The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-04-15
The Sunny South.
A visit to the New Orleans Ice Factory.
ICE.

A Visit To the New Orleans Ice Factory.
One of The many sights that inieres!
! Northerners in New Orleans is q visit to the
Louisiana Ice Factory. There with the Their,
mometcr at 90 in the shade they witness a
scene which is quite frigid in appearance,
and see there done that which would cause
"Old Probs" to get down on his marrow bones
| in order to give satisfaction. There they have
no use for Jack Frost they can discount
him with the greatest OF ease, and only smile
upon him when their dreaded enemy, Vel
low jack puts in an appearance.
The discovery for making ice was h'Ppy
thing for the Southern people, anc the sim
plicity by which it's made is the most remark
able feature OF all.
1t is astonishing to think, and hard 70 un'
ders,and, why heat should be the principal
agent in the mandatory of ice. BY heat,
ammonia and water, ice is made.
The factory of the Louisiana Ice Company
is situated on Louisiana Av., near the 'iver,
and consists OF very large and commodious
building, with six ice houses, capable Of con
tanning 5000 tons Of ice; gas house, rcser,
voir ammonia house, and office in al pre-
.en,ng quite an imposing sight.
The main building, where the ice is made,
contains six of Cares Ice machines, each
capable of turning out fourteen tons Of ice
per day, making total of eghty-:ou' tons
every twenty four hours.
The machine consists of two immense driv
ing engines, two doctors, smaller engines,
with six pumps on cach-two for bbilers
two for condensing boilers, and two tor fire
purposes two large Guild & Garrison pumps
each of which is capable Of pumping 1901
gallons of water per minute, eight double
hue boilers, condensing tanks, reservoirs, ant
various other things.
This constitutes our ice factory, but in thi:
case there is double set Of machinery, hal
of which only is used at a time; the Other
!. half being held in readiness in case eak oil
break OCCURS. This, too, enables them:o rur
day and night, using one set during tie day
the other at night.
! Cares Ice Machine, the one in useat this
factory, works on the principle of producing
cold by the expansion of ammonia gas, anc
, also by the great affinity ammonia hastor wa
, ter, which will absorb go times its volume o
gas.
AS the properties of ammonia-wher,
it came from and what it is-may not b.
| al pnIor,tn,NI ht,t In raaIara Of m
FREE TRADER, l will briefly state that am
mona was unknown to the ancients, ind no
discovered until about the 18th Gently. |
Is supposed to be the pure oxide of meal, ant
b found especially in the neighborhood of vol
. canoes. l; was first prepared in Egypt from
the SCOT of camel dung by sublimation. A
e present 1, is prepared in various ways but Of
1 account of lis cheapness is most general.
:, obtained from the muriste OF sal ammonia
!, acted on by lime. Sulphate OF ammonia l
I obtained by liXivating the 500 OF coal, or b
/. decomposing with salphuric acid the an
u monial salts contained In the watdy fui
9 which is formed in manufacturing coal ga:
?. and sometimes by decomposing with lulphat
of lime or sulphate of iron the impure Cal
!, Donate of ammonia produced by thedestrut
y tive dls,illation of animal refuse, hut NOR
b especially in tho preparation Of animal cha
d coal from bones.
e The ammonia consumed IN u. Unite
\ States is of foreign manufacture, bling in
/. ported chiefly from Calcutta. Undsr ordiI
't airy atmospheric temperature and pressur
ammoniacal gas is permanent; but st so an
= under pressure of six atmospheres, it is col
IS densel into colorless liquid, of the densit
y of 76J. Its action is very strong, and wi
:, turn redeemed litmus paper purple; iurme
ic, brown; and blue, cabbage green.
1, 1t combines readily with acid, iormin
crystalizable salts which are either sublime
y, - or decomposed by keat-those with volati
acids being sublImed without change, viii
e. those with fired acids part with their al
% monia Il is absorbed by alcohol, but moi
Se especially by water. Water of 50 deg. +.
the atmospheric pressure Of thirty inches a