Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1844-11-07
From the Lirerpoo, Standard
4 Chapter about American Ice.

As we are henceforth to have this cooling luxury
regularly supplied TO Us, and its great superiority
both In c'earncss and thickness the home article
lowing to the prccarious nature of our winters and
other causes) acknowledged hy all who have tried
1T, short notice of Its uses, tho Of keeping
IT, and OF cutting and securing IT in America NAV
prove interesting to readers.
Ice has become great article of export from Amer
lea. Sixty thousand tons are annually from Bos
ton To southern parts, the East and West Indies, &c
and as sawdust is solely used in packing. large
trade Il also carried that article The cehouses
near the lakes and ponds, immense wooden build
lngs. capable Of holding 10000 10 ~, 600 tons each
some of them indeed, half Of ground.
They built with double walls, that IL, with an IN
wall all roand, two feet from the one and
the space between II filled with sawdust-a nOn-cOn-
ductor,-makng a solid wall, imperyious to heat and
air, and OF IL feet IN thickness. The machines en-
ployed IN cutting the ice very beautiful and the
work Is done by men and horses IN the following
The ice that is intended TO be cut must be KEPT
clear OF snow, 1t Is sufficiently thick to
bear the weight Of the and horses TO be employ
cd, which 1t Will do at SIX inches and the Is
kept scraped from it until il IS thick enough To cut
piece of ice Is cleared of two extent which,
at foot thick, VIII give about 2OOO tons BY keep
ing the snow of, IT freezes thicker, the frost
freely allowed TO penetrate. When the time of cut
ting arrives, the men commence upon OF these
pieces, by getting straight line through the centre
each way. a small hand plough is pushed along the
line. until the groove about quarter OF inch
width, and three inches deep when they commence
with :. the marker an implement drawn by two
horscs-whch makes two new grooves parallel with
the first II inches the gauge remaining in the first
groove 1t Is then shifted to the outside groove, and
makes two more. The operation goes on in
parallel rectangular lines until the ice IL all marked
out in squares of II inches. In the meanwhile the
Plough Is following IN these grooves drawn by a m
gle horse "a man leading and he cuts mp the Zee
To depth of SIX inches. The outer blocks are then
sawn out, and iron bars used in splitting them.
These bars are like spade, of wedge form. In
dropping them INTO the grooves the ice splits off, and
very slight blow Is sufficient separate them and
they split easy, hard, according 10 the weather IN
very cold day Ice Is very brittle in n keen frost
comparatively softer weather it is ducc and
rcsistlble.
Platforms. low tables, placed near the open
ing made in the ice with iron slide reaching from
them INTO the water: and man stands on each SIDE
with ice hook. very much like boat hook, but
made of steel with fine sharp points. With these the
Ice Is hooked with jerk that throws it on the plat
form the sides which of the same height. On
cold day every thing becomes covered with ice. and
the blocks each spinning along although they
weigh two cwt., as If they weighed only a pound
The slides are large lattice platforms To allow
the ice To- drain and three tons thus be easily run
IN of them by one horse. 1t is then carried 10
the cc-Iouses, d ,charged upon platform in front
the doors, and hoisted into the building by horse.
Forty men and twelve horses Will cut and stow away
400 tons a dav. II the weather be favorable ltu
= sometimes employed at once; and in three
weeks the ice crop, about 100000 TONS is secured
Some winters it i, very difficult To secure it, as "a rain
thaw Will come that will destroy the labor of weeks
and render the Ice unfit for market; and then it
and ram upon that. before those employed have
time clear 1T of; and if the latter freezes the re-
suit IL which IS of value, and has be
planned off.
''Thc operation of planning proceeds in nearly tn,
that of cutting. \ plane gauged to
in the grooves made by 1.-THE marker" and VIII CT
Will shave the ice to the depth of three inches
cut drawn by horse, until the whole piece reg
ularly planed over The chlps are then srrapcd oil
II the is not then clear the work * continued
I'll the pure ice is reached. and few nights of har,
frost will make it thick bclow-inch for inch-fo
what has been taken Off above.
The lee Is transported on railways. Each icc- hoIs
has n branch railway from the main line and Is
ycycd In properly constructed box-wagons Ia Boston
distance OF Gas the locality may be- Toto l. miles
The tools, machinery &c. employed, and the build
ing the houses. an constructing and keeping up tn
railroads, &c, are very expensive vet the iaclliiic
are SUCH through good management, that ice b
furnished Mt very trlling cost per pound; and TN
failure of the zee crop III America would be- Il grca
calamity.
II would appear that for the procuring. prcscryin,
and use of this article of import-ihough but ra
ter I'm its natural state in the frgid zoncs-a varic
of mechanical and scent. ca operations arc brouc h
into play. The gauging. squarng. and (somet mes
the planning appear To- belong the joiner aided by tl
Mathematician; the poughng to the agriculturst
the transport land To- the civil ginccr the i'm
port to navigators; the preservation To our rh
losophers. and the use and economy 10 mcdca
men and our housewives.