Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1881-01-22

Ice is the cheapest luxury that we
can enjoy in the summer, and it seems
strange that persons living where they
can obtain a supply of it should be de-
prived of it. In cities and large towns
it is always easy TO procure it from
dealers who distribute it from house to
house as is desired. In the country,
however, persons must store ice on
their own premises or dispense with its
use. 1t is much cheaper to store ice
than to buy it. and private ice houses
would he common in large towns but
for the scarcity of land on which to
erect suitable building to insure its
preservation.
1t was generally believed TIL recently
that a costly building or cellar was
necessary to preserve ice, and that
great skill was required to pack it so
that it would not waste during the sum-
mer. At present ice is preserved in
very cheap and udely-constructed
buildings. The essential requisites for
preserving ice are: A building that will
afford protection against the sun; suit
able drainage to carry off the water
that accumulates at the bottom of the
mass of ice during the warm weather;
means to prevent the air from circu-
lating between the blocks of ice after
they are packed; free circulation of
air over the covering of the mass of ice:
substance that is a poor conductor of
heat. and which can be packed closely
around the ice after it is placed in posi-
ton.
The most convenient form of an ice
house for private use is one ten feet
square and about the same height.
Only single walls of rough boards are
required. The roof should be tight
and should project good distance be-
yond the sides SO as to carry Oft the
water and afford some shade. If the
house stands on rising ground. COM
posed mostly of gravel that will afford
drainage, no floor will be required. In
each gable of the roof should be a
swinging door a trifie over two feet
wide for putting in and taking out ice.
or the ice NAV be taken in and out
through an opening on the north side
of the building. This door or opening
can be made of loose pieces of boards
resting against the inside of the walls
and held in position by the packing that
surrounds the ice. If such an opening
is used for the letting in and taking out
OF ice. and generally it is the most con-
ven;ent. there should be small doors in
the gables for affording a circulation of
air. They should be closed during
stormy weather. to exclude the rain,
but kept open at other times. Unless
such openings be made the air in the
top of the building will become heated.
and cause the ice below to melt.
The ice for filling the house should
be cut in pieces two feet square. and
the sides should be as nearly straight as
possible. 1t is generally best to OBJ
tain the ice where it is cut and packed
for commercial purposes. If there is
snow on the ground, it will pay better
to 90 twenty miles for ice than to be at
the trouble and expense of cutting it
from lake or stream near home. lee
packers have tools for cutting that ena-
bic them to prepare a ton of ice at the
expense of only few cents. The
thicker the ice is, the less will be the
trouble in keeping it and the smaller
the waste. If possible, ice should be
obtained that is at least ten inches
thick.
The ice should be packed in the form
of a cube in the center of the building,
resting on layer of straw. tan-bark or
sawdust at least one foot thick. If the
ice is cut in pieces two feet square, six
teen of them will form a tier, or layer,
measuring eight feet on each side.
The remaining blocks of ice should be
piled in tiers till the mass forms acube
eight feet high. If the sides of the
blocks are straight they will pack close
together, and the closer they are packed
the less air will circulate through them
and the better they will keep. If the
weather is severely cold when the ice
is put i'm the house. il is well to throw