The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-08-06 00:00:00

AMERICAN ICE.

We promised last week to give some further particulars
of this ice, its uses, &c., and the mistake made in the
construction of our English ice-houses.
Of its uses, we will confine ourselves only to a notice
of its value to us. The first, and a very great luxury it
is, is to be able to have a good cool glass of water ' • this
ice being so perfectly pure of itself, (it needs only to be
rinsed, to free it from the sawdust in which it is packed,)
that when you put it into the water in a few moments
it will be as cold as charity. After drinking a glass or two
of that, you will not be surprised at the number of the
cold-water advocates, or why the temperance cause pro-
ceeds so rapidly in America ; and the water is so much
" improved, that the old excuse of requiring a little brandy
to destroy the sickening taste of tepid water, will now be
unavailing. Still, if you like a drop of brandy, the ice-
water is necessary to have it in perfection. Hock and
Champagne are both improved by putting a small piece
of ice in the glass. It will not make wine water, as some
would suppose, but simply ices it. These modes of using
it are luxuries; and we now come to its necessary and
economical uses. The American Refrigerator, or air-
tight ice-box, for preserving the ice, or any other perish-
able articles, such as meats, fish, fruits, butter, cream,
&c., is a small compact portable box, and a few pounds
of ice will keep one of them at a temperature of about
36 degrees of Farenheit. The articles to be preserved
are placed on shelves over the ice ; and the box, if kept
properly closed, will keep everything cool and sweet a
long time. Thus the complaint, which is often heard in
families, that " we must have such a thing for dinner
to-day, because it will not keep any longer," is now en-
tirely obviated. The Wenham Lake Company are ma-
nufacturing large quantities of these refrigerators. which
are giving universal satisfaction; and the only wonder
now is, how families have ever been able to do without
them. They form a neat article of furniture, when made
of mahogany, or nicely painted, for the dining-room, or
in larger sizes for the pantry or hall; and, when known,
will, we think, come into general use.
We now come to the great mistake that has been made
in this country in the management of ice, by which we
have been doing more to destroy than to preserve it. Ice
should be kept as dry as possible, above ground ; as mois-
ture, or the damp exhalations from a cellar, will destroy
it quicker than the heat of the sun. It wastes when ex-
posed to the sun and air, but rots and crumbles by damp.
The secret is simply to keep the air from it, and in some
place where the moisture will evaporate that exhales from
it. This can be done by wrapping it in a blanket, or co-
vering it with saw-dust, and keeping it above ground.
In America (as we stated in our last) all the ice-houses
are above ground, and ice has been kept five years, with
but a trifling loss. The Wenbam Lake Company, in this
town, have their ice at present in vaults, being unable to
find a suitable building for it. It is, however, their in-
tention to erect an ice-house, and to keep 1,000 tons con-
stantly on hand. We feel convinced that, if any one will
give it a trial, he will find this solid ice answer all the
purposes that it is recommended for, and at the end of
the year there will be a decided balance in favour of the
ice and refrigerators, whether as regards those who use it
merely as a luxury, or those who employ it as an econo-
mical means of preserving food. The imported ice is in
blocks so large, pure, and fissureless, that we see to read
through it (a thickness of 18 to 20 inches, or more), as if
it were a mass of the clearest crystal. The ice procurable
in this country, and particularly in the neighbourhood of
large towns, is generally thin, and in comparatively small
fragments, opaque with sand or mud, so that it cannot be
so well preserved, and is, moreover, somewhat repulsive
to consumers, if they begin to think whence it is obtained.
At one of our principal inns, the other day, a gentleman
who had been accustomed to the American article, on
being served with some of our discoloured and dingy ice,
put the waiter to a nonplus by inquiring whether there
were any dead animals in the pit from which it had been
taken ! It certainly had a very suspicious appearance,
and was by no means inviting.
We perceive from a Boston paper that the ice trade of
that city is getting to be of great importance. The ex-
ports in June were 4097 tons, of which there were to Liver-
pool 430, Calcutta 556, St. Jago 200, Trinidad 10, New
Orleans 2160, Mobile 441, Charleston.

COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.—An official notice has been
issued from this college, from which we perceive that the
following are amongst the hospitals and schools of surgery
and medicine from which certificates of the professional
education of candidates for the fellowship will be received
by the College of Surgeons for the year commencing the
Ist inst.--viz., Liverpool Infirmary, Liverpool Northern
Hospital, and Liverpool Royal Institution.

LONDON, CHATHAM, AND NORTH KENT
RAILWAY.

CAPITAL, £1,500,000,
In 30,000 Shares of £so.—Deposit £3 per Share.
PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE.
Sir Brook William Bridges, Bart., Goodnestone, Kent.
Joseph Bailey, jun., Esq., M.P., Belgrave-square.
J. C. Colquhoun, Esq., M.P., Putney-heath.
Lieutenant-General Sir Howard Douglas, Bart., G.C.8.,

G.C.M.G., M.P., Green-street.
Frederick Mildred, Esq., Nicholas-lane.
William C. Mylne, Esq., New River-head.
J. D. Powles, Esq., New Bank-buildings.
H. T. Prinsep, Esq., Hyde-park Gardens.
Joshua Walker, Esq., Abchurch-lane.
George Whitmore, Esq., Austin-friars.
With power to add to their number.
ENGINEER.
Charles Vignoles, Esq.. P.R.A.S., M.R.I.A.
COUNSEL.

Francis Henry Golds;;;i: g;q., Stone-buildings,
Lincoln's Inn.
SOLICITOR.
William Stephens, Esq., 30, Bedford-row.
BANKERS.

In London—Messrs, Masterman, Peters, Mildred, Mas
terman and Co.
Dublin—Messrs. Boyle, Low, Pim, and Co.
Liverpool—The Liverpool Banking Company.
Manchester—Sir Benjamin Heywood, Bart. and Co.

ZHIS Railway is proposed as a direct and uninter-
rupted line of communication from London-bridge to
Woolwich, Gravesend, Chatham, Ramsgate, and Mar-
gate, passing through the populous part of North Kent—
a rich' district, intimately connected with the metropolis,
butt at present altogether unprovided with railway accom-
modation.
Several incomplete plans for railways in this direction
have of late been brought before the public. The present
line, as far as Chatham, was surveyed four years ago ; but
it has been considered that, in the present advanced state
of the railway system, a complete communication through
one of the most populous districts of the country is best
calculated to meet the wants and wishes of the public and
of the Government—bringing not only all the favourite
watering places of North Kent within a close proximity to
London, but embracing in its course some of the most
important military and naval arsenals of the empire.
The railway is intended to commence at London-
bridge, and pass by the London and Greenwich line to
Deptford • then to proceed outside of Greenwich-park, by
Blackheath, Charlton, Woolwich, Plumstead, Wickham,
Bexley-heath, Crayford, Dartford, Stone, and Northfleet,
to Gravesend ; from thence (north of Cobham-park) to
Frindsbury and Strood, and crossing the Medway by a
permanent bridge, through Rochester, Chatham, and
Brompton ; then by Rainham, Sittingbourne, and Milton
(within a very short distance of Sheerness), to Ospringe
and Faversham, continuing to near Whitstable, (inter-
secting the railway already made from that port to Can-
terbury,) and along the north coast of Kent by Ilerne-bay
and Reculver to the Isle of Thanet, and either falling into
the South-eastern branch from Ashford to Margate,
Broadstairs, and Ramsgate, or continuing the proposed
railway to those places ; thus coming within a short dis-
tance of Sandwich, and only ten miles from Deal.
The length of railway to be made will be about 60 miles
in the first case, or little more than 70 miles in the latter
alternative.

The mode of passing by Greenwich-park and Woolwich-
common will be the same as was required by the Govern-
ment authorities for the projected London and Chatham
Railway, the plans and sections whereof were prepared by
Mr. Vignoles, and lodged for Parliament in the session of
1840.
It is not necessary here to go into any very close com-
putation of the extent to which a railway communication
may compete with that by steam-boats. It is sufficient
for the purposes of the estimates connected with this un-
dertaking, to assume that the railway will obtain about
one-half of the existing traffic by steam-boats, with the
whole of that by the present modes of land conveyance—
not to mention the undoubted increase of intercourse,
which in all cases has been found to result from the esta-
blishment of a railway communication, and of which this
line is largely susceptible. For the longer distances pro-
jected by this line, and especially during those times of
the year, and of the day, which are unfavourable to water
communication, the increased speed, facility, and safety
given by railway travelling, must operate largely in favour
of the latter. With a population of 2,000,000 in the me-
tropolis, having access to Gravesend in little more than
half an hour ; to Chatham in about an hour ; to Herne
Bay in less than two hours; and to Margate and Rams-
gate in two hours and a half, at moderate fares, with con-
stant opportunities, to and fro, at every hour in the day,
late and early, such an increase of the existing traffic may
reasonably be expected as will give ample occupation to
both means of conveyance. It is impossible to contem-
plate any section of country connected with the metropolis
affording greater scope for an extended and continually
increasing traffic, to an amount not easily estimated.
Independently of the great existing passenger traffic,
there is an almost incessant transport to London of fish,
fruit, vegetables, hops, and other produce, parcels, van-
goods, and merchandise, besides the returns from the
metropolis, for local consumption.
To those accustomed to consider the traffic returns on
railways, the estimated gross receipts averaging only £4652
per week, on this line, extending upwards of 70 miles
through so active a population as that of North Kent,
must appear extremely moderate ; and on this low esti-
mate, after deducting 50 per cent. for working expenses
and for toll to the lines connected with this railway, the
result shows a clear profit of full 8 per cent. on the pro-
posed capital of £1,500,000.
A Deposit of £3 will be payable on the allotment of the
shares, and at the same time the Subscribers' Agreement
and Parliamentary Contract must be signed.
and statistical tables may be obtained of Me
treet • of Mesrs.
A detailed Prospectus, containing estimates of
FotsraTffimct
and BRAITHWAITE, 64, Old Broad-s
also (7VfleMsersssrs.OSEPH
Low, PINT, and Co,. Dublin; of
Messrs.s.RAILTON &
JOSHUA
13,uA Austin-friars,
frri
as
rosr:
Londonand SUN,; 39, Lothbur y ; aony
KING and SON, Liverpool; and of.
aSdTe sMs eadnicnhtehs
For detailed Prospectus, ptpolitchaetiorprofsopreschtaurse.s must be
see this paper of the 30th
instant. etefro;rmwhannexed a