Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-01-13
Too Much Ice House.

y y. Cur,s DO y. Tribune.
We were for three years the victim
Of too much ice-house. Ours was a
fancy one with a nice cupola on top,
stone foundation built up in mortar
and air.tight, covered with matched
siding and neatly painted. 1t was
close as a jug and lined with sawdust.
which was packed in between board
lining and the siding. We had lit
tie square hole left on the east side
for extra ventilation. The building
was a lcan.to on the north side Of the
kitchen, and fronted toward the north.
There were but two outsidcs, the
north and east. The roof wds very
fat and made Of tin. For fear this
would get hot and affect the tcmpera-
turc OF the icc.house we painted il,
and this made il last longer. and then
We put ceiling overhead 10 break the
effects Of the heat if any should come
through. Most people would say,
now you are all right, Oh il up with
ice and it will keep. il did not, and
so VIC shut up the extra yentilatoT
on the east side, but this did not
make the ice keep. We got out of
ice before the summer was half gone.
During the rest Of the season we
talked ice-housc 70 everybody we
thought knew anything about il.
One man who was in the business ex-
tcnsiyely said the trouble was in the
stone wall which made the founda-
ton. Ice" hc said. "would not
keep near stones, and they doubtless
carried the heat inside" We could
not very well remove the foundation,
so we tried 70 remedy its effect by
putting plenty OF saw-dust between it
and the ice. We also added another
vcniilating hole on the door. and put
a blind on it with open shutters.
The next year the ice kept better,
but not as ! wanted it. We were on
the right track, and the next year,
when we took the blind out and left
all the vcntilators open. the ice kept
good. This is the way we learned
the secret Of keeping ice, which is.
plenty OF saw-dust and plenty of
ventilation without these, no matter
how fancy the house is, and how
many theories and rules have been
carried out, the ice will not keep. A
ncighbor always has plenty Of ice,
and he does not have any ice-house
at all. He packs il in a square body
under the cowshed, which has a
northern exposure, and covers it
thickly with saw-dust, which he packs
as firmly as he can, setting up boards
on end arolnd the pile TO keep the
sawdust in place. lie is careful to
have the first tier of ice high enough
from the ground so that water will
not reach it. lie puts the sawdust
a foot thick around the ice, and three
feet thick on the top.
A pile of ice feet high, s feet
wide and s feet long will make 3s4
cubic feet. And this is enough for
the use of an ordinary family Tor the
table and to cool the cream. etc. Six
team loads fiji an ice house which
contains about 400 cubic feet. The
blocks should be cut as smooth as
possible and then ice must be chop
ped up fine and crowded in between
the pieces so as 10 make solid
mass. The closer the ice Is packed,
aud the more solid the mass Is united
together, the better IL will keep.
When an ice house is too close,
there is a great deal OF 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 I always like 20
see the top of the sawdust dry.
The more ice there is in pile, the
better IL viii keep, A Asmall quantity
must he covered deeper and thicker
than n large mass. A large mass
will almost keep itself IL does not
require the protection of sawdust,
but straw or q double wall OF boards
will be ample. Every person who
makes butter should have ice. IL
will more than pay for use in the dali
~, and then for the family it Is q
luxury every proyident man should
supply.