch of salt. Mix the ingredients in an inner vessel.
Stir well until the mixture thickens. Pass through fine sieve.
Freeze.
CINNAMON ICE CREAM. One and one-half pints of rich
cream. One pint of sugar. Yolks of eight eggs. A good sized
stick of cinnamon, bruised. Cook in inner vessel until mix-
ture thickens. Strain, cool and freeze.
VANILLA ICE CREAM. One and one-half pints cream. One
pint of sugar. One vanilla bean. Yolks of seven eggs, and a
pinch of salt. Break up the bean in the mixture, and proceed
as in Cinnamon Cream.
ALMOND CREAM. One pint of cream. One cup of sugar.
One-quarter pound of blanched almonds, well chopped. Stir
over fire, and add well beaten yolks of four eggs. Flavor with
extract of rose. Pour into dish and pile on meringue. Place
on ice until time to serve.
TAPIOCA CREAM. Soak two tablespoonfuls of tapioca over
night in just enough water to cover it. In the morning boil
one quart of milk with the soaked tapioca by placing it in a tin
can or pail set in water to boil. Add two-thirds of a cup of
granulated sugar and a pinch of salt. Beat the yolks of three
eggs. When the milk has boiled eight minutes stir in the yolks.
Remove from the fire and stir rapidly for five minutes, so that
it will not curdle. Flavor with vanilla. Pour into pudding
dish. Beat whites well. Pour over the top of cream. Sift
with a little powdered sugar, brown a minute or two in oven.
Serve ice cold.
SWANS' DOWN CREAM. Whip stiff one pint of rich cream.
Beat to a froth the whites of three eggs ; sweeten with a small
cup of sugar and flavor with vanilla. Beat all together. Pour
into a glass dish and set into a bowl of crushed ice to send to
table. Eat with sponge cake.
PEACH ICE CREAM. One quart of cream. One cup of milk
sweetened. Whites of three eggs. One pint of sliced peaches.
ICED FOODS AND BEVERAGES. 107
As soon as the cream begins to freeze well add the sweetened
peaches which have been run through a sieve. Freeze seven
minutes and add the beaten whites. Freeze well.
ICED DISHES.
LEMON ICE. Eight lemons, two quarts of water, one and
one-half pounds of sugar, whites of four eggs. This makes
three quarts to freeze.
TUTTI FRUTTI. When rich vanilla cream is partly frozen
add English currants, chopped citron, chopped raisins and
candied cherries. The rule is generally the same quantity of
fruit as cream. Mould and place in pounded ice and salt until
ready to serve. A sufficient time must be allowed for the
cream to harden. Blanched almonds chopped fine makes a
nice addition.
FROZEN PUDDING. One generous pint of milk, two cupfuls
of granulated sugar, a scant half cupful of flour, two eggs,
two tables poonfuls of gelatine, one quart of cream, one pound
of French candied fruit (half a pound will do), four tablespoonl
fuls of wine. Let the milk come to a boil, beat the flour, one
cupful of sugar and the eggs, and stir into the boiling milk.
Cook twenty minutes, and add the gelatine, which has been
soaking an hour in enough water to cover it. Set away to
cool. When cold, add wine, sugar and cream. Freeze ten
minutes, then add the candied fruit and finish freezing. When
ready to serve dip tin in warm water, turn out the cream and
serve with whipped cream heaped around.
NESSELRODE PUDDING. One pint of shelled almonds, one
pint and a half of shelled chestnuts, one pint of cream, a pint
can of pineapple, the yolks of ten eggs, half a pound of French
candied fruit, one tablespoonful of vanilla, four of wine, one
pint of water, one of sugar. Boil the chestnuts half an hour,
then rub off the black skins and pound in a mortar until a
paste. Blanch the almonds and pound in same manner. Boil
the sugar, water and juice from the pineapple for twenty min-
utes in a saucepan. Beat the yolks of the eggs and stir them
108 THE ICE CHOP.
into the syrup. Put the saucepan in another of boiling water,
and beat the mixture with an egg beater until it thickens.
Take off, place in basin of cold water, and beat ten minutes.
Mix the almonds and chestnuts with the cream, and rub all
through a sieve. Add the candied fruit and pineapple cut
fine ; mix this with cooked mixture ; add the flavor and half a
a teaspoonful of salt. Freeze the same as ice cream.
LEMON SHERBET. The juice of five lemons, one pint of
water, one tablespoonful of gelatine. Soak the gelatine in a
little water. Boil one cup of water and dissolve the gelatine
in it. Mix together the sugar, water, gelatine and lemon juice.
Turn into can and freeze. This is light and creamy.
LEMON SHERBET. One pint and a half of sugar, three
pints of water, the juice of ten lemons. Boil the sugar and
water together twenty-five minutes. Add the lemon-juice,
strain and freeze. This makes a smooth, rich sherbet.
ORANGE SHERBET. Make the same as lemon sherbet, but
use the juice of twenty oranges instead of ten lemons. Boil
the syrup for this dish thirty minutes.
PINEAPPLE SHERBET. A pint and a half can of pineapple,
or, if fresh fruit is used, one large pineapple, a scant pint of
sugar, a pint of water, one tablespoonful of gelatine. Soak
the gelatine an hour in enough cold water to cover it. Cut
the hearts and eyes from the fruit, chop it fine and add to it
the sugar and juice from the can. Have half the water hot
and dissolve the gelatine in it. Stir this and the cold water
into the pineapple. Freeze. This sherbet will be white and
creamy.
STRAWBERRY SHERBET. Two quarts of strawberries, one
pint of sugar, one pint and a half of water, one tablespoonful
of gelatine. Mash the berries and sugar together, and let
them stand two hours. Soak the gelatine in cold water to
cover. Add one pint of water to the berries, and strain. Dis-
solve the gelatine in half a pint of boiling water ; add this to
the strained mixture, and freeze.
STRAWBERRY SHERBET No. 2. One pint and a haif of
ICED FOODS AND BEVERAGES. 109
strawberry juice, one pint of sugar, one pint and a half of
water, the juice of two lemons. Boil the water and sugar
togsther for twenty minutes, add the lemon and strawberry
juice. Strain and freeze.
RASPBERRY SHERBET. This sherbet is made the same as
the strawberry. When raspberries are not in season, use the
canned or preserved fruit and a smaller quantity of sugar.
The juice of a lemon or two is always an improvement. This
sherbet can also be made by following the second rule for
strawberry sherbet.
CURRANT SHERBET. One pint of currant juice, one pint
and a half of water, the juice of one lemon, one pint of sugar,
one tablespoonful of gelatine. Have the gelatine soaked in
cold water and dissolve it in half a pint of boiling water. Mix
it with the pint of cold water, the sugar, lemon and currant
juice, and freeze.
FROZEN STRAWBERRIES. Two quarts of fresh berries, one
pint of sugar, one quart of water. Boil the water and sugar
together half an hour, then add the berries, and cook fifteen
minutes longer. Let this cool, and freeze. When beater is
taken out add one pint of whipped cream. Preserved fruit
may be used in this case, to each quart of fruit one quart of
water, and freeze.
FROZEN RASPBERRIES. Prepare raspberries the same as
strawberries. When cold add the juice of three lemons, and
freeze.
FROZEN APRICOTS. One can of apricots, a generous pint
of sugar, a quart of water, a pint of whipped cream measured
after being whipped. Cut apricots in small pieces, add sugar
and water, freeze.
FROZEN PEACHES. One can of peaches, one heaping pint
of granulated sugar, one quart of water, two cupfuls of
whipped cream. Boil sugar and water together for twenty
minutes, then add peaches, and cook twenty minutes longer.
Rub through a sieve, and when cool, freeze. When the beater
is taken out stir in the whipped cream with a spoon.
110 THE ICE CHOP.
BISCUIT GLACE. One pint of cream whipped to a froth, a
dozen and a half macaroons, three eggs, half a cupful of
water, two-thirds of a cupful of sugar, a teaspoonful of vanilla.
Boil the sugar and water together for half an hour, beat the
eggs and stir into the boiling syrup. Place the saucepan con-
taining the mixture in another of boiling water, and beat for
eight minutes. Take from the fire, place the saucepan in a
pan of cold water, and beat mixture until cold. Then add
flavor and whipped cream. Stir well and fill paper cases.
Have the macaroons rolled fine and browned. Put a layer of
crumbs on the cream in the cases. Place these in an ice cream
mould, cover well and bury in ice and salt for at least two
hours. Serve on fancy plates.
GLACE MERINGUE. One quart of cream, one large cupful
of granulated sugar and six tablespoonfuls of powdered, one
tablespoonful of vanilla, the whites of six eggs, one cupful of
milk, one tablespoonful of gelatine, soaked an hour in four
of cold water. Let the milk come to a boil, and stir the gela-
tine into it. Strain into the cream, add the vanilla and granu-
lated sugar ; turn into the tin and freeze. When the mixture
is frozen (it will usually require twenty minutes), take out the
beater and pack the cream smoothly, being careful to have the
top perfectly smooth. Set away until serving time. It should
stand, at least, an hour. When ready to serve, beat the whites
of the eggs to a stiff froth, and gradually beat into this the
powdered sugar. Turn the cream out, and cover every part of
it with the meringue. Brown in a hot oven and serve imme-
diately. If the dish is flat put a board under it ; this keeps the
heat from the bottom. Glace meringue is a beautiful dish.
BOMBE GLACE. One quart of strawberry or raspberry
sherbet, one pint of sugar, one pint and a half of water, the
yolks of eighteen eggs, one large tablespoonful of vanilla.
Boil the sugar and water together twenty minutes, beat the
yolks of the eggs very light. Place the saucepan with the
syrup in another pan of boiling water ; stir the eggs into this
syrup and beat with a whisk for ten minutes. Take from the
ICED FOODS AND BEVERAGES. Ill
fire, place the basin in a pan of cold water, and continue beat-
ing for ten or fifteen minutes. Pack an ice cream mould in
ice and salt. Take the sherbet from the freezer and spread on
the sides and bottom of the mould. When it is hard put the
cooked mixture in the center, being careful not to disturb the
sherbet. Cover with a piece of thick white paper. Put on the
cover, and cover the top of the mould with salt and ice.
Bombe glace can be made with any kind of sherbet, having
FIG. 94. A POWER ICE CRUSHER.
the center part flavored to correspond with the sherbet. The
handsomest dishes are, of course, made with the brightest
colored sherbets.
PLAIN BLANC MANGE. To one quart of boiling milk add
two tablespoonfuls of corn starch dissolved in a little cold milk.
Sweeten and let it boil long enough to thicken. Pour into
cups, and when cold serve in glass dishes with a sweet jelly and
rich cream. This makes a very simple and wholesome dish.
112 THE ICE CROP.
Always cook custards in inner vessels, as they are not so apt to
scorch. A frozen custard is a delight in hot weather.
PINEAPPLE WATER ICE. One pound of pineapple, peeled,
sliced and reduced to a pulp by pounding. Rub through a fine
sieve. Wash the dregs with half pint of cold water. Add one
pint of syrup (made by boiling one pint of water with quarter
of a pound of sugar) and juice of one lemon. Freeze.
RASPBERRY ICE. One and one-half pints of raspberry juice,
made by pressing the fruit through a sieve. One pint of syrup.
One glass of currant juice, or juice of half a lemon. Freeze.
CHERRY ICE. Two pounds of cherries picked, pounded and
boiled with a gill of water in a porcelain vessel. Rub through
a sieve. Add one pint of thick syrup, one pint of cream, and
a few drops of essence of the kernels. Mix. Freeze twenty
minutes.
BLACKBERRY ICE. Put as many blackberries as you wish
to stew, and sweeten to taste. When done put in a bag and
strain. When cold, freeze.
MACARONI CUSTARD. Take one quart of milk, set it on to
boil. Mix one-half tablespoonf ul of butter and three of flour,
and stir into the boiling milk. Beat the yolks of six eggs with
one-half cup of sugar. Stir into the milk, and take from fire
to cool. Flavor with vanilla, then crumble one dozen fresh
macaroons over the top and pile on the meringue. Serve ice-
cold.
BOILED CUSTARD. One quart of milk, two eggs, one table-
spoonful of corn starch, one teacup of sugar. Flavor with
vanilla. Boil milk and sugar, then add starch and eggs well
beaten together. Place on ice before serving.
FLOATING ISLAND. One quart of milk, four eggs whites
and yolks beaten separately four tablespoonfuls of sugar, two
teaspoonfuls vanilla, one-half cup of currant jelly. Heat the
milk to scalding, but not boiling. Beat the yolks, stir into
them the sugar and pour upon them gradually, mixing well a
cup of hot milk. Return to saucepan and boil until it begins
to thicken. Pour into glass dish. Heap upon the top meringue
ICED FOODS AND BEVERAGES. 113
of whites whipped very stiff, into which you have beaten the
jelly, a teaspoonful at a time. Serve ice cold.
BLANC MANGE. Sweeten one quart of cream and flavor to
suit the taste. Dissolve one tablespoon of gelatine in hot
water and pour into the cream. Set on ice and serve with
whipped cream.
CORN STARCH BLANC MANGE. Dissolve three tablespoonfuls
of corn starch in one pint of milk. Add three teaspoonfuls of
sugar and three beaten eggs. Put this mixture into a pint of
boiling milk. Flavor to taste. Pour into cup. Serve with
jelly and whipped cream.
VELVET BLANC MANGE. Two cups of sweet cream. One-
half cup of gelatine dissolved in hot water. One-half cup of
powdered sugar. One small glass of white wine. Flavor with
almond extract. Boil cream, sugar and gelatine until it is
smooth, then take it from the fire and flavor by adding the
wine last. Stir well and put in fancy mould on ice. Serve
with cream.
LEMON JELLY. To a package of gelatine add one pint of
cold water and the juice of rbur lemons. In an hour it will be
sufficiently dissolved to add a pint of boiling water and three
scant cups of sugar. Let it just come to a boil. Strain through
cheese cloth into fancy moulds. Set on ice, and serve with
rich cream.
STRAWBERRY ICE. Crush three quarts of strawberries with
two and one-half pounds of sugar. Let them stand an hour.
Squeeze through a straining bag. Add an equal amount of
water to the juice, and when half frozen add the beaten whites
of three eggs. Any juicy fruit may be prepared in the same
manner, currants and raspberries being especially good.
SNOW PUDDING. Dissolve in one pint of boiling water half
a box of good gelatine. When cold add juice of one lemon and
small cup of sugar. Strain well and add the well beaten
whites of three eggs. Mix well and pour into mould. When
ice-cold serve with a custard made of the yolks of eggs and a
pint of cream or milk. Sweeten and flavor to taste.
8
114 THE ICE CROP.
ICED BEVERAGES.
ICED COFFEE. One quart of strong coffee, one quart of
cream, one and three-fourths of a pint of granulated sugar.
Freeze.
ICED TEAS are now served to considerable extent during
warm weather. They are used without milk, and the addition
of sugar serves only to destroy the finer tea flavor. It may be
prepared early in the day, taking care to make it stronger than
when served hot. Place in refrigerator, and when ready to
serve, have crushed ice in the tumblers, which are nicer for
the purpose than cups, as the tea looks pretty poured through
the ice.
LEMONADE. Juice of half a lemon to each goblet of water.
S\t eeten to taste and pour over crushed ice.
JELLY WATER. Sour jellies dissolved in water make delic-
ious drinks for fever patients. Best always to boil the jelly in
water, then cool. In this way the jelly does not become lumpy.
A COOLING DRINK. Pour three quarts of water on an
ounce of cream of tartar. Stir in it the juice of a fresh lemon
and the peel cut in very thin strips without a particle of pulp.
Sweeten to taste. Let stand till cold and clear. Pour off with-
out disturbing sediment at the bottom. A tumblerful iced is a
pleasant and healthful beverage for a warm day.
EGG LEMONADE White of an egg, juice of one lemon, one
tablespoonful sugar, one tumbler of water. Beat well together.
Serve cold.
GUM ARABIC WATER. One teaspoonful gum arabic. One
tumbler cold water. Allow it to stand long enough to dissolve.
Flavor with jelly, lemon, or any fruit syrup.
SAGO MILK. Three tablespoonfuls sago, soaked in a cup of
cold water one hour. Add three cups of boiling milk. Sweeten
and flavor to suit taste. Simmer slowly half an hour. Eat
warm. Tapioca milk is prepared in the same manner.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Fig- Page.
1. Clearing-off scraper 17
2, 3, 4. Snow scoop scrapers 18
5. Ice augur 20
6. Measure 20
7. Tapping axe 20
8. Field planer 21
9. Marker, with swing guide 22
10. Field plow 22
11. Swing guide plows 22
12. Hand plow 24
13. Plow rope 24
14. Line marker 24
15. Braces for channel with swift current 26
16. Brace for slow current 27
17. Best cast steel ice saws 28
18. Two-prong fork bar 28
19. Three-prong fork bar 28
20. Four-prong bar 28
21 . Calking bar 28
22. Breaking bar 28
23. Ice hooks 31
24. Elevator feeding fork 31
25. Chain scoop net 31
26. Sieve shovel 31
27. Ring handle splitting chisel 31
28. Channel hook chisel.. . T 31
29. Needle bar 31
30. Toothed trimmer bars, iron handle 83
31. Toothed trimmer bars 33
32. Jack grapple 33
33. Handle grapple 33
34. Channel grapple 33
35. Wooden skid, No. 1 36
36. Wooden skid, No. 2 36
115
116 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
37. Wagon and loading tongs
38. Packing chisel 36
39. Packing chisel 36
40. Hoisting tongs 38
41. Drag tongs 38
42. Edging tongs 38
43. Ice adze 38
44. 45. Interior view of old style ice cellar 44
46-49. Modern ice pit 44, 46, 48
50. Section of elevator incline and platform conveyors 50
51. Elevation of platform along tracks for loading cars 52
52. Section of loading platforms 52
53. Hoisting gigs and reversing engines 54
54. House ice saw 57
55. Raising chisel bar 57
56. Striking-under bar 57
57. Dunnage shovel 57
58. Lowering gig and track 59
59. A popular ice wagon 61
60. Another ice wagon 61
61. Sample delivery ice wagon 64
62. Wagon scale 66
63. Ice shave 66
64. Wagon axe 66
65. Wagon saw 66
66. Wagon ice tongs 66
67. Ground floor 68
68. Section of house 68
69. Section of wall 69
70. Exterior view of cold storage house 70
71. Section view of combined ice house and dairy 70
72. Perspective view of creamery 72
73. Ground plan of creamery 72
74. Cold storage house combined with dairy 74
75. Section view of cold storage house and dairy 76
76. Section of refrigerating tank : 75
77. Ground plan of freezing tank and bench 77
78. End view of freezing tank 78
79-81. Suggestions for cheap ice houses 78
82. Barn-corner ice house 79
83. A loading platform 81
84. Embankment platform 81
85. 86. Lifts for loading ice into sleds 81
87. A cheap ice scraper 82
88. A fruit retarding house in Florida, which uses refrigerating
machinery 89
89. Perspective view of fruit cellar 97
90. Cross section of fruit cellar 98
91. Perspective view of fruit house 91
92. Section of floor and ceiling 92
93. Ice crushing machine , 105
94. A power ice crusher HI
INDEX.
Artificial ice and cold air machines 48-91
Air machines 88
Extent of artificial refrigeration 90
Fruit storage plant at Waldo. Fla. 88
Historical sketch . % 84, 85
Latest inventions, the 88
Principles of ice machines 85, 86
Systems employed 86, 87
Uses of 90, 91
Care, handling and marketing of crop 56-63
Care of ice in houses 56
Coupon tickets, use of 62
Lowering ice from house 58
Marketing 60
Packing ice for shipment 58, 60
Taking out ice from house 58
Ventilators, how to use 41, 56, 58
Wasting of ice, causes and prevent atives 56
Cold storage 63-86
Construction of house for 63
Co-operation , benefits of 78
Extent and benefits of 63, 64
Preservative power for various articles, extent of 65
Principles of 67
Temperature, variation of 65
Use of 64, 67
Cold storage ice house (see also "Retarding house," and "Storage
cellars," and "Packing house" :
Barn corner ice house 79
Cheap ice house 77
Combined dairy, cold storage and ice house 72, 73
Construction of 63, 67, 68
Cost of ice in house 80
Creamery ice house 71, 72
Floor, best construction of 73
Freezing room 73
General arrangement of 69
Loading platform 80
117
118 THE ICE CEOP.
Milk room 73
Principles employed 67
Sample house described 71
Size of rooms 73
Silo as an ice house 77
Tanks 75
Temperature considered in removing fruit from 101
Tools required in stowing ice 80
Ventilators 68
Walls considered, various 68, 69
Construction of commercial ice houses 43-55
Construction, details of 47-54
Development of the modern ice house 43, 44
Earliest forms of ice storage 43
Site for 44,45
Survey and foundation 45-47
Construction of ice house, details of 47-54
Air spaces 47
Chains, overshot and undershot 55
Engine 55
Floor 53
Lightning rods, use of , 51
Lumber required, dimensions of 47
Platforms for loading cars 53
Posts, inside and out 47, 49
Roof, a good construction for 49
Sills, inside and out 47
Studding, main outer and inner 47
Ventilators 51, 68
Walls and partitions 49
Contents, table of 115
Co-operation, how best practiced 79
Co-operation in ice-cutting and cold storage 78
Creamery ice house 71, 72
Cutting and storing ice 14-42, 83
Calking bar, use of the 27
Care of ice fields 15, 83
Care of tools 32-35
Channels and canals 25, 83
Channels, early work on the 29
Closing and caring for the house 41, 42
Condition of field at quitting time 29
Cracks in the ice 26
Danger signals 23
Floats, how to handle 27
Flooding, use of 17
Harvesting, danger of delay in 20
Harvesting outfit 20-23
Housing the crop 29-32, 35-38
Inspection of field 20, 23
Laying out ice field 23
Marking and plowing .' 23-25
Opening up the field .- 26
INDEX. 119
Packing ice in the house 37-41
Plowing, results of delay in 34
Plowing, process of 83
Refuse ice 23
Science of ice formation 14, 15
Shipping from the field 42
Snow, removal of 17, 21
Snow scrapers 17, 18
Tapping the field during a thaw 19
Thickness of ice 21
Tool room and fittings 35
Windrows, how best distributed 19
Dairy, cold storage and ice house, combined 72, 73
Freezing house, a 73
Harvesting (see cutting and storing)
Historical sketch, an 7-11
Domestic and export trade 7
Export trade, height of ." 7
Extent of ice industry^ 9
Home of the industry 9
Methods for securing, development of 8
Modern ice harvest, pen picture of 10
Origin of business in United States 7
Preserving or antiseptic powers of ice 9
Uses of ice, growing 8
House, closing and caring for the 41-42
Sawdust or mill shavings, how used 41
Tools, inspection of 41-42
Ventilation 41, 56, 58
Housing the ice 29-32
Discipline on the field, value of 32
Methods employed, various 29, 35
Preferable time for, the .35
Protection at sides of channel, necessity for 30
Runs, or skids, how arranged ; 37, 40
Serious accidents, how prevented 32
Stowing, process of 37, 39
Water box, use of 30
Iced beverages: Coffee, cooling drink, gum arable water, jelly
water, lemonade, sago milk, tea 114
Ice creams and ices 102-107
Almond 106
Brown bread '. 103
Chocolate 104
Cinnamon 106
Coffee 105
Cocoanut 103
Fig 104
General directions for making 102
Neapolitan 105
New York 104
Orange 106
Peach 106
120 THE ICE CROP.
Strawberry 103
Swan's down 106
Tapioca 106
Tea 105
Vanilla 103,106
Walnut 105
Iced dishes 107-114
Biscuit glace 110
Blackberry ice 112
Blanc mange 111-113
Bombe glace 110
Cherry ice 112
Currant sherbet 109
Custards 112
Frozen, apricots 109
Frozen peaches 109
Frozen pudding 107
Frozen raspberries 109
Frozen strawberries 109
Glace meringue 110
Lemon ice 107
Lemon jelly 113
Lemon sherbet 108
Maccaroni custard 112
Nesselrode pudding 107
Orange sherbet 108
Pineapple sherbet 108
Pineapple water ice 112
Raspberry ice 112
Raspberry sherbet 109
Snow pudding 113
Strawberry ice 113
Strawberry sherbet 108
Tutti frutti ..107
Iced food and beverages , 101-114
Iced beverages 114
Ice creams and ices 102-107
Iced dishes 107-114
Ice field, care of 15, 83
Ice houses, barn corner 79
Cheap 77
Cold storage 63, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73
Commercial 43-55
Creamery 71, 72
Dairy and cold storage combined 72, 73
Silo 77
Ice in transportation 91-96
Fisheries, ice in the 95
Ocean transportation 94.95
Refrigerator cars 91, 92
Refrigerator vessels 94
Value of 94
Ice machines, Principles of 85-86
INDEX.
Industry, the ice 7-10
Extent of 7, 9
Home of 9
Origin of in United States 7
Laws for protection of crop 11
Regarding prohibition of cutting on polluted streams 11
Public vs. private ownership of ice fields 12
Legal and sanitary matters 11-14
Gravel as a bed for ice ponds, use of 12
Laws for protection of crop 11
Preservation of purity of streams and lakes 11
Purity of crop, how maintained 11
Marketing ice 60
Ownership of ice fields, public vs. private 12
Packing house, a cold 98-101
Construction of 99-101
Temperature considered in removing fruit from 101
Use for on large farms 98, 99
Packing ice for shipment 58
Packing in the house 37-41
Methods empl oy ed, various 38
Method, a good 38, 39
Quantity packed dependent on arrangement 38
Runs, arrangement of outside and in 37-40
Preface 5
Purity, conditions of 11, 23
Shipping ice from field 42
Refrigerator cars 91-94
Construction 91-93
Icing : 93
Ventilating 93
Refrigerator vessels 94, 95
Extent of traffic through 94, 95
Temperature, how regulated 94
Ventilation of 95
Retarding cellars and houses 96-101
Caves for storage 96
Cellars without ice 97
Site for constructing ice house (see also " Cold storage ice house ")-44> 45
Accessibility from water and land 44
Arrangement of house determined by lay of land 45
Good site dependent on what 45
How to select 45
Transportation facilities considered 45
Snow, usefulness of 16
Sources of ice supply 11-14
Artificial 13, 84-91
Lakes fed by streams 11
Purity of compared 11, 12
Running streams 11
Storage cellars, construction of 97, 98
Streams, changing the course of 13
Strength of ice 62
THE ICE CROP.
Survey and foundation for house 45-47
Drainage, the value of 45
Foundations, extent of 45
Importance of survey 45
Inclined ways, use and construction of 54
Life of house, how extended 45
Tool room and fittings 35
Tools, care of 32-35, 41-42
Elevator machinery repairing 41
Engine and its parts 42
Good vs. inferior tools 32
Inspection of after use 41
Plows, how often rendered useless 34
Plows, the best 34
Repairing, the best time for 34
Repairing tools required 34
Saws, how to care for 32
Storing room 35
Uses of ice in refrigeration (see also " Cold storage ")
Cold storage, extent and benefits of 63
Decay of fruits prevented 67
Fruits, meats and vegetables, preservation of 65, 67
Poultry, how best preserved 73
Uses of ice, the growing 8, 64
Ventilators, construction of 51, 68
Use of 41 , 56, 58, 68
Wasting of ice in house, causes and preventives 56
Weight of ice , , , , 62
SENT FREE ON APPLICATION.
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full descriptions of nearly 600 works on the following subjects:
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4 STANDARD BOOKS.
Henderson's Practical Floriculture.
By Peter Henderson. A guide to the successful propagation and
cultivation of florists' plants. The work is not one for liorists and
gardeners only, but the amateur's wants are constantly kept in mind,
and we have a very complete treatise on the cultivation of flowers
under glass, or in the open air, suited to those who grow flowers for
pleasure as well as those who make them a matter of trade. The
work is characterized by the same radical common sense that marked
the author's " Gardening for Profit," and it holds a high place in the
estimation of lovers of agriculture. Beautifully illustrated. New and
enlarged edition. Cloth, 12mo 1.50
Harris's Talks on Manures.
By Joseph Harris, M. S., author of " Walks and Talks on the Farm,"
"Harrison the Pig." etc. Revised and enlarged by the author. A
series of familiar and practical talks between the author and the dea-
con, the doctor, and other neighbors, on the whole subject of manures
and fertilizers ; including a chapter specially written for it by Sir John
Bennet Lawes, of Rothamsted, England. Cloth, 12mo 1 1.75
taring's Draining for Profit and Draining for Health.
This book is a very complete and practical treatise, the directions in
which are plain, and easily followed. The subject of thorough farm
, drainage is discussed in all its bearings, and also that more extensive
land drainage by which the sanitary condition of any district may be
greatly improved, even to the banishment of fever and ague, typhoid
and malarious fever. By Geo. E. Waring, Jr Illustrated, Cloth 12mo.
The Practical Babbit-Keeper.
By Cuniculus. Illustrated. A comprehensive work on keeping and
raising Rabbits for pleasure as well as for profit. The book is abun
dantly illustrated with all the various Courts, Warrens, Hutches,
Fencing, etc., and also with excellent portraits of the most important
species of rabbits throughout the world. 12oio - - 1.50
Quinby's New Bee-Keeping.
The Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained. Combining the results of
Fifty Years' Experience, with the latest discoveries and inventions,
and presenting the most approved methods, forming a complete work.
Cloth, 12mo I. . 1.50
Profits in Poultry.
Useful and Ornamental Breeds and their Profitable Management. This
excellent work contains the combined experience of a number of prac-
tical men in all departments of poultry raising. It is profusely illus-
trated and forms an unique and important addition to our poultry lit-
erature. Cloth, 12mo ..._ 1.00
Barn Plans and Outbuildings.
Two Hundred and Fifty-seven Illustrations. A most Valuable Work,
full of Ideas, Hints, Suggestions, Plans, etc., for the Construction of
Barns and Outbuildings, by Practical writers. Chapters are devoted,
among other subjects^ to the Economic Erection and Use of Barns.
Grain Barns, House Barns, Cattle Barns, Sheep Barns, Corn Houses,
Smoke Houses, Ice Houses, Pig Pens, Granaries, etc. There are like-
wise chapters upon Bird Houses, Dog Houses, Tool Sheds, Ventila-
tors, Roofs and Roofing, Doors and Fastenings, Work Shops, Poultry
Houses, M'anure Sheds, Barn Yards, Root Pits, etc. Reqently pub-
lished. Cloth, 12mo 1-50
STANDARD BOOKS. 5
Parsons on the Rose.
By Samuel B. Parsons. A treatise on the propagation, culture, and
history of the rose. New and revised edition. In his work upon the
rose, Mr. Parsons has gathered up the curious legends concerning
the flower, and gives us an idea of the esteem in which it was held in
former times. A simple garden classification has been adopted, and
the leading varieties under each class enumerated and briefly
described. The chapters on multiplication, cultivation, and training
are very full, and the work is altogether one of the most complete
before the public. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo 1.00
Heinrich's Window Flower Garden,
The author is a practical florist, and this enterprising volume em-
bodies his personal experiences in Window Gardening during a long
period. New and enlarged edition. By Julius J. Heinrich. Fully
Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo.. .75
Liautard's Chart of the Age of the Domestic Animals.
Adopted by the United States Army. Enables one to accurately de-
termine the age of corses, cattle, sheep, dogs, and pigs 50
Pedder's Land Measurer for Farmers.
A convenient Pocket Companion, showing at once the contents of
any piece of land, when its length and width are known, up to 1,500
feet either way, with various other Useful farm tables. Cloth, 18mo;
.60
How to Plant and What to Do with the Crops.
With other valuable hints for the Farm, Garden and Orchard. By
Mark W. Johnson. Illustrated. CONTENTS : Times for Sowing Seeds-.
Covering Seeds ; Field Crops ; Garden or Vegetable Seeds, Sweet
Herbs, etc.; Tree Seeds ; Flower Seeds ; Fruit Trees ; Distances Apart
for Fruit Trees and Shrubs ; Profitable Farming ; Green or Manuring
Crops ; Root Crops; Forage Plants ; What to do with the Crops ; The
Rotation of Crops; Varieties; Paper Covers, post-paid 50
Your Plants.
Plain and Practical Directions for the Treatment of Tender and Hardy
Plants in the House and in the Garden. By James Sheehan. The
above title well describes the character of the work " Plain and Prac-
tical." The author, a commercial florist and gardener, has endeavored,
in this work, to answer the many questions asked by his customers, as
to the proper treatment of plants. The book shows all through that
its author is a practical man, and he writes as one with a large store
of experience. The work better meets the wants of the amateur who
grows a few plants in the window, or has a small flower Garden, than
a larger treatise intended for those who cultivate plants upon a more
extended-scale. Price, post-paid, paper covers. 40
Husmann's American Grape-Growing and Wine-Making.
By George Husmann of Talcoa vineyards, Napa, California. New and
enlarged edition. With contributions from well-known grape-growers,
giving a wide range of experience. The author of this book is a
recognized authority on the subject. Cloth, 12mo 1.50
The Scientific Angler.
A general and instructive work on Artistic Angling, by the late David
Foster. Complied by his Sons. With an Introductory Chapter and
Copious Foot Notes,' by William C. Harris, Editor of the " American
Angler." Cloth, 12mo - 1.50
6 STANDARD BOOKS.
Keeping One Cow.
A collection of Prize Essays, and selections from a number of other
Essays, with editorial notes, suggestions, etc. This book gives the
latest information, and in a clear and condensed form, upon the man-
agement of a single Milch Cow. Illustrated with full-page engrav-
ings of the most famous dairy cows. .Recently published. Cloth,
12mo -- 1.00
law's Veterinary Adviser
A Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Disease in Domestic
Animals. This is one of the best works on this subject, and is especi-
ally designed to supply the need of the busy American Farmer, who
can rarely avail himself of the advice of a Scientific Veterinarian. It
is brought up to date and treats of the Prevention of Disease, as well
as of the Remedies. By Prof. Jas. Law. Cloth, Crown 8vo 3.00
Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cows.
A Treatise on the Bovine Species in General. An entirely new trans-
lation of the last edition of this popular and instructive bock. By
Thos. J. Hand, Secretary of the American Jersey Cattle Club. With
over 100 Illustrations, especially engraved for this work. Cloth, 12mo.
1.00
The Cider Maker's Handbook.
A complete guide for making and keeping pure cider. By J. M. Trow-
bridge. Fully Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo 1.00
Long's Ornamental Gardening for Americans.
A treatise on Beautifying Homes, Rural Districts, and Cemeteries. A
plain and practical work at a moderate price, with numerous illus-
trations, and instructions so plain that they may be readily followed.
By Elias A. Long. Landscape Architect. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo.
The Dogs of Great Britain, America and Other Countries.
New, enlarged and revised edition. Their breeding t training and
management, in health and disease ; comprising all the essential parts
of the two standard works on the dog, by " Stonehenge," thereby fur-
nishing for $2 what once cost $11.25. Contains Lists of all Premiums
given at the last Dog Shows. It Describes the Best Game and Hunt-
ing Grounds in America. Contains over One Hundred Beautiful En-
gravings, embracing most noted Dogs in both Continents, making to-
gether, with Chapters by American Writers, the most Complete Dog
Book ever published. Cloth, 12mo .. 2.00
Stewart's Feeding Animals.
By Elliot W. Stewart. A new and valuable practical work upon the
laws of animal growth, specially applied to the rearing and feeding
horses, cattle, diary cows, sheep and swine. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo.
2.00
How to Co-operate.
A Manual for Co-operators. By Herbert Myrick. This book describes
the how rather than the wherefore of co-operation. In other words it
tells how to manage a co-operative store, farm or factory, and co-op-
erative dairying, banking and fire insurance, and co-operative farmers'
and women's exchanges for both buying and selling. The directions
given are based on the actual experience of successful co-operative en-
terprises in all parts of the United States. The character and useful-
ness of the book commend it to the attention of all men and women
who desire to better their condition. 12mo. Cloth 1.50
STANDARD BOOKS. 7
Batty 's Practical Taxidermy and Home Decoration.
By Joseph II. Batty, taxidermist for the government surveys and
many colleges and museums in the United States. An entirely new
and complete as well as authentic work on taxidermy giving in
detail full directions for collecting and mounting animals, birds, rep-
tiles, fish, insects, and general objects of natural history. 125 illus-
trations. Cloth, 12mo 1.50
Stewart's Irrigation for the Farm, Garden, and Orchard.
New and Enlarged Edition. This work is offered to those American
Farmers, and other cultivators of the soil, who from painful expe-
rience can readily appreciate the losses which result from the scarcity
of water at critical periods. By Henry Stewart. Fully illustrated.
Cloth, 12mo. 1.50
Johnson's How Crops Grow.
New Edition, entirely rewritten. A Treatise on the Chemical Compo-
sition, Structure, and Life of the Plant. Revised Edition. This book
is a guide to the knowledge of agricultural plants, their composition,
their structure, and modes of development and growth ; of the com-
plex organization of plants, and the use of the parts ; the germination
of seeds, and the food of plants obtained both from the air and the
soil. The book is an invaluable one to all real students of agricul-
ture. With numerous illustrations and tables of analysis. By Prof.
Samuel W. Johnson, of Yale College. Cloth, 12mo 2.00
Johnson's How Crops Feed.
A treatise on the Atmosphere and the Soil, as related in the Nutrition
of Agricultural Plants. 'The volume the companion and complement
to " How Crops Grow," has been welcomed by those who appreciate
scientific aspects of agriculture. Illustrated. By Prof. Samuel W.
Johnson. Cloth, 12mo : - 2.00
Warington's Chemistry of the Farm.
Treating with the utmost clearness and conciseness, and in the most
popular manner possible, of the relations of Chemistry to Agriculture,
and providing a welcome manual for those, who, while not haying
time to systematically study Chemistry, will gladly have such an idea
as this gives them of its relation to operations on the farm. By R.
Warington, F. C. S. Cloth, 12mo 1.00
French's Farm Drainage.
The Principles, Process, and Effects of Draining Land, with Stones,
Wood, Ditch-plows, Open Ditches, and especially with Ties ; includ-
ing Tables of Rainfall, Evaporation, Filteration, Excavation, Capacity
of Pipes, cost and number to the acre. By Judge French, of New
Hampshire. Cloth, 12mo. 1-50
Hunter and Trapper.
The best modes of Hunting and Trapping are fully explained, and
Foxes, Deer, Bears, etc., fall into his traps readily by following his
directions By Halsey Thrasher, an old and experienced sportsman.
Cloth, 12mo 75
The American Merino. For Wool or for Mutton.
A practical and most valuable work on the selection, care, breeding
and diseases of the Merino sheep, in all sections of the the United
States. It is a full and exhaustive treatise upon this one breed of
cheep, By Stephen Powers. Cloth, 12mo-,_ l.
8 STANDARD BOOKS.
Armatage's Every Man His Own Horse Doctor,
By Prof. George Armatage, M. R. C. V. S. A valuable and compre-
hensive guide for both the professional and general reader with the
fullest and latest information regarding all diseases, local injuries,
lameness, operations, poisons, the dispensatory, etc , etc., with practi-
cal anatomical and surgical Illustrations. New Edition. Together
with Elaine's " Veterinary Art," and numerous recipes. One large
8vo. volume, 830 pages, half morocco.. 7.50
Dadd's Modern Horse Doctor,
Containing Practical Observations on the Causes, Nature, and Treat-
ment of Diseases and Lameness of Horses embracing recent and im-
proved Methods, according to an enlightened system of Veterinary
Practice, for Preservation and Restoration of Health. Illustrated.
By Geo. H. Dadd, M. D. V. S., Cloth, 13mo 1.50
The Family Horse.
Its Stabling, Care, and Feeding. By Geo. A. Martin. A Practical
Manual, full of the most useful information. Illustrated. Cloth,
12mo 1.00
Sander's Horse Breeding,
Being the general principles of Heredity applied to the Business of
Breeding Horses and the Management of Stallions, Brood Mares and
Foals. The book embraces all that the breeder should know in regard
to the selection of stock, management of the stallion, broodmare, and
foal, and treatment of diseases peculiar to breeding animals. By J.
H. Sanders. 12mo, cloth ". 2.00
Coburn's Swine Husbandry.
New, revised and enlarged edition. The Breeding, Rearing and
Management of Swine, and the Prevention and Treatment of their
Diseases. It is the fullest and freshest compendium relating to Swine
Breeding yet offered. By F. D. Coburn. Cloth, 12mo 1.75
Dadd's American Cattle Doctor.
By George H. Dadd, M. D., Veterinary Practitioner. To help every
man to be his own cattle-doctor ; giving the necessary information
for preserving the health and curing the diseases of oxen, cows, sheep,
and swine, with a great variety of original recipes, and valuable infor-
mation on farm and dairy management. Cloth, 12mo 1.50
Silos, Ensilage, and Silage.
A practical treatise on the Ensilage of Fodder Corn. Containing tb.e
most recent and authentic information on this important subject, by
Manly Miles, M.D., F.R.M.S. Illustrated. Cloth 13mo .50
Broom Corn and Brooms.
A Treatise on Raising Broom-Corn and Making Brooms on a small or
Large Scale. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth cover .50
American Bird Fancier.
Or how to breed, rear, and care for Song and Domestic Birds. This
valuable and important little work for all who are interested in the
keeping of Song Birds, has been revised and enlaiged, and is now a
complete manual upon the subject. All who own valuable birds, or
wish to do so, will find the new Fancier indispensable. New, revised
and enlarged edition. By D. J. Browne, and Dr. Fuller Walker. Illus-
trated, paper cover. , ._ .50
STANDARD BOOKS. 9
Armatage's Every Man His Own Cattle Doctor.
The Veterinary Cyclopedia Embracing all the practical information
of value heretofore published on the Diseases of Cattle, Sheep, and
Swine, together with the latest and best information regarding all
known diseases up to the present time. Compiled and edited by that
eminent authority, Prof. George Armatage, M. R. C. V. S. One
large octavo volume, 894 pages, Vith upwards of 350 practical illus-
trations, showing forms of disease and treatment. Half morocco. 7.50
Onions How to Raise them Profitably.
Being the Practical Details, from Selection of Seed and Preparation
of Ground to Harvesting and Marketing the Crop, given very plainly
by Seventeen Practical Onion Growers of long experience residing in
different parts of the country. No more valuable work of its size
was ever issued. Paper cover, 8vo.. 30
Tobacco Culture Full Practical Details.
This useful and valuable work contains full details of every process
from the Selection and Preparation of the Seed and Soil to the Harvest-
ing, Curing and Marketing the Crop, with illustrative engravings of
the operations. The work was prepared by Fourteen Experienced
Tobacco Growers, residing in different parts of the country. It also
contains notes on the Tobacco Worm, with illustrations, 8vo,.. ,35
Hop Culture.
Plain directions given by ten experienced cultivators. Revised, en-
larged and edited by A. S. Fuller. Forty engravings 30
Flax Culture.
A very valuable work, containing full directions, from selection of
ground and seed to preparation and marketing of crop, as given by
a number of experienced growers, 8vo 30
Potato Pests.
No Farmer can afford to be without this little book. It gives the
most complete account of the Colorado Beetle anywhere to be found,
and includes all the latest discoveries as to the habits of the insect
and the various means for its destruction. It is well illustrated, and
exhibits in a map the spread of the insect since it left its native home.
By Prof . C. V. Riley. Paper cover.... .50
Home Fishing and Home Waters.
By Seth Green. The Utilization of Farm Streams ; Management of
Fish in the Artificial Pond ; Transportation of Eggs and Fry, etc.
Cloth, 12mo-. - ---- 50
Reed's House Plans for Everybody.
By S. B. Reed. This useful volume meets the wants of persons of
moderate means, and gives a wide range of design, from a dwelling
costing $350 up to $8,000, and adapted to farm, village and town resi-
dences. Nearly all of these plans have been tested by practical work-
ings. One feature of the work imparts a value over any similar pub-
lication of the kind that we have seen. It gives an estimate of the
quantity of every article used in the construction, and the cost of each
article at the time the building was erected or the design made. Even
if prices vary from time to time, one can, from these data, ascertain
within a few dollars the probable cost of constructing any one of the
buildings here presented. Profusely illustrated. Cloth, black and
gold ? l3mo 1.50
10 STANDARD BOOKS.
Gregory on Cabbages How to Grow Them.
A Practical Treatise on Cabbage Culture, giving full details on every
point, including Keeping and Marketing the Crop. By James J. II.
Gregory. Paper cover, 12mo 3u
Gregory on Carrots, Mangold- Wurtzels, etc.
How to raise them, how to keep them, and how to feed them. By
J. J. H. Gregory. Paper Cover, 12ino .-. 30
Gregory on Onion Raising.
What kinds to raise, and the way to raise them. By J. J. H. Gregory.
Paper cover, 12mo.-- 30
Gregory on Squashes.
This Treatise, which no Farmer or Gardener ought to be without,
tells all about selecting the soil for squashes ; how much Manure is
necessary ; how to prepare and Plant ; about Hoeing and Cultivating ;
Setting of the Fruit ; Ripening, Gathering, Storing, Care during Win-
ter, etc. By J. J. H. Gregory. Paper cover, 12mo .30
Hog-Raising and Pork-Making.
By Rufus Bacon Martin. The hog is reared for the money that is in
him, and he represents either a profit or loss to his owner according to
the treatment he receives. This pamphlet gives the personal research
and experience of the author, contains many valuable suggestions,
and answers many of the questions that arise in the business of hog-
raising. Paper, 12mo--- 40
Fulton's Peach Culture.
This is the only practical guide to Peach Culture on the Delaware
Peninsula, and is the best work upon the subject of peach growing for
those who would be successful in that culture in any part of the
country. It has been thoroughly revised and a large portion of it re-
written, by Hon. J. Alexander Fulton, the author, bringing it down to
date. Cloth, 12mo 1.5U
Silk Culture.
A Handbook for Silk-Growers. By Mrs. C. E. Bamford. CON-
TENTS. Chapter I. The Mulberry. II. Gathering the Leaves.
III. The Cocoonery. IV. Eggs of the Silk Worm Moth. V. Feed-
ing the Silk Worms. VI. Moulting. VII. Spinning. -VIII. The
Cocoons. IX. The Moths of the Silk Worm. X. Varieties of Silk
Worms. XI. Diseases of the Silk Worm. XII. Reeling. XIII.
Chemistry of Silk. XIV. Miscellaneous. Paper, 12mo. Price, post-
paid- . .30
Treats' injurious Insects of the Farm and Garden. By
Mrs. Mary Treat.
An original investigator who has added much to our knowledge of both
Plants. and insects, and those who are familiar with Darwin's works
are aware that he gives her credit for important observation and dis-
coveries. New and Enlarged Edition. With an Illustrated Chapter
on Beneficial Insects. Fully illustrated. Cloth, 12rno ..2.00
Fuller's Small Fruit Culturist.
By Andrew S. Fuller. Rewritten, enlarged, and brought fully up to
the present time. The book covers the whole ground ol propagating
small fruits, their culture, varieties, packing for market, etc. It is
very finely and thoroughly illustrated, and makes an admirable com-
panion to " The Grape Culturist." by the same well known author.
1,50
Valuable Periodical for everybody in City, Village, and Conntry.
Jhe American flgricnlturigi.
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A MONTHLY MAGAZINE of from 48 to 64 pages in each number,
containing in each volume upward of 700 pages and over 1000 original engravings
of typical and prize-winning Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Swine, and Fowls ; New
Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers ; House and Barn Plans ; New Implements and
Labor-saving Contrivances ; and many pleasing and instructive pictures for young
and old.
THE STANDARD AUTHORITY in all matters pertaining to
Agriculture, Horticulture, and Rural Arts, and the oldest and most ably edited
periodical of its class in the world.
BEST RURAL PERIODICAL IN THE WORLD.
The thousands of hints and suggestions given in every volume are prepared by
practical, intelligent farmers, who know what they write about.
The Household Department is valuable to every housekeeper, afford-
ing very many useful hints and directions calculated to lighten and facilitate
indoor work.
The Department for Children and Youth is prepared with
special care, to furnish not only amusement, but also to inculcate knowledge
and sound moral principles.
Subscription Terms : $1.50 a year, postaga include* ; sample copies, 15o, each.
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