New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-01-22
THE ICE TRADE.
IN TRHh STING sTATISTICs-PROsPEc.' OF sHOR,
SUPPLY NEXT SUMNER.

In the seventeenth century leo wa used IA
such an extsat IN France that dealers in Il W. qa.
common. SNOW aud Ice we're then gathered IN White,
and packed in pits with aud other nouconda. or
ard the Italian peasants found u profitable busDe, a
collect and lee upon che Apprentices ana store thu
IN the caves Of those mountains 20 supply tho L,-.
demand OF Naples where II IL said are snow She's
Ia almost every street. kept open day and night thr,l
the warm Frederick Tudor Of Boston was p7ob,
bly, the first to embark In the trade In this oOunr
lie sailed in 1895 from Boston In lhis own big Wiz
cargo Of 100 uns for Martinique. THIS was brougt
down to Charlesiown. Mass from part Of Lyra TIA.
called saugus Mr.. Tudor was encouraged IN hh ney
enterprise by the Cuban Government, which gave ha
important privileges. and IN 1912 hc obtained The mona
poly Of the Havana market He introduced the trades,
1917 into Charleston, in I8isinto Savannah and IN l
into NewOrleans. But he lacked then the advantage
experience, aud well tested methods IN securing saa
shipping his ice, and disasters frequent In leah.
entire shipments amounted to only 4J52 tuus tho waos
Of which came from Fresh Pond near Cambridge IA
1888 he sent cargo Of $50 uns TO the East Iudes andh
was delivered at Calcutta In the Autumn OF that yoas
One-thlrd wasted the voyage. and 20 tuns
getting up the Ganges. 1t packed in largo bocn
fitted closely together between plank caslngs filed ia
with dry tan. He found ready market for his cargo
which he disposed OF half the OF that prepared By
the natives. At the present time waste Of about hat
is expected on this voyage In 1884 NJ Tudor shipped
the first cargo TO Brazil From 1895 to 1895 he conducted
the whole trade. But AFTER his large profits nais
him numerous competitors and other ports beside Bos
ton engaged in the business The "Hub," however, stn
continues to engross the export From 100 tuns sLppd
from Boston In 1906 II increased 70 1000 in ls; 1900
1885, G5OOO In 1896 900 in 1886 Later returns
act. but the increase must be nearly as great.
ICE IN NEw-YoRK.
The business in this city OF little account prior
to 1872 though there dealers engaged in brngga
ryata Fri aok VI
obtained from ponds in the vicinity OF tho city sun
fish Pond" fresh-water basin the Harlom-road.
about ten rods in diameter furnished the greatest qlan
tty But little sold FOR family consumption az tia.
time, and tho ice-cream maker and saltwater yendea
were the principal customers. SO limited was the de-
Inand that when the first company formed In i33
two carts were found sufficient IN the SUMMER TO supply
the city trade aud bat Is Or % men were required to cut
and store the ice This company, OF three persons pro
cured their ice from Rocand Lake % the rate Of aboI,
Geo tons year. In 1885 they lircd large Yauh
at the OF ChrisOpherst. and GFeenwchave. fo
an icehouse and thus enabled 10 supply about M
tuns year. In 1872, carrying on slowly increasing
business they hired depot the site or the Old BED
Fort, foot OF Hubertst, North River, aud subsequently
increased there CehOuse capacity at tie Lake % 100
tuns IN all BuI IL IS one OF NE agSIl sl1.l.
OF business He that as soon as successIui Qera0 hss
secured good traffic 10 himself, competition with ~
keen knc cuts UP ns nou0py aIu IglGgcs ~ I M -
another company yentured into tue business az tls e
putting up about the same quantity OF ice These were
tue Only Two eOuIPdnles h'l 80 - - - i1 -.
ton OF Croton water the supply on cooI Wi H"Sl,
sufficient until that ne hao checked the gFoMtl % ne
But when III 1912, Win ~ mics OF main
tapped the flow Of the Croon River and received IN ouI
city with pipes, those old patrtrchd water fi7efs Ten
water. warmed by the summer's sun flows into oui
aqueduct and has warm run 10 Hlgh Brdse,
ana another suh-WaIIA5 III tAo i'e'N
II cut up INTO sOtetLaueah s'IeH5ns ~
ton Water drinkers found considerable d.Aercuce 10
tween glass OF warm SfoiGn drawn IE9ll
faucet, and the cool, refreshing og"nght IRON ~
well. and the demand for lee rspdy increased uutls
third company sprung up and TIE business went FORWARD
with rush IN 1855 the total sales OF these complns
ranged from GOOOO to 5000 tuns year each COMPANY
selling about an equal amount In 10 tAey ehecteI
consolidation under the name OF the ice
Company, with capital OF $4,000 In 1901 the hulcAes
booker bought ont the NeT-fork Ice Company which
mad been formed by company OF independent ice men,
with capital Of s550NOand by further additions y has
increased its capital stock to the present sams.y1
900. Its formidable competitor tue Nas.IteA ne Co'
was formed IN 1855 with acapital f5O rs ape
tte business continually increased l last January
It swaOwedup the New York Cry, 4nhattan brooklyn
CITY and Ulster County lee Compauys, and By this meal
increased its capital stock 20 S,oO1oOo ,--
Company employs from 1900 to 1000 men. and about 90
horses with from 900 10 2j) double ana single wagons me
former holding three tlis 81 ice the tater 5 '.a
half with this force, on afayorabe day the company
can cut and mouse tle enormous aouns oi 100 us !;
their buildings at ROckand Lake alone beug capable OF
holding 10000 tuns. 10 Is this Lake that furnishes
the largest quantity Of marketable ice. though
the Company have ponds az 10 places 100 miles up las
Hudson above the tdewater, where they cut and store
Ice. These IS cehouses have tolal capacity Of 5000
tuns TO raise the ice from the lake aud river ana De
post in these they have steam engine In every place
IS IN a-rangng from 80 10 loo horse power Ihey oTn
four steamboats,. and 80 barges, which are constantly
Every night tow Of laden boats starts down the rye
while a tow OF empty ones goes up They have SIX de
pots the East and North Rivers and two on the Brook
yn shore The carts supplied directly from these
barges. The Company have a building IN TSentethst
14OxOO feet fronting on the North River which they ue
as factory Here all their carts are made ana repad
and work done for the barges and boats The stable AZ
the place is 100 feet square, Tie Washington Com
pany also procured its ice on the Hudson and has nearly
the same equipment Their united city sales including
Brooklyn amount 10 nearly $4,000 tuns. The two Com
panes have about carts and there about so more
carts owned by private dealers, having Two or three
one or the other OF these Companies The pork factor.
and provision dealers use enormous quantities Of ice
ICE DRIVERS.
The drivers generally considered rough set OF men
Their business is calculated to harden them physically
and morally too IL they yield its frequent tempta-
TONS They work hard and receive little pay. Their EN-
poyers assert they appropriate" enough 70 make mp
They 90 the stables all through the Summer early as
% O'clock m and do not get through their days wor
until in the evening Saturdays they work MI II in ne
evening. as TO be OF Sundays For TINS regulars DAY
work OF l6 hours. with liberal subtraction for meals
they receive g. day. Each driver has helper WHO
receives $40 a week The dealers say they would VIII
ingy pay - day for good honest drivers; but Anns
about il is SO common now when all the affective
Peters are dead that they cannot tell who have sound
privilege Of being cheated There is foreman
for every four five routes The foremen are promoted
from the drivers, and receive SIS week They travel
every day over one route. and look after the driver
When driver Is sick they take his place.
CUTTING AND STORING.
The methods OF gathering and storing fee entirely
American The process Is substantially as follows From
the time the forms IL kept free from by means
wooden scrapers until thick enough TO cut viz from
inches TO foot, or for expectation, twenty inches
thick The upper layer Of soft porous ice to the depn
Of three inches Is then removed by steel scrape
planes drawn by horses surface OF about two acres
having been thus cleared straight line Is drawn through
its center. handplow is pushed along this line uut
the groove is inch deep. when the marker is INTRO
duced This is sort OF Harrow with three or more par
ael OF teeth about tweDtyone inches apart aud
drawn by horse across the lee, usng the line arady
made n gauge IL Is then shifted 10 the OUTSIDE
grooves, and two more lines cut by the tcctl
These lines having been cut over the whole
surface OF the ice In one direction the gauger changed 70