The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-10-06
Economy and lee.

Ah| great majority Of farmers regard
ice as luxury they an not afford 70
indulge in. They are too far from town
to have it delivered to them by dealers
sho they are at no pains to preserve r.
Tor their own use. They cops;Jor - ~ ~
costly luxury which only wealthy town
people can afford to use, and which
farmers can get along without and still
De very comfortable They do not an
preclate the economic yaiue of loo ~
u comfort it insures during extremely
not weather. They rarely seek to esti-
mate the money value of ice. civ
people long since ceased to consider lee
simply as an article of luxury. They
now regard it as an economical thing
10 Duy and use in their houses The9
ma that the money they spend for ice
Is saved IN other things. By means Of q
refrigerator or ice-box they can nre-
serve during several DAYS articles Of
cooked and uncooked food that would
otherwlse be wasted. They find that
a supply OF ice saves much fuel and a
large amount of labor in cooking. Few
KINDS OF food OF drink are appetizipo
that are OF the same temperature as the
surrounding air. They must be mucb
hotter or considerably colder in order
to be grateful to the taste. In the sum-
mer they are most enjoyable when they
are several degrees colder than the air
IN the room where they are served.
Durlhg the past few years iced tea has
generally superseded that which is hot
other drinks rendered very cool by the
use OF Ice have taken the place of hot
drlnEs. lce-cream is no longer consid-
cred as a luxury to MANY, but is re-.
gafded as an economical dish. 1t costs
less to freeze cream and eggs than il
does to cook them. 1t is more pleasant
TO work over freezing apparatus than
over hot stove in July and August.
BESIDES the article that is prepared by
freezing is more grateful than that pre-
pared by heating. Berries, peaches and
melons can be kept in excellent condi-
Iion several days by the use of ice, and
they are much more pleasant to the
taste II they are chilled before they are
brought to the table.
Ice Is as economical in a farmhouse
as In one in the city. 1t is productive
OF as much comfort in the former as in
the latter. Ice is even more essential
IN the country than in the city. In the
latter every grocer, butcher, and milk
dealer keeps asupply of ice in suitable
receptacle for the purpose of keeping
the goods he stores and sells in GOOD
condition. They can bemoved from the
dealer S refrigerator to the customer
house in very short time and without
injury caused by heat In the country
matters are different. Farmers pro
duce most of the articles for the suppl,
of their tables and obtain others in toll
erably large quantities when they go tc
the market town. They use very littl,
fresh meat during the summer on ac
count of the difficulty in keeping it eitheI
in the raw or cooked state. They have II,
facilities for keeping even carcass o
sheep or lamb. If they Kill sheep il
midsummer they are obliged to pre-
serve a portion of it in pickle or dis
pose of it to some of their neighbors
The flesh they consume is therefor,
limited to salt meat or poultry. Yer,
much salt meat is undesirable durins
the summer as it produces thirst. Few
fowls are in good condition to eat in til,
summer except early chickens, and the,
furnish expensive food BY having
supply of ice the farmer can have
n supply of fresh meat at very small
cost. The value of ice in the dairy cal
scarcely be oVerestimated. Very fin
butter cannot be produced during tn
hottest weather without it. Nethe
can it be preserved or sent to market
| Milk cooled by ice is one Of the mos
grateful drinks that can be used in tn
season of haying and harvesting. Ice
cream is as cheap food as farmers ca
obtain during the heat of summer if the
have supply of ice with which to pre-
pare it. Milk and eggs are cheap, an,
fresh fruits furnish the best flavoring ma
terials. lee is us desirable in the cas-
of sick animals rs with human beings
Farmers who have ice-houses on thei
places find that they Afford n goo
many returns on the investment, Will
they afford comfort that cannot he pun
chased by money. Chicago Times.