Sharp County record., 1880-10-21
Too Much Ice.HOuSe.

We were Tor three years the victim Of
too much ice-house. Ours was fancy
one with a nice cupola on top, stone
foundation built up in mortar and air
tight, covered with matched siding and
painted. 1t was close as jug and lined
with saw-dust, which was packed in be-
tween a board lining and the siding.
We had little square hole left on the
east side for extra ventilation. The
building was a lean-to on the north side
of the Kitchen, and fronted toward the
north. There were but two outsides, the
north and east. The roof was very flat
and made of tin. For fear this would
get hot and effect the temperature of
the ice house we painted it, and this
made it last longer, and then we put a
ceiling overhead to break the effects of
the heat if any should come through.
Most people would say, now you are all
right fill it up with ice and it will keep.
1t did not, and so we shut the extra
ventilator on the east side, but this did
not make the ice. keep. We got out of
Ice befor the summer was half gone.
During the rest Of the season we
talked ice-house with everybody we
thought knew anything about it, One
man who was in the business extensive
ly, said the trouble was in the stone
wall which made the foundation.
Ice," he said, " would not keep near
stones, and they doubtless carried the
heat inside" We could not very well
remove the foundation, so we tried to
remedy its effect by putting plenty of
saw-dust between it and the ice.
We also added another ventilating
hole on the door, and put blind on
it with open shutters The next
year the ice kept better, but not as we
wanted it. We were on the right track
and the next year when we took the
blind out and left all the ventilators
open the ice kept good. This is the
way we learned the secret of keeping
ice, which is, plenty of sawdust and
plenty of ventilation; without these no
matter how fancy the house is and how
many theories and rules have been car
ried out, the ice will not keep, A neigh
Dor always has plenty of ice and he does
not have any ice-house at all. He packs
it in a square body under the COW shed,
which has northern exposure and cov-
ers it thickly with saw dust, which he
packs as firmly as he can, setting up
boards on end around the pile to keep
the sawdust in place. He is careful to
have the first tier of ice high enough
from the ground so that water will not
reach it. He puts the sawdust foot
thick around the ice and three feet thick
on the top.
A pile of ice six feet high, eight feet
wide and eight feet long will make 384
cubic feet. And this is enough for the
use of on ordinary family for the table
and to cool the cream, etc. Six team
loads fill an ice house which contains
about 400 cubic feet. The blocks should
be cut as smooth as possible and square
so they will fit closely, and then ice
must be chopped up fine and crowded
in between the pieces so as to make a
solid mass. The closer the ice is packed
and the more solid the mass is united
together the better it will keep. When
anice-house is too close there is q great
zeal or condensation which makes the
whole contents wet and dripping and
causes the ice to melt rapidly. The air
must be kept as dry as possible. l al
ways like to see the top of the sawdust
dry. The more ice there is in a pile the
better it will keep. A small quantity
must be covered deeper and thicker
than a large mass. A large mass will
almost keep itself. 1t does not require
the protection of sawdust, but straw or
a double wall of boards will be ample.
Every person who makes butter ought
to have ice. 1t will more than pay for
use in the dairy, and then for the family
it is aluxury every provident man should
supply.-F. D. Curtis, in N. Y, Tribune