Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet., 1865-08-15
MANUFACTURE OF ICE.

The reflection is both refreshing
and grateful, that although we may
be sweltering and sweating amid the
profound heats of an almost tropical
midsummer, it is still in our power to |
assuage those sufferings by the sight,
touch and taste of an article so an.
tipodal TO caIoric in its temperature
as ice. Natrre, SO bountifal in its
production Of this luxurious ne
cessity, during her wintry reign, yet
makes room for successful competl-
tion to the artificial laboratories OF
man, during the cheated term," and
we behold him turning out in the
most approved manner, by formula
of his own ingenious devising, an
article fully equal in all respects to
that produced in the natural way.
We visited in New Orleans last
| summer the Louisiana Ice Works
and were struck with wonder and
admiration at the ingenious process
which converted water from its Huid
10 d solidified state. The managers
of the establishment are gentlemanly
and obliging, and are always willing
to give all the information their time
| will allow, to visitors in regard to
the minutia of their operations.
The city news column of the Pic
ayume Of the 10th, dishes up that in
formation In the interesting manner
following:
Entering, we found ourselves very
courteously received by the manager,
to whom we return our thanks. We
saw some eight or ten men at work,
several vats, steam engine in oper-
alton, and perceived very strong
smell of ammonia, which we found
to be the principal agent used in the
conversion Of water into ice which
many people think a humbug, but
which no one acquainted with chem
istry is surprised at. The Missis-
sippi water is purified by alum and
other salts, and is converted into ice
by the abstraction of its caloric
or heat considered as substance.
Liquid ammonia, doubtless largely
diluted with water, is subjected to
a gentle heat Ii is ut all times
strongly and earnestly inclined to
assume the gaseous form, and 1t does
assume it on account of the heat, and
becomes purified there by re-eonver-
sion into liquid form, IN which state
it is nearly pure liquid ammonia. 1t
is of course principle in chemistry
that the form Of bodies, whether
solid, liquid or gaseous, is due alto
getber TO the greater or less quantity
Of caloric which they contain, and
also that a body in passing from a
solid to a fluid form and prove fluid
to a gaseous form, and has its Ca
pacity TO contain caloric wonder
| fully increased, the reverse being the
case with the contrary process.
The liquid ammonia is now passed
through al extended system of small
pipes in q large vat of water in
which are inserted numerous brass
moulds which cause the water to be
| converted into ice. The whole pro-
cess is now clear. 1t re.assumes the
gaseous form, robs the water around
the moulds of its caloric, runs then
into moulds, and thus the whole is
converted into a cake OF ice. 1t
takes about three hours to effect the
process. The ice is white on ac-
count of the quantity of air entan-
gled always in water, and the
rapidity of the process, which does
not permit the air to escape as in
slower processes. About GOO pounds
of ice are made at once. 1t is sold
at about one and a quarter cent a
pound, and not one-third OF the or
ders can be filled.
4 MOBILE LOOKING rp.--The Mobile