Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1856-12-06
ARTIFICIAL FREEZING AS A DIS.
INFECTANT.

Mr.. +. Merriam, the weather sage Of Brook
lyn Heh,s, is somewhere ia the inferior of the
State, Investigating the merits of machine for
producing intense cold Ly artificial means. lie
believes that cargoes aud vessels from yellow
fever ports need TO be no longer subjected to lie.
dious quarantine Of two or three months but
that the cargoes may be discharged and placed
in stone warehouses, where BY the action of frost
ari6cially produced, all the yellow fever virus
will be destroyed. Vessels, after unloading,
may also be frozen out, that they can with
safety come up TO the city and take in new car
goes without delay. From the wel-known fact
that yellow fever is always imported, in his
latitude, and disappears, however violent be-
fore good frost, Mr.. Merriam believes that the
city may be free from infection, and the mer-
camille interests be also greatly benefited by he
application of artificial fros,. He gives The fol-
lowing description Of the reirigeraing machine :
"At p. m, the proprietor called at my lodg-
ings, aud accompanied me To his establishment.
which is for the construction Of locomotives.
The large engine OF the works was in opera
tion, and the machine for producing intense cold
was placed in the harness and commenced op-
erations. 10 less than an hour, the mercury in
the Thermometer within The machine. was re-
duced fr.m SO degrees above zero to "a degrees
below that line; that was the lowest figure
marked on the scale cot an apple in two
pieces, and placed it outside the pipes, and in
few minutes il was frozen hard. A copper
vessel was placed alongside Of II on the same
l pipe, End filled with wafer. which was in
short time converted to solid ice. Water drop
ped on the pipes was Instantly eongealed.-
White frost formed rapidly on the brass pipes
and tubes connected with The machine. The
machine in lis presen, state is arranged for
making ton Of ice at an operation. A square
cistern with double wall, has the spsce be-
tween the two walls. say about one foot, filled
with pulverized charcoal inside of the inner
wall are six rows, each row containing twelve
cast iron fres,ers, each capable Of holding as
much water as will make 80 pounds of ice /;
each freezer has a depth of twelve inches, and
the length is the same as the depth, and the
width six inches. A hange, OF rim, of half an
inch, extends around the four sides Of the frecz-
er, and upon this the freezer is suspended by
resiives or bars running at right angles. The
fanges thus arrayed, separate the freezers form
ing flue between each Of one inch width. A
fipe Of equal thickness extends under the bot
ton. The steam engine connects With an air
pump, which is made to exhaust the aimos-
phere from these fues, and as soon as perfect
vacuum is produced, a current Of either is made
to pass through these hues, continued till all
waier in the freezers, is converted Into solid
ice:' This is the whole process Of refrigeration
simple, yet complete. The expense Of max
ing is small, and on large scale can be work
ed a, cost no, exceeding So per iun. There
is room for improvement in the cast iron freez-
ers, so that they can be made 10 discharge the
ice with greater facility. This machine is ca
pable Of enlargement To the manufacture Of
hundreds and even thousands ofiuns of ice, and
producing an intensity Of cold sufficient for any
needed purpose.