New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-19
THE ICE BUSINESS or THE UNITED
STATES.
Third Artic ,e. |

SHIPMENTS OF ICE TO SOUTHERN (T. s. PORTS
AND TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
The business Of exporting ice from places of its nat
ural formation to southern ports and countries was
first commenced by Mr.. Frederic Tudor Of Boston.
He began operations in the Fall Of 1865 by sending
agents 10 the West Indies to procure information and
soon after determined to make his first experiment in
that region But, when he sought TO charter vessel
for his proposed cargo he found one willing to re-
ceive on shpboard strange an article as this lew
commodity in commerce. Hence, he purchased one
expressly for the purpose-the brig Favorte of about
1870 tuns. During the following February 1875 he
shipped the first cargo of ice ever exported from this
country, and probably from any other. He obtained
it from pond the grounds Of his father, in Saugus,
which then formed part of Lynn. 1t was cut with
axes and saws and taken in wagons to the vessel
which was loaded at Grays Wharf, Chariestown.
From that time to this Grays Wharf has continued to
be the center of the wharves from which ice is shipped
in the port of Boston. This first shipment was dis.
patched to St. Pierre, Martinique, and although Mr..
Tudor went out with it, it resulted in considerable
less Stated at about 81 J00.l This happened in con-
seauer ce of the want Of cehouse and the expense OF
fitting out two agents to the different islands, to an
nounce the project aud to secure come advantages.
But greater loss arose from the disnasting of the
brig in the vicinity of Martirique.
The second shipment was made in 1907, and was to
the amount Of 2iO tuns, per brig Trident to Havana,
and this too was attended with heavy oss The en-
terprse however continued until our second war
with Great Britain, when the embargo was laid, and
put an end to our foreign trade To this PERIOD lSl2
Mr.. Tudor had confined his operations mainly to Mar
tiniaue and Jamaica and had received no profit from
Them In lSl5 after the close Of the Mr.. Tudor re-
commenced his business by shipments to Havana, un-
der On arrangement with the Cuban Government, oy
which certain privileges and a monopoly were grant
ed Thus he continued his undertaking. and extended
tin 1917 to Charleston, s. e.; in the following year
to Savannah, Ga; and in lSl0 to New Orleans ln
the mean time it had been tried again by other par
tics at Martinique aud St. Thomas, and failed anib by
Mr. r. at st. Jago de Cuba, where 1t also failed altsr
trial Of three years As late as 1923 successive Dis
asters attended the business which much impaired both
the frances and health Of it, projectors but after an
illness of two years he was enabled to prosecute his
trade and TO extend TO several OF the Southern States
and TO various portions Of tho West Indies. In 49,
| his whole shipment of ice amounted to i3o2 tuns,
which was taken entirely from Fresh Pond, in Cam
bridge. On the 18th of May, 1888, he made the first
shipment of ice to the East Indies per the ship ldsca
nv for Calcutta; and subsequently he commenced e1-
portaors TO Madras and Bombsy. This first cargo to
Brazil was sent out 10 Rio Janeiro in 1881 The trade
was almost wholly carried on by the originator until
about the year ls56, when other parties epSsssd IN it,
ard it also established iR other northern seaports
but at none has it been extensive at Boston. In
fact the immediate vicinity Of Boston is exrao.ans
nil, favored Nv ha.are for this business, since it COZ
taus numerous excellent and large ponds and thus il
can obtain supplies a. very cheap rates which advan
tage, with Others has kept this item of commerce at
the port where il was instituted. Some years since
the amounts shipped from New.York We're relatively
greater than at present. The quantity now annually
consumed in New-York and vicinity is so vast, and
the demand for II so sctve that there is little or nc
inclination among the ice dealers to SO south for better
| markets.
The following table exhibits the decennsl proyre.:
OF TIRE aggregate export trade lcosswise and foreign
! from Boston.